The Commentariat -- April 30, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "The Trump campaign has spent nearly $228,000 to cover some of the legal expenses for ... Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen, sources familiar with the payments tell ABC News, raising questions about whether the Trump campaign may have violated campaign finance laws. Federal Election Commission records show three payments made from the Trump campaign to a fir representing Cohen. The 'legal consulting' payments were made to McDermott Will and Emery -- a law firm where Cohen's attorney Stephen Ryan is a partner -- between October 2017 and January 2018. Cohen has said that he did not have a formal role in the Trump campaign, and it is illegal to spend campaign funds for personal use -- defined by the FEC as payments for expenses 'that would exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign or responsibilities as a federal officeholder.'"

Marco's Major Gaffe. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "'There is still a lot of thinking on the right that if big corporations are happy, they're going to take the money they're saving and reinvest it in American workers, ... '[Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)] told the Economist in a recent interview. 'In fact they bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there's no evidence whatsoever that the money's been massively poured back into the American worker.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Sometimes, especially right around election time & when no actual Senate votes depend upon it, Marco sounds remarkably like a Democrat. Not to worry, Mitch, when you need Marco's vote, you've got it.

Jill Colvin of the AP: "More than a year has passed since ... Donald Trump held the only solo news conference of his administration -- a rollicking, hastily arranged, 77-minute free-for-all during which he railed against the media, defended his fired national security adviser and insisted nobody who advised his campaign had had contacts with Russia. 'President Trump is more accessible than most modern presidents and frequently takes questions from the press,' says White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The president often answers shouted questions at so-called pool sprays, in which a small group of rotating reporters is given access to events such as bill signings and Cabinet lunches. Trump has also taken to answering shouted questions on the White House lawn as he arrives at and departs the White House.... But the format also gives the president far more control than he would have during a traditional question-and-answer session. Trump can easily ignore questions he doesn't like and dodge follow-ups in a way that would be glaring in a traditional news conference."

Arthur Allen of Politico: "A West Palm Beach doctor's ties to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago social circle have enabled him to hold up the biggest health information technology project in history -- the transformation of the VA's digital records system. Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, an internist and friend of Trump confidant Ike Perlmutter, who advises the president informally on vet issues, objected to the $16 billion Department of Veterans Affairs project because he doesn't like the Cerner Corp. software he uses at two Florida hospitals, according to four former and current senior VA officials. Cerner technology is a cornerstone of the VA project.... IT specialists at the VA felt that [Moskowitz] was out of his league in evaluating the Cerner deal.... [A source] said Moskowitz's involvement was one of the irritants in [former VA Secretary David] Shulkin's dealings with other White House-appointed officials, which contributed to his being fired March 28."

Daniel Politi of Slate: "Guns will be banned from the premises when Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a National Rifle Association convention in Dallas on Friday. Before and during the speech, attendees are prohibited from bringing 'firearms and firearm accessories, knives or weapons of any kind,' the NRA wrote as it announced Pence's presence at the conference. The NRA is blaming the Secret Service.... 'Wait wait wait wait wait wait you're telling me to make the VP safe there aren't any weapons around but when it comes to children they want guns everywhere?' asked Matt Deitsch, a Parkland student who helped organize the March for Our Lives rally." ...

     ... Update. AP: "... Donald Trump will be at the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas on Friday. A White House official said Monday that Trump will attend the group's annual meeting." Mrs. McC: No guns again, I guess.

Paul Walsh of the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: "Richard Painter, a longtime Republican who was chief ethics lawyer for George W. Bush's White House, intends to run for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota this year as a Democrat, according to a filing he made recently with federal elections officials. Painter, a persistent and frequent critic of ... Donald Trump on national cable TV news appearances and on Twitter, is expected to announce his candidacy at a Monday news conference. He's running for Democrat Al Franken's former seat. Franken resigned Jan. 2 in the wake of numerous sexual harassment allegations. Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to be his successor. That seat is up this fall in a special election, and Smith has said she intends to run for the right to finish the term through 2020."

*****

Today in Government by Malevolent Ignoramus

Jack Ewing & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "What began as a way to protect American steel and aluminum jobs has since become a cudgel that the Trump administration is using to extract concessions in other areas, including car exports to Europe or negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada. As a May 1 deadline looms, the decision on whether to grant permanent exemptions to the steel and aluminum tariffs, and to whom, appears likely to come down to the whims of President Trump, who has seesawed between scrapping and rejoining global trade deals.... The German government said in a statement that Ms. Merkel, Mr. Macron and Ms. May agreed that if the tariffs go into force, 'The European Union should be ready to decisively defend its interests within the framework of multilateral trade rules.' The uncertainty is sowing chaos in international supply networks." ...

... Keith Bradsher of the New York Times: "China will refuse to discuss President Trump's two toughest trade demands ... -- a mandatory $100 billion cut in America's $375 billion annual trade deficit with China and curbs on Beijing's $300 billion plan to bankroll the country's industrial upgrade into advanced technologies -- ... when American negotiators arrive in Beijing this week, people involved in Chinese policymaking say, potentially forcing Washington to escalate the dispute or back down.... Beijing feels its economy has become big enough and resilient enough to stand up to the United States." Mrs. McC: Do notice how brilliantly Trump timed his trade wars to coincide with his Nobel Peace Prize plans. Maybe somebody should have told him that angering his "good friend Xi" is not a great way to achieve international goals re: North Korean nuclear capabilities."

Michael Hayden, in a New York Times op-ed, on how Trump's apparent inability to distinguish between truth & fiction stresses intelligence agencies. "To adopt post-truth thinking is to depart from Enlightenment ideas, dominant in the West since the 17th century, that value experience and expertise, the centrality of fact, humility in the face of complexity, the need for study and a respect for ideas." Mrs. McC: Interesting, because Hayden suggests, without directly saying so, that Trump is a medieval man, unfettered by external realities & dependent instead upon some sort of metaphysical momentary, mutable "knowledge." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "Former FBI director James B. Comey on Sunday called the House Intelligence Committee's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election 'a wreck' and deemed its report a 'political document.' In a conversation about his book, 'A Higher Loyalty,' on NBC News's 'Meet the Press,' Comey said the report, released by House Republicans on Friday, did not represent his 'understanding of what the facts were' before he left the FBI." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Ryan Goodman of Just Security: "The dueling House Intelligence Committee reports on Russian election interference, released on Friday, provide new information that adds significantly to a picture of obstruction of justice and abuse of power on the part of ... Donald Trump in the Russia investigation.... The information is provided only in the Minority report, and the bulk of these revelations depend on testimony by former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe, whose credibility as a witness in some respects may be under a cloud.... The FBI General Counsel and FBI Director's chief of staff listened in on James Comey's side of at least some phone conversations with the president, in which Mr. Trump reportedly engaged in efforts to alter the course of the Russia investigation.... Both the FBI Director and Deputy Director interpreted one of the president's phone calls as threatening Comey if he did not lift the cloud of the Russia investigation.... The FBI Director and Deputy Director were also concerned that the president was threatening to take action against McCabe if the FBI Director did not lift the cloud of the Russia investigation.... The Minority report ... ties the specific timing of McCabe's testimony to Mr. Trump's going after not only McCabe but also the FBI's General Counsel [James Baker]. (Emphasis removed.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed: "Since the fall, the US Department of Justice has been overhauling its manual for federal prosecutors. In: Attorney General Jeff Sessions' tough-on-crime policies. Out: A section titled 'Need for Free Press and Public Trial.' References to the department's work on racial gerrymandering are gone. Language about limits on prosecutorial power has been edited down. The changes include new sections that underscore Sessions' focus on religious liberty and the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on government leaks -- there is new language admonishing prosecutors not to share classified information and directing them to report contacts with the media."

Eliana Johnson of Politico: "White House physician Ronny Jackson will not return to his role as the president's personal physician, according to two senior administration officials, after a string of allegations caused the Navy rear admiral to withdraw his nomination last week to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sean Conley, a Navy officer who took over Jackson's role as the president's personal doctor last month, will continue in the role, the officials said.... Jackson has denied the allegations and has returned to work in the White House Medical Unit." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Just can't figure out why that is, what with Trump claiming Jackson is one of the finest men he's ever met & Sen. Jon Tester should resign for bringing forward serious allegations against him. You might just conclude Trump's repeated expressions of "outrage" are "fake." ...

     ... Update. Nicholas Fandos & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "It was unclear if Dr. Jackson ... would remain in the White House in any capacity or if he would retire from the military."

... White House Vetting = Loyalty Oath to Trump. Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: In order to secure a job as spokeswoman for Jeff Sessions, Sarah Isgur Flores had to "kowtow to Trump.... The early 2017 episode ... underscores the extent to which Trump demands loyalty in vetting administration officials -- even well-qualified Republicans like Flores seeking jobs on the personal staffs of Cabinet secretaries, who historically have had considerable leeway to do their own hiring. Credentialed candidates have had to prove loyalty to the president, with many still being blocked for previous anti-Trump statements. Hundreds of national security officials, for example, were nixed from consideration because they spoke out against Trump during the campaign. But for longtime Trump loyalists, their fidelity to the president is often sufficient, obscuring what in a more traditional administration would be red flags."

Kirk Semple of the New York Times: "A long, grueling journey gave way to what could be a long, uncertain asylum process Sunday as a caravan of immigrants finally reached the border between the United States and Mexico, setting up a dramatic moment and a test of President Trump's anti-immigrant politics. More than 150 migrants, part of a caravan that once numbered about 1,200 and headed north in March from Mexico's border with Guatemala, were prepared to seek asylum from United States immigration officials. But in what was likely to be one of many curves on the road, the migrants were told Sunday afternoon that the immigration officials could not process their claims, and they would have to spend the night on the Mexican side of the border.... With the migrants on the doorstep of the United States, Mr. Trump, in a tweet last week, ratcheted up his rhetoric, vowing 'not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country.'... Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the caravan 'a deliberate attempt to undermine our laws and overwhelm our system.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Ya know, JeffBo, these people are obeying U.S. & international law in seeking asylum. Moreover, if 150 people would "overwhelm our system," then it's a piss-poor system. Since your boss has been bellyaching about these asylum-seekers for at least a month, it's not exactly as if you didn't know they were coming. Thanks for making the U.S. look feeble & inept, not to mention mean & xenophobic.

Gardiner Harris & Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to Israel Sunday in the midst of the worst crisis in relations between Israelis and Palestinians in years, but he did not meet a single Palestinian representative and mentioned them publicly once. For decades, American diplomats saw themselves as brokers between the two sides, and secretaries of state typically met Palestinian representatives on regional tours like this one. When relations between the two sides deteriorated, the United States sought to bridge the divide. No more." ...

... But John Bolton Is a Great Diplomat! Chas Danner of New York: On "Fox 'News' Sunday" & "Face the Nation," "President Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton, floated the idea of using the 'Libya model' to denuclearize the Korean peninsula on Sunday, despite the fact that North Korea has previously cited Libya's disarmament and subsequent destabilization as a reason to distrust the U.S.... Bolton ... did not acknowledge what happened in Libya after it gave up its weapons of mass destruction. Several years later, in 2011, the country was destabilized by a civil war, during which the U.S. and its allies intervened militarily against [Muammar] Gaddafi, directly leading to the end of his 42-year rule as well as his capture, beating, and death and hands of rebel fighters. And the country has been in crisis ever since." ...

     ... Mrs. McC: Why am I thinking that Bolton's gaffe -- along with Trump's plans to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal AND his threat to walk out of the Korea talks in a tantrum -- are kinda disincentives for Li'l Kim to denuke North Korea? Move over, Larry, Moe & Curly. It's Donnie, Mike & Johnnie now. And nastier. ...

     ... Update. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Mr. Kim and his father built a nuclear arsenal for the very purpose of ensuring the security of their state against the kind of [U.S.] intervention that happened in Libya...." Mrs. McC: Ah, I guess that answers my question.

... MEANWHILE. Hyonhee Shin of Reuters: "In initial small steps toward reconciliation, South Korea said on Monday it would remove loudspeakers that blared propaganda across the border, while North Korea said it would shift its clocks to align with its southern neighbor." Which calls for this:

     ... Also significant is this represents the second time in history Trump has been known to laugh & the first time it wasn't at someone else's expense.

** Frank Rich writes a feature piece on Roy Cohn & Donald Trump & New York City's version of the self-anointed mob of crass hustlers & transactional barbarians. If you just loved those Barbara Walters specials & think Diane Sawyer (not to mention Hillary Clinton) is so classy, this is a must-read. When the story of the 2016 election is written, the author will be Rich or someone with his talent & clear-eyed worldview. All the rest is crap -- Brokawesque pablum for the clueless devotees of popular yarns.

Jacqueline Thomsen of the Hill: "The sapling gifted to President Trump by French President Emmanuel Macron has disappeared from the White House lawn less than a week after the two men planted it there, according to multiple media reports.... HuffPost, quoting an unnamed source, reported that the tree is intact and was under quarantine rules imposed by U.S. Customs. The policy requires that plants imported into the U.S. be quarantined for a period of time to avoid spreading diseases or importing species of invasive insects." Mrs. McC: My first guess would have been Trump did it with his widdle hatchet but is claiming Obama did it. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

What We're Missing. E.J. Dionne: "In a normal environment, the Republican Congress's assault on food-stamp recipients, the administration's waivers allowing states to erode Medicaid coverage, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson's proposed rent increases for some of the country's poorest people would be front and center in the news. But poor people lack the media cachet of Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen or a president who rants uncontrollably over the phone to his favorite Fox News show or to a crowd of enthusiasts, as he did Saturday night in Washington Township, Mich.... And governing? It seems almost beside the point. Thus does the unraveling of regulatory protections for workers, the environment and the users of financial services rush forward with little notice. This is where the Trumpian circus benefits the Trumpian project."

GOP Reps. Have Problems Chaplain Couldn't Fix. (No Kidding.) Melanie Zanona & Scott Wong of the Hill: "Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told the House Republican Conference Friday morning that he fired Chaplain Patrick Conroy because members felt like their 'pastoral needs' were not being met and not for a political reason, according to several Republicans inside the room. Ryan told members his decision to ask Conroy to step aside had nothing to do with politics, a policy conflict or a prayer. A number of lawmakers had approached Ryan and told him they needed someone in the chaplain's role who could offer more 'spiritual counseling,' according to Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who attended the meeting. Ryan agreed, he told the members."

Jen Chaney of Vulture: "As soon as Michelle Wolf finished delivering her blistering White House Correspondents' Dinner roast of the Trump administration and the members of the press that cover it, she was, not surprisingly, criticized for much of what she said. Oddly, however, a lot of that criticism zeroed in on something that Michelle Wolf did not actually say: a joke about Sarah Huckabee Sanders's appearance." Among the crack journalists who objected to remarks never made were Maggie Haberman of the New York Times (Mrs. McC: who got an award at the ceremony for the "nuance" & "context" she applies to her reporting about the White House) & Mika Brzezinski, both of whom were the subjects of Wolf jokes. Mrs. McC: Guess you can't get all that much nuance into a tweet. ...

... Hannah Levintova of Mother Jones reprints some more outraged reactions to Wolf's routine & a couple of apt defenses.

Michael de la Merced & Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "Sprint and T-Mobile announced on Sunday that they had reached a deal to merge, moving to create a new telecommunications giant -- and betting that regulators would finally allow the American wireless service market to shrink to just three national players." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

Guardian: "Ten journalists have died in Afghanistan in a coordinated double suicide bombing in Kabul and a shooting in the eastern Khost province, on the deadliest day for media workers in the country since the fall of the Taliban. Nine journalists died in the Afghan capital when they gathered at the scene of the first of two blasts. Ahmad Shah, a BBC reporter, was shot dead in a separate incident in Khost province, near the border with Pakistan. In Kabul, a suicide attacker riding a motorbike blew himself up in the Shash Darak neighbourhood, near the Nato headquarters and the US embassy, at about 8am. A second bomber, holding a camera and posing as a journalist, struck 20 minutes later, killing rescue workers and journalists, including an Agence France-Presse photographer, who had rushed to the scene. At least 25 people were killed and 45 injured in total."

The Commentariat -- April 29, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Michael Hayden, in a New York Times op-ed, on how Trump's apparent inability to distinguish between truth & fiction stresses intelligence agencies. "To adopt post-truth thinking is to depart from Enlightenment ideas, dominant in the West since the 17th century, that value experience and expertise, the centrality of fact, humility in the face of complexity, the need for study and a respect for ideas." Mrs. McC: Interesting, because Hayden suggests, without directly saying so, that Trump is a medieval man, unfettered by external realities & dependent instead upon some sort of metaphysical momentary, mutable "knowledge."

Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "Former FBI director James B. Comey on Sunday called the House Intelligence Committee's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election 'a wreck' and deemed its report a 'political document.' In a conversation about his book, 'A Higher Loyalty,' on NBC News's 'Meet the Press,' Comey said the report, released by House Republicans on Friday, did not represent his 'understanding of what the facts were' before he left the FBI."

Ryan Goodman of Just Security: "The dueling House Intelligence Committee reports on Russian election interference, released on Friday, provide new information that adds significantly to a picture of obstruction of justice and abuse of power on the part of ... Donald Trump in the Russia investigation.... The information is provided only in the Minority report, and the bulk of these revelations depend on testimony by former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe, whose credibility as a witness in some respects may be under a cloud.... The FBI General Counsel and FBI Director's chief of staff listened in on James Comey's side of at least some phone conversations with the president, in which Mr. Trump reportedly engaged in efforts to alter the course of the Russia investigation.... Both the FBI Director and Deputy Director interpreted one of the president's phone calls as threatening Comey if he did not lift the cloud of the Russia investigation.... The FBI Director and Deputy Director were also concerned that the president was threatening to take action against McCabe if the FBI Director did not lift the cloud of the Russia investigation.... The Minority report ... ties the specific timing of McCabe's testimony to Mr. Trump's going after not only McCabe but also the FBI's General Counsel [James Baker]. (Emphasis removed.)

Jacqueline Thomsen of the Hill: "The sapling gifted to President Trump by French President Emmanuel Macron has disappeared from the White House lawn less than a week after the two men planted it there, according to multiple media reports.... HuffPost, quoting an unnamed source, reported that the tree is intact and was under quarantine rules imposed by U.S. Customs. The policy requires that plants imported into the U.S. be quarantined for a period of time to avoid spreading diseases or importing species of invasive insects." Mrs. McC: My first guess would have been Trump did it with his widdle hatchet but is claiming Obama did it.

Michael de la Merced & Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "Sprint and T-Mobile announced on Sunday that they had reached a deal to merge, moving to create a new telecommunications giant -- and betting that regulators would finally allow the American wireless service market to shrink to just three national players."

*****

Blah Blah Blah. Me Me Me. Rachel Chason & David Lynch of the Washington Post: "President Trump bragged about his economic and diplomatic accomplishments and savaged the media during a raucous rally Saturday before thousands of supporters in a state that is critical to his reelection hopes. The campaign-style event held at the Total Sports Park was billed as counter-programming to the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in the nation's capital, which the president skipped for the second consecutive year. The president treated the crowd, dotted with the familiar 'Make America Great Again' hats, to his customary litany of immigration complaints, gibes at prominent Democrats including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and boasts about purchases of 'brand-new' military equipment. The president also complained that the media had not given him sufficient credit for making possible Friday's meeting between leaders of the two Koreas, saying he had 'everything' to do with it. He also predicted that he would achieve the 'all-time record' for appointing conservative judges and boasted that his tax and economic policies were working." ...

... Eli Watkins of CNN: "Trump also tossed out an unspecified allegation about Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, whom Trump blamed for the recent sinking of his nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. 'I know things about Tester that I could say, too,' Trump said. 'And if I said them, he'd never be elected again.'" ...

... Max Greenwood of the Hill: "President Trump threatened on Saturday to 'shut down the country' – an apparent reference to a government shutdown -- unless Congress approves funding for his long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In a fiery campaign-style speech, Trump lashed out at Democratic lawmakers for opposing his pledge to build the border wall, and said that once government funding runs out at the end of September he would call for a so-called shutdown." ...

... AND Trump Voiced a New Conspiracy Theory about This Russia Thing. Judd Legum of ThinkProgress: "At a campaign rally in Michigan, a red-faced Trump offered a convoluted explanation for [Natalia] Veselniskaya's admission [this week that she is a Russian 'informant'/agent with close ties to Russia's prosecutor general]. According to Trump, Veselniskaya does not have any relationship with the Russian government. But she recently was convinced by Putin to pretend she was an agent of the Russian government. Why? According to Trump, Putin realized that 'Trump is killing us.' Therefore, Putin convinced Veselniskaya to lie about her role to make life in America 'even more chaotic[.]" ...

... I Might Have a Trumpertantrum. Benjamin Haas of the Guardian: "... Donald Trump said on Saturday a meeting with North Korea could happen over the next three to four weeks. 'I think we will have a meeting over the next three or four weeks,' Trump said at a campaign rally in Washington, Michigan. 'It's going be a very important meeting, the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.' 'But we'll see how it goes,' he added. 'I may go in, it may not work out, I leave.'" ...

... Mark Landler of the New York Times: "The talk of peace [between North & South Korea] is likely to weaken the two levers that Mr. Trump used to pressure [Kim Jong un] to come to the bargaining table. A resumption of regular diplomatic exchanges between the two Koreas, analysts said, will inevitably erode the crippling economic sanctions against the North, while Mr. Trump will find it hard to threaten military action against a country that is extending an olive branch.... The price of failure would be high for Mr. Trump. The United States could face a split with its ally South Korea, which is deeply invested in ending its estrangement from the North. Tensions could flare with China.... Mr. Trump is also moving on other fronts that could undercut his negotiations with Mr. Kim. He appears more likely than ever to rip up the Iran nuclear deal as he faces his next deadline of May 12 to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Walking away from one nuclear disarmament deal while trying to strike another would be a trick, even for a self-proclaimed dealmaker like Mr. Trump. On Saturday, Mr. Trump said he had a 'very good talk' with [Moon Jai-in]. 'Things are going well,' he tweeted. 'Time and location of meeting with North Korea is being set.' He also said he had briefed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, who has watched the rush of diplomacy with some concern." ...

... Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, told President Moon Jae-in of South Korea when they met that he would abandon his nuclear weapons if the United States would agree to formally end the Korean War and promise that it would not invade his country, a South Korean government spokesman said Sunday. In a faith-building gesture ahead of a summit meeting with President Trump, Mr. Kim also said he would invite experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States to watch the shutdown next month of his country's only known underground nuclear test site. The comments by Mr. Kim were made on Friday when the leaders of the two Koreas met at Panmunjom, a village on their shared border, the spokesman, Yoon Young-chan, said on Sunday...."

Trump Finds Something Stupid and/or Insenstive to Say for Every Occasion. Daniel Politi of Slate: "... Donald Trump has been roundly criticized after he turned what should have been a simple photo-op into a cringe-worthy speech. In a White House event to congratulate the U.S. athletes who competed in the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games, Trump seems to have gone a bit off script. 'What happened with the Paralympics was so incredible and so inspiring to me,' Trump said. 'And I watched -- it's a little tough to watch too much, but I watched as much as I could. Many on Twitter were quick to criticize the president for his words, even as some tried to defend him by saying he was simply suggesting he was too busy to watch too much television.... Many of the biggest Winter Olympic names had decided to boycott the White House event anyway due to political differences with the president.... The Paralympic Games ... [responded,] 'Record numbers around the world are not finding @Paralympics tough to watch.... Billions of viewers now take in the Paralympics in hundreds of countries around the world. We hope the US President continues to watch and be inspired by the Paralympics.'"

Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "As Saudi Arabia considers digging a moat along its border with Qatar and dumping nuclear waste nearby, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Riyadh on his first overseas trip as the nation's top diplomat with a simple message: Enough is enough. Patience with what is viewed in Washington as a petulant spat within the Gulf Cooperation Council has worn thin, and Mr. Pompeo told the Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, that the dispute needs to end, according to a senior State Department official...." Mrs. McC: As described by his unnamed spokesperson, Pompeo sounds quite statesman-y.

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post (April 26): "The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Richard Grenell -- a Republican commentator, operative and former aide to new national security adviser John Bolton -- as the next ambassador to Germany, despite objections from Democrats that his past epithets about prominent female politicians made him unfit for the job.... Democrats have focused on the undiplomatic tone Grenell has struck in several comments on his Twitter profile and as a frequent commentator on Fox News, where he has jeered about the appearance of several high-profile political women, including Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Callista Gingrich, Trump's ambassador to the Vatican.... 'I hope he doesn't start tweeting about Chancellor Merkel if he gets the position,' [Sen. Bob] Menendez 0[D-N.J.] [said]."

Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "... President Trump promised that he would change Washington.... Three moments in a week otherwise dominated by foreign policy focused fresh attention on those shortcomings -- a comment by Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget; the congressional testimony of Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and the controversy over the nomination of White House physician Ronny L. Jackson to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. Each in its own way feeds the public's cynicism." ...

... Let's Add This One. Spencer McBride in the Washington Post: "In an unprecedented move, the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy resigned as chaplain of the House of Representatives amid his two-year term. The resignation came at the behest of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan.... Though Ryan (R-Wis.) denied it, the possibility that partisan motives drove his action has prompted a predictably partisan response. Some members of Congress have called for an investigation, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the move 'impossible to support.'... Every week..., clergymen offer sermons and prayers that urge men and women to pay special attention to the needs of the poor and those whom society has marginalized. Conroy did not pray for anything radical, offensive or even particularly political; this principle is at the heart of all religions. Yet when the same, seemingly noncontroversial sentiment is uttered in a polarized chamber of Congress, sensitive political agendas will too often serve as the lens through which lawmakers view such remarks. At stake in the firing and replacing of Conroy as chaplain is the transformation of a congressional position designed to promote civil discourse into nothing more than another tool of partisanship."

Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has admitted to lawmakers that he discussed the 'Steele dossier' about President Trump and Russia with a CNN journalist in early 2017, according to a report from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. The journalist Clapper spoke with was CNN host Jake Tapper, whose name appeared on a bombshell report in January 2017 that first revealed that former FBI Director James Comey had briefed Trump on the dossier's salacious allegations.... House Republicans interviewed Clapper for the report. They say that Clapper at first 'flatly denied' leaking the contents of the dossier, but later admitted to discussing the dossier with Tapper and other journalists in early January of 2017, shortly before Trump's inauguration." ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Tapper & Co. got a White House Correspondents' award Saturday for the "bombshell report." ...

Oren Kerr in Lawfare: According to an e-mail published in the GOP No Collusion narrative, Don Junior committed a misdemeanor under the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act by unlawfully accessing an anti-Trump Website via a guessed password. Kerr notes that this is a type of crime that is not likely to be prosecuted. Mrs. McC: However, if the Mueller team decides to bring other charges against Junior, it seems likely to me that they would throw in this activity -- which Junior admitted in the e-mail -- to bolster the overall case against him. It does seem to me to show that this is another instance in which he shows he has no compunction about using illegal means to further the aims of the campaign, & that questions like, "Wait, isn't that illegal?" did not cross his mind. In fairness to Junior, many of us might do the same thing if someone sent us a password to a Website that we thought was intent upon harming us. We might not be dumb enough, though, to memorialize our illegal snooping.

Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: "The humanitarian crisis created by Hurricane Maria has added fuel to an ongoing power struggle for the island's future: Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and his New Progressive Party advocate statehood as the solution to Puerto Rico's second-class status. His opponents call for greater autonomy from the United States and, for some, eventual independence. The U.S. government has shown no interest in affecting the status quo, and many Puerto Ricans still view the current relationship as a relatively stable option that provides an adequate balance of sovereignty and support. But the sluggish disaster response and dissatisfaction with the coordinated recovery efforts have aggravated the sense of abandonment and the sting of Puerto Rico's subordinate standing with the United States, according to residents, experts and island leaders."

Congressional Races

Jonathan Martin, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump is privately rejecting the growing consensus among Republican leaders that they may lose the House and possibly the Senate in November, leaving party officials and the president's advisers nervous that he does not grasp the gravity of the threat they face in the midterm elections.... Mr. Trump is as impulsive as ever, fixated on personal loyalty cultivating a winner's image and privately prodding Republican candidates to demonstrate their affection for him -- while complaining bitterly when he campaigns for those who lose.... Congressional leaders have left little doubt in private that they see Mr. Trump as a political millstone for many of the party's candidates." ...

... Benjamin Hart of New York: "The problem is not only that Trump refuses to believe that Republicans will lose, but that, even if he were sufficiently worried, he doesn't care enough about his own party to bother helping.... However Trump performs on the campaign trail, and however Republicans fare this fall, the president will continue living in a bubble of his own making. Because Trump was right to dismiss the concerns of the many, many people who insisted he couldn't win in 2016, he can now perennially point to that shocking election result as proof that his instincts, not some politico egghead's, are always correct. And if Republicans lose big this year, he'll just say they didn't stick by him closely enough. It's a dishonest, solipsitic approach to life. But it's one that has worked shockingly well for Donald Trump."

Aleksandra Appleton of the Sacramento Bee: "The race for congressional District 22, held by longtime GOP incumbent Devin Nunes, has been downgraded from 'safely Republican' to 'likely Republican' by a closely watched political forecasting website run by the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. Sabato's Crystal Ball, run by University of Virginia's Center for Politics, cited the enormous amount of money raised by Democratic challenger Andrew Janz as one factor making the race more competitive." ...

... Caroline Orr of Shareblue: "Instead of considering that his own failures may explain his sinking campaign, Nunes is pointing the finger at the right-wing's go-to boogeyman: 'radical leftists.' In a fundraising email sent on Saturday, Nunes whined that 'radical leftists' and the mainstream media are saying 'nasty things' about him, though he failed to provide examples of these 'nasty things' -- likely because most of them are true statements about his own actions.&"

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. NBC Edition

Tom Never Abused Us. Jackie Wattles & Brian Stelter of CNN: "More than 100 women have signed a letter defending former 'NBC Nightly News' anchor Tom Brokaw following a sexual harassment allegation by a former colleague.... But there is considerable tension behind the scenes at NBC about the letter and the broader effort to defend Brokaw. Sources described debates between friends and within peer groups about whether to sign on and what message the letter was intended to send. As one of the sources put it: 'What does it mean if your name is not on the letter?'" ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie BTW: You really should read Brokaw's "defense." After he gets thru whining about being taken to the guillotine & stripped of his honor & achievement, he boasts how he helped Linda Vester out by fixing her up with Roger Ailes. Roger Fucking Ailes, one of the worst sexual abusers in television history. It's 2018, & that jerk Brokaw thinks sending a young woman to Roger Ailes redounds to his credit.

Christina Caron of the New York Times: "Joy Reid, the MSNBC host who accused hackers of inserting homophobic posts into her now-defunct blog, said on Saturday that while she continued to deny having written the offensive language, security experts could not conclusively say her blog was breached. 'I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things, because they are completely alien to me,' she said on her morning show, 'AM Joy.' 'But I can definitely understand, based on things I have tweeted and have written in the past, why some people don't believe me.' She hired a cybersecurity expert to see if her former blog had been manipulated, she said, but 'the reality is, they have not been able to prove it.'... On Saturday morning, Ms. Reid devoted about 30 minutes of her show to the controversy, speaking with a supportive panel of experts who fight for L.G.B.T. rights."

Laura Bradley of Vanity Fair reprises Michelle Wolf's performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last night. Mrs. McC: Except for the jokes she told about Trump & kin, of course, her jokes were pretty Trumpian -- offensive to everyone. If you want to watch -- CSPAN video is here. Her performance begins about 51 minutes in.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Weird News. Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "A fire broke out on Saturday in a high-rise that until recently had been called Trump Tower in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, engulfing much of the building in flames by early evening. Footage on social media showed flames shooting out of the windows and smoke billowing from the 33-floor building, which is still under construction and had been labeled 'Donald Trump's Worst Deal' by The New Yorker magazine. The blaze, which broke out on the top floor of the building, burned down through about 20 stories before firefighters extinguished the flames by midafternoon, the news agency Interfax reported.... The Trump Organization withdrew its licensing agreement for the Baku skyscraper shortly after the 2016 election.... Mr. Trump had partnered in the development with the son of a former minister of transportation in the oil-rich former Soviet state. The Trump-branded hotel never opened.... Mr. Trump cut the deal despite allegations by United States diplomats that the minister had dealings with front companies for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and was corrupt."

The Commentariat -- April 28, 2018

Late Morning Update:

Elizabeth Drew of the New Republic reviews This Week in Trump, with an emphasis on Thursday. Mrs. McC: Sadly, she wrote before the Judge in the Stormy Daniels case put the civil suit on a 90-day hold. But as legal scholar Paul Butler said on MSNBC Friday, "Cohen won [that] battle, but the lost the war"; the reason Judge Otero gave for delaying the civil proceedings was that it was likely Cohen soon would be indicted on related charges. (Related story linked below.)

*****

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "With news breaking that the North and South Korean leaders agreed to work toward the 'common goal' of denuclearization and a formal end of the 65-year-old war on the Korean Peninsula this year, Trump was more ebullient than most.... 'KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!' [Trump tweeted].... [And] 'Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!'.... This is premature, to say the least. If there's one thing everyone agrees upon, it's that the 'process' is really just beginning. The news was big, if not unprecedented, but we've had agreements between North and South Korea before, and they haven't panned out. Trump's tweets weren't just spiking the football but 'spiking the ball while still in the locker room before the coin is tossed to start the game,' said Thomas Weiss, a scholar at the City University of New Yorkwho has studied North Korea." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I'd give the prize jointly to leaders like Merkel, Macron & Trudeau who manage to be civil to Trump. They're far more polite than I could be. ...

... Anne Gearan writes this morning's top WashPo story, headlined "Trump rebrands diplomatic norms as events in Asia, Europe and elsewhere spin on his axis." Mrs. McC: To the extent that the leader of a powerful country is bound to be an important player, Trump is right. And to the extent that villainous leaders will attract outsized attention as others try to contain or restrain them, Trump is right. But as an agent for world peace or something like that, not so much. ...

... Max Boot in the Washington Post: "... it's a good thing the two Korean leaders are meeting and talking. It is certainly better than the saber-rattling we saw last year, with North Korea testing nuclear weapons and missiles, and President Trump responding with threats to rain down 'fire and fury.' But let's not imagine that Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un are making 'historic' breakthroughs with their summit declaration. It is full of lofty but empty language promising 'no more war on the Korean Peninsula.'... There is very little of substance here.... The two Koreas do not have the power to conclude a peace treaty because South Korea was not a party to the 1953 armistice. It was an agreement between the United States (acting on behalf of the United Nations Command), China and North Korea. If there is to be a peace treaty, it will involve those powers, not just South Korea.... Kim ... is pursuing his family's old policy of mixing provocations such as missile tests with peace offensives designed to convince the West to relax sanctions and extend his odious regime a life line." ...

... Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany made no attempt on Friday to hide their disagreements over the future of the Iran nuclear deal and trade relations between the United States and Europe after a day of White House meetings that appeared to have produced no breakthroughs on major disputes. Mr. Trump and Ms. Merkel, who have had a chilly relationship from the start, steered away from the kind of awkward confrontations that have characterized past meetings, going out of their way to compliment each other and accentuate areas of agreement. But Mr. Trump pressed his complaint that the trade relationship between the United States and Europe was 'unfair,' and Ms. Merkel made clear that the president had not made the commitment she was seeking -- permanently exempting the European Union from the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed in March."

... Adam Raymond of New York: "Who deserves credit for this momentous meeting and the push toward peace? Donald Trump, says South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha. 'He's been determined to come to grips with this from day one,' she recently told CNN. And he may soon have a Nobel Peace Prize to show for it. Trump and Kim are currently the favorites to win the prize, according to one British oddsmaker, and some of Trump's aides are telling reporters that a lasting thaw between North and South Korea should win Trump the award."

This Russia Thing, Ctd. Collusion, Hiding in Plain Sight:

Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the Washington Post: "House Intelligence Committee Republicans released a redacted version of their final report from a year-long probe into Russia's 'multifaceted' influence operation, generally clearing President Trump and his associates of wrongdoing while accusing the intelligence community and the FBI of failures in how they assessed and responded to the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 election. The report accuses the intelligence community of 'significant intelligence tradecraft failings,' suggesting that Russia's main goal was to sow discord in the United States and not to help Trump win the election. It says investigators found 'no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government' -- even as it details contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians or Russian intermediaries. Trump seized on the report to call for an end to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's criminal investigation into whether his campaign coordinated with Russia. 'Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. "No evidence" that the Trump Campaign "colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia,"' Trump wrote. 'Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!' But committee Democrats quickly charged that their Republican colleagues had rushed to end their work prematurely in a 'a systematic effort to muddy the waters and to deflect attention away from the President.'" See links to related story & report -- both marked "NEW" -- at the top of yesterday's Commentariat. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Here is the response of Democrats on the committee (pdf). ...

... Charles Savage & Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Here are five takeaways [from the GOP report]: One after another, the Republican report explains away links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.... [The report] raised doubts about one key finding of intelligence agencies: that the Russian government wanted to help Donald J. Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, rather than just to sow discord.... The Republican report echoed several talking points circling among Mr. Trump's allies on conservative news and opinion outlets. For example, the report dovetails with the script-flipping narrative that a dossier alleging complicity between Trump associates and Russia compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy, was itself a Russian plot.... The Republican report was often skeptical in tone about statements and testimony by people who put forward information that could be damaging to Mr. Trump, and more credulous about statements in his favor.... The Republican report is scathing about leaks to the news media that have brought to light various information about Trump-Russia contacts." ...

... Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "One particularly notable example of the committee's less-than-zealous approach to the investigation is its analysis of the infamous June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting at which Trump Jr. and other top Trump aides met with a Russian lawyer in an effort to acquire damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Kremlin.... According to the Democrats' report, Trump Jr. exchanged calls about the meeting with Emin Agalarov on June 6 at [Rob] Goldstone's request. The first call was at 4:04 pm. At 4:27 pm, prior to Trump Jr.'s second call with Emin, Trump Jr. received a call from a 'blocked' number. Trump Jr. told the committee last year he did not know who had called him. The Democrats note, however, that Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager, told the committee that Trump Sr.'s 'primary residence has a blocked [phone] line.' Democrats say they made 'repeated efforts to obtain the home or cell phone records for then-candidate Trump to determine whether the blocked call was Trump Jr.'s father.' But, they note, 'the Majority was unwilling to pursue the matter.'" ...

... Paul Waldman & Greg Sargent: "Although [the GOP report] is meant to exonerate President Trump and everyone around him, what it actually does is bring the utter degradation and disgrace of that committee to its fullest expression. By contrast, there may be real news in the Democrats' response to the report.... If Trump Jr. did inform his father of the meeting in between calls with Emin Agalarov, it would be absolutely explosive news.... If the Democratic response is accurate, what we know is that Republicans didn't want to find out one way or the other. 'It speaks to all the majority was determined to ignore, and the fundamental unseriousness of what they did,' [ranking committee Democrat Adam] Schiff [Calif.] said.... It's possible special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will take an interest in these phone records, if he hasn't already." ...

... Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "A direct line of communication between the Kremlin-connected Agalarov family and the Trump family was open during the transition after ... Donald Trump's presidential election, BuzzFeed News has learned. The 'first of a series' of text messages was sent between Emin Agalarov and Donald Trump Jr. two days after the 2016 election, a source familiar with the communications told BuzzFeed News. The communications continued through at least mid-December 2016, according to information made public Friday. It is not clear how many messages were sent, whether Trump Jr. sent any of them, or how many were sent by either party -- although BuzzFeed News confirmed that multiple messages were sent.... After the short [June 9, 2016, Trump Tower] meeting [among Junior, Manafort, Kushner & the Russians], according to the Democrats' report, the group -- excluding Trump Jr., Manafort, and Kushner -- went to the bar in Trump Tower. While there, Kaveladze took a call from Aras Agalarov. The next day, Aras had 'an expensive painting' delivered to Trump [Sr.]," supposedly a birthday gift. Trump's birthday is June 14. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie BTW: It's fair to say that not only Natalia V. Veselnitskaya -- the lawyer who represented Russian interests at the meeting & has now admitted to her ties to Russia's prosecutor general -- but also the Agalaraovs were acting as agents for the Kremlin. ...

... Jeremy Herb of CNN: "The Russian oligarch and Russian lawyer who were key players in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting reached out to Trump's team after Donald Trump was elected President to try to lobby on the Russian sanctions they sought to overturn, according to Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, told CNN's Jim Sciutto on Friday that Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya reached out to the Trump family after the election with a request to follow up on efforts to repeal the Magnitsky Act, the 2012 Russian sanctions the US enacted over human rights abuses. Veselnitskaya was the Russian lawyer at the center of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, where Donald Trump Jr. expected to receive damaging information on Hillary Clinton but instead Veselnitskaya focused on the repeal of the sanctions.... In addition, another effort to reach out to Trump's team after the election came from Aras Agalarov, the Azerbaijani-Russian oligarch who also has ties to the Trump Tower meeting.... Trump's team has denied there was any follow up after the [June 2016] Trump Tower meeting."

... Betsy Woodruff & Adam Rawnsley of the Daily Beast: "Before traveling to Russia in 2015 for a dinner hosted by a propaganda network, retired Gen. Michael Flynn and his son, Michael Flynn Jr., went to the home of Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak for a private meeting. That was just one of several findings in a new, long-awaited report from House intelligence committee Republicans...." ...

... AND, in a tweet Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News suggests that the report reveals that Michael Flynn had prior knowledge of the Russian hacks ("nation-states") & WikiLeaks impending release of DNC e-mails: ".@wikileaks released DNC emails on 7/22/16. Per House intel report, one week earlier, on 7/15, Flynn wrote email saying: 'There are a number of things happening (and will happen) this election via cyber operations (by both hackivists, nation-states & the DNC')." ...

... Martin Longman, in the Washington Monthly, has quite a good, concise post on incontrovertible evidence of collusion between Trump & Russia that somehow went over the heads of Nunes, Conaway & Co.: "The basic conspiracy is that Trump adopted positions towards Russia in return for their assistance in helping him win. That's so observable that it's essentially proven." Longman elaborates. Lots of quids & quos.

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has lost his lawsuit claiming that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and special counsel Robert Mueller exceeded their authority in charging him with alleged crimes that he says have nothing to do with the 2016 campaign. A judge said Friday that Manafort can't use this lawsuit to stop the special counsel's office from continuing to pursue an investigation of him. 'A civil case is not the appropriate vehicle for taking issue with what a prosecutor has done in the past or where he might be headed in the future,' Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the US District Court in Washington, DC, wrote Friday." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beth Reinhard of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Friday granted Michael Cohen's request for a delay in a lawsuit brought against him by porn star Stormy Daniels, saying it appeared likely Cohen will be indicted in a related criminal investigation. Judge S. James Otero's order for a 90-day stay comes two days after Cohen, PresidentTrump's personal attorney, said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself in the lawsuit.... Cohen's declaration cited the investigation by federal prosecutors in New York, who are examining his role in quashing embarrassing stories about Trump during the 2016 campaign.... Otero said Friday that the issues in the civil dispute with Daniels overlap with the criminal probe into Cohen.... It is not uncommon for defendants facing both civil liability and criminal prosecution to request a pause in civil proceedings to avoid giving sworn testimony and producing documents that could prove incriminating."

Sara Murray of CNN: "The National Rifle Association is setting aside years of documents related to its interactions with a Kremlin-linked banker, as the gun-rights group appears to be bracing for a possible investigation, according to sources familiar with the situation. The NRA has faced fresh scrutiny from congressional investigators about its finances and ties to Alexander Torshin, one of the 17 prominent Russian government officials the US Treasury Department recently slapped with sanctions. The gun-rights group has said it is reexamining its relationship with Torshin, who is a lifetime NRA member, in the wake of the sanctions. The renewed attention has highlighted the close-knit if sometimes uneasy alliance between top NRA officials and Torshin -- a relationship that ensnared members of Trump's team during the presidential campaign, inviting further congressional scrutiny.... The NRA recently found itself facing allegations that the FBI was investigating whether Torshin illegally funneled money through the group to bolster Trump, according to a McClatchy report."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump is tweeting this morning, which is the same thing as writing "Trump is lying this morning": "....Allegations made by Senator Jon Tester against Admiral/Doctor Ron Jackson are proving false. The Secret Service is unable to confirm (in fact they deny) any of the phony Democrat charges which have absolutely devastated the wonderful Jackson family. Tester should resign. The..... great people of Montana will not stand for this kind of slander when talking of a great human being. Admiral Jackson is the kind of man that those in Montana would most respect and admire, and now, for no reason whatsoever, his reputation has been shattered. Not fair, Tester!" Tester of course did not make any allegations against Jackson. Rather, the allegations came from members of the military, specifically those who worked in the White House. ...

     ... Update. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump on Saturday called for the resignation of Senator Jon Tester, the Montana Democrat who helped thwart his effort to install the White House physician in the cabinet, suggesting that the president may try to exact retribution in the fall congressional elections in a state that he won by a wide margin.... The president has been sharply criticizing Mr. Tester for days, singling out the Democrat while ignoring Republican opposition that had built to Dr. Jackson's nomination. Mr. Tester, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, took the lead in publicly questioning Dr. Jackson's record, but he had the support of Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, the Republican chairman of the committee, who signed a joint statement with him saying the issues should be investigated." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: It's probably worth noting, too, that Sens. Tester & Isakson were doing their Constitutionally-prescribed duty to "advise" the president, and "consent" does not necessarily follow. That is, we have a president who thinks a senator should resign for doing his job. ...

... Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair: "For months, Donald Trump has discussed replacing his chief of staff, John Kelly, who has attempted, with increasing futility, to rein in the president's impulses.... For the past few weeks, Trump has often governed as if Kelly weren't there, as evidenced by [Thursday's] Fox & Friends interview, during which the president essentially undermined his own legal defense. The cringe-inducing telephone interview was precisely the kind of unscripted media appearance the chief of staff had made a point of preventing.... According to sources familiar with the situation, White House officials and Trump confidantes are currently discussing the possibility of moving Kelly to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. 'They're looking for a place for Kelly to land that won't be embarrassing for him,' one Republican briefed on the conversations said."

Closing the Barn Door after the Horse Has Bolted. Amy Gardner & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "The White House on Friday said officials had conducted a thorough review of presidential physician Ronny L. Jackson's vehicle records and found three minor incidents but no evidence that he 'wrecked' a car after drinking at a Secret Service going-away party, as was alleged in a document released by Senate Democrats this week.... Also Friday, the Secret Service issued a statement denying the details of a published report that agents had intervened on an overseas trip to prevent Jackson from bothering then-President Barack Obama. According a report from CNN, Jackson had pounded on another White House official's hotel room door close enough to the president's room to risk disturbing him.... All of it has emboldened President Trump and the White House to accuse [Sen. Jon] Tester [D-Mont.] of a smear campaign -- and has muddied the case against Jackson...." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Judge for yourself, but in regard to the alleged car accident, I find the "proof" unconvincing. Human nature being what it is, it is not unreasonable to suppose that Jackson reported minor fender-benders for which he was or was not responsible but accidentally forgot to report wrecking a car while drunk-driving. I'm not saying that's what happened; I'm saying it's plausible. In addition, I would not be surprised if the Secret Service also accidentally forgot to write a report re: the supposed hotel incident. It wouldn't be the first time the Secret Service covered up an embarrassing incident. In addition, I would not trust a Trump White House "investigation" any more than I do the House Republicans' No Collusion fictional narrative.

Jennifer Dlouhy of Bloomberg: "The Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog will probe Administrator Scott Pruitt's unorthodox rental of a Capitol Hill condominium from a lobbyist, marking at least the 10th federal investigation of the agency's chief.... Previously, EPA's top ethics officer said the lease itself didn't violate federal ethics regulations barring certain gifts. But the ethics officer didn't examine whether the arrangement with a lobbyist violated other ethics rules, nor whether the actual use of the space was consistent with the lease agreement." (Open link in private window.)

Sheila Kaplan of the New York Times: "The high salary set for the newly appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has come under criticism from Senate Democrats and watchdog groups who questioned the use of an exemption to pay him nearly twice as much as his predecessors. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, who became the director in March, is receiving $375,000 a year, a substantially higher salary than the heads of many other government agencies. It was granted under a provision known as Title 42, which gives the department the authority to pay staff more than the approved government rate if the personnel provide a specific scientific need that cannot otherwise be filled.... 'It is difficult to understand why someone with limited public health experience, particularly in a leadership role, is being disproportionately compensated for his work,' compared to others in comparable government roles, wrote Senator [Patty] Murray [Wash.], the ranking Democrat on the committee that oversees federal health agencies."

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "In a letter released Friday, nearly 20 Senate Democrats said they want the Department of Homeland Security to hand over documents shedding more light on [acting ICE chief Thomas] Homan and his formal nomination to become the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The nomination of Homan, who has been leading the immigration agency in an acting capacity since the beginning of Trump's presidency, has stalled since it was officially submitted to the Senate on Nov. 14, 2017.... Homan has projected a hard-line approach to immigration enforcement, including his declaration last year that immigrants 'should be afraid' under the Trump administration if they entered the United States illegally. Democratic senators said DHS needs to give more information to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee before the nomination can proceed, but the department has yet to do so. The fact that it took Trump nearly 10 months to officially nominate an ICE director was also 'striking,' Democrats wrote, 'given the priority this Administration claims to place on immigration enforcement.'" ...

... Paige St. John & Joel Rubin of the Los Angeles Times: "... Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents repeatedly target U.S. citizens for deportation by mistake, making wrongful arrests based on incomplete government records, bad data and lax investigations, according to a Times review of federal lawsuits, internal ICE documents and interviews. Since 2012, ICE has released from its custody more than 1,480 people after investigating their citizenship claims, according to agency figures. And a Times review of Department of Justice records and interviews with immigration attorneys uncovered hundreds of additional cases in the country's immigration courts in which people were forced to prove they are Americans and sometimes spent months or even years in detention." The story of Davino Watson, a U.S. citizen whom ICE held fo4 3-1/2 years, is horrifying. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), who previously announced his retirement from Congress following reports he had paid a secret settlement to a staffer who accused him of harassment, resigned outright Friday. His resignation came as the House Ethics Committee continued a probe into his behavior that could have resulted in serious sanctions. The former aide, a younger woman, alleged that Meehan had confessed romantic feelings for her after she became involved with another man. Meehan, she alleged, later retaliated after she repelled his advances.... Meehan said that within 30 days he will repay taxpayers for the $39,000 settlement that was paid as a severance payment to his former staffer.... Meehan's departure could prompt a special election in his suburban Philadelphia district. That decision will be made by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), who is also considering whether to hold a special election in the Allentown-area district that Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) is expected to vacate later this year." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "The House rejected a resolution on Friday that would have set up a select committee to investigate Patrick Conroy's dismissal as House chaplain. In a 215-171 mostly party-line vote, the House turned aside the measure from House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley's (N.Y.), who argued it was necessary to look into the 'motivations and actions' behind Conroy's dismissal. Conroy announced his retirement as chaplain earlier this month, a decision most members thought was voluntary until Thursday, when it emerged that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) had pushed him out." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... He Persisted. Dana Milbank: "Praying for the poor is now apparently a firing offense in the corridors of power. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) did not give a reason when his chief of staff this month told the Rev. Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest and House chaplain, to resign or face dismissal. But we know this much: Ryan's office complained to Conroy about a prayer he offered on the House floor during the tax overhaul debate that those who 'continue to struggle' in the United States would not be made 'losers under new tax laws.' Ryan admonished the priest after the Nov. 6 prayer, saying, 'Padre, you just got to stay out of politics,' Conroy told the New York Times. He was warned. He was given an explanation. Nevertheless, he persisted. Over the five months since Ryan's warning, Conroy dared to continue to preach the teachings of Jesus on the House floor[.]" ...

... "Will No One Rid Me of This Meddlesome Priest?" Gail Collins: "Ryan himself is leaving Congress at the end of the year. When he announced his retirement, some malcontents muttered that he ought to step down from the speaker's job now and give someone else a turn. No way. 'I intend to run through the tape, to finish the year,' said the man who loves everything about physical fitness, including metaphors. 'Paul Ryan's giving himself that luxury,' said [Rep. Gerald] Connolly [D-Va.]. 'Why wouldn't you give it to the chaplain?'"

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A divided federal appeals court panel has thrown out a challenge to a revised voter identification law the state of Texas passed last year after an earlier measure ran into legal trouble. In a 2-1 decision on Friday, a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel overturned a district court judge's ruling that the 2017 law, known as Senate Bill 5, unconstitutionally discriminated against minority voters. The new decision was not a surprise since a three-judge panel of the same court stayed the lower court's ruling in September, allowing the state to put the new law into effect. The same judge who sharply dissented from the decision last year, James Graves Jr., dissented again on Friday. However, the other two judges on the panel who ruled on Friday, Edith Jones and Patrick Higginbotham, were not part of the earlier stay ruling.... Jones and Higginbotham are appointees of President Ronald Reagan. Graves was appointed by President Barack Obama."

Michael de la Merced of the New York Times: "Sprint and T-Mobile are in advanced discussions about merging, and a deal could be announced as soon as this weekend, people briefed on the matter said on Friday. A combination of the two companies would complete one of the telecommunications industry's most long-awaited transactions and would create the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States, with more than 127 million customers. Sprint and T-Mobile have tried to negotiate a merger twice before." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hannity Should Rename His Show "The Simon Legree Hour." Jon Swaine of the Guardian: "The number of eviction orders obtained against tenants in a Georgia apartment complex owned by Sean Hannity has sharply increased since the property was bought by the Fox News host.... The court records suggest the rate of eviction orders at Hampton Place [-- a Georgia apartment complex --] has increased by more than 400% under Hannity's ownership." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: You might wonder why Hannity has bought two apartment complexes in Georgia since he seems to have no particular connection to the state. Maybe this explains it: "'Georgia is one of the harshest states for tenants,' said [Lindsey] Siegel[, a Georgia legal aid attorney]. 'You can be evicted for being a single day late on your rent -- regardless of whether you've paid on time for the past five years.'" ...

... Matt Pearce & Jenny Jarvie of the Los Angeles Times: "Since [Hannity's heretofore secret limited-liability partnership] SPMK took over [another Georgia apartment complex called Lithia Springs], the homes got renovated. Old carpets were replaced with hardwood floors; kitchens got new cabinets and appliances. Outside fresh siding went up and flower beds were filled with uniform rows of privet and pink roses. But longtime tenants of this predominantly blue collar, African American neighborhood also said their monthly payments on their small two-bedroom apartments had gone up 50% over the last five years, increasing from about $650 to as much as $1,000. Rents are rising nationally. But a rate increase of roughly 10% a year since 2013 is surprisingly high, about double the rate of rentals in the Lithia Springs area, said Dan Immergluck, a professor at Georgia State University's Urban Studies Institute...."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This Guardian story, by Jon Henley, about Brigitte Macron & Melania Trump is notable for its correction. If you read the correction & are not sure what I mean, you might be (a) a man or (b) a fan of Phyllis Schlafly. If neither, please do try to catch up. P.S. If you think omitting the spouses' age differences would have been best, well, yeah.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter: "Tom Brokaw, the NBC News anchor who has served as a distinguished anchor emeritus since stepping down as anchor of Nightly News in 2004, penned a blistering rebuttal to accusations that he subjected an underling to unwanted advances in the 1990s when he was the network&'s biggest star and she was a 28-year-old just starting out in network news." Guthrie publishes the entire e-mail Brokaw wrote to some NBC News colleagues. Here's one sentence: "I was ambushed and then perp walked across the pages of The Washington Post and Variety as an avatar of male misogyny, taken to the guillotine and stripped of any honor and achievement I had earned in more than a half century of journalism and citizenship." ...

... Katie Kilkenny of the Hollywood Reporter: "One day after two women alleged Tom Brokaw sexually harassed them at NBC News in the 1990s, a cadre of female journalists including Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell and Maria Shriver have signed a letter characterizing the veteran journalist as "a man of tremendous decency and integrity.... On Friday, Mika Brzezinski also voiced her support for the journalist, tweeting, 'Add me to the list.'" Kilkenny appends the full letter & signators. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is a standard "Well, he didn't assault me" letter that big corporations use to defend their top guys against victims of assault, thus victimizing the victims again. Shame on the signers, each and every one of them. I believe the women. As for Brokaw's "honor," I suspect he truly doesn't remember assaulting Linda Vester & the other woman. It's the kind of thing men forget. But women don't.

Beyond the Beltway

Clint Rainey of New York: "James Shaw Jr. -- the customer being celebrated as 'the Waffle House hero' (and, now, 'Tennessee's hero') who saved lives by wrestling the suspect to the ground -- topped his heroism during the actual shooting by setting up a GoFundMe just hours later that asked for money to give to the victims' families. His initial goal: a somewhat ambitious $15,000. His current amount, raised after just four days: $172,822. Nearly 5,000 people have chipped in so far.... Meanwhile, Yashar Ali, the journalist who saw Shaw's crowdfunding effort and decided the world also owed this man something, has raised even more over on his separate GoFundMe page. A well-connected politics reporter with 261,000 Twitter followers, Ali has managed, as of this writing, to collect $182,311 in three days from more than 5,700 people.... You can find James Shaw's page for the victims' families here. And Yashar Ali’s page for Shaw here."