Daily Archives

November 17, 2017

32 posts · Friday

Christie Didn’t Tell Staff of Plans to Endorse Trump

November 17, 2017 at 9:41 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Before Christie flew to Dallas to endorse Donald Trump two weeks later, he didn’t tell some of his most senior aides. They learned about it from his secretary while he was in the air. Christie had assured aides after New Hampshire that he didn’t plan to endorse in the race, and they looked forward to trying to salvage his legacy in New Jersey.”

“After he learned the news, Kevin Roberts, then communications director, called his team into an emergency meeting and told them. He was met with silence.”

“‘We’re fucked,’ Roberts said, according to attendees. The decision was widely loathed in his circle. DuHaime, his top political adviser, declined to follow his lead. Maria Comella, his top aide for years, later came out with a statement endorsing Hillary Clinton.”

Ivanka and the Fugitive from Panama

November 17, 2017 at 9:28 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Reuters investigation reveals how an alleged fraudster in Panama, working with Ivanka Trump, helped make Trump’s first international hotel venture a success.

The broker who spearheaded the sale of the Trump-branded project did business with a money launderer for Colombian drug cartels and two criminals from the former Soviet Union.

Quote of the Day

November 17, 2017 at 9:25 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I come from the poor people, and I have been here working my whole stinkin’ career for people who don’t have a chance, and I really resent anybody that says I’m doing it for the rich. Give me a break. I think you guys overplay all the time, and it gets old. And frankly, you ought to quit it.”

— Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), quoted by RealClearPolitics, in an exchange with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

GOP Tax Bill Gives Private Jet Owners a Tax Break

November 17, 2017 at 8:56 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Yahoo News: “If you’re one of the lucky Americans who owns a private jet, don’t fret. Republicans have your back—in the form of tax breaks.”

“The new Senate tax bill will give those who own or lease private planes breaks on the amount they pay to companies for maintenance, storage, fueling and even when they want to hire pilots and a crew onboard. “

Messer’s D.C. Home Draws Attention In Indiana

November 17, 2017 at 8:52 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A campaign stop for Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) in his bid for Senate involves traveling from his family’s home in suburban Washington back to Indiana, where he typically stays overnight with his mom,” the AP reports.

“Although living outside the state is hardly a first for members of Indiana’s congressional delegation, past elections signal Messer’s address could complicate his plans to win the Republican primary and ultimately unseat Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) next year.”

“Towering figures in Indiana politics, including former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh and Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, were toppled in recent years after struggling to explain whether they still lived in the state. Others took major steps to head off the issue, including former GOP Sen. Dan Coats, who rented and later purchased a home in Indiana, while selling off one elsewhere.”

Upton Drops Senate Bid In Michigan

November 17, 2017 at 8:47 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) is running for re-election in 2018, and will drop his plans to run for Senate, the Washington Examiner reports.

“The surprise move is a boost for House Republicans, who have endured a string of retirements as many fear being swept out of office next year in a midterm wave, and some feel alienated in a party that is tilting toward President Trump’s populism. Upton’s decision stems a tide of recent bad news for the party, especially after an off-year wipeout in suburban strongholds from Virginia to New York signaled trouble ahead.”

Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal

November 17, 2017 at 8:31 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rolling Stone: “The claim that Hillary Clinton was a pedophile started in a Facebook post, spread to Twitter and then went viral with the help of far-right platforms like Breitbart and Info-Wars. But it was unclear whether Pizzagate was mass hysteria or the work of politicos with real resources and agendas. It took the better part of a year (and two teams of researchers) to sift through the digital trail. We found ordinary people, online activists, bots, foreign agents and domestic political operatives. Many of them were associates of the Trump campaign. Others had ties with Russia. Working together – though often unwittingly – they flourished in a new ‘post-truth’ information ecosystem, a space where false claims are defended as absolute facts.”

Republicans Quietly Blow Up ‘Blue Slips’

November 17, 2017 at 8:24 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is burning the blue slip for some judicial nominees. The Iowa Republican announced Thursday that he is going ahead with a confirmation hearing for a nominee to the powerful appellate courts despite the objections of a Democrat who had been blocking the nomination for months. The move will likely escalate the judicial wars in the Senate.”

“The blue slip process is a century-old Senate tradition that says the Judiciary Committee doesn’t hold a confirmation hearing for potential judges without approval from permission from the candidate’s home-state senators… Previous committee chairs have rigidly adhered to the blue-slip rule for district court nominees, whose courts span just a single state. But they have been more flexible for the more influential and powerful circuit courts. Democrats pointed out that Grassley, as chairman during the final two years of Obama’s presidency, declined to hold hearings for nine of Obama’s judicial picks because of the blue slip policy.”

Trump Picks Mostly White Men as Judges

November 17, 2017 at 7:57 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump is nominating white men to America’s federal courts at a rate not seen in nearly 30 years… So far, 91 percent of Trump’s nominees are white, and 81 percent are male, an Associated Press analysis has found. Three of every four are white men, with few African-Americans and Hispanics in the mix. The last president to nominate a similarly homogenous group was George H.W. Bush.”

“The shift could prove to be one of Trump’s most enduring legacies. These are lifetime appointments, and Trump has inherited both an unusually high number of vacancies and an aging population of judges. That puts him in position to significantly reshape the courts that decide thousands of civil rights, environmental, criminal justice and other disputes across the country. The White House has been upfront about its plans to quickly fill the seats with conservatives, and has made clear that judicial philosophy tops any concerns about shrinking racial or gender diversity.”

Ratings Changes in 7 Districts Put GOP Majority in Peril

November 17, 2017 at 7:49 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Wasserman: “Taken together with results from four 2017 House special elections in red districts, where Democrats outperformed Clinton anywhere from one point (GA-06) to 13 points (KS-04), the balance of evidence suggests Democrats would be the ever-so-slight favorites to reclaim the House if the elections were held today. New congressional generic ballot polls showing Democrats with double-digit leads only bolster that assessment.”

“The major caveats, of course, are that 2018 is still almost a year away and Republicans have yet to air their opponents’ flaws. But, there’s no guarantee things will get better for the GOP in the next 12 months.”

“Based on recent developments, we’re changing our ratings in seven districts, with six moves reflecting enhanced opportunities for Democrats.”

Manafort Wire Transfers Draw Scrutiny

November 17, 2017 at 7:22 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “The federal indictment of Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, accuses him of laundering millions in foreign payments to pursue a ‘lavish lifestyle’ in the U.S., especially in the Hamptons, where he has a house. What it doesn’t explain — or highlight — are the stratospheric payments he made to home improvement companies when his renovation work was estimated at far less.

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in his indictment, says that a Hamptons firm got $5.4 million in wire transfers from Cyprus over 71 payments. But building permits over the same period examined by Bloomberg show that renovations by Manafort’s Hamptons’ contractor were estimated to cost $1.2 million. That’s less than a quarter of what was ultimately sent — an apparent discrepancy that could draw scrutiny from investigators.”

Papadopoulos Claimed Trump Phone Call and Larger Role

November 17, 2017 at 7:20 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “George Papadopoulos claimed last year that Donald Trump telephoned him to discuss his new position as a foreign policy adviser to his presidential campaign and that the two had at least one personal introductory meeting that the White House has not acknowledged. Papadopoulos also claimed that he’d been given a ‘blank check’ to choose a senior Trump administration job and authorized to represent the candidate in overseas meetings with foreign leaders, and at a campaign event in New York.”

Gillibrand Says Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned

November 17, 2017 at 7:11 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-MNY), who holds Hillary Clinton’s former seat, said that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency after his inappropriate relationship with an intern came to light nearly 20 years ago, the New York Times reports.

“Asked directly if she believed Mr. Clinton should have stepped down at the time, Ms. Gillibrand took a long pause and said, ‘Yes, I think that is the appropriate response.’ But she also appeared to signal that what is currently considered a fireable offense may have been more often overlooked during the Clinton era.”

A Brutal Month Ahead on Capitol Hill

November 17, 2017 at 7:08 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “December is going to be really, really, really brutal. Spending caps deal. Government funding. Potential legislation to deal with the expiration of DACA. Action to prop up the health care law. And now, we hear that the debt ceiling could be part of the mix in the final month of the year, as well. Treasury says Congress has until January to lift the debt limit, but some say if Congress is going to slap together a big package, the debt limit might as well be included. No one really wants to raise the debt limit in an election year, anyway. But the negotiations have to be going really well for the debt limit to be included. It’s not a must-pass at the end of the year, and it could just as easily slip to 2018. In other words, Republicans tell us they won’t let the debt limit be a bargaining chip for Democrats who are trying to get a DACA deal.”

“We also hear Congress will pass a short-term government funding bill in time for the Dec. 8 deadline, kicking the deadline toward the end of the month in time for a large spending deal. Oh yeah – the White House has made it clear they want tax reform done in December as well. Whoever wins the Alabama Senate race will join the chamber toward the end of December, too. This could easily be the most consequential legislative month in years.”