2:30 today. The thing to remember is that Sessions WANTED this testimony. So this is likely to his benefit. Or Trump’s. Sessions was once on the periphery of the Trump-Russia scandal. I mean, sure, he failed to disclose at his confirmation hearings that he met with the Russians twice during the campaign. But he fixed that as soon as the … Read More
Can Trump Fire Mueller?
This is complicated and I don’t have much time. So hold on. Trump does not have the legal authority to fire special prosecutor Mueller directly, but that doesn’t mean Trump can’t TRY. For Trump to fire Mueller, he TECHNICALLY must order the Attorney General to fire Mueller. If Trump tried to fire Mueller directly, Mueller could (and probably would) choose … Read More
Happy Comey Day
Well, we already know in essence what Comey will testify about, since we have his written statement (which has been dissected to death). I don’t expect a lot of “news” but maybe so more fleshing out. It will be in sharp contrast to yesterday, where two intelligence chiefs repeatedly refused to say whether Trump asked them to intervene in the … Read More
Day 118. Hot Mess
1/ Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Bob Mueller to oversee the investigation of Russian interference in election. Mueller will take command of the prosecutors and FBI agents who are working on the far reaching Russia investigation. Trump said that he expects the probe will find no collusion between his 2016 White House campaign and foreign countries, calling the Russia … Read More
Day 116. Jeopardized.
1/ Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian diplomats during their Oval Office meeting last week, which has jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State. Trump’s decision to disclose information risks cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. A US official said Trump “revealed more information to the Russian … Read More
Word
Seriously, I think he’s actually correct. I think they literally DO try to do the dickish thing possible.
NC Legislature Still At It
Despite protests, widespread criticism and a threat by the governor-elect to challenge in court any moves that he believes would unconstitutionally limit his power, the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature is pushing through reforms that would severely limit the incoming Democratic governor’s power. It’s insane. One such measure, which passed the House, was that the GOP and the Democratic Party would alternate the … Read More
Republicans Will Like Anything As Long As It Helps Republicans
This graph says it all: Republican opinion on Putin seems to have moved not because Trump is pro-Russia or because there’s suddenly an opportunity for better relations with Moscow. It moved because Russia interfered in the election to the Democrats’ detriment, whether that was the core motive or not. That’s the point we’ve reached in partisan polarization, apparently. Want better … Read More
The Brazen NCGOP Power Grab
The lame-duck North Carolina legislature’s is engaging in a last-minute effort to weaken the office of the governor before Democrat Roy Cooper. Here’s one thing they are doing. Back in 2013, this same legislature dramatically increased the number of what are technically called “exempt positions” under the governor, giving newly elected Republican Gov. Pat McCrory significant new patronage power. The … Read More
A Bunch Of Funny Side Stories From This Week
(1) NC GOP CAN’T DO ANYTHING RIGHT, INCLUDING MOCKING DEMS When Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine addressed the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Wednesday night, the North Carolina GOP thought it quickly spotted something wrong. When Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine addressed the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Wednesday night, the North Carolina GOP thought it … Read More
Unity In Color, At Least
Salon: At last official count, there were expected to be a total of 18 black delegates at the Republican National Convention this week. Yes, eighteen, or roughly 0.7 percent of the 2,472 national delegates in Cleveland. *** According to the best estimate we have, the share of black delegates at this week’s GOP convention is lower than any time it … Read More
RNC Deletes LGBT Reference In Its Orlando Statement
In its original statement following the Orlando shootings, the Republican National Committee made an attempt to acknowledge that the attack specifically targeted LGBT Americans—a sad attempt, but an attempt nonetheless. But meh, who really cares about that aspect anyway? So they finally just edited gays out altogether. Rebecca Ruiz reports on the line that was just too dangerous to include: “Violence against any group of … Read More
Texas GOP Platform
It’s no fun to live in North Carolina sometimes, with its backward state legislature. But at least it ain’t Texas. Check out the Republican Party of Texas Platform below. Here are some of my favorites: The Rights of a Sovereign People- The Republican Party of Texas supports the historic concept, established by our nation’s founders, of limited civil government jurisdiction … Read More