The Hanoi summit is over early and President Trump says no agreement was reached. “There is a gap,” he said, and the gap is that Kim wanted all sanctions lifted but was not willing to eliminate his nuclear arsenal in return. Trump was very vague about this, saying that Kim was willing to “denuclearize large portions of the areas we … Read More
Cohen Hearing Summed Up
Cohen’s testimony includes accusations — relating to Trump’s racism, his lack of concern for the public weal and his attempts to conceal his academic record — that, if true, are simply embarrassing. But, as noted by Max Bergmann of the Moscow Project at the Center for American Progress, the president’s former lawyer also implicated him in at least four felonies: 1. Conspiracy to defraud … Read More
Cohen Open Testimony: Live Updates
As Brian Williams said last night, and I am paraphrasing: “It is very possible that fifty year from now, we will still be looking at video clips from Cohen’s testimony.” Meaning, today is an historical day. Maybe. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer”, who was disbarred yesterday, and is scheduled to be imprisoned for lying to investigators, is testifying … Read More
Cohen Testimony Week: Day One
Michael Cohen is testifying today to Congress, but behind closed doors. He will give pubic testimony tomorrow. The White House is playing like they are not scared. In a statement on this morning, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, denounced Mr. Cohen. “Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false … Read More
The North Korea Summit Talks: Part Two – Electric Boogaloo
Welp, Trump is off again to meet with Kim Jong-un for the second time. You would think it is unnecessary, because the last time they met, Trump returned home and tweeted how North Korea had been denuclearized. It hadn’t, of course. So Trump is returning to meet with Kim Jong-un, and is he bringing a paddle? Nope. He’s bringing more … Read More
Document Dump: There Is No Wall Emergency
Former national security appointees agree:
Document Dump: Complaint Against Trump
Another sex scandal embroils Trump. I doubt this goes anywhere:
Document Dump: CREW Report on Trump Crimes
The Stormy Daniels controversy isn’t about sex. It’s about the cover-up, and the illegal misuse of campaign funds. This could be a more existential threat to Trump than the Mueller investigation.
The Mueller Report Will Be Big Even If It Finds No Collusion By Trump
This graph, from Phillip Bump, shows what WE KNOW will be in the Mueller report. This is no witch hunt. That’s about 290 pages of documents detailing alleged and admitted illegal behavior, including, in most cases, broad context for the actions. (Many of those pages, particularly as they relate to Manafort, are carried over between documents.) It’s dozens of criminal … Read More
Breaking: Stone Gagged
If Stone violates this gag order, the judge says she will revoke his bond and detain him pending trial. Stone is getting a second chance, Jackson says, but this is not baseball — there will be no third chance — Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
How It Might All End
I’m on the record as not believing the Mueller investigation is coming to an end next week or soon thereafter, but all the media is telling me I am wrong. So assuming I am wrong, let’s look at what happens next, if anything. Wired laid out seven scenarios: 1. Mueller sends the attorney general a simple “declination letter,” telling Bill Barr … Read More
Trump Meddled Again With DOJ Investigation
Just out from the NY Times: As federal prosecutors in Manhattan gathered evidence late last year about President Trump’s role in silencing women with hush payments during the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump called Matthew G. Whitaker, his newly installed attorney general, with a question. He asked whether Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New … Read More
McCabe Told Gang of Eight About Counterintelligence Investigation Into Trump
I haven’t written much, if anything about former FBI director Andrew McCabe’s series interviews promoting his upcoming new book, but the big reveal from it all is that McCabe ordered a counterintelligence investigation into Trump early in the presidency. Not surprising in one sense, given Trump’s firing of James Comey, etc. But there was an interesting wrinkle to the story. … Read More
The Real Collusion May Be With Saudi Arabia
It’s becoming clear that the Trump Administration came into being seeing the United States as an asset for sale. NBC: Whistleblowers from within President Donald Trump’s National Security Council have told a congressional committee that efforts by former national security adviser Michael Flynn to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia may have violated the law, and investigators fear Trump is still considering it, … Read More
Document Dump: California v Trump Complaint
Filed yesterday in US District Court in San Francisco, seventeen states joined to bar Trump for using an emergency declaration to prevent Trump from diverting military funds to build his border wall. Paragraph 160 is where Trump’s own words are used against him.