Crash Landings

People and Plans:  Julian Assange, who apparently really annoyed his Ecuadorean hosts because, among other things, he failed to adequately clean-up after his embassy cat, is now in the hands of British Authorities, facing extradition to the US, a process that is expected to take months if it happens at all.  US authorities assert that Assange went beyond the boundaries of legal journalistic behavior by aiding former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning with "cracking a password stored on US Department of Defense computers" that contained classified documents and secrets; it’s okay for journalists to publish purloined information, it’s not okay for them to actually help steal it.  Assange is charged with "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.  It’s also believed that he crossed the line by helping the Russians  with the DNC emails but, at least for now, he isn’t charged with anything related to the 2016 election.  His  ardent fans, including former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson don’t believe that he did anything illegal, they view his efforts to help leakers get their information published as the heroic acts of a whistleblower; however, the Twitterverse is far more concerned about what will happen to his cat. When asked about Assange’s arrest Trump, who frequently called for WikiLeaks to keep publishing DNC emails during the campaign, feigned ignorance, instead responding Wiki who? What’s that?  On the Mueller front, a prominent Democrat has now been indicted as a result of the Special Counsel’s investigation into Paul Manafort.  Yesterday a grand jury indicted Greg Craig, an attorney who worked in Obama’s White House, charging him with making false statements and concealing material information in connection with work he performed for Ukraine while at Skadden Arps.  The case against Craig may not be a slam dunk, the Southern District of New York passed on it concluding that they didn’t have enough evidence to move forward, before it was transferred to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.  Though unrelated to Mueller, one time Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti continues his steep descent from crusading hero to odious villain.  A Santa Ana California federal grand jury has now indicted him on 36 counts of fraud, perjury, failure to pay taxes, embezzlement and other financial crimes. It’s alleged that he stole millions of dollars from five clients, including one poor wheelchair bound fellow, and used a “tangled web of shell companies and bank accounts” to cover up the theft.  Avenatti insists that it’s all one big misunderstanding. Suffice it to say, he’s got lots of ‘splaining to do.  As to odious behavior, last night the Washington Post reported that White House officials tried to pressure immigration authorities to release detained migrants onto the streets of “sanctuary cities” to retaliate against Trump’s political adversaries most notably Speaker Pelosi whose home turf San Francisco was among the cities targeted.  Washpo goes on to report that the White House, and by White House think Stephen Miller, told ICE that the plan was “intended to alleviate a shortage of detention space but also served to send a message to Democrats. The attempt at political retribution raised alarm within ICE, with a top official responding that it was rife with budgetary and liability concerns, and noting that ‘there are PR risks as well.’” ICE’s legal department ultimately rejected the idea as “inappropriate.”  It turns out that firing Homeland Security leadership isn’t such a good idea unless you really do want to have all your dirty laundry and evil plans hung out for all to see.  

      

Confirmations and Politics:  It’s looking more and more likely that one time presidential hopeful Herman Cain will not be elevated to the Federal Reserve Board.  Four Republican Senators, including Utah’s Mitt Romney, Colorado’s Cory Gardner, North Dakota’s Kevin Cramer and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski have already signaled that they would vote against him.  Additionally, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin who frequently supports Trump’s nominees has indicated that he is also leaning towards voting no.  The pushback against Cain’s nomination is likely to help Stephen Moore, Trump’s other unqualified nominee, make it through the nomination process because it’s unlikely that Republican’s will be willing to incur any more of the Trump wrath that goes with rejecting his nominees. As to Joe Manchin, he and Democrats Krysten Sinema of Arizona, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Independent Senator Angus King of Maine joined with the Republicans in voting to confirm David Bernhardt, a former oil and agribusiness lobbyist as the new Interior Secretary despite the assertions of a number of watchdog groups that he may have committed civil and criminal violations before joining the Trump administration.  Manchin also threw his support behind Maine’s Republican Senator Susan Collins, crossing the aisle to endorse her reelection.  It’s not clear that Manchin’s support will have any impact on Maine voters but it can’t possibly be pleasing any of his Democratic colleagues who view unseating Collins as part of their strategy to take back the Senate in 2020.  As to 2020,  Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren announced that she raised $6 million during the first quarter; while that amount falls short of Bernie’s impressive haul, its more than had been expected given all the self-imposed restrictions that she’s put on her fundraising efforts.   Warren also announced that in addition to calling for the imposition of a wealth tax on individuals with more than $50 million in assets, her tax plan would also target the country’s 1200 most profitable corporation, imposing an additional tax of 7% on earnings over $100 million.  Her plan targets companies like Amazon that, by taking advantage of tax code loopholes, have managed to pay no federal income taxes despite frequently having impressive earnings.

Footnote:  Israel’s Beresheet, the little robotic spacecraft, made it to the moon yesterday, a tremendous achievement in and of itself, but failed to make a smooth landing, instead crashing into the Moon’s surface.  Smooth landings, like regional peace are very, very difficult to achieve.