Radio America Online News Bureau

Archives for April 2018

Nashville Nightmare, James Shaw’s Heroism, Corker’s Pathetic Endorsement

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America recoil at the horror of four people killed in a Tennessee mass shooting, but the shock turns to anger at the news that authorities took away the shooter’s guns last year, left them with his dad under orders to keep the guns locked up, but the dad gave the weapons back to the shooter.  At the same time, they marvel at the heroism of James Shaw, Jr., who attacked and disarmed the shooter without any weapons of his own.  And they discuss Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker’s “endorsement” of Marsha Blackburn in the race to replace him – in what might be the most pathetic endorsement we’ve ever seen.

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North Korea Deal Possible if Trump Keeps Pressure On

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South Korea’s president says North Korea is ready to scrap its nuclear weapons program with virtually no conditions, but a leading expert on North Korea says President Trump must keep the heat on Kim Jong Un and China to get a deal worth signing.

Gordon Chang, author of “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World,” also says the South Korean president might be a bigger stumbling block to an acceptable deal than Kim is.

Optimism is on the upswing for the upcoming summit between Trump and Kim after South Korean President Moon Jae-in publicly indicated that North Korea is prepared to give up its nuclear program.

“I don’t think denuclearization has different meanings for South and North Korea. The North is expressing a will for a complete denuclearization,” Moon said Thursday, according to Reuters.

“They have not attached any conditions that the U.S. cannot accept, such as the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea. All they are talking about is the end of hostile policies against North Korea, followed by a guarantee of security,” added Moon.

Kim has said very little publicly, but Chang still sees an opportunity for something significant to happen in the Trump-Kim talks.

“We should be cautiously optimistic that President Trump, if he wants to exert American power, can perhaps bring a very good outcome to the Korean Peninsula,” said Chang.

“This provides the opportunity for a breakthrough.  I’m sure Kim Jong Un doesn’t want to give up his most destructive weapons and won’t do it unless there’s severe pressure, but President Trump is in a position to apply that pressure,” said Chang.

According to Chang, Kim is rattled by Trump’s policies and personnel choices, and that may mean he’s ready to make major concessions.

“He doesn’t want the the U.S. to strike his nuclear or his missile facilities.  You now have John Bolton as national security adviser, who made some very hawkish statements when he was a Fox News contributor.  I’m sure that’s unnerving Kim and probably the Chinese as well,” said Chang, who believes the pain of sanctions is a factor here as well.

“I do think that our sanctions campaign has been working.  There were reports, for instance, from South Korea that North Korea could run out of foreign exchange reserves by October.  That’s maybe a little bit optimistic but, nonetheless, we do know they’re running out of money.

“And we’re also hearing from the Chinese that Office #39, which is the Kim family slush fund, is low on cash.  There’s a lot of information that corroborates the view that Kim actually needs sanctions relief,” said Chang.

Chang believes Trump should meet with Kim but should crank up the pressure even more.  He also hopes Trump allies pressure on China.

“In the last month, Beijing has done some things which are really disturbing, in violating the UN sanctions openly.  So we need to put some pressure on the Chinese right now to make sure that Kim understands that President Trump is willing to go not only against him but also against China,” said Chang.

Even more encouraging for Chang than North Korea’s reported willingness to give up its nukes is the mindset President Trump says he is taking into the meeting with Kim.

“President Trump said something significant on Wednesday at his joint press conference with Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister.  He said he’s willing to walk away, and that’s absolutely critical.  If you’re willing to walk away, you can get a good deal,” said Chang.

He says the biggest mistake the Obama administration made in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal was to make it clear the U.S. was eager for a deal.

However, the biggest stumbling block to forcing Kim’s hand may be South Korea.  Moon is desperate to achieve unity on the Korean peninsula, and that may play to Kim’s favor.

“We’ve got to be more concerned about Moon Jae-in than we do about Kim Jong Un.  We know that Kim is an out-and-out villain.  I think we need to view Moon in a very suspicious light, especially because of the things he has done to undermine the United States and also because of what he wants to do,” said Chang.

North Korea’s overarching objective is to conquer South Korea and Chang says Moon and his sympathetic allies in Seoul are doing some of Kim’s work for him.

“He’s got a willing partner in Moon Jae-in, who is trying to amend the South Korean constitution to make it more compatible with North Korea.  Moon has a lot of senior advisers who, in their college days, were openly pro-North Korean and today they won’t disavow those earlier positions,” said Chang.

 

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McCabe Referred for Prosecution, Pompeo to be Confirmed, Cuomo’s PC Delusion

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enjoy two good martinis today, starting with the Justice Department referring former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe for criminal prosecution after the inspector general accused McCabe of “lacking candor” under oath four times.  They also applaud North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp for backing the nomination of Mike Pompeo for secretary of state.  It may be an election year ploy, but it’s still the right decision.  And they shake their heads as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls himself an undocumented immigrant who was raised by poor immigrants, none of which is true.  It’s reminiscent of Cuomo declaring himself black, Muslim, Jewish, gay, and a woman not long ago while also stating there is no room for pro-life, pro-gun, or pro-traditional marriage conservatives in New York.

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Libby Pardon Revives Special Counsel Debate

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While the news cycle continues at a breakneck pace, a prominent Washington attorney President Trump’s recent pardon of former George W. Bush administration official Lewis “Scooter” Libby ends a shameful chapter in American jurisprudence and is a clear example of why the special counsel belongs on the ash heap of U.S. history.

On April 13, Trump pardoned Libby, who was feeling the effects of painkillers when the president called.  The president also called Libby’s attorneys, Victoria Toensing and joe diGenova.

“He said, ‘I just signed it.  The ink’s not dry,'” recalled Toensing.  “He said, ‘I don’t know the guy, but I know he was screwed.’  When they put the press release out, they cleaned that up a little bit.”

Toensing says Trump was troubled by what he perceived as a major injustice.

“This is part of Donald Trump’s personality.  He did not like that somebody got the raw end of a deal.  He just didn’t like it, and he decided to do what he could do,” said Toensing, who submitted the pardon request last year.

Libby was convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements, in 2007, four years after the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame was allegedly leaked illegally to political columnist Robert Novak.

Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft named federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald as the special counsel in the Plame case.  Fitzgerald came highly recommended by Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey.

State Department official Richard Armitage actually passed the name  to Novak.  Armitage was never charged for giving the name and neither was anyone else.

President Bush commuted Libby’s sentence but refused to issue a full pardon.

“Shame on George Bush for not having done it.  Scooter Libby had nothing to do with leaking anything as we now know,” said Toensing.  “George Bush would not give him a pardon to Dick Cheney’s eternal chagrin.”

“It was just so unfair and unjust in our system that his prosecution even occurred,” said Toensing, who says the facts of the case were clear long before Fitzgerald was ever appointed.

“They knew from the get-go, from day one, that Dick Armitage had leaked the information.  If that had been a crime, why didn’t they just prosecute Dick Armitage?

“This was a whole case about going after Dick Cheney and the Iraq War.  This was a whole political prosecution about the Iraq War,” said Toensing.

Toensing says the only reason Libby was prosecuted is because Libby would not turn on Cheney, whom Libby served as chief of staff.

“Before indictment, Scooter’s lawyer was told that if (Libby) just provided criminal information about Dick Cheney, this whole thing would go away,” said Toensing.

And what was Libby convicted of?

“Scooter was indicted on just a ‘he said-he said.’  It’s as if you said something happened on Tuesday and I said Wednesday and then and they decided to indict Scooter just because he differed.  He differed with three witnesses,” said Toensing.

Libby’s conviction was ripe for pardon after the testimony of journalist Matt Cooper did not match his own notes and reporter Judith Miller recanted her testimony after she discovered her testimony was incorrect as a result of Fitzgerald refusing to share evidence with her.  The third witness, Tim Russert, died in 2008.

Toensing says it’s clear between the Fitzgerald and Mueller probes that the special counsel should be abolished.

“I don’t think any is good.  I didn’t think Ken Starr was good.  It’s just out of hand and there’s no control,” said Toensing.

She says the Justice Department is doing the public no favors either.  She says the mandate Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave to Robert Mueller is stunningly broad and allows him to investigate “any link between the Russian government and anyone involved with the Trump campaign.”

“That means a farmer in Iowa who sells rice to Russia and was co-chairman of the Trump campaign could be investigated because he had a link with the Russian government and the Trump campaign.  That’s it.  It’s despicable,” said Toensing.

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Kim Really Ready to Give Up Nukes? Starbucks Training Session, Stingy de Blasio

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see South Korea’s president say North Korea is ready to give up nukes with no conditions, but wonder whether this is yet another ruse from Pyongyang.  They also wonder why 175,000 Starbucks employees need racial sensitivity training because of a high-profile controversy at one franchise.  And Jim has the perfect charity in mind for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio after tax returns show the mayor and his wife donated just $350 to charity in 2017.

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‘A Spectacularly Popular First Lady’

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The man who wrote more speeches for President George H.W. Bush than anyone else says Barbara Bush was a “superstar,” who endeared herself to the American people through her approachable demeanor and her fierce loyalty to her family and her nation.

Mrs. Bush died Tuesday at her home in Houston at age 92.  Just two days earlier, she announced she was refusing any further treatment beyond comfort care for her congestive heart failure and other ailments.

Prolific author Curt Smith was a speechwriter for President Bush.  He says it was clear in the last month that the end was near.

“I was told she was looking forward in the last few weeks to going to heaven because she was in such pain.  The Bushes, I think, were comforted by their deep faith in God.  They don’t talk a great deal about it.  They don’t have to.  They live it.  Anyone looking at them can understand where their faith comes from and how they live that faith,” said Smith.

In his first public statement following his wife’s death, President Bush echoed that belief.

“We have faith she is heaven, and we know life will go on — as she would have it. So cross the Bushes off your worry list,” stated Bush.

The Bush family is receiving an outpouring of condolences and well wishes from former presidents and first ladies and millions of American citizens.  Smith says there’s a reason people felt a connection with Mrs. Bush.

“I alluded to her as ‘Barbara Bush Superstar,’ and certainly I think that would be verified by her ratings in the Gallup Poll.  She was a spectacularly popular First Lady,” said Smith, who believes Bush’s down-to-earth personality was the key.

“She took her role as First Lady with extraordinary severity.  She demanded perfection from her staff.  She supplied it almost to a T as First Lady,” said Smith.

“Great poise, totally unflappable, totally imperturbable, and yet with a pixie sense of humor, never took herself seriously.  I think it was this total lack of pretention that endeared her so to the American public,” said Smith.

Barbara Pierce was born on June 8, 1925.  At age 19, she married Bush in January 1945.  Their 73 years together is the longest presidential marriage.  Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter will mark 72 years in July.

Smith says Mrs. Bush was known to needle her own family, even in public, but was ready to pounce if anyone outside the family took a critical tone.

“But boy, let anyone else say anything rough about them and you paid for it,” said Smith.

Smith described George and Barbara Bush as “married at the hip.”

“They were spectacularly close.  It stuns that one is gone.  She was George Bush’s best friend, best pal, great protector,” he said.

Mrs. Bush was known as “The Enforcer” in the family, showing a steely resolve that came more naturally to her than the president.  Smith says Barbara was an indispensable factor in Bush winning the presidency.

“He never would have been president without her.  There’s no question in my mind, nor I think in anyone that knew them.  A perfect match in every possible way, which is why they were so close to the end of their time on earth,” said Smith.

Smith says Mrs. Bush and Nancy Reagan were similar in that regard, encouraging their husbands to seek the highest offices in the land.  He says world history changed because of how deeply Mrs. Reagan and Mrs. Bush believed in their husbands’ abilities to change the world for the better.

“We would not have had the triumph of democracy and the collapse of Communism and the triumph of freedom throughout the world in the 1980’s and the nineties.  That’s how important Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush were,” said Smith.

While Mrs. Bush was sometimes derided as being old fashioned and out of touch with modern women, Smith says many more saw her as a role model of independence and strength.

“She was a feminist in the best sense of the term.  She lived her life exactly as she wanted.  She married the great love of her life and she lived with that man every step of the way, enriching that life, being a spectacular success every step of the way,” said Smith.

“She was outspoken, independent yet always dignified, always a woman of great character, of great honor, of great faith.  What’s not to like?  What’s not to admire?” said Smith.

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Haley Means Business, Greitens Must Go, McMullin’s Mistakes, Bravo Barbara Bush

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enjoy watching U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stand her ground after chief Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow suggests Haley was confused about whether new sanctions had been ordered against Russia.  They also shudder as more horrible allegations come out against disgraced Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, and because he won’t resign even after top GOP leaders urged him to step down.  They roll their eyes as independent 2016 presidential candidate Evan McMullin remains mired in campaign debt and has missed his last three required filings with the Federal Elections Commission.  And Jim and Greg pay tribute to the remarkable life of former First Lady Barbara Bush.

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‘I Think That Was Outstanding’

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Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Tom McInerney is applauding the Trump administration for building a coalition to strike Syria and carrying out a successful attack, but he says solving the long-term challenges there requires collaboration with Russia and that cannot happen so long as Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues his probe.

On Friday night (early Saturday in Syria), the U.S., along with Great Britain and France, fired dozens of missiles at three specific targets in Syria in response for the chemical weapons attack that took place several days earlier.

As McInerney suspected last week, President Trump took longer to order a response in order to build international support and participation.  He’s thrilled our allies took part and says the cooperation extended beyond London and Paris.

“I think that was outstanding.  Having those two partners is extremely important.  In addition, we had other partners.  We fired (some) missiles from the Red Sea that went over Saudi Arabia and other locations.  So we had other, de facto partners as well, which is equally important,” said McInerney.

He’s also thrilled with the results of the mission.

“We got three important targets, one of them in Damascus, which was their research and development center for chemical weapons and a very important target.  We took that out as well as two other targets, one a production and the other a storage facility,” said McInerney.

The U.S. fired 105 missiles, primarily cruise missiles, and none were shot down, contrary to assertions from the Syrian government.

Last week, McInerney recommended wiping out the Syrian air force if the U.S. was convinced the Assad regime was responsible for the chemical attack.  He says coalition building made that impossible.

“When we went for the allies to be participating with us, that put time in the equation.  That meant the Syrian air force moved a lot of their assets in with the Russians…because they knew we wouldn’t strike anything with the Russians in it,” said McInerney.

Trump telegraphed the attack in various tweets and public statements last week, but McInerney says it’s clear the administration was communicating with Moscow long before the missiles started flying.

“They were well aware of it.  They elected to let us go in and do it.  I think that was the right move.

“There’s a lot of talk going on about what they’re going to do to retaliate, etc.  But I think the Russians got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, so they didn’t want to see what President Trump was going to do and the other allies.  Getting the UK and the French involved was a very important decision,” said McInerney.

Despite the strong Russian denunciation of any response, McInerney believes Russia is smart enough not to overreact.

“You can never tell but I really believe that President Putin does not want to have a direct confrontation down there.  He doesn’t have nearly the size of the forces we have, and he certainly doesn’t want to open the door for others to go in.” he said.

McInerney says solving the problems involving Syria, the Kurds, the Free Syrian Army, ISIS, and other radical groups like the Al-Nusra Front is deeply complicated, but he says working constructively with Russia is a big part of the solution.

“We need to get an accommodation.  The only way there’s going to be an accommodation over there in Syria – and it’s going to be divided up – is with the U.S. and Russia agreeing to work together,” said McInerney.

“That’s why the Mueller investigation that’s going on right now is impacting our national security.  I believe the Republican Congress ought to close that operation down.  The only collusion was between the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign with Russia.  Yet, the Obama administration concocted the idea that the Trump [campaign] were the ones colluding,” said McInerney.

If the U.S. and Russia were to carve up Syria, what ought to be the greatest priorities?  McInerney says President Obama’s inaction opened the door for Russian intervention and has made it next to impossible to remove Bashar al-Assad.  He believes we have no choice but to allow Russia to keep its bases there.

He says the top goal should be limiting Iranian influence in the region.

“We need stability in the region.  We do not want to have a Shia Crescent that sweeps from Iran, through Iraq, through Syria, and to the Mediterranean.  That is not in the interest of the free world,” said McInerney.

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Dems Look Desperate, GOP Skips Budget for 2018, Hannity’s Headache

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are encouraged that six months before the midterms, DNC Vice Chairman Keith Ellison is promising that people will die if Democrats don’t win.  It’s an indication that Democrats don’t have much of an agenda to run on other than fear and opposing President Trump.  They also throw up their hands as congressional Republicans reportedly have no plans to try to pass a budget this year because it will be really hard to pass in the Senate.  They react to Sean Hannity being named as one of Michael Cohen’s clients, and while there may be no legal scandal, Hannity is definitely wrong to have not disclosed this connection.  And Jim has some theories about the man in the sketch released by Stormy Daniels.

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Guns & Midterms, Comey’s Endless Vanity, Lower the Voting Age?

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome a new poll showing that the edge for Democrats is shrinking ahead of the midterm elections and that support for the GOP among gun rights supporters is ahead of support for Democrats among gun control activists.  They also roll their eyes as former Clinton staffer George Stephanopoulos interviews James Comey for ABC News and Comey sanctimoniously concludes he always did the right things for the right reasons and never got obsessed with his own virtue.  And they reject a Washington Post editorial calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16 years old, but they do offer some creative tips for tweaking the voting age.

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