SPYGATE! This Trump tweet this morning (he had at least nine, following what was being said on Fox & Friends) started it: This tweet sums it up: A year of faux Russia investigation scandals: -“Wiretapp” -Unmasking -Mueller “conflicted” -Mueller attorneys are Dems -Strzok’s “secret society” -FISA application & Steele -“Spygate” — Justin Miller (@justinjm1) May 23, 2018 There is no … Read More
How To Message The Trump-Russia Scandal
Having written about The Navigator last month, I am glad to see that the second issue deals with how to talk about the Mueller scandal. Some quick takeaways: A majority of Americans — 59 percent — say that Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia and the 2016 campaign has not yet uncovered evidence of any crimes, even though in reality, Mueller … Read More
Adam Serwer: It’s One Scandal
The Atlantic: There are not many Trump scandals. There is one Trump scandal. Singular: the corruption of the American government by the president and his associates, who are using their official power for personal and financial gain rather than for the welfare of the American people, and their attempts to shield that corruption from political consequences, public scrutiny, or legal … Read More
It’s Time To Stop Taking Giuliani Seriously
That’s the title of a Washington Post editorial by Jennifer Rubin, and yes, I agree: President Trump’s TV lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani declared on Sunday that the special counsel plans to wrap up the obstruction-of-justice inquiry into his client by Sept. 1. The press treated this as true, or possibly true, when it is obviously another ludicrous Giuliani utterance (e.g. … Read More
Was The Actual Collusion With The Saudis?
Remember Devin Nunes fake scandal about “unmasking” that caused him to do his “midnight run” to the White House? What people forget that the subject he was so concerned about was that Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, and unmasked intelligence data and discovered that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan had a secret meeting with Flynn, Kushner, and Bannon in NY. That … Read More
Why Did He Release This Email Admitting To Collusion?
Interesting: Released in a tranche of documents by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning, the release of this email in particular is likely to further ignite already-existing inquiries into the younger Trump’s knowledge of alleged Russian collusion with the Trump 2016 campaign during the presidential election held that same year. The sender of the email in question is redacted. … Read More
Trump To Instruct The FBI/DOJ To Investigate The Mueller Investigation
On Sunday, Trump’s simmering anger over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s year-old Russia probe spilled over into a series of well-worn recriminations in several tweets, including that the investigation was politically motivated and had its roots in the administration of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. Read Sunday AM tweets from @realDonaldTrump: they are a portrait of a man alone, paranoid, isolated, … Read More
Loose Ends From A Crazy News Day
Yesterday was one of those crazy Trump news days. Big story followed big story. But what was odd was a lot of it was retrospective. Things that happened in the investigation that we are NOW just learning. It clearly got under Trump’s nerves, as shown by his tweets this morning. It is a little silly for him to say that. … Read More
Senate Intelligence Committee — In A Bipartisan Statement — Show Up The House Intel GOP
Picture says it all: Unlike the GOP majority in House Intelligence Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee states clearly that it agrees with the Intelligence Community Assessment — Russia attempted to interfere with the 2016 election, and Putin ordered it.
Ice Cube, 3-On-3 Basketball, and The OTHER “Trump Tower Meeting”
Given the congressional testimony and exhibits that were released by the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, we probably know as much as we can about the infamous June 2016 in Trump Tower between Don Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and a bunch of Russians. But there is another Trump Tower meeting drawing interest. The genesis of it is confusing … Read More
New Information About The “Trump Tower Meeting” With The Russians
More than 2,500 pages of congressional testimony and exhibits that were released by the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, all relating to the now-infamous “Trump Tower Meeting” in June 2016. As you may recall, Rob Goldstone, a music promoter, promised Donald Trump Jr. over email that a Russian lawyer (Natalia Veselnitskaya) would provide dirt about Hillary Clinton. Goldstone told the committee … Read More
It’s Financial Disclosure Day!
Trump has a choice to make, and today we find out that choice. Normally, a politician completing a financial disclosure form is not worthy of news. But today, this year, with Trump — it is. Today is the deadline for President Trump to file his financial disclosure form for 2017. That fact may seem trivially bureaucratic, but lurking at its core is … Read More
Michael Cohen’s Influence Peddling
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s controversial “fixer,” is in an unfortunate spot. Last week, new details came into sharper focus showing that the New York attorney received undisclosed lobbying payments – through a shell company used to pay hush money to a porn star – from corporate giants hoping to influence his client in the Oval Office. The Wall Street Journal took a deeper … Read More
More News Trickles In On The Trump Fixers’ Money Fund
How Novartis came to give 1.2 million to Michael Cohen: The curious relationship between one of the world’s biggest drug makers and President Trump’s personal lawyer began early last year when Michael Cohen, a longtime fixer for the president, reached out to Novartis’s then-chief executive officer Joe Jimenez, promising help gaining access to Trump and influential officials in the new administration, according to … Read More
Nunes Is Not Interested In Oversight; He Is Interested In Leaking
Rep. Devin Nunes has lately taken to demanding that the Justice Department turn over records of the Mueller investigation. For obvious reasons, records of active investigations are normally confidential since the FBI doesn’t want to (a) hurt innocent people who may get caught in their net and (b) doesn’t want to alert the guilty to what they’re doing. Nunes, of … Read More