A bit of news: Jared Kushner and his legal team is looking for a crisis PR firm. https://t.co/J6T6sX74FN
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) December 15, 2017
Yep, this investigation will wrap up by Christmas (of which year though…..)
by David Anderson| 103 Comments
This post is in: Hail to the Hairpiece, "Lock Her Up!!", All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Blatant Liars and the Lies They Tell, hoocoodanode
A bit of news: Jared Kushner and his legal team is looking for a crisis PR firm. https://t.co/J6T6sX74FN
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) December 15, 2017
Yep, this investigation will wrap up by Christmas (of which year though…..)
This post is in: Dolt 45, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality, Assholes, hoocoodanode
Pretty damned bad!
President Trump makes Kim Jong Un reference during tax reform speech: "These massive tax cuts will be rocket fuel — little Rocket Man — rocket fuel for the American economy. He is a sick puppy." pic.twitter.com/CpLJKcy0Re
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 29, 2017
He seriously isn't getting enough oxygen to his brain. https://t.co/QhCCD5mwWz
— Zeddy ( me [ person ] ) (@ZeddRebel) November 29, 2017
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As they say in the news business: Three’s a trend!
There are all these insider anecdotes about the president that read like they’re from a Last Days Of Tyrant Who Lost His Mind kind of book. https://t.co/V863YKfKUV pic.twitter.com/8AE1Ij8wIY
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 29, 2017
The Washington Post:
President Trump has expressed certainty that the special-counsel probe into his campaign’s possible collusion with Russia will be finished by the end of the year, complete with an exoneration from Robert S. Mueller III, according to several friends who have spoken with him in recent days.
Trump has dismissed his historically low approval ratings as “fake” and boasted about what he calls the unprecedented achievements of his presidency, even while chatting behind the scenes, saying no president since Harry Truman has accomplished as much at this point…
In all these instances, as well as other setbacks, Trump has sought to paint the rosiest possible picture of his presidency and his character — and has tried to will others to see it his way, like the big-promises salesman he once was.
Sometimes… Trump simply rejects facts — and his own past admissions — as he spins a new narrative. His critics accuse him of creating an alternative reality, though people close to the president say he is simply a savvy marketer protecting his brand, as any businessman or politician would…
The first year of Trump’s presidency has brought tumult and chaos, including the expanding Russia probe, an absence of major legislative achievements and instances of self-sabotage by the president himself. But in recent days, Trump has been in an unusually upbeat mood, according to friends who visited with him…
EDITORIAL | Donald Trump is a madman https://t.co/E1IBo8mWj7 pic.twitter.com/ZY7eJCVl1A
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) November 29, 2017
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The NYTimes, of course, prefers to handle the issue more… delicately:
This is quite the paragraph about the president of the United States. https://t.co/w4MN2opktz pic.twitter.com/4MyGCZEAdO
— Steven Shepard (@POLITICO_Steve) November 29, 2017
Open Thread: How Bad *IS* Trump’s Brain?Post + Comments (226)
This post is in: Anderson On Health Insurance, hoocoodanode
Charles Gaba has put together a 17 minute Youtube video on ACA and more generally health insurance works:
This post is in: Dolt 45, Republicans in Disarray!, Russiagate, Trump Crime Cartel, Assholes, hoocoodanode
President Trump to members of the US Coast Guard: "You never know about an ally, an ally can turn." pic.twitter.com/wb4NhuGQeY
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 23, 2017
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Sounds like “President” Looselips got an early heads-up on Flynn’s (potential) defection. The Washington Post confirms the earlier NYT story:
… Even if Flynn has begun discussions with Mueller’s office, there is no guarantee he will ultimately reach a deal with prosecutors.
Flynn served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama before he was pushed out in 2014 amid criticism of his management style and clashes with other administration officials.
He then established a private consulting firm and gave paid speeches, work that has drawn intense scrutiny from Mueller…
Flynn served 24 days as Trump’s national security adviser, but was forced to resign after acknowledging that he had secretly discussed sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during Trump’s presidential transition in December.
Lawyers for the president and senior White House aides had been quietly speculating over the last few weeks that Flynn was under increasing pressure to cooperate because Mueller had signaled his ability to charge his son alongside the father.
Michael G. Flynn, the retired general’s son, helped his father with business arrangements and served as chief of staff at his father’s consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group…
7/ That's a shocking development because it means that Flynn does not expect Trump to pardon him or his son, or he believes that him or his son could be convicted of unpardonable state offenses. If pardons are off the table, cooperation is likely the right move for Flynn.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 24, 2017
Of course, since it’s Donald Trump we’re talking about, he further disgraced his current position by cheaping out on the spread for servicepeople condemned to working the holiday…
Trump is passing out potato chips and turkey sandwiches. This is the best they can do for Thanksgiving? https://t.co/FEZHRGUGYP
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 24, 2017
Trump visits service members on Thanksgiving, and reignites Twitter feud https://t.co/9XsK56lgY7 pic.twitter.com/jD5RwlpPez
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 24, 2017
Turkey SANDWICHES? Jesus at least Dubya made Cheney throw in a full bird to get his no-bid contract. pic.twitter.com/JqSLtI8N2U
— Zeddy (@ZeddRebel) November 24, 2017
This post is in: hoocoodanode
It never ends:
The Keystone pipeline running from Canada across the Great Plains leaked Thursday morning, spilling about 5,000 barrels of oil — or 210,000 gallons — southeast of the small town of Amherst in northeast South Dakota.
The spill comes just days before a crucial decision next Monday by the Public Service Commission in Nebraska over whether to grant a permit for a new, long-delayed sister pipeline called Keystone XL, which has been mired in controversy for several years. Both are owned by Calgary-based TransCanada.
Over and over and over again, experts warn us that something is a bad idea, we ignore them, then shit blow up. And we never learn and nothing ever changes.
No One Could Have Predicted- Keystone Pipeline EditionPost + Comments (137)
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Foreign Affairs, Getting The Band Back Together, Goddamned Traitors, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Russiagate, hoocoodanode
Trumpworld saying Papa D was a nobody. Maybe so, but here he is in a meeting with Trump https://t.co/yTeoQHpSES
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) October 30, 2017
#MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016https://t.co/aANxirUJJD pic.twitter.com/VlMynYN3sd
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2016
The Daily Beast makes his entrapment sound like something out of a Spy-vs-Spy parody:
Days after becoming a foreign policy advisor for the Trump campaign in 2016, George Papadopoulos started meeting with a woman he believed to be Vladimir “Putin’s niece,” according to a newly unsealed indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The woman, along with a Kremlin-connected, London-based professor, wanted to help Papadopoulos arrange meetings between representatives of then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Maybe, the woman said, she could even get the two men to meet face-to- face.
“I have already alerted my personal links to our conversation,” she later emailed. “As mentioned we are all very excited by the possibility of a good relationship with Mr. Trump. The Russian Federation would love to welcome him once his candidature would be officially announced.”
But the woman was not, in fact, Putin’s relative. Papadopoulos had, in a sense, been catfished—and then lied about catfishing to federal investigators…
Papadopoulos was living in London when he was named a foreign policy advisor to Team Trump in March 2016. Approximately eight days after accepting the job, Papadopoulos met another Londoner: a Russian professor who “claimed to have substantial connections with Russian government officials,” the indictment reads.
One of those connections was of particular interest to Papadopoulos. On March 24, the professor invited Papadopoulos to a meeting with a Russian woman, whom he introduced as a relative of Russian president Vladimir Putin. After the meeting, Papadopoulos wrote an email to the Trump campaign, stating that he had just met with the professor, whom he described as a “good friend,” and the alleged “niece.”
Papadopoulos said “Putin’s niece” and the professor had offered “to arrange a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump.”
The woman also allegedly promised to introduce Papadopoulos to the Russian Ambassador in London, but never made good on the offer.
But Trump campaign staffers praised Papadopoulous’s new connections. “Great work,” an unnamed campaign supervisor replied to the email. The supervisor shied away from making any early commitments to a meeting, but promised to “work it through the campaign.”…
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He was arrested July 27 in Dulles International Airport, according to his indictment. Since his arrest, which remained secret until now, Papadopoulos has met with investigators to answer more questions—and cooperate with Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe of ties between Trump Tower and the Kremlin…
So — if I’m reading this correctly — the first arrest was made three months ago. Points to Bobby Three Stick’s team for not sharing this news until the time was right!
And speaking of people who don’t share what they know…
With names applied pic.twitter.com/5ZjCnPqcXl
— Jay Harding (@J_Harding) October 30, 2017
Why, yes, that is Mr. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III at the foot of the table…
Open Thread: Did Papadopolous Read Too Many Spy Novels? Or Not Enough?Post + Comments (184)
This post is in: An Unexamined Scandal, Domestic Politics, Hail to the Hairpiece, I'm With Her, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality, Republicans in Disarray!, Russiagate, hoocoodanode, Schadenfreude
a/k/a Benjamin Wittes, at LawFare:
Note the sourcing on this CNN story: “sources briefed on the matter.” pic.twitter.com/nBOF6UuNIB
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) October 28, 2017
The one group of people I can think of who would be “briefed” on the matter is the deputy attorney general and his staff.
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) October 28, 2017
I am not saying the story is wrong. I am saying let’s all hold our horses and respect the process.
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) October 28, 2017
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That being said…
As far as belated birthday gifts go, Hillary must be pretty happy with what Mueller got her.
— Daily Trix (@DailyTrix) October 28, 2017
In hindsight, four major pro-Trump media arms dredging up a Bannon Special from a two-year-old movie at the same exact time while the president screamed “Russia is a hoax” this past week should’ve been an obvious tip this was coming.https://t.co/ddYbPIajAO
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 28, 2017
two laws of the universe: that there will always be a trump tweet for every occasion, and this: https://t.co/SUdrYgYeUq
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 28, 2017
What was on the cable nets at exactly 9:04:35 pm Eastern pic.twitter.com/r1ByHTMQpt
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 28, 2017
Fox's headline earlier today: "Mueller facing new Republican pressure to resign in Russia probe" https://t.co/twNbNaiCdj
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 28, 2017
Further Russiagate Open Thread: A Caution from Kindly Uncle Ben…Post + Comments (125)