THIS WEEK IN POLITICAL NEWS -- 2/25/17

Late and Sickly Edition

Forgive the lateness of TWIPN this week: I have been confined to my bed with a mysterious illness. But my devotion to you, dear readers, compels me to lift my head from the haze of sickness and attempt to make sense of this week’s Endless Horribles. Join me!  (Also, as I type, the DNC is voting on its new chair. My opinion is that any of the three leading candidates (Ellison, Perez, Mayor Pete) would be great, and that the primary goal is to avoid constant internal warfare among Dems -- even though that’s some Dems’ favorite activity. Here’s hoping we can emerge from this unscathed -- maybe even stronger and ready to, you know, win some elections!)

THE RUSSIA STUFF IS NOT GOING AWAY, PART 613: Hey remember how America’s intelligence agencies together concluded that Russia interfered in our election in 2016 in an attempt to help Donald Trump win? I ask because the Republicans have steadfastly avoided investigating what seems to me, you know, to be sort of a little bit of maybe a HUGE EFFING DEAL. Well, this week new developments may be slowly forcing Congress to actually, like, do its job. First, CNN reported this week that the White House pressured the FBI to publicly knock down press stories about Trump associates’ contacts with Russia -- and the FBI refused. “The direct communications between the White House and the FBI were unusual because of decade-old restrictions on such contacts. Such a request from the White House is a violation of procedures that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations.” The next day, the White House admitted that Priebus had in fact discussed the investigation with the FBI deputy director and had asked the FBI to knock down the reports, but insisted the FBI had initiated the contact to tell Preibus that the reports of “constant” contact between Trump associates and Russian officials were “BS.” It’s not entirely clear how this is exonerating, given that it still shows the White House Chief of Staff pressuring the FBI to make public statements about an ongoing investigation. And it also casts serious suspicion on the independence of the FBI (something we had good reason to doubt already), as the FBI apparently allowed Priebus to say publicly that the Sunday shows that “top-level people” told him the reports were “fake news.” Just days after this story broke, the Washington Post reported that the White House also sought to enlist the GOP leadership of congressional intelligence committees and other key GOP congressmen to publicly bat down the reports -- even though they, too, are supposedly investigating the Trump/Russia relationship. “The White House on Friday acknowledged those interactions with the FBI but did not disclose that it then turned to other officials who agreed to do what the FBI would not — participate in White House-arranged calls with news organizations, including The Washington Post.” This reporting predictably resulted in a cascade of presidentially-tweeted-and-then-shouted insults directed at the press and the FBI, but also, less predictably, led Darrell Issa (R-Asshole) to declare the need for a special prosecutor to investigate the Russia issue. (Recall that the first article of impeachment against Nixon was for attempting to interfere in the FBI investigation of Watergate.)

U.S. REVS UP FOR MASS DEPORTATIONS: On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security issued two memos about implementing Trump’s EO about increasing border security. “The new policies call for speedier deportations and the hiring of 10,000 ICE agents, and direct them to treat any offense, no matter how small, as grounds for deportation.” The first memo mandates detention of all unauthorized immigrants apprehended at the borders or elsewhere (ie, an end to “catch and release”), which will require a massive increase in the hiring of immigration judges and building of detention facilities. (Hence DOJ’s revoking the Obama rule that phased out private prisons.) Right now, there’s a backlog of over 500,000 immigration cases pending, with an average of 570 days for an immigration case to reach completion. That means we are looking at imprisoning people for a year plus before they even get to court. Because of that, the memo states that the Administration will seek to dramatically expand the categories of aliens subject to expedited removal (ie, without a hearing). The second memo states that no classes of aliens will be exempted from immigration enforcement, and it expands those identified as priorities for deportation from the Obama-era rule of targeting those convicted of serious crimes to now include those convicted of any criminal offense, those charged with any criminal offense, or who have committed acts constituting a criminal offense (but apparently haven’t been convicted), among other groups. The memo also creates an office of Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement, premised on the falsehood that “criminal aliens routinely victimize Americans and other legal residents.” The memos also suggest that parents who have their children smuggled into the US to join them will be subject to criminal prosecution.

Also note that DHS says that CBP “has identified funding to begin immediate construction” of the wall, even (apparently) without congressional approval. So much for DHS Secretary Jim Kelly being the “sane” one. On Friday, Trump praised the start of deportations (stories of which have revealed heartbreaking, cruel, absurd, and disgusting decisions), calling it “a military operation.” This comes one day (literally) after Secretary Kelly scolded the media for suggesting that there would be mass deportations: “And again listen to this -- no, repeat no, use of military force in immigration operations -- none. . . . So again I repeat no use of military forces in immigration. At least half of you [to the press] try to get that right, because it continually comes up in the reporting.” Check out this truly chilling article about ICE officers and border patrol agents -- law enforcement officials -- feeling “unshackled” and unrestrained in the wake of these orders: “Two officials in Washington said that the shift — and the new enthusiasm that has come with it — seems to have encouraged pro-Trump political comments and banter that struck the officials as brazen or gung-ho, like remarks about their jobs becoming ‘fun.’”

BRACING FOR A NEW TRAVEL BAN: Over a week ago, the DOJ told the 9th Circuit that it would not appeal the court’s refusal to reinstate Trump’s ban while litigation continues in the lower court, explaining that Trump would be issuing a new order. That new order is still nowhere to be seen -- and maybe it’s because there is internal disagreement about it inside the administration. The Wall Street Journal reports: “An intelligence report by the Department of Homeland Security contradicts the White House’s assertion that immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries pose a particular risk of being terrorists and should be blocked from entering the U.S. . . . ‘The president asked for an intelligence assessment. This is not the intelligence assessment the president asked for,’ a senior administration official said. The official said intelligence is already available on the countries included in Mr. Trump’s ban and just needs to be compiled.” While the idea of the White House simply rejecting all analysis that contradicts its predetermined viewpoint is troubling, this memo will certainly be Exhibit A to all challenges to the next travel ban, whatever form it takes.

IVANKA SEEKS HANDOUT FOR THE RICH: This week Ivanka went to Capitol Hill to stump for her “childcare plan,” which is actually a tax deduction whose benefit would redound almost exclusively to wealthy couples using paid childcare. Under this plan, “there would be no benefit for people living in poverty and people who make so little money that they have no tax burden at all—that’s more than a third of the country.” And the benefit increases as your tax bracket increases. But you know, Trump’s the champion of the working class.

CLASS ACTIONS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK: In ordinary times, this would be a major, major story: Congress is working to dramatically limit class-action lawsuits, with the House Judiciary Committee approving a bill making it nearly impossible to certify classes for class-wide litigation. The bill “could create a situation where even minor differences—for example, the number of miles driven on a Volkswagen, or whether it was purchased from a licensed dealer or a private seller—could make it impossible for the plaintiffs to qualify as a class.” This follows a string of recent Supreme Court decisions that have already greatly reduced the ability of consumers to use class action lawsuits to hold corporations accountable. Just another top priority of Trump’s white working class base, right?

TRAGEDY IN KANSAS: On Wednesday, a white man walked into a bar and shot two Indian men who work as engineers for Garmin, yelling racial slurs and demanding that they “get out of my country.” One man, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was killed; the second man, and another bystander who tried to intervene, were wounded. Trump -- who has a habit of tweeting about everything he sees on TV -- has been silent on this hate crime, in keeping with his pattern of silence about white supremacist violence against minorities. As Jamelle Bouie writes: “Donald Trump has not done much as president, but he has done this: He’s sent a clear signal to the country about who is worthy of empathy and concern—and protection—and who is not; about who deserves your outrage and indignation, and who doesn’t. Trump’s double standard is just another of the many ways he has told the American public that the lives and safety of immigrants and Muslims just don’t matter all that much.”

How Is This Real Life?: “The in-person touch is also important to keeping Trump from running too hot. One Trump associate said it’s important to show Trump deference and offer him praise and respect, as that will lead him to more often listen. And If Trump becomes obsessed with a grudge, aides need to try and change the subject, friends say. Leaving him alone for several hours can prove damaging, because he consumes too much television and gripes to people outside the White House.”

Good News of the Week: “Traffic deaths fell for the third straight year in New York City in 2016, setting the record for lowest number of fatalities on record. Last year, 230 people were killed in traffic incidents, down from 234 in 2015. The year-to-year dip is pretty small, but altogether, the city has notched a 23 percent decrease in traffic-related deaths since the de Blasio administration launched Vision Zero in 2014, with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2024.”

Must Read of the Week (1): Alexandra Petri on Trump’s CPAC speech. A taste: “Trump’s speech had all the things that a speech should have, I think, and none of the things a speech should not have. It included: an impression of somebody knocking on a door, a thing a wealthy man once told Trump and praise of Campbell’s soup, Bernie Sanders, and the word ‘NOPE.’”

Must Read of the Week (2): Slate kicks off a dialogue series between Judge Richard Posner and Judge Jed Rakoff, discussing Trump and Gorsuch.

PS. Because we have some new subscribers (especially among my superiors at work -- hi ECBA bosses!), I’m re-upping my Permanent Standing Editor’s Note: Excuse the typos. I do not (and refuse to) proof-read these things; this is a hobby and you’ll take it gladly, transposed letters and all. Also, many of these links go to New York Times and Washington Post articles. If you’re hitting your monthly limit, be an adult and buy a subscription. You need these publications, and they need you.

THIS WEEK IN POLITICAL NEWS -- 2/17/17

There’s Too Much Damn News Edition

FLYNN’S OUT: At the end of last week, the Washington Post reported that nine different sources confirmed that Mike Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor, had spoken with the Russian ambassador about the Obama-imposed sanctions before Trump took office. This contradicted Mike Pence’s emphatic declaration about 10 days earlier that Flynn had not spoken to the ambassador about sanctions. The Post followed up this story with a bombshell on Monday, reporting that Shero Sally Yates (the acting AG) had warned the White House back in late January that Flynn had lied to them about the conversations, and that this exposed him to blackmail by the Russians. By Monday night, Flynn was fired.

So what happened? Here’s Slate’s Will Saletan with a helpful timeline (with additions from the Post’s timeline): “First, in a Dec. 29 phone call, Flynn secretly hinted to Russia’s ambassador that sanctions imposed by President Obama—to punish Russia for intervening in the presidential election—might be relaxed once Donald Trump took office. [This was first reported by the Post on Jan. 12; on the 13th, the White House denied that Flynn spoke about sanctions.] Later, Flynn told Vice President Mike Pence and others in the administration that in that phone call, he hadn’t discussed sanctions with the ambassador. [On Jan. 15, Pence “confirmed” on Face the Nation that Flynn had not talked about sanctions.] Then, on Jan. 26, Acting Attorney General Sally Yates presented evidence of Flynn’s deception—based on U.S. intelligence transcripts of Flynn’s calls—to Trump’s White House counsel, Don McGahn. Finally, on Thursday, a day after firmly denying he had discussed sanctions with the ambassador, Flynn conceded that he ‘couldn’t be certain.’” The Post published its account -- showing that Flynn (and others in the White House) had been lying the entire time -- on Friday. (Late today, the Post reported that Flynn also lied to the FBI, which had interviewed him just days after the inauguration. This is, of course, a crime.)

What’s so bizarre about this story (or rather, one of the thousand things that are so bizarre) is that we still have no clear account of why Flynn was fired. On Monday, after the Post stories but before the firing, Kellyanne Conway insisted on TV that Flynn had Trump’s full confidence. The next morning, after Flynn was out, Conway said that Flynn had resigned voluntarily and noted that Trump was “very loyal.” Just hours later, though, the story had changed: Sean Spicer declared that the Trump team had been evaluating this carefully for weeks, and that Trump demanded Flynn’s resignation. Slate: “The tale of Trump’s heroism in standing by Flynn had evolved into a tale of Trump’s heroism in investigating Flynn.” By Wednesday, Trump himself was insisting that Flynn’s firing was all the fault of leakers, suggesting he remained confident in Flynn but had somehow been forced by unseen elements to fire him: “Michael Flynn -- General Flynn is a wonderful man. I think he's been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as I call it, the fake media in many cases. And I think it's really a sad thing that he was treated so badly.” And then during his bananas press conference on Thursday, Trump insisted that (i) he did not direct Flynn to talk to the Russian ambassador about sanctions; (ii) but it would have been fine and appropriate for Flynn to do so, and indeed, Trump “would have directed him to do it”; and so (iii) the only reason Trump fired Flynn is because Flynn lied to Pence about having spoken to the ambassador about sanctions. Of course, this explanation fails to account for the two full weeks in between Trump being informed by Yates that Flynn had lied and his decision to fire Flynn. Matt Yglesias: “If, as Trump says, he would have directed Flynn to discuss sanctions with Kislyak, why was it that the administration spent weeks insisting that there had been no such discussion? Trump’s position seems to be that his team believed Flynn had been doing the wrong thing (not talking to Kislyak about sanctions) but then it turned out that in fact Flynn had done the right thing (talking to Kislyak about sanctions), but the revelation that Flynn had done the right thing caused him to be fired because Flynn had falsely told them he’d done the wrong thing. That’s crazy.”

P.S. Politico reports tonight: “The Pentagon has informed lawmakers that there are no records of former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s 2015 trip to Moscow, when he dined with Russian President Vladimir Putin and may have accepted unconstitutional payments from a foreign government for his attendance.”

THE RUSSIA MADNESS: Beyond Flynn, there was more explosive reporting this week about the Trump team’s ties to Russia. The New York Times reported that Trump campaign associates had frequent contacts with Russian intelligence during the campaign. (CNN called the contact “constant.”) Of course, this was during the time Russian intelligence was (almost certainly) hacking the DNC and John Podesta’s emails and slowly leaking out information about the Clinton campaign -- and during the time (including up to the present) in which Trump spoke glowingly about Russia, refusing to condemn Putin’s habit of killing of journalists and insisting that America isn’t “so innocent” in comparison to Russia. (Pence also declined to agree that America’s values were morally superior to Russia’s.) On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that intelligence officials were withholding information from Trump, essentially because they can’t trust him or his close advisors. Despite what appears to be a scandal of massive proportions, Republicans are insisting that everything is just peachy, and there’s no real need to investigate Russian interference in the election or Flynn’s ties to Russia. Although a few GOP congressmen expressed a desire to look into the Flynn stuff, Speaker Ryan and Jason Chaffetz, head of the House Oversight Committee, have signaled no real sense of urgency about this. Ryan “dismissed the need for further investigation”, saying that he didn’t want to “prejudge any of the circumstances surrounding this until we have all of the information” -- information that can only be gathered in a, you know, investigation. Chaffetz declared that the Flynn issue was “taking care of itself” and has asked the DOJ to investigate the leaks to the news media rather than the facts underlying those leaks.

IMPORTANT VICTORY: On Thursday, the DOJ formally informed the 9th Circuit that it would not appeal the court’s ruling barring enforcement of Trump’s immigration ban, writing: “Rather than continuing this litigation, the President intends in the near future to rescind the Order and replace it with a new, substantially revised Executive Order to eliminate what the panel erroneously thought were constitutional concerns.” (Interestingly, during his press conference today, Trump threw his DHS secretary under the bus, saying that Trump had wanted to delay the EO for a month, or at least a week, but that Kelly forced him to make it immediate or else “bad people” would come in. “Now nobody ever reports that. But that’s why we did it quickly.” What an asshole.) This is a big victory, and we should recognize it as such. Because of the massive, spontaneous protests and the court rulings all over the country, we gained almost three weeks of immigrants and refugees being able to come here who would have been blocked otherwise, as well as a few weeks worth of warning for other immigrants and travelers to get their affairs in order. It is likely that the next order will be less susceptible to legal challenge, but that also means it will be narrower and far less draconian. More importantly, the courts made it clear that Trump’s 10 months of calling for a “Muslim ban” were not erased on Inauguration Day, and were in fact highly relevant to legal analyses of his executive action; those repeated statements don’t disappear with a newly drafted (even more limited) order, and they will continue to hurt him and help our legal challenges. And the facts that (i) the administration sat on the 9th circuit’s ruling for SIX DAYS before deciding not to appeal, and that (ii) it STILL has no issued a new order seriously undercut any claims to urgent danger requiring immediate executive action. This EO was evil. It was soul-crushing when it was released. As you all witnessed, I spent that weekend engulfed in flames or rage and despair. But it’s gone now. That EO is dead dead dead. That’s fucking huge.

PRESS CONFERENCE FROM CUCKOO LAND: As I’ve already mentioned, Trump hosted an unexpected hour-plus-long press conference yesterday. On the plus side, he called on lots of reporters, not just the right-wing outlets he had been exclusively calling on over the last week. On the minus side, our president is a psychotic imbecile. In addition to the parts already highlighted above, here are a few highlights. Trump had started the conference by, once again, declaring how massive and unprecedented his electoral college victory had been. When NBC’s Peter Alexander pointed out that his EC margin was actually much smaller than Barack Obama’s and George H.W. Bush’s (it was also smaller than either of Bill Clinton’s victories), Trump simply -- and utterly without shame -- stated, “I was given that information. I don’t know. I was just given it.” What an asshole. [VIDEO here -- go watch!] Trump also shared this insight with the press: “I have been briefed. I and I can tell you, one thing about a briefing that we're allowed to say, because anybody that ever read the most basic book can say it, nuclear holocaust would be like no other.” For the second time in two days, Trump refused to condemn the anti-Semitic violence and threats that have been surging around the country, declaring that he was “the least anti-semitic person that you have ever seen in your entire life,” saying the question was “very insulting,” and telling the Orthodox Jewish reporter to “sit down” and that it was “not a fair question.” (Video here.) Of course, the reporter prefaced his question by saying he was not alleging that Trump himself was anti-Semitic, but instead wanted to ask about these other incidents; Trump cut him off, told him he had “lied” about wanting to ask a simple question, and then said that Netanyahu could vouch for his anti-anti-Semitic bona fides. What an asshole. (This answer was a 1% improvement over his answer to a similar question earlier in the week, during a short press conference with Netanyahu, in which Trump answered a question about anti-Semitism by expounding on -- I shit you not -- the size of his electoral college win.) My favorite moment came at the end -- and by “favorite,” I mean the moment that embodies the entire idea of #headdesk but flavored with more despair -- when April Ryan, a black reporter for American Urban Radio Networks, asked whether Trump would meet with the “CBC,” and he had literally no idea what the CBC was, and when she explained she meant the Congressional Black Caucus, Trump, the president of the United States, asked this black reporter, “Are they friends of yours?” I swear to god this happened; video here. Rep. Elijah Cummings told Chris Hayes last night that he guessed Trump thinks all black people know all other black people. Say it with me, friends: What. An. Asshole.

P.S. Let me say that these stupid reports that GOP staffers are secretly appalled by Trump’s behavior are some bullshit. They need to stop saying what they’re thinking behind the curtain, and come out in front of the damn curtain and put country before party. You get no brownie points for telling a reporter anonymously that you think Trump is a dangerous psychopath. This -- “A Republican senator and Trump critic who watched the President's press conference texted CNN's John King: ‘He should do that with a therapist, not on live television.’” -- is NOT a profile in courage, people. Nor is this crap. Jesus. YOU’RE A GODDAMN SENATOR. SAY IT OUT LOUD YOU COWARD.

QUICK HITS:

1. With Flynn out, Trump offered the NSA job to retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward. Harward turned down the job, seeking to avoid the chaos and dysfunction of the Trump White House and what a job he apparently referred to as a “shit sandwich.” Reports indicate that part of his refusal to join stemmed from Trump’s promise to Flynn’s deputy, Fox News commentator KT McFarland, that she could keep her job.
2. Jared Kushner has held meetings with executives of Time Warner -- which currently has a merger application pending before federal regulators -- to complain about CNN’s coverage of Trump, singling out two nonwhite commentators -- Van Jones and Ana Navarro -- for their criticism. What the fuck is this??
3. With Melania and Barron camped out in New York, Trump jetting to Florida every weekend, the Trump sons flying all over the world to do business that is totally separate from the White House, and preparations being made to make Trump’s New Jersey golf club ready to welcome the White House for 10 weekends a year, the Trump family is costing the American taxpayers a shit ton (scientific term) in security fees. The costs far exceed past First Families, and “could balloon into the hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of a four-year term,” the Washington Post reports. “In New York, the city is paying $500,000 a day to guard Trump Tower, according to police officials’ estimates, an amount that could reach $183 million a year.” And U.S. embassy staffers “paid nearly $100,000 in hotel-room bills to support Eric Trump’s trip to promote a Trump-brand condo tower in Uruguay.” [insert endless screaming]
4. “A top aide to President Trump’s housing secretary nominee, Ben Carson, was fired and led out of the department’s headquarters by security on Wednesday after writings critical of Mr. Trump surfaced in his vetting, according to two people briefed on the matter.”
5. “Employees of the Environmental Protection Agency have been calling their senators to urge them to vote on Friday against the confirmation of Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s contentious nominee to run the agency, a remarkable display of activism and defiance that presages turbulent times ahead for the E.P.A.” Oh! And a judge just ordered that Pruitt’s emails with the fossil fuels industry be released,after criticizing his office (he is currently Oklahoma’s AG) for its “abject failure” to respond to open records requests. So keep your eye on that.

Laugh of the Week: Chris Christie says that Trump ordered for him and forced him to eat meatloaf when he and his wife ate with the Trumps this week. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Ha.

Must Read of the Week (and Every Week): Andrew Sullivan has restarted a Friday column at New York Magazine. Last Friday was his first one, and I highly, highly recommend that you read it. Given the timing of these newsletters, a Friday column is not very useful for me, but I encourage you to bookmark the page and make sure to read Sullivan every week. Often, he’s hyperbolic and condescending and prone to hippie-punching, but he is also a beautiful writer who often has brilliant insights and perspective.

Stuff I Ignored: I’ve been wanting to cover the aggressive new FCC chairman for a few weeks now but it keeps getting bumped. So read about that here. I also didn’t say anything about the withdrawal of Labor Secretary and generally awful guy Andy Puzder or the naming of a new Labor nominee. There’s probably a lot of other stuff I ignored this week too. There’s just WAY TOO MUCH NEWS these days. Keeps me in business, I guess!