News from the note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
Consider this an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
Joe Biden: White House “hit rock bottom” by mocking McCain
From Axios
Former Vice President Joe Biden said the Trump administration’s “decency” hit a new low in a statement released Friday calling out White House aide Kelly Sadler for dismissing Senator John McCain saying, he “is dying anyway.”
“People have wondered when decency would hit rock bottom with this administration. It happened yesterday. … Given this White House’s trail of disrespect towards John and others, this staffer is not the exception to the rule, she is the epitome of it.”
Meghan McCain asks how WH staffer who joked about her father’s brain cancer still has a job
From CNN
Meghan McCain responded Friday to a White House staffer who joked about her father’s brain cancer, saying her family was doing well but asking how the Trump administration could retain an employee who made such a remark.
“I don’t understand what kind of environment you’re working in and that would be acceptable and then you can come to work the next day and still have a job,” McCain said on “The View” Friday.
WATCH: Policy Advisor For Trump-Tied ‘America First’ Group Praises Nazis: They Should’ve Kept ‘Going’ (Exclusive)
From Mediaite
Last December, in a Florida hotel room just three miles from President Donald Trump’s “Winter White House,” a policy advisor for the Trump-tied nonprofit America First Policies praised Nazis and expressed disappointment that they didn’t “keep fucking going.”
Juan Pablo Andrade voiced his love for the Third Reich — in a video obtained by Mediaite — while attending a Turning Point USA conference, which is a youth conservative organization, endorsed by everyone from Trump to Senator Marco Rubio, known as much for racism as it is for diaper-wearing.
Russian tycoon hands back three private jets after US sanctions: report
From The Hill
A Russian billionaire targeted by recent U.S. sanctions has reportedly turned in his three private jets because the penalties made it impossible to use them.
Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
He was one of dozens of Russian oligarchs hit with sanctions by the Treasury Department last month.
Michael Cohen’s private equity connection
From Axios
Want to make half a million dollars without actually doing any work? Ring up the folks at Columbus Nova, and tell them you want the Michael Cohen special.
Bottom line: Some very smart money did something very foolish.
Giuliani: I wouldn’t debate Stormy Daniels’ lawyer ‘if they paid me $10 million’
From The Hill
Rudy Giuliani said Friday that he would not debate Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for adult-film star Stormy Daniels, even for “$10 million.”
“I wouldn’t debate that guy if they paid me $10 million,” Giuliani, President Trump’s newest lawyer, told Politico. “He’s a liar. All he does is put out statements in the press and they fawn all over him.”
Avenatti challenged Giuliani to a face-to-face discussion on live television earlier this week, following a series of eyebrow-raising media appearances from Giuliani.
Why Donald Trump talked about ‘ratings’ standing next to 3 recently freed prisoners
From CNN
In the very early hours of Thursday morning, President Donald Trump traveled to Andrews Air Force Base in order to personally greet the three American prisoners released by North Korea as they landed back in the United States.
It was the sort of thing presidents do. When they score a major accomplishment — and this release is certainly a big deal — they make sure people know about it. Trump isn’t the first president to do it and he won’t be the last.
But even in this most traditional of presidential photo ops/credit takings, Trump found a way to reveal just how different he is than anyone who has held the office before him.
Trump official overseeing pandemic readiness exits
From The Hill
A top official who would lead the U.S. response if a deadly pandemic broke out has left the administration amid a broad reorganization of the national security team, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer left the National Security Council (NSC) this week, and national security adviser John Bolton dissolved the global health security team that Ziemer oversaw.
The Post reported that Ziemer will not be replaced, and that his departure means that there is no single official at the highest levels of the administration who focuses only on global health security.
When Everything Is Possible and Nothing Is True
From The Weekly Standard
One of my favorite stories about Winston Churchill goes like this.
Churchill: “Madam, would you sleep with me for 5 million pounds?”
Socialite: “My goodness, Mr. Churchill … Well, I suppose …”
Churchill: “Would you sleep with me for 5 pounds?”
Socialite: “Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!”
Churchill: “Madam, we’ve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.”
Unfortunately, the story is what we would now call fake news. The same anecdote has been attributed at various times to George Bernard Shaw, Groucho Marx, Mark Twain, W.C. Fields, Bertrand Russell, H.G. Wells, and, implausibly, Woodrow Wilson.
In time, it will probably be ascribed to Donald Trump.
A Friday Bonus Note from the “Man’s Best Friend” file
Iowa man says his dog shot him while they were playing
