Sep 20, 2019
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David Waldman quit using his vocal spray right after the crew added alum to the bottle and his head temporarily shrunk to the size of a golfball... Oh well, his cough is back, but so is David with a special “One Focus Friday” edition of Kagro in the Morning:
Today’s subject is “Donald Trump and treason”, which by the way is almost always the subject. In fact, this particular act of treason will be familiar to Daily Kos readers and KITM listeners. Everybody knew about Rudy Guiliani and Trump were up to no good in Ukraine, but it, of course, it takes a reality show style revelation—a whistle-blower—to get anyone’s attention. Trump told you he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue, shoot somebody and not lose voters, but no one could have guessed how quickly the rest of us would get used to it. There were also many scandals to choose from, so most expected it to be Putin puppetry rather than regular old international bribery and extortion.
Last night, Rudy Guiliani blew his top on cue because he’s paid to be Old Faithful, and blow as much malodorous fog in as many directions as possible. Did it help? Maybe, but soon Adam Schiff, captain of the Democratic Congressional whiffle ball team will have a turn at bat.
What happens when the administration won't tell Congress about a whistleblower complaint regarding the president? Jack Goldsmith of Harvard law school analyzes the situation. Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas analyzes Goldsmith’s analysis. Mieke Eoyang of Lawfare takes a more Congress-centric view. David Waldman tosses us out the top of the ivory tower down to the realpolitik pavement below, which is the only level where William Barr can be found.