News from the note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
This is 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.
Trump hasn’t asked FBI to vet accusations against Kavanaugh: report
President Trump has not asked the FBI to look into the sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as of Monday afternoon, according to Bloomberg News.
Two people familiar with the matter told the news outlet that in order for an additional investigation to take place, the White House would need to request one since Kavanaugh’s initial background check has been completed.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill on whether Trump has requested the FBI take action.
The Hill
Probe of FEMA Chief Brock Long Referred to Prosecutors
An investigation targeting President Trump’s top emergency-management official has been referred to federal prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued, according to people familiar with the probe.
Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and two other federal employees may have broken multiple laws while they commuted frequently between Washington and Mr. Long’s home in Hickory, N.C., at taxpayers’ expense said one of the people briefed on the investigation.
Wall Street Journal
Mr. Long has said he is cooperating with the investigation, which has been led by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general. Mr. Long declined to comment through a FEMA spokesman.
Trump Flipped Ohio in 2016. Can Dems Flip It in 2018 By Going Old School?
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio—The angry old white men in this no-frills meeting room in a $55-a-night hotel off Interstate 70 are mostly retired truck drivers and coal miners, the kind of blue-collar voters without college degrees who tend to get quoted in Rust Belt diners, defending President Donald Trump. They believe the system is rigged, that America has broken its promises to its working class, that the citizens who transport its goods, extract its energy, and shower after work rather than before have been shafted and forgotten. And while “economic anxiety” has become a punchline for pundits who believe Trump’s popularity with this demographic has more to do with racial resentment than trade or wages or health care, the economic anxiety in this room is real. These retirees are at risk of losing the pensions they worked for decades to secure, which is why they’ve gathered to hear the man they trust the most to fight for them in Washington.
It’s not Trump. In this room, at least, it’s Sherrod Brown, the liberal Democratic senator from Ohio, a career politician who has spent the past 43 years in public office. Brown ambles to the front and quickly outlines the little-known problem of America’s failing multi-employer pension funds, which now endanger the retirement incomes of 1.5 million blue-collar workers. He does not declare that he alone can fix it. Instead, he provides a detailed inside-the-Beltway explanation of how he tried to fix it in an omnibus spending bill, only to get stymied by Republican leaders, so he got himself appointed co-chair of a bipartisan committee to address it, but his Republican colleagues are still reluctant to take a stand for union members, so he’s tried to persuade them to help by framing it as a potential disaster for business as well as labor. Brown has dedicated his career to labor issues like this; he wears a canary lapel pin as a reminder of the days before union protections and government regulations when canaries in coal mines were the only safety precautions for workers underground.
Politico
Joe Walsh: Trump Jr. is an ‘uncaring, narrow-minded idiot’
Former Republican lawmaker Joe Walsh tore into President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., for mocking Senate Democrats over their reaction to sexual misconduct accusations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“No matter your take on the accusations against Brett Kavanaugh, I think we all can agree that @DonaldJTrumpJr is an uncaring, narrow-minded idiot,” Walsh said of Trump Jr.
The Hill
Trump’s Space Force could cost nearly $13 billion over 5 years
Establishing President Donald Trump’s sought-after Space Force could cost $12.9 billion over its first five years, according to an Air Force document obtained by CNN.
The Air Force estimates that the first year “additive costs” associated with establishing the new military branch in the 2020 fiscal year, including the creation of a headquarters, would amount to $3.32 billion.
The document also estimates that the Space Force will oversee some 13,000 personnel when it is officially launched.
In a memo accompanying the proposal, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson calls on Congress to authorize and fund the establishment of a Space Force headquarters in the 2020 fiscal year.
CNN
The Latest: Ex-senator gets 15 years in sex trafficking case
A former Republican state senator in Oklahoma has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on a child sex trafficking charge.
Ralph Shortey was sentenced Monday in federal court in Oklahoma City. He had faced a sentence of up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Shortey pleaded guilty in November in exchange for prosecutors dropping three child pornography charges against him. He said the plea deal was in the best interest of him and his family.
The 36-year-old Shortey was arrested in March 2017 after police found him in a suburban Oklahoma City motel room with a then-17-year-old boy. He resigned shortly after the arrest.
AP
Rep. Chris Collins will remain on the ballot despite indictment
Indicted Republican Rep. Chris Collins will remain on the ballot in November despite suspending his re-election bid last month, his attorney confirmed Monday, citing possible legal challenges that could result from efforts to remove Collins from the ballot.
“Because of the protracted and uncertain nature of any legal effort to replace Congressman Collins, we do not see a path allowing Congressman Collins to be replaced on the ballot,” said Mark Braden, Collins’ attorney.
CNN
The Buffalo-area congressman faces charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and false statements related to alleged insider trading. Collins has rejected the charges as “meritless” and vowed to fight them. However, he last month announced that he would suspend his re-election campaign, saying he believed his decision was in the “best interests” of his constituents.
How Evan McMullin’s Campaign Launched in Three Days
I slept on the couch at my in-laws the night before I flew to Washington, DC to launch Evan McMullin’s presidential campaign. I could tell you it was because I had a super early flight and I didn’t want to disturb anyone when I got up. But the truth is, my wife was angry and hurt. When your wife is angry and hurt, you get the couch. My gracious brother-in-law, David, awoke around 5 am on August 4th to take me to the tiny Champaign, Illinois airport where I’d fly out of one of its two gates. I flew through O’Hare and landed in DC later that morning. We had three days to launch a presidential campaign.
Medium
