The Commentariat -- March 16, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Sean Lahman, et al., of the (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle: "Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Democrat who represented the Rochester area in Congress since 1987, died Friday morning in a Washington, DC, hospital. She was 88.... Slaughter fell at her Washington residence last week and was taken to George Washington University Hospital to receive treatment and monitoring for a concussion. Slaughter was recognized as a fierce legislator who blazed trails for other women to enter politics." ...
... Slaughter's Washington Post obituary is here.
"Trump & Friends," the New Fox "News" Slapstick Series. James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "Trump ... is actively discussing Fox News contributor John Bolton as a potential successor [to H.R. McMaster]. A leading contender to replace Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is Pete Hegseth, the co-host of 'Fox and Friends Weekend.' The president named CNBC analyst and former host Larry Kudlow ... as his chief economic adviser on Wednesday. Heather Nauert, a former co-host of 'Fox and Friends,' got promoted on Monday from being a spokeswoman for the State Department to acting undersecretary of state.... Trump's plot to poach from green rooms is an additional proof point that validates two important themes I've written about: Trump has debased the value of expertise and supercharged the celebrification of American politics.... Foreign policy pros were aghast when Trump named K.T. McFarland [-- a former Fox 'News" host --] as his deputy national security adviser, [who was a disaster who also got caught up the Russia scandal].... Trump initially named another Fox talking head, Monica Crowley as the senior director of strategic communications for the NSC... [but she had to withdraw after CNN provided evidence of her proclivity for plagiarizing everything]." And so forth. See also Marvin S.'s & Akhilleus' commentary in today's thead on this low-rated show.
First, Shoot All the Elephants. Michael Biesecker, et al., of the AP: "A new U.S. advisory board created to help rewrite federal rules for importing the heads and hides of African elephants, lions and rhinos is stacked with trophy hunters, including some members with direct ties to ... Donald Trump and his family. A review by The Associated Press of the backgrounds and social media posts of the 16 board members appointed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke indicates they will agree with his position that the best way to protect critically threatened or endangered species is by encouraging wealthy Americans to shoot some of them.... Appointees include celebrity hunting guides, representatives from rifle and bow manufacturers, and wealthy sportspeople who boast of bagging the coveted 'Big Five' -- elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and Cape buffalo."
Adam Raymond of New York: "A lawyer for Stormy Daniels, the porn star who says she was paid $130,000 to stay quiet about an affair with Donald Trump, said on Morning Joe Friday that his client has been 'physically threatened' as a part of the effort to cover up her relationship with Trump. It was the second major revelation Friday morning by Michael Avenatti, who previously told CNN that six other women have approached him with stories about Trump similar to his client's."
Cleta Got Her Guns. Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "A former lawyer for the National Rifle Association says she's 'totally outraged' over a report that she expressed concerns about the gun group's ties to Russia and possible use of Russian money to help Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. In a Friday email to TPM, Cleta Mitchell, a longtime conservative lawyer and former NRA board member, came out swinging against McClatchy’s report that congressional investigators have learned she was worried about the Russian links.... Mitchell, a veteran conservative election lawyer who played a key role in stoking the IRS 'scandal' under the Obama administration, blamed 'scumbags' on 'the left,' namely the House Intelligence Committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and the press for raising questions about reported ties between the NRA and Russia."
Robert Booth, et al., of the Guardian: "Police have launched a murder investigation into the death of the Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov after a pathologist concluded he died from compression to the neck, suggesting he may have been strangled by hand or ligature. The Met police's counter-terrorism command is retaining its lead role in the investigation 'because of the associations Mr Glushkov is believed to have had' but has cautioned that there is no suggestion of a link with the attempted murders of the Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury almost two weeks ago. At the time of his death, Glushkov was about to defend a claim against him by the Russian airline Aeroflot at the commercial court in >London, where he was accused of fraud."
*****
Today in Federal Employment News:
Who Says Bullies Don't Have a Sense of Humor? Zeke Miller of the AP: "... Donald Trump consumed Thursday morning's TV headlines with amusement. Reports of tumult in the administration were at a feverish pitch -- even on his beloved Fox News -- as the president reflected on the latest staff departures during an Oval Office conversation with Vice President Mike Pence and Chief of Staff John Kelly. With a laugh, Trump said: 'Who's next?'" Mrs. McC: Ha ha. If I worked in the West Wing & read this, I'd quietly pack up my things, don my jacket, walk out & snail-mail my polite resignation letter to the Joker.
Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump has decided to remove H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser and is actively discussing potential replacements, according to five people with knowledge of the plans, preparing to deliver yet another jolt to the senior ranks of his administration. Trump is now comfortable with ousting McMaster, with whom he never personally gelled, but is willing to take time executing the move because he wants to ensure both that the three-star Army general is not humiliated and that there is a strong successor lined up, these people said. The turbulence is part of a broader potential shake-up under consideration by Trump that is likely to include senior officials at the White House, where staffers are gripped by fear and uncertainty as they await the next move from an impulsive president who enjoys stoking conflict.... The mood inside the White House in recent days has verged on mania, as Trump increasingly keeps his own counsel and senior aides struggle to determine the gradations between rumor and truth. At times, they say, they are anxious and nervous, wondering what each new headline may mean for them personally." ...
... Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC reports that Sarah Sanders has tweeted that McMaster has not been fired. BUT the Wall Street Journal, according to O'Donnell, has confirmed that Trump has told John Kelly that McMaster is out. ...
... Michael Shear & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "In his first full cabinet meeting last June, President Trump invited a chorus of gushing praise from his top aides by boasting that he had assembled a 'phenomenal team of people, a great group of talent.' But in the nine months since then, Mr. Trump has fired or forced out a half-dozen of the 'incredible, talented' people in the Cabinet Room that day: his secretaries of state and health, along with his chief strategist, his chief of staff, his top economic aide and his press secretary. And the purge at the top may not be over. Mr. Trump, who is famously fickle, appears to have soured on additional members of his senior leadership team.... 'There will always be change. I think you want to see change,' Mr. Trump said, ominously, on Thursday. 'I want to also see different ideas.'" ...
... Marc Fisher of the Washington Post: "Although the number of [Trump administration] departures is unusual, the biggest change in how Washington operates is the way in which Trump has gone about swapping out personnel. Tillerson learned that he was being fired via a presidential tweet. FBI Director James B. Comey found out he was sacked last year by seeing a headline on cable news. Last summer, chief of staff Reince Priebus;s White House career ended when other top officials hopped out of the black Suburban SUV that was carrying them from Air Force One back to Washington, leaving Priebus the lone passenger in a vehicle that then peeled out of the president's motorcade. In these and many other cases over the first 14 months of Trump's administration, there was no 'You're fired' moment, at least not from the president. Presidents often outsource the unseemly business of firing people to their chief of staff, but 'what's really unusual about this president is the public humiliations,' said Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, who studies presidential transitions at the Brookings Institution." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Carol Leonnig & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump's personal assistant, John McEntee, lost his White House job this week because an investigation found he was a frequent gambler whose habit posed a security risk, according to two people familiar with his departure. A background investigation found that McEntee bet tens of thousands of dollars at a time, making him unsuitable for a sensitive position close to the president, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. There was no indication his gambling was illegal, but there was concern that the 27-year-old could be vulnerable to outside influence, the person said." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Yes, but how did McEntee get his job in the first place? Oh, he "... worked as a production assistant at Fox News. He joined the Trump campaign as a volunteer in July 2015 after doggedly writing to the campaign's website asking for a job. When no one responded, he offered to take a position responding to website email, according to Trump advisers."
Karoun Demirjian & Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Two top House Democrats said Thursday that they have proof the Trump administration engaged in an intentional effort to rid the State Department of career officials they suspected of being 'disloyal' to President Trump, citing documents a whistleblower gave to the panel. The ranking Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Oversight [Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)] and Government Reform [Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.)] committees sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, writing that they received documents 'indicating that high-level officials at the White House and State Department worked with a network of conservative activists to conduct a "cleaning" of employees they believed were not sufficiently "supportive" of President Trump's agenda.'"
Adele Stan of the American Progress reckons the reason Trump plans to promote Mike Pompeo to secretary of state is Pompeo's connection to (and massive campaign contributions from) the Koch brothers. "So now, we're about to have a secretary of state who denies the role of human activity in climate change, which is just as the Koch brothers, who rule over a conglomerate rooted in fossil fuels, would have it. And Trump just bought himself that much more insulation against any possibility of a Republican-majority House of Representatives turning on him."
Emily Atkin of the New Republic: "Trump's frustration with [Jeff] Sessions isn't a new development, nor is the rumor that [Scott] Pruitt could be his replacement. In January, Politico reported that Pruitt 'told friends and associates that he's interested i becoming attorney general,' a report the EPA swiftly denied. For nearly a year, speculation has swirled that Pruitt has political ambitions beyond the EPA. What's new is the belief that Pruitt himself started the rumor about replacing Sessions. On Thursday, The Atlantic's Elaina Plott tweeted that she heard as much from 'EPA sources.' Axios' Jonathan Swan followed up, saying the 'conventional wisdom' at the White House is that Pruitt is spreading the rumor about himself."
This Russia Thing, Ctd.
Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, including some related to Russia, according to two people briefed on the matter. The order is the first known time that the special counsel demanded documents directly related to President Trump's businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president.... The subpoena is the latest indication that the investigation, which Mr. Trump's lawyers once regularly assured him would be completed by now, will drag on for at least several more months. Word of the subpoena comes as Mr. Mueller appears to be broadening his investigation to examine the role foreign money may have played in funding Mr. Trump's political activities.... Mr. Mueller could run afoul of a red line the president has warned him not to cross." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Cristian Farias of New York: "... it wouldn't be surprising if Mueller is interested in specific sensitive records related to Trump's long-held desire to grow his real-estate empire in Moscow. Mueller's team has already asked witnesses about those plans -- among them Felix Sater, an estranged Trump associate who knows better than most about the president's interest in Russia.... Unlike a sit-down with Trump, which Mueller is still trying to negotiate with his legal team, subpoenas are nonnegotiable and extremely hard to quash." ...
... Judd Legum of ThinkProgress: "One way to get a sense of the White House reaction to [news of the Mueller subpoena] is to turn on Fox News.... Immediately after the report, Fox News turned to its chief intelligence correspondent, Catherine Herridge. 'Every time Mr. Mueller goes beyond [his] mandate, Herridge said, 'it's not like he's a rogue actor. He has to get the permission of the deputy attorney general. What we know is that he's had Rod Rosenstein's permission to go beyond that original mandate....'... Hugh Hewitt, a conservative pundit with close ties to the administration, also used the New York Times report as a way to attack Rosenstein and suggest [in a tweet] Trump should fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions." ...
... Flying too Close to the Sun. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The great irony of Trump's presidency is that for decades Trump has gotten away with activity worthy of a mob boss, & it was his becoming president that will bring that illegal activity into the light & will likely finally undo him. The subpoena, which was issued "in recent weeks," kinda explains Trump's recent surge of erratic behavior. It also explains why Devin Nunes' committee rolled out its fake "no collusion" report, likely at Trump's urging. ...
... Which Makes This Report Hilarious. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "House Republicans are privately venting that they've fumbled the release of their own Russia probe report. The blaring headline the GOP wanted from this week's rollout was clear: After a year of searching, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee found no evidence that ... Donald Trump or his associates aided Moscow's scheme to interfere in the 2016 election but that the nation must still prepare for another assault from the Kremlin. Instead, much of the focus has been on lawmakers' startling conclusion that the nation's intelligence agencies botched their analysis when they determined Russia wanted Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton.... The muddled messaging was the subject of a closed-door meeting of committee Republicans on Wednesday.... Speaker Paul Ryan's office also felt compelled to intervene as Republicans offered increasingly scattershot responses in interviews, with some more eager to criticize the agencies than others." ...
... There's This. Stephanie Kirchgaessner of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's private company was 'actively negotiating' a business deal in Moscow with a sanctioned Russian bank during the 2016 election campaign, according to a memo by Democratic lawmakers investigating possible collusion between the campaign and the Kremlin. The statement by Democrats on the House intelligence committee, who have had access to internal Trump Organization documents and interviewed key witnesses, raises new questions about the Trump Organization's financial ties to Russia and its possible willingness to deal with a bank that had been placed under US sanctions. Trump has personally denied that he ever had business dealings with Russia. In a tweet that was published shortly before his 2016 inauguration, he said he had 'nothing to do with Russia -- no deals, no loans, no nothing'. But doubts about the veracity of that statement began to emerge last August, when the New York Times published emails from a longtime business associate of Trump called Felix Sater, who boasted that he had lined up financing for a Trump Tower in Moscow with VTB Bank, which is under US sanctions." ...
... AND This. Peter Stone & Greg Gordon of McClatchy News: "Congressional investigators have learned that a longtime attorney for the National Rifle Association expressed concerns about the group's ties to Russia and possible involvement in channeling Russian money into the 2016 elections to help Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the matter say. Cleta Mitchell, a former NRA board member who has done legal work for the organization, is on a newly disclosed list of people whom Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are seeking to interview. Democratic investigators for that committee's Senate counterpart also are interested in what she may know about relationships between the NRA or its allies and wealthy Russians, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.... Mitchell's name surfaced after House Republicans announced this week they were ending the panel's year-old investigation into Russia's meddling, which had been plagued by months of partisan friction.... Angry Democrats responded by issuing a wide-ranging, 21-page status report on Tuesday laying out areas of inquiry that were short-circuited by the majority's decision.... Mitchell was among more than two dozen people the Democrats said they would like to interview...."
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump's administration imposed sanctions on a series of Russian organizations and individuals on Thursday in retaliation for interference in the 2016 presidential elections and other 'malicious' cyberattacks. It was the most significant action taken against Moscow since Mr. Trump took office. The sanctions came at the same time the Trump administration joined a collective statement with Britain, France and Germany on Thursday denouncing Russia for its apparent role in a nerve gas attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter on British soil, calling it a 'clear violation' of international law. But the statement included no joint action in response. The American sanctions announced on Thursday targeted many of the same Russian organizations and operatives identified by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, in an indictment that outlined an audacious attempt to spread disinformation and propaganda to disrupt American democracy and, eventually, influence the vote on behalf of Mr. Trump. The sanctions also responded to other cyberattacks, including a previously undisclosed attempt to penetrate the American energy grid." Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the announcement. Mrs. McC: No word from Donaldovich. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Rachel Maddow had a very good segment that puts this move in context:
... Andrew Desiderio of the Daily Beast: "Administration officials holding a conference call on Thursday demurred when asked whether the president himself would directly address efforts to counter Russian election-meddling in particular, on which Trump has repeatedly cast doubt. 'I'm not in any way qualified' to predict the president's public position, one official remarked.... But the fact that the Trump administration has now included these targets among its sanctions lists complicates efforts to discredit the Mueller probe -- an argument Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) made in a statement Thursday. 'The fact that the administration has issued sanctions against individuals and entities indicted by Special Counsel Mueller proves that his investigation is not a "witch hunt" as the president and his allies have claimed,' Schumer said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Karla Adam & Matthew Bodner of the Washington Post: "The United States and two major European allies on Thursday formally backed Britain's claims of likely Russian links to a chemical toxin attack against a former spy, calling it the 'first offensive use of a nerve agent' in Europe since World War II. The joint statement from the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and Britain signaled another step in mounting international pressure on Russia over apparent ties to the assault. The statement said the four nations shared the view of British investigators of Russian ties to last week's attack against a former double agent and his daughter[.] There was no 'plausible alternative explanation,' the statement added, noting that Russia's 'failure to address the legitimate request by the U.K. government further underlines its responsibility.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Mrs. McC: And not a word from our top Putin puppet.
Nicole Perlroth & David Sanger of the New York Times: "The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of engineering a series of cyberattacks that targeted American and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems, and could have sabotaged or shut power plants off at will. United States officials and private security firms saw the attacks as a signal by Moscow that it could disrupt the West's critical facilities in the event of a conflict. They said the strikes accelerated in late 2015, at the same time the Russian interference in the American election was underway. The attackers had successfully compromised some operators in North America and Europe by spring 2017, after President Trump was inaugurated. In the following months, according to a Department of Homeland Security report issued on Thursday, Russian hackers made their way to machines with access to critical control systems at power plants that were not identified. The hackers never went so far as to sabotage or shut down the computer systems that guide the operations of the plants. Still, new computer screenshots released by the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday made clear that Russian state hackers had the foothold they would have needed to manipulate or shut down power plants." Mrs. McC: And no word from Trumpskyev himself.
Dan Diamond of Politico: "The Trump administration is finalizing a long-awaited plan that it says will solve the opioid crisis, but it also calls for law enforcement measures -- like the death penalty for some drug dealers -- that public health advocates and congressional Republicans warn will detract from efforts to reverse the epidemic. The ambitious plan, which the White House has quietly been circulating among political appointees this month, could be announced as soon as Monday when ... Donald Trump visits New Hampshire, a state hard hit by the epidemic. It includes a mix of prevention and treatment measures that advocates have long endorsed, as well as beefed-up enforcement in line with the president's frequent calls for a harsh crackdown on drug traffickers and dealers."
Trump Doubles Down on His Lie to Trudeau. Julie Davis of the New York Times: In a tweet, "President Trump repeated on Thursday his false assertion that the United States runs a trade deficit with Canada, the morning after privately telling Republican donors that he had deliberately insisted on that claim in a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada without knowing whether it was true. Mr. Trump's private admission to having a loose grasp of the facts and his public refusal to back down from the incorrect statement -- the United States has an overall surplus in trade with Canada -- were vivid illustrations of the president's cavalier attitude about the truth, and a reminder of how that approach has taken hold at the White House. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Trump had chosen his figures selectively in the conversation with Mr. Trudeau and in a subsequent Twitter post that repeated the claim. The president was referring only to the trade of goods, Ms. Sanders said, which ignores the larger trade surplus in services the United States exports to Canada. And in a briefing with reporters, she acknowledged that Mr. Trump had fabricated an anecdote he told the donors about unfair trading practices --- Japanese officials, he claimed, conduct a test on American cars by dropping a bowling ball on their hoods from 20 feet high, and those that dent are barred from being imported." Sanders said he was "joking." ...
Steve M. is not impressed with Trump's lie to Justin Trudeau (story linked below): "... I think Trump would dispute the notion that he 'made up information.' Yes, he admitted he 'didn't even know' what the U.S.-Canada trade balance is. But to Trump, that doesn't mean he was making stuff up.... Trump doesn't need facts -- he inevitably grasps the truth because, as he never tires of telling us, he has a very high IQ[.]... So of course he was right. And he was right without checking first. In fact, if you have to bone up before a trade meeting with another head of state, that proves you have a lower IQ than Trump, and therefore you have genes that are inferior to his!" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Nancy LeTourneau of the Washington Monthly: "What we have is a president who is publicly bragging about the fact that, in a meeting with a foreign head of state, he was (1) ignorant about our trade relationship and, (2) he made up a lie.... Trump's remarks ... this tell us a lot about why he lies so much. The first thing to note is the fact that he went in to that meeting with Trudeau completely ignorant of the facts. That confirms a lot of what we've learned about him: he isn't simply ignorant, he's not the least bit interested in knowing the facts.... He isn't merely shameless, he thinks there is some value in not knowing what he's talking about and simply making things up.... He bragged about this episode [Wednesday] night because he thinks it makes him look tough and Trudeau weak.... According to the Washington Post report on this speech, the president went on to denigrate almost all of this country's allies.... He thinks that berating our allies makes him look tough.... Nothing -- absolutely nothing -- matters to Donald Trump other than clinging to the idea that he is winning via dominance. He will bully, lie, cheat or steal in order to fulfill that delusion." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: LeTourneau has it right. And Trump thinks you & are dimwitted, loser weaklings because we rely on facts to form our "theories," as Steve M. calls them. If we discover we've made a factual error, we do "weak" things, like apologize and/or change our "theories" to adapt to our corrected knowledge base. This is another reason Trump admires dictators. They spew propaganda & order everyone to accept their lies.
Gossip Page. Matthew Haag & Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "Vanessa Haydon Trump, the wife of President Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., filed for divorce on Thursday afternoon in a Manhattan court. Ms. Trump, 40, is seeking an uncontested divorce to end her 12-year marriage with the president's son.... The New York Post first reported the divorce filing on Thursday." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I am so looking forward to news reports about whom Junior is dating. He's a classy guy. According the the Times report above, "At the time of their engagement, Mr. Trump accepted a ring from the Bailey Banks & Biddle jewelry store in Short Hills, N.J., in exchange for publicity, recreating his proposal in a New Jersey mall." Everything is commercial.
Your Tax Dollars at Work. Gabrielle Bluestone of Vice News: A "report, compiled by the nonpartisan ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), relies on documents that show that [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin used military jets for at least seven separate trips last year, which cost taxpayers almost $1 million. Those trips would have cost less than $25,000 in total on commercial flights, according to analysis from the New York Times. 'The public still has no reasonable explanation for why Secretary Mnuchin apparently has never used commercial aircraft while his predecessors did, or why he needs military aircraft that can accommodate 120 passengers when his travel manifests contain far fewer names,' CREW attorney Anne Weismann said in a statement. An investigation by the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General concluded in October that Mnuchin had not violated any laws but did note a 'disconnect between the standard of proof' required to use military jets for travel 'and the actual amount of proof provided by Treasury and accepted by the White House in justifying these trip requests.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I'd like to know what these military jets are like. According to reports, the jets Mnuchin & Lady Mnuchin took were "the military version of a Gulfstream 550." I think of military jets as very bare-bones, but since private Gulfstream jets are handsomely-appointed, I assume the military planes have similar luxury interiors. If anybody knows better, let us know. Update: Patrick says my assumption is right. So the plane the Mnuchins take at our expense is more like this --
... than this --
All the Best People, Ctd. Jon Swaine of the Guardian: Naved "Jafry, 38, said he had resigned from his position with Hud after the Guardian asked him to explain multiple allegations of fraud as well as exaggerations in his biography. Jafry, who has also been known by Jafari and Jafri, apologised for inflating his military record but denied making other false claims. He said he resigned because the Guardian's questions tarnished his reputation inside Hud. 'You and I both know we live in the world of opinion and facts merging together,' he said." Mrs. McC: Yes, we all do know that. AND "exaggerations" is an understatement. As for Jafry's lies about his U.S. military service, he might be subject to federal prosecution.
Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on Thursday made a final pitch to the Justice Department about why he should not be fired just 72 hours before his retirement, leaving Attorney General Jeff Sessions to decide the matter with a deadline rapidly approaching. McCabe arrived at the Justice Department about 1 p.m. McCabe did not meet with Sessions, who was traveling Thursday, but with other senior officials, including Scott Schools, the most senior career attorney in the department. He arrived around 1 p.m. and departed four hours later." (An earlier version was linked yesterday afternoon.)
Paul Krugman: "There's no mystery about the Republican agenda. For at least the past 40 years, the G.O.P.'s central policy goal has been upward redistribution of income: lower taxes for the wealthy, big cuts in programs that help the poor and the middle class. We've seen that agenda at work in the policies of every Republican president from Reagan to Trump, every budget proposal from party stars like Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House.... The party has mastered the tactics of bait and switch: pretending to stand for one thing, then doing something quite different in office. But if special elections in the Trump era are any indication, voters are wising up. Rick Saccone, the Republican candidate in a deep-red Pennsylvania congressional district that Trump won by almost 20 points, tried not one, not two, but three different bait-and-switch strategies. And on Tuesday he still seems to have suffered a hair-thin defeat."
Congressional Race. Natasha Korecki of Politico: "A campaign mailer from a super PAC backing [Chicago Democrat Dan] Lipinski ... featured a photo of [Barack Obama] on one side, and the words, 'Known for Leading.' The flip side offered a picture of Democratic opponent Marie Newman under the headline, 'Known for Misleading.' The idea that Lipinski -- who voted against the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature achievement, and declined to endorse Obama's reelection in 2012 -- would try to use the former president's image resurrected such deep feelings of betrayal that the group of former staffers and supporters quickly assembled for a news conference to call out the congressman for what they called hypocrisy.... Over Twitter on Wednesday night, former Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod called the move 'galling.'... [Ten] former aides and volunteers stood in Axelrod's old offices for the Thursday news conference ... [and] recounted the difficulties of corralling enough votes to pass the Affordable Care Act eight years ago -- and lamented that Lipinski was the only Illinois Democrat to vote against it.... [Lipinski's] campaign on Thursday said it had nothing to do with the mailer."
Tara Bernard of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that the Department of Labor overstepped its authority when it wrote a rule that required financial professionals, including brokers and insurance agents, to put their customers' financial interests ahead of their own. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a lower court's ruling in a 2-to-1 decision siding with the plaintiffs, which include several groups representing the financial services industry." Mrs. McC: Yes, because financial advisors are supposed to rip off their customers. Thanks, Fifth Circuit!
Beyond the Beltway
What a Surprise. Ryan Lenz of the Southern Poverty Law Center: "Stewart Rhodes, the head of the antigovernment Oath Keepers, will frequently threaten himself and his family with a weapon he always carries, and he has a history of violent outbursts against his family, including an incident in 2016 when he choked his teenage daughter by the throat. That history was outlined in a sworn petition Rhodes' wife, Tosha Vonn Adams Rhodes, filed last month in a Lincoln County, Montana, court room asking for a temporary protective order against her husband."
One Sick Family. Andy Shain of the Charleston, S.C., Post & Courier: "The sister of Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was arrested Wednesday for carrying weapons at her affluent Columbia-area high school, authorities said. Morgan Roof, 18, also was charged with simple possession of marijuana, the Richland County Sheriff's Department said. An administrator at A.C. Flora High School alerted a school resource officer about a student having pepper spray and a knife and making a Snapchat post that alarmed the campus. The incident took place on a same day when thousands of students nationwide walked out of schools to protest gun violence.... [Morgan's Snapchat] post read: 'Your (sic) walking out for the allowed time of 17min, They are letting you do this, nothing is going to change what (the expletive) you think it's gonna do? I hope it's a trap and y'all get shot we know it's fixing to be nothing but black people walkin out anyway.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michael Cooper of the New York Times: "The conductor James Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera for breach of contract and defamation on Thursday, three days after the company he defined for more than four decades fired him when an investigation found he had 'engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct.' The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, states that Mr. Levine 'has clearly and unequivocally denied any wrongdoing in connection with those allegations,' and paints his firing as a result of an effort by the Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, 'to oust Levine from the Met and completely erase his legacy from the organization.'"
Way Beyond
Saudi Family Values. Carol Lee & Courtney Kube of NBC News: "When Saudi Arabia's crown prince visits the White House next week, he's expected to be welcomed as a reformer who's expanded women's rights in one of the most restrictive countries in the world, allowing them to drive and attend sports events. Yet ... fourteen current and former senior U.S. officials told NBC News that intelligence shows Prince Mohammed bin Salman -- often referred to by his initials MBS -- blocked his mother from seeing his father, King Salman, more than two years ago and has kept her away from him as the young prince rapidly amassed power. Prince Mohammed, a key ally of the Trump White House, has concocted various explanations of his mother's whereabouts.... U.S. officials interviewed for this story believe, based on several years of intelligence, that MBS took action against his mother because he was concerned that she opposed his plans for a power grab that could divide the royal family and might use her influence with the king to prevent it. The officials said MBS placed his mother under house arrest at least for some time at a palace in Saudi Arabia, without the king's knowledge.... Donald Trump defended the Saudi government for 'harshly treating' those who were imprisoned as part of the effort." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
New York Times: "An American military helicopter crashed Thursday near the city of Qaim in western Iraq, killing some of the seven service members aboard, United States officials said. It was unclear why the aircraft, an HH-60 Pave Hawk, went down, the officials added. They did not rule out ground fire, and they could not confirm how many people had been killed. One official said the helicopter was not on a combat operation but was ferrying troops."
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