Let's Make A Deal (With Democrats)

Into The Arms Of 'Chuck And Nancy'? [NPR Politics]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Liam James Doyle/NPR Summertime in Washington stopped this week like a truck hitting a wall. In only the four workdays after the traditional resumption of the doing-stuff season following Labor Day, elected officials in the capital [fought a huge battle over immigration]( President Trump and congressional leaders convened over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling — [in which the Republican president took the side of the Democratic minority in Congress]( — and, oh yeah, [the president’s eldest son appeared on Capitol Hill]( to talk about his election year meeting about an offer of help from the Russian government. And even as those stories played out, vast human peril continued to grip Texas, the Southeast and Florida as Americans continued trying to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Irma. By Friday, Congress had approved a mega-bill that funds the government through Dec. 8, permits the nation to continue borrowing money until then and appropriates [more than $15 billion to help with hurricane disaster relief](. The legislation passed with significant help from minority Democrats. It was fiscally conservative Republicans who were outraged about what they viewed as a breach of faith by the White House, unwilling to vote for an increase in the debt ceiling without concomitant cuts in spending elsewhere. The costs of the measure were steep in terms of trust and convention. Republicans were gobsmacked. Some of them rationalized the agreement — House Speaker Paul Ryan said the crises of Harvey and Irma meant quick action was called for, even though he’d said hours before a short-term bill was “ridiculous.” Others were less sanguine, including the Republicans who lit into White House aides in a meeting on Friday after the House bill passed. [​NPR’s Susan Davis takes you inside the room.]( — Philip Ewing, NPR National Security Editor​ --------------------------------------------------------------- Trump Jr. Wanted Info On Clinton's 'Fitness' Donald Trump Jr. took his much-discussed meeting with a Russian contingent last year because he wanted to hear about “the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate,” — in this case, Hillary Clinton — [as he told Senate Judiciary Committee staffers]( on Thursday. NPR’s Geoff Bennett obtained his statement, which is [available here](. Trump Jr. said that what he intended to do was listen to the people he was promised would deliver dirt on Clinton and then: “Depending on what, if any, information they had, I could then consult with counsel to make an informed decision as to whether to give it further consideration.” Trump Jr. told the Hill staffers that he never spoke about any of this with his father, the then-candidate and now president, until much later. The White House has acknowledged President Trump played a role in drafting Trump Jr.’s initial statement about the meeting, which described an agenda focusing on “adoption.” The bottom line: Trump Jr. stuck to his guns: There was no “collusion” between himself or the campaign and any foreign power as the Russians were interfering in the election last year, he said. The whole Trump Tower meeting was a waste of time, he maintains. But: Justice Department special counsel [Robert Mueller wants to interview White House staff]( who were with President Trump when he helped craft the initial statement about the Trump Jr. meeting, write Pamela Brown, Gloria Borger and Jeremy Diamond for CNN. --------------------------------------------------------------- About The Whole 'Adoption' Thing... When Russian advocates in the United States talk about “adoptions,” what they’re really talking about is “sanctions” — specifically, [the Magnitsky Act](. In fact, two of the people who met with Trump Jr., Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort have [long track records working against sanctions]( as NPR’s Jackie Northam writes. What’s the connection? After Congress imposed sanctions on an elite group of Russians in 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin forbade Americans from adopting Russian children. Trump Jr. said in his statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he has since become aware of the Magnitsky Act and the connection to the “adoption” storyline, but he didn’t know anything about it last year. --------------------------------------------------------------- 'The Tip Of The Iceberg' That’s how Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., described Facebook’s concession that it sold $100,000 worth of ads to accounts apparently linked with Russian influence operations, as NPR’s Ryan Lucas reports. Warner said at a conference on Thursday he [expects to learn there was much more to Russia’s efforts]( to use overt social media platforms like Facebook as part of its campaign to influence Americans last year. What does it all mean? 1. The story confirms the Russians used a range of the “tools” in their “kit” (as foreign policy types like to say) to shape the information environment inside the United States: While their intelligence servers were using high-end cyber-capabilities, they were also propounding overt propaganda via Sputnik and RT aaaaand, we now know, buying Facebook ad impressions in the way any conventional publicity campaign would. 2. At the same time, $100,000 isn’t even peanuts in the context of Facebook, which makes billions upon billions of dollars from this business. So it isn’t clear whether there might be more ad buys that haven’t been discovered ... or whether this might just have been a trial run to see what kind of splash this would make. Maybe the people responsible thought their other “tools” were more effective by May of 2016 when the ads stopped. 3. Facebook, Twitter, Google and other digital “platforms” have more to worry about now than just criticism over serving as vehicles by which “fake news” was shared. Selling advertisers highly targeted access to specific users is their bread and butter. They have a new incentive to agree to disclose more information about certain buyers, or change their policies about who may buy, or take other such actions on their own — so that Congress or the feds don’t try to impose such requirements from Washington. One watchdog group is [already seeking an investigation]( into the Facebook ads, NPR’s Peter Overby reports. --------------------------------------------------------------- ICYMI: Top Stories Of The Week Fact Check: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the president’s decision to [end DACA]( this week. He said beneficiaries of the program denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans. But are DACA recipients really [stealing jobs]( An “alt-right” glossary: While activists continue to rally against white supremacy, [here’s a list]( of common terms that [racist and misogynist groups]( use in defending their views. Paying for hurricane recovery: Congress has approved a $15.25 billion measure to assist in the federal response to two major storms. It’s only the beginning of what will be needed for the affected areas to recover. [Where does all that money go]( — Barbara Sprunt, NPR producer --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( You received this message because you're subscribed to our Politics emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]