Comment on Morning Must Reads: September 4

Retired Lt. General H. R. McMaster, national security adviser during Trump's first term, said yesterday that some Republicans, including Tulsi Gabbard, need to "disabuse themselves" of their "strange affection" for Russian President Vladimir Putin. (starts at 5:03 in video). Via Newsweek: "There's some people in the Republican Party these days which kind of tend to parrot Vladimir Putin's talking points," McMaster said on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday, adding that "they've got to disabuse themselves of this strange affection" for the Russian leader.

Advisers to Bob Kennedy reached out to the HHS Department several times after El Cheato selected him to lead the agency, hoping to jumpstart coordination before his takeover in late January. They were rebuffed. Guess why? Via Politico: Kennedy’s inability to communicate with the agency he may soon manage, confirmed by an administration official with knowledge of the episodes granted anonymity to describe internal deliberations, is just one consequence of the president-elect’s continued foot-dragging on signing the standard trio of ethics and transparency agreements with the federal government — something his team pledged to do shortly after the election. The Trump transition’s unprecedented delay in signing the agreements has so far prevented the incoming administration from having any formal contact with federal agencies, including sending in groups of policy advisers known as “landing teams.” It also means they can’t access cybersecurity support or secure email servers for transition-related work, or request FBI background checks for their nominees. Both the Trump transition and the White House confirmed to POLITICO that negotiations on the agreements are still underway.

Sorry Reince, but Trump doesn't deserve any "peace" over these dangerous and unqualified picks. During a panel discussion on ABC's This Week, former RNC Chair Reince Priebus insisted that we're going to eventually see all of Trump's cabinet nominations properly vetted, despite all evidence to the contrary, before whining that the mean old Democrats should leave poor Trump alone while "the process plays out." Rep.

Pharyngula: WTF, NPR? Strangely Blogged: Kakistocracy – government by the worst people. Resilient Again: Real talk on immigration. Perrspectives: The economy is much stronger than Reagan’s "Morning in America." That didn’t help Democrats. Jen Sorensen: It did happen here. This installment by Batocchio. E-mail tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com. read more

Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall revealed she had worked with former host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, and she believes that he is a rapist. In a Fox News segment on Sunday, host Howard Kurtz noted that Hegseth was accused of rape in 2017 by a woman who went to the police, "and a rape kit confirmed the sexual encounter." "I dreaded talking about this today," Marshall admitted.

When Donald Trump becomes President again on Jan. 20, he will be legally barred from reviving one of the most controversial policies from his first term. Lawyers representing families who were separated at the border secured an eight-year ban on the practice, and are prepared to enforce it should Trump try to bring back the policy. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The unusual restriction was part of a settlement approved in U.