Thanksgiving Day 2018

Migrant Caravan Arrives in Massachusetts, 1620:

     ... Mayhem ensues. Say, maybe Trump is right. Oh wait. The migrant caravans traveling from Central to North America today are made up mostly of people with at least some indigenous heritage. Sorry, White Man, you ignorant parvenu, your family just got off the boat; the migrants' families got here first. Way first.

What was on the table at the first Thanksgiving? Uh, no mashed potatoes & cranberry sauce. No wheat-based bread stuffing and no pumpkin pies:

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. -- Edward Winslow, in a letter to a friend in England

And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. -- Gov. William Bradford, on the immigrants' foodstores in 1621

Syracuse Post-Standard Editors: "Fifty-five years ago today, three shots rang out in Dallas, Texas, killing President John F. Kennedy as he rode in a motorcade.... Thanksgiving would not come for another six days, but Kennedy had already issued the customary presidential proclamation on Nov. 4, 1963. We publish it again in honor of the fallen president and the national holiday we gather today to celebrate." ...

Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings -- let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals -- and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world. -- John F. Kennedy's November 1963 proclamation, in part

The Last Real Presidential Thanksgiving:

The Obama family serve Thanksgiving dinner to military retirees in Washington, D.C., November 24, 2016.

McDonald's employees have the day off,* so Trump must turn to a more traditional repast:

... Actually, many fast food chains, including McDonalds, are open on Thanksgiving Day. Newsweek has a list, tho you should check with your local chain of preference before you go out.

Commander-in-Chief* Shares His Thanksgiving Thoughts about Troops He Stuck at the U.S.-Mexico Border in a Pre-election Stunt:

Don't worry about their Thanksgiving. These are tough people. They know what they're doing and they're great.... You're so worrked about the Thanksgiving holiday for them. They are so proud to be representing our country on the border. -- Donald Trump, answering a reporter's question on his way to a holiday break at Mar-a-Lago

The Truth about Ben Franklin. And Advice for Cooking a Tender Turkey. Michael Rosenwald of the Washington Post: "Benjamin Franklin ... had a misunderstood, electric and ultimately homicidal relationship with turkeys.... Going back more than 100 years, many Americans ... have genuinely believed that Franklin thought so highly of turkeys that he wanted one to serve as the country's national bird and symbol.... [In] a letter Franklin sent his daughter ... he wrote: 'For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen as the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly.' As for the turkey, Franklin wrote that it 'was a much more respectable Bird.'... But the letter itself -- and in its entirety -- had nothing to do with the national seal. Franklin, a known jokester, was ... attempt[ing] to denigrate the seal of a hereditary club called the Society of the Cincinnati. 'The joke,' according to the Harvard project, 'is based in the idea that the Society's symbol appeared to some to look more like a turkey than an eagle.' Guess you had to be there.... Decades before Franklin was [supposedly] extolling the virtues of turkeys, he was electrocuting them to test the power of electricity.... 'I conceit,' he wrote, 'that the Birds kill'd in this Manner eat uncommonly tender.'"

A Shameful Thanksgiving Dinner at the Old Homestead Steakhouse in Manhattan:

If you're eating a more modest meal at home with family & friends, Conor Friedersdorf of the Atlantic has "13 Easy Tips for Politicizing Your Thanksgiving Dinner."

*****

Afternoon Update:

Trump Celebrates Thanksgiving ...

... by Threatening All Migrants. Michael Burke of the Hill: "President Trump on Thursday threatened to close off the southern border, telling reporters that he would 'close entry into the country' if immigration gets 'uncontrollable.' 'If we find that it gets to a level where we're going to lose control or people are going to start getting hurt, we will close entry into the country for a period of time until we can get it under control,' he said. Trump added that he meant the 'whole border,' though he appeared to be referring only to the southern border. 'We're either going to have a border or we're not,' he said, adding that Mexico wouldn't "be able to sell their cars" into the U.S. Trump also claimed that the U.S. closed the border earlier this week, though it was unclear what he was referring to. Earlier this week traffic lanes near a key port of entry in San Diego were temporarily shut down. 'Two days ago, we closed the border. We actually just closed it,' Trump said. "We said, "Nobody's coming in." Because it's out of control.'" ...

... but by Pardoning a Multi-Billionaire Murderer. Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIA's assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had 'feelings' but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. 'He denies it vehemently,' Trump said of the crown prince. He said his own conclusion was that 'maybe he did, maybe he didn't.'" ...

... by Threatening to Shut Down the Government. Roberta Rampton of Reuters: "... Donald Trump warned on Thursday there could be a government shutdown next month over security on the border with Mexico, suggesting he could hold up a funding deal if no more money is provided for a wall between the two countries." ...

... by Politicizing the Military. Jeremy Diamond & Kate Sullivan of CNN: "... Donald Trump struck a nakedly political tone during a Thanksgiving call with US service members stationed around the world as he steered the conversation toward controversial political topics. Speaking with a US general in Afghanistan, Trump likened the fight against terrorists to his efforts to prevent a group of migrants from illegally entering the United States, and he assailed federal judges who have ruled against his administration. The President also pressed the commanding officer of a Coast Guard ship in Bahrain on trade before touting his trade policies and arguing that 'every nation in the world is taking advantage of us.' US Presidents have traditionally called troops stationed abroad during the holidays to boost morale and remind the country of their service, making Trump's rhetoric yet another striking break from the norms of presidential behavior." ...

... by Dissing the Judiciary Again. Vanessa Romo of NPR: "As of Thursday morning, President Trump was still ruminating on a rare upbraiding from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, continuing attacks against the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and calling it 'a complete & total disaster.' 'It is out of control, has a horrible reputation,' Trump wrote on Twitter. He insisted judges 'know nothing' about security and safety issues along the border and alleged they are 'making our Country unsafe.' He also said 'there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death' unless law enforcement can 'DO THEIR JOB.'... A few hours later during a televised teleconference with members of the military, Trump again bashed the San Francisco-based court. 'We get a lot of bad court decisions from the Ninth Circuit, which has become a big thorn in our side,' he said. 'It's a terrible thing when judges take over your protective services, when they tell you how to protect your border. It's a disgrace.'"

... by Saying He's Thankful for Himself. Aris Folley of the Hill: "... when asked by reporters what he is grateful for on Thanksgiving, [Trump said,] 'I've made a tremendous difference in the country.... This country's so much stronger than it was when I took office and you wouldn't believe it. I mean you see it, but [it's] so much stronger that people can't even believe it.... When I see foreign leaders, they say, "We cannot believe the difference in strength between the United States now and the United States two years ago.'."

*****

Donald the Dimwit. Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming? -- Donald Trump, in a tweet yesterday afternoon

In my over three decades of teaching, I have never had a student dumb enough to make the kind of inference Trump is making in this tweet. -- Shibley Telhami, former adviser to the Bush & Obama administrations ...

... "Trump Confuses Climate Change with Weather, Prompting Widespread Despair." Independent: "Donald Trump has once again confused the weather with climate change.... The 72-year-old has long denied the scientific consensus on climate change, claiming in 2012 the phenomenon was a Chinese hoax intended to hurt American exports. Scientists generally prefer the term 'climate change' to 'global warming' because the effects of humans emitting heat-trapping greenhouse gases are more likely to manifest as extreme weather events rather than temperature increases alone. Mr Trump has rejected that distinction as a distraction by the 'dollar sucking wiseguys'[.]... Thirteen minutes after his initial tweet, Mr Trump followed it up with a rambling and inaccurate claim he was being blamed by the media for traffic jams. 'You just can't win with the Fake News Media,' Mr Trump wrote. 'A big story today is that because I have pushed so hard and gotten Gasoline Prices so low, more people are driving and I have caused traffic jams throughout our Great Nation. Sorry everyone!' US media has [Mrs. McC: have!] widely reported on possible record numbers of travellers over Thanksgiving this weekend, but The Independent could find no cases of outlets blaming the president for traffic congestion."

Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Less than a day after drawing bipartisan ire for appearing to let Saudi Arabia off the hook for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi..., Donald Trump ... tweet[ed] thanks to [Saudi Arabia] for falling oil prices. 'Oil prices getting lower. Great! Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! $54, was just $82,' he said. 'Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let's go lower!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Speaking of Going Lower. Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump sparked an immediate backlash on Twitter early Wednesday after he thanked Saudi Arabia for helping lower global oil prices. Hundreds of tweeters expressed incredulity at Trump's post, which came a day after his bizarre statement that the U.S. would remain a 'steadfast partner' of Saudi Arabia ― even if Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the brutal slaying of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi." ...

... Ali Kucukgocmen of Reuters: "Turkey accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to turn a blind eye to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, and dismissed comments from ... Donald Trump on the issue as 'comic'.... 'It is not possible for an intelligence agency such as the CIA, which even knows the color of the fur on the cat walking around the Saudi consulate's garden ... to not know who gave this order'..., said ... Numan Kurtulmus, the deputy chairman of President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party." ...

... ** "Trump Gives Guidance to Autocrats." Mark Mazzetti & Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: Trump's "633-word statement on Tuesday about the brutal killing of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi showed the extent to which he believes that raw, mercantilist calculations should guide the United States' decisions about the Middle East and the wider world. Tuesday's message could become something of a blueprint for foreign leaders -- a guide to how they might increase their standing in the eyes of the American president as well as how far they can go in crushing domestic critics without raising American ire.... It was also a revealing meditation on the role that Mr. Trump believes facts should play in political decision-making.... The president dismissed not only [the CIA's] assessment but also the very process of seeking the truth, implying that it did not really matter anyway." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... "Maybe He did and Maybe He Didn't!" Won't Fly. Burgess Everett of Politico: "The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is demanding a definitive determination from ... Donald Trump about whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In a letter to Trump, the panel's chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), and ranking member, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), specifically asked on Tuesday whether the administration believed that bin Salman was involved in the murder of Khashoggi.... Under the Magnitsky Act, Trump can be required to make a determination about human rights violations by global leaders. The law requires the president to do so within 120 days of the committee's request, as well as apply any sanctions. Corker and Menendez made their first request on Oct. 10, without specifically asking about bin Salman.... Corker and Menendez's first sanctions inquiry citing the Magnitsky Act ultimately resulted in the administration's sanctioning 17 Saudi Arabian officials following Khashoggi's death." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Charles Pierce: "In the last week, [Trump] has attacked a heroic U.S. admiral who commanded the raid that rid the world of Osama bin Laden, and he did so while William McRaven is fighting leukemia. He did so because McRaven was mean to him. Now, he's letting MBS off the hook, and putting American lives at risk all over the globe, because the Saudis kiss his ass and throw some business his way. And 30 percent of our fellow citizens are fine with this. Elijah Cummings can't get that subpoena power soon enough."

Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday finally submitted a set of written responses to Robert Mueller, signaling that he was done for good with the special counsel's questions. But Mueller is far from done with him. The special counsel still wants to question the president over his actions while in the White House -- Tuesday's answers only covered Russian hacking during the 2016 election. It's a fight that could resul in a historic subpoena and eventual Supreme Court ruling.... Next comes the perilous round of negotiations between Trump's lawyers and Mueller's prosecutors covering topics like Trump's intentions when firing FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. That line of questioning -- which Trump says he shouldn't have to answer -- is tied to Mueller's ongoing obstruction of justice investigation." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Eric Tucker, et al., of the AP: "The date had been picked, the location too, and the plan was penciled in: ... Donald Trump would be whisked from the White House to Camp David on a quiet winter Saturday to answer questions from special counsel Robert Mueller's team. But as the Jan. 27, 2018, date neared and Mueller provided the topics he wanted to discuss, Trump's lawyers balked. Attorney John Dowd then fired off a searing letter disputing Mueller's authority to question the president. The interview was off.... Through private letters, tense meetings and considerable public posturing, the president's lawyers have engaged in a tangled, tortured back-and-forth with the special counsel to prevent the president from sitting down for a face-to-face with enormous political and legal consequences.... [Even as Trump said publicly that he really wanted to sit for an interview,] what he didn't mention was that his attorneys had already discussed, and scuttled, the planned interview with Mueller." ...

... Bart Jansen & Steve Reilly of USA Today (Nov. 20): "... Donald Trump's administration released details of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker's past income and financial holdings ... after watchdog groups complained the information was months overdue.... Whitaker revised the filing five times after being named [acting AG]. Austin Evers, executive director for the advocacy group American Oversight, which called for the release of the document, said Congress should investigate the changes." ...

... Curt Devine, et al., of CNN: "An independent federal investigative agency is looking into whether acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker violated prohibitions on political activities by federal employees by accepting contributions to his 2014 Senate campaign earlier this year. Last January and February, when Whitaker served as chief of staff at the Department of Justice, four individuals donated a total of $8,800 to the committee for Whitaker's unsuccessful 2014 run for a Senate seat in Iowa, according to Federal Election Commission records. Austin Evers, the executive director of the watchdog organization American Oversight, told CNN his group submitted a complaint to the Office of Special Counsel that argued Whitaker may have violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from accepting political contributions. A spokesperson for the Office of Special Counsel confirmed receipt of the complaint and said a case file on the matter has been opened." ...

... Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III asked a federal judge Wednesday to order George Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser to President Trump, to start serving time in prison on Monday as scheduled. Papadopoulos's lawyers had asked U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss to allow Papadopoulos to delay his two-week prison sentence while a constitutional challenge to Mueller's appointment filed in a separate case in Washington is resolved. But Mueller's team responded that Papadopoulos waived his rights to appeal when he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and that he had failed to file his request in a timely fashion."

Even CJ John Roberts Has Has Enough. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defended the independence and integrity of the federal judiciary on Wednesday, issuing a statement rebuking President Trump's criticism of a judge who had ruled against the administration's asylum policy. The chief justice seemed particularly offended by Mr. Trump's assertion that Judge Jon S. Tigar, of the United States District Court in San Francisco, was 'an Obama judge.' Chief Justice Roberts said that was a profound misunderstanding of the judicial role. 'We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,' he said in a statement. 'What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.' Later in the afternoon, the president responded. 'Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have "Obama judges," and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country,' he said, before again lashing out at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco." ...

     ... Adam Liptak (Nov. 20): "President Trump lashed out on Tuesday against the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco, calling it a lawless disgrace and threatening unspecified retaliation. 'That's not law,' he said of the court's rulings. ]Every case that gets filed in the Ninth Circuit we get beaten.' 'It's a disgrace,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump's remarks came after a federal trial judge ordered the administration to resume accepting asylum claims from migrants no matter where or how they entered the United States. The ruling was issued by Judge Jon S. Tigar, of the United States District Court in San Francisco, and not by the Ninth Circuit itself.... 'This was an Obama judge,' Mr. Trump said of Judge Tigar, who was indeed appointed by President Barack Obama.... Mr. Trump vowed to take steps to address his unhappiness with the court. 'I'll tell you what,' he said, 'it's not going to happen like this anymore.' But it was not clear what he proposed to do. 'The Ninth Circuit is really something we have to take a look at because it's not fair,' he said. 'People should not be allowed to immediately run to this very friendly circuit and file their case.'" ...

... Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "If anybody actually believed what Roberts pretends to believe Merrick Garland would be on the Court right now. What he wants is for you not to call his political opinions political. Judge him by his actions, not his words."

Tara Copp of Military Times: "The White House late Tuesday signed a memo allowing troops stationed at the border to engage in some law enforcement roles and use lethal force, if necessary --- a move that legal experts have cautioned may run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act. The new 'cabinet order' was signed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, not ... Donald Trump. It allows 'Department of Defense military personnel' to 'perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary' to protect border agents, including 'a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention. and cursory search.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

Trump, supposedly writing his "American carnage" speech at Mar-a-Lago, January 2017.     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Excuse me. Since when can the White House chief-of-staff direct military operations, including those that may violate existing law? Kelly himself did receive Senate approval for his previous job as Director of Homeland Security, and he is a former Marine general, but he has retired from that position. His present position as chief-of-staff does not require Senate confirmation nor -- as far as I know -- give him authority over the military. Is Jim Mattis, the Secretary of Defense, going to put up with this? Or is the idea to get Mattis to resign in protest? And let's not pretend Trump can't sign anything because he's on vacation. They have pens at Mar-a-Lago. ...

     ... Update. Wesley Morgan of Politico: "The 5,800 active-duty troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border will remain mostly unarmed and won't expand their duties to arresting migrants, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Wednesday -- despite a new White House order giving him discretion to provide new types of protection to Border Patrol agents. 'I'm reviewing that now,' Mattis said of the order. But he added: 'We are not doing law enforcement. We do not have arrest authority.'... The new order ... does not give new tasks to the military but allows Mattis to expand the troops' duties if Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen requests it.... 'We'll decide if it's appropriate for the military, and at that point, things like Posse Comitatus obviously are in play,' Mattis said. 'We'll stay in strict accordance with the law.'"...

... Spencer Ackerman & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "When the Department of Homeland Security requested the so-called force protection mission [last month] from the Pentagon, Mattis declined because he thought he lacked the authority to do so, [an] official said.... Homeland Security went above Mattis' head in order to get Donald Trump's chief of staff to secure for them the potentially lethal military force for which immigration hardliners in the administration had clamored."

Elana Schor, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this week to press for action on a criminal justice measure that has long divided McConnell's GOP, according to three sources familiar with the conversation. Trump's Tuesday call to McConnell comes as the criminal justice bill creates tension within the Senate Republican caucus, with Arkansas' Tom Cotton repeatedly slamming legislation supported by multiple senior GOP colleagues. The intra-party schism underscores McConnell's long-running reluctance to spend a week or more of floor time on a criminal justice proposal that splits his party -- despite winning the president's vocal endorsement."

Butt Out, Mrs. Huckleberry. Kathy Kiely & Mike McCurry in a Washington Post op-ed: "While backing out of what was shaping up to be a titanic legal fight over the First Amendment, the [Trump] administration never backed off the notion -- expressed in a Justice Department brief -- that the president has 'broad discretion to regulate access to the White House for journalists.' Rather, President Trump seemed to double down on this sweeping assertion, announcing through his press secretary new rules of decorum for reporters on the White House beat.... Limiting press questioning harms the press, the public and, potentially, the president.... Since the late 1800s, Congress has pointedly butted out of decisions about who gets credentials to cover its proceedings, turning over the duties instead to a Standing Committee of Correspondents.... Why should that not be the same model at the White House?... Decisions about White House access should be in the hands of security and media professionals, not political appointees."

But the E-mails! Caitlin Oprysko: "A pair of Republican committee heads have requested information from the White House regarding Ivanka Trump's use of a personal email account to conduct official business throughout her time in the administration. In a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) asked that the administration provide his committee with an accounting of Ivanka's email use for government business, including details on whether the White House had complied with security and record-keeping requirements as laid out by the Presidential Records Act, and whether Trump, a senior adviser to her father, had sent any sensitive or classified information over her personal email. Gowdy noted that while his committee opened an investigation in 2017 into White House staffers' use of personal emails and encrypted devices to conduct official business, the White House had yet to update his committee on the findings of an internal review.... The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday also wrote to the White House asking for details about Ivanka’s email use and any training she received regarding compliance with record-keeping statutes. Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and ranking member Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wrote to White House counsel Emmet Flood to request information that would help the committee determine 'the extent to which Mrs. Trump's use of personal email for official business was intentional and substantial versus inadvertent and de minimis.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: Donald Trump is losing in the courts. "As Fred Barbash noted a few weeks ago in the Washington Post, 'by a very rough count, 40 to 50 federal judges have weighed in against the Trump administration in cases.' This is not, as Barbash observes, because these are all a bunch of demented 'judicial activists,' as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions once attempted to argue. Nor are they the 'judges of the Resistance.'... A good many of these jurists were appointed by Republican presidents and in some cases Trump himself. No, the Trump administration is still managing to lose a tremendous amount of its lawsuits despite the fact that the judicial branch has changed dramatically in the past two years and the Supreme Court itself now tilts to the political right.... Trump loses so much at least partially because his administration must often contort itself into absurd postures to justify policies enacted by random tweet (as was the trans ban) or by vengeful tantrum (as was the sanctuary cities policy) or without proper procedures (the asylum changes).... Trump also loses whenever courts take his tweeting or offhand comments into account, because they often undermine or even contradict stated legal arguments.... To be sure, there is still a great deal to be worried about." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tess Bonn of the Hill: "Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Tuesday that House Republicans plan to hear testimony on Dec. 5 from the prosecutor appointed by former Attorney General to probe alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation. Meadows, who is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, told Hill.TV's 'Rising' that it's time to 'circle back' to U.S. Attorney John Huber's investigation with the Justice Department into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged any improper activities." (Also linked yesterday.)

CBS/AP: "The Los Angeles district attorney declined to prosecute attorney Michael Avenatti on felony domestic abuse charges on Wednesday and referred allegations that he roughed up his girlfriend to the city attorney for a possible misdemeanor case. Avenatti, 47, was arrested on a felony domestic violence charge last week after his girlfriend told police he abused her at his Los Angeles apartment following an argument. A restraining order against Avenatti was issued after actress Mareli Miniutti said he dragged her across the floor of his Los Angeles apartment after an argument. She wrote in a sworn statement that Avenatti shouted expletives, told her she was 'ungrateful' and 'forcefully' hit her in the face with bed pillows. Avenatti, who had called the allegations 'completely false' and a fabrication, said in a statement he was thankful the district attorney had rejected the charges. 'I have maintained my innocence since the moment of my arrest,' he said.... 'This Thanksgiving,' he said, 'I am especially grateful for justice.'"

The Commentariat -- Nov. 21, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** "Trump Gives Guidance to Autocrats." Mark Mazzetti & Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: Trump's "633-word statement on Tuesday about the brutal killing of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi showed the extent to which he believes that raw, mercantilist calculations should guide the United States' decisions about the Middle East and the wider world. Tuesday's message could become something of a blueprint for foreign leaders -- a guide to how they might increase their standing in the eyes of the American president as well as how far they can go in crushing domestic critics without raising American ire.... It was also a revealing meditation on the role that Mr. Trump believes facts should play in political decision-making.... The president dismissed not only [the CIA's] assessment but also the very process of seeking the truth, implying that it did not really matter anyway." ...

... "Maybe He did and Maybe He Didn't!" Won't Fly. Burgess Everett of Politico: "The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is demanding a definitive determination from ... Donald Trump about whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In a letter to Trump, the panel's chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), and ranking member, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), specifically asked on Tuesday whether the administration believed that bin Salman was involved in the murder of Khashoggi.... Under the Magnitsky Act, Trump can be required to make a determination about human rights violations by global leaders. The law requires the president to do so within 120 days of the committee's request, as well as apply any sanctions. Corker and Menendez made their first request on Oct. 10, without specifically asking about bin Salman.... Corker and Menendez's first sanctions inquiry citing the Magnitsky Act ultimately resulted in the administration's sanctioning 17 Saudi Arabian officials following Khashoggi's death." ...

... Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Less than a day after drawing bipartisan ire for appearing to let Saudi Arabia off the hook for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi..., Donald Trump ... tweet[ed] thanks to [Saudi Arabia] for falling oil prices. 'Oil prices getting lower. Great! Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! $54, was just $82,' he said. 'Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let's go lower!'" ...

     ... Speaking of Going Lower. Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump sparked an immediate backlash on Twitter early Wednesday after he thanked Saudi Arabia for helping lower global oil prices. Hundreds of tweeters expressed incredulity at Trump’s post, which came a day after his bizarre statement that the U.S. would remain a 'steadfast partner' of Saudi Arabia ― even if Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the brutal slaying of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi."

Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday finally submitted a set of written responses to Robert Mueller, signaling that he was done for good with the special counsel's questions. But Mueller is far from done with him. The special counsel still wants to question the president over his actions while in the White House -- Tuesday's answers only covered Russian hacking during the 2016 election. It's a fight that could result in a historic subpoena and eventual Supreme Court ruling.... Next comes the perilous round of negotiations between Trump's lawyers and Mueller's prosecutors covering topics like Trump's intentions when firing FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. That line of questioning -- which Trump says he shouldn't have to answer -- is tied to Mueller's ongoing obstruction of justice investigation."

Tara Copp of Military Times: "The White House late Tuesday signed a memo allowing troops stationed at the border to engage in some law enforcement roles and use lethal force, if necessary -- a move that legal experts have cautioned may run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act. The new 'cabinet order' was signed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, not ... Donald Trump. It allows 'Department of Defense military personnel' to 'perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary' to protect border agents, including 'a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention. and cursory search.'" ...

Trump, supposedly writing his "American carnage" speech at Mar-a-Lago, January 2017.     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Excuse me. Since when can the White House chief-of-staff direct military operations, including those that may violate existing law? Kelly himself did receive Senate approval for his previous job as Director of Homeland Security, and he is a former Marine general, but he has retired from that position. His present position as chief-of-staff does not require Senate confirmation nor -- as far as I know -- give him authority over the military. Is Jim Mattis, the Secretary of Defense, going to put up with this? Or is the idea to get Mattis to resign in protest? And let's not pretend Trump can't sign anything because he's on vacation. They have pens at Mar-a-Lago.

But the E-mails! Caitlin Oprysko: "A pair of Republican committee heads have requested information from the White House regarding Ivanka Trump's use of a personal email account to conduct official business throughout her time in the administration. In a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) asked that the administration provide his committee with an accounting of Ivanka's email use for government business, including details on whether the White House had complied with security and record-keeping requirements as laid out by the Presidential Records Act, and whether Trump, a senior adviser to her father, had sent any sensitive or classified information over her personal email. Gowdy noted that while his committee opened an investigation in 2017 into White House staffers' use of personal emails and encrypted devices to conduct official business, the White House had yet to update his committee on the findings of an internal review.... The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday also wrote to the White House asking for details about Ivanka's email use and any training she received regarding compliance with record-keeping statutes. Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and ranking member Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wrote to White House counsel Emmet Flood to request information that would help the committee determine 'the extent to which Mrs. Trump's use of personal email for official business was intentional and substantial versus inadvertent and de minimis.'"

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: Donald Trump is losing in the courts. "As Fred Barbash noted a few weeks ago in the Washington Post, 'by a very rough count, 40 to 50 federal judges have weighed in against the Trump administration in cases.' This is not, as Barbash observes, because these are all a bunch of demented 'judicial activists,' as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions once attempted to argue. Nor are they the 'judges of the Resistance.'... A good many of these jurists were appointed by Republican presidents and in some cases Trump himself. No, the Trump administration is still managing to lose a tremendous amount of its lawsuits despite the fact that the judicial branch has changed dramatically in the past two years and the Supreme Court itself now tilts to the political right.... Trump loses so much at least partially because his administration must often contort itself into absurd postures to justify policies enacted by random tweet (as was the trans ban) or by vengeful tantrum (as was the sanctuary cities policy) or without proper procedures (the asylum changes).... Trump also loses whenever courts take his tweeting or offhand comments into account, because they often undermine or even contradict stated legal arguments.... To be sure, there is still a great deal to be worried about."

Tess Bonn of the Hill: "Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Tuesday that House Republicans plan to hear testimony on Dec. 5 from the prosecutor appointed by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to probe alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation. Meadows who is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, told Hill.TV's 'Rising' that it's time to 'circle back' to U.S. Attorney John Huber's investigation with the Justice Department into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged any improper activities."

*****

This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.

** Banana Republic, U.S. Edition. Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump told the White House counsel in the spring that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute two of his political adversaries: his 2016 challenger, Hillary Clinton, and the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with the conversation. The lawyer, Donald F. McGahn II, rebuffed the president, saying that he had no authority to order a prosecution. Mr. McGahn said that while he could request an investigation, that too could prompt accusations of abuse of power. To underscore his point, Mr. McGahn had White House lawyers write a memo for Mr. Trump warning that if he asked law enforcement to investigate his rivals, he could face a range of consequences, including possible impeachment. The encounter was one of the most blatant examples yet of how Mr. Trump views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies. It took on additional significance in recent weeks when Mr. McGahn left the White House and Mr. Trump appointed a relatively inexperienced political loyalist, Matthew G. Whitaker, as the acting attorney general." ...

... Pamela Brown, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump on multiple occasions raised with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Matt Whitaker, who was then-chief of staff to Jeff Sessions, whether the Justice Department was progressing in investigating Hillary Clinton, according to a source familiar with the matter. The President also wanted his previous White House counsel, Don McGahn, to ask the Justice Department to prosecute Clinton on numerous occasions, but McGahn rebuffed doing that, the source said. Anticipating the question about Clinton would be raised, Whitaker came prepared to answer with what Justice was doing on Clinton-related matters, including the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One investigations, the source said. The source added that Whitaker was trying to appease the President, but did not seem to cross any line." ...

... David Corn of Mother Jones: "... there is someone in Trump's circle who has long been an advocate of prosecuting Clinton: Matt Whitaker.... In July 2016, after Comey announced that he would recommend no criminal charges be filed against Clinton..., Whitaker ... noted during a radio interview that Clinton ought to have been prosecuted. And he raised the prospect of Clinton being charged by a next administration, assuming it was not hers.... Two months later, appearing on Fox Business Channel as a pundit, Whitaker indicated he believed that if Trump won, his administration should reboot the Clinton email case.... In a May 2017 radio appearance, Whitaker essentially called for a special counsel to investigate Clinton...." ...

Carol Leonnig & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "President Trump's attorneys on Tuesday submitted his written answers to a series of questions from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about Trump's knowledge of Russia's interference in the 2016 campaign and its efforts to assist his 2016 White House bid. The inquiries only include a portion of the questions that Mueller has sought to pose to Trump for nearly a year, when he first requested an interview with president. The topics cover activities during the campaign and do not delve into questions about whether Trump has sought to obstruct the probe into Russian interference." ...

... Andrew Prokop of Vox outlines the drama that went into Trump's finally answering a limited set of questions.

Matt's Mystery Money. Robert O'Harrow, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the three years after he arrived in Washington in 2014, Matthew G. Whitaker received more than $1.2 million as the leader of a charity that reported having no other employees, some of the best pay of his career. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust described itself as a new watchdog nonprofit dedicated to exposing unethical conduct by public officials. For Whitaker, it became a lucrative steppingstone in a swift rise from a modest law practice in Iowa to the nation's top law enforcement job. As FACT's president, he regularly appeared on radio and television, often to skewer liberals. But FACT's origins and the source of funding used to pay Whitaker -- now the acting attorney general -- remain obscured. An examination of state and federal records, and interviews with those involved, show that the group is part of a national network of nonprofits that often work in concert to amplify conservative messages. Contrary to its claims in news releases and a tax filing, the group was created under a different name two years before Whitaker's arrival, according to incorporation and IRS records. At least two of the organizers were involved in another conservative charity using the same address." ...

... Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate's top Democrat has asked the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker's communications with the White House, over concerns that he might have shared secret information from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation with President Trump. In a letter to DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked him to open a formal probe into whether there have been any 'unlawful or improper communications' between Whitaker and the White House during his service as former attorney general Jeff Sessions's chief of staff, when he was in regular touch with Trump and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly. In particular, Schumer said he was concerned that as acting attorney general, Whitaker could share 'confidential grand jury or investigative information from the Special Counsel investigation or any criminal investigation.' Schumer also wants Horowitz to investigate whether Whitaker 'provided any assurance to the President, White House officials, or others regarding steps he or others may take with regard to the Special Counsel investigation, including any intention to interfere, obstruct, or refuse authorization of subpoenas or other investigative steps.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As you may recall, last week Trump tweeted that "The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess. They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts." How would Trump know about "the inner workings of the Mueller investigation" unless somebody with knowledge of those "inner workings" told him? ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: One possible upside to the Trumpster Dumpster presidency -- ethical practices that have served as norms may be codified into laws that constrict presidential and administrative stunts. Natasha Bertrand of the Atlantic: "John Dean, who served as Nixon's White House counsel..., told me that 'following Nixon, it became a post-Watergate norm that the White House stayed out of DOJ business. Trump ignores all norms.' So, following his presidency, Dean said, those norms 'will probably become law.'" Of course the Kavanaugh Court could easily decimate any ethics laws that apply to the president.

Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much. -- Donald Trump, 2015 ...

... Blood and Money. Trump Ignores Intelligence Assessment. Nicole Gaouette & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "... Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he will not take strong action against Saudi Arabia or its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the death and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.... In an exclamation-mark laden statement subtitled 'America First!' Trump said that 'our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event -- maybe he did and maybe he didn't!' 'That being said,' Trump continued, 'we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran.' Trump is expected to receive a CIA assessment on Khashoggi's murder later on Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Note that Trump made his announcement before he reviewed his own agencies' assessment. I guess he also has a natural instinct for spy stuff. BTW, other than the likelihood somebody ran a spellcheck on Trump's statement, it sounds very Trumpy. I can believe he wrote it himself. ...

     ... ** Update. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Trump defied his intelligence agencies and ample circumstantial evidence to declare his unswerving loyalty to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, asserting that the crown prince's culpability for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi might never be known.... In its 631 words in eight paragraphs, punctuated by seven exclamation points and a casual style that sounded like Mr. Trump's off-the-cuff musings, the statement was a cogent summary of the Trump worldview: remorselessly transactional, heedless of allies, determined to put America's interests first and founded on a theory of moral equivalence. His statement, which aides said Mr. Trump dictated himself and reflected his deeply held views, came only days after the C.I.A. concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, an ally of the White House, had authorized the killing of Mr. Khashoggi.... Mr. Trump's words seemed certain to alienate Turkey, which has raised the pressure on Saudi Arabia to offer a full accounting of what happened to Mr. Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. They also drew outrage from lawmakers and human rights activists, for whom the grisly killing has become a test of America's willingness to overlook the crimes of a strategically valuable ally." Read on. Landler is brutal, as well he should be. ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Perhaps anticipating a damning report, Trump released a long, exclamation-point-laden statement preemptively making the case for not punishing Mohammed or his father, King Salman, even if they were involved. It's a remarkable statement that even includes a smear against the slain journalist, while insisting that Trump didn't believe the smear. Below is the statement in full, with our annotations." ...

... Jonathan Chait also parses Trump's statement -- or Statement! Chait's analysis runs to commentary like this: "From there, the statement becomes increasingly deranged." ...

... David Hearst & Daniel Hilton of the Middle East Eye: "Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince are shielding themselves from the Jamal Khashoggi murder scandal by using a roadmap drawn up by the US secretary of state, a senior Saudi source has told Middle East Eye. Mike Pompeo delivered the plan in person during a meeting ... last month in Riyadh, said the source, who is familiar with Pompeo's talks with the Saudi leaders. The plan includes an option to pin the Saudi journalist's murder on an innocent member of the ruling al-Saud family in order to insulate those at the very top, the source told MEE.... The US State Department denied the Saudi source's allegations, and called them 'a complete misrepresentation of the secretary's diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia'." --safari: The report cites only one source, so skepticism is warranted. But WTF was Pompeo during there besides chumming it up and abruptly leaving without discussing any "facts"? ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Also too Middle East Eye is aligned with the Turkish government. But still, as safari writes. ...

... Jeet Heer of the New Republic: "Aside from the comment indicating uncertainty, Trump also repeated smears against the late journalist ('Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an "enemy of the state" and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood'), while appending provisos. ('My decision is in no way based on that -- this is an unacceptable and horrible crime.') Trump also repeated the falsehood that Saudi Arabia has 'agreed to spend and invest $450 billion in the United States,' creating 'hundreds of thousands of jobs.' As former CIA director John Brennan noted, Trump's remarks mean that any accountability in the Khashoggi case will have to come from Congress." ...

... Alexia Campbell of Vox: "... Donald Trump is once again trying to persuade Americans that the United States needs to keep selling war weapons to Saudi Arabia. That hundreds of thousands of US jobs are on the line if he cancels arms sales to the kingdom. Once again, that's not true.... This is Trump's latest attempt to protect the Saudi crown prince (who is also known as MBS) from mounting international backlash over the murder.... There aren't that many American workers making weapons for the Pentagon, much less Saudi Arabia, and MBS isn't buying enough weapons to put a dent in the US economy anyway." Read on for the details. ...

... Washington Post Editors: "In a crude statement punctuated with exclamation points, Mr. Trump sidestepped a CIA finding that the crown prince was behind the killing; casually slandered Mr. Khashoggi, who was one of the Arab world's most distinguished journalists; and repeated gross falsehoods and exaggerations about the benefits of the U.S. alliance with the kingdom. Mr. Trump has betrayed American values in service to what already was a bad bet on the 33-year-old prince. As with Russian President Vladimir Putin's interference in the 2016 election, Mr. Trump is justifying his affinity for a brutal and reckless leader by disregarding the findings of the U.S. intelligence community.... While discounting these facts, Mr. Trump bases his continued backing for the regime on false claims, including his thoroughly debunked boast that Saudi Arabia will 'spend and invest $450 billion' in the United States." ...

... Juan Cole: "Trump’s statement on his policy toward Saudi Arabia in the wake of the murder in Istanbul of dissident Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi brought a profound shame on the United States that will, as FDR put it, live in infamy. Trump began by saying he was putting America first, but that was the last thing he was doing. He was putting his own personal predilections and policies, and perhaps profit, above the interests of the United States. Here are the ways he put America last: 1. Trump did not wait for the final Central Intelligence Agency report on the Khashoggi killing, elements of which were leaked last Thursday.... 2. Trump admitted that the crown prince may be implicated in the murder.... 3. Trump is unbearably transparent about the financial incentives for him to overlook Khashoggi's murder.... 4. Trump is also clear that he is running interference for the crown prince for the sake of Israel and in order to keep together his coalition against Iran.... 5. Trump gave as another reason to wink at Khashoggi's murder ... is a key partner in fighting terrorism." Especially on the last point, Cole's assessment of Trump's "reasoning" is brutal. ...

... When Tom Friedman Is Right: "What is the worst thing about President Trump's approach to foreign policy? Is it that he is utterly amoral or that he is such a chump? Because the combination is terrible -- a president who is an amoral chump is the worst thing of all. He sells out American values -- awful enough -- but then gets nothing of value in return.... Trump gave M.B.S. a pass on Khashoggi's murder for the promise of future arms purchases -- 'the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $450 billion in the United States,' said Trump. That may be the most crass giveaway of U.S. principles by any president in American history, especially when you consider that the Saudis are unlikely to spend even a small fraction of that, and it would not be in our interest or theirs if they did. But even if they did buy so many arms, what is the intangible damage to our moral standing all over the world from such a grotesque blood-for-money transaction?" ...

... MEANWHILE. Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: "Several women's rights activists who have been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for more than six months have been subjected to psychological or physical abuse while in custody, including sleep deprivation and beatings, according to four people familiar with the conditions of the activists' detention. Some of the abuse occurred during interrogations in which several of the women were administered electric shocks or flogged, two of the people said, citing a witness account. Other women displayed what witnesses said were apparent signs of abuse, including uncontrollable shaking or difficulty standing, the people said. The allegations of abuse and torture were impossible to independently confirm.... Amnesty International released a report Tuesday also saying that several of the Saudi activists detained since May have reportedly faced sexual harassment, torture and other forms of mistreatment while being interrogated."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump said Tuesday that he 'can't imagine' anyone other than himself being named Time's Person of the Year.... The publication earlier Tuesday released the results of a reader poll to pick the Person of the Year. Trump finished tied for 13th with 2 percent of the vote, along with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and special counsel Robert Mueller, among others. The top choice was South Korean boy band BTS.... The president claimed in 2017, when he was named runner-up, that he turned down the honor, though the magazine refuted his claim." Mrs. McC: My choice: Nancy Pelosi, who -- remarkably -- never made the cover until September of this year.

Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his daughter's use of a private email account to conduct official business, telling reporters that the controversy was a 'whole different' issue than what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was accused of during her presidential campaign.... 'Ivanka Trump can handle herself.... They are in the historical records, no deletion whatsoever,' the president argued. 'Hillary Clinton deleted 33,000 emails, she had a server in the basement. Ivanka Trump didn't. The calls were not classified, unlike Hillary Clinton, which were classified. It is all fake news.'" ...

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "Last fall, it emerged that six White House aides had used personal email -- including Ivanka Trump's husband, Jared Kushner.... The couple even set up their own email server.... This was the behavior of staffers who, like the president, know quite well that rules exist but are convinced that they are not bound by them.... That's the same charge made against Hillary Clinton. The spokesman for Ivanka Trump's lawyer ... [said,] 'Ms. Trump did not create a private server in her house or office, no classified information was ever included, the account was never transferred at Trump Organization, and no emails were ever deleted.'... But how can the public know whether those claims are true? Clinton also insisted that she had never sent or received classified information, which turned out to be false.... Clinton also relied on her attorneys to sort her emails and hand over the relevant ones. If one thought that was insufficient and raised the specter that she could have hidden (and then deleted) relevant messages -- an entirely defensible view, and one that Donald Trump offered during rallies in 2016 -- it's hard to see why Ivanka Trump's situation is more acceptable."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "An unidentified turkey about to be pardoned by President Trump appeared in the White House press briefing room on Tuesday, surprising the assembled media. The bird quickly put the members of the press at ease, though, by treating them as they'd come to expect in that room: eyeing them skeptically, answering no questions and leaving after only a few minutes. ABC News's Alex Mallin made an interesting observation about the bird's appearance. By stopping by briefly, the turkey had spent more time on the room's podium in front of the media this month than has White House press secretary Sarah Sanders." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Bump's story is inaccurate. The real headline here should have been, "In Historic Reversal, Turkey to Pardon Trump."

Jonathan Chait: "Interactions between the media and the White House are a form of democracy theater. The give-and-take is a tangible and living sign of the fact that in a republic, the president is not a monarch but is simply a citizen like everybody else. In authoritarian regimes, the palpably cowed news media treats leaders with a deference that communicates their inviolable status. Trump's authoritarian instincts and his bullying persona bear directly on his administration's attempts to rein in the media.... Trump is imposing on the media the social terms in which he has always demanded to operate: a culture in which he can berate and bully others, but must be treated in turn with obeisance. The most tangible sign sign of any hierarchical relationship is one in which one of the parties must be polite but the other is free to engage in abuse. A world in which Trump can brush aside cogent questions by calling reporters stupid, and in which they can't even request an answer, would be the opposite of democracy theater. It would conscript the White House press corps into a regular televised performance of Trump's monarchial fantasies." (Also linked yesterday.)

Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to resume accepting asylum claims from migrants no matter where or how they entered the United States, dealing at least a temporary setback to the president's attempt to clamp down on a huge wave of Central Americans crossing the border. Judge Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Court in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order that blocks the government from carrying out a new rule that denies protections to people who enter the country illegally. The order, which suspends the rule until the case is decided by the court, applies nationally." (Also linked yesterday.)

Eric Bradner of CNN: "Former President Barack Obama offered effusive praise of Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday as the Democratic leader faces opposition to her bid for House Speaker. 'I think Nancy Pelosi, when the history is written, will go down as one of the most effective legislative leaders that this country's ever seen,' Obama said at a live taping of 'The Axe Files' podcast.... 'The Axe Files' is hosted by David Axelrod, Obama's former top strategist...." ...

... Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "BREAKING NEWS: Rep. Marcia L. Fudge endorses Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for House speaker, abandons any plans to challenge longtime Democratic leader." See more on Fudge linked earlier under Beyond the Beltway. DeBonis covers Obama's remarks about Pelosi.

Election 2018

Sen. Cindy & friend don rebel caps during Cindy's visit to the Jefferson Davis home in Biloxi. No doubt Cindy has "evolved" a lot since way back in 2014 when she posed for the photo. Look away, look away....Mississippi. James Arkin & Matthew Choi of Politico: "Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Dixie) posed for a photo wearing a Confederate soldier's hat and holding a rifle in a Facebook post that surfaced Tuesday. Hyde-Smith took the photo during a 2014 visit to the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library. 'Mississippi history at its best!' Hyde-Smith exclaimed." Mrs. McC: Mike Espy, a black Democrat, is challenging Hyde-Smith in a special run-off election to be held November 27. Sure would be good for Mississippi if Cindy were gone with the wind after that. ...

... Dan Mangan of CNBC: "AT&T, Leidos and Walmart asked Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi on Tuesday to return their campaign donations after getting criticized for their support of the lawmaker, who had make a joke about attending a hypothetical 'public hanging.'... Two other companies, Union Pacific and Boston Scientific, had already asked for their money back Monday."

Utah. Brady McCombs of the AP: "Democrat Ben McAdams has flipped a U.S. House seat in deep-red Utah, defeating Republican U.S. Rep. Mia Love by fewer than 700 votes in a race that took two weeks to settle. McAdams defeated Love, the first black Republican woman elected to Congress, by a margin just over what would have been needed to require a recount, according to final results posted Tuesday. McAdams' victory adds to the Democratic majority in a year when they have flipped more than three dozen Republican-held seats across the country to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives."

Alexandra Stevenson, et al., of the New York Times: "The stock market's gains for 2018 were erased in early trading on Tuesday, as a sell-off led by giant technology stocks continued. The renewed declines in the United States came after drops in Asia and Europe. The tumble of more than 1 percent in the S&P 500 followed a sell-off in high-flying technology stocks like Google, Apple and Amazon in the United States on Monday, as investors weighed the prospects for increased regulation, trade tension and threats to the profit outlook for the large technology firms that exert a large influence on major market indexes. The pain continued for such companies on Tuesday with Apple and Amazon falling by more than 4 percent in early trading. But a new area of concern also flared up after the retailer Target reported third-quarter sales and profit that missed Wall Street expectations. Target's shares dove by more than 10 percent." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Update. Matt Phillips of the New York Times: "... the S&P 500-stock index turned negative for the year.... The S&P 500 closed on Tuesday at 2,642, down 1.8 percent. Other markets also flashed warnings, with oil dropping by 6.8 percent, falling deeper into bear territory.... The recent market drop is consistent with a potential downshift in the American economy. In 2018, a hefty dose of fiscal stimulus allowed the United States to shake off the growth worries in China, Europe and the rest of the world. It won't have the same potency next year, leaving the American economy vulnerable to a global slowdown."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lisa Ryan of New York: "Megyn Kelly notoriously found herself in big trouble with NBC -- and had her low ratings-plagued Today hour subsequently canceled -- after she decided to defend blackface during a segment on the morning program. On Tuesday afternoon, 'Page Six' reported the former Fox News anchor is close to finalizing an exit deal with NBC. By Tuesday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kelly could be walking away with more than $30 million.... 'Page Six' reports she is already planning her return to television. 'But this is far from the end of her TV career -- in the Trump era, there are few broadcasters like her,' a source told the gossip column. 'Megyn would likely take a short break from TV and return to cable news ahead of the 2020 election.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Congrats all around to the NBC suits. The Kelly hiring & firing were genius.

Beyond the Beltway

Kansas. Karen Zraick of the New York Times: "A white county commissioner in Kansas resigned on Tuesday after an outcry over his use of the term 'master race' in a discussion with a black consultant at a public meeting last week. The commissioner, Louis Klemp of Leavenworth County, made the comments to Triveece Penelton, who works for an architecture and design company, during a land-use meeting on Nov. 13. According to a video recording, Mr. Klemp said to Ms. Penelton: 'I don't want you to think I'm picking on you because we're part of the master race. You know you've got a gap in your teeth. You're the master race. Don't ever forget that.'... 'My attempts at identifying a similarity (space between our teeth) with a presenter were well-meaning but misinterpreted by some and definitely not racially motivated,' [Mr. Klemp claimed later].... The Leavenworth mayor pro tem, Jermaine Wilson, said he did not believe Mr. Klemp's assertion that his comments were not racially motivated. He pointed to another episode last November, when Mr. Klemp made a series of incendiary comments during a meeting about public holidays. He called Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, 'a wonderful part of history' and questioned the holiday for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

Michigan. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Lou Anna K. Simon, the former president of Michigan State University, was charged on Tuesday with two felonies, accused of lying to the police about her knowledge of sexual abuse committed by Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar. Dr. Simon, a longtime professor and administrator, resigned from her role in January amid pressure and claims that the university allowed Dr. Nassar to prey on young women, including many gymnasts, despite warning signs and complaints over many years. Dr. Simon, who also faces two misdemeanor counts, could face up to four years in prison on each of the felony charges."

Mississippi.

... legislation like H.B. 1510 is closer to the old Mississippi -- the Mississippi bent on controlling women and minorities. The Mississippi that, just a few decades ago, barred women from serving on juries 'so they may continue their service as mothers, wives, and homemakers.' -- District Judge Carlton Reeves, in his decision on Jackson Women's Health Organization v. Currier ...

... AP: "A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a Mississippi abortion law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, one of the most restrictive in the United States. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves ruled that the law 'unequivocally' violates women's constitutional rights. 'The record is clear: States may not ban abortions prior to viability,' Reeves said, citing Supreme Court rulings. The only abortion clinic in Mississippi sued when Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed the law March 19, and Reeves issued a temporary restraining order the next day to keep the state from enforcing the law."

     ... Mrs. McC: The ruling, coming a week before the Mississippi Senate runoff, will probably be a boost to Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith. BTW, Reeves is an Obama appointee -- and he's black. Here's my favorite sentence in Wikipedia's page on Reeves, and it might be my all-time favorite Wikipedia sentence: "As a teenager, Reeves cleaned the office of Judge William Henry Barbour, Jr., whom he would later replace on the federal bench." One Mississippi, Two Mississippi.

Ohio. Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: "A disgraced former judge who went to prison for beating his then-wife so severely in 2014 that she required facial reconstructive surgery was taken into custody after she was found slain Saturday morning, Ohio police said. The Shaker Heights Police Department said officers responded to a 911 call at a residence in the morning, prompting them to launch an investigation into Aisha Fraser's killing. Ex-Cuyahoga County judge Lance Mason, Fraser's former husband, was taken into custody, police said. Shaker Heights Police Cmdr. John Cole said Monday morning that the department is 'anticipating charges later today' against Mason, though he was unable to offer additional information. Details about Fraser's killing were also not immediately available; however, Cleveland.com reported that she was fatally stabbed. Un a 911 call obtained by NBC affiliate WKYC, a woman who identifies herself as Mason's sister tells a dispatcher that Mason admitted to stabbing his ex-wife." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Marcia Fudge Will Not Be Speaker of the House. Gary Shaffer of Cleveland.com: "Dozens of people, including four sitting judges, prominent Cleveland attorneys and a congresswoman now considering a bid to become speaker of the House of Representatives, wrote gushing letters of support for former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason after he brutalized his wife in front of their children so badly that her face required reconstructive surgery.... U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge ... said in her letter, which was addressed to visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove in August 2015 ... that ... 'Lance accepts full responsibility for his actions and has assured me that something like this will never happen again.... Lance Mason is a good man who made a very bad mistake. I can only hope that you see in Lance what I and others see.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

BBC: "Interpol has elected South Korean Kim Jong-yang as its president, rejecting the controversial Russian frontrunner. Mr Kim was chosen by Interpol's 194 member states at a meeting of its annual congress in Dubai. He beat Russia's Alexander Prokopchuk, who has been accused of using Interpol's arrest warrant system to target critics of the Kremlin. Russia's critics welcomed his defeat. Moscow blamed it on 'unprecedented pressure and interference'. The election follows the disappearance of Interpol's former president Meng Hongwei, who vanished on a trip to China in September. Beijing has since confirmed he has been detained and is being investigated for allegedly taking bribes."

The Commentariat -- Nov. 20, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Trump Ignores Intelligence Assessment. Nicole Gaouette & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "... Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he will not take strong action against Saudi Arabia or its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the death and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi....In an exclamation-mark laden statement subtitled 'America First!' Trump said that 'our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event -- maybe he did and maybe he didn't!' 'That being said,' Trump continued, 'we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran.' Trump is expected to receive a CIA assessment on Khashoggi's murder later on Tuesday." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Note that Trump made his announcement before he reviewed his own agencies' assessment. I guess he also has a natural instinct for spy stuff. BTW, other than the likelihood somebody ran a spellcheck on Trump's statement, it sounds very Trumpy. I can believe he wrote it himself.

Alexandra Stevenson, et al., of the New York Times: "The stock market's gains for 2018 were erased in early trading on Tuesday, as a sell-off led by giant technology stocks continued. The renewed declines in the United States came after drops in Asia and Europe. The tumble of more than 1 percent in the S&P 500 followed a sell-off in high-flying technology stocks like Google, Apple and Amazon in the United States on Monday, as investors weighed the prospects for increased regulation, trade tension and threats to the profit outlook for the large technology firms that exert a large influence on major market indexes. The pain continued for such companies on Tuesday with Apple and Amazon falling by more than 4 percent in early trading. But a new area of concern also flared up after the retailer Target reported third-quarter sales and profit that missed Wall Street expectations. Target's shares dove by more than 10 percent."

Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to resume accepting asylum claims from migrants no matter where or how they entered the United States, dealing at least a temporary setback to the president's attempt to clamp down on a huge wave of Central Americans crossing the border. Judge Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Court in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order that blocks the government from carrying out a new rule that denies protections to people who enter the country illegally. The order, which suspends the rule until the case is decided by the court, applies nationally."

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate's top Democrat has asked the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker's communications with the White House, over concerns that he might have shared secret information from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation with President Trump. In a letter to DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked him to open a formal probe into whether there have been any 'unlawful or improper communications' between Whitaker and the White House during his service as former attorney general Jeff Sessions's chief of staff, when he was in regular touch with Trump and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly. In particular, Schumer said he was concerned that as acting attorney general, Whitaker could share 'confidential grand jury or investigative information from the Special Counsel investigation or any criminal investigation.' Schumer also wants Horowitz to investigate whether Whitaker 'provided any assurance to the President, White House officials, or others regarding steps he or others may take with regard to the Special Counsel investigation, including any intention to interfere, obstruct, or refuse authorization of subpoenas or other investigative steps.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As you may recall, last week Trump tweeted that "The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess. They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts." How would Trump know about "the inner workings of the Mueller investigation" unless somebody with knowledge of those "inner workings" told him?

Jonathan Chait: "Interactions between the media and the White House are a form of democracy theater. The give-and-take is a tangible and living sign of the fact that in a republic, the president is not a monarch but is simply a citizen like everybody else. In authoritarian regimes, the palpably cowed news media treats leaders with a deference that communicates their inviolable status. Trump's authoritarian instincts and his bullying persona bear directly on his administration's attempts to rein in the media.... Trump is imposing on the media the social terms in which he has always demanded to operate: a culture in which he can berate and bully others, but must be treated in turn with obeisance. The most tangible sign sign of any hierarchical relationship is one in which one of the parties must be polite but the other is free to engage in abuse. A world in which Trump can brush aside cogent questions by calling reporters stupid, and in which they can't even request an answer, would be the opposite of democracy theater. It would conscript the White House press corps into a regular televised performance of Trump's monarchial fantasies."

Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: "A disgraced former judge who went to prison for beating his then-wife so severely in 2014 that she required facial reconstructive surgery was taken into custody after she was found slain Saturday morning, Ohio police said. The Shaker Heights Police Department said officers responded to a 911 call at a residence in the morning, prompting them to launch an investigation into Aisha Fraser's killing. Ex-Cuyahoga County judge Lance Mason, Fraser's former husband, was taken into custody, police said. Shaker Heights Police Cmdr. John Cole said Monday morning that the department is 'anticipating charges later today' against Mason, though he was unable to offer additional information. Details about Fraser's killing were also not immediately available; however, Cleveland.com reported that she was fatally stabbed. In a 911 call obtained by NBC affiliate WKYC, a woman who identifies herself as Mason's sister tells a dispatcher that Mason admitted to stabbing his ex-wife." ...

... Marcia Fudge Will Not Be Speaker of the House. Gary Shaffer of Cleveland.com: "Dozens of people, including four sitting judges, prominent Cleveland attorneys and a congresswoman now considering a bid to become speaker of the House of Representatives, wrote gushing letters of support for former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason after he brutalized his wife in front of their children so badly that her face required reconstructive surgery.... U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge ... said in her letter, which was addressed to visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove in August 2015 ... that ... 'Lance accepts full responsibility for his actions and has assured me that something like this will never happen again.... Lance Mason is a good man who made a very bad mistake. I can only hope that you see in Lance what I and others see.'"

*****

The Great Divide. Paul Krugman: "Over the past generation, America’s regions have experienced a profound economic divergence. Rich metropolitan areas have gotten even richer, attracting ever more of the nation's fastest growing industries. Meanwhile, small towns and rural areas have been bypassed, forming a sort of economic rump left behind by the knowledge economy. Amazon's headquarters criteria perfectly illustrate the forces behind that divergence. Businesses in the new economy want access to large pools of highly educated workers, which can be found only in big, rich metropolitan areas. And the location decisions of companies like Amazon draw even more high-skill workers to those areas. In other words, there's a cumulative, self-reinforcing process at work that is, in effect, dividing America into two economies. And this economic division is reflected in political division. In 2016, of course, the parts of America that are being left behind voted heavily for Donald Trump."

Rachel Bade, et al., of Politico: "Sixteen Democrats vowed Monday to oppose Nancy Pelosi for speaker on the House floor, throwing the California Democrat's bid to reclaim the gavel in serious jeopardy. In a highly anticipated letter that went public Monday, the Democrats praised Pelosi as 'a historic figure' but argued that it is time for change at the top.... The show of force underscores the depth of the challenge facing Pelosi, who has led the caucus for 16 years. Pelosi needs 218 votes among lawmakers present and voting to be elected speaker on Jan. 3. House Democrats have won 233 seats, meaning Pelosi can currently afford to lose only 15 votes. The letter includes 11 incumbents, four incoming freshman and one candidate, Ben McAdams f Utah, whose race has not been called. The letter does not include at least three additional Democratic lawmakers or members-elect who have confirmed to Politico that they intend to oppose Pelosi on the floor: Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Jason Crow of Colorado. That would bring Pelosi's opponents to a total of 19 members or members-elect committed to voting against her -- enough to keep her from becoming speaker should those members refuse to budge." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Oddly, the reporters refute one true thing that even Donald Trump recognizes: that if Democrats nominate Pelosi, as they are nearly certain to do, Pelosi could win the speakership with help from a few Republican members. Many Republicans think Pelosi is a great foil, so such a scenario is not entirely theoretical.

Michelle Goldberg: "Donald Trump has failed at most things he's tried to do in life, with the crucial exception of selling himself as a success.... Trump's fluke election was such an astonishment that it lent him an almost magical aura, making him seem less an idiot than an idiot savant, a man who could transcend the usual rules of politics. But Democratic victories in the midterms, in addition to providing a crucial check on Trump, have highlighted what a naked emperor he really is.... The spectacle of Trump's political failure unfolded as his policy failures are starting to harm more voters' lives." At first, his victims were people who can't vote: Puerto Ricans, undocumented immigrants and their children. Now it's veterans, farmers, student borrowers.

Wesley Morgan of Politico: "The 5,800 troops who were rushed to the southwest border amid ... Donald Trump's pre-election warnings about a refugee caravan will start coming home as early as this week -- just as some of those migrants are beginning to arrive.... The returning service members include engineering and logistics units whose jobs included placing concertina wire and other barriers to limit access to ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. All the troops should be home by Christmas, as originally expected, Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan said in an interview Monday." Mrs. McC: Sounds like Donald Trump's version of a losing candidate eventually getting around to going through town & pulling up all his yard signs.

... Gordon Adams, Lawrence B. Wilkerson & Isaiah Wilson in a New York Times op-ed: "The president used America's military forces not against any real threat but as toy soldiers, with the intent of manipulating a domestic midterm election outcome, an unprecedented use of the military by a sitting president.... James Mattis, the secretary of defense, asserted that the Defense Department does not 'do stunts.' But this was a blatant political stunt.... The deployment ... should have led Mr. Mattis to consider resigning, instead of acceding to this blatant politicization of America's military.... The president crossed a line -- the military is supposed to stay out of domestic politics.... Electoral gain, not security, is this president's goal." ...

... MEANWHILE. Trump Too Skeert to Visit Troops. Josh Dawsey & Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "President Trump has begun telling advisers that he may visit troops in a combat zone for the first time in his presidency, as he has come under increasing scrutiny for his treatment of military affairs and failure to visit service members deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. Trump has so far declined to visit those combat regions, saying he does not want to associate himself with wars he views as failures, according to current and former advisers.... In meetings about a potential visit, he has described the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as 'a total shame,' according to the advisers. He also cited the long flights and potential security risks as reasons he has avoided combat-zone visits, they said.... Trump has spoken privately about his fears over risks to his own life, according to a former senior White House official.... 'He's never been interested in going,' the official said of Trump visiting troops in a combat zone, citing conversations with the president. 'He's afraid of those situations. He's afraid people want to kill him.'" ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: So no leading the charge up San Juan Hill.

Julian Borger of the Guardian: "US arms sales to Saudi Arabia give Washington extensive leverage on Riyadh, while accounting for fewer than 20,000 US jobs a year -- less than a twentieth of the employment boost Donald Trump has claimed -- according to a new report.... The president has frequently estimated the total extent of defence sales to the Saudi regime at $110 bn, and variously said they would generate 450,000, 500,000 or 600,000 jobs... The report ... argues that Saudi Arabia needs the US far more than the other way round, and the administration is underplaying its hand, if it wants to rein in Riyadh in Yemen -- or punish the monarchy for Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.... The actual value of US arms sales to Riyadh since Trump took office is $14.5bn.... Even that figure refers to 'letters of offer and acceptance' ... which ... does not represent actual signed contracts. All of the major sales in the pipeline were initiated by the Obama administration[.]" --safari: One of MSNBC's analysts (can't recall who) mentioned recently that Trump is playing the Michael Cohen water-carrier role for MBS. Quite apt.

Brian Stelter of CNN: "The White House has issued a new warning to CNN's Jim Acosta, saying his press pass could be revoked again at the end of the month. In response, CNN is asking the U.S. District Court for another emergency hearing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Update. Trump Blinks. Brian Stelter & David Shortell of CNN: "The White House on Monday backed down from its threats to revoke Jim Acosta's press pass. 'Having received a formal reply from your counsel to our letter of November 16, we have made a final determination in this process: your hard pass is restored,' the White House said in a new letter to Acosta. 'Should you refuse to follow these rules in the future, we will take action in accordance with the rules set forth above. The President is aware of this decision and concurs.' The letter detailed several new rules for reporter conduct at presidential press conferences, including 'a single question' from each journalist. Follow-ups will only be permitted 'at the discretion of the President or other White House officials.' The decision reverses a Friday letter by the White House that said Acosta's press pass could be revoked again right after a temporary restraining order granted by a federal judge expires. That letter -- signed by two of the defendants in the suit, press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine -- cited Acosta's conduct at President Trump's November 7 press conference, where he asked multiple follow-up questions and didn't give up the microphone right away." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

A Big Hint about Obstruction. Jonathan Chait: "For all the obstruction that [Trump has laid out] in plain sight, there may be more to be revealed by Robert Mueller.... The latest reminder comes in the form of an analysis in the legal blog Lawfare co-authored by James Baker, who until late 2017 served as general counsel of the FBI. The putative subject of the piece is the Watergate 'road map,' which detailed Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski's grounds for impeaching Nixon. But the real subject of the analysis is Trump, whose offenses appear strikingly similar. Baker plumbs the road map for details of how Nixon interfered with the Department of Justice's investigation into the Watergate burglary (which, of course, led to the Oval Office). Nixon had repeated contact with Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen in order 'to gather intelligence about an ongoing criminal investigation in which he was personally implicated.' Nixon also appeared to dangle possible jo promotions before Petersen while he was wheedling information out of him. Baker (along with his co-author, Harvard Law student Sarah Grant) notes that this pattern of behavior amounted to an impeachable offense." Chait notes that this all will sound very familiar to Trump observers. ...

     ... You can read the compelling piece by James Baker & Sarah Grant of Lawfare here. --s

Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Former top members of the intelligence community rebuked ... Donald Trump on Monday for deriding the retired Navy SEAL who oversaw the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden as a 'Hillary Clinton backer' and suggesting that he should have caught the al Qaeda leader sooner. Responses to Trump's comments about retired Adm. Bill McRaven, who has criticized the president's attacks on the press, poured in Monday from former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta who said Trump should apologize.... In a public statement..., Panetta said Trump's ... 'demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of how our military and intelligence agencies operate.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's something I missed. ...

... Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post: "Asked how he would grade his presidency during a Sunday morning interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, President Trump ... said, 'Look, I hate to do it, but I will do it, I would give myself an A-plus.... Is that enough? Can I go higher than that?'... This weekend, Trump managed to insult a venerated military veteran, mangled the name of a wildfire-scarred town that he had just left, confused the president of Finland by making strange comments about leaf raking and, like a grade-schooler, attempted to taunt a critic in Congress with a naughty play on his name. All in just 48 hours.... Trump twice referred to Paradise, Calif., which has seen some of the worst devastation from the fires, as 'Pleasure' during a Saturday news conference. '... And what we saw at Pleasure, what a name right now. But we just saw, we just left Pleasure --' 'Paradise,' interjected a slew of officials. 'Paradise,' Trump confirmed, then moved on." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The attacks on McRaven & Schiff are manifestations of Trump's petty nastiness, but the raking in Pleasure are primarily signs of his disengagement. He can't understand anything as complex as forest management so he reduces it in his little mind to "raking the forest floor." Even though the name of the devastated town Paradise was in the news hundreds of times since the fire began, he doesn't read much, so he couldn't nail it down to anything closer than "word beginning with 'P' that has a positive connotation." Trump is an old guy who can't/won't learn new things. He does not have the mental capacity to be president. Maybe he could master a job where all he had to do was rake America great again. ...

... MEANWHILE. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde & Joseph Serna of the Los Angeles Times: "U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke blamed [California's] fires on 'radical environmentalists' who he said have prevented forest management. His comments come days after he and President Trump toured the devastation from Paradise to Malibu, with both vowing to help California recover from the disaster. In an interview with Breitbart News, Zinke said he agrees with Trump's comments about the fires being a result of poor forest management, and repeatedly said radical environmentalists were responsible for the destruction caused by the fires. 'It's not time for finger-pointing,' Zinke said. 'We know the problem. It's been years of neglect, and in many cases it's been these radical environmentalists that want nature to take its course.... You know what? This is on them.'... Trump had threatened to withdraw federal funding from California, erroneously blaming poor forest management for the fires."...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Neither the LA Times reporters nor Zinke mentioned that "nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and two-thirds of the balance under private control." That is to say, Zinke himself, as Secretary of the Interior, "manages" 60 percent of California's forests.

Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "Attorneys for immigrant advocacy groups on Monday are asking a federal judge in San Francisco to block the Trump administration from automatically denying asylum protections to migrants who illegally cross the border into the United States. The hearing underway before U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar in the Northern District of California comes as thousands of Central Americans are waiting in Tijuana to apply for permission to enter lawfully. But they are facing longer wait times and an increasingly inhospitable environment in Mexico that could compel them to sneak over the border instead." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Crooked Ivanka. Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! Carol Leonnig & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Ivanka Trump sent hundreds of emails last year to White House aides, Cabinet officials and her assistants using a personal account, many of them in violation of federal records rules, according to people familiar with a White House examination of her correspondence. White House ethics officials learned of Trump's repeated use of personal email when reviewing emails gathered last fall by five Cabinet agencies to respond to a public records lawsuit. That review revealed that throughout much of 2017, she often discussed or relayed official White House business using a private email account with a domain that she shares with her husband, Jared Kushner.... Some aides were startled by the volume of Ivanka Trump's personal emails -- and taken aback by her response when questioned about the practice. She said she was not familiar with some details of the rules.... Trump used her personal account to discuss government policies and official business fewer than 100 times..., according to people familiar with the review. Another category of less-substantive emails may have also violated the records law: hundreds of messages related to her official work schedule and travel details that she sent herself and personal assistants who cared for her children and house.... Austin Evers..., of the liberal watchdog group American Oversight, whose record requests sparked the White House discovery, said it strained credulity that Trump's daughter did not know that government officials should not use private emails for official business." ...

... Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... the personal email use of Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner..., has been expected to be among the topics the new [Congressional Democratic] leaders will address.... Current and former White House officials have said it was characteristic of a repeated blurring of the lines between her government work and other aspects of her life, which used to include her namesake licensing and apparel businesses." ...

... digby: "... the fact is that when [Ivanka Trump] was alerted to this she had her lawyers forward only what the determined were government emails to the White House server for record retention. Just like Clinton. With her, however, there is every reason to wonder if she did that to hide the fact that she was doing Trump organization business while in the White House. After all, she didn't resign from the company right away. She's cute so it probably won't matter. Still, you couldn't make this up. After all that bullshit in the campaign she didn't know that she shouldn't use her personal email? Please." ...

... Sophie Weiner of Splinter: "During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump called Clinton's use of a private email server 'bigger than Watergate.' In a normal world, this massive hypocrisy would be a problem for the President. But we don't live in a normal world. It's hard to imagine this story sticking around the news more than 24 hours. In all likelihood, the Trumps, yet again, will get away with it." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Ivanka's Hillary-esque private e-mail usage is of a piece with Daddy's continued use of insecure phones to hold conversations the Chinese are monitoring. The rap on Hillary's e-mail practices was that she was (1) breaking the law (a la Ivanka) & (2) endangering national security (a la Donald). But It's Okay If You're A Trump.

Derek Thompson in the Atlantic on how the media could handle Trump's lies: "Is it hopeless to smother the president's lies? In the biggest picture, yes. The news media cannot kill the virus. But by refusing to host it, they can at least limit the spread. That is, even as they acknowledge their inability to reform the tens of millions of people predisposed to believe and share the president's nonsense, they can protect their audiences with a combination of selective abstinence (being cautious about giving over headlines, tweets, and news segments to the president's rhetoric, particularly when he's spreading fictitious hate speech) and aggressive contextualization (consistently bracketing his direct quotes with the relevant truth). Call it an epistemic quarantine." Thompson points out that half the American public believes Trump's lies, & this: "... the top-performing stories on Facebook in the run-up to the midterms were shared by highly partisan websites such as Fox News and rushlimbaugh.com, not traditional, reporting-based outlets." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Betsy Woodruff & Sam Stein of the Daily Beast: "A group of Senate Democrats is suing to block Matt Whitaker from serving as acting attorney general on grounds that his placement in the post was unconstitutional. The suit, which is being filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is the latest and most aggressive salvo against the Whitaker appointment. Last week, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel defended Whitaker's promotion in a memo that drew immediate criticism for its expansive understanding of the president's power. That view is in hot dispute, including from the state of Maryland, which petitioned a federal judge to stop him from serving on constitutional grounds." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Election 2018

Texas. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: "Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones conceded Monday in her challenge to U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, ensuring a third term for Hurd in his perennial battleground district."

Utah. Lisa Roche of the Deseret News: "Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams claimed victory over Republican Rep. Mia Love Monday night after new Salt Lake County results showed her trailing by 739 votes in the 4th Congressional District race.... He said he has not yet tried to contact the two-term congresswoman. Love issued a statement more than an hour after McAdams' news conference that did not mention conceding.... Scott Hogensen, Utah County chief deputy clerk auditor, said Monday's release was the last before counties certify election results on Tuesday. He said 'not much' remains to be counted other than any ballots that show up in the mail."

Washington. Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "The National Rifle Association sued earlier this year to stop Washington state voters from considering a package of gun control measures known as Initiative 1639, but the state Supreme Court rejected their legal arguments. On Election Day, nearly 60 percent of the state's voters rejected the gun group's political arguments that the initiative would 'criminalize self-defense.' Now one of the organization's local activist leaders in Washington state [Jim Lydigsen] wants to take his bullets and go home -- by having the more-conservative eastern part of the state secede and form a pro-gun state of its own." --s ...

Lawless Enforcement. Matt Shuham of TPM: "Loren Culp, the police chief in the small town of Republic, Washington, has pledged not to enforce a ballot measure approved by voters statewide earlier this month.... 'I cannot and will not enforce this law,' Culp said on 'Fox & Friends Sunday.' Initiative 1639, which passed with 59 percent support, raises the age to buy semiautomatic rifles to 21 and enacts a list of other restrictions and penalties." --s ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is similar to what worries me about Florida voters' decision to enfranchise most ex-felons. With a Republican administration & legislature, will the voters' wishes be implemented in time for the 2020 election? Or will Tallahassee drag its collective feet?

Wisconsin. Gerrymandered Wisc. Dylan Brogan of Isthmus (Madison, Wi.): "Wisconsin is a purple state. Yet, the state Assembly is a sea of red. That's what voters want, according to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. 'There's no doubt about it that the voters across Wisconsin affirmed our record, the record of our party, and the agenda that we have put forward over the past eight years,' Vos (R-Rochester) told the Assembly Republican Caucus on Nov. 12.... Despite Democrats winning every statewide office on the ballot and receiving 200,000 more total votes, Republicans lost just one seat in Wisconsin's lower house this cycle. And that victory was by a razor-thin 153 votes. Democrats netted 1.3 million votes for Assembly, 54 percent statewide. Even so, Vos will return to the Capitol in 2019 with Republicans holding 63 of 99 seats in the Assembly, a nearly two-thirds majority.... Democratic minority leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) ... says his party is 'competing on the most uneven playing field in the United States' because Republicans have 'disenfranchised thousands of Democrats.'" --s ...

... Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "Wisconsin, in other words, did not have a democratic election for the state assembly. Something resembling an election took place and voters cast their ballots in earnest, but the entire state assembly race was rigged. This is not a new state of affairs for Wisconsin.... [A] federal court decision [struck] down Wisconsin's gerrymandered state assembly maps ... in 2016.... But ... last June, in one of retired Justice Anthony Kennedy's final acts on the Supreme Court, the Court punted this case back down to the lower court and left Wisconsin's rigged maps in place.... Just nine days after the Court's non-decision in Gill, Justice Kennedy retired -- and that retirement likely destroyed any meaningful hope that the Supreme Court would stop partisans from rigging legislative maps." --s

Matt Shuham of TPM: "Departing with years of tradition, this year's White House Correspondents Association dinner will feature a historian, Ron Chernow, in place of a comedian." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sophie Weiner: "The woman who filed a domestic violence restraining order against lawyer candidate Michael Avenatti was actress Mareli Miniutti, The Blast reports. The revelation apparently came from court documents obtained by the website. Avenatti was arrested in Los Angeles last week on domestic violence charges. The woman who called the police, at first named by TMZ as Avenatti's ex-wife, was later listed by the website as simply 'a woman.' Miniutti is an Estonian actress who has appeared in movies including Oceans Eight."

Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Chickenpox has taken hold of a school in [Asheville,] North Carolina where many families claim religious exemption from vaccines.... The outbreak ranks as the state's worst since the chickenpox vaccine became available more than 20 years ago. Since then, the two-dose course has succeeded in limiting the highly contagious disease that once affected 90 percent of Americans -- a public health breakthrough. The school is a symbol of the small but strong movement against the most effective means of preventing the spread of infectious diseases. The percentage of children under 2 years old who haven't received any vaccinations has quadrupled since 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Like the Disneyland measles outbreak in 2015, the flare-up demonstrates the real-life consequences of a shadowy debate fueled by junk science and fomented by the same sort of Twitter bots and trolls that spread misinformation during the 2016 presidential election." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

AP: "A dead whale that washed ashore in eastern Indonesia had a large lump of plastic waste in its stomach.... [R]esearchers from wildlife conservation group WWF and the park's conservation academy found about 5.9kg (13lbs) of plastic waste in the animal's stomach containing 115 plastic cups, four plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, two flip-flops, a nylon sack and more than 1,000 other assorted pieces of plastic.... Indonesia, an archipelago of 260 million people, is the world's second-largest plastic polluter after China, accordin to a study published in the journal Science in January. It produces 3.2 million tons of mismanaged plastic waste a year, of which 1.29m tons ends up in the ocean, the study said." --s

Motoko Rich of the New York Times: "The Nissan chairman, Carlos Ghosn, was arrested on Monday after an internal company investigation found that he had underreported his compensation to the Japanese financial authorities for several years. Nissan said it was cooperating with Japanese prosecutors. It also said that it had opened its inquiry after a whistle-blower alleged that Mr. Ghosn had been misrepresenting his salary as well as using company assets for personal use. Both he and a director, Greg Kelly, who was also accused of misconduct, were taken in by authorities, the company said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Benjamin Haas of the Guardian: "The Chinese-language version of the Oscars, the Golden Horse Awards, have become the latest flashpoint in tense relations between China and Taiwan after a film director questioned the island's political status. Documentary filmmaker Fu Yue called for Taiwan to be recognised as an 'independent entity' during her acceptance speech, fighting back tears as she said, 'this is my biggest wish as a Taiwanese'. Her speech was quickly censored on Chinese television and streams, with the coverage going black." --s

News Lede

Chicago Tribune: "Chicago police officer and two other people were killed in an attack at a South Side hospital Monday afternoon that sent medical personnel and police scrambling through halls, stairwells and even the nursery in search of victims and the shooter before he was found dead."