The Commentariat -- February 2, 2019
Afternoon Update:<
Say What? Jonathan Martin, et al., of the New York Times: "Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, facing pressure from his own party to resign, said Saturday he would not quit and denied that he had appeared in Ku Klux Klan robes or in blackface in images from his medical school yearbook that have upended his governorship. 'It was definitely not me,' Mr. Northam, a Democrat, told reporters at a news conference in the governor's mansion.... Pressed on why he initially apologized, Mr. Northam said he had wanted to 'take credit for recognizing that this was a horrific photo that was on my page with my name on it.'... But he may have made his effort to remain in office more difficult by revealing that he had darkened his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume in a dance contest in Texas in 1984, when he was a young Army officer." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yeah, he might have. "That isn't me in blackface here even though yesterday I said it was but that was me in blackface over there so I won't resign." Could be a problem. ...
... Laura Vozzella, et al., of the Washington Post: "... [Virginia] State Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) said that [Gov. Ralph] Northam called her Saturday morning and told her he did not think [a racist] picture [on his 1984 medical school yearbook page] was of him and he did not plan to resign. 'He should have said that yesterday then,' she said. 'He just told me he didn't think it's him. And I said, "Ralph, this is a day late and a dollar short. It's too late."' Around 10:30 a.m., the state Democratic party tweeted, 'We made the decision to let Governor Northam do the correct thing and resign this morning - we have gotten word he will not do so this morning.' Northam was defying an avalanche of calls to step down from the office he'd assumed not 13 months ago. He spent Friday night huddled with advisers. A meeting with the state's legislative black caucus went poorly. National Democrats, including a host of a 2020 contenders and former vice president Joe Biden, said he must resign. And even home-state allies who regarded him as a dear friend -- including immediate predecessor and patron Terry McAuliffe (D), himself a potential presidential candidate -- said he had to go." See related stories below for context. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Reminds me of Donald Trump, who -- after apologizing for his "locker-room talk" -- reportedly told people that he did not make the recorded "pussy-grabbing" remarks (which Billy Bush verified).
David Enrich, et al., of the New York Times: "To finance his business's growth [in early 2016], [Donald] Trump turned to a longtime ally, Deutsche Bank, one of the few banks still willing to lend money to the man who has called himself 'The King of Debt.' Mr. Trump's loan request, which has not been previously reported, set off a fight that reached the top of the German bank, according to three people familiar with the request. In the end, Deutsche Bank ... said no. Senior officials at the bank, including its future chief executive, believed that Mr. Trump's divisive candidacy made such a loan too risky, the people said. Among their concerns was that if Mr. Trump won the election and then defaulted, Deutsche Bank would have to choose between not collecting on the debt or seizing the assets of the president of the United States.... The failed loan request ... shows that [Trump] was actively engaged in running his business in the midst of the presidential campaign, and it is likely to attract scrutiny from Democrats on two House committees that are investigating his two-decade relationship with Deutsche Bank." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The Times reporters have it all wrong. As I wrote earlier, based on Trumpenlogic, "It's not business if you try & fail to complete a deal." See also Akhilleus's comment, below, on Trumpenlogic. Akhilleus does kinda rip it to shreds.
** Dana Milbank: "Sarah Sanders, asked by the Christian Broadcasting Network this week about Trump being the right man for the moment, replied: 'I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times, and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and that's why he's there.' This makes sense, because Trump has of late been acting as if he draws his authority from the divine right of kings. He's asserting his absolute power to act without -- and often in contravention of -- the Democratic House, the Republican Senate, his own intelligence agencies, law enforcement authorities and diplomats, and the will of the American public." ...
... AND Arwa Mahdawi in the Guardian points to another bit of Sanders "logic": "... it was God that put Trump in power rather than, you know, any of that Russian collusion malarkey." Mrs. McC: All kidding aside, it seems plausible that Sarah's faith in the divine right of King Donald is what allows her to go out every day & defend the indefensible.
Yashar Ali of the Huffington Post: "When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's longtime communications director Matt House announced he was leaving just after November's midterm elections, the news was met with widespread bipartisan praise for House and his reputation for fairness.... House's departure, however, was not voluntary. HuffPost has learned, through two sources with knowledge of the situation, that House was pushed out for allegedly having inappropriate sexual encounters with junior staffers, ending what was a nearly six-year tenure as communications director for the New York Democrat. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity.... In a text-message statement late Friday, a spokesman for Schumer confirmed that House was forced out after the encounters were alleged[.]"
*****
** How Not to Celebrate the First Day of Black History Month. Marie Albiges & Gordon Rago of the Virginian-Pilot: "A photo from Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook shows two men, one in blackface and one in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood, on the same page as the future governor. The photo, which The Virginian-Pilot obtained a copy of Friday from the Eastern Virginia Medical School library, comes from the 1984 yearbook, the year Northam graduated. On the half-page set aside for Northam, there is a headshot of him in a jacket and tie, a photo of him in a cowboy hat and boots and a third of him sitting casually on the ground, leaning against a convertible. The fourth photo on the half-page has two people, one wearing white Ku Klux Klan robes and a hood, the other with his face painted black. The person with the black face is also wearing a white hat, black jacket, white shirt with a bow tie and plaid pants. Both are holding canned drinks. It's unclear who the people in costume are." Mrs. McC: Northam is a Democrat. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. According to MSNMC, Northam has issued a statement admitting he is one of the men in the offensive photo, but he didn't say which (as if it matters). Mrs. McC: Virginia is about to get a new governor, and he is black. ...
... Old White Guy very sorry he got caught in blackface but won't resign:
... Dareh Gregorian & Hallie Jackson of NBC News: "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam apologized Friday for appearing in a racially offensive photo on his medical school yearbook page that featured men in blackface and Ku Klux Klan robes. But a growing number of fellow Democrats and Republicans called on him to resign.... Five Democrats who have announced 2020 presidential runs or said they would form exploratory committees -- Julián Castro, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand -- said Northam should resign.... The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus issued a blistering statement that stopped short of calling for Northam's resignation."
... Richmond Times-Dispatch Editors: "Gov. Ralph Northam has served his nation and commonwealth with admirable distinction and dedication. So it gives us no pleasure to see his rapid fall from grace. He is by all accounts a decent and considerate man. And yet, his poor judgment has undermined his standing with Virginians in ways that we believe will permanently impair his ability to act as an effective governor. He should resign and return to his profession as a physician, with the thanks of those he has served as a state senator, lieutenant governor, and for the past year, governor.... A a college graduate, studying to be a physician, in a state with Virginia's troubled racial history, should know better than to reduce that history to a callous joke. The photograph reveals a lack of adult judgment that is disturbing."
Sean Sullivan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cautioned President Trump privately this week about the consequences of declaring a national emergency to build his border wall, telling him the move could trigger political blowback and divide the GOP, according to two Republicans with knowledge of the exchange. McConnell (R-Ky.) told Trump that Congress might end up passing a resolution disapproving the emergency declaration, the people said -- which would force the president to contemplate issuing his first veto ever, in the face of opposition from his own party. McConnell delivered the message during a face-to-face meeting with the president Tuesday at the White House, according to the Republicans, who requested anonymity to describe the encounter. The two men met alone and conversed with no aides present. Their meeting was not publicly announced."
Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "In an unusual arrangement, the publisher of The Times, A. G. Sulzberger, joined two of the paper's White House correspondents in conducting Thursday's interview [with Donald Trump], and he took the lead in questioning the president about his attacks on the press.... Mr. Sulzberger..., along with the Times journalists Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, repeatedly asked Mr. Trump whether he understood the global effects of his words.... In lengthy and at times contradictory remarks on Thursday about the news media -- which he deemed 'important' and 'beautiful,' but also 'so bad' and 'unfair' -- Mr. Trump called himself 'a victim' of unfair coverage and declined to accept responsibility for a rise in threats against journalists since he took office.... What Mr. Trump considers fair ... is almost always in line with what he considers flattering. When Mr. Sulzberger noted that all presidents had complained about how they were depicted by the news media..., Mr. Trump replied, 'But I think I get it really bad. I mean, let's face it, this is at a level that nobody's ever had before.... I ran, I won, and I'm really doing a good job,' Mr. Trump said, lamenting that his surprise victory did not receive the praise he thought it deserved -- particularly from The Times, a publication that has loomed throughout his life as representing the establishment whose respect he has long sought. 'I came from Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica Estates, and I became president of the United States,' Mr. Trump said. 'I'm sort of entitled to a great story -- just one -- from my newspaper.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Miriam Jordan & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "President Trump's family business has employed undocumented workers more broadly than it was previously believed, with multiple workers losing their jobs last month at a Trump golf club in southern New Jersey. The club in Pine Hill, N.J., known as the Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia, was the third Trump property where undocumented workers have been fired since The New York Times reported in December that the Trump club in Bedminster, N.J., for years employed immigrants who were in the country unlawfully.... People familiar with the terminations at Pine Hill said that about five workers at that property were fired or told not to report to work again, including two seasonal employees who were not scheduled to work until the spring. One of the people ... said that many other seasonal workers expected to be told not to return in the coming weeks."
This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.
Cristina Maza of Newsweek: "... Donald Trump claims that he didn't lie to the American people about not having any business deals with Russia, because his plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow don't count as business. In an interview with The New York Times, Trump insisted that pursuing a development project in Russia while running for president was acceptable because 'that wasn't business.' 'I had no money invested. It was a letter of intent, or option. It was a free option. It was a nothing. And I wasn't doing anything. I don't consider that even business,' Trump said in the interview. 'And frankly, that wasn't even on my radar. If you take a look at that, take a look at the deal. There was no money put up. There was no transfer. I don't think they had a location. I'm not even sure if they had a location.'... The president's decision to pursue a lucrative business deal in Russia while running for president has come under increased scrutiny ever since his former longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the timeline for the real estate project." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie Translation: It's not business if you try & fail to complete a deal. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: When CNN reported Thursday that the phone calls Junior made around the Trump Tower-Russia meeting to blocked phone numbers were not to his father but to "family friends,' pundits & Democratic members of Congress wondered aloud why Rep. Devin Nunes's gang refused to obtain phone records which would ID the calls' recipients and clear Dear Old Dad. Now we know. You might want to spell "family" "la famiglia": ...
... About Junior's Mystery Phone Calls. Jonathan Chait: "One of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries of the Russia investigation has been a series of phone calls Donald Trump Jr. made to a blocked phone number while he was setting up a meeting during the campaign with Russian agents who were promising to help his father. Many people, including me, speculated that the call might have been to his father to inform him of the meeting. [Thursday], CNN reported the calls were actually 'between Trump Jr. and two of his business associates.' Trump and his supporters ... immediately began gloating[.]... The recipient of one of the phone calls was Howard Lorber who is, yes, a 'family friend.' But he is also a longtime point of contact in Trump's ambitions to build a tower in Moscow, which date back to the 1980s. Lorber accompanied Trump on a 1996 visit to Moscow to explore building there. 'Howard has major investments in Russia,' Trump boasted to a Russian politician at the time. As Craig Unger notes, Lorber's dealings in Russia put him in contact with Russian mobsters." ...
... Here's the underlying story, detailing the phone calls to the blocked numbers, by John Santucci & Matthew Mosk of ABC News. The other recipient of Junior's calls was NASCAR CEO Brian France.
Kevin Johnson of USA Today: "A federal judge told Roger Stone on Friday that she did not want him to treat the criminal case against him like 'a book tour,' and said she was considering issuing a gag order to quiet the prolific political operative and longtime confidant of ... Donald Trump. Stone has conducted a carousel of television interviews since FBI agents arrested him last week on charges that he lied to Congress and tried to obstruct the investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 election. He has suggested the case against him is a plot to install Hillary Clinton in the White House, criticized the early morning raid on his house and even offered tips on what to wear to court when being arraigned. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she was concerned that the continued publicity surrounding the case against the 66-year-old political operative could 'taint' the jury pool. She gave Stone's lawyers and federal prosecutors until next Friday to tell her whether she should issue an order preventing them all from talking publicly about the case." ...
... Tom McCarthy of the Guardian: "Special counsel Robert Mueller has signaled to defense lawyers for Roger Stone ... that prosecutors might brandish Stone's bank records and personal communications going back several years as evidence in the case against him. Legal analysts said the move could be significant because the sizable amount of potential evidence listed by Mueller -- and its nature, in the case of the bank records -- seemed to go well beyond the current known charges against Stone."
Nataliya Vasilyeva of the AP: "A Belarusian model who claims to have information on ties between Russia and Donald Trump's election campaign told The Associated Press on Friday that she has turned that material over to Russian billionaire businessman Oleg Deripaska. Anastasia Vashukevich fueled speculation around possible ties between Trump and the Kremlin last year when she posted a video from a police van, saying she had 16 hours of audio and video proving ties between Russian officials and the Trump campaign that influenced the 2016 U.S. elections. Deripaska denied the allegations and even went to court to seek to remove the video Vashukevich posted in which he discusses U.S.-Russia ties with a senior Russian government official. Vashukevich, who is also known as Nastya Rybka, returned to Russia last month almost a year after she was detained in Thailand on charges of soliciting sex, in what some believe was an attempt to silence her. Vashukevich, 28, told the AP in an interview Friday that, contrary to earlier reports that she had destroyed the recordings, she had given them to Deripaska because it 'relates to him' and that she 'did not want any more trouble.'"
David Sanger of the New York Times: "The United States is suspending one of the last major nuclear arms control treaties with Russia after heated conversations between the two powers recently failed to resolve a long-running accusation that Moscow is violating the Reagan-era treaty. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the decision on Friday as the Trump administration maintained that the Russian government has been unwilling to admit that a missile it has deployed near European borders violates the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.... But while the United States has insisted Russia's actions sank the treaty, the Trump administration's real aim is to broaden its prohibitions to include China." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Mrs. McC: You can be sure Putin is delighted. ...
... Vladimir Soldatkin of Reuters: "Russia has suspended the Cold War-era Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, after the United States said it would withdraw from the arms control pact, accusing Moscow of violations.... Putin said Russia will start work on creating new missiles, including hypersonic ones, and told ministers not to initiate disarmament talks with Washington, accusing the United States of being slow to respond to such moves.... European nations fear the treaty's collapse could lead to a new arms race with possibly a new generation of U.S. nuclear missiles stationed on the continent. China urged the United States on Saturday to resolve its differences with Russia through dialogue."
Michael Morell in a Washington Post op-ed: "... the number of the disagreements between Trump and his intelligence agencies is much greater than in the past, and many are displayed for the public to see. And where most differences between presidents and their intelligence communities are over interpretation, causes and implications, they are typically not about facts. It is one thing to question whether Kim Jong Un will ever give up his strategic weapons; it is quite another to say that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. Moreover, Trump does not seem to be engaging with the intelligence community on a substantive basis, as other presidents have.... And, finally, no other president with whom I have worked has personally attacked the men of the women of the intelligence community the way Trump has.... When the president says he believes Putin more than his own intelligence officers, it not only emboldens Putin and our other adversaries, it also likely undermines the morale of the intelligence workforce.... Perhaps the biggest danger: There is a risk that Trump's rhetoric about the intelligence community will actually begin to affect the way its leaders -- and the people who work for them -- talk publicly and perhaps privately about issues."
All the Best People, Ctd.
Jeremy Diamond & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "A congressional aide who was key in crafting the controversial Republican House Intelligence Committee memo that accused FBI and Justice Department officials of abusing their surveillance authority is set to join the National Security Council, two sources familiar with the matter said. Kashyap Patel, a senior staffer for Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, has been hired to join the NSC's International Organizations and Alliances directorate.... In his new position, the hard-charging aide will help craft policy involving the United States' relationship with the United Nations and other international organizations, of which national security adviser John Bolton -- the former US ambassador to the United Nations -- has long been critical. He will be reporting to another controversial aide, Erin Walsh, who joined the NSC as a senior director in December just months after she was reportedly escorted out from the Commerce Department, where she held a high-ranking post."
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "President Trump has tapped a senior Navy officer that he considered last year to be his Veterans Affairs secretary for promotion to two-star admiral, even though there is still an open Pentagon investigation against him into allegations that derailed his VA secretary nomination. The White House sent Rea Adm. Ronny L. Jackson's name for promotion consideration to the Senate on Jan. 15. He was serving as the president's doctor last April when Trump nominated him for the VA post, and withdrew from consideration after accusations of mismanagement and misconduct as White House physician emerged. A spokesman for the Defense Department Inspector General's Office, Bruce Anderson, said that his office's investigation into Jackson is still ongoing. The office, considered the Pentagon's top watchdog, said in June that it had opened a case against Jackson, though it would not comment on the scope of it."
Christopher Mathias of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) alerted the House Ethics Committee this week that racist Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) continues to use his official government website to promote a white nationalist blog -- potentially reviving Ryan's effort to censure King or even expel him from Congress. Ryan sent a letter to the Ethics Committee on Tuesday stating he wanted to 'make the Committee aware of the continued use of government resources on the part of Rep. King to promote and advance white nationalism.' 'A HuffPost report published today, January 29, details how King is continuing to use his government website to promote the white nationalist website VDare.com,' the letter reads, referring to this HuffPost report. VDare is an anti-immigrant hate site named after Virginia Dare, said to be the first white baby born in the New World. The site regularly publishes the writing of prominent white supremacists and fascists...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Alice Ollstein, now of Politico: "The Supreme Court put on hold Friday night a Louisiana law that would have shut down any abortion provider in the state that does not have admitting privileges at a hospital less than 30 miles away. Abortion providers, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, had petitioned the court for an emergency stay, saying the law, due to take effect Monday, would leave just one qualified abortion provider to practice in the state. The state contended there was no need for an emergency stay since the law would be implemented over time and not shut down facilities overnight. The court's stay, ordered by Justice Samuel Alito, noted that it was not a sign of any of the justices' views on the merits of the law, and merely a means of giving them more time to consider it. The law was passed in 2014 but never took effect after lower courts issued injunctions. But the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law in September, ruling it did not create a burden for women and was not likely to result in clinics closing."
Presidential Race 2020
Chelsea Janes & Dave Wiegel of the Washington Post: "Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said Friday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president, adding his name to a growing and increasingly diversified field of 2020 candidates intent on taking on President Trump. Booker made his announcement via an email and video to supporters." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... What America Needs are More "Hopeful Aphorisms." David Gutman of the Seattle Times: "With protesters outside, Howard Schultz pitched a hometown Seattle audience on his proposed 'centrist independent' bid for the presidency, calling for the country to 'come together' and move beyond partisan politics. The ex-Starbucks CEO's appearance, technically part of a nationwide book tour to promote [a book he wrote] is one of about a dozen planned as he crisscrosses the nation over the next six weeks, gauging support for a potential presidential run. And Thursday's event ... felt more like a tense book promotion than a campaign event. Schultz made no policy proposals, instead discussing his background and his Starbucks career, offering hopeful aphorisms about the country's ability to come together." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... The Spoiler. Change Research: "Change Research conducted a poll from January 31-February 1 of 1,338 likely 2020 general election voters to assess former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's potential independent candidacy for President in 2020.... Among those who have an opinion, just 4% view him favorably compared to 40% unfavorably -- 10:1 unfavorable to favorable ratio, far higher than any other candidate tested (for comparison, 52% of respondents rate President Trump unfavorably vs. 42% favorably). Schultz is viewed unfavorably by Democrats (50% unfavorable -- 4% favorable), Republicans (43% unfavorable -- 4% favorable), and Independents (31% unfavorable -- 4% favorable).... Schultz takes an average of four points away from what the Democratic candidate receives in a two-way race, while taking just 1% away from Donald Trump. That means Schultz&'s presence in the race makes Trump's margins between 2 and 4 points better than they would be without him in the race. In every three-way matchup [tested] except against Biden (who leads both candidates), President Trump has plurality support." ...
... "A Total Idiot." DJ Judd of CNN: "Sen. Sherrod Brown on Friday dismissed a possible independent presidential campaign from Howard Schultz.... While talking with voters in Iowa's Dallas County after a farmers' roundtable, the Ohio Democrat, who's also considering a presidential bid, introduced himself to a voter who expressed concern about dark money in politics. 'Yeah, I mean you got this idiot Schultz running, maybe,' Brown replied. 'He's an idiot. I mean, he's a total idiot.'"
Astead Herndon of the New York Times: "Senator Elizabeth Warren has tried to put a nagging controversy behind her by apologizing privately to a leader of the Cherokee Nation for her decision to take a DNA test to prove her Native American ancestry last year, a move that had angered some tribal leaders and ignited a significant political backlash. But mixed reactions among prominent Native American critics Friday suggested that Ms. Warren might still have further to go. Some Native American leaders gave her credit for the apology and political figures, for the most part, played down the issue. But others remain unsatisfied."
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