Subject: Fwd: FIRST READ -- April 24, 2015
From: Brian Fallon <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 09:42:57 -0400
List-Id: <hrcrapid.googlegroups.com>

Indeed, upon reflection, that Times article doesn’t hold up that well 24
hours after its publication.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: *Murray, Mark A (NBCUniversal)* <[email-masked]>
Date: Friday, April 24, 2015
Subject: FIRST READ -- April 24, 2015
To:

 *The sound of silence (almost) from the ’16 candidates on drone deaths…
But it’s a conversation and debate worth having for the next
commander-in-chief… The Clinton campaign strikes back against the NYT… Why
Ted Cruz skipped the Loretta Lynch vote: He had to catch a flight to a
Texas fundraiser… Conservative writer: “John Kasich should be punished for
expanding Obamacare”… Saturday’s two GOP cattle calls… And previewing this
Sunday’s “Meet the Press.”*

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Andrew Rafferty.

*FIRST THOUGHTS. *
*** *The Sound of Silence (Almost) From the ’16 Candidates on Drone Deaths*:
If you’ve been following American politics over the last six years,
President Obama could sneeze, and it would produce a flurry of negative
statements and reactions from his political opponents. That’s what makes
yesterday’s silence -- or backtracking -- from Republican 2016 presidential
candidates regarding the accidental drone killing of two hostages so
striking. As the *Wall Street Journal writes*
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/04/24/2016-gop-hopefuls-hold-fire-after-drone-disclosures/>,
some Republican 2016ers chose not to comment on yesterday’s news (Jeb Bush,
Scott Walker), while two others who staged a 2013 filibuster against U.S.
drone policy had no stomach to protest it (Rand Paul and Ted Cruz). “It is
a tragedy that these hostages lost their lives,” Paul said in a brief
statement, per *the Journal*
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/04/24/2016-gop-hopefuls-hold-fire-after-drone-disclosures/>.
“My prayers and thoughts are with their families.” Cruz called for
investigation into the deaths, but added: “Make no mistake: responsibility
for their deaths lies firmly and unequivocally with the terrorists who
kidnapped them and forcibly held them in their command center.”

****But it’s a conversation and debate worth having*:  Meanwhile, Lindsey
Graham -- a hawkish supporter of U.S. intervention overseas -- said,
“Collateral damage is part of war. I’ve got no problem at all with anything
that happened, other than my deepest sympathies for those who were held by
al Qaeda that became collateral damage.” And Marco Rubio added, “We are all
safer because of the actions taken every day around the world by our
government to go after those who wish Americans harm and to prevent future
attacks against us here at home.” But what’s amazing is that an issue that
sparks so much political debate -- Should drones be used in these kinds of
operations? What about against American citizens, even those with al Qaeda
ties? Should there be more checks and balances? -- the 2016ers essentially
punted. These are ALL questions American voters should get answers from the
people vying to become the next commander-in-chief. But no one was
comfortable having that conversation yesterday. It’s a reminder of just how
unprepared many of these campaigns are to debate some of the true heavy
issues out there.

*** *The Clinton campaign strikes back*: Hours after the *New York Times
reported*
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0>
on a Canadian mining company -- whose principals donated heavily to the
Clinton Foundation over the years -- sold its uranium business to Russia
(which had to be approved by Hillary Clinton’s State Department), the
Clinton campaign struck back at the newspaper. It issued these rebuttals to
attempt to knock down any quid-pro-quo:

   - 1. Hillary wasn’t involved in the State Department’s review; it is the
   assistant secretary of state for economic, energy, and business affairs who
   makes the call;
   - 2. The main Clinton Foundation donor, Frank Giustra, sold his stake in
   the Canadian mine business in 2007, so before Hillary became secretary of
   state;
   - 3. The State Department was one of nine U.S. agencies to review the
   sale.

Indeed, upon reflection, that Times article doesn’t hold up that well 24
hours after its publication. But if there’s a legitimate criticism of the
Clintons here -- especially when it comes to the other articles about the
Clinton Foundation and Bill’s speaking fees (*here*
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-clintons-speech-income-shows-how-their-wealth-is-intertwined-with-charity/2015/04/22/12709ec0-dc8d-11e4-a500-1c5bb1d8ff6a_story.html?hpid=z1>
and *here*
<http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0NE0CA20150423?irpc=932>) -- it’s
that they were sloppy, bordering on being greedy. As *Jonathan Chait writes*
<http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/04/disastrous-clinton-post-presidency.html>.
“All sorts of unproven worst-case-scenario questions float around the web
of connections between Bill’s private work, Hillary Clinton’s public role
as secretary of State, the Clintons’ quasi-public charity… But the
best-case scenario is bad enough: The Clintons have been disorganized and
greedy.” Just a reminder: Going after the Clintons on personal money and
appearances of conflict of interest was a successful message for candidate
Barack Obama in 2007-2008.

*** *Why Ted Cruz skipped the Loretta Lynch vote: He had to catch a flight
to a Texas fundraiser*: Ted Cruz, who was one of the most vocal critics
against Loretta Lynch's nomination for Attorney General, was the only
senator to miss her final confirmation vote today because he needed to
catch a flight for a previously scheduled commitment in Texas, his campaign
told NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell and Frank Thorp. "He had to catch a flight for a
commitment in Texas," Cruz campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said.
According to a fundraising invite obtained by *Real Clear Politics*
<http://goo.gl/YA02yV>, Cruz has a fundraiser in Dallas, TX scheduled for
6:00 pm. Cruz spoke on the Senate floor Thursday morning against Lynch's
nomination, and then voted against the procedural vote to move forward with
consideration of her nomination, something called “cloture.” But Cruz
missed the actual vote on Lynch's nomination.

*** *Conservative writer: “John Kasich should be punished for expanding
Obamacare”*: Here’s a reason you might not want to buy stock in John
Kasich’s POSSIBLE presidential candidacy: He expanded Medicaid in Ohio. And
here’s the headline from the *Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein*
<http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/john-kasich-should-be-punished-for-expanding-obamacare/article/2563550>,
one of top conservative wonks: “John Kasich should be punished for
expanding Obamacare.”

*** *Saturday’s two GOP cattle calls*: Saturday brings two GOP cattle
calls. One is the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition spring kick-off, featuring
nine 2016ers -- Cruz, Fiorina, Huckabee, Jindal, Paul, Perry, Rubio,
Santorum, and Walker. And the other one is the Republican Jewish Coalition
confab in Las Vegas, which will also hear from Cruz and Perry, as well as
George W. Bush, John Boehner, and Mitt Romney.

*** *On “Meet” this Sunday*: Finally, on “Meet the Press” this Sunday,
here’s an early look at some of guests: David Boies and Ted Olson (to talk
about the Supreme Court’s upcoming gay-marriage decision), Arkansas Gov.
Asa Hutchinson, and cartoonist Garry Trudeau.

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*OBAMA AGENDA: Drone Wars*
The president said Thursday that the strike against al Qaeda operatives
that killed two hostages was “fully consistent” with current guidelines on
drone strikes. Those rules will now be under review, the *Wall Street
Journal reports. *
<http://www.wsj.com/articles/obamas-drone-strike-rules-to-be-reviewed-1429832348>

*From the New York Times*
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/world/asia/drone-strikes-reveal-uncomfortable-truth-us-is-often-unsure-about-who-will-die.html>:
“By most accounts, hundreds of dangerous militants have, indeed, been
killed by drones, including some high-ranking Qaeda figures. But for six
years, when the heavy cloak of secrecy has occasionally been breached, the
results of some strikes have often turned out to be deeply troubling.”

The *Washington Post reports*
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/hostages-deaths-raise-wider-questions-about-drone-strikes-civilian-toll/2015/04/23/c70568f6-e9e5-11e4-9767-6276fc9b0ada_story.html?hpid=z1>
, “Current and former U.S. counterterrorism officials said that Thursday’s
disclosures undercut years of U.S. claims about the accuracy of the drone
program.”

*The Post profiles*
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-american-hostage-devoted-life-to-helping-the-worlds-poorest-people/2015/04/23/368fb35c-e9c8-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html?hpid=z1>
Warren
Weinstein, the U.S. aid worker killed in the drone attack.

*Here’s Export-Import Bank head Fred Hochberg*
<http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140820/fred-p-hochberg/protecting-america%E2%80%99s-competitive-advantage>
on why the Export-Import Bank matters.

*CONGRESS: Lynch gets confirmed (finally)*
“Loretta Lynch was confirmed Thursday as attorney general, the first black
woman in American history to hold the country's top law enforcement
post,” *NBC’s
Halimah Abdullah reports. *
<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/loretta-lynch-confirmed-senate-attorney-general-n347066>

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell whipped votes to push the nomination
through, *the Hill reports. *
<http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/239938-mcconnell-whipped-for-lynch-avoiding-nuclear-fallout>

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz led the charge against Lynch, but missed the final vote
on her confirmation to get back home for a fundraiser, *NBC’s Kelly
O’Donnell and Frank Thorp report. *
<http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/why-ted-cruz-missed-loretta-lynch-vote-n347196>

The contentious Pacific trade deal cleared a major hurdle in the House,*
the Wall Street Journal reports.*
<http://www.wsj.com/articles/trade-bill-clears-house-hurdle-as-gop-blocks-democratic-alternative-1429834954>

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin *told CQ Roll Call *
<http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/durbin-claims-votes-to-remain-whip/?dcz=>that
he has support to remain whip.

*OFF TO THE RACES: Back to Iowa*
Nine GOP presidential hopefuls will be in Iowa this weekend for the Faith &
Freedom Coalition spring kickoff. The *Des Moines Register*
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/04/23/things-watch-iowa-faith-freedom-event/26275837/>
lays out 10 things to watch ahead of the event.

*BUSH: **Per CNN*
<http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/23/politics/jeb-bush-james-baker-foreign-policy/index.html>:
Jeb Bush on Thursday sought to distance himself from former Secretary of
State James Baker, one of his foreign policy advisers, saying in a
closed-door meeting that he doesn't believe Baker should have recently
addressed the liberal-leaning Israel advocacy group J Street.

Iowa Republicans agree Jeb Bush has a Common Core problem, but they differ
on how he should deal with it, *Politico reports. *
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/insiders-bushs-common-core-support-damaging-but-not-fatal-117309.html?hp=t1_r>

And he won’t be in Iowa this weekend. Instead, he’ll be huddling with
donors in Miami, *Politico writes.  *
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/jeb-bush-2016-fundraising-117304.html>

Despite his indulgence in pie, he is determined to stay slim in 2016, *the
New York Times reports. *
<http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/us/politics/paleo-diet-in-and-pizza-out-a-slimmer-jeb-bush-seems-intent-on-staying-that-way.html?referrer=>

*CLINTON: *“Hillary Clinton is being called to testify on Benghazi as early
as mid-May, according to Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, chair of a
committee tasked with investigating the attacks,” *NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell
and Alex Moe report. *
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/hillary-clinton/clinton-called-house-testify-benghazi-n347136>

Rep. John Boehner* told Bloomberg *
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-23/boehner-threatens-house-subpoena-of-clinton-s-e-mail-server>the
House may try to subpoena Clinton’s personal email server if she doesn’t
voluntarily turn it over.

*New York Times op/ed*
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/opinion/candidate-clinton-and-the-foundation.html?_r=0>:
“Hillary Rodham Clinton’s determination to reconnect with voters in
localized, informative settings is commendable, but is in danger of being
overshadowed by questions about the interplay of politics and wealthy
foreign donors who support the Clinton Foundation.”

Republican National Committee Chair Reince Preibus writes in the *Des
Moines Register: **“Yes, everyday Americans "need a champion." But Clinton
is not cut out to be that champion. In her eyes, there's one cause that
comes before all else: herself.”*
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/04/24/hillary-clinton-champion-americans/26275375/>

*KASICH: *The *National Review asks*
<http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417388/john-kasichs-presidential-run-real-brendan-bordelon>:
Is John Kasich’s presidential run for real?

*O’MALLEY*: In a *Washington Post op-ed*
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/federal-solutions-to-our-student-loan-problem/2015/04/23/a9ab9f6c-e69a-11e4-9767-6276fc9b0ada_story.html>,
the former Maryland governor calls for debt-free college.

*RUBIO: *The Florida senator jumped to the head of the pack in* a new Fox
News poll. *
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/23/fox-news-poll-rubio-jumps-to-head-2016-gop-pack-clinton-honesty-questioned/>

*The Associated Press notes*
<http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3889c5937a4c4ae19fdbe49e9f707fc6/not-long-ago-rubio-questioned-his-readiness-presidency>
that it was not long ago Rubio was questioning his own readiness to be
president.

*WALKER: *He told a crowd this week that he will not discuss Social
Security and Medicare reform until he formally declares a presidential
run, *the
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.*
<http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/301114721.html>

*PROGRAMMING NOTES.*
*** *Friday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up*: Frances Rivera is in
for Tamron Hall, she will speak with Former Army Ranger & Former CIA
counterterrorism analyst Kevin Strouse  about the latest on the death of
American hostage Warren Weinstein and Italian hostage Giovanni Lo Porto
after a drone strike in January, MSNBC’s Adam Reiss on the latest protests
in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, Native American Actress Allie
Young in Adam Sandler’s film "Ridiculous 6" after she and other native
American actors walked off the set because they said the script insulted
native women and elders, and Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul actor Raymond
Cruz about his role as Ariel Castro in Life Time’s new film: Cleveland
Abduction.

*** *Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up:* NBC’s Andrea Mitchell
will interview NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski, Kelly Cobiella and Pete Williams,
the New York Times’ Jeremy Peters, Author Gayle Lemmon and “Nerd Prom”
Documentary Producer Patrick Gavin.

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