http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/new-trump-tower-meeting-george-nader-erik-prince-don-jr-russia-mueller.html
"Trump’s furious lashing out, including his reckless escalation of a crisis with the Department of Justice this weekend, provides interesting clues. Trump has no poker face, no chill. The closer the investigators get to incriminating evidence, the more intensely he rages. He resembles a suspect at a crime scene screaming at the police not to go into the attic. And now that attic is looking awfully interesting."
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Shooting bear cubs in their dens would be a-okay under Trump administration Alaska plan
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/22/1766173/-Shooting-bear-cubs-in-their-dens-would-be-a-okay-under-Trump-administration-Alaska-plan
The National Park Service currently has rules against a few particularly gross hunting tactics on federal land, and Team Trump is ready to do away with those: The proposed rule would allow hunters to lure brown and black bears with bait, hunt black bears and their cubs using artificial lights, shoot bear cubs and wolf and coyote pups in their dens, and use dogs to hunt black bears. It would also allow hunters to shoot swimming caribou from motorboats. Seriously, who feels like a big tough hunter coming home like “This is a bear cub I shot in its den!” Probably the same person who feels like a bad-ass for taking advantage of a law congressional Republicans already passed and Donald Trump signed allowing hunters to shoot bears and wolves from airplanes on national wildlife refuges. These are the same people who feel big and tough driving cars that cause passers-by to roll their eyes and mutter “compensating much?"
The National Park Service currently has rules against a few particularly gross hunting tactics on federal land, and Team Trump is ready to do away with those: The proposed rule would allow hunters to lure brown and black bears with bait, hunt black bears and their cubs using artificial lights, shoot bear cubs and wolf and coyote pups in their dens, and use dogs to hunt black bears. It would also allow hunters to shoot swimming caribou from motorboats. Seriously, who feels like a big tough hunter coming home like “This is a bear cub I shot in its den!” Probably the same person who feels like a bad-ass for taking advantage of a law congressional Republicans already passed and Donald Trump signed allowing hunters to shoot bears and wolves from airplanes on national wildlife refuges. These are the same people who feel big and tough driving cars that cause passers-by to roll their eyes and mutter “compensating much?"
Shocker! Tax Cuts in Hand, CEOs Admit They Won't Invest Record Profits in Worker Wage Hikes
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/28/shocker-tax-cuts-hand-ceos-admit-they-wont-invest-record-profits-worker-wage-hikes
"As America's largest banks post record profits, massive companies continue their unprecedented stock buyback spree, and already-obscene CEO pay packages are set to rapidly expand in the aftermath of the Trump-GOP tax cuts, top corporate executives are now openly admitting that they have no plans whatsoever to invest their enormous windfall into wage increases for workers."
"As America's largest banks post record profits, massive companies continue their unprecedented stock buyback spree, and already-obscene CEO pay packages are set to rapidly expand in the aftermath of the Trump-GOP tax cuts, top corporate executives are now openly admitting that they have no plans whatsoever to invest their enormous windfall into wage increases for workers."
Trump’s Authoritarian Grip Tightens
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/05/22/trumps-authoritarian-grip-tightens
"groundwork laid for the imposition of a much harder form of authoritarianism likely planned for the near future. You just have to step back far enough from the onslaught of outrageous actions to view the pattern. During the presidential campaign, Trump was known to retweet the false claims and hateful utterances of neo-Nazis and so-called white nationalists, who are really just degrees of variation in belief from fascists. In the context of our politics, this was seen as simple, opportunistic base-pleasing—a way to access the media platforms of the far right. And, sure, Trump found their networks useful for carrying his message of making America “great again.” These groups are seen as something unrelated to the white evangelical movement from which Trump draws much of his support—despite his philandering, his stiffing of contractors, his foul mouth, and his inability to tell the truth. But they’re not."
"groundwork laid for the imposition of a much harder form of authoritarianism likely planned for the near future. You just have to step back far enough from the onslaught of outrageous actions to view the pattern. During the presidential campaign, Trump was known to retweet the false claims and hateful utterances of neo-Nazis and so-called white nationalists, who are really just degrees of variation in belief from fascists. In the context of our politics, this was seen as simple, opportunistic base-pleasing—a way to access the media platforms of the far right. And, sure, Trump found their networks useful for carrying his message of making America “great again.” These groups are seen as something unrelated to the white evangelical movement from which Trump draws much of his support—despite his philandering, his stiffing of contractors, his foul mouth, and his inability to tell the truth. But they’re not."
9 Ways Authoritarianism Is Taking Hold Under Trump @alternet
9 Ways Authoritarianism Is Taking Hold Under Trump @alternet:
"Donald Trump and his neo-authoritarian acolytes are following an ancient playbook. Part Machiavelli, part Caesar, part Mugabe/Duterte/Mao, it always includes a few simple and primary elements of seizing and subverting normal political power."
"Donald Trump and his neo-authoritarian acolytes are following an ancient playbook. Part Machiavelli, part Caesar, part Mugabe/Duterte/Mao, it always includes a few simple and primary elements of seizing and subverting normal political power."
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Secret recording by Spanish police could mean trouble for Donald Trump Jr.
https://thinkprogress.org/secret-recording-by-spanish-police-could-mean-trouble-for-donald-trump-jr-39e6f93b00c8/
"Spanish police secretly recorded conversations between Alexander Torshin, an official at Russia’s Central Bank with close ties to the NRA, and Alexander Romanov, a Russian who was convicted of money laundering, Yahoo News reports. The discussions were related to a meeting Torshin had with Donald Trump Jr. at the NRA convention in May 2016. The tapes were then turned over to the FBI earlier this year. According to José Grinda, a Spanish prosecutor, that could be bad news for Trump Jr."
"Spanish police secretly recorded conversations between Alexander Torshin, an official at Russia’s Central Bank with close ties to the NRA, and Alexander Romanov, a Russian who was convicted of money laundering, Yahoo News reports. The discussions were related to a meeting Torshin had with Donald Trump Jr. at the NRA convention in May 2016. The tapes were then turned over to the FBI earlier this year. According to José Grinda, a Spanish prosecutor, that could be bad news for Trump Jr."
Mueller Has Spain's Wiretaps Of Don Jr. And Russian Moneyman
Mueller Has Spain's Wiretaps Of Don Jr. And Russian Moneyman:
"You see, Spain has long been interested in Putin’s pal, Alexander Torshin, for his possible involvement in money laundering and organized crime. Torshin is a prominent Russian banker (which by definition makes him a Pal of Putin), a politician (also makes him a Pal of Putin), and is closely tied to Murrika’s National Rifle Association. Patriots that they are, the NRA will take Ameros from anyone, it seems as long as the check clears."
"You see, Spain has long been interested in Putin’s pal, Alexander Torshin, for his possible involvement in money laundering and organized crime. Torshin is a prominent Russian banker (which by definition makes him a Pal of Putin), a politician (also makes him a Pal of Putin), and is closely tied to Murrika’s National Rifle Association. Patriots that they are, the NRA will take Ameros from anyone, it seems as long as the check clears."
'Trump's son should be concerned': FBI obtained wiretaps of Putin ally who met with Trump Jr.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-son-concerned-wiretaps-show-trump-jr-met-putin-ally-231215529.html
"The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, a top Spanish prosecutor said Friday. José Grinda, who has spearheaded investigations into Spanish organized crime, said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer. On the wiretaps, Romanov refers to Torshin as “El Padrino,” the godfather. “Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI,” Grinda said in response to a question from Yahoo News during a talk he gave at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. Asked if he was concerned about Torshin’s meetings with Donald Trump Jr. and other American political figures, Grinda replied: “Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned"."
"The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, a top Spanish prosecutor said Friday. José Grinda, who has spearheaded investigations into Spanish organized crime, said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer. On the wiretaps, Romanov refers to Torshin as “El Padrino,” the godfather. “Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI,” Grinda said in response to a question from Yahoo News during a talk he gave at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. Asked if he was concerned about Torshin’s meetings with Donald Trump Jr. and other American political figures, Grinda replied: “Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned"."
Complete timeline of Trump-Kushner connection to Saudi Arabia, UAE isn't secret—but still shocking
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/22/1766010/-Trump-Kushner-connection-to-Saudi-Arabia-and-the-UAE-isn-t-secret-but-it-s-still-shocking
"Whether it’s Russia, or Saudi Arabia, or the UAE, the places where Donald Trump has business associates get his business. Which, at the moment, means the support of the U.S. military—along with the world’s best chocolate cake. Those that don’t make a deal with Trump … can look at Qatar for a lesson."
"Whether it’s Russia, or Saudi Arabia, or the UAE, the places where Donald Trump has business associates get his business. Which, at the moment, means the support of the U.S. military—along with the world’s best chocolate cake. Those that don’t make a deal with Trump … can look at Qatar for a lesson."
Complicit: Trump’s Hypnosis of the Republican Party is Complete — And the Fate of America's Democracy Itself is at Stake @alternet
Complicit: Trump’s Hypnosis of the Republican Party is Complete — And the Fate of America's Democracy Itself is at Stake @alternet:
"the reason our nation faces a serious constitutional crisis is that the Republican Party absolutely refuses to stop the president from undermining the rule of law in order to save his own skin. For a party that drops praise for the United States Constitution in virtually all of their speeches, this failure has exposed them to be craven partisans instead of genuine patriots."
"the reason our nation faces a serious constitutional crisis is that the Republican Party absolutely refuses to stop the president from undermining the rule of law in order to save his own skin. For a party that drops praise for the United States Constitution in virtually all of their speeches, this failure has exposed them to be craven partisans instead of genuine patriots."
Michael Cohen’s Shady Business Partner Agrees to Cooperate With the Feds
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/michael-cohens-shady-business-partner-evgeny-freidman-agrees-to-snitch.html
"Donald Trump surrounds himself with people who have serious legal liabilities — and those people, apparently, surround themselves with other people who have serious legal liabilities."
"Donald Trump surrounds himself with people who have serious legal liabilities — and those people, apparently, surround themselves with other people who have serious legal liabilities."
Things are not looking good for Donald Trump Jr.
https://thinkprogress.org/testimony-haunt-donald-trump-jr-a54a8c679268/
"Lying to Congress is a crime even if you are not under oath. Federal law prohibits making false statements to Congress. If false statements were made “knowingly and willfully” about “material facts,” it is punishable by up to five years in prison. Much of the questioning before the Senate Intelligence Committee that day focused on the meeting Trump Jr. arranged in Trump Tower in June 2016, after Trump was promised dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government."
"Lying to Congress is a crime even if you are not under oath. Federal law prohibits making false statements to Congress. If false statements were made “knowingly and willfully” about “material facts,” it is punishable by up to five years in prison. Much of the questioning before the Senate Intelligence Committee that day focused on the meeting Trump Jr. arranged in Trump Tower in June 2016, after Trump was promised dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government."
Biblical law advocate spends big to re-elect ‘Putin’s favorite congressman’
https://thinkprogress.org/biblical-law-advocate-spends-big-to-re-elect-putins-favorite-congressman/
"Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson Jr., the controversial advocate for strict biblical law and heir to a savings-and-loan fortune worth hundreds of millions, has already given the legal maximum to the re-election campaign of embattled Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). And more than 20 years after landing in hot water for helping a Rohrabacher protege game the political system, Ahmanson has opted to circumvent campaign donation limits by making tens of thousands of dollars in “independent expenditures” to help his re-election. Rohrabacher, a former Reagan aide, has represented southern California in Congress since 1989. In recent years, he has earned notoriety for his close ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime, earning the nickname “Putin’s favorite congressman” and his own Kremlin code name. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was even recorded in 2016 saying that he believe his fellow California Republican was on Putin’s payroll. The far-right Rohrabacher has expressed outrage that homeless people in Orange County might be given a place to sleep, denounced constituents urging him to hold a town hall as “enemies of American self-government and democracy,” suggested that climate change might be caused by “dinosaur flatulence,” and warned that white people would “lose our freedom” if the DREAM Act passed."
"Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson Jr., the controversial advocate for strict biblical law and heir to a savings-and-loan fortune worth hundreds of millions, has already given the legal maximum to the re-election campaign of embattled Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). And more than 20 years after landing in hot water for helping a Rohrabacher protege game the political system, Ahmanson has opted to circumvent campaign donation limits by making tens of thousands of dollars in “independent expenditures” to help his re-election. Rohrabacher, a former Reagan aide, has represented southern California in Congress since 1989. In recent years, he has earned notoriety for his close ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime, earning the nickname “Putin’s favorite congressman” and his own Kremlin code name. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was even recorded in 2016 saying that he believe his fellow California Republican was on Putin’s payroll. The far-right Rohrabacher has expressed outrage that homeless people in Orange County might be given a place to sleep, denounced constituents urging him to hold a town hall as “enemies of American self-government and democracy,” suggested that climate change might be caused by “dinosaur flatulence,” and warned that white people would “lose our freedom” if the DREAM Act passed."
Donald Trump — The Art Of The Racketeer
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/23/1766489/-Donald-Trump-The-Art-Of-The-Racketeer
"Donald Trump is basically a racketeer, specializing in the crimes of extortion, bribery, money laundering, and now obstruction of justice. The people who knew this best, far more than the American people and press, were the corrupt foreign governments and oligarchs with whom Trump had engaged in his racket over the last few decades, whether through extortion, bribery, or money laundering. And these foreign entities knew better than anyone how to deal with Trump. The most advantageous position to be in with Trump is to have enough leverage over him so he can not extort you, because that is his default option. Conversely, the least advantageous position is where Trump has all the leverage and can extort you. Bribery can strengthen or weaken your position depending on the situation, but, even then, bribery will only get you so far without leverage as bribery brings no loyalty from Trump. If you are not the law, the best way to fight back against a racketeer is to become a racketeer yourself. It seems clear, based on Trump’s refusal to ever criticize Putin, that the Russians had plenty of leverage over Trump and were determined to use it. In addition, the Russians had been laundering money with Trump for over a decade. And they knew he could be bought. That leverage, combined with the Russian campaign to discredit Hillary, was designed to get the sanctions lifted in return for Trump becoming President. The Russians also knew that they could enhance their position with Trump with additional bribery, holding out the possibility of that chimerical Trump Tower in Moscow. The Russians were actually in prime position with Trump, apparently having enormous leverage over him and being able to bribe him with something he desperately wanted. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were in a somewhat similar position to the Russians but probably did not have the same level of leverage over Trump that the Russians did. They did have years of history dealing with Trump and knew he could be influenced by their money."
"Donald Trump is basically a racketeer, specializing in the crimes of extortion, bribery, money laundering, and now obstruction of justice. The people who knew this best, far more than the American people and press, were the corrupt foreign governments and oligarchs with whom Trump had engaged in his racket over the last few decades, whether through extortion, bribery, or money laundering. And these foreign entities knew better than anyone how to deal with Trump. The most advantageous position to be in with Trump is to have enough leverage over him so he can not extort you, because that is his default option. Conversely, the least advantageous position is where Trump has all the leverage and can extort you. Bribery can strengthen or weaken your position depending on the situation, but, even then, bribery will only get you so far without leverage as bribery brings no loyalty from Trump. If you are not the law, the best way to fight back against a racketeer is to become a racketeer yourself. It seems clear, based on Trump’s refusal to ever criticize Putin, that the Russians had plenty of leverage over Trump and were determined to use it. In addition, the Russians had been laundering money with Trump for over a decade. And they knew he could be bought. That leverage, combined with the Russian campaign to discredit Hillary, was designed to get the sanctions lifted in return for Trump becoming President. The Russians also knew that they could enhance their position with Trump with additional bribery, holding out the possibility of that chimerical Trump Tower in Moscow. The Russians were actually in prime position with Trump, apparently having enormous leverage over him and being able to bribe him with something he desperately wanted. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were in a somewhat similar position to the Russians but probably did not have the same level of leverage over Trump that the Russians did. They did have years of history dealing with Trump and knew he could be influenced by their money."
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Trump quietly acknowledged the real reason he attacks the free press
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-quietly-acknowledged-the-real-reason-he-attacks-the-free-press
"CBS News’ Lesley Stahl spoke this week at an event in New York and shared a previously unreported exchange she had with Donald Trump during his presidential transition process. Stahl said she and her boss met with Trump at his office in Trump Tower in Manhattan after the 2016 election in advance of a recorded sit-down interview for “60 Minutes.” “At one point, he started to attack the press,” Stahl said. “There were no cameras in there.” “I said, ‘You know, this is getting tired. Why are you doing it over and over? It’s boring and it’s time to end that. You know, you’ve won … why do you keep hammering at this?’” Stahl recalled. “And he said: ‘You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.’” To be sure, this isn’t surprising. It’s hard to imagine any serious observer making the case that Trump’s attacks on media professionals and news organizations are sincere criticisms of modern standards in American journalism. Like any leader with unhealthy authoritarian instincts, this president sees the media as an obstacle, providing the electorate with facts he’d prefer the public not know. But as powerful as Stahl’s anecdote is, and as easy it is to believe, it’s worth appreciating this in the larger context – because Trump isn’t just attacking the free press. Trump tries to discredit pollsters so that when they publish results he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe them. Trump tries to discredit law enforcement officials so that when they pursue allegations he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe them. Trump tries to discredit the courts so that when they issue rulings he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe them. Trump tries to discredit the Congressional Budget Office so that when it releases data he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe it. And on and on and on."
"CBS News’ Lesley Stahl spoke this week at an event in New York and shared a previously unreported exchange she had with Donald Trump during his presidential transition process. Stahl said she and her boss met with Trump at his office in Trump Tower in Manhattan after the 2016 election in advance of a recorded sit-down interview for “60 Minutes.” “At one point, he started to attack the press,” Stahl said. “There were no cameras in there.” “I said, ‘You know, this is getting tired. Why are you doing it over and over? It’s boring and it’s time to end that. You know, you’ve won … why do you keep hammering at this?’” Stahl recalled. “And he said: ‘You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.’” To be sure, this isn’t surprising. It’s hard to imagine any serious observer making the case that Trump’s attacks on media professionals and news organizations are sincere criticisms of modern standards in American journalism. Like any leader with unhealthy authoritarian instincts, this president sees the media as an obstacle, providing the electorate with facts he’d prefer the public not know. But as powerful as Stahl’s anecdote is, and as easy it is to believe, it’s worth appreciating this in the larger context – because Trump isn’t just attacking the free press. Trump tries to discredit pollsters so that when they publish results he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe them. Trump tries to discredit law enforcement officials so that when they pursue allegations he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe them. Trump tries to discredit the courts so that when they issue rulings he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe them. Trump tries to discredit the Congressional Budget Office so that when it releases data he doesn’t like, much of the public won’t believe it. And on and on and on."
Ivanka Trump’s suspiciously-timed Chinese business deals
https://thinkprogress.org/ivanka-zte-china-2e5bc9241439/
"Ivanka Trump’s business recently secured five more valuable trademarks from China (with a sixth given trial approval), allowing her to expand her business there to the tune of millions of dollars in profits. The timing of the approval suspiciously overlaps with President Trump’s own dealings with China. The new trademarks were approved on May 7, just days before Trump promised on Twitter to help save the Chinese phone company ZTE."
"Ivanka Trump’s business recently secured five more valuable trademarks from China (with a sixth given trial approval), allowing her to expand her business there to the tune of millions of dollars in profits. The timing of the approval suspiciously overlaps with President Trump’s own dealings with China. The new trademarks were approved on May 7, just days before Trump promised on Twitter to help save the Chinese phone company ZTE."
'Screaming Violation' of Constitution: President Moves to Rescue Chinese Telecom as Beijing Funds Major Trump Project
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/23/screaming-violation-constitution-president-moves-rescue-chinese-telecom-beijing
"a Chinese government-run entity dumped a $500 million loan into a major development project in Indonesia, which will reportedly include a Trump-branded hotel and golf course."
"a Chinese government-run entity dumped a $500 million loan into a major development project in Indonesia, which will reportedly include a Trump-branded hotel and golf course."
Trump’s Corruption: Thanks to Koch Brothers, GOP Congress Is in on the Take
Trump’s Corruption: Thanks to Koch Brothers, GOP Congress Is in on the Take:
"It’s hard for Republicans to get elected without the billionaires’ machine behind them."
"It’s hard for Republicans to get elected without the billionaires’ machine behind them."
What more do you need to know about Trump?
https://www.salon.com/2018/05/19/what-more-do-you-need-to-know-about-trump/
"The Washington Post recently reported that the lies he has told in office now number more than 3,000. But it’s his lies about Russia that really ring a bell. Trump and his White House surrogates began by claiming that the Trump campaign never met with any Russians and had nothing to do with Russia. Revelation after revelation about contacts between Trump people and Russians followed. Then they claimed they had met with only a few Russians. More revelations about more Russians. Then they claimed they had not met with any Russians “about the campaign.” The Trump Tower meeting was revealed. Meets between George Papadopoulos and Russians in London came to light. Trump suddenly started claiming that there was “no collusion.” Evidence of collusion emerged. Then Trump began claiming that even if there was collusion, it was not illegal. Indictments came down. Now Rudy Giuliani is out there telling the world that even if Trump did something wrong, he can’t be indicted as a sitting president. Wow. Watching Trump revisions on the Russia story is like watching a Slinky descend a staircase, flipping over and over and over and over. But every set of stairs has a bottom and in Trump’s case, it’s the law. His lies and dissembling about Stormy Daniels came up against the law this week when he had to file his financial disclosure form. Lying or omitting information on a federal form is a felony, which is why Trump was forced to include the repayment of his debt to Michael Cohen which covered the $130,000 that had been paid out to silence Stormy Daniels in October of 2016. He lied about her and he lied about that payment until he came up against the law and then he was forced to tell the truth. He has reached the ground floor with Russia and everything else. You can lie at rallies, you can lie to the media, you can lie to voters, but lies don’t work when they come up against laws. That’s where Trump finds himself today."
"The Washington Post recently reported that the lies he has told in office now number more than 3,000. But it’s his lies about Russia that really ring a bell. Trump and his White House surrogates began by claiming that the Trump campaign never met with any Russians and had nothing to do with Russia. Revelation after revelation about contacts between Trump people and Russians followed. Then they claimed they had met with only a few Russians. More revelations about more Russians. Then they claimed they had not met with any Russians “about the campaign.” The Trump Tower meeting was revealed. Meets between George Papadopoulos and Russians in London came to light. Trump suddenly started claiming that there was “no collusion.” Evidence of collusion emerged. Then Trump began claiming that even if there was collusion, it was not illegal. Indictments came down. Now Rudy Giuliani is out there telling the world that even if Trump did something wrong, he can’t be indicted as a sitting president. Wow. Watching Trump revisions on the Russia story is like watching a Slinky descend a staircase, flipping over and over and over and over. But every set of stairs has a bottom and in Trump’s case, it’s the law. His lies and dissembling about Stormy Daniels came up against the law this week when he had to file his financial disclosure form. Lying or omitting information on a federal form is a felony, which is why Trump was forced to include the repayment of his debt to Michael Cohen which covered the $130,000 that had been paid out to silence Stormy Daniels in October of 2016. He lied about her and he lied about that payment until he came up against the law and then he was forced to tell the truth. He has reached the ground floor with Russia and everything else. You can lie at rallies, you can lie to the media, you can lie to voters, but lies don’t work when they come up against laws. That’s where Trump finds himself today."
The Kushners Are Finally Getting That Sweet, Sweet Qatari Cash
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/05/kushner-cos-brookfield-qatar
"Qatar’s newfound beneficence toward the Kushner family is especially curious given the long-standing speculation about Jared’s personal alliances with Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the Abu Dhabi, respectively. Some political observers’ eyebrows were raised when, just a few weeks after Charlie’s talks with the Qataris fell apart, his son endorsed a Saudi- and U.A.E.-led blockade of Qatar. One wonders if the Trump administration will continue to support the blockade, or whether it will suddenly have a change of heart now that the Qatar Investment Authority, via Brookfield, has opened its wallet."
"Qatar’s newfound beneficence toward the Kushner family is especially curious given the long-standing speculation about Jared’s personal alliances with Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the Abu Dhabi, respectively. Some political observers’ eyebrows were raised when, just a few weeks after Charlie’s talks with the Qataris fell apart, his son endorsed a Saudi- and U.A.E.-led blockade of Qatar. One wonders if the Trump administration will continue to support the blockade, or whether it will suddenly have a change of heart now that the Qatar Investment Authority, via Brookfield, has opened its wallet."
How the Trump Team Scrambled to Get Its Story Straight on Meeting With Russian Emissary
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/05/how-the-trump-team-scrambled-to-get-its-story-straight-on-meeting-with-a-russian-emissary/
"The day after Goldstone got the email from Garten, Goldstone wrote to Emin Agalarov and said the lawyers were worried that news of the meeting would expose Trump Jr. as having lied about campaign contacts with Russians. Though Goldstone did not mention it, President Donald Trump and his aides had made the same false claims denying contact between his campaign and the Russians."
"The day after Goldstone got the email from Garten, Goldstone wrote to Emin Agalarov and said the lawyers were worried that news of the meeting would expose Trump Jr. as having lied about campaign contacts with Russians. Though Goldstone did not mention it, President Donald Trump and his aides had made the same false claims denying contact between his campaign and the Russians."
Robert S. Mueller III and Donald who? A REAL patriot.. A real loser. Know the difference.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/17/1765024/-Robert-S-Mueller-III-and-Donald-who-A-REAL-patriot-A-real-loser-Know-the-difference
"Now we know what Donald J Trump has done before and after the Vietnam War. He has lied, cheated, avoided his military service claiming bone spurs, and of course compared avoiding a veneral disease as his own personal Vietnam. He plays golf ( and according to many, cheats). He tweets and uses insults, uses veterans as props, is bigoted, sexist, and thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. He creates situations that actually does put AMERICANS in danger and has no empathy or love of anything except money. He has allowed and done so himself, insulted Vietnam veterans including a POW such as John McCain. He is such a loser. Of course he hates Robert Muller III. He does not hate him JUST for investigating him but Mueller is everything he is not."
"Now we know what Donald J Trump has done before and after the Vietnam War. He has lied, cheated, avoided his military service claiming bone spurs, and of course compared avoiding a veneral disease as his own personal Vietnam. He plays golf ( and according to many, cheats). He tweets and uses insults, uses veterans as props, is bigoted, sexist, and thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. He creates situations that actually does put AMERICANS in danger and has no empathy or love of anything except money. He has allowed and done so himself, insulted Vietnam veterans including a POW such as John McCain. He is such a loser. Of course he hates Robert Muller III. He does not hate him JUST for investigating him but Mueller is everything he is not."
Giuliani makes his case FOR Trump-Russian Collusion
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/17/1765139/-Giuliani-make-his-case-FOR-Trump-Russian-Collusion
"Rudy Giuliani says there’s “nothing illegal” about trying to find compromising information about opponents — even if the source is Russia."
"Rudy Giuliani says there’s “nothing illegal” about trying to find compromising information about opponents — even if the source is Russia."
Essential Consultants, the Trump Foundation and Donald Trump's need for ready cash
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/16/1763976/-Essential-Consultants-the-Trump-Foundation-and-Donald-Trump-s-need-for-ready-cash
"Essential Consultants is not a charity. Not even a pretend charity. But it is an LLC, meaning that both its ownership and its business dealings can be deliberately vague. Both Michael Cohen and Donald Trump were certainly no strangers to the anonymity and protection an LLC can provide. The Trump Organization itself includes over 500 LLCs, almost all of them listing the same scant information and all of them owned by Trump. Some of them exist only to own other LLCs within the organization, making it ditheringly impossible to figure out the legitimacy of some of Trump’s reported expenses. Some of Trump’s LLCs have purposes that can be guessed at by looking at their names—though not necessarily. Some of them exist for no obvious reason at all. Which is the point. These LLCs are impenetrable in most instances. Even the names don’t have to match what they do. As several people have noted, everything about the name Essential Consultants is a lie—right down to the “s” in Consultants."
"Essential Consultants is not a charity. Not even a pretend charity. But it is an LLC, meaning that both its ownership and its business dealings can be deliberately vague. Both Michael Cohen and Donald Trump were certainly no strangers to the anonymity and protection an LLC can provide. The Trump Organization itself includes over 500 LLCs, almost all of them listing the same scant information and all of them owned by Trump. Some of them exist only to own other LLCs within the organization, making it ditheringly impossible to figure out the legitimacy of some of Trump’s reported expenses. Some of Trump’s LLCs have purposes that can be guessed at by looking at their names—though not necessarily. Some of them exist for no obvious reason at all. Which is the point. These LLCs are impenetrable in most instances. Even the names don’t have to match what they do. As several people have noted, everything about the name Essential Consultants is a lie—right down to the “s” in Consultants."
Donald Trump Jr.'s memory got very hazy when he testified to the Senate Intel Committee under oath
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/16/1764708/-Senate-releases-testimony-and-documents-connected-to-Trump-Tower-meeting-with-Russians
"The transcripts also show that Donald Trump Jr. was more than willing to engage in the “I don’t recall” defense, stating that he could not remember details of the meeting, calls to and from Russia, and the circumstances of his talk with Air Force One while the excuse memo was being prepared. It will take some time to examine all the information that was released, but it seems to confirm most of what was already known: The Russian government was enthusiastically engaged in a program to support Donald Trump, members of the Trump campaign were eager to join in, and both Trump Jr. and Trump Sr. attempted to cover up the true purpose and extent of contacts."
"The transcripts also show that Donald Trump Jr. was more than willing to engage in the “I don’t recall” defense, stating that he could not remember details of the meeting, calls to and from Russia, and the circumstances of his talk with Air Force One while the excuse memo was being prepared. It will take some time to examine all the information that was released, but it seems to confirm most of what was already known: The Russian government was enthusiastically engaged in a program to support Donald Trump, members of the Trump campaign were eager to join in, and both Trump Jr. and Trump Sr. attempted to cover up the true purpose and extent of contacts."
'Death of Democracy' author says Trump’s 'cultivation of dishonesty' strongly reminiscent of Nazis @alternet
'Death of Democracy' author says Trump’s 'cultivation of dishonesty' strongly reminiscent of Nazis @alternet:
"Donald Trump's behavior is drawn from a familiar authoritarian playbook: threats of violence against his political enemies, contempt for the rule of law, incessant lies and corruption, militant nationalism, disdain for a free press, and the portrayal of his supporters as "real citizens" over and against lesser others. Trump has merely adapted those most vulgar of political tactics to fit America's political culture. But there are more sinister echoes from one of the darkest moments in modern history in Donald Trump's version of American fascism."
"Donald Trump's behavior is drawn from a familiar authoritarian playbook: threats of violence against his political enemies, contempt for the rule of law, incessant lies and corruption, militant nationalism, disdain for a free press, and the portrayal of his supporters as "real citizens" over and against lesser others. Trump has merely adapted those most vulgar of political tactics to fit America's political culture. But there are more sinister echoes from one of the darkest moments in modern history in Donald Trump's version of American fascism."
Companies turn Trump tax cuts into a big windfall for wealthy investors
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/18/1765296/-Companies-turn-Trump-tax-cuts-into-a-big-windfall-for-wealthy-investors
"Don’t forget, the corporate leadership that’s making these buyback decisions will also benefit from them, since many executive compensation packages are tied to stock prices or include stocks and stock options. Republicans claimed the corporate tax cut would benefit workers, though it was always easy to see that for a lie if you just poked at it a little. And now we have the unfortunate proof of the lie."
"Don’t forget, the corporate leadership that’s making these buyback decisions will also benefit from them, since many executive compensation packages are tied to stock prices or include stocks and stock options. Republicans claimed the corporate tax cut would benefit workers, though it was always easy to see that for a lie if you just poked at it a little. And now we have the unfortunate proof of the lie."
Citing 'Common Good,' Nearly 1,500 Scientists Demand Congress Shield Endangered Species Act From GOP Attacks
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/18/citing-common-good-nearly-1500-scientists-demand-congress-shield-endangered-species
"In honor of Endangered Species Day on Friday, 1,452 American scientists sent a letter to Congress demanding that they "protect the scientific foundation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and reject any attempts to weaken or compromise the role of science in protecting species." The letter (pdf) comes amid the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers' war on science, and particularly in response to their attempts—including through the "disastrous" GOP Farm Bill that was defeated on Friday—to undercut or strip away key elements of the ESA, landmark legislation enacted in 1973 that aims "to conserve to the extent practicable the various species of fish or wildlife and plants facing extinction"."
"In honor of Endangered Species Day on Friday, 1,452 American scientists sent a letter to Congress demanding that they "protect the scientific foundation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and reject any attempts to weaken or compromise the role of science in protecting species." The letter (pdf) comes amid the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers' war on science, and particularly in response to their attempts—including through the "disastrous" GOP Farm Bill that was defeated on Friday—to undercut or strip away key elements of the ESA, landmark legislation enacted in 1973 that aims "to conserve to the extent practicable the various species of fish or wildlife and plants facing extinction"."
Trump's Corrupt Abuse of Power on Display in New Report About His Efforts to Target Amazon @alternet
Trump's Corrupt Abuse of Power on Display in New Report About His Efforts to Target Amazon @alternet:
"President Donald Trump has personally been pressuring the U.S. Postal Service to raise rates on Amazon, according to a new report from the Washington Post. While the report is not particularly surprising, given Trump's public statement on the matter, it also suggests he's engaging in high-level corruption in an attempt to punish Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Post."
"President Donald Trump has personally been pressuring the U.S. Postal Service to raise rates on Amazon, according to a new report from the Washington Post. While the report is not particularly surprising, given Trump's public statement on the matter, it also suggests he's engaging in high-level corruption in an attempt to punish Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Post."
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Explains Why Trump Colluding with the Russians Looks Even More Likely Now @alternet
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Explains Why Trump Colluding with the Russians Looks Even More Likely Now @alternet:
"Even before the appointment of Mueller as special counsel in May 2017, FBI agents investigating Russia’s interference in the election learned that Cohen was in frequent contact with foreign individuals about Trump Moscow — and that some of these individuals had knowledge of or played a role in 2016 election meddling, according to two FBI agents."
"Even before the appointment of Mueller as special counsel in May 2017, FBI agents investigating Russia’s interference in the election learned that Cohen was in frequent contact with foreign individuals about Trump Moscow — and that some of these individuals had knowledge of or played a role in 2016 election meddling, according to two FBI agents."
Tucker Carlson is suddenly very unconcerned about the Las Vegas shooting
https://thinkprogress.org/tucker-carlson-ignores-las-vegas-shooting-documents-3fbfd2270b00/
"Perhaps that’s because the evidence paints a very different picture than the one Carlson would like his audience to believe. Paddock does indeed appear to have been radicalized, though not by agents of the Islamic State, as Carlson insinuated, but by anti-government extremists on the far-right. Multiple witnesses recalled encounters with Paddock in which he espoused pro-gun talking points and lashed out angrily about famous government confrontations in Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge, Idaho."
"Perhaps that’s because the evidence paints a very different picture than the one Carlson would like his audience to believe. Paddock does indeed appear to have been radicalized, though not by agents of the Islamic State, as Carlson insinuated, but by anti-government extremists on the far-right. Multiple witnesses recalled encounters with Paddock in which he espoused pro-gun talking points and lashed out angrily about famous government confrontations in Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge, Idaho."
In Desperate New Defense for Trump, Rudy Suggests Russia Collusion Wasn't Illegal
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/44521-rudy-s-desperate-new-defense-for-trump-says-russia-collusion-wasn-t-illegal
"we know for a fact that the Trump campaign was crawling with Russians and that people at the highest levels were talking to them. There are a handful of former Trump officials either under indictment or cooperating after pleading guilty to various crimes, so Giuliani probably shouldn't count his Chicken Kievs quite yet."
"we know for a fact that the Trump campaign was crawling with Russians and that people at the highest levels were talking to them. There are a handful of former Trump officials either under indictment or cooperating after pleading guilty to various crimes, so Giuliani probably shouldn't count his Chicken Kievs quite yet."
Watch Rudy Giuliani Melt Down When He's Shown a Rebuttal By...Rudy Giuliani
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a20742620/rudy-giuliani-subpoena-trump-cuomo-cnn/
"Because this is our lives now, some portion of our politics are devoted to questions like, can a sitting president be indicted, and can the president be subpoenaed? This is obviously a major issue for President Trump's new lead lawyer in the Russia probe, Rudy Giuliani, formerly known as America's Mayor and now known as someone who will "get his facts straight" at some point. Yes, Giuliani has had a torrid time of it on the cable news circuit: He admitted Trump knew about the Stormy Daniels payment, exposing the president's continual lies, and he echoed Trump's own admission that James Comey's firing had to do with The Russia Thing. The latter has the pungent aroma of obstruction of justice, which is guaranteed to be part of the line of questioning Trump will see if he sits down with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The question is whether Trump will agree to the interview, whether he can be compelled to sit for it through a subpoena, or whether he can avoid it entirely. Giuliani joined CNN's Chris Cuomo Friday morning to suggest there was no way a sitting president could be compelled to testify. He then promptly melted down when Cuomo played back a clip of Giuliani saying the opposite when the president in question was Bill Clinton"
"Because this is our lives now, some portion of our politics are devoted to questions like, can a sitting president be indicted, and can the president be subpoenaed? This is obviously a major issue for President Trump's new lead lawyer in the Russia probe, Rudy Giuliani, formerly known as America's Mayor and now known as someone who will "get his facts straight" at some point. Yes, Giuliani has had a torrid time of it on the cable news circuit: He admitted Trump knew about the Stormy Daniels payment, exposing the president's continual lies, and he echoed Trump's own admission that James Comey's firing had to do with The Russia Thing. The latter has the pungent aroma of obstruction of justice, which is guaranteed to be part of the line of questioning Trump will see if he sits down with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The question is whether Trump will agree to the interview, whether he can be compelled to sit for it through a subpoena, or whether he can avoid it entirely. Giuliani joined CNN's Chris Cuomo Friday morning to suggest there was no way a sitting president could be compelled to testify. He then promptly melted down when Cuomo played back a clip of Giuliani saying the opposite when the president in question was Bill Clinton"
Defamation lawsuit just became more alarming for Donald Trump
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/defamation-lawsuit-just-became-more-alarming-donald-trump
"As much of the world no doubt recalls, Donald Trump was recorded in 2005 bragging about committing sexual assaults. The Republican said, among other things, that he kisses women he considers attractive – “I don’t even wait,” Trump claimed at the time – which he said he can get away with because of his public profile. “When you’re a star, they let you do it,” Trump said on the recording. “You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the p—y.” After Trump denied having done what he bragged about doing, more than a few women came forward to accuse the Republican of sexual misconduct – one of whom, Summer Zervos, is currently suing the president for defamation, after Trump insisted each of his accusers were liars. Trump’s lawyers have tried a variety of arguments to make the case go away – the president has denied any wrongdoing – but as of yesterday afternoon, those efforts have now failed in two New York courts."
"As much of the world no doubt recalls, Donald Trump was recorded in 2005 bragging about committing sexual assaults. The Republican said, among other things, that he kisses women he considers attractive – “I don’t even wait,” Trump claimed at the time – which he said he can get away with because of his public profile. “When you’re a star, they let you do it,” Trump said on the recording. “You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the p—y.” After Trump denied having done what he bragged about doing, more than a few women came forward to accuse the Republican of sexual misconduct – one of whom, Summer Zervos, is currently suing the president for defamation, after Trump insisted each of his accusers were liars. Trump’s lawyers have tried a variety of arguments to make the case go away – the president has denied any wrongdoing – but as of yesterday afternoon, those efforts have now failed in two New York courts."
Rudy’s desperate new defense for Trump: Conspiring with the Russians wasn’t illegal!
https://www.salon.com/2018/05/18/rudys-desperate-new-defense-for-trump-conspiring-with-the-russians-wasnt-illegal/
"we know for a fact that the Trump campaign was crawling with Russians and that people at the highest levels were talking to them. There are a handful of former Trump officials either under indictment or cooperating after pleading guilty to various crimes, so Giuliani probably shouldn't count his Chicken Kievs quite yet."
"we know for a fact that the Trump campaign was crawling with Russians and that people at the highest levels were talking to them. There are a handful of former Trump officials either under indictment or cooperating after pleading guilty to various crimes, so Giuliani probably shouldn't count his Chicken Kievs quite yet."
Can we start calling Junior Trump what he is -- a Liar
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/18/1764909/-Can-we-start-calling-Junior-Trump-what-he-is-a-Liar
"Trump Jr — a guy who called Daddie twice a day since ever — DOES NOT KNOW if his mentor and role model has a “Blocked” phone number or not? That’s like something you’d “remember” on day two, of your calling. “Donnie is really a chip off the Liar’s block ...” That denial and the several others like it, are not cute, are not coy, and are not “honest” — they are “Lying to Congress” — an indictable crime. IF Jr does not recall who he consulted with in the midst of scheming to cheat to win — how can we “trust” anything else the guy says — about NOT receiving any “Dirt”, about the “Russian Lawyer meeting being a waste of time”, about NOT making plans to use Wikileaks as the convenient “Dirt deliver tool”? The lawyerly answer is WE CAN’T trust him. This witness’ testimony is tainted. It is NOT the “whole truth, and nothing but the the truth” … so help him, his millions. And the Trump-base calls Junior’s testimony “honest & forthright” — if only they would “read it”, eh? If only the National Media — would call a liar, a Liar. The time for coddling our “royal family” should be over."
"Trump Jr — a guy who called Daddie twice a day since ever — DOES NOT KNOW if his mentor and role model has a “Blocked” phone number or not? That’s like something you’d “remember” on day two, of your calling. “Donnie is really a chip off the Liar’s block ...” That denial and the several others like it, are not cute, are not coy, and are not “honest” — they are “Lying to Congress” — an indictable crime. IF Jr does not recall who he consulted with in the midst of scheming to cheat to win — how can we “trust” anything else the guy says — about NOT receiving any “Dirt”, about the “Russian Lawyer meeting being a waste of time”, about NOT making plans to use Wikileaks as the convenient “Dirt deliver tool”? The lawyerly answer is WE CAN’T trust him. This witness’ testimony is tainted. It is NOT the “whole truth, and nothing but the the truth” … so help him, his millions. And the Trump-base calls Junior’s testimony “honest & forthright” — if only they would “read it”, eh? If only the National Media — would call a liar, a Liar. The time for coddling our “royal family” should be over."
Trump's EPA Doesn't Want You to Know Chemicals in Teflon Are Poisoning Waterways and Firefighters
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/44524-trump-s-epa-doesn-t-want-you-to-know-chemicals-in-teflon-are-poisoning-waterways-and-firefighters
"The Environmental Protection Agency is facing a major new scandal after it worked with the White House to bury an alarming federal study detailing widespread chemical contamination of the nation's water supply. One Trump administration official warned release of the study would create a "public relations nightmare"."
"The Environmental Protection Agency is facing a major new scandal after it worked with the White House to bury an alarming federal study detailing widespread chemical contamination of the nation's water supply. One Trump administration official warned release of the study would create a "public relations nightmare"."
"Alarming": Facebook Teams Up With Think-Tank Funded by Saudi Arabia and Military Contractors to "Protect" Democracy
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/18/alarming-facebook-teams-think-tank-funded-saudi-arabia-and-military-contractors
"In a new project Facebook insists is a completely objective and nonpartisan effort to root out what it deems "disinformation," the social media giant announced on Thursday that it is partnering with the Atlantic Council—a prominent Washington-based think-tank funded by Saudi Arabia, major oil companies, defense contractors, and Charles Koch—to prevent its platform from "being abused during elections"."
"In a new project Facebook insists is a completely objective and nonpartisan effort to root out what it deems "disinformation," the social media giant announced on Thursday that it is partnering with the Atlantic Council—a prominent Washington-based think-tank funded by Saudi Arabia, major oil companies, defense contractors, and Charles Koch—to prevent its platform from "being abused during elections"."
On CNN, Giuliani shouts over tape of 1998 interview exposing his hypocrisy
https://thinkprogress.org/on-cnn-giuliani-shouts-over-tape-of-1998-interview-exposing-his-hypocrisy-3589dfd44cdd/
"President Trump's lawyer said it was "really unfair" to be debunked by himself"
"President Trump's lawyer said it was "really unfair" to be debunked by himself"
Friday, May 18, 2018
Inside the Barbaric U.S. Industry of Dog Experimentation
https://theintercept.com/2018/05/17/inside-the-barbaric-u-s-industry-of-dog-experimentation/
"Often, the experimentation has nothing to do with medical research, but rather trivial commercial interests, and in almost all cases, dogs provide little to no unique scientific value."
"Often, the experimentation has nothing to do with medical research, but rather trivial commercial interests, and in almost all cases, dogs provide little to no unique scientific value."
Sunday, May 13, 2018
We’re Supposed to Believe Michael Cohen’s One-Person Shell Company Provided “Consulting” Services Worth Millions of Dollars
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/michael-cohen-essential-consultants-corporate-explanations-fail-laugh-test.html
"So, these four entities paid a former personal-injury lawyer’s zero-employee paper company millions of dollars for advice about accounting standards, telecom reform, tax policy, antitrust law, the Affordable Care Act, and high-end investment opportunities in the same period that said company was also involved in nondisclosure payments to a pornographic actress and a Playboy playmate. Also, one of the companies that paid Cohen is now downplaying a previously disclosed connection to a Russian billionaire who has been affected by the type of sanctions that have been the subject of several suspicious interactions between Trump advisers and agents of the Russian government."
"So, these four entities paid a former personal-injury lawyer’s zero-employee paper company millions of dollars for advice about accounting standards, telecom reform, tax policy, antitrust law, the Affordable Care Act, and high-end investment opportunities in the same period that said company was also involved in nondisclosure payments to a pornographic actress and a Playboy playmate. Also, one of the companies that paid Cohen is now downplaying a previously disclosed connection to a Russian billionaire who has been affected by the type of sanctions that have been the subject of several suspicious interactions between Trump advisers and agents of the Russian government."
How Michael Cohen’s Apparent Russia Payment Might Help Prove Collusion
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/how-michael-cohens-apparent-russia-payment-might-help-prove-collusion.html
"These allegations are not just about a hush payment and campaign finance felonies. This is a significant step toward establishing quid pro quo bribery and conspiracy against the United States. First, Vekselberg recently increased his share to 26.5 percent in the aluminum firm Rusal. That firm was owned by Oleg Deripaska, the Russian billionaire whose ties to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort are under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller. Two of Vekselberg’s American partners, meanwhile, donated more than $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee and Vekselberg also had business ties to Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross. Now, Congress has been legislating tougher sanctions against Putin and Russia over the past year by sweeping, close-to-unanimous bipartisan majorities. But the Trump administration has been softening or delaying those sanctions at every turn. Last month, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control finally implemented congressional sanctions against Deripaska and Rusal, in addition to other Russians. The Treasury Department cited allegations that Deripaska ordered the murder of a businessman and had links to a Russian organized crime group. But on April 23, the Trump administration announced major delays on implementation, “slow-rolling” the sanctions seemingly to give Rusal time to minimize the damage and to appeal the sanctions. Treasury gave Rusal an extension to next October, and Reuters reported the department would “consider lifting [the sanctions] if United Company Rusal PLC’s major shareholder, Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, ceded control of the company,” which he soon did. “Given the impact on our partners and allies, we are … extending the maintenance and wind-down period while we consider RUSAL’s petition,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. Given the outrageous conduct of Putin and Deripaska, and given the almost unanimous votes in Congress to impose tough sanctions, these accommodations should have been considered stunning."
"These allegations are not just about a hush payment and campaign finance felonies. This is a significant step toward establishing quid pro quo bribery and conspiracy against the United States. First, Vekselberg recently increased his share to 26.5 percent in the aluminum firm Rusal. That firm was owned by Oleg Deripaska, the Russian billionaire whose ties to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort are under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller. Two of Vekselberg’s American partners, meanwhile, donated more than $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee and Vekselberg also had business ties to Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross. Now, Congress has been legislating tougher sanctions against Putin and Russia over the past year by sweeping, close-to-unanimous bipartisan majorities. But the Trump administration has been softening or delaying those sanctions at every turn. Last month, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control finally implemented congressional sanctions against Deripaska and Rusal, in addition to other Russians. The Treasury Department cited allegations that Deripaska ordered the murder of a businessman and had links to a Russian organized crime group. But on April 23, the Trump administration announced major delays on implementation, “slow-rolling” the sanctions seemingly to give Rusal time to minimize the damage and to appeal the sanctions. Treasury gave Rusal an extension to next October, and Reuters reported the department would “consider lifting [the sanctions] if United Company Rusal PLC’s major shareholder, Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, ceded control of the company,” which he soon did. “Given the impact on our partners and allies, we are … extending the maintenance and wind-down period while we consider RUSAL’s petition,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. Given the outrageous conduct of Putin and Deripaska, and given the almost unanimous votes in Congress to impose tough sanctions, these accommodations should have been considered stunning."
The Grifter-in-Chief Has An Administration Full of Thieves, Fixers and Money Grubbers @alternet
The Grifter-in-Chief Has An Administration Full of Thieves, Fixers and Money Grubbers @alternet:
"The favorite hang-out of lobbyists and fixers these days is the “lobby bar” at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Conveniently, the President of the United States, who maintains ownership of the hotel while in office, pockets a percentage of every dime they spend there."
"The favorite hang-out of lobbyists and fixers these days is the “lobby bar” at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Conveniently, the President of the United States, who maintains ownership of the hotel while in office, pockets a percentage of every dime they spend there."
Mueller Is Asking Questions About Trump’s Inaugural Fund. There’s a Lot to Investigate There.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/05/mueller-is-asking-questions-about-trumps-inaugural-fund-theres-a-lot-to-investigate-there/
"Robert Mueller has questioned witnesses about millions of dollars in donations to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, according to a new report from ABC News—and that’s likely to be a very deep, dark hole for the special counsel’s team to dig into. The committee raised a record $107 million in the months between the 2016 election and Trump’s inauguration, but questions have lingered about where all the money came from and what ended up happening to it. While corporations are not allowed to give to political campaigns, inaugurations are a different story, and the inaugural committee picked up at least $45 million from donors that were not people. The source of funds behind at least one donor, a company called BH Group LLC that was set up in Virginia in August 2016, is still unknown. BH Group donated $1 million to the event. According to ABC, Mueller’s team has questioned several witnesses about donors with connections to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The questions have also focused on at least two additional donors: Len Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-born billionaire who donated heavily to Republicans in the 2016 elections, and Andrew Intrater, the chief executive officer of Columbus Nova, the investment firm with ties to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg that paid Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen $500,000 after the election. Columbus Nova donated $250,000 to the event, and Vekselberg and Intrater attended. The inaugural committee’s finances have been curious from the start. Prior administrations placed limits on donations in an effort to tamp down accusations of influence buying, but the Trump administration enthusiastically raised money—with no limits. The effort was led by California billionaire Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Trump, but little is known about how the committee accomplished its record-breaking haul or how it spent its money."
"Robert Mueller has questioned witnesses about millions of dollars in donations to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, according to a new report from ABC News—and that’s likely to be a very deep, dark hole for the special counsel’s team to dig into. The committee raised a record $107 million in the months between the 2016 election and Trump’s inauguration, but questions have lingered about where all the money came from and what ended up happening to it. While corporations are not allowed to give to political campaigns, inaugurations are a different story, and the inaugural committee picked up at least $45 million from donors that were not people. The source of funds behind at least one donor, a company called BH Group LLC that was set up in Virginia in August 2016, is still unknown. BH Group donated $1 million to the event. According to ABC, Mueller’s team has questioned several witnesses about donors with connections to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The questions have also focused on at least two additional donors: Len Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-born billionaire who donated heavily to Republicans in the 2016 elections, and Andrew Intrater, the chief executive officer of Columbus Nova, the investment firm with ties to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg that paid Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen $500,000 after the election. Columbus Nova donated $250,000 to the event, and Vekselberg and Intrater attended. The inaugural committee’s finances have been curious from the start. Prior administrations placed limits on donations in an effort to tamp down accusations of influence buying, but the Trump administration enthusiastically raised money—with no limits. The effort was led by California billionaire Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Trump, but little is known about how the committee accomplished its record-breaking haul or how it spent its money."
Summarizing Trump’s Defense for Links to Multiple Potential Crimes: I’m Incompetent
https://forwardprogressives.com/summarizing-trumps-defense-for-links-to-multiple-potential-crimes-im-incompetent/
"When his former national security advisor Michael Flynn called Russia and discussed sanctions that Barack Obama had just issued against the Russian government for their cyber attack against the 2016 election — then lied about what he discussed — Trump claimed ignorance. Flynn’s actions were his own and were in no way the result of any orders Trump had given him. After Trump’s second campaign manager Paul Manafort abruptly left the campaign following reports of his ties to pro-Russia groups in Ukraine, naturally this “president” claimed he knew nothing about any of that and began to downplay his former campaign manager’s role — in his campaign. To me that one is particularly funny because it thoroughly supports the point I’m getting at. In one instance, Trump’s claiming that he ran his own campaign. That he’s such a “hands-on” person, his campaign manager had very little to do with what was going on during his time as part of “team Trump.” Yet he’s still effectively claiming ignorance as it relates to Manafort’s ties to pro-Russia groups. He’s “super hands on” — until being hands-on no longer benefits him. Then he’s apparently surrounded by people who act completely independent of him without his knowledge of anything they’re doing. Such as the infamous meeting his eldest son, campaign manager, and son-in-law had with Russians promising the campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russia’s government that was held in Trump Tower. Nope, Trump never knew about that, either. He found out about that meeting at the same time all of us did. His son, son-in-law, and campaign manger set all of this up — in his building — and kept it secret for over a year, never once mentioning anything about it to him. Uh huh. Then there’s the payment his lawyer Michael Cohen made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair he had with her on his current wife. Once again, Trump claims he knew nothing about the payment or the deal she signed to not speak publicly about their affair."
"When his former national security advisor Michael Flynn called Russia and discussed sanctions that Barack Obama had just issued against the Russian government for their cyber attack against the 2016 election — then lied about what he discussed — Trump claimed ignorance. Flynn’s actions were his own and were in no way the result of any orders Trump had given him. After Trump’s second campaign manager Paul Manafort abruptly left the campaign following reports of his ties to pro-Russia groups in Ukraine, naturally this “president” claimed he knew nothing about any of that and began to downplay his former campaign manager’s role — in his campaign. To me that one is particularly funny because it thoroughly supports the point I’m getting at. In one instance, Trump’s claiming that he ran his own campaign. That he’s such a “hands-on” person, his campaign manager had very little to do with what was going on during his time as part of “team Trump.” Yet he’s still effectively claiming ignorance as it relates to Manafort’s ties to pro-Russia groups. He’s “super hands on” — until being hands-on no longer benefits him. Then he’s apparently surrounded by people who act completely independent of him without his knowledge of anything they’re doing. Such as the infamous meeting his eldest son, campaign manager, and son-in-law had with Russians promising the campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russia’s government that was held in Trump Tower. Nope, Trump never knew about that, either. He found out about that meeting at the same time all of us did. His son, son-in-law, and campaign manger set all of this up — in his building — and kept it secret for over a year, never once mentioning anything about it to him. Uh huh. Then there’s the payment his lawyer Michael Cohen made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair he had with her on his current wife. Once again, Trump claims he knew nothing about the payment or the deal she signed to not speak publicly about their affair."
Suspicions, Demands and Threats: Devin Nunes vs. the Justice Dept.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/12/us/politics/devin-nunes-justice-department-documents-special-counsel.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
"Devin Nunes has escalated his confrontation with law enforcement officials, who have expressed concern that he is trying to undermine the special counsel inquiry."
"Devin Nunes has escalated his confrontation with law enforcement officials, who have expressed concern that he is trying to undermine the special counsel inquiry."
After Saying He’s Too Busy To Meet With Mueller, Trump Goes Golfing
https://www.politicususa.com/2018/05/12/mueller-trump-golfing.html
"Donald Trump isn’t too busy. This is a man who has spent the bulk of his presidency tweeting, golfing, going to his Florida club, and watching Fox News. Trump has been in office for less than two years, but has spent 5 months of his presidency at one of his properties"
"Donald Trump isn’t too busy. This is a man who has spent the bulk of his presidency tweeting, golfing, going to his Florida club, and watching Fox News. Trump has been in office for less than two years, but has spent 5 months of his presidency at one of his properties"
Ukraine Computer Involved In Tennessee Elections Attack
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ukraine-computer-involved-tennessee-elections-attack
"Investigators found evidence of a “malicious intrusion” into a Tennessee county’s elections website from a computer in Ukraine during a concerted cyberattack, which likely caused the site to crash just as it was reporting vote totals in this month’s primary."
"Investigators found evidence of a “malicious intrusion” into a Tennessee county’s elections website from a computer in Ukraine during a concerted cyberattack, which likely caused the site to crash just as it was reporting vote totals in this month’s primary."
Oliver North Worked With Cocaine Traffickers to Arm Terrorists. Now He’ll Be President of the NRA.
https://theintercept.com/2018/05/12/oliver-north-nra-iran-contra/
"This reality about North has been largely covered up, first by North himself and then by Fox News and the passage of time. Thirty years later, it’s been almost totally forgotten. But the facts remain genuinely appalling. North was an active-duty Marine when he joined the Reagan administration’s National Security Council in 1981. One of Reagan’s top priorities was organizing and funding the Contras, a guerrilla military force, to overthrow the revolutionary socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. But the Contras engaged in extensive, gruesome terrorism against Nicaraguan civilians. Congress gradually reduced and then eliminated appropriations supporting them, leading the Reagan administration to secretly search for money elsewhere. According to the report from a later congressional investigation, North was put in charge of this operation, which participants dubbed “The Enterprise.” North enthusiastically looked for cash wherever he could find it, and led many of the clandestine schemes that later became known as the Iran-Contra scandal. The Sultan of Brunei donated $10 million (which North’s secretary Fawn Hall accidentally wired to the wrong Swiss bank account), and Saudi Arabia ponied up as well. North also pushed what he called “a neat idea”: selling U.S. military equipment to Iran, with the proceeds passed along to the Contras. Meanwhile, the Contras had a neat idea of their own: facilitating cocaine trafficking through Central America into the U.S., with a cut going toward supporting their war against the Sandinistas. Some Contras were themselves cocaine traffickers, and others were simply happy to make alliances of convenience with drug cartels. There’s no evidence North actively wanted cocaine to be smuggled into the U.S. It was simply that he had other priorities. But was he aware of the Contras’ drug trafficking? Yes. Did he try to shield one of “his” cocaine traffickers from consequences from the other branches of the U.S. government? Yes."
"This reality about North has been largely covered up, first by North himself and then by Fox News and the passage of time. Thirty years later, it’s been almost totally forgotten. But the facts remain genuinely appalling. North was an active-duty Marine when he joined the Reagan administration’s National Security Council in 1981. One of Reagan’s top priorities was organizing and funding the Contras, a guerrilla military force, to overthrow the revolutionary socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. But the Contras engaged in extensive, gruesome terrorism against Nicaraguan civilians. Congress gradually reduced and then eliminated appropriations supporting them, leading the Reagan administration to secretly search for money elsewhere. According to the report from a later congressional investigation, North was put in charge of this operation, which participants dubbed “The Enterprise.” North enthusiastically looked for cash wherever he could find it, and led many of the clandestine schemes that later became known as the Iran-Contra scandal. The Sultan of Brunei donated $10 million (which North’s secretary Fawn Hall accidentally wired to the wrong Swiss bank account), and Saudi Arabia ponied up as well. North also pushed what he called “a neat idea”: selling U.S. military equipment to Iran, with the proceeds passed along to the Contras. Meanwhile, the Contras had a neat idea of their own: facilitating cocaine trafficking through Central America into the U.S., with a cut going toward supporting their war against the Sandinistas. Some Contras were themselves cocaine traffickers, and others were simply happy to make alliances of convenience with drug cartels. There’s no evidence North actively wanted cocaine to be smuggled into the U.S. It was simply that he had other priorities. But was he aware of the Contras’ drug trafficking? Yes. Did he try to shield one of “his” cocaine traffickers from consequences from the other branches of the U.S. government? Yes."
Donald Trump’s shady ’80s: Back then he didn’t cry about “fake news,” he worked it
https://www.salon.com/2018/05/12/donald-trumps-shady-80s-back-then-he-didnt-cry-about-fake-news-he-worked-it/
"This was not the first time the trio of Cohn, Friedman, and Trump had worked together to bilk New York taxpayers out of tens of millions of dollars for Trump’s benefit."
"This was not the first time the trio of Cohn, Friedman, and Trump had worked together to bilk New York taxpayers out of tens of millions of dollars for Trump’s benefit."
Trump and His Administration Are a Parasite on American Government
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a20631712/cohen-russian-oligarch-payment-trump-corruption/
"The revelations on Tuesday that Michael Cohen, the president*’s personal lawyer, was one of the most ambitious bagmen in American political history all emerged from an improbable source: a lawsuit lodged against the president* by an adult-film actress with whom he allegedly had an affair. We discovered that Cohen reportedly got a half-million dollars from a Russian oligarch with “links” to Vladimir Putin, as though you could even be a Russian oligarch and stay alive without some kind of “links” to the newly re-elected goon-in-chief. We also learned that a shell company set up by Cohen took in $200,000 in “consulting payments” from AT&T for, as the leaked documents put it, “insights into understanding the new administration.” They could’ve paid me half that and I would have told them all they needed to know: that these people are all a bunch of crooks and that the companies should adjust their payment schedules accordingly. I mean, really. Trump. Nixon. AT&T. ITT. Where have you gone, Dita Beard? A president* turns his greedy eyes to you. Robert Mueller’s team already has interviewed Victor Vekselberg, Cohen’s buddy from Moscow, so we can probably assume there’s more there than we already know."
"The revelations on Tuesday that Michael Cohen, the president*’s personal lawyer, was one of the most ambitious bagmen in American political history all emerged from an improbable source: a lawsuit lodged against the president* by an adult-film actress with whom he allegedly had an affair. We discovered that Cohen reportedly got a half-million dollars from a Russian oligarch with “links” to Vladimir Putin, as though you could even be a Russian oligarch and stay alive without some kind of “links” to the newly re-elected goon-in-chief. We also learned that a shell company set up by Cohen took in $200,000 in “consulting payments” from AT&T for, as the leaked documents put it, “insights into understanding the new administration.” They could’ve paid me half that and I would have told them all they needed to know: that these people are all a bunch of crooks and that the companies should adjust their payment schedules accordingly. I mean, really. Trump. Nixon. AT&T. ITT. Where have you gone, Dita Beard? A president* turns his greedy eyes to you. Robert Mueller’s team already has interviewed Victor Vekselberg, Cohen’s buddy from Moscow, so we can probably assume there’s more there than we already know."
State Department couldn’t explain anything about Trump’s withdrawal from Iran deal
https://thinkprogress.org/state-department-briefing-couldnt-explain-trump-withdrawal-iran-deal-a72f79b0fdf3/
"After President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States would withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement, the State Department held a background briefing with reporters. During that briefing, they had a really tough time explaining Trump’s decision."
"After President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States would withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement, the State Department held a background briefing with reporters. During that briefing, they had a really tough time explaining Trump’s decision."
1998 Giuliani debunked 2018 Giuliani on presidents evading subpoenas
https://thinkprogress.org/1998-rudy-giuliani-debunked-2018-rudy-giuliani-on-presidents-evading-subpoenas-5e14e567f6c7/
"Rudy Giuliani claimed over the weekend that the president of the United States need not comply with a subpoena to testify if he is called by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. But this dubious legal argument was clearly rebutted, back in 1998, by then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani."
"Rudy Giuliani claimed over the weekend that the president of the United States need not comply with a subpoena to testify if he is called by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. But this dubious legal argument was clearly rebutted, back in 1998, by then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani."
‘Exactly what the Christopher Steele dossier said’: Ex-Watergate prosecutor follows the Michael Cohen money
‘Exactly what the Christopher Steele dossier said’: Ex-Watergate prosecutor follows the Michael Cohen money:
"Former Watergate assistant special prosecutor Nick Ackerman explained how the latest news reports on Michael Cohen show the exact behavior former MI6 spy Christopher Steele warned of in his infamous Steele Dossier, during a Wednesday interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi. The MSNBC host began the segment by documenting all of the reported links between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russians. “It’s absolutely dynamite,” Ackerman observed. “What you have here — when you put it in context of all the evidence — is evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians"."
"Former Watergate assistant special prosecutor Nick Ackerman explained how the latest news reports on Michael Cohen show the exact behavior former MI6 spy Christopher Steele warned of in his infamous Steele Dossier, during a Wednesday interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi. The MSNBC host began the segment by documenting all of the reported links between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russians. “It’s absolutely dynamite,” Ackerman observed. “What you have here — when you put it in context of all the evidence — is evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians"."
The last time atmospheric carbon dioxide was this high humans didn't exist
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/4/1762050/-The-last-time-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-was-this-high-humans-didn-t-exist
"The average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 410.31 parts per million (ppm) for the month of April, according to the Keeling Curve measurement series made at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. This marks the first time in the history of the Mauna Loa record that a monthly average has exceeded 410 parts per million. This also represents a 30-percent increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the global atmosphere since the Keeling Curve began in 1958. In March, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego observed the 60th anniversary of the data series, the first measurements of which were 315 ppm. The headline comes from Eric Holthaus, who puts it in context: The last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were this high, millions of years ago, the planet was very different. For one, humans didn’t exist."
"The average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 410.31 parts per million (ppm) for the month of April, according to the Keeling Curve measurement series made at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. This marks the first time in the history of the Mauna Loa record that a monthly average has exceeded 410 parts per million. This also represents a 30-percent increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the global atmosphere since the Keeling Curve began in 1958. In March, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego observed the 60th anniversary of the data series, the first measurements of which were 315 ppm. The headline comes from Eric Holthaus, who puts it in context: The last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were this high, millions of years ago, the planet was very different. For one, humans didn’t exist."
Trump administration ends critical NASA greenhouse gas monitoring program
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-nasa-greenhouse-gases-f782c723936d/
"The Trump administration has sought repeatedly to undermine climate efforts, rolling back a number of Obama-era environmental initiatives and announcing a U.S. withdrawal from the Paris agreement last June. NASA has served as a source of ire before for the White House, which has sought to cut funding for the agency’s Earth Science division twice. That division is associated with measuring climate trends. The decision to end the CMS marks a major swipe at NASA’s climate efforts and indication of what the agency may look like under Jim Bridenstine, who took over last month. Bridenstine’s confirmation process took seven and a half months, the longest time NASA has ever gone without a permanent leader. A Republican Oklahoma congressman, Bridenstine is the first elected official to serve in this position, something Democratic lawmakers worry will make him too political. He is also a climate science denier without any scientific credentials."
"The Trump administration has sought repeatedly to undermine climate efforts, rolling back a number of Obama-era environmental initiatives and announcing a U.S. withdrawal from the Paris agreement last June. NASA has served as a source of ire before for the White House, which has sought to cut funding for the agency’s Earth Science division twice. That division is associated with measuring climate trends. The decision to end the CMS marks a major swipe at NASA’s climate efforts and indication of what the agency may look like under Jim Bridenstine, who took over last month. Bridenstine’s confirmation process took seven and a half months, the longest time NASA has ever gone without a permanent leader. A Republican Oklahoma congressman, Bridenstine is the first elected official to serve in this position, something Democratic lawmakers worry will make him too political. He is also a climate science denier without any scientific credentials."
Trump and His Associates Are Holding the Great American Yard Sale
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a20645915/cohen-influence-peddling-trump/
"It increasingly seems that the Russian oligarchy was interested in sinking its talons into Trumpworld from every angle. In this case, they simply exploited his associate's greed."
"It increasingly seems that the Russian oligarchy was interested in sinking its talons into Trumpworld from every angle. In this case, they simply exploited his associate's greed."
Here's How Saudi Arabia Took Donald Trump for a Ride @alternet
Here's How Saudi Arabia Took Donald Trump for a Ride @alternet:
"The friendship has clearly paid off handsomely for the Saudis. Kushner was reportedly the main advocate for having Trump make his first foreign visit to that country -- over the objections of Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who felt it would send the wrong signal to allies about Trump’s attitudes towards democracy and autocracy (as indeed it did). Kushner also strongly urged Trump to back a Saudi-UAE blockade and propaganda campaign against the Gulf state of Qatar, which Trump forcefully did with a tweet: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to horror of terrorism!” Trump later changed his mind on this issue -- after learning that Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military air base in the Middle East and after Qatar launched a PR and lobbying offensive of its own. That small, ultra-wealthy state hired nine lobbying and public relations firms, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s, in the two months after the Saudi-UAE blockade began, according to filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Most notably, the Qataris agreed to spend $12 billion on U.S. combat aircraft just weeks after Trump’s tweet. Wherever Trump ultimately ends up on the campaign against Qatar (driven in part by a Saudi belief that its emir hasn’t sufficiently toed a tough enough line on Iran), Kushner’s role in the affair gives new spin to the old phrase "The personal is the political." According to a source who spoke to veteran reporter Dexter Filkins, Kushner’s antipathy toward Qatar may have been driven in part by anger over its unwillingness to bail his father out of a bad Manhattan real estate investment with a massive loan."
"The friendship has clearly paid off handsomely for the Saudis. Kushner was reportedly the main advocate for having Trump make his first foreign visit to that country -- over the objections of Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who felt it would send the wrong signal to allies about Trump’s attitudes towards democracy and autocracy (as indeed it did). Kushner also strongly urged Trump to back a Saudi-UAE blockade and propaganda campaign against the Gulf state of Qatar, which Trump forcefully did with a tweet: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to horror of terrorism!” Trump later changed his mind on this issue -- after learning that Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military air base in the Middle East and after Qatar launched a PR and lobbying offensive of its own. That small, ultra-wealthy state hired nine lobbying and public relations firms, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s, in the two months after the Saudi-UAE blockade began, according to filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Most notably, the Qataris agreed to spend $12 billion on U.S. combat aircraft just weeks after Trump’s tweet. Wherever Trump ultimately ends up on the campaign against Qatar (driven in part by a Saudi belief that its emir hasn’t sufficiently toed a tough enough line on Iran), Kushner’s role in the affair gives new spin to the old phrase "The personal is the political." According to a source who spoke to veteran reporter Dexter Filkins, Kushner’s antipathy toward Qatar may have been driven in part by anger over its unwillingness to bail his father out of a bad Manhattan real estate investment with a massive loan."
Top Fox News Legal Analyst: Devin Nunes Putting U.S. at Risk Playing Politics with Classified Intel (Video)
https://forwardprogressives.com/top-fox-news-legal-analyst-devin-nunes-putting-u-s-at-risk-playing-politics-with-classified-intel-video/
"How Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) still has a job — or at least isn’t currently under investigation — is baffling. As the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he’s spent the last year serving as Donald Trump’s stooge trying to undermine the on-going investigations into this “president’s” campaign. Last year he even went as far as to hand deliver “evidence” to Trump, hoping to provide something to back his claims that Barack Obama had his office illegally “wiretapped.” Lately he’s been threatening members of the Department of Justice with impeachment, in what’s basically been nothing more than his attempts to bully and harass them, if they don’t turn over classified information that he’s obviously wanting to use for political purposes. That’s something which Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano said was very “dangerous” and puts the U.S. at risk. “They have top secret security clearances so they can see these things,” Napolitano stated. “The question is, will they use them for law enforcement and intelligence purposes or will they use them for political purposes?” He then explained why investigators understood how to deal with classified intelligence more than elected officials due to their backgrounds handling such sensitive information. “Congress’ investigators are usually retired or former CIA, FBI, Secret Service, so they know exactly what they’re doing,” Napolitano explained. “But they have a law that requires them to protect the names of sources and protect the means that the sources use. Otherwise, the source of the source contact in a foreign country — gone.” In other words, Nunes is putting this country, and potentially American lives, at risk all because he’s spent the last year trying to do whatever he can to undermine the credibility of the investigations looking into whether Trump’s a criminal or possibly even a traitor."
"How Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) still has a job — or at least isn’t currently under investigation — is baffling. As the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he’s spent the last year serving as Donald Trump’s stooge trying to undermine the on-going investigations into this “president’s” campaign. Last year he even went as far as to hand deliver “evidence” to Trump, hoping to provide something to back his claims that Barack Obama had his office illegally “wiretapped.” Lately he’s been threatening members of the Department of Justice with impeachment, in what’s basically been nothing more than his attempts to bully and harass them, if they don’t turn over classified information that he’s obviously wanting to use for political purposes. That’s something which Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano said was very “dangerous” and puts the U.S. at risk. “They have top secret security clearances so they can see these things,” Napolitano stated. “The question is, will they use them for law enforcement and intelligence purposes or will they use them for political purposes?” He then explained why investigators understood how to deal with classified intelligence more than elected officials due to their backgrounds handling such sensitive information. “Congress’ investigators are usually retired or former CIA, FBI, Secret Service, so they know exactly what they’re doing,” Napolitano explained. “But they have a law that requires them to protect the names of sources and protect the means that the sources use. Otherwise, the source of the source contact in a foreign country — gone.” In other words, Nunes is putting this country, and potentially American lives, at risk all because he’s spent the last year trying to do whatever he can to undermine the credibility of the investigations looking into whether Trump’s a criminal or possibly even a traitor."
'This Is the Moment to Fight': FCC Announces Net Neutrality Will Officially Die on June 11
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/10/moment-fight-fcc-announces-net-neutrality-will-officially-die-june-11
"Open internet advocates urged Americans to "ramp up" pressure on their senators on Thursday after FCC chair Ajit Pai announced in a press release that the widely popular net neutrality rules his agency voted to repeal last December will officially die on June 11."
"Open internet advocates urged Americans to "ramp up" pressure on their senators on Thursday after FCC chair Ajit Pai announced in a press release that the widely popular net neutrality rules his agency voted to repeal last December will officially die on June 11."
Republican Insider Explains How Religion Destroyed the GOP @alternet
Republican Insider Explains How Religion Destroyed the GOP @alternet:
"All around us now is a prevailing anti-intellectualism and hostility to science. Politicized religion is the sheet anchor of the dreary forty-year-old culture wars."
"All around us now is a prevailing anti-intellectualism and hostility to science. Politicized religion is the sheet anchor of the dreary forty-year-old culture wars."
Republicans Fill Court Seat They Denied To Obama For 6 Years
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-brennan-ron-johnson-trump-judges_us_5af47bcbe4b04d3b2c91818f
"The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Michael Brennan to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ― a vacancy that Republicans prevented President Barack Obama from filling for six years."
"The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Michael Brennan to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ― a vacancy that Republicans prevented President Barack Obama from filling for six years."
As Vice President Calls for Mueller to 'Wrap It Up,' Video Mash-up Shows Pence Echo Nixon on Watergate
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/10/vice-president-calls-mueller-wrap-it-video-mash-shows-pence-echo-nixon-watergate
"As Pence's "Today" show interviewed aired, critics and historians took to Twitter to note how the current vice president had apparently taken a page out of the "Nixon Playbook"."
"As Pence's "Today" show interviewed aired, critics and historians took to Twitter to note how the current vice president had apparently taken a page out of the "Nixon Playbook"."
Letters reveal how Pruitt hired an unqualified lobbyist to head one of EPA's most important offices
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/11/1763587/-Letters-reveal-how-Pruitt-hired-an-unqualified-lobbyist-to-head-one-of-EPA-s-most-important-offices
"Bill Wehrum is the Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. The OAR is responsible for developing programs that promote energy efficiency, as well as dealing with regulations on both air quality and industrial pollution. Its regulatory reach extends for rules on radon on basements to ozone depleting chemicals and acid rain from power plants. It’s also the office that’s responsible for collecting information connected to climate change. It’s one of the EPA’s most critical offices. Which is why the previous administrator of the office had both a degree in biology from Yale and a degree in public policy from Harvard. So what exactly are Wehrum’s qualifications? It’s hard to determine, because although previous versions of the page showing the leadership team of the OAR included biographies of the principal officials, the new version of that same page has ditched all information about the backgrounds of the people in charge. As it turns out, Wehrum had two excellent qualifications. First, he was a lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry who had continued to act as a lobbyist even when he failed to register as a lobbyist. Second, he had been turned down for exactly the same position in the past over conflicts of interest and simply lack of qualifications. Writing for one of his clients, Wehrum requested a meeting with Pruitt. After that meeting was held, Pruitt did more than just hear out the lobbyist’s concerns—he put Wehrum in charge of the entire area, even though Wehrum lacked any qualifications, and even though hiring him meant directly violating rules against hiring lobbyists to work in areas where they had clients. Wehrum is far from the only lobbyist hired by Pruitt. In fact, he’s staffed both the EPA’s leadership and what had been the scientific review boards with industry lobbyists cheering on the destruction of environmental protections."
"Bill Wehrum is the Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. The OAR is responsible for developing programs that promote energy efficiency, as well as dealing with regulations on both air quality and industrial pollution. Its regulatory reach extends for rules on radon on basements to ozone depleting chemicals and acid rain from power plants. It’s also the office that’s responsible for collecting information connected to climate change. It’s one of the EPA’s most critical offices. Which is why the previous administrator of the office had both a degree in biology from Yale and a degree in public policy from Harvard. So what exactly are Wehrum’s qualifications? It’s hard to determine, because although previous versions of the page showing the leadership team of the OAR included biographies of the principal officials, the new version of that same page has ditched all information about the backgrounds of the people in charge. As it turns out, Wehrum had two excellent qualifications. First, he was a lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry who had continued to act as a lobbyist even when he failed to register as a lobbyist. Second, he had been turned down for exactly the same position in the past over conflicts of interest and simply lack of qualifications. Writing for one of his clients, Wehrum requested a meeting with Pruitt. After that meeting was held, Pruitt did more than just hear out the lobbyist’s concerns—he put Wehrum in charge of the entire area, even though Wehrum lacked any qualifications, and even though hiring him meant directly violating rules against hiring lobbyists to work in areas where they had clients. Wehrum is far from the only lobbyist hired by Pruitt. In fact, he’s staffed both the EPA’s leadership and what had been the scientific review boards with industry lobbyists cheering on the destruction of environmental protections."
As CO2 Levels Soar Past 'Troubling' 410 ppm Threshold, Trump Kills NASA Carbon Monitoring Program
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/11/co2-levels-soar-past-troubling-410-ppm-threshold-trump-kills-nasa-carbon-monitoring
"As the Trump administration charges forward with its war on science by canceling a "crucial" carbon monitoring system at NASA, scientists and climate experts are sounding alarms over atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) that just surpassed a "troubling" threshold for the first time in human history."
"As the Trump administration charges forward with its war on science by canceling a "crucial" carbon monitoring system at NASA, scientists and climate experts are sounding alarms over atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) that just surpassed a "troubling" threshold for the first time in human history."
The sadism of the modern Republican Party
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/13/1763274/-The-sadism-of-the-modern-Republican-Party
"Trump wants Congress to cut funding for a children's health program, and for years he and the Republicans have been trying to take health care from tens of millions of people. Trump's proposed budget slashes Medicaid spending, while the Centers for Disease Control under his administration is gutting spending on global disease prevention. Trump also wants to cut Food Stamps, because making American great again apparently means making more Americans hungry. And because educated Americans vote more Democratic and against Trump, he naturally wants to follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan and cut spending on education, while making it harder for people who need student loans. For his part, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan's sole purpose in politics seems to be to cut Medicare and Social Security, and he's openly admits he’s been dreaming of cutting Medicaid since he was in college. Trump's cruel policies of racism, xenophobia, and exclusion are so consistent and comprehensive one would need to a daily tally to keep up. And House and Senate Republicans support all of it. Whether it’s punishing immigrants to the point of tearing their families apart, or cynically and hypocritically claiming to wage war to protect the same people Trump banned from entering the country as refugees, or rolling back all manner of civil rights protections in a blatant attempt to hurt the same minorities who have suffered historic bigotry and discrimination, Trump and the Republicans attempt to validate their sorry existences by imposing cruel policies that structurally and institutionally Other, not just dividing this nation along demographic lines but shredding it. This is who the Republicans are. This is what they do. Their agenda and values are not about helping people, or making the United States stronger from within. Their policies are designed to hurt people. Women and minorities first, but everyone else in due time."
"Trump wants Congress to cut funding for a children's health program, and for years he and the Republicans have been trying to take health care from tens of millions of people. Trump's proposed budget slashes Medicaid spending, while the Centers for Disease Control under his administration is gutting spending on global disease prevention. Trump also wants to cut Food Stamps, because making American great again apparently means making more Americans hungry. And because educated Americans vote more Democratic and against Trump, he naturally wants to follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan and cut spending on education, while making it harder for people who need student loans. For his part, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan's sole purpose in politics seems to be to cut Medicare and Social Security, and he's openly admits he’s been dreaming of cutting Medicaid since he was in college. Trump's cruel policies of racism, xenophobia, and exclusion are so consistent and comprehensive one would need to a daily tally to keep up. And House and Senate Republicans support all of it. Whether it’s punishing immigrants to the point of tearing their families apart, or cynically and hypocritically claiming to wage war to protect the same people Trump banned from entering the country as refugees, or rolling back all manner of civil rights protections in a blatant attempt to hurt the same minorities who have suffered historic bigotry and discrimination, Trump and the Republicans attempt to validate their sorry existences by imposing cruel policies that structurally and institutionally Other, not just dividing this nation along demographic lines but shredding it. This is who the Republicans are. This is what they do. Their agenda and values are not about helping people, or making the United States stronger from within. Their policies are designed to hurt people. Women and minorities first, but everyone else in due time."
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
The Trump Presidency: Oligarchs, Billionaires, Corporations, and Porn Stars
The Trump Presidency: Oligarchs, Billionaires, Corporations, and Porn Stars:
"If you think the point of the Trump presidency is hatred of women and people who are not white, I couldn’t blame you. The evidence appears to be ample. Just this week we heard Attorney General Jeff Sessions promise to take away the children of refugees fleeing violence in Central America who cross into the United States to seek asylum. Put mothers in detention and take away their babies. Hard to find a case more demonstrative of performative hatred. But the hate is not the point of this presidency. It’s a tool for protecting the massive looting of the public commons currently under way, and most importantly, the shady network of Russian oligarchs, U.S. billionaires, Kremlin cronies, hapless lawyers, and privately held corporations that brought Donald J. Trump to power. The U.S. billionaires and privately held corporations are in it for the looting. Some publicly traded Fortune 500 companies are along for the ride. The Kremlin and its oligarchs are in it for the chaos Trump has wreaked upon Russia’s geopolitical foe, the United States of America. And the Republican Congress not only knows on which side its bread is buttered; its members know who’s doing the buttering. That would be the U.S. billionaires and privately-held corporations invested in Trump’s Plunder Project™. On April 27, the Republican majority on the House Intelligence Committee released a report that basically said, yeah, the Trump campaign had contacts with some Russians. So what? No evidence of collusion. And, by the way, the FBI sucks for having collected potential evidence of a possible conspiracy between the Trump campaign and agents of a foreign government. But despite the best efforts of the House Intelligence Committee, led by its sycophantic chairman, Devin Nunes, each day brings new revelations that suggest conspiratorial relationships between Russian oligarchs and the president’s closest associates. And you don’t get to be an oligarch in Russia without the approval of the Kremlin’s top dog, the authoritarian Vladimir Putin."
"If you think the point of the Trump presidency is hatred of women and people who are not white, I couldn’t blame you. The evidence appears to be ample. Just this week we heard Attorney General Jeff Sessions promise to take away the children of refugees fleeing violence in Central America who cross into the United States to seek asylum. Put mothers in detention and take away their babies. Hard to find a case more demonstrative of performative hatred. But the hate is not the point of this presidency. It’s a tool for protecting the massive looting of the public commons currently under way, and most importantly, the shady network of Russian oligarchs, U.S. billionaires, Kremlin cronies, hapless lawyers, and privately held corporations that brought Donald J. Trump to power. The U.S. billionaires and privately held corporations are in it for the looting. Some publicly traded Fortune 500 companies are along for the ride. The Kremlin and its oligarchs are in it for the chaos Trump has wreaked upon Russia’s geopolitical foe, the United States of America. And the Republican Congress not only knows on which side its bread is buttered; its members know who’s doing the buttering. That would be the U.S. billionaires and privately-held corporations invested in Trump’s Plunder Project™. On April 27, the Republican majority on the House Intelligence Committee released a report that basically said, yeah, the Trump campaign had contacts with some Russians. So what? No evidence of collusion. And, by the way, the FBI sucks for having collected potential evidence of a possible conspiracy between the Trump campaign and agents of a foreign government. But despite the best efforts of the House Intelligence Committee, led by its sycophantic chairman, Devin Nunes, each day brings new revelations that suggest conspiratorial relationships between Russian oligarchs and the president’s closest associates. And you don’t get to be an oligarch in Russia without the approval of the Kremlin’s top dog, the authoritarian Vladimir Putin."
Russian Leverage Over Trump Is Not Just a Theory. It’s Now Fact.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/russian-leverage-over-trump-fact-michael-cohen-stormy-daniels-devin-nunes.html
"The New York Times has confirmed the explosive claims made by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, that Columbus Nova, a New York investment firm whose biggest client is a company controlled by a Russian oligarch, deposited half a million dollars into a secret account set up by attorney Michael Cohen to pay off Donald Trump’s sexual partners. The possible reasons for this arrangement run from brazenly corrupt to far worse (Columbus Nova said it was a “consulting fee,” hardly a benign explanation). The payments, by Viktor Vekselberg – who, like all Russian oligarchs, operates in cooperation with the Putin government – gave Russia several sources of possible leverage over Cohen and Trump. First the payment itself amounts to some kind of bribe, in return for which a favor would be expected. Second, Russia had knowledge of the secret payoff, which it could always expose. Third, the possibility (at minimum) exists that Russia knew the account was being used to silence Trump’s mistresses, yet another source of kompromat. For all the speculation about the existence of the pee tape, the latest revelations prove what is tantamount to the same thing. Russia could leverage the president and his fixer – who, recall, hand-delivered a pro-Russian “peace plan” with Ukraine to Trump’s national security adviser in January 2017 – by threatening to expose secrets they were desperate to keep hidden. Whether those secrets were limited to illegal payments, or included knowledge of sexual affairs, is a question of degree but not of kind. Perhaps even more alarming has been the response of the political system to this crisis. The House of Representatives has assigned Devin Nunes, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, as its point man to defend Trump against the Mueller investigation. The Department of Justice has a longstanding policy of keeping Congress out of acting investigations, for the obvious reason that elected officials have a powerful incentive to interfere."
"The New York Times has confirmed the explosive claims made by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, that Columbus Nova, a New York investment firm whose biggest client is a company controlled by a Russian oligarch, deposited half a million dollars into a secret account set up by attorney Michael Cohen to pay off Donald Trump’s sexual partners. The possible reasons for this arrangement run from brazenly corrupt to far worse (Columbus Nova said it was a “consulting fee,” hardly a benign explanation). The payments, by Viktor Vekselberg – who, like all Russian oligarchs, operates in cooperation with the Putin government – gave Russia several sources of possible leverage over Cohen and Trump. First the payment itself amounts to some kind of bribe, in return for which a favor would be expected. Second, Russia had knowledge of the secret payoff, which it could always expose. Third, the possibility (at minimum) exists that Russia knew the account was being used to silence Trump’s mistresses, yet another source of kompromat. For all the speculation about the existence of the pee tape, the latest revelations prove what is tantamount to the same thing. Russia could leverage the president and his fixer – who, recall, hand-delivered a pro-Russian “peace plan” with Ukraine to Trump’s national security adviser in January 2017 – by threatening to expose secrets they were desperate to keep hidden. Whether those secrets were limited to illegal payments, or included knowledge of sexual affairs, is a question of degree but not of kind. Perhaps even more alarming has been the response of the political system to this crisis. The House of Representatives has assigned Devin Nunes, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, as its point man to defend Trump against the Mueller investigation. The Department of Justice has a longstanding policy of keeping Congress out of acting investigations, for the obvious reason that elected officials have a powerful incentive to interfere."
Michael Cohen's shell company appears to have funneled bribes from both Russia and US
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/8/1762998/-Michael-Cohen-s-shell-company-appears-to-have-funneled-bribes-to-Trump-from-both-Russia-and-US
"A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business before the Trump administration, according to documents and interviews. Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg made the New York Times last week with news that he had been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Federal agents working with Mr. Mueller stopped Mr. Vekselberg, a billionaire businessman, at a New York-area airport this year, searched his electronic devices and questioned him, according to people familiar with the matter. They confronted him after he stepped off a private plane about two months ago, according to one of the people. Exactly why Vekselberg was singled out for this treatment was something of a mystery. He was known to have attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, and his ownership of multiple companies made him a potential target, but there appeared to be no special reason for the billionaire to get pulled in for FBI questioning shortly after stepping off a plane. But on Tuesday evening, Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels in her legal conflict with Trump and Cohen, provided an answer."
"A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business before the Trump administration, according to documents and interviews. Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg made the New York Times last week with news that he had been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Federal agents working with Mr. Mueller stopped Mr. Vekselberg, a billionaire businessman, at a New York-area airport this year, searched his electronic devices and questioned him, according to people familiar with the matter. They confronted him after he stepped off a private plane about two months ago, according to one of the people. Exactly why Vekselberg was singled out for this treatment was something of a mystery. He was known to have attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, and his ownership of multiple companies made him a potential target, but there appeared to be no special reason for the billionaire to get pulled in for FBI questioning shortly after stepping off a plane. But on Tuesday evening, Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels in her legal conflict with Trump and Cohen, provided an answer."
Why AT&T’s $200,000 payment to Michael Cohen is a bombshell
https://thinkprogress.org/why-atts-payment-to-michael-cohen-is-a-bombshell-edaa3a6acf4e/
"On Tuesday, AT&T acknowledged that it paid $200,000 to Essential Consultants, a shell company set up by Donald Trump longtime attorney, Michael Cohen. The payments were first revealed in a document released by Michael Avenatti, the attorney for Stormy Daniels. In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, Essential Consultants was also used to pay $130,000 in hush money to Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006. Shortly after Avenatti released his document, AT&T confirmed the payments. Essential Consulting was one of several firms we engaged in early 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new administration. They did no legal or lobbying work for us, and the contract ended in December 2017 In addition, Avenatti’s document revealed that Essential Consultants received payments from Columbus Nova — a company linked to a Russian oligarch named Viktor Vekselberg — as well as Novartis, a large pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland. But AT&T’s payment is a stunning development that is likely to create a thicket of legal problems for Cohen and Trump himself. AT&T tries to justify the payments as a legitimate consulting expense, saying that the firm provided “insights.” But Essential Consultants is not a real company. It was set up on October 17, 2016. According to financial records, the company exists as a “real estate consulting company that collects fees for investment consulting work.” But Cohen immediately used it to make the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. The funding for that payment, Cohen had claimed, came from a mortgage on his house. The shell company has no website, no known employees, and no public facing presence of any kind. It raises the question of how AT&T could have even possibly known about Essential Consultants. We know that the impetus for the creation of Essential Consultants was the Stormy Daniels payment."
"On Tuesday, AT&T acknowledged that it paid $200,000 to Essential Consultants, a shell company set up by Donald Trump longtime attorney, Michael Cohen. The payments were first revealed in a document released by Michael Avenatti, the attorney for Stormy Daniels. In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, Essential Consultants was also used to pay $130,000 in hush money to Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006. Shortly after Avenatti released his document, AT&T confirmed the payments. Essential Consulting was one of several firms we engaged in early 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new administration. They did no legal or lobbying work for us, and the contract ended in December 2017 In addition, Avenatti’s document revealed that Essential Consultants received payments from Columbus Nova — a company linked to a Russian oligarch named Viktor Vekselberg — as well as Novartis, a large pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland. But AT&T’s payment is a stunning development that is likely to create a thicket of legal problems for Cohen and Trump himself. AT&T tries to justify the payments as a legitimate consulting expense, saying that the firm provided “insights.” But Essential Consultants is not a real company. It was set up on October 17, 2016. According to financial records, the company exists as a “real estate consulting company that collects fees for investment consulting work.” But Cohen immediately used it to make the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. The funding for that payment, Cohen had claimed, came from a mortgage on his house. The shell company has no website, no known employees, and no public facing presence of any kind. It raises the question of how AT&T could have even possibly known about Essential Consultants. We know that the impetus for the creation of Essential Consultants was the Stormy Daniels payment."
Trump tries to fix deficit caused by tax cuts by cutting billions from children’s health care
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-quietly-proposes-slashing-billions-from-childrens-health-care-86300b9989c6/
"This is Trump's response to a deficit he exploded with massive corporate tax cuts."
"This is Trump's response to a deficit he exploded with massive corporate tax cuts."
Trump was asked the most basic question about his Iran deal decision. He had no answer.
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-iran-nuclear-deal-cant-say-how-it-makes-america-safer-918b75b12305/
"After publicly signing a memorandum to violate the Iran nuclear deal by reinstating the “highest levels” of U.S. sanctions against the country, President Trump was asked a very basic question by a reporter who was in attendance at the White House for the ceremony. “Mr. President, how does this America safer?” she said. “How does this make American safer?” Trump gathered his thoughts for a moment, then just restated the question in the form of an assertion. “This will make America much safer,” he said, before getting up for the table on which he signed the memorandum. The president’s inability to answer the most basic question about his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement is indicative of why many experts question the wisdom of doing so in the first place. Under the Joint Cooperation Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency could regularly inspect Iran’s nuclear program to make sure that it is for peaceful purposes. By all accounts, that process was working. But now that Trump has pulled the U.S. out, it’s unclear what will come next."
"After publicly signing a memorandum to violate the Iran nuclear deal by reinstating the “highest levels” of U.S. sanctions against the country, President Trump was asked a very basic question by a reporter who was in attendance at the White House for the ceremony. “Mr. President, how does this America safer?” she said. “How does this make American safer?” Trump gathered his thoughts for a moment, then just restated the question in the form of an assertion. “This will make America much safer,” he said, before getting up for the table on which he signed the memorandum. The president’s inability to answer the most basic question about his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement is indicative of why many experts question the wisdom of doing so in the first place. Under the Joint Cooperation Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency could regularly inspect Iran’s nuclear program to make sure that it is for peaceful purposes. By all accounts, that process was working. But now that Trump has pulled the U.S. out, it’s unclear what will come next."
Trump Just Violated the Iran Deal. Welcome to Renege Nation.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a20528186/iran-deal-trump/
"Welcome to Renege Nation, people. Everything having to do with the United States government, up to and including its word among nations, now functions on the basic principle that has animated the president*’s entire business career–“Yeah? So, sue me.” So he went on TV with his Serious World Leader face screwed on tightly, and he told the world that the good faith of the United States is now worth as much as a degree from his phony university. You all know that he had no fcking clue what he was talking about, right? If he’s read the text of the agreement with Iran past the first comma, I am Xerxes of Persia. The whole speech was abject gibberish; it was framed as though Iran already has nuclear weapons, which they bought with the bags of cash that Barack Obama personally delivered to Tehran. He was handed some truthless lunacy from some crackpot like John Bolton, and he read it on television. And, just like that, the credibility of the United States sank to the bottom of a sinkhole golf course in Florida. Most of our primary allies are free to go their own way with Iran, the president* having just dragged their credibility down, too. For its part, if this deal falls apart, Iran could go right ahead with a nuclear-weapons program and the only solution would be some sort of catastrophic military action, which far too many people in and out of this administration want. To name only one, Bibi Netanyahu found a prime mark for the ludicrous seventh-grade social-studies project he delivered last week. The Saudis took a break from slaughtering people in Yemen to praise the president*, which I’m sure warmed his orb for him. And, finally, if we haven’t mentioned it, the president* had no fcking clue what he was talking about."
"Welcome to Renege Nation, people. Everything having to do with the United States government, up to and including its word among nations, now functions on the basic principle that has animated the president*’s entire business career–“Yeah? So, sue me.” So he went on TV with his Serious World Leader face screwed on tightly, and he told the world that the good faith of the United States is now worth as much as a degree from his phony university. You all know that he had no fcking clue what he was talking about, right? If he’s read the text of the agreement with Iran past the first comma, I am Xerxes of Persia. The whole speech was abject gibberish; it was framed as though Iran already has nuclear weapons, which they bought with the bags of cash that Barack Obama personally delivered to Tehran. He was handed some truthless lunacy from some crackpot like John Bolton, and he read it on television. And, just like that, the credibility of the United States sank to the bottom of a sinkhole golf course in Florida. Most of our primary allies are free to go their own way with Iran, the president* having just dragged their credibility down, too. For its part, if this deal falls apart, Iran could go right ahead with a nuclear-weapons program and the only solution would be some sort of catastrophic military action, which far too many people in and out of this administration want. To name only one, Bibi Netanyahu found a prime mark for the ludicrous seventh-grade social-studies project he delivered last week. The Saudis took a break from slaughtering people in Yemen to praise the president*, which I’m sure warmed his orb for him. And, finally, if we haven’t mentioned it, the president* had no fcking clue what he was talking about."
Trump Just Torpedoed Obama's Signature Diplomatic Achievement, and Obama Just Responded
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a20527399/obama-response-iran-deal-trump/
"President Trump announced the United States was "pulling out" of the Iran nuclear agreement Tuesday. As many have pointed out, the more accurate language would be that the U.S. violated the agreement, since we abandoned it without cause. There is no evidence at this point that Iran was in violation of the agreement by restarting its nuclear program. Our closest European allies have said as much, denouncing Trump's decision and declaring they will remain in the accord."
"President Trump announced the United States was "pulling out" of the Iran nuclear agreement Tuesday. As many have pointed out, the more accurate language would be that the U.S. violated the agreement, since we abandoned it without cause. There is no evidence at this point that Iran was in violation of the agreement by restarting its nuclear program. Our closest European allies have said as much, denouncing Trump's decision and declaring they will remain in the accord."
Steve Schmidt Slams JCPOA Withdrawal As Foreign Policy 'Concocted In Fever Swamps Of Fox News'
Steve Schmidt Slams JCPOA Withdrawal As Foreign Policy 'Concocted In Fever Swamps Of Fox News':
"President Obama has condemned the action and offered some facts, but Trump doesn't need no stinkin' facts, and it is his fondest dream to piss on Obama and his legacy at every opportunity. Which brings me to MSNBC's panel on Nicolle Wallace's show, where Elise Jordan led things off by saying flatly that Trump was 'giving the middle finger to our closest allies.' Good call, Elise, and great lead-in to Steve Schmidt, who had a rant to offer. "With Donald Trump's unilateral abrogation of this international agreement he has achieved a remarkable result of giving the high ground on issues of national trust and credibility to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world's number one leading exporter of terror, over the United States of America, isolating us from our allies on of all days V.E. day, the anniversary of the end of World War II," Schmidt thundered, "Where the United States in cooperation with its great allies saved the world from tyranny." Moving on to what Trump has done, he continued, "What he has shown is that the word of the United States in an international agreement means nothing. Secondly, the breaker of this agreement is not Iran, who has been compliant with it, but in fact our country, the United States of America." "And lastly, this moves the world closer to war," he warned. "This is what policy looks like when it's concocted in the fever swamps of Fox News and the alternate reality of Sinclair Broadcasting and the alternate reality of talk radio," he said. "Almost everything that the president represented was materially false." Everything Trump says is a lie. Everything he touches dies. Every Republican who still calls themselves a Republican is no better than the felon Don Blankenship, the p*ssygrabber Donald Trump, or the lying liars under indictment for selling our country out to Russians. And they can take their little dogs Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting with them when we finally exile them to Gitmo."
"President Obama has condemned the action and offered some facts, but Trump doesn't need no stinkin' facts, and it is his fondest dream to piss on Obama and his legacy at every opportunity. Which brings me to MSNBC's panel on Nicolle Wallace's show, where Elise Jordan led things off by saying flatly that Trump was 'giving the middle finger to our closest allies.' Good call, Elise, and great lead-in to Steve Schmidt, who had a rant to offer. "With Donald Trump's unilateral abrogation of this international agreement he has achieved a remarkable result of giving the high ground on issues of national trust and credibility to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world's number one leading exporter of terror, over the United States of America, isolating us from our allies on of all days V.E. day, the anniversary of the end of World War II," Schmidt thundered, "Where the United States in cooperation with its great allies saved the world from tyranny." Moving on to what Trump has done, he continued, "What he has shown is that the word of the United States in an international agreement means nothing. Secondly, the breaker of this agreement is not Iran, who has been compliant with it, but in fact our country, the United States of America." "And lastly, this moves the world closer to war," he warned. "This is what policy looks like when it's concocted in the fever swamps of Fox News and the alternate reality of Sinclair Broadcasting and the alternate reality of talk radio," he said. "Almost everything that the president represented was materially false." Everything Trump says is a lie. Everything he touches dies. Every Republican who still calls themselves a Republican is no better than the felon Don Blankenship, the p*ssygrabber Donald Trump, or the lying liars under indictment for selling our country out to Russians. And they can take their little dogs Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting with them when we finally exile them to Gitmo."
'Worst Mistake I Ever Made': Union Support Nosedives as Workers Express Regret for Trump Votes
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/04/worst-mistake-i-ever-made-union-support-nosedives-workers-express-regret-trump-votes
"Many American union workers who voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election are increasingly beginning to regret their decision—and realize that Trump has been firmly on the side of the rich all along."
"Many American union workers who voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election are increasingly beginning to regret their decision—and realize that Trump has been firmly on the side of the rich all along."
The Art of the Regime Change
http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/08/the-art-of-the-regime-change/
"As long expected, Donald Trump has bowed to his ego, his petulant envy of Barack Obama, his hard-line donors, his new set of hawkish advisors, and above all his own ignorance and walked away from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the international agreement that prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Together with his foolish decision to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, this is likely to be his most consequential foreign-policy blunder yet. It is important to understand what’s really going on here. Trump’s decision is not based on a desire to keep Iran from getting a nuclear bomb; if that were the case, it would make much more sense to stay firmly committed to the deal and eventually negotiate to make it permanent. After all, both the International Atomic Energy Agency (which monitors and inspects Iran’s facilities) and U.S. intelligence agree that Iran has been in full compliance with the JCPOA since it was signed. Indeed, as Peter Beinart points out, it is the United States that has arguably been failing to live up to its own commitments. Nor was Trump’s decision motivated by a desire to counter Iran’s various regional activities, such as its support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. If that were his goal, the sensible course of action would have been to stay in the deal (which keeps Iran from going nuclear) and to line up other countries to join the United States and pressure Iran on these matters of concern. Not only will Trump find it impossible to assemble the same multinational coalition that produced the JCPOA, but Iran is going to be doubly reluctant to negotiate with the United States now that Trump has shown that America’s word simply cannot be trusted."
"As long expected, Donald Trump has bowed to his ego, his petulant envy of Barack Obama, his hard-line donors, his new set of hawkish advisors, and above all his own ignorance and walked away from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the international agreement that prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Together with his foolish decision to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, this is likely to be his most consequential foreign-policy blunder yet. It is important to understand what’s really going on here. Trump’s decision is not based on a desire to keep Iran from getting a nuclear bomb; if that were the case, it would make much more sense to stay firmly committed to the deal and eventually negotiate to make it permanent. After all, both the International Atomic Energy Agency (which monitors and inspects Iran’s facilities) and U.S. intelligence agree that Iran has been in full compliance with the JCPOA since it was signed. Indeed, as Peter Beinart points out, it is the United States that has arguably been failing to live up to its own commitments. Nor was Trump’s decision motivated by a desire to counter Iran’s various regional activities, such as its support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. If that were his goal, the sensible course of action would have been to stay in the deal (which keeps Iran from going nuclear) and to line up other countries to join the United States and pressure Iran on these matters of concern. Not only will Trump find it impossible to assemble the same multinational coalition that produced the JCPOA, but Iran is going to be doubly reluctant to negotiate with the United States now that Trump has shown that America’s word simply cannot be trusted."
Franklin Graham’s Astonishing Ungodly Hypocrisy @alternet
Franklin Graham’s Astonishing Ungodly Hypocrisy @alternet:
"Franklin Graham in 1998 condemned President Bill Clinton's sins. In 2018, he's defending President Donald Trump's."
"Franklin Graham in 1998 condemned President Bill Clinton's sins. In 2018, he's defending President Donald Trump's."
The Financial Hardships of Trump’s Friends
The Financial Hardships of Trump’s Friends:
"In reality, Trumponomics is a thin veneer of an excuse for giving America’s rich—already richer than ever—whatever they want, while sticking it to everyone else."
"In reality, Trumponomics is a thin veneer of an excuse for giving America’s rich—already richer than ever—whatever they want, while sticking it to everyone else."
As Wisconsin’s and Minnesota’s lawmakers took divergent paths, so did their economies: Since 2010, Minnesota’s economy has performed far better for working families than Wisconsin’s
As Wisconsin’s and Minnesota’s lawmakers took divergent paths, so did their economies: Since 2010, Minnesota’s economy has performed far better for working families than Wisconsin’s:
"Since the 2010 election of Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Governor Mark Dayton in Minnesota, lawmakers in these two neighboring states have enacted vastly different policy agendas. Governor Walker and the Wisconsin state legislature have pursued a highly conservative agenda centered on cutting taxes, shrinking government, and weakening unions. In contrast, Minnesota under Governor Dayton has enacted a slate of progressive priorities: raising the minimum wage, strengthening safety net programs and labor standards, and boosting public investments in infrastructure and education, financed through higher taxes (largely on the wealthy). Because of the proximity and many similarities of these two states, comparing economic performance in the Badger State (WI) versus the Gopher State (MN) provides a compelling case study for assessing which agenda leads to better outcomes for working people and their families. Now, seven years removed from when each governor took office, there is ample data to assess which state’s economy—and by extension, which set of policies—delivered more for the welfare of its residents. The results could not be more clear: by virtually every available measure, Minnesota’s recovery has outperformed Wisconsin’s."
"Since the 2010 election of Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Governor Mark Dayton in Minnesota, lawmakers in these two neighboring states have enacted vastly different policy agendas. Governor Walker and the Wisconsin state legislature have pursued a highly conservative agenda centered on cutting taxes, shrinking government, and weakening unions. In contrast, Minnesota under Governor Dayton has enacted a slate of progressive priorities: raising the minimum wage, strengthening safety net programs and labor standards, and boosting public investments in infrastructure and education, financed through higher taxes (largely on the wealthy). Because of the proximity and many similarities of these two states, comparing economic performance in the Badger State (WI) versus the Gopher State (MN) provides a compelling case study for assessing which agenda leads to better outcomes for working people and their families. Now, seven years removed from when each governor took office, there is ample data to assess which state’s economy—and by extension, which set of policies—delivered more for the welfare of its residents. The results could not be more clear: by virtually every available measure, Minnesota’s recovery has outperformed Wisconsin’s."
The Supreme Court is poised to make forced arbitration nearly inescapable
The Supreme Court is poised to make forced arbitration nearly inescapable
"The Supreme Court will soon decide whether employers can lawfully require workers to sign mandatory arbitration agreements that include class and collective action waivers. A ruling in NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris will have significant impacts on working people. If the Court sides with employers and the Trump administration, it is likely that the majority of workers in this country will be required, as a condition of employment, to sign away their right to pursue workplace disputes on a collective or class basis. In fact, available data suggest that it may take only six years for more than 80 percent of workplaces to adopt mandatory arbitration with class and collective action waivers."
"The Supreme Court will soon decide whether employers can lawfully require workers to sign mandatory arbitration agreements that include class and collective action waivers. A ruling in NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris will have significant impacts on working people. If the Court sides with employers and the Trump administration, it is likely that the majority of workers in this country will be required, as a condition of employment, to sign away their right to pursue workplace disputes on a collective or class basis. In fact, available data suggest that it may take only six years for more than 80 percent of workplaces to adopt mandatory arbitration with class and collective action waivers."
Patience and Secrecy in the Kochs' Complex Conspiracy
Patience and Secrecy in the Kochs' Complex Conspiracy:
"In 1933, a handful of wealthy Wall Streeters were upset that the newly elected president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had dared to tax the rich in order to fund programs to lessen the painful poverty people were experiencing due to the Great Depression. They were so upset that they came up with a ridiculous plan to overthrow Roosevelt and install a military government. Due to their own ineptitude and hubris, their plan failed, and important poverty-busting programs of the New Deal like Social Security, the Works Progress Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority put people to work, pulled them out of desperate poverty and propelled the country into the 20th century. It's tempting to brush off 1933's bumbling fat cats — we can just picture them cloistered in their posh private club, smoking $100 cigars, grumping about Roosevelt and whispering about hiring a private army to overthrow the whole damn democratic process. However, our nation's common good is constantly under attack from plutocrats, kleptocrats and kakistocrats who want to line their pockets at the expense of workaday Americans. But while the 1933 plot was hairbrained, their plutocratic intent is no laughing matter. Their presumption of class privilege — the warped idea that their great wealth entitled them to rule over and even impoverish the many — is not unique. The Wall Street Putsch died and was buried in 1934, but it is just one manifestation of a deadly serious social disease that has infected the history of democratic struggles. And now, that sickness has grown more virulent, confronting us in the form of a complex, sophisticated web of efforts funded by brothers Charles and David Koch and their billionaire buddies who share the same set of extreme, kleptocratic beliefs that guided last century's class-war militants"
"In 1933, a handful of wealthy Wall Streeters were upset that the newly elected president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had dared to tax the rich in order to fund programs to lessen the painful poverty people were experiencing due to the Great Depression. They were so upset that they came up with a ridiculous plan to overthrow Roosevelt and install a military government. Due to their own ineptitude and hubris, their plan failed, and important poverty-busting programs of the New Deal like Social Security, the Works Progress Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority put people to work, pulled them out of desperate poverty and propelled the country into the 20th century. It's tempting to brush off 1933's bumbling fat cats — we can just picture them cloistered in their posh private club, smoking $100 cigars, grumping about Roosevelt and whispering about hiring a private army to overthrow the whole damn democratic process. However, our nation's common good is constantly under attack from plutocrats, kleptocrats and kakistocrats who want to line their pockets at the expense of workaday Americans. But while the 1933 plot was hairbrained, their plutocratic intent is no laughing matter. Their presumption of class privilege — the warped idea that their great wealth entitled them to rule over and even impoverish the many — is not unique. The Wall Street Putsch died and was buried in 1934, but it is just one manifestation of a deadly serious social disease that has infected the history of democratic struggles. And now, that sickness has grown more virulent, confronting us in the form of a complex, sophisticated web of efforts funded by brothers Charles and David Koch and their billionaire buddies who share the same set of extreme, kleptocratic beliefs that guided last century's class-war militants"
Friday, May 4, 2018
Trump’s lies about Stormy Daniels and his lawyers are a reminder: never trust this White House
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/3/17312558/trump-lie-stormy-daniels-cohen-giuliani
"Giuliani’s admission was shocking because it revealed the lie: Trump’s April claim that he knew nothing about Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Daniels. Compared to that revelation — which has obvious consequences for the ongoing legal battle between Daniels and Trump — the lawyer shake-up and the lies it revealed may seem like small ball. But that’s the point: The president and his administration lie about things big and small alike, simply because they can."
"Giuliani’s admission was shocking because it revealed the lie: Trump’s April claim that he knew nothing about Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Daniels. Compared to that revelation — which has obvious consequences for the ongoing legal battle between Daniels and Trump — the lawyer shake-up and the lies it revealed may seem like small ball. But that’s the point: The president and his administration lie about things big and small alike, simply because they can."
Donald Trump Has Managed To Tell 3,001 Lies As President. Here Are Five Of His Best
https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-news/a20111768/donald-trump-has-managed-to-tell-3001-lies-as-president-here-are-five-of-his-best/
"he's managed to hit 3,000 false or misleading public statements in the 466 days since he took the oath of office! Congrats Donny. That faint popping sound you can hear is either congratulatory champagne corks or beleaguered political hacks' craniums exploding. That figure includes untrue statements, claims that aren't backed up by facts and changes of position on events or policies which aren't acknowledged as such. According to the Washington Post, which has been diligently noting down every single falsehood along with The Fact Checker's database, Trump's 3,001 untrue claims have come at a quicker rate lately. In the first 100 days, he told 4.9 lies, whereas in the last two months he's told an average of nine a day. It isn't just the frequency of his lying that's a surprise either - it's the repetition of old lies. The Washington Post found Trump repeated 113 untrue claims at least three times apiece."
"he's managed to hit 3,000 false or misleading public statements in the 466 days since he took the oath of office! Congrats Donny. That faint popping sound you can hear is either congratulatory champagne corks or beleaguered political hacks' craniums exploding. That figure includes untrue statements, claims that aren't backed up by facts and changes of position on events or policies which aren't acknowledged as such. According to the Washington Post, which has been diligently noting down every single falsehood along with The Fact Checker's database, Trump's 3,001 untrue claims have come at a quicker rate lately. In the first 100 days, he told 4.9 lies, whereas in the last two months he's told an average of nine a day. It isn't just the frequency of his lying that's a surprise either - it's the repetition of old lies. The Washington Post found Trump repeated 113 untrue claims at least three times apiece."
Paul Ryan warns that if Dems win, they’ll hold Trump accountable
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/paul-ryan-warns-if-dems-win-theyll-hold-trump-accountable
"House Speaker Paul Ryan warned that Democratic gains in November’s congressional elections could make it impossible to get anything accomplished and expose President Donald Trump’s administration to more aggressive oversight. Should Republicans lose control of either the House or Senate, “you’ll have gridlock, you’ll have subpoenas,” with the whole legislative system “shutting down,” Ryan said Wednesday in Beverly Hills, California, at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference. This is not a good argument. Just at face value, I don’t imagine many political observers would say the legislative process has worked efficiently and effectively since the GOP took control of the levers of federal power – they’ve passed one big bill, and they did so in a reckless way, rife with mistakes and abuses – which makes dire warnings about “gridlock” difficult to take seriously. For that matter, there have been plenty of times in American history in which the parties have shared power in D.C. For Ryan to assume that the entire system would “shut down” if Republicans had to compromise with Democrats is a mistake. But it’s use of the word “subpoenas” that jumped out at me. What the retiring House Speaker seemed to suggest was that Democrats, if given any meaningful authority in Congress, would take steps to hold the president accountable for his actions. Or put another way, Ryan wants voters to back Republican candidates in order to ensure that the pro-Trump cover-up can continue on Capitol Hill. “Vote GOP in 2018,” the slogan effectively goes, “We’re against oversight and accountability for Republican presidents"."
"House Speaker Paul Ryan warned that Democratic gains in November’s congressional elections could make it impossible to get anything accomplished and expose President Donald Trump’s administration to more aggressive oversight. Should Republicans lose control of either the House or Senate, “you’ll have gridlock, you’ll have subpoenas,” with the whole legislative system “shutting down,” Ryan said Wednesday in Beverly Hills, California, at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference. This is not a good argument. Just at face value, I don’t imagine many political observers would say the legislative process has worked efficiently and effectively since the GOP took control of the levers of federal power – they’ve passed one big bill, and they did so in a reckless way, rife with mistakes and abuses – which makes dire warnings about “gridlock” difficult to take seriously. For that matter, there have been plenty of times in American history in which the parties have shared power in D.C. For Ryan to assume that the entire system would “shut down” if Republicans had to compromise with Democrats is a mistake. But it’s use of the word “subpoenas” that jumped out at me. What the retiring House Speaker seemed to suggest was that Democrats, if given any meaningful authority in Congress, would take steps to hold the president accountable for his actions. Or put another way, Ryan wants voters to back Republican candidates in order to ensure that the pro-Trump cover-up can continue on Capitol Hill. “Vote GOP in 2018,” the slogan effectively goes, “We’re against oversight and accountability for Republican presidents"."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)