IN CASE YOU MISSED IT — FACEBOOK suspended Cambridge Analytica last night. http://bit.ly/2FGuZPe AND THIS IS PROBABLY WHY … THE NYT/THE OBSERVER OF LONDON just popped a big story by MATT ROSENBERG, NICK CONFESSORE and CAROLE CADWALLADR from London with the headline: “How Trump Consultants Exploited the Facebook Data of Millions”: “As the upstart voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica prepared to wade into the 2014 American midterm elections, it had a problem.
Story Continued Below
“The firm had secured a $15 million investment from Robert Mercer, the wealthy Republican donor, and wooed his political adviser, Stephen K. Bannon, with the promise of tools that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behavior. But it did not have the data to make its new products work.
“So the firm harvested private information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users without their permission, according to former Cambridge employees, associates and documents, making it one of the largest data leaks in the social network’s history. The breach allowed the company to exploit the private social media activity of a huge swath of the American electorate, developing techniques that underpinned its work on President Trump’s campaign in 2016.” http://nyti.
ms/2Iv3S7P
NYT’S SHERYL STOLBERG and JONATHAN MARTIN stick a fork in the STEVE BANNON revolt. http://nyti.ms/2HHKumT
ALSO … UMBC became the first 16th seed ever to beat a No.
1 seed when they beat the University of Virginia 74-54. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) picked them and talked some trash on Twitter last night.
http://bit.ly/2DB12Kt
Good Saturday morning and Happy St. Patrick’s Day !
THE BIG DRAMA OVERNIGHT — MCCABE OUT … “Sessions fires former FBI deputy director McCabe,” by Josh Gerstein and Cristiano Lima: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Friday night, dismissing the longtime bureau veteran who had been publicly pilloried by President Donald Trump.
Sessions said the firing — carried out a little more than a day before McCabe was set to retire from the FBI — was triggered by internal reviews that concluded McCabe violated Justice Department policies and was not forthcoming with investigators probing FBI actions before the 2016 presidential election.
“Justice Department officials determined that ‘McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions,’ the attorney general said in a statement. ‘The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability,’ Sessions added.
“McCabe quickly lashed back Friday, linking the firing to the repeated public flogging he faced from Trump.
The former FBI No. 2 also tied his dismissal to the fact that he can support former FBI Director James Comey’s account that he was fired because of an unwillingness to shut down the investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia.
“‘Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey,’ McCabe said in a statement.
‘The release of this report was accelerated only after my testimony to the House Intelligence Committee revealed that I would corroborate former Director Comey’s accounts of his discussions with the President.’” http://politi.co/2pks049 … McCabe’s full statement http://politi.co/2tVwG5X
STATEMENT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE — @realDonaldTrump at eight minutes past midnight: “Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI – A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy.
He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!”
MAGGIE HABERMAN (@maggieNYT): “The president’s penchant for grievance-filled humiliations is becoming government policy more broadly”.
MATTHEW MILLER (@matthewamiller): “Thing I can’t get past on McCabe is Sessions’ role. He is both recused from the underlying case and the target of enormous pressure from POTUS. Smartest course of action would’ve been recusal – fact he didn’t shows he wanted the credit with Trump for this.”
ELANA SCHOR interviewed MCCABE earlier this month: “‘Look, it’s personally devastating. It’s so tough on my family,’ .
.. ‘But at some point, this has to be seen in the larger context,’ said McCabe, 49, who says he has voted for every Republican presidential nominee until he sat out the 2016 contest entirely.
“‘And I firmly believe that this is an ongoing effort to undermine my credibility because of the work that I did on the Russia case, because of the investigations that I oversaw and impacted that target this administration.’ ‘They have every reason to believe that I could end up being a significant witness in whatever the special counsel comes up with, and so they are trying to create this counter-narrative that I am not someone who can be believed or trusted,’ McCabe added. ‘And as someone who has been believed and trusted by really good people for 21 years, it’s just infuriating to me.’” http://politi.
co/2IwEIW5
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — “John Kelly: Rex Tillerson Was on the Toilet When I Told Him He’d Be Getting Fired,” by the Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng: “Reporters gathered at the White House on Friday were stunned when Chief of Staff John Kelly shared a very embarrassing story about outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. …
“According to [three] sources, Kelly recounted a very awkward conversation with Tillerson during which he informed the secretary that President Donald Trump would very likely soon fire him.
The awkwardness was less a result of the contents of the conversation than its setting. Tillerson, Kelly told the room, was suffering from a stomach bug during a diplomatic swing through Africa, and was using a toilet when Kelly broke the news to him.” http://thebea.st/2DA4m8P
STEP BACK … THE PRESIDENT gloated about firing McCabe and his chief of staff told reporters that he fired the secretary of state when he was on the john.
SPOTTED: REX TILLERSON last night at Mexican restaurant Alero near Dupont Circle. He arrived around 5:30 and left three hours later, according to our tipster.
A TALE OF TWO TRUMPS — FROM 30,000 FEET — MICHAEL CROWLEY and BLAKE HOUNSHELL in POLITICO Magazine, “On Russia, There Are Two Trumps: His team is going hard after Moscow.
The president is not”: “The Trump administration denounces Russia for using nerve agent on British soil. President Donald Trump says nothing for days, then calls it ‘a very sad situation.’
“The Trump administration castigates Russia for indiscriminate killing in Syria. Trump says nothing about it.
The Trump administration sanctions Russian hackers for meddling in the 2016 election. Trump muses that it could have been China or ‘many other people.’ The Trump administration condemns Putin’s unveiling of a new generation of Russian nuclear weapons. Trump remains silent.
“Trump’s intelligence community stands by its conclusion that the Kremlin sought to help elect Trump in 2016. Trump insists the Russians actually opposed his election because he’s ‘a big military person.’ Trump’s national security adviser calls the evidence of Russian interference ‘incontrovertible.’ Trump rebukes him on Twitter the next day.
“The Trump administration pushes to harden America’s defenses for the 2018 midterms. Trump won’t even convene a meeting on the subject.
The Trump administration reassures NATO countries that America has their back against Russian intimidation. Trump complains incessantly that they need to pay more for their own defense.
” http://politi.co/2G37Xl9
SHINE FOR COMMS GIG? — “Trump settles in as producer in chief,” by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak: “[H]e’s slated to discuss the open position of communications director with Bill Shine, the co-president of Fox News who stepped down last year after he was criticized for the way he handled sexual harassment claims at the network, in the coming days.” http://cnn.
it/2pl6Kv5
— WE’VE BEEN TOLD an official process hasn’t been laid out for filling the communications director slot. So far, MERCEDES SCHLAPP and TONY SAYEGH are the top two candidates for the gig, but it’s unclear how quickly Trump will make a decision. There are some in the White House who don’t believe he needs to move fast to fill Hope Hicks’ job.
THE TWO CAMPS: Schlapp is a favorite of John Kelly, while Sayegh has backers among the New York and campaign set. He also worked very closely with Hicks (they shared an office in the White House during tax reform).
THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION …
— “Mueller witness was convicted on child porn charge,” by Josh Gerstein: “A Middle East expert and analyst who consulted with the Trump administration and was questioned by investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge in 1991, court records released on Friday show.
“George Nader, 58, was involved in several foreign policy meetings during the Trump transition and at the White House last year. Nader received a six-month sentence from a federal court in Northern Virginia in 1991 on a felony charge of transporting sexually explicit materials in foreign commerce, according to the newly released records and to prison records POLITICO obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.” http://politi.
co/2G4x2w6
RUSSIA WATCH — “FEC probes whether NRA got illegal Russian donations,” by Josh Meyer: “The [FEC] has launched a preliminary investigation into whether Russian entities gave illegal contributions to the [NRA] that were intended to benefit the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election, according to people who were notified of the probe.
“The inquiry stems in part from a complaint from a liberal advocacy group, the American Democracy Fund, which asked the FEC to look into media reports about links between the rifle association and Russian entities, including a banker with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. A spokesman for the NRA and its lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action, which together contributed $30 million to Trump’s presidential campaign, declined to comment on the FEC’s probe.” http://politi.
co/2DylA6A
THE LATEST ON STORMY — “Trump’s Lawyers Claim Stormy Daniels Violated Confidentiality Agreement at Least 20 Times,” by NYT’s Jim Rutenberg and Maggie Haberman: “President Trump, weighing in directly on the Stephanie Clifford case for the first time, claimed in court papers filed by his lawyers on Friday that the porn actress who alleges she had an affair with him violated a confidentiality agreement at least 20 times, exposing her to damages of at least $20 million.
“President Trump’s lawyers filed two motions on Friday in United States District Court in California in a public legal fight that Ms. Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, started last week. That’s when she sued to get out of an agreement that she had struck to be paid $130,000 to stay silent about an affair she alleges to have had with Mr. Trump starting in 2006.
Mr. Trump formally joined his legal team’s response to Ms. Clifford’s suit in a motion, filed Friday, to move the case from state court in Los Angeles, where Ms. Clifford filed her claim, to federal court.” http://bit.ly/2pjufph
CLICKER – “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 keepers http://politi.co/2G2b6BA
University Maryland Baltimore County players celebrate a teammate’s basket against No. 1 overall seed University of Virginia during the second half of a first-round game in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament in Charlotte, N.C.
, on March 16. UMBC went on to win 74-54, becoming the first 16 seed to ever beat a No. 1 seed in the tournament. | Gerry Broome/AP Photo
DETAILS EMERGE IN MIAMI — “Bridge designer left state voice mail about cracks days before FIU bridge collapsed,” by Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas, David Smiley and Daniel Chang: “Two days before a pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University, killing at least six people, an engineer with the firm that designed the structure called the state and left a voicemail to report cracking in the concrete span.
It went unheard for three days. ‘Hey Tom, this is Denney Pate with FIGG bridge engineers. Calling to, uh, share with you some information about the FIU pedestrian bridge and some cracking that’s been observed on the north end of the span, the pylon end of that span we moved this weekend,’ Pate said.
“‘Um, so, uh, we’ve taken a look at it and, uh, obviously some repairs or whatever will have to be done but from a safety perspective we don’t see that there’s any issue there so we’re not concerned about it from that perspective although obviously the cracking is not good and something’s going to have to be, ya know, done to repair that.
At any rate, I wanted to chat with you about that because I suspect at some point that’s gonna get to your desk. So, uh, at any rate, call me back when you can. Thank you. Bye.’” http://nyti.ms/2IueHGW
— “Exclusive: AIDS researcher favored to be next CDC chief,” by Dan Diamond and Brianna Ehley: “Robert Redfield, an HIV/AIDS expert at the University of Maryland Medical Center, is being vetted by the Trump administration to run the CDC, five individuals with knowledge of the situation tell POLITICO. Redfield emerged this week as the favored choice to replace former CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, who resigned in late January after POLITICO reported she had traded tobacco, drug and food stocks while heading the public health agency.
“The Trump administration had been eyeing multiple candidates for the role.
HHS did not respond to an immediate request for comment Friday evening.
Redfield, a pioneering researcher who co-founded the Institute of Human Virology, also served on President George W. Bush’s advisory council on HIV/AIDS and was an adviser to the NIH during his administration.
” http://politi.co/2Iyn8kA
GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:
— “Fat Leonard’s Crimes on the High Seas,” by Jesse Hyde in Rolling Stone: “He held claim to nearly the entire Pacific, a region spanning 48 million square miles, with a Naval presence of some 70 ships and 20,000 personnel.” http://rol.
st/2pn2DyO
— “The Future of Leisure,” by Stuart Whatley in Democracy Journal: “It is past time we rediscover the lost art of leisure. Doing so, however, will also mean teaching people how to find fulfillment in their free time.” http://bit.
ly/2Ix43PK (h/t ALDaily.com)
— “‘The Trains Are Slower Because They Slowed the Trains Down,’” by Aaron Gordon in Village Voice: “Internal MTA documents show everything we thought we knew about subway delays was wrong.” http://bit.
ly/2tQa5ba
— “The Myth of Authenticity Is Killing Tex-Mex,” by Meghan McCarron in Eater: . “The standard narrative about Tex-Mex is that it’s an inauthentic, unartful, cheese-covered fusion, the kind of eating meant to be paired with unhealthy amounts of alcohol. There’s a lot of easy-melt cheese, the margaritas are made with a mix, the salsas come from a bottle. Those assumptions are entirely wrong. Ask Texas to choose between barbecue and Tex-Mex, and all but the most dedicated partisans will quail.
” http://bit.ly/2HFFTkO (h/t TheBrowser.
com)
— “Kidnapped Royalty Become Pawns in Iran’s Deadly Plot,” by Robert F. Worth in the N.Y. Times Magazine: “Qatar went to extreme lengths to secure the release of a captured hunting party — including a disastrous population transfer in Syria.” http://nyti.ms/2FPgMM6
— “Does Recovery Kill Great Writing?” by Leslie Jamison in the N.Y.
Times Magazine: “As I emerged from alcoholism, I had to face down a terrifying question.” http://nyti.ms/2DztLPR
— “The Do-Nothing Discipline,” by Jeff Hauser in the Baffler: “How political science fell into the thrall of fundamentalist forecasting.
” http://bit.ly/2FnBLJA
— “This Multibillion-Dollar Corporation Is Controlled by a Penniless Yoga Superstar,” by Ben Crair in Bloomberg Businessweek – per Longform.org’s description: “Baba Ramdev renounced the material world twenty-three years ago to become a Hindu ascetic.
Now he’s on TV selling toothpaste, instant noodles, and toilet cleaners and the company he is believed to control is poised to become the biggest consumer goods seller in India.” https://bloom.bg/2FWSu6b
— “The Billionaire Philanthropist,” by Jacob Silverman in Longreads: “It’s American tradition for CEOs to stockpile their wealth, avoid taxes, and participate in the theater of giving. Will Jeff Bezos make it scale?” http://bit.ly/2piHiGp
— “For Women Behind The Camera, Sexual Harassment Is Part Of The Job,” by Claire Fallon and Emma Gray in HuffPost: “A HuffPost investigation found that women across crew positions experience an onslaught of lewd comments, gendered discrimination and even physical assault — and in some cases, it’s driving them out of the industry.” http://politi.co/2FPqqyn
— “Journeys in Trump World,” by Jason Wilson in WaPo: “I traveled to five Trump-branded properties in four countries.
Here’s what I glimpsed about America’s future from being a tourist in the world of Trump.” http://wapo.st/2HFCXVk
— “The Lost Kids on the Line,” by Bronwen Dickey in Popular Mechanics: “The sport of slacklining lifts you above the earth and carries trouble from your mind.
Sonya Iverson leads a band of practitioners who take the sport to children who need it, wherever they are, whoever they may be.
” http://bit.ly/2DzsTuz
Playbookers BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Sarah Feuer of the Washington Institute
BIRTHDAYS OF THE DAY: Carl Leubsdorf, Washington columnist for The Dallas Morning News, is 8-0.
A fun fact about Carl: “Since starting to write a weekly column for The Dallas Morning News in 1981, and despite three heart operations, I’ve never missed a week. This week’s column will be No. 1927, leaving me only 705 to go to tie Cal Ripken’s consecutive games’ streak.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2FFuTaN … Mark Paustenbach, principal of M Public Affairs Group. A fun fact about Mark: “I once snuck Triumph the Insult Comic Dog into a debate hall. Sadly, he never insulted me.
” Q&A: https://goo.gl/Z5mec5 .
.. https://goo.
gl/q6pmyD … Lippman on whether a 3rd party has a chance and if major parties will use crypto: https://goo.gl/eoTmR3 … https://goo.
gl/JjHvoV
— Washington Times’ “Mack on Politics” weekly politics podcast with Matt Mackowiak (download on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher or listen at MackOnPolitics.
com): Jonah Goldberg)
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