James Rosen, Del Wilber and Grover Norquist joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, August 4, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C TRANSCRIPTS OF TRUMP’S CALLS W/FOREIGN LEADERS LEAKED:

Produced by White House staff, the documents provide an unfiltered glimpse of Trump’s approach to the diplomatic aspect of his job, subjecting even a close neighbor and long-standing ally to streams of threats and invective as if aimed at U.S. adversaries.

• Report: Trump pushed Mexican president to stop talking publicly about border wall. President Trump’s frustration with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s public denials that Mexico would pay for Mr. Trump’s southern border wall was on display in a transcript of the leaders’ January phone call, acquired and released by the Washington Post. “You cannot say that to the press,” Trump said repeatedly to Peña Nieto in response to his public outcries over refusing to fund the border wall, according to a transcript of the Jan. 27 call obtained by The Post. “If you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that,” Mr. Trump added.
• Top Dem Wants Congress to Investigate Trump Transcript Leaks. Congress should investigate the leaking of transcripts of calls between President Donald Trump and world leaders, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Thursday. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), called the leak “absolutely” troubling, arguing that it would cause potentially-serious complications to the White House’s ability to conduct foreign policy. “A president of the United States, a governor would tell us they’ve got to be able to have confidential conversations,” Warner told The Daily Beast in an interview. “And I think it was disgraceful that those [came out].” On Thursday morning, the Washington Post published full transcripts of Trump’s calls with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The transcripts revealed tense exchanges and candid admissions from Trump about topics like refugee admissions and the border wall. But it was the act of leaking itself that shook national security experts who worried the publishing of transcripts would dramatically curtail Trumps ability to have candid, strategic exchanges with fellow world leaders. While the leak may be “reflective of a chaotic White House,” Warner said, it still constituted a massive breach of norms and was serious enough to merit a congressional inquiry. “Whether that is Intel or Judicial [committees] looking into it, somebody ought to,” he said.
• Trump transcripts released on the eve of coming leak crackdown. The disclosure of full transcripts of President Trump’s calls with foreign leaders Thursday comes as the Justice Department places new emphasis on leaks. As readers perused the documents, detailing calls earlier this year between Trump and the leaders of Australia and Mexico, authorities prepared to present at least the appearance of a crackdown. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will hold a press briefing Friday to address leaks of classified material considered threatening to national security. The event was planned before the latest disclosure, but will highlight a commitment to addressing criminal leaks, with distribution of the transcripts among the most significant.

5am – D MCMASTER NEWS:

• Trump reportedly thinking about making CIA Director Mike Pompeo national security adviser, shipping H.R. McMaster to Afghanistan. President Trump is looking at shifting CIA Director Mike Pompeo to the White House as national security adviser, according to a report Wednesday evening. The move would bump H.R. McMaster, the current national security adviser. McMaster, a three-star Army general, would in turn be sent to Afghanistan to command U.S. forces in that country, the New York Times reported, citing several unnamed administration officials. The move could help McMaster earn his fourth star.
• Is the top US commander in Afghanistan in Trump’s crosshairs? (CNN)General John Nicholson, a highly respected four-star Army general with 35 years experience may be in the White House’s political crosshairs and become the first high-ranking military officer President Donald Trump decides to fire. The thrust of White House criticism of Nicholson appears be that he has been unable to win the war in Afghanistan. While Nicholson is respected, he has also caused some irritation in senior defense circles. His public comments seeking more troops have been seen by some as getting ahead of a White House decision.
• McMaster believes Obama aide Susan Rice did nothing wrong in “unmasking” scandal: National security adviser H.R. McMaster has reportedly determined that Susan Rice, who served in his role during the Obama administration, did not do anything wrong amid accusations of “unmasking” the identities of Trump associates. Republican lawmakers are trying to conclude whether or not Rice “unmasked” the identities of Trump transition team members that were redacted in intelligence reports. Bloomberg on Thursday cited two intelligence officials saying that McMaster had found no evidence of wrong-doing. The news comes the same day Circa reported that McMaster sent Rice a letter at the end of April informing the former Obama official that she would keep her security clearance and the National Security Council (NSC) would waive her “need-to-know” requirement.
• H.R. McMaster told Susan Rice she can keep her security clearance: Report National security adviser H.R. McMaster told former national security adviser Susan Rice in April that she would continue to have access to classified information, and that he would waive a “need-to-know” requirement when it comes to accessing classified information contained in documents she saw or received during her time as national security adviser, according to a report. The letter was sent from McMaster to Rice’s home in April, according to Circa, and the president didn’t know about either the letter or McMaster’s decision to allow Rice to keep her Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance. “Going forward, the NSC will continue to work with you to ensure the appropriate security clearance documentation remains on file to allow you access to classified information,” McMaster said in his letter. An intelligence official said McMaster’s decision to give Rice continued access to classified information “raises serious legal, moral, and ethical concerns.”
• McMASTER PURGING TRUMP LOYALISTS: An ongoing staffing purge being conducted by White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has thrown the West Wing into chaos, according to more than half a dozen Trump administration insiders who told the Washington Free Beacon that McMaster has been targeting long-ime Trump loyalists who were clashing with career government staffers and holdovers from the Obama administration. The purge is part of a larger drama unfolding inside the administration, between veteran Trump staffers committed to the president’s campaign vision of “draining the swamp”‘ in Washington and entrenched bureaucracies seeking to maintain control over policy decision-making, according to these sources, who said that many of these actions against his supporters are being conducted without Trump’s knowledge. The Trump staffers fired by McMaster had repeatedly clashed with career government staffers and holdovers from the Obama administration on issues as diverse as military strategies for Syria and Afghanistan, whether to tear up Obama’s landmark Iran deal, the controversial détente with Cuba, the U.S. role in confronting Islamic radicalism, and the Paris Climate Accord, according to these sources.

5am – E West Virginia’s Democratic governor announces switch to Republican party. West Virginia Democratic Gov. Jim Justice announced at a rally Thursday evening with President Trump that he is changing his political affiliation to the Republican party. At Thursday’s rally in West Virginia, Justice said he no longer could help West Virginians anymore as a Democratic governor, adding that the “Democrats walked away from me.” Justice added that he suspects both of his parents, who were “staunch Republicans,” are in Heaven right now saying, “Jimmy, it’s about damn time you came to your senses.”

Nearly half of Americans now live under one-party Republican state governments. With tonight’s switch by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice from Democrat to Republican, the GOP expanded its dominance of state governments. The Republican Party now controls the governorships and the state legislatures of 26 states (including Nebraska’s supposedly nonpartisan legislature). Altogether, the populations in these states account for 48 percent of the U.S. population, according to 2016 Census estimates. Meanwhile, Democrats hold complete control of government in just six states and the District of Columbia. This renders them capable of legislating over 17 percent of the population without any Republican cooperation.

6am – A/B/C Mueller Impanels D.C. Grand Jury in Russia Probe. Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a Washington, D.C., grand jury for his probe of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, a person familiar with the case told The Daily Beast. This latest development, The Wall Street Journal first reported, is “a sign that his inquiry is growing in intensity and entering a new phase.” Some of the documents included in the subpoena concern Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in 2016, CNN reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The subpoena also seeks testimony from people who were present at that meeting. President Trump’s lawyer Ty Cobb said in a statement: “Grand jury matters are typically secret. The White House favors anything that accelerates the conclusion of his work fairly. The White House is committed to fully cooperating with Mr. Mueller.” The president, however, has repeatedly called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt” and has publicly called into question the former FBI chief’s credibility as an impartial investigator.

• Senators Introduce 2 Bills To Try To Keep Trump From Firing Mueller. In first bipartisan attempt to keep president in check amid Russia inquiry, two bills would take steps to prevent president from directly firing special counsel. US senators from both parties are seeking to protect the special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by Donald Trump, marking the first bipartisan bid by lawmakers to impose a check on the president against the backdrop of the Russia investigation. A pair of bills were unveiled on Thursday, co-sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, that would take measures to bar the president from directly firing the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election and any involvement by the president and his team.
• Ty Cobb, special counsel to the president, said he was not aware that Mueller had convened a grand jury – a powerful institution in the US government charged with both investigating potential criminal conduct as well as determining whether criminal charges should be brought. (The Guardian) — “Grand jury matters are typically secret,” said Cobb, in a statement provided by the White House. “The White House favors anything that accelerates the conclusion of his work fairly … The White House is committed to fully cooperating with Mr Mueller.”
• Reuters reported that grand jury subpoenas had been issued in relation to the June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son, and the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

6am – D Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (The Atlantic) – More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis.

6am – E WOMAN BURNED BY BATH & BODY WORKS CANDLE: A 29-year-old mother was sent to the emergency room after she says she was burned by an intense flame sprouting from a seasonal candle she purchased at Bath & Body Works. Ashley Brawley was drying her hair at her home in Burleson, Texas, on July 23, when she noticed a burning smell coming from her living room, according to NBC-DFW. She discovered that the three-wick Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel candle she lit three hours earlier was burning about six-inches above the top of its glass. Footage captured by the couple’s Nest home security camera shows Ashley attempting to blow out the candle—but instead of extinguishing the flames, “a fire ball shot back up in my face,” Ashley told Cosmopolitan. Ashley’s husband, Cody Brawley, ran in after he heard her screams. He carried the candle outside using oven mitts, and when he hosed it down, he said the hot glass exploded into pieces.

6am – F Moderate and heavy drinkers more likely to make it to 85 without dementia: Study. (DC Examiner) – Moderate and heavy drinkers are more likely to reach 85 without developing dementia or other cognitive impairment, according to a new study from the University of California, San Diego. The study considered how factors like genetics, diet, and the environment affect the onset of dementia and found that those who consume alcohol at higher levels had a higher likelihood of reaching the age of 85 without developing Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other cognitive diseases. “Moderate and heavy drinkers had 2-fold higher odds of living to age 85 without cognitive impairment relative to non-drinkers,” the study says.

7am – A INTERVIEW — JAMES ROSEN — Chief Washington Correspondent, FOX NEWS — discussed his report on the Pentagon and Mueller’s grand jury.

• Rosen’s report: Pentagon investigators find ‘security risks’ in government’s immigrant recruitment program, ‘infiltration’ feared
• Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a Washington, D.C., grand jury for his probe of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, a person familiar with the case told The Daily Beast. This latest development, The Wall Street Journal first reported, is “a sign that his inquiry is growing in intensity and entering a new phase.” Some of the documents included in the subpoena concern Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in 2016, CNN reported, citing a source familiar with the matter

7am – B PET NEWS:

• PETS CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING: (Patch) — LOS ANGELES, CA — When it comes to global warming, Fido and Fluffy are part of the problem, a new study by UCLA indicates. Most cat or dog lovers would say they can’t imagine living in a world without pets, but as the threat of global warming increases, environmentally conscious pet lovers may need to make some tough choices, according to the study. Pet ownership in the United States creates about 64 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, UCLA researchers found. That’s the equivalent of driving 13.6 million cars for a year. The problem lies with the meat-filled diets of kitties and pooches, according to the study by UCLA geography professor Gregory Okin. Dogs and cats are responsible for 25 to 30 percent of the impacts of meat production in the United States, said Orkin. Compared to a plant-based diet, meat production “requires more energy, land and water and has greater environmental consequences in terms of erosion, pesticides and waste,” the study found.
• “An underrated factor in millennial homebuying: More space for dogs” (DC Examiner) – According to a new SunTrust poll, one-third of millennial homeowners say their decision to buy a home was affected by their desire for more space for their dog. Of millennials surveyed, 66 percent cited more living space, 36 percent cared about building equity, and about 25 percent wanted a home due to getting married. About 33 percent were focused on providing a better standard of living for their dogs. At first glance, this could be construed as yet another rite of passage millennials are ruining––more millennials care about their dogs than getting married, or the birth of a child?

7am – C Va. arm of Planned Parenthood to spend $3 million backing Northam for governor (Washington Post) — Planned Parenthood’s Virginia affiliate plans to spend $3 million to help elect Democrat Ralph Northam as the state’s next governor.

The organization’s Virginia political action committee, working with Northam, plans to deploy canvassers to knock on 300,000 doors, send mailers to 400,000 homes and run digital and radio ads. The abortion and reproductive health rights group is also supporting other Democrats on the November ballot, including lieutenant governor nominee Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark R. Herring. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia confirmed details of its campaign strategy, first reported in Politico, ahead of an official endorsement of Northam on Thursday. “Everything about women’s health is at stake,” said Jennifer Allen, chief executive of Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. “It’s really clear that Virginians want and need a fierce champion like Dr. Northam to stand up for them and to stand up for women’s health.” Polls have shown a tight race between Northam, the sitting lieutenant governor, and Republican Ed Gillespie, a longtime party operative and former chair of the Republican National Committee.

7am – D TRUMP’S WEST VA RALLY HIGHLIGHTS

7am – E Dunkin’ Donuts may change its name. (NY Post) – NEW YORK — Dunkin’ is thinking about dumping “Donuts” from its name. A new location of the chain in Pasadena, California, will be simply called Dunkin’, a move that parent company Dunkin’ Brands Inc. calls a test. The Canton, Massachusetts-based company said Thursday that a few other stores will get the one-name treatment too. The chain wants people to think of its stores as a destination for coffee, although it will still sell doughnuts. Dunkin’ Donuts said it won’t make a decision on whether it will change its name until late next year, when it expects to start redesigning stores.

8am – A INTERVIEW — DEL WILBER – Wall Street Journal reporter and author of “A Good Month for Murder” and “Rawhide Down.”

• DEL broke the Wall Street Journal story yesterday about Mueller’s grand jury
• Special Counsel Robert Mueller Impanels Washington Grand Jury in Russia Probe. Expansion beyond Flynn grand jury is a sign the investigation in election meddling is ramping up. (Wall Street Journal/Del Wilber) –– Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, a sign that his inquiry is growing in intensity and entering a new phase, according to people familiar with the matter. The grand jury, which began its work in recent weeks, signals that Mr. Mueller’s inquiry will likely continue for months. Mr. Mueller is investigating Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump’s campaign or associates colluded with the Kremlin as part of that effort.

8am – B TWO ILLEGAL BROTHERS IN GAITHERSBURG ARE BEING DEPORTED. DEMOCRATIC MARYLAND LAWMAKERS ARE OUTRAGED:

• He went to ICE to tell agents he had gotten into college. Now he and his brother have been deported. (Washington Post) — Two brothers from Gaithersburg were deported to their native El Salvador on Wednesday in what their attorney says was the fastest deportation process he has ever seen. Lizandro Claros Saravia, 19, is a standout soccer player who had secured a scholarship to play college soccer in North Carolina. His brother, Diego, 22, took extra classes to graduate from Quince Orchard High School on time and “has a heart of gold,” a former teacher said. They entered the country illegally in 2009, however, and although they initially won reprieves from deportation, their efforts to renew those stays were repeatedly denied. The brothers have no criminal records and would not have been a priority for deportation by the Obama administration, said Matthew Bourke, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Trump’s administration, in contrast, has made clear that any undocumented immigrant is subject to being expelled from this country. And so, on the same day that the White House endorsed a proposal to curtail legal immigration to the United States, the brothers were put on a plane to San Salvador.
• Maryland community rallies in support of brothers, including rising soccer star, facing deportation (Washington Post) — On Monday night, they stood with other members of their elite Bethesda Soccer Club outside Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Northwest Washington, protesting the arrest and pending deportation of a beloved teammate: Lizandro Claros Saravia. Claros Saravia, 19, who had a scholarship to play college soccer in North Carolina, was detained along with his older brother, Diego, in Baltimore on Friday following one of their regular check-ins with immigration officials. They entered the United States illegally in 2009, fleeing violence in their native El Salvador. Lizandro Claros Saravia graduated from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg this past spring and was planning to attend the two-year Louisburg College in North Carolina on a soccer scholarship this fall.
• Rep. Jamie Raskin‏ @RepRaskin: Lizandro and Diego’s deportation is awful. The American Dream was within their grasp but this Admin heartlessly ripped it away.
• Chris Van Hollen‏ @ChrisVanHollen Aug 2: But Diego and Lizandro should not be the victims of this Administration’s disturbing efforts to punish those who have done nothing wrong.
• Chris Van Hollen‏ @ChrisVanHollen: My office is working hard to make sure @ICEgov releases Diego and Lizandro. Help spread the word—this fight is too important. 6:48 AM – 2 Aug 2017
• County Exec Leggett: Statement by County Executive Ike Leggett on the Federal Deportation of County Resident Lizandro Claros Saravia: I am shocked and dismayed that County resident Lizandro Claros Saravia, a graduate of Quince Orchard High School and college-bound with a soccer scholarship, was detained and has been deported to his native El Salvador by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead of focusing ICE resources on those who have committed serious crimes, ICE instead has deported a young man, along with his brother, who by all accounts was talented and hard-working. He fled violence in his native land in search of safety and opportunity in Montgomery County. He found it. But now ICE has sent him right back. This makes zero sense. ICE should be ashamed of itself.”

8am – C STEPH CURRY THE GOLFER: As an amateur golfer, Steph Curry was more than impressive. Making his debut in a pro golf tournament, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry might not have been as good as he is as an NBA player, but as an amateur golfer, he was more than impressive.

Stephen Curry says playing in pro golf tournament is ‘amazing experience’

Making his debut in a pro golf tournament, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry might not have been as good as he is as an NBA player, but as an amateur golfer, he was more than impressive. Curry shot a 4-over-par 74 in the first round of the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae, a Web.com Tour event. He said that the hardest part was just getting it started — and he did hit a shot into the cup holder of a golf cart on his first shot — but then he settled down and played a solid round.

8am – D

INTERVIEW – GROVER NORQUIST – PRESIDENT, AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM

• Norquist Says Vaping ‘Freedom’ Is Costing Democrats Votes. (Daily Vaper) –Vaping issues affecting thousands of small businesses and users trying to quit smoking are costing the Democratic Party voters, according to Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist, appearing on Vice News Monday, argued that regulatory and tax issues surrounding e-cigarettes are helping the Republican Party connect with longtime Democratic voters. Vapers often feel persecuted by federal agencies and Democratic lawmakers in localities throughout the country, who push for high taxes and restrictions that mimic traditional tobacco bans, reports Gizmodo. Norquist says he has “met with lifelong Democrats who said, ‘until this vaping is freed up from government threat, I’m voting with the Republicans because the D’s just don’t get it on this issue.’” He argues that, for the consumer, vaping represents “freedom,” albeit “heavily taxed freedom.” “Vapers care so much about it and the government’s screwing with them,” Norquist said, according to Gizmodo. “I work with groups and individuals that are being picked on by the government or the government is messing with them, whether they’re raising their taxes or pushing around in their business, their professional life.”

8am – E KAEPERNICK AND RAVENS:

• Ravens coach, GM open to Colin Kaepernick; owner resistant. (ESPN) — Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome support the signing of free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, but they have met resistance from owner Steve Bisciotti, sources tell ESPN’s Dianna Russini. Sources say at least one other NFL team has wanted to add Kaepernick to its roster, but the move was blocked by the team’s owner. Newsome said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that Bisciotti hasn’t pushed back on a potential contract for Kaepernick. “We are going through a process, and we have not made a decision,” the statement said. “Steve Bisciotti has not told us we cannot sign Colin Kaepernick, nor has he blocked the move. Whoever is making those claims is wrong.” Kaepernick’s name came up last week after Harbaugh said starting quarterback Joe Flacco would miss a week with a back injury. Backup Ryan Mallett has struggled while filling in with the first-team offense, throwing at least five interceptions during one practice. On Sunday, Bisciotti said the team was still weighing whether to sign Kaepernick, who drew national attention last season when he knelt during the national anthem before games to protest social injustice. Sources have told ESPN that Kaepernick will not do that in 2017.
• Kaepernick’s GF Appears To Compare Bisciotti, Lewis To Slave Owner, Slave. BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Colin Kaepernick’s reported girlfriend tweeted out pictures Wednesday that appear to compare Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and Ray Lewis to a slave owner and slave. Nessa Diab is a New York City radio DJ and regular on MTV’s Girl Code. The picture she tweeted shows Lewis with his arms around Bisciotti, along with a picture of Samuel L. Jackson with his arms around Leonardo Dicaprio from the movie “Django Unchained,” in which Dicaprio was a slave owner and Jackson was his house slave. This comes after an ESPN report that Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome support signing Kaepernick, but Bisciotti was against the signing. Lewis also posted a video on Twitter suggesting Kaepernick should keep his activism private.