The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705
Tuesday
May072019
The Commentariat -- May 8, 2019
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "The Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. to answer questions about his contention that he had only limited knowledge of a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, a source with direct knowledge tells NBC News. The committee, led by Republicans, is nearing completion of its investigation into Russian election interference.... Trump Jr. testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017. He said he was only 'peripherally aware' of the Moscow development proposal, which was kept secret from voters. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who was pursuing the project..., testified that he briefed Trump Jr. and his sister Ivanka Trump about the project 'approximately 10' times.... According to the Mueller report, Trump [Sr.] authorized and remained interested in the Moscow project, which was described as 'highly lucrative.' Trump Jr. was not charged by special counsel Robert Mueller over his Senate testimony, after months of speculation that such charges were possible."
** Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to recommend the House hold Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over Robert S. Mueller III's unredacted report, hours after President Trump asserted executive privilege to shield the full report and underlying evidence from public view. The committee's 24-16 contempt vote, taken after hours of debate that featured apocalyptic language about the future of American democracy, marked the first time that the House has taken official action to punish a government official or witness amid a standoff between the legislative and executive branch. The Justice Department decried it as an unnecessary and overwrought reaction designed to stoke a fight."
Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that President Trump is 'becoming self-impeachable,' pointing to his efforts to fight all subpoenas from congressional investigations and prevent key aides from testifying before Congress. 'The point is that every single day, whether it's obstruction, obstruction, obstruction -- obstruction of having people come to the table with facts, ignoring subpoenas ... every single day, the president is making a case -- he's becoming self-impeachable, in terms of some of the things that he is doing,' Pelosi said at a Washington Post Live event."
Rachel Frazin of the Hill: "The New York State Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would allow state prosecutors to pursue charges in some instances in which a person received a presidential pardon. Under the legislation, 'a prosecution is not considered to have occurred if a person has been granted a reprieve, pardon, or other form of clemency for the offense by the President' and other conditions are met.... The bill was created to get rid of a loophole that would make it more difficult to prosecute someone who had received a pardon. The state Assembly has not scheduled a vote on the measure...."
Trump Orders Total Cover-up. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "President Trump asserted executive privilege on Wednesday in an effort to shield hidden portions of Robert S. Mueller III's unredacted report and the evidence he collected from Congress. The assertion, Mr. Trump's first use of the secrecy powers as president, came as the House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Wednesday morning to recommend the House of Representatives hold Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for the same material."
Jordyn Hermani of Politico: "Former FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that the bureau' doesn't spy' and that he 'had no idea' why Attorney General William Barr used that language to describe agents' investigation of ... Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. 'I have no idea what [Barr's]) talking about. The FBI doesn't spy. The FBI investigates,' Comey said on 'CBS This Morning.' 'The Republicans need to breathe into a paper bag. If we had confronted the same facts with a different candidate, say a Democrat candidate ... they would be screaming for the FBI to investigate, and that's all we did.'"
Ana Swanson & Keith Bradsher of the New York Times: "President Trump taunted China on Wednesday morning, saying in a tweet that Chinese negotiators were attempting to drag out trade negotiations until a 'very weak' Democrat was back in the White House and insisting he would be happy to keep tariffs on Chinese exports rather than make a deal. 'The reason for the China pullback & attempted renegotiation of the Trade Deal is the sincere HOPE that they will be able to "negotiate" with Joe Biden or one of the very weak Democrats, and thereby continue to ripoff the United States (($500 Billion a year)) for years to come,' Mr. Trump said on Twitter Wednesday morning.... 'Guess what, that's not going to happen! China has just informed us that they (Vice-Premier) are now coming to the U.S. to make a deal. We'll see, but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers...great for U.S., not good for China!' he added.... But Mr. Trump appears ready to impose higher tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday morning, regardless of whether the talks get back on track." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Forgot to mention this: Janna Herron of USA Today: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 450 points Tuesday and had its worst performance since Jan. 3. The other two top gauges of U.S. stocks, the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq, notched their sharpest declines since March 22. Major U.S. stock indexes fell sharply for a second straight day after ... Donald Trump threatened a huge increase in tariffs on Chinese goods in two tweets over the weekend."
~~~~~~~~~~
Billion-Dollar Loser
** Russ Buettner & Susanne Craig of the New York Times: Over a ten-year period, from 1985 to 1994, “Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer, The Times found.... His core business losses in 1990 and 1991 -- more than $250 million each year -- were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers in the I.R.S. information for those years.... [Ten] years of tax information obtained by The New York Times ... -- printouts from Mr. Trump's official Internal Revenue Service tax transcripts, with the figures from his federal tax form, the 1040, for the years 1985 to 1994 -- represents the fullest and most detailed look to date at the president's taxes, information he has kept from public view.... In 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses -- largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade.... Over all, Mr. Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years. It is not known whether the I.R.S. later required changes after audits.... Depreciation cannot account for the hundreds of millions of dollars in losses Mr. Trump declared on his taxes." ...
... Susanne Craig & Russ Beuttner list five takeaways from Trump's tax data: 1. Mr. Trump was deep in the red even as he peddled deal-making advice[.]... He recorded $42.2 million in core business losses for 1987, [the year he published The Art of the Deal]. "2. In multiple years, he appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual taxpayer[.]... 3. He paid no federal income taxes for eight of the 10 years[.]... 4. He made millions posing as a corporate raider -- until investors realized he never followed through[.]... 5. His interest income spiked in 1989 at $52.9 million, but the source is a mystery[.]... public findings from New Jersey casino regulators show no evidence that he owned anything capable of generating that much interest. Nor is there any such evidence in a 1990 report on his financial condition...."
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Maybe, like me, you don't think reading about taxes is much fun, but reading about Trump's "picaresque career," as the Times put it, is actually rather satisfying, even as it is an outrage to those of us who pay our taxes & thus contribute to the orderly administration of the nation. ...
... In case you were thinking, "At last, something to convince the rubes Trump is a really bad guy & a total fraud:
... digby predicts, "I don't think his base will care. They'll just think that he's the greatest businessman in the world because even though he was losing more money than anyone in the country and conned everyone he partnered with, he lived like a king and dated beautiful women and eventually became president of the United States. He's an American success story. What a guy." ...
... With a Little Help from Fox "News." "The Best Accountants in the World." Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Moments after The New York Times published a blockbuster story reporting that President Trump's tax returns from the 1980s and '90s revealed his businesses suffered over a billion dollars in losses during that time, Fox News framed the news as Trump brilliantly gaming the system in order to avoid paying income taxes.... Fox News correspondent Ed Henry interrupted a segment with Fox News contributor and conservative columnist Marc Thiessen to break the news. Highlighting the key points of the report, such as the massive business losses and Trump not paying income taxes for eight of ten years, Henry tossed to Thiessen for his take.... 'I always thought that the reason why Donald Trump doesn't want his taxes released is nothing to do with any corruption or illegality,' he stated. 'It's because they are going to show he is not as rich as he says he is. Because when you do your taxes, your incentive is to minimize your income as much as possible to pay the least amount of taxes.' Thiessen added: 'So Donald Trump has the best accountants in the world they are going to minimize his income.'" ...
... SO Then. Morgan Gstalter of the Hill: "President Trump lashed out at The New York Times early Wednesday after a report on his businesses losses, labeling the newspaper's story a 'highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!' Trump took to Twitter to defend himself, writing that real estate developers in the 1980s and 1990s were entitled to 'massive write offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases.'... 'Sometimes considered "tax shelters," you would get it by building, or even buying,' Trump tweeted. 'You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes ... almost all real estate developers did - and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport.' The president concluded by saying the 'very old information' released by the Times was meant as a 'highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: So it's "highly inaccurate" & "Fake News," but Trump expends most of his outrage energy defending the "very old information." He doesn't seem to understand the concept of "internal contradiction" or "inconsistent statements."
Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "As the standoff over President Trump's federal tax returns deepens in Washington, New York State lawmakers say they intend to advance a bill on Wednesday to allow congressional committees to see Mr. Trump's New York State returns. State Senator Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat, confirmed on Tuesday that the State Senate had enough votes to ensure passage of a bill allowing the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to release any state tax return requested by a leader of one of three congressional committees for any 'specified and legitimate legislative purpose.' A tax return from New York -- the headquarters of the president's business empire and his home state -- could contain much of the same financial information as a federal return, which Mr. Trump has steadfastly refused to release."
New York Times Editors: "As to whether Congress may obtain a president's tax returns, there is no ambiguity: Federal law empowers the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee to submit a written request to the Treasury Department, which oversees the Internal Revenue Service, for 'any return or return information.' The Treasury secretary then 'shall furnish' the requested information to the committee so that it may conduct its legislative functions. Perhaps that statute is not clear enough for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The secretary on Monday rebuffed just such a request.... The Treasury secretary cited no authority for this stonewalling, which is consistent with the Trump administration's broad resistance to congressional oversight and the president's push to quash any investigation into his finances." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jonathan Chait: "Keeping Trump's Tax Returns Secret Is an Insanely Huge Security Risk.... It's hardly a mystery why Trump is desperate to keep his tax returns secret. The most innocent narrative they might possibly reveal is that he's a horrible businessman who relied on handouts from his father. The question is why anybody else would buy this story. Perhaps the most explosive finding in Robert Mueller's investigation is that Trump was secretly negotiating a building deal in Moscow that promised profits of several hundred million dollars, with no risk. Russia habitually gives out sweetheart deals to its overseas political partners, structured in the form of putatively legitimate investments that disguise simple bribes.... What the Times reporting underscores is how utterly vulnerable Trump must have been to an offer like this.... This is a man who was handed hundreds of millions of dollars, flushed it down the toilet, and was desperate to maintain his image of wealth and success. You couldn't invent a more inviting target for a foreign intelligence service to manipulate."
Yeah, This Is a Constitutional Crisis
Barr Threatens to Withhold EVERYTHING. Olivia Beavers of the Hill: "The Justice Department is threatening to asked President Trump to invoke executive privilege over the Mueller report if the House Judiciary Committee goes through with its threat to vote on whether to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd in a letter on Tuesday told Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler(D-N.Y.) threatened to turn to the presidential power on the eve of the contempt markup before his panel, a move that is certain to deepen the agency's feud with Capitol Hill." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: So I guess Billy Boy doesn't consider a contempt of Congress citation to be a badge of honor.
Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "The White House stepped in on Tuesday to stop Donald F. McGahn II, the former White House counsel, from handing over documents subpoenaed by House investigators because President Trump may want to assert executive privilege over them. The current White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, instructed the House Judiciary Committee to redirect to the White House its requests for the records, which relate to key episodes of possible obstruction of justice identified by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel. His move was certain to enrage Democrats who are increasingly at odds with the Trump administration over access to witness and records that they say they need to conduct legitimate investigations. 'The White House provided these records to Mr. McGahn in connection with its cooperation with the special counsel's investigation and with clear understanding that the records remain subject to the control of the White House for all purposes,' Mr. Cipollone wrote in a letter to the committee's chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump either gambled or was assured that Mueller would not indict him for any of his bad acts, which probably figured into his decision to take his then-lawyers' advice to allow White House staff like McGahn to cooperate with Mueller. Now, as the stakes rise to impeachment, he is cutting off all, or nearly all, cooperation. ...
... SO Then. Morgan Chalfont of the Hill: "House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday threatened to begin contempt proceedings against former White House counsel Don McGahn if he does not comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and testimony. In a letter to McGahn's attorney William Burck, Nadler wrote that the committee would have 'no choice but to resort to contempt proceedings' if McGahn does not provide testimony before the committee or submit a privilege log laying out documents withheld from production as a result of assertions made by the White House.... Nadler has demanded McGahn testify publicly before the committee on May 21, however Trump has given every indication he will look to assert executive privilege in order to block his former adviser's appearance." ...
... "Case Closed." Kyra Phillips, et al., of ABC News: "... Sarah Sanders doubled down Tuesday on the administration's recurring policy of stonewalling what they perceive as oversight outreach from congressional committees.... Over the weekend..., Donald Trump tweeted that ... Robert Mueller 'should not testify' before Congress.... 'I think that's a determination to be made at this point,' Sanders said, when asked whether Trump has explicitly instructed the Justice Department to keep Mueller from testifying. 'But that's the president's feeling on the matter and the reason is because we consider this as a case closed as a finished process.'"
... Martin Longman in the Washington Monthly finds many reasons why McGahn's decision to accede to Trump's claim of executive privilege is legally baseless. "Officially, the president is not considered a 'client' of the White House counsel. Historically, there is no executive privilege granted to requests involving congressional inquiries of presidential wrongdoing. Ordinarily, any claim to executive privilege would be waived with respect to matters in which the White House counsel has already cooperated and provided information. When I add this all up, the effort to prevent McGahn from cooperating with Congress seems both wrong on the merits and doomed to failure in the courts.... But these norms and precedents were established ... before a hard conservative majority controlled the Supreme Court. They developed before the Department of Justice was headed by a man determined to run interference for a criminal president.... The House of Representatives will have a better case in court if it can unambiguously argue that it is seeking this information because it applies to 'legislative proceedings by the U.S. Congress against the President due to allegations of misconduct while in office, such as formal censures or impeachment proceedings.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I would add one more element to Longman's argument: Trump himself has waived executive privilege by tweeting about his conversations with McGahn, claiming that contrary to the Mueller report's publication of McGahn's statements to investigators, "As has been incorrectly reported by the Fake News Media, I never told then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, even though I had the legal right to do so. If I wanted to fire Mueller, I didn't need McGahn to do it, I could have done it myself." This assertion implies McGahn lied to investigators, which would subject him to criminal charges. At the same time, firing Mueller constitutes obstruction of justice, so the Congress has an obligation to try to find out who was lying here: Trump or McGahn. We can guess the answer to that with a 99% chance we're right.
Adam Edelman of NBC News: "FBI Director Chris Wray said Tuesday that he would not describe the federal government's surveillance, such as that conducted on ... Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, as 'spying,' as Attorney General William Barr has. During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Wray was asked by committee member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., about Barr's statement last month that 'spying did occur' on the Trump campaign.... Barr had also said he was "reviewing the conduct" of the FBI's Russia probe during the summer of 2016.... 'I was very concerned by his use of the word spying, which I think is a loaded word,' Shaheen said. 'When FBI agents conduct investigations against alleged mobsters, suspected terrorists, other criminals, do you believe they're engaging in spying when they're following FBI investigative policies and procedures?' 'That's not the term I would use,' Wray replied. 'So I would say that's a no....' Asked if he had 'any evidence that any illegal surveillance' into the Trump 2016 campaign occurred, Wray said he did not." Mrs. McC: Barr is Wray's boss. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
735 Prosecutors Agree: Trump S/B Subject to "Multiple Felony Charges." Mrs. McCrabbie: As of 10:30 pm ET Tuesday, 735 former federal prosecutors have signed a letter stating that "the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice."
Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors didn't want former FBI Director James Comey's memos released because they feared that ... Donald Trump and other witnesses could change their stories after reading Comey's version of events, according to an argument they made in a January 2018 sealed court hearing. The newly released record gives a rare glimpse into the Mueller team's concerns.... A court order on Tuesday forced the Justice Department to provide a transcript of the hearing to CNN as part of a lawsuit over access to the Comey memos.... Mueller's plea to keep the memos under seal coincided with negotiations with Trump's legal team over a potential interview with the President at Camp David, planned for the days following the court hearing and which ultimately fell through. At the time of the late January hearing, several other witnesses to the Comey developments had already spoken to Mueller.... Shortly after the meetings with Comey, Trump and the White House had publicly contradicted the FBI director's story.... Redacted versions of the Comey memos became public in April 2018 after Congress received copies of them. Mueller, in his final report on his investigation, wrote that he had "substantial evidence" to corroborate Comey's version of what happened."
"Case Closed." Mitch Got the Talking Points. Catie Edmundson of the New York Times: "Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, called on Congress on Tuesday to move on from the Mueller report and issued his own verdict from the Senate floor: 'Case closed.'... Mr. McConnell's speech pointed up the profound gap between the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democrat-controlled House. House Democrats are locked in an escalating fight with President Trump, who is trying to slam shut House investigations of all sort." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Jonathan Chait: "During the 2016 election, CIA director John Brennan informed congressional leaders that Russian intelligence was interfering in the election in an effort to help Donald Trump win. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the conclusion, and depicted it as a frame-up. 'You're trying to screw the Republican candidate,' he charged, warning that he would refuse to sign a bipartisan statement warning Russia to back off. If blocking Russia meant hindering the Trump campaign, McConnell wasn't interested. [In his floor speech yesterday, McConnell suggested that] to continue pursuing the massive evidence of corruption and misconduct in the Mueller report would somehow help Putin. If Americans 'remain consumed by unhinged partisanship,' McConnell said, 'and keep dividing ourselves ... Putin and his agents need only stand on the sidelines and watch as their job is done for them.' Note here that McConnell is again denying the same thing he denied in 2016: that Russia intervened not just to 'divide' Americans but specifically in order to help Trump win." ...
McConnell, Putin's Accomplice. Aaron Rupar of Vox: "McConnell, who arguably did more than anyone to prevent the Obama administration from providing a bipartisan warning about Russia's interference efforts in the months before the 2016 election, mocked Democrats for abruptly awakening to the dangers of Russian aggression.' 'Maybe stronger leadership would have left the Kremlin less emboldened,' McConnell said, referring to Obama. 'Maybe tampering with our democracy wouldn't have seemed so very tempting.'... Following McConnell's speech, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the floor and [said], 'In the run-up to the 2016 election, when the Obama administration sought to warn state election officials about foreign meddling and designate election systems as, quote, critical infrastructure, Leader McConnell reportedly delayed for weeks, watered down the letter from congressional leaders, and pushed back against the designation. Yeah, I'd want to sweep this under the rug if I'd did that.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This point is not mentioned often enough. Every time the names McConnell & Mueller or McConnell & Russia are mentioned in the same sentence, McConnell's interference in the 2016 election should be mentioned.
... Marianne Levine of Politico: "Sen. Dick Durbin suggested Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wasn't putting election security legislation up for a vote because Republicans benefited from Russian interference in the 2016 election.... 'There are two possibilities,' Durbin said. 'He really doesn't believe it, he doesn't think the Russians were involved in 2016. He ignores the Mueller report and our intelligence agencies or in the alternative feels the Russians were on the side of the Republicans in 2016 and just might be again in 2020.'"
... On the Senate floor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) answers Mitch:
... Here's the long version, where Warren really lays into McConnell, then goes on to read parts of the Mueller report. Kinda reminds me of those 1950s high-tech teevee shows, where some guy read the Sunday funnies to the kiddies:
** Aram Roston of Reuters: "Months before evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr.'s game-changing presidential endorsement of Donald Trump in 2016, Falwell asked Trump fixer Michael Cohen for a personal favor, Cohen said in a recorded conversation reviewed by Reuters. Falwell, president of Liberty University, one of the world's largest Christian universities, said someone had come into possession of what Cohen described as racy 'personal' photographs -- the sort that would typically be kept 'between husband and wife,' Cohen said in the taped conversation. According to a source familiar with Cohen's thinking, the person who possessed the photos destroyed them after Cohen intervened on the Falwells' behalf.... Cohen ... recounted his involvement in the matter in a recording made surreptitiously by comedian Tom Arnold on March 25.... The Falwells enlisted Cohen's help in 2015, according to the source familiar with Cohen's thinking, the year Trump announced his presidential candidacy.... 'I actually have one of the photos,' he said, without going into specifics. 'It's terrible.'... Cohen helped persuade Falwell to issue his endorsement of Trump's presidential candidacy.... Falwell's backing helped galvanize evangelicals and persuaded many Christians concerned about Trump's past behavior to embrace him as a repentant sinner." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is hilarious. Evangelicals decided to look sideways & vote for the thrice-married admitted pussy-grabber who is 100 percent Bible-illiterate because evangelical preachers, most prominent among them Falwell Junior, endorsed him. But then it turned out that Junior there endorsed him because (although Cohen says this isn't true) Trump & his fixer had covered up a sexual indiscretion of Falwell's. As if this story could not be more perfect, Cohen claims he kept a piece of the evidence. Everything about Trump -- and everyone in his circle -- is phony and corrupt.
Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "House Democrats are threatening the salaries of Interior, Commerce and Justice Department staff if they block ongoing committee investigations. House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent letters Tuesday calling for eight current and former Trump administration officials to provide information for two of the panel's investigations, cautioning that officials who block the interviews from taking place could see their salaries withheld ... 'pursuant to section 713 of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act....'" Mrs. McC: Some of the obstructionist officials named in the report would appear to be individuals who may need those salaries.
David Sanger of the New York Times: "Iran's president declared on Wednesday that the country would stop complying with two of its commitments under the Iranian nuclear deal, pushing the growing confrontation between Washington and Tehran into new and potentially dangerous territory. The announcement by President Hassan Rouhani came exactly a year after President Trump withdrew entirely from the 2015 agreement, which limited Iran's capacity to produce nuclear fuel for 15 years.... Starting on Wednesday, [Rouhani] said, Iran would begin to build up its stockpiles of low enriched uranium and of heavy water, which is used in nuclear reactors -- including a reactor that could give Iran a source of bomb-grade plutonium. If the Europeans fail to compensate for the unilateral American sanctions, he said, Iran will resume construction of the Arak nuclear reactor, a facility that was shut down, and its key components dismantled, under the deal."
Faith Hassan, et al., of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo scrapped a visit to Germany on Tuesday to make an unannounced trip to Iraq, pressing Iraqi leaders about what he called the increased dangers to Americans there from Iran's forces and allies. Mr. Pompeo said he also used the four-hour visit to push what he described as Iraq's need to avoid dependence on neighboring Iran for power supplies including electricity. The diversion to Iraq by Mr. Pompeo, who was in the midst of a four-day European tour, added to what is an escalating American effort to ostracize Iran, which the Trump administration has sought to vilify as the chief destabilizing force in the Middle East."
Betsy Woodruff & Adam Rawnsley of the Daily Beast: "On Sunday, the National Security Council announced that the U.S. was sending a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Gulf in response to 'troubling and escalatory' warnings from Iran -- an eye-popping move that raised fears of a potential military confrontation with Tehran. Justifying the move, anonymous government officials cited intelligence indicating Iran had crafted plans to use proxies to strike U.S. forces, both off the coast of Yemen and stationed in Iraq. National Security Adviser John Bolton also discussed the intelligence on the record.... But multiple sources close to the situation told The Daily Beast that the administration blew it out of proportion, characterizing the threat as more significant than it actually was. 'It's not that the administration is mischaracterizing the intelligence, so much as overreacting to it,' said one U.S. government official briefed on it."
Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump's longtime friend and close adviser, David Bossie, is, for now at least, a persona non grata in Trumpworld.... Two days after Axios published an investigation of Bossie's fundraising, the president personally authorized the Trump campaign to issue an extraordinary statement that, without naming Bossie, effectively called for the authorities to investigate Bossie's group...." ...
... Asawin Suebsaeng & Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "On Monday morning, Donald Trump was incensed over a report that one of his highest-profile supporters, David Bossie, had been engaged in apparent financial self-dealing under the guise of re-electing the president. And as he stewed, Trump began telling those close to him that Bossie's alleged scheme was brazen and egregious enough to warrant a swift, public response.... The drafting of the [campaign] statement [condemning but not naming Bossie] began only after extended internal griping by the president, according to four people with knowledge of his complaints."
In short order, the entire planet could be like a crime scene with the gigantic carbon footprints of Trump and his industry donors all around the body. -- Akhilleus, in yesterday's Comments
Post-Mortem. Stupid, Evil Liberals Did It. Matt Stieb of New York: "Last Thursday, former Trump campaign adviser Stephen Moore spent the morning telling reporters that his contested nomination for the Federal Reserve Board would not be withdrawn, claiming the White House was 'all in.' By lunchtime, Moore was all out.... On .. [a] radio show, hosted by former White House deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka, Moore blamed 'liberals' for the 'campaign' that led to his canceled nomination. 'Why did they run this campaign against me? Because they were terrified of me,' Moore said. 'We always have this debate: Are liberals just stupid, or are they evil?' he asked. 'I don't know -- after this, I think they're stupid and evil.'... Pointing the blame at liberals for souring his nomination ignores the consensus of economists who viewed the attempted appointment as a political stunt.... But ultimately it was Senate Republicans -- who made it obvious that Moore would not muster the votes to pass -- who voided his nomination." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I suppose most of us are inclined to at least entertain the idea that someone else is responsible for what was our own failure, but Moore demonstrates how this tendency can be carried to ridiculous -- and obvious -- extremes.
Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration can continue to enforce a policy that returns asylum seekers to Mexico while they wait for an immigration court to decide their cases. The ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allows the government to continue enforcing the policy, formally called the Migration Protection Protocols, while the legal issues of the case are being decided. It was an unusual victory for the Trump administration in the liberal-leaning court, though the judges did not rule on the merits of the case."
Mike Spies of the Trace in the New Yorker: "In July of 2018, as the National Rifle Association was in the throes of a financial crisis, a half-dozen of the organization's accountants produced a document detailing what they believed to be the most egregious issues that needed to be addressed by its audit committee -- a small group of N.R.A. board members tasked with conducting fiscal oversight. The accountants' one-and-a-half-page memo ... details a range of questionable transactions and business arrangements involving several top N.R.A. venders and executives. It offers new details on the financial mismanagement occurring inside the organization.... As the depths of the gun group's fiscal problems have become public, its leadership has attempted to blame Democratic politicians and overzealous regulators for throwing it into a dire financial state. Last month, the N.R.A. also blamed Ackerman McQueen, a public-relations firm that, for almost four decades, has meticulously crafted the organization's identity.... The N.R.A.'s relationship with Ackerman seems to be the most prominent example of an organizational culture that is marked by secrecy, self-dealing, and greed, and has cost the N.R.A. hundreds of millions of dollars through bloated payments, lavish deals, and opaque financial arrangements."
Beyond the Beltway
Colorado. Jack Healy & Liam Stack of the New York Times: "Eight students were shot at a school near Columbine High School in Colorado on Tuesday afternoon and two schoolmates were in custody, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Tony Spurlock said the suspects were both students at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a charter school near Denver that serves more than 1,800 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.... Eight students had been taken to area hospitals and 'several' were in critical condition, the sheriff said, although local hospitals described their conditions as less dire." ...
... Kirk Mitchell, et al., of the Denver Post: "A student shot at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch has died, according to Denver7, and law enforcement officials have reported eight students were injured in the gunfire that erupted Tuesday afternoon inside the school. Two male students, one who is an adult and one who is a juvenile, are in custody, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said. The suspects went 'deep inside the school' and engaged in two locations, he said. The suspects used at least one handgun but it was unknown what other weapons might have been used."
Florida. CBS4 Miami: "Gov. Ron DeSantis [R] said Tuesday he will sign a controversial measure that would require repayment of financial obligations before felons' voting rights are restored.... Democrats and many other Amendment 4 supporters say the legislation is too restrictive and would block people from being able to vote, with some comparing the need to fully pay restitution to a poll tax.... Critics ... contend [the bill] would create unjustifiable barriers to voting.... The [ACLU] ... is exploring legal options to challenge the bill."
Texas. David Montgomery of the New York Times: "As Trooper Brian Encinia angrily threatened her with a stun gun from just outside her car window, Sandra Bland recorded the encounter on her cellphone, shown in a newly released, 39-second video that has prompted Ms. Bland's family to call for a renewed investigation into her arrest and death nearly four years ago. Ms. Bland, a 28-year-old African-American from the Chicago area, was taken into custody in southeast Texas following the confrontational 2015 traffic stop and was found hanging in a jail cell three days later in what was officially ruled a suicide.... Cannon Lambert, a lawyer who represents the Bland family, said the video, by showing Ms. Bland with a cellphone in her hand, seriously undercut the trooper's claim that he feared for his safety as he approached the woman's vehicle.... Mr. Encinia was indicted on a charge of perjury -- the only criminal charge arising from the case -- after grand jurors accused him of making a false statement in his claim that he removed Ms. Bland from her car to more safely conduct a traffic investigation. But the charge was later dismissed on a motion by prosecutors in exchange for the trooper's promise that he would never again work in law enforcement." Includes video.
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Reader Comments (23)
I think the Dems are on to something here by withholding pay for Drumpf lackeys. The whole GOP has mastered the victimization card and can weaponize it with great effect through their state TV apparatus Fox News. But all those lowly staffers hiding under the thumb of Donny Diapers? They're just no name working cogs in the system, and can't wail or whine to any great effect. Moreover, if anything were to happen to them, they're dependent on a loyal-less boss and a grifter GOP party. So far many of the people that broke under pressure left their jobs to go "work" on the "reelection campaign" and get monthly payoffs through PACs and the RNC. Well let's drain those swamps by putting everyone working in government with potential dirt to share in the boiler room. Let them resign and go "work for the campaign" or make them crack and respect Congress' demands.
Dems should start raining down hellfire missiles on every toad defying Congressial oversight, no matter how low their level. Make examples of the most egregious asslickers so all the others can decide whether they want to follow established rules and procedures or beg to the stingy creeper in the Oval. Agent Orange is standing on the backs of a lot of scared, struggling Americans just trying to keep their job and pay their mortgage, running interference for fear he'll cut them lose. We need to chop down at the roots of corruption to weaken its foundations. Squeezing the "administrative state" as Bannon puts it might loosen up the fruit come election season. I hope the Dems are sharpening their axes.
Well, safari, I reckon Nadler must have heard you urge him to get a pair––voices carry.
I'm pondering––what will it take for those friendly Foxes to finally face the fact that their Liege Man is a crook and a scam artist of the first order? That they can twist and shout positively whatever new negative information comes forth must have its limits? But all I can think of that might get under the skin, even those of Evangelicals, would be finding out that Trump was funding a child porn site. Oh, but wait! they may just say "the kids got paid–-helped them put it away for their college fund."
And speaking of sleaze: the story about Jerry Falwell, Jr. is hilarious in a sick way. I'll bite my bitters if those pictures are just some marital love making–although if so it might be some S.&M.–-but my guess is they are more salacious and are not with the missus. The pious punk done move in mysterious ways, so saith the lord––oh, let me count the ways!
Another shooting. There was a time when parents could send their children off to school without fear of some sick fuck shooting them to death. And what this fear has done to the children can be seen in an uprise in adolescent depression and other problems. If only we had Australia's president's mandate to ban all guns ––if wishes were horses...and all that. I truly despair.
New word for me and maybe for you: KAKISTOCRACY–-meaning a rule of the worst. (derived from the Greek words "kakistos––worst and "kratos––rule.
"The corporate capitalists who hold real power view Trump as an embarrassment. They would prefer to put a more dignified face on the American empire, one like Biden who will do their bidding with the decorum of a traditional president. But they will work with Trump. He has given them huge tax cuts, is slashing what is left of government oversight and regulation and has increased the budgets for internal security and the military. It may be an uncomfortable relationship, as was the relationship between German industrialists and the buffoonish leaders of the Nazi Party, but for the corporate elites it is far preferable to having to deal with a Bernie Sanders or an Elizabeth Warren. Capitalists, throughout history, have backed fascism to thwart even the most tepid forms of socialism. All the pieces are in place. The hollowing out of our democratic institutions, which cannot be blamed on Trump, makes tyranny inevitable."
Chris Hedges
I can't wait to hear the twitstorm today coming from the Fraudster-in-Chief about all the losers at the failing New York Times. Hah!
@PD, it seems you're a little late to the party. That word has been referenced here and other places numerous times over the last couple of years. I came up with a synonym that may be even more reflective - cacacracy, rule by shit. Seems so to me.
@unwashed: Kakistocracy, cacacracy -- both apply. Cacacracy is a very good word.
Dear unwashed: I may indeed be late to the party but if memory serves me right the word we have bandied about for many a day is "kleptocracy"––government by those who seek chiefly status & personal gain at the expense of the governed. But hey, all these words fit the bastard, especially yours which goes to the heart of the beast.
A number of pundits are coming to admit we are now in a Constitutional crisis, wherein the House & the administration are at loggerheads, and the courts may issue political rulings rather than ones based on law & precedent.
But it seems to me the Constitutional crisis began about the time Devin Nunes made his midnight run on the White House and the vast majority of Congressional Republicans stayed mum on reports & their own observations that the POTUS* was a danger to national security &, in general, to the rule of law.
The Congress should have undertaken true oversight of the executive within the first few months of the Trump presidency*, yet only a few Republicans even tried. When they decided not to act, they violated their oaths of office to the extent that they allowed the POTUS* to "rule" rather than "administer" the federal government. They abdicated the Congress's role in the Constitutional balance of power, and as the Senate approved more & more unqualified, ideological judicial nominees, they also skewed the third branch of government in the direction of crazy & away from upholding laws, precedents & norms.
The Founders did their best to establish a system of government that would hold to account bad actors. When an entire group (the Founders didn't think political parties would evolve as they have) is comprised of bad actors, however, no structural system can work for the public good.
We should all just forget about what Trump's base will or will not believe. Likewise Fox apologists. They're all beyond help. They're basically zombies. If you say "Look at the facts, look at the figures, Trump's a loser", all they hear is Trump saying "Everyone did it" and Fox saying "He's a genius" and what they see is that if Trump was the biggest loser among all the taxpayers for that 10 year period, why then, he MUST have been the BEST!
Just don't even try to make sense of it. He's their guy. Likewise Evangelicals or, really, anyone who claims to be a Christian but votes for this philandering, lying, crook. He's their guy. He can do whatever he wants. They will never desert him. Ever.
What everyone else needs to do is to be clear what we're dealing with here, a direct assault not just on the Constitution, but the concept of democracy itself, on the system created by the Founders for which hundreds of thousands have given their lives. And this isn't a drip-drip sort of thing, or a death by a thousand small cuts. Trump and McConnell and Fox and their supporters and viewers are trying to cut the throat of America. And they're doing it live on TV.
Anyone who's apathetic about all of this needs to understand the endgame here. And if they still don't care, well, fuck 'em.
But the people who are most in need of immediate action are Democrats. Also, the MSM needs, not to jettison fairness (then they're just like Fox), but to recognize the very real danger we're all in. If they sit by like they did in 2016, play "both sides", pretend this is just politics as usual and let Trump win, they will be complicit in his garroting of the United States.
So forget the Trumbots, forget what they think and forget Fox and Evangelicals and everyone on Trump's side. They support a traitor, someone who would rather see America go down for the third time than lose an election or have his image of himself tarnished by reality. It's as simple as that.
Democrats need to go on the offensive. Hitting people in the wallet, as Safari says, is a start, also, I want to see Barr declared what he is today, a criminal. Lock him up. Mnuchin too.
Americans are not waving, but drowning. Time to throw them a lifeline.
These tax returns confirm what many of us have suspected all along, that Trump is a terrible businessman, that he's a loser, a fraud, and a liar. But the more dangerous reality is that his losses have likely made him a mark for more adroit con artists, and now that he's president, he's an even bigger target.
Plus, these losses--and there is no reason to believe that Trump has all of a sudden become more savvy and effective since the last tax return in possession of the Times--better explain his grasping, grifting ways even as (especially as) president, and his staunch refusal to give up the ability to scoop up a single illegal penny. Because his new status dramatically ups his ability to grift and grasp, he's taken to it like a man reaching for a life preserver. He ain't giving this up without a fight.
But that alone should make anyone with a lick of sense recognize the dangers he poses to US security. Of course Mitch McConnell is not without sense, he just has a particular kind of sense, the kind that keeps his flabby ass in power and fulfills Rush Limbaugh's every winger wet dream of power and control.
Trump's economic peril is perilous to us all. Putin understands this most of all, another reason Trump is loathe to do without Russian ratfucking this time around. He needs to stay in power as long as possible. After decades of losing, losing, losing and losing, and having to pretend to be a winner (thanks again, NBC), he has finally found the key to the vault and he and his greedy spawn are cashing in. In the process, they are just as quickly cashing out America.
He's in it for himself. No other reason. We need incontrovertible proof. Not to convince the bots (see above comment) but to convince courts that impeachment is necessary and vital to America's interests.
If the courts believe Trump's interests are paramount, then we are well and truly fucked. Better believe the Supremes are paying close attention to all of this. Especially the Trump rubber stamps.
@Ak And think about all those real vulture capitalists, ahem, big shot businessmen, who licked their chops every time Dotard Donny sat down in the negotiating chair. Sure, a good chunk of that $1.1 billion lost went to banks and lending institutions, but lots of millions were siphoned directly into other white guys' britches.
He got taken to the cleaners every fucking time. What an incompetent boob.
Trump stiffed the plumbers and the painters cuz he was bleeding millions a week.
Trump hires foreign workers cause he's a hypocritical fatfuck, but also because he can't afford to pay decent salaries.
Trump paints everything in gold to cover the styrofoam.
And now his defense was it was COOL to lose $1.1 billion because that's the game and players gotta play. I'm sure it was his negotiating partners milking Trump's dad's fortune that convinced him losing millions is winning the game.
I wonder how Drumpf's spawn are taking this news, knowing their fraud dad has built them a teetering house of cards. I can't wait to drive through Alabama in 6 years and see Eric managing one of their new motels destined for their True Believer clientele. The people watching in the lobby will be tremendous.
Stories above say that DiJiT is mad at David Bossie, who has been taking the slots coins from little old ladies' purses in a "Support DiJiT" campaign fundraising scam.
As we know from his 2016 election, when he blew up at Chris Crisco for spending campaign money on transition expenses (i.e. "stealing my money"), he's likely not mad at Bossie for the scam ... but for stealing "his" money. He really thinks that campaign donations are his personal stash.
Sad.
Mr. Total Exoneration is back at it. It seems that the Mueller report, which is either complete vindication or a fake news hit job (depending on which Trump tweet you read) is receiving more presidential attention. This time, he's going for a complete cover-up. Hmmm...I dunno, if I was given a report that both myself and my flunky AG and flunky Senate Majority Leader all determined showed no culpability or wrongdoing, anywhere from jay walking to treason, I'd want everyone to read it.
That is, if it actually said those things.
It doesn't. Thus, the deep-six.
It could be a ploy by Trump to protect Barr from a well deserved contempt citation, but...nah. The only fat ass Trump cares about is his own. If Barr becomes expendable, he'll be taken out with the trash like everyone else.
No. This is spitting in the eye of the Democrats in the House. Hopefully they'll respond with something better than "Thank you, sir, may I have another?"
Seriously kids, this is all-out war. Trump is not trying to game the system, he's trying to turn the board over and burn it and all the pieces along with it.
IMPEACH NOW!
Patrick,
When you've lost over a billion dollars in a ten year period, even while conning the public that you are a multi-billionaire big-1brain genius, you need every little-old-lady-pilfered penny you can grab onto. I wouldn't be surprised if he had his staff cutting out coupons from the Sunday paper inserts.
Safari,
Love the image of Eric managing a paint-peeling, stained-mattress motel in Alabama. He'll be sporting the goatee and slicked back hair of an ex-con and he'll have a special room on hold for his dad's pal Roy Moore and his, um, little cousins.
Dow Jones down 450 yesterday. What if this being manipulated
by the grifter-in-chief, either knowingly or unknowingly. If one
of his lackeys says "time to talk about those Chinese tariffs again"
and that causes the markets to retreat, I think someone should be
checking to see which of those lackeys is buying into the market.
I could be wrong because it sounds so simple.
Just a thought about the Trumpy tax returns (wonder how they got hold of those things?). Certainly the numbers give the lie to the myth about Donald the Great, the Deal Maker, the Tycoon. All lies. He's an incompetent buffoon whom the tabloids seized upon for their own purposes, turning a sad sack clown into a character invented out of whole cloth. If he weren't the son of Fred Trump, he'd be collecting food stamps and playing with himself in a basement studio apartment in Queens, either that, or he'd be in the hospital recovering from a beating after trying to run off with the proceeds of a crap game at which he was losing his shirt.
But incompetence isn't all there is. Trump lets on that the losses (notice, he doesn't actually challenge the veracity of the numbers) were "sport". Everyone did it. Or some bullshit like that. This means that it's very likely (I'm being kind here--it's a lead pipe cinch) that Trump lies on his returns. Lies like a mafia don in a deposition. Hey, he lies to banks all the time, why would he treat the government, which he has always hated (unless he was getting special treatment), any differently?
He has surrounded himself his entire life with con men, phonies, and chiselers. The Times, not long ago, published a detailed story listing chapter and verse on the many and varied scams and cons employed by Fred and the Donald and their entire family to screw investors, renters, contractors, the government, everyone. These guys would swipe a baby's bottle to see if the formula could be sold on the black market.
So, a loser, a liar, a tax cheat, AND a thief.
That's the Republicans' president right there. The guy Mitch McConnell and every R in congress is circling their wagons around.
I do not think that the rabble care at all about drumpf's financials. To them it fits in: he is daring, he is bold, he makes a lot of money, he loses a lot of money (meh) and so what if he doesn't pay his taxes-- after all, isn't that the dream/aim of all of them? Absolutely none of them connect the IDEA of all of us paying taxes as a way of providing for the public good, cuz THE LESSER BEINGS, those others, might be getting a deal that way. Deplorables hate the idea of someone else gettin' if they aren't personally gettin'... Giving to charity, for instance, is a sign of weakness. That's why drumpf doesn't. But he likes to be thought-of as a person who is good-- so he talks and plans and boasts, but no money changes hands. See? Everyone wins...so much winning...
Jeanne,
What none of the Trumpbots (I imagine) or any of the Fox testicle lickers will wonder about is how a guy who was so incompetent in a business he grew up in--a business in which he had the tutelage, connections, and financial support of his daddy--in which he was such a galactic failure, could possibly be relied upon to run a "business" (the federal government), in any kind of efficient, effective--or honest--fashion, a business he knows absolutely nothing about and has zero experience with.
How do they square this? The business he trained all his life in, he failed miserably at, but now a profession which he knows nothing about he's better than Washington, Lincoln, and FDR?
@safari: Bad news. That deal Eric & Junior entered into to brand cheap motels as Trumpbot "destinations" fell apart in February. Eric will have to find some other employment. I'd go to a Wimpie's if I thought Eric was going to bus my table.
Marie,
I'd dumpster dive if I thought Eric was coming anywhere near where I eat.
Casuistress-in-Chief
Is Sarah Liarbee Sanders the most repulsive, insulting, reprehensible creature in this Bizarro World administration (apart from the head reptile, that is)?
Her insulting response to a congressional chairman asking for a report he has every right to see is "Mueller couldn't find anything. What makes Jerry Naaaaadler think he can? He couldn't even question Barr without falling over."
First, asshole, Mueller found plenty. This is one of the most transparent canards continually trotted out by all the traitors, Mitch McConnell included. So the Trump DOJ tells Mueller he simply can't indict Trump. He doesn't. But he finds plenty of indictable stuff. But because he obeys their command not to indict the Dear Leader, they then smirk that he didn't because he couldn't find anything.
And what the fuck, I thought this ass-hat liar was going to retire. When does that happen? Cannot come too soon.
This whole sorry band of liars, reprobates, criminals, and traitors just can't suck enough.
Go find a real job, Liarbee. Maybe you could help your dear old dad (good Christian that he is) push jelly donuts to diabetics as a way of curing that condition. Fucking grifters, scammers, and liars, all of them.
One more thing about Sanders. Were Trump to issue an egg-zecutive order to have all Muslims living in the US arrested and jailed, Sanders would attack any who said different. She is a long-haired Himmler. She is a vicious, amoral, obsequious flunky of the first order. And no, I don’t think the idea of Liarbee supporting a Trump order to imprison millions of Americans he hates is over the top or way out of line. I think she is the single most imperious supporter of treason (after McConnell) in the country. She is an infected, pus leaking boil on the back of democracy.
@Akhilleus: So you don't like Sarah Sanders, after all?