Brian Griffiths, Mark Krikorian, Jessie Jane Duff, and Congressman Rodney Davis joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C Maryland lawmakers pass automatic voter registration bill (The Hill) — Maryland’s Democratic-controlled legislature on Wednesday approved a measure to automatically register eligible citizens to vote when they interact with certain state agencies. The bill now heads to Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) desk. Hogan has not said whether he supports the measure, and a spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the measure passed by wide enough margins that the legislature could override any potential veto. If the measure becomes law, Maryland would become the 11th state to adopt automatic voter registration. Any Marylander who interacts with the state’s Motor Vehicle Administration, health-care exchange or social services offices would be signed up to vote unless they decline. Voting rights advocates say automatic registration can add hundreds of thousands — in some cases millions — of new voters to the rolls, providing ballot access to those who would otherwise have to proactively seek out a voter registration form.

5am – D         Trump fires VA Secretary David Shulkin, nominates White House doctor as replacement (CBS News) — Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin became the latest member of President Trump’s cabinet to be terminated on Wednesday. Mr. Trump announced that he was replacing Shulkin in a series of tweets, and said he would nominate Adm. Ronny Jackson, who had been serving as the president’s doctor, to replace him. “I appreciate the work of Dr. David Shulkin and the many great things we did together at Veterans Affairs, including the VA Accountability Act that he was helpful in getting passed,” the president added in a statement. “He has been a great supporter of veterans across the country and I am grateful for his service.” Shulkin’s departure follows a series of blunders for the secretary of the already embattled VA, including reported insurgencies inside his own department to complications surrounding his improper use of travel expenses. After raising eyebrows for traveling to Europe last summer with his wife on the VA’s dime, Shulkin faced numerous calls on Capitol Hill for his ouster. He was is one of five Trump cabinet officials whose travel practices were scrutinized by internal watchdogs.

5am – E         A Quiet Win at the U.S. Department of Education (National Review) — Betsy DeVos has lately taken a lot of heat in the press, but she deserves credit for successfully standing up to her department’s powerful employee union. It’s been a tough stretch for Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. DeVos looked overmatched in a big 60 Minutes interview just when memories of her abysmal confirmation hearing were fading. She was rebuffed by a Republican Congress in the new federal budget, and she has struggled to make her case in heated debates over student discipline and school safety. The ensuing cascade of negative coverage has been unfortunate, not least because it obscures some of the quieter things that have gone right on DeVos’s watch. In a noteworthy development, DeVos’s team this month radically revamped the collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) that governs the 3,900 employees at the U.S. Department of Education. The new CBA, between the department and Council 252 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), includes big changes from the 2013 agreement negotiated under the Obama administration. The new agreement doesn’t address compensation or benefits, of course, since those are governed by federal law, but it does include a raft of sensible, taxpayer-friendly changes.

6am – A         Allegation of Trump Pardons:

• Trump’s Lawyer Raised Prospect of Pardons for Flynn and Manafort (New York Times) — A lawyer for President Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump’s pardoning two of his former top advisers, Michael T. Flynn and Paul Manafort, with their lawyers last year, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions. The discussions came as the special counsel was building cases against both men, and they raise questions about whether the lawyer, John Dowd, who resigned last week, was offering pardons to influence their decisions about whether to plead guilty and cooperate in the investigation.
• White House: No pardons under consideration for Manafort, Flynn (Fox News) — The White House has denied a report claiming that a lawyer for President Trump raised the prospect of pardoning former advisers Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort as the FBI special counsel was building cases against them. The New York Times reported Wednesday that John Dowd, who resigned last week, raised the subject with their respective lawyers last year because Trump’s team was concerned about what they might reveal to FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of a deal. Dowd, who announced his resignation last week, denied the claims to the Times: “There were no discussions. Period.” “I have only been asked about pardons by the press and have routinely responded on the record that no pardons are under discussion or under consideration at the White House,” White House lawyer Ty Cobb said in a statement.

6am – B         Tax Cuts News:

• Poll: Majority of Americans not seeing change in paychecks from GOP tax cuts  (The Hill) — A majority of Americans say they are not yet seeing President Trump’s tax cuts reflected in their paychecks, according to a new poll. A CNBC All-America Economic Survey finds 52 percent of working adults say they haven’t seen a change. Just 32 percent of the working adults report taking home more money due to the tax cuts, which Trump signed into law late last year. Of those saying they are taking home more money, 38 percent say the extra pay they receive helps them a “great deal” or a “fair amount.” Forty percent say the extra pay helps “some” or “just a little,” and 22 percent report that the extra pay “does not help much at all.”
• Tax cuts, Round 2: GOP looks to punish Democrats in 2018 (Politico) — ‘It’s the tax pony, and that’s the only horse they have to ride,’ says one top Democrat. Republicans are dreaming of passing another round of tax cuts this year — or at least making vulnerable Democrats squirm by voting against them. GOP leaders are weighing a series of votes to make last year’s temporary tax cuts for individuals permanent, according to Republicans in both chambers. The strategy would portray the party as the guardian of Americans’ paychecks, Republicans say, and buoy the GOP during a brutal election year. Republicans argue they win regardless of whether it culminates with a Rose Garden ceremony: Either Democrats support the legislation, giving the GOP a major legislative accomplishment in its scramble to save its majorities. Or, more likely, Democrats block the bill — allowing Republicans to paint them as opponents of the middle class.

6am – C         Corey Lewandowski considering legal action against reporter who entered office without permission (Fox News) — Corey Lewandowski said he may take action against New York Magazine star Olivia Nuzzi after she admitted she entered his home office without permission. “I can confirm I did not grant her permission to enter my office,” Lewandowski told Fox News. Nuzzi penned a recent profile on the former White House communications director Hope Hicks, who is so reclusive that Columbia Journalism Review interviewed Nuzzi about her revealing feature. During the interview, Nuzzi explained how she wound up inside a townhouse where Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, lives. “I tried to knock on the basement door, but the gate wasn’t open. Then I walked up the steps to the main door and knocked for, like, 10 minutes. And I’m knocking, knocking, nobody’s answering. But after a while, I just touched the door knob, and the door was open. I walked in and I’m in the house, by myself,” Nuzzi said. “So I took this photo of the quote on a wall. I peered around but I didn’t walk fully into the house.” Nuzzi then explained that she left the residence after texting her boyfriend, who advised her that “it probably wasn’t legal.” Lewandowski told Fox News he has not made any decision regarding whether he would take any action against Nuzzi for entering the office, but he did not rule out the possibility.

6am – D/E     INTERVIEW – BRIAN GRIFFITHS – Maryland political analyst and Editor-in-Chief of Red Maryland, a conservative news site about Maryland politics – discussed proposed automatic voter laws, the Maryland Gubernatorial Race, and the new Maryland Gerrymandering case brought before the Supreme Court

• SCOTUS Considers Whether Maryland Dems Used Gerrymandering to Their Advantage
• Maryland House passes automatic voter registration bill 93-46. Now on to Governor Hogan’s desk.
• Democratic National Committee sends $85K to Maryland to help challenge Gov. Hogan, other Republicans.

6am – F         FBI/DOJ FISA Abuses:

• Department of Justice inspector general investigating alleged FISA abuses (CBS News) — The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog announced Wednesday that it will review the DOJ and FBI’s compliance with the law and their own policies related to applications for secret surveillance warrants made “related to a certain U.S. person,” in response to requests from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and members of Congress. The DOJ did not name the “certain U.S. person,” but some Republican members of Congress have asked DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz to look into how the DOJ and FBI obtained warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Page and the procurement of warrants through the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to surveil him were the subjects of a controversial memo from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, which prompted Democrats on the committee to issue their own memo in response. Sessions had already announced the DOJ IG would look into the matter — the statement from the IG’s office makes it official. Mr. Trump has also railed against the FISA process, but he publicly attacked Sessions for requesting a DOJ IG review, saying it would take too long.

• WAS THE TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION ‘FIX’ IN?  (Fox News) — Newly uncovered text messages between alleged anti-Trump FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page suggest possible coordination between officials at the Obama White House, CIA, FBI, Justice Department and former Senate Democratic leadership in the early stages of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation, according to GOP congressional investigators … The investigators say the information provided to Fox News “strongly” suggests coordination between former Obama Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, then-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, and then-CIA Director John Brennan — which they say would “contradict” the Obama administration’s public stance about its hand in the process.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – MARK KRIKORIAN – Center for Immigration Studies —- the battle with Sanctuary California – discussed Orange County, CA’s opposition to the state’s Sanctuary State laws, census citizenship question, and news of potential social security fraud by many DACA recipients

• Trump throws his support behind Orange County in its war against the California sanctuary law.
• California sues Trump administration over Census citizenship question.
• ‘Dreamers’ and Social Security fraud

7am – B         New Roseanne Show News:

• Trump personally called Roseanne to congratulate her on huge ratings (New York Post) — President Trump phoned Roseanne Barr Wednesday to congratulate her on the revival of her “Roseanne” sitcom, which was a huge ratings success, according to a report. Trump wanted to personally reach out to Barr, after the reboot of her iconic ABC sitcom drew 18.2 million viewers in its debut on Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the New York Times. A source said the president was impressed by the “huge” ratings of “Roseanne,” which features Barr playing her alter-ego Roseanne Conner – a Trump supporter, like the actress is in real life. Politics was mentioned briefly in Tuesday’s episode in a scene with actress Laurie Metcalf, a real-life HIllary Clinton supporter playing “Nasty Woman” Aunt Jackie.
• TV Ratings: ‘Roseanne’ Revival Skyrockets With Stunning Premiere (Hollywood Reporter) — The ABC comedy returns nearly three decades after its original premiere, averaging a whopping 18.1 million and an unbelievable 5.1 rating in the key demo. Roseanne returned Tuesday after two decades. The ABC sitcom kicked off its revived run with especially promising returns — dominating every other Big Four telecast of the night. The first two episodes of Roseanne, a full hour at the top of the ABC lineup, won the night by both adults 18-49 and total viewers. The show averaged a 5.1 rating in the key demo and 18.1 million viewers, rising from the first half hour to the next. The first number alone is enough to make Roseanne the highest-rated regularly scheduled scripted show of the last few seasons, since Empire at its peak, as well as the highest-rated sitcom broadcast in over three years. That’s an incredibly strong start for the sitcom, thus far only committed to nine episodes. The easiest comparison is another revival, NBC’s Will & Grace. The other reboot, one that helped jump-start Roseanne and the current trend, premiered with a 3.0 rating in the key demo and just over 10 million viewers at the start of the season. ABC made a pretty bold move by having Roseanne go it alone at 8 p.m., without any lead-in. The hour has belonged to sitcoms The Middle and Fresh Off the Boat for the season up until now. Roseanne’s brief run picks up next Tuesday, airing single episodes at 8 p.m. for another seven weeks.

7am – C         February Donations to NRA Tripled as Celebrities, Establishment Media Attacked (Breitbart) — Donations to the NRA’s political action committee in February surged to three times what they were in January as Parkland gun control activists and media outlets blamed the NRA for “gun violence.” The NRA was denigrated during the February 21 CNN town hall, politicians like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) were criticized for any affiliation with the organization, and celebrities responded to the February 14 Parkland school shooting by blaming the NRA. The celebrities included Judd Apatow calling President Trump a “coward” for not cutting ties with the NRA,  Mia Farrow tweeted names of Senators and House Members who received donations from the NRA, and Chelsea Handler tying Republicans and NRA together, accusing both of having “blood on [their] hands.” It is now evident that Americans across the land responded to this criticism by pouring money into the NRA PAC. The Washington Free Beacon reports that the PAC received $779,063 in donations in February versus $247,985 in January. Unitemized donations were $685,099.51 for the month of February. Itemized donations were $27,100 for the two weeks of February that preceded the Parkland shooting and $70,870 for the two weeks after.

7am – D         Interview – JESSIE JANE DUFF – Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps (ret), Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and longtime advocate for veterans issues – discussed the removal of VA Secretary David Shulkin and the nomination of the President’s Physician Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson

7am – E         Chef Geoff files lawsuit over Va. happy hour restrictions (WTOP) — Chef Geoff Tracy, who owns three restaurants in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, filed a federal First Amendment lawsuit Wednesday targeting Virginia’s happy hour advertising law. Tracy told WTOP that current legislation in Virginia regarding happy hour laws are restrictive, outdated and hurt his business and bottom line in the state. The lawsuit has been filed against the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. “I have my First Amendment rights. I should be able to tell you that the beer is $5 or it is $2 off. I think every reasonable person would agree that is kind of ridiculous,” Tracy said. “It’s just kind of a weird limitation on free speech or creative advertising speech that doesn’t make any sense. It’s a challenge to comply with,” Tracy said. In contrast, in D.C. or Maryland, Tracy can list the specific cost of a beer. Virginia law also bans advertising the use of any other terms other than “happy hour” or “drink specials.” It is also illegal to call specials “two for one.” Instead, restaurants in Virginia may offer “half-priced” drinks, according to the Pacific Legal Foundation. In a lawsuit filed on behalf of Tracy, the Pacific Legal Foundation argued that Virginia’s happy hour advertising restrictions prevent restaurants from speaking freely and truthfully about their business and that the rules are a violation of the First Amendment. While Tracy promotes specials such as “Wine down Wednesdays” and “$5 margaritas” at his restaurants in Maryland and D.C., at his restaurant in Tysons Corner in Vienna, Virginia, the exact same ads would violate state law and could lead to fines and suspension of Tracy’s liquor license.

8am – A         Tax Cuts and Balanced Budget Amendment:

• “Phase 2” of taxes: At Trump’s request, Republicans plan to force votes on making individual tax cuts permanent as they go all in on tax to save their majorities
• Republicans to push balanced-budget amendment after a $1.3-trillion spending bill.

8am – B         Jeb Bush Takes Shot at Trump: My Children ’Actually Love Me’, Don Jr. Fires Back (Newsweek) — Donald Trump Jr. said he loves how his father President Donald Trump dismantled former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during the 2016 campaign Wednesday after the son and brother of former presidents suggested Trump’s children don’t love him. During a talk at Yale University Tuesday, Bush said that after facing off against Trump during the 2016 Republican primaries and losing he was thankful to return home to children who “actually love me.” “I’m not going to talk about the 2016 election,” Bush said according to the Yale Daily News, adding “I’m still in therapy.” Bush said the president is “Republican in basically name only.” Trump’s eldest son took issue with Bush’s suggestion that the president’s children don’t love him. “Jeb! I love everything about my father. I love that he’s a fighter, I love that he has guts, I love that he’s President (all those things you’re not),” Trump Jr. wrote in a tweet.

8am – C         Maryland Gerrymandering

8am – D         Interview – Congressman RODNEY DAVIS (R-IL) – Chairman of the Republican Main Street Caucus – discussed his work in the School Safety Working Group to push for legislative priorities such as the Secure Our Schools grant program and the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative and what Congress is doing to make the tax cuts permanent

8am – E         NFL News:

• No consensus among NFL owners on national anthem policy as league meeting concludes (Washington Post) — No consensus among NFL owners was evident as they discussed the sport’s national anthem policy during this week’s annual league meeting that concluded Wednesday, according to multiple people familiar with the owners’ deliberations. It appeared increasingly unlikely as this meeting ended that a significant number of owners will support any proposal requiring players to stand for the anthem before games, but there is the possibility of a compromise solution being enacted when the owners next meet in May in Atlanta, according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. Among the potential compromises that could be discussed by the owners in May are leaving the anthem policy to be decided on a team-by-team basis and requiring players to stand for the anthem if they’re on the sideline while giving them the option to remain in the locker room if they choose, said people with knowledge of the league’s inner workings. It also appears possible that the policy could be left unchanged. No proposals were made and no votes were taken by the owners during this meeting, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said little Wednesday about his views on whether a change to the anthem policy is needed.
• NFL closes overtime rule loophole (Pro Football Talk) — The NFL has closed an odd loophole in the overtime rules, fixing a problem that had never come up — but would have caused major controversy if it had. Most fans probably had no idea that this could ever become an issue, but when the NFL tweaked its overtime rules, it didn’t clarify what, exactly, constituted a possession. Consider this scenario: Team A receives the overtime kickoff, marches down the field and kicks a field goal. On its ensuing possession, Team B throws an interception. But the player on Team A fumbles the ball, and a player on Team B scoops it up and runs for a touchdown. Who wins the game? Under the old rule, Team A wins the game, because Team B’s possession ended the moment the interception was thrown. But that just feels wrong: How can you lose a game when the game ends with you running into the end zone for a touchdown? Now the NFL has changed the rule. Under the new rule, Team B will win the game: Every play will be officiated to its finish, and if a team re-takes possession and scores a touchdown on that play, that team will win. To put it another way: If you score a touchdown in overtime, you win. Always.