He won’t cooperate, period. And now we are officially in a constitutional crisis. The missive sprawls over eight pages, but its message can be boiled down to just five words: You’re damn right we’re obstructing. I need to discuss the legal issues here — there are very few in this letter. They are tucked away in footnotes. And they are terrible. … Read More
Turkey Now Heading Into Syria
Sorry Kurds. A bad situation in Northeast Syria is about to get much worse. Sources say that US officials have just informed the Syrian Kurds that Turkey is likely to attack on air and ground in next 24 hours. The United States, per Trmp’s ill-advised pullout, will do nothing. Targets are Tal Abyad and Ras al Ayn. Ironically Tal Abyad … Read More
Document Dump: Senate Report On Russian Interference In 2016 Election
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on Russian ratfucking in the 2016 election was released today and it didn’t tell us much we didn’t already know, or hadn’t already intuited, but it told us a lot more about what we already knew or already had intuited. What is significant, of course, is that this comes from the Republican-majority Senate. From the report itself: … Read More
Trump Lawyers: The Unanimous Supreme Court During Watergate Was Wrong
Yes, L’Affaire Russe is still a thing. In fact, today the lawyers for the House Judiciary Committee were in court, trying to get the documents that Mueller submitted to the grand jury and which underlie the Mueller Report. The DOJ was, of course, trying to stop that from happening, even though this is precisely what happened under Nixon when Judge … Read More
The Call
CNN has a great story on the call which set L’Affaire Ukraine in motion: By the time President Donald Trump’s line with Volodymyr Zelensky went quiet, the scramble began. In the hours and days after the Ukrainian President signed-off — “Thank you Mr. President, bye-bye” — nervous word spread among national security aides about the contents of the July 25 call, … Read More
It’s Going To Get Uglier
Greg Sargent talks to Rep. Adam Schiff about what’s coming from the impeachment inquiry: Public opinion is shifting precipitously against President Trump, with a new Post-Schar School poll showing that 58 percent of Americans support the House’s impeachment inquiry, and 49 percent support outright removal. But even more ominously for Trump, 62 percent say Trump’s pressure on the Ukrainian president, the topic … Read More
Whistleblower Goes Plural
The news of a second whistleblower has the media abuzz. This whistleblower, unlike the first one, reportedly hand “firsthand” knowledge of the July 25 Trump-Zelensky phone call. I personally don’t think that is a big issue, unless Whistleblower #2 can talk about things that came up that (for some nefarious reason) did not come to light in the non-transcript “transcript” … Read More
Exactly WHO Was Shaking Down Ukraine For Money?
It doesn’t seem to be Hunter Biden: As Rudy Giuliani was pushing Ukrainian officials last spring to investigate one of Donald Trump’s main political rivals, a group of individuals with ties to the president and his personal lawyer were also active in the former Soviet republic. Their aims were profit, not politics. This circle of businessmen and Republican donors touted … Read More
Breaking: Manhattan Federal Judge Throws Out Trump Lawsuit Trying To Quash Subpoena For His Tax Returns
A federal judge just dismissed President Trump’s lawsuit seeking to block the Manhattan District Attorney from obtaining the president’s tax returns as part of an investigation into hush-money payments during the 2016 campaign. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero rejected Trump’s argument that the presidency makes him immune to any investigation by any prosecutor. In his 75-page ruling, Marrero called such a … Read More
Putin’s Poolboy Reverses US Policy On Turkey
He didn’t consult allies. He didn’t consult Congress – even Republicans. I’m not sure he even consulted his advisers. But I’ll give dollars to donuts he talked to Putin about this. This morning, Americans woke to this… out of the blue: So President Trump has given his endorsement for a Turkish military operation that would sweep away American-backed Kurdish forces … Read More
Document Dump: Prepared Opening Remarks Of Kurt Volker, Former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations
From yesterday. It is very unconvincing in several places, particularly read in conjunction that makes it clear there was a quid pro quo tied to security assistance and aid. Most charitably, it reads like the narrative of someone whose intentions were good, but in denial about his actions in service of an ultimate outcome — the continued provision of aid … Read More
Document Dump: Graham In Bed With Mother Russia?
The media has not picked up on this, but it goes a long way to explaining Lindsay Graham, who once said that if Trump is elected, it will be the end of democracy. Now, he is hardcore Trump. Is this why?
Discouraged
I have doubts that Trump will be impeached, let alone removed. The bar is so low, but it has moved incrementally. He almost would have to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue before Republicans in Congress get a backbone. I mean, here’s the latest: Two of President Trump’s top envoys to Ukraine worked on a statement for the country’s new president … Read More
The Packet That Seems To Be The Rudy Dossier
I don’t understand this story, so bear with me. The cryptically worded request marked urgent from the State Department’s independent watchdog set Congress on edge. The message, according to Steven A. Linick, the department’s inspector general, was that he needed to meet — and right away — with senior congressional staff members to give them copies of documents related to … Read More
Trump Clings To Debunked Facts, Just Like His Supporters
It’s not complicated. He is just plain dumb. He really is. Shortly after taking office, Donald Trump asked his aides whether Ukraine, and not Russia, might have hacked Democratic National Committee emails as part of a false-flag operation. Then–Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert tried to stop the idea in its tracks. “It’s not only a conspiracy theory, it is completely debunked,” … Read More