All Hail Trump

Mueller at Risk:  On Monday Chris Ruddy, Trump’s close friend and sometimes confidante, said that Trump may be testing the waters to see if he can get away with firing Special Counsel Mueller in order to shut down the Russia investigation.  Jay Sekulow, Trump’s legal spokesmen had already raised the possibility that Mueller could be fired and on Monday former Congressman Newt Gingrich followed up by tweeting that it was delusional to think that Mueller would be fair to Trump, saying it was “time to rethink.”  Gingrich’s alarming remark is particularly telling since just last month he said that the fair minded Mueller was the perfect choice for special counsel, but now faced with an expanded investigation and concerned about the cracker jack prosecutorial team that Mueller has hired, he is changing his tune.  Firing Mueller would be Nixonian, possibly a presidency killer and scarily reminiscent of the Watergate era Saturday Night Massacre when Nixon doomed his presidency by firing his special counsel Archibald Cox. When asked about the rumor, even Senator Rubio looked stunned, saying, in the understatement of the week, it would be a “bad idea.”  Representative Adam Schiff tweeted if Trump “fired Bob Mueller, Congress would immediately re-establish independent counsel and appoint Bob Mueller. Don’t waste our time.” 

Workforce Development Week:  Before the emergence of the Mueller rumors, the Trump Administration had been trying to divert attention from the Russia investigation by orchestrating a number of theme weeks. If you blinked you would have missed that last week was Infrastructure Week.  Trump signed a few mostly blank pages in an elaborate Oval Office ceremony but no bills were proposed or passed and no funds were authorized.  This week is supposed to be Workforce Development Week.  With the help of favorite daughter Ivanka, Labor Secretary Acosta announced a plan to promote private apprenticeship programs.  No additional public funds will be allocated but Acosta has announced that a number of private corporations have promised Ivanka that they will consider creating apprenticeship and job retraining programs that may or may not lead to permanent employment. Monday morning Ivanka appeared on Fox News but forgot that she was supposed to be advancing her dad’s “transformative” workplace ideas, instead she complained about the viciousness of politics.  She’s never noticed that her father has taken the art of malicious name calling to a new level. 

Sessions Day:   Attorney General Sessions will be testifying today in an open hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.  Expect him to be asked about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, especially his third encounter, the one that Former FBI Director Comey alluded to during his testimony last week.  Sessions, who is supposed to be recused from having anything to do with the Russia investigation, will also be asked about his inappropriate role in Comey’s firing. The Senators will want him to share his recollection of the meeting where Comey says that he was left alone in Trump’s clutches. Lastly, Sessions will be asked to relay anything he knows about Trump’s plans to free himself of the Mueller “inquisition.” Sessions is likely to hide behind Trump’s executive privilege, refusing to answer questions about any of his private conversations with Trump, particularly the one where Trump said, let’s fire that nutjob Comey and brag about it to the Russians.  Though Sessions may be less than forthcoming, there is a chance that the Intelligence Committee now knows whether or not Trump tried to enlist help from NSA Director Rogers in his effort to convince Comey to drop his investigation into former security adviser Mike Flynn’s activities.  Rogers, who refused to answer questions during his earlier public hearing appearance, met with the Senate Intelligence Committee last night in their cone of silence.   So far, we don’t know what he said but Trump is very concerned. 

No Tapes: On Monday, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request submitted by the Wall Street Journal, the Secret Service reported that they’ve never seen any White House tapes or transcripts.  Unless Trump was using his personal cell phone or was hiding a stenographer under the couch, there are no White House Tapes. Nevertheless, Spicer still won’t answer any questions about the tapes.  He is waiting for Trump to grant him permission to speak.  

Another Travel Ban Ruling:  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Trump’s revised travel ban on Monday.  Like the Fourth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit judges cited Trump’s tweets as one of the factors influencing their decision.   Attorney General Sessions says he disagrees and will appeal to the Supreme Court where he is already arguing that the ban should be restored and that judges in Hawaii should be discounted because Hawaii isn’t really a state.

Emoluments:  Attorney Generals from Washington, DC and the State of Maryland filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging that payments to Trump’s businesses by foreign governments constitute emoluments and violate anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution.  They argue that Maryland and Washington DC are losing money because foreign governments are moving business that would have otherwise gone to government owned or tax payer subsidized facilities to the Trump International Hotel near the White House.  If the courts allow them to proceed with the case the two attorney generals plan to demand that Trump turn over his elusive tax returns so that they can determine the extent of his foreign business dealings. Obtaining the Trump tax returns may be the real point of this lawsuit.      

Secret Trumpcare: Senate Majority Leader McConnell is doing his best to round up votes for his top-secret Trumpcare plan and still hopes to get it through the Senate before Independence Day.  Despite protests from Democratic members of the Senate, McConnell is keeping the contents of the bill a secret because, as one Republican aide said, he’s not stupid enough to let anyone read the dreadful bill before they have to vote on it.  

All Hail Trump:  Trump held his first all hands on deck cabinet meeting on Monday.  He bragged about all of his accomplishments especially his record breaking legislative track record before commanding all of his cabinet members to say something really nice about him.  Each of them complied, with a series of overly flattering,  staged responses in a performance more typical of a Kim Jong-un or Putin birthday celebration.  Chief of Staff Priebus, who is trying to work himself out of the Trump dog house, won the award for “most obsequious” compliment when he kissed Trump’s ring and thanked him for the “opportunity and the blessing” to serve his agenda.