Bloodstains

Thumbnail:  So yesterday, while Ambassador to the EU/Three Amigo Gordon Sondland was testifying about texts, Trump and Giuliani, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitted that Trump had done the quid pro quo thing with Ukraine President Zelensky. Mulvaney made that admission shortly after announcing that, after a thorough review of every other resort in the US, Trump had concluded that only the Trump National Miami Doral Golf resort was suitable for the upcoming G7 summit because June in Miami is lovely and the resort needs to fill those rooms with someone. Trump then reported that VP Pence had negotiated a super terrific deal with Turkey President Erdogan, one that gives Turkey a large swath of northeastern Syria while giving its residents, our former allies, the Syrian Kurds five days to vamoose for parts unknown or into the hands of the unforgiving Bashar al Assad. And Energy Secretary Rick Perry formally turned in his resignation, sharing an appropriately brief video about his accomplishments and how much he’d loved his days on Team Trump or loved them until he got caught up in the quid pro quo mess.  As to Sondland, during ten hours of testimony he kind of threw Trump under the bus saying that Trump directed him to work through Rudy Giuliani, his de facto Secretary of State for things Ukraine and maybe also things Turkey, rather than any of those real diplomats and yeah there probably was a quid pro quo but he didn’t realize it at the time because how would he know after all he’s just a real estate guy not a trained diplomat.      

Mick’s Mess:  Mulvaney’s WTF moment came during the testy question and answer period that followed his announcement of the Doral decision.  Exuding his customary arrogance he shocked everyone with his admission that Trump had held up military aid to Ukraine by insisting that promised military funds would only be released when and if President Zelensky agreed to investigate that mythical Democratic interference in the 2016 election, searching for the DNC computer server, the one that only wackadoodle conspiracy theorists like Trump believe is hidden somewhere in Kiev. When asked if he meant what he had just said, Mulvaney responded “absolutely, no question about that,” adding it was absolutely appropriate because elections have consequences and we get to do what we want to do and anyway everyone does it. He also defended Trump’s decision to have Rudy Giuliani serve as his de facto ambassador for all things Ukraine saying it wasn’t illegal or impeachable telling, the gape-jawed assembled press corp and any members of the career diplomatic service watching his performance on TV to suck it up and get over it.  

Although Mulvaney had been careful to omit the “investigate the Bidens” part of the quid pro quo from his admission, his statement stunned  Attorney General Barr’s Justice Department which quickly released a statement saying "If the White House was withholding aid in regards to the cooperation of any investigation at the Department of Justice, that is news to us," we have no idea what Mulvaney is talking about. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, followed up saying "the legal team was not involved in the acting chief of staff's press briefing." That’s when Mulvaney realized that he had screwed up bigly so he distanced himself from his own words too, as if that’s even possible, accusing the press of “misconstruing” his remarks “to advance a biased and political witch hunt against” Trump, adding ”Let me be clear, there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election.” As to Trump, it’s reported that he loved Mulvaney’s statement and his arrogant bearing, at least until someone explained to him that Mick had stepped in sh-t and taken him with him.  Rumors that Mulvaney will be fired shortly circulated on Twitter last night, but he’s probably okay for now.  Who wants his job anyway?  As to the G7 Summit taking place at Trump’s Doral resort, the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution clearly states that presidents are not allowed to accept any payments from foreign sovereigns but then again that only matters to presidents who believe that the Constitution pertains to them so apparently Trump is exempt or so he thinks. One more thing, Mulvaney confirmed that Trump is likely to invite his friend Putin to the summit because as Nancy Pelosi likes to say, and apparently did say during Wednesday’s contentious Oval Office meeting, all roads with Trump “lead to Russia.”

Syria:  Trump is really happy with the agreement that VP Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo say that they struck with Turkey’s Erdogan.  Unfortunately, Erdogan, who according to his aides trashed Trump’s adolescent dear Tayyip letter immediately upon getting it, is even happier and he should be as Trump has promised to cancel the sanctions that he promised would tank Turkey’s economy and Turkey now gets a “long coveted buffer zone” far beyond its border with Syria, somewhere to move the Arab refugees currently housed within it’s borders.  And the Kurds, they get nothing, unless you count being expelled from your home with no place to go as something.  Last night Trump celebrated the agreement saying it was good to let the Turks attack the Kurds because “Sometimes you have to let them fight like kids.  Then you pull them apart” while pretty much endorsing ethnic cleansing with his remark that the Turk’s are entitled to clean out the area where the Kurds currently reside.  Raise your hand if you think allowing your kids to kill each other, literally kill each other is ever a good thing.  Brian Schatz the Democratic Senator from Hawaii responded to Trump’s remarks by saying “Enough is enough. Republican silence is a historic travesty.”  

For what it’s worth Yesterday, Utah’s Mitt Romney, the self-appointed conscience of the Republican party did say something, he took to the Senate floor to call Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds “a bloodstain on the annals of American History.” A number of the usual hawks, like Lindsey Graham, are now lauding Trump and Pence for their progress with Turkey, kind of like congratulating an arsonist for putting out part of the fire that he started.  Last night at the annual Al Smith dinner, Former Defense Secretary General Mattis cracked a joke in response to Trump calling him an overrated general, saying that unlike Trump he’d earned his bone spurs on the battlefield.  Unfortunately Mattis remains unwilling to go public with what he knows about Trump’s dangerous incompetency but another military man has gone there.  In a NY Times op ed, Admiral McRaven who led the raid that took down Osama bin Laden wrote “ if this president doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office — Republican, Democrat or independent — the sooner, the better. The fate of our Republic depends upon it.” A remarkable statement from a military man. And though it only counts a little, Republican Lisa Murkowski, the Senator from Alaska who voted against repealing Obamacare and against Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination responded to a question about holding up aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt by saying “ “You don’t hold up foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political initiative, Period.”  Another small crack in the red wall, maybe. On Wednesday Senate Majority Leader McConnell actually updated his crowd on impeachment trial procedure, alerting them to clear the schedule for at least one six day work week around Christmas time, supervised by Chief Justice Roberts.

TGIF, this week’s been exhausting