Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, October 6, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 Cal Thomas, Brandon Judd, David Limbaugh, Josh Kraushaar joined WMAL on Wednesday!

5am – A/B/C Donald Trump’s ambassador to the EU CHANGES evidence to testify he DID deliver quid-pro-quo message to Ukraine telling them they likely had to probe the Bidens to release military aid – and told lawmakers: ‘It doesn’t sound good.’ The committee made public deposition transcripts in its impeachment probe

The panel released depositions by former Ukraine special envoy Kurt Volker and ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland  Documents released Monday showed former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yavanovitch felt ‘threatened’ by Trump’s comments on infamous call. Sondland issued a new three-page statement after other testimony ‘refreshed my recollection.’ (Daily Mail) — The U.S. ambassador to the European Union told lawmakers that the Trump administration pushed to make a Ukrainian investigation of the Bidens a condition for getting security aid and a White House meeting – and assessed that it ‘doesn’t sound good.’  He also provided a three-page revision to his earlier testimony where he said he told the Ukrainians they would not get millions of needed U.S. security aid until the country provided a ‘public anticorruption statement’ that is key to the Democratic impeachment inquiry. He said he had ‘refreshed my recollection.’   Gordon Sondland, the wealthy hotelier who donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration, told lawmakers behind closed doors that he considered such an arrangement was ‘problematic.’ He then got asked if it was also ‘illegal.’

5am – D/E     ‘I’ve had this story for three years’: ABC News anchor slams her network’s handling of Epstein scoop. (Washington Post) – Amy Robach of ABC News does a compelling version of this spiel: “I tried for three years to get it on, to no avail, and now it’s all coming out. And it’s like these new revelations and I freaking had all of it. I am so pissed right now. … What we had was unreal.” Those remarks come courtesy of James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas, which obtained the video from a source within the news organization. Project Veritas, which released the footage Tuesday morning, said the hot mic moment between Robach and an unnamed ABC producer was captured in late August.

• ABC responds to anchor’s hot mic rant accusing network of squashing damning Epstein story: ABC News issued a statement alongside Robach saying it plans to release in early 2020 a two-hour documentary and a six-part podcast about Epstein.
• Robach responded to the footage in a statement Tuesday that her interview with Giuffre didn’t air “because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence.”
• Clinton ties of ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos facing new scrutiny after network’s spiking of Epstein story (Fox News) – The bombshell claim that ABC News “quashed” a story on allegations against Jeffrey Epstein has drawn new scrutiny on the controversy’s ties to its own star anchor, George Stephanopoulos. Project Veritas, whose controversial founder, James O’Keefe, has described himself as a “guerrilla journalist,” published the footage that featured ABC News anchor Amy Robach claiming the Disney-owned network refused to air an interview she conducted with one of Epstein’s accusers and even suggesting she’d uncovered new information about Epstein’s ties to former President Bill Clinton as his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was running for president. Stephanopoulos, ABC News’ chief anchor on “Good Morning America” and the Sunday program “This Week,” who’s overseen the network’s political coverage, has had deep ties to the Clintons. Before he became the face of ABC News, he was a senior adviser to Bill Clinton during his presidency. Ahead of the 2016 election, he pulled out of moderating debates after his $75,000 donation to the Clinton Foundation drew criticism. However, what’s really raising eyebrows is a 2010 report of a party hosted by Epstein that Stephanopoulos attended.

6am – A/B/C Virginia Democrats win control of both the state House and Senate: Democrats have won control of all of Richmond. In a major victory for the party, Democrats in Virginia on Tuesday flipped both the state Senate and the House of Delegates, giving them control of both the governor’s office and the legislature for the first time in more than two decades, The Associated Press projected. “We did it,” tweeted former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. “We got them both. Hard work pays off. VA is ALL BLUE!” For the first time in a generation, Democrats will control both the House and Senate in Richmond, as voters flipped at least two seats in the Senate and five seats in the House from Red to Blue to take majorities in both…   The GOP was able to make no traction with the scandals that besieged the state’s top elected Democrats, including Governor Ralph Northam – who was in a partying mood in Richmond last night…

• VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY:  Democrats took the sole remaining House seat that was held by a Republican, Del. Tim Hugo lost to Democrat Dan Helmer. Democrat John Bell beat Republican Geary Higgins to win the Senate seat held for years by retiring Republican Senator Dick Black. Danica Roem wins reelection in Virginia state legislature, becoming first openly trans person to win reelection in a state legislature. Lee Carter, the self-identified socialist who was one of the major stories of Virginia Democrats’ 2017 wave, has won re-election in #HD50.
• COUNTY SEATS: Fairfax County elected Democrat Jeff McKay to chair the Board of Supervisors... He beat Republican Joseph Galdo to replace longtime Chairman Sharon Bulova, who is retiring next year.  Democrats won eight of the nine remaining seats – with Republican Pat Herrity holding on to his seat in Springfield…   Democrats have now claimed the majority on the board in Loudoun County, where Phyllis Randall has won re-election as the board chair there, and Democrats added three seats… Among the winners – Juli Briskman – the woman who lost her job after flipping off President Trump’s motorcade in 2017.  Briskman got a new job, winning a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors — ousting a Republican in the process. Republican John Whitbeck lost the race for Loudoun County board chairman. Loudoun County became more blue Tuesday when Phyllis J. Randall won a second term as chair of the Board of Supervisors, beating Republican John C. Whitbeck on a night when Democrats added three seats and claimed the majority on the nine-member county board. And Prince William has gone blue as well, after Democrat Ann Wheeler won the race for Board chairman over Republican John Gray to succeed Corey Stewart... Democrats won five of eight seats on the county board to flip what was a 6 – 2 GOP majority.  Progressive ousts pro-ICE Republican Sheriff; King Wins Sheriff Race  Virginia GOP House Speaker survives rare challenge to win in redrawn district
• FAIRFAX SCHOOL BOARD:The only two Republican-endorsed candidates on the board, Elizabeth L. Schultz and Thomas A. Wilson, were unseated. Schultz, an outspoken conservative on the board, said in an interview that the panel has moved away from serving students’ needs and instead is “pushing a social agenda.” “I feel sad for Fairfax County residents that they are not paying attention to the local issues,” Schultz said.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – CAL THOMAS – Syndicated columnist – discussed the Virginia election results, the Soros effect and the initial transcripts from the Schiff committee.

6am – E         MEXICAN CARTELS:

• US victims of Mexican cartel massacre range from 8-month-old twins to 43-year-old mother. Officials said at least six children, including 8-month-old twins, and three women living in a faith-based community called La Mora in the Mexican state of Sonora were among the victims. One woman was killed as she exited a vehicle to wave her hands and demonstrate she wasn’t a threat, prosecutors said. All nine victims had dual American-Mexican citizenship. They were on their way to visit relatives in Mexico and one was headed to an airport in Phoenix to meet her husband.
• PETER HASSON: “Seven children survived the attack, including a 13-year old who, having watched his mother die, took the remaining children to hide in the woods and walked five hours to get help.”
• Trump Warns US May Be Ready To ‘Wage WAR’ On Mexican Drug Cartels: Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump  21h21 hours ago This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!
• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador thanked Trump but declined the help, saying, “The worst thing you can have is war.” Monday’s brutal attack was just the latest massacre that questions López Obrador’s “hugs, not bullets” approach to escalating deadly violence in Mexico.
• FBI offers to assist Mexican authorities after 9 Americans killed in drug-cartel attack.  (Fox News) – The FBI has offered assistance to the Mexican government as authorities investigate the brazen killing of nine American citizens by drug cartel gunmen in northern Mexico on Monday, officials told Fox News. It was unclear of Mexican authorities have taken up the offer. It came hours after Mexico rejected President Trump’s overture to “wage war” on the country’s drug cartels in response to the brutal slayings.
• MEXICO ARRESTS SUSPECT: Police in Mexico have arrested a suspected drug lord after cartel gunmen slaughtered three Mormon mothers and six of their children in a grisly ambush that left one vehicle torched and riddled with bullets The state prosecutor’s office said one person was detained on Tuesday in the Mexican border state of Sonora and they were investigating whether they were involved in the massacre.
• FATHER OF ONE OF THE VICTIMS SAYS HIS FAMILY HAS BEEN TARGETED BEFORE: The father of one of three American women executed by a Mexican cartel says two of his nephews were also murdered by drug lords 10 years ago and another was kidnapped.

6am – F         DC Councilman Jack Evans Was Paid Hundreds Of Thousands To Use His Position To Benefit Private Clients, Probe Finds. (Daily Caller) –  Washington, D.C., Councilman Jack Evans used his position to benefit private clients who paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to a council investigation. A report released Monday by O’Melveny & Myers, the law firm hired by the D.C. Council to investigate the Democrat’s dealings, noted 11 examples of governing ethics violations by Evans since 2014, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Evans, D.C.’s longest-serving lawmaker and former chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMTA), “repeatedly participated in his official capacity in ‘particular matters’ in which his outside employers or his personal clients had direct financial interests, failing to recognize the inherent conflict that should have been disclosed and addressed,” the report stated, according to WaPo. The councilman, 66, “received over $400,000 for doing little or no documented work for consulting clients most, if not all, of whom were also ‘prohibited sources’ under the Code of Official Conduct,” the report continued.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – PHIL KLEIN – the Executive Editor of the Washington Examiner, and author of new book “Fear Your Future: How the Deck Is Stacked against Millennials and Why Socialism Would Make It Worse”

• ABOUT BOOK: In the wake of exorbitantly expensive spending proposals being released by 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, the book takes a deep dive into the ballooning federal debt and runaway entitlement spending that has been increasing for decades thanks to irresponsible legislation. Klein argues that millenials, despite the constant criticism of being entitled, will be the generation that must bare the fallout from this spending. While Democrats like Sanders, Warren, and AOC assert that socialism is the only way out of this mess, Klein offers a market-driven, capitalist approach that is rooted in the country’s founding principles. With the hopes of reversing the hand they have been dealt, young Americans have been presented with a choice: look to the government and socialism to remedy their problems or tackle head on the staggering growth of the federal debt and size of government.

7am – D         VA/KY ELECTIONS:

• Virginia Democrats win control of both the state House and Senate. Democrats have won control of all of Richmond.In a major victory for the party, Democrats in Virginia on Tuesday flipped both the state Senate and the House of Delegates, giving them control of both the governor’s office and the legislature for the first time in more than two decades, The Associated Press projected.
• Kentucky governor’s race too close to call, GOP incumbent refuses to concede. Republican incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin refused to concede late Tuesday in Kentucky’s gubernatorial race, citing “irregularities” — potentially kickstarting weeks of uncertainty as the closely watched contest with national implications remained too close to call. On Monday, Trump had called on an “angry majority” of voters to boost the relatively unpopular Bevin in Kentucky, in a nod to Richard Nixon’s “silent majority” and Ronald Reagan’s “moral majority.” But with 100 percent of precincts reporting, Bevin was behind Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear, 49.2 percent (711,955 votes) to 48.9 percent (707,297 votes). Libertarian candidate John Hicks received 28,475 votes, or 2 percent.The Associated Press said it could not declare a winner, owing to the tight margin.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – BRANDON JUDD – the president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC)

• US victims of Mexican cartel massacre range from 8-month-old twins to 43-year-old mother. Officials said at least six children, including 8-month-old twins, and three women living in a faith-based community called La Mora in the Mexican state of Sonora were among the victims. One woman was killed as she exited a vehicle to wave her hands and demonstrate she wasn’t a threat, prosecutors said. All nine victims had dual American-Mexican citizenship. They were on their way to visit relatives in Mexico and one was headed to an airport in Phoenix to meet her husband.

7am – E         2020 NEWS:

• JOE BIDEN: I Have Fought for the Democratic Party My Whole Career… Knocks Warren’s ‘Elitism’….
• DAILY BEAST: Dems Decide Now Is the Perfect Time to Go Full Circular Firing Squad

8am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – DAVID LIMBAUGH – author of the new book “Guilty by Reason of Insanity” and brother of our very own RUSH LIMBAUGH — here on WMAL from Noon to 3 PM

• ABOUT BOOK: The left has truly lost its mind. The party out of power used to be “the loyal opposition.” No longer. Now it’s “the Resistance.” The left, abandoning any pretense of fairness and decency, has declared political war on President Trump.  Waged by a stunningly broad array of militants—the Democratic Party, countless left-wing interest groups, radical academics, the liberal mainstream media, Antifa shock troops, Hollywood, and the tech oligarchs—this political war is aimed not only at conservative ideas but also at Trump supporters, even teenagers wearing MAGA hats.  In his shocking new book, Guilty by Reason of Insanity, national #1 bestselling author David Limbaugh explains how the left lost its mind—and the threat it now poses to us all.
• In Guilty by Reason of Insanity, nine-time bestselling author, lawyer, and political commentator, David Limbaugh, addresses the Left’s insanity head on, revealing:
  • Why socialism is making a comeback
  • Why social justice warriors are now attacking feminists
  • How the left hopes to abolish America through illegal immigration
  • Why rage has replaced reason and social media death threats proceed disagreements
  • What steps the rational remnant can pursue to secure our nation

8am – D         INTERVIEW – JOSH KRAUSHAAR – Politics Editor at National Journal – recapped the Virginia and Kentucky election results.

• Virginia Democrats win control of both the state House and Senate.
• Kentucky governor’s race too close to call, GOP incumbent refuses to concede
• JOSH KRAUSHAAR: I’d caution against extrapolating too much from the statewide results. Bevin was uniquely unpopular, even within his own party. Barely won majority in primary. Lowest approval of any governor in America. Rest of the GOP ticket doing fine in Kentucky.