Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Trump notes captured by @jabinbotsford: “They want to impeach me over acts that they did” “Dems have no achomlishments [sic]”


"I suspect, however, that a desire to develop a 'solid relationship with the Kremlin' wasn’t the only reason Trump didn’t confront Putin about this."


Rex Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Vladimir Putin out-prepared Trump during a key meeting in Germany, WaPo reports. Tillerson also said Kushner's general lack of knowledge of history exposed him to being outmaneuvered


Senator Schumer: Trump is "just showing how incapable he is of being president."


Reminder: Vladimir Putin was a KGB officer. He’s good at reading the briefing book and can spout his points for hours>>> Putin out-prepared Trump in key meeting, Rex Tillerson told House panel


Rep. Himes: "When there is wrongdoing that falls into the category of counterintelligence, that is often dealt with differently than criminal wrongdoing is dealt with."


Quite a letter from @tedlieu to A.G. Barr.


What happened to the US in 2016, with Russia interfering in our election didn't stand alone. It's not just an American problem. This is an ongoing, global thing that Russia is doing.


Justin Amash says some Republicans privately sympathize with Trump impeachment comments


2 more senior aides to President Trump announced that they were stepping down


The Uk making us look normal yet again.


As @SpeakerPelosi has said, the House is going to hold the President accountable. We’re also going to work on healthcare, infrastructure, and more. The President’s temper tantrum just shows how terrified he is of the former, and how little he cares about the latter.


I wrote about @SecretaryCarson again. His shuck-and-jive on Capitol Hill was not just an Oreo ad. It was a reminder why, in a nation was rich as ours, no one should be without housing. And surely, no one should have to rely upon a man like Carson for help.


Let's make sure we associate AMWAY with the DeVos because they OWN Amway via Alticor. They FOUNDED Amway, The DeVos family also has SUBSTANTIAL business interests in Russia. Would be good to do more than merely skim the surface on this.


"[Don Jr] had a meeting and he called me and then he had the meeting after" -- did Trump just admit that @DonaldJTrumpJr called him *before* the Trump Tower meeting?


According to the pool report, Trump has arrived at Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. This is Trump's 255th day at a Trump property as president.


BREAKING: Committee announces request to expedite appeal for subpoena of #President’s Financial Records. Full Release:


Sen. John Kennedy called on the Senate to do more than confirm nominations and lambasted Congress for its lack of legislative accomplishments


BREAKING: The Pentagon will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East amid Iran tension, U.S. officials say.


Schiff on Barr: He's Rudy Giuliani without 'all the good looks and general likability'


WATCH LIVE: The Third Federalist Society


Unfortunately for you and your retainers, Senator, the truth will come out about everything. Everything. No more hiding behind wordplay, blatant lies, or subterfuge. It’s all coming out.


Pelosi to Dems on the infrastructure meeting: "Sadly, the only job the President seems to be concerned with is his own. He threatened to stop working with Democrats on all legislation unless we end oversight of his Administration and he had a temper tantrum for us all to see."


NEW: Trump's lawyers and the House Oversight Committee have asked the DC Circuit to expedite his appeal re: the subpoena to his accounting firm. If the court agrees, the House agreed to suspend the deadline for the company to produce documents


Trump's plan to help farmers risks distorting agriculture markets


We noticed something odd in Donald Trump's personal financial disclosure: He has recently shifted some of his banking business from Deutsche Bank to a small and relatively new bank in South Florida.


Roger Stone had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks had the Democrats' documents that were stolen by Russia. He informed the Trump campaign BEFORE they were released. Bill Barr redacted Stone's name, but he should have cross-checked his redactions with Mueller's previous indictments


Trump sends a secret-coded love letter to his White Supremacist base


A sr. adm official tells me there was a tense moment between Nancy Pelosi and Kellyanne Conway after POTUS walked out of the meeting today. “Kellyanne asked Pelosi a question,” the official said. “Nancy’s response was ‘I don’t talk to staff. I talk directly to the president.’”


New filing in Trump et al v. Deutsche Bank and Capital One: Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction


This Rose Garden event was not planned on short notice


New: Cohen exchanged call with Flynn, according to FBI, after Sater apparently set up a meeting about a plan to lift sanctions on Russia When the plan was in hand, Cohen reportedly talked to Trump and delivered it to Flynn's office


No written ruling available yet, but we do have this


Speaker Pelosi: "As they say, the cover-up is frequently worse than the crime."


This is the Tennessee speaker of the house sprinting out a back door to a waiting car to avoid answering even a single question.


Trump's new message: Me first, America second


#BREAKING: Judge tells Deutsche Bank and Capital One to turn over Trump’s financial records to Democrats


BREAKING: Judge rejects Trump’s request to halt congressional subpoenas for his banking records — A federal judge on Wednesday said Deutsche Bank and Capital One may hand over the president’s financial records to Democrats in the House


New Monmouth poll numbers: * 67% say Don McGahn should testify before Congress * 73% say Mueller should testify before Congress * 69% say Congress should get a full version of the Mueller report along with supporting documents


NEW Poll: 60 percent say Trump should not be reelected


Trump's effort to block Deutsche Bank from turning over information to Congress hits a snag.


LEFT: The ABC News graphic about the Mueller Investigation Trump held up at the podium today. RIGHT: The ABC News graphic from the exact same segment that he ignored.


Yipes: In 2017, Saudi Arabia’s military devised a plan to invade Qatar and seize its operations in the world’s largest gas field. U.S. officials convinced the Saudis that the invasion would be a massive breach of the international order.


Documents detail how Jerry Falwell Jr. went into hotel venture with ‘pool boy’


.@MaddowBlog: A 2020 issue takes shape: which Dems would rule out a Pres. Trump pardon?


Trump won’t invest in vital infrastructure unless the Democrats clear his name of all wrongdoing! This isn’t his money, it’s our money. Money we entrust him with. He’s taking our roads, schools and water supply hostage so his crimes aren’t exposed.


Let. This. Sink. In. Donald Trump says America will get no infrastructure spending, or any other legislation for that matter, until all investigations into him are ended. There's a word for this: "extortion."


NY State legislators have just approved release of all Trump's state tax records to Congress


Schumer explains that they went to the WH to present a 33 page plan for Infrastructure and Trump had pre-planned exit strategy because he couldn't pay for it so he ran away. He had pre-printed signs for the Rose Garden and was prepared to use this excuse the whole time.


BREAKING NEWS: Nancy Pelosi on Trump: 'I pray for the president of the United States


"I don’t do cover ups" said Trump, who twists his hair into a bird's nest to cover up his baldness.


Barr V. Schiff. Schiff won... DOJ Has Agreed to Hand Over (some) Mueller Report Documents, just as they were planning enforcement action against DOJ... so we know who has the stronger case. Eat sh!t Barr, you will regret the day you took this job


US intercepts Russian bombers near Alaska for second time in two days


I think just accidentally admitted that Junior called him before the Trump Tower meeting

OMG

White House aides close to President Trump tried to stop him for heading to the Rose Garden for his impromptu speech, but he pushed back, senior administration sources tell ABC News. Trump slammed Democrats after Nancy Pelosi accused him of a "cover-up"


Speaker Pelosi said she was disappointed that Trump abruptly walked out of a meeting at the White House earlier today, suggesting it may have been a "lack of confidence" on his part


Now Trump is even more nervous and babbling about House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, claiming he "has been an enemy of mine for many years." "He fought me in New York unsuccessfully ... I come to Washington, I become president and I say, 'oh, no I have Jerry Nadler again?'"


Dear @TheJusticeDept Bill Barr: Based on the below statement of @realDonaldTrump, please let me know what time I can come today to view the unredacted Mueller Report that you let GOP Member Doug Collins see but not me. My staff will be contacting you.


Trump claims he respects Congress' powers of oversight: "I respect the courts. I respect Congress. I respect right here, where we're standing. But what they've done is abuse." He's admitting Pelosi and Schumer attacked and drew blood right here.


"Last night, [Trump] put forth a letter saying unless we passed the [USMCA]...we couldn't go forward with infrastructure," Pelosi said, adding that she didn't see the two issues being related but continued with the scheduled White House meeting for bipartisanship's sake


NEW: Trump lashes out at Nancy Pelosi for accusing him of engaging in a "cover-up," telling reporters that he won't do infrastructure or any bipartisan policy unless Democrats drop their investigations.


Refusing to govern a country is the ultimate obstruction of justice.


Senior administration sources @ABC News some aides close to President tried to stop him for marching to the Rose Garden for that event just now. Sources tell me & @KFaulders the president was mad from first thing this morning & comments by Speaker Pelosi pushed him over the edge


We went to the White House to talk to President @realDonaldTrump about infrastructure, but he threw a temper tantrum and walked out of the meeting. Watch @SpeakerPelosi and I speak to the press:


Mnuchin lies, claims "the American public knew that [Trump] wasn't releasing his tax returns prior to voting for him & they made that decision. That to me is a personal decision of his & the American public." (Trump repeatedly promised to release his tax returns once audit ended)


One of the newly unsealed search warrant applications shows that as of November 2017, Mueller's office knew that Trump had been writing $280K+ in checks to Michael Cohen throughout that year


New: A federal judge in DC has unsealed five search warrant applications that Mueller's office filed in 2017 while they were investigating Michael Cohen


Rep. Pramila Jayapal: "I do not think that the American people, Republican, Independent, or Democrat, want a president who is above the law."


NEW: For the second time in two days, US F-22 stealth jets intercepted Russian bombers and fighter jets off the coast of Alaska, North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement


Rep. Don Beyer is first member of Congress from Virginia to call for impeachment


Trump’s Gamble: Sue Congress and Run Out the Clock


No one ever said hey, I support war crimes like murdering an unarmed girl & murdering unarmed captives. Until @realDonaldTrump came along. And military leaders are now rebelling at that insanity.


Treasury Secretary Testifies on International Financial System


A rare deal in this era of politics. Schiff statement


Schiff: The Department of Justice has accepted our offer of a first step towards compliance with our subpoena, and this week will begin turning over to the Cmte twelve categories of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence materials as part of an initial rolling production


U.S. considering export ban on surveillance company that helps send Muslims to China's concentration camps: report


Facebook is still a one-stop shop for fake news


Opinion: Judges are not politicians in robes. The Supreme Court has a chance to prove that.


“My dad left because when coal died, he was a white collar worker, there were no jobs." Joe Biden hits back at Trump's jab that he "deserted" Pennsylvania


Hmmmm...Flynn opposes further release of documents related to his plea for lying to FBI - The Washington Post


It went up yesterday 15 miles south of Lexington on I-75. This billboard paid for with merch sales. Join us.

If your congressman or woman is a member of the @HouseGOP caucus, call them, email them, wrote them, send smoke signals, whatever; tell them to #ReadTheMuellerReport. Now!


HOLY FUCK. The guy who said ectopic pregnancies can be re-implanted in a uterus is doubling down and claiming he's just FORWARD THINKING


Trump's economic peace plan for Mideast is doomed before it begins, Palestinian businessmen say


Here we go with the appeal. Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh should recuse when this reaches SCOTUS. They cannot properly decide a case that has a direct and predictable effect on the personal finances of the man who appointed them


Mnuchin due for a second face-off with Maxine Waters over Trump tax returns


Within five weeks of Mitch McConnell getting that call from David Vitter saying, Hey I've got an aluminum plant we're going to put in your home state! Thanks from Oleg! —Wendy Vitter's nomination got pulled off the trash heap by McConnell and now she is a federal judge. For life.


Trump’s plans to pardon several U.S. servicemen convicted of war crimes elicited bipartisan criticism in the Senate. “I think it’s a terrible idea to pardon someone who’s legitimately convicted of committing war crimes. It’s unthinkable,” said Mitt Romney.


Appeals court refuses to stay Mueller grand jury subpoena for Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller


So Don McGahn is a member of the bar. He is a partner at the law firm Jones Day. Does Jones Day believe their partners should ignore subpoenas? Someone should ask their partners. Heck, someone should ask their clients.


“In the event that a person receives a presidential pardon based on a close relationship or self-interest, New York would preserve its authority to pursue legal action against that individual for crimes committed under state law.” Well played, New York.


We know that the Russians are trying to interfere in our elections again in 2020. But @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell is burying any election security bill that would confront this threat in his legislative graveyard. Why?


Kentucky Democrats have nominated state Attorney General Andy Beshear to face Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in November’s general election.


Mayor Pete Buttigieg attends #StopTheBans rally in DC: "I do not believe that women and their doctors should be overruled by the heavy hand of government."


"It’s a damn good week. Trump’s strategy is flawed, his decisions are leading him deeper into the political mire. The arc of this story is moving the right direction. Keep doing the things that work, Democrats"


Reminder: A federal judge in Manhattan is holding a hearing today on an attempt by the Trump team to block House subpoenas of Deutsche Bank and Capital One. One big note: Trump's lawyers have made the same argument in this case that just failed in the Mazars case.


I encourage all Members to be mindful that comments made on social media or in the press can adversely affect the ability of House Committees to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties.


New Quinnipiac numbers on the president's job approval


There has never been a credible basis for withholding the tax returns, and everyone at Treasury, DOJ, and the WH knows it. This memo confirms the obvious. Time for Congress to seek sanctions against Mnuchin for violating his oath of office.


Tennessee House Speaker to resign after sexually explicit texting scandal


US fighter jets intercept Russian bombers off Alaskan coast


Western Civilization had a decent run.


A Mississippi lawmaker is facing calls to resign after he reportedly punched his wife because she got undressed too slowly to have sex with him


U.S.-funded broadcaster failing to spread fair and balanced news, an independent review says


Kremlin condemns alleged U.S. ultimatum to Turkey over missile deal


Very important development. Dutch Parliament passed binding resolution yesterday calling on Dutch government to reintroduce EU human rights sanctions bill with Sergei Magnitsky’s name on it. Thanks ⁦@swsjoerdsma⁩ for leading on this


Rep. Jackie Speier: "I believe that an inquiry into impeachment is required at this point in time."


It’s time to start impeachment hearings. Today.


The $1.57 billion that Congress appropriated last year for Trump’s wall along the Mexican border has so far yielded just 1.7 miles of fence


A legal memo reportedly prepared by the IRS says tax returns must be turned over to Congress if requested, exposing a disagreement within the Treasury Department


House Oversight Chairman Cummings says he's "getting there" on impeachment. "I think what the president has done has put us in a position where we cannot get any information to do the oversight that we need to do. ... I'm still mulling it over, but I'm getting there," he told me.


Hey @TheJusticeDept Barr: What rule allowed you to: 1. Mislead the people about the Mueller report. 2. Lie before Congress, twice. 3. Give some Congress Members, but not others, access to the unredacted Mueller report. I must have missed that rule change, you partisan hack — Ted Lieu


The IRS memo may be Exhibit A at the USA trial against @stevenmnuchin1 for 18 USC 1505 in 2021 to prove criminal intent to obstruct Congress. It's only five years. I'm sure she'll wait for you Stevie.


Tillerson told lawmakers that Jared was a menace at State while he was there.


In less than one week, two children have died after being detained by CBP. Questions remain regarding whether the children were ever examined by pediatricians, or why one child was in custody for seven days. This must stop. It is not ok for children to keep dying in custody.


Donald Trump Jr. wants to run for mayor of New York City


Also, If you support a president who pardons a war criminal convicted of shooting little girls for fun, maybe stop pretending that you’re “pro life”.


Awkward attempt by @SecretaryCarson to make a joke of being a moron in a Congressional hearing.


What you need to know about U.S. presidential impeachment


Maddow: I think the president cares more about keeping his taxes and his finances secret than he cares about any of the rest of this stuff. In which case, watch out, here we go!


Film industry is abandoning Georgia after GOP's attack on health care! As movies & TV shows pull out, workers in Georgia's $9 billion-a-year entertainment industry are afraid of the damage that could result thanks to what their state lawmakers have done.


This might be the biggest story you didn’t hear about today. Rexxon surely has barrels of sweet crude to drop on #RedDon


Rep. Ted Lieu: "When Don McGahn doesn't show up, when Bill Barr doesn't show up, we can't get any of these documents, then that is in fact a Constitutional crisis. And I believe we have to use the full force of the Constitution to ... resolve that crisis."


Leo is widely known as the executive vice president of the Federalist Society. But behind the scenes, he is the maestro of a network of interlocking nonprofits and other initiatives to sway lawmakers by generating public support for conservative judges.


Investigation: Leonard Leo has helped conservative nonprofits raise $250 million from mostly undisclosed donors to promote conservative judges.  Here’s how an unofficial Trump adviser waged a behind-the-scenes campaign to remake the nation’s courts.

Jeff Daniels is so, so on point. Watch every second of this.@NicolleDWallace responds perfectly at the end: "Wow."

ICYMI

Rep. Lloyd Doggett: "I think that both [Secretary Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Rettig] could be subject to fines or confinement."


BREAKING: The Chinese woman accused of trespassing at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and lying to a federal agent told a judge in court Tuesday that she wishes to represent herself.


"If the courts avoid making such a call by failing to issue timely decisions regarding Trump’s efforts to wholly frustrate the oversight efforts of a coordinate branch of government, they will risk becoming aiders and abettors"


My dear friend and combat battlebuddy @Martin_Dempsey is rarely this pointed and direct, publicly. This statement needs to be reiterated by senior officers of all services to counter the advice POTUS receives from the uninformed.


No. We need Director Mueller to testify in public. On the record. Period. — Amy Klobuchar


US is going to ‘trade a lot’ with Russia, Trump says, after ‘long & very good’ phone call with Putin — RT Business News


Leonard Leo says: "what I care about is ideas." Here’s his idea: federal judges should rule in favor of his big donors, the donors who helped pick the judges. Here’s another word for that "idea": corruption.


"Lobbying filings suggest that, just before the April announcement, David Vitter, a former Republican senator who is being paid to lobby for EN+, reached out to give Mr. McConnell “a heads-up” about the announcement."


Trump Expected to Pick Ken Cuccinelli for Immigration Policy Role


This is 16 year-old Carlos Hernandez Vasquez. He’s from Guatemala. Hernandez was apprehended by Border Patrol in May. On Sunday, he was diagnosed with the flu. He was never taken to the hospital. He later died. He’s the 5th child to die in Border Patrol’s custody since Dec. RIP.


Howard Stern on Trump: "He was talking about [how] his daughter was the most attractive woman he’d ever met, and how much he thought she was hot..."