This is, uh, bullshit. Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a senior committee member, told the Justice Department they had reason to believe that a former British spy, Christopher Steele, lied to federal authorities about his contacts with reporters regarding information in the dossier, and they urged the … Read More
New York Times With More Info On Trump-Russia Scandal and Comey Firing
Although much of the media is focussed on the allegations in Michael Wolff’s new book Fire and Fury, the New York Times let loose with an important article last night. Michael S. Schmidt’s report in the New York Times contains so many blockbusters that it’s hard to know where to begin. Here are the most critical claims: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller … Read More
Manafort Sues Mueller
This day continues to be bizarre. Manafort is suing the Department of Justice, and names Rosenstein and Mueller as defendants, claiming that Mueller acted outside his authority by indicting him. This is an extremely unusual move. If an indictment can be challenged legally, typically the defendant files a motion to dismiss the indictment as part of the criminal case. It’s … Read More
Bannon Turns On Trump In Russia Scandal… And Other Related News From A New Trump Tell-All
Two big developments in Trump-Russia scandal world: (1) In a New York Times op-ed, the CEOs of Fusion GPS (the opposition research firm that did oppo research on Trump resulting in the Steele dossier) made it clear that the FBI investigation into Trump did NOT come about as a result of the dossier, giving lie to the propaganda pushed by … Read More
Congressional Republicans Are Working To Bury Trump-Russia Investigations
Aside from the saber-rattling with North Korea, and the attempts to delegitimize institutions, perhaps the most troubling trend to come from the Trump Administration so far are the efforts by many Republicans in Congress to prevent a full accounting of Russia’s interference in our election and any possible Trump campaign conspiracy with it. This is particularly true in he House … Read More
Trump Cavalcade of Crazy Continues
It’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s, normally a down time everywhere. A lot of people are on vacation, Congress is out, etc. But Trump seems to have time on his hands. He’s not WORKING… President Trump is at his Florida golf club this morning, marking his 88th day at a Trump golf property and his 114th day at … Read More
Why Trump Won’t Fire Mueller
Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, write this in today’s WaPo: Those investigations [of Manafort and Flynn] would go on even if Mueller leaves. When the Justice Department initiates an investigation, it can’t be closed without following a set of procedures that ensure cases aren’t shut down for improper reasons. If a case is opened, it can’t be “declined” — … Read More
Trump’s Battle With Mueller: Fox’s Complicity
Over the weekend, as CNN’s Brian Stelter recaps, Fox seized on anti-Trump texts sent by a Mueller investigator — which, while newsworthy, are being appropriately handled by Mueller — to launch attacks on federal law enforcement that are truly hallucinatory. We were told by one on-air figure that this is “potentially one of the biggest scandals in American history.” Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway insisted “the fix is in” … Read More
The Scandal That Is Not
Benjamin Witte writes about the story that is the subject of Fox almost every day — that an FBI agent was removed from the Mueller team because he had exchanged private emails with another FBI agent — his girlfriend, that were gloriously anti-Trump. The right wing news and establishment think this is a scandal, but of course, this means nothing. … Read More
Politifact’s Lie Of The Year
2017 Lie of the Year: Russian election interference is a ‘made-up story’ No, it’s not. We don’t know the extent of Russian interference, or whether anyone in the Trump campaign colluded in the interference, but it is not a “made up story”. Politifact has made this assertion the “lie of the year”: A mountain of evidence points to a single … Read More
If Trump Told Flynn To Lie To The FBI, That’s The Ballgame
As NBC reports: “Trump’s legal team and senior White House aides are refusing to say when and how the president first learned that Flynn had lied to the FBI.” After the news broke that Flynn had made a plea deal admitting to these lies, Trump tweeted that he’d fired Flynn because he lied to the FBI, suggesting he knew of this lying at the time, though … Read More
Hope Hicks In The Spotlight
The New York Times is breaking two separate pieces of news regarding White House Communications Director Hope Hicks. First is that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team finally has conducted its much-anticipated interview with Hicks, meeting with her Thursday and Friday. Second is that the F.B.I. warned Hicks that Russian operatives had been trying to make contact with her during the transition: There is no evidence … Read More
Trump Hits New Low In Pew Polls
President Donald Trump has hit rock bottom again in a new poll. The Pew Research Center finds that only 32 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, the lowest level in any Pew poll measuring his job approval since he took office in January. Sixty-three percent disapprove. Trump’s approval rating has declined slightly since October when it was 34 percent, and … Read More
Trumps Worked Directly With Wikileaks During Campaign
CNN has today’s blockbuster: Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were emailed a decryption key and website address for documents hacked by WikiLeaks in the fall of 2016, CNN reported Friday. Congressional investigators are seeking to determine whether the Sept. 4 email to the Trumps, which was turned over by the Trump Organization, is the latest example of entities or individuals associated … Read More
The Republican Machine and Fox’s pro-Trump Hosts Are Working Hard To Discredit Robert Mueller
Yesterday left no doubt: Fox News and Trump Republicans are willing to destroy America’s institutions as long as it keeps them in power. It starts with Fox News. It starts with Sean Hannity, who’s hearing that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is “illegitimate and corrupt.” That it’s led by a “band of merry Trump-haters” who are trying to reverse the … Read More