The Flynn fallout continues.
Here’s what most folks are overlooking on the issue of Michael Flynn’s guilty plea on Friday: Mueller’s exchange for Flynn’s cooperation may not primarily concern what the former national security adviser admitted to lying to the FBI about. Perhaps Mueller is looking to pin down President Trump or one of the major figures around him (such as Jared Kushner) for pushing Flynn to contact the Russians during the transition. Brian Ross’s false on-air reporting for ABC News that Trump had asked Flynn to do so during the campaign makes the underlying fact of Flynn’s plea a lot less explosive.
But by flipping Flynn, Mueller now has a potential material witness who was with Trump during three crucial stages: the campaign, the transition, and the administration (at least, the first 25 days or so). If the special counsel is building a big case against either Trump or another principal, Flynn is a valuable witness to have—and one who will have no incentive to lie or withhold information again. As every major development in the investigation since Mueller’s appointment in May has revealed, we know far less than the federal investigators. Despite what Trump’s defenders say, Flynn’s flip is big. Read more... |
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| What Trump Is Hearing—I was once told by a former West Wing aide that the most influential place to be is just outside the ring of regulars meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office. Particularly in difficult or ambiguous situations Trump will often look beyond those aides sitting right in front of him to external advisers. He suffers from a sort of FOMO for advice. |
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One of those outside voices is Chris Ruddy, the CEO of the right-wing news organization Newsmax. Trump and Ruddy speak regularly, and the 52-year-old media executive can offer a window into what the president is hearing, as he did on ABC’s This Week on Sunday. After echoing Trump’s own stated view that Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation will end soon and will prove there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, Ruddy said this: “You know, at the end of the the day, my view is that Robert Mueller poses an existential threat to the Trump presidency.”
Ruddy went further, suggesting Trump’s lawyers were on drugs if they are telling the president Mueller will be finished soon. “I don't know what they're smoking,” he said. “You get a picture that this investigation is out to get the president, it's not a good group of people. And I'm actually concerned, you know, that they're not going to be fair at the end of the day.” Read more... |
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| Mark It Down—“The president has a very long career of accomplishing things that a lot of people say were impossible.” —Jared Kushner, White House senior adviser, on the potential for a successful Middle East peace process, December 3, 2017 |
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Goofy Must-Watch of the Day
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| Your college football playoff contenders are locked in: #1 Clemson, the ACC champion, faces #4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal, while #2 Oklahoma, the Big 12 champions, face #3 Georgia, the SEC champions, in the Rose Bowl semifinal. The winners of both January 1 games will face off in the championship game in Atlanta on January 8. |
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2020 Watch—This BuzzFeed profile of a likely (or is he?) Democratic candidate for president, outgoing Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, is full of goodies about the Macker.
I liked this description of the governor’s mansion: “On the first floor, the bar has become a permanent fixture, lined with gleaming bottles of vodka, rum, gin, whiskey, and liqueur. A kegerator sits in the back corner. The handle is engraved with his name. Music fills the room via Pandora stations like ‘Jimmy Buffett Radio’ and ‘Happy Hipster Holiday.’”
Read more from Ruby Cramer here. |
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| One of my wife’s favorite food bloggers is out with a new cookbook, which Emily MacLean reviews in this week’s magazine. Here’s a taste (no pun intended):
But intrigued as we may be by the possibility of thoughtfully planned and carefully prepared meals, dinnertime still comes once a day, and most American families run on two incomes—which means someone has to put dinner on the table after working all day. Appropriately, a lot of the most popular sources for recipes are focused on getting a nutritious dinner on the table quickly and painlessly. Who wants to make a recipe with 15 ingredients and 5 steps at 6 o’clock on a Tuesday?
Deb Perelman does. And she believes that in your heart, you do too. Because sometimes, after working all day and getting home late, a person needs a win. “What I have always loved about cooking is the way a happy discovery . . has the power to completely change the course of a day,” she writes in the introduction of her new book, Smitten Kitchen Every Day. “I like the way following a recipe to the letter can feel like handing the reins over after a long day of having to make all the decisions, but also that pulling off a good meal when you least expected is the fastest way to feel triumphant, even if your day left you short of opportunities to.”
Read more... |
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