The Commentariat -- April 4, 2018
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Uh-Oh. Andrew Kaczynski & Gloria Borger of CNN: "Roger Stone appeared on the InfoWars radio show the same day he sent an email claiming he dined with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange -- and he predicted 'devastating' upcoming disclosures about the Clinton Foundation. Stone's comments in his August 4, 2016, appearance are the earliest known time he claimed to know of forthcoming WikiLeaks documents. A CNN KFile timeline shows that on August 10, 2016, Stone claimed to have 'actually communicated with Julian Assange.'... In the interview with Jones on InfoWars, Stone said that he believed Assange had proof of wrongdoing at the Clinton Foundation.... On the August 4, 2016, InfoWars show, Stone described the soon-to-appear WikiLeaks disclosures. He also mentioned that he spoke with ... Donald Trump on August 3 -- the day before the interview."
Fake Diplomat Expulsion Exchange. Laura Koran of CNN: "The State Department confirmed the United States and Russia can replace diplomats in each other's countries who were expelled last week, describing the process as standard practice for cases in which targeted personnel are ejected as 'persona non-grata,' and cautioning that any new diplomats would be subject to approval on a 'case-by-case basis.' 'As always/As with similar incidents in the past, the Russian government remains free to request accreditation for vacant positions in its bilateral mission,' a State Department spokesman told CNN in a statement Tuesday. 'Any requests for new diplomatic accreditation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.' 'The Russian Federation has not informed us that it intends to reduce the total number of personnel allowed in our bilateral Mission,' the spokesperson added. 'We therefore understand that the United States may request new diplomatic personnel to fill the positions of diplomats who have been expelled.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the lead.
Managing the Moron. Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "... Donald Trump reluctantly agreed in a meeting with his national security team on Tuesday to keep U.S. troops in Syria for an undetermined period of time with the goal of defeating ISIS, a senior administration official said Wednesday. 'He wasn't thrilled about it, to say the least,' the official said. Defense Secretary James Mattis and other top officials made the case to Trump that the fight against ISIS was almost finished but a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces at this time would risk losing gains the U.S. has made in the ISIS fight, the official said."
*****
** The Moron Unchained. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Far from learning on the job or modifying his views to fit the imperatives of America's global role — as did so many of his predecessors -- Mr. Trump is falling back on the familiar mix of belligerence and isolationism that fueled his 'America First' campaign.... 'I want to get out,' Mr. Trump said of the United States' military engagement in Syria, at a news conference on Tuesday with leaders of the Baltic States. 'I want to bring our troops back home.' Mr. Trump's words were at odds with the strategy his administration is pursuing in Syria. But they were almost verbatim what he said in pre-election tweets, as well as in debates two years ago.... Mr. Trump's reversion to his campaign themes comes as he has reshuffled his national security team, ousting aides with more conventional views of American power, like Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the national security adviser, in favor of more hawkish figures, like Mike Pompeo and John R. Bolton. How these new players will mesh with Mr. Trump's throwback persona may determine whether the president is signaling a midcourse correction in foreign policy or merely retreating to phrases and positions that give him comfort. Mr. Tillerson and General McMaster curbed some of Mr. Trump's most radical ideas...." Read on. ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This is another extraordinary NYT front-page essay on what a glaring dimwit occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If the world blows up, somewhere in the firmament will be a record that we've been warned. Over to you, Paul Ryan. Bob Mueller will give you an excuse to get rid of this threat to the world. Use it.
Emily Rauhala of the Washington Post: "China responded to President Trump's new tariffs by threatening tariffs of its own on 106 U.S. products, including on soybeans, cars and some airplanes, in the latest escalation of what risks becoming a tit-for-tat trade war between the world's two largest economies. The plan, which was announced Wednesday, would see Beijing slap 25 percent levies on a range of U.S. goods worth about $50 billion. Chinese officials did not set a date for implementation, saying what happens next will depend on whether the U.S. president pushes ahead with his tariff plans. Though the tariffs are not in place yet, the news had an immediate impact on markets, including the soybean market." ...
... Fred Imbert & Alexandra Gibbs of CNBC: "Stocks plunged at the open on Wednesday after China announced new tariffs on 106 more U.S. products, increasing worries."
... trade wars are good, and easy to win. When we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don't trade anymore -- we win big. It's easy! -- Donald Trump, international trade expert, in a March 2 tweet ...
... Ana Swanson of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will place a 25 percent tariff on Chinese products like flat-screen televisions, medical devices, aircraft parts and batteries, outlining more than 1,300 imported goods that will soon face levies as part of a sweeping trade measure aimed at penalizing China for its trade practices. The move, which stems from a White House investigation into China's use of pressure, intimidation and theft to obtain American technologies, is likely to inflame an already-simmering trade war between the countries.... The products targeted by the White House are part of its plan to go after China's dominance in cutting-edge technologies like semiconductors, electric vehicles and advanced medical products -- industries that China is pursuing dominance in as part of an industrial plan known as 'Made in China 2025.'"
Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Tuesday that he planned to order the military to guard parts of the southern border until he can build a wall and tighten immigration restrictions, proposing a remarkable escalation of his efforts to crack down on migrants entering the country illegally. Mr. Trump, who has been stewing publicly for days about what he characterizes as lax immigration laws and the potential for an influx of Central American migrants to stream into the United States, said he was consulting with Jim Mattis, the secretary of defense, about resorting to military deployments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Trump Enjoys Screwing with Everybody. Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Honduras may be bearing the brunt of President Trump's ire today over immigration, but only a few months ago it was receiving accolades from the administration. Honduras was among only seven nations that voted with the United States and Israel in December against a resolution condemning the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Trump and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, both suggested U.S. aid could hinge on how nations voted. While 128 nations voted for the resolution anyway, Honduras, which got $137.5 million in U.S. aid in 2017, seemed to be safe, along with Guatemala, Togo and several small Pacific Island nations.... Tuesday brought another whiplash turn when Trump said U.S. aid to Honduras and other countries in the region is now 'in play' again as a caravan of migrants moved through Mexico toward the U.S. border. Honduras already is on the chopping block in the foreign aid budget for next year. The administration has proposed cutting aid in half, to $65.75 million, in 2019. Foreign aid has strong bipartisan support in Congress, however, and early indications are the administration's wishes will be ignored." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Joshua Partlow & David Agren of the Washington Post: "The Mexican government on Monday evening moved to break up the caravan of migrants traveling through southern Mexico, with immigration officials registering the travelers and suggesting some could receive humanitarian visas while others would have to leave Mexico. The caravan, estimated at more than 1,000 migrants, many from Central America, has gained increasing visibility because of tweets by President Trump that have criticized Mexico for not doing more to stop the flow of migrants to the southern border of the United States.... Mexico's Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday that 'under no circumstances does the government of Mexico promote irregular migration.' The statement said that the caravan has taken place every year since 2010 and is made up primarily of people from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and that 400 people in this group have already been deported.... Even after the Mexican statement about stopping the caravan, Trump tweeted again on Tuesday morning insisting the caravan must be stopped before it reaches the border and Congress 'MUST ACT NOW.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Julie Davis: "President Trump has begun a new push for legislation to crack down on illegal immigration and make it more difficult to obtain refuge in the United States, White House officials said Monday, arguing that lax laws have drawn a flood of migrants to the country's borders. The proposals include toughening laws to make it more difficult to apply for or be granted asylum in the United States, stripping protections for children arriving illegally without their parents so they can be turned back at the border or quickly removed, and allowing families to be detained for longer periods while they await decisions from immigration authorities about their fates. While the steps have long been advocated by Mr. Trump's hard-line aides, including Stephen Miller, his senior policy adviser, focusing on the now opens a new front in the president's push for immigration restrictions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I'll bet that legislation Miller is writing is primo -- just as good as the Muslim bans he wrote that the courts struck down & only slightly more coherent than Trump's childish "MUST ACT NOW" tweets. ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Daniel Drezner of the Washington Post has a theory of Trumpertweets that is akin to, but more sophisticated than, some of my remarks yesterday. Drezner: "Almost everything [Trump] tweeted on [several] issues was a lie factually challenged and sounds worse when one takes Trump's words semi-seriously. The tweets from this morning suggest that these tantrums, which last year only occurred about once a week, are going to be closer to a daily feature of his presidency. A politically weakened Trump has pivoted back to branding because it is his only option before the midterm elections. It is worth stressing just how little Trump is going to get from Congress between now and the midterms.... Given his political constraints, Trump will do what he did in the private sector when his real estate empire was floundering: switch to branding. When Trump actually tried to build things like hotels, his track record was mediocre. As a brand, however, Trump pocketed millions with far less skin in the game. The president's behavior this past month or so can best be understood as him trying to return to his brand as an angry outsider." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
This Russia Thing, Ctd.
** Carol Leonnig & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III informed President Trump's attorneys last month that he is continuing to investigate the president but does not consider him a criminal target at this point, according to three people familiar with the discussions. In private negotiations in early March about a possible presidential interview, Mueller described Trump as a subject of his investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors view someone as a subject when that person has engaged in conduct that is under investigation but there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges. The special counsel also told Trump's lawyers that he is preparing a report about the president's actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations.... The president has privately expressed relief at the description of his legal status, which has increased his determination to agree to a special counsel interview, the people said.... [Some of Trump's] advisers, however, noted that subjects of investigations can easily become indicted targets -- and expressed concern that the special prosecutor was baiting Trump into an interview that could put the president in legal peril.... Some of Trump's advisers have warned White House aides that they fear Mueller could issue a blistering report about the president's actions." ...
... Margaret Hartmann: According to the Post, "Mueller is preparing two separate reports: one about Trump's actions in office and potential obstruction of justice, and another about Russia-related activities.... [Reporter Robert] "Costa dropped one key detail in a late-night appearance on MSNBC: Mueller is looking to release the obstruction report in June or July. This may give Trump hope that if he just sits down with Mueller, that part of the probe can be done in a matter of months. But that could turn out to be a nightmare for congressional Republicans, and perhaps the president too.... In addition to having the midterms marred by Manafort news and sporadic Mueller-related leaks, Republicans will be dealing with a report on Trump's inappropriate behavior in office -- with the promise of Russia revelations to come." ...
... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "There is a popular school of thought ... that Mueller may not even view charging the president with crimes as a potential outcome of the investigation. It has to do with an opinion written by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in 1973 (read: Nixon, Richard) that was affirmed in 2000 (read: Clinton, Bill).... What if Mueller is saying Trump isn't a criminal target of the probe because he doesn't think Trump can be a criminal target of the probe?... It would mean Mueller could have the most damning information about collusion, obstruction of justice and anything else, and he would technically be telling Trump's lawyers the truth when he says Trump isn't a criminal target. And it wouldn't foreclose impeachment." Mrs. McC: I'm betting on the sealed indictment, to be acted upon when Trump leaves office.
Spencer Hsu & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III was authorized by a top Justice Department official to investigate whether Paul Manafort ... illegally coordinated with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, new court filings show. Manafort, who was indicted last year on felony charges related to his work in Ukraine before joining Trump's campaign, has not been charged with any crimes connected to the presidential race. But a partly redacted memo included in court filings late Monday night revealed that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein authorized Mueller to pursue allegations that Manafort colluded with Russia in 2016. The new filings show that Rosenstein specifically approved lines of investigation for the special counsel in an August 2017 memo. A version of the memo filed in court showed that Rosenstein signed off on an investigation of whether Manafort 'committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials' and of Manafort's work as an international political consultant in Ukraine before joining Trump's campaign. Additional sections of the 2 1/2 -page memo were blacked out by prosecutors, indicating that Rosenstein authorized other lines of investigation that remain a secret."
Laura Jarrett of CNN: "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has picked a veteran prosecutor to help him oversee the Russia probe at the Justice Department as the Special Counsel's investigation deepens. Ed O'Callaghan will serve as the acting Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, according to a Justice Department official."
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Special counsel Robert Mueller obtained the first sentence in his high-profile investigation Tuesday, as a Dutch attorney who admitted to lying to investigators was ordered into federal custody for 30 days. Former Skadden Arps lawyer Alex van der Zwaan, 33, pleaded guilty in February to lying to FBI agents about his contacts with former Trump campaign official Rick Gates and Konstantin Kilimnik, a suspected Russian intelligence operative who worked closely with Gates and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.... Van der Zwaan is married to the daughter of a Ukrainian-Russian energy mogul, German Khan, whom Forbes ranks 138th on its list of billionaires, with a net worth of $9.3 billion." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... The New York Times story, by Sharon LaFraniere, is here.
Ryan Browne of CNN: "In his last public remarks as national security adviser, Lt. Gen. HR McMaster offered harsh words for Russia Tuesday during a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. 'We have failed to impose sufficient costs' on Russia, McMaster said at the event, which also included a Q&A with the Presidents of Estonia and Latvia, as well as the Foreign Minister of Lithuania. He added that the failure to impose adequate costs on Russia's activities meant that 'the Kremlin's confidence is growing.' 'Russia has used old and new forms of aggression to undermine our open societies,' McMaster said. 'For too long some nations have looked the other way,' McMaster said, cataloging what he said were a series of actions by Russia that warranted condemnation, including cyberattacks against the US and its NATO allies, and unsafe intercepts of US and NATO military forces. However, McMaster also praised the Trump administration's response to Russia, particularly the coordinated expulsion of diplomats in response to the incident in Salisbury UK. McMaster said the expelled diplomats helped 'orchestrate' Russian interference in the US...." ...
... You can watch McMaster's full speech here.
What? What? Trump Team Turf War? Oh, Yes. Alan Rappeport & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "The White House's Office of Management and Budget, headed by Mick Mulvaney, and the Treasury Department, run by Steven Mnuchin, are at odds over whether to end Treasury's traditional independence in writing tax regulations and to give the budget office more oversight of those rules. If an agreement is not reached soon, the president may have to weigh in and make the decision himself. The debate is more than just a West Wing turf war. How it plays out could affect several big decisions that will define the breadth and scope of the new tax law, including whether small businesses like veterinary clinics and dentists may claim a new 20 percent tax deduction, and to what degree multinational corporations such as Microsoft and Eli Lilly will be hit with a new minimum tax on the profits they earn overseas."
Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "In recent weeks, [EPA Administrator Scott] Pruitt has been the focus of ongoing scrutiny of his frequent first-class travel, which the EPA has argued was necessary because of security concerns. He now is facing inquiries over a discount condo rental he arranged with the wife of an energy and transportation lobbyist, as well as his decision to utilize an obscure provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act to give huge raises to two staff members. On Tuesday, two Republican lawmakers [-- Florida Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen --] joined a chorus of Democrats and environmental groups calling for Pruitt's ouster. But Trump appeared to stand by his EPA chief, voicing support for a man who has also proven adept at delivering on the president's campaign promise to aggressively roll back environmental regulations.... The pay hike ... [for] 26-year-old staffer [Millan Hupp came after she] oversaw an extensive housing hunt for the administrator last year. Hupp at times conducted the search during office hours, according to a former EPA employee and others who interacted with her, activity that ethics experts said constitutes a violation of federal rules." ...
... Hiding Scott Pruitt. Clare Foran of CNN: "As questions swirled over whether or not he can hold onto his administration post, embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt appeared calm on Tuesday as he touted the agency's decision to revise greenhouse gas emissions standards for automobiles.... EPA had previously planned to hold Pruitt's appearance Tuesday at a Chevrolet dealer in Chantilly, Virginia, just outside of Washington.... But the event was canceled.... The New York Times reported that there was pushback from some Chevy dealers who didn't want to see the brand tied to the Trump administration's announcement. The event was subsequently moved to EPA headquarters, but with limited press access. A CNN journalist in the building was not allowed into the room for the event. EPA had attempted to allow television camera access to Fox News without informing the other four networks: CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS. Fox alerted the networks and a pool was established allowing networks equal access to the event." Pruitt did not take questions. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: So now Pruitt needs extra security detail to protect him from hostile reporters? ...
... Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt hired at least two ex-lobbyists and several other aides for noncritical positions through an obscure provision in a water-safety law. The unusual hires are raising questions about whether the embattled Cabinet official is circumventing President Trump's ethics directives or using his emergency hiring authority as intended. The 1977 provision to the Safe Drinking Water Act authorizes the EPA to hire up to 30 people without the approval of the Senate or the White House. The power, granted directly to the EPA administrator, was originally designed to let the agency quickly hire senior management and scientific personnel during times of critical need. But Pruitt appears to have used his hiring power differently, relying on the provision to bring in former lobbyists along with young spokespeople and schedulers.... Ethics experts say hiring lobbyists through the provision breaks with some of Trump's ethics rules, even if it's not technically illegal." ...
... Elaina Plott & Robinson Meyer of the Atlantic: "In early March, [EPA] Administrator Scott Pruitt approached the White House ... [asking for] substantial pay raises for two of his closest aides ... Sarah Greenwalt and Millan Hupp..., part of the small group of staffers who had traveled with Pruitt to Washington from Oklahoma.... Pruitt asked that Greenwalt's salary be raised from $107,435 to $164,200; Hupp's, from $86,460 to $114,590. Because both women were political appointees, he needed the White House to sign-off on their new pay.... [White House] staffers ... dismissed Pruitt s application.... So Pruitt ... [used] a provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act [which] allows the EPA administrator to hire up to 30 people into the agency, without White House or congressional approval.... Pruitt ordered it done. Though Hupp and Greenwalt's duties did not change, the agency began processing them for raises." --safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... safari: It's not just the omnipresent corruption of TrumpWorld that's sickening, but how cynically they flout it. Pruitt can't unleash polluters fast enough, but uses the "Clean Water Act" to fatten up his acolytes; Sessions fires McCabe for "lacking candor under oath"; Sarah Huckster Sanders demeans the Voting Right Act while defending the raw manipulation of the Census; Rick Perry uses the DofE to declare clean energy "immoral"; Ryan Zinke shrinks public land to give it back to the "people", ergo, sell it to private companies. And Donald won't fire 'em, cuz he codes it this way. These people aren't the bugs, they're the algorithms.
The Emails! Joe Uchill of Axios: "The security advocacy group Global Cyber Alliance tested the 26 email domains managed by the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and found that only one fully implements a security protocol that verifies the emails as genuinely from the White House. Of the 26 domains, 18 are not in compliance with a Department of Homeland Security directive to implement that protocol." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: We have long known that when Trump opposes a perceived opponent of some misdeed or contemptible trait, it most certainly was just a projection of his own bad acts. But does he have to be 100% consistent? Right down to "the emails"? Is he "have blood coming out of his wherever"?
Sam Gillette of People: "In a riveting passage from Cecile Richards' new memoir, the Planned Parenthood chief says Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were, during Donald Trump's 2016 transition as president-elect, so eager to be recognized as shrewd political dealmakers that the soon-to-be first daughter and her husband made an offer that felt like a 'bribe': an increase in federal funding for Planned Parenthood in exchange for its agreement to stop providing abortions. Richards, in Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead, out Tuesday, says she was leery of taking the meeting in January 2017, but, after the defeat of Planned Parenthood's champion, Hillary Clinton, she was open to finding possible new allies in the president-elect's more moderate-leaning daughter and son-in-law.... Kushner told her Planned Parenthood 'had made a big mistake by becoming "political."' 'The main issue, he explained, was abortion,' Richards writes. 'If Planned Parenthood wanted to keep our federal funding, we would have to stop providing abortions. He described his ideal outcome: a national headline reading 'Planned Parenthood Discontinues Abortion Services."' Kushner said that if Richards agreed to the plan then funding could increase, but he urged them to 'move fast.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Kushner may see his "offer" as "shrewd political dealmaking." I see it as "a hamfisted threat." Anyhow, back to peacemaking in the Middle East.
Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "A new wave of teacher strikes has highlighted a growing problem for all US workers -- growing health costs which have become a 'hungry tapeworm' on Americans' wages. 'They've shifted the healthcare costs and the pension costs on to employees, so employees are making less and they're spending less,' said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents 1.7 million members. 'It's a double whammy.' Conservative legislatures' push to shift health and pension costs on to individual teachers means in some states, teachers take home less pay than they did five years ago." --safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Rebecca Dallet bested Michael Screnock Tuesday for a seat on the state Supreme Court, shrinking the court's conservative majority and giving Democrats a jolt of energy heading into the fall election. It marked the first time in 23 years that a liberal candidate who wasn't an incumbent won a seat on the high court.... The election swung conservative control of the court from a comfortable 5-2 to a narrow 4-3. Dallet -- to be seated in August for a 10-year term -- will replace conservative Justice Michael Gableman, who did not seek re-election. With Democrats around the country fired up about this fall's midterm elections, Dallet was able to bring an unusual level of national attention to the Supreme Court race. She secured the endorsements of former Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey." ...
... Ed Kilgore: "What was generally expected to be another close Wisconsin barn-burner of an election turned into a romp, as progressive circuit county judge Rebecca Dallet easily defeated conservative circuit court judge Michael Screnock for a spot on the state's Supreme Court.... [Tuesday night's] results also make it abundantly clear why Scott Walker tried so hard to avoid calling two state legislative special elections, only doing so when forced to comply with state law by a judge he had himself appointed."
News Lede
Mercury News: "The night before Nasim Aghdam opened fire in a courtyard at YouTube's headquarters Tuesday afternoon, Mountain View police found the San Diego woman sleeping in her car.... In an interview Tuesday night with the Bay Area News Group, Ismail Aghdam said his 38-year-old daughter told her family a couple of weeks ago that YouTube had been censoring her videos and stopped paying her for her content. 'She was angry,' he said in an interview from his Riverside County home.... Ismail Aghdam said his daughter was a vegan activist and animal lover."
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