Mornings on the Mall

Monday, December 16, 2019

Hosts: Vince Coglianese and Jessie Jane Duff – Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps (ret)

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Legal analyst Joe diGenova, Attorney Foye Walker, Economist Steve Moore, Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers, WMAL’s Redskins Analyst Trevor Matich and Weather Channel’s Ken Boone joined WMAL on Monday!

We are rocking this morning on @WMALDC co-hosting with @VinceCoglianese!

We'll have great guests like Joe Digenova for his expert legal analysis on impeachment and @StephenMoore on the economy and trade deal with China!

We are on 'til 9 AM ET. Join us! https://t.co/afOVMmp1Dq pic.twitter.com/4Lr1J217E4

— Jessie Jane Duff (@JessieJaneDuff) December 16, 2019

5am – A/B/C ARMY NAVY HAND GESTURE CONTROVERSY (AP) – The U.S. Naval Academy says those involved in the possible “white power” hand gestures flashed by students before the Army-Navy football game will be held accountable. A West Point spokesman says officials there are also looking into the matter.

5am – D         IMPEACHMENT BATTLE RAMPS UP:

• UPCOMING IMPEACHMENT VOTE THIS WEEK: House leaders are preparing for a final impeachment vote, just as lawmakers are about to leave for the holiday break. Approval would set up a 2020 trial in the Senate. Votes on the two articles could come as soon as Wednesday, with a meeting to set debate rules already scheduled for Tuesday. A House Judiciary Committee vote was strictly along party lines, and the floor vote is expected to be similar, with a few exceptions. No Republicans have so far signaled that they will support the articles of impeachment, but a small handful of Democrats who represent GOP-leaning districts have said they may join Republicans in voting against them.
• Over the weekend, President Trump continued his response to the House Judiciary Committee party line vote to advance two articles of impeachment against him, tweeting about the “impeachment hoax” and “witch hunt.”  Meanwhile, White House adviser Pam Bondi spoke out on Fox News Sunday, defending GOP senators who have been planning a strategy with the White House for a likely Senate impeachment trial. Bondi said, “we wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t working hand in hand with the Senate to clear the president of this charade.”
• IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: Senate Democrats are proposing a weeks-long Senate impeachment trial, possibly including testimony from four new witnesses including John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed the structure for a “fair and honest” trial in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, an attempt to launch negotiations ahead of House voting this week.

5am – E         INTERVIEW – KEN BOONE – Weather Channel meteorologist – previewed a snowy commute in D.C. this morning.

• Wintry mix, snow to make Monday morning’s commute messy. WASHINGTON – A wintry mix including snow promises to make Monday morning’s commute messy. Some parts of the DMV could get up to two inches of snow by Monday afternoon. Suburbs north and west of Montgomery and Fairfax counties will be affected the most. The wintry mix is expected to transition to cold rain by the afternoon, when temperatures will rise above freezing. Be sure to drive carefully and add extra time to your commute to adjust.

6am – A/B/C COMEY ON FOX NEWS SUNDAY:

• Comey Says He Was ‘Wrong’ About FBI’s Surveillance Abuse, But Downplays His Own Role In Bungled Case.  James Comey said Sunday that he was “wrong” about the FBI’s handling of surveillance warrants against Carter Page, who the former FBI director acknowledged was “treated unfairly” by having his name leaked to the press as a suspected Russian agent.   “He is right. I was wrong,” Comey said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” in reference to the findings of Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general. […]  But while Comey admitted the FBI made errors in the FISA process, he pushed back aggressively on Wallace’s characterization the FBI engaged in misconduct, or that agents and officials were politically motivated against Donald Trump. He also said that if he were still FBI chief, he would not quit in the wake of Horowitz’s damning report.   “If you were still there, and all of this came out, and it turned out it happened on your watch, would you resign?” Wallace asked.   “No, I don’t think so,” said Comey. “There were mistakes I consider more consequential than this during my tenure.”
• Gowdy: ‘Too Damn Late’ For Comey To Admit He Was Wrong About FISA Abuse
• MATT GAETZ: .@comey says there were “more consequential” mistakes at the FBI while he was director than misleading a secret court. What were they?!
• COMEY now says he wasn’t following the investigation that closely…  “As a director sitting on top of an organization of 38,000 people, you can’t run an investigation that’s seven layers below you,” Comey said. “You have to leave it to the career professionals to do, to the special agents who do this for their lives.”
• CHUCK ROSS: What’s so disingenuous about Comey today is that for 2+ years he’s confidently put out innuendo that Trump & Co. are Russian assets. Today, he says he wasn’t privy to details of Crossfire Hurricane because he was too high up the leadership chain.
• ‘Irresponsible statement’: Comey slams Barr for speculating FBI acted in ‘bad faith’

6am – D         INTERVIEW – TREVOR MATICH – WMAL’s Redskins Analyst – recapped the Eagles vs Redskins game.

• Adrian Peterson rushes into the record books, but Redskins still fall to Eagles. LANDOVER, Md. – A strong offensive outing wasn’t enough Sunday for the Redskins, who fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in a last-minute heartbreaker. Acclaimed college football coach Urban Meyer was in owner Dan Snyder’s box to watch Sunday’s game, fueling speculation that he may be heading to the Burgundy and Gold. Two of Meyer’s former players at Ohio State, Dwayne Haskins and Terry McLaurin, showed out for their old coach too. Haskins was mostly sharp, completing more than 65 percent of his passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. McLaurin added five catches for 130 yards and a touchdown, including a 75-yard score in the 1st quarter: But the Eagles took Haskins’ ill-advised toss on the final play of the game to the house to make Sunday’s loss worse.  That was after the Eagles drove down the field to score a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of the game. The final score was Eagles 37, Redskins 27. One bright spot for the Skins: Adrian Peterson. The running back padded his Hall of Fame resume with his 110th rushing touchdown, matching Walter Payton for 4th all-time in NFL history.
• Urban Meyer watching Sunday’s Redskins game from Dan Snyder’s box. LANDOVER, Md. – Are the Redskins looking to add another former Ohio State Buckeye?  Three-time national champion college football coach Urban Meyer is watching Sunday’s Redskins game from owner Dan Snyder’s box at FedEx Field.  Fox 5, which is broadcasting the game, showed Meyer during the 1st quarter of the game.  Meyer won two national championships at Florida and another at Ohio State before retiring for health reasons (again) last year. He is now linked to a number of teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and USC Trojans. The Redskins are looking for a new coach after firing Jay Gruden this season. Snyder is also reportedly contemplating firing team president Bruce Allen this offseason if Meyer wants a front office role.  Meyer would join fellow Buckeyes Dwayne Haskins and Terry McLaurin if he joined the Burgundy and Gold.  He had to enjoy the 75-yard touchdown pass between his former players early in Sunday’s game:

6am – E         Five students are charged with battery after beating a boy, 14, on a school bus ‘because he wore a Trump 2020 hat’ (Daily Mail) – Five students have been been charged on Friday after a shocking video emerged of a Florida boy being attacked on a school bus, allegedly because he’d previously worn a hat supporting President Donald Trump. The news comes three weeks after the initial attack on November 21 that sent the 14-year-old boy, identified as Tyler, to the hospital with head contusions. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said the students involved have been charged with first-degree misdemeanor battery after discussing the charges with the State Attorney’s Office. The Florida State Attorney’s Office recommended that the incident does not meet the criteria for a hate crime. Superintendent Rex L. Mitchell shared a press release on Friday addressing the incident. Mitchell says the school district has investigated the incident, disciplined the students involved in the altercation and turned information over to the Sheriff’s office for criminal action.  Although social media was set ablaze at the implication that the beating happened because Tyler wore a MAGA hat, Mitchell contends that is not the case.   ‘It is implied in the post that the altercation occurred because one of the students involved was wearing a political hat showing support for President Trump. There was no evidence found during the investigation that indicated the student was wearing of such apparel on a prior occasion motivated the incident,’ the statement reads. ‘The incident began with a verbal altercation between two students that escalated when additional students became involved.’ The school district reviewed the bus video to not only view the altercation, but the event leading up to the event and the subsequent conclusion.  Mitchell said: ‘We absolutely do not condone the use of physical force between students. This was a very unfortunate incident completely unrelated to any political statements or agendas.’  A woman by the name of Melissa Griffin organized a GoFundMe on Friday for her son, Tyler. She says Tyler is emotionally distraught as he reels from the incident and ‘he is crying most days.’

6am – F         TWITTER GOES NUTS OVER FAIRFAX SCHOOLS OPENING ON TIME: ‘I hope one of ya’ll school board members slip and fall’

• Fairfax Schools ‏@fcpsnews FCPS is starting on time today Monday Dec. 16 1:42 AM – 16 Dec 2019
  • arvid.lacroix ‏@arvid_lacroix  40m40 minutes ago There’s still time to change this tweet.
  • ERFillare ‏@EFillare 29m29 minutes ago It’s sleeting.  Kids are going to stand at bus stops and teachers/staff/kids are driving in this?
  • Juuiicykathy ‏@juuiicykathy  24m24 minutes ago Bruh I stayed up all night just to see if we had off or a 2 hr delay 😭
  • Asma ‏@ayashiil  44m44 minutes ago I hope one of ya’ll school board members slip and fall. Ace Lifestyle ‏@AceLifestyle1  1h1 hour ago This is negligent. There’s literally ice on the ground and buses leave as early as 5:30. You guys are asking for forgiveness when there’s chaos rather than PREVENTION AND SAFETY. THESE DECISIONS is why #closelcps trended years back

7am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia

• UPCOMING IMPEACHMENT VOTE THIS WEEK: House leaders are preparing for a final impeachment vote, just as lawmakers are about to leave for the holiday break. Approval would set up a 2020 trial in the Senate. Votes on the two articles could come as soon as Wednesday, with a meeting to set debate rules already scheduled for Tuesday.
• IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: Senate Democrats are proposing a weeks-long Senate impeachment trial, possibly including testimony from four new witnesses including John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed the structure for a “fair and honest” trial in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, an attempt to launch negotiations ahead of House voting this week.
• COMEY SPEAKS: Comey Says He Was ‘Wrong’ About FBI’s Surveillance Abuse, But Downplays His Own Role In Bungled Case. James Comey said Sunday that he was “wrong” about the FBI’s handling of surveillance warrants against Carter Page, who the former FBI director acknowledged was “treated unfairly” by having his name leaked to the press as a suspected Russian agent. “He is right. I was wrong,” Comey said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” in reference to the findings of Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general. “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace pressed Comey about Horowitz’s report, which found “significant inaccuracies” in the FBI’s applications for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against Page. Horowitz found that FBI agents and officials made 17 major errors or omissions in the FISA applications.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – FOYE WALKER – Attorney for the Trump 2020 hat boy

• Five students have been been charged on Friday after a shocking video emerged of a Florida boy being attacked on a school bus, allegedly because he’d previously worn a hat supporting President Donald Trump. The news comes three weeks after the initial attack on November 21 that sent the 14-year-old boy, identified as Tyler, to the hospital with head contusions. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said the students involved have been charged with first-degree misdemeanor battery after discussing the charges with the State Attorney’s Office. The Florida State Attorney’s Office recommended that the incident does not meet the criteria for a hate crime.

7am – E         NJ DEM SWITCHES TO REPUBLICAN:

• Rep. Jeff Van Drew, anti-impeachment Democrat, expected to switch parties after Trump meeting. Officials said Saturday that Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, a vocally anti-impeachment Democrat, will join the Republican Party in the coming days — delivering a political jolt to Democrats ahead of next week’s expected vote to impeach the president. The decision, they said, came after Van Drew joined President Trump for a lengthy Friday meeting, during which Trump urged him to join the GOP.
• Staff exodus in Van Drew office after party switch. Five senior aides to Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey resigned on Sunday as the lawmaker formally prepared to switch parties, stating they were “deeply saddened and disappointed by his decision.”  The aides in Van Drew’s Washington office wrote in a joint letter to his chief of staff that Van Drew’s decision to become a Republican after winning his seat last year as a Democrat “does not align with the values we brought to this job.”
• Trump tweets support for Rep. Jeff Van Drew amid plans to switch to GOP. President Trump on Sunday praised Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., amid speculation that the anti-impeachment Democrat plans to switch to the Republican Party as the House readies for a full vote on impeaching the president. Van Drew — who has spent months criticizing fellow Democrats for their push to impeach Trump — met with Trump on Friday to discuss going across party lines. He is one of only two Democrats who voted against opening an impeachment inquiry into Trump and has remained a fervent voice in opposition to impeaching the president. “Wow, that would be big,” Trump tweeted early Sunday morning of Van Drew’s planned party switch. “Always heard Jeff is very smart!”
• ON CNN, Congressman Rep Steve Cohen was asked about Rep. Jeff Van Drew  on CNN today. He called Van Drew a traitor and a rat for leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – STEVE MOORE – former campaign economic advisor to President Trump, economist at The Heritage Foundation and author of book “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy” – discussed the president’s incredible victories this past week in spite the impeachment push by the Dems in Congress.

• • PAUL BEDARD: Hidden by impeachment: One of Trump’s ‘best weeks yet.’ From adding judges to foreign policy, trade, immigration, defense spending, and China, Trump added several more achievements he will tout when he hosts his next campaign rally, standing in front of a 2020 “Promises Kept” sign. “It was one of his best weeks yet,” said a key White House adviser.
  • President Trump says that the U.S. and China have reached a Phase 1 trade deal, de-escalating a 17-month dispute between the economic powers. The U.S. is dropping plans to impose tariffs Sunday on $160 billion in Chinese imports. Stocks edge higher as China says it has agreed with the U.S. on the context of a phase one trade deal and that the U.S. will cancel tariffs in phases
  • Trump’s home-run week delivers edge in 2020 race. (Fox Business) — President Trump just delivered what may be the most significant accomplishments of his presidency, giving an edge to his 2020 re-election bid. Over the past five days, he secured two historic trade deals, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and a phase-one deal with China, fulfilling one of the cornerstone promises of his 2016 campaign – rewriting global trade – as House Democrats forged ahead with impeaching him.

8am – B/C     GRETA THUNBERG UPDATE:

• Greta Thunberg apologizes for ‘against the wall’ remark. Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg apologized for saying that politicians should be put “against the wall” — after some took it as a call for violence. The 16-year-old Swedish native made the comment while speaking in English during a speech to youth activists in Turin, Italy, on Friday. “We have to make sure that they cannot do that,” Thunberg told the cheering crowd. “We will make sure they, that we put them against the wall, and that they will have to do their job and to protect our futures.” […] Thunberg later explained that she was making a literal translation from a Swedish expression, which describes a situation putting someone on the spot with hard questions. “That’s what happens when you improvise speeches in a second language. But of course I apologize if anyone misunderstood this,” Thunberg wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
• SKY NEWS: Greta Thunberg has been taken to task by the German railway after tweeting a photo of herself sitting on the floor of a train surrounded by lots of bags. Greta Thunberg received criticism from the German railway company Deutsche Bhan after claiming her trip aboard a train was overcrowded.  Responding, rail operator Deutsche Bahn said it was pleased to have her on board their eco-friendly train and welcomed her support “in the fight against climate change”. But the company added: “It would have been even nicer if you had also reported how friendly and competently you were looked after by our team at your seat in first class.”
• Paul Joseph Watson ‏@PrisonPlanet  13h13 hours ago So basically Greta lied about sitting on the floor of an “overcrowded” train. She had a seat in first class. Pure PR stunt.
• GRETA SAYS SHE NEEDS REST: Tireless teenage activist @GretaThunberg has been crisscrossing the globe by car, train and boat – but not plane – to demand action on climate change. Now even she needs a rest

8am – D         INTERVIEW – HENRY RODGERS – Congressional Correspondent at The Daily Caller

• House leaders are preparing for a final impeachment vote, just as lawmakers are about to leave for the holiday break. Approval would set up a 2020 trial in the Senate. Votes on the two articles could come as soon as Wednesday, with a meeting to set debate rules already scheduled for Tuesday. A House Judiciary Committee vote was strictly along party lines, and the floor vote is expected to be similar, with a few exceptions. No Republicans have so far signaled that they will support the articles of impeachment, but a small handful of Democrats who represent GOP-leaning districts have said they may join Republicans in voting against them.
• Democrats in the House of Representatives are poised to impeach President Trump but not all members are on board, as there are 31 lawmakers in question. (Daily Caller / Henry Rodgers) — Democrats in the House of Representatives are poised to impeach President Donald Trump but not all members are on board, as there are 31 lawmakers in question. The Daily Caller contacted the offices of all 31 House Democrats from districts where President Trump won in 2016 to ask them if they would vote to impeach President Trump, as many have not publicly stated where they stand on impeachment. Each office was contacted at least three times and all offices were given ample time to respond. All Democratic offices that responded had very similar messages, saying they have not yet made a decision and are still weighing out the facts.

8am – E         Schiff Refuses To Say He Was Wrong About FBI’s Surveillance Of Trump Aide. “Given what you know now … are you willing to admit that you were wrong in your defense of the FBI’s FISA process?” “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace asked Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. “I’m certainly willing to admit that the inspector general found serious abuses of FISA that I was unaware of,” said Schiff, referring to a Justice Department inspector general’s report that found the FBI made “significant” errors and omissions in applications for FISA warrants on Page. Schiff has been one of the FBI’s most ardent defenders regarding its investigation of the Trump campaign. He has also aggressively pushed the Steele dossier’s theories that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government.

• ELI LAKE: Schiff says on @FoxNewsSunday “there were serious abuses of FISA” but then says it wasn’t apparent two years ago. He had the same information as Nunes. Nunes called out those abuses. Schiff chose to attack Nunes instead of performing his oversight duties.