First the New York Times, then the Washington Post and then NBC News reported this big bombshell Thursday night: President Trump wanted to fire special counsel Robert Mueller back in June 2017 — but then backed off. Trump, in Switzerland, responded to last night’s news: “Fake news folks, fake news. Typical New York Times fake stories.” The story is simple: President Trump ordered the firing … Read More
Fox News And Many In The GOP Go Full-on Tin Foil Hat
Work and other life things has prevented me from posting for eight days, which is equivalent to eight months in these manic-news-cycling days of the Trump era. What did I not even comment on? Well, the government shutdown over the weekend, and arguments about DACA. Oh, and Stormy Weather. But that was ages ago it seems. Let’s start with this week, … Read More
Today’s Fake News Awards
Today was to be the day that Trump promised he would embark on another unpresidential act, announcing the “winners” of the “Fake News Award.” This might prove to be difficult for him, as he like to be the winner of everything. If he goes through with the preposterous thing, I’m sure he’ll find a way to give himself an award. … Read More
Investigators Scrutinizing Newly Uncovered Payments By The Russian Embassy
Officials investigating the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election are scrutinizing newly uncovered financial transactions between the Russian government and people or businesses inside the United States. This could reveal good stuff. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, charged with investigating Russian election interference and possible collusion by the Trump campaign, is examining these transactions and others by Russian diplomatic personnel, … Read More
Bannon Subpoenaed By Mueller
Steve Bannon is testifying right now behind closed doors before the House Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. I don’t think that is big news — it is the House and their credibility is liimited. But this is an interesting development, even if it was expected: … Read More
Breaking: New Trump Scandal Not Even The Worst Of The Week
When you realize the president’s lawyer paying hush money to adult film star before election might not be be one of the 5 worst stories of the week for him https://t.co/5MwBsgNZNA — Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) January 12, 2018 Chait is correct. But it is sex and it is easy to understand, so maybe this one will have legs. Stephanie Clifford … Read More
Fallout From Trump’s Racial Slur About Immigrants From “Shithole Countries”
“This is CNN Tonight, I’m Don Lemon. The president of the United States is racist. A lot of us already knew that.” <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/n0y4eJ6N6wQ” frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen></iframe> But political reaction? Very little domestically. The White House did not deny the remarks and one anonymous source said it would probably help Trump with his base. Condemnation from the … Read More
Trumpism And Racism: Part Two — Breaking News
Holy Shit. Washington Post headline: Uh…. when have you ever seen that word in a headline? Story: President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they floated restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to two people briefed on the meeting. “Why are we … Read More
Trumpism and Race
You need to read Charles Blow: Trumpism is a religion founded on patriarchy and white supremacy. It is the belief that even the least qualified man is a better choice than the most qualified woman and a belief that the most vile, anti-intellectual, scandal-plagued simpleton of a white man is sufficient to follow in the presidential footsteps of the best … Read More
Document Dump: Trump’s Lawyer Files Defamation Suit Re: Steele Dossier
Michael Cohen, Trump’s (not very good) Roy Cohn, has filed two lawsuits in Manhattan relating to the allegations about him in the Steele Dossier. Both lawsuits assert defamation. Cohen seems quite adamant that the allegations of his Russian ties and contacts are false. Perhaps they are. But as the lawsuits go, he probably doesn’t have much of a case. Buzzfeed, … Read More
How Unpopular Is Trump?
Despite some supposed “successes” lately (the tax reform bill), Trump’s approval remains at historical lows. First off, this graph from the New York Times reflecting how much more unpopular he is since election by every demographic (underlying data from Morning Consult): It is sorted by biggest fall, although keep in mind that some groups were so law (Dem women for … Read More
Is Trump Screwing With FISA And Unmasking?
It has been reported that Trump’s work day is unusually short — usually from 11am to 3pm. He doesn’t have the attention span or stamina for more. What does Trump do the rest of the time? He watches TV, makes phone calls, and tweets. His tweets are the things that generate most news. And we’ve come to learn after almost … Read More
Cyber Crime Expert Joins Mueller’s Staff
WaPo: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has added a veteran cyber prosecutor to his team, filling what has long been a gap in expertise and potentially signaling a recent focus on computer crimes. Ryan K. Dickey was assigned to Mueller’s team in early November from the Justice Department’s computer crime and intellectual-property section, said a spokesman for the special … Read More
Three-Judge Panel Strikes Down NC Districts As Political Gerrymandering
This is a huge decision not only locally, but nationally. A federal court yesterday ruled that Republicans in North Carolina unconstitutionally gerrymandered congressional districts in 2016 to ensure Republican “domination of the state’s congressional delegation.” The three-judge panel struck down the map and ordered the state’s General Assembly to come up with a substitute by Jan. 24. The decision was … Read More
The Amazing Rise and Fall Of Steve Bannon
Three years ago, very few people knew who Steve Bannon was. Two years ago, he was the svengali of the Trump campaign, the puppetmaster of Trump himself, making the cover of Time almost as much as Trump. And as the Trump presidency started one year ago, Bannon, as Trump’s chief strategist and main adviser, seemed to have the power to … Read More