The Commentariat -- May 6, 2018

Late Morning Update:

Susan Glasser of the New Yorker: "Little more than fifteen months into his Presidency, the attention-seeking President has the rest of the world right where he wants it: hanging on his every word.... He is the indispensable man. Soon he will meet Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, in an unprecedented nuclear summit. Next week, in advance of a May 12th deadline, he may single-handedly decide whether to blow up the Iran nuclear deal.... The smart betting is that he will, but he may not. Nobody knows, and that's the point: all roads now lead through Trump.... L'état, c'est Trump.... There is one nation conspicuously missing from Trump's long list of upcoming deadlines and deals...: Russia.... Several former U.S. officials who follow Russia closely told me they believed that the President remained committed to [inviting Putin to the White House], despite little enthusiasm on his team."

Rudy Continues to Be Very Helpful. Mallory Shelbourne of the Hill: "Rudy Giuliani on Sunday said while he has no knowledge of President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paying any women in addition to Stormy Daniels, he believes Cohen would have done so if he deemed it 'necessary.' 'I have no knowledge of that. But I would think if it was necessary, yes.' Giuliani, who recently joined Trump's team of lawyers, told ABC's 'This Week' when asked about Cohen making payments to other women." ...

... Mallory Shelbourne: "Rudy Giuliani said Sunday that a potential pardon for President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is not a possibility at this point. 'Jay and I have made it clear, and -- and -- and Michael's lawyers all know that that obviously is not on the table,' Giuliani told ABC's 'This Week,' referring to Trump attorney Jay Sekulow and Cohen. 'That's not a decision to be made now, there's no reason to pardon anybody now.'" Mrs. McC: Apparently it's possible to reset the table.

*****

** How Low Can He Go? Mark Townsend & Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Aides to Donald Trump ... hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a 'dirty ops' campaign against key individuals from the Obama administration who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, the Observer can reveal. People in the Trump camp contacted private investigators in May last year to 'get dirt' on Ben Rhodes, who had been one of Barack Obama's top national security advisers, and Colin Kahl, deputy assistant to Obama, as part of an elaborate attempt to discredit the deal. The extraordinary revelations come days before Trump's 12 May deadline to either scrap or continue to abide by the international deal limiting Iran's nuclear programme.... Sources said that officials linked to Trump's team contacted investigators days after Trump visited Tel Aviv a year ago.... A source with details of the 'dirty tricks campaign' said: 'The idea was that people acting for Trump would discredit those who were pivotal in selling the deal, making it easier to pull out of it.'" ...

... Yastreblyansky.: "This is pretty clearly Nixon-level skullduggery, reminiscent of the original Plumbers burglary when they attacked Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office, with the added weirdness of using a foreig agency, and similar to what the Trump people are alleged to have done with Russian agents and a British firm trying to 'get dirt' on Hillary Clinton in the campaign period. It's also similar in the tie-in of allowing foreign leaders to dictate US policy -- Netanyahu for the Iran deal, Putin for the Ukrainian and Syrian issues, not to mention old Flynn offering US cooperation to the Turkish authoritarian president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.... There's something especially Nixonian about this particular episode, too, in its narrow focus, in its concern with 'enemies' -- we all understand Trump's personal stake in abrogating the JCPOA is to wound Obama and undo his accomplishment, and we see how this project goes after the reputations of people who are loyal to Obama as well." P.S. As commenter emjayay asks, "Isn't this kinda big, like really big? Are we going to see it get to US media, or is it more complicated than lying about paying off a porn star so it will be ignored?" Good question.

Your Taxpayer Dollars at Work -- Covering Trump's Campaign Expenses. Afi Scruggs & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Trump used a roundtable on taxes [in Cleveland, Ohio,] Saturday to campaign for a Republican Senate candidate and to assail undocumented immigrants for taking advantage of U.S. laws he derided as weak. Though billed as an official White House event, and therefore funded with taxpayer money, Trump was overtly political in his remarks ahead of Tuesday's primary election. He celebrated his own poll numbers, repeatedly attacked Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and urged Ohioans to elect Rep. James B. Renacci (R-Ohio), who is running against Brown. 'We need your vote, we need your help, so go out and help Jim,' Trump said, with Renacci seated by his side. 'Get it done.'... Reporters traveling with Trump requested access to hear the president's remarks to donors at the fundraiser, but were denied by White House officials."

Jonathan O'Connell, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the nine years before he ran for president, Donald Trump's company spent more than $400 million in cash on new properties -- including 14 transactions paid for in full, without borrowing from banks -- during a buying binge that defied real estate industry practices -- and Trump's own history as the self-described 'King of Debt.' Trump's vast outlay of cash, tracked through public records and totaled publicly here for the first time, provides a new window into the president's private company, which discloses few details about its finances. It shows that Trump had access to far more cash than previously known, despite his string of commercial bankruptcies and the Great Recession's hammering of the real estate industry." ...

... Also Too Emoluments! Jason Linkins of ThinkProgress: "Call it impeccable timing: A federal judge in January tossed a lawsuit claiming Donald Trump was in violation of a constitutional ban against using the presidency for financial gain from foreign governments. Less than a month later, Qatar shelled out a cool $6.5 million for new digs in the Trump World Tower in Manhattan. The January 17 real estate transaction focuses new attention on what the aforementioned lawsuit sought to prevent: violations of the constitution's emoluments clause.... ... Trump World Tower is mere steps away from the United Nations' Manhattan headquarters."

More Re-enactment than Parody:

William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times delve into the diverse business interests of Michael Cohen. "Before he joined the Trump Organization and became Mr. Trump's lawyer and do-it-all fixer, Michael D. Cohen was a hard-edge personal-injury attorney and businessman. Now a significant portion of his quarter-century business record is under the microscope of federal prosecutors -- posing a potential threat not just to Mr. Cohen but also to the president.... A New York Times review of thousands of pages of public records, and interviews with bankers, lawyers and businessmen who have interacted with Mr. Cohen, reveal the degree to which he has often operated in the backwaters of the financial and legal worlds. While he has not been charged with a crime, many of his associates have faced either criminal charges or stiff regulatory penalties." Terms like "Lucchese family," "forgery," & "pleaded guilty" -- dot the story.

Tom LoBianco, et al., of the AP: "Investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller have interviewed one of ... Donald Trump's closest friends and confidants, California real estate investor Tom Barrack.... Barrack was interviewed as part of the federal investigation of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, according to three people familiar with the matter.... Barrack played an integral role in the 2016 campaign as a top fundraiser at a time when many other Republicans were shunning the upstart candidate. Barrack later directed Trump's inauguration."

Actual Rudy & Donald:

... Annie Karni of Politico: "In private, according to a Republican close to the White House, [Rudy] Giuliani has ... blamed the negative view of him in the media, including the whispers about his mental health, on [Jared] Kushner and Ivanka Trump.... His mention of the president's son-in-law [as 'disposable']... was one of the comments he made on television that had White House aides watching his appearance on Hannity with mouths agape.... Some point to Giuliani's main ally in the White House as an explanation: Giuliani, according to people in the building, has aligned himself with Don McGahn, the White House counsel who has clashed repeatedly with Kushner." ...

... Maureen Dowd: "Trump distanced himself from his good friend [Rudy Giuliani], as he is wont to do, promising that Rudy will 'get his facts straight.' This prompted Vanity Fair to write the headline: 'Trump Assures Reporters He'll Make Giuliani a Better Liar.'... The gruesome twosome, whose reputations have grown darker since the days when they swanned around New York as larger-than-life figuras, didn't consult any top White House officials, even the counsel." ...

... Brent Griffiths of Politico: "Rudy Giuliani pushed for regime change in Iran on Saturday, saying ... Donald Trump is 'as committed to regime change as we are.' It's 'the only way to peace in the Middle East' and 'more important than an Israeli-Palestinian deal,' Trump's newest attorney in the ongoing Russia probe and former mayor of New York City told reporters after giving a speech to the Iran Freedom Convention for Democracy and Human Rights in Washington." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: You might think this is Rudy pretending to be secretary of state again & casually releasing secret intel about delicate international negotiations, right after he promised to cut that out, except Griffiths also reports, "As a congressman, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in a Fox News op-ed '... Congress must act to change Iranian behavior, and, ultimately, the Iranian regime.' His predecessor Rex Tillerson also voiced explicit support for regime change telling CNN 'we always support a peaceful transition of power.'" On the other hand, "A top State Department official later said that the administration was not pursuing regime change."

Wendy Siegelman of the Guardian: "The announcement that Cambridge Analytica is shutting has a certain inevitability to it.... But ... already there are some suggestions that those associated with Cambridge Analytica may re-emerge in another form.... Cambridge Analytica and [its parent company] SCL have at least 18 active companies, branches,and affiliates with similar names, based in the UK and the US.... The complex relationship among these companies makes it very difficult to understand how revenues, employment, and data are shared. It almost seems as though the business structure was created to make it impossible to track decision-making and funding." ...

... Carole Cadwalladr of the Guardian: "Cambridge Analytica has been ordered to hand over all the data and personal information it has on an American voter, including details of where it got the data and what it did with it, or face a criminal prosecution. The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) served the enforcement notice to the company on Friday in a landmark legal decision that opens the way for up to 240 million other American voters to request their data back from the firm under British data protection laws. The test case was taken to the ICO by David Carroll, an associate professor at Parsons School of Design in New York. As a US citizen, he had no means of obtaining this information under US law, but in January 2016 he discovered Cambridge Analytica had processed US voter data in the UK and that this gave him rights under British laws.... The ICO ... has now told SCL Elections, which acted as the data controller for Cambridge Analytica, that it has 30 days to comply or appeal."

Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: "... despite the outward appearance of warm ties with Britain and France, traditionally two of America's strongest European allies, Trump managed to stoke outrage and anger in both London and Paris this weekend -- and he did so with a single speech. Speaking to the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas on Friday, the president had used the rising number of knife attacks in Britain while speaking in support of gun rights in the United States.... Trump's comments immediately drew a backlash from Londoners on social media.... In the same speech, Trump also took aim at France's strict gun laws -- describing them as the 'toughest gun laws in the world.' Trump then told the NRA audience said that as 'nobody has guns in Paris' and that terrorists were able to take their time to kill civilians 'one by one' in a November 2015 terrorist attack that left 130 dead.... The French Foreign Ministry released a statement on Saturday that expressed its 'firm disapproval' for Trump's remark about the attack and called 'for respect for the memory of the victims.'"

Caroline Orr of Shareblue: "As Trump and Pence took the stage at the NRA's annual convention Friday, a Kremlin-linked ammunition company with ties to sanctioned Russian entities set up an exhibit just down the hallway. The company, TulAmmo USA, is based in Texas, but the ammunition it sells is manufactured by the Tula Arms Plant (also known as Tula Cartridge Works) in Tula, Russia. TulAmmo is listed as an exhibitor at the NRA's Annual Meetings in Dallas, Texas, this weekend. TulAmmo USA and its Russian counterpart TulAmmo are part of a tangled web of corporations, subsidiaries, and holdings with close ties to the Kremlin and to other Russian entities -- many of which have been sanctioned for their role in producing munitions used by Russia against Ukraine and other eastern European countries."

Robert Costa & Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for a 'prompt' House ethics investigation into Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) on Saturday, following reports of allegations that he sexually abused a 16-year-old girl in 2006. Cárdenas has vehemently denied the allegations through his attorney."

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: John McCain receives friends like Joe Biden at his Arizona ranch. "... the senator participated in a nearly two-hour HBO documentary and co-wrote what he acknowledges will be his last book, 'The Restless Wave,' both of which are set to be released this month.... His intimates have informed the White House that their current plan for his funeral is for Vice President Mike Pence to attend the service to be held in Washington's National Cathedral but not President Trump...."

Senate Race. Because "China Person"?? Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "There is growing concern among Republicans that Don Blankenship, a bombastic coal baron who has spent time in prison, is surging ahead of Tuesday's West Virginia Senate primary -- and a last-minute campaign is underway to stop him. As the tight contest hurtles to a close, four Republicans said they'd reviewed polling conducted in recent days showing Blankenship, who spent a year in jail following the 2010 explosion at his Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 workers, moving narrowly ahead of his more mainstream GOP rivals, Rep. Evan Jenkins and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey." Mrs. McC: I'm guessing in West Virginia, it helps a GOP candidate to insist you can't be racist if you don't even say "nee-gro."

The Commentariat -- May 5, 2018

What's worse than having Uncle Fred show up at the family picnic? He brings Uncle Rudy & Uncle Donald:

... Gail Collins writes one of her better columns helping explain to Rudy & Donald what their explaining means. ...

... Trump as "Seinfeld." Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I realized last night that when Trump & the Gang don't utterly horrify me, I react to them as I did to the old "Seinfeld" shows. I've caught myself many times smiling while watching the News about Trump. Really, Trump & the "best people" with whom he surrounds himself are very much like Jerry, George, Elaine & Kramer: they're narcissistic, self-aggrandizing, aggrieved, careless, vindictive, dishonest, fiercely ambitious & not all that bright. The combination of these traits get them into predictable trouble. I had liberal acquaintances who were incensed by the teevee characters' sometimes-cruel behavior. These acquaintances just couldn't get that no matter what awful thing the characters did -- George pushing a wheelchair-bound woman over a steep hill -- but the situations were funny because the joke was on Seinfeld & friends, not on their fictional victims; these acquaintances had so suspended disbelief that they imagined the teevee characters were real. Now they indeed have come to life in Donald & Rudy & Kellyanne & Scotty, etc. The "Show about Nothing" has become the "Show about a Lot." The real-life consequences of the foibles of Donald & Co. are not funny at all, but the real-life actors themselves are LOL hilarious.

... Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump knew about a six-figure payment that Michael D. Cohen, his personal lawyer, made to a pornographic film actress several months before he denied any knowledge of it to reporters aboard Air Force One in April, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.... Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, has known since last year the details of how Mr. Cohen was being reimbursed, which was mainly through payments of $35,000 per month from the trust that contains the president's personal fortune, according to two people with knowledge of the arrangement.... If Mr. Weisselberg was involved in directing the use of the funds to silence Ms. Clifford, it could draw Mr. Trump's company deeper into the federal investigation of Mr. Cohen’s activities, increasing the president's legal exposure in a wide-ranging case involving [Cohen].... The payment to Ms. Clifford is a part of that investigation.... Two people close to the president ... said that Mr. Trump was displeased with how Mr. Giuliani ... conducted himself, and that he was also unhappy with Mr. Hannity, a commentator whose advice the president often seeks, in terms of the language he used to describe the payments to Ms. Clifford."

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "As yet another bizarre week comes to a close for the president, no one seems to know the reality of what happened between Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, and Michael Cohen. The only thing that is proven beyond a reasonable doubt is that the White House is lying about it.... Giuliani told the Post that he had both discussed his plans to disclose the reimbursement with Trump, and that he had spoken with Trump after his Hannity interview, and that Trump was 'very pleased.' Moreover, Trump tweeted a statement (written in legal language, with formal titles, that seemed written by someone other than Trump, though still including a typo) that confirmed what Giuliani had said. Then Friday morning, Trump reversed course. 'Rudy is a great guy but he just started, but he just started a day ago. He's learning the subject matter and he's going to be issuing a statement too,' the president said as he prepared to leave for a trip to the NRA convention in Dallas. 'He started yesterday, he'll get his facts straight. In other words, Trump was saying the account he had both discussed with Giuliani ahead of time and endorsed in his tweets Thursday was not true.... Trump's claim that Giuliani just had his first day was also not true. The White House announced his addition on April 19, and Giuliani has described conversations with Trump about the case stretching back two weeks." ...

... Giuliani's Latest Tall Tales. John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Rudolph W. Giuliani sought Friday to clean up a series of comments made during a whirlwind media tour meant to bolster the president's standing regarding a payment to a porn star but that instead created new problems for his client. In a statement issued hours after Trump told reporters Giuliani was still getting up to speed on the facts, the former New York mayor said that a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels by longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen would have happened regardless of whether Trump was on the presidential ballot the following month. 'The payment was made to resolve a personal and false allegation in order to protect the President's family,' Giuliani said in the statement. 'It would have been done in any event, whether he was a candidate or not.'... In his statement, Giuliani also sought to make clear that he [was] speaking in television interviews about his understanding of events in which Trump had been involved and not about what the president knew at the time." Mrs. McC: Uh-huh. ...

... Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The cautious wording of the written statement released by Giuliani stood in sharp contrast to his previous two days of wide-ranging television and print interviews in which, according to legal experts, he exposed his client to greater legal risks and might have compromised his own attorney-client privilege with the president.... Some Trump advisers said they fear that Giuliani may have waived his right to assert that his conversations with the president are private -- and that government or private lawyers pursuing lawsuits could now seek to interview him.... Giuliani's attempt at damage control will probably do little to mitigate the legal problems he has caused, legal experts said. 'The first rule is to shut up, which he is unable to do,' said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University. 'False exculpatory statements often come back to bite.'" ...

... Ed Kilgore: "In what appeared to be an effort to vindicate the president's prediction that he'd eventually 'get his facts straight,' Trump's new lead lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, walked back earlier comments in a statement that will probably create fresh confusion about his client's actions and intentions." Kilgore does a nice job of breaking down Giuliani's statement, which, as Kilgore says, "did have the advantage of brevity, and it was pretty clear which earlier comments Giuliani was trying to retract, blur, or place in a different context[.]" ...

... Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump undercut his attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, on Friday, and said the former New York mayor will eventually get th facts right regarding a payment to a pornographic actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. 'And virtually everything said has been said incorrectly, and it's been said wrong, or it's been covered wrong by the press,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Giuliani, who joined Mr. Trump's legal team last month, 'just started a day ago,' Mr. Trump said, speaking to reporters on Friday as he left Washington to attend a National Rifle Association convention in Dallas. 'He is a great guy,' Mr. Trump said. 'He'll get his facts straight.' It was the first time the president addressed the inconsistent narrative about the payment made by his personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, to the actress, Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels. Mr. Trump did not offer any details on Frida to clarify the confusion, but said, 'It's actually very simple. But there has been a lot of misinformation.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Jonathan Chait: "This morning, President Trump delivered an impromptu interview to reporters while shouting above the noise of his nearby helicopter. Trump stated, twice, that 'Rudy is a great guy but he started a day ago,' and 'he'll get his facts straight.' Giuliani was, in fact, hired 15 days ago. Trump also insisted that Robert Mueller was treating him unfairly because Mueller 'worked for Obama for eight years.' In fact, Mueller is a Republican who was appointed by George W. Bush, worked for Bush for seven years, and then five under Obama, before retiring. Trump offered, as further reason why Mueller should not be trusted and to explain his reason for not wanting to submit to an interview the 'fact' that Mueller has '13 Democrats' working for him. That is also not true. Donald is a great guy, but he started a day ago, he'll get his facts straight." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "MSNBC's Donny Deutsch dropped a bombshell on Morning Joe Friday, stating that said ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen told him Rudy Giuliani 'doesn't know what he's talking about.... He also said look, there are two people that know exactly what happened. And that's myself and the president. And you'll be hearing my side of the story.'" Mrs. McC: Why, I do believe Michael's going to sing. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Kristen Welker & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "... Donald Trump only recently found out that he reimbursed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement with adult performer Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed Thursday.... 'I don't think the president realized he paid him (Cohen) back for that specific thing until we (his legal team) made him aware of the paperwork,' he said. Giuliani said the president responded, '"Oh my goodness, I guess that's what it was for."'" Mrs. McC: Totally true, I'm sure; right down to the "oh my goodness" part. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Jeff Toobin of CNN: "Consider, alternatively, if Trump's team had told the truth from the start. He would have made a campaign report of a payment to Daniels, and that could have resulted in an embarrassing, but short-lived story. Instead, the lies caused the Daniels fiasco to metastasize into a genuine crisis.... Then of course there is the political (and moral) fallout of the falsehoods: why, now, should the public believe anything Trump says after he so obviously misled the public on this subject of wide public interest? Trump's prevarications also made a mess of the even more consequential story of the firing of James Comey, the FBI director, in May of last year. The simple question of why Trump fired Comey has produced a still-changing collection of answers.... Multiple explanations succeed only in arousing suspicion -- which the President and his allies seem by now to richly deserve."

Travels with Rudy. Chapter 1: Hanging with (Former) Terrorists in Albania. Josh Marshall: "Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) is a notorious cult-like group of Iranian exiles which appears to have close to literally zero support inside Iran but has for years cultivated significant ties to DC Iran 'regime change' advocates as well as a bipartisan list of shills willing to take their money (of which they have quite a lot). It's an odd group which mixes Islam, Marxism and neocon-inflected DC Pay-to-Play values into a bizarre amalgam run by current cult leader Maryam Rajavi. Until just a few years ago the US State Department listed them as a terrorist organization. They appear to be mainly out of the terrorism business now.... With all this you'll be glad to learn that one of their biggest backers is none other than Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton. And perhaps they're most high profile and ardent supporter (and recipient of their cash) is Rudy Giuliani.... In March of this year Rudy traveled to Tirana, Albania to headline a major MEK event."

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Two top F.B.I. aides who worked alongside the former director James B. Comey as he navigated one of the most politically tumultuous periods in the bureau's history resigned on Friday. One of them, James A. Baker, was one of Mr. Comey's closest confidants. He served as the F.B.I.'s top lawyer until December when he was reassigned as the new director, Christopher A. Wray, began installing his ownadvisers. Mr. Baker had been investigated by the Justice Department on suspicion of sharing classified information with reporters. He has not been charged. The other aide, Lisa Page, advised Mr. Comey while serving directly under his deputy, Andrew G. McCabe. She was assailed by conservatives after texts that she had exchanged with the agent overseeing the investigation into links between President Trump's campaign and Russia were made public. In the messages, they expressed anti-Trump views but took aim at Hillary Clinton and other political figures as well. The decisions by Mr. Baker and Ms. Page to leave the bureau were unrelated."

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Virginia on Friday grilled lawyers from the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about their motivations and authorization for bringing a fraud case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. 'You don't really care about Mr. Manafort's bank fraud,' Judge T.S. Ellis III said during a morning hearing. 'You really care about getting information Mr. Manafort can give you that would reflect on Mr. Trump and lead to his prosecution or impeachment.' Manafort was seeking to have bank and tax fraud charges against him dismissed in federal court in Alexandria, with his lawyers arguing that the alleged crimes have nothing to do with the election or with President Trump. Ellis agreed, emphasizing that some of the charges involve alleged conduct that occurred over a decade ago. But he made no immediate decision on the defense motion. He said even without such a connection the special counsel, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, may well still have the authority to bring the charges. 'I'm not saying it's illegitimate,' Ellis said." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Ben Mathis-Lilley & Mark Stern of Slate: "... Ellis' apparent objections to the special counsel's prosecution are profoundly flawed and unlikely to be upheld on appeal should he rule in Manafort's favor. When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to investigate potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, he licensed Mueller to look into 'any matters that arose or may arise directly from' that investigation. Mueller was also licensed to investigate 'any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.'... Rosenstein has also expressly authorized Mueller to investigate any crimes Manafort may have committed 'arising out of payments he received from the Ukrainian government.' One of those alleged crimes was bank fraud, which was necessary to launder money -- the charges at the heart of Mueller's prosecution of Manafort in Virginia federal court" Read on. Mathis-Lilley & Stern make a pretty good case. ...

... Speaking of Rosenstein, Rachel Maddow devoted a segment to him. As usual, she's too long-winded, but if you've got the time, the piece is worth watching:

Adam Goldman, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal agents working with Mr. Mueller stopped [Viktor] Vekselberg, a billionaire businessman [upon whom the U.S. imposed sanctions], at a New York-area airport this year and sought to search his electronic devices and question him, according to people familiar with the matter. They confronted him after he stepped off a private plane about two months ago, according to one of the people. There is no indication that Mr. Mueller suspects Mr. Vekselberg of wrongdoing. But Mr. Vekselberg attended the presidential inauguration last year, and the interest in him suggests that the special counsel has intensified his focus on potential connections between Russian oligarchs and the Trump campaign and inaugural committee.... Mr. Vekselberg also attended a December 2015 dinner in Russia where Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump's first national security adviser, was also among the guests and sat beside Mr. Putin.... Another potential area of interest for Mr. Mueller is Mr. Vekselberg's business in Cyprus, the Mediterranean nation considered a magnet for Russian money. Mr. Vekselberg has controlled a company that has been the largest single shareholder in the Bank of Cyprus. Around the same time that Mr. Vekselberg was investing in the bank, Mr. Trump's future commerce secretary, Wilbur L. Ross, was its vice chairman." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I hope Ross goes down too in this vast corruption scheme. ...

... Devin Nunes Is (a) Nuts, (b) Illiterate, (c) a Colossal Dick. (More than one answer may be correct.) Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) demanded "a fully uncensored version of a highly sensitive document from the Justice Department explaining how the Russia investigation began in 2016," & when he didn't get it, he warned Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein that he would be held in contempt of Congress or impeached. "Facing the growing pressure, and outrage from ... Donald Trump, Rosenstein finally relented in early April -- and granted Nunes and Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina access to the document with only minimal redactions.... But when the pair arrived at the Justice Department to review the electronic communication..., Nunes -- sitting with a copy of the document in an unopened folder directly in front of him -- opted not to read it, according to four sources with knowledge of the situation.... The moment marked at least the second time that he has demanded sensitive documents from the Justice Department, only to choose not to read them -- allowing his staff or Gowdy to pore through the materials instead." (Also linked yesterday.)

Addy Baird of ThinkProgress: "... Donald Trump harkened back to the racist attack he made on Mexican immigrants on the first day of his campaign in the summer of 2015 during a speech at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention Friday. 'These countries send up their worst,' Trump said, addressing the crowd assembled in Dallas, Texas. 'Remember in my opening speech, I got criticized for it. Remember? Well, guess what. They're not sending their finest....' In his opening speech nearly three years ago, Trump said..., 'When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best.... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.'" ...

... Benjamin Hart of New York: "Speaking at an NRA convention in Dallas on Friday..., Trump did a 'bit' on the perceived meekness of President Obama's stance on North Korea, then slammed the Iran nuclear agreement he is likely to pull out of in the coming days, getting the ultrafriendly crowd to boo the previous administration and John Kerry.... The president followed with an extended riff on the time Kerry broke his leg during a break from high-pressure negotiations crafting the agreement. 'John Kerry ... not the best negotiator we've ever seen,' Trump said. 'He never walked away from the table except to be in that bicycle race where he fell and broke his leg.... And I learned from that -- at 73 years old, you never go into a bicycle race....' Beyond the childishness, Trump was, shockingly enough, wrong on the facts. Kerry was 71 years old -- the same age Trump is now -- when he hit a curb and fractured his femur in 2015, while biking in the French Alps, about 25 miles from Geneva. There is no evidence that he entered a race, as Trump claimed, though he was riding on a section of the Tour de France when the accident occurred. As Trump attacked Kerry's cycling acumen, the Boston Globe reported that the former secretary of State was making a last-ditch, unofficial diplomatic effort to salvage the deal he was instrumental in creating." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The only funny part of Trump's riff is where you imagine Trump on a Bicycle.

It's All about the Trump Show! David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "As he has sought to build anticipation for his high-stakes summit with Kim Jong Un, President Trump has delighted in dropping tantalizing hints about where the meeting will take place -- maybe the Korean demilitarized zone! -- and what can be achieved -- perhaps a peace treaty!This week, the president, without direct prompting, casually raised another possibility, noting on Twitter that three Americans prisoners have been held in a North Korean labor camp. But, he suggested in a tweet, that could soon change: 'Stay tuned!'... Who knows? We'll see what happens.... On Friday, as he departed Washington for a day trip to Dallas, Trump reiterated his cryptic prediction in impromptu remarks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.... 'A lot of good things have already happened with respect to the hostages. And I think you're going to see very good things,' Trump said. 'As I said yesterday, stay tuned.' The president often uses such phrases to hype dramatic possibilities.... But in the case of the prisoners, Trump and some key surrogates have again shattered long-standing Washington protocols by speaking so openly about delicate negotiations on American detainees, potentially risking a last-minute setback or coming across as insensitive to the privacy of their families, according to former U.S. diplomatic and intelligence officials."

Matthew Nussbaum of Politico: "Vice President Mike Pence's physician has resigned, the latest fallout from the collapse of Ronny Jackson's nomination for secretary of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Jennifer Peña, who like Jackson is a military physician detailed to the White House, was among those who detailed claims of professional misconduct against Jackson to senators considering his nomination, according to a person familiar with the events.... The allegations were troubling to many in Pence's office and the White House, who felt that Pena misrepresented the severity of the situation in an effort to harm Jackson, according to the person familiar with the situation." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "More than 50,000 Hondurans who have been allowed to live and work in the United States since 1999 will have 20 months to leave the country or face deportation, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced Friday, the latest in a series of DHS measures aimed at tightening U.S. immigration controls. The Hondurans were granted temporary protected status (TPS) in 1999, shielding them from deportation, after Hurricane Mitch slammed their country and left 10,000 dead across Central America. Under President Trump, DHS has been eliminating TPS programs one by one, arguing they were never designed to grant long-term residency to foreigners who may have arrived illegally or overstayed their visas."

Jonathan Cooper of the AP: "California's economy has surpassed that of the United Kingdom to become the world's fifth largest, according to new federal data made public Friday. California's gross domestic product rose by $127 billion from 2016 to 2017, surpassing $2.7 trillion, the data said. Meanwhile, the UK's economic output slightly shrunk over that time when measured in U.S. dollars, due in part to exchange rate fluctuations. The data demonstrate the sheer immensity of California's economy, home to nearly 40 million people, a thriving technology sector in Silicon Valley, the world's entertainment capital in Hollywood and the nation's salad bowl in the Central Valley agricultural heartland. It also reflects a substantial turnaround since the Great Recession."

John Koblin of the New York Times: "Three women sued Charlie Rose and CBS on Friday, alleging that they were sexually harassed by the former anchorman while working for him and that the network did nothing to stop it. On Thursday, The Washington Post published an article that detailed accusations against Mr. Rose by numerous women, including the three who are suing, and alleged that CBS managers knew about harassment complaints against Mr. Rose before he was fired in November. CBS has said it was not aware of any allegations about Mr. Rose's behavior before a November article by The Post that detailed accusations from multiple women and led to his firing as a host of 'CBS This Morning' and a correspondent for '60 Minutes.' PBS, the longtime home of the 'Charlie Rose' interview show, also cut ties with Mr. Rose."

Beyond the Beltway

Rick Rojas & Kristin Hussey of the New York Times: "The Connecticut Supreme Court, in a surprising reversal of its own decision less than two years ago, ruled on Friday to vacate the conviction of Michael C. Skakel, who had been found guilty of bludgeoning his neighbor with a golf club in 1975. The ruling is not only the latest of the many twists in a legal battle that has been drawn out over decades, but could stand as the conclusion of a case that has attracted the attention of tabloids and television newsmagazines with its blend of a cold-case murder with celebrity and wealth. Mr. Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, had been convicted in 2002 of killing Martha Moxley, a 15-year-old in his Greenwich, Conn., neighborhood. Mr. Skakel, also 15 at the time of the killing, was not arrested until he was in his late 30s. He was convicted after a three-week trial that brought to light details including his drinking and drug use."

The Commentariat -- May 4, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Mrs. McCrabbie: I told you (see below) the Giuliani story wasn't the last word, nor will the "last word" we hear from Trump be the truth:

... Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump undercut his attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, on Friday, and said the former New York mayor will eventually get the facts right regarding a payment to a pornographic actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. 'And virtually everything said has been said incorrectly, and it's been said wrong, or it's been covered wrong by the press,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Giuliani, who joined Mr. Trump's legal team last month, 'just started a day ago,' Mr. Trump said, speaking to reporters on Friday as he left Washington to attend a National Rifle Association convention in Dallas. 'He is a great guy,' Mr. Trump said. 'He'll get his facts straight.' It was the first time the president addressed the inconsistent narrative about the payment made by his personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, to the actress, Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels. Mr. Trump did not offer any details on Friday to clarify the confusion, but said, 'It's actually very simple. But there has been a lot of misinformation.'" ...

... Jonathan Chait: "This morning, President Trump delivered an impromptu interview to reporters while shouting above the noise of his nearby helicopter. Trump stated, twice, that 'Rudy is a great guy but he started a day ago,' and 'he'll get his facts straight.' Giuliani was, in fact, hired 15 days ago. Trump also insisted that Robert Mueller was treating him unfairly because Mueller 'worked for Obama for eight years.' In fact, Mueller is a Republican who was appointed by George W. Bush, worked for Bush for seven years, and then five under Obama, before retiring. Trump offered, as further reason why Mueller should not be trusted and to explain his reason for not wanting to submit to an interview, the 'fact' that Mueller has '13 Democrats' working for him. That is also not true. Donald is a great guy, but he started a day ago, he'll get his facts straight." ...

... Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "MSNBC's Donny Deutsch dropped a bombshell on Morning Joe Friday, stating that said ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen told him Rudy Giuliani 'doesn't know what he's talking about.... He also said look, there are two people that know exactly what happened. And that's myself and the president. And you'll be hearing my side of the story.'" Mrs. McC: Why, I do believe Michael's going to sing. ...

... Kristen Welker & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "... Donald Trump only recently found out that he reimbursed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement with adult performer Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed Thursday.... 'I don't think the president realized he paid him (Cohen) back for that specific thing until we (his legal team) made him aware of the paperwork,' he said. Giuliani said the president responded, '"Oh my goodness, I guess that's what it was for."'" Mrs. McC: Totally true, I'm sure; right down to the "oh my goodness" part.

Here's the Neil Cavuto segment where he takes down Donald Trump for his pattern of lying. Mrs. McC: Never thought I'd run a full Fox "News" segment. Thanks to PD Pepe for the lead:

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Virginia on Friday grilled lawyers from the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about their motivations and authorization for bringing a fraud case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. 'You don't really care about Mr. Manafort's bank fraud,' Judge T.S. Ellis III said during a morning hearing. 'You really care about getting information Mr. Manafort can give you that would reflect on Mr. Trump and lead to his prosecution or impeachment.' Manafort was seeking to have bank and tax fraud charges against him dismissed in federal court in Alexandria, with his lawyers arguing that the alleged crimes have nothing to do with the election or with President Trump. Ellis agreed, emphasizing that some of the charges involve alleged conduct that occurred over a decade ago. But he made no immediate decision on the defense motion. He said even without such a connection the special counsel, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, may well still have the authority to bring the charges. 'I'm not saying it's illegitimate,' Ellis said."

Matthew Nussbaum of Politico: "Vice President Mike Pence's physician has resigned, the latest fallout from the collapse of Ronny Jackson's nomination for secretary of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Jennifer Peña, who like Jackson is a military physician detailed to the White House, was among those who detailed claims of professional misconduct against Jackson to senators considering his nomination, according to a person familiar with the events.... The allegations were troubling to many in Pence's office and the White House, who felt that Pena misrepresented the severity of the situation in an effort to harm Jackson, according to the person familiar with the situation."

Devin Nunes Is (a) Nuts, (b) Illiterate, (c) a Colossal Dick. (More than one answer may be correct.) Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) demanded "a fully uncensored version of a highly sensitive document from the Justice Department explaining how the Russia investigation began in 2016," & when he didn't get it, he warned Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein that he would be held in contempt of Congress or impeached. "Facing the growing pressure, and outrage from ... Donald Trump, Rosenstein finally relented in early April -- and granted Nunes and Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina access to the document with only minimal redactions.... But when the pair arrived at the Justice Department to review the electronic communication..., Nunes -- sitting with a copy of the document in an unopened folder directly in front of him -- opted not to read it, according to four sources with knowledge of the situation.... The moment marked at least the second time that he has demanded sensitive documents from the Justice Department, only to choose not to read them -- allowing his staff or Gowdy to pore through the materials instead."

*****

Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump’s new legal team made a chaotic debut as Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was tapped recently to be one of the president's lawyers, potentially exposed his client to legal and political danger by publicly revealing the existence of secret payments to Michael D. Cohen, the president's personal lawyer. After he moved into the White House, the president began paying Mr. Cohen $35,000 a month, Mr. Giuliani said, in part as reimbursement for a $130,000 payment that Mr. Cohen made to a pornographic film actress to keep her from going public about an affair she said she had with Mr. Trump. The explosive revelation ... prompted frustration and disbelief among the president's other legal and political advisers, some of whom said they feared the gambit could backfire. Legally, the failure to disclose the payments could be a violation of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which requires that federal officials, including Mr. Trump, report any liabilities of more than $10,000 during the preceding year. Mr. Trump's last disclosure report, which he signed and filed in June, mentions no debt to Mr. Cohen.... By the end of the day, the president and his advisers had done little to clarify the confusion that Mr. Giuliani had set in motion a night earlier." ...

... Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "He may have had a strategy, but Rudolph W. Giuliani hatched it almost entirely in secret. The White House counsel had no idea. Neither did the White House chief of staff, nor the White House press secretary, nor the new White House lawyer overseeing its handling of the Russia investigation. They watched, agog, as Giuliani, the president's recently installed persona attorney, freestyled on live television Wednesday night about the president's legal troubles and unveiled an explosive new fact: that Trump reimbursed his longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen for the $130,000 paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Giuliani's attempt to defuse a ticking time bomb ... highlighted contradictory public statements from him and White House spokesmen.... The president was party to hatching the strategy, according to three people involved in the discussions.... Neither White House counsel Donald McGahn nor Emmet Flood, the White House attorney recently hired to handle the Russia investigation, knew that Trump had reimbursed Cohen before Giuliani revealed it, according to a person familiar with their knowledge. ...

... Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "Rudolph W. Giuliani's media blitz to convince the public that neither Donald Trump nor his lawyer had violated the law by paying a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged affair might have backfired, giving investigators new leads to chase and new evidence of potential crimes, legal analysts said. Giuliani made statements that speak to Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen's intent -- an important aspect of some crimes -- and he made assertions that investigators can now check against what they have already learned from documents and witnesses, legal analysts said." Read on. ...

... Mrs. Huckleberry: Trump Lied to Me. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Almost nobody was aware Rudolph W. Giuliani was going to blow up the Stormy Daniels situation Wednesday night, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Thursday this included her. 'The first awareness I had was during the interview last night,' Sanders said of Giuliani's disclosure that President Trump had reimbursed Michael Cohen. What was most notable was how Sanders basically blamed Trump for her own contradictory statements about Daniels. Back in March, Sanders denied Trump knew about the payment and said it was based upon her own conversation with Trump. 'I've had conversations with the president about this,' she said.... Thursday..., she essentially suggested Trump has misled her. 'We give the very best information that we have at the time,' she said, later repeating a version of that phrase several times." ...

... Michelle Goldberg: "Whether they realize it or not, experts say [Trump & Giuliani] appear to have admitted that Trump and Cohen broke the law. The question is whether the impunity that Trump has enjoyed so far will hold or whether this farce of a presidency will, at long last, begin to crumble under the weight of its own sleaze.... Even before Giuliani's revelations, USA Today reported, based on interviews with a 25-person focus group of Trump voters, that many of the president's supporters already assumed he was lying about Daniels, and didn't care.... Most of the Republican Party knows who Trump is and has submitted to him anyway.... There are two possibilities for Giuliani's bizarre media jag. Either he was acting purposefully, because even worse news for his client is on the way, or he was acting haphazardly, because he's a has-been who has joined a White House in chaos. Neither possibility bodes well for Trump...." ...

... So Then. Rudy Goes on "Fox & Friends" to Make Matters Worse. Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: After arguing that the $130K to Stormy Daniels was in no way a campaign contribution, Rudy sez, "Imagine if that came out of October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton.... Cohen made it go away. He did his job." So Then. Kellyanne Conway's husband George almost immediately follows up Rudy's remark with a tweet citing relevant campaign finance law that defines Cohen's payment -- in Rudy's construction -- as a violation by Trump, by the campaign & by Cohen. Go, Team Trump! (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Josh Marshall: "Somewhere in here is what I believe is the real story, which is that Cohen cleaned up messes for Trump sometimes with his own money, sometimes with no questions asked on the understanding that he'd be paid back or cut in on deals from which he'd come out ahead. It makes perfect sense, based on my knowledge of Trump, that rather than paying him back directly -- and creating a paper trail to the sex/hush money -- he packaged the money as something else.... What you have are a half dozen brainstorms cooked up by a group of old men in a room used to bending reality to their purposes when something goes wrong. That's much more difficult on a national stage in front of intense scrutiny. That's what happened last night. Rudy Giuliani is far, far past his prime, used to the accommodating hothouse world of Fox News cronies and cash and carry deal-making in his law firm gigs. This was as sloppy as it looked and did his client no favors." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: To elaborate on what Marshall wrote, if you are under the misapprehension that Giuliani's story -- make that stories -- are what really happened vis-a-vis the Stormy Daniels payment, it's not. Giuliani has merely provided yet another set of cover stories for the real Trump-Cohen transaction, probably because he & Trump are aware that Michael Cohen's records -- soon to be in the FBI's hands -- will reveal that Trump paid or repaid Cohen for the Daniels payout. According to Giuliani, Trump paid Cohen $420K/year, and you can bet they discussed in real time where that $420K annual "legal retainer" went. ...

... Dana Bash & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Rudy Giuliani's cable rollout as a member of ... Donald Trump's legal team, and the torrent of statements he made Wednesday night, caught many in the White House offguard and flat-footed, highlighting the continued chaotic nature of the President's communications strategy. Giuliani told CNN Thursday he and Trump are in sync. 'You won't see daylight between me and the President,' Giuliani said in an interview. 'The strategy is to get everything wrapped up and done with this so that it doesn't take on a lie of its own.'... But Giuliani conceded that White House officials were caught off guard by his comments. '"They were, there was no way they wouldn't be,' he told CNN Thursday. 'The President is my client, I don't talk to them.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

Netchix! ...

... Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump on Thursday directly contradicted his earlier statements that he knew of no payment to Stormy Daniels the pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump said he paid a monthly retainer to his former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, and suggested that the payment by Mr. Cohen to the actress could not be considered a campaign contribution.... In three Twitter posts [republished in yesterday's Commentariat] Thursday morning, the president repeated Mr. Giuliani's statement that Mr. Trump repaid a $130,000 payment Mr.Cohen made to Ms. Clifford just days before the presidential election in 2016.... The president's tweets on Thursday had far more formal language than his typical morning messages to the world, which often include words in all capital letters and are punctuated with exclamation points.... Though Mr. Giuliani described his interview as part of a strategy, the disclosure caught several Trump advisers by surprise, sending some scrambling on Thursday morning to determine how to confront the situation.... Some of the lawyers for Mr. Cohen and Ms. Clifford were also surprised by Mr. Giuliani's remarks on Wednesday to Sean Hannity, who is close with the president." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Anna North of Vox: "In a series of tweets Thursday morning, [Donald Trump] laid out the process by which 'celebrities and people of wealth' like himself use nondisclosure agreements to keep people from talking about them in public. Trump specifically explained that he reimbursed his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for paying porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence.... Even more shocking than [the] admission [that he paid Cohen] is the fact that Thursday's tweets are a totally straightforward explanation of how powerful people like Trump can use their wealth to manipulate others and cover up any information they want hidden. It's essentially the same process by which producer Harvey Weinstein and other wealthy men have been able to hide allegations of harassment and other misconduct for years. The result: Men with money can abuse ordinary people and face no repercussions for their actions, beyond a few payouts here and there. Both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who also says she had an affair with Trump, have helped expose this system by suing to break their nondisclosure agreements. But Trump himself ... made clear he believes that money and celebrity entitle him to do whatever he wants without facing consequences." ...

... Karen Yourish of the New York Times has a list of all the Trump & Co. yarns about the payoff to Clifford. ...

... Philip Bump of the Washington Post has more on the campaign finance law violations. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Cristiano Lima of Politico: "Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday rebuked Rudy Giuliani ... for referring to bureau officials as 'stormtroopers,' saying U.S. leaders should be emulating federal law-enforcement officials 'rather than comparing them to Nazis.'" ...

... Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "Asked about the heat he'd taken — including from former attorney general Eric Holder -- for his Wednesday night comment referring to the April 9 search warrant execution against Cohen as being conducted by 'Stormtroopers,' [Giuliani] responded, 'Oh really? If the shoe fits, wear it.' Is Giuliani really comfortable saying this about an investigation by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York -- an office he once ran? 'When you crash into an attorney's office, you're acting like a Stormtrooper. This is an attorney's office, not a defendant, an attorney for the president of the United States. I';m sorry, that is -- maybe they'd like another word -- out-of-control police,' he said. 'No, I'm not backing off, no way.'" ...

... ** Jonathan Chait: "Here was the president's lawyer, not an outside lobbyist, comparing federal law enforcement to Nazis directly, rather than indirectly.... The casualness with which the line was uttered and received does indicate something important about the way Republican thinking about law enforcement has evolved. The party's respect for the rule of law is disintegrating before our eyes, and in its place is forming a Trumpian conviction that the law must be an instrument of reactionary power.... Giuliani called for James Comey to be prosecuted and Hillary Clinton to be thrown in prison, beliefs that, in the Trump era, have become almost banal.... Just as Giuliani can call the famously straight-laced Comey 'perverted' in the very same interview he casually conceded that his own client habitually pays hush money to porn stars, Republicans can both fear the law as an instrument of terror while coveting it for the same purpose. This duality is how they can toggle between demanding ruthless authoritarian power and then, when describing their own legal predicament, squealing like the most unhinged anti-government radicals, comparing the FBI to Nazis. Trump holds this view with long-standing fervor...." Read on. ...

... The Washington Post's Editors contrast this -- A Rigged System - They don't want to turn over Documents to Congress. What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal 'justice?' At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved! with "what a more presidential president might say." The contrast, to say the least, is stark.

HANNITY (in a reverent, hushed, bewildered and horrified tone): There's a Politico report today basically suggesting that now Mueller would consider Ivanka Trump ... a ... a ... a target. ...

GIULIANI (incredulously): Ivanka Trump?!?!? I would, I would, I think I would get on my charger and go right into their offices with a lance if they went after Ivanka.

HANNITY: I, uh, at this point, sir, I honestly agree with you, and I fear for the country.

GIULIANI: Now, I think if they DO do Ivanka, which I doubt they will, the whole country will turn on them. They're going after his daughter?

HANNITY: What about his son-in-law? They've talked about him!

GIULIANI: I guess, uh, Jared is a fine man. You know that. But men are, you know, disposable. [laughs] But a fine woman like Ivanka? Come on!

... Betty Cracker of Balloon Juice: "Set aside for a moment the creepy and sexist spectacle of these two infantilizing a 30-something woman who is (preposterously!) sold as a self-made business mogul and a person who merits a White House advisory role. Giuliani and Hannity's musings about Ivanka demonstrate what I hope is a fatal flaw in the Trump administration's political strategy for surviving a cascade of scandals.... Would millions rise up to follow Giuliani's lead -- mounting steeds, seizing lances and charging into Mueller's office to defend Ivanka Trump's honor?... But it's not surprising that these morons think this way -- it comes straight from the top. To the extent that he governs at all, Trump governs as if the only Americans who exist are the goobers who support him.... Speaking for myself, it would make my fucking day to see Ivanka Trump lead a perp-walk conga line -- to see all of these arrogant, corrupt, know-nothing motherfuckers swept out of power." ...

... Steve M.: "Except that our political system often functions as if the only Americans who exist are supporters of the GOP. Two of the last five presidential elections were decided in favor of the Republican popular-vote loser. It's widely accepted that Democrats might not win a House majority in the midterms even if they win the overall popular vote by a considerable margin.... The dangers Trump faces don't depend on majority rule. Anyone in Trump's orbit who goes to a jury trial will need only 1 in 12 to acquit. If Trump is impeached, he needs only 34% of the senators to save his job. The way to achieve those numbers is to rally white America. That's what Giuliani is doing. It might work." ...

... So here is why I, Mrs. Bea McCrabbie, think the Stormy Daniels payoff is actually germane to the Russia scandal: it is further evidence that Trump used probably illegal means to win the 2016 election, then covered up those actions with a series of subterfuges, followed by outright lies. That's precisely what he did by enlisting Russia to interfere with the election (tho there's no "probably" prefacing "illegal means"). The Daniels fiasco, that is, shows a pattern of behavior that tracks to Trump's use of Russian ops & the ensuing series of coverups.

Uh-Oh. Tom Winter & Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "Federal investigators have wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer for ... Donald Trump who is under investigation for a payment he made to an adult film star who alleged she had an affair with Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the legal proceedings involving Cohen. It is not clear how long the wiretap has been authorized, but NBC News has learned it was in place in the weeks leading up to the raids on Cohen's offices, hotel room, and home in early April, according to one person with direct knowledge. At least one phone call between a phone line associated with Cohen and the White House was intercepted, the person said." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Oops! Never Mind. Chris Geidner: "Confusion surrounded NBC reporting on surveillance of Michael Cohen's phone lines on Thursday, leading to a 5 p.m. correction that downgraded the level of reported surveillance to a phone call log — a substantial difference from its initial reporting that Cohen's phone lines were being wiretapped. Rudy Giuliani told BuzzFeed News on Thursday afternoon that he didn't believe there was a wiretap of Cohen -- two hours after NBC reported that '[f]ederal investigators have wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen,' a report that also was covered extensively on MSNBC. 'I am told by two people now that it is not true,' Giuliani said. 'FBI is saying it's not true off the record, and Special Counsel is saying it&'s not true,' he said, claiming that the Special Counsel's Office 'told the press that.' NBC's correction proved Giuliani to be right." ...

... Niall Stanage of the Hill: "Rudy Giuliani called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to intervene in the Michael Cohen case and put the people behind the probe 'under investigation' in a phone call with The Hill on Thursday.... He was reacting to an NBC News report that had initially stated phones belonging to Cohen ... had been tapped by investigators.... [Giuliani] argued that if the reported wiretapping of Cohen were true -- and he emphasized he was not sure that it was -- it would be a blatant transgression of attorney-client privilege." ...

... Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump crowed Friday morning that 'NBC NEWS is wrong again' after the network was forced to issue a correction on reporting that initially said Trump's longtime personal attorney had been the subject of a federal wiretap. NBC News issued both on-air and online corrections to state that Michael Cohen ... had not been wiretapped but instead had been the target of a 'pen register,' a monitoring of limited logs of telephone calls." Mrs. McC: It's probably worth noting that Trump pumps out disinformation, now on an average of 6.5 times a day, & never issues a correction.

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Special counsel Robert Mueller is focusing intensely on alleged interactions between former top Trump campaign official Rick Gates and political operative Roger Stone, one of ... Donald Trump's closest confidants, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Stone, a longtime advisor to Trump, is apparently one of the top subjects of the Mueller investigation into potential collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, sources told CNBC on condition of anonymity.... The new developments indicate that Mueller's team is interested in Stone beyond his interactions with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange during the campaign.... The link between Gates and Stone goes back to their work at what had been one of the most powerful lobbying firms in Washington, which was founded by Stone along with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.... Gates joined the firm as an intern more three decades ago...." ...

... Brandi Buchman of Courthouse News Service: "Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday filed a request for 70 blank subpoenas in the Virginia court presiding over one of two criminal proceedings involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The two-page filing doesn't offer much in the way of details, but each subpoena orders the recipient to appear at the federal courthouse in Alexandria on July 10 at 10 a.m. to testify at Manafort's trial on charges stemming from Mueller's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election."

The Hoax that Launched the Worst U.S. President Ever? Cassandra Pollock & Alex Samuels of the Texas Tribune: "A former director of the CIA and NSA said Wednesday that hysteria in Texas over a 2015 U.S. military training exercise called Jade Helm was fueled by Russians wanting to dominate 'the information space,' and that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to send the Texas State Guard to monitor the operation gave them proof of the power of such misinformation campaigns. Michael Hayden, speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe podcast, chalked up peoples' fear over Jade Helm 15 to 'Russian bots and the American alt-right media [that] convinced many Texans [Jade Helm] was an Obama plan to round up political dissidents.' Abbott ordered the State Guard to monitor the federal exercise soon after news broke of the operation. Hayden said that move gave Russians the go-ahead to continue -- and possibly expand -- their efforts to spread fear. 'At that point, I'm figuring the Russians are saying, "We can go big time,"' Hayden said of Abbott's response."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "As of last week, the American public had been told that President Trump's doctor had certified he would be 'the healthiest individual ever elected.' That the president was happy with his legal team and would not hire a new lawyer. That he did not know about the $130,000 payment to a former pornographic film actress who claimed to have had an affair with him. As of this week, it turns out that the statement about his health was not actually from the doctor but had been dictated by Mr. Trump himself. That the president has split with the leaders of his legal team and hired the same new lawyer he had denied recruiting. And that Mr. Trump himself had financed the $130,000 payment intended to buy the silence of the actress known as Stormy Daniels.... For Mr. Trump, it is about creating a narrative that suits his desired image, and dictating the terms of his own life.... But he now risks losing his grip on the story line he has long sought to control, in part because of his own treatment of associates like his doctor and the lawyer who paid the porn star."

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down American troops in South Korea, just weeks before he holds a landmark meeting with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un.... Reduced troop levels are not intended to be a bargaining chip in Mr. Trump's talks with Mr. Kim about his weapons program, these officials said.... Mr. Trump has been determined to withdraw troops from South Korea, arguing that the United States is not adequately compensated for the cost of maintaining them, that the troops are mainly protecting Japan and that decades of American military presence had not prevented the North from becoming a nuclear threat. His latest push coincides with tense negotiations with South Korea over how to share the cost of the military force."

Charles Bagli of the New York Times: "Over the opposition of lawyers for a company owned by ... Donald J. Trump, State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Bransten ruled Thursday that a condominium on the Upper West Side could remove the bronze letters spelling out his name from its 46-story building. The ruling opens the door for the 377 condo owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard to formally vote on whether to keep or remove the T-R-U-M-P letters that have adorned the building, between 69th and 70th Streets, for the past 19 years. Reading a 12- page document from the bench, Judge Bransten repeatedly rejected, dismissed or found the Trump lawyers' arguments to be unpersuasive and granted summary judgment to the condominium's board.... Judge Bransten ... found that the four-page licensing agreement between Mr. Trump and the condominium gave the condo permission to use the Trump name but in no way requires it to use it. Therefore, nothing prevents the board from taking it off the building." (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Elizabeth Drew of the New Republic: "No, Mr. President, journalists aren't elitists."

Scotty's EPA Travel Agency. Juliet Eilperin & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "After taking office last year, [Scott] Pruitt drew up a list of at least a dozen countries he hoped to visit and urged aides to help him find official reasons to travel, according to four people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... Pruitt then enlisted well-connected friends and political allies to help make the trips happen.... Pruitt's practice of involving outsiders in his travels raises serious ethical concerns, legal experts said; federal law prohibits public officials from using their office to enrich themselves or any private individual, or to offer endorsements. Late Thursday, Democratic Sens. Thomas R. Carper (Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) wrote to Pruitt seeking more information about the Israel trip [partly arranged by magnate Sheldon Adelson but cancelled after the WashPo revealed related scandals], the agency's agreement with Water-Gen [an Adelson interest] and 'the role Mr. Adelson or other non-governmental officials played.'" ...

... Elaina Plott of the Atlantic: "As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces a seemingly endless stream of scandal, his team is scrambling to divert the spotlight to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. And the White House isn't happy about it. In the last week, a member of Pruitt&'s press team, Michael Abboud, has been shopping negative stories about Zinke to multiple outlets.... The stories were shopped with the intention of 'taking the heat off of Pruitt,' the sources said.... According to the two sources, Interior staffers who fielded the reporters' calls were able to ascertain that Abboud, who is a former Trump campaign official, was behind the stories. The Interior Department's White House liaison then called the White House Presidential Personnel Office to complain about his conduct.... A White House official with knowledge of the events added: 'Absolutely nothing Scott Pruitt did would surprise me.'" ...

... Hiroko Tabuchi & Steve Eder of the New York Times: "Since moving to Washington, Scott Pruitt ... has attracted the attention of federal investigators because of his unusual association with lobbyists.... As a state senator in Oklahoma 15 years ago, Mr. Pruitt went even further: He bought a home in the state capital with a registered lobbyist who was pushing for changes to the state's workers' compensation rules -- changes that Mr. Pruitt championed in the legislature. And as with the condominium rental in Washington, Mr. Pruitt never publicly disclosed his financial relationship with the lobbyist, who, like Mr. Pruitt, lived in the home when in Oklahoma City on business." Mrs. McC: This is something of a rehash of a WashPo an earlier NYT investigative report published a few weeks back (and linked here). But a nice reminder that Pruitt was always corrupt. ...

... Gregory Wallace & Sara Ganim of CNN: "... Scott Pruitt paid himself nearly $65,000 in reimbursements from his two campaigns for Oklahoma attorney general, a move at least one election watchdog has sharply criticized as being recorded so vaguely that there was no way to tell if such payments were lawful. The reimbursement method, which Pruitt used in his 2010 and 2014 campaigns, effectively scuttled two key pillars of campaign finance: transparency about how campaign funds are spent and ensuring campaign funds are not used for personal purchases, according to a former top elections attorney and a CNN review of the documents. Some of the reporting may also violate Oklahoma campaign finance rules, according to research done by the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group." ...

... Mrs McCrabbie: I'm going to go out on a limb here & predict that, in an effort to change the subject from Rudy's Big Reveal, today will be Scotty's Last Day at the EPA. I won't be surprised if this does not happen -- because Trump's big oil buddies -- but if Scotty gets Friday's afternoon dump, that won't surprise me either.

** Sheryl Stolberg & Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times: "Speaker Paul D. Ryan reinstated the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy as the chaplain of the House of Representatives on Thursday, after the chaplain sent him a letter rescinding his forced resignation and daring the speaker to fire him.... Father Conroy, a Catholic priest who has been the chaplain since 2011, intimated in a letter to Mr. Ryan on Thursday that the speaker did not have the authority to fire him, noting that the chaplain, who is selected by the speaker, is elected by the members of the House. He suggested his Catholic faith had contributed to his dismissal. And in an interview, Father Conroy said he had hired a lawyer to press his case. 'This is so contentious, and I think it is so historic,' Father Conroy said, adding, 'It's not over.'... Father Conroy said he and Mr. Ryan will sit down together on Tuesday when the House is back in session."

Senate Race. "China People." Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "West Virginia GOP Senate hopeful Don Blankenship [R-mass killer] is amping up his racial attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with a new ad declaring, 'Swamp captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people.... In fact, his China family has given him tens of millions of dollars.' McConnell's wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was born in Taiwan and her parents are Chinese.... Earlier this week, Blankenship began running another TV spot labeling McConnell 'cocaine Mitch.' The spot is apparently in reference to a 2014 report that drugs were once found aboard a shipping vessel owned by Chao's family.... McConnell's team has noted that in 1999 Blankenship spoke of moving to China and becoming a Chinese citizen. Blankenship's girlfriend was born in China, according to media reports." Also too, McConnell's spokesperson called Blankenship "mentally ill" & texted, "This clown is a walking talking case study for the limitation of a prison's ability to rehabilitate." (Blankenship only recently got out of the clink after being found guilty of conspiracy in the deaths of 29 coal miners.) Mrs. McC: Couldn't we call these "racist attacks" instead of "racial attacks"? ...

... Oh, let's let Colbert explain:

Paul Krugman explains how Apple's way of repatriating its assets thanks to the tax heist is why "what looks like a big giveaway to wealthy investors is, in fact, a big giveaway to wealthy investors." Mrs. McC: I do love the way Krugman explains economics to dummies: "But what does 'bringing money to America' mean? Apple didn't have a huge, Scrooge McDuck-style pile of gold sitting in Ireland, which it loaded onto a homeward-bound ship. It has digital claims -- a bunch of zeros and ones on some server somewhere -- which in effect used to bear a label saying 'this money is in Ireland.' Now it has changed the label to say 'this money is in America.'"

Guardian: "Roman Polanski and Bill Cosby have been expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a statement, the Academy announced that the governing board had voted to remove the two disgraced stars 'in accordance with the organization's standards of conduct'."

Beyond the Beltway

Brent Griffiths of Politico: "Missouri lawmakers moved overwhelmingly on Thursday evening toward calling special legislative session to further investigate possible impeachment charges against the state's embattled governor, Eric Greitens.... According to [Missouri House Speaker Todd] Richardson [R], 138 House members and 29 senators supported the call for a special session, more than the respective three-fourths required in each chamber. The first-ever special session in the state's history will begin on May 18, the last day of the regular session, and last for 30 days, immediately after which lawmakers will adjourn from their regular business."

Way Beyond

Christina Anderson & Richard Pérez-Peña of the New York Times: "The Swedish panel that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature said on Friday that it would take the extraordinary step of not naming a laureate this year — not because of a shortage of deserving writers, but because of the infighting and public outrage that have engulfed the group over a sexual abuse scandal. The Swedish Academy said it would postpone the 2018 award until next year, when it will name two winners, making this the first year since World War II that the panel has decided not to bestow one of the world's most revered cultural honors. The academy is involved only in the literature award, so other Nobel Prizes are not affected.... In November, a Swedish newspaper reported that 18 women said they had been sexually assaulted or harassed by Jean-Claude Arnault, who is closely tied to the Swedish Academy and is accused of using his stature in the arts world to try to coerce women into sex. Other allegations against him emerged later, including a report that Mr. Arnault had groped Sweden's crown princess, Victoria." She was not amused. Read on. There's more.

News Lede

New York Times: "Five senior Islamic State officials have been captured, including a top aide to the group’s leader, in a complex cross-border sting carried out by Iraqi and American intelligence, two Iraqi officials said Wednesday. The three-month operation, which tracked a group of senior Islamic State leaders who had been hiding in Syria and Turkey, represents a significant intelligence victory for the American-led coalition fighting the extremist group and underscores the strengthening relationship between Washington and Baghdad."