Friday, December 20, 2019

Trump administration demanded Democrats strip Ukraine aid language from spending package. The language would have required the White House to release Ukraine defense aid quickly.


Trump's Best Words (2019)


NEW: Federal prosecutors put in writing why they oppose Roger Stone's request for a one-month delay -- currently Feb. 6 -- before Judge Jackson hands down a sentence for the long-time Trump adviser.


Way to stick up for your team, Mr Secretary (This is the guy he brought back to serve in Ukraine.) What a rat Pompeo is.


A Secretary of State avoiding a US Embassy - where one gets updates from the country team most informed on current events in the country - to hold meetings in a hotel that has no compartmented intel facility. Yup, totes secure, totes normal.


If Trump starts attackin’ McConnell, it’s all over


This is playing out so far like I dreamed it could, and it can get better if the House Democrats continue to sit on the articles. This is Trump’s nightmare because more can and will come out on his guilt. Mitch’s nightmare too, notwithstanding his pretending otherwise.


Two years ago, Trump signed his tax cuts into law. He made big promises about them: they’d pay for themselves; supercharge GDP; give Americans huge raises; and ultimately become quite popular. Two years on, all of those promises have been broken.


WH: "President Donald J. Trump has accepted the Speaker’s invitation to deliver the State of the Union Address on February 4, 2020."


NEWS: @SpeakerPelosi has invited President Trump to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 4, 2020.


John Roberts may face the challenge of trying to bring judicial independence—and a modicum of decorum—into the political maelstrom of an impeachment trial


.@RuthMarcus and @jonathanalter discuss why evangelical Christians are Trump’s most reliable voter base and if the Christianity Today editorial represents a crack in the wall of Trump evangelical support.


UPDATE: 6 men charged in campaign-finance scheme w/Trump-linked lobbyist & Mueller witness Geo Nader went before federal judge today. Central figure in case, Ahmad Khawaja, is a fugitive, prosecutor James Mann said. Earlier:

ICYMI

Norway Evangelicals Withdrawing From Franklin Graham Festival Because of Trump Support? - The Christian Post


Interesting how as he is saying this Dmitri Simes, who features heavily in the Mueller report as Kushner’s Kremlin whisper, is shown on the big screen.


Straight-up banana republic stuff here


Here's how some Ukrainian journalists and observers reacted to US President Trump's impeachment


Hong Kong police freeze the assets of an NGO set up to support legal fees of persecuted demonstrators. The US, Canada, the U.K. (and eventually the EU) should freeze the assets of the Hong Kong police generals who are persecuting demonstrators through the Global Magnitsky Act.


Senator Schumer: "They'd never ask Hunter Biden to show up because it would backfire on them. It would make them look so unserious about this process that they'd lose."


New filing in United States v. Mike Flynn: Redacted Document


.@tribelaw tells @Lawrence that during the Clinton impeachment trial, even the people who opposed Bill Clinton’s impeachment thought it was important to take the oath to be an impartial juror seriously.


Footage from Epstein’s first suicide attempt is not missing, say prosecutors


Exclusive: A mining company secretly collaborated with the governor of Alaska to lobby the Trump administration to move forward with a mining project that EPA scientists warned could devastate the world's most valuable wild salmon habitat


In which @realDonaldTrump reacts to yesterday’s @CTmagazine editorial but forgets what the magazine is called.


This terrifying new story further confirms what @rgoodlaw @AshaRangappa_ @john_sipher & I have long warned: Whether wittingly or unwittingly, @realDonaldTrump is a counterintelligence threat to the United States from within the Oval Office.


GOP panicked Trump will act on his revenge fantasies and derail their impeachment trial strategy: report


Prominent Evangelical Magazine Calls for ‘Grossly Immoral’ Trump to Be Removed “His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused,” editor-in-chief Mark Galli wrote in the editorial


His area voted him as a democrat. They should sue him. He should have to repay back all his donations! He was a Trojan horse & lied to his constituents! Van Drew pledges 'undying support' for Trump as he switches parties


Months ago, someone contacted us with an astounding dataset. It tracked the precise movements of more than 12 million Americans in several major cities including Washington, New York and San Francisco. Today we published our findings:


“The agreement...delivers $72.8 billion in discretionary funding for the Education Department, a $1.3 billion increase over 2019. That’s nearly $6 billion more than the administration — which has sought to squeeze money out of the agency — wanted.”


Investigation finds Washington state Congressman Matt Shea took part in 'domestic terrorism'


NEW: Did a Miami-based modeling agency fuel Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘machine of abuse’


Opinion: Why doesn’t McConnell want witnesses at Trump’s trial? Because he’s guilty.


Cohen was less than honest with prosecutors. "To the extent Cohen might have been able to provide substantial assistance, those efforts were completely undermined by his inability to be truthful both with this office and in his public statements."


BREAKING: Trump admin tells federal judge it may have found more than 2,000 additional documents it should have disclosed earlier for the lawsuits over the now-blocked citizenship question. From @TheJusticeDept letter to U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman


NEW: Grassley says McConnell told Republican senators not to back his bipartisan bill to cut prescription drug prices.


Like I said, “Trump would dearly love to be acquitted by the Senate, and he will not be happy if McConnell denies him what he desires.... This suggests that Democrats have a strong hand to play if they don’t fold prematurely.”


Republican lawmaker Matt Shea accused of supporting domestic terrorism in Washington state legislature report


NEW: Durham has asked the CIA for John Brennan’s communications records and wants to compare his private discussions with public comments on the Steele dossier and on the intel assessment about Russian interference


Turkey breaches airspace of Greece 40 times in a day, triggering mock dogfights between the NATO allies


EU lawmakers want the EU "to adopt targeted sanctions and assets freezes against the Chinese officials responsible for devising and implementing the policy of mass detention of Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang."


Perspective: There’s no more Party of Lincoln. Only the Party of Trump.


Harvard Law's Laurence Tribe reveals why Pelosi’s leverage move against Mitch McConnell is already winning


"Excusing Trump as merely ill lets him off the hook too easily. ... His letter is not sick; it is evil. His conduct is not deranged; it's tyrannical,"


NEW: Justice Department investigates Sci-Hub founder on suspicion of working for Russian intelligence - The Washington Post


Three more nuclear plants in Europe are headed to the scrapheap as renewables take more share of the power market


Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders eventually apologized for her tweet that appeared to mock former Vice President Joe Biden, who said he has worked his entire life to overcome his own stutter.


DOJ reverses, says it's trying to find ways to include citizenship question on 2020 census


Sen. McConnell doesn't fight for Kentuckians. He fights for his friends at big pharma so they can raise the prices of pharmaceuticals as much as they want. Mitch won't do anything about high drug prices and is willing to block anyone—even other Republicans.


Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced the president’s views on Ukraine and 2016 campaign: after his private meeting with Putin at the G-20, Trump grew more insistent that Ukraine worked to defeat him.


"One former senior White House official said Trump stated so explicitly, saying he knew Ukraine was the real culprit because 'Putin told me'.”


If you think my opponent @DevinNunes is a joke of a Congressman, help me defeat him. Let’s replace him with a proud Democrat who will uphold the rule of law.


Russian investigators say a shooter at the Federal Security Service’s headquarters in Moscow was a lone wolf


The whole point of having a frickin' republic with three branches of government is that the president is not a supreme leader or dictator above checks and balances.


Trump demands ‘immediate trial’ as Nancy Pelosi’s leverage over McConnell is clearly driving him crazy


Ukrainian state-owned PrivatBank on December 18 filed a $600 million lawsuit in Israel as part of its worldwide effort to recover assets it says the lender’s two previous majority shareholders had allegedly embezzled.


#MoscowMitch is sounding more and more like Trump every day. Rude rants that reveal he's lost it... 'McConnell to Pelosi: You can keep your impeachment articles.'


Sen. Ron Wyden: it was a "huge mistake" for Congress to allow the new funds to be spent on items including voting machines that experts might not deem as secure. "The threats we face in 2020 will make what we saw in 2016 look like small potatoes."


This article is warped. Trump was not mislead that Ukraine attacked the 2016 election. Trump was part of the attack w/ Russia & he is hiding his guilt. "Putin told him it was Ukraine" should read "Putin told him to blame it on Ukraine as their cover story"


Massachusetts’ Republican Governor Mum on Trump Impeachment


"Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor was instructed by a top aide to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to hand over responsibilities for his post just days before Mr. Pompeo plans to visit the Ukrainian capital..."


Senator Rubio was asked by Veterans about impeachment. He said he hasn’t watched anything nor read any documents. He’s on the Intel Cmte! Let’s make this viral


“As my mom says to me all the time, ‘Take a breath. Be calm. We have a plan,’” Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter Christine Pelosi says about next steps on impeachment. She also addressed “that look” her mom gave Dems who cheered after impeaching Trump: “I’ve seen it many times.”


Speechless


McConnell is saying the Constitution states that Articles of Impeachment must be referred to the Senate IMMEDIATELY? This, from a man who held up a SCOTUS nomination for a year and refuses to allow 400 pieces of legislation to be debated. Hypocrisy, thine name is Mitch McConnell.


White House exploring a novel legal theory -- that Trump hasn’t actually been impeached: report


Russian propaganda repeated by:@tedcruz @SenJohnKennedy @replouiegohmert @DevinNunes @RonJohnsonWI


REPORTER: Can you respond to Parnas, who gave money to your campaign, hiding payments from Russia, & also to Trump suggesting Dingell is in hell? McCARTHY: I thought you were going to ask me about the IG report & spying on the Trump campaign. And I considered John to be a friend


An important moment: Christianity Today, the key evangelical magazine founded by Billy Graham, calls for Trump's impeachment, describing him as "a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused."


Here we go ... .again. Trump administration opposes bill meant to deter Russia


Sarah Sanders mocks Joe Biden for stuttering at Democratic debate


Expect Trump to seek revenge for impeachment: fmr. Trump employee


Christianity Today, an influential evangelical magazine, says President Trump should be "removed from office"


Finally. Evangelical Christians are rejecting the immorality of Donald Trump. This is it. He's finished


The Justice Department is investigating a woman who runs a major Internet piracy operation on suspicion that she may also be working with Russian intelligence to steal U.S. military secrets from defense contractors.


Moderator: "Senator Warren, you would be the oldest president ever inaugurated..." @EWarren: "I'd also be the youngest woman ever inaugurated."


Opinion: Why doesn’t McConnell want witnesses at Trump’s trial? Because he’s guilty.


Cohen was less than honest with prosecutors. "To the extent Cohen might have been able to provide substantial assistance, those efforts were completely undermined by his inability to be truthful both with this office and in his public statements."


I Was a Lifelong Republican. The GOP Is Now the Evil Party