Presumptuous Politics

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Trump to announce VP pick Friday in New York City

Donald Trump said late Wednesday he will announce his choice for vice president at 11 a.m. ET on Friday in New York City.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee posted the news on Twitter, adding, "Details to follow."
Trump, his adult children and key staffers have been meeting with vice presidential prospects all week.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said his campaign still has three or four potential vice-presidential candidates “but in my own mind, I probably am thinking about two.”
Trump discussed his finalists on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” in a wide-ranging interview that included questions about his dustup with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Hillary Clinton and the GOP’s nominating convention next week.
Trump said Ginsberg recently calling him a “faker” and suggesting that a Trump presidency would be bad for America is an “absolute disgrace” to the high court and that she should apologize to the entire country.
“There’s almost something wrong with her,” Trump said about the 83-year-old justice. “I think I am questioning her mental capacity.”
Trump made the comments during an interview conducted in Indianapolis, which has become ground-zero for his vice presidential vetting and where has met with GOP Gov. Mike Pence three times in the past two days.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said a breakfast with Pence and the Trump family “went really well.”
“High quality person,” Trump said about Pence, who now appears high on Trump’s VP shortlist. “Wonderful guy. We had a great meeting.”
Trump appeared Tuesday in Indiana at a campaign event and fundraiser with Pence, then talked again Wednesday with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another potential pick.
He dismissed assumptions that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is off the list, saying he’s “somebody I've liked a long time. He's a total professional. He's a good guy. … A lot of people don't understand that.”
Trump said the “greatest accomplishment” for Clinton, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, will be “getting out of her email scandal” -- referring to her using a private Internet server system while secretary of state to send and receive government information.
“How she’s been able to get away from the lies, the deceit, the destruction of 33,000 emails. To me, that’s her single greatest accomplishment,” Trump said of his likely general election rival.
The Clinton campaign declined to directly respond to Trump’s comments, instead referring to earlier responses in which they called Republicans’ comments about the emails “another partisan witch hunt.”
Trump also argued that he’s not looking for a vice president to play the traditional role of attacking a general election rival.
“I just want to pick somebody that’s solid, who’s smart. I’m not looking for an attack dog. Frankly, I’m looking for somebody that really understands what we’re talking about,” Trump said. “I would rather be talking about policy … not talking about ‘Crooked Hillary.’ ”
He also expressed optimism about how Republicans are putting together the draft party platform for the convention that includes his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“A few people have said it’s like a Donald Trump speech,” Trump said. “But nobody has ever agreed” with an entire platform.
Trump also downplayed concerns about the party’s Rules Committee perhaps drafting convention procedures for delegates that might help the so-called “Never Trump” effort, saying he’s never been worried about such efforts.
He said that he plans to give a “law-and-order” speech at the convention, similar to those he’s recently given.

Trump's RNC lineup features at least 20 current or former lawmakers

CLEVELAND – There are war heroes, a casino magnate and even an underwear model in the lineup, yet Donald Trump is relying heavily on his party's establishment to fill the speaking program for next week's Republican National Convention.
The presumptive presidential nominee has approved a convention program that features at least 20 current or former elected officials, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Noticeably absent from a speaker list obtained by The Associated Press early Thursday are the athletes and A-List celebrities that Trump's team has long suggested would help make his presidential nominating convention unlike any other.
Yet there is no shortage of political outsiders.
Speakers will include four of Trump's children, Las Vegas casino owner Phil Ruffin, and actor and former underwear model Antonio Sabato Jr. And in a slap at Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, Mark Geist and John Tiegen will also take the stage, both survivors of the deadly 2012 attack on the American diplomatic consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
"This impressive lineup of veterans, political outsiders, faith leaders and those who know Donald Trump the best — his family and longtime friends — represent a cross-section of real people facing the same challenges as every American household," said Trump spokesman Jason Miller.
Despite the list of familiar politicos, the convention program is a reminder that the Republican Party remains deeply divided over Trump's candidacy.
Some of the GOP's biggest names were not on the list because they refused to participate in four-day convention, which begins on Monday.
The GOP's two living presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and its two most recent presidential nominees, John McCain and Mitt Romney, all plan to avoid the Cleveland affair — as does Ohio's Republican Gov. John Kasich. Shrugging off the high-profile absences, Trump's team suggested the convention lineup would help highlight Trump's outsider appeal.
"We are totally over-booked. We have great speakers, we have winners, we have people that aren't only political people," Trump told Fox News Channel on Tuesday. "We have a lot of people that are just champions and winners."
The New York billionaire acknowledged in recent days that he'd be hewing a little closer to tradition.
"Look, I have great respect for the institution of the conventions. I mean to me, it's very important. So we're not going to change the wheel," he said on Fox.
While New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady was initially teased as a possible speaker, there were no high-profile athletes on the list obtained by the AP. Other speakers include Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, Black Lives Matter critic and Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke, and Jerry Falwell Jr., son of the famed Christian televangelist.
The convention will also feature several former presidential competitors, including Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Ben Carson and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Two finalists in Trump's search for a running mate made the list as well: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich. The other finalist, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was not included in the program obtained by the AP.
Trump had already announced that his children would be speaking, along with his wife Melania, whom he said was already working on remarks.
Ivanka Trump, who along with Trump's other adult children, has been playing an increasingly central role in the campaign, predicted in a recent radio interview the GOP convention would be "a great combination of our great politicians, but also great American businessmen and women and leaders across industry and leaders across really all sectors, from athletes to coaches and everything in between."
"I think it will be a convention unlike any we've ever seen," she told the station. "It will be substantive. It will be interesting. It will be different. It's not going to be a ho-hum lineup of, you know, the typical politicians."

'Gag' order: FBI confirms special secrecy agreements for agents in Clinton email probe

NY Post: FBI agents on Clinton case forced to sign rare NDA

The FBI has confirmed to a senior Republican senator that agents were sworn to secrecy -- and subject to lie detector tests -- in the Hillary Clinton email probe, an extensive measure one former agent said could have a "chilling effect."
A July 1 letter sent by a senior deputy to FBI Director James Comey to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, detailed the restrictions on agents. The letter, reviewed by Fox News, confirmed agents signed a "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" which says the disclosure of information is "strictly prohibited" without prior approval, and those who sign are subject to lie detector tests.
"The purpose of this form is to maintain an official record of persons knowledgeable of a highly sensitive Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence investigation," the agreement attached to the Grassley letter reads, "....I (FBI agent) also understand that, due to the nature and sensitivity of this investigation, compliance with these restrictions may be subject to verification by polygraph examination."
The measures show the extent to which the bureau has gone to keep additional details of the politically sensitive case from going public. While Comey has provided some information ‎on why the FBI did not opt to pursue charges, Attorney General Loretta Lynch repeatedly ducked questions on specifics of the case at a House hearing Tuesday.
A recently retired FBI agent, who declined to speak on the record, citing the sensitivity of the matter, said a "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" is reserved for "the most sensitive of sensitive cases," and can have a "chilling effect" on agents, who understand "it comes from the very top and that there has to be a tight lid on the case."
The former agent said the agreements can also contribute to "group think" because investigators cannot bounce ideas off other agents, only those within a small circle.
Grassley first wrote to the FBI Director February 4 after a Fox News report that agents were asked to sign additional non-disclosure agreements. In his response to the senator, the FBI's Assistant Director, Office of Congressional Affairs, Stephen D. Kelly, said “this was not a unique circumstance” and agents "may from time to time be asked to sign similar forms.”
The July letter also says that the purpose of the agreement was two-fold: "to maintain an official record of all persons knowledgeable of this highly unusual investigation, and to remind individuals of their obligations to protect classified and sensitive information." The letter states "no one refused to sign" or “raised any questions or concerns.”
Comey said last week more than 100 classified emails were sent or received by Hillary Clinton, including some at the Top Secret level, which would require agents to have the necessary clearance to review and investigate. Some of the intelligence came from the U.S. government's most closely held programs, known as Special Access Programs, or SAP and included human spying.
The "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" is more evidence that the probe was always a serious criminal investigation, and never a "security review" or "security inquiry" as described by Clinton and her campaign team.
Responding one day after the FBI director said he would not recommend criminal charges, Grassley pointed to Comey's conclusions that a limited number of emails had classified markings, thousands of work related emails were not turned over by Clinton to the State Department despite a sworn declaration to a federal court and her public assurances, as well as "potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information."
"In light of all these inconsistencies, it is even more troubling that the FBI tried to gag its agents with a non-disclosure agreement on this matter, in violation of whistleblower protection statutes," Grassley said in the strongly worded letter. "...you indicated that agents working on this case were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that failed to exempt protected whistleblowing. Only after I wrote to you did you advise your FBI agents that they are still free to speak with Congress regarding waste, fraud, and abuse."
The "Case Briefing Acknowledgement Addendum" provided to Senator Grassley after the initial FBI response July 1 makes clear the agreement does not supersede or conflict with "communications to Congress" and "the reporting to an Inspector General of a violation, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or….any other whistleblower protection."
Grassley also noted the timing of the FBI's response five months after his original request for information on the NDAs, with a partial response July 1, and full response on July 5 2016, the same day the FBI made a public recommendation at bureau headquarters against criminal charges.
The New York Post first reported that the "Case Briefing Acknowledgement" was signed by the Clinton email agents, citing anonymous sources, but the Grassley letter is believed to be the first public acknowledgement by the FBI, and includes a sample copy of the non-disclosure agreement.
Grassley’s letter is wide ranging, and beyond the non-disclosure agreements, requests a response by July 20 to questions including whether, after Bill Clinton and Lynch’s June 28 meeting on a Phoenix airport tarmac, there is no need for a special counsel. He also wanted to know about the FBI’s reported agreement that some questions would be off limits for Clinton’s personal attorney Cheryl Mills, and whether the FBI or Justice Department raised concerns that several of Clinton’s associates used the same attorneys to represent them in the investigation.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Ohio Gov. John Kasich Cartoons

Anti-Trump Republicans urge Kasich to run as part of last-ditch bid

The stop-Trump movement isn't dead yet -- and Ohio Gov. John Kasich could be their last hope.
Republicans opposed to Donald Trump’s 2016 bid reportedly are making a fresh pitch for Kasich to step up as an alternative candidate ahead of the party’s convention in Cleveland. Former New Hampshire Sen. Gordon Humphrey asked Kasich allies Sunday to contact the former presidential candidate and urge him to offer himself as an alternative at the convention, according to Cleveland.com.
"Given our shared effort in the Kasich campaign, I am sure you agree," Humphrey reportedly wrote. "But, John needs encouragement to make the move. Please email John and offer him your encouragement and continued backing. ... It's not going to get better than this, but time is of the essence."
Humphrey’s email highlights a key difficulty the anti-Trump Republican have faced – they don’t have an alternative candidate waiting in the wings as a rallying point for those opposed to the billionaire’s nomination.
Prominent anti-Trump commentator William Kristol made a similar call on Sunday, calling for either Kasich or 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney to step in at the last minute.
Kristol previously had tried to convince a number of possible candidates to step up to the plate against Trump, to no avail. He eventually eyed National Review writer David French – who opted not to run.
Kasich has remained coy about his plans, telling The Washington Post he has no plans to endorse Trump or speak at the convention, but that he is not shutting down his political operation.
“I’m not shutting my political operation down,” the governor of the host state said. “I’m not closing any doors. But my focus right now is going to be on the House, the Senate, and the down-ticket here in my state.”
The anti-Trump movement also faces a hurdle in party rules binding delegates to the candidate they were assigned by their state contests. To have a chance at the convention, supporters have to convince the GOP Rules Committee to change those rules in order to allow delegates to vote their conscience.
The committee is set to meet Wednesday and Thursday.
Politico reports that anti-Trump delegates led by Colorado’s Kendal Unruh are trying to scrape together support for a so-called "conscience clause" at the convention.
Unruh told Fox News Tuesday that the rules committee delegations from five states, as well as two individuals, are preparing to announce their support for a rule change, and that she has the support of more than a dozen others.
Anti-Trump delegates were given a small boost Monday when a Virginia judge ruled that the state can’t force its delegates to vote in a winner-take-all fashion, as stated in an obscure portion of Virginia election law. But the law in question was so obscure that Republicans had already decided to allocate delegates in a proportional fashion, based on the results of the state's March 1 primary, which Trump won. The ruling leaves that unchanged.
Still, Virginia delegate Carroll Correll Jr., who filed the lawsuit last month, counted the ruling as a symbolic victory.
"Requiring delegates to vote for any candidate is unconstitutional and today's announcement is a blow to Trump's efforts," said Correll.

Trump demands Ginsburg resign after her comments on his campaign

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ripped Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a Twitter message late Tuesday.
"Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me," Trump wrote on his Twitter account. “Her mind is shot — resign."
Trump has been on the defensive after Ginsburg told the Associated Press last week that she felt he was unqualified for the position. She said in an interview that she didn't want to think about the possibility that Trump would be president and predicted that Democrat Hillary Clinton would win.
Ginsburg also joked that she would move to New Zealand if Trump were elected.
Trump told the New York Times earlier Tuesday that her comments were “highly inappropriate” and a “disgrace to the court.”
“It’s highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly … I think she should apologize to the court. I would hope that she would get off the court as soon as possible,” he added.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that it was "totally inappropriate" for Ginsburg to criticize Trump.
McConnell said that members of the Supreme Court shouldn't weigh in on American elections.
"It raises a level of skepticism that the American people have from time to time about just how objective the Supreme Court is, whether they're over there to call the balls and strikes, or weigh in on one side or another," he said.

Cleveland catastrophe? Media forecast a disastrous Trump convention

The media appear to be declaring the Republican convention to be a failure even before it gets under way.
The overwhelming narrative, now hardening into concrete, is that so many important GOP honchos are blowing it off, and the party is so seriously shattered over Donald Trump, that the Cleveland gathering is destined to be a flop.
I guess I’m old-fashioned and would like to see what happens while I’m actually in Cleveland.
Now there’s no question that most conventions are coronations and this will be far different. And there’s no dispute that there are danger signs that must be covered by the press.
Trump still hasn’t released a list of convention speakers, for instance, and it’s surreal that the former Republican presidents, most of the previous nominees and a number of his campaign rivals are skipping the proceedings.
But let’s not forget: Trump ran against the party establishment. He’s the billionaire outsider, the political newcomer who did what none of the insiders thought was remotely possible. He frequently attacked the party poohbahs and has broken with GOP orthodoxy on several major issues.
Of course he’s not going to be embraced in some kind of lovefest.
But media narratives have a way of becoming self-fulfilling prophecy. A Politico piece yesterday was headlined “GOP Operatives Dread Trump Convention”:
“Many GOP regulars are skipping Cleveland entirely. (‘I would rather attend the public hanging of a good friend,’ says Will Ritter, an up-and-coming Republican digital strategist who worked on the three previous conventions.) And among those who are making the trek, there’s an overwhelming sense it won’t be fun at all. At a time when many Republicans are deeply dissatisfied with their nominee, pessimistic about their prospects for victory in the fall and alarmed about the direction of their party, there’s a reluctance about attending the convention more typically reserved for going to the DMV, being summoned for jury duty or undergoing a root canal.”
The RNC is worse than the DMV???
“For most, the convention’s lack of appeal boils down to one thing: Trump. The New York businessman has shunned the establishment class, reaching out to few of the operatives who worked for his primary rivals and making little effort to bring them on to his team. As a result, many of the Republican ad makers, pollsters, and fundraisers who populate Washington have little desire to witness his expected nomination.”
My reaction: Who cares what the insiders think?
Yes, it would have been nice for Trump to unify the party and have everyone singing kumbaya. But that was never going to happen. Instead, he’s got Jeb Bush trashing his campaign in an hourlong special on MSNBC.
Given the wall-to-wall cable coverage of conventions, the chorus of punditry will be important. But ordinary folks watch these things very differently than journalists.
If Trump gives a great speech, and if his running mate gives a good speech, that’s half the battle.
If the lineup is entertaining, that’s a big help, too.
The couch-watchers aren’t going to sit around and say, gee, why isn’t Marco Rubio there, or I really wish John Kasich was the keynote speaker.
And here’s the wild card: The audience will probably watch in pretty large numbers. For one thing, there will be more dissent and drama in Cleveland than at most conventions (and less in Philly after Hillary and Bernie hugged it out yesterday).
But also, the star of the show is Trump, the same guy who boosts the ratings of the programs he appears on, the same guy who helped Fox draw 24 million viewers in the first presidential debate.
The convention may or may not go well, but the country may reach a different verdict than the many pundits who have soured on it in advance.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.

GOP draft platform will include Trump's proposed border wal

The Republican platform committee included language calling for a border wall along the U.S. and Mexican border in the draft party platform, getting behind one of presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump's keystone proposals.
The group wrapped up drafting the plan Tuesday in Cleveland in advance of the convention there next week, when the platform will officially be voted on by the full convention's 2,472 delegates.
The proposae platform will express support for a “border wall” that must cover “the entirety of the Southern Border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”
The measure was proposed by Trump supporter Kris Kobach, the secretary of state from Kansas.
"This is why we support building a wall along our southern border and protecting all ports of entry," Kobach told Fox News. "The border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic."
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, appearing on "On The Record with Greta Van Susteren," said that including the border wall in the party's proposed platform was a "hat tip" to Trump.
“Whether it's a fence or a wall, I mean, for years and years the platform has included the border fence, which congress passed in 2006 but never actually funded," he said. "The idea of a border fence has been in our platform for many, many years and just changing the word from fence to wall is what they did and maybe it was a little hat tip to Donald Trump on that issue and that's fine."
"It's something that the party had in the platform for a long time," he added. "We are just saying what our position is but as far as who pays for it, you know, Congress already agreed that it would be paid for 10 years ago and now it will be up to President Trump to figure that one out.”
In addition to the border wall proposal, the draft party platform calls for a slowdown in any new multinational trade deals and eliminates support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
While embracing some of Trump's proposals, the proposed GOP platform continues the party's previous stance against same-sex marriage, and other socially conservative issues.