Mornings on the Mall

Friday, December 20, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Newt Gingrich, Larry Michael, Tim Murtaugh and Kevin McCarthy joined WMAL on Friday!

5am – A/B/C IMPEACHMENT UPDATE:

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made the decision to delay sending articles of impeachment to the Republican Senate. Pelosi announced Wednesday that she would delay sending the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate until Republican leaders offer more details about how they will handle an expected trial.
• McConnell: Senate, House Democrats at ‘impasse’ over Trump impeachment Senate trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., returned to the Senate floor late Thursday to declare that the Senate and House Democrats were at an “impasse” over whether the House would transmit its articles of impeachment against President Trump to the GOP-controlled Senate for a constitutionally mandated trial.

5am – D/E     Durham Is Scrutinizing Ex-C.I.A. Director’s Role in Russian Interference Findings. (NY Times) — WASHINGTON — The federal prosecutor scrutinizing the Russia investigation has begun examining the role of the former C.I.A. director John O. Brennan in how the intelligence community assessed Russia’s 2016 election interference, according to three people briefed on the inquiry. John H. Durham, the United States attorney leading the investigation, has requested Mr. Brennan’s emails, call logs and other documents from the C.I.A., according to a person briefed on his inquiry. He wants to learn what Mr. Brennan told other officials, including the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, about his and the C.I.A.’s views of a notorious dossier of assertions about Russia and Trump associates. Mr. Durham’s pursuit of Mr. Brennan’s records is certain to add to accusations that Mr. Trump is using the Justice Department to go after his perceived enemies. The president has long attacked Mr. Brennan as part of his narrative about a so-called deep state cabal of Obama administration officials who tried to sabotage his campaign, and Mr. Trump has held out Mr. Durham’s investigation as a potential avenue for proving those claims. Mr. Durham is also examining whether Mr. Brennan privately contradicted his public comments, including May 2017 testimony to Congress, about both the dossier and about any debate among the intelligence agencies over their conclusions on Russia’s interference, the people said.

6am – A/B/C A Georgia family found an owl hiding in their Christmas tree. Atlanta (CNN) A Georgia family got a special holiday surprise last week after finding an owl hiding inside their Christmas tree. The discovery came last Thursday evening when Katie McBride Newman and her two children, India and Jack, were finishing dinner.

India, 10, had started to clear the table and was in another room when Newman heard her exclaim, “Oh my gosh!” “She comes very dramatically into the dining room and goes, ‘Mama, that ornament scared me,'” Newman told CNN. “Then she bursts into tears.” Newman said she’s a big fan of owls, so the tree actually had about a dozen owl ornaments gracing its branches. At first, Newman said she thought India had just been spooked by one of those. So Newman checked it out, ready to calm her daughter’s fears. But when she peered into the tree for the ornament, she saw the owl turn its head and look straight at her. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s a real owl,'” Newman said. Meanwhile, India had disappeared into the other room, in tears again. Owl may have been in their tree for over a week. The family had purchased the tree from a store about two days after Thanksgiving, so at first they thought the owl must have flown in and taken refuge inside their tree, Newman’s husband, Billy, told CNN. The family left their windows and doors open that night, hoping the bird would leave on its own — but it didn’t.

6am – D/E/F  DEM DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Just a month and a half before the Iowa caucuses, the three-hour Democratic Presidential Debate in Los Angeles only seven candidates met the party’s thresholds for qualification this time: former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and businessmen Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer.

• Andrew Yang on loss of manufacturing jobs: “If you turned on cable network news today, you would think (Trump’s) our president because of some combination of Russia, racism, Facebook, Hillary Clinton and emails all mixed together. But Americans around the country know different.”
• Woodruff looks at Steyer while mistakenly addressing her question to “Mr. Yang”
• Yang claps at her, trying to get her to look in his direction: “Over here!”
• Andrew Yang talks about being the only candidate of color at the Dem Debate: “It’s both an honor and disappointment to be the lone candidate of color on this stage tonight. I miss Kamala [Harris]. I miss Cory [Booker] although I think Cory will be back.”
• ‘I’m White As Well!’ Bernie Sanders Yells When Debate Moderator Points Out He’s An Old Man
• “I’m white as well!” 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders yelled at a debate moderator who asked a question about the 78-year-old’s age during Thursday night’s Democratic debate.
• Moderator Tim Alberta brought up remarks made by former President Barack Obama earlier this week when Obama said that old men not getting out of the way are to blame for many world problems.
• Biden on Obama’s slam on old male leaders: ‘He wasn’t talking about me’
• Politico reporter tries to ask Biden if he will run again a second term
• Warren, 70, replies she’d be ‘youngest woman’ president when debate talk turns to age
• Joe Biden didn’t understand the debate moderator’s pronunciation of Afghanistan
• It was a big, big mistake to surge forces to Afghanistan,’ Biden says

7am – A         INTERVIEW – NEWT GINGRICH  – Former Speaker of the House, host of “Newt’s World” podcast and author of new book “Trump Vs. China: Facing America’s Greatest Threat” – discussed this week’s House impeachment vote and last night’s Dem debate.

7am – B/C     A D.C. strip club had been there for years. But a new name is sparking protest. (Washington Post) — For several decades, the neighbors had maintained an uneasy coexistence with the Northwest Washington strip bar, at one point forging an agreement that banned the proprietor from putting up signs that contained any hint of sexual innuendo. But new owners have re-christened the club “Assets,” scandalizing residents who contend that the name — rendered in pink neon above the awning — is not fit for a spot that borders two residential neighborhoods: Dupont Circle and Kalorama. A community leader, in a protest letter to District officials, cited no less an authority than the Urban Dictionary — that crowdsourced scroll of street slang — to complain that the signage suggests a “person’s body, as in boobs,” and a “well known, vulgar term for a person’s rear end.” “It’s just crass,” said Marie Drissel, who lives in a townhouse toward the far end of a long block down from the club, which is at Connecticut and Florida avenues NW. “It’s 2019 — what are they thinking? Why didn’t they pick a nondescript name? The minute I saw it, I knew what it was.” Gabby Miller, 26, the club’s proprietor, described Assets as “the perfect name” for her establishment — “cheeky” and suggestive of “something of value” — and brushed aside criticism that it demeans women. Miller, who is African American, said the naysayers are unhappy because of a perception that she caters to a black clientele. “The problem is that there are some black faces on this side of Connecticut Avenue,” she said. “They’re seeing dark faces coming in and out of the building. They’re seeing the bouncers outside. They’re saying the things that you would expect a 75-year-old Caucasian to say.” Donald Friedman, the head of a citizens group who wrote the letter citing the club’s name, described himself as “flabbergasted” by Miller’s claim, one that he first heard her make at a community meeting. “Our jaws dropped,” said Friedman, 74, the leader of the Sheridan-Kalorama Neighborhood Council. “I and most of the people — virtually everybody I talked to — were unaware of who their clientele is. Race has no issue.”

7am – D         WINE CAVES:

• 2020 Democrats’ debate erupts as candidates spar over donors’. Long-simmering tensions boiled over at Thursday night’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate in Los Angeles, as a blunt one-on-one sparring match erupted between Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren over their fundraising — just minutes after businessman Andrew Yang slammed Democrats’ “obsession” with President Trump and impeachment. Sen. Warren, D-Mass., began the fiery exchange by criticizing Buttigieg’s recent lavish fundraiser in Napa, Calif., saying he was cavorting with “billionaires in wine caves.” That prompted Buttigieg to retort that Warren, a multimillionaire, was a populist in name only. “You know, according to Forbes magazine, I’m literally the only person on this stage who is not a millionaire or billionaire,” Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., said. “This is the problem with issuing purity tests you yourself cannot pass.”
• Warren calls out Mayor Pete for doing a fundraiser at a wine cave
• Buttigieg responds that he’s literally the only person on stage who isn’t a millionaire or billionaire.

7am – E         INTERVIEW – LARRY MICHAEL – Voice of The Redskins – previewed Redskins vs. Giants Week 16. 

• Redskins vs. Giants Week 16: When the Redskins fell handily to the Giants in Week 4, things were a lot different for both squads. The win was New York’s second in a row, and rookie QB Daniel Jones’s second win in as many tries. But following that win, the Giants went on a nine-game losing streak before an Eli Manning-led Giants team defeated the Dolphins last week. The loss was Washington’s fourth in a row, marking their worst start in close to two decades. After Washington lost the following week, they fired head coach Jay Gruden.  Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins saw his first NFL action in the Redskins’ Week 4 loss to the Giants, a game the rookie would love to forget. In fact, he said on Wednesday he “throws up” when watching the film from that contest. Haskins is coming off his best game as a pro, and will look to carry that momentum into this week’s contest against the Giants. Sunday’s game also has a ton to do with draft position. If the season ended today, the Giants would select No. 3 overall, with Washington right behind them at No. 4. Assuming the Dolphins defeat the 1-12 Bengals this weekend, the loser of Sunday’s Redskins-Giants contest would have a clear path to the No. 2 overall pick. So, in other words, the loser of Sunday’s game is the winner of the Chase Young sweepstakes. This week will also be the first matchup between Jones and Haskins as starters, as Jones is expected to return to action this week. Everyone remembers Haskins’ reaction on draft night when the Giants selected Jones over him. This game means a lot to both rookies.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – TIM MURTAUGH — Director of Communications for the Trump 2020 campaign – shared his thoughts on last night’s Democratic debate and the House impeachment vote.

• Trump campaign raises $5 million on day of impeachment. (NY Post) – President Trump’s re-election campaign raked in $5 million in donations Wednesday — the day the House of Representatives voted to impeach him, his campaign manager said. “Incredible fundraising numbers!” manager Brad Parscale tweeted. “[Trump] has raised over [$5 million] (still growing) today as Americans use their wallet to show support against Pelosi’s impeachment hoax!” he added. The Republican National Committee also brought in record fundraising numbers, gaining $20.6 million in the month of November, according to Federal Election Commission data obtained by Fox News. Party officials told the network that it has the most cash on hand that it’s had since 2012.

8am – B/C     Fairfax County School Board member Ryan McElveen: I’m immensely proud that, beginning January 27, 2020, Fairfax County Public Schools will become one of the first school districts in the nation to allow excused absences for civic engagement activities.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – KEVIN MCCARTHY –  film critic for FOX 5 DC @KevinMcCarthyTV – reviewed the latest Star Wars film.

• Is The New Star Wars Film Awful? News Reports Suggest It’s “On Track To Be The Worst-Reviewed Film” In The Saga
• “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” is on track to be the worst-reviewed film in the nine-picture saga
• All The Jedi Poso @JackPosobiec Disney paid $4 Billion to ruin Star Wars LOL

8am – E         Miss America Is Now a Scientist! Camille Schrier of Virginia Wins Crown After On-Stage Experiment. “Miss America is someone who needs to educate,” said the 24-year-old PharmD student. (People) — Miss Virginia Camille Schrier earned the title of Miss America 2020 on Thursday night, beating out 50 other contestants for the prestigious crown after performing the show’s first-ever science demonstration in the talent portion. Schrier, 24, showed the audience the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, and earned high praise from the judges — Kelly Rowland, Queer Eye‘s Karamo Brown and Superstore actress Lauren Ash — when she told them, “Miss America is someone who needs to educate.” Prior to her win, Schrier — a PharmD student at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy — thanked the pageant for “taking the focus off our bodies” and giving her a chance to be recognized for her smarts, personality and mission.Schrier said her goal as Miss America was to promote drug safety and abuse prevention while also championing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. She was presented with the crown, which comes with more than $300,000 scholarships and a year of representing the organization, by her predecessor, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin, 26.