Tony Katz, Trevor Matich, Rep. Don Beyer, Christopher Bedford and Bret Baier joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, August 31, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C INTERVIEW — TONY KATZ — Morning Radio Host on WIBC in Indianapolis @tonykatz — recap Trump’s rally in Indiana.

5am – D/E     MUELLER NEWS:

• MUELLER WANTS TO KNOW WHY COHEN DIDN’T GET A JOB IN THE ADMINISTRATION (CNBC) — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team continued to ask witnesses questions about Michael Cohen’s involvement in the Trump campaign weeks after FBI raid on his residence and office. The special counsel’s investigators asked these witnesses about whether Cohen conducted personal business while working as an employee of the Trump Organization and for insight on why he didn’t get a job in the Trump White House. The special counsel continued asking witnesses about Cohen into at least May, according to sources.
• PAPADOPOLOUS STICKING W/PLEA DEAL (Breitbart) — “George will take responsibility for some inaccuracies during the interview with the FBI. I hope though that the judge will take into account the irrelevance of those ‘inaccuracies’ at the purposes of the investigation and the lack of ‘criminal intention,’” she said in a statement.
• DOJ’s Bruce Ohr kept Mueller deputy ‘in the loop’ about anti-Trump dossier, sources say (Fox News) — Embattled Justice Department official Bruce Ohr had contact in 2016 with then-colleague Andrew Weissmann, who is now a top Robert Mueller deputy, as well as other senior FBI officials about the controversial anti-Trump dossier and the individuals behind it, two sources close to the matter told Fox News.The sources said Ohr’s outreach about the dossier – as well as its author, ex-British spy Christopher Steele; the opposition research firm behind it, Glenn Simpson’s Fusion GPS; and his wife Nellie Ohr’s work for Fusion – occurred before and after the FBI fired Steele as a source over his media contacts. Ohr’s network of contacts on the dossier included: former FBI agent Peter Strzok; former FBI lawyer Lisa Page; former deputy director Andrew McCabe; Weissmann and at least one other DOJ official; and a current FBI agent who worked with Strzok on the Russia case. Weissmann was kept “in the loop” on the dossier, a source said, while he was chief of the criminal fraud division. He is now assigned to Special Counsel Mueller’s team.
• STRZOK, PAGE & McCABE ALSO INFORMED (Daily Caller) – HERE IS WHO BRUCE OHR DID AND DID NOT TELL ABOUT HIS DOSSIER CONTACTS. DOJ official Bruce Ohr testified before Congress on Tuesday about his contacts with Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier. One mystery surrounding Ohr and Steele was who he told at the Justice Department about his interaction with Steele. Ohr testified that he told his peers, but not his superiors, about the dossier-related contacts. Department of Justice official Bruce Ohr told Congress earlier this week that he informed half a dozen FBI and Justice Department officials about his contacts with dossier author Christopher Steele and opposition researcher Glenn Simpson. Sources familiar with Ohr’s testimony before the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees told The Daily Caller News Foundation that Ohr informed Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page about his interactions with Steele and Simpson. He also informed Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann about his dossier-related work.

6am – A         Campus bans Sept. 11 memorial for ‘bias’ against Muslims. (Washington Examiner) — Administrators at Ripon College in Wisconsin have ruled that a Sept. 11 memorial cannot take place on campus because it may offend Muslim students. The private school cited bias reports that were filed during last year’s Sept. 11 memorial project, a project that was a part of Young America’s Foundation’s iconic patriotism initiative which takes place across the country on campuses every year. The school’s Bias Protocol Board said the project creates an “environment” where “students from a Muslim background would feel singled out and/or harassed.” As a result, Ripon students will not be allowed to hang flyers as part of their vigil to remember the victims of Sept. 11. According to YAF, administrators claimed that one of their objections is “because radical Islamist terrorism ‘represents a small percentage of the terrorist attacks that happened to this country, and they don’t represent the full gamut, and they show a very small picture of a specific religion or nationality instead of the larger viewpoint.’” “This attempt by Ripon College’s ‘bias protocol board’ to sanitize the truth out of remembering the anniversary of September 11 proves the necessity of YAF’s iconic 9/11: Never Forget Project, as well as the need for bold YAF activists,” Young America’s Foundation Spokesman Spencer Brown told Red Alert Politics. “YAF’s leadership in creating meaningful memorials on this important date in our nation’s history ensures that the rising generation remembers the 2,977 innocent lives lost. The administrators’ reliance on feelings rather than facts betrays their intention to cower from the truth rather than highlight the scourge of radical Islamist terror for what it is: evil.”

6am – B/C     INTERVIEW — TREVOR MATICH – WMAL’s Redskins Analyst @TMatich

• Recap the Redskins – Ravens preseason game last night: Washington Redskins 20 – 30 Baltimore Ravens
• Redskins Fall To Ravens In Final Preseason Game. The Washington Redskins fell to the Baltimore Ravens 30-20 Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium in the team’s final preseason game. The Redskins got the offense working on their second drive of the game. After finding success in the ground game with the addition of a couple penalties, quarterback Kevin Hogan rolled out and hit wide receiver Brian Quick for a four-yard touchdown, which, at the time, tied the game. The Redskins kickstarted their offense again late in the second quarter thanks to wide receiver Trey Quinn, who danced around a defender after grabbing a pass from Hogan and ran for a 33-yard gain. Not long after, Hogan made his best throw of the night, staying in the pocket to absorb a big hit and connecting with wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr. for a 38-yard completion. The Redskins weren’t able to finish the drive after missing a field goal before the half. The Redskins found the end zone again in the third quarter, this time on a quick six-yard pass to tight end J.P Holtz, who caught the ball just across the goal line. Running back De’Veon Smith finished the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown, taking a screen pass and darting in between defenders, capping off a productive second half for the second-year back.
• Ravens finish preseason undefeated with win over Redskins. BALTIMORE —Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for a touchdown, backup Robert Griffin III spent the entire game on the sideline and Baltimore beat the Washington Redskins 30-20 Thursday night to complete its third consecutive unbeaten preseason. Jackson played the first half and led Baltimore (5-0) on three scoring drives. The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and first-round draft pick is sure to make the team, but coach John Harbaugh has not yet revealed whether he will keep Griffin, who’s currently No. 2 on the depth chart behind starter Joe Flacco. Griffin, a five-year veteran, went 27 for 41 during the preseason and showed no rust after sitting out last year. Neither team used its starters on offense or defense, accepted standard procedure in a preseason finale. Kevin Hogan played the entire game at quarterback for the Redskins (1-3), going 22 for 38 for 272 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in his bid to unseat Colt McCoy as the backup to Alex Smith.

6am – D/E/F Trump eliminates pay raises for civilian federal employees. (Axios) — In a letter sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday, President Trump announced that a majority of civilian federal employees will not receive pay increases next year, undoing the original 2.1% pay increase that was set to take effect in 2019. The details: The president explained the change is an effort “to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases.” No change has been announced for pay increases of military troops, which are still on track to receive a 2.6% bump according to the Military Times, marking their biggest pay raise since 2009.

• Beyer Statement on Federal Employee Pay Freeze. Rep. Beyer issued the following statement today on President Trump’s announcement that he would halt pay raises for civilian federal employees, which were due to take effect in the coming year: “President Trump’s decision to deny pay raises is a slap in the face to the hardworking civil servants who help keep us safe, care for our veterans, and faithfully serve the American people. No one will believe his dishonest justification of a ‘national emergency or serious economic conditions,’ which is contradicted by Trump’s own commentary painting a rosy picture of the economy. This newfound concern for the fiscal prudence is impossible to credit, given Trump’s willingness to create massive deficits and determination to waste money on pet projects like his border wall. This is merely an attack on another class of people he does not like. It is a harsh indictment of President Trump’s values that he is freezing workers’ pay to offset his multi-billion-dollar tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.”
• Rep. Comstock Statement On The Possible Elimination Of The Federal Employee Pay Raise. Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA) released the following statement regarding the possible elimination of the federal employee pay raise: “I strongly oppose eliminating the pay raise for civilian federal employees and will work with my colleagues to have the pay raise included in our appropriations.   Our public servants have been getting shortchanged for years; including three years of pay freezes under the Obama administration.  Republicans recently made a strong statement in the House of Representatives supporting ICE and the work our dedicated homeland security officials do.  Dedicated work is also done by our civilian employees at other national security agencies, the FBI, DEA and other law enforcement agencies, as well as the National Institute of Health where dedicated federal employees search for cures to diseases that drive up the costs of health care everyday.  We cannot balance the budget on the backs of our federal employees and I will work with my House and Senate colleagues to keep the pay increase in our appropriations measures that we vote on in September.”
• STATEMENT OF U.S. SEN. MARK R. WARNER ~ On Trump federal employee pay freeze: WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today released the following statement on President Trump’s unilateral move to freeze federal employee pay in 2019: “Let’s be clear: the President’s decision to cancel any pay increase for federal employees is not motivated by a sudden onset of fiscal responsibility. Today’s announcement has nothing to do with making government more cost-efficient – it’s just the latest attack in the Trump Administration’s war on federal employees. “I’ve worked for years in the Senate to reduce duplicative and wasteful spending, and make government more efficient. If President Trump seriously wants to make that a priority, then I’d be happy to work with the White House on that effort. But let’s be honest: the President and his party, which controls both houses of Congress, have had every chance over the last 18 months to get serious about tackling our fiscal challenges. Instead, the President ballooned the deficit by trillions of dollars with a tax giveaway primarily benefitting big business and the wealthiest Americans. I can think of nothing more hypocritical or disingenuous than to turn around and throw hardworking federal employees under the bus on the pretext of fiscal responsibility. Congress can and must stand up to the President and reject this assault on our federal workers by passing the 1.9 percent pay raise that the Senate approved on August 1.”
• KAINE STATEMENT ON TRUMP ELIMINATING FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PAY INCREASE. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement after President Trump announced he will try to deny federal employees a 2.1 percent cost of living adjustment in 2019: “President Trump is trying to deny over a million Americans the pay they’ve earned. Yet again, this President is attacking our hardworking public servants and hurting our ability to hire and keep dedicated workers. It’s insulting to blame these unfair pay cuts on ‘economic conditions’ as President Trump’s policies have lined his own pockets and blown up the debt projections by trillions of dollars.” Congress passed legislation approving a cost of living adjustment (COLA) to ensure federal employee wages keep up with inflation. Virginia is home to more than 170,000 civilian federal employees, one of the highest concentrations in the country. Trump’s pay cut would disproportionately hurt veterans, who make up one-third of the federal workforce. Taking away this COLA will also have no impact on the deficit as the Senate already voted to appropriate the funds.

7am – A         Bernie Sanders, Amazon clash over his ‘inaccurate’ accusations about ‘low’ employee pay (Fox Business) — The fight between e-commerce giant Amazon and Sen. Bernie Sanders is getting uglier. Amazon took to its blog early Wednesday to hit back at “inaccurate and misleading” criticisms from Sen. Bernie Sanders in an unusual political post from the tech giant. The Independent Vermont senator penned a post of his own later in the day, renewing criticisms that the company does not pay employees enough and voicing concern over working conditions at fulfillment centers. “Bottom line: the taxpayers of this country should not have to subsidize employees at a company owned by Mr. Bezos who is worth $155 billion. That is absurd,” Sanders wrote. Amazon refuted the senator’s claims that it doesn’t pay lower-level employees a livable wage and therefore workers have to rely on government assistance programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), at the expense of other taxpayers. “Senator Sanders continues to spread misleading statements about pay and benefits,” representatives for the company wrote on its Day One blog. “Amazon is proud to have created over 130,000 new jobs last year alone. In the U.S., the average hourly wage for a full-time associate in our fulfillment centers, including cash, stock, and incentive bonuses, is over $15/hour before overtime. We encourage anyone to compare our pay and benefits to other retailers.” The company added that Sanders’ references to SNAP, “which hasn’t been called ‘food stamps’ for several years,” are misleading because they include part-time employees and those who only worked for the company for a short period of time – saying that these groups would “almost certainly qualify for SNAP.” Meanwhile, Sanders accused the company of being “less than forthcoming with information about their employment practices.” He said the company’s median pay is 9 percent less than the industry average at $28,446, and “well below” a livable wage. Sanders is expected to unveil legislation next week that would require large employers to cover the cost of federal assistance received by their employees through imposing a 100 percent tax on those benefits. The aim is to encourage companies, like Amazon, to pay higher wages and reduce the burden on the middle-class taxpayers that subsidize these programs. He recently created a survey for Amazon employees to ask whether they receive SNAP benefits, which the tech giant’s senior vice president of operations publicly encouraged employees to fill out.

7am – B         Maine DOT denies request from PETA to put up memorial for lobsters killed in crash. BRUNSWICK (WGME) — The Maine Department of Transportation has denied a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to build a 5-foot tombstone memorial where lobsters may have died after a crash on Route 1 in Brunswick last week. Brunswick Police say a Cozy Harbor Seafood truck, carrying nearly 70 crates of lobster, rolled over and crushed several of them. Sam Read @SamWGME Last week a Cozy Harbor Seafood truck carrying roughly 70 crates of live lobster rolled over on Route 1 in Brunswick. Some of the crustaceans died— @peta is asking for permission to put a memorial up in honor of those that died. 4:10 PM – Aug 29, 2018 / It is because of the lobsters that were pinned under the truck that PETA wrote a letter to the Maine DOT on Wednesday asking for permission to put up a memorial. “Countless sensitive crustaceans experienced an agonizing death when this truck rolled over and their bodies came crashing down onto the highway,” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said. “PETA hopes to pay tribute to these individuals who didn’t want to die with a memorial urging people to help prevent future suffering by keeping lobsters and all other animals off their plates.” The Maine DOT says they denied the request Thursday because Route 1 in Brunswick is a “controlled-access highway,” which means they prohibit signs, and in this case a tombstone, because of safety concerns.

7am – C         ‘You stand with Trump and all his bigotry’: Furious customers boycott In-N-Out Burger after the fast food joint donates $25K to California Republican Party (Daily Mail) — In-N-Out Burger donated $25,000 to California’s GOP on Monday in public filing. The donation sparked anger and a boycott among restaurant fans. Donation filed in Irvine, a Republican California city, ahead of midterm elections. The burger chain also donated to California’s Republican party in 2016 and 2017.

California’s favorite burger joint has come under fire after the restaurant donated $25,000 to the California Republican Party. The donation was filed on Monday according to the California Secretary of State’s website, and has spurred turmoil among the restaurant’s fans. The contribution was made ahead of midterm elections in Irvine, California, which is a part of Orange County – a Republican stronghold in the west coast. The news broke on Twitter with a post saying: ‘In-N-Out added a new item to their secret menu’ with a picture of the filing. Now Twitter users are calling for a boycott of the popular fast-food chain, many refusing to support In-N-Out if they sponsor the GOP and the Trump administration as the state rolls towards midterm elections.  However, this isn’t the first time the burger joint has supported the Republican party.

7am – D/E     DC drivers look like horrible drivers in a new All State report (WTOP) — WASHINGTON — Allstate’s “America’s Best Drivers” report doesn’t make drivers in D.C., or the greater Washington area, look very good. Based on data such as damage claims and so-called hard-braking events, D.C. ranks 198 out of 200 cities where data were studied. Nationally, the average number of years between auto insurance claims is 10 years. In D.C., Allstate says, owners make auto insurance claims an average of every 3.9 years. For the entire metro area, it is 6.7 years. A hard-braking event is defined as a driver slowing down 8 mph or more in a one-second period. Allstate says it can indicate unsafe driving behaviors, such as following too closely or aggressive or distracted driving. D.C. drivers experience 26 hard-braking events for every 1,000 miles driven. In the area, drivers slam on their brakes an average of 22.9 times per 1,000 miles driven. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, shows the fewest hard-braking events — an average of 12.9 per 1,000 miles. Hard-braking data were culled from data collected from Allstate’s Drivewise app, which monitors factors such as speed, breaking and time of day of drivers who voluntary agree to sign up for it. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that preventable human factors, including drunk, distracted and drowsy driving, speeding and failure to use safety features, contribute to 94 percent of auto collisions (which is why the industry does not use the word “accident” when referring to auto crashes). Washington is near the very bottom of the list for safe drivers, but it’s not last. The bottom two spots belong to Boston and Baltimore.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — REP. DON BEYER – (D-VA) @RepDonBeyer — represents Virginia’s 8th congressional district since 2015

• Virginia’s 8th congressional district is in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It comprises all of Arlington County, portions of Fairfax County and all of the independent cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.
• Trump announced he’s getting rid of a 2.1% pay increase for civilian federal employees that was set to take effect in 2019.
• Rep. Don Beyer ‏@RepDonBeyer: A slap in the face to the hardworking civil servants who help keep us safe, care for our veterans, and faithfully serve the American people.  It is a harsh indictment of his values that Trump freezes workers’ pay to offset billions in tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

8am – B         INTERVIEW – CHRISTOPHER BEDFORD – Editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller News Foundation and author of “The Art Of The Donald” @CBedfordDC

8am – C         Ronan Farrow ex-producer says NBC told them to stop reporting Weinstein story. In a statement to Fox News, Rich McHugh, who left the network’s investigative unit earlier this month, said the order came as he and Farrow were preparing to travel to Los Angeles to interview a woman “with a credible allegation of rape” against the now-disgraced movie producer. “I was told not to do the interview and ordered to stand down, thus effectively killing the story,” McHugh said. “That was unethical, and a massive breach of journalistic integrity. “Is there anyone in the journalistic community who actually believes NBC didn’t breach its journalistic duty to continue reporting this story?” McHugh added. “Something else must have been going on.”

8am – D         8:35 AM — INTERVIEW — BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report, Fox News Channel, weeknights at 6 PM and author of Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire” @BretBaier

• Kavanaugh confirmation hearings begin Tuesday. Republicans are prepping Kavanaugh at mock confirmation hearings. The questions range from his view on abortion rights to executive power and his time in the Bush White House, the Post details. Kavanuagh confirmation hearing on Tuesday expected to wrap around 2:15 pm et. No questions for Kavanaugh that day. Just introductions & opening statements.

• Bret doing coverage of McCain memorial events today and tomorrow
• Pres. Trump tells Bloomberg that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is safe in his job until at least November.

8am – E         Neil Armstrong movie ‘First Man’ omits the American flag being planted on the moon, and star Ryan Gosling defended the decision (Business Insider) — The upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man” omits the American flag being planted on the moon. Star Ryan Gosling defended the decision and said Armstrong’s mission to the moon was “widely regarded in the end as a human achievement.” He added, “I don’t think that Neil viewed himself as an American hero,” and that the movie reflects Armstrong’s humility. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday to rave reviews. The upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man,” from “Whiplash” and “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday to rave reviews and early Oscar buzz. But the movie doesn’t include a key scene in Armstrong’s mission to the moon and an integral moment in American history. The movie omits the American flag being planted on the moon, and the movie’s star Ryan Gosling, who plays Armstrong, defended the decision when asked about it at Venice (via The Telegraph). Gosling, who’s Canadian, argued that the first voyage to the moon was a “human achievement” that didn’t just represent an American accomplishment, and that’s how Armstrong viewed it. “I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement [and] that’s how we chose to view it,” Gosling. “I also think Neil was extremely humble, as were many of these astronauts, and time and time again he deferred the focus from himself to the 400,000 people who made the mission possible.” Gosling added, “He was reminding everyone that he was just the tip of the iceberg – and that’s not just to be humble, that’s also true. So I don’t think that Neil viewed himself as an American hero. From my interviews with his family and people that knew him, it was quite the opposite. And we wanted the film to reflect Neil.” Gosling also joked that he’s Canadian, so he “might have cognitive bias.”