News Burst: June 13, 2017

What’s Up?

I hope you’re all doing well!

I’m in Vegas, having a fantastic mini-vacation. All I’ve basically done is sit by the pool and chain-smoke, read, drink, and swim the last two days. It’s been an awesome time. Got back to the room today, fell asleep for like three hours, and now Erin and I are gonna go out to eat once she returns from grabbing something at Walgreen’s.

I love Vegas in that respect. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. Time means nothing here.

Anyway, I figured I’d take this time to do a quick News Burst for y’all to let you know I’m thinking of you, even as I’m away. Remember! There’s a new episode of CLS tomorrow (this week’s only new episode), and, as always, it goes live at 9a PT. It covers a much-requested topic, and I hope you enjoy it.

Enough, though. Let’s jump into the news.

Jeff Sessions Does Congress: https://www.apnews.com/c18f8c5da5254896b2da511f2fe0c628/Sessions-vigorously-denies-improper-Russia-contacts

My Take: I’ve always found Jeff Sessions to be an interesting character. Hailing from a state deep in the South, Sessions has more often than not (and, in fact, almost entirely) been immune to the ebbs and flows of federal politics. As Trump’s first major booster and supporter, however, it was clear that Sessions would have carte blanche with whatever cabinet position he wanted should Trump have won, an voila: Trump won. So, Sessions now finds himself in the federal crossfire, crossfire all the more heightened considering who is controversial boss is.

His appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee hinged on his own interactions with Russian agents and representatives, and it seems to me that he did a fairly decent job of defending himself, even with vagueness. It’s hard to tell if this entire narrative -- if the entire story surrounding THE RUSSIANS! and the Trump administration -- is falling apart or not. All I know is that we’re going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole after rabbit hole, and you’d assume that if something had happened, we’d know by now after giving this situation so much oxygen and so many man-hours.

And, let’s be honest. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, and with a little more strength: This is turning into a witch hunt. The Democrats in Congress are hell-bent on getting anyone for anything at this point, and it’s turning into a fiasco, into a scene. This is so highly charged and completely politicized that it’s impossible for me to imagine any impartiality, no matter what is found, no matter who said what or did what. It will always be looked at through a political, partisan lens. This, among so much else, is what separates this from Nixon and Watergate and what brought his administration down. I don’t know if Sessions (or Flynn, or Page, or anyone else) is innocent or not. All I know is that this is Washington D.C. theater at its worst.

(Related Story | Five Takeaways From Sessions’ Testimony: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/13/sessions-senate-testimony-russia-trump-239524)

(Related Story | Sessions Attacks “Detestable Lies”: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/337698-sessions-decries-detestable-lie)

Democrats Eating Themselves Over Impeachment Chase: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/337572-pelosi-dems-push-back-against-sherman-impeachment-push

My Take: The Democrats have to be very careful with pursuing impeachment on Trump, which begins with the introduction of impeachment articles for a vote on the House floor (as was the case with Andrew Johnson in 1867 and Bill Clinton in 1998). As I said above, this has become comically partisan to the point where even normal, everyday people who don’t pay attention to politics and have no real skin in the game (including the very wide swath of independent voters in America), will hold this against the Democrats should they do it with no evidence and fall short. It will backfire on them, and it will hurt them, as it stands today, right now.

The story linked above is a fascinating glimpse into a behind-closed-doors meeting of House Democrats, and shows just how separated they are as a caucus when it comes to how to proceed. The drama revolves around an 11-term California Democrat named Brad Sherman, who has indicated (and, as far as I know, continues to indicate) that he will introduce articles of impeachment on Trump soon, centered primarily on Trump’s firing of James Comey, which he contends is obstruction of justice. Seems many of his colleagues don’t agree that’s the right course of action. Hasty at best, ill-timed at worst, and cataclysmic should Trump ultimately be cleared.

Steny Hoyer, the Democratic Whip with untold power over the caucus, doesn’t seem too down with the idea, and Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, outright opposes the move, meaning that should Sherman decide to move forward, he will be doing so alone. Congressman Michael Capuano of Massachusetts noted in the meeting that the move was selfish and would put everyone in danger, especially in questionable seats moving into 2018, and I agree with him. If Trump fires Mueller (which he won’t), then we can talk about real obstruction. Until then, this seems to be yet more nothing, and I’m getting as tired writing about it as you probably are reading about it.

Is the Mueller Probe Inherently Political?: https://www.apnews.com/39ece906356e42708695ecab58dc9ff0/No-longer-out-of-bounds:-Trump-allies-question-Mueller-probe

My Take: I think this is a fascinating story to end on, as it revolves around the stories we’ve already been talking about today, and takes things a step further: Is Robert Mueller, the special investigator looking into all things Russian collusion, able to do his job fairly and above board in this highly politicized environment? Moreover, are Trump allies now getting comfortable enough with the muddled reality of the investigation (and the muddled reality of reality, as it were) that they will now try to muddy the waters surrounding Mueller and his investigation, so that no matter what happens and what he finds, no one can quite trust the outcome?

I was watching MSNBC really late last night here in the hotel, so late that it was actually early morning out east, where Morning Joe was set to begin. The pre-show for Morning Joe touched on Tweets from Newt Gingrich which stood in stark contrast to one another. On one hand, he praises Mueller -- as many on both sides of the aisle have done -- but, as time has gone on, it has become clear that Mueller might be staffing the operation with Democratic-leaning attorneys, which, in politicized environments like this, could cause bias. Now Gingrich isn't so hot on him, and it appears he isn't alone.

I, for one, am not too sure there’s anything to see here. I think Robert Mueller is above reproach in this regard, and I also think that the man has more than enough integrity to override any biases his team might come to the table with. At the end of the day, when it comes to the Russian probe, the facts will be the facts. And while Trump and his people might be worried, they should be if there’s nothing to be worried about. Right?