TOGA! TOGA!

Trump's personnel office is full of a bunch of twenty-something party kids. No wonder they can't get decent appointees, and can't handle proper vetting for the ones they do

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/vodka-chugging-20-somethings-are-vetting-the-white-house.html

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/white-house-personnel-office-woes

More: https://www.salon.com/2018/03/30/the-white-house-personnel-office-is-basically-a-frat-house/
The White House personnel office is basically a frat house

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/03/the-white-house-personnel-office-is-just-a-big-frat-party/
The rest of the piece basically says the personnel office is wildly understaffed; that nobody outside the White House is volunteering to help screen candidates; and anyway, nobody wants to work for Trump in the first place. But this bad situation isn’t made any better by hiring people like this . . .

In other news . . .

Trump asks, what does "community college" mean?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-ohio-i-dont-know-what-means-community-college

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/03/donald-trump-community-colleges/556976

EPA Sect'y Scott Pruitt just can't stay out of trouble

https://thinkprogress.org/why-it-matters-scott-pruitt-and-his-daughter-rented-apartment-from-lobbyists-158dd3337f81/

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scott-pruitt-security-broke-down-door-napping-inside

A chance to end partisan gerrymandering

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/29/1753009/-Will-the-Supreme-Court-finally-get-it-together-and-end-partisan-gerrymandering

Fox World has gone from an outlet for right-wing news and commentary, to Trump Central -- and most conservative voices that are in any way critical of Trump have been exiled

https://thinkprogress.org/fox-news-contributor-barred-from-talking-about-russia-aa111435d8b4/

More: https://politicalwire.com/2018/03/30/the-decline-of-fox-news/
 

Bonus item: Ohmmmm . . . .

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/meditation-helped-ethics-staff-trump
While the stress of President Trump’s administration eventually pushed former ethics chief Walter Shaub out the door and into the arms of a partisan watchdog group, before he left, he took some enlightened steps to try to reduce tension in the Office of Government Ethics. He meditated. . . . Shaub and more than a dozen other ethics staffers would take 10 minutes out of each day to clear the conference room, dim the lights, close their eyes and listen to the smooth, sometimes sardonic voice of British former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe as he led the staff through a series of meditative breaths . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

UNMOVED

Russia is engaged in cyberwarfare against the U.S. And Trump doesn't care

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/03/report-russians-are-hacking-critical 

He doesn't want to upset Putin

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nbc-trump-told-aides-not-to-publicize-weapons-sales-to-ukraine
President Donald Trump told aides not to publicize his decision to allow the sale of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, NBC News reported Thursday, so as to avoid agitating Russian President Vladimir Putin. . . .

A little background: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mueller-russia-probe-investigating-2016-cleveland-republican-convention 

Trump may not fire his Chief of Staff, but he is ignoring him (he's already said he doesn't think he needs one -- and has always chafed at Kelly's attempts to impose some order and discipline)

https://politicalwire.com/2018/03/29/trump-freezes-out-kelly/

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kelly-not-included-russia-call-bolton-hire

[NB: So, when does Kelly just quit?]

Trump claims construction has begun on The Wall™. He's lying

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/979082457340407808 

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-takes-his-border-wall-campaign-even-more-misleading-direction 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/29/1753016/-Donald-Trump-has-not-one-penny-to-build-The-Wall-so-he-s-simply-going-to-lie-about-it-instead 

Trump's pattern of firings shows once again that you can't believe anything this administration says

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-dismissal-va-secretary-proves-lied-again-19e846eea851/ 

The key to dealing with Trump is to not give a damn if he might fire you or not

https://www.thedailybeast.com/sessions-risking-trumps-wrath-doesnt-appoint-special-counsel-to-investigate-fbi
Sessions, Risking Trump’s Wrath, Doesn’t Appoint Special Counsel to Investigate FBI

Fired VA Sect'y leaves behind a going-away present

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/his-way-out-vas-shulkin-warns-radical-privatization-scheme
On his way out, VA’s Shulkin warns of radical privatization scheme

More: https://www.salon.com/2018/03/29/if-the-va-is-privatized-heres-how-veterans-will-suffer/

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/29/trump-shulkin-firing-tweet-call-492412
Shulkin: Trump didn’t mention firing in call hours before he was fired

The Veterans Affairs department has 350,000 employees. Trump says he loves the vets. So why pick someone to lead it because . . . he looked good on TV?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/29/trumps-veterans-pick-agency-451219
Trump’s VA pick blindsides staff, deepens agency disarray

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/trump-is-setting-up-his-new-va-secretary-to-fail.html
Trump Is Setting Up His New VA Secretary to Fail

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-crony-cabinet-is-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen
Trump’s Crony Cabinet Is a Disaster Waiting to Happen

EPA head Scott Pruitt is a scandal magnet (and he thinks he has a chance to become president)

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/abc-pruitt-lived-in-townhouse-co-owned-by-energy-lobbyists-wife 

Jared Kushner's long relationship with John Bolton

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wsj-kushner-phoned-bolton-advice-past-year

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/29/1752952/-Democrats-demand-FBI-investigation-into-whether-Jared-Kushner-leaked-classified-info-to-Saudi-Arabia
Democrats demand FBI investigation into whether Jared Kushner leaked classified info to Saudi Arabia 

What happens when your lawyer's lawyer is a worse lawyer than the lawyer he is defending?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/michael-cohens-attorney-may-be-a-worse-lawyer-than-he-is.html

More: https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-lawyer-has-a-lawyer-and-he-just-made-the-stormy-daniels-situation-a-lot-worse-e8e5ccf51d70/
Trump’s lawyer has a lawyer and he just made the Stormy Daniels situation a lot worse

[NB: David Schwartz is lying: of course Trump knew about the agreement and payment to Daniels. But he SAYS he didn't know, and if he didn't I don't see how that doesn't invalidate the entire agreement.]

David Schwartz is so absurd that the audience laughs out loud at him during a Thursday morning interview

https://thinkprogress.org/studio-audience-erupts-in-laughter-at-michael-cohens-lawyer-during-disastrous-nbc-interview-0c785aabdc17/
A key issue in the Stormy Daniels case is whether the $130,000 payment was designed to benefit Trump’s campaign for president. If it was, it would likely be in violation of federal election law since it would effectively be a contribution to the campaign well above the individual limit. Kelly asked a basic question: Why would Michael Cohen make this payment on Trump’s behalf? Schwartz responded that the decision was motivated, in part, by the proximity to the election. “You gotta see the way this all comes down,” Schwartz said, “First off he got approached, OK, he got approached 19 days or 15 days before the election. It’ll take $130,000 to make this go away.” In other words, Cohen was motivated because he understood the story would be damaging to Trump’s chances in the upcoming election. He is speaking on behalf of his client, and this is just about the worst possible answer Schwartz could provide.

Things went downhill from there. . .  [read on]

More: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/michael-cohens-lawyer-suggests-that-michael-cohen-is-not-trumps-lawyer.html
Trump’s Lawyer’s Lawyer Now Says Trump’s Lawyer Wasn’t Actually Trump’s Lawyer 

"Loyalty to Trump" -- how Trump's personal obsessions and foibles have transformed Republican politics

https://politicalwire.com/2018/03/29/loyalty-to-trump-becomes-the-issue-in-gop-primaries/
“Fealty to Trump has become more of a litmus test than ever for Republicans. Emboldened by private polling and focus groups that show the president is incredibly popular with the base, GOP candidates are stepping up attacks on their rivals over any daylight they’ve shown with Trump, even if it stemmed from his personal conduct toward women or apostasy on traditional conservative orthodoxy. It’s another illustration of the degree to which Trumpism has come to define the Republican Party. This is no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush. It’s the party of Donald J. Trump.”

In other news . . .

Trump's phony infrastructure promises

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2018/03/29/trump-promised-1-5-trillion-in-infrastructure-spending-hes-1-percent-of-the-way-there/
Trump promised $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending. He’s 1 percent of the way there.

Trump gave a speech: https://www.vox.com/2018/3/29/17177496/trump-infrastructure-speech-rosanne-syria
President Donald Trump traveled to Ohio on Thursday to tout his infrastructure plan, but couldn’t stop himself from talking about many seemingly unrelated topics. . . .

The Trump admin doesn't care about workplace safety

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-labor-department-eviscerates-workplace-safety-panels

Trump's policies are cruel -- and meant to be so

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-now-detaining-pregnant-women-thanks-to-trump-order
ICE Now Detaining Pregnant Women, Thanks to Trump Order 

Scott Walker keeps losing in court, so he will hold those special elections after all

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scott-walker-schedules-special-elections-june-12

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/scott-walker-lashes-out-holder-special-elections

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/03/29/the-republicans-are-giving-up-on-democracy/

Trump attacks Amazon because he hates Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post. As with AT&T and CNN, he wants to punish his perceived media enemies

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-vilifies-amazon

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/are-trumps-attacks-on-amazon-offered-in-bad-faith/556784/

Rethinking global trade

http://prospect.org/article/trade-big-picture

The right-wing assault on the Parkland kids is unbelievably cruel. What's the MATTER with these people?

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/29/17176174/laura-ingraham-boycott-david-hogg-guns

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/the-insults-pro-gun-people-use-against-parkland-students-david-hogg-and-emma-gonzalez.html

But then there's this. . .

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/29/laura-ingraham-david-hogg-college-acceptance-491475
Companies pull ads from Fox’s Ingraham after her jab at Parkland student . . . Ingraham on Thursday issued an apology via Twitter for the remarks. . . .

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/03/29/laura-ingraham-faces-boycott-for-taunting-parkland-shooting-survivor-david-hogg/
Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg said Thursday that Laura Ingraham’s apology for taunting him over his University of California rejections is “not enough” — if it’s only motivated by a desire to not lose any more sponsors for her Fox News show. . . .

More: https://crooksandliars.com/2018/03/steve-schmidt-applauds-david-hoggs
John Heilman talked a minute ago about fear and we think about politics today, we think particularly about the Republican majority and America's greatest scared rabbit Paul Ryan and we look at all these Republican members that are scared to death, scared to death of Fox News, of Laura Ingraham, of Rush Limbaugh and what you see in this young man's quality of character, fearlessness. Maybe that's what happens after you've been down range of an AR-15 that kills your classmates and comes close to killing you. You lose all fear because this kid is not scared. He's not scared of the NRA. He's not intimidated and scared by Laura Ingraham. Laura Ingraham huffs and puffs. You have half the Republican party hiding under the table. Half of them are hiding under their bed. they're so scared. So timid, so skittish, not these kids, though. . . . But it's such a contrast, these kids, to the elected officials in the republican party.

What's going on with Kellyanne's husband?

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/03/trouble-in-conway-paradise.html
Kellyanne Conway's husband has begun deleting a series of tweets he posted in the last month that are critical of President Donald Trump. . . .

Bonus item: The problem with lie detectors

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/03/the-lie-detector-in-the-age-of-alternative-facts/556685/?utm_source=feed

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

CLOSING THE LOOP

Mueller establishes ANOTHER link between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence. It's getting pretty obvious, isn't it?

https://politicalwire.com/2018/03/28/mueller-links-trump-aide-to-russian-intel-network/

https://thinkprogress.org/rick-gates-trump-campaign-russian-intelligence-gru-mueller-f53c55bb1ac6/ 

More: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/28/17165410/george-nader-trump-mueller-immunity-russia

John Dowd tried to push pardons for Flynn and Manafort

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/28/17173098/trump-pardons-manafort-flynn
As special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators prepared charges against Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn last year, President Donald Trump’s then-lawyer sent the two men word that Trump might pardon them, according to a new report from five New York Times journalists. Yes — if the Times report is right, the president of the United States’ personal lawyer floated preemptive possible pardons in secret communications with two of the president’s close associates. And this sure looks like an attempt to prevent them from flipping and telling Mueller what they knew. . . . [read on!]

[NB: Did Trump know about, or even direct, these offers? We don't know that yet, but we do know that Mueller has been asking about Trump's comments about pardons as part of his obstruction of justice case. 

And what was Trump saying publicly while these Dowd conversations were happening?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump/trump-talks-pardons-amid-probes-of-russia-role-in-u-s-election-idUSKBN1A70FG
[July 22, 2017] Trump’s comment about pardons, tucked into an attack on the media, raised the possibility that he was considering his options if the investigations do not turn out the way he hopes. Trump did not specify who, if anyone, he might consider pardoning. His tweets appeared to be written in response to a report by The Washington Post this week that Trump and his legal team have examined presidential powers to pardon Trump aides, family members and possibly even himself. . . .“While all agree the U.S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us. FAKE NEWS,” Trump wrote.]

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/who-ratted-out-john-dowd-i-think-we-know
Who Ratted Out John Dowd?  

Another non-denial denial

https://thinkprogress.org/dowd-sanders-trump-pardons-9c058605824e/
This is the devious word game the White House is playing on Russia pardons

More: https://www.vox.com/2017/8/29/16211784/trump-pardon-manafort-flynn-mueller
10 legal experts on why Trump can’t pardon his way out of the Russia investigation 

Grain of salt. . .  but people in DC think Trump might really try to fire Mueller soon

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/03/28/congress-seems-a-little-skittish-that-trump-will-fire-mueller-in-the-next-few-weeks/

More: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/28/trump-mueller-russia-probe-488695
Trump attack unleashes oppo against Mueller ‘It looks like the beginnings of a campaign,’ said a source familiar with Trump’s legal strategy. . . 

Trump's new lawyer is . . . the best he could get

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/contingency-lawyer-medieval-historian-is-trumps-new-lead-counsel
Ekonomou does not appear to have ever worked at a major national law firm, ever worked in Washington, DC or even worked as a defense lawyer. . . . [read on]

Trump's impulsive and ill-informed approach to foreign policy allows him to get played, again. We see it with Putin and others. He thinks he's so smart -- but behind his back they must be laughing at him

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/28/politics/trump-kim-china-summit-intl/index.html
China throws Trump a curveball ahead of his meeting with Kim
 
Remember? https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/trump-foreign-policy-adviser-220853
[March 16, 2016] Asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” who he talks with consistently about foreign policy, Trump responded, “I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things." . . . "[M]y primary consultant is myself and I have a good instinct for this stuff." 

No, North Korea is not going to "denuclearize" 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/kim-and-trump-dont-mean-the-same-thing-when-they-talk-about-denuclearization.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/kim-jong-un-china-xi-jinping-train-nuclear-trump-summit/556679/ 

Trump fires VA Sect'y, and in what is becoming a common trend, replaces him with his personal physician

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/trump-replaces-veterans-secretary-with-his-personal-doctor.html

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-impressed-dr-podium-performance

The growing list of Trump departures: https://www.vox.com/2018/3/6/17088334/shulkin-trump-white-house-staff-exists

The Census Bureau didn't want to implement Trump's discriminatory citizenship question -- but Wilbur Ross forced them to

https://www.propublica.org/article/wilbur-ross-overruled-career-officials-at-census-bureau-to-add-citizenship-question

The huge lawsuit that is coming: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/legal-battles-census-citizenship-question

In other news. . .

Trump has been pretty quiet lately. Some think, TOO QUIET

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/the-silence-of-the-trump/556688/

Perhaps you already noticed this

https://politicalwire.com/2018/03/28/the-most-male-administration-in-decades/
The Most Male Administration In Decades 

More: https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/26/politics/ryan-zinke-diversity/index.html
Sources: Zinke tells employees diversity isn't important

All the female senators, of both parties, stand together on sexual harassment and assault

https://thinkprogress.org/senate-women-harassment-letter-bf9e65387364/ 

Think about this for a second

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/28/1752718/-More-FBI-agents-are-dedicated-to-looking-at-Hillary-Clinton-s-email-than-Trump-s-Russia-scandal
More FBI agents are dedicated to looking at Hillary Clinton's email than Trump's Russia scandal

[NB: Witch hunt?]

Cambridge Analytica is . . . evil

https://thinkprogress.org/cambridge-analytica-is-a-global-problem-737f86641b53/ 

Relentless bullying from the GOP has the FBI opening an investigation into the Carter Page FISA warrant. Okay, fine -- but let's be clear: the Page warrant (and the Steele memo cited in it) HAD NOTHING TO DO with initiating an investigation into Trump-Russia (that had already begun)

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/doj-oig-surveillance-investigation-warrant

https://www.vox.com/world/2018/3/28/17174242/justice-department-carter-page-warrant-investigation

Why is it taking so long to announce a new WH Communications Director?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/28/hope-hicks-white-house-communications-director-trump-messaging-490877

It's a mistake, as I mentioned the other day, to talk about repealing the Second Amendment -- it's not going to happen, but now it gives Trump and the NRA traction to fundraise and get-out-the-vote for candidates in the fall who will "protect gun rights" and appoint another right-wing Supreme Court justice. Allowing them to foment paranoia that "the liberals are coming after your guns" serves their purpose, not ours. The right approach, and the politically smarter one, is to talk about ENFORCING the Second Amendment, as written

Trump: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/978932860307505153

A better approach: https://www.vox.com/2018/3/28/17168772/second-amendment-stevens 

The White House calls police shootings of black men a "local issue," which it would be . . . IF IT DIDN'T KEEP HAPPENING ALL ACROSS THE DAMN COUNTRY!

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/white-house-calls-police-shooting-deaths-of-black-men-a-local-issue

https://thinkprogress.org/sanders-trump-police-shooting-black-men-local-matter-e710a8362f20/

Popcorn!

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/stormy-daniels-depose-trump-cohen
Stormy Daniels’ Lawyer Moves To Depose Trump And Cohen

More: https://crooksandliars.com/2018/03/judge-napolitano-predicted-donald-trump

Michael Cohen's lawyer says he never told Trump anything about the agreement with Stormy Daniels or the $130,000 payment. That sounds absurdly untrue

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-significant-admission

Popcorn!!!!

https://politicalwire.com/2018/03/28/lawsuit-over-trumps-business-ties-can-proceed/
“A lawsuit accusing President Trump of violating the Constitution by refusing to divorce himself from his businesses cleared a critical hurdle Wednesday when a federal judge in Maryland refused the Justice Department’s plea to dismiss it,” the New York Times reports. “The decision could allow the plaintiffs to scrutinize the Trump Organization’s financial records for payments from foreign entities and others possibly seeking to influence the White House.”

More: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/28/17173104/emoluments-clause-lawsuit-trump-international-hotel-maryland-dc-standing

What do the Trump opinion polls mean?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/why-are-trump-approval-ratings-on-the-rise.html

Bonus item: Smartphone photos and memory

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/3/28/17054848/smartphones-photos-memory-research-psychology-attention

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-selfie-isnt-the-problem-we-are

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***