From 'all in' to all over, another Trump nominee bites the dust

Fed fave no Moore

Donald Trump vows to hire "the best people," but how does he choose them? If they look like they came from "central casting," it helps. So does praising him on TV. Most of all, there's his gut, which can outsmart brains.

In the third year of his presidency, it appears Trump needs to fine-tune that process after his attempt to add two friendly voices to the Federal Reserve ended in fiasco. “Vet better,” recommended Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). "Perhaps we should know more about the nominees before their names are even floated,” offered Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). “Reading people’s articles that they write would be a good start,” she snarked.

Trump tweeted at midday Thursday that Stephen Moore "has decided to withdraw" from consideration for the Fed. During the morning, Moore had told Bloomberg News he was "all in" and that Trump, "my biggest ally," was "full speed ahead" on formally nominating him to help set the nation's monetary policy. The last burst of Moore's bravado came 35 minutes before Trump's tweet.

Moore insisted in interviews that he would weather a storm over a record of sexist commentary, racial remarks, tax problems and more dug up by reporters. Those revelations had Republicans sidling away from him. Democrats had already scoffed at his credentials and pronounced him too partisan for the Fed, which is supposed to be insulated from politics — and Trump's outside agitation to goose the economy by cutting interest rates.

Less than two weeks ago, another Trump favorite for the Fed dropped out. Herman Cain wasn't able to overcome past allegations of sexual harassment and doubts about his economic ideas, which were described as "interesting" by polite Republicans and a crackpottery barn by critics.

Moore and Cain join a long list of Trump picks or floats that fizzled. The president's first choice for labor secretary, a fast-food executive, withdrew amid accusations of abusing workers and hiring undocumented household help. Trump wanted his White House physician to run Veterans Affairs, but then misconduct allegations surfaced. Trump's plan to put his personal pilot in charge of the FAA couldn't get off the ground.

A Fox News veteran who Trump picked for UN ambassador dropped out over issues including a past nanny's visa irregularities. Also out before they were in: a White House communications director; two secretaries of the Army; one secretary of the Navy; several nominees for Homeland Security posts; at least six ambassadors; and many, many more.

Fodder for fake 'spy-gate'

Russian election interference alarmed federal officials to the point where they sent an undercover investigator to meet with Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, the New York Times reports. Now Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, is due to report on whether procedures were followed. Results could be due in the next few weeks.

As you'd expect, the factual shades of gray are lost in a new conspiracy-theorizing Trump tweet that apparently picks up on a Fox News rendition of the Times report. "This is bigger than WATERGATE, but the reverse!," he declared, whatever it meant. Trump in the past has called his alleged persecution "spy-gate."

Pelosi reports a 'crime'

Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday accused Attorney General William Barr of lying to Congress and called it a crime, escalating the House Democrats' battle with the Justice Department and Trump administration over special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Pelosi was referring to Barr’s response in an April hearing — that he wasn’t aware of concerns of Mueller’s team that Barr’s summary was inadequate. That seemed to be contradicted by Mueller's earlier letter to Barr.

"Nobody is above the law, not the president, not the attorney general," Pelosi said. But she told reporters she would leave it to the committee process on whether Barr should be prosecuted. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Pelosi’s "baseless attack on the attorney general is reckless, irresponsible, and false.”

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said he would try for a few more days to negotiate for Barr to testify before his panel and provide an unredacted version of Mueller's report. If that doesn't happen, Nadler, said, he'll move toward holding Barr in contempt. For more, see Tom Brune's story for Newsday.

White House privilege

The White House took a new shot at Mueller by releasing a letter sent to Barr last month, accusing the special counsel of making "political statements" about Trump's potential obstruction of justice instead of sticking to his job as a prosecutor, reports Newsday's Laura Figueroa Hernandez.

The letter was sent by White House counsel Emmet Flood on April 19, a day after Barr released the redacted Mueller report. 

Flood also maintained that Trump has retained his executive-privilege rights related to the probe, meaning he can instruct his advisers not to appear before congressional committees to answer questions about it.

Janison: Infrastructure weak

There was an air of good feeling after Trump met with Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer about a $2 trillion infrastructure package Tuesday, but the outlook for concrete results isn't encouraging, writes Newsday's Dan Janison.

Left unresolved are the possible source of the money, the project list and the requisite signoff from Republican lawmakers — that is, just about all key practical elements. In the past, Trump has made a show of a leaning the Democrats' way on issues such as immigration and debt limits, only to pull back with no deals made.

Rudy: I smell a Biden scandal

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is talking to Ukrainian prosecutors, calling for a federal investigation and keeping Trump in the loop as he alleges that Joe Biden had a conflict of interest while vice president that was related to his son Hunter's work for an energy company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch.

Biden in March 2016 threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees unless the government in Kiev dismissed a prosecutor accused of ignoring corruption. Hunter Biden was on the board of a company that prosecutor was investigating. The New York Times reported Hunter's role prompted concerns among State Department officials at the time that it could complicate his father’s diplomacy.

Biden's campaign said he carried out U.S. policy without regard to his son's activities, and the Times said no evidence has surfaced that he intentionally sought to help his son. Giuliani tweeted: "Biden conflicts are too apparent to be ignored and should be investigated quickly and expeditiously." Trump has said Barr should look into alleged collusion by a previous Ukrainian government with Democrats.

Divine collusion

Trump told a National Day of Prayer gathering that faith helped him get through the Mueller probe.

“People say, ‘How do you get through that whole stuff? How do you go through those witch hunts and everything else?’ ” Trump said. He then looked over at Vice President Mike Pence and said, "We just do it, right? And we think about God.”

He also had tried to get then-White House counsel Don McGahn to have Mueller ousted, but that didn't work.

What else is happening:

• Carl Kline, a former White House official who oversaw security clearances, told a House committee that decisions to grant them in cases where his staff opposed them were his alone, not a response to pressure from higher-ups. Oversight chairman Elijah Cummings said Kline refused to discuss specific cases.
• Biden drew criticism from Republicans and Bernie Sanders alike for a remark in Iowa that China is "not competition" for the United States. Biden was arguing that China has worse problems. Sanders said, "It's wrong to pretend that China isn't one of our major economic competitors."
• The 21st Democrat running for president is Colorado's Sen. Michael Bennet, who said he's recovered from a recent bout with prostate cancer. And the field is not yet complete — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock will announce his bid in two weeks, according to MTN News in his home state.
• Will BDB be 23? New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he will decide this month whether he will run for president. He acknowledged his PAC is polling voters in Iowa.
• The Senate on Thursday failed to overturn Trump's veto of legislation that would have ended U.S. military assistance for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The 53-45 vote was short of the required two-thirds majority.
• The Senate confirmed Trump's 100th judicial nominee on Thursday. Trump and the Republicans controlling the chamber have pushed aggressively to stock the judiciary with conservatives.