It's a new year: Trump takes whack at New York Times' new publisher

No sooner did the new publisher of the New York Times promise his readers to uphold the principles of independent journalism yesterday than President Trump took a giant whack at the paper.

Welcome to 2018, which is shaping up much the same as 2017 when it comes to the president and the press.

A.G. Sulzberger, who just took over the job from his father, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., said in a full-page letter:
"Misinformation is rising and trust in the media is declining as technology platforms elevate clickbait, rumor and propaganda over real journalism, and politicians jockey for advantage by inflaming suspicion of the press."
Well, he’s right about the declining trust part. And it’s not hard to figure out which "inflaming" politician he had in mind.
That person quickly got on Twitter and said: "Get impartial journalists of a much higher standard, lose all of your phony and non-existent 'sources,' and treat the President of the United States FAIRLY, so that the next time I (and the people) win, you won't have to write an apology to your readers for a job poorly done!"
(Actually, Sulzberger Jr. had written a public letter after the 2016 election asking: "Did Donald Trump’s sheer unconventionality lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters?" There was no apology.)
Just last week, President Trump told the same newspaper that he has an ace in the hole for 2020: the press.
Now this might seem a tad counterintuitive, since he has been lambasting the news business for more than two years as a bastion of bias, a fortress of fake news. And much of the media have responded with aggressive coverage that every study has found to be predominantly negative.
If there's any entity out there that is not exactly disposed to give this president the benefit of the doubt, it’s the fourth estate.
Yet Trump believes that, when it comes to the bottom line, the media need him.
This is not based on unnamed sources, whose very existence is often challenged by the president, but from the newsmaker-in-chief himself.
As Trump told Times reporter Michael Schmidt:
"Another reason that I'm going to win another four years, is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I'm not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes ...
"So they basically have to let me win. And eventually, probably six months before the election, they'll be loving me because they're saying, 'Please, please, don't lose Donald Trump.' O.K."
Well, let’s just say I’m skeptical about the "have to let me win" part. But I’ve been saying for a long time that Trump, as a political phenomenon, has been a gold mine for the media business.
Fox News was the highest-rated cable network in 2017, for the second straight year. But MSNBC and CNN also had record-breaking years. The Times is not so failing, enjoying a mammoth surge of digital subscriptions.
In fact, there are very few media outlets that haven’t benefited from Trump’s nonstop newsmaking. Those openly opposed to Trump are marketing themselves to the resistance, those openly backing Trump appeal to his loyal supporters (who don’t trust the MSM), and those that are trying to position themselves in the middle benefit from a hyped-up atmosphere in which everyone is debating politics, from the coffee shop to Twitter and Facebook.
That’s the great irony of this new era: the media, targeted and taunted by Trump, are also riding the financial wave he’s created.
And the president, in turn, feeds off the constant media attention to drive his agenda.
As a businessman, it's not surprising that Trump believes the press will want to keep the cash registers ringing after 2020. He thinks in terms of monetizing assets. He once threatened to pull out of a CNN debate, noting the soaring advertising rates, unless its president Jeff Zucker donated the profits to veterans' causes.
But most journalists don't think like corporate suits. The notion that they would go easy on Trump in the next campaign to avoid killing the golden goose strikes me as far-fetched (though they have a responsibility to be equally tough on the Democratic candidate). In fact, I could imagine many pundits taking a victory lap if they felt they had contributed to sending the president back to Trump Tower.
Donald Trump undoubtedly knows this. I suspect he's trolling the media, having a little fun at their expense. But he's also right that the constant combat has been ringing their cash registers.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

US judge orders release of detained Iraqis waiting deportation over criminal convictions

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith, Obama appointed

 

A U.S. District Judge in Detroit snubbed the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants on Tuesday, ordering the federal government to either release or grant bond hearings to Iraqi immigrants waiting to be deported due to criminal records.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith said in the ruling that the Iraqis held in custody for six months or longer must either be granted a bond hearing or be released within 30 days, Reuters reported.

“Our legal tradition rejects warehousing human beings while their legal rights are being determined,” wrote the judge in the ruling.
Roughly 1,400 Iraqi immigrants, including hundreds already in custody, are facing deportations back to their native country due to criminal convictions. Until recently Iraq refused to take them back, but an apparent deal between the Iraqi and U.S. governments in March allowed the government to proceed with the crackdown.
The move against Iraqi immigrants with criminal convictions was part of a larger move by the Trump administration to enforce existing immigration laws and ensure other countries - which previously ignored U.S. calls to take their citizens back – comply with the orders.
But last year, Goldsmith halted the deportations of the Iraqis, claiming they, many of whom are Christians, would be subjected to dangers in the country over their religion.
“Each petitioner faces the risk of torture or death on the basis of residence in America and publicized criminal records. Many will also face persecution as a result of a particular religious affiliation,” the judge said.
He also said that the U.S. government does not have a “written agreement” with Iraq regarding the cooperation and it remains unclear if the country wishes to take back its nationals, according to Reuters.

Sen. Orrin Hatch announces he will not run for re-election in 2018

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, at a House-Senate conference meeting last month. He will not seek re-election in 2018, he announced.  (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving GOP senator, announced Tuesday that he would not seek re-election in 2018 – opening up a possible pathway to the political resurrection of 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Hatch, 83, who first took his seat in 1977, had been debating whether to run again, and President Trump had publicly beseeched him not to retire.

In a video statement released Tuesday, however, Hatch said that he would vacate his seat at the end of his term.
"I was an amateur boxer in my youth, and I brought that fighting spirit with me to Washington,” Hatch said. “But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. And for me, that time is soon approaching.”
Romney, a former governor of Massachussets and a vocal critic of the president, is widely reported to be considering running for Hatch’s seat. In a statement, Romney said Hatch had "represented the interests of Utah with distinction and honor."
The move is a blow for Trump, who pushed Hatch to stay on in a visit to Utah in December.
“We hope you will continue to serve your state and your country in the Senate for a very long time to come,” Trump said.
Hatch has been a strong supporter of the president’s agenda, and as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee was a key player in getting the tax reform bill passed in December.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the daily press briefing on Tuesday that Trump was "very sad" to see Hatch leave.
“The president certainly has the greatest and deepest amount of respect for Senator Hatch and his over four decades of experience in the Senate,” Sanders said. “He is particularly thankful for the senator's leadership and massive effort that he played and the role that he played in getting the tax cut and reform package passed.”
Trump later took to Twitter to congratulate Hatch "on an absolutely incredible career."
"He has been a tremendous supporter, and I will never forget the (beyond kind) statements he has made about me as President. He is my friend and he will be greatly missed in the U.S. Senate!" the president said.
In his statement, Hatch noted that he had authored more bills that became law than any living member of Congress. He also hailed the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as one of his proudest legislative achievements.
“I'm deeply grateful for the privilege you've given me to serve as your senator these last four decades,” he said in the statement. “I may be leaving the Senate, but the next chapter in my public service is just beginning.”

Trump fights fake news with 'awards' for 'most dishonest & corrupt media'

President Trump taunted the media Tuesday night with a mysterious announcement of “the most dishonest & corrupt media awards.”

“I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock,” Trump tweeted, without specifying if the event would take place in the morning or the afternoon. “Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!”

The tweet was the latest shot in a longstanding battle between the president and what he’s derided as the “fake news media.” Based on his past comments, it's clear who could get nominated for the new “awards.”
Throughout the past year, the commander-in-chief often has called out major newspapers and news networks for getting stories wrong, and has questioned their anonymous sources.
“Whenever you see the words ‘sources say’ in the fake news media, and they don’t mention names,” Trump wrote in May 2017, “it is very possible that those sources don’t exist but are made up by fake news writers. #FakeNews is the enemy!”
TRUMP TELLS KIM JONG UN HIS ‘NUCLEAR BUTTON’ IS LARGER, ‘MORE POWERFUL’
For example, Trump slammed the Washington Post in December 2017 for a story claiming he came close to “rescinding” the nomination for Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch prior to his confirmation hearing.
And also, when he called out CNN in a tweet for its report on WikiLeaks documents provided to his campaign. The network eventually backed off its initial report saying the documents weren't public.
TRUMP LAUNCHES 2018 WITH TWEET TORNADO ON HUMA, DACA, KIM, NYT AND MORE
To end 2017 and welcome in the New Year, the president drafted a tweet wishing his “friends, supporters, enemies, haters, and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a Happy and Healthy New Year.”
And most recently, Trump congratulated the new publisher of “The Failing New York Times” and offered a bit of unsolicited advice.
“The Failing New York Times has a new publisher, A.G. Sulzberger. Congratulations!” Trump tweeted. “Here is a last chance for the Times to fulfill the vision of its Founder, Adolph Ochs, ‘to give the news impartially, without fear or FAVOR, regardless of party, sect, or interests involved.’”
He continued: “Get impartial journalists of a much higher standard, lose all of your phony and non-existent ‘sources,’ and treat the President of the United States FAIRLY, so that the next time I (and the people) win, you won’t have to write an apology to your readers for a job poorly done! GL.”

Mayor Bill De Blasio Cartoons

Trump calls Kate Steinle verdict 'disgraceful,' says 'no wonder' people are 'angry with illegal immigration'

President Trump late Thursday tweeted that the not guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial was “disgraceful,” highlighting his apparent frustration at the resolution of a case he had cited during his presidential campaign as a justification for tougher immigration enforcement.
“A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case!” Trump tweeted after the jury rejected possible charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to first-degree murder. “No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration.”
Early Friday, Trump reaffirmed his support for the border wall and warned Democrats they will pay a "big price" in future elections for being "weak" on crime.
Jim Steinle, who was walking with his 32-year-old daughter when she was killed, echoed Trump’s sentiments, telling the San Francisco Chronicle the family was saddened and shocked by the verdict.
"There's no other way you can coin it. Justice was rendered, but it was not served," he said in what he called the last interview he would do about the case.
A jury earlier Thursday found Jose Ines Garcia Zarate not guilty in Steinle’s killing on a San Francisco pier during the presidential primary campaign in 2015.
U.S. immigration officials said they will deport Garcia Zarate, who had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Steinle was fatally shot in the back while walking with her father.
The killing touched off a fierce national immigration debate, and was used by then-candidate Trump to push for a wall on the Mexican border.
"From Day 1 this case was used as a means to foment hate, to foment division and to foment a program of mass deportation. It was used to catapult a presidency along that philosophy of hate of others," defense attorney Francisco Ugarte said after the verdict. "I believe today is a day of vindication for the rest of immigrants."
The case spotlighted San Francisco's "sanctuary city" policy, which limits local officials from cooperating with U.S. immigration authorities.
Politics, however, did not come up in the month-long trial that featured extensive testimony from ballistics experts. Defense attorneys argued that Garcia Zarate was a hapless homeless man who killed Steinle in a freak accident. Prosecutors said he meant to shoot and kill her.
Garcia Zarate did not deny shooting Steinle and said it was an accident.
Jurors did find him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, meaning he knowingly had a firearm but there was no intent for him to hurt or shoot anyone. Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the count carries a potential sentence of 16 months to three years behind bars.
The family did not attend the reading of the verdict. Jurors left without comment and the judge sealed their names.
Before the shooting, Garcia Zarate finished a federal prison sentence for illegal re-entry into the United States and had been transferred to San Francisco's jail in March 2015 to face a 20-year-old charge for selling marijuana.

New York Dems Cuomo, de Blasio still seem at odds

It’s difficult to say what’s colder in New York these days – the winter weather or the frosty feud between the state’s two most prominent Democrat office holders.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was sworn in for a second term on New Year’s Day, in a frigid 14-degree outdoor ceremony, with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders imported from Vermont to officiate.

Where was New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo? He was out on Long Island, swearing in a suburban county executive.
Odd couple
Though members of the same party, de Blasio and Cuomo have long been the Democrats’ odd couple.
In September, for example, Cuomo refused to endorse any candidate in New York’s mayor’s race, the New York Post reported, even though progressive de Blasio was a solid favorite to win re-election.
Then in November, the pair seemed to be fighting over who should be considered more “anti-Trump,” the Post reported, citing a fundraising letter in which the more centrist Cuomo urged his supporters to protest outside a Dec. 2 Trump fundraising event in Manhattan.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, administers the oath of office as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is sworn in for a second term, in New York City, Jan. 1, 2018.  (Associated Press)

The Dems’ split traces to at least 2013, Vice reported, when Cuomo opted against fully backing de Blasio’s plan to fund pre-kindergarten classes for the city’s children. It was considered the then-new mayor’s signature policy proposal. (The Vice story carried the subtle headline, ""Why Bill de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo Hate Each Other's Guts.")
Joke from Clinton
The long-running tiff was even a source of public mockery from then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at a New York political dinner just prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Her Republican rival, Donald Trump, was also in attendance.
“Your eminence,” Clinton said to the evening’s host, Roman Catholic Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan, “you do deserve great credit for bringing together two people who've been at each other's throats — mortal enemies, bitter foes.
“I've got to ask: How did you get the governor and mayor here together tonight?”

"I've got to ask: How did you get the governor and mayor here together tonight?"

- Hillary Clinton, joking about the Cuomo-de Blasio feud in October 2016.

De Blasio won re-election in November, becoming the first Democrat to return to City Hall in New York since Edward Koch won a third term in 1985.

Hillary Clinton joked about the Cuomo-de Blasio feud during the 2016 presidential campaign.  (Associated Press)

Brooklyn bros
Why was Sanders the choice to swear in de Blasio? Perhaps because Sanders stumped for de Blasio during the mayoral campaign, where he referred to de Blasio as “the opposite” of President Donald Trump – a characterization undoubtedly popular with de Blasio’s progressive base.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has called New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio "the opposite" of President Donald Trump.

“What this election here in New York is about is that everything that de Blasio is trying to do is exactly the opposite of what Trump is trying to do and you should all be very proud of that,” Sanders told a Manhattan crowd in October, Politico reported.
Aside from being ideological allies, Sanders and de Blasio also each have ties to Brooklyn. Sanders was born in the New York City borough, and de Blasio has called it home for many years.

With new year, California becomes 'sanctuary state'

California became a "sanctuary state" Monday, as a bill that Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in October officially took effect.

The law bars police in the nation's most populous state from asking people about their immigration status or participating in federal immigration enforcement activities in most cases, Fox News reported.

The Golden State is home to an estimated 2.3 million illegal immigrants.
“These are uncertain times for undocumented Californians and their families, and this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety, while bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear everyday,” Brown said on the day he signed the bill.
But the measure has drawn a rebuttal from an unidentified source, as signs mocking the law have appeared below the "Welcome to California" signs that greet motorists as they enter from Arizona and Nevada.
"OFFICIAL SANCTUARY STATE," the signs declare. "Felons, Illegals and MS13 Welcome! Democrats Need The Votes!"

OMG! Look at this sign someone put up on the 15 Freeway between LA and Las Vegas!

It reads :
Welcome to California. Official Sanctuary State.
Felons, Illegals and MS13 Welcome
Democrats need the Votes! #NewYearsDay pic.twitter.com/pc5xRnqZIB

— Kambree Kawahine Koa (@KamVTV) January 1, 2018

California passed the bill just as the Trump administration was pledging to crack down on sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Trump repeatedly pointed to the case of Kate Steinle, a woman who was fatally shot July 1, 2015, on a San Francisco pier by an illegal immigrant. The defendant went on trial for murder, but was acquitted in November 2017.
“No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration," the president tweeted after the verdict, which he labeled "disgraceful."

A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case! No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrhmp) December 1, 2017

Other members of the Trump administration spoke out against the California proposal.
“The bill risks the safety of good law enforcement officers and the safety of the neighborhoods that need their protection the most,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in September, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Added Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: “By passing this bill, California politicians have chosen to prioritize politics over public safety.
“Disturbingly, the legislation serves to codify a dangerous policy that deliberately obstructs our country’s immigration laws and shelters serious criminal alien offenders," Homan's statement continued.
Prior to Brown's approval, California's Legislature passed the measure in September.