Sunday, March 31, 2019

New: I wrote about how Alex Jones’ deposition vid exposed him like never before. And how the legal system may be the only way to defang a conspiracy theorist at the height of his powers.


Trump's 'Party of Healthcare' has no health care plan.


Bezos Investigation Finds the Saudis Obtained His Private Data


Alex Jones can’t eat fried chicken in public without people laughing at him!!!


"To say ‘Donald Trump cheats’ is like saying ‘Michael Phelps swims.' He cheats at the highest level. He cheats when people are watching and he cheats when they aren’t. He cheats whether you like it or not. He cheats because that’s how he plays golf."


#BREAKING: Trump cuts off foreign aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras


Banner on @CNN: "Trump says he's working with 4 to 5 senators on health care plan, but no such group appears to exist."


Jeff Flake says that the country is better off electing a Democrat than Trump.


Alex Jones claims "psychosis" made him question whether Sandy Hook massacre was real


Kremlin Meeting - SNL


Saturday, March 30, 2019

Trump’s Fed pick Stephen Moore was held in contempt of court over $300K alimony and child support debt: report


BREAKING: Trump plans on golfing this afternoon at Mar-a-Lago. And tomorrow. And Sunday. Because he’s on another taxpayer-funded vacation. Absolute corruption. Laziest fake president ever. What a schlub!!


Read my response to AG Barr's latest letter here: Rep. Nadler


Katyal: 'No excuse whatsoever' to block Mueller report's release


House Intel yet to be briefed on counterintel side of Trump probe


Schiff: Barr memo claim on need for obstruction decision 'flimsy'


Barr's new letter all but ensures a fight is coming: Dems' position is that "there is nothing stopping Barr from giving us the grand-jury material" that informed Mueller’s findings, The Atlantic reports. "If he doesn't, then that amounts to a cover-up."


A blockbuster story from @NYTLiz. New depositions show how Alex Jones promoted Newtown conspiracy theories, including one that baselessly claimed Avielle Richman, a first-grader killed at Sandy Hook, was still alive. Her father killed himself this week.


Sally Yates: William Barr should release the full Mueller report as soon as possible


NADLER says Congress' April 2 deadline for the full report "still stands."


"If you wanted a taste of President Trump’s 2020 Make America Great Again Again pitch, you got a steaming farrago of it in Grand Rapids on Thursday: boasting, horseshit, and red meat, spiced with outright lies,"


Barr improvises role on Mueller report despite clear regulations


This refers to INDICTMENTS POTENTIALLY YET TO BE UNSEALED OR HANDED DOWN BY DOJ, i.e. they are still prosecuting.


News from AG Barr - Mueller report coming mid-April if not sooner; report nearly 400 pages; no plans for WH privilege review


Bill Barr says he will redact material from the Mueller report to protect the privacy of “peripheral third parties.” Key question: Is Barr treating Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. as “peripheral third parties”?


Congress asked for the full report and underlying documents by April 2. Nothing has changed.


Rep. Schiff: "Almost none of what [Bill Barr] is doing is required by law or by the regulations. He certainly didn't need to provide that summary non-summary."


What a joy it is to watch Alex Jones' Sandy Hook deposition in which he crosses himself, lies, obfuscates and destroys himself.


We’ve requested documents concerning Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s support of a plan to share US nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia.


Pete Buttigieg: "'We're gonna make America Great again?' ... It means 'we're going to stop the changes so you don't have to change anything.' And it's not honest. You can't have an honest politics that revolves around the word 'again.'"


Fox News anchor Chris Wallace burst Fox viewers’ bubble Friday, informing them that the Russia investigation did not begin with the infamous Steele dossier


"The taxpayers paid for this report that Mueller wrote. It goes to some of the most sensitive, important things that every member of the American public should know about. And there is no excuse whatsoever for it being hidden from the Congress and the American people."


"We're going to compel the release of this report. This report is all going to come out." -Rep. Adam Schiff


What are the odds that Robert Mueller looked at William Barr's unsolicited 19 page memo to Donald Trump and said Yeah, let's let that guy decide about my two years of work product? -Rep. Adam Schiff


Friday, March 29, 2019

A report that should not be overlooked: Mitch McConnell is setting up a major fight in the Senate over the chamber’s rules. Republicans plan to deploy a controversial procedural maneuver to speed up consideration of hundreds of lower-level Trump nominees.


BREAKING: British Parliament rejects EU divorce deal for a third time, leaving future of Brexit up in the air.


Remember right after Trump fired Comey, he met w/ Russians Lavrov & Kislyak in our Oval Office, only allowed in a Russian photog, passed classified intel, & never looked more relaxed or pleased. Is this a man not serving or colluding with the Russians? Do you believe your eyes?


Trump starts his day at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. This is Trump's 234th day at a Trump property as president.


Trump is leading a cult fueled by anger and paranoia. And the GOP is just fine with that. This recent appeasement/courtship of deplorables began with the Tea Party, then Sarah Palin, then birther Trump. Now GOP = QAnon. Sad.


How Q-Anon Hijacked the White House Petition Site to Push the Next Pizzagate


Overwhelming majorities of Americans want the full Mueller report made public and believe Barr and Mueller should testify before Congress, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.


Trump health official Seema Verma employs a team of private consultants who write her speeches, polish her brand and travel with her across the country


If they're now confirming the Mueller report is over 300 pages long, that doesn't tell us anything about what's in it, but it does raise further questions about why thus far we're only allowed to see less than 50 words of it that were quoted in William Barr's statement.


“A CACOPHONY OF STUPID”: IN MOSCOW, A CELEBRATION OF AMERICA’S POST-MUELLER INSANITY


Obama left office with 107 open judgeships, many with nominees who didn’t get a vote or even a hearing. A SCOTUS seat was unfilled. McConnell was responsible for the 2-year effort that created these vacancies.


It's clear that the Russians tried to influence our 2016 elections and will only continue to do so. We can't fall into their trap of eroding trust in our democratic institutions and must instead work together to create a strategy to counter Russia's covert influence operations.


The Kremlin probably has its copy by now.


Breaking: The U.S. House's oversight committee is now investigating a Texas voter roll review that flagged thousands of eligible voters.


Trump falsely accuses Democrats of wanting to allow doctors to execute babies "after birth." His audience responds with huge boos.


The moment when Capitol Police notice the swamp monster sitting behind oil lobbyist David Bernhardt is too much


‘Ridiculous Bullshit’ as ‘Better,’ ‘Smarter’ Trump Rages Against the Losers


.⁦@DevinNunes⁩ spread the “unmasking” hoax, the hoax that the FBI investigation was triggered by Steele Dossier, hoax that the FBI spied on Trump campaign. And now he has the gall to fundraise by calling the legitimate Mueller probe a hoax


New: Top Trump health official Seema Verma spends millions of taxpayer dollars on GOP-connected consultants whose contracts are routed through PR giant Porter Novelli, making them untraceable to the public.


Hello, mortgage fraud.


The House Oversight Committee has asked election officials in Texas and Kansas to turn over communications as part of the panel's expanding investigation into allegations of voter suppression.


The same @GOPLeader who said Putin was paying off Rohrabacher and Trump before Paul Ryan told him to shut up.


The giveaway here is that Barr won’t commit to EVER sharing the unredacted Mueller report with anyone, even Congress. We are supposed to believe this report exonerates Trump and embarrasses his critics and also that they don’t want anyone to see it


Trump was consumed by his feud with Kim Jong Un & made nuclear threats as he toured storm damage in Puerto Rico in 2017, sources say. @Acosta reports that at one point, Trump pointed to the "nuclear football" & said he could use it on Kim whenever he felt.


I agree. Very strange. And frankly, not very pleasant. I felt like he was suggesting that I was involved in some kind of wrongdoing. That’s really insulting. (& he didn’t ask one question about the subject matter of the testimony, for which I worked hard to prepare)


Overwhelming majorities of Americans want the full Mueller report made public and believe Barr and Mueller should testify before Congress, per a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. Only about a third believe that President Trump is clear of any wrongdoing.


I've been covering Qanon for a year, and the amount of pro-Q people in this video from yesterday's Trump rally line in Grand Rapids is absolutely shocking. This is just a portion of it.


Trump’s voters elected him because having an ignorant, angry, racist president who blames others for his problems makes them feel better about being ignorant, angry, racist citizens who blame others for their problems.


The last thing we should be doing is giving Saudi Arabia the tools to make a nuclear bomb. That’s why we have a law that requires Congress to review the sale of nuclear technology to foreign govts. But @SecretaryPerry seemed confused by that law – so I helped him understand it.


“Trump stands out among our presidents not just for being so petty, bitter and mean-spirited but also for being so incompetent.”


McConnell sets up Senate rules change to speed up Trump nominees' confirmation process


Source says RNC and America First are prepared to attack reporters. “Any reporter who tries [to attack Trump] will be hit with 30-second spots of all their ridiculous claims about collusion. Their tweets have all been screencapped. It’s all ready to go.”


A federal judge has ruled that the Trump admin's push to make health insurance plans available outside the Affordable Care Act that avoid the requirements of the health care law was illegal, calling the efforts "clearly an end-run around the ACA."


"Nadler offered to join Barr to seek a judge's approval to unseal grand jury testimony,"


"I have a better education than them, I'm smarter than them, I went to the best schools, they didn't. Much more beautiful house, much more beautiful apartment. Much more beautiful everything. And I'm president & they're not”


Last chance to vote for Brexit as we understand it- UK trade minister


Shanahan's efforts to reopen Niger probe surprise military officials


At his first rally since the Mueller probe ended, Trump unleashed a blistering, 82-minute diatribe against his political foes - while making a first push at a Rust Belt he is aiming to win again in 2020


Trump accuses FBI officials who investigated him of treason


Odd twist in leadership at office overseeing Mueller-tied cases


In Ukraine, Russia Tests a New Facebook Tactic in Election Tampering


Power Up: It’s not just Special Olympics. Trump’s budget cuts other disabilities programs


Documents show Trump practice of misrepresenting his wealth


While Trump is “far from the first real-estate developer to inflate his projects or wealth,” it also notes that there are these things called “laws,” some of which Trump may have broken by “defrauding insurers and lenders with false information,” according to the Post.


Trump fabulism seen in overinflated claims of wealth


Expectations grow for legal battle over Mueller report release


Exclusive: A key Trump health official spends millions on GOP-connected consultants


Two weeks after a State Dept official asked Jessikka Aro, a journalist with a history of breaking stories on Russian propaganda, to provide a list of her social media accounts, her award was abruptly rescinded and the invite to attend the event with Pompeo and Melania, canceled.


The Trump administration budget proposes cutting $270 million from the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.


President Trump: "Puerto Rico has been taken care of better by Donald Trump than by any living human being and I think the people of Puerto Rico understand it."


Accused Venezuelan Money Launderer Flipped Trump Condo


You Keep Telling Me That: How Michael Flynn Kissed Up to Russias Ambassador


If you’re wondering what a yield curve is and why there’s so much fuss about it inverting, you’re not alone


Mark Corallo, ex-Trump legal team spokesman, said that he once told Hope Hicks that that AF1 statement on the Trump Tower meeting was "inaccurate" and there was documentation showing that. Hicks replied, 'well, nobody's ever going to see those documents.'


U.S. presidents have thrown the first pitch at a baseball game for more than 100 years — now Trump is ending the tradition


Contrary to what some unindicted-but-not-exonerated individuals may say or think, the Kremlin is not interested in "getting along" with the West.


The Chairs of the six relevant House Committees just officially requested the full Mueller report and underlying evidence be provided by April 2, 2019.


Trump mocks asylum seekers, mimicking them saying, "I am very afraid for my life, I’m afraid for my life." Then he says, "it’s a big fat con job."


Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is proud of the work Chairman Adam Schiff has done. "In stark contrast to the irresponsible almost criminal behavior of the previous chair of the committee."


Buttigieg is creating a buzz around his candidacy with his earnest manner, sense of humor and deftness on issues


Schiff shames grandstanding GOP with litany of Trump corruption


Thursday, March 28, 2019

Fox News legal analyst predicts Mueller report will prove Schiff "correct" on some collusion


New this AM: months after Trump took office, Liberty University, the school run by Trump supporter Jerry Falwell Jr, got a contract to supply the Pentagon with jet fuel


BREAKING: In new letter, Engel and McCaul call for briefing on Jared's trip to Saudi no later than April 5


#Russia's state TV: Evgeny Popov: "It seems, there are two different presidents in America. One Trump tells us to get out of #Venezuela." Olga Skabeeva: "The other Trump, the one we like—the one whom we elected, as you may recall—says that he wants normal relations with Russia."


Exclusive: Trump used unusual financial statements to exaggerate his wealth, hide debts as a businessman, documents reviewed by The Post show


Before wrapping up their Russia probe, Robert Mueller's team briefly interviewed Maria Butina


The idea that Democrats sometimes lose presidential elections, and that Republican presidents sometimes subsequently appoint Supreme Court justices, is apparently no longer to be tolerated.


An NRA official emailed a notorious Sandy Hook hoaxer who has harassed the families of dead children to call into question the Parkland, Florida, shooting, emails obtained by HuffPost show.


Perspective: Why Donald Trump’s decision to intervene in campus speech policies is so dangerous


It's weird how dedicated Republicans are to preventing the public from seeing a report they claim exonerates the president


Reporter: Are you ready to accept that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians? Pelosi: The sooner they can give us [the full Mueller report], the sooner we can all make a judgment about it


Unacceptable. This is not how we should be treating our fellow human beings. Together, we closed the desert tent camp in Tornillo. Now we must stop trapping asylum seekers and refugees under a bridge for days at a time. It's on all of us if we don't.


Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved 6 secret authorizations by companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.


I say this to the President, and his defenders in Congress: You may think it’s okay how Trump and his associates interacted with Russians during the campaign. I don’t. I think it’s immoral. I think it’s unethical. I think it’s unpatriotic. And yes, I think it’s corrupt


Nancy Pelosi on the full Mueller report: "It's not about partisanship. It's about patriotism, it's about honoring our oath of office. And yes, I intend to use the full force of the Speaker's office, obvious or less so, to make sure we see those documents."


NEW: @marcthiessen says President Trump should “look at withdrawing security clearances for members of Congress” including @RepAdamSchiff @RepSwalwell and Sen. @MarkWarner because they “openly lied to the American people.”


It’s just wrong for big corporations to pocket massive, permanent tax breaks and reward the wealth of top executives with more stock buybacks, while closing facilities and laying off workers.


Environmentalists have charged Bernhardt, and his predecessor Ryan Zinke, of politicizing Freedom of Information Act responses, omitting calendar entries, and even stretching the boundaries of the Federal Records Act.


.@RepAdamSchiff: "You might say that's all okay. You might say that's just what you need to do to win, but I don't think it's okay. I think it's immoral. I think it's unethical. I think it's unpatriotic. And yes, I think it's corrupt and evidence of collusion."


WATCH LIVE: The Federalist Society


Vanity Fair reports that a previously unreported e-mail exchange alleges that Ivanka's attorney Abbe Lowell suggested changes to Michael Cohen's congressional testimony that would distance Ivanka from the Moscow Trump Tower deal.


DeVos proposal to cut Special Olympics funding sparks outrage


Proposed DeVos budget eliminates federal Special Olympics funding


Courtroom surprise: Mueller grand jury 'continuing robustly'


Mueller unfinished business apparently includes active grand jury


Low Trump credibility necessitates Mueller report's release


Anyone who drinks KFC gravy by the magnum and eats a brace of Filet O'Fish daily understands health care. Uhhhh...


Opinion: We need to stop giving Trump a pass on his ignorance


Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Stephen Moore, whom Trump said he’ll nominate for a seat on the Federal Reserve, owes more than $75,000 in taxes and other penalties to the IRS, Bloomberg reports.


In an exclusive interview with Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News, James Comey discussed Robert Mueller's conclusions. Comey says the whole point of a Special Counsel was to prevent political appointees, like Bill Barr, from making that very decision.


Pompeo gets blasted at House hearing: Trump's budget is 'embarrassing' and you are 'abortion obsessed'


Sen. Lindsey Graham says President Trump has no plans to invoke executive privilege before the Mueller report is released to lawmakers. Graham says he spoke to Trump, who said: "Just release it"


New: Former NSA contractor Hal Martin is expected to plead guilty tomorrow on charges that he stole a massive amount of classified info from the intelligence community, in what officials have described as possibly the largest heist of secrets in history


‘This is a warrant.’ ’No it’s not.’ — This citizen stopped ICE from arresting 2 undocumented immigrants because he knew his rights


When you become a public servant, you are a fiduciary of the public’s trust. You aren’t just an average Joe Citizen. So information that bears upon your loyalty, character, and trustworthiness is relevant to the public, even if you are “innocent” of criminal wrongdoing


Vice President Mike Pence: "At the direction of the President of the United States, it is the stated policy of this administration and the United States of America to return American astronauts to the moon within the next 5 years."


Mike Pompeo declined to say if a two-state solution remains an option for Israelis and Palestinians. Earlier this week, Trump — with Pompeo and Netanyahu at his side — officially recognized Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights territory


NEW: Mueller grand jury 'continuing robustly,' prosecutor says


Perspective: "Trump wants to deport me to Liberia — a country where I’ve never lived."


A madam and Mitch McConnells’s wife. Look at that!


Nothin’ says “No ties to Russian hackers” like unveilin’ your election strategy in...Romania.


With the release of new documents, Devin Nunes’s memo on Carter Page has gotten even less credible

ICYMI

George Conway on Mueller’s going out of his way to say that the report does not exonerate the president: “If the report doesn’t exonerate the president, there must be something pretty damning in it about him...”