The Commentariat -- August 10, 2019

Afternoon Update:

I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody. Mr. Epstein's death raises serious questions that must be answered. In addition to the FBI's investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein's death. -- William Barr, full statement, Saturday ...

... James McKinley & Ali Watkins of the New York Times: "Like all federal prisons, the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan has a suicide prevention program designed for inmates who are at risk of taking their own lives. After an apparent attempt three weeks ago, Jeffrey Epstein -- the financier who was at the facility awaiting trial on charges he sexually abused dozens of girls -- was a prime candidate.Yet Mr. Epstein, 66, was not on suicide watch when he hanged himself and his body was found in his cell early on Saturday, raising questions about the steps officials took after the first incident to keep him from harming himself. Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement that he had asked the inspector general for the Justice Department to open an investigation' into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein's death.'... One federal prison official with knowledge of the incident said Mr. Epstein had been taken off suicide watch a few days ago, and was being held alone in a cell in a special housing unit." ...

     ... A related NBC News story is here. ...

... This Is Unbelievable. Dan Spinelli of Mother Jones: "... Lynne Patton, regional administrator at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, had [an] idea of what happened [to Epstein]. 'Hillary'd!!' she posted on Instagram around 10 a.m., alongside a screenshot of a Daily Mail story that described Epstein's manner of death. She added the hashtag, '#VinceFosterPartTwo,' a reference to the former Clinton aide whose death by suicide has fueled conspiracy theories for more than two decades. Patton, one of the highest-ranking officials at HUD, was not alone in seizing on conspiracy theories. Within hours of Epstein's death, 'Clintons' and 'ClintonBodyCount' were among the highest-trending topics on Twitter." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Patton, you may recall, previously worked for what I'm sure is a wonderful organization: the Eric Trump Foundation. She also was Eric's party planner & reportedly suffered from substance abuse & addition while working for him. Although she had no housing experience whatsoever, Trump appointed her to a HUD job, which she so badly flubbed that Ole Doc Carson promoted her to head up HUD's Region 2. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) used her as a prop during Michael Cohen's public House hearing as living proof that Trump can't possibly be a racist. Ole Doc should fire her right now.

Trump Rattles Sabre. David Jackson of USA Today: "... Donald Trump threatened undefined retaliation Friday against countries and organizations that issue travel warnings on the United States because of gun violence. 'If they did that, we'd just reciprocate,' Trump said during a wide-ranging impromptu gaggle with reporters at the White House, en route to fundraisers in New York. He added: 'We are a very reciprocal nation with me as the head. When somebody does something negative to us in terms of a country, we do it to them.' Amnesty International and a growing list of countries have begun issuing warnings about travel to the United States because of gun violence, including mass shootings over the weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio."

~~~~~~~~~~

William Rashbaum & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Jeffrey Epstein, the financier indicted on sex trafficking charges last month, committed suicide at a Manhattan jail, officials said on Saturday. Mr. Epstein hanged himself and his body was found this morning at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan at roughly 7:30. Manhattan federal prosecutors last month charged Mr. Epstein, 66, with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14, and details of his behavior have been emerging for years.... Last month, a week after being denied bail, Mr. Epstein was found unconscious in his cell at the jail in Manhattan with marks on his neck, and prison officials were investigating the incident as a possible suicide attempt." The NBC News story is here.

** POTUS* Says Torturing Children Is "a Very Good Deterrent." Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Friday defended recent, large-scale raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and the way the agency dealt with children of the immigrants who were detained. Asked Friday why there wasn't a better plan in place to deal with the children after their parent's arrest, Trump told reporters outside the White House south lawn, 'You have to go in, you can't let anybody know.'... Trump said the raids served as a 'very good deterrent' for undocumented immigrants. 'I want people to know that if they come into the United States illegally, they're getting out,' Trump said Friday. 'They're going to be brought out. And this serves as a very good deterrent.'" Mrs. McC: MEANWHILE, in Ravenna, Italy, Dante rolled over, hopped out of his tomb & knocked out a few cantos describing the Tenth Circle of Hell.

If you're a good worker, papers don't matter. -- Jorge Castro, undocumented worker on Trump construction projects until April 2019 ...

... Joshua Partlow & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "For nearly two decades, the Trump Organization has relied on a roving crew of Latin American employees to build fountains and waterfalls, sidewalks and rock walls at the company's winery and its golf courses from New York to Florida.... For years, their ranks have included workers who entered the United States illegally, according to two former members of the crew. Another employee, still with the company, said that remains true today.... The hiring practices of the little-known Trump business unit are the latest example of the chasm between the president's derisive rhetoric about immigrants and his company's long-standing reliance on workers who cross the border illegally." Mediaite has a summary of the Post story here.

John Wagner & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday claimed strong congressional support for strengthening background checks for gun buyers, offering an optimistic assessment for passing new legislation that was at odds with public statements from Senate Republicans. 'I think we can do very meaningful background checks,' Trump told reporters shortly before departing for campaign fundraisers in New York. 'I think Republicans are going to be great and lead the charge along with the Democrats.' Trump said that he had spoken with congressional leaders from both parties and asserted that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is 'totally on board' with his plans to keep 'sick and demented people' from buying guns. In response, a McConnell spokesman said that he had not endorsed any legislation at this point." The NBC News story, by Adam Edelman, is here. ...

... Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday acknowledged he has spoken in recent days with National Rifle Association officials to ensure the powerful firearm lobby's interests are 'fully represented and respected' in negotiations on gun reform legislation following two mass shootings over the weekend.... Trump called [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi ... Thursday to discuss the universal background check bill, and also spoke with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). 'The President gave us his assurances that he would review the bipartisan House-passed legislation and understood our interest in moving as quickly as possible to help save lives,' Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement." ...

... He Was For It Before He Was Against It Before He Was For It Before He Was Against It Before He Was For It. Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: After flipflopping during the 2016 campaign on his previous support for background checks, "Mr. Trump changed his mind again in 2018 after the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., insisting that stronger checks would be 'fully backed' by the White House. But that position only lasted a few days, until a late-night meeting with the National Rifle Association in the Oval Office, after which he backed off his support and later threatened to veto a background check bill.... The president's long history on the gun issue raises questions about his real commitment to legislation that would improve the background check system and close [gun-show] loopholes...." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: All politicians change their minds or at least their publicly-stated positions on important issues in the interest of political expediency. In 1996, Barack Obama wrote that he favored same-sex marriage, but said he opposed it in 2008 when he was running for president. Then in 2012 Joe Biden said he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage, forcing Obama to flipflop again. Obama's 2008 flipflop was hardly a profile in courage, but it was a relatively rare case of his changing his position on an important policy matter. Trump, on the other hand, flipflops like a gymnast practicing for the Olympics on matters large & small. And he never acknowledges his reversals. He is the most unreliable, untrustworthy president* in U.S. history.

Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "Angry constituents of Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) flooded his town hall meeting in North Salt Lake on Wednesday, demanding to know what he plans to do to stop mass shootings and white nationalist terrorism.... When an ... attendee suggested that condemning racism and violence should include condemning a president whose racism is inciting white supremacist violence, the Utah Republican replied that Trump should not be accountable as long as he doesn't commit racist violence himself. 'The president of the United States, as far as I know, hasn't shot anyone,' Stewart answered. Another constituent shouted back that 'Charles Manson never shot anybody either,' referencing a convicted cult leader whose followers did most of the murdering on his behalf." --s

Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: "By the time President Trump arrived in El Paso on Wednesday, on the second leg of a trip to meet with people affected by mass shootings in two cities, he was frustrated that his attacks on his political adversaries had resulted in more coverage than the cheery reception he received at a hospital in Dayton, Ohio, the first stop on his trip. So he screamed at his aides to begin producing proof that in El Paso people were happy to see him.... When he does something that he believes he should have been praised for -- such as Wednesday's visits to the cities -- he grows furious when he does not receive accolades." The whole story is worth reading. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm sure I would quit any job where my boss "screamed at" me. But what's more important in the report is how Trump expects to "receive accolades" for doing a piss-poor job at consoling victims who are supposed to be the VIPs in the visit. He doesn't care a whit about them. He just wants the press to glorify him for talking about crowd size & giving a wholly-inappropriate thumbs-up in a photo with an orphaned infant. He's not even looking at the baby; he's looking at the cameras. Have you ever consoled someone who's suffered a loss with the idea you'll "receive accolades"? Of course not. You do it because you have real compassion for the bereaved person. Trump is a monster. ...

... Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "The cherry bomb on top [of Trump's visit to Dayton & El Paso] was a photo from first lady Melania Trump's Twitter account that appeared to feature a grinning president with a 2-month-old infant who was orphaned during the El Paso shooting.... That's the president, grinning and giving a thumbs-up, as the orphaned child is held out like a trophy. If words weren't inclined to fail, ghoulish and surreal might serve. This child has no parents because a shooter spouting Trumpist talking points about foreign 'invaders' went to El Paso to kill them. And while the president refused to speak to reporters, who were scolded by the White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, in a statement saying that the visits were all 'about the victims' and not a 'photo op,' hours later, Trump released a campaign-style video of his triumphal comforting tour. The baby's parents were both killed trying to protect him.... It appears baby Paul was brought back to the hospital by White House staff for the photo-op." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: One of the biggest lies Trump told during the 2016 campaign was, "I'm going to be so presidential...." ...

David Li of NBC News: "The man accused of gunning down 22 people at an El Paso Walmart last week confessed to the grisly crime and admitted he was targeting people of Mexican descent, according to unsealed court documents Friday. Texas Rangers, responding to the scene in an unmarked car, came up to a vehicle in the left-hand turn lane at an intersection when the suspect surrendered, according to the arrest warrant written by El Paso police Det. Adrian Garcia. 'Agents and police officers at the intersection then observed a male person (defendant) to exit out of the vehicle with his hands raised in the air and stated out loud to the agents "I'm the shooter,"' Garcia wrote." Article includes photo.

Tom Winter & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "A 23-year-old Las Vegas man who allegedly wanted to attack Jews and patrons of an LGBTQ bar was arrested on suspicion of possessing parts to make a bomb, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada said Friday. Conor Climo, who was arrested Thursday, was connected to white supremacists though encrypted online conversations, federal prosecutors said.... After Climo's arrest, FBI agents said he told them he had acquired electronic components to build a bomb and that he wanted to mobilize an eight-man sniper platoon to shoot Jewish people either at a Las Vegas synagogue or some other location. According to charging documents, an FBI bomb technician found bomb-making components and chemical compounds in Climo's bedroom. Federal agents said they also seized an AR-15 style rifle and a bolt-action rifle from the room." Emphasis added.

Chris Sommerfeldt of the New York Daily News: "An Ohio man was slammed with criminal charges Friday for threatening New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and stockpiling illegal ammunition in his home, according to prosecutors. Federal agents raided Tim Ireland's Toledo home on Thursday and arrested him after learning he had posted on Facebook that Ocasio-Cortez 'should be shot,' prosecutors said. 'My employer would load the gun for me,' Ireland posted, according to court records. During the raid, feds found several rounds of illegal ammunition in Ireland's home, prosecutors said.... Before Ireland's arrest, a federal agent had called him and asked about the inflammatory Facebook post about Ocasio-Cortez, according to records. 'Ireland stated he was very proud of that post he made,' the agent wrote in an affidavit."

Kevin Poulsen of The Daily Beast: "Refugees from the anonymous 8chan forum are flooding into a new censorship-resistant home on the dark web, and inadvertently giving up their anonymity along the way.... The new site, called 08chan (with a leading zero) [set up as a difficult to trace 'peer-to-peer' network], has no affiliation with the original and it's not entirely clear who set it up, but 8chan's diaspora have been flooding in as word of the site spreads through right-wing social media.... There's just one catch. Peer-to-peer networks expose a user's internet address to anyone who cares to look. That's how copyright lawyers catch people trading movies, music and software, and it's how police and FBI agents arrest pedophiles trading child porn online.... [O]nly 41 percent of 08chan's users are using Tor [a program to mask their servers], based on our analysis of the peer-to-peer traffic at the site." --s

Jordan Uhl of Media Matters: “Tucker Carlson's nightly ad load has undergone a seismic shift just days after declaring white supremacy is 'actually not a real problem in America,' and that the idea it is a problem is 'a hoax' and 'conspiracy theory used to divide the country.'... The number of paid ads has drastically plummeted in the last week.... Despite leaving on an abrupt and suspiciously timed vacation -- a commonly used tactic by Fox to deter advertisers from dropping shows after a host says something particularly egregious -- Carlson has continued to lose advertisers. SteinMart, HelloFresh, and Nestle have all severed ties with Tucker Carlson Tonight, and the fast food chain Long John Silver's not only dropped advertising from his show but from Fox News as a whole."

Donnie, the Dictator's Dupe. Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday said he received a "beautiful letter" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hours before the regime launched further projectiles as a warning against joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea. 'I think we'll have another meeting,' Trump told reporters outside the White House. 'He really wrote a beautiful three-page -- I mean right from top to bottom -- a really beautiful letter. And maybe I'll release the results of the letter, but it was very positive.' North Korea had five rounds of weapons demonstrations in the past two weeks -- including another launch of two projectiles Saturday local time, according to South Korea. Trump had dismissed the previous tests, saying they were just for short-range missiles. He added that Kim wrote in the 'very personal letter' that he is not happy with the U.S.-South Korea joint exercises."

D. Parvaz of ThinkProgress: "A new report released by the Pentagon this week states that the self-proclaimed Islamic State group (ISIS) is taking advantage of ... Donald Trump's troop withdrawals from Iraq and Syria and 'rebuilding its capabilities.' This runs counter to the president's repeated claims that he has defeated ISIS.... This week's report acknowledges that the group lost its strongholds in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, but, it cautions, loss of territory does not spell the eradication of ISIS. On the contrary, the uneven U.S. approach in those conflicts has allowed it to revitalize its networks." --s

Jonathan Bernstein of Bloomberg: "The Trump administration continues its attacks on foreign policy, innovation and economic management. Sue Gordon announced her plans to retire as principal deputy director of national intelligence.... A Foreign Service officer resigned in an op-ed, saying 'I can no longer justify ... my complicity in the actions of this administration.' The Donald Trump administration is finding creative ways to destroy the Agriculture Department's Economic Research Service.... That's all from Thursday. They are hardly the only examples of how the administration is, to put it bluntly, destroying the U.S. government.... But there's nothing systematic about any of what's happening here. No plan. No strategy. No effort to separate the worthwhile from the worthless. It's just basically random attacks on random pieces of the government. It will take years to recover from. In some ways, perhaps the nation will never recover." --s

Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "A federal judge on Friday rejected a request to fast track a review of Robert Mueller's records for potential public release. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton sided with Justice Department lawyers who were asking him to stick to the normal schedule for Freedom of Information Act cases as he considers a lawsuit seeking a variety of underlying records tied to the now-concluded special counsel investigation. At issue is a FOIA request filed last November by the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center that asked for a broad range of Mueller materials, including any reports connected to the end of the probe, congressional briefing materials and any referrals the special counsel made outside the criminal justice system."

This Is Weird. Zachary Cohen of CNN: "The country's No. 2 intelligence official, Sue Gordon, knew it was likely she would have to eventually step down from her post, but the timing of that decision became more urgent on Thursday after her boss -- outgoing spy chief Dan Coats -- interrupted a meeting she was holding on election security and asked his deputy to submit her letter of resignation, sources familiar with the events told CNN. While details of the conversation between Gordon, an intelligence veteran of more than 30 years, and Coats remain unclear, sources say that the situation clearly abruptly changed after the meeting was interrupted. Shortly after her encounter with Coats, Gordon submitted her letter of resignation to Vice President Mike Pence, though the document itself was addressed to Trump.... Ultimately, White House officials told CNN they were not surprised by the fact that Gordon chose to resign, as it was clear the President was never going to select her for the top job, or even the acting position.... Under normal protocol, Gordon would have become acting director after Coats resigned. But administration officials told CNN that the White House was reviewing whether it could legally choose an acting director outside the line of succession."

Michael Hayden of the Southern Poverty Law Center: "After [the SPLC's] Hatewatch published its investigation of [State Department employee Matthew Gebert], people sent photos and information to Hatewatch about Gebert and his wife, Anna Vuckovic. Vuckovic also is involved in the white nationalist movement..., Hatewatch reported. Among the photos Hatewatch received is one of Gebert at a white nationalist event in Charlottesville, Virginia, in May 2017, months before the failed 'Unite the Right' rally that August." Two people who know Gebert positively identified him in the white nationalist event to Hatewatch. The State Department reportedly suspended Gebert after the SPLC's initial report on his white nationalist activities. Mrs. McC: In the photo, Gebert is dressed in the white nationalist "uniform": white shirt & khakis.

Nahal Toosi of Politico: "Democrats and many in the State Department are increasingly exasperated that they have yet to see the results of an investigation into whether President Donald Trump's political appointees mistreated career staffers. The delayed release of the State Department inspector general's findings has generated rising suspicion that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is trying to derail the investigation, whose results could be damning to some of his top aides. Lawmakers initially expected the report 'month ago,' according to Rep. Eliot Engel, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee." --s

Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "The House Intelligence Committee is ramping up an investigation into alleged efforts by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states to use financial inducements and other means to win favorable policies from the Trump administration. Starting in April, the panel 'issued several subpoenas and requests for information relating to Gulf influence, and we have received documents from certain witnesses,' a committee official says. 'We expect to issue another wave of requests shortly.'" --s

Presidential Race 2020

Chris Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter: "... Donald Trump's quick trip to the Hamptons on Friday raked in $12 million for his re-election campaign as his Republican allies were quick to declare it a win despite the wave of protests and controversy swirling around his Southampton host.... Trump appeared at two Hamptons fundraisers ... -- one at the Bridgehampton estate of Joe Farrell and another at the Southampton home of billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross. The latter proved to be the pricier affair with tickets going for $100,000 (for photo and lunch) or $250,000 (for roundtable, photo and lunch) but it also ended up being the most controversial.... Trump critics called for boycotts of businesses in [Rpss's] Related Companies portfolio including the popular Equinox and Soul Cycle. According to numerous social media posts, celebrities and industry insiders were canceling their memberships in droves late in the week with many reporting that Equinox staffers were 'overwhelmed' by the calls and emails. THR reached out to a rep for Equinox but even their inboxes were slammed. Multiple emails bounced back, citing storage capacity errors." ...

... Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "Before leaving for New York on Friday morning, Trump defended Ross. 'He's a great friend of mine; he's a very successful guy. We were competitors but friends in real estate in New York in the old days,' Trump told reporters outside the White House. 'He's probably more inclined to be a liberal if you want to know the truth, but he likes me, he respects me.'... Trump dismissed the backlash Ross is facing over the fundraiser, saying, 'it just makes Steve much hotter.'... Ross, in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday, said he will speak up when he disagrees with Trump, and called himself 'an outspoken champion of racial equality, inclusion, diversity, public education and environmental sustainability.'" Mrs. McC: He has a funny way of showing it.

Gubernatorial Race 2019. Louisiana. Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA), who is running for governor in the 2019 elections, attended a meeting of a right-wing 'patriots' group on Thursday. When an attendee delivered a racist rant against illegal immigration, and the members of Congress who allow it, and urged that some be shot, Abraham did not push back... 'This Congress and this Senate too [are] absent minded and irresponsible,' the person claimed. 'I think some of these people, whoever they are ... ought to be shot.' It is unclear whether he wanted to assassinate the lawmakers or the immigrants. But it is clear that Abraham did nothing to challenge the call to violence in his response." --s

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "... a cache of previously sealed legal documents, released on Friday by a federal appeals court, provides new, disturbing details about what was going on inside [Jeffrey] Epstein's homes and how his associates recruited young women and girls, including from a Florida high school.... The documents were filed as part of a defamation lawsuit in federal court that Virginia Giuffre brought in 2015 against Ghislaine Maxwell, Mr. Epstein's longtime companion and confidant. Ms. Giuffre and Ms. Maxwell settled the lawsuit shortly before the trial was to begin in 2017.... About 2,000 pages of the materials were posted online by the appeals court on Friday, providing a high-definition glimpse inside what federal prosecutors have said was Mr. Epstein's long-running sex-trafficking operation.... The word 'massage' became code for 'sex,' [Ms. Giuffre] said in the 2016 deposition." The Politico report, by Josh Gerstein, is here. It names some prominent men Giuffre swore Maxwell instructed her to "massage." The Washington Post report, by Beth Reinhard & others, is here.

Jake Rudnitsky of Bloomberg: "[In parts of Siberia, t]emperatures in June and July were the hottest ever charted globally.... The resulting dry conditions fed fires that torched more than 7 million hectares (17 million acres) of Siberian wilderness in just two months. Since the beginning of the year, fires have consumed more than 13 million hectares -- an area larger than Greece.... These unchecked fires are destroying millions of hectares of trees in the world's largest forest, a critical carbon sink, and could further accelerate global warming.... Russia is finally waking up to the threat of climate change, which Putin in 2017 joked could be beneficial for Russia given its reputation for cold weather." -- safari: I hope Trump sends rakes. --s

Beyond the Beltway

New Hampshire. John DiStaso of WMUR Manchester: "Gov. Chris Sununu [R] on Friday vetoed three bills that advocates said would have added 'commonsense' protections for Granite Staters against gun violence but opponents said would have done nothing to stop mass shootings and would have infringed on the constitutional rights of citizens. Sununu vetoed House 109 which closes the so-called gun show loophole and requires background checks for virtually all commercial firearms sales or transfers; House Bill 514, which requires a three-day waiting period before the purchase and delivery of a firearm; and House Bill 564, which prohibits carrying a firearm on school property.... The bills passed the Democratic-controlled House and Senate mostly along party lines. The Legislature will likely meet next month to address all of the governor's vetoes, but ... overrides are unlikely since two-thirds majorities are required." Mrs. McC: Thanks, Sununu! I really treasure my Constitutional right to buy a couple of guns at a shady gun show, load 'em up & immediately carry them to the local elementary school. Common sense is so overrated.

Way Beyond

Italy. Siobhán O'Grady of the Washington Post: "Pope Francis called for a united Europe in an interview published by Italian daily La Stampa on Friday, saying recent political rhetoric has echoed that of Nazi Germany. I am concerned because we hear speeches that resemble those of Hitler in 1934,' he said. 'Us first.... These are frightening thoughts.' It is not the first time the pontiff has made such remarks, but his comments published Friday came as Italy's populist government appeared to be on the verge of collapse. On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the most powerful politician in Italy, called for parliament to be dissolved and asked President Sergio Mattarella to order snap elections that could make Italy's government lean even further right." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The WashPo story links to the La Stampa report, in Italian, of course. Here's an English translation, via the Vatican Insider. ...

... Italy/Russia. Alberto Nardelli et al. of Buzzfeed: "Gianluca Savoini [a longtime aide to Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is] ... at the center of the storm over a secret plan to fund the far-right party of Italy's deputy prime minister with Russian oil money, shuttled back and forth to Moscow on multiple mysterious trips last year.... A member of Salvini's ministerial staff, Claudio D'Amico, was booked on the same Aeroflot flight as Savoini from Milan to Moscow on Oct. 16 ... the evening of Oct. 18, following the meeting at the Metropol that morning [discussing the secret oil deal]. D'Amico is Salvini's strategic adviser on international affairs. The revelation will ratchet up pressure on Salvini to answer questions about what he knew about the Moscow negotiation.... Savoini's dozens of travel entries over the past five years do not appear in Russia's Central Database for the Registration of Foreigners ... suggest[ing] either that he had a special status awarded upon arrival to individuals who, for example, don't have to go through passport control or that the information was wiped from the database." --s

The Commentariat -- August 9, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

David Li of NBC News: "The man accused of gunning down 22 people at an El Paso Walmart last week confessed to the grisly crime and admitted he was targeting people of Mexican descent, according to unsealed court documents Friday. Texas Rangers, responding to the scene in an unmarked car, came up to a vehicle in the left-hand turn lane at an intersection when the suspect surrendered, according to the arrest warrant written by El Paso police Det. Adrian Garcia. 'Agents and police officers at the intersection then observed a male person (defendant) to exit out of the vehicle with his hands raised in the air and stated out loud to the agents "I'm the shooter,"' Garcia wrote." Article includes photo.

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "The cherry bomb on top [of Trump's visit to Dayton & El Paso] was a photo from first lady Melania Trump's Twitter account that appeared to feature a grinning president with a 2-month-old infant who was orphaned during the El Paso shooting.... That's the president, grinning and giving a thumbs-up, as the orphaned child is held out like a trophy. If words weren't inclined to fail, ghoulish and surreal might serve. This child has no parents because a shooter spouting Trumpist talking points about foreign 'invaders' went to El Paso to kill them. And while the president refused to speak to reporters, who were scolded by the White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, in a statement saying that the visits were all 'about the victims' and not a 'photo op,' hours later, Trump released a campaign-style video of his triumphal comforting tour. The baby's parents were both killed trying to protect him.... It appears baby Paul was brought back to the hospital by White House staff for the photo-op." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: One of the biggest lies Trump told during the 2016 campaign was, "I'm going to be so presidential...."

** POTUS* Says Torturing Children Is "a Very Good Deterrent." Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Friday defended recent, large-scale raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and the way the agency dealt with children of the immigrants who were detained. Asked Friday why there wasn't a better plan in place to deal with the children after their parent's arrest, Trump told reporters outside the White House south lawn, 'You have to go in, you can't let anybody know.'... Trump said the raids served as a 'very good deterrent' for undocumented immigrants. 'I want people to know that if they come into the United States illegally, they're getting out,' Trump said Friday. 'They're going to be brought out. And this serves as a very good deterrent.'" Mrs. McC: MEANWHILE, in Ravenna, Italy, Dante rolled over, hopped out of his tomb & knocked out a few cantos describing the Tenth Circle of Hell.

John Wagner & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday claimed strong congressional support for strengthening background checks for gun buyers, offering an optimistic assessment for passing new legislation that was at odds with public statements from Senate Republicans. 'I think we can do very meaningful background checks,' Trump told reporters shortly before departing for campaign fundraisers in New York. 'I think Republicans are going to be great and lead the charge along with the Democrats.' Trump said that he had spoken with congressional leaders from both parties and asserted that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is 'totally on board' with his plans to keep 'sick and demented people' from buying guns. In response, a McConnell spokesman said that he had not endorsed any legislation at this point." The NBC News story, by Adam Edelman, is here. ...

... Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday acknowledged he has spoken in recent days with National Rifle Association officials to ensure the powerful firearm lobby's interests are 'fully represented and respected' in negotiations on gun reform legislation following two mass shootings over the weekend.... Trump called [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi ... Thursday to discuss the universal background check bill, and also spoke with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). 'The President gave us his assurances that he would review the bipartisan House-passed legislation and understood our interest in moving as quickly as possible to help save lives,' Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement." ...

If you’re a good worker, papers don't matter. -- Jorge Castro, undocumented worker on Trump construction projects until April 2019 ...

... Joshua Partlow & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "For nearly two decades, the Trump Organization has relied on a roving crew of Latin American employees to build fountains and waterfalls, sidewalks and rock walls at the company's winery and its golf courses from New York to Florida.... For years, their ranks have included workers who entered the United State illegally, according to two former members of the crew. Another employee, still with the company, said that remains true today.... The hiring practices of the little-known Trump business unit are the latest example of the chasm between the president's derisive rhetoric about immigrants and his company's long-standing reliance on workers who cross the border illegally." Mediaite has a summary of the Post story here.

Kevin Poulsen of The Daily Beast: "Refugees from the anonymous 8chan forum are flooding into a new censorship-resistant home on the dark web, and inadvertently giving up their anonymity along the way.... The new site, called 08chan (with a leading zero) [set up as a difficult to trace 'peer-to-peer' network], has no affiliation with the original and it's not entirely clear who set it up, but 8chan's diaspora have been flooding in as word of the site spreads through right-wing social media.... There's just one catch. Peer-to-peer networks expose a user's internet address to anyone who cares to look. That's how copyright lawyers catch people trading movies, music and software, and it's how police and FBI agents arrest pedophiles trading child porn online.... [O]nly 41 percent of 08chan's users are using Tor [a program to mask their servers], based on our analysis...." --s

Utah. Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "Angry constituents of Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) flooded his town hall meeting in North Salt Lake on Wednesday, demanding to know what he plans to do to stop mass shootings and white nationalist terrorism.... When an ... attendee suggested that condemning racism and violence should include condemning a president whose racism is inciting white supremacist violence, the Utah Republican replied that Trump should not be accountable as long as he doesn't commit racist violence himself. 'The president of the United States, as far as I know, hasn't shot anyone,' Stewart answered. Another constituent shouted back that 'Charles Manson never shot anybody either,' referencing a convicted cult leader whose followers did most of the murdering on his behalf." --s

Italy/Russia. Alberto Nardelli, et al. of Buzzfeed: "Gianluca Savoini [a longtime aide to Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is] ... at the center of the storm over a secret plan to fund the far-right party of Italy's deputy prime minister with Russian oil money, shuttled back and forth to Moscow on multiple mysterious trips last year.... BuzzFeed News, Bellingcat, and the Insider can now reveal that a member of Salvini's ministerial staff, Claudio D'Amico, was booked on the same Aeroflot flight as Savoini from Milan to Moscow on Oct. 16 ... the evening of Oct. 18, following the meeting at the Metropol that morning [discussing the secret oil deal]. D'Amico is Salvini's strategic adviser on international affairs. The revelation will ratchet up pressure on Salvini to answer questions about what he knew about the Moscow negotiation.... Savoini's dozens of travel entries over the past five years do not appear in Russia's Central Database for the Registration of Foreigners ... suggest[ing] either that he had a special status awarded upon arrival to individuals who, for example, don't have to go through passport control or that the information was wiped from the database." --s

Jake Rudnitsky of Bloomberg: "[In parts of Siberia, t]emperatures in June and July were the hottest ever charted globally.... The resulting dry conditions fed fires that torched more than 7 million hectares (17 million acres) of Siberian wilderness in just two months. Since the beginning of the year, fires have consumed more than 13 million hectares -- an area larger than Greece.... These unchecked fires are destroying millions of hectares of trees in the world's largest forest, a critical carbon sink, and could further accelerate global warming.... Russia is finally waking up to the threat of climate change, which Putin in 2017 joked could be beneficial for Russia given its reputation for cold weather." --safari: I hope Trump sends rakes. --s

See link designated "NEW" below re: Jerry Nadler's remarking that he is currently conducting an impeachment investigation.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sheryl Stolberg & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Under intense pressure to take action on gun safety in the wake of two weekend massacres, Senator Mitch McConnell ... expressed a new willingness Thursday to consider a measure expanding background checks for all gun purchasers, saying it will be 'front and center' in a coming Senate debate on how to respond to gun violence. 'There is a lot of support for that,' he said. Mr. McConnell, who has strongly opposed background checks in the past, made his remarks in an interview with a Kentucky radio host, Terry Meiners of WHAS in Louisville. While he did not support a bill requiring background checks, his remarks appeared to underscore the possibility of a shift in the politics of Washington's divisive gun debate. Mr. McConnell has refused to take up a background checks bill passed by the House because President Trump has threatened to veto it. But Mr. Trump appears increasingly open to the idea and said recently there is 'great appetite for it.' Mr. McConnell told Mr. Meiners that he had spoken with Mr. Trump and said the president was 'very much open to this discussion.'” ...

     ... The Politico story, by Marianne Levine, is here.

Adeel Hassan of the New York Times: "In tearful videos and images that ricocheted across social media, children whose migrant parents were rounded up by federal authorities in Mississippi pleaded with the United States government to release their mothers and fathers.... On Thursday afternoon, state officials, immigration advocates, and lawyers still did not have a clear picture of what happened to those children, or who took custody of them. The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services said that no child was in its custody.... On Thursday afternoon, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi said that all detainees were asked if they had a child at school or daycare. Those that did were allowed to call to make arrangements, it said, and federal agents worked with schools to help ensure the children's safety. The office added that in cases where two parents were rounded up, one was released on humanitarian grounds." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: If you read the whole story, & stories I linked yesterday about the raids, I think you'll come away with the impression that ICE made little or no effort to keep track of the children whose parents were detained. ICE made no effort to ensure the children were placed in safe accommodations. Their care was literally left to "the kindness of strangers" like the gym owner who opened up his gym as a place they could stay overnight & the residents who brought the children food. (To add to the confusion, it appears the raid took place on the first day of the school year, so their teachers wouldn't even know the children or the parents.) These parents & others ICE detained in Mississippi, BTW, were not, as far as we know, the "criminals, rapists & murderers" Trump likes to characterize. They were working in terrible jobs, probably for low wages, & were contributing to the communities in which they live(d). Shame on us. ...

     ... Sarah Fowler of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger writes a related report. ...

... Update. Sophie Tatum & Mark Osborne of ABC News: "Several hundred individuals arrested during an immigration roundup across Mississippi on Wednesday, leaving their children without parents in some cases, have been released, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said Thursday.... ICE Southern Region Communications Director Bryan Cox ... said on Thursday that none of those detained remain at a processing center, explaining in an email to ABC News that all have 'either been released or custody determination made that they will be held and moved to an ICE detention facility.'... Cox said Thursday that more than 300 were released from custody..., and according to ICE, were 'returned to the place where they were originally encountered.'"

Travel Advisory. Scott Smith of the AP: "The United States often takes a leading role in calling out the world's most dangerous places, warning its people about the risks of traveling to countries that are at war, under terrorist threats, experiencing civil unrest or displaying significant anti-American sentiment. The latest mass shootings have triggered a sharp role reversal, with three countries warning their citizens about the risks of traveling to the U.S. Venezuela, Uruguay and Japan issued warnings to varying degrees following the deaths of 31 people over the weekend in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. Each warning noted U.S. gun violence.... Travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said Venezuela's warning came off more like a 'political jab' than a genuine concern for its citizens' safety. It came hours before Trump signed an executive order that hit [President Nicolás] Maduro's government with yet another round of punishing financial sanctions designed to end his rule.... Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands have not issued new warnings in recent days, but they have longstanding advisories for travelers of mass shootings and gun violence."

Colby Hall of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump is getting criticized for a 30-second video he shared documenting the warm reception he received in Dayton and El Paso following mass shootings last weekend. The professionally shot and edited video was shared on the president's Twitter feed Wednesday evening and features a series of shots of President Trump shaking hands and posing for photos with hospital staffers, though noticeably does not include any images of his meeting with any victims from either mass shooting.... But as Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler notes [in a tweet], the press was not allowed to join President Trump during any of his visits, and as a result, the public is only allowed to learn what happened via the tightly curated and slickly packaged information propagated by the White House. Or as he fairly calls it 'propaganda.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday ridiculed former Rep. Beto O'Rourke and bragged about the crowd size at one of his rallies while visiting medical staff who treated victims of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend.... When one the people Trump was addressing said Wednesday he was sitting in the front row of Trump's rally earlier this year, the president reached out to shake his hand. 'That was some crowd, and we had twice the number outside,' Trump replied. 'And then you had this crazy Beto. Beto had, like, 400 people in a parking lot. They said, "His crowd was wonderful."'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Trump Angry His Staff Didn't Allow More Videos of His Acting Like an Ass. Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Some of ... Donald Trump's own aides conceded Thursday that his visits to two cities in mourning did not go as planned, as a new video revealed he bragged about crowd sizes while visiting patients at an El Paso hospital.... White House officials blocked reporters and their cameras from entering the two hospitals during his visits to Ohio and Texas this week, a move they said was out of respect for the patients' privacy. But according to one person familiar with the President's reaction, the President lashed out at his staff for keeping the cameras away from him, complaining that he wasn't receiving enough credit. Aides had feared a moment like the one that is now going viral -- where the President appears to focus on himself in front of those still recovering from a tragedy." ...

... "Something of a Debacle." Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman is quite sure the White House thinks ... Donald Trump behaved disastrously on Wednesday while he was supposed to be consoling the victims of the El Paso and Dayton shootings. Haberman spoke to CNN's John Berman on Thursday to discuss how Trump lashed out at his political enemies while traveling to see the shooting victims in both cities. She began by noting how Trump gave a speech this week to call for unity and condemn white supremacy, and yet, neither the president -- nor his campaign -- is making any changes to their rhetoric.... 'Most [of the White House staff] -- while they would I suspect not say that publicly -- will privately admit that yesterday was something of a debacle. These are not the headlines they wanted to see. They wanted him to go in and behave differently. The goal was to go in and get out with as little news as possible,' [Haberman said.]" ...

... Chris Walker of the Hill Reporter: "Some [observers] found [Trump's] demeanor [during his visits to Dayton & El Paso] -- smiling, giving the 'thumbs up' sign, and acting jovial at times -- to be inappropriate for an occasion where the chief executive has, at times, acted as the 'healer-in-chief.' 'A hospital official tells CNN Trump showed "an absence of empathy" during his visit to El Paso,' [CNN's Jim] Acosta wrote in his tweet."

** Chris Hayes analyzes how Trump has acted on his two biggest campaign promises:

Jana Winter & Hunter Walker of Yahoo! News: "Alleged white supremacists were responsible for all race-based domestic terrorism incidents in 2018, according to a government document distributed earlier this year to state, local and federal law enforcement. The document, which has not been previously reported on, becomes public as the Trump administration's Justice Department has been unable or unwilling to provide data to Congress on white supremacist domestic terrorism. The data in this document, titled 'Domestic Terrorism in 2018,' appears to be what Congress has been asking for -- and didn't get. The document, dated April 15, 2019, shows 25 of the 46 individuals allegedly involved in 32 different domestic terrorism incidents were identified as white supremacists. It was prepared by New Jersey's Office of Homeland Security Preparedness, one of the main arteries of information-sharing, and sent throughout the DHS fusion center network as well as federal agencies, including the FBI.... The April 15 document is available online on the New Jersey state government's website."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Gone Fishin'. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Facing mounting controversy for declaring the very real problem of white supremacy in America to be a 'hoax,' Tucker Carlson announced at the end of his Wednesday night Fox News show that he will be taking a vacation. 'By the way,' he said, 'I am taking several days off -- headed to the wilderness to fish with my son.'... There is, of course, a long history of Fox hosts heading out on vacation as they become engulfed in controversy for inflammatory comments.... I reached out to Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Anne Dias Roland Hernandez, and Paul Ryan -- the people who make up the Fox Corporation board -- on Wednesday to see if they had any comments about the bold untruths Carlson conveyed to his audience Tuesday night. I did not get any comment back... -- Fox spokesperson Hope Hicks did not provide a comment on behalf of either Rupert Murdoch or Lachlan Murdoch... -- Roland Hernandez answered my call, but when I started to ask my question, abruptly hung up. He did not reply to a follow-up text message." ...

     ... Kellyanne Defends Top White House Consultant Tucker. Jason Lemon of Newsweek: "White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday, arguing that his assertion that white supremacy is a 'hoax' was getting 'outsized coverage' compared to other threats. Conway made the comments during an interview with pundit Eric Bolling on his show America This Week.... "I think perhaps what Tucker is saying, but you'd have to ask him, is that the outsized coverage it gets versus all forms of hate," the Trump administration official said, pointing specifically to the left-wing ideology of Antifa and calling out anti-semitism." Mrs. McC: Lemon's lede is so poorly-written that it conveys something other than what he means to write.

Trump Made Me Do It. Seaborn Larson in the Billings Gazette: "The attorney for a 39-year-old man charged with assaulting a child who didn't take his hat off for the national anthem says his client, compromised by a traumatic brain injury, believes he was acting on an order from ... Donald Trump. Superior resident Curt Brockway was charged Monday with felony assault on a minor. His defense attorney, Lance Jasper, told the Missoulian Wednesday the president's 'rhetoric' contributed to the U.S. Army veteran's disposition when he choke-slammed a 13-year-old, fracturing his skull, at the Mineral County fairgrounds on Aug. 3. 'His commander in chief is telling people that if they kneel, they should be fired, or if they burn a flag, they should be punished,' Jasper said.... Charging documents indicate Brockway told the deputy he grabbed the boy by the throat, lifted him into the air and slammed the boy on the ground.... Deputies later learned the boy had suffered a concussion and a fractured skull." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Charles Pierce: "If this guy truly has a traumatic brain injury, that's a viable defense. But his lawyer has gone one step further and is arguing what actually would be Trump Derangement Syndrome.... Look. He's making us all a little crazy. But that isn't a legitimate defense in criminal court. Yet." Thanks to MAG for the link. ...

... Abigail Tracy of Vanity Fair: "While Donald Trump was denying any culpability for inspiring the mass shooter in El Paso, Texas, attorneys for another right-wing terrorist, Cesar Sayoc, were arguing the exact opposite. 'In this darkness, Mr. Sayoc found light in Donald J. Trump,' attorneys for Sayoc wrote in a court filing for the defendant, who was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to sending pipe bombs to prominent critics of the president.... The Trump Defense, such as it was, did not convince Judge Jed S. Rakoff. In explaining his decision to give Sayoc 20 years behind bars, as opposed to the lifetime sentence recommended by prosecutors, Rakoff said Sayoc's support for Trump was 'something of a sideshow.'.... But the Sayoc case is part of a broader pattern of attorneys invoking President Trump's influence and rhetoric in defense of their clients in criminal cases. There have been at least a half-dozen such cases in the media over the last three years.... The El Paso shooting has amplified a long-festering national conversation about the real-world impact of the president's rhetoric.... And the more Trump talks, the more the risk of radicalization grows." Thanks to MAG for the link.

Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "President Trump said in a tweet Thursday that he will name Joseph Maguire, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as the acting director of national intelligence. Maguire will assume the role Aug. 15, when Sue Gordon, a career intelligence official who serves as the deputy to the director of national intelligence, will resign. Trump announced Gordon's resignation in a tweet Thursday.... In her letter of resignation, Gordon emphasized her years of experience and praised intelligence agency employees. Trump has repeatedly assailed U.S. intelligence agencies and derided their conclusions when they conflict with his.... Trump was reluctant to keep Gordon, regarding her as part of a career establishment of which he has long been suspicious, according to officials with knowledge of the president's views. Congressional Democrats said Trump has pushed out Gordon as part of a plan to bring the intelligence agencies to heel." ...

... Martin Matishak of Politico: Sue "Gordon left a resignation letter for the president with a handwritten note that signaled she was leaving not leaving her post happily. 'I offer this letter as an act of respect & patriotism, not preference,' she wrote, according to a copy of the note provided by the White House.... 'Sue Gordon's retirement is a significant loss for our Intelligence Community,' Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who was adamant that Gordon take the reins when Coats left, said in a statement."

Maggie Haberman: "President Trump said on Wednesday night that he was 'strongly considering' commuting the 14-year prison sentence of Rod R. Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was convicted of trying to essentially sell President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat for personal gain. But after a day of pushback from conservatives and the Illinois delegation of House Republicans, Mr. Trump was having second thoughts, people close to him said. On Thursday night, he said on Twitter that the matter was simply being reviewed.... Aboard Air Force One on Wednesday..., Mr. Trump said, 'I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly; he was given close to 18 years in prison.... And it was the same gang, the Comey gang and all these sleaze bags that did it.... And I'm thinking about commuting his sentence.'... [Jared] Kushner said it would appeal to Democrats, according to [an] official." Adam Raymond of New York has the story here.

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Either Kushner is an idiot or he's trolling Democrats. Bringing up Blago of course is a reminder that not every single corrupt politician is a Republican.

NEW. Rachel Frazin of the Hill: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that his House panel is conducting an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Nadler added that the committee will decide by the year's end whether to refer articles of impeachment to the House floor. 'This is formal impeachment proceedings,' Nadler said in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett. 'We are investigating all the evidence, we're gathering the evidence. And we will at the conclusion of this -- hopefully by the end of the year -- vote to vote articles of impeachment to the House floor. Or we won't. That's a decision that we'll have to make. But that's exactly the process we're in right now.'"

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director who was fired for statements he made about communications between the F.B.I. and the press, sued the F.B.I. on Thursday, alleging that the dismissal was retaliatory and politically motivated.... [The suit claims that] President Trump 'purposefully and intentionally' pushed the Justice Department to demote and terminate him as part of an 'unconstitutional plan' to discredit and remove Justice Department and F.B.I. employees who were 'deemed to be his partisan opponents.' Mr. McCabe, 51, was also the subject of a scathing Justice Department inspector general report that accused him of violating the bureau's media policy when he authorized the disclosure of information to the press and of misleading investigators about what he had done." The NRP story, by Carrie Johnson, is here.

Greg Walters of Vice News: "House Democrats have procured thousands of documents about the finances of wealthy Russians who might have links to Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unidentified people familiar with the probe. Those records may provide a back door into learning about Trump's ties to foreign sources of income, and a way around his lawsuits to block Congressional investigations into his finances. The list of banks who’ve handed over information includes Trump's longtime favorite lender, Deutsche Bank, along with Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, according to the report. Trump is waging a legal battle to stop his banks from sharing information with Congress, prompting a courtroom fight that could take months, if not years, to play out -- even if he eventually loses. But getting documents about the finances of Russians could yield insight into Trump's financial history, even while the wrangling over his own records drags on."

Ha! Ben Lefebvre & Nahal Toosi of Politico: "The State Department has put on leave an employee of its energy bureau after reports that he has been an active member of a white supremacist group for more than five years, two sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday. Matthew Gebert, a foreign affairs officer for the department's Bureau of Energy Resources, was linked to the Washington D.C.-area chapter of a white supremacist organization and published racist propaganda online, according to a report published Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate speech.... Former State Department officials expressed surprise that security screenings had not flagged Gebert's involvement with the hate groups. Gebert would have undergone a routine screening before starting his position [in 2013] and another at his five-year work anniversary...." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: If you read the SPLC report which safari linked yesterday, you'll know that a State Department spokesperson seemed quite supportive of Gebert's extensive white supremacist activities. The person told reporter Matthew Hayden that State was "committed to providing a workplace that is free from discriminatory harassment and investigates alleged violations of laws, regulations, or Department policies, taking disciplinary action when appropriate." Apparently in light of the attention the El Paso murderer & Donald Trump have drawn to white supremacy this week, the State Department decided having a committed white supremacist on staff might not be such a good idea -- at this time.

Emily Birnbaum of the Hill: "Senate Republicans' campaign arm on Thursday announced it will stop spending money to advertise on Twitter after the social media site locked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) campaign account this week. The halt marks an escalation in the conservative battle against the country's largest tech companies, which they claim routinely censor right-wing voices. Critics have insisted there is little evidence to substantiate those claims beyond individual anecdotes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race 2020

"Biden: If Elected President, I'll Let Mitch McConnell Block Everything." Jonathan Chait: "Joe Biden, touring Iowa, told reporters, in so many words, that his plan is to have an ineffectual, failed presidency. Or, as Biden put it more pithily, 'Ending the filibuster is a very dangerous move.... He is nostalgically trapped in the bygone world of his youth ... and his belief that the institution can be restored to its bygone manners, is a symptom of a more profound disorder that you might call 'Senatitis.'" ...

... Two Days, Two Gaffes. Emma Kinery of Bloomberg: "Joe Biden told a group of mostly Asian and Hispanic voters Wednesday that 'poor kids are just as bright' as white children. The former vice president ... made the remarks to the Asian & Latino Coalition in Des Moines, Iowa, where he is on a four-day campaign swing.... He quickly added, 'Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids, no I really mean it, but think how we think about it.'" Mrs. McC: Truthiness? In his much-lauded speech Wednesday, Biden said, "We choose truth over facts." Both MSNBC & CNN played clips of the speech that included that clause, but the hosts who introduced it didn't comment on the nonsensical remark. Please, Democrats, can we have a better candidate?

Matt Stevens of the New York Times: "The entrepreneur and former tech executive Andrew Yang became the ninth Democratic presidential candidate to qualify for the next debates after a new poll of Iowa voters released Thursday showed him earning 2 percent support. Mr. Yang had already met the Democratic National Committee's other debate-qualification threshold by having drawn donations from more than 130,000 people."...

... Andrew Prokop of Vox: "Currently, nine candidates have qualified for debate No. 3: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Beto O'Rourke, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, and Andrew Yang. Prokop explains what the qualifications thresholds are & provides a handy Venn diagram of who's in & who's out.

Jonathan Lemire of the AP: "Now is the summer (vacation) of the president's discontent. As Donald Trump prepares to leave Friday for his annual August holiday..., he's confronting a storm of crises, at home and abroad, that could set the course for his upcoming re-election bid. With his poll numbers stalled and his ability to rally the country questioned, he's being tested by an escalating trade war with China that may slow the economy, rising tensions with both Iran and North Korea and, in the aftermath of the latest mass shootings, pressure to act on guns and face accusations of his own role in fostering an environment of hate. The dark clouds are converging as the president's bid for a second term takes on new urgency. Trump exudes confidence but as the two dozen Democrats eager to take his job sharpen their attacks, the White House -- or, for the next 10 days, the clubhouse in Bedminster, New Jersey -- will have to mount a multifront effort rooted in maintaining his base rather than trying to expand it."

News Lede

ABC News: "Police in Springfield, Missouri, arrested a man on Thursday afternoon after he walked into a Walmart, armed with a rifle and wearing body armor. The man, identified as 20-year-old Dmitriy Andreychenko, was arrested for making a terrorist threat, Springfield Police confirmed Friday. Andreychenko was stopped at the scene by an armed off-duty firefighter until officers arrived and took the man into custody, the Springfield Police Department said. A video taken by a witness outside the store shows the suspect with his arms up in the air and what looks like an assault rifle slung around his neck as he's being arrested. It's unclear what the Andreychenko's motive was, but police told ABC Springfield affiliate KSPR that the man was recording himself with his cellphone while walking through the store.... Andreychenko had about 100 rounds of ammunition on him when he entered the store, police told the station."

The Commentariat -- August 8, 2019

Afternoon Update:

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Yesterday, Ken W. linked to a story about a man who had bashed a boy's head into the pavement, causing serious injury, because the child had not taken off his hat while the national anthem played. Earlier in the day, I had seen a story covering the same incident, but I couldn't bear to read it, so I passed on Ken's story, too. Now, I have no choice to address the story because it has political significance:

Seaborn Larson in the Billings Gazette: "The attorney for a 39-year-old man charged with assaulting a child who didn't take his hat off for the national anthem says his client, compromised by a traumatic brain injury, believes he was acting on an order from ... Donald Trump. Superior resident Curt Brockway was charged Monday with felony assault on a minor. His defense attorney, Lance Jasper, told the Missoulian Wednesday the president's 'rhetoric' contributed to the U.S. Army veteran's disposition when he choke-slammed a 13-year-old, fracturing his skull, at the Mineral County fairgrounds on Aug. 3. 'His commander in chief is telling people that if they kneel, they should be fired, or if they burn a flag, they should be punished,' Jasper said.... Charging documents indicate Brockway told the deputy he grabbed the boy by the throat, lifted him into the air and slammed the boy on the ground.... Deputies later learned the boy had suffered a concussion and a fractured skull."

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump is getting criticized for a 30-second video he shared documenting the warm reception he received in Dayton and El Paso following mass shootings last weekend. The professionally shot and edited video was shared on the president's Twitter feed Wednesday evening and features a series of shots of President Trump shaking hands and posing for photos with hospital staffers, though noticeably does not include any images of his meeting with any victims from either mass shooting.... But as Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler notes [in a tweet], the press was not allowed to join President Trump during any of his visits, and as a result, the public is only allowed to learn what happened via the tightly curated and slickly packaged information propagated by the White House. Or as he fairly calls it 'propaganda.'"

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday ridiculed former Rep. Beto O'Rourke and bragged about the crowd size at one of his rallies while visiting medical staff who treated victims of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend.... When one the people Trump was addressing said Wednesday he was sitting in the front row of Trump's rally earlier this year, the president reached out to shake his hand. 'That was some crowd, and we had twice the number outside,' Trump replied. 'And then you had this crazy Beto. Beto had, like, 400 people in a parking lot. They said, "His crowd was wonderful."'"

Emily Birnbaum of the Hill: "Senate Republicans' campaign arm on Thursday announced it will stop spending money to advertise on Twitter after the social media site locked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) campaign account this week. The halt marks an escalation in the conservative battle against the country's largest tech companies, which they claim routinely censor right-wing voices. Critics have insisted there is little evidence to substantiate those claims beyond individual anecdotes."

~~~~~~~~~~

President* Uses "Day of Unity" to Attack Democrats. Mitch Smith & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump began a day set aside for healing in Dayton and El Paso by lashing out against his political rivals and the news media, employing the kind of divisive language that prompted protests in both cities even before he arrived.... Even as his spokeswoman said [Trump's visit to Dayton] was never designed as a photo op, Dan Scavino, the president's social media director, posted on Twitter pictures from inside Miami Valley Hospital. 'The President was treated like a Rock Star inside the hospital, which was all caught on video,' he tweeted. 'They all loved seeing their great President!'... Even though officials refused to allow reporters to witness the Dayton hospital visit..., the White House quickly released a video featuring images of Mr. Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, shaking hands with emergency workers and chatting with hospital staff members.... In a news conference soon after Mr. Trump departed Dayton for El Paso, [Sen. Sherrod] Brown and [Dayton Mayor Nan] Whaley said the president refused to commit to signing a universal background check bill, but told them that he would 'get things done.'... Flying on Air Force One, Mr. Trump attacked the senator and the mayor on Twitter, saying they had misrepresented what happened inside the hospital. 'Their news conference after I left for El Paso was a fraud,' the president wrote. 'It bore no resemblance to what took place.' Mr. Scavino added on Twitter: 'They are disgraceful politicians, doing nothing but politicizing a mass shooting, at every turn they can.'"

"Send Him Back!": El Paso Protesters. Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: On a day when President Trump vowed to tone down his rhetoric and help the country heal following two mass slayings, he did the opposite -- lacing his visits Wednesday to El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, with a flurry of attacks on local leaders and memorializing his trips with grinning thumbs-up photos.... Both in Dayton and El Paso, Trump kept almost entirely out of public view, a marked break with tradition, as presidents visiting grieving communities typically offer public condolences.... [Sen. Sherrod] Brown and [Dayton Mayor Nan] Whaley described the visit by the president and first lady Melania Trump in favorable terms.'... [Trump] lashed out at Brown and Whaley, falsely accusing them of 'totally misrepresenting' the reception he received at Miami Valley Hospital.... But neither Brown nor Whaley said Trump received a poor reception at the hospital.... Whaley later responded to Trump's comments about her and Brown by calling him 'a bully and a coward.'... None of the eight patients still being treated at University Medical Center in El Paso agreed to meet with Trump when he visited the hospital, UMC spokesman Ryan Mielke said. Two victims who already had been discharged returned to the hospital to meet with the president.... During his flight home from El Paso, Trump attacked Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), the twin brother of presidential candidate Julián Castro.... As he departed the White House on Wednesday morning en route to Ohio, [President] Trump told reporters he would refrain from attacking his adversaries during the trip.... That detente lasted only a few minutes. Answering a reporter's question about [Joe] Biden, Trump pounced. 'Joe is a pretty incompetent guy,' the president said. 'Joe Biden has truly lost his fastball, that I can tell you.'" ...

... Politico's report, by Gabby Orr, is here. ...

... John Bowden of the Hill: "In a tweet Wednesday night, Trump referred to [Rep Joaquin Castro] as the "lesser brother of a failed presidential candidate (1%) who makes a fool of himself every time he opens his mouth.' An initial tweet misspelled Joaquin Castro's name.... Julián Castro responded in his own tweet, vowing that he and his brother would 'keep fighting' against Trump's 'hate' and 'corruption.'" Mrs. McC: I too find "Joaquin" difficult to spell. Then again, were I sitting on AF1 with my crack staff all around, before I embarrassed myself to my gazillion brilliant Twitter followers, I would ask staff, "Is this the way you spell 'Wahkeen'?" ...

... Daniel Dale of CNN fact-checks Trump's claim that Sherrod Brown & Nan Whaley "misrepresent[ed] the reception [he] received from shooting victims during his visit to a Dayton hospital.... This is false. While both Brown and Whaley criticized Trump's past rhetoric, they were only complimentary about his visit to the hospital." ...

... "The Dems ... Are Truly Disgusting!": Trump. Zeke Miller & Jill Colvin of the AP: "Aiming to play the traditional role of healer during national tragedy..., Donald Trump paid visits Wednesday to cities reeling from mass shootings.... But his divisive words preceded him, large protests greeted him and biting political attacks soon followed.... Outside Dayton's Miami Valley Hospital, at least 200 protesters gathered, blaming Trump's incendiary rhetoric for inflaming political and racial tensions in the country and demanding action on gun control. Some said Trump was not welcome in their city. There were Trump supporters, as well. In El Paso, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke spoke to several hundred people.... Trump's motorcade passed El Paso protesters holding 'Racist Go Home' signs. And Trump spent part of his flight between Ohio and Texas airing his grievances on Twitter, berating Democratic lawmakers, O'Rourke and the press. It was a remarkable split-screen appearance for TV viewers, with White House images of handshakes and selfies juxtaposed with angry tweets.... Trump seemed focused on politics through the day. He mentioned the crowd at his earlier rally in El Paso. When a reporter asked what he saw during the day, he answered with claims about how he was received respectfully in both cities. Then on the flight home he unleashed another political tweet: 'The Dems new weapon is actually their old weapon, one which they never cease to use when they are down, or run out of facts, RACISM! They are truly disgusting!'" ...

... Michael Shear followed Trump on his no-apologies tour. "In a tweet on Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump quoted a conservative television news outlet's reporting that 'the Dayton, Ohio, shooter had a history of supporting political figures like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and ANTIFA.'... Before he departed on Wednesday, he dismissed criticism about his use of divisive language. 'I think my rhetoric brings people together,' he said.... Before leaving, he lashed out at the mayor of Dayton, calling her a supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders and of antifa, a radical leftist group.' The president also rejected calls to abandon the way he talks about immigrants, saying that 'illegal immigration is a terrible thing for this country' and insisting that 'we have very many people coming in. They are pouring in to this country.' Mr. Trump also used language tha echoed his 'both sides' comments after the neo-Nazi rallies in Charlottesville in 2017, saying on Wednesday that 'I'm concerned about the rise of any type of hate. I don't like it. Any type of supremacy, whether it's white supremacy or antifa.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The chance that Whaley is an Antifa supporter is somewhere around zero. But Trump is happy to condemn people for completely invented reasons. It's false charges like this, coming from a president*, that incite violence. ...

... Lawrence O'Donnell said Wednesday on MSNBC of Trump's visits to Dayton & El Paso, "These were campaign stops today." Trump used government resources to produce a propaganda video which Trump already has used in a campaign ad, O'Donnell said. (No link.)

Josh Dawsey & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "President Trump has repeatedly told lawmakers and aides in private conversations that he is open to endorsing extensive background checks in the wake of two mass shootings, prompting a warning from the National Rifle Association and concerns among White House aides, according to lawmakers and administration officials. Trump, speaking to reporters Wednesday before visiting Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, where weekend shootings left 31 dead, said there 'was great appetite for background checks' amid an outcry over government inaction in the face of repeated mass shootings.... NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre spoke with Trump on Tuesday after the president expressed support for a background check bill and told him it would not be popular among Trump's supporters, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... LaPierre also argued against the bil's merits, the officials said.... Advisers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would not bring any gun-control legislation to the floor without widespread Republican support." The Raw Story has a summary here.

The Trump Family Idiots. Like Sister, Like Brother, Like Father. Remember way back this morning when we read that Ivanka Trump tweeted made up stuff about Chicago, killing off people who had been wounded? Well, this morning Brother Junior went on Fox "News" & likened Julian Castro to the Dayton mass murderer because he had republlished a publicly-available list of Trump donors in San Antonio. Of course there is nothing wrong or murderous with publicizing information the government provides, and even if there were, Julian Castro didn't do so. His brotherJoaquin did, though. Philip Bump of the Washington Post reports. Worth a read, right to the end, where we learn Junior complained that Instagram "hit" him -- deleted his post -- just because he compared aspiring immigrants to animals in the zoo. (Also linked yesterday.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday said he's 'all in favor' of background checks for weapon purchases in the wake of recent mass shootings, but threw cold water on the prospect of banning high-powered weapons that have been used in several massacres. 'I'm looking to do background checks,' he told reporters. 'I think background checks are important. I don't want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable people or people with rage or hate. Sick people. I'm all in favor of it.' He indicated there would be little movement on legislation to ban high powered weapons like the one used in Dayton and other mass shootings. 'You have to have a political appetite within Congress and so far I haven't seen that,' Trump said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Anita Kumar of Politico: "... Donald Trump this week said his administration has done 'much more than most' to help curb mass shootings in the United States.... [But] his administration has actually eased gun restrictions over the past two and a half years. Federal agencies have implemented more than half a dozen policy changes -- primarily through little-noticed regulatory moves -- that expand access to guns by lifting firearms bans in certain locations and limiting the names on the national database designed to keep firearms away from dangerous people. The administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn New York City restrictions on transporting handguns outside homes. And it pushed to allow U.S. gunmakers to more easily sell firearms overseas, including the types used in mass shootings." In describing the minimal gun-control measures Trump did take in response to earlier mass murders, "William Vizzard, who spent nearly three decades at the ATF, described the restrictions as modest. 'On a scale of 1 to 100, they're about a 2, he said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jake Tapper of CNN: "Whit House officials rebuffed efforts by their colleagues at the Departmen of Homeland Security for more than a year to make combating domestic terror threats, such as those from white supremacists, a greater priority as specifically spelled out in the National Counterterrorism Strategy, current and former senior administration officials as well as other sources close to the Trump administration tell CNN. 'Homeland Security officials battled the White House for more than a year to get them to focus more on domestic terrorism,' one senior source close to the Trump administration tells CNN. 'The White House wanted to focus only on the jihadist threat which, while serious, ignored the reality that racial supremacist violence was rising fast here at home. They had major ideological blinders on.'... Why the White House pushed back so much is a matter of some debate. The former senior administration official noted that the White House, specifically the President, has a problem criticizing white supremacy." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: One reason Trump says outrageous things -- like lying about Sherrod Brown's & Nan Whaley's remarks -- is to deflect your attention from substantive stories like Tapper's.

Scott Glover & Majlie Kamp of CNN: "The El Paso shooting suspect's mother called the Allen, Texas, Police Department weeks before the shooting because she was concerned about her son owning an 'AK' type firearm, lawyers for the family confirmed to CNN. The mother contacted police because she was worried about her son owning the weapon given his age, maturity level and lack of experience handling such a firearm, attorneys Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres said. During the call, the mother was transferred to a public safety officer who told her that -- based on her description of the situation -- her son, 21, was legally allowed to purchase the weapon, the attorneys said. The mother did not provide her name or her son's name, and police did not seek any additional information from her before the call concluded, they added."

Mike Memoli of NBC News: "Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday excoriated President Donald Trump for a 'toxic tongue' that he said has inflamed the nation's divisions, saying that he lacked the moral authority to lead America. Addressing voters in rural southeastern Iowa as the president traveled between two American cities reeling from mass shooting incidents, Biden drew a direct link between Trump's rhetoric on immigration and what appeared to motivate the alleged shooter in Saturday's attack on El Paso, Texas.... Over the course of a nearly half-hour address Biden named a slew of former presidents -- from George Washington to George Bush, from Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama. But he cast Trump as the aberration, saying he had 'more in common with George Wallace than he does with George Washington.'"

Darren Sands of BuzzFeed News: "Cory Booker stood in the well in the hallowed halls of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Wednesday morning and challenged Americans to act on the country's gun violence epidemic, just days after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that killed at least 31 people and brought the country to a grieving halt. Booker offered a lyrical and, at times, spirited speech that presented an intersectional message on the dangers that white supremacy and gun violence pose to America." (Also linked yesterday.)

Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of white-collar Walmart employees are expected to walk out Wednesday afternoon to protest the retailer's gun policies after shootings at two company stores left 24 people dead. Workers at Walmart's e-commerce offices in San Bruno, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Brooklyn are taking action to urge the world's largest retailer to stop selling guns and discontinue donations to politicians who receive funding from the National Rifle Association. Walmart sells guns in about half of its 4,750 U.S. stores, making it one of the nation's largest retailers of firearms and ammunition.... Organizers also started a Change.org petition to call on company executives to stop selling firearms. As of Wednesday morning, it had more than 28,000 signatures." After learning of the employees' plans, Walmart suspended at least one of the organizers' email & Slack accounts. USA Today has the story here. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... The story has been updated, with Greg Bensinger added to the byline. New lede: "Roughly 40 white-collar Walmart employees [in San Bruno, California,] walked out Wednesday afternoon to protest the retailer's gun policies after deadly shootings at two company stores. Workers at Walmart's e-commerce offices in Portland, Ore., and Brooklyn were also taking action to urge the world's largest retailer to stop selling guns and discontinue donations to politicians who receive funding from the National Rifle Association." Mrs. McC: This is the only story on the walkout I could find.

Say, Let's Ask Susan Collins about All This. Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "Amid calls for action to stop gun violence and mass shootings, [Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)] told right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday that it is' extremely disappointing' that Americans want action now. Collins, who sometimes bucks her party on gun issues but is most often there when the Senate Republican leadership needs her, has been non-committal on specific responses to the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton over the weekend. Asked about the issue by Hewitt, she launched an attack -- not on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has blocked all action on gun safety legislation, or ... Donald Trump, who has fueled white nationalist violence with his racist rhetoric -- but on the activists who are calling for change to the status quo. 'Surely this is the time when we could put aside politics and come together and our leaders could act as one to give our condolences to the victims' families. And ... it's extremely disappointing,' she complained.... 'There are times for political debate, but this is not one of them.'" Mrs. McC: Shame on you for "extremely disappointing" Collins yet again.

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "Fox News anchor Shepard Smith appeared to throw a short but intense burst of righteous rebuke at Fox host ... Tucker Carlson when he told viewers that 'White nationalism is without question a serious problem in America.' On Tuesday night, Carlson delivered a disgusting rant in which he claimed that white supremacy is a 'hoax' that is 'actually not a real problem in America' -- just days after that 'hoax' killed 22 people in El Paso, Texas and wounded dozens more.... 'Marking the unmistakable rise of white nationalism and white racism in America, and saying as president, he will work to fight against it, calling us to our better souls, to recognize that white nationalism is real, that white nationalism is on the rise, and that white nationalism is without question a very serious problem in America,' Smith said, the last clause a crystalline dagger at Carlson." ...

... So Then... Justin Wise of the Hill: "'Watching Fake News CNN is better than watching Shepard Smith, the lowest rated show on @FoxNews,' Trump tweeted ... yesterday. 'Actually, whenever possible, I turn to [One America News Network]!'... Smith acknowledged Trump's tweet during his show Wednesday, saying, 'Good afternoon, Mr. President. It's nice to have you with us.'"

MEANWHILE. Rogelio Solis & Jeff Amy of the AP: "U.S. immigration officials raided seven Mississippi chicke processing plants Wednesday, arresting 680 mostly Latino workers in the largest workplace sting in at least a decade. The raids, planned months ago, happened just hours before ... Donald Trump visited El Paso, Texas, the majority-Latino border city.... 'On a day when we seek unifying words and acts to heal the nation's broken heart, President Trump allows so many families and communities to be torn apart,' said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.... About 600 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fanned out across the plants operated by five companies, surrounding the perimeters to prevent workers from fleeing.... Those arrested [at a plant in Morton, Mississippi,] were taken to a military hangar to be processed for immigration violations. About 70 family, friends and residents waved goodbye and shouted, 'Let them go! Let them go!' Later, two more buses arrived.... The companies involved could be charged with knowingly hiring workers who are in the county illegally and will be scrutinized for tax, document and wage fraud, [Matthew] Albence, [ICE's acting director,] said." ...

... Angela Fritz & Luis Velarde of the Washington Post: "Many children [of parents ICE detained] didn't have a loved one or family friend to go home to. Some walked home from school but were locked out because their parents were detained in the raid. Volunteers set up a makeshift shelter for the children at a local gym tonight, WJTV's Alex Love reported. There was food, 'but most children are still devastated and crying for their parents and can't eat,' Love said on Twitter. Bryan D. Cox, a spokesman for ICE, told The Post that all arrested individuals were asked 'if they had any children who were at school or child care and needed to be picked up.' He said cellphones were also made available to detainees so they could make arrangements for child care. Cox also said schools were contacted as the raids began so they were aware there could be child care issues and knew who to contact if parents didn't pick up their kids. Any detainee that indicates he or she has dependents 'and is not being criminally arrested or is subject to mandatory detention, will be expeditiously processed,' Cox said."

Juan Cole: "Latino-Americans are standard-bearers of a bright future for the US. The Latino Gross Domestic Product in the US in 2016 was at least $2.13 trillion, according to a study by the Latino Donor Collaborative. In that year, the US GDP was $18 trillion. If the nearly 60 million Latinos in the US were a country, they'd be the world's 7th largest.... They are expected to generate 25% of all economic advance in the US in 2019-2020 despite only being 17% of the population. They are more than pulling their weight.... Latinos own 4.37 million businesses in the US, contributing $700 billion to the economy every year. More, in the past decade Latinos started 86% of all new businesses. The El Paso shooter, a loser, was targeting precisely the people who could help ensure he had a secure economic future in Texas." --s

Elliot Hannon of Slate: "In June, the U.S.government deported 41-year-old Jimmy Aldaoud to Iraq. Aldaoud, who was born in Greece, said he had lived in the U.S. since he was six months old and had never even been to Iraq, the country he where he was technically a national. Aldaoud was residing in a small Detroit metro area community of Chaldean Catholics, a branch of the Roman Catholic church whose roots are in present-day Iraq, when immigration officials showed up, detained him, and ultimately put him on a plane to Baghdad. Aldaoud did not speak Arabic. He did not have a home or any contacts there. Aldaoud was also a diabetic and, on Tuesday, he died in a country that was not his own from what appeared to be a lack of access to insulin, according to the family friends and the American Civil Liberties Union."

Lawyers Paid to Work for You Think They Work for Trump

Nicholas Fandos & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The House Judiciary Committee sued on Wednesday to force the former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II to testify before Congress, asking a federal judge to strike down the Trump administration's claim that top presidential aides are 'absolutely immune' from its subpoenas. In a filing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the Judiciary Committee identified Mr. McGahn as 'the most important witness, other than the president, to the key events' at the center of its investigation into possible obstruction of justice by President Trump --behavior detailed by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, that the committee said could warrant impeachment.... 'When faced with competing demands from coequal branches of government, Don will follow his former client's instruction, absent a contrary decision from the federal judiciary.' [William Burke, one of McGahn's attorneys said.]" Mrs. McC: But, um, Trump was never McGahn's "client"; "the presidency" was his "client."

Josh Marshall of TPM: "The President has been going into court in his personal capacity -- i.e., with his own private lawyers -- trying to knock down various House efforts to subpoena documents relative to his personal and business finances... His lawyers ... have made a raft out of outlandish legal claims.... But now the Department of Justice is entering these cases and to a great degree mimicking these arguments.... What all of this amounts to is that the Department of Justice is now more or less openly operating as the President's personal defender." --s ...

... Blame the Court. Josh Kovensky of TPM: "Echoing arguments made by personal attorneys for President Trump, the Justice Department weighed in Tuesday on Trump's side in his bid to halt a congressional probe of his finances. Trump took the unprecedented step of hiring personal attorneys to try to halt a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee seeking financial records from his longtime accountant, Mazars USA LLP. Accusing House Democrats of issuing 'sweeping subpoenas purportedly justified by vague incantations of hypothetical legislative purposes,' DOJ attorneys argued in the Tuesday filing that the subpoena 'raises significant separation-of-powers issues.' The DOJ filing is the first time the Trump Administration has taken a position in court on the President'bid to halt Congress' investigations of himself. The Justice Department filed its brief after the DC appeals court asked it to during oral arguments in the case last month. The judges wondered aloud why the government had not taken a position on the matter."

Matt Shuham of TPM: "At a GOP fundraiser back home in South Carolina on Friday, the White House chief of staff [Dick [sic] Mulvaney] celebrated ;a decision announced recently by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. Hundreds of government economists and researchers based in Washington, D.C., the secretary said in June, were being given a choice: Move to Kansas City, or get out. They had 33 days to decide. 'Guess what happened?' Mulvaney asked his audience. 'More than half the people quit.'... An inspector general's investigation was launched in November into the legality of the relocation, and reported Monday that Perdue may have improperly circumvented Congress.... The relocation, Mulvaney said, offered proof he was draining ['the swamp']." --s ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes, but Mulvaney is a dick.

** Michael Hayden of the Southern Poverty Law Center: "A U.S. State Department official oversaw the Washington, D.C.-area chapter of a white nationalist organization, hosted white nationalists at his home and published white nationalist propaganda online, Hatewatch has determined. The official, Matthew Q. Gebert, works as a foreign affairs officer assigned to the Bureau of Energy Resources, a State Department spokesperson told Hatewatch. Online, and in private correspondences with other white nationalists, Gebert uses 'Coach Finstock' as a pseudonym. Through that alias, he expressed a desire to build a country for whites only.... Four separate sources named Gebert's wife, Anna Vuckovic, as 'Wolfie James,' a blogger and Twitter personality who also is connected to the white nationalist movement." --s ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The State Department's response at the bottom of the report is more than worrisome. However, the Feds are very concerned about this:

... Jason Wilson & Will Parrish of the Guardian: "Law enforcement groups, including the FBI, have been monitoring opponents of a natural gas infrastructure project in Oregon and circulated intelligence to an email list that included a Republican-aligned anti-environmental PR operative, [Mark Pfeifle of Off The Record Strategies] emails obtained by the Guardian show.... The emails, obtained via open records requests, reflect the increased scrutiny and surveillance to which law enforcement agencies are often subjecting indigenous and environmental groups, activists say.... In a telephone interview, a spokesman for the US attorney in Oregon also confirmed the existence of another body mentioned in the emails: a 'domestic terrorism working group' led by the assistant US attorney, Craig Gabriel, that meets 'roughly quarterly' in Portland." --s

E. A. Crunden of ThinkProgress: "The Trump administration's plan to freeze fuel efficiency standards in defiance of California's stricter, more environmentally friendly rules is set to have dire ramifications for emissions levels and the economy, according to new research out Wednesday. Rolling back California's robust vehicle emissions requirements will cost the U.S. economy $400 billion through 2050, an analysis from the environmental policy group Energy Innovation found. President Donald Trump's efforts to undo Obama-era rules will also increase U.S. gasoline consumption by up to 7.6 billion barrels, subsequently increasing U.S. transport emissions up to 10% by 2035." --s

Ben Tobin & Phillip Bailey of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "After sharing a video of a profanity-laced protest outside [Mitch McConnell's] home in Louisville, the campaign Twitter account, Team Mitch, has been locked out.... On Monday, Black Lives Matter Louisville leader Chanelle Helm said in a live video of the protest outside of McConnell's Highlands-area home that instead of falling and injuring his shoulder over the weekend, the GOP leader 'should have broken his little raggedy, wrinkled-(expletive) neck.' After a man makes a reference to a hypothetical McConnell voodoo doll, Helm replied, 'Just stab the m----- f----- in the heart.' That comment went viral on Twitter."

Presidential Race 2020

Trump Has Millions of New Fans. Nate Cohn of the New York Times: "The share of Americans who say they have a favorable view of [Donald Trump] has increased significantly since the 2016 election.... And over the last few months, some of the highest-quality public opinion polls, though not all, showed the president's job approval rating -- a different measure from personal favorability -- had inched up to essentially match the highest level of his term.... [This] has some important implications in how to view his re-election prospects.... Millions of Americans who did not like the president in 2016 now say they do. Over all, his personal favorability rating has increased by about 10 percentage points among registered voters since Election Day 2016...."

Madeleine Aggeler of New York: "Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins and chairman of the Related Companies, which includes cult fitness brands SoulCycle and Equinox, is scheduled to throw an extravagant fundraiser for President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign on Friday, the Washington Post reports. Tickets for his Hamptons luncheon begin at $100,000 for lunch and a photo opportunity with the president. For $250,000, guests can partake of lunch, a photo op, and a small roundtable discussion with Trump. The report was met with dismay by fans of SoulCycle and Equinox, many of whom threatened to withdraw their memberships in protest." Both SoulCycle & Equinox posted tweets claiming Ross is merely a "passive investor."

Stephen Brown of the New York Daily News: "The founder of Students for Trump pleaded guilty Tuesday to running a $46,000 scam in which he posed as a lawyer and gave legal advice. John Lambert, 23, created a website for a fake law firm called Pope & Dunn and claimed to be Eric Pope, a graduate of NYU Law School with a finance degree from the University of Pennsylvania and 15 years of experience in corporate and patent law, prosecutors said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Steve Eder & Emily Steel of the New York Times: "For over 15 years, Jeffrey Epstein served as a close personal adviser to Leslie H. Wexner, the billionaire mogul behind Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Now, Mr. Wexner says Mr. Epstein 'misappropriated vast sums of money' from him and his family. Mr. Wexner, the chief executive of the retail giant L Brands, included the accusation in a 564-word letter he sent Wednesday to the Wexner Foundation, giving his most detailed account yet of how his life and affairs became intertwined with Mr. Epstein, who was arrested last month and charged with sex trafficking involving girls as young as 14. In the letter, Mr. Wexner said the misappropriation was first discovered in 2007 ... [after] Florida authorities charged Mr. Epstein with multiple counts of molestation and unlawful sexual activity with a minor." The Hill's story is here.

Can You Hear Me Now? Joseph Cox of Vice: "Contractors working for Microsoft are listening to personal conversations of Skype users conducted through the app's translation service, according to a cache of internal documents, screenshots, and audio recordings obtained by Motherboard.... Apple and Google recently suspended their use of human transcribers for their respective Siri and Google Assistant services after a backlash over similar media reporting on the companies' practices." --s

Sam Levin of the Guardian: "Monsanto [now owned by the German pharmaceutical corporation Bayer] operated a 'fusion center' to monitor and discredit journalists and activists, and targeted a reporter who wrote a critical book on the company, documents reveal. The agrochemical corporation also investigated the singer Neil Young and wrote an internal memo on his social media activity and music.... The documents, mostly from 2015 to 2017, were disclosed as part of an ongoing court battle on the health hazards of the company's Roundup weedkiller[.]" --s

** Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "The climate crisis is damaging the ability of the land to sustain humanity, with cascading risks becoming increasingly severe as global temperatures rise, according to a landmark UN report compiled by some of the world's top scientists.... Further heating will lead to unprecedented climate conditions at lower latitudes, with potential growth in hunger, migration and conflict and increased damage to the great northern forests.... Continued destruction of forests and huge emissions from cattle and other intensive farming practices will intensify the climate crisis, making the impacts on land still worse." Here's the report. --s ...

     ... The New York Times report, currently (7 am ET Thursday) at the top of the online front page, is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Puerto Rico Gets Its Third Governor in Six Days. Danica Coto of the AP: "Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez became Puerto Rico's new governor Wednesday, just the second woman to hold the office, after weeks of political turmoil and hours after the island's Supreme Court declared Pedro Pierluisi's swearing-in a week ago unconstitutional. Accompanied by her husband, Judge Jorge Díaz, and her daughter, Vázquez took the oath of office in the early evening at the Supreme Court before leaving without making any public comment.... The high court's unanimous decision, which could not be appealed, settled the dispute over who will lead the U.S. territory after its political establishment was knocked off balance by big street protests spawned by anger over corruption, mismanagement of funds and a leaked obscenity-laced chat that forced the previous governor and several top aides to resign. But it was also expected to unleash a new wave of demonstrations because many Puerto Ricans have said they don’t want Vázquez as governor."

Way Beyond

India. Jeffrey Gettleman, et al., of the New York Times (August 5): "India's Hindu nationalist government on Monday unilaterally wiped out the autonomy of the restive Kashmir region, sending in thousands of army troops to quell any possible unrest the move would bring in a disputed territory fought over by India and Pakistan. Government authorities severed internet connections, mobile phone lines and even land lines, casting Kashmir into an information black hole that made it very difficult to discern what was unfolding.... On Monday, Amit Shah, India's home minister, announced in a quick speech, which belied years of steady plotting, that the central government was removing the special, somewhat autonomous status that served as the foundation for Kashmir joining India more than 70 years ago." Mrs. McC: Sorry I missed this earlier.

Turkey. Alison Flood of the Guardian: "More than 300,000 books have been removed from Turkish schools and libraries and destroyed since the attempted coup of 2016, according to Turkey's ministry of education ... as the government cracks down on anything linked to Fethullah Gülen, the US-based Muslim cleric who is accused by Turkey of instigating 2016's failed military coup. Glen has denied involvement." --s

News Lede

AP: "A gang member who killed four people and wounded two others in random stabbings across two Southern California cities has a violent past, police said Thursday, and court records show he was free on bail for a charge last month of carrying a concealed dagger. Zachary Castaneda 'could have injured or killed many other people' had he not been arrested Wednesday after two-hours of robberies and vicious knife attacks, Garden Grove police Chief Tom DaRe said Thursday. A blood-covered Castaneda was taken into custody when he walked out of a convenience store in neighboring Santa Ana, dropping a knife and gun he had taken from a security guard he had just killed, police said. Castaneda was kept in restraints as detectives tried to interview him. 'He remained violent with us through the night,' DaRe said. 'He never told us why he did this.'"