Trump picked a heck of a time to go quiet

Commander in chief goes stealth

Never had Americans wanted more to hear from President Donald Trump. But on Tuesday night, with Iranian missiles crashing into U.S. bases in Iraq spiking war jitters, he had nothing to say.

First, word came that he would go on TV to address the American people after White House meetings with senior national security officials. Then word came that he wouldn't. The confusion was consistent with chaotic communications since the crisis erupted.

But finally, after several anxious hours, Trump tweeted. "All is well!" he said. "Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning."

Still, it looked like America would have to go to bed in suspense. Is it over? On Sunday, he had tweeted that "should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner."

Iran certainly struck U.S. targets at two bases, but early reports suggested Iran aimed its powerful missiles, which have a reputation for accuracy, away from where U.S. forces were housed. There were no American casualties. CNN was told no Iraqi troops were hurt either.

The regime in Tehran said it had taken “proportionate measures in self-defense” and would stop if Trump didn't hit back. The hopeful view was that Iran was content to make a statement via ballistic missile in revenge for the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani — and that Trump would grab the chance to stand down.

A former Iranian nuclear negotiator posted a picture of Iran's flag on Twitter, appearing to mimic Trump’s post of an American flag after the drone-delivered death of Soleimani.

Send no flowers

Whose side are they on? Republicans defending Trump on Iran have been on offense against Democratic critics, reviving age-old lines used to attack war skeptics as virtual traitors.

"The only ones that are mourning the loss of Soleimani are our Democrat leadership and our Democrat presidential candidates,” declared Trump's former UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, on Sean Hannity's Fox News show.

No Democrat of any consequence has gone teary-eyed over the death of Soleimani. The thrust of criticism is that Trump acted impulsively without thinking through the consequences and costs of an escalating conflict with Iran. But Democrats are courting a risk of backlash if they are seen as downplaying Soleimani's evil, homicidal history.

Elizabeth Warren appeared to have stepped on that banana peel. Her first tweet after the attack said "Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans," and she went on to enumerate the perils from Trump's "reckless move."

But Warren's attempt at a balanced tone displeased some on the left as too centrist. In a tweet the next day attacking Trump's policy, she described Soleimani in more neutral terms as a "senior foreign military official" who Trump "assassinated." In a Sunday interview on CNN, Warren referred to Soleimani as only "a government official, a high-ranking military official."

On Tuesday, Warren went on "The View." Here is part of her exchange with co-host Meghan McCain. "Do you think he is a terrorist?" McCain asked. Warren began saying, "He's part of a group that is but —— ” McCain interrupted: "But is he a terrorist?"

The back-and-forth concluded with Warren acknowledging: "Of course he is, he's part of a group that our federal government has designated as a terrorist. The question, though, is ‘what's the right response?’ ” She didn't make it all the way back to "murderer."

Never mind the culture war

Trump appeared to have been talked down from his threat to include Iranian cultural sites on a list of prospective U.S. targets if he launched new attacks. From Trump's grumbling Tuesday, it doesn't sound like it was an easy sell.

"If that's what the law is — I like to obey the law. But think of it, they kill our people, they blow up our people and then we have to be very gentle with their cultural institutions," Trump said. That's because such an attack would be a war crime under international law.

Trump added that he's "OK with it," but maintained a threat: "If Iran does anything that it shouldn't be doing. They will be suffering the consequences and very strongly."

Biden takes a swing

In a New York speech, Joe Biden slammed Trump for offering “tweets, threats and tantrums” and “shifting explanations” rather than “levelheaded words meant to dial down the tensions” with Iran.

“I have no illusions about Iran” or its brutal leadership and its role in vast instability in the region, Biden said. But he contended “there's a smart way to counter Iran and a self-defeating way,” labeling Trump’s approach “demonstrably the latter.”

Trump said Tuesday: "We saved a lot of lives” because “they were planning something.” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that Iranian threats against Americans were “days away" from being executed, which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said was "going to lead potentially to the death of many more Americans.”

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said that from previous briefings he received, “I’m certainly not satisfied that the intelligence supports the conclusion that the killing of Soleimani was going to either prevent attacks on the United States or reduce the risk to American lives.” Another round of briefings is underway.

Janison: Swamped

Remember the Trump promise to "drain the swamp" in Washington. The mission, if it ever was a mission, is not accomplished, writes Newsday's Dan Janison.

The Trump administration's tariffs — which are taxes on imports — have created a whole new sub-industry for lobbyists seeking to get their clients exclusions from the charges. Firms that won tariff exclusions include those of Trump inauguration committee chief Brian Ballard, former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and Trump fundraiser Marc Lampkin, according to the news site ProPublica.

The Trump administration has helped feed the lobbying swamp in other ways. As of October, the number of lobbyists in government jobs far exceeded the same figure for the Obama administration after six years, according to a joint research project of ProPublica and the Columbia Journalism School.

Mitch pleased as GOP holds firm

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he's locked down enough support among GOP senators to hold the Senate impeachment trial his way, which leaves decisions on whether to seek witnesses and documents until after opening arguments are made.

The Washington Post reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing increasing pressure, including from some in her own party, to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate so a trial can begin. 

In an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump declined to say whether he supports his former national security adviser John Bolton testifying, Trump said only that Bolton, who announced on Monday his willingness to be a witness, “would know nothing about what we’re talking about” on Ukraine.

In reality, Bolton had firsthand knowledge of internal White House deliberation, and according to testimony in the House probe, reacted angrily to Trump’s pressure on Ukraine, the Post wrote. In recent months, Bolton has confided to friends that he was deeply troubled by his time at the White House and the president’s behavior, that report said.

In like Flynn means jail?

Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn deserves up to 6 months behind bars, the Justice Department said Tuesday, reversing its earlier position that he was entitled to avoid prison time because of his extensive cooperation with prosecutors.

The prosecutors said Flynn stopped cooperating and retreated from the admission of wrongdoing in his guilty plea.

"The government has reason to believe, through representations by the defendant’s counsel, that the defendant has retreated from his acceptance of responsibility in this case regarding his lies to the FBI,” prosecutors wrote.

What else is happening:

• Michael Bloomberg's campaign said it decided to buy $10 million in ads to run during the Super Bowl on Feb. 2, mainly for "getting under Trump’s skin,” The New York Times reported. Trump's campaign also is planning a $10 million ad buy. The game will be played one day before the Iowa caucuses, which matters little for either campaign's plans.
• A top Facebook executive wrote in an internal memo that the company had a moral duty not to tilt the scales against Trump's reelection campaign, though personally, he “desperately” wants Trump to lose, the Times reported.
• Trump's campaign has begun running ads on Facebook hailing the killing of Soleimani.
• New York State’s highest court will consider Trump must face a defamation lawsuit by a former contestant on “The Apprentice,” in a showdown that could help determine whether Trump can be sued while in the White House. The Appellate Division in Manhattan, an intermediate-level court, asked the state Court of Appeals to review whether its 3-2 decision in favor of Summer Zervos, who accused Trump of sexual misconduct and sued when she was called a liar.
• Before Tuesday night's attacks in Iraq, U.S. allies said they were reducing and repositioning troops inside Iraq amid fears of Iranian retaliation. Some European diplomats expressed fears that the shifting of troops would diminish their ability to fight ISIS.
• The Trump administration took steps Tuesday to roll back an Obama-era rule intended to ensure that communities confront and address racial segregation in housing, The Associated Press reported. The argument behind the proposed Department of Housing and Urban Development rule is that local governments have been overburdened by the requirements.