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Thursday Reads: Does Anyone Really Know What Trump Is Doing?

Posted: July 26, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Foreign Affairs, morning reads, U.S. Politics |44 Comments

Good Morning!!

I watched quite a bit of Mike Pompeo’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. I have to say, Pompeo is as rude and obnoxious as Trump; his personality seems highly unusual for someone who is supposed to be a diplomat. It was obvious from Pompeo’s vague responses to questions from Democrats and Republicans alike that he has no idea what Trump and Putin talked about in their more than two hour private meeting in Helsinki.

From a report on the confrontations at Foreign Policy: In Fiery Hearing, Pompeo Trades Barbs With Lawmakers.

“You come before a group of senators today who are filled with serious doubts about this White House and its conduct with American foreign policy,” said Republican Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in one of the sharper exchanges.

“The administration tells us, ‘Don’t worry, be patient, there is a strategy here.’ But from where we sit, it appears that in a ‘ready, fire, aim’ fashion, the White House is waking up every morning and making it up as they go,” he said.

The senators focused their criticism on Trump’s one-on-one meeting with Putin in Helsinki on July 16, details of which remain murky even to administration insiders.

They also took Pompeo to task for the apparent lack of progress in nuclear negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, more than a month after a summit meeting that Trump hailed as a resounding success.

Pompeo returned fire during more than three hours of testimony—his first open exchange with lawmakers since Trump’s meetings with Putin and Kim.

“I understand the game that you’re playing,” he told Sen. Bob Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the committee, during a line of questioning about Trump’s private meeting with Putin, which raised deep concerns among lawmakers and national security experts.

Menendez cut him off and shot back: “No, no, Mr. Secretary. With all due respect, I don’t appreciate you characterizing my questions. My question is to get to the truth. We don’t know what the truth is.”

The exchange with Menendez was one of the most heated of the day. The Democratic Senator from New Jersey talked about it with NPR’s Ari Shapiro yesterday:

SHAPIRO: What did you learn from Secretary Pompeo about what happened in that closed-door meeting in Helsinki?

MENENDEZ: Not very much. I learned that the reason that there is such concern is because no one has a clear readout of what transpired between President Trump and President Putin for over two hours. What we have is what took place at the press conference in Helsinki. And that was alarming to members on both sides of the aisle, which is why we were trying to pierce an understanding of how far he had been briefed and what elements of a conversation for over two hours were being pursued.

And, you know, it’s interesting that, you know, Secretary Pompeo, when it seems to be of benefit to the administration, will suggest that he knew something. But when if not, he says it’s a private conversation. It only seems to be a private conversation for President Trump because Putin and the Russian defense and public relations ministry is telling all about it. So it obviously has a much different view….

SHAPIRO: It seems like you were trying to ask Secretary Pompeo, in so many words, do you even know what was discussed in that room? And Secretary Pompeo got a little bit indignant and kind of scoffed at the question. But do you think he does know what happened in that room?

MENENDEZ: No. I don’t think he knows what happens in that room.

SHAPIRO: That’s kind of shocking. He’s the secretary of state, right?

MENENDEZ: It is. Well, it’s kind of shocking that you go into a meeting for two hours and you don’t have your secretary of state or your national security adviser or the director of National Intelligence with you because that allows the Russians to ultimately, you know, characterize the discussion as they are doing without a counter to it. And it’s interesting to see that we see no counter. Therefore, when members of the committee are citing the Russian ministry of defense, they’re doing it not because they believe the Russian ministry of defense, but they’re looking for counter arguments.

And when the administration is unwilling to be transparent and speak to it and let us know what actually transpired, it then gives credence to what the Russians are doing. And this is a major concern.

Read more at the NPR link.

As often happens, the Pentagon doesn’t seem to know anything about what Trump and Putin discussed either. That was another topic Senators asked about during the Pompeo hearing. Yesterday Buzzfeed published an article about how often those in charge of our troops are kept in the dark by Trump: New Emails Show What Happens When The Pentagon Has To Scramble To Catch Up To Trump. The article begins with a series of graphics depicting reports about Trump announcements that the Pentagon officials were completely unprepared for.

“The Pentagon was caught off guard” stories have become a staple of news coverage of the Trump administration.

It’s no secret that time and time again, officials in the Defense Department have been blindsided by sudden, often significant announcements and policy changes involving the US military coming out of the White House.

Trump administration officials have excused those moments as overblown, affecting news reports more than creating any real government dysfunction.

Now, however, internal emails released through the Freedom of Information Act offer an inside look at how chaotic it can be for Pentagon officials when they face an unexpected onslaught of questions in the wake of an alarming public statement from the White House. The confusion resonates not only in Washington but around the world, according to the emails, which were sought by a left-leaning watchdog group, Democracy Forward, and shared with BuzzFeed News.

The emails document two days of the aftermath of an unusual, and seemingly sudden, statement released by the White House late on the night of June 26 last year. It warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that he and his military would “pay a heavy price” if they carried out another chemical weapons attack.

Read the rest at the Buzzfeed.

Politico reports that the Pentagon is also being very uncommunicative: ‘We are fighting for information about war’: Pentagon curbs media access.

At a mid-July news conference at the Pentagon, AP reporter Lolita Baldor asked Gen. Mark Milley, the Army chief of staff, about an attack in Afghanistan that had led to the death of an American soldier. But before he could reply, a Defense Department press officer cut in to say that Milley and the three officials flanking him would be answering questions only about the intended topic for the news conference: the announcement of the location of a new command.

The next question went to Jennifer Griffin from Fox News. Over the previous two days, President Donald Trump had roiled the NATO summit in Brussels with verbal shots at the alliance’s members, so Griffin, after opening with a question about the new command, added, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Lita, we don’t have an opportunity to see you enough. Gen. Milley, have you reached out to your counterparts in Europe after the NATO summit to reassure them that the U.S. forces are staying?”

Again, the press officer cut off the question before Milley could answer.

The incident, which left Pentagon reporters furious, was the latest flash point in what has become an increasingly adversarial relationship between Defense Secretary James Mattis’ Cabinet department and the reporters who cover it. Chief among the complaints, according to defense reporters who spoke to POLITICO, are declining access to Mattis and other military officials, as well as a sense that reporters are not receiving the information they need to keep the public informed about America’s military activities.

Is this happening because Mattis and his team are out of the loop and don’t really know what Trump is up to? Or are they simply following Trump’s example? Read more at Politico.

USA Today has an interesting article by a former CIA officer: Ex-CIA analyst: If Trump were a foreign leader, I’d raise possibility of blackmail.

Trump’s appeasement of Russia is unprecedented for an American president, despite his recent claim that he has been the toughest president on Russia. It is almost certainly driven in part by his desire to protect the credibility of his election victory at all costs, to promote an image of being the ultimate deal-maker, and because of his preference for strong-man leadership. A former KGB officer and skilled manipulator, Putin no doubt recognizes these traits and is leveraging them to manipulate Trump.

Putin publicly admitted at the Helsinki summit that he wanted Trump to win, confirming a key point of the IC assessment. Trump probably is willing to look the other way on Russian interference because it was aimed at getting him elected, even if that means ignoring the threat Russia poses and allowing Moscow to continue attacking the country.

 

Behavior consistent with blackmail:

Trump’s behavior on Russia is consistent with a recruitment tactic employed by intelligence services to turn a person into an asset using damaging information as black-mail. Several senior Obama-era national security officials have said they believe Putin has compromising information on Trump and is using it to make the president do his bidding. Trump and his political base have been undeterred by revelations about his personal life, such as his alleged extra-marital affairs or history of sexual abuse. This suggests that if Moscow does have comprising information, it is likely to be about his personal finances, business practices, or other information that would damage his business.

► We know that some Trump campaign officials discussed working together with Moscow during the election, suggesting Russia could also be holding additional proof of collusion over the president’s head.

Trump’s doubling down since the summit and his invitation to Putin to the White House almost certainly have emboldened Putin to continue or even escalate intelligence operations against the U.S.

There was some encouraging news yesterday. A federal judge ruled that one of the emoluments cases against Trump can go forward.

Jed Shugarman at Slate: Heartbreak for the Trump Hotel.

Today’s ruling by federal court Judge Peter Messitte in one of the three emoluments cases against President Trump was a big win for the plaintiffs—and a bigger win than many had expected. It sets the stage for potentially shutting down the Trump International Hotel in D.C. as a violation of the government lease and thus an unconstitutional emolument. The legal interpretation in this decision would force Trump to divest from the hotel entirely.

For a little background, recall there are two emoluments clauses in the Constitution: The Foreign Emoluments Clause provides that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

The Domestic Emoluments Clause provides, “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”

After the court ruled that the Foreign Emoluments Clause applies to the president, it adopted the plaintiffs’ definition of emolument as any “profit,” “gain,” or “advantage,” relying on the research of law professor John Mikhail (a co-author with me of our amicus brief in the case). The court acknowledged this historical purpose of the clauses: “the Court does not see how the historical record reflects anything other than an intention that the Emoluments Clauses function as broad anti-corruption provisions. … The Foreign Emoluments Clause was unquestionably adopted against a background of profound concern on the part of the Framers over possible foreign influence upon the President (and, to be sure, upon other federal officials).” The court cited many examples of the historical context from the founding, and discussed how the executive branch has applied the clauses in a manner consistent with that interpretation of the clauses. (The court acknowledged an exception for “de minimis” benefits, i.e., inconsequential minor benefits.)
Then the court applied this interpretation to the Trump Organization and the Trump International Hotel specifically.

Click on the link to read the rest at Slate.

Note: The illustrations in this post are by Myles Hyman. So . . . what stories are you following today?

 

44 Comments on “Thursday Reads: Does Anyone Really Know What Trump Is Doing?”

  1. bostonboomer says:
    July 26, 2018 at 10:34 am

    Here’s a little comic relief.

    The Toledo Blade: DeVos’ $40 million yacht vandalized at Huron dock.

    HURON, Ohio — A boat owned by the family of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was vandalized over the weekend while moored at a Huron dock, according to the Huron Police Department.

    The Seaquest was moored at the Huron Boat Basin, 330 Main St., according to a police report. The captain of the 163-foot yacht, worth a reported $40 million, called police at about 6 a.m. Sunday, telling them that he and the crew realized at sunrise that someone had untied Seaquest from the dock, setting it adrift.

    The crew eventually got control of the yacht, but not before it struck the dock, causing an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 in damage from large scratches and scrapes, according to the police report.

    Officers were searching for surveillance video that may show who untied the yacht.

  2. bostonboomer says:
    July 26, 2018 at 10:42 am

    Trump is terrified of questions from the media after yesterday’s scene in the Oval Office when he had a the pool reporter thrown out for asking about Michael Cohen, his tapes, and Putin.

  3. bostonboomer says:
    July 26, 2018 at 10:46 am

  4. dakinikat says:
    July 26, 2018 at 10:53 am

    Love the illustrations ! They’re really art decoish!

  5. contrask says:
    July 26, 2018 at 1:44 pm

    This could be interesting:
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-organization-finance-chief-called-to-testify-before-federal-grand-jury-1532622947?mod=e2tw

    • dakinikat says:
      July 26, 2018 at 2:05 pm

      Was just reading it…the guy that knows where all the bodies are buried!!

      And in Michael Cohen’s criminal trial!!

  6. dakinikat says:
    July 26, 2018 at 3:54 pm

    • dakinikat says:
      July 26, 2018 at 3:55 pm

      European Union officials who flew to Washington, D.C. this week to try to negotiate a trade treaty with President Donald Trump knew that they couldn’t present him with large sets of complicated information, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

      Specifically, the Journal’s sources say that EU representatives made use of “colorful cue cards” that they thought would help keep the president’s attention during meetings. Each card contained what WSJ describes as “simplified explainers” that “had at most three figures about a specific topic, such as trade in cars or standards for medical devices.”

      • NW Luna says:
        July 26, 2018 at 5:26 pm

        “Oh, for crying out loud!”

        Amurca, with an evil kindergartener in the White House.

        • dakinikat says:
          July 26, 2018 at 5:28 pm

          I read the WSj article. It was hilariarious. Kudlow told him to pay attention and he may learn something!

          • NW Luna says:
            July 26, 2018 at 5:29 pm

            Wonder what his retention span is?

          • dakinikat says:
            July 26, 2018 at 5:30 pm

            In recent international meetings, such as the Group of Seven summit in Canada, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Brussels, Mr. Trump grabbed headlines with an argumentative approach. But on Wednesday, the American president was “charming, well-briefed” and “made an effort” to reach a deal with his European counterpart, the senior EU official said.

            Mr. Juncker grabbed the opportunity to argue that both sides need to refrain from further punitive tariffs or they would foolishly harm themselves.

            “If you want to be stupid,” he told Mr. Trump, “I can be stupid, as well.”

            Backing up his points, Mr. Juncker flipped through more than a dozen colorful cue cards with simplified explainers, the senior EU official said. Each card had at most three figures about a specific topic, such as trade in cars or standards for medical devices.

            “We knew this wasn’t an academic seminar,” the EU official said. “It had to be very simple.”

            The Europeans had an ally on Mr. Trump’s team in White House, chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow. On Wednesday morning, before the meeting, he had told the television program “Fox & Friends,” “I just say, keep an open mind—you might be surprised by the outcome of this meeting.”

            Mr. Kudlow had met with Mr. Juncker’s team the previous evening and hinted at a possible deal.

            Still, when EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday morning, odds of an agreement looked remote. Mr. Lighthizer seemed unaware of the overture made by Mr. Kudlow the night before and insisted on issues that were a no-go for the Europeans, such as opening the entire agricultural sector to U.S. firms, the EU official said.

            Mr. Kudlow seemed to “have the ear of the president,” the EU official said.

            Mr. Juncker stuck closely to the negotiating mandate handed to him by leaders of big EU countries including Germany, France and the Netherlands. Germany, which is heavily dependent on exports, was from the onset open to a trade arrangement, including abolishing EU tariffs on U.S. car imports. France, meanwhile, was vehemently opposed to opening EU agricultural markets.

            Mr. Juncker told Mr. Trump and Mr. Lighthizer that any talk of including agriculture would kill prospects of a deal. He countered with a threat to drag public procurement into negotiations, which would question the Buy American Act, a nonstarter for the U.S. side.

            At one point, talk shifted to Europe buying more U.S. natural gas, a move EU leaders had agreed to take back in May, even though U.S. gas, shipped liquefied, is as much as 20% more expensive than gas Europe buys via pipeline from Russia. The Europeans said U.S. companies need licenses to sell overseas, which inflates prices. Mr. Trump proposed scrapping licenses, the EU official said. Administration officials jumped in to nix the idea, saying licenses are vital for national security. Instead, the two sides agreed to negotiate license exemptions.

            When a deal looked near after almost three hours of talks, Mr. Trump said he wanted to hold a joint news conference and announce the good news. Mr. Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin disappeared for more than half an hour in a room to fine-tune the language of the joint statement, U.S. and EU officials said.

            “Suddenly Trump came out into our group and asked, ‘So, where are we now? Where is the statement?’ ” the EU official said. “We said, ‘We haven’t seen it yet, because your people are still negotiating among themselves.’ ”

          • NW Luna says:
            July 26, 2018 at 5:40 pm


            And whatever agreement it is, he’ll walk it back in the next week.

            But I love the “I can be stupid back” line from Juncker!

  7. contrask says:
    July 26, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    I just saw that Russia filed a lawsuit naming Browder and Obama? I’m mobile and can’t access the article. Has anyone else seen it?

  8. dakinikat says:
    July 26, 2018 at 5:20 pm

  9. dakinikat says:
    July 26, 2018 at 5:21 pm

  10. NW Luna says:
    July 26, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    When one dissects the publicly available information on Putin’s state-sanctioned campaign to elect Donald Trump, the same evidence that supports the intelligence community’s assertion that Russia wanted to elect Donald Trump also points to the inescapable fact Soviet actors most likely changed votes.

  11. contrask says:
    July 26, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-june-2016-meeting-knowledge/index.html

    • NW Luna says:
      July 26, 2018 at 8:42 pm

      “He’s been lying all week, he’s been lying for years,” said Rudy Giuliani, the President’s attorney, to Chris Cuomo on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time” on Thursday night. He added, “I don’t see how he’s got any credibility.”

      Hahaha! So speaks the man who also has no credibility.

  12. contrask says:
    July 26, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    Oh brother – I’m watching Rachel, wish I could watch them both at the same time

  13. NW Luna says:
    July 26, 2018 at 8:53 pm

  14. NW Luna says:
    July 26, 2018 at 9:04 pm

  15. NW Luna says:
    July 26, 2018 at 9:12 pm

  16. contrask says:
    July 26, 2018 at 10:32 pm

  17. RonStill4Hills says:
    July 27, 2018 at 7:02 am

    Cohen assertion that Trump knew of the Trump Tower meeting (which we knew all along) is huge.

    It exposes “No Collusion” as a crock of brainwashy bull$h!t.

    This is a very dangerous area for Il Douchebag.

    His money laundering empire is being scrutinized at the same time.

    I am cautiously optimisitic for the first time in a while.

    • Jslat says:
      July 27, 2018 at 8:29 am

      I’m a little concerned that the story is a plant. It could be an attack against CNN and NBC. I’m hoping for verification from Cohen or his attorney (who posted that the article wasn’t correct.)

      Do I believe TheRump knew? Yes. But something feels off in the way the story came out.

  18. bostonboomer says:
    July 27, 2018 at 8:58 am

    Trump is bragging about economic growth this morning, says this much growth hasn’t happened in decades.

  19. bostonboomer says:
    July 27, 2018 at 8:59 am

    Putin has invited Trump to come to Moscow.

  20. bostonboomer says:
    July 27, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Massachusetts Gov. Baker will sign a bill today to wipe all old antiabortion laws off the books in preparation for SCOTUS repealing Roe v. Wade.

    Baker’s office said the governor plans to sign the “NASTY Women Act” at a ceremony at 10 a.m. in the State House library where he will be joined by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate President Emerita Harriette Chandler, Rep. Claire Cronin, Rep. Kate Hogan, Rep. Byron Rushing, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders, Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts CEO Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak and NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts Executive Director Rebecca Hart Holder.

    It’s the same location where in November the governor signed a law insulating Massachusetts from federal changes to birth control coverage under Obamacare, protecting a woman’s right to free contraception.

    The bill (S 2260) Baker signed repeals old and unenforced laws still on the books in Massachusetts banning abortion and access to contraception for unmarried women. The bill was passed amid heightened concern among Democrats that the historic Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide could be threatened by ideological shifts on the Supreme Court under President Trump.

    • NW Luna says:
      July 27, 2018 at 10:35 am

      Good! I hope more states do the same. I’m glad Washington state already has laws to protect abortion rights.

  21. Minkoff Minx says:
    July 28, 2018 at 3:23 am

    Wow B.B., I am late reading this amazing post. I missed all this shit over the last couple of days. All that has been on the cable msm is Cohen and his tapes. Or the latest pronouncement … tRump knew about the meeting. I don’t think tRump is the only one being blackmailed. I feel all the GOP is.

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