The Commentariat -- April 24, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is examining allegations that President Trump's nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House physician and allowed the overprescribing of drugs, according to congressional officials briefed on the committee's work. They have also received claims that Dr. Ronny L. Jackson drank too much on the job. The allegations, which have been under investigation since last week, forced the postponement of Dr. Jackson's confirmation hearing, planned for this Wednesday as senators scrutinize the nominee's time leading the White House medical staff. Officials familiar with the allegations against Dr. Jackson declined to offer precise details but said that they suggest a pattern of behavior, not just one or two isolated incidents." Mrs. McC: You read it in the New York Times, so it must be true. ...

     ... Update: Nothing Is Ever Trump's Fault. Michael Shear has been added to the byline. "President Trump acknowledged Tuesday that Ronny L. Jackson, his nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, is in serious trouble amid allegations that he oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House doctor, allowed the overprescribing of drugs and possibly drank on the job. Speaking at a news conference with the president of France, Mr. Trump strongly defended Dr. Jackson as 'one of the finest people that I have met,' but he hinted that Dr. Jackson might soon withdraw from consideration, blaming Democrats for mounting an unfair attack on his nominee's record. 'I don't want to put a man through a process like this,' Mr. Trump said, calling the allegations about Mr. Jackson 'ugly.' The president said, 'The fact is, I wouldn't do it. What does he need it for? To be abuse by a number of politicians?' 'It's totally his decision,' Mr. Trump added, saying that he had talked with Dr. Jackson earlier in the day. Mr. Trump angrily accused his adversaries on Capitol Hill of going after Dr. Jackson because they have failed to block Mike Pompeo, the president's nominee to become the next secretary of state. 'They failed to stop him, so now they say "who's next?"' the president told reporters during the news conference in the East Room. The concern over Dr. Jackson's nomination, however, is bipartisan."

Julie Davis & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump on Tuesday decried the nuclear agreement with Iran as a 'terrible deal' that failed to restrain threats from Tehran, but said he would use formal meetings with President Emmanuel Macron of France to discuss whether to preserve it.... 'It's insane. It's ridiculous,' Mr. Trump said of the 2015 nuclear accord, which lifted sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran's nuclear program. 'It should never have been made, but we will be talking about it.'"

The White House Communications Office Never Fails to Amuse. Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "President Trump's review of the troops to celebrate the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron's arrival at the White House Tuesday was keeping with tradition, though the president -- a self-proclaimed law-and-order leader with a professed weakness for military parades -- couldn't help but wear the Cheshire cat look of man who got to gaze upon his military might by simply stepping onto his back portico.... In announcing the arrival ceremony, the White House -- in perhaps either an effort to emphasize United States' long relationship with France or a bit of a historical blunder -- proclaimed the proud U.S. tradition of a military arrival ceremony dates back to the 17th Century -- at least approximately 76 years before the United States became a country."

The King was in the White House
Counting out his money.
The Queen was in the garden
Picking greens & honey.*

* Actually, that last bit is true.

Ben Schreckinger of Politico: Trump's lies false claims to Comey about not staying overnight in Moscow could bolster Mueller's case against him. "A conscious effort by Trump to mislead the FBI director could lend weight to the allegation -- contained in a largely unverified private research dossier compiled by a former British spy in 2016 -- that Trump engaged in compromising activity during the trip that exposed him to Russian government blackmail. It has also likely caught the eye of special counsel Robert Mueller, legal analysts say. False statements to Comey about the trip could demonstrate that Trump has 'consciousness of guilt,' according to Pete Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor who worked for special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of national security-related leaks during the George W. Bush administration."

Ian Austen & Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "The 25-year-old driver of the van that careened down a busy Toronto street in a lethal rampage was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday and 13 counts of attempted murder. The charges, announced at a Toronto court hearing for the suspect, Alek Minassian, came a day after the van rampage, which appears to have been the deadliest deliberate vehicular assault in modern Canadian history..... [Minassian] stopped the van on a sidewalk after the killings and surrendered to the police following a tense standoff in which he claimed to be armed and dared officers to shoot him in the head.... Scott Bardsley, a spokesman for Ralph Goodale, the public safety minister, said that the minister concluded that the killings 'were not national security related' following a discussions with several security officials...." ...

... Tasneem Nashrulla of BuzzFeed: "Federal authorities on Monday said they are investigating the father of Waffle House shooting suspect Travis Reinking after he returned his son's guns to him after they were confiscated by Illinois authorities last year. Reinking was arrested for using one of the weapons, an AR-15 rifle, to massacre four people Sunday. The actions of the suspect's father, Jeffrey Reinking, have also highlighted an Illinois gun law that one state senator calls a 'loophole' in the system. Democratic State Sen. Julie Morrison told BuzzFeed News on Monday that the state's Firearm Owners Identification card (FOID) Act, which allowed the father, 54, to keep his son's weapons, and then return them to him, 'should be looked into.'"

*****

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: At President Trump's first White House state dinner, the "guest list was whittled to around 120 people, down from highs of 350 or so people who attended previous bipartisan and media-filled dinners featuring celebrities and pop icons like Beyoncé. (The Washington National Opera will perform this year instead, the White House said.) Typically the leadership of the opposing party is invited to a state dinner, but the Trumps threw out that tradition as they also shunned journalists, who in previous administrations received a handful of invitations -- not surprising for a president who derides the 'fake news' media. There is at least one Democrat on the list, according to a White House official: John Bel Edwards, the governor of Louisiana.... The full guest list is expected to be released on Tuesday, right before the start of the dinner.... Much of the planning for Mr. Macron's arrival on Monday and the Tuesday dinner -- components of the most prominent affair a first lady can pull off -- has fallen to a small East Wing staff of 10 people."

Trumps take Macrons on a field trip to Mount Vernon even though Trump is "more presidential" than Washington:

Pamela Brown & Sarah Westwood of CNN: "... Donald Trump is increasingly relying on his personal cell phone to contact outside advisers, multiple sources inside and outside the White House told CNN, as Trump returns to the free-wheeling mode of operation that characterized the earliest days of his administration.... During the early days of [John] Kelly's tenure, multiple sources said, Trump made many of his calls from the White House switchboard -- a tactic that allowed the chief of staff to receive a printed list of who Trump had phoned. Kelly has less insight into who Trump calls on his personal cell phone. While Trump never entirely gave up his personal cell phone once Kelly came aboard, one source close to the White House speculated that the President is ramping up the use of his personal device recently in part because 'he doesn't want Kelly to know who he's talking to.'" ...

     ... Lock Him Up! Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: How secure do you think Trump's personal cell phone is? Probably just as secure as Princess Diana's cell was when she was making those "Squidgy" calls.

Sarah Sanders will have to get back to you on whether Trump, in a tweet this past weekend, used the white supremacist term "breeding" to refer to Latinos having, you know, litters of babies, like animals. Mrs. McC: That's okay, Sarah. We already know the real answer.

Trump & Sanders Signal Trump & Cohen Are Criminals. Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: "Over the weekend, [President Trump] tried to project confidence that his longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen -- under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations -- will not flip to avoid legal trouble. But in doing so, and skipping a denial of wrongdoing, the president implied two things. One is that Cohen would need to strike a deal with prosecutors to avoid charges or prison time. Trump's tweet did not even entertain the idea that the investigation will turn up nothing because Cohen committed no crimes. The second is that Cohen possesses damaging information about the president. Trump said he believes Cohen will keep his mouth shut, not that Cohen can talk all he wants because there is no dirt to dish.... The simple, playing-it-cool response would be that the president encourages Cohen to cooperate fully with an investigation that will surely end in exoneration. But the White House hasn't said anything of the kind. n fact, the White House appears to be leaving open the door to a presidential pardon for Cohen -- which, of course, would be necessary only if there were a crime to pardon." When asked about a Cohen pardon, Sarah Sanders referred reporters to "personal attorneys." Borchers: But "questions about a presidential pardon fall squarely in the domain of the White House, not Trump's outside attorneys." ...

... "The Golden Shower Couldn't Have Happened Because I Wasn't Even There." Vernon Silver of Bloomberg: "... Donald Trump twice gave James Comey an alibi for why a salacious report about the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow couldn't be true: He never even spent the night in Russia during that trip, Trump told the former FBI director, according to Comey's memos about the conversations. Yet the broad timeline of Trump's stay, stretching from Friday, Nov. 8, 2013, through the following Sunday morning, has been widely reported. And it's substantiated by social media posts that show he slept in Moscow the night before the Miss Universe contest. Now, flight records obtained by Bloomberg provide fresh details. Combined with existing accounts and Trump's own social-media posts, they capture two days that, nearly five years later, loom large in the controversy engulfing the White House...." According to flight records, Trump arrived in Moscow during the day November 8 & left in the early morning hours of November 10. (Open link in private window.)

John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "... the seventy-one-year-old Trump currently in the White House is merely an older version of the thirty-seven-year-old Trump who misled [Forbes reporter Jonathan] Greenberg [about his fake wealth, using a fake persona] all those years ago.... At practically any other time in American history, public confirmation that the occupant of the Oval Office is a serial con man who lied, schemed, and impersonated his way to public prominence would have dominated the news for weeks. These days, though, the media is virtually overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of Trump stories." ...

Well, Of Course. Victoria Guida of Politico: "The Treasury Department Monday eased sanctions on Russian aluminum producer Rusal and said it would consider lifting them altogether if the company severs ties with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. Rusal was sanctioned earlier this month by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control because of Deripaska's stake in the company. The Russian billionaire is alleged to have conducted a range of illegal activities, including money laundering, extortion and ordering the murder of a businessman, according to Treasury. He is also reportedly part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Update. Polina Devitt, et al., of Reuters recount how Oleg Deripaska has been working since December to weaken the impact of U.S. sanctions. Mrs. McC: The reporters don't mention the part where Deripaska called his good friend Donald & told him to lay off. Or else.

Michael Gerson of the Washington Post: "The attitude of President Trump toward federal law enforcement is, to put it mildly, mixed. The FBI refused to bend to his will.... The FBI was, according to Trump, too preoccupied with the Russia investigation to prevent the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.... But Immigration and Customs Enforcement has passed the loyalty test. ICE's enforcement surge 'is merely the keeping of my campaign promise,' the president tweeted. Referring to ICE acting director Thomas Homan, Trump said, 'Somebody said the other day, they saw him on television.... "He looks very nasty, he looks very mean." I said, "That's what I'm looking for!"' This is territory more familiar in political systems of personal rule. The agency that defies the ruler must be discredited. The agency that does his bidding is viewed as a kind of Praetorian Guard.... ICE's 40 percent increase in arrests within the United States after Trump took office is now closely associated with the president's political priorities.... This is an issue ripe for more rigorous congressional oversight -- even an independent commission to investigate charges of physical and sexual abuse in the ICE system." ...

... John Cassidy of the New Yorker on how ICE raids affect the children of immigrants swept up in ICE raids. ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: If you are wondering what happens to these children, most of whom are U.S. citizens, after their parents run into the deportation mill, here's a year-old report from the American Immigration Council that has some answers.

Rafael Bernal of the Hill: "Mexico's top diplomat on Monday rebuffed President Trump's suggestion to make immigration enforcement a precondition for a trade deal. 'Mexico decides its migratory policy in a sovereign way, and migratory cooperation with the United States happens because it's in Mexico's interest,' tweeted Secretary of Foreign Relations Luis Videgaray. Videgaray's tweet came an hour after Trump used the platform to threaten tying Mexico's record on immigration to the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations. 'Mexico, whose laws on immigration are very tough, must stop people from going through Mexico and into the U.S. We may make this a condition of the new NAFTA Agreement,' tweeted Trump." (See also news of Mexico's pending trade deal with the E.U., linked yesterday.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate lawmakers have postponed the confirmation hearing for Ronny L. Jackson, President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, after top Republicans and Democrats raised concerns about his qualifications and oversight of the White House medical staff, White House and other administration officials were told Monday. The development came just two days before Jackson, the White House physician, was scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and threw what was looking to be a difficult confirmation process into further jeopardy. In addition to Jackson's lack of management experience, the former combat surgeon had come under fire for his glowing appraisal of Trump's health following his annual physical in January.... In recent days, fresh concerns arose about Jackson's management of the White House medical office, said the officials, who declined to provide details." ...

... Juana Summers, et al., of CNN: "Committee members have been told about allegations related to improper conduct in various stages of his career, two sources said [of Jackson].

... ** Ed O'Keefe & Nancy Cordes of CBS News: "The ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs committee is reviewing allegations he's hearing about Ronny Jackson.... Sources familiar with the tales say that [Jon] Tester's [D-Mont.] staff is reviewing multiple allegations of a 'hostile work environment.' The accusations include 'excessive drinking on the job, improperly dispensing meds,' said one of the people familiar, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the situation. The other people familiar with the stories also confirmed those details. If proven true, 'it'll sink his nomination,' said one of the sources." Mrs. McC: One might surmise that the Trump White House did not vet Jackson at all after Trump made his surprise-tweet-announcement he had nominated Jackson. ...

... Tom Levenson of Balloon Juice: This "is also a reminder: Trump diminishes every single person who touches him." Mrs. McC: That's not an accident. If Trump hadn't impulsively tweet-announced Jackson's nomination, if he had even interviewed Jackson for the job, as apparently he didn't, if the nomination process had gone through a vetting process -- Jackson's alleged foibles would not have splashed onto CBS News' Website. Government by whim, obviously, is bad for everyone. I'm not the only one who says so:

... Margaret Hartmann: "In a New York Times op-ed, Norm Eisen, Obama's former ethics czar, and Bandy X. Lee, a forensic psychiatrist at the Yale School of Medicine, said Trump was taking a big risk by announcing the nomination without properly vetting Jackson first: '... Very presentable and capable individuals -- sometimes even those with existing security clearances -- are sometimes disqualified by the rigorous personnel investigations that are normally undertaken for cabinet positions. Such cabinet-level vets complement but are more thorough than a typical pre-existing security clearance, and can uncover conflicts, misdeeds or other disqualifying information.'" The op-ed is here.

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a late pivot on Monday evening, approved the confirmation of Mike Pompeo to be the next secretary of state, after Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, bowed to pressure from President Trump and dropped his opposition. For days, the committee appeared ready to deliver a historic rebuke. Since it began considering nominees in the late 19th century, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has never given a nominee for secretary of state anything but a favorable vote, according to the Senate historian. It has been almost 30 years since any cabinet nominee was reported to the full Senate with an unfavorable recommendation. But minutes before the committee convened, Mr. Paul, an ardent opponent of interventionist foreign policy, declared his support for Mr. Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, to lead the State Department, securing approval from the committee." ...

... Li'l Randy -- the Most Principled Man in Washington -- Caves. Again. Elana Schor of Politico: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) flipped from -no' to 'yes' on Mike Pompeo's nomination to be secretary of state Monday, paving an unexpectedly easy path for the CIA director to win confirmation from the full Senate as soon as this week. Paul's surprising turnabout on Pompeo came after multiple conversations with ... Donald Trump, the Kentucky Republican said, as well as getting what he described as 'assurances' that the hawkish nominee sees the war in Iraq as 'a mistake' and wants to wind down the U.S. presence in Afghanistan." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Michael Sykes of Axios: "Senator Joe Manchin [D-W.Va.] announced via Twitter on Monday that he would vote to confirm CIA Director Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Nancy LeTourneau of the Washington Monthly: "Barring unforeseen circumstances, Mike Pompeo will be confirmed as the next secretary of state by the end of the week. We now know of at least three Democrats who plan to vote for him: Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly. That doesn't stop the kind of nonsense we heard this morning from Sarah Huckabee Sanders:... 'At some points Democrats have to decide whether they love this country more than they hate this president.'... First of all, Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Senate, so if there was some trouble with the Pompeo confirmation, it would be because of defections from the president's party. But more importantly, Sanders chose to attack the patriotism of Democrats who opposed this nomination by suggesting that if they vote 'no' on confirmation.... That, my friends, is a perfect example of how to shut down meaningful dialogue in this country. I'd even go so far as to suggest that it is unpatriotic to ignore political differences and, instead, challenge the patriotism of your opponents." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: LeTourneau seems to be under the misapprehension that the Trump regime is interested in "meaningful dialogue."

** Heidi Przybyla of NBC News: "John Bolton..., Donald Trump's new national security adviser, chaired a nonprofit that has promoted misleading and false anti-Muslim news, some of which was amplified by a Russian troll factory, an NBC News review found. The group's authors also appeared on Russian media, including Sputnik and RT News, criticizing mainstream European leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron. From 2013 until last month, Bolton was chairman of the Gatestone Institute, a New York-based advocacy group that warns of a looming 'jihadist takeover' of Europe leading to a 'Great White Death.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie Update: Rachel Maddow pointed out last night that chairman John Bolton there -- who, in the absence of our having a secretary of state, would be the White House's principal liaison re: the French President's visit -- was until recently chairing a right-wing nut group that has put out outlandishly critical reports of Emmanuel Macron. Have a nice dinner, folks!

Jennifer Dlouhy & Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg: "White House officials are cautioning Republican lawmakers and other conservative allies to temper their defense of Scott Pruitt, according to two people familiar with the discussions, in a sign that administration support for the embattled EPA chief may be waning.... Republicans are now sharpening their criticisms about Pruitt amid a revelation that he met at least once with the lobbyist whose wife rented him a bedroom on Capitol Hill.... 'We're reviewing some of those allegations," White House spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters in a briefing Monday. She added that while Pruitt has done a good job of implementing Trump's policies, 'the other things are certainly something that we're monitoring.'" (Open in private window.)

In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department. Beside the objection to such a mixture of heterogeneous powers: the trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man.... War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement. In war a physical force is to be created, and it is the executive will which is to direct it. In war the public treasures are to be unlocked, and it is the executive hand which is to dispense them. In war the honors and emoluments of office are to be multiplied; and it is the executive patronage under which they are to be enjoyed. It is in war, finally, that laurels are to be gathered, and it is the executive brow they are to encircle. The strongest passions, and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venial love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace. -- James Madison, 1793, warning of Donald Trump ...

... "What Could Go Wrong?" Robert Borosage in the Nation: "The recent missile attack on Syria, in response to alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians by the Assad regime, revealed the scope of Donald Trump's lawlessness.... That the impulsive, erratic, ignorant president claims the power to use the military anywhere at any time that he might decide is frightening enough. It becomes terrifying when combined with the views of the war cabinet he now seeks to assemble.... This is where we are headed: An impulsive and bellicose president empowered to use force on his own authority advised by the advocates of aggressive war [Bolton & Pompeo] with a covert arm headed by a practitioner of torture [Gina Haspel]. This is precisely what the founders of the country sought to protect against by giving Congress the power to declare war."

Congressional Races

Elena Schneider of Politico: "Colorado's state Supreme Court ruled Monday that GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn cannot appear on the primary ballot in his district because of a problem with his ballot petitions. The court ruled that a petition gatherer working for Lamborn's campaign did not live in the state at the time, rendering the signatures he gathered invalid and moving Lamborn below the threshold for ballot access in his conservative district.... The decision overruled Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, whose office had certified Lamborn to the primary ballot using a broader interpretation of the state residency requirement for petition gatherers. But Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert said Lamborn could 'go to the federal court and ask them to strike the residency requirement.'"

It's Election Day in Arizona. Jonathan Martin & Denise Lu of the New York Times: "Debbie Lesko, a former Republican state senator, is facing the Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, a doctor, in the race for the Phoenix-area seat that is reliably Republican. Donald J. Trump won the district by more than 20 percentage points in 2016. Four years earlier, Mitt Romney had won it by almost 25 points. Republican leaders and groups have poured money into Ms. Lesko's race.... Republican leaders and groups have poured money into Ms. Lesko's race, taking a variety of precautionary measures.... The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee have together spent more than $900,000 to boost Ms. Lesko. The Eighth District seat was vacated by Representative Trent Franks, a Republican who resigned after he was revealed to have offered $5 million to an aide in exchange for carrying his child.... The House Democratic campaign arm and House Majority PAC -- the best-funded House Democratic super PAC -- have not supported Ms. Tipirneni to the same extent.... the closer the margin [of Lesko's likely win], the more alarmed Republicans will be about the enthusiasm gap between the two parties going into November." ...

... The Sun Also Rises on Sun City. Michelle Goldberg: "... an unexpectedly competitive Eighth District election and a rare labor action by teachers -- are connected.... Both the walkout and the surprising viability of Tipirneni's campaign are manifestations of the explosive activist energy, particularly among women, set off by the catastrophe of Trump's election.... Even if she comes up short, the work she's done to build up the Democratic Party in her district will have a lasting impact, [Democrat Hiral Tipirneni ]said: 'It's going to be incredible to see what Arizona looks like after November.'" ...

... Paul Krugman: "At the state and local levels, the conservative obsession with tax cuts has forced the G.O.P. into what amounts to a war on education, and in particular a war on schoolteachers. That war is the reason we've been seeing teacher strikes in multiple states. And people like [Kentucky Gov. Matt] Bevin [RTP] are having a hard time coming to grips with the reality they've created.... State and local governments ... are basically school districts with police departments.... How, after all, can governments save money on education?... Squeeze teachers themselves."

Peter Martinez of CBS News: "Former President George H.W. Bush was admitted to a Houston hospital Sunday after contracting an infection, according to a statement from his office Monday evening. The 41st president of the United States is 93 years old. 'President Bush was admitted to the Houston Methodist Hospital yesterday after contracting an infection that spread to his blood,' a statement from family spokesman Jim McGrath read. 'He is responding to treatments and appears to be recovering. We will issue additional updates as events warrant.' His wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, was buried Saturday. Barbara died Tuesday at her Houston home. She was 92. The couple were married for 73 years." ...

... Jamie Gangel of CNN: "Former President George H.W. Bush ... is in intensive care, CNN has learned."

Henry Grabar of Slate: "In 2008, in an advertisement for a three-day, $1,495 Trump University workshop, the future president was quoted as saying, 'I've always made a FORTUNE in foreclosures, and you will too.' It appears the president's most ardent televised defender, Sean Hannity, took his advice. On Sunday, the Guardian uncovered public records suggesting that the Fox News host is behind or affiliated with shell companies that, over the past decade, have spent more than $90 million on 870 homes in seven states, including dozens of foreclosed houses. It also offers an explanation why Hannity said last week that he had consulted Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's personal lawyer who is under criminal investigation, to ask some questions about real estate.... Hannity represents the rise of the corporate landlord.... In addition to public or well-known companies, you also have hard-to-track LLCs like the ones Hannity set up.... The trend is clear: You're more likely than ever to be cutting rent to a faceless corporation or obscure LLC, behind which may lie the very man who has been yelling about the injustice of foreclosures at you on the television."

Beyond the Beltway

James Shaw, Jr., who -- unarmed himself -- wrestled an assault weapon from a mass-murderer.We Have Met the Real Donald Trump. And He Is Black. (Also, young & good-looking.) As Akhilleus writes in yesterday's Comments, "Isn't this what Trump himself boasted, with great pomp and bravado that he would have done (brave, brave Sir Donald) had he been in Stoneman Douglas High School when a shooter opened fire? He told a phalanx of Confederate governors that he, brave Sir Donald, would have run, unarmed up to the gunman and valiantly disarmed him, because...well, I guess it sounded good." Real Akhilleus' entire commentary on this as he explores how things likely would have gone had black been white & white black. ...

... Alan Blinder & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "During a sudden break in the firing, [James] Shaw[, Jr.,] sprinted through [a] door [near a restroom] as fast as he could, slamming into the gunman and knocking him to the ground. He grabbed the rifle and tossed it over the restaurant counter.... Mr. Shaw said Sunday that he eventually learned that the pause in the gunman's firing came when he was trying to reload the rifle. It was a brief enough break, Mr. Shaw said, for him to make a move. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Natalie Alund & Adam Tamburin of the Tennessean: "Police on Monday said they planned to expand the search for Travis Reinking, 29, the suspect in a deadly shooting at an Antioch Waffle House shooting after investigators said a Tennessee resident found evidence in a different part of the city." Mrs. McC: I heard on the TV that Reinking had stolen a BMW using some kind of automatic key. Police recovered the vehicle via GPS tracking, but Reinking himself is still at large. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... New Lede: "Metro police announced Monday afternoon that Travis Reinking, the suspect in a shooting that killed four people at an Antioch Waffle House, had been arrested after a 34-hour manhunt. Shortly after 1 p.m. [CT], police announced Reinking had been arrested in a 'wooded area' near Old Hickory Boulevard and Hobson Pike -- less than two miles from the Waffle House where the shooting took place. Police photos from the scene showed Reinking, 29, being loaded into a car wearing a torn maroon T-shirt with scratches on his exposed shoulders." Thanks to Marvin S. for the heads-up. ...

... Christal Hayes of USA Today: "The suspected gunman on the run after riddling a Tennessee Waffle House with bullets dubbed himself a 'sovereign citizen,' before being arrested in July 2017 outside the White House. Travis Reinking, 29, used that term -- which the FBI has also used to describe a group of anti-government extremists -- during a clash last year with the Secret Service, according to a police report obtained by USA Today. Reinking told agents he needed to see President Trump and defined himself as sovereign citizen who had a right to inspect the grounds, according to an arrest report by the Metropolitan Police Department in D.C. He was arrested on an unlawful entry charge after refusing to leave the area." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Washington Post Editors: "There is no law in Tennessee, where Mr. Reinking moved from Illinois, that would have barred him from owning guns. Voters should elect a Congress that will undertake comprehensive gun law reform. Reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons is a must. So, too, is restricting magazine capacity. That the shooter at the Waffle House apparently stopped to reload gave a quick-thinking patron, James Shaw Jr., the chance to disarm him, thus saving countless lives. In a few months, Americans will have a chance to vote for candidates for Congress who support constitutional limits on weapons of war, and against candidates who remain complicit in letting peaceable Waffle House patrons be terrorized by them."

Way Beyond

Jesse McLean & Moira Welsh of the Toronto Star: "Ten people were killed and 15 injured after a van ran down pedestrians along Yonge St. between Finch and Sheppard Aves. on Monday afternoon, Toronto police say. Multiple tarps covered what appear to be victims' bodies along the two-kilometre stretch of Yonge. Witnesses described the van driver deliberately mounting the sidewalk along Yonge and mowing down pedestrians outside on the sunny day. A trail of destruction was left in the van's wake as people screamed for help.... Police say the driver of the van has been arrested. A police source has identified the man arrested as Alek Minassian. No charges have been laid and Toronto police have not officially released the name of the driver." Mrs. McC: A video aired on CNN showed Minassian drawing a pistol on a police officer before the officer took him into custody. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... CBC News: "A profile on social networking site LinkedIn identifies Minassian as a student at Seneca College in North York, the northern Toronto neighbourhood where the attack took place.... At a news conference Monday night, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders declined to provide a motive, saying officials were still investigating. But he said the driver's actions 'definitely looked deliberate.'... An apparent Facebook post by a man with the same name and photo as Minassian's LinkedIn profile refers to the 'Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger,' a 22-year-old responsible for a deadly rampage in  Isla Vista, Calif., that left six people dead and a dozen more injured. In a video posted ahead of that 2014 attack, Rodger raged about a number of women turning down his advances, rendering him an 'incel,' or involuntarily celibate." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- April 23, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Li'l Randy Caves. Elana Schor of Politico: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) flipped from 'no' to 'yes' on Mike Pompeo's nomination to be secretary of state Monday, paving an unexpectedly easy path for the CIA director to win confirmation from the full Senate as soon as this week. Paul's surprising turnabout on Pompeo came after multiple conversations with ... Donald Trump, the Kentucky Republican said, as well as getting what he described as 'assurances' that the hawkish nominee sees the war in Iraq as 'a mistake' and wants to wind down the U.S. presence in Afghanistan."

Jenna Moon & Jesse McLean of the Toronto Star: "At least three people have been killed and many more injured after a van ran down pedestrians along Yonge St. [a major street] between Finch and Sheppard Aves. on Monday afternoon. Sunnybrook hospital says it has received eight patients from the scene.... Police say both the van and the driver are in custody but don't know the motive or cause of the crash." Mrs. McC: At least one witness/videographer caught the capture of the suspect, & CTV has played the video. In the video, the suspect is seen pointing a gun at the police officer moments before the officer talked him into dropping the gun & dropping to the sidewalk. Eyewitnesses say the van driver was deliberately plowing down pedestrians. Reporters are now saying that 9 pedestrians were killed & 16 were injured.

Well, Of Course. Victoria Guida of Politico: "The Treasury Department Monday eased sanctions on Russian aluminum producer Rusal and said it would consider lifting them altogether if the company severs ties with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. Rusal was sanctioned earlier this month by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control because of Deripaska's stake in the company. The Russian billionaire is alleged to have conducted a range of illegal activities, including money laundering, extortion and ordering the murder of a businessman, according to Treasury. He is also reportedly part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election."

Rafael Bernal of the Hill: "Mexico's top diplomat on Monday rebuffed President Trump's suggestion to make immigration enforcement a precondition for a trade deal. 'Mexico decides its migratory policy in a sovereign way, and migratory cooperation with the United States happens because it's in Mexico's interest,' tweeted Secretary of Foreign Relations Luis Videgaray. Videgaray's tweet came an hour after Trump used the platform to threaten tying Mexico's record on immigration to the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations. 'Mexico, whose laws on immigration are very tough, must stop people from going through Mexico and into the U.S. We may make this a condition of the new NAFTA Agreement,' tweeted Trump." (See also news of Mexico's pending trade deal with the E.U., linked below.)

Michael Sykes of Axios: "Senator Joe Manchin [D-W.Va.] announced via Twitter on Monday that he would vote to confirm CIA Director Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State."

Heidi Przybyla of NBC News: "John Bolton..., Donald Trump's new national security adviser, chaired a nonprofit that has promoted misleading and false anti-Muslim news, some of which was amplified by a Russian troll factory, an NBC News review found. The group's authors also appeared on Russian media, including Sputnik and RT News, criticizing mainstream European leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron. From 2013 until last month, Bolton was chairman of the Gatestone Institute, a New York-based advocacy group that warns of a looming 'jihadist takeover' of Europe leading to a 'Great White Death.'"

James Shaw, Jr., who -- unarmed himself -- wrestled an assault weapon from a mass-murderer.We Have Met the Real Donald Trump. And He Is Black. (Also, young & good-looking.) As Akhilleus writes in today's Comments, "Isn't this what Trump himself boasted, with great pomp and bravado that he would have done (brave, brave Sir Donald) had he been in Stoneman Douglas High School when a shooter opened fire? He told a phalanx of Confederate governors that he, brave Sir Donald, would have run, unarmed up to the gunman and valiantly disarmed him, because...well, I guess it sounded good." Real Akhilleus' entire commentary on this as he explores how things likely would have gone had black been white & white black. ...

... Alan Blinder & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "During a sudden break in the firing, [James] Shaw[, Jr.,] sprinted through [a] door [near a restroom] as fast as he could, slamming into the gunman and knocking him to the ground. He grabbed the rifle and tossed it over the restaurant counter.... Mr. Shaw said Sunday that he eventually learned that the pause in the gunman's firing came when he was trying to reload the rifle. It was a brief enough break, Mr. Shaw said, for him to make a move. ...

... Natalie Alund & Adam Tamburin of the Tennessean: "Police on Monday said they planned to expand the search for Travis Reinking, 29, the suspect in a deadly shooting at an Antioch Waffle House shooting after investigators said a Tennessee resident found evidence in a different part of the city." Mrs. McC: I heard on TV that Reinking had stolen a BMW using some kind of automatic key. Police recovered the vehicle via GPS tracking, but Reinking is still at large. ...

     ... Update: "Metro police announced Monday afternoon that Travis Reinking, the suspect in a shooting that killed four people at an Antioch Waffle House, had been arrested after a 34-hour manhunt. Shortly after 1 p.m. [CT], police announced Reinking had been arrested in a 'wooded area' near Old Hickory Boulevard and Hobson Pike -- less than two miles from the Waffle House where the shooting took place. Police photos from the scene showed Reinking, 29, being loaded into a car wearing a torn maroon T-shirt with scratches on his exposed shoulders." Thanks to Marvin S. for the heads-up. ...

... Christal Hayes of USA Today: "The suspected gunman on the run after riddling a Tennessee Waffle House with bullets dubbed himself a 'sovereign citizen,' before being arrested in July 2017 outside the White House. Travis Reinking, 29, used that term -- which the FBI has also used to describe a group of anti-government extremists -- during a clash last year with the Secret Service, according to a police report obtained by USA Today. Reinking told agents he needed to see President Trump and defined himself as sovereign citizen who had a right to inspect the grounds, according to an arrest report by the Metropolitan Police Department in D.C. He was arrested on an unlawful entry charge after refusing to leave the area."

Look Away, Look Away. Leada Gore of AL.com: "Monday, April 23 is Confederate Memorial Day in Alabama, meaning state offices are closed. Only two states - Alabama and Mississippi - make the day with an official state holiday. Georgia stopped officially recognizing Confederate Memorial Day in 2015, replacing it with the generically named 'State Holiday.' Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday in April. Florida and South Carolina celebrate the day but not as a state holiday. Alabama has three Confederate-related holidays: Robert E. Lee's birthday on third Monday in January (celebrated along with birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King); Confederate Memorial Day on fourth Monday in April; and birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on first Monday in June."

*****

Trump Is in Way over His Head. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "As negotiations over a summit meeting with the ruler of North Korea accelerate, President Trump on Sunday disputed any suggestion that he had made too many concessions at the outset of an unpredictable and potentially volatile diplomatic exercise. From his Florida estate, Mr. Trump took to Twitter to criticize Chuck Todd, the host of 'Meet the Press,' who had questioned on his program whether the president had gotten anything in return for the 'huge gift' he had given the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, by agreeing to meet with him.... 'Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'Wow, we haven't given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!' North Korea has not in fact agreed to denuclearization. It has told the South Koreans that it is willing to discuss the issue, but Mr. Kim has made no such statement to his own people, as he did with his declaration that his country did not need to conduct further nuclear testing."

John Oliver and the Catheter Cowboy explain the Iran nuclear deal to the guy who is in way over his head on everything. Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the lead:

** Diana Bass, in an illuminating New York Times op-ed, on Donald Trump's understanding of gratitude: for him, it's transactional. Bass provides another, more profound, explanation for Jim Comey's observation that Trump "has an emptiness inside of him, and a hunger for affirmation, that I've never seen in an adult. He lacks external reference points. Instead of making hard decisions by calling upon a religious tradition, or logic, or tradition or history, it's all, 'What will fill this hole?'"

Emily Stewart of Vox: "Kellyanne Conway does not want to talk about her husband George Conway's habit of subtweeting ... Donald Trump. She accused CNN's Dana Bash of a sexist line of questioning when the journalist asked about the matter on State of the Union on Sunday, saying it was meant to 'harass and embarrass' her. George Conway, a prominent conservative lawyer who was under consideration for two Trump administration posts last year, has raised eyebrows with his habit of tweeting and retweeting tweets that are critical of the president.... Bash pointed out that Trump repeatedly targeted former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe's wife, Jill McCabe, and in a call with McCabe told him to 'ask his wife how it feels to be a loser.' 'The president has excellent instincts,' Conway said of Trump's targeting of Jill McCabe. During the 2016 campaign, Trump infamously attacked Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) wife, Heidi Cruz, threatening to 'spill the beans' on her and retweeting an unflattering photo of her that he still has not taken down. He tweeted and deleted an item attacking Jeb Bush's wife because she is Mexican and, of course, spent much of the 2016 presidential campaign criticizing Hillary Clinton for her husband’s misdeeds." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: A fun read. Kellyanne went on quite a rant, & her husband's tweets & retweets are choice. Here's the video. The exchange begins at about 9:50 min. in:

** Portrait of James Comey. Elizabeth Drew in the New Republic: "I see Comey as someone who dedicated his life to public service and trying to do the right thing, but who played the angles a bit too much. For example, he couldn't just recommend that Clinton not be prosecuted over her email server, but had to publicly upbraid her as well, which was most unusual." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. ...

     ... ** Mrs. McCrabbie: The most jawdropping part of Drew's essay is not her analysis but a new fact -- or at least new to me -- that she reveals. If it's true, then Jim Comey not only did more than the Russians did to throw the election to Trump, he did it based on a lie or a stunning incidence of "misremembering": Drew: "By my count, Comey has offered at least three different explanations of why he announced eleven days before the election that he was reopening the case of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.... At the time when Comey sent the letter to Capitol Hill..., his allies spread the point that Comey had told the House Republicans that he'd let them know if anything new came up. But according to Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the Justice Department when the Democrats were in power..., in response to a question by a congressman of what he would do if he came across any new information, Comey replied, 'I'd take a look at it.'" Mrs. McC: There is certainly a record of Comey's testimony, whether it was made in a classified hearing or not. The public has a right to know what he said. So does Andy McCabe, who must be looking right now for evidence that Comey's memory is, at best, selective. ...

While You Weren't Watching. Ruth Graham in Politico Magazine on Trump's capture of Christian broadcasting. "This audience recognized [Trump] as a kindred spirit in everything but religion. His hair-sprayed reality-TV persona -- to say nothing of the bluster and the heroic monologues -- aren't that far from the preaching style that has prospered on cable evangelism."

Sean Hannity, Real Estate Baron. Jon Swaine of the Guardian: Sean Hannity has "a real estate portfolio of remarkable scale that has not previously been reported. The records link Hannity to a group of shell companies that spent at least $90m on more than 870 homes in seven states over the past decade. The properties range from luxurious mansions to rentals for low-income families. Hannity is the hidden owner behind some of the shell companies and his attorney did not dispute that he owns all of them. Dozens of the properties were bought at a discount in 2013, after banks foreclosed on their previous owners for defaulting on mortgages. Before and after then, Hannity sharply criticised Barack Obama for the US foreclosure rate. In January 2016, Hannity said there were 'millions more Americans suffering under this president' partly because of foreclosures. Hannity, 56, also amassed part of his property collection with support from the US Department for Housing and Urban Development (Hud), a fact he did not disclose when praising Ben Carson, the Hud secretary, on his television show last year.... Hannity praised privatisation plans pushed by Trump and Carson."

Lesley Stahl of NBC News interviews Aleksandr Kogan & Sandy Parakilas for "60 Minutes" about the Cambridge Analytica purchase & use of your Facebook profile. She doesn't interview Mark Zuckerberg because he said no. Video & transcript. If you were all persuaded by Zuck's, um, profound contrition voiced during his Congressional testimony, you might be less so after listening to Stahl's interviews.

Adios, Trumpado. Jackie Wattles of CNN: "Mexico and the European Union have reached a trade deal that virtually eliminates tariffs. The wide-reaching deal will simplify the customs process and eliminate tariffs for 'practically all' goods traded between EU-member nations and Mexico, according to an announcement posted Saturday by the European Commission. Mexico and the EU said last year they would accelerate their talks to update a trade agreement signed in 2000 as the United States threatened to slap tariffs on Mexican imports and withdraw from NAFTA. Officials appeared to take a jab at US President Donald Trump's policies in statements praising the Mexico-EU deal as a defense of 'open' and 'rules-based' trade. 'Mexico and the EU worked together and reached a mutually beneficialoutcome,' said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. 'We did it as partners who are willing to discuss, to defend their interests while at the same time being willing to compromise to meet each other's expectations.' The deal marks a move by Mexico to pivot away from its reliance on trade with the United States."

Senate Race. Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday, [retiring Sen. Bob] Corker [R-Tenn.] praised [the likely Democratic Senate nominee, Phil] Bredesen, a two-term governor whose tenure overlapped with Corker's first term, as 'a very good mayor, a very good governor, a very good business person.' Hours later, President Trump called Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) to reiterate his support for her in the race, and McConnell confronted Corker to say that his remarks had been unhelpful. But on Sunday, Corker had more to say about the heavy hand of Senate Republicans [-- who had criticized his favorable remarks about Bredesen --] than he had to say about Blackburn. 'I'm supporting the nominee, everyone knows that,' he said on ABC. 'I've sent the maximum check, plan to vote for them.'"

A Very Special President*. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court's final oral argument of the term will be one of its most important and potentially far-reaching, an examination of the president's authority to protect the country by banning some foreigners who seek entry. But, similar to a debate that has consumed Washington for the past 15 months, a major issue for the court is separating 'the president' from 'this president.'... If [Trump]' comments and tweets were not a factor, many legal experts said the court would likely extend the deference to the political branches it has shown in the past when considering issues of immigration and national security.... The court will also consider whether the judiciary even has authority to 'look behind' the face of an immigration proclamation to examine whether it was drawn with improper motives."

Isaac Chotiner of Slate interviews Priya Satia, author of Empire of Guns. Satia explains the historical reasons for the U.S.'s gun culture. What Satia doesn't explain, at least in the interview, is how gun ownership moved from being a public deterrence of tyranny to being a private right to own an arsenel. Mrs. McC: But it's probably safe to say that the current state of U.S. gun "rights" is as attributable to fear of black people as it was in the colonial, slave-trading days Satia recounts.

Christopher Mele & Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "A gunman wearing only a jacket and carrying an assault-style rifle opened fire at a Waffle House in Nashville early on Sunday, killing four people and leaving the police searching for him and a motive, officials said.... The police said murder warrants were being drafted for the suspect, Travis Reinking, 29, of Morton, Ill., who remained at large.... James Shaw Jr., 29, was in the restaurant when he heard the shots and hid behind a door. When Mr. Shaw heard the shooting stop and saw Mr. Reinking look down at his rifle, he rushed the gunman, wrestled the weapon away and threw it over the counter.... The gunman, who was naked but for a green jacket, then fled and shed the jacket as he reached a corner not far from the Waffle House.... [Reinking] was known to the authorities for previous encounters, including one at the White House grounds in July, officials said.... [After the incident at the White House, where Reinking crossed a barrier & refused to leave,] the four guns he owned -- including the AR-15 he brought to the Waffle House on Sunday -- were given to his father by the authorities for safekeeping and his father apparently gave them back to his son, officials said." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The elder Reinking should be charged with something. Donald Trump has posted quite a few tweets today but nothing about hero James Shaw who ended the massacre in Nashville. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that Shaw is black & the mass murderer is white. Nah.

The Mysterious Suicide of a Diplomat. Philip Shenon of the Guardian: The widow of U.S. diplomat Charles Thomas & others are pleading with the Trump administration to release documents that may shed light on Thomas' death four decades ago. Thomas had attempted to re-open the investigation into Lee Harvey Oswald after he found evidence that "that showed ... Oswald -- who visited Mexico City in September 1963, weeks before killing [President] Kennedy -- had been in contact there with Cuban diplomats and spies who wanted JFK dead and might have offered help and encouragement.... For historians, Oswald's trip to Mexico has never been adequately explained. Available records shows that the CIA and FBI knew much more about it -- and the threat Oswald posed -- than they ever shared with the Warren Commission. The agencies appear to have withheld evidence out of fear they might be blamed for bungling intelligence that could have saved Kennedy's life."

The Commentariat -- April 22, 2018

strong>Umair Irfan & Eliza Barclay of Vox: "Earth Day turns 48 this Sunday, April 22.... When Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisc.) founded Earth Day in 1970, his hope was to make the environment a political issue in an era where US rivers caught on fire and thick smog choked cities. In many ways, it worked. Since then, major environmental laws have helped clean up much of the vivid toxic detritus in the soil, air, and water in the US. But our challenges today are no less daunting. The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the loss of wilderness and species, and the acidification and pollution of the oceans have all become more acute -- and more destabilizing.... Here are seven of the most troubling, intriguing, and encouraging things we learned about the Earth since the last Earth Day." ...

... MEANWHILE. John Heritage in a USA Today op-ed: "Trump and his minions are rolling back hard-fought environmental regulations as fast as they can. And while& Arctic and Antarctic ice melts and seas rise, Trump walks out of the most significant world conference yet to get a handle on global warming. Meanwhile, the Trump rollback targets federally-protected lands, making way for minerals and the already failing 'King Coal.' The lands are being opened even though safer energy sources are coming online. And lobbyists have invaded the Environmental Protection Agency, shoving dedicated environmental experts aside, supported by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt (a man now deep in scandal)."

Donald, Full of Grace. Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "In the span of 15 hours, Trump alleged that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation was 'established based on an illegal act,' threatened to countersue the Democratic Party, bashed a Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times reporter and called one of his former aides a 'drunk/drugged up loser.' All of this overlapped with the Saturday funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush.... On Friday night, the president continued his broadsides against former FBI Director James Comey.... 'James Comey illegally leaked classified documents to the press in order to generate a Special Council?' Trump wrote, using the wrong spelling for special counsel. 'Therefore, the Special Council was established based on an illegal act? Really, does everybody know what that means?'... 'James Comey's Memos are Classified, I did not Declassify them,' Trump tweeted on Saturday afternoon. 'They belong to our Government! Therefore, he broke the law! Additionally, he totally made up many of the things he said I said, and he is already a proven liar and leaker. Where are Memos on Clinton, Lynch & others?'" ...

     ... Restuccia has yet another explanation of the classification issue: "Comey authorized the release of four memos, none of which were deemed to contain classified material when they were made public. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Comey made redactions of classified information in one of the memos ahead of its release and the other three were not considered to be classified at the time. But the Journal said the FBI now considers information in another one of the memos to be classified, prompting an investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The Award for Best Sentence in a News Report goes to Restuccia: "White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not respond to an email seeking clarity on who specifically Trump is calling a 'drunk/drugged up loser.'"

Trump Sends Another Message to Cohen. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "As four former presidents and the current first lady traveled to the funeral of Barbara Bush in Texas, President Trump took in his usual Saturday round of golf and issued a morning barrage of disparaging (and misspelled) tweets. Shortly after the televised funeral for Mrs. Bush ended, the president indicated that he had also fielded a call from Rambo. 'Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!'... As the special counsel investigation into Russian election interference and possible ties to Trump associates continues, Mr. Trump's mention of a presidential pardon for Mr. Johnson, who in 1908 became the first black heavyweight boxing champion, seemed to serve as a reminder that he wields the power to grant one." ...

... Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: Jack "Johnson..., the first black heavyweight champion, was convicted in 1913 under the Mann Act, federal legislation that made it illegal to cross state lines with a woman 'for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.' Jim Crow era prosecutors often used the legislation as a type of anti-miscegenation law.... Congressional leaders have sought a pardon for Johnson for years. A bill requesting a pardon from George W. Bush passed the House of Representatives in 2008 but died in the Senate."

Wherein David Remnick gets Jim Comey to finally admit things would be way better if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency:

     ... If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, a transcript of that part of the interview is here.

Peter Fritsch and Glenn R. Simpson of Fusion GPS, in a New York Times op-ed: "The most significant recent development involving the president may be that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, has subpoenaed Trump Organization business records as part of his inquiry into Russian interference in the presidential election.... We pored over Donald Trump's business records for well over a year, at least those records you can get without a badge or a subpoena. We also hired a former British intelligence official, Christopher Steele, to look into Mr. Trump's possible ties to Russia. In that 2015-2016 investigation, sponsored first by a Republican client and then by Democrats, we found strong indications that companies affiliated with Mr. Trump, then a presidential candidate, might have been entangled in foreign corruption.... Indeed, from New York to Florida, Panama to Azerbaijan, we found that Trump projects have relied heavily on foreign cash — including from wealthy individuals from Russia and elsewhere with questionable, and even criminal, backgrounds." The authors cite numerous shady operators & money launderers who financed Trump-branded properties. ...

... "Forgetting Rudy." Andy Borowitz (satire): "The independent counsel, Robert Mueller, told reporters that, prior to news reports on Thursday, he had 'almost forgotten' to investigate the former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani.... Mueller was at a loss to explain why he had failed to investigate Giuliani earlier. 'I have no idea how it could have slipped my mind,' he said. 'His role in Trump's campaign was as fishy as all get-out.'"

Marlow Stern of the Daily Beast: During the overtime segment of "Real Time with Bill Maher," Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti threatened he would release the contents of a mystery "evidence disc" "if they tried to claim that my client was a liar...." "In the words of Late Night host Seth Meyers, 'So we are looking at the very real possibility that Donald Trump sent Stormy Daniels a dick pic.'"

Eric Talmadge of the AP: "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has finally broken his silence on what he plans to bring to the table during his summits with the South Korean and U.S. presidents, and it doesn't have a whole lot to do with tossing out his hard-won nuclear arsenal. Instead, Kim appears to be maneuvering toward his own big 'get' -- the chance to sit down with ... Donald Trump on an essentially equal basis as the head of a nuclear-armed nation.... Kim laid out the new strategy at a meeting Friday of his ruling party's Central Committee that suspends underground nuclear tests and test-launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. He also said the country's nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, already believed to be essentially inoperable, will be closed and 'dismantled.'... Trump immediately took to Twitter to praise the announcement as 'very good news for North Korea and the World.' Seoul and Beijing welcomed it. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a hard-liner on North Korea, tried to keep his response positive, though he stressed the need for vigilance...." See also Patrick's commentary in yesterday's thread.

"World's Largest Pork Processor." Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, met personally last year with J. Steven Hart, the lobbyist whose wife had rented him a $50-a-night Capitol Hill condo, a disclosure that contradicts earlier statements that E.P.A. lobbying by Mr. Hart had not occurred. The meeting was set up on behalf of an executive associated with Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. Previously, Mr. Hart and his lobbying firm, Williams & Jensen, had maintained that Mr. Hart never lobbied Mr. Pruitt in 2017, when Mr. Pruitt was living in a condo co-owned by Mr. Hart's wife, or in the time since then.... The Smithfield Foods disclosure was made the same day that Mr. Hart announced he was stepping down as chairman of Williams & Jensen -- instead of waiting until his planned November retirement -- citing the negative publicity that had been caused by the Capitol Hill condo rental to Mr. Pruitt. ...

... Pruitt Was Always Corrupt. Steve Eder & Hiroki Tabuchi of the New York Times: "An examination of Mr. Pruitt's political career in Oklahoma reveals that many of the pitfalls he has encountered in Washington have echoes in his past.... Mr. Pruitt's home in Oklahoma City when he was a state senator..., which had belonged to a lobbyist, was held by a shell company registered to Mr. Pruitt's business partner and financed by a bank an associate of his ran.... ... In 2005, the shell company -- Capitol House L.L.C. -- sold the property for $95,000 more than it had paid. While shell companies are legal, they often obscure the people who have an interest in them, and none of Mr. Pruitt's financial disclosure filings in Oklahoma mentioned the company or the proceeds -- a potential violation of the state's ethics rules." Both the holder of the shell company & the banker who arranged the mortgage -- who is "barred from working in the finance industry because of a banking violation" -- now have top jobs at the EPA. The partners bought the house at a $100K discount; SBC Oklahoma, the former homeowner's employer, picked up the difference. SBC had been lobbying state legislators, & Pruitt sided with the company on matters for which it had lobbied him." AND there's more.

Wait for the Punch Line. Jonathan Chait: "Deep in [a Politico] story [about the Trump administration], a former administration official explains that 'Chris Liddell is not a policy guy,' and that he is also 'not really a Washington guy.' There are some jobs where these limitations could be overcome easily -- Starbucks barista, circus clown, corporate executive (Lid[]dell's former job), or working in a location far away from Washington, like New Zealand (Li[d]dell's home country). Unfortunately, Li[d]dell now works in Washington, and his current position is deputy chief of staff for policy." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In fact, I don't see that as a big problem. Trump doesn't give a rip about policy, so "deputy chief of staff for policy" is a non-job, a reserved seat in the clown car. Liddell probably piddles around at whatever interests him. I looked up Liddell's background, & he has one of the most impressive CVs in the administration -- nothing like "Trump's former caddy" (social media director Dan Scavino) or "Ivanka's former go-fer" (former communications chief Hope Hicks) -- qualifications for two of Trump's closest advisors.

Everything They Do Is Stupid, Regressive & Mean. Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The Trump administration says it plans to roll back a rule issued by President Barack Obama that prevents doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies from discriminating against transgender people. Advocates said the change could jeopardize the significant gains that transgender people have seen in access to medical care, including gender reassignment procedures -- treatments for which many insurers denied coverage in the past.... The Trump administration has been scaling back protections for transgender people on several fronts."

Hamza Shaban of the Washington Post: "Former first lady Barbara Bush was remembered by family and friends as a symbol of authenticity and grace during a private funeral Saturday in Houston, where more than 1,000 guests were in attendance, including four former presidents and three former first ladies, as well as the current first lady." ...

     ... Roxanne Roberts & Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post have more on the funeral. ...

     ... MoDo remembers Bar.

Carlos Lozada of the Washington Post reviews Chasing Hillary: "Amy Chozick, the lead New York Times reporter on Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, believes that the news media's focus on Clinton's private e-mail server -- a story the Times broke and that Chozick would write about extensively -- was excessive. She even grew to resent it. Chozick also thinks that reporting on campaign chairman John Podesta's hacked emails turned journalists into 'puppets' of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and she struggles to explain why they did it anyway. She contends that sexism played a big role in Clinton's defeat but also encounters it first-hand among Clinton's campaign staff. And while she hammers the candidate for having no clear vision for why she sought the presidency, Chozick allows that competence, experience and policy were hardly selling points in 2016, when it 'turned out a lot of people just wanted to blow s[hit] up.'" Lozada does not make you want to rush out & buy the book.

Congressional Races

Utah Republicans Humiliate Mitt. Lee Davidson & Courtney Tanner of the St. Lake Tribune: "After 11 hours of political elbowing and shoving at the Utah Republican Convention -- held appropriately at a hockey arena -- delegates forced Mitt Romney into a primary election against state Rep. Mike Kennedy in the U.S. Senate race. In fact, Kennedy -- a doctor and lawyer -- finished in first place at the convention with 51 percent of the vote to Romney's 49 percent. The former GOP presidential nominee fell far short of the 60 percent needed to clinch the nomination outright.... Romney and Kennedy emerged as the only two survivors from 12 candidates after two rounds of balloting.... Freshman Rep. John Curtis suffered the same fate as Romney, pushed into a primary against former State Rep. Chris Herrod, an ultraconservative who made his reputation on a tough anti-illegal immigration stance. But Curtis, who has been in office just five months after winning last year's special election, at least won 59 percent of the vote, just missing the 60 percent threshold. Meanwhile, Reps. Rob Bishop and Chris Stewart easily managed to eliminate their convention opponents and will proceed directly to the Nov. 6 general election. Mia Love did not draw a Republican challenger.

Matt Volz of the AP: "A Democratic candidate for Montana's U.S. House seat is using Sinclair Broadcast Group's own television stations to blast the company for forcing its reporters to read the conservative-leaning corporation's statements on air. John Heenan bought airtime starting Monday for an ad on Sinclair-owned stations KECI-TV in Missoula and KTVM-TV in Bozeman and Butte. In it, he calls Sinclair 'a corporation using its power to take advantage of journalists, our democracy and the people of Montana.'"

Steven Thrasher in a New York Times op-ed: "The police in this country have long been empowered to respond to white anxiety about the very presence of black people." Starbucks' anti-racial bias training won't fix that.

Beyond the Beltway

Death by Misdemeanor. Carol Miller & Monique Madan of the Miami Herald: "A Broward County [Florida] circuit judge delivered a blistering, arm-waving, face-palming, tongue-lashing to a frail, out-of-breath woman -- pushed into court in a wheelchair -- who was facing misdemeanor charges following a family feud. Three days later, the defendant died. Judge Merrillee Ehrlich has resigned, although it is unclear when that resignation was provided and when it becomes effective. News of the death of Sandra Faye Twiggs, 59, surfaced Friday. The courtroom rant last Sunday was so over the top that Broward's elected public defender, Howard Finkelstein, demanded that ... Ehrlich be banned from the criminal courthouse.... Twiggs suffered from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also called COPD. She ended up under arrest after squabbling with her 19-year-old daughter." Twiggs had no previous arrest record.