BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI, BRIAN BEUTLER
& CROOKED MEDIA

Friday, March 16, 2018

—John Kelly explaining why Larry Kudlow’s past cocaine habit isn't a problem

MCCABE FIRED

Tonight, Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe just two days before he was scheduled to retire. Earlier this week, the FBI’s disciplinary office suggested Sessions fire McCabe after he allowed FBI officials to speak with reporters in 2016 about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

McCabe released the following statement: "I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey.”

Trump has also publicly and privately called for his dismissal. McCabe's termination threatens the pension he was slated to receive after 21 years at the bureau. This story is developing (and crazy).

NO ONE KNOWS SHIT

After Rex Tillerson got the boot via Twitter on Tuesday (yes, *this* Tuesday), Trump aides were on edge about who would be the next boardroom casualty. White House sources keep telling reporters that more personnel shake-ups are coming soon. In an off-the-record meeting with reporters that leaked to Axios, Chief of Staff John Kelly speculated that the source of those rumors is Trump himself. The call is coming from inside the White House!

Now that McCabe is out, here’s an update on all the latest firing rumors that will remain current until five minutes after you finish reading this newsletter:  

• H.R. McMaster, National Security Adviser: Most reports says Trump is planning to replace him. He’s either waiting to do so in order to avoid embarrassing the Lieutenant General with demotion, and/or because there’s no replacement currently lined up (rumor has it they’re considering former UN ambassador/North Korea hawk/terrifying warmonger John Bolton). Trump and Sarah Huckabee Sanders pushed back on the McMaster rumors today, but McMaster himself did not sound like a guy who’s sticking around much longer, saying “everybody’s going to leave the White House sometime… I’m doing my job.” Very zen.

• John Kelly, Chief of Staff: Kelly has been on thin ice with Trump, but reports say today that Kelly and Trump have “settled on a truce, at least temporarily.” Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Kelly also told senior White House staff that everyone still had their jobs—for now. That could change after he decided to tell reporters that Tillerson learned he was fired while on the toilet; that Trump was behind all the leaks; and that Larry Kudlow’s former cocaine habit wouldn’t keep him from getting confirmed. Cocaine also helps explain his bold suiting choices.

• Ben Carson, Housing and Urban Development Secretary: Carson tried to spend $31,000 on a dining set and claimed he knew nothing about it (emails show he and his wife picked it out). John Kelly bizarrely defended the purchase because a table could last for 80-100 years. At the rate that these people burn through cash, it fucking better! But on the other hand, he’s so good at the job.

• David Shulkin, Veterans Affairs Secretary: Shulkin spent over $122,000 in taxpayer money to take a trip to Europe with his wife, and had his staff alter an email to say he was getting an award to justify it (he wasn’t). Trump was reportedly considering replacing him with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, but apparently Perry isn’t interested in Trump cabinet speed dating. Things are pretty bad when Rick Perry is looking around saying, “What’s with these people?”  

• Jeff Sessions, Attorney General: Trump has not hidden his desire to replace his AG with someone who could oversee (and squash) the Russia investigation. However, there are a lot of people standing in the way of that happening. Kelly says he’s been sticking up for Sessions, as did veteran Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA), who said the Senate will not confirm any replacement. Earlier this week, Trump was considering replacing him with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who could legally serve as acting AG without needing a new Senate confirmation.

Sidenote: If Trump wants to replace any of these Cabinet Secretaries, he’ll need Democrats to support his picks during Senate confirmation hearings. Rand Paul (R-KY) has said he will not vote to confirm CIA Director Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State or CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to take Pompeo’s position. With Sen. John McCain absent, the GOP no longer has the majority and therefore needs Democrats to cross party lines if they want any new cabinet members to get confirmed.

ProPublica issued a massive correction to a story about Gina Haspel, Trump’s CIA pick, saying she did NOT actually oversee the waterboarding of a suspected al-Qaeda leader at a “black site” in Thailand, as it originally reported. According to the correction, she didn’t take over leadership of the base until later. The correction, however, does not refute that she was involved in overseeing the waterboarding of another detainee.

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) died today at age 88. She was the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee and was serving her 16th term in Congress.

The DCCC is picking sides in primaries in California. Because of California's top-two primary system, Democrats want to avoid a situation where multiple Democratic candidates split the vote and we end up with two Republicans in the general election. No chance this could end badly.

Trump’s former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn is campaigning for a California congressional candidate. Flynn, you’ll remember, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with Mueller’s investigation. Great endorsement!

A new advisory board started by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to rewrite rules about importing the hides and heads of animals is filled with trophy hunters. Can we at least get one antelope on this committee?

Republican Sen. Dean Heller’s (NV) primary challenger backed down after Trump told him to on Twitter. No word as to whether he too was on the toilet.

I know we said we’re out of the prediction business, but Putin’s gonna get re-elected this weekend. The New York Times needle is still at 50 percent though.

On Pod Save the World: Tommy talks Rexit, the assassination of Putin’s enemies, and how the Trump administration has attacked career State Department staffers with Politico’s Nahal Toosi.

Listen →

What’s happening to local journalism around the country is as infuriating as it is sad. Digital First Media, owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital, owns 16 regional papers including the Denver Post, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Boston Herald. Under their ownership, Digital First Media’s combined editorial employees have gone from 1,000 down to 150—with more cuts on the way.

Said one Denver Post employee: “I don’t understand the business plan. How does cutting off a leg help you keep running?”

Read →

Sean Hannity called himself “REAL NEWS” when his Fox colleague Shep Smith made a distinction between the work of Fox’s news teams versus the opinion programming, but apparently Hannity only feels that way when it’s convenient.

LOOK AT THIS GOOD GIRL!