Mornings on the Mall

Monday, December 9, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Trevor Matich, Joe diGenova, Kevin Sorbo and Michelle Malkin joined WMAL on Monday!

5am – A/B/C IG REPORT PREVIEW:

• A Justice Department inspector general report set to be released today is expected to say that the FBI had a legitimate basis to open its investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia and that senior law enforcement officials weren’t motivated by partisan bias. It’s also expected to document errors during the investigation. According to several media outlets, the report will strongly criticize FBI officials for being careless in how they pursued wiretaps during the investigation into Russia’s election interference in the 2016 election.

• DOJ watchdog report to be released as Dems prep impeachment hearing. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is set to release a highly anticipated report Monday that is expected to document misconduct — including the deliberate falsification of at least one key document — during the investigation into President Trump’s 2016 campaign. At the same time, the report, as described by people familiar with its findings, is expected to conclude there was an adequate basis for opening one of the most politically sensitive investigations in FBI history. It began in secret during Trump’s 2016 presidential run before then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller ultimately took it over. The report comes as Trump faces an impeachment inquiry in Congress centered on his efforts to press Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Democrat Joe Biden — a probe the president also claimed has been politically biased. The House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing Monday on the impeachment inquiry’s findings. The release of Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz’s review will not be the last word on the Russia investigation. A separate internal investigation continues, overseen by Attorney General Bill Barr and led by U.S. Attorney John Durham.

5am – D/E     Nunes blasts Schiff for ‘blatant disregard’ of impeachment rules; blames ‘vendetta’ against Trump. House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes, in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News, blasted committee Chairman Adam Schiff for what he called an “alarming” and “blatant disregard” for the rules governing the House impeachment inquiry against President Trump, saying Schiff transmitted his investigative findings to the Judiciary Committee for the next phase in the proceedings without consulting him. Fox News obtained the letter Nunes, R-Calif., sent to Schiff, D-Calif., on Sunday night. In the letter dated Friday, Nunes wrote that Schiff chose not to consult with him so that he could meet a “bogus” deadline for impeaching the president. The GOP congressman also accused the Democrat of having a “vendetta” against the president.

6am – A/B/C IMPEACHMENT PUSH PREVIEW:

• The House Judiciary Committee holds a public hearing today to formally receive evidence in the impeachment investigation into President Trump.  Democratic and Republican lawyers for the House Intelligence Committee will testify and answer questions, as will lawyers for the House Judiciary Committee.  On Saturday, House Democrats released a report laying out the legal and historical foundation of their case for impeachment. The hearing will include presentations from both the House Intelligence and House Judiciary Committees with testimony from counsels for both the majority and minority parties. The hearing is scheduled to begin TODAY at 9am ET
• The White House says it will not participate in the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearings. In a brief letter to the Committee chairman, White House counsel Pat Cipollone attacked the inquiry as “completely baseless” and said House Democrats had “violated basic principles of due process and fundamental fairness.”
• GRAHAM WON’T CALL SCHIFF IN FRONT OF SENATE:  “I think it’s dangerous,” Graham said. “Here’s what I would tell Adam Schiff. Do you really want to start calling other members, Republican members of Congress in oversight? Do you want me to call you to the Senate as part of Senate oversight?” Graham said he would never do that, because “I’m not going to participate in things I think will destroy the country,” Graham said. He pointed out that while members of Congress are not above the law, “we’re not going to turn the Senate into a circus.”
• GRAHAM wants to end it as quickly as possible in the senate (suggests he doesnt want to call schiff and others because it will prolong things): Graham said, “Here’s what I’m going to do with the trial: I’m going to try to get it over as quickly as possible, listen to the House case — let them present their case. If there’s nothing new and dramatic, I would be ready to vote, and we can do all this other stuff in congressional oversight.”
• Jerry Nadler: ‘Possible’ We Vote on Articles of Impeachment This Week. Dana Bash asked, “Is it possible that you are going to vote on articles of impeachment this coming week?” Nadler replied, “It is possible. I don’t know.” He added, “My goal is to do this as expeditiously and fairly as possible, depending on how long it takes.”
• ON CNN, NADLER says GOP wanted SCHIFF is not a relevant witness because HE DIDN’T WITNESS
• Rep. Al Green: We Need To Impeach Trump To “Deal With Slavery”: “I do believe, ma’am, that we have to deal with the original sin. We have to deal with slavery. Slavery was the thing that put all of what President Trump has done lately into motion. It’s insidious… racism, the president has played on racism and he’s used that as a weapon to galvanize a base of support to mobilize people.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – TREVOR MATICH – WMAL’s Redskins Analyst

• Redskins fall at Green Bay, and out of playoff contention. GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Jones rushed for a season-high 134 yards and a score, Aaron Rodgers threw for 195 yards, and the Green Bay Packers did enough to beat the Washington Redskins 20-15 Sunday. Jones finished with 16 carries and had his third 100-yard rushing game of the season. Jones also made six catches for 58 yards. Adrian Peterson became the sixth back in NFL history to reach the 14,000-yard mark. He ran for 76 yards and a score. Dwayne Haskins completed 16 of 27 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. With the loss, the Redskins were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. They will finish out the season with home games against the Phildaelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, and a road trip to rival Dallas.

6am – E         As Pensacola shooting investigation unravels it ‘appears to be a terrorist attack,’ White House official says

6am – F         THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR LISTENERS FOR THEIR GENEROSITY TO FISHER HOUSE!

• WMAL listeners donated $523,866 this year!!!
• WMAL listeners have given over $7 million to Fisher House in over the past 17 years that WMAL has had this annual radiothon.

7am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – Joe diGenova – legal analyst and former US attorney to the District Of Columbia

• HOUSE IMPEACHMENT HEARING ON MONDAY: The House Judiciary Committee holds a public hearing today to formally receive evidence in the impeachment investigation into President Trump.  Democratic and Republican lawyers for the House Intelligence Committee will testify and answer questions, as will lawyers for the House Judiciary Committee. 
• The hearing will start at 9 AM ET with ten minute opening statements by both House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and the top Republican on the panel, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA). Nadler and Collins will deliver opening statements.  Then the House Judiciary counsels will present opening arguments for an hour (30 minutes each side). It will be “like a trial,” Dem official said, presenting “our theory of the case.”
• The White House says it will not participate in the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearings. In a brief letter to the Committee chairman, White House counsel Pat Cipollone attacked the inquiry as “completely baseless” and said House Democrats had “violated basic principles of due process and fundamental fairness.”
• On Saturday, House Democrats released a report laying out the legal and historical foundation of their case for impeachment.
• ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT: House Judiciary Chair Nadler says impeachment articles will ‘presumably’ be introduced this week.
  • Jerry Nadler: ‘Possible’ We Vote on Articles of Impeachment This Week
  • Dana Bash asked, “Is it possible that you are going to vote on articles of impeachment this coming week?”
  • Nadler replied, “It is possible. I don’t know.” He added, “My goal is to do this as expeditiously and fairly as possible, depending on how long it takes.”
• DEVIN NUNES LOOKING INTO LEGAL OPTIONS: Nunes looks at legal options after Schiff releases phone records in impeachment inquiry
• GRAHAM WON’T CALL SCHIFF IN FRONT OF SENATE:  “I think it’s dangerous,” Graham said. “Here’s what I would tell Adam Schiff. Do you really want to start calling other members, Republican members of Congress in oversight? Do you want me to call you to the Senate as part of Senate oversight?” Graham said he would never do that, because “I’m not going to participate in things I think will destroy the country,” Graham said. He pointed out that while members of Congress are not above the law, “we’re not going to turn the Senate into a circus.”
• FISA IG REPORT COMING OUT: The Justice Department’s inspector general will release a much-anticipated report on the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign Monday. Inspector general report is expected to say that the FBI had a legitimate basis to open its investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia and that senior law enforcement officials weren’t motivated by partisan bias. It’s also expected to document errors during the investigation.  According to several media outlets, the report will strongly criticize FBI officials for being careless in how they pursued wiretaps during the investigation into Russia’s election interference in the 2016 election.

7am – D/E     BIDEN NEWS:

• BIDEN’S INTERVIEW WITH AXIOS: Biden still struggling with how to answer the Hunter question: Joe Biden on his son Hunter’s work in Ukraine: “I don’t know what he was doing.” Mike Allen: “Well you’ve had a lot of time. Isn’t this something you want to get to the bottom of?” Biden: “No. Because I trust my son…”
• AXIOS INTERVIEW: Biden promises restrictions on Hunter, family if elected
• WITH AXIOS: BIDEN ON VP PICKS / WARREN: Joe Biden, pressed by Mike Allen why he initially left Elizabeth Warren off of his previous list of potential VPs, says she is also a possibility. “The question is, would she add me to her list?”
• BIDEN’S INTERVIEW WITH NPR: 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden got testy with NPR about his confrontation with a voter in Iowa after host Rachel Martin said his behavior was not unlike President Donald Trump. Biden spoke with NPR’s Morning Edition, where Martin broached the subject of his confrontation with a voter accusing him of negligence toward Hunter Biden and questioning him on Ukraine.
• Biden gets testy with NPR reporter: NPR: But I think people’s point was, in this time when you talk about needing to restore civility, it’s so important to so many people. …   BIDEN: That’s not civil? To call someone who lied a liar?….   NPR: To call someone a “damn liar”? A voter? This isn’t Trump, president Trump.
• BIDEN PRAISED ‘FINE PEOPLE’ WHO SUPPORTED CONFEDERATE FLAGS WHILE HE WAS IN THE SENATE:
• FLASHBACK 1993: While in the Senate, Biden Praises Group Who ‘Display The Confederate Flag’ As ‘Fine People’ In Resurfaced Video.
• 2019: Biden calls people a part of group displaying Confederate flag “many fine people”

8am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – Kevin Sorbo – HOLLYWOOD actor – discussed his new film THE RELIANT. www.TheReliantMovie.com

• BIO: Kevin Sorbo is a Hollywood actor and has starred in numerous roles including roles in two television series: as Hercules in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and as Captain Dylan Hunt in Andromeda.
• About film: NEW MOVIE EXPOSES THE NECESSITY OF THE 2nd AMENDMENT AGAINST A BACKDROP OF ANARCHY. Film came out in more than 750 select movie theaters nationwide for one night in October. Starring Kevin Sorbo and Brian Bosworth and having won 8 First Place awards at film festivals, ‘THE RELIANT’. Featuring a storyline that could be ripped from today’s headlines, THE RELIANT follows a family in America’s heartland who find themselves targeted by rioters and looters after an economic collapse. Starring Kevin Sorbo, Brian Bosworth, Mollee Gray, Eric Roberts, and the Benham Brothers, THE RELIANT dramatizes one of today’s most important and timely issues—the gun control debate. The film follows a young family as they struggle to survive on the outskirts of their burning town, evading marauders and running out of food. When they capture a thief attempting to steal from them, they discover the attack on their home was no random act of violence. They are torn between justice and mercy, and struggle to trust in God in the crisis of their lives.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – Michelle Malkin – author of Open Borders Inc – discussed the Pensacola terrorism incident.

• WH:  SHOOTING APPEARS TO BE TERROR ATTACK. “To me, it appears to be a terrorist attack,” O’Brien said on CBS’ “Face the Nation”. “I don’t want to prejudge the investigation, but it appears that this may be someone that was radicalized. … It’s unclear whether he’s got ties to any other organizations.“
• FBI OPERATING UNDER PRESUMPTION OF TERROR: Additionally, authorities believe the gunman made social media posts in which he talked about U.S. support for Israel and charged that Americans are anti-Muslim, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday. Investigators also believe the gunman visited New York City, including Rockefeller Center, days before the shooting and are working to determine the purpose of the trip, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
• Where are all the AWOL Muslim military trainees? By Michelle Malkin (MichelleMalkin.com) — American military bases are reportedly on high alert for “missing Saudi servicemen” in the wake of the deadly shooting at Pensacola’s Naval Air Station on Friday. The feds have repeatedly emphasized that “Saudi Air Force officers selected for military training in the United States are intensely vetted by both countries.” But the government’s own data on military deserters from the Muslim world and elsewhere are not so reassuring.  Disappearing Afghan pilots in the U.S. have been a national security concern for more than a dozen years. I reported on the alarming phenomenon of Muslim deserters in 2014.

8am – E         PREVIEW: HOUSE IMPEACHMENT HEARING ON MONDAY: The House Judiciary Committee holds a public hearing today to formally receive evidence in the impeachment investigation into President Trump.