The Morning Briefing: Paging Lisa Page and Much, Much More

Good Wednesday morning.

Here is what’s on the president’s agenda today:

The president participates in a bilateral breakfast with the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
President Trump participates in a multilateral meeting of the North Atlantic Council
The president arrives at the Chief of Mission Residence
President Trump and the first lady participate in a family photo with allied heads of state at the Art and History Museum at the Cinquantenaire
The president and the first lady participate in the welcoming ceremony by the host nation Belgium
The president attends the leader’s working dinner

Co-conspirator Lisa Page will defy subpoena

The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former DOJ lawyer Lisa Page for testimony today and her lawyer says she will not be showing up as demanded.

Page’s lawyer Amy Jeffress said in a statement that the committee issued a subpoena on Saturday without providing Page with the scope of the interview and before she was able to view the materials that had been produced to Congress, such as her anti-Trump text messages exchanged with FBI agent Peter Strzok.

Wow, I wonder if President Trump and his attorneys will be afforded knowledge of “the scope of the interview” and be able “to view the materials” produced to the special counsel for his much sought-after interview with the Mueller firing squad?

“Lisa and I went to the FBI today to review the materials that were previously produced to Congress relating to her proposed interview, but after waiting for more than three hours, we were not provided with any documents,” Jeffress said. “We have asked the Committees to schedule another date that would allow sufficient time for her to prepare. The Committees have not honored this request. As a result, Lisa is not going to appear for an interview at this time.”

I don’t think you are going to get any sympathy from any of the congressfolk involved in the oversight process, lady. They can’t get all kinds of information from the FBI/DOJ and they are legally entitled to it. Page could be held in contempt of Congress, but let’s be real here. Nothing is going to happen because there are never any consequences for ignoring Congressional requests these days.

SCOTUS Madness

The first full post-Kavanaugh announcement day is behind us. What have we learned? PEOPLE WILL DIE, according to students and faculty at Yale.

The authors and signers of the letter asked Yale Law School Dean Heather K. Gerken to “use your authority and platform to expose the stakes of this moment and the threat that Judge Kavanaugh poses.”

“[P]eople will die if he is confirmed,” the letter reads, adding that he is a “threat to our democracy.” The crux of the letter is a disavowal for the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.

“Since his campaign launched, Trump has repeatedly promised to appoint justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade,” the authors added. “Overturning that decision would endanger the lives of countless people who need or may need abortions — including many who sign this letter.”

If you’ve managed to survive all the other things like tax reform, net neutrality, cutting Obamacare subsidies, or Gorsuch, a Kavanaugh seat on the SCOTUS will surely take you out. On the other hand, here’s some good news: The Senate’s liberal lady twins of the GOP, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, seem to be cool with Kavanaugh, according to Politico.

Moving along to the conspiracy theory front, some Democrats think that Kavanaugh was selected to shield President Trump for prosecution in the imaginary Trump-RUSSIA collusion matter. (Did you know that President Trump is not under investigation? True story.) Business Insider, which wrote that story, obviously copy and pasted an oppo dump on this line of attack. “Others suggested Kavanaugh’s writings paired with Trump’s desire could be transactional in nature, despite any evidence.” Of course. Here’s the truth on this issue.

Talk show harpy Joy Behar wants Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell thrown in jail because he blocked Obama nominee Merrick Garland from getting a vote. Don’t you love how these clowns want to jail people who don’t do exactly as they dictate yet spit out charges of fascism against conservatives at every turn?

“Well then how come Mitch McConnell is not in jail?” Joy Behar interrupted. “That’s what I want to know.”

“You want to put everybody in jail,” Dershowitz responded.

“I want to put him in jail,” Behar said.

Dershowitz had a simple answer, “I’m against putting people in jail unless they’ve actually committed crimes. I know that’s a radical position.”

Radical indeed.

That was quick: Watchdog Group Sues Trump Admin for Withholding Thousands of Kavanaugh Documents

House Democrats ready their legislation to shut down ICE

The Democrats are entirely out of power so this will go nowhere, but I have an idea for them that might get some traction: shut down ICE in their congressional districts. That’s right, remove all the ICE agent presence from their constituents since they have such a distaste for the agency.

“The ICE brand has been so damaged by the president that it can no longer accomplish its original mission,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who is sponsoring the bill, told The Post. “Even ICE agents recognize that ICE doesn’t do what it was intended to.”

More than 100 state and local elected officials signed an open letter released on Tuesday that calls for an end to ICE, according to The Intercept. The officials include state senators and representatives from Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Illinois.

Yank ’em out and let the good people of those districts fend for themselves, I say. Make an announcement that there will be limited law enforcement in the specified districts and watch what happens.

Illegal border crossing would become felony offense under proposed GOP bill

Trump admin reportedly told migrant moms to pay for DNA tests to be reunited with kids

California jail ends contract to house ICE detainees

NOPE. California AG requests injunction against feds for withholding grant money from sanctuary cities

House Freedom Caucus supports Jim Jordan

I haven’t written about this yet because I like to wait for more information on these kinds of matters before weighing in on them. The media is quick to pull the trigger on convenient stories and they are almost never accurate. Here’s the Jordan story: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State before he began his career in politics. He was also a college wrestling champion. I believe seven former Ohio State students have come forward to claim that Jordan knew the team doctor was molesting team athletes and he did nothing about it. The alleged incidents happened more than 20 years ago, in the ’90s.

Jordan denies it. The story sounds very fishy to me for several reasons. First, the lawyers handling this are the political hit men at Perkins Coie, of Trump-RUSSIA dossier fame. Second, the timing is pretty remarkable. Jordan has run for public office how many times? He started seeking public office in the ’90s, so “a lot” of times and yet none of these former students chose to come forward at any of those points when Jordan was seeking the public trust. The alleged molester passed away over ten years ago and still at that time, no one came forward about Jordan’s purported dereliction. But now, when Jordan is both a contender for the speaker of the House job and a vocal proponent of oversight on the rogue FBI/DOJ, this group of accusers is coming forward. And it’s especially curious that there is no way to verify the accusers’ claims: the athletes say Jordan knew about the abuse and Jordan says he didn’t. It’s a he said/he said situation which probably will not be decided decisively either way, but it sure saddles Jordan with a nasty cloud of suspicion.

If you are wondering whether I think the GOP establishment would hire a Democrat hit firm tied to the political coup against President Trump to take out an uppity Republican party politician threatening their stranglehold on the House, I absolutely do. Of course it goes without saying that the Democrats who are so heavily invested in shielding the rogue DOJ/FBI from sunlight would also put a hit on Jordan.

Jordan steps up defense amid sex abuse firestorm

14 wrestlers defend Jordan in release

Cave rescue roundup:

Navy SEALs who rescued Thai soccer team from cave almost didn’t make it out, military officials say

Thai kids were ‘sedated’ before dangerous journey to safety

Thai cave where dramatic rescue of 12 boys and coach unfolded may become tourist attraction: Official

Your daily WTFs:

Florida deputies find alligator in backseat of alleged burglar’s getaway car

Texas girl, 10, electrocuted to death reaching behind clothing dryer for kittens

An airline passenger was caught trying to smuggle a python on a plane by hiding it inside a hard drive at Miami International Airport

Historical picture of the day:

States Attorney Edward V. Hanrahan walks past sign on wall of a West Side apartment in Chicago, in which two Black Panther party leaders were slain on Dec. 4, 1969. Hanrahan, shown July 11, 1972, and 13 co-defendants who are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice in connection with the police raid on the flat on West Side of Chicago, visited the site along with Judge Philip Romiti who will conduct the bench trial. (AP Photo/LO)

Other morsels:

Pence: Yes, of course I still want to see Roe v. Wade overturned

Senate takes swipe at Trump with pro-NATO vote

Trump Is Cutting Off Big Labor From Skimming Americans’ Medicaid Payments And Unions Are Furious

WaPo Buries Race Of Female Attacker — Shows Pattern Of Behavior In Race And Hate Crime Cases

China vows retaliation for latest US tariff threat

Facebook could face $664,000 U.K. fine, maximum allowed, over Cambridge Analytica

Pfizer puts price hikes on hold after Trump complains

Questions are being raised about Facebook’s decision to give a Russian internet company temporary special access to its user data

Confederate flag to fly once again at South Carolina capital

BBC runs story days before presidential visit on whether Trump is ‘sex pest’

The US embassy in London is warning Americans to ‘keep a low profile’ during Trump’s UK visit