Archives for September 2018

September 28, 2018

Trump Administration, Week 89: Friday, 28 September – Thursday, 4 October 2018 (Days 617-623)

Families Belong Together and Free: rally in Williamstown, MA, Saturday, 30 June 2018

Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are my emphasis. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

Friday, 28 September 2018, Day 617:

 

Trump administration sees a 7-degree rise in global temperatures by 2100, The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis, and Chris Mooney, Friday, 28 September 2018: “Last month, deep in a 500-page environmental impact statement, the Trump administration made a startling assumption: On its current course, the planet will warm a disastrous seven degrees by the end of this century. A rise of seven degrees Fahrenheit, or about four degrees Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels would be catastrophic, according to scientists. Many coral reefs would dissolve in increasingly acidic oceans. Parts of Manhattan and Miami would be underwater without costly coastal defenses. Extreme heat waves would routinely smother large parts of the globe. But the administration did not offer this dire forecast, premised on the idea that the world will fail to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, as part of an argument to combat climate change. Just the opposite: The analysis assumes the planet’s fate is already sealed. The draft statement, issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), was written to justify President Trump’s decision to freeze federal fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks built after 2020. While the proposal would increase greenhouse gas emissions, the impact statement says, that policy would add just a very small drop to a very big, hot bucket. ‘The amazing thing they’re saying is human activities are going to lead to this rise of carbon dioxide that is disastrous for the environment and society. And then they’re saying they’re not going to do anything about it,’ said Michael MacCracken, who served as a senior scientist at the U.S. Global Change Research Program from 1993 to 2002.”

Trump Agrees to Open ‘Limited’ F.B.I. Investigation Into Accusations Against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, The New York Times, Nicholas Fandos and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Friday, 28 September 2018: “President Trump, ceding to a request from Senate Republican leaders facing an insurrection in their ranks, ordered the F.B.I. on Friday to reopen a background investigation of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, his nominee to the Supreme Court, and examine the allegations of sexual assault that have been made against him. The announcement plunged Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination into new turmoil after a tumultuous week on Capitol Hill, and will delay, by as much as a week, a final confirmation vote. It came only 24 hours after the judge and one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, each gave emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that led many Republicans to think Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation was inevitable. Republican leaders had little choice but to ask Mr. Trump to order the F.B.I. inquiry after Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, first announced he was supporting Judge Kavanaugh, and then, in a stunning reversal, said he would not vote to confirm him without an F.B.I. investigation first. With a handful of allies in a closely divided Senate, Mr. Flake, a conservative but an outspoken critic of the president, could determine the future of the Kavanaugh nomination, and that gave him leverage over Senate Republicans as well as the president.” See also, Kavanaugh vote: Senate Republican leaders agree to new FBI background investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, The Washington Post, Seung Min Kim, John Wagner, and Josh Dawsey, Friday, 28 September 2018: “President Trump on Friday ordered the FBI to reopen the investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh’s background, a stunning turnaround in an emotional battle over sexual assault allegations that has shaken the Senate and reverberated across the country. The dramatic developments capped an extraordinary day on Capitol Hill, which began with a sense of momentum for Kavanaugh but then sharply changed when one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics, Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), who at first endorsed the nominee, emerged from a private meeting with Democrats to call for a renewed inquiry into misconduct allegations.” See also, How the F.B.I. Will Investigate the Accusations of Sexual Assault Against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, The New York Times, Adam Goldman and Rebecca R. Ruiz, Friday, 28 September 2018: “The renewed F.B.I. background check of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh over allegations of sexual assault will be relatively limited, relying on voluntary interviews and document production. Former prosecutors said that because it is not a criminal investigation, F.B.I. agents will not be able to get search warrants or grand jury subpoenas compelling witnesses to testify or hand over documents. Witnesses and others can refuse to cooperate, though talking to an F.B.I. agent is often a powerful motivator to tell the truth.” See also, Here’s What Happened as Senator Jeff Flake Chose to Delay the Kavanaugh Vote, BuzzFeed News, David Mack, Friday, 28 September 2018. See also, A Tumultuous 24 Hours: How Jeff Flake Delayed a Vote on Kavanaugh, The New York Times, Michael D. Shear, Nicholas Fandos, and Michael S. Schmidt, Friday, 28 September 2018. See also, A minute-by-minute breakdown of how Kavanaugh’s nomination got held up, The Washington Post, Amber Phillips, Friday, 28 September 2018.

Full Transcript: Senator Jeff Flake Is Confronted on Video by Sexual Assault Survivors, The New York Times, Niraj Chokshi and Astead W. Herndon, Friday, 28 September 2018: “The scene was striking: Two women blocking an elevator door, angrily demanding to be heard as a senator stood by, listening quietly, nodding and looking away. ‘On Monday, I stood in front of your office,’ one of the women, Ana Maria Archila, forcefully told Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona. ‘I told the story of my sexual assault.’ Mr. Flake had just announced his intention on Friday morning to vote to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, despite emotional testimony a day earlier from Christine Blasey Ford, who had accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Reporters swarmed around as Mr. Flake waited in the elevator, but the two women interrupted and demanded that he listen.” See also, ‘Look at me when I’m talking to you!’: Sexual assault survivors confront Senator Jeff Flake in Capitol elevator, The Washington Post, Lindsey Bever, Friday, 28 September 2018: “After Sen. Jeff Flake’s announcement that he would, in fact, vote to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, the emotional debate over the confirmation spilled into the halls of Congress — on live television — as two women loudly and tearfully confronted the Arizona Republican in an el­e­va­tor Friday, telling him that he was dis­miss­ing the pain of sexual-assault survivors.” See also, Protest Matters: Senate Asks FBI to Investigate Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh After Senator Jeff Flake Is Confronted by Sexual Assault Survivors, The Intercept, Robert Mackey, Friday, 28 September 2018: “The Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly halted the effort to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on Friday, agreeing to a request from Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, to delay a final vote for one week, to give the FBI time to investigate three allegations of sexual assault and harassment against the judge. Flake’s request, which stunned colleagues, came after he was confronted on live television by two female protesters who expressed dismay at the Republican rush to confirm the man who had been credibly accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, in dramatic testimony to the committee on Thursday.”

Continue reading Week 89, Friday, 28 September – Thursday, 4 October 2018 (Days 617-623)

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September 28, 2018 Filed Under: Trump administration/Republican House and Senate/Supreme Court, Trump: A Daily Chronicle
September 21, 2018

Trump Administration, Week 88: Friday, 21 September – Thursday, 27 September 2018 (Days 610-616)

Families Belong Together and Free: Rally in Williamstown, MA, Saturday, 30 June 2018

Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are my emphasis. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

Friday, 21 September 2018, Day 610:

 

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump and Discussed the 25th Amendment in the Spring of 2017, The New York Times, Adam Aoldman and Michael S. Schmidt, Friday, 21 September 2018: “The deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, suggested last year that he secretly record President Trump in the White House to expose the chaos consuming the administration, and he discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office for being unfit. Mr. Rosenstein made these suggestions in the spring of 2017 when Mr. Trump’s firing of James B. Comey as F.B.I. director plunged the White House into turmoil. Over the ensuing days, the president divulged classified intelligence to Russians in the Oval Office, and revelations emerged that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey to pledge loyalty and end an investigation into a senior aide. Mr. Rosenstein was just two weeks into his job. He had begun overseeing the Russia investigation and played a key role in the president’s dismissal of Mr. Comey by writing a memo critical of his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. But Mr. Rosenstein was caught off guard when Mr. Trump cited the memo in the firing, and he began telling people that he feared he had been used. Mr. Rosenstein made the remarks about secretly recording Mr. Trump and about the 25th Amendment in meetings and conversations with other Justice Department and F.B.I. officials. Several people described the episodes in interviews over the past several months, insisting on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The people were briefed either on the events themselves or on memos written by F.B.I. officials, including Andrew G. McCabe, then the acting bureau director, that documented Mr. Rosenstein’s actions and comments. None of Mr. Rosenstein’s proposals apparently came to fruition. It is not clear how determined he was about seeing them through, though he did tell Mr. McCabe that he might be able to persuade Attorney General Jeff Sessions and John F. Kelly, then the secretary of homeland security and now the White House chief of staff, to mount an effort to invoke the 25th Amendment.” See also, McCabe memos say Rosenstein considered secretly recording Trump, The Washington Post, Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky, Friday, 21 September 2018. See also, So You Want to Use the 25th Amendment to Get Rid of Donald Trump? Here Are the Hurdles to Removing a Mentally Impaired President. The Intercept, James Risen, Friday, 21 September 2018: “Of the three major processes through which Trump could be evicted from the White House — impeachment, indictment, or a determination of mental unfitness under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution — the last may be the Republic’s only hope. Today’s polarized politics and Republican strength in Congress would make impeachment nearly impossible, while longstanding Justice Department legal opinions may convince federal prosecutors that they can’t indict a sitting president. Yet the 25th Amendment has never been used to remove a president, and the path to doing so is by no means clear.”

Kavanaugh ally Ed Whelan says he did not communicate with White House or Supreme Court nominee about his theory of another attacker, The Washington Post, Elise Viebeck, Emma Brown, and Robert Costa, Friday, 21 September 2018: “A conservative legal commentator on Friday denied communicating with the White House or Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh about his theory that the woman [Christine Blasey Ford] accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault was mistaking him for someone else. ‘I have not communicated at all with [White House counsel] Donald McGahn or anyone at the White House, or Judge Kavanaugh, about the topic of the Twitter thread,’ Ed Whelan said in a brief interview with The Washington Post…. Whelan’s claims on Twitter on Thursday evening that Ford might have been assaulted by someone else raised immediate questions about whether he had spoken to or coordinated with Republican leaders about his theory…. Whelan has been involved in helping to advise Kavanaugh’s confirmation effort and is close friends with Kavanaugh and Leonard Leo, the head of the Federalist Society, who has been helping to spearhead the nomination. On Sunday, Ford noticed that — even before her name became public — Whelan appeared to be seeking information about her. That morning, Ford alerted an associate via email that Whelan had looked at her LinkedIn page, according to the email, which was reviewed by The Post. LinkedIn allows some subscribers to see who views their pages. Ford sent the email about 90 minutes after The Post shared her name with a White House spokesman and hours before her identity was revealed in a story posted on its website.”

‘This is an extraordinary moment’: Yale Law faculty call on Senate committee to treat sexual assault allegations seriously in the hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, The Washington Post, Susan Svrluga and Shelby Hanssen, Friday, 21 September 2018: “A majority of Yale Law School faculty members are urging the Senate Judiciary Committee not to rush to judgment in considering Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh, a graduate of the school, and to treat seriously allegations regarding a past sexual assault. On Friday afternoon, as some Yale Law students worked on plans for protests on Monday, 47 faculty members sent a letter to the committee, writing, ‘Some questions are so fundamental to judicial integrity that the Senate cannot rush past them without undermining the public’s confidence in the Court. This is particularly so for an appointment that will yield a deciding vote on women’s rights and myriad other questions of immense consequence in American lives.’ Nearly every permanent member of the faculty joined the effort, which happened essentially overnight, said Muneer Ahmad, clinical professor of law and deputy dean for experiential education at Yale Law School. It is something that had never happened in his more than 15 years on the faculty. ‘In my view it’s an extraordinary statement that this is an extraordinary moment in our country’s history,’ with great concern about public confidence in the Supreme Court, he said. Ahmad said professors sought to express their belief that the confirmation process should proceed in a fair and deliberate way in light of the charges made by Christine Blasey Ford.”

Continue reading Week 88, Friday, 21 September – Thursday, 27 September 2018 (Days 610-616)

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September 21, 2018 Filed Under: Trump administration/Republican House and Senate/Supreme Court, Trump: A Daily Chronicle
September 14, 2018

Week 87: Friday, 14 September – Thursday, 20 September 2018 (Days 603-609)

Families Belong Together and Free: rally in Pittsfield, MA, Saturday, 30 June 2018

Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are my emphasis. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

Friday, 14 September 2018, Day 603:

 

A Sexual-Misconduct Allegation Against the Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Stirs Tension Among Democrats in Congress, The New Yorker, Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer, Friday, 14 September 2018: “On Thursday, Senate Democrats disclosed that they had referred a complaint regarding President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the F.B.I. for investigation. The complaint came from a woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were both in high school, more than thirty years ago. The woman, who has asked not to be identified, first approached Democratic lawmakers in July, shortly after Trump nominated Kavanaugh. The allegation dates back to the early nineteen-eighties, when Kavanaugh was a high-school student at Georgetown Preparatory School, in Bethesda, Maryland, and the woman attended a nearby high school. In the letter, the woman alleged that, during an encounter at a party, Kavanaugh held her down, and that he attempted to force himself on her. She claimed in the letter that Kavanaugh and a classmate of his, both of whom had been drinking, turned up music that was playing in the room to conceal the sound of her protests, and that Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand. She was able to free herself. Although the alleged incident took place decades ago and the three individuals involved were minors, the woman said that the memory had been a source of ongoing distress for her, and that she had sought psychological treatment as a result…. In recent months, the woman had told friends that Kavanaugh’s nomination had revived the pain of the memory, and that she was grappling with whether to go public with her story. She contacted her congresswoman, Anna Eshoo, a Democrat, sending her a letter describing her allegation…. The letter was also sent to the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein. As the ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein was preparing to lead Democratic questioning of Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing weeks later. The woman contacted Feinstein’s office directly, according to multiple sources…. Feinstein’s decision to handle the matter in her own office, without notifying other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stirred concern among her Democratic colleagues. For several days, Feinstein declined requests from other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee to share the woman’s letter and other relevant communications. A source familiar with the committee’s activities said that Feinstein’s staff initially conveyed to other Democratic members’ offices that the incident was too distant in the past to merit public discussion, and that Feinstein had ‘taken care of it.’ On Wednesday, after media inquiries to the Democratic members multiplied, and concern among congressional colleagues increased, Feinstein agreed to brief the other Democrats on the committee, with no staff present.” See also, Letter Claims Attempted Sexual Assault by a Teenage Brett Kavanaugh, The New York Times, Nicholas Fandos and Michael S. Schmidt, Friday, 14 September 2018.

Paul Manafort Agrees to Cooperate With Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Pleads Guilty to Reduced Charges, The New York Times, Sharon LaFraniere and Kenneth P. Vogel, Friday, 14 September 2018: “Paul Manafort agreed on Friday to tell all he knows to the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, as part of a plea deal that could shape the final stages of the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The deal was a surrender by Mr. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, who had vowed for months to prove his innocence in a case stemming from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. And it was a decisive triumph for Mr. Mueller, who now has a cooperating witness who was at the center of the Trump campaign during a crucial period in 2016 and has detailed insight into another target of federal prosecutors, the network of lobbyists and influence brokers seeking to help foreign interests in Washington. Mr. Manafort’s decision, announced at a federal court hearing in Washington in which he pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges, was likely to unsettle Mr. Trump, who had praised Mr. Manafort for standing up to prosecutors’ pressure and had hinted that he might pardon him. [Read the court documents.] It is not clear what information Mr. Manafort offered prosecutors in three days of negotiations that led to the plea deal. But in court on Friday, Mr. Manafort agreed to an open-ended arrangement that requires him to answer ‘fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly’ questions about ‘any and all matters’ the government wants to ask about.” See also, Paul Manafort will cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of guilty plea, prosecutor says, The Washington Post, Spencer S. Hsu, Devlin Barrett, and Justin Jouvenal, Friday, 14 September 2018: “President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort agreed Friday to provide testimony to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III as part of a plea deal that could answer some of the most critical questions about whether any Americans conspired with Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. The decision to cooperate with Mueller in hopes of a lesser prison sentence is a stunning development, signaling Manafort’s surrender to criminal charges that he cheated the Internal Revenue Service, violated foreign lobbying laws and tried to obstruct justice while opening a new potential legal vulnerability for Trump.” See also, Parsing Paul Manafort’s Plea Agreement for How Much Dirt He Has on Trump, The New Yorker, Adam Davidson, Friday, 14 September 2018: “On Friday morning, Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice. As part of the plea, he agreed to coöperate with the special counsel, Robert Mueller. Manafort will lose several properties, the money in several bank accounts, and a life-insurance policy, which appear to have value well in excess of ten million dollars. In exchange, Manafort was assured that he will spend no more than a decade in prison for the two charges, so long as he fully coöperates with Mueller. We don’t know much more.” See also, Paul Manafort becomes the fifth Trump campaign team member to plead guilty to criminal charges, The Washington Post, Philip Bump, Friday, 14 September 2018.

U.S. Is Ending Final Source of Aid for Palestinian Civilians, The New York Times, Edward Wong, Friday, 14 September 2018: “As part of its policy to end all aid for Palestinian civilians, the United States is blocking millions of dollars to programs that build relationships between Israelis and Palestinians, according to current and former American officials briefed on the change. The move to prevent Palestinians — including, in many cases, children — from benefiting from the funds squeezes shut the last remaining channel of American aid to Palestinian civilians. The money had already been budgeted by Congress for allocation in fiscal year 2017, which ends this month. In the past, these designated funds went mostly to programs that organized people-to-people exchanges between Palestinians and Israelis, often for youth. Some went to programs for Israeli Jews and Arabs. Advocates had hoped this last $10 million pot of money would remain available to projects with Palestinians, even as the Trump administration cut all other aid.”

Continue reading Week 87, Friday, 14 September – Thursday, 20 September 2018 (Days 603-609-602)

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September 14, 2018 Filed Under: Trump administration/Republican House and Senate/Supreme Court, Trump: A Daily Chronicle
September 7, 2018

Week 86: Friday, 7 September – Thursday, 13 September 2018 (Days 596-602)

Families Belong Together and Free: rally in Pittsfield, MA, Saturday, 30 June 2018

Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are my emphasis. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

Friday, 7 September 2018, Day 596:

 

As Trump Raged This Week, the Republicans Moved Toward an Ideological Shift That Will Last for Decades, The New York Times, Nicholas Fandos, Friday, 7 September 2018: “On one end of Pennsylvania Avenue this week, President Trump and his closest advisers labored to beat back perceptions, fueled by an anonymous essay in The New York Times and a bruising new book by Bob Woodward, that he had all but lost control of the presidency from within. He lashed out anew at his attorney general, shouted ‘TREASON’ and demanded investigations of his detractors. But as he raged, Republicans in the Senate were pressing steadily through angry liberal protests and Democratic perjury traps toward perhaps the most lasting impact of the Trump era: a conservative shift in the balance of the Supreme Court capable of shaping the country for a generation. The dueling images of a president on the edge and a conservative Congress soldiering forward explain succinctly why almost all elected Republicans here have quietly supported Mr. Trump through his travails — or at least not chastised him too loudly. The payoffs for what Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, called the party’s ‘Faustian bargain’ have been rich and long awaited: deep cuts in corporate and personal tax rates, confirmation of a wave of conservative judges for the lower courts, and soon an ideological shift in the highest court of the land.”

Trump Wants Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Investigate Source of Anonymous Times Op-Ed, The New York Times, Mark Landler, Friday, 7 September 2018: “President Trump said on Friday that he wanted Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate the source of an anonymous Op-Ed essay published in The New York Times, intensifying his attack on an article he has characterized as an act of treason. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he traveled to Fargo, N.D., Mr. Trump said, ‘I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security.’ Mr. Trump said he was also considering action against The Times, though he did not elaborate.” See also, Trump says Justice Department should investigate anonymous op-ed author, The Washington Post, Josh Dawsey, David Nakamura, and Philip Rucker, Friday, 7 September 2018.

As Confirmation Hearings End, Democrats Accuse Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh of Dissembling, The New York Times, Charlie Savage and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Friday, 7 September 2018: “Senate Democrats and their allies accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on Friday of misleading the Judiciary Committee, saying he dissembled in testimony about crucial issues ranging from his views on abortion rights to his involvement in several Bush-era controversies. But Republicans expressed confidence that none of the punches Democrats had thrown at the Supreme Court nominee had landed with sufficient force to jeopardize his confirmation. Four days of Supreme Court confirmation hearings ended on Friday the way they began, with sharply partisan charges and tension remarkable for normally staid proceedings. In one of the strongest statements on Friday, Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, accused Judge Kavanaugh on Twitter of lying about whether he had used ‘stolen documents’ pilfered from Democrats on the Judiciary Committee when he was a White House lawyer under President George W. Bush. ‘What else is he lying about?’ Mr. Wyden wrote. ‘His views on overturning #RoevWade? Whether he was involved in Bush-era torture programs? Whether he believes Trump can pardon himself?'” See also, Senator Patrick Leahy says Kavanaugh was ‘not truthful’ when he denied knowing he had received stolen Democratic documents, The Washington Post, Michael Kranish, Friday, 7 September 2018: “Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said Friday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was ‘not truthful’ when he denied knowing that he had received documents that Leahy said had been ‘stolen’ from him and other Democrats. Leahy said that emails disclosed during Kavanaugh’s nomination hearing this week buttress his case that Kavanaugh knew, or should have known, that he had received documents that Republican staffers took from a computer jointly shared with Democrats. ‘There were numerous emails sent to him that made it very clear this was stolen information, including a draft letter from me,’ Leahy said in an interview.” See also, Confirmed: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Can’t Be Trusted, The New York Times, Editorial Board, Friday, 7 September 2018: “In a more virtuous world, Judge Brett Kavanaugh would be deeply embarrassed by the manner in which he has arrived at the doorstep of a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. He was nominated by a president who undermines daily the nation’s democratic order and mocks the constitutional values that Judge Kavanaugh purports to hold dear. Now he’s being rammed through his confirmation process with an unprecedented degree of secrecy and partisan maneuvering by Republican senators who, despite their overflowing praise for his legal acumen and sterling credentials, appear terrified for the American people to find out much of anything about him beyond his penchant for coaching girls’ basketball.”

Continue reading Week 86, Friday, 7 September – Thursday, 13 September 2018 (Days 596-602)

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September 7, 2018 Filed Under: Trump administration/Republican House and Senate/Supreme Court, Trump: A Daily Chronicle