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« on: April 27, 2018, 05:17:59 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 4-27-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Apr. 27, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/55629-mid-day-digest
IN TODAY’S EDITION
Cautious optimism is the proper stance for the Korean summit.
The vicious destruction of Ronny Jackson’s character is political theater.
Comey’s comeuppance is long overdue.
The ethanol swamp isn’t getting drained.
Speaking out of the “Day of Silence.”
Trump says transparency will lower health costs. He’s right.
Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.” —George Washington (1796)
IN BRIEF
Korean Leaders Meet, Trump Expresses Guarded Hope1
Thomas Gallatin
In an almost surreal moment, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un crossed over the demarcation line separating the two Koreas and proceeded to shake hands and embrace South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two leaders then proceeded to a meeting, after which both declared their commitment to moving forward in achieving “a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization” and an end to the decades-long Korean War. The event culminated in the planting of a pine tree meant to symbolize a growing peace. It is a stunning about-face from one year ago when Kim was threatening both South Korea and the U.S. with nuclear annihilation.
The goodwill meeting between the two bitter foes is clearly designed to lay the ground work for a highly anticipated summit2 between Kim and President Donald Trump, which may come as early as May. Trump has offered cautious optimism for progress on denuclearization and even praised Kim, stating, “Kim Jong-un … really has been very open. I think very honorable, from everything we’re seeing.”
The meeting largely steered clear of any specifics on denuclearization, though Kim earlier this week agreed to end nuclear tests and missile launches3 — actions that directly brought Trump’s and the world’s ire. And clearly the meeting with Trump will be the one dealing with the specifics on denuclearization.
Cautious optimism is probably the best stance to take here. The world has witnessed similar diplomatic efforts in the past only to see4 North Korea take advantage of sanctions relief while continuing to develop nuclear weapons. The question is whether the results will be any different this time. Trump seems committed to ensuring that the only acceptable outcome5 is denuclearization, and it may be that Kim is willing to offer that sizable bargaining chip in order to ensure both sanctions relief and his stranglehold on power. It also appears that China has tired of Kim’s provocations, which only invite world condemnation and serve as an economic lead weight in the region. Whatever Kim’s underlying motivation, there is no question Trump is seeing diplomatic progress no one thought possible just months ago.
VA Nominee Burned by Witch Hunt? Sure Looks That Way6
Jordan Candler
Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson’s nomination to assume control of the Department of Veterans Affairs didn’t last long. The Washington Post reports7 that the veteran White House physician “withdrew from consideration Thursday amid mushrooming allegations of professional misconduct that raised questions about the White House vetting process.” These allegations, it’s important to note, were nonexistent during his 12-year tenure leading up to his selection to lead the VA.
Jackson hammered this point in a statement: “The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated. If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years.” Even CNN’s Jake Tapper — admittedly one of the network’s more levelheaded newsmen — remains skeptical. He wondered, “Big questions remain: Are the charges accurate? If so how did he survive the Obama/Trump years until now? If not how and why did these allegations happen?” Not only survived but received praise8 as a “tremendous asset” from Barack Obama.
That’s not to say that the allegations don’t warrant concerns. The list of improprieties “include that Jackson had wrecked a government vehicle after getting drunk at a Secret Service going-away party,” according to the Post. He’s also accused of “writing himself prescriptions and contributing to a hostile work environment with ‘a constant fear of reprisal.” Jackson reportedly also “drank while traveling with the president,” who at the time was Obama.
However, the allegations are just that — allegations — and were sought out by Democrat Sen. Jon Tester (MT), who used a revealing phrase when reporting on his findings on CNN. Tester said, “Our vetting is not through yet. We still have more information to gather. But if this turns out to be solidly factual, then we’ve got a big, big problem with Admiral Jackson [emphasis added].”
As The Wall Street Journal’s James Freeman ponders9, “Is it too much to ask senators to avoid going on television and accusing people of being drunken drug peddlers without knowing if the allegations are true?” When it’s a Republican president in control, the answer is an emphatic “Yes.”
More importantly, Freeman notes that if the allegations against Jackson have merit, “they suggest that federal background checks, White House personnel management and bipartisan presidential judgment are all so flawed that this country has far bigger problems than Ronny Jackson.” Maybe Democrats are angered that Jackson isn’t a political animal like past VA secretaries. Or maybe they’re furious that, as The Washington Post reminds us, Jackson gave “a fawning assessment of Trump’s health” in January. Had he declared Trump senile or deranged, Democrats would be unanimously in favor of his nomination.
Whatever the reason, it’s extremely difficult to see this uproar as anything but politically motivated. This is a peculiar and bewildering situation all around, so expect to hear more about it in the days ahead. In the meantime, our veterans could have benefited from Jackson’s experience. As columnist Marc Thiessen writes10, “No other nominee to run VA has seen the plight of our wounded warriors in the war on terrorism up close like he has. Jackson understands what our vets went through on the battlefield, because he was on the battlefield with them. He understands their mental and physical wounds, because he has treated them.” Whoever he may be, Trump’s next nominee needs to recognize the difficulties, like Jackson did, of a reality that only our veterans are capable of understanding.
Comey’s Comeuppance Is Long Overdue11
Nate Jackson
The James Comey12 Book Tour continued last night on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier,” as the former FBI director took his toughest questions yet from Baier. We’ll note three key exchanges and make a more general observation about Comey.
First, Comey has an odd definition of the word “leak.” Speaking on “Fox & Friends” Thursday morning, President Donald Trump declared, “Comey is a leaker and he’s a liar. … He’s been leaking for years.” Comey responded Thursday night, “He’s just wrong. Facts really do matter.” Comey leaked a two-page memo recording his meetings with President Trump to his friend Dan Richman, a Columbia University Law School professor who Comey had previously hired as a former special employee of the FBI, with instructions to get the information to The New York Times. Comey’s stated intent in testimony to Congress was that he hoped to bring about a special prosecutor to investigate Trump. Yet to Bret Baier he insisted, “I don’t consider what I did with [Dan] Richman a leak. I told him about an unclassified conversation with the president.” He likened the memo to a “diary,” supposedly meaning it wasn’t a leak to reveal it.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) responded13 later, “Jim Comey has a definition of the word ‘leak’ that no one else has. What he says is a ‘leak’ is what the rest of us call a felony. Leaking is disclosing a confidential conversation, which is exactly what he did.”
Second, Comey denied knowing who funded the fake Russian dossier. “When did you learn that the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign had funded14 Christopher Steele’s work?” Baier asked. “I still don’t know that for a fact,” Comey replied. Baier was incredulous. “What do you mean?” Comey stuck to his guns: “I’ve only seen it in the media. I never knew exactly which Democrats had funded it. I knew it was funded first by Republicans.” Wrong. It’s true that The Washington Free Beacon originally hired Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS to research Trump, but it ended that relationship before Steele was even hired. “That [dossier] was initiated by Democrats,” Baier correctly noted. |
