Friday, December 14, 2018

I talked to a Mulvaney aide on the phone 30 minutes ago who claimed to have no idea.


Mulvaney- when everyone else turns you down, go to the guy that’s hasn’t said no yet “Trump Names Mick Mulvaney As Acting White House Chief Of Staff” NPR


Johnson & Johnson stock plunges after a report that says the company knew for decades that asbestos was in its baby powder


NEW U.S. prosecutors on Friday asked a federal judge for permission to move Maria Butina from jail, including potentially to testify before a grand jury, in a sealed filing apparently made public by mistake.


Mueller responds to Flynn’s lawyer: “A sitting National Security Advisor, former head of an intelligence agency, retired Lieutenant General, and 33 year veteran of the armed forces knows he should not lie to federal agents."


Prominent insurance company Pacific Life is pausing and reevaluating its advertising relationship with Tucker Carlson's Fox News show after a Thursday night segment during which he suggested that mass immigration makes the United States "dirtier."


That the Weekly Standard, a principled publication that mentored many fine conservative writers, was deliberately smothered should make everyone worry about the intolerance of dissent & values consuming the core of conservative movement in America. Hope it gets a second life!


I am sick and tired of German government pretending it really cares about Ukraine while it keeps moving forward on a pipe which will fund Putin and his mafia. Berlin must stop #NordStream2 if it want to be taken seriously by its allies. What a hypocrisy.


While Paul Manafort was the subject of a federal criminal investigation, he advised the Trump Administration to publicly attack the FBI, to falsely allege that Ukraine colluded with the DNC, and to attack Hillary Clinton and the Steele dossier,


NYC Council speaker slams Amazon VP in public hearing over HQ2: "You're worth a trillion dollars. Why do you need our $3B when we have crumbling subways, crumbling public housing, people without healthcare, public schools that are overcrowding? Why do you need our $3B?"


Mueller's team responds to Flynn's sentencing memo: "Nothing about the way the interview was arranged or conducted caused the defendant to make false statements to the FBI on January 24."


EXCLUSIVE: Russian agent Maria Butina claimed she had a "signed cooperation agreement" with the NRA


(@FoxNews video tapes with @greta that Trump knew specifically in 2012 about the campaign finance laws in the John Edwards hush-money case. Just 3 years before hatching his plan with Cohen/AMI.)


NEW: Mueller investigation news: Paul Manafort advised White House on how to attack investigation of Trump and Russia


Reporters shooed away as mystery Mueller subpoena fight rages on A clerk at the courthouse took the extraordinary measure of shutting down the entire fifth floor, where the hearing was taking place.


The DC Circuit is about to hear arguments in the sealed grand jury matter. They've sealed not only the courtroom, but the whole floor, so we've been moved away. Haven't recognized anyone going in earlier as being connected to Mueller's office, now we won't be able to see


Breaking: Scott Walker signs lame duck GOP legislative coup stripping his Democratic successor of power & making it harder to vote. This is the kind of thing autocrats do A very dark day for democracy in Wisconsin


N.C. congressional candidate sought out aide, despite warnings over tactics


Fox & Friends worries what Michael Cohen had taped, says Trump needs an "A Team" of lawyers given that Cohen might have corroborating evidence, and attacks Cohen for being disloyal to Trump.


Michael Cohen: "I knew what I was doing was wrong"


NRA takes Russian money & does Russian bidding... As Butina case makes clear... Putin wants us shooting each other... Blood on hands of Putin, NRA, and GOP.


The NRA gave more money to Missouri Senator-elect Josh Hawley than to any other candidate. Hawley is already being investigated for dark money and illegal activity; the Butina case is an impetus to trace NRA money and expose the full extent of corruption


EXCLUSIVE: "I am done with the lying," Michael Cohen tells @GStephanopoulos. "I am done being loyal to President Trump."


I wonder why @GOP former senator @RickSantorum, along with other #Republican “Christian conservatives,” keep defending @realDonaldTrump’s ILLEGAL acts, including hush-money payoffs to a porn star and a Playboy bunny?


“The felony is paying Michael Cohen to commit a felony,” Napolitano said. “It’s pretty basic.”


@KingSalman your murdering son MBS will pay for the death of Jamal Khashoggi Mohammed Bone Saw has brought shame upon you and upon your house. Unless you deal with him, we will. Count on it.


Let's make this clear about 2016: - there was no "Deep State" plot to aid Hillary - IC agencies did their jobs under the law - there were no FISA irregularities worth discussing - in fact, the Obama WH was too slow and cautious re numerous IC warnings about Trump's Kremlin ties


A Moscow real-estate exec. Former staffers in Putin administration. A Siberian mayor with dreams of cloning woolly mammoths. These are the people who accompanied Maria Butina to Trump's prayer breakfast in Washington


Michael Cohen: "Here's the truth: The people of the United States of America, the people of the world, don't believe what he's saying. The man doesn't tell the truth. And it's sad that I should take responsibility for his dirty deeds." Via ABC.


JUST IN: A little-noticed congressional report says reversing IRS budget cuts & enacting a modest carbon tax would literally raise $1 TRILLION -- money that could fund a Green New Deal or a massive infrastructure plan


Trump has already spent 218 days of his presidency making promotional appearances at businesses he still profits from.


Michael Cohen: "There's a substantial amount of information that [the special counsel] possessed that corroborates the fact that I am telling the truth." Via ABC.


A 1992 article in Spy Magazine alleged that Trump was sought out amphetamines from a “Pills-For-Pay” prescription mill


Comedian Says He Saw Trump Snort Adderall On Pageant Sets – Was it a Joke or Not?

Not

“In Congress, on Facebook & in statehouses, Marathon Petroleum worked w/ oil-industry groups and a conservative policy network financed by the billionaire industrialist Charles G. Koch to run a stealth campaign to roll back car emissions standards.”


This UNANIMOUS Senate condemnation of Kushner bff Crown Prince MbS as responsible for Khashoggi’s torture murder makes Trump’s refusal to hold MbS accountable all the more egregious — and, worse, suspicious. Greed Trumps all, it seems. Follow his money.


A big takeaway of 2018 = There are still Americans left behind, even in a 'strong economy'


ALSO OF INTEREST TO PROSECUTORS: After MANAFORT was fired from the TRUMP campaign, TOM BARRACK worked to help him rebuild his finances. The pair took a Mediterranean cruise, during which they met Qatari billionaire Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.


“Nobody got killed, nobody got robbed… This was not a big crime,” Giuliani told The Daily Beast, re alleged violations of campaign finance law.


Trump offers new alternative facts to explain his problems, but ...


NEW: @DrJillStein's 2016 presidential committee owes the @FEC more than $53,000 worth of unpaid fines


Republicans are in a shutdown pickle


Fmr. Acting Solicitor General @Neal_Katyal: "The technical legal term for how the president is probably feeling right now is wigging out."


Nashville lawyer who introduced Russian operative to the NRA has ties to Blackburn


CNN's @DonLemon: "Investigators are closing in on President Trump. We're told that he is becoming very isolated. When this happens, we know he relies closely on his family. That may be a problem because his family is now under more and more scrutiny


individual 2 with Russian spy Maria Butina


BREAKING- Good news for anyone who wants to enroll in ACA coverage but hasn’t yet. You can call 1-800-318-2596 any time before December 15 & your place will be held in line. You will get a call back after 12/15 and can still enroll! And lots of coverage is zero or low premium.


Trump increasingly isolated as aides leave, friends flip and investigations advance


Chuck Schumer: "President Trump has not accepted either offer. The president appears to be clinging to his demand of billions of dollars for a border wall."


This guy worked on "The Apprentice" Watch!


EXCLUSIVE: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen tells @ABC News that Pres. Trump knew it was wrong to make hush-money payments during 2016 presidential campaign.


BREAKING: The Saudis and Emiratis owe the US $331 million for refueling services related to operations in Yemen that they never paid for. The Pentagon has divulged this to the Senate a week after @rgoodlaw and I revealed the problem in @TheAtlantic:


How Jared Kushner Replaced Michael Cohen as Trumps National Enquirer Connection


Maria Butina pleads guilty, is first Russian national convicted of seeking to influence U.S. policy around time of 2016 election


Fox News' Judge Napolitano pulled no punches, saying we now know that Trump "committed a felony"


Bolton sec clearance must be investigated. He was with Butina, NRA giving speeches in Russia


Thanks @Morning_Joe for helping to keep a spotlight on the Epstein case. The victims deserve a full investigation


Election laws bar campaigns from coordinating with super PACs, but PAUL MANAFORT viewed the pro-TRUMP super PAC @RebuildingAmNow (run by his friends TOM BARRACK, LAURY GAY & KEN McKAY) as an arm of the campaign, Barrack told investigators last year


If you’re an advertiser on Laura Ingraham or Tucker Carlson’s shows, you should know the market you’re really reaching.


Hello, Political Party 1. I reported exclusively that you were under investigation *as a party* by the FBI for taking Russian money in April, 2017.


With Maria Butina pleading guilty to conspiracy against the US at the direction of Alexander Torshin, and working with Paul Erickson, reminder of two people to keep on the radar - US Person 2 George O'Neill & Pro-Russia ex-congressman Dana Rohrabacher


When the Trump nightmare is over, we need a full, bipartisan Congressional commission, like after 9/11, to thoroughly and meticulously examine the events of 2013-16 honestly and dispassionately. There will be surprises


.@realDonaldTrump, it may not seem like a big deal to someone about to spend 16 days at Mar-a-Lago, but it really matters to families whose holidays have been ruined by layoffs. GM announced this a lot longer than ‘like 2 mins’ ago—these workers are still waiting for action.


It’s hard to have a serious conversation when @realDonaldTrump is intent on making the Oval Office an evidence-free zone


Fire. Floods. Famine... It's not as far-fetched as it might seem


BIG: Federal prosecutors are examining whether SAUDI, QATARI or UAE interests gave $$$ to TRUMP's inaugural committee AND @RebuildingAmNow, a pro-Trump super PAC run by TOM BARRACK, in the hopes of buying influence over American policy.


Changing our diets could contribute 20% of the effort needed to keep global temperatures from rising that critical 2°C above pre-industrial levels, according to a UN report. So why are we eating more beef than ever?


This morning, Trump tried to argue that Cohen's crimes were solely his fault, because he relied on Cohen's legal advice. This quote just blows apart that (already very thin) defense. This is why you have the right to remain silent, even if you're a Very Stable Genius


Russian spy Maria Butina pleaded guilty in federal court for conspiracy to act as an illegal foreign agent in the US. Butina was accused of working to infiltrate Republican political circles through groups such as the NRA to bolster Russian interests.


The petro-axis of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia stalled progress at the UN climate change conference in Poland. Yet Antony Currie explains that investors are driving change, such as prodding Royal Dutch Shell to tie executive pay to carbon emission targets.


China did not immediately restart buying American soybeans after President Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to a temporary trade truce


The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a resolution declaring that the crimes committed by Myanmar's security forces against Rohingya Muslims constitute genocide


AS YOU WATCH THIS👇🏽video of a Border Patrol agent pouring out water that was left for migrants, know that the body of a 7 year-old girl is lying on a table right now. SHE NEEDED WHAT HE POURED OUT. Her death is a direct result of the hateful policies of Donald Trump & the @GOP


Donald Trump's Fox News interview: The 29 most surreal lines


Barack Obama on climate change: "We have to move faster, we have to work together, but we should pause tonight and take heart in the ripples of progress that have been made."


"If Trump is now in the room, as early as August of 2015 and in combination with the recording where Trump clearly knows what Cohen is talking about with regarding to David Pecker, you now squarely place Trump in the middle of a conspiracy to commit campaign finance fraud."


"General Motors is not going to be treated well": President Trump said GM CEO Mary Barra made a "big mistake" by laying off thousands of workers and pledged to retaliate against the company


Former U.S. Ambassador To Russia: Putin Got Just What He Wanted With Trump ‘Chaos’


Rep. Denny Heck: "The writing’s on the wall, the walls are closing in, and this is the beginning of the end for the Trump administration."


NEW: Trump considering Jared Kushner for chief of staff


Rep. Adam Schiff: "I don't think that the Justice Department wants to take the position, and it's certainly not one that would be required in any way by the Constitution, that a President merely by being in office can be above the law."


Trump Inaugural Fund and Super PAC Said to Be Scrutinized for Illegal Foreign Donations


America is facing a moment of truth in Africa: It's losing out to China


I haven’t read the whole DOJ OIG Report re Stzrok & Page text messages but this report was just publicly released


Opinion: Trump has been walking a tightrope of lies


WATCH: Russia’s Defense Ministry released video reportedly showing the Tu-160 supersonic bombers in flight over the Caribbean.


Mueller rebuttal to Flynn memo to cap wild week of news


Nadler vows accountability for Trump 'culture of corruption'


Seth Moulton falsely claimed tonight in his Town Hall that the “democrats have flat out refused to make any changes to ACA” & the “current leadership believes the ACA to be perfect”.


Members and Associates of the Gambino and Bonanno Organized Crime Families Sentenced for Racketeering


Trump inauguration finances under criminal investigation: WSJ


The Trump gov't put out a call, asking legal immigrants to sponsor some of the 1,000's of kids in cages. Desperate to help, 170 kind ppl stepped up, hoping to finally free the kid from captivity. Turns out, it was a sting operation. Then came the arrests


Trump: He's "running around like Henry VIII"


Just remember, these are elected officials and our tax dollars are being used for this


ADDERALL!


I don't know who you know or how old they are, but nobody else has ever lived through a moment in the American presidency like this. We're the first.


#BREAKING: Feds investigating whether Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE funneled cash into inauguration and pro-Trump super PAC


Tonight, I arrived in TX to inspect government facilities where families with children are being imprisoned. When I landed, I learned that a 7 year-old has died. Will be on @CNN @NewDay at 4:15amPT/7:15amET to talk about these horrific policies & what we must do to push back.


"Prosecutors didn't force the President to allegedly have extramarital affairs with a porn star ... deny it, then pay to keep them quiet ... then lie about knowing about that, then call it a simple private transaction that wasn't wrong ... are you following?"


Ex-federal prosecutor Joyce Vance said the prosecutors who implicated Trump in the illegal payments are likely to have relied on more evidence than just Cohen’s testimony. "It's not just the government saying it. It’s not just a single witness saying it."


You’d think a racist birther who’s kind of mean would be more popular.


Gun deaths in America have reached a record high. Nearly 40,000 people in the United States died by guns last year, marking the highest number of gun deaths in decades, according to a new analysis of data from the CDC


Chinese telecom giant ZTE hired Washington Insider Joe Lieberman to conduct a national security assessment of its products, the former senator told us


This is not even a little funny. This is 48% growth in the deficit in one year. This is not recession deficit spending. This money went corporate stock buybacks. This did not go to education or health or infrastructure. This is a mess Trump, Ryan, and McConnell chose to make.


The President plans a 16-day break from the White House, spending the extended holidays in Mar-a-Lago


Butina admits being an agent of Russia, will help US prosecutors


7-year-old migrant girl taken into Border Patrol custody dies of dehydration, exhaustion CBP Records


The federal bribery statute -- 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(2)(B) -- makes it a federal crime for a public official to "collude" in a fraud on the United States