The Commentariat -- December 19, 2017
David Sanger & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Trump declared Monday that the United States faced growing competition from Russia and China, two great-power rivals that he said 'seek to challenge American influence, values and wealth.' But Mr. Trump, in presenting a new national security strategy that carried distinct echoes of the Cold War, said nothing about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, even though the official strategy document itself warns briefly of 'Russia using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Mr. Trump referred instead to a Sunday telephone call from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who thanked him for intelligence that the C.I.A. had passed on to Russian authorities, which Mr. Trump said foiled a terrorist attack in St. Petersburg that could have killed thousands of people.... Mr. Trump's speech seemed oddly divorced from the 55-page document, a blueprint for American policy on issues including jihadi extremism, space exploration, bio-threats and pandemics. Speaking to an audience that included cabinet members and military officers, the president delivered a campaignlike address, with calls to build a wall along the nation's southern border with Mexico and a heavy dose of self-congratulation for the bull market, the low jobless rate and tax cuts, which he said were 'days away.'" (This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I doubt Trump ever read the 55-page policy paper, that his briefers kept him in the dark on matters that might upset him, as usual, & his speechwriters tailored his remarks to suit his prejudices & predilections. ...
... Update. Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "A White House spokesman on Monday couldn't say whether President Trump had read the administration's new national security strategy in its entirety. The comment came after CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked national security spokesman Michael Anton if Trump had read all of the 55-page strategy document rolled out earlier Monday. 'The president has been involved in the drafting of it from the beginning, has been presented with sections of it over the past many months and was briefed on the final document several weeks ago,' Anton replied. 'The president himself personally led the presentation of the document to his Cabinet only about a week ago,' he added. 'But has he read the whole document?' Blitzer pressed. 'I can't say that he's read every line and every word. He certainly had the document ... and has been briefed on it,' Anton said." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Anton, who is a total Trumpestuous ass, may soon find himself out of a job anyway. Instead of hedging on Trump's grasp of "his own" policy, he was supposed to tell Wolf, "Read it? He wrote it! The President is a genius, blah blah blah." ...
... Benjamin Hart of New York: "The year 2017 has seen a supercharged hurricane devastate Puerto Rico, wildfires raging out of control in California, and a catastrophic rainfall event in Houston.... There is convincing evidence that the massive amount of carbon humans are pumping into the atmosphere played a key role in all of these occurrences. The Trump administration's reaction: This is fine. In its new National Security Strategy, which President Trump will announce in a speech on Monday afternoon, the administration will drop climate change in its list of threats to the nation. Instead, it will focus on securing the country's border and a plan for 'economic security,' which involves an aggressive posture toward China and (somewhat surprisingly) Russia." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Polina Nikolskaya of Reuters: "The Kremlin dismissed ... Donald Trump's new national security strategy as imperialist on Tuesday, but welcomed Washington's willingness to cooperate in some areas."
Zeeshan Aleem of Vox: "The Trump administration angered much of the world earlier this month by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A startling UN Security Council vote Monday showed how far America's closest allies are willing to go to try to force the White House to change course.... [Fourteen] of the 15 members of the UN Security Council approved a measure 'expressing deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,' a clear nod to the Trump administration. The US immediately vetoed the resolution, but the overwhelming margin of the initial vote highlighted the administration's growing isolation over Jerusalem. The measure was drafted by Egypt, one of the Trump administration's closest allies in the Arab world, and drew support from Britain, France, and other nations with longstanding and warm ties to Washington.... It's extremely rare for the UN Security Council to pass measures targeting the US, let alone ones that require the US to veto the resolution itself rather than assuming one of its allies would do so instead."
Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: "In the weeks after he became the Republican nominee on July 19, 2016, Donald Trump was warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would probably try to spy on and infiltrate his campaign, according to multiple government officials.... The warning came in the form of a high-level counterintelligence briefing by senior FBI officials, the officials said. A similar briefing was given to Hillary Clinton.... The candidates were urged to alert the FBI about any suspicious overtures to their campaigns, the officials said.... Trump was 'briefed and warned' at the session about potential espionage threats from Russia, two former law enforcement officials ... told NBC News. A source close to the White House said their position is that Trump was unaware of the contacts between his campaign and Russians.... The situation was complicated by the fact that the FBI had already become aware of contacts between members of the Trump campaign and Russia, and was beginning to investigate further.... By the time of the warning in late July or August, at least seven Trump campaign officials had been in contact with Russians or people linked to Russia, according to public reports. There is no public evidence that the campaign reported any of that to the FBI." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: "The official position" is baloney. Even if Trump were unaware of his staff's contacts with Russian officials & operatives -- which I highly doubt -- he had a responsibility to take steps to ensure that the campaign was not being and had not been compromised or infiltrated by foreign adversaries. Clearly, he did not do that. ...
... Josh Marshall: "I think that tells us what we should already know: that Trump and his top advisors knew they were doing something wrong, even if it might not have gone so far as 'collusion'.... And since they knew it was wrong they worked hard to keep it secret and hidden.... FBI and FBI counter-intelligence agents knew that Trump had at least troubling ties to Russian organized crime, money-laundering and possibly intelligence operators long before the campaign." ...
... Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "... Donald Trump insists he's not going to fire Robert Mueller, but that's not stopping Republicans and others close to the president from orchestrating a relentless stream of attacks on the credibility and integrity of the special counsel and his team of Russia investigators.... The purpose of the onslaught, according to people close to the White House..., is to sow public doubt about Mueller and his prosecutors in advance of upcoming criminal trials -- and to give the president political cover if he wants to start issuing pardons to any current or former aides swept up in the Russia scandal." ...
... Jonathan Chait figures that instead of firing Robert Mueller, Trump will fire Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who "has exercised close and frequent oversight over the special counsel. If Trump wanted to stop Mueller's work, he could replace Rosenstein with a more pliable figure." Chait suspects that one reason Rosenstein would be an easier hit is that he's Jewish. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe. Trump does stereotype Jews, but that may be more because he's fairly simple-minded than because he's antisemitic. I think the real reason Trump might fire Rosenstein is the same reason he considered withdrawing Neil Gorsuch's name from consideration (story linked below) & why he fired Jim Comey & Steve Bannon: these men did not show perfect loyalty to the king. A Trump courtier can't just kiss the ring; he must prostrate himself daily. Also, Rosenstein has neither the name recognition nor the universal admiration by Republicans that Mueller once enjoyed. ...
... **Asha Rangappa in Just Security: "... Trump has recently expressed dissatisfaction with Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Rod Rosenstein, calling him 'weak' and a threat. Along with those comments, the Washington Post reports that 'Trump appeared to be contemplating changes in the Justice Department's leadership.' In short, there's a good chance that the guillotine is poised for Rosenstein, not for Mueller -- and if so, that is cause for even greater concern for all who care about the integrity of the Russia investigation and, yes, the rule of law.... The Russia investigation existed independently of Mueller before he was appointed.... Mueller simply stepped in to an already-existing investigation and carried it forward with a team of prosecutors with greater independence but still oversight from the Justice Department.... Rosenstein is effectively Mueller's boss.... In short, the president has one move he can make in which the benefits to him might outweigh the costs.... Trump has great discretion in deciding whether to remove him and can do it quickly and directly. And by removing Rosenstein but not touching Mueller, Trump can claim that he is in fact not trying to interfere with the Russia investigation at all: Indeed, it could be very hard to prove otherwise, which insulates him significantly from further obstruction charges. Firing Rosenstein but keeping Mueller gives the president the ultimate political and legal protection...." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: In addition, Rosenstein smacked Trump upside the head this week. Andrew Prokop of Vox: "Rosenstein repeated in congressional testimony last week that he believes he is the only person who has the authority to fire Mueller, that he believes he legally can't fire Mueller without 'good cause,' that he's seen no good cause to fire Mueller yet, and that he would not carry out an order to fire Mueller without that good cause." These remarks violate Trump Rule No. 1: "I'm the only one that matters." (It's true that Trump was talking about State Department policy at the time, but you can be sure that Rule No. 1 applies everywhere.) ...
... Stay Tuned. Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "White House lawyers are expected to meet with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's office late this week seeking good news: that his sprawling investigation's focus on President Trump will soon end and their client will be cleared. But people familiar with the probe say that such assurances are unlikely and that the meeting could trigger a new, more contentious phase between the special counsel and a frustrated president, according to administration officials and advisers close to Trump. People with knowledge of the investigation said it could last at least another year.... The special counsel's office has continued to request new documents related to the campaign, and members of Mueller's team have told others they expect to be working through much of 2018, at a minimum." ...
... All of Hillary's Opponents Were Russian Stooges. Emma Loop of BuzzFeed: "The top congressional committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has set its sights on the Green Party and its nominee, Jill Stein.... Producers from RT News, the Russian state-funded media company..., booked Stein for several appearances, [a Stein campaign worker] said.... When asked Monday what the committee was looking for from the Stein campaign, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the committee's chairman, responded, 'collusion with the Russians.' Burr said that the committee is 'just starting' its work investigating two campaigns, but did not elaborate.... Stein's name has also come up in the context of a 2015 dinner hosted by RT in Moscow. Stein sat at the same table as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Michael Flynn...."
** Dana Milbank has some swell suggestions not only on many words & phrases Trump should ban but also on replacements for the banned words. "... an all-out vocabulary blockade, enforced by an armada of language police -- could be Trump's ticket to survival." For instance, "Trump should probably ban the word 'irony' after his attorneys argued that the '.gov' emails from his transition team are 'private' property and not 'official' -- even though Trump's defenders argued the opposite when defending Michael Flynn's Russia contacts during the transition as 'official' and not 'private.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie BTW: I also notice that Trump's transition team lawyer was claiming "presidential communications privilege" -- even though during the transition Trump, of course, was not president. And, as we all know, he has never been "presidential." ...
... Speaking of "Not Presidential":
... Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "For nearly eight months, President Trump has boasted that appointing Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court ranks high among his signature achievements. But earlier this year, Trump talked about rescinding Gorsuch's nomination, venting angrily to advisers after his Supreme Court pick was critical of the president's escalating attacks on the federal judiciary in private meetings with legislators. Trump, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions, was upset that Gorsuch had pointedly distanced himself from the president in a private February meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), telling the senator he found Trump's repeated attacks on the federal judiciary 'disheartening' and 'demoralizing.' The president worried that Gorsuch would not be 'loyal,' one of the people said, and told aides that he was tempted to pull Gorsuch's nomination -- and that he knew plenty of other judges who would want the job." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: So Trump not only expects the Justice Department (including the FBI) to be loyal to him, he also expects supposedly nonpartisan justices -- the leaders of a whole 'nother branch of our checks-and-balances system of government -- to be loyal. I can't decide if Trump is more mafia boss or more banana-republic-style dictator.
The Republican M.O.: Privatize the gains, socialize the losses. -- Unwashed, in today's Comments ...
... Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Republicans return to Congress this week with victory in sight on their long-awaited tax bill as the House and Senate gear up to vote on the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul as soon as Tuesday. The bill's expected passage along party lines had Democrats scrambling over the weekend to try to pressure a late supporter of the legislation, Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, to vote against the bill. With just a 52-48 majority in the Senate, Republicans have little room for defections given that Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, is getting medical treatment in his home state and is not expected to return to Washington in time for the vote. Democrats are now looking to change the trajectory of the bill by convincing Republicans who had initially wavered on the bill to vote against it this week." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Corker Kickback, Ctd. Naomi Jagoda of the Hill: "The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee on Monday shot down reports that a tax break for real-estate developers was 'air-dropped' into the final GOP tax bill and that Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had pushed for it. 'Both assertions are categorically false,' Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in a letter to Corker. Hatch's letter comes after a request from Corker on Sunday to get more information about how a provision relating to pass-through businesses ended up in the final tax legislation. The provision in question allows capital-intensive pass-through businesses to receive more tax relief.... Hatch said he is 'disgusted' by press reports that have 'distorted' how the provision originated." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes, because many members of Congress & big donors have real-estate investments set up as pass-throughs, not just Corker. This is a gift for many GOP friends & donors. Hatch didn't want to forget any of them. Also, too, Hatch's "tell" is high dudgeon. Whenever he gets really indignant, it's because he's been caught doing something, well, "disgusting." ...
... Eric Levitz of New York: "... there is, nonetheless, a farcical aspect to the outrage that the 'Corker Kickback' has generated. The IBT story uncovered circumstantial evidence that Corker traded his vote for a tax provision that benefits him personally. This was treated as a scandal. And yet, just two weeks ago, Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson said -- publicly and repeatedly -- that he would vote against the Senate bill unless it provided a larger tax break to pass-through businesses, like the one that his family owns. Mitch McConnell relented, Johnson collected his ransom, and the whole incident was covered as a legitimate policy dispute.... The 'Corker kickback' is a small piece of the tax bill; the broader [Johnson] pass-through deduction is a pillar of it.... When lawmakers craft regressive legislation reviled by the public and [their own] experts alike, it stands to reason that their work is being corrupted by special interests." ...
... New York Times Editors: "Whatever the Republicans' protestations, this malodorous [Corker pass-through] loophole is further confirmation that congressional leaders are doing everything they can to maximize benefits for the wealthy at the expense of almost everybody else.... All told, the 20 percent deduction for pass-through income would cost the government $414.5 billion in lost revenue over 10 years, according to Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation. To put that number into context, it is about 29 times as much as the roughly $14 billion a year that the federal government spends on the Children's Health Insurance Program, which covers nearly nine million kids from low-income families. Congress let authorization for that program lapse at the end of September. The tax bill's generosity toward real estate titans stands in stark contrast to its stinginess toward the average wage earner as well as its very real damage to taxpayers in high-cost states." ...
... Trickle-Down Corruption. Paul Krugman: "Unless something drastic happens, this will be the week Republicans ram through a tax cut that adds more than a trillion dollars to federal debt while undermining health care for millions. They will do so by violating all previous norms for major legislation, having held not a single hearing and rushed to a vote before the new senator from Alabama could be seated." Krugman cites three reasons why. "The final, and most disturbing, possible explanation for the behavior of Republican legislators is that they're supporting legislation, knowing that it's bad for both the country and their party, because it's good for them personally.... [Bob] Corker denies that he had any role in adding that provision. But he has offered no coherent alternative explanation of what changed his mind about voting for a bill that explodes the deficit. We may never know exactly what happened with Corker. But there's every reason to believe that Republicans in Congress are taking their cues from a president who openly uses his office to enrich himself." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The idea that Trump led politicians to be corrupt is farcical; however, his blatant corruption may encourage politicians to be more open about their own corruption. So you get some old hands like Hatch & Corker who still take umbrage at suggestions of impropriety; but others, like Ron Johnson (thanks, Wisconsin!) -- who is admittedly the stupidest man in the Senate -- openly demands he receive a personal kickback.
One of the Best People Is Withdrawing His Nomination. John Wagner & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Matthew Petersen, a nominee to the federal judiciary, has withdrawn from consideration days after a video clip showed him unable to answe basic questions about legal procedure, the White House confirmed Monday. Petersen, nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is the third Trump judicial pick to withdraw in the past week amid criticism from Democrats and others about their qualifications.... The video of Petersen that went viral Thursday captured five minutes of pointed questioning by Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) at Petersen's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee the day before." ...
... Kevin Dupuy of WWL-TV (New Orleans): "Kennedy told WWL-TV Monday that he did not know that Petersen was so inexperienced for the position. 'Just because you've seen 'My Cousin Vinny' doesn't qualify you to be a federal judge,' Kennedy said. 'And he has no litigation experience. And my job on the judiciary committee is to catch him. I would strongly suggest he not give up his day job.' Kennedy said that Trump called him Saturday to talk about the nominee. He said Trump did not personally interview Petersen and the nominations were chosen by his staff. 'He has told me, "Kennedy, when some of my guys send someone who is not qualified, you do your job,"' Kennedy said Monday." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I dunno. Petersen could have learned something about criminal procedure from Judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gywnne):
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Alex Kozinski, the powerful judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit who was facing a judicial investigation over allegations that he subjected 15 women to inappropriate sexual behavior, announced Monday that he would retire effective immediately. In a statement provided by his lawyer, Kozinski apologized, saying that he 'had a broad sense of humor and a candid way of speaking to both male and female law clerks alike' and that, 'in doing so, I may not have been mindful enough of the special challenges and pressures that women face in the workplace.'... The announcement comes just days after The Washington Post reported that nine more women had accused Kozinski of making sexual comments to them or of other conduct, including four who said he touched them inappropriately. That story followed an earlier report in The Post, which detailed the allegations of six women, including former clerks who said Kozinski showed them porn in his chambers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Josh Gerstein & Renuka Rayasam of Politico: "The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to block an abortion for a teenage girl in immigration custody, even as federal officials gave up their fight to prevent another undocumented immigrant teen from terminating her pregnancy. The moves came just hours after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to permit abortions as soon as Tuesday evening for both pregnant 17-year-old girls being held in federally funded shelters in different states. The Justice Department did not provide a detailed explanation of its decision to acquiesce in one girl's decision while continuing to seek to block the other teen from getting an abortion, but simply cited 'differing circumstances.'... Since the start of the legal battle, the administration has maintained that undocumented minors in federal custody have no legal rights to abortion."
"The Year in Resistance." Michelle Goldberg: "... while Trump has given his followers the liberal tears they crave, that victory contains the seeds of its own reversal. Trump has done more to spur progressive political organizing than Bernie Sanders, George Soros and Saul Alinsky combined. The president once warned that if he fell, he'd take the entire Republican Party down with him. Thanks to the Resistance, he might still have the chance."
Patricia Mazzei in the New York Times: "Facing mounting evidence that Puerto Rico has vastly undercounted the number of people who died because of Hurricane Maria, Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló ordered on Monday that every death on the island since the calamitous storm be reviewed. Officials will look again at all deaths attributed to natural causes after the hurricane, which made landfall Sept. 20 and knocked out power to 3.4 million Puerto Ricans -- and to their hospitals and clinics. Parts of the island are still without power almost three months later, and the power grid is operating at only 70 percent of capacity. The prolonged blackout hampered critical medical treatment for some of the island's most vulnerable patients, including many who were bedridden or dependent on dialysis or respirators. But if they died as a result, the storm's role in their deaths may have gone officially unrecorded."
The Tyranny of Pharma. Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "The zigzagging trajectory of the price of Daranide, now known as Keveyis, shows just how much freedom drug companies have in pricing therapies -- and what a big business opportunity selling extremely-rare-disease drugs has become. It also illustrates how well-intentioned policy to help spur the development of 'orphan' drugs for very rare diseases can have unintended consequences.... The price has been on a roller coaster in recent years -- zooming from a list price of $50 for a bottle of 100 pills in the early 2000s up to $13,650 in 2015, then plummeting back down to free, before skyrocketing back up to $15,001 after a new company, Strongbridge Biopharma, acquired the drug and relaunched it this spring."
Kristine Phillips of the Washington Post: "TV and radio personality Tavis Smiley continues to push back against allegations of sexual misconduct, accusing PBS, which has suspended distribution of his late-night talk show, of mishandling its investigation into the accusations.... He admitted he has had consensual sexual relationships with subordinates, but he said those relationships were neither prohibited nor coerced. He also denied firing or threatening employees with whom he had a relationship.... PBS fired back Monday, saying in a statement Smiley 'needs to get his story straight.' A PBS spokeswoman said Smiley's latest comments contradict a previous Facebook post in which he said he had just one relationship with an employee."
News Lede
Seattle Times: "The Amtrak train that derailed Monday morning on its inaugural trip through a faster railway route was supposed to slow dramatically before entering the curve where the crash occurred. The speed limit at the curve where the train crosses Interstate 5 is 30 miles per hour, said state transportation department spokeswoman Barbara LaBoe, while the speed limit on most of the track is 79 mph. She said speed-limit signs are posted two miles before the lowered speed zone and then just before the zone.... A late-night news conference by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials verified the train was going 80 mph in the 30 mph zone. Officials said they had no other information."
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