The Commentariat -- February 5, 2018
It Is Treasonous Not to Applaud the Dear Leader. Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "President Trump accused Democrats on Monday of 'treasonous' behavior during his State of the Union address. Trump took aim at Democratic members of Congress who refused to applaud during his speech when he mentioned his achievements over the past year. 'Can we call that treason? Why not?' the president said during a speech in Ohio. 'They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much.'" Mrs. McC: We are down the rabbithole now. And here I was incensed Trump implied one Democratic Congressman was a criminal. Now it turns out they're all traitors. Hang 'em by the neck until dead. ...
... Jim Fallows of the Atlantic briefly reviews several books about the Trump presidency, whatever one wants to call it. "And whether you prefer 'Trumpocracy,' 'dying democracy,' 'tribalism,' or 'fascism' to describe the disease, these books leave no doubt that treatment is needed, now." ...
... President* Accuses Congressman of Illegal Leaking; Says He "Must Be Stopped." Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump accused a top Democratic lawmaker on Monday of being 'one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington,' calling Representative Adam Schiff of California 'Little Adam Schiff' and accusing him of illegally leaking confidential information from the House Intelligence Committee. In an early-morning tweet, Mr. Trump ominously said that Mr. Schiff 'must be stopped,' though he did not elaborate. The president's insult came as Mr. Schiff is expected to call for a vote on Monday afternoon for the Intelligence Committee to release a Democratic rebuttal to the classified memo that the panel's Republicans released on Friday, which accuses federal law enforcement officials of abusing their powers to spy on a former Trump campaign official.... 'Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper!,' Mr. Trump tweeted, referring to former James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director; Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia; John O. Brennan, the former C.I.A. director; and James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence. 'Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!'" ...
... Mrs. McC: It is hard to imagine another president cavalierly and without evidence accusing a sitting member of Congress of criminal behavior. But there you go. ...
... President* Casually Provokes International Incident with Ally. Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "President Trump took a swing at Britain's beloved National Health Service on Monday, tweeting that Britons were marching in the streets because their universal health-care system was financially strapped and dysfunctional, and got a swift rebuke from the British prime minister. 'The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks!' he wrote. But the thousands of Britons who took to the streets over the weekend were marchingin support of the NHS and calling for greater government funding.... A spokesman for [PM Theresa] May said that 'the prime minister is proud of our NHS, that is free at the point of delivery....'... 'I may disagree with claims made on that march but not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m people have no cover[,' tweeted British health secretary Jeremy Hunt.]... Responding to Trump's comments, the march organizers said they were campaigning against a U.S.-style health-care system that they said is 'expensive, inefficient and unjust.'" Inspiring Trump's attack: right-wing Brit Nigel Farage on the Fox News segment, who said the NHS was "pretty much at a breaking point" because of a "population crisis." i.e., too many A-rabs. Emphasis added. ...
... Whaddaya mean "unfit for office"?
Kaitlan Collins & Tal Kopan of CNN: "The White House is dismissing an immigration deal brokered by a bipartisan group of lawmakers as a non-starter just hours before it is expected to be formally introduced in the Senate. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons are slated to introduce a bill Monday that would grant eventual citizenship to young undocumented immigrants who have been in the country since 2013 and came to the US as children, but it does not address all of the President's stated immigration priorities, like ending family-based immigration categories -- which Republicans call 'chain migration' -- or ending the diversity visa program." Mrs. McC: Big surprise, right?
Nora Ellingsen, et al., of Lawfare obtained FOIA documents proving that Trump & his administration lied when they claimed in May 2017 that one reason for firing James Comey was that he did not have the backing of rank-&-file FBI personnel. For instance, "The president of the FBI Agents Association, Thomas O'Connor, called Comey's firing a 'gut punch.'... [Instead, there was] a reaction of 'shock' and 'profound sadness' at the removal of a beloved figure to whom the workforce was deeply attached. It also shows that no aspect of the White House's statements about the bureau were accurate -- and, indeed, that the White House engendered at least some resentment among the rank and file for whom it purported to speak." The article includes a a pdf of the entire FBI documentation Lawfare received. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I really would like Mrs. Huckleberry to have to answer to Bob Mueller for her remarks. She claimed "she personally had 'heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the president's decision.'" Okay, fine, Mrs. H. Produce "countless" letters, phone logs, etc. It may not be a crime to lie to the American people but to invent a false narrative to cover up the "real reason" for firing Comey is to participate in obstruction of justice. And that is a crime. ...
... Ed Kilgore: "Whatever else the firing of Comey and subsequent actions by the White House to stop the Russia investigation signify, they show a reckless disregard for the impact on the FBI, which was not demoralized until Trump demoralized it. All the loose GOP talk in connection with the Nunes memo of 'cleansing' the FBI has got to be making the atmosphere a lot worse, particularly among career types who must be in profound shock -- if not seized by hysterical laughter -- by the suggestion that the Bureau has been in the grips of some sort of leftist cabal." Mrs. McC: Yes, but Trumpetmaster Putin is awfully happy to see a U.S. intelligence agency in turmoil.
Hey, Who Reads the Footnotes? Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Republican leaders are acknowledging that a footnote to an FBI application to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page disclosed the potential political origins of a controversial private dossier cited by the application, undermining the argument of a secret memo they released on Friday and bringing new Democratic pressure on the GOP to declassify more information about the bureau's actions.... 'Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele's efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior and FBI officials,' the memo alleged. But in an appearance on Fox & Friends, [Devin] Nunes was asked about reports over the weekend that the FBI application did refer to a political entity connected to the dossier.... Nunes conceded that a 'footnote' to that effect was included in the application, while faulting the bureau for failing to provide more specifics." ...
... Nancy LeTourneau of the Washington Monthly: "Only a couple of weeks ago, Republicans cooked up a conspiracy theory about a so-called 'secret society' at the FBI that was attempting to bring down the Trump administration. But something that got overlooked during the run-up to the release of the Nunes memo indicates that it was actually a group of Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee that had a secret group meeting to undermine the Mueller investigation. This announcement came on the same day the committee voted to release the memo. 'The House Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, has opened a new investigation into both the Department of Justice and the FBI. Ranking Member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told reporters the Democratic minority was informed of the apparently new investigations Monday night 'for the first time.' According to committee rules, the majority has to consult with the minority before opening an investigation. Schiff said Monday night there was no such consultation." The Nunes secret society has worked for weeks & continues to do so behind closed doors. ...
... ** Digby has a good piece in Salon on winger hypocrisy: "In an epic example of projection, the party that launched partisan probes for decades now claims to be horrified." ...
... ** Jonathan Chait: "Once again, as the facts have emerged in full, the underlying conclusions [of the Nunes memo] hyped by conservatives have melted away.... But ... the collapse of the factual underpinnings beneath the conservatives' claims left no impression on them whatsoever. There is no sense of chastening or remorse on the right. To the contrary, Republicans retain all of their initial fervor to use the memo to prosecute their targets in the deep state.... Cultivating distrust in institutions that are designed to play a neutral, mediating role is one of the central functions of conservative politics. It is a game that conservatives know how to win, because they are waging asymmetric warfare. There is no good way for an institution to withstand partisan attack when its existence relies upon maintaining some distance from partisanship.... There is no way to refute bad-faith criticism."
Patrick Rucker of Reuters: "Mick Mulvaney, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has pulled back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers, according to people familiar with the matter." Mrs. McC: Because protecting Americans' personal data is so wrong.
** Wow! Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Monday denied a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to delay redrawing congressional lines, meaning the 2018 elections in the state will probably be held in districts far more favorable to Democrats. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who hears emergency requests from the state, turned down the petition without obvious objection from his colleagues. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last month ruled that the state's Republican legislative leaders had violated the state Constitution by unfairly favoring the GOP. Although there are more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, Republicans hold 13 of 18 congressional seats. It is the most significant victory by critics of the way most congressional and legislative districts are drawn and a sign that their efforts will be felt as early as this fall's midterm elections." Mrs. McC: Thanks, Sam. And I mean that. ...
... Barnes spells out why this is a big deal -- and a significant change in Supreme Court "philosophy": "The justices are traditionally reluctant to order changes in an election year, for one thing. And they have never thrown out a state's redistricting plan because they found it so infected with partisan bias that it violates voters' constitutional rights."
*****
Elise Viebeck & Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee dissented Sunday from President Trump's view that corruption has poisoned the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. In a sign of a growing rift within the House GOP, four members of the panel dismissed the idea pushed by Trump and other Republicans that a controversial memo criticizing how the FBI handled elements of its Russia probe undermines the investigation led by Robert S. Mueller III into possible coordination between Trump associates and the Kremlin. The memo's release Friday by the Intelligence Committee has raised fears Trump will fire Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the probe. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who helped draft the memo, said Trump should not fire Rosenstein and rejected the idea that the document has bearing on the investigation. 'I actually don't think it has any impact on the Russia probe,' Gowdy, who also chairs the House Oversight Committee, said on CBS's 'Face the Nation.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: In fairness to Trump, he had only "a few hours" to read the memo, so he has had to rely on Sean Hannity to find out what it says. (In the linked commentary, Jonathan Chait doubts that "a few hours" alone with a memo is any guarantee he Trump would read it. "(The television isn't going to watch itself)," Chait explains. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Shane Harris: Former CIA Director "John Brennan accused Rep. Devin Nunes (R.-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, of selectively releasing information to accuse law enforcement officials of improperly obtaining a warrant to monitor the communications of a former Trump campaign adviser. 'It's just appalling and clearly underscores how partisan Mr. Nunes has been,' Brennan said in an interview on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'He has abused the chairmanship of [the Intelligence Committee],' Brennan said.... He emphasized that the dossier played 'no role whatsoever' in an assessment by all U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election. He added that intelligence agencies were also developing their own information on Russia's interference 'on multiple fronts' and that the FBI had its own sources of information." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Jonathan Landay & Doina Chiacu of Reuters: "On Monday, the House intelligence panel will consider whether to release a memo from Democratic lawmakers that is expected to outline what they see as flaws in the Republican memo. Two sources told Reuters ... on Sunday that the intelligence committee would consider declassifying the Democratic memo on Monday and making it public. One said the meeting would take place at 5 p.m. (2200 GMT) and that there would be a vote. A Democratic member of the intelligence committee, Representative Michael Quigley, said on Sunday he was concerned that Trump could censor the Democratic memo that must be sent to him for a five-day security review before it is released under the same rule by which the Republican document was made public." ...
... Philip Carter, in Slate: "Trump betrayed the intelligence community to save his own skin.... Trump signaled ... that ... between the integrity of government investigations and his own political interests, he'll choose the latter. If he's willing to overrule his senior intelligence and law enforcement leaders over something so inconsequential and fake as the Nunes/Patel memo, it's frightening to think what he would choose in an actual crisis, when we really need him to put America first." ...
... E.J. Dionne invokes Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism to put Devin Nunes' memo in context. ...
... Make That "Memos." Jonathan Swan of Axios: "'The memo' -- which pitted the Justice Department against the White House and brought ugly partisan sniping into stark relief -- is only the beginning. Republican sources close to Devin Nunes tell me he's assured them there's much more to come.... Republicans close to Nunes say there could be as many as five additional memos or reports of 'wrongdoing.'... A Republican member briefed on Nunes' investigations told me: 'There are several areas of concern where federal agencies used government resources to try to create a narrative and influence the election. Some have suggested coordination with Hillary Clinton operatives, [Sidney] Blumenthal and [Cody] Shearer, to back up the false narrative.' I'm told the Nunes team has discussed producing additional reports or disclosures that don't require declassification." ...
This Week in Wingnutia. Republicans have increasingly claimed that the memo written by GOP staff members of the House Intelligence Committee, which was declassified by President Trump on Friday, shows how the FBI conspired with Democrats to interfere in the election and even spy on the Trump campaign. [For instance:]
#FISAMemo shows real collusion between Dem operatives & key officials at the FBI & DOJ to spy on the #Trump campaign & interfere in the 2016 election. The politicization of our intelligence & law enforcement agencies should concern every American. More: https://t.co/ajJzczgB78 -- [Rep.] Raúl R. Labrador [RTP-Id.], February 2, 2018... The GOP memo provides no evidence that the FBI spied on the Trump campaign. Instead, it shows that the court order for surveillance of Page was obtained weeks after Page and the Trump campaign had said Page was no longer part of the campaign. Trump has asserted that he never even met or spoke to Page. Moreover, the GOP memo confirms that the separate investigation into Russian contacts with the Trump campaign was prompted by information that was not contained in the Steele dossier. One wonders if Republicans making claims of FBI spying on the Trump campaign have even read the memo. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post (Thanks to MAG for the link.) ...
... Juan Cole: "The confident pronouncements by pundits and politicians that the Nunes memo is a dud, dead on arrival, neglect to consider the main tactic of the Republican right wing for some time now. It is a conspiracy theory, and conspiracy theories carried Trump to the White House and many Republicans into Congress or state legislatures.... Nunes and Trump know that Rupert Murdoch's lying Fox Cable News will be happy to become The Nunes Memo Network 24/7. They know that Sinclair radio stations ... will play it up big time. They know that NewsMax and Breitbart and other right wing webzines will beat this drum continually.... They already have 36% of voters and just need to create doubts in or support for Trump in 15% of voters who are independents, and they keep winning politically." --safari ...
... Molly McKew in Politico Magazine: "Russian bots and their American allies gamed social media to put a flawed intelligence document atop the political agenda.... The #releasethememo campaign came out of nowhere. Its movement from social media to fringe/far-right media to mainstream media so swift[ly] that both the speed and the story itself became impossible to ignore. The frenzy of activity spurred lawmakers and the White House to release the Nunes memo, which critics say is a purposeful misrepresentation of classified intelligence meant to discredit the Russia probe and protect the president." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: That is to say, having helped elect Trump, Putin/Russia is now helping to protect him from U.S. law enforcement agencies. Think about that. There is a reason the Founders went out of their way to try to protect the presidency from foreign coups (the president & veep must be native-born). See also Emoluments Clause (a/k/a Title of Nobility Clause). Unfortunately, the Founders could not foresee bots. So congratulations! Many of you have now become subjects of the nation ostensibly ruled by Prince Donaldovich von Putin von Clownstick. The rest of you will be deported.
... Update: AND, as safari pointed out in yesterday's Comments, the whole exercise has given Russian intelligence a view of the timeline of the surveillance of Page & thus a good idea of what the U.S. has on him & on the Russians with whom he interacted. This is really why DOJ & FBI officials said releasing the memo was so reckless, & other intelligence officials (like former CIA director Brennan )are so bent out about it.>
... ** Ezra Klein of Vox, reviews How Democracies Die: "Demagogues and authoritarians do not destroy democracies. It's established political parties, and the choices they make when faced with demagogues and authoritarians, that decide whether democracies survive.... '2017 was the best year for conservatives in the 30 years that I've been here,' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week. 'The best year on all fronts.'... If you want to know why congressional Republicans are opening an assault on the FBI in order to protect Trump, it can be found in that comment." Read on. --safari
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "In mid-April, hundreds of members of the payday lending industry will head to Florida for their annual retreat featuring golf and networking at a plush resort just outside Miami. The resort just happens to be the Trump National Doral Golf Club. It will cap a year in which the industry has gone from villain to victor, the result of a concentrated lobbying campaign that has culminated in the Trump administration's loosening regulatory grip on payday lenders and a far friendlier approach by the industry's nemesis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.... Two weeks ago, [Mick] Mulvaney[, whom Trump installed as the new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] put the brakes on a contentious rule, ushered in by [Obama appointee Richard] Cordray, that was set to impose tight restrictions on short-term payday loans." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is just one of a thousand cuts Trump & Co. have used to bleed ordinary Americans. Trump's pretense of populism was the biggest cons ever pulled on a gullible public. But it sure is nice of these chiselers to kick back a little something to Trump by way of their annual confab.
David Sanger & William Broad of the New York Times: "A treaty committing the United States and Russia to keep their long-range nuclear arsenals at the lowest levels since early in the Cold War goes into full effect on Monday. When it was signed eight years ago, President Barack Obama expressed hope that it would be a small first step toward deeper reductions, and ultimately a world without nuclear weapons. Now, that optimism has been reversed. A new nuclear policy issued by the Trump administration on Friday, which vows to counter a rush by the Russians to modernize their forces even while staying within the treaty limits, is touching off a new kind of nuclear arms race.... The Pentagon envisions a new age in which nuclear weapons are back in a big way -- its strategy bristles with plans for new low-yield nuclear weapons that advocates say are needed to match Russian advances and critics warn will be too tempting for a president to use. The result is that the nuclear-arms limits that go into effect on Monday now look more like the final stop after three decades of reductions than a way station to further cuts." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Thanks, generals! Nothing like tempting Trump to go nuclear. Fortunately, I guess, he won't be going nuclear against Russia.
Dan Barry, et al., of the New York Times: "For more than a year, an F.B.I. inquiry into allegations that Lawrence G. Nassar, a respected sports doctor, had molested three elite teenage gymnasts followed a plodding pace as it moved back and forth among agents in three cities.... Nearly a year passed before agents interviewed two of the young women.... The accumulating information included instructional videos of the doctor';s unusual treatment methods, showing his ungloved hands working about the private areas of girls lying facedown on tables. But as the inquiry moved with little evident urgency, a cost was being paid. The New York Times has identified at least 40 girls and women who say that Dr. Nassar molested them between July 2015, when he first fell under F.B.I. scrutiny, and September 2016, when he was exposed by an Indianapolis Star investigation. Some are among the youngest of the now-convicted predator's many accusers -- 265, and counting.... The [FBI's] silence had dire consequences, as the many girls and young women still seeing Dr. Nassar received no warning."
** Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) will introduce immigration legislation on Monday in an effort to reach a budget deal before the federal government's current funding runs out on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The bipartisan piece of legislation provides recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, commonly known as 'Dreamers,' an opportunity for citizenship while ordering a study to figure out what border security measures are needed, according to the Journal. Senate aides told the Journal that the plan would provide people who have resided in the U.S. since Dec. 31, 2013, with legal status and a path to citizenship. The Journal reported that the legislation is similar to House legislation introduced by Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.)." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: On its face, this plan sounds so simple sensible I don't see how it can pass. And giving Trump a "study" is perfect, though I don't suppose he'd settle for that. I'm hearing screams of "Amnesty!" P.S. In case you forgot, the federal government will run out of money again at the end of this week. ...
... Niraj Warikoo of the Detroit Free Press reports on what it's like for one 39-year-old family man to be deported from the U.S. to a country where he hasn't lived since he was 10 years old. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Amy Wang of the Washington Post writes of a chemistry professor, husband & father whom ICE is about to deport. He has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: It would appear both of these men could embark on a path to citizenship under the McCain-Coons bill. Since they both apparently have been good citizens for decades, why wouldn't we want them to stay here & continue the life they've built? Well, maybe because these men are not from Scotland, Germany or Norway & we're nasty xenophobes & racists. But other than that.
Congressional Races
Nick Corasaniti & Kate Zernike of the New York Times rehash the case against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) which federal prosecutors dropped last week after the judge threw out many of the charges, following a mistrial caused by a hung jury. Menendez is up for re-election this year. Mrs. McC: Uh, still not the best candidate.
The Best Candidates. Jay Silverstein of Newsweek: "Arthur Jones, [an Illinois] anti-Semite..., is ... the only GOP candidate for a congressional spot representing parts of Chicago and its suburbs.... His campaign website features a page called 'Holocaust?' that includes a typed note calling the murder of six million Jews by Nazis 'the biggest, blackest, lie in history' and falsely claiming there is no proof of the Holocaust beyond 'a few professional concentration camp survivors.' The website also features a page calling the Confederate flag 'a symbol of White pride and White resistance' and the LGBT rainbow flag 'an attack on traditional Christian morality and religious freedom.' Jones' campaign includes the slogan, 'It's time to put America First!.'... Jones last ran for office in 2016, when he expressed his support for Trump's candidacy, noting that his only concern was that Trump's daughter Ivanka is married to a Jew, Jared Kushner. (He has since said he regrets voting for Trump because the president has 'surrounded himself with hoards of Jews.')... The Illinois Republican Party ... made clear it has no support for the man who seems to destined to represent it this year.... Jones is all but guaranteed to lose in November to one of the Democratic candidates -- incumbent Representative Dan Lipinski or challenger Marie Newman -- since the 3rd Congressional District leans heavily to the left."
Gubernatorial Race
The Best Candidates. Natasha Korecki of Politico: "A new ad that's been denounced as anti-immigrant, 'racist,' 'sexist' and 'transphobic,' is causing an uproar in Illinois, with leaders from both parties calling for its removal. But Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives, whose campaign produced the ad in her primary election challenge to Gov. Bruce Rauner, is refusing to pull the spot, saying it exposes Rauner's 'betrayal' of GOP voters. The new ad mockingly thanks the governor for clearing a path in support of a series of social issues. Then it taps just about every conservative bogeyman in Illinois politics, and every lightning-rod cultural issue."
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