Summary
- Maria Butina, a woman accused of being a Russian agent, will apparently plead guilty this week. Butina allegedly infiltrated the NRA during the 2016 election.
- Donald Trump’s chief of staff hunt is still ongoing after Nick Ayres, a top aide to Mike Pence, declined to take the job.
- Congressman Mark Meadows has signaled his openness to replacing John Kelly in the White House.
- The supreme court declined to hear a case about whether states could terminate Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood clinics.
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With all the attention being given to the mace in the House of Commons, it’s worth noting that Congress has its own mace. However, it doesn’t seem anyone has ever grabbed it.
Instead, it has been “presented” to members, one of the more recent occasions when this happened was in 1994.
Rahm Emanuel, the current Mayor of Chicago and White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, has his own thoughts on the current situation for the Trump administration.
He writes in the Atlantic:
Does someone need to impose order on the West Wing? The answer is obvious. But it wouldn’t matter whom you put in the job—George Patton, Angelo Dundee, Judge Judy, Darth Vader. If the president is going to outsource significant authority to Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and other staffers, and allow them to report directly to him, no chief of staff can perform the role as other presidents have utilized it.
Eric Swalwell, a potential Democratic candidate for president, is holding an event with a Parkland survivor in Iowa later this month.
Time to take real action to curb America’s plague of gun violence. On Dec. 20, let's have a real talk about it. Join me & @cameron_kasky for a Student Town Hall in #Iowa. w/ @CYDiowa, @youthpolkdems. Event link: https://t.co/v77fQHSTkN
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) December 10, 2018
The White House has a celebrity visitor today.
Jon Voight was just spotted entering the West Wing, per @abdallahcnn. pic.twitter.com/Q3l0PwBsNQ
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 10, 2018
Kevin McCarthy, the incoming Republican leader in the House, dismissed reports about Russian ties to the Trump campaign in an interview with Fox News.
“It looks like what they’re going to focus on is just more investigations,” said the California Republican. “I think America’s too great of a nation to have such a small agenda.”
The last statewide election of 2018 took place over the weekend.
In Louisiana, appointed incumbent Kyle Ardoin beat his Democratic opponent Gwen Collins-Greenup in a special election to be secretary of state. The post is up for a full term next year.
Nancy Pelosi is reportedly discussing a major concession to dissidents in the Democrat caucus.
Politico reports that Pelosi would accept term limits for committee chairs and party leaders. A number of Democrats opposed to Pelosi in the caucus have called for “new leadership.” Term limits are strongly opposed by many congressional Democrats, specifically in the Congressional Black Caucus.
They see term limits as an attempt to weaken the importance of seniority which a number of African American members have accumulated and represents a key opportunity for black elected officials to exercise power at a national level when there are only three African Americans in the United States Senate and no African Americans currently serving as governors.
There are three gubernatorial races on the ballot in 2019. Voters in Kentucky, Mississippi and Louisiana will all pick their state’s next chief executive and, despite the deep red hue of all three states, Democrats could potentially sweep them.
Big picture: Remarkably, Democrats have a credible chance to win governor's races in the reddest of states in 2019 -- KY, LA and even MS.
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) December 10, 2018
If that happens, ominous omen for Trump's GOP... https://t.co/pGHh0odSTv
President Donald Trump has canceled a scheduled visit to East Baltimore. Instead, he’ll hold the event at the White House where some Baltimoreans will be present.
Although Trump has cited Baltimore as an example of urban ills at times, he has also praised Joe Flacco, the starting quarterback for the Ravens as “very elite.”
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The Washington Post has a profile of Stephanie Grisham, the top aide to Melania Trump who become her “enforcer.”
“Aides describe the relationship between Trump and Grisham as one built on mutual protection and trust. “The resistance wants the first lady to be a victim, and she hates being seen that way,” one of her aides said. If anything, “Grisham makes clear that she is not.”
According to a new calculation, Democrats gained 296 seats in state legislatures during the midterm election.
new: Democrats gained a net 296 legislative seats in November's elections. This is by my count of the new composition of all 99 legislative chambers.
— Taniel (@Taniel) December 10, 2018
Dems got double-digit gains in the lower chambers of CT, GA, ME, MN, NH, NC, PA, & TX, and somehow almost in NY's upper-chamber. https://t.co/noFF4tTRjJ
US to withdraw 2,200 troops from Mexico border
The US this week will begin withdrawing many of the active duty troops sent to the border with Mexico by Donald Trump just before the midterm election in response to a caravan of Central American migrants, US officials said Monday, according to the Associated Press:
About 2,200 of the active duty troops will be pulled out before the holidays, the officials said, shrinking an unusual domestic deployment that was viewed by critics as a political stunt and a waste of military resources.
That will leave about 3,000 active duty troops in Texas, Arizona and California, mainly comprised of military police and helicopter transport crews who are assisting border patrol agents. There also will still be about 2,300 members of the national guard who were sent to the border region as part of a separate deployment that started in April.
The US forces have installed vast amounts of razor wire and provided transportation and protection for the border patrol. The troops are not there to directly deal with the Central American migrants, many of whom eventually made their way to Tijuana, just south of California.
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Congressional Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer plan to offer Donald Trump $1.3bn for border security when they meet with him Tuesday, according to the Washington Post.
Trump has demanded $5bn to build his proposed border wall as part of a government funding bill due by 21 December. If nothing is passed by then, the government would shut down.
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North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, reportedly being considered by Donald Trump to become chief of staff, says it would be an “incredible honor” to get the job.
Meadows is the chairman of the hard right Freedom Caucus.
“Serving as Chief of Staff would be an incredible honor. The President has a long list of qualified candidates and I know he’ll make the best selection for his administration and for the country,” he told Politico.
His on the record statement expressing interest in the job came after CNN reported Meadows was telling people he was “absolutely not” interested in taking, so no telling how this will shake out. Nick Ayers, reportedly Trump’s first choice for the job, instead announced he was leaving the White House and moving to Georgia.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer says the Trump administration “must reverse” a “terrible decision” to challenge United Nations language that would have welcomed findings of a report that the world has only a decade to cut emissions and avoid catastrophic effects from climate change.
His admin produces a report on the devastating impacts of climate change but @realDonaldTrump sides with Russia and Saudi Arabia against a global report on cutting emissions?
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 10, 2018
What?! Pompeo & U.S. reps at UN Conference must reverse this terrible decision. https://t.co/DGrEhJC27x
Top executives in the construction and facilities department of Bloomberg LP, the company owned by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, are set to be arrested on fraud, theft and bribery charges, the New York Times reports.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office is alleging a wide-ranging pay to play scheme, where subcontractors and vendors paid bribes and kickbacks over the course of almost four years to executives at Bloomberg and at Turner Construction, a general contractor that oversaw work at Bloomberg.
It won’t be welcome news for Mike Bloomberg, who is exploring a 2020 presidential bid.
New York Yankees president Randy Levine, who is reportedly one of the people Donald Trump is looking at to be his chief of staff, tells Fox News he’s not really interested.
@FoxNews exclusive from Randy Levine: “I have spoken to nobody about the chief of staff job. I have grest respect for the President but am very happy being president of the Yankees” @Yankees @MLB @realDonaldTrump
— Ed Henry (@edhenry) December 10, 2018
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as he explores a 2020 presidential bid, says Democrats are looking for a “middle-of-the-road strategy.”
That would match up with someone like him, a Democrat turned Republican turned independent turned Democrat again, who mixes pro-business, law and order views with championing gun control, gay rights, and actions to combat climate change.
“I think most Democrats want a middle-of-the-road strategy,” Bloomberg said in an appearance on The View, via the Washington Post. “They want to make progress, but they’re not willing to go and to push something that has no chance of ever getting done and wasting all their energy on that.”
A court date for former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, accused of lying to prosecutors after striking a plea deal, is set for tomorrow.
The Manafort scheduling conference is now scheduled for Tuesday at 3pm (had previously been scheduled for Wednesday at 10am) pic.twitter.com/DvLrqcbYe6
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) December 10, 2018
Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused departing White House chief of staff of “cowardice”, saying that before he leaves the building, he should apologize to Representative Frederica Wilson.
Kelly attacked the Florida congresswoman after she recounted a phone call between Donald Trump and the widow of a soldier killed in Niger.
John Kelly was straight up exposed for lying about @RepWilson in comments aimed at discrediting her.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 10, 2018
He absolutely owes her an apology, and his refusal to do so isn’t a sign of strength - it’s cowardice. https://t.co/BA40Hgofvk
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House Democrats may investigate presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner’s ties to the Saudi Crown prince, according to CNN.
Representative Eliot Engel, the incoming chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, plans to conduct a thorough review of US policy towards Saudi Arabia, an aide tells the network.
“That includes what has driven the US response to the Jamal Khashoggi murder,” the aide said. Asked if that meant probing the ties between Kushner and the crown prince, the aide said: “Everything is on the table.”
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Supreme court snubs attempts to block Planned Parenthood funding
The supreme court has snubbed attempts to block funding for Planned Parenthood.
The court declined to hear a case which would allow states to terminate Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood affiliates who offer healthcare services to low-income women.
Two lower court rulings had blocked Kansas and Louisiana from withholding money from Planned Parenthood, per AP. The states appealed.
Three conservative justices disagreed with the decision not to hear the case.
“What explains the court’s refusal to do its job here? I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named ‘Planned Parenthood.’ That makes the Court’s decision particularly troubling, as the question presented has nothing to do with abortion,” wrote Justice Clarence Thomas.
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Here’s the thoughts of Rahm Emanuel – former chief of staff to Barack Obama, current mayor of Chicago – on Trump’s search for his latest White House enforcer:
It wouldn’t matter whom you put in the job—George Patton, Angelo Dundee, Judge Judy, Darth Vader.
If the president is going to outsource significant authority to Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and other staffers, and allow them to report directly to him, no chief of staff can perform the role as other presidents have utilized it.
Emanuel was writing in the Atlantic.
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Accused Russian spy likely to plead guilty
Maria Butina, the Russian woman accused of spying for Moscow in the US by infiltrating the National Rifle Association, has indicated she will plead guilty this week.
Butina had previously pleaded not guilty to charges that she was acting as a Russian agent as she attempted to influence the Republican party and American politics by developing relationships within the NRA.
Lawyers for Butina have asked asked a federal judge on Monday to schedule a court hearing this week so that she can change her plea, according to a joint court filing.
Some context from the Guardian’s story on Butina this summer:
Butina, who purported to be a pro-gun activist, met American politicians and candidates to establish “back channels” and secretly reported back to the Kremlin through a high-level Russian official, according to the US justice department.
Prosecutors said in a statement that Butina, 29, had been “developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organisations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian federation”.
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Hundreds of people – including incoming US congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez – protested outside Nancy Pelosi’s office this morning, demanding action on climate change.
The action was organized by environmental activist group Sunrise Movement. Demonstrators were calling for Democrats to form a select committee to come up with a “Green New Deal” – a plan to combat climate change through economic and other reforms.
BREAKING: hundreds of youth are BACK in @NancyPelosi’s office demanding a Select Committee on a #GreenNewDeal. This time, #NoExcuses. pic.twitter.com/tDubMY1OsK
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) December 10, 2018
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CNN is reporting this morning on new grisly details on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Citing a source who CNN says has read a transcript of the audio recording of Khashoggi’s final moments at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Khashoggi’s final words were: “I can’t breathe” before the sounds of a saw can be heard.
The transcript notes the noises that can be heard on the tape, almost in the manner that subtitles describe moments in movies where there is no dialogue.
“Scream.”
“Scream.”
“Gasping.”
Then, the transcript notes other descriptions.
“Saw.”
“Cutting.”
[Dr. Salah Muhammad] al-Tubaiqi [the head of forensic medicine at Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry, who has been linked with Khashoggi’s murder] is noted giving some advice to other people in the room, apparently to help them deal with the appalling task.
Put your earphones in, or listen to music like me.”
You may have noticed Trump’s early morning tweets make use of the term “smocking gun”. Presumably Trump meant ‘smoking gun’, rather than some sort of firearm/billowy dress mash-up, but the president is yet to delete the tweet, so who knows what he’s up to.
Not sure what a Smocking Gun is, but pretty sure these aren’t the words of a Stable Genius. https://t.co/zTlIn6pRFg
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) December 10, 2018
“Smocking Gun” pic.twitter.com/zAhsDBOtFI
— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) December 10, 2018
We can file this alongside Hear by / Hearby, Meadia, unpresidented and, everyone’s favorite: covfefe.
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More bad news for Trump today: the man said to be his preferred choice for chief of staff has snubbed the president.
Nick Ayers, currently chief of staff for Mike Pence, had been linked with the role for weeks. But instead Ayers has decided to leave the White House altogether, and is moving to Georgia.
Trump is looking for his third chief of staff after he booted Reince Priebus in July 2017, and after current incumbent John Kelly announced he would be leaving at the end of this year.
Ayers was said to be a big favorite of Trump’s, and Ivanka and Jared Kushner were also pushing for the 36-year-old. It leaves Trump scrambling for a new chief of staff as Democrats prepare to take control of the House and as the 2020 election looms.
Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause. 🇺🇸 #Georgia
— Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018
In the New York Times Maggie Haberman outlines one reason behind Trump’s affinity for Ayers:
“With a head of blond hair, Mr. Ayers somewhat resembles Mr. Trump in his younger days, a fact that the president often looks for as a positive signal.”
'Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me'
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the day’s political news.
Donald Trump has kicked off the day by defending the hush payments made to two women during the 2016 campaign.
According to the president the payments, made by Michael Cohen, were a “simple private transaction” which did not amount to a campaign contribution.
Trump, as is his wont, did then offer a caveat:
“But even if it was, it is only a CIVIL CASE, like Obama’s – but it was done correctly by a lawyer and there would not even be a fine. Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me.”
On Friday federal prosecutors said Cohen had been directed by Trump to make payments to Karen McDougal, a former model, and Stormy Daniels, a porn star, in exchange for their silence about alleged affairs with the now president.
“Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun...No Collusion.” @FoxNews That’s because there was NO COLLUSION. So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution,...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2018
....which it was not (but even if it was, it is only a CIVIL CASE, like Obama’s - but it was done correctly by a lawyer and there would not even be a fine. Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me). Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2018
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