Peter Schweizer, Al Weaver, WH Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, “Chappaquiddick” producer Mark Ciardi, and Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Host: Mary Walter

Guest Host: Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer

5am – A/B/C PUTIN PHONE CALL CONTROVERSY AND LEAKING:

• TRUMP DEFENDS CONGRATULATING PUTIN: President Trump blasted the “crazed” media Wednesday over its coverage of his congratulatory call to Russian President Vladimir Putin after winning his election, stating that “getting along with Russia” is a “good thing,” and that other U.S. presidents didn’t have a “chemistry” with Putin.
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump: I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing…….
• LEAKING AGAIN: President Donald Trump was infuriated after it quickly leaked that he had been directly instructed by his national security advisers in briefing materials not to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on his recent election victory during their call Tuesday morning, a source familiar with the President’s thinking said.
• White House: Staffer who leaked Trump briefing papers after Putin call could be fired (The Hill) — The White House on Wednesday said that leaking President Trump’s briefing materials could be a “fireable offense,” responding to reports that the president disregarded a warning against congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection.  “If this story is accurate, that means someone leaked the President’s briefing papers. Leaking such information is a fireable offense and likely illegal,” a senior White House official said in a statement.  The Washington Post reported late Tuesday that a section of Trump’s briefing materials for his call with Putin read “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” in all-capital letters.  Trump also did not follow instructions to condemn Putin over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in the U.K., according to the Post. The White House has not confirmed the report, but multiple news outlets followed with similar stories. The person or people responsible for the leak have not been publicly identified.
• White House chief of staff John Kelly is furious over the leak of briefing materials prepared for Trump, which said “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” Russia’s recently re-elected president Vladimir Putin (politico) — White House chief of staff John Kelly is furious over the leak of briefing materials prepared for President Donald Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a White House official told POLITICO on Wednesday, as the West Wing faced another wave of damaging news coverage following the revelation. Trump was instructed in briefing materials “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” before his call with the recently re-elected Putin, but congratulated him anyway, according to the Washington Post’s report on Tuesday night. He also ignored a recommendation to condemn the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom, which the Kremlin has been accused of orchestrating, according to the report.
• CRITICISM OF PHONE CALL:
• Mitch McConnell chides Trump on congratulating Putin: ‘Calling him wouldn’t have been high on my list’
• Sen. Grassley on Trump-Putin Call: ‘I Wouldn’t Have a Conversation With a Criminal’
• McCain rips Trump’s congratulatory call to Putin as an insult to Russian people
• FLASHBACK: Obama congratulates Putin on election win

5am – D         OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL RELEASED:

• What’s in the massive omnibus spending deal (PBS) — After days of snags and delays, congressional leaders staggered toward completing a massive $1.3 trillion “omnibus” spending deal Wednesday, according to multiple Republican and Democratic sources familiar with the negotiations. The monster-sized bill contains one of the largest spending increases in recent history, and is critical to avoid a government shutdown Friday night, when Congress’ self-imposed funding deadline hits. Even if the expected deal is announced Wednesday, it would need rare unanimous agreement in the Senate to make it through the upper chamber in time to avoid a shutdown. Here is where the omnibus stands, according to sources familiar with the draft: ISSUES: Gun research. Wednesday afternoon, negotiators were finalizing a significant clarification to current law, stating that nothing prohibits federally-funded programs from researching gun violence. That amounts to a de facto change, after years where a rule known as the Dickey amendment was interpreted as banning such research. Gun and school safety. Two bipartisan bills aimed at preventing violence in schools are in the omnibus draft. The Fix NICS Act uses carrots and sticks to increase the amount of data agencies send into the current background system. And The Student, Teachers and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act would authorize millions of dollars in grants to help schools increase security and learn how to better identify potential threats.

5am – E         CA TEACHER FIRED

• ‘Anti-military’ California teacher fired for video rant (BBC) — A California teacher has been fired for making negative comments about members of the military, US media report. Gregory Salcido, 49, was caught on video in January saying members of the military are “not intellectual people” and “the freaking lowest of our low”. The high school teacher was fired after an investigation into his remarks, according to the Los Angeles Times. Mr Salcido denies being anti-military but said he maintains the military is not the best option for his students. “My goal, as it relates to my students, related to the military, is to get them to do everything to get to college,” Mr Salcido said at a city council meeting on 13 February. The El Rancho High School teacher said his remarks came from his frustration that students of lower academic standing often end up in the military. “It’s not just the military, I don’t want them working at a fast food restaurant either. And any comment related to, is out of context,” he said, according to television station KCBS. The secret recording was made by student Victor Quinonez, the news outlet reports.

6am – A         ‘A Breach of Trust’: Facebook Execs Admit Mistakes, Pledge More Security (NBC) — Breaking five days of silence, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for a “major breach of trust,” admitted mistakes and outlined steps to protect user data in light of a privacy scandal involving a Trump-connected data-mining firm. “I am really sorry that happened,” Zuckerberg said of the scandal involving data mining firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook has a “responsibility” to protect its users’ data, he said in a Wednesday interview on CNN. If it fails, he said, “we don’t deserve to have the opportunity serve people.” His mea culpa on cable television came a few hours after he acknowledged his company’s mistakes in a Facebook post, but without saying he was sorry. The company’s second-in-command, Sheryl Sandberg, shared Zuckerberg’s post and echoed his sentiment. “This was a major violation of peoples’ trust, and I deeply regret we didn’t do enough to deal with it,” she said. Zuckerberg and Sandberg had been quiet since news broke Friday that Cambridge Analytica may have used data improperly obtained from roughly 50 million Facebook users to try to sway elections. Facebook shares have dropped some 8 percent, lopping about $46 billion off the company’s market value, since the revelations were first published.

6am – B         Fired FBI official authorized criminal probe of Sessions, sources say (ABC News) — Nearly a year before Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired senior FBI official Andrew McCabe for what Sessions called a “lack of candor,” McCabe oversaw a federal criminal investigation into whether Sessions lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly accused Sessions of misleading them in congressional testimony and called on federal authorities to investigate, but McCabe’s previously-unreported decision to actually put the attorney general in the crosshairs of an FBI probe was an exceptional move. One source told ABC News that Sessions was not aware of the investigation when he decided to fire McCabe last Friday less than 48 hours before McCabe, a former FBI deputy director, was due to retire from government and obtain a full pension, but an attorney representing Sessions declined to confirm that. Last year, several top Republican and Democratic lawmakers were informed of the probe during a closed-door briefing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and McCabe, ABC News was told.

6am – C         Cherry blossoms will survive despite snow, NPS says

Worried about how Wednesday’s snowstorm may impact the cherry blossoms? Don’t be. (WUSA) — Worried about how Wednesday’s snowstorm may impact the Cherry Blossoms? Don’t be. According to the National Park Service, the snow isn’t expected to affect the blossoms at all. They are predicted to be at peak bloom from March 27 to March 31. Peak bloom occurs when 70% of the blossoms have opened, according to NPS. Different weather patterns could, however, kill the blossoms. According to the NPS website, a “rainy, windy day” or a “late cold frost” is more likely to impact the blossoms. On the flip side, “cool, calm weather can extend the length of the bloom,” the website says. This is reassuring news particularly after a fierce cold snap last year killed one third of the blossoms, an unprecedented event that happened for the first time in the 105-year history of the cherry blossoms.

6am – D         Dashcam video of deadly self-driving Uber crash released (Fox News) — Dashcam video was released Wednesday night showing the dramatic and deadly crash of a self-driving Uber SUV in Arizona — as the woman operating the vehicle had her head down. Two angles — interior and exterior camera footage — were released by the Tempe Police Department. Officials did not release the moment the pedestrian, identified as 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, was hit, “due to the graphic nature of the impact.” “The video is disturbing and heartbreaking to watch, and our thoughts continue to be with Elaine’s loved ones,” Uber said in a statement. “Our cars remain grounded, and we’re assisting local, state and federal authorities in any way we can.” The interior video shows the car’s driver, Rafaela Vasquez, 44, buckled in behind the wheel of the vehicle — which police said was moving around 40 miles per hour in the Phoenix suburb at 10 p.m. Sunday. While the Volvo XC90 SUV was in self-driving mode, Vasquez was in the car as a safety driver, who, in the event there was a malfunction or issue, could take control of the vehicle. In the moments before the car struck Herzberg, Vasquez is seen repeatedly looking down, seemingly toward the console area of the car, until she suddenly looks shocked at the pedestrian in front of her. Exterior video shows the Uber car driving at night when the vehicle’s headlights suddenly illuminate Herzberg, who is walking her bike in the street, outside of any crosswalks. Paramedics rushed Herzberg to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.

6am – E         Uber, Lyft prices could be going up in the DC area (WUSA) — Those Uber and Lyft prices in Washington, DC may be going up. Why? Those Uber and Lyft prices in Washington, DC may be going up. Why? To help WMATA’s mounting budget problems. Mayor Bowser is proposing a 3.75 percent tax increase on ride sharing services in the district, raising the current tax rate from 1 percent to 4.75 percent. That means a $10.10 Uber ride will jump to $10.47. On more expensive trips, the increase would be even more. It’s all part of the Mayor’s 2019 proposed budget and financial plan, which she released Wednesday afternoon. “We knew we had to have a dedicated, competitive and sustainable source to raising these revenues,” Mayor Bowser said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon. The Mayor said the tax hike on Uber and Lyft riders, combined with a proposed commercial property tax increase, and a small sales tax increase, would generate more than $80 million for the city’s cash strapped public transit system. “Everybody benefits from a safe, reliable and functioning Metro whether you ever get on the Metro or not,” Mayor Bowser said. The Mayor’s office said there would be no price increase on cab rides, since riders already pay a flat 50 cent fee on each trip.

6am – F         Austin bomber recorded 25-minute ‘confession’ to his deadly crimes, police say (Fox News) — Mark Anthony Conditt, the man linked to the deadly bombings that rocked Austin, Texas, and surrounding areas over the past month, recorded a 25-minute-long “confession” to his crimes, police said late Wednesday. Officers located the recording, in which Conditt, 23, described creating seven devices, including one he blew up during the conflict with police, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said at a news conference. The recording was made on a phone, which was found in the suspect’s possession following the confrontation. Conditt described the bombs “with a level of specificity,” including their differences, Manley said. In the recording, the suspect did not mention “anything about terrorism, nor does he mention anything about hate,” the police chief said. The message is rather “the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life.” Police said all seven devices have been found, suggesting there was no further threat from Conditt to people in the area.

7am – A   INTERVIEW – PETER SCHWEIZER –  author of new book “Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends” – discussed his new book called “Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends

• SECRET EMPIRES: Joe Biden’s Son’s Firm Struck Billion-Dollar Deal with the Chinese Government 10 Days After Biden Trip to China (Breitbart) — The private equity firm of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden inked a billion-dollar deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China just 10 days after the father and son flew to China in 2013. The Biden bombshell is one of many revealed in a new investigative book Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends by Government Accountability Institute President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer. Schweizer’s last book, Clinton Cash, sparked an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation. According to an exclusive New York Post excerpt from the book, the Biden billion-dollar China deal occurred as follows. Hunter Biden was the principal of Rosemont Seneca Bohai. In December of 2013, Vice President Biden and his son Hunter flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Ten days after the trip, a subsidiary of the Bank of China named Bohai Capital signed an exclusive deal with Hunter Biden’s firm to form a $1 billion joint-investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST. The deal was later increased to $1.5 billion.

7am – B/C     More on President Trump’s phone call to Putin

7am – D/E     Should Colleges focus more on career path majors or liberal arts degrees?

• A University of Wisconsin campus pushes plan to drop 13 majors — including English, history and philosophy (Washington Post) — The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point has proposed dropping 13 majors in the humanities and social sciences — including English, philosophy, history, sociology and Spanish — while adding programs with “clear career pathways” as a way to address declining enrollment and a multimillion-dollar deficit. Students and faculty members have reacted with surprise and concern to the news, which is being portrayed by the school’s administration as a path to regain enrollment and provide new opportunities to students. Critics see something else: a waning commitment to liberal arts education and a chance to lay off faculty under new rules that weakened tenure. Students are planning a sit-in at the campus administration building on Wednesday in a demonstration called Save Our Majors. The Stevens Point Journal said students will then deliver a list of demands and requests to school officials. The school is one of 11 comprehensive campuses in the University of Wisconsin system. The plan to cut the liberal arts and humanities majors (see full list below) is in line with a failed attempt by Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2015 to secretly change the mission of the respected university system — known as the Wisconsin Idea and embedded in the state code  — by removing words that commanded the university to “search for truth” and “improve the human condition” and replacing them with “meet the state’s workforce needs.”

8am – A         INTERVIEW – AL WEAVER – political reporter for the Washington Examiner – discussed the GOP omnibus spending bill, the members of Congress who are against it, and the latest news on the leak regarding the phone call President Trump made to Vladimir Putin

• Congressional negotiators reach deal on $1.3 trillion spending bill ahead of Friday government shutdown deadline. (Washington Post) — Congressional leaders reached a $1.3 trillion spending deal Wednesday to keep government agencies operating through September, unveiling legislation that would make good on President Trump’s promises to increase military funding while blocking much of his immigration agenda. The release of the 2,000-plus-page bill Wednesday evening, after a two-day delay, touched off a legislative sprint as lawmakers try to pass it before Friday night, the deadline to avoid a government shutdown. And with a key senator unwilling to say whether he would agree to accelerate the deal’s consideration, it remained uncertain whether they would be able to meet the challenge.

8am – B/C     INTERVIEW – HOGAN GIDLEY – White House Deputy Press Secretary — discussed the GOP omnibus spending bill, the White House’s position on it, and the latest news on the leak to the media regarding the phone call President Trump made to Vladimir Putin

8am – D/E     INTERVIEW – ‘Chappaquiddick’ producer Mark Ciardi – discussed the upcoming release of the movie “Chappaquiddick,” the history of the event and the following scandal, and the work that was put into putting the movie together

• About the Film: Chappaquiddick is a drama film directed by John Curran and written by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan. Produced by Mark Ciardi. The film stars Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne, with Ed Helms, Bruce Dern, Jim Gaffigan, and Taylor Nichols in supporting roles. The plot details the events following Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, where Senator Kennedy drove his car into a lake, killing Kopechne. The film was screened in the Gala Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is scheduled to be released on April 6, 2018, by Entertainment Studios.