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No heart problems, no dementia, no dentures. But did you test for racism?

Bannon's appearance Tuesday before the House panel perplexed and frustrated investigators, according to people familiar with the session. He arrived with no documents, saying that if lawmakers wanted emails and other communications, they were likely to be available from other witnesses.

And he refused to answer questions about conversations he had with Trump after leaving the administration or communications he had with officials outside government about people serving in the White House.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said that Bannon's attorney, William Burck, told the committee that while Bannon himself was willing to speak with lawmakers and investigators, he could not answer questions because the White House told him not to respond.

"This was effectively a gag order by the White House preventing this witness from answering almost any question concerning his time in the transition or the administration," Schiff said.

"The scope of this assertion of privilege, if that's what it is, is breathtaking. It goes well beyond anything we have seen in this investigation," he added. "If the White House is permitted to maintain that kind of gag rule on a witness, no congressional investigation could ever be effective. So this obviously can't stand."

Burck said in a statement that "executive privilege belongs to the President of the United States. It's not Mr. Bannon's right to waive it."

When asked earlier Tuesday if the White House instructed Bannon not to answer certain questions, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded, "As with all congressional inquiries touching upon the White House, Congress must consult with the White House prior to obtaining confidential material."

"We've been cooperating fully with these ongoing investigations and encourage the committees to work with us to find an appropriate accommodation in order to ensure Congress obtains information necessary to its legitimate interests," she added.

Faced with Bannon's resistance, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Tex.), who is running the panel's probe, said that the committee elected to serve him with a subpoena during the interview.

Bannon's attorney consulted with the White House after the panel issued the subpoena, but "the White House effectively doubled down on the gag rule," Schiff said.

Conaway and Schiff said the White House never formally invoked executive privilege for Bannon, and Conaway added that he was not aware of the White House invoking privilege with any witness who has appeared before the committee in its Russia probe.

Conaway also stressed that Bannon is not in a position to invoke executive privilege himself.

I am not sure there is an American president who has constantly stayed on the news and social media if you like, the way this one has done.

It asks patients to repeat a list of spoken words, identify pictures of animals like a lion or a camel, draw a cube or draw a clock face set to a particular time.

McCain: Trump’s Attacks On The Press Threaten Democracy Worldwide
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) published a blistering op-ed Tuesday night, admonishing President Donald Trump for his constant attempts to undermine the American press and warning that such attacks have an impact around the globe.

“He has threatened to continue his attempt to discredit the free press by bestowing ‘fake news awards’ upon reporters and news outlets whose coverage he disagrees with,” McCain wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. “Whether Trump knows it or not, these efforts are being closely watched by foreign leaders who are already using his words as cover as they silence and shutter one of the key pillars of democracy.”

McCain suggested that the Trump administration’s condemnation of violence against reporters abroad has little meaning when the President attacks the press in his own country. Trump’s constant criticism of the media “has provided cover for repressive regimes to follow suit,” McCain wrote.

I"m going to have to totally rethink my ideas about the quality of his mind.

Standardized cognitive screening tests are simply one component of the cognitive and mental
status examination and are not equivalent to diagnosis and certainly not equivalent to a
determination of mental capacity. Both diagnosis and the assessment of capacity are complex
determinations and do not lend themselves to simple testing. Only at the extremes of cognitive
functioning are the cognitive screening tests indicative of a firm clinical diagnosis or
determination of capacity or incapacity. It is incumbent on lawyers to understand the context in
which cognitive screening tests are used in the assessment of diagnosis and mental capacity and
not to place excessive importance on a score or single test result.

Nine of the 12 members of a national parks advisory board resigned on Monday, citing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s failure to meet with or consult the board in the entire first year of President Donald Trump’s presidency.

“We understand the complexity of transition but our requests to engage have been ignored and the matters on which we wanted to brief the new Department team are clearly not part of its agenda,” Tony Knowles, the chair of the National Park System Advisory Board (NPSAB), wrote in a letter signed by eight other board members.

In the letter, first obtained by the Washington Post, Knowles wrote that he is concerned that the leadership in the Trump administration has “set aside” the National Park System’s mission.

Democrats pulled off a shocking upset to win a rural Wisconsin state Senate seat Tuesday night, triggering alarm bells for Republicans across the state and nation.

Democrat Patty Schachtner defeated a well-known local Republican in a district that President Trump had carried by a whopping 55 percent to 38 percent just over a year ago.

Wisconsin Republicans sounded the alarm about what the results could mean, including that Gov. Scott Walker (R), who faces reelection next fall, suddenly looks considerably more vulnerable than he did one day ago.

Quote:

@ScottWalker
Senate District 10 special election win by a Democrat is a wake up call for Republicans in Wisconsin.

Today's installment in Voices From The Right

Quote:

McCain: Trump’s Attacks On The Press Threaten Democracy Worldwide
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) published a blistering op-ed Tuesday night, admonishing President Donald Trump for his constant attempts to undermine the American press and warning that such attacks have an impact around the globe.

“He has threatened to continue his attempt to discredit the free press by bestowing ‘fake news awards’ upon reporters and news outlets whose coverage he disagrees with,” McCain wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. “Whether Trump knows it or not, these efforts are being closely watched by foreign leaders who are already using his words as cover as they silence and shutter one of the key pillars of democracy.”

McCain suggested that the Trump administration’s condemnation of violence against reporters abroad has little meaning when the President attacks the press in his own country. Trump’s constant criticism of the media “has provided cover for repressive regimes to follow suit,” McCain wrote.

TPM

A new PBS-NPR-Marist poll finds that Americans say, 68 percent to 14 percent, that Mueller should be allowed to finish his investigation. Even Republicans say this, by 59-23.

Yay! The Pres got a perfect score on a cognitive test administered yesterday at his annual physical. He scored a perfect thirty out of thirty!
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The test is described as a “rapid-screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction” that focuses on “attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language” and other mental skills. It asks patients to repeat a list of spoken words, identify pictures of animals like a lion or a camel, draw a cube o r draw a clock face set to a particular time

So the guy can draw a cube and recognise a camel... Good to know!