In his new book, American Carnage, Tim Alberta quotes Justin Amash, speaking of his Republican colleagues: "These guys have all convinced themselves that to be successful and keep their jobs, they need to stand by Trump. But Trump won’t stand with them as soon as he doesn’t need them. He’s not loyal. They’re very loyal to Trump, but the second he thinks it’s to his advantage to throw someone under the bus, he’ll be happy to do it."Trump tossed Alex Acosta overboard yesterday, presumably after getting Acosta-- who he praised effusively, to agree to never reveal how many underage girls Trump shtuped at Epstein's Caribbean whore house for minors (and one elderly Russian masseuse). Trump said it was entirely Acosta's decision, although it certainly didn't seem like that was a decision Acosta was about to make during his painful hour-long press conference Wednesday. Standing next to Acosta, Señor Trumpanzee called him a "great labor secretary-- not a good one." He told reporters that Acosta "did a very good job...we're gonna miss him. He also mentioned "He's a tremendous talent. He's a Hispanic man. He went to Harvard. Which I so admire. Because maybe it was a little tougher for him. And maybe not."Earlier in the week, Fox.com reported that Trump has now changed his tune on Epstein completely:
Trump said Tuesday he was “not a fan” of financier Jeffrey Epstein, despite making comments in the past praising the wealthy hedge fund manager.During a meeting in the Oval Office with the emir of Qatar, the president was asked about his relationship with Epstein, 66, who pleaded not guilty Monday to sex trafficking in New York federal court.“I know him, just like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump said. “People in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach.”“I had a falling out with him a long time ago,” Trump continued. “I don’t think I’ve spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan. I was not a fan of his. That I can tell you. I was not a fan.”Back in 2002, when New York Magazine was profiling Epstein, Trump touted their relationship.“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with,” Trump reportedly said. “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”...“I met Secretary Acosta when I made the deal to bring him onto the administration. I can tell you that for two and a half years, he has been just an excellent secretary of labor. He’s done a fantastic job,” Trump said. “What happened 12 or 15 years ago with respect to when he was a U.S. attorney I think in Miami-- if you go back and look at everybody else’s decisions, whether it’s a U.S. attorney, or an assistant U.S. attorney, or a judge, you go back, 12, 15 years and look at past decisions-- I think you’d probably find that they would wish they did it a different way.”Trump added that he “heard there were a lot of people involved” in the Epstein decision, “not just him.”“I can only say this from what I know, and what I do know is he has been a really great secretary of labor-- the rest of it, we’ll have to look at it. We’ll have to look at it very carefully,” he said. “I feel very badly actually for Secretary Acosta because I have known him as being someone who has done such a good job. I feel very badly about that situation.”Acosta is not the only administration official facing questions over the Epstein case.Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday had said he would recuse himself from the case due to his past legal work at a firm that represented Epstein in 2008. But a Justice Department official told Fox News on Tuesday that after consulting with career ethics officials, Barr will not recuse himself from the current case being led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York. The attorney general, though, will remain recused from any "retrospective review" of the 2008 case.
Barr won't be the next person Trump throws under the bus though. That honor belongs to for Indiana Senator Dan Coats. Yesterday, Jonathan Swan reported that Trump is telling confidents he's eager to remove Coats as director of national intelligence. Trump hasn't been paying any attention to anything Coats says since he angered Trump when he criticized his relationship with Putin during an on-stage interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell last year and when he testified before the Senate that North Korea isn't giving up their nuclear weapons (which Trump wants his base to think is going to happen).
One potential replacement Trump has mentioned to multiple sources is [dangerous unhinged psychotic] Fred Fleitz, who formerly served as chief of staff to national security adviser John Bolton. Fleitz was previously a CIA analyst and a staff member of the House Intelligence Committee. He is currently the president of the Center for Security Policy. Trump has told people that he likes Fleitz and has "heard great things." Fleitz has publicly criticized Coats and even called for Trump to fire Coats on Lou Dobbs' Fox Business program after Coats' Senate testimony. Fleitz accused Coats of undermining and "second-guessing" the president.
With all this going on, it's worth noting that yesterday the House voted, 251-170 to pass Ro Khanna's amendment to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act reminding Trump, unambiguously, that he can't bomb Iran without congressional approval. 27 Republicans voted with all but 7 Trump-Democrats. One Trump-crony who voted with the Democrats on this was Matt Gaetz (R-FL) who attacked his own party: "If my war-hungry colleagues, some of whom have already suggested we invade Venezuela and North Korea and probably a few other countries before lunchtime tomorrow; if they’re so certain of their case against Iran, let them bring their authorization to use military force against Iran to this very floor. Let them make the case to Congress and the American people." On passage, Khanna noted that "This is a historic moment for Congress. Although President Trump campaigned on ending costly wars oversees, his chosen advisors, one which includes the architect of the Iraq war, and actions to increase tensions with Iran prove he is far from living up to that promise. With more than 25 Republicans voting in favor of passage, this amendment is proof that opposition to war with Iran transcends partisan politics. Some of the President’s closest allies voted for this amendment. Americans came together around the idea that we must avoid a war with Iran." The Democrats who crossed the aisle to vote with Trump were:
• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)• Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ)• Stephen Lynch (New Dem-MA)• Stephanie Murphy (Blue Dog-FL)• Tom O'Halleran (Blue Dog-AZ)• Kathleen Rice (New Dem-NY)• Jefferson Van Drew (Blue Dog-NJ)
Brianna Wu is the progressive Democrat running for the Boston area seat Lynch occupies. I asked her how she felt about his Trump vote yesterday. "What can I say? If there’s a bad call to be made," she said, "Lynch is your guy. This is the man that voted for the disastrous Iraq War and never apologized for his decision that got my friends killed. Unlike Lynch, I did learn a thing or two from the horrors of Iraq and the 36,376 American troops who were killed or wounded. We’ve been here before, Democrats in Congress give the executive the power to go to war without oversight. It didn’t end well in Iraq, and it wouldn't end well in Iran. Strength is not cowboying your way into every problem. Strength is working with others. It’s acting deliberately, and with all the information available. We know the contempt Trump has for both our intelligence agencies and the State Department-- so it’s hard to imagine a reason for Democrats to give this president the unchecked power to go to war."Eva Putzova is in a primary battle with a former Republican state legislator pretending to be a Democratic, Blue Dog Tom O'Halleran, who, needless to say, reverted to form and voted with his GOP pals on this one. Eva explained this morning that "Only Congress can authorize the U.S. to go to war. For my opponent to relinquish that authority to the most volatile President in the country’s history is irresponsible, morally wrong, and dangerous. I grew up near mass graves and will always advocate for diplomacy and peaceful resolution of conflicts. The only winners in a war are the arms dealers."