BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI, BRIAN BEUTLER
& CROOKED MEDIA

Thursday, March 8, 2018

(Russian President Vladimir Putin, when asked about Trump)

A TETE-A-TETE TO REGRET

President Trump has agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by May to discuss “the goal of denuclearization,” a South Korean National Security Adviser announced tonight. The White House said the date and location of the meeting are TBD, but Trump tweeted “meeting being planned!” 

This comes after North Korea “clearly stated” its willingness to negotiate with the U.S. on denuclearization earlier this week. Tonight, South Korea also noted Kim Jong Un “pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests” until the meeting. In the interim, the White House said “all sanctions and maximum pressure [on the regime] must remain.” 

The news came as a surprise to virtually everyone—not even the Pentagon knew what Trump was referring to when he teased the announcement beforehand. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said “we’re a long ways from negotiations” earlier in the day. 

If he follows through with the meeting, Trump will become the first sitting American president to meet with a North Korean leader, marking a major diplomatic and personal shift. If you’ll recall, he referred to Kim Jong Un as “little rocket man” just six months ago. Here’s how North Korea is reporting it:  

From Tommy Vietor: Getting a meeting is the easy part, it's what North Korea has wanted for ages. Getting what the U.S. wants out of it is the hard part. It’s disconcerting that Trump’s response is based on South Korea’s interpretation of the meeting. The details are VERY important and North Korea has a long track record of lies and manipulation. So right now, the real question is whether it's an intelligent move to meet at this level when it's doubtful that there has been any preparation or diplomacy.” 

OH, ALSO TARIFFS

Trump announced today that his proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will go into effect on March 23. Mexico and Canada, which account for a combined 25% of steel imports, are exempted from the tariffs, and all countries have reportedly been invited to negotiate exclusions of their own. What will it take to get those countries off the tariffs list? A Mar-a-Lago membership? Perhaps a loan to prop up the Kushner empire?? Stay tuned!

Reminder: China and the European Union have both threatened retaliatory action should the tariffs be implemented. Bad news for every American business and job that depends on exports to these regions. 

Lawmakers, like Trump’s staff, had no idea what Trump would actually propose today, and many issued statements against the tariffs. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said that he will introduce legislation to nullify the tariffs—an important reminder that this is only happening because Congress is allowing it. This White House is run like a junior prom committee with nukes.

Meanwhile, 11 other nations, including American allies, signed an updated Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement upon taking office, so although TPP was our idea, those nations will now get to write global trade rules without us. 

Trump’s Interior Department is spending $139,000 to upgrade doors in Secretary Ryan Zinke’s office—a revelation that comes right on the heels of Ben Carson’s $31,000 dining set at HUD. From Dan Pfeiffer: “This is the sort of corruption that enrages voters and flips the House and Senate, but it requires aggressive, sustained and creative paid and earned messaging.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and 21 other GOP senators are reintroducing a measure that will allow opponents of same-sex marriage to ignore federal anti-discrimination rules. According to First amendment litigator Greg Lipper, this “First Amendment Defense Act” violates the trifecta of the Free Speech Clause, the Establishment Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. If Republicans in Washington were nicer to gay people, maybe they’d have fewer interior decorating scandals. 

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is overhauling leadership at the VA after a new investigation revealed “failed leadership” put patients at risk. Apparently, that “failed leadership” doesn’t include him using taxpayer funds to take a trip to Europe with his wife, and then having his chief of staff forge documents to justify the expense.

The White House is considering filling Gary Cohn’s vacant position with Andy Puzder, who was forced to withdraw from consideration to be the Trump administration’s labor secretary after his ex-wife’s abuse allegations resurfaced. In most White Houses this would be disqualifying, but in Trump’s, it gets you a provisional security clearance (hi, Rob Porter).

Trump’s former Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell returned to Goldman Sachs, and apparently Goldman employees aren’t thrilled. Neither is Jon Lovett, who wrote an open letter to Dina. Keep a spot in that Goldman revolving door warm for Gary Cohn too.

Sam Nunberg now plans to fully comply with Special Counsel Mueller, saying it wasn’t that hard to find his emails after all. Mueller witnesses—they’re just like us!

A judge is recommending that Trump mute Twitter followers, instead of blocking them, to avoid a First Amendment lawsuit. Her analysis appears to derive from the Constitution’s RTs ≠ endorsements clause.

On Crooked Conversations: Jon Favreau asks former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power and legal scholar Cass Sunstein how safe our democracy is, and Power describes hopeful acts of resistance during some of our nation’s darkest hours.  

Listen→

Overlooked: On International Women’s Day, the New York Times is celebrating the lives of 15 groundbreaking women whose obituaries never made the paper’s pages in their times. 

Read →

"I haven’t put a second’s thought into this. It’s not on my radar screen."

—Paul Ryan, staying true to his fundamental weakness and cynicism, when asked about Trump and Stormy Daniels.

Trump is reportedly not thrilled that Sarah Huckabee Sanders indirectly confirmed that he is a party to a non-disclosure agreement meant to silence a porn star with whom he had an affair. Looks like Ryan won’t be making that mistake. 

New polling shows 65% of Americans would support a national gun ownership database to register every gun in the country. Among gun owners, a majority (52%) of those who aren’t affiliated with the NRA also feel this way. The majority of NRA members (69%) and 83% of the American public agree that comprehensive background checks for gun buyers should be required.