To Tell the Truth?

Alternate Reality:  On Tuesday the country’s intelligence chiefs provided their risk assessment to the Senate, much of what they said was on camera and on many key issues, including North Korea, Iran, China, Russia and Mexico they disagreed with Trump.  Well at least that’s what we all thought they said.  According to Trump, we misheard them and the “fake” press “mischaracterized” their statements. To drive that point home, the White House released a picture of Trump meeting with his intel chiefs, although they didn’t appear to have guns to their heads, none of them looked all that happy and notably when asked to clear up the what Trump called mischaracterizations none of their press offices would comment.  About the only innocent explanation for the differences in what they had to say and what Trump believes, is that Trump never reads his daily security briefings and why would he, what’s the point in being confused by the facts?  As to facts or the lack thereof, last night the New York Times published their newest Trump interview, an oval office conversation that took place on the record even though Trump initially requested only a one on one chat with A.G. Sulzberger, the paper’s publisher.   Sulzberger did attend the interview, personally questioning and challenging Trump about his use of the term “fake news,” the term that Trump insists is an accurate way to describe the “unfair” treatment he gets from the main stream media before turning the interview over to his reporters, Peter Baker and sometimes Trump whisperer Maggie Haberman.  During the interview Trump slammed Speaker Pelosi, saying that since she’ll never agree to his WALL, that the current border budget negotiation process is a “waste of time,” adding that he’ll build his WALL regardless of what she agrees to fund, a statement that is consistent with reports that he has his advisors preparing an emergency declaration, one that he might issue on February 15 once the current interim funding resolution expires.  While decrying the “harsh” treatment that Roger Stone had received from the FBI as “a very sad thing for our country,” Trump denied that he had ever spoken to Stone about WikiLeaks, an assertion that is hard to believe given how frequently the two spoke and given the all too coincident timing of Trump’s campaign calls for the release of those Hillary emails.  As to the whole Mueller investigation Trump said that Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein has told his attorneys that he is not a subject or target of the probe, although when asked whether that covered the investigation in the Southern District of New York, he said that he “does not know.” He insisted that he is running for reelection in 2020 because he loves his job, at the same time he dismissed any suggestions that he’s made any money off the office, instead claiming that if anything it’s been a money loser for him.  He attacked the Democrats for their leftward drift, and gleefully took credit for Senator Warren being hurt by his “Pocahontas trap” but complimented Senator “Kameela” Harris for her successful campaign rollout, particularly the size of her crowds, a subject near and dear to him.  He dubiously denied that he had anything to do with son in law Kushner obtaining a security clearance, said that he was “initially” unaware that his Attorney General designee William Barr had written a memo endorsing presidential power when he selected him, asserted that his tweet attacks against people like former lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen did not constitute an obstruction of justice and denied that his involvement in the Moscow Trump tower project had gone on for as long as has been reported by both Cohen and Rudy Giuliani who he says sometimes gets things wrong.  A mixed salad of truths, half-truths and lies.

Russian Front:  Yesterday CNN reported that the two mysterious calls placed by Donald Trump Jr right before his infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya were not placed to Trump Sr but to two business associates.  ABC news reports that one of those businessman was NASCAR CEO Brian France and the other was a long term Trump associate and fellow real estate developer Howard Lorber.  The Lorber call is particularly interesting because Lorber has investments in and “deep” ties to Russia and, according to the Washington Post, traveled with Trump to Russia back in 1996 to look into “Trump building a huge luxury residential tower in Moscow as part of a project owned by a subsidiary of Lorber’s firm.”  If anything the Lorber call adds another figure to the Russia investigation without fully resolving whether or not Trump senior knew anything about the Trump Tower meeting in advance of it taking place.  The source of the information about the calls is believed to be someone in the know from the  Senate Intelligence Committee though neither of its leaders, Senators Burr or Warner would comment when asked about it.  The House Committee appears to still be out of the loop since former Chairman Devon Nunes never tried to get any information on the two calls and Mueller’s people remain characteristically silent.  In other Russia related news, the Daily Beast reports that when NRA officials traveled to Russia before the 2016 elections their then president David Keane, who was also an opinion editor for the conservative Washington Times had hoped to “win access to Putin” with the hope that the trip would have “enormous diplomatic consequences.”  Emails from Paul Erikson, the older Republican/boyfriend of Russian sparrow/gun activist Maria Butina show that efforts were being made to schedule the meeting.  The Daily Beast reports that Erickson’s emails said that “the trip could help ease relations between Russia and the US be creating a way for the Kremlin to connect with a future Republican president.”

2020:  This morning with a launch video that said “I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind; where parents can put food on the table; where there are good paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood; where our criminal justice system keeps us safe, instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins; where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame,” New Jersey’s Senator Cory Booker announced that he too is running for the Democratic nomination for President.  Booker’s announcement was not unexpected.  He’s expected to position himself as liberal but one who is more business friendly than some of his rivals.   

Foreign Policy:  Led by Majority Leader McConnell, the Senate voted 68 to 22 on a resolution condemning Trump for his planned rapid withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan.  For what its worth the resolution calls for the “administration to conduct a thorough review of its strategy regarding Syria, including an assessment of the risks of withdrawal, and calls on the administration to certify the enduring defeat of al-Qaida and ISIS before any significant withdrawal of US forces from Syria or Afghanistan.”  Later today, Secretary Pompeo is expected to announce that the US is suspending compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty after discussions to save the pact this week failed.  The INF which was negotiated by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987 bans the US and Russia from stationing short- and intermediate-range, land-based nuclear missiles in Europe. Trump had earlier announced that the US would withdraw due to Moscow’s violations and Moscow has been violating the pact so the announcement is not a total surprise but does raise serious concerns about nuclear proliferation. The announcement of a suspension will initiate a six-month countdown, after which the US must choose whether to permanently withdraw from the pact. If Russia comes into compliance with the treaty within that time frame, Trump could decide not to pull out so it’s not clear if this is posturing or some more frightening reality.