The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: He Went to Jared Anyway
President Donald Trump reportedly ordered his then-chief of staff John Kelly to grant his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, security clearance last year.
What We’re Following Today
It’s Friday, March 1.
Hand ’Em Over: The House Oversight Committee demanded that the White House turn over documents and comply with interviews related to the handling of security clearances, after reports Thursday night that President Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff to grant his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, security clearance last year. Trump reportedly ordered that Kushner be given top-secret clearance despite concerns from intelligence officials.
Another One: Washington State Governor Jay Inslee officially announced on Friday that he’s running for president. He’s joining a crowded field, but he’s the only one running with a singular focus on mitigating climate change. “Wherever we are today, by the time of the November election, climate will be a more important issue in the electorate, I believe,” he told Edward-Isaac Dovere. Inslee is now one of 30 Democrats who have already declared their candidacies or are mulling presidential bids. A refresher on all of them, here.
Kim’s Responsible: The parents of the American student Otto Warmbier issued a rebuke to President Trump after the president appeared to absolve North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, of Warmbier’s death during Thursday’s press conference in Hanoi. “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto,” the family said in a statement. “No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”
Today at CPAC: In his appearance at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Donald Trump Jr. demonstrated that he has fully embraced his role as the president’s defender. And in many ways, he makes the case for his father better than his father does, writes Elaina Plott.
It’s Getting Hot in Here?: A new study suggests that most Americans won’t really notice the warmer weather brought on by climate change. What Americans consider to be “normal” weather appears to reset about every five years.
Snapshot
Benjamin Williams plays the bagpipes in front of a painting of President Trump during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Jose Luis Magana / AP
Ideas From The Atlantic
The Abortion Debate Needs Moral Lament (Michael Wear)
“If Democrats truly believe the bill is a disingenuous attempt in a long game to end access to abortion, they could at least have been clear while voting against it that they endorse its sponsors’ stated intent.” → Read on.
Michael Cohen’s Made-for-TV Mea Culpa (Alex Wagner)
“This was O.J.’s glove and Barack Obama’s birth certificate, a tangible, evidentiary bombshell that signaled, perhaps, the turning of the tide. Republicans on the Oversight Committee did not touch it, but cable news would not let it go. We will be seeing images of that check for years to come—it may very well end up in history books.” → Read on.
The Most Important—And Neglected—Moment of the Michael Cohen Hearing (Quinta Jurecic)
“After a long and ugly day, [Elijah] Cummings offered something of a benediction. It was a gift of forgiveness—not just to Cohen, but to the nation as a whole. It was a vision of a possible future.” → Read on.
We Were Not ‘Aggrieved’
In a reply to this essay by Caitlin Flanagan, the members of Youth vs. Apocalypse defend their February 22 exchange with Feinstein asking her to sign the Green New Deal legislation:
“Our future lies in the hands of the adults. The government officials. The people denying climate change. The people who further destroy our environment. They will not raise kids in that environment. They will not have to put on a mask to step outside. They will not have to look back and remember when the polar bears were still alive. Some people who control our future do not understand our anger or our fear.” → Read their full letter, and Flanagan’s reply.
What Else We’re Reading
◆ ‘They Created an Underground’: Inside the Chaotic Early Days of Trump (Nahal Toosi, Politico)
◆ House Democrats Plan to Turn Their Trump Investigations Into an Ongoing Public Spectacle (Mike Allen and Alayna Treene, Axios)
◆ Behind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Masterful Interrogation of Michael Cohen (Daniel Marans and Paul Blumenthal, HuffPost)
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