The Post It Note 10/2/18

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.

Rosenstein to meet with House Republicans on Oct. 11

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will meet with House lawmakers on Oct. 11, according to two sources familiar with the plan.

The interview, organized by the Republican-led Judiciary and Oversight Committees, follows intense pressure from President Donald Trump’s top House allies to question Rosenstein about recent reports that he proposed secretly recording Trump early last year. And it comes as Trump weighs whether to fire Rosenstein.

The precise format of the meeting remains unclear. Some House Republicans have insisted that Rosenstein sit for a transcribed interview that would be treated as an element of the panel’s broader, long-running investigation into the Justice Department and FBI. But House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who invited Rosenstein to brief lawmakers, has not indicated whether he might allow Rosenstein to appear in a less-formal context to simply brief lawmakers on his response to the reports. His office declined to comment on the plan.

Politico

Murkowski plans to ‘wait and see’ FBI probe before deciding on Kavanaugh

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key swing vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, on Tuesday expressed confidence that the FBI is conducting a thorough investigation into allegations against the nominee and indicated that she plans to “wait and see” what the review finds before making any judgment.

“I think the FBI is doing what we’ve tasked the FBI to do — that’s all I can ask for right now,” the Alaska Republican told reporters, noting that she has spoken to White House counsel Don McGahn and has received assurances that the investigation will be allowed “to take its course.”

Murkowski backed a last-minute push by Republican Sen. Jeff Flake who asked for the FBI investigation on Friday. Murkowski and Flake as well as Maine Sen. Susan Collins are seen as three key undecided GOP senators who could determine the future of whether Kavanaugh will be confirmed, given Republicans control 51 seats in the chamber to the Democrats’ 49.

CNN

Consumer bureau official says he regrets blog posts dismissing racism

A top Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) official under fire for inflammatory blog posts he wrote in 2004 told colleagues Monday that he regrets those writings and has matured since he dismissed most hate crimes as hoaxes and questioned if using the “n-word” was racist.

CFPB policy director for supervision, enforcement and fair lending Eric Blankenstein addressed the growing controversy over his 14-year-old anonymous screeds in a Monday email to bureau employees obtained by The Hill.

Blankenstein, who oversees the CFPB’s efforts to combat racial discrimination, asked bureau colleagues to judge him for his work enforcing fair lending laws at the agency, not blog posts he wrote as a 25-year-old college student.“The tone and framing of my statements reflected poor judgement,” Blankenstein wrote. “But poor judgement in my choice of words back then, or how I framed my arguments, does not make me a racist or a sexist.”

The Hill

4 members of hate group arrested over Charlottesville rally

Four California men were arrested Tuesday morning on charges of inciting violence at the Unite the Right rally last year in Charlottesville, Virginia, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Benjamin Drake Daley, Michael Paul Miselis, Thomas Walter Gillen and Cole Evan White were found to be part of the white supremacist Rise Above Movement and used social media to promote violence at the rally last summer, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen said at a news conference in Charlottesville. The men have a history of inciting violence at political events in California, he said, meaning they qualify as serial rioters.

Politico

Manafort meets with Mueller team: report

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with special counsel Robert Mueller‘s office Monday as a routine part of his cooperation in the Russia probe, according to a report from Politico.

The news outlet spotted two of Manafort’s attorneys, Richard Westling and Tom Zehnle, outside Mueller’s office conferring with one of Mueller’s lead prosecutors, Andrew Weissmann.

The men left to get unch and then reconvened with their food in the secure building that headquarters Mueller’s team, according to Politico.

The Hill

Hillary Clinton laughs at Kavanaugh’s claim of ‘revenge’

Hillary Clinton on Tuesday balked at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s claim that the allegations of sexual misconduct against him are being carried out as part of “revenge on behalf of the Clintons,” saying such a declaration “deserves a lot of laughter.”

During the 9-hour hearing last week that gripped the country, Kavanaugh testified that Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations had been a “calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election.” He also referenced his work on the Starr report that helped pave the way for former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, and said that he was the victim of revenge for the Clintons.

When asked about the statement at The Atlantic Festival on Tuesday, Clinton laughed.

“I thought it was part of the whole of his very defensive and unconvincing presentation,” Clinton said. “I told someone later, ‘Boy, I tell you, they give us a lot of credit — 36 years ago we started this against Kavanaugh.'”

Politico

Watchdog report says admin was ‘not fully prepared’ for family separations at border

The Department of Homeland Security was “not fully prepared” for the rollout of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy at the US-Mexico border that resulted in the large numbers of family separations this summer, according to an internal report from the department’s watchdog.

The new report from the DHS inspector general also says that Customs and Border Protection detained at least 861 unaccompanied children for extended periods beyond the legally allowed 72-hour time period.

One was held in a Rio Grande Valley facility for 25 days, the report says.
DHS also provided “inconsistent information,” which led some parents to not understand that they would be separated from their children and unable to communicate with them.

CNN

Amid Kavanaugh questions, Trump says it’s not ‘acceptable’ to lie to Congress

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is “doing very well” but said his fate will depend on an ongoing FBI investigation.

Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn, Trump also drew a line on lying to Congress.

“I don’t think you should lie to Congress and there are a lot of people over the past year who have lied to Congress,” he said. “For me, that would not be acceptable.

Trump said the FBI is working very hard on its investigation into sexual assault and misconduct allegations levied against the judge, which he denies.

“A lot is going to depend on what comes back from the FBI in terms of their additional — No. 7 — investigation,” Trump said.

CNN

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