Unclear. There is one report saying a box truck plowed into some pedestrians and bicyclists in Tribeca area. Then there’s this… NBC News: Multiple people have been shot near the West Side Highway and Chambers St. in New York City. Unclear how bad the injuries are. — Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) October 31, 2017 That would place it near the World … Read More
Seven Points Which Make The Beginnings Of A Trump-Russia Collusion Case
1) Russia stole Democratic emails. US intelligence agencies have confirmed that emails from the Democratic National Committee and from Clinton campaign chair John Podesta were stolen by Russian hackers. The emails were ultimately released in a smartly sequenced way to maximize damage to Hillary Clinton. 2) At least one Trump adviser knew of the theft in advance, and lied about it. Shortly after the emails were … Read More
The Pushback On Mueller Began A Week Before The Indictments
Fox News really is now the Trump network. It is not even the GOP network. Just Trump. They have been questioning Mueller’s credibility. Vox explains the evolution: To put it bluntly: As Mueller brings charges against top Trump officials, Fox News is trying to plant doubt in its viewers’ minds. We analyzed the past week of Fox News transcripts, measuring … Read More
Mueller Time
Well, life has been busy. I wasn’t able to blog about yesterday’s big news: the indictments of Paul Manafort and his assistant Richard Gates — as well as the indictment and guilty plea of George Papadopolous. The talking heads are correct — it is the Papadopolous news that should scare the White House since it goes to collusion. On the … Read More
Breaking: Mueller Hands Down First Indictment
CNN broke it: Washington (CNN) — A federal grand jury in Washington on Friday approved the first charges in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to sources briefed on the matter. The charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge. Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as Monday, … Read More
Fox News Trying Hard To Smear Mueller
The Fox News Headline reads: Mueller facing new Republican pressure to resign in Russia probe Wow. Who is pressuring him to do this? And on what basis? So here’s the story: Special Counsel Robert Mueller is facing a fresh round of calls from conservative critics for his resignation from the Russia collusion probe, amid revelations that have called into question … Read More
The “Uranium One” Non-Scandal
Yawn: In a news conference Tuesday, House Republicans announced that two panels — the House Intelligence Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — would jointly probe the Obama administration’s October 2010 approval of a deal that gave a Russian company control of more than 20 percent of this country’s uranium production capacity. “It’s important we find out … Read More
The JFK Files
The federal government just released thousands of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The papers were posted online by the National Archives in compliance with a 1992 law requiring their release after 25 years. After a chaotic last-minute review in which intelligence agencies lobbied against full disclosure, the White House said it would take more time to process … Read More
The Wishful Thinking Solution To The Opioid Crisis
Call it Just-Say-No 2.00. Trump declared a war on the opioid crisis: President Trump on Thursday directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency, taking long-anticipated action to address a rapidly escalating epidemic of drug use. He didn’t fulfill his campaign promise of making it a “national emergency” because that would have real-world … Read More
Nothing To See Here
Puerto Rico is a boondoggle for a Trump donor: Puerto Rico has agreed to pay a reported $300 million for the restoration of its power grid to a tiny utility company that is primarily financed by a private-equity firm founded and run by a man who contributed large sums of money to President Trump, an investigation conducted by The Daily Beast has found. Whitefish … Read More
We Know Now Why We Were In Niger
CNN: The US Army team that was ambushed in Niger was gathering intelligence on a terrorist leader operating in the area when it was attacked, two military officials told CNN on Tuesday. The officials said the unit was not under orders to conduct a kill or capture mission on the leader, since such missions are typically reserved for other elite … Read More
Flake Bows Out
In a growing sign of discontentment with their President, another Republican Senator has announced he will not run for re-election: Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona: Condemning the nastiness of Republican politics in the era of President Donald Trump, Sen. Jeff Flake on Tuesday announced he will serve out the remainder of his term but will not seek re-election in 2018. The bombshell, … Read More
What Happened In Niger
The controversy has been Trump’s call to a bereaved family, which by all accounts bolluxed up. But how did it come about? It came about because it took Trump twelves days to talk to this family, and a reporter asked about the delay. From there, Trump proceeded to bash Obama, saying (falsely) that Obama never called the families of fallen … Read More
Kelly Enters GrievingWidowGate And Reveals Himself To Be Trumpist
Well, I have, in the past, given General John Kelly, Trump’s Chief of Staff, too much credit. I thought he was the grown-up in the room. But yesterday, he gave a press conference – an admittedly moving one – talking about what it is like to have a son killed in combat. He knows. And then he laid into the … Read More
Trump Gets The Healthcare Bill He’s Been Clamoring For, But Now He Doesn’t Want It
Truth is, Trump never wanted to fix Obamacare. He said it was dead, and now he’s going to kill it. But the bill in question is a modest one. The compromise offered by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) yesterday gives a bit to both sides but does not fundamentally alter the Affordable Care Act. For Democrats, the … Read More