Washington Post’s Lynh Bui, Heritage’s Nile Gardiner and RNC’s Liz Harrington joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C/D/E     DEM DEBATE FIRST NIGHT RECAP AND REACTION:

• The Democratic debate happens June 26-27, 9 to 11 p.m. ET, on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. The event takes place in downtown Miami.
• Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro of Texas, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, Former Representative John Delaney of Maryland, Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii,  Governor Jay Inslee of Washington, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas, Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

6am – A/B/C/D/E/F DEM DEBATE FIRST NIGHT RECAP AND REACTION

7am – A/B/C DEM DEBATE FIRST NIGHT RECAP AND REACTION

7am – D         INTERVIEW – LYNH BUI – Washington Post reporter, local reporter covering Prince George’s County police, fire and courts – discussed the latest on the Capital Gazette shooter trial.

• Trial of man charged in Capital Gazette shooting can be split in two, judge rules. (Washington Post) — The trial of the man charged in the Capital Gazette shooting can be split into two proceedings, with one phase to determine his guilt or innocence and another to determine whether he should be held criminally responsible if there is a conviction, a judge ruled Tuesday. Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Laura S. Ripken agreed to break up the proceedings at the request of defense attorneys for Jarrod Ramos, 39. Ramos has pleaded not criminally responsible to all charges in the case — Maryland’s version of an insanity defense — citing a “mental disorder” that prevented him from conforming to the law in the newspaper shooting that left five dead. Ramos appeared briefly in court Tuesday for a pretrial hearing before what was to have been an all-day event, which was postponed because one of his public defenders had a death in the family and could not be present. Lawyers had been prepared Tuesday to fight over a number of motions, including whether prosecutors should have access to Ramos’s tax records as they seek to beat back defense assertions that Ramos should not be held criminally responsible.
• Health Department asks for more time to evaluate defendant in Capital Gazette shooting case; motions hearing postponed. (Capital Gazette) — Maryland Department of Health doctors evaluating the mental state of the man charged in the Capital Gazette shooting have asked for more time to complete their report. Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken, who is presiding over the case against the man accused of fatally shooting Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters, said in court Tuesday she received a “pretty standard” letter from the department of health. Ripken was slated to hear arguments Tuesday on all outstanding motions before a trial scheduled for November in the case against Laurel resident Jarrod Ramos, 39 — who faces five counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, six counts of first-degree assault and a host of other charges. The team of public defenders representing Ramos asked Ripken before court today to postpone most issues scheduled to be addressed because of a sudden death in the immediate family of one of the attorneys. “This is beyond anyone’s control,” Ripken said, finding good cause to grant the postponement. Each side will now argue about outstanding motions at a day-long hearing July 17, she declared. Elizabeth Palan, one of the defense attorneys, was not present in court. The lead attorney for Ramos, William Davis, declined to specify whether the death was in Palan’s family. Asked by Ripken if he was okay if the attorneys addressed some issues in court despite Palan’s absence, Ramos — bearded, bespectacled and wearing a green jail jumpsuit — said yes. The health department, according to Ripken’s account of the letter she received, asked for a 60-day extension because they needed more records to complete the mental health evaluation. Ripken granted their request, with no objection from either defense attorneys or prosecutors.

7am – E         Democrats crush GOP to win annual baseball game. (The Hill) — The Democrats beat the Republicans in a high-scoring 14-7 win Wednesday night in the 58th annual Congressional Baseball Game. It was the Democrats’ 10th win in 11 years. The theme for this year’s event was “For the love of the game,” highlighting how the annual game brings together lawmakers from across the political spectrum for a worthy cause. The game raised $1.3 million for Congressional Sports for Charity, a foundation which supports charities for children and families in the Washington, D.C. area. The fans at Nationals Park were treated to a star-studded affair even before the game began. The baseball for the first pitch was brought onto the field by the Budweiser Clydesdales, escorted by country music star Big Kenny of the band Big & Rich. And the ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Josh Norman of the Washington Redskins. The opening ceremonies for the game also included a tribute to veterans and active duty service members, who were cheered by both teams and the crowd. The players on the Republican team wore jerseys of red and white while the Democrats wore jerseys from schools and teams in the districts and states they represent. This year, the Democrats had two women on their team, Reps. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) and Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), both in the infield. Sánchez has been a mainstay on the team for 13 years, and the only Democratic woman, until she recruited Barragán to the team. The players received roaring applause from fellow lawmakers, staffers and their families in the stands, and the cheers reached a crescendo when House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) stepped onto the field. Scalise was seriously wounded two years ago when he was shot while practicing for the game. Scalise returned to the game last year after a difficult recovery, taking up his position at second base for one play. This year, Scalise stepped into the batter’s box and reached first base on an error, after which he was substituted out. “The Congressional Baseball Game is just such a special tradition,” Scalise said before the game. “We compete ferociously, but you make… long-lasting relationships too.”

8am – A         NILE GARDINER – director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, and a former aide to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – discussed President Trump’s trip to Japan and what’s on the agenda at the G-20 Summit.

• Nile Gardiner, former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, says, “[Q]uite often these summits are quite meaningless, but this particular summit in Osaka is going to be very important on several fronts…” Look for important movement on China, trade/Huawei, and Iran, says Nile.
  • China Trade: “Hopefully, as a result of the discussions that you’ll see later this week, both the U.S. and China will back away from the large number of tariffs that are being threatened at this time. I think that it’s neither in the interests of the U.S. nor China to have a large-scale trade war.”
  • Huawei: “I think that the U.S. strategy in the coming months is going to shift heavily towards the targeting of Chinese high-tech companies that are deemed to pose a national security threat…The United States has to maintain the pressure on China’s high-tech companies, which are really just another arm of the Chinese regime.”
  • Iran: Expect “a clear message for all of America’s European allies – France, Germany, Great Britain, for example – they have to comply with U.S. sanctions that are in place, and I think the president will make it very clear that every single European entity that does business with Tehran will be hit by U.S. sanctions.”
• Trump arrives in Japan for G20. What to expect from meetings with China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Putin. (USA Today) – OSAKA, Japan – President Donald Trump arrived Thursday for the G-20 summit in the city known as “the kitchen” of Japan, but he’s not here for the internationally renowned scorpion skewers or octopus balls. Instead, he’ll be chewing on some pretty tough global challenges: A trade war with China, military-style tensions with Iran, stalled nuclear talks with North Korea, and whatever else might come up. “We’re going to be meeting with a lot of different countries, many of whom have been taking advantage of the United States, but not so much anymore,” Trump said before leaving the White House on Wednesday. While Trump will attend G20 summit sessions with leaders from around the world, most of the real work will revolve around one-on-one meetings with key world leaders, particularly President Xi Jinping of China and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

8am – B/C     DEM DEBATE RECAP AND MEDIA REACTION

8am – D         INTERVIEW – LIZ HARRINGTON – Spokesperson for the RNC – reacted to the Dem Debate last night.