Rep. Barbara Comstock, Larry Michael, Phil Kerpen and Bret Baier joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, November 17, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C   FRANKEN/MOORE & MCCONNELL: What Explains McConnell’s Treatment of Roy Moore and Sen. Al Franken?

• Judge Roy Moore‏ @MooreSenate 16h16 hours ago More — Al Franken admits guilt after photographic evidence of his abuse surfaces. Mitch: “Let’s investigate.” In Alabama, ZERO evidence, allegations 100% rejected. Mitch: “Moore must quit immediately or be expelled.”

5am – D         TAX REFORM: House Republicans on Thursday passed a monumental bill to cut taxes on businesses and individuals, the biggest step yet in the GOP’s once-in-a-generation effort to overhaul the American tax system. The tax reform plan passed the chamber with 227 votes in favor and 205 against.

5am – E         MENENDEZ MISTRIAL: Federal judge declares mistrial in Menendez’s corruption case. (ABC News) — A federal judge in New Jersey today declared a mistrial in the corruption case of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., after the jury indicated it was deadlocked on all counts. “We have each tried to look at this case from different viewpoints, but still feel strongly in our positions, nor are we willing to move away from our strong convictions,” jurors told U.S. District Judge William Walls when he polled them in his chambers. The judge had earlier indicated he would not seek a partial verdict. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse in Newark, Menendez held back tears as he thanked his family, his defense team and his congressional colleagues for their support. “The way this case started was wrong. The way it was investigated was wrong. The way it was prosecuted was wrong. And the way it was tried was wrong as well,” the senator said. “Certain elements of the FBI and of our state cannot understand or even worse, accept that the Latino kid from union city and Hudson County can grow up to be a United States senator and be honest.” When asked for comment on the mistrial decision this afternoon, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice told ABC News, “The Department of Justice appreciates the jury’s service in this lengthy trial. The Department will carefully consider next steps in this important matter and report to the Court at the appropriate time.”

6am – A/B/C PARTY INVITE ETIQUETTE: Do You Say ‘Yes’ Even If You’re Not Going?

• There’s an Algorithmic Reason You Should Reply ‘Yes’ to Every Facebook Event. A ‘yes’ can actively promote an event in your friends’ timelines. A ‘no’ can be an algorithmic death knell—and also ‘cruel and unusual’ levels of impolite. (Daily Beast) — Last week I received a holiday party Facebook invite from a friend of mine and immediately smashed the RSVP “yes” button. I have no plans to go, and she knows that. Before the internet, RSVPs were an efficient way for event organizers to find out who would or would not be attending a party. RSVPs allowed hosts to accurately determine how many supplies to order, how much food and alcohol to stock, and other necessary accommodations. But as Facebook has become the favored party planning platform for millions of Americans—more than 700 million people use Facebook Events per month and over 130 million Facebook events were created last year—RSVPs now come with a slew of deeper connotations that can be hard to comprehend. That is because a “no” RSVP isn’t just an admission that you’re not going to be able to make it to the gathering. A no can actively downrank the event in the Facebook algorithm because fewer people see it, whereas a yes promotes it. “I think the ‘yes’ RSVP is like an ‘I care about you’ gesture,” said Andrea Hickey, a graphic designer in New York City. Like many people, her Facebook RSVPs are aspirational. Sure, she’d love to attend that meetup in the middle of the week after a long day of work, but in the end she might not always make it. In those instances she never changes her RSVP to a no. Momentum is key with Facebook events, and too many nos right off the bat can effectively kill even a small cocktail party. “There’s absolutely a momentum that comes with a ‘yes’ RSVP on Facebook,” said Amy Nelson, an entrepreneur in Seattle. “The more people who respond yes to the Facebook event, the more people learn about the event in their feed.” Mary, a 29-year-old in Washington, D.C., called the first few hours of a Facebook event’s lifespan “crucial.” “It sucks to have people RSVP ‘no,’ especially the sort of people who pull others with them when they RSVP yes,” said Mary. “When I’m hosting, I will text the top people I invite and who know can come and have them RSVP yes on Facebook immediately. When I’m invited to something a friend is hosting, I’ll RSVP ‘yes’ pretty much always, or just not RSVP if I’m not going. A ‘no’ is worse than not responding at all.” It’s even become common for people to invite groups of their out-of-town friends to their Facebook events, knowing they won’t attend but expecting them to RSVP yes as an expression of friendship and support.

6am – D         LEFT TURNING ON CLINTON:

• ‘What About Bill?’ Sexual Misconduct Debate Revives Questions About Clinton
• Sen. Gillibrand Says Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned Over Monica Lewinsky Affair
• NY Times Columnist: I Now Believe Broaddrick’s Claims Against Bill Clinton. The New York Times ran an opinion piece headlined, “I Believe Juanita,” referring to Juanita Broaddrick, who accused Bill Clinton of sexually assaulting her. Columnist Michelle Goldberg began the piece railing against “right-wing” conspiracists for putting Democrats on their heels during the Clinton years and forcing Democrats to apologize for Clinton’s behavior when they shouldn’t have. But Goldberg admitted that Broaddrick’s claim now haunts her, in light of the recent uptick in celebrities that face allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

6am – E         The fastest electric car ever: Elon Musk reveals $200,000 Tesla roadster that does 0-60 in 1.9 seconds ‘and can hit 250mph’ (Daily Mail) — Tesla has unveiled the fastest electric car ever made, with chief executive Elon Musk bragging that he wants to ‘give a hardcore smackdown’ to gasoline vehicles. A shiny red Roadster surprised everyone when it emerged from the trailer of the company’s other big reveal – an electric truck named the Tesla Semi – during a presentation at an airport in Los Angeles. The $200,000 (£151,000) sports car – an updated version of Tesla’s first production vehicle – can seat four and travel 620 miles (1000 km) on a single charge, a new record for an electric vehicle. The car – which also features a removable glass roof – can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour (0 to 100 km/h) in 1.9 seconds and has a top speed over 250mph (400 kph). This would not only make it the quickest electric car ever made, but also the fastest car in general production.

6am – F         AL FRANKEN NEWS:

• Leeann Tweeden, radio host, says Al Franken ‘kissed and groped me without my consent’
• McConnell Calls For Ethics Probe Of Franken
• Sen. Al Franken calls for ethics investigation INTO HIMSELF after sex abuse accusation rocks Internet
• Trump speculates about Franken allegations on Twitter
  • Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump: 9h9 hours ago: The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? …..
  • Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 9h9 hours ago: .And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?
• CNN Panel Brushes Aside Franken Allegations to Knock Moore; ‘He Was Just a Comedian’

7am – A         School nixes boy’s ‘Fake News’ T-shirt on field trip to CNN.  (Fox News) — A Georgia family is under fire for allowing a seventh grader to wear a T-shirt that mocked liberal news network CNN on a school field trip to CNN’s Atlanta headquarters — but the boy’s parents think the school violated the First Amendment by making their son take it off.  Nancy and Stan Jester, of Dekalb, are both local elected officials, she a county commissioner and he is a member of the local school board. Their son, seventh-grader Jaxon, wore a shirt mocking the CNN logo as “FNN” with the caption, “Fake News Network.” A teacher asked him to remove it before the tour, but the school has since apologized to the Jesters. However, the parents want an apology for Jaxon because, they say, the whole thing was his idea and he has the right to free speech.   “This year when the CNN tour was announced, my 7th grade son Jaxon asked me if he could purchase an FNN-Fake News Network shirt to wear for his field trip,” Stan Jester wrote in a blog post. “As an advocate for the First Amendment, I agreed to his request.” Jester continued: “His mother cautioned him that he might cause a controversy and needed to be prepared for that. He was fully aware of the implications of his decision and made the affirmative choice to wear his shirt.” The boy’s father wrote that he is “disappointed by the hypocrisy” of the decision to make his son change his shirt. “Some students are celebrated when they make a controversial display during the National Anthem. My student was forced to remove his shirt because someone didn’t like it. I defend speech and expression, even if I disagree, or it makes me uncomfortable,” he wrote.

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW – REP. BARBARA COMSTOCK – R-VA – discussed sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.

• Members of Congress engaged in sexual harassment, lawmakers say. (Politico) — Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) said a member “decided to expose himself” to a young female aide sent to drop off materials at his home. The young staffer was “greeted with a member in a towel,” Comstock told fellow lawmakers, who “invited her in” before committing the offense. “She left, she found another job,” Comstock said. “But that kind of situation — what are we doing here for women right now who are dealing with somebody like that?” Comstock’s remarks suggest that Speier’s push for broad reform of Congress’ harassment policy, spearheaded in the Senate by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), might find bipartisan support. The Virginia Republican also acknowledged the bipartisan character of the sexual offenses that have walloped Hollywood, the media, and politics, citing prominent alleged perpetrators of all political stripes, including Bill O’Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Roger Ailes, and Kevin Spacey.

7am – D         Fox News Bans Kiss Frontman Gene Simmons for Life. (Daily Beast) — The Kiss frontman’s inappropriate and sexist antics during a Fox office meeting led to his being kicked off the network and out of the building for good. Kiss frontman Gene Simmons—until this week, a favorite guest on Fox News and Fox Business Network programs, which couldn’t get enough of his supposedly outrageous rock-star antics mixed with conservative politics—has been banned for life from the right-leaning cable channels. Fox finally had enough of Simmons after he crudely insulted female Fox staffers, taunted them and exposed his chest, and otherwise behaved like the “demon” character he plays onstage. Management was not amused, and Simmons’s photograph was promptly posted Wednesday at the security entrance of the company’s Manhattan headquarters along with a “do-not-admit” advisory. The trouble started Wednesday morning after the Israeli-born Simmons—birth name: Chaim Witz, who dresses like a preening teenager at age 68—appeared on Fox & Friends and Maria Bartiromo’s Fox Business Network show, Mornings with Maria, to promote his new book On Power. Things seemed to be going well enough when Simmons jumped up from the Fox & Friends couch to help meteorologist Janice Dean do her weather report—a delighted Dean later posted video on her Twitter feed—and then sat on a panel with Bartiromo, who asked his views on the Harvey Weinstein sexual-misconduct scandal. “The lunatics have taken over the insane asylum when respected business entities such as yourself ask guys that like to stick their tongues out,” Simmons answered, “what I think of Harvey Weinstein.” “Okay, I’m a powerful and attractive man, and what I’m about to say is deadly serious,” he continued. “Men are jackasses. From the time we’re young we have testosterone. I’m not validating it or defending it.” Maybe not, but within minutes he was demonstrating it.  According to a knowledgeable Fox News source, Simmons showed up on the 14th floor to do a book-plugging interview with FoxNews.com’s entertainment section, but instead barged in on a staff meeting uninvited. “Hey chicks, sue me!” he shouted, and then pulled open his red velvet shirt to reveal his chest and belly, according to the source. Then he starting telling Michael Jackson pedophilia jokes, and then bopped two employees on the head with his book, making derisive comments about their comparative intelligence according to the sound their heads made when struck. “It was pretty severe,” the source said. After Simmons’s misconduct was reported to a supervisor, and then to human-resources executive Kevin Lord, the Kiss frontman was permanently banned from the building and will no longer be permitted on any Fox News or Fox Business Network programming.

7am – E         INTERVIEW — LARRY MICHAEL – Voice of The Redskins

• PREVIEW: The New Orleans Saints (7-2) host the 4-5 Washington Redskins this Sunday for a high noon showdown in the Mercedes Benz Superdome.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – PHIL KERPEN – president of American Commitment – analyze Menendez mistrial

• Federal judge declares mistrial in Menendez’s corruption case. A federal judge in New Jersey today declared a mistrial in the corruption case of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., after the jury indicated it was deadlocked on all counts. “We have each tried to look at this case from different viewpoints, but still feel strongly in our positions, nor are we willing to move away from our strong convictions,” jurors told U.S. District Judge William Walls when he polled them in his chambers. The judge had earlier indicated he would not seek a partial verdict. New Jersey Sen. Menendez bribery trial begins, with possible implications for Washington
• How Bob Menendez’s friends helped him steer clear of jail. (NY Post/Phil Kerpen) –  ‘Gifts to cultivate friendship are not bribes,” Abbe Lowell said in his closing in defense of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez — and enough jurors agreed to result in a hung jury and a mistrial. The Biz Markie defense — he’s just a friend — worked. Lowell was worth every penny of the $4.5 million raised and spent by Menendez’s legal defense trust. But the hung jury doesn’t change the facts: Menendez’s co-defendant Salomon Melgen left the courtroom and went back to jail, where he is awaiting sentencing on 67 counts of Medicare fraud. Menendez enjoyed ready access to Melgen’s private jets and luxury resorts financed by that Medicare fraud — and the New Jersey senator went all the way up the chain to the secretary of Health and Human Services to keep the money flowing. He got visas for Melgen’s supermodel girlfriends and he tried to steer a lucrative port-security contract to the eye doctor who had no security background. Customs and Border Protection official Stephanie Talton testified that she found it “odd” Menendez would “ask us to stop our law-enforcement mission.” Lavish gifts are sometimes used to cultivate friendships with sitting senators, it turns out, and once that friendship is cultivated, the senator is apt to do such friendly things.

8am – B         ‘Literally Know Nothing’: Tucker Takes On Dem Over Banning MUZZLE LOADERS. (Daily Caller) — Fox News’ Tucker Carlson took on a Democrat Thursday over a new gun control measure targeting muzzle loaders. Carlson asked New York City Council member Jumaane Williams, “So how many crimes do you think in the last, I don’t know, 100 years have been committed with muzzle loaders?” Williams answered, “Well, once this new muzzle is created, we just don’t know. But, what you do a great job in, and it works for you, so I’m not saying you should stop. You do a great job of focusing on these single things…” Tucker responded, “Oh you mean the facts? Yeah that is kind of my trade.” Williams said, “No, it’s not facts it’s just–avoidance of a conversation about guns. And you do it very well.” The Daily Caller co-founder responded, “Well actually, I’d very much like to have a conversation about guns.”

8am – C         STALLONE Denies Allegations:

• How Sylvester Stallone was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old fan: Police report reveals girl claimed star made her give him and his bodyguard oral sex and threatened they would ‘beat her head in’ if she ever told.   Sylvester Stallone was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old fan girl while he was filming Over the Top in Las Vegas in 1986, according to a police report obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. The actor, who was 40 years old at the time, met the teenager while he was filming at the former Las Vegas Hilton hotel and she was given keys to his room. Stallone allegedly had sex with the girl, telling her she was ‘very tight’, before asking the minor if she had ever had sex with two men at the same time.  Sylvester Stallone was accused of sexual assault by a 16-year-old girl while he was filming a movie in Las Vegas in the late 1980s, according to a bombshell police report obtained by DailyMail.com. The Rocky actor was 40 years old when an unnamed teenager disclosed to Las Vegas police that she had been ‘intimidated’ into having sex with him and his bodyguard Michael ‘Mike’ De Luca at the former Las Vegas Hilton hotel in July 1986. The 16-year-old claimed she had sex with Stallone and he encouraged De Luca to join them. At that point she became ‘very uncomfortable’ with the encounter but felt she had ‘no choice’. De Luca then forced the teenager to perform oral sex on him before penetrating her, while Stallone made her give him oral sex, according to the police report. Retired Las Vegas metro police department detective sergeant John Samolovitch, who was head of the sexual assault unit at the time, confirmed to DailyMail.com ‘the copy of the police report is in fact a true copy of the original report.’
• Sylvester Stallone is denying allegations made from a 16-year-old girl who claimed the actor sexually assaulted her in 1986. (E! Online) – Sylvester Stallone is denying allegations made from a 16-year-old girl who claimed the actor and his bodyguard sexually assaulted her in 1986. “This is a ridiculous, categorically false story,” Michelle Bega, a spokesperson for the Rocky star, said in a statement to E! News. “No one was ever aware of this story until it was published today, including Mr. Stallone. At no time was Mr. Stallone ever contacted by any authorities or anyone else regarding this matter.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report, Fox News Channel – discussed Al Frank and Roy Moore scandals.

• AL FRANKEN
  • Leeann Tweeden, radio host, says Al Franken ‘kissed and groped me without my consent’
  • McConnell Calls For Ethics Probe Of Franken
  • Sen. Al Franken calls for ethics investigation INTO HIMSELF after sex abuse accusation rocks Internet
  • Sarah Sanders on whether Trump has response to Al Franken allegations: We think it’s appropriate for Senate to look into that
  • Trump speculates about Franken allegations on Twitter
• ROY MOORE: White House: Trump believes Moore’s fate is “up to the people of Alabama”
• BILL CLINTON:
  • ‘What About Bill?’ Sexual Misconduct Debate Revives Questions About Clinton
  • Sen. Gillibrand Says Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned Over Monica Lewinsky Affair

8am – E         More Al Franken: MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt claims Franken was “mock-groping”. CNN’s GLORIA BORGER says FRANKEN was JUST A COMEDIAN then.