Thursday, February 28, 2019

‘I was happy to do it for you’: Matt Gaetz overheard making stunning admission to Trump about Cohen threat


#BREAKING Nevada Gaming Control Board hands down record fine of $20 million against Wynn Resorts for failing to properly investigate sexual harassment allegations against former CEO, Steve Wynn


... the @nytimes is reporting trump ordered officials to give kushner his security clearance. but here's video from 20 days ago of ivanka trump repeatedly denying the president had anything to do with it.


"It’s about time": Democrats ready to call Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr. to testify as they pursue perjury, president


Matt Gaetz’s apology to Cohen only makes his witness tampering worse: Former White House ethics lawyer


EXCLUSIVE: The White House chief of staff at the time, John Kelly, wrote a contemporaneous internal memo about how he had been “ordered” by the president to give Jared Kushner the top-secret clearance.


Big deal alert: The President of the US ordered the government to give a security clearance to his son in law. And then lied about it


Semion is having a bad day


Sater testimony will be public


Trump Ordered Officials to Give Jared Kushner a Security Clearance


Schiff on Cohen's testimony today: "None of the questions that we had for him went unanswered."


Adam Schiff says that Felix Sater will appear before the Intelligence Committee in a public session on March 14.


BREAKING: North Koreans in press conference disputed Trump's account that North Korean asked for removal of ALL sanctions. Said they asked for partial removal of sanctions


EXCLUSIVE: Trump moneyman Allen Weisselberg is about to be hauled in front of the House intelligence committee.


GOP senator: Trump "can't be naive" about what North Korea did to Otto Warmbier


Bond Villain Billionaires Continue To Bankroll Climate Denial


According to Michael Cohen, Trump won't release his #TaxReturns because he's afraid the scrutiny of them will lead to him facing "taxable consequences and penalties." My other committee, @WaysMeansCmte, has the power to obtain Trump's tax returns. I think it's time we did so.


JUST IN: North Korean officials dispute Trump's characterization of summit with Kim


This is quite possibly the biggest diplomatic humiliation of a US President in the history of the Republic


JUST IN: Senate confirms former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to lead EPA. Wheeler has been acting administrator since July, when Scott Pruitt resigned


SIREN: @RepCummings says if Michael Cohen mentioned their names in the hearing yesterday, chances are they will be called in to testify, too. Heads up @DonaldJTrumpJr, Allen Weisselberg, maybe Ivanka & Jared


David Cicilline on the Cohen hearing on CNN: "It does appear, in fact, that the president engaged in crimes while in office. We saw evidence, really, of a crime spree that began before he became president and continued into the White House."


Bibi just name dropped Alan Dershowitz in his statement on the indictment


Mark is about to find out that the "I thought those videos had been deleted" defense doesn't work very well


Sen Alexander (R-TN) is going to speak on the Senate floor about President Trump’s emergency declaration. If he says he supports terminating it, that would mean there are 51 votes to do so.


Meadows and Jordan write to the Justice Department and refer Michael Cohen for possible criminal prosecution, claiming to have evidence that Cohen "committed perjury and knowingly made false statements" in his House Oversight testimony.


Hello CPAC


Does anyone wonder whether President Trump realizes that the war we waged against Kim’s North Korea as part of the UN’s 1950s defense of South Korea has yet to end? Whether we’re at war with a particular foreign power matters, of course, to Article III’s definition of treason.


Senate Democrats are demanding @SenateMajLdr McConnell and the @SenateGOP take their heads out of the sand and answer three questions:


JUST IN: Top Oversight Dem says Trump Jr. could be asked to talk to House panel after Cohen's explosive testimony


Let’s see if they like the hat.


BREAKING via Israeli TV: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicted on three counts including bribery and fraud. First time ever an Israeli PM has been indicted.


Hannity insists that Cohen was never his lawyer "in any capacity"


@mattgaetz⁩ has a Fixer, it’s his Dad. I wonder if Don Gaetz will be able to influence the investigation by the Florida State Bar over his son’s threats to Michael Cohen⁉️


Judge Amy Berman Jackson has rejected Roger Stone's motion claiming that Mueller's team tipped off CNN before his Jan. 25 arrest. Exhibits Stone provided "supplied no reason to believe that any contempt of court had occurred," Berman Jackson wrote.


Mark Meadows just doesn’t get it. To use a black woman essentially as an exhibit was, at best, insensitive. Jim Jordan’s focus on Rod Rosenstein is classic obfuscation. Yes, Cohen has lied. He’s a criminal. But he was a chief aide to your President. Awful day for Republicans


A Moscow court orders U.S. investment fund chief Michael Calvey to remain in jail as part of a fraud case that’s shocked foreign investors in Russia


Jared Kushner, who's involved in Trump's legally questionable plan to transfer sensitive US nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, met today with Saudi Crown Prince MBS, who ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, to push his "Mideast Peace Plan."


“When you are bringing a measure to the floor that is your intention to vote against, that's not legislating. Something else is going on.”


"We'll send him back to Kenya, or wherever it is," GOP Rep Mark Meadows said about President Obama, while laughing hard. This is the second video to surface today where Meadows promotes the racist birther conspiracy theory. Uncovered by @TheDemCoalition.


The table was set and food prepared for a working Trump-Kim lunch that now won’t happen.


U.N. investigators say Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes when they killed 189 Palestinians during Gaza border protests last year


(URGENT) Trump asks Moon to actively mediate future dialogue with N. Korea: Cheong Wa Dae


After finally getting to Vietnam years after dodging the War, Trump FAILED to make a deal at #HanoiSummit. He gave a dictator the world stage, caved on US demands for denuclearization and absolved Kim of the torture of American Otto Warmbier.


Pakistan violated Geneva Conventions by tweeting video of captured Indian pilot, expert says


Oh, that's what the "Kansas businessman" thing was! about where the money came from to pay the $25m Trump University fraud settlement


It's not over. Reminder: Michael Cohen will testify in a closed session today before the House Intelligence Committee.


Incredible that Donald chooses to lie about this. Cohen did not tell the committee there was "no collusion". He said he did not know if there had been direct collusion, but had his "suspicions", given what he later came to know of the Trump Tower meeting


Trump Ahead of Netanyahu Indictment Decision: 'He's Done a Great Job as PM'


The Case Against Trump Has Never Been Stronger After Cohen Testimony


Facebook withholding data on its anti-disinformation efforts, EU says


Cohen friend: Testimony was 'peek inside the criminal enterprise'


"Cohen Testimony Uncontradicted" would be my headline on the day's news.


Meanwhile when we were all watching Cohen, this happened. It cannot be a coincidence that Jared and Ivanka chose a day that they knew they could fly under the radar to meet with the man who ordered the murder of American journalist, Jamal Khashoggi


Mark Meadows in 2012: “We’re gonna take our country back & send Mr. Obama home, to Kenya or wherever it is. We’re gonna do it.”


At his last 3 big summits -- Singapore, Helsinki, and now Hanoi -- Trump is 0 for 3 regarding deals. Maybe time to stop scheduling these presidential summits until more progress is made by lower level officials?


Cohen testimony suggests Trump committed financial fraud


Cohen contradicts Trump's excuse for not releasing his taxes


Congress eyes new Trump probe leads after Cohen testimony


The latest on the North Korea summit that was abruptly cut short


JUST IN: Exclusive: US negotiators no longer demanding North Korea agree to disclose full accounting of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs as part of talks between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, according to current and former US officials


Trump sides with Kim in the Otto Warmbier death using very familiar language: "You have a lot of people. And some really bad things happened to Otto. Some really, really bad things. But he tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word."


I just got Michael Cohen to admit that @DonaldJTrumpJr is the second executive involved in this criminal conspiracy. Full remarks here


The spade work for a proper second summit had not been completed before Hanoi. You don’t fly the president half way around the world to achieve nothing.


BREAKING: President Trump, asked about responsibility for the death of American Otto Warmbier after his detainment in North Korea, President Trump says "a lot of people, big country," and Kim Jong Un "tells me that he didn’t know about it, and I’ll take him at his word.”


Cohen testifies SDNY conducting additional Trump investigations


Exclusive: A massive Dow Jones database containing records on millions of high-risk individuals, including current and former politicians, criminals, and terrorists, has leaked.


Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Cohen says the expectation at the Trump organization was to lie for Trump. See the highlights of his testimony to Congress on @ReutersTV playlist:


Federal judge rejects Stone's claim CNN was tipped off by Mueller's office about his arrest


U.S. drops demand for full accounting of #NorthKorea nuclear program ahead of talks


Trump's border wall prototypes are being reduced to rubble. Via AP


BREAKING: McCrae Dowless has been indicted on three counts of felonious obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of absentee ballot


BREAKING: House passes bill to require universal background checks on gun sales


We need judges who will interpret our laws according to the Constitution & what's best for our country—not according to politics & what's best for President Trump & Republicans. I strongly oppose Ms. Rao’s nomination—& I hope my colleagues join me in doing so.


Speier: Ok. How many times did Mr. Trump ask you to threaten an individual or entity on his behalf?


Watch live: Michael Cohen testifies at House Oversight Committee hearing


Today the house will vote on Universal Background Check Bill HR8.


Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows are showing why authoritarianism could happen here. People like them will use all their power and sacrifice any principle to protect their leader if he or she is a member of their party.


Matt Gaetz Under Investigation By Florida State Bar Over Michael Cohen Threat


Michael Cohen says that he briefed Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump on the Trump Tower Moscow project "approximately 10" times.


I hope Trump will get his friend to apologize for murdering


Committee Republicans are making no effort to find truth. They are failing their Constitutional responsibilities by covering up the corruption of a sitting President. What is happening to the soul & integrity of the once storied Republican Party?


New: The attorney general for the District of Columbia has subpoenaed documents from Trump's inaugural committee, NYT reports, the third governmental body to delve into how the fund raised $107 million and spent it.


Cohen says his testimony on Trump Tower Moscow was changed by the president's lawyer, Jay Sekulow


"It doesn’t matter what the Trumps say about Cohen, or he says about the Trumps. What matters is that the #CohenTestimoney will open up new, on-the-record venues for investigation, exploration, and, let’s be honest, prosecution."


For the love of god, @OversightDems, PLEASE ask @MichaelCohen212 if he had knowledge of Cease & Desists sent the day before the election about an ongoing criminal investigation of @realDonaldTrump's 1994 rape of a 12 year old girl


During every second of #CohenCongressionalTestimony, keep this in mind: @MichaelCohen212 is willing to go under oath and @realDonaldTrump is not. This is not Cohen’s word versus Trump’s. If Trump isn’t under oath, the state of the evidence is just Cohen’s word.


Michael Cohen will show Congress (Exhibit 5A) a copy of this $35K check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017 – when he was President to (per testimony) reimburse illegal hush money paid to Stormy Daniels


Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: "The American people deserve to know whether Donald Trump has been functioning as the President of the United States of America or as the equivalent of an organized crime boss. Michael Cohen can shed some light on that very important question."


Four years ago today, my friend and ally Boris Nemtsov was brutally assassinated on Moskvoretzky Bridge in Moscow in front of the Kremlin. The people who ordered his killing remain unpunished. He fought for justice for Sergei Magnitsky. It’s my duty to fight for justice for him


With only a one-in-a-million chance that humans aren't the cause of global warming, it's obvious that we need to dramatically reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide, experts say.


Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform at 10 a.m. EST.


The Russian plot thickens in the European Parliament. Aymeric Chauprade, the far right MEP who hired Putin’s press secretary’s daughter has launched an initiative to keep Sergei Magnitsky’s name off the EU Magnitsky Act


This is also the part of American history where the character and the independence of the U.S. Justice Department becomes the most important thing we may ever need to know about this moment in American history.


Senate breaks precedent, confirms Trump court nominee without home-state's approval


Russia has tried to insert itself in Trump-Kim nuclear talks this week in Vietnam — interesting move by Lavrov


Thousands of miles away from Washington, Trump takes aim at Cohen


A source close to the planning of tonight's dinner in Hanoi with Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un says it has been a struggle to get the menu approved by the US and North Korea. If they had a hard time negotiating what's for dinner, what does that say about denuclearization talks?!


JUST IN: Pakistan PM Imran Khan says 'we should sit down and talk' to resolve crisis with India


Under oath, Scott Lloyd admitted that he let family separation happen, even after his staff raised concerns about child welfare. Horrendous. This will have long term psychological and physical effects on thousands of children -- and this administration did NOTHING.


With current tensions between two nuclear-armed states, we may see how the Trump Administration’s capricious leadership, rejection of intel, evisceration of State Dept & abandonment of NatSec policy process have affected US capacity to handle a serious international crisis.


Great catch by @ScottMStedman: Trump told Mueller in writing that Roger Stone did not tell him about WikiLeaks, per CNN. But Cohen now says Stone told Trump about the impending WikiLeaks release in July 2016. If Mueller can prove Cohen’s story...


Michael Cohen's opening statement has been obtained by Politico.


Both pilots "are under arrest and we are treating them with dignity," Pakistan says after shooting down two of India's aircraft


Trump fears Cohen testimony


This is on the verge of escalating out of control. Both sides claiming to have shoot down fighters. Air spaces closed. High emotions. Extremely risky. Where is global diplomacy?


Michael Cohen and the End Stage of the Trump Presidency


Jimmy Kimmel tears apart Trump "ass-kisser" Matt Gaetz for threatening Michael Cohen: "Witness tampering is illegal. But it’s kind of nice, in a way. Because by the time Trump goes to prison, he’s gonna have all his family and friends there too."


BREAKING: Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority says it shut its airspace to all commercial flights as tensions with India escalate


Vice President Mike Pence faced a wall of resistance from Senate Republicans as he tried to sell Trump’s national emergency declaration on the southern border


TRANSLATION: @MattWhitaker46 will be granted the opportunity to explain why he misled Congress.


JUST IN: Indian Air Force plane crashes in Indian Kashmir, two pilots and a civilian dead - police


White extremism drives American terrorism


JUST IN: The government of Pakistan says its air force shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace on Wednesday, after the Indian Air Force crossed the line of control -- the de facto border between the two countries in disputed Kashmir


What was Trump doing signing Trump Org checks .... in 2017?


Sen. Richard Blumenthal: "Did you recommend that he declare a national emergency?" Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy: "Sir I did not directly recommend either way."


According to Michael Cohen's testimony, the president knew in advance and encouraged Wikileaks' release of emails stolen by Russian intel to harm Trump's main opponent. Whether this meets the requirements for conspiracy or not, it is certainly a betrayal of the American people.


BREAKING: The House passes a resolution to overturn the emergency declaration on the border. It could clear the Senate too, in a major rebuke of the President.


54 years after civil rights activists made the first Selma to Montgomery voting rights march, Democrats are introducing the Voting Rights Advancement Act


NEW: In Cohen’s opening statement, he will say he witnessed Trump speaking with Roger Stone about Stone’s outreach to Assange and say that Trump knew about WikiLeaks dump in advance. He will also say Trump lawyers edited his false statements to Congress.


We’ve seen how bad Trump can be when he’s a cornered animal, but tomorrow he becomes a wounded animal. He will be ten times worse than anything we’ve seen so far. Prepare.


a sitting president can be indicted.


Lavrov says he's dropping by Vietnam this week and that the U.S. has asked for Russia's advice on the North Korea talks


Hearing exposes Trump policy disregard for immigrant family ties


U.S. general: Southern border not a military threat


Cohen expected to raise new legal questions on Trump, Trump Org


Cohen revelations may test DOJ on presidential indictments


Trump border 'emergency' runs into wall of opposition in Congress


Cohen to Testify That Trump Engaged in Criminal Conduct While in Office


Michael Cohen’s prepared statement for the House Oversight Committee. He gives examples and has documentary evidence. But he will be grilled relentlessly. We must hope the GOP over play their defense of Trump, who a racist, con and cheat.


"Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world” -Michael Cohen


Maria Butina, Russian agent who conspired to infiltrate NRA, still cooperating, U.S. says


Madoff trustee can pursue lawsuits against Koch, banks, others


Michael Cohen Is Trump’s Worst Nightmare: A Loser With Nothing to Lose


Cohen will say Trump implicitly instructed him to lie about the Trump Tower Moscow project during the campaign. "He would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out & lie to the American people by saying the same thing."


Nope. Unless @RepMattGaetz has somehow spent significant time with Cohen in a personal capacity, it's hard to imagine how he would know of details of Cohen's personal life...unless he spoke with someone who was in a position to know such things. Who could that be?


Rep. Matt Gaetz


Jerry Nadler: "When a stranger rips a child from a parent's arms without any plan to reunify them, it is called kidnapping. This Administration is responsible for the harm suffered by thousands of children and their parents, and it must be held accountable."


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