Joe diGenova, Joe Henchman, Michael Mukasey and Matt Schlapp joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, December 4, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C   FLYNN / FBI / RUSSIA INVESTIGATION NEWS:

• Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to the F.B.I. and Will Cooperate With Russia Inquiry. WASHINGTON — President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the F.B.I. about conversations with the Russian ambassador last December, becoming the first senior White House official to cut a cooperation deal in the special counsel’s wide-ranging inquiry into election interference.
• Trump compares Flynn to Hillary, asks ‘rigged system’ or ‘double standard?’ President Donald Trump again took up the cause of former national security adviser Mike Flynn Saturday night, complaining that Flynn’s “life is destroyed” while Hillary Clinton escaped legal reckoning.
• Trump lawyer: Tweet revealing Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI was “my mistake”  President Trump’s personal lawyer said on Sunday that it was “my mistake” that the president sent out a tweet about firing former national security adviser Michael Flynn, prompting speculation that it showed evidence of obstruction of justice.  “I’m out of the tweeting business. I did not mean to break news,” attorney John Dowd told Axios.
• Comey And Holder Blast Trump Over FBI Criticism  Ousted FBI Director James Comey fired back at President Trump for tweeting that the bureau’s reputation was in “tatters” on Sunday, saying the FBI would always be independent.  “I want the American people to know this truth: The FBI is honest. The FBI is strong. And the FBI is, and always will be, independent.” Me (June 8, 2017),” Comey tweeted.   Former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Eric Holder blasted President Donald Trump Sunday for criticizing the way the FBI handled the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Holder said he would not forget Trump’s comments and praised the FBI in his tweet. “Nope. Not letting this go. The FBI’s reputation is not in ‘tatters,’” Holder tweeted. “It’s composed of the same dedicated men and women who have always worked there and who do a great, apolitical job.”
• Top FBI agent who helped lead Clinton email investigation is FIRED from the Mueller probe after being caught sending anti-Trump text messages. FBI agent Peter Strzok was removed from working within special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe after he was caught sending compromising texts, a new report revealed Saturday. The deputy head of counterintelligence, who also took lead in the Hillary Clinton email investigation, sent ‘anti-Trump’ messages to a colleague, three related parties told The New York Times in a statement.
• Senate investigation is building a case against President Trump for obstruction of justice, Sen. Dianne Feinstein says.  Senate Judiciary Committee investigating Trump for obstruction of justice Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Sunday she believes an obstruction of justice case is beginning to form against President Trump in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

5am – D         WHAT’S NEXT FOR TAX REFORM?

    CONFERENCE… HOUSE VOTES MONDAY

    Senate bill:

    Cuts individual taxes through 2025

    Retains 7 brackets, but lowers top rate to 38.5

    Repeals individual mandate

    Preserves alternative minimum tax for wealthy

    Begins lowering corporate rate in 2019, rather than 2018

    Preserves scaled down estate tax

    House bill:

    Changes to 4 brackets, with top rate unchanged at 39.6

    Includes “Family Flexibility Credit” — $300 per tax filer and $300 for the spouse

    Eliminates estate tax

    Both:

    Reduce from corporate rate from 35 to 20

    Eliminate SALT

    Allow individuals to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes only

5am – E         Miami doctors face dilemma over ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ tattoo

Doctors faced ethical, medical conundrums. (CNN) – Picture this: A man is admitted to the hospital, unconscious, with a history of serious health problems and a high blood alcohol level. He has no identification and no family with him. On his chest, he has a tattoo: “Do Not Resuscitate.” What would you do?  It sounds like a worst-case-scenario question from a medical ethics course, but it really happened recently at a Florida hospital. A newly published study in The New England Journal of Medicine explored the ethical and medical conundrums the staff faced when presented with a 70-year-old patient whose denial of potentially life-saving treatment was right there on his skin. At first, doctors wanted to ignore it. According to the study, authored by a team of medical professionals from the University of Miami, the doctors attending to the man didn’t want to honor the tattoo because there was no way to be absolutely sure that’s what the man wanted. “We initially decided not to honor the tattoo, invoking the principle of not choosing an irreversible path when faced with uncertainty,” the study said. The doctors chose to treat the patient with antibiotics and other life-saving measures.

6am – A         Office holiday parties get another look as sexual misconduct scandals continue. NEW YORK (AP) — With a series of high-profile workplace sex scandals on their minds, employers are making sure their holiday office parties don’t become part of the problem. There will be less booze at many. An independent business organization has renewed its annual warning not to hang mistletoe. And some will have party monitors, keeping an eye out for inappropriate behavior. TV and movies often depict office parties as wildly inappropriate bacchanals or excruciatingly awkward fiascoes, if not, horrifyingly, both. But even a regular office party can be complicated because the rules people normally observe at work don’t quite apply, which makes it easier for people to accidentally cross a line — or try to get away with serious misbehavior. Especially when too much drinking is involved. According to a survey by Chicago-based consulting company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, only 49 percent of companies plan to serve alcohol at their holiday events. Last year that number was 62 percent, the highest number in the decade the firm has run its survey. The number had been going up each year as the economy improved.

Vox Media, stung by sexual-harassment scandal, is canceling the open bar at its holiday party. Today’s sexual harassment-dominated news cycle is particularly resonant at Vox Media, which fired its editorial director, Lockhart Steele, in October for allegedly harassing a female employee. After the firing, Vox CEO Jim Bankoff announced a number of initiatives to improve Vox’s company culture, including, as Huffington Post reports, “tighter policies around alcoholic beverages at company events and meetings and generally ensuring work events and interactions meet the highest standard of professionalism.” As a result, there will no open bar at this year’s holiday party, as there was on previous years. Huffington Post published (and Quartz At Work confirmed the authenticity of) the no-open-bar memo

6am – B         MOTHER CONVICTED FOR SWEARING AT HER SON: A Milwaukee County jury convicted Ginger Breitzman, 44, of child abuse-intentionally causing harm, child neglect and disorderly conduct. The last count was for profanely berating and insulting her 14-year-old son after he burned some popcorn. The boy had been talking to a friend at the time, who heard the tirade over the phone. Breitzman, who was sentenced to six months in jail with release privileges, appealed the disorderly conduct conviction. She argued her lawyer was ineffective for not challenging the charge as a violation of her free speech rights. The state argued her lawyer was not obligated to raise such a far-fetched theory.

6am – C         Even a $1 million retirement nest egg isn’t enough anymore. (CNBC) –     With more retirees responsible for their own financial security, even a $1 million nest egg isn’t nearly enough. Considering the looming retirement savings shortfall, experts say there are only two ways out: Earn more or spend less. A cool $1 million has long been considered the gold standard of retirement savings. These days, it’s only a fraction of what you will really need. For instance, a 67-year-old baby boomer retiring now with $1 million in the bank will generate $40,000 a year to live on adjusted for inflation and assuming a sustainable withdrawal rate of 4 percent, said Mark Avallone, president of Potomac Wealth Advisors and author of “Countdown to Financial Freedom.” It’s worse for a 42-year-old Gen Xer, whose $1 million at retirement will only generate an inflation-adjusted $19,000 a year when all is said and done. And a 32-year-old millennial planning to retire at 67 with $1 million would live below the poverty line.

6am – D         SENATE NEWS UPDATE:

• ALABAMA / MCCONNELL / MOORE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: ‘Let the people of Alabama make the call’ on Roy Moore.  (CNN) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell changed his tone Sunday on whether he thought Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore should be in the Senate, saying he would “let the people of Alabama make the call” in the state’s special election December 12. On ABC’s “This Week,” McConnell said that if Moore wins, the Senate Ethics Committee would have to consider the allegations against him. “I think we’re going to let the people of Alabama decide a week from Tuesday who they want to send to the Senate, and then we’ll address the matter appropriately,” McConnell said. Referring to the committee, the Kentucky Republican added: “I’m confident they’ll come up with the right conclusion.”
• THIS MORNING: TRUMP TWEET: Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump: Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama. We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more. No to Jones, a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet!
• UTAH: Bannon mulling backing Orrin Hatch to keep Mitt Romney out of the Utah Senate race. Bannon is trying to block Mitt Romney from running for Utah Senate seat. Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon is reportedly considering an endorsement of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to prevent Mitt Romney from launching a bid for the seat. The Washington Examiner in a report published Sunday cited a Bannon associate who said the former top Trump aide is contemplating supporting Hatch. “If Steve had a choice between Orrin Hatch and Mitt Romney, he would pick Hatch 10 times out of 10,” the source told the Examiner.
• CHELSEA FOR SENATOR? Politico: Hey, Wouldn’t Chelsea Clinton Make A Great U. S. Senator? Politico’s click-bait tweet intentionally left out that it’s Chelsea, not Hillary, being recommended for a Senate run for Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) who is expected to move over to the CIA. Politico headline: “Clinton Should Run for Cotton’s Senate Seat”:  “[Chelsea] has the Clinton name but little of the Clinton baggage. She wouldn’t hurt for name recognition or campaign cash. She’s vice chair of the controversy magnet known as the Clinton Foundation, but emails released during the presidential campaign by WikiLeaks and the State Department show Chelsea getting caught doing good, seeking to root out corruption by foundation officials and warning of problems with Haiti earthquake relief.  She is an Arkansas native, even though she hasn’t lived there since she was 12. Sure, she lives in Manhattan now and lacks a Southern accent. But her mom bought her first house in New York two months before she launched her Senate bid, proving ZIP code ain’t nothing but a number. Carpetbagger charges are inevitable. But in the end, what matters is your knowledge and respect of the state and its voters.  Chelsea shows no hint of cultural condescension toward her birthplace. For example, as an NBC reporter, she spotlighted efforts to preserve the folk music traditions of the city of Mountain View in the Ozarks.”
• RANDY QUAID FOR SENATE?! Randy Quaid Vs. Bernie Sanders For Vermont Senator Seat Is Fodder For Reality Show. EXCLUSIVE: Randy Quaid, the next senator from the Great State of Vermont? We’ll pause a moment while that concept sinks in. The veteran actor tweeted a threat/warning Thursday claiming that reps from a superPAC have approached him about running against Bernie Sanders for his U.S. Senate seat next year. And a reality show pitch about that potentially wacky race is making its way around town. Public Spectacle Media is planning an unscripted series that would follow Quaid’s long-shot bid to become the junior senator from the Green Mountain State.     Some very powerful people representing a super pac have approached me about running against Bernie Sanders for senator. 100%  — Randy Quaid (@RandyRRQuaid) November 30, 2017

6am – E         NEW TRUMP BOOK:

• Trump’s rage would ‘break most hardened men and women into little pieces’: Lewandowski, Bossie book
• Trump’s diet on the campaign trail was McDonald’s, KFC, pizza and Diet Coke: Book
• Trump made Hope Hicks steam his suits while he was still wearing them: Book
• (Washington Examiner) — Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie offer a look into a Trump campaign that was defined by fits of rage, fast food, and competing forces of unconditional loyalty in their upcoming book. In the new tell-all, titled “Let Trump Be Trump,” obtained in advance by the Washington Post, the former campaign manager and senior aide explain the “expletive-filled tirades” the then-candidate would often unleash on his staff when things didn’t go as planned. The authors explained, “sooner or later, everybody who works for Donald Trump will see a side of him that makes you wonder why you took a job with him in the first place.” “His wrath is never intended as any personal offense, but sometimes it can be hard not to take it that way,” they wrote. “The mode that he switches into when things aren’t going his way can feel like an all-out assault; it’d break most hardened men and women into little pieces.” Besides his rage, his diet wasn’t the healthiest either. The men describe how Trump’s four main food groups on the campaign trail consisted of McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza, and Diet Coke. The book states president would order from McDonalds “two Big Macs, two Fillet-O-Fish, and a chocolate malted.”

6am – F         MATT LAUER NEWS:

• ABC NEWS: Matt Lauer will not receive a payout for the rest of his million-dollar contract. Matt Lauer will not receive a payout for the rest of his million-dollar contract, an NBC News spokesperson confirmed to ABC News today.  The disgraced former “Today” show anchor was fired after a colleague accused him of “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace,” the network said Wednesday in a memo obtained by ABC News. In a statement released one day later, Lauer, 59, said some of the allegations are “untrue or mischaracterized,” but “there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.” Lauer, who had just signed a contract last year that would put him in the anchor chair through 2018, had a contract worth a reported $20 million, according to Variety.
• PAGE SIX: Matt Lauer and his wife have been living separate lives for years. No one could understand why the blushing bride had her dashing husband on such a tight leash. Five weeks after their chic Hamptons wedding in 1998, former model Annette Roque kicked up such a fuss on hearing that Matt Lauer was heading to Florida to cover a space shuttle launch for the “Today” show that NBC staffers had to scramble to get her a set of last-minute press credentials so her husband would never be out of her sight. “Friends of Lauer’s are stunned that the down-to-earth newsman is suddenly catering to such indulgent whims,” Page Six reported at the time. “Offers one insider: ‘He’s whipped.’” But in hindsight, Roque, now 52, simply may have been trying to rein in her new husband’s wandering eye — a problem that, two decades later, would cost him his job. Roque, perhaps the most overlooked victim in the sordid Matt Lauer scandal, is now reportedly hiding from the press in the Hamptons, as many wonder if she’ll finally free herself from a disastrous marriage that had been an open secret in media circles for years.

7am – A/B/C INTERVIEW — JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former US Attorney to the District of Columbia – discussed the latest on the Michael Flynn guilty plea, FBI and Russia investigation.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – JOE BISHOP-HENCHMAN – Executive Vice President of The Tax Foundation

• TOPIC: Congress Set to Start Work This Week To Reconcile Tax Plans. Joe explained the history of the tax debate and pros/cons of what is currently in the tax plans that need to be reconciled.
• BIO: Joe Bishop-Henchman is Executive Vice President at the Tax Foundation, where he analyzes state tax trends, constitutional issues, and tax law developments. Joe has testified or presented to officials in 36 states, testified before Congress six times, and has written over 75 major studies on tax policy.

7am – E         TRUMP’S SCHEDULE AND TWEETS TODAY AND OVER THE WEEKEND:

• Sneak Peek: Trump’s schedule this week: A look at what’s on the president’s schedule this week:
• Monday: Trump travels to Utah “to announce that he’ll shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments,” sources familiar with the trip confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune. Two important people have been pushing for this: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Orrin Hatch, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee that wrote the Republican Senate tax bill.
• Also on Monday, Trump will meet with Mormon leaders and visit Welfare Square in Salt Lake City, the White House announced. Per an administration source, Mormons are an “important conservative political constituency with whom POTUS underperformed in 2016. There’s a large Mormon population in Nevada, so it has swing state implications.”
• Tuesday: Trump to have lunch with Republican senators, then in the evening he and Melania will host the Congressional Ball.
• Wednesday: Trump hosts a cabinet meeting and has lunch with VP Pence.  Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday
• Friday: Trump meets with Defense Secretary Mattis then travels to Florida for a rally.
• MONDAY TRUMP TWEETS:
• Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama. We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more. No to Jones, a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet! 3:17 AM – 4 Dec 2017
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Putting Pelosi/Schumer Liberal Puppet Jones into office in Alabama would hurt our great Republican Agenda of low on taxes, tough on crime, strong on military and borders…& so much more. Look at your 401-k’s since Election. Highest Stock Market EVER! Jobs are roaring back! 4:00 AM – 4 Dec 2017
• Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump With the great vote on Cutting Taxes, this could be a big day for the Stock Market – and YOU! 4:03 AM – 4 Dec 2017
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump A must watch: Legal Scholar Alan Dershowitz was just on @foxandfriends talking of what is going on with respect to the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. political history. Enjoy! 4:35 AM – 4 Dec 2017

8am – A         INTERVIEW – JUDGE MICHAEL MUKASEY – former federal judge who served as the 81st Attorney General of the United States

• Former Bush attorney general: ‘Heavy breathing’ over Flynn plea agreement ‘completely unwarranted’ Michael Mukasey, who served as attorney general under former President George W. Bush, dismissed speculation that former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s plea agreement signals that there are more charges to come in the special counsel’s Russia probe. “A lot of the heavy breathing and a lot of the speculation is completely unwarranted,” Mukasey told ABC News’s “This Week.”  “That plea agreement does not, to me, indicate that there’s very much else there.”

8am – B         Some Parents Are Spending $325 For Photos With Santa. And moms and dads better make reservations and get tickets ahead of time. These prices might make you Claus-trophobic. For many, taking photos with Father Christmas signifies an age-old holiday tradition. But gone are the days of inexpensive Polaroid proof where your child sat, smiled or screamed on Santa’s lap—it now costs a small fortune to bring home keepsake images with Mr. Claus. Plus, reservations, tickets and credit cards are often required before one can gain access to Santa’s lap. Laura Carney, a mother of two from Nashville, recently took her kids to the mall for their annual photo with Santa. “I paid $28 for two 4×6 prints of the same image — I couldn’t not buy them! But it was $10 more for a digital copy of just one image and that seemed really annoying,” she tells Moneyish. Here’s what it costs to take photos with Santa around the nation: At The Grove in Los Angeles, Santa’s Workshop draws hoards of walk-up visitors that queue in a lengthy line, so reservations are recommended for an expedited experience. The only problem is, this guy is so popular that reservations are no longer available. And, if you do decide to wait, photo packages begin at $40 which include emailed images, but if printed images are what you’re after, prepare to pay $60 for one 5×7 and two 3×5 photos. If it’s any consolation, 5% of Santa House proceeds benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles—which might help justify the pricey photo opportunity. In New York City, there’s a photo studio dedicated to taking portraits with a silly Santa who lets subjects tie him up with lights or pull on his beard. New York Santa Photographer occupies an Upper West Side studio and for $135, one receives two high-resolution images with a print release included. A closet of holiday themed props is available for use, but minor retouching on images costs $325 and all that plus 50 holiday cards and envelopes runs $500.

8am – C         I-66 News:

• After years of planning and negotiations, today’s the day on I-66 inside the Beltway, as drive-time toll lanes make their debut…  Just a reminder. If you use I-66 on Monday during rush hour, you will need to have an E-Z Pass inside your car if you travel inside the Capital Beltway. Starting Monday, weekday rush hour commuters will need an E-ZPass or E-ZPass Flex to travel on express lanes on I-66. Be sure to grab a pass if you plan on using I-66: if you forget to pay, you’ll get a $12.50 fine in the mail. VDOT says you can also go online to pay for some missed tolls.
• After Years Of Planning, I-66 Tolls Are Open Inside Beltway. WASHINGTON – (WMAL) After years of negotiations and planning, today’s the day for drivers on I-66 inside the Beltway. Tolling is set to begin for single drivers looking to use the in the peak direction during rush hour. Cars with two or more inside can still ride free, but they need an EZ-Pass Flex to do it. The new tolling rules open the road up to single-occupant cars during rush hours. Previously, the highway was only open to cars with two or more inside during rush hours, though it was widely believed a significant number of drivers, a third to half as estimated by AAA Mid-Atlantic, were ignoring the rule.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – MATT SCHLAPP – chairman of the American Conservative Union – discussed the latest political news of the day.

• Trump tweeted this morning about Roy Moore, stock market, cutting taxes and references Russia probe/Flynn as ‘greatest witch hunt in US political history’

8am – E         Shock as Amazon delivery woman defecates on customer’s front yard while dropping off package. (Fox News) — When Nemy Bautista arrived to his Sacramento home on Tuesday, he found what appeared to be dog poop at the bottom of his driveway. When he looked at the footage in his security camera, however, he found a dissatisfying surprise. Bautista told Fox News on Friday that instead of a puppy relieving itself, he watched a woman who was delivering a package for Amazon driving a U-Haul doing the deed. He said he was “shocked” by what he saw and immediately contacted Amazon and filed a complaint. A company representative was “shocked and thoroughly apologized,” and said that the deliverywoman worked for a third-party contractor Amazon had hired to make those deliveries. “I wanted Amazon to come clean it up,” Bautista said, adding he missed the delivery by minutes. A supervisor for the driver arrived at Bautista’s home about five hours later, unprepared to deal with the “package.” “He didn’t have any gloves, nothing,” Bautista said. “He grabbed a plastic bag to scoop it up and I told him he couldn’t put it my [trash] can. I didn’t want it stinking up my can.”