Monday, May 20, 2019

House Intel has voted and now RELEASED its Michael Cohen transcripts. Read here and here


Russian aluminum producer Rusal recently announced a very questionable $200 million U.S. investment. I joined a number of Democratic leaders asking Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to initiate an immediate review.


Some Contractors Housing Migrant Children Are Familiar to Trump’s Inner Circle


Kris Kobach gave the Trump W.H. a list of 10 conditions to become immigration czar, NYT reports, including: * Access to a government jet 24 hours a day * Office in the West Wing * Guaranteed weekends off * Assurance of being made DHS secretary by November


Whoa, @KrisKobach1787 was a little prima donna


Vermont's Republican Governor Phil Scott has singled that he will support Bill Weld over Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary


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.


BREAKING: President Trump cannot block House subpoena seeking financial records from one of his accountants, federal judge rules.


New from WaPo: Michael Cohen told a House panel during closed-door hearings that he'd been instructed by Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow to falsely claim in a 2017 statement to Congress that negotiations to build Trump Tower Moscow ended in January 2016


BREAKING A federal judge has denied President Trump’s bid to quash a House subpoena for years of his financial records from his accounting firm, and declined a request by the president’s lawyers to stay his order pending their appeal


"It is simply not fathomable that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a President for reasons incl. criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct—past or present—even without formally opening an impeachment inquiry" !!


JUST IN: DOJ concludes former White House Counsel Don McGahn does not have to testify on Mueller report.


Reminder that Trump loaned his own campaign money and was paid back. For example: he takes out a $1 billion dollar loan from Deutsche Bank at 5% interest and loans his campaign $500 million at 8% (which is legal). He makes 3% interest profit and has successfully cleaned money.


Opinion: The evidence of Trump’s corruption just keeps growing


Breaking from NYT: Trump is preparing to instruct former White House counsel Don McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena and skip a hearing scheduled for Tuesday with the House Judiciary Committee.


Trump's OLC appointee says McGahn's immune from testimony that would embarrass Trump.


Army veteran Waitman Beorn says Trump's plans to pardon war criminals "gives everyone a bad name, every veteran who's served." "It encourages our enemies to behave in a similar form. If we're not abiding by our own values, then why should they?"


If Congress had any honor of its own, Trump’s incitement of unlawful behavior by the troops under his command would be yet another count in the articles of impeachment against him.


Michigan 16 electoral votes. "Ford to cut 7,000 jobs by August, including 900 this week"


Q: What does it mean when @realDonaldTrump spends 5 tweets to deny a money laundering allegation but never denies it? A: He's a money launderer.


"Russia - Clinton - private and confidential"


“It’s a moral office, not just a management job... that’s the part I think we’re missing today.” - @PeteButtigieg #PeteOnFox #ButtigiegTownHall #FeelTheButt Nice little dose of shade


Papadopoulos: "The Russian government has an open invitation by Putin for Mr. Trump to meet him when he is ready." Also Papadopoulos: "How dare the FBI investigate my secret wheelings and dealings with Russians! Spygate!"


After Rep. Justin Amash says Trump's conduct is impeachable, Fox contributor tells him to "leave the Republican Party immediately"


Ten days after Jared sought out Dmitri Simes for his assistance in finding "experienced foreign policy professionals," they spoke again - just after Trump named the foreign policy team. They had an in-person meeting just a few days later.


Dem Candidates Should Say They Won’t Pardon Trump If He’s Charged, Says Preet Bharara


It impacts his own business, which employs undocumented workers.


Inside the secret dinners where Congress talks nukes: “The level of threat is constant. The margin for error is zero. Think about the worst-case scenario.”


Trump Is on the Iron Throne, and American Democracy Is Dead


MSNBC’s Morning Joe busts GOP hypocrisy on impeachment: ‘They all trash Trump behind closed doors’


Pete Buttigieg at Fox News town hall: Trump tweets are "grotesque things"


The callousness, incompetence, & sheer cruelty of this administration know no bounds—and THOUSANDS of children are paying the price. Grateful to reporters like @jacobsoboroff & @juliaeainsley for refusing to let this ongoing crisis be forgotten or ignored


Here it is. Here is the moment on April 9th in which Attorney General Bill Barr flat-out LIED to Congress. He knew exactly what reports Charlie Crist was referencing. He’d received Mueller’s letter two weeks prior. THIS IS A FELONY:


If Trump doesn't borrow from non-DB banks because he "doesn't need money" - then why did he borrow $11 million from a small FL bank to finance purchase of a house from his sister? And why was CEO of that bank promptly rewarded with appointment to his local Federal Reserve board?


Hey, could this Deutsche Bank money laundering thing be what started that SIX-AGENCY investigation into Trump that went back to Jan 2016?


"The GOP's new challenges use the same strategies that are also being used against same-sex marriage, voting rights, and other civil rights"


Quite a number from @AlliemalCNN — it’s been 70 days since the last White House press briefing.


True warfighters don’t commit atrocities and kill innocent little girls. These actions only make warfighter’s job more dangerous .


"The Trump administration’s refusal to comply with to House subpoenas and oversight requests is so sweeping and broad. We’ve never quite seen anything like this before."


Theory: I wonder if some of those ex-Deutsche Bank employees - or maybe an exec who realized the danger - went to the FBI when their colleagues didn't file Suspicious Activity Reports with FinCEN.


Gallagher threatened to KILL his Navy SEAL teammates if they spoke out against him. There’s ZERO reason to believe he will not hunt down each of them and try to kill them if Trump pardons him. There is no greater disrespect to those who serve than to put them at risk like this.


A new poll just came out indicating that 52% of South Carolinians don’t want to re-elect Lindsey Graham. His opponent, Jaime Harrison, was the first African American chair of the South Carolina Democratic party. Vote for Harrison!


I received a letter back today from South Carolina office of disciplinary counsel. I filed a complaint against Lindsey Graham. I think many of you out there should do the same. For advising Don Jr. to not show up on a subpoena.


.@usatoday editorial: Commander in chief Donald Trump, threatening 'official end of Iran' is not the endgame America needs. You owe us more than shouted sound bites and belligerent tweets.


Whenever a client goes on a rant like this, I know they’re BSing me


Many of Fox News' stars, including its "hard news" anchors, have fattened their wallets by speaking at GOP events—an ethical no-no


Mother Jones reports that Li "Cindy" Yang, the massage parlor owner and Trump donor, has acknowledged in a lawsuit that she ran a firm that sold Chinese execs "access" to US political and biz circles and that this included offering entry to Mar-a-Lago.


How Mike Pence took over Health and Human Services


‘Eric the Slack-jawed and Princess Ivanka’: Rick Wilson hilariously pummels the entire Trump family –and the GOPers who worship them


Dear @TomiLahren: Our military personnel are brave, patriotic & smart. I've tried multiple cases before military juries. They take into account a Member's service record and demand evidence beyond a reasonable doubt before convicting. I trust military members. Do you?


Very interesting: Buttigieg uses his Fox News town hall to call out Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham - by name - for comments they have made. "There is a reason why anyone has to swallow hard and think twice" before going on Fox, he says.


Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg used a Fox News town hall to slam Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, two of the network's primetime opinion hosts


The president openly tells a news network they are not doing enough to favor him.


Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson says if the Swedish court decided to detain Assange “on probable cause suspected for rape … I will issue a European Arrest Warrant.”


Are you as shocked as I am? Farage was the actual “backchannel” to Wikileaks, by the way.


Fact Checker: Trump says he was not warned about Flynn. The Mueller report disagrees.


Schiff: The Trump admin's "maximum obstructionism campaign" may be pushing the House toward impeachment. "If the only way that we can do our oversight is through an impeachment proceeding, then maybe we have to go down that road."


Republicans are moving fast to squelch Justin Amash's rebellion against Donald Trump before his conclusion that the President "engaged in impeachable conduct" -- the first by a GOP lawmaker -- can gather momentum.@joejohnscnn from the White House


What is this, DOJ Jeopardy? I’ll take, “What’s Rod’s rationalization for supporting Bill Barr instead of the republic, for $100, Alex.”


Trump staffers helped themselves to top-shelf liquor at a Mar-a-Lago bar. No one paid that night. Six days later, Mar-a-Lago billed the State Dept which refused to pay. The tab was then forwarded to the White House which paid for it w/ taxpayers' money.


Deutsche Bank denies it turned a blind eye to potentially illegal activity by Donald Trump or Jared Kushner


"Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate." - Donald J. Trump, Oct 9, 201


Trump scrambles to reverse Rust Belt slide


Not about adoptions. #MuellerReport


Judd Gregg: "The Bolton Doctrine will not create more stability in the region. It will not mute the mullahs who control Iran. It will cost lives and resources without a clear or predictable outcome."


Trump‘s record


So we're holding healthcare hostage now? Trump says he'll give Americans the 'best healthcare ever' -- but only if Republicans win in 2020


Calling Trump's tweets a distraction from the real issues, Pete Buttigieg said he gets that "It's the nature of grotesque things that you can’t look away."


Sen. Elizabeth Warren: "What Betsy Devos has done to our public education really undermines the best opportunities for our kids. I think our public tax dollars should stay in our public schools." Question: "So, no to for-profit charter schools?" Warren: "Yeah."


“SCOTUS on Monday could act on appeals seeking to revive two Republican-enacted abortion restrictions from Indiana...”


“Trade war! Trade War! Not afraid of the outrageous challenge! Not afraid of the outrageous challenge! A trade war is happening over the Pacific Ocean!” Now China's got an anti-America trade war song


In Fox News town hall, Buttigieg calls out Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham as "not always there in good faith"


Kamala Harris proposes plan to fine companies that pay men more than women.


There’s a reason Trump and Kushner were banking at DB, and it’s not only the favor of Kennedy Jr. There’s also a reason DB’s disgraced Chmn., Josef Ackerman, landed as Chmn of Wilber Ross’ Bank of Cyprus. The reason, IMO, is DB’s Russian connections.


The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen to over 415 parts per million -- far higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years, since before the evolution of humans


Trump adviser John Bolton emerges as flashpoint in Republican debate on how to respond to Iran


Nothing to see here. Just the Trump campaign manager giving his Russian spy handler a briefing on the campaign.


Remember when Justice Kennedy retired suddenly from the SCOTUS w/Brett Kavanaugh waiting in the wings for @realDonaldTrump? Guess who signed off on Trump’s suspicious loans @DeutscheBank when no other bank would? Justin Kennedy. Justice Kennedy’s son.


It could be the biggest money-laundering scheme in history, with suspicious money flowing from Russia and former Soviet republics


And there is no better way to strengthen the autocratic regime in Iran than for the United States to intervene militarily. (Iraq did that back in the 1980s.)


Pelosi receives John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award


It’s time to stand together to fight for reproductive rights. Donate


Pete Buttigieg Gets Standing Ovation at End of Fox News Town Hall, Surprising Chris Wallace


In Trump's Trade War, Americans Will Be Asked To Show Economic Patriotism

Bend over

Border Patrol agent accused of hitting Guatemalan man with car referred to migrants as "subhuman," court documents


Ukrainian Defense Minister Poltorak has submitted his resignation.


When I worked on The Art of the Deal, and long after, Trump was openly and unequivocally pro-choice. He now opposes abortion purely and only because his base -- and especially Evangelicals -- oppose abortion


It must have been damn hard for these 7 Seals to become whistleblowers. That was a brave act. A pardon would insult these service members and make others think twice before taking such a courageous step.


The President of the United States takes the time to complain about Fox News giving airtime to a Democrat. Under reported about Trump: He really doesn't do much. People assume that, as President, he's really busy. He's not. He watches TV, he tweets, he does rallies. About it.


Trump is telling the troops: “Don’t listen to your superiors. Ignore the rules of engagement. Feel free to commit atrocities in the expectation of a presidential pardon.” There is no more corrosive message a commander in chief could send. My column:


Romney translated: I am a weakling and a coward. I want desperately to be seen doing the right thing but not if it means republicans will be mad at me. You should never expect courage or action from me


THREAD: Combat veteran I know just texted me, furious: “Pardoning convicted war criminals is a slap in the face to everyone who fought honorably. To everyone who didn’t commit war crimes. To everyone who chose the harder right over the easier wrong...


Thousands of NCOs and officers led our units without crossing the line between honorable service and barbarism, despite the most extreme of circumstances and ill-considered of wars. If true, this risks dishonoring us all. Without a code, an army is nothing but an armed mob


In their rush to shovel tax giveaways to giant corporations and billionaires, Republicans also imposed huge new taxes on low-income college scholarship recipients. I’m ready to fight back


The Swedish prosecutor heading an investigation into a rape allegation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange filed a request with a local court for his detention in absentia


This is who Trump plans on pardoning. He is sending a direct message that the US condones murdering Muslims.


Folks, The president is threatening Iran because of a Fox News segment. Left, Fox, 4:16 pm Right, Trump, 4:25 pm


To his American friends and contacts, Stephen Su was an affable businessman and gregarious guy. It took years to realize he was stealing high-level secrets left and right.


A high risk day for north Texas and Parts of Oklahoma. This is for May 20, 2019 numerous tornadoes are likely!


Meteorologists warn of the likelihood of hailstones so large they could cause serious injury, kill livestock and inflict substantial property damage


Aussie set for biggest rise in 2019 after shock election win


RT if you agree with @JonathanPieNews genius sketch - the only way to get rid of @Nigel_Farage is to make sure you vote in the #EuropeanElections2019!


Ukraine’s newly appointed president immediately moves to dissolve parliament after he was sworn in on Monday


Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump & Kushner Accounts - Anti-money laundering specialists recommended in 2016 & 2017 multiple transactions be reported to Treasury financial-crimes watchdog - but Deutsche execs never filed


Donald Trump and Jared Kushner's own bank thinks that they might be laundering money. Particularly, Kushner's deals in the summer of 2016 with Russians set off alarm bells. Deutsche Bank sat on its anti-money laundering reports


Georgia governor mocks "C-list celebrities" vowing to boycott state over new abortion ban


I would love to hear from you @MittRomney how the elements are not satisfied as to any of the 10 areas of obstruction laid out by Mueller. Almost 1000 former federal prosecutor with decades of experience say otherwise.


No such thing as consensual rape Ectopic pregnancies cannot be reimplanted Rape zygotes are not expelled by the female body Heart cells beat in petri dishes & are not a sign of intelligent life & women are not your property


Joe Biden: "I know President Trump likes to take credit for the economy... Just look at the facts, not the alternative facts. President Trump inherited an economy from Obama-Biden administration that was given to him -- just like he inherited everything else in his life."


Trump threatens nuclear annihilation of Iran. Next he’ll be trying to meet with Rouhani a la Kim. Then he’ll say he deserves the Nobel peace prize.


JUST IN: Ukraine's new president Volodymyr Zelensky moves to dissolve parliament


Um. The president is absolutely infuriated and it’s delicious.


Death Investigations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver


Every state in this video went for Trump in 2016 and has state and US legislators who are climate change deniers. Why???


One thing that's appalling here is that Edward Gallagher's trial hasn't even started yet, so Trump is short-circuiting the military justice system.


A whistleblower just revealed Deutsche Bank covered up 2016 Kushner money transfers with Russia


Trump now wants $4.5 billion to address the crisis at our southern border. There is in fact a crisis- a humanitarian one of Trump's own making, through policies like cutting aid to the very countries people are fleeing. Walls and family separation policies aren’t the answer.


HUD Secretary Ben Carson broke the law when he failed to report an order for a $31,561 dining room table set for his office as well as the installation of an $8,000 dishwasher in the office kitchen, the Government Accountability Office found.


Staff at Deutsche Bank flagged transactions tied to entities controlled by Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner in 2016 and 2017, according to a New York Times report


The 1st Republican Congressman to support impeachment is NOT “parroting the Democrats’ talking points.” He’s contradicting them. He’s ready to impeach now. Dems are not


The flag I wore on my shoulder represented a country that was known for keeping its word. But with the president considering pardoning war criminals even after they have been tried by a jury of their peers, that is undermining American moral authority and putting troops at risk


From the Editorial Board: Congress can seek justice for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. It’s clear Trump won’t.


Kavanaugh was living on a judge’s $190,000 salary


The Mueller Report:Putin calls

The Mueller Report:Putin calls

The Mueller Report: We Are Golden


As a former active duty JAG, I know the main purpose of the UCMJ is to impose good order & discipline, which Washington called the soul of an army. The charges against Gallagher are deadly serious. @POTUS should not circumvent the court-martial process. Let military jurors decide


Largest money laundering scheme in the world... $230 billion. All done through big banks.


As more and more damning evidence against @realDonaldTrump comes into public view, it becomes clear why he is hiding information from the American people and blowing off Congress. If Congress cannot gather evidence, we need to seriously consider an impeachment inquiry.


mentioned in a side bar story: the whole Deutsche Bank/Justice Kennedy connection


➞ Justice Kennedy's son effectively gave Trump $1 billion at Deutsche Bank when no other bank would ➞ Then Kennedy suspiciously resigned to free up the Kavanaugh seat ➞ Now we have Deutsche Bank suppressing money laundering red-flags on Trump/Kushner


Ecuadorians to let US officials 'help themselves' to Assange's gear


"Speaker Nancy Pelosi is being honored with the 2019 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award."


As more and more damning evidence against @realDonaldTrump comes into public view, it becomes clear why he is hiding information from the American people and blowing off Congress. If Congress cannot gather evidence, we need to seriously consider an impeachment inquiry.


Still no answer to this question: Who paid off Brett Kavanaugh’s $92,000 country club fees plus his $200,000 credit card debt plus his $1.2 million mortgage, and purchased themselves a SCOTUS seat?