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The Peanuts had a long-standing joke where Lucy would hold a football for Charlie Brown to kick before pulling away at the last minute. Over and over again, Charlie Brown would run at the ball, wheel his leg back and POOF, Lucy would pull the ball.
The Trump Administration seems to be running full tilt towards Kim Jong Un’s holding of the football. Will he pull away at the last minute?
Good grief.
My name is Mckay Williams and this is your Daily Brief:
Well, we talked yesterday about the Korean summit depending on the mood of President Trump. Turns out, the mood of the Kim Regime will also play a role. On the heels of long planned joint South Korean/US military exercises, North Korea has canceled meetings with South Korea today and has threatened to cancel the planned Singapore Summit with President Trump.
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President Trump has joked earlier in the week that “Many people feel I should receive the Nobel Peace Prize”, but first he must actually negotiate the denuclearization of a county that has vowed the destruction of the American enemy.
With apologies to Jonathan Swan for stealing that headline word for word, it was just too brilliant to not reuse. The White House has declared all out war against the “leaking” of internal conversations to the press. While certainly frustrating for the White House, as outsiders to the inner workings of the People’s House, these leaks have been our only insight into the mood, tone, and tenor of White House staffers as they run the country.
The Administration has reportedly banned all personal cell phones and communication devices and has “Men in suits” running around trying to find anyone who may break those rules.
Article 1, Section IX of the Constitution is kind of a weird one. “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State”
Basically what this means is that as President of the United States, you can’t accept anything of value from any government without Congress saying it’s ok. Emolument is a fancy word for money.
ZTE was sanctioned for possible software included within their products that has the capability of spying on the United States. The US military and Intelligence communities have banned use of any ZTE product by their personnel. This story suggests that President Trump has removed sanctions against Chinese company ZTE in exchange for $500 million dollars for a Trump Tower and golf course in Indonesia. If true, it’s a clear violation of the Emolument clause and could prove more trouble for the embattled President.
If you read ONE story today, this is the one to read. Good. Grief.
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Mckay Williams is a political columnist and commentator. He writes The Daily Brief at the Good Men Project. He lives in Oakland, California. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter for updates on current projects.
