No Spin News Summary–September 18, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh Accusations Update
On Monday, September 17, Judge Brett Kavanaugh spent nine hours behind closed doors with senators and White House legal counsel.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation turned into a retrospective on his old girlfriends and love life as "frenzied Republicans" asked him about the issue on Monday.
The same day, two women who say they dated Kavanaugh came to his defense, issuing a statement saying he was a "gentleman" and "respectful" towards women.
Kavanaugh has categorically denied assaulting Christine Blasey Ford, who told the Washington Post that she doesn't perfectly remember the details of the encounter that allegedly happened 35 years ago.
By Monday, both the contents of the letter (allies of Judge Kavanaugh made public letters from two former girlfriends, attesting to his character) and Dr. Blasey’s identity had spilled out into the open, intensifying what had already been a nasty partisan battle over Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, angrily assailed Democrats for raising the accusations at the last minute. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, demanded the F.B.I. investigate, and raised questions about Judge Kavanaugh’s veracity.
On Capitol Hill on Monday, Grassley and McConnell initially resisted calls for hearings, and instead arranged telephone calls to allow Republican and Democratic aides to interview both Judge Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey, a plan that Schumer rejected as “a biased, far-fetched process.”
By the end of Monday, Republican leaders concluded that it would be necessary to move forward to satisfy the concerns of senators in both parties. Still, there were other Republicans who feared the committee had made a dangerous misstep in agreeing so quickly to a public hearing.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein accused Republicans of rushing into the hearing to block an investigation into Blasey’s accusations. “I’m disappointed the F.B.I. and White House are failing to take even the most basic steps to investigate this matter,” she said in a statement issued late Monday.
What’s Next?
Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as Trump and the White House, all said they would like to hear out Ford in a public testimony, which has now been set for next Monday at 10 a.m.
The expectation is that both would appear on the same day but not side-by-side on the same panel.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said Tuesday that next week’s hearing on accusations of sexual assault by Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh will be limited to two witnesses: The Supreme Court nominee and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.
During a radio interview, Grassley said that Kavanaugh has agreed to participate in Monday’s hearing but that his staff has not heard from Christine Blasey Ford. During a television appearance on Monday, Debra Katz, a lawyer for Ford, said her client was “willing to do whatever it takes to get her story forth,” including testifying publicly before the Senate.
Grassley suggested the hearing could be called off if Ford declines to appear. The development effectively delays a planned committee vote on Kavanaugh's nomination that had been set for this Thursday.
President Trump vigorously defended his nominee on Monday, calling him an “outstanding” judge with an unblemished record, and dismissing as “ridiculous” the prospect that Judge Kavanaugh might withdraw his nomination.
“He is somebody very special; at the same time, we want to go through a process, we want to make sure everything is perfect, everything is just right,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “If it takes a little delay, it will take a little delay — it shouldn’t certainly be very much.”
Trump Orders Carter Page, Bruce Ohr Documents Declassified
President Trump on Monday ordered the declassification of several key documents related to the FBI investigation of Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election, including 21 pages of an application for a renewed surveillance warrant against former campaign aide Carter Page, and text messages from disgraced FBI figures Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump had ordered the documents released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Justice Department "[a]t the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency."
The documents to be declassified also include all FBI reports on interviews with Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and all FBI reports of interviews prepared in connection with all other applications to surveil Carter Page.
Trump also ordered the Justice Department to release text messages from a number of the key players in the Russia investigation "without redaction" including Ohr, Strzok, Lisa Page, former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
The 21 pages only make up a small part of the 412 pages of FISA applications and warrants related to Page released by the FBI earlier this year in heavily redacted format. The June 2017 application was the last of four filed by the Justice Department in support of FISA court orders allowing the monitoring of Page for nearly a year.
Emmys 2018
The 70th Annual Emmy Awards kicked off with a slew of political jokes and jabs as expected. But one remark from “SNL” co-host Michael Che left many viewers upset.
During Che's opening monologue with his fellow "Saturday Night Live" star Colin Jost explained that his mother would not be watching the Emmys. "My mother is not watching," Che said. "She says she doesn’t like watching white award shows because you guys don’t thank Jesus enough." He continued, "That’s true. The only white people that thank Jesus are Republicans and ex-crackheads."
The joke didn't sit well with some viewers who took to Twitter to complain.
"Okay @DaytimeEmmys #MichaelChe I am not a Republican neither an ex- crack head do I get to thank #Jesus according to your standards? I’m a believer any and WILL thank JESUS! Really bad writing," one user wrote.
Later in the show, Full Frontal star Samantha Bee got asked what drama series is she watching these days, so that she could snark, “I’ve been watching this very shocking dystopian drama called The News.
“It’s on Season 9,000,” she added. “It’s getting darker and darker. They really need to re-cast the lead; I’d prefer Robin Wright.”
Even with the return of blockbuster Game of Thrones to the competition and without having to face Sunday Night Football for the first time since 2014, the Emmys continued its ratings downturn last night.
Snagging a 7.4/13 result in metered market ratings, the NBC broadcast, Michael Che and Colin Jost hosted 70th Primetime Emmy awards fell to an all-time low on Monday.
In the early metrics, the ceremony was down 10% from last year’s Stephen Colbert fronted show of September 16, 2017 on CBS. Last night’s three-hour show also fell a hard 32% in metered market ratings from the last time NBC had the show back on August 25, 2014, also a Monday.
Gallup: Record-Low 12% Cite Economic Issues as Top U.S. Problem
A record-low 12% of Americans currently cite some aspect of the economy as the most important problem facing the U.S., down from 17% last month and one percentage point below the previous low of 13% recorded in May 1999. Mentions of the economy as the top problem reached 86% in February 2009, the highest in recent decades.
Gallup has been asking the classic "most important problem" question since 1939 but did not begin giving a net score for all references to economic issues, including the economy in general, unemployment and inflation until 1991.
In the current September survey, 55% of Americans say the economy is getting better, among the highest proportions saying this since 2004.
A near-record-high 64% say now is a good time to find a quality job; workers remain upbeat about their job security; and employee engagement is at record highs. |
