Attorney General Sessions Caught In Yet Another Lie

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Jeff Sessions is either the most forgetful man on the planet, or the most deceitful. Either way, he’s not fit to be the attorney general. Standing before reporters in February, President Trump said unequivocally that he knew of nobody from his campaign who was in contact with Russians during the election. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has told the Senate the same … Read More

Seven Points Which Make The Beginnings Of A Trump-Russia Collusion Case

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

1) Russia stole Democratic emails. US intelligence agencies have confirmed that emails from the Democratic National Committee and from Clinton campaign chair John Podesta were stolen by Russian hackers. The emails were ultimately released in a smartly sequenced way to maximize damage to Hillary Clinton. 2) At least one Trump adviser knew of the theft in advance, and lied about it. Shortly after the emails were … Read More

The Pushback On Mueller Began A Week Before The Indictments

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Right Wing and Inept Media, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Fox News really is now the Trump network. It is not even the GOP network.  Just Trump.  They have been questioning Mueller’s credibility. Vox explains the evolution: To put it bluntly: As Mueller brings charges against top Trump officials, Fox News is trying to plant doubt in its viewers’ minds. We analyzed the past week of Fox News transcripts, measuring … Read More

Mueller Time

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Well, life has been busy. I wasn’t able to blog about yesterday’s big news: the indictments of Paul Manafort and his assistant Richard Gates — as well as the indictment and guilty plea of George Papadopolous.  The talking heads are correct — it is the Papadopolous news that should scare the White House since it goes to collusion. On the … Read More

Fox News Trying Hard To Smear Mueller

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

The Fox News Headline reads: Mueller facing new Republican pressure to resign in Russia probe Wow.  Who is pressuring him to do this?  And on what basis?  So here’s the story: Special Counsel Robert Mueller is facing a fresh round of calls from conservative critics for his resignation from the Russia collusion probe, amid revelations that have called into question … Read More

The “Uranium One” Non-Scandal

Ken AshfordClinton Email Faux Scandal, Political Scandals, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Yawn: In a news conference Tuesday, House Republicans announced that two panels — the House Intelligence Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — would jointly probe the Obama administration’s October 2010 approval of a deal that gave a Russian company control of more than 20 percent of this country’s uranium production capacity. “It’s important we find out … Read More

Trump Gets The Healthcare Bill He’s Been Clamoring For, But Now He Doesn’t Want It

Ken AshfordHealth Care, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Truth is, Trump never wanted to fix Obamacare. He said it was dead, and now he’s going to kill it. But the bill in question is a modest one. The compromise offered by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) yesterday gives a bit to both sides but does not fundamentally alter the Affordable Care Act. For Democrats, the … Read More

Trump’s New Target: Family Of A Fallen Soldier

Ken AshfordMilitary Issues, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

WaPo: The mother of a soldier killed in an ambush in Africa said Wednesday that President Trump “did disrespect my son” with remarks in a condolence telephone call. Sgt. La David T. Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Washington Post that she was present during the call from the White House on Tuesday to Johnson’s widow, Myeshia Johnson. Johnson’s mother also … Read More

Document Dump: Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Travel Ban… Yet Again

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Courts/Law, Immigration and Xenophobia, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Tired of winning…? UPDATE: A second federal court rules the same — A federal judge in Maryland early Wednesday issued a second halt on the latest version of President Trump’s travel ban, asserting that the president’s own comments on the campaign trail and on Twitter convinced him that the directive was akin to an unconstitutional Muslim ban.

Decertification Of Iran?

Ken AshfordForeign Affairs, Iran, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

BREAKING: Tillerson: Trump will not withdraw from Iran nuclear deal but will say pact is not in US national security interests. — The Associated Press (@AP) October 13, 2017 TRUMP on the Iran nuclear deal: “I am announcing today that we cannot and will not make this certification.” — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 13, 2017 These tweets are two hours … Read More

Trump Sabotage Of Obamacare In Full Swing

Ken AshfordHealth Care, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Remember the Pottery Barn rule: You break it, you own it. The gutting of Obamacare continues, and it’s serious: President Donald Trump plans to cut off subsidy payments to insurers selling Obamacare coverage in his most aggressive move yet to undermine his predecessor’s health care law. The subsidies, which are worth an estimated $7 billion this year and are paid … Read More

Trump: Blaming The Victim

Ken AshfordDisasters, Immigration and Xenophobia, Race, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

This is outright inhumane: Trump is laying the groundwork for abandoning Puerto Rico, and blaming it for its infrastructure problems that existed pre-hurricane. Lost in his “analysis” is that the people suffering there (still no power or clean water on most of the Island) are AMERICANS. If Bush was negligent with Katrina response, Trump is being outright punishing. According to … Read More

Trump Doesn’t Know How The National Debt Works

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & Deficit, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

During his latest interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, President Trump went on a confused rant about the economy, at one point falsely suggesting that stock market gains are helping pay down the national debt. “I’m so proud of the $5.2 trillion dollars of increase in the stock market,” Trump said, referring to the bull market that began as the … Read More