Judicial Crisis Network’s Carrie Severino, Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne and Larry Kudlow joined WMAL on Tuesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C   Trump, Robert Mueller, Colin Kaepernick are finalists for Time’s Person of the Year. (Washington Examiner) – President Trump, special counsel Robert Mueller, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un topped the list of finalists for Time’s 2017 Person of the Year, the magazine announced Monday. The 10 candidates were unveiled on NBC’s “Today” show.  Finalists alongside Trump, Mueller, and Kim Jong Un include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the Dreamers, “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the #MeToo movement, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Time’s 2017 Person of the Year will be revealed Wednesday. Trump tweeted late last month the magazine told him he was likely to get the title until he opposed the idea of giving an interview.

5am – D         TRUMP OBSTRUCTION NEWS:

• Alan Dershowitz: ‘You cannot charge a president with obstruction of justice for exercising his constitutional power’ (Washington Examiner) — Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz on Monday said President Trump was within his rights as commander in chief when he fired former FBI director James Comey, and warned Democrats trying to take him down on obstruction of justice charges that they won’t succeed. “You cannot charge a president with obstruction of justice for exercising his constitutional power to fire Comey and his constitutional authority to tell the Justice Department who to investigate, who not to investigate. That’s what Thomas Jefferson did, that’s what Lincoln did, that’s what Roosevelt did. We have precedents that clearly establish that,” Dershowitz told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Monday morning. The issue came up Monday after Trump’s lawyer, John Dowd, said the president cannot obstruct justice. One of Trump’s tweets over the weekend suggested to some that Trump knew his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, lied to the FBI, which could imply obstruction of justice. On Sunday, Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein said she is part of a group creating a case of obstruction of justice against Trump.
• 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
• It Is Now an Obstruction Investigation. (National Review / Andrew McCarthy) — The smoke is clearing from an explosive Mueller investigation weekend of charges, chattering, and tweets. Before the next aftershock, it might be helpful to make three points about where things stand. In ascending order of importance, they are: 1.) There is a great deal of misinformation in the commentariat about how prosecutors build cases. 2.) For all practical purposes, the collusion probe is over. While the “counterintelligence” cover will continue to be exploited so that no jurisdictional limits are placed on Special Counsel Robert Mueller, this is now an obstruction investigation. 3.) That means it is, as it has always been, an impeachment investigation.

5am – E         SCOTUS NEWS:

• The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a Texas ruling that gay spouses may not be entitled to government-subsidized workplace benefits. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a Texas ruling that gay spouses may not be entitled to government-subsidized workplace benefits — a potential victory for social conservatives hoping to chip away at 2015′s legalization of same-sex marriage. In June, the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision favoring spousal benefits for gay city employees in Houston, ordering the issue back to trial. That was a major reversal for the all-Republican state high court, which previously refused to even consider the benefits case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision that the Constitution grants gay couples who want to marry “equal dignity in the eyes of the law.”
• Supreme Court allows full enforcement of Trump travel ban. Supreme Court rules travel ban can go fully into effect . (CNBC) – The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to fully enforce a ban on travel to the United States by residents of six mostly Muslim countries. This is not a final ruling on the travel ban: Challenges to the policy are winding through the federal courts, and the justices themselves ultimately are expected to rule on its legality. But the action indicates that the high court might eventually approve the latest version of the ban, announced by President Donald Trump in September. Lower courts have continued to find problems with the policy.
• Supreme Court may be about to legalize sports betting nationwide. (LA Times) — The Supreme Court appeared poised Monday to legalize sports betting by freeing states from a federal anti-gaming law. The justices gave a friendly hearing to New Jersey’s claim that states are free to control their own laws, including in the area of gambling, unless Congress has adopted a federal regulatory policy to prohibit it.
• Gay wedding cake controversy heads to Supreme Court The encounter between a same-sex couple and a Colorado baker lasted just a few seconds — but the legal, political and social impact could extend for decades after the Supreme Court takes up their case on Tuesday. The justices will hear oral arguments in perhaps the most closely watched appeal so far this term, pitting religious conviction against anti-discrimination laws.  At issue is the July 2012 encounter, when Charlie Craig and David Mullins of Denver visited Masterpiece Cakeshop to buy a custom-made wedding cake. Owner Jack Phillips refused his services when told it was for a same-sex couple. A state civil rights commission sanctioned Phillips after a formal complaint from the gay couple.

6am – A/B/C I-66 Tolls: The first day of dynamic tolling for solo drivers on Interstate 66 inside the Beltway saw tolls reach near $35 in the morning before reaching more moderate levels during the Monday afternoon rush hour. As of about 6:30 p.m., the toll for the entire stretch of westbound I-66 from D.C. to the Beltway was estimated at $7.75, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s toll calculator. Drivers on eastbound Interstate 66 saw tolls fluctuate frantically Monday morning, topping out at $34.50.

6am – D/E/F  Fake vs Real Trees: Why Christmas tree prices have risen 125% since 2013. (Axios) — Buyers of real Christmas trees paid on average $75 for their Christmas trees last year, up from $35 in 2013, according a survey commissioned by the National Christmas Tree Association, and spokesperson Doug Hundley says that wholesalers are reporting prices $80 or higher this season.  Why prices have more than doubled: Hundley blames the great recession for limiting the industry’s capacity to harvest enough trees to keep prices from rising steeply. Because it takes a Christmas tree about ten years to grow harvestable, the drop off in demand between 2007 and 2009 meant that growers did not have the revenue or available space on their farms to plant the trees that are being bought today. One caveat: Hundley points out that the National Christmas Tree Association survey asks respondents how much they paid for their Christmas tree, but not about its size. It’s possible that some of this increase in spending is due to shoppers opting for bigger or better-quality trees, especially as the economic recovery shifted into higher gear over the past year. Blame inflation: In a note to clients, Deutsche Bank’s Torsten Sløk said Christmas tree prices could reflect general inflation just as much as the idiosyncrasies of evergreen farming.

7am – A         IMMIGRATION NEWS:

• US quits UN global compact on migration, says it’ll set its own policy.  (CNN)The United States notified the United Nations that it will no longer take part in the global compact on migration, saying it undermines the nation’s sovereignty. The US has been a part of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants since it was formed last year. The declaration aims to ensure the rights of migrants, help them resettle and provide them with access to education and jobs. It calls for the negotiation of a global compact on migration, which is expected to be adopted next year. “While we will continue to engage on a number of fronts at the United Nations,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement Sunday, “in this case, we simply cannot in good faith support a process that could undermine the sovereign right of the United States to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders.”
• In wake of Kate Steinle verdict, new GOP bill would punish officials for sheltering illegal aliens. (Fox News) — Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) introduced a bill on Friday that would slap local officials with huge fines and possibly jail time if they refused to comply with federal immigration initiative. According to Fox News on Monday, Rokita introduced the Stopping Lawless Actions of Politicians Act (SLAP) in the wake of the Kate Steinle verdict. The bill takes aim at sanctuary city policies and enforcement. Last week, Mexican national Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was acquitted of the 2015 murder of Steinle in San Francisco. Garcia Zarate was deported five times before the shooting of Steinle, and was the subject of a federal immigration detention request when Steinle was fatally shot on a San Francisco pier. Despite his detainer, officials released Garcia Zarate before notifying immigration enforcement. SLAP would criminally hold accountable those violating immigration laws. According to Rokita, those in violation of the act could face up to $1 million in fines and up to five years in prison should they be convicted.
• ILLEGAL ARRESTED AFTER TELLING HIS STORY TO A SEATTLE PAPER: (Seattle Times) – A man who recounted his longtime girlfriend’s arrest in a Seattle Times story about ramped-up immigration enforcement in Pacific County last month has now been detained, and says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents told him the arrest was because he was in the newspaper. Baltazar “Rosas” Aburto Gutierrez, speaking by phone from the Northwest Detention Center, where he is being held, said he got off work about 4 a.m. Monday — he harvests clams around Willapa Bay — went back to his Ocean Park home and, a few hours later, headed to Okie’s Thriftway Market for coffee and eggs. An SUV blocked his path into the parking lot, he said. An ICE agent got out and approached his car. “My supervisor asked me to come find you because of what appeared in the newspaper,” the agent said, according to Aburto Gutierrez, relating the conversation in Spanish. The agent spoke in English, not a language the Mexican-born Aburto Gutierrez speaks fluently. Aburto Gutierrez said he nevertheless understood — and concluded that his arrest was retaliation. “We don’t retaliate,” ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley, speaking generally, told The Seattle Times when initially asked about Aburto Gutierrez’s arrest. She said she would look into this case specifically and provide more information.

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW – Carrie Severino – Judicial Crisis Network’s Chief Counsel and Policy Director and former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas – discussed one of the most anticipated Supreme Court cases of the term, Masterpiece Cakeshhop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.  **Carrie will be at the oral arguments

• Statement from Judicial Crisis Network Chief Counsel and Policy Director, Carrie Severino: “Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission is fundamentally about the First Amendment and whether the government can force an artist to promote a message he disagrees with.  “This is not about a generic cake someone picks up at Costco. After all, Jack Phillips was willing to sell an off-the-shelf cake to the couple. But the government wanted to unconstitutionally force him to design a custom wedding cake that would promote a message in direct conflict with his conscience and deeply held religious beliefs, even when there were plenty of other businesses with no such conflict who were happy to bake that cake. The left will try to frame this case as an LBGTQ case but, at its core, it’s about whether or not the government can force or compel an American citizen – protected by the First Amendment – to violate their religious convictions and their right to free speech.”

7am – D         ALABAMA SENATE ELECTION NEWS:

• ‘Go Get ‘Em Roy’ — Donald Trump Phones Roy Moore to Offer Support
• RNC gets back into the Alabama race for Roy Moore
• Washington Post: Woman shares new evidence of relationship with Roy Moore when she was 17
• Mitt Romney rips into Roy Moore: “No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity.”

7am – E         Pink reveals her daughter wants to marry an African woman – and she’s delighted about it (The Mirror) — Pop superstar Pink says she does not want her kids defined by their gender – and that she thinks of herself as a boy. The singer champions gender neutrality, and reveals her six-year-old daughter Willow has told her she wants marry an African woman when she grows up. Pink, 38, said: “I was in a school and the bathroom outside the kindergarten said: ‘Gender Neutral – anybody’, and it was a drawing of many different shapes. “I took a picture of it and I wrote: ‘Progress’. I thought that was awesome. I love that kids are having this conversation.” The Get the Party Started ­singer – real name Alecia Beth Moore – does not want traditional gender roles imposed on Willow or 11-month-old son Jameson, her children with motorcycle racer Carey Hart, 42. She told The People : “We are a very label-less household. Last week Willow told me she is going to marry an African woman. I was like: ‘Great, can you teach me how to make African food?’ “And she’s like: ‘Sure mama, and we are going to live with you while our house is getting ready.’ Little Willow has even come up with a nickname for the US President – who she calls Donald Duck Trumpet.

8am – A         Interview – Virginia Transportation Secretary AUBREY LAYNE

• Va. Transportation Secretary: I-66 Tolls “About Where We Thought They Would Be.” WASHINGTON – (WMAL) Following a morning that left many I-66 drivers with a serious case of sticker shock, Virginia’s Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne tells WMAL things went as planned on the first morning of tolling on the highway. “Overall, first day, I think we’re off to a good start,” he said. “(Tolls) were about where we thought they would be. I think you’ll see those tolls change as people become more accustomed and habits change.” Complaints came in early and often on social media, as single drivers were faced with an ever-increasing toll that peaked at over $34 to travel from the Beltway to Rosslyn around 8:15 Monday morning. While the Virginia Department of Transportation widely publicized the new rules, the agency generally avoided giving out a toll estimate, only going so far as to say the lanes are dynamically-priced with a goal of maintaining an average speed of 55 mph.

8am – B         CONGRESS NEWS:

• Conyers Won’t Seek Re-election in Wake of Harassment Claims, Relative Says…   Representative John Conyers Jr., who faces allegations that he sexually harassed former employees, plans to announce Tuesday that he will not seek re-election, according to a family member who now plans to run for his seat. Ian Conyers, 29, the grandson of Mr. Conyers’s brother, said he now planned to run for the seat held by his 88-year-old great-uncle, a Democrat who represents the Detroit area. “He is not resigning. He is going to retire,” the younger Mr. Conyers said. “His doctor advised him that the rigor of another campaign would be too much for him just in terms of his health.”
• FAHRENTHOLD WILL REIMBURSE TAXPAYERS: Millionaire GOP lawmaker says he will reimburse taxpayers for cost of sexual harassment settlement. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) said Monday he intends to reimburse taxpayers for the $84,000 spent settling a sexual harassment suit filed by his former communications director.
• GOP lawmaker’s ex-wife calls him a serial cheater after nude photo leak. An ex-wife of Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas., said the embattled congressman had several extramarital affairs when the two were married. In an interview with the Texas Star-Telegram, Terri Barton said she was very taken by Barton when they met in an online chatroom in 2001 but his personality severely changed after they got married.

8am – C         “House of Cards” final season to resume production in early 2018, without Kevin Spacey. Kevin Spacey to be written out of final “House of Cards” season. Final ‘House Of Cards’ Season Will Go Forward With Robin Wright As Its Lead. (Huffington Post) – It’s Claire’s turn. Netflix will move forward with the sixth and final season of “House of Cards,” even after firing star Kevin Spacey. Robin Wright, who plays newly inaugurated President Claire Underwood, will take over the political drama’s lead role. Conveniently enough, the fifth season of the show ended with Wright’s character looking into the camera and declaring, “My turn.”   “We were really excited we could get to an agreement” to provide “closure of the show for fans,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said Monday while confirming the news. The final season is expected to consist of eight episodes, compared to the 13 episodes of earlier seasons. It’s unclear how Spacey’s character, Frank Underwood, will be written out of the show.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm and author of “JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity” @larry_kudlow — discussed the latest on tax reform.

8am – E         Regular chocolate milk back on school menus as Obama-era rules are eased. Chocolate milk with 1 percent fat will soon be back on public school lunch menus as the Trump administration eases nutritional standards put in place under President Obama. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday published a new interim rule, due to take effect on July 1 after a period of public comment, which relaxes sodium limits and whole-grain requirements on school lunches and also allows flavored milk with 1 percent back into school cafeterias nationwide. Currently, public schools are allowed to serve only flavored milk that is nonfat or unflavored milk that is low-fat or nonfat. “This is not reducing the nutritional standards whatsoever,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters when he unveiled the proposed changes in May. “I wouldn’t be as big as I am today without flavored milk.” “Schools need flexibility in menu planning so they can serve nutritious and appealing meals,” Perdue said in a statement Thursday. “Schools want to offer food that students actually want to eat. It doesn’t do any good to serve nutritious meals if they wind up in the trash can.”