Sunday, July 22, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh’s Record on the Rule of Law Is Much Worse Than His Defenders Contend
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/brett-kavanaughs-record-on-the-rule-of-law-is-much-worse-than-his-defenders-contend.html
"Rule-of-law controversies have virtually defined this administration as the president demands “loyalty” from senior law enforcement officials, insists on immunity from obstruction of justice charges, and boasts of the “absolute” power to pardon anyone for any reason, including himself. He has aggressively staked out these positions, with full support from his legal team, in the context of an unprecedented investigation into a foreign power’s intervention on his behalf in the last election."
"Rule-of-law controversies have virtually defined this administration as the president demands “loyalty” from senior law enforcement officials, insists on immunity from obstruction of justice charges, and boasts of the “absolute” power to pardon anyone for any reason, including himself. He has aggressively staked out these positions, with full support from his legal team, in the context of an unprecedented investigation into a foreign power’s intervention on his behalf in the last election."
Mueller Has the Goods—All of the Goods
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22143324/russia-indictments-robert-mueller-collusion-donald-trump/
"There's so much more coming. You can feel the hoofbeats of the horseman and the baying of the hounds behind every syllable of this indictment."
"There's so much more coming. You can feel the hoofbeats of the horseman and the baying of the hounds behind every syllable of this indictment."
Corporations Invested Their Tax Cuts Into Stock Buybacks That Didn’t Even Work
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/corporations-are-investing-in-stock-buybacks-that-dont-pay.html
"In the first six months after the Trump tax cuts were passed, corporate investment in equipment declined, America’s projected long-term deficit swelled by nearly $2 trillion, and wages for the vast majority of American workers fell on an inflation-adjusted basis. And there is no sign that reality will start comporting with the GOP’s predictions any time soon. As the Washington Post’s Heather Long notes, Morgan Stanley reported last month that America’s businesses are planning less future capital spending now than they were a few months ago. And that finding is bolstered by a recent survey of 393 businesses from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the audit firm RSM, which found that only 38 percent of those firms plan to increase investment over the next three years. Instead of channeling their profits into productive investment, S&P 500 companies are on pace to plow a record-setting $800 billion into buying back their own stocks. The point of such “stock buybacks” is to increase a firm’s share price (and thus, in many cases, the performance-based pay of its CEO) by reducing the supply of shares on the market."
"In the first six months after the Trump tax cuts were passed, corporate investment in equipment declined, America’s projected long-term deficit swelled by nearly $2 trillion, and wages for the vast majority of American workers fell on an inflation-adjusted basis. And there is no sign that reality will start comporting with the GOP’s predictions any time soon. As the Washington Post’s Heather Long notes, Morgan Stanley reported last month that America’s businesses are planning less future capital spending now than they were a few months ago. And that finding is bolstered by a recent survey of 393 businesses from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the audit firm RSM, which found that only 38 percent of those firms plan to increase investment over the next three years. Instead of channeling their profits into productive investment, S&P 500 companies are on pace to plow a record-setting $800 billion into buying back their own stocks. The point of such “stock buybacks” is to increase a firm’s share price (and thus, in many cases, the performance-based pay of its CEO) by reducing the supply of shares on the market."
Brits Don't Mince Words: The Most Irreverent and Radical Signs From UK's Historic Anti-Trump Protest
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/13/brits-dont-mince-words-most-irreverent-and-radical-signs-uks-historic-anti-trump
"the disgust hundreds of thousands of Britons feel toward Donald Trump and Trumpism could not be suppressed as they took to the streets en masse to show their opposition to the U.S. president's hate-filled policies."
"the disgust hundreds of thousands of Britons feel toward Donald Trump and Trumpism could not be suppressed as they took to the streets en masse to show their opposition to the U.S. president's hate-filled policies."
Russian Asbestos Company Puts Trump's Face, Seal of Approval, on Pallets of Its Products
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/11/russian-asbestos-company-puts-trumps-face-seal-approval-pallets-its-products
"Praising the Trump administration's new asbestos policies, which were announced last month, the company's post thanked the president for supporting recently-resigned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, "who declared that his agency would no longer deal with matters related to side effects potentially caused by asbestos," according to a translation by Guardian."
"Praising the Trump administration's new asbestos policies, which were announced last month, the company's post thanked the president for supporting recently-resigned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, "who declared that his agency would no longer deal with matters related to side effects potentially caused by asbestos," according to a translation by Guardian."
Wis Sen Ron Johnson wants to jam through SCOTUS nom, because he's also caught up in #TrumpRussia
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/10/1779547/-Wis-Sen-Ron-Johnson-wants-to-jam-through-SCOTUS-nom-because-he-s-also-caught-up-in-TrumpRussia
"I’m becoming pretty confident that Donald Trump isn’t the only Republican that would want GOP hack Brett Kavanaugh installed on the Supreme Court to cover up his crimes"
"I’m becoming pretty confident that Donald Trump isn’t the only Republican that would want GOP hack Brett Kavanaugh installed on the Supreme Court to cover up his crimes"
Brett Kavanaugh, Who Has Ruled Against Campaign Finance Regulations, Could Bring an Avalanche of Big Money to Elections
https://theintercept.com/2018/07/12/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-donor-disclosure/
"In recent years, the Supreme Court has swiftly remade the landscape of American politics, gutting 1960s-era civil rights laws restricting voter suppression, sharply weakening labor unions, and deregulating the campaign finance system to allow for wealthy individuals and corporations to exercise greater influence over elected representatives. With President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, that influence is poised to grow. Kavanaugh’s appellate court decisions and public comments suggest that he will accelerate the trend toward a political system dominated by wealthy elites — often operating in the shadows, without any form of disclosure."
"In recent years, the Supreme Court has swiftly remade the landscape of American politics, gutting 1960s-era civil rights laws restricting voter suppression, sharply weakening labor unions, and deregulating the campaign finance system to allow for wealthy individuals and corporations to exercise greater influence over elected representatives. With President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, that influence is poised to grow. Kavanaugh’s appellate court decisions and public comments suggest that he will accelerate the trend toward a political system dominated by wealthy elites — often operating in the shadows, without any form of disclosure."
This Ought to Run in Campaign Ads from Now Through Eternity
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22063027/republican-senators-russia-4th-of-july/
"The entire Wisconsin Republican Party should be made to drag Johnson around as a deadweight around its ankles. The same should be true of all the Republican senators who made this little junket to visit the Volga Bagmen on this country’s 242nd birthday, and that especially includes Richard Shelby (R-Easy Mark), Republican of Alabama. From the WaPo: Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) told Russia’s foreign minister that while Russia and the United States were competitors, “we don’t necessarily need to be adversaries.” Later on at the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, members attending a plenary session greeted the Americans with applause. “I’m not here today to accuse Russia of this or that or so forth,” Shelby told Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. “I’m saying that we should all strive for a better relationship.” Dude, we are adversaries. You become an adversary when you ratfck our elections. You become an adversary when you ship nerve agents overseas to kill someone living in peace under the protection of one of our allies. We are adversaries because Vladimir Putin stands in proud opposition to everything we were supposed to be celebrating here while you passel of hopeless marks were going to the ballet in St. Petersburg and having your geopolitical pockets picked."
"The entire Wisconsin Republican Party should be made to drag Johnson around as a deadweight around its ankles. The same should be true of all the Republican senators who made this little junket to visit the Volga Bagmen on this country’s 242nd birthday, and that especially includes Richard Shelby (R-Easy Mark), Republican of Alabama. From the WaPo: Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) told Russia’s foreign minister that while Russia and the United States were competitors, “we don’t necessarily need to be adversaries.” Later on at the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, members attending a plenary session greeted the Americans with applause. “I’m not here today to accuse Russia of this or that or so forth,” Shelby told Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. “I’m saying that we should all strive for a better relationship.” Dude, we are adversaries. You become an adversary when you ratfck our elections. You become an adversary when you ship nerve agents overseas to kill someone living in peace under the protection of one of our allies. We are adversaries because Vladimir Putin stands in proud opposition to everything we were supposed to be celebrating here while you passel of hopeless marks were going to the ballet in St. Petersburg and having your geopolitical pockets picked."
You Are Paying for the Trump Brothers to Travel the World on Trump Organization Business
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/you-are-paying-for-the-trump-brothers-to-travel-the-world-on-trump-organization-business/
"It’s not cheap to live like a Trump, and American taxpayers are finding out the hard way. Wherever Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump go, they are accompanied by an entourage of Secret Service agents. Taxpayers don’t pay for the Trumps to travel, but they do foot the bill for their protective details. These trips often include stays in high-priced, luxury hotels, such as the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai, where the Trump brothers jetted in February 2017 to meet with Hussain Sajwani, their business partner in a Dubai golf resort. On this trip alone, which included a side visit to the Maldives with Sajwani and his family, the Secret Service racked up $230,000 in travel costs. The eye-popping expenses are contained in documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Extensive details of the Dubai trip’s itinerary—including arrangements for a seaplane to take the brothers and their protective entourage to private islands in the Maldives—are included in the records, which were released by CREW on Wednesday. The Dubai visit was perhaps the most lavish trip the Trump have taken with taxpayer-funded protection, though it was hardly the only one. In January 2017, the Secret Service spent roughly $30,000 to accompany Eric Trump to the Dominican Republic, where he met with his father’s former business partners to explore reviving a collapsed resort project—despite a pledge from the president that his company would engage in no new foreign deals while he was in office. According to the documents obtained by CREW, taxpayers shelled out more than $50,000 for a visit the brothers made to Vancouver, Canada in early February 2017 for the opening of a new Trump hotel there. More than half of those charges were paid to the Trump hotel. The documents also detail a trip to Uruguay by Eric Trump in January 2017, which cost taxpayers at least $97,000."
"It’s not cheap to live like a Trump, and American taxpayers are finding out the hard way. Wherever Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump go, they are accompanied by an entourage of Secret Service agents. Taxpayers don’t pay for the Trumps to travel, but they do foot the bill for their protective details. These trips often include stays in high-priced, luxury hotels, such as the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai, where the Trump brothers jetted in February 2017 to meet with Hussain Sajwani, their business partner in a Dubai golf resort. On this trip alone, which included a side visit to the Maldives with Sajwani and his family, the Secret Service racked up $230,000 in travel costs. The eye-popping expenses are contained in documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Extensive details of the Dubai trip’s itinerary—including arrangements for a seaplane to take the brothers and their protective entourage to private islands in the Maldives—are included in the records, which were released by CREW on Wednesday. The Dubai visit was perhaps the most lavish trip the Trump have taken with taxpayer-funded protection, though it was hardly the only one. In January 2017, the Secret Service spent roughly $30,000 to accompany Eric Trump to the Dominican Republic, where he met with his father’s former business partners to explore reviving a collapsed resort project—despite a pledge from the president that his company would engage in no new foreign deals while he was in office. According to the documents obtained by CREW, taxpayers shelled out more than $50,000 for a visit the brothers made to Vancouver, Canada in early February 2017 for the opening of a new Trump hotel there. More than half of those charges were paid to the Trump hotel. The documents also detail a trip to Uruguay by Eric Trump in January 2017, which cost taxpayers at least $97,000."
Trial runs for fascism are in full flow
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375
"Fascism doesn’t arise suddenly in an existing democracy. It is not easy to get people to give up their ideas of freedom and civility. You have to do trial runs that, if they are done well, serve two purposes. They get people used to something they may initially recoil from; and they allow you to refine and calibrate. This is what is happening now and we would be fools not to see it. One of the basic tools of fascism is the rigging of elections – we’ve seen that trialled in the election of Trump, in the Brexit referendum and (less successfully) in the French presidential elections. Another is the generation of tribal identities, the division of society into mutually exclusive polarities. Fascism does not need a majority – it typically comes to power with about 40 per cent support and then uses control and intimidation to consolidate that power. So it doesn’t matter if most people hate you, as long as your 40 per cent is fanatically committed. That’s been tested out too. And fascism of course needs a propaganda machine so effective that it creates for its followers a universe of “alternative facts” impervious to unwanted realities. Again, the testing for this is very far advanced. But when you’ve done all this, there is a crucial next step, usually the trickiest of all. You have to undermine moral boundaries, inure people to the acceptance of acts of extreme cruelty. Like hounds, people have to be blooded. They have to be given the taste for savagery. Fascism does this by building up the sense of threat from a despised out-group. This allows the members of that group to be dehumanised. Once that has been achieved, you can gradually up the ante, working through the stages from breaking windows to extermination. It is this next step that is being test-marketed now."
"Fascism doesn’t arise suddenly in an existing democracy. It is not easy to get people to give up their ideas of freedom and civility. You have to do trial runs that, if they are done well, serve two purposes. They get people used to something they may initially recoil from; and they allow you to refine and calibrate. This is what is happening now and we would be fools not to see it. One of the basic tools of fascism is the rigging of elections – we’ve seen that trialled in the election of Trump, in the Brexit referendum and (less successfully) in the French presidential elections. Another is the generation of tribal identities, the division of society into mutually exclusive polarities. Fascism does not need a majority – it typically comes to power with about 40 per cent support and then uses control and intimidation to consolidate that power. So it doesn’t matter if most people hate you, as long as your 40 per cent is fanatically committed. That’s been tested out too. And fascism of course needs a propaganda machine so effective that it creates for its followers a universe of “alternative facts” impervious to unwanted realities. Again, the testing for this is very far advanced. But when you’ve done all this, there is a crucial next step, usually the trickiest of all. You have to undermine moral boundaries, inure people to the acceptance of acts of extreme cruelty. Like hounds, people have to be blooded. They have to be given the taste for savagery. Fascism does this by building up the sense of threat from a despised out-group. This allows the members of that group to be dehumanised. Once that has been achieved, you can gradually up the ante, working through the stages from breaking windows to extermination. It is this next step that is being test-marketed now."
Russian bots are back: #WalkAway attack on Democrats is a likely Kremlin operation
https://www.salon.com/2018/07/09/russian-bots-are-back-walkaway-attack-on-democrats-is-a-likely-kremlin-operation/
"To be clear: This isn’t being circulated by earnest yet misguided voters who formerly identified as Democrats. This is clearly being circulated by trolls connected to the Russian influence operations."
"To be clear: This isn’t being circulated by earnest yet misguided voters who formerly identified as Democrats. This is clearly being circulated by trolls connected to the Russian influence operations."
In Kavanaugh, Trump Found Another Judge Who Will Kiss the Ring
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/will-brett-kavanaugh-do-what-donald-trump-wants.html
"In his writings on and off the bench, he has embraced an unfettered view of executive power, supreme over strictures that may protect the government from itself, if not wholly from any meaningful judicial review. “Kavanaugh has been the creature and servant of political power all his days,” Garrett Epps, a constitutional scholar, wrote in The Atlantic. “It would be the height of folly to expect that, having attained his lifetime’s ambition of a seat on the Supreme Court, he will become anything else"."
"In his writings on and off the bench, he has embraced an unfettered view of executive power, supreme over strictures that may protect the government from itself, if not wholly from any meaningful judicial review. “Kavanaugh has been the creature and servant of political power all his days,” Garrett Epps, a constitutional scholar, wrote in The Atlantic. “It would be the height of folly to expect that, having attained his lifetime’s ambition of a seat on the Supreme Court, he will become anything else"."
Senate Confirms Trump Court Pick With Record Of Attacking Voting Rights
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-court-pick-restrict-voting-rights_us_5b4f5bc7e4b0fd5c73c143c7
"More than 200 civil rights groups opposed Andrew Oldham, but every Republican voted to make him a lifetime federal judge."
"More than 200 civil rights groups opposed Andrew Oldham, but every Republican voted to make him a lifetime federal judge."
The White House Press Room Should Just Be Empty
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22145043/sarah-sanders-john-kelly-breakfast-lie/
"The daily briefings are now something beyond worthless; they are acts of complicity in a gangster presidency. No journalist with any self-respect ever should appear in that room again."
"The daily briefings are now something beyond worthless; they are acts of complicity in a gangster presidency. No journalist with any self-respect ever should appear in that room again."
Fox's Ed Henry Gushes Over Getting The Last 'Trump-Putin Helsinki 2018' Hat
Fox's Ed Henry Gushes Over Getting The Last 'Trump-Putin Helsinki 2018' Hat:
"Trump's BFFs on state-run TV were thrilled to death to get the last 'Trump-Putin Helsinki 2018' hat during their coverage of his summit in Finland."
"Trump's BFFs on state-run TV were thrilled to death to get the last 'Trump-Putin Helsinki 2018' hat during their coverage of his summit in Finland."
The CIA Still Doesn’t Trust Jared Kushner With Its Most Sensitive Intelligence
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/the-cia-still-doesnt-trust-jared-kushner-with-its-intel.html
"During his first year in the White House, Jared Kushner enjoyed unfettered access to Uncle Sam’s deepest secrets — but only because the White House had allowed him to use an interim security clearance as though it were a permanent one. This was because the FBI declined to officially declare Kushner fit to access “top secret” intelligence for months on end. In February 2018 — when the Rob Porter scandal brought public attention to the White House’s profligate abuse of interim security clearances — Kushner still hadn’t secured the bureau’s seal of approval. This fed suspicion that the president’s son-in-law was a subject of the special counsel’s investigation — a concern buttressed by his real-estate company’s sketchy solicitations of giant loans from foreign governments in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Amid public outcry, Kushner’s clearance was downgraded. Three months later, however, it was restored; and this time, his clearance was of the “permanent” variety. Kushner’s allies celebrated this apparent testament to his safety from Robert Mueller’s probe. Finally, the White House’s resident “Middle East expert” had won the right to review sensitive geopolitical information, thereby clearing the only significant obstacle to a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. Or so it seemed. On Thursday night, the Washington Post revealed that the CIA still has not signed off on letting Kushner look at “sensitive compartmented information” — the government’s most sensitive category of secrets, which “primarily involves U.S. intelligence sources and surveillance methods.” It is unclear whether the CIA’s reluctance has anything to do with Kushner’s sketchy real-estate dealings, or discussions with Russian officials about a “secret back channel” during the presidential transition, or anything else that could put the senior White House adviser in legal jeopardy."
"During his first year in the White House, Jared Kushner enjoyed unfettered access to Uncle Sam’s deepest secrets — but only because the White House had allowed him to use an interim security clearance as though it were a permanent one. This was because the FBI declined to officially declare Kushner fit to access “top secret” intelligence for months on end. In February 2018 — when the Rob Porter scandal brought public attention to the White House’s profligate abuse of interim security clearances — Kushner still hadn’t secured the bureau’s seal of approval. This fed suspicion that the president’s son-in-law was a subject of the special counsel’s investigation — a concern buttressed by his real-estate company’s sketchy solicitations of giant loans from foreign governments in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Amid public outcry, Kushner’s clearance was downgraded. Three months later, however, it was restored; and this time, his clearance was of the “permanent” variety. Kushner’s allies celebrated this apparent testament to his safety from Robert Mueller’s probe. Finally, the White House’s resident “Middle East expert” had won the right to review sensitive geopolitical information, thereby clearing the only significant obstacle to a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. Or so it seemed. On Thursday night, the Washington Post revealed that the CIA still has not signed off on letting Kushner look at “sensitive compartmented information” — the government’s most sensitive category of secrets, which “primarily involves U.S. intelligence sources and surveillance methods.” It is unclear whether the CIA’s reluctance has anything to do with Kushner’s sketchy real-estate dealings, or discussions with Russian officials about a “secret back channel” during the presidential transition, or anything else that could put the senior White House adviser in legal jeopardy."
HHS Plans to Delete 20 Years of Critical Medical Guidelines Next Week
https://www.thedailybeast.com/hhs-plans-to-delete-20-years-of-critical-medical-guidelines-next-week?ref=home?ref=home
"The Trump Administration is planning to eliminate a vast trove of medical guidelines that for nearly 20 years has been a critical resource for doctors, researchers and others in the medical community. Maintained by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the database is known as the National Guideline Clearinghouse [NGC], and it’s scheduled to “go dark,” in the words of an official there, on July 16. Medical guidelines like those compiled by AHRQ aren’t something laypeople spend much time thinking about, but experts like Valerie King, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Director of Research at the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University, said the NGC is perhaps the most important repository of evidence-based research available. “Guideline.gov was our go-to source, and there is nothing else like it in the world,” King said, referring to the URL at which the database is hosted, which the agency says receives about 200,000 visitors per month. “It is a singular resource,” King added."
"The Trump Administration is planning to eliminate a vast trove of medical guidelines that for nearly 20 years has been a critical resource for doctors, researchers and others in the medical community. Maintained by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the database is known as the National Guideline Clearinghouse [NGC], and it’s scheduled to “go dark,” in the words of an official there, on July 16. Medical guidelines like those compiled by AHRQ aren’t something laypeople spend much time thinking about, but experts like Valerie King, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Director of Research at the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University, said the NGC is perhaps the most important repository of evidence-based research available. “Guideline.gov was our go-to source, and there is nothing else like it in the world,” King said, referring to the URL at which the database is hosted, which the agency says receives about 200,000 visitors per month. “It is a singular resource,” King added."
Now Trump's Cabinet Will Pick Their Own Political Judges All Over the Government
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22115786/administrative-law-judges-donald-trump-supreme-court/
"It’s been looking for a while like the Republicans are preparing for a possible Democratic shockwave in the November elections by doing all they can to consolidate the gains they’ve made for themselves and for their donor class during their period of controlling the entire government. ( The president* is cooperating in this effort because he knows nothing about anything, and because, winning!) The unseemly haste with which they’re trying to lard up the federal judiciary with embryonic Scalias is the most obvious example. But, as with all things these days, it’s best to keep your eye on the sparrow as well. On June 21, in a case called Lucia v. SEC, and by a resounding 7-2 margin, the Supreme Court ruled that administrative law judges (ALJs)—who preside over quasi-legal proceedings within the various executive agencies—are what are called “inferior officers” of the United States and, as such, can be appointed only by the president or by the head of the agency in question. (The case challenged the bona fides of an ALJ who worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission and who had been appointed, as was customary at the time, from off a master list maintained by the Office of Personnel Management.) These people are more important than they appear to be. Administrative law judges preside over hearings within the agencies. These hearings adjudicate disputes over claims and benefits, as well as cases involving actions taken by the agencies. In the case of the SEC, for example, the agency could choose to take action to enforce financial regulations through the administrative procedures rather than going to court. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, hundreds of administrative actions likely are now open to review. To repeat, because of the Lucia decision, administrative law judges now can be appointed only by the president or the head of the agency. You can see where this is headed, right?"
"It’s been looking for a while like the Republicans are preparing for a possible Democratic shockwave in the November elections by doing all they can to consolidate the gains they’ve made for themselves and for their donor class during their period of controlling the entire government. ( The president* is cooperating in this effort because he knows nothing about anything, and because, winning!) The unseemly haste with which they’re trying to lard up the federal judiciary with embryonic Scalias is the most obvious example. But, as with all things these days, it’s best to keep your eye on the sparrow as well. On June 21, in a case called Lucia v. SEC, and by a resounding 7-2 margin, the Supreme Court ruled that administrative law judges (ALJs)—who preside over quasi-legal proceedings within the various executive agencies—are what are called “inferior officers” of the United States and, as such, can be appointed only by the president or by the head of the agency in question. (The case challenged the bona fides of an ALJ who worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission and who had been appointed, as was customary at the time, from off a master list maintained by the Office of Personnel Management.) These people are more important than they appear to be. Administrative law judges preside over hearings within the agencies. These hearings adjudicate disputes over claims and benefits, as well as cases involving actions taken by the agencies. In the case of the SEC, for example, the agency could choose to take action to enforce financial regulations through the administrative procedures rather than going to court. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, hundreds of administrative actions likely are now open to review. To repeat, because of the Lucia decision, administrative law judges now can be appointed only by the president or the head of the agency. You can see where this is headed, right?"
Someone Should Go to Jail for This
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22108183/trump-administration-separated-children-court-order/
"Try this sometime. You’re in court and the judge gives you a deadline to do something by Day X. Then, when Day X arrives, tell the judge that you’ve only been able to do four percent of what the judge demanded that you do. See where you’re eating dinner that night. This whole thing is preposterous now. The administration* never had a plan to do anything except separate these families and hold the children hostage. It certainly had no plan to reunite the children with their parents. As far as I can tell, it had no plan beyond the phrase, “zero-tolerance.” Now, it’s trying to cobble a policy together as fast as it’s trying to cobble together facilities in which to warehouse terrified toddlers. And all it’s got left is a president* who believes that he doesn’t have to listen to people like federal judges."
"Try this sometime. You’re in court and the judge gives you a deadline to do something by Day X. Then, when Day X arrives, tell the judge that you’ve only been able to do four percent of what the judge demanded that you do. See where you’re eating dinner that night. This whole thing is preposterous now. The administration* never had a plan to do anything except separate these families and hold the children hostage. It certainly had no plan to reunite the children with their parents. As far as I can tell, it had no plan beyond the phrase, “zero-tolerance.” Now, it’s trying to cobble a policy together as fast as it’s trying to cobble together facilities in which to warehouse terrified toddlers. And all it’s got left is a president* who believes that he doesn’t have to listen to people like federal judges."
American Conservatives Played A Secret Role In The Macedonian Fake News Boom Ahead Of 2016
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/american-conservatives-fake-news-macedonia-paris-wade-libert
"it was launched by a well-known Macedonian media attorney, Trajche Arsov — who worked closely with two high-profile American partners for at least six months during a period that overlapped with Election Day. One of those Americans, Paris Wade, is now running for office in Nevada. Arsov also employed other American and British writers, including at least one who currently works for US right-wing conspiracy site the Gateway Pundit. The investigation also reveals that at least one member of Russia’s “troll factory,” who has been indicted by US special counsel Robert Mueller for alleged interference in the election, was in Macedonia just three months before the web domain for the country’s first US-focused politics site was registered. Reporters did not find any evidence connecting the Russian, Anna Bogacheva, to the Veles sites. Arsov denies any links to Russia. But now Macedonian security agencies are cooperating with law enforcement in the United States and at least two Western European countries to probe possible links between Russians, US citizens, and the pro-Trump “fake news” websites, two senior Macedonian officials said. Bogacheva and Arsov are among more than 20 people being looked at in two overlapping investigations in Macedonia, according to the two officials, who hail from different agencies in the country and were interviewed separately."
"it was launched by a well-known Macedonian media attorney, Trajche Arsov — who worked closely with two high-profile American partners for at least six months during a period that overlapped with Election Day. One of those Americans, Paris Wade, is now running for office in Nevada. Arsov also employed other American and British writers, including at least one who currently works for US right-wing conspiracy site the Gateway Pundit. The investigation also reveals that at least one member of Russia’s “troll factory,” who has been indicted by US special counsel Robert Mueller for alleged interference in the election, was in Macedonia just three months before the web domain for the country’s first US-focused politics site was registered. Reporters did not find any evidence connecting the Russian, Anna Bogacheva, to the Veles sites. Arsov denies any links to Russia. But now Macedonian security agencies are cooperating with law enforcement in the United States and at least two Western European countries to probe possible links between Russians, US citizens, and the pro-Trump “fake news” websites, two senior Macedonian officials said. Bogacheva and Arsov are among more than 20 people being looked at in two overlapping investigations in Macedonia, according to the two officials, who hail from different agencies in the country and were interviewed separately."
So Long, Scott Pruitt. We Knew You All Too Well.
https://theintercept.com/2018/07/06/epa-scott-pruitt-resignation-andrew-wheeler/
"In Oklahoma, where he sided with poultry companies in Arkansas to subvert environmental protections for a river in his own state and suppressed a report on corruption at a Superfund site, what he wanted was the political support of a wealthy industry. In Washington, where he had recently expressed interest in Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s job, he wanted the approval of the president. (Pruitt’s resignation letter even seemed to be aimed for the president’s good side: “Truly, your confidence in me has blessed me personally,” he wrote, adding that he believed God “brought me into your service.”) For his part, Trump didn’t care about Pruitt’s scandals as long as he was doing the bidding of industry, which is why it took so long for his tenure to end. When it did, Democrats and environmentalists rejoiced as if the house had fallen on the wicked witch. “Finally,” was the headline quote of a press release from Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who, just hours before, had called for a criminal investigation into Pruitt’s secret calendar. A Washington, D.C., restaurant whipped up a special cocktail for the occasion. Even Republicans joined in the post-Pruitt celebration. The party will be brief. The president has another loyal industry servant primed for service. Former coal lobbyist and current EPA deputy administrator Andrew Wheeler will take over as the agency’s acting director on Monday. His views on climate change, the rollback of the Clean Power Plan, and the ongoing evisceration of other environmental protections are virtually indistinguishable from Pruitt’s. In several ways, Wheeler is a more daunting adversary. He has more experience working to undermine environmental regulations and deeper ties to industry than his predecessor."
"In Oklahoma, where he sided with poultry companies in Arkansas to subvert environmental protections for a river in his own state and suppressed a report on corruption at a Superfund site, what he wanted was the political support of a wealthy industry. In Washington, where he had recently expressed interest in Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s job, he wanted the approval of the president. (Pruitt’s resignation letter even seemed to be aimed for the president’s good side: “Truly, your confidence in me has blessed me personally,” he wrote, adding that he believed God “brought me into your service.”) For his part, Trump didn’t care about Pruitt’s scandals as long as he was doing the bidding of industry, which is why it took so long for his tenure to end. When it did, Democrats and environmentalists rejoiced as if the house had fallen on the wicked witch. “Finally,” was the headline quote of a press release from Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who, just hours before, had called for a criminal investigation into Pruitt’s secret calendar. A Washington, D.C., restaurant whipped up a special cocktail for the occasion. Even Republicans joined in the post-Pruitt celebration. The party will be brief. The president has another loyal industry servant primed for service. Former coal lobbyist and current EPA deputy administrator Andrew Wheeler will take over as the agency’s acting director on Monday. His views on climate change, the rollback of the Clean Power Plan, and the ongoing evisceration of other environmental protections are virtually indistinguishable from Pruitt’s. In several ways, Wheeler is a more daunting adversary. He has more experience working to undermine environmental regulations and deeper ties to industry than his predecessor."
GOP-Controlled House Passes Bill to Eviscerate Nation's Marine Ecosystems, Fisheries
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/12/gop-controlled-house-passes-bill-eviscerate-nations-marine-ecosystems-fisheries
"Conservations, scientists, and members of fishing communities and industry expressed outrage and disappointment after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that experts warn will set the nation's fishing industry back decades by eviscerating protections that have made U.S. fisheries more sustainable and undermining the health of marine ecosystems as well as the communities that live off the ocean."
"Conservations, scientists, and members of fishing communities and industry expressed outrage and disappointment after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that experts warn will set the nation's fishing industry back decades by eviscerating protections that have made U.S. fisheries more sustainable and undermining the health of marine ecosystems as well as the communities that live off the ocean."
'Putin Is the Puppet Master': British Reporter Says the Russian President Is Making Trump 'Dance' @alternet
'Putin Is the Puppet Master': British Reporter Says the Russian President Is Making Trump 'Dance' @alternet:
"He added: "It feels like Putin is the puppet master and he is making Donald trump dance around in front of the world to his Russian tune"."
"He added: "It feels like Putin is the puppet master and he is making Donald trump dance around in front of the world to his Russian tune"."
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Trump Is Fulfilling Russia’s Dream of Splitting the Western Alliance
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/trump-is-fulfilling-russias-dream-of-splitting-the-west.html
"Relatedly, strongmen have the ability to deal with Trump in what is euphemistically described as “transactional” terms. China spent hundreds of millions of dollars enhancing the value of a Trump property, and in turn was quickly granted a reprieve for a telecommunications firm that had broken American law. “Those regimes take a transactional approach. Many American allies have relied on appeals to reason, data and shared values,” reports Politico, which also quotes a former Trump official helpfully explaining, “If you’re not a despot, you can’t really be transactional.” This clarifies the euphemism, because of course a democratic leader can be transactional. Democratic countries negotiate transactions all the time. What they can’t do is hand out bribes. No country has taken a more “transactional” approach toward Trump than Russia, and no country has seen its investment rewarded so richly."
"Relatedly, strongmen have the ability to deal with Trump in what is euphemistically described as “transactional” terms. China spent hundreds of millions of dollars enhancing the value of a Trump property, and in turn was quickly granted a reprieve for a telecommunications firm that had broken American law. “Those regimes take a transactional approach. Many American allies have relied on appeals to reason, data and shared values,” reports Politico, which also quotes a former Trump official helpfully explaining, “If you’re not a despot, you can’t really be transactional.” This clarifies the euphemism, because of course a democratic leader can be transactional. Democratic countries negotiate transactions all the time. What they can’t do is hand out bribes. No country has taken a more “transactional” approach toward Trump than Russia, and no country has seen its investment rewarded so richly."
Trump’s Briefing Book Includes ‘Screen Grabs of Cable-News Chyrons’
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/trumps-briefing-book-includes-printed-cable-news-chyrons.html
"The man we’ve authorized to preside over thousands of nuclear warheads gets his information about the world from printed screengrabs of cable-news chyrons."
"The man we’ve authorized to preside over thousands of nuclear warheads gets his information about the world from printed screengrabs of cable-news chyrons."
Trump Wants to Ditch Preexisting Condition Protections. Here Are the Times He Promised Not To.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/06/donald-trump-preexisting-condition-obamacare-jeff-sessions/
"The Trump administration declared Obamacare’s protections for people with preexisting conditions unconstitutional on Thursday"
"The Trump administration declared Obamacare’s protections for people with preexisting conditions unconstitutional on Thursday"
Trump’s legal attack on the ACA isn’t about health care. It’s a war on the rule of law.
https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/6/8/17442238/trump-aca-obamacare-texas-department-of-justice-rule-of-law
"The laws that Congress passes and that presidents sign are the laws of the land. They aren’t negotiable; they’re not up for further debate. If the Justice Department can just throw in the towel whenever a law is challenged in court, it can effectively pick and choose which laws should remain on the books. That’s a flagrant violation of the president’s constitutional duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed."
"The laws that Congress passes and that presidents sign are the laws of the land. They aren’t negotiable; they’re not up for further debate. If the Justice Department can just throw in the towel whenever a law is challenged in court, it can effectively pick and choose which laws should remain on the books. That’s a flagrant violation of the president’s constitutional duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed."
Scott Pruitt is mired in scandals — but you wouldn’t know it from watching Fox News
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/8/17441310/scott-pruitt-fox-news-scandal-data
"In this instance, Fox News isn’t trying to spin the Pruitt scandals in some positive manner. Instead, it’s just ignoring a story that makes the administration look bad, as it so often does. And as long as the Fox News machine builds an alternate reality where none of this happened, Pruitt might be able to sleep peacefully on his Trump hotel mattress."
"In this instance, Fox News isn’t trying to spin the Pruitt scandals in some positive manner. Instead, it’s just ignoring a story that makes the administration look bad, as it so often does. And as long as the Fox News machine builds an alternate reality where none of this happened, Pruitt might be able to sleep peacefully on his Trump hotel mattress."
Former Fox Analyst Col. Ralph Peters: 'I Think Putin Has A Hold On Trump'
Former Fox Analyst Col. Ralph Peters: 'I Think Putin Has A Hold On Trump':
"Saying he believes the country is already in a constitutional crisis, former Fox News national security analyst Col. Ralph Peters gave his first interview since leaving Fox to Anderson Cooper last night."
"Saying he believes the country is already in a constitutional crisis, former Fox News national security analyst Col. Ralph Peters gave his first interview since leaving Fox to Anderson Cooper last night."
Billions in solar projects and thousands of jobs shelved after Trump tariff
https://www.politicususa.com/2018/06/07/billions-in-solar-projects-and-thousands-of-jobs-shelved-after-trump-tariff.html
"The U.S. solar industry employs more than 250,000 people – about three times more than the coal industry – with about 40 percent of those people in installation and 20 percent in manufacturing, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration."
"The U.S. solar industry employs more than 250,000 people – about three times more than the coal industry – with about 40 percent of those people in installation and 20 percent in manufacturing, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration."
Mick Mulvaney Just Axed the Entire 25-Person Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Watchdog He Oversees
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/mick-mulvaney-just-axed-the-entire-25-person-advisory-board-of-the-consumer-financial-watchdog-he-oversees.html
"The move appeared to have been months in the making, as Mulvaney had already cancelled the group’s scheduled meeting in February, one of two in-person meetings the group is legally required to convene each year. Last week, he cancelled another scheduled meeting of the board. That prompted 11 board members to hold a press conference Monday criticizing Mulvaney’s leadership of the consumer protection bureau that was created in the wake of the financial crisis specifically to protect consumers as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law. Two days later, Mulvaney dispatched his deputy to axe the group altogether via conference call. The administration officials made a vague attempt to try to make the dismissal look like an effort to by thrifty with taxpayer dollars to the tune of “multi-hundred-thousand dollars a year.” Oh yeah? Mulvaney’s flouting of the Dodd-Frank rules may be increasingly brazen, perhaps because the cover provided by the outrageousness of transgressions elsewhere in the Trump administration, but his disdain for the methods and mission of the agency he was charged with running is longstanding. As a congressman, Mulvaney called the consumer protection bureau “a joke” and, as acting head, he’s effectively frozen its budget and undermine its authority at every possible turn. But the cherry on Mulvaney’s sundae of sabotage came last week when the leader of the agency empowered to protect consumers from unscrupulous financial actors, like payday lenders, sided with those very payday lenders when they sued the CFPB to block new regulations on the industry."
"The move appeared to have been months in the making, as Mulvaney had already cancelled the group’s scheduled meeting in February, one of two in-person meetings the group is legally required to convene each year. Last week, he cancelled another scheduled meeting of the board. That prompted 11 board members to hold a press conference Monday criticizing Mulvaney’s leadership of the consumer protection bureau that was created in the wake of the financial crisis specifically to protect consumers as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law. Two days later, Mulvaney dispatched his deputy to axe the group altogether via conference call. The administration officials made a vague attempt to try to make the dismissal look like an effort to by thrifty with taxpayer dollars to the tune of “multi-hundred-thousand dollars a year.” Oh yeah? Mulvaney’s flouting of the Dodd-Frank rules may be increasingly brazen, perhaps because the cover provided by the outrageousness of transgressions elsewhere in the Trump administration, but his disdain for the methods and mission of the agency he was charged with running is longstanding. As a congressman, Mulvaney called the consumer protection bureau “a joke” and, as acting head, he’s effectively frozen its budget and undermine its authority at every possible turn. But the cherry on Mulvaney’s sundae of sabotage came last week when the leader of the agency empowered to protect consumers from unscrupulous financial actors, like payday lenders, sided with those very payday lenders when they sued the CFPB to block new regulations on the industry."
Donald Trump has been lying since day one
https://www.salon.com/2018/06/06/donald-trump-has-been-lying-since-day-one/
"Trump has been lying to us from day one. He told dozens of whoppers every time he stepped before an audience at campaign rallies in 2016. He ordered his press secretary to go before the press on the day he took office and lie about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. He has kept lying, day after day, lie after lie. We weren’t listening closely enough on June 16, 2015 when he told one lie after another making his announcement for the presidency. We’ve been paying for it ever since."
"Trump has been lying to us from day one. He told dozens of whoppers every time he stepped before an audience at campaign rallies in 2016. He ordered his press secretary to go before the press on the day he took office and lie about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. He has kept lying, day after day, lie after lie. We weren’t listening closely enough on June 16, 2015 when he told one lie after another making his announcement for the presidency. We’ve been paying for it ever since."
Medicare, Social Security trustees: Trump and Republicans are jeopardizing the programs
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/7/1770085/-Medicare-Social-Security-trustees-Trump-and-Republicans-are-jeopardizing-the-programs
"Undermining Medicare and Social Security was exactly what Republicans had in mind with these policies. And as for Trump's promises to protect the programs? top Trump economist Hassett refers to Trump pledge not to touch Social Security and Medicare as a "short-term" commitment to "prioritize" cutting taxes Go ahead, Republicans. Keep talking about how cutting Social Security and Medicare is one of your priorities. Make Trump break his promise. That’ll work out really well for you in November."
"Undermining Medicare and Social Security was exactly what Republicans had in mind with these policies. And as for Trump's promises to protect the programs? top Trump economist Hassett refers to Trump pledge not to touch Social Security and Medicare as a "short-term" commitment to "prioritize" cutting taxes Go ahead, Republicans. Keep talking about how cutting Social Security and Medicare is one of your priorities. Make Trump break his promise. That’ll work out really well for you in November."
Ex-Fox News Analyst Ralph Peters Unloads on Sean Hannity
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-fox-news-analyst-ralph-peters-unloads-on-sean-hannity?ref=home
"While President Donald Trump has claimed that special counsel Robert Mueller is leading a “witch hunt” against him, Peters argued on CNN that it is Fox News that is promoting a witch hunt against Mueller. “For years, I was glad to be associated with Fox. It was a legitimate conservative and libertarian outlet. And a necessary one,” Peters told Cooper. “But with the rise of Donald Trump, Fox did become a destructive propaganda machine. And I don’t do propaganda for anyone"."
"While President Donald Trump has claimed that special counsel Robert Mueller is leading a “witch hunt” against him, Peters argued on CNN that it is Fox News that is promoting a witch hunt against Mueller. “For years, I was glad to be associated with Fox. It was a legitimate conservative and libertarian outlet. And a necessary one,” Peters told Cooper. “But with the rise of Donald Trump, Fox did become a destructive propaganda machine. And I don’t do propaganda for anyone"."
Mick Mulvaney fires entire board of consumer financial protection experts
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/6/1769870/-Mick-Mulvaney-fires-entire-board-of-consumer-financial-protection-experts
"Mick Mulvaney continues to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, just like Donald Trump put him in charge of the agency to do. The latest: Mulvaney has fired every single outside expert on the consumer advisory board, which is required by law to meet with the CFPB director twice a year. "Everyone on the board has been fired," said Judith Fox, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who sat on the board for three years. [...] The board will be reconstituted in the fall, Fox said. None of the current members of the board will be eligible to apply. Members of two other boards that also provide outside expertise would also be replaced. Basically, Mulvaney does not want to protect consumers, and as part of not protecting consumers he is getting rid of the outside experts who were supposed to help him help consumers. And in the fall, he’ll come up with a new board of Trump puppets. As of last fall, the CFPB had returned $11.8 billion to 29 million people harmed by financial institutions. “That’s an average of $407 returned to each affected consumer, affecting roughly 9% of the U.S. population (assuming no single consumer was a victim in more than one case).” Trump and Mulvaney are working hard to put a stop to that."
"Mick Mulvaney continues to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, just like Donald Trump put him in charge of the agency to do. The latest: Mulvaney has fired every single outside expert on the consumer advisory board, which is required by law to meet with the CFPB director twice a year. "Everyone on the board has been fired," said Judith Fox, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who sat on the board for three years. [...] The board will be reconstituted in the fall, Fox said. None of the current members of the board will be eligible to apply. Members of two other boards that also provide outside expertise would also be replaced. Basically, Mulvaney does not want to protect consumers, and as part of not protecting consumers he is getting rid of the outside experts who were supposed to help him help consumers. And in the fall, he’ll come up with a new board of Trump puppets. As of last fall, the CFPB had returned $11.8 billion to 29 million people harmed by financial institutions. “That’s an average of $407 returned to each affected consumer, affecting roughly 9% of the U.S. population (assuming no single consumer was a victim in more than one case).” Trump and Mulvaney are working hard to put a stop to that."
Republicans stop Democrats from helping EPA investigate Scott Pruitt’s ever-growing scandals
https://thinkprogress.org/republicans-block-democrats-effort-to-investigate-pruitt-c39d92aaf377/
"House Republicans on Wednesday afternoon blocked an effort by Democrats to increase funding for the agency’s watchdog, which is tasked with investigating the many scandals surrounding agency administrator Scott Pruitt. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has in recent months seen an increased workload due to the more than a dozen investigations launched into Pruitt’s spending and management decisions during his first year as administrator."
"House Republicans on Wednesday afternoon blocked an effort by Democrats to increase funding for the agency’s watchdog, which is tasked with investigating the many scandals surrounding agency administrator Scott Pruitt. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has in recent months seen an increased workload due to the more than a dozen investigations launched into Pruitt’s spending and management decisions during his first year as administrator."
President Trump poses great peril to our nation
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-editorial-president-trump-pardon-hiself-20180605-story.html
"A dictator occupies the White House. That word should not be uttered lightly, but it defines with precision any head of state who, like Donald Trump, declares himself to be above the law. Trump and his lawyers have made it clear that he believes himself above the law — ANY law, not just obstruction of justice. On Twitter Monday, Trump even asserted the “absolute right to PARDON myself,” though he insisted yet again that he has done nothing wrong. Remember what they say about protesting too much. No other president uttered such staggering arrogance — not even Richard Nixon, who resigned rather than face certain impeachment for obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal and begged a pardon from his successor to forestall a criminal indictment. Four days before he resigned, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel wrote that “Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the president cannot pardon himself.” That opinion still stands. “It would be a tremendous abuse of his authority if he were to do so, as well as remarkably unwise,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of the few Republicans to speak up for the nation. “If I were president and somebody, some lawyer told me that I could do that, I’d hire a new lawyer,” said Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, chair of the Judiciary Committee. But to take Trump at his word, he thinks he could get away with it, and that is a clear and present peril to our democratic republic. Whatever his intent — whether to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, pardon anyone whom Mueller indicts as complicit in crimes, or simply to pardon himself if it comes to that — Trump is counting on continued indulgence from his claque of enablers in Congress, who have excused multiple scandals that would have brought down a Democratic president. These people are as faithless as Trump to their oaths of office. For some, it’s about Trump’s radical judicial appointments, the tax cuts and other destructive policies."
"A dictator occupies the White House. That word should not be uttered lightly, but it defines with precision any head of state who, like Donald Trump, declares himself to be above the law. Trump and his lawyers have made it clear that he believes himself above the law — ANY law, not just obstruction of justice. On Twitter Monday, Trump even asserted the “absolute right to PARDON myself,” though he insisted yet again that he has done nothing wrong. Remember what they say about protesting too much. No other president uttered such staggering arrogance — not even Richard Nixon, who resigned rather than face certain impeachment for obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal and begged a pardon from his successor to forestall a criminal indictment. Four days before he resigned, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel wrote that “Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the president cannot pardon himself.” That opinion still stands. “It would be a tremendous abuse of his authority if he were to do so, as well as remarkably unwise,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of the few Republicans to speak up for the nation. “If I were president and somebody, some lawyer told me that I could do that, I’d hire a new lawyer,” said Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, chair of the Judiciary Committee. But to take Trump at his word, he thinks he could get away with it, and that is a clear and present peril to our democratic republic. Whatever his intent — whether to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, pardon anyone whom Mueller indicts as complicit in crimes, or simply to pardon himself if it comes to that — Trump is counting on continued indulgence from his claque of enablers in Congress, who have excused multiple scandals that would have brought down a Democratic president. These people are as faithless as Trump to their oaths of office. For some, it’s about Trump’s radical judicial appointments, the tax cuts and other destructive policies."
A Memo to Manafort and Trump: Mueller Already Knows the Truth
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/manafort-trump-mueller-w521097
"At some point the hustle ends, even for men like Manafort and Trump, and what's left are only tough questions and a prosecutor who seems to have all the answers."
"At some point the hustle ends, even for men like Manafort and Trump, and what's left are only tough questions and a prosecutor who seems to have all the answers."
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