Mornings on the Mall
Tuesday July 19, 2016
Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor
5am – A/B/C
Controversy Clouds Melania Trump’s Brightening of Dark GOP Convention
by Benjy Sarlin
CLEVELAND — Melania Trump sought to show husband Donald Trump’s softer side on the first night of the Republican Convention, a jarring contrast with a raft of other speakers who described a violent America besieged by crime, illegal immigration, and corruption.
Melania Trump’s speech was widely praised at first, but was marred by plagiarism charges after observers pointed out a section on family values strongly resembled a similar passage from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech — almost word for word at points.
Related: Did Melania Trump Plagiarize Michelle Obama in Speech?
Donald Trump himself made a surprise appearance to introduce “the next First Lady of the United States,” his third wife and an accomplished former model and jewelry designer who emigrated from Slovenia.
Mrs. Trump avoided personal stories about their courtship, relationship, and family life, but described Trump as a loyal husband, father, and boss who was more empathetic than he appeared.
“He’s tough when he has to be, but he’s also kind and fair and caring,” she said. “This kindness is not always noted but it is there for all to see.”
She said his vision for America, which is frequently accused of exploiting white resentment, included prosperity for “Hispanics and African Americans and Asians and the poor and the middle class.”
In a heartwarming moment, she led the crowd in cheering former Senator Bob Dole, the only former Republican presidential nominee attending the convention this week.
[Donald Trump makes dramatic RNC entrance]
Donald Trump makes dramatic RNC entrance 0:24
Mrs. Trump’s gracefully delivered speech was a rare light note in an otherwise intense night filled with dark depictions of America and calls for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to be prosecuted and jailed.
The slogan of the night was “Make America Safe Again” and convention speakers offered a long list of dark scenarios that they warned only Trump could prevent.
The tone was influenced by a trying month that featured two high-profile police shootings and two deadly attacks on police that left five officers dead in Dallas and three officers dead in Baton Rouge. A man driving a truck killed 84 people in Nice last week, just over a month after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay club in Orlando.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani delivered the best-received speech of the night, an impassioned address warning of threats from Syrian refugees, illegal immigrants, and crime.
“There’s no next election: This is it,” Giuliani said. “There’s no time left for us to revive our great country.”
Much of the first hour was devoted to the September 11, 2012 attack on Benghazi. A number of speakers blamed then-Secretary of State Clinton for failing to prevent the attack on the compound and for not acting decisively to stop it once it began.
“I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son, that’s personally,” Pat Smith, whose son Sean Smith was killed that night, told the audience in an emotional speech. Smith added that Clinton “deserves to be in stripes.”
Multiple investigations into the attack, including a recently released report by the House Select Committee on Benghazi, found security failures but did not hold Clinton responsible for wrongdoing.
Retired Lt. Gen. Michel Flynn, who Trump considered as a running mate, addressed a mostly deserted arena as the audience emptied out of the stands once Mrs. Trump finished her remarks and never returned.
“War is not about bathrooms or political correctness, Flynn said. “War is about winning.”
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a rising star in the party and Iraq veteran, closed the event along with Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, who served as a Navy SEAL in Iraq, and a group of other former military servicemen and servicewomen.
5am – D
Judge acquits Lt. Brian Rice of all charges in Freddie Gray case
Attorney Brown on Officer Lt. Brian Rice verdict
Prosecutors in Baltimore failed for the fourth time to secure a conviction in the Freddie Gray case, with Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams acquitting Lt. Brian Rice of all charges Monday related to Gray’s arrest and death.
Williams cleared Rice, 42, of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office in a downtown Baltimore courtroom. The judge had dismissed a second-degree assault charge at the trial’s midpoint, and prosecutors dropped a second misconduct charge at the start.
Rice chose a bench trial rather than a jury trial, putting his legal fate in Williams’ hands. He was the fourth of six officers charged in the case to go to trial, and the third to be acquitted by Williams. Another officer’s trial ended with a hung jury and mistrial.
Prosecutors alleged that Rice, the highest-ranking officer of the six charged, had caused Gray’s death by failing to secure him in a seat belt in the back of the van, where Gray suffered severe spinal cord injuries last year. Gray, 25, died a week after his arrest. His death sparked widespread protests against police brutality.
Williams, reading from prepared remarks, said prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proving the charges against Rice beyond a reasonable doubt, instead asking the court to rely on “presumptions or assumptions” — something it cannot do. He said the court “cannot be swayed by sympathy, prejudice or public opinion.”
Based on the law, he said, the prosecution did not show that Rice acted in a “grossly negligent manner,” required for a manslaughter conviction. It also did not show that Rice acted in an unreasonable way or was aware of and chose to ignore the substantial risk by placing Gray in a police van without a seat belt, which is required for reckless endangerment, he said. And, it did not show that Rice acted “corruptly,” which is required for misconduct in office, he said.
Williams said a “mistake” or an “error in judgment” by Rice was not enough to prove the crimes alleged.
5am – E Brent Bozell
6am – B
COP NEWS:
Columbus police officer hospitalized after glass found in sandwich
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) — A Columbus police officer was rushed to the hospital after officials say he cut his mouth after biting into a sandwich, which contained several shards of glass from a restaurant on East Long Street Monday afternoon.
The officer was taken to Grant Medical Center around 3 p.m. where he’s being held overnight. The officer is expected to be okay according to investigators.
Police say the officer bit into the sandwich and felt what was a grisly texture as well as a crunching sound. When helooked into the sandwich, he saw the glass. When he checked his mouth, he saw it was bleeding.
The restaurant was subsequently shut down as assault squad investigators conducted interviews.
Detectives said it’s not clear whether the incident was accidental or intentional.
Columbus Public Health officials say they will be at the cafe Tuesday to take a closer look at what happened.
No charges have been filed in the case.
The officer’s identity and the restaurant’s name are being withheld as Columbus police investigate.
—————–
Taco Bell fires employee who refused to serve police
By Doug Criss, CNN
(CNN)A cashier at a Taco Bell in Alabama wouldn’t serve cops. Now she won’t serve anybody else after the fast food chain fired her.
The firing came after a woman complained on social media about how the two deputies from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office were treated.
Tammy Bush Mayo, a wife of another deputy, said she was ticked off that two of her husband’s colleagues were turned away Saturday at the Taco Bell in Phenix City, Alabama. The cashier told the uniformed deputies that law enforcement would not be served and that they needed to leave, according to CNN affiliate WTVM.
“This really disturbs me that people have started treating law enforcement professionals in this manner when these same law enforcement professionals put their lives on the line every day to protect all people, including this woman with a very bad attitude at Taco Bell,” Mayo wrote.
6am – C
Need Help? Dial 911 for Uber
By Madison Malone Kircher
Washington, D.C., thinks it might have found a solution that will help take some pressure off of its emergency services: Uber. NBCreports the city’s Fire and EMS Department (DCFEMS) is considering moving to car-sharing services or taxis for people who call with less-urgent problems.
People whose issues don’t rise to the level of an emergency would be picked up by an Uber or another cab service and taken to a doctor’s office, rather than being brought to an emergency room via ambulance. Last year, the EMS department responded to over 160,000 911 calls, the majority of which were later deemed low-priority emergencies, NBC also reports. The Uber of ambulances idea is still in the early stages, but the city says it is looking to make changes by fall 2017. “We are trying to find creative ways to try to reduce the strain on the system,” DCFEMS Chief Gregory Dean explained.
6am – D INTERVIEW: ERIC BOLLING
6am – E
Clinton Says Pence is ‘Extreme’ Vice-Presidential Pick
Mike Pence is a “tea-party politician who has worked to undermine the rights” of women and LGBT people, Hillary Clinton says at rally in Minneapolis.
“Neither Mike Pence nor Donald Trump should be anywhere near our children’s’ education”
=======================================================
Julian Castro, potential Clinton running mate, slips up
This is not great timing for Julian Castro, who is on Hillary Clinton’s short list of potential running mates.
The charismatic political rising star serving as President Obama’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development has gotten himself into trouble for mixing politics with his government job. An investigation by the Office of Special Counsel, which oversees the rules governing politicking by federal employees, found Castro recently had violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits such co-mingling.
The transgression took place during an April interview with Katie Couric on Yahoo News. The interview was coordinated through Castro’s government office and took place with the HUD seal behind him. During the interview, Castro answered a few questions about his agency’s work until conversation turned, predictably, to the upcoming presidential election.
Such interviews happen all the time. But investigators found that the format in this case left the impression that Castro was speaking on behalf of HUD, and not as a private citizen, when he made his pitch for Hillary Clinton during the interview.
As investigators put it, he had “impermissibly mixed his personal political views with official government agency business.”
That’s not a career-killing move. Violations of the Hatch Act can lead to a civil fine of as much as $1,000, but two legal experts with experience with the statute said they could not recall a case with facts similar to Castro’s that was resolved with anything more dramatic than a reprimand.
Still, the incident is another reminder that Castro is still a relative political newcomer and lacks the savvy and expertise of some others on Clinton’s short list. Her vice presidential vetting team is surely taking notice.
Speaking of the veepstakes, the Clinton campaign just announced that the candidate will be holding events in the crucial swing state of Florida on Friday and Saturday. There is a lot of speculation that she will unveil her pick during that trip.
This post was updated at 3:17 p.m. to include additional information on Hatch Act penalties.
7am – A INTERVIEW – ROD WHEELER- FORMER DC HOMICIDE DETECTIVE
Freddie Gray case: Verdict expected for highest ranking officer
By Farida Fawzy
Updated 6:17 AM ET, Mon July 18, 2016
(CNN)A Baltimore judge is due to issue a verdict Monday morning for Lt. Brian Rice, the highest-ranking police officer charged in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who suffered a broken neck in a police transport van on April 12, 2015.
Gray’s death ushered in a resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests across the country. The recent deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have popularized the movement once again.
Rice was one of the three officers on bike patrol the morning Gray was arrested, and he was the officer who put Gray into the transport wagon after he was shackled — failing to fasten his seat belt, according to the testimony of other officers.
Rice faces several charges, including:
– Involuntary manslaughter;
– Second-degree reckless assault/reckless endangerment, and;
– Misconduct in office for failing to secure Gray with a seat belt inside a police vehicle.
Same judge acquitted Nero, Goodson
Opting for a bench trial over a jury trial, Rice’s case will be heard by Judge Barry Williams — the same judge who acquitted Officer Edward Nero and Officer Caesar Goodson on all charges related to Gray’s death.
Of the six officers charged, Goodson faced the most serious charges — including second-degree depraved-heart murder. Legal experts have said Goodson’s acquittal could set the tone for the four officers still awaiting trial.
7am –B/C Controversy Clouds Melania Trump’s Brightening of Dark GOP Convention
by Benjy Sarlin
CLEVELAND — Melania Trump sought to show husband Donald Trump’s softer side on the first night of the Republican Convention, a jarring contrast with a raft of other speakers who described a violent America besieged by crime, illegal immigration, and corruption.
Melania Trump’s speech was widely praised at first, but was marred by plagiarism charges after observers pointed out a section on family values strongly resembled a similar passage from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech — almost word for word at points.
Related: Did Melania Trump Plagiarize Michelle Obama in Speech?
Donald Trump himself made a surprise appearance to introduce “the next First Lady of the United States,” his third wife and an accomplished former model and jewelry designer who emigrated from Slovenia.
Mrs. Trump avoided personal stories about their courtship, relationship, and family life, but described Trump as a loyal husband, father, and boss who was more empathetic than he appeared.
“He’s tough when he has to be, but he’s also kind and fair and caring,” she said. “This kindness is not always noted but it is there for all to see.”
She said his vision for America, which is frequently accused of exploiting white resentment, included prosperity for “Hispanics and African Americans and Asians and the poor and the middle class.”
In a heartwarming moment, she led the crowd in cheering former Senator Bob Dole, the only former Republican presidential nominee attending the convention this week.
[Donald Trump makes dramatic RNC entrance]
Donald Trump makes dramatic RNC entrance 0:24
Mrs. Trump’s gracefully delivered speech was a rare light note in an otherwise intense night filled with dark depictions of America and calls for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to be prosecuted and jailed.
The slogan of the night was “Make America Safe Again” and convention speakers offered a long list of dark scenarios that they warned only Trump could prevent.
The tone was influenced by a trying month that featured two high-profile police shootings and two deadly attacks on police that left five officers dead in Dallas and three officers dead in Baton Rouge. A man driving a truck killed 84 people in Nice last week, just over a month after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay club in Orlando.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani delivered the best-received speech of the night, an impassioned address warning of threats from Syrian refugees, illegal immigrants, and crime.
“There’s no next election: This is it,” Giuliani said. “There’s no time left for us to revive our great country.”
Much of the first hour was devoted to the September 11, 2012 attack on Benghazi. A number of speakers blamed then-Secretary of State Clinton for failing to prevent the attack on the compound and for not acting decisively to stop it once it began.
“I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son, that’s personally,” Pat Smith, whose son Sean Smith was killed that night, told the audience in an emotional speech. Smith added that Clinton “deserves to be in stripes.”
Multiple investigations into the attack, including a recently released report by the House Select Committee on Benghazi, found security failures but did not hold Clinton responsible for wrongdoing.
Retired Lt. Gen. Michel Flynn, who Trump considered as a running mate, addressed a mostly deserted arena as the audience emptied out of the stands once Mrs. Trump finished her remarks and never returned.
“War is not about bathrooms or political correctness, Flynn said. “War is about winning.”
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a rising star in the party and Iraq veteran, closed the event along with Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, who served as a Navy SEAL in Iraq, and a group of other former military servicemen and servicewomen.
7am – D
INTERVIEW – DAVID DRUCKER – Senior Congressional Correspondent for the Washington Examiner.
Republican divisions emerge at ‘unity’ convention
By DAVID M. DRUCKER (@DAVIDMDRUCKER) • 7/19/16 12:01 AM
CLEVELAND — The Republican Party is at war with itself, and nothing that happens during the convention that will nominate Donald Trump for president is likely to change that.
The schism was on display on Monday, Day One of a convention among whose major themes are party unity.
The convention floor erupted in pandemonium as delegates for and against Trump engaged in a raucous war of words and chants, after the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee used strong-arm tactics to defeat a delegate insurgency intent on derailing the New York businessman’s nomination.
The rebellion never really stood a chance, but that it existed was fairly unprecedented.
Stay abreast of the latest developments from nation’s capital and beyond with curated News Alerts from the Washington Examiner news desk and delivered to your inbox.
Earlier in the day, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges skirmished over Gov. John Kasich’s refusal to attend the convention. Manafort called Kasich, beaten by Trump in the primary, an embarrassment; Borges said Manafort doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Both sides are crouched in their corners, unwilling to offer an olive branch to the other. Driving the division are sharp differences on key policy issues, and exactly what it means to be a Republican.
Trump and his populist wing are adamant that the celebrity real estate mogul earned the nomination where it counts the most: through the votes of millions of voters in a crowded, competitive primary contest. They want everyone else to fall in line.
Holdouts among the party’s movement conservatives and establishment elders argue that Trump doesn’t represent the core values of the party and behaves in a way that makes it near impossible for them to vouch for him as a viable president.
“This is a problem that has to be worked through,” said Matt Schlapp, who as chairman of the American Conservative Union has put a lot of effort into trying to “harmonize” the populist and conservative wings of the party.
7am-E CRITTER NEWS:
A former White House dog groomer gives up on her Presidential Pet Museum
A recent history of presidential pets
From Obama to Reagan, take a look at the pets that have made the White House home.(Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)
By Steve Hendrix July 18 at 6:42 PM
Claire McLean sat pondering the gem of her collection — a portrait of Ronald Reagan’s dog Lucky made from Lucky’s actual hair — and finally acknowledged a painful reality: The world is just not that into the Presidential Pet Museum.
After more than 15 up-and-down years and iffy stints in three locations, the former White House dog groomer is giving up on the ultimate of pet projects. Up for sale goes the 83-year-old’s unparalleled collection of Oval Office Animalia, along with a website, PresidentialPetMuseum.com, that details every companion-in-chief going back to George Washington’s hound Sweet Lips.
You can bid on it all on the auction website Flippa.com: the Taft-era bell worn by the last cow to graze on the South Lawn of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the bronzed Barney (Scottish terrier, G.W. Bush administration); the hair-isimilitude paintings of Lucky, Barney and Miss Beazley (also Bush) featuring certified clippings from their respective coats.
8am – A INTERVIEW: TOMMY VALENTINE – Virginia Delegate
8am-B/C INTERVIEW: LEN KOMOROSKI- CEO of Cleaveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena
8am – D/E INTERVIEW: LARRY KUDLOW- CNBC Senior Contributor
