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--> A midday take on what's happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha--breaks down crying hysterically.

The Hill's 12:30 Report: Breaking - Rosenstein headed to White House | Expects to be fired | Dems investigate second Kavanaugh allegation | Trump calls accusations 'totally political' | Ford, Kavanaugh to testify Thursday | Trump at the UN | Behind the scenes: How the GOP tax bill passed | Taylor Gourmet's sudden closing

BREAKING

Rod Rosenstein Rod RosensteinDOJ kept investigators from completing probe of Trump ties to Russia: report Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report FBI officials hid copies of Russia probe documents fearing Trump interference: book MORE is expecting to be fired:

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has been summoned to the White House where he is expecting to be fired. http://bit.ly/2pz1RiG

Back story -- why Rosenstein thinks he will be fired: Last Friday, The New York Times's Adam Goldman and Michael S. Schmidt reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein proposed secretly recording Oval Office conversations with President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE and discussed the possibility of removing the president through the 25th Amendment. Rosenstein has ripped the report as "inaccurate" and said there is "no basis" for to invoke the 25th Amendment. This story made waves in Washington: https://nyti.ms/2I6BGYX

Who is where: President Trump is in New York, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly John Francis KellyMORE is at the White House and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein headed over to the White House a little while ago for a meeting. Politico's Annie Karni reports that Trump was just on the phone with Kelly. http://bit.ly/2MZjH7D

WHAT WE'RE HEARING -- THERE'S STILL A LOT OF CONFUSION:

Axios first reported that Rosenstein was preparing to resign: According to the Axios report, Rosenstein was planning to resign in anticipation of being fired. http://bit.ly/2Nx9KDz

NBC News reported that Rosenstein was refusing to resign: According to the NBC report, Rosenstein was refusing to resign. If President Trump wants Rosenstein out, he would have to fire him. http://bit.ly/2pz1RiG

But before we get too confident that Rosenstein will be ousted: NBC's "Pete Williams is now suggesting that this meeting at the White House could be a clearing of the air and Rosenstein may keep his job." http://bit.ly/2Q0VRKu

Statement from former FBI Director Andrew McCabe Andrew George McCabeGraham: Comey to testify about FBI's Russia probe, Mueller declined invitation Barr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' GOP votes to authorize subpoenas, depositions in Obama-era probe MORE: "There is nothing more important to the integrity of law enforcement and the rule of law than protecting the investigation of Special Counsel Mueller ... If the rumors of Deputy AG's Rosenstein's

departure are true, I am deeply concerned that it puts that investigation at risk." http://bit.ly/2xAHhTa

WHAT TO KNOW:

What lovely timing: The U.N. General Assembly is meeting in New York this week. That means many world leaders are in the United States as the Rosenstein news unfolds.

I laughed out loud at this -- But also, it's been a long morning, so maybe I'm delirious: BuzzFeed's Vera Bergengruen tweeted, "I hope they show this clip in future US history classes to explain the mood of the moment in 2018." Watch the 16-second CNN clip: http://bit.ly/2xPIzci

Actual footage of newsrooms this morning: http://bit.ly/2OOh6PJ ;)

Flashback: In April, "The Senate Judiciary Committee (yes, that one) passed bipartisan legislation that would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE. But McConnell vowed he would not put the bill on the floor, and it hasn't moved since." (Via CNN's Jeremy Herb) http://bit.ly/2Q02E7m

It's a rainy Monday in Washington. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.

TALK OF THE MORNING

I feel like we're watching a live episode of 'House of Cards':

Via The New Yorker's Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer, Senate Democrats are looking into a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. http://bit.ly/2DqMhPE

The allegation: When Kavanaugh was a freshman at Yale University, classmate Deborah Ramirez says "Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away."

How Democrats are handling the allegation: At least four Democratic senators' offices have reportedly received information about the allegation, and at least two are investigating the claim.

Read the full report: http://bit.ly/2DqMhPE

REACTIONS:

The New York Times looked into this claim, but couldn't corroborate her story: "The Times had interviewed several dozen people over the past week in an attempt to corroborate her story, and could find no one with firsthand knowledge. Ms. Ramirez herself contacted former Yale classmates asking if they recalled the incident and told some of them that she could not be certain Mr. Kavanaugh was the one who exposed himself." https://nyti.ms/2zr6aCl

^Keep in mind -- the White House is citing that paragraph: The White House circulated this New York Times story as "damning" for Ramirez's accusations. http://bit.ly/2xyV38W

Trump called the accusations 'totally political': President Trump continued his defense of Kavanaugh. Trump told reporters: "Judge Kavanaugh is an outstanding person ... this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything. For people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mention it -- all of the sudden it happens. In my opinion, it's totally political." http://bit.ly/2xPnfng

From the New Yorker story's author, Ronan Farrow: Farrow said on ABC's "Good Morning America": "It is not accurate to say those who knew him at the time dispute this. We talked to a roommate from the time that was living with him when this alleged incident took place who said he was frequently drunk, that he took part in activity that made him unsurprised by this claim and that he found this woman credible." Watch Farrow's explanation: http://bit.ly/2Nx4i3z

HOW THIS WILL PLAY OUT ON CAPITOL HILL:

Feinstein wants a pause on Kavanaugh's confirmation process: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is asking for "an immediate postponement of any further proceedings." She also called for the FBI to investigate this allegation and the allegation from Christine Blasey Ford. http://bit.ly/2QT40lz

The committee will look into the claims: A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Ginsburg lies in repose Top GOP senators say Hunter Biden's work 'cast a shadow' over Obama Ukraine policy Read: Senate GOP's controversial Biden report MORE (R-Iowa) said the panel will "attempt to evaluate" the new allegations. Grassley's spokesperson also slammed Democrats: "Yet again, Senate Democrats actively withheld information from the rest of the Committee only to drop information at politically opportune moments." http://bit.ly/2zr38xI

HAPPENING THURSDAY: Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting her at a party in high school, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Details: https://nyti.ms/2zr6aCl

THIS MAY NOT BE THE END OF THE ACCUSATIONS: Lawyer Michael Avenatti says he is representing a client with "credible information" to back the sexual assault claims against Brett Kavanaugh. http://bit.ly/2OTGwLy

Screenshot of his emails with the Senate Judiciary Committee:

My e-mail of moments ago with Mike Davis, Chief Counsel for Nominations for U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. We demand that this process be thorough, open and fair, which is what the American public deserves. It must not be rushed and evidence/witnesses must not be hidden. pic.twitter.com/11XLZJBTtY — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 24, 2018

This tweet has received a lot of attention: http://bit.ly/2Q1g8j5

This is outrageous -- a reference for what some journalists have been dealing with:

Here's a reader email that The Washington Post's Seung Min Kim received.

--> http://bit.ly/2OONZvp

Keep in mind: Kim is one of the Washington Post journalists who have been reporting on the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. She shared one of the emails she's received.

INTERESTING READ

Behind the scenes -- how the Republican tax bill got passed:

"Over the past several months, The Hill has interviewed dozens of Trump administration officials, lawmakers, aides and stakeholders to report the behind-the-scenes stories of the most sweeping changes to the tax codes in decades." http://bit.ly/2zqMBKx

Why the tax cuts are so important for the GOP: "The tax cuts are both Trump's biggest legislative achievement to date and the most important bill passed during the retiring [Paul] Ryan's Speakership."

But the GOP isn't reaping the rewards: There is growing evidence that Democrats are winning the political debate over the tax cuts. For example: A poll commissioned by the Republican National Committee shows that most voters think the tax law benefits corporations and wealthy people, not most Americans.

The behind-the-scenes story on the tax bill's passage: http://bit.ly/2zqMBKx

What to watch in the next week: The Hill is diving into how the tax bill became a blockbuster legislative package, how the law is playing out, how it will affect the midterms and how the debate uniquely reflects the Trump era in Washington.

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NOTABLE TWEETS

Because I thought we could all use some lighter news today:

WATCH: 45-day-old puppies are the newest members of Chile's national police's canine training unit pic.twitter.com/MY2lNXfbzr — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 21, 2018

Watch: http://bit.ly/2zpRweD

ON TAP

The Senate will meet later today. The House is out. President Trump and Vice President Pence are spending the day in New York City for meetings at the United Nations headquarters.

2:45 p.m. EDT: President Trump meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

3 p.m. EDT: The Senate meets. The Senate's full schedule today: http://bit.ly/2DoX1hp

5:15 p.m. EDT: President Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

5:30 p.m. EDT: The Senate votes on nominations.

6:30 p.m. EDT: President Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron.

WHAT TO WATCH

8:30 a.m. EDT: President Trump participated in the Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Livestream: http://bit.ly/2xDpURP

3:45 p.m. EDT: President Trump signs the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement. Livestream: http://bit.ly/2PVWeWS

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...

Today is National Cherries Jubilee Day.

We didn't even have time to process this news!:

Via Washingtonian's Jessica Sidman, sandwich store Taylor Gourmet has closed all 17 of its shops in the D.C. area. Why it caused an uproar in D.C.: The news was announced Friday with every store closing on Sunday.

Why: "Taylor Gourmet's official line is that its rapid expansion may have been too much, too fast. However, three people familiar with the company say sales began to decline after owner Patten met with President Donald Trump at a small business roundtable at the White House in January 2017." http://bit.ly/2O8sqc4

New update -- one shop is still open: "The Taylor Gourmet at DCA is still open--for now. It's a licensing agreement, not a lease. MarketPlace Development, which runs the airport concessions, isn't sure its fate. Will probably have an answer tomorrow." http://bit.ly/2xLmz2i

And because you made it this far on a news-heavy Monday, here's a definitive ranking of sled dogs by the fluffiness of their fur: http://bit.ly/2xzoDeE