Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Two OMB officials recently resigned while voicing concerns over Ukraine aid hold.


Trump allies, from Tucker Carlson to Sen. Kennedy, keep inadvertently defending Russia


Congratulations Vladimir Putin, 53% of Russians aged 18 to 24 would like to emigrate


The Inside Story of Christopher Steele’s Trump Dossier In a new book, the founders of the firm that compiled it defend their work.


NEW: The House Intel Cmte. has just released the depositions of Deputy Associate Director for National Security Programs at OMB Mark Sandy and Acting Asst. Sec'y of State for European & Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker.


On the morning of July 25, Trump and Zelensky spoke on the phone, and Trump mentioned investigating the Bidens. That evening at 6:44 pm, according to the House Budget summary, an OMB career official signs a document formally withholding $250 million in Pentagon funds for Ukraine.


One aspect of this story I think is getting overlooked: Gallagher was literally on Fox News yesterday doing product placement marketing for Nine Line Apparel. He's on ACTIVE DUTY.


NEW: First Lady Melania Trump was greeted with a chorus of boos from a large group of children when she was introduced to give a speech at the B’More Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness in Baltimore


‘The woman said Trump never showed up.’ — @JuddLegum is exposing how the Trump campaign is apparently duping his supporters with fake meet-Trump contests


here the US Secretary of State disseminates propaganda fabricated by Russian intelligence for the purpose of weakening the United States


New: Doug Schoen confirms he's doing polling for Bloomberg's 2020 campaign—and says he dropped a longtime Ukrainian oligarch client in anticipation


Yesterday, Brett Kavanaugh quietly released a brief opinion that lays out his blueprint for one-party Republican rule.


That Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent It Here’s what Russia’s 2020 disinformation operations look like, according to two experts on social media and propaganda.


Below: Bolton's lawyer claiming that the court's ruling in McGahn's case does not apply to officials who advise on national security. Also below: THREE TIMES the court said the ruling applies to officials who advise on national security


Wait. I was told by Trump that IsIs had been defeated


Bolton's lawyer says McGahn ruling does not apply to national security officials


The Supreme Court Will Take Up A Major Abortion Rights Case The Louisiana law the court will review requires abortion clinics to have hospital admitting privileges. Opponents say it could result in nearly all of the state's clinics closing.


Judge box of wine is going to be a magnificent Secretary of State.


my interview with the sublime @CheriJacobus , one of the unsung heroes of the age of Trump. Her harrowing experience with the Trump campaign sheds light on how POTUS uses intimidation & dirty tricks to go after his perceived enemies.


The Kremlin hates all of us, Dem & Repub alike. They’ll use whatever or whomever they can to cause chaos.They consider us their “main enemy” & always have since the 1917 revolutions. Doesn’t matter that the Soviet Union fell. The same power structures are still at war w the West.


Fox Guest: "The core question is why the hell does Tucker Carlson still have a job here in the first place? This is someone said white supremacy is a hoax. Why does Fox still allow him to be here in the first place?" Fox Anchor: We didn't bring you on to talk about Tucker.


A wealthy Venezuelan hosted Rudy Giuliani as he pursued his Ukraine campaign. Then Giuliani lobbied the Justice Department on his behalf, WaPo reports.


Inbox: In her first official act as Oversight Chair, Rep. Carolyn Maloney filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of the Committee against A.G. Barr and Commerce Sec'y Ross for refusing to produce docs regarding the Admin's effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.


Giuliani associate #LevParnas to plead the Fifth on campaign donations


A @GOP dossier leak to Democrats exposed a plan to create misleading website names to direct voters to anti-Democratic material


“Republicans pushing this unfounded conspiracy theory is a taste of what’s to come”


"Many Latinos are willing to look past Trump’s anti-Latino bigotry. After all, they tell themselves, the president is not talking about people like them," says @usatodayopinion contributor


Michael Gerson: "Of all the flips by the GOP during the Trump era, this ranks among the most extraordinary. And disappointing. And disgraceful. The accommodation of Russian aggression serves as an embossed, White House invitation for future interference."


Russians who’ve grown up almost entirely under President Vladimir Putin’s rule now want to leave the country in record numbers, according to a new survey


Trump disappointed to learn the turkeys he’s pardoning aren’t guilty of any war crimes - The Washington Post


SDNY is getting to the underlying Ukraine criminal case of @RudyGiuliani/ Poroshenko/Shokin of manufacturing Biden dirt, which also means @DevinNunes. A looming problem is that SDNY's boss, fixer AG Bill Barr, is implicated in this underlying case in the Whistleblower report.


What Russia is doing to Ukraine it can replicate against the United States.


Sean Hannity to Devin Nunes last night on report that Nunes traveled to Vienna to meet with former Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin: "I know more about this than maybe you want me to reveal."


Michael Cohen’s other client knows “more about this than maybe you want me to reveal.”


Wilbur Ross met with the CEO of Boeing at a time when his wife held $3 million in Boeing stock. That’s a serious conflict of interest and warrants a thorough ethics investigation


When they tell you who they are, believe them


Prepare for a wave of BS, lies, covert attacks, whining, whataboutism and the spreading of lots of dirty money.


Any article on Firtash that does not include this FACT is intentionally doing so. It is IMPOSSIBLE that @nytimes reporters on byline - & whatever other hands it ran through there before todays’s publication, don’t all know this. Keep asking why folks won’t say or print his name.


Fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer has hit out at Donald Trump's decision to intervene in the Eddie Gallagher case, saying the president 'doesn't really understand the full definition of a warfighter.


Breaking: The Supreme Court, contrary to the Constitution & any legitimate legal precedence, Blocks Congress (a co-equal branch of government) from immediately reviewing Trump’s financial records. More Delay & Obstruction!


"They would hoist extra-heavy items alone to avoid wasting time getting help. They had to, they said, or they would lose their jobs. So they took the risk. Then, if they got hurt, they would lose their jobs anyway."


House Intelligence Committee expects to submit impeachment report after Thanksgiving break, Schiff says


Important considerations in this piece from @MarkHertling about duty, service, order, and honor -- and the mess being made by POTUS for military commanders when he acts on subjective whims instead of keeping good order.


Trump facing revolt and high-ranking departures at Pentagon after ouster of Spencer and war crime meddling: report


Were Bolton’s tweets a cry for help, a feint to rehabilitate himself without delivering, or a tease to get back in the public eye? "If the third, they are the taunts of the one aide who could blow the impeachment effort wide open,"


2 ‘big lies’ from the White House ripped in The New York Times: ‘Collusion wasn’t a hoax and Trump wasn’t exonerated’


Pecker’s conversations with federal prosecutors could make him a critical witness in any future legal action against Trump or the Trump Organization


Trump fires Andrew McCabe to make sure he doesn't get his retirement. McCabe didnt take pictures with dead bodies. He pardons this convicted guy to make sure he gets his pension, despite Navy policies. Is that about right?


My latest. "Why stop investigating now and let Republicans and President Trump off the hook so easily?" Democrats Should Drag Out Trump’s Impeachment as Long as Possible


Number Of Young Russians Who Want To Emigrate Hits Highest Level In Decade


So Rudy owns The Donald. Blackmailing the President of the United States on Fox News is fitting! Does America really want a POTUS owned by Rudy Giuliani. Wonder if Rudy has a guaranteed pardon if Lev or Igor turn on him in the SDNY? Trump’s presidency is like a Mafia soap opera!


Xi must be dismayed: Chinese leader fighting fires on all fronts


Senior U.S. officials have inexplicably parroted statements echoing the Kremlin’s talking points that Russia was a victim of a Ukrainian smear campaign.


Tucker Carlson is a fake news Clown


Republican Governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin, just pardoned a man convicted of abusing his 6-year-old stepdaughter. Bevin also pardoned a man convicted in 2001 of sexually abusing his 6-year-old stepdaughter.


Wait. Wait. Wait. Does this mean that the enormous backlash he got for spouting Russian propaganda worked?


SEC Moves to Overhaul Rules on Mutual Funds’ Use of Derivatives


Remember Trump and Putin's first meeting at the G20 in 2017? When Trump was so desperate to get Putin's attention at this dinner and they slipped off for undisclosed meetings with no US interpreter?


Because he knew the truth and didn’t realise that the American people knew the truth. When you are briefed not to push a Russian conspiracy, then still do, it shows your corruption, that you are complicit and self-serving interests. He was found out.


Very odd. Never expected to have an op-ed in The Washington Post. But it’s time to hold #MarkZuckerberg and the #SiliconSix accountable for spreading conspiracies and lies. Congress, what are you going to do?!


“We are in the dot-com bub­ble 2.0, ex­cept it’s not hap­pen­ing in the pub­lic mar­kets but in the pri­vate mar­kets.”


A Google software engineer who wrote and circulated a petition against the company’s potential bid on a contract with Customs and Border Protection said on Twitter that she’d been fired


Mark Zuckerberg's quest to explore the future of technology featured mostly white men


Will he also use his mobbed-up buddies to build illegal settlements in Mexico for all the Texans whose land he’s seizing?


Trump admin. is withholding more than $100M in US military assistance to Lebanon that has been approved by Congress. The White House and the Office of Management and Budget have declined to comment on the matter.


Japan’s top government spokesman said it’s important to have frank discussions with China about Hong Kong as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks to host President Xi Jinping for a state visit


This was only a year ago. The hand shake seen round the world. If we do not get Trump out of the White House they will be sharing an embrace on American soil by next summer.


Guards charged over Epstein's suicide get trial date


Did you know that over 250 bills have been passed by the Democratic House, only to be denied a vote in the Republican Senate by #MoscowMitch McConnell?


First President in my living memory who “sticks up” for war criminals & calls that sticking up for the armed forces. Neither our efforts to support democracy abroad nor our values can survive a military that murders civilians or captives


Why Giuliani Singled Out 2 Ukrainian Oligarchs - Dmitry Firtash (on the run from the U.S. Gov’t for bribery) and Ihor Kolomoisky (the new Ukrainian president’s benefactor) - to Help Manufacture Dirt on Joe Biden


Btw, an example of China's asymmetrical policies: China wants (& often gets) control of foreign assets while (most often) it forbids foreign control of Chinese assets. Like China's cyber pretensions: Chinese e-firms expect to get global access, but forbids foreign access to China


Tucker is trying to sell Trump supporters it is okay to side with Russia because they fear what could come out during the impeachment , or something else is about to come out that ties them all in with Russia.


Former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said that Trump has dishonored the military by undercutting the chain of command on accused war criminal Eddie Gallagher.


Likud lawmaker who has challenged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the party will hold a leadership vote


Ukrainian cinematographer Oleg Sentsov, who was one of the most prominent political prisoners in Russia, will receive last year's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament today.


Remember he was on the July 4 trip to Moscow along with seven other MOCs and Amb Jon Huntsman. Any notes from that trip? Who paid for it?


So Trump allowed a genocide of the Kurds and the release and rebuilding of ISIS and now the US military has to fight ISIS again, but without the bases in the region that Russia took over.


The entire WH cyber security staff quit last week. There are so many FEC vacancies that there is no decision making quorum. Today the DHS cyber official for election security quit.


In this clip; for the 100 year anniversary of Women Suffrage; President BigBrain asks why the centennial coin...Ahh fuck it Hear it for yourself. "Curious why wasn't it done a long time ago? And also, I guess the answer to that is because now I'm president, we get things done."


Report shows: Devin Nunes spent $57,000 of taxpayers money on a trip to Europe for him & his staff to allegedly investigate Joe Biden. An ethics complaint has been filed against him over “abuse” of office.


If God chose Trump in 2016, God also chose Obama in 2008. Now shut the fuck up with all this ridiculous talk about infinitely powerful invisible beings choosing who is president. Everyone knows it was the Russians who REALLY chose Trump!


GOP Sen. John Kennedy on Ukraine conspiracy theory: "I was wrong" It's more than being wrong. This was no mistake, it was intentional.


“You know, Lindsey had an obligation to the constitution, the law, and the voters of South Carolina but now basically if Donald Trump says hey come over and shave my back, Lindsey is going to be there”


A respectful disagreement about God's Divine Plan for his Chosen One ;)


Speculation that American law-enforcement operatives would come knocking at Prince Andrew’s door has been rife all week, but now U.S. detectives are "examining ways to interview the prince in Britain through the U.S. Justice Department"


This whole #EddieGallagher situation is a massive embarrassment for America. It wasn't the 'big bad' human rights world that brought these allegation, but Gallagher's own Navy colleagues. When you attack his prosecution, you don't just defend #WarCrimes, but attack US servicemen.


The issue isn’t that Trump enjoys golf, the issue is that he continues to make promotional appearances at his businesses. Taxpayers aren’t just footing the bill for his hobby, they’re picking up the bill to help him make money for his struggling business.


Let's be blunt about why Trump pardoned war criminals. He wants the military to know that when he calls on them to impose martial law in America, they can commit any atrocities their lusts demand, as long as they are in service to him. It helps to say it out loud.


I love Joe Biden as a person but we are not going to give a pass to what is obviously a conflict of interest. I believe Hunter Biden’s association on the Burisma board doesn’t pass the smell test. If a Republican was in the same position, they’d certainly be investigated! — Lindsey Graham


Just saying...would probably be a good idea for Congress to get Don McGhan’s 302’s before he testifies.


They should put one of those reverse beeping buttons on his ass.


NEW: David Pecker, the head of the company that publishes the National Enquirer, has spoken with prosecutors with the NY DA's office as part of its investigation into the Trump Org's handling of hush money payments to women who alleged affairs with POTUS


Remember that time Putin took Robert Kraft’s ring while Rupert Murdoch smiled?


"I think that there is a greater risk of having Donald Trump reelected than there was before," Bloomberg said, reflecting on his decision to enter the 2020 race. "And, in the end, I looked in the mirror and said, 'You just cannot let this happen.'"


"I was wrong," says GOP Sen. John Kennedy, backtracking after he repeated a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 US election. "It was Russia who tried to hack the DNC computer. I’ve seen no indication that Ukraine tried to do it."


Turning from nuclear message, Pope urges youth to fight for the earth


Tucker Carlson says he’s rooting for Russia in conflict with Ukraine, then claims he’s “joking”


Republicans ‘are being used by Russia’: Former GOP congressman rips those spreading conspiracy theories


“Walsh was one of the few officials in the West Wing who were present on Day One — and had been a federal govt employee for 28 yrs. He had walk-in privileges w/ Trump and regularly conferred with the president in the Oval Office...”


"Mr. Trump wasn’t simply soliciting a bribe, but doing so to try to rig the next election. It should go without saying that representative democracy cannot work if its leaders are cheating to keep themselves in power."


Betsy DeVos poised to issue sweeping rules governing campus sexual assault


The Violence Against Women Act has been held up in @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell’s legislative graveyard for over 200 days On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we're calling on Senator McConnell to bring the bill up for a vote in the Senate NOW


Carbon dioxide levels in the earth's atmosphere reaches highest recorded level in human history —scientists say in ominous report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)


A group of employees at the DOJ are raising concerns with AG Barr after the agency argued to the Supreme Court that LGBT workers are not protected by civil rights laws against employment discrimination. Apparently some there still believe in justice


The Judicial Branch continues to shrink the powers of @realDonaldTrump due to the ridiculous arguments made by @WhiteHouse counsel and @TheJusticeDept. #BillBarr has actually ended up withering any dreams of an imperial presidency. No one is above the law


The Federalist No. 65 (Alexander Hamilton): “In [impeachment]... there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.”


This segment took place literally moments after Tucker Carlson said he was "serious" about rooting for Russia in its military aggression against Ukraine.


I’m disappointed @EsperDoD agrees with @realDonaldTrump that violating chapter 7.7 of the @DeptofDefense Law of War Manual (“Treatment and Handling of Enemy Military Dead”) does not warrant a reduction in rank. This threatens good order and discipline.


"Giuliani uses iMessage, and, like so many men over 50 who work for Trump, he has read receipts enabled and often uses iMessage’s reaction feature to like questions sent to him instead of providing an answer. Just as often, he likes his own messages."


Indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas said in a new court filing Monday that he would take the Fifth Amendment during a December hearing and decline to answer certain questions about his campaign donations.


When It Comes to Ukraine, Republicans Play Putin’s Game: The Kremlin wagered its bets with stellar precision. Instead of picking up the torch of democracy proudly carried by McCain, the GOP of Trump is clutching the tiki torch of Russian propaganda.


The worst commander in chief ever


Today at the confirmation hearing of Secretary of Defense Nominee Mark Esper, I asked whether he would be willing to resign should he be asked to support an issue or policy that runs counter to his values. He said absolutely. — Senator Gary Peters

ICYMI

Pelosi: "The Courts have been clear: the President's insistence that he is above the law is an offense to our Constitution ... Today's ... decision in the McGahn case is yet another resounding ruling that the Admin's claim of 'absolute immunity' ... has no basis in the law."


"It is hard to imagine a more significant wound than such alleged interference with Congress' ability to detect and deter abuses of power within the Executive Branch for the protection of the people of the United States." -U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson


Buried in Judge Jackson's McGahn decision is an affirmation of Congress's inherent contempt power—the power to incarcerate or otherwise punish a recalcitrant witness. Some have suggested that it is dead law, since Congress hasn't exercised that authority in nearly 100 years.


#BREAKING Malta PM says chief of staff resigns over journalist murder case


World must invest $1.8 trillion by 2030 to prepare for #GlobalWarming. Investment concentrated in 5 categories: weather warning systems, infrastructure, dry-land farming, mangrove protection & water management, would yield $7.1 trillion in benefits.


Fast-moving fire threatens homes in Santa Barbara County


Turkish and Qatari central banks agreed to boost the size of a currency-swap deal during Erdogan’s visit to Doha


I cannot stress this enough. Multiple SEALs told investigators they intentionally tampered with the optics on Gallagher's sniper rifle so his shots would miss.


Anti-doping committee recommends four-year Olympic ban for Russia.


GOP Sen. John Kennedy: “I was wrong” to say Ukraine may have hacked DNC server


Opinion: Lindsey Graham is doing what the Ukrainian government wouldn’t


Retired Lt. General @MarkHertling explains why President Trump's involvement in the controversial case involving Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher will be the "gift that keeps on giving" for transgressive soldiers in the future.


Following Trump’s intervention, Amazon sues over DOD contract


Top Judiciary Democrat on articles of impeachment


Judge orders Don McGahn to testify to Congress


New details in Lev Parnas’ reported effort to help Devin Nunes


Do we get it now? Tucker Carlson, and certain others, are rooting for the country that attacked us in 2016. Carlson is rooting for our enemy.


The people of #HongKong voted overwhelmingly in support of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Will Beijing listen?


Devin Nunes says he thinks CNN and The Daily Beast will not show up to court but he will track them down and hold them accountable


NEW -- Trump wants Eddie Gallagher to campaign alongside him in 2020. Scoop via @swin24 and @attackerman


Yet another reflection of Trump's warped view of our military and his own supporters. He thinks he's showing loyalty, support and camaraderie with them by campaigning with a credibly accused war criminal. He likely hopes to reinforce his aspirations for their behavior as well.


BREAKING: The Supreme Court has determined that the House will not get access to Trump’s financial records while they set an expedited briefing to hear arguments on whether SCOTUS will hear Trump’s appeal during this term-deadline for Trump to file his brief is by Dec 5.



Donald Trump says he's most thankful for himself on Thanksgiving: "I made a tremendous difference in the country."


McGahn ruling will be important but timing will be an issue for Dems (GOP can stall by appealing). But remember: they don’t need live testimony. They can impeach based on his statements to Mueller as set forth in the report. House impeached Clinton based on Starr report in 98.


WATCH: Rudy Giuliani tells TMZ that the prosecutors investigating him are hurting the country


Fox News should register with FARA as an agent of the Russian Federation. If it’s going to peddle the Kremlin’s agenda and propaganda while hurting U.S. national security interests then it should be treated the same as RT and Sputnik.


Tucker: "Why do I care what is going on in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia? I'm serious. Why shouldn't I root for Russia? Which by the way I am."


.@AlanDersh touting the office of the presidency as having more expansive authority than the monarchs of old?


Court decision rejecting absolute immunity for White House officials comes as no surprise, and is a great victory for the rule of law.


This is what the media misses. He said it on FOX - HE DIDN'T TAKE BACK ON FOX - he took it back on CNN which Trumpers DO NOT WATCH. So - HIS LIE SPREAD TO THEIR BASE...and THE TRUTH SPREAD to the network their base never watches!


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