The testimony Tuesday of Bill Taylor, the US charge d’affaires to Ukraine, has rocked the political establishment. Taylor told the House he encountered an “irregular” channel on Ukraine, guided by Rudy Giuliani, that produced “a weird combination of encouraging, confusing, and ultimately alarming circumstances.” Taylor is the guy in those text messages who described the administration’s handling of Ukraine’s request … Read More
(Mock) Indictment of Fruity-G
This comes from former prosecutors at Just Security. If this were an actual indictment, many of the names would be replaced with generic identifiers, such as Candidate-1 or Company-A. The Justice Department requires this practice to protect the reputations of individuals and entities that are not charged with any crimes. A jury is told the identities of these individuals and … Read More
Signs Of Desperation From Trump And His Supporters
The New York Times editorial board correctly asserts that the “storming of the SCIF” by Freedom Caucus members yesterday was done only because Trump-supporting Republicans are getting drowned in bad testimony, so they attack the process (an old defense lawyer trick): The entire spectacle was a circus — which was the point. This was a publicity stunt aimed at delegitimizing the … Read More
Podhoretz: Trump Will Be Impeached
Jesus. If you told me ten years ago that I would be quoting at length, with approval, a Podhoretz column, I would never stop laughing. But here we are. And his view is largely becoming the consensus view in the Capital, even by Republicans (which Podhoretz is). Trump’s defenders are dwindling, especially in the Senate. And he knows it. And … Read More
Breaking: Gaetz And Other Republicans Perform Desperate Stunt [And Other Impeachment news]
About two dozen House Republicans, chanting “Let us in! Let us in!” tried to storm the secure room where a Defense Department official arrived this morning to testify in the impeachment inquiry, refusing to leave even after they were turned back by Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee that was leading … Read More
Today In Impeachmentland
Today, William B. Taylor Jr., the United States ambassador to Ukraine, becomes the latest Trump administration official to make his way to Capitol Hill to offer his account to impeachment investigators as they search for answers about Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine. Taylor is expected to be questioned about a series of text messages from September revealed by a former colleague, Kurt … Read More
I Can’t Believe This A-Hole Is President: Part LXVII
When gently corrected by one of the astronauts about how other women have spacewalked, Donald Trump uses his middle finger to "fix" his hair. How is this even real life? pic.twitter.com/9bnj7XfY1m — Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) October 21, 2019 "We never agreed to protect the Kurds…we never agreed to protect the Kurds for the rest of their lives," Trump said at … Read More
Trump Caves On G7 Summit At His Resort
Trump was forced to abandon his decision to host next year’s Group of Seven summit at his private golf club after it became clear the move had alienated Republicans and swiftly become part of the impeachment inquiry that threatens his presidency. In a round of phone calls with conservative allies this weekend, Trump was told Republicans are struggling to defend him … Read More
Trump Openly Violates Emoluments Clause
As if his Syrian blunder wasn’t enough, and his Ukraine telephone call extortion wasn’t enough, Trump is now violating the Constitution brazenly. He has announced that next year’s G7 meeting will be held at the Trump National Doral in Miami. His acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney explains that there’s nothing wrong with this: MULVANEY: “Again, anticipating your questions, how … Read More
Mulvaney Says It Out Loud
Yesterday marked the day when even Donald Trump’s own people placed him squarely at the center of the impeachment inquiry into his efforts to extort Ukraine for personal political gain. White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney made a stunning admission of a quid pro quo by confirming that President Donald Trump froze nearly $400 million in U.S. security aid to Ukraine in part … Read More
The Cease Fire That Wasn’t
So Trump sent this embarrassing letter a couple days ago: Oh my God. A “deal”??? It didn’t go over well in Turkey either Wow. #Erdogan tells news conference the letter sent by @realDonaldTrump telling him not to be a ‘tough guy’ wasn’t in line with diplomatic or political customs. He said they wouldn’t forget the lack of respect. “When the … Read More
The July 25 Phone Call Was Act Two
Today, The Washington Post reported that it wasn’t just Rudy Giuliani and his merry band of international criminals who were running U.S. policy in Ukraine. Instead, that role was also shared by Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, Special Envoy Kurt Volker, and—as earlier head-scratching statements had suggested—Energy Secretary Rick Perry. And all of them were apparently assigned their roles not via direct contact … Read More
The Case Against Rudy And How Citizens United Got Us Here
Since the NYT revealed that SDNY is investigating Rudy Giuliani for what they call “lobbying” laws, Mr. Lutsenko initially asked Mr. Giuliani to represent him, according to the former mayor, who said he declined because it would have posed a conflict with his work for the president. Instead, Mr. Giuliani said, he interviewed Mr. Lutsenko for hours, then had one of his … Read More
Trump’s “America First” Means We Have No Influence Anymore
Donald Trump sure has made the rest of the world respect us: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected a U.S. offer to mediate a cease-firebetween Turkish forces and Kurdish militants in northeastern Syria….“The terrorists should drop their weapons and leave the area that we have identified as the safe zone,” he said in a speech Wednesday to the Turkish parliament. He vowed to press … Read More
Trump Orchestrates Disgusting Reality TV Moment
This is vile and bizarre, even for Trump. A 19-year-old British motorcyclist, Harry Dunn, was killed in August by an American wrong-way driver who subsequently fled the country under cover of diplomatic immunity. Dunn’s grieving parents are in the U.S. trying to get justice for their son, and Trump lured them to the White House for a mind-bogglingly gross reality TV … Read More