Anita Hill's Revenge?

Cabeza Case:  Early yesterday morning, while people in the Carolinas were bracing for the onslaught of Hurricane Florence and state and FEMA officials were doing their best to plan for what will probably be a slow and difficult recovery, Trump proved once again that he can’t handle any criticism and that he totally lacks empathy.  He did that by sending out two lamebrain tweets about Puerto Rico, the first asserted that “3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico” because when he left the island, “AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths.”  He went on to claim that the increase in the death count was “done by the Democrats” in order to make him  “look as bad as possible.”  The 3000 figure, actually the 2975 figure, comes from a study undertaken by George Washington University’s School of Public Health on behalf of Puerto Rico’s governor.  GWU’s analysis concluded that there were 2975 deaths in Puerto Rico from September through February by comparing the deaths in Puerto Rico to the average death rate for previous years. In response to Trump’s tweet GWU released a statement saying that they “stand by the science underlying their study.” If anything the GWU figure understates the death count, researchers at Harvard peg the number at 4675. Response to Trump’s tweets came pouring in during the day.  Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott who needs every vote he can get in order to achieve his plans of joining the Senate by unseating Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in the November elections defended the estimate by quickly tweeting “I disagree with @POTUS– an independent study said thousands were lost and Gov. Rosselló agreed. I've been to Puerto Rico 7 times & saw devastation firsthand. The loss of any life is tragic; the extent of lives lost as a result of Maria is heart wrenching. I'll continue to help PR,” his way of saying shut up you ignoramus, I need the local Puerto Rican vote. Even Ron DeSantis, the Trump mini me running against Democrat Andrew Gillum for governor pushed back, his spokesperson said that he “doesn't believe any loss of life has been inflated,” notable because aside from issuing a dog whistle or two the fairly unqualified fDeSantis has been really busy scurrying to come up with a platform for his campaign.  Outgoing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan went with the island excuse, saying that he saw “no reason to dispute these numbers, those are just the facts about what happens when a hurricane hits an isolated place like an island.”  Trump golf buddy and foreign policy whisperer Senator Lindsey Graham was more forgiving.  He said that he didn’t really know about the number of deaths or how the 3000 figure was picked, since he’s been too busy coordinating golf schedules with Trump to review any of the studies.  Late last night, Trump doubled down on his criticism by sharing a Lou Dobbs tweet that alleged that “The Hurricane Maria death tolls have been inflated & President @realDonaldTrump was right to call out organizations who threw out science and statistics to try to discredit his administration” and  White House spokesman Hogan Gidley blamed the ” liberal media” and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz for trying to exploit the island’s devastation by “pushing out a constant stream of misinformation and false accusations.” Trump’s staff had hoped to stop him from spending any more air time attacking either Bob Woodward and his book or the Anonymous NY Times Op-Ed writer.  This wasn’t what they had in mine.  New Yorkers, who’ve known the Donald for years and who didn’t support his presidency, made it clear yesterday that they don’t want a celebrity Governor either, even if her politics come from the opposite side of the spectrum.  Current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resoundingly defeated actress/activist Cynthia Nixon in the Democratic primary for Governor an indication that while Miranda might have been the most relatable Sex in the City character, she’s probably not governor material.  Letitia James, NYC’s current Public Advocate won a competitive race for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General, she beat out several candidates including the Nixon aligned progressive Zephyr Teachout.  To the extent that James defeats her Republican rival in November, and she probably will,  she will likely become an instant celebrity as she assumes responsibility for leading the New York State court assault against all things Trump.

KavanaughToo?:  Yesterday Senator Diane Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee disclosed that she had forwarded “information” about Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI.  Though she was vague about what that “information” is, reports are that it is a letter from a woman who has requested confidentiality about an alleged episode of sexual misconduct involving Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that took place when they were in high school. The letter had been given to Feinstein by California Congresswoman Anna Eshoo who received it at some point during the summer. The moderate Feinstein, who is known for being quite measured in her actions, brought the letter to the attention of her Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee and they jointly decided that it should be shared with the FBI.  The FBI has now forwarded it to the White House for inclusion in Kavanaugh’s vetting file.  The White House and Republican leadership responded by attacking the Democrats for making a scurrilous last ditch effort to destroy Kavanaugh’s nomination, going on to say that he’s been vetted many times and since the accusation never showed up then, it can’t possibly be relevant now.  That said, it’s highly likely that the FBI is following up and quite likely that Kavanaugh’s accuser will be pressured to come forward.  It’s not clear whether she will be Kavanaugh’s Anita Hill, but it’s worth noting that Hill initially requested confidentiality before the Justice Thomas confirmation hearings were reopened for her testimony.  Though her accusations, which look even more credible in today’s environment than they did years ago, were ultimately pushed aside when Thomas was voted onto the court, times have changed, or at least they’ve changed a little.  At the very least, Senators Murkowski and Collins, already facing pressure from their constituents, may find it very difficult to vote for Kavanaugh without first learning more about the accusations against him.  This could get very interesting.       

Other News:  Reports are that Manafort and his lawyers will announce that they’ve reached a plea agreement with Special Counsel Mueller as early as this morning.  It’s still not clear what that agreement will include and whether or not Manafort will be revealing anything that he knows about any Trump misdeeds.  In other news, the Times of London reports that former NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the real billionaire, is planning to run for president in 2020 as a Democrat.  The battle is on.