A oil pump is seen at sunset outside Scheibenhard, near Strasbourg, France, October 6, 2017 . REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
December 1, 2017
By Aaron Sheldrick
TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil futures rose on Friday after OPEC and other major producers agreed to extend their production curbs in a widely expected move aimed at ending a persistent glut in global supplies.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporters (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers led by Russia on Thursday agreed to maintain the output cuts until the end of 2018, while also signaling a possible early exit from the deal if the market overheats.
U.S. crude futures were up 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $57.58, as of 0514 GMT. Brent February crude futures rose 24 cents to $62.87.
Analysts had earlier said the nine-month extension was already priced in. Over November, Brent rose about 3.6 percent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained about 5.6 percent as traders pushed up prices in anticipation of the cuts being extended past their scheduled expiry in March 2018.
Gains are likely to be muted as inventories need to be cut further, said an official from a Japanese refiner.
“Oil prices are likely to hover around current levels till next June, when stockpiles would be optimized through continued production cuts, but the market will likely tighten after that,” said Kiyoshi Homma, a director at Idemitsu Kosan.
The deal cuts 1.8 million barrels a day (bpd) from the market to tackle oversupply and bolster prices.
Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih said it was premature to talk about exiting the cuts at least for a couple of quarters as the world was entering a season of low winter demand. He said OPEC would examine progress at its next regular meeting in June.
OPEC and Russia together produce over 40 percent of global oil. Moscow’s first real cooperation with OPEC, put together with the help of President Vladimir Putin, has been crucial in roughly halving an excess of global oil stocks since January.
OPEC is showing “a strong commitment to normalizing inventories and also to remain data dependent, which reduces the risk of both unexpected supply surprises and excess stock draws,” Goldman Sachs said in a note.
Russia had been pushing for a clear path to exit the cuts and avoid a rally in prices that would only fuel more drilling in the United States, which is not a party to the agreement.
Rising U.S. production helped fuel a slump in prices, starting in 2014, and shale oil drilling has picked up as prices rose, undermining the OPEC and non-OPEC output cuts.
U.S. oil production hit a new record of 9.68 million bpd last week, according to government data released this week. [EIA/S].
(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
President Donald Trump called the not guilty verdict in the case of an illegal alien and the 2015 murder of Kate Steinle, “disgraceful” on Thursday night.
“A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case! No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration,” wrote Trump.
A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case! No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration.
A jury found Jose Garcia Zarate not guilty on Thursday in the shooting death of 32-year-old Kate Steinle. Previously known as Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, Zarate told a local news outlet in a jailhouse confession shortly after he was arrested that he shot Steinle. He also admitted that he chose to come to San Francisco because he knew he would not be pursued by immigration officials. San Francisco is a sanctuary city, and California legislators have since voted to make the entire state a sanctuary state.
Steinle was shot in the back while walking on San Francisco’s Pier 14. Her last words were a plea to her father for help as she died in his arms.
Zarate was found guilty only of felony possession of a weapon on Thursday. The conviction carries a maximum three years in prison according to Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak and, with time served, he could be out of jail very soon.
Steinle’s death made national headlines when it happened. Trump referenced the young woman many times on the presidential campaign trail. He also met with and highlighted many families who have lost loved ones at the hands of foreign nationals illegally present in the United States. In June, President Trump hosted many of these families at the White House and advocated for multiple immigration enforcement bills.
Building a wall along the U.S. southern border and enforcing immigration laws were cornerstone promises of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said on Thursday that he was hopeful that a U.N.-imposed arms embargo would be partially lifted against some branches of the country’s military.
The Libyan government is allowed to import weapons and related materiel with the approval of a U.N. Security Council committee overseeing the embargo imposed in 2011.
“…We hope that this embargo will be partially ended at least against some of the military branches such as the presidential guard and the coast guard,” Sarraj, the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), said before meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon. He was speaking through a translator.
President Donald Trump will host Sarraj at the White House on Friday for talks on counterterrorism cooperation and ways to expand bilateral engagement.
The North African country has been in turmoil since Muammar Gaddafi’s downfall gave space to Islamist militants and smuggling networks that have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe.
Political and military fractures have left the country mired in conflict. Rival parliaments and governments have vied for power.
Libya’s eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar is aligned with a government and parliament in eastern Libya. He has rejected a U.N.-backed Government of National Accord based in the capital, Tripoli, as he has gradually strengthened his position on the ground.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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DATA BREACH — “Senate GOP campaign arm stole donor data from House Republicans,” by POLITICO’s Kevin Robillard and Elena Schneider: “Staffers for Senate Republicans’ campaign arm seized information on more than 200,000 donors from the House GOP campaign committee over several months this year by breaking into its computer system, three sources with knowledge of the breach told POLITICO. … Multiple NRSC staffers, who previously worked for the NRCC, used old database login information to gain access to House Republicans’ donor lists this year.
“The donor list that was breached is among the NRCC’s most valuable assets, containing not only basic contact information like email addresses and phone numbers but personal information that could be used to entice donors to fork over cash — information on top issues and key states of interest to different people, the names of family members, and summaries of past donation history. The list has helped the NRCC raise over $77 million this year to defend the House in 2018.” Full story here.
PARTY’S OVER — “Paul Ryan Cancels Fund-Raiser for Lee Zeldin Over Tax Bill Vote,” The New York Times reports: “House Speaker Paul D. Ryan scratched plans for a fund-raiser on Wednesday that was to benefit the re-election campaign of Representative Lee M. Zeldin, after Mr. Zeldin, a Republican from Long Island, voted against the sweeping tax overhaul that cleared the House earlier this month. Several people familiar with the planning for the fund-raiser said the cancellation was designed to punish Mr. Zeldin, who not only voted against the bill but was outspoken about one aspect: the elimination of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, which particularly impacts high-tax states like New York. … The fund-raising lunch event still occurred on Wednesday, but the proceeds now went to Mr. Ryan’s political operation and the National Republican Congressional Committee, rather than Mr. Zeldin’s campaign.” Full story here.
PRIMARY ADDITION — Blankenship says he’s jumping into West Virginia Senate race: Former energy executive Don Blankenship, who served a one-year prison sentence for “conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards,” said he’s filing papers to run for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s seat, reports WCHS. Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Rep. Evan Jenkins are already competing in the GOP primary.
FIRST IN SCORE — Diane Black digital ad highlights tax reform support: Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Rep. Diane Black is airing a new digital ad touting her support for Trump’s tax plan. The ad starts with a clip of Trump saying, “I called Diane Black and you came through, Diane.” The rest of the minute-long ad is a montage of Black praising the tax reform plan on television. Watch the ad here.
— Meanwhile in Nashville … Jeb Bush is headlining a fundraiser for Black opponent Randy Boyd today, per the Tennessean’s Joel Ebert.
MAYBE, MAYBE NOT — “Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner reconsiders: She may challenge John Katko for Congress,” by Syracuse.com’s Mark Weiner: “Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner says she’s reconsidering whether to run for Congress next year and challenge Rep. John Katko, a month after she had ruled out the possibility. Miner said she changed her mind after Katko voted for a Republican overhaul of the tax code that she fears will disproportionately harm working poor and middle-class residents of Syracuse and Central New York.” Full story.
GETTING THE NOD — NewDem PAC adds candidates to ‘watch list’: The NewDem PAC added 10 candidates to its ‘watch list’ on Thursday: Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02), Greg Stanton (AZ-09), Jason Crow (CO-06), Lauren Baer (FL-18), Dean Phillips (MN-03), Susie Lee (NV-03), Max Rose (NY-11), Dan McCready (NC-09), Ben McAdams (UT-04) and Dan Kohl (WI-06).
TRUMP BUMP — “Trump appears to back Hawley in Missouri Senate race,” by Robillard: “President Donald Trump appeared to endorse Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley in the state’s GOP Senate primary. … ‘He’ll be a great senator,’ Trump said during a rally for tax reform in St. Charles, Mo., adding later: ‘You have my word that I’m going to come here and campaign for you.’” Full story here.
ICYMI — “Judge allows DNC to depose Spicer on election night activities,” by POLITICO New Jersey’s Matt Friedman: “A federal judge said Wednesday that he’ll allow the Democratic National Committee to depose Sean Spicer, the former Republican National Committee communications director and White House spokesman, on whether he violated a 35-year-old consent decree barring the RNC from engaging in ballot security or voter suppression efforts. But the judge, Michael Vazquez, denied a DNC request for an evidentiary hearing on whether the RNC violated the consent decree.
“Vazquez said that despite comments from high-ranking Trump campaign officials about poll watching efforts in the lead-up to the 2016 election, the DNC had presented no evidence that the RNC participated in them. ‘As far as what’s before this court, you’ve presented me with no evidence of actual voter suppression efforts on the day of the election, much less tying it to the RNC,’ Vazquez told DNC attorneys.” Full story here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think that her comments on Sunday set women back and — quite frankly, our party back — decades,” Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice said of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s response to the sexual assault allegations made earlier this week against Rep. John Conyers.
AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordan will not allow Israel to reopen its embassy in Amman until it has launched legal proceedings against an Israeli security guard who shot dead two Jordanian citizens in July, a Jordanian diplomatic source said on Thursday.
Israel must also be able to assure its Arab neighbor that “justice has been served” in the case, the senior source said, asking not to be named.
The embassy was closed shortly after Israel hastily repatriated the guard under diplomatic immunity to prevent Jordanian authorities from interrogating him and taking any legal action against him. The Israeli ambassador and embassy staff were pulled out.
Israeli sources said on Wednesday they were planning to replace Ambassador Einat Schlein at the Amman embassy in an effort to improve ties. However they did not address the long-standing Jordanian demand to take legal action against the security guard.
“They can look for a new ambassador but that ambassador will not be welcome in Jordan until a due legal process takes its course and justice is served,” the diplomatic source said.
“Our position remains solid in Jordan.. The embassy will not reopen until these conditions are met… which is the position we took from the very beginning,” he added.
Jordan maintains that even if the guard had diplomatic immunity that did not mean he could not be punished.
“The guard enjoyed immunity and not impunity under Vienna conventions,” the source said, referring to the Vienna Convention that specifies privileges given to diplomats.
“Jordan acted in compliance with its obligation under international law and Israel has to do the same,” the source said.
Jordanian officials have treated the shooting as a criminal case and say the two unarmed Jordanians, one a bystander and the other a teenage workman, were killed in cold blood by the armed guard.
Israel said the armed guard opened fire after being attacked and lightly wounded by the workman, who was delivering furniture at his home within the embassy compound, and acted in self- defense, in what Israeli officials called a “terrorist attack”.
A televised welcome and hero’s embrace by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the guard enraged King Abdullah. In a rare outburst, the monarch accused Netanyahu of using the incident as a “political show” saying it was “provocative on all fronts”.
The king called on Israel to put the guard on trial.
“From the very beginning they had addressed this issue in a disgraceful way to politically exploit it,” the source said.
The handling of the shooting has tested ties between Israel and Jordan, one of only two Arab states that has a peace treaty with Israel. They have a long history of close security ties.
Many Jordanians, in a country where the peace treaty is unpopular and pro-Palestinian sentiment widespread, were outraged the guard was allowed to leave and staged protests calling on the authorities to scrap the 1994 peace treaty.
Israel has said it is highly unlikely it would prosecute the security guard but has hinted at financial compensation to the family of one of the dead Jordanians.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
The New York Times critiqued Ivanka Trump’s clothing choices for her trip to India and accused her of culturally appropriating Indian fashion.
NYT noted that Ivanka’s clothing featured Indian-inspired patterns, fabrics, and cuts, that appeared to be a nod to the local culture. However, they wondered if the first daughter went too far in trying to woo the Indian people.
“Where is the line between culturally appropriate dress and cultural appropriation?” Vanessa Friedman asked. “It was hard to look at Ivanka Trump’s wardrobe during her India trip this week and not ask the question.”
In Hyderabad, Ivanka wore a red dress with mother-of-pearl embroidery–a respectful nod to the city’s historical nickname, “City of Pearls.”
“Get it?!” Friedman wrote with more than a touch of snark.
Friedman admitted that “Indian style watchers were generally positive about” a Tory Burch dinner dress that Ivanka wore on Tuesday, but made sure to pepper in some negative comments from larger Indian media outlets.
“If Ivanka’s clothes are to be an acknowledgment of an ancient and rich culture like ours, especially as she arrives as a dignitary, then the sartorial ‘tribute’ should be authentic in its intention,” Bandana Tewari, the editor at large of Vogue India, said. “We would rather see her wear a hand-woven sari made in our country or a handmade gown made in her own country. But to hybridize the two, in an era of unfiltered diversity, is a superfluous nod to half-acceptance.”
“While on the one hand it is nice to see someone in the Trump administration make an effort to leverage the possibilities of tactical dress, the interpretation was largely through the lens of the outsider looking in,” Friedman whined.
During the trip, Ivanka also wore a red floral-print dress by a Bombay-born designer, a cream-and-black lace dress by an Indonesian designer, and a traditional kurta dress.
Ivanka was heralded as an “Indian Barbie doll” by India Today, but Friedman jabbed, “Whether that was actually the last impression Ms. Trump wanted to leave on a trip that was supposed to be about ‘women first’ is not entirely clear.”
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Council President Donald Tusk will fly to Dublin on Friday afternoon for talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar as a deadline looms for a Brexit deal with Britain on the Northern Ireland border.
A spokesman for Tusk, who chairs EU summits and is overseeing the Brexit process, said in a tweet on Thursday that the 4 p.m. (1600 GMT) meeting would “discuss #Brexit and how to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland”.
Britain’s Times newspaper, without citing a source, said Britain had this week proposed to devolve more powers to the government of its province of Northern Ireland so that it could ensure regulations there did not diverge from EU rules holding south of the border across the island.
Avoiding a hard customs border which might rekindle sectarian violence in the north has been a key demand of the EU and Ireland, who want Britain to give details of how it will ensure “no regulatory divergence” after Brexit in March 2019.
Tusk last week set an “absolute deadline” of Monday for British Prime Minister Theresa May to deliver “sufficient progress” in improving London’s divorce offer if EU leaders are to authorize negotiations on a future free trade deal and on a largely status-quo, two-year transition period after Brexit.
May will hold talks in Brussels on Monday with EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker and his chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier. If that meeting produces “sufficient progress” on three key EU conditions — a financial settlement, rights of expatriate citizens and the Irish border — then leaders could give a green light to trade talks at a summit on Dec. 14-15.
Barnier said on Wednesday the summit would be able to discuss a transition period and that the EU would define a “framework” next year of the “new partership” with Britain that would follow the transition.
May has insisted she wants any new offers to be met with simultaneous assurances from the EU that it will maintain the open trading relationship which businesses are demanding to know soon if they are to maintain investment levels in Britain.
EU officials and diplomats have in recent weeks been scoping out terms for a transition and various kinds of free trade agreements — work intended to speed up the start of talks on those issues in anticipation of agreement to open the second phase of Brexit negotiations at the December summit.
The precise timing of a formal offer of a transition, which EU officials have long said will essentially mean Britain staying in all EU programs but without a vote, is unclear but could come as early as January, officials have said — though it would only be binding once the divorce deal is signed and ratified by both parliaments, probably in early 2019.
Negotiations on a future trade deal are likely to take some weeks to get going after the December summit, as the EU will first have to go through a process of drafting guidelines for negotiators — although the basic outline of what might be on offer is already fairly plain.
(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Mount Agung volcano spews smoke and ash in the early morning as seen from Amed, Karangasem Regency, Bali, Indonesia, November 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside
November 30, 2017
By Kanupriya Kapoor and Wayan Sukarda
KARANGASEM, Indonesia (Reuters) – Airlines laid on extra flights to Bali on Thursday to allow some of the thousands of passengers stranded by the eruption of Mount Agung to fly out, as a switch in wind direction sent volcanic ash away from the holiday island’s airport.
Agung was partially shrouded by cloud on Thursday with parts of Bali lashed by monsoon rain, but according to officials there were persistent tremors from the crater.
“Mount Agung continues to erupt, ejecting volcanic ash up to 2,000 meters (6,500 ft) in height,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, said via Twitter. Earlier in the week, Agung had ejected showers of rocks up to four km (two miles), he said.
The reopening on Wednesday afternoon of Bali’s airport, which is about 60 km (37 miles) away from Mount Agung, followed a downgrade in an aviation warning to one level below the most serious, with the arrival of more favorable winds.
While Bali’s airport was open again after a more than two-day closure, the airport on neighboring Lombok island was closed on Thursday due to ash from Agung, air traffic control provider AirNav said.
Bali airport’s call center said three flights had left on Thursday morning, while nine had arrived. It’s website showed dozens of flights scheduled to fly to Singapore, Seoul, Perth and other cities.
Two Chinese state-owned airlines on Wednesday night sent flights to fetch more than 2,700 Chinese tourists from Bali, Xinhua news agency said.
China Southern Airlines sent two planes from Guangzhou and Shenzhen, while China Eastern Airlines flew in four from Beijing and Shanghai, it said.
In January-September, Bali received 4.5 million foreign tourist arrivals, nearly half of the 10.5 million arrivals in Indonesia.
Chinese have overtaken Australians to become the top visitors to Bali, representing around a quarter of arrivals.
Previously, stranded passengers in Bali had been advised to take a long bus ride and then a ferry hop to Java island and onto airports such as Surabaya.
Asked about the economic impact of the eruption, Indonesia’s Tourism Minister Arif Yahya has estimated that since the volcano warning level was first raised in September the loss in revenue could be more than $650 million.
Agung looms over eastern Bali to a height of just over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Its last major eruption in 1963 killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages.
Authorities are urging people living up to 10 km (6 miles) from the volcano to move to emergency centers, but some are reluctant to leave homes and livestock.
The disaster mitigation agency said on Wednesday about 43,000 people had moved to shelters, but many were thought to be staying put as up to 100,000 people are estimated to be living in the danger zone.
“We cannot predict whether it (a major eruption) will be bigger than 1963, but … according to our evaluation the potential for a full-scale eruption is still high,” Devy Kamil Syahbana, an official at Indonesia’s center for volcanology and geological disaster mitigation center, told Reuters.
THEODORE, Alabama — At a rally in a small church outside Mobile in Theodore, Judge Roy Moore—the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate—fought off allegations against him and rallied supporters to his side with two weeks to go in the race.
Moore used the speech to frame the election as bigger than between himself and his radical Democrat opponent Doug Jones—whose leftist positions he exposed from the pulpit—and to set his campaign on track for the final two weeks of campaigning ahead of the Dec. 12 general election.
Moore opened his speech saying, “On January 17, 1776, George Washington led the troops across New Jersey. The famed Thomas Payne wrote these words: ‘These are the times that try men’s souls,’”
Moore said there is a “battle raging before us” and Payne’s words fit it: “These are the times that try men’s souls,” he said. “My soul is being tried and many of you have souls that are being tried. But more important than that, this is a time where the soul of this nation is being tried. In November of 2016, we elected a new president: Donald Trump.”
The crowd went wild.
“People were tired of the same old thing in politics,” Moore said. “They wanted a change. They wanted to move forward, but they also wanted to keep what they knew was true. They wanted to keep the standards and principles on which this nation was founded.”
After the inauguration of President Trump, Moore said, “demonstrations all across this land kept the news media busy for a little while.”
“When that wore out, they changed to the Russia investigation, led by the Washington Post to divert attention away from what the people of this country wanted to see,” Moore said. “Then I came along.”
The crowd cheered again. Moore went on:
When I got into this senatorial race, I never dreamed it would take on the meaning that it has. It is very important in this country. It may not be as important as President Trump’s election, I admit that. But I’ll tell you it’s watched nationally. It’s watched internationally to see where the people of this country, particularly the people of the state of Alabama, go with the first senator that’s elected after the election of Donald Trump because as we know Donald Trump is slacking—not because of his will. He wants to do things. He wants to get things going. But he’s reaching a block. A blockade, if you will, from Washington, D.C., and he’ll continue to face that unless we realize that we can make a difference. It’s a special election because it’s a prelude to the 2018 elections of senators across this country. People like you are just as qualified as every guy up there. Many people across our country are ready to see change, but many of them don’t know if they can contend with the strenuous campaign of pressure that I’ve faced.
While many cannot, he said, “Christians have a special courage,” and he expects if he is successful more candidates like him will rise up across the country. He continued:
There are immense amounts of money being spent in this election. Over $30 million, as one TV outlet estimated, was spent in the primary and the runoff. And I am told that now I am being outspent 10 to 1 at this late stage. We got opposition from both parties… Not only am I being opposed by the Democrats who push a liberal agenda, I’m being opposed by the Washington establishment who don’t want to change what’s going on. But I’m still winning, even though they tried unsuccessfully to [stop me].
The crowd cheered again. Moore said:
When I say ‘they,’ who are ‘they’? They are liberals, who don’t want conservative values. They are Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender. They are socialists who want to change our way of life and putting man above God and believe that government is God. They’re the Washington establishment that simply wants to keep their jobs, do the same thing, keep everything the same, so they don’t lose their position, their power, their prestige.
Moore then decried the attacks against him:
The attacks have not only been false, they’ve been numerous and malicious. They’ve attacked me for my judicial positions, my property taxes, my salary at the Foundation for Moral Law—they said I made a million dollars. I didn’t. Sexual immorality now. The last one probably hurts more than all, because you see I have five granddaughters. I have one daughter. I have one wife, one mother, and two sisters—and it hurts them to think and see what I am being charged with.
Moore pointed to a recent report on One America News Network (OANN) that cast serious doubt on the allegations against him.
OANN, he said, “today published the first I’ve seen contradicting the agenda of the other side.”
“They have shown how drugs are at the base of it,” Moore said. “I prosecuted drugs when I was deputy District Attorney. I have a history of standing against drugs. They have one individual who’s a drug dealer that I put in jail who’s part of this conspiracy. These things are being brought out.”
WATCH: ONE AMERICA NEWS NETWORK INVESTIGATION INTO MOORE ACCUSERS
After telling another story for a bit, Moore returned to debunking the allegations against him.
“It may seem odd, after having served the public and the state of Alabama for 40 years and my military service in the Army, going back beyond at West Point, never once has anyone ever stated anything like what we’ve heard in the last three and a half weeks,” Moore said.
At that point, a leftist protester who infiltrated the church started shouting at Moore. “But the whole town says you did it!” the man yelled. “The entire town? All the girls are lying?”
The man was shouted down by the entire church and then escorted out by police officers on site.
“Get on out of here!” another man yelled at the lone unruly protester as police escorted the disrupter out. “You ought to be ashamed. You’re in a Church. You ought to be ashamed to even be from here! Get on out of here!”
Then, the church’s pastor retook the microphone for a moment before handing it back to Moore. “I must remind everyone present this is a worship service,” the pastor said. “And by the way it is illegal to disturb a worship service.”
The crowd cheered. “The next one who disturbs the service will be turned over to the police,” the pastor added to resounding cheers. “As the pastor of this church, I’m saying we’re going to do things peacefully and in order. If you love Roy Moore or you hate Roy Moore, listen.”
The crowd went wild, giving Moore a rousing ovation again as he retook the stage. Moore said:
I understand how people can be deceived by lies. I understand that. And I don’t hate them. I just want to state my position. Forty years of public service—fifty years including the military—never once has anything like this been mentioned. It’s odd. It’s odd that in five statewide campaigns and three county campaigns where many of these people come from, never once has it been brought up. It’s odd that investigators who investigated me out of the District Attorney’s office, the Attorney General’s office, the JIC—Judicial Inquiry Commission—and the state ethics commission and not one word has come up about sexual impropriety. In fact, the JIC down in Montgomery actually sent people up to go over all the attorneys in Etowah County in 1996. For about a year and a half, they searched around asking everybody if I’d ever done anything wrong. Not one mention. When you run a statewide campaign, they do opposition research. They go back and try to find everything that’s ever been done or said about you. No mention of sexual impropriety. Now, with less than two weeks remaining, I see pictures of young girls on my opponent’s political advertisements. I want to tell you, as a former prosecutor, Judge, and Chief Justice, I’ve handled numerous rape cases and sexual misconduct cases. I have never had one mention in any of those cases who would come after 40 years—only two and a half weeks out from a general election in my opponent’s advertisements. That just doesn’t happen. That’s not what it’s about. Let me just state once again: I do not know any of these women, did not date any of these women, have not engaged in any sexual misconduct with anyone. This is not only odd that something like this occurred, it’s simply dirty politics.
Moore said the reason why Trump has been hit with the Russia investigation—and why the Washington Post hit him and Trump with evidence-free allegations of sexual misconduct—is part of an effort by the Washington establishment, of which the Post is a part, to distract from the issue-based conversations Americans want to have. Moore continued:
They want to hide the true issues. That’s why you see the Washington Post bring out the Russia investigation when the people want to know about immigration, about healthcare, about taxes, about many other things. But they want to talk about something else. That’s true in this case. But they also want to conceal their own position, which is against the conservative values on which Alabama stands.
Moore turned to the Economist interview that Doug Jones, his radical leftist Democrat opponent, did recently and quoted from it—particularly the part where Jones would not guarantee Alabamians that he would not take away their guns, culture, and religion.
“I’m going to read every part of his answer,” Moore said, before he did.
After he finished, Moore ripped Jones to shreds. “Let me translate to you what he just told you: If your Christian culture does not accept abortion, same-sex marriage, sodomy, transgender rights in schools and in the military, then by definition you are discriminatory and will not be protected—nor will your right to own and carry guns be secured.”
He continued by further exposing Jones:
My opponent is not only a [Bill] Clinton appointed, but a Barack Obama delegate. In 2008, Barack Obama speaking his opinion accused people who opposed his agenda of being, and I’m quoting, ‘they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.’ Well, I’ll tell you what. Christians don’t hate people. But they do hate sin…. Christians don’t cling to their Bibles because they’re bitter. Christians cling to their Bibles because it’s the word of God. And Christians do believe in the right to keep and bear arms, because it’s a God-given right recognized in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Moore further highlighted the differences between him and Jones on many key issues facing the country:
Between myself and my opponent, there are many differences that the people of this state need to know. I voted for Donald Trump, and I voted for Jeff Sessions—or would have voted for Jeff Sessions to be in that position [Attorney General]. He voted against Donald Trump, and publicly stated he would not have voted for Jeff Sessions…. On Obamacare, I would repeal Obamacare. He would enlarge it—something that’s already proven to be a failure, he would enlarge. Military readiness, as a graduate of the United States Military Academy, as a Vietnam Commander in 1972, I know about the military. I would strengthen the military. Transgender troops, he favors—and he opposes President Trump’s ban on transgender troops… On immigration, I would vote for the RAISE Act to restore American immigration to a secure amount—it would reduce the number of immigrants and it would also base it on merit-based. He would just have the most liberal immigration policy you see. On abortion, I would not fund Planned Parenthood. I would fight to overturn Roe v. Wade because I believe it is an unconstitutional decision because I believe there is no such thing that establishes such a precedent. He would vote for more abortion.
Moore also repeated his promise to fight for impeachment of judges who engage in judicial supremacy or overreach, to which the crowd cheered.
“It’s very important in this day and time because we’re about to see probably two, very likely one very soon, be replaced on the United States Supreme Court,” Moore continued. “And as we know, we’ve placed judges on a pedestal on which they do not belong. They think they can change the Constitution, make law, and the United States Congress needs to stand up and stop this apostasy.”
Moore rounded out his speech by again framing this as a larger battle for the nation’s soul.
“You know, again, the battle does rage,” Moore said, quoting Bible verses for the next minute—intermixing his analysis about how he’s learned much since getting engaged in the national political war.
“It’s easier to talk about than to do,” Moore said. “I don’t wish this on anyone. If I would have known the lies and deceit and the things I would face in this campaign, I probably would not have gotten into it—probably. But when you get into these things, you have no choice but to live these things out.”
With Zach Montellaro, Kevin Robillard and Elena Schneider
The following newsletter is an abridged version of Campaign Pro’s Morning Score. For an earlier morning read on exponentially more races — and for a more comprehensive aggregation of the day’s most important campaign news — sign up for Campaign Pro today. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)
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TRUMP BUMP — “McSally embraces Trump ahead of Arizona Senate run,” by POLITICO’s Kevin Robillard: “Rep. Martha McSally wants to make one thing clear before she launches an Arizona Senate campaign: She’s a big fan of President Donald Trump. Over the past month, McSally has sent out photos of herself with the president and with first daughter Ivanka Trump. She’s tweeted about Trump four separate times, doubling her all-time mentions of the president — and one of those tweets condemned Trump after he was shown bragging about committing sexual assault in the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape. And McSally has appeared on Fox News to sing the president’s praises.”
— But, but, but: “In the past, McSally has been critical of Trump — though far less so than retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, whose broadsides against Trump’s policies and behavior torpedoed his standing with the GOP base and forced his exit from the race. McSally never endorsed Trump in 2016, and she called his comments about sexual assault ‘disgusting’ and ‘unacceptable.’ McSally was also caught on tape this summer telling donors that Trump’s behavior and Twitter habit made her life more difficult.” Full story here.
FALLOUT — “Black Caucus members press Conyers to resign,” by POLITICO’S John Bresnahan, Louis Nelson and Heather Caygle: “A group of Democrats including members of the Congressional Black Caucus is privately urging Rep. John Conyers to resign after a third former staffer went public with allegations of sexual harassment against the longtime Michigan Democrat, according to congressional sources. Members of the CBC are pressing Conyers to step down after 53 years in office, telling him that fellow Democrats are expected to come out and publicly demand he resign. … Conyers was meeting with CBC members late Tuesday afternoon to discuss his future, according to lawmakers who attended. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) confirmed the gathering but would not comment on the discussions. … Former aides to Conyers have also gotten involved in the efforts to persuade their former boss to leave Congress, said Democratic insiders.” Full story here.
AIR WAR — Pro-Jones super PAC airs new anti-Moore ad: Highway 31, a super PAC that has recently spent more than $1 million supporting Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama, criticizes Republican Roy Moore for his handling of the sexual misconduct allegations made against him in a new ad according to a copy obtained by Advertising Analytics. In the ad, footage of a mall at Christmas plays on the screen while a narrator talks about Moore’s alleged advances on teenage girls, one of whom worked as “Santa’s helper” at a local mall. “These stories have gone around this town for 30 years. These women are being skewered for the truth,” a narrator says in the ad.
FIRST IN SCORE — NRSC launches digital ads targeting red-state Democrats: The NRSC is launching six-second digital bumper ads on Facebook and YouTube targeting all 10 red-state Democrats facing reelection in 2018, plus Nevada Rep. Jacky Rosen and Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. “Tax cuts equal more money in your pocket, not Washington’s,” the ads say. “Tell Senator McCaskill hands off your paycheck.” The ads direct viewers to a petition. Watch the ads here.
FIRST IN SCORE — EMILY’s List backs Elissa Slotkin in MI-08: EMILY’s List will announce on Wednesday that it’s endorsing Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who’s challenging GOP Rep. Mike Bishop. Slotkin, a former Defense Department official, isn’t facing a contested primary. “Elissa is taking on Congressman Mike Bishop, who has repeatedly shown that he is more concerned with supporting Donald Trump and Paul Ryan than doing what’s best for his district,” said Stephanie Schriock, EMILY’s List president, in a statement.
TAX CUT AIR WAR — 45Committee, Not One Penny, Alliance for Retired Americans out with new spots: The outside group air war over the GOP’s tax cut plan continues. 45Committee released a spot praising Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul for saying he would back the plan. Watch it here. Not One Penny released an ad attacking New York GOP Rep. John Katko for backing the plan in the House. “He stood with wealthy donors instead of Central New York,” the ad’s narrator says. Watch it here. Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund is up with 60-second radio ads both in Arizona, targeting Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, and in Tennessee, targeting retiring Sen. Bob Corker. Listen to the ads here and here. And the Alliance for Retired Americans is launching digital ads in Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Oklahoma and Tennessee calling the plan “an attack on older Americans’ health care.” Watch the ad here.
CANDIDATE LAUNCH IN MICHIGAN — “Lt. Gov. Brian Calley joins Republican race for governor in 2018 as sniping begins,” by The Detroit Free News’ Kathleen Gray and Paul Egan: “In a long-expected development, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley announced Tuesday he wants to be governor of Michigan. … Within minutes of Calley making the news official, after hinting at the announcement for months, Stu Sandler, a Republican consultant who is running a political action committee that’s supporting [Republican Attorney General Bill] Schuette, started a website that took Calley to task for not supporting Donald Trump in the months leading up to last year’s election. Schuette has gotten the endorsement of both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.” Full story.
MONEY RACE — “Democratic candidates raked in online money in October,” by POLITICO’s Scott Bland: “Eleven Democratic Senate campaigns raised over a quarter-million dollars online in October alone, according to a new campaign finance filing that shows the party continues to raise large sums of money online in the year before the 2018 elections. Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones led the pack with nearly $2.9 million raised via ActBlue, the Democratic digital fundraising platform. ActBlue’s latest FEC report also shows nearly $717,000 in earmarked online contributions to New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand; $481,000 to Sen. Claire McCaskill ahead of a tough reelection campaign in Missouri; $348,000 to Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas; and $328,000 to Sen. Bob Casey, who is running for reelection in Pennsylvania two years after President Donald Trump carried the state.” Full story here.
TO THE LEFT — “Five progressive groups back Newman vs. Lipinski in IL-03,” by POLITICO’s Elena Schneider: “Democrat Marie Newman picked up endorsements from five progressive groups today, as she challenges Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski in the IL-03 primary. NARAL Pro-Choice America, MoveOn.org, Democracy for America, the Progressive Campaign Change Committee and the Human Rights Campaign all jointly backed Newman. A joint memo said that Lipinski, who’s easily won reelection since 2004, has ‘consistently voted to pass anti-choice, anti-LGBT, and anti-immigrant policies.’” Full story here.
SHAKEUP — “Nicholson shuffles campaign team; hires Axiom, WPA,” by Robillard: “Wisconsin Republican Kevin Nicholson is shuffling his Senate campaign team, hiring a new general consultant, and bringing on pollsters and media consultants. Nicholson, who had been working with strategist Chip Englander, has hired Axiom Strategies as his general consultant. Axiom founder Jeff Roe and strategist Brandon Moody will take the lead on his campaign. After a legally mandated cooling off period, Englander will move over to work for Solutions for Wisconsin, a super PAC backing Nicholson.” Full story here.
HE’S BACK — “Lamont testing the waters for governor,” by The Greenwich Time’s Neil Vigdor: “The wealthy Greenwich cable entrepreneur, who was upset by Malloy in the 2010 gubernatorial primary, confirmed his interest in the race in an interview Tuesday with Hearst Connecticut Media. ‘I’m thinking about it,’ Lamont said. ‘I’ve got a lot vested in this state for a long time. It’s a great state and we just don’t have a great government.’ The Democratic insurgent, who toppled Joe Lieberman in a Senate primary more than a decade ago but was ultimately thwarted by the incumbent in the general election, is expected to hire a pollster to determine his gubernatorial prospects, Hearst has learned.” Full story.
CHANGE OF TUNE — “Democrat Kyrsten Sinema says Trump is ‘not a thing’ in race to replace Sen. Jeff Flake,” by USA Today’s Eliza Collins: “U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema hopes to be the first Arizona Democrat to win a high-profile statewide race in more than a decade. But unlike many of her Democratic colleagues on the ballot in 2018, Sinema doesn’t plan to use President Donald Trump’s controversial tenure to help her win. … Trump is ‘not a thing,’ Sinema said when USA TODAY asked about her pitch to voters.” Full story.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “He changes clothes in his office. Most of us have walked in on him changing his clothes … and have seen him in his underwear. Big deal!” Bob Weiner, a former spokesperson for Conyers, told reporters on Monday per NBC News’ Kasie Hunt.
U.S. President Donald Trump points to a large “Merry Christmas” card on the stage as he arrives to deliver remarks on tax reform in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. November 29, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
November 29, 2017
By David Morgan and Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional Republicans scrambled on Wednesday to reformulate their tax bill to satisfy lawmakers worried about how much it would balloon the U.S. budget deficit, as the measure moved toward a decisive U.S. Senate floor vote later this week.
Stocks rallied on optimism that the tax overhaul package could pass, but obstacles remained, including attempts to address the estimated $1.4 trillion that the bill would add to the United States’ $20 trillion national debt over 10 years.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers would take a procedural step forward on Wednesday by voting whether to begin formal debate on the bill. That could lead to a vote on Thursday or Friday.
Democrats oppose the legislation, but only a simple majority of senators will be needed to start debate on the bill, which aims to cut taxes on corporations, other businesses and a wide range of individuals and families.
Republicans have a 52-48 majority in the 100-member Senate, giving them enough votes to approve the bill if they can hold together. Without Democratic support, Republicans can afford to lose no more than two of their own votes.
President Donald Trump traveled to Missouri on Wednesday to give a speech imploring members of his own party to get behind the effort, which would be his first significant legislative achievement since taking office in January.
“A vote to cut taxes is a vote to put America first again,” Trump said, adding the bill could “cost me a fortune” and that his wealthy friends were not happy. “My accountants are going crazy right now. It’s all right. Hey look, I am president, I don’t care. I don’t care anymore.”
Democrats say the tax cuts are a giveaway to corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working Americans. Some Democrats have said Trump and his children would gain from the bill, which would repeal the estate tax on inherited wealth.
Among Americans aware of the Republican tax plan, 49 percent said they were opposed, up from 41 percent in October, according to a Nov. 23-27 Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. The latest online poll of 1,257 adults found 29 percent supporting the plan and 22 percent saying they “don’t know.”
The sweeping tax package was developed over several months behind closed doors by a small group of senior congressional and Trump administration figures, with little input from many Republican lawmakers and no involvement from Democrats.
SCHUMER’S CONCERNS
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday the secretive process produced starkly partisan legislation that was still being amended to confront unanticipated objections.
“We’re potentially only one day away from a final vote on a bill to rewrite the U.S. tax code, and significant parts of the Republican bill are still up in the air. By the time of the vote, no one will have a definitive analysis of how the bill would impact the economy,” he said.
A major sticking point in the Senate has centered on how the bill deals with the federal deficit and the national debt.
Senator Bob Corker, one of the few remaining fiscal hawks in the Republican Party, wants to add a tax snap-back provision to the bill that would raise taxes automatically if economic growth targets are not hit in the future to offset a higher deficit.
That trigger proposal has become a target of growing criticism among conservative Republicans and lobbyists, including interest groups aligned with the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, who say the prospect of tax hikes could undermine future economic growth.
“I’d prefer not having it there. We’re probably going to have one. But I’d prefer not having it,” Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch told reporters.
‘GETTING A DEAL DONE’
Republican Senator David Perdue, a businessman from Georgia, said lawmakers could find common ground on a measure that delays any tax hike for at least five years and spreads the prospective burden among those who benefit from Republican tax cuts.
“This is about getting a deal done,” Perdue told a news conference with Republican senators and representatives of Koch-aligned groups including Americans for Prosperity.
Democrats and independents were trying to persuade nonpartisan Senate officials to disqualify parts of the bill, including one to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as impermissible under Senate rules, an aide said.
Key Republicans voiced cautious optimism about the bill.
Republican Senator Susan Collins said she would vote to open debate on it despite her qualms about its inclusion of a repeal of a federal fine in the Obamacare individual mandate that is meant to compel many Americans to buy health insurance.
Collins said Republican leaders had promised her the Senate would take up healthcare provisions this year to help mitigate the impact of changing the mandate, including one to help insurers cover expensive patients, and one to continue Obamacare subsidy payments for low-income people for two years.
Senator Jeff Flake, an Arizona conservative who has not committed to voting for the tax bill, told NPR he was more comfortable with it because of the “trigger” provisions.
(Additional reporting by Amanda Becker, Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann in Washington, Steve Holland in Missouri and Chris Kahn in New York; Writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)
