Mornings on the Mall 02.07.19

Jim Antle, Chuck Thies, Mark Krikorian and Luke Rosiak joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C RICHMOND CHAOS: NORTHAM-FAIRFAX-HERRING

• NORTHAM: WashPost Editorial Board: Ralph Northam must resign: “GOV. RALPH NORTHAM (D) can no longer effectively serve the people of Virginia who elected him. His shifting and credulity-shredding explanations for the racist photograph on his medical school yearbook page, and the silence into which he then succumbed for days — after initially promising to do “the hard work” of atonement and apology to restore his standing with Virginians — is simply too much. His decade-long record in public office is admirable; it is equally true that his governorship has been irredeemably wrecked by the self-inflicted, racially callous and clueless mess he has made in recent days.”
• HERRING BLACKFACE
  • Democrats’ Virginia Nightmare: AG Admits Wearing Blackface… Would Become Governor if Northam, Fairfax Resigned…
  • Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) says he appeared in blackface in 1980, the third recent scandal among state’s leaders
  • Confirmed, Virginia AG Mark Herring has stepped down as co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association. “Virginia AG Herring offered to step aside as co-chair and the committee accepted,” per spokeswoman for the DAGA
  • Allahpundit @allahpundit 16h How the hell could Herring call on Northam to resign knowing that he had the same skeleton in his closet?
• FAIRFAX ACCUSER: FAIRFAX WAS THE ‘BODY MAN’ FOR JOHN EDWARDS. Fairfax’s accuser has been identified as Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics at Scripps College in Claremont, California. Tyson alleges that Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex on him during an encounter at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. According to a profile of Fairfax on the website of his alma mater, Columbia Law School, the future lieutenant governor was working as a so-called “body man” for vice presidential nominee John Edwards. Fairfax has denied any wrongdoing and described the encounter as consensual.
• …Lt. Gov’s Accuser Breaks Silence: ‘Forced Me to Perform Oral Sex’… Dr. Vanessa Tyson Breaks Silence: Justin Fairfax ‘Forced Me to Perform Oral Sex’ / Dr. Vanessa Tyson, the woman accusing Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) of sexual assault, broke her silence Wednesday afternoon about the purported incident. Tyson, through her law firm, Katz Marshall & Banks, released a lengthy statement detailing her allegation against the embattled Virginia Democrat. “With tremendous anguish, I am now sharing this information about my experience and setting the record straight,” Tyson said. “It has been extremely difficult to relive that traumatic experience from 2004. Mr. Fairfax has tried to brand me as a liar to a national audience, in service to his political ambitions, and has threatened litigation. Given his false assertions, I’m compelled to make clear what happened.” Tyson, a professor from California, said what began as “consensual kissing” turned into a “sexual assault,” adding that Fairfax forced her to “perform oral sex on him.” According to her account, the alleged incident occurred during the 2004 Democrat National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. In a statement Wednesday, Fairfax vehemently denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the encounter was consensual. “At no time did she express to me any discomfort or concern about our interactions, neither during that encounter nor doing the months following it, when she stayed in touch with me, nor the past fifteen years,” he said. “She in no way indicated that anything that had happened between us made her uncomfortable.”
• FAIRFAX  & ACCUSER LAWYER UP: DEJA VU: Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax retains Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s lawyers. His accuser hires Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s (CNN)The two law firms that represented Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford are involved in another high-profile sexual assault accusation — this time in Virginia. The law firm that represented Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation hearings last fall is representing embattled Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax as he defends himself against allegations of sexual assault. Meanwhile, Fairfax’s accuser, Vanessa Tyson, has hired the same law firm that represented Ford. “My firm and I were retained by the Lieutenant Governor on January 17, 2018 with respect to a possible story in a media publication and we are currently representing him as well,” Rakesh Kilaru, a partner with Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, told CNN in a statement. Fairfax’s spokeswoman told reporters that the lieutenant governor had hired the law firm in January 2018 after The Washington Post began investigating Tyson’s allegations — before the Kavanaugh controversy in September. Founding partner Beth Wilkinson represented Kavanaugh during his confirmation. A source working with Tyson’s legal team, Ford’s former counsel firm Katz Marshall and Banks, tells CNN that Tyson “has retained and is consulting with her legal team about next steps.” In a statement Wednesday on the firm’s letterhead, Tyson alleged that Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex on him during the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston.
• F THAT B…Report–Fairfax Lashes Out: ‘F**k That B*tch’ NBC News has learned that Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax used profane language in a private meeting Monday night, while referring to his accuser, Dr. Vanessa Tyson. Two sources tells us Fairfax said of Tyson: “Fuck that bitch.”
  • Jonathan Martin @jmartNYT: 14h: Larry Roberts, @LGJustinFairfax  chief of staff, confirms to us that Fairfax did say “fuck” in anger at Senate caucus meeting Monday but emphatically denies NBC report he called his accuser “a fucking bitch.”
  • Fenit Nirappil @FenitN 17h Justin Fairfax’s chief of staff denies that Fairfax said “fuck that bitch” in regards to Vanessa Tyson at a private Monday night meeting, as reported by  @NBCPolitics
• DEMS SIDE WITH FAIRFAX’S ACCUSER: Dem congresswoman Wexton speaks out: “I believe” Virginia lieutenant governor’s accuser.  Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) tweeted Wednesday afternoon that she believes the woman who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) of sexual assault. “I believe Dr. Vanessa Tyson,” Wexton, a freshman representative, wrote.
• Democratic Party of Virginia says sex-assault claim against Lt. Gov. Fairfax of ‘profound gravity’: Virginia Democrats @vademocrats DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF VIRGINIA STATEMENT: “All allegations of sexual assault deserve to be taken with profound gravity. We will continue to evaluate the situation regarding Lieutenant Governor Fairfax.” 3:44 PM – Feb 5, 2019

5am – D         First Silver Line Test Train Only Made It 1,000 Feet Out of Station. The Silver Line extension will open to passengers in 2020, at the earliest. The first test train on Metro’s Silver Line extension to Dulles Airport made it only 1,000 feet out of the Wiehle-Reston East station before running into trouble, sources told News4. The test cars were supposed to roll out overnight Tuesday on the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line extension to Dulles starting at 1 a.m. as part of a months long testing process, and to conduct cleaning maintenance on the track’s third rail. But the two-car train, pushed by an older locomotive, made it about 1,000 feet along an 11-mile journey before it ran into issues with the new tracks, sources said. This is the first time Capital Rail Constructors, the company behind the Silver Line extension, tested a set of railcars, and Metro personnel were on site. The next test run was set to occur Wednesday night. The second phase of the Silver Line will run from Reston to Dulles and continue with two stops in Loudoun County. The first phase of the project opened in 2014, with five stops, from Falls Church through Tysons Corner, and ending in Reston. The rails won’t open to customers until at least 2020 — but some recent problems could result in the opening date being pushed back. After major problems with concrete were found in the walls of new Metro stations and in rail ties for the Silver Line extension, News4 learned nearly 300 cracks have formed in buildings at the new Metro facility that will house and maintain railcars for an extension.

5am – E         Rep. Steve Scalise says House Dems refused to let him testify at gun violence hearing. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said Wednesday that Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee refused to let him testify at a hearing on gun violence about his experience as a victim of the congressional baseball practice shooting two years ago. The move infuriated his fellow Republicans. Scalise told Fox News that he found out over the weekend that Democrats had chosen not to allow his testimony at the hearing –“Preventing Gun Violence: A Call to Action” — something he said is a courtesy traditionally extended to any lawmaker who wishes to speak. “I thought it outrageous that they want to try to silence this message, because in the end I’m still going to get my message out. They can’t silence this issue,” he said. Scalise was shot and injured in June 2017. But despite his experience and perspective, he said that committee Democrats said he would not able to testify — although he could submit written testimony for the record, which he did. “I was surprised, because it’s unprecedented,” he said. “In the past, when we were in charge on the Republican side, if the Democrats selected among one of their witnesses to be a sitting member of Congress, we always gave them the courtesy of testifying in a proper setting, and we were asking for that same courtesy — and they denied it.”

6am – A         WARREN APOLOGY: WARREN Apologizes To Reporters Yet Again For Calling Herself An ‘American Indian’

• Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren apologizes for calling herself “American Indian”: “There really is an important distinction of tribal citizenship. I am not a member of the tribe and I have apologized for not being more sensitive to that distinction”
• Warren suggests other documents might come out on which she claimed to be Native American. “This was consistent with what I did” at the time, she says.
• Instagram is apologizing and saying they erroneously removed a post of Sen. Warren’s Texas Bar registration from @kayleighmcenany’s account. In a statement to @DailyCaller, Instagram said they thought the post contained Warren’s home address.
• Kayleigh McEnany @kayleighmcenany: UPDATE: It’s 3:44pm & I still can’t access my @instagram account unless I hit “OK” & outrageously agree that posting Warren’s widely reported bar card is  “bullying,” “harassment,” & “blackmail.” I won’t agree to that illogical & asinine assertion. Shame on you @Instagram!
• RNC Files Grievance Against Warren for Claim She Is Native American. The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a grievance on Wednesday with the State Bar of Texas over Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 1986 claim on her Texas Bar registration card that her race is American Indian. The claim appears to be made in Warren’s own handwriting. The story that Warren claimed in her 1986 Texas Bar registration card that her race is American Indian was first reported in The Washington Post on Tuesday. Late Wednesday a spokesperson for the State Bar of Texas confirmed to Breitbart News that Warren did claim her race was American Indian in that 1986 bar registration card, and provided Breitbart News with a copy of that card. “This letter is to alert your office of false claims made by Texas-barred attorney, Elizabeth Warren. Attorney Warren was admitted to the Texas bar on April 11, 1986 and her Bar Card Number is 20885410 with a current status of ‘Inactive,’ ” Ronna Romney McDaniel, chairman of the RNC, wrote the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas in a letter that was delivered by certified mail on Wednesday.

6am – B         LIAM NEESON INSISTS HE’S NOT A RACIST

• ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA, Actor insists ‘I’m not a racist’ after admitting he wanted to kill a black man
• EARLIER THIS WEEK: Liam Neeson reveals how he walked the streets with a weapon looking for a ‘black b******’ to kill after a loved one ‘was raped’ as he is branded a ‘racist’ who ‘should be banned from Oscars’ 
• Liam Neeson’s Film ‘Cold Pursuit’ Cancels Red Carpet Following His Controversial Comments
• Liam Neeson cancels ‘Late Show’ appearance after racially charged comments: report
• Calls for Liam Neeson to be digitally removed from ‘Men In Black’ after racist comments

6am – C         CNN to host town hall with Howard Schultz. Washington (CNN) CNN will host a town hall next week in Houston with former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz as he mulls a presidential bid in 2020. Schultz, who said last month he is considering a run as a “centrist independent,” will take questions from Texas voters on Tuesday, February 12, in this live event moderated by CNN’s Poppy Harlow. The town hall will air in prime time and will take place in front of an audience made up of individuals representing Texas civic and educational organizations.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – JIM ANTLE – Editor of The American Conservative magazine @jimantle – shared his thoughts on the Richmond chaos.

• The hits unfortunately just keep coming for the Democratic Party in Virginia.
• The Editor in Chief of The American Conservative, Jim Antle had this to say about the turmoil in Virginia: “This is a real test to see whether Virginia Democrats are willing to force resignations when it means losing power. If it was Northam, Fairfax or Herring alone, a resignation would come at no political cost. But with all three of them compromised in some fashion, it would mean handing the governorship to the Republicans. Will that do it? I doubt it. Possible Fairfax isn’t guilty, but Franken, Conyers and others were pushed out for less and Democrats extended no presumption of innocence toward Brett Kavanaugh.”

6am – E         PELOSI CALLS TRUMP’S REQUEST TO BAN LATE-TERM ABORTION ‘REALLY QUITE A SAD THING’ WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s call for legislation to ban late-term abortion by saying it’s a “sad thing.” “It’s really quite a sad thing when you know that we’ll be talking about something that applies to the health and life — health and ability to have other children of women,” she said when asked by The Daily Caller. “I hope that in his family, he never has to face that crisis and apply his attitude toward it.” During his State of the Union speech, President Trump expressed to lawmakers, “To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb.” He added, “Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. Let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children — born and unborn — are made in the holy image of God.”

6am – F         Spicer Denies SOTU Cocktail Blitz: ‘It Wasn’t Many.’ Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer had to answer for the state of his union Wednesday after many journalists observed him to be a tad tipsy during a media appearance the previous night in the Trump Hotel lobby bar. “How many cocktails did you have?” WMAL’s Larry O’Connor asked him during a late Wednesday afternoon radio show. “It wasn’t many,” Spicer said amid laughter. Whatever that means, Spicer’s Wednesday may have involved a mean hangover. What a headache — having to field calls, emails and texts from the evil media the day after President Trump‘s State of the Union address. The burning question on everyone’s minds:  Was Spicer plastered Tuesday night during his bar room interview with TheBlazeTV‘s Eric Bolling?

 

7am – A         INTERVIEW – CHUCK THIES –  Political analyst and former Mayor Vincent Gray campaign manager – discussed why he thinks Virginia Attorney General Herring is behind the Fairfax smears.

7am – B         JILL ABRAMSON

• Former New York Times editor Jill Abramson accused of plagiarism in new book
• Fox News host @marthamaccallum asks Jill Abramson if she has any response to allegations of plagiarism in her book: “I really dont,” Abramson says, adding, “All I can tell you is I certainly didn’t plagiarize in my book.”
• Statement from Simon & Schuster on Jill Abramson’s book: “If upon further examination changes or attributions are deemed necessary we stand ready to work with the author in making those revisions.”

7am – C         Adidas pulls all-white sneaker honoring Black History Month after backlash: ‘Try consulting with actual black people’ (Fox News) — Adidas has pulled a shoe created in honor of Black History Month after facing backlash online. The sneaker, an all-white Ultraboost, was part of the collection featuring designs inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, an important cultural period primarily during the 1920s that began to recognize African American contributions to the creative arts. The majority of the shoes, which are black with bold orange and purple designs that “echo the colors of the jazz ballrooms so important to the era,” seem to be well-received on social media. But the white sneaker, released as part of the “Uncaged” line, drew harsh criticism for missing the mark.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – MARK KRIKORIAN – nationally recognized expert on immigration issues, and is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) – discussed his thoughts on the border security negotiations.

• Congressional negotiators seek contours of border deal as shutdown looms (Washington Post) — Congressional negotiators worked toward a deal Wednesday that could increase fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border without delivering President Trump the wall money he wants, as pressure built to reach agreement ahead of a government shutdown deadline next week. A bipartisan committee of House and Senate lawmakers traded offers behind the scenes, with Democrats saying money for border barriers was on the table and Republicans acknowledging they won’t get Trump the $5.7 billion he has sought for his wall. Lawmakers hope to have a tentative deal by Friday or soon thereafter, to allow time for the legislation to pass the House and Senate by Feb. 15. That’s when funding will run out for a large portion of the federal government, causing another partial shutdown, if Congress and Trump don’t act first.
• CBS News Instant Poll: 72% Approve Of Trump’s Immigration Ideas. ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor Jeff Glor reports in an instant poll conducted by the network, 72% of those who watched President Trump’s State of the Union approved of his ideas for immigration. The host noted, “but there were some controversial ideas there.” “From our CBS News instant poll here following the president’s State of the Union, 76% of speech watchers said they approved of what they heard. 72% said they approved of the president’s ideas for immigration. But there were some controversial ideas there,” Glor reported Tuesday night.
• MARK’S THOUGHTS ON TRUMP’S SOTU COMMENTS:
• Trump: We have an obligation “to the millions of immigrants living here today who followed our rules and respected our laws. … I want people to come into our country in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally.”
• MARK KRIKORIAN: “I want people to come into our country in the largest numbers ever” — like I’ve always said, the guy is not a restrictionist.
• “Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls, and gates and guards.”
• TRUMP: Now is the time to show America is for ending illegal immigration and to put cartels and coyote traffickers out of business.” (applause.. kamala just shakes her head) and TRUMP goes on to talk about caravans
• Trump: “As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States.” Dems start to boo. Pelosi briefly gives a hand signal to chill

7am – E         Photo of Joy Behar dressed as ‘beautiful African woman’ resurfaces. (Fox News) —  A long forgotten video clip from ABC’s “The View” resurfaced on Wednesday that showed co-host Joy Behar trying to explain a Halloween costume from when she was younger. The clip was shared by The Wrap media editor Jon Levine. Behar was seen discussing a New York Times op-ed about the resurgence of curly hair during the show in 2016. Behar showed her colleagues and the audience a picture of herself with curly hair when she was 29 years old. The co-hosts appeared surprised by her drastically different look. Raven-Symoné, a former co-host, asked, “Joy, are you black?” “I was so cute,” Behar said. “Joy… are you my auntie, Joy?” Raven-Symoné joked. Behar explained that the picture was taken at a Halloween party where she dressed up as a “beautiful African woman” and stressed that it was her actual hair. “Did you have tanning lotion on, Joy?” Raven-Symoné asked. Behar responded by saying she wore makeup “that was a little bit darker than my skin.”

8am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – LUKE ROSIAK – investigative reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation and author of new book “Obstruction of Justice: How the Deep State Risked National Security to Protect the Democrats” (IN STUDIO)

• While everyone was busy focusing on the 2016 Presidential elections and the Clinton email scandal, a different and much larger scale I.T. SCANDAL was occurring that was put under wraps by the DOJ. A Pakistani national worked his way up the ranks of Congress in the House of Representatives and gained access to the computer files of 1 in 5 Democrats lifting data, stealing identities, and spending MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars. How on Earth did all of this happen? Luke details it all in his new book. In a two-year long investigation, Rosiak sought to find the truth behind this notorious and hidden scandal. Using tenacious investigative reporting, high-tech, and old school investigative techniques, Rosiak set out for answers and found himself face to face with the “Deep State” and corruption under Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats, the media, and even Republican leadership.

8am – D/E     RICHMOND CHAOS: NORTHAM-FAIRFAX-HERRING