"His deceit, which is a fundamental component of the crimes

February 25, 2019 6:37 AM

of conviction and relevant conduct, extended to tax preparers, bookkeepers, banks, the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice National Security Division, the FBI, the Special Counsel’s Office, the grand jury, his own legal counsel, Members of Congress, and members of the executive branch of the United States government. In sum, upon release from jail, Manafort presents a grave risk of recidivism." The Manafort sentencing memo recently filed by the special counsel's office adds another 25 pages (and 800+ pages of exhibits) to the slowly written Mueller report that’s sitting in plain sight. The Associated Press also reports on how court records reveal a Mueller report right in plain view.

• Trump-Russia Investigation Round-up:

What we learned about Trumpworld outreach to Russia since Mueller’s investigation began (WaPo) "Mueller has not accused any Trump associate of illegally conspiring with the Russian effort to tilt the election. But in the past 21 months, his investigation and independent reporting have revealed numerous occasions on which people around Trump sought Russian help – both to benefit Trump personally and politically."

Roger Stone's and Jerome Corsi's Time in the Barrel (Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker) "Mueller has shown that Russian citizens and companies created a stunning array of fake social-media accounts to boost Trump and damage Clinton, and that Russians hacked and released, notably to WikiLeaks, the e-mails of prominent Democrats, including John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chair." • Kompromat: Or, Revelations from the Unpublished Portions of Andrea Manafort’s Hacked Texts (Maya Gurantz, LA Review of Books) [CW: abuse]

'Even Nixon wasn’t like him': Trump's bid to upend Russia inquiry unprecedented, experts say (Guardian) "Although Mueller is expected to adhere to justice department precedent, under which a sitting president would not be indicted, he could recommend obstruction of justice charges against the president."

Manafort Is Expected to Face Charges in New York, Even if Trump Pardons Him (NYT) • If Mueller is done, states could file their own charges — even against Trump (WaPo)

Trump can’t run the Mueller playbook on New York feds (Politico) "For starters, they have jurisdiction over the president’s political operation and businesses — subjects that executive privilege doesn't cover." • Cohen Gave Prosecutors New Information on the Trump Family Business (NYT) "The continued scrutiny of the Trump family business and inaugural committee from the Southern District comes as Mr. Mueller is said to be wrapping up his investigation. Once he completes a report with his findings, various aspects of his investigation are expected to live on in the Southern District and other United States attorneys offices."

Schiff vows lawsuit for Mueller report if it’s not released (AP) "Democrats could use Mueller’s findings as the basis of impeachment proceedings. In a letter Friday, the Democrats warned against withholding information on Trump because of Justice Department opinions that the president can’t be indicted." • Schiff: 'We will bring Bob Mueller in to testify' if report not made public (Politico)

• National Emergency Round-up:

Trump’s Emergency Declaration Will Be Challenged in Court. Will He Lose? (MoJo) A senior Obama administration attorney explains the legal case for and against Trump’s move to get around Congress.

Trump’s Border Wall Faces Texas-Size Backlash From Land Owners (Bloomberg) "At least one lawsuit is challenging the Trump administration’s emergency declaration, with others likely to follow. The first, brought by the nonprofit group Public Citizen on behalf of private landowners, argues that Trump violated the U.S. constitution’s separation of powers when he invoked the National Emergencies Act."

Tracking the legal challenges to Trump's emergency declaration (CNN) "So far, at least five lawsuits have been filed challenging the declaration. The argument at the core of each lawsuit is similar: Trump exceeded his authority and circumvented Congress in an attempt to achieve his signature campaign promise for an emergency that, plaintiffs argue, doesn't exist."

Trump’s Attempt to Circumvent Congress Leaves Uneasy Senate Republicans With Hard Choice (NYT) "The president’s move left Senate Republicans sharply divided, and it remains to be seen whether they will act collectively to try to stop Mr. Trump or how far into uncharted territory they are willing to follow a headstrong president operating with no road map beyond his own demands."

Trump vows veto as Democrats try to block emergency order (AP) "Should the House and the Senate initially approve the measure, Congress seems unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities in each chamber that would be needed later to override a Trump veto."

Pelosi Begins Drive to Block Trump’s Emergency Declaration (NYT) "With little doubt that Ms. Pelosi can muster the House votes to block the declaration, her goal is to raise pressure on Republicans to defend the power granted to Congress by the Constitution to control federal spending." • House ready to go to war with Trump over national emergency (Politico) "House Democrats will vote Tuesday to block Trump's effort to go around Congress to build his wall."

• North Korea Round-up:

Trump bets on North Korea to break his losing streak (Politico) "Stung by domestic defeat after a losing battle with Democrats in Washington, D.C., this winter, President Donald Trump hopes his negotiating skills can achieve better results some 8,000 miles away when he meets with North Korea’s leader in Vietnam later this month."

Dem chairmen accuse Trump of withholding information on North Korea (Politico) "“Our ability to conduct oversight of U.S. policy toward North Korea on behalf of the American people has been inappropriately curtailed by your administration’s unwillingness to share information with Congress,” Reps. Eliot Engel, Adam Smith and Adam Schiff — who chair the foreign affairs, armed services and intelligence panels, respectively — wrote in a letter to the president."

The United States Is Still Trying to Sell North Korea on Denuclearization (Atlantic) "Days before Donald Trump’s second summit with Kim Jong Un, an administration official admits that Kim may not be prepared to part with his nuclear weapons." • Trump aides worry he’ll get outfoxed in North Korea talks (Politico) "The administration is downplaying expectations for next week’s summit." • ‘No rush’: Trump redefines success ahead of second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (WaPo)

'Chilling the atmosphere': North Korea media condemns U.S. Democrats ahead of summit (Reuters) "One U.S. government Korea analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the commentary appeared aimed at softening Trump up ahead of the summit. “If Kim facilitates Trump using the talk for domestic political gain, he probably thinks Trump will offer him more favorable terms,” the analyst said." • Fire, fury, love? The mythology behind the Trump-Kim summit (AP) "The next chapters are yet to be written by Trump and Kim. Their story so far has been marked by overwrought accounts of the perils at hand and over-the-top pronouncements of progress."

• Venezuela Round-up:

A Staggering Exodus: Millions of Venezuelans Are Leaving the Country, on Foot (NYT) "They are fleeing dangerous shortages of food, water, electricity and medicine, as well as the government’s political crackdowns, in which more than 40 people have been killed in the last few weeks alone." • Venezuela’s border showdown is reaching a breaking point (Axios)

Trump, in risky gambit, ratchets up pressure on Venezuela as tensions flare at the border (WaPo) "Trump has seized on Venezuela as an opportunity to condemn socialism and potentially restore democracy — a stance popular with his political base — after elections last year were widely denounced as fraudulent." • U.S. lawmakers sound off during humanitarian aid standoff on Venezuelan border (WaPo) "Republicans are pretty much unified in criticism of Maduro government. But Democrats are split on U.S. role in growing conflict."

Pompeo pledges continued pressure on Venezuela's Maduro (AP) "The United States will continue to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro until he understands his days are “numbered,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday." • On Foreign Trips, Pence Steps Out of Trump’s Shadow but Always Stays on Message (NYT) "On Monday, Mr. Pence is scheduled to visit Bogotá, Colombia, to reinforce the Trump administration’s demands that Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president, step down to clear the way for Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader who has the support of the White House."

'Venezuelan blood is being spilled': tension flares near border with Brazil (Guardian) "“We want the world to know what is happening, that the blood of Venezuelan people is being spilled and the government is trying to hide it,” Martinez said. “They are killing the indigenous on their land.”"

• Syria Round-up:

A desperate struggle for survival inside the last corner of the Islamic State (WaPo) "As U.S.-backed forces surround the last square mile of Islamic State territory, preparing for a final assault on the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, people who have escaped describe a desperate scrabble for survival in the dying days of the statelet."

Allies decline request to stay in Syria after U.S. troops withdraw (WaPo) "European refusal to stay unless President Trump reverses at least part of his troop withdrawal order is one of several factors that U.S. military officials, lawmakers and senior administration officials have said should make Trump think again." • In Latest Shift, Trump Agrees to Leave 400 Troops in Syria (NYT) "Whether Mr. Trump’s decision will persuade skeptical European leaders was not yet clear."

From Syria, IS slips into Iraq to fight another day (AP) "Islamic State fighters facing defeat in Syria are slipping across the border into Iraq, where they are destabilizing the country’s fragile security, U.S. and Iraqi officials say."

• China Trade Round-up:

Trump delays increase in tariffs on China, citing progress in trade talks (WaPo) "The president’s decision to delay the increase in tariffs, which would have taken effect March 2, represents a gamble that his personal intervention can smooth the way to a final deal and quiet skeptics who fear he may be too quick to capitulate to the Chinese."

Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies (NYT) "Businesses and government agencies in the United States have been targeted in aggressive attacks by Iranian and Chinese hackers who security experts believe have been energized by President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year and his trade conflicts with China."

South Dakota governor says Trump trade wars have 'devastated' the state (Politico) "The former congresswoman said that she has spoken to the White House in recent days and plans to engage them on the issue again while she’s in town for the Republican Governors Association winter meeting this week."

U.S. and China Extend Talks, but Final Deal Remains Elusive (NYT) "Mr. Trump again indicated that he might intertwine a national security case with the trade talks, despite concerns from his own law enforcement and intelligence officials about doing so."

IN OTHER HEADLINES:

• How Mitch McConnell Enables Trump—He’s not an institutionalist. He’s the man who surrendered the Senate to the president. (NYT Opinion)

• Dems prepare to subpoena family separation documents from Trump administration (Politico) "Democratic members on the committee are expected to huddle Monday night to discuss a busy and dramatic week ahead for the panel, which will hear public testimony from President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday."

• Meet the Man Curbing Trump’s Power Without Anyone Noticing (Politico) "As D.C. attorney general, Racine is leading the ongoing emoluments suit against the president over foreign governments’ allegedly corrupt patronage of the Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington, along with Maryland AG Brian Frosh."

• Puerto Rico Gov: Trump refuses meeting over hurricane relief (AP) "“Eventually the buck has to stop somewhere,” Rossello said Friday on the opening day of the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. “It has to stop with the president.”"

• Trump Said He Ordered His Administration To Withhold Wildfire Aid To California. FEMA Says He Never Did.—The president tweeted that he was cutting off disaster assistance to wildfire survivors to punish California officials. But no record of such an order exists. (Buzzfeed) The only sign of this was a tweet from January 9th.

• 'Abuse of corporate power': Bill de Blasio slams Amazon for cancelling HQ2 deal (Guardian) "The tech giant’s decision, de Blasio said, was “arbitrary and unfair to working people”." • Trump blames 'radical left' for collapse of New York's Amazon deal (Politico)

• Facebook labelled 'digital gangsters' by report on fake news (Guardian) "Company broke privacy and competition law and should be regulated urgently, say MPs" • 'Outrageous abuse of privacy': New York orders inquiry into Facebook data use (Guardian) "Facebook is facing a slew of lawsuits and regulatory inquiries over privacy issues, including a US Federal Trade Commission investigation into disclosures that Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87m users with the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica."

• Average tax refund down 17 percent, IRS reports (Politico) "Unveiling new withholding tables last year, to account for the new law, Mnuchin called accusations by Democrats that the administration would drive down refunds “ridiculous.”"

• Damaged GOP faces tough path in North Carolina election do-over (Politico) "It's unclear who will run in the Republican primary in North Carolina's 9th District after state officials ordered a new election Thursday."

• Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules (Miami Herald) "Instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws, Acosta allowed Epstein to quietly plead guilty in state court to two prostitution charges and he served just 13 months in the Palm Beach County jail. His accomplices, some of whom have never been identified, were not charged." • White House looking into Acosta role in sex abuse plea deal (AP) "President Donald Trump said he didn’t know much about the case but volunteered that Acosta has done “a great job” as labor secretary. As for the Epstein case, Trump added, “That seems like a long time ago”"

• Mississippi players kneel during national anthem in response to Confederacy rally near the arena (AP) "“This was all about the hate groups that came to our community to try spread racism and bigotry,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. “It’s created a lot of tension for our campus. Our players made an emotional decision to show these people they’re not welcome on our campus, and we respect our players’ freedom and ability to choose that.”"

• 2020 Democrats Embrace Race-Conscious Policies, Including Reparations (NYT) "As Ms. Warren and Ms. Harris seek to lead the party into a new era, their support for the policy — which did not come with specifics — signals just how quickly prominent Democrats have expanded their political imagination after decades of dominance by the Clintons and Mr. Obama."

Today is the 767th day of the Trump administration. There are 616 days until the 2020 elections.

New in MetaTalk:
• MetaTalk on Keeping Arguing about the US Primaries in Check, about avoiding the stuff that has gone badly on MetaFilter in previous election cycles.
• 2 Hyuck 2 Hyucking, a thread where people can post their jokes, one-liners, favorite Twitter snark, alternative song lyrics, etc...
• There is no coin cabal, come chat about a Megathread challenge coin

Previously in U.S. Politics Megathreads: "When I say something that you might think is a gaffe, it’s on purpose"

Megathread-Adjacent Posts and Sites:
• All Care For All People
• The Liberal Argument For a Green New Deal
• Virginia Politics In Chaos (Northam-Fairfax thread)
• The Empty Quadrant (on the social-liberal-fiscal-conservatism of Howard Schultz)
• OnceUponATime's Active Measures site
• Chrysostom's 2018 Election Ratings & Results Tracker

Elsewhere in MetaFilter: Will having political bumper stickers on my vehicle jeopardize my job?; Working for a Campaign 101; Should I volunteer for this candidate? (AskMe).

As always, please consider MeFi chat and the unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack for hot-takes and live-blogging breaking news, the MetaTalk venting thread for catharsis and sympathizing, and funding the site if you're able. Also, for the sake of the ever-helpful mods, please keep in mind the MetaTalk on expectations about U.S. political discussion on MetaFilter. Thanks to Doktor Zed, box, and zachlipton for helping to create this thread. U.S. Politics FPPs are generally collaborative, and a draft post can be found on the MeFi Wiki.

posted by Little Dawn (1896 comments total)

Wow! Thanks for rounding up all the chaos!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:51 AM on February 25, 2019 [28 favorites]

Good gravy, Little Dawn! Is this the biggest news roundup yet? Amazing work!
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:01 AM on February 25, 2019 [20 favorites]

News never stops. From Ronan Farrow for the New Yorker: A Lawsuit by a Campaign Worker Is the Latest Challenge to Trump’s Nondisclosure Agreements. The plaintiff is a woman who worked for the campaign and says she experienced discrimination and that he kissed her forcibly.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:02 AM on February 25, 2019 [34 favorites]

WaPo coverage on the Farrow story: Former campaign staffer alleges in lawsuit that Trump kissed her without her consent. The White House denies the charge.
posted by peeedro at 7:06 AM on February 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

Amazing post, Little Dawn!
posted by mumimor at 7:51 AM on February 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

WRT to delayed tariffs, a reprint of that WaPo article says:

The trade war has led to wild market gyrations over the past year, has drawn rebukes from American industries worried about damage to their supply chains and has contributed to what economists say is a marked slowing in global economic growth.

If the tariffs aren't actually "live" yet, are all the market effects just consequences of businesses bracing for the crash, so to speak, and pricing in the upcoming penalties before they actually take effect?
posted by wenestvedt at 8:05 AM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Don Junior making his attorneys relaxed and proud speaking on Fox and Friends this morning: "There are no actual crimes. There’s only things that people did in past lives, in 2006 before we even thought we ever get into this crazy world" (Raw Story report from Travis Gettys).

Very hard to interpret as anything but "An actual crime is something you know you can be caught for, and at the time none of us did, so obviously that stuff didn't count."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:10 AM on February 25, 2019 [48 favorites]

There are 10% tariffs already in place in many industries; the announcement today is that Trump has delayed bumping those to 25%.
posted by notyou at 8:11 AM on February 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

> "There are no actual crimes. There’s only things that people did in past lives, in 2006 before we even thought we ever get into this crazy world"

Ok, Don Jr. has got my attention. What did they do in 2006? This was when Trump was first flirting with the idea of running for President? It goes that far back?
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:13 AM on February 25, 2019 [25 favorites]

Little Dawn! I concur, this post is incredible. I'll be reading for two weeks just from what you've posted. Thanks!
posted by Harry Caul at 8:15 AM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

notyou: There are 10% tariffs already in place in many industries; the announcement today is that Trump has delayed bumping those to 25%.

Ah, OK, that makes more sense. Thank you.

(I suspect a lot of places priced in the full 25% to avoid a second price hike, but perhaps I am jaded.)
posted by wenestvedt at 8:24 AM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

"Someone in the room with Trump mildly makes what could maybe be a harrumph noise briefly"

There was a great summary in the previous thread about why this was more significant than that.

TLDR: That "someone" was the fifth most powerful man in China. And that noise was his uncharacteristic reaction to Trump's fundamental misunderstanding of the trade agreement they were theoretically negotiating.
posted by diogenes at 8:25 AM on February 25, 2019 [37 favorites]

It only doesn't matter if Trump leaves office and the rest of the world decides to go back to treating the US the same as before. There's no guarantee of that. If the new norm is 'the US president's opinion doesn't really matter and you can laugh in their face', that's going to hurt a lot of future presidents as well.
posted by echo target at 8:47 AM on February 25, 2019 [11 favorites]

It actually DID NOT matter to Trump. He didn't notice, and if he did, he wouldn't understand why his actions were absurd, and even if he did notice and did understand, he wouldn't care.

That makes sense, and from Bloomberg's video (embedded in a tweet), you can see that Trump is wholly focused on Lighthizer and their dumb debate of MOU versus Contract, and Vice Premier Liu He, the top Chinese negotiator, laughed in a small enough way as to not even distract Trump from his dumb tangent.

It only doesn't matter if Trump leaves office and the rest of the world decides to go back to treating the US the same as before. There's no guarantee of that. If the new norm is 'the US president's opinion doesn't really matter and you can laugh in their face', that's going to hurt a lot of future presidents as well.

I don't think we're there, because Trump, for all his warping of norms, is still considered as the one to be warping the norms. There are things people do and say to and in front of Trump that no one does to other dignitaries. Yes, he's diminished the US position in global politics, but I think that we'd have to have a few Trumps in a row to really tank the US position as a standard.

And if you want to jump to the comment in the prior thread that addressed how notable it was that Vice Premier Liu He, the top Chinese negotiator, laughed out loud when Trump and debated terminology with Lighthizer, here is saysthis's informed comment for more context.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:52 AM on February 25, 2019 [13 favorites]

"We're gonna have the same document and we're going to call it a trade agreement. We're never using the term Memorandum of Understanding again; we're never saying that again." Trump apparently misses the part where Lighthizer says out loud in front of the world "we're going to have the same document [emphasis added] and call it something different [because this unreasonable child does not like the word memorandum for some reason, probably because it has too many Ms and sounds too ladyish] [obvious subtext added in case POTUS is lurking]."
posted by Don Pepino at 9:03 AM on February 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

Don Pepino: because this unreasonable child does not like the word memorandum for some reason, probably because it has too many Ms and sounds too ladyish

It's more the word "understanding". In his world an "understanding" is something you arrange with plausible deniability because it's not as ironclad as a contract. He likes memoranda of understanding (or at least spoken ones) if the cameras are off.

It's a bit like if he got hung up on someone else the phrase "take care of him" non-euphemistically, because he associated it with mafia killing.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:25 AM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

Is Trump's wall "medieval?" A medieval historian explains the problem with invoking the era. (Eric Weiskott, Vox)

Stop calling Trump “medieval.” It’s an insult to the Middle Ages. It’s not only ahistorical. It obscures uniquely modern evils.
[...]

In the end, it is both more accurate and more rhetorically effective to admit that the bad things around us belong to the same history as the good things. Mass incarceration, the scientific method, terrorism, the automobile, fascism: these are irreducibly modern responses to modern conditions. No person, event, or movement can take us back to the Middle Ages, because history only points in one direction. We can learn much from the violence of the past, but not by wishing away the violence of the present.

posted by ZeusHumms at 9:38 AM on February 25, 2019 [14 favorites]

Janet Yellen comes forward to talk about Trump's lack of understanding of basic business, the Federal Reserve and economics in general. < Marketplace
posted by Harry Caul at 10:01 AM on February 25, 2019 [26 favorites]

to what extent would relevant statutes of limitations protect Trump, his family, and others from state and federal crimes they committed in 2006 or so?

Some statutes of limitations are in Statute of Limitation in
Federal Criminal Cases: An Overview. 10 years for various types of fraud or for slave trafficking, which I'm not saying is necessarily the case, but note that [o]rdinarily, the statute of limitations begins to run as soon as the crime has been completed. Although the federal crime of conspiracy is complete when one of the plotters commits an affirmative act in its name, the period for conspiracies begins with the last affirmative act committed in furtherance of the scheme.
posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 10:04 AM on February 25, 2019 [18 favorites]

I worked in Venezuela a decade or two ago, and during that time there was at least one round of international reporting on how the country was in chaos, the "people" were revolting, the economy was on the verge of collapse, etc. None of that bombast matched what I saw on the ground, though all the individual anecdotes reported on where true and truly indicative of conflict and suffering. I don't have any special access to the ground truth any more, but one of the harms done by the Trump "fake news" era is that I now see much larger swathes of the left credulously accepting international reporting from media outlets like CNN, NYT, the Economist, BBC, etc. Those groups may be part of the opposition and on our side, but they remain heavily biased towards military interventions, regime change, center-right governments, and circulation-boosting exaggeration. This isn't to say that there isn't significant tragedy and chaos going on in Venezuela right now, but it's worth remembering the skepticism we used to have about the media's role in these things, especially now that all of these articles are both feeding into, and feeding off of, the overall pro-fascist anti-democracy goals of the Trump administration. Just watching the Dems in this WaPo article decide between "Trump is right but I oppose a military invasion for now" and "Trump is right and I reluctantly support a military invasion" is giving me unpleasant flashbacks.
posted by chortly at 10:10 AM on February 25, 2019 [46 favorites]

the period for [statutes of limitations involving] conspiracies begins with the last affirmative act committed in furtherance of the scheme

Could that affirmative act be construed as the public lies Trump and his cronies keep telling to cover up their illegal and actions?
posted by Gelatin at 10:17 AM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

(I suspect a lot of places priced in the full 25% to avoid a second price hike, but perhaps I am jaded.)

Definitely not true for mass retail. These tariffs are a huge deal for suppliers and retailers even at the ten percent level. Most of the big box stores have tried to avoid raising retails at all but we are starting to see some movement upward.

No major retailer would accept at this point the kind of increase you would need to cover the 25% tariff if the item in question was only subject to the 10%.

Where I work we have been giving pricing for new items at both the 10% and 25% tariff.

As an aside the tariffs have wasted a tremendous amount of time and energy for everyone involved in consumer goods.
posted by nolnacs at 10:24 AM on February 25, 2019 [20 favorites]

Surely, there's somewhere between military intervention and what appears to be an ideologically driven denial regarding the abuses of the Venezuelan dictatorship. Neocons are only aided by the latter in service of their quest for the former.
posted by Selena777 at 11:15 AM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

So here's a semi-regular reminder that this is not just about us here, and our internal disputes. It's also abotu a left-wing mirror of Donald Trump trying to hold on to power in a once-wealthy nation.

Venezuela is decidedly not about us. For the same reason, we decidedly should not make it about us and imagine that somehow our involvement will improve the situation in any way.

Because our prior experience tends to show that, from Guatemala to Honduras to Nicaragua to Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, the DR, Cuba, and practically every other country in this hemisphere, not to mention a goodly part of the countries in the rest of the world, when the US gets involved in regime change, militarily or otherwise, things do not ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever go well.

If you're thinking anything's different this time, seriously, why would you think that?
posted by TheProfessor at 11:19 AM on February 25, 2019 [68 favorites]

CREW has assembled a report of Trump's campaign violations from the 2016 election, gathering the individual news stories that have broken over the past two years into a cohesive picture. They've identified eight criminal offenses, including seven felonies (that we know about so far):

• Causing American Media Inc. (AMI) to make and/or accepting (or causing his then lawyer Michael Cohen to accept) an unlawful corporate contribution related to Karen McDougal.
• Two instances of causing Cohen to make and/or accepting an unlawful individual contributions related to Stephanie Clifford and February 2015 online polling.
• Two instances of causing Donald J. Trump for President LLC’s failure to report contributions from AMI and Cohen related to McDougal and Clifford.
• Causing Donald J. Trump for President LLC to file false reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Making a false statement by failing to disclose liability to Cohen for the Clifford payment on his 2017 public financial disclosure form.
• Conspiracy to defraud the United States by undermining the lawful function of the FEC and/or violating federal campaign finance law related to “hush money” payments, false statements, and cover-ups of reimbursement payments to Cohen made by the Trump Organization.

They've even produced a helpful chart to make the connections.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:19 AM on February 25, 2019 [51 favorites]

Greg Sargent has an interview with economist Gabriel Zucman: An election all about our Gilded Age levels of inequality

The other day, economist Gabriel Zucman of the University of California at Berkeley put out a new paper that startled many observers, finding that wealth inequality has returned to levels not seen since the 1920s.

The paper’s key attention-grabber: The 400 richest families in America now own a greater share of the nation’s wealth than the bottom 150 million people do.
...
Plum Line: You can look at the 1980s as the beginning of a debate in which we were told that unshackling the economy through deregulation and tax cuts would benefit everyone. Yet what we saw was a kind of triumph of the super-rich that was much more dramatic than anyone expected.

Zucman: The U.S. has run an unprecedented social experiment since the 1980s -- slashing the tax rate, deregulating finance and labor markets, cutting the minimum wage, and so on. Almost 40 years after the start of this experiment, we have the data to judge whether this experiment was successful or not.

What we are seeing is that for the bottom 50 percent of the income distribution, their average income was $16,000 a year per adult in 1980, adjusted for inflation. And it’s still $16,000 a year per adult today. The bottom half of the income distribution, on a pre-tax and -transfer basis, has had zero growth for more than a generation. What’s the lesson that we can draw from this experiment, and how can we do better?

Plum Line: Very powerful interests believe that this experiment was a smashing success.

Zucman: That is true. But the same was true in 1913 — and yet the Constitution was changed and a progressive income tax was introduced, which quickly became very progressive with top tax rates of 70 percent or more. This historical precedent makes me relatively optimistic about the prospect of substantial tax policy changes in the years to come, and in particular about the possibility of wealth taxation.

posted by zachlipton at 12:05 PM on February 25, 2019 [77 favorites]

Under the broad topic of deceit being fundamental to crimes: Trump climate advisory panel structured to avoid public records -- Scientists with fringe views being recruited to disavow Trump admin's own report. (John Timmer for Ars Technica, Feb. 25, 2019)

It pulls together threads from the recent Washington Post article, White House to set up panel to counter climate change consensus, officials say -- The idea of an ad hoc group to reassess the government’s climate science findings represents a modified version of a plan championed by William Happer, the National Security Council’s senior director. (Juliet Eilperin, Josh Dawsey and Brady Dennis, Feb. 24, 2019) and 'Adversarial' reviewers recruit climate skeptics (Scott Waldman for E&E News, Feb. 25, 2019)

In short, by the Post notes that a formal Federal Advisory Committee would include having meetings in public and creating extensive public records of its deliberations, so by creating an ad-hoc working group instead, it avoids the need for any public disclosure. Because these ghouls fear sunlight and transparency, because they know their decisions are based on faulty logic and flawed "science."
posted by filthy light thief at 12:12 PM on February 25, 2019 [19 favorites]

Selena777: Surely, there's somewhere between military intervention and what appears to be an ideologically driven denial regarding the abuses of the Venezuelan dictatorship. Neocons are only aided by the latter in service of their quest for the former.

Yes. It's weird to hear "Your opposition to Leader X amounts to rhetorical support for invading County X" because that's logically equivalent to the bullshit pro-Iraq-War "If you oppose invading County X, you must be in favor of its leader" that's also being rightly derided.

(Also, for my money, comparing Maduro to Trump actually strengthens the emotional argument against invading Venezuela, because as bad as Trump is, I don't want my country to be invaded and I don't think violent overthrow is the solution.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:12 PM on February 25, 2019 [9 favorites]

The idea of an ad hoc group to reassess the government’s climate science findings represents a modified version of a plan championed by William Happer, the National Security Council’s senior director.

That being William "the demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler" Happer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:27 PM on February 25, 2019 [22 favorites]

[CNN]

Michael Cohen needs to answer these five questions:

1. Who, if anyone else, was involved in making hush money payments to two women right before the 2016 election?

2. Before you gave false testimony to the Senate about the Trump Tower Moscow project, did you discuss or coordinate your false testimony with anyone else?

3. Did the Trump inaugural committee accept money from foreign contributors or commit other crimes?

4. Did Trump or anyone else ever talk to you or your lawyers about the possibility of a pardon?

5. What questions did you refuse to answer from the SDNY during your attempted cooperation?
posted by growabrain at 12:35 PM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

In other words, "Hey, any rocks that Mueller forgot to tun over?"
posted by wenestvedt at 12:43 PM on February 25, 2019 [5 favorites]

Venezuela is decidedly not about us. For the same reason, we decidedly should not make it about us and imagine that somehow our involvement will improve the situation in any way.

Then you better rip up the mutual defense treaty of 1947. Otherwise we are one gunshot away from being involved.
posted by ocschwar at 12:48 PM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

Then you better rip up the mutual defense treaty of 1947.

If the alternative is having to destroy a country and plunge a continent into destabilization and crimes against humanity because Bolsonaro says he was shot at, then let me go get my treaty rippin' gloves.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:54 PM on February 25, 2019 [19 favorites]

Four more:

6. How many other hush payments did you arrange for your erstwhile boss?
7. Did you threaten litigation based around NDAs to cover up potentially criminal activity?
8. What, if any communications did you or your boss have with Don McGahn or other FEC commissioners regarding the 2011 exploratory committee?
9. Did you and your boss gather blackmail material on public officials?
posted by holgate at 12:55 PM on February 25, 2019 [6 favorites]

Then you better rip up the mutual defense treaty of 1947. Otherwise we are one gunshot away from being involved.

Only if we want to be, and Colombia wants us to be. The treaty obligates us to defend against an "armed attack". Armed attack is a term of art in international law which means an incident "which leads to a considerable loss of life and extensive destruction of property." One gunshot across the border is not an armed attack.
posted by BungaDunga at 12:55 PM on February 25, 2019 [14 favorites]

(there's loads of arguments back and forth about what exactly an armed attack is, but there's at least a bar to clear. Invading a country in response to a couple stray bullets across a border crossing would almost certainly be illegal under international law, and not obligated under our mutual defense treaties)
posted by BungaDunga at 12:59 PM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

One gunshot across the border is not an armed attack.

And the US better hope it stays that way otherwise we'd have attacked mexico.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:02 PM on February 25, 2019 [12 favorites]

Before getting off onto other items, let's drill down on #1.

1. Who, if anyone else, was involved in making hush money payments to two women right before the 2016 election?

1.1 List each and every person, other than the 2 known, who received hush money payments right before the 2016 election.

1.1.1 On the prior list, circle the name "Jane Doe", as in Doe v. Trump and Epstein, who withdrew her lawsuit right before the 2016 election.
posted by mikelieman at 1:10 PM on February 25, 2019 [14 favorites]

then let me go get my treaty rippin' gloves

Even if you think this particular treaty is not important, it would be a pretty bad precedent to decide to ignore a mutual defense treaty just because we thought the cost was too high. Not only would it be a huge problem for many US allies around the world, it would remove the deterrent power of those treaties.

Of course, BungaDunga is correct and the idea that we would have to go to war because a bullet went over the line is simply not true. If Venezuela did a Russia-invades-Georgia style move, then I think we would be obligated (this seems highly unlikely to me, but I'm far from an expert on South American politics so maybe I'm wrong).
posted by thefoxgod at 1:43 PM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

BuzzFeed, Geidner, Trump's Memo Appointing Matthew Whitaker Raises Questions About When He Actually Took Over DOJ

A newly released document regarding former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker's appointment shows that, at the earliest, President Donald Trump authorized Whitaker to lead the Justice Department a day later than officials previously said was the case.

White House and Justice Department officials previously had repeatedly declined to make public a copy of Trump's memorandum designating Whitaker the acting attorney general this past November. A copy of the document, obtained by BuzzFeed News in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, suggests why that was the case: The document raises several questions about the timing of and process involved in Whitaker's appointment.

posted by zachlipton at 1:51 PM on February 25, 2019 [15 favorites]

For the legal-minded...

How is it that in the Epstein/Acosta catastrophe that Acosta is not vulnerable to prosecution? The judge made a finding that he broke the law, so...
posted by j_curiouser at 2:47 PM on February 25, 2019 [12 favorites]

From the previous thread: I thought it's been confirmed that accounts of negative behavior can't be automatically canceled out by finding some people who that person treated okay (Franken's SNL colleagues, for instance) and getting them to sign a thing.

posted by Selena777 at 7:56 AM on February 25 [3 favorites +] [!]

As a counter-example, I give you "Bart O'Kavanaugh."
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:47 PM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

I thought here we agreed that that was dumb, though. We have so many other candidates without this reputation. Many of them are also qualified women.
posted by Selena777 at 3:08 PM on February 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

Former Lawmakers Pressure Congress to Reject Trump’s Emergency Declaration (NYT)

“It has always been a Republican fundamental principle that no matter how strong our policy preferences, no matter how deep our loyalties to presidents or party leaders, in order to remain a constitutional republic we must act within the borders of the Constitution,” wrote the former members of Congress, including Senators John Danforth, Chuck Hagel, Olympia J. Snowe and Richard Lugar, who implored Republicans to protect Congress’s constitutionally mandated power of the purse.

The security officials said there is neither a “documented terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border” nor an “emergency related to violent crime.”

The president’s assertions “are rebutted not just by the public record, but by his agencies’ own official data, documents, and statements,” the officials, including Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state, and John O. Brennan, the former C.I.A. director, said in their declaration.

“Under no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a national emergency today,” they wrote. [...]

Only one House Republican, Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, has signed on to the resolution to block the declaration, scorning the idea that congressional Republicans who attacked President Barack Obama’s use of executive powers “now cry out for a king to usurp legislative powers.”

posted by Little Dawn at 3:09 PM on February 25, 2019 [16 favorites]

I thought here we agreed that that was dumb, though. We have so many other candidates without this reputation. Many of them are also qualified women.

I don't think this is so simple an issue. Two important principles are in tension here: One, that we should take allegations of abusive behavior seriously no matter who is being accused and who is doing the accusing. This would cut towards being a serious black mark against Klobuchar's candidacy. But the second principle is that we can not and should not hold women to a different standard than men, and when we do so we contribute to a reinforcement of the patriarchy. It is absolutely without question that Klobuchar and other women are being held to a much higher standard here. Disqualifying her on the basis of something that is not seen as disqualifying to a male candidate really is a problematic position.

So those principles are in tension. I think many of the people who think this is a easy thing to reconcile were already looking for reasons not to support Klobuchar. For example, if this disqualifies Klobuchar then it also disqualifies Bernie Sanders, and I have not seen a single person make the argument that Sanders can't be the nominee because of his treatment of staff.

In conclusion, politics is a land of contrasts.
posted by Justinian at 3:25 PM on February 25, 2019 [61 favorites]

So is the Democratic House ever going to start actually investigating stuff? I feel if the Mueller report is a big nothing, the pressure from the media and the right wing to "move on" will be immense. Richard Neal is slow-walking the tax releases, which is nuts. What the hell are they waiting for?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:25 PM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

That's what I said! And I was told I'm impatient.

I dunno, I feel like if the fate of the nation is at stake as Democratic lawmakers have agreed that maybe you should light a fire under it. Like Cohen is testifying in a few days... and they've agreed that Russia stuff is off-limits. What the hell? It's absurd.

Let's get this party started, guys. I understand working a lot is, like, hard. But that's why you lawmakers ran, right? To work hard for the American people? It's time.
posted by Justinian at 3:27 PM on February 25, 2019 [10 favorites]

My understanding from recent reading (apologies for not having a source handy) is that they could fuck up the delicate balancing act that Mueller’s team is performing.

It’s going to happen — they just don’t want to cause a fumble right before the touchdown (whatever that may be).
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:29 PM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

I would disqualify both Klobuchar (who I was kind of for before this) and Sanders (not a fan previously) for abuse of staff. I don't want more of that in the WH after Trump is out, thanks. That's extremely detrimental at work.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:29 PM on February 25, 2019 [24 favorites]

I subscribe to the Trump campaign mailing list to see how they're framing issues to their supporters, and got a message today whose subject is "Wall footage attached."

It includes some griping about people saying he couldn't build the wall, and then this:

Well I have some BREAKING NEWS for all of them:

THE WALL IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

We're so close to reaching our ambitious goal of raising $2,000,000 to make a statement to Democrats to FINISH THE WALL. That’s why I’m calling on you, Benjamin to put us over the top. This is your moment to make a statement, it’s in your hands now.

In the email, the allcaps sentence links to a time-lapse video of the construction of what is very clearly a fence and not a wall. I know his supporters might say that's semantics, but it's really astounding to me just how deep and obvious the grift is. Not only are they leaning on their supporters to forget basic distinctions between words -- to unlearn language, essentially -- but the rest of the pitch is basically a bait and switch, too. They want their supporters to feel like they're giving money to building the wall, even though they're just giving money towards making a statement about building the wall. Also, how is $2M going to be used to "make a statement," exactly?

Anyway, just a brief broadcast from within virtual Trumpland.
posted by cudzoo at 3:35 PM on February 25, 2019 [27 favorites]

jenfullmoon: I would disqualify both Klobuchar (who I was kind of for before this) and Sanders (not a fan previously) for abuse of staff. I don't want more of that in the WH after Trump is out, thanks. That's extremely detrimental at work.

I'm the same and I think this is the larger trend explaining what Justinian observed (a lack of "the argument that Sanders can't be the nominee because of his treatment of staff"). Most of the sort who would do so had already written him off in their minds long ago; this is very few people's last straw on him.

What I wonder is whether this is just the beginning of a new trend of revelations. Some survey showed that women clustered way at the top of "worst" people in Congress to work for... I strongly suspect that comes down more to misinterpretation of mens' behavior than of womens' (though I'd be comparatively happier if it was the opposite and there isn't much abuse overall).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:49 PM on February 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

I don't know anything about Klobuchar or other women in Congress, but the stories reminded me of one of my friends who took over management of an ailing company.
The former CEO was a drunk who was violent and generally abusive towards his employees, regularly got into wild fights with both his board and his employees and his customers, and did things like hiring his (also alcoholic) wife. Of course he drank on the job. And much more. My friend is an ambitious but also very fair minded person, who among other things got extra health insurances for everyone (we have universal healthcare in this country, but dentistry is not covered and mental healthcare is limited), made sure that everyone had fair union contracts and that employees had better daily working conditions, better wages and yearly bonuses. She rewarded talent and brought in great people. She protected people who were non-conforming.
Guess what: in the employees' minds, she was a witch, while their former man-boss was a good but vulnerable person. I don't really know what to say about stuff like that.
(I was very close to this situation for reasons and I am very certain that I am not biased by being a friend here)
posted by mumimor at 3:54 PM on February 25, 2019 [59 favorites]

Amanda Terkel, who broke some of the first news about Klobuchar's staff, has an update responding to the Politico piece (but not the Vox one, which has the excellent data on staff turnover by gender in the Senate, which is highly revealing context in my eyes) and reporting how some of these staffers have reacted to the discussion: Exposing Amy Klobuchar’s Mistreatment Of Staff Is Not Sexist:

Particularly frustrating for some of these staffers have been the charges of sexism. Many of the aides who spoke with HuffPost are women, who consider themselves feminists and have worked for other strong female politicians.

One former staffer called the Palmieri op-ed “offensive as fuck.”

“It’s not that there’s not merit to the argument that other men have been abusive and gotten away with it,” she said. “It doesn’t make it OK for anybody. We don’t say, we haven’t held men accountable in the past for this on Capitol Hill, so why start now?”

HuffPost's Molly Redden also dug more deeply into one part of the story. When Staff Sought Better Jobs, Amy Klobuchar Tried To Undermine Them
posted by zachlipton at 4:08 PM on February 25, 2019 [19 favorites]

My understanding from recent reading (apologies for not having a source handy) is that they could fuck up the delicate balancing act that Mueller’s team is performing.


They have less than twelve months before any investigations will be met by an outcry that they are illegitimately trying to interfere in the election - I mean, that would happen right now, but people will find that line more credible in 2020.
posted by thelonius at 4:13 PM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

Don Junior making his attorneys relaxed and proud speaking on Fox and Friends this morning: "There are no actual crimes. There’s only things that people did in past lives, in 2006 before we even thought we ever get into this crazy world"

Whitewater occurred in 1978. Republicans thought it was very important to have an Independent Counsel investigate it in 1994.
posted by chris24 at 4:21 PM on February 25, 2019 [88 favorites]

In the email, the allcaps sentence links to a time-lapse video of the construction of what is very clearly a fence and not a wall.

It's also replacing fencing that already existed. It's not new.
posted by waitingtoderail at 4:28 PM on February 25, 2019 [12 favorites]

By parsing the redacted documents surrounding Manafort's breach trial (4Feb transcript, 8Feb defense filing, and 13Feb decision by Judge Berman Jackson), Marcy Wheeler makes the case today that:

On August 2, 2016, Paul Manafort gave Konstantin Kilimnik 75 pages of recent, detailed polling data.

The importance of this new analysis is that the "polling data" story was successfully minimized at the outset when a single source provided this description to the NYTimes in their 8Jan story that broke the news of the transfer:

Both Mr. Manafort and Rick Gates, the deputy campaign manager, transferred the data to Mr. Kilimnik in the spring of 2016 as Mr. Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination, according to a person knowledgeable about the situation. Most of the data was public, but some of it was developed by a private polling firm working for the campaign, according to the person.

Whether that story is true or not, it seems that Manafort was passing detailed internal polling data to Kilimnik after the Republican National Convention, when they met on August 2nd.

The NYTimes has not clarified that initial report in response to the new filings in Manafort's case, but said this in their profile of Kilimnik this weekend:

Mr. Mueller’s team has focused on what appears to have been another discussion about polling data in New York on Aug. 2, 2016. A partly redacted court transcript suggests that Mr. Gates, who entered a plea agreement with the special counsel that requires his cooperation, may have told prosecutors that Mr. Manafort had walked Mr. Kilimnik through detailed polling data at a meeting that day in the cigar lounge of the Grand Havana Room in Manhattan.

posted by pjenks at 5:26 PM on February 25, 2019 [13 favorites]

@ZoeTillman: NEW: Paul Manafort's sentencing memo is in for his DC case. His lawyers don't advocate for a specific sentence, but argue for one "substantially below" the legal maximum of 10 years that he faces

Here's the memo

This is only for the DC case; the Virginia case is separate.
posted by zachlipton at 5:57 PM on February 25, 2019 [6 favorites]

gist:

his crimes aren't so bad.
and he hardly did 'em.
and other people do 'em unpunished too.
and you'd never have noticed but for that other thing.
and you didn't charge any crimes for that other thing (proving his innocence of crimes involving that other thing) so it's hardly even fair to punish him for crimes he did do.
and they're hardly crimes.
and he has pleaded guilty and it was accidental. and he has taken full responsibility.
but for the crimes he's a good guy: 13 pages of hagiography and he's old.
prison's tough on the elderly.
and gout.
and his reputation has been damaged.
and his money-laundering business has suffered.
and anyway he hardly did those technical crimes which aren't so bad anyway.
and he cooperated but for a couple lies and has taken full responsibility for these hardly-crimes.
and the lies only represent fleeting moments of 12 otherwise unabated hours of truthfulness.
there are some guidelines.
they don't help us unless you appreciate how these gossamer crimes evaporate when you look hard at 'em.
the other guys say he hasn't taken responsibility but that isn't fair.
and he shouldn't have to take responsibility.
and he has anyway, all the responsibility for those inadvertent technical hardly-crimes.
so you should go easy on him.
and he'll be punished for those other related crimes in that other jurisdiction, so.
hasn't he been punished enough already?
here follow 30 pages of testimonials from people who think poor ol p.j. is a good guy who likes beer.

grudging admiration through rage, counsel. that is some well-written nonsensical bullshit with a crunchy center of sentencing precedents in (likely) easily-distinguishable cases. i hope to see the judge slap you around a little bit for your continued minimization and responsibility-dodging at sentencing. and of course p.j.
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:07 PM on February 25, 2019 [36 favorites]

After Putin's warning, Russian TV lists nuclear targets in U.S. (Andrew Osborn, Reuters)

Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes.

The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.

The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a “Cuban Missile”-style crisis if the United States wanted one.

Trump's idiocy has reignited Mutual Assured Destruction. This is fine.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:20 PM on February 25, 2019 [41 favorites]

Mod note: One comment deleted. Sorry, I agree with the sentiment but let's keep the fear/rage over in the venting thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:34 PM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

India has apparently dropped bombs in Pakistan, in response to a bombing last week of a military convoy. Both Pakistan and India have mentioned their nuclear arsenals in the past 24 hours. No word from US.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:53 PM on February 25, 2019 [13 favorites]

MAD never really went away, it just receded from the public consciousness for a while.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:13 PM on February 25, 2019 [21 favorites]

Anyone know anything about the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act? I'm starting to see conversation about how Democrats support infantcide come out through conservative acquaintances on social media, and if I google there's a hit of conservative news sources, but nothing I can see in terms of analysis from mainstream news outlets.

I'm guessing that (a) somewhere, there's a GOP strategist that sees the only moral ground they can engage some eroding portion of their base on right now is abortion, so there's a concerted effort to jam this wedge issue into play hard and (b) the text of the bill is written in such a way as to make it look like it's all about protecting already outside-womb infants but ends up trampling on other rights. But IANAL or MD.
posted by wildblueyonder at 9:20 PM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

The federal Election Assistance Commission will be chaired for the next year by Christy McCormick. McCormick spent 2017 calling the IC report on Russian interference in the election a bunch of lies, because noted not-serious-person John McAfee said so, and has since gone around to various states telling officials not to worry about Russian interference in elections.
posted by zachlipton at 9:28 PM on February 25, 2019 [26 favorites]

Anyone know anything about the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act? I'm starting to see conversation about how Democrats support infanticide come out through conservative acquaintances on social media, and if I google there's a hit of conservative news sources, but nothing I can see in terms of analysis from mainstream news outlets.

A deft ploy to combine the "Dems kill fetuses for Satan" Christian Right faction and the "Dems sacrifice babies for their adrenochrome" QAnonian Right faction. It was inevitable that a general "Dems kill babies" plank would eventually crystallize and enter the party platform.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:37 PM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

reads like part of the same effort to frame partial birth abortion as the murder of an infant born alive that president horrorshow has recently invoked to slander certain governors.
posted by 20 year lurk at 9:47 PM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile: A 24-year-old Honduran woman’s pregnancy ended in a stillbirth at an ICE detention center (WaPo)
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:51 PM on February 25, 2019 [22 favorites]

turns out partial birth abortions are already prohibited. the proposed rule would prescribe the standard of care due an infant surviving after an abortion or attempted abortion, e.g., that standard of care given any newborn of like gestational age. the extant ban has thorough, careful findings of fact, crafted by abortion opponents to overcome the jurisprudential fact finding of precedential abortion cases in future abortion cases and developing statute, among the lengthy whereases. i mean, they're terrible -- and the jokers in congress being able to blithely make such fact-finding the law of the land is terrifying given all i have seen of congress ever! -- but in their terribleness they are magnificent whereases. the proposed rule presents no such considered or constructed or condensed-from-the-diffuse-ether-of-testimony-over-recent-years facts.
posted by 20 year lurk at 10:17 PM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

(reminder that "partial birth abortion" is not the name of any actual medical procedure, it is a political term invented by forced birth advocates.)
posted by contraption at 10:41 PM on February 25, 2019 [84 favorites]

Trump climate advisory panel structured to avoid public records
Scientists with fringe views being recruited to disavow Trump admin's own report.
posted by XMLicious at 12:10 AM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

Donald Trump just claimed his daughter Ivanka ‘created millions of jobs’

No love for Jared, who singlehandedly brought back Middle East peace.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:17 AM on February 26, 2019 [28 favorites]

Krugman today: Trump, Trade and the Advantage of Autocrats
China can pay him off; places with rule of law can’t.

There’s been some good news on global trade lately: A full-scale U.S.-China trade war appears to be on hold, and may be avoided altogether.

The bad news is that if we do make a trade deal with China, it will basically be because the Chinese are offering Donald Trump a personal political payoff. At the same time, a much more dangerous trade conflict with Europe is looming. And the Europeans, who still have this peculiar thing called rule of law, can’t bribe their way to trade peace.

posted by mumimor at 12:55 AM on February 26, 2019 [12 favorites]

wildblueyonder: I'm starting to see conversation about how Democrats support infantcide come out through conservative acquaintances on social media, and if I google there's a hit of conservative news sources, but nothing I can see in terms of analysis from mainstream news outlets.

Here's Vox on it: A Republican-backed bill to protect “abortion survivors” won’t pass. It still matters. (Anna North)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:05 AM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]

If you want to understand that "born alive abortion survivors protection act" you probably need to read this Slacktivist piece about the "anti kitten burning coalition."
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:40 AM on February 26, 2019 [33 favorites]

When I talk to pro-life people about that bill, I remind them that infanticide is already illegal, and that NO ONE is advocating that it should be legal. I explain that in the incredibly, incredibly rare case where a viable baby is born alive after an attemped abortion, yes, that baby is protected by laws against infanticide.

But what if it is a non-viable baby (vastly more likely, because that's the main reason later abortions happen) born alive but suffering from conditions incompatible with life? Organs that never fully formed. A brain that didn't form. But with a heartbeat, when it is born.

That baby is also an infant, protected by laws against infanticide. But it is a dying baby. Now the question is... do you intubate? Put him or her on a ventilator? Do surgery to insert a gastric feeding tube? Knowing that you are only delaying the inevitable? Knowing that it is in pain? Knowing that it will never have even one day of life NOT connected to those machines? That's the situation Gov. Northam was talking about, where the family has a decision to make.

Pro-life people think (or profess to think) that Northam was suggesting that the decision was whether to kill the infant, rather whether to take extreme measures to painfully delay the inevitable.

That's why this bill was introduced. To satisfy a base outraged about Northam's remarks.
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:50 AM on February 26, 2019 [78 favorites]

CBS News:Michael Cohen to accuse President Trump of criminal conduct for first time.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Cohen will provide documents, prepared by Mr. Trump's accountant, that will show the president may have engaged in tax fraud, CBS News correspondent Paula Reid reports. This could be the basis for lawmakers or investigators to pursue Trump's tax returns. The source confirms that Cohen will also accuse the president of using racist language. His comments are described as "chilling" - this language was allegedly used in a series of personal conversations between Mr. Trump and Cohen.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:21 AM on February 26, 2019 [24 favorites]

Oh yeah, the Trump Org accountant who flipped lo these many ‘Muccis ago, he seems like a guy Congress might like to interview soon.
posted by notyou at 5:37 AM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

Rosenstein: Government transparency isn't always appropriate (AP)

At other points in his speech, and in a question-and-answer session that followed, Rosenstein appeared to allude to the Justice Department’s protocol of not disclosing negative information about people it does not have enough evidence to charge or that, for other reasons, it decides against prosecuting. Justice Department legal opinions argue that a sitting president cannot be indicted, suggesting prosecutors would not be able to pursue charges against Trump even if they uncover wrongdoing. That could mean investigators do not make public information they collected on Trump.

Mueller Won’t Indict Trump if He Finds Wrongdoing, Giuliani Says (NYT, 5/16/18)

While nothing in the Constitution or federal statutes says that sitting presidents cannot be indicted, and no court has ever ruled that they are temporarily immune, lawyers with the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel have twice concluded — once during the Nixon administration, and again during the Clinton administration — that the Constitution bars prosecuting presidents.

Can the President Be Indicted? A Long-Hidden Legal Memo Says Yes (NYT, 7/22/17)

A newfound memo from Kenneth W. Starr’s independent counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton sheds fresh light on a constitutional puzzle that is taking on mounting significance amid the Trump-Russia inquiry: Can a sitting president be indicted?

The 56-page memo, locked in the National Archives for nearly two decades and obtained by The New York Times under the Freedom of Information Act, amounts to the most thorough government-commissioned analysis rejecting a generally held view that presidents are immune from prosecution while in office.

“It is proper, constitutional, and legal for a federal grand jury to indict a sitting president for serious criminal acts that are not part of, and are contrary to, the president’s official duties,” the Starr office memo concludes. “In this country, no one, even President Clinton, is above the law.” [...]

Mr. Starr, who had decided he could indict Mr. Clinton, said in a recent interview that he had concluded the more prudent and appropriate course was simply referring the matter to Congress for potential impeachment.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:38 AM on February 26, 2019 [31 favorites]

I believe that literally anything Giuliani says should be ignored entirely at worst, and ridiculed (but given no credence) at best. He literally says whatever he thinks makes him look best to Trump at the time. His word isn't worth the oxygen used to expel it.
posted by Twain Device at 5:51 AM on February 26, 2019 [49 favorites]

The source confirms that Cohen will also accuse the president of using racist language. His comments are described as "chilling" - this language was allegedly used in a series of personal conversations between Mr. Trump and Cohen.

We have plenty of "chilling" comments (and actions!) from Trump on audio and video and Republicans in power don't care and Trump fans don't care. They're not going to start caring when Cohen says Trump said a bunch more racist stuff (I'm assuming "chilling" is journalist code for the n-word) and Trump denies it. Even if there are recordings, they'll somehow find a way to not care.
posted by mikepop at 5:55 AM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

Just a fun little nugget of political poo, courtesy of the vigorously-arguing-his-right-to-remain-dead Antonin Scalia. This was almost two decades ago and is easily the midpoint of criminal outright f*ckery by Republicans to destroy democracy. This jiggery-pokery applesauce got us here.

Scalia Thought Bush v. Gore Was 'A Piece of Sh*t'

A new book, First: Sandra Day O’Connor by Evan Thomas, claims that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia thought that the equal protection rationale of the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000 was “as we say in Brooklyn, a piece of shit,” according to Rick Hasen.

But he went along with it anyway.

But why, Tony? Why'd y'go along with it Tony? If you thought it was a p.o.s. Tony, why go along with it?
Yeah, we know why you went along with it Tony.
posted by petebest at 5:59 AM on February 26, 2019 [73 favorites]

Adding to the "anti-kitten-burning" model linked by OnceUponATime, I suspect there's a nontrivial constituency of people who would support this bill while not, ostensibly, believing in torturing infants for multiple days in a row before their already-inevitable death. This is Alexandra Erin's concept of the Shirley Exception in action: "surely there would be an exception" and "we're not talking about that, we're talking about killing viable babies". (In reality, the only situations in which care can be withdrawn under current law are the rare fringe cases where there is no real hope regardless, and hence that's all that would be "banned".)

That said, quite a few people are willing to bite the bullet and say yes, there is no such thing as torture so cruel that it's not worth the extension of life. Like some rogue robot in a Star Trek episode (or really, Black Mirror) doing everything it can to maximize the "life signs" with no regard for the quality of that life.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:01 AM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

I believe that literally anything Giuliani says should be ignored entirely at worst, and ridiculed (but given no credence) at best. He literally says whatever he thinks makes him look best to Trump at the time. His word isn't worth the oxygen used to expel it.

I agree, and so any media story whose hook is "...Giuliani Says" is worse than a waste of time. It gives credibility to someone who has none or less tha none, and the media should know that as well as anyone.
posted by Gelatin at 6:06 AM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]

That's why this bill was introduced. To satisfy a base outraged about Northam's remarks.

It's obviously bullshit. And it's an extension of the exploitation of parents with terminally ill infants.

It's also not whataboutism to note that the "pro-lifest" states contribute most to the US having terrible infant and maternal mortality rates.
posted by holgate at 6:07 AM on February 26, 2019 [14 favorites]

Donald Trump just claimed his daughter Ivanka ‘created millions of jobs’

*in China
posted by sexyrobot at 6:07 AM on February 26, 2019 [22 favorites]

Good news from the left coast: San Francisco To Expunge Thousands Of Marijuana Convictions (Matthew S. Schwartz for NPR, February 26, 2019)

San Francisco officials plan to expunge more than 9,000 marijuana convictions dating back to 1975, the city's highest law enforcement official said Monday.

It's the culmination of San Francisco's year-long review of past convictions after California voters legalized recreational marijuana throughout the state in 2016. Several California cities are taking on the task of expunging records, but San Francisco is the first one to finish the job, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"It was the morally right thing to do," San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón told the Los Angeles Times. "If you have a felony conviction, you are automatically excluded in so many ways from participating in your community."

And a joyful protest: Texas 'Dragtavist' Drag Queens Stage Border Wall Protest (Reynaldo Leaños Jr. for NPR, February 26, 2019)

Drag queens from throughout Texas' Rio Grande Valley gathered last weekend in Brownsville to protest further construction of the border wall and bring attention to LGBTQ migrants who have been detained or are seeking asylum.

In a public park, a performer who goes by Beatrix Lestrange did not have to struggle to catch the attention of protesters gathered for the No Border Wall Protest Drag Show. Lestrange, whose real name is Jose Colon-Uvalles, wore a multicolored dress, a red wig, black pumps and a choker with studs.

"Who's ready to have a political time?" Lestrange yelled out. The audience, standing in a semicircle and dressed in similarly vivid outfits, cheered and applauded.

"We'll try to bring joy, positivity, beauty, drag, culture to whatever this is," Lestrange said, pointing to the section of the border fence directly behind her.

posted by filthy light thief at 8:00 AM on February 26, 2019 [24 favorites]

Trump's inner circle might escape Mueller charges — but still won’t be safe (Politico)

[...] a slate of sealed indictments sit in the Washington, D.C., federal courthouse, raising the prospect that some in Trump’s circle may have already been indicted and just don’t know it.

“If anyone in Trump world is breathing easy right now, I’d say they are very foolish,” said Shanlon Wu, a defense lawyer who previously represented Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman, Rick Gates. “Even if Mueller’s report were to appear and didn’t implicate the president, all these other criminal investigations will continue. That’s not going to be the magic bullet that solves everything. I’d be very concerned if I was a lawyer or a potential target in that world right now.”

posted by Little Dawn at 8:01 AM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

Joe in Australia: Donald Trump just claimed his daughter Ivanka ‘created millions of jobs’

Fact Check: Did Ivanka Trump create 'millions of jobs'? (Holmes Lybrand for CNN, February 25, 2019)

Facts first: No matter how you spin it, that's not true.

They're claiming that the "Pledge to America's Workers" (Whitehouse.gov), which two hundred companies "have agreed to the pledge," with each providing different numbers of training opportunities. This brings the total number of opportunities pledged to just over 6.5 million. In a press release from the administration, the pledge is described as a commitment to "new opportunities over the next five years."

Emphasis all mine, after the Facts first, which was all CNN.

Tl;dr: Trump and co are claiming that future promises for employee trainings = new jobs now.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:05 AM on February 26, 2019 [17 favorites]

That said, quite a few people are willing to bite the bullet and say yes, there is no such thing as torture so cruel that it's not worth the extension of life. Like some rogue robot in a Star Trek episode (or really, Black Mirror) doing everything it can to maximize the "life signs" with no regard for the quality of that life.

Yes, there are, as evidenced by Terri Schiavo
posted by achrise at 8:09 AM on February 26, 2019 [18 favorites]

New Michael Cohen testimony may undermine Trump’s spin on Mueller (Greg Sargent, WaPo Opinion)

Trump’s propaganda machine is triumphally pre-spinning a grand exoneration out of the expectation that Mueller will not bring charges against Trump or his associates for conspiracy with Russian sabotage of our election. Savvy reporters are telling us the attorney general’s report to Congress on Mueller’s findings will disclose disappointingly little.

[...] Even if Mueller does not bring criminal charges, we already know that happened. We already know Trump helped Donald Trump Jr. lie to the American people about this meeting, too. We already know Trump engaged in extensive, repeated efforts to derail a full accounting of all it, including of a foreign attack on our democracy irrespective of whether his campaign conspired with it.

[...] Yes, a limited disclosure of Mueller’s findings will be a setback. It will deny us information we need to better understand the full scope and range of misconduct on both the collusion and obstruction fronts. Democrats should and will try to rectify this.

But whatever is to be on that front, we already know a great deal about what happened here. No amount of fake claims of vindication from a cramped Mueller disclosure can make all of that disappear.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:29 AM on February 26, 2019 [7 favorites]

CNN provides this paraphrase from Trump and Kim Jong-un's June 2018 meeting, which I find totally plausible:

KIM: So, what do you think of me?
TRUMP: It only takes me a few seconds to work out what I think of someone. I think you're sneaky, but not too sneaky.
KIM: But do you trust me?
TRUMP: Yes, I trust you.
KIM [turning to JOHN BOLTON]: And you? Do you trust me?
BOLTON: If the President trusts you, I trust you.

One more dignity wraith.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:37 AM on February 26, 2019 [27 favorites]

White House pushed Saudi nuclear power plan: report (DeutscheWelle)
Lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns that, without safeguards, the US technology transferred to Saudi Arabia could help the kingdom develop nuclear weapons.

I think I'm going crazy so I did a quick google:

The World's Largest Energy Producers (cnbc)
Saudi Arabia's huge oil reserves have placed the Middle-Eastern country at the center of the global energy industry.

Yeah, of course. They have plenty of energy. What do you think they're going to use nuclear reactors for? I mean damn... they obviously can't sell Mohammed Bonesaw a bomb, so this is their plan? And I find this out from German state media.

Here's the press release from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform mentioned in the article:
Multiple Whistleblowers Raise Grave Concerns with White House Efforts to Transfer Sensitive U.S. Nuclear Technology to Saudi Arabia (oversight.gov)
[M]ultiple whistleblowers came forward to warn about efforts inside the White House to rush the transfer of highly sensitive U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of the Atomic Energy Act and without review by Congress as required by law—efforts that may be ongoing to this day.

It's worth noting that the new chairman of this committee, Elijah Cummings, has only been on the job since January. So, thanks blue wave, we could have been looking at a nuclear Persian Gulf. Voting matters! Combined with tearing up the Iran deal, it would seem some are actively pursuing a nuclear arms race in the gulf.

without review by Congress as required by law

Selling nuclear secrets to foreign countries happens to be against the law. Super illegal. Who knew?

You have actually executed people for this before.
posted by adept256 at 8:38 AM on February 26, 2019 [42 favorites]

I wish we could avoid the use of "pro life" here to indicate the side which supports stripping women of their rights. "Anti-abortion", "anti-choice" or "anti-woman" are all more accurate.
posted by maxwelton at 8:46 AM on February 26, 2019 [73 favorites]

IMHO, "reproductive slavery" nutshells it nicely. See also "forced birth."
posted by whuppy at 8:58 AM on February 26, 2019 [37 favorites]

Yeah, of course. They have plenty of energy. What do you think they're going to use nuclear reactors for?

There are some legitimate reasons for them to want nuclear power plants. Oil won't last forever, and the less they use internally, the more they can sell on the global market. Eating your cash crop is expensive, since you're foregoing all the profit you might have made by selling it.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:02 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

If only Saudi Arabia had some kind of perpetual energy source that was easily available and convertible to energy with low-to-zero emissions.
posted by petebest at 9:08 AM on February 26, 2019 [64 favorites]

Wisconsin pulls National Guard troops from border action.

NM and CA had already done so.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:09 AM on February 26, 2019 [20 favorites]

a slate of sealed indictments sit in the Washington, D.C., federal courthouse

Ah, let's not: it's the mirror of QAnon. I think the only long-sealed case from Mueller's team was Papadopoulos, and that was a complaint, not an indictment.
posted by holgate at 9:20 AM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

House will be voting on the resolution against the emergency declaration this afternoon, probably around 2:30 ET.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:28 AM on February 26, 2019 [3 favorites]

Senate whip count update: 3 Rs will vote for the resolution against the emergency declaration (Tillis, Collins, Murkowski).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:38 AM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

So we probably need a fourth Republican vote to override the Vice President's tiebreaking vote
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:41 AM on February 26, 2019

So we probably need a fourth Republican vote to override the Vice President's tiebreaking vote

Right. There's a half dozen or so other Rs who have expressed some level of concern, so it's not out of the question this passes.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:44 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Good Vox backgrounder on what's going on with getting Trump's tax returns.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:45 AM on February 26, 2019 [9 favorites]

There's a half dozen or so other Rs who have expressed some level of concern, so it's not out of the question this passes.

I find it unlikely. If the current whip count has just enough R defections to block it with Pence's vote, then they're the ones who were released to vote for it and no one else will be. As we've seen plenty, all the "concerns" in the world are fucking meaningless when it comes time for these people to actually stand for their country over their party.
posted by jammer at 10:02 AM on February 26, 2019 [34 favorites]

tl;dr of the Vox article:

Essentially, that means Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) would request Trump’s returns from Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Mnuchin would, theoretically, have to comply. If he doesn’t, a court battle would likely ensue. The committee then could vote to have some or all of the tax returns released to the rest of the House, so all members would have access to it — increasing the odds they would get out to the public.
posted by petebest at 10:10 AM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Recent bizarre Russian govt tests to continue operations off-the-grid are now understandable by the news of US Cyber Command's first operation last midterm election day of neutralizing a selected site. : The Internet Research Agency.
posted by Harry Caul at 10:21 AM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

I-1 is out of the country, his fixer is going to testify to Congress tomorrow, Congress is preparing to vote to disapprove of his emergency declaration today. What else could we add to make it a more volatile mix?

WaPo "exclusive": U.S. Cyber Command operation disrupted Internet access of Russian troll factory on day of 2018 midterms

The U.S. military blocked Internet access to an infamous Russian entity seeking to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms, several U.S. officials said, a warning that the group’s operations against the United States are not cost-free. “They basically took the IRA offline ... They shut ‘em down.”

The operation marked the first muscle-flexing by U.S. Cyber Command, with intelligence from the National Security Agency, under new authorities it was granted by President Trump and Congress last year to bolster offensive capabilities. ... “Such an operation would be more of a pinprick that is more annoying than deterring in the long run,” said Thomas Rid, a strategic studies professor at Johns Hopkins University ... “Part of our objective is to throw a little curve ball, inject a little friction, sow confusion,” said one defense official. “There’s value in that. We showed what’s in the realm of the possible. It’s not the old way of doing business anymore.”

It's a brave new world out there.
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:22 AM on February 26, 2019 [16 favorites]

jammer: "I find it unlikely. If the current whip count has just enough R defections to block it with Pence's vote, then they're the ones who were released to vote for it and no one else will be."

Sure, it almost definitely doesn't pass by a single vote. Either it fails by a couple or it passes by a couple, so nobody can be pegged as the deciding vote.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:24 AM on February 26, 2019

> Either it fails by a couple or it passes by a couple, so nobody can be pegged as the deciding vote.

Just to restate the obvious, the vast, vast majority of Republican Senators, members of the Grand Old Party who thundered about tyranny and railed against Barack Obama's "imperial presidency", are planning to vote that it is perfectly fine when a President declares an emergency to work around an explicit funding denial from the House and Senate. As long as the President is in their party.

These are the people who lectured us on the sanctity of the Constitution, and how we are a nation of laws not men.
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:33 AM on February 26, 2019 [80 favorites]

These are the people who lectured us on the sanctity of the Constitution, and how we are a nation of laws not men.

...and who complain about "gotcha journalism" on the rare occasions someone in the media points out their obvious hypocrisy.
posted by Gelatin at 10:36 AM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]

There are two incumbent Republican Senators retiring in 2020: Senator Roberts of Kansas (82-years-old) and Senator Alexander of Tennessee (78-years-old). Will these two men with nothing to lose bravely strike a blow for the Constitutional Separation of Powers and against the Imperial Presidency? Probably not!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:46 AM on February 26, 2019 [9 favorites]

These are the people who lectured us on the sanctity of the Constitution, and how we are a nation of laws not men.

I wonder what it feels like not to have any guiding principles. It seems like it would be disorienting and anxiety provoking.
posted by diogenes at 10:46 AM on February 26, 2019 [14 favorites]

I wonder what it feels like not to have any guiding principles. It seems like it would be disorienting and anxiety provoking.

Oh they do have guiding principles — based on an apocalyptic world view that sees everyone Not Them at either less than human or as evil, omnipotent schemers. Or, taking an item from the old Nazi playbook, both!

If The Other is an existential threat, the rules are “rules” only insofar as they enable you to oppress them and protect/enrich yourself.
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:05 AM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]

This 21-year-old tweeted lies about Robert Mueller and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, he’s eyeing the 2020 election

COSTA MESA, Calif. – A false claim bubbled up from the internet last month that Sen. Kamala Harris, the recently announced presidential candidate, wasn’t eligible for election because she had immigrant parents and spent part of her childhood in Canada. The claim, an echo of the “birther” conspiracy that trailed President Barack Obama, was widely debunked but still addressed seriously by mainstream news pundits, including CNN’s Chris Cuomo.

Even better for Jacob Wohl, the 21-year-old Californian who ignited the Harris birther claim with a tweet, some people actually seemed to accept it as fact.

“The believability stuck at about 15 to 18 percent by my measurement,” Wohl said in an interview shortly afterward, declaring it “not a bad campaign.”

Kamala Harris is NOT eligible to be President. Her father arrived from Jamaica in 1961—mother from India arrived in 1960

Neither parent was a legal resident for 5 years prior to Harris’s birth, a requirement for naturalization

Kamala was raised in Canada

— Jacob Wohl (@JacobAWohl) January 22, 2019

Wohl, a self-professed “political and corporate intel consultant” and supporter of President Donald Trump, is dedicated to plying the malleable fringe of the electorate with dubious claims and disinformation schemes.

posted by scalefree at 11:12 AM on February 26, 2019 [10 favorites]

Just to be clear, the House is voting today, and the Senate probably won’t vote until about two weeks from now?
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:16 AM on February 26, 2019

I think the Senate has an 18 day clock that starts upon House passage.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:18 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

I think the Senate has an 18 day clock that starts upon House passage.

That is correct, so between speculation on the Senate and St. Patrick's day, the news-cycle will be filled.
posted by mikelieman at 11:22 AM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Jacob Wohl is an even-worse Ben Shapiro, but hey let's say this guy made a bit of a name for himself with a lie, and now we're going to treat anything he says as having some relation to the truth. Thanks USAToday.

He has some publicly-demonstrated character flaws to account for and at any rate we don't need more Roger Stones.
posted by rhizome at 11:24 AM on February 26, 2019 [17 favorites]

This 21-year-old tweeted lies about Robert Mueller and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, he’s eyeing the 2020 election

We only have to worry about this if he makes it out of the Sharia law hellhole of .....checks notes .... Minneapolis alive.
posted by srboisvert at 11:51 AM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

Mark Harris says he won’t run in North Carolina election do-over.
posted by peeedro at 11:59 AM on February 26, 2019 [35 favorites]

This 21-year-old tweeted lies about Robert Mueller

He did a lot more than tweet. He ran a full on campaign to frame Mueller for rape and got caught. I assumed at the time that there would be repercussions.
posted by diogenes at 12:05 PM on February 26, 2019 [26 favorites]

scalefree: Wohl, a self-professed “political and corporate intel consultant” and supporter of President Donald Trump, is dedicated to plying the malleable fringe of the electorate with dubious claims and disinformation schemes.

In more plain words: Wohl is Trumping it up, lying to people who are susceptible to accepting such lies as close enough to the truth to vote for him.

Behold, a Trumplet in action. If spreading lies worked to get Trump in office, other narcissists and people who put personal gains above the well-being of others (oh, I just defined political narcissists, right) will do the same.

And while Senate Republicans have a math problem on Trump's border emergency (Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large, February 26, 2019)

On Tuesday, the Democratic-majority House will vote to disapprove of President Donald Trump's decision to declare a national emergency along our Southern border. Once that happens, the Senate, by law, will have 18 days to take a vote of its own on the privileged resolution.

And at the moment, the momentum is moving against Trump and Senate Republican leaders -- raising the possibility that the President could be forced to issue the first veto of his tenure on what is widely seen as his biggest campaign promise, an embarrassing moment to say the least.

Pharmaceutical Company CEOs Face Grilling in Senate Over High Drug Prices (Alison Kodjak for NPR, February 26, 2019)

After opening with some feel-good quotes from the big pharma CEOs, NPR covers some bi-partisan criticism for the ever-increasing pharmaceutical prices:

"For a patients taking a drug that has no competition, the list price becomes very important," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee's chairman. "I've heard about people skipping doses of their prescription drugs to make them last until the next paycheck."

Wyden piled on.

"I think you and others in the industry are stonewalling on the key issue, which is actually lowering list prices," he said. "Lowering those list prices is the easiest way for consumers to pay less at the pharmacy counter."

Many patients have to pay the full price for a prescription drug until they meet their deductible, and others have payments that are calculated as a percentage of the list price. So higher list prices often translate to higher costs at the pharmacy counter, even when pharmacy benefit managers and insurers have negotiated discounts.
...
Even as the companies protest that the high list prices on their products don't reflect what they actually make on those products, drug makers' have consistently enjoyed some of the highest profit margin of any industry.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers' profit margins have exceeded 26 percent for the last three years, and 22 percent for the past ten years, according to a presentation by CVS Health which cited Macrotrends.net as its source.

This administration's plan, as summarized by NPR: Trump Administration Wants To Cut Drug Prices By Eliminating Middlemen's Rebates (Alison Kodjak, Feb. 1, 2019)

The Trump administration is proposing major changes (HHS.gov) in how prescription drugs are priced and paid for by Medicare.

The effort is designed to cut costs for senior citizens at the pharmacy counter and by its example could spur changes in the broader market for prescription drugs.

The draft rule from the Department of Health and Human Services would encourage drug companies to offer discounts directly to consumers and would reduce the role of middlemen (NPR) that many policymakers say drive up list prices for medicines and increase consumers' costs.

"We're going to fundamentally rewire how we pay for drugs in this system," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a briefing with reporters on Friday (HHS.gov).

"On Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Inspector General Daniel Levinson proposed a rule to lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by encouraging manufacturers to pass discounts directly on to patients and bringing new transparency to prescription drug markets."

Emphasis mine -- So how are they looking to encourage companies?

The HHS proposal would expressly exclude from safe harbor protection under the Anti-Kickback Statute rebates on prescription drugs paid by manufacturers to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), Part D plans and Medicaid managed care organizations.

It would create a new safe harbor for prescription drug discounts offered directly to patients, as well as fixed fee service arrangements between drug manufacturers and PBMs. The proposal would also provide a historic new level of transparency to a system that has been shrouded in secrecy for decades.

Under the proposed rule, prescription drug rebates that today amount to, on average, 26 to 30 percent of a drug’s list price may be passed on directly to patients and reflected in what they pay at the pharmacy counter. By encouraging negotiated discounts that are reflected in cost-sharing methods like co-insurance, used for many expensive drugs in Medicare Part D, the proposal is projected to provide the greatest benefits to seniors with high drug costs.

If you want to read more (and get angry at the status quo) of how drug prices are set, you can read Rebates, Coupons, PBMs, And The Cost Of The Prescription Drug Benefit, by Charles Roehrig for Health Affairs.org (April 26, 2018).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:06 PM on February 26, 2019 [17 favorites]

I've heard from people who know him that Jacob Wohl smells like clam chowder. Like, strongly so. Apparently you can tell when he's nearby because of the strong odor of clam chowder. Totally serious.
posted by weed donkey at 12:07 PM on February 26, 2019 [36 favorites]

peeedro: Mark Harris says he won’t run in North Carolina election do-over.

It's pretty incredible that he had a choice at all, but this is mostly welcome news. (Less than entirely welcome because it does give Republicans the chance to run a less-tainted candidate.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:13 PM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]

The ratings outfits have NC-09 as Toss-up without Harris in the race.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:17 PM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

...would reduce the role of middlemen (NPR) that many policymakers say drive up list prices for medicines and increase consumers' costs.

Oh, you mean the goddamn insurance companies? So we're going to a public option AND single-payer? Cool!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:21 PM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]

The only surprising thing about Wohl is that he didn't phrase it as "I overheard two liberals in the coffee shop I was in talking about how Kamala Harris was ineligible to be President," as that's his usual jam when he isn't actively trying to get himself thrown into prison.
posted by delfin at 12:29 PM on February 26, 2019 [10 favorites]

He did a lot more than tweet. He ran a full on campaign to frame Mueller for rape and got caught. I assumed at the time that there would be repercussions.

It is a quick hit in the article, but An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on whether the agency was investigating the episode. Given that Mueller's office referred it over to them and how law enforcement tends to react to folks going after one of their own? I'd give 2:1 odds he ends up getting charged.

If he had any sense (haha) he'd be pretty fucking nervous between now and November, particularly if he stays in California. In DC, there's no statutory damages for defamation of public figures. Since Wohl is a fucking clown and Mueller is well respected it's hard to imagine any provable harm from his shenanigans, which certainly seem like any rational person would view them as well over the reckless and malicious line. In California, however, he could take a real sock to the nose on slander or on a false light claim.

I get the sense Mueller's commitment to the gig would make him unlikely to pursue private action if it might distract from his work. But I have to think even the most stoic person is gonna take it pretty personally when a punk shithead fabricates an accusation of rape. And, uh, he's a member of the California bar.
posted by phearlez at 12:36 PM on February 26, 2019 [13 favorites]

Wohl originally talked about the things he overheard in "hipster coffee shops" in total sincerity, but in recent months he's quasi-embraced the mockery by doing the bit over and over in such on-the-nose, parodic form as to convey a sense of real concept for that Jacob Wohl dork.

Poe's Law was coined to describe the difficulty of distinguishing the rhetoric of extremists (such as Christian fundamentalists) from parody, but this is more like if a young-Earth creationist kept reducing his claim for the Earth's age until he was tweeting out "The Earth was made 300 years ago, that's what the Bible says".

It's surreal and makes you wonder where the grift starts and stops in the guy's brain, or whether it's more about the performative signaling of dishonesty (as in, that he's devoted enough to the cause to double down on lying for it), which I'll grant could be the case but wouldn't normally take the form of self-riffing.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:44 PM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

My apologies for forgetting to post this on Sunday: News You May Have Missed for 24 Feb. We covered the coordinated strategy to spread disinformation about Dem candidates, missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, scarce medical care in detention centers, China’s Social Credit system, an update on Haiti and a bunch of other stuff.
posted by joannemerriam at 12:47 PM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

Guardian: Democrats introducing bill to restore DOJ pre-clearance of electoral changes to any state with a recent history of VRA violations.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:09 PM on February 26, 2019 [43 favorites]

Wohl just got suspended from Twitter, so they managed to do one good thing today.
posted by Etrigan at 1:15 PM on February 26, 2019 [49 favorites]

The House held a hearing today on family separations with both Scott Lloyd, who ran the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and Jonathan White, a career HHS official who has spoken out publicly. The two sat next to each other. A thread.

@ddiamond [video attached]:

One striking exchange came late in the day with Rep. Madeleine Dean, @mad4pa, who pressed on Lloyd’s personal efforts to block abortions. Dean: “It’s a yes or no… did you track” menstrual cycles of refugee women? Lloyd: “I don’t have a yes or no answer for that question.”

Rep. Dean, @mad4pa, was correct that Lloyd tracked the women’s menstrual cycles.

Here’s Lloyd’s own ACLU deposition, in December 2017, where he acknowledged creating a pregnancy tracker and asking for updates.

Here's Politico's story: Former Trump refugee director says he never warned higher-ups about family separations

"Did you ever say to the administration, this is a bad idea, this is what my child welfare experts have told us, we need to stop this policy? Did you once say that to anybody above you?" Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pressed Lloyd.

"To answer your last question, I did not say those words," Lloyd said.

posted by zachlipton at 1:17 PM on February 26, 2019 [24 favorites]

Horrible Florida Man [even by florida standards] and member of Congress Matt Gaetz via twitter:

Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot...
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:29 PM on February 26, 2019 [13 favorites]

@AlexWardVox:

My short text convo with @mattgaetz just now:

Me: Congressman, Any chance you have a few minutes to discuss what you implied with your tweet to Michael Cohen? Perhaps a preview?

Gaetz: Watch tomorrow.

Me: Will do -- anything I should be prepared for?

Gaetz: Fireworks

This is dancing awfully close to, if not over the line of, witness intimidation.
posted by zachlipton at 1:31 PM on February 26, 2019 [67 favorites]

Wohl's account has been permanently banned from Twitter following his conversation with USA Today.
posted by msbutah at 1:31 PM on February 26, 2019 [33 favorites]

I'm just noting that, for the whole drug prices thing, we can't trust Alex Azar to do anything more than piss on the faces of the American people, considering that he was a proponent of kicking up drug prices for the maximum profit they can extract, including Insulin.

There's a political cartoon of a pharmacist holding up a vial and saying, "Your money or your life." That's Alex Azar right there.
posted by mephron at 1:36 PM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

PopeHat thinks Gertz may have gotten himself in a spot of trouble with that tweet.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:50 PM on February 26, 2019 [51 favorites]

In Veiled Threat to India, Body That Oversees Pak Nuclear Weapons Programme to Meet
The National Command Authority is Pakistan’s principal decision making body on nuclear issues. Pakistan has invoked its nuclear capabilities in the past as well when tensions between the two countries escalated.

New Delhi: Hours after the Indian Air Force struck across the Line of Control to destroy terrorist camps, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, the head of Pakistan military’s media wing, issued a veiled threat to India and invoked Pakistan’s National Command Authority (NCA), the body which oversees Islamabad’s nuclear weapons programme.

"I said that we will surprise you. Wait for that surprise. I said that our response will be different. The response will come differently,” Ghafoor said at a press conference.

“There is a joint session of parliament tomorrow and then the prime minister has summoned a meeting of the National Command Authority. I hope you know what the NCA means and what it constitutes,” Ghafoor added.

NCA is Pakistan’s principal decision making body on nuclear issues. Pakistan has invoked its nuclear capabilities in the past as well when tensions between the two countries escalated.

The US has no confirmed Ambassador to Pakistan but there is a career diplomat serving as Charge d'Affaires who replaced the last ambassador who left in December. Oh & the US Ambassador for Religious Freedom, the eminent former Senator Sam Brownback, just visited. I'm sure Trump won't even need their help, as his own best advisor he can multitask an imminent nuclear exchange with ending the Korean War.
posted by scalefree at 1:58 PM on February 26, 2019 [3 favorites]

This 21-year-old tweeted lies about Robert Mueller and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, he’s eyeing the 2020 election

Instead of trying to build Jacob Wohl into the next Ben Shapiro/James O'Keefe/Roger Stone (as though we need another abuser of the truth in mainstream media today) USAToday should have expended their journalistic credibility on expanding this angle:

At the news conference, Wohl distributed a document that was digitally signed, purportedly by the absent accuser Carolyne Cass, in which she said she had been sexually assaulted by Mueller in New York in 2010. In the interview this month, Wohl referred to Cass as a “real accuser” and called her allegations credible.

But when reached by USA TODAY, 34-year-old Carolyne Cass of Los Angeles said Wohl, whom she met on Craigslist, had tricked her by pretending to be an investigator named Matthew Cohen who was trained by Israeli intelligence forces and agreed to help her with “unscrupulous characters ripping me off.”[…]

Cass said it ultimately became clear that Cohen and his associates, imaginary or otherwise, “needed a credible female to put on the line” for false allegations about Mueller. “They made it up,” Cass said of the document accusing Mueller, which was passed around at the news conference. “They wrote it and docu-signed it.”

She claimed Cohen tried to get her to speak at the news conference but she “escaped” and learned only as the scheme exploded that Cohen was in fact Wohl. “He completely lied to me,” Cass said.

Wohl had as recently as this month referred to Cass while speaking in detail about the Mueller episode. But when asked about Cass’s version of events, Wohl said he could not speak further because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement with her and “can’t violate any confidences.” Cass said no such agreement existed. […]

Both Wohl and Cass say they have not been contacted by the FBI. Stanford Law School professor Robert Weisberg said Wohl’s actions could be construed by a federal prosecutor as wire fraud, obstruction of justice or conspiracy – or as possibly violating various state statutes – but likely fell into a legal “gray zone.”

But instead, USAT wasted paragraphs covering Wohl's beef with Michael Avenatti (though they probably deserve each other).
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:09 PM on February 26, 2019 [14 favorites]

> The US has no confirmed Ambassador to Pakistan ... I'm sure Trump won't even need their help, as his own best advisor he can multitask an imminent nuclear exchange with ending the Korean War.

This is a bit of an aside from the main thread, I guess, but if you don't know this already: India and Pakistan have capitals separated by about 400 miles - about half that distance from their shared border.

That leaves no time for the sort of considered decision-making that was possible during the Cold War, when US/USSR military commands would have several leisurely minutes in which to evaluate whether the radar blips they saw were ballistic missile launches or not. No, India and Pakistan are locked in a use-it-or-lose-it nuclear brinkmanship game where the reaction times are measured in seconds.

This is the sort of situation where a talking-down by cooler heads would be urgent, along with some heavy behind-the-scenes diplomatic pressure. I guess we can look to China for that sort of leadership now. (The Hindu: China calls for ‘restraint’ after India’s air strikes on terror camp in Pakistan.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:16 PM on February 26, 2019 [12 favorites]

NBC: White House Press Corps Evicted From Hotel Ahead of North Korea Summit—The forced move was highly unusual because the White House had approved of and supported the use of the space by media who cover the president. What, was Singapore not authoritarian enough that the Trump White House decided that Vietnam's regime would be an improvement?

AP: Russia: US Asks for Advice on North Korea Talks "Lavrov, who is also visiting Vietnam this week, said in comments carried by Russian news agencies on Monday that Russia believes that the U.S. ought to offer Pyongyang “security guarantees” for the disarmament deal to succeed. He also mentioned that “the U.S. is even asking our advice, our views on this or that scenario of” how the summit in Hanoi could pan out."

Incidentally, the Guardian reports Dutch customs seized 90,000 bottles of vodka believed to be for Kim Jong-un.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:20 PM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

Politico: Top Democrats want 2020 candidates to sign non-aggression pact -- Early state chairs lead effort to lay out norms and rules Democratic presidential campaigns should follow with regard to disinformation tactics.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:31 PM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

Ladies and Gentlemen, please doff a cap, dab a tear, or pour a 40 for a guy who didn't tread very f*cking carefully because what they're doing to him has been [not very] f*cking disgusting okay:

Michael Cohen has been disbarred. (APNews)

President Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer is now an ex-lawyer.

Michael Cohen was officially disbarred on Tuesday while he was in Washington giving closed-door testimony to the Senate intelligence committee.

A New York court ruled that Cohen’s guilty plea last November automatically stripped him of his eligibility to practice law.

A spokeswoman for Cohen did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

No comment yet from the Women for Cohen community either. One imagines they are fictionally totes bummed.
posted by petebest at 2:43 PM on February 26, 2019 [34 favorites]

zachlipton: One striking exchange came late in the day with Rep. Madeleine Dean, @mad4pa, who pressed on Lloyd’s personal efforts to block abortions. Dean: “It’s a yes or no… did you track” menstrual cycles of refugee women? Lloyd: “I don’t have a yes or no answer for that question.”

Rep. Dean, @mad4pa, was correct that Lloyd tracked the women’s menstrual cycles.

And they also tracked children's birthdays, so they could move them from children's shelters to adult detention centers on their 18th birthday (NPR, Feb. 22, 2019, though they didn't explicitly link the "birthday detentions" with tracking ages, that was something that Emmy Rae pointed out in the prior MegaThread)

They clearly are spending a lot of time and effort tracking individuals and their details, while also reporting that they lost 1,475 children in 2017 alone (Washington Post, May 29, 2018). Maybe these tracking systems came after they lost more than a thousand children? (They say "lost track" of children, which is the same as "lost children" in my book.)


msbutah: Wohl's account has been permanently banned from Twitter following his conversation with USA Today.

So they'll perm-ban 21 year old budding politicians who spew hate and lies, but the old, orangish-white guy who spews hate day in, day out is still there because the hate he sprays is somehow "newsworthy"?
posted by filthy light thief at 2:45 PM on February 26, 2019 [42 favorites]

This is dancing awfully close to, if not over the line of, witness intimidation.

Nonsense! Gaetz is only witness testing! Err, whatever that is.

@AlexWardVox UPDATE:

Me: Any response to those who say you’re witness tampering?

@mattgaetz: I’m witness testing. We still are allowed to test the veracity and character of witnesses, I think.

Me: So you disagree with those who say you’re witness tampering?

Gaetz: Yes.
posted by scalefree at 2:48 PM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]

Jacob Whol update from the irreplaceable Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny: Twitter suspends conservative activist Jacob Wohl after he admits to making fake accounts

In a phone interview Tuesday, Wohl admitted to operating @Women_4_Schultz.

“This is par for the course. We were just talking about how this was probably going to happen,” he said.

Wohl initially said he did not create the @Woman_4_Schultz handle before backpedaling and claiming the account

“Thank you for reminding me,” he said. “I tweeted at it to be goofy, but it’s not a fake account. I was tweeting about women’s issues that Schultz happens to be good on.”

posted by zachlipton at 2:51 PM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

So they'll perm-ban 21 year old budding politicians who spew hate and lies, but the old, orangish-white guy who spews hate day in, day out is still there because the hate he sprays is somehow "newsworthy"?


If Wohl brought in as much money to Twitter as Trump did, I'm sure he wouldn't be banned.

"Newsworthiness" is just a fig leaf for the real reason Twitter keeps Trump and all the other fascists around.
posted by Ouverture at 2:53 PM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]

“Thank you for reminding me,” he said. “I tweeted at it to be goofy, but it’s not a fake account. I was tweeting about women’s issues that Schultz happens to be good on.”

That he's neither a woman nor for Schultz is besides the point.
posted by scalefree at 2:54 PM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

From Bloomberg: Eric Miller won confirmation Tuesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, becoming the first appeals judge confirmed this year and the first to clear the chamber without support of both home-state senators.

Senators voted 53 to 46 to send Miller, a private attorney and former Clarence Thomas clerk, to the San Francisco-based court that’s been the target of fierce criticism by President Donald Trump over its rulings against his policies. Yet another historic loss.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:56 PM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

NY Mag, Eric Levitz, The GOP Just Used Crocodile Tears About Anti-Semitism to Abet Mass Murder in Yemen. I apologize, the details get slightly wonky about parliamentary procedure and germaneness, but it's important. The takeaway is simple though:

That last point is worth emphasizing: If the Senate finds a way to pass new legislation ending American support for the Saudi war [in Yemen], House Republicans (reportedly) plan to attack House Democrats as “soft on anti-Semitism” — unless Democrats vote to (effectively) prolong American participation in war crimes against a vulnerable ethnic group.

posted by zachlipton at 2:59 PM on February 26, 2019 [12 favorites]

WSJ, Cohen to Testify that Trump Engaged n Criminal Conduct While in Office

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, will on Wednesday for the first time publicly accuse the president of criminal conduct while in office related to a hush-money payment to a porn star, a person familiar with his planned testimony before Congress said.
Appearing before the House Oversight Committee, Mr. Cohen also will make public some of Mr. Trump’s private financial statements and allege that Mr. Trump at times inflated or deflated his net worth for business and personal purposes, including avoiding paying property taxes, the person said. The financial statements were developed by Mr. Trump’s accountant, the person said. The Wall Street Journal hasn’t seen those statements.
...
Mr. Cohen is expected to recount racist remarks Mr. Trump allegedly made to him, including instances in which Mr. Trump allegedly questioned the intelligence of African-Americans and criticized their lifestyle choices, the person said.
...
In his testimony Wednesday, Mr. Cohen will provide documentation of his reimbursement for the $130,000 Clifford payment, which he received in monthly installments of $35,000 throughout 2017, the person familiar with his testimony said. Mr. Cohen will show the panel a signed check, the person said.

Mr. Trump signed some of the checks reimbursing Mr. Cohen, which Mr. Cohen began receiving after Mr. Trump took office, according to another person familiar with the payments.

@matthewamiller: Why was Trump signing checks from a business he had supposedly left behind?
posted by zachlipton at 3:06 PM on February 26, 2019 [27 favorites]

This person might have also talked to Politico: Cohen will present document to criminally implicate Trump

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, plans to offer up a document to lawmakers that he claims will show the president engaged in criminal conduct related to a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, according to a person familiar with his planned congressional testimony.

....

More broadly, Cohen will go into personal and character accusations against Trump, saying the president made racist remarks in front of him such as questioning the intelligence of African-Americans, according to the person.

....

Separately, the person familiar with Cohen’s testimony confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal that Cohen will accuse Trump of manipulating his finances for business and personal purposes, including inflating and deflating his net worth and avoiding property taxes.

posted by box at 3:07 PM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

Just don't let Buzzfeed News break it.
posted by petebest at 3:09 PM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Cohen will accuse Trump of manipulating his finances for business and personal purposes, including inflating and deflating his net worth and avoiding property taxes.

I predict a future soon where Republican members of Congress insist that "high crimes and misdemeanors" only includes federal crimes.
posted by Tabitha Someday at 3:10 PM on February 26, 2019 [9 favorites]

Let's not forget that what Matt Gaetz just tweeted at Michael Cohen is in exactly the same vein as what Trump has been tweeting at Cohen for several months....it's just coming on the very eve of his testimony. I'm not shocked by a whole lot lately, but the sheer brazenness given the fact that he's way less likely than the sitting POTUS to be able to get away with it is pretty shocking to me.

Regarding the reporting of what's going to be in Cohen's testimony, I'm wondering if they'll be following any of the "consulting" work he was doing. If Democrats or nobody asks him about it, that means Trump was actually involved in it. If Republicans ask him about it, that's a strong indicator that it was just Cohen's own little side-grift.
posted by Room 101 at 3:10 PM on February 26, 2019 [7 favorites]

The GOP Just Used Crocodile Tears About Anti-Semitism

Evergreen headline, to be honest.
posted by zombieflanders at 3:12 PM on February 26, 2019 [15 favorites]

I predict a future soon where Republican members of Congress insist that "high crimes and misdemeanors" only includes federal crimes.

We are seeing the "Kavanaugh Standard". It doesn't count unless you're convicted beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Therefore Republican members of Congress can never find reason to impeach.
posted by mikelieman at 3:13 PM on February 26, 2019 [10 favorites]

NYT op-ed, Dr. Jen Gunter, I Didn’t Kill My Baby [cw: "When he was born, my husband at the time and I knew he couldn’t survive. That doesn’t make me a murderer."]

If you are going to accuse me of executing my child, then you need to know exactly what happened. It’s not a pleasant story and the ending is terrible. I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to read it. But you need to know the truth, because stories like mine are being perverted for political gain.

posted by zachlipton at 3:31 PM on February 26, 2019 [68 favorites]

@ChadPergram:

The House has voted to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency for the border.

The vote was 245-182

All Democrats voted yea.

They were joined by 13 Republicans.

That's well below a veto-proof majority (290), but is sufficient to require a vote in the Senate.

Those 13 Republicans were: Amash, Fitzpatrick, Herrera, Beutler, Johnson (SD), Rooney (FL), Sensenbrenner, Stefanik, Walden, Upton, Hurd, Gallagher, Davidson

The House plans to consider a new bill in which they're fine with Trump's border emegency but would require Congress to approve future emergencies within 60 days or they expire automatically. If this sounds like the specific species of nonsense only the Problem Solvers Caucus could dream up, you're right; this is a Tom Reed special.
posted by zachlipton at 3:41 PM on February 26, 2019 [51 favorites]

From the further adventures of Jacob Whol:

@oneunderscore__: Jacob Wohl ran another fake Twitter account, @drakehomes612. "Drake" screenshotted a Craigslist post for a Bryan Singer protest and tweeted it back at Jacob. "Who wants to bet that these weird ass craigslist ads were posted by Moron aka jacob wohl?"

Calling yourself a moron on the internet to own the libs.
posted by zachlipton at 4:08 PM on February 26, 2019 [14 favorites]

NYT op-ed, Dr. Jen Gunter, I Didn’t Kill My Baby [cw: "When he was born, my husband at the time and I knew he couldn’t survive. That doesn’t make me a murderer."]

Obviously, don't even open the comments on that.
posted by mumimor at 4:12 PM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Jen Gunter is a goddamned hero, but her mentions are a nightmare. I follow her on Twitter and she must be made of steel to do what she does.
posted by suelac at 4:24 PM on February 26, 2019 [14 favorites]

I only knew Dr. Gunter as a Gwyneth Paltrow nemesis and a reliable GOOP faux-science debunker. Aidan, the son she lost, was a triplet born at 22 1/2 weeks, while the other two sons from that pregnancy ultimately survived; she had to leave the obstetrics field afterward. Seriously, don't read the comments.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:35 PM on February 26, 2019 [18 favorites]

I just can’t believe the Overton window has shifted so far that no one’s even taking issue with how vulgar Gartz’s threat is. “Do your wife and father in law know about your girlfriends” used to be what you sent anonymously and that never made it into mainstream news. That’s full-on trash magazine material. But now it’s just ordinary discourse I guess. Party of family values, ladies and gentlemen.
posted by Mchelly at 4:47 PM on February 26, 2019 [50 favorites]

yeah, it’s just too bad you can’t just pay these women to not talk about.... oh, wait.
posted by valkane at 5:19 PM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Since Trump is in Vietnam and Pence in Columbia right now, Pelosi should enact a travel ban on Russian agents entering the country
posted by growabrain at 5:22 PM on February 26, 2019 [48 favorites]

It took me a while to realize you didn't mean D.C. (colombia)
posted by Justinian at 5:25 PM on February 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

An interesting graphic from 538 showing the second choice of Democratic primary voters based on their first choice. The second choice of Sanders voters? Biden. The second choice of Biden voters? Sanders.

The only way that makes sense? Policy doesn't win elections! I think somebody said that before.

Also, people really like old white dudes I guess.
posted by Justinian at 5:31 PM on February 26, 2019 [60 favorites]

House Judiciary chairman says Whitaker will return to Capitol to clarify testimony


The Justice Department said that Whitaker will meet with the committee privately, according to The Associated Press.

Whitaker publicly testified before the Judiciary Committee on Feb. 8 in what was at times a heated hearing. Nadler invited Whitaker to speak with the committee again just days later, saying in a letter that the official's answers were "unsatisfactory, incomplete, or contradicted by other evidence."

"You repeatedly refused to offer clear responses regarding your communications with the White House, and you were inconsistent in your application of the Department’s policy related to the discussion of ongoing investigations," Nadler added.

Whitaker, who is now a senior counselor in the office of associate attorney general, has gained scrutiny regarding his interactions with President Trump.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the Judiciary Committee believes it has evidence Trump asked Whitaker to put his ally, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, in charge of an investigation into Trump's former lawy
posted by bluesky43 at 5:35 PM on February 26, 2019 [11 favorites]

Well, also Biden and Sanders are clearly the most well known, so for some people second choice is probably just "the other person whose name I recognize / know something about other than their name".

Every single first choice's second choice is either Biden or Sanders, also.
posted by thefoxgod at 5:45 PM on February 26, 2019 [14 favorites]

Horrible Florida Man [even by florida standards] and member of Congress Matt Gaetz...

His Twitter profile starts off describing himself as "Florida man."
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:36 PM on February 26, 2019 [3 favorites]

Daniel Dale, Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star, ran a twitter test:
Are you more interested in
the Trump-Kim summit
or the Michael Cohen testimony
posted by growabrain at 7:41 PM on February 26, 2019 [7 favorites]

HISTORIC MOMENT FOR CHICAGO: With 85% of the vote counted it looks like Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle will face-off in the April run-off election. 2 African-American women. 1 of them lesbian. Both defeating a man named Daley. #WGNelection

The winner will be the first non-white since Eugene Sawyer (left office 1989) and first woman since Jane Byrne (left office 1983)
posted by Chrysostom at 7:45 PM on February 26, 2019 [58 favorites]

The USDA is issuing far fewer citations to zoos, labs and breeders for animal welfare violations (WaPo):

USDA inspectors documented 60 percent fewer violations at animal facilities in 2018 from the previous year, in what animal protection groups say is the latest sign of weakened enforcement by an agency charged with ensuring pet breeders, research labs, zoos and other exhibitors follow federal animal welfare laws.

Cruelty is the point.
posted by peeedro at 7:47 PM on February 26, 2019 [21 favorites]

" With 85% of the vote counted it looks like Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle will face-off in the April run-off election. 2 African-American women. 1 of them lesbian. Both defeating a man named Daley. #WGNelection"

I was literally just saying this to everyone in my immediate and internet vicinity and, AS PER USUAL, wishing I lived in Chicago city limits so I could vote for mayor instead of in suburban Cook where the mayor affects my life 150% but I only get to vote for the Cook County Board! (I mean also for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, that shit matters, right?)

What a time to be alive!!!!!!!!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:14 PM on February 26, 2019 [12 favorites]

The Hill: Schumer: Dems will try to defund Trump panel reassessing climate change
posted by Chrysostom at 8:17 PM on February 26, 2019 [21 favorites]

I'm struck by how binary right-wing thinking can be, especially when it comes to Cohen. Because he's snitching on his ex-boss, conservatives (who used to defend him while hiding anxious expressions) now act like he's some Avatar of the Left and hence if he's disbarred, or has affairs, or (as hard as this is to believe) used to lie about stuff, we'll all feel shocked and betrayed. The former RNC finance chair and president's personal lawyer is kinda shady: checkmate, libs!
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:29 PM on February 26, 2019 [42 favorites]

It could just be that Gaetz is particularly stupid. Never attribute to malice etc.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:42 PM on February 26, 2019 [3 favorites]

It could just be that Gaetz is particularly stupid. Never attribute to malice etc.

I don't think it's an either/or situation; I think it's entirely possible that this is a potent stew of stupidity and malice, abetted by an environment where there are no consequences for having an abundance of either.
posted by nubs at 8:46 PM on February 26, 2019 [27 favorites]

Cohen's opening statement for tomorrow (20 page PDF)

I am ashamed of my own failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York.

I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty –of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him.

I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts rather than listening tomy own conscience.

I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is.

He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.

He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.

I will explain each in a few moments.

posted by zachlipton at 8:58 PM on February 26, 2019 [87 favorites]

There's a lot here, but here's the headline:

As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails.

In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump’s office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of “wouldn’t that be great.”

posted by zachlipton at 9:05 PM on February 26, 2019 [24 favorites]

The stone stuff is good but I feel like this bit at the end might change the narrative a lot.

Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions.

Sometime in the summer of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and an email setting up the meeting with the subject line, “Dirt on Hillary Clinton.” Something clicked in my mind. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his father’s desk – which in itself was unusual. People didn’t just walk behind Mr. Trump’s desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: “The meeting is all set.” I remember Mr. Trump saying, “Ok good...let me know.”
What struck me as I looked back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the
world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone – and certainly not without checking with his father.
I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump’s knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on
17

Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dad’s desk that day -- and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, “That’s good...let me know.”

posted by Brainy at 9:16 PM on February 26, 2019 [15 favorites]

The thing about the Stone call is that it's inconceivable to me that Assange's calls aren't being monitored by essentially everyone, right? If Stone and Assange spoke on the phone, that surely must have been intercepted by intelligence agencies. And this stuff, which happened two and a half years ago, would have been known to them all this time.

Which of course leads to the question of what's the point in having a massive communications surveillance apparatus if you can't ever use it to sound the alarm about something this egregiously bad?
posted by zachlipton at 9:26 PM on February 26, 2019 [41 favorites]

Whoever is managing the media rollout of Cohen’s debut in front of Congress tomorrow hasn’t missed a step, nor let Trump get a word in edgewise, since the campaign began last week.

Bravo media manager person, whoever you are!
posted by notyou at 9:28 PM on February 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

... Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world.

I'm a bad person for laughing.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:31 PM on February 26, 2019 [57 favorites]

My favorite part... ok, among all my favorite parts one particular part is that Trump held this second NK summit specifically to try to drive the kind of 24/7 glowing coverage he got last time and Cohen's testimony tomorrow has completely fucked any possibility of that. Trump is playing second fiddle on the news and it must be driving him absolutely incandescent with rage.

My least favorite part is that might cause him to do something absolutely stupid in order to secure a headline, like pulling our troops out of SK in return for some nebulous pledge.
posted by Justinian at 9:33 PM on February 26, 2019 [13 favorites]

Daily Beast's Michael Weiss points out what is likely the discrepancy causing Mueller's team to put out that statement denying the blockbuster Buzzfeed story. It was a "will no one rid me of this turbulent priest" thing where Trump knew he was telling Cohen to lie, and Cohen knew Trump was telling him to lie, but Trump never said "I wan't you to lie."
posted by Justinian at 9:41 PM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]

I know it’s a minor point in the whole thing, but now I REALLY wanna know Trump’s grades and SAT scores.
posted by Weeping_angel at 9:43 PM on February 26, 2019 [23 favorites]

don't give damn 'bout no scores, but would like to read the threatening letter to educational institutions, exhibit 6.
posted by 20 year lurk at 9:45 PM on February 26, 2019 [7 favorites]

Loony Leftist Update: The answer to "Can Socialism Win In Chicago" is : yes. The majority of DSA endorsed/members won their races or will go to runoff
posted by The Whelk at 10:26 PM on February 26, 2019 [46 favorites]

Trump talking to Cohen: "We have no business in Russia... So... How is it going in Russia?" Yeah, that's straight up Mafia talk.

Trump wanted a hotel. Russia wanted political chaos. Everyone got an accidental president. I forget what account I read that described the moment in Trump's hotel room when he won. Apparently everyone, Trump included, just sat in silence for a full minute.
posted by xammerboy at 10:37 PM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]

Hmmm. Looks like Representative Gaetz may have had a conversation with legal counsel:

Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. I’m deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. I’m sorry.

Also, it's "Madame Speaker," asshole.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:26 PM on February 26, 2019 [62 favorites]

Is this something I should set my alarm for? I was all over Comey’s testimony, and I don’t want to miss anything juicy.
posted by gucci mane at 11:41 PM on February 26, 2019

Which of course leads to the question of what's the point in having a massive communications surveillance apparatus if you can't ever use it to sound the alarm about something this egregiously bad?

Sources & methods. That kind of thing is all TS/SCI codeword, the highest classification there is. It's instilled in them from the get-go these are the most valuable secrets we have.
posted by scalefree at 11:48 PM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

It's instilled in them from the get-go these are the most valuable secrets we have.

What would be an appropriate time to reveal those secrets? Wouldn't it be on an occasion when the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces is a Russian asset directed by a former KGB officer? Because if that isn't a good time, then from whom are you actually keeping those secrets?
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:53 PM on February 26, 2019 [34 favorites]

My grandfather was one of those spooks during the first cold war and sounded alarm (as a civilian) while the modern security apparatus you mention was being built. I cannot imagine him, or anyone currently in those positions, knew at all what to do because
- they want to be political neutral which sounding the alarm definitely would not have been
- they are immensely heirarchial and this is the top of the pyramid that of compromised, which would cause massive dysfunction within the heirarchy about what exactly to to. Their answer, in the end, is Mueller.
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 12:03 AM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

"With 85% of the vote counted it looks like Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle will face-off in the April run-off election. 2 African-American women. 1 of them lesbian. Both defeating a man named Daley. #WGNelection

Yeah, so here's my hot take:

I voted for Lightfoot as did most of the progressive types I know, with the further left people going for Enyia. Chicago elections are super-frustrating because they end up being 1/3 ground game (i.e., activation of your machine), 1/3 happy shiny TV commercials about how you are the one true experienced, non-corrupt progressive in the race, and 1/3 dirty tricks; note that it's mostly a policy-free zone.

People were generally expecting a Daley-Preckwinkle runoff, Daley because even though everyone claims to hate Daleys they then keep voting for them and Preckwinkle because she's generally competent and relatively uncorrupt (it's a low bar but still); she's the Cook County Board President so has a good amount of experience in Chicago politics. It became clear to me that Lightfoot was becoming the progressive / anti-machine consensus candidate so I voted for her in the hopes that she could come up the middle and defeat Preckwinkle, so I'm pleasantly surprised that it was actually Daley who came in third and won't advance to the runoff in April. Main concern I've seen voiced about her is that she was involved in the police accountability task force that came out after, you know, people got fed up with the cops shooting young men of color in the back and/or torturing them in black hole secret prisons, etc. She of course says that she is an awesome advocate for police reform, I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the middle.

Ultimately I'm ok with either candidate; Preckwinkle has more experience and Lightfoot has more progressive cred, but either way we aren't looking at a Groundhog Day twenty-more-years-of-Daley bullshit.

Everyone* is super happy that either way, a fairly progressive black woman is going to be the next Mayor of the second third-largest city in the country. (I personally happen to be in a strong "step back white dudes" mood this week due to white dudes doing their thing at work, so yeah, this is a nice relief from that.)

To veer back on-thread, it's interesting to me how little the Autocrat has come up in this race. I suppose there's not much daylight between the main candidates, but I would've thought that someone would try to differentiate themselves by being the no-but-seriously-fuck-Trump candidate. Either way, there's enough on the Mayor's plate that I expect she will be busy dealing with local issues (some of which, like housing costs, police accountability, etc. are national issues as well). I don't anticipate that there will be the space or funds for Chicago to resist the federal government in the way that California and New York are trying to do through big, progressive policy moves.

*except, I assume, the fascist cop neighborhoods in Beverly and the far NW side, Chicago's answer to Staten Island
posted by tivalasvegas at 1:11 AM on February 27, 2019 [20 favorites]

Mod note: Several deleted. This is the thread for posting about Trump, White House, admin, and related US politics; if you are posting about unrelated world news here, you are in the wrong place.
posted by taz (staff) at 2:21 AM on February 27, 2019 [7 favorites]

CNN has identified a couple of big problems for Trump if his written answers to Mueller are contradicted by Cohen’s testimony: Exclusive: Two key answers from Trump to Mueller

President Donald Trump told special counsel Robert Mueller in writing that Roger Stone did not tell him about WikiLeaks, nor was he told about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son, campaign officials and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

One source described the President's answers without providing any direct quotes and said the President made clear he was answering to the best of his recollection.[…]

According to many lawyers who have experience in cases such as this, adding the caveat that he has no recollection, as the President apparently did with these written answers to Mueller, is standard procedure as a way to try to shield a client should their recollections be challenged.

"It's well-documented how frequently he says or tweets false things, and there's no criminal exposure for that," said CNN legal analyst Carrie Cordero. "The difference is, if he lies in his statement to federal investigators, he is potentially exposing himself to criminal liability, assuming he attested to the accuracy of the information."

If the Dems have any political killer instinct, they’ll press Mikey “Sez Who?” hard about these points. Cohen, on his way to prison, isn’t likely to take the 5th.

While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. I’m deleting the tweet

Ron Howard Narrator’s Voice: He hasn’t deleted the tweet yet.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:24 AM on February 27, 2019 [7 favorites]

Welcome to America. There needs to be a reckoning. From BBC
'Thousands of US child migrants sexually abused'
posted by adamvasco at 2:45 AM on February 27, 2019 [39 favorites]

Has anyone explained why Cohen's statement discusses the Trump Tower meeting and WikiLeaks/Stone if (at Mueller's request?) he's not allowed to talk about Russian collusion?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:37 AM on February 27, 2019

I mean *the 2017 check alone* feels like it would be equivalent to the Nixon tapes getting released, except we're in this odd different universe where a) oh but it's so much worse so wait and b) oh but the Senate GOP probably wouldn't vote to impeach unless never
posted by angrycat at 3:59 AM on February 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

Yeah, we'll probably hear more from the media about the "Trump's TV Lawyer" burns than any actual crimes. I mean, sure, that was a *chef's kiss* burn, but we (media and consumers there of) keep getting distracted by the reality TV style drama over the actual substance.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:27 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

Tweeted, at 4:21 a.m.: Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked’s lawyer!

April 2018 (Bloomberg): Cohen says he gave legal advice to three clients in the past year, including Trump and Elliott Broidy. The third client? Sean Hannity (Columbia Journalism Review).
posted by box at 5:04 AM on February 27, 2019 [17 favorites]

NY Mag, Eric Levitz, The GOP Just Used Crocodile Tears About Anti-Semitism to Abet Mass Murder in Yemen ... The takeaway is simple though:

That last point is worth emphasizing: If the Senate finds a way to pass new legislation ending American support for the Saudi war [in Yemen], House Republicans (reportedly) plan to attack House Democrats as “soft on anti-Semitism” — unless Democrats vote to (effectively) prolong American participation in war crimes against a vulnerable ethnic group.

Make no mistake: The Republicans have signaled that they plan to launch false but politically damaging accusations in bad faith against those who oppose their agenda. The media is aware of this intent (and should be aware of this proclivity).

Thus, there is no reason at all for the media to report on these accusations as anything other than a politically motivated smear, and none to even pretend to take the accusations seriously. I say make no mistake, because the media likely will still report the eventual accusations as if they were sincere, which is worse than a mistake (and likely not accidental at that).
posted by Gelatin at 5:05 AM on February 27, 2019 [20 favorites]

GOP: Please tell me if I've got this right because I'm easily confused ... KSA is a strong opponent of anti-semitism?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:30 AM on February 27, 2019 [9 favorites]

This line from Cohen testimony: “He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal.” via Maggie Haberman on Twitter
posted by bluesky43 at 5:54 AM on February 27, 2019 [16 favorites]

seriously looking for recommendations of where from the UK, I can watch Cohen live...
posted by Wilder at 5:59 AM on February 27, 2019

I'm going to be watching from the CBS youtube feed. Give it a click and see if it'll let you watch from there.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:00 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

PopeHat thinks Gaetz may have gotten himself in a spot of trouble with that tweet

He adds, “Let me put it this way: if one of my clients made a statement to a witness like @mattgaetz did, I'd be telling them to board their dogs so they don't get shot when the arrest team shows up.”

While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. I’m deleting the tweet

Popehat responds, “Okay, okay. Now, in a perfect world you wouldn’t be talking about your specific intent after committing a specific intent crime, but I recognize I need to be grading on a curve here.”

Jerry Nadler to Chris Hayes last night: "I'm not going to waste time responding to every stupid thing that Matt Gaetz says, but it does remind me of the president's tweeting or talking to Fox News and, in effect, threatening Michael Cohen's father-in-law."

And Gaetz finally deleted his tweet this morning, having left it up all night.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:04 AM on February 27, 2019 [30 favorites]

I mean *the 2017 check alone* feels like it would be equivalent to the Nixon tapes getting released, except we're in this odd different universe where a) oh but it's so much worse so wait and b) oh but the Senate GOP probably wouldn't vote to impeach unless never

Among the infuriating things about this criminal presidency is that with its reality TV-like focus on "the Mueller Report" (which at least saves them from having to report knowledgeably on complicated and boring court filings) the so-called "liberal media" pretends to forget the abundant evidence in the public domain that Trump is, in fact, a crook. They constantly give Trump and his apologists the benefit of the doubt, when there has been no doubt since at least the Lester Holt interview, and that was Trump's own admission.
posted by Gelatin at 6:20 AM on February 27, 2019 [58 favorites]

Cohen will present document to criminally implicate Trump (Politico)

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, plans to offer up a document to lawmakers that he claims will show the president engaged in criminal conduct related to a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, according to a person familiar with his planned congressional testimony.

The person said the document will refute a claim by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s attorney, that Cohen used a $35,000 a month retainer from Trump as reimbursement for paying off Daniels. [...]

Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday were tight lipped about Cohen’s testimony behind closed doors. But Committee Ranking Member Mark Warner (D-Va.) suggested it was compelling.

“Two years ago when this investigation started I said it may be the most important thing I’m involved in in my public life in the Senate and nothing that I’ve heard today dissuades me from that view,” Warner told reporters.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:37 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Cohen repeatedly refers to Trump's "TV lawyer" in his opening statement. I find it kind of awesome that he uses this dismissive name for Giuliani and never once uses his real name.
posted by wabbittwax at 6:46 AM on February 27, 2019 [56 favorites]

Michael Cohen’s testimony: Trump’s former personal lawyer expected to allege the president knew in advance of WikiLeaks plan (WaPo)

“I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017–when he was President of the United States – pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me – the word used by Mr. Trump’s TV lawyer --for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year –while he was President,” Cohen will say, according to his written remarks.

Cohen will also display a second $35,000 check, dated March 17, 2017, this one signed by Trump Jr. and Trump organization chief operating officer Allen Weisselberg, a person familiar with his testimony said. The check offers the first evidence that the president’s son may also have been involved with the reimbursement scheme.

Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer, has previously acknowledged Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payments [...]

posted by Little Dawn at 6:47 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

That's an interesting construction in the Cohen statement.

On Individual 1:

He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal.

On himself:

I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man.

I don't think it's meaningful, because I don't see why you'd want to do it, but it almost invites comparison.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 6:54 AM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

According to a Congressman on CNN, the Russia situation will now be fair game during the hearing.
posted by Optamystic at 6:55 AM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

Has anyone explained why Cohen's statement discusses the Trump Tower meeting and WikiLeaks/Stone if (at Mueller's request?) he's not allowed to talk about Russian collusion?

Apparently he is now?

@nycsouthpaw: Gerry Connolly [D-VA] says on CNN Russia is now fair game for the hearing. Specifically Connolly says they just had a meeting about it and made the decision to open up the scope—not just his view.

Here's your C-SPAN link for the hearing.

And here's your reminder that we have Chat, Slack, and the 2 Hyuck 2 Hyucking thread for all your riffing and contextless exclamation needs.
posted by zachlipton at 6:58 AM on February 27, 2019 [17 favorites]

WaPo, Phillip Rucker and Josh Dawsey, White House bans four journalists from covering Trump-Kim dinner because of shouted questions

The White House abruptly banned four U.S. journalists from covering President Trump’s dinner here Wednesday with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after some of them shouted questions at the leaders during their earlier meetings.

Reporters from the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, the Los Angeles Times and Reuters were excluded from covering the dinner because of what White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said were “sensitivities over shouted questions in the previous sprays.” Among the questions asked of Trump was one about the congressional testimony of his former lawyer Michael Cohen.

The White House’s move to restrict press access was an extraordinary act of retaliation by the U.S. government, which historically has upheld the rights of journalists while a president travels overseas. It was especially remarkable because it came during Trump’s meeting with the leader of a totalitarian state that does not have a free press.

posted by zachlipton at 7:09 AM on February 27, 2019 [48 favorites]

The White House’s move to restrict press access was an extraordinary act of retaliation by the U.S. government, which historically has upheld the rights of journalists while a president travels overseas. It was especially remarkable because it came during Trump’s meeting with the leader of a totalitarian state that does not have a free press.

The Trump Administration fundamentally agreeing with a dictator about suppressing a free press should come as a surprise to no one. And it should be roundly condemned by loyal Americans regardless of party, save that conservatism has degenerated into a tribal brand, not a political philosophy with concrete values. It's unforgivable for any Republican to go along with Trump's authoritarianism because they share some of the same agenda, and it's inexcusable for the media to give any Republican a free pass for expressing "concern" and then voting to enable Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 7:14 AM on February 27, 2019 [17 favorites]

Watching the hearing now. Meadows and Jordan have been objecting on procedural grounds to Cohen's lawyers releasing the testimony and evidence less than 24 hours in advance. Representative Cummings adjudicated in favor of continuing the hearing, and those foul Confederates forced a show vote on postponing the hearing.

Representative Cummings employed the "Reclaiming my time" strategy to silence Jordan and is now making his opening statement, detailing what crimes and actions to which Michael Cohen has admitted. He is answering the question of "Why believe admitted liar Michael Cohen on these matters?" The chairman is pointing out that Cohen is providing documentary evidence that corroborates his statements. He is pointing out that Cohen has signed checks from Donald Trump for the $35000 checks to reimburse him for paying off Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy Daniels.

Representative Cummings is now detailing Cohen's claim that Trump was aware that Roger Stone had been in touch with Wikileaks before the dump of the DNC emails. He rightly notes that it is disturbing for many Americans. He notes that Cohen has lied in the past and that it is important to consider these issues. He calls out Meadows' attempts to prevent the public from hearing about Cohen's testimony. Cummings says we need to investigate and get to the bottom of what happened with Trump, Cohen, and foreign adversaries. The chair says that he will refer untrue statements to the DoJ for prosecution.

Cummings notes that he public voted for oversight and a check on the executive. He says, "The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs are *over*." He says that he will not avoid touching the Russia topic and that the DoJ does not have any objections to the topics raised by Michael Cohen. The chairman reminds the committee to be mindful of where the DoJ is actively investigating. Cummings also quotes Dr. King to close before recognizing (huge stupid dipshit) Jim Jordan.

Jordan is going on a whiney, incoherent rant full of Clinton conspiracy bullshit and complaining the Cohen is return to testify. Jordan now detailing Cohen's crime and accuses the Chair of the hearing being a setup. Jordan is acting like Congress doesn't actually have the power to impeach the executive. And....now we're back to the Clintons and the Steele Dossier. Jim Jordan gives aid and comfort to mafia ring that has taken over the Russian government from the House of Representative. Chairman Cummings is denying Jordan the opportunity file a motion because he yield his time back to the chair. Maaaajor lol there.

I love Representative Cummings because he's sooo not willing to take shit from the sons of Jefferson Davis.

[EC Note: I have a late start at work today, so I may be able to do a couple more of these before heading out.]
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 7:27 AM on February 27, 2019 [67 favorites]

For Chicago, the Lightfoot vs. Preckwinkle race is going to be interesting. The mayoral map by ward shows most of the Lightfoot support on the north side, and the Preckwinkle support on the south side. Considering Lightfoot's role in the Office of Police Standards, it's not that surprising she'd be more unpopular on the south side, but she's also positioning herself as the more progressive candidate against Preckwinkle's machine ties.

I'd go Preckwinkle because I don't trust Lightfoot at all. Like, even among people I trust to be okay with an actual 'trying to reform the police from the inside' candidate and know Lightfoot, they're going Preckwinkle.

Part of me just doesn't believe that Daley is completely out of the race this early, especially after the reports of a low turnout.

On the Aldermanic side of things, Ed Burke won his seat. He was the subject of an FBI wiretap and whose law offices were raided earlier this year, also Trump is one of his clients. Joe Moreno, whose scandals include impersonating a police officer and reporting his car stolen after his . . . girlfriend. . . borrowed it? Lost his. He was also mentioned in the Ed Burke wiretap, but not currently accused of doing anything illegal.

Of the rest of the shittiest alderman that progressive groups were trying to oust, three of the aldermen retained their seats (28,34,37) one lost theirs (49) and the rest look like they're runoffs. It's something.
posted by dinty_moore at 7:30 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

How weak was Ranking Member Jordan's argument? At one point he mentioned that Tom Steyer had recently held Town Halls in Manhattan and Baltimore, some of the districts held by Democratic members of the committee. Incendiary shit here
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:30 AM on February 27, 2019 [6 favorites]

SEE: Documents Michael Cohen will present to back up his testimony to Congress These include financial statements (spot the 4 billion dollar "brand value" topping off his assets), two 35,000 checks to Cohen signed by Trump, Cohen's letter to the President of Fordham (spot that PS after a page of legal threats: "P.S. Mr Trump truly enjoyed his two years at Fordham and has great respect for the University."), and various tweets and press clippings.
posted by zachlipton at 7:38 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

Cummings notes that he public voted for oversight and a check on the executive. He says, "The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs are *over*."

That's Elijah Cummings! I looked him up when I was researching my comment about the secret nuclear deal with KSA. He's just started, as of January. And he's right, people in the oversight committee have known for a long time that people in the White House are selling nuclear secrets, and nothing was done about it until he gets there. Up until now it's been the overlook committee.

Also, people in the White House are selling nuclear secrets! To that bonesaw fellow! Why isn't this all over the media? It seems like a BFD.
posted by adept256 at 7:56 AM on February 27, 2019 [23 favorites]

Cohen repeatedly refers to Trump's "TV lawyer" in his opening statement. I find it kind of awesome that he uses this dismissive name for Giuliani and never once uses his real name.

Marcy Wheeler: I'm typing up a letter to Cohen complaining about him using my phrase "TV lawyer" without paying me royalties, btw.
posted by zombieflanders at 7:56 AM on February 27, 2019 [27 favorites]

How Trump Fits Into, and Denies, Cohen’s Narrative (NYT)

Michael Cohen's most fiery accusations against Trump (Politico)

The key excerpts from Michael Cohen's testimony on the 'truth about Trump' (Guardian)

Once Trump’s loyalist in chief, Michael Cohen lifts the curtain on the president’s actions (WaPo)
posted by Little Dawn at 7:56 AM on February 27, 2019 [6 favorites]

Cohen is now testifying and acknowledges his previous conduct. He noted that he has supplied "irrefutable" documentary evidence of Trump's misconduct. Says he can't believe Trump "won" while openly espousing bigotry and hate. Cohen says he is sorry and ashamed for covering for a "racist," "conman" who is "a cheat". He says that Trump knew about Stone and Wikileaks conspiring against the United States.

Says he has a check from Trump dated after the inauguration. Says Trump knew it was for covering up an affair. He has dox from Deutsche Bank. He is detailing the charitable fraud of the shitty painting of Trump. He has copies of letters that Cohen wrote that threaten his high school and colleges to prevent them from releasing his grades. Say he wants the American people to know Donald Trump. Cohen is apologizing for his dishonest conduct. Says that negotiations on Trump Tower Moscow continued for many months into the campaign. Says Trump doesn't ask people to lie, but that he makes statements he knows to be false, with the understanding that others repeat those lies. Cohen says Trump inquired multiple time about Moscow tower. Says that Trump's personal lawyers edited his initial testimony to Congress. Says Trump lied about a bunch of stuff because he "never expected to win" and thought he would make hundreds of millions of dollars.

Cohen says Trump made statements that they both knew to be false. He says again that his attorneys reviewed his statements. Cohen says that Trump has been smearing him for two years. Cohen introduces himself, talks about his family. Cohen says he has tried to live "a life of compassion", notes that his father survived the Holocaust because of the kindness and generosity of others. Says he tried to do good tings for others, but then goes on to explain how he did wrong things and went against his conscience to help him. He also says, "For the record, Individual 1 is President Donald J. Trump". Cohen is making an apologies to his family, the Congress, and the country.

Now he is detailing his work for Trump. Said being around Trump was "intoxicating", that you were "somehow changing the world". Notes that touting the Trump org for a decade. Said he was always expected to stay on message. Said he saw Trump's "true character revealed". "The bad [in Trump} far outweighs the good. Since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. Cohen is really, really laying into Trump, saying that Trump only ran to make his own brand great.

Cohen says he knew that Trump would expect him to lie. [EC Note: Just looked at the stream. Michael Cohen kinda looks like a thinner Chris Christie. How strange.] Cohen back to noting that Trump knew about the Wikileaks dump ahead of time. Details Call with Stone and that Stone told Trump and Cohen that a massive dump of emails would be dropped soon after.

Cohen notes Trump courting of bigots. Says he does more racist things in private than he does in public. Cohen shared several anecdotes about Trump's anti-Black racism about Africans and members of the African diaspora.

Cohen's now talking about Trump's habit to inflate and deflate his asset reports when either action would serve his financial interests. Cohen discusses the details of how Donald Trump used his non-profit to buy a heinous painting of him to repay a fake bidder.

Cohen says that one of his responsibilities was to tell small businesses that no or reduced payments would be coming for services already rendered. Cohen says that Trump asked him to pay off an adult film star and lie about it to Melania Trump and the public. He reports that Trump directed Cohen to pay Stephanie Clifford directly so that money could not be linked directly to Donald Trump. Cohen is submitting checks that Trump paid him, while he was in the WH. Cohen says that Trump Jr and Allen Weisselberg signed checks to him. Donald Trump participated in a criminal scheme to circumvent campaign finance laws, says Cohen.

Cohen has repeatedly highlighted that he made *choices* to assist Donald Trump and that those choices are why he is going to jail.

He says that Trump is a conman who asked him to threaten various schools with civil and criminal actions in order to prevent them from releasing his grades or SAT scores. He says approximately, I never heard anything in private that [Trump} loved the nation or that he wanted to make it better. He talks about how Trump talked shit about John McCain. Says that Trump asked him to deal with the negative press surrounding the bone spurs deferment. Notes that Trump did not provide any medical records and that trump said there was no surgery.

Cohen says he does not have direct proof of collusion of between Trump and Russia. Says he does remember a meeting with Trump and Don Jr, "The meeting is all set". Apparently Trump thinks Jr has the worst judgement in the world. Cohen says that decisions are not made in Trumpland without Donald's direct knowledge. He concluded that the exchanged pertained to meeting with Russian agents.

Cohen again apologies for lying to Congress and the nation. Details how his actions have negatively affected his family. Says he would not accept a pardon from Trump. Cohen notes that Trump and his TV lawyer have been threatening him publicly and encouraging others to mess with his family, in order to try and head off Cohen's testimony. Cohen specifically calls Trump's tactics as "intimidation", and thanks Reps Pelosi, Schiff, and Cummings for defending the institution of Congress.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 7:57 AM on February 27, 2019 [103 favorites]

Chairman Cummings is now questioning Cohen about the sequencing of the payments to Stephanie Cliffords. He notes that the discussions started long before the end of the campaign. He says that Keith Davidson contacted him and that he would go directly to Trump to talk about it. Allen Weisselberg was involved in arranging the pay off in a manner that would not be directly linkable to Trump.

Cummings noting that a check was dated after the announcement that Trump had said he was no longer managing his business. Cohen says that the payments were arranged to be paid over a year. Cohen says Weisselberg would know more about the payments. Cummings says that Trump paid Cohen for the hush money payment, while in the WH.

Jordan is up. He's trying to discredit Cohen by detailing Cohen's crimes. Cohen admits that he did some criming for his own benefits. Cohen is actually expounding on the nature of the crimes, in a way to undercut Jordan's framing.

It's sort of funny, but I think Cohen may be...more intelligent than Jordan. Cohen looks like he is trying nail Trump and I think the wannabe Confeds may have some difficulty in getting him to say what they want.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 8:08 AM on February 27, 2019 [66 favorites]

I'm trying to figure out why Cohen's response to Jordan wasn't effectively, "I don't know, why are you still working for him?"
posted by meowf at 8:15 AM on February 27, 2019 [50 favorites]

The Republican position appears to be that Michael Cohen isn't qualified to talk about the President's adherence to Campaign Finance laws, because he's been convicted of committing Campaign Finance felonies. On behalf of the President. Why would the American people be interested in hearing from such a man?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:20 AM on February 27, 2019 [66 favorites]

Cummings notes that he public voted for oversight and a check on the executive. He says, "The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs are *over*."

The day's events are so dramatic that Cummings' calling out his Republican colleagues for actively participating in the cover-up are likely to go relatively unnoticed.

That'd be a shame, because the Republicans actively participating in the cover-up did not go unnoticed, even if the media steadfastly refuses to draw the obvious conclusion (they're covering up evidence of Trump's guilt).
posted by Gelatin at 8:22 AM on February 27, 2019 [22 favorites]

Cohen: "Shame on you, Mr. Jordan."
posted by bz at 8:32 AM on February 27, 2019 [21 favorites]

Cohen is not dumb. You don't get to be a lawyer/fixer for Donald Trump and be devoid of intelligence. Cohen, of course, is greedy, manipulative, deceptive, abusive, and arrogant (just like Trump), but he's smart enough to intelligently engage in complex crimes. (If he had a boss with more cunning, Cohen's crimes would never had surfaced.)

Yet here, he knows there's only one way back to the light and that is admit everything. That's what Jordan and Gaetz don't understand. Cohen is no longer trying to protect himself and so Jordan trying to embarrass him with his previous crimes or Gaetz trying to threaten him with information about Cohen's mistresses won't work. Cohen has already hit rock bottom. He's going to prison, he's disgraced, he's disbarred. But like Khan on the the damaged bridge of the USS RELIANT, he's going to see Donald Trump in Hell.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 8:33 AM on February 27, 2019 [135 favorites]

Representative Maloney is up. She is asking about Trump's involvement in the running of the Trump Org. Cohen responses "There was nothing that happened at the Trump Organization...that did not go through Mr. Trump with his approval and sign up, as in the case of the payments." She asks how many times Trump asked C to make settlements with women. He can't recall specifics of how many times that happened. Asks what Trump was trying to hide in 2017 financial disclosures. Cohen says Trump was trying to hide the payoffs to Stephanie Clifford. Cohen says that he asked Allen Weisselberg to make the payments, but AW was unwilling. He says they both tried to figure out ways to disburse the money surreptitiously. Says that they got down to the wire and it was necessary for someone to make the payment for the 'light rights'.

Asks him to describe "Catch and kill" to the American public. Cohen shares how AMI and David Packer contacted him or Trump, state that there was a story out there, then one goes to purchase the rights to their story. Cohen says that he was involved in several catch and kill episodes. Says that Pecker and Trump had arrangements going back before 2007. Asks for suggestions of whom the committee should talk to. Cohen lists the exec at AMI and Allen Weisselberg.

Comer is up. Asking about Cohen's financial dealings. Cohen is being quite assertive in answering the minority's questions and not letting their disgraceful creatures dictate the terms of his answers. Comer bringing up SDNY case. Comer is trying to show that Cohen tried to defraud a bank. Cohen seems to know more about the details and understand than the dingus questioning him. Comer says he doesn't think that Cohen is 'capable' of telling the truth.

Cohen challenges Jordan fiercely and says "Shame on you" and disputes Jordan's characterization of his actions. Cohen is pushing back very, very strongly against jordan in a way I wish more witnesses would against these shitheads.

Representative Norton up now. She's asking about campaign finance violations now. She's asking about the Access Hollywood Tape. Asks Cohen about Trump's reaction to the tape and whether Trump was concerned how it would affect the election. Cohen says that Trump was concerned about these issues. Says that Hope Hicks called to tell him, " We need you to make phone calls to news sources" in order to characterize his actions as "locker room talk". He notes the MacDougal, Clifford, and Access Hollywood stuff piling up around that time.

Cohen says that Trump was concerned about the Billy Bush tape and he was concerned the effect another story from Clifford or MacDougal. Cohen admits that Keith Davidson told him that Clifford wanted 130,000$. Said there was some consideration of whether Clifford would go public and debate about whether to make the payment. Trump directed Cohen and Weisselberg to make these payments.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 8:38 AM on February 27, 2019 [74 favorites]

Oh god. Representative Meadows (R) is attempting to prove that Donald Trump isn't racist by bringing in Lynne Patton, a black woman who is A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:39 AM on February 27, 2019 [12 favorites]

Bless you for these updates, Excommunicated Cardinal. I'm on deadline and can't have the hearings on, and Twitter's moving too fast for me to figure out what's happening, but nonetheless I have trainwreck FOMO and this is really helping me out.
posted by mynameisluka at 8:43 AM on February 27, 2019 [55 favorites]

Seconding that, Excommunicated Cardinal... THANK YOU for giving a play-by-play for those at work that can't stream this. This stuff just doesn't fit into a CNN/WaPo/AP tweet.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:45 AM on February 27, 2019 [23 favorites]

Oh god. Representative Meadows (R) is attempting to prove that Donald Trump isn't racist by bringing in Lynne Patton, a black woman who is A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.

Yeah, and the truly crappy thing is - why bother? Trump is a racist, it is known. I guess this is part of the attempt to "flood the zone" with enough dramatic crap that everyone fails to see the damaging stuff (the financials) that are now out. And the media will go for it, because simple dramatics is easier than complex issues.

(And, yes, thanks EC - I too am on deadline and one of my files got eaten by the computer somehow, so as badly as I want to close my door and livestream this, some occasional quick reads of this thread is all I can do).
posted by nubs at 8:46 AM on February 27, 2019 [7 favorites]

Oh god. Representative Meadows (R) is attempting to prove that Donald Trump isn't racist by bringing in Lynne Patton, a black woman who is A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.

Yeah, though there was a great zinger Cohen got off. Meadows asked if a black woman (Patton) would work for a racist and Cohen responded with that as a son of a Holocaust survivor, he shouldn't have worked for a racist.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 8:47 AM on February 27, 2019 [115 favorites]

It's refreshing for those of us who sat thru the years of bad-faith partisan nonsense under Republican Speakers Boehner and Ryan to see how one runs a Congressional hearing whose mission is exposing actual wrongdoing.
posted by Gelatin at 8:48 AM on February 27, 2019 [32 favorites]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

@JoeBrunoWSOC9: BREAKING: McCrae Dowless has been indicted on three counts of felonious obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of absentee ballot #NC09 #ncpol @wsoctv
posted by zachlipton at 8:49 AM on February 27, 2019 [59 favorites]

Meadows disputing Cohen's characterization of Trump as racist. Asks for tape recording of Trump's racist stations. Brings out a staffer that Cohen helped to get a job. She is Black and says she would not work for 'a racist'. Cohen said he should not work for a racist, as he is a Holocaust survivor's son. Says that she should look to how many Black people are execs at Trump Org for evidence of Trump's racism.

Meadows asks about payments from a Novartis (?). Cohen is so willing to push back on these assholes, which is a refreshing change. Now he's talking about a bank in Kazakhstan and how he was consulted for trying to track down some embezzled money? I'm not honestly sure about the details of this issues.

Cohen talks about the details of a contract with Novartis.

Meadows is a whiney little shit, who doesn't know how to be in the minority. What an obnoxious, stupid little pissfart.

Chairman Cummings details how Trump, his children, and org have repeatedly lied to the public. He says that he's going to talk about Trump's finances. Asks about Cohen's knowledge of how Trump valued his assets. Notes 'flagrantly untrue' statements as observed by Crane from the Trump Org. Cohen says asset valuations were done at the direction of Trump. Cohen says that Trump valued his assets to suit his purposes. Says Trump wanted his estimated worth to go up on Forbes list. Says that they would use the most favorable possible parameters to inflate values of his assets.

Cohen explaining how he used the financial statements when discussing Trump's assets with media sources. He also used the dox when dealing with insurance companies. Says they tried to use the statements to get reduced fees or increased value. Trump was apparently directly involved in inflated reports. Cohen says that Trump inflated his assets at least once by submitting the dox to Deutsche Bank.

Cummings is objecting to Meadow's request for unanimous consent for entering various documents into the record. He says that they are "objections" not statements or documents, I think. Meadow is again whining. Blergh.

Wish I could stick around and do this all day, but I'm going to have to head out soon! Glad I could help some of you keep up on the details for a bit!
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 8:52 AM on February 27, 2019 [73 favorites]

Lord Chancellor: Cohen is not dumb. You don't get to be a lawyer/fixer for Donald Trump and be devoid of intelligence. Cohen, of course, is greedy, manipulative, deceptive, abusive, and arrogant (just like Trump), but he's smart enough to intelligently engage in complex crimes.

I have seen no evidence to support this. He used a Trump Org email address to setup the "secret" LLC to pay off Stormy Daniels. He negotiated with her through a Trump Org email address. And didn't he botch the confidentially agreement so it wasn't even valid? If he'd used a burner phone and a sack of cash, none of this would happening now.

There is no requirement to be intelligent to work for him, just loyal. They get away with this shit because they're rich white guys in America, and the rules in America are written to protect but not bind rich white guys.

Sorry, but I'm sticking with William Goldman and All the President's Men on this one: "The truth is these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand."
posted by bluecore at 8:55 AM on February 27, 2019 [13 favorites]

You don't get to be a lawyer/fixer for Donald Trump and be devoid of intelligence.

Counterpoint: Rudy Giuliani.
posted by Pendragon at 9:03 AM on February 27, 2019 [32 favorites]

Anyone looking for a good and reliable play-by-play of this hearing can always check out (The Toronto Star's Washington correspondent) Daniel Dale's Twitter page.
posted by orange swan at 9:03 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

The ABC, CBS and NBC networks are broadcasting the live proceedings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Fox is showing "Hot Bench", a simulated courtroom reality show. This episode is about the internal strife of an after-school marching band.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:08 AM on February 27, 2019 [88 favorites]

Scorching closing rebuke to those who protect Trump by Cohen just before the break. He warns them, as one who knows from experience. Chilling.
posted by Harry Caul at 9:13 AM on February 27, 2019 [15 favorites]

Ryan Goodman compares Cohen's testimony to Don Jr's

Cohen: I gave “approximately 10” briefings, including Don. Jr. and Ivanka, on Moscow Tower deal

Don Jr: "I wasn't involved"

I hope there's some follow-up that asks Cohen to nail down specifically what Don Jr and Ivanka were told about the deal and when.
posted by zachlipton at 9:15 AM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

There is no requirement to be intelligent to work for him, just loyal. They get away with this shit because they're rich white guys in America, and the rules in America are written to protect but not bind rich white guys.

To be fair to the original comment, there's still a pretty big gap between "actually smart" and "a lot smarter than Jim Jordan".
posted by 0xFCAF at 9:16 AM on February 27, 2019 [52 favorites]

So some idiot had a sign with the ~~savage zinger~~ of "Liar Liar Pants on FIRE1! towards the back of the crowd, and in an extremely cringey moment Rep. Paul Gosar emotionally and in a gotcha! attitude says to Cohen: "look up here and read the sign: liar liar pants on fire!"

Moments later Rep Jim Cooper asks Cohen about his role in all this (in a lessons learned attitude) and Cohen very smartly refers to the stupid sign and says..."I did that. I am responsible for this silliness that is unbecoming of Congress". He points at Gosar and says "I did the same thing you are doing now, for ten years. I protected Mr. Trump..."

I thought that was beautiful.
posted by Tarumba at 9:21 AM on February 27, 2019 [162 favorites]

That's an interesting construction in the Cohen statement.

>>>On Individual 1:
>>>He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal.
>>>On himself:
>>>I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man.

I don't think it's meaningful, because I don't see why you'd want to do it, but it almost invites comparison.

posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 6:54 AM on February 27 [5 favorites +] [!]

I think the construction is elegant and enlightening. He reverses the structure for himself, which highlights what he sees as the differences between Trump—an unkind, ungenerous, disloyal man who occasionally is kind, generous, and loyal—and himself, claiming to be a truthful, good man who lied and did bad things for a while.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:25 AM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

That would be AZ GOP Dentist-cum-congressman Paul Gosar, the dude whose six siblings recorded an add for his opponent. "Dont vote for our brother"

cant say they didnt tell you.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:25 AM on February 27, 2019 [77 favorites]

And their argument, apparently, is that, because Cohen was a member of Trump's years-long criminal conspiracy and lied at Trump's direction, therefore, nobody should be willing to believe that Cohen was a member of Trump's years-long criminal conspiracy and lied at Trump's direction.

That's a piece of the argument. Cohen did plenty on his own, for his own reasons, at his own direction, to serve his own ends that GOP Congresspersons have used to discredit him. I was dismayed when he declined to provide testimony about further payments to women beyond the two payments he's already admitted to. It suggests Cohen knows more than he's saying and withholding for his own reasons, which buttresses the GOP attacks on his illegal, unethical activities outside the scope of his employment in the past to indicate he is doing so now.
posted by notyou at 9:41 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

I'd like to hear more about Michael Cohen's work as Deputy Finance Chair of the Republican National Committee, a position from which he resigned only last summer.

I anticipate that any questions related to this matter are more likely to be asked by the Majority members than the Minority members.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:43 AM on February 27, 2019 [37 favorites]

Representative Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) asks a pertinent question: is Mr Cohen aware of any criminal acts regarding the President which have not been brought to the Committee's attention? Yes, says Mr Cohen, but since those criminal acts are currently being investigated by the Federal Southern District of New York, he has been advised not to discuss them.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:47 AM on February 27, 2019 [104 favorites]

Fox is showing "Hot Bench", a simulated courtroom reality show. This episode is about the internal strife of an after-school marching band.

This. So much this. Every one of these threads includes something along the lines of "ABCBSNBCNN report: Roger Stone arrested. Fox airs new cartoon for kids "Crooked Hillary"(/s) These incidents need to be collected as direct evidence that Fox is NOT a news agency, but rather the propaganda arm of the RNC. And then they need to be shut. The fuck. Down.
posted by sexyrobot at 9:49 AM on February 27, 2019 [32 favorites]

The open and brazen corruption of the GOP who are actively acting, in essence, as defense counsel for Trump by doing nothing but try to discredit the witness.

Assuming they're not actually just performing for Trump. Which reminds me of -

> Representative Meadows (R) is attempting to prove that Donald Trump isn't racist by bringing in Lynne Patton, a black woman who is A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.

Yeah, and the truly crappy thing is - why bother? Trump is a racist, it is known.

Aside from the "it's for Trump's benefit," there's also that it's not for everyone who knows Trump is a racist. The "I have a black friend!" is never convincing to anyone with sense. It's there as the fig leaf for people who are looking to fool themselves and engage in performance for their own group. They drop this shit so they can all nod to each other, and anyone outside who refuses to buy it - they're obviously the irrational haters! We showed that we're not actually Like That!
posted by phearlez at 9:50 AM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

t's astonishing. I am astonished. The open and brazen corruption of the GOP who are actively acting, in essence, as defense counsel for Trump

According to Daniel Dale, Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch noticed, and contrasted it with raised voice to their earlier cover-up:

[Lynch] says it is Republicans who had the partisan agenda, by refusing to bring any Trump associate who pleaded guilty before the committee. He says, "Your side ran away from the truth, and we're trying to bring it to the American people."

Republicans managed to pretend Nixon was sui generis, despite the fact that some of his people worked in the Reagan and W. Bush administrations. No current Republican should ever be allowed to claim that they weren't 100% responsible for Trump, no matter how many "concerns" and "disagreements" they cite.
posted by Gelatin at 9:53 AM on February 27, 2019 [24 favorites]

Why isn't anyone asking him about Prague? Would that fall outside of the bounds of what has been determined OK to ask about today?
posted by AwkwardPause at 9:56 AM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

Daniel Dale: Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin says the Republicans aren't upset that Cohen lied to Congress for the president, "they're upset that you've stopped lying to Congress for the president."

Chalk one up for Rep. Jamie Raskin.
posted by orange swan at 9:59 AM on February 27, 2019 [120 favorites]

Why isn't anyone asking him about Prague? Would that fall outside of the bounds of what has been determined OK to ask about today?

Would be a good question, but might fall under items he can't talk about due to SDNY/Mueller. Which would be an interesting non-answer in itself.
posted by azpenguin at 9:59 AM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

These incidents need to be collected as direct evidence that Fox is NOT a news agency, but rather the propaganda arm of the RNC. And then they need to be shut. The fuck. Down.

Nah just count them as illegal in kind campaign contributions and prosecute the campaign financing violations accordingly.

It would also have the upside of banning the channel from government buildings.
posted by srboisvert at 10:00 AM on February 27, 2019 [35 favorites]

Why isn't anyone asking him about Prague? Would that fall outside of the bounds of what has been determined OK to ask about today?

One reason may be that no one of either party knows with enough certainty that the answer will be politically useful to them. Cohen has always denied being in Prague at the time alleged by the Steele dossier, so Democrats would know that he is unlikely to answer "yes" at this time. And a GOPer would be risking a terrible surprise in the case that Cohen actually had been to Prague and was willing to come clean about the truth.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:04 AM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

I promise I'll be good forever if someone asks about Sean Hannity, please.
posted by theodolite at 10:06 AM on February 27, 2019 [27 favorites]

[Black Trump staffer] says she should look to how many Black people are execs at Trump Org for evidence of Trump's racism.

Historically, having black people working subordinate to you is an iffy disqualifier for racism. Even if you elevate them to a high steward.
posted by wildblueyonder at 10:08 AM on February 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

Amash: What truth does Trump fear most?

Is Amash wobbly? I hope so.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:13 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Jpfed, thank you, that's a good point.
posted by AwkwardPause at 10:14 AM on February 27, 2019

Katie Hill (D-CA) is hammering on the facts. She seems to be quite good at this. I, personally, appreciate that elicitation of clear facts and details that either make him more or less credible. I wish the other Democrats would use this no-nonsense approach. The GOP questioners are a bad combination of faux outrage and smears.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:20 AM on February 27, 2019 [18 favorites]

Jeez, Gibbs (R-OH) has just come out with a word salad worthy of Trump himself, and hasn't asked an actual question in about five minutes of non-stop blather.
posted by essexjan at 10:23 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Amash voted with Democrats to block the "National Emergency" declaration. He is a Libertarian-leaning Republican who gives signs of having real principles, and his constituents seem okay with it. He explicitly positions himself as independent from the GOP.

Also...

I think Cohen's answer to Rep Raskin's question was more like "The catch and kill deals weren't always about silencing women."

Implying there were other bad deeds he was covering up besides his sexual hijinks. Not that some sexual hijinks involved men. I assume there wasn't more follow up on that because it risks impinging on the SDNY investigations?
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:24 AM on February 27, 2019 [16 favorites]

One of the many noxious implications of the "would a racist hire a black person" notion is the equation of "racism" with a kind of absolutist separatism that essentially percieves every person of color as having cooties. (I do think that Trump's racism is co-morbid with his germophobia but in complex ways that allow him to interact plenty with black people for the sake of larger goals, like shaking hands.)

A friend of mine told me his conservative mother is explicitly against mixed-race relationships, and learning that has opened my eyes to the pervasiveness of the level of bigotry that goes beyond the oppressiveness of bias and privilege, and into the kind of territory that Dave Chappelle distinguished in a standup routine with "Damn, that's racist". The real-life manifestation of "strawman-level" racism that I assumed was something like 5%-10% of white Americans could be more like 30%-35%.

And somewhere in that group is a set of whites who are emotionally but not ideologically opposed to racial integration. For them, observing any white person choosing to interact with non-white people inspires the sort of "Wow, good for you but I could never" admiration that people otherwise give to, like, firefighters. And that's one way you get "Would a racist do thiiiis?" -- not just the implication that hiring/fraternizing/etc cancels out racism, but that it goes above and beyond an imagined baseline. Ugggh.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:25 AM on February 27, 2019 [23 favorites]

Amash voted with Democrats to block the "National Emergency" declaration. He is a Libertarian-leaning Republican who gives signs of having real principles, and his constituents seem okay with it. He explicitly positions himself as independent from the GOP.

I find it strange the party bosses allowed him to be on this committee. How does that work?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:26 AM on February 27, 2019

I find it strange the party bosses allowed him to be on this committee. How does that work?

Not exactly quid pro quo, but some insurance that he will continue voting with Rs in the long run.
posted by Sophie1 at 10:29 AM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Well, if they'd put him on Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, or Ways and Means (which can request tax returns), he'd still have plenty of opportunities to show his independence from Trump.

In fact, Trump's wrongdoing is so broad in scope that there might not be any "safe" committees to put someone like Amash on.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:29 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

Mod note: One deleted; let's not go off into a deeper analysis of the psychology of white racism in here - specifically not in the form "here's another gross thing racists say"; fine to make a separate thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:29 AM on February 27, 2019 [6 favorites]

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) is dumb as a post. I can't imagine who the voters are who found him a viable candidate for office. Again, dumb as a post.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:33 AM on February 27, 2019 [6 favorites]

"I didn't know who you were until today". Clay Higgins. Good night, this is comically tragic.

The only angle the Rs are going down: do you have any book deals? Movies? TV?
posted by hijinx at 10:33 AM on February 27, 2019 [24 favorites]

Spectacular questioning from Representative Higgins (R-LA) who has expansively and repeatedly demanded that Mr Cohen explain why his boxes of evidence aren't in the possession of law enforcement. Cohen eventually gets an opportunity to explain that the aforementioned boxes were returned to him after being seized by the FBI, at which point Higgins cuts off Cohen, asking that law enforcement investigate the situation. Higgins goes on to claim that he didn't know who Michael Cohen was until he was arrested. This remarkable admission of ignorance is intended to imply that Cohen's downfall and incarceration is an elaborate scheme for him to get more screen time. Perhaps a book deal.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:36 AM on February 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

Amash voted with Democrats to block the "National Emergency" declaration. He is a Libertarian-leaning Republican who gives signs of having real principles, and his constituents seem okay with it. He explicitly positions himself as independent from the GOP.

I find it strange the party bosses allowed him to be on this committee. How does that work?

It's like when McDonald's puts a salad on the menu.

It gives republicans something to consider and then reject while feeling good that they considered what they rejected even though they were going to reject it no matter what.
posted by srboisvert at 10:37 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

He points at Gosar and says "I did the same thing you are doing now, for ten years. I protected Mr. Trump..."

I'm sure Cohen knows how the sausage gets made re: coordinating talking points between the White House and congressional committee R's and I would love for him to blow up someone's spot by getting real detailed on how the process works in response to one of these attacks on his testimony. Their whole obstructionist playbook needs to be in the Congressional record and televised nationally.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:38 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

Higgins is the guy who filmed a pro-Trump, pro-closed-borders youtube message from inside the gas chambers at Auschwitz
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:38 AM on February 27, 2019 [32 favorites]

The only angle the Rs are going down: do you have any book deals? Movies? TV?

This is a strategy to avoid asking about anything that even might be illegal. There's no federal Son of Sam law.
posted by rhizome at 10:38 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

I wish these committees would use professional interrogators and give them a continuous block of time to question the witness. Unfortunately, face time on TV is much more important to politicians these days, so they are reluctant to do this. I hope they are doing that during the closed sessions, where face time is irrelevant.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:39 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Asked to elaborate on what other stories David Pecker helped to "Catch and Kill" Cohen gives another example which was already public.

"There was a story about Mr. Trump having a love child with an employee (and the husband of that employee works for the company as well) and there was an elevator operator who claims he overheard, and he [Pecker] ended up paying $15,000 to get that story." (My attempt at a live transcript.)
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:43 AM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

The only angle the Rs are going down: do you have any book deals? Movies? TV?

Maybe it's just me, but I don't get how they thinks it makes him less credible that he's bluntly saying "no, I won't turn down any book deals" and "no, I won't pledge to donate any book money to charity." Like, that is a plainly honest answer.
posted by dnash at 10:45 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

I stopped watching this a while ago because even though there is some good information coming out from it, so much of it is comprised of two men yelling at each other, trying to out zinger the other. It seems performative and fake. Is this normally how these things go? The Dems at least ask pertinent questions. While I was watching, the Repubs were asking weird shit about Novartis and whether Lanny Davis was going to be paid, and a bunch of stuff about how he lied once before but never anything about how their president ordered him to do so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by gucci mane at 10:46 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

A Republican just asked "Have you ever been to Prague?"

Cohen said "I've never been to Prague. I've never been to the Czech Republic."

That was it. No follow up, just an aside.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:46 AM on February 27, 2019 [6 favorites]

Oh wait, follow up from a Democrat.

"In 2016, did you travel to Europe?"

"Yes."

"For business or personal?"

"Personal. My daughter was studying in London."

"So you didn't speak with an Russians?"

"No ma'am."

(Slight paraphrase)
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:49 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't get how they thinks it makes him less credible that he's bluntly saying "no, I won't turn down any book deals" and "no, I won't pledge to donate any book money to charity." Like, that is a plainly honest answer.

The train of thought goes:

"*snort* well, if he wouldn't turn down a book deal, how do we know that this WHOLE THING hasn't been made up just to get a book deal out of it?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:50 AM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]

"How many times did Mr. Trump ask you to threaten someone on his behalf?"
"Hard to say."
"50 times?"
"More."
"100 times?"
"More."
"200 times?"
"More."
"500 times?"
"Yes, probably, over 10 years. When I say threats, that includes legal action."
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:51 AM on February 27, 2019 [59 favorites]

Testimony from Cohen Could Create New Legal Issues for Trump (NYT)

The dramatic public testimony to Congress on Wednesday morning by President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, could intensify the legal issues facing the president in the criminal and civil investigations that are swirling around him, legal experts said. [...]

The question of contacts between WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign is central to the issue of whether there was any conspiracy between the campaign and Russia. It is not known what Mr. Trump might have told Mr. Mueller’s team about what, if anything, he knew about WikiLeaks’ plans or about contacts between Mr. Stone and Mr. Assange.

Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor, said that if Mr. Cohen is telling the truth, and if Mr. Trump claimed to Mr. Mueller in his sworn, written testimony that he was not aware of any contacts between Mr. Stone and Mr. Assange, that could be a crime.

“When you lie in that context, it’s not only perjury but it’s obstruction of justice too,” Mr. Zeidenberg said.

posted by Little Dawn at 10:52 AM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

Daniel Dale: Cohen: "I've never been to Prague. I've never been to the Czech Republic."

Except Cohen has previously said: "I haven’t been to Prague in 14 years. I was in Prague for one afternoon 14 years ago."

Which isn't necessarily material. 14 years ago would be well before the campaign, but Cohen's Prague story has shifted from "one afternoon" in the past to "never."
posted by zachlipton at 10:52 AM on February 27, 2019 [12 favorites]

I don't get how they thinks it makes him less credible

It's as bad as the argument:

Trump's lawyer broke the law primarily for his own benefit ∴ Trump didn't benefit from these crimes at all.
posted by Tarumba at 10:53 AM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

Miller: [3 minutes of coddling to Trump] "SO. WHAT ABOUT YOUR BOOKS?"
posted by hijinx at 10:56 AM on February 27, 2019

Which isn't necessarily material. 14 years ago would be well before the campaign, but Cohen's Prague story has shifted from "one afternoon" in the past to "never."

True. But coupling it with his response that he didn't meet with any Russians while in Europe (UK)?, makes me less optimistic of this line of inquiry (that's not to say he can't have met with agents of Russia somewhere else in Europe, but the way he's laying it all out, I feel there's a decent change he would cop to it, if it happened).
posted by AwkwardPause at 10:56 AM on February 27, 2019

Rep. Raskin: "So there were other cases of sexual payoffs to women?"
Cohen: "Not all of them were women."

There was an elevator operator who overheard some talk about a love child or some such.
posted by scalefree at 10:57 AM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

Interestingly, the GOP has not pushed back one iota on the accusations that Cohen is making about Trump. That speaks volumes about whether they believe Cohen's accusations.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:04 AM on February 27, 2019 [17 favorites]

Hey hey! Look who couldn't keep his mouth shut again....

Roger Stone Says Michael Cohen Is Lying, After Stone Was Ordered Not To Comment On The Mueller Investigation
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:04 AM on February 27, 2019 [61 favorites]

scalefree: There was an elevator operator who overheard some talk about a love child or some such.

Yup. That one could probably be filed in the "not very likely true, but they paid him anyway because it was credible and easier than bothering to dig into it" category. Just one of the many ways that a scam artist is the easiest person to scam!
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:04 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

is anybody ever going to challenge "Keith Davidson, her lawyer at the time?"
posted by Don Pepino at 11:06 AM on February 27, 2019

"In 2016, did you travel to Europe?"

"Yes."

"For business or personal?"

"Personal. My daughter was studying in London."

...

Cohen's Prague story has shifted from "one afternoon" in the past to "never."

He has also shown a passport saying he was in Italy that summer, not just London. He's always very inconsistent on his Europe travel in 2016.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:06 AM on February 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

Btw, there's a 538 liveblog, if you can't watch the Cohen testimony.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:12 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

I'm trying to figure out why Cohen's response to Jordan wasn't effectively, "I don't know, why are you still working for him?"

Totally agree, and I feel like there was a similar missed opportunity when (paraphrasing here and I don't recall who was asking, but a GOP) was saying "you're a liar, cheat, dishonest, etc etc . . . why would he hire YOU as his lawyer?" the obvious response, of course, being "WHY INDEED would Donald Trump, who presumably could afford ANY LAWYER, actively choose- or be stuck with- one who is immoral, primarily driven by personal financial gain, feels comfortable with lying and lawbreaking, etc?"
posted by robotdevil at 11:15 AM on February 27, 2019 [22 favorites]

The only angle the Rs are going down: do you have any book deals? Movies? TV?

Maybe it's just me, but I don't get how they thinks it makes him less credible that he's bluntly saying "no, I won't turn down any book deals" and "no, I won't pledge to donate any book money to charity." Like, that is a plainly honest answer.

Republicans are playing this entirely to curry favor with Trump and his supporters. This is no less blunt than what Cohen is saying about Trump's instructions of "There was no collusion." It's a matter of laying out a party line and talking points when literally everyone knows it's bullshit.

They aren't telling the American public Cohen isn't credible. They're telling Republican shills and Republican voters what to argue in their own spheres. It isn't "What this dude says isn't true." The message is, "This is how to dismiss Cohen to your friends, family, coworkers, etc."

Every single one of them believes Cohen's testimony just like every single Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee believed Dr. Christine Ford's testimony about Brett Kavanaugh. None of this is about credibility. They don't care, and they're telling their supporters not to care, either.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:29 AM on February 27, 2019 [71 favorites]

I try to watch foreign news when I can. China Global Television Network has an English language show called The World Today. This morning they covered the Cohen hearing and heavily emphasized Cohen's lack of credibility as a known liar. I took this screenshot of the chiron.

CGTN is somewhat like RT, they get told what to say by the government. I only watch it because it comes on before NHK, France24, BBC, DW and Al-Jazeera's bulletins on Australian TV. The contrast is always very striking, comparing what the Chinese say to what the rest of the world says. I thought it was of interest that the Chinese would spin it this way, I think they love the chaos because it's good for them. Trumps works well for them.

As an aside, I recommend this to everyone: go on a world tour of media, you can just google any of those organisations I mentioned. If you only watch American media you have been enbubbled.
posted by adept256 at 11:31 AM on February 27, 2019 [26 favorites]

Cohen: "I was a Democrat until Steve Wynn found out I was a Democrat and made me switch parties, and said it wasn't right for a Democrat to be vice chair [of the RNC finance committee]."
posted by box at 11:31 AM on February 27, 2019 [30 favorites]

Daily Beast, Matt Gaetz Under Investigation By Florida State Bar Over Michael Cohen Threat

The Florida Bar has opened an investigation into whether Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) violated professional conduct rules by threatening former Trump fixer Michael Cohen ahead of Cohen’s congressional testimony on Wednesday.

The organization, which licenses lawyers to practice in the state, would not disclose details of the investigation, but bar counsel Chuck Hughes confirmed to The Daily Beast that a probe is underway based on a complaint received from a member of the general public.

Reached by text on Wednesday, Gaetz said he had not “seen anything like that.”

That was fast.
posted by zachlipton at 11:36 AM on February 27, 2019 [93 favorites]

He's a liar, he's unfaithful to his wife, he's doing this for personal gain, he has contracts with foreign entities; Trump's Mirror has been adopted by congressional republicans: The GOP’s attacks on Michael Cohen sound a lot like attacks on Trump (WaPo).
posted by peeedro at 11:51 AM on February 27, 2019 [29 favorites]

Quartz: Cohen’s hearing was a parade of hysterical men who couldn’t control their emotions
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:00 PM on February 27, 2019 [59 favorites]

@KenDilanianNBC: Three people with direct knowledge tell NBC News that Alan Weisselberg is not cooperating, has never been a cooperating witness, and provided limited details in the course of his testimony last summer. There is a lot of misunderstanding on this.

There were numerous reports last year that Weisselberg was given immunity. That did say it was "narrow in scope, protecting Mr. Weisselberg from self-incrimination in sharing information with prosecutors about Mr. Cohen," so perhaps it's only limited to stuff about the payments, but that would still presumably mean Weisselberg would be able to corroborate Cohen's testimony about Trump's involvement in the hush money.
posted by zachlipton at 12:02 PM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]

Quartz: Cohen’s hearing was a parade of hysterical men who couldn’t control their emotions

Whiny GOP men, and contrast, some sharp, on-it women on the Democratic side. Really noticeable to me.
posted by Dashy at 12:06 PM on February 27, 2019 [32 favorites]

My understanding was that Weisselberg's immunity was use immunity, which is very limited.
posted by BungaDunga at 12:08 PM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Huh, Collins voting against Andrew Wheeler confirmation as EPA Administrator.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:22 PM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

People who think this is a shit show haven't seen the Kavanaugh and/or Whittaker hearings. At least questions are being asked and answered, even if we do get a the whiny GOP party line thrown in. I mean, did they pass out talking points? Book deal, liar, book deal, liar. Whittaker's hearing had so many interrupting motions and roll calls and whiny pearl clutching, that it was amazing anyone got to ask any questions at all (not that Whittaker answered any, and he was a disrespectful jerk). Those are still on YouTube if anyone wants to compare to today's hearing.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 12:24 PM on February 27, 2019 [7 favorites]

The Republicans also kept asking who was paying for Lanny Davis. And they seemed surprised by his answers. I don’t lawyer, but isn’t it unwise to ask a question that you don’t know the answer to?
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:26 PM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]

Speaking of news from around the world, there's a great little app called Haystack TV which plays a neverending stream of news clips from networks of your choice. It's great fun, because it will swing in an instant from a police chase in Arizona to the latest productivity stats from Seoul to Ariana Grande standing on a red carpet (I swear, there's one channel and that's all they show, but I digress).

Fantastic way to get a more balanced news diet, although consume with the usual pinch of salt - while I think it's great that, for example, Al Jazeera keep Saudi Arabia's feet to the fire over Khashoggi, sometimes it seems like their entire output is "Look what awfulness the Saudis are doing this time!"
posted by Buck Alec at 12:28 PM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

After one of these public displays of Republican duplicity, ignorance, bad faith, and rank stupidity, is there ever a closed door session where Republicans sit together and ponder what the fuck they just did on live TV? Or are they that clueless? Some here seem to think that this party is a grand conspiracy with evil plans. For me it’s hard to believe they are capable of planning anything. Who are the brains in this party?
posted by njohnson23 at 12:31 PM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

The Republicans also kept asking who was paying for Lanny Davis.

And acting like it’s obviously nefarious that he’s working for free. May I introduce you to Paul Manafort, free campaign manager for one Donald J. Trump?
posted by chris24 at 12:34 PM on February 27, 2019 [16 favorites]

More on Rep Clay Higgins:

Also married four times, was once sued for $140,000 in unpaid child support, and resigned from two police agencies after brutality, breach of ethics allegations.

More background. Even in the modern GOP, he's a special one.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:39 PM on February 27, 2019 [39 favorites]

Ok, this tweet appears to clear up some of the bullshit from earlier about whether Cohen lied on a form coming into this hearing about "foreign contracts." The GOP rep tried to catch Cohen by saying "you answered 'no' on this form, but now you say you had contracts with foreign corporations."

But the wording of the question specifically asks about contracts with foreign governments, which was what Cohen said.
posted by dnash at 12:42 PM on February 27, 2019 [12 favorites]

While we're in a break, this happened.

HuffPost, Fuller, House Passes Universal Background Checks Bill

With Democrats back in control, the House passed the most significant piece of gun control legislation in more than two decades Wednesday.

By a vote of 240-190, the House approved a bill Wednesday that would require background checks on all gun sales in the United States. Currently, only licensed firearm dealers have to perform background checks, and unlicensed dealers ― such as those at gun shows ― can sell a gun without going through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Eight Republicans joined all but two Democrats in support of the bill, and the measure will now go to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not committed to bringing the bill up for a vote, and it likely doesn’t have the 60 senators it needs to make it to a final vote.

McConnell will just kill it.

Other gun legislation is taking a different track. WaPo, Hard-charging Democrats’ strategy on gun control reflects limits of political change

On gun control, leading Democrats are instead talking about incremental steps — measures like “red flag” laws allowing courts to temporarily seize weapons from dangerous individuals, or a closure of the “boyfriend loophole” that allows some domestic abusers to own guns. Even so, the bills are unlikely to receive consideration in the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-seat majority and legislation typically needs 60 votes to pass.

posted by zachlipton at 12:57 PM on February 27, 2019 [36 favorites]

5 Key Takeaways From Michael Cohen's Testimony to Congress (Garrett M. Graff for Wired, Feb. 27, 2019)

1. First, Cohen makes three key assertions: (1) that Trump was closely monitoring the Trump Tower Moscow dealings (Trump would ask “How’s it going in Russia?”); (2) that he may have known about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting hosted by Donald Jr.; and (3) that Trump also knew about Stone’s contact with Assange and WikiLeaks ahead of the first dump of stolen emails.
2. Second, Cohen again raises what I’ve always considered one of the most suspicious parts of the Trump Tower Moscow project—the expected $300 million price tag to the Trump Organization.
3. Third, he pierces the facade—which has never been all that believable—that it was possible these projects were proceeding without Donald Trump’s personal oversight or permission.
4. Fourth, Cohen brings Donald Trump’s crimes into the White House—and he brings the literal receipt. (Article includes picture of the check)
5. Fifth, Cohen gives a precise and completely believable accounting of the confusion over last month’s BuzzFeed bombshell (via WaPo?) that said Cohen had been directed by Trump to lie to Congress.

Michael Cohen Calls Trump A 'Racist' And A 'Con Man' In Public Testimony (NPR, live coverage, Feb. 27, 2019)

NPR's article also includes some background and context, plus embedded documents, including the "Trump Cohen Check."
posted by filthy light thief at 12:59 PM on February 27, 2019 [19 favorites]

Let us recall:

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press," Trump said in a July 27, 2016 news conference.

An MSNBC analyst whose name I missed gave an excellent explanation of why Trump’s public plea for Russia to “find the emails” is by itself a serious criminal conspiracy, whereas journalists who subsequently published the emails, or people who told their friends to visit WikiLeaks, did not commit a crime.

What Donald Trump did was to instigate, for his own benefit, a criminal act: the hacking of the Democrats’ computers and the theft of their emails. He requested that the crime be committed, with the knowledge that his request was feasible. The fact that he did this in public does nothing to lessen the severity of his crime.

The additional fact that Russia started working to fulfil his request immediately after he made it, is, perhaps, an interesting side note.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:04 PM on February 27, 2019 [24 favorites]

So, Stone issued a statement about today's testimony. Does that mean that he violated the gag order?
posted by Selena777 at 1:07 PM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

Yep.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:09 PM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

So, Stone issued a statement about today's testimony. Does that mean that he violated the gag order?

Marcy Wheeler says no. The one exception to the gag order is that he's allowed to proclaim his innocence.
posted by diogenes at 1:11 PM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

Here’s what Stone said:

“Mr. Cohen’s statement is untrue,” Roger Stone tells ABC News this morning.

Stone could profess his innocence by saying “I am innocent of all crimes.” Instead he goes further and accuses Cohen of making inaccurate statements. I’m not a lawyer but I would be disappointed if this doesn’t count as breaching the gag order.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:15 PM on February 27, 2019 [13 favorites]

Also from the NPR article:

New Low for House Democrats:

Holding hearings with Michael Cohen while President @realDonaldTrump negotiates with North Korea about giving up their nuclear arsenal.

Democrats hatred of Trump is undercutting an important foreign policy effort and is way out of line.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 27, 2019

Effin' Lindsey Graham, everyone. Amplifying the president's ploy to shift focus from his own crimes by having dinner with his "friend" and actual despot, Kim Jong Un (NBC News).

This is the same Lindsey Graham who said, on The Today Show, that the US should not only take out the country's nukes, but "North Korea itself." (Paul Szoldra for Business Insider, Aug. 1, 2017)

"[President Donald Trump] is not going to allow the ability of this madman to have a missile to hit America," Graham said. "If there is going to be a war to stop him, it will be over there. If thousands die, they are going to die there, they're not going to die here."

That's right, let's kill off thousands as a preventive war, in case North Korea might get the capacity to strike the US.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:16 PM on February 27, 2019 [13 favorites]

Peter Zeidenberg, who worked as a federal prosecutor at the Justice Department for 17 years, told Newsweek on Wednesday that Stone’s statement likely breached the court order.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:17 PM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

I wondered how they were going to spin the fact that they couldn’t bend the news cycle with this unnecessary NK “summit.”
posted by Selena777 at 1:27 PM on February 27, 2019 [6 favorites]

Democrats hatred of Trump is undercutting an important foreign policy effort and is way out of line.
— Lindsey Graham

Graham already admitted that this crap is insincere.

Aaron Blake, WaPo: Lindsey Graham explains his pro-Trump conversion — and it’s not because he thinks Trump is great

Mark Leibovich got answers out of Graham in a new New York Times Magazine profile:

What did happen to Lindsey Graham? I raised the question directly to him the following afternoon in his Senate office in Washington. Graham was collapsed behind a cluttered desk, sipping a Coke Zero and complaining of exhaustion.

“Well, O.K., from my point of view, if you know anything about me, it’d be odd not to do this,” he said.

I asked what “this” was. “ ‘This,’ ” Graham said, “is to try to be relevant.” Politics, he explained, was the art of what works and what brings desired outcomes. “I’ve got an opportunity up here working with the president to get some really good outcomes for the country,” he told me.

...
Graham, who is up himself in 2020 and has faced his own primaries, added to Leibovich: “If you don’t want to get reelected, you’re in the wrong business.”
...
If he truly thought Trump was a great president and person, that would be a pretty simple answer to questions like Leibovich’s. I thought Trump was bad, but I was totally wrong, and now I support him. That would seem to be even better for his reelection prospects, because it would suggest his pro-Trump evolution was more heartfelt. Yet that is not what Graham’s saying.

1. Why DOESN'T he just answer it that way?
2. I sure hope Graham's constituents read that interview.
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:29 PM on February 27, 2019 [13 favorites]

Hearing is back on. Cohen's confirming that he did not lie on a disclosure form about his contracts with foreign entities, because the question only asks about contracts with foreign governments. Contrary to Mark Meadows' contention.
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:31 PM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

NYT: The attorney general for the District of Columbia has subpoenaed documents from President Trump’s inaugural committee, the third governmental body to delve into how the fund raised $107 million and spent it to celebrate Mr. Trump’s swearing in.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:35 PM on February 27, 2019 [34 favorites]

Trump told Cohen he wouldn’t release his tax returns because . . . he didn’t want to be audited. You can’t make this stuff up.
posted by Harry Caul at 1:40 PM on February 27, 2019 [66 favorites]

Much of the time, having the eyes of the world on international negotiations only makes things worse for the actual content of what's negotiated, because every world leader's incentive is to look like they're getting the best-toughest-etc possible deal for their home country, rather than to compromise. (This happens to be the basis of Obama's remark to Putin about "more flexibility after the election" which conservatives love to use in whataboutery).

But even if that weren't true, I can't imagine any way in which a lack of attention to the Vietnam talks (with our eyeballs instead glued to this testimony) would hurt whatever supposed progress could happen. That only makes sense if you think international negotiations are 100% about appearance and not substance; Graham is basically complaining that the president's not getting his well-deserved likes and shares.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:45 PM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

AOC's questioning is impressive. I don't know how important some of the stuff she asked is but she asked mostly straightforward questions with straightforward answers and she did it without a ton of speech-making which did nothing but take up valuable time.

She obviously takes her job seriously. A++ would let question again.
posted by Justinian at 1:47 PM on February 27, 2019 [98 favorites]

AOC is my new hero - her questions and summery are so concise and direct.
posted by growabrain at 1:49 PM on February 27, 2019 [23 favorites]

From NYCsouthpaw: AOC doing the actual investigative work of asking what documents there are, where they are, and who knows about them.

and

LATimes DC Bureau Chief David Lauter: Notwithstanding the hype, the fact is that @AOC knows how to ask questions at a hearing, which a lot of other members don't. She just successfully laid the predicate for issuing subpoenas to several more witnesses & seeking Trump's taxes.

Railing against this criminal presidency and Trump's corrupt nature may be satisfying and make a good ad to the base but it doesn't do anything to move the ball and really fudges up the flow of the hearing. So obviously AOC should have just done all the questioning for everyone, which is a weird thing to say about a freshman member who has been in office 17 minutes. Just wanted to give her props when they are due since I've been pretty skeptical of the AOC cult of personality.
posted by Justinian at 2:04 PM on February 27, 2019 [105 favorites]

I've been following Daniel Dale's twitter feed and it feels like they've fallen into the "Trump: Racist, Y/N?" well rather than focusing on crimes.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:05 PM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Congresswoman Pressley: Would you agree that someone could deny rental units to African Americans, lead the birther movement, refer to the diaspora as "shithole countries," and refer to white supremacists as "fine people," have a black friend, and still be racist?

Cohen: Yes.

Congresswoman Pressley: I agree.

Watching Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, and Tlaib all in a row was powerful, they were all amazing, and I recommend watching videos of that part, if nothing else.
posted by robotdevil at 2:05 PM on February 27, 2019 [61 favorites]

I've been following Daniel Dale's twitter feed and it feels like they've fallen into the "Trump: Racist, Y/N?" well rather than focusing on crimes.

Well, exactly, which is why AOC's questioning was so well done and why Rashida Tlaib's was awful and counterproductive even though she's absolutely right that Meadows was a racist ass.

(preview) See I disagree with robotdevil. AOC was amazing, Pressley was ok, and Tlaib was terrible.
posted by Justinian at 2:07 PM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Tlaib called out a racist stunt performed on the Committee floor, which no one else did. I cheered her.
posted by Harry Caul at 2:10 PM on February 27, 2019 [41 favorites]

Rep. Lawrence made the "Meadows was a racist ass" point earlier in the hearing in a way that said what needed to be said without taking the focus entirely away from Trump and his crimes: "To prop up one member of our entire race of black people and say that that nullifies that [Trump's racist comments] is totally insulting."
posted by zachlipton at 2:11 PM on February 27, 2019 [17 favorites]

Well here's a disturbing way to end this.

@atrupar [video]: COHEN closes with this disconcerting thought: "Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power."
posted by zachlipton at 2:14 PM on February 27, 2019 [58 favorites]

Other people clearly have a different opinion on Tlaib's questioning so I'm happy to stipulate I'm not the arbiter of these things.

One more tweet about AOC since it's from WaPo Congressional Reporter Paul Kane: Kudos to @AOC who actually asked fact-finding Qs, not using most time to give speeches. She let him answer, then asked which others could back up his statements. Veteran lawmakers, R & D alike, should learn from this newcomer on how to actually draw out information.
posted by Justinian at 2:14 PM on February 27, 2019 [32 favorites]

I felt sorry to hear Cummings to proclaim Meadows as a friend. I don't feel this was an appropriate context for such a proclamation. It seemed to me that if Cummings had been more neutral Tlaib might not have backed down as she did.

Maybe my habitual outrage colors my opinion here, and my hackles rise at the sight of Meadow's angry white face reminiscent of Kavanaugh/Graham.

I don't mean to shade on Cummings, I think he's done a good job. But that interchange has left me quite uneasy.
posted by maniabug at 2:15 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

So obviously AOC should have just done all the questioning for everyone, which is a weird thing to say about a freshman member who has been in office 17 minutes. Just wanted to give her props when they are due since I've been pretty skeptical of the AOC cult of personality.

It's reasonable to be wary of the cult of personality effect because we've seen it so many times. Looking past it with AOC, though, the hype is legit because of one very key aspect that makes her so different from what we've seen before: she says and does all the normal reasonable person things we all keep wishing someone in Congress would say and do. She doesn't act like a Congressperson; she acts like a normal person who got into Congress.

She calls out the bullshit as bullshit. She doesn't do performative perfection. She apologizes and corrects when she screws up, because she's human and can't possibly know everything. She gets to a committee hearing and uses it to ask questions and attack the substance at hand rather than making it about herself--which only seems like grandstanding because it's something people in Congress never fucking do if there's a camera in sight.

Hillary Clinton won my vote in part because she made a point of not promising the impossible. She was honest about what she thought she couldn't deliver, and that's something I've wanted out of leaders all my life. People saw that honesty and said it wasn't inspiring. AOC gets into Congress and starts acting the way we all wish people in Congress would act, and so obviously it must be...what, an act?

God, I hope everyone else in Congress and everyone planning to run for a seat watches her and takes notes. Perfect isn't nearly as important as good faith effort and basic honesty.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:17 PM on February 27, 2019 [156 favorites]

If you liked AOC today, may i HIGHLY recommend you check out Katie Porter's questioning yesterday where she skewered the shit out of an equifax exec.

Absolutely devastating questioning.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:21 PM on February 27, 2019 [67 favorites]

One of the many things I like about AOC is that she makes me feel less crazy. I watch most members of Congress, and I think I would do it differently, and my way would be better. But then I think maybe I'm wrong. Maybe questioning a witness just doesn't work the way I think it does. Maybe grandstanding and speechifying is effective. And then AOC comes along and does it much the way I imagine I would and it's great and it works.

(I'm not saying I'm as smart and talented as AOC, or that I could do it as well as she does. I'm not and I couldn't. But she acts and talks like my imaginings of my best self.)
posted by diogenes at 2:33 PM on February 27, 2019 [72 favorites]

It's disgusting that Teabagger Meadows would use his nieces and nephews as a shield against his, if taken in the best possible light , racially insensitive action of employing black woman as a shield for Trump's racist actions and beliefs.
posted by 6ATR at 2:34 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

Here's Mark Meadows, who just sidetracked the entire House Oversight Committee to assure him he's not racist, saying that "2012 is the time we are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is"
posted by zombieflanders at 2:38 PM on February 27, 2019 [73 favorites]

Honestly the reason Ocasio-Cortez is so much more lucid and direct in hearings like this than most of her fellow congress members is that she comes from a working class background. All these other politicians see the white collar criminals in these hearings as part of their same social caste, and they feel some measure of discomfort in holding their feet to the fire because they view them as their peers.

There's also the fact that Ocasio-Cortez has a coherent socialist political philosophy and worldview that helps her see through the bullshit platitudes and correctly diagnose the societal causes of these problems and these crimes.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:41 PM on February 27, 2019 [70 favorites]

1) RE: Meadows's defensiveness - Saying someone committed a racist act is not the same as calling them a racist, and I will never get tired of how the misperception of this as an ad hominem attack ultimately shows the true nature of the accused. However, I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised that the commentary on at least the Washington Post's live feed made this same argument.

2) AOC did all of that in her five minutes and still made sure to namedrop Jupiter, FL as one specific location for Trump's shady property dealings.
posted by Arson Lupine at 2:43 PM on February 27, 2019 [24 favorites]

But then I think maybe I'm wrong. Maybe questioning a witness just doesn't work the way I think it does. Maybe grandstanding and speechifying is effective. And then AOC comes along and does it much the way I imagine I would and it's great and it works.

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert's there are few."

- Shunryu Suzuki
posted by condour75 at 2:52 PM on February 27, 2019 [34 favorites]

Here is an isolated clip of AOC's concise five minutes of badassery, in case you want to revisit or share it.
posted by jammer at 3:08 PM on February 27, 2019 [50 favorites]

So obviously AOC should have just done all the questioning for everyone, which is a weird thing to say about a freshman member who has been in office 17 minutes. Just wanted to give her props when they are due since I've been pretty skeptical of the AOC cult of personality.

QFT (again). Her questioning was actually 1: to the point (had a clear objective), 2: well delivered (no stumbling and stammering), and 3: produced tangible results (on-the-record identification of potential witnesses for future questioning).

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, by comparison, wasted 10 (poorly) pre-rehersed minutes in some convoluted scheme to establish that Michael Cohen could, with suitable cajoling and tortured reasoning, state on the record that he believes Trump is capable of treason, which is literally nothing useful.
posted by Room 101 at 3:12 PM on February 27, 2019 [22 favorites]

AOC was awesome and she went after Trump where he lives (his tax returns and tax fraud).

I watched most of the morning's hearing and one observation. I did not expect that Michael Cohen would come across as way smarter than most, if not all, of the GOP congresspeople. At one point, his lawyers were actually laughing (and then leaned over and reminded their client that Rudy Giuliani and said in an interview that Donald Trump knew about the payments to Stormy Daniels).
posted by bluesky43 at 3:13 PM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

"Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power."

I am legit concerned that no matter what there will not be a peaceful transition of power. Like, looking into changing the Constitution to get rid of term limits if he wins again level of this.

People saw that honesty and said it wasn't inspiring.

*sigh* I'd rather have realism than ponies and "free college" that nobody knows how to do, myself.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:17 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

2: well delivered (no stumbling and stammering)

This struck me as well but I wasn't sure if it was fair to other Reps to criticize them for it. AOC was precise, coherent, and clear. I had trouble following and understanding some of the other questioners which diluted their effectiveness even if they were asking good questions.
posted by Justinian at 3:18 PM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

Here is an isolated clip of AOC's concise five minutes of badassery, in case you want to revisit or share it.

So, I watched a big chunk of Enron congressional hearings way back when and just as people are seeing now, I saw that congresspeople tended to spend a huge amount of time speechifying and grandstanding and chewing scenery (especially when they've got an axe to grind) during their five minutes rather than, y'know, asking questions. I seem to recall, however, that occasionally a congressperson would get down to brass tacks and ask a series of questions designed to actually reveal information and get it into the record. And also, if I recall correctly, whenever I looked into who had been asking these insightful questions, they usually came from very long-tenured congresspeople or former trial lawyers. AOC, in one of her first major congressional hearings, appears to already be performing this function at the level of a Henry Waxman or Billy Tauzin. Quite impressive.
posted by mhum at 3:22 PM on February 27, 2019 [55 favorites]

I wasn't sure if it was fair to other Reps to criticize them for it

It's absolutely fair, IMO. A key point of these peoples' jobs is -- or at least, should be -- to be able to listen to, understand, and talk about complicated issues in a thoughtful, clear, and coherent way. You don't need to be Cicero to be a Congressperson, and I don't expect them all to be genius orators, but if you can't get through 5 minutes of questioning without stumbling over your own speechifying, you'd better be really good at the other parts of your job.
posted by jammer at 3:24 PM on February 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

And with that over, some health care news.

Politico, House Democrats to release 'Medicare for All' bill — without a price tag

Progressive House Democrats will unveil their much-hyped “Medicare for All” legislation Wednesday, providing the most detailed blueprint yet for how they would upend the health care system to guarantee coverage for every American — a long-sought progressive dream that is already shaping the Democratic race to challenge President Donald Trump.

The bill, co-sponsored by just over 100 House Democrats, doesn’t include a price tag or specific proposals for financing the new system, which analysts estimate would cost tens of trillions of dollars over a decade. The lead sponsor, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, said she will release a separate list of suggested funding mechanisms, including a tax on high earners or mandated employer contributions.

The proposal calls for a two-year transformation of Medicare into a universal single-payer system, eliminating nearly all private health plans. It would also expand Medicare coverage to include prescription drugs, dental and vision services, and long-term care without charging co-pays, premiums or deductibles — and would provide federal funding for abortions.
...
The House bill largely mirrors Sanders’ Medicare for All bill in the Senate. Both bills make an extensive argument for the feasibility of a costly transition that would overhaul the Medicare program and turn it into a universal insurer. But unlike the Sanders plan, the government under Jayapal's bill would fund long-term care, a particularly expensive part of the health system. The bill also calls for a two-year transition to single payer, faster than the four years in Sanders’ bill. Hospitals and other facilities are paid using a "global budget" system rather than fee-for-service in an attempt to control costs, but individual doctors would be paid on a fee-for-service basis.

Additionally, the inclusion of abortion coverage would eliminate the long-standing ban on federal dollars for the procedure in almost all cases. States would also be barred from excluding abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, which some red states have sought to push out of Medicaid.

The short version of the bill is take the Sanders bill, add long-term care coverage (a lot of work from disability rights advocates went into this), halve the transition period to 1-2 years, and leave the pay-fors as a separate discussion.

Vox's Sarah Kliff has a more detailed overview of the bill: Medicare-for-all: Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s new bill, explained. Everything is covered from primary care to dental to abortion. Notably, this plan would not just bar employers from offering separate competing plans (private plans could cover anything not included in the bill, if you could possibly conceive of what those things would be, and individual doctors could opt out and take cash), it would end the existing Medicare and Medicaid programs (this plan pays for much more than those, so that should be wildly popular, but touching Medicare is a political danger), transitioning everyone into the new universal plan (the VA and IHS would continue). There are also no out of pocket costs, copays, or deductibles of any kind except limited charges for prescription drugs, more generous than most plans around the world.

See also KHN's There’s A New ‘Medicare-For-All’ Bill In The House. Why Does It Matter?

It's an extraordinary plan, the most comprehensive yet, offering free and stunningly complete universal health care, which is something you can do when you say this: "I actually think the question is not about how we pay for it, the question is where is the will to make sure every American has the health care they deserve and have a right." And I agree with that—there are a lot of ways to pay for things so we don't need to pick specific ones right out of the gate, and as an opening offer, let's think big—, but it also sets the plan up for shock when someone does do the math and announces it costs $N trillion dollars. As Kliff notes, that's what happened in Vermont. My personal preference is to be honest about costs and benefits early on, make the argument that the comprehensive benefits are obviously worth the costs, than to handwave over them. The same goes for cost controls in general. That said, with this having zero chance of becoming law now, why take the political hit of focusing on costs today?

You can read a 2-page summary a 10-page summary, and the full text.

And we have a conveniently-timed story from Bloomberg: Health Insurers Sink as ‘Medicare for All' Idea Gains Traction

In further health care news as we shift our focus away from the fully automated luxury gay space communism, here's what's happening in our existing system with plans that do cover abortion: CAL Matters, Trump’s under-the-radar $1 abortion bill idea: Will it undermine Obamacare in California?

A little-noticed Trump administration proposal aims to force California’s health exchange insurers to send all their customers a second premium bill every month, for $1 —the amount the state requires to cover unrestricted abortion benefits.
...
In November, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published the proposed change in the Federal Register. It would require that consumers not only receive two separate bills via paper mail or email every month, but that customers make two separate payment transactions every month.

The agency said it needed to ensure that no premium payments or federal credits are being used for prohibited abortion services, and to ensure the funds are being kept separately.
...
For Blue Shield, the cost could be $4 to $6 million to implement and about $900,000 monthly, Cohen said. Opponents of the federal idea also fear that some Californians in the insurance exchange who are against abortion may disregard the separate $1 monthly bill—which could lead to them losing their health coverage.

posted by zachlipton at 3:27 PM on February 27, 2019 [51 favorites]

NBC:

U.S. negotiators are no longer demanding that North Korea agree to disclose a full accounting of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs as part of talks this week between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, according to current and former senior U.S. officials.

The decision to drop, for now, a significant component of a potential nuclear deal suggests a reality that U.S. intelligence assessments have stressed for months is shaping talks as they progress: North Korea does not intend to fully denuclearize which is the goal Trump set for his talks with Kim.

posted by Chrysostom at 3:29 PM on February 27, 2019 [13 favorites]

Some expert reactions:

@WonkVJ: JFC. Yongbyon is not "the heart" of North Korea's nuclear programs. It would be nice to close it, again (re: 2008). But Yongbyon does nothing about North Korea's missiles, nuclear warheads, or launchers--that's NK's arsenal and that's "the heart" of its threat potential

@nktpnd: They weren't going to get one, anyway. The Yongbyon illusion grows, expectations meet reality, and negotiations will go forward on that basis. Hanoi continues the process of figuring the terms on which we’ll be living with a nuclear-armed North Korea.

Trump will hold a press conference at 3:50AM Eastern Time (3:50pm in Hanoi) following today's summit activities.
posted by zachlipton at 3:34 PM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

I don't expect them all to be genius orators, but if you can't get through 5 minutes of questioning without stumbling over your own speechifying, you'd better be really good at the other parts of your job.

I agree, but as someone who struggles with anxiety, especially in front of a crowd, I sympathize so hard. No matter how hard you prepare, your overactive nervous system is still going to betray you. I wouldn't want to prevent similar people from being in politics.

That said, I would probably give my time to someone like AOC who is wired to be able to withstand that anxiety and deliver smoothly despite it.
posted by diogenes at 3:36 PM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

AOC can do what she does because she is not economically beholden to banks or corporations. She doesn't need to keep sweet with politicians who are beholden in the hopes of getting donations or preferments. AOC does not need to waffle because she does not need to mute her ideas to meet the standards of her big donors. She is what happens when a working person is elected by working people using their own funds.

I'm not impugning her skills, but in addition to being smart and a good communicator, she is also politically freer than most of her peers in the party and she uses that freedom to speak clearly and honestly.
posted by Frowner at 3:37 PM on February 27, 2019 [95 favorites]

So, North Korea gets to say "we're not getting rid of our nuclear weapons and we're not going to let you know what we've got going on either" and no one can do anything meaningful about it. We know that nothing can be done without a dramatic cost, and most of us are unwilling to inflict suffering on that scale. But now you see why nations want nuclear weapons. They command respect on the international stage like few other things can.
posted by azpenguin at 3:40 PM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

The only lesson any nation will learn from Trump's pathetic and slavering devotion to Kim in exchange for literally just a couple letters is "we should get a nuclear weapon as fast as possible".
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:54 PM on February 27, 2019 [31 favorites]

[From DM]
One thing to bear in mind while Republicans roast Cohen for being an untrustworthy scumbag today is that not only was Cohen Trump’s personal fixer, he was also Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee -
Until JUNE 2018!
posted by growabrain at 3:57 PM on February 27, 2019 [69 favorites]

As it turns out its easy to reach a "peace deal" if you preemptively give the other guy everything he wants. Who knew?

Trump is going to come back with a deal where we tacitly acknowledge NK as a permanent nuclear state and move towards easing sanctions and in return NK sign a piece of paper saying they are denuclearizing and the war is over. That's it, that's the deal. Just wait.
posted by Justinian at 4:06 PM on February 27, 2019 [16 favorites]

Michael Cohen's explosive allegations suggest danger for Trump on two fronts (Guardian)

[...] Cohen hinted that Robert Mueller, the special counsel currently wrapping up a two-year inquiry into whether Trump’s team coordinated with Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, may have proof.

Cohen was asked by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat forced to resign as party chairwoman over the WikiLeaks disclosures, how they could corroborate his explosive allegations, which are based on remarks he says he overheard in Trump’s office.

“I suspect that the special counsel’s office and other government agencies have the information you’re seeking,” Cohen said. Trump denied both allegations in his written answers to questions from Mueller. [...]

Further dangers may await the Trumps down the road. Cohen said on Wednesday that he was unable to discuss his final contact with Trump last year, because that was being investigated by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

His questioner, the Democratic congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, tried again. Was Cohen aware of any further illegal activity or wrongdoing by Trump that had not yet been discussed?

“Yes,” said Cohen. “And again, those are part of the investigation that’s currently being looked at by the southern district of New York.”

posted by Little Dawn at 4:09 PM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

Trump is going to come back with a deal where we tacitly acknowledge NK as a permanent nuclear state and move towards easing sanctions and in return NK sign a piece of paper saying they are denuclearizing and the war is over. That's it, that's the deal. Just wait.

And probably a couple months later, he'll start a war with a (relatively) far more compliant and reasonable Iran.
posted by zombieflanders at 4:10 PM on February 27, 2019 [9 favorites]

Just like the Feinstein video last weekend, I'm going to hold my breath on conclusions from the Cohen testimony for a few days at least.
posted by rhizome at 4:12 PM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Just like the Feinstein video last weekend, I'm going to hold my breath on conclusions from the Cohen testimony for a few days at least.

So that means it's going to be somehow worse than it seemed at first?
posted by codacorolla at 4:39 PM on February 27, 2019 [9 favorites]

Is it just me or did Trump not tell us during the election that he was being audited and would release his taxes after that was over...?

Oh yeah
posted by maniabug at 4:43 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

Regarding AOC and specifically hoping to add to scaryblackdeath's excellent comment above.

First of all I would note that what we have seen of AOC tonight is nothing different than what we've been seeing from her all along, for example, her infamous lightning round. I can't help but notice many, many people- in real life, on Twitter, and to a lesser degree but yes also on Metafilter- (and frankly almost exclusively men)- have been dismissive of her fame and the whole "personality cult thing" and every time I see that I wonder whether these people have engaged directly with the things she is actually saying and doing, and not what others are saying about her. If not, I think it's worth maybe actually following her on Twitter, or watching some videos of her, or whatever, before you make up your mind. Because she's the real deal, that's why the GOP, who communicate with each other basically exclusively in the language and norms of white male privilege, is scared to death of her. (Same for Pressley, Omar, and Tlaib among others). This is why she's popular and famous.

I have been reading a lot lately about classism and the translation of wealth into merit. In particular I think this article (Atlantic) is relevant as it describes certain unspoken norms that exist in high profile career tracks, that in particular and disproportionately are difficult for women, POC, and those of a different socioeconomic class to navigate- and at the same time, gives the privileged a code and language with which to recognize and communicate with each other.

This is what sets these women apart, in my opinion, is they exist outside this privileged box and it is both refreshing to "normal" people and shocking and alarming to the GOP. This is why it feels so amazing when they say what we're all thinking, and we wonder, wow, why doesn't everyone say those things??? This is why it's okay, as far as I'm concerned, that they sometimes say the wrong thing or stumble over their words or in other words are basically human. They're able to own up to it. They are real, they are works in progress, they have insight and can see their mistakes and strive to improve. They have this ability because they developed in the real world, not the privilege bubble.

As a female physician-in-training from a working class background (and former bartender) I admit I am biased and very much see myself and my own struggles- and hey, maybe even potential power- in these women. It is inspiring to see how much some of their fights mirror my own, and helps me not give up when I feel burned out from pushing back against systemic bullshit that makes me feel bad about myself. I don't think I'm even remotely alone in feeling this way, either, which is why I think they are an unstoppable force and I absolutely hope this is the direction that things are taking.

tl;dr stop hating on AOC, she's good. no, seriously.
posted by robotdevil at 4:49 PM on February 27, 2019 [170 favorites]

I don't want to have a beer with him or anything but I hope Cohen feels a little better about things tonight. He spilled his guts without losing his shit. He probably could have been a great litigator had his life taken an early turn.
posted by vrakatar at 4:51 PM on February 27, 2019 [7 favorites]

robotdevil - excellent comment re: AOC. One additional comment I would add is that it is extremely gratifying to see a congressperson (a woman) who is so incredibly competent. What she says is 'real' in the way you describe but she is also obviously a very smart person able to see with a lot of clarity.
posted by bluesky43 at 4:53 PM on February 27, 2019 [18 favorites]

@Adamweinstein: I know I'll be in the minority here but long term, Michael Cohen explaining in basic terms how real estate assets are used to help launder money for bagmen is actually the most important thing here. Players aside, this is *the* locus of American political and economic corruption

(That was this morning, before AOC got her turn. This is from after her:)

Charles Mudede from The Stranger:

I want to point out that if the dealings of an African leader were questioned in this official manner in public, you would find, at this moment, a bunch of empty new-model Mercedes Benz abandoned in the parking lot of that country's international airport. The well-connected would leave in droves with suitcases stuffed with forex. Going, going, gone! Don't fucking care where the plane is heading. Anywhere but here is all that matters, mate. Get in the air, and get paid. Here is a grand or two if you want. That sort of thing. But I'm sure if you visit JFK or any major US airport after AOC's session of questioning, you will not find anything like this rich panic. The fear is just not here. This can only mean that the US must be more corrupt than those black African countries Trump described as shitholes.

posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:00 PM on February 27, 2019 [112 favorites]

Chris Christie on the Cohen Hearing: Republicans Haven’t Defended Trump ‘On The Substance’ (Mediaite)

Speaking on an ABC News panel following the first part of the House Oversight Committee hearing at which Cohen was testifying Wednesday morning, Christie mused aloud about the Republican committee members’ lines of questioning.

“The interesting thing is that there hasn’t been one Republican yet who has tried to defend the president on the substance, and I think that’s something that should be concerning to the White House,” Christie said.

“Why are no Republicans standing up and defending the president on the substance?” Christie asked, then tried to answer his own question.

“That’s either a failure of those Republicans on the Hill, or a failure of the White House to have a unified strategy with them, they knew this was coming with Michael Cohen,” Christie offered.

“And so I think it’s going to, as the day goes on, it’s going to get tired of hearing the attacks on Cohen’s credibility,” he added. “He’s not a credible witness, but he does have corroboration on certain things. Where is the defense of the president?"

posted by Little Dawn at 5:03 PM on February 27, 2019 [16 favorites]

Regarding Rep. Mark Meadows and his ilk, it is always a significant tell when their outrage and sense of injustice is directed at being thought of as a racist rather than at the suffering racism causes.
posted by vac2003 at 5:06 PM on February 27, 2019 [28 favorites]

“Why are no Republicans standing up and defending the president on the substance?” Christie asked, then tried to answer his own question.

Yeah, this seems obvious. Nothing Trump does is defensible. All that was left was to yell about Cohen's tax fraud.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:06 PM on February 27, 2019 [6 favorites]

One additional comment I would add is that it is extremely gratifying to see a congressperson (a woman) who is so incredibly competent. What she says is 'real' in the way you describe but she is also obviously a very smart person able to see with a lot of clarity.

Yes, absolutely, it is so worth noting how completely unsettling it is for so many people to see a young (!), attractive (!!), working class (!!!) POC (!!!!) former bartender (gasp!)

. . . who is also intelligent. man. for so many people it just Does. Not. Compute. No wonder the reaction against her is so intense.
posted by robotdevil at 5:07 PM on February 27, 2019 [23 favorites]

Also, Cohen sounds a bit like Chazz Palminteri in Usual Suspects. Someone should audio swap that.
posted by vrakatar at 5:12 PM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Document: Mueller Files Supplemental Memorandum in Manafort Case (LawFare)

On Wednesday, the special counsel's office filed a partially redacted supplemental memorandum in U.S. v. Manafort, in which the special counsel describes additional information from Rick Gates regarding the special counsel's determination that Manafort breached his plea agreement and intentionally lied to the government and grand jury on matters concerning his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik. The memo is available below.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:24 PM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

I thought this was a good point:

“Let’s go back at this credibility. You want us to make sure that we think of you as a real philanthropic icon, that you’re about justice that you’re the person that someone would call at three in the morning. No, they wouldn’t. Not at all…You’re a pathological liar. You don’t know truth from falsehood.”

“Sir, I’m sorry,” said Cohen. “Are you referring to me or the president?”

All this lying you're so angry about? Cohen did that on behalf of the president.
posted by xammerboy at 5:31 PM on February 27, 2019 [59 favorites]

Pelosi and top Dems won’t bite on impeachment despite Cohen bombshells (Politico)

When asked whether Cohen’s testimony changed Democrats’ calculations on impeachment, House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern turned the matter to Republicans.

“I think a better question is, what are Republicans going to do?” McGovern (D-Mass.) responded, noting that the GOP-controlled Senate would have to vote to remove Trump from office if the House impeached him.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:44 PM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Document: Mueller Files Supplemental Memorandum in Manafort Case (LawFare)

This is interesting and mysterious. It's heavily redacted, but it seems like Gates called the Special Counsel's Office after the breach hearing to let them know that something in their claims was incorrect/misleading. He was re-interviewed by SCO on February 15, 2019. It seems that he provided some new/forgotten testimony that is partially exculpatory for Manafort on the issue of communications with Kilimnik and/or the sharing of polling data. In the filing --- which reads (in part "A") as an update to the court about new evidence --- the Government stresses repeatedly that the court should not reverse its decision that Manafort lied about these issues:

... the government does not believe that this new evidence should effect the Court's ruling that Manafort lied with respect to the subject matter in general, or its finding the Manafort lied [redacted] ... Gates' most recent information and the [redacted] should not alter the Court's ruling.

posted by pjenks at 5:56 PM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Leonard Cohen's Born Under a Bad Sign

That's not Leonard Cohen, it's Alabama 3.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:45 PM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

Grace under pressure: Fox News panelists get into heated exchange after Cohen testimony: ‘I’m gonna throw you off the set’

“Oh, shut up, Juan [Williams]! I’m in nobody’s bunker. Enough with your bunker. I’m trying to be polite to somebody on the panel, Juan, which you won’t do,” [Greg] Gutfeld responded, arguing that he was trying to give another panelist the chance to talk when he interrupted Williams.
...
Williams responded by bringing up details about Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr. that Cohen laid out during his testimony and said Waters is “so blind because you, like Greg, are deep in the bunker.”

Gutfeld immediately fired back, saying, “If you say that again, I’m going to throw you off the set. You know what the bunker means? What you’re intimating is that––who’s in the bunker, Adolf Hitler, correct?”

"I'm not in the bunker, you're in the bunker!"
posted by kirkaracha at 6:48 PM on February 27, 2019 [20 favorites]

Oh good grief - then the moderator-ish guy goes to the Morgan (the less blonde lady);

dude: "... instead to get her thoughts about the hearing..."

brunettegal: ha.. haha (?) yeah SO! for me, one of the questions I was looking at coming in today is . is if you look at a historical precedence, what would be this similar to John Dean of course the White House Councel who testified about a year before president Richard Nixon resigned.."

Also, Gutfield being aggressive (and the history of aggression tied with talking points) is actively making family holiday (eh, holy-day) gatherings more hellish (eh, appropriation of christianity).
posted by porpoise at 7:05 PM on February 27, 2019

"I'm not in the bunker, you're in the bunker!"

In which the people on the right begin Godwining themselves, unprompted.  I swear the writers are just coasting at this point.  And lest you think that was the craziest thing to come out of today there's also this from the NYPost:  Dennis Rodman offers Trump help with North Korea talks.  

Today's testimony was electrifying—and that was just reading it, I couldn't summon the intestinal fortitude to listen to it live.  If like me you were unwilling or unable to follow it live, The Globe and Mail has a nice little wrap up of Five things to know about Michael Cohen’s explosive testimony on Donald Trump that covers the highlights.

And someone hire a new team of writers. These guys have clearly lost the plot.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 7:45 PM on February 27, 2019 [8 favorites]

Phone Polling In Crisis (via)

Politico: “The percentage of Americans willing to participate in telephone polls has hit a new low, according to a new report, raising doubts about the continued viability of the phone surveys that have traditionally dominated politics and elections, both in the media and in campaigns.”

“The Pew Research Center reported Wednesday that the response rate for its phone polls last year fell to just 6 percent — meaning pollsters could only complete interviews with 6 percent of the households in their samples. It continues the long-term decline in response rates, which had leveled off earlier this decade.”
posted by petebest at 7:48 PM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

I assumed this would be coming sooner or later since it's easy to verify, but one university is already confirming having received the threat letter regarding Trump's grades:

Fordham confirms that Trump team threatened the school if his grades became public
posted by p3t3 at 7:50 PM on February 27, 2019 [44 favorites]

Pretty good tea reading from Charles Pierce at Esquire:

The Republican Party Completely and Utterly Disgraced Itself at Michael Cohen's Hearing

This was a vivid look into the chronic ward of the prion disease that has eaten away the higher functions of American conservatism—and, thus, those of the Republican Party as well—since Ronald Reagan first served up the monkey brains almost 40 years ago.

These are the complete creatures of the talk-show culture, the perfect products of two and three generations of gerrymandered in-breeding. These are the monsters from inside The Bubble. You could see this moment coming during the Obama years, in which the country returned the two worst Congresses in American history, full to the gunwales with Bible-banging crazy people.

Sooner or later, this was going to be all that was left, and it was going to have to confront a serious crisis with unserious people. That's what Wednesday was about.

Yep.
posted by petebest at 7:57 PM on February 27, 2019 [88 favorites]

It's real illegal to release anyone's grades without their consent. If I so much as looked up the grades of a prominent politician without a really good reason, I would expect to be fired.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:59 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

Just the fact that Trump felt it was necessary to make double-plus-sure that they wouldn't, seems like all we need to know.
posted by rifflesby at 8:02 PM on February 27, 2019 [21 favorites]

It's real illegal to release anyone's grades without their consent. If I so much as looked up the grades of a prominent politician without a really good reason, I would expect to be fired.

The point here -- not that it's surprising -- is that Trump hypocritically demanded that Obama release his transcripts, saying no-one saw him at Columbia and that he didn't deserve to get into Harvard.
posted by mikelieman at 8:08 PM on February 27, 2019 [51 favorites]

Almost like it’s racism or something...
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:13 PM on February 27, 2019 [23 favorites]

The best part about the threat to schools to not release his grades is that it's another total own goal by Team Trump. Because they're bound by federal law not to release his grades, all he had to do was nothing. But instead he had his lawyer send threatening letters. So now we know that his grades were so shitty that he was worried enough to draft a completely pointless threat. The smartest people...
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:22 PM on February 27, 2019 [84 favorites]

What is the truth you’re most afraid of? The Cohen testimony, in brief. (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)

Michael Cohen’s testimony Wednesday was a thrilling orgy of yelling, and it went roughly as follows:

MICHAEL COHEN: Donald Trump is a racist, a con man and a cheat! I can say this for sure because I was indispensable to him for years. If this is a witch hunt, I was his familiar. For several years, he turned me into a toad, and I was honestly grateful. Anyway, 2016 was a huge mistake. He was just trying to build his brand. He never expected to be president. I used to be his right hand, which is to say I was used to shake with contractors he did not want to pay. His net worth is just a dream he has in his mind, and his SAT scores are a crude crayon drawing of a dinosaur. Also, his bone spurs were an illusion. He speaks in code, like a combo of an old-time mobster and a malfunctioning Sim. Once he told me in confidence that Donald Trump Jr. was a moron.

Uh, I am testifying now because I have decided to alter the habit of a lifetime and also because I missed having old men yell at me. Please embrace me as you embraced other dubious Michaels who criticized Donald Trump in the past.

REP. MARK MEADOWS (R-N.C.): To your first point, how dare you speak ill of President Trump? I have never heard him say anything racist in private. He saves these remarks for his public, where they are appreciated and have led to his election. Speaking of problematic statements about race, I have brought in a black person who works for President Trump. I think that says it all!

posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:25 PM on February 27, 2019 [42 favorites]

petebest: "“The Pew Research Center reported Wednesday that the response rate for its phone polls last year fell to just 6 percent — meaning pollsters could only complete interviews with 6 percent of the households in their samples. It continues the long-term decline in response rates, which had leveled off earlier this decade.”"

But on the other hand:

"the impact of low response on data quality have generally found that response rates are an unreliable metric of accuracy. Pew Research Center studies conducted in 1997, 2003, 2012 and 2016 found little relationship between response rates and accuracy"

Presumably there is *some* point at which accuracy is affected, but it's not entirely clear where that is.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:33 PM on February 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

Leonard Cohen's Born Under a Bad Sign

That's not Leonard Cohen, it's Alabama 3.

It's Woke Up This Morning, Track 3 of Exile On Coldharbour Lane, by Alabama 3, going by A3 on this album.
posted by M-x shell at 8:39 PM on February 27, 2019 [13 favorites]

I think the biggest takeaway comes at the end:

But while that is a solution for a national poll, it may be more difficult to move political election polling online. Most national panels are too small to survey individual states, especially smaller states. And online polling of congressional districts — like the nearly 100 polls the New York Times and Siena College conducted of House races in the 2018 midterm elections — is virtually unheard of.

“There’s a real challenge, particularly for political campaigns and advocacy groups interested in measuring public opinion in smaller states and geography below the state level,” said Blumenthal. Added Blumenthal, “At some point, you have to be able to complete calls at a reasonable cost.”

Even with horrible response rates, national telephone polls + online panels still seem to work damn well. But the situation makes state and local polls harder and more expensive, to the point that media outlets, advocacy groups, and campaigns cant afford it.
posted by zachlipton at 8:39 PM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

I can only imagine that the clerical staff at Fordham were rolling their eyes and muttering, "FERPA laws, you dumbass" when that letter came in.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:08 PM on February 27, 2019 [9 favorites]

The percentage of Americans willing to participate in telephone polls has hit a new low,

Well, yeah. I get about half a dozen calls a day from strangers: "This is Sharon calling about your student loan!" (I don't have a student loan.) "Open enrollment season is upon us! Let us help you with health care!" (These have tapered off sharply since the deadline.) "Something has laid a curse upon you; God is watching out for you; to hear your special word, press One now..." (I dunno who this guy is, but he calls from a lot of phone numbers.) "[something in Chinese]" These, of course, are all illegal robocalls which the FCC has utterly failed to take action against.

I have to force myself to stop to listen to political calls, and I want to be more active in the DSA, and I want to answer Democratic party polls. I am the only person I know in my extended social circle who doesn't immediately hang up on strangers.

I suppose it's possible that phone polling still works because a 5% sample isn't skewed - everyone hangs up on robocalls: conservatives, liberals, hippie anarchists, redpill survivalist nuts, and so on. What's left is
* People like me, who are entertained by pollsters
* People who believe they're morally obligated to talk to everyone who calls them
* People who are lonely and are going to hang on to any shred of personal contact they can get
* People who are gung-ho political activists who will walk away from their favorite TV show to talk to pollsters
* People not falling in those categories, who happen to have time and headspace to talk at the moment they get called.

And somewhere in the mix of those, that could be a fairly even political balance. But I can easily see where the risks are: any shift of technology or culture, and some of those groups will be less willing to participate, and then you get heavy skew overnight without realizing it.

(For better political phone polls: Push the FCC into enforcing its laws, to reduce phone-burnout and "I never, ever answer the phone if I don't recognize the number.")
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:29 PM on February 27, 2019 [30 favorites]

Some thoughts on the hearings, now that I've had a chance to catch up on them. Would liked to have been able summarize them all, but work, pay, &c.

Representative Ocasio-Cortez's testimony as incredibly concise, confident, and effective. I appreciated how well she got particular names into the Congressional record---most significant, seem to be Allen Weisselberg, long-time Chief Financial Officer of the Trump organization and David Pecker of AMI Entertainment, owner of the tabloid The National Inquirer. Perhaps the most interesting part to me was getting Cohen to explain Trump's particular method of manipulating his asset values to avoid taxes, obtain loans, and get weird with insurance premiums. Ocasio-Cortez set an excellent example of how to use questioning time in such hearings; I hope to see other MoC emulate her example

Representatives Pressley and Tlaib were also authoritative and impressive. I thought Rep. Pressley's pursuing the line of inquiry into the shady dealings of the now-dissolving Trump Foundation. I do wish she had asked about who exactly would know about the workings of the Foundation, but I am pleased she was using her time to ask questions that work to establish particular institutions and people involved in these potentially criminal act. Rep. Tlaib's very reasonable point about the racist conduct of "someone" in the chamber was wholly appropriate.

Katie Hill's testimony hasn't seem to have gotten quite as much attention. but she very effectively got Cohen to narrate the particulars of how exactly Cohen and Trump conspired after the inauguration to spin the payments that Trump knew full well were done to pay off Stephanie Clifford.

I was less impressed by several of the longer-serving members for using their time to make tangential points, rather than get actionable information about possible criminal conduct direction from someone who has admitted to being party to numerous unethical and/or criminal acts. I am utterly perplexed by Rep. Cummings' apparent close friendship with Mark Meadows, who seems to be a really terrible person on both a personal and systemic policy level. Takes all kinds, I suppose. I will say Meadows looked like he was about to have a stroke when Rep. Tlaib said he had done something racist.

The Republican questioning was by and large ineffective, hyper-emotative and essentially devoid of seriousness. These men basically have so little emotional awareness or regulation skills that it's scary. Rep. Amash is the only one to seem to have any principles beyond servile deference to Individual-1.

Cohen himself is a liar and conman, no doubt about it. He is way more quick witted than most of the Republicans. I laughed at him telling giving Jim Jordan hell about Jordan deliberately mischaracterizing Cohen's statement. True Cohen seems pretty knowledgeable about how to commit fraud and seems to be more coherent and quick-witted than the Republican delegation as a whole; however, he still did a bunch of easily traceable things that has landed him in very hot water. Nonetheless, I am pleased he brought documentary evidence of the possible crimes. His repeated mention of Allen Weisselberg, David Pecker, and the other associates should have Trump and his henchmen very, very worried.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:31 PM on February 27, 2019 [37 favorites]

1. The AOC forensic line of questioning -- "Do you know X? If not, who would know?" -- ought not to be revelatory, but apparently is. It's actually reminiscent of how UK parliamentary select committees work, in part because there are different assumptions about what Being On A Committee achieves in terms of media. What do you want from this? Most of the new Dems want to make speeches in the chamber and ask questions in the committee rooms, regardless of who pays attention. Long may that continue.

2. Mark Meadows represents a district that is 91% white, 3% African-American, 5% Hispanic, and 1.5% Native American (Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian). The poorest counties in his district have an average household income of around $25,000 per year. But the gerrymander means he doesn't need to campaign.
posted by holgate at 9:32 PM on February 27, 2019 [24 favorites]

Things that Cohen seemed willing to discuss but weren't followed up:

- the Rybolovlev deal for Maison de l’Amitie in Florida, where the selling price was way over the valuation
- who I-1 used for physical intimidation when Cohen's verbal/legal intimidation was insufficient (which points to Mister Calimari and Keith Schiller)

Things that weren't really addressed:

- whether the arrangement with Pecker/AMI and perhaps Harvey Levin and others was reciprocal, meaning that I-1 was fed damaging information on public figures that could be used against them
- the way the FEC (and Don McGahn) punted on the 2011 exploratory committee -- the one that Jim Jordan was flabbergasted about -- when it was subject to a complaint about spending.
- what Cohen did in London in October 2016 when he wasn't visiting his daughter
posted by holgate at 9:48 PM on February 27, 2019 [7 favorites]

One reason others didn't pursue AOC's line of questioning is that everything she got Cohen to say, like everything everyone else got Cohen to say, is already in the public record. In the main it's more posturing than actual discovery, so one might as well posture about something beneficial to one's ego or reelection. But. There are nevertheless important skirmishes being fought behind the scenes, especially within the majority party, and my guess is that as usual, AOC is engaged with that. Weisselberg, for instance, is a tricky case: non-cooperating, partial immunity, clearly a key figure in any investigation. My guess is that a lot of the folks on the Dem side don't want to drag him in for fear of messing up ongoing investigations or maybe just wasting everyone's time with the 5th. But assuming that like any good prosecutor AOC knew the answers to all of her questions already, her line of questioning and Cohen's responses gives her and her side much more ammunition to press the Dem leadership to haul him in, disruption to ongoing investigations or endless series of "I take the fifth"s notwithstanding. Nobody who's not a wonk cares who these names are, and everyone who's really into it knows already, so nothing new is being revealed; but there is big fight going on behind the scenes among the Democrats about the scale of investigation they want to be doing while Mueller, SDNY, and all the rest are still working. I happen to side with AOC if she is indeed on the side of Congress taking a bigger role even while things are ongoing (because I have no great faith that Mueller's report will be the grand finale so many hope for), but either way, it's an interesting intra-left debate, and as ever, I expect she is using her time to fight it.
posted by chortly at 9:56 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

Some assorted non-Cohen news for the sake of completeness today (skip to the end for breaking summit news).

AP, US general says no military threat on southern border: "Under pointed questioning from senators, the top U.S. general for homeland defense said Tuesday that he sees no military threat coming from the southern border with Mexico, but his focus is on “very real” threats from China and Russia."

Reuters, U.S. denied tens of thousands more visas in 2018 due to travel ban: data: "The U.S. State Department refused more than 37,000 visa applications in 2018 due to the Trump administration’s travel ban, up from less than 1,000 the previous year when the ban had not fully taken effect, according to agency data released on Tuesday."
@ddiamond: Was talking to a former senior Obama appointee after family separations hearing yesterday, who lamented that so much changes, so quickly, that major scandals get forgotten. “Remember the travel ban?” he asked.

NBC [video], Transgender troops make historic first testimony on military ban before House committee: For the first time, openly transgender troops gave testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. Amid President Trump’s transgender military ban, they spoke of their career successes, advances for LGBTQ troops, and how they would be affected if Trump’s ban is enforced.

CNET, At hearing on federal data-privacy law, debate flares over state rules. This could be an FPP of its own, but there were some interesting hearings on privacy law that are worth digging into if it's a topic that interests you.

WaPo, In undisclosed trip, Trump’s Treasury breaks with precedent on transparency, in which Mnuchin wandered off to Paris without bothering to so much as put it on his public schedule.

This 538 livechat on the Green New Deal is as useful as the rest of their livechat punditry (not very), but they've invented the Leeroy Jenkins model for climate policy: "Like, maybe the GND isn’t any more likely to succeed than incrementalism, but when it *does* succeed, there’s a much bigger payoff."

WaPo, Leaders of House liberal caucus consider new membership rules. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, specifically co-chair Rep. Jayapal, is considering new rules that would make the group act as more of a bloc, requring members to support specific policies and agree to vote together on key votes. Jayapal says she does not want the group to become like the Freedom Caucus, but simultaneously wants more purpose and meaning in whipping votes.

Here's a good thread from James Acton on the ongoing negotiations in Hanoi: "There are two basic standards for judging a possible Hanoi agreement: denuclearization or risk reduction. If you judge it by the former it *will* be a failure; by the latter it *may* be worthwhile. If you want to judge it as a denuclearization agreement, fair enough; that is, in fact, the goal that the administration has set itself. It only has itself to blame for creating unreasonable expectations. But I've been arguing for months that denuclearization is a chimera we shouldn't chase and that we should instead focus on risk reduction. So I'll be judging it as such." He sets out specific measures by which a risk reduction agreement would be a success, since Trump's denuclearization promises are utter nonsense: coverage, specificity, and proportionality—what does the agreement cover, is it detailed and verified, and are our concessions proportionate to their commitments?

Which is all fascinating, but the summit seems to have just blown up, so maybe you just learned all that fancy arms control talk for nothing?

@DavidNakamura: BREAKING: Major change of plans at #hanoisummit. Sarah Sanders said the talks will wrap up in next 30 to 45 min, then Trump will go back to Marriott. His presser moved up 2 hours to start at 2 p.m. Not clear but joint signing ceremony and bilateral lunch appear canceled. Sanders suggested Trump will explain at his presser. WH press pool waited in Metropole dining room, where plates and menus were set up, but delegations never showed up. After 30 min delay we were ushered out. WH official said "there's been a program change."

@christinawilkie: BREAKING: It appears the lunch between the US and DPRK delegations has been cancelled, along with the scheduled "signing ceremony." At 12:35 pm WH told reporters “there has been a program change.” More coming in as we know it. "No sign of US or DPRK delegations in the lunch room where table was set with menus and name cards on chairs." Summits like this are tightly scripted well in advance. That tables would be set for a major bi-lateral delegatation lunch, to which no one shows up, is unheard of.

That press conference with Trump has been moved up to 2pm Hanoi time (I think that's 2am Eastern).
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 PM on February 27, 2019 [34 favorites]

Cummings threaded a needle in response to the Tlaib/Meadows dispute and I grudgingly admit that it was astute of him and probably for the best because a continued escalation likely would have sucked up all the oxygen in the room and become a lead story which would have benefitted Meadows and the GOP in diverting attention from Cohen's testimony.

That said, what I hoped for was that Cummings would just lose his shit in annoyance and disgust at Meadows's vile stunt and that, when Meadows was called on it, his purple-faced performance of a white fragility manbaby temper tantrum. I don't have words to describe how much I loathed Mark Meadows in that moment, nor can I express how fucking done I am with white people's outrage that someone dare to imply that thing they just did might have been a bit racist.

I wanted Cummings to throw up his hands in exasperation and say "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS BULLSHIT, MARK? SHUT. UP."
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 10:01 PM on February 27, 2019 [36 favorites]

I watched the VICE News Tonight episodes about Katie Hill trying to flip one of the reddest districts in California and was impressed with her drive and earnestness and it was good to be reminded she's in Congress and going hard in questioning.
posted by The Whelk at 10:04 PM on February 27, 2019 [12 favorites]

For me the big take-away was that no Republican stood up and claimed the president is an innocent man. They didn't even stand up to say he was an honest or good man. They all but admitted Cohen's accusations are true while they painted Cohen himself as a liar.

It could be that today marks a turning point where Republicans begin to realize their position is politically untenable. Or, I guess we'll find out what happens when everyone pretty much knows the president is a crook and he continues on at his job anyway.
posted by xammerboy at 10:13 PM on February 27, 2019 [15 favorites]

Loyalty to Trump cost Michael Cohen everything. Republicans pay heed (Richard Wolffe, Guardian Opinion)

Donald Trump has done some strange things to the Republican party. Gone is their disgust at Stalinist tyrants from North Korea. Vanished is their outrage at deficit spending. Evaporated is their horror at a president who ignores Congress and the constitution.

But those bizarre twists are nothing compared to the screwball comedy that was the House oversight committee on Tuesday, as its Republicans grilled Trump’s former fixer, henchman and bagman, Michael Cohen.

Because whether they knew it or not, Trump’s own party made the best possible case against Trump himself.

Amid all their righteous indignation on behalf of the truth, amid all their contempt for lies and the liars who peddle them, amid all their love of law and order, you couldn’t help wonder if they had ever heard of a man called Donald Trump.

posted by Little Dawn at 10:15 PM on February 27, 2019 [25 favorites]

The AOC thing was great, because while cheating on your taxes means you're a hero, using 127$ million dollars of taxpayer money to build a golf course means you stole from them. Public record or not, AOC saying it will mean it gets the attention it deserves.
posted by xammerboy at 10:25 PM on February 27, 2019 [20 favorites]

"the impact of low response on data quality have generally found that response rates are an unreliable metric of accuracy. Pew Research Center studies conducted in 1997, 2003, 2012 and 2016 found little relationship between response rates and accuracy"

Presumably there is *some* point at which accuracy is affected, but it's not entirely clear where that is.

It's potentially already happening, and in ways that are hard to predict. Polls can be corrected for demographic biases, to the degree that these can be established by the Census or another source, and that they track with the resulting behaviour. (As these change, this can be a reason for polling inaccuracy -- I suspect some of the error in 2016 was not enough polls considering educational attainment as a demographic characteristic, especially amongst white voters. Previously, there was a much smaller gap in party preference, so if you were overweighting the overeducated that had little effect.)

Pew found that some measures are still pretty consistent, but others are not -- people polled by phone had the same odds as in other surveys of being married, or having children, for example; but they were more than twice as likely to have volunteered, or contacted a government official in the previous year.

One thing to note about the drop in polling response is that the relationship is reciprocal; the cost of phone polling is primarily labour cost -- part is the time spent administering the poll, and part is the time spent calling around trying to find someone who will answer. (Polling firms are better behaved than robocallers, so they have more staff, and more expense per call.) What that means is that 20 years ago, with 36% response, a pollster needed to call 3 people to get one poll. 10 years ago, with response in the high teens, that went up to around 6. A couple of years ago, with 9% response, that went up to 11 calls; and with the drop from 9% to 6% in the most recent years, it's now up to 17 calls to get one poll. That little drop of three percent increased the number of calls needed (and cost associated with it) by 50%.

Another thing to note is that the surge in robocalls is due to a court throwing out an Obama era FCC rule because it was poorly worded; current chairman and general-purpose shithead Ajit Pai has no interest in restoring the rule, and celebrated the court's decision.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 10:27 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

From BBC: Trump-Kim talks end 'without agreement'

I expected nothing and yet I'm still surprised at how he fucked up a glorified photo op.
posted by Justinian at 10:54 PM on February 27, 2019 [44 favorites]

Trump started his press conference by claiming the administration has been helping with India/Pakistan and says there's "reasonably attractive news." Then he pivots to talking about aid in Venezuela. Not a great sign, frankly a weird sign, to come out and talk about these unrelated topics after your nuclear negotiations.

He eventually gets to North Korea, looking rather tired, and says he and Pompeo decided it "wasn't a good thing to be signing anything" and "sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times." He has no specifics on the negotiations whatsoever, just hands that over to Pompeo, who also doesn't really have anything to say besides how they didn't get an agreement and they'll keep working on it. Pompeo talks about denuclearization, because why not have unrealistic expectations still?

Upon questioning, Trump acknowledges that North Korea wanted all sanctions lifted because "they were willing to denuke a large portions of the areas that we wanted," and we wouldn't agree to that. "They were willing to give us areas but not the ones we wanted." Then he goes back to his usual "we'll be very good friends" and "they have tremendous potential" stuff.

Then he spots Sean Hannity in the crowd and gives him a question.
posted by zachlipton at 11:21 PM on February 27, 2019 [10 favorites]

Speaking of sanctions (Politico)

while the White House has said it plans to pitch Kim on a vision of economic modernization, any pact could run into legislation Trump signed in 2017 that blocks companies from investing in countries like North Korea because of human rights violations. Congressional approval is required to reverse that policy, an unlikely step absent verifiable reforms from Kim.

posted by Little Dawn at 11:24 PM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]

Trump doesn't get that the photo op is the point for Kim. Trump goes home with nothing, but Kim goes home with a photo proving he's got the president on a string.
posted by xammerboy at 11:26 PM on February 27, 2019 [56 favorites]

Trump right now explaining the geography of NK to a SK reporter
posted by angrycat at 11:31 PM on February 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

It got worse. Asked about Otto Warmbier's injuries, he says "those prisons are rough. Those prisons are rough. They’re rough places and bad things happen...He [Kim] tells me that he didn’t know about it and I will take him at his word." He says North Korea has a lot of people so their top officials wouldn't know about it.

He takes Putin's word. He takes MBS's word. He takes KJU's word. This is a pattern of accepting the word of dictators.
posted by zachlipton at 11:52 PM on February 27, 2019 [105 favorites]

Then some Chinese reporter asked him if the U.S. relationship with N.K. could be like the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam. And Trump gives a thoughtful pause and says, "Yes," and just as you're dropping your jaw off the floor from that, he starts blabbing about Japan, and you realize he thinks the question is about the relationship between the U.S. and Japan
posted by angrycat at 11:52 PM on February 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

So they blew up the Iran agreement, hoped to save face with NK and now walk away with nothing.

*goes to Amazon, gives 'Art of the Deal' 1-star rating*
posted by PenDevil at 11:55 PM on February 27, 2019 [11 favorites]

I don't think I've ever heard so many words that meant so little. He said nothing & they all pretended it meant something. He was standing there stark naked & they all asked him about his clothes, who designed them & how they fit.
posted by scalefree at 11:59 PM on February 27, 2019 [16 favorites]

of the many things I said roughly 2 years ago that have become true: you're gonna have to work like the federal government doesn't exist.
posted by The Whelk at 12:03 AM on February 28, 2019 [13 favorites]

The Republican questioning was by and large ineffective, hyper-emotative and essentially devoid of seriousness. These men basically have so little emotional awareness or regulation skills that it's scary.

That assumes that it's not intentional. But I don't know - during the Kavanaugh hearing Lindsey Graham's "passionate" righteous fury made the Republicans I watched it with so excited, because it reinforced their own sense of righteous fury. And when Kavanaugh wept and whined and attacked they took the strength of his supposed emotion as a reinforcement of the justice of their cause and of the narrative that they're under attack by enemies who hate America. I don't think Glen Beck cried and Bill O'Reilly ranted and Tucker Carlson whines because of lack of emotional regulation. I think it's about playing to your audience, and I'd be surprised if the Congressional performances aren't either consciously emulating that style or unconsciously affected by it.
posted by trig at 12:04 AM on February 28, 2019 [52 favorites]

My guess is it was all cut short because Cohen's testimony is making the ground under Trump's feet shake -- what was this trip other than an attempt at distraction anyway? -- and he feels like he has to get back to Washington without delay in order to save his Presidency.
posted by jamjam at 12:10 AM on February 28, 2019 [9 favorites]

Asked about Otto Warmbier's injuries, he says "those prisons are rough. Those prisons are rough. They’re rough places and bad things happen...He [Kim] tells me that he didn’t know about it and I will take him at his word."

That the people at the top are ultimately responsible for the things that happen under their rule, and that if prisons are "rough places where bad things happen" that is because they're either allowed to be or made that way, are both ideas he certainly can't afford to express given what they would imply for him.
posted by trig at 12:12 AM on February 28, 2019 [17 favorites]

For anyone who missed it, he literally said “The buck stops with everyone!” in response to a reporter's question during the shutdown.
posted by XMLicious at 12:22 AM on February 28, 2019 [32 favorites]

Former Federal prosecutor Ken ("Popehat") White says Republicans Committed the Classic Cross-Examination Blunder

[...] Republicans could have marshaled Cohen’s many sins of the past to undermine his statements today. Instead they returned repeatedly to lies and misdeeds he’d already admitted, wallowed in silly trivialities like the “Women for Cohen” Twitter account, and yelled. The effect was to make an unsympathetic man modestly more sympathetic. Republicans committed the classic cross-examination blunder: They gave the witness the opportunity to further explain his harmful direct testimony. They provided Cohen with one slow pitch up the middle after another [...]
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:40 AM on February 28, 2019 [31 favorites]

Katie Hill's testimony hasn't seem to have gotten quite as much attention. but she very effectively got Cohen to narrate the particulars of how exactly Cohen and Trump conspired after the inauguration to spin the payments that Trump knew full well were done to pay off Stephanie Clifford.

Periodic friendly reminder that she prefers to be called Stormy Daniels, a memo that it seems Katie Hill did not get prior to the hearing. (She did immediately apologize about it after being called out, though, as I expected she would- even despite the harshness of the callout- isn't it nice to be able anticipate when politicians will appropriately acknowledge and correct minor missteps?? refreshing!)
posted by robotdevil at 3:00 AM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

The whole Trump/Kim summit captured in an image.

@josungkim Kim Jong Un's expression at the end of the second US-NK summit, per @PressSec: "President Trumps says goodbye to Chairman Kim at close of #HanoiSummit" https://www.instagram.com/p/Bua3VDugJ_2/
posted by scalefree at 3:05 AM on February 28, 2019 [9 favorites]

CNN reported yesterday: As Cohen Rivets Washington, White House Announces Kushner Met With Saudi Crown Prince

The readout -- issued a day after the meeting and minutes after Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen began testifying before Congress -- does not mention Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post who was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in a premeditated attack.[…]

Trump's son-in-law is touring Gulf countries to brief allies on the administration's proposal for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, which they hope oil-rich Saudi Arabia and its neighbors will support. Kushner's stops include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Kushner is making a stop in Turkey, but is not visiting Jordan, which shares a border with Israel, has a high Palestinian population and whose king has oversight over the holy Muslim sites in Jerusalem.

Also in the US delegation are Jason Greenblatt, special representative for international negotiations, and US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook (Al Jazeera).
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:00 AM on February 28, 2019 [8 favorites]

I can only imagine that the clerical staff at Fordham were rolling their eyes and muttering, "FERPA laws, you dumbass" when that letter came in.

They were probably pondering writing back a "some asshole is using your name to send stupid letters" message saying that it was obviously fake since any lawyer with marginal competency would check the literature and see that the Supreme Court indicated in Gonzaga (2003) that you have no private cause of action under FERPA.
posted by phearlez at 6:04 AM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

Assuming those institutions wrote back that they would never do it, and even if they cited the law as the reason, there's no doubt Trump congratulated himself for pulling off a successful deal with hardball tactics (while remaining paranoid that they'd just turn around and do it anyway). In his mind, nobody just plain follows the rules for their own sake, so you have to add carrots or sticks even if the law is ostensibly on your side.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:23 AM on February 28, 2019 [10 favorites]

'Sometimes you have to walk': Why Trump bailed on North Korea (Politico)

A visibly deflated Trump began the press conference wrapping up his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by talking about anything else. He riffed on the potentially nuclear crisis between India and Pakistan. The violent crackdown in Venezuela.

Only then did Trump turn to the subject at hand: why, after weeks of buildup, flattery and reality TV-style showmanship, his negotiations with the North Korean leader had come to an abrupt halt. "Sometimes you have to walk and this was just one of those times,” he said.

For Trump, it was more than an isolated diplomatic strikeout. It was the latest demoralizing episode in a months-long losing streak that threatens his presidency. A House-side clobbering in the November elections that armed Democrats with subpoena power led to a government shutdown and a losing battle with Congress over a Mexican border wall. [...]

Undeniable is the fact that Trump, who is enduring a brutal public testimonial back in Washington from his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, lost out on a moment that could have changed the narrative of his presidency.

He returns home to Washington with little to look forward to. He has no real prospects for legislative action. Democrats in Congress are prepping more blistering hearings. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report may be landing soon, and prosecutors elsewhere are circling. And Trump now hurtles toward 2020 with no progress on the nuclear diplomacy he hoped might elevate him into a statesman above the muddy Washington scrum.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:52 AM on February 28, 2019 [7 favorites]

Voter Suppression Update: Federal judge temporarily blocks Texas from purging voters in citizenship review

In a major victory for voting rights groups, a federal judge has ordered that no Texas county should purge suspected noncitizen voters from the rolls or issue letters demanding that they prove their citizenship “without prior approval of the Court with a conclusive showing that the person is ineligible to vote.”

The Wednesday order from U.S. District Judge Fred Biery comes a month after the Texas secretary of state flagged nearly 100,000 voters for citizenship review — and a flurry of civil rights groups filed three lawsuits to block state and county officials from purging voters based on what has proven a deeply flawed set of data.
...
Much like his remarks in court this week, Biery’s order contained harsh words for the state’s bungled attempt to review its rolls, and good omens for the civil rights groups aiming to prove that Texas has treated two groups of people, native-born citizens and naturalized citizens, differently.

“Notwithstanding good intentions, the road to a solution was inherently paved with flawed results, meaning perfectly legal naturalized Americans were burdened with what the Court finds to be ham-handed and threatening correspondence from the state which did not politely ask for information but rather exemplifies the power of government to strike fear and anxiety and to intimidate the least powerful among us,” Biery wrote. “No native born Americans were subjected to such treatment.”

posted by mcdoublewide at 6:54 AM on February 28, 2019 [35 favorites]

trig: I don't think Glen Beck cried and Bill O'Reilly ranted and Tucker Carlson whines because of lack of emotional regulation. I think it's about playing to your audience, and I'd be surprised if the Congressional performances aren't either consciously emulating that style or unconsciously affected by it.

Providing people with accurate information doesn’t seem to help; they simply discount it. Appealing to their emotions may work better, but doing so is obviously antithetical to the goal of promoting sound science.

Emphasis mine -- an excerpt from the New Yorker article "Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds," looking at scientific studies behind why we believe what we believe.

Emotional ploys are the purpose and point.

Related: How'd the Cohen Hearing Go? That Depends on Your Filter Bubble (Issie Lapowsky for Wired, Feb. 27, 2019)

DONALD TRUMP’S FORMER attorney, Michael Cohen, is a flawed man with nothing left to lose, charting a path to redemption by finally coming clean about crimes and misdeeds allegedly committed by the president of the United States. Either that, or he’s a cheat and a crook who can’t be trusted, who’s already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and isn’t above doing it again if it’ll help him land a book deal.

These are the two interpretations of Cohen’s hearing before the House Oversight Committee that manifested online Wednesday. As they’ve done so many times before—during the Benghazi investigation, during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings—the internet’s tribal factions retreated to their corners over the course of the day to tell utterly opposite stories about the much-anticipated hearings and what they revealed about Cohen and Trump.

On social media and on partisan sites, the conversation split into like-minded echo chambers, with each side parroting the talking points of their party’s members who were sitting in the hearing room. What emerged was a sort of cacophonous bizarro world that would have seemed implausible just a year ago: Conservative pundits and political operatives, including Trump’s own children, worked overtime to discredit a man who spent 10 years as a close confidante to Trump, and until last June, served as deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee. Liberals, meanwhile, spent their 240 characters sticking up for and even applauding the humility of a man who’ll head to prison in May for, among other things, lying to Congress to defend Trump and making hush money payments on his behalf.

So where is Wired in the bubbles? Michael Cohen's Credibility Has Never Been More Certain (Garrett M. Graff for Wired, Feb. 27, 2019)

LIKE MANY REPORTERS and editors in DC or New York, I have been yelled at by Michael Cohen. It's been almost a rite of passage for anyone writing about Donald Trump over the past decade. There was no bone too small for his long-time lawyer and fixer to pick when it came to published criticisms of the real estate developer.

My turn came in June 2012, when he called to yell at me over an item the magazine I then edited had written about Trump's forthcoming hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. He had no real specific complaint or factual dispute. He just didn't like the criticism leveled at Trump by the competitors on the hotel bid, who wondered how he’d ever command the rates the hotel would need to survive.

It was probably one of the top three eviscerations I’ve faced in my professional life. When he was done with his initial yelling, about 45 minutes in, Cohen conferenced in Ivanka, who wanted to argue about just how much care and quality her father would bring to this historic project in the Old Post Office Pavilion. The whole episode sucked up about two hours start to finish.

Which is to say: I’ve experienced first-hand Michael Cohen's full-throated defense of "Mr. Trump," his bulldog-like tenacity, and the bottomless bravado he seemed to possess right up until April last year, when FBI agents raided his life. The ranking GOP member of the House Oversight Committee even opened his questioning Wednesday by quoting an expletive-spouting Cohen yelling at journalist Tim Mak. Such behavior was Cohen’s raison d’etre for a decade. “That was my job,” Cohen told Congress on Wednesday. “Always stay on message. Always defend. It monopolized my life.”

There was none of that bravado from Cohen in the hearing.

The Cohen on display for lawmakers and a nation beyond, riveted to its streaming web browsers, televisions, and radios on Wednesday appeared all but defeated—a man who realized he’d made terrible mistakes and had set himself forward on a path of penance, atonement, and—ultimately—redemption. Coming just a day after New York disbarred him, it was hard not to see Wednesday as Cohen hitting bottom.

posted by filthy light thief at 7:20 AM on February 28, 2019 [14 favorites]

After Gaetz made abject apologies to Pelosi and Cohen for his threatening tweet, the Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere reports:

President Trump called @mattgaetz last night from Hanoi to talk the Cohen testimony and the threats (since rescinded) Gaetz made about Cohen.

"I was happy to do it for you. You just keep killing it," Gaetz was heard telling him.

(Gaetz told me he doesn't discuss calls w/POTUS)

Call happened at just before 9 PM last night DC time, which means that the president was making this phone call as he headed into his meetings with Kim for the day (Hanoi is 12 hours ahead), which of course seem to have fallen apart not long after

Of course Trump's favorite attack dog will receive petting.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:26 AM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

Meanwhile, House Passes Most Significant Gun Bill In 2 Decades -- The legislation mandates background checks be performed on all gun sales, including firearm purchases made privately. The Senate is unlikely to take it up. (Brakkton Booker for NPR, Feb. 27, 2019)

The House passed what advocates call the most significant gun control measure in more than two decades on Wednesday when it approved the first of two bills aimed at broadening the federal background check system for firearms purchases.

The vote on the first bill, dubbed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, passed largely along party lines 240 to 190 with Democrats who control the House cheering as they carried the legislation across the finish line.

A second bill, expected to be taken up Thursday, would extend the period federal authorities have to complete a background check before a gun sale can go through. Under current law, if a check isn't finalized in three business days, the transaction can automatically proceed.

House Democrats hope the swift passage of the companion bills will put pressure on the Senate to act. The National Rifle Association opposes the legislation, and it faces major headwinds in the Republican-controlled Senate. In the unlikely event the Senate approves the measure, the White House has already signaled the President would veto the bill, should it reach his desk.

As its name suggests, the first bill did garner modest GOP support, even attracting five Republican co-sponsors. Yet, in the end, only eight Republicans crossed party lines to support the bill.

Emphasis mine, because even though that's pretty weak cross-party participation, getting 5 Republican co-sponsors isn't nothing. Here's the bill on Congress.gov, which notes that there were 232 co-sponsors, and the 9 original sponsors included 5 Republicans, Rep. Peter T. King [R-NY-2], Rep. Brian K. Fitzpatrick [R-PA-1], Rep. Brian J. Mast [R-FL-18], Rep. Fred Upton [R-MI-6], and Rep. Christopher H. Smith [R-NJ-4]
posted by filthy light thief at 7:28 AM on February 28, 2019 [9 favorites]

If the gun bill goes down, another version should be spun up promtly to take its place.

Fair's fair: if they are going to Gish Gallop the krazy on us, we should do the same with some sanity. So bring on bill after bill for green new deal, healthcare for all, gun control, gerrymandering, and all the other good things.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:52 AM on February 28, 2019 [41 favorites]

Only then did Trump turn to the subject at hand: why, after weeks of buildup, flattery and reality TV-style showmanship, his negotiations with the North Korean leader had come to an abrupt halt. "Sometimes you have to walk and this was just one of those times,” he said.

The Sentosa Goat Rodeo episode of the Arms Control Wonk podcast is worth revisiting in a past-is-prelude sort of way and points to all of the reasons this is completely unsurprising.

The other point they made in that one, or in one of the other episodes they aired during the last "negotiations" go-around with North Korea (and I'm having trouble remembering which one) was something along the lines of "Yeah, North Korean propaganda looks totally ridiculous from the outside. But you need to remember that if you're living under the regime, it's deadly serious gospel truth, and there are serious consequences for deviating from its messages. Basically, Trump is handing the regime fodder for its propaganda machine, and propping it up is a dangerous and stupid game to be playing." This is an inexact paraphrase from memory, but that's the gist of what they were saying.

In any case, I'm eagerly awaiting their breakdown of this latest goat rodeo. I enjoy their spicy takes on Bolton and Pompeo (who they have referred to as "The Prince of Darkness" and "a total idiot," respectively).

Jeffrey Lewis offered this bon mot on Twitter about this latest fiasco:

As I have said from the beginning, what North Korea is offering are *gestures that mimic disarmament*. This only feels like a roller coaster if you keep buying into the idea that we’re actually getting something else.

Then there was this little detail...

Inside the dying moments of the Trump-Kim summit at a Hanoi hotel

HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were supposed to tuck into a delicate meal of foie gras, snowfish and candied ginseng, prepared by North Korean and Western chefs, on the second day of their nuclear summit.

[...]

It is not clear what became of the snowfish lunch so lovingly prepared.

“It’s a pity,” one of the sources with direct knowledge said.

“It was a fantastic dish”.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:55 AM on February 28, 2019 [17 favorites]

Trump: I took Kim at his word over Otto Warmbier's torture (Guardian)

Trump’s remarks exculpating the North Korean dictator are likely to draw sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle in Congress, where there is persistent outrage over Warmbier’s treatment. [...]

Any criticism of Trump’s comments is likely to be heightened by the fact that he invited Warmbier’s family to his State of the Union address in January, and looked up at them in the first lady’s box during his speech.

“You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength inspires us all,” Trump said, drawing a standing ovation from Congress. “Tonight, we pledge to honour Otto’s memory with total American resolve.”

“After a shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labour, before returning him to America last June – horribly injured and on the verge of death,” Trump continued.

But on Thursday in Hanoi he struck a markedly different tone, saying he did not think Kim “would have allowed that to happen” and arguing it was not to his advantage. He suggested instead that the death was because of generally bad jail conditions, insisting: “Those prisons are rough – they’re rough places, and bad things happen.”

It could be argued that Trump’s protectiveness of Kim is part of a pattern of giving dictators the benefit of the doubt on abuses. Otherwise loyal congressional Republicans have broken with him over his willingness to believe figures such as Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin, rather than his own advisers and intelligence services.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:27 AM on February 28, 2019 [14 favorites]

Internet unleashes on ‘racist’ Republican Mark Meadows after he freaked out over Rashida Tlaib’s accusations

Political strategist Atima Omara laid waste to the congressman’s claim that he can’t be racist because he has people of color in his family. “Senator Strom Thurmond had a black daughter & blocked the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for 24 hours in the US Senate,” Omara tweeted.

... Next time someone uses the term “snowflake,” show them video of Mark Meadows responding to being called racist — Ben Wexler (@mrbenwexler) February 27, 2019

In an entire 8-hour day full of crazy-ass shit, that was the craziest-assiest shit. You know that reality show where a full-on brawl breaks out at a wedding and goes on for 20 minutes? Like that.
posted by petebest at 8:35 AM on February 28, 2019 [43 favorites]

Cohen's devastating testimony lays Trump's depravity bare (Heather Cox Richardson, Guardian Opinion)

Strikingly, Republican members of the House committee did not defend the president against Cohen’s charges. They arrived at the hearing unprepared, badly mismanaged their time and their questioning, and seemed to expect the chair to indulge them. When Democrat Elijah Cummings did not, they simply called Cohen a liar and worked to derail the proceedings by entering tweets into the record, including a tweet by Fox personality Bo Deitl, starting a ruckus over whether or not Trump is a racist, and, astonishingly, displaying a poster with Cohen’s face that read: Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. Only Republican member Justin Amash, a representative from Michigan, treated the event with gravity.

This was political theater, but with the Democrats in control, the Republican party had lost control of the script. They acted not like a political party, but like a cult whose members had lost all intellectual coherence and professionalism and had retreated into sycophantic support for a strongman.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:47 AM on February 28, 2019 [47 favorites]

They acted not like a political party, but like a cult whose members had lost all intellectual coherence and professionalism and had retreated into sycophantic support for a strongman.

Yeah ... just like that.
posted by petebest at 8:57 AM on February 28, 2019 [33 favorites]

When I speculate about the jaw-dropping praise and deference Individual-1 is granting to the North Korea regime, I can't figure out whether his con is more focused on Americans or on Kim. Is it about the photo ops alone (with added benefit of ~making the libs' heads explode~), or does some part of him truly believe that with the proper application of flattery he could basically turn Kim into a Trumpian dignity wraith?

Or, (most worryingly but most likely) he feels that he and Kim can work together in essentially the same way he wants to cooperate with MBS and Putin -- let them have nukes, heck, give them more, who actually cares, there are plenty of under-the-table benefits to make up for it?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:14 AM on February 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

How'd the Cohen Hearing Go? That Depends on Your Filter Bubble (Issie Lapowsky for Wired, Feb. 27, 2019)

Yesterday around noon PST, I gave NPR the time it took me to drive to the grocery store. Commentary from--I think Mara Liasson, it sounded like her?--was that Republican questioning was very "disciplined" while Democrats were not. Someone brought up the Brett Kavanaugh hearings and she said those ultimately helped Republicans, because they picked up two Senate seats. Challenged on that point with the blue wave in the House, she dismissed it saying "they don't credit it with that."

So I don't know if it was Liasson or some other blatant Republican shill, but the message is Republicans still get to define the narrative no matter how far that deviates from reality.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:21 AM on February 28, 2019 [41 favorites]

Or, (most worryingly but most likely) he feels that he and Kim can work together in essentially the same way he wants to cooperate with MBS and Putin

The third possibility is that Trump thinks Kim is cool and wants Kim to think he's cool too.

Trump's comments about Warmbier reflect what he'd like to happen to his enemies. Kim's prisons are "rough and tough;" how many times has he wished that for our police and prisons? Think he wouldn't love to have that remove from direct responsibility? If he got a journalist locked up and they died in jail, don't think for one second that his response would deviate from "It's a terrible thing that happened but prisons are tough places full of rough people, and you shouldn't be a criminal if you don't want to go there."

Murdering dissidents in prison, or allowing others to murder them directly or through maltreatment, is just about the oldest authoritarian trick in the book and it's only his incompetence that's kept him from ordering it yet.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:24 AM on February 28, 2019 [25 favorites]

Or, (most worryingly but most likely) he feels that he and Kim can work together in essentially the same way he wants to cooperate with MBS and Putin

That could certainly be the detail, but in general I think he's synchronizing their interests, and the US has much to go in the daily-oppression department than either NK or Putin, so it seems like things are changing more here.

Just look at who Trump has been breaking ties with (allies), and with whom he's been strengthening them. Slow-motion revolution, which is why the next generation (Stephen Miller, Javanka) is included in the planning.
posted by rhizome at 9:35 AM on February 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

Scott Dworkin: "A GOP lobbyist just told me @realDonaldTrump is in “complete disarray” and that he was “blindsided” by Cohen’s opening statement. Trump feels “betrayed” & is “absolutely furious.” Says Trump even wanted to fly back to US, and also didn’t know Cohen could bring evidence."
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:48 AM on February 28, 2019 [82 favorites]

President Trump called @mattgaetz last night from Hanoi to talk the Cohen testimony and the threats (since rescinded) Gaetz made about Cohen.

Gaetz is now strenuously denying this to Vox's Alex Ward: "Gaetz just told me this is “hilariously false.”" He emphatically says "no" to every question about being in contact with Trump, but he has no response to Ward's simple inquiry, "Just want to know what conversation you were having that someone may have mistook as you speaking with the president."

As to why Gaetz is stonewalling about this call when he's normally so boastful about his Trump phone calls, every law professor with a twitter account says Congressman Matt Gaetz just committed witness tampering (Slate).

On top of that, CREW's Walter Shrub has tweeted Dovere's story to the Florida Bar: ".@TheFlaBar, this is relevant to your investigation of @mattgaetz: (1) he threatened a committee witness; (2) he's not a committee member; (3) his allegations were not raised in the hearing, suggesting he had no basis; and now (4) he reportedly admitted to doing it for Trump."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:52 AM on February 28, 2019 [38 favorites]

also didn’t know Cohen could bring evidence."

"I didn't commit any crimes, so there can't be evidence of my crimes."
posted by Stoneshop at 9:54 AM on February 28, 2019 [7 favorites]

Or, (most worryingly but most likely) he feels that he and Kim can work together in essentially the same way he wants to cooperate with MBS and Putin -- let them have nukes, heck, give them more, who actually cares, there are plenty of under-the-table benefits to make up for it?

Jeffrey Lewis writing on the then-upcoming NK talks two days ago...

The Real North Korea Summit Is Inside the Trump Administration:

What North Korea is offering instead is a series of gestures that mimic disarmament—symbolic steps that signal a new relationship with the United States. So, for example, North Korea has closed its nuclear test site, partially dismantled a structure used to test rocket engines, and offered to close the nuclear facilities near Yongbyon. None of these steps would reduce the threat from North Korea’s nuclear weapons that are deployed for use by the Korean People’s Army, nor do they prevent North Korea from continuing to produce nuclear weapons and long-range missiles that can reach the United States.

[...]

I happen to think this is worth doing, although we should be honest about the limits of this approach. After all, it means learning to live with the brutal tyranny that Kim uses to maintain his rule. There is also the ugly fact that, when it does not get its way, North Korea has been more than willing to stage conventional provocations that result in the death of U.S. and South Korean service members. The sinking of the Cheonan, which killed more than 40 South Korean sailors, was less than a decade ago. And the apparent mastermind of that attack is the same Kim Yong Chol who has been hand-delivering love letters to Donald Trump. But here is the thing: North Korea has the bomb. This is how deterrence works. If Saddam Hussein or Muammar al-Qaddafi had finished their bombs, they’d both likely still be around.

Then there's this development:

Former SK unification minister Chong Se-hyun suggests that summit was derailed by last minute attendance of Bolton, who added demands for NK to also report chemical/biological weapons, in response to which NKs increased their demand for sanctions relief

Jeffrey Lewis today:

We now have two self-serving versions of events. Hawks say Kim overestimated his position, asking for too much. Doves say Bolton convinced Trump to overestimate his, prompting Kim to up his ask. Guessing both versions obscure the basic dynamic, whatever it was.

A third possibility is, of course, that those in the US and South Korea who misrepresented what Kim was offering in the name of peace succeeded in delivering the negotiations into the tender arms of Bolton who was only too happy to let the perfect be the executioner of the good.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:15 AM on February 28, 2019 [6 favorites]

And because today is shaping up to be eventful, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on fraud and bribery charges.

When did reality decide this week was Sweeps Week?
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:18 AM on February 28, 2019 [73 favorites]

He wants to do a backroom deal with lots of cash involved and maybe some haxxoring of political enemies to boot.

There's also a big, boorish, empty hotel smack in the middle of Pyongyang just begging for a big "T" added to the apex.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:19 AM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

How violent American vigilantes at the border led to Trump’s wall
From the 80s onwards, the borderlands were rife with paramilitary cruelty and racism. But the president’s rhetoric has thrown fuel on the fire. By Greg Grandin, The Guardian book extract / long read

There's a lot in there I didn't know, and which to me explains some of the right wing rhetoric I didn't know where came from. tldr: it's the racism, obviously. But there are also veterans going all the way back to Vietnam, looking for a war to fight, and someone to hate. And first Bush jr. and then Obama trying to appease the racists and failing. I think if there are anyone looking back at the last couple of decades in the future, they will point out the failure of appeasement with regards to white hate and fear.
posted by mumimor at 10:46 AM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

Brian Beutler, What’s Missing From The Most Important Debate On The Left

The theoretical mechanics of MMT are uncontroversial, and the value of its perspective framework is that it frees supportive lawmakers from the orthodox view that deficits are inherently bad and spending legislation should not become law unless it is simultaneously paid for. But through a combination of exuberance and disdain, MMT supporters and detractors alike have come to view the theory as a fantasy ticket to a free lunch.

Matt Bruenig, the socialist founder of People’s Policy Project, writes that MMT discourse is “about using word games to make people believe that the US can have Northern European levels of government spending without Northern European levels of taxation.” Bruenig has an unlikely ally in TPM’s Josh Marshall who speaks for other liberals when he adds that the kind of agenda progressives envision—Medicare for All, a Green New Deal—will entail “not only much higher rates on the uber wealthy but generally higher rates on a much broader range of the population.”

MMT skepticism has ironically unified the moderate and radical wings of the left around what would otherwise be a basic disagreement between them over priorities. Leftists regard MMT as a danger because they understand that the transition to social democracy, to say nothing of a farther-reaching socialism, will require building political support for broadly higher taxes, and MMT entices political leaders to put off the thorny question of higher middle-class taxes for another time. Liberals on the other hand are wary of the political consequences of raising taxes on the middle class, and thus worry that MMT will lure progressives into the trap of creating exorbitant expectations—only to disappoint supporters when either Medicare for All and the Green New Deal fail to materialize, or do materialize, and quickly necessitate broadly higher taxes.

If that angers you, or bores you to death, consider reading on, because Beutler reframes the discussion as not a fight over MMT but around how Republicans spend money and the urgent need to get away from their economic hostage taking.

@paulkrugman [who has been writing a bunch about MMT lately]: I actually agree with this. The problem is MMT types who devote a lot of effort to trashing conventional Keynesians who are ALSO saying that we shouldn't worry much about pay-fors. Accepting bad economics shouldn't be a litmus test for progressives!
posted by zachlipton at 10:49 AM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

the failure of appeasement with regards to white hate and fear

ADL: Right-Wing Extremism Linked to Every 2018 Extremist Murder in the U.S.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:55 AM on February 28, 2019 [64 favorites]

Politico, ‘This is not a day at the beach’: Pelosi tells moderate Dems to stop voting with GOP

House Democrats held an emotional debate behind closed doors Thursday over how to stop losing embarrassing procedural battles with Republicans — a clash that exposed the divide between moderates and progressives.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took a hard line at the caucus meeting, saying that being a member of Congress sometimes requires taking tough votes.

“This is not a day at the beach. This is the Congress of the United States,” Pelosi said, according to two sources.

Pelosi also warned that Democrats who voted with Republicans on the “motion to recommit” could become a lower priority for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, although her threat may be more bluster than reality, according to Democratic lawmakers and aides.

And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the superstar New York freshman Democrat, suggested she would alert progressive activists when Democrats are voting with the GOP on these motions, said the sources.
...
The latest defeat came on Wednesday, as the House debated legislation requiring background checks on all gun sales — a position overwhelmingly favored by Democrats. When Republicans moved to amend the bill to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement be told of any undocumented immigrant who tries to buy a gun, 26 Democrats voted with the GOP. The language was added to the gun bill, spoiling an important Democratic legislative achievement.

posted by zachlipton at 10:55 AM on February 28, 2019 [60 favorites]

Sorry, could we please define acronyms ('MMT' = modern monetary theory) that appear in excerpts without context?
posted by aiglet at 11:02 AM on February 28, 2019 [89 favorites]

The Hill: Meadows, Tlaib hug it out after fiery exchange over racism
posted by Chrysostom at 11:04 AM on February 28, 2019

My layperson's understanding of MMT is basically that it suggests nations with monetary sovereignty can't use deficits and "affordability" as reliable guides for where and whether to invest resources. It doesn't say you can therefore dump resources into whatever cockamamie project you like and it will all be fine, it's just that you need to find other indicators/models to support the idea that your proposed use of resources will result in material gains for the nation as a whole.
posted by contraption at 11:12 AM on February 28, 2019

Anybody who says MFA wouldn’t involve new taxes on non-millionaires is fooling themselves. The point is that those taxes would be less than the health insurance premiums, co-pays, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and “fuck you, that’s not covered” bills the program would eliminate.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:31 AM on February 28, 2019 [40 favorites]

We probably need an MMT FPP ASAP.

This one from a week ago is still active.
posted by contraption at 11:32 AM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

When Republicans moved to amend the bill to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement be told of any undocumented immigrant who tries to buy a gun, 26 Democrats voted with the GOP. The language was added to the gun bill, spoiling an important Democratic legislative achievement.

Joke's on them! If, in some unlikely event this legislation passes, I'm dreaming that the 1) the bureaucratic paperwork is such a nightmare that it never gets done and no one bothers to check on gun sales, or 2) no one actually follows the law for a while and/or 3) in 2020, a Dem majority END ICE, so if there is a system to report any undocumented immigrants who try to buy guns through more official channels*, the email or whatever goes to an ever-full inbox, never to be checked again, as ICE is no longer a thing.

* Because people will still sell each-other guns, like people continue to buy minors alcohol.

Meanwhile, DeVos Announces Support For Proposed School Choice Tax Credit (Clare Lombardo for NPR, February 28, 2019)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Republican lawmakers have announced a proposed tax credit that would go toward donations to private school scholarships and other school choice initiatives.

"A great education shouldn't be determined by luck, or by address or by family income," DeVos said Thursday at a news conference.

Oh, to have been present, just so I could shout "FUND EDUCATION FOR ALL! WE ALREADY HAVE THE SCHOOLS!"

She appeared alongside Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., who said they plan to introduce the tax credit in Congress.

According to DeVos, states could choose whether or not they wanted to participate in the initiative. (Many states already have programs on the books that grant tax breaks to residents who donate to scholarship programs.)

It seems unlikely the new legislation will make it through the now Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

This last sentence warms my heart oh so very much. And why are DeVos, Trump and Co. so hot for charters?

'Tax Credit Scholarships,' Praised By Trump, Turn Profits For Some Donors (Anya Kamanetz for NPR, March 7, 2017)

President Trump has indicated several times now that his education agenda may feature a school choice program known as tax credit scholarships. He called it out in his first joint address to Congress last week, and followed that up with his first school visit as president this weekend: to a Catholic school in Florida which accepts several hundred students on the scholarships.

In these programs, sometimes called "neovouchers," people and companies earn tax credits by giving money to nonprofit scholarship funds. Students can use the scholarships to attend private schools, including religious schools. This is important because traditional school vouchers can run afoul of constitutional challenges if they allocate public money to religiously based organizations.

These programs have been growing quickly in the last few years, with a push by groups like the American Federation for Children and the American Legislative Exchange Council. They exist in 17 states and several more are currently considering them.

But as documented by Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, and as advertised by financial advisors and the scholarship organizations themselves, in 10 of these states there is a quirk that allows individuals to turn a profit on their donations.

Here's how it works: Donors to these scholarship funds can offset their state tax liability by 70 to 100 cents for every dollar given. That's already generous compared with many other tax breaks. But then, the donors can turn around and claim a federal charitable tax exemption on the same "donation."

That, says Davis, amounts to up to a 35 percent profit for individuals, depending on their federal tax bracket.

That's right, the rich can profit off of "school choice" without having to even open a scammy school, by shorting their taxes. Classic Trump!
posted by filthy light thief at 11:50 AM on February 28, 2019 [22 favorites]

Mod note: Folks, if you want to discuss new tax systems, please make a separate thread. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 11:52 AM on February 28, 2019 [2 favorites]

Speaking of The Children: Report: Child Poverty Could Be Cut In Half Over 10 Years, At A Hefty Price (Pam Fessler for NPR, February 28, 2019)

Child poverty in the U.S. could be cut in half over the next 10 years with a few simple steps, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

The cost would be high — at least $90 billion a year. But the National Academies report warns that the price of not doing anything would be far greater.

The group estimates that current levels of child poverty cost the U.S. between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion a year, due to lower productivity when poor children become adults and increased costs due to higher crime and poor health. Individual children also suffer, because they face lower educational achievement, maltreatment and other obstacles related to growing up poor. In the end, the panel says, the whole country pays the price.

Preventative care costs less than reactionary care. What a surprise!
posted by filthy light thief at 11:53 AM on February 28, 2019 [28 favorites]

Preventative care costs less than reactionary care. What a surprise!

In which case the headline including "At A Hefty Price" is a lie, the same one which is repeated all of the damn time. If not doing something eventually costs you $100, and doing something now costs you $50, you've saved $50.

Try "Report: Child Poverty Could Be Cut In Half Over 10 Years, Conservatively Saving $400 Billion Per Year Over Cost of the Program". But gods forbid.
posted by maxwelton at 12:01 PM on February 28, 2019 [83 favorites]

Marcy Wheeler has an article in the NYT: Did Cohen Give a Peek at the Mueller Report?—The special counsel is still hiding events that lie at the core of his investigation — events that involve the president directly.

Wheeler argues that Cohen's revelation yesterday about Trump receiving a heads-up phone call from Roger Stone about the Wikileaks e-mail dump was intentionally omitted from Mueller's indictment of Stone from January.

Nor does [the indictment] disclose the timing of this particular disclosure, which Mr. Cohen in his testimony recalled happened on July 18 or 19. That’s significant not just because Mr. Stone predicted the timing of the release, just days away, as he would later predict details of the release of John Podesta’s emails. But it lines up eerily with a line in the indictment of 12 officers in a Russian intelligence organization, the G.R.U., who conducted the hack of the D.N.C. That document says that on July 18, WikiLeaks informed the G.R.U. online persona, Guccifer 2.0, that it had received a one-gigabyte archive “and would make a release of the stolen documents ‘this week.’”

In other words, Mr. Cohen’s revelation suggests that Mr. Stone was learning of WikiLeaks’ plans in the same time frame as the G.R.U. itself learned them.[…]

As Mr. Cohen’s testimony illustrates, Mr. Mueller has been hiding examples where Mr. Trump did applaud the conspiracy. “Wouldn’t that be great,” he reportedly said just before the fruits of Russia’s theft would start to do real damage to Democratic fortunes.

If Mr. Mueller is hiding similar examples, it suggests that whatever he plans to release in a report may have some unanticipated bombshells.

Incidentally, Wheeler thinks Stone received this tip-off from Nigel Farage, not Julian Assange, since she believes Stone oversold his connections to Assange/Wikileaks.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:16 PM on February 28, 2019 [10 favorites]

Motion to refer to it as "Conspiracy" not "Collusion" moving forward.

In theory, it would drive the [name of 'fringe' Trump-supporting group, in the parlance of our times] into an infinite loop and bluescreen.
posted by petebest at 12:26 PM on February 28, 2019 [4 favorites]

If Mr. Mueller is hiding similar examples, it suggests that whatever he plans to release in a report may have some unanticipated bombshells.

I'm going to go out on a limb and bet that Mueller has evidence that we haven't seen yet and aren't anticipating. (After two years of weekly bombshells, I have no idea what qualifies anymore.)
posted by diogenes at 12:31 PM on February 28, 2019 [9 favorites]

I'm going to go out on a limb and bet that Mueller has evidence that we haven't seen yet and we aren't anticipating.

When Mikey was asked yesterday 'What is Donny's greatest fear?', and couldn't give an answer, I didn't read that as 'Where do I start?' so much as I did 'What secret stuff am I allowed to say without jeopardizing my plea deal?'
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:35 PM on February 28, 2019 [14 favorites]

Former SK unification minister Chong Se-hyun suggests that summit was derailed by last minute attendance of Bolton, who added demands for NK to also report chemical/biological weapons, in response to which NKs increased their demand for sanctions relief

There was never any chance of a substantive agreement coming from this farce but this is the missing piece of the puzzle that explains its sudden & deflated ending. Bolton went into the negotiating room & took a dump on the table. It saved Kim the trouble of doing it himself.
posted by scalefree at 12:36 PM on February 28, 2019 [10 favorites]

Would you vote to impeach Trump?
Yeah. No question. No question. I don’t even know why it’s controversial. I mean, OK, it’s not that I don’t know why it’s controversial. I understand that some people come from very tough districts where their constituents are torn. But for me and my community in the Bronx and Queens, it’s easy.

Everyone wants it.
Yeah, everyone wants it.

Rolling Stone article on AOC. Y'all, I'm starting to lose some of my pragmatic, objective, wait-and-see attitude w/r/t her.
posted by petebest at 12:45 PM on February 28, 2019 [65 favorites]

In which case the headline including "At A Hefty Price" is a lie, the same one which is repeated all of the damn time. If not doing something eventually costs you $100, and doing something now costs you $50, you've saved $50.

Try "Report: Child Poverty Could Be Cut In Half Over 10 Years, Conservatively Saving $400 Billion Per Year Over Cost of the Program". But gods forbid.

The question isn't what the price is, but who pays it. The upfront cost would come in the form of rolling back tax cuts the wealthy have enjoyed for decades; the costs are borne by the vast majority of Americans who encounter our broken for-profit health care system. And, of course, the wealthy would also have the cost of their health care industry stocks possibly losing value.

So it's important to observe not only that the article's framing is a lie, but who that lie is evidently calculated to appeal to.

Still, it's nice to see some pushback to the wealthy's agenda of "privatize the profit, socialize the risk." As a democracy, we're allowed -- indeed, expected -- to define society the way we want it to be, and I doubt anything close to a majority would vote in favor of our Frankenstein monster of a heath insurance system.
posted by Gelatin at 12:54 PM on February 28, 2019 [28 favorites]

Rolling Stone article on AOC. Y'all, I'm starting to lose some of my pragmatic, objective, wait-and-see attitude w/r/t her.

The fact that she's hated by all the right people goes a long way to smashing any objectivity I have.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:06 PM on February 28, 2019 [35 favorites]

The fact that she's hated by all the right people goes a long way to smashing any objectivity I have.

Shit, she could stink on ice and just the fact that she's sucking up their attention is great. Not that I wish their harassment and garbage on anyone, but if they're gonna spew it I cannot imagine a more stupid target than a first-termer from a safe district. If she turns out to have longevity then it has value for them in a HRC-style long-term slander campaign, but in general it's a dumb area to focus their crap. So sure, get exercised and work up folks over this person far outside most of your followers' districts rather than the people in vulnerable seats.
posted by phearlez at 1:12 PM on February 28, 2019 [4 favorites]

The fact that she's hated by all the right people goes a long way to smashing any objectivity I have.

@daveweigel
The Democrat appearing in CPAC videos and speeches the most, by far: @AOC. More than any 2020 Dem. An Oliver North-narrated NRA video just ended with the footage of her dancing outside her office, with the color drained to make it look more ominous.

They feel threatened enough to already be fomenting stochastic terrorism.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:12 PM on February 28, 2019 [46 favorites]

Daily Beast, House Intel Will Call Trump Org Moneyman Allen Weisselberg To Testify
posted by zachlipton at 1:15 PM on February 28, 2019 [58 favorites]

It would be darkly funny if the ridiculously overreaching privacy invading spy infrastructure caught a president.

posted by srboisvert at 12:57 PM on February 28 [3 favorites +] [!]

Yeah, talk about ambivalent feelings. On the one hand, I'd be glad to find they caught the traitor red-handed through surveillance. On the other, I don't want to see the surveillance state strengthened and this would certainly build support for giving it more power.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:16 PM on February 28, 2019 [4 favorites]

It would be darkly funny if the ridiculously overreaching privacy invading spy infrastructure caught a president.

And if so, it might help induce a future president to roll back said ridiculously overreaching privacy invading spy infrastructure.
posted by Gelatin at 1:17 PM on February 28, 2019 [2 favorites]

This part of Marcy Wheeler’s op-ed is confusing to me:

Nor does [the indictment] disclose the timing of this particular disclosure, which Mr. Cohen in his testimony recalled happened on July 18 or 19. That’s significant not just because Mr. Stone predicted the timing of the release, just days away, as he would later predict details of the release of John Podesta’s emails. But it lines up eerily with a line in the indictment of 12 officers in a Russian intelligence organization, the G.R.U., who conducted the hack of the D.N.C. That document says that on July 18, WikiLeaks informed the G.R.U. online persona, Guccifer 2.0, that it had received a one-gigabyte archive “and would make a release of the stolen documents ‘this week.’”

In other words, Mr. Cohen’s revelation suggests that Mr. Stone was learning of WikiLeaks’ plans in the same time frame as the G.R.U. itself learned them.

So wait, WikiLeaks told Guccifer 2.0 that it had received hacked documents? I thought it would have been Guccifer 2.0 giving the documents to WikiLeaks. Weren’t the GRU the ones that hacked them in the first place?
posted by gucci mane at 1:19 PM on February 28, 2019 [6 favorites]

Washington Post: Andrew Wheeler, former energy lobbyist, confirmed as nation’s top environmental official

By a vote of 52-47; Collins was, as ever, voting exactly when (and because) it didn't matter.

I tend to take "Republican Senator Announces Performative 'No' Vote" headlines as nothing other than confirmation that said nomination is officially in the bag.

I hope -- ha, ha -- that the so-called "liberal media" will recognize that Collins and her ilk almost never vote independently when doing so means standing in the way of the Republican agenda and, therefore, that they get no credit for being an "independent, moderate maverick," but rather enable the agendas of the worst of the neo-Confederates and Tea Party wackaloons.
posted by Gelatin at 1:21 PM on February 28, 2019 [6 favorites]

My guess is it will be national security intercepts of almost every detail of this plot (plots?) because it is perfectly legal for the national security infrastructure to intercept all calls involving foreign nationals inside and outside the united states. That's an awful lot of the players in this game. Plus there is all the possible intel of other countries may have shared which could include intercepts of U.S. citizen to U.S. citizen calls.

It would be darkly funny if the ridiculously overreaching privacy invading spy infrastructure caught a president.

It's certainly a weird place to be--to be placing some of my hope, as a progressive, in that apparatus/infrastructure. And I definitely am--placing hope--especially as the media continues to insist that The Mueller Report is due to come sometime soon, and we've only caught glimpses of *possible* smoking guns thus far. Surely, I hope, they've got more they're keeping out of view, undeniable things.

What's even more unclear to me is the extent to which they can use that spy infrastructure in court, or even in any kind of legal process. Is there some kind of firewall between those intercepts and the courts--either legally (the SCO can't use it, or haven't been given the access we assume they have) or practically (they don't want to burn sources, reveal methods, etc.)? Like is it possible that they know all sorts of stuff from intercepts, but can't *prove* it in court, with corroborating evidence and whatnot?
posted by cudzoo at 1:26 PM on February 28, 2019

They feel threatened enough to already be fomenting stochastic terrorism.

I do worry about her. I can't imagine how scary it is to be in her position. I wonder if she's getting any extra protection.
posted by diogenes at 1:32 PM on February 28, 2019 [31 favorites]

So wait, WikiLeaks told Guccifer 2.0 that it had received hacked documents?

WikiLeaks confirmed receipt to Guccifer 2.0 after the GRU was apparently having some difficulty sending them the files. From Mueller's indictment:

After failed attempts to transfer the stolen documents starting in late June 2016, on or about July 14, 2016, the Conspirators, posing as Guccifer 2.0, sent Organization 1 an email with an attachment titled “wk dnc link1.txt.gpg.” The Conspirators explained to Organization 1 that the encrypted file contained instructions on how to access an online archive of stolen DNC documents. On or about July 18, 2016, Organization 1 confirmed it had “the 1Gb or so archive” and would make a release of the stolen documents “this week.”

It would be interesting to find out what unsuccessful methods the GRU initially tried (I'm picturing Nigel Farage losing a USB stick).
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:39 PM on February 28, 2019 [14 favorites]

Little Dawn: Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor, said that if Mr. Cohen is telling the truth, and if Mr. Trump claimed to Mr. Mueller in his sworn, written testimony that he was not aware of any contacts between Mr. Stone and Mr. Assange, that could be a crime.

“When you lie in that context, it’s not only perjury but it’s obstruction of justice too,” Mr. Zeidenberg said.

I'm no perjuror, you're the perjuror! Republican lawmakers ask Justice Department to investigate Michael Cohen for perjury (Jeremy Herb and Laura Jarrett for CNN, February 28, 2019)

Two of President Donald Trump's closest allies on the House Judiciary Committee referred Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to the Justice Department Thursday for possible criminal prosecution, claiming to have evidence that Cohen "committed perjury and knowingly made false statements" to lawmakers during his day-long testimony Wednesday.

The criminal referral -- sent by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the Oversight Committee, and North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows -- outlined several areas of testimony they urged the Justice Department to investigate, including Cohen's claims Wednesday that he did not seek a job in the Trump White House (CNN), his denial of committing bank fraud, as well as his assertion that the did not have any reportable contracts with foreign entities.

Emphasis mine, because c'mon! Is the GOP handing out "Trump's Mirrors" now? "Tell me, what do you see? Is it a criminal?"
posted by filthy light thief at 1:40 PM on February 28, 2019 [8 favorites]

"Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power."

So...What powers can Trump wield under his “national emergency”? If it’s still in-place when the 2020 election rolls around, is there any limit to what he can do to nullify the results, or delay the transition?
posted by Thorzdad at 1:41 PM on February 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

An Oliver North-narrated NRA video just ended with the footage of her dancing outside her office, with the color drained to make it look more ominous.

How could that footage *possibly* look any more ominous than it already does?
posted by uosuaq at 1:52 PM on February 28, 2019 [6 favorites]

Rolling Stone article on AOC. Y'all, I'm starting to lose some of my pragmatic, objective, wait-and-see attitude w/r/t her.

OMG: "The Koch brothers own every Republican in the Senate. They own ’em. They don’t cast a vote unless their sugar daddies tell ’em what to do."
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:55 PM on February 28, 2019 [36 favorites]

How could that footage *possibly* look any more ominous than it already does?

Throw some cheesy VHS-looking effects on it, add some movie-trailer music and a narration from a war criminal (link to an NRATV YouTube video) In addition to AOC, other boogeymen include Barack Obama, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris.
posted by box at 2:05 PM on February 28, 2019 [6 favorites]

How could that footage *possibly* look any more ominous than it already does?

The video is actually quite a study in visual propaganda techniques. In addition to washing out the color they add in a completely artificial "videotape scanlines" filter that makes all the shots of Dems look spliced together from amateur or covert footage. It's subtle but effective, you'd hardly notice it if you weren't looking for it.

NRA TV: The Protected Class
posted by scalefree at 2:06 PM on February 28, 2019 [17 favorites]

Ivanka Trump and Donald Jr wanted for interviews by House committee (Guardian)

House oversight committee chairman Elijah Cummings has said he will seek interviews with Donald Trump’s children and some of his closest allies after public testimony by the president’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Among those the committee will call in for testimony are Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, as well as Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.

“All you have to do is follow the transcript. If there are names that were mentioned or records that were mentioned during the hearing, we want to take a look at all of that,” Cummings told reporters, according to Politico.

posted by Little Dawn at 2:09 PM on February 28, 2019 [64 favorites]

NYT, Trump Ordered Officials to Give Jared Kushner a Security Clearance

President Trump ordered his chief of staff to grant his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, a top-secret security clearance last year, overruling concerns flagged by intelligence officials and the White House’s top lawyer, four people briefed on the matter said.

Mr. Trump’s decision in May so troubled senior administration officials that at least one, the White House chief of staff at the time, John F. Kelly, wrote a contemporaneous internal memo about how he had been “ordered” to give Mr. Kushner the top-secret clearance.

The White House counsel at the time, Donald F. McGahn II, also wrote an internal memo outlining the concerns that had been raised about Mr. Kushner — including by the C.I.A. — and how Mr. McGahn had recommended that he not be given a top-secret clearance.

The disclosure of the memos contradicts statements made by the president, who told The New York Times in January in an Oval Office interview that he had no role in his son-in-law receiving his clearance.

I'm starting to get the impression that this guy lies a lot.
posted by zachlipton at 2:24 PM on February 28, 2019 [84 favorites]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/us/politics/jared-kushner-security-clearance.html

Trump handed the country's secrets to an untrustworthy person. Impeach. Simple. I don't even know why it's controversial, as it were.
posted by baltimoretim at 2:28 PM on February 28, 2019 [73 favorites]

To take a couple of insightful comments from different subtopics here:

Murdering dissidents in prison, or allowing others to murder them directly or through maltreatment, is just about the oldest authoritarian trick in the book and it's only [#45's] incompetence that's kept him from ordering it yet.

It would be darkly funny if the ridiculously overreaching privacy invading spy infrastructure caught a president.

... I think these go back to something that has been discussed in earlier threads, that what hope remains here in Trumpistan comes from the fact that the guy has not yet consolidated power. He can't really do what he wants when there are still many people in relevant positions of power who are not personally loyal to him. It's not that the FBI (God help us) is full of wonderful resistance warriors, but that T knows he cannot yet rely on them to back him up with unquestioning, Cohenish sycophancy. T may not be "intelligent" or even "competent" by many standards, but he certainly has the basic cunning necessary to wait until it is safe for him to give his murderous desires free rein.

(Side note: T's particular admiration for Kim Jong Un could be credited in part to the fact that KJU is a rare modern autocrat who is not substantially self-taught, and thus has a depth of experience in how to not only consolidate but maintain absolute power that few other members of the International Autocrat Mutual Admiration Society (Modi, Xi, Putin, Orban, Duterte, Trump, etc.) could match. Certainly the Trump crime family would have a deep interest in how the Kim crime family has managed to effectuate such smooth intergenerational transfers of power, given T's own undisguised moves in that direction.)
posted by shenderson at 2:28 PM on February 28, 2019 [8 favorites]

Still, it's nice to see some pushback to the wealthy's agenda of "privatize the profit, socialize the risk." As a democracy, we're allowed -- indeed, expected -- to define society the way we want it to be, and I doubt anything close to a majority would vote in favor of our Frankenstein monster of a heath insurance system. Flagged as fantastic, Gelatin.

In other news, from Sludge: GOP Picks a Top Oil and Gas Money Recipient as Climate Committee Ranking Member. House Republicans have chosen their reps to serve on the new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, led by a member whose top career donor is a company that operates vessels that facilitate offshore oil drilling.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) will serve as the ranking member on the climate committee, which is tasked with recommending policies to respond to the increasing threats of catastrophic climate change. Graves has taken $515,634 from PACs and individuals affiliated with the oil and gas industry over the course of his congressional career, far more than he received from any other industry, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:32 PM on February 28, 2019 [6 favorites]

I want to quote one other bit of that story because it's straight-up Orwellian:

Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Mr. Lowell, said on Thursday, “In 2018, White House and security clearance officials affirmed that Mr. Kushner’s security clearance was handled in the regular process with no pressure from anyone. That was conveyed to the media at the time, and new stories, if accurate, do not change what was affirmed at the time.”

We said X before, and even if new stories say Y, and even if those new stories are true, that doesn't change anything, because we said X. X. Remember, we said X.
posted by zachlipton at 2:34 PM on February 28, 2019 [52 favorites]

House oversight committee chairman Elijah Cummings has said he will seek interviews with Donald Trump’s children and some of his closest allies after public testimony by the president’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Someone should make them an animated gif for pleading the fifth to break the inevitable monotony.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:44 PM on February 28, 2019 [2 favorites]

what hope remains here in Trumpistan comes from the fact that the guy has not yet consolidated power. He can't really do what he wants when there are still many people in relevant positions of power who are not personally loyal to him.

He flat-out doesn't have enough "loyal" people; they don't stick around once they figure out that his idea of loyalty is "I do what I want; you take the blame."

The reason hundreds of federal appointments are vacant is that he can't find enough suckers to pretend to do the job. It's not even that he can't oust entrenched Democrats; he can't find enough people to take the jobs that he gets to hand out. He's not even able to find run-of-the-mill alt-right racist sexist fascist bastards, because he insists that they need to have some personal affiliation to him, or that the job has to be handed out as a reward for a favor.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:50 PM on February 28, 2019 [10 favorites]

Doktor Zed: It would be interesting to find out what unsuccessful methods the GRU initially tried (I'm picturing Nigel Farage losing a USB stick).

Funny you should say that, because I was remembering some photos of Farage leaving the embassy and members of the press asking him about his talking to Assange. I googled it and found this, from a year ago: Trump-Russia inquiry is told Nigel Farage may have given Julian Assange data
Private investigator tells House panel Farage gave thumb drive to Assange, who officials view as a conduit for the Russian government

Nigel Farage may have given Julian Assange a thumb drive of data and was possibly a more frequent visitor than was publicly known to the Ecuadorian embassy where the WikiLeaks founder lives, according to testimony given to US congressional inquiry into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to the Kremlin.

Glenn Simpson, a private investigator whose company compiled the controversial dossier alleging a conspiracy between Trump campaign officials and Russian agents, told the House intelligence committee that he was told by an unnamed source that the former Ukip leader had given data to Assange, but had no proof of the exchange.

posted by gucci mane at 2:50 PM on February 28, 2019 [11 favorites]

I suspect instead of the Fifth, or possibly alongside, for any post-election shenanigans, we'll get a lot Jeff Sessions' style "the implied penumbra of Executive Privilege potentially invoked at some later date prevents me from answering today."

-----
I move we call this gambit Pleading the Hamberder as in "I'll gladly decline to speak today for the Privilege that may be invoked tomorrow."
posted by notyou at 2:54 PM on February 28, 2019 [32 favorites]

ABC from February 8 [video]: Ivanka Trump says she and her husband Jared Kushner received no special treatment from her father when obtaining their top security clearances. "The president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband's clearance, zero.”

The Times says there are CYA memos from Kelly and McGahn. This one seems really simple. The President overruled the objections not just of the professionals who handle security clearances but his own handpicked staff. There's not some hard-to-uncover conspiracy here that takes years of investigation. Subpoena the memos and call Jared and Ivanka to testify next week.
posted by zachlipton at 3:01 PM on February 28, 2019 [63 favorites]

I move we call this gambit Pleading the Hamberder

Gorka beat you to argumentum-ad-hamburgum earlier today.

@atrupar
Former Trump White House official Sebastian Gorka: "They want to take away your hamburgers. This is what Stalin dreamt about but never achieved."
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:03 PM on February 28, 2019 [9 favorites]

The Cohen of Silence Breaks: What to Make of Wednesday’s Testimony (Lawfare)

The timing is also noteworthy. Cohen estimated that the call took place on July 18 or 19 of 2016—which would place it just a few days before WikiLeaks released the emails hacked from the DNC on July 22. A week later, Trump would declare at a campaign event, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” It is also consistent with paragraph 11 of the Roger Stone indictment, which states that “in or around June and July 2016, Stone informed senior Trump campaign officials” of his information on WikiLeaks’s plans.

It’s unclear what the legal significance would be of Cohen’s story—if any. For one thing, it would be hard to prove, being an anecdote told by a convicted liar about another person charged for lying and a person who is famously disengaged from the truth. Cohen testified that there was no one else in the room during Stone’s call, though Trump’s secretary Rhona Graff allegedly patched the call through. Moreover, even if true, it’s not clear that the story involves anything illegal. After all, it’s not illegal to have advance knowledge that WikiLeaks is planning a release of something that was previously stolen.

Unless, that is, you happen to tell a federal investigation that no such conversation took place. According to CNN several months ago, Trump said in his written answers to questions from the special counsel’s office that Roger Stone had not told him about any communications with WikiLeaks. Notably, CNN also reported that before Trump submitted his answers, Mueller requested call logs from Stone to Trump Tower—which presumably would show Stone’s call on July 17 or 18.

posted by Little Dawn at 3:04 PM on February 28, 2019 [8 favorites]

Susan Hennessey says "If Kushner hasn't resigned by the time we wake up tomorrow, it is a sign that the basic checks of government have ceased to function."

I have zero doubt that the basic checks of government have ceased to function. That's been clear for a while.
posted by diogenes at 3:39 PM on February 28, 2019 [96 favorites]

Subpoena the memos and call Jared and Ivanka to testify next week.

I mean, you could, but it won’t change what we affirmed previously.
posted by nickmark at 3:46 PM on February 28, 2019 [5 favorites]

Among the statements made by Michael Cohen referred to DOJ by Jim "Condones Molesting Wrestlers" Jordan for perjury investigation is Cohen's claim to be a good lawyer.

Jordan is scum and statements of opinion cannot be lies but... that's A+ trolling.
posted by Justinian at 3:46 PM on February 28, 2019 [12 favorites]

petebest: Motion to refer to it as "Conspiracy" not "Collusion" moving forward.

In theory, it would drive the [name of 'fringe' Trump-supporting group, in the parlance of our times] into an infinite loop and bluescreen.

I think this specific linguistic trend, which arises in a lot of corners, is itself an example of being driven into a loop, or otherwise taking cues from the other side. What happened clearly is collusion even if there's nothing we could call "the law against collusion". There's also no law against "lying" per se, but we can and should still discuss politicians lying.

Also, even the most mindless Internet troll can obey patterns that are themselves quite strategic. I know you meant it just as a joke, but a persistent liberal myth/assumption is that, at some point, people can be bluescreened -- you show the contradictions in their logic and that's it, game over. In reality, of course, they just dig their heels in, or if there's no other choice, they shift around. I think our shifting away from "collusion", rather than digging in, is much too big a concession.

I've never even seen an argument for how "collusion" is technically incorrect, let alone colloquially. So my preferred approach is to use the word, repeatedly, while adding "conspiracy" for flavor and nutrition. If the point is that "conspiracy" is worse, that's fine, but that has to be built up without abandoning the old term.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:58 PM on February 28, 2019 [5 favorites]

I think this specific linguistic trend, which arises in a lot of corners, is itself an example of being driven into a loop, or otherwise taking cues from the other side.

I've never understood this idea that we should only use words in the precise way that a prosecutor would use them in court. I get that words have specific meanings under the law, but they have valid meanings in the real world too, and there's no reason I can't use them accordingly.
posted by diogenes at 4:13 PM on February 28, 2019 [8 favorites]

So this Nigel Farage cameo seems like news, doesn't it raise the possibility that Five Eyes/GCHQ type surveillance data might have been part of the handoff? I wouldn't be surprised if these things come together via an abstract web of communication between people who happen to cross paths at some point. With sinister results.
posted by rhizome at 4:20 PM on February 28, 2019

Politico, HHS demands apology from House Ethics chair for comments on abuse of migrant children

Health and Human Services officials refused Thursday to meet with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), saying the House Ethics Committee chair must first apologize for stating publicly earlier this week that HHS staff sexually abused migrant children in agency custody.

"By deliberately or negligently mischaracterizing the data during a televised hearing, you impugned the integrity of hundreds of federal civil servants," Jonathan Hayes, the HHS refugee director, wrote Deutch on Thursday, in a letter obtained by POLITICO. HHS has been seeking an apology for two days.

Deutch said he stands by his remarks, arguing that he sufficiently clarified that he was referencing contractors as well as staff. Deutch added that he will keep pushing HHS for a meeting on the sexual abuse data.

"Our job is to conduct oversight," Deutch told POLITICO. "I've never seen a response like this, that simply refuses to come talk to members of Congress ... I think they'd be interested in discussing [this] because people are outraged."
...
HHS received 4,556 allegations of sexual abuse over the most recent four-year period, and the agency said the "significant majority" were for "inappropriate sexual behaviors," like verbal harassment, between children in custody. HHS has said that there were 178 allegations of serious sexual abuse by adult contractors over that period, which involved roughly 0.1 percent of all children placed in HHS custody over that period.

posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on February 28, 2019 [19 favorites]

"Our job is to conduct oversight," Deutch told POLITICO. "I've never seen a response like this, that simply refuses to come talk to members of Congress ... I think they'd be interested in discussing [this] because people are outraged."

Why are Democrats still asking politely? The first step should be a subpoena. No "please give us an amenable date" no "at your earliest convenience". Subpoena. Immediately. And criminal contempt of Congress if the answer is anything other than, "yes Madam Speaker". No one in this administration should be given the option to say no, why the fuck are we still pretending like this is a normal administration and not a criminal conspiracy at every level of every agency? This is what we elected you to do, and you're still unwilling to do the most basic steps. Why don't we have the tax returns?
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:33 PM on February 28, 2019 [74 favorites]

Cummings: House Oversight will seek interviews with Trump Jr., Ivanka

House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said Thursday that the panel will seek to interview several of the people that Michael Cohen mentioned during his six-hour testimony, including President Trump's children Don Jr. and Ivanka, as well as Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.

Why it matters: Cohen testified that he believes Trump Jr. and Weisselberg signed one of the $35,000 checks reimbursing him for a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, which he provided to the committee as part of his testimony. Cohen also claimed that he briefed Trump Jr. and Ivanka about Trump Tower Moscow approximately 10 times, though Trump Jr. testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017 that he was only "peripherally aware" of the project.

The big picture: Cummings told reporters the committee would "take a look at" all of the names that Cohen brought up during his testimony, and that they have "a good chance of hearing from us — at least an interview," per Politico.

Other names that Cohen mentioned include Trump's longtime assistant Rhona Graff, now-indicted adviser Roger Stone, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, personal Trump attorneys Jay Sekulow and Rudy Giuliani, and several others at the Trump Organization.
posted by bluesky43 at 4:48 PM on February 28, 2019 [21 favorites]

Felix Sater is scheduled for open-testimony at House Intelligence Committee (Guardian)

Former Trump associate Felix Sater will come before the House Intelligence Committee on March 14, Chairman Adam Schiff told reporters today following a closed-door hearing with Michael Cohen.

The Russia-born business executive, who has a past as an American spy tracking terrorists and members of the mob, worked with Cohen on the Trump Tower Moscow project that was ongoing through the 2016 election.

Felix Sater: the enigmatic businessman at the heart of the Trump-Russia inquiry (Guardian, 8/31/17)

Whatever the truth of Donald Trump’s relationship with the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, Sater is likely to end up being part of the story. He surfaced this week in leaked emails that he sent in 2015 to Trump’s lawyer, claiming he could engineer Putin’s support for a Trump Tower in Moscow and thus, somehow, a victory in the US presidential election.

“Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Sater said, according to one of the emails, leaked to the New York Times. “I will get all of Putin’s team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.”

posted by Little Dawn at 5:32 PM on February 28, 2019 [6 favorites]

According to reports on CNN the White House is probably going with the theory that the President truly is above the law by relying on the confluence of two DOJ policies in a way I've brought up before earlier in these threads. Those policies:

1) A sitting President cannot be indicted.
2) DOJ does not release prejudicing info about people who are not indicted.

Their position is apparently that given these two policies, no information from Mueller which pertains to Trump should or will be released to Congress or the Public.

One expects if they try to play this card the pushback will be enormous. As it should be, because if it were allowed to stand it would mean we really are a nation of men and not of laws. The WH would be claiming absolute executive immunity for any crimes.
posted by Justinian at 5:33 PM on February 28, 2019 [30 favorites]

Justinian: The WH would be claiming absolute executive immunity for any crimes.

It also incentivizes future presidential candidates to cheat to win. "Cheat as much as you want, just make sure you win so you'll be above the law!" This is like the winner (and only the winner) of the Tour de France being exempt from drug testing.
posted by bluecore at 5:40 PM on February 28, 2019 [50 favorites]

Neal Katyal, who some might remember from such greatest hits as Acting Solicitor General of the United States and Author of the Special Counsel Provisions, was of the opinion that any such position by the WH would not and could not be allowed to stand. So that's encouraging.
posted by Justinian at 5:42 PM on February 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

Another thing to note is that the surge in robocalls is due to a court throwing out an Obama era FCC rule because it was poorly worded; current chairman and general-purpose shithead Ajit Pai has no interest in restoring the rule, and celebrated the court's decision.

CNN's Andrew Kaczynski offers an example of how one PAC entrepreneur is taking advantage of this: Group Running Robocalls Impersonating Trump's Campaign Has Already Raised More Than $100,000

A CNN KFile investigation into the group behind the calls, Support American Leaders PAC, reveals it is run by 32-year-old Matthew Tunstall, who has a history of managing shadowy groups that target people with politically charged calls in order to raise money while doing very little -- if anything at all -- to put that money toward a political purpose. Tunstall made more than $300,000 through these groups in the 2016 presidential cycle, FEC records show.

The operation effectively amounts to an income cycle of wash, rinse, repeat: paying for ads to raise money to pay for more ads to raise more money and so on, with Tunstall taking home whatever money doesn't get used to pay for more ads. The enterprise may also be breaking spending rules policed by three different federal agencies on impersonation and ad disclosure.

It's grifters all the way down.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:02 PM on February 28, 2019 [19 favorites]

It also incentivizes future presidential candidates to cheat to win. "Cheat as much as you want, just make sure you win so you'll be above the law!"

This is Republican's explicit reelection strategy from now and forever forward. They're openly saying they're going to do everything possible to prevent Democratic voters from voting, and less openly counting on and planning to enable further undermining of American democracy in alliance with Putin. "Cheat to win" and barely concealed treason is their entire election message.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:02 PM on February 28, 2019 [19 favorites]

Retiring Senator Alexander (R-TN) does in fact appear to be the final vote required to strike down Trump’s national emergency for the wall, which would likely lead to Trump’s first ever veto.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:05 PM on February 28, 2019 [30 favorites]

I'm really interested in seeing how opinion unfolds on this: Wash Po, Margaret Sullivan, After Cohen’s hearing, the BuzzFeed bombshell that Mueller disputed looks better — and worse, I think it's an op-ed but it's got all the facts lined up

my opinion is

A) Assuming Cohen's most recent testimony is accurate, "Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress" is not strictly exactly true, but it's not misleading. It's an extremely fair summary of the situation.

b) Saying "Trump never told Cohen to lie to Congress" might be strictly true, but it's very misleading.

c) Many people assumed that the SCO wouldn't comment on the story if it was just some small legalistic inaccuracy. In fact, it looks to me like that's exactly what they did. The only inaccuracy (so far?) is that Trump didn't explicitly tell Cohen to lie. And (presumably) Trump's actions didn't meet the criteria of the felony crime that is suborning perjury. That's an entirely legalistic distinction. It's a very important distinction to the SCO because their job is specifically about crimes. But it looks like the Buzzfeed piece was correct in the gist of it.

c) This exact same fucking thing was one of the things in Clinton's impeachment. He coordinated stories with his secretary (Betty Currie), in an indirect and implicit way, and that was included as an obstruction of justice charge.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 6:12 PM on February 28, 2019 [16 favorites]

It dawned on me yesterday that while Daddy Fred was a manager of property, I-1 is a manager of secrets -- his own and other people's -- and is actually good at it. He cultivated the NYC tabloids (and the NYT) through access and gossip. He paid to keep his most damaging secrets under wraps, and probably paid (and still pays) to obtain secrets about others that he uses to cow them or

So he, his spawn and Crown Prince Jared -- well, they've got access not just to America's secrets but also to the largest surveillance apparatus in human history. And pricing it all up for resale.
posted by holgate at 6:24 PM on February 28, 2019 [4 favorites]

I'm really interested in seeing how opinion unfolds on this: Wash Po, Margaret Sullivan, After Cohen’s hearing, the BuzzFeed bombshell that Mueller disputed looks better — and worse, I think it's an op-ed but it's got all the facts lined up

This is how it's described at Lawfare:

The second area involves Cohen’s allegation that Trump indirectly encouraged him to lie to Congress about the abortive Trump Tower Moscow project—the subject of Cohen’s second guilty plea, this time to the special counsel’s office. This was the subject of the BuzzFeed News story alleging that Trump personally directed Cohen to lie to Congress about the date the Moscow project was terminated in order to hide Trump’s involvement. That story caused a fracas when Mueller’s office broke its customary silence to issue a rare statement denying unspecified aspects of the story: “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate.”

Cohen’s testimony begins to square this particular circle, claiming that Trump made his desire clear without explicitly “directing” Cohen to lie, and that Cohen followed what he took to be an instruction. In his prepared statement, Cohen says that Trump had made clear to him over months what the party line was—saying to him that there was no business in Russia even as he supervised Cohen’s efforts to build a tower there. Moreover, Cohen writes, “Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it,” referring to the August 2017 letter Cohen submitted to the House and Senate intelligence committees, which contained the false assertion that the negotiations ended in January 2016. Cohen continues, “Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie” about the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations. “And he made it clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress.”

posted by Little Dawn at 6:31 PM on February 28, 2019 [9 favorites]

in contrast to her impression of the UK situation where it's apparently like, nobody has any power or care to dig in

I don't think that's quite fair. Damian Collins and the DCMS select committee have done better work on fake news, Cambridge Analytica, Facebook and data protection -- despite being stymied by shits like Dominic Cummings and Mark Zuckerberg -- than Congress. I do think the Electoral Commission's powers are no longer sufficient to deal with dark money and the accumulation of personal data, and that there's no political will right now for an independent investigation because of the ongoing self-harm since that dirty referendum.
posted by holgate at 6:40 PM on February 28, 2019 [7 favorites]

Acting Pentagon chief to certify emergency to help build wall — and win Trump’s favor

It’s an anxious loyalty test for acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, whose future at the Pentagon is anything but certain.

Sometime in the next few days, Shanahan plans to endorse President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency along the southern border, according to people familiar with his thinking. That will free up $3.6 billion in the Pentagon budget for building new sections of border wall and other projects.

It likely will also prove costly to Shanahan, a former Boeing executive who hopes Trump will nominate him as a permanent replacement for former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who quit in December.

Failing to go along with Trump could lead the president to nominate someone else. At the same time, Senate Democrats — and even some Republicans — oppose Trump’s efforts to go around Congress to secure money for border barriers. Defense hawks are particularly incensed that he wants to raid military construction money to do so. That could jeopardize Shanahan’s hopes of taking over the Pentagon permanently.

“He’s in a tough position,” said Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which handles Pentagon nominations.

Some Democrats say Shanahan’s willingness to go along with the emergency funding could determine whether they will support him if Trump nominates him for the job.

“How he approaches this should be very much a part of whether he becomes permanent in that role,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M), one of two Armed Services members representing a southern border state. “Whether he is going to be a down-the-line professional secretary of Defense, or if he sees his job to get the president reelected and appeal to his base.”

Several key senators have said they’re uncomfortable with the precedent Trump is setting by bypassing Congress’ constitutional power of the purse — and using the military to do it.

posted by scalefree at 6:42 PM on February 28, 2019 [4 favorites]

Pete Souza Shows How You Talk to a Dictator
posted by growabrain at 6:46 PM on February 28, 2019 [29 favorites]

his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress

Realistically, there is too much going on to pull that thread right now, but I want it added to our stretch goals to have Rudy Giuliani disbarred for suborning perjury.
posted by M-x shell at 6:48 PM on February 28, 2019 [13 favorites]

I don't think Giuliani is one of the people referenced. He's a TV Lawyer not an actual personal attorney. Likely it's Jay Sekulow's ass on the line rather than Giuliani.
posted by Justinian at 6:52 PM on February 28, 2019 [3 favorites]

“He’s in a tough position,” said Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.)

I can understand that. He has to chose between appeasing the whims of the warmongers in the Pentagon and catering to the whims of the fascist bigot in the White House. He can only pick one as a potential career. The White House is higher status but incredibly unstable, but sticking with "fight to keep military money in the military" could mean losing them both.

Of course, his "tough position" has nothing to do with protecting the interests of American citizens; it's only tough in the sense of "if he doesn't carefully navigate the politics here, he might not keep the power to order armed goons around."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:55 PM on February 28, 2019 [18 favorites]

Felix Sater going before Congress is going to be a doozy, he’s been one of my favorite enigmas about this entire deal. There use to be a great primer on him, Bayrock, and Trump’s connections to the Russian mob, but I can’t find it anymore, can anybody help with that? I could’ve swore it was on Politico or TPM.
posted by gucci mane at 6:57 PM on February 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

Axios: Michael Cohen to Return to Testify Before House Intel Next Week

Following three straight days of testimonies before various congressional committees, President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen said Thursday that he would return to the House Intelligence Committee on March 6 because there is "more to discuss."

Details: Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told reporters after Cohen's 7.5 hour testimony: "It was a very productive interview today where he was able to shed light on a lot of issues." He added that the committee plans to release Cohen's testimony publicly at some point in the future, and that Felix Sater — who worked with Cohen on the Trump Tower Moscow project — will testify publicly on March 14.

"More to discuss". It's like Cohen has an elaborate plan to stall going to jail by enumerating all of Trump's crimes.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:57 PM on February 28, 2019 [28 favorites]

So he, his spawn and Crown Prince Jared -- well, they've got access not just to America's secrets but also to the largest surveillance apparatus in human history. And pricing it all up for resale.

These people are all security risks for the country and should be thrown in Guantanamo. If Republicans have an issue with that, they can close the camp down.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 6:58 PM on February 28, 2019 [7 favorites]

Dem chairmen slam Trump’s ‘nepotism exception’ after Kushner security clearance report (Politico)

“The revelation that President Trump personally intervened to overrule White House security officials and the Intelligence Community to grant a Top Secret security clearance to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is the latest indicator of the President’s utter disregard for our national security and for the men and women who sacrifice so much every day to keep us safe,” Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. [...]

Schiff said Thursday: “There is no nepotism exception for background investigations. Worse still was the White House’s oft-repeated lie that Kushner had been granted the clearance at the conclusion of a normal process. Reports indicate, moreover, that Kushner’s access to the nation’s most tightly held secrets, which require separate adjudication by the Intelligence Community, was restricted. This is a clear indication of the deep unease that national security officials have about Kushner’s suitability.” [...]

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), chairman of the Intelligence Modernization and Readiness Subcommittee, said Thursday that he was “concerned the president has jeopardized our national security by putting clearances in the hands of unscrupulous people, and against the recommendations of background investigators.”

Swalwell added: “To ensure our deepest secrets are protected, we will work to ensure clearances are granted based on trust, not by blood or bond.”

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, urged members of the national security community on Thursday to “not share top secret information” with Kushner.

“Career security clearance professionals believed Jared Kushner was enough of a national security risk that he should not get a top secret clearance,” Lieu said, adding: “Trust the career professionals. Do the right thing. Your loyalty is to America, not to Kushner or Trump.”

posted by Little Dawn at 6:59 PM on February 28, 2019 [26 favorites]

It's like Cohen has an elaborate plan to stall going to jail by enumerating all of Trump's crimes.

Starring Michael Cohen as Scheherazade.
posted by Slothrup at 7:06 PM on February 28, 2019 [70 favorites]

TIL: Michael Cohen still lives in a Trump-owned apartment. I hope he doesn't need any repair work done any time soon!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:20 PM on February 28, 2019 [4 favorites]

WaPo: House Democrats Explode In Recriminations As Liberals Lash Out At Moderates

House Democrats exploded in recriminations Thursday over moderates bucking the party, with liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threatening to put those voting with Republicans “on a list” for a primary challenge.

In a closed-door session, a frustrated Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lashed out at about two dozen moderates and pressured them to get on board. “We are either a team or we’re not, and we have to make that decision,” Pelosi said, according to two people present but not authorized to discuss the remarks publicly.

But Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the unquestioned media superstar of the freshman class, upped the ante, admonishing the moderates and indicating she would help liberal activists unseat them in the 2020 election.

Corbin Trent, a spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez, said she told her colleagues that Democrats who side with Republicans “are putting themselves on a list.”

There's a parliamentary procedure at stake here:

Inside the Democratic meeting, one of those freshmen — Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (N.M.) — reacted sharply to Ocasio-Cortez’s comments and rose to urge her colleagues to respect the political reality of representing a swing district, according to multiple people present. A spokesman for Torres Small did not respond to a request for comment.

Several are also pushing to reform or eliminate the procedural tactic that has prompted the uproar — the “motion to recommit,” which essentially gives the minority party one final opportunity to amend a bill moments before it comes up for a final vote.

Pelosi trained much of her closed-door frustrations on veteran lawmakers, noting that some held seats on coveted committees. “What is this?” she asked, according to the aides.

Later, when one lawmaker talked about the peril of persistently voting with party leaders on these motions, Pelosi responded that the party stood ready to help team players: “We have a massive MASH operation and, frankly, it should be there for those who have the courage to take the vote.”

Publicly and privately, Pelosi has urged members to treat the Republican motions as procedural feints that should be routinely ignored. “Vote no — just vote no,” she told reporters Thursday, “because the fact is, a vote yes is to give leverage to the other side.” But Hoyer and Clyburn believe that is untenable when Republicans stand ready to use those votes as political cudgels against vulnerable Democrats.

Blue dogs won't learn new tricks…
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:45 PM on February 28, 2019 [22 favorites]

I am so on board with AOC. She is, frankly, inspiring.
posted by defenestration at 7:54 PM on February 28, 2019 [32 favorites]

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers unveils his budget proposal for the next two years. It represents a massive departure from what would have been proposed under his predecessor. There are a lot of Dem goals in here, but probably the biggest change is its proposal that legislative district maps be drawn by the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau. Since the LRB is part of the WI legislature, this may skirt the Roberts objection to independent districting.

It will be very hard to say what will actually come out of the budget process. Last biennium, the GOP had total control of the state government and it still took more than seven months of negotiation before it was signed.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:57 PM on February 28, 2019 [11 favorites]

The party of Trump:

RNC Chair Says Government Did Not Create the Internet (WaPo, (via))

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel framed the differences between the two political parties as capitalism vs. socialism during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Said McDaniel: “It’s going to be a choice. Are we going to want capitalism? Look at all the great achievements of our country: flight, cars, the Internet. Sorry, Al Gore. The Internet. None of that came from government. It came from innovation. It came from the greatness of America.”

Philip Bump: “So here’s the thing. The Internet very much did come from government, quite literally.”

Wow. Let's go get some Hillary-shaped laser pointers and go down there to see if they'll chase them into the pool.
posted by petebest at 8:05 PM on February 28, 2019 [69 favorites]

I'm beginning to understand that the conservative reaction to Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is not merely because she's a SOCIALIST or a YOUNG WOMAN but because she is OUTSTANDINGLY COMPETENT, the ultimate fear of white male Republicans
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:09 PM on February 28, 2019 [95 favorites]

Ronna McDaniel Romney is a tumor on the American rump.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:14 PM on February 28, 2019

Flight-ntsb, faa
Cars-DoT, interstates
Intertubes-arpanet, nsf

Socialism *works*
posted by j_curiouser at 8:22 PM on February 28, 2019 [14 favorites]

I would be willing to grant deference to the best vote-counter in modern US history, and Dems in safe districts -- especially ones that aren't devoting half their day to "donor time" -- have advantages that their peers don't, and shouldn't rub it in.

But the political reality is this: swingy-district Dems can vote with Rs on "difficult" motions to recommit if they want, but they'll still face boilerplate ads in 2020 saying they voted to feed newborn babies to illegal immigrants, and with Pelosi's (and AOC's) face plastered alongside theirs. They can't vote themselves out of that place.
posted by holgate at 8:47 PM on February 28, 2019 [24 favorites]

Ah yes, the militant veganism of joseph stalin
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:51 PM on February 28, 2019 [17 favorites]

Oddly, I don't recall a lot of stories about how Republicans were voting with Democrats to insert poison pills into Republican bills back many years ago in *checks notes* 2018 when Democrats were the minority. Holgate is right, nobody is going to give these House democrats props for stuff like this.

If this comment seems at odds with my stated position on Manchin et al, I contain multitudes, hobgoblin of little minds, etc etc.
posted by Justinian at 8:52 PM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

Ask Still-Senator Joe Donnelly how much good will his votes against his own party won him with Republicans, and how many less ads they ran against him in exchange. It's like these idiots haven't been alive for the last 18 years. No one rewards moderates, least of all the Republicans they're desperate to win over while telling the people that actually voted for them to fuck off. This shit from the same brilliant wing of the party that brought us the Tim Ryan for President and Seth Moulton for Speaker effort.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:08 PM on February 28, 2019 [15 favorites]

Most Americans are for background checks. You could run on that in the reddest state in the land. No one's asking these Democrats to be gutsy. We simply ask that they have a spine.

It's time. Pay people enough to live without government assistance. Give better and cheaper healthcare to everyone. Educate children so they can participate in their future. Do what's needed to save the planet. If you can't win on that, get out of the way.
posted by xammerboy at 9:29 PM on February 28, 2019 [58 favorites]

Cohen’s testimony begins to square this particular circle, claiming that Trump made his desire clear without explicitly “directing” Cohen to lie, and that Cohen followed what he took to be an instruction.

My take on this is that it suggests the Mueller report will likely not include undeniable evidence that Trump colluded with Russia. Rather, it will paint a picture, hopefully beyond a reasonable doubt, that Trump had to have known about his business deal with Russia and their involvement in the election, because everyone else around him did - at his business, on his campaign, on his legal team, in his family, etc.

The other picture that's starting to emerge, and I hope the Mueller report goes into this, is that it's looking more and more like Trump was not an agent, but a useful idiot slowly groomed into a political asset. Trump was probably steered over decades into becoming a public Russian advocate, liberal detractor, and chaos generator by Russia with soft promises of getting the largest hotel in the world in return.

It's useful to keep in mind that impeaching a president is not analogous to convicting them of a crime. It's far more analogous to a company firing a chief executive. In the States, any chief executive found to have personal business dealings, knowingly or not, with a competitor would be fired. This would be completely legal and sensible. The same holds true for firing the president.
posted by xammerboy at 10:05 PM on February 28, 2019 [29 favorites]

Xochitl Torres Small is in a swing district but she won because the Democrats in the largest county in that district all came out to vote and swept all the elections. She is seriously misreading the room if she thinks she needs to pander to Republicans in oil country where the population continues to shrink. I sent her an email tonight saying as much. Either she neeeds to get on board or prepare to be primaried.
posted by wobumingbai at 10:06 PM on February 28, 2019 [27 favorites]

Felix Sater going before Congress is going to be a doozy, he’s been one of my favorite enigmas about this entire deal. There use to be a great primer on him, Bayrock, and Trump’s connections to the Russian mob, but I can’t find it anymore, can anybody help with that?

The first part (“The Russians”) of Dutch television news magazine Zembla's 2017-2018 series The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump covered alot of the Felix Sater stuff (part 2: “King of Diamonds”, part 3: “The Billion Dollar Fraud”, all subtitled in English.) Last year they also did a great piece on Sergei Magnitsky and the laws enacted around the world as a result of his murder and other developments “Pounds And Poison From Moscow” (“pounds” as in £.)
posted by XMLicious at 11:03 PM on February 28, 2019 [16 favorites]

@spettypi BREAKING: In rare press conference, North Korean official says “Chairman Kim got the feeling that he didn't understand the way Americans calculate” says Kim may have "lost the will" for further negotiations.
posted by scalefree at 1:14 AM on March 1, 2019 [21 favorites]

I'm thinking the love affair may be over.
posted by scalefree at 1:15 AM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

As I see it, Donald J. Trump has single-handedly transformed the international perception of Kim Jong-un from a dangerous joke to a savvy underdog. Mission Accomplished.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:31 AM on March 1, 2019 [33 favorites]

WaPo: House Democrats Explode In Recriminations As Liberals Lash Out At Moderates

I want to make sure that everybody noticed which of these sides Nancy Pelosi is on. (Hint: not the moderates.)
posted by msalt at 1:37 AM on March 1, 2019 [75 favorites]

Republicans’ Race to the Bottom
The absurdity of denying Trump’s bigotry.

By Michelle Goldberg/NYTimes

It’s hard to say what’s a bigger taboo in American politics: being a racist, or calling someone one.

Sure, the Republican Party will occasionally try to distance itself from one of its more egregiously hateful members, like Representative Steve King of Iowa, who lost committee assignments after seeming to defend white nationalism. But mostly, right-wing politicians and their media allies pretend, to the point of farce, that the primary racial injustice in America involves white people unfairly accused of racism. This makes talking openly about the evident racism of our president harder than it should be.

To see how this works in microcosm, consider the House Oversight Committee hearing at which Donald Trump’s former consigliere Michael Cohen testified on Wednesday. Cohen said, in his opening statement, that, in addition to being a con man and a cheat, Trump is a racist. This should be clear to all people of good faith, given that Trump was a leading figure in the birther movement, defended white supremacist marchers in Charlottesville, and claimed he couldn’t get a fair hearing from a judge of Mexican heritage, to mention just a few examples.

posted by mumimor at 1:44 AM on March 1, 2019 [26 favorites]

Cohen’s testimony begins to square this particular circle, claiming that Trump made his desire clear without explicitly “directing” Cohen to lie, and that Cohen followed what he took to be an instruction.

Familiar examples of this:

Don Vito Corleone never told Tom Hagen to cut off a horse's head and leave it in Jack Woltz' bed, either.
posted by mikelieman at 3:32 AM on March 1, 2019 [19 favorites]

On Maddow, Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis gave the classic example of Henry II asking, “Will no-one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”

The legal system doesn’t require people to speak in a Turing-complete computer language. It’s okay to read human languages in the way that people actually converse with each other, and interpret their words as carrying implied meaning.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:25 AM on March 1, 2019 [26 favorites]

Former governor and constant asshole Paul LePage on why we still need the electoral college:
“What would happen if they do what they say they’re gonna do, white people will not have anything to say,” he said. “It’s only going to be the minorities who would elect. It would be California, Texas, Florida.”
posted by TwoStride at 4:30 AM on March 1, 2019 [10 favorites]

You cannot imagine my relief and joy when Janet Mills won the Maine governor race, and we saw the backside of LePuke forever. He somehow seems to think anything he has to say is still relevant, and I guess they like the headlines, but he is gone, gone, gone! Hurrah!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 4:32 AM on March 1, 2019 [15 favorites]

The election of Donald Trump was a disheartening thing, but the fact that Paul LePage is only a “former” governor because he was term-limited is almost as disheartening. As Representative Cummings said, “We are better than this.”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:33 AM on March 1, 2019

Mills won over GOP candidate Shawn Moody, who's spokesperson was LePage's daughter. Among other things, Moody suggested using fire extinguishers to deter school shooters. So yes, LePage was at his term limit, but we didn't want LePage lite in office either.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 4:45 AM on March 1, 2019 [14 favorites]

NYT, Trump Ordered Officials to Give Jared Kushner a Security Clearance

The WaPo confirms the NYT's story: Trump Demanded Top-Secret Security Clearance For Jared Kushner Last Year Despite Concerns of John Kelly And Intelligence Officials

President Trump early last year directed his then-chief of staff, John F. Kelly, to give presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance — a move that made Kelly so uncomfortable that he documented the request in writing, according to current and former administration officials.

After Kushner, a senior White House adviser, and his wife, Ivanka Trump, pressured the president to grant Kushner the long-delayed clearance, Trump instructed Kelly to fix the problem, according to a person familiar with Kelly’s account, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Kelly told colleagues that the decision to give Kushner top-secret clearance was not supported by career intelligence officials, and he memorialized Trump’s request in an internal memo, according to two people familiar with the memo and the then-chief of staff’s concerns.

It is unclear how Kelly responded to Trump’s directive. But by May, Kushner had been granted a permanent security clearance to view top-secret material — a move that followed months of concern inside the White House about his inability to secure such access.

So "adults in the room" Kelly and McGahn both decided to write memos rather than resign in principle over this glaring case of nepotism that puts national security at risk.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:29 AM on March 1, 2019 [48 favorites]

President Trump early last year directed his then-chief of staff, John F. Kelly, to give presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance — a move that made Kelly so uncomfortable that he

...immediately resigned in protest? No.

...took his concerns to the House Intelligence Committee? Hm, no.

...booked appearances on the nightly news shows to decry Trump's order? Um, no.

documented the request in writing.

Terrific. Kelly's focus was protecting his own reputation, not the nation.
posted by Gelatin at 5:39 AM on March 1, 2019 [83 favorites]

Democrats Activate Post-Mueller Plan

“Even before Robert Mueller has delivered his final communiqué, Democrats have activated a new phase in the Trump-Russia wars that ultimately could prove more damaging to the president than the special counsel’s investigation,” Axios reports.

“For Trump, this has been a behind-the-scenes probe, with sensational yet intermittent revelations. Now, it’s about to become a persistent and very public process — at best, a nuisance; at worst, a threat to his office.”

“Whether or not Mueller is sitting on a grand finale, Democrats are picking up the baton with a vast probe that already involves a half-dozen committees, and will include public hearings starring reluctant witnesses.”

Ah, Post-Mueller. My favorite breakfast cereal.
posted by petebest at 5:57 AM on March 1, 2019 [22 favorites]

I've probably asked this before, but surely it isn't trivial that, after Cohen lied to Congress about the Moscow project, Trump never corrected the record? Is there any legal term for that sort of obligation? Or were those hearings closed, and thus the White House has plausible deniability that they didn't know Cohen lied?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:02 AM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

LePage would not have been elected for a theoretical third term, even without a blue wave. The two gubernatorial elections he'd won had an independent running and garnering 8+%, both times splitting the Dem vote. This past year, the independent got just under 6% and likely split Repub and Dem votes -- not enough to beat Janet Mills, who won with 50+%.

Anyway. Mainers seem to be relatively lowercase-c conservative and don't really like fire-breathing, mendacious (and racist) obstructionists as a type. LePage was not representative of the majority of the state, and enough folks got tired of him.

Janet Mills seems to be a moderate Democrat, in the same mold as Baldacci -- before LePage -- and I think she's elected strong, government-experienced (and in many cases, progressive) leaders to cabinet and agency positions. So I think we're in good shape, and that Maine has course-corrected itself for at least the next eight years.
posted by Jubal Kessler at 6:04 AM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

Please make getting rid of Susan Collins part of that course correction.
posted by mcstayinskool at 6:06 AM on March 1, 2019 [31 favorites]

[LePage] somehow seems to think anything he has to say is still relevant, and I guess they like the headlines, but he is gone, gone, gone! Hurrah!

Exactly the same situation with former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. His idiocy is on display daily, via his (increasingly petulant and/or Jesus-y) tweets and occasional appearances at the likes of CPAC, but his auditions for the GOP gravy train have gone poorly. He's not helped by his Resting Stupid Face either; no matter what the situation, the photo caption "Duh..." nearly always works. Hooray!
posted by carmicha at 6:19 AM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

If this comment seems at odds with my stated position on Manchin et al, I contain multitudes, hobgoblin of little minds, etc etc.

The difference between holding a seat representing - and answerable to the votes of - an entire State and a single member House district are huge. Every day Manchin is presented with the picture of the short of candidate who the same voters would be more than happy to put in the seat he currently occupies: Capito, who votes with Trump 95+% as compared to his 60%.

So Senate triangulation and the costs of losing that seat are easier to visualize than a House seat, as well as being 1/100th of the chamber versus 1/435th. So varying your standards here, within limits, are emminently reasonable.
posted by phearlez at 6:24 AM on March 1, 2019 [10 favorites]

House Democrats see new probes in Cohen’s testimony (WaPo)

“He set a very rich table,” Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) said of Cohen. “We’re now looking at a 10-course meal.” [...]

Also, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is reviewing Cohen’s testimony “to determine if it will impact any ongoing proceeding or investigation that the office is undertaking,” a spokeswoman said. James is already suing Trump over what her office called “persistently illegal conduct” at the Trump Foundation, which Trump ran for 30 years.

Her lawsuit includes two allegations that Trump used the charity’s money to buy portraits of himself, in violation of laws against “self-dealing” by charity leaders. But on Wednesday, Cohen described a third such incident — involving a third portrait of Trump.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:47 AM on March 1, 2019 [14 favorites]

Or were those hearings closed, and thus the White House has plausible deniability that they didn't know Cohen lied?

He gave Sekulow a copy of his testimony ahead of time, lies and all. They have no plausible deniability.

I have no idea whether it's a crime to know that someone is going to lie to Congress and let them. Maybe some sort of "conspiracy to lie to Congress" if Sekulow, directed by Trump, helped out with the lie by editing the written testimony.
posted by BungaDunga at 6:52 AM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

ABC: Democrats Say Michael Cohen's Dramatic Testimony Escalates Need For Trump's Tax Returns—They've been grappling over the most legally sound approach to obtaining them.

"[Cohen] brought out many situations where the tax returns are the only answer," said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has the authority to demand copies of the returns from the IRS.

Pascrell noted that Cohen has laid out in detail how he received reimbursement for hush payments made to women who were alleging they had affairs with Trump.

"If Trump wrote those business expenses, that would constitute total fraud," Pascrell said. "That's a fraudulent scheme, and his tax returns would show that. That's why the returns are so important."[…]

Cohen also described to the committee what he said was Trump's penchant for inflating or deflating his total assets "when it served his purposes." He provided copies of financial records he says Trump "gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills."

Sandra Moser, who served as head of the Justice Department's fraud division, and who now works in private practice at the Washington firm Quinn Emanuel, said those facts would attract the attention of law enforcement.

"Someone who lies about an issue of import to a financial institution like Deutsche Bank in order to get a loan -- regardless of what the loan is for or whether he actually obtains the loan -- would be guilty of one or more federal felonies, including bank fraud and making false statements for the purpose of influencing the bank," Moser said.

Meanwhile, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) continues to move slowly (he would say methodically) with the preparation of a formal request for Trump's tax returns: “I can just tell you this: diligently the staff is preparing the documentation.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:11 AM on March 1, 2019 [10 favorites]

Sean Hannity May Have Blabbed Himself Into A Subpoena With Trump Interview Confession (HuffPo)

“I can tell you personally, [Cohen] said to me at least a dozen times, that he made the decision on the payments and he didn’t tell you,” Hannity told Trump. “He told me, personally.”

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) tweeted in response:

Sean Hannity is now volunteering himself as a witness. I look forward to his testimony. https://t.co/eOjhlkg4mU
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) March 1, 2019

EXcellent. Let's get this pawty stawted.
posted by petebest at 7:14 AM on March 1, 2019 [86 favorites]

The difference between holding a seat representing - and answerable to the votes of - an entire State and a single member House district are huge.

What's funny is this isn't always true, e.g., Montana's one Representative represents nearly twice as many people as Wyoming's two Senators.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:28 AM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

So "adults in the room" Kelly and McGahn both decided to write memos rather than resign in principle over this glaring case of nepotism that puts national security at risk.

‘They Created an Underground’: Inside the Chaotic Early Days of Trump’s Foreign Policy (Politico)

Rice said the NSC staffers should give Trump a chance, that he and his team deserved the benefit of the doubt. Their duty was to the country, she reminded them, and they should do whatever it took to help America — and Trump — succeed.

What Rice didn’t — couldn’t — tell these government employees was that the dawn of the Trump administration would be a time of extraordinary personal and professional torment for them; that they’d be asked to make ethically, and legally, dubious decisions while ignoring facts and evidence on basic issues to fit the president’s whims; that they would be vilified as “Obama holdovers” and treated like an enemy within, to the point where some of their lives were threatened; that they’d grow so paranoid they would seek “safe spaces” to speak to each other, use encrypted apps to talk to their mothers, and go on documentation sprees to protect themselves and inform history; that at least one career staffer would cry on the way home from work every night; and that another would call Trump a “dumpster fire” in a farewell message. [...]

The patchy transition also led to questions that lingered for months over whether many Trump political appointees had proper security clearances, a highly unusual situation. [...] Other career staffers say they became objects of suspicion because of language they used, such as saying “undocumented immigrants” instead of “illegals.” [...]

Numerous career staffers decided to document everything they could, what became known as “putting it in the record.” That often meant putting certain ideas and opinions in emails or copying other agencies on communications. Many staffers knew that by including the agencies, the information would more likely be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and could one day see the light of day or even land in history books. Some admit they hoped that people in the agencies would leak the information to reporters. And many acknowledge they wanted a record, somewhere, of themselves objecting to policies they thought could be illegal. One particularly useful tool was the “track changes” feature in shared documents in what is known as the NSC “portal.” Staffers would make sure to use that feature to log in legal or policy concerns they had about language in particular documents, especially if factual errors were involved. Many printed reams of material they could put in their “box” — the package of NSC staffers’ work material that is archived and eventually made available to the public. One person said that although he spent three times longer at the NSC under Obama than under Trump, he had only one “box” for Obama and three for Trump.

The former staffers insist they were right to be paranoid. There were rumors that political appointees had launched an “insider threat” program complete with phone surveillance to ferret out leakers and other allegedly disloyal members of a “deep state.” There also were reports of blacklists of career staffers whom political appointees wanted to fire. Career staffers grew antsy about whether their cellphones were being used to spy on them; some left the devices at home.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:28 AM on March 1, 2019 [33 favorites]

wobumingbai: Xochitl Torres Small is in a swing district but she won because the Democrats in the largest county in that district all came out to vote and swept all the elections. She is seriously misreading the room if she thinks she needs to pander to Republicans in oil country where the population continues to shrink. I sent her an email tonight saying as much. Either she neeeds to get on board or prepare to be primaried.

Except her race was one of those that was REALLY CLOSE: Dramatic turn of events flips hot race in Southern New Mexico (MSN, Nov. 9, 2018)

Roughly 8,000 ballots were the deciding factor in who was elected to the 2nd Congressional District seat. Poll workers at the Doña Ana County election warehouse spent hours sorting through thousands of absentee ballots Wednesday.

After an additional day of counting ballots, Democrat Xochitl Torres Small was named the winner in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District race.
...
KOAT asked our political analyst, Brian Sanderoff, why it took so long for the race to be called. He said the situation is a little unusual.

“We expect the absentee ballots to be put into the mix the night of the election. In this case, in Doña Ana County, they were not. We didn't know until after midnight,” Sanderoff said.

Sanderoff said initial results after the polls close are typically from early voting and absentee ballots on Election Day. Sanderoff said all absentee ballots must be counted, just like early voting and ballots submitted on Election Day.

“We had an unprecedented amount. We weren't expecting it, and we frankly didn't have the people infrastructure in place,” Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda Lopez Askin said.

On Tuesday, the absentee voter board, which is comprised of seven people, spent 16 hours sorting the ballots but was only able to tabulate half.

“We had triple to quadruple the number of absentee ballots this year compared to 2016 and 2014,” Lopez Askin said.

At midnight, the county clerk saw the fatigue and swollen hands of the workers and put a halt to the counting.

“I didn't want them to make mistakes, and it wasn’t reasonable or right for me to expect them to work throughout the night to complete that,” Lopez Askin said.

She replaced Teapartier Steve Pearce in a District that, heading into the 2016 election, Ballotpedia rated as safely Republican.

This flip was a BIG DEAL for southern New Mexico. The Blue Wave likely lifted her against rabid Trumpist, Yvette Herrell, who went on Fox News to say she had not conceded the win to Torres Small (NM Political Reporter, who also notes Herrell "campaigned for the 2nd Congressional District on a Trump-like platform—pro-border wall and speaking about illegal immigration," only to lose by a thin margin).

I've been hoping to hear more about what Torres Small does in her first term, but I realize she's not in a safe seat by any means.

(wobumingbai, I see you're in Cruces, so this may be old news to you, so please consider my comment here for folks who aren't familiar with our state politics :))
posted by filthy light thief at 7:41 AM on March 1, 2019 [14 favorites]

Fucking Fuck XX has been posted, petebest.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:45 AM on March 1, 2019 [7 favorites]

Trump's former acting attorney general: 'Have we lost our ability to be shocked?' (Politico)

Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general who was fired by Donald Trump in 2017, accused the president on Friday of "cavalierly lying" about instructing his former chief of staff John Kelly to give Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance.

"Hard to know which is more dangerous—jeopardizing our most sensitive national security information or so cavalierly lying about it. Have we lost our ability to be shocked?" Yates tweeted. [...]

Yates, who was acting attorney general for 10 days before being fired by Trump for refusing to defend his controversial travel ban, is one of the first former top officials to speak out against Trump's activity in the report.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, on Thursday threatened to subpoena the White House for information related to its protocol for distributing security clearances following the report.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:51 AM on March 1, 2019 [27 favorites]

Have we lost our ability to be shocked?" Yates tweeted.

Not exactly. But I have learned that my shock is a useless barometer for whether or not a revelation will have consequences in the near term.
posted by diogenes at 8:08 AM on March 1, 2019 [38 favorites]

South Africa had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. America will need the same.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:26 AM on March 1, 2019 [31 favorites]

South Africa had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. America will need the same.

Justice first. Denazification before reconciliation.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:36 AM on March 1, 2019 [41 favorites]

Again...why is this a threat? Cummings can issue a subpoena at any time, there's no need to go through the media and sound tough, just fucking do it. When there's a media report of new criminality, we don't need to waste 2 months of threats every single time, why the fuck are we not seeing subpoenas to compel answers as the very first response?

Two reasons:
First, a subpoena can be fought and thus go to the courts. It's time consuming, and if the threat makes an organization release information voluntarily, it can help speed things along.
Second, a threat can cause an organization to say something in defense that's not true, and thus the future documents obtained by subpoena or otherwise can be matched to their statements. It's not quite a "perjury trap" (because it's not a crime to lie to the public), but it does massively undermine credibility when things do go to a hearing.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 8:36 AM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

I don't see how it would be possible to be shocked that Kushner's security clearance was ordered by the President. We knew career officials wanted to deny it. We knew it was overruled by a political appointee. Of course the order to do that came down from on high. And of course the White House is lying about it. That's what they do.

It's not that we've lost the capacity to be shocked, it's that the current administration's behavior is no longer shocking, it's normal. You can't be shocked anew every day that the same damn thing is happening. Horrified, angered, disgusted, that's all fine. We're all doing that. But we're not really doing shock anymore, since it would be crazy to expect this administration to behave differently than it is.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:36 AM on March 1, 2019 [13 favorites]

Susan Hennessey says "If Kushner hasn't resigned by the time we wake up tomorrow, it is a sign that the basic checks of government have ceased to function."

I'm awake. Kushner is still there. Now what?
posted by diogenes at 8:38 AM on March 1, 2019 [35 favorites]

Same old, same old.

We may need to bring back Hyucking Hyuck II, y'all.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:41 AM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Otto Warmbier family: Kim Jong-un 'responsible for the death of our son' (Guardian)

On Thursday Trump said he took Kim “at his word” when he denied any responsibility Warmbier’s treatment. Warmbier was arrested in North Korea for allegedly trying to take home a propaganda poster. He was sentenced to 15 years hard labour but was returned to the US in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness’ in June 2017. Warmbier died six days later.

“Some really bad things happened to Otto,” Trump said on Thursday. “But Kim tells me that he didn’t know about it and I will take him at his word.”

There is a much more graphic description of what "unresponsive wakefulness" means that was reported by the Guardian in North Korea ordered to pay $501m in damages over Otto Warmbier's death (12/24/2018) [CW: "When his parents boarded a plane to see him upon arrival in the US, they were “stunned to see his condition”, according to court documents."]

Also from the Guardian this morning:

The Warmbier family’s remarks come after Republicans were critical of Trump for taking Kim Jong-Un’s word over Otto Warmbier’s death.

Senator Susan Collins said she found “that statement extremely hard to believe, while Rob Portman, in a speech on the Senate floor, warned Trump not to be “naive” about the “brutal nature” of the North Korean regime.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:46 AM on March 1, 2019 [17 favorites]

I haven’t lost my ability to be shocked but I have lost the illusion that anyone gives a damn.

To elaborate, the Trump presidency has shown just how much of our government is based on tradition and tact and common values and civility. And I think the left (and West Wing-loving liberals) really put a lot of trust in systems as a whole, even unspoken ones. Thus the constant hope that you will finally argue your racist grandma into seeing Trump is a liar or the masses who seemed to hope that years of John Oliver gotchas and “Drumpf” cracks would shame him into accepting defeat as he’d been so thoroughly owned.

But what if someone just didn’t give a shit?

And I think we’re seeing now all the cracks in tradition and decorum and u spoken norms finally start to tear things apart. And there’s a lot of fear in acknowledging that in politics and the media, probably because they’re courtiers but probably because they are part of the system as well. If you admit the system doesn’t work, you’re admitting you’re not doing your job or your job is useless.

Like Mueller’s investigation. Even a lot of folks here are hoping for The Ultimate Gotcha. But what if it doesn’t matter at all? What if Democrats in the house move to impeach and Republicans in the Senate shrug and just don’t do anything? Personally I think it’s entirely plausible the Democratic primary gets so ugly and divisive that the candidate is badly wounded and Trump wins a second term.

So I wouldn’t say I’ve lost my capacity to be shocked but I’ve definitely lost the illusion that The Norms will save us.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 8:49 AM on March 1, 2019 [67 favorites]

To elaborate, the Trump presidency has shown just how much of our government is based on tradition and tact and common values and civility.

Isn't that just what we mean when we say "society" or "the social contract" -- that people agree to take part in a system, and to participate in good faith?
posted by wenestvedt at 8:56 AM on March 1, 2019 [7 favorites]

To elaborate, the Trump presidency has shown just how much of our government is based on tradition and tact and common values and civility.

Yeah, the biggest problem is that the procedures are based on tradition, tact, and common values and civility, but the enforcement is not.

Let's look at an example: Jared Kushner receiving a security clearance despite the recommendation from staff.

The tradition is that you don't do this, that you don't recommend a family member, that you certainly don't overrule your staff for that family member. And the tradition is that when it's called out, you have that person resign.

But the enforcement for breaking that rule is nearly non-existent and cumbersome. Impeachment was never made to provide enforcement on judgment issues, and it's one of the only hammers left. The political branch has very few enforcement tools to apply to itself because norms normally how it operates. That's why the courts are being used so much because it is practically the only enforcement tool left to apply to political violations. However, the courts are unwieldy and aren't made to punish or restrict judgment issues like Kushner getting that security clearance or he not resigning when it was discovered. And certainly we don't use other enforcement methods to compel the political branch like showing up at Jared Kushner's house and demanding he resign or physically blocking his escape if he tries to go to work. Enforcement mechanisms are almost never supposed to be informal, ad hoc, and physical when dealing with the political branch.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 8:59 AM on March 1, 2019 [19 favorites]

The definition of insanity is waking up every morning and expecting the basic checks of government to be any more functional than they were every other morning since January 2017.

Yeah the most maddening thing going around today is the idea that anything works the way it used to anymore. If people can't get it into their heads that our political system has been completely and totally destroyed over the past 30 years, and that Trump is just the sympotatic emergence of a disease under long incubation, then they'll never be able to confront these problems and solve them. Everything is different now and there's no turning back the clock. Even if Trump and his whole cabinet resign, the success of their transformation of political norms will stay with us, and I don't know how we move past them without some kind of catastrophe as the ground for rebuilding.
posted by dis_integration at 8:59 AM on March 1, 2019 [17 favorites]

What if Democrats in the house move to impeach and Republicans in the Senate shrug and just don’t do anything?
and
Impeachment was never made to provide enforcement on judgment issues, and it's one of the only hammers left.

Such a blatant disregard by the Senate may make the House decide that the US should miss a couple of payments servicing the national debt. At the end of the day, the power of the purse is far more efficient cudgel than impeachment.
posted by eclectist at 9:06 AM on March 1, 2019 [9 favorites]

Rachel Maddow examined last night a new angle that came out of Cohen's testimony and documentation: How in 2012 Trump was applying for a $1B loan to buy the Buffalo Bills, and how he stated in his loan application that a $19M property he owned in Bedford, NY was worth nearly $300M.
posted by growabrain at 9:15 AM on March 1, 2019 [27 favorites]

Perhaps what's missing is the difference between shocking and surprising. The Trump regime does many things that are quite shocking, but I am much less frequently surprised by them and their total lack of morals, ethics, or common sense.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:25 AM on March 1, 2019 [9 favorites]

Scattered among Cohen’s 20-page opening statement and its attached exhibits, together with his hours of public testimony on Feb. 27, was plenty of evidence that Trump is running a criminal organization whose offices and key staff simply moved its headquarters from his Manhattan high rise to the White House...

David Cay Johnston claims that Michael Cohen’s testimony uncovered 14 distinct Trump crimes
(But that the Democrats Need to Do a Better Job Connecting the Dots)
posted by growabrain at 9:37 AM on March 1, 2019 [10 favorites]

I'll say that there have been shocking stories, like the "Trump told the Russian ambassador beyond-top-secret foreign intelligence in the oval office" story, and the "Jared Kushner asked to use the Russian embassy's code apparatus to set up a backchannel to Putin" story, and the Helsinki press conference were all shocking at the time. They've all been pit-of-the-stomach bumping-down-the-cliff moments.

The Kushner security clearance thing may be more shocking to people who have deep cultural ties to the intelligence apparatus like Hennessy and Yates, but to someone on the outside, security clearances are just another executive prerogative that of course Trump would abuse. Having people like them out here loud and explaining exactly why it's such a dereliction of duty is very good, because otherwise I don't think people would have a chance at understanding.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:42 AM on March 1, 2019 [13 favorites]

Rachel Maddow examined last night a new angle that came out of Cohen's testimony and documentation: How in 2012 Trump was applying for a $1B loan to buy the Buffalo Bills, and how he stated in his loan application that a $19M property he owned in Bedford, NY was worth nearly $300M.

Donald Trump Inflated His Net Worth By $4 Billion When He Tried To Buy The Buffalo Bills (Barry Petchesky, Deadspin)

As part of his Congressional testimony today, Michael Cohen submitted three years of Trump’s financial statements, which were submitted to Deutsche Bank in 2014 as part of an application for a loan for the money required to buy the Bills. The third of those three years shows a very different bottom line.

Donald Trump’s listed total net worth for each year:

2011: $4,261,590,000
2012: $4,558,680,000
2013: $8,661,970,000

What explains the jump? Trump, alleges Cohen, kept two sets of books.

posted by ZeusHumms at 9:43 AM on March 1, 2019 [27 favorites]

Elijah Cummings has had it with Pat Cipollone’s five weeks of stalling his committee’s request for information from the Trump White House about security clearances. The NYT’s story yesterday about Jared’s was the last straw (especially since Cummings cites, at length, howTrump lied about his involvement in it during an NYT interview).

“I am now writing a final time to request your voluntary cooperation with this investigation. […] Please provide your response to the Committee by March 4, 2019.”

The man is pissed.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:46 AM on March 1, 2019 [44 favorites]

it's kind of a Big Problem that we leave EIGHT BILLION of taxes owed uncollected

The most recent IRS estimates are that some $450 billion in taxes owed go uncollected each year. It's not an intractable problem, though. Just reduce chances for noncompliance by increasing the amount of information that is collected by the IRS and increase funding for the agency to a level where it can adequately enforce the law. The bigger problem is that the law allows corporations and the wealthy to get away with paying so little in taxes.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 9:48 AM on March 1, 2019 [30 favorites]

‘They Created an Underground’: Inside the Chaotic Early Days of Trump’s Foreign Policy (Politico)

There's so much more inside, but this incident, apparently reported in 2017 to no effect, seems worthy of some more investigation. Don Jr keeps showing up in government with just the absolute worst people, and perhaps some public testimony from him would be instructive.

During the brief Flynn era, NSC staffers were shocked when two men who said they were associates of Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, showed up at NSC offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, wearing badges that indicated someone in the West Wing had let them on the White House grounds. They came with a 10-point plan for how the United States could turn Venezuela’s strongman president, Nicolas Maduro, into a U.S. stooge. The basics, according to people familiar with the incident, were as follows: The U.S. would release two nephews of Venezuela’s first lady who were in prison on drug charges; in exchange, Venezuela would free a young American man it had imprisoned on dubious weapons charges; then, Trump would meet with Maduro and the two would hash out some sort of arrangement where the U.S. would lift sanctions on the country’s kleptocratic government in exchange for unfettered access by American companies to the oil-rich Venezuelan market.

The entire pitch appeared to be “a pretext for this great business opportunity for them,” one person familiar with the incident said.

To prove their bona fides, the men — Gentry Beach and Wadie Habboush — called Venezuela’s foreign minister in front of the NSC staffers, leaving a voicemail, and showed a picture of themselves with Maduro, another person familiar with the episode said. “They pulled out a picture of them hugging Maduro. They were like, ‘Yeah, we were in Venezuela two weeks ago.’ And they were all doing the Trump thumbs-up sign,” the person said. The incident, details of which were first reported by Mic, so rattled the NSC staffers that they immediately reported it to the institution’s legal officers. One of the staffers was so alarmed at what he was being asked to consider that he drafted a resignation letter. The men pitching the idea even managed to get a meeting with Bannon.

posted by zachlipton at 9:52 AM on March 1, 2019 [46 favorites]

South Africa had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. America will need the same.

The number of T&R commissions America will need is staggering, even if we limit it to just the last 30 years of carnage. The sun never sets on the bipartisan American empire.

Meanwhile, Pelosi is doing some epic clapbacks against...Medicare for All:

All evidence indicates Nancy Pelosi is a very sharp woman; I’d be shocked if no one had told her what Medicare for All actually is, or if she just plum forgot. If she’s lying on purpose, and is actively trying to mislead the public about what Medicare for All is in the run-up to a 2020 campaign where this issue will take center stage, you have to wonder—why go that far? If she wanted to help her conservative members throw a wrench in the Medicare for All works, she could easily do that without such brazen lying. Hell, it’s not like the incredibly powerful insurance and pharmaceutical industries are going to need much help to do that themselves. So what’s in it for her?

The idea that the ACA is better than universal healthcare really is something else.
posted by Ouverture at 9:55 AM on March 1, 2019 [8 favorites]

I wonder if the performative shock is supposed to make for better conversion rates. Like, if I play up how yes, this is basically what we knew for ages, then someone who has already made their mind up feels like this is something they've already considered. And I'm clearly a member of that other tribe of people who had come to the wrong decision, so my evaluation of this info is suspect. If I play up how this is new information, vastly different than all that information before, are they more likely to actually consider it on its own grounds?
posted by RobotHero at 9:56 AM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]

It will be a long time before all of these numskulls' attempted get-rich-quick schemes will come to light, if only because there's so many of them.

It's stuff like that that we need a Truth and Reconciliation commission for. Can that sort of thing be punished in a court of law? I have no idea. Does it need to be dragged out into the light so we all know to what corrupt uses our government is being put? Hell yes it does.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:56 AM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

After Cohen's testimony, how much longer can Ivanka Trump play dumb? (Amanda Marcotte, Salon)

She's not innocent, naive or ditzy: Cohen put Ivanka Trump right in the middle of the Moscow negotiations

posted by ZeusHumms at 9:57 AM on March 1, 2019 [19 favorites]

NBC: U.S. to end large-scale military drills with South Korea

The move is part of the Trump administration's effort to ease tensions with North Korea, U.S. officials said.

Making concessions to vile dictators with nothing in return. At least nothing the American public is going to see. Hashtag “AmericaFirst”. Hashtag “Winning”.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:57 AM on March 1, 2019 [9 favorites]

And Ivanka was just lying a few weeks ago in televised interviews about how she and Jared had absolutely not gotten their clearances through help from Trump. She’s a POS like the rest of them.

"The president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband's clearance, zero.” w/video
posted by chris24 at 10:00 AM on March 1, 2019 [16 favorites]

Nancy Pelosi: The Rolling Stone Interview

When they say Medicare for All, people have to understand this: Medicare for All is not as good a benefit as the Affordable Care Act. It doesn’t have catastrophic [coverage] — you have to go buy it. It doesn’t have dental. It’s not as good as the plans that you can buy under the Affordable Care Act. So I say to them, come in with your ideas, but understand that we’re either gonna have to improve Medicare — for all, including seniors — or else people are not gonna get what they think they’re gonna get. And by the way, how’s it gonna be paid for?

Now, single-payer is a different thing. People use the terms interchangeably. Sometimes it could be the same thing, but it’s not always. Single-payer is just about who pays. It’s not about what the benefits are. That is, administratively, the simplest thing to do, but to convert to it? Thirty trillion dollars. Now, how do you pay for that?

Libby Watson, Splinter: Is Nancy Pelosi Lying or Just Plain Stupid?

The interesting part comes where she distinguishes between Medicare for All and single-payer. She says, “It could be the same thing, but it’s not always.” But the Medicare for All plan that was introduced in the House and is cosponsored by more than 106 members of her caucus is a single-payer plan. And she seems to get it very wrong again when she says single-payer is “not about what the benefits are.” I guess that’s true in that single-payer is a technical term describing any system in which the government is the only payer, but—and I’m sorry to repeat myself but this is where we are—the major Medicare for All bills do define the benefits, and they are generous.

What she seems to be describing is a plan to simply expand the current Medicare program, with all its current limitations, to all Americans; that explains comments like “it doesn’t have dental” and “you have to go buy” catastrophic coverage, which is true for seniors under the current version of Medicare, at least for drugs. But that’s a total straw man. Neither Jayapal, nor Sanders, nor any other advocates in the House or Senate or on the presidential stage, are interested in that; indeed, the title of Jayapal’s bill says it would establish an “improved” Medicare for All. It’s in the name.

So the question is: Is Nancy Pelosi stupid, and has somehow managed to avoid finding out this incredibly important fact about Medicare for All? Or is she lying to intentionally disparage Medicare for All—perhaps to give cover for the louder critics in her caucus who oppose the bill, or perhaps because she really just genuinely does not want to see Medicare for All become law? Perhaps because her top health aide promised health insurance executives that Democratic leadership “would be allies to the insurance industry in the fight against single-payer healthcare?”

(On that note: Just this morning, the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a massive and well-funded lobbying group formed by the healthcare industry to fight Medicare for All, sent out an email blast highlighting Pelosi’s false claims as “skepticism” in Congress over the new bill.)

Nancy Pelosi is the greatest legislative tactician that the Democratic party has ever seen, and lord knows it's a party that needs her tactical brilliance. But there is no eleven-dimensional chess explanation that could possibly justiify kneecapping the left wing of your caucus and giving enemies of universal coverage talking points. Splinter is often too far out there for me in terms of ascribing nefarious motives to Democratic leaders, but Watson is spot-on here. Pelosi says a lot of very good things in that interview, but she totally whiffed on this answer.

I don't know where all of this is coming from, and the rationale doesn't really matter. She needs to be better than this, or she needs to let those who know what they're talking about engage with the media, and focus her own energy on the fight in the House, where she can cement her legacy as the best Speaker the Democrats have ever had.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:02 AM on March 1, 2019 [15 favorites]

If Democrats can't bring themselves to prosecute and punish literal torturers of human beings, I do not hold much hope that they'll prosecute and punish the current monsters in power.

Agreed, but the Senate Dems did publish an extensive report on what was done in our name.
posted by BungaDunga at 10:08 AM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

‘They Created an Underground’: Inside the Chaotic Early Days of Trump’s Foreign Policy (Politico)

I feel like one day it will come out that there's something similar to but worse than Oliver North's Enterprise lurking behind this administration. All the shady people involved, especially Flynn, Prince, Tillerson, Pompeo and Ross, I'd honestly be shocked if there wasn't some formal off-books private mercenary grifting organization using the resources of the executive branch.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:11 AM on March 1, 2019 [7 favorites]

The official FBI Records Vault just tweeted a link to records about Kushner companies.
posted by localhuman at 10:21 AM on March 1, 2019 [13 favorites]

What she seems to be describing is a plan to simply expand the current Medicare program, with all its current limitations, to all Americans; that explains comments like “it doesn’t have dental” and “you have to go buy” catastrophic coverage, which is true for seniors under the current version of Medicare, at least for drugs. But that’s a total straw man Neither Jayapal, nor Sanders, nor any other advocates in the House or Senate or on the presidential stage, are interested in that; indeed, the title of Jayapal’s bill says it would establish an “improved” Medicare for All. It’s in the name.

Except people do keep proposing just that, over and over again: There's the Merkeley/Murphy bill ("Choose Medicare"), the Schakowsky-Whitehouse bill ("CHOICE Act"), and the Bennett-Higgins-Kaine bill ("Medicare X"), plus a Medicaid buy-in bill from Schatz and Lujan. And, of course, there's the new Jayapal bill, which is orders of magnitude more comprehensive, Medicare Extra for All, etc... "Medicare for All," if you're simply looking at the bills that have been filed that fly that flag, means anything from the milquetoast offer of "let some employers have the option to buy coverage from Medicare the same way they buy it from Blue Shield" to "the government pays for all health care out of the general fund with no deductibles or co-pays (and as far as I can tell, no provider can make a profit)." That's a very wide spectrum of ideas, and Pelosi acknowledges that in her answer. That's the first thing she says: "in any debate...you must define your terms."

So perhaps there's another option besides "Pelosi is stupid" and "Pelosi is lying." Perhaps she's staying the heck out of the party's internal debate over what these terms mean as people advocate for various proposals?
posted by zachlipton at 10:28 AM on March 1, 2019 [29 favorites]

> So perhaps there's another option besides "Pelosi is stupid" and "Pelosi is lying." Perhaps she's staying the heck out of the party's internal debate over what these terms mean as people advocate for various proposals?

Speaking to the media using language about "how do you pay for that" and conflating many different bills rather than using your platform to explain the differences between them is a definition of "staying out of" something that I'm unfamiliar with.

She should absolutely be talking about the costs of everything in internal discussions, but she should not be airing that dirty laundry just because a reporter asked her about it.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:35 AM on March 1, 2019 [14 favorites]

zachlipton: Perhaps she's staying the heck out of the party's internal debate over what these terms mean as people advocate for various proposals?

Re-reading the pull-quote from tonycpsu's comment on: Nancy Pelosi: The Rolling Stone Interview, she may be staying out of this, but she's also saying "you have to understand the details, because the details matter."

To me, it seems that her point is that you can't say "Medicaid for All" and say "this will cover everything for everybody" without changing what Medicaid is and covers. Quoting from Wikipedia, "OOP costs can include deductibles and co-pays; the costs of uncovered services—such as for long-term, dental, hearing, and vision care; and the costs related to basic Medicare's lifetime and per-incident limits."

So if Medicaid for All is a slogan used to also mean "Single Payer for Universal Coverage," we'll have to change Medicaid first, or not actually use Medicaid, but something similar but bigger.

But I still need to read the rest of the article to say anything on her other comments.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:41 AM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

Little Dawn: Trump's former acting attorney general: 'Have we lost our ability to be shocked?' (Politico)

Trump-Era Congressional Hearings Have Succumbed to Conspiracy Politics (Emma Grey Ellis for Wired, March 1, 2019)

STANLEY KUBRICK HELPED the US government fake the Moon landing. Beyoncé and Jay-Z are in the Illuminati. These stories are so well-worn folks know them by heart. By now, conspiracy theories are a part of everyday American life—so much so that they even come from the mouths of besuited members of Congress on live television.

Consider President Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen's Congressional hearing. If you're a Trump backer, you probably didn't enjoy Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and Jackie Speier questioning Cohen about the often-alleged-but-never-confirmed pee and elevator tapes, but you weren't surprised. If you lean left, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan's allegations that Cohen's (Jewish, Clinton-connected) lawyer, Lanny Daavis, was the hearing's puppeteer was likely frustrating, but not shocking.

Yet, all of this should leave you flabbergasted. Members of Congress ought to come armed with evidence—any evidence—before they air out a theory in such a formal setting. But these things go largely unchecked, because more and more often no one is surprised, they're inoculated to it. For some committee members, demonstrating that they're hep to their constituents' online musings seems to supersede Congressional hearings' purpose: fact-finding. We've now entered the age of conspiracy politics.

Emphasis mine -- anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have become normalized, and furthered in that direction by members of Congress. If not shocking, it's appalling.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:46 AM on March 1, 2019 [23 favorites]

Medicaid IS different from Medicare. It covers more. Which are you talking about?
posted by Miss Cellania at 10:47 AM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

What she seems to be describing is a plan to simply expand the current Medicare program, with all its current limitations, to all Americans; that explains comments like “it doesn’t have dental” and “you have to go buy” catastrophic coverage, which is true for seniors under the current version of Medicare, at least for drugs. But that’s a total straw man. Neither Jayapal, nor Sanders, nor any other advocates in the House or Senate or on the presidential stage, are interested in that;

If "expanding the current Medicare program" is not what people have in mind then "Medicare for all" is terrible branding. Honestly. Almost every American either has direct personal experience with Medicare as it currently exists or has a relative who does, so that word "Medicare" has a specific meaning to people. You'll never get most of the American public to hear it as a placeholder for "some kind of single payer system TBD."

As for the bills Jayapal and Sanders have introduced...Because no one expects them to pass in their current form, their current form is very sketchy, with a lot of critical details left out. (Including funding mechanisms, but also reimbursement rates for healthcare providers, how to mitigate the hit to the economy from taking the profit out of such a big industry, and a million different different versions of "Yes, but will it cover MY highly specific circumstance?") Personally I can only understand them as "aspirational" or "serving to move the Overton window." Neither of them really defines what "Medicare for all" is supposed to mean to me, at least, not clearly. (I still don't know if MY family's highly specific circumstance would be covered -- it's not under current Medicare -- and I don't know how much my own taxes would have to increase, compared to what I currently pay in premiums, copays, etc.)

I have heard the arguments about how you have to decide which direction to go before you figure out how to overcome the obstacles lying along that path. But I think we're at the "obstacles" stage now, because Democrats seem to all agree that we want universal coverage and we want it paid for by progressive taxation. We have decided we want to go that direction. So now we do need to figure out how to overcome the obstacles. We need details for the plans people are offering.

I did find the Vox explainer on the different approaches to universal healthcare offered by different Democrats helpful, though. It has a chart with 8 plans and check marks next the ones which meet certain criteria.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:51 AM on March 1, 2019 [25 favorites]

Someone with more knowledge of the regulation of public companies, please correct me, but...

Large, publicly traded companies are required to report in their 10-k (annual filing to SEC and investors) their income tax liabilities on a regular basis and disclose cash paid for taxes. I'm not sure how inter-departmental collaboration is allowed to work between the SEC and the IRS, but if those numbers don't tie to IRS filings, and if the cash paid for taxes isn't accurate, then deem the annual filings to be materially misstated and don't accept them. Give them a timeline, otherwise they lose their filing status and their stocks tank (actually i don't know what. Raise taxes, keep watching, gut the stragglers [first].

The IRS could be strengthened to enforce penalties more effectively, sure, but, barring regs I'm not aware of, the SEC already has the cudgel needed. All it would take is an incoming president to use our existing regulatory framework to this end.
posted by avalonian at 10:59 AM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]

Mod note: Let's take the Medicare-for-all discussion to the existing thread. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 11:04 AM on March 1, 2019 [12 favorites]

It has a chart with 8 plans and check marks next the ones which meet certain criteria.
Helpful, indeed. Thanks!
posted by kingless at 11:15 AM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Michael Cohen Makes History (Peggy Noonan, WSJ Opinion)

Michael Cohen is, famously, a lowlife and screwball who’s made his living as an enforcer, liar and thug. He is going to prison essentially for these things. He has taken to implying his turning on Donald Trump is linked to an inner moral conversion, which may be true but is conveniently timed: He has nothing to lose and some form of leniency to gain.

But I found his testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee credible overall, and I suspect most everyone in America did, because no one, friend of the president or foe, love him or hate him, thinks Mr. Trump has a high personal character or an especially admirable back story. And that was Mr. Cohen’s subject. [...]

None of these charges were new, precisely. They have been made in books, investigations and interviews both on and off the record. What is amazing though is that such a rebuke—such an attack on the essential nature of a president, and by an intimate—has no equal in our history. I don’t think, as we talk about Mr. Cohen’s testimony, we fully appreciate this. John Dean said there was a cancer growing in the presidency. He didn’t say Richard Nixon was the cancer. He didn’t say the president was wicked and a fraud.

This is bigger than we think, and history won’t miss the import of this testimony. [...]

We close with Mr. Cummings, in his 23rd year in the House. He put a fair-minded face on the hearing. His closing remarks were powerful and humane, and seemed targeted not only at Mr. Cohen but perhaps at the newer members of Congress.

We are here to improve our democracy, he said.

To Mr. Cohen: “If I hear you correctly, it sounds like you’re crying out for a new normal—for us getting back to normal. Sounds to me like you want to make sure our democracy stays intact.”

Then, more broadly: “The one meeting I had with the president, I said, ‘The greatest gift we can give to our children is making sure we give them a democracy that is better than the one we came upon.’ ” He hoped all of us can get “the democracy we want,” and pass it on to our children, “so they can do better than we did.”

Amen.

posted by Little Dawn at 11:37 AM on March 1, 2019 [28 favorites]

The Most Important—And Neglected—Moment of the Michael Cohen Hearing (Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic)

Cummings’s speech was remarkable in part because it wove Cohen’s personal suffering and wrongdoing together with the suffering of the nation and the wrongdoing of those currently in power. “It sounds like you’re crying out for a new normal—for us getting back to normal,” Cummings said to Cohen. “It sounds to me like you want to make sure that our democracy stays intact.” Notably, he defined the metrics by which to measure the health of that democracy broadly. “We can do more than one thing,” he told Republicans complaining about the time devoted to Cohen’s hearing, underlining the committee’s other recent hearings on access to prescription drugs, voting rights, and corruption.

posted by BungaDunga at 11:43 AM on March 1, 2019 [11 favorites]

David Cay Johnston claims that Michael Cohen’s testimony uncovered 14 distinct Trump crimes

The article says there are indicates of 14 specific crimes, falling under (at least) 11 types of crimes, and some which may depend on facts not yet established (like suborning perjury and conspiracy, which will require verifying Cohen's details).

Not just 14 crimes, 14 indictable acts. 11 categories of crimes, each of which may have multiple counts. It's not like anyone thinks he committed income tax fraud exactly once, even if only 2016 was mentioned. Cohen may have only described details that indicate 14 crimes, but investigation of any of them would no doubt turn up a swarm of others.

The 11 types of crimes: accounting, bank, charity, insurance, mail, wire, federal income tax, state income tax, local property tax fraud, campaign finance disclosure and federal ethics disclosure.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:45 AM on March 1, 2019 [25 favorites]

I get the feeling Trump will end up going down for the same reason Al Capone did. Tax evasion.
posted by sexyrobot at 11:51 AM on March 1, 2019 [25 favorites]

WaPo, How a HUD official turned the Michael Cohen hearing into a reality TV audition

But Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump family aide turned federal housing bureaucrat, has long reveled in the limelight and has asked permission to star in a reality TV show while serving as a HUD official.

In an Oct. 18, 2018, memo to officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Patton sought ethical and legal guidance on potentially participating in a “docuseries” about black Republicans, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Among the 10 questions Patton asked:

Would HUD object to her attending events or non-HUD related meetings at the White House if she took a two-month unpaid leave of absence for filming? Would she be allowed to refer to herself as a current member of the Trump administration?
...
The show, by producers of “The Real Housewives of Potomac” and “Shahs of Sunset,” would center on a group of powerful black women such as Patton, Trump campaign adviser Katrina Pierson and conservative commentator Candace Owens.

Of course, it doesn’t seem like there would be ethical problems simply doing interviews for a serious documentary for free, but that apparently wasn’t considered.
posted by zachlipton at 12:18 PM on March 1, 2019 [7 favorites]

Every week Primaries For Progress will do a deep dive on a democract who deserves to be primaried.
posted by The Whelk at 12:32 PM on March 1, 2019 [22 favorites]

@RepCummings staff just asked WH staff if the Kelly and McGahn memos on #Kushner security clearance exist. WH staff refused to confirm or deny—three times.

Yeah, that'll go well.
posted by Dashy at 1:06 PM on March 1, 2019 [36 favorites]

@RepCummings staff just asked WH staff if the Kelly and McGahn memos on #Kushner security clearance exist. WH staff refused to confirm or deny—three times.

Looks like it's time to invite Kelly and McGahn to the House for clarification under oath, no?
posted by HyperBlue at 1:13 PM on March 1, 2019 [43 favorites]

Large, publicly traded companies are required to report in their 10-k (annual filing to SEC and investors) their income tax liabilities on a regular basis and disclose cash paid for taxes.

The Trump Organization is not publicly traded. Or am I misunderstanding which companies you think might have discrepancies between SEC and IRS filings?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:14 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

“I can tell you personally, [Cohen] said to me at least a dozen times, that he made the decision on the payments and he didn’t tell you,” Hannity told Trump. “He told me, personally.”

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) tweeted in response:

Sean Hannity is now volunteering himself as a witness. I look forward to his testimony. https://t.co/eOjhlkg4mU
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) March 1, 2019

EXcellent. Let's get this pawty stawted.

I think this could be very interesting.

What is the context for Cohen repeatedly disclosing this to Hannity?

I'd ask if this information was disclosed to Hannity as a journalist, who then sat on the fantastic story of a lifetime as either an in-kind campaign contribution or quid-pro-quo for access or if it was told to him as a co-conspirator in the greatest electoral fraud America has ever known.

I'd also ask if he told his superiors at Fox news.

You'd either broaden the electoral conspiracy to include the informal propaganda arm of the Republican party or you'd highlight them as being completely terrible journalists actively hiding what they know from their viewers.
posted by srboisvert at 1:14 PM on March 1, 2019 [31 favorites]

Today at CPAC, Kellyanne Conway claims Trump had "the absolute right" to order that his son-in-law Jared Kushner be given top-secret security clearance.

These people need to get their story straight.
posted by zakur at 1:22 PM on March 1, 2019 [18 favorites]

I mean, Trump really does have the right to order that Kushner gets a security clearance, but Trump had nothing to do with it, and everyone thought it was a terrible idea to give Kushner a security clearance, and Kushner got a security clearance anyway, somehow, even though everyone but Trump agreed he shouldn't have one. Makes perfect sense to me.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 1:30 PM on March 1, 2019 [12 favorites]

Today at CPAC, Kellyanne Conway claims Trump had "the absolute right" to order that his son-in-law Jared Kushner be given top-secret security clearance.

These people need to get their story straight.
posted by zakur at 4:22 PM on March 1 [2 favorites +] [!]

It's dumb, but I imagine they'd argue that the fact that he has the right to do it is not necessarily inconsistent with the claim that he didn't do it. They make this kind of having-it-both-ways argument a lot, e.g., "There was no collusion, and, even if there was, collusion is not a crime."
posted by scarylarry at 1:33 PM on March 1, 2019 [8 favorites]

These people need to get their story straight

Kushner got his clearance the normal way. If he didn't get it the normal way, it was just one of Trump's lackeys acting on his own. If that lackey was ordered by Trump, well, Trump has the absolute right to do it.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:34 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

These people need to get their story straight.

They don't want to get their story straight; having multiple stories being spewed by multiple surrogates is par for the course. They want to flood the field with bullshit because the media gets entranced by the bullshit and trying to find their way through it, so that they spend all their airtime talking about who said what and how it doesn't make sense or contradicts something else somebody said so that becomes the story, instead of the actual abuse of power or other shitty thing that happened.
posted by nubs at 1:34 PM on March 1, 2019 [62 favorites]

Adam Davidson has some questions for Allen Weisselberg.

I particularly like this one:

—Michael Cohen gave the House Committee on Oversight and Reform summary financial records from 2011 to 2013. They show the Trump Organization’s liquid cash and securities position growing dramatically over these years, even though the company was, simultaneously, spending several hundred million dollars in cash on golf properties. It appears that the Trump Organization acquired at least four hundred million dollars in cash at a time when it made no major sales and experienced no major change in its income-generating businesses. Where did that money come from?

posted by suelac at 1:57 PM on March 1, 2019 [77 favorites]

*sigh* About a dozen trees cut, dumped into Potomac River at Trump golf club in Virginia [WaPo]
posted by Westringia F. at 2:46 PM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]

Right under the "questions for Weisselberg" article at the New Yorker, there's the teaser for another article:

Donald Trump Went to Vietnam, and Michael Cohen Made It Hell
Rarely has a President been so publicly humiliated, in different settings and by such different actors, in so short a span of time.
By Susan B. Glasser - Feb. 28, 2019

Is she really saying that a sitting president has only "rarely" been so publicly humiliated? Is she trying to imply that this happens every three to five administrations, or maybe one in ten or so? That she has examples of half a dozen other times it's happened?

Because I'm thinking that a President's ex-lawyer telling Congress, "my former boss is a criminal and several varieties of cheat that might technically be legal," is unique, not "rare."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:56 PM on March 1, 2019 [21 favorites]

Because I'm thinking that a President's ex-lawyer telling Congress, "my former boss is a criminal and several varieties of cheat that might technically be legal," is unique, not "rare."

John Dean: I Testified Against Nixon. Here’s My Advice for Michael Cohen. (NYT Opinion)

He thanked the members, and again accepted responsibility for his bad behavior. He then told the legislators, “Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, and this is why I agreed to appear before you today.” This was the most troubling — actually, chilling — thing he said in his five hours before the committee.

Since Mr. Cohen’s warning came in his closing words, there was no opportunity for committee members to ask follow-up questions. So I double-checked with his attorney, Lanny Davis, if I had understood Mr. Cohen’s testimony correctly. Mr. Davis responded, “He was referring to Trump’s authoritarian mind-set, and lack of respect for democracy and democratic institutions.”

Indeed, what is most similar about my and Mr. Cohen’s testimony is that we both challenged authoritarian presidents of the United States by revealing their lies and abuses of power. Mr. Trump is the first authoritarian president since Mr. Nixon, and neither he nor his supporters will play fair. Mr. Cohen will be dealing with these people the rest of his life.

In fact, all Americans are affected by the growing authoritarianism that made Mr. Trump president. These people who facilitated his rise will remain long after Mr. Trump is gone. We need to pay more attention.

posted by Little Dawn at 3:09 PM on March 1, 2019 [50 favorites]

Josh Marshall's interview of John Dean on his podcast last year was very interesting and enjoyable.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:20 PM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

I will just chime in here as MeFi's resident environmental attorney that randomly chucking a dozen trees into the Potomac is almost certainly a violation of the Clean Water Act and also probably violates one or two local ordinances (just an educated guess). Maybe their lawyers could find some sort of exception, but I doubt it. Christ, what an asshole.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 3:58 PM on March 1, 2019 [72 favorites]

ProPublica has coverage of environmental infractions involving cutting down protected trees and filling in protected wetlands at two of Trump's New Jersey golf courses. They present a roadmap for how the Trump Org operates, The Six Stages of Trump’s Resistance: "Delay, Dissemble, Shift Blame, Haggle and Get Personally Involved. (The elements can be used in any order, more than once.) Often, there’s a sixth stage, too: Offer a job to one of the key players on the opposing side."
posted by peeedro at 4:17 PM on March 1, 2019 [8 favorites]

CPAC sets the agenda with dudgeon and dragons (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)

The Trump administration is taking a brief break from running roughshod over conventions to attend one.

What is the Conservative Political Action Conference? Is it a gathering of people who are enraged by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and want to look at pictures of her and talk about her all the time, growing more and more indignant? Is it a summit of those genuinely enthused by the prospect of hearing from — or attending an after-party with — Donald Trump Jr.? […]

CPAC falls but once a year, although this is not entirely true; as with any good convention, the ideas and personalities showcased at CPAC are on perpetual display online. CPAC attendees are just the human forms the ideas are forced to assume if they wish to assemble in a given room at a given time. You can be the sound of a dog whistle; today, you must put on a tie so you can mingle with such luminaries as the man behind My Pillow.

posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:34 PM on March 1, 2019 [10 favorites]

"Delay, Dissemble, Shift Blame, Haggle and Get Personally Involved. (The elements can be used in any order, more than once.) Often, there’s a sixth stage, too: Offer a job to one of the key players on the opposing side."

Would be interesting to see how mapping this onto his obstruction in office works. Probably not a perfect fit but pretty good I bet.
posted by scalefree at 4:38 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

I have to think that throwing trees into the water is part and parcel of the whole "Cruelty is the point" thing. They do it because they can, and because it'll do damage to things "the libs" care about, like trees and water, and because doing the right thing (getting permits, doing mitigation) costs time and money.

If I had a project that involved taking down trees and throwing them in the water, I would have to consult with three federal agencies, probably two state agencies, and the county. And I see little reason why I would get any approvals from any of them, because there is no good reason to throw the trees in the water.
posted by suelac at 5:02 PM on March 1, 2019 [12 favorites]

That article has a pretty choice trump quote at the end regarding a prior removal of 400 trees at the same club where he called it an "environmental enhancement".

The things about this story is how little you have to look to find a trail of corruption. That article quotes a Trump Organization environmental expert named Ed Russo who bizarrely states that the trees were cut down because they were making the soil unstable. Russo has no environmental credentials but he is the author of Donald J Trump: An Environmental Hero. So I wondered what job did Russo get in the administration: none, he ended up on the board of company that makes water purification equipment. This company was given an EPA contract after meetings with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and Scott Pruitt at the request of Sheldon Adelson. This water purification company is owned by a Russian-Israeli billionaire who "accumulated his wealth in Russia during the fall of communism, in circumstances that have not been fully revealed" and appears to be connected to Netanyahu's ongoing corruption scandal.
posted by peeedro at 5:10 PM on March 1, 2019 [70 favorites]

The BBC, with some good news: Scottish Government Wins Donald Trump Wind Power Legal Costs

Donald Trump's Aberdeenshire golf resort must pay the Scottish government's legal costs following a court battle over a major North Sea wind power development. Mr Trump battled unsuccessfully in the courts to halt the project before he became US president. A total of 11 turbines make up the development off Aberdeen. Judges have now ruled Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd should pay the legal bills incurred. […] The sum involved has not been disclosed.

posted by Doktor Zed at 6:04 PM on March 1, 2019 [29 favorites]

Large, publicly traded companies are required to report in their 10-k (annual filing to SEC and investors) their income tax liabilities on a regular basis and disclose cash paid for taxes.

>The Trump Organization is not publicly traded. Or am I misunderstanding which companies you think might have discrepancies between SEC and IRS filings?

I think you're reading someone's point about how to force companies to pay the taxes they owe as being about the many crimes of Donald Trump. I blame all the news for being too much.
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:11 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

So some practical joker has created a hoax book entry on Amazon for the Mueller Report.

It's probably not a hoax, The Washington Post has already announced they will be putting out the report within three days of it being published.

Here is the Post's version.

It'll be public domain so there'll be a scramble to be the first to get it out.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:26 PM on March 1, 2019 [7 favorites]

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirshner explained in excellent details how the RICO case may go down
posted by growabrain at 6:37 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

Scott Hechinger:

Yesterday, while we were all focusing on Cohen hearing, Justice Thomas & Gorsuch issued a terrifying dissenting opinion. Would undermine the well-established constitutional right to appointed counsel in criminal cases. They’d overturn Gideon v. Wainwright. Goodbye public defense. 55 yrs ago, Gideon held that “in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.” Yesterday, Thomas & Gorsuch criticized the ruling as too “expansive.” Of course, the Justices relied on the apparent understanding of the Constitution at the time of ratification. They claimed it simply rejected the English practice of *prohibiting people from engaging a lawyer* if they so chose &, unlike all of my clients, were *able to afford.* But they also looked to experience since. Not usually their thing. And...

Claimed people accused of crimes who can’t afford a lawyer *dont need* constitutional protection bc Federal & state govts have shown they know how to do what’s “necessary” to fund appointed counsel anyway. Apparently, Thomas & Gorsuch are unaware of the crisis of underfunded public defenders, crushing caseloads, & denial of meaningful representation, as the promise of Gideon has never fully been realized. They also clearly never read this stunning report: One Lawyer, 194 Felony Cases, and No Time

posted by T.D. Strange at 6:47 PM on March 1, 2019 [48 favorites]

Both the WaPo and Skyhorse editions of the report have March 26th as the release date. Is there any significance to this?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:49 PM on March 1, 2019

Mod note: Deleted a comment about the apparently-not-a-hoax Amazon listing for the Mueller report with the Dershowitz forward, only because having the ENTIRE listing in the thread is a little much. Listing is here if you want to see for yourself.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 6:49 PM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]

[Deleted a comment about the apparently-not-a-hoax Amazon listing for the Mueller report with the Dershowitz forward, only because having the ENTIRE listing in the thread is a little much. Listing is here if you want to see for yourself.]

I only out up the whole thing because I was sure it was about to be deleted & I wanted to preserve it for the rest of my fellow MeFites to enjoy.
posted by scalefree at 6:53 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

More on the Skyhorse edition of the Mueller Report from Publishers Weekly. Seems very much a legitimate thing.
posted by chrominance at 6:55 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

So some practical joker has created a hoax book entry on Amazon for the Mueller Report.

It's probably not a hoax, The Washington Post has already announced they will be putting out the report within three days of it being published.

I read this morning that two publishing houses are prepared to put out the report in book form.
posted by Mental Wimp at 7:00 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

Do we actually think there will a publicly released report from Mueller?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:05 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

Two publishing houses apparently do, as well as the Washington Post.

They're not complete dummies over there.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:08 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

What kind of a moron do you have to be to get Dershowitz to write the introduction to your print of the report?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:14 PM on March 1, 2019 [6 favorites]

What kind of a moron do you have to be to get Dershowitz to write the introduction to your print of the report?

It appears he is just doing a grift job, as well. The report will be public domain. He is adding an introduction which is what people will be paying for. Skyhorse publishing looks like a vanity pub house. I won't waste your time or mine doing any more than the brief skim where it flat out reeked of "pay us and we will publish it".
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 7:22 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

the Mueller report with the Dershowitz forward

How convenient for those who will read a few pages of what's bound to be a lot to wade through for professors and lawyers, let alone for laypeople, before giving up or falling asleep. It's like when evangelist Ray Comfort published Darwin's Origin of Species a few years back. The introduction to this edition, written by Comfort himself, explains how what you're about to (not) read is a bunch of godless humanist proto-Nazi garbage, so don't bother, here's what you should think instead.

Still, though—Dershowitz? Was Sean Hannity not available or something?
posted by Rykey at 7:22 PM on March 1, 2019 [6 favorites]

Do we actually think there will a publicly released report from Mueller?

If DOJ doesn't release it, the House will subpoena it and (barring a big legal fight that DOJ somehow wins) then it's a hop, skip, and a leak away from being public.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:23 PM on March 1, 2019

Doesn't even have to leak, any Congressperson could read it in to the Congressional Record with no legal consequences. They have absolute immunity for speech on the floor.
posted by Justinian at 7:38 PM on March 1, 2019 [19 favorites]

Hold on, Mueller doesn’t leak shit this entire time and the suddenly his big report is out there?
posted by gucci mane at 7:54 PM on March 1, 2019

No, it's not out yet. People are just planning ways to publish it as soon as it *is* available.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:00 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

he's been working all this time to secure the very best book deal.
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:04 PM on March 1, 2019 [20 favorites]

Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), senior Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led a group of Democratic senators in introducing legislation that would grant Washington, D.C. full statehood, making it the 51st state and giving its citizens full representation in Congress.

30 co-sponsors.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:49 PM on March 1, 2019 [116 favorites]

Skyhorse publishing looks like a vanity pub house.
It's not.
posted by neroli at 9:05 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Politico: The judge in charge of Roger Stone's criminal trial on Friday demanded to know why the court wasn’t made aware of the “imminent general release” of a book that could include discussion of the longtime Trump adviser's legal proceedings, potentially violating a gag order.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:43 PM on March 1, 2019 [22 favorites]

GOP's anti-Muslim display likening Rep. Omar to a terrorist rocks West Virginia capitol. This poster juxtaposing 9/11 and Minnesota Rep Ilhan Omar was displayed in the WV capitol as part of WV GOP Day. Outraged democratic delegates kicked in a door to protest on the floor, republicans defended their free speech rights and failed to renounce the poster. The House Sergeant at Arms has resigned after reportedly saying "all Muslims are terrorists" during the confrontation.
posted by peeedro at 9:45 PM on March 1, 2019 [47 favorites]

Will Roger Stone get yet another mulligan?

Find out on our next episode of Rich White People
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:06 PM on March 1, 2019 [31 favorites]

Your daily dose of schadenfreude: the 2017 press release on the official GOP website announcing that Michael Cohen was named an RNC finance chair, next to three separate headlines on the sidebar calling him a liar. Somebody finally remembered to memory-hole it today, but the Internet Archive never forgets.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 1:45 AM on March 2, 2019 [40 favorites]

Buzzfeed’s Zoe Tillman: Paul Manafort Didn’t Just Ask For Less Prison Time In His Latest Court Filings — He’s Attacking Mueller Too

In a sentencing memo in his Virginia case, Manafort accused the special counsel of “spreading misinformation” about him and using the criminal justice system to place the maximum pressure on him to flip on President Donald Trump.[…]

Manafort’s lawyers repeated their claim that Mueller pursued Manafort for crimes largely unrelated to his work on President Donald Trump’s campaign in order to pressure Manafort to flip on the president. Political and legal pundits have speculated that Manafort is angling for a pardon; Trump in November told the New York Post that a pardon for Manafort was not “off the table.”

Manafort is due for sentencing at the EDVA on March 7th.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:19 AM on March 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

You can’t solve North Korea’s nuclear challenge if you ignore its torture chambers (Jackson Diehl, WaPo Opinion)

In 2017, his administration waged an aggressive campaign to call attention to North Korea’s record on human rights, including camps that have been described as worse than Nazi Germany’s and such crimes against humanity as extermination, enslavement and sexual violence. In addition to Trump’s speech, the United States convened a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the Kim regime’s offenses.

Now, the administration has veered to the other extreme. For the first time since 2014, there was no U.S.-sponsored Security Council meeting on North Korean human rights last year. Vice President Pence canceled a speech on the subject in December. Human rights did not figure on this week’s agenda in Hanoi, and neither Trump nor any other senior official said a word about it — apart from the president’s shameful statement concerning Warmbier.

By now, Trump’s shallow strategy for dealing with adversaries such as Kim has become painfully obvious: First hit them with sanctions and insults, then shower them with praise, excuse their abuses and hope that presidential charm will prompt them to make concessions their regimes have rejected for decades. [...] The president’s theory is that Kim will trade his nuclear arsenal for the prospect of transforming North Korea’s economy so that it produces the prosperity seen in the South.

As U.S. intelligence professionals have tried to explain to Trump, Kim prefers holding nukes to feeding his people. He knows that his regime would not exist without them; nor could the totalitarian system survive economic modernization.

Let’s imagine that Kim was tempted by Trump’s offer. How would it be possible to open his country to foreign investors and normal trade while maintaining four huge concentration camps where, according to a U.N. report, tens of thousands of people, including entire families, are held incommunicado for life? What about the estimated 400,000 forced laborers, including children, working in construction and agriculture?

The simple truth is that the North Korean regime, its nuclear arsenal and its system of repression are intricately linked. If Kim were serious about denuclearization, there would be signs of an internal easing. There aren’t.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:39 AM on March 2, 2019 [33 favorites]

GOP's anti-Muslim display likening Rep. Omar to a terrorist rocks West Virginia capitol.

Never Forget was first used in reference for the Holocaust and that didn’t stop Trump from calling Nazis “very fine people.” So Republicans and those West Virginians can go fuck themselves, bunch of bigots.
posted by chris24 at 6:45 AM on March 2, 2019 [29 favorites]

GOP Admins Had 38 Times More Criminal Convictions Than Democrats, 1961-2016. We compared 28 years each of Democratic and Republican administrations, 1961-2016, five Presidents from each party. During that period Republicans scored eighteen times more individuals and entities indicted, thirty-eight times more convictions, and thirty-nine times more individuals who had prison time.

The state GOP's anti-Muslim display in West Virginia is appalling. WTF is wrong with folks? This is supposed to be real life, not The Onion.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:06 AM on March 2, 2019 [46 favorites]

The Guardian has an interesting piece of first person reporting by Dave Eggers ("Why Donald Trump could win again"), in which he talks about attending the dueling Trump/O'Rourke El Paso rallies.
posted by tarshish bound at 7:13 AM on March 2, 2019 [4 favorites]

That Mattis article is a year old. He resigned a few months ago over Syria policy differences with the President.

Damn. Just cannot keep up with the Trump Whirlwind of Shit.
posted by scalefree at 7:20 AM on March 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

Trump Aides Keep Writing Memos to Protect Themselves (David A. Graham, The Atlantic)

Their urge to document the president's requests and interactions is justified by his behavior.

posted by ZeusHumms at 7:36 AM on March 2, 2019 [3 favorites]

The Eggers article also includes this passage, which is so on-the-nose I wish I could believe it's fabricated.

I asked Gaudet and Thompson how, as self-employed entrepreneurs, they got their healthcare.

“Right now I don’t even have healthcare,” Thompson said.

“I go to the emergency room,” Gaudet said, laughing.

“I just go to the emergency room,” Thompson agreed.

I asked if they would support higher taxes for millionaires if it meant that people like them would get free healthcare. Gaudet didn’t hesitate. “No, because one day we might be the millionaires.”
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:37 AM on March 2, 2019 [69 favorites]

That Mattis article is a year old. He resigned a few months ago over Syria policy differences with the President.

No reason not to remind people that the Mattis "warrior monk" hagiography was BS from the beginning. The Theranos scandal is a reminder that Mattis is a cheap grifter just like all the rest of them.
posted by JackFlash at 8:16 AM on March 2, 2019 [8 favorites]

More from "Financial Crime Reporter" David Cay Johnston:

When we see Trump’s tax returns, you can bet his income won’t support a net worth anywhere near even one billion dollars. And don’t be surprised if his net worth turns out to be less than zero, as he was forced to admit in 1990 when I reported that his net worth was negative $295 million, meaning that you are probably worth more than Donald Trump.
posted by growabrain at 8:22 AM on March 2, 2019 [19 favorites]

The BBC, with some good news: Scottish Government Wins Donald Trump Wind Power Legal Costs

And today he's tweeting about it: "Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship! "


Which sounds very much like he's implying the U.S. / U.K. relationship could be contingent on those legal costs disappearing. As well as using his position as president to promote his private business.
posted by Buntix at 8:23 AM on March 2, 2019 [14 favorites]

The Eggers article's reasoning seems a bit... flawed to me. "Trump fans that come to a Trump rally still support Trump! Therefore he could WIN AGAIN!"

I mean, he could totally win again. Complacency is a great danger. But I don't see how a Trump rally being a hotbed of Trump support gives us any particular insight on the question.
posted by obliviax at 8:42 AM on March 2, 2019 [27 favorites]

The Kushner security clearance thing may be more shocking to people who have deep cultural ties to the intelligence apparatus like Hennessy and Yates, but to someone on the outside, security clearances are just another executive prerogative that of course Trump would abuse.

Indeed, I have a security clearance and I'm offended that the president would bypass all of that process that exists for good reason. But I'm not sure it's illegal for him to do it. It's his process. As I understand it, he can tell any information he wants to anyone he wants. I'm not at all surprised the president of "the rules don't apply to me" did not follow preferred practice or defer to the experts. I'm also not a bit surprised that it was for two-bit dictator/childish impulse control reasons. We knew all of that was coming the day he won the election.

I haven't lost my ability to be shocked, but I can't be shocked about something I already knew. I'd be shocked if he had said "well, I guess you're out, Jared. Gotta trust my security experts know what they're doing. [shrug]"
posted by ctmf at 9:02 AM on March 2, 2019 [9 favorites]

Eggers’ name sits above the titles of a couple books I really liked and he has some role in “McSweeney’s” - a magazine I also really like but he wrote this crazy piece once about well a taxi ride in Saudi Arabia that will forever make me suspicious of his impression of the meaning of any interpersonal interaction. Or crowd scene (he mentions Trump had 15,000 visitors and O’Rourke only 7~ but in the end wasn’t it reversed? According to the Sheriffs office?)
posted by From Bklyn at 9:05 AM on March 2, 2019 [6 favorites]

But I'm not sure it's illegal for him to do it.

Its not illegal. But he did lie about it. You remember lying, it’s the thing Bill Clinton was impeached for.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:11 AM on March 2, 2019 [48 favorites]

Which sounds very much like he's implying the U.S. / U.K. relationship could be contingent on those legal costs disappearing.

Which is a typical piece of authoritarian/mob boss thinking - put pressure on A to stop B happening, with none of the little-people laws applying.

How many ways is this wrong? Apart from thinking that the UK government can pressure a court to reverse a decision, which is also standard incomprehension about the judiciary and the government, it assumes that the bit of the UK which make trade deals - which is the Westminster parliament - is connected with the Scottish judiciary. Which it isn't - two (almost) completely separate legal systems. The Scottish government, furthermore, has no say in trade agreements and is uniformly ignored in Westminster. (For example, the UK gov said yesterday that it would only issue three-year non-extensible visas to EU students studying in the UK. Scottish degrees are 4 years. If that goes ahead, the Scottish university system is rendered inaccessible to EU students, with enormous economic and cultural implications. Did the UK gov even think about this? No sign that it did.)

So 45 is signalling that a government which has just won costs against him should illegally pressure the courts to rescind (how?) the finding, to further the interests of a different government with which the Scottish gov is at very public odds with, and which will do deals that harm Scotland without a qualm.

We know he's a know-nothing wannabe capo, so none of this is news, but more straws for the camel are always welcome.
posted by Devonian at 9:15 AM on March 2, 2019 [18 favorites]

It’s not the lying about it, even. It’s the fact that he (legally) ushered in a threat to national security, literally putting his family before the country.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:17 AM on March 2, 2019 [12 favorites]

I'm only half through the Eggers article and already stumbling on the anecdata that because he met POC at the rally they are representing the wider populace of the USA. Nothing at all confirms this.
This Rolling Stone article has different numbers of attendance.
Obviously, a Trump reelection is a possibility that everyone should take seriously. But the Eggers article seems clickbaity.
posted by mumimor at 9:25 AM on March 2, 2019 [5 favorites]

But I don't see how a Trump rally being a hotbed of Trump support gives us any particular insight on the question.

He held a shit-ton of crowded rallies in 2018 and then suffered the biggest mid-term defeat in history.
posted by chris24 at 9:49 AM on March 2, 2019 [32 favorites]

Democratic oversight is 'bullshit': Trump goes off-script at CPAC (Guardian)

Basking in adulation at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), America’s biggest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives, the president said: “You know I’m totally off script right now and this is how I got elected, by being off script. And if we don’t go off script, our country’s in big trouble, folks, because we have to get it back.”

Trump then took aim at a Democratic proposal to tackle climate change by adopting a sweeping “Green New Deal”, attacked by Republicans as expensive and bound to curtail cars and planes. He said sarcastically: “I think the new green deal, or whatever the hell they call it. The Green New Deal, right? I encourage it. I think it’s really something that they should promote.”

To laughter, Trump continued, mockingly: “No planes. No energy. When the wind stops blowing, that’s the end of your electric. ‘Let’s hurry up. Darling, darling, is the wind blowing today? I’d like to watch television, darling.’”

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

Trump also insisted he had been joking when, at a press conference in July 2016, he encouraged Russia to find his rival Hillary Clinton’s missing 30,000 emails, and blamed the “sick” media for using it to incriminate him. The audience chanted: “Lock her up! “Lock her up!” – a common anti-Clinton refrain during the campaign.

The president described the justice department’s Russia investigation as “a phoney witch-hunt” and claimed that since no collusion has yet come to light, Democrats in the House now want to look into his personal finances. He dismissed the oversight efforts with an unpresidential word: “Bullshit.”

Trump went on to rail against James Comey, whom he fired as FBI director, and Jeff Sessions, his former attorney general, even mocking the latter’s southern accent.

posted by Little Dawn at 10:28 AM on March 2, 2019 [20 favorites]

Trump claims his plea for Russia to hack Clinton's email was a 'joke' (Politico)

Before Trump spoke, the television screens in the room played a contentious interview between American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp, the organizer of the conference, and CNN anchor Chris Cuomo. At one point, Cuomo said the president “lies all the time.” Schlapp shot back, “Not true.”

At one point, as the CPAC crowd looked on, CNN flashed a chyron that said, “Conservatives fail to call out Trump’s repeated lies.”

posted by Little Dawn at 10:40 AM on March 2, 2019 [13 favorites]

NPR has a recap of CPAC, "as to be expected perhaps, has amounted to not much more than a pep rally, a corralling of the troops for the president's re-election bid," from a number of attendees saying "we need the wall" and talking about Dems courting "the Spanish vote," to former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker compared abortion to taking a baby home and killing it. Good times, good times.

Meanwhile, As U.S. Jerusalem Consulate Shuts, Pro-Israel Envoy Takes On Palestinian Relations (Daniel Estrin for NPR, March 1, 2019)

When the United States closes its Jerusalem Consulate on Monday, it will not only be winding down a 175-year diplomatic mission. The move also represents another major downgrade of the Trump administration's relations with the Palestinians.

The Consulate General in Jerusalem is the U.S. government's de facto representative office to the Palestinian Authority. The diplomatic mission, first established in 1844 and housed in a historical stone estate in downtown Jerusalem, will be downgraded to a Palestinian Affairs Unit and will merge with the new U.S. Embassy to Israel.

Consul General Karen Sasahara, who has served as an unofficial ambassador to the Palestinians, is leaving Jerusalem and won't be replaced. A lower-ranking foreign service officer will head the new unit. U.S Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a longtime supporter of Israel's West Bank settler movement whom Palestinians see as their ideological opponent, will oversee diplomatic relations with the Palestinians and Israelis both.

That ... is not good.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:02 AM on March 2, 2019 [33 favorites]

Outside of the question of “collusion”, not only are the Republicans declining to give any positive defense of Trump regarding his criminal behavior; but the President himself is declining to do so. The President would rather complain about how unfair it is to be investigated for “all of his deals”, than to claim that said deals are lacking in criminality. The point is not that he’s innocent; the point is that *he won*, and people should let him keep his trophy.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:13 AM on March 2, 2019 [13 favorites]

Daniel Dale: This is 100% the weirdest Trump speech I've ever heard.

Dale has watched every Trump rally.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:18 AM on March 2, 2019 [75 favorites]

Trump Aides Keep Writing Memos to Protect Themselves (David A. Graham, The Atlantic)
Their urge to document the president's requests and interactions is justified by his behavior.

Yeah if people working for this administration are anything like me (questionable) there are all KINDS of documentation of unethical stuff waiting to be uncovered by close audits. When I worked for a delusional narcissist it got to the point that almost every progress note or documentation I made read "At direction of Administrative Director [Narcissist's Name]...." Because I knew I was breaking the law but was directly ordered to do so.

I also quit as soon as I could get another job. So did LITERALLY ALL my coworkers within a month, leaving them with zero people to actually do that particular job. (Did the boss get fired? No. Last I heard she was promoted.)
posted by threeturtles at 11:24 AM on March 2, 2019 [11 favorites]

Dale covered CPAC's swivel-eyed froth-mouthed looniness on Thursday and Friday, but even that wasn't sufficient preparation for Trump's two-hour rant today (Threadreader version).

This one defies simple excerpting (though of course there are the usual lies from his campaign rallies). Trump narcissistically feeds off the energy of his MAGA crowds, upping his rhetoric whenever he senses applause coming, but CPAC is an inmates-running-the-asylum convocation, with virtually nothing off limits—except mocking Jeff Sessions's accent.

This was an indication of how badly Cohen's testimony and the Hanoi summit's breakdown have affected Trump. We can expect more like this as his political fortunes wane.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:48 AM on March 2, 2019 [35 favorites]

We are listening to Candle in the Wind. Elton John is a staple of Trump-speech playlists.

What are the chances it was the “England’s Rose” version?
posted by Sys Rq at 12:56 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Inside the Trump defense strategy (Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon)

Playground rules persist and Trump plows forward in the wake of Michael Cohen's stinging testimony

Facts, logic, and argument are simply not on the Republicans’ side when it comes to defending Trump. I’ve had people call me terrible names like “liberal” all the time when I write Salon columns pointing to incidences of possible “collusion” between the Russians and Trump, but only very occasionally does one of my Republican critics venture very far into the facts involved.
...

They knew exactly who he was and what he meant. That’s why they voted for him.

posted by ZeusHumms at 12:59 PM on March 2, 2019 [10 favorites]

Time for a change: Can 2020 Democrats break free from the failures of neoliberalism? (Paul Rosenberg, Salon)

One of the most striking things about the blossoming 2020 Democratic primary campaign is how much the candidates have broken with the party’s defensive, neoliberal posture of the past quarter-century — a period of time in which Republicans have only won the popular vote for president once, but have nonetheless dominated the parameters of debate. Now, all that has changed.

... [It is] a transformation leading away from the Democrats’ decades-long infatuation with neoliberalism, with a similar expansion of support for ideas like a $15 minimum wage, debt-free college education, taxing the wealthy, a federal jobs guarantee and a Green New Deal.
...

In short, neoliberals argued they shared liberal/left values, but favored "more practical solutions."

But time has shown them not to be more practical after all, as Democratic activists and base voters have increasingly come to realize. The question in 2020 is how the party as a whole evolves, how it honestly comes to terms with its past. It’s a question that all the presidential hopefuls must grapple with — and their supporters as well.
...

Ideally, the Democrats' 2020 primary campaign could and should involve a full-throated debate about the best ways to realize the full meaning of inclusive growth, including all the non-economic dimensions of recognition as well. It should flesh out specific aspects of what progressive populism means, and how to achieve its goals. It should promote sound policies to advance inclusive growth. And it should reclaim the once commonsense idea that while the market can be a good servant, it makes a terrible, tyrannical master.

posted by ZeusHumms at 1:37 PM on March 2, 2019 [7 favorites]

‘We’re not going to turn on our own’: Republicans rally around Trump as threats mount (WaPo)

Acquiescence to Trump is now the defining trait of the Republican Party more than two years into his presidency — overwhelming and at times erasing principles that conservatives viewed as the foundation of the party for more than a half century.

Trump’s ownership of the GOP was on vivid display again Saturday, when the president appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, an annual gathering that has transformed into a raucous celebration of Trump, featuring propaganda-style art and a speaker who declared that the president was “chosen by God.” [...]

“They fetishize this nonconservative in the Oval because it’s tribal,” said Mike Murphy, a veteran GOP strategist and Trump critic. “It’s us versus them, we’re right and they’re evil, and it’s created this Trump cult that dominates the party.”

Trump's Base Clings Tight Despite Rising Tide of Troubles (Bloomberg)

Recent surveys by Reuters/Ipsos and Politico/Morning Consult each placed Trump’s job approval rating with self-identified Republicans at 82 percent, roughly double his rating among the public at large.

posted by Little Dawn at 3:00 PM on March 2, 2019 [11 favorites]

Trump’s job approval rating with self-identified Republicans at 82 percent, roughly double his rating among the public at large.
But the percentage of Americans who are self-identified as Republicans is shrinking steadily...
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:12 PM on March 2, 2019 [22 favorites]

Vox's Aaron Rupar has assembled a highlights reel of CPAC's batshittery (Threadreader version), of which Trump videos make up a large portion. Still, even among Skittles parties and Stalin's anti-hamburger agenda, Trump's performance is the nuttiest:

—Trump makes out with the American flag
—TRUMP: "You know I'm totally off script right now. And this is how I got elected -- by being off script"
—Trump says "bullshit.": "We had the greatest win of all time... Unfortunately you put the wrong people in a couple of positions, and they leave people for a long time that should not be there. All of a sudden, they are trying to take you out with bullshit. With bullshit." (Fox suddenly stopped caring about politicians using profanity once Trump attacked Mueller with it.)
—TRUMP: "I am in love. You are in love. We are in love together. We have done something nobody has ever done."
—This is Trump reenacting how his friends act when they call him on the phone

Normally I think it's important to supplement reading transcripts of Trump's speeches with watching videos of them to see how he plays to the crowd, but this is ridiculous.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:45 PM on March 2, 2019 [20 favorites]

—Trump makes out with the American flag

Seriously, we need to amend the US Flag Code (4 U.S.C. § 1 et seq) to outlaw hugging the flag. It's just so, so creepy.
posted by scalefree at 3:57 PM on March 2, 2019 [17 favorites]

Trump, in his speech, apparently said he met a general named Raisin Cane. Does anyone know if this is a real person?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:02 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Speculation that that person is Brig Gen J. Daniel Caine.
posted by peeedro at 4:07 PM on March 2, 2019

But the percentage of Americans who are self-identified as Republicans is shrinking steadily...

This is a comforting thought that many progressives hold but it isn't actually true. It's fairly steady over the last decade.
posted by Justinian at 4:11 PM on March 2, 2019 [17 favorites]

(formerly Lt Col, now Brig Gen) Daniel "Razin'" Caine
posted by scalefree at 4:12 PM on March 2, 2019

Isaac Chotiner, A BuzzFeed Reporter Explains His Controversial Reporting on Michael Cohen and Donald Trump, an interview with Jason Leopold

Those people are seizing onto Cohen’s use of the word “directly.” The President didn’t “directly tell me to lie.” That’s an adverb that characterizes the underlying instruction to lie. And Cohen says almost immediately after that that the President was telling him to lie “in his way.” So there is no longer any question about the direction Trump gave Cohen. The debate is now about how the direction was given, and a lot of people don’t want to admit that they were wrong.

And if I could just go back to the question you asked me about “explicit.” Let me just say this: Anthony and I and, obviously, BuzzFeed are standing by what our sources told us, which is not contradicted by Cohen’s testimony, and what he said is that he knew a hundred per cent what the President was telling him to do. You know, Isaac, if that is not an explicit instruction, then everything short of “Michael, please lie for me” isn’t, either. Cohen understood it to be an order, a direction, an instruction.

posted by zachlipton at 4:37 PM on March 2, 2019 [30 favorites]

>But the percentage of Americans who are self-identified as Republicans is shrinking steadily...

This is a comforting thought that many progressives hold but it isn't actually true. It's fairly steady over the last decade.

@Justinian, I'm not quite sure what you mean? From your own link, in 1994 33% identified as Republican vs 26% in 2017--a drop of over 20%--compared to 0% change in self-identified Democrats. Seems like a steady decline to me, no?
posted by reformedjerk at 4:43 PM on March 2, 2019 [5 favorites]

1994 is 25 years ago(!).
posted by Justinian at 4:50 PM on March 2, 2019 [7 favorites]

Senator Graham (R-SC) defends Trump regarding Cohen's documentary evidence: “Most people don't write checks if they think they're involved in a crime.”

“Most people don’t be taking notes on a criminal f*ckin’ conspiracy!”, he didn't add.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:50 PM on March 2, 2019 [13 favorites]

But the percentage of Americans who are self-identified as Republicans is shrinking steadily...

This is a comforting thought that many progressives hold but it isn't actually true. It's fairly steady over the last decade.

According to the Pew Research Center in March 2018:

Millennial voters continue to have the highest proportion of independents of any generation. But when their partisan leanings are taken into account, they also are the most Democratic generation.

More than four-in-ten Millennial registered voters (44%) describe themselves as independents, compared with 39% of Gen Xers and smaller proportions of Boomers (32%) and Silents (27%).

However, a majority of Millennials (59%) affiliate with the Democratic Party (35%) or lean Democratic (24%). Just 32% identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP.

posted by Little Dawn at 4:53 PM on March 2, 2019 [4 favorites]

Well-regarded pollsters Emerson have a big Dem primary poll for South Carolina. Topline numbers:

1. Biden - 37%
2. Sanders - 21%
3. Harris - 9%
4. Booker - 6%
5. Warren - 5%
6. O'Rourke - 5%
7. Everybody Else - lol%

It seems likely to me that the nomination is Biden's to lose if he runs, with it coming down to Biden -vs- Sanders. With the result being roughly the same as in 2016: Sanders hanging in there but with no actual chance to pass Biden. The question is whether Biden could hit 50% and avoid a convention thing.

According to the Pew Research Center in March 2018:

Why are a bunch of people arguing against something I didn't say? Weird. Millenials are the most Democratic generation. Which doesn't have anything to do with Republican numbers staying fairly steady for the last decade. Also why numbers from 25 years ago don't really matter.
posted by Justinian at 4:57 PM on March 2, 2019 [4 favorites]

I would say the numbers in SC are pretty awful for Harris, fwiw. She needs a bump out of SC and into California. She'll still get a hefty chunk of delegates here but CA alone isn't nearly enough to win the nomination.
posted by Justinian at 4:58 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Why are a bunch of people arguing against something I didn't say? Weird.

I'm just looking for hope in the future of our democracy:

Millennials are on the cusp of surpassing Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living adult generation, according to population projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. As of July 1, 2016 (the latest date for which population estimates are available), Millennials, whom we define as ages 20 to 35 in 2016, numbered 71 million, and Boomers (ages 52 to 70) numbered 74 million.

Millennials are expected to overtake Boomers in population in 2019 as their numbers swell to 73 million and Boomers decline to 72 million. Generation X (ages 36 to 51 in 2016) is projected to pass the Boomers in population by 2028.

As far as I'm concerned, you're both right - there has been a fairly steady trend in the past, and it also now appears to be shifting away from the GOP.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:08 PM on March 2, 2019 [4 favorites]

Pretty early to be handicapping a primary almost a year away. The poll results merely indicate name recognition at this point, except for Sanders and Biden (and possibly Warren) IMO.
posted by haiku warrior at 5:08 PM on March 2, 2019 [10 favorites]

For Pete's sake, Beto hasn't even announced yet. Let's let the election play itself out, yes?
posted by scalefree at 5:12 PM on March 2, 2019 [17 favorites]

The South Carolina primary is tentatively set for Saturday, February 29, 2020. That's almost exactly a year off. WAY too early to make conclusions. For a candidate nobody in the state had even heard of three months ago to get close to double-digits is impressive... but let's stay away from HorseRace Handicapping this, especially when the reliability of all poll results are not what they used to be.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:14 PM on March 2, 2019 [8 favorites]

I hate that elections take this long too, but this thing is really happening. It's on. The debates are starting soon, people's minds are being made up. It's happening.

especially when the reliability of all poll results are not what they used to be.

Polls are as reliable as they've ever been, perhaps more so. They're way more expensive to conduct reliably but that's a separate issue.
posted by Justinian at 5:16 PM on March 2, 2019 [8 favorites]

This is a comforting thought that many progressives hold but it isn't actually true. It's fairly steady over the last decade.

"Fairly steady" and "Last decade" are kinda doing a lot of heavy lifting, here . . .

Your own link shows an 8% advantage to the Democrats, with a sharp change in about 2016. 8% is pretty significant across the entire US population. The Pew Research report that image came from notes: "The 8-percentage-point Democratic advantage in leaned partisan identification is wider than at any point since 2009, and a statistically significant shift since 2016, when Democrats had a 4-point edge (48% to 44%)."

The Brookings Institute: Trump owns a shrinking Republican party, which contains a Gallup table that shows a heavy drop-off of Republicans post-Trump (and a BIG drop in both parties in 2009.)

Gallup Historical Trends page on "Party Affiliation" - scroll down to the "(Asked of independents) As of today, do you lean more to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party? Figures are combined party identifiers + leaners" section and look at the change from 2016 onwards.

There's a definite "Trump effect" in people willing to claim Republican affiliation. It's not of course a 100% guarantee that "official" Independents won't vote for Trump in 2020 or generally go Republican, but a growing Democratic advantage is not entirely an illusion.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:18 PM on March 2, 2019 [10 favorites]

Polls are as reliable as they've ever been, perhaps more so.

Are they? I have historically been someone who answered polls (and I live in Iowa, so I've been polled a fair amount), but I've stopped answering my phone to any unknown number in the past couple of months, because of the robocall apocalypse. I don't know anyone who is answering their phone anymore. I think phone polling may be a thing of the past.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:26 PM on March 2, 2019 [7 favorites]

Are they?

Yup.

I don't know anyone who is answering their phone anymore.

Yup, response rates are down in the single digits. This is fine for accuracy -- which depends on total numbers of respondents and not how rare they are, praise Gauss -- but makes polling a lot more expensive than it was* 20 years ago.

Good pollsters, not being dumb as a box of rocks, have heard about people not answering and reweight people on the back end inverse to their probability of response. Exactly how they do this and the variables they use for reweighting, as opposed to those they allow to fall where they may after the reweighting, is a mix of art and science and a place where pollsters put their secret sauce. And even the best reweighting can go wrong if you happen to sample a weirdo, like that one Republican black kid at one point in the 2016 cycle.

Even if phone polling disappeared, there's a lot you can do with internet polling. The way yougov does it is that they have a big stable of respondents that they pay some pittance. They sample out of census data -- okay, we need a 45 year old African American woman making between $30 and $50K in Arkansas -- and then find someone(s) in their respondent pool who's closest to that. Repeat a couple of thousand times. If you really want to and have the demographics, you can poststratify reasonably accurate poll results out of rankest-shit opt-in internet "polls."

*Well, than it would have been 20 years ago if they had the same tech they do now. Dunno how it balances.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:40 PM on March 2, 2019 [5 favorites]

Mod note: Guys that's plenty on a super-early poll from one state.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 5:41 PM on March 2, 2019 [18 favorites]

Lawmakers exploring possible pardon talks involving Michael Cohen (WaPo)

Privately, lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees pressed Cohen this week on whether he had had any discussions about a possible pardon, and if so, when and with whom those conversations took place, the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the testimony was not public.

It was not immediately clear what, if anything, Cohen told lawmakers to pique their interest. Depending on the details, such pardon talks could be incendiary, suggesting an effort to dissuade Cohen from cooperating with law enforcement. Cohen is to return to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, declined to comment on the closed-door testimony, though he said on MSBNC on Thursday night that “new information was developed that could be game changing,” and it was about “lying and obstruction evidence.”

“It’s pretty explosive,” he said.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:53 PM on March 2, 2019 [10 favorites]

Trump cites 'just released' book manuscript to attack Cohen (Politico)

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a "just released" manuscript of a book written by Michael Cohen would show his longtime personal lawyer had lied to Congress, without offering further evidence for the explosive claim.

“Virtually everything failed lawyer Michael Cohen said in his sworn testimony last week is totally contradicted in his just released manuscript for a book about me. It’s a total new love letter to “Trump” and the pols must now use it rather than his lies for sentence reduction!” Trump tweeted.

It’s not yet clear whether the manuscript exists, if Trump has actually seen it or if he is simply continuing a line of attack started on Friday, when the president demanded Congress obtain the alleged manuscript as proof that Cohen was lying in his testimony.

“The brand new manuscript for a new book by failed lawyer Michael Cohen shows his testimony was a total lie! Pundits should only use it,” Trump tweeted minutes later.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:58 PM on March 2, 2019

The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand: Michael Cohen’s Road Map for Democrats

House Oversight Committee Democrats are now poring over Cohen’s transcript for new names and leads, according to a committee spokeswoman, and the chairman, Elijah Cummings, has indicated that anyone Cohen mentioned can expect to be asked for an interview. “All you have to do is follow the transcript,” Cummings told reporters when asked who would be brought in to testify. Asked who could corroborate some of his claims about the Trump Organization’s alleged misconduct over the years, Cohen brought up names both familiar—including Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization—and unfamiliar, including the former Trump bodyguard Matthew Calamari, and Ron Lieberman, the Trump Organization’s executive vice president in charge of management and development.

The House Intelligence Committee, meanwhile, plans to have Cohen back for a second closed-door interview on March 6. To say the panel learned something new from the president’s longtime personal lawyer behind closed doors “would be an understatement,” Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell of California, who sits on the committee, told CNN on Thursday, adding that “there’s very valuable new leads that we learned.” And Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters following Cohen’s closed-door testimony earlier this week that the Russia investigation “may be the most important thing I’m involved in in my public life in the Senate. Nothing I heard today dissuades me from that view.”[…]

The focus on Trump’s business dealings isn’t arbitrary, veteran investigators have explained. Rather, it’s “essential” to any real understanding of an individual’s network, Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI, told me in a recent interview. “I think people think of following the money simply as a way of uncovering whether somebody's been involved in money-laundering, or a financial crime, which is of course important,” McCabe said. “But on a much more fundamental level, it's a way of understanding relationships and networks, to understand who the person that I'm interested in is connected to, who they’re communicating with, and who they’re receiving money from or giving money to.”

“That is all association evidence,” McCabe continued. “And it goes to proving the existence of an organization—or, as RICO [the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] would say, an enterprise.”

Meanwhile, the SSCI is interested in hearing from Senate investigators have also been particularly interested in hearing from Moscow-based Russian-American businessman David Geovanis, who has ties to Oleg Deripaska and who organized Trump's 1996 visit to Moscow.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:17 PM on March 2, 2019 [9 favorites]

The Most Important Moment of the Michael Cohen Hearing was Elijah Cummings' closing remarks -
It wasn’t what Michael Cohen said.
It was how Elijah Cummings responded
posted by growabrain at 6:22 PM on March 2, 2019 [11 favorites]

including the former Trump bodyguard Matthew Calamari

Please enjoy the time Calamari appeared on the live finale of Season 2 of the Apprentice, if you're wondering what kind of a witness he'll be.
posted by zachlipton at 6:31 PM on March 2, 2019 [12 favorites]

I asked if they would support higher taxes for millionaires if it meant that people like them would get free healthcare. Gaudet didn’t hesitate. “No, because one day we might be the millionaires.”

You have to wonder what happens to these types of people when enough years have passed that it becomes fairly obvious that, if they haven't become millionaires by now, then they never will. Do they still cluelessly cling on to said dream despite everything until the day they die? Or do they just become embittered fugs taking out their frustration on everyone around them?
posted by gtrwolf at 6:55 PM on March 2, 2019 [14 favorites]

Trump’s bullshit-laden rage speech at CPAC 2019 was the longest in his history by nearly 40 minutes. according to Samantha Vinograd, It also looked like Putin scripted his speech.
posted by growabrain at 6:59 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Jeb was ahead in most poll numbers at this point in 2015. With Walker in second. So maybe Biden/Bernie isn’t how it ends up.
posted by chris24 at 7:10 PM on March 2, 2019 [36 favorites]

Remember, Calamari is a dead ringer for the composite sketch put together based on Stormy Daniels' description when she and her young daughter were threatened...at a time when he was working just down the street from the crime scene (and IIRC when I1 was in town (Vegas) as well)...this was gone into in much detail by Michael Avenatti about 12-15 of these threads (or approx 15,000 Scaramuccis) ago.
posted by sexyrobot at 8:29 PM on March 2, 2019 [45 favorites]

It was not immediately clear what, if anything, Cohen told lawmakers to pique their interest.

“Unfortunately, this topic is actually something that’s being investigated right now by the Southern District of New York."

I suspect there was either a carrot or a stick, and either would be of interest.
posted by holgate at 9:06 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

And when Hilary was up double digits after the Democratic convention.

Even if the national polling result in 2016 was generally within the statistical range of accurate, we've lived through two "black swan" events in the last 5 presidential elections. 40% of presidential elections in my adult life have been at best democratically illegitimate and I believe criminally stolen. Polling has no predictive power for results whatsoever in our anti-democratic, minority-rule, intentionally easy to manipulate, intentionally unaccountable, untraceable, unverifiable and hostile to actual participation based system. There's no reason to even look at a poll again, issues and message and organizing will lead us back to power and save democracy, or not, and if not, polling won't matter anymore anyway.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:09 PM on March 2, 2019 [26 favorites]

SNL Cold Open: Michael Cohen, which isn't really a parody so much as a stylized re-enactment

Bonus content: This Mueller float at the #MardiGras parade in New Orleans is everything
posted by zachlipton at 9:17 PM on March 2, 2019 [21 favorites]

Isn't it kind of strange that someone who went to military school would ... molest an American flag during their speech?
posted by xammerboy at 10:36 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

He spends most of his days molesting America so he might as well make the metaphor literal and go for the physical Flag too.
posted by Justinian at 10:50 PM on March 2, 2019 [12 favorites]

I don't recall seeing here this interesting HuffPo article from a few days back about AOC's questioning of Cohen. I speculated earlier about her line of questioning and potential tensions with the party leaders, but that may have been quite mistaken, if we are to believe this report, which suggests how much of a team player she actually was:

Working alongside intergovernmental affairs chief Randy Abreu, [Klarissa] Reynoso [Ocasio-Cortez’s chief legislative correspondent who supervised the congresswoman’s preparation for the hearing] began her research on Cohen last Thursday when the staff learned the date of Cohen’s committee testimony. The professional staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform worked nonstop last weekend to draft a list of 35 questions that each Democrat on the panel could choose from, and put their own stamp on. On Tuesday, after conferring with Ocasio-Cortez, Reynoso met with committee staff to select a question. She chose to pursue the line of inquiry about Trump’s efforts to devalue golf course property to lower his taxes...

Reynoso and Abreu drafted text of the question for Ocasio-Cortez, complete with references to supportive articles from The Washington Post and The New York Times. Ocasio-Cortez edited the copy with her own flourishes and ad-libbed some of the delivery to make it as accessible as possible to the ordinary viewer...

Since Ocasio-Cortez was one of the last oversight committee members to question Cohen, committee staff were also in constant real-time communication with Reynoso to make sure Ocasio-Cortez got a chance to follow up on questions for which other members had not received complete answers. As a result, Ocasio-Cortez was able to pick up a line of questioning from Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) about the existence and whereabouts of a “treasure trove” of incriminating documents that American Media Inc. CEO and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker had allegedly assembled on Trump’s critics. Cohen confirmed that Pecker, Barry Levine and Dylan Howard would know about whether the trove still exists, laying the groundwork for the committee to potentially subpoena those three individuals. In framing her question about Trump’s devaluation of assets for tax purposes, Ocasio-Cortez also nodded briefly to questions from fellow Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay of Missouri about instances in which Trump inflated his assets in order to obtain loans from Deutsche Bank. She confirmed from Cohen that Trump had provided inflated asset assessments to an insurance company in the past.

This tells a pretty solid story of how cooperative the entire Democratic team was here, with the committee staff working up the questions, and various members choosing which ones to target. Admittedly, many of the legislators chose to use their five minutes mainly posturing, but AOC at least seems to have been a very integral team player. This is more evidence that AOC is being pretty cooperative so far, supporting Pelosi's election, fulfilling her segment of the questioning with efficiency, and in light of the "motion to recommit" brouhaha earlier, potentially even serving as left-wing enforcer when Pelosi needs someone to hammer the right flank into line -- though all of these are presumably provisional marriages of convenience as long as there's not too great a divergence between her goals and Pelosi's.
posted by chortly at 11:17 PM on March 2, 2019 [80 favorites]

Can't for the life of me find it now but earlier tonight I saw a tweet from a reporter to the effect of Sarah Sanders releasing a statement that the White House does not comment on nonexistent books, in response to a query about the alleged Cohen book.
posted by scalefree at 11:52 PM on March 2, 2019

Speaking of books...

@joshtpm So the release of Roger Stone’s book attacking the DOJ and the Mueller probe isn’t “imminent”. A big chunk is already published... just a few examples here
posted by scalefree at 12:00 AM on March 3, 2019 [4 favorites]

Just a little Sunday brightness:
Ocasio-Cortez outrages Republicans by refusing to respect their ignorance
Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian

AOC is ignorant, ungrateful and coming for your meat
Large swaths of America appear to be suffering from a debilitating condition known as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Derangement Syndrome (AOCDS). Symptoms include bouts of extreme condescension, an inability to stop sputtering the word “socialist”, and overwhelming anger that a young woman of colour is unapologetically succeeding.

The latest conservative to succumb to AOCDS is Grace-Marie Turner, the president of a non-profit devoted to “counter[ing] the march towards toward government-controlled medicine”. (Can we just pause for a moment and contemplate what sort of person spends their life trying to ensure there will never be affordable healthcare in the United States?)

posted by mumimor at 1:46 AM on March 3, 2019 [31 favorites]

Radio New Zealand interviews Professor Stacy Cordery of Iowa State University about “Trump's place in presidential histories of slacking off” (~20min audio, .mp3)
posted by XMLicious at 2:51 AM on March 3, 2019 [5 favorites]

As Ilhan Omar endures anti-Muslim racism, most lawmakers in Congress remain silent

Indeed, at the time of publication, neither Democratic leaders in the House and Senate — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — had publicly condemned the actions of the West Virginia GOP.

posted by T.D. Strange at 7:26 AM on March 3, 2019 [37 favorites]

Sunday morning political shows - the good, the bad & the ugly (not necessarily in that order).

@rgoodlaw The self-defeating and dangerous John Bolton (this time, on #Venezuela):

“In this administration we’re not afraid to use the phrase Monroe Doctrine.”

Also says this having just said US wants as broad a coalition as possible to oust Maduro. Reviving Monroe Doctrine won’t do that

@MeetThePress FULL INTERVIEW: Sen. @MarkWarner joins to discuss Michael Cohen's testimony and the questions that still remain in the Senate's investigation into Russian collusion. #MTP

@MeetThePress DATA DOWNLOAD: Democratic voters weigh in on ideal 2020 candidate traits. #MTP
posted by scalefree at 7:37 AM on March 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

Nadler: Dozens of document requests to be sent in Trump probe (Politico)

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on Sunday said the panel will be issuing document requests to more than 60 people as it begins an investigation of President Donald Trump for “obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power.“ [...]

Nadler said that he believes "impeachment is a long way down the road" and they "don’t have any facts yet," although he did state he believed that Trump is guilty of obstructing justice concerning the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Nadler also said he considers the act “of seeking to sabotage a fair election” would “be an impeachable offense.”

Which may help further explain this completely unhinged thought process:

“The brand new manuscript for a new book by failed lawyer Michael Cohen shows his testimony was a total lie! Pundits should only use it,” Trump tweeted minutes later.

And this CPAC speech quote:

"Right now we have people in Congress that hate our country. And you know that, and we can name every one of them if we want. They hate our country."

And this opinion from Robert Reich: If Trump loses, we know what to expect: anger, fear and disruption (Guardian)

Every time he has lost a legislative or legal battle during his presidency he has blamed the other side, and has lashed back: shuttering the government, declaring a national emergency, whipping up his followers against recalcitrant judges, Democrats, the media or whomever he holds responsible.

Imagine it’s November 2020 and Trump has lost the election. He charges voter fraud, claiming that the “deep state” organized tens of millions of illegal immigrants to vote against him, and says he has an obligation not to step down.

Only this time he’s already president, with all the powers a president commands.

The idea that the president is a slacker is a comforting thought under these circumstances, but it also seems contradicted by how hard he appears to be working on his own self-preservation.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:38 AM on March 3, 2019 [26 favorites]

Melania’s spokeswoman: Donald Trump’s bullying has nothing to do with ‘Be Best’
But critics ask, shouldn't "being best" begin at home?

Melania Trump’s spokeswoman defended the first lady’s “Be Best” program from the often-heard criticism that the anti-bullying effort would be better directed at her combative husband.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham appeared on CNN Saturday to promote Melania Trump’s plans to take her “Be Best” initiative on the road during a three-state tour, its first unveiling for a U.S. audience. The first lady plans to travel to Oklahoma, Washington state and Nevada on March 4 and 5.

Melania Trump’s signature White House initiative seeks to address the well-being of children, social media use and opioid abuse.
[...]
But the first lady’s communications director was challenged about President Trump’s penchant for hurling insults and invective on the campaign trail, via Twitter, and pretty much everywhere else.

“How does she balance her platform against some of the things the president does?” CNN anchor Christi Paul asked.

“I think that, honestly, one thing doesn’t have anything to do with the other, and she is focused on helping children,” Grisham answered.

“She has said many times that her husband is an adult. He is president of the United States and he knows what he’s doing. She’s focused on ‘Be Best,’ focused on helping children. Children are the ones that are impressionable. She’s going to go out and do the best she can to help them succeed.”

posted by scalefree at 7:42 AM on March 3, 2019 [4 favorites]

@ABC BREAKING: @GStephanopoulos: "Do you think the president obstructed justice?"

House judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler: "Yes, I do. It's very clear that the president obstructed justice"
[video]
posted by scalefree at 7:50 AM on March 3, 2019 [52 favorites]

Mueller's Final Report Will Ignite an Epic War Over Disclosure (Bloomberg)

“We will try to get anything we can get -- including by subpoenaing the report. Subpoenaing Mueller is also an option, as well as anyone else on his team,” Democrat Jamie Raskin, a House Judiciary panel member, said. “It just seems exceedingly unlikely that they would be able to hide this report in a file cabinet someplace."

The demands for full disclosure could result in a legal struggle going all the way to the Supreme Court.

Some Republicans -- who spent two years demanding and getting internal FBI and Justice Department documents that they say showed bias against Trump and for Clinton -- agree that everything should be disclosed.

“I mean everything,” Representative Devin Nunes of California, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview Thursday. “Witness interviews, wiretaps. Everything.” [...]

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler has described “an administration run amok.” House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff has said his panel will make sure “that the policy of the United States is being driven by the national interest, and not by any financial entanglement, financial leverage, or other form of compromise” by “the Russians or the Saudis or anyone else.”

In the meantime:

Federal prosecutors in New York are still looking into Trump’s company, presidential campaign and inaugural committee. Mueller has been sharing some matters and handing off others to U.S. attorney’s offices in New York, Virginia and Washington as well as the Justice Department’s national security division.

State and local prosecutors in New York also are pursuing potential cases.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:54 AM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

@GStephanopoulos House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy told me on @ThisWeekABC that Intel Chair Adam Schiff "has now met Schiff's own standard" of why Rep. Devin Nunes had to recuse himself and now Schiff "needs to recuse himself from any new investigation"

@ABC NEW: House Minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy responds to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nader on @ThisWeekABC: "I think congressman Nadler decided to impeach the president the day the president won the election."
posted by scalefree at 7:59 AM on March 3, 2019

"We don't have the facts, yet" is the actual quote...

ABC News (with video)

“What we learned from the Cohen testimony is that he directly implicated the president in -- in various crimes, both while seeking the office of president and while in the White House,” Nadler said on “This Week.”

“We don’t have the facts yet. But we’re going to initiate proper investigations,” but not impeachment investigations.

“The Republicans spent two years shielding the president from any proper accountability ... [T]hey threatened to impeach people in Justice Department, they threatened the -- the Mueller investigation. It’s our job to protect the rule of law. That’s our core function. And to do that we are going to initiate investigations into abuses of power, into corruption of -- into corruption and into obstruction of justice,” Nadler said.

Nadler said that there can be crimes that “there can be crimes that are impeachable offenses and impeachable offenses that are not crimes.”

posted by Little Dawn at 8:04 AM on March 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

@GStephanopoulos House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy told me on @ThisWeekABC that Intel Chair Adam Schiff "has now met Schiff's own standard" of why Rep. Devin Nunes had to recuse himself and now Schiff "needs to recuse himself from any new investigation"

Nunes never actually recused himself.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:08 AM on March 3, 2019 [58 favorites]

House Judiciary chairman says he will launch probe of Trump’s ‘abuse of power’ (WaPo)

A person who was familiar with the pending document requests but was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter said requests surrounding potential obstruction of justice would focus on Trump’s alleged efforts to remove perceived enemies at the Justice Department, including former FBI Director James B. Comey, and install more loyal replacements. The requests would also look at potential abuses of power, the person said, including the possible dangling of pardons and witness tampering, as well as Trump’s broader attacks on the entities investigating him and the press.

Top Senate Democrat concerned ‘a great deal’ by Kushner security clearance (Politico)

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday he was bothered “a great deal" by a report that President Donald Trump ordered a security clearance for his senior adviser Jared Kushner, his son-in-law.

"The fact that he, in effect, chooses to give a family member [a security clearance], overriding the recommendations of the community, bothers me a great deal," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on CNN's "State of the Union."

posted by Little Dawn at 8:24 AM on March 3, 2019 [9 favorites]

'Kim knew': top Republican contradicts Trump over Otto Warmbier's death (Guardian)

On ABC’s This Week on Sunday, McCarthy contradicted the president when he flatly said: “North Korea murdered Otto [Warmbier]. I think Kim had all authority to do that. I think Kim knew what happened, which was wrong.” [...]

Host George Stephanopoulos pointed out that Trump has said he holds North Korea responsible for Warmbier’s death, not Kim.

“I think Kim knew,” McCarthy repeated. [...]

Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who chairs the House intelligence committee, told CBS’s Face the Nation the summit “was a spectacular failure made all the worse by the president’s obsequious comments when it came to the murder of an American citizen, Otto Warmbier”.

Bolton told the same show Trump had “been very clear he viewed what happened to Otto Warmbier as barbaric and unacceptable”, and repeated what some might call an optimistic demand: that the secretive totalitarian state should provide “a full description of what happened”.

To CNN host Jake Tapper’s contention that most North Korean experts would agree nothing could have happened to Warmbier without Kim knowing about it, Bolton said: “Good for them.”

posted by Little Dawn at 8:53 AM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

One last link before I head out for the day. It's a doozy.

Full Jordan Interview: 'I don't think the president's lied about Russia at all'
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) talks about Michael Cohen's public hearing in front of the House Oversight Committee.
posted by scalefree at 9:26 AM on March 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

Not holding a president accountable for lying that compromises democracy and national security, or publicly pretending you don't think a president has lied when it's clear that they have—either of these are excellent reasons people like Jim Jordan should never be allowed in public service. I'd go so far as to say either should be a prosecutable offense.
posted by Rykey at 9:38 AM on March 3, 2019 [8 favorites]

OK I lied. But this is such open, blatant corruption you need to see it to believe it. Yes, even after everything we've seen, he still has the ability to shock me.

A story in 4 chapters.

@Trump "The landscape framework of @TrumpScotland comes close to an ideal. There is nothing missing & there are no weak holes." Dr. Martin Hawtree http://TrumpGolfScotland.com

@realDonaldTrump Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship!

Trump tweet touting one of his Scotland golf courses as ‘the greatest’ in the world draws criticism
Ethics watchdogs say early-morning missive advances president’s personal financial interests.

Scottish government wins Donald Trump wind power legal costs
Donald Trump's Aberdeenshire golf resort must pay the Scottish government's legal costs following a court battle over a major North Sea wind power development.
posted by scalefree at 9:39 AM on March 3, 2019 [4 favorites]

It makes me laugh that Trump jokes about people not being able to watch TV due to lack of wind while a wind farm has resulted in him losing a court case and needing to pay the legal fees to the Scottish government.
posted by gucci mane at 9:50 AM on March 3, 2019 [21 favorites]

You think it's a coincidence he made that windmill joke yesterday? Trump's mind is a mathematical paradox - it's all surface.
posted by scalefree at 9:58 AM on March 3, 2019 [44 favorites]

the thing is, he probably really believes that’s how windmills work.
posted by valkane at 10:06 AM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

What was the windmill joke? Please don't make me scroll through his whole Twitter timeline.
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:18 AM on March 3, 2019

What was the windmill joke?

Basically: "The wind is blowing, we can watch television now."
posted by Stoneshop at 10:20 AM on March 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

It was about a guy who couldn't watch TV because the wind wasn't blowing to drive the windmill. Complete with stupid voice.
posted by scalefree at 10:21 AM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

This NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is interesting. It's no surprise that 86% of Republicans approve of Trump. But: "Among voters who say they plan to vote in Republican primaries, 37% would like to see a GOP challenger to Trump"

It seems to me that in addition to that 14% non-approval, we can add 23% who are saying, "Of course I approve of Trump! I would never betray my party, and I did nothing wrong in supporting him! But it sure would be nice if he wasn't there any more, wouldn't it?"

Maybe Trump's popular downfall among Republicans is more attainable than it seems.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

meanwhile, in hanoi
posted by Going To Maine at 10:39 AM on March 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

Scottish government wins Donald Trump wind power legal costs

David Frum
So this explains Trump's golf course tweet yesterday. He was threatening the UK government with harm to the US-UK relationship if he is forced to pay the Scottish government's legal costs in litigation Trump started & lost
posted by chris24 at 10:42 AM on March 3, 2019 [17 favorites]

The Scottish golf properties are among the few entities where there's a legal obligation to publish full accounts and other corporate notices. The most recent annual report for the Aberdeen course (covering 2017) showed an ongoing loss, loan debt to I-1 in a personal capacity in excess of the asset valuation -- a "shareholder's deficit" of £10.7m -- and a statement that it "is dependent on continuing finance being available to enable it to continue operating" and that DJT Holdings LLC has committed to provide financial support. Given that its annual turnover was £2.5m with about £130,000 cash on hand, any sudden legal bill would probably require a quick infusion of funds from somewhere.

At the same time, DJT Holdings LLC is under its own scrutiny because it's the parent company for the Old Post Office leasehold.
posted by holgate at 10:45 AM on March 3, 2019 [24 favorites]

Rand Paul will vote to oppose the emergency declaration, making it likely it won't pass the Senate either.
posted by skycrashesdown at 11:06 AM on March 3, 2019 [13 favorites]

Sadly there's little chance of a veto-proof majority in either house.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:08 AM on March 3, 2019

Transcript: National security adviser John Bolton on "Face the Nation," March 3, 2019:

MARGARET BRENNAN: We had different versions of the story as to why this summit failed to produce any results. Why was the president unable to negotiate a breakthrough?

AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well I don't consider the summit a failure. I consider it a success defined as the president protecting and advancing American national interest. There was extensive preparation for this meeting. Extensive discussions between the president and Kim Jong Un and- and the issue really was whether North Korea was prepared to accept what the president called "the big deal," which is denuclearize entirely under a definition the president handed to Kim Jong Un and have the potential for an enormous economic future or try and do something less than that which was unacceptable to us. So the president held firm to his view. He deepened his relationship with Kim Jong Un. I don't view it as a failure at all when American national interests are protected.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But to be clear, North Korea still has not agreed to denuclearize as the U.S. defines it.

AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Not as we have defined it although they have committed in public in prior regimes in North Korea-- four or five times in writing to denuclearize and that's something--

MARGARET BRENNAN: So that doesn't mean much to you.

Ankit Panda:

Lots to say on Bolton's remarks, but ask yourself why Pompeo spent months after Singapore touting that the "final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," a phrase that did not appear in the US-DPRK Singapore declaration, was "agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore."

The administration knew all along that this gulf between definitions existed. There’s no way to rationalize the “FFVD, as agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore” language than it being an attempt at gaslighting Kim Jong Un to come around on the US position.

All of this was the reason too that on December 20, KCNA featured a ‘Jong Hyon’ commentary reiterating North Korea’s definition of denuclearization. North Korea isn’t stupid—the U.S. attempt was called an “optical illusion.”

Illusions don’t last forever and the bill came due in Hanoi. In an attempt to push back on the illusion, many North Korea-watching folks were broken records between Singapore and Hanoi, pointing out every time Pompeo et al. said this that it wasn’t what Kim had agreed to.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:34 AM on March 3, 2019 [8 favorites]

The Guardian: The neo-Nazi plot against America is much bigger than we realize ’

In the early summer of 2017, US coast guard lieutenant Christopher Hasson had an idea. He had been trying to figure out an effective way of killing billions of people – “almost every last person on Earth” – but found himself coming up against the daunting logistics of such a task.

He suspected “a plague would be most successful”, but didn’t know how to get his hands on enough Spanish flu, botulism or anthrax. His idea, he wrote in a draft email from 2 June of that year, would be to “start with biological attacks followed by attack on food supply”. He acknowledged the plan needed more research.

When Cohen said he suspected Trump would not go quietly if he loses in 2020, this is the scenario I worry about most.
posted by xammerboy at 11:36 AM on March 3, 2019 [48 favorites]

So originally the National Emergencies Act said that an emergency declaration could be reversed with a simple majority in Congress, and that was not subject to presidential veto. A later Supreme Court decision said that the president did have the right to veto such a reversal.

It's my understanding that one of the legal arguments against Trump's declaration is going to be that the National Emergencies Act was never meant to give the president so much power. That when the court ruled that the president could veto a Congressional reversal, it should have invalidated the whole Act -- the part saying the president does not get a veto isn't really severable from the rest of it, because that was a key check on presidential power that Congress intended to include. (I may be wrong, I'm just describing am argument I read somewhere.)

It seems to me the Congress not only having already debated and failed to pass wall funding, but explictly rejecting this emergency in the terms described by the original Act, really strengthens the legal case against the wall. Clearly Congress is NOT delegating the power of the purse in this case. They didn't mean to give him that much power back in 1976 when they passed the National Emergencies Act without a presidential veto, and they are explicitly rejecting this particular emergency declaration.

It seems to me the argument that this is a presidential usurpation of a power reserved in the Constitution to Congress is really airtight, once Congress passes the resolution rejecting the emergency declaration.
posted by OnceUponATime at 11:44 AM on March 3, 2019 [12 favorites]

Surprisingly thoughtful about gender issues: America Could Get Its First Woman President. Meet The Men Who'd Be First Gentleman.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:47 AM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

It's no surprise that 86% of Republicans approve...

Almost never discussed in these polls showing overwhelming GOP popularity for the president are those that no longer consider themselves GOP because of the president. It's non-negligible, and therefore newsworthy.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:51 AM on March 3, 2019 [13 favorites]

NYT, To Woo a Skeptical Trump, Intelligence Chiefs Talk Economics Instead of Spies

Intelligence officials who brief the president have warned him about Chinese espionage in bottom-line business terms. They have used Black Sea shipping figures to demonstrate the effect of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. And they have filled the daily threat briefing with charts and graphs of economic data.

In an effort to accommodate President Trump, who has attacked them publicly as “naïve” and in need of going “back to school,” the nation’s intelligence agencies have revamped their presentations to focus on subjects their No. 1 customer wants to hear about — economics and trade.

Intelligence officers, steeped in how Mr. Trump views the world, now work to answer his repeated question: Who is winning? What the president wants to know, according to former officials, is what country is making more money or gaining a financial advantage.

While the professionals do not criticize Mr. Trump’s focus, they do question whether those interests are crowding out intelligence on threats like terrorism and the maneuvers of traditional adversaries, developments with foreign militaries or geopolitical events with international implications.

What could go wrong? There are a lot of details in this article about Trump's obsessions, including how he repeatedly wants to know why Merkel won't make a deal with him on military spending and how he runs around complaining "my generals don't understand business" after briefings.
posted by zachlipton at 12:14 PM on March 3, 2019 [10 favorites]

"my accountant doesn't understand sailing"

"My photographers don't understand taxes"

"My publicity team doesn't understand military strategy"

to continue along the lines of "my generals don't understand business"
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 12:46 PM on March 3, 2019 [8 favorites]

@ABC BREAKING: @GStephanopoulos: "Do you think the president obstructed justice?"

House judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler: "Yes, I do. It's very clear that the president obstructed justice"

I'm disappointed by this statement.

Mostly because the way it is framed there is no easy way to pluralize it.
posted by srboisvert at 1:50 PM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

Enforcement of tax regulations is nonexistent: companies simply don't pay. Rich people don't pay. Who's going to make them?

The good news is: this is not a vast, uncountable number of people. This is, perhaps, several dozen people, maybe as many as a few hundred. This is an arrestable number of people. This is a group of people who could be named on national TV ("the following CEOs have been accused of felony tax evasion") the same way that other newsworthy crimes are announced.

A few sympathetic courts might decide that multi-millionaires accused of tax evasion are a flight risk, and not grant them bail at any amount. A few good journalists could note how much money they're accused of stealing from the government, and exactly which programs could be helped by that much money.

Overall, the problem with "who's going to make them?" isn't, "what mechanisms do we have to deal with crime at this scale," but "which legal jurisdictions are actually willing to enforce the law?"

This is something that progressive activism needs to push: these activities are crimes, just like shoplifting, and they cost the public a lot more money than shoplifters. Push that this isn't "dodging bureaucratic hassles;" it's theft from US citizens.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:57 PM on March 3, 2019 [62 favorites]

The brand new manuscript for a new book by failed lawyer Michael Cohen shows his testimony was a total lie! Pundits should only use it

@realdonaldtrump followed that up this morning with an extended Twitter rant:

After more than two years of Presidential Harassment, the only things that have been proven is that Democrats and other broke the law. The hostile Cohen testimony, given by a liar to reduce his prison time, proved no Collusion! His just written book manuscript showed what he said was a total lie, but Fake Media won’t show it. I am an innocent man being persecuted by some very bad, conflicted & corrupt people in a Witch Hunt that is illegal & should never have been allowed to start - And only because I won the Election! Despite this, great success!

And this afternoon, he's been recapping Fox segments.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:04 PM on March 3, 2019 [6 favorites]

I am an innocent man
Can't get much closer to "I'm not a crook"
posted by mumimor at 2:16 PM on March 3, 2019 [22 favorites]

Mod note: Folks, there is still an active Sanders thread, please keep that stuff there. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 2:22 PM on March 3, 2019 [8 favorites]

That when the court ruled that the president could veto a Congressional reversal, it should have invalidated the whole Act -- the part saying the president does not get a veto isn't really severable from the rest of it, because that was a key check on presidential power that Congress intended to include. (I may be wrong, I'm just describing am argument I read somewhere.)

The Supreme Court invalidated that piece, but Congress quickly amended the law and replaced it with a joint resolution mechanism, which is the current procedure. The solution that would have somewhat maintained Congressional power would have been an automatic sunset of any emergency declaration, but the 1985 congress didn't go that way.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:49 PM on March 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

So just to be clear. This Cohen manuscript - who has read it? Politico says:

"It’s unclear whether any such manuscript exists, whether Trump has seen it or whether the president is continuing a line of attack started on Friday, when he demanded Congress obtain the alleged manuscript as proof that Cohen was lying in his testimony."

....which, in Trumpverse, would be an example of "Fake Media won’t show it.", I suppose.

Has he just invented this out of whole cloth himself, or did someone on Twitter make this claim or something? Maybe Q can find the manuscript!
posted by thelonius at 2:51 PM on March 3, 2019 [4 favorites]

This is something that progressive activism needs to push: these activities are crimes, just like shoplifting, and they cost the public a lot more money than shoplifters. Push that this isn't "dodging bureaucratic hassles;" it's theft from US citizens.

And for that matter, it's basically impossible to have a significant amount of wealth in the US that can't be seized, one way or another. If someone owes taxes, you can just repossess that property, and the US government is very good at that. See also: civil forfeiture.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:51 PM on March 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

There is no book. Cohen said under oath he’d had preliminary discussions about a deal but had no deal. That’s pretty easy to confirm if he does have one so I doubt he perjured himself. And no way he’s written a book/paid a ghostwriter on spec. At best there was a summary proposal of what he’d write, which at the time maybe was complimentary to Trump. Trump is lying, making things up.
posted by chris24 at 2:59 PM on March 3, 2019 [9 favorites]

If someone owes taxes, you can just repossess that property, and the US government is very good at that.

We're actually not very good at seizing property from the rich. At all. And we don't even try. The Chris Hayes podcast linked above talks about how Republicans have hollowed out the IRS with relentless budget cuts. There are less auditors overall, not per capita, now than at any time since the 1950s. The IRS budget has shrunk from 12bil in 2010 to around 8 billion. The IRS does not have nearly enough staff, much less trained and experienced staff, to perform complex audits of billionaires with near-infinite sources of income and assets, much less mega-conglomerates that would take a team of auditors to even start looking at. So what do they do instead? They announce ahead of time "areas of focus", telegraphing rich people and companies to clean up one particular party of their crimes, then only do cursory audits of that topic on the few people and companies that are actually tapped for an audit that year.

And instead of focusing on the rich where the money and evasion is, they've radically shifted priorities to auditing and criminalizing the working poor, who have much simpler incomes. Audits of the EITC, of people making less than 20k/yr, now make up nearly half of all audits.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:03 PM on March 3, 2019 [64 favorites]

At best there was a summary proposal of what he’d write, which at the time maybe was complimentary to Trump
Ah, that makes sense. Trump is not a reader, so a summary is probably the same as a book to him. If he saw it, it would have been at a time when Cohen still either hoped for a pardon or was all-in on the Trump delusion thing.
posted by mumimor at 3:11 PM on March 3, 2019 [5 favorites]

I think it's almost time for cake.
posted by Selena777 at 3:43 PM on March 3, 2019 [6 favorites]

Warner: ‘Enormous amounts of evidence’ of possible Russia collusion (Politico)

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday lawmakers have found "enormous amounts of evidence" into potential collusion between the presidential campaign of Donald Trump and the Russians during the 2016 election.

Mark Warner of Virginia made his remarks in response to an assertion that there is "no factual evidence of collusion" from the Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who is chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

As evidence, Warner cited on NBC's "Meet the Press" ongoing negotiations about Trump Tower and the dump of WikiLeaks material.

"Where that evidence leads, in terms of a conclusion ... I'm going to reserve judgment, until I'm finished," Warner said.

But he added: "There's no one that could factually say there's not plenty of evidence of collaboration or communications between Trump Organization and Russians."

Warner's House Intelligence Committee counterpart, Adam Schiff, said Sunday on CBS‘ "Face the Nation" that there's both "direct evidence" and "abundant circumstantial evidence" of collusion with Russia.

The California Democrat said "there is direct evidence" in emails from the Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton in what is described as the "Russian government effort to help elect Donald Trump."

"They offer that dirt. There is an acceptance of that offer in writing from the president's son, Don Jr., and there is overt acts in furtherance of that," Schiff said. "That is the meeting at Trump Tower and all the lies to cover up that meeting at the Trump Tower, and apparently lies that the president participated in."

posted by Little Dawn at 3:45 PM on March 3, 2019 [34 favorites]

USA Today, Pompeo on the failed North Korea talks, Otto Warmbier and his own trip to Iowa, in which the Secretary of State is surprised by North Korea's statement on the negotiations and accuses the reporter of making it up:

Pompeo reacted angrily when asked about the North Korean foreign minister's statement, made hours after the talks dissolved, that the offer Kim made in Hanoi was final.

“That’s not what the North Koreans said,” Pompeo responded. “Don’t say things that aren’t true. ... Show me the quote from the North Koreans that said this was their one and only offer. Where’d you get that?”

After he was read a quote from Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho – in which he said “our proposal will never be changed” – Pompeo fell silent for about six seconds. Then he countered, “What they said is they’re prepared to continue conversations with us and that’s what we intend to do.”

Pompeo also tied himself in knots, much as Bolton did, trying to talk about Otto Warmbier without contradicting Trump.

Asked if he holds Kim responsible [for Warmbier's death], Pompeo said, “The North Korean regime is responsible for the death Otto Warmbier and the humanitarian violations that are continuing to take place.”

Pressed about Kim's personal responsibility and whether Kim knew about Warmbier’s case, Pompeo fell silent again before saying he had answered the question and been “very patient” with that line of inquiry.

posted by zachlipton at 4:39 PM on March 3, 2019 [17 favorites]

WaPo, McGahn joins global law firm — and remains involved in Trump’s judicial choices

McGahn, 50, said he will lead the firm’s government regulation practice as a partner in Washington and will stay involved with senior Senate Republicans as an outside adviser on nominations to the Supreme Court and federal courts.

“I enjoy the practice of law and I look forward to coming back to Jones Day,” McGahn said in an interview, adding: “I’m just going to practice law. No paid corporate speeches and no books, unlike some others who have worked in the White House.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will continue to seek his support on nominations.

“We keep in touch and talk from time to time,” McConnell said. “Some would argue we were co-conspirators going back to the 2016 campaign, where we worked on the number one priority I had and the president had.”
...
McGahn said he would not be lobbying, which requires lawyers and others to formally register with the federal government.

Ah yes, he's just picking judges, but totally isn't lobbying.
posted by zachlipton at 4:42 PM on March 3, 2019 [20 favorites]

If he saw it, it would have been at a time when Cohen still either hoped for a pardon or was all-in on the Trump delusion thing.

That's pretty much what it looks like. Politico notes that the Daily Beast reported in March 2018 that Cohen was shopping a book:

It also details a chapter titled “Says Who,” dedicated to Cohen’s famously embarrassing interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar, and a chapter titled “BuzzFeed & Me” about Cohen’s defamation suit against BuzzFeed News over the outlet’s decision to publish a dossier detailing Trump’s ties to Russia.

Following the April 2018 raid on Cohen's office, Politico reported that Cohen dropped the libel suits against BuzzFeed and Fusion GPS, and:

Cohen abandoned the suits late Wednesday as he continues to fight to recover documents and electronic files seized from his home, office and hotel room last week by federal authorities as part of what appears to be a broad criminal investigation into his conduct. [...]

Dropping the suits could help Cohen avoid being questioned by lawyers from Fusion GPS or having to turn over evidence related to the case — both steps that could undercut his defense in the criminal probe.

So it was written before he directly faced criminal liability for those statements.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:51 PM on March 3, 2019 [9 favorites]

although, to be clear, because we are probably going to hear about this alleged book for awhile, only a proposal was reported by the Daily Beast.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:01 PM on March 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

Josh Marshall with a piece titled The Problem with Ilhan Omar. (Who had yet another dustup this week with a plausibly antisemitic statement.)

tl;dr - don't refer to Jews having "foreign allegiances".

None of which takes away from the disgusting example of Islamophobia on display in West Virginia this week.
posted by Justinian at 5:26 PM on March 3, 2019 [11 favorites]

It looks to me as if the comments made by Ilhan Omar were either triggered by or actually quoting similar comments made by Glenn Greeenwald. He's been pushing the "dual loyalty" line for a long time; and he's the one who described a Texan anti-BDS law as a "Israel loyalty oath", language that Rashida Tlaib later repeated. Most recently, it was on an interview with Greenwald's The Intercept that Omar walked her apology back:

Mehdi Hasan: Was it a badly worded tweet that you apologizing for or was it for being anti-Semitic wittingly or unwittingly?

Ihlan Omar: Absolutely not, I apologized for the way that my words made people feel. [...]

Greenwald is at best one of Russia's useful idiots: he continues to argue that the claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election are "fake news" and, by implication, that the Democrats are conspiring against a duly elected President. He is not a friend and should not be an associate of anyone who hopes for a Democratic victory in 2020.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:50 PM on March 3, 2019 [24 favorites]

The quote in question:

“I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress.”

The problem I guess is the implication that people (AIPAC, one supposes) want her to do this. But she definitely didn't claim that American Jews have a foreign allegiance. One could infer that she thinks AIPAC does - and given their mission statement I'm not sure she's wrong. They literally call themselves part of the pro-Israel movement on their about page.

So, her statement is factually correct and on it's face unobjectionable. People are criticizing it based on meaning they believe is hidden behind or maybe historically attached to specific words - here the word is allegiance. I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying it. If she feels that she cannot criticize Israel's policies, that can reasonably be called a problem. In fact what she's found is she can't even criticize AIPAC without a huge amount of pushback. That can also reasonably be called a problem.
posted by dbx at 5:51 PM on March 3, 2019 [38 favorites]

In fact what she's found is she can't even criticize AIPAC without a huge amount of pushback.

Well, can't criticize AIPAC while using phrases and symbolism historically quite closely linked to virulent antisemitism, yes.
posted by Justinian at 5:54 PM on March 3, 2019 [12 favorites]

Oh, that tweet is a followup on statements she made at a conference, it's not the sum total of her commentary. Here's the NYT on that with the most relevant quote as: "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country,"
posted by Justinian at 6:02 PM on March 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

The quote in question:

I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress.

But nobody says that she should pledge allegiance to a foreign country. In fact I bet you that literally every member of Congress would agree that she shouldn't, and mustn't. This is like the Anti Kitten-Burning Coalition, which only exists in order to imply that there are people who are less brave and principled and who believe in burning kittens. Except that in her case, it's people who believe that she should swear loyalty to Israel. It's not a real thing, any more than it was a real thing when she accused Israel of "hypnotising the world" or when she said that AIPAC had bribed Kevin McCarthy into attacking her. The same Kevin McCarthy, incidentally, who claimed that Jews were trying to buy a Democratic victory in the November 2018 elections. This is all crazy conspiracy stuff.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:07 PM on March 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

This is not the first time a critic of the Israeli government and their lobbying allies in the United States have been subjected to hyper-criticism to the point of claims of anti-semitism. It's happened before and will continue to happen.

However, I feel like Omar is being specially targeted in the media because she's an overt, practicing Muslim.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:10 PM on March 3, 2019 [24 favorites]

That's "have allegiance/pledge support", not "pledge allegiance".

The difference is not insignificant
posted by mikelieman at 6:11 PM on March 3, 2019 [5 favorites]

Two things can be true, Omar using problematic language in expressing her valid points, and Republican attacks against her being both hysterical and entirely laughable given messengers like Kevin "Soros stole the midterms" McCarthy and Donald "Very Fine People" Trump. When Omar makes comments that are the same or objectively less awful than shit Trump says on a daily basis, and our own Democratic leadership leaps to the defense of Republicans attacking her over it while siting in stoney silence when her face is plastered over images of 9/11...it's pretty hard to take cries of antisemitism seriously vs seizing on the opportunity to put a young black progressive in her place and shut her up.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:15 PM on March 3, 2019 [64 favorites]

About a hundred million people want to kill Omar, she has no secret service protection, and the GOP is actively trying to gin up stochastic violence against her. She is likely at higher risk of assassination than any other elected official in the USA right now.

They want to kill her for her background, of course, but also for what she says: she's just about the only strong anti-Imperial voice in DC right now, just about the only one who'll stand up to the likes of Elliott Abrams. This is an extremely dangerous moment for her, for us, and for people across the world in all the nations they're currently planning to destroy. Omar needs our vocal support and, frankly, probably our physical support as well: if the left had any cohesion we'd be providing her a constant security detail. Failing that, the least we can do is stop writing "The Problem with Omar" articles every time her phrasing could be interpreted as sounding like it could possibly resemble rhetoric associated with anti-semitism. Otherwise Josh Marshall should start drafting his "What's wrong with this country to let such a tragedy happen" article.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:20 PM on March 3, 2019 [72 favorites]

But nobody says that she should pledge allegiance to a foreign country. In fact I bet you that literally every member of Congress would agree that she shouldn't, and mustn't.

I'm sure lots of them would say she should swear an anti-BDS oath based upon the language now included in various state codes.

Of course "allegiance" is a charged word, but the tactics currently used by institutional supporters of Israel in the US against critics who advocate non-violent methods of protest are designed to push them into an epistemological space where it's easier to write them off as antisemitic.
posted by holgate at 6:21 PM on March 3, 2019 [5 favorites]

Why are people talking about this hypothetical Cohen book deal? The republican conceit was that the hearing was a stunt to promote a book... which is crazy. Stop indulging the crazy people theories. I know he's not smart but sending himself to prison to flog a book is both extremely stupid and far too clever for someone so stupid.
posted by adept256 at 6:28 PM on March 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

Jim Jordan, literally today:

C’mon @RepJerryNadler—at least pretend to be serious about fact finding. Nadler feeling the heat big time. Jumps to Tom $teyer’s conclusion—impeaching our President—before first document request. What a Kangaroo court.

But sure, these are the people who are so concerned about precise use of language to avoid any potential indications of antisemitic tropes that our Democratic leadership should be taking cues from.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:41 PM on March 3, 2019 [16 favorites]

Josh Marshall, who wrote the original piece I linked, specifically calls out Jordan on twitter and follows it up with:

2/ Crib Sheet: avoid referring to Jews as having foreign allegiances. If a wealthy Jew has an S in their name, refrain from replacing the S with a dollar sign. Even if you’ve seen evidence to the contrary, don’t say Jews have horns.
posted by Justinian at 6:56 PM on March 3, 2019 [17 favorites]

Mod note: Y'all lets just take a big ol' breather on once again trying to Sort Out This Whole Israel & Antisemitism Thing Once And For All please.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:33 PM on March 3, 2019 [24 favorites]

Why are people talking about this hypothetical Cohen book deal? The republican conceit was that the hearing was a stunt to promote a book... which is crazy. Stop indulging the crazy people theories.

Because Trump took the conceit and ran with it, even though it is a completely stupid argument to make, even if there was a book. If anything, Trump's response is a way to measure how unhinged the president is acting in response to the latest allegations and upcoming investigations.

But calling out the propaganda could also be helpful. From Nesrine Malik, Guardian Opinion:

The problem is not Trump’s base who will support him no matter what. The problem is the dilution of the Trump resistance through what is effectively a tragic loss of faith in the system. It is understandable in Egypt or Syria, where the institutions of state are weak and the political culture unevolved. But how did this happen in the US, with its sophisticated separation of powers and checks and balances?

The obvious answer is that America’s political institutions are not strong, or at least, not as strong as the office of the presidency. And that US values are not robust, or at least not robust enough to withstand the vandalism of a sociopathic leader. Trump will succeed not only because he presides over a minority hardcore base, but also if the majority check out. The challenge now is far bigger than finding a way to outnumber Trump’s support in 2020. It is how to ensure that the sense of futility does not overwhelm the public by then. Take it from someone who grew up in a dictatorship and recognises the surrender of burnout, that the real jeopardy doesn’t start with authoritarianism, it starts with fatigue.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:42 PM on March 3, 2019 [28 favorites]

Russian General Pitches ‘Information’ Operations as a Form of War

At a conference on the future of Russian military strategy, Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, said countries bring a blend of political, economic and military power to bear against adversaries.

The speech outlined what some Western analysts consider the signature strategy of Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin — and what other experts call a simple recognition of modern war and politics.

General Gerasimov said Russia’s armed forces must maintain both “classical” and “asymmetrical” potential, using jargon for the mix of combat, intelligence and propaganda tools that the Kremlin has deployed in conflicts such as Syria and Ukraine.

And he cited the Syrian civil war as an example of successful Russian intervention abroad. The combination of a small expeditionary force with “information” operations had provided lessons that could be expanded to “defend and advance national interests beyond the borders of Russia,” he said.

The speech was noteworthy for echoing themes General Gerasimov laid out in an article published in 2013 in The Military-Industrial Courier, a Russian army journal, and which many now see as a foreshadowing of the country’s embrace of “hybrid war” in Ukraine, where Russia has backed separatist rebels and used soldiers in unmarked uniforms to seize Crimea.

Information operations, strategic influence campaigns - Sun Tzu said one of the highest forms of warfare is turning your enemy against themselves, making them unwilling to fight. Or even coopting them into fighting for you instead of against you. Russia's not the only country to master these methods, mind you. Israel's Mossad, China's PLA both have highly effective propaganda divisions quite skilled at manipulating the will of their geopolitical rivals. It's what all the cool kids are doing these days.
posted by scalefree at 8:40 PM on March 3, 2019 [17 favorites]

The overlap between topics the mods have to table and topics that divide and weaken the democratic party and can be exploited by republicans and foriegn adversaries is... (illuminating, depressing)
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 8:43 PM on March 3, 2019 [25 favorites]

Kyle Griffin:

Maxine Waters, the House Financial Services chair, says Deutsche Bank is cooperating with her Committee. She says Committee staff are going to Deutsche Bank and are now coordinating with the bank to begin reviewing documents related to Trump's finances.

posted by Chrysostom at 10:29 PM on March 3, 2019 [76 favorites]

But how did this happen in the US, with its sophisticated separation of powers and checks and balances?

The myth of American exceptionalosm at work once again. Most of the checks and balances were worthless once political parties and especially a duopoly took over. America IMHO has always regarded its president with a special Leader reverence missing in most other G7 countries, where the prime minister is viewed as a civil servant. Once Congress basically abdicated its power to declare war in favor of neverending "operations" the only things left to block a strongman president were the judiciary and the opposition party, assuming they held a house.
posted by benzenedream at 10:41 PM on March 3, 2019 [29 favorites]

I'm constantly reminded of the game Nomic, in which a large part of the game is creating the rules the game is played by, and which can be won either via the current rules and win conditions, or by making the game unplayable.
posted by rifflesby at 10:45 PM on March 3, 2019 [13 favorites]

Al Jazeera—“Italy: Bannon-backed 'populists' academy draws criticism”
posted by XMLicious at 12:59 AM on March 4, 2019

Maxine Waters, the House Financial Services chair, says Deutsche Bank is cooperating with her Committee. She says Committee staff are going to Deutsche Bank and are now coordinating with the bank to begin reviewing documents related to Trump's finances.

How do I get in touch with these people to make sure they look at Justice Kennedy's son
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:01 AM on March 4, 2019 [43 favorites]

Anyone else think it's suspicious how much time Bannon spends out of the country and thus or of the reach of US law enforcement, lately?
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:41 AM on March 4, 2019 [24 favorites]

Jane Mayer, The New Yorker: "Fox News HAD the story of Trump's hush money payoffs to Stormy Daniels BEFORE the election but killed it because the reporter said she was told, "Good reporting Kiddo, but Rupert Murdoch wants Donald Trump to win. So set it aside." Reporter sued, is bound by an NDA." (article)
posted by bluecore at 4:48 AM on March 4, 2019 [106 favorites]

Hickenlooper is running. (YouTube intro.) Formal announcements come today.

As a Coloradan, I... am unenthusiastic about this. He is a seemingly nice fellow but, in my estimation, he would have been a more viable candidate 8 or so years ago (with time travel). Very middle of the road.
posted by hijinx at 5:20 AM on March 4, 2019 [5 favorites]

Interesting that when the Daniels story finally broke it still came from a Murdoch-owned outlet.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:01 AM on March 4, 2019 [4 favorites]

House judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler: "It's very clear that the president obstructed justice"

srboisvert: I'm disappointed by this statement.

Mostly because the way it is framed there is no easy way to pluralize it.

I'm not sure what this means? I personally am thrilled that he and others at such high-end positions are calling the emperor naked; it helps more people perceive what's going on as "real", and it undercuts the automatic deference to POTUS that benzenedream described.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:22 AM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

But how did this happen in the US, with its sophisticated separation of powers and checks and balances?

The thing is, the US doesn't have any sort of actual laws or rules that enforce those checks and balances. The "system of checks and balances" was based on the assumption that each subsection of the government would act against attempts by any other subsection to expand its powers. It's a sort of capitalism in government idea, there aren't really regulations or laws in place just the establishment of different groups who are theoretically in competition.

Never forget that the American Founders, like many early pioneers of democracy, were deeply opposed to political parties and believed they were dangerous. So their system didn't take parties into much consideration, and that's the flaw.

If Congress was made up of politicians basically unaffiliated with the politician in the Executive branch, and basically having no shared ideology with those int he Judicial branch the idea might work. I'm doubtful it'd work that well, competition always works better in theory than in practice because in practice people are lazy and less inclined to be ruthlessly competitive than the capitalist thinkers imagine they will be. But absent parties maybe, possibly, it could really work.

But we do have parties.

And that's where the whole "separation of powers and checks and balances" bit falls apart completely. The Executive and Legislative branch were both controlled by the same political party which means the people in those offices basically cooperated in weakening the checks and balances so as to get their own policies advanced and actively worked to fill the Judicial branch with agents of their own party so as to get Judicial cooperation with their agenda.

Basically the existence of politicians owing a greater allegiance to their party than to their branch of government is what made that system of checks and balances fail.

I'm not sure it's actually possible to get an entirely self enforcing system in place, but the Founders didn't even try. They put their faith in competition and a misplaced belief that people would rather defend the prerogatives and privileges of their branch of government than unite in advancing an ideology shared by people across all branches of government.
posted by sotonohito at 6:26 AM on March 4, 2019 [39 favorites]

Mostly because the way it is framed there is no easy way to pluralize it.

I think it's just a joke about the fact that you can't easily say someone "obstructed justices" or something in English, because Trump's obstructed justice on a number of fronts.
posted by Rykey at 6:28 AM on March 4, 2019 [10 favorites]

Eric Holder says he is not running for President [WaPo]. I would have loved to see him, especially in a Veep spot, calling Republican bullshit out clearly, but I totally respect him choosing to step back and work hard for the nominee. <3

From the article:

Who should that Democratic president be? With the depth and diversity of the current field of candidates (and those who may still join), we will have a host of good options.

I believe we should pick our nominee based on the following criteria. Does this person have a clear vision for the nation that meets the challenges of today and the uncertainties of the future? Is this a candidate of integrity whose honesty will help rebuild trust in our institutions? Does the person have the capacity — both mental and physical — to handle the rigors of the Oval Office? Does the candidate have the experience to revitalize a federal government that has been mismanaged at home and diminished abroad? Will this person have the ability to inspire the American people and bring us together?

In evaluating potential nominees, we should remember that creativity is not limited to the young, nor wisdom to those who are older. We must measure our candidates not by their age, but by the vitality of their ideas.

This moment also calls for transformative policies. Now is a time to think big — but to be wary of purists.
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:46 AM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

I'm a big Hickenlooper fan. Mainly I think that he has a real appeal to the independents and center-left, once they get to know him. He seems sincerely interested in taking on environmental challenges, especially climate change. For the large plurality that would like to see abortion rates shrink to oblivion, he has this amazing record record of bipartisan success. (Might be worthy of an FPP.)

So, maybe as a VP? Booker-Hickenlooper? Klobuchar-Hickenlooper? Maybe as the top of a much more recognizable ticket designed to get experience for a non-pol---Hickenlooper-Winfrey?
posted by TreeRooster at 6:47 AM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Jane Mayer, The New Yorker: "Fox News HAD the story of Trump's hush money payoffs to Stormy Daniels BEFORE the election but killed it because the reporter said she was told, "Good reporting Kiddo, but Rupert Murdoch wants Donald Trump to win. So set it aside."

FOX News is not a news organization, and should not be given a place in any future Democratic administration.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:51 AM on March 4, 2019 [35 favorites]

I'm not sure it's actually possible to get an entirely self enforcing system

It's not. There's no such thing as a self enforcing system. People have to do it, and if those people refuse to do their duty, the system fails.

That is what's happening right now. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with our constitution. It's jist that Republicans won't do their clear duty under the constituion as it stands, and act as a real check on the executive. They refuse to even consider impeachment even in thr face of clear crimes and sellimg out to a foreign government.

Republicans took an oath to uphold our constitution and thry refuse to do it. That is the problem.
posted by OnceUponATime at 6:57 AM on March 4, 2019 [42 favorites]

"I would go to Mitch McConnell, to his office, and I would sit down with him and say, 'Now, what is the issue again?' and we would talk...Sounds silly right? But this works."

Add Hickenlooper to the pile of hapless, worthless centrists that'll hopefully split the moderate vote. A real embarrassment of riches.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:59 AM on March 4, 2019 [62 favorites]

Gary Kasparov, NY Daily News: "Two sides of the globe, one painful lesson: Trump is debasing America"

"It is vital to understand what Putin extracted from Trump in exchange for keeping quiet about the Trump Tower arrangement and the Trumps’ many lies about it. But it was clear from the start that the Republicans weren’t interested in the truth, only in defending their Dear Leader.
...
The message Trump is sending to the rest of the world is clear: The United States is an unreliable ally and an unworthy enemy. Hostile actors are tempted to act while allies are forced to consider their own plans instead of relying on collective defense. Such a trend foretells a return to the uncertainty and regional power struggles that turned the 20th century into a bloodbath.

Days that live in infamy are usually the result of attacks from abroad. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 were met by unprecedented unity among Americans and their political representatives. The attacks today are largely internal, and self-inflicted. The greatest political scandal in American history is being met with denial and obstruction from Republicans, whose party once championed the rule of law."

posted by OnceUponATime at 6:59 AM on March 4, 2019 [38 favorites]

America IMHO has always regarded its president with a special Leader reverence missing in most other G7 countries, where the prime minister is viewed as a civil servant.

That's not really true: there have been long periods when the president mattered a lot less than Congress. If you look at Bryce's The American Commonwealth, written in the late 1800s, he argues that most presidents emerge through factional compromise -- both geographical and ideological -- rather than talent, while European politicians were more likely to rise through "brilliance" in policy or speech-making or some other personalised achievement. (The most famous chapter is 'Why Great Men Are Not Chosen Presidents'.)

That has obviously changed with open primaries and the emergence of whole-nation news media, but I think the most significant change is that the institution of the presidency is simultaneously treated as a metonym for the nation -- I've snarked here before about "presidential history" as a subfield -- while each administration is granted huge liberties to behave however the fuck it likes while being swathed in a language of continuity, e.g. Jay Rosen noting how I-1's demand for one-page picture briefings is glossed as "a different learning style."

The king is allowed to be both himself, utterly, and more than himself. He may be judged by the standard of all other kings, but the fact of his being a king alters that standard. A bad king is still a king.
posted by holgate at 7:02 AM on March 4, 2019 [9 favorites]

How Giuliani Might Take Down Trump (Garrett Graff, NYT Opinion)

Any onetime Mafia investigator who listened to the Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen testify Wednesday would have immediately recognized the congressional hearing’s historical analogue — what America witnessed on Capitol Hill wasn’t so much John Dean turning on President Richard Nixon, circa 1973; it was the mobster Joseph Valachi turning on the Cosa Nostra, circa 1963. [...]

Fighting the Mafia posed a uniquely hard challenge for investigators. Mafia families were involved in numerous distinct crimes and schemes, over yearslong periods, all for the clear benefit of its leadership, but those very leaders were tough to prosecute because they were rarely involved in the day-to-day crime. They spoke in their own code, rarely directly ordering a lieutenant to do something illegal, but instead offering oblique instructions or expressing general wishes that their lieutenants simply knew how to translate into action.

Those explosive — and arresting — hearings led to the 1970 passage of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, a law designed to allow prosecutors to go after enterprises that engaged in extended, organized criminality. [...]

What lawmakers heard Wednesday sounded a lot like a racketeering enterprise: an organization with a few key players and numerous overlapping crimes — not just one conspiracy, but many. Even leaving aside any questions about the Mueller investigation and the 2016 campaign, Mr. Cohen leveled allegations that sounded like bank fraud, charity fraud and tax fraud, as well as hints of insurance fraud, obstruction of justice and suborning perjury. [...]

RICO was precisely designed to catch the godfathers and bosses at the top of these crime syndicates — people a step or two removed from the actual crimes committed, those whose will is made real, even without a direct order.

Exactly, it appears, as Mr. Trump did at the top of his family business: “Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That’s not how he operates,” Mr. Cohen said. Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen said, “doesn’t give orders. He speaks in code. And I understand that code.” [...]

The irony will be that if federal prosecutors decide to move against President Trump’s empire and family together, he’ll have one man’s model to thank: his own TV lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who perfected the template to tackle precisely that type of criminal enterprise.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:06 AM on March 4, 2019 [32 favorites]

News You May Have Missed for 3 March including lots of depressing news about treatment of migrants, white schools receiving more funding, the popular vote compact, update on Haiti, vaccination bill in Arizona, and more.
posted by joannemerriam at 7:13 AM on March 4, 2019 [8 favorites]

Meanwhile, a “Qanon Manifesto” with no stated author is now 75th of all books sold on Amazon, just below green eggs and ham. “"Gather andrenochrome" is Qanon's word for drinking baby blood, so this book that, once again, is in Amazon's Top 125 of all books right now, as we speak, believes that Monster's Inc. is a tutorial on how to acquire and drink baby blood.” @oneunderscore_

This grift is too lucrative not to break out further, expect the 2020 GOP side to be nothing but moon lawyers and people who sincerely believe in time travel running politics. Everything in the margins will become the center.
posted by The Whelk at 7:14 AM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

FOX News is not a news organization, and should not be given a place in any future Democratic administration.

The other day, during its live coverage of Cohen's testimony, Mara Liasson noted that she is also a longtime Fox contributor.

Working for Fox News should be considered as credibility-killing as working for the National Enquirer. NPR diminishes its credibility by having Liasson serve two masters -- journalism and propaganda -- in this way. Her reportage is already tainted by her association with Fox, so her credibility as an NPR correspondent is not salvageable. They should fire her.

Even if her real role is as yet another sop to the phony "liberal media" complaints, it's a waste of time, as those complaints are never meant in good faith, and weren't when Nixon's allies were trying to deflect attention from Watergate.
posted by Gelatin at 8:27 AM on March 4, 2019 [55 favorites]

House Judiciary Hits Trump Sons w Document Requests

"The House Judiciary Committee on Monday sent more than 80 letters and document requests to nearly all of Trumpworld, including former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, two of the president’s children, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, the National Rifle Association, and others."
posted by BS Artisan at 8:53 AM on March 4, 2019 [30 favorites]

House Judiciary Launches Probe Of Allegations Of Obstruction By President Trump (Tim Mak for NPR, March 4, 2019)

The House Judiciary Committee launched a broad investigation into President Donald Trump's inner circle Monday, targeting figures who have worked in his administration and for the Trump Organization businesses.

The committee told reporters Monday that the investigation will focus on three primary issues: whether the president obstructed justice by interfering with criminal investigations; potential corruption such as violation of campaign and financial reporting laws, as well as possible misuse of office for personal gain; and abuses of power to include misuse of the pardon power and attacks on the press, judiciary and law enforcement agencies.

The subjects of Monday's document requests include both longtime Trump allies and those in the broader universe of individuals and entities linked to Trump, his administration and his business dealings.

The panel has demanded documents from 81 individuals, entities and federal agencies, and given them a deadline of March 18 — just two weeks.

A committee counsel said that if document production negotiations with any particular subject were not fruitful, subpoenas could be issued within weeks of that deadline. The subpoenas could be issued if the House Judiciary Committee takes a vote to authorize them.

The document demands follow last week's dramatic testimony in the House Oversight Committee, in which former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen repeatedly named figures in Trump business circles, and accused them of being involved in various scandals.

Tick, tick, tick ....
posted by filthy light thief at 8:55 AM on March 4, 2019 [43 favorites]

Meanwhile, the Trump Administration looks to Make America White Again and inflict more harm on people who are here legally: 40 Years After The Vietnam War, Some Refugees Face Deportation Under Trump (Shannon Dooling, March 4, 2019)

More than four decades after the Vietnam War brought waves of expatriates to the United States, the Trump administration wants to deport thousands of Vietnamese immigrants, including many refugees, because of years-old criminal convictions.

U.S. officials have been working behind the scenes to convince the Vietnamese government to repatriate more than 7,000 Vietnamese immigrants with criminal convictions. They have all been ordered removed from the U.S. by a judge.

Among those facing deportation is Vu, who has lived in Boston for 20 years. He asked not to use his last name because he fears for his safety if he ever goes back to Vietnam.

"They don't like me [in Vietnam] because I'm Amerasian. They would tease me and throw rocks at me," he says through a translator, looking down at the floor. "Over here it's much better. No one gives me trouble. No one hassles me, and no one throws rocks at me."

posted by filthy light thief at 8:58 AM on March 4, 2019 [17 favorites]

Here's a link to the specific document requests for each of "The 81"
posted by growabrain at 9:20 AM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

Nobody knows what's going to happen between now and next November; maybe Trump goes down in flames, maybe he doesn't...but as of today, after everything that has happened and everything Trump has done to demonstrate his unfitness for the office he holds, 4 in 10 American voters would still vote to re-elect Trump.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:22 AM on March 4, 2019 [19 favorites]

Jane Mayer's Fox News reveal is from this longform piece:

The Making of the Fox News White House
Fox News has always been partisan. But has it become propaganda?

In January, during the longest government shutdown in America’s history, President Donald Trump rode in a motorcade through Hidalgo County, Texas, eventually stopping on a grassy bluff overlooking the Rio Grande. The White House wanted to dramatize what Trump was portraying as a national emergency: the need to build a wall along the Mexican border. The presence of armored vehicles, bales of confiscated marijuana, and federal agents in flak jackets underscored the message.

But the photo op dramatized something else about the Administration. After members of the press pool got out of vans and headed over to where the President was about to speak, they noticed that Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, was already on location. Unlike them, he hadn’t been confined by the Secret Service, and was mingling with Administration officials, at one point hugging Kirstjen Nielsen, the Secretary of Homeland Security. The pool report noted that Hannity was seen “huddling” with the White House communications director, Bill Shine. After the photo op, Hannity had an exclusive on-air interview with Trump. Politico later reported that it was Hannity’s seventh interview with the President, and Fox’s forty-second. Since then, Trump has given Fox two more. He has granted only ten to the three other main television networks combined, and none to CNN, which he denounces as “fake news.”

Hannity was treated in Texas like a member of the Administration because he virtually is one. The same can be said of Fox’s chairman, Rupert Murdoch. Fox has long been a bane of liberals, but in the past two years many people who watch the network closely, including some Fox alumni, say that it has evolved into something that hasn’t existed before in the United States. Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor of Presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and the author of “Messengers of the Right,” a history of the conservative media’s impact on American politics, says of Fox, “It’s the closest we’ve come to having state TV.”

posted by scalefree at 9:23 AM on March 4, 2019 [34 favorites]

Here's a link to the specific document requests for each of "The 81"

One name oddly missing from the list? Ivanka Trump.
posted by scalefree at 9:25 AM on March 4, 2019 [14 favorites]

Wow, what a juicy juicy list. Glad to see the gatekeeper Mr. Weisselberg's documents included. Hoping this 81 is just the first list.
posted by riverlife at 9:26 AM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Some others not on the list:

@sarahkendzior "Also missing: Steve Mnuchin and Carl Icahn. Icahn recommended both Mnuchin and Ross, and is supposed to be under investigation for the financial crimes he committed while acting as an advisor in the Trump admin"

:: quoting :: @Shakestweetz "It's interesting that Wilbur Ross isn't on this list, given that he of all people had a front row seat to international money laundering."

There's more in the following tweets from Sarah about the importance of investigating Icahn.
posted by Buntix at 9:48 AM on March 4, 2019 [18 favorites]

AND BYE BYE.... Matthew Whitaker, meathead & former acting attorney general, has left the DoJ
posted by growabrain at 10:08 AM on March 4, 2019 [26 favorites]

> Wow, what a juicy juicy list. Glad to see the gatekeeper Mr. Weisselberg's documents included. Hoping this 81 is just the first list.
> One name oddly missing from the list? Ivanka Trump.
> Also missing: Steve Mnuchin and Carl Icahn.

I can't shake off the feeling that it's all moving far too slowly.

It's like, we went off the cliff without a parachute back in November 2016, and November 2018 was when we took a good hard look at the big and flat and round thing coming towards us very very fast and decided to give it a name, and these letters being sent out are just us wondering if it will be friends with us.

We have six months more, tops, before all the news coverage is swept up in the prism of the Democratic primary and the upcoming Presidential election, and everything will be waved aside as "just politics". Meanwhile, the committee chairs are still sending out letters requesting information, and it'll take three months of back and forth before they issue subpoenas?

I know, I know, they have to tread carefully, they get one shot and they have to get it right, and so on. But I really hope they can get enough rocks turned over so that I-1 retires to a dacha on the Black Sea before he is re-elected...
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:11 AM on March 4, 2019 [27 favorites]

That Jane Mayer article is a doozy. There's a lot in there, but I hope this bit on the AT&T acquisition of Time Warner will be noticed by members in the various oversight committees that are firing up the subpoenas:

However, in the late summer of 2017, a few months before the Justice Department filed suit, Trump ordered Gary Cohn, then the director of the National Economic Council, to pressure the Justice Department to intervene. According to a well-informed source, Trump called Cohn into the Oval Office along with John Kelly, who had just become the chief of staff, and said in exasperation to Kelly, “I’ve been telling Cohn to get this lawsuit filed and nothing’s happened! I’ve mentioned it fifty times. And nothing’s happened. I want to make sure it’s filed. I want that deal blocked!”

Also included is speculation that Trump's pro-Fox outlook influenced the FCC's approval of Fox’s bid to sell most of its entertainment assets to Disney creating a single entity controlling half the US box office, as well as blocking Sinclair Broadcast Group merger with the Tribune Media Company, a move that would have challenged Fox's domination of the conservative media.
posted by peeedro at 10:13 AM on March 4, 2019 [26 favorites]

Fox has long been a bane of liberals, but in the past two years many people who watch the network closely, including some Fox alumni, say that it has evolved into something that hasn’t existed before in the United States. Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor of Presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and the author of “Messengers of the Right,” a history of the conservative media’s impact on American politics, says of Fox, “It’s the closest we’ve come to having state TV.”

The reason Fox wasn't state TV two-plus years ago was that there was a Democrat in the White House. During George W. Bush's regime, fox was a refuge for members of the Administration to sell their policy propaganda without fear of questioning or pushback. As with Trump now, many Administration figures, notably Dick Cheney, heavily favored Fox News for interviews while shunning legitimate journalism.

And journalists, who should know better, continued to pretend that working for Fox wasn't selling out as a propagandist. They seriously debased their own standards and credibility by accepting Fox as one of their own when it made no pretense to non-partisan, much less "balanced," let alone "objective," reporting.
posted by Gelatin at 10:27 AM on March 4, 2019 [18 favorites]

This isn’t a story about AT&T or CNN being good or bad. This is a story about the President attempting to crush the freedom of the press in violation of the First Amendment. It’s one of the more straightforward impeachable offenses he’s committed.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:33 AM on March 4, 2019 [46 favorites]

Inside Climate News, Coastal Flooding Is Erasing Billions in Property Value as Sea Level Rises. That's Bad News for Cities.

The analysis, published Wednesday by First Street Foundation, estimates that property value losses from coastal flooding in 17 states were nearly $16 billion from 2005 to 2017. Florida, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina each saw more than $1 billion in losses.

"This isn't a forward-facing issue," said Jeremy Porter, a lecturer at Columbia University, consultant at First Street and an author of the report. "It's something that's been occurring. It's something that's affecting people's homes now."

But yes, let's keep asking how we can afford to do anything about climate change.
posted by zachlipton at 10:42 AM on March 4, 2019 [27 favorites]

I know, I know, they have to tread carefully, they get one shot and they have to get it right, and so on. But I really hope they can get enough rocks turned over so that I-1 retires to a dacha on the Black Sea before he is re-elected...

They absolutely do not get "just one shot".

There were 10 investigations into the Benghazi attack. The republican controlled house committees did 6.

They can pound this administration like a drum.
posted by srboisvert at 10:52 AM on March 4, 2019 [63 favorites]

AND BYE BYE.... Matthew Whitaker, meathead & former acting attorney general, has left the DoJ

Ex-acting AG Matthew Whitaker leaves Justice Department (AP via Yahoo News, March 4, 2019)

Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has left the Justice Department.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec says Whitaker's last day was Saturday.

Whitaker was replaced last month when William Barr was confirmed as attorney general. He became a counselor in the associate attorney general's office.

Whitaker was elevated to acting attorney general in November after President Donald Trump ousted then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Whitaker was chief of staff to Sessions, who angered the Republican president by recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

Emphasis mine -- and we're just hearing about this today?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:02 AM on March 4, 2019 [5 favorites]

@kylegriffin1 [document attached]: New: The Chairmen of the Intel, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight Committees want documents and interviews on Trump's communications with Putin (meetings and phone calls) from the White House and State Department. The chair want to talk to translators.

There's going to be a lot of hand-wringing over access to translators, and in ordinary circumstances I might agree it's not a great precedent, but we need to know what they've been talking about. Let the drum pounding continue.
posted by zachlipton at 11:02 AM on March 4, 2019 [30 favorites]

zachlipton: There's going to be a lot of hand-wringing over access to translators, and in ordinary circumstances I might agree it's not a great precedent, but we need to know what they've been talking about. Let the drum pounding continue.

This was discussed in a prior mega-thread (and I'm failing to find the comments), but people might be disappointed as to how little the translators recall from past discussions. I think many, if not most, really good translators are almost to babelfish levels of skill - translating languages on the fly, and able to switch directions pretty seamlessly, which means they're not likely to recall what they're saying. They can probably recall the gist of discussions, but it may not be specific enough to be of any real value.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:14 AM on March 4, 2019 [14 favorites]

The White House is apparently still doing the Presidential Fast Food Layout for college athletes. This time it's the North Dakota State University football team. Why back off on a stupid embarrassment when you can double down on it?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:22 AM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

Ex-acting AG Matthew Whitaker leaves Justice Department (AP via Yahoo News, March 4, 2019)

This is significant since it was only last month that Whitaker was named as a senior counselor in the office of Associate AG. (n.b. Trump still has not appointed an associate AG since Rachel Brand hightailed it out of the DOJ when it looked like she might be in line to oversee the Mueller probe). It's also interesting that he left (or was kicked out) before he had another job lined up.

In the meantime, Whitaker's due back in front of the House Judiciary Committee next week to follow up on his contentious testimony of less than a month ago. His new lack of a formal DoJ position will make claiming executive privilege that much harder, but maybe Barr just wanted to wash his hands of him.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:25 AM on March 4, 2019 [6 favorites]

The White House is apparently still doing the Presidential Fast Food Layout for college athletes. This time it's the North Dakota State University football team. Why back off on a stupid embarrassment when you can double down on it?

I see what you did there.
(Col. Sanders is probably acting SecDef rn)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 11:32 AM on March 4, 2019 [7 favorites]

Why back off on a stupid embarrassment when you can double down on it?

Because doubling down allows you to assert that it's not embarrassing. You did it on purpose and therefore it is right.

The Trumps of this world will always double down rather than admit error.
posted by mightygodking at 11:36 AM on March 4, 2019 [20 favorites]

I thought he resolved to attribute his earnest offering of a pile of lukewarm burgers to the shutdown and associated absence of White House kitchen staff, though.
posted by Selena777 at 11:43 AM on March 4, 2019 [7 favorites]

Yeah, but he still got mocked for picking the worst possible way to navigate around that (self-inflicted) problem. So now he has to insist that actually it was a great idea and everybody loved it.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:46 AM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

Remember one of the jackasses at CPAC -- Gorka? -- complained that "the liberals are coming for your hamburgers," so maybe they think this stunt and the mockery it'll draw from all right-thinking people will help reinforce their narrative.
posted by Gelatin at 11:49 AM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

The Trumps of this world will always double down rather than admit error.

I meant to be rhetorical because you're absolutely right...but you are absolutely right. He's still hugging flags on stage, too. I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen him mock more disabled people or prisoners of war, too, but it's not like he's skipped out on any chances to be racist.

And it's not just Trump. It's his whole following, too. Criticizing him for a mistake or a crime isn't fair, because being critical of Trump just shows you hate Trump and therefore whatever thing he clearly did is irrelevant.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:50 AM on March 4, 2019 [4 favorites]

In typical exceptionally American fashion we don't have a state controlled TV but a TV controlled state.
posted by The Whelk at 12:17 PM on March 4, 2019 [67 favorites]

The idea that Trump's performance in the debates represented as well as he could do with an unfair advantage is one of the most depressing things I have seen this week.
posted by phearlez at 12:37 PM on March 4, 2019 [20 favorites]

Fox News’s propaganda isn’t just unethical — research shows it’s enormously influential

Specifically, by exploiting semi-random variation in Fox viewership driven by changes in the assignment of channel numbers, they find that if Fox News hadn’t existed, the Republican presidential candidate’s share of the two-party vote would have been 3.59 points lower in 2004 and 6.34 points lower in 2008. Without Fox, in other words, the GOP’s only popular vote win since the 1980s would have been reversed and the 2008 election would have been an extinction-level landslide.

posted by T.D. Strange at 12:59 PM on March 4, 2019 [46 favorites]

Jane Mayer, The New Yorker: "Fox News HAD the story of Trump's hush money payoffs to Stormy Daniels BEFORE the election but killed it because the reporter said she was told, "Good reporting Kiddo, but Rupert Murdoch wants Donald Trump to win. So set it aside." Reporter sued, is bound by an NDA." (article)

posted by bluecore at 4:48 AM on March 4 [83 favorites +] [!]

Anyone else see irony in "reporters" signing NDAs?
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:01 PM on March 4, 2019 [23 favorites]

keeping corruption in the public eye is an important part of investigating it and making sure there are consequences for it

Absolutely this. I think Obama made a mistake by prematurely making the financial crisis seem under control: it may have (arguably) been over, but the guilty parties kept their assets and jobs and the lack of a crisis eroded support for more substantive measures.

It's sad that the American public have been taught to demand smoke as the prerequisite of dealing with a fire, but since they have the Democrats should make sure that there's plenty of smoke and that it keeps going until the fire has been extinguished.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:05 PM on March 4, 2019 [22 favorites]

I think Nadler et al. are following the "slow drip of news" game plan that was so effective in keeping Hillary's emails in the news for months.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:16 PM on March 4, 2019 [11 favorites]

This links to an amazingly detailed twitter thread composed by Seth Abramson that goes through each and every one of the 81 people the House Judiciary Committee is seeking information from.
posted by bluesky43 at 1:39 PM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

Special counsel Robert Mueller notifies judge that Trump friend Roger Stone posted Instagram image that could violate gag order

11 days is longer than I thought he'd last.
posted by bluecore at 2:30 PM on March 4, 2019 [65 favorites]

Rewrire, ICE Releases 15 of 17 Babies Detained With Mothers Seeking Asylum

Five days after alerting officials about an alarming number of infants under the age of 1 at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, a coalition of immigrant rights advocates say 15 out of the 17 babies have been released with their mothers.

“We remain alarmed that the government has demonstrated a willingness to detain such vulnerable individuals as a 5-month-old,” Kathryn Shepherd, national advocacy counsel for the Immigration Justice Campaign, told Rewire.News Monday afternoon. “I think it reflects total disregard for human life.”

Shepherd said she was concerned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not have responded without a team of advocates “on the ground in Dilley.”

posted by zachlipton at 2:42 PM on March 4, 2019 [23 favorites]

It feels like the tide of reality is pushing back against the bullshit tsunami.

Pro-Trump Conspiracy Peddler Jerome Corsi Apologizes to Seth Rich’s Family
Corsi retracted a column parroting the baseless conspiracy that Rich and his brother hacked the DNC in 2016
posted by srboisvert at 2:44 PM on March 4, 2019 [17 favorites]

Lisa Beutler, A Better Way For Democrats To Run On Medicare For All

People don’t like to be told that their health plans will go away. The basic unpopularity of that proposition—people don’t get to keep what they have—is perhaps the biggest political hurdle Medicare for all supporters face, and should their objectives prove untenable it makes sense for them to have contingency plans.
...
Even if Congress never touches the health care issue again, almost everyone who is satisfied with their current health-insurance plans will lose them at some point. They will change employers, get promotions, lose jobs, or they will do nothing at all and their carriers will simply stop offering the plans they like. Inevitably, thousands if not millions of those people will find themselves in bureaucratic nightmares like the one I’m dealing with when their new insurers try to exploit the churn in the market for profit.

On top of everything else Kamala Harris described in her pitch for single payer, Democrats should home in on this. Will you have to switch plans? Yes. But you will have to switch plans at some point anyhow, and when you do, you will be at the mercy of a system that will try to milk your changing circumstances, for profit, at your expense. Let’s deny them that power. Let’s switch, together, all at once, and then never again.

This strikes me as the right framing for the debate. Americans are in favor of Medicare for All, but in poll after poll, a large chunk of that support runs away screaming if you tell them that your plan involves eliminating private insurance companies or making them lose the coverage they already have. It's not possible to handwave over that for years and pretend it's not an issue. Acknowledge it, own it, comfort it head-on with the message: you're going to lose your coverage soon enough anyway, because that happens all the time, so let's all do it once, for the final time, and we'll switch to something better and permanent.
posted by zachlipton at 2:57 PM on March 4, 2019 [50 favorites]

Special counsel Robert Mueller notifies judge that Trump friend Roger Stone posted Instagram image that could violate gag order

I'm no friend of Stone, but why isn't there a free speech prior restraint issue with this gag order?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:05 PM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm no friend of Stone, but why isn't there a free speech prior restraint issue with this gag order?

My understanding is the gag order is a condition of his parole, and in furtherance of public safety. It's actually a very narrowly-tailored order, and it does allow him to assert his innocence, but he was (if you recall) posting accusations about the judge with crosshairs on the photo. She has a basis for concern about public safety beyond his right to contest the charges -- and the gag order ends at the courthouse.

Ken White (@popehat) discusses the whole thing on one of his recent episodes of All the President's Lawyers.
posted by suelac at 3:11 PM on March 4, 2019 [7 favorites]

What a Kamala Harris Meme Can Teach Us About Fighting Fake News in 2020 from Politico: The shadow campaign burst into legitimate conversation when CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter, seemed to call for Harris to produce proof of her citizenship. In a since deleted January 22 tweet, Cuomo said, “hopefully there will be no games where the issue keeps changing for righty accusers...and...the legit info abt Harris comes out to deal with the allegation ASAP. The longer there is no proof either way, the deeper the effect.”

Perhaps unintentionally, Cuomo (who later apologized) pushed the story into the national news cycle. Journalists and talking heads jumped on the topic, as did more conspiracy theorists. Media Matters, as well as PolitiFact and Snopes, published fact-checks that, while well-intentioned, gave these falsehoods more longevity.

Disinformation agents—whether domestic political operatives, far-right trolls or those acting purely for the “lulz”—operate a bit like brushfire arsonists. They set small blazes of false information in places such as 4chan, Reddit and Gab, where it is easy for sparks to jump over the firebreaks and move to more mainstream platforms. More bad actors stand at the ready to fan the flames once a meme is in wider circulation.

The author proposes one potential solution but it involves people working together and I am skeptical about that happening when mainstream media types (as opposed to actual journalists, say) get rewarded for eyeballs and clicks. Also, fuck Cuomo and his apology.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:11 PM on March 4, 2019 [10 favorites]

My understanding is the gag order is a condition of his parole, and in furtherance of public safety.

Yeah, this absolutely makes sense to me. You don't let people out on bail if you think they are a danger to the community. By posting pictures of a judge with crosshairs by her head as he did, he could easily incite one of his followers to violence. He is indeed a danger to the community and by my lights ought to be in jail right now for that stunt. But the judge ruled that he was only dangerous if he was talking to the press and posting on social media about the case. So she said he could remain free on bail as long as he shut up. And she generously gave him permission to assert his innocence and beg for money, even. Yet still! He goes on Instagram and accuses prosecutors (presumably) of framing him. Which, again, could endager them, as many Roger Stone fans are armed and not right in the head.

He needs to be in jail.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:18 PM on March 4, 2019 [24 favorites]

The New York Times has its finger on the pulse of the Democratic Party circa 2002... wait... 2020???

Pennsylvania Democrats Wonder How Far Is Too Far Left in 2020

“The more we have presidential candidates or newly elected congresspeople talking about the Green New Deal, talking about ‘Medicare for all,’ talking about socialism, the more that plays into the Trump campaign’s hands,” said Ed Rendell, a former Pennsylvania governor and national Democratic chairman.

He mentioned issues that are tantalizing to some primary voters and candidates but which risk alienating general election voters, such as reparations for descendants of slaves and a rapid, costly transition to carbon-free energy. “Reparations? What are we talking about?” Mr. Rendell scoffed. “Having only renewable energy by 2030? It’s not possible to achieve that.”

It's like the NYT has a Bat Signal that they use to get concern-trolling "Democrats shouldn't be Democrats" quotes, and it's in the shape of Ed Rendell's big fat fucking face.

Come for the hippie-punching from has-been paleodemocrats, stay for quotes from concerned "moderates", like “He wants to take everything off the rich and give it to the poor: That’s communism,” and “I just can’t see a woman running this country.”
posted by tonycpsu at 3:22 PM on March 4, 2019 [48 favorites]

In a since deleted January 22 tweet, Cuomo said, “hopefully there will be no games where the issue keeps changing for righty accusers...and...the legit info abt Harris comes out to deal with the allegation ASAP. The longer there is no proof either way, the deeper the effect.”

Perhaps unintentionally, Cuomo (who later apologized) pushed the story into the national news cycle.

The most astounding things in my mind are: (a) that Cuomo really might believe that "proof" would somehow settle things, as if the way it became a conversation in the first place had anything to do with issues of evidence and (b) that his actions would do anything other than give the issue further reach and momentum.

This is his profession, right? This is something he's supposed to understand well?
posted by wildblueyonder at 4:15 PM on March 4, 2019 [7 favorites]

Yeah ok. The only presidential candidate who has reparations as part of their platform is Marianne Williamson (who might I add speaks about it eloquently yet makes it sound like no-duh common sense and I would love for other candidates to pick up her talking points). Acting like it’s a huge threat to getting independent votes... speaks for itself, I think.
posted by BeginAgain at 4:18 PM on March 4, 2019 [13 favorites]

Erin Burnett: The list of 81 is “initial” - @RepJerryNadler. Ivanka Trump “quite conceivably” on next list

8:07 PM - 4 Mar 2019
posted by bluesky43 at 4:26 PM on March 4, 2019 [6 favorites]

Apparently the text of the House's motion condemning antisemitism has been released (link goes to @ElizaCollins1 on Twitter)
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:41 PM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

A Clinton-era centrist Democrat explains why it’s time to give democratic socialists a chance

Beauchamp: What you’re describing is... a particular view of what makes policies popular and sustainable. You say something about this is wrong — do you think it’s the political part, the economic part, or both?

DeLong: We were certainly wrong, 100 percent, on the politics.

Barack Obama rolls into office with Mitt Romney’s health care policy, with John McCain’s climate policy, with Bill Clinton’s tax policy, and George H.W. Bush’s foreign policy. He’s all these things not because the technocrats in his administration think they’re the best possible policies, but because [White House adviser] David Axelrod and company say they poll well.

And [Chief of Staff] Rahm Emanuel and company say we’ve got to build bridges to the Republicans. We’ve got to let Republicans amend cap and trade up the wazoo, we’ve got to let Republicans amend the [Affordable Care Act] up the wazoo before it comes up to a final vote, we’ve got to tread very lightly with finance on Dodd-Frank, we have to do a very premature pivot away from recession recovery to “entitlement reform.”

All of these with the idea that you would then collect a broad political coalition behind what is, indeed, Mitt Romney’s health care policy and John McCain’s climate policy and George H.W. Bush’s foreign policy.

And did George H.W. Bush, did Mitt Romney, did John McCain say a single good word about anything Barack Obama ever did over the course of eight solid years?

No, they fucking did not. No allegiance to truth on anything other than the belief that John Boehner, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell are the leaders of the Republican Party, and since they’ve decided on scorched earth, we’re to back them to the hilt. So the politics were completely wrong, and we saw this starting back in the Clinton administration.

Today... There’s simply no political place for neoliberals to lead with good policies that make a concession to right-wing concerns.

As a longtime technocrat and centrist.... I totally agree with DeLong here. Not because I really think there was going to be that big of a difference between, say, having President HRC and having President Sanders, and I still think that having technocratic/political wonks around is key to making even a good lefty policy succeed. But that last bit is the crux: a neoliberal systems thinker has to see that a center right doing good faith cooperative policy is necessary in order for the strategy to work. And the GOP has been playing "defect" every damn time they've had the chance.

So it's time for a different tack. To further quote DeLong: "We need to find ways to improve left-wing initiatives, rather than demand that they start from [neoliberal] positions and do minor tweaks to make them more acceptable to their underlying positions."
posted by wildblueyonder at 5:01 PM on March 4, 2019 [97 favorites]

Tpm has a terrific guide to the House Judiciary’s Investigation.
posted by j_curiouser at 5:03 PM on March 4, 2019 [7 favorites]

Tpm has a terrific guide to the House Judiciary’s Investigation.

This is my favorite part:

Four targets of the Mueller investigation — Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, and Rick Gates — are asked to provide any communications regarding a potential pardon from the White House.

House Judiciary investigators are also asking former DOJ and White House officials for information about the topic, apparently within the segment of the investigation that focuses on allegations of obstruction of justice.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:08 PM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

John Bolton puts his singular stamp on Trump’s National Security Council (WaPo). There's a lot in there that's too long to pull-quote that echos the Politico article about the NSC "underground": there is no process anymore, hawks and activists are replacing career professionals, there is no inter-agency coordination, policy isn't informed by experts, principals meeting aren't even held for pressing issues. "The wheel doesn’t connect to the engine" sums up how Bolton runs the show.
posted by peeedro at 5:12 PM on March 4, 2019 [7 favorites]

Tpm has a terrific guide to the House Judiciary’s Investigation.

I think this one, and its very, very long list of witnesses, is my favorite:

By far the most witnesses are asked for information about this one point: “any contacts, direct or indirect, between or involving the Russian Federation and its officials, agents, intermediaries, and/or instrumentalities.”

posted by Little Dawn at 5:19 PM on March 4, 2019 [6 favorites]

Marcy Wheeler grouped the 81 into potential/probable areas of interest.

This is a first run of either the most important association or some surprising ones. I’ll be doing rolling updates of this after more detailed review of the request letters.

It looks like Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Crime Web.
posted by angelplasma at 5:25 PM on March 4, 2019 [8 favorites]

That NYT article is something else.

The thing I don't understand is why they just focused on socialism -- those helpful Trumpists offered lots of other great electoral strategy tips that for some reason went without extensive commentary.

In particular, it seems clear that the Democrats made a serious mistake in 2016, and are prepared to make another in 2020, by nominating a (gasp!) woman for the Presidency.

I am very concerned about this, and I know the NYT is too, which is why I am a bit perplexed that I haven't seen more articles in the Times hand-wringing over the extremely radical notion that the President need not be a man, and how we have over 200 years of history suggesting that such a thing might actually be logically impossible, and how any progressive of good faith must surely recognize the need to compromise, so maybe instead of a woman they could just nominate a man who cares about women, like perhaps a gynecologist or a beauty pageant judge.
posted by bjrubble at 5:25 PM on March 4, 2019 [14 favorites]

CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz has unsurprising news: “After consulting ethics officials, DOJ says AG Bill Barr will not recuse himself from Robert Mueller’s investigation. Barr vowed to consult with ethics officials but did not make any pledge to recuse himself from the Russia probe.”

More from CNN: Attorney General Bill Barr won't recuse from oversight of Russia investigation "Following General Barr's confirmation, senior career ethics officials advised that General Barr should not recuse himself from the Special Counsel's investigation," Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement Monday. "Consistent with that advice, General Barr has decided not to recuse."
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:30 PM on March 4, 2019 [5 favorites]

HUD Secretary Ben Carson says he intends to leave his post at the end of President Trump’s first term (WaPo)

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson says he intends to leave his post at the end of President Trump’s first term.

Carson made his remarks in a segment airing Monday evening on Newsmax TV, a conservative news outlet. In his two years leading HUD, Carson has dialed back civil rights enforcement at the agency and suspended Obama-era rules that had been aimed at fighting housing segregation and discrimination.

posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:36 PM on March 4, 2019 [5 favorites]

In particular, it seems clear that the Democrats made a serious mistake in 2016, and are prepared to make another in 2020, by nominating a (gasp!) woman for the Presidency.

The woman in 2016 got 3,000,000 more votes and lost the Electoral College by a football stadium full of people.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:44 PM on March 4, 2019 [62 favorites]

Roger Stone attorneys say it "did not occur" to them to tell judge about new book despite gag order (WaPo, TPM, the filing). Literally, it "did not occur to counsel" to tell the court that a book was coming out because it had already been sent to bookstores and they considered the gag order-forward looking.
posted by peeedro at 6:00 PM on March 4, 2019 [3 favorites]

Mod note: Couple deleted; there's an ongoing Ilhan Omar thread and a Bernie Sanders thread, better to take debate/outrage stuff on those subjects over there.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 6:16 PM on March 4, 2019 [4 favorites]

Mod note: Sorry, and please take "omg these fuckers" and "reminds me of this funny thing" respectively to the venting thread and the humor, song lyrics, creative responses thread instead. Thanks
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 6:28 PM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

Born To Run The Numbers argues that as good as the policies may be, "Democratic Socialist" is really bad branding. (Bring back Progressive! It's not just a car insurance company...)
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:00 PM on March 4, 2019 [12 favorites]

Seeking to shrink Bears Ears, uranium firm met with Interior before review (Roll Call). It looks like documents show 1) the fix was in, the monument boundaries were redrawn in favor of uranium mining interests, and 2) Andrew Wheeler, then a lobbyist at Faegre Baker Daniels, omitted this lobbying work from his disclosure forms when he joined the EPA:

Emails released in two different Freedom of Information Act lawsuits filed by the Sierra Club against Interior and the EPA also show Andrew Wheeler, confirmed Feb. 28 as the new EPA administrator, was integral to getting Energy Fuels Resources’ foot in the door before the review.

Citing his prior work on the Trump presidential campaign, Wheeler reached out to set up the meeting and attended it. His contacts with Interior during that period are not included in his lobbying disclosures. The firm he was working for, Faegre Baker Daniels, said it is reviewing those disclosures.

posted by peeedro at 7:17 PM on March 4, 2019 [27 favorites]

@TomMcIlroy [video]: Gabriel Sherman says Rupert Murdoch asked Donald Trump to find out if his ex-wife Wendi Deng was a Chinese intelligence asset.

WHAT?
posted by zachlipton at 8:20 PM on March 4, 2019 [39 favorites]

Born To Run The Numbers argues that as good as the policies may be, "Democratic Socialist" is really bad branding.

Born To Run The Numbers fundamentally misunderstands what democratic socialists are after if they think it's a branding exercise to get Democrats into elected office.
posted by contraption at 8:30 PM on March 4, 2019 [18 favorites]

His contacts with Interior during that period are not included in his lobbying disclosures. The firm he was working for, Faegre Baker Daniels, said it is reviewing those disclosures.

An old mucker of mine looking at the proposals in a post-Brexit US-UK trade deal remarked on how it was so obviously dictated by lobbyists and that was almost refreshing: this was dictated by Big Ag, this by Big Pharma, etc. Most of this has been ongoing for a long time, but in the current climate the lobbyist-government complex has its arse showing.

(The US is a structurally-fucked country.)

WHAT?

This is sort of a year old.
posted by holgate at 8:30 PM on March 4, 2019 [4 favorites]

HuffPost, Jennifer Bendery, Trump’s Judicial Nominees Aren’t Just Ideologues. They’re Really Young.

Senate Republicans voted Monday night to advance the nomination of Allison Jones Rushing, yet another of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees who are troubling for a number of reasons.

Rushing worked for Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian organization that has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. She has argued that there were “moral and practical” reasons for banning same-sex marriage.

But it’s her age that may be most notable: She is 37. If she gets confirmed this week, as expected, she will be the youngest federal judge in the country. She has practiced law for only nine years, and her career has focused on defending corporations. She has tried just four cases to verdict or judgment.
...
Rushing didn’t even have a real confirmation hearing. The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman at the time, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), scheduled her hearing last fall when the Senate was out of session and few senators were in town. Not a single Democrat could attend the hearing. Just two Republicans attended, and neither one asked tough questions.

posted by zachlipton at 8:58 PM on March 4, 2019 [27 favorites]

An short 2015 reminder from Nerdwriter about how Trump using language
posted by growabrain at 9:41 PM on March 4, 2019 [3 favorites]

I won’t be surprised if a lot of Trump’s young ideologue judicial appointees end up leaving the federal bench after a few years to make a ton more money with law firms once they get used to the idea of a long lifetime appointment at a salary that is typically accepted as the last state of a long and far more lucrative career and they start realizing how much law firms will pay a former federal judge.

Possibly. Or maybe their spouses and other family members will be offered surprisingly lucrative sinecures in organizations funded by conservative billionaires and grateful megacorporations and there will be little more than a moment of painfully awkward silence whenever someone is gauche enough to suggest that there could be ethical implications.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:49 PM on March 4, 2019 [77 favorites]

Paul Waldman, Hickenlooper’s entry reveals how moderates fatally misunderstand today’s GOP

There can be a danger in learning too well the lessons to be found outside the capital, if you're constantly being told by voters things like, "I don't understand why they can't just put all that partisanship aside and get things done!" That's something people outside Washington say all the time, and while it's a legitimate desire, it betrays a lack of understanding of contemporary politics in America, for a couple of key reasons.
...
The second and more important reason that the two parties can’t just sit down, hash everything out, and get things done is that there’s this thing called the Republican Party. You may have heard of it. But apparently John Hickenlooper hasn’t.

Here’s the problem for a Democratic president: Today’s Republican Party isn’t just committed to a particular set of policy preferences, it’s also committed to a style of politics in which 1) any compromise with Democrats on a controversial issue is an unconscionable betrayal, and 2) literally any tactics, no matter how morally reprehensible, are justified in the pursuit of their goals.
...
I should say that one can criticize some of the other Democratic candidates on their ideas for how to get their agendas passed, which I have done. For instance, Bernie Sanders seems to think that he’ll lead a grass-roots movement so powerful that it would force Republicans in Congress to vote for things they despise such as single-payer health care and free college, which is no less ridiculous than thinking that they’ll come around to helping a Democrat pass his agenda with enough friendly sit-downs.

But if you don’t have a plan for overcoming Republican opposition that takes that opposition as a given — not as something you can make disappear, but as something you must find a way to defeat or circumvent — you don’t have a plan for governing. And that’s something any Democrat who wants to be president ought to have.

Personally, I'd love if candidates were just transparently honest about this: here are the priorities I'd push to pass with Democrats controlling the House+Senate (with and without abolishing the filibuster); here's what I'd be able to do solely from the executive branch with Republicans controlling at least one chamber; here are the few things I'd at least try to get through a Republican Congress. Make it clear from the start that a candidate's policies are a package deal contingent on electing Democrats to Congress and that electing Republicans largely means not getting them. The Green Lantern Theory of the Presidency isn't real, and we should stop having years-long primary battles based on the fiction that it is. Every candidate should be laughed off the stage if they can't explain how they'll turn their agenda into action, and promising to sit down with Mitch McConnell to ask why we can't set aside our differences is not a compelling answer.
posted by zachlipton at 12:30 AM on March 5, 2019 [61 favorites]

With Sweeping Document Request, Democrats Launch Broad Trump Corruption Inquiry

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee delivered a flurry of demands for documents from the executive branch and the broader Trump world on Monday that detailed the breadth and ambition of a new investigation into possible obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power by President Trump and his administration.

posted by infini at 1:17 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

Today... There’s simply no political place for neoliberals to lead with good policies that make a concession to right-wing concerns.

[Narrator: They were actually not very good policies]
posted by srboisvert at 5:36 AM on March 5, 2019 [14 favorites]

Trump spread money around to 2020 Dems (Politico)

An ideological shapeshifter whose decades in the public eye have spanned stints as a Republican, Democrat, Reform Party candidate and independent, Trump has donated across the spectrum from the establishment left to the far right. The recipients include both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and politically exiled Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

Many of Donald Trump’s donations fall into two categories: contributions to local pols and officials with whom he wanted to curry favor, or one-offs to prominent players on the national stage. [...]

Trump historians who have studied his family and real estate career said he learned his political worldview from his father — and in a New York City industry where greasing politicians for favorable zoning exemptions or tax abatements was par for the course.

“This was completely irrespective of anything to do with principles, political perspectives,” said Gwenda Blair, a Columbia University journalism professor who wrote “The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire.” “It was about levers of power, period. And this has not changed. This has never changed.” [...]

During the primary campaign, in fact, Trump touted his donations to opponents. “It’s interesting: I was looking at the ones I’m running against. I’ve contributed to most of them. Can you believe it?” he said in an Iowa stop. “I’ve given to Democrats. I’ve given to Hillary. I’ve given to everybody! Because that was my job. I gotta give to them. Because when I want something, I get it. When I call, they kiss my ass.”

and here's the punchline:

Whether their prior financial entanglements could surface as attack lines against Trump or any of these Democrats remains to be seen. In 2016, Trump won over crowds by insisting that his wealth inoculated him from undue external pressures.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:59 AM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

Meanwhile, the Bison guard at the White House fast food spread was wearing a DSA pin...
posted by The Whelk at 6:10 AM on March 5, 2019 [48 favorites]

The perfect response for any Democrat running in 2020 when asked about receiving donations from Trump: "That makes him smart."
posted by emelenjr at 6:17 AM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

ABC updates on Ty Cobb's seeming change of heart: Former Trump White House Lawyer Calls Mueller 'American Hero,' Says Probe Is No Witch Hunt—On Congressional investigations into the White House: "It's never gonna be over" (Transcript)

But as Mueller prepares to convey his findings to the U.S. Attorney General, Cobb maintains a belief that his report will spare the president from any serious political harm. Cobb said he believes Mueller has already revealed the bulk of the findings that the investigation will produce through the sentencing memos and “speaking indictments” issued against a group of 34 defendants that include Russian hackers and the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. A so-called speaking indictment sets forth more contextual details on a case than is required by law.[…]

“I think Bob Mueller's an American hero … even though he came from an, arguably, privileged background, he has a backbone of steel. He walked into a firefight in Vietnam to pull out one of his injured colleagues and was appropriately honored for that. I've known him for 30 years as a prosecutor and a friend. And I think the world of Bob Mueller. He is a very deliberate guy. But he's also a class act. And a very justice-oriented person.”

It'll be interesting to see if other members of Trumpworld (e.g. Bill Barr) take a similar approach to praising Mueller while insisting his report will not politically damage Trump.

Pro-Trump Conspiracy Peddler Jerome Corsi Apologizes to Seth Rich’s Family
Corsi retracted a column parroting the baseless conspiracy that Rich and his brother hacked the DNC in 2016

The Daily Beast reports that despite the apology, at least three other Corsi posts making the same conspiratorial claims about Seth Rich’s murder remain on the InfoWars website. And CNN's Oliver Darcy updates, "Just spoke to Corsi. He told me he retracted this specific story because it relied on info that was retracted by the Washington Times. However, he said that he continues to believe it’s possible DNC leak was inside job & that ppl should look into whether Seth Rich played a role."
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:18 AM on March 5, 2019 [15 favorites]

The new tactic of the right - we believe her, but not about THAT.
posted by Yowser at 6:38 AM on March 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

It'll be interesting to see if other members of Trumpworld (e.g. Bill Barr) take a similar approach to praising Mueller while insisting his report will not politically damage Trump.

I mean, why not? The things someone has done in the past mean nothing to these people unless it helps them. The consequences of their actions are not their concern. Whether a course of action is going to inevitably bite them in the ass doesn't matter - it's all about Right Now. Building on fire? Jump, and figure it out on the way down.

Not only has everything in their lives - forever free of the consequences of their actions - supported this mindset, but everything about how our culture treats the pundit class shows we are all collectively down with it. The airwaves are filled with talking heads who have been prognosticating nonsense based on either no evidence or their own convictions of how things Should Be which overrides the actual evidence. And they keep their jobs year after year.

Nobody gets charged with purjury for lying to the media and the media won't call them out on it or even just stop quoting them. So yes, that's exactly what they're gonna do. They are all Bagdhad Bob now.
posted by phearlez at 6:47 AM on March 5, 2019 [18 favorites]

Lawyer for Cohen Approached Trump Attorneys About Pardon (WSJ)

An attorney for Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, raised the possibility of a pardon with attorneys for the president and his company after federal agents raided Mr. Cohen’s properties in April, according to people familiar with the discussions. [...]

Mr. Cohen’s attorney at the time, Stephen Ryan, discussed the possibility of a pardon with lawyers for Mr. Trump in the weeks after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Mr. Cohen’s home, office and hotel room, the people said. The pardon discussions occurred while Mr. Ryan was working alongside lawyers for Mr. Trump to review files seized from Mr. Cohen’s premises by the FBI to determine whether they were protected by attorney-client privilege.

The president’s lawyers, including Jay Sekulow, Rudy Giuliani and Joanna Hendon, dismissed the idea of a pardon at the time, these people said. But at least one of them, Mr. Giuliani, left open the possibility that the president could grant Mr. Cohen one in the future, they said. [...]

When lawyers have approached Mr. Giuliani about a presidential pardon for their client, “I always give the same answer which is, ‘The president is not going to consider any pardons at this time and nobody should think that he is,’” Mr. Giuliani said. He added that he also tells lawyers, referring to the president: “Whatever happens in the future, that is his prerogative.”

Mr. Giuliani declined to say whether any lawyers for Mr. Cohen had contacted him, though he said “I would assume ones representing Cohen” were among the several lawyers he said have asked him about pardons for their clients. [...]

Dangling the prospect of a presidential pardon to discourage someone from assisting prosecutors in a criminal investigation could constitute witness tampering or obstruction of justice, according to former federal prosecutors. [...]

Mr. Trump has repeatedly declined to rule out pardoning his former aides being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller and New York federal prosecutors. Asked in November whether he would pardon Mr. Manafort, who was convicted in August of eight counts of fraud and in September pleaded guilty to another two federal crimes, Mr. Trump said it was “very sad what’s happened to Paul” but said he hadn’t offered to pardon him. But, the president added: “I’m not taking anything off the table.”

posted by Little Dawn at 6:48 AM on March 5, 2019 [18 favorites]

For instance, Bernie Sanders seems to think that he’ll lead a grass-roots movement so powerful that it would force Republicans in Congress to vote for things they despise

Isn't the idea to have a movement that replaces Republicans in Congress with Democrats who will vote for things they like?

I agree that presidential candidates should be clearer about this. We elected Obama, but we didn't elect enough Democrats to Congress to let him accomplish a lot of his goals. Then we blamed him when in many cases it was our fault for not giving him a Democratic Congress to work with.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:08 AM on March 5, 2019 [17 favorites]

From the Guardian:

Trump is tweeting again about “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT” and the what he calls “the greatest overreach in the history of our country.” [...]

He also claims the Republican approval rating just hit 93%. He is likely referring to Republicans approval of his job performance and not the public’s opinion of the GOP, which is low.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:16 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

Trumps approval rating appears to have recovered fully from the shutdown, which is...depressing.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 7:30 AM on March 5, 2019 [13 favorites]

In 2016, Trump won over crowds by insisting that his wealth inoculated him from undue external pressures.

House Democrats likely to seek 10 years of Trump's tax returns in coming weeks (WaPo reprint)

Democrats led by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., along with congressional lawyers, are in the advanced stages of preparing the request. They're relying on a 1924 law that gives chairmen of House and Senate tax-writing committees broad powers to demand the tax returns of White House officials. [...]

Trump has made clear to associates that he has no plans to allow Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to turn over his personal tax records, according to three people who have been briefed on the discussions but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The 1924 law does not appear to give Mnuchin much flexibility to deny a congressional request, as the law says he "shall" turn over the records.

But if he refuses, Democrats would probably try to compel Mnuchin to comply by filing a lawsuit in federal court. That could drag the process out for months, or more than a year, which could be one of Trump's primary legal strategies, particularly if he thinks Republicans might take control of the House of Representatives during the 2020 elections. [...]

Congressional leaders have never used the 1924 law to seek the tax returns of a sitting U.S. president, but there has also not been a president in recent history who has refused to voluntarily disclose his tax returns. [...]

Democrats have said they want to review Trump's tax returns to see if there's any evidence of conflicts of interest, inappropriate business relationships and improper influence by foreign governments. They're also looking to understand the precise impact of the 2017 tax cuts on his personal finances, as well as whether he has used inappropriate or illegal tax schemes in the past.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:37 AM on March 5, 2019 [18 favorites]

Reuters: Democrats to Push to Reinstate Repealed 'Net Neutrality' Rules

Pelosi told lawmakers in a letter that House Democrats, who won control of the chamber in the November 2018 elections, would work with their colleagues in the U.S. Senate to pass the “Save The Internet Act.”[…]

A spokeswoman for FCC chairman Ajit Pai did not immediately comment on Monday.

This is only one legislative project that Pelosi touches on in her letter. Dems also plan to introduce bills to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and to restore the Voting Rights Act.

Meanwhile, @realDonaldTrump complains, "The Dems are obstructing justice and will not get anything done." As long as the Democrats are introducing popular legislation while conducting oversight and investigations of the Trump administration—showing that unlike the House GOP, they can walk and chew gum at the same time while in power—this talking point ought to collapse in the media (Fox excepted, of course).
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:44 AM on March 5, 2019 [33 favorites]

Trump accuses House Democrats of going 'stone cold CRAZY' with their probes (Politico)

White House lawyer Jay Sekulow said Monday that Trump’s personal lawyers are “reviewing the request for documents and we will respond at the appropriate time,” while Nadler has hinted Monday’s massive document request was only the first wave.

And Democratic staff for the Judiciary Committee have said they have no qualms about forcing compliance with the requests if recipients don’t turn over documents by March 18.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:52 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

@ChrisMurphyCT 1/ THREAD: Here’s what happened yesterday in our “classified” Khashoggi briefing that included no information not already on the record.

2/ No high level Treasury or State Dept official was there. No intelligence official was there, making it impossible to have any real conversation about what the Administration knows about MBS involvement in Khashoggi murder.

3/ Trump Administration briefers DID confirm that they have no plans to comply with the Magnitsky Act and verify whether of not they believe MBS was involved, as required by the law.

4/ No meaningful partisan disagreement on what to do next. If White House is committed to violating the law and won’t hold Saudis accountable, then the Senate Foreign Relations Committee needs to respond. Talk beginning on sanctions bill that can get R and D support.

5/ Proud to serve under new Chairman @SenatorRisch, who led a fair, balanced hearing, understands the gravity of this issue, and is committed to working through it in a bipartisan way.
posted by scalefree at 7:59 AM on March 5, 2019 [32 favorites]

Today's Democracy Now! had a really great, wide-ranging interview (transcript at that link, full episode, direct .mp4, alt link) with Northwestern University Professor Daniel Immerwahr in which he's promoting a book How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States. Lots of stuff I already knew about our acquisitions and colonialist misdeeds from the Spanish-American War onward but particularly some shameful details about Puerto Rico I wasn't aware of, all the way up to the present with the Trump Administration's response to Hurricane Maria.
posted by XMLicious at 8:12 AM on March 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

Jeff Merkley not running for president, saying (correctly) he's more valuable in the Senate.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 AM on March 5, 2019 [36 favorites]

Trump accuses House Democrats of going 'stone cold CRAZY' with their probes

If I were a House Dem it would give me a lot of satisfaction to be able to say "That's right, we're the stone cold crazy em-effers who are finally doing the job Congress should have been doing for the past two years." [Howard Dean GAAAAHHHHH optional]
posted by Rykey at 8:17 AM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]

Kirkaracha: Isn't the idea to have a movement that replaces Republicans in Congress with Democrats who will vote for things they like?

I agree that presidential candidates should be clearer about this. We elected Obama, but we didn't elect enough Democrats to Congress to let him accomplish a lot of his goals. Then we blamed him when in many cases it was our fault for not giving him a Democratic Congress to work with.

Have all the upvotes. People love to bang on about how FDR and LBJ were True Leaders who Used The Bully Pulpit, but they also had congressional majorities to work with. Obama didn't. Frankly this worries me about 2020, especially if we elect our first woman President - if we still have a majority Republican Senate who do their best to stymie every progressive policy she tries to enact, are we going to hear "this is what happens when you elect a woman, tsk tsk" for four years?

I'm really hoping and trying to be optimistic that Democratic voters have finally seen that elections, even midterm ones, have consequences, when our new majority Democratic House is going full steam ahead on investigating Trump and protecting our democracy. We got into the pickle we are in partly due to Democratic voter apathy and complacency during previous midterms - we sat on our couches and let the Tea Party rampage through Congress. But with people actually voting in the 2018 midterms, look at the results. Fingers crossed that Democrats have taken the lesson to heart.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:18 AM on March 5, 2019 [30 favorites]

With Sweeping Document Request, Democrats Launch Broad Trump Corruption Inquiry

A periodic reminder that these broad inquiries were spurred by Cohen's testimony, which in turn came to us only as a result of one fearless and brave Stormy Daniels.
posted by Dashy at 9:04 AM on March 5, 2019 [51 favorites]

Curious to see whether there's anything there in this story. It's from a conservative outlet, but it has quotes from a seemingly-legit non-partisan source: AOC’s chief of staff ran $1M slush fund by diverting campaign cash to his own companies.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:10 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

which in turn came to us only as a result of one fearless and brave Stormy Daniels.
And a just-in-time whistleblower from Treasury Dept. More disturbing shenanigans in Treasury were also told to Buzzfeed recently as well.
posted by Harry Caul at 9:15 AM on March 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

Jeffrey Toobin writes in the New Yorker: Adam Schiff Hires a Former Prosecutor to Lead the Trump Investigation

Representative Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has hired a veteran prosecutor with experience fighting Russian organized crime to lead his investigation of the Trump Administration. Last month, according to a committee source, Daniel Goldman, who served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 2007 to 2017, joined the committee’s staff as a senior adviser and the director of investigations.

The hiring of Goldman, who will be joined by two other former federal prosecutors on Schiff’s staff, underlines Schiff’s decision to conduct an aggressive investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia during the 2016 Presidential campaign.[…]

Goldman seems well suited to lead this effort. As deputy chief of the organized-crime section of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office, Goldman supervised the prosecution of more than thirty defendants accused of racketeering, gambling, and money laundering. During his decade in the office, Goldman convicted individuals associated with Russian organized crime of securities fraud and health-care fraud, and convicted leading figures in the Genovese crime family of racketeering and murder.

And Trump's mob ties to the Genoveses (among others) go way back to his 80s real estate projects (Newsweek).

Incidentally, Rep. Maxine Waters went on an absolute tear last night on Twitter, culminating in: For the faint of heart, who've been waiting for every "t" to be crossed and every "i" to be dotted, now is the time to demonstrate your patriotism. Support impeachment!
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:17 AM on March 5, 2019 [42 favorites]

It's from a conservative outlet, but it has quotes from a seemingly-legit non-partisan source

The "National Legal and Policy Center" that it quotes is a "right-leaning 501(c)(3) non-profit group that monitors and reports on the ethics of public officials, supporters of liberal causes, and labor unions in the United States". It has done some legitimate ethics work in the past (e.g. reporting on unethical business dealings by Defense Department officials during the W Bush administration that led to jailtime for a DoD official and Boeing's CFO), but it definitely has a partisan bent.
posted by jedicus at 9:18 AM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]

Isn't the idea to have a movement that replaces Republicans in Congress with Democrats who will vote for things they like?

It’s basically impossible for Ds to get to 60 in the Senate so unless Bernie changes his mind about the filibuster, his movement will come up short and his ideas will be unimplemented.
posted by chris24 at 9:30 AM on March 5, 2019

It’s basically impossible for Ds to get to 60 in the Senate so unless Bernie changes his mind about the filibuster, his movement will come up short and his ideas will be unimplemented.

If the Dems have 55 votes in the senate, the filibuster will go away. Until then, no one should talk about it because no one wants to raise undue alarm. Bernie Sanders will not get in the way of the filibuster removal if it's between him and a major program.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 9:35 AM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

Ted Lieu:

@RepDonBeyer & I have made a criminal referral of Jared Kushner to The Justice Dept.

Making false statements or omitting material info on SF-86 security form is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. More info at @politico huddle. Here's the letter
posted by growabrain at 9:36 AM on March 5, 2019 [92 favorites]

Nah, you don’t just dump the filibuster without laying groundwork and start changing minds. And also, how do you see getting to 55 in Bernie’s lifetime much less his possible presidency?
posted by chris24 at 9:38 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

> Jeff Merkley not running for president, saying (correctly) he's more valuable in the Senate.

Hopefully the senior Senator from Ohio was Cc'ed on that memo.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:55 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

The "National Legal and Policy Center" that it quotes

I should have been more explicit. I was pretty sure NLPC was partisan; I was talking about the Campaign Legal Center folks quoted in the story.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:55 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

@RepDonBeyer & I have made a criminal referral of Jared Kushner to The Justice Dept.

As Popehat has said a few times, these don't really mean anything. It's the equivalent of a strongly worded letter to the editor. Might as well be written in crayon.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 9:59 AM on March 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

AOC’s chief of staff ran $1M slush fund by diverting campaign cash to his own companies.

There's an explanation from Justice Dems themselves, along with a summary:

"TLDR: Justice Democrats started off running full campaigns for candidates and the only way to do that legally is with a vendor. Therefore, since the entire staff of JD was within that vendor, there are large expenditures to Brand New Congress, LLC in 2017. We've since moved to a mix of candidates and therefore are able to do this work through a fee-for-service model through Justice Democrats PAC. All JD staff now work directly for JD and their salaries are published in our latest FEC reports."
posted by memento maury at 10:04 AM on March 5, 2019 [27 favorites]

AOC’s chief of staff ran $1M slush fund by diverting campaign cash to his own companies.

He was "diverting" money to his own personal LLC, which is a lot like transferring money from the campaign to a personal account. If he was doing this to get around campaign finance laws, this a really odd way to do it. It would also be the option most likely to result in you going to prison. I'm saying, most likely, if this story has legs at all, this guy was stealing money from the campaign.

On Preview, I guess it could be something like a legal need to work through a vendor too.
posted by xammerboy at 10:22 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

A good thread starts here on how even with the rosiest most perfect nothing goes wrong and everything goes exactly our way scenario, we don’t get to 60 until 2027.

Ezra Levin (Co-Exec Director - Indivisible)
Ok let's talk about why the filibuster must die. McConnell's diatribe against HR 1 shows the GOP will block everything if they can. Democracy, GND, M4A, gun regs - the next Dem president's agenda will be killed with 41 votes.

So how do Dems get to 60 votes? Let's dream a little:
posted by chris24 at 10:33 AM on March 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

There's an explanation from Justice Dems themselves

I'm not going to declare there's no shenanigans here, but it certainly seems curious that the Examiner article links to this explanation in the very last graf and only mentions the bit of it about Chakrabarti's salary. The quotes up much higher don't indicate they presented this explanation to the FEC experts and asked them if it held water.
posted by phearlez at 10:41 AM on March 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

Jeffrey Toobin writes in the New Yorker: Adam Schiff Hires a Former Prosecutor to Lead the Trump Investigation

The Atlantic’s Natasha Bertrand adds, “House Intel has also hired Diana Pilipenko--a Russian& Ukrainian speaker w/ expertise in anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and sanctions--to help investigate Trump's finances. She was previously at Center for American Progress and Deloitte managing corporate investigations.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:41 AM on March 5, 2019 [30 favorites]

Judge Amy Berman Jackson is not happy with Roger Stone's book related antics, and has issued an order that shows it.

The order is in response to a motion to clarify (denied) filed by Stone's attorneys, and orders Stone to provide all communications with the published since her initial order, along with all social media posts, including deleted ones.

She also lays out exactly why the first amendment is not implicated by the order.
posted by Tabitha Someday at 11:57 AM on March 5, 2019 [32 favorites]

Axios: White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to House Oversight chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Tuesday rejecting the committee's request for documents explaining the process for granting security clearances to White House personnel, calling their demands "unprecedented and extraordinarily intrusive."
posted by Chrysostom at 12:18 PM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Philip Bump, Most Americans think Trump committed crimes; believe him less than admitted liar Michael Cohen

I’m going to bury the lead on just how dire this new Quinnipiac University poll is in its assessment of how Americans view President Trump. Instead of starting by pointing out that almost two-thirds of Americans think Trump has committed crimes, I will begin by pointing out a negative bit of information that, by now, is just sort of background noise.

Narrator: he did not bury the lead (also, is Post style really "lead" and not "lede" here?)

Take a scroll through the graphs in this article if you'd like to be soothed by the refreshing sanity that most of the country knows this guy is a crook and then horrified by the realization that it won't matter.
posted by zachlipton at 12:19 PM on March 5, 2019 [23 favorites]

The Pat Cipollone called the House Oversight Committee's request for information on the Trump White House security clearance process "legally unsupportable ultimatums demanding unilateral surrender of the prerogatives of a co-equal branch of the government".

HOC Chairman Cummings responds, "The White House appears to be arguing that Congress has no authority to examine decisions by the Executive Branch that impact our national security—even when the President’s former National Security Advisor has pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with foreign government officials. There is a key difference between a president who exercises his authority under the Constitution and a president who overrules career experts and his top advisors to benefit his family members and then conceals his actions from the American people. The White House’s argument defies the Constitutional separation of powers, decades of precedent before this Committee, and just plain common-sense. The White House security clearance system is broken, and it needs both congressional oversight and legislative reform. I will be consulting with Members of the Committee to determine our next steps."

It looks like Cipolloine's turned down Cummings's "final" offer of "voluntary cooperation", so let the subpoena'ing begin!
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:22 PM on March 5, 2019 [50 favorites]

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to resign, effective in a month, to spend more time with family.

Gottlieb was one of the few administration officials that actually promoted his own agency's missions and actually regulated their industry.
posted by numaner at 12:29 PM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

NBC News, Trump says he agrees '100%' with keeping U.S. troops in Syria

Two months after declaring all U.S. troops are leaving Syria, President Donald Trump wrote to members of Congress that he now agrees "100%" with keeping a military presence in Syria.
...
Late last month, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed that some U.S. troops will stay in Syria after the Syrian Democratic Forces finish clearing out Baghuz.

"A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time," Sanders said in a one-sentence statement. U.S. military officials have since confirmed the residual force could be double that and that some U.S. troops could stay in the northeastern part of the country, and others in southern Syria.

How drunk do we think Mattis is right now?
posted by zachlipton at 12:31 PM on March 5, 2019 [22 favorites]

Trump Organization’s Insurance Policies Under Scrutiny in New York (NYT)

New York State regulators have issued an expansive subpoena to the Trump Organization’s longtime insurance broker, the first step in an investigation of insurance policies and claims involving President Trump’s family business, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The subpoena was served late Monday on the company, Aon, one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world, as part of an inquiry by the New York State Department of Financial Services.
...
The Department of Financial Services does not conduct criminal investigations, nor does it have authority over Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization, but it can refer any possible illegal activity to prosecutors.
...
The New York regulators are requesting copies of the insurance policies ultimately issued to Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization, as well as applications and financial statements used to secure the policies, the person said.

The subpoena requests that the materials — undoubtedly a vast swath of documents, data, emails, policies and other records — be turned over by March 19. The regulators will likely then issue additional subpoenas or requests to the underwriters and possibly other companies and individuals identified in response to this subpoena.

It could take the agency’s investigators months to analyze all the information they collect.

posted by BungaDunga at 12:36 PM on March 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

Raise your hand if you knew that Wendi Deng, who's is currently dating Putin, and who used to date Murdoch, was also the person bringing Jared and Ivanka back together.

https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1102598293807398912
posted by monospace at 12:44 PM on March 5, 2019 [39 favorites]

Oh, this is rich. Marc Short, who wrote an article on AIDS for a conservative paper at Washington and Lee University that described gay men as perverted and sodomites, gay sex as repugnant and represented them in a chart by a rat will be Mike Pence's new Chief of Staff.
posted by Sophie1 at 12:44 PM on March 5, 2019 [23 favorites]

Raise your hand if you knew that Wendi Deng, who's is currently dating Putin, and who used to date Murdoch, was also the person bringing Jared and Ivanka back together.

She was married to Murdoch. They got divorced after she dated Tony Blair. It's like Days of Our Lives.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:49 PM on March 5, 2019 [44 favorites]

Is 'rich' a new way of saying "completely and totally predictable?" Because if there is something less surprising than this administration hiring every anti-LGBT shitbird they can find I am not sure I know what it is. It's a fucking miracle that they're not serving Masterpiece Cakeshop deserts with the fast food for atheletes.
posted by phearlez at 12:53 PM on March 5, 2019 [14 favorites]

Raise your hand if you knew that Wendi Deng, who's is currently dating Putin, and who used to date Murdoch, was also the person bringing Jared and Ivanka back together.

I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist, but I think I'm a conspiracy theorist.
posted by diogenes at 1:14 PM on March 5, 2019 [39 favorites]

>> Wendi Deng, who's is currently dating Putin, and who used to date Murdoch, was also the person bringing Jared and Ivanka back together.

> She was married to Murdoch. They got divorced after she dated Tony Blair. It's like Days of Our Lives.

Wait, so, I thought I knew that you couldn't be compelled to testify against your spouse. Does that privilege survive if you get divorced? And more interestingly, might it be transitive? (If A married B married C, can A claim immunity from being compelled to testify against C?) Has it been tested in court? Or is the plan to have Wendi Deng serially marry every person of interest and wrap them in a blanket of immunity?

(Look, this plan might just be stupid enough to work.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:15 PM on March 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

I guess plutocrats (and wannabes) all hang out together. I bet most of the time it's less of an international cabal than an international dinner party composed of the worst people.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:17 PM on March 5, 2019 [17 favorites]

For what it's worth, Deng denied dating Putin back in 2016. I mean... For what it's worth.
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:27 PM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Deng/Putin is a rumour, there is no indication they are anyway together.
posted by PenDevil at 1:27 PM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Bloomberg announcing he will not run, and will instead focus on electing Democrats and helping to defeat Trump. It notes that he spent $115 million on similar efforts in 2018 and "may" spend more in 2020.

Great -- if Bloomberg's goal is to defeat Trump, this seems like a much much better use of time and money than adding yet another person to the nomination fight (who had almost 0 chance of winning a Democratic primary anyway).
posted by thefoxgod at 1:28 PM on March 5, 2019 [59 favorites]

Deng/Putin is a rumour, there is no indication they are anyway together.

If that's true, we shouldn't consider Sarah Kendzior a reputable source, right? She's implying that it's a fact in that thread.
posted by diogenes at 1:31 PM on March 5, 2019

Wait, so, I thought I knew that you couldn't be compelled to testify against your spouse.

Similar to other privileges, there are exceptions, e.g.

In a case receiving widespread national interest involving the Roslyn School District embezzlement scandal, Nassau Supreme Court Justice Alan L. Honorof ruled on Jan. 3 that it was unnecessary to determine whether New York’s statutory marital privilege applies to same-sex couples because the privilege does not apply at all to communications that relate to participation in a criminal venture. People v. Signorelli, Indictment No. 1289N-05.

And e.g. Rube, Neil A. (1985) "No More Confidences? The Crime-Fraud Exception as a Bar to the Marital Privilege: United States v. Neal," St. John's Law Review: Vol. 59: No. 3 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/lawreview/vol59/iss3/5
posted by Little Dawn at 1:33 PM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

As long as the Fox propaganda network is still in action ,his approval rating is going to not get much lower. He could shoot someone in Times Square and Fox would respond with a bunch of stories about the threat of immigrants.

Since the only thing that could seriously dent his approval would be an economic collapse, we either have to accept that he's going to stay this popular for the duration or embrace doomerist accelerationism. A classic would-you-rather.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:39 PM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

If that's true, we shouldn't consider Sarah Kendzior a reputable source, right?

Kendzior publishes her (expert) opinion on the events of the day, but she's not a journalist doing original fact reporting. Her opinion, published on her Twitter account, is that there's something to the Deng/Putin rumors. She's entitled to that opinion.

But treating anyone's opinion-based-tweets as a "source" of reliable facts is a problem. Kendzior is not in a position to have first hand information about Deng/Murdoch, and she's not talking to any real "sources" who are. She's not claiming that an unnamed-eye witness told her they saw Deng and Putin making out on Roman Abramovitch's boat. She doesn't have any inside information about this and she isn't claiming to. She's just saying she believes the rumors.

Here's a bonus link about Javanka/Deng/Abramovich and their overlapping social networks, for further perspective.
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:45 PM on March 5, 2019 [12 favorites]

(This is another reason why I hate Twitter. If Kendzior were writing for publication she would put in disclaimers about what she does or doesn't know. But on Twitter there's no room for nuance or caveats.)
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:47 PM on March 5, 2019 [9 favorites]

WaPo, Marc Fisher, ‘Grab that record’: How Trump’s high school transcript was hidden

In 2011, days after Donald Trump challenged President Barack Obama to “show his records” to prove that he hadn’t been a “terrible student,” the headmaster at New York Military Academy got an order from his boss: Find Trump’s academic records and help bury them.

The superintendent of the private school “came to me in a panic because he had been accosted by prominent, wealthy alumni of the school who were Mr. Trump’s friends” and who wanted to keep his records secret, recalled Evan Jones, the headmaster at the time. “He said, ‘You need to go grab that record and deliver it to me because I need to deliver it to them.’ ”

The superintendent, Jeffrey Coverdale, confirmed Monday that members of the school’s board of trustees initially wanted him to hand over Trump’s records to them, but Coverdale said he refused.
...
Coverdale declined to say where he hid Trump’s records or to identify the people who ordered him to pull them out of the school’s files. “I don’t want to get into anything with these guys,” he said. “You have to understand, these were millionaires and multimillionaires on the board, and the school was going through some troubles. But to hear, ‘You will deliver them to us?’ That doesn’t happen. This was highly unusual.”

Read on for the time the school was deeply in debt and considering closure, so they hit up Trump for money in 2010. It went poorly. I won't spoil the last paragraph, just...read it.
posted by zachlipton at 1:54 PM on March 5, 2019 [36 favorites]

Two things:
1. From Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown: Special interests already have armies of lobbyists and lawyers on their side – they don’t need judges in their pockets. The Senate must reject Chad Readler's nomination today.

2. Headline from today's New York Times: Border at ‘Breaking Point’ as More than 76,000 Migrants Cross in a Month For the fourth time in five months, the number of migrant families crossing the southwest border has broken records, border enforcement authorities said Tuesday, warning that government facilities are full and agents are overwhelmed.

More than 76,000 migrants crossed the border without authorization in February, more than double the levels from the same period last year and approaching the largest numbers seen in any February in the last 12 years.

“The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point,” Kevin K. McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told reporters in announcing the new data.

Diverted by new restrictions at many of the leading ports of entry, migrant families, mainly from Central America, continue to arrive in ever-larger groups in remote parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. ... The high number of families crossing the border suggest that President Trump’s policies aimed at deterring asylum seekers are not having their intended effect. ... “Crossing with a child is a guarantee of a speedy release and an indefinite release into the United States,” Mr. McAleenan said.

I know that the reporter most likely did not write the headline, because usually the copydesk does that. Either way, NcAkeenan is a political appointee whose words should not be quoted in headlines in a way that suggests they are true. Basically every single syllable out of that guy's mouth ought to be either fact-checked or questioned by every reporter on that beat. (Well, him and every other member of the Trump administration because they are lying liars who lie, as Al Franken would say.)

One of the things we know about McAleenan is that in June 2018 he told the New York Times (via Vice) that "his agency will stop turning over families to the Department of Justice until the two agencies can agree on a policy that would stop children from being separated from their families. Until then, the agency will revert back to the 'catch and release' policy it used under the Obama administration when dealing with families of immigrants." And yet by November 2018, family separations at the border had begun again.

I understand why Republicans swallow this BS, but I am still baffled why major news outlets such as the New York Times continue to disseminate the GOP party line. But let's not go down that well-worn path again. I will exit and go find the venting thread instead after I encourage people, once again, to call their senators about stopping Chad Readler and additional GOP judicial nominees. We may not win but we can make a lot of noise. Please go make some noise today. Many thanks for your consideration.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:56 PM on March 5, 2019 [16 favorites]

If Kendzior were writing for publication she would put in disclaimers about what she does or doesn't know.

Yeah, I guess I prefer that model of writing.
posted by diogenes at 2:00 PM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

(To clarify, this is not just a headline problem. That part jumped out at me but this guy's words be NOT treated as honest or accurate in the body of the article, either.)
posted by Bella Donna at 2:00 PM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

“He said, ‘You need to go grab that record and deliver it to me because I need to deliver it to them.’ ”

Aren't school records usually covered by FERPA anyway?

These guys were trying to keep Trump's records private (as FERPA would ordinarily require) by demanding the administrator violate FERPA?
posted by BungaDunga at 2:03 PM on March 5, 2019 [19 favorites]

Yeah, this seems like a whole lot of effort for "they wouldn't be able to release them anyway even if they wanted to" here.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:05 PM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

WaPo: New York state regulators subpoena documents from Trump Organization’s insurance broker after Cohen testimony

New York state regulators have subpoenaed documents from the Trump Organization’s insurance broker, following testimony from President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen that Trump exaggerated his wealth to lower his insurance premiums.

A spokeswoman for Aon PLC, Trump’s London-based broker, confirmed Tuesday that her company had received a subpoena from New York’s Department of Financial Services. That department regulates insurance and banking in the state. The Trump Organization’s headquarters is in Manhattan.
posted by bluesky43 at 2:08 PM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]

I guess plutocrats (and wannabes) all hang out together. I bet most of the time it's less of an international cabal than an international dinner party composed of the worst people.

If there is one thing I have learned from a couple of Chicago MeFi meetups it's that cabals don't think they are cabals even when they are cabaling.
posted by srboisvert at 2:26 PM on March 5, 2019 [21 favorites]

Great -- if Bloomberg's goal is to defeat Trump, this seems like a much much better use of time and money than adding yet another person to the nomination fight (who had almost 0 chance of winning a Democratic primary anyway).

[sotto voce] That money would be even more useful in Congressional and state races.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:33 PM on March 5, 2019 [16 favorites]

It’s Upsetting to Me That the President Wouldn’t Care if I Got Kidnapped and Murdered by a Foreign Death Squad
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:40 PM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]

So.. Least self-aware quote of the week or just f*cking with us?
Or some of both?

"It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies."

-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:43 PM on March 5, 2019 [33 favorites]

[sotto voce] That money would be even more useful in Congressional and state races.


Well, in 2018 he did spend a bunch of money on Congressional races, so we'll see how it works out this time.

But money spent on any candidates (President or otherwise) is certainly 10x better than money spent on his own vanity campaign, so I am happy he came to his senses.

Unlike his fellow billionaire Schultz, who seems far more concerned about keeping taxes low than defeating Trump/GOP.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:46 PM on March 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

Business Insider
"A group of investigative journalists have published their findings on what they are calling "the Troika Laundromat," described as a $9 billion money-laundering operation with links to politicians and Russia's largest private investment bank."

Deutsche bank is involved, quel surprise

Link to primary source.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 2:47 PM on March 5, 2019 [37 favorites]

Foreign Affairs, Ankit Panda and Vipin Narang, The Hanoi Summit Was Doomed From the Start

Ri’s press conference marked the first time Pyongyang provided the international community with a specific definition of what it had euphemistically termed “corresponding measures” in a range of public statements—most prominently in the September 19, 2018, Pyongyang Declaration, signed on day two of the Inter-Korean Summit Meeting. That statement made clear that additional denuclearization steps, “such as the permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yeongbyeon,” would come only once those “corresponding measures” were taken. In effect, North Korea believed that because it had already dismantled its main nuclear test site, offered up a unilateral moratorium on the testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, and dismantled a missile engine test stand associated with ICBMs, it was now Washington’s turn to make concessions.

Many analysts didn’t fully grasp how central comprehensive sanctions relief was to North Korea in these negotiations, focusing instead on a range of other concessions that Pyongyang might have sought in Hanoi. Yet a declaration to end the Korean War, the opening of a liaison office, and even modifications to U.S.–South Korean joint exercises—although all valuable to Pyongyang in their own way—were not at the core of the “corresponding measures” that Kim sought up front. When he made his demands clear at last week’s summit, the U.S. side decided that the price was too steep. A senior State Department official said as much after the summit, noting that “to give many, many billions of dollars in sanctions relief would in effect put us in a position of subsidizing the ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction in North Korea.” That view exposed a fundamental rigidity in the U.S. position. Short of a comprehensive deal that would exchange total sanctions relief for all of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction, any interim agreement could be rejected because it would subsidize the country’s programs. Failure in Hanoi was thus all but assured from the start.
...
One can hardly blame Kim for being surprised at what must have seemed like Trump’s abrupt turnabout. For months, Trump had been heaping praise on him. Kim was taking steps that maintained the pretense of disarming and Trump had been playing along, pretending to believe him, even stating repeatedly that he was in “no rush” on denuclearization and seeming satisfied so long as there was no missile and nuclear testing. It seemed clear that Trump did not actually care whether Kim disarmed, which probably suited Kim just fine. So imagine Kim’s likely shock when he was subjected to the Hanoi holdup: instead of being asked to ratify the fiction of disarmament, he was being asked to hand over the keys to his nuclear kingdom. In the postsummit briefing, Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said, “Chairman Kim got the feeling that he didn’t understand the way Americans calculate. I have a feeling that Chairman Kim may have lost the will” to negotiate further.

posted by zachlipton at 3:04 PM on March 5, 2019 [17 favorites]

NBC, North Korea rebuilding long-range rocket site, photos show: Photos taken just 2 days after the Trump-Kim Hanoi summit show rebuilding at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, North Korea's operational space launch facility.

Beyond Parallel reports the activity at Sohae, photographed on March 2, is "evident at the vertical engine test stand and the launch pad's rail-mounted rocket transfer structure."

"The activity they are undertaking now is consistent with preparations for a test, though the imagery thus far does not show a missile being moved to the launch pad," said Victor Cha, one of the authors of the report.

"The activity on the ground," said Cha, "shows us that they do have a (nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile) capability that is not just developmental, but in the prototype phase. They've already tested a few of these and it looks like they're preparing the launch pad for another act."

posted by zachlipton at 3:39 PM on March 5, 2019 [13 favorites]

Nate Silver points out that it is very unusual for this many candidates, particularly major candidates, to declare their candidacies this early.

This is one big reason I think the "it's too early to know anything!!!" objections are a bit hollow this cycle. It's true that in a typical cycle it would be too early to know anything. There usually wouldn't be a single major candidate declared yet. Of course polls and stuff would be meaningless. But it's also a fact that this is anything but a typical cycle. Everybody but Biden has declared. Ok, and Beto. I dunno what he's doing, maybe taking another vision quest out on the lonely roads of Texas or something. But we know who the candidates are in a way we would not in any other year.
posted by Justinian at 4:01 PM on March 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

NBC, North Korea rebuilding long-range rocket site, photos show

Heh. Arms Control Wonk is weighing in with a riff on "goat rodeo":

TRUMP-KIM II: THE SCAPEGOAT RODEO

Jeffrey Lewis:

There are reports about a secret North Korean nuclear facility at a place called Bungang (분강). Here's the thing: Bungang (or more commonly Pun'gang) is just another name for the place we call Yongbyon. A short thread follows.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:15 PM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

Everybody but Biden has declared. Ok, and Beto. I dunno what he's doing, maybe taking another vision quest out on the lonely roads of Texas or something.

What he has been doing is sending an unusually large amount of e-mails for someone who is not planning on running for pres or v.p. (Feels like I get 2-3/week for the last 4-6 weeks.) And, strangely enough, many of those e-mails discussed his vision quest listening tour which went to many states besides Texas. (Mostly Midwest, IIRC?)

Dallas News says he will not be running for Cornyn's senate seat.

As someone who donated time and money to Beto's Senate run, I have feelings about this that if I spend the time to flesh them out, could only be described as complicated. Fortunately, I don't have to derail/go down that rabbit hole yet.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:15 PM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

Back to put in a word for Hickenlooper. In the past he suggested hitting McConnell with his own medicine, in regard to Merrick Garland. I'll bet if you ask he'd still be upset about that, and advocate some similarly tough stands. I take Hick's comment about sitting down and listening to Mitch in the same vein as sitting down to talk with Putin or Kim.

On moderates and centrists in general...what if the DSA has moved the Overton window to the point at which a progressive can promise serious strides in equal health care for all, amelioration of climate change via drastic reduction of carbon emissions, and basically undo the damage wrought by Trump---all while claiming to be a centrist!

I do recognize that there are already too many good candidates, but I think they will all be on the same page and this can work towards a really solid team with broad support going into 2020. I'd give a cheer if in the middle of a primary debate they all sit down and decide who is going to run which department then and there. Which one gets to be POTUS is immaterial.
posted by TreeRooster at 5:10 PM on March 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

CNN has more on clearance-gate: President pressured staff to grant security clearance to Ivanka Trump

President Donald Trump pressured his then-chief of staff John Kelly and White House counsel Don McGahn to grant his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump a security clearance against their recommendations, three people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The President's crusade to grant clearances to his daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, rankled West Wing officials.

While Trump has the legal authority to grant clearances, most instances are left up to the White House personnel security office, which determines whether a staffer should be granted one after the FBI has conducted a background check. But after concerns were raised by the personnel office, Trump pushed Kelly and McGahn to make the decision on his daughter and son-in-law's clearances so it did not appear as if he was tainting the process to favor his family, sources told CNN. After both refused, Trump granted them their security clearances.

It seems that one reason to grant Ivanka clearance was that she sits in meetings on high-level meetings at the Trump White House.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:13 PM on March 5, 2019 [21 favorites]

Yep, the key to installing a random shithead at high-level meetings is to force the nation to trust them.

I'm not holding out a lot of hope for clearance-gate to go anywhere fruitful. The most I am hoping for is a tightening of the laws around it, which is essentially removing presidential power, which in turn is a state of affairs lousy with party politics larding down the idea. But both parties have spend decades giving the president more and more power, so this is a tough row to hoe.
posted by rhizome at 5:27 PM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Back to put in a word for Hickenlooper. In the past he suggested hitting McConnell with his own medicine, in regard to Merrick Garland. I'll bet if you ask he'd still be upset about that, and advocate some similarly tough stands.

To be honest, that link just makes me wonder if Hickenlooper even understood what happened to the Garland nomination. By what mechanism did he expect Democrats to be able to retaliate by indefinitely delaying a confirmation vote for Gorsuch in a Republican-controlled Senate? The article doesn't say, probably because they had no effective ability to act as he suggested. If that's his idea of a tough stand or effective strategizing then I think we're probably better off with him where he is now than striving for the White House.
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:32 PM on March 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

NYT, In the Middle of His Official Business, Trump Took the Time to Send Checks to Michael Cohen

The president hosted a foreign leader in the Oval Office, then wrote a check. He haggled over legislation, then wrote a check. He traveled abroad, then wrote a check. On the same day he reportedly pressured the F.B.I. director to drop an investigation into a former aide, the president’s trust issued a check to Mr. Cohen in furtherance of what federal prosecutors have called a criminal scheme directed by Mr. Trump to violate campaign finance laws.
...
Indeed, some people close to Mr. Trump have privately predicted that he will ultimately choose to seek a second term in part because of his legal exposure if he is not president. While there is no legal consensus on the matter, Justice Department policy says that a president cannot be indicted while in office.

What a country.
posted by zachlipton at 5:57 PM on March 5, 2019 [52 favorites]

That NYT check article totally wins the Sorry Alexandra Petri But There is No Longer Such a Thing as Satire award:
After the Oct. 18 check came one on Nov. 21, just two days before Thanksgiving when Mr. Trump pardoned a turkey, saying, “I feel so good about myself,” and then defended Roy S. Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama who had been accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls. Mr. Trump also spoke by telephone that day with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
posted by neroli at 6:10 PM on March 5, 2019 [17 favorites]

Deadline Whitehouse (w/video): “A legal theory that has long been whispered about by legal experts and veteran prosecutors has spilled out into the open... the possibility that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization are being investigated as a criminal enterprise..." - @NicolleDWallace
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:34 PM on March 5, 2019 [27 favorites]

What a country.

What a president.....
posted by bluesky43 at 6:52 PM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm not holding out a lot of hope for clearance-gate to go anywhere fruitful. The most I am hoping for is a tightening of the laws around it, which is essentially removing presidential power

Easiest way for your mole to bypass security clearance restrictions: install them as president.
posted by benzenedream at 7:04 PM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

Not for nothing, but the whole "Sitting President cannot be indicted" is so Roman it's almost creepy. Many roman politicians would get their hands incredibly messy in their ascent to power with the full knowledge that they were immune to prosecution once the power was obtained. The tricky part then became how do you not get thrown in jail as soon as your term is up. They had many different creative ways of dodging prosecution, but time showed that the most effective means was to simply cross the Rubicon.

Thankfully, if president turd mullet tried crossing the Rubicon, he'd miss the bridge and drown.
posted by Philipschall at 7:17 PM on March 5, 2019 [15 favorites]

“A legal theory that has long been whispered about by legal experts and veteran prosecutors has spilled out into the open the possibility that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization are being investigated as a criminal enterprise"

Was one of these expert veterans @CaptainLouisRenault?
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:42 PM on March 5, 2019 [12 favorites]

people close to Mr. Trump have privately predicted that he will ultimately choose to seek a second term in part because of his legal exposure if he is not president.

Have they missed the fact where he's already seeking a second term, that he registered to run on the day he was inaugurated? I mean, maybe he'll campaign harder because of legal risks, but he's already seeking a second term.

(And the media needs to start calling him, "Republican candidate Trump" when he's doing campaign rallies.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:43 PM on March 5, 2019 [17 favorites]

the silver lining in that line is the implication that people close to president horrorshow privately entertain the possibility that he may not run for a second term.
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:48 PM on March 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

North Korean hackers targeted US ‘critical infrastructure’ while Trump kissed up to Kim in Hanoi: NYT cybersecurity reporter

New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth told CNN on Monday that while President Donald Trump was in Hanoi giving Kim Jong-un a pass for murdering American college student Otto Warmbier, North Korean hackers attacked more than 100 sites in the United States and among our allies, including water utilities, oil and gas companies, and “critical infrastructure companies” in the U.S.

Perlroth said these attacks had been begun when Trump “first derided Kim Jong-Un as ‘Rocket Man'” and threatened to wipe North Korea off the map, and had continued through both summits and “all through last fall when Trump was saying that he and Kim Jong-Un were sending fawning love notes to one another and falling in love.”

“These attacks were continuing on some pretty significant critical infrastructure targets here in the United States,” she said. “If you look at map of where the attacks were hitting, the vast majority of them were hitting banks in New York or a little bit more concerningly, oil and gas companies near Houston.”

“When you think about why a nation state would be attacking companies and the energy sector, you start to think more about some of these physical attacks that could cause damage,” Perlroth went on. “I think actually the target that sort of terrified me the most personally as a cybersecurity reporter was a water utility in the United States. We don’t know which one it was, but why would the North Koreans be trying to get into a water utility systems?”

“This is all happening on the back end as Trump’s saying wonderful things about Kim Jong-Un and saying he’s taking him at his word in the Otto Warmbier case,” she added.

posted by scalefree at 8:09 PM on March 5, 2019 [18 favorites]

Trump Organization’s Insurance Policies Under Scrutiny in New York
(NYT)

New York State regulators have issued an expansive subpoena to the Trump Organization’s longtime insurance broker, the first step in an investigation of insurance policies and claims involving President Trump’s family business, according to the company and a person briefed on the matter.

The subpoena was served late Monday on the company, Aon, one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world, as part of an inquiry by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

It came just days after Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer and lawyer, indicated in congressional testimony that the Trump Organization inflated the value of its assets to insurance companies.

... At a hearing in front of the House Oversight Committee last week, when asked by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, whether the president ever inflated his assets to an insurance company, Mr. Cohen simply replied, “Yes.”

The New York regulators are requesting copies of the insurance policies ultimately issued to Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization, as well as applications and financial statements used to secure the policies, the person said.

Follow the money.
posted by petebest at 8:13 PM on March 5, 2019 [13 favorites]

Not for nothing, but the whole "Sitting President cannot be indicted" is so Roman it's almost creepy.

Really, really worth restating as often as possible: this policy was made up by Nixon's Department of Justice. It's not in the Constitution. It's never been tested by the Court. The only reason that we're living with the idea that the President is above the law, is because one imperial president installed his personal lawyers to say he was, and another is now wielding it as fact, and has installed more sycophants in the current DOJ that treat OLC memos as blood pacts. This bullshit unconstitutional policy should be #1 on the list of shit to add in the omnibus "passing norms into law" bill should be we so lucky to ever see another Democratic president who has any hope of getting another law passed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:27 PM on March 5, 2019 [90 favorites]

Boy oh boy there are suddenly a TON of things under scrutiny! And tons of documents!
posted by gucci mane at 8:51 PM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]

WashPo: GOP lawmakers wore pearls while gun violence victims testified. Activists were outraged.

A handful of male lawmakers dressed up for a hearing they presided over Tuesday in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, donning pearl necklaces as activists testified about their experiences with gun violence...The implication was clear, they said: These politicians thought gun-control activists were “clutching their pearls” in overwrought and self-righteous outrage — and, specifically, female outrage.

@ShannonWatts:

Of the 13 person ERPO hearing committee, 10 of the lawmakers are men; half of them are wearing pearls to mock @MomsDemand volunteers. Meanwhile, their constituents are in tears as they testify about gun suicides and domestic gun violence in their families. #NHPolitics

But then the reveal: This is actually in support of gun control...?!

Maybe retire that campaign!
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:08 PM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]

First Cook Political look at 2020 House races. Dems favored to keep control.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:10 PM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

But then the reveal: This is actually in support of gun control...?!

OK -- upon looking further, it's a women's pro-gun "safety" group. Which could be OK, I guess, but in actuality seems to be the 2ndAm wreck you'd expect.

Sigh.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:15 PM on March 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

it's a women's pro-gun "safety" group.

Yeah, it's the alt-right tactic of strategic irony and weaponizing ambiguity where they pick a symbol that clearly says "fuck the libs" but they pretend it actually says "we support women" and then get all chuffy if anyone reacts to the obvious and intended interpretation. That, plus the NRA's newest tactic of coopting the language of women's empowerment to sell guns and fight gun control.
posted by peeedro at 9:39 PM on March 5, 2019 [32 favorites]

Lawyer for Cohen Approached Trump Attorneys About Pardon (WSJ)

WaPo: Michael Cohen alleges pardon was dangled. Others say his lawyer broached the idea.

House and Senate investigators are keenly interested in discussions that took place in those tense months surrounding the raid. Cohen has privately claimed that a pardon was dangled to him by Trump’s representatives, people familiar with the matter say — though he has been unspecific about the timing or substance of the talks.

Two others familiar with the events said it was Stephen Ryan, Cohen’s lawyer at the time, who raised the issue of a pardon. Within weeks of the raid, Ryan and Rudolph W. Giuliani, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, discussed the subject, people familiar with the matter said.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a matter still being investigated. The Wall Street Journal first reported the conversation involving Giuliani.

So we have conflicting stories about who brought up the pardon first, it's likely the WSJ reporting is the White House/Giuliani trying to get ahead of the story with their own, more favorable version before Cohen's account was made public. The Post's previous reporting left it ambiguous about who approached who, but gave a hint with a quote from Lanny Davis saying, "It's pretty explosive."
posted by peeedro at 11:10 PM on March 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

people close to Mr. Trump have privately predicted that he will ultimately choose to seek a second term in part because of his legal exposure if he is not president.
I can't be the only one who thought the reason he ran for president in the first place was to avoid legal exposure. (He could claim to be politically targeted even if he lost).
posted by mumimor at 11:45 PM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

The Oppression of the Supermajority
By Tim Wu, NYTimes Opinion
We are told that America is divided and polarized as never before. Yet when it comes to many important areas of policy, that simply isn’t true.

About 75 percent of Americans favor higher taxes for the ultrawealthy. The idea of a federal law that would guarantee paid maternity leave attracts 67 percent support. Eighty-three percent favor strong net neutrality rules for broadband, and more than 60 percent want stronger privacy laws. Seventy-one percent think we should be able to buy drugs imported from Canada, and 92 percent want Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. The list goes on.

The defining political fact of our time is not polarization. It’s the inability of even large bipartisan majorities to get what they want on issues like these. Call it the oppression of the supermajority. Ignoring what most of the country wants — as much as demagogy and political divisiveness — is what is making the public so angry.

I really like this piece. Each time some pundit says we are divided and polarized, I shout at the radio or TV, because it's really not true (I know some of you have trumpists in their environment, but even people in red states here on the blue keep telling us that a lot of people are normal). A big minority has been drinking the kool-aid, but the majority want good things to happen. Trump lied and is still lying, it's not like most Trump voters wanted the swampiest swamp ever.
This is why I think it's useless to run as a "moderate" -- the concept of moderate is fine and good, I think I am a moderate person. But "Moderate" has become a signifier for beholden to lobbyists and donors and out touch with the people. In my country, I'm going to vote further to the left than I ever have (and that includes those years when I was a slum activist), and polls say there will be a red wave this year (red is for socialism), so I'm not alone. Stop dreaming of the middle, the right has abandoned it.
posted by mumimor at 12:06 AM on March 6, 2019 [87 favorites]

Republicans launch propaganda sites designed to look like local news outlets (Igor Derysh, Salon)

An investigation by the fact-checking outlet Snopes found that several new local news websites are actually being launched by Republican consultants whose company is funded in part by the candidates the sites cover.

Politico first reported last year that Tea Party-linked conservative activists Michael Patrick Leahy, Steve Gill and Christina Botteri were behind the "Tennessee Star,” a website that purported to be a local news website but mostly posted content licensed from groups linked to big Republican donors.

Snopes discovered that the trio has since launched similar sites in other battleground states ahead of the 2020 elections: the Ohio Star and the Minnesota Sun.

Hiding in Plain Sight: PAC-Connected Activists Set Up ‘Local News’ Outlets (Alex Kasprak & Bethania Palma, Snopes.com)
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:59 AM on March 6, 2019 [34 favorites]

We Asked Actual Mafia Experts If Trump Is Really Acting Like a 'Mob Boss' (Alex Norcia, Vice)

"Comparing the president to a Mafia leader is almost a cliché at this point. Is it just a joke, or something more?"
...

"I see many more differences than similarities," Diego Gambetta, a professor of social theory and an expert on mafias at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, told me of the Trump–mob boss comparison. "[Mob bosses] do not talk much at all. They measure their words with great care. They do not gesticulate or pull faces. They do not boast. They do not, except in the most exceptional circumstances, display their visceral feelings. The little information they pass to one another tends to be accurate, and they certainly do not cheaply resort to insulting and offending people, or issuing crass threats. They are professional in intimidation. They are not cardboard gangsters."

In short, the Mafia is so woven into the pop-cultural fabric of American society that we tend to forget mobsters still have actual influence across the globe. Trump does seem to satisfy some Americans' taste for bombast, their innate desire to watch someone ridiculous and cartoonish on-stage. But mafiosos who are good at what they do, to the extent that is possible, aren't necessarily loudmouths who leave paper trails, as Trump clearly did in his Cohen dealings.
...

"We have this sort of epistemic blockage between what gangsters are like and who they actually are in Western society," [Danilo Mandić, a lecturer of sociology at Harvard] said. "A better way to think about all this is that it's not so much about the personalities, and if anything is useful about this metaphor it's drawing attention to this underlying dynamics of power—that politics has always been about coercion. Dividing people between us and them is the bedrock of politics. But Trump didn't invent any of this—he's just putting it on display in a more salient way."

posted by ZeusHumms at 2:11 AM on March 6, 2019 [20 favorites]

So Trump isn't like a mob boss, not because of his wrongdoing and threatening witnesses, but because he's a gangster and a gasbag.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:24 AM on March 6, 2019 [4 favorites]

The primary distinction seems to be that mob bosses aren't complete morons.
posted by wabbittwax at 3:29 AM on March 6, 2019 [105 favorites]

Former Trump Aide Will Not Cooperate with House Probe (WaPo (via))

The letter from an attorney for Michael Caputo, who worked for Trump during part of the 2016 campaign, represents the first skirmish in what is likely to be broad resistance from Trump aides and associates to new inquiries issued this week by the Judiciary Committee.

Caputo told The Washington Post that he has already begun talking with four other Trump associates who received requests from the committee this week to begin a joint strategy of resisting requests for testimony.

“All four are reluctant to appear because they believe it’s a perjury trap designed to move toward impeachment of the president,” he said.

Now in addition to the reappearance of that particular bugaboo on par with "can't indict a shitting Prediesent" that we know as "perjury trap" (yes, it can be a real thing, no it's not here) I'm intrigued by the reappearance of Michael Caputo in the news.

For no reason that makes any sense, I've always thought Caputo must be the key to something about OmniPanghaziGate. If it please the mods, please allow this brief opening two paragraphs from the Wikipedia entry for MC:

Michael R. Caputo (born 1962[1]) is a Republican political strategist, and media consultant. He became enamored of Ronald Reagan while serving in the military and became a Republican, later working for politicians including Jack Kemp. He worked for the Reagan Administration with Oliver North, then as assistant director of the House of Representatives Gallery of the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association. He left that role to serve as director of media services on the campaign for president George H.W. Bush in the 1992 United States presidential election.

Caputo moved to Russia in 1994 after the fall of the Soviet Union, and was an adviser to Boris Yeltsin and helped elect Yeltsin to a second term as President of Russia. He worked for Gazprom Media in 2000 where he helped improve the image of Vladimir Putin in the U.S. He moved back to the U.S. and founded a public relations company, and then moved to Ukraine to work on a candidate's campaign for parliament.

Right? Like if you're the kind of MegaThreader™ who would trade a Rookie Hope Hicks card for a Gorsuch and two Chaos, why wouldn't you re-read the stats on the Caputo card over and over? It's got all the numbers. He's like the umbrella man. So for him to be in the WaPo as nominal leader of some people who plan to fight any and all investigation into how Trump conned his way into office, I'mma check the popcorn futures.
posted by petebest at 4:37 AM on March 6, 2019 [55 favorites]

Jair Bolsonaro is the fascist President of Brazil. Who wants to explain it to him?

@jairbolsonaro O que é golden shower?
posted by scalefree at 5:29 AM on March 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

Tariff-Man Trump to Preside Over $100 Billion Jump in Trade Gap (Bloomberg). It's a ten-year high, 20% higher than when Trump took office. The merchandise deficit is the largest in history. Reminder that it's not a useful measure of the economy's health or fairness, but something Trump has both fixated on and misrepresented while providing it as justification for his failed "trade war" policy.
posted by peeedro at 6:07 AM on March 6, 2019 [12 favorites]

This sounds fun! Democrats Plan to Grill Kirstjen Nielsen on Perjury Allegations
posted by armacy at 6:47 AM on March 6, 2019 [23 favorites]

White Supremacist Propaganda At 'Record-Setting' Levels, ADL Report Finds

According to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League, white supremacy propaganda increased by 182 percent in 2018 compared to the year before.

[...]

According to the ADL, the goal of these understated flyers is to appeal to mainstream conservatives, who might appreciate the seemingly innocuous message of American exceptionalism. But their underlying message, the ADL says, is one of hate.

[...]

As they're increasing their propaganda, hate groups are also rethinking how they hold public events. While the number of racist rallies and demonstrations rose last year, from 76 in 2017 to 91 in 2018, fewer of those events were announced beforehand, the ADL said. Instead, hate groups are using "flash mob" techniques, coming together to rally without giving opponents time to mobilize. Identity Evropa and the group Patriot Front held more than 30 "unannounced, quickly disbanded gatherings" last year, ADL said.

Btw that really is an increase of 182%—as in, the 2018 overall rate of documented incidents is 282% of 2017: 1187 incidents versus 421.

From the report itself:

Most of the alt right’s 2018 flash demonstrations focused on immigration issues; attendees protested sanctuary cities and held demonstrations at the Mexican-American border and at Mexican consulates. Patriot Front also targeted left-wing events, disrupting an anarchist bookfair at Boston University and a “Bingo against borders” event at a Houston bar, and sabotaging an “Occupy ICE” event in San Antonio.

Small, collaborative groups of white supremacists focused on staging small counter-demonstrations in and around Arkansas and Tennessee. These assemblies often included members of the Traditionalist Worker Party, Shield Wall Network, League of the South, National Socialist Movement and the Knights Party, an Arkansas-based Klan group. Over the course of 2018, they protested women’s marches, gay pride events, a rally by the Satanic Temple, an anti-gun “March For Our Lives,” and a group that opposed Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Private events draw larger crowds

Unsurprisingly, private white supremacist events are currently the movement’s best-attended gatherings. Hammerfest, an annual hate rock concert and racist skinhead convention, was by far the largest white supremacist event of 2018. The gathering, hosted by the West Coast chapter of the Hammerskin Nation, was also a celebration of the group’s 30th anniversary, and brought more than 150 attendees to San Diego, California.

Private conferences held in 2018 by suit-and-tie white supremacists were also well attended. Groups such as Identity Evropa, American Renaissance, American Freedom Party, and the Council of Conservative Citizens typically drew between 50 and 100 individuals to their conferences. These events were all held at the Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, Tennessee, a location that has become a favorite as white supremacists are forced out of private venues. Tennessee state parks are required by law to allow any group – regardless of ideology – to rent their facilities.

posted by XMLicious at 6:52 AM on March 6, 2019 [25 favorites]

Bloomberg, although distracted by side issues like Trump fussing over tablecloths and the Rockettes, uncovers more dubious activity behind the scenes at the inauguration: Despite White House denials that he played a role, the president was actively involved in planning an event that’s now under scrutiny from federal prosecutors.

Trump’s involvement in inaugural planning started early. He wanted to give exclusive broadcasting rights to Fox News, with on-air talent that was broadly supportive of his candidacy, according to three people familiar with his thinking. But in a late November phone call with Trump, Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN, argued it would be a mistake to broadcast only to his most loyal supporters, these sources said.

Afterward, Trump told Barrack they’d do deals with both Fox and CNN, two of the people said, but the idea was never executed.[…]

Barrack planned much of the inauguration at Colony’s New York offices, and he was also a key player in the transition effort taking place just across the street at Trump Tower. His dual role allowed him to keep Trump apprised of the inaugural committee’s efforts, according to people familiar with their conversations.

Barrack’s deputy in the inaugural effort was Rick Gates, who previously reported to Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman now awaiting sentencing for several crimes. In late November, Trump told Barrack to fire Gates, according to four people familiar with the request. Both Trump and Don McGahn, his campaign lawyer, had concerns about how more than $700,000 for a direct mail contract had been allocated several months earlier, while Manafort and Gates were overseeing plans for the Republican convention, and Trump was still seething about it, two of the people said.

But Gates was never fired, and remained through the inauguration. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI, admitting he committed crimes with Manafort when they worked as political consultants in Ukraine.

And last December, Sarah Sanders apparently lied through her teeth when she claimed, "The biggest thing the president did, his engagement in the inauguration, was to come here and raise his hand and take the oath of office. The president was focused on the transition during that time and not on any of the planning for the inauguration."

And Trump was still lying about his inauguration's crowd size at CPAC last weekend.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:01 AM on March 6, 2019 [19 favorites]

T.D. Strange: This bullshit unconstitutional policy should be #1 on the list of shit to add in the omnibus "passing norms into law" bill should be we so lucky to ever see another Democratic president who has any hope of getting another law passed.

And it would probably make a great campaign for any 2020 nominee! "I don't plan to commit any crimes or corruption while in office, so I fully endorse the More Oversight And Less Power For Me (Your New President) Act."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:14 AM on March 6, 2019 [13 favorites]

... brought more than 150 attendees to San Diego, California ...

... typically drew between 50 and 100 individuals to their conferences ...

Any number greater than zero is unacceptable, of course, but these numbers don't seem very impressive.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:17 AM on March 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

Despite White House denials that he played a role, the president was actively involved in planning an event that’s now under scrutiny from federal prosecutors.

It's nice to have evidence, but this was obvious from the beginning. Individual-1 is not capable of delegating authority or being a hands-off manager. It's just not in his makeup. He needs to get his stubby little fingers into everything. It's impossible to imagine his team planning what amounts to a party to celebrate him without his incessant micromanaging.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:35 AM on March 6, 2019 [15 favorites]

Mod note: A few comments deleted. I get the intent but still just out of general principle, let's skip the insect/rodent rhetoric when it applies to people.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:07 AM on March 6, 2019 [9 favorites]

Yeah, it's the alt-right tactic of strategic irony and weaponizing ambiguity where they pick a symbol that clearly says "fuck the libs" but they pretend it actually says "we support women" and then get all chuffy if anyone reacts to the obvious and intended interpretation. That, plus the NRA's newest tactic of coopting the language of women's empowerment to sell guns and fight gun control. - Peedro


Just last Friday, an NRATV segment title deliberately borrowed the phrasing of the Right's most-hated woman to frame their "empowerment" argument: Gun Rights Are Women's Rights.
posted by Superplin at 8:14 AM on March 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

A 150 person flash mob isn’t particularly impressive for a political movement, but I bet it looks pretty promising if you’re a foreign intelligence agency conducting dry runs.

Speculation, obviously, but I think a little paranoia about this is justified.
posted by dirge at 8:18 AM on March 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

A 150 person flash mob of while supremacists is enough for there to be a full-blown riot with casualties against counter-protestors. Even if that doesn’t happen, there are residual issues with white supremacists gathering in one place, such as an increase in hate crimes. Pretty much every time there’s a right wing rally in Portland (with much less than 150 people) there’s an up-tick in physical violence on our streets. 150 people is a big deal.
posted by gucci mane at 8:22 AM on March 6, 2019 [22 favorites]

(Not that you’re saying it isn’t a big deal, I’m just expressing that myself)
posted by gucci mane at 8:23 AM on March 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

There's also a big difference between white supremacists just having get-togethers and torch-carrying marches in small numbers (kept at those small numbers by heroic efforts on the part of anti-fascists, let's not omit) and having those events while elected leaders are openly articulating white supremacist intent like the former Maine governor above, and while legislatures enact blatant voter suppression against indigenous people and black Americans.

It's only going to get worse, and more exploitable for political advantage and intelligence purposes, as we get closer to the demographic flip where whites become a minority.
posted by XMLicious at 8:24 AM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

There's currently a lot of alt-right/neo-nazi activity in the form of smaller (50 people or less) private gatherings. The "optics" lessons learned at Charlottesville have led to a concerted movement toward local "pool parties" organized on private Discord channels and other less-visible spaces. For every visible gathering of 100 plus there are innumerable smaller events intentionally kept out of sight.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:29 AM on March 6, 2019 [17 favorites]

Bob Cesca (Salon) is worried that Trump’s obvious mental instability and emotionally erratic behavior hits a disturbing new height:

At CPAC, Trump ricocheted from his prepared teleprompter remarks into what can only be described as a herky-jerky, stream-of-conscious creepshow — a Willy Wonka ride into the dark, twisted world of Trump’s increasingly haunted and scattered brain. There was sweaty red-faced performance art; American flag leg-humping; bizarre and often shouty anecdotes leading nowhere; insults and obscenities directed at his enemies, both real and imagined; mean-spirited attempts at jokes; unabridged fear-mongering about infanticide and murderous immigrants; bug-eyed facial contortions more terrifying than the Momo Challenge; and other kneejerk outbursts that defy description.
posted by growabrain at 9:07 AM on March 6, 2019 [17 favorites]

“All four are reluctant to appear because they believe it’s a perjury trap designed to move toward impeachment of the president,” he said.

Isn't a perjury trap when investigators simply ask a question they already know the answer to to see if someone will answer honestly? Are they literally saying they won't cooperate, because they feel unduly pressured to tell the truth during questioning?
posted by xammerboy at 9:14 AM on March 6, 2019 [17 favorites]

@RobbieGramer [Foreign Policy]:Just in: Senators Young (R-Ind.) and Kaine (D-Va.) introduce bill to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force against Iraq. Young says passing the bill would send “a strong message that Congress is finally taking back its Article One responsibility”
posted by Chrysostom at 9:27 AM on March 6, 2019 [53 favorites]

HuffPo: The chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Wednesday asked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and the state’s top election official to turn over documents related to how the 2018 election was run in the state as the body investigates allegations of voter suppression.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:31 AM on March 6, 2019 [29 favorites]

Isn't a perjury trap when investigators simply ask a question they already know the answer to to see if someone will answer honestly

As I understand it a perjury trap is when you invite someone to give testimony for no other purpose than to elicit a lie. It's a "trap" because you actually aren't interested in the topic that the interview is supposedly about at all. But if you have some other legitimate purpose for interviewing them, it's not a perjury trap, even if you believe you have the answers from other sources already.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:35 AM on March 6, 2019 [7 favorites]

(suppose you have rock-solid proof that so-and-so committed the crimes, and you subpoena him and ask "did you work with anyone else on the crimes" and he says "I didn't do the crimes" then that's perjury- you had good reason to ask whether he had accomplices! and he chose to lie rather than plead the fifth.)
posted by BungaDunga at 9:40 AM on March 6, 2019 [10 favorites]

Right, it's a perjury trap only if you have no reason to ask the question other than to prompt a lie -- if you already know everything a truthful answer would give you and have no need for the interviewee to confirm it.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:49 AM on March 6, 2019 [4 favorites]

Announcements of concern about a potential perjury trap are how liars announce they are both criminals and liars and that they are planning to lie about their crimes.
posted by srboisvert at 9:52 AM on March 6, 2019 [58 favorites]

Right, it's a perjury trap only if you have no reason to ask the question other than to prompt a lie -- if you already know everything a truthful answer would give you and have no need for the interviewee to confirm it.

If you're investigating a crime, it's always worth knowing whether the defendant will lie about having committed the crime. That goes a long way toward establishing intent -- which is an important element of many crimes. Lying implies consciousness of guilt. I mean you generally don't lie unless you know what you did was wrong, and if you know what you did was wrong and did it anyway, that's criminal intent.

I think it MIGHT be considered a trap if you bait someone into lying about something which is NOT a crime, but which might be embarrassing. (Like an affair.) You know they will be tempted to lie, but that's not relevant to proving intent for a crime since whatever it is wasn't a crime. Then you're trying to get them on perjury without any underlying crime, and that does seem a little unfair.

But it's absolutely fair to ask questions about a crime you think someone committed even if you already know the answers to those questions. Don't we keep hearing that a good prosecutor never asks questions she doesn't know the answer to?
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:01 AM on March 6, 2019 [14 favorites]

if you were really concerned about a "perjury trap" you would take the goddamn fifth and keep your trap shut, not complain loudly about the existence of a potential perjury trap.

the former is about maintaining a sensible defense in actual court, the latter is just working the ref in the court of public opinion.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:01 AM on March 6, 2019 [12 favorites]

Bloomberg, Trump Cancels U.S. Report on Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes

President Donald Trump revoked a requirement that U.S. intelligence officials publicly report the number of people killed in drone strikes and other attacks on terrorist targets outside of war zones.

Trump formally ended the requirement with an executive order on Wednesday, months after signaling such a move. The administration last year ignored a May deadline for an annual accounting of civilian and enemy casualties required under an order signed in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. The order was part of an accountability effort to minimize civilian deaths from drone strikes.

By law, the information must still be provided to Congress.
posted by zachlipton at 10:05 AM on March 6, 2019 [28 favorites]

WaPo : The Federal Deficit Ballooned At Start Of New Fiscal Year, Up 77 Percent From a Year Before

The federal budget deficit ballooned rapidly in the first four months of the fiscal year amid falling tax revenue and higher spending, the Treasury Department said Tuesday, posing a new challenge for the White House and Congress as they prepare for a number of budget battles.

The deficit grew 77 percent in the first four months of fiscal 2019 compared with the same period one year before, Treasury said.

The total deficit for the four-month period was $310 billion, Treasury said, up from $176 billion for the same period one year earlier.[…]

Tax revenue for October 2018 through January 2019 fell $19 billion, or 2 percent, Treasury said. It noted a major reduction in corporate tax payments over the first four months of the fiscal year, falling close to 25 percent, or $17 billion.

As part of the 2017 tax cut law, the tax rate paid by corporations was lowered from 35 percent to 21 percent.

Spending, meanwhile, increased 9 percent over the same period.

The biggest increases were for defense military programs, which saw a 12 percent increase, and Medicare, which saw a 16 percent increase.

Last month, supply side–zealot and former cocaine enthusiast Larry Kudlow rejected comparisons to 2007 and said “growth, growth, growth” will lead to a deficit drop .
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:06 AM on March 6, 2019 [27 favorites]

WaPo, The president’s sons entrusted their private hunting retreat to a caretaker. He was working in the country illegally.

Quintero, 42, was so trusted by the Trumps that he had not one but two jobs working for the family. He was a greenskeeper at the Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., where he would work eight-hour shifts on weekdays. Then he would put in five more hours each day as a contractor at the 171-acre hunting retreat called Leather Hill Preserve, which serves as a private weekend playground for President Trump’s sons and the property’s co-owners.

He also was an immigrant from Mexico who had crossed the border more than two decades ago and was working illegally in the United States.

In January, Quintero lost his golf course job after 18 years of employment — part of a purge of undocumented workers from Trump’s businesses amid revelations that the company relied on illegal labor for years, well into Trump’s presidency. Gone, too, was his side job at the hunting retreat.

“All of the years you give them, and they just let you go,” Quintero said in a recent interview at his home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. “They do not say, ‘Let’s do something, let’s try to help you.’ They simply said, ‘Your documents are not valid,’ and that is it.”
...
Quintero said he met with Eric Trump to discuss his job duties and shared copies of text messages sent from a number matching that of Trump’s personal cellphone — saved in his contacts under the name “Erik Boss.” The exchanges show that Eric Trump closely tracked Quintero’s work.
...
Quintero said he wanted to speak publicly because he has been stung by the president’s disparaging words about Hispanic migrants.

“I want them to recognize the good that we do,” Quintero said. “Eighteen years of working [at the golf club] should shed a light that we are not the people that he says we are: bad, rapist, drug dealers, the worst that they say that we are.”

posted by zachlipton at 10:12 AM on March 6, 2019 [59 favorites]

CNN, Cohen gives documents to House panel on Trump attorney alleged changes to 2017 testimony

Michael Cohen on Wednesday provided the House Intelligence Committee with new documents showing edits to the false written statement he delivered to Congress in 2017 about the Trump Organization's pursuit of the Trump Tower Moscow project into the 2016 campaign season, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The documents Cohen provided are intended to further explain his public testimony last week, in which Cohen said that President Donald Trump's then-personal lawyer Jay Sekulow made changes to his statement to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and that it was reviewed ahead of time by lawyers like Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the President's daughter and son-in-law who are both White House advisers.

It's unclear what Cohen's documents show was specifically changed in the statement. Cohen is testifying Wednesday behind closed doors at the House Intelligence Committee.

I, for one, would certainly like to see what Trump's lawyer changed in Cohen's perjurous testimony.
posted by zachlipton at 10:26 AM on March 6, 2019 [28 favorites]

From the Washington Post: The Democratic National Committee rejects Fox News for debates, citing New Yorker article. And about time, too.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:37 AM on March 6, 2019 [73 favorites]

A federal district judge just ordered the Department of Commerce not to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census, holding that even if Commerce Secretary (and unindicted white-collar criminal) Wilbur Ross hadn't lied a billion times over about why he wanted to use the question, including it would depress census responses and produce an inaccurate count that would in turn skew representation in Congress and a host of other government programs, in violation of the Constitution's Enumeration Clause. This is a separate case from the one that the Supreme Court has already agreed to review later this year. On its own the decision is a huge win for the good guys, but how it will play out given the SCOTUS case already ongoing is a question mark.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:44 AM on March 6, 2019 [54 favorites]

Last month, supply side–zealot and former cocaine enthusiast Larry Kudlow rejected comparisons to 2007 and said “growth, growth, growth” will lead to a deficit drop.

The extent to which we have societal amnesia about Republican economic promises and results is truly impressive. This is the 4th or 5th time we've gone through this cycle, and we still aren't collectively smart enough to figure out that it's a racket. We'll fall for it again too. Maybe even from Larry Kudlow.
posted by diogenes at 10:51 AM on March 6, 2019 [35 favorites]

diogenes This is the 4th or 5th time we've gone through this cycle, and we still aren't collectively smart enough to figure out that it's a racket.

We are -- Republicans and their economic policies are very unpopular -- but the system is smart enough to be unaffected by anything so trivial as the people. The government we have is not the one the people want or deserve.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:59 AM on March 6, 2019 [7 favorites]

odinsdream: And for the online version of "hide your power level" see this new browser extension from Gab

This is just the latest of such tools (previously: zpeech.com, circa 2007; Google Sidewiki, circa 2009), but the first to be tied to a group whose purpose is to spread hate.

Meanwhile, Trump's Overhaul Of Federal Family Planning Program Faces Multiple Lawsuits
(Sarah McCammon for NPR, March 6, 2019)

Days after its official publication, a new Trump administration rule dramatically overhauling (NPR) the federal Title X family planning program is facing multiple legal challenges. Several medical and reproductive rights groups, as well as 21 state attorneys general, have filed lawsuits challenging the rule, which bans any organization that provides or refers women for abortions from receiving funds through the program to provide services such as contraception and STD screenings.

The latest lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the Center for Reproductive Rights, aims to block what abortion rights advocates are describing as a "gag rule." CRR is filing the suit on behalf of Maine Family Planning, the sole Title X grantee (HHS.gov) in Maine.

Also, 22 states sue over Trump administration changes to Title X family planning program (Jessica Ravitz for CNN, updated 7:12 AM ET, Wed March 6, 2019)

With the Trump administration's final revision to the Title X Family Planning Program now on the books, so too are lawsuits to challenge it.

California filed the first suit Monday (PDF), the same day the new rule was published in the Federal Register, in district court in the hopes of blocking changes that are scheduled to go into effect May 3.
...
Last week, a group of 19 medical organizations representing 4.3 million health care providers -- including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists -- signed a letter protesting the revisions.
...
Twenty-one state attorneys general have signed on to a lawsuit led by Oregon (PDF) and filed in US District Court in Eugene. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has joined the American Medical Association for a separate case.

19 medical organizations, and 22 states oppose this, in addition to the numerous comments submitted to the Federal Register, and protesters in the streets, all ignored for the rabid few who speak for a minority population of the US (WaPo on recent polling, Feb. 27, 2019)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:08 AM on March 6, 2019 [25 favorites]

Rep. Nanette Barragan is currently ripping Kristjen Nielsen for her absolute bullshit lies to congress

Here's a video via Aaron Rupar of Rep. Barragan berating Nielsen over her apparent lack of knowledge of US asylum law.

Rep. Val Demings followed up her questions to Nielsen with a scathing assessment on Twitter:

The President’s fake “state of emergency” doesn’t come close to the national crisis that is gun violence. As Secretary Nielsen showed today, it also falls apart under the slightest questioning. A shameful abuse of power by this president.

I was also deeply disappointed that Secretary Nielsen was not able to answer my simple question about how many of her officers had been seriously injured on her watch—despite the fact that I have asked about this before. She’s supposed to be their advocate and representative.

Secretary Nielsen couldn’t answer questions about injured officers, whether asylum laws are being followed correctly, how many children are imprisoned by the administration, or the traumatic impact of child separation. Or maybe she knew there was no defense for the indefensible.

Likewise Rep. Lauren Underwood:

I just wrapped up the House Homeland Security hearing where I questioned Sec. Nielsen about the policies her Department implemented. When I joined Congress I swore to protect #IL14 and our country. How does detaining children and separating families make us safer? It doesn't.[…]

Sec. Nielsen had few answers for me & showed herself to be uninformed on the impact of her Department's policies. That won’t fly anymore. To those in our administration who would harm children and families, I say: you answer to Our House now.

posted by Doktor Zed at 11:17 AM on March 6, 2019 [62 favorites]

[Worth reading in full]
Dahlia Lithwick : The Cowardice of the Cover-Your-Ass Memo

... As the Times reports, then chief of staff John Kelly knew full well that affording a top-secret security clearance to Jared Kushner posed a national security risk. President Donald Trump evidently told him to clear Kushner anyhow. Then White House counsel Don McGahn also advised against that clearance, and was also overruled by the president. And so evidently, when Kushner was cleared over their own misgivings, the step they decided to take was to pop a little note in the file, flagging their objections in secret. In the event they weren’t already among the most depressing actors in this whole sad saga, they’ve now cemented themselves as such. Not brave enough to do or say anything that would reflect the fact that they believed Kushner posed a material risk to the country, they were content to simply leave a little “I was only following orders” note for posterity. Tuesday: dentist; Wednesday: dry cleaning; Thursday: endanger entire intelligence apparatus...
posted by growabrain at 11:25 AM on March 6, 2019 [33 favorites]

My favorite new Rep keeps the pressure on. < Tlaib, impeachment, NBC news.
posted by Harry Caul at 11:53 AM on March 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

I am sick of hearing about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from myself, talking about her (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)

Enough is enough! Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez needs to stop inserting herself into our every waking moment!

I am sick of hearing about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from my voice talking about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I would like to spend just one day without seeking out, looking at and commenting on pictures of her everywhere she goes. It would be nice, just once, not to have to be enraged by clicking on an article that mentions her name, and then another, and then another. Just once I want to spend a day without bringing her up, unprovoked, in the middle of a discussion of an unrelated subject.

I just don’t know why people are so obsessed with her, specifically, myself. Why has she compelled me to type her name so many times that when I type the letter “A,” my phone supplies “OC"? It is a conspiracy, I think.

I don’t see why we — I, specifically — have to be talking about her all the time. She should not have made me build a special tab for my website that is dedicated to documenting her every move and outfit. The other day I was obliged to draw 17 caricatures of her, which I then hung over my dining room table. She is getting out of hand!

posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:57 AM on March 6, 2019 [57 favorites]

This is the 4th or 5th time we've gone through this cycle, and we still aren't collectively smart enough to figure out that it's a racket.

We are -- Republicans and their economic policies are very unpopular -- but the system is smart enough to be unaffected by anything so trivial as the people. The government we have is not the one the people want or deserve.

Republicans get away with making phony predictions about the economic and other effects of their policies because the so-called "liberal media" expects them to lie about it -- Republicans have to, after all, as their actual policies are unpopular as noted -- and so, since they never took those predictions seriously anyway, never hold them accountable for them. The media's lazy, cowardly "balanced" -- as opposed to objective, in which someone's positions might be expected to have at least some tangential relationship to actual, objective reality -- goes something like this:

"Democrats say the Republican plan to cut taxes on the rich and increase military spending will raise the deficit and starve social programs of needed funds. Republicans make mouth noises about economic growth, the Laffer curve and trickle down. [ASCII shrug icon]"

Feh.
posted by Gelatin at 12:01 PM on March 6, 2019 [12 favorites]

My representative was one of the 26 who voted with the Rs last week. I asked him if he had met AOC. He said he's seen her but she's always surrounded by reporters so he hasn't had a chance to talk with her. That may be true but it came across as a criticism.
posted by M-x shell at 12:05 PM on March 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

ProPublica, Trump Mar-a-Lago Buddy Wrote Policy Pitch. The President Sent It to VA Chief: A handwritten note to Trump, addressed “Dear King,” presents another instance of access and influence for Mar-a-Lago associates.

In a telephone interview, Hazzouri said he sent the note as a favor to the 163,000-member American Dental Association. He said he had only the vaguest sense of what proposal he was vouching for.

“I’m really not involved in any politics, I’m just a small-time dentist,” he said. “I guess there’s a lot of money spent on veterans’ care and American Native Indians’ care, and I guess they wanted to have a little hand in it, the American Dental Association, to try to guide what’s going on or whatever.”

The idea seemed to intrigue Trump. He took a thick marker and wrote on top of Hazzouri’s note, “Send to David S at the V.A.,” referring to David Shulkin, then the secretary of veterans affairs. Next to the Mar-a-Lago coat of arms, an aide stamped: “The president has seen.”
...
Hazzouri declined to explain why his note to Trump addressed him as “King,” calling it an inside joke from long before Trump became president. “I call other people King,” he said. “It’s a very personal thing.”

posted by zachlipton at 12:35 PM on March 6, 2019 [14 favorites]

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: A federal district judge just ordered the Department of Commerce not to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census

Second Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Census Citizenship Question Plans (Hansi Lo Wang for NPR, March 6, 2019)

A second federal judge has issued a court order to block the Trump administration's plans to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census (Preview of question via NPR).

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of California found that the administration's decision to add the question violated administrative law.

The judge also ruled that it was unconstitutional because it prevents the government from carrying out its mandate to count every person living in the U.S. every 10 years.

"In short, the inclusion of the citizenship question on the 2020 Census threatens the very foundation of our democratic system — and does so based on a self-defeating rationale," Seeborg wrote in a 126-page opinion released Wednesday (PDF hosted by NPR).

Plans to add the question have already been halted by an earlier ruling in New York by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman (NPR).

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a hearing about the New York ruling on April 23 (Tweet from Hansi Lo Wang). This latest ruling will likely be appealed to the high court.

posted by filthy light thief at 12:36 PM on March 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

Meanwhile, Bill Raising Federal Minimum Wage To $15 Heads To U.S. House Floor (Alina Selyukh for NPR, March 6, 2019)

A bill to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour has cleared a legislative hurdle that sets it up for a future vote by the House of Representatives.

This move in Congress is a sign of broader political momentum for the minimum wage issue, long embraced by progressives who were key to the Democrats taking control of the House. The matter is poised to play prominently in the 2020 presidential campaign.

The bill also now has the support of Amazon, which last year committed to paying all of its workers at least $15 and to lobby Congress for a higher federal minimum.

The House Committee on Education and Labor on Wednesday voted 28-20 along party lines in favor of the bill. It would raise the federal hourly minimum to $15 by 2024 and also phase out the so-called "subminimum" wages for tipped workers, young workers and workers with disabilities.

"After nearly 10 years with no increase in the federal minimum wage, minimum-wage workers have suffered a 17 percent pay cut due to inflation," said Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., who had introduced the Raise the Wage Act (PDF). "The result is that there is no place in America where a full-time worker who is paid the current federal minimum wage can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment."

But Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said the bill would result in "significant job losses for hourly workers around the country" and would "hammer" small businesses by increasing the cost of labor. She called the legislation "blatantly socialist," and said it was "at best a foolish policy proposal. At worst, it's an intentionally dishonest political stunt."

It seems that if Republicans keep calling an attempt at making minimum wage a living wage "blatantly socialist," then the Democratic Socialists will only get stronger. "If being able to live off of my wages makes me a socialist, I know which reflects me" say the working poor (Center for Poverty Research, UC Davis) and others who try to survive in minimum wage jobs. At least those who aren't the aspiring millionaires (linking up to a prior comment in this thread).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:44 PM on March 6, 2019 [38 favorites]

Doktor Zed: Reuters: Democrats to Push to Reinstate Repealed 'Net Neutrality' Rules

Democrats’ net neutrality bill would fully restore Obama-era FCC rules -- Democrats' bill has good chance in House but faces tough odds in Senate. (Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica, March 6, 2019)

Democrats in Congress today introduced a net neutrality bill that would fully restore the Obama-era rules that were repealed by the FCC's current Republican majority.

The "Save the Internet Act" (PDF) is just three pages long. Instead of writing a new set of net neutrality rules, the bill would nullify FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's December 2017 repeal of the FCC order passed in February 2015 and forbid the FCC from repealing the rules in the future.

"A full 86 percent of Americans opposed the Trump assault on net neutrality, including 82 percent of Republicans. That's hopeful," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a press conference announcing the bill today. "With the Save the Internet Act, the Democrats are honoring the will of the people."
...
While consumer advocates and providers of Web services welcomed the Democrats' legislation, free-market think tanks and broadband industry lobbyists that generally oppose regulation of ISPs are already fighting against it.

Pai railed against the Democrats' bill in a statement (PDF) claiming that his net neutrality repeal should remain in place because it "has unleashed private investment, resulting in more fiber being deployed in 2018 than any year before and download speeds increasing by an astounding 36 percent." In reality, FCC data on Internet speed only goes up to the end of 2017, so it doesn't show any increase after the net neutrality repeal, and broadband deployment during Pai's term has continued at about the same rate as in the Obama administration. The new fiber builds touted by Pai were also largely from projects that began during the Obama years, including an AT&T project that was mandated by the FCC in 2015.

Instead of writing "In reality," Brodkin could have written "Pai lied, because FCC data on Internet speed only goes up to the end of 2017 ..."

Related -- Sorry, Ajit: Comcast lowered cable investment despite net neutrality repeal -- Comcast cable capital spending dropped 3 percent to $7.7 billion in 2018. (Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica, Jan. 23, 2019)

Pai is just another industry shill, who is happy to mock people who are concerned about his actions but hides behind an overused FOIA exemption instead of face actual criticism for his childish antics (Ars Technica). /rant
posted by filthy light thief at 1:23 PM on March 6, 2019 [42 favorites]

note to Trump, addressed “Dear King,” presents another instance of access and influence for Mar-a-Lago associates

Trump and his rich friends, chuckling with each other at Mar-a-Lago about how “maybe we'll try President-for-Life here some time!”, really are talking about undoing the American Revolution. We've really made a bad name for democracy itself, or our system has at least, by putting him into power, and I can't help but think it will be portrayed in the future, to a large fraction of humanity, as the inevitable outcome of having a too-egalitarian society. Here's to hoping that the human future does not look like so much of the human past in that respect.
posted by XMLicious at 1:36 PM on March 6, 2019 [19 favorites]

The "Save the Internet Act" (PDF) is just three pages long. Instead of writing a new set of net neutrality rules, the bill would nullify FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's December 2017 repeal of the FCC order passed in February 2015 and forbid the FCC from repealing the rules in the future.

Written by my representative Mike Doyle. I'm always amazed at how good he is with tech issues and Net Neutrality in particular.
posted by octothorpe at 2:23 PM on March 6, 2019 [16 favorites]

There's an argument that Jared Kushner or Ivanka Trump or Both Jared Kushner And Ivanka Trump may have been unaware that their security clearance had been ordered by the President against the advice of career professionals, which is why they misspoke about it. Okay. You know what? NOW, THEY KNOW.

Have they resigned? They have not.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:32 PM on March 6, 2019 [57 favorites]

I’ve traveled all over this great nation of ours, and what I’ve learned is that people who have their jobs because their parents gave them to them, not earned, mind you, will hold on to those jobs for dear life, simply because there is no where else they can go.
posted by valkane at 3:12 PM on March 6, 2019 [24 favorites]

Trump, presenting his "good friend" the CEO of Apple, just referred to him as 'Tim Apple'

We look forward to Tim Apple’s productive conversations with Jeff Amazon, Marillyn Lockheed, and Marc Salesforce on future policy initiatives.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:34 PM on March 6, 2019 [51 favorites]

I’ve traveled all over this great nation of ours, and what I’ve learned is that people who have their jobs because their parents gave them to them, not earned, mind you, will hold on to those jobs for dear life, simply because there is no where else they can go.

Well, yes, but not in this case. There are plenty of places they could go: back to the Kushner companies.. back to the Trump Organization. There are plenty of highly compensated, high status jobs which society accepts could be theirs simply by right of birth. However those jobs are not in the White House and do not come with top national security clearances. They never needed to be in the White House in the first place and they should not have been, especially after their problems with security clearances became plainly evident.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:37 PM on March 6, 2019 [7 favorites]

Democrats Plan to Condemn ‘All Hate’ After Backlash Over Planned Ilhan Omar Rebuke

House Democrats spent Wednesday scrambling to put to bed a debate about anti-Semitism that no one wants after advancing a symbolic resolution condemning it that pleased no one.

The resolution, as it was initially conceived in the hours after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) made a second round of anti-Israel comments last week, would condemn anti-Semitism—a second public rebuke of the freshman lawmaker who has been in office less than 60 days.

But by midweek, faced with a backlash inside the Democratic Caucus, leaders appeared to change course, asking the House Foreign Affairs Committee to draft a resolution that rebuked “all hate.”

All hate matters.
posted by scalefree at 3:44 PM on March 6, 2019 [15 favorites]

ABC reports on a new wrinkle about Cohen's contacts with Trump's legal team: Lawyers Claiming Ties to Rudy Giuliani Approached Michael Cohen After Fbi Raids; Investigators Looking at Contacts

In the weeks following the federal raids on former Michael Cohen’s law office and residences last April, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and confidant was contacted by two New York attorneys who claimed to be in close contact with Rudy Giuliani, the current personal attorney to Trump, according to sources with direct knowledge of the discussions.

The outreach came just as Cohen, who spent more than a decade advocating for Trump, was wrangling with the most consequential decision of his life; whether to remain in a joint defense agreement with the president and others, or to flip on the man to whom he had pledged immutable loyalty. The sources described the lawyers’ contact with Cohen as an effort to keep him in the tent.[…]

The sources familiar with the contacts said the two lawyers first reached out to Cohen late in April of last year and that the discussions continued for about two months. The attorneys, who have no known formal ties to the White House, urged Cohen not to leave the joint defense agreement, the sources told ABC News, and also offered a Plan B. In the event Cohen opted to exit the agreement, they could join his legal team and act as a conduit between Cohen and the president’s lawyers.[…]

Reached Wednesday by ABC News, Giuliani declined to comment, citing attorney-client privilege.

“I can’t say anything about it. If I had any conversations with any of his lawyers it would be privileged because it was all under the joint defense agreement,” Giuliani said.

Meanwhile, Cohen continues to cooperate with HPSCI, finishing testimony before HPSCI today, per Kyle Griffin: “Michael Cohen just now to reporters: "The hearings went very, very well. I believe that all of the members were satisfied with the statements and responses that I gave to them." He says he will continue to cooperate "to the fullest extent of my capabilities."” And “Jim Himes tells CNN that the Intel Committee learned new information from Cohen and that a transcript will be released and made public. Himes adds: "We may call follow on witnesses as a result of what we learned today to come testify before the Committee."”
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:46 PM on March 6, 2019 [7 favorites]

Post-Hurricane Harvey, NASA tried to fly a pollution-spotting plane over Houston. The EPA said no

It is the most precise and comprehensive airborne air quality lab on the planet, according to scientists familiar with the equipment. Where the EPA’s air pollution single-prop plane can gather some basic chemistry of about two dozen species of air-pollutant compounds, the NASA jet can analyze more than 450.

As the team watched the disaster unfold, Paul Newman, chief scientist of NASA’s Earth Science Division, suggested they divert their test run and fly over Houston. The timing was serendipitous. The DC-8 was fully equipped and ready to go.

“We agreed this would be a good opportunity to support the Hurricane Harvey recovery effort,” Lawrence Friedl, NASA’s director of Applied Sciences wrote in a Sept. 8, 2017 email to the agency’s then-acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot and others. Indeed, NASA’s press shop was touting its coordination with the hurricane emergency response.

But over the next few days, it became clear neither the EPA nor the state of Texas saw this particular offer in that same light.

posted by MrVisible at 3:56 PM on March 6, 2019 [45 favorites]

Any resolution that doesn’t mention a president:

- who called Nazis who killed a protestor and injured dozens of others “very fine people”...
- whose rhetoric motivated the synagogue killer...
- who said Jews are famous for welching on deals and wouldn't support him because he didn’t take their money and they "want to control their own politicians”...
- who said he didn’t want black people but only guys in yarmulke counting his money...
- who refused to condemn David Duke and white supremacists on CNN with Jake Tapper...
- who refused to condemn anti-Semitic attacks on Julia Ioffe made by Trumpettes when on with Wolf Blitzer...
- who has repeatedly retweeted antisemitic twitter accounts and posted a meme about Jews controlling and buying politicians sourced from an neo-Nazi message board...
- who said “Hillary Clinton meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers” and then ended his campaign with an ad with the same theme with photos of three "international Jews"...

...is bullshit.

And this doesn’t even get to:

- the House GOP Whip who described himself as “David Duke without the baggage”...
- Steve King
- The House Minority Leader who tweeted before the 2018 election “we cannot allow Soros, Steyer, and Bloomberg to BUY this election! Get out and vote Republican November 6th. #MAGA."

Fuck this bad faith caving. It’s just an attempt to distract from their very real and dangerous Nazism.
posted by chris24 at 4:09 PM on March 6, 2019 [82 favorites]

NBC San Diego, Source: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Government Tracking Journalists and Immigration Advocates Through a Secret Database

Documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates show the U.S. government created a secret database of activists, journalists, and social media influencers tied to the migrant caravan and in some cases, placed alerts on their passports.
...
One photojournalist said she was pulled into secondary inspections three times and asked questions about who she saw and photographed in Tijuana shelters. Another photojournalist said she spent 13 hours detained by Mexican authorities when she tried to cross the border into Mexico City. Eventually, she was denied entry into Mexico and sent back to the U.S.

These American photojournalists and attorneys said they suspected the U.S. government was monitoring them closely but until now, they couldn’t prove it.

Now, documents leaked to NBC 7 Investigates show their fears weren’t baseless. In fact, their own government had listed their names in a secret database of targets, where agents collected information on them. Some had alerts placed on their passports, keeping at least three photojournalists and an attorney from entering Mexico to work.

The documents were provided to NBC 7 by a Homeland Security source on the condition of anonymity, given the sensitive nature of what they were divulging.

posted by zachlipton at 4:10 PM on March 6, 2019 [66 favorites]

@jimsciutto: Breaking: Trump admin has identified 471 parents who were removed from the US without their children and “without being given the opportunity to elect or waive reunification in accordance with the preliminary injunction”. This follows ACLU request. @priscialva reporting

This would appear to directly contradict Sec. Nielsen's testimony today that nobody was deported without being given opportunities to take their children with them.

@LeahLitman: Something else that happened today: Senate republicans confirmed Chad Readler, the DOJ lawyer defending family separations, to a lifetime on the sixth circuit. There are some things that should be disqualifying. I would have hoped that would be one.
posted by zachlipton at 4:14 PM on March 6, 2019 [62 favorites]

I'd like to coin a word. We all know it's a major part of Trump's governing strategy to install people at the top of departments whose career, expertise & personal philosophy is antithetical to the mission of the department, Trump himself leading the way in that regard. There is a historical precedent for such a person, from the realm of religion. The Catholic Church has dealt with schisms & men seen as unfit holding the highest office in their hierarchy, they called them antipopes.

I'd like to propose that from this day on Donald J Trump be known as America's first antipresident.
posted by scalefree at 4:14 PM on March 6, 2019 [58 favorites]

The body that impeaches and convicts the President is the Congress. Lying to Congress is a felony. But, in general, lying to Congress is not seen as among the most severe felonies.

But, imagine if Bill Clinton had been impeached not on the basis of lying to a grand jury, but of conspiring to lie to Congress. Would the Senate have been willing to accept such an offence against itself, and respond by finding him not guilty? Would that not show weakness? Perhaps they would have felt obligated to remove him from office, or be seen as sacrificing their power and dignity.

If it can be proven that Donald Trump conspired to lie to Congress, perhaps it would be more difficult for the less-extreme Republican senators to regard the offence as insufficiently severe to require removal from office. Lying to Congress could be regarded as a more significant High Crime in the context of Congressional Impeachment than it would be in a traditional criminal context.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:14 PM on March 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

If it can be proven that Donald Trump conspired to lie to Congress, perhaps it would be more difficult for the less-extreme Republican senators to regard the offence as insufficiently severe to require removal from office.

I've understood the crime of conspiracy to be considered far worse in the eyes of the law, e.g. from Federal Conspiracy Law: A Brief Overview, by Charles Doyle at the Congressional Research Service:

The law makes several exceptions for conspiracy because of its unusual nature. Because many united in crime pose a greater danger than the isolated offender, conspirators may be punished for the conspiracy, any completed substantive offense which is the object of the plot, and any foreseeable other offenses which one of the conspirators commits in furtherance of the scheme. Since conspiracy is an omnipresent crime, it may be prosecuted wherever an overt act is committed in its furtherance. Because conspiracy is a continuing crime, its statute of limitations does not begin to run until the last overt act committed for its benefit. Since conspiracy is a separate crime, it may be prosecuted following conviction for the underlying substantive offense, without offending constitutional double jeopardy principles; because conspiracy is a continuing offense, it may be punished when it straddles enactment of the prohibiting statute, without offending constitutional ex post facto principles. Accused conspirators are likely to be tried together, and the statements of one may often be admitted in evidence against all.

posted by Little Dawn at 4:42 PM on March 6, 2019 [14 favorites]

But by midweek, faced with a backlash inside the Democratic Caucus, leaders appeared to change course, asking the House Foreign Affairs Committee to draft a resolution that rebuked “all hate.”

Circular-fucking-firing-squad. I called my rep today and told one of his staffers the Dems need to cut the crap and get to work on real issues and not whether or not it's OK to criticize AIPAC.
posted by photoslob at 5:13 PM on March 6, 2019 [52 favorites]

And speaking of conspiracy: New revelations implicate Donald Trump Jr. in his father’s nefarious schemes (Greg Sargent, WaPo Opinion)

We now have concrete confirmation that Donald Trump Jr. signed checks reimbursing Michael Cohen for payments he made as part of a criminal scheme on President Trump’s behalf. The New York Times has obtained eight of the checks from Trump’s accounts reimbursing hush-money payments made by Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer.

The signature of Trump’s eldest son is on two of them.

The eight checks bolster the outlines of the story Cohen has told. He recently testified that during the campaign, Trump knowingly entered into a conspiracy with him to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels about an alleged affair, a criminal violation of campaign finance laws at Trump’s direction, and then reimbursed Cohen throughout 2017, while Trump was president.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:13 PM on March 6, 2019 [23 favorites]

Yes, for anyone unaware "welching" is a slur on the Welsh in much the same way that "gyp" is a slur on the Romani.
posted by Justinian at 5:48 PM on March 6, 2019 [20 favorites]

Justice Dept. to Step Up Enforcement of Foreign Influence Laws (NYT)

The Justice Department will escalate its crackdown on illegal foreign influence operations in the United States, a senior Justice Department official said on Wednesday, violations that prosecutors have targeted with renewed vigor in recent years. [...]

The move, one of the first significant initiatives under Attorney General William P. Barr, shows that the Justice Department has made a priority one of the targets pursued by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III: potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires lobbyists and others to disclose any work they do to further the interests of foreign governments. Prosecutors had for decades mostly ignored such violations as lobbyists accepted millions of dollars from other nations. [...]

The lobbying world had long been dismissive of the threat of prosecutions related to foreign influence or violations of FARA. For nearly a half-century, from 1966 until 2015, the Justice Department pursued only seven FARA cases, the department’s inspector general said in a report. [...]

Mr. Manafort is due to be sentenced on Thursday in Northern Virginia on a conviction of financial crimes in a case that stemmed from his consulting work for a former pro-Russian president of Ukraine. During that trial, an unsavory picture emerged of the lawyers and consultants who netted big paydays for their work on behalf of foreign governments.

The abrupt end to Mr. Manafort’s career, which included work with foreign clients who wanted a say in American politics, had a chilling effect on the lobbying world.

A Primer on the Foreign Agents Registration Act—and Related Laws Trump Officials May Have Broken (Just Security)

FARA is something of an unusual statute. Codified today at 22 U.S.C. §§ 611-621, it was enacted in 1938 in the run-up to World War II in response to concerns raised by a special congressional committee over the large number of Nazi and Communist propagandists active in the United States at the time. As the DOJ Inspector General recently noted, “A significant finding of the committee’s study was that the Nazi German government had established an extensive underground propaganda apparatus using American firms and citizens.” Per the Justice Department’s thorough and helpful “FARA FAQ,” we are told that “[t]he purpose of FARA is to insure that the U.S. Government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and laws.” Such information, in turn, allows the public to “appraise [those individuals] and the purposes for which they act,” in the words of a 1966 House of Representatives report.

[...] for folks who are genuinely interested in the legal ramifications here, and not just the political ones, it’s time to stop talking about treason, the Logan Act, and other more sensational charges, and start talking about FARA–and who else hasn’t been satisfying its registration and reporting requirements…

posted by Little Dawn at 6:12 PM on March 6, 2019 [20 favorites]

HuffPost, Leaked Chats Reveal White Nationalist Plot To Keep Steve King In Office. (Note: Not plot, just organising, IMHO.) In the days leading up to King’s re-election in November, users urged one another to call King’s office to “express your support” and donate to his campaign.

“I just donated to Steve King, and I am dangerously broke. Everyone throw in at least $10!!” wrote one user. Another wrote, “Our opponents have turned their gaze upon him, and Conservative Inc has, predictably, abandoned him. We need to keep him in office. We need 100 Steve Kings in office. Call his office too and show your support.”

Members understood that an endorsement from King could and would legitimize Identity Evropa. In chats, they noted whenever the congressman retweeted or otherwise endorsed prominent white nationalists like Faith Goldy and Lana Lokteff, and they encouraged retweets among members so that King himself might “respond” to their messages.
posted by Bella Donna at 6:14 PM on March 6, 2019 [11 favorites]

My bad on welch. Was compiling the list and thought he had said that word but it was from a summary tweet that used it, not a quote. Apologies.
posted by chris24 at 6:17 PM on March 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

Rachel Maddow is doing a fantastic show tonight about the tantalizing hints that Trump seems likely to get nailed by New York State for insurance fraud. Can't pardon that!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:27 PM on March 6, 2019 [28 favorites]

It is truly astounding. A near-finalized plan for a new FBI HQ, reversed directly under the President's orders, in order to protect his hotel profits, resulting in massive waste of public finances, undermining of the FBI's operations, and Emily Murphy, the Trump-appointed head of the General Services Administration, falsely claiming that Trump wasn't involved in the decision.

Here's HuffPost: Democratic Probe Of Trump’s Role In Keeping FBI HQ Across From His Hotel Deepens

This is why President Carter sold his peanut farm before inauguration.

But this ain't peanuts.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:55 PM on March 6, 2019 [74 favorites]

The World Famous: Marillyn Lockheed, folks.

Also worth noting from that: "We buy billions and billions of dollars' worth of that beautiful F-35. It's stealth [wavy hand gesture], you cannot see it, is that correct?"

Marillyn Hewson (smiling): "That's correct."

DJT (slightly smirking): "Better be correct, right?"

Colloquially, it's not false to say "you cannot see" a stealth jet. But in many other speeches, Individual-1 has very clearly taken this to mean it is literally invisible, and it's obvious that some advisors have tried to correct him on that, and this is him doubling down. Some part of him probably knows better, or rather he knows that "It's not literally invisible" is the general consensus of various other so-called experts (something being "actually true" isn't part of how he relates to the world), and thus it's a context for him to assert dominance by insisting on a contradictory, alternative fact.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:03 PM on March 6, 2019 [14 favorites]

i can't see one at this very moment.
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:06 PM on March 6, 2019 [37 favorites]

Marillyn Lockheed, folks.

Given the secret Nazi database and other explosions post-this-comment it may seem petty but FCT that is /real. He introduced her as that. With a grotesque overpronunciation (and mispronunciation because, hey, winning). His pupils are as wide as the frickin' ocean. Dude.

Seriously, they need to consider a tranquilizer dart. No, I mean seriously. He could very easily start a world war in seconds.
posted by petebest at 7:31 PM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

@LeahLitman: Something else that happened today: Senate republicans confirmed Chad Readler, the DOJ lawyer defending family separations, to a lifetime on the sixth circuit. There are some things that should be disqualifying. I would have hoped that would be one.

One in six circuit judges are now Trump appointees, with more to go. Everyone give one more great big round of applause to Patrick Leahy for denying dozens of circuit appointments to Obama to give to Trump.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:34 PM on March 6, 2019 [18 favorites]

And speaking of conspiracy: New revelations implicate Donald Trump Jr. in his father’s nefarious schemes (Greg Sargent, WaPo Opinion)

‘It gets real personal, real fast’: Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

“Getting to family members I think is dangerous,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a senior member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. “Only because it gets real personal, real fast. And it risks backfiring.

“Maybe at some point we have to call them in,” Connolly added, “but I’d rather let prosecutors look at that.”
...
A Democratic source said Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) has privately expressed reservations about directly investigating Trump’s adult children.

posted by T.D. Strange at 7:42 PM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

“Getting to family members I think is dangerous,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a senior member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. “Only because it gets real personal, real fast. And it risks backfiring.

It'd be awful if this got personal.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:50 PM on March 6, 2019 [51 favorites]

When you pack the upper echelons of government with your own immediate family and use your other kids as an embarrassingly shoddy fig leaf for your criminal business enterprises, you need to be ready to take your lumps.
posted by contraption at 7:59 PM on March 6, 2019 [54 favorites]

Additionally, if you show you are unwilling to call administration folks to account because they happen to be related to the President, you set up strong incentives to run the government as a hereditary enterprise to avoid oversight.
posted by Justinian at 8:06 PM on March 6, 2019 [66 favorites]

‘It gets real personal, real fast’: Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

Democrats, in fact, would prefer to let federal prosecutors handle the family while they take on the president themselves. [...]

Democrats fear that the appearance of going after Trump’s children is the one thing that could elicit sympathy for a president who has attacked Democratic investigations as “a big, fat, fishing expedition desperately in search of a crime” and “presidential harassment.”

Democrats Are Totally Impeaching the President (Jeff Greenfield, Politico Magazine)

The vast scope of the inquiries into Trump makes this story hard to follow—not just for voters but even for journalists who spend all day on this stuff. Half a dozen committees may pursue a dozen or more allegations of impropriety, and many of those committees may bring the same witnesses in front of the members (and the cameras) to talk about a dizzying series of questions. Is this an investigation into tax evasion? Insurance fraud? Campaign violations? Financial links with foreign governments? Witness tampering? The Trump story sometimes becomes a blur, as one outrage bleeds into another.

In the past, successful probes into political misconduct have almost always featured one committee pursuing one story: the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954, the investigations of union racketeering in 1957, the Vietnam hearings of 1966, the Watergate hearings of 1973, the Iran-Contra investigation. With too many probes, Democrats risk a loss of clarity, not to mention a numbing effect.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:07 PM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

> With too many probes, Democrats risk a loss of clarity, not to mention a numbing effect.

Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational bullshit firehose, by which I will commit so many crimes that you cannot possibly investigate them all.

(I'm betting on petty insurance fraud as the first one to cross the finish line.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:12 PM on March 6, 2019 [30 favorites]

‘It gets real personal, real fast’: Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

Backfire, how? Trump would send out Secret Service agents with assassin's orders? The trumpist voters would get even louder about how evil the Democratic Deep State is?

Democrats fear that the appearance of going after Trump’s children is the one thing that could elicit sympathy

FROM WHOM? Who thinks Trump is a worthless criminal scumbag who deserves to be ridden out of town on a rail, with Pence and his campaign team with him, but Don Jr, Ivanka, and Jared are civic-minded angels whose only flaw is not recognizing that Daddy was fibbing to them?

The media reports need to note: These are not teenagers. None of them are fresh out of college and lacking real-world experience. They have careers of their own, wealth of their own, and they chose to be part of this international crime ring. This is not about targeting "Trump's children"; nobody's saying, "let's throw the book at Tiffany!" This is about targeting "Trump's accomplices," several of whom happen to be related to him.

The vast scope of the inquiries into Trump makes this story hard to follow—not just for voters but even for journalists who spend all day on this stuff. ... With too many probes, Democrats risk a loss of clarity, not to mention a numbing effect.

Please, do tell us which of the many, many financial and political breaches of ethics, protocol, and law Congress is supposed to ignore while they focus on one or two so that journalists can thoroughly mine one story before the next one catches their attention.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:17 PM on March 6, 2019 [72 favorites]

Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational bullshit firehose, by which I will commit so many crimes that you cannot possibly investigate them all.

The breathtaking scale of the potential criminal liability, in the context of where we currently are at in the political process, reminds of that thing tsunamis do, before they crash down and wipe everything away:

A tsunami’s trough, the low point beneath the wave’s crest, often reaches shore first. When it does, it produces a vacuum effect that sucks coastal water seaward and exposes harbor and sea floors. This retreating of sea water is an important warning sign of a tsunami, because the wave’s crest and its enormous volume of water typically hit shore five minutes or so later.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:21 PM on March 6, 2019 [9 favorites]

FROM WHOM?

The NYT opinion page. The sole arbiter of all Democratic actions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:24 PM on March 6, 2019 [14 favorites]

Given the Democrat's response to Fox News regarding the debates, I've been giving a lot of thought to how the final candidate might counter Trump's Gish Gallop of lies (assuming that he's the Republican candidate in 2020). We've seen that wresting with the pig doesn't get you far, but neither does "going high". I'm picturing an opening address from the Democratic candidate as something like this:

"Good evening. I'd like to thank the audience here and the viewers at home for making time for us in this historic debate. I'm here to tell you about my particular vision of America's future: how we can move forward as one people to address the many serious challenges facing our nation and the world."
"My opponent is going to use his time to inspire fear, hatred, and division. He's going to do that by making misleading claims, fabrications, and outright lies. I can't share with you my vision for the future on this stage if I'm constantly battling Mr. Trump's dishonesty, and, with respect to our debate moderators, I don't think they'll be able to rein him in either. So what we've done is assemble a team of some of the best non-partisan researchers and analysts in the country, who will be fact-checking Mr. Trump's statements as he makes them and posting reality checks live on the web at www.trumplies.com. I encourage those of you with an internet connection to check out the live updates as this debate goes forward, and I'll be reminding you of the site throughout the evening."
"I may call out Mr. Trump's most egregious bloviations. I'll certainly draw attention to the many ways he has deeply harmed this country and its place in the world. But I want to concentrate on what we can do right, how we can be better, and I plan to do for you, the American people."

posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 8:45 PM on March 6, 2019 [63 favorites]

@rebeccaballhaus: Michael Cohen *directed* his attorney last spring to inquire with Trump's lawyers about the possibility of a presidential pardon. Cohen told the Oversight Committee last week: “I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from Mr. Trump.

@costareports: Just spoke with Lanny Davis, who says the @rebeccaballhaus story has it right. In his words to Post tonight: “During the period of the joint defense agreement, Michael was certainly open to the possibility of a pardon and it was dangled” by Trump legal team. Lanny Davis to @washingtonpost tonight: Cohen “did direct his attorney to have a discussion. They had been dangling it for a while and it was a constant refrain. So Michael had his attorney reach out to Rudy Giuliani.”
posted by zachlipton at 8:57 PM on March 6, 2019 [7 favorites]

I can't share with you my vision for the future on this stage if I'm constantly battling Mr. Trump's dishonesty

I feel this way about the news in general. We never seem to get to the part of the discussion where we honestly discuss how to address global warming, economic equity, or healthcare, because there isn't time. We're too busy arguing that the problems are real to get there. The news in general needs to put a moratorium on arguments like these. We need news and debates for people who accept basic facts.
posted by xammerboy at 9:13 PM on March 6, 2019 [21 favorites]

That seems like a blatant and clear breach of attorney-client privilege on the part of Lanny Davis. What is he doing? Has he decided being a lawyer is too stressful and wants to get disbarred?
posted by Justinian at 9:14 PM on March 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

So Cohen lied again and Lanny Davis just threw him under the bus?
posted by gucci mane at 9:16 PM on March 6, 2019

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” — Daniel Patrick Moynihan
posted by kirkaracha at 9:17 PM on March 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

That seems like a blatant and clear breach of attorney-client privilege on the part of Lanny Davis.

How is that? Davis is the attorney and Cohen is the client. If the client authorizes his attorney to speak for him in public, where is the breach?
posted by JackFlash at 9:39 PM on March 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

He has to have specifically authorized Davis to reveal their private communications, not simply to speak to the media in general. It's possible he gave the greenlight to this but the only way that would make sense is if they think this info can be proven anyway. Because Davis' admission that Cohen had his attorneys contact Trump's people about a possible pardon is very much against Cohen's interest.

If I tell my lawyer he can speak to the media and he says "My client is being railroaded!", that's ok. If he says "My client admitted to me that he actually did the crime" that's disbarment time.
posted by Justinian at 9:49 PM on March 6, 2019 [6 favorites]

NYCsouthpaw also seems pretty confused about what the heck Davis is doing: I cannot fathom what Davis is doing talking about this. Are they waiving/have they waived privilege on this attorney-client conversation that could now incriminate Cohen?
posted by Justinian at 9:51 PM on March 6, 2019 [4 favorites]

It's possible he gave the greenlight to this but the only way that would make sense is if they think this info can be proven anyway. Because Davis' admission that Cohen had his attorneys contact Trump's people about a possible pardon is very much against Cohen's interest.

You are making a lot of assumptions in your claim of "blatant" breach. How do you know that Cohen didn't authorize this release? How do you know that the release is against Cohen's interest? He may just be getting ahead of the press.
posted by JackFlash at 9:54 PM on March 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

That seems like a blatant and clear breach of attorney-client privilege on the part of Lanny Davis.

Arguably, Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(d) and 4.1 may require this type of disclosure if it "is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by a client" (e.g. lying to Congress), though I think you would also see Davis withdraw from representation if that was the situation.
posted by stopgap at 9:58 PM on March 6, 2019

How do you know that the release is against Cohen's interest?

This one is easy: because it's in significant tension with the testimony he gave before Congress. Your attorney copping to something like that in public is against your interests even if it might be shown via other means that you were lying. Just as your attorney saying "my client may have pleaded not guilty but he totally robbed that bank" is against your interests even if there may be enough evidence to convict you without him saying that.

As to how I know Cohen didn't authorize it? I obviously don't. But it wouldn't make sense for him to do so given what we presently know. Unless he's dumb.

oh
posted by Justinian at 10:05 PM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

this type of disclosure

you mean to the washington post? the model rules of professional ethics compel disclosure to the press?
posted by 20 year lurk at 10:16 PM on March 6, 2019

Emily Jane Fox is basically saying on Rachel Maddox tonight that there is a smoking gun.

Cohen brought with him today very damaging evidence in the form of documentation - which will be as devastating to the presidency - as he did to the trump organization (by giving them leads about insurance fraud) last week .

Evidence of corrupt motives from trump lawyers during the recent negotiations about his pardon.
posted by growabrain at 10:18 PM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

Ima wait till all the facts are in, but I’m willing to bet that Mr Davis knows what he’s doing.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:18 PM on March 6, 2019 [7 favorites]

Cohen brought with him today very damaging evidence in the form of documentation - which will be as devastating to the presidency

I'll believe this when I see it and not a moment before. The question has never been has Trump done illegal things, or even can it be shown Trump has done illegal things. It's always been "given that Trump is a criminal, what will Congress and DOJ do about it?", and the answer now is the same as it was a year ago: write a report and say voters should figure it out.
posted by Justinian at 10:25 PM on March 6, 2019 [24 favorites]

Scratch that idea — any privileged details to be disclosed to a third party (like the Washington Post) still have to fall under an exception to confidentiality in Model Rule 1.6(b). This was expanded after Enron to include fraudulent crimes likely to harm someone's financial interests, but doesn't generally cover other fraudulent behavior. If Congress counts as a "tribunal" for Rule 3.3, Davis would have to disclose even confidential matters to Congress to correct a lie, but not to the press.
posted by stopgap at 10:26 PM on March 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

Here’s the link
posted by growabrain at 10:36 PM on March 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

Ima wait till all the facts are in, but I’m willing to bet that Mr Davis knows what he’s doing.

Cohen Offers Documents in Bid to Show Trump Lawyers Helped With False Testimony (NYT)

Speaking with reporters after Wednesday’s session, Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the Intelligence Committee’s chairman, acknowledged only that Mr. Cohen had provided the committee “additional documents,” noting that it had found him to be fully cooperative.

“There may be additional documents that he still has to offer and his cooperation with our committee continues,” Mr. Schiff said. The chairman had previously indicated that he planned to make a transcript of Mr. Cohen’s testimony public at some unspecified future date.

Republicans on the committee did not speak with reporters after the interview concluded.

posted by Little Dawn at 10:59 PM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

My take on the pardon thing is that Cohen instructed his lawyer to not bring up pardons, but to definitely engage in discussing them...

We've seen this before. This is how Cohen has already told us Trump does things. Trump probably said to his lawyers: "I am definitely not offering Cohen a pardon in return for not cooperating.... Now. How did his lawyer feel about pardons?... You know, generally? Will he be cooperating?"

But what Cohen and his lawyer knew was that if you get Trump's lawyers to mention pardons generally enough times, you can argue that is, beyond a reasonable doubt, a de facto offer of a pardon in return for, obviously, not cooperating.
posted by xammerboy at 11:28 PM on March 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

More scandals from rawstory
posted by growabrain at 11:28 PM on March 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

With too many probes, Democrats risk a loss of clarity, not to mention a numbing effect.

It's essential to note that the writer's previous paragraph gives away the fact that the risk is the investigations confusing and/or boring journalists covering the president's obvious corruption.

Marvel that the takeaway to be "this story is confusing and boring -- so many detailed financial crimes!" and not "the president is obviously and thoroughly corrupt on multiple fronts", then shudder at the realization that the national media employs people with this attitude instead of firing them.
posted by Gelatin at 3:48 AM on March 7, 2019 [64 favorites]

We've seen that wresting with the pig doesn't get you far, but neither does "going high".

Both are examples of what Democrats fail to understand because it's staring into the abyss: logic and facts Do. Not. Matter. No Republican is here for actual, literal, debate. That's crystal clear to everyone now, or it'd be nice if it was.

On the other hand, there's no aping the Republican show of flag-waving and gay-bashing and the usual OMG They're Coming For Your Things bag of dirty tricks that never fail. It just can't be done with a liberal/Democratic bent because it's fundamentally dishonest and - well, we don't like that.

So what to do? Listen to Lakoff. Nuturing Parent vs Strict Father. Play super hardball with corporate news. (Remember that Wolf Blitzer interview with Obama where he was all smarmily saying, "look into the camera, Mr. President, and talk directly to [Syrian President] Assad ..."? Obama Shoulda been like "Interview over. Bye, Wolf.")

But that's just the DNC side of things. It'd be nice if that went well this time.
posted by petebest at 4:22 AM on March 7, 2019 [18 favorites]

Ima wait till all the facts are in, but I’m willing to bet that Mr Davis knows what he’s doing.

NYT, Maggie Haberman: Giuliani Says Lawyers Have Sought Trump Pardons for Their Clients

Reached late Wednesday, Mr. Davis said that [Stephen M. Ryan, Cohen’s lawyer in 2018,] had contacted Mr. Trump’s lawyers as a response to their strategy of “dangling” a potential pardon.

“At that point in time, when he was still part of their club, he was willing to explore it,” Mr. Davis said of Mr. Cohen. “Nothing came of it, and he got more frustrated that he was” being toyed with, he added.

Mr. Davis said that the new information did not contradict what Mr. Cohen said in his testimony because at that time, “he was talking about the period where he had made his decision to tell the truth.”

He added, “And that new [sic—“now”?] Michael Cohen authorized me to say publicly he wouldn’t accept a pardon if Donald Trump offered it.”

The question of why Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer and privy to Team Trump’s joint defense agreement, was involved in the question of presidential pardons hangs over all these leaked news stories.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:22 AM on March 7, 2019 [13 favorites]

There's a story in the Washington Examiner about Nikki Haley's plans to run for President in 2024.

Not linking because, Washington Examiner, and because it's about 2024. But it's sort of weird that that's put out now. Why? What's a conservative press trying to do by saying "Five years from now someone - a woman! - might run!" Flood the zone with shit? If so, pretty weak. Signs point to POTUS IN SHIT.

If it's an attempt to help Haley - that's ... still really odd. Hey, Bobby Jindal's son's pet turtle might run in 2044, where's his parade?
posted by petebest at 4:36 AM on March 7, 2019

Marvel that the takeaway to be "this story is confusing and boring -- so many detailed financial crimes!" and not "the president is obviously and thoroughly corrupt on multiple fronts", then shudder at the realization that the national media employs people with this attitude instead of firing them.

Credit where due department: This morning on NPR, Fox News correspondent Mara Liasson didn't adopt that framing. Instead, she warned that Democratic investigations into Trump's obvious corruption and criminality risks creating a perception of overreach. Hardly a word about potential risks to Republicans for continued revelations of solid evidence of Trump's misdeeds, which they defend, let alone possible revelations of their knowledge of and complicity in same. She rightly noted they're nervous about potential revelations, but implicitly promised to help them cover them up. Liasson warned Democrats that media figures like her stand ready to defend Republicans by ignoring the evidence and fostering the kind of perception of overreach that was conspicuously absent in coverage of Republican investigations of Hillary Clinton.

But I supposed it makes a twisted kind of sense -- after all, in the light of overwhelming evidence of Trump's guilt, how else is the media supposed to create a "balanced" narrative?
posted by Gelatin at 5:07 AM on March 7, 2019 [16 favorites]

Matthew Yglesias (Vox)
Huge numbers of people turned out in the streets to fight Trump in 2017 ... they volunteered and donated in record numbers to fight Trump in 2018 ... and now House leaders’ plan is to — not fight Trump.
posted by chris24 at 5:17 AM on March 7, 2019 [10 favorites]

Please, do tell us which of the many, many financial and political breaches of ethics, protocol, and law Congress is supposed to ignore while they focus on one or two so that journalists can thoroughly mine one story before the next one catches their attention.

They are all in the way of getting to the bottom of Hillary's emails.
posted by srboisvert at 5:23 AM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]

Hardly a word about potential risks to Republicans for continued revelations of solid evidence of Trump's misdeeds, which they defend, let alone possible revelations of their knowledge of and complicity in same.

Exactly, it's letting the fox (FOX?) control the narrative in the henhouse hearings. Do what needs to be done, and let the fox's friends and allies deal with their own butthurts.
posted by Rykey at 5:27 AM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

We are on week four of IlhanGate, about a freshman rep with very limited power, while Jim Jordan, ranking member of House Oversight tweeted “$teyer” days ago and no one cares anymore.

Dems need to stop giving a shit what reporters and Republicans think is important. The bad faith from both is endless. Reporters will always magnify anything Dems do to match the gross violations and manifest awfulness of Republicans in the name of balance. Fuck them all.
posted by chris24 at 5:28 AM on March 7, 2019 [83 favorites]

Politico: White House tries to charm Democrats on new NAFTA—Trump needs Pelosi’s support before he can claim a victory.

Administration officials have been organizing dozens of meetings with rank-and-file lawmakers to try to build bipartisan support for the deal, which restructures trade terms with Canada and Mexico. They’re hoping to recapture the success of criminal justice reform legislation, which marked a rare high-point for White House-Hill relations and passed Congress last year following a monthslong behind-the-scenes campaign led by Jared Kushner.

Their goal is to get a vote on the pact by late summer. But their efforts still may come to nothing: While Pelosi hasn’t yet staked out a definitive position on the agreement, factions of Democrats are already saying they’re not going to vote for it unless there are changes to key provisions, possibly requiring new negotiations with the two U.S. trading partners. Plus, Democrats and GOP lawmakers alike are telling the president they won’t consider the deal until he lifts lingering tariffs on steel and aluminum from Mexico and Canada.[…]

In recent weeks, senior officials from the White House and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office have met with Ways and Means Committee members, the House GOP whip team, the Problem Solvers caucus, the Tuesday Group, the Hispanic Caucus and the Blue Dogs. Administration officials are planning to soon meet with the New Democrats, who are widely seen as a key coalition that will ultimately deliver Democratic votes for the deal.

Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is taking the lead in the White House and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney is the point person at USTR, with Robert Lighthizer, the administration’s lead trade negotiator, regularly meeting with lawmakers about the issue.

And on top of the usual sausage-making concerns of Capitol Hill negotiations, both within the Dem caucus and with the GOP, Pelosi has to deal with Trump’s volatility:

It’s still possible Pelosi could slow-walk the deal or shut it down. Congressional aides say they’re waiting for Pelosi and House leadership to outline what the ask will be in exchange for Democratic support, saying it’s possible she’ll look for White House backing on other Democratic policy priorities like infrastructure or the minimum wage.

“She knows this is central to Trump’s legislative agenda. So, it’s natural that she’ll have her own ask,” a congressional aide said.

Pelosi’s consideration of USMCA could also hinge on how the Trump administration approaches submitting the deal to Congress. Trump has previously threatened to withdraw from the 25-year-old NAFTA as a way to pressure Congress to act on it.[…]

The administration has largely set aside — for now — the threat of pulling out of NAFTA because Lighthizer and others in the administration agree that such a move would undermine the trust they’ve been working to build on Capitol Hill. Aides said there were no immediate plans to withdraw from the 25-year-old agreement, though the president hasn't completely ruled out doing it eventually if the negotiations over approving USMCA fall apart.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports, “The United Auto Workers left a meeting near Detroit with U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer and gave a thumbs-down assessment of his plan to revamp America’s trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:47 AM on March 7, 2019 [7 favorites]

Step back from the trees and gaze in horror at the forest: A concise one-page summary of the six subscandals* that compose The biggest political scandal in American history, from Axios.

"Presidential historian Jon Meacham tells us that this 'transcends scandal — it’s a national crisis in the sense of a period of elevated stakes, high passions, and possibly permanent consequences.'"

Scandal 1: hush money to mistresses
Scandal 2: Moscow Trump tower
Scandal 3: Russian campaign contacts
Scandal 4: Michael Flynn
Scandal 5: Comey firing
Scandal 6: Kushner clearance

*your subdivisions may differ
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:03 AM on March 7, 2019 [54 favorites]

Kelly says a full border wall would be a 'waste of money'

oh do tell John:

Kelly rebuked one of the president’s constant refrains about undocumented immigrants: That migrants who cross into the U.S. illegally are dangerous criminals and pose a serious threat.
“They’re overwhelmingly not criminals,” Kelly said Wednesday. “They’re people coming up here for economic purposes. I don’t blame them for that.”

He also reiterated his position that a border wall spanning the entirety of the U.S.-Mexico border would be a “waste of money,” despite overseeing the beginning of what would become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history over Trump’s demands that Congress fund such a project.

Though there were areas where a border wall would be effective, Kelly said, “we don’t need a wall from sea to shining sea.”

The former general also defended the NATO alliance, which Trump has repeatedly maligned as having a cost to the U.S. that outweighs its benefits.
posted by bluesky43 at 6:56 AM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

Bye Booker.

@aseitzwald (NBC):
Cory Booker on the filibuster to @NPRinskeep: “We need to understand that there’s good reason to have a Senate where we are forced to find pragmatic bipartisan solutions. Let’s be a country that operates from that sense of common purpose.”
posted by chris24 at 7:02 AM on March 7, 2019 [10 favorites]

Meanwhile, $1M in luxury goods seized from Raleigh mansion owned by Russian couple at the center of a multimillion-dollar money laundering case.

In fucking Raleigh. Leonid and Tatyana Teyf - that ring a bell for anyone? This shit is just cancer. Where does it stop?
posted by yoga at 7:04 AM on March 7, 2019 [9 favorites]

FTA:

Bank transactions also show the couple bought nearly $400,000 worth of Mercedes-Benz vehicles and spent $2.5 million on artwork from a New York gallery.

Authorities said that, since December 2010, the couple has opened at least 70 financial accounts at four different banks, and wire transfers show money coming into the couple's bank accounts from countries known to launder money, including Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Panama and the Seychelles.

posted by yoga at 7:05 AM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

Embassy Staffers Say Jared Kushner Shut Them Out of Saudi Meetings

Officials and staffers in the U.S. embassy in Riyadh said they were not read in on the details of Jared Kushner’s trip to Saudi Arabia or the meetings he held with members of the country’s Royal Court last week. And that’s causing concern not only in the embassy but also among members of Congress, according to three individuals with direct knowledge of the matter.

On his trip to the Middle East, Kushner stopped in Riyadh. While there, he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman to discuss U.S.-Saudi cooperation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and economic investment in the region, according to the White House.

But no one from the embassy in Riyadh was in the meetings, according to two sources. The State Department did have a senior official in attendance, but he was not part of the State Department team in Saudi. He is a senior member of the department focused on Iran, according to a source with direct knowledge of the official’s presence in Riyadh.

posted by scalefree at 7:07 AM on March 7, 2019 [23 favorites]

Yesterday: ABC reports on a new wrinkle about Cohen's contacts with Trump's legal team: Lawyers Claiming Ties to Rudy Giuliani Approached Michael Cohen After Fbi Raids; Investigators Looking at Contacts

Today: ABC has updated their story to name the lawyers

Late Wednesday, ABC News spoke with Robert J. Costello, who was identified by the sources as one of the New York attorneys who had reached out to Cohen last year.

Costello said the story is “not accurate,” but declined to be more specific “until I am convinced the attorney-client privilege has been waived. Unless Michael Cohen has waived attorney client privilege, I am prohibited from making any comment about this.”

Costello said that he and Jeffrey Citron, another attorney in the same firm, had an attorney-client relationship with Cohen. Costello said he is unaware of any investigation of these matters.

"I have not spoken to the SDNY or Mueller or Congress or anyone about any issue involving Cohen. I am unaware of any inquiry by anybody other than reporters about this,” he added.

I can't find much news about these two, here is a 2017 article in which Costello, quoted as an independent expert, approves of the Trump legal strategy.
posted by pjenks at 7:12 AM on March 7, 2019 [3 favorites]

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: Trump, presenting his "good friend" the CEO of Apple, just referred to him as 'Tim Apple'

The World Famous: Marillyn Lockheed, folks.

Meanwhile,

T.D. Strange: ‘It gets real personal, real fast’: Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

So, we're worried about the president taking it personally that his family, unqualified for their positions, let alone their security clearances, are under Democratic scrutiny? If impeaching Trump is off the table, let's discuss the 25th amendment. If Trump thinks Tim Cook is actually part of the Apple Family Legacy, and Marillyn Adams Hewson is just the latest in the long line of Lockheeds to run their family company, seems like a time to say "wait, maybe he's not mentally fit for this job."

Oh never mind, the Senate just confirmed 37-year old Allison Jones Rushing to a lifetime seat on the court (HuffPo, March 5, 2019).

She worked for Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian organization that has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. She has argued that there were “moral and practical” reasons for banning same-sex marriage. And some lawmakers said she simply lacks the experience or legal ability to be a federal judge.

“She has practiced law for nine years. How many cases has she tried to verdict or judgment? Four. Has she been the lead attorney on any of those cases? No,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on the Senate floor. “That is the most scant, weakest legal resume imaginable for someone who’s seeking a lifetime appointment to the second-highest court of the land.”

Every Republican present voted for her. Every Democrat present opposed her. But hey, she's homophobic, so that's good enough for the GOP!

Dear Dems, limit ALL judgeships to 18 years, not just supreme court justices, if you can't find another route to purge these unqualified hires in 2020.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:22 AM on March 7, 2019 [73 favorites]

Trump Administration Reportedly Tracked and Targeted Journalists and Activists Involved With Migrant Caravan (Elliot Hannan, Slate)

Days before the Nov. 2018 midterm elections, President Trump cooked up pre-election hysteria over the so-called “caravan” of migrants a thousand miles away in southern Mexico, who were slowly making their way on foot towards the U.S. border. The president’s anti-immigrant chauvinism couldn’t stop his party from losing the House in a blue wave of Democratic victories, and afterward Trump largely dropped the issue until it became politically useful again months later during the government shutdown. The American government, however, sharpened its focus after the furor died down, according to a chilling report from NBC 7, NBC News’ local affiliate in San Diego. Documents leaked to NBC 7 show that the Trump administration went about gathering names of journalists, activists, and attorneys who had covered or worked with the fleeing migrants, and created a database that included dossiers on 57 people, including 10 journalists.

posted by ZeusHumms at 7:28 AM on March 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

Democrats should simply state the truth. Trump runs things just like a mafia boss would, and like a mafia boss, he's practically incapable of not committing crime. Almost any time anything Trump does is examined, you find evidence of crime. Trump cannot buy gum without committing crimes, because stealing it simply comes more naturally to him than not.

Also, Jared and Ivanka need to go down, because their guilt helps establish Trump's guilt. Trump speaks in code and insulates himself. You can't prove that he knew he was ordering people to commit crimes without first showing that everyone working for him is guilty of committing crimes at what they believed was his direction.

The slow media response to Trump makes me feel like I'm watching the Godfather movie with the nation and the nation keeps asking what "sleeping with the fishes" means.
posted by xammerboy at 7:41 AM on March 7, 2019 [46 favorites]

Some articles in which attorney Robert Costello --- who is now said to have been a cut-out for Guiliani in pardon discussions with Cohen last spring, but not an official member of the Trump legal team --- is quoted as an expert, and provided pro-Trump commentary:

• Daily News (30Oct2017) "Mueller was supposed to be looking for interventions in the election," Costello said. "This has nothing to do with the election and has nothing to do with Trump."
• Guardian (1Dec2017) "Mueller will continue to go up the chain, trying to get people at the next level to cooperate."
• Business Insider (4Dec2017): "[Costello] thought Dowd's argument [that the president cannot obstruct justice] held merit"
• TPM (30Apr2018) "[Costello thought] concerns about [USA nominee Geoffrey] Berman’s potential conflicts were overblown"

That last one is pretty sweet. As the TPM article notes, Berman was "a donor to Trump’s presidential campaign and former law partner of Trump pal Rudy Giuliani" (just like Costello apparently). And the NYTimes reported last month that Trump asked Acting AG Matthew Whittaker to transfer the SDNY Trump investigations over to Berman.
posted by pjenks at 7:53 AM on March 7, 2019 [8 favorites]

T.D. Strange: ‘It gets real personal, real fast’: Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

So, we're worried about the president taking it personally that his family, unqualified for their positions, let alone their security clearances, are under Democratic scrutiny? If impeaching Trump is off the table, let's discuss the 25th amendment. If Trump thinks Tim Cook is actually part of the Apple Family Legacy, and Marillyn Adams Hewson is just the latest in the long line of Lockheeds to run their family company, seems like a time to say "wait, maybe he's not mentally fit for this job."

The Democratic party should proceed boldly in prosecuting members of the Trump family that participated in the conspiracy because all the retribution will target people with the last name Democrat.
posted by srboisvert at 7:54 AM on March 7, 2019 [17 favorites]

Costello said that he and Jeffrey Citron, another attorney in the same firm, had an attorney-client relationship with Cohen.

Wait, how does that work? Were they working for Cohen or for Trump? Who was paying them? How could they be Cohen's attorneys?

That's some bizarro lawyering going on there.
posted by JackFlash at 8:06 AM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

Were they working for Cohen or for Trump? Who was paying them?

The ABC article says:

The two attorneys never formally joined Cohen's legal team but sent Cohen a bill for legal services, which he did not pay, the sources said.

The charges include fees for at least a half a dozen phone calls between the attorneys and Giuliani, according to two sources who have seen the invoice. One of the final entries is for a late June in-person meeting in New York between at least one of the attorneys and Giuliani. ABC News has not independently reviewed the bill.

Brilliant, actually... make a cold approach to the target, bill him for your time, and then claim attorney-client privilege.
posted by pjenks at 8:21 AM on March 7, 2019 [19 favorites]

Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

Feh. The innocent ones, maybe. But no one is targeting Tiffany or Barron, the way Republicans targeted, say, Sasha and Malia Obama.

But yeah, sure, we should proceed carefully. We all know what happened to Rush Limbaugh when he mocked and ridiculed the young Chelsea Clinton.
posted by Gelatin at 8:21 AM on March 7, 2019 [41 favorites]

Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

I think most of the responses to this missed the point. The concern is that going after the kids could backfire with voters. I think we can all agree that is one group we don't want to alienate.
posted by M-x shell at 8:25 AM on March 7, 2019 [11 favorites]

Mod note: Folks, pregaming the next elections/armchair quarterbacking public opinion is something these threads don't have space for.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 8:52 AM on March 7, 2019 [7 favorites]

Anyone who's getting their political info from Fox News is a lost cause; the best we can hope for is that they'll stay home on election day because there's too much controversy or because they're trying to "send a message" by not voting.

Anyone not getting their political info from Fox News, is not going to believe that J-I-Djr are innocent kids who've been brainwashed by their corrupt father into holding the bag... unless the media starts pushing that as a possibility.

We need pundits who will point out, "Jared is not being investigated for Trump's crimes. Jared's being investigated for Jared's crimes. If he committed those crimes to make his father-in-law happy, or further his goals, that doesn't absolve Jared of anything. We don't have transferable crimes in the US. See also: Michael Cohen."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:54 AM on March 7, 2019 [36 favorites]

Trump biographer Tim O’Brien in Blumberg -
Investigators have landed on the money trail:
Scrutiny of his business dealings is just the start of a long and possibly harrowing experience for the president and his entourage
posted by growabrain at 9:24 AM on March 7, 2019 [17 favorites]

Sherrod Brown has announced he will not be running for president.
posted by Sophie1 at 9:33 AM on March 7, 2019 [14 favorites]

I think most of the responses to this missed the point. The concern is that going after the kids could backfire with voters. I think we can all agree that is one group we don't want to alienate.

I see it as the difference between strategy and tactics, similar to how in legal representation, the client sets the strategy (i.e. remove Trump from office) and the lawyer then figures out the tactics (i.e. avoid providing a sympathetic human shield that could create delays, increase polarization, and fuel strident propaganda) to accomplish the strategy. We can see from polling data that there is a sizable population that has been swindled by a con man, and if we're going to heal as a nation, I think it can be reasonable to be mindful of the political optics, and how it could impact the GOP in Congress and their participation in removing the president.

"Targeting would still possibly backfire optics-wise" is Ivanka. By contrast I don't think the country is nearly as sympathetic to either Don Jr or Eric.

I think this is exactly it, except I also think that for conspirators who aren't currently protected from indictment by a DOJ policy, there appears to be an imminent risk of prosecution. Congress is not the only option here - they are not a law enforcement agency in the sense that they can directly bring criminal charges, so it looks like the Dems can proceed methodically with proving the case to the American people, without risking a Christine Blasey Ford moment that could fuel further polarization and delay in removing the president from office, and instead let the prosecutors and the courts do their job.

The spectacle yesterday of Cohen bringing suitcases of documents to Congress also seems to emphasize the point - all of those documents have already been seized by law enforcement - bringing the documents to Congress seems like part of the case being made to the American people, not the federal and state prosecutors conducting criminal investigations.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:33 AM on March 7, 2019 [10 favorites]

More specifically, going after the Trump Kids could backfire with the crucial segment of swing/independent/low-info voters, which will be more or less up for grabs in the next election unless the Democrats do a very good job of presenting their case against the Trump crime family (which is what it is). Because the US media sure won't do it for them.

At the moment, that demographic is being fed pabulum like Newsweek's Why Do Ivanka Trump And Jared Kushner Need Top Secret Security Clearance, And What Can They Access? and People's Ivanka Trump Says She Can't Stop Crying from Laughter After Dad Calls Apple CEO 'Tim Apple' ... Right in Front of Him (tee-hee). Unfortunately, they're not likely to examine the Trumps that closely as long as there isn't a war on and the economy's OK.

Speaking of which… CNBC: US Households See Biggest Decline In Net Worth Since the Financial Crisis

• Household net worth fell at the highest level since the financial crisis, according to Fed data.
• Net worth at the end of 2018 was at $104.3 trillion, a drop of $3.73 trillion drop from the third quarter.

Americans’ net worth fell at the highest level since the financial crisis in the fourth quarter of 2018 as sliding stock market prices ate into the household balance sheet.

Net worth dropped to $104.3 trillion as the year came to an end, a slide of $3.73 trillion, according to figures released Thursday by the Federal Reserve. The decline amounted to a drop of 3.4 percent.[…]

The fall in net worth came during a quarter when GDP rose 2.6 percent, according to a first estimate. That was part of a year that saw growth near 3 percent despite a lackluster period for financial markets. Economists largely expect 2019 to start with little growth in the economy, as the Atlanta Fed sees GDP up just 0.5 percent.

posted by Doktor Zed at 9:46 AM on March 7, 2019 [9 favorites]

@tictoc: JUST IN: Michael Cohen has sued the Trump Organization in New York court; the lawsuit is listed on the court docket, but details are unavailable

The suit is reportedly for indemnification damages

@spettypi: Going through Cohen lawsuit filing against Trump Org... it seems to be based around Cohen saying the company stopped paying his legal fees in June 2018, breaking a contract to reimburse him for litigation expenses
posted by zachlipton at 9:50 AM on March 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

What if the Mueller Report Demands Bold Action? (J.T. Smith, NYT Opinion)

Most people take for granted that both Mr. Mueller and the new attorney general, William Barr, accept the current Justice Department legal position — reached in a 2000 opinion — that a sitting president cannot be indicted. In a June 2018 memo, Mr. Barr said that under “the Framers’ plan,” the “proper mechanism for policing the president’s” actions “is the political process — that is, the People, acting either directly, or through their elected representatives in Congress.”

Yet since 1973, the Justice Department has revisited its position five times on the question of indicting a sitting president and reached different conclusions. In fact, as executive assistant to President Richard Nixon’s attorney general, Elliot Richardson, I can speak to the circumstances that delivered that first opinion: The principal purpose of the 1973 Watergate-era legal opinion — which concluded that a sitting president cannot be indicted — was to aid in removal from office of a criminally tainted vice president, who, the memo concluded, could be indicted.

But it was not intended to set an ironclad precedent that would forever shape how a president might be treated. [...]

The durability of the Office of Legal Counsel’s 1973 opinion is curious. It was prepared under extraordinarily stressful and unique circumstances — borne from the investigations that led to the resignations of Vice President Spiro Agnew that year and President Nixon in 1974. [...]

An often-overlooked facet of the Agnew case — but highly relevant to our circumstances today — was Mr. Richardson’s insistence that the vice president’s resignation and plea on a single count be accompanied by an extraordinary, publicly available 40-page summary of the criminal behavior involving Mr. Agnew that the Justice Department was prepared to prove at trial. Mr. Richardson believed, correctly, that a full recounting of Mr. Agnew’s shameful behavior would put to rest any contention by his supporters that he had been made a political victim.

posted by Little Dawn at 9:53 AM on March 7, 2019 [19 favorites]

Sherrod Brown has announced he will not be running for president.

Damn, I was really looking forward to Connie Schulz's eventual memoir of what her husband running for president would look like. No joke. I like her.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:00 AM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

Investigators have landed on the money trail:
Scrutiny of his business dealings is just the start of a long and possibly harrowing experience for the president and his entourage

And no doubt also for the investigators themselves.
posted by notyou at 10:02 AM on March 7, 2019

Republican senator [Sen John Kennedy, R-LA] admits the GOP would be going after Donald Trump if he were a Democrat (Cody Fenwick, Salon)

“I think there are some House members that decided they want to start the election early, and they’re going to do everything they can to tear down the President,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told CNN. “I’m not saying that the Republicans wouldn’t do it if the shoe were on the other foot — that’s part of the problem with this place.”

Of course, it may be a problem if parties are too willing to launch spurious investigations into their opponents to score cheap political points. There’s no doubt that the GOP would have launched every investigation it could have into Hillary Clinton if she had won the presidency in 2016. But the real metric for evaluating these investigations should be whether there is substantial evidence of wrongdoing to warrant an inquiry. Given the amount of criminal wrongdoing by Trump’s aides uncovered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the fact that the president’s former attorney Michael Cohen is going to jail for a campaign finance crimes he said Trump directed him to carry out, there is more than enough evidence to justify multiple investigations.

posted by ZeusHumms at 10:11 AM on March 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

If impeaching Trump is off the table, let's discuss the 25th amendment.

Just ... just because I don't have time to hoover up every scrap of news that isn't directly linked here .. and that I click on .. and read .. comprehendingly .. Did I miss some Democratic utterance of a lack of will to impeach?

"Gotta be careful with the [criminal] kids" was the last I saw, which, whatever but the Impeach Cobbler is cooking right now right? We have people now, right?
posted by petebest at 10:12 AM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]

Meanwhile, Data For Progres releases A Green New Deal Advocacy Page
posted by The Whelk at 10:14 AM on March 7, 2019 [7 favorites]

Ah, here's Cohen's complaint against the Trump Organization. Pages 15-16 are a handy chart of all the investigations Cohen has been involved with
posted by zachlipton at 10:14 AM on March 7, 2019 [10 favorites]

Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire

Lord I get so tired of these people being afraid of everything
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:15 AM on March 7, 2019 [64 favorites]

Petebest, no one has officially said impeachment is off the table, but it certainly has not been made a priority, knowing that it would be quashed in the Senate. There's been a lot of debate here over whether it would be worth doing or not, knowing that. I'm sure the same debate is taking place in the Democratic party, but neither side has definitively won the argument yet.
posted by rikschell at 10:17 AM on March 7, 2019 [3 favorites]

If impeaching Trump is off the table, let's discuss the 25th amendment.

All the President has to do to prevent being 25th amendmented is write a letter to congress saying, "No worries folks, I'm good". Then they have to get the same majorities as impeachment to override it. It's not a real option.
posted by dis_integration at 10:17 AM on March 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

Chase Donald Trump's Russia scandal way back to a beauty pageant and it starts to make real sense (Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon)

"Part One: Back in 2013 the only person who saw Donald Trump as a serious threat to America was Vladimir Putin"

Starts in June 2013 with the Miss USA pageant in Vegas and Trumps' networking in service of building a hotel in Moscow, continues through Trump praising Putin on talk shows in 2014, just before Russia invades the Ukraine.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:18 AM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

Donald Trump's 2020 re-election strategy: Scaring white people with threats of violence (Chauncey DeVega, Salon)

Trump's outlandish CPAC speech was a preview of his 2020 campaign: Vote for me, or it's baby-killing socialism

posted by ZeusHumms at 10:20 AM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

Ah, here's Cohen's complaint against the Trump Organization. Pages 15-16 are a handy chart of all the investigations Cohen has been involved with

A few pages on comes the ask -- $1.9m for legal expenses between May 2018 and January 2019 and $1.9m for the funds Cohen had to forfeit as part of his sentence.

Oh man how delicious is this?
posted by notyou at 10:23 AM on March 7, 2019 [8 favorites]

The New GOP talking point will be "If Cohen thinks the Trump Org is so awful, why does he want their dirty money?"
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:32 AM on March 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

The Nation, Exclusive: ICE Has Kept Tabs on ‘Anti-Trump’ Protesters in New York City. Documents reveal that the immigration enforcement agency has been keenly attuned to left-leaning protests in the city.

None of them are billed as anti-Trump protests: they are anti-NRA protests, a protest against Identity Evropa attended by a democratic congressman, handmaids protesting Pence, demonstrations against deportations and family separations, and they appear to be especially sensitive to the abolish ICE protests. Link to the spreadsheet here.
posted by peeedro at 10:35 AM on March 7, 2019 [60 favorites]

Trump's outlandish CPAC speech was a preview of his 2020 campaign: Vote for me, or it's baby-killing socialism

@jbouie: under-appreciated element of this attack is how it represents a 180 degree turn from 2016 trump who promised universal health care and defense of retirement programs

I do wonder how much of a campaign can be built out of stitching together the BS promises Trump made during the campaign and asking why he thinks they're socialism now.
posted by zachlipton at 10:35 AM on March 7, 2019 [13 favorites]

Foreign Policy, U.S. Cancels Journalist’s Award Over Her Criticism of Trump

Jessikka Aro, a Finnish investigative journalist, has faced down death threats and harassment over her work exposing Russia’s propaganda machine long before the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. In January, the U.S. State Department took notice, telling Aro she would be honored with the prestigious International Women of Courage Award, to be presented in Washington by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Weeks later, the State Department rescinded the award offer. A State Department spokesperson said it was due to a “regrettable error,” but Aro and U.S. officials familiar with the internal deliberations tell a different story. They say the department revoked her award after U.S. officials went through Aro’s social media posts and found she had also frequently criticized President Donald Trump.

“It created a shitstorm of getting her unceremoniously kicked off the list,” said one U.S. diplomatic source familiar with the internal deliberations. “I think it was absolutely the wrong decision on so many levels,” the source said. The decision “had nothing to do with her work.”
...
“[When] I was informed about the withdrawal out of the blue, I felt appalled and shocked,” Aro told FP. “The reality in which political decisions or presidential pettiness directs top U.S. diplomats’ choices over whose human rights work is mentioned in the public sphere and whose is not is a really scary reality.”

posted by zachlipton at 10:37 AM on March 7, 2019 [58 favorites]

ZeusHumms: “I think there are some House members that decided they want to start the election early, and they’re going to do everything they can to tear down the President,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told CNN. “I’m not saying that the Republicans wouldn’t do it if the shoe were on the other foot — that’s part of the problem with this place.”

Whoa there, Johnny. Let's break this down a bit.

First, Trump officially filed his reelection campaign with the Federal Election Commission on the day of his inauguration, and began spending for his reelection effort within weeks of his election. Everyone else is behind him at this point.

Second, the problem with "this place" started in the 1990s,

when Newt Gingrich exploited polarization rooted in growing public discontent, particularly among the Republican base. Gingrich didn't create this polarization, but he was one of the first Republicans to exploit the shift in popular sentiment. And his leadership helped establish "politics as warfare" as the GOP's dominant strategy.

Google books preview; excerpt from How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and ‎Daniel Ziblatt (2018).

chris24: @aseitzwald (NBC): Cory Booker on the filibuster to @NPRinskeep: “We need to understand that there’s good reason to have a Senate where we are forced to find pragmatic bipartisan solutions. Let’s be a country that operates from that sense of common purpose.”

Great, but first let's start that discussion when the GOP stop voting in lock-step to confirm a 37 year old who has tried FOUR CASES to a lifetime judgeship (self-link, upthread comment) and other egregious acts.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:38 AM on March 7, 2019 [31 favorites]

The first rule of getting rid of the filibuster is you don't talk about getting rid of the filibuster. You say how important the filibuster is until the moment you toss it out the window. Why would you ever say we should get rid of it while the Republicans control the Senate?
posted by Justinian at 10:46 AM on March 7, 2019 [38 favorites]

Lawmakers scrutinize CFPB chief over payday lending (Nicholas Sakelaris for UPI, March 7, 2019)

House Democrats criticized changes Thursday the Trump administration has made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and grilled new chief Kathy Kraninger on Capitol Hill.

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters said at the hearing she's "deeply concerned" with damage done by former director Mick Mulvaney -- who ran the bureau while he also ran the White House budget office -- to Obama-era regulations in the payday loan industry.

Critics have said the industry preys on vulnerable borrowers with ballooning interest rates as high as 300 percent a year. Stricter rules for borrowing created by the Obama administration -- intended to ensure borrowers could afford to take out the loans -- have been put on hold.

A bill proposed by Waters, the Consumer First Act, would better guard consumers and reverse the changes by Mulvaney. Thursday, she suggested the White House budget director served simultaneously as CFPB chief to undermine the bureau.

"I am committed to reversing the damage that Mulvaney has caused," she said in her opening statement. "His mission was to dismantle the agency from within. This committee will not tolerate the Trump administration's anti-consumer actions."

NPR did a shitty job covering the topic, showing via one anecdote how someone was able to borrow $300 and pay that + an interest of $73, or 24.33% interest for paying back the loan on time, to take a vacation. This is freedom! The article notes that if you don't pay back a payday loan, "the costs spiral" after people take out loan after loan, to pay off prior debts. But no emotional figures there, just vagueness, and then this quote:

"We provide consumers from all across the country with the ability to access money when they need it most," says Jamie Fulmer, senior vice president of public affairs at Advance America. The South Carolina-based company has 1,900 branches across the United States. The firm donated to the Trump inaugural committee.

Lines connecting the shady practices drawn in light pencil, the "benefits" of payday loans scrawled in thick pen. You know, to balance the reporting.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:56 AM on March 7, 2019 [17 favorites]

The first rule of getting rid of the filibuster is you don't talk about getting rid of the filibuster. You say how important the filibuster is until the moment you toss it out the window. Why would you ever say we should get rid of it while the Republicans control the Senate?

Because Dems control the House and Rs can’t pass anything without Dem approval now anyway.

Because Republicans have kept it not because Dems haven’t talked about it but because they realize it’s way more valuable to them than us. Republicans could barely pass things with 50 votes. And couldn’t get rid of Obamacare.

Because Dems saying they support the filibuster aren’t being coy, they really do and need to be convinced.

Because Schumer will never do it on his own without being convinced or more likely forced by public and Senate pressure to do so.

Because Republicans will make it seem like Dems are cheating and changing the rules and the non-focused public will believe them if Dems don’t lay groundwork and start convincing.

Because we don’t want to waste the first two years of a hopefully new Dem Congress and presidency fighting this battle instead of passing the laws we need to the filibuster to be gone for.

I’m amazed that people think Schumer, Bernie, etc are just gonna change their minds and snap their fingers and it’s gonna be gone. Dems have never acted in disregard to norms and traditions before like Rs have, and Ds and the public have to be convinced. We won’t get away with it in the press and public square like Rs have.
posted by chris24 at 11:21 AM on March 7, 2019 [13 favorites]

Justinian: You say how important the filibuster is until the moment you toss it out the window. Why would you ever say we should get rid of it while the Republicans control the Senate?

Yup. To repeat something I've said here before: Rank-and-file Republicans think McConnell is a squishy RINO because he doesn't breathe fire and speak Trumpish. He is, in reality, their single most effective fighter of the past decade, thanks in part to being a complete snake. And snakishness can be a critical tool for anyone, even the good guys.

There is an unfortunate need for at least some Democrats to play good cop and talk a big game about "bipartisanship", including support of filibusters and such, while then betraying that value in reality, because a lot of Americans pay more attention to words than actions. And it's not really that hard to pull off: "We tried to cooperate with them, but they refused, so unfortunately the filibuster had to go."

Then you rinse and repeat, pretending with your rhetoric that you're still open to compromise, while acting with 100% awareness of the bad faith the other side brings, because "One of the two major parties is built entirely out of bad faith and cannot ever be redeemed, and this necessitates end-runs to accomplish even the most basic stuff" is not a truth our discourse is able to fully digest.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:25 AM on March 7, 2019 [9 favorites]

Because we don’t want to waste the first two years of a hopefully new Dem Congress and presidency fighting this battle instead of passing the laws we need to the filibuster to be gone for.

And remember, it's a virtually iron-clad rule of the last few decades that the President's party loses a huge number of House seats in their first midterm. It is very unlikely the Democrats will hold it all through 2022, so they only have two years to get anything done. Convincing 50 Senate Democrats to reject the filibuster is going to be a huge job, and will only happen if the President and a large popular movement push hard for it -- and that takes time to build.

The nice thing is, the logic of "you can't support M4A, free college, childcare, etc etc and also support the filibuster" is pretty irrefutable, so it's a good wedge to force presidential candidates to take a stand. What's more likely: that Booker secretly plans to drop the filibuster and fight for M4A in 2020, or the reverse? Even if he never comes round, at least now we know.
posted by chortly at 11:35 AM on March 7, 2019 [9 favorites]

Why would you ever say we should get rid of it while the Republicans control the Senate?

Why wouldn't you? What's the risk? That Republicans will seize on it as evidence you're trying to destroy our institutions? They're going to claim that anyway. That they're gonna pre-emptively nuke it themselves? All the better, let them do it!

Saying the opposite of what you think and then reversing yourself when it's advantageous, on the other hand, is a tactic with real costs in terms of credibility with the electorate. This not a time for parliamentary intrigue, it's a time for honest, bold action that distinguishes us from the frauds on the right.
posted by contraption at 11:37 AM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

@jbouie: under-appreciated element of this attack is how it represents a 180 degree turn from 2016 trump who promised universal health care and defense of retirement programs

Poli Sci researcher Lilliana Mason writes about the interaction between policy and partisan identification (among other things) in this thread.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:42 AM on March 7, 2019 [7 favorites]

The WaPo's Josh Dawsey has leaks from a listing Trump White House: ‘Not my fault’: Trump Struggles to Defend His Record Amid Setbacks On Immigration, Trade, North Korea ("Not my fault I inherited this mess," he told CPAC, oblivious to how complaining about inheritance makes him look.):

Senior White House aides have sought to cast the Hanoi summit as a sign of Trump’s negotiating fortitude and unwillingness to settle for a bad deal. Yet Trump has grown frustrated by the largely negative coverage of the summit, a senior White House official said, and his aides briefed lawmakers this week to explain his goals. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to characterize internal discussions.[…]

Last year, Trump berated Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen over the rising border crossings. Though he no longer blames Nielsen, aides said, Trump told his staff that the shutdown dispute sent an important message to his conservative base that he is fighting for them.

On trade, Trump postponed a March 1 deadline to impose another round of tariffs on China in hopes of a deal. White House aides are planning events for Trump and Vice President Pence in the Midwest this spring to tout an updated trade deal reached last year with Canada and Mexico that Congress has yet to ratify.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said in an interview that farmers support Trump but are growing antsy.

“These folks are with you, they want to see you be successful,” Rounds said, speaking as if he was sending a message to Trump. “But you’re going to have to deliver some results.”

Rounds, incidentally, is of Trump's more reliable senators—including media-flacking like telling CNN that despite Trump's affair with Stormy Daniels and subsequent hush-money payment, he still believes "this president loves his family and think[s] it has as much to do with trying not to have public discussions about something that is, for him, a private matter that he didn’t want to have discussed with his family."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:09 PM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

Mod note: Folks, this seems to be a good time to remind everyone to go play outside if there's not much going on. The filibuster is also a topic we've been around and around on and we need to not be doing circle dances in the megathreads.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 12:10 PM on March 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

Poli Sci researcher Lilliana Mason writes about the interaction between policy and partisan identification (among other things) in this thread.

That parallels to an interesting thread from Julian Zelizer: The difference between how much the news media has been covering liberal “extremism” in the Democratic Party versus conservative “extremism” in the Republican Party is a problem. Here are a few thoughts... (twitter / threadreader).
posted by peeedro at 12:18 PM on March 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

I think it's an important point to be made that allowing unrestrained capitalism is a form of extremism. Socialism is the restraint that capitalism needs in order to not become a depraved machine devouring everyone and everything in its path.
posted by M-x shell at 12:29 PM on March 7, 2019 [22 favorites]

"Not my fault I inherited this mess"

"Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it."
posted by kirkaracha at 12:31 PM on March 7, 2019 [33 favorites]

"You can book a room at TrumpHotels.com. But neither our self-described 'very stable genius' billionaire president nor anyone at the Trump Organization ever thought to spend $8 to buy TrumpHotels.org. So I did."

Be sure to check his Supreme Court job application.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:44 PM on March 7, 2019 [19 favorites]

White House tries to charm Democrats on new NAFTA—Trump needs Pelosi’s support before he can claim a victory.

But their efforts still may come to nothing: While Pelosi hasn’t yet staked out a definitive position on the agreement, factions of Democrats are already saying they’re not going to vote for it unless there are changes to key provisions, possibly requiring new negotiations with the two U.S. trading partners.

Number one Democratic demand should be to abandon the USMCA name -- what Krugman calls the Village People agreement.
posted by JackFlash at 12:45 PM on March 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

"Not my fault I inherited this mess"

kirkaracha: "Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it."

In full 1984 style, the only reality is the one that The Leader proclaims right now. The past is fake, but the future will be great, just trust Us.

In the momentary news lull, CNN pulls out a 1993 clip of Biden, then chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, talking about "predators on our streets" who were "beyond the pale." He made those comments on the Senate floor a day before a vote was scheduled on the Senate's version of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (Wikipedia), which became law in 1994, to highlight the differences between what Biden said then, and what the Dems are saying now, 26 years later. Because who doesn't love some Old Clips vs Present Statements debates? Let's forget what people said after realizing that being Tough On Crime would lead to overcrowded prisons, following the trends that started with states' mass incarcerations that began in the 1980s (Prison Policy.org).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:48 PM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

I think it's an important point to be made that allowing unrestrained capitalism is a form of extremism. Socialism is the restraint that capitalism needs in order to not become a depraved machine devouring everyone and everything in its path.

I've had great success using the following argument with folks who normally buy into all the usual talking points about "free market capitalism" being the savior of the world. I just say something like:

We both agree that might-makes-right, i.e. anarchy, warlords, fiefdoms, etc are a bad way to run our societies. Instead the best outcomes we have found are to temper our society with rules and procedures (representative democracy) that allow us as much freedom as possible without allowing any-one person to amass power and start oppressing his neighbor or going to the other extreme and living in an opressive but well ordered regime.

Unregulated, unrestricted free market capitalism is the same thing as might-makes-right anarchy. The big players use their might to force others out, rig the game, externalize negatives (pollution, etc) and generally act like warlords until eventually monopolies form, etc etc. Before you know it you have the economic equivalent of dictators and kings. Well regulated capitalism is similar to representative democracy, it hits the sweet spot between full state control and anarchy.

This really seems to work, I've had friends who are full of Fox talking points actually re-think some of their stances. It was stunning. They're not fully on-to: "and then, thus socialism", but instead they have moved their own personal Overton window from "all regulations are wrong" to inherently accepting that regulation is useful & necessary and we are just arguing about what is the sweet spot. Obviously you will have to tailor this a little bit to yourself and your audience.
posted by no1hatchling at 12:49 PM on March 7, 2019 [90 favorites]

WaPo: House Democrats seek records from Trump over reports of possible meddling in AT&T-Time Warner deal

In a pair of letters sent to Justice Department antitrust chief Makan Delrahim and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee requested documents and communications logs between Trump and various senior officials — including Gary Cohn, the former director of the National Economic Council.

The letters come days after the New Yorker reported that Trump had asked Cohn to reach out to DOJ to try to block the deal, which Cohn reportedly refused to do.

The mere perception of White House interference “undermines public trust,” the lawmakers said. "The reports of attempted political intervention into antitrust enforcement harkens to similar allegations during the Nixon Administration,” wrote Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.).

“The fact of actual interference would constitute a serious abuse of power,” they added.

Nadler and Cicilline are focusing their request on the period from November 2016, just after Election Day, to Feb. 26 of this year. In addition to seeking communications between Trump and top aides, the lawmakers asked for records documenting contact between the Justice Department and Trump or Cohn or any other White House employee.

The White House and Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s truly refreshing these days that a bombshell news story about Trumpisnm corruption results in congressional action, unlike 2017-18.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:03 PM on March 7, 2019 [25 favorites]

Trump’s defenders are telling a very big lie. Don’t let them get away with it. (Greg Sargent, WaPo Opinion)

[...] we’re seeing a concerted effort to deceive Americans about the very legitimacy of the exercise of a core function of government — Congress’ role in acting as a check on the executive branch.

That oversight role actually has little to do with pursuing criminality. The purpose of this deception effort, of course, is to delegitimize any and all efforts to hold Trump accountable for the extensive misconduct, corruption and abuses of power he has committed on top of anything criminal he might have done.

The lie is suddenly everywhere. Trump tweeted out a quote from a Republican congressman who said: “No one is accusing the President of a crime and yet they (the Democrats) are issuing hundreds of subpoenas. This is unprecedented.”

Fox News regularly blares forth this same idea. In a recent segment that Trump also highlighted, Fox personalities ripped into Democrats for investigating Trump without any “facts or evidence of a crime warranting impeachment” and for following the special counsel in a “search for a crime.”

[...] The deeper deception here goes to the core function of congressional oversight in the separation-of-powers scheme. As a Congressional Research Service report explains, Congress’ role, among other things, is to scrutinize the executive branch’s execution of the laws as Congress intended them, and its implementation of executive power as delegated by Congress.

Congressional scrutiny of suspected executive branch misconduct or abuses of power simply does not require pre-suspicions of lawbreaking. Indeed, what makes such abuses what they are is that they often constitute maneuvers that may be presumptively legal yet could be driven by conflicts of interest, or potentially questionable intent, that render them suspect from a governing perspective.

Congress also exercises oversight as a core part of its legislative function. The courts have affirmed very broad congressional power to scrutinize executive branch and agency conduct, and to compel release of information to carry out that scrutiny, as a critical component of its lawmaking role.

posted by Little Dawn at 1:24 PM on March 7, 2019 [38 favorites]

Paul Manafort has shown up to his sentencing hearing in a green jumpsuit and a wheelchair. Sentencing happening now.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:30 PM on March 7, 2019 [14 favorites]

Since Judge Ellis is taking a 15 minute break at the Manafort sentencing, TPM reports on what's gone down: Manafort Judge Shows A Few Cards Early In Sentencing Hearing

The federal judge sentencing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Thursday wanted to make one thing clear.

Manafort’s case does not include “any allegation that he … colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election,” U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis declared during the sentencing hearing.

Ellis telegraphed in other ways his continued skepticism about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, saying at one point “there is much discussion” about why the special prosecutor has the Manafort case.

Ellis said that he concluded that it was legitimate for Mueller to bring the case but that didn’t mean he had decided the “wisdom” or the “appropriateness” of the special counsel having the authority to bring case.[…]

The judge also denied Manafort credit for accepting responsibility, which could have helped lower his sentence. But the judge did note that he would “take into account” the 50 hours that Manafort spent talking to Mueller’s office before the plea agreement fell apart.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz notes that Ellis denied Manafort's requests for a reduced sentence over his foreign banking and tax offenses and is digging into the legal arguments of his mortgage fraud.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:25 PM on March 7, 2019 [8 favorites]

The House is voting on its anti-hate resolution, we think the text of the version being voted on is here (it was expanded this afternoon to include condemnation of further forms of hate not included in the initial draft).

Republicans Zeldin, Gohmert, Cheney, Biggs, and Buck have voted no, while Duncan and Crawford voted present. Now it's entirely jumped the shark, with something like 23 Republicans voting against the anti-hate resolution including:

Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Mike Rogers (Ala.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), Peter King (R-N.Y.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Babin (R-Texas), Conaway (R-Texas), Grothman (R-Wis.)

And now Steve King is voting present. This is just the Republican white supremacy caucus at this point.

How...how did a bunch of Republicans manage to do the dumbest thing possible and vote against the anti-hate resolution?

@pdmcleod: Oh wow, GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert says he will vote against the resolution and it is “dangerous” that Democrats added references to all forms of hate because anti-Semitism "is a very special kind of hatred that should never be watered down." I had tentatively pre-written that the House unanimously passed the resolution to denounce all forms of hatred, and I gotta say I did not expect to have to edit that section. Voting on the resolution now. Unexpectedly it was the Democrats who called for a full recorded vote instead of a voice vote. Presumably they know their caucus will vote 100% in favor while Ghomert voting no for the GOP looks awkward.
posted by zachlipton at 2:27 PM on March 7, 2019 [40 favorites]

because anti-Semitism "is a very special kind of hatred that should never be watered down."

Spoken like a true hate gourmet.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:33 PM on March 7, 2019 [52 favorites]

literally two years ago: White House: No mention of Jews on Holocaust Remembrance Day because others were killed too
posted by BungaDunga at 2:35 PM on March 7, 2019 [54 favorites]

Ok the vote is closed. 407 in favor, 23 against, 1 present (Steve King). Here's the full list of the Republicans who voted no on the anti-hatred resolution. All Democrats voted in favor.

@pdmcleod: What an utterly bizarre backfire. This was supposed to be awkward for Democrats because it was an unofficial rebuke of Rep. Ilhan Omar. Yet in the end Omar voted to condemn anti-Semitism and 26 Republicans (and counting) voted not to.

[there were some vote changes before it closed]

Gohmert is, of course, so concerned about anti-Semitism that he spread George Soros conspiracy theories in December that were so bad even Fox Business had to distance themselves from them.
posted by zachlipton at 2:38 PM on March 7, 2019 [50 favorites]

What's more socialist? Paying people enough to feed, clothe, and house themselves, or designing a system where working people are dependent on government programs? What's more capitalist? Paying a hospital a fair price for its services up front, or paying them the price listed in a bill after?
posted by xammerboy at 2:46 PM on March 7, 2019 [17 favorites]

BuzzFeed, Aleaziz, Flores, and Geidner [and I'll stop here to note that Chris Geidner, an extraordinary legal reporter and editor, is leaving BuzzFeed], Immigrants Rejected For Asylum Have The Right To A Federal Judge Review, A Court Ruled

The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Thursday that undocumented immigrants have a constitutional right to a federal court review of denials to their asylum claims in certain circumstances.

Under current immigration laws, immigrants who fail credible fear interviews — the first step in the asylum process in which a person must establish there is a significant possibility they will be persecuted or tortured if they’re sent back to their country — can appeal the finding to an immigration judge Immigrants who fall under the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction can now ask a federal judge to review the process and legal standards the government used in determining whether someone has credible fear.

posted by zachlipton at 3:21 PM on March 7, 2019 [13 favorites]

GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert says he will vote against the resolution and it is “dangerous” that Democrats added references to all forms of hate because anti-Semitism "is a very special kind of hatred that should never be watered down."

As opposed to, e.g., slogans like "Black lives matter", which Gohmert believes is divisive and leads to violence:

“I look forward to the day when there is no group that includes a race color, a skin color in its name.”
[WaPo]

I mean, I do get the argument that it's wrong to insist that condemnations of antisemitism also include condemnations of Islamophobia and vice versa, but the resolution is pretty fine-grained and identifies a lot of specific threats to Jews. I think that's important, and is much more useful than a resolution that implicitly just calls out one politician. And it's very clear that Congressional opposition to this motion isn't coming from people who are fired up with the need to confront antisemitism; it's (mostly? solely?) coming from people who see it as an implied condemnation of themselves.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:45 PM on March 7, 2019 [9 favorites]

@kylegriffin1: BREAKING on @MSNBC: Paul Manafort has been sentenced to 47 months. Via @KenDilanianNBC

Remember that the DC case is separate and has sentencing set for next week.
posted by zachlipton at 3:58 PM on March 7, 2019 [17 favorites]

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is live-tweeting Ellis's sentencing of Manafort:

—Judge TS Ellis said he believed a sentence of 19-24 years as was recommended would be "excessive" for Manafort.
—Judge TS Ellis before giving Manafort his sentence noted he "lived an otherwise blameless life," was a good friend and generous person to others. That doesn't erase his crimes however Ellis said.
—Judge TS Ellis has sentenced Paul Manafort to almost 4 years in prison.

Sarah Kendzior: “As Roy Cohn -- the ruthless mafia lawyer who mentored Trump and introduced him to Manafort and Stone -- once said: "I don't want to know what the law is, I want to know who the judge is."”

(Note that earlier in court, Manafort thanked Judge Ellis for a fair trail and his family for their support, confessed to feeling "ashamed and shunned", asked for compassion, and declared, "The person that the media has described as me as is not someone I recognize"—but he did not admit wrongdoing or express remorse for any of his crimes, which is unusual.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:59 PM on March 7, 2019 [24 favorites]

May the judge in the DC case do better.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:06 PM on March 7, 2019 [14 favorites]

Gun Worshiping Texas Baptist Deacon Louis Gohmert doesn't get to talk about the special nature of antisemitism until he's taken a longer break from exemplifying it.

Vox, 12/6/18:
Republican congressman [Gohmert] spreads anti-Semitic Soros conspiracy theory with impunity on Fox Business

arrgh missed Zach's link
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:08 PM on March 7, 2019 [7 favorites]

Judge TS Ellis before giving Manafort his sentence noted he "lived an otherwise blameless life ...

Objection! Assumes facts not in evidence.

"I strenuously object."
posted by JackFlash at 4:08 PM on March 7, 2019 [14 favorites]

"Otherwise blameless life" in this context means "never convicted, which is the same thing."
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:09 PM on March 7, 2019 [11 favorites]

Scott Hechinger [via Twitter]:
For context on Manafort’s 47 months in prison, my client yesterday was offered 36-72 months in prison for stealing $100 worth of quarters from a residential laundry room.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:10 PM on March 7, 2019 [128 favorites]

Paul Butler on MSNBC: "To be a rich white man in America is ... Manafort was found guilty of stealing [tens of millions] from America".

Betsy Woodruff on same: "There is no way to interpret this sentence as anything but a criticism of the Mueller investigation." (Paraphrases; transcribing TV in real time is hard.)
posted by sylvanshine at 4:11 PM on March 7, 2019 [17 favorites]

"Otherwise blameless life" in this context means "never convicted, which is the same thing."

I mean leaving aside his previous work for dictators and torturers, Manafort is literally getting sentenced next week for other crimes.
posted by mhum at 4:20 PM on March 7, 2019 [74 favorites]

"In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence.."

posted by Nerd of the North at 4:22 PM on March 7, 2019 [10 favorites]

Now ain't the time for your tears.

(the other sentencing is still to come)
posted by downtohisturtles at 4:29 PM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

Being a traitor is worth 5 years.

How thiings have changed...
posted by Windopaene at 4:33 PM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]

He also gets 9 months off the 47 months for time served, it seems.
posted by Rumple at 4:34 PM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

Betsy Woodruff on same: "There is no way to interpret this sentence as anything but a criticism of the Mueller investigation."

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz: “Judge told Manafort he was disappointed that Manafort did not express remorse. "I was surprised I did not hear you express regret for engaging in criminal conduct," Ellis said. "I hope you will reflect on that." It didn't affect the sentence Ellis gave, the judge said.”

Marcy Wheeler: "Note, even if ABJ gives Manafort the max she can, and makes it consecutive, he will still be sentenced than less than what guidelines for EDVA case said."

CNN's Laura Coates: "FYI in 2018, #JudgeEllis sentenced Frederick Turner, 37, to a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison for dealing methamphetamine: "I chafe a bit at that, but I follow the law. If I thought it was blatantly immoral, I'd have to resign. It's wrong, but not immoral." #PaulManafort"

Judd Legum: "Paul Manafort was just sentenced to less than 4 YEARS for committing multiple felonies, including tax and bank fraud. Crystal Mason is serving FIVE YEARS for trying to vote in the 2016 election. (She didn't realize she was ineligible due to a prior conviction.)"
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:36 PM on March 7, 2019 [92 favorites]

Judge TS Ellis before giving Manafort his sentence noted he "lived an otherwise blameless life," was a good friend and generous person to others. That doesn't erase his crimes however Ellis said.

I know that nobody here is likely to swallow that horseshit and I also know that the judge's sentence should be based on the charges before the court. Nevertheless, if we're going to consider the man's character as a part of sentencing the things we know about Manafort are so completely at odds with "lived an otherwise blameless life" that I'm surprised the judge didn't choke on those words. In my opinion this is a partisan judge being as partisan as he feels he can get away with; I hope that his words at least come back to shame him by opening up the floodgates to show what a monstrous excuse for a human Manafort has been, professionally and personally, for a very, very long time.
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:45 PM on March 7, 2019 [39 favorites]

It's wrong, but not immoral.

That gets an F in Ethics 101. Try harder, Judge.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:49 PM on March 7, 2019 [26 favorites]

Consider that Judge Ellis was appointed by Ronald Reagan and has been on the federal bench for over 30 years. Keep that in mind with regard to 37-year-old right-wing nut Allison Jones Rushing yesterday confirmed to a lifetime seat on the court. If she lives as long as Ellis, she will be there for the next 40 years or more.
posted by JackFlash at 4:56 PM on March 7, 2019 [18 favorites]

WaPo, White House demands GOP support for Trump’s wall plans, won’t say how they’ll affect military construction

The White House is privately ramping up pressure on undecided Republicans to limit defections ahead of the Senate vote on President Trump’s emergency declaration — even as the administration has yet to tell Congress which military projects would be tapped to pay for Trump’s border wall.
...
In recent days, the White House has increased its efforts to count votes and persuade fence-sitting GOP senators, according to two Senate Republicans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the administration’s efforts. Undecided senators have received calls from the White House, and the message, according to one of the senators, is clear: Trump is taking names and noticing who opposes him — particularly if you are running for re-election next year.

Yet many Senate Republicans contend they would like more information before they decide whether to vote to protect Trump’s emergency declaration, such as legal rationales for the president’s action, or whether a military project in their home state would be affected.
...
But Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is spearheading legislation that would amend the 1976 law Trump has invoked for his national emergency, mandating that such a declaration would automatically expire after 30 days unless both chambers of Congress vote to approve it.

“I think there’s a lot of support for that basic construct,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “From my standpoint, it’s a whole lot better than a show vote of disapproval that does not get enacted into law.”

The White House can't say where the money is being pulled from, because that would anger the Senators who would find out that money is coming out of their states.

AP, Pentagon may tap military pay, pensions for border wall

The Pentagon is planning to tap $1 billion in leftover funds from military pay and pension accounts to help President Donald Trump pay for his long-sought border wall, a top Senate Democrat said Thursday. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told The Associated Press, “It’s coming out of military pay and pensions. $1 billion. That’s the plan.”

Durbin said the funds are available because Army recruitment is down and a voluntary early military retirement program is being underutilized. The development comes as Pentagon officials are seeking to minimize the amount of wall money that would come from military construction projects that are so cherished by lawmakers.

Durbin said, “Imagine the Democrats making that proposal — that for whatever our project is, we’re going to cut military pay and pensions.”

----

Oh, and Rep. Mo Brooks isn't being subtle over here: "BROOKS VOTES AGAINST RESOLUTION THAT CONDEMNS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST VIRTUALLY EVERYONE . . . EXCEPT CAUCASIANS AND CHRISTIANS!"
posted by zachlipton at 4:59 PM on March 7, 2019 [27 favorites]

I want to know how we fix this, ever. Sentences are ridiculous on both ends of the spectrum: way too much for non-violent petty theft, drugs, etc, way too little when it's millions of dollars and fucking treason--and even violent crime like rape comes down to the defendant's skin color. Trump's judges are gonna be around a long time, sure, but what fixes this systemically? Entirely new federal sentencing guidelines? Or does it really come down to removing judges from the bench or waiting them out until they retire?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:08 PM on March 7, 2019 [13 favorites]

“It’s coming out of military pay and pensions. $1 billion. That’s the plan.”

SUPPORT THE TROOPS!*

* Usually means FUCK THE TROOPS.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:11 PM on March 7, 2019 [8 favorites]

Trump's judges are gonna be around a long time, sure, but what fixes this systemically? Entirely new federal sentencing guidelines? Or does it really come down to removing judges from the bench or waiting them out until they retire?

For better or worse (in some places better, in others much worse..) the overwhelming majority of ordinary criminal prosecutions take place at the state level.

The judges Trump and McConnell are seating on the federal circuit and appeals courts will have vast influence over federal regulations, civil rights protections, financial systems, etc., but criminal prosecution mostly takes place elsewhere. Which is not to minimize the problem of appallingly disproportionate treatments in our criminal justice systems, just to say that the problem needs to be addressed not just at the federal level.
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:31 PM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

Fearing mass GOP defections, Trump leans in to emergency fight (Politico)

The slow-motion freakout in the Trump administration ahead of a likely vote next Thursday is now beginning to play out, as administration aides talk to senators to understand where they are on the bill. Even senators like Daines who are clearly in step with Trump on the issue have received calls from the White House.

[...] the administration is fumbling on some basic demands from senators, particularly those who want a detailed readout of which projects would be affected by the national emergency. The Defense Department has not yet produced that list, which is making undecided senators nervous about sticking with the president. And it’s raised the prospect of what some Republicans are calling a “jailbreak,” with undecided senators breaking with Trump en masse.

“That’s nothing but a political win [for the Democrats]. Jailbreak is not going to produce a veto override. That’s just a huge messaging win,” said one GOP senator who dislikes the national emergency. “There’s some concern on the White House side that there could be [a jailbreak].”

posted by Little Dawn at 5:31 PM on March 7, 2019 [8 favorites]

And it’s raised the prospect of what some Republicans are calling a “jailbreak,” with undecided senators breaking with Trump en masse.

That framing seems not so well thought out.
posted by contraption at 5:38 PM on March 7, 2019 [44 favorites]

House Democrats torn over how aggressively to scrutinize Ivanka Trump, president’s other children (WaPo)

“Whomever falls into that net, falls into that net,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday, arguing that Trump’s children are not off limits to investigations. “They are advisers to the president. They have security clearances. This is not their children at home.”

[...] Democrats have questions about whether Trump’s daughter used her official role in the White House to boost her own finances, particularly concerning Chinese trademarks.

The aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss private discussions on Democratic plans, stressed, however, that the party would be strategic about summons to Trump’s children and wait for the prudent time to reach out to them and look into each matter.

[...] Given the controversies surrounding the Trump family, many senior Democrats say they will have to grapple with the awkward situation eventually. In addition to the hush-payment issue and conflict-of-interest questions, Cohen testified that he kept Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump appraised on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the election, a project that lies at the heart of Democrats’ Russia inquiry.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:52 PM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

I never would have believed Manafort's sentence would be this light. It's more than unusual to get this light a sentence without expressing guilt or remorse. It's unbelievable. The degree to which a defendant expresses guilt or remorse usually figures heavily in the judges sentence. This judge is making an outrageous political statement.
posted by xammerboy at 6:21 PM on March 7, 2019 [69 favorites]

The Democrats need to introduce articles of impeachment against Judge Ellis immediately. This obscenity cannot be permitted to stand.

A mere 47 months and zero dollars in fines for multiple felonies including tax evasion? That's not a political statement, that's a slap in the face and declaration of partisan war. Ellis might as well have openly said that he won't give a real penalty to a Republican.
posted by sotonohito at 6:39 PM on March 7, 2019 [47 favorites]

This judge is making an outrageous political statement.

Would it be counter-productive to denounce this decision as the act of an "activist judge"?
posted by wenestvedt at 7:10 PM on March 7, 2019 [15 favorites]

The Democrats need to introduce articles of impeachment against Judge Ellis immediately. This obscenity cannot be permitted to stand.

That seems to be a distinctly not good idea. Without a very strong indication of corruption going on, there's simply no justification for impeaching a judge because you don't like the sentence they handed down. The precedent that would be set for that is terrifying--think of a Republican Congress deciding they wanted to impeach federal judges who showed leniency to non-violent drug offenders, or to an abortion provider who ran afoul of one of the draconian new laws, or to a woman who accidentally committed voter fraud like the one referenced in this very conversation.

From what I've read, Ellis is a very competent judge who made the convictions that did land in this trial very robust against appeal. Sentencing is fucked up in general in this country, and this just seems to be a part of the fabric of white, rich privilege.

And a reminder: Manafort has more coming to him in DC. Plus he can be tried again for the 10 counts that hung in VA, and (I think) he can be tried for the counts that were shelved as part of the plea deal he broke.

Barring a pardon, there's still a great chance he dies in jail.
posted by Room 101 at 7:27 PM on March 7, 2019 [42 favorites]

Brad Heath, Justice editor at USAToday said on the twitters:

About 30% of defendants convicted of federal crimes in E.D. Va., the district where Manafort was sentenced today, get a prison term shorter than the guideline recommendation. The median sentence in fraud cases in 2017 was 36 months, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Here is the source book for US Sentencing: https://www.ussc.gov/research/sourcebook-2017

I don't know how to parse Mr. Heath's message with the dataset, because I'm unfamiliar with the dataset, but it seems to me that "fraud" covers a large area of everything from passing a bad check to selling out your country to stop Russians from assassinating you, and I'm not sure that the two can be compared, justice wise.

It should be noted here that Judge Ellis has given very long, very punitive sentences to people of color. For example, in 2009, Judge Ellis sentenced Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-La.) to 13 years on corruption charges. It was the longest sentence EVER for a member of Congress, for crimes considerable less egregious that Paul Manafort.

I don't have the research resources, but I would love to see a breakdown of Ellis's rulings by race.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:33 PM on March 7, 2019 [57 favorites]

This really seems to work, I've had friends who are full of Fox talking points actually re-think some of their stances. It was stunning. They're not fully on-to: "and then, thus socialism", but instead they have moved their own personal Overton window from "all regulations are wrong" to inherently accepting that regulation is useful & necessary and we are just arguing about what is the sweet spot. Obviously you will have to tailor this a little bit to yourself and your audience.

Now that I live in Chicago I am big fan of using the Haymarket Riot as an example. The United States of America sentenced 7 anarchists to death because of a deadly riot that broke out or was instigated during a protest in favor of having an eight hour workday on May 4th, 1886 . The men sentenced to death were on the side of having eight hour workdays. They were trying to hold a memorial for men who were killed by police while protesting for an eight hour workday the previous day.

And that is why much of the world has International Workers' Day - May Day celebrations (but perversely not the United States).

Pretty much every single thing you can think of about society that you believe is reasonable and normal has been fought for at great cost and risk by people who have been labeled anti-capitalist.

[The police memorial for the event is no longer in the Haymarket area because it keeps getting destroyed every time they try and put it there. Instead it is kept at police HQ]
posted by srboisvert at 7:35 PM on March 7, 2019 [48 favorites]

Bishop Talbert Swan
‏Verified account @TalbertSwan
Mar 6

Calling a Black POTUS married 25 yrs to 1 wife with 2 children, no mistresses, affairs or scandals, ‘the antichrist’ but a white POTUS married thrice, 5 kids by 3 women, mistresses, affairs & scandals, ‘God‘s anointed,’ proves your religion is only a front for white supremacy.

Preach.
posted by petebest at 7:57 PM on March 7, 2019 [130 favorites]

"Make no mistake, Ellis knows how to throw kitchen sinks at defendants. One need only ask former Democratic Congressman William J. Jefferson about how harshly Ellis can sentence people. Jefferson, a black man, was convicted of bribery after a corruption investigation. Ellis was the sentencing judge, and sentenced Jefferson to 13 years in prison for his crimes"
posted by growabrain at 8:13 PM on March 7, 2019 [14 favorites]

Bernie in Council Bluffs starts saying, "Tonight we say to Donald Trump and the fossil fuel industry" and someone in crowd shouts "Fuck you!"
Sanders pauses for a second and jokes, "That is one way of addressing it..."
posted by growabrain at 8:22 PM on March 7, 2019 [27 favorites]

Sherrod Brown has announced he will not be running for president.

He will, however, continue to promote his "dignity of work" platform: Vox Explainer.

Which seems to be pushing some relatively progressive ideas under cover of a somewhat reductive title. To quote the Vox article,

"an aggressive tax package that targets corporate behavior while extending new benefits to lower-income and middle-class families, a package of family-focused policies featuring paid family leave, an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15, and, finally, provisions to make it easier for workers to unionize while simultaneously cracking down on union-busting tactics."

Although Brown is still not fully on board with the NGD, Medicare-for-all, or a federal jobs guarantee.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:42 PM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

the wild thing now is that the Trump Train reddit people are now for Andrew Yang, a libertarian silicon valley nonentity
posted by The Whelk at 8:47 PM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

what fixes this systemically? Entirely new federal sentencing guidelines? Or does it really come down to removing judges from the bench or waiting them out until they retire?

How about "deviating more than 15% from the suggested sentence by the prosecution, requires writing a full explanation and putting it in the public record." Not a brief, "for his exemplary and blotch-free past, I decided on a short sentence," but an explanation of why each crime's penalty is being reduced by so much.

It has the option of letting a judge just rattle off platitudes, but it also puts their logic (such as it is) on display, where it's subject to scrutiny, and they could be hit with charges of corruption or bias if some categories of people always get lesser penalties. There'd be evidence of what they consider acceptable reasons to reduce a penalty, and ability to demand why those reasons weren't used for other defendants in similar situations.

(It's not a perfect idea; it's an initial thought. I'm also pondering getting rid of lifetime appointments and switching them to 25 years or so, with the option that of course a new president could re-appoint them.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:57 PM on March 7, 2019 [14 favorites]

the wild thing now is that the Trump Train reddit people are now for Andrew Yang, a libertarian silicon valley nonentity

The cornerstone of Yang's campaign is a Universal Basic Income, and the other pillars are the Green New Deal, a VAT to stop corporate tax avoidance, and universal single-payer health care. Where is the libertarianism?
posted by Justinian at 10:03 PM on March 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

Tim Apple embraces his destiny
posted by mmoncur at 10:38 PM on March 7, 2019 [7 favorites]

Andrew Yang is a tech entrepreneur, but he isn't very Silicon Valley. He's a born and bred New Yorker, at least one of his tech companies (MMF Systems, Inc.) is based in NYC, and his nonprofit, Venture for America, is based in mostly non-coastal cities. He's not exactly the stereotypical Hacker News-lauded VC bigwig, or a transhumanist, or a Californian ideologue, and definitely not a Thiel acolyte.
posted by Apocryphon at 11:32 PM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

Manafort’s Judge, T.S. Ellis, Is a ‘Caesar’ in His Own Rome NYTimes, from August 2018
He seems like a really dickish person.
posted by mumimor at 2:27 AM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

I don't get Andrew Yang.

He sounds reasonable, yet I've only heard far right, fash, and Trump types speak in support of him so far.

Is it about being for the edgiest candidate by doing the Paul to Sanders to Trump to Yang jump for these people? Are they just trying to get the democrats to nominate someone who is unelectable?

In most cases, when so many people who I disagree with like something or someone that sounds reasonable to me, it turns out that something is wrong with that thing or person. If that is the case, is there something that I am missing that is wrong with Yang? If there isn't something wrong with him, why are so many repulsive people into him? What am I missing here?

I feel like there is something going on that I am missing.
posted by bootlegpop at 2:50 AM on March 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

I think people are reading a lot into a very small sample size re: Yang/Trump crossover support.

Ellis (giving a mandatory minimum 40 years to a drug dealer): It's wrong, but not immoral.

Barack Spinoza: That gets an F in Ethics 101. Try harder, Judge.

He certainly does get an F, but I think his intent in that specific sentence is to argue that the mandatory minimum was "wrong" in the sense outside of ethics. He was expressing the kind of frustration one does at one's boss's order when that order is total bullshit ("wrong") but not (in one's view) immoral.

Popehat argues on Twitter that this low sentence was mainly a result of how judges in general really dislike the guidelines, and that this can magnify disparities people are talking about because the white-collar crimes have little to no minimum compared to the other ones, so that's the only place a judge can really throw their weight.

It's a perspective worth considering before tossing in the garbage, because (though I do suspect he would have given that dealer a shorter sentence if he could) Ellis is manifestly pro-Manafort in his actual words. Plus he sentenced Bill Jefferson (Democratic, black, waaay less crimminal than Manafort) to well above the minimum. This is a story of racial and class injustice both in the bigger picture and the particulars of the character of Thomas Selby Ellis III .
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:08 AM on March 8, 2019 [23 favorites]

In general, I think people are put in prison for far too long, but even if you believe Manafort is guilty only of stealing tens of millions from the public, what kind of disincentive to future crime like that is a couple years in prison? I mean... can I go to prison for a couple years for ten million dollars? Sign me up.
posted by xammerboy at 4:06 AM on March 8, 2019 [18 favorites]

our boy paulie still got a shit-ton (46 million, i think?) of his fraudulently-obtained assets forfeited, though.

surely that's a much bigger disincentive than a handful of years in Club Fed?
posted by murphy slaw at 4:13 AM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

I get why everyone is upset at the sentence but in America in 2019 I consider a wealthy powerful politically connected white man being found guilty and getting a 4 year sentence a pretty significant victory.
posted by srboisvert at 4:26 AM on March 8, 2019 [16 favorites]

a handful of years in Club Fed

there is really no such thing
posted by thelonius at 4:52 AM on March 8, 2019 [2 favorites]

Trump inauguration took money from shell companies tied to foreigners (Jon Swaine, Guardian)

Donald Trump’s inauguration received tens of thousands of dollars from shell companies that masked the involvement of a foreign contributor or others with foreign ties.

The Guardian has identified the creators of three obscure firms that contributed money to Trump’s inaugural committee, which collected a record $107m as he entered the White House in 2017.

The three companies each gave $25,000 to Trump’s inaugural fund. At least one of the contributions was made for a foreign national who appears ineligible to make political donations in the US.

posted by ZeusHumms at 5:05 AM on March 8, 2019 [24 favorites]

Trump Seeks Huge Premium From Allies Hosting U.S. Troops (Nick Wadhams and Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg)

Under White House direction, the administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil -- plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them, according to a dozen administration officials and people briefed on the matter.

In some cases, nations hosting American forces could be asked to pay five to six times as much as they do now under the “Cost Plus 50” formula.

Trump has championed the idea for months. His insistence on it almost derailed recent talks with South Korea over the status of 28,000 U.S. troops in the country when he overruled his negotiators with a note to National Security Advisor John Bolton saying, “We want cost plus 50.”

The president’s team sees the move as one way to prod NATO partners into accelerating increases in defense spending -- an issue Trump has hammered allies about since taking office. While Trump claims his pressure has led to billions of dollars more in allied defense spending, he’s chafed at what he sees as the slow pace of increases.

posted by ZeusHumms at 5:13 AM on March 8, 2019 [13 favorites]

Re: Ken White/Popehat's comments, I think he's a good legal commentator in many areas but take anything he has to say about a bad federal judge or an apparently-too-lenient sentence with a huge grain of salt, because at the end of the day he's still a white-collar defense attorney. He has a strong incentive never to say "that sentence isn't strict enough" because who knows if he could end up with a client facing a similar list of convictions, and he also has to worry about what if he somehow ends up trying a case before Judge Ellis.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:14 AM on March 8, 2019 [10 favorites]

Manafort’s Judge, T.S. Ellis, Is a ‘Caesar’ in His Own Rome NYTimes, from August 2018
He seems like a really dickish person

Seriously, that article was really stressful to read. Are there no standards for how judges can treat the parties in their court?

“Judges should be patient — they made a mistake when they confirmed me,” he said to Mr. Andres on Wednesday. “I’m not patient. So don’t try my patience.”

...

“I’m never patient, but you must be,” Judge Ellis warned the prosecutor last week.

“No comment,” Mr. Andres said.

“That was a comment,” the judge said. “I have a long memory.”


Many (most?) people are unable to function to their best ability when they are constantly belittled, harassed, and made to feel under attack. That a judge makes it difficult or impossible for an attorney to make their case seems really problematic, and I'm curious what effect it has on witnesses and juries. The article has people implying that it's all right because he does it to both sides, but then it seems like an exercise in favoring whichever side can best stand up to the mental pressure, and I can't see what that has to do with getting at truth or justice or legal theory. If there's good faith in it, I can't find it.
posted by trig at 5:21 AM on March 8, 2019 [35 favorites]

I think people are reading a lot into a very small sample size re: Yang/Trump crossover support.

As this a the period of time where I have no idea who [name of person] is, I'd just like to ask the gallery to consider whom our special friends, the "Internet Research Agency", will be stumping for in 2020?

What unguent tweets can we expect to grease the imaginations of errant white men to millions of ill-informed, nay, ridiculous banter? What mordant political molds shall yet arise betwixt the considered and r/funnygifs of the reddits among us? It is as certain as an overpriced sandwich at the airport, my friends!

Even now, the world's very next Manafort is socking away a four-year cache of ostrich-leather jackets for his insurance against another Mueller. And who will be our Michael Deaver, our next Dana Weems, our next very own Chuck Todd?

As we go not gently into that good night of electioneering, let us be vigilant; informed of the story as much as by it; considerate of its source, timing, and placement; and, most of all, let us NEVAR FORGET!

/harrumph
posted by petebest at 5:30 AM on March 8, 2019 [9 favorites]

Axios: Scoop: White House leak to House Dems on Jared and Ivanka's clearances

From a White House source, the House Oversight Committee has obtained documents related to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's security clearances that the Trump administration refused to provide, according to a senior Democratic aide involved in handling the documents.[…]

The White House this week rejected the committee's request for documents on the process for granting security clearances to staffers.

The twist: But the House Oversight Committee in early February had already obtained the leaked documents that detail the entire process, from the spring of 2017 to the spring of 2018, on how both Kushner and Trump were ultimately granted their security clearances.

The senior Democratic aide who was involved in handling the documents told Axios that two staffers on the Oversight Committee said the documents are "part of the puzzle that we would be asking for" from the White House, "so we appreciate having this upfront."[…]

The documents leaked to the Oversight Committee provide detailed information on the timeline for how Kushner's and Trump's security clearances were approved and who the people were involved in processing and the final decision.

One document, obtained by Axios, provides some details about why Kushner's security clearance was changed to "interim" in September 2017: "Per conversation with WH counsel the clearance was changed to interim Top Secret until we can confirm that the DOJ or someone else actually granted a final clearance. This action was taken out of an abundance of caution because the background investigation has not been completed."

Feb. 23, 2018: "Clearance downgraded to Interim Secret per COS direction" — then-chief of staff John Kelly.

The Trump White House has had enough trouble with leaks to the media—both unauthorized and deliberate—so who know what these particular leaks to Congress mean. Are they legitimately sourced by whistleblowers/CYAers, or are they limited hangouts?
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:34 AM on March 8, 2019 [11 favorites]

Under White House direction, the administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil -- plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them, according to a dozen administration officials and people briefed on the matter.

I'm sure Germany will be thrilled to close Ramstein, Japan to close US bases in Okinawa and Spain to close up Rota naval base. If the USA does not want to have military bases abroad it's alright, guys.

(Now, seriously: what a strategic genius you have there)
posted by sukeban at 5:41 AM on March 8, 2019 [28 favorites]

Trump cheered Kraft’s team to Super Bowl victory with founder of spa where he was busted

Seated at a round table littered with party favors and the paper-cutout footballs that have become tradition at his annual Super Bowl Watch Party, President Donald Trump cheered the New England Patriots and his longtime friend, team owner Robert Kraft, to victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 3.

Sometime during the party at Trump’s West Palm Beach country club, the president turned in his chair to look over his right shoulder, smiling for a photo with two women at a table behind him.

The woman who snapped the blurry Super Bowl selfie with the president was Li Yang, 45, a self-made entrepreneur from China who started a chain of Asian day spas in South Florida. Over the years, these establishments — many of which operate under the name Tokyo Day Spas — have gained a reputation for offering sexual services.

Nineteen days after Trump and Yang posed together while rooting for the Patriots, authorities would charge Kraft with soliciting prostitution at a spa in Jupiter that Yang had founded more than a decade earlier.

posted by scalefree at 5:47 AM on March 8, 2019 [36 favorites]

I'm sure Germany will be thrilled to close Ramstein, Japan to close US bases in Okinawa and Spain to close up Rota naval base.

I'm sure Vladimir Putin will be even more thrilled.

Again the question is inevitable: If Donald Trump was indeed a Russian agent, would he act any differently?
posted by Gelatin at 6:16 AM on March 8, 2019 [65 favorites]

How about "deviating more than 15% from the suggested sentence by the prosecution, requires writing a full explanation and putting it in the public record." Not a brief, "for his exemplary and blotch-free past, I decided on a short sentence," but an explanation of why each crime's penalty is being reduced by so much.

I think we need to question both federal sentencing guidelines, and the concept that Judges should be permitted to alter sentences. That last seems to be more of an aristocratic holdover, the idea that a Wise Man should be able to stop The Mob (in the form of a jury) from giving the wrong sentence. We've seen judges overruling jury sentencing recommendations to get harsher penalties for minorities and more lenient penalties for wealthy and/or connected white people and I think really the problem is inherent to the idea that it's valid for a single judge to have the power to change a person's sentence.

Changing the law so that each crime has a set, inflexible, penalty and have perhaps the possibility for a person to appeal their sentence to a 20 or 50 person judicial committee if they think the default sentence is too harsh. That would certainly have problems, but I think fewer problems and a better sort of problem than our current aristocrat judge setup has.

Of course this would need to go hand in hand with eliminating certain crimes, drastically lowering the penalty for others, and largely eliminating prison for any non-violent crime.

Much as I gripe about Manafort's sentencing, I'd also agree that in a perfect world non-violent crimes like his wouldn't result in any prison time at all but would rather be penalized by economic means, making his location and who he communicates with public knowledge so as to keep him from having similar opportunities for clandestine affairs in the future, and prohibiting him from working in any field related to finance or politics or perhaps even mandating that he be employed in a specific low level field, McDonalds cook for example, to keep him out of trouble.
posted by sotonohito at 6:23 AM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

a handful of years in Club Fed

He's 70 years old, and any stay in a Federal Penitentiary is no joke. The light-hand at the sentencing is with the understanding Manafort's at the twilight of his life, and even if he makes it to 80, he'll still be inside after the rest of the federal convictions come due, and then there's the States' cases to be made. This is making the conviction appeal-proof - this is not the action of a rogue hanging judge, this is a Republican Reaganite making sure the conviction sticks with a soft hand. He also completely eviscerated every other appeal to mercy with the "otherwise blameless life" comment. Once other convictions come down, that argument simply goes away come sentencing.

Killing with kindness. Nice.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:26 AM on March 8, 2019 [12 favorites]

Much as I gripe about Manafort's sentencing, I'd also agree that in a perfect world non-violent crimes like his wouldn't result in any prison time at all but would rather be penalized by economic means, making his location and who he communicates with public knowledge so as to keep him from having similar opportunities for clandestine affairs in the future, and prohibiting him from working in any field related to finance or politics or perhaps even mandating that he be employed in a specific low level field, McDonalds cook for example, to keep him out of trouble.

Sorry, but this is the sort of attitude that makes dealing with white collar crime so difficult. There should be no distinction between "violent" and "non-violent" crimes, especially given that the latter is oftentimes more damaging to society than the former. Or to put it another way - if prison is appropriate for a drug dealer, it's appropriate for Richard Sackler.
posted by NoxAeternum at 6:45 AM on March 8, 2019 [44 favorites]

> Under White House direction, the administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil -- plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them.

This maybe not as urgent in the midst of the ongoing garbage fire that is the rest of this omnishambles, but how is this any different from imperial Roman taxes levied on the conquered territories to host imperial Roman legions on their soil?

America, NOT AN EMPIRE^TM (wink wink, nudge nudge, please pay up for the privilege of hosting our soldiers on your soil).

> Again the question is inevitable: If Donald Trump was indeed a Russian agent, would he act any differently?

Yeah, it's a real head scratcher. I guess the difference is, he's also being paid off by Qatar and the Saudis, and TrumpCo is getting bribed by the Chinese, T-Mobile, AT&T, and any number of other pigs at the trough. So, you know, it's a delicate balancing act.
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:04 AM on March 8, 2019 [7 favorites]

Upon further research, Yang has been endorsed by Richard Spencer, the president of Y Combinator and Rivers Coumo.

Spencer has said of Yang:

"I was in the Yang Gang before it was cool. (I can't believe I'm able to say that.) #YANG2020"

"Trump throws bombast and bluster at the problem. Andrew Yang sees the problem for what it is and offers understanding, sympathy, and solutions. Everyone should take this man and his ideas seriously"

---

I am taking a wait and see approach, but a rich guy who Spencer supports who is planning an insurgent campaign to "game the rules" to get into the DNC debates* seems very suspect to me.

In addition, giving 1000 to everyone, no matter how much money they already have is a really dumb way to handle UBI, since tons of people who don't need it will get it, and the people who do need it aren't going to be able to get by in any but the most rural areas on 12k a year, and they will do so in miserable and deprived fashion at that.

At best, his version of UBI seems like some kind of DK Engineer's disease type thing. At worst, it sounds like a con job.

*https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-little-known-andrew-yang-may-end-up-on-the-2020-debate-stage-by-gaming-the-system
posted by bootlegpop at 7:09 AM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

Not to give Judge Ellis too much credit, but is it possible the four year sentence was chosen to minimize pardon risk while piling on more state charges later?
posted by benzenedream at 7:13 AM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

I don't think that's why Ellis did it but given that it's still true, I'm not going to complain about it.
posted by scalefree at 7:17 AM on March 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

A thread or 17 ago, I said I was excited about the Democratic primary because it means we will get to talk more about good ideas instead of the Trump criminal enterprise sucking up all the air in the room.

This is what I mean: Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren pledged on Friday to take aim at Amazon, Facebook and Google if she is elected president in 2020, breaking apart each of the big tech companies and introducing sweeping new regulation of Silicon Valley.
[...]
Warren's proposal has two key elements. First, the Democratic lawmaker said her administration would appoint "regulators committed to reversing illegal and anti-competitive tech mergers," including Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods, Facebook's tie-up with WhatsApp and Instagram and Google's ownership of Waze, Nest and DoubleClick.

Second, Warren said she would push legislation that would label key services -- such as Amazon's marketplace for goods and Google search -- as "platform utilities," which would have to be spun off from those tech giants' business on those platforms.[WaPo]
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:17 AM on March 8, 2019 [50 favorites]

I don't understand people tying themselves in knots trying to figure out Ellis' motives and explaining how very clever he is. Occam's Razor. He said very clearly throughout the trial that he didn't like Mueller's investigation and he didn't like the the prosecutors. It's simple. Four years is the least he thought he could get away with. He's a right wing ass.
posted by JackFlash at 7:38 AM on March 8, 2019 [68 favorites]

Republicans release interview with Bruce Ohr, Justice Dept. official linked to Trump dossier (WaPo)

Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, elected to release Ohr’s transcript — the first of many interview records he is planning to put out in the coming weeks — with no redactions, over the objections of Justice Department officials who wanted to keep some information out of public view.

As such, the transcript released Friday contains new details, but few surprises about the conversation lawmakers held with Ohr behind closed doors last August. Yet the release comes as the House, now led by Democrats, is turning its investigative muscle toward members of Trump’s inner circle, such as his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, and business partners that could connect him to Russian projects, such as his former associate Felix Sater.

Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, worked briefly for Fusion GPS. The transcript shows that she gave him a memory stick of Russian history to pass on to law enforcement officials, Ohr gave it to Joe Pientka, the FBI agent who interviewed Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
posted by peeedro at 7:41 AM on March 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

There’s no gaming the system involved. The DNC itself set the rules that 65k unique donors and/or at least 1% showing at the polls is enough to make it to the debate table. The internet always finds a way to create a meme out of fringe candidates.
posted by Apocryphon at 7:49 AM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

Franklin Foer, The Atlantic: "The ‘Otherwise Blameless Life’ of Paul Manafort"

In an otherwise blameless life, he helped Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos bolster his image in Washington after he assassinated his primary political opponent.

In an otherwise blameless life, he worked to keep arms flowing to the Angolan generalissimo Jonas Savimbi, a monstrous leader bankrolled by the apartheid government in South Africa. While Manafort helped portray his client as an anti-communist “freedom fighter,” Savimbi’s army planted millions of land mines in peasant fields, resulting in 15,000 amputees.

In an otherwise blameless life, Manafort was kicked out of the lobbying firm he co-founded, accused of inflating his expenses and cutting his partners out of deals.

posted by OnceUponATime at 8:04 AM on March 8, 2019 [83 favorites]

'Justice is bought': Paul Manafort sentencing draws accusations of privilege (Guardian)

Democrat senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for president in 2020, was equally scathing. “Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, commits bank and tax fraud and gets 47 months. A homeless man, Fate Winslow, helped sell $20 of pot and got life in prison. The words above the Supreme Court say “Equal Justice Under Law”—when will we start acting like it?” she tweeted.

Much of the outrage came from lawyers, in particular public defenders who often represented those from underprivileged backgrounds. They used Manafort’s case as an example of racial disparity in the US justice system. A study of US sentencing data last year found that when black men and white men commit the same crime, black men receive a sentence almost 20% longer on average.

Public defender Scott Hechinger [...] added: “I am not making the argument for harsher sentences for anyone including Manafort. I am simply pointing out the outrageous disparity between his treatment and others, disproportionately poor and people of color.” [...]

Lawyer and former public defender Neil W. Blackmon pointed out how rare it was for a judge to choose to override sentencing guidelines for those not of Manafort’s status. “A federal judge defying the sentencing guidelines on the grounds they are ‘excessive’ is a luxury I wish my former PD clients received,” he tweeted. “It’s fair to use the Manafort sentence as a scathing indictment of the justice system’s tendency to treat and sentence defenders differently based on status.”

posted by Little Dawn at 8:05 AM on March 8, 2019 [30 favorites]

I'm sure Germany will be thrilled to close Ramstein, Japan to close US bases in Okinawa and Spain to close up Rota naval base. If the USA does not want to have military bases abroad it's alright, guys.

Yeah I am not sure Okinawa is going to want to pay a premium to host a base when there have been so many problems with the behavior of the troops stationed there.

"For Okinawans, these incidents have deeply unpleasant echoes of earlier heinous crimes. According to local police statistics, 741 serious crimes involving US military personnel or civilian employees of the US forces or their relatives were investigated between 1972, when Okinawa reverted to Japanese control, and the end of 2015."
posted by srboisvert at 8:10 AM on March 8, 2019 [10 favorites]

Trump Falsely Claims That Manafort Judge Declared There Was ‘No Collusion’ With Russia (NYT)

Speaking to reporters before he left for Alabama to inspect tornado damage, Mr. Trump said that the sentencing judge, T.S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria, Va., had said “there was no collusion with Russia.” Mr. Trump added that he was “very honored” Judge Ellis made that statement.

Mr. Trump, however, twisted Judge Ellis’s words.

What Judge Ellis actually said Thursday was that Mr. Manafort was “not before this court for anything having to do with collusion with the Russian government to influence this election.”

There was “no collusion” because Mr. Manafort was not charged with or convicted of any crimes of collusion, a word that has no legal definition but has become a term of art for the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. [...]

Mr. Manafort’s attorneys used the same false talking point as the president on Thursday, saying in a brief statement after the hearing, “There is absolutely no evidence that Paul Manafort was involved in any collusion with any government official or Russia.” [...]

In his tweet, Mr. Trump also falsely stated that Judge Ellis’s ruling is consistent with statements from the House and Senate Intelligence Committees that have been conducting separate investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:16 AM on March 8, 2019 [17 favorites]

Manafort’s ‘mind-boggling’ 47-month sentence prompts debate over judicial system’s ‘blatant inequities’ (WaPo)

“Paul Manafort’s lenient 4-year sentence — far below the recommended 20 years despite extensive felonies and post-conviction obstruction — is a reminder of the blatant inequities in our justice system that we all know about, because they reoccur every week in courts across America,” said Ari Melber, a legal analyst for NBC News, in a Thursday-night tweet. [...]

Duncan Levin, a former federal prosecutor and expert in financial crimes, said Manafort’s sentence was very light “by any stretch of the imagination.” Manafort, who once agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors but then was found to have lied to them, got a sentence that resembled someone’s who did not renege on their cooperation agreement, Levin said.

“His crimes went on for an extremely long time, at the very highest levels of our government and deeply affected our democracy,” Levin told The Washington Post. “To get away with it for such a short sentence is something that is absolutely mind-boggling.”

However, he said, federal judges are not required to adhere to sentencing guidelines, which serve only as recommendations to judges. Ultimately, they are free to depart from the guidelines and come up with any number they see as appropriate.

"It seems pretty light to me, and to a lot of people,” Levin said. “But that is squarely in the purview of the judge to do.”

The sentencing inspired a flood of lawyers to dig through news clips and their own recent cases. What they found was dozens of examples of defendants who, in their view, were no where nearly as fortunate as Manafort.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:23 AM on March 8, 2019 [17 favorites]

He's 70 years old, and any stay in a Federal Penitentiary is no joke. The light-hand at the sentencing is with the understanding Manafort's at the twilight of his life, and even if he makes it to 80, he'll still be inside after the rest of the federal convictions come due, and then there's the States' cases to be made.

Yeah nope. I don't accept a twilight argument at 70 years old. If we are going to defer punishments on this basis we should also deny responsibilities and their rewards yet we clearly do not. In fact we regularly elect them to the most powerful offices in country.

A male in good health, who is 70 years old will probably live to the age of 83 plus a few months.

As a 70 yr old US male in good health

You have ~
70% chance of living 10 more years
45% chance of living 15 more years
20% chance of living 20 more years
6% chance of living 25 more years
1% chance of living 30 more years

I am impressed by how many white collar criminals suddenly develop debilities and infirmities right around the time of criminal trials that strangely did not interfere at all with their ability to do crimes.
posted by srboisvert at 8:24 AM on March 8, 2019 [79 favorites]

While I get that we should be lowering sentences for everyone and not pushing for higher for some people, the only way to actually achieve this in my opinion is to have some rich white people sent away for a long time. Until that happens there won’t be the push for change and we’ll continue to have a system that has two outcomes depending on race/class.
posted by chris24 at 8:42 AM on March 8, 2019 [31 favorites]

Here’s the Democratic answer to Trump’s corruption and plutocracy (Greg Sargent, WaPo Opinion)

In a way, it’s fitting that we’re learning of Paul Manafort’s lenient sentence just as House Democrats have voted on and passed H.R. 1, a sprawling anti-corruption, pro-democracy piece of legislation that constitutes an ambitious and comprehensive Democratic blueprint for draining the swamp in the Trump era. [...]

The bill that Democrats voted on today would drain that swamp. It would require major presidential candidates to release 10 years of tax returns and require that presidents and vice presidents divest to avoid financial conflicts of interest. It would bolster transparency on campaign spending and fortify ethics rules constraining lobbyists in all kinds of ways. It would thwart voter suppression and extreme gerrymanders while making participation easier. Political scientist Lee Drutman has described the bill as “the most transformative pro-democracy package in decades.”

The GOP Senate will, of course, refuse any vote on the bill. But in so doing, as Jacob Levy says, Republicans will demonstrate that they don’t believe their ideas can triumph without “election-rigging.” And they will leave behind Democrats as the sole party of real reform.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:42 AM on March 8, 2019 [37 favorites]

He's 70 years old [actually 69] ... The light-hand at the sentencing is with the understanding Manafort's at the twilight of his life.

Uh, Trump is 72. What a load of apologetic horseshit.
posted by JackFlash at 8:46 AM on March 8, 2019 [38 favorites]

As this a the period of time where I have no idea who [name of person] is, I'd just like to ask the gallery to consider whom our special friends, the "Internet Research Agency", will be stumping for in 2020?

That's fine, but we also shouldn't let ourselves get pushed into an early rally-round-the-current-frontrunner stampede out of fear that there's someone out there looking to commit shenanigans. This early in the process is the time it's in all our interest, as aspiring Overton window pushers, to get all these folks out and talking and getting people interested in less "mainstream"/centrist stuff.

I came to hear about Yang by way of my dad, hardly a fascist/rightie even if he doesn't hit Bernie levels of lefty in his 70s, when he sent me the link to the Freakanomics podcast where they interview him (I know I know...) saying "As a parent of small children concerned about their future, you ought to listen to this."

My takeaway from listening to it was "this dude on some level would really like to be a DSA member but can't get over his deep long soak in capitalism." So he wouldn't get my vote but I think he's not worth dismissing just because a douche like Spencer said nice things about him. Might just be in the "Hitler loved dogs" category - can't throw out otherwise okay things just because a shitbird likes them.

Anyway, I think it's way too soon to worry about kicking folks out of the club because maybe there's some dickheads stumping for them. Let them come around and get more ideas in the mix and we can keep an eye on them for uck friends and comrades just like we need to be doing for everyone out on the field.
posted by phearlez at 8:58 AM on March 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

CNN's Kevin Liptak:

BILL SHINE RESIGNS -- WH

SHINE: “Serving President Trump and this country has been the most rewarding experience of my entire life. To be a small part of all this President has done for the American people has truly been an honor. I’m looking forward to working on President Trump’s reelection campaign."

Shine was the sixth person to serve in (or be tapped for) the top comms job -- Jason Miller, Sean Spicer, Mike Dubke, Anthony Scaramucci and Hope Hicks all filled the role (or had been set to fill the role) previously.

Pic of statement from Sarah Sanders.

The question is if he decided to step down because Jane Mayer's NYer article about Fox or because he sees the writing on the wall (e.g. Michael Cohen's ongoing congressional testimony).
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:00 AM on March 8, 2019 [19 favorites]

...so it looks like the Dems can proceed methodically with proving the case to the American people, without risking a Christine Blasey Ford moment that could fuel further polarization...

Hmmmm...if only there was some group, possibly recently elected, that could be asking Ivanka the hard questions without it seeming like yet another white-guy-sexist-hostility-fest...
posted by sexyrobot at 9:04 AM on March 8, 2019 [14 favorites]

I have to wonder if Shine's job switch isn't mostly a way to pay him to keep his mouth shut about something. It could be what it says on the label, since the Democrats are already running and Trump clearly loves running for president more than anything. But I'm also thinking it's probably really easy to find leverage in that White House and play it into a money-for-nothing exit strategy.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:06 AM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

The question is if he decided to step down because Jane Mayer's NYer article about Fox or because he sees the writing on the wall (e.g. Michael Cohen's ongoing congressional testimony).

He's joining the campaign.
posted by scalefree at 9:11 AM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

scalefree: He's joining the campaign.

Yup. Bill Shine resigns from the White House to advise Trump's 2020 campaign (Jacob Pramuk for CNBC, March 8, 2019)

• White House communications director Bill Shine will depart the Trump administration.
• He will serve as a "senior advisor" on the president's 2020 re-election campaign.
• The former Fox News executive left the network amid criticism of his handling of a sexual harassment scandal.

He's still 100% Team Trump, just with a different hat.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:15 AM on March 8, 2019 [11 favorites]

Overton window watch: Eric Holder comes out for packing the Supreme Court.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:17 AM on March 8, 2019 [47 favorites]

cjelli, you got me imagining a Trump who had long since done time and had (cough) "paid his debt to society." Could he have gotten elected?

Oddly nobody seems to think much about whether felons are eligible for the presidency (even if they don't necessarily have the legal ability to vote!).
posted by GrammarMoses at 9:23 AM on March 8, 2019 [2 favorites]

House Democrats are discussing investigating the cash infusion the Kushner Companies' flagship New York office tower received in summer 2018, Reps. Maxine Waters, Elijah Cummings and Ted Lieu told Axios.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:24 AM on March 8, 2019 [15 favorites]

Mod note: The Manning news seems well-suited to a separate FPP.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:27 AM on March 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

It's driving me nuts, the way that every media source I've looked at from the last 24 hours is talking about Judge Ellis's statement that Manafort was “not before this court for anything having to do with collusion with the Russian government to influence this election” and Manafort's lawyer's subsequent re-iteration of this to the press.

Some media sources are pointing out that these are signals being sent to Trump and the White house about pardons, which is good, but it seems like it's rather important to point out the context that Manafort registered himself as a foreign agent—of Ukraine, a half-decade late, with the Trump DoJ in lieu of the Obama DoJ contemporaneous with the actual activities, then fucking plead guilty in the DC court to violating the law by not registering as a foreign agent at the time.

Maybe someone who has dug more deeply can answer me this: aren't all the money laundering crimes—which the Virginia case is about—what enabled him to avoid registering under FARA without drawing attention? Which hence would seem to have been quite helpful for him publicly pulling Trump's puppet strings for Russia in 2016 as campaign manager, while not having to fess up before the election to being a foreign agent for Ukrainian interests?

Not only is Ellis's statement technically a non sequitur in a case where the defendant hasn't been charged with the non-crime of collusion with the Russian government, but it seems actively deceptive if he's talking past the fact that the crimes his court is handling are what were used to conceal the fact that the defendant is a foreign agent.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find that my memory was accurate that Ellis is the judge who forbade the prosecution from using the term “Russian oligarch” (link to a comment by lazaruslong in a previous immense uspolitics thread), which seems like premeditation to enable a very specific statement about the “Russian government.”
posted by XMLicious at 9:34 AM on March 8, 2019 [28 favorites]

House Passes Extensive Election And Campaign Finance Overhaul Bill (Miles Parks for NPR, March 8, 2019)

The House passed an extensive bill Friday that would overhaul the way Americans vote, and take aim at the money currently flowing through the U.S. political system.

The bill was dubbed the "For The People Act" (PDF) by House Democrats who want election accessibility and weeding out corruption to be core tenets (NPR) of their majority agenda the next two years. The bill passed along straight party lines 234-193.

Too bad there weren't any "jailbreaking" GOP members (link up to prior comment in this thread). But I'd be surprised if any were bold enough to state "I don't need dark money, hurdles to voter access, and heavily gerrymandered districts to win against a Democrat."

"For months, for years, really for decades, millions of Americans have been looking at Washington and feeling like they've been left behind," said Maryland Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes, the lead author of the bill. "Too many Americans have faced this challenge where getting to the ballot box every two years is like getting through an obstacle course."

House Democrats gathered on the Capitol steps moments before the vote to celebrate the impending passage.

The more than 500-page bill would require all states to offer automatic voter registration, make Election Day a federal holiday, and institute independent redistricting commissions to draw congressional districts as a way to end partisan gerrymandering.

State election officials have traditionally pushed back on federal efforts to control election administration, and a number of Secretaries of State voiced displeasure at an annual meeting earlier this year that House Democrats did not reach out to them in writing the bill.

The bill would also require nonprofit organizations to disclose their large donors, taking aim at the "dark money" currently funding some political campaigns.

The legislation directs the sitting president and vice president, as well as candidates for the presidency and vice presidency to release their tax returns.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has made it clear he does not plan to give the bill a vote in his chamber, therefore effectively killing it.

That's Mitch 'making voting easier is a Democratic "power grab" ' McConnell, as a reminder.

Republicans have been calling the bill the "Politician Protection Act" and the "For The Politicians Act" and have specifically called foul on a matching provision in the bill that would heavily subsidize House campaigns that agree to only accept small donations.

Protection from outside influences? Oh no, please don't protect politicians from "soft corruption."

I see the value of this as being two-fold, at least: first, it shifts the discussion on these topics, making Republicans react, as they area. Second, it gives states a template as to what they can do to, and takes the brunt off of them from being the first to propose these ideas.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:36 AM on March 8, 2019 [41 favorites]

More good news for Friday: Asylum-Seekers Can Appeal Fast-Track Deportations, Court Rules (Matthew S. Schwartz for NPR, March 8, 2019)

A federal court made it harder Thursday for the U.S. government to quickly deport asylum-seekers if they fail an initial screening at the border.

A law passed by Congress in 1996 sharply limited the ability of asylum-seekers to access U.S. courts if they want to challenge decisions of an asylum officer and immigration judge. Those limitations are unconstitutional, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said.

Asylum-seekers are offered "meager procedural protections," and the law prevents "meaningful" judicial review of whether the Department of Homeland Security applied the proper legal standards in rejecting an asylum claim, wrote (PDF) Judge A. Wallace Tashima for the unanimous court. "We think it obvious that the constitutional minimum ... is not satisfied by such a scheme."

The ruling could give thousands of asylum-seekers the right to seek review in the federal court system. Legal analysts say the decision is likely to be appealed by the Trump administration, which has changed policies on the border to try to discourage (NPR) asylum-seekers.

posted by filthy light thief at 9:41 AM on March 8, 2019 [18 favorites]

> The question is if he decided to step down because Jane Mayer's NYer article about Fox or because he sees the writing on the wall (e.g. Michael Cohen's ongoing congressional testimony).

He's still 100% Team Trump, just with a different hat.

Maybe there's no question of that, but as always with a shakeup at the Trump White House, we have to ask why this, why now? Leaving Trump's chaotic West Wing is a demotion, however you slice it. Joining the 2020 campaign at this early stage in an advisory capacity is a less than prestigious gig for someone who either wants out of the limelight or his boss does. (Maybe he's stepping in to beef up Brad Parscale's campaign management with his media expertise.) And as megathread readers remember, Shine and Trump had a somewhat fraught relationship, with the latter expecting the former to offer bold new ideas and strategies for dealing with the media that never panned out—to say nothing of the headache of wrangling Trump's Twitter account.

Incidentally, the WaPo reports there's a new Trump administration departure: "Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson is expected to step down at the end of May to become the president of the University of Texas at El Paso."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:42 AM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

Trump cheered Kraft’s team to Super Bowl victory with founder of spa where he was busted

@andylassner: "Oh. Look at that. What do you know. The whole family took some nice shots with the massage parlor lady." (complete with pictures of Yang with multiple Trumps, GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Rep. Matt Gaetz)
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:51 AM on March 8, 2019 [38 favorites]

Oh. Look at that. What do you know. The whole family took some nice shots with the massage parlor lady.

It's downright eerie how frequently right-wing conspiracy theories about Democrats end up reflecting actual Republican behavior. It's only a matter of time until the basement of a pizza shop comes into play. I am looking forward to the Q-Anon "storm" doing the inevitable 180 though.
posted by diogenes at 10:14 AM on March 8, 2019 [28 favorites]

"Oh. Look at that. What do you know. The whole family took some nice shots with the massage parlor lady."

The optics are terrible but she's also recently become quite politically active. From the article I linked to above:

Before the 2016 general election, Yang offered no evidence of political engagement. She hadn’t voted in 10 years, records showed. But she has now become a fixture at Republican political events up and down the East Coast. Her Facebook is covered in photos of herself standing with President Trump, his two sons, Eric and Donald Jr., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, Sarah Palin, the president’s campaign manager and an assortment of other high-level Republican operators she has met at charity events, political fundraisers and galas, many of which require hefty donations to attend. She sometimes carries a rhinestone encrusted MAGA clutch purse.

Yang has shown considerable political largesse. Since 2017, she and her close relatives have contributed more than $42,000 to Trump Victory, a political action committee, and more than $16,000 to the president’s campaign.

In February 2018, Yang was invited by the White House to participate in an event hosted by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative, an advisory commission Trump established by executive order the year before. Later in the year, she attended at least two more AAPI events in Washington D.C., according to her Facebook page.

posted by scalefree at 10:17 AM on March 8, 2019 [14 favorites]

diogenes: It's downright eerie how frequently right-wing conspiracy theories about Democrats end up reflecting actual Republican behavior. It's only a matter of time until the basement of a pizza shop comes into play. I am looking forward to the Q-Anon "storm" doing the inevitable 180 though.

I think it’s Mar A Lago that’s the child sex trafficking front.
posted by gucci mane at 10:24 AM on March 8, 2019 [25 favorites]

Why not, it's the trafficking-everything-else front.
posted by Autumnheart at 10:32 AM on March 8, 2019 [6 favorites]

WaPo, Puerto Rico starts cutting food stamp benefits used by more than 1 million people amid congressional impasse

Puerto Rico has started cutting benefits paid out by a food stamps program used by more than 1 million of its residents, as federal lawmakers have not provided the island with additional emergency disaster funding amid opposition from the Trump administration.

On Monday, Puerto Rico started reducing food stamp benefits by an average of 25 percent, part of an effort to sustain a program that has seen a dramatic increase in demand in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, said a spokesman for Puerto Rico’s department of family affairs.

The food stamp benefit is currently distributed monthly to about 1.3 million of its residents, or 43 percent of those living on the island, the spokesman said. The reductions bring the benefit levels back to where they were before the hurricane.
...
Several federal proposals have emerged that could quickly fund the program, though only temporarily. The Trump administration has now given its support for $600 million in additional food stamp benefits for Puerto Rico as part of a broader package spearheaded by Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), a spokeswoman for the senator said.

The Trump administration had previously dismissed House Democrats’ proposed $600 million plan to extend additional aid as “excessive and unnecessary,” amid a report in The Washington Post that Trump told top White House officials he did not want a single dollar going to Puerto Rico because he thought the island was not using the money properly and was exploiting the federal government.

posted by zachlipton at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2019 [17 favorites]

White House presses automakers to back fuel-efficiency rollback (WaPo)

Trump officials thought they were doing the auto industry a favor when they decided to freeze gas mileage standards. But automakers aren’t so sure.

To persuade them, White House officials have launched an intense lobbying campaign as they seek to line up support for a proposal they hope to finalize this summer. The rule, which would undercut the most ambitious climate policy enacted during Barack Obama’s time in office, is sure to set up a legal clash with California and 13 other states that plan to press ahead with stricter tailpipe standards.

An "intense lobbying campaign" might be something of a euphemism, this is how Bloomberg describes it:

The White House has issued an us-versus-them challenge to carmakers: back an administration plan to roll back fuel-economy standards or risk President Donald Trump’s wrath by siding with California’s stringent emissions requirements.

That message was delivered during a tense conference call between Trump administration officials and auto executives in late February, according to five people familiar with the call who spoke on the condition they not be identified discussing the private conversation.

This appears to be an effort strong-arm California back into negotiations after the Trump administration walked away from talks over fuel-economy standards two weeks ago.
posted by peeedro at 10:51 AM on March 8, 2019 [20 favorites]

New Yorker, Susan Glasser, The “Enemies of the People” Have a Few Questions for the President

Several [White House correspondents] made a point of telling me that they were hardly idealizing the old days of the White House briefings, which were, as one prominent television correspondent put it, all too often “a reservoir of cant and pablum.” And yet, the correspondent wrote, “The absence of the daily briefing is creating a void in public awareness of and interaction with the WH. The benefit of the briefing is that it forces the WH to deal with follow-up questions. Though Trump is quite accessible, follow-ups are rare and daily interactions, though frequent, are understandably driven by the day’s most pressing news. That limits the scope of questions and allows the WH to duck plenty of issues and defend its overall approach.”

The array of subjects and controversies about which we lack even basic information shows just how much the public is losing because the White House has shut down legitimate, regular inquiries. A sampling: “What, exactly, is happening with troop withdrawals in Syria (the story has been all off the map in the past four weeks)?” “What is the WH doing about the Khashoggi case in terms of learning more or pressing the Saudis for accountability?” “When the president deflects DHS statistics on border enforcement, as he did in the Rose Garden, what statistics does he believe? Where do they come from and how can you vouch for their accuracy?”
...
I asked Sanders in an e-mail for her comment on whether this is now the death of the White House press briefing, and whether she wanted to respond to any of the questions the correspondents had sent to me. She did not respond.

posted by zachlipton at 10:59 AM on March 8, 2019 [18 favorites]

... back an administration plan to roll back fuel-economy standards or risk President Donald Trump’s wrath by siding with California’s stringent emissions requirements.

Because the GOP is all about States' Rights.

Except, of course, when they're not.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 11:03 AM on March 8, 2019 [9 favorites]

Meanwhile, ICE detainees hit record high of 50,000
posted by The Whelk at 11:39 AM on March 8, 2019 [11 favorites]

The NYT's Maggie Haberman reports from Trumpland on Shine's departure: "Everyone's best day with Donald Trump is their first one, and then the countdown clock immediately begins on their tenure with him. Bill Shine is latest example. He's being kept on campaign as what two people called a face-saving move."

From her article Bill Shine Resigns as White House Message Chief:

Mr. Shine’s abrupt departure came as a surprise to many in the White House and was revealed, as such personnel moves often are in this administration, as the president was on Air Force One heading out of town.

While described by colleagues as the adult in the room, Mr. Shine has sometimes been absent during key moments, including the president’s trip last week to Vietnam, and colleagues said there had been a lack of chemistry with Mr. Trump.

The White House sought to present Mr. Shine’s resignation as amicable and issued statements in the name of the president and other White House officials praising him. But people close to the White House described the campaign job as a way to save face.[…]

Mr. Shine never developed a close relationship with Mr. Trump. The president frequently criticized him to other advisers, saying that his own press coverage had not improved, according to several people familiar with Mr. Trump’s comments. And he was seen as ineffective, developing few ideas.

He attached himself to Ivanka Trump, and tried to help out with her media coverage. But an ABC News interview that she did included a question about how she and her husband obtained their security clearances, which multiple White House officials said rankled her.

The fact that there isn't a successor lined up speaks volumes about Shine's departure (as well as how awful the position is). And Haberman points out that unlike SHS, Kellyanne Conway and Stephen Miller, Shine never made TV appearances to defend Trump, which we can surmise is an essential part of anyone's job description in Trumpland.

Ultimately, Shine's legacy at the Trump White House may be killing off the White House press briefing.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:45 AM on March 8, 2019 [14 favorites]

Dems trying to get shutdown-related back pay for government contractors added to a disaster relief bill.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:46 AM on March 8, 2019 [27 favorites]

A Trump-appointed NOAA administrator was before some committee testifying about how "seismic air gun" tests wouldn't bother whales. So Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-SC, blasted an air horn to see how he'd like it. More details.
posted by adamg at 11:47 AM on March 8, 2019 [88 favorites]

> Rep. Joe Cunnigham, D-SC, blasted an air horn to see how he'd like it.

I wish I could flag stunts on the floor of Congress as fantastic. And I really, really want the doofus administrator to be followed around by some pranksters with air horns for a couple of days.
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:54 AM on March 8, 2019 [52 favorites]

Ultimately, Shine's legacy at the Trump White House may be killing off the White House press briefing.


looking on the bright side, this might put Sarah Huckabee Sanders out of a job?
posted by murphy slaw at 12:00 PM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

HuffPost, Trump Wants To Expand Overtime Pay, But To Way Fewer Workers Than Obama Did

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it plans to change labor regulations so that more salaried workers are eligible for overtime pay when they work long hours. But its proposal would benefit far fewer middle-class workers than the stalled plan that the Obama administration put forward just three years ago.

Unlike hourly employees, very few U.S. workers paid on salary are guaranteed time-and-a-half pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. The Trump plan, developed by the Labor Department, would expand protections to more workers by raising what’s known as the overtime salary threshold ― the salary below which all workers are assured overtime pay.

For more than a decade, that threshold has remained a measly $23,660. That means if your salary is greater than that ― and your job is considered professional, executive or administrative ― you can work unlimited hours in a week and earn nothing more than your base salary. The Trump proposal would raise the threshold to roughly $35,000, expanding the universe of workers entitled to time-and-a-half pay.
...
The Obama administration tried to reform the overtime rules in a more aggressive and worker-friendly way. In 2016, they released a plan to roughly double the salary threshold, to $47,476. It was one of the most ambitious economic reforms of Obama’s presidency, a plan he said would restore higher wages and leisure time to overworked Americans.

posted by zachlipton at 12:12 PM on March 8, 2019 [7 favorites]

CNN apparently not making a GOP hack their political director after all.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:33 PM on March 8, 2019 [43 favorites]

Good news dept:

Huge huge huge win--Norwegian govt (an oil state) is recommending that the world's largest sovereign wealth fund Fully Divest From All Fossil Fuel. Financial Times: "this will send shockwaves through the energy sector." https://www.ft.com/content/d32142a8-418f-11e9-b896-fe36ec32aece

posted by Chrysostom at 2:36 PM on March 8, 2019 [58 favorites]

It was incomprehensible that Isgur would have been offered the job in the first place. But given the world we live in, in which so many incomprehensible things are becoming commonplace, one would not be completely shocked to see wizards casting spells at rogue dragons roaming the skies. Nevertheless, good to see the pressure caused CNN to backtrack.
posted by darkstar at 2:38 PM on March 8, 2019 [9 favorites]

Norwegian govt (an oil state) is recommending that the world's largest sovereign wealth fund Fully Divest From All Fossil Fuel.
Isn't that nearly the premise of Occupied's Season 1 coup by Russia in Norway? " . . the opening episode posited a world in which climate change had brought Europe to the brink of a major conflict. Henrik Mestad played Jesper Berg, an environmentally committed prime minister who had convinced his electorate that the best way to tackle climate change was to shut down Norway’s gas and oil production. Unfortunately, the global fuel crisis this precipitated elsewhere didn’t go down well with EU leaders, who responded not with statesmanship but aggression, and by inviting Russia to pile on the pressure by invading."
posted by Harry Caul at 2:39 PM on March 8, 2019 [9 favorites]

This BBC article says the fund will sell “some” of its oil and gas holdings, “But Norway's finance ministry said oil will still be central to Norway's economy” and “The government recommendation must still be approved by the country's parliament before going ahead.”
posted by XMLicious at 2:44 PM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

zachlipton: The Trump administration had previously dismissed House Democrats’ proposed $600 million plan to extend additional aid as “excessive and unnecessary,” amid a report in The Washington Post that Trump told top White House officials he did not want a single dollar going to Puerto Rico because he thought the island was not using the money properly and was exploiting the federal government.

Wait, can the House Dems decline to fund Trump's trips to Mar-A-Lago, because they think that he's not using his travel and security budget properly, and exploiting the federal government?

Because that would be an awesome fight.

Meanwhile, Activity At 2nd North Korean Missile Site Indicates Possible Launch Preparations (Geoff Brumfiel for NPR, March 8, 2019)

Commercial satellite imagery of a facility near Pyongyang suggests that North Korea is preparing to launch a missile or space rocket in the near future.

The images are of a site known as Sanumdong — a facility where North Korea has assembled some of its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and satellite-launching rockets. The images taken Feb. 22 by DigitalGlobe and shared exclusively with NPR show cars and trucks parked near the facility. Rail cars sit in a nearby rail yard, where two cranes are also erected.

"When you put that all that together, that's really what it looks like when the North Koreans are in the process of building a rocket," says Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, who has studied the images.

Emphasis mine, because while these are new images, they're not exactly fresh. Also ...

Lewis cautions it's impossible to know whether the North Koreans are preparing a military missile or a space rocket. It's also impossible to know when any launch might happen. Additional images of the Sanumdong site taken today by another company, San Francisco-based Planet, show vehicle activity has died down and that one of the cranes has disappeared. That could mean that workers have paused work on an ICBM or rocket, perhaps while awaiting further parts.

Or it could mean a missile or rocket has already left the facility.

A story with less speculation: Protecting The 'Unbanked' By Banning Cashless Businesses In Philadelphia (Aaron Moselle for NPR, March 8, 2019)

City Councilman Bill Greenlee.

Last fall, Greenlee introduced a bill outlawing cashless businesses — brick-and-mortar shops and restaurants where customers can only pay with credit and debit cards.

"I heard that there started to be some establishments in Center City. Something just didn't sit right with me on that," said Greenlee.

Mayor Jim Kenney signed it into law last week, making Philadelphia the first big city in the country to ban cash-free stores. It takes effect July 1.

But anti-poverty advocates say cashless businesses weren't a concern before Greenlee introduced his bill. Many support the bill, but they didn't point out the problem to Greenlee, nor did they lobby for it.

The veteran lawmaker thought it was discriminatory for businesses to turn away low-income residents who don't have bank accounts, a population collectively referred to as the "unbanked."

"It just seems unfair to have that separation. It's almost like it's 'us' and 'them,' " said Greenlee.

Nearly 13 percent of Philadelphia's population — close to 200,000 people — are unbanked, according to federal banking data. That's more than double the regional average.

posted by filthy light thief at 2:44 PM on March 8, 2019 [19 favorites]

WaPo, President Trump autographed Bibles for survivors of the Alabama tornado outbreak

Trump's actions, Fea said, fit his appeal to many white evangelicals in the South.

“The fact that people are bringing Bibles to him says a lot about them,” Fea said. “It seems to imply that they see him not only as a political leader but a spiritual savior for the nation.”

Trump has appealed to them as someone who can protect them from the decline of a Christian nation, Fea said. “The message of the Bible represents for many white evangelicals a source of spiritual comfort in the midst of suffering,” he said. “It says volumes about how evangelicals see … Trump as a figure sent by God to protect them from all storms of life.”

"The god you pray to is too busy being indicted for tax fraud." --The West Wing, Pilot.
posted by zachlipton at 2:48 PM on March 8, 2019 [33 favorites]

Meanwhile, Activity At 2nd North Korean Missile Site Indicates Possible Launch Preparations (Geoff Brumfiel for NPR, March 8, 2019)

This is officially Very Bad because I don't see how Trump's narcissism allows him to do anything but strike NK if they launch. He's been made a fool for the world to see. Sure, you already knew he was a fool and I already knew he was a fool but he could pretend that wasn't the case. But an NK launch rips off his tiny, tiny fig leaf.
posted by Justinian at 2:49 PM on March 8, 2019 [10 favorites]

Rep. Deb Haaland gets a standing ovation from her House colleagues after @RodneyDavis recognizes her as the first Native American woman to ever chair House proceedings
posted by growabrain at 2:57 PM on March 8, 2019 [52 favorites]

can only pay with credit and debit cards.
...
But anti-poverty advocates say cashless businesses weren't a concern before Greenlee introduced his bill. Many support the bill, but they didn't point out the problem to Greenlee, nor did they lobby for it.
...
Nearly 13 percent of Philadelphia's population — close to 200,000 people — are unbanked, according to federal banking data. That's more than double the regional average.

Pet peeve of mine, not a derail I want to engage in, but worth pointing at - that Visa/Mastercard have a chokehold on electronic payment in America is a problem. It's a monopoly problem. Cash isn't necessarily the answer. Until the government decides we should maybe start monopoly-busting again, the cashless/cash debate is a bad circle to get into.

It would cost virtually nothing for the Federal Reserve to spin off a branch that serves individuals, issue everyone free chipcards, encrypt the transaction record, and operate in a not-for-profit manner. Privacy concerns are kinda moot when facial recognition tech and cameras are everywhere and subpeonas can be summarily issued to Visa/MC/Paypal et al.

They choose not to.
posted by saysthis at 3:02 PM on March 8, 2019 [30 favorites]

It would cost virtually nothing for the Federal Reserve to spin off a branch

You mean like a national credit union? That sounds socialist! And awesome!
posted by kirkaracha at 3:09 PM on March 8, 2019 [33 favorites]

The NPR article, btw, seems to conclude that we're talking about a rocket launching a satellite into space, not an ICBM.

That wouldn't fool anyone. Except Trump I guess? If you can launch a rocket into space you can launch an ICBM.
posted by Justinian at 3:13 PM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

WaPo, President Trump autographed Bibles for survivors of the Alabama tornado outbreak

An update on this story [via @sarahcpr]:
You guys... He...he signed *the covers*
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:32 PM on March 8, 2019 [35 favorites]

It would cost virtually nothing for the Federal Reserve to spin off a branch

You mean like a national credit union? That sounds socialist! And awesome!

*smashes through wall* did someone say postal and public banking?
posted by The Whelk at 3:38 PM on March 8, 2019 [94 favorites]

WaPo, President Trump autographed Bibles for survivors of the Alabama tornado outbreak

This I learned today. There is a Holy Bible - Military Challenge Edition with a camo cover - in regular camo and pink camo no less, for boys and girls, I can only assume - which Trump signed on the cover.
posted by JackFlash at 3:51 PM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

Is there a list of all the inappropriate things Trump has autographed as president, like:

Bibles

the bare wall in a Houston shelter

photographs of dead children

checks to his crooked lawyer to cover up his trysts

posted by peeedro at 3:57 PM on March 8, 2019 [20 favorites]

@ddale8 Trump will host Bolsonaro at the White House on March 19:
[image: press release]
posted by scalefree at 4:09 PM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

This is officially Very Bad because I don't see how Trump's narcissism allows him to do anything but strike NK if they launch. He's been made a fool for the world to see. Sure, you already knew he was a fool and I already knew he was a fool but he could pretend that wasn't the case. But an NK launch rips off his tiny, tiny fig leaf.

I would not put it past Trump and co. to literally pretend it isn't happening. Who would hold them to account?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:22 PM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

Why Trump soured on Fox News veteran Bill Shine (Politico)

His sudden departure came as a surprise to several White House aides as well as to a number of officials working on the president’s campaign, several of whom learned he would join the team on Thursday. The Trump campaign has spent the past month building out a communications team and it was not immediately clear what Shine’s portfolio as an adviser to the campaign would comprise, according to two people close to the campaign. [...]

Trump has complained to allies that Shine, though never accused of sexual harassment himself, was named in several lawsuits related to his time at Fox, according to a person who spoke directly with the president about the subject. [...] It was not immediately clear whether the president urged Shine to resign, but Trump allies say the president never developed a strong rapport with him.

Shifting media coverage of Trump amid the relentless scandals engulfing his administration would be a mighty challenge for anyone. But Trump had privately complained that he hoped for a more noticeable improvement of his public image than Shine has been able to deliver.

Shine became the fifth person to serve as Trump’s communications director when he was named to the job last July. As has been the case with his predecessors, Shine faced the challenge of overseeing messaging for a president who considers himself a media savant and his own best spokesman. Shine departs during a particularly rough patch for a president who is battling multiple scandals, investigating Democrats and rebellious Republicans.

[...] The White House issued a glowing statement in the president’s name. “Bill Shine has done an outstanding job working for me and the Administration. We will miss him in the White House, but look forward to working together on the 2020 Presidential campaign, where he will be totally involved,” Trump said in a separate statement, while his press secretary Sarah Sanders called Shine’s departure “a big loss for the White House.”

But Trump soon wound up grousing in private that Shine — who was absent last week during Trump’s nuclear summit in Vietnam — hadn’t managed to improve Trump’s image or his fraught relationship with the White House press corps. [...] It may be telling that, despite holding the job for just nine months, Shine leaves with the title of longest-serving Trump White House communications director.

posted by Little Dawn at 4:22 PM on March 8, 2019 [7 favorites]

And in additional narcissism news, from John Harris at Politico: Why Trump Loves the Fake News

Some reporters, in background accounts, describe being called by Trump at bars and cable television studios.

These interactions, according to people with firsthand or close secondhand knowledge of them, reflect a keen awareness by Trump of individual personalities in the sea of beat reporters covering him, and a fixation on key figures at powerful news organizations. He’s quizzed some reporters on their romantic lives. He knows what book projects are underway by various Washington reporters, is participating in several of them and soaks up intelligence of what the books are likely to say. (He gave an interview to POLITICO’s Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer for a book to be released this spring, and another to POLITICO’s Tim Alberta for one to be released in the summer.) While Trump has kept his distance from the Washington social scene—he rarely goes out except to dinner at his own nearby hotel—he is often current on the gossip that flows in these settings.

The main theme of presidential conversations, of course, is not social frivolities but the same subject that animates Trump on Twitter and in public remarks: what a great job he believes he is doing, and his conviction that he is not getting enough credit.

posted by Little Dawn at 4:36 PM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman: “Trump Has Been Calling Him Bill ‘No Shine’”: Why Roger Ailes’s Former Right Hand Is Leaving the West Wing

“Bill was iced out,” a Republican close to the White House told me, echoing the view of multiple sources that the president had been souring on the former Fox News co-president for months. “Trump has been calling him Bill ‘No Shine,’” one source briefed on the conversations told me.

Trump’s decision to hire Shine last July completed the Fox-ification of the West Wing. Shine got the job after his close friend Sean Hannity lobbied Trump to name Shine chief of staff. “The relationship was always Hannity based,” a former West Wing official explained. “When Trump hired him it was like he thought, ‘I’m getting Hannity.’ I’m like, no you’re getting the guy who produced Hannity.” Trump put Shine in charge of the beleaguered White House press operation with a mandate to plug leaks and improve his image. Shine accomplished neither. In Shine’s defense, the brief was impossible given Trump’s destructive Twitter habits. “Trump needs someone to blame for his bad press,” another former West Wing official said.[…]

One theory being discussed is that Trump pushed Shine out now because House Democrats are looking to investigate the White House’s ties to Fox. Jane Mayer reported this week that Trump directed then-economic adviser Gary Cohn to instruct the Justice Department to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger. Cohn reportedly didn’t act on it.

Ultimately, Shine’s departure will have little effect on the White House message operation. “Nothing will change. At this point we realize this is the Trump show,” a veteran of the 2016 campaign said.

Haberman reports that Shine's resignation has been anticipated for several days, so we’re back to the question of what triggered it.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:45 PM on March 8, 2019 [7 favorites]

USA Today, Judge: Trump administration may have to reunite thousands of additional migrant families

A federal judge ruled on Friday that thousands of additional migrant families that were separated by the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy should be part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit, and may force the administration to reunite them as well.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw has already ordered the administration to reunite more than 2,800 migrant children who were separated from their parents as of June 26, 2018, the date he issued his order. Sabraw wrote in Friday's order that he set that date because there was no reason to believe the government had been systematically separating families en masse before then.

But in recent months, media reports and an inspector general report revealed that the administration had an undisclosed family separation pilot program in place starting in July of 2017, which may have led to thousands of additional separations. So on Friday, he ruled that families separated during those 11 months are part of the class-action lawsuit. He scheduled a hearing on March 27 to decide whether the government will be required to identify all of the additional families, or to reunite them as well.

"The hallmark of a civilized society is measured by how it treats its people and those within its borders," Sabraw wrote. "That Defendants may have to change course and undertake additional effort to address these issues does not render modification of the class definition unfair; it only serves to underscore the unquestionable importance of the effort and why it is necessary (and worthwhile)."

@lomikriel: WOW. Fed judge expands class to all parents separated from their children after the El Paso pilot began in July 2017, as I first reported. Judge doesn’t immediately rule on remedy, but this is huge. The govnt said including them would ‘blow case into some other galaxy of task.' It will be monumentous to find them all, but certainly possible. (Note: their kids have NOT been disappeared but likely with other relatives though some potentially in foster care.) ...Another note is how EXPENSIVE this has been to taxpayers ALREADY with some government workers dedicated to this for months with just the limited class. Don’t know what the judge’s remedy will be, but this has already been a monumental cost of public money.
posted by zachlipton at 5:42 PM on March 8, 2019 [34 favorites]

@kylegriffin1 [video]: Remarkable @mehdirhasan interview: Erik Prince admits to meeting with members of the Trump campaign in August 2016 after, according to a public transcript, apparently failing to disclose the gathering during his testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee last year.

It's really worth watching this 2 minute clip.

It's also striking to me how tough interviews like this are rather rare in the US, while they're a not unexpected part of journalism in other parts of the world.
posted by zachlipton at 5:47 PM on March 8, 2019 [55 favorites]

Why Trump soured on Fox News veteran Bill Shine (Politico)

He's so dislikes the guy that he's paying him to be "senior advisor" in his re-election campaign (linking up to my prior comment in this thread). How is this souring again? He has to face less public scrutinity, yet still gets paid to be in the orbit/try to influence Trump. Is he taking a pay cut or something?

Oh, I see ...

Shine will join the president’s reelection campaign as a “senior adviser” — a role that will allow him to spend “more time with my family,” he said in a statement Friday, suggesting he will take on something less than a senior leadership role in the campaign.

Still grifting, but less so. Paid by corporate interests and shills supporting Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, instead of public taxpayers, so a win for the public? Or something.


scalefree: @ddale8 Trump will host Bolsonaro at the White House on March 19

If the name doesn't ring a bell, that's Brazil´s democratically elected fascist (recent MetaFilter post on Brazil's political turmoil).


It's also striking to me how tough interviews like this are rather rare in the US, while they're a not unexpected part of journalism in other parts of the world.

I'd love to hear some scholary thought on how this came to be, but that's better put in a separate thread, I imagine.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:51 PM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

Trump Seeks Huge Premium From Allies Hosting U.S. Troops (Nick Wadhams and Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg)

it's probably obvious how moronic this is but it's also an example of Trump's brain not accepting any new information since the 80s

It used to be true, approximately, that Japan was getting more out of the relationship than the US was, or at least, you could make a solid argument for it up through the end of the 80s. But then things changed after Japan got criticized for sitting out the Gulf War. Japan shifted its military spending and posture (and more importantly, exchange rates) and the relationship rebalanced.

I'm less familiar with Europe, but I expect you could have made a similar argument there, again, up through the 80s, since (much like Japan) the US was pouring resources into the area to fight Communism, and you can argue a lot about how much that's worth to who. But again, things changed.

--- Idiocy aside, though, as insulting as this is, Japan isn't big enough to resist China, they hate both China and communism too much to join them, and their neighbors all dislike Japan too much to form a non-China regional coalition. So if you ask "how much is this defense arrangement worth to you," the answer might not be "fuck off." It's not at all impossible to renegotiate the relationship; it might be appropriate to do so. We'd be in a much better position to do so if we had fucking diplomatic teams.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 6:09 PM on March 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

Skimming through the pro-Andrew Yang memes on Twitter, it seems like most of the meme-making frog trolls there are essentially accelerationists against their own cause. Disillusioned with Trump and seeing him as the doddering blustery conservative establishment-friendly charlatan who he is, some of them have chosen to back the UBI cause. In their belief the U.S. is doomed, and that they might as well get paid to troll all day as part of the bargain. It's interesting because in a reversal of '16, the right-wing youth, rather than the leftist youth, are the disappointed ones crying that "both sides are the same".

Well, at least for this week. The sea of memes shifts swiftly. And some of the alt-right ideologues have already disavowed Yang for his pro-immigration statements. At the end of the day, he is very much a conventional Democrat on most social issues. So here's hoping they won't poison his campaign.
posted by Apocryphon at 6:51 PM on March 8, 2019 [12 favorites]

been reading that ohr transcript peedro posted the post's coverage of, above, this morning. haven't finished it yet (190/268). it has today been presented in the press as congressional republicans going on the offensive. but it is like nunes' bullshit scandal report that only discredited nunes further some score of scaramucci's ago, in that it does not present anything scandalous or even untoward notwithstanding every republican blowhard striving to portray every event ohr narrates as a new shocking terrible thing.

striking is the format: each party gets alternating hours. the transcript contains almost no procedural chair-recognizing or time-yielding kind of language; the introduction of items of evidence is noted.

the majority sends its sternest, most-nunesishly, obsequiously-teapot-outraged blowhards gowdy, ratcliffe, meadows, gowdy, meadows, jordan, meadows ratcliffe jordan a cameo from issa, each repeatedly trying to put ohr, mccabe, strzok & page in a room together in summer 2016 although ohr time and again, consistently, tiresomely-redundantly clearly repeats his testimony that present at that meeting were himself, mccabe and, to his surprise, lisa page. "what did strzok and page say at this meeting" they ask again -- sure, wrongly, i think, that the nefarious character of the mccabe strzok and page nexus has been amply established in the public mind -- and get the same testimony back. (aside: i don't think i'm up to it, but it might be instructive to count the number of times that question was asked and answered over the course of the day.) and other indicia of bad faith discourse: ohr acceded to awareness of some connection between fusion and the clinton campaign; one of those fuckers immediately didn't repeat "you said fusion worked for the dnc, and so...[irrelevant unfounded meander of condemnation]..." ohr corrects it. didn't notice that one rereiterated like the parties at the meeting.

in contrast, for the minority party's hours the interview is conducted by valerie shen ("chief national security counsel for ranking member cummings on the house oversight and government reform committee") and arya hariharan ("for ranking member nadler," she says, though a certain career networking property records her title in august 2018 as "oversight counsel, house committee on the judiciary"), who take turns patiently and precisely asking series of more or less simple, yes/no questions about procedures, events, policies, personnel matters, pretty soundly deflating each umbrage-bellowed cloud of false and bad-faith condemnation most recently invoked by that a-team of nunesesque malefactors, like actual high-functioning attorneys using language to elicit clear testimony about facts. beautiful, surprising work, counsel.

ohr, for his part, comes across as a consummate professional, career organized-crime-fighting doj executive. just like mccabe.

i'm not certain the conduct he testified to is faultless to the exacting standards of, say, a doj inspector general instructed to find fault, or whatever, and nor am i particularly informed about either the established facts concerning the fusiongps/dossier/fbi/fisa warrant/opening of investigations, or the prevailing condemnatory spins on same, but nothing struck me as clearly inappropriate or likely to offer any significant support to the witchhunt-shouting side of the aisle.

not sure why, post-release, releasing this would be described by serious journalists as "going on the offensive." it is a(nother) soggy squib. maybe more names of investigators and doj personnel are revealed to some peril to careers at doj/fbi? just not sure where the offense could be in here. other than the obdurate counterfactual badfaith behavior of the majority, which, obviously, is offensive, legisprudentially and as language-using social sentient entities, but not in a gaining-yards sense of offense. bigly!

i have witnessed gowdy be smarter than jordan, but not in this transcript. don't think this is required reading unless you're racked by doubts about the legality and righteousness of the commencement of u.s. government investigations of contacts between russian government parties and that presidential campaign. or want to observe that performance of bad faith, or, the excellent questioning of shen and hariharan.

think i'll go hit those last 80pp and see if anyone on the committee will elicit the degree to which the witness is favorably disposed to aqueous elixirs of fermented cereal grains or games concerning drinking same.
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:17 PM on March 8, 2019 [10 favorites]

> Anyone know anything about the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act? I'm starting to see conversation about how Democrats support infanticide come out through conservative acquaintances on social media, and if I google there's a hit of conservative news sources, but nothing I can see in terms of analysis from mainstream news outlets.

If you're looking for a counterpoint response, this piece by Jennifer Gunter is good: I’m an OB/GYN and infanticide is not part of abortion care. Here’s why.
posted by homunculus at 7:29 PM on March 8, 2019 [16 favorites]

Another note is how EXPENSIVE this has been to taxpayers ALREADY with some government workers dedicated to this for months with just the limited class. Don’t know what the judge’s remedy will be, but this has already been a monumental cost of public money.

You want a monument? That's not even a pebble compared to the upcoming truly monumental reparations to be won through the endless lawsuits. Every separated child is at least a million dollars of future payout from the US taxpayers. At least.

And the Trumpist fuckers knew this would happen.
posted by yesster at 7:48 PM on March 8, 2019 [7 favorites]

Still grifting, but less so

Well, someone has to pay for a sinecure to delay his inevitable tell-all book, and the campaign is basically free money as far as Trump is concerned, so easy-peasy.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:05 PM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

I really, really wish you Americans could keep your crazy, whack-a-do conspiracy theories inside your own borders. We have enough of our own, home-grown crackpots up here with their own ideas, and we really don't need your QAnon types messing up our election with pizzagate nonsense.
posted by sardonyx at 8:52 PM on March 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

Still shocking that anyone writing articles still believes writes that Trump's decisions are considered. At this point it must be acknowledged that that's impossible. But to do so would be to send the house of cards flying and everyone's clickbaity meal tickets along with it.

Bill Shine was on a countdown timer from minute 1. It's impressive he lasted that long, I guess. What must be amazing is the amount of Trump Bullshit™ Sarabee and John Walrus have to eat every few days to remain in those soul-crushing jobs. What a testament to their underlying stubborn awfulness.

And for anyone buying, here's the recent bridge for sale in the form of an article about John Kelly whingeing about how 'awful' it was to work for DTS.
posted by petebest at 9:00 PM on March 8, 2019 [2 favorites]

we really don't need your QAnon types messing up our election with pizzagate nonsense.

The German far-right AfD used QAnon to amplify their message and expand their reach

First as tragedy, then as farce and also tragedy and also cyberpunk dystopia
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:24 PM on March 8, 2019 [33 favorites]

Erik Prince in that breathtaking interview clip, reassuring everyone that he's not in trouble: "I haven't heard from anyone in more than nine months."

Yes, well, they don't tend to contact the target of an investigation until the end of the investigation. Then they contact them in a very special way.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:40 PM on March 8, 2019 [44 favorites]

"It's interesting because in a reversal of '16, the right-wing youth, rather than the leftist youth, are the disappointed ones crying that "both sides are the same"."

That started hard out of the gates straight after the 2018 mid-terms. They're not disappointed - it's a "let's demoralise the enemy so they don't turn out to vote" propaganda strategy.

Like Lord Haw Haw or Toyko Rose…
posted by Pinback at 10:11 PM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

It's also striking to me how tough interviews like this are rather rare in the US, while they're a not unexpected part of journalism in other parts of the world.

Well, to be fair, Prince apparently eschews the Gish Gallop/Filibuster/Talk about whatever I want not what you asked style of "answering" questions that's all the rage in the US. He just answers the question and throws the ball back in the interviewer's court. (Bonus "and I find this all very amusing to humor you plebes, but none of this matters" smirk) You almost can't give it a pass without it looking really weird.
posted by ctmf at 10:19 PM on March 8, 2019 [7 favorites]

They're not disappointed - it's a "let's demoralise the enemy so they don't turn out to vote" propaganda strategy.

But their enemy isn't demoralized. The Democrats are resurgent, left and liberal forces energized. Rather, it's the alt-right themselves who seem disillusioned and failed by their leader. So instead of pursuing their utopian patriarchal white tribal state based on bigotry, they're opting for a thousand dollars a month instead. Much smaller deal!
posted by Apocryphon at 2:05 AM on March 9, 2019 [12 favorites]

Haven't seen this in the blue - an infographic plus explainer from Foreign Policy about the "legal troubles in Trumpland" - of which, they say, Mueller may be the least.

Ten major investigations, ladies and gentlemen. Count 'em.

Even this is sadly incomplete, as it doesn't include the House activity that's kicking off.

Not a betting man, sir. I've been to Vegas many times and my total gambling bill was twenty dollars of someone else's money. But I have a house here that I'd like to put on one or more of those cases finding 45 as guilty as fuck.
posted by Devonian at 4:55 AM on March 9, 2019 [9 favorites]

In typical exceptionally American fashion we don't have a state controlled TV but a TV controlled state.

NRC: How Fox News became the government broadcaster under Trump.

NRC is a center-left (for European values thereof) Dutch newspaper. The article leans for a large part on the New Yorker article, with some additional expansion on details that might not be known to their average reader.

In general NRC also spends a good amount of attention to the new Democratic wave, and their actions.
posted by Stoneshop at 5:31 AM on March 9, 2019 [8 favorites]

So it turns out the real scandal of Li Yang isn't that she's selling handjobs to rich guys but Presidential access to Chinese investors. Because of course, it's all about the grift.

A Florida Massage Parlor Owner Has Been Selling Chinese Execs Access to Trump at Mar-a-Lago

The strange, swampy saga of Trump donor Li Yang.

The latest Trump political donor to draw controversy is Li Yang, a 45-year-old Florida entrepreneur from China who founded a chain of spas and massage parlors that included the one where New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft was recently busted for soliciting prostitution. She made the news this week when the Miami Herald reported that last month she had attended a Super Bowl viewing party at Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club and had snapped a selfie with the president during the event. Though Yang no longer owns the spa Kraft allegedly visited, the newspaper noted that other massage parlors her family runs have “gained a reputation for offering sexual services.” (She told the newspaper she has never violated the law.) Beyond this sordid tale, there is another angle to the strange story of Yang: She runs an investment business that has offered to sell Chinese clients access to Trump and his family. And a website for the business—which includes numerous photos of Yang and her purported clients hobnobbing at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Palm Beach—suggests she had some success in doing so.

Yang, who goes by Cindy, and her husband, Zubin Gong, started GY US Investments LLC in 2017. The company describes itself on its website, which is mostly in Chinese, as an “international business consulting firm that provides public relations services to assist businesses in America to establish and expand their brand image in the modern Chinese marketplace.” But the firm notes that its services also address clients looking to make high-level connections in the United States. On a page displaying a photo of Mar-a-Lago, Yang’s company says its “activities for clients” have included providing them “the opportunity to interact with the president, the [American] Minister of Commerce and other political figures.” The company boasts it has “arranged taking photos with the President” and suggests it can set up a “White House and Capitol Hill Dinner.” (The same day the Herald story about Yang broke, the website stopped functioning.)

posted by scalefree at 5:51 AM on March 9, 2019 [44 favorites]

Scalefree, my read on that article is that it's just a different kind of handjob for rich guys.

It's more like she's a Chinese Stringer Bell, parlaying her ill-gotten gain in the sex trade into political access to be exploited for the really big bucks, international corruption mainlined straight to the White House.
posted by scalefree at 6:46 AM on March 9, 2019 [10 favorites]

Only One Roadblock on the Road to Reform: Mitch McConnell (NYT Editorial Board)

The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has been openly hostile to the anticorruption package since its inception. This week he made clear that he would refuse even to bring it up for a vote. [...]

Mr. McConnell called the bill the “Democrat Politician Protection Act” (and a “turkey”) and predicted that lawmakers who back it will suffer come re-election time. As political logic, this is questionable. If the Republican leader really thought the package was a loser, he would absolutely bring it to the floor to force Democratic lawmakers to own it — which is, notably, the path he has pledged to pursue with the Green New Deal, which is supported by many Democrats. The Green New Deal, an assortment of ideas for fighting climate change and remaking the economy, is even more sprawling and amorphous than the For the People Act. Mr. McConnell is panting to have members vote on it. [...]

Ever the shrewd political animal, Mr. McConnell is well aware that a majority of Americans favor overhauling a system they see as broken and unfair. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll from September, 77 percent of respondents said reducing corruption and the influence of special interests was either the most important or a very important issue facing the nation. Having his members blamed for derailing a major reform package could prove politically risky. Thus Mr. McConnell turns to his go-to move: stonewalling.

At the same time, he and prominent House Republicans have been loudly assailing H.R. 1, cranking the fear-mongering demagogy to the max. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy went so far as to star in an overwrought attack video. Mr. McCarthy asserts that the provision restoring voting rights to felons is not only “dangerous, it’s unconstitutional;” he goes on to say that under the optional matching-fund system, in which political donations up to $200 would be matched 6-to-1 with public funds, the Democrats would send your tax dollars to pay for campaigns; and he warns that the bill would facilitate voter fraud by providing for automatic voter registration, which would make it more difficult to strike ineligible voters from the rolls. “So future voters might be underage, dead or illegal immigrants, or maybe even registered one, two or three times!”

No, no and no. There is nothing unconstitutional or inherently dangerous about re-enfranchising former prisoners. The new matching-funds system would be financed through fines levied on companies caught violating federal law. And the Brennan Center for Justice has found that automatic voter registration, already working swimmingly in several states, increases registration rates and improves the accuracy of voting rolls.

H.R. 1 would put an end to at least some of the vile voter suppression practices that Republicans have embraced in recent years. Which goes to the heart of the party’s opposition.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:31 AM on March 9, 2019 [36 favorites]

A Florida Massage Parlor Owner Has Been Selling Chinese Execs Access to Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Guardian reports, coincidentally: China provisionally Grants Trump 38 Trademarks – Including For Escort Service—Ethics lawyers raise alarm over constitutional violation if president given special treatment in quickly securing 38 new trademarks to develop potential businesses

Trump’s lawyers in China applied for the marks in April 2016, as Trump railed against China at campaign rallies, accusing it of currency manipulation and stealing US jobs. Critics maintain that Trump’s swelling portfolio of China trademarks raises serious conflict of interest questions.

China’s Trademark Office published the provisional approvals on 27 February and Monday.

If no one objects, they will be formally registered after 90 days. All but three are in the president’s own name. China already registered one trademark to the president, for Trump-branded construction services on 14 February, the result of a 10-year legal battle that turned in Trump’s favor after he declared his candidacy.

Ethics lawyers across the political spectrum say that if Trump receives any special treatment in securing trademark rights, it would violate the US constitution, which bans public servants from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress. Concerns about potential conflicts of interest are particularly sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist party.[…]

The trademarks cover businesses including branded spas, massage parlors, golf clubs, hotels, insurance, finance and real estate companies, retail shops, restaurants, bars, and bodyguard and escort services – though it’s unclear whether any such businesses will actually materialize in China.

{emphases added, because the writers aren't even trying at this point}

Experts are amazed at how quickly Trump's trademark applications were approved and suspect that Chinese Communist Party officials weren't involved (duh).
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:57 AM on March 9, 2019 [17 favorites]

After the leak of troves of internal records from the neo-Nazi group Identity Evropa, fascist leader Patrick Casey has announced that the group “is no more” and “IE operations will cease forever”
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:03 AM on March 9, 2019 [29 favorites]

Trump learns perils of ‘made-in-America’ regime change (Politico)

The administration has focused intensely on Venezuela in recent months, naming a special envoy, dispatching Pence and others to give speeches and rally the world to unite against Maduro’s government, which has styled itself as socialist but bankrupted the country’s economy through mismanagement and graft.

But momentum has lagged since pro-Maduro military forces stopped a high-profile, U.S.-led effort to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuelans in late February, causing fatalities. And regional leaders have since dismissed calls from Venezuela’s opposition to consider using force against Maduro.

Some administration officials still privately speak of a timetable of weeks or months for Maduro to fall, according to outside experts in touch with them. Publicly, though, U.S. officials have begun tempering their optimism.

“We have understood that this is a struggle in Venezuela whose length we can’t predict,” Elliott Abrams, the Trump administration’s recently named special envoy for Venezuela, told reporters on Friday. “No one can predict it.”

Some analysts say Maduro, who has support from Russia and Cuba, could hang on for years. After all, the U.S. has “been promising [regime change] to the Cubans in Miami for 60 years,” noted Ted Piccone, a Latin America specialist at the Brookings Institution.

“Authoritarian governments don’t give up easily,” added a Senate aide. “They don’t wake up one day and say, ‘Wow, John Bolton’s tweet was so intimidating I’m going to pack up my things and leave the country.’”

Venezuela blackout caused by 'US attack', defence minister claims (Guardian)

In a televised address from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Vladimir Padrino López claimed the “North American empire” was behind a “criminal aggression” designed to “disrupt and attack” Nicolás Maduro’s beleaguered administration.

Nearly all of Venezuela’s 23 states were cast into darkness on Thursday afternoon after the most severe power cut in the country’s recent history.

“No one can be so naive to think this was the result of bad luck or chance,” Padrino López said on Friday as millions of Venezuelan citizens prepared for a second night in the dark. “This is an aggression designed to destablise the Venezuelan people and the Venezuelan state.” [...]

Giancarlo Fiorella, the editor of the In Venezuela blog, said the government routinely blamed political foes for such increasingly common failures. “But they’ve never come close to providing any kind of evidence. It is much more likely that this is one of the symptoms of an electrical system that we know has been in crisis for at least a decade.” [...]

Gedan, a senior adviser at the Wilson Center’s Latin American program, said he doubted ordinary Venezuelans would buy into claims the US had caused the blackout. “Venezuela’s infrastructure is in a shambles, and people suffering from the blackout are unlikely to blame outside actors. That said, the United States has taken an aggressive posture [towards Maduro] that is bound to fuel conspiracy theories,” he said.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:08 AM on March 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

Venezuela blackout caused by 'US attack', defence minister claims

@SecPompeo
No food. No medicine. Now, no power. Next, no Maduro.

Three weeks before the US-backed 1973 coup in Chile:

A power cut brought a total blackout here as President Salvador Allende was in the middle of a nationwide address on the country's political crisis.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:17 AM on March 9, 2019 [27 favorites]

The trademarks cover businesses including branded spas, massage parlors, ... [and] escort services

So friggin' classy. It is really odd that all tend to rely the opression of women. Maybe those were the ones that were registered in Ivanka's name.

Seriously "Christian" Republicans WTelF. You do desire just a veneer of respectability, don't you? Just for the theatre of it, or not being razzed in the street? Because. Y'boy isn't exactly adding any.

That slicked, brylcreem, severe-parted hair from the 80s needs to become extinct. Metaphorically.
posted by petebest at 8:47 AM on March 9, 2019 [13 favorites]

Who needs accurate storm forecasts when you can hand out autographed Bibles?

WaPo: Critical weather data threatened by FCC ‘spectrum’ proposal, Commerce Dept. and NASA say
SpaceNews: 5G trumps weather in spectrum debate, FCC rejects call for last-minute meeting with NASA and Commerce Department
posted by peeedro at 9:36 AM on March 9, 2019 [7 favorites]

Week 94: Trump Treats Manafort’s Light Sentence Like an Acquittal. For Himself. (Jack Shafer, Politico)

Absent a reanimated Cohn to do his dirty work, Trump has continued to play the attorney’s part for himself, snarling and snapping at his enemies, exhaling wild lies and menacing accusations into the television ether. Everywhere Trump looks, he finds proof of his exoneration. When Judge T.S. Ellis sentenced former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort to 47 months of jail-time this week, Trump translated the prison term as a personal victory.

“Both the Judge and the lawyer in the Paul Manafort case stated loudly and for the world to hear that there was NO COLLUSION with Russia,” Trump tweeted on Friday. Nice try, Donald, except Mueller has yet to charge Manafort with anything related to collusion. What Judge Ellis said was that Manafort was “not before this court for anything having to do with collusion with the Russian government to influence this election,” which is quite different from clearing him of collusion. It would make as much sense for Trump to say Judge Ellis cleared Manafort of jaywalking.

The Daintiest Slap on Paul Manafort’s Wrist (Cristian Farias, NYT Op-Ed)

Judge Ellis had already recognized, in declining to toss out Mr. Mueller’s indictment against Mr. Manafort ahead of trial, that the charges “clearly arise out of the special counsel’s investigation into the payments defendant allegedly received from Russian-backed leaders and pro-Russian political officials.”

Week 94: Trump Treats Manafort’s Light Sentence Like an Acquittal. For Himself. (Jack Shafer, Politico)

To continue, Cohen has testified that Trump knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between top Trump campaigner Manafort, Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr. and a gaggle of Russian schemers who alleged to have “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Does that not whiff of collusion? Trump’s campaign request, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” has that stench, too. Mueller wrote in his indictment of Roger Stone that a senior Trump campaign official was “directed” to approach Stone about whatever dirt WikiLeaks might have on Clinton. Given that the Russians appear to have been behind the hack-work WikiLeaks posted, doesn’t this cross the collusion threshold? The odor gets stronger still when you consider that Manafort shared polling data with his business associate Konstantin V. Kilimnik and had him instructed to reshare it with two Russia-aligned Ukrainian oligarchs.

(To be fair to Trump, he has reportedly denied in writing to Mueller of knowing about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Also, he reportedly wrote that Stone did not tell him about WikiLeaks.)

And the CNN report linked above about Trump's written responses to Mueller was dated November 29, 2018, which according to Axios' timeline of Every big move in the Mueller investigation, is also the day this happened:

Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length and scope of his work on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Trump's business entanglements are publicly brought into the Mueller investigation for the first time, with Trump himself reportedly referred to as "Individual 1" in court documents.

And to be fair, according to Vox on November 20, 2018:

Unlike his many public statements, these statements to the special counsel are submitted at risk of legal penalties for making false statements.

posted by Little Dawn at 9:38 AM on March 9, 2019 [4 favorites]

President Trump called the Democratic Party “anti-Israel” and “anti-Jewish” following a House vote on a resolution broadly condemning hatred on Friday rather than specifically condemning past alleged anti-Semitic comments by a freshman Muslim congresswoman.
posted by xammerboy at 9:41 AM on March 9, 2019

This is really quite encouraging. Republicans at the top of the food chain are adopting the Democratic stance on a contentious & critical issue. I thought we'd be seeing pigs flying first.

Republicans who couldn’t beat climate debate now seek to join it

Rep. John Shimkus once issued a forceful rejection of climate science at a congressional hearing, invoking the Bible and declaring that “Earth will end only when God declares it’s time to be over.”

Last month, in a turnabout, the Illinois Republican signed onto a letter with the top Republican of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that said “prudent steps should be taken to address current and future climate risks.”

“It’s just not worth the fight anymore,” Shimkus said in an interview when asked about his changing stance on climate change. “Let’s just see what we can do to address it and not hurt the economy.”

Shimkus is among a number of Republicans who — after years of sowing doubt about climate change or ignoring it altogether — are scrambling to confront the science they once rejected. They are planning hearings on the issue, pledging to invest in technologies to mitigate its impact and openly talking about the need for taking action.

Several Republicans have been meeting in small groups to come up with a strategy on the issue, including: Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Cornyn of Texas, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and former 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, now a senator representing Utah.

posted by scalefree at 10:05 AM on March 9, 2019 [38 favorites]

Seth Abramson on what he learned from his research for his forthcoming book Proof of Conspiracy: Jared Kushner is now the greatest domestic danger to America -
Whatever you think Cheney was to George W. Bush, take that, make it 3 times as sinister, make Bush 10 times more sociopathic and a devout criminal, and make Cheney stupid, venal, and entirely dismissive of our rule of law and you get what Kushner is to Trump...
posted by growabrain at 10:37 AM on March 9, 2019 [23 favorites]

On the upside there's no way we can lose.

In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA

Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter five-year-old civil war.

The fighting has intensified over the last two months, as CIA-armed units and Pentagon-armed ones have repeatedly shot at each other while maneuvering through contested territory on the northern outskirts of Aleppo, U.S. officials and rebel leaders have confirmed.

posted by scalefree at 10:49 AM on March 9, 2019 [36 favorites]

It's also striking to me how tough interviews like this are rather rare in the US, while they're a not unexpected part of journalism in other parts of the world.

Political interviews in the US are corralled into either cable news hits or designated Interview Television, and that encourages deference. How often do you hear a national-tier politician interviewed at length on NPR or the network news, versus a correspondent being interviewed about what politicians said?

Erik Prince is a warlord who operates with impunity (for now) around the world. His sister is a member of the Cabinet.
posted by holgate at 11:30 AM on March 9, 2019 [8 favorites]

What's behind the about face on climate science - do they wish to disavow the unraveling of the EPA after the request has been fulfilled?
posted by Selena777 at 11:34 AM on March 9, 2019

“I have gotten in professional trouble for saying it before, and I will not stop saying it: Erik Prince’s continued freedom is an affront to the very concept of humane society” @AdamWeinstein
posted by The Whelk at 11:48 AM on March 9, 2019 [41 favorites]

What's behind the about face on climate science - do they wish to disavow the unraveling of the EPA after the request has been fulfilled?

Politicians are expert at sensing which way the wind is blowing. Now that some kind of climate change policy seems inevitable (eventually) they want to influence whatever gets discussed/passed into law for the benefit of their constituents.
posted by notyou at 12:34 PM on March 9, 2019 [9 favorites]

filthy light thief, thanks for posting that excerpt from NPR's "Asylum-Seekers Can Appeal Fast-Track Deportations, Court Rules" and especially for including the link to the ruling itself.

A look at the list of Counsel on p. 7 shows lawyers for:
* American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Immigrants’ Rights Project (New York and San Francisco)
* ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties, for Petitioner-Appellant

plus
* Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, University of California Hastings College of the Law for Amici Curiae Refugee and Human Rights Organizations and Scholars

plus private firms representing
* Amici Curiae Scholars of Immigration Law
* Amici Curiae Scholars of Habeas Corpus Law
* Amici Curiae Scholars of Sri Lankan Politics

I like to remember the hard work done by the organizations who are bringing these cases. Time for another thank you note to the ACLU.
posted by kristi at 12:47 PM on March 9, 2019 [18 favorites]

During a speech on Wednesday that was closed to both the press and public, Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced plans to delist the gray wolf across the Lower 48.
posted by zakur at 12:50 PM on March 9, 2019 [14 favorites]

Daily Beast, It Exists: DOJ Finds Letter Ordering Scrutiny of Uranium One, Hillary Clinton

After it claimed no such document existed, the Justice Department just unearthed a letter Matt Whitaker delivered to the Utah U.S. attorney directing a review of how the department handled the Clinton Foundation and the Uranium One issues.

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote the letter on Nov. 22, 2017 for Utah U.S. Attorney John Huber. Matt Whitaker, who was Sessions’ chief of staff at the time, emailed the letter to Huber that day, writing, “As we discussed.” He also sent Huber a copy of a letter the Justice Department’s Congressional affairs chief sent to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 13 of that year.

The existence of a letter documenting Sessions’ directive that the DOJ revisit probes of Trump’s top political foe is a surprise because a department lawyer said in court last year that senior officials insisted it didn’t exist. The liberal nonprofit American Oversight obtained the letter through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request they filed on Nov. 22, 2017––the same day Whitaker emailed Sessions’ letter to Huber.

One of those "senior officials" who claimed no such document existed is Whitaker, who just skedaddled his way out of the Department of Justice.
posted by zachlipton at 1:24 PM on March 9, 2019 [54 favorites]

Trump to propose massive renewable energy cuts, something Republicans don’t even want
His budget request reportedly includes a 70 percent cut to the Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

As President Donald Trump prepares his to release his fiscal year 2020 budget request, he is expected to propose massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) renewable energy and energy efficiency budget. This attempt comes despite similar requests being roundly rebuked by Congress in the past two years, and the fact that clean energy remains extremely popular among Republican lawmakers and voters.

“The United States is at the forefront of clean-energy efforts,” Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) wrote Friday in the Washington Post. “We are committed to adopting reasonable policies that maintain that edge, build on and accelerate current efforts, and ensure a robust innovation ecosystem.”
[...]
The White House doesn’t appear to be listening. Trump’s proposal will slash the budget for DOE’s Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EERE) from $2.3 billion to $700 million — a roughly 70 percent cut — Bloomberg reported this week, citing a department official familiar with the plan. The full budget request is expected to be released Monday.

It's a complete non-starter now that Dems control the House but it shows just how petty he is in his overwhelming need to erase Obama from history.
posted by scalefree at 2:10 PM on March 9, 2019 [19 favorites]

I don’t even know if it’s about erasing Obama anymore. It just seems like tit-for-tat: every time his ego gets hurt, he lashes out by doing something that hurts the country.
posted by Autumnheart at 2:51 PM on March 9, 2019 [18 favorites]

Yeah, I see this simply as more departmental evisceration. Look for the office head to quit in frustration and be replaced by an "Acting..."
posted by rhizome at 3:13 PM on March 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Taking another look at that crazy CPAC speech, "It was the presidency as Vaudeville act": Encapsulating his unorthodox presidency, Trump assumed 10 personas in one speech (WaPo).
posted by peeedro at 4:41 PM on March 9, 2019 [9 favorites]

Gold standard Selzer poll of Iowa for the 2020 Dems.

Pretty straightforward. Biden: 27, Bernie: 25, everybody else single digits with many of them at 1% or less or as I call it, "lol". With second choice included it's Biden:46, Bernie: 38, Warren: 21, Harris: 18, O'Rourke: 11, everyone else single digits or less. Neither Biden nor O'Rourke are actually in the race at this point.

44% of the Dem primary electorate says Bernie is too liberal with 70% saying Biden is neither too liberal or not liberal enough. Remember, this is a poll of Iowa not nationwide, and Iowa is one of the most conservative states Democrats have a shot at winning.
posted by Justinian at 5:12 PM on March 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Fun fact from that Iowa poll: 30% of Biden supporters say that Bernie is their second choice. 40% of Bernie supporters say that Biden is their second choice. That confirms my impression, incidentally: I know an awful lot of people who love both of them, which suggests that support for either of them is not purely ideological.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:17 PM on March 9, 2019 [35 favorites]

What's behind the about face on climate science?

I wondered that too. I mean, Shimkus basically said God told him global warming isn't real. But guess what? He now thinks that fracking natural gas in his state should be a big part of solving climate change. I guess the fracking lobbyists were more convincing than his religious experience.

Anyway, it might be dawning on Republicans that global warming could represent the biggest spending program of all time, which in turn means it could too good a grifting opportunity to pass up.

Expect to see a Republican Green New Deal that proposes clean coal, nuclear energy, fracking, and a big business green technology tax cut for energy companies.
posted by xammerboy at 5:19 PM on March 9, 2019 [13 favorites]

Fun fact from that Iowa poll: 30% of Biden supporters say that Bernie is their second choice. 40% of Bernie supporters say that Biden is their second choice. That confirms my impression, incidentally: I know an awful lot of people who love both of them, which suggests that support for either of them is not purely ideological.

I agree with this but the standard pushback is that it's all about name recognition. A bunch of voters will only recognize the names Sanders and Biden, and so those are their top two choices. The theory being once we get closer to the election they will be more familiar with the other candidates and switch their support.

I'm dubious and think Iowans probably just really like old white dudes.
posted by Justinian at 5:23 PM on March 9, 2019 [39 favorites]

Several Republicans have been meeting in small groups to come up with a strategy on the issue, including: Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Cornyn of Texas, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and former 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, now a senator representing Utah.

Rural states have a lot to gain by implementing the USA Deep decarbonization plan. There s a lot of land that must be put back into forest and wetlands restored as part of that plan.

You know how the right wing farm bureau loves all the govt s Farm Bill handouts to corporations for corn and soybeans?

Well, this could easily be Farm Bill II: corporate land for the climate.

And they wouldn t have to mess with oil company futures, and would even have a "look, we re doing something" argument for leaving the oil companies' finances alone. The could use it to fight carbon taxes, or any wind power and efficiency subsidies.
posted by eustatic at 5:33 PM on March 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

“I think the person we believe in is the person who will win,” @AOC says about 2020. “Everyone starts triangulating about what they think will win rather than what they believe.”

I don't want to start a pro/con AOC but this quote is precisely what I believe, and I fear for a Democratic party that is focused solely on who can win.
posted by bluesky43 at 6:32 PM on March 9, 2019 [42 favorites]

Can America recover from Trump? A radicalized right wing suggests dangers ahead (David Masciotra, Salon)

Getting Trump out of office is only the start. America has a lot of work ahead to repair what's really broken. ...

... Everyone from editorial page writers for the New York Times to Rachel Maddow act as if the moment Donald Trump drops back down the gold-plated manhole out of which he crawled to claim the office of Lincoln all the country’s injuries and infections will magically heal. The ugly reality, and more challenging truth, is that Trump is not the actual threat, but only its most forceful manifestation.

... As candidate and president, Trump has already demolished standards of civility, worsened the racial and ethnic fractures of the American public, and reduced the Republican Party to a slobbering set of sycophants. And he has done all of this by barely lifting a finger. The true danger might emerge when Trump slithers into the sunset, and his enraged and frenzied loyalists, who now control the infrastructure of one of America’s two major political parties, are looking for a replacement and find the real thing.
...

Arthur Miller, the great playwright, once said that millions of Americans are “aching for an Ayatollah.” The worship of a greedy and hedonistic self-promoter is odd vindication for Miller’s dark observation. Progressives must maintain their concentration on the quality and severity of the current threat to democracy. Many analysts describe Donald Trump as a danger to democratic norms. He is merely the weapon. The real danger comes from the weapons manufacturers – the millions of people aching for satisfaction of their ancient impulses for authority and control.

posted by ZeusHumms at 8:18 PM on March 9, 2019 [44 favorites]

Fun fact from that Iowa poll: 30% of Biden supporters say that Bernie is their second choice. 40% of Bernie supporters say that Biden is their second choice. That confirms my impression, incidentally: I know an awful lot of people who love both of them, which suggests that support for either of them is not purely ideological.

What does the fact that Bernie is the second choice across candidates do to your suspicions?
posted by codacorolla at 8:27 PM on March 9, 2019

codacorolla: That regardless of your first choice of candidates either Sanders or Biden are usually your second choice seems to me to be good evidence that their support is either largely non-ideological or that the name recognition theory is true. How else could you explain that the two most popular candidates regardless of your first choice have such an ideological gulf between them?
posted by Justinian at 9:00 PM on March 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

codacorolla: That regardless of your first choice of candidates either Sanders or Biden are usually your second choice seems to me to be good evidence that their support is either largely non-ideological or that the name recognition theory is true. How else could you explain that the two most popular candidates regardless of your first choice have such an ideological gulf between them?

...That was my point.
posted by codacorolla at 9:03 PM on March 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

just wanted to add that some of the plausibly offensive revelation of sensitive information became evident in those last 80 pp of the ohr testimony transcript. round about page 214 ms. shen notes that the prior majority round of questions used nonpublic materials:

[S]ome of them were the handwritten notes you were looking at earlier and talked to. Our understanding is this a document production produced to a congressional committee that is not the Oversight or Judiciary Committee from which is doing this investigation has not been cleared for release to the public. So there is a question of: How did it come into possession of our Members? It is our understanding that there is...a committee rule that may prohibit the sharing of a committee document production like that. In addition to that, we have concerns...that such information could, in fact, contain sensitive information, I think on its face, discussion of confidential human sources. We are not really in a position to know kind of per earlier conversation the full implications of just putting this kind of information out in an unclassified setting in an open record. So I want to state for the record that this is something that we oppose. We do not think it is responsible to be continuing to reference such information for the variety of reasons that I have outlined, and we hope that the practice does not continue in this interview or any subsequent interviews as part of this joint investigation.

the handwritten notes at issue appear to be ohr's contemporaneous(ish) notes documenting his contacts with steele, simpson and at least one other person whose name was mentioned but whose connection (if any) to ohr's interactions with the fbi on the fusiongps stuff was not made clear. these notes were written by ohr, shown to certain fbi personnel, and more recently given by ohr to whatever committee (not these two, evidently; this transcript is of a joint hearing of the house committees on the judiciary and on government reform and oversight).

throughout the hearing the republicans had been probing ohr's contacts with steele and appearing dubious of his repeated testimony that many of these contacts were due to steele's concerns that one of his sources might be endangered by exposure should ohr get canned with the yateses, mccabes, strzoks and pages. the source's safety was described as a paramount concern. the questioning did not reveal much more than that. but ms. shen reveals a more granular concern from which facts can be inferred, possibly helping to identify that source, to wit, the safety concern was not just general but that "our guy" might be "forced to go back home." i was a little surprised to see ms. shen offer that detail, though i guess it did shore up ohr's explanation of parts of the exchange the majority had attempted to paint as problematic.

i still don't see how the transcript's release aids the president's men's offense, but i do see how it might contribute to causing harm to individuals, which could be just the sort of spiteful owing of libs by hurting people aligned with libs that much of the right seems to view as commendable counting of coup or point scoring or gaining ground though i remain surprised to see press present it so.

that is all. (except, in the earlier post i wrote "racked with doubts" and missed the edit window to correct it to "wracked," to my chagrin. mea culpa!)
posted by 20 year lurk at 9:04 PM on March 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

NYT, U.S. Continues to Separate Migrant Families Despite Rollback of Policy

Nearly nine months after the Trump administration officially rescinded its policy of separating migrant families who have illegally crossed the border, more than 200 migrant children have been taken from parents and other relatives and placed in institutional care, with some spending months in shelters and foster homes thousands of miles away from their parents.

The latest data reported to the federal judge monitoring one of the most controversial of President Trump’s immigration policies shows that 245 children have been removed from their families since the court ordered the government to halt routine separations under last spring’s “zero tolerance” border enforcement policy. Some of the new separations are being undertaken with no clear documentation to help track the children’s whereabouts.
...
Under the original policy, most children were removed because parents who illegally crossed the border were subject to criminal prosecution. The recent separations have occurred largely because parents have been flagged for fraud, a communicable disease or past criminal history — in some cases relatively minor violations, years in the past, that ordinarily would not lead to the loss of parental custody.
...
Ruben Garcia, who runs a network of migrant shelters in El Paso, said that immigration authorities this month dropped off a distraught 18-year-old woman from Guatemala.

The woman said she had given birth less than a week earlier and had been separated from her baby. Child welfare authorities had come to the hospital to take the child, who was a United States citizen; immigration agents took the mother back to a detention cell where she waited for several days. The baby’s first two weeks were spent away from the mother, who finally regained custody after interventions from multiple legal-aid groups, Mr. Garcia said.

posted by zachlipton at 12:11 AM on March 10, 2019 [23 favorites]

This is getting only slightly insane. Not verified yet but I got Josh Marshall standing next to me on this. If I get burned on it, then so did Josh. And the media editor of the Economist. OK.

@gadyepstein More intrigue in Cindy Yang / Trump tale. She seems to have been active in an org overseen by the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front. The Florida branch of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification (pushes Beijing line on Taiwan) https://twitter.com/stokes2049/status/1104510988676673536
posted by scalefree at 12:28 AM on March 10, 2019 [21 favorites]

Trump to propose massive renewable energy cuts, something Republicans don’t even want

Hmmm, let's see... Who might have the most to lose from renewable investment these days... Russia? Saudi Arabia?

(I'm not aware of the USA getting much Russian gas directly but if I were Putin and I had Trump's ear, I would certainly discourage renewables.)
posted by ropeladder at 6:58 AM on March 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

Breaking: Trump budget to seek $8.6 billion in new funding for Mexico border wall, setting up another clash with Congress (WaPo)

President Trump on Monday will request at least $8.6 billion in new funding to build additional sections of a wall along the Mexico border, two people familiar with the request said Sunday.

As part of a broader spending package, Trump will seek $5 billion in additional funds for the Department of Homeland Security and another $3.6 billion in military construction funds. This money would come in addition to the roughly $6.5 billion Trump said he was redirecting for the wall’s construction last month.

posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:36 AM on March 10, 2019 [3 favorites]

Hmmm, let's see... Who might have the most to lose from renewable investment these days... Russia? Saudi Arabia?

U.S. eyes energy independence as production seen overtaking Russia, Saudi Arabia (Houston Chronicle, 01/24/2019)

Energy independence has been a goal, if not a dream, of the United States for more than 40 years, following the Arab oil embargo of 1973 that created widespread shortages and battered the national economy. Presidents from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump have promoted efforts to wean the nation from foreign oil.

Trump has pursued a policy he calls “energy dominance,” focusing on increasing production of oil, gas and coal. The Energy Department, however, noted that energy independence would be achieved in part by consumers who, concerned about climate change, are increasing energy efficiency as a way to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, which accelerate global warming. The agency predicted that overall domestic energy consumption will remain relatively flat.

In a separate report, independent research firm Rystad Energy forecast that the United States will produce more oil and hydrocarbon liquids, which include natural gas liquids such as ethane, propane and butane, than Russia and Saudi Arabia combined by 2025.

America is set to surpass Saudi Arabia in a 'remarkable' oil milestone (CNN)

With ample supply at home, Congress in 2015 lifted the 40-year oil export ban. Overseas oil sales have exploded since then. And the US Gulf Coast is racing to build facilities that can handle surging foreign demand for US crude. "Excess fossil fuels from America will find plenty of eager buyers in fast-growing Asia," Per Magnus Nysveen, senior partner at Rystad Energy, wrote in the report. [...]

Earlier this year, the Energy Department's statistics division predicted that the United States will export more energy than it imports in 2020. That hasn't happened since 1953.

That has important national security implications. While the United States will still need to import oil to power its economy, it's no longer as beholden to foreign oil as it once was. Meanwhile, China is importing more oil than ever before.

Oil shale boom will keep rocking world crude prices as US moves closer to becoming net exporter (CNBC)

The U.S., now the world’s largest oil producer, is playing the role of disruptor in the global energy market.

Production has grown to a record 12.1 million barrels a day, eclipsing both Russia and Saudi Arabia in the past year. Exports have exceeded 3 million barrels a day, overtaking many OPEC nations. The implications are significant for both the U.S. and the oil market, which has seen huge price swings in just the past six months alone. [...]

U.S. shale has posed a dilemma for OPEC as it has grown in spurts over the past decade, creating supply imbalances by pumping more when prices rise and cutting back as they drop. To battle the glut created by U.S. drillers, Russia formed an alliance with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the OPEC members, and together they have actively tried to either reduce or add supply to the market. But unlike those producers, U.S. production is driven by companies responding to market forces and that adds to the volatility in the world oil market.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:36 AM on March 10, 2019 [5 favorites]

YES! At SXSW:

Inslee: "I call on every candidate to join me in ending the filibuster so we can deal with climate change."
posted by chris24 at 8:07 AM on March 10, 2019 [9 favorites]

The bogus number at the center of the GOP’s Green New Deal attacks (Politico)
Republicans' estimates that the climate plan would cost $93 trillion are based on a think tank study that doesn't endorse that total.

The Green New Deal isn’t even a plan yet — at the moment it’s a non-binding resolution that calls for major action to stop greenhouse gas pollution while reducing income inequality and creating "millions of good, high-wage jobs." But top Republicans have embraced the $93 trillion price tag, using it to argue that the climate plan would bankrupt the United States. [...]

Green New Deal supporters acknowledge that their preferred polices won't be free, but they say Republicans are acting in bad faith by trying to paint the resolution with a specific brush so early and refusing to acknowledge that unchecked climate change poses its own economic risks. For instance, a United Nations report last fall estimated a global cost of as much as $69 trillion from even a modest rise in global temperatures. [...]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also kept pushing the talking point, noting that $93 trillion is “more than the combined annual GDP of every nation on Earth” — as well as more than enough to “buy every American a Ferrari.”

The figure has been a fixture of GOP messaging since AAF released its report on Feb. 25. [...] “Given that the [Green New Deal] is at this point simply a set of long-term goals, without any specification of how those goals would be achieved, any estimate of cost is itself likely to be exceptionally speculative,” Robert Stavins, an environmental economist at Harvard University, said in an email. Many studies that warn of dire economic effects overstate the potential harm, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts review of environmental policies. [...]

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in October that the global cost of temperatures rising 1.5 degrees Celsius — the target the Green New Deal aims to avoid — would be $54 trillion in 2100. That would rise to $69 trillion in a 2-degree scenario. Those targets also served as the basis of the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, which Trump has announced plans to abandon.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:17 AM on March 10, 2019 [13 favorites]

Trump budget to seek $8.6 billion in new funding for Mexico border wall, setting up another clash with Congress (WaPo)

Trump Budget to Request $8.6 Billion in Additional Wall Funding (NYT)

The request, which will come as part of Mr. Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget proposal, is certain to reignite a conflict with Democrats that led to a record-long government shutdown this year. [...]

Mr. Trump’s budget is most likely dead on arrival in Congress, where Democrats now control the House. Many of his past proposals, including cuts in some federal spending programs, additional border wall funding and a large federal infrastructure initiative, failed to advance in Congress even when Republicans controlled both chambers.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:50 AM on March 10, 2019 [4 favorites]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also kept pushing the talking point, noting that $93 trillion is ... more than enough to “buy every American a Ferrari.”

Something tells me McConnell doesn't quite grasp the concept of the New Green Deal.
posted by JackFlash at 8:53 AM on March 10, 2019 [19 favorites]

Mueller failure to have Trump testify would be a mistake – Schiff (Guardian)

Schiff warned that without sworn testimony by Trump, the public is unlikely to learn the details of his business pursuits in Russia, his communications with Russian president Vladimir Putin and other matters.

“I’ve said all along that I don’t think Bob Mueller should rely on written answers,” Schiff said, adding: “Here you need to be able to ask follow-up questions in real time.”

Schiff also said he believed that Trump might still be hoping to build a tower in Moscow or to make a similar deal.

“It potentially explains the president’s bizarre affinity for Vladimir Putin,” he said, “and that is, that he stood to make more money from this transaction than any deal in his life and sought the Kremlin’s help to make it happen while concealing this from the public.

“That still may be an animating principle for the president, he may believe that when he leaves office that he still wants to build this tower. And while that may not be criminal it is nonetheless corrupt.”

posted by Little Dawn at 9:03 AM on March 10, 2019 [15 favorites]

In 2018 Beto O'Rourke endorsed Republican Bill Hurd over the Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, who would have been Texas' first lesbian, first Iraq war veteran, and first Filipina-American in Congress. Gina Ortiz Jones lost by just 1,150 votes.

Today Bill Hurd said that he would vote for Trump over Beto if Beto is the nominee.

Beto seems to be much too naive to be president.
posted by JackFlash at 9:12 AM on March 10, 2019 [54 favorites]

They livestreamed a bipartisan road trip more than a year before the election, but I don't think O'Rourke ever actually endorsed Hurd.
posted by Rhaomi at 9:26 AM on March 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

@kylegriffin1 [video]: Remarkable @mehdirhasan interview: Erik Prince admits to meeting with members of the Trump campaign in August 2016 after, according to a public transcript, apparently failing to disclose the gathering during his testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee last year.

Schiff: Erik Prince did not disclose 2016 Trump Tower meeting to Intelligence Committee (The Hill)

Prince said during an interview that aired Friday on Al Jazeera's "Head to Head" that he was present at an Aug. 3, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower to "talk about Iran policy." He added that he disclosed the meeting during November 2017 testimony before the Intelligence Committee, even though it does not appear in a transcript of his testimony.

Schiff said Sunday during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Prince, the former head of Blackwater and the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, was "certainly not telling the truth" about his testimony in the Al Jazeera interview.

"There’s nothing wrong with our transcript," Schiff said. "There was nothing wrong with the reporter who transcribed his testimony. He did not disclose that meeting to our committee.”

posted by Little Dawn at 9:37 AM on March 10, 2019 [15 favorites]

If I recall correctly, it was more of a refusal to strongly back Jones on account of Beto's friendship with Hurd, as opposed to an outright endorsement.
posted by Selena777 at 10:18 AM on March 10, 2019

[New Yorker essay]
Adam Gopnik claims Democrats would be wasting their time bringing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump because a GOP-controlled Senate would never let it happen:
A point common to all the anti-impeachment arguments, though, comes right out of an old Western; as the lawmen used to say about the cattle-rustling varmint after he was caught, ‘Hanging’s too good for him’. In this case, impeachment is seen as too rarefied, too technical a proceeding to end Trumpism. Trump should be defeated at the polls; ejecting him in any other way provides too many opportunities for after-the-fact stab-in-the-back recriminations, and will only further convince his base that the ‘deep state’ conspired against him.
posted by growabrain at 10:36 AM on March 10, 2019

MAGA diehards create their own Yelp system for Trump friendly businesses
posted by The Whelk at 10:41 AM on March 10, 2019 [4 favorites]

Donald Trump admired the Russian badass's macho posturing, Putin was happy to have the attention (Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon)

Russia Scandal Part 2: Trump didn't know much more about Putin than what's on cable news, but he liked what he saw
...

Recent revelations that Trump was pursuing a deal to build a Trump Tower in the center of Moscow during the campaign of 2016 raised suspicions that Trump was flattering Putin to get the Russian leader to approve the deal. But I think it’s way, way deeper than that. I think Trump looked at Putin, and he said to himself, that’s the kind of leader I admire. He runs his country with a strong hand. He gets things done. Trump actually admired the guy. Putin ran Russia by fiat, and Obama was “weak” because he adhered to democratic rules and norms.
...

See, “sanctions” aren’t just pieces of paper presidents of the United States sign to needle foreign leaders and try to bring them back in line. Sanctions are a powerful tool used to project power because of where they come from: the USA. You start telling officials of a foreign government like, say, Russia that they can’t travel to the United States, they can’t facilitate deals here on behalf of corporations from that country, and most importantly, they can’t move millions and billions they’ve skimmed off their economy through American financial institutions . . . well, that fucking hurts, and hurts badly.
...

... the sanctions Obama imposed in March of 2014 weren’t some little pain in the ass for Putin. They were a major threat to his power. They cut deeply into the Russian economy. They caused financial pain to billionaire allies and business partners he needed to maintain his political power inside Russia. Putin’s sitting there in Moscow, and he’s looking at a nearby leader unnervingly similar to him, [Ukrainian president] Yanukovych, another crook who’s running his government like a personal piggy bank, and he’s watching Yanukovych get thrown out, and he’s thinking, this could happen to me.

How to survive as an autocratic leader is in Putin’s blood. In 1989, he was a KGB agent serving in the city of Dresden in East Germany when almost overnight, the autocratic government of that Russian satellite nation fell. Putin stayed up all night burning KGB and Stasi secret records when the wall came down. He returned to Russia convinced, as he said later, that the fall of the Soviet Union was “the greatest catastrophe of the [20th] century.” In short order, he began a campaign to rise to power in Russia and make certain the same fate would never befall him.

posted by ZeusHumms at 10:44 AM on March 10, 2019 [13 favorites]

AOC must reset a conversation stolen by the GOP: The Green New Deal is an economic stimulus program (Bob Hennelly, Salon)

Progressive Dems left the GND's pro-growth message unprotected, while the GOP barked about a "willingness to work"

Article starts with that line from the FAQ, but expands on the pro-growth message.

As far as the Green New Deal, [John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union] says boosters increase their odds of winning over labor if advocates for GND not only push “for the greening” of the economy but for creating “societal structures that protect working families.”

“It’s simply not sufficient enough to talk about worker protections abstractly, almost as an afterthought,” he said. “FDR recognized that driving societal change required the creation of legislated structures to enshrine and cement New Deal worker protection programs such as Social Security and the 40-hour work week with the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

He continued, “The amount of wealth that corporations and individual billionaires are going to generate in this scary new future is unfathomable, immeasurable. They will succeed eliminating workers in some, if not many, areas of our existing economic system. There is no current substantive policy discussion about this negative impact on workers and no discussion of worker protection structures that will accompany the advancement of technology.”

Perhaps, the Green New Deal’s legislative preamble needs to explicitly reference FDR’s second bill of rights [wikipedia entry], so Americans are clear that a truly sustainable green economy depends on insuring that meaningful work is respected as a human right.

After all, saving the planet is ALL about work not about avoiding it.

Added links to Second Bill of Rights. Green New Deal could save the economy and our ecosystem, if allowed. The GOP attacks on it are classic moves for them; casting aspersions and turning it into 'us versus them'.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:04 AM on March 10, 2019 [12 favorites]

A point common to all the anti-impeachment arguments, though, comes right out of an old Western; as the lawmen used to say about the cattle-rustling varmint after he was caught, ‘Hanging’s too good for him’. In this case, impeachment is seen as too rarefied, too technical a proceeding to end Trumpism. Trump should be defeated at the polls; ejecting him in any other way provides too many opportunities for after-the-fact stab-in-the-back recriminations, and will only further convince his base that the ‘deep state’ conspired against him.


And if Trump is defeated in the 2020 election, they will retreat to their prepared position that the election was "rigged" and was won by millions of illegal votes from non-citizens and African-Americans riding buses. So should we let him win, just so that the victims of economic anxiety feel good about themselves?
posted by thelonius at 11:10 AM on March 10, 2019 [19 favorites]

Adam Gopnik claims Democrats would be wasting their time bringing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump because a GOP-controlled Senate would never let it happen:

Adam Gopnik also notes:

The argument for Trump’s eviction rests not on the kinds of laws that he would like to pass but on his unique contempt for the whole concept of the rule of law. Even before the House investigations get going, or the Mueller report is delivered, or the prosecutors finish their work, there is already too much evidence of this contempt to let it alone. [...]

The best argument for impeachment is, ironically, the case for national unity. Americans ought to be able to agree that, while all opinions are open to debate, some behavior really is out of bounds. An impeachment trial can’t be won? Well, the Republican Party may be obedient now, but there is just enough Never Trumping among those who were once the staunchest of conservatives to make it clear that the difference between constitutional conservatism and thuggishness is real and can be argued for, and maybe even partly won. [...]

The House may soon find itself moving toward impeachment in any case. On top of the House investigations, New York State regulators last week subpoenaed Trump’s insurance broker, following allegations of irregularities raised during the recent testimony of Michael Cohen. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors continue to explore various activities related to Trump’s campaign and his family businesses. [...]

Pragmatism is not a way of negating principle but, rather, the realist’s way of pursuing principle. The arguments against impeachment today are primarily pragmatic, the arguments for it primarily principled, but the principled course could, before long, turn into the only practical course. Impeachment may be too good for Trump. It may yet prove just the thing for the country.

posted by Little Dawn at 11:18 AM on March 10, 2019 [7 favorites]

In this case, impeachment is seen as too rarefied, too technical a proceeding to end Trumpism

This is kind of a silly argument. Impeachment requires a degree of political consensus in DC that, given our incredibly polarized political sphere, would only be possible if there was broad, sustained, and very vocal public desire from a vast majority of Americans for impeachment. Basically it would have to have gone so far that both Bernie Sanders and Mitch McConnell could agree to vote for it. If this happened nobody would care about the stabbed-in-the-back recriminations of the Trump partisans who were still trying to hold on. They would be truly the lunatic fringe. (This incidentally is also why impeachment won’t succeed, or at least is hard to imagine happening at this point: they are *not* the lunatic fringe. They’re the lunatic mainstream.)
posted by dis_integration at 11:19 AM on March 10, 2019 [9 favorites]

“I think the person we believe in is the person who will win,” @AOC says about 2020. “Everyone starts triangulating about what they think will win rather than what they believe.”

I don't want to start a pro/con AOC but this quote is precisely what I believe, and I fear for a Democratic party that is focused solely on who can win.


No need to mediate this notion through an AOC lens. Pete Buttigieg made that same point on Stay Tuned with Preet last week. Worth listening to in its entirety.
posted by perspicio at 11:36 AM on March 10, 2019 [10 favorites]

I'm dubious and think Iowans probably just really like old white dudes.

It's weird, it feels like even the best of us have trouble remembering the recent mid-term elections. I live in SoCal and was talking with a (well-informed) friend recently as we drove through Orange County, and he was lamenting how icky the area made him feel, just knowing how "red" O.C. votes. I was nodding along in sad agreement... until I recalled that the *entire* county (7 congressional districts) is now represented by Democrats! (some really good ones too! (Katie Porter!!!!)). We won that! We organized, we marched, and we knocked on doors (me for the first time in 30+ years of being a voter) and we won.

I don't know Iowa like I know SoCal, but I was donating to J.D. Scholten* often enough to keep an eye on Iowa and I think it's important to remember that what we may have long thought of as a conservative, rural, mid-west kinda place now has 3 D's and 1 R representing them. (Previously 3 R's and 1 D). Looking at all the D websites from the last election... yep, they were running on pretty "lefty" platforms: some kind of healthcare for all, sensible immigration reform, (okay not much about gun regulation).
Oh, the point of all this: 2 of the new D's in Iowa are women. Quite a few of the new D's in Orange County (SoCal) are also women. HRC *did* win the popular vote by 3+ million.

*Scholten did not win, but he certainly gave that racist shit-bag Steve King a run for his money. J.D. came from nowhere (politically) to within ~3% on election day. I have no doubt Steve King lost sleep over that, and that makes me smile. :D
posted by ButteryMales at 11:53 AM on March 10, 2019 [27 favorites]

MAGA diehards create their own Yelp system for Trump friendly businesses

excellent idea, now i know which businesses to avoid
posted by entropicamericana at 12:42 PM on March 10, 2019 [24 favorites]

weird how the people who blew a fucking gasket over an imaginary sex ring run out of the basement of a pizza parlor that has no basement have all gone silent over the actual sex ring run by the denizens of the president's tacky golf resort and omelet bar
posted by growabrain at 12:46 PM on March 10, 2019 [46 favorites]

"This is kind of a silly argument. Impeachment requires a degree of political consensus in DC that, given our incredibly polarized political sphere, would only be possible if there was broad, sustained, and very vocal public desire from a vast majority of Americans for impeachment."

At this point, I really have no clue what it would take to cause self-identified Republicans to sour on Trump. My "surely this" meter broke long ago. But I am still very confident that when they do, it will be rapid and nearly universal. I say "when" because while I have no confidence this will happen before he's out of office, I'm certain it will happen eventually once he is. Though I'd like to believe they'd strongly turn on him and revile him, I think it's more likely they'll just avoid thinking about him, like they did Nixon. A Nixon-like ignominy is in his future -- whether it's when he's still living, I don't know but I hope so.

As I said, I'm flummoxed on what it will take. But I really do think that his support isn't actually that strong -- he's a celebrity President, his fans like him as long as he's entertaining them. If he's no fun anymore and is seen as ineffectual, the bubble will burst. I won't be surprised if this happens in the next couple of years and leads to an impeachment, but I won't be surprised if it doesn't. But I think it's a miscalculation to say it cannot happen. Under present conditions, it seems highly unlikely. But that could change rapidly.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:47 PM on March 10, 2019 [14 favorites]

NYT, Footage Contradicts U.S. Claim That Maduro Burned Aid Convoy

The narrative seemed to fit Venezuela’s authoritarian rule: Security forces, on the order of President Nicolás Maduro, had torched a convoy of humanitarian aid as millions in his country were suffering from illness and hunger.

Vice President Mike Pence wrote that “the tyrant in Caracas danced” as his henchmen “burned food & medicine.” The State Department released a video saying Mr. Maduro had ordered the trucks burned. And Venezuela’s opposition held up the images of the burning aid, reproduced on dozens of news sites and television screens throughout Latin America, as evidence of Mr. Maduro’s cruelty.

But there is a problem: The opposition itself, not Mr. Maduro’s men, appears to have set the cargo alight accidentally.

Unpublished footage obtained by The New York Times and previously released tapes — including footage released by the Colombian government, which has blamed Mr. Maduro for the fire — allowed for a reconstruction of the incident. It suggests that a Molotov cocktail thrown by an antigovernment protester was the most likely trigger for the blaze.

posted by zachlipton at 1:12 PM on March 10, 2019 [12 favorites]

We've since moved on to new forms of stupidity, such as Marco Rubio saying a transformer exploded at the German Dam in Venezuela, leading to major power outages. Germán Dam is the name of one of the reporters who reported the story.
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on March 10, 2019 [64 favorites]

MoJo updates their scoop: The Massage Parlor Owner Peddling Access to Trump Has Ties to Chinese Government-Linked Groups—The Cindy Yang caper takes another turn.

Li Yang, the Florida massage parlor entrepreneur who created and operated a business that sold Chinese business executives access to President Donald Trump and his family at Mar-a-Lago, has yet another intriguing line of work. She is an officer of two groups with ties to China’s Communist government. And she founded a Miami-based nonprofit that promotes “economic and cultural exchange” between China and the West in coordination with “senior…Chinese leaders” in the United States, according to a profile of Yang posted on a Chinese social media platform.[…]

According to the profile of Yang that appears on the Chinese-language site Freewechat—which compiles posts from the Chinese social media platform WeChat—she was invited in 2016 “to serve as a member of the National Committee of the Asian American Republican Party.” The story notes that Yang was also tapped for senior roles in two other groups focused on China-related issues: the Florida branch of the Council for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification of China (CPPRC) and the Miami chapter of the American arm of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology. Both organizations have direct links to China’s Communist Party, and the CPPRC has been described as a vehicle for projecting Chinese influence in the West.[…]

In 2015, Yang formed a charity, initially called the Overseas International Female Organization (its name was subsequently changed to the Women’s Charity Foundation), stating in its incorporation records that its mission was to promote “cultural and economic exchange between China” and the West. The Freewechat profile of Yang notes that this organization, which does not appear to have nonprofit status, was formed jointly with “senior overseas Chinese leaders,” which seems to be a reference to leaders of the Chinese-American community. The year the organization was founded, Yang, as its representative, was invited to attend the welcoming ceremony for three Chinese warships that docked in Florida along with the Chinese ambassador to the United States and China’s consul general.

Brooking’s Susan Hennessey observes, “Guess who else has 100% known about this from the beginning? Chinese intelligence services.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:08 PM on March 10, 2019 [38 favorites]

A hattrick of Swansongs.

Axios, Swan, Trump tells RNC donors: "The Democrats hate Jewish people"

To prevent leaks from Trump's Friday night Mar-a-Lago speech to RNC donors, security guards made attendees put their cellphones in magnetized pouches that they carried around like purses until they left the club. So leakers had to rely on their memories.
...
1. Referring to the recent anti-Semitism controversies with Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, Trump told the donors: "The Democrats hate Jewish people."

Trump said he didn't understand how any Jew could vote for a Democrat these days. Trump talked about how much he'd done for Israel, noting his historic decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Trump said if he could run to be prime minister of Israel, he'd be at 98% in the polls, according to three sources who were there.

2. Trump went off on what one guest called a "bizarre tangent." He described being home alone in the White House over Christmas "while the Democrats were in Hawaii."

Trump described opening his curtain to look at Secret Service agents swarming the White House lawn. "They're in the trees, on the lawn," he said.
He said he saw agents wearing night vision goggles. "They're in blackface," Trump added, jokingly referring to the masks over the agents' faces.
Trump joked that the agents were "in blackface" because of the masks so maybe "they have to take them away," according to two sources who were there.

This is where I'll point out that 75-80% of American Jews voted for Democrats in the midterms. In other words, this cycle, Jews voted for Democrats more than white evangelical Christians voted for Republicans.

Axios, Swan, Trump lied to RNC donors about "Tim Apple" video

Trump told the donors that he actually said "Tim Cook Apple" really fast, and the "Cook" part of the sentence was soft. But all you heard from the "fake news," he said, was "Tim Apple."

Two donors who were there told me they couldn't understand why the president would make such a claim given the whole thing is captured on video...."I just thought, why would you lie about that," one of the donors told me. "It doesn't even matter!"

Yes, maybe the assholes who keep funding this guy should try asking themselves why they keep paying him to lie about obviously disprovable things. But lol nothing matters, right?

Axios, Swan, The White House triangulation plan

The plan — which acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and policy staff are developing, and which is in its early stages — would have Trump sign a series of executive orders on issues including education, drug pricing, the opioid epidemic and veterans affairs. Aides say the moves would appeal to Democrats and Republicans.
...
But it has some major, immediate hurdles.

First, you can't exactly break out the confetti cannon over a bunch of new task forces.
Second, centrist issues rarely excite the president. So even if he makes meaningful moves, his aides may still have to battle to get him to capitalize on them.

So Mulvaney realized they've been spending a lot of time spewing nonsense and not much time looking like they're Presidenting, so they're busy writing some dumb pieces of paper for him to sign so he can look busy on topics that people actually care about, but they're worried he'll get bored with them and forget to brag about it. Do I have that right?
posted by zachlipton at 3:31 PM on March 10, 2019 [35 favorites]

We may not have the slam dunk evidence we need to successfully impeach Trump, but we have enough evidence to show the people that Trump is obviously corrupt and guilty of collusion and that Republicans don't care. Politics aside, that's a compelling moral reason to move forward with impeachment proceedings. Don't let it be said that you stood by and did nothing.
posted by xammerboy at 3:44 PM on March 10, 2019 [12 favorites]

CNN is doing 3 back to back Town Halls today, with Delaney, Gabbard, and Buttgieg. That should tell you what CNN thinks of their chances to win and ratings for the network.
posted by Justinian at 3:57 PM on March 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

Audio surfaces of Tucker Carlson on a shockjock program having a lot of opinions about underage girls
posted by The Whelk at 4:23 PM on March 10, 2019 [35 favorites]

First of all, who is "Delaney?" Rhetorical in the age of Google, but still.

Second of all
maybe the assholes who keep funding this guy should try asking themselves why they keep paying him to lie about obviously disprovable things

Because that's the dictator's way: everything Trump does is designed to communicate that the rules don't apply to him. This can be extended into the laws not applying to him, Biblical morality not applying to him, tradition, best practices...nothing. He gets to do whatever he wants, and whatever he does is the right thing to do. Anybody who has a problem with it is wrong, but most importantly: the rules don't apply to him.
posted by rhizome at 4:37 PM on March 10, 2019 [6 favorites]

Emerson Michigan poll of 2020 Dems.

1. Biden: 40%
2. Sanders: 23%
3. Harris: 12%
4. Warren: 11%
5. Everyone Else: lol

Very strong number for Biden in a primary which Sanders won in 2016. But Sanders is the second choice among most Biden voters (old white guys unite!), so whether he runs or not is again the central question which will likely define the primary.
posted by Justinian at 4:39 PM on March 10, 2019

Because that's the dictator's way

I should clarify, the point is that they're paying him to lie on purpose. If they can establish lies as truth, the sky's the limit for power, one-party rule, etc. Trump lies or doesn't care about the truth all the time because each instance, each lie, each made up fact provides a measurement of how much people are accepting lies as truth.
posted by rhizome at 4:46 PM on March 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

A sudden thought on the Sanders/Biden supporters: we’ve thrown around “old white guys” and “name recognition”, but it just occurred to me that they both have very positive reputations with large segments of the internet – compare The Onion’s “Diamond Joe” with the Twitter/Tumblr Sanders memes (“Birdie Sanders,” etc). Are we possibly seeing some of that effect in the crossover support?
posted by Daughter of Time at 5:03 PM on March 10, 2019 [3 favorites]

Dunno, I think you're greatly overestimating the penetration of those sorts of memes with the general voter. The big majority will never have heard of Diamond Joe Biden or Birdie Sanders, and I say this as someone who lives and breathes the internet.
posted by Justinian at 5:22 PM on March 10, 2019 [18 favorites]

I think one thing that is unclear at this point is how much of Biden/Sanders support is due to name recognition.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:16 PM on March 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

538 has an approval/name rec graphic for Iowa for an idea of how things sand name rec wise.

(everyone hates schultzie)
posted by Justinian at 6:23 PM on March 10, 2019 [4 favorites]

I'm paying pretty close attention to the primary field as it shapes up, and I'm still trying to train myself to say Buttigieg's name right. At this point, everybody knows who Biden is, and most people have favorable impression of him, so he's the front-runner in the early polls. That can change a lot as the campaigns really get underway and people learn more about the candidates. Biden's not going to be able to coast on name recognition and vaguely positive impressions forever. He's starting out with an advantage, but he's going have to compete with some smart, charismatic candidates with strong track records in elected office and whose positions are popular with Democratic voters to convince people to vote for him the primaries.

We'll see what happens. It's still almost a year before the first primary and caucus votes. (I live in a Super Tuesday state, and my vote almost definitely isn't going to be for Biden or Bernie. Not a vote against them, mind you, but there are other candidates I like better.)
posted by nangar at 6:30 PM on March 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

I only know because I live in SB, but I have to think of it as "Bootijudge".
posted by worldswalker at 6:52 PM on March 10, 2019 [4 favorites]

I think we're all going to get a lot of practice in the near future.
posted by nangar at 7:07 PM on March 10, 2019 [4 favorites]

He was great on “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.”
posted by notyou at 7:50 PM on March 10, 2019

UPDATE: @mmfa confirms they have more recordings of Carlson to be released soon
posted by The Whelk at 8:01 PM on March 10, 2019 [7 favorites]

I've now seen/heard three or four long interviews with Pete Buttigieg, and he's been very impressive in all of them. Smart, seems to understand the issues, good communicator.

While it's probably too big of a stretch for the mayor of a medium-size city to go directly to being President, he could be a real contender for VP if the eventual nominee is looking for a Midwesterner to balance the ticket geographically. If he's not the pick for VP, he easily could be a cabinet secretary for HUD, or maybe even another department.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 8:04 PM on March 10, 2019 [15 favorites]

About the only noteworthy thing that happened at any of the Town Halls today seems like Gabbard saying she can't say whether or not Assad is a war criminal for gassing everyone. So she's staying on brand, anyway. Delaney and Buttgieg were fine I guess.
posted by Justinian at 8:04 PM on March 10, 2019 [6 favorites]

From what I saw and am reading on Twitter and Facebook Buttigieg crushed it. Well prepared, poised, articulate, good answers.

Hell, I'd call it a win just for this line.

Kyle Griffin (MSNBC:
Pete Buttigieg on Pence's support of Trump: "How could he allow himself to become the cheerleader of the porn star presidency. Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump?"
VIDEO

---

His answer on whether he's too young or inexperienced was good as well.
posted by chris24 at 8:19 PM on March 10, 2019 [43 favorites]

While it's probably too big of a stretch for the mayor of a medium-size city to go directly to being President

Traditionally, there is an an intermediate stop at governor.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:23 PM on March 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

Andrew Yang Has A Meme Problem
posted by bootlegpop at 9:35 PM on March 10, 2019

New Yorker, Osita Nwanevu, Democrats Push to Make Washington, D.C., the Fifty-first State

In the coming days, the House will vote on, and likely pass, H.R. 51, a bill that would make Washington, D.C., the fifty-first state. The bill, which has two hundred co-sponsors, was introduced by Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who for nearly thirty years has served as the non-voting representative for D.C.’s single at-large district. During her time in Congress, Holmes Norton has introduced more than a dozen statehood bills; this will be the first since 1993 to receive a vote. But because Washington, D.C., is not a state, Holmes Norton cannot vote on her own bill, or on final passage of other legislation on the House floor.

In the Senate, a companion piece of legislation, introduced by Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware, has twenty-eight co-sponsors, including all of that chamber’s candidates for President: Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. A few weeks ago, I asked Warren about her interest in statehood and why she thinks the issue should galvanize Democrats. “It matters,” she said. “Here’s an example. In 2017, when Republicans tried to rip away health care from millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of people in D.C., Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton didn’t have a vote. This is not right. The right to vote is at the heart of our democracy.”

posted by zachlipton at 10:01 PM on March 10, 2019 [25 favorites]

Andrew Yang Has A Meme Problem

for those of us who keep an eye on the chans and /pol/ cause we want to know whats gonna be on Fox News in a week, they;re really upset the Yang Gang is flooding the memestack and in open opposition to Trumpers/Nazis
posted by The Whelk at 10:22 PM on March 10, 2019 [11 favorites]

AOC and Bill Nye at SXSW, per Gizmodo:

In a question and answer session during the Saturday event, Nye addressed Ocasio-Cortez with a question about political polarization and “fear,” specifically as it relates to climate change.

“I think the problem on both sides is fear,” Nye said. “People of my ancestry are afraid of having to pay for everything as immigrants come into this country. The people who work for the diner in Alabama are afraid to try to ask for what is reasonable. So do you have a plan to work with people in Congress that are afraid? I think that’s what’s going on with many of the conservatives, especially when it comes to climate change. People are afraid of what will happen if we try to make these big changes.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who introduced a Green New Deal resolution last month, called Nye’s appearance at the event “amazing” before dropping the knowledge on the importance of nixing what she called a “zero-sum mentality,” or the idea that gain for one person comes at a loss for another.

“We can give without a take,” she said. “The difference between a cost and an investment is that an investment yields returns. When we choose to invest in our systems, we are choosing to create wealth.”

(YouTube)
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:24 PM on March 10, 2019 [46 favorites]

Yang2020: You can't accuse him of buying votes... because that's his entire policy platform.
posted by xammerboy at 10:28 PM on March 10, 2019 [6 favorites]

the quote I liked from AOC this SXSW is “We should not be haunted by the specter of being automated out of work,” she said in response. “We should be excited by that. But the reason we’re not excited by it is because we live in a society where if you don’t have a job, you are left to die. And that is, at its core, our problem.”
posted by The Whelk at 10:39 PM on March 10, 2019 [129 favorites]

Well, he's also for Medicare for All and mass pardoning all minor drug offenders, and 76 other policies on his site.
posted by Apocryphon at 10:51 PM on March 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

I'm probably a step behind The Whelk, in that I read people who monitor dark places like the Chans, but don't go there to get direct info anymore.

I'm glad that Yang sees a problem with these memes, but “Andrew Yang supporters, be SMART with your memes" is a remarkably timid and crappy reaction to have white supremacist followers posting white supremacy based pro-Yang memes. I'm glad that his campaign also says that they don't want support from white supremacists, but that first quote sounds more like he's telling people to turn down their power levels. It would also be swell if he would directly disavow the support of Richard Spencer.
posted by bootlegpop at 10:56 PM on March 10, 2019 [6 favorites]

the quote I liked from AOC this SXSW is “We should not be haunted by the specter of being automated out of work,” she said in response. “We should be excited by that. But the reason we’re not excited by it is because we live in a society where if you don’t have a job, you are left to die. And that is, at its core, our problem.”

This is the first time in my life there has been a politician talking not just about changing the system, but about building a better system completely. Not even Bernie does this. It's great, and is probably the primary reason the establishment absolutely loathes her.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:56 PM on March 10, 2019 [80 favorites]

I asked Warren about her interest in statehood and why she thinks the issue should galvanize Democrats. “It matters,” she said. “Here’s an example. In 2017, when Republicans tried to rip away health care from millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of people in D.C., Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton didn’t have a vote. This is not right. The right to vote is at the heart of our democracy.”

Damn straight.

We often fret about the increased weight of a voter living in Wyoming to, say, a voter living in California. But DC residents have no effective legislative representation, and more people live in DC than in all of Wyoming. Or Vermont.

The people who live there have just as much right to representation in the House and Senate as anyone else.

Also, Puerto Rico, especially considering that we have Senators like Marco Rubio -- not even remotely the worst of the GOP lot, as dismal of a contest as that is -- who are all too quick to shoot of their mouths about a power outage lasting days in Venezuela without thinking about how Puerto Rico went months without power, and that's actually a situation Rubio in theory has influence over.
posted by wildblueyonder at 11:07 PM on March 10, 2019 [43 favorites]

Yang pretty strongly denounces the memes in his full statement:

“I denounce and disavow hatred, bigotry, racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and the alt-right in all its many forms. Full stop,” Yang said in a statement. “For anyone with this agenda, we do not want your support. We do not want your votes. You are not welcome in this campaign.”

“As one of the first Asian American candidates for President in our history and the son of immigrants, I see racism and white nationalism as a threat to the core ideals of what it means to be an American,” Yang continued. “I have two young children who will grow up in this country. I know what that means. “

Also, I shouldn't have suggested that Yang's just running on UBI. He sounds like an interesting guy, and I'll definitely hear him out. Also, I am very interested in UBI.

I checked out the Yang memes on twitter and r/Donald. It's like watching the alt right eat itself alive. If their support for Yang sticks, it will be interesting to see what that means for Trump's base.
posted by xammerboy at 11:33 PM on March 10, 2019 [11 favorites]

Reddit and the chans are the trailing edge these days. It's Discord now.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:51 PM on March 10, 2019 [7 favorites]

Why do some of yall dislike Yang so much? Honest questions. He’s a POC son-of-immigrants with some great aspirations, like Medicare for All and UBI. His plans aren’t fully thought out, but he seems an Overton candidate more than anything.

Is it entirely because of the Silicon Valley? Or, like, Joe Rogan?
posted by weed donkey at 1:20 AM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

The first person that I heard about Yang from was a literal white supremacist. I've been seeing tons of sus people supporting him subsequently. Now people are writing about him having sus supporters. There are anti-Jewish memes out there from his ostensible supporters.

Maybe he will push the window on UBI, even though his idea of UBI is seemingly the worst possible form. However, I can't ignore all of that. Hence the fact that, before the article that I posted above was written, I was posting here asking what the deal with him is because all of these things seem really weird.
posted by bootlegpop at 1:35 AM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Sorry, what are 'sus people'? I tried a search but it's too short to be easily searchable.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:49 AM on March 11, 2019

My bad. I thought that the (non)word was more common. It's short for suspect, and was popularized by the weird and potentially evil Elon Musk while he was attacking that diver for living in Thailand.
posted by bootlegpop at 1:56 AM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

Kyle Griffin (MSNBC:
Pete Buttigieg on Pence's support of Trump: "How could he allow himself to become the cheerleader of the porn star presidency. Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump?"
VIDEO
He did really well there, not least because he started out by defining his and Pence's understandings of scripture in a genius way, making Pence look creepy without directly offending him till he hit with the porn star presidency.
posted by mumimor at 3:24 AM on March 11, 2019 [11 favorites]

Mod note: If people want to have an extended conversation about Andrew Yang, it would be better to make a separate post for that.
posted by taz (staff) at 5:28 AM on March 11, 2019 [7 favorites]

I doubt it's possible to offend or shame Pence and other evangelicals of his ilk by pointing out that Trump is, by their own definitions, an immoral man, because they've settled on the justification that he's a tool sent by God to carry out His will, and if this particular tool happens to be a lying, corrupt philanderer who is not himself religious at all, well...God works in mysterious ways. Also, white supremacist ends justify the means.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:48 AM on March 11, 2019 [12 favorites]

Why you still don't understand the Green New Deal - YouTube (8:34) Vox

Tactical framing begets cynicism.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:54 AM on March 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

(Truthfully it'd be swell to put all the 2020-contender stuff in a separate thread. I feel like it takes the focus away from nailing this criminal traitor and his clan to the wall.)

"Porn star presidency" is pretty dynamite though. I bet ol' Two Scoops would wear that baseball hat himself.
posted by petebest at 6:54 AM on March 11, 2019 [14 favorites]

God works in mysterious ways.

If only there was a biblical story of evil offering earthly power for betraying your faith.
posted by chris24 at 6:58 AM on March 11, 2019 [40 favorites]

President Trump won a 2018 club championship — without actually playing in it

This man's pettiness and insecurity knows no bounds.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:59 AM on March 11, 2019 [14 favorites]

I doubt it's possible to offend or shame Pence and other evangelicals of his ilk by pointing out that Trump is, by their own definitions, an immoral man, because they've settled on the justification that he's a tool sent by God to carry out His will, and if this particular tool happens to be a lying, corrupt philanderer who is not himself religious at all, well...God works in mysterious ways. Also, white supremacist ends justify the means.
I don't think it's so much about shaming Pence and others as it's about reframing Democrats. The Republicans have successfully branded the Democratic Party as an assembly of socialist babykilling atheists and it has worked on a lot of low-information voters. Saying (paraphrasing): My reading of scripture is about care and grace, his reading of scripture is something weird about sexuality is a nice beginning. I'm going to use it next time I'm in an argument above religion in politics.
posted by mumimor at 7:02 AM on March 11, 2019 [19 favorites]

Porn stars, like all sex workers, are working class people doing their best to keep afloat in a world that is hostile to them. I don't think they should be tainted by trying to associate them with Trump's Presidency, nor have their profession used as a synonym for illegitimacy or impropriety.
posted by sotonohito at 7:07 AM on March 11, 2019 [47 favorites]

President Trump won a 2018 club championship — without actually playing in it

[CW - insane autoplay music/video, visit with speakers safely low or off]
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 7:09 AM on March 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Author of "Trump on the Couch": Trump should be "quarantined"; Cohen should fear for his life (Chauncey DeVega, Salon)

Psychiatrist Justin Frank on how Donald Trump gaslights America, embraces cruelty and "attacks thought itself" …

When Nancy Pelosi publicly rejected and embarrassed him about his border wall, that must have enraged Trump in the same way as the North Korea summit. This "national emergency" was the result.

Donald Trump had a temper tantrum. Trump cannot give Pelosi a nasty nickname because he is afraid of her. Donald Trump is also afraid of Robert Mueller. Trump is afraid of Mueller in the same way he was afraid of his father. Trump is also afraid of Nancy Pelosi in a similar way. They get him. Pelosi and Mueller cannot be seduced or intimidated by Trump. They are not going to fall for Trump's con. Mueller and Pelosi know that Donald Trump is a disturbed person.

What is it like to be around someone who is a chronic liar? What does that do to people emotionally and cognitively?

Chronic liars felt lied to when they were little. They felt their parents lied to them when they told them they loved them. Chronic liars felt ignored by one or both parents. In Trump's case, he was ignored by his mother in many ways. Trump's father was tyrannical and made massive demands on him.

But in both cases, he ended up becoming the liar rather than being the victim of a liar. Trump would turn anybody he talks to into a fool, somebody who can be conned, somebody who's a jerk, somebody who's stupid, somebody who's a follower and who believes him.

Part of that is turning passive to active, turning victim into victimizer. But part of it is Trump also getting rid of a part of himself that he hates and fears. Trump hates and fears that part of himself that was fooled or felt mistreated. Trump pushes that onto other people because he thinks the American people are fools. Trump lies to us.

posted by ZeusHumms at 7:34 AM on March 11, 2019 [18 favorites]

zachlipton: To prevent leaks from Trump's Friday night Mar-a-Lago speech to RNC donors, security guards made attendees put their cellphones in magnetized pouches that they carried around like purses until they left the club. So leakers had to rely on their memories.

Pro-tip, from high schoolers: bring two phones, and only hand over one.

Or bring a pen recorder (Duck Duck Go search). Srsly, people, if you want to record the Trump's "expensive invite-only party rants," you can do find a way.

Meanwhile, ICE is continuing to release hundreds of migrants in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, which is good, except they're just dumping people with no regard as to helping them get somewhere else safely, stressing local immigrant resources (info via a county Democratic email list). Previously: ICE drops off hundreds more migrants in Texas and New Mexico, CBS News, Dec. 26, 2018

"They're coming from immigration cells so they're coming hungry, they're coming thirsty, most haven't bathed in a long time. The situation is really difficult for them," said Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute.

ICE said in a statement earlier this week the mass releases were designed to ensure families weren't held longer than it's allowed to detain them, and blamed "decades of inaction by Congress" that resulted in the government being "severely constrained in its ability to detain and promptly remove families with no legal basis to remain in the U.S."

522 migrants were released Wednesday [Dec. 26, 2019] by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at sites in El Paso and Las Cruces, New Mexico, raising the total number of people released that week to more than 1,000, after 186 people were released on Christmas Day and 400 were released in the two days before Christmas.

The first group of refugees who were released were about dropped off around 9 PM, at the El Paso Greyhound Station. The temperature hovered around 35 degrees, and some of the children had no shoes or jackets. Many were sick; most had fled violence in Central America and had nowhere to go and little or no money. (The Nation)
posted by filthy light thief at 7:36 AM on March 11, 2019 [27 favorites]

There’s no indication that the campaign has courted that support, and when reached by The Verge, Yang unequivocally rejected it. “I denounce and disavow hatred, bigotry, racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and the alt-right in all its many forms. Full stop,” Yang said in a statement. “For anyone with this agenda, we do not want your support. We do not want your votes. You are not welcome in this campaign.”

This should be printed out and sent to every conservative politician when they whine about being called bigots and misogynists just because “a few” of their supporters do shitty things. Where is your version of this, sir? Because unless you avoid dog whistling to these people and don’t loudly condemn and reject them, you own them. It’s not holding a group responsible for the actions of their extremists when they court their vote and won’t reject them for fear of losing an election.
posted by phearlez at 7:40 AM on March 11, 2019 [16 favorites]

Author of "Trump on the Couch": Trump should be "quarantined"

It wasn't cool when Republican doctors in Congress offered medical opinions on Terri Schaivo without examining her, and while it's legitimate for a psychiatrist to describe how Trump gaslights Americans, it isn't cool for him to offer diagnoses, no matter how much they appeal to our own confirmation bias.
posted by Gelatin at 7:42 AM on March 11, 2019 [16 favorites]

The week that could reveal Mueller’s end-game (Politico)

The centerpiece of this week’s action is Manafort’s sentencing. The punishment will put the final period on the case against Trump’s former campaign chairman. [...]

This week also is big for Stone, the longtime Trump confidant facing charges of lying to Congress and obstructing lawmakers’ Russia probe. Jackson, the same judge overseeing Manafort’s case, is scheduled to set a trial date during a Thursday hearing that will represent a useful tea leaf for gauging Mueller’s plans. [...]

Still more hints about Mueller’s trajectory may rest with status reports due in court for two of the special counsel's longest-running cooperators: Flynn and Gates. Lawyers for Mueller and Flynn must tell a federal judge by Wednesday whether they can move to sentence the former Trump national security adviser over a guilty plea in late 2017 for lying to the FBI. Flynn’s sentencing has been repeatedly delayed because the Mueller squad is still apparently pumping him for information about other lines of inquiry. This week’s report will be the first update on the subject since December, when the federal judge presiding over Flynn’s case convinced him during a tense court hearing to postpone his sentencing until his cooperation was complete. [...]

For Gates, a Friday deadline looms. The former Trump campaign deputy was the star witness against Manafort at his Virginia trial last summer and has been cooperating for more than a year with federal prosecutors. Attorneys for the special counsel and Gates have filed status reports four times with the court since his guilty plea last February, requesting delays in his case while he helps with several ongoing investigations. Friday’s filing could answer the question of whether Gates is still assisting prosecutors. [...]

Even a Justice Department budget due out Monday could give clues about how much longer Mueller will operate. Last year’s funding proposal included monetary projections for the special counsel's work. [...]

This week also will be busy for the 81 people, companies and government entities that House Democrats recently pumped for documents related to a slew of investigations into allegations of presidential power abuse, corruption and obstruction of justice. Their information will go to the House Judiciary Committee, which has the power to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Their deadline? Next Monday.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:43 AM on March 11, 2019 [8 favorites]

News You May Have Missed for 10 March, including the family planning gag rule, pending legislation, databases of journalists and protesters, the 76,000 migrants crossing each month and what that means, trade vs budget deficit, SpaceX, and more.
posted by joannemerriam at 7:44 AM on March 11, 2019 [7 favorites]

It wasn't cool when Republican doctors in Congress offered medical opinions on Terri Schaivo without examining her, and while it's legitimate for a psychiatrist to describe how Trump gaslights Americans, it isn't cool for him to offer diagnoses, no matter how much they appeal to our own confirmation bias.

I'm no doctor but the stuff this guy says seems calculated to get him media appearances more than anything substantial. Apparently he also psychoanalyzed-at-a-distance both Bush and Obama.

Both of them have fathers who are dead. Both of them have fathers who were authoritarian, and in fact tyrants. Kim Jong-un's father was a literal tyrant in his country. Trump's father was a tyrant in the home and also a tyrant in his dealings in business in Queens with other real estate builders as well as other people. Trump's father was ruthless and was widely known for that trait.

I mean, really? Having a father who runs a hermit nation is basically the same as having a father who is a real-estate developer- does that seem likely?

Chronic liars felt lied to when they were little. They felt their parents lied to them when they told them they loved them. Chronic liars felt ignored by one or both parents.

All of them? It's bold pronouncements like this that make people justifiably suspicious of psychoanalysis. This feels more like astrology than science.

Donald Trump is a narcissist, liar, sociopath, racist, sexist, adulterer, baby, hypocrite, tax cheat, outlaw, psychopath, paranoid, fraud, ignorant, vengeful, delusional, arrogant, greedy, contemptuous, unsympathetic, without empathy, learning-disabled, cruel, obstructer of justice, threat to the Constitution, a traitor.

This is #resistance-level bloviating, imho
posted by BungaDunga at 7:57 AM on March 11, 2019 [16 favorites]

It's time to check the Senate majority leader's power: Mitch McConnell doesn't represent the people (Daley Gruen, Salon)

The senator from Kentucky all but single-handedly controls what has the chance to become a law in this country […]

It’s not uncommon for political commentators to advocate reigning in the powers of the presidency. Far less common is a serious conversation about recalibrating the powers of both the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader, who all but single-handedly control what has the chance to become law in this country. Now is the time to make our way back to democratic order, and vanquishing the “Scheduling Veto” is an obvious first step on that journey.

There are examples on both sides of the aisle. Of these, Mitch McConnell is merely the latest.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:43 AM on March 11, 2019 [32 favorites]

I know this is very boring and reformist of me, but I think Congress would work a lot better if bills were required to be permitted to come to the floor for a vote if they had a certain number of co-sponsors.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 AM on March 11, 2019 [51 favorites]

Choice quote: "There's a lot of activity all the time in North Korea..."

I don't even think that's true. I don't think this situation is under control at all now. Just like the Kashoggi murder, there's a range of responses from a public stance of head-on aggressive opposition to denial that they've completely skipped. They've hollowed out the state department, but I'm just some lady and I was able to see the uselessness of the 2nd summit. Does anyone know the real reason why Joseph Yun left?
posted by Selena777 at 9:07 AM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

The Senate majority is the one who decides that the Majority leader has the power he does. If the Republicans didn't like it they could change the rules, but obviously they're fine with him. "Moderate" Republicans get to make noises like they're willing to vote for something sane, but never have to, because it never gets brought to a vote. "Woe is me" they tell their constituents, "If not for that pesky McConnell, I would have voted for lovely things."

I don't understand the piece's argument that the "scheduling veto" is unconstitutional.

(the national emergency joint declaration was special in that it was filibuster-proof, not just that McConnell couldn't unilaterally block it)
posted by BungaDunga at 9:07 AM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

WaPo: Trump Proposes $4.7 Trillion Budget With Domestic Cuts, $8.6 Billion In New Funding For Border Wall

The budget proposal dramatically raises the possibility of another government shutdown in October, and Trump used to the budget to notify Congress he is seeking an additional $8.6 billion to build sections of a wall along the U. S.-Mexico border.

The budget also calls on increased military spending, another in a string of proposals that prompted Democrats to label the budget a non-starter that will not win congressional support. If lawmakers and Trump don’t reach a spending agreement by the end of September, many government operations will ground to a halt.

Trump’s “Budget for a Better America” also includes dozens of spending cuts and policy overhauls that frame the early stages of the debate for the 2020 election. For example, Trump for the first time calls for cutting $845 billion from Medicare, the popular health care program for the elderly that in the past he had largely said he would protect.

His budget would also propose a major overhaul of Medicaid, the health care program for low-income Americans run jointly with states, by turning more power over to states. This would save $241 billion over 10 years.

Other agencies, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department, Transportation Department, and Interior Department, would see their budgets severely reduced.[…]

Still, according to Trump’s budget, the spending cuts would do little to reduce what is shaping up to be a colossal deficit in the next several years. […] The budget foresees a $1.1 trillion deficit in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and a $1 trillion deficit in 2022. These deficits will add to the existing $22 trillion debt and put further strain on the budget.

This budget would add twice as much to the national debt over 10 years as Trump's 2018 one.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:05 AM on March 11, 2019 [26 favorites]

Gelatin It wasn't cool when Republican doctors in Congress offered medical opinions on Terri Schaivo without examining her, and while it's legitimate for a psychiatrist to describe how Trump gaslights Americans, it isn't cool for him to offer diagnoses, no matter how much they appeal to our own confirmation bias.

In general, I'll agree with that.

However, we're currently in what I'd argue is a context so bizarre and far removed from normalcy that I think we've come to a point where such far from the patient diagnosis is both necessary and unavoidable.

Trump is exhibiting what appears to be symptoms of mental illness that even lay people can identify.

But at the same time Trump is flatly refusing to submit to a real medical examination by an actual and honest medical professional. The quack who last "examined" Trump turned in a blatantly falsified report and then held a news conference where he declare that Trump's superior genes meant he'd live to be 200 years old.

When the nation has a person who seems mentally ill as President, and that person refuses to get a real diagnosis and instead relies on DPRK level propaganda about his health, I think we've reached the point where it stops violating medical propriety for a psychologist to state that, based purely on the President's public statements and with the caveat that it isn't an official diagnosis, but in their medical opinion it seems the President has X, Y, or Z mental health problems.

If it was anyone but the President of the USA such statements would be entirely wrong and immoral. But when we're talking about a person who has absolute, unquestioned, legal authority to launch a nuclear first strike on any target he wants to, and when that person is visibly mentally ill even to a layman, the situation is different.

Don't forget, literally the only thing standing between Paris being nuked on Trump's whim is a military officer willing to commit mutiny. There are absolutely no restrictions on the ability of a President to order an atomic strike and that fact makes the mental health of the President everyone's concern.
posted by sotonohito at 10:12 AM on March 11, 2019 [78 favorites]

Because the kleptocracy doesn’t care about the future of this country, or any other country. They are looting as fast as they can, and they think they can weather the coming apocalypse in their wine cellars. (In response to budget numbers.)
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:13 AM on March 11, 2019 [11 favorites]

However, we're currently in what I'd argue is a context so bizarre and far removed from normalcy that I think we've come to a point where such far from the patient diagnosis is both necessary and unavoidable.

True. But it needs to be by someone who did not try to patholgize Obama's decisions.
posted by ocschwar at 10:27 AM on March 11, 2019 [13 favorites]

WaPo's Josh Dawsey: Trump’s Massive Reelection Campaign Has 2016 Themes — And a 2020 Infrastructure:

President Trump and his advisers are launching a behemoth 2020 campaign operation combining his raw populist message from 2016 with a massive data-gathering and get-out-the-vote push aimed at dwarfing any previous presidential reelection effort, according to campaign advisers, White House aides, Republican officials and others briefed on the emerging strategy.

Trump’s advisers also believe the Democratic Party’s recent shift to the left on a host of issues, from the push for Medicare-for-all to a proposed Green New Deal, will help the president and other Republicans focus on a Trumpian message of strong economic growth, nationalist border restrictions and “America First” trade policies. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan will become, in signs and rally chants, “Keep America Great!”

The president’s strategy, however, relies on a risky and relatively narrow path for victory, hinged on demonizing Trump’s eventual opponent and juicing turnout among his most avid supporters in Florida, Pennsylvania and the Upper Midwest — the same areas that won him the White House but where his popularity has waned since he was elected. Some advisers are particularly concerned about the president’s persistent unpopularity among female and suburban voters, and fear it will be difficult to replicate the outcome of 2016 without former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as a foil.[…]

The reelection effort has already raised more than $100 million, with millions of small-dollar donors and wealthy supporters poised to add to that record haul. Officials said the operation is targeting 23 million key voters in swing states such as Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. The campaign also plans to enlist more than 1 million volunteers using a vast database of supporters who have attended Trump’s raucous political rallies over the past two years, officials said.[…]

Trump recently received an extensive slide-show briefing on the campaign effort in the White House residence and has taken intense interest in the details of the battle to come, advisers say. He regularly quizzes advisers about potential foes — such as Sens. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former vice president Joe Biden — and about individual battleground states, such as Pennsylvania and Florida. He also has asked aides about the perceived popularity of his positions, such as his vow to remove troops from Syria, and is an avid consumer of polling data, advisers say.

WaPo's Greg Sargent glosses his related commentary piece Trump’s Emerging Reelection Strategy: Double Down On Failure and Lies:

I argue there's a crucial difference between 2016 and 2020. In 2016, you could squint at Trump's nationalist immigration/trade policies and see an unorthodox Republican. But he went all in with GOP plutocracy *and* we've now seen what a disaster his nationalist policies are. According to reports, Trump will double down on his "economic nationalism" as basis for reelection. But Trump's economic nationalist agenda has been unmasked as *both* an abject failure on multiple fronts *and* as fraudulent to its core.

posted by Doktor Zed at 10:35 AM on March 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

Officials said the operation is targeting 23 million key voters in swing states such as Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

On that note, the big news here in town today is that Milwaukee was picked to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

If you're attending, show up a week or two early for the world's biggest music festival.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 10:45 AM on March 11, 2019 [12 favorites]

On the upside there's no way we can lose.

In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA

I'm thinking no one in either the Pentagon or the CIA have ever read Catch-22. One of them hired Milo Minderbinder as their procurement officer.

Eventually, Minderbinder begins contracting missions for the Germans, fighting on both sides in the battle at Orvieto, and bombing his own squadron at Pianosa. At one point Minderbinder orders his fleet of aircraft to attack the American base where he lives, killing many American officers and enlisted men. He finally gets court-martialed for treason. However, as M&M Enterprises proves to be incredibly profitable, he hires an expensive lawyer who is able to convince the court that it was capitalism which made America great, and is absolved only by disclosing his enormous profit to the investigating congressional committee.

How Heller got it so spot on, I'll never know, but, genius.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:17 AM on March 11, 2019 [33 favorites]

I like to remember the hard work done by the organizations who are bringing these cases. Time for another thank you note to the ACLU.

posted by kristi at 12:47 PM on March 9 [18 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

I want to echo this and encourage those of you who can to send them money. It is well spent.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:22 AM on March 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

I think Congress would work a lot better if bills were required to be permitted to come to the floor for a vote if they had a certain number of co-sponsors.

I agree with this. I also think it is widely understood that the most serious dysfunctions in Congress started when the Republicans effectively got rid of earmarking in ?2010?. While the public optics of eliminating "pork" were good, it pretty much destroyed the grease which allowed for easy bipartisan support of bills. And it turned out Congress was addicted to this grease and perhaps had no other buffer against the Republican leadership plan to obstruct Obama at every point. In other words, both McConnell and the Tea Party would have had reduced influence if you could bribe your constituents with bridges and rocket-assembly plants. Not the whole story, but a serious change in the working culture of an institution.

Whether this was a feature, bug, or unintended consequence ....
posted by Rumple at 11:26 AM on March 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

Doktor Zed: This budget would add twice as much to the national debt over 10 years as Trump's 2018 one.

It looks good in Orange and Black: President Trump's new budget proposal is titled "A Budget for a Better American: Promises kept. Taxpayers first." -- Getty Image from NPR, on the article titled Trump Seeks More Border Wall Funding In New Budget, which notes:

Congress largely ignored previous Trump budgets, even when Republicans were in full control. That's practically certain to happen now that House Democrats have a shared grip on the purse strings.

Well put, Scott Horsley.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:26 AM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

And the public discussion here will be of Trump's budget, as if that clown could add up his McDonald's bill. The cabal that carved this out escapes notice because of the giant orange distraction. Someone decided on those cuts, on those numbers. It sure as hell wasn't Trump.
posted by stonepharisee at 11:38 AM on March 11, 2019 [22 favorites]

The problem is, no one else is taking credit for it, so we'll have to blame the mascot of this nightmare factory, not the actual workers. (Though, the mascot is also the factory president, so he's not wholly without blame.)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:46 AM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

Donald Trump admired the Russian badass's macho posturing, Putin was happy to have the attention (Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon)

Russia Scandal Part 2: Trump didn't know much more about Putin than what's on cable news, but he liked what he saw...

Someday I hope we will learn the mechanisms by which Russia got cable news to start portraying Putin as an admirable leader compared to supposedly weak and wishy-washy Obama about the time Trump was seriously considering another run at the White House. I'm curious about whether Trump was, in fact, the target, and all the eventual MAGAHats were simply collateral intellectual damage, or if the strategy was savvy enough to know that a Putin-admiring base for Trump was being simultaneously created. In either event, the MAGAHats will never cop to the fact that they were brainwashed.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:47 AM on March 11, 2019 [6 favorites]

1. Referring to the recent anti-Semitism controversies with Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, Trump told the donors: "The Democrats hate Jewish people."

Asked if the President really believes that Democrats hate Jews, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insists "that's a question you ought to ask the Democrats."
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on March 11, 2019 [8 favorites]

Golf.com, Michael Bamberger, President Trump won a 2018 club championship — without actually playing in it!

But there the plaque is, identifying Trump as the reigning club champion at his spectacular Trump International course.

His most recent win brings Trump’s club-championship haul — all won at clubs bearing his name — to an even 20. That includes senior and super-senior titles, too.

But to be precise about it, the plaque on his locker is two letters short of accurate. Trump is not actually the men’s champion at the club. He’s the co-champion. While that distinction is not found on his locker, it is made elsewhere at the club.

Last year, Trump wandered up to the actual club champion and declared "The only reason you won is because I couldn’t play." Trump then challenged him to a nine-hole match for the title, supposedly won (I can't tell you what happened during this game, but I can tell you that a large number of people say Trump cheats at golf), and then decided they could both be "co-champion." Then the plaque on Trump's locker omitted the "co."
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on March 11, 2019 [14 favorites]

A dude who's trained in meds & Freud is probably not the go-to person for assessing presidents. Clinical psychologists -- who focus on behaviour and aren't really looking for symbolic backstories -- have plenty to say when they're not on the clock.

As Juan Linz notes, the paradoxical characteristic of strong presidencies is that they accept the personalisation of executive power -- and its merging with the deferential / ceremonial aspects of being head of state -- while trying to constrain it through constitutional means. And more often than not, those constraints are chipped away because the presidency is defined by the personality of the incumbent, not the constitutional constraints around it.

The refusal to admit trivial gaffes like "Tim Apple" inevitably shapes the nation, and it has the potential for disaster.
posted by holgate at 12:01 PM on March 11, 2019 [9 favorites]

Vox's Aaron Rupar is posting video highlights from today's rare press briefing from the Trump White House, including:

—.@jonkarl: Trump promised he would eliminate the debt in 8 years. It's actually growing. What happened to that promise?

Acting OMB director Russ Vought: "Look, the last administration nearly doubled the national debt." #BlameItOnObama

—Sanders indicates Trump is considering a pardon for Paul Manafort {"He'll make a decision on that when he's ready."

—REPORTER: Why did Trump write a check for $35k to Cohen from the WH in 2017?

SANDERS: I'm not aware of those specifics

R: Cohen accused Trump of being involved in a criminal conspiracy

S: He's been clear there wasn't a campaign violation

(Cohen pleaded guilty to crimes!!!) {And then watch SHS beat a hasty retreat as reporters continue to ask awkward, pointed questions}

posted by Doktor Zed at 12:16 PM on March 11, 2019 [23 favorites]

Trump's budget request is old news by several hours now, but are we all really collectively going to shrug at this news? This (from above) is the administration's budget request, their best case scenario:

According to Trump’s budget, the spending cuts would do little to reduce what is shaping up to be a colossal deficit in the next several years. […] The budget foresees a $1.1 trillion deficit in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and a $1 trillion deficit in 2022. These deficits will add to the existing $22 trillion debt and put further strain on the budget.

So those tax cuts that we paid for, that were going to supercharge the economy ...?

How is Very Serious Policy Wonk Paul Ryan not being tarred and feathered right now? How many times are Republicans going to pull this exact same scam, and how many times are Democrats going to have to clean up the mess afterwards, while "moderate" pundits posture about the deficit?
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:21 PM on March 11, 2019 [19 favorites]

The Apple gaffe clearly appears to be the result of a mnemonic exercise to help him to remember important names. While the WH is leaking like a sieve, I wonder about the extent of this coaching for public appearances and who is in charge of it.
posted by Selena777 at 12:21 PM on March 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

Vox lays out how the budget process is both meaningless and valuable. I concur on the first part.
posted by phearlez at 12:28 PM on March 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

It is valuable in stating the President's priorities, if Congress needed a reminder of what the president is prioritizing and generally supporting in this budget cycle. Except Trump has never been reliable for what he supports from day to day.

But it does help Trump, in that it generates news stories to rile up his base (Build the wall! F**k the poor! Look at them lib tears! LOL!)

For some levity on a dumb/ annoying/ unnecessarily political topic, John Oliver robocalls Ajit Pai, demands FCC action against spam calls (Ars Technica, March 11, 2019)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:45 PM on March 11, 2019 [12 favorites]

In either event, the MAGAHats will never cop to the fact that they were brainwashed.

The white women who flipped: the price of changing your conservative views (Guardian)
posted by Little Dawn at 12:53 PM on March 11, 2019 [19 favorites]

Nancy Pelosi on impeaching Trump: "He's Just Not Worth It."
posted by waitingtoderail at 1:02 PM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

" that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country."

1. How are we not already a divided country?
2. THERE ISN'T ENOUGH COMPELLING OVERWHELMING BIPARTISAN EVIDENCE?!?!
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:06 PM on March 11, 2019 [29 favorites]

Dems have started the gears of impeachment. Can they still turn back? (Politico)

At least 20 Republican senators must flip in order to secure a conviction. Without them, some Democrats caution, impeaching Trump in the House is fruitless and could deliver the president a political gift ahead of his reelection.

posted by Little Dawn at 1:10 PM on March 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Mueller pulls an "offered without comment" ahead of Manafort's next sentencing hearing:

"The United States of America, by and through Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III, files this status report to apprise the Court of a recent development in United States v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr., No. 1:18-cr-83 (E.D. Va.) that is pertinent to this Court’s upcoming sentencing decision. Attached to this status report as Exhibit A is the transcript from the sentencing hearing on March 7, 2019."

Mueller’s team then attaches the 96-page transcript of Manafort’s sentencing hearing, where Judge T.S. Ellis III went far below the sentencing guidelines, giving Manafort a punishment of just 47 months for his tax and bank fraud case.
posted by BS Artisan at 1:21 PM on March 11, 2019 [22 favorites]

I read the article to see if maybe the Pelosi quote wasn't so bad in context. Nope, it's that bad.

Interviewer: There have been increasing calls, including from some of your members, for impeachment of the president.

Pelosi: I’m not for impeachment. This is news. I’m going to give you some news right now because I haven’t said this to any press person before.
posted by diogenes at 1:30 PM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

So we won't be impeaching any pres ever again, I take it? So "divisive." I'm pretty disappointed in Pelosi, there.

She wants to beat him at the ballot box in 2020, and take back control of the Senate. Then he's out of office, the indictments drop, and he's going to prison, along with most of his family.

She knows that, until 2020, any impeachment will die in the Senate, Trump will claim vindication, and the process of getting there will use up all the oxygen in the room.

I think it's the smarter play politically, and improves our chances of running the table in 2020.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:30 PM on March 11, 2019 [50 favorites]

THERE ISN'T ENOUGH COMPELLING OVERWHELMING BIPARTISAN EVIDENCE?

Of course there isn't. She means "evidence accepted by both parties" and the GOP doesn't accept any of it.

Any impeachment vote would be on strictly party lines, and of course there is 0 chance of removal from office.

I think impeachment would backfire and make his re-election more likely, as it just further inflames his "base" and helps their turnout, while not changing the minds of those opposed.

The only reason for it would be if it convinced enough "on the fence" voters somehow, but I think the backlash would be more than any persuasive power, as most people who are persuadable that Trump shouldn't be president already have been.

(But, of course, this is just my guess, and there's no way to run an experiment here)
posted by thefoxgod at 1:30 PM on March 11, 2019 [14 favorites]

Nancy Pelosi on impeaching Trump: "He's Just Not Worth It."

Pelosi has a plaque in her office that bears this quote from Lincoln: “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.” She brought this to the attention of the WaPo reporter before they began their lengthy interview as her political touchstone.

With that in mind, here's the exchange on the topic of impeachment:

WaPo: There have been increasing calls, including from some of your members, for impeachment of the president.

Pelosi: I’m not for impeachment. This is news. I’m going to give you some news right now because I haven’t said this to any press person before. But since you asked, and I’ve been thinking about this: Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it.[…]

WaPo: You said earlier you don’t feel it’s worth it to pursue impeachment. Do you believe he’s fit to be president?

Pelosi: Are we talking ethically? Intellectually? Politically? What are we talking here?

WaPo: All —

Pelosi: All of the above. No. No. I don’t think he is. I mean, ethically unfit. Intellectually unfit. Curiosity-wise unfit. No, I don’t think he’s fit to be president of the United States. And that’s up to us to make the contrast to show that this president — while he may be appealing to you on your insecurity and therefore your xenophobia, whether it’s globalization or immigrants — is fighting clean air for your children to breathe, clean water for them to drink, food safety, every good thing that we should be doing that people can’t do for themselves. You know, I have five kids, and I think I can do everything for them, but I can’t control the air they breathe, the water that they drink. You depend on the public sector to do certain things for the health and well-being of your family, and he is counter to that.

But again, this is coming across too negatively. I don’t usually talk about him this much. This is the most I’ve probably talked about him. I hardly ever talk about him. You know, it’s not about him. It’s about what we can do for the people to lower health-care costs, bigger paychecks, cleaner government. {emphases added}

Pelosi doesn't absolutely rule out impeachment. Parsing her very political responses to the WaPo's questions on the subject suggests that she's framing the discussion in terms of the Democratic primaries' issues, which is something she has control over at the moment, and not about the Dems vs. Trump, which the Democratic establishment currently don't believe is a winning strategy. She doesn't rule out impeachment entirely, however, and leaves her options open in case of "something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan". The question is if, as a member of the Gang of Eight, she might have a clue about just that coming down the pipeline, if the House investigations can reveal it in public.

What's incumbent on the electorate is pushing the Overton Window over to the point where impeachment isn't just op-ed fodder but something Representatives and Senators hear from their constituents at every turn.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:32 PM on March 11, 2019 [69 favorites]

Miami Herald: Federal court moves to unseal documents in Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal
posted by Chrysostom at 1:38 PM on March 11, 2019 [63 favorites]

You're all putting a lot of energy into explaining how Pelosi's comment doesn't suck because she actually meant X, Y, Z. We should at least entertain the idea that when she said she's "not for impeachment" she meant that she's not for impeachment.
posted by diogenes at 1:40 PM on March 11, 2019 [11 favorites]

She wants to beat him at the ballot box in 2020, and take back control of the Senate. Then he's out of office, the indictments drop, and he's going to prison, along with most of his family.

Let's hope there even is an actual election, and that it's somehow honored by the loser who has everything to lose if he gives it up.
posted by Harry Caul at 1:42 PM on March 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

Pelosi going on the record as being for impeachment wouldn't make him act any better. We've seen the pattern many times--when he feels threatened, he creates a threat to others, be it a "national emergency", a government shutdown, riling up hostile world leaders on Twitter, threatening the press, etc. Pelosi is walking a very narrow tightrope.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:45 PM on March 11, 2019 [6 favorites]

You're all putting a lot of energy into explaining how Pelosi's comment doesn't suck because she actually meant X, Y, Z. We should at least entertain the idea that when she said she's "not for impeachment" she meant that she's not for impeachment.

Alternatively, Pelosi is recognizing that by saying she's for impeachment, even though she fully recognizes how he's unfit for office, that becomes the discussion: House Leader Supports Impeaching Trump.

But as Little Dawn quoted from Politico: At least 20 Republican senators must flip in order to secure a conviction. So until we're at the point where Republicans are publicly saying "the president is unfit for office, I would support impeaching him," it's a moot point, or worse, it takes away the public/ media focus of Democrats are "fighting clean air for your children to breathe, clean water for them to drink, food safety, every good thing that we should be doing that people can’t do for themselves," and in taking the focus off of those important topics, those topics are forgotten or set aside.

Without those 20 Republicans, every Democrat in Congress could jump and scream to impeach Trump right now, and we'd be no closer to impeaching Trump.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:48 PM on March 11, 2019 [45 favorites]

Calling out David Frum on his essay today:

The Atlantic: Let's Get Fascist So We Don't Have To Elect Fascists (Albert Burneko, Deadspin)

[…] David Frum is not speaking for, cannot speak for, “voters.” He is speaking for himself, and for some fellow members of his small and absurdly overrepresented social class. What he is saying is Rich establishment conservatives like me would rather go fascist than tolerate brown people. He is talking himself into supporting Trump in the 2020 election. He wants you to know that, when it happens, it will be because immigrants gave him no choice. It must be nice to be able to do that in the pages of The Atlantic.

posted by ZeusHumms at 1:49 PM on March 11, 2019 [23 favorites]

For the present time, any value in "impeachment" is 100% journey and 0% destination. If Pelosi could press a button to remove him from office, she would, in a heartbeat. Impeachment is not that button. It's a big dramatic show where we maybe expose more of the criminality to the public, and where maybe at the end the criminals get to yell "Vindication!", and the question is about balancing those two concerns/possibilities.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:49 PM on March 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

The Democratic House is already conducting multiple investigations into Trump, with subpoena power and (sometimes) public testimony. If the investigations reveal crimes Trump has committed and the public sentiment is a consensus that they are crimes, the calculus for impeachment changes. They don't need to launch a separate impeachment investigation, they can just say "we're impeaching because of all these crimes we found."

Sure, Republicans in the Senate would vote against removal from office on party lines now, but if we get closer to the 2020 and it looks like being tied to Trump will endanger some Republicans' chances for reelection, they might change their minds.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2019 [9 favorites]

Republicans in the Senate have not acted against their own interests for a decade. They're not suddenly going to start doing it. We've been forecasting that as inevitable since the 2016 campaign began, and it has never actually happened even a single time. It would be better to assume that it will never happen as long as Republicans maintain a majority in the Senate, and plan the long game accordingly.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:55 PM on March 11, 2019 [6 favorites]

For a bit of cautious optimism, I missed the fact that one of New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham's first executive orders was to commit New Mexico to essential climate change action, back on Jan. 29, 2019, joining the United States Climate Alliance (Wikipedia), that was initiated just after Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement, and requesting that state agencies draft initial recommendations by Sept. 19, 2019.

It's exciting to have a governor who believes in science and is actually driving positive changes, and even more thrilling to see more states come on board. In February, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, and Maine Governor Janet Mills have also brought their states into the U.S. Climate Alliance, bringing the total number of member states to 22 (making up 50% of the U.S. population and over 50% of U.S. GDP as of 2016), plus Puerto Rico.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:01 PM on March 11, 2019 [11 favorites]

More Tucker C tapes to be released tomorrow. < Business Insider

"Now the progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America is saying that more recordings are on their way within the next day and that the new batch will touch on Carlson's views on "race and ethnicity," according to comments given to CNN."
posted by Harry Caul at 2:02 PM on March 11, 2019 [8 favorites]

Let's hope there even is an actual election, and that it's somehow honored by the loser who has everything to lose if he gives it up

He doesn't need to honor it. We don't need his permission. He can litigate it in the courts if he wants, but once the election happens and he loses he's a private citizen after the swearing in.

If he doesn't want to leave the White House, the Secret Service will be happy to escort him out.
posted by leotrotsky at 2:05 PM on March 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

If he doesn't want to leave the White House, the Secret Service will be happy to escort him out.

Or so we hope.
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:07 PM on March 11, 2019 [17 favorites]

WaPo, Former vice president Cheney challenges Pence on Trump’s foreign policy

A chummy discussion between Vice President Pence and former vice president Richard B. Cheney quickly turned into a vigorous back-and-forth over President Trump’s foreign policy at a private gathering on Saturday, with Cheney comparing the president’s isolationalist instincts to those of his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, according to a transcript obtained by The Washington Post.

At the closed-door retreat hosted by the American Enterprise Institute on March 9 in Sea Island, Ga., Cheney respectfully but repeatedly and firmly pressed Pence on a number of the president’s foreign policy decisions — over which Cheney expressed concerns — from taking a harder line toward U.S. allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to deciding to withdraw troops from Syria during what Cheney fretted was “the middle of a phone call.”

Cheney also worried aloud to Pence that “we’re getting into a situation when our friends and allies around the world that we depend upon are going to lack confidence in us,” and then offered a blunt criticism of the current administration’s response to foreign policy.

“I worry that the bottom line of that kind of an approach is we have an administration that looks a lot more like Barack Obama than Ronald Reagan,” he said.

What is even happening right now?
posted by zachlipton at 2:20 PM on March 11, 2019 [31 favorites]

I suppose you could make a case for holding impeachment until after the 2020 election. If Trump loses, you simply let the courts take over, and if he wins, you hit him with everything you've got.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 2:24 PM on March 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

“I worry that the bottom line of that kind of an approach is we have an administration that looks a lot more like Barack Obama than Ronald Reagan,” he said.

hey, let's be fair, setting up a pipeline to deliver military hardware to an enemy nation in order to fund right-wing militias isn't something you just throw together.

especially not after decimating the state department and relentlessly attacking the intelligence services.
posted by murphy slaw at 2:30 PM on March 11, 2019 [6 favorites]

impeachment is not for the democrats - it is not against the republicans - it is FOR THE COUNTRY

if we have real evidence that this president has committed crimes, such as forcibly separating immigrant families in violation of international law and human rights, then we must impeach whether we have the votes or not

this is not a political stance, it is a moral one

and if our democratic leadership will not do this, then they will be working in tandem with the republicans in breaking our government and our constitution

if that happens, all bets are off - things will be awful

oh, and by the way - what happens if there's no impeachment and trump wins anyway?
posted by pyramid termite at 2:37 PM on March 11, 2019 [16 favorites]

What is even happening right now?

Cheney wanted the U.S. to establish a global empire and run the world. Trump wants to build a wall, withdraw from the rest of the world, and run the U.S. as his personal kingdom.
posted by xammerboy at 2:43 PM on March 11, 2019 [27 favorites]

oh, and by the way - what happens if there's no impeachment and trump wins anyway?

Then you proclaim "The American People Have Spoken" and work together with Republicans on infrastructure week.
posted by Rumple at 2:46 PM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

“I worry that the bottom line of that kind of an approach is we have an administration that looks a lot more like Barack Obama than Ronald Reagan,” he said.

Translation: "I worry that the military-industrial complex that built my fortune will stop making money hand-over-fist because you morons blew up the Empire by unmasking the protection racket behind it all."
posted by Kitty Stardust at 2:46 PM on March 11, 2019 [35 favorites]

David Roth on the golf thing chimes with my earlier comment about presidentialism:

To a certain extent, the success or failure of every presidency depends upon working around the leader’s whims and weaknesses. The more whimsical and weak the leader, the more difficult it becomes to get anything done; the work of flattering and feeding what needs flattering and feeding subsumes everything else and the bulk of the leader’s need crowds everything else away from the light. That type of leader’s metastatic personal foibles can quickly become everyone’s problem and everyone’s business—they become actual national issues in their own right, as everything that the state is meant to do is constantly being suspended because there’s an urgent need to cajole or sweet-talk or threaten or bribe the car keys out of the hands of a man who is plainly in no shape to drive.

I suppose the other paradox of presidentialism in the US is that impeachment was expected to happen more often -- that those fit for office have a vested interest in removing those who are demonstrably unfit for office -- but it doesn't happen. And if the impeachment clause is dead because "it divides the country" and a criminal president can't be prosecuted, then it's time to come up with a coherent alternative and put it in the fucking constitution.
posted by holgate at 3:01 PM on March 11, 2019 [7 favorites]

no one could have predicted that the party of Nazis, child molesters, wife beaters, tax cheats, pedophile wrestling coaches, compromised Russian assets, blackout-drunk rapist judges and bone saw murder apologists would also be the party of influence-peddling massage parlor queens...

[Not a re-post]
posted by growabrain at 3:04 PM on March 11, 2019 [12 favorites]

@nycsouthpaw on the OTHER golf thing:

February: TMZ - Trump Golfs with Tiger Wodds, Jack Nicklaus in Florida.

March: Trumps budget would steer $20M to Jack Nicklaus-backed hospital

. . .he's like THIS CLOSE to playing a round with Ye and ending cash bail.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 3:22 PM on March 11, 2019 [14 favorites]

Did impeachment proceedings against Clinton backfire? Arguably. But that was because most people saw them for what they were - a smear campaign. The charges against Trump are not a smear campaign. Trump truly deserves to go.

This isn't a hard case to make to the American people. Lay out for the people how Trump separated children from their families at the border with no plan to re-uniting them. Tell them about Trump lying to them about his dealings with Russia.

If Republicans want to defend those actions, let them. I don't think people are asking for Democrats to do something gutsy here. They are just asking for Democrats to have a spine.
posted by xammerboy at 3:28 PM on March 11, 2019 [15 favorites]

we must impeach whether we have the votes or not ... this is not a political stance, it is a moral one

There is no moral imperative to hold a political show trial in which the jury is rigged for acquittal. Trump will just use the acquittal as "proof" of his innocence and cruise to another election victory.

You can have exactly the same exposure of Trump's crimes by congressional hearings without giving Republicans the opportunity to proclaim him officially "not guilty."
posted by JackFlash at 3:32 PM on March 11, 2019 [44 favorites]

Re: our discussion about early polling vs name recognition. Nate Silver has us covered brah!

Name recognition does matter quite a bit at this stage... but early polls do still have meaning and Biden/Sanders can absolutely be meaningfully said to be the frontrunners. So I hope that puts to bed the idea that nobody knows anything at this point and the polls are meaningless. They're not definitive but they are meaningful.
posted by Justinian at 3:43 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

It's incredibly overconfident for anybody to claim to know what would happen in the event of Trump's impeachment. One other president has been impeached in recent history, and that was on a sex scandal that had little direct bearing on his leadership of the country. A Trump impeachment would mean massive coverage of the Senate hearings, which would include damning evidence of some really clearly traitorous behavior in addition to all kinds of more technical lawbreaking. There's a very real possibility that would be enough to cause a shift in public opinion strong for the Republican senate caucus to start hemorrhaging votes. There's also a possibility that a blatantly partisan "not guilty" verdict would help galvanize support against the Republican party as a whole and help Dems in 2020.

I'm not sure what the best tactical move is, but it does seem hard to believe anybody can be totally certain, and I definitely don't see Pelosi's angle in very deliberately pronouncing her opposition instead of just continuing to keep her stance vague.
posted by contraption at 3:45 PM on March 11, 2019 [14 favorites]

I think Pelosi is merely making the strategically safe choice to say no impeachment "yet." Let the facts under discussion publicly change and we might expect a change in this estimate.
posted by cultcargo at 3:51 PM on March 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

In the spirit of my last comment, a Monmouth NATIONAL poll of the 2020 Dem primary!

With Biden:

1. Biden: 28%
2. Sanders: 25%
3. Harris: 10%
4. Everyone Else: single digits

Without Biden:

1. Sanders: 32%
2. Harris: 15%
3. Warren: 10%
4. Everyone Else: single digits

Biden needs to make a decision and Beto has obviously missed his window.
posted by Justinian at 3:51 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

Note: 538 considers Monmouth to be the best current pollster.
posted by Justinian at 3:52 PM on March 11, 2019

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)^{^} published its annual Trends In International Arms Transfers fact sheet—full PDF, summary press release “Global arms trade: USA increases dominance; arms flows to the Middle East surge, says SIPRI”

The volume of international transfers of major arms in 2014–18 was 7.8 per cent higher than in 2009–13 and 23 per cent higher than in 2004–2008, according to new data on arms transfers published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The five largest exporters in 2014–18 were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China. Together, they accounted for 75 per cent of the total volume of arms exports in 2014–18. The flow of arms increased to the Middle East between 2009–13 and 2014–18, while there was a decrease in flows to all other regions.

The gap between the USA and other arms exporters widens

US arms exports grew by 29 per cent between 2009–13 and 2014–18, and the US share of total global exports rose from 30 per cent to 36 per cent. The gap between the top two arms-exporting states also increased: US exports of major arms were 75 per cent higher than Russia’s in 2014–18, while they were only 12 per cent higher in 2009–13. More than half (52 per cent) of US arms exports went to the Middle East in 2014–18.

There's a bunch of infographics. I think I correctly worked the database to get the U.S. year-to-year figures but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be possible to link to them.

TIV of arms exports from United States, 2009-2018
 Figures are SIPRI Trend Indicator Values (TIVs) expressed in millions.

  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018   Total
  6913  8074  9022  9086  7571  9601  9931  9955 12485 10508   93146

posted by XMLicious at 3:53 PM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

Mod note: Couple comments deleted; let's not dive into debating the Clinton impeachment.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 3:55 PM on March 11, 2019 [3 favorites]

It's incredibly overconfident for anybody to claim to know what would happen in the event of Trump's impeachment.

You can be very certain that Republicans will vote for acquittal. Have you been paying attention to the senate for the last decade?

You will have a good preview this week when the senate votes on the wall emergency bill. That is about as clearcut a violation of the president's constitutional powers you are likely to find and will be lucky to get four Republicans to disapprove, let alone 20 needed for an impeachment conviction.
posted by JackFlash at 3:56 PM on March 11, 2019 [11 favorites]

I think it's the smarter play politically, and improves our chances of running the table in 2020.

I think it sounds like standard-issue do-nothing lose-every-election-ever third-way bullshit. That's some Tom Daschle level crap. For $deity's sake what does he have to do, rip infants from their mother's arms never to be seen again?! O wait. Could she have said something more dispiriting?
posted by petebest at 3:58 PM on March 11, 2019 [12 favorites]

Both sides make some good points about impeachment. The same points, every single time it comes up.
posted by rikschell at 4:07 PM on March 11, 2019 [62 favorites]

From the same Pelosi article just below the "no impeachment" comment:

A lot of Americans are really anxious about where the country is right now, and some of them feel the nation’s institutions are in a perilous state. Do you share that concern?

No. Here’s why I don’t: Our country is great. It’s a great country. Our founders gave us the strongest foundation. … All the challenges we have faced, we can withstand anything. But maybe not two [Trump] terms.

Thanks Nance. I mean, I'm not expecting she's speaking 100% truth from the heart, but damn. wtf.
posted by petebest at 4:09 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

Mod note: ...And let's leave it there on Round N of "potus45: impeachment: y/n?" too.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 4:20 PM on March 11, 2019 [13 favorites]

Beto has obviously missed his window.

At this point in 2015, Bush and Walker were in first and second in every poll and Trump hadn’t entered yet and was considered a joke if he did.

No opinion one way or another on Beto but proclamations 11 months before anyone votes are maybe a bit premature.
posted by chris24 at 4:41 PM on March 11, 2019 [11 favorites]

Virtually every comment I've made in the last couple days has been a link to something showing why that probably doesn't hold true this cycle and why name recognition matters but that early polling also matters. You're free to disregard all of that obviously but its not where the evidence currently lies 🤷
posted by Justinian at 4:47 PM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry quietly arranges for Nevada to be a plutonium dumping ground. This did not please Nevada's senior senator: Cortez Masto puts hold on all DOE nominees in a bid to fend off any more secret plutonium shipments

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said she plans to slow all nominations to the Department of Energy until the agency agrees not to send any more plutonium to Nevada and provides a date for when the secret plutonium shipment will be removed from the state.

Cortez Masto’s move, which is called a “hold” in Senate parlance, will require Senate Republican leaders to take roll call votes on any DOE nominees in order for them to be confirmed, which takes up precious time on the Senate floor and slows the advance of other GOP priorities.

Cortez Masto, incidentally, is the current heir apparent to the Reid Machine, long may it (blue) wave.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:45 PM on March 11, 2019 [15 favorites]

New York Attorney General Opens Investigation of Trump Projects

The New York attorney general’s office late on Monday issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for records relating to the financing of four major Trump Organization projects and a failed effort to buy the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in 2014, according to a person briefed on the subpoenas.
...
The request to Deutsche Bank sought loan applications, mortgages, lines of credit and other financing transactions in connection with the Trump International Hotel in Washington; the Trump National Doral outside Miami; and the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, the person said.

posted by T.D. Strange at 8:09 PM on March 11, 2019 [38 favorites]

transcript of the manafort sentencing hearing with judge ellis in edva (scribd, from link posted by BS Artisan, above) made me feel a little bit better about the sentence.

ellis has some opinions, and is a little cantankerous on questions intersecting their subject matter, about such things as deterrence as a value in (or possible result of) sentencing, the history of disparities in sentencing and approaches to mitigating them. at p.82 he notes, apropos of nothing at all, that "we should all remember" that "it was justice scalia, in his opinions" who "brought...about" the reclassification of sentencing guidelines from mandatory to advisory. apparently that that may have been "a surprise to some" people, you know the type, is worth mentioning just now. pwnin' the libzes, i guess. it seemed at times that he was debating with spectral presences, not immediately before the court, points of several ongoing arguments concerning broad questions of jurisprudential philosophy.

ellis found the precedential cases sufficiently similar to highlight the guidelines' excess, and imposed a sentence he described as nevertheless in excess of those cited cases. beyond those 47 months in federal prison camp (less time served), he will have three years of supervised release during which he will be prohibited from opening any new credit lines without approval. (how edva will enforce that on cypress and st. vincent and the grenadines, is anyone's guess)

judge ellis noted his surprise that manafort had expressed no remorse in his allocution, not that it would have made any difference to ellis' sentence, ellis says. he hopes manafort will reflect on his crimes and their consequences and become more aware of his remorse. regardless, ellis urges manafort to express it to judge jackson before receiving her sentence.
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:11 PM on March 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

No opinion one way or another on Beto but proclamations 11 months before anyone votes are maybe a bit premature.


Virtually every comment I've made in the last couple days has been a link to something showing why that probably doesn't hold true this cycle...


Everyone has their prognostications, and can all point to precedents or permutations that support them. The problem is, every election cycle is similar to previous ones, and yet unique in its own distinctive ways. The degree to which a particular election cycle is similar or different to previous cycles is sadly only known after the election.

I’d be reluctant to suggest that any particular outcomes are fairly certain — either based on previous elections or in contrast to them — this far out from primary voting. Heck, we don’t even yet know if the potential candidate topping most of the polls right now is even going to be in the race.
posted by darkstar at 8:27 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

Facebook Takes Down Warren’s Ads (Politico)

Facebook has removed several ads placed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign that called for the breakup of Facebook and other tech giants.

A message on the three ads said: “This ad was taken down because it goes against Facebook's advertising policies.”

Note that the story was later updated to "Facebook backtracks after removing Warren ads calling for Facebook breakup" wherein The Face Pals read the Politico reporting* and reversed course.

*so says Politico
posted by petebest at 8:52 PM on March 11, 2019 [34 favorites]

@JoshNBCNews [document attached]: Pompeo announces US pulling out all diplomats from #Venezuela

The statement says "The presence of U.S. diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on U.S. policy," which strikes me as rather ominous.
posted by zachlipton at 9:02 PM on March 11, 2019 [47 favorites]

transcript of the manafort sentencing hearing with judge ellis in edva (scribd, from link posted by BS Artisan, above) made me feel a little bit better about the sentence.

Any minimally competent judge can always justify his decisions in some way, the salient question is on who's behalf they're willing to do so. Paul Manafort, a rich, white, Republican operative, triggered Ellis' empathy response in a way that we have decades of evidence that other defendants before Ellis did not.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:19 PM on March 11, 2019 [30 favorites]

It might be a good time to call your congresspeople and tell them how you feel about impeachment and/or the various investigations. Every single pundit is talking about it. Get your voice in the mix.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:25 PM on March 11, 2019 [7 favorites]

As with all primary stories I post, the selection of stories is arbitrarily based on what interests/amuses/shocks/annoys me, or just merely comes to my attention, at a particular time and is not a series of editorial judgement about the candidates involved.

Daily Beast, Michael Tomasky, Elizabeth Warren Is Running for President. The Other 2020 Democrats Are Just Jockeying for Position.

From what I see, Elizabeth Warren is running the best race so far by miles.

Warren is doing something none of the rest of them are doing. She’s running for president. The others are just positioning. I suppose that’s not necessarily true of Bernie Sanders, who has one gear and we know what it is, and we already know from last time what his positions are (although he has added a wealth tax, which I endorse heartily). But all the others are running for wokest progressive. Warren’s running for president.

What do I mean? She’s put out a bunch of tough, meaty proposals. They mean something. They communicate: “This is what I will do, and it will constitute serious change.” Last week’s proposal to break up the tech companies was ambitious and brave.
...
There’s one other thing she’s been doing well. She knows how to handle the socialist question. This is important, because “socialism/Venezuela” is going to be a good chunk of the Trump-Fox campaign. She knows what to say. I’m a capitalist “to my bones,” as she once put it. What I’m doing is fixing capitalism.

I don't think this is entirely fair to some of the other candidates, who have some pretty significant proposals of their own (Gillibrand's paid family leave plan, Harris's LIFT Act redistributionist cash payments, Medicare for All, the Sanders agenda, etc...), but it does say something about the breadth of Warren's proposals in particular, and the difficulty other candidates have had in getting airtime for their policy initiatives as Warren has figured out how to break through with hers early. (Do people know what the LIFT Act even is?) And I thought this was a particularly notable observation about Warren's campaign (this was about regulating platform utilities online if you click through):

@jbouie: this is a feature of a few of warren’s proposal: ideas that sound modest are actually low-key radical once you start to sort out the implications

CNN, Buttigieg feels momentum after CNN town hall, with $600K raised in 24 hours

Politico, Former Gillibrand aide resigned in protest over handling of sex harassment claims: "In July, the female staffer alleged one of Gillibrand’s closest aides — who was a decade her senior and married — repeatedly made unwelcome advances after the senator had told him he would be promoted to a supervisory role over her. She also said the male aide regularly made crude, misogynistic remarks in the office about his female colleagues and potential female hires. "
WaPo, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand defends handling of sexual harassment accusations against former aide

Andrew Yang says he has crossed the 65,000 donor threshold to receive a place in the debates. Anecdotally, I was at a San Francisco street fair yesterday, and while there was a table from the DSA, someone from the Green Party, and someone setup with an ironing board to collect Medicare for All petitions, Yang was the only Presidential candidate represented.

NYT op-ed, Jamelle Bouie, The Trouble With Biden

But beating Trump isn’t the same as beating Trumpism. Unseating the president won’t automatically undermine the white resentment and racial chauvinism that drive his movement. That will depend on the nature of the campaign against him and whether it challenges the assumptions of his ideology or affirms them in the name of electoral pragmatism.
...
The questions, then, are simple: Are Biden’s politics still racialized? Is his blue-collar and Middle American appeal still an implicit affirmation of white racial privilege?

If it is, then a Biden candidacy may be one where he tries to capture the supposed center of American politics by presenting himself as the real embodiment of working-class white identity against Trump’s inauthentic embrace of the blue-collar worldview.

Consider the message this would send. For decades Biden gave liberal cover to white backlash. He wasn’t an incidental opponent of busing; he was a leader who helped derail integration. He didn’t just vote for punitive legislation on crime and drugs; he wrote it. His political persona is still informed by that past, even if he were to repudiate those positions now. Biden could lead Democrats to victory over Trump, but his political style might affirm the assumptions behind Trumpism. The outward signs of our political dysfunction would be gone, but the disease would still remain.

posted by zachlipton at 10:55 PM on March 11, 2019 [33 favorites]

Calling out David Frum on his essay today:

Scratch a neocon war criminal and...oh wow, he's still a neocon war criminal.

The man has the blood of millions on his hands and if he gets away with this rebranding campaign as a woke, serious elder statesman, I have so very little hope for any sort of real accountability in America.
posted by Ouverture at 10:55 PM on March 11, 2019 [16 favorites]

One thing to consider re: Beto (or anyone else still mulling a bid) is that there are only so many campaign people around. We've got a big field already; if you're looking for folks who know the ins and outs of Mason City, Iowa, the dozen people who are already running may have already hired all of the good ones.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:56 PM on March 11, 2019 [9 favorites]

The WaPo has a thorough rundown of all the cuts in Trump's budget, What Trump proposed in his 2020 budget, but here are some headline-grabbers:

CNBC: Education Dept. Faces 10% Funding Cut Under Trump’s 2020 Budget Proposal—Changes include the end of subsidized student loans and the popular public service loan forgiveness program. And: Trump Budget Proposes Ending Electric Vehicle Tax Credit

The Hill: Trump Calls For Cutting National Science Foundation Funding By $1 Billion

Houston Chronicle: Trump Proposes $500 Million Cut To NASA as Agency Aims For the Moon

MoJo: Trump Wants to Cut Medicare By 10%

Bernie Sanders calls it "breathtaking in its degree of cruelty and filled with broken promises".
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:52 AM on March 12, 2019 [37 favorites]

The US is in focus at Norwegian state broadcaster NRK today, in a look at social and economic inequality and immobility: Original article / slightly wonky machine translation. It's a companion article to a documentary, btw.

I feel that there is more reporting on the US these days as the public over here is trying to make sense of the news coming from your side of the pond. In particular my parent's generation (born right after WWII) there's still an assumption that the US is the land of opportunity. That's partly why the article is framed like it is. The video makes the point that economic mobility in Norway is much higher than the US. It also mentions that the bottom and high end of the scales are neither as low or as high over here.
posted by Harald74 at 1:25 AM on March 12, 2019 [17 favorites]

That's a really interesting measurement I've never thought of before, "is it getting easier for poor people to become rich people?"
posted by rhizome at 2:01 AM on March 12, 2019 [8 favorites]

The Power of Petty Personal Rage
By Paul Krugman/NYTimes

Today’s column is about plastic straws, hamburgers and dishwashing detergent. Also Captain Marvel.

No, I haven’t lost my mind, or at least I don’t think so. But quite a few other people have — and their rage-filled pettiness is a more important force in modern America than we like to think.

posted by mumimor at 3:48 AM on March 12, 2019 [18 favorites]

I wish that Krugman had included a line about the straw thing being a real kick in the butt for some people with disabilities. Yeah the tweet is risible and the circumstances described don't seem to rise to a ban, but I've seen tweets on disabled twitter about people carrying around special tequila straws e.g.
posted by angrycat at 4:16 AM on March 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

I wish that Dr. Krugman had taken the time to learn that methane is emitted by cow burps. Nobody can be an expert in everything, but it actually matters where emissions come from. Manipulating rumen microflora to reduce methane production is very different from manipulating hindgut metabolism.
posted by wintermind at 4:21 AM on March 12, 2019 [12 favorites]

House Dems likely to ditch budget vote and avoid intraparty clash

Most Democrats say publicly they want a chance to vote on their party’s fiscal blueprint after eight years of rejecting GOP budgets.

Privately, however, lawmakers and aides say that a budget is unlikely to come for a final vote. It’s an acknowledgment of the divisions within the caucus even on key principles, and a sign of how difficult it will be to craft actual legislation in the months to come.

Yglesais: This seems prudent under the circumstances but it’s a valuable reminder that when your favorite candidate wins the presidency in 2020 none of the ideas she campaigned on are going to be enacted.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:23 AM on March 12, 2019 [7 favorites]

Reuters: Mueller probe already financed through September: officials

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the team he assembled to investigate U.S. President Donald Trump and his associates have been funded through the end of September 2019, three U.S. officials said on Monday, an indication that the probe has funding to keep it going for months if need be.

The operations and funding of Mueller’s office were not addressed in the budget requests for the next government fiscal year issued by the White House and Justice Department on Monday because Mueller’s office is financed by the U.S. Treasury under special regulations issued by the Justice Department, the officials said.[…]

Justice Department documents show that Mueller’s office reported spending around $9 million during the fiscal year which ran from Oct. 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2018. No figures are available for the current fiscal year.

In other Meuller-related news, Buzzfeed’s Zoe Tillman reports on Roger Stone’s court filing from last night (just in before the deadline): “NEW: Roger Stone's response is in to the judge's Qs about his book and compliance with her gag order. His lawyers dispute they raised the issue to get attention for the book, apologize for confusion re: timing, and insist there will be "waning publicity"” https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5765775/3-11-19-Stone-Response.pdf He’ll be back in front of Judge Berman Jackson on Thursday for a status conference.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:10 AM on March 12, 2019 [10 favorites]

ellis has some opinions, and is a little cantankerous on questions intersecting their subject matter, about such things as deterrence as a value in (or possible result of) sentencing, the history of disparities in sentencing and approaches to mitigating them.

The thing is though, we know for an absolute and certain fact that Ellis' proclaimed concern about the deterrence value of harsh sentences and history of disparity in sentencing and so on are all mere lies.

We know this because he gave Rep William Jefferson a sentence of thirteen years in a federal penitentiary for accepting bribes while in office. It was at the time the single longest sentence ever given to a sitting member of Congress for crimes committed while in office.

Rep William Jefferson is both black, and a Democrat. Paul Manafort is both white and a Republican.

I believe it is self evident that the relationship between Ellis' proclaimed opposition to long sentences and his proclaimed opposition to federal sentencing guidelines is entirely dependent on the race of the defendant and their political affiliations.

He's a Reagan appointed bitterly partisan racist who saw an opportunity to help a fellow white Republican and mock, deride, belittle, and otherwise insult the Democrats, and he took that opportunity without hesitation.
posted by sotonohito at 5:34 AM on March 12, 2019 [70 favorites]

In this hour, a confederate statue is being removed from the grounds of an old courthouse in Winston-Salem, NC.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:31 AM on March 12, 2019 [53 favorites]

Pelosi's hard line on impeachment splits House Dems (Politico)

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who sits on the Oversight and Judiciary committees, said impeaching the president isn’t about “whether or not the president is worth it. The question is whether the republic is worth it and whether the public interest commands it and whether there are high crimes and misdemeanors.”

“We can’t get so frustrated with Donald Trump that we impeach him just for being Donald Trump, but we can’t get so frustrated with Donald Trump that we don’t impeach him because he’s Donald Trump,” Raskin said. [...]

“I think there’s enough going on in the various committees for impeachment to take care of itself,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). “These committees have to build will in the American people for impeachment. Impeachment is a political question. I don’t care what we may feel — if the public isn’t there, we can’t go there. And I think the committee hearings and various things going on are what’s needed in order for the public to get where they need to be.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) stressed that Democrats would need support from Republicans to proceed with impeachment. "Keep in mind, impeachment is a political process. ... What does that mean? You've got to have bipartisanship," he said. "Right now when you've got 40 something percent of the country pleased, I guess, with what the president's doing. I think Pelosi realizes this."

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said Monday he agrees with Pelosi that Democrats “should proceed with caution.” “We have to take our time with respect to our oversight function and wait for the Mueller report to be completed before we decide what’s the appropriate road to go down,” Jeffries said after walking out of a meeting with Pelosi. [...]

Democratic leaders have long argued that impeachment should be an option only when public opinion turns against the president so much that it’s no longer politically advantageous for Republicans to stick with Trump.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:43 AM on March 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

Reaction to David Frum: Giving Into Fascism Is Not How You Beat It (Paul Blest, Splinter)

The fact is that America has never gained anything positive from ceding ground to the nativist movement. With the exception of racists and fascists, no one looks back with fondness on previous efforts to shut down immigration, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act or the Immigration Act of 1924. These were dark, small-minded times in American history based on fears of immigrants and the politics they might bring to the United States, even though the vast majority of those immigrants (certainly no less than the American-born population) were productive members of society.

It’s not necessary to tell the far-right that it has a point in order to beat it. One alternative is by putting together a bold economic program to improve the lives of working people, for whom the recession never really went away, without throwing the most vulnerable people in society under the bus. But for a lot of people in the center-right like Frum—and hell, even some in the center-left—that’s a solution that looks much, much scarier than adopting a Trump-lite immigration strategy.

posted by ZeusHumms at 6:50 AM on March 12, 2019 [18 favorites]

Pelosi’s right. Forget about impeachment. Unless… (Jennifer Rubin, WaPo Opinion)

The rub is if the evidence is truly compelling but Republicans remain his obstinate defenders. Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe argues that in such a case you also have to consider “the danger of NOT impeaching a president whose guilt has become clear just because the Senate seems too beholden to the president to remove him.” The alternative would be to refer the case for prosecution (though Trump’s Justice Department won’t move while the president is in office) and/or consider other sanctions — such as censure. Tribe contends that “unless and until DOJ does rethink its policy on the criminal prosecution of a sitting president who committed serious crimes to win that office — the window that Speaker Pelosi has carefully left open for a possible decision by the House to impeach Trump (rather than just trying to defeat him in the 2020 election) needs to be broadened.”

Former prosecutor Renato Mariotti had a similar reaction. “While I understand why Speaker Pelosi believes that it would be politically advantageous to impeach Trump if Senate Republicans will not vote to convict, the House has a constitutional duty to uphold the rule of law.” He adds, “Given the Justice Department’s view that a sitting president cannot be indicted, a decision by the House not to impeach unless conviction in the Senate is certain allows a Senate minority to ensure that a president escapes punishment for serious crimes. While her decision may be politically savvy, the American people deserve to know where each Member of Congress and Senator stands, and for the constitutional process to play out.”

posted by Little Dawn at 7:12 AM on March 12, 2019 [12 favorites]

Former prosecutor Renato Mariotti had a similar reaction. “While I understand why Speaker Pelosi believes that it would be politically advantageous to impeach Trump if Senate Republicans will not vote to convict, the House has a constitutional duty to uphold the rule of law.”

Impeachment is a political process, not a legal one. I don't see why making a political decision about it is problematic.

Given the Justice Department’s view that a sitting president cannot be indicted, a decision by the House not to impeach unless conviction in the Senate is certain allows a Senate minority to ensure that a president escapes punishment for serious crimes.

...but that is exactly what will happen regardless of whether the House impeaches or not. If the Senate minority doesn't remove him from office, he escapes punishment during his term of office.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:18 AM on March 12, 2019 [9 favorites]

Do you want a progressive state? Because this is how you get a progressive state: here are four promising bills that are waiting for New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's signature:

1. Bill voids local ‘right-to-work’ measures, backing unions -- This would overturn laws in 10 of the state’s 33 counties that have adopted so-called right-to-work laws that say employees cannot be compelled to pay fees to a labor union that represents them on the job.(Santa Fe New Mexican)
2. The New Mexico Legislature has passed a measure that would remove criminal history questions on private-sector job applications (AP News, via US News)
3. State lawmakers over the weekend approved legislation that would establish a new cabinet-level agency focused on early child education and care, sending the measure to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her signature. She has advocated in favor of the legislation. The agency would oversee prekindergarten programs, child-care assistance and home-visiting programs, bringing services currently provided by four different departments under one roof.(AP News, via US News)
4. The sources of independent expenditures to influence elections in New Mexico must be made public under a bill headed to the governor. The Senate gave final approval Sunday to the bill from Democratic Sen. Peter Wirth of Santa Fe that requires the reporting of independent political expenditures to state election regulators that exceed $3,000 in a statewide election. The reporting threshold for non-statewide elections is $1,000.(AP News, via US News)

posted by filthy light thief at 7:24 AM on March 12, 2019 [50 favorites]

Impeachment is a political process, not a legal one.

Impeachment is explicitly for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." It may be a political process, but it's wearing the clothes of a legal one.
posted by Etrigan at 7:27 AM on March 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

The President’s Budget Is a Blueprint for Another Government Shutdown

He constantly needs to make drama to distract from his own incompetence and the howling emptiness that confronts him whenever he sits quietly in a room alone.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:30 AM on March 12, 2019 [22 favorites]

If the Senate minority doesn't remove him from office, he escapes punishment during his term of office.

Punishment isn’t the issue. The election is. If Trump is impeached but not convicted, he could emerge as a stronger candidate for 2020. That, is what I think Pelosi wants to avoid.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:35 AM on March 12, 2019 [9 favorites]

Etrigan: It may be a political process, but it's wearing the clothes of a legal one.

All legal processes are political ones. We're basically debating the ramifications of having a proverbial (and practically literal) all-white jury for a national court proceeding.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:38 AM on March 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

Reaction to David Frum

Basically, don't believe that never-trump Republicans are on your side. So much of their advice is that to avoid Trump like problems you must implement the entire conservative agenda and maybe some of the fascist stuff as well. Which is the "moderate" Republican platform.
posted by srboisvert at 7:49 AM on March 12, 2019 [17 favorites]

It may be a political process, but it's wearing the clothes of a legal one.

But it's more like an HR tribunal or an ecclesiastical court: it's an adjudication of whether someone is fit to hold public office.

That's part of the reason why the media is so thirsty for The Report: it moves things from the domain of the courts, where there are filings and findings, to the political domain of bothsides.
posted by holgate at 7:57 AM on March 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

If Trump is impeached but not convicted, he could emerge as a stronger candidate for 2020.

Sure, he could emerge as a stronger candidate if impeached. Just like how Andrew Johnson won re-election in 1868 after his impeachment. And how the Democratic Party rode Bill Clinton's impeachment to a sweep of the White House and Congress in 2000. Or maybe, just maybe, all of those millions and millions and millions of people who got off their asses in 2018 and voted out the obstructionist bastards who refused to exercise their Constitutional oversight of the executive branch might stay the fuck home this time.
posted by Etrigan at 8:11 AM on March 12, 2019 [9 favorites]

Mod note: This "impeachment, y/n" thing is really just going around in familiar circles. I get that the media are talking about it and writing columns, but it doesn't seem like there's anything at all new to say or think about here, so maybe let's shelve it until there is?
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:15 AM on March 12, 2019 [25 favorites]

[Daily Beast]
Mueller May Drop Second Report That Can’t Be Buried
There may in fact be two Mueller reports. This is because from the very beginning, Mueller has worn two hats and borne two missions relating to the Russia investigation.
posted by growabrain at 8:43 AM on March 12, 2019 [10 favorites]

This may be a rash move, but I'm going to respond to a mod note - hopefully it's not too far out of line:

> This "impeachment, y/n" thing is really just going around in familiar circles.

Josh Marshall at TPM: Did Pelosi Fold?

[Pelosi's] statement yesterday seemed far less momentous or consequential to me than it appears to have seemed to almost everyone else.
...
At the end of the day, it’s all beside the point. You must investigate and build a case. This is the best, really the most legitimate way to build a drip, drip, drip public case for impeachment. [...] Is this just tactical positioning of the moment on Pelosi’s part or is she dead set against impeachment in this Congress? I don’t know. I don’t think it matters. If the facts produced by the House committees are clear, and especially if they move public opinion, they’ll carry Pelosi before them.

posted by RedOrGreen at 8:48 AM on March 12, 2019 [17 favorites]

From you-know-who, a pair of tweets (not-threaded as usual) ranting that the problem with the two crashed Boeings is not the specific model (or other factors we don't know yet) but just... technology in general.

Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are.... ....needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:52 AM on March 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

Tl;dr: I do not like that I do not understand technology, and I wish I could turn back time to when I felt young and confident.
posted by jaduncan at 8:59 AM on March 12, 2019 [47 favorites]

The biggest joke about the Frum piece is that the Dems have been "strong on illegal immigration" for at least a decade, and that didn't stop Trump's appeal. The dems kept funding border security, Obama deported like there was no tomorrow, and it did not win them one single vote in 2016.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:02 AM on March 12, 2019 [68 favorites]

2016: Pence Charter Pilot Fired, Facing Assault Charges (Politico)
(The Guardian, NY Post)

The 55-year-old pilot is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, after he allegedly drove a vehicle at another person repeatedly in Pompano Beach in 2015.

In a separate case, Caldara is accused of severely injuring a woman in June 2014 by recklessly driving into her with his Harley Davidson motorcycle in Fort Lauderdale.

2017: Man Fired from Trump Flying Role Over Battery Charge Appears at Mar-a-Lago (Guardian)

Split-second decisions.
posted by box at 9:06 AM on March 12, 2019 [16 favorites]

Buzzfeed's Zoe Tillman gives an overview of what follows once Mueller's done: Here’s What Happens When Robert Mueller Is Done—Will Mueller’s report be made public? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is not a story about when special counsel Robert Mueller will finish his investigation, or when he’ll submit his final report. Speculation has floated for weeks that he’s close to finishing, but no one knows for sure. This is about what will happen once he’s done and what happens after Mueller and his team of prosecutors disband.

The big picture: When the investigation is over, Mueller will submit a report to Attorney General Bill Barr, and Barr will submit a report of his own to Congress. Neither report must be public, but both can be. Pending prosecutions and investigations, such as the criminal case against longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone, will continue; Mueller’s office has been partnering with other federal prosecutors who can take over. Mueller will no longer be the most watched man in America, and he could return to the lucrative job he left in private practice — or at least go to an Apple Store or the airport without having his picture taken

The questions of what has to be reported, what happens to Mueller’s cases, and what happens to Mueller and his team remain open, though we have a pretty good idea of some answers.

Marcy Wheeler, writing on EmptyWheel.net: Dear Editors: Stop Trying to Predict the Mueller Report

It is at once possible — likely even! — that the bulk of the investigative work is done (allowing Mueller’s lead Agent to be put in charge of the Richmond FBI Office), but that there are remaining threads that Mueller needs for his final “report.” It’s even possible that everyone misunderstands what form that final report will take.

But thus far no editor has produced a story that adequately describes the signs of a nearing end that adequately accounts for the number of known loose ends that will take some weeks to be tied.

As always, the only person who knows what Mueller will do is Mueller himself.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:49 AM on March 12, 2019 [8 favorites]

HuffPost, Michael Hobbes, America’s Defining Divide Isn’t Left vs. Right. It’s Old vs. Young.

What this means, Frey said, is that as older voters take up a larger proportion of the electorate, both parties will try to win them back by appealing to the circumstances and anxieties that set them apart from younger generations.

In practice, this will likely take two forms: economic and racial appeals.

Older voters have strikingly different wealth and income profiles than younger voters. Four out of five older families own homes, compared to just one in four younger families. Most own stocks and a large plurality are business owners. Nearly 1 in 9 older households are millionaires and, according to a 2015 study, are the only age group in America whose net worth has increased since 1989.

the article's graph of "median wealth of American families by age" is revealing.
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 AM on March 12, 2019 [31 favorites]

The outward signs of our political dysfunction would be gone, but the disease would still remain.

posted by zachlipton at 10:55 PM on March 11 [26 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

This is undoubtedly true, and will be even if we elect a non-white, non-male to the office. I'm not sure the disease can be cured; it's been around this continent for at least 300 years. I think the best we can hope for is analogous to remission, not cure. By rebuilding the social controls (hello, "political correctness") to a point that racists, anti-Semites, xenophobes, homophobes, and misogynists don't feel free to openly infect the public political discourse with their odious beliefs, we can restore the homeostasis we thought we had achieved before. To maintain that homeostasis, we need to be vigilant in not normalizing or even tolerating those who spew such garbage. Our schools, churches, local and state governments, as well as our national leaders need to keep the pressure on the hateful segments of our society to make sure we can all enjoy access and benefits to what is by any material measure a bountiful community.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:30 AM on March 12, 2019 [12 favorites]

The Power of Petty Personal Rage
By Paul Krugman/NYTimes

From the article:

But his tweet wasn’t about that. It was about a waitress who, citing the “straw police,” asked his dining party if they wanted straws. “Welcome to Socialism in California!” Nunes thundered.

If this seems like a weird aberration — he wasn’t even denied a straw, just asked if he wanted one — you need to realize that rage explosions over seemingly silly things are extremely common on the right.

This. The GOP has become the party of petty grievances. If anything that the government, black people, LGBTQ folk, Muslims, immigrants, Hispanics, liberals, or intellectuals do or say in any way irritate or annoy you, that becomes part of their smorgasbord of complaints. We should just call efforts at running for office by GOP politicians "camplaignts," because their whole strategy is to amplify and exacerbate right-wing grievance to tragic proportions.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:40 AM on March 12, 2019 [50 favorites]

This. The GOP has become the party of petty grievances. If anything that the government, black people, LGBTQ folk, Muslims, immigrants, Hispanics, liberals, or intellectuals do or say in any way irritate or annoy you, that becomes part of their smorgasbord of complaints. We should just call efforts at running for office by GOP politicians "camplaignts," because their whole strategy is to amplify and exacerbate right-wing grievance to tragic proportions.

I mean, it's not like they have any coherent governing philosophy, or even any popular policy ideas. Look what happened when they tried to do healthcare; it was basically Lindsay Graham scribbling on the back of a napkin and "who knew healthcare could be so complicated?"

All they have left is criticism and heckling.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:46 AM on March 12, 2019 [20 favorites]

GOP funds messaging sites that look remarkably like trusted local news
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:51 AM on March 12, 2019 [14 favorites]

Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are.... ....needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!

I want my editorials written by people who understand topics.
posted by srboisvert at 10:56 AM on March 12, 2019 [22 favorites]

I mean, it's not like [Republicans] have any coherent governing philosophy, or even any popular policy ideas.

It's been a while since I've mentioned cleek's law. Coined in 2010, it's one of the best descriptions of what passes for conservative thought.

Today’s conservatism is the opposite of what liberals want today, updated daily.

posted by Gelatin at 11:02 AM on March 12, 2019 [34 favorites]

America’s Defining Divide Isn’t Left vs. Right. It’s Old vs. Young.

I don't agree, I think it's "Us vs. Them." 'Everybody' has to be on a team, and all conflicts of opinion are zero-sum because only one team can be champion, only one can win the championship of whether black people are monsters, or guns are bad, or war is good.

This article is a great example of deciding on a conclusion and collecting supporting info and graphs to fill out 1000 words or so, which I feel is related to the "change my mind" meme. You could make the exact same case for pretty much any casual opinion. "Straws are evil?" Let's see some graphs.

But the thread permeating all of these contretemps is the uncrossable bright line in the middle, wherever that is. The conclusion is the thing, everything else is football.

One-true-God Christianity is implicated here (not to mention inerrancy), too, promoting exclusionary thinking in general. Major sports promote exclusionary thinking. Much journalism (and certainly commentary) encourages exclusionary thinking. There is no more finding of common cause except in niches, and always after the aforementioned team-choosing.
posted by rhizome at 11:05 AM on March 12, 2019 [11 favorites]

But his tweet wasn’t about that. It was about a waitress who, citing the “straw police,” asked his dining party if they wanted straws. “Welcome to Socialism in California!” Nunes thundered.

The Fresno Bee (Nunes's nemesis): Socialism and straws: Nunes Tweet a Joke to Some, Precise Political Messaging to Others

Someone on Twitter also called out his hypocrisy, which goes arm in arm with the GOP's hypersensitive pettiness: "Farmers in your district, including you, have received $459,790,000 in federal farm subsidies since 1975. But do tell me how keeping plastic out of the waste stream is socialism."
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:07 AM on March 12, 2019 [51 favorites]

Could one of you wonderful MeFites who knows how to interpret statistics please examine this claim in the Huffpost Hobbes article that 1 in 9 older households is a millionaire? That claim seems bonkers to me, so I looked at the linked study, and I don't see that it says that at all...? I must be missing something.
posted by heatvision at 11:26 AM on March 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

The Fresno Bee (Nunes's nemesis): Socialism and straws: Nunes Tweet a Joke to Some, Precise Political Messaging to Others

Someone on Twitter also called out his hypocrisy, which goes arm in arm with the GOP's hypersensitive pettiness: "Farmers in your district, including you, have received $459,790,000 in federal farm subsidies since 1975. But do tell me how keeping plastic out of the waste stream is socialism."

And he's not alone: Members of Congress Get Millions in Farm Subsidies (Christine Harbin for The Blaze, June 5, 2013)

New analysis from the Environmental Working Group’s farm subsidy database reveals that several members of Congress receive farm subsidies themselves. From the Wall Street Journal (dead link):

The federal payments to the lawmakers—13 Republicans and two Democrats—ranged from $339 to Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R., Texas) to $70,574 to Rep. Stephen Fincher (R., Tenn.) [in 2012]. [...] The payments to all but two of the lawmakers were well above the average of $604 paid to the lowest-subsidized 80% of farmers between 1995 and 2012, the group said.

This is a problem: Many of the people who make decisions on farm programs also directly benefit from them. Some benefit a great deal: Rep. Stephen Fincher collected $3.48 million between 1995 and 2012. This conflict of interests is troubling because it discourages members of Congress from reforming Farm Bill programs, leading to higher and higher spending levels out of Washington.

Are members of Congress thinking of taxpayers’ wallets or their own wallets when the votes come up?

A few the members who receive farm subsidies sit on the agricultural committees in Congress, meaning that they have extra-powerful positions in shaping U.S. farm policy. Sen. Chuck Grassley—who received over $327,000 in farm subsidies between 1995 and 2012—sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, for example. Bill markups in Committee should be an opportunity for debating and reforming broken Farm bill programs, yet we see members of Congress green-light bills that expand many of the programs they directly benefit from.

Those figures are from when the article was published in 2013, but the links in the article are still good, so you can see how those figures have increased sine 2012/13.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:29 AM on March 12, 2019 [11 favorites]

See also Devin Nunes’s Family Farm Is Hiding a Politically Explosive Secret (which I probably read about on one of the other 5,000 megathreads...)
posted by armacy at 11:33 AM on March 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

Reagan biographer attacks AOC's intelligence on Twitter and gets demolished by AOC on Twitter (Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos)

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a lightning rod for the conservative party and the centrist business class. She represents a lot of scary change for a lot of comfortable people. One of those people, who has made a career out of myth-making that Ronald Reagan was a complex and intelligent person who did good things for the country, is biographer Craig Shirley. Shirley got super stressed out upon seeing a clip of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez attacking his bread and butter in front of an audience.

As always, shenanigans ensued.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:40 AM on March 12, 2019 [31 favorites]

With Democrats in control, the Koch Brothers and their stooges are hopping mad in Colorado ('Dartagnan', Daily Kos)

Something very unusual occurred yesterday in the Colorado state legislature. As they were well on their way to passing a comprehensive bill that would overhaul gas and oil industry regulations within the state, Colorado state senate Democrats found themselves temporarily stymied by ranking Republican state senator John Cooke. Cooke invoked an arcane rule that forced a verbal reading of a wholly unrelated 2000-page bill, involving an obscure state statute, prior to resuming any hearings, debates or votes on the energy bill. This 2000-page tome enjoyed bipartisan support, so there was never any issue about its passage. Cooke’s goal was to delay passage of the oil and gas bill, because Republicans—and more importantly, the oil and gas industry—really, really hate it.

As a result of this procedural maneuver, all business in the Colorado legislature immediately came to a grinding halt. As the reading of the bill by a hapless state senate staffer droned on, some estimated it would take several days to finish. Finally, after about three hours of this nonsense, some resourceful Democrats brought in five computers to read the Bill simultaneously at a speed far faster than humans can comprehend. And as the Denver Post reports, things are back on track. […]

So what’s in this Colorado energy bill that has the Kochs pulling out all stops to avoid it? Quite a bit, actually. Described as the “most sweeping oil and gas reforms” the state has ever seen, the, the bill reads like a laundry list of everything the Kochs hate.

posted by ZeusHumms at 11:45 AM on March 12, 2019 [69 favorites]

See also Devin Nunes’s Family Farm Is Hiding a Politically Explosive Secret (which I probably read about on one of the other 5,000 megathreads...)

It was in comments three times before, and also the topic of an FPP on Oct. 1, 2018.

In other news, Speaker Pelosi Revokes Mike Pence's House Office Space (Susan Davis for NPR, March 12, 2019)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has reclaimed office space her predecessor, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., awarded to Vice President Pence.

Republicans gave Pence, a former House member, a first-floor bonus office in the U.S. Capitol shortly after President Trump was inaugurated in 2017.

The vice president rarely used the space, but it was a symbolic gesture of the warm relationship Pence enjoyed with Ryan and the House GOP. The vice president serves as the president of the U.S. Senate and historically has been provided an office on the Senate side of the Capitol, which is where Pence more regularly holds court when he visits Congress.

A placard above the door identifying it as Pence's House office was quietly removed in recent weeks. A House Democratic aide confirmed to NPR that the space will be reassigned. "Room assignments are reviewed and changed at the beginning of every Congress," the aide said.

The speaker has sole authority to dole out office space in the Capitol, which is prized real estate for members of leadership and senior staff. While Pelosi revoked Pence's office privileges, the aide said she is providing new office space for the White House legislative affairs team that it did not previously enjoy under the GOP majority.

Double-shade, ousting Pence and inviting legislative affairs into her house.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:45 AM on March 12, 2019 [43 favorites]

Could one of you wonderful MeFites who knows how to interpret statistics please examine this claim in the Huffpost Hobbes article that 1 in 9 older households is a millionaire?

I mean, it's not a stats thing per se, I think. It's simply stated as a fact on page 8 of this report (pdf) from the St Louis Fed. Specifically, that "middle-aged" families (families headed by someone between 40 and 62) had a 1 in 9 chance in 2013 of having $1 milllion in net worth (total assets less total debts). For "old" families (head of household > 62 years old), this figure was apparently 1 in 7. Keep in mind that home equity counts in this calculation of net worth which I am led to believe would be a major source of that net worth.
posted by mhum at 11:47 AM on March 12, 2019 [11 favorites]

Could one of you wonderful MeFites who knows how to interpret statistics please examine this claim in the Huffpost Hobbes article that 1 in 9 older households is a millionaire? That claim seems bonkers to me, so I looked at the linked study, and I don't see that it says that at all...? I must be missing something.

Check out page 8. I think the author of that article actually goofed on that one--the 1 in 9 figure is actually for 'middle-aged' families, i.e., a family where the adults are between 40 and 61. For 'older' families, it's 1 in 7.

Among middle-aged families, 1 in 12 had at least $1 million in 1989 and 1 in 9 had that much wealth in 2013. Among old families, 1 in 11 was a millionaire in 1989 but 1 in 7 old families had at least $1 million in 2013.

posted by un petit cadeau at 11:47 AM on March 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

mhum: Keep in mind that home equity counts in this calculation of net worth which I am led to believe would be a major source of that net worth.

Exactly -- the older you get, the more stuff you accrue, so you may have more than a million dollars worth of stuff, but a fraction of that will be liquid, or even in stocks.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:54 AM on March 12, 2019 [15 favorites]

I don't think "IOKIYAR!" exactly counts as breaking news.
posted by sideshow at 12:14 PM on March 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've been an advocate of impeachment since Nov of 2016. You can look back through these threads for the many places where I have posted draft articles of impeachment. I think it's amply justified.

But I also thought, early on, that Trump's popularity would SURELY crater quickly after he was elected and reality set in. I thought, early on, the Republicans would SURELY turn on him -- after all, he showed no loyalty to them! I thought SURELY Mueller would release a report on obstruction of justice, at least, before the end of 2019.

Now... The next presidential election is in 20 months. Clinton's impeachment took about four and half months (Oct 5th 1998 to Feb 12th 1999), from the time the House Judiciary committee voted to consider articles of impeachment to the time the Senate voted to acquit Clinton. I think we're at lease at few weeks out from any Mueller report, still (and the House won't act without some kind of report from Mueller), so we are talking about about at least five months from now before Trump could possibly be out of office.

Five months, and that's if we got a Mueller report in the next few weeks, and the trials and hearings went just as fast as they did against Clinton (despite the vastly greater scope of wrongdoing at issue with vastly more evidence to consider, and the control of the Senate by the president's party.)

So best case we'd be sparing the country 15 months of the Trump presidency before Trump would (hopefully!) be a lame duck anyway. We MIGHT be saved the horrors of a second Trump presidential campaign, but we'd be subjecting ourselves to the onslaught of conspiracy theories and Nunes-memo style bad faith posturing and whataboutism that would constitute Trump's impeachment "defense." So I'm not sure it's real win, there. And then, of course, we get Pence, if we win.

I think it's still worth doing anyway, but in another six months I'm not sure there will be much point.

It's depressing, you guys.
posted by OnceUponATime at 12:22 PM on March 12, 2019 [48 favorites]

@kenvogel: NEW: @Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke by phone with TRUMP this a.m., urging him not to ground 737 Max 8s after Sunday’s crash. * Muilenburg has tried to cultivate Trump. He visited Mar-a-Lago after AF1 dust-up, & Boeing donated $1M to Trump inaugural.

WaPo, When it comes to airplanes, Trump likes to play expert-in-chief

Just the other day, we learned that Trump may finally be settling on a former airline executive to serve as FAA Administrator (the previous Administrator left 14 years ago and it's been an acting position ever since), as he's yet to nominate someone for the position, "apparently abandoning a months-long quest to ensconce his personal pilot at the top of the agency."
posted by zachlipton at 12:36 PM on March 12, 2019 [14 favorites]

urging him not to ground 737 Max 8s after Sunday’s crash.

To be clear, two brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8's crash within 6 months due to a known software glitch, 300 dead so far, and the government isn't grounding them in order to keep Boeing's stock up. Capitalism is truly the best system in the world.

Fly safe, everybody: at least the 737s have a pilot, unlike the USA.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:53 PM on March 12, 2019 [56 favorites]

two brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8's crash within 6 months due to a known software glitch

Has the cause of the second crash been confirmed? I think the point here is to wait for confirmation before running to ground all the MAX8s. Yes, signs point that way, but nothing has been officially announced as far as I can see.
posted by mookoz at 1:21 PM on March 12, 2019 [7 favorites]

TPM: Trump-Linked Massage Parlor Owner Hawked ‘Golden Visas’

TPM found that Yang, through a Florida-based company called GY US Investments LLC, was also using proximity to Trump and his properties to peddle so-called investor visas. Under the EB-5 visa program, foreign citizens can get a conditional two-year U.S. green card in exchange for making certain investments. Mother Jones first reported the existence of GY US Investments.

Along with extensive offers of access to Trump and American politicians including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Yang’s company also claimed to provide “immigration investment projects,” according to a translation of cached versions of the company’s website. Those services included independent investments and those done via “immigration investment project centers,” according to the now shuttered website.

Megathreader readers will recall that the SEC is looking into Kushner Cos. over its use of investment visas after its Beijing and Shanghai marketing campaign soliciting Chinese investors by dangling EB-5 green cards (WSJ).
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:54 PM on March 12, 2019 [15 favorites]

The Hill, Alexander Bolton, Pence floats offer to kill Trump emergency disapproval resolution

Under the deal offered by Pence, Trump would sign legislation reining in his power to declare future national emergencies if they defeat the resolution of disapproval.

Killing the resolution on the Republican-controlled Senate floor would spare the president a major embarrassment and avoid him having to issue the first veto of his presidency.

But there is some skepticism among GOP senators whether Trump will actually go through with it. And the plan is hurt by the fact that a bill to curb the president’s power to declare national emergencies won’t come to the Senate floor until after the March recess.

So Trump will promise to sign a bill limiting his power to declare bogus emergencies if Congress lets him get away with this bogus emergency first? And nobody really is confident he'll even honor it? What a deal!
posted by zachlipton at 2:01 PM on March 12, 2019 [46 favorites]

"Hey, remember how great the shutdown was, when we had a spending deal and then the president set it on fire because he's a capricious toddler holding the highest elected office in the United States? Let's do it again!"

Also Pence is negotiating directly with the recalcitrant GOP senators, which means that McConnell could just refuse to bring such a bill to the floor. Or it could get tied up in the House if the Democrats refuse to pass it without also killing the wall "emergency."

Jesus Christ, this is dumb.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:06 PM on March 12, 2019 [11 favorites]

@NOgnanovich: NEWS: #Senate #Rules Chair #Blunt says #McConnell has 51 votes to go #Nuclear and force through changes aimed at expediting action on #Trump nominees. But Blunt also says leader may try over next 2 weeks to negotiate compromise w Democrats & make changes w 60 votes. ``I believe we have the votes to do this with 51 but we’d still rather it with 60,” Blunt told reporters today after a closed-door meeting of Republicans.

The Senate confirmed Paul Matey today, Trump's 35th appeals court nomination. This flips the 3rd circuit from majority Dem appointees. These rules changes would allow them to speed through confirming nominees to fill the existing 128 district court vacancies.
posted by zachlipton at 2:06 PM on March 12, 2019 [7 favorites]

Sign o' the Times: Stormy Daniels and Michael Avenatti part ways

No reason given ("attorney client privilege"). Daniels has a new attorney. C'est ça.
posted by petebest at 2:08 PM on March 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

AFL-CIO unions put the Green New Deal on blast.

We welcome the call for labor rights and dialogue with labor, but the Green New Deal resolution is far too short on specific solutions that speak to the jobs of our members and the critical sectors of our economy. It is not rooted in an engineering-based approach and makes promises that are not achievable or realistic.

posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 2:42 PM on March 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

> This "impeachment, y/n" thing is really just going around in familiar circles.

Pelosi is an excellent strategist, and whether through talent, work experience, both, or Other she's a political animal, and one of the best. Credit where due. She's going to be able to show her work, that's a given. And a hospital is a big building with patients, but neither of those matter right now.

This ... obvious criminal ... stole the election he didn't even want through foreign intelligence work on his behalf, and used it specifically to enrich himself and his rogue's gallery of career abusers and criminals. His policies are beyond outrageous - family separation and still-missing children, for one example. He's destroyed decades of hard work in our diplomatic realms, he's stacking the bench with more right-wing sh*theels than one could shake a gavel at, he ... the list is very long and it reaches into all corners as we all know.

/camera3: Nancy. Speaker Pelosi. With all due respect - this administration is A Great Wrong. A great wrong that has another two years plus several generations of damage to go. Madame Speaker, not impeaching - not doing The Thing That We Must Do to protect us from a corrupt, demented, narcissistic madman is the only choice. It's the only thing we can do, short of carting him off in an ambulance which, well, the odds aren't zero on that either.

Our Speaker of the House must strive for justice on the national stage, loudly, affirmatively. A budgetary negotiation, a proclamation, an investigation - all of these are well, but Not Gonna Get It in this case. This is different. These next two years are the most important period you will ever work in. You don't need to broadcast the strategy, or the effort. You may know seekrit deals that are making it moot - and that's great. But to publicly shoot us in the foot when we're down, (and just after we got you back in the driver's seat!) that's uncalled for. And wrong! What the hell. Get that frickin' snake off of this frickin' plane! Don't say no we're not going to! C'mon!

Do we want better [insert program/policy]? Yes we do. But what's really more important than anything else right now is standing up for those of us - The g-ddamned Majority, thank you - who did not elect this man and demand him out of here pronto. You might be wanting to avoid some kind of turgid Watergate hearings. You know very well it's much, much bigger and more sinister than that.

So what gives, Madame Speaker? You have the intelligence briefings. You've seen the red-yarn corkboards. You understand what happened and what's happening right now. So what's with the blind submission? Yeah, yeah I know "maybe if there's strong evidence" and all that. You're not missing us here, so why the public, very loud hesitation and deferrence? I dunno. I dunno. Can we put it down to you misjudging the reception of this interview? If only. Are you running cover on the biggest sting ever?

I doubt it. Your comments on AOC in that same article were telling. Essentially, you said you too were idealistic when you first came to Washington. But then you figured out how to play the game. Well, you know your business and no one's saying different but for all the good it does to play the swamp game, it does seem that that game has changed a lot lately. And to be honest, I wasn't really a fan of how that game was played in #resistance under Dubya either. Such as it was. What's to say this isn't a prelude to the Jared administration finishing the job? C'mon now. Give us a fight. A real fight. We demand it.
posted by petebest at 3:18 PM on March 12, 2019 [14 favorites]

@NOgnanovich: NEWS: #Senate #Rules Chair #Blunt says #McConnell has 51 votes to go #Nuclear and force through changes aimed at expediting action on #Trump nominees

Yet we still have almost every 2020 Dem defending the filibuster.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:23 PM on March 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

So best case we'd be sparing the country 15 months of the Trump presidency before Trump would (hopefully!) be a lame duck anyway.

That's 15 months of a significantly elevated risk of some truly catastrophic things happening. It's a hell of a gamble.
posted by callmejay at 3:27 PM on March 12, 2019 [10 favorites]

NPR: Adam Schiff: Evidence Available Already Shows That Trump Should Be Indicted

The chairman of the House intelligence committee pointed to the case of Michael Cohen, the president's former personal lawyer, in which the government described how "Individual 1" directed and coordinated a campaign fraud scheme.

"Individual 1" is Trump, and Cohen is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in part because of those crimes.

"It's very difficult to make the argument that the person who was directed and was coordinated should go to jail but the person who did the directing and did the coordinating should not," Schiff told reporters at a breakfast on Tuesday organized by the Christian Science Monitor.

The evidence therefore already in place argues "very strongly in favor of indicting the president when he is out of office," he said.

But, being a politician, he falls in line with Pelosi on the subject of impeachment:

"I see little to be gained by putting the country through that kind of wrenching experience as I've often remarked in the past," he told reporters. "The only thing worse than putting the country through the trauma of an impeachment is putting the country through the trauma of a failed impeachment."

Democrats have been careful not to close the door entirely, however. Pelosi and others argue that Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller or other investigators could uncover evidence of wrongdoing by Trump so egregious that it may compel a bipartisan case for impeachment.

The only way to motivate the House Dems to begin the impeachment proceedings as the situation currently stands would be if the average NPR listener took to the streets.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:58 PM on March 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

petebest: What the hell. Get that frickin' snake off of this frickin' plane! Don't say no we're not going to! C'mon!

Impeachment is not a process for getting the snakes off the plane. It's more the equivalent of Samuel L Jackson saying his line about the motherfucking snakes, and the more I think about it, the more that parallel fits. How much does this audience need to hear those words? I honestly don't know.

The question comes down to the influence on, and by, various groups of not-fully-rational voters. Anyone who basically supports Trump should ("rationally") vote for him and his party no matter what, and more critically, anyone even a smidgen outside the cult absolutely has to register and vote enthusiastically for Democrats. The actual behavior of Democrats between now and two Novembers from now should not affect this at all, but of course it will.

That's what's frustrating about the question. Some people will give up on Democrats if they don't do it. A smaller group of self-considered "moderates" and "independent" people will give up on them if they do, because they'd perceive it as "playing politics" even if they think the administration is kinda corrupt. Some (many?) Republicans will feel angered into voting if impeachment is attempted. Many/most Democrats would be thrilled, me included. ("If you come at the king, you best not miss" isn't just a call for caution, but a call to battle once the arrow has been fired. Plus, the very worst possibility is a failed vote to even impeach in the first place.)

Then comes the trial. Some people will have their eyes opened to the criminality's extent. Some Republicans will experience the bliss of maximal angrification. Some people who thought there was a lot of smoke and had wondered about the fire will decide it was "really" a who-can-say political question all along.

And finally, the lack of conviction. (There are a lot of unknowns here, but that one is not.) Some will shrug and conclude that's vindication. Most Republicans will be absurdly jubilant. Some people will only realize at that point just how craven their Republican representatives are, and vote accordingly. And more than a few Democratic voters will groan at how disappointingly feckless the Democrats are, that they couldn't even get rid of such a blatant monster after his doings were exposed to the whole world, I mean come on guys, talk about not being an organized party, yeesh.

None of these people, of any ideology, are behaving sensibly, insofar as their vote was affected. Your mind should already be made up!

If it made zero difference, impeachment would clearly the right thing to do. But because it will make some kind of difference and we don't know what, it's a clusterfork.

I still believe that, whatever else happens, criminal indictment absolutely must be pursued. I'll be disappointed (but unsurprised) if Mueller doesn't go for that. "You can't indict him" is an untested house rule like "no tagbacks". There is basically no downside to at least seeing whether it holds up.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:00 PM on March 12, 2019 [9 favorites]

My take on Pelosi is that she's posturing. The shit is going to come down and even the Republicans in the Senate are going to have to give it up. She's taking a big loud stand like this to deflect criticism that what Congress does is all "political" and not substantial. Her statement leaves a loophole big enough to drive a truck through. And she gets to insult Trump in the process ("He's not worth it.")
posted by Sublimity at 4:52 PM on March 12, 2019 [51 favorites]

The only way to motivate the House Dems to begin the impeachment proceedings as the situation currently stands would be if the average NPR listener took to the streets.

I know it’s fun to assume the worst but if you’re actually trying to make impeachment happen, ask how you get enough votes in the Senate. That path to me looks a lot like getting as much damaging material investigated in public so it’s too risky to continue playing the see-no-evil game — which is exactly what they appear to be doing.
posted by adamsc at 4:56 PM on March 12, 2019 [15 favorites]

The only reason Clinton's approval rose during his impeachment was that the economy was booming like it hadn't in 30 years before or since. In general, major scandals hurt presidents: Reagan's approval sunk during Iran-Contra, Nixon's fell during Watergate, Bush II plummeted as the lies behind Iraq became increasingly apparent, and Trump's approval falls whenever enough shit hits the fan. Yes, in many cases, approval gradually rises back up again, but that doesn't change the fact that in general, massive investigations ripping through Congress and the country hurt their targets far more than help them. I understand the uncertainty around the effects of impeachment, and certainly understand the argument that it's unlikely to convict, but I don't understand the widespread belief that in expectation, it would be likely to help Trump. There's virtually no precedent for that outside of the very unusual case of Clinton. Investigations hurt, and a "failed" impeachment is much more likely to hurt than help -- heck, just look at the most recent example, Comey's exoneration of HRC, which at best only slightly diminished the huge net harm from the preceding investigation. I really don't see any good evidence that an impeachment process would hurt us more than helping us.

Plus, of course, it's the right thing to do. We're constantly asking Republicans to do the right thing even if it hurts their electoral prospects (eg, voting reform, HR1, helping the poor, etc, etc). It seems like the least we can do is hold ourselves to the same standard on the most obvious moral necessity of our time. But for those who don't like that logic, for the cautious pragmatists -- I really don't see why it's not much more likely to help our cause than hurt it based on almost every historical precedent.
posted by chortly at 5:45 PM on March 12, 2019 [8 favorites]

Soooo...About that “Yelp for the MAGA crowd” app...
posted by Thorzdad at 5:50 PM on March 12, 2019 [29 favorites]

Whatever happens, what we need out of the process is justice. we need justice. This is what I'm hearing on podcasts, what I'm hearing at church, and this is what I've told my congressman('s office): we need justice. we need justice. I'm pretty flexible on what that looks like.

what that means, subdivided, is we need to understand what happened and we need to settle it. I think is something we psychologically need as a body public. I'm thinking back to the Starr report, which (ignoring everything ludicrous about it) tried to explain the crime to the public the way a prosecutor would explain it to a jury. I think that's why people have fixated on a "Mueller Report" - in part because Starr is the only model we have, but also because we really want someone to settle the facts and wind up all the loose threads and tell us what happened.

thing is, since Starr is the only example we have for this, I think people assumed that Mueller would be operating under the same rules and would issue the same type of report, and he absolutely is not operating under those rules. Those rules were changed after Starr's wild overreach. A narrative and explanatory report is (probably) not going to come from Mueller. It has to come from someone else. And the Justice Department ... is probably not going to give us actual justice in this case. So the justice has to come from someone else too. The only entity to do both those things is Congress. The ballot box can remove these guys from office, which is great, but we need more.

Among other things, we need to understand whether these guys are petty criminals, actual traitors, or something else entirely, and I really, really want the historical record to be clear on this whole case. This probably isn't possible, but ideally, like, I'd want Trump apologists to be in the same category as people who deny the moon landing.

Whether you agree or disagree with any of that, I don't know how much point there is in arguing it here, but you should absolutely call your congressperson's office and tell them what you think we need out of Congress, as I did today, because every single pundit in DC is giving their opinion this week, and you should too.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 5:52 PM on March 12, 2019 [27 favorites]

@ZoeTillman NEW: Michael Flynn's lawyers have asked to continue delaying his sentencing until the EDVA case involving his former business partners is done. Mueller's office isn't taking a position, and say that while he could testify or cooperate more, "his cooperation is otherwise complete"
posted by pjenks at 5:53 PM on March 12, 2019 [7 favorites]

heck, just look at the most recent example, Comey's exoneration of HRC, which at best only slightly diminished the huge net harm from the preceding investigation]

Point of order...Comey never exonerated Clinton. He gave an unprecedented speech in July where he reluctantly declared he was sorry that he could not charge her with a crime, then spent 45 minutes detailing all her alleged wrongdoing and specifically called her "extremely careless". Then 9 days before the election in October, he made another unprecedented statement "reopening" the investigation, based on no evidence.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:59 PM on March 12, 2019 [31 favorites]

Chris Hayes had a few Democrats (both House and Senate) on and, without myself taking a position on impeachment y/n/m/idk since that horse is dead, they were completely unable to articulate an internally consistent position. I don't know if that's because they want to conserve political capital until the time comes to move forward or because they are flailing around like headless chickens and actually do lack an internally consistent position but it was painful to see. The main sticking point where their statements fall apart is what happens if there is incontrovertible evidence Trump has committed serious impeachable offenses/crimes but Republicans refuse to publicly commit to removing him anyway. They can't and don't answer that and Hayes specifically pressed them on it.

That part was some black humor. Hayes said his belief was that proof could emerge that Trump had ordered a hit and that the body was buried under the west lawn of the White House and you couldn't get 20 Republicans to convict. He wasn't kidding, he was dead serious. And the Democrats had no answer and didnt want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.

I dunno guys, it was kind of depressing to watch. They seemed petrified about screwing up their messaging rather than coming down on a moral and logically consistent position. Which, hey, politicians but still.
posted by Justinian at 6:18 PM on March 12, 2019 [15 favorites]

HarrisX with an obvious but still striking graphic showing the story of the Democratic primary.

Dunno if it is necessary to summarize a single graphic but just in case you don't want to click: It's a graph of primary support vs age for Biden and Sanders, and it's basically an X. Boomers and Silent generation are very strongly for Biden, Gen Z and Gen Y are strongly for Sanders, and Gen X doesn't care are split. Which we knew intuitively but it's still a striking image.

The problem for Sanders and advantage for Biden is that old people vote and young people don't.
posted by Justinian at 6:23 PM on March 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

No to Biden and if the midterms are any barometer, young people will be voting in 2020.
posted by bluesky43 at 6:25 PM on March 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

Rachel Maddow highlights this from the Wall Street Journal regarding the Boeing 737 MAX:

A software fix to the MCAS flight-control feature by the FAA and Boeing had been expected early in January, but discussions between regulators and the plane maker dragged on, partly over differences of opinion about technical and engineering issues, according to people familiar with the details. Officials from various parts of Boeing and the FAA had differing views about how extensive the fix should be.

U.S. officials have said the federal government’s recent shutdown also halted work on the fix for five weeks.

This problem caused the Lion Air crash. It likely caused the Ethiopian crash. The problem had been noted many times by US pilots. Boeing had a fix. But they couldn’t apply the fix in time, because Donald Trump shut down the government in a failed attempt to get funding for his wall, and now 157 people are dead, including eight Americans.

They’ll probably apply the fix by the end of next month. Until then, it appears the Boeing CEO has been successful in lobbying the President to argue that’s there’s no problem allowing people to fly these planes.

Safe travels.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:35 PM on March 12, 2019 [62 favorites]

BREAKING: Record Fines Imposed Totaling $940,000 for Foreign Interference in Presidential Election by Chinese Corporation

A record fine was handed down by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) following an August 2016 complaint by Campaign Legal Center (CLC), concluding an investigation that found a Chinese-owned corporation and pro-Jeb Bush super PAC both broke the federal law that guards American elections against foreign interference.

American Pacific International Capital, Inc. (APIC) was fined $550,000 for violating the foreign national contribution ban, and the pro-Jeb Bush super PAC “Right to Rise” was fined $390,000 for soliciting a foreign national contribution. CLC’s complaint cites the bombshell report by The Intercept in August 2016 that laid out smoking-gun evidence of the violation: the president of the Chinese-owned, California-based corporation admitted that he directed the corporation’s contributions, which totaled $1.3 million.

More evidence that Citizen's United has turned our elections into foreign power dark money bidding wars. I'm happy to hear about the record fine, but why is that fine less than a third of the money donated?
posted by xammerboy at 6:39 PM on March 12, 2019 [43 favorites]

Justinian, what do you want them to say? "We'll stage a coup"? So far the Democrats have put a very high value on respecting norms and peaceful transition of power. If we manage to retain a democracy, that will be to our benefit. But I don't think anyone wants to share their plan for if the lawful government of the US ceases to exist.
posted by rikschell at 6:43 PM on March 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

They were completely unable to articulate an internally consistent position.

I wonder if that wasn't the point. Pelosi comes forward to say Democrats aren't impeaching, and now individual Democrats are free to say whatever their constituents want to hear.
posted by xammerboy at 6:55 PM on March 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

I wonder if Pelosi is utzing the DOJ to revise their current policy against indictment, as in, 'don't punt to Congress, because if you won't indict, it's not worth it.' It's like hot potato, but with a rabid snake on a Boeing 737.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:02 PM on March 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

WSJ, Navy, Industry Partners Are ‘Under Cyber Siege’ by Chinese Hackers, Review Asserts

The Navy and its industry partners are “under cyber siege” by Chinese hackers and others who have stolen tranches of national security secrets in recent years, exploiting critical weaknesses that threaten the U.S.’s standing as the world’s top military power, an internal Navy review has concluded.

The assessment, delivered to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer last week and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, depicts a branch of the armed forces under relentless cyberattack by foreign adversaries and struggling in its response to the scale and sophistication of the problem.
...
China has “derived an incalculable near- and long-term military advantage from it [the hacking], thereby altering the calculus of global power,” the report said.

The findings are of acute interest and concern within the Navy. “We are under siege,” said a senior Navy official. “People think it’s much like a deathly virus—if we don’t do anything, we could die.”

posted by zachlipton at 7:08 PM on March 12, 2019 [16 favorites]

The main sticking point where their statements fall apart is what happens if there is incontrovertible evidence Trump has committed serious impeachable offenses/crimes but Republicans refuse to publicly commit to removing him anyway. They can't and don't answer that and Hayes specifically pressed them on it.

This. This is what's so infuriating about Pelosi's comments. Republican administrations have done everything short of nuking the citizenry and Democrats cough and splutter and do jack sh*t. This isn't the mega-extreme in-your-face I-double-like-a-dog-dare-you of Trump and his incompetent goons, this is selling weapons to Iran and murdering nuns with the money, invading the Middle East for almost literally no reason at all, cranking up the prison-industrial complex and a fake war on drugs and a hundred other wrongs.

I'm not ready to go back to Tom Daschle and fart around tut-tutting my way to another awful milquetoast candidate loss. Get your sh#t together and beat some traitorous, political, metaphorical @ss, Dems. We have seen this party wilt at every f*ing opportunity, if you can't do it now, you're worthless.

Are we all familiar with the publicly available facts of the matter? The multiple on-air confessions? The multiple documented criminal lies? The gross, naked corruption? The traumatized migrant children? We are, aren't we? WELL. Get in there you big furry oaf! I don't care whatcha smell! Get in there!
posted by petebest at 7:15 PM on March 12, 2019 [13 favorites]

The only reason Clinton's approval rose during his impeachment was that the economy was booming like it hadn't in 30 years before or since.

Also there was a widespread public consensus that impeaching someone for lying about a consensual extramarital relationship wasn't an impeachable offense. Everyone knew the Republicans were out go get Clinton on anything they could.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:17 PM on March 12, 2019 [28 favorites]

The Advocate, Military Officially Moves to Bar Over 13,700 Transgender Members

Donald Trump's administration is now ready to implement the transgender military ban.

A memo from the Department of Defense was obtained by reporters on Tuesday outlining how the ban will be put into effect. Under its terms, the military will discharge or deny enlistment to anyone who won’t serve in the gender to which they were assigned at birth, or who are undergoing hormone therapy or other gender-confirmation procedures, the Associated Press reports.

“The order says the military services must implement the new policy in 30 days [by April 12], giving some individuals a short window of time to qualify for gender transition if needed,” according to the AP. “And it allows service secretaries to waive the policy on a case-by-case basis.”

Fuck.
posted by zachlipton at 7:25 PM on March 12, 2019 [20 favorites]

Yet we still have almost every 2020 Dem defending the filibuster.

If this is an important issue to you (and it should be), here are the Dems that have stated that they are open to getting rid of the filibuster:

Elizabeth Warren
Jay Inslee
Pete Buttigieg
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:28 PM on March 12, 2019 [13 favorites]

Dick's Sporting Goods will remove hunting rifles from 125 stores

Last year, Dick’s removed hunting items from 10 stores where it underperformed. After the removal, those stores generated positive comp sales in Q4. “Following this success,” Dick’s CEO Ed Stack said on the Q4 earnings call, “we will remove Hunt from approximately 125 additional Dick's stores in 2019 where the category underperforms.”

Dick’s defines the hunting category as rifles and ammunition, plus “accessories associated with firearms, hunting apparel, anything associated with hunting,” Dick’s president Lauren Hobart clarified later on the call. [...]

Dick’s entered the national political conversation one year ago when it stopped selling assault-style rifles in all 35 of its Field & Stream stores following the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. It also immediately raised the minimum age to 21 for anyone buying guns in its stores.

posted by Iris Gambol at 7:32 PM on March 12, 2019 [17 favorites]

SF Chronicle, Gov. Newsom to order halt to California’s death penalty

Gov. Gavin Newsom is suspending the death penalty in California, calling it discriminatory and immoral and granting reprieves to the 737 condemned inmates on the nation’s largest Death Row.

“I do not believe that a civilized society can claim to be a leader in the world as long as its government continues to sanction the premeditated and discriminatory execution of its people,” Newsom said in a statement accompanying an executive order, to be issued Wednesday, declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in the state. “The death penalty is inconsistent with our bedrock values and strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Californian.”
...
The reprieves granted by Newsom are temporary orders, in effect during his governorship, as opposed to executive clemency that would reduce an inmate’s sentence to life in prison without parole. Clemency for any inmate with two or more felony convictions would require approval from a majority of the state Supreme Court.

posted by zachlipton at 7:34 PM on March 12, 2019 [39 favorites]

Now available - Pelosi Patron Saint of Shade Merch on her website
posted by growabrain at 7:35 PM on March 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

if the midterms are any barometer, young people will be voting in 2020.

The barometer seems to be broken. In 2018 voters age 18 to 39 made up only 22% of the vote. Voters over 50 made up 63% of the vote.

Millennials outnumber boomers at this point but boomers still out vote millennials by more than two to one.

Young people still have a long way to go if they want to have an influence on elections.
posted by JackFlash at 7:50 PM on March 12, 2019 [17 favorites]

"They wanted me to impeach President Bush for the Iraq War. I didn’t believe in it then, I don’t believe in it now. It divides the country. Unless there is some conclusive evidence that takes us to that place"

I'm not sure what Pelosi's angle is here, but I'm willing to accept that she wants enough people to be pushing her to make it a foregone conclusion, that Clinton was a whimsical impeachment, that she's not going to put her name on a half-assed action on the basis of tweets and youtubes.

But as we all know, the solution of impeachment doesn't require criminal charges and we can impeach him just because we don't like him.

"I got a solution: you're a dick!"

So if it's all democracy as far as she's concerned, I'm fine with that. Let's do this, but we can't do it ourselves so Republicans are going to have to defect, and that's the main frontier as I see it.
posted by rhizome at 8:03 PM on March 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile in Fall River, MA: Jasiel Correia recalled, then re-elected as Fall River mayor

Uncertified results show 61% of voters chose to recall Correia. But on the second question about who should fill the job, Correia received 35% of the vote, narrowly edging out runner-up Paul Coogan, a School Committee member who got 34% of the vote.

posted by pjenks at 8:10 PM on March 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

That part was some black humor. Hayes said his belief was that proof could emerge that Trump had ordered a hit and that the body was buried under the west lawn of the White House and you couldn't get 20 Republicans to convict. He wasn't kidding, he was dead serious. And the Democrats had no answer and didnt want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.


I am fairly sure Hayes is correct. I was trying to imagine a scenario where Republican Senators would vote to remove Trump. The only one I've come up with so far would be if he started putting out hits on Republican Senators.

They (both the Senators and GOP voters) don't care whether crimes have been committed, there is no scenario where Trump is removed. So the value of impeachment (or not) is purely as a political statement. [Which is why to me it makes sense to think: does this help or hurt the 2020 election. I'm not convinced it helps, but I'm not committed to that position].
posted by thefoxgod at 8:15 PM on March 12, 2019 [9 favorites]

I was trying to imagine a scenario where Republican Senators would vote to remove Trump.

This is how submissive Republicans have become to Trump (Dana Milbank, WaPo Opinion)

Leave aside the constitutional and legal arguments, Trump’s politicization of the military and the long-term damage caused (Congress is likely to respond to the abuse by denying the Pentagon all such “reprogramming” authority in the future), and you’re left with a raw display of Trump’s power over Republican lawmakers: They would sooner take away money already promised to military families and constituents than anger Trump.

[...] Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, compiled a list of several hundred “unobligated” — potentially vulnerable — military construction projects and told reporters Tuesday that 20 percent would need to be axed to get to $3.6 billion.

Among those Durbin and colleagues pointed to: a new rifle range for Marines at Parris Island, S.C.; a Special Forces training center at Fort Bragg, N.C.; a missile interceptor field at Fort Greely, Alaska; and a middle school for military families at Fort Campbell — one of seven projects at risk in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky.

Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee and a veteran, accused the Pentagon of either “misinformation or incompetence” in refusing to say which projects it will defund.

posted by Little Dawn at 8:22 PM on March 12, 2019 [22 favorites]

In newly-released transcript, former FBI lawyer fires back on charges that anti-Trump bias affected Trump and Clinton probes (WaPo)

Page’s transcript is the second released in the past week by the panel’s ranking Republican, Douglas A. Collins (Ga.), in an effort to make public the record of the now-completed GOP-led probe of how federal law enforcement agencies conducted the two probes.

[...] During Page’s July 2018 interview, Republicans brought up several of the texts she and Strzok had exchanged, including a 2016 message in which Strzok suggested that Trump wouldn’t win and compared the investigations of him to an “insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.” Republicans have alleged that this could mean the investigation was intended to serve as a means to take down Trump in the event he won the election.

Strzok has denied to lawmakers that his personal messages ever affected the integrity of his work. Like Strzok, Page also testified that their intentions were not nefarious, but reflected that investigators considered a Trump win to be unlikely.

She explained that the intent of the texts was: “Let’s not, you know, throw the kitchen sink at this because he’s probably not going to be elected, and so then we don’t have quite as horrific a national security threat than we do if he gets elected.”

posted by Little Dawn at 8:34 PM on March 12, 2019 [7 favorites]

If this is an important issue to you (and it should be), here are the Dems that have stated that they are open to getting rid of the filibuster:

Elizabeth Warren
Jay Inslee
Pete Buttigieg

This is my single issue vote in the primary. No Democrat that has said they would not eliminate the filibuster will get my primary vote. Literally the entire rest of your agenda means nothing without it, so what the fuck are we even talking about, stop wasting all our time and drop out, you're not serious about actually passing anything and you're lying to my face.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:43 PM on March 12, 2019 [15 favorites]

Point of order...Comey never exonerated Clinton. He gave an unprecedented speech in July where he reluctantly declared he was sorry that he could not charge her with a crime, then spent 45 minutes detailing all her alleged wrongdoing and specifically called her "extremely careless". Then 9 days before the election in October, he made another unprecedented statement "reopening" the investigation, based on no evidence.

My apologies -- I should have had massive sarcastic quotation marks around "exonerated." He did reclose the investigation after reopening it, but of course the effect of all of that was to leave the stigma in place. But this illustrates the larger point that it's much easier to taint a politician than to exonerate them, with hundreds of similar examples available and almost only one single counter-example (Bill Clinton).

Also there was a widespread public consensus that impeaching someone for lying about a consensual extramarital relationship wasn't an impeachable offense. Everyone knew the Republicans were out go get Clinton on anything they could.

This was the "consensus" on the left and slightly in the middle, but a common (though debatable) argument is that, to the degree this was the opinion of the center-left public at large, it was due more to polarization and the state of the economy than to the pure facts of the case. Yes, the arguments against Clinton were absolute garbage, but in a polarized world, that doesn't affect Republican opinion (which would always be against Clinton) and it doesn't affect Democratic opinion (which was for him, though still disapproving of the behavior overall), and the swing independents are as ever so massively disengaged and ignorant that they mainly decide their feeling based on their personal pocketbooks at the time. At least, that's the standard macro-opinion story, which I don't want to argue here, since in the end it all comes down to time-series regression of presidential approval on economic indicators.

In any case, though, the only overall point I was trying to make was to balance the single example of Bill Clinton against the dozens or hundreds of politicians who have been severely damaged by investigations, even ones that finished without conviction. Pragmatically, I don't see much downside based on the historical record.
posted by chortly at 9:11 PM on March 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

I was trying to imagine a scenario where Republican Senators would vote to remove Trump.

Would "dead girl/ live boy" apply to 45?

Not going to happen because he just overpays for very vanilla things that other people presents outwardly to value.

DJT has no taste, even in his desires. It's all a show, a status symbol. He probably enjoyed his sexual encounter with Daniels as much as Daniels did. He did it, and paid for it, so he could brag about it.
posted by porpoise at 9:30 PM on March 12, 2019 [7 favorites]

New York Times, December 21, 1998, IMPEACHMENT: THE POLLS; Public Support for the President, and for Closure, Emerges Unshaken

A solid majority of Americans want the Senate to resolve President Clinton's impeachment case without a trial and without removing him from office, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. A majority of the respondents disapprove of the House's decision to impeach Mr. Clinton but, now that it has done so, believe he should be punished no further, the poll showed.

The poll, which began right after the House voted the first article of impeachment on Saturday, and continued into this evening, found that the more than 12 hours of debate about the perjury and obstruction of justice charges had no effect on the public's opinion of the President or the case against him. Mr. Clinton's popularity remains as high as it has been at any point of the six years of his Presidency, while the public view of the Republican Party continues to plummet.

Two out of three Americans now oppose Mr. Clinton's removal from office, as they did in the weeks before the hearings. Nine out of 10 respondents said they had heard nothing during the two days of televised hearings -- in which Republicans painstakingly offered their case against Mr. Clinton -- that had shifted their view of the case.
...
And it provided one more piece of evidence of the startling political resilience of Mr. Clinton: one day after he became the second President in the nation's history to be impeached, 72 percent of respondents said they approved of how he was handling his job. Mr. Clinton's job approval rating actually increased since last week, when it was 66 percent.

posted by kirkaracha at 9:31 PM on March 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

And it provided one more piece of evidence of the startling political resilience of Mr. Clinton

There's a reason people were startled: that resilience was unique among presidential investigations. Either the evidence against Clinton was uniquely bad, in which case his resilience has little to tell us about the likely effects of the more Watergate/Iran-Contra strength case against Trump right now; or the evidence was comparably strong to Watergate or Iran-Contra, in which case something else must distinguish Clinton from all the other investigations that damaged their presidential targets. So whether the explanation was the weakness of the case or the strength of Clinton or the economy, that anomaly seems like a poor guide for what happens with Trump. At the very least, the most conservative guess is that no opinion will change because partisanship means nothing changes; in which case there is no particular pragmatic argument against proceeding with impeachment efforts.
posted by chortly at 10:30 PM on March 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

This is my single issue vote in the primary. No Democrat that has said they would not eliminate the filibuster will get my primary vote.

the president doesn't have the power to eliminate the filibuster - only the senate can do that - and any presidential candidate who promises to eliminate it is blowing hot air
posted by pyramid termite at 3:07 AM on March 13, 2019 [21 favorites]

No candidates have promised to eliminate it. They’ve said it needs to go if we want to pass the laws that need to be passed.

The president can’t unilaterally eliminate the filibuster. But candidates and then nominee pushing for it will change the conversation and hopefully push the public to force their senators to vote for it.
posted by chris24 at 3:54 AM on March 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

chortly: We're constantly asking Republicans to do the right thing even if it hurts their electoral prospects (eg, voting reform, HR1, helping the poor, etc, etc). It seems like the least we can do is hold ourselves to the same standard on the most obvious moral necessity of our time.

I mean, one difference is that if a Republican does the right thing and then loses to a Democrat because of it, that's a two-for-one deal.

So it's not fully comparable; I think the question of tradeoff is worth asking, and I don't actually expect every Democrat to vote for the maximally objectively "correct" thing every single vote. Otherwise they'd basically vote for nothing and against everything because, e.g, all federal budgets give way too much money to the military, all immigration reform still limits access to citizenship instead of doling it out like candy as it should be. I believe in the Green New Deal because it's the most excellent combination of proposals that could still work; it's not a complete ban on hydrocarbons or whatever like it "should" be.

And impeachment proceedings are in a rather different place than policy proposals, because the latter is less about facts while the former ostensibly is (even though we know the ways it isn't). It's true that, say, passing a healthcare reform act in the House can affect the Overton window on that topic, but not in quite so direct a sense of millions of Americans thinking "Wow, I guess the currect healthcare system is guilty of harming a lot of people, if the House is pushing a law to change it!" and then, after the Senate votes it down, "Never mind, I guess the system is innocent!" and so forth, because they're more attuned to the political, "subjective" nature of stuff like that.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:10 AM on March 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

the president doesn't have the power to eliminate the filibuster - only the senate can do that

The president can’t pass any laws, so this is a meaningless standard. What they can do is set the agenda by their rhetoric and example, and offer proposals to their congressional allies for action. Having a president in favor of keeping the filibuster means there’s no chance of changing the congressional momentum, vs having a president who consistently points out WHY his/her agenda is going nowhere and pushing Congress and the country hard to remove the thing stopping it. Candidates right now who don’t acknowledge what had to happen in order to actually pass anything they’re campaigning on are worst than lying, they’re setting ion another cycle of failed “hope and change” disappointment when theyre elected, and once again, nothing changes because we live under minority rule.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:45 AM on March 13, 2019 [10 favorites]

Hayes said his belief was that proof could emerge that Trump had ordered a hit and that the body was buried under the west lawn of the White House and you couldn't get 20 Republicans to convict. He wasn't kidding, he was dead serious. And the Democrats had no answer and didnt want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Hayes isn't wrong. We complain, correctly, that Democrats constantly have to clean up messes made by Republicans an then suffer the electoral consequences of making unpopular decisions. We all want to see justice done, but we'd do well to remember that the Democrats have a weak hand given that many Republicans will side with Trump no matter what evidence emerges -- and already have. Waiting for Republicans to do the right thing is a mug's game and has been for decades.

One problem is the framing. Hayes and the Democrats would do better portraying impeachment less as a dilemma for Democrats and more about castigating Republicans for participating in a cover-up of criminal activity and putting party before country, yet again. The media takes lockstep Republican support for Trump as a given, and so in general does not treat it as the offense against democracy that it is. The Democrats' message must not only make plain that there's already abundant evidence of Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors in the public domain, but also that Republicans are cowards and traitors for enabling him.
posted by Gelatin at 5:13 AM on March 13, 2019 [33 favorites]

If they want McConnell to consider impeachment maybe the solution is to investigate McConnell. The whole party is dirty. They have the power to find out just how dirty it is. Start steering the investigation toward individual senators, especially McConnell, and don't do it quietly.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:14 AM on March 13, 2019 [69 favorites]

Jared Kushner challenged on conflicts of interest by Trump aides, book claims (Guardian)

The confrontations are detailed in Kushner Inc by the journalist Vicky Ward, who also describes interference in foreign relations by Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump. The book is scheduled to be released on 19 March. [...]

Tillerson “told Kushner that his interference had endangered the US”, an unidentified Tillerson aide tells Ward. Tillerson is also said to have read negative “chatter” about himself in intelligence reports after Kushner belittled him to Kushner’s friend Mohammed bin Salman, the controversial Saudi crown prince.

Meanwhile, Cohn is said to have rebuked Kushner in January 2017 after it was revealed Kushner had dined with executives from the Chinese financial corporation Anbang, which was considering investing in the Kushner family’s troubled tower at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

“You’ve got to be crazy,” Cohn is said to have told Kushner in front of others. Kushner met the executives around the time he hosted Chinese government officials at the Fifth Avenue tower. The building was eventually refinanced by a Qatari-backed investment fund.

Ivanka Trump is reported to have interfered in telephone calls between her father and foreign dignitaries despite having overseas business interests. “Thanks so much for the CD you sent me,” she is quoted as having told an Indian leader by someone who heard the call. The Trump Organization owns several residential towers in India.

Ward’s book portrays Kushner and Ivanka Trump as relentlessly ambitious operators who are loathed by many forced to work with them. She reports that White House staffers mocked Kushner as the “secretary of everything” for his wide-ranging meddling and derided Ivanka Trump’s team as Habi – “home of all bad ideas”. [...]

For her part, Ivanka Trump is focused on cementing a Trump dynasty to rival the Kennedys and Bushes by becoming commander-in-chief herself one day, according to Ward. “She thinks she’s going to be president of the United States,” Cohn is quoted as saying.

posted by Little Dawn at 6:35 AM on March 13, 2019 [22 favorites]

One problem is the framing. Hayes and the Democrats would do better portraying impeachment less as a dilemma for Democrats and more about castigating Republicans for participating in a cover-up of criminal activity and putting party before country, yet again. The media takes lockstep Republican support for Trump as a given, and so in general does not treat it as the offense against democracy that it is.
So true! Why isn't Hays (and others) grilling Republicans. As in: "it is clear from the evidence that is already public that the president is involved in activities that render him unsuited for the presidency. Why are you (Senator XX) sitting on your hands?" Why are they asking Democrats questions that only Republicans can answer?
posted by mumimor at 6:39 AM on March 13, 2019 [17 favorites]

> This is how submissive Republicans have become to Trump

I suspect a lot of Republican politicians see themselves as temporarily embarrassed Trumps, i.e. even if they don't like him on a personal level, they envy his power and open disdain for democratic constraints and regard it as a state of being to aspire to.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:53 AM on March 13, 2019 [30 favorites]

Schiff says impeachment still possible even if Russia probe clears Trump (Politico)

He pointed out that Mueller’s narrow mandate may have precluded the special counsel from investigating “whether the Russians were laundering money for the Trump Organization,” something Schiff said his committee is looking into.

“Our predominant concern on my committee is: Was this president, is this president compromised by a foreign power?” the California Democrat said.

He raised the Trump Tower Moscow project that the president has acknowledged continued through much of the 2016 campaign as one point of interest, calling it “one very graphic illustration that may or may not be criminal and would be … deeply deeply compromising.”

“The president was trying to negotiate the most lucrative business deal of his life during his presidential campaign, concealing it from the public, trying to get the Kremlin's help and knowing that if he crossed [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, he would never get that money. Hundreds of millions of dollars,” Schiff argued. “And when it was discovered, his answer was, ‘Well, why should I miss out on those business opportunities?’”

Schiff also suggested that Trump, who faces dismal polling numbers heading into his reelection campaign, may take the same tack in 2020.

“It may still be the view of this president that if he's not reelected, why should he miss out on that Trump Tower deal?” the congressman said. “And that may stay his hand when it comes to confronting Putin the way we need a president to do.”

posted by Little Dawn at 7:07 AM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

Iris Gambol: Dick's Sporting Goods will remove hunting rifles from 125 stores

Last year, Dick’s removed hunting items from 10 stores where it underperformed. After the removal, those stores generated positive comp sales in Q4. “Following this success,” Dick’s CEO Ed Stack said on the Q4 earnings call, “we will remove Hunt from approximately 125 additional Dick's stores in 2019 where the category underperforms.”

Emphasis mine, because that's the important bit. Previously: Soul-Searching After Parkland, Dick's CEO Embraces Tougher Stance On Guns (NPR, Feb. 12, 2019)

Missing from the article title but covered in the body: the profit-margin for guns and ammo tend to be very low, so when you stop selling less profitable goods, your overall figures improve.

It's easy to do the right thing when the right thing also makes you more money.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2019 [17 favorites]

Ha! Tucker Carlson going on 'vacation' that Hannity insists was totally planned ahead of time (Jessica Sutherland, Daily Kos)
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:12 AM on March 13, 2019 [30 favorites]

Ha! Tucker Carlson going on 'vacation' that Hannity insists was totally planned ahead of time (Jessica Sutherland, Daily Kos)

Fox shakes up advertising pitch as Tucker Carlson ad revolt continues (Guardian)

In recent months, dozens of advertisers have pulled their ads from Fox shows, threatening to reduce Fox’s access to the lifeblood of advertising revenue, a trend that may accelerate in the wake of several recent, polarizing events. [...]

According to Business Insider as many as 33 have already stopped advertising on Carlson’s show in recent months, though probably not all were reacting to Carlson’s views now or in the past or the protests against him. [...]

On his Monday evening broadcast, Carlson maintained a defiant stance. “Fox News is behind us, as they have been since the very first day,” he added, noting: “But we will never bow to the mob. Ever. No matter what.” [...]

Pressure is mounting on Carlson’s remaining advertisers, including Mitsubishi and Allstate Insurance, to follow 33 others that have cut ties with the host since December, when he told viewers that immigrants make the country “poorer and dirtier”. [...]

But the timing of the latest controversies is also critical for other reasons. In the coming months, 21st Century Fox will complete the sale of its studio and most cable assets to Disney.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:17 AM on March 13, 2019 [19 favorites]

Trump Administration Seeks To Close International Immigration Offices (Vanessa Romo and Joel Rose for NPR, March 12, 2019)

The Trump administration is seeking to close nearly two dozen U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices around the world in a move it estimates would save millions per year. But critics argue the closures will further slow refugee processing, family reunification petitions and military citizenship applications.

USCIS spokeswoman Jessica Collins announced on Tuesday the agency is in "preliminary discussions" to delegate its international responsibilities to the State Department, or to its own personnel in the U.S. In some cases, the workload would be absorbed by U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

"The goal of any such shift would be to maximize USCIS resources that could then be reallocated, in part, to backlog reduction" at the agency, Collins told NPR in an emailed statement.

In a cost analysis conducted last year, USCIS officials estimated phasing out its international offices would save millions of dollars each year.

The USCIS field offices currently assist with refugee applications, family reunification visas and foreign adoptions. They also consider parole requests from people outside the U.S. for urgent humanitarian reasons and process naturalization documents for military members who marry foreign nationals, among other responsibilities.

How many staff would be out of a job, to save "millions a year"?

The USCIS International Operations department employs approximately 70 staffers in its offices around the globe. Foreign nationals make up more than half of its staff working abroad and approximately one-third of all its employees.

Yeah, this is another shitty attempt to close access to the US, unless you're friends with, as Doktor Zed linked up-thread: Trump-Linked Massage Parlor Owner [who] Hawked ‘Golden Visas’ or are looking to invest cash money in the US.

Hey, want to save millions? STOP GOING TO MAR-A-LAGO. Or just skip a few jaunts to the "southern White House," as that'll save $[some] millions per trip (Politifact).
posted by filthy light thief at 7:20 AM on March 13, 2019 [23 favorites]

The Georgia House Passed a Bill to Ban Abortions After Six Weeks. Black Female Democrats Had the Best Clapback. (Becca Andrews, Mother Jones)

"Political petty is the best petty. "

In Georgia last week, a white Republican man in the House of Representatives introduced a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, legislation commonly known as a “heartbeat bill,” since it aims to cut off abortion at the moment a heartbeat is detectable and before many women know they are pregnant. It passed, 93-73, late last Thursday.

In response, a group of black female lawmakers, all Democrats, introduced a bill on Monday to amend the state code to require men 55 and older to “immediately report to the county sheriff or local law enforcement agency when such male releases sperm from his testicles." […]

Meanwhile, [on] the same day, Rep. Kendrick said she plans to introduce legislation that she is calling a “testicular ‘bill of rights.'” [Washington Post]

posted by ZeusHumms at 7:24 AM on March 13, 2019 [49 favorites]

Manafort returns to court for 2nd sentencing in 2 weeks (AP)

As U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington decides whether the sentences should run consecutively or at the same time, she is likely to take into account allegations by prosecutors that Manafort tampered with witnesses after he was charged and that he lied to investigators even after he pleaded guilty and pledged to cooperate.

A defendant in federal court normally can get a shorter sentence by pleading guilty and taking blame for his or her conduct. Berman Jackson said she would give Manafort some credit for having pleaded guilty in September to two counts of conspiracy.

The hearing may offer a window into tantalizing allegations that aren’t part of the criminal cases against him but have nonetheless surfaced in recent court filings — that Manafort shared Trump campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate the U.S. says has ties to Russian intelligence, and that the two men met secretly during the campaign in an encounter that prosecutors say cuts “to the heart” of their investigation.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:24 AM on March 13, 2019 [10 favorites]

The Latest: Manafort judge to give some sentencing credit (AP)

A prosecutor with special counsel Robert Mueller’s office says Manafort doesn’t deserve any credit because he repeatedly lied to investigators and to the grand jury after his guilty plea.

But defense lawyer Thomas Zehnle says Manafort has “come forward” to take responsibility, and that the topics he’s accused of lying about are about different ones from the crimes he admitted to.

Not so fast: Mueller still investigating pivotal Russia probe issues (Reuters)

At the March 7 sentencing hearing in Virginia for Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, prosecutor Greg Andres said a filing by the special counsel in a separate case against Manafort in Washington was partially sealed due to a “continuing investigation.” Manafort is due to be sentenced in the Washington case on Wednesday.

The continuing investigation cited by Andres, a member of Mueller’s team, related to Manafort’s interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, his former business associate who the special counsel has said has ties to Russian intelligence. Manafort and Kilimnik, a Russian, worked together for more than a decade as consultants for pro-Kremlin politicians in Ukraine.

A January court filing showed Manafort was accused by prosecutors of lying about sharing with Kilimnik in 2016 polling data related to Trump’s campaign. The New York Times also reported that Manafort asked that Kilimnik pass the data to two Ukrainian oligarchs, Serhiy Lyovochkin and Rinat Akhmetov, who had financed pro-Russian Ukrainian political parties that had paid Manafort millions of dollars as a political consultant.

At issue is why Manafort passed along the polling data. Prosecutors also are examining Manafort’s discussions with Kilimnik about a policy proposal aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine in a way favorable to the Kremlin.

Andrew Weissmann, another Mueller prosecutor, said at a Feb. 4 hearing that Manafort’s alleged lies about interactions with Kilimnik were significant because they related to “what we think the motive here is.” Weissmann added, “This goes, I think, very much to the heart of what the Special Counsel’s office is investigating,” a comment that suggested Mueller’s team was still digging into the matter.

This line of inquiry potentially could lead to conclusions by Mueller about Russian links to the Trump campaign.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:39 AM on March 13, 2019 [13 favorites]

Missing from the article title but covered in the body: the profit-margin for guns and ammo tend to be very low, so when you stop selling less profitable goods, your overall figures improve.

It's easy to do the right thing when the right thing also makes you more money.

Reason 1,240,283 why it's important for the government to make sure businesses feel the tertiary consequences of their choices and actions. Doing things that cause harm downstream should have a cost. There's limits on what I can do to my yard that creates impermiable space because the knock-on effects in runoff have an impact on the envionment and to the county's water processing. Selling weapons that contribute to putting people in emergency rooms should at the minimum have a commensurate fee assigned to them.
posted by phearlez at 8:03 AM on March 13, 2019 [7 favorites]

If you are interested in following a liveblog of the Manafort sentencing, TPM has it here.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:09 AM on March 13, 2019 [6 favorites]

Reason 1,240,283 why it's important for the government to make sure businesses feel the tertiary consequences of their choices and actions. Doing things that cause harm downstream should have a cost. Economic models must include harm to humanity and harm to environment as core parts in evaluating cost, not doing so is how we got the fracking boom (Cheney pushed changes in accountability and cost that made it cheaper by making producers not laudable for the damage) and fracking is going to be seen as the Franz Ferdinand assassination moment for climate change.
posted by The Whelk at 8:16 AM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

One problem is the framing. Hayes and the Democrats would do better portraying impeachment less as a dilemma for Democrats and more about castigating Republicans for participating in a cover-up of criminal activity and putting party before country, yet again. The media takes lockstep Republican support for Trump as a given, and so in general does not treat it as the offense against democracy that it is.

So true! Why isn't Hays (and others) grilling Republicans. As in: "it is clear from the evidence that is already public that the president is involved in activities that render him unsuited for the presidency. Why are you (Senator XX) sitting on your hands?" Why are they asking Democrats questions that only Republicans can answer?

Semi-related: one argument for not pursuing impeachment is that it forces the GOP to make hard decisions about whether his trumpiness should be the presumptive nominee. Impeaching him makes that decision easier, simpler and (possibly) earlier.
posted by mce at 8:24 AM on March 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

via the Guardian:

Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) Judge ABJ, pointedly: The question of collusion or conspiracy with Russia was not presented in this case, therefore it was not resolved in this case. (Manafort lawyer Kevin Downing had said last week that the Virginia trial proved there was no evidence of collusion.) March 13, 2019

'I am sorry': Manafort pleads for mercy ahead of second sentencing (Politico)

Manafort’s brief and less-than-remorseful statement at his Virginia sentencing last week — he notably didn't apologize for his actions — fueled suspicion that he may be seeking to boost his chances of a pardon or commutation.

Manafort’s lawyers also contributed to speculation about a clemency bid by telling the court that his case could have been easily resolved if it was being handled by ordinary prosecutors and by echoing Trump’s mantra that there was “no collusion” between the president's campaign and Russia.

“Most importantly, what you saw today is the same thing that we had said from Day 1: There is absolutely no evidence that Paul Manafort was involved in any collusion with any government official from Russia,” defense lawyer Kevin Downing told reporters outside the Alexandria courthouse.

Not so fast: Mueller still investigating pivotal Russia probe issues (Reuters)

Legal experts have pointed to more than a dozen other incidents that could come under Mueller’s scrutiny. These include: [...] the dangling of possible presidential pardons to Manafort and others.

via the Guardian:

Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) Jackson slams Manafort - "It is hard to overstate the number of lies and the amount of fraud and the extraordinary amount of money involved" in Manafort's crimes. She says there is "no explanation" from Manafort that would warrant the leniency he has requested. March 13, 2019

posted by Little Dawn at 8:33 AM on March 13, 2019 [13 favorites]

The TPM liveblog is on point:

Judge Berman Jackson is now turning to the crimes that are in front of her to consider. “It is hard to overstate the number of lies, and the amount of fraud,” she says. Unlike what the defense suggests, she says that “This is not just a failure to comport to some pesky regulations.” She says he was “lying” to members of Congress and to the public by not disclosing his lobbying. “If the people don’t have the facts, democracy won’t work,” she says.

posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:35 AM on March 13, 2019 [32 favorites]

Yes, Judge Berman is really not mincing any words here. Will be very interesting to see if the sentence reflects the rhetoric.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:39 AM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

Axios has a brief new excerpt from Vicky Ward's upcoming Kushner, Inc. book:

[I]n early May [2017], an aide to Gary Cohn, who had an office on the second floor of the West Wing, noticed a document on his printer. It appeared to be a letter from Trump, firing Comey. It also appeared to have been sent to the wrong printer. ...

Trump was livid about the attention the FBI investigation was attracting, but to fire the head of the FBI while it was investigating him was an extraordinarily risky move. ...

Cohn told his aide to take the letter straight to [then-White House counsel] Donald McGahn, who also had an office on the second floor of the White House (and whose printer it had clearly been meant for). Upon receiving it and realizing it had been printed in the wrong place, McGahn said, “Oh, f!@#!”

posted by box at 8:44 AM on March 13, 2019 [25 favorites]

Just so this gem doesn’t get lost in the deluge once Judge Berman Jackson’s full comments are released:

“It’s not particularly persuasive to argue that an investigation hasn’t found anything when you lied to the investigators.” 🔥
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:53 AM on March 13, 2019 [53 favorites]

Yes the TPM liveblog has some choice quotes, but if someone knows where a full transcript will be posted please share.
posted by mikepop at 8:59 AM on March 13, 2019

More from Berman Jackon: “The ‘no collusion’ refrain…is similarly unrelated to the matters at hand,” she said, adding that it was not “persuasive.”

No, it really isn't, is it.

I was worried when she opened her remarks with "Manafort is not public enemy #1", but it's ratcheted hard the other way since that.

He kind of is Public Enemy #1
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:59 AM on March 13, 2019 [6 favorites]

BREAKING: Paul Manafort has been sentenced to: - Count 1: 60 months, with 30 months concurrent with EDVA sentence - Count 2: 13 months, to run consecutive to count 1 and the EDVA sentence
posted by Sophie1 at 9:02 AM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

So, effectively an additional 4 years.
posted by phearlez at 9:05 AM on March 13, 2019

Closer to 3 and a half years.
posted by mikepop at 9:05 AM on March 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Guardian: In total, between his Washington DC trial and his Virginia trial, Manafort has been sentenced to 90 months in prison or seven and a half years. He has already served nine of those months.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:07 AM on March 13, 2019 [4 favorites]

So rather than talking about an "otherwise blameless life," Judge Berman Jackon castigates Manafort for being a weasel and then ... sentences him to basically the same amount of time.
posted by Gelatin at 9:07 AM on March 13, 2019 [27 favorites]

I think Manafort dies in prison unless he’s pardoned, and a pardon would be nakedly political now.
(Not that it wasn’t before, but you know.)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:09 AM on March 13, 2019

In reality, I think there's zero chance he doesn't get pardoned in 20 months regardless of the 2020 election outcome.
posted by rocket88 at 9:10 AM on March 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

So rather than talking about an "otherwise blameless life ..."

So, not coincidentally perhaps, in Australia yesterday, the judge sentenced Cardinal Pell to a mere 6 years for sexual abuse of children saying Pell had led an "otherwise blameless life."

Seriously, is this an exact phrase they teach you in judge school somewhere to excuse lenient sentences for privileged people?
posted by JackFlash at 9:19 AM on March 13, 2019 [35 favorites]

An Overview of Manadatory Minimum Sentences in the Federal Criminal Justice System (pdf)
posted by Manic Pixie Hollow at 9:21 AM on March 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Mod note: A few comments deleted; let's not have a sidebar digging into details of drug sentencing
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:27 AM on March 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

USA Today mentions an interesting bit of analysis of the EDVA sentencing in their Manafort reporting:

A USA TODAY analysis of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's data found that Manafort received the type of sentencing available only to people who cooperated with the government. And his 47-month punishment is lower than those of many defendants who prosecutors deemed as cooperative.

Manafort's lawyers have asserted that he cooperated with the special counsel, citing about a dozen interviews with prosecutors totaling more than 50 hours. But prosecutors disputed that that amounted to cooperation, saying Manafort had failed to provide useful information and had lied to investigators and to a grand jury.

The analysis found that of the nearly 67,000 defendants sentenced in federal courts in the 2017 fiscal year, 308 whose guideline calculations called for them to serve at least 15 years in prison wound up receiving less than five years. The majority of these defendants received this kind of break in sentencing because the government asked for it and because they cooperated with prosecutors.

Manafort, whom prosecutors did not believe substantially cooperated, received a sentence below that. In fact, of those 308 cases, there's was one fraud case in which the sentence was comparable to Manafort's. It involved a defendant in New York who faced a recommended minimum of 188 months and was sentenced to 30 months.

It will also be interesting to see how Judge Berman Jackson’s sentence lines up with similar cases, but the bottom line is that Manafort now faces about seven and a half years in prison (with maybe one off for good behavior).
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:30 AM on March 13, 2019 [10 favorites]

It will also be interesting to see how Judge Berman Jackson’s sentence lines up with similar cases

I'd also like to see how her sentence and Ellis's from last week's line up against cases from those specific judges in other cases. The data are out there. Ellis seemed crooked and political as hell, but I'm really surprised by the sentence Berman Jackson just delivered. It makes very little sense given the magnitude of what he was convicted of, and his blowing of the plea deal.
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:35 AM on March 13, 2019 [6 favorites]

And just as a backup plan, here come the state charges. New York Charges Paul Manafort With 16 Crimes. If He’s Convicted, Trump Can’t Pardon Him.
posted by Brainy at 9:45 AM on March 13, 2019 [58 favorites]

That shouldn't have any breaking on his legal punishment.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:46 AM on March 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

And just as a backup plan, here come the state charges. New York Charges Paul Manafort With 16 Crimes. If He’s Convicted, Trump Can’t Pardon Him.

And here’s the text of the (latest!) charges against Manafort. [PDF]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:47 AM on March 13, 2019 [4 favorites]

"It is hard to overstate the number of lies and the amount of fraud and the extraordinary amount of money involved" in Manafort's crimes.

And yet, as a million lawyers have pointed out on Twitter, Manfort's sentences (to date, anyway) are still less jail time than people who stole or defrauded people out of relatively insignificant amounts of money have received.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:51 AM on March 13, 2019 [24 favorites]

I'm really disheartened by the rich white guy justice these fuckers are getting.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:52 AM on March 13, 2019 [42 favorites]

I'm really surprised by the sentence Berman Jackson just delivered. It makes very little sense given the magnitude of what he was convicted of, and his blowing of the plea deal.

Well, he's an old, white man, ya see. *sobs quietly to himself*

Banking on death (threats) from Russia is a terrible way to hand out sentencing, and I doubt that's what folks are thinking. He's 69 now, so 81 months out (90 minus 9 served, he's 76 years old, heading to 77. And potentially jail life could be hard on him. Or he could be crafty, and get honored as the next Bernie Madoff, running his own Hot Chocolate Monopoly in Prison (Investopedia).


Speaking of deceit and lying (yes, it's different, but it feels like it's feeding into the broader political hijinks), AT&T raises DirecTV Now price—again—after promising lower post-merger bills -- Customers can keep plan and pay $10 more or buy new package with fewer channels. (Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica, March 12, 2019)

AT&T is reportedly raising the price of DirecTV Now by $10 a month and notifying current subscribers that they will pay the new, higher price starting in April.

DirecTV Now packages today cost $40 to $75 a month before add-ons such as HBO, and current customers will reportedly pay $10 a month more regardless of which package they subscribe to, making the prices $50 to $85. News reports say AT&T is also reconfiguring its channel packages for new subscribers, adding HBO to basic packages while eliminating dozens of channels that aren't part of the AT&T-owned Time Warner Inc. New customers will reportedly be able to choose from two slimmer plans costing $50 or $70 a month.

The price hike and channel reduction are happening despite AT&T promising that its acquisition of Time Warner would lower prices for customers. When the Department of Justice tried to stop the merger, AT&T told a judge in a May 2018 court filing (PDF) that the merger "will enable the merged company to reduce prices."

But AT&T raised the base price of its DirecTV Now streaming service by $5 per month in July 2018 (Ars Technica), just weeks after completing the merger. Now AT&T is imposing an even bigger price increase.
...
AT&T also made it more expensive (Ars Technica) to cancel DirecTV with a new policy to charge customers for the full month after they cancel service, instead of providing a prorated credit for the final month.

Don't expect any response from FCC at this point, but it'll be interesting to see what happens, if anything, when political winds shift and FCC has Democratic majority and leadership again.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:53 AM on March 13, 2019 [14 favorites]

@KatyTurNBC: Manafort’s lawyer came out and just said “no collusion” which is wild because the Judge specifically said no collusion had nothing to do with that case and that Mueller is still looking into collusion. Could it be any clearer, Manafort’s folks are appealing for a pardon?

Well, the pardon idea is irrelevant if the NY charges stick, but I guess they figure why not directly contradict the judge in public because he's already been sentenced?

Here's video of it, as protesters tell the lawyer what they think of his lies.
posted by zachlipton at 9:53 AM on March 13, 2019 [13 favorites]

More in "tech" news: Internal Docs Show How ICE Gets Surveillance Help From Local Cops (Lily Hay Newman for Wired, March 13, 2019)

OVER THE LAST decade, license plate readers have become an increasingly popular tool for law enforcement around the United States. One federal agency that has aggressively pursued this data is US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, through a $6.1 million contract with a private firm called Vigilant Solutions. Now, new details of this arrangement have been revealed through extensive documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The internal documents show that through its Vigilant Solutions contract, which began in 2018 and runs to September 2020, ICE has access not only to five billion records gathered by private businesses, but also to 1.5 billion data points contributed by over 80 local law enforcement agencies from more than a dozen states. Often, these data-sharing agreements stem from friendly professional relationships between local police and ICE, but these casual arrangements may violate ICE privacy policies and state and local data-sharing laws—particularly in cases where the data originates from sanctuary cities. Vigilant Solutions and ICE did not immediately return a request for comment.

And more from transparency bringing some really ugly truths to light: Opioid Litigation Brings Company Secrets Into The Public Eye (Brian Mann for NPR, March 13, 2019)

America's big drugmakers and pharmacy chains are scrambling to respond to hundreds of lawsuits tied to the deadly opioid epidemic. Billions of dollars are at stake if the companies are found liable for fueling the crisis.

Even before judgments are rendered, companies like Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and CVS are already suffering damage to their reputations as evidence in civil suits reveals more about their internal workings.

"The narrative is clearly shifting on this story," said David Armstrong, a senior reporter with ProPublica, who has covered the drug industry for years. "People want some sort of reckoning, some sort of accounting."

One reason for the shift is that cities and states filing these suits are moving more aggressively to pull back the curtain on the drug industry's practices, urging courts to make internal memos, marketing strategies and reams of other documents public.

"Our next battle is to get the depositions and the documents that are being produced made available to the public, instead of everything being filed under confidentiality agreements," said Joe Rice, one of the lead attorneys bringing lawsuits against drug companies on behalf of local governments in Ohio.

A growing number of documents have already been released or leaked to the press, and many of the revelations they contain have been troubling. In internal memos, Purdue executives acknowledged (WBUR) that their prescription opioids are far more addictive and dangerous than the company was telling doctors. At the same time, company directives pushed sales representatives to get even more opioids into the hands of vulnerable people (Knox News), including seniors and veterans.

Memos also show (Document Cloud) that Purdue executives developed a secret plan, never implemented, called Project Tango in which they acknowledged the escalating risk of the opioid epidemic. The program was allegedly designed to help Purdue profit from the growing wave of opioid dependency by selling the company's addiction treatment services to people hooked on products like its own OxyContin.

This increased transparency represents a big shift in the way opioid lawsuits are being handled. "We've done something that hasn't been done before," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who appeared in February on NPR and WBUR's program On Point.

Massachusetts is suing Purdue, like dozens of other states, and Healey fought successfully to make all the documents her office had uncovered public, without redactions. "What Purdue's own documents show is the extent of deception and deceit. What's important to me is that the facts come to light, and we get justice and accountability," Healey said.

Purdue Pharma declined to speak with NPR, but the drug industry has fought these disclosures at every turn. They describe the information in these documents as proprietary, asserting that it should be viewed by the courts as corporate property. For years, governments pursuing these cases mostly went along with those arguments.

End ICE, and make Big Pharma give out opioid treatment services for free. If it bankrupts them, then the CDC can buy up the research and distribute it to medical research universities, and start making medicine for the public good instead of private gains.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:06 AM on March 13, 2019 [27 favorites]

Evidently Ralph Nader's grand-niece, Samya Stumo, died on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on Sunday. Today's Democracy Now! (full episode, direct .mp4, alt link, torrents 1, 2, m) interviewed Nader and William McGee, aviation journalist for Consumer Reports and author of a book about lax aviation safety standards. Early on Nader seems a tad confused about the relationship of artificial intelligence to the Boeing 737 MAX software issues, but gives solid advice on how consumers should respond to the corruption of safety regulation and solid advice to Boeing executives that they'd better stop fucking around or will be facing criminal charges.

Later on in the episode, all the reasons Joe Biden is a racist misogynist asshole.
posted by XMLicious at 10:14 AM on March 13, 2019 [9 favorites]

the bottom line is that Manafort now faces about seven and a half years in prison (with maybe one off for good behavior).

Ken White/@popehat offers a more detailed breakdown: "So that's 43 months additional time on top of the EDVA sentence, for a total of 90 months, or 7.5 years. He gets credit for time served, will get good-time credit of up to 15%, and may get additional credit under the new and untested First Step Act*."

* The Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act, signed into law by Trump last December after Jared's strong support. Under its provisions, Manafort could earn 10 days off for every 30 days that he participates in "evidence-based recidivism reduction programming or productive activities". The Act also allows for time reduced for lower recidivism assessments, but nobody would believe that Manafort wouldn't pick up criming with his oligarch allies as soon as he left prison, right?
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:15 AM on March 13, 2019 [6 favorites]

The Washington Post has some choice quotes from Judge Jackson in the Manafort sentencing. Paul Manafort is sentenced to a total of 90 months in prison for conspiracy and fraud. On the Mueller investigation:

The question of whether anyone in the Trump campaign “conspired or colluded with” the Russian government “was not presented in this case,” she said, so for Manafort’s attorneys to emphasize that no such collusion was proven, she said, is “a non-sequitur.” […]

“It’s not appropriate to say investigators haven’t found anything when you lied to the investigators,” she said.

On Manafort’s excuses:

His motivation, she added, was “not to support a family, but to sustain a lifestyle that was ostentatiously opulent and extravagantly lavish — more houses a family can enjoy, more suits than one man can wear.” […]

Downing said all sides have sought to spin Manafort’s predicament to their political advantage, adding, “But for a short stint as campaign manager in a presidential election, I don’t think we would be here today. I think the court should consider that too.”

Jackson dismissed that argument, telling Manafort, “Saying ‘I’m sorry I got caught’ is not an inspiring call for leniency.”

On Manafort’s lies:

Jackson found that Manafort’s lies included matters “material” to the Mueller probe, including interactions with his longtime Russian aide in Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik, whom the FBI assessed to have ties to Russian intelligence. […]

Those lies, she said, tainted any cooperation he may have genuinely offered.

“So was he spinning the facts before hand to get a good deal, or was he spinning the facts afterward to protect other people?” Jackson asked. “We don’t know.”

posted by mbrubeck at 10:22 AM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

Trump’s Campaign Manager Says He’s Building an “Unstoppable Apparatus” and Only Stephen Colbert Noticed (Matthew Dessem, Slate)

Trump’s massive reelection campaign has 2016 themes — and a 2020 infrastructure (Toluse Olorunnipa & Josh Dawsey, Washington Post)

President Trump and his advisers are launching a behemoth 2020 campaign operation combining his raw populist message from 2016 with a massive data-gathering and get-out-the-vote push aimed at dwarfing any previous presidential reelection effort, according to campaign advisers, White House aides, Republican officials and others briefed on the emerging strategy. [...]

But even as the Mueller probe, congressional investigations and threats of impeachment swirl around him, Trump is starting his reelection bid with the full support of the Republican National Committee, a far more sophisticated data machine than his first election had and a party that has molded itself in his image while looking past his combative and incendiary style.

posted by ZeusHumms at 10:22 AM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

nobody would believe that Manafort wouldn't pick up criming with his oligarch allies as soon as he left prison, right?

He resigned his law license rather than face a disbarment hearing, waiving a right to be readmitted to the Connecticut bar (Law and Crime, January 11th, 2019), so that's another door he closed. And last year, 'Long time friends' of Manafort set up legal defense fund (ABC News, May 30, 2018), so maybe his lavish lifestyle was being crimped. He can probably get a job for Trump Co, assuming is still exists in some form.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:26 AM on March 13, 2019

He gets credit for time served, will get good-time credit of up to 15%, and may get additional credit under the new and untested First Step Act

So wait. Time served is 9 months, plus 1.1 years for good-time, plus 33% for First Step. If my furious iphone math is right that means Manafort will likely be in prison for about three and a half years. Remarkable.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

President Trump and his advisers are launching a behemoth 2020 campaign operation combining his raw populist message from 2016 with a massive data-gathering and get-out-the-vote push...


Left unsaid: “...and relying on years of systematic voter suppression, disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, election fraud, foreign intervention, and a metric shitload of dark money.”
posted by darkstar at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2019 [16 favorites]

So rather than talking about an "otherwise blameless life," Judge Berman Jackon castigates Manafort for being a weasel and then ... sentences him to basically the same amount of time.

But if you look at on a percentage basis, her sentence is much harsher. The max she could have given was 10 years if I recall correctly. Her sentence was 85 months, so that's 70%^* of what she could have given.

Compared with 4 years out of the recommended 19 to 25 years for Ellis's sentence yields about 21% - 16% respectively.

* If you subtract out the 30 months to be served concurrently, you get about 60%.
posted by mikepop at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

NYT op-ed, David Wasserman, Why a Long Democratic Primary Slugfest Might Help Re-elect Trump

By contrast, the Democratic Party’s egalitarian-minded rules allocate all pledged delegates to its convention on a proportional basis: A presidential candidate who receives at least 15 percent of the vote in any state or congressional district receives a corresponding share of delegates, making it difficult for a leading candidate to become a runaway train. In fact, had the 2016 Republican primary played out under Democrats’ rules, it would have almost assuredly resulted in an ugly, contested convention.

Thanks, I needed a new reason to not sleep.
posted by zachlipton at 10:39 AM on March 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

Trump wanted Kelly to 'get rid of' Ivanka, Kushner, book claims

President Trump directed his former chief of staff John Kelly to “get rid of” his Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner shortly after the retired general joined the White House and send them back to New York, according to revelations in a new book.

“Kushner Inc.” claims that Trump wanted Kelly to remove his son-in-law and his elder daughter from the White House because his children “didn’t know how to play the game,” the books states, according to a report by The New York Times on Monday.

According to the Times, the book authored by journalist Vicky Ward claims Trump used to complain about his children generating waves of negative press.

Kelly allegedly told Trump at the time that it would be difficult to fire his children but later agreed with Trump they “would make life difficult enough to force the pair to offer their resignations,” the Times reported.

Associates familiar with the matter told the Times that the pair have since outlasted those plans and added that the president’s desire for his children to leave the White House has “come and gone in waves.”

posted by scalefree at 10:39 AM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

I like the idea that there will be a drip drip drip of emails to keep these stories in the headlines.

Exclusive: Lawyer said Michael Cohen could 'sleep well tonight' after speaking to Rudy Giuliani

Washington (CNN)An attorney who said he was speaking with President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani reassured Michael Cohen in an April 2018 email that Cohen could "sleep well tonight" because he had "friends in high places," according to a copy of an email obtained by CNN.

Two emails -- both dated April 21, 2018, and among documents provided to Congress by the President's former attorney and fixer -- do not specifically mention a pardon. Cohen, in his closed-door congressional testimony, has provided these emails in an effort to corroborate his claim that a pardon was dangled before he decided to cooperate with federal prosecutors, according to sources familiar with his testimony.

posted by Brainy at 10:42 AM on March 13, 2019 [14 favorites]

Trump’s Campaign Manager Says He’s Building an “Unstoppable Apparatus” and Only Stephen Colbert Noticed (Matthew Dessem, Slate)

Trump’s massive reelection campaign has 2016 themes — and a 2020 infrastructure (Toluse Olorunnipa & Josh Dawsey, Washington Post)

In the meantime, from the NYT's report Mueller Report Has Washington Spinning (and It’s Not Even Filed)

Inside the White House, [...] There is no war room preparing to deal with Mr. Mueller’s findings and no intention to set one up, as Mr. Clinton did when he faced impeachment and possible removal from office. There are no calls with surrogates to line up a messaging plan. The president’s advisers are simply flying blind, said one person directly involved in the planning, who was not authorized to discuss it.

In other news: Trump: ‘I greatly appreciate’ Pelosi’s opposition to impeachment (Politico)

“How do you impeach a man who is considered by many to be the President with the most successful first two years in history, especially when he has done nothing wrong and impeachment is for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’?”

Maybe first let them believe there's no risk in continuing to fly so close to the sun?
posted by Little Dawn at 10:47 AM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are.... ....needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!

Politico's Michael Grunwald: "The dumb airline tweets are fun to mock but this is #actually how Trump won: Ignore data that prove things have gotten better, insist things have gotten worse, appeal to nostalgia for mythic era before modernity when things seemed simpler. (For some people.)" (Of course, we now know that Trump had airplane safety on his tiny mind because Boeing's CEO had called him that morning about the 737 Max crash.)

And only a little over year ago, Trump was boasting how his "strict" record on commercial aviation had resulted in "ZERO" deaths in his first year of office.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:52 AM on March 13, 2019 [22 favorites]

Soooo...About that “Yelp for the MAGA crowd” app...

posted by Thorzdad at 5:50 PM on March 12 [27 favorites +] [!]

That article cracks me up for a variety of reasons, mostly the pwnage of the wingnuts, but one of them is this:

French security researcher Elliot Alderson discovered some fundamental security flaws in Safe's architecture—making it not so safe.

Apparently the author of the article isn't a Mr. Robot fan.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:57 AM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

otherwise blameless life

Aside from the chutzpah of saying this with regard to Paul Manafort, this just strikes me as a bizarre thing for a judge to say about anybody in a court of law. How could one even purport to know such a thing about somebody else, even legally speaking? Maybe it's just semantics (or the latent effects of an evangelical upbringing), but to me it's akin to saying somebody is "perfect" or "incapable of doing wrong," which doesn't even apply to people like MLK or Gandhi or whomever we want to hold up as a paragon of virtue. Such a specific and extreme term to use, especially when you're trying for at least a facade of objectivity. Oh wait
posted by Rykey at 10:58 AM on March 13, 2019 [20 favorites]

it is disheartening, and i'm in no way suggesting that the sentences are enough, but i bet they seem pretty steep to a guy certain (until, at best, seven months ago, though likely even now) that he is above the law.
posted by 20 year lurk at 10:58 AM on March 13, 2019 [6 favorites]

From yesterday:

"The problem for Sanders and advantage for Biden is that old people vote and young people don't."

I haven't seen much discussion of this here -- although I realize that we want to avoid rehashing arguments about the Dem primaries -- but is it just me who is infuriated at all this polling and news that has it all about Biden and Sanders? I'm not exaggerating: I get so angry I want to spit at the idea that it's one or the other of two old white guys.

I mean, I'm a fifty-something white guy and I'm so done with old white guys running things. We got so many women and so much diversity in this last election, and it's been so exciting to see so many women running or considering running for the nomination that I've felt we were witnessing a watershed moment in American history. I've been so encouraged by this. But apparently almost all the interest is gravitating to the two 77-year old white men? Seriously? What the fuck?
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2019 [76 favorites]

@ChadPergram: #BREAKING Trump orders all 737 MAX 8 & 9 jets grounded

Why...why isn't this decision being made and announced by experts? Aviation safety regulation is now one of those things that's just done inside the President's head now?
posted by zachlipton at 11:33 AM on March 13, 2019 [48 favorites]

is it just me who is infuriated at all this polling and news that has it all about Biden and Sanders?

It's annoying to me that the interest is about two old white men, but it's even MORE annoying to me that it's about a guy who was vice president in 2016, and a guy who was a presidential candidate in 2016.

It feels like 2016 will never end.
posted by OnceUponATime at 11:35 AM on March 13, 2019 [42 favorites]

NYT op-ed, David Wasserman, Why a Long Democratic Primary Slugfest Might Help Re-elect Trump

[...]

Thanks, I needed a new reason to not sleep.

If it helps, I'm 100% sure that if the Democratic primary was looking straightforward we'd be getting op-eds, possibly from the same author, about how that would help Trump.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:43 AM on March 13, 2019 [41 favorites]

Sometimes I wonder if Nate Silver reads these threads because 538 seems to answer our questions/objections in real time. (ok, it's because people here bring up the most likely relevant points and he is responding to the most likely relevant points.)

Because ripped from the Metafilter headlines we have: Joe Biden’s And Bernie Sanders’s Support Isn’t Just About Name Recognition. So I guess that's that.
posted by Justinian at 12:01 PM on March 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

Justinian, I guess I'm going to find some beer and cry into it.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:18 PM on March 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

The fact that there's a big chunk of Biden voters who have Bernie as their #2 says that name recognition is the #1 thing even if it isn't the only thing.
posted by asteria at 12:26 PM on March 13, 2019 [10 favorites]

The fact that there's a big chunk of Biden voters who have Bernie as their #2 says that name recognition is the #1 thing even if it isn't the only thing.

Yep, especially considering their relative positions on the spectrum. It sounds like Biden is going to be marketing himself as a Why Can't We All Just Get Along? centrist. I'm not sure there's a market for that position.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:36 PM on March 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

Mod note: Gang, maybe enough with the Biden v Sanders thing; we talked about it yesterday, just going around in circles on this isn't gonna get us anywhere interesting. There is a Sanders thread if you're really interested in talking about his stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:39 PM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

Good news dept: New York poised to pass billionaire pied-à-terre tax.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:53 PM on March 13, 2019 [22 favorites]

The NYT has stopped allowing the private window workaround!! Argh.
posted by Melismata at 12:54 PM on March 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

still working for me in Chrome, Melismata. You might need to completely close your incognito/private browsing window and then open a new one if you've hit the limit in the one you're using.
posted by contraption at 1:02 PM on March 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

Why...why isn't this decision being made and announced by experts?

Does Trump, as Commander-in-Chief, possess the ability to ban any aircraft from civil aviation space?
posted by mookoz at 1:03 PM on March 13, 2019

Why...why isn't this decision being made and announced by experts? Aviation safety regulation is now one of those things that's just done inside the President's head now?

In a word, yes: bloated narcissism means that Trump believes that he is an expert on everything.

The fact that federal agencies are being steadily hollowed out through a combination of ignorance, neglect, morale loss, cutbacks and malign actions shouldn't be discounted: I think that many people don't realize that the US has lost decades of institutional experience during the Trump presidency in almost every agency and department. It's going to take a long, long time to recover… and quite frankly, I have my doubts that the system will ever be fully back to what it was.

The fact that many federal agencies lack an administrative head in a sense makes Trump the defacto spokesman: the head of the FAA stepped down 15 months ago, and has never been replaced. Last February, Trump suggested that his personal pilot should do the job.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 1:08 PM on March 13, 2019 [32 favorites]

Regarding favorability vs name recognition, I'm not sure I agree with Silver. Here is a plot I made of favorability vs name recognition using Silver's data. Silver analyzes the data for high and low recognition folks separately, but looking at the plot, it seems like the more natural division is between low approval folks and everyone else, where for everyone except for the terrible candidates (Schultz; possibly de Blasio and Bloomberg), the fit between approval and name recognition is quite tight. Yes, Biden is still above Sanders for their similar levels of name recognition, but to a first approximation, among all the viable candidates, approval still seems largely a function of how well they are known.
posted by chortly at 1:10 PM on March 13, 2019 [7 favorites]

Why...why isn't this decision being made and announced by experts?

I think if you rephrase this as “why was this done in a way that gets Trump’s name in headlines rather than-“ you would find you don’t even need to finish asking the question. Alternately, “why was this done in a seemingly capricious one person decision by Trump rather-“ will work too.
posted by phearlez at 1:17 PM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

While Trump can be trusted to make himself the center of attention at any given moment (whatever the situation), the important part of this is not that he’s announcing it but rather that the US was the last country to ground the planes and that the necessary fixes may have been delayed by his government shutdown. As grounding aircraft is under the FAA’s purview, it’s under his.

If the shutdown truly delayed the fixes, I guess we can add several hundreds counts of manslaughter to the crimes he’ll never pay for.
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:24 PM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

If you're disappointed with Manafort's discouragingly light federal sentence, I bear good news: immediately after his hearing today, the New York unsealed 16 new indictments against him. These charges could not only lengthen his prison time, but prevent any potential presidential shenanigans: because they're state crimes, they're pardon-proof, if he's convicted.

Marcy Wheeler has a good post about it: Paulie's Very Bad Day.
posted by cudzoo at 1:25 PM on March 13, 2019 [34 favorites]

Mod note: A few comments deleted. We've got a Sanders thread as well as a recent antisemitism thread that talked extensively about the same phrase he used; please take this discussion to one of those places.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:41 PM on March 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

Well that didn't last long:

Trump Rejects GOP Emergency Declaration Compromise, Setting Up Rebuke (TPM)

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who’d crafted the face-saving resolution, told senators that Trump was refusing to accept his plan on Wednesday afternoon, two sources who were present for the conversation told TPM.

No faces will be saved! /leopards
posted by mikepop at 1:41 PM on March 13, 2019 [16 favorites]

Why...why isn't this decision being made and announced by experts?

My guess is that the decision was made by the FAA, they gave Trump a heads-up before their public announcement, and Trump being Trump, he had to take credit for it.

A WaPo article says the FAA "confirmed" the order at 3 p.m., about half an hour after Trump's annoucement, but the actual text of the FAA statement belies this: "The FAA is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory." (emph. mine)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:41 PM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

[Update: sorry, take it to the Sanders thread since the other one has just closed.]
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:43 PM on March 13, 2019

Why...why isn't this decision being made and announced by experts? Aviation safety regulation is now one of those things that's just done inside the President's head now?

The hilarious part is that Boeing paid a $1 million cash bribe to Trump's inauguration party and they get nothing for it. The Boeing CEO should be fired for incompetence for not being aware of the common knowledge that Trump never honors his end of a deal. He will stick it to you every time just as a matter of pride.
posted by JackFlash at 1:55 PM on March 13, 2019 [13 favorites]

Nadler says Whitaker, in today's House meeting, would not deny discussions of moving Berman on to Cohen case, firing US attorneys, and minimizing SDNY's moves.
posted by Harry Caul at 1:59 PM on March 13, 2019 [15 favorites]

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who’d crafted the face-saving resolution, told senators that Trump was refusing to accept his plan on Wednesday afternoon, two sources who were present for the conversation told TPM.

Lee now plans to vote for the disapproval resolution, which should be 5 R votes in favor.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:08 PM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

NYT's Nicholas Fandos reports on former AAG Matthew Whitaker's closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary Committee:

Nadler: “Unlike in the hearing room, Whitaker did not deny that the president told him to discuss the Michael Cohen case and personnel decisions in the Southern District.”

“While he was acting AG, Whitaker was directly involved in conversations about where to fire 1 or more US attorneys.”

Nadler says Whitaker also in convos re: “scope of SDNY USA Berman’s recusal & whether the Southern District went too far in pursuing the campaign finance case”

CNN commentator Keith Boykin (w/video of Nadler): "So, as I understand this, Trump’s acting attorney general Matt Whitaker committed perjury when he told a congressional committee last month that Trump never called him about the Michael Cohen case. Today Whitaker apparently admitted Trump did call him."
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:16 PM on March 13, 2019 [36 favorites]

Wayne Messam, the mayor of Miramar, Florida, launches presidential exploratory committee
posted by Apocryphon at 2:17 PM on March 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Trump took credit for the decision to ground the Boeing 737 MAX planes, after the rest of the world flying those planes had already done so.

It remains to be seen whether he will take credit for the decision to NOT ground those planes, endangering the lives of thousands of Americans.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:18 PM on March 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

"So, as I understand this, Trump’s acting attorney general Matt Whitaker committed perjury when he told a congressional committee last month that Trump never called him about the Michael Cohen case. Today Whitaker apparently admitted Trump did call him."

You may recall that Matt Whitaker did not take a job in Trump's 2020 reelection campaign organization following his departure from DOJ, perhaps because he was not offered one, and given his flip-flop re Presidential meddling in DOJ operations and personnel where those affect the President's private interests, as reported above, the former acting AG is pissed off about that and would like someone to notice.
posted by notyou at 2:29 PM on March 13, 2019 [6 favorites]

NYT's Nicholas Fandos reports on former AAG Matthew Whitaker's closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary Committee:
Nadler: “Unlike in the hearing room, Whitaker did not deny that the president told him to discuss the Michael Cohen case and personnel decisions in the Southern District.”

“While he was acting AG, Whitaker was directly involved in conversations about where to fire 1 or more US attorneys.”

Nadler says Whitaker also in convos re: “scope of SDNY USA Berman’s recusal & whether the Southern District went too far in pursuing the campaign finance case”

Whoa! This is another of those scandals that would upend the entire nation if it was a normal presidency. Now it's just Wednesday. Between this and Brexit, I wish there was another now I could be in.
posted by mumimor at 2:30 PM on March 13, 2019 [53 favorites]

Hey remember that time former President Bill Clinton met with then current Obama AG Loretta Lynch on the tarmac at the Phoenix Airport? Of course you do, the media fallout from that event is one of the reasons we're stuck in this now.
posted by notyou at 2:33 PM on March 13, 2019 [50 favorites]

I look at Manafort's pathetic sentence and I'm really wondering why Pelosi is being criticized so much for the impeachment thing instead of the Republicans who will never buy into impeachment because they are totally okay with treason. Rich white guys are going to look out for each other, no matter what, because that's what they have to do to keep up their grift. Also, I wonder what's going to happen if/when Trump finds out about the "he's not worth it" part. I guarantee that no one has mentioned that bit to him.
posted by Ruki at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2019 [13 favorites]

Vox, Neomi Rao is officially Brett Kavanaugh’s replacement on the DC Circuit.

Rao, currently the Trump administration’s regulatory czar, is widely seen as a rising star in conservative legal circles and could be among those considered for the Supreme Court down the line. During her confirmation hearing in February, she was heavily questioned about some of her college articles about sexual assault, several of which appeared to blame the victims.

“If she drinks to the point where she can no longer choose, well, getting to that point was a part of her choice,” Rao wrote in one piece.
...
“The DC Circuit hears most challenges to federal regulations,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), a ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “If confirmed, Ms. Rao could be in a position to decide cases about many of the very regulations that she has personally worked on. Rao has previously refused to recuse herself from cases that might involve Trump administration rules that she oversaw, however.

ABC News, Trump, ignoring Democratic senators, set to name 2 judges in California

Now, as the president continues his record-setting pace of filling vacancies on the federal bench -- something that will leave a lasting imprint on American jurisprudence for years to come -- Trump is poised to fill two vacant seats in California on the 9th Circuit Court, despite objections of the state's two Democratic senators.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, who's seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, have voiced their repeated opposition to nominees Daniel Collins and Kenneth Lee. The two senators have attempted to withhold their approval, something that historically might have amounted to a senatorial veto.

But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is moving forward with a confirmation hearing for both men on Wednesday, ignoring the fact that both senators failed to return what are called "blue slips."

posted by zachlipton at 3:11 PM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

Well, he's running: Beto O'Rourke: "I'm Just Born to do This"

Vanity Fair cover story with obligatory Annie Leibovitz photos. A few choice bits:

On being yet another white dude:

O’Rourke is acutely aware, too, of perhaps his biggest vulnerability—being a white man in a Democratic Party yearning for a woman or a person of color, a Kamala Harris or a Cory Booker. “The government at all levels is overly represented by white men,” he says. “That’s part of the problem, and I’m a white man. So if I were to run, I think it’s just so important that those who would comprise my team looked like this country. If I were to run, if I were to win, that my administration looks like this country. It’s the only way I know to meet that challenge.

On his ability to win:

...But in a private meeting with Barack Obama last November, the former president had asked Beto O’Rourke to consider if he had a clear path to the White House. Could he deliver Texas? Michigan? Pennsylvania? Wisconsin?

“I don’t have a team counting delegates,” O’Rourke says, again invoking a politics not readily accessible by reason. “Almost no one thought there was a path in Texas, and I just knew it. I just felt it. I knew it was there, and I knew that with enough work and enough creativity and enough amazing people, if I’m able to meet them and bring them in, then we can do it.

“That’s how I feel about this,” he says. “It’s probably not the most professional thing you’ve ever heard about this, but I just feel it.”

On policy:

“What’s exciting to me is figuring out something that has eluded us for so long: How do we make sure every single person can see a doctor in this country?” he adds. “That’s really exciting to me.”

Pressed on his national-policy positions, O’Rourke says he wants to shore up the Affordable Care Act and make Medicare part of the health-care marketplace, and eventually make “health care for all” a reality. He would also make climate change a top priority. “Keeping the planet from warming one-half degree Celsius, for me, is the most important for humanity,” he says. He supports Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal in spirit, if not every letter. “The goal of converting to 100 percent renewable energy within a decade, I love,” he says. “It’s ambitious. It captures your imagination.”

posted by Uncle Ira at 3:17 PM on March 13, 2019 [9 favorites]

Almost no one thought there was a path in Texas, and I just knew it. I just felt it. I knew it was there, and I knew that with enough work and enough creativity and enough amazing people, if I’m able to meet them and bring them in, then we can do it.

I feel like despite what you felt about your path in Texas you still lost the race to a heap of spiders sewn up into a man suit.
posted by notyou at 3:24 PM on March 13, 2019 [71 favorites]

I wonder what's going to happen if/when Trump finds out about the "he's not worth it" part. I guarantee that no one has mentioned that bit to him.

Here's what will happen: he'll make a snarky tweet about "Clappin' Nancy" and some people will reply "Oooh, snap!" and others will reply "More like Crappin' Donald!" and there will be a handful of "Sir, this behavior is unbecoming of a Commander-In-Chief" and then Pelosi will make a dry, caustic remark about it in an interview and it will get written up as an Epic Clapback and then everyone will completely forget about the whole thing in two days.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:31 PM on March 13, 2019 [45 favorites]

I look at Manafort's pathetic sentence and I'm really wondering why Pelosi is being criticized so much for the impeachment thing instead of the Republicans who will never buy into impeachment because they are totally okay with treason.

Impeachment is the process where Democrats have the chance to make their case clearly to the people, and to get Republicans on the record as to whether they support the president's actions or not. Until a case is put in front of them, all Republicans will say they feel don't have all the information. My hope is that Pelosi is just biding her time. It would be pretty cool to see Trump run for president while simultaneously being impeached.
posted by xammerboy at 3:37 PM on March 13, 2019 [14 favorites]

I feel like despite what you felt about your path in Texas you still lost the race to a heap of spiders sewn up into a man suit.

Also: you generated big time enthusiasm among voters because you were running against said heap of spiders. Will you generate the same enthusiasm when running against a bunch of fellow Democrats?

Primaries are very different from general elections.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:53 PM on March 13, 2019 [30 favorites]

So Joni Ernst and Mike Lee have officially taken up the Ivanka Trump family leave plan calling it the Cradle Act. The way it works is that for every month you or your spouse take off for each of your children you have to delay your Social Security retirement by two months.

People are giving it a more appropriate title -- the Cradle to Grave Act. "If you want help with the cradle, you have to work until the grave."
posted by JackFlash at 3:57 PM on March 13, 2019 [74 favorites]

Well, he's running: Beto O'Rourke: "I'm Just Born to do This"

I think those of us who ended up on his mailing list felt this was inevitably going to happen when he started e-mailing us more often about six weeks ago. I got my first "please text again for me" today and that was the clincher before I even saw the VF link. (Thanks Uncle Ira!)

Now, I have to go figure out some feelings.

I will try my hardest not to mention Beto again in this FPP. I am not sure he warrants his own yet and a catch-all for D candidates would probably be horrifically unwieldy. Any one have suggestions? Meta on the idea or wait until the crowd thins?
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:09 PM on March 13, 2019 [7 favorites]

I know nothing about Beto and would like to. I assume though that he's running on a different agenda nationally than in Texas? If that national agenda is clear, I would love to discuss him in his own post.
posted by xammerboy at 4:21 PM on March 13, 2019 [4 favorites]

to get Republicans on the record as to whether they support the president's actions or not.
You mean outside of their voting records?
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 4:39 PM on March 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'd be a LOT more excited about a Beto run if he had won. Without demonstrating that he can deliver an unconventional state, he doesn't offer much different from anyone else in the race already. At best he splits some Biden vote, unless he comes up with a dramatically energizing campaign, and his months of listless and meandering Instagram stunts have been...less than encouraging...on that front.

Also...does he support ending the filibuster or not?
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:59 PM on March 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

WP: Senate rebukes Trump with vote ordering U.S. military to end support for Saudi-led war in Yemen
posted by Chrysostom at 5:03 PM on March 13, 2019 [26 favorites]

On the flipside- if a candidate had won nary half a year before, isn't it kinda irresponsible to go chasing after the presidency already?
posted by Apocryphon at 5:04 PM on March 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

'Extraordinary': GOP heads for unprecedented clash with Trump (Politico)

After more than two years of keeping his veto pen capped, President Donald Trump is going to have to put it to use — twice — courtesy of Republicans. In a remarkable bit of timing, the Senate will hold two votes this week placing GOP senators at odds with the president on foreign and domestic policy, likely forcing the first vetoes of his presidency.

On the border resolution in particular, Trump has cast the vote as Republicans either standing with him on the border wall or supporting Democrats. But Senate Republicans claim the double-barreled veto fights, on legislation to curtail the U.S. role in Yemen’s civil war and block Trump’s national emergency declaration on the southern border, aren’t intended to be a personal condemnation of Trump.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:06 PM on March 13, 2019 [4 favorites]

The theory is that he significantly overperformed in Texas, even if he lost. Similar overperformance would imply picking up states like Georgia/North Carolina/Arizona that we might expect to be left of Texas (in a presidential) but not actually blue.

Whether this theory would work in practice is left as an exercise for the reader.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:07 PM on March 13, 2019 [9 favorites]

The thing about Beto is that he has just ELECTRIFYING charisma. On paper, he's not that appealing or interesting or even all that desirable for the Democratic nominee from a policy standpoint. But when you're watching him or especially in the same room/venue as him, he feels 100% like Obama in 2008 did.

*shrug* We'll see how it all plays out.
posted by threeturtles at 5:11 PM on March 13, 2019 [23 favorites]

To be clear, two brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8's crash within 6 months due to a known software glitch, 300 dead so far, and the government isn't grounding them in order to keep Boeing's stock up. Capitalism is truly the best system in the world.

No. Despite all the shit in the media, and especially social media, early evidence appears to indicate a completely different cause. The EA plane didn't even make it to 1,000 feet AGL before encountering issues. Given that MCAS is inactive when flaps are deployed and when the AP is enabled, it isn't likely to be the cause of the crash.

Also, the media has taken to describing ASRS reports regarding the MAX as being "MCAS" issues experienced by US pilots, despite, again, those reports specifically stating (though without the conclusion) that the conditions were not such that MCAS could have been the cause.

It's not at all surprising that Trump decided to believe social media more than the actual experts. That is, after all, his usual MO.
posted by wierdo at 5:12 PM on March 13, 2019 [14 favorites]

Like many/most, I regarded the "fake Melania" conspiracy theory as nonsense and I think I still do? But there's a RealDonaldTweet that managed to escape my notice until now and it's made me raise an eyebrow or two: The Fake News photoshopped pictures of Melania, then propelled conspiracy theories that it’s actually not her by my side in Alabama and other places. They are only getting more deranged with time!

Photoshopped? I have seen the picture people are talking about and figured, hey, not everyone looks the same when they have different expressions, lighting, etc. But now he's literally saying that, in one sense or another, the circulated picture is not her. So the question of what's real here comes down to the conflict between his nature to lie about everything, even when it hurts him, and his frequent difficulty to keep his mouth shut about secrets, also hurting him.

So while the balance of probability is simply that he figures "photoshopped" is what you say these days when you don't like an image... oof. (I retract all this if he's actually correct, and there's an original somewhere that I haven't seen.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:16 PM on March 13, 2019 [7 favorites]

I can’t conceive of a single timeline wherein pursuing the cake Melania “conspiracy” is anything other than a massive distraction at the absolute best.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:23 PM on March 13, 2019 [10 favorites]

Trump accuses media of editing photos of first lady to stoke ‘Fake Melania’ conspiracy theory (Politico)

The president offered no evidence to support his claim that members of the media had intentionally photoshopped images of the first lady in order to stir controversy — a move that would amount to a major ethical breach on the part of a press outlet. [...]

Last summer, conspiracy theories brewed when the first lady underwent a medical procedure and was not seen in public for nearly a month, which Trump, long a fan of promoting baseless conspiracy theories, denounced at the time.

posted by Little Dawn at 5:38 PM on March 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

the cake Melania “conspiracy”

(the cake is a lie, but the truth is out there)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:43 PM on March 13, 2019 [15 favorites]

He's very much a second seed pick for me, but two things interest me about Beto:

1.) That he apparently ignored the traditional advice about running for this seat in Texas and did his own thing. I like the organizing and skill that took even if he lost.

2.) I really dislike the tendency of the Democratic Party to banish losers to the cornfield and am hoping this means good things for other candidates like Gillum and Abrams and how such candidates are treated in the future.
posted by asteria at 6:04 PM on March 13, 2019 [14 favorites]

I am re-adding the politics thread to my activity just to declare my visceral sense of relief at the news that Beto is running. He would kick Republican ass up and down the ticket like a...idek like a zombie Teddy Roosevelt. I don’t even care that that’s absurd or that we live in this dumb celebrity worshipping timeline; I am past caring about the things we can’t control. But that motherfucker can win, and he can win big, and I don’t care that it’s stupid or that it isn’t fair. We need to win big. We have run out of time for anything less.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:28 PM on March 13, 2019 [14 favorites]

MSNBC’s Ari Melber: “New: Lawyer for former Fox News reporter says they can legally *break NDA with Fox* if House Dems will issue a subpoena” https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/fmr-fox-news-reporter-asks-congress-subpoena-me-to-override-nda-1456092739590

Rep. Ted Lieu: “I am authorized to make the following statement: If you feel silenced by an NDA and need help from a Congressional committee, please contact, or have your attorney contact, the House Judiciary Committee.”

It is on.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2019 [90 favorites]

It is on.

Get out the cake pan, spatula, and frosting: this is going to be good, God willing.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:55 PM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

If any of the B-team (Biden, Bernie or Beto) gets the nomination, he damn well better appoint a woman and/or POC as his VP - more so in the case of Bernie or Biden because of their age. Beto, to his credit, has said that he understands that the Democratic party is diverse and that he needs assemble a team that includes women and POC. I am going to say that I don't think any of these guys are stupid, and they all probably know that many people in the party are saying "not another white guy!" and wish to soothe concerns. (If Kamala Harris doesn't get the nod she'd make the perfect VP. And a large, very mean part of me wants to see Kirsten Gillibrand as VP candidate just to make the haters caterwaul.)
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 6:56 PM on March 13, 2019 [16 favorites]

I'll just say this about Beto. When the chips were down and there was a chance for a Dem pickup in a neighboring Texas district, Beto chose to back his Republican best friend forever and refused! to endorse his fellow Democrat. A best friend he took for a NeverTrumper who turned out to be a ForeverTrumper. I don't know how you turn around from that into becoming leader of your party.
posted by JackFlash at 7:10 PM on March 13, 2019 [29 favorites]

Justinian: ... ripped from the Metafilter headlines we have: Joe Biden’s And Bernie Sanders’s Support Isn’t Just About Name Recognition. So I guess that's that.

Near the beginning of the article you linked to, Nate Silver wrote:

Other things held equal, for instance, a candidate polling at 25 percent in early polls is five or six times more likely to win the primary than one polling at 5 percent. It would be equally if not more wrong to say whoever leads in early polls is certain to win the nomination.

Italics his, emphasis mine. You presented the link to the link to Nate Silver's article as if he agreed with you. He doesn't. The whole article is worth reading.

The mods deleted a comment I made earlier today linking to the same article along with excerpts. I hope they won't delete this response.
posted by nangar at 7:18 PM on March 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

It would be equally if not more wrong to say whoever leads in early polls is certain to win the nomination.

I think there's a big distinction to be drawn between "the data currently suggests X is very likely to win the election" and "I think X is very likely to win the election". The first is a much stronger empirical statement and is what Silver is pushing against, imo.

You definitely can't say who is going to win based on the current polling but we're all free to make judgments based on other things as well. I obviously think Biden is going to win the nomination if he runs (though people still seem to often mistake that for being my preferred outcome) but based solely on the polling he still has a sub-50% chance. Maybe sub 35%. I don't think any of that is in tension.
posted by Justinian at 7:45 PM on March 13, 2019

We need to win big. We have run out of time for anything less.

I really want to see a platform from Beto before I'd count him winning the primary as a win for "us," and even then I will take a lot of convincing given his campaign finance history. I agree that we're out of time, I agree that beating Trump is necessary. I don't think it's sufficient. Even with the Republicans out, which faction of the Democratic caucus takes power is just as much a matter of species-survival level importance.
posted by contraption at 7:58 PM on March 13, 2019 [16 favorites]

to get Republicans on the record as to whether they support the president's actions or not. >>You mean outside of their voting records?

Yes. What I meant to say was impeachment is the process to get Republicans on the record as to whether or not they find specific Trump actions impeachable.

We know, for example, that Trump lied to the press about whether or not he had any business with Russia during his campaign, at the very same time Russia was trying to fix the election. Is this impeachment worthy or not? If it's not, then there's no point in the press asking candidates questions during their campaigns.

If a reporter asks a Republican Senator whether they would impeach, they can easily deflect with "I don't know all the details, etc." But in impeachment proceedings the case can be laid out carefully in way it can't on soundbite news media. The principles at stake can be clarified. The question must be fully considered with the information on hand and answered.

Another difference is that your impeachment vote will be on your permanent record, so to speak. Look at how candidates votes on the Patriot Act have come back to haunt them. If in the future people start looking unfavorably on Trump's reign, their vote will be used against them heavily. Senators will know this and have to answer carefully. Their careers might be on the line.
posted by xammerboy at 8:14 PM on March 13, 2019 [8 favorites]

So just from today alone, we've got Beto, de Blasio, and Messam on the precipice of running or at least looking to run. The Democratic Party is indestructible.
posted by Apocryphon at 8:22 PM on March 13, 2019

There's only so much that can be said about predicting the Dem primary at this point ("you got that right!" -- mod team). What we do know:

1) Primaries can be volatile compared to generals.
2) It's over a year out.
3) Polls at this point are not *super* strongly predictive.
4) But they are fairly predictive.
5) Bernie and Biden have a pretty sizeable lead, that doesn't seem to be purely name recognition.
6) Therefore, it's reasonable to paint them as the most likely winners.
7) But there still is a ton of time for things to change.

That's probably where we should leave it, barring actual developments.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:25 PM on March 13, 2019 [40 favorites]

contraption: I will take a lot of convincing given his campaign finance history.

There are plenty of issues one might take with Beto, and the country definitely needs more than Not Trump to happen. But this "record contributions from the oil industry" thing just means that of the set of people who work for oil, which overlaps extensively with "people who are Texan", contribute more to him than to non-Texan senators.

All campaign contributions list the employer, and that's how those numbers get calculated -- there's no metric for "donations from the greedy managers and CEOs specifically, not the people pumping your gas", because we don't necessarily know where to draw the line.

I can't think of a single major private industry I'd be comfortable with envisioning as a big donor to any Democrat... and yet all the candidates, including your fave and yours and yours, are funded by people who work for The System, thus allowing soundbites like this one. E.g I work in farming-related software, so any Democrat I contribute to would, in plain terms, be "getting money from agribusiness and the tech sector".
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:31 PM on March 13, 2019 [32 favorites]

But this "record contributions from the oil industry" thing just means that of the set of people who work for oil, which overlaps extensively with "people who are Texan", contribute more to him than to non-Texan senators.

This is clearly true, as the linked article acknowledges. More troublesome is that he pledged not to take such contributions, then went ahead and took them anyway, subsequently causing the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge folks to purge his name from their list of signatories.
posted by contraption at 8:38 PM on March 13, 2019 [4 favorites]

Tucker Carlson says he’s the victim of a powerful bully. Meet the 24-year-old who found the tapes. (Eli Rosenberg, WaPo)

Madeline Peltz works the night shift at the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America. Given the timing of that particular shift, one of her main responsibilities is watching Tucker Carlson’s 8 p.m. show on Fox News.

And she’s watched a lot of Tucker Carlson. […]

After many Carlson-watching hours, the 24-year-old researcher developed a working theory, which she outlined on the nonprofit’s website: that Carlson is using his platform on Fox News to introduce white nationalist ideas to the mainstream, making him a uniquely prominent “mouthpiece for white supremacy.”

posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:43 PM on March 13, 2019 [84 favorites]

The hilarious part is that Boeing paid a $1 million cash bribe to Trump's inauguration party and they get nothing for it.

Recall previously, Boeing got the Trump Administration to declare that Bombardier was illegally subsidizing/dumping their new C-Series small airplane, when Bombardier tried to make their first major sale to Delta. Trump complied and called the Canadians all kinds of names, as would become a pattern for his trade reps.

Of course that backfired on both Boeing and the Administration, as Bombardier did a deal with Airbus to do "final assembly" in an Alabama plant and get around the trade restrictions. The immediate end result was mostly to strengthen their major competitor, Airbus, and give them the best-in-class plane in the commuter segment of the market, which Boeing has been considering as their next major growth area.

That wasn't the end of it either. Boeing pissed the Canadian government off so much, it's been effectively blackballed in our new fighter acquisition program. They lost an immediate sale for an CF-18 life extension project, and put in doubt their ability to compete in a long-term CF-18 replacement program.

Delta took delivery of their first new A200, the new Airbus plane, in October. They liked it so much they've upped their order.
posted by bonehead at 5:40 AM on March 14, 2019 [33 favorites]

Donald Trump's Mafia Connections: Decades Later, Is He Still Linked to the Mob?* (Newsweek, 2019-01-10)

The FBI agent was carrying out an errand for the bureau’s Miami office, to follow up on a tip that mobsters had asked Trump to front for them in a purchase of the Fontainebleau hotel. Once a beachside favorite of movie stars and the rich, the hotel was also a notorious hangout for Mafia kingpins like Sam Giancana, who famously met with CIA agents in the hotel’s Boom Boom Room to plot the assassination of Fidel Castro. But in 1976, the Fontainebleau was teetering on bankruptcy, and the mobsters needed a straw man to buy it.

Fuller asked Trump a simple question. “Why would your name come up as a possible buyer for them?” The future president of the United States responded calmly that “he did not know.” He had “heard about” some people wanting him to buy it, he told Fuller, but not much more. Fuller, with nothing else to go on, closed his notebook. Trump summoned his limo driver to take the agent back to the city.

More than 40 years later, Fuller, who gained fame for the FBI bribery sting dramatized in the movie American Hustle, chuckles ruefully about the encounter, reported here for the first time. “Seeing who he is now, learning more about him in the last two or three years, I do have some regrets that I didn’t have a bell and whistle going off there and go further,” he says.

*Yes "unknown". Because the mob is pretty much known for letting bygones be bygones.
posted by petebest at 5:42 AM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

I'm a Texan who volunteered for Beto and I'm completely against him in the 2020 Presidential race.

The problem with Beto is that he truly, genuinely, deeply, believes in bipartisanship and cooperation. I really don't think it's an act. And coming into the Presidency in 2021 that belief would be an unmitigated disaster for the Democrats.

President Beto would be Obama 2.0: hopeful, idealistic, charismatic, and utterly ineffective. The Republicans would run circles around him, and his Presidency would be an endless repeat of Lucy and the football. They'd get him to weaken every single proposal by pre-negotiating with himself, and then actually negotiating with them, and in the end they'd vote against the bill anyway.

If the Democrats win the Senate, Beto would throw the weight of the President elect behind efforts to preserve the filibuster in the Senate, thus assuring that no matter what happens the Senate can block every bit of progressive legislation and flatly guaranteeing at least one government shutdown which he'd likely cave on.

Beto would have been a great President back in the 1980's when there was really a chance of bipartisanship meaning anything other than the Republicans getting everything and the Democrats getting nothing.

And if the Republicans do hold the Senate in 2020 (which is likely) then he will not play hardball or try questionable means to get his Supreme Court and other judicial appointees through, and we all know that McConnell will shut down 100% of his nominations.

President Beto would be an unmitigated disaster for the Democrats and humanity.
posted by sotonohito at 5:46 AM on March 14, 2019 [89 favorites]

nor is being friends with a Republican politician if you're a Dem politician in Texas

The fact that O'Rourke seems to think his friend wouldn't stab him in a second if Trump told him to makes me really wonder about O'Rourke's ability to handle literally any high-level discussions.
posted by Etrigan at 6:35 AM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

I have this concern in general, and especially with Biden. If a Democrat becomes president, I really really don't want to be told that we must wait endlessly to draw up and enact legislation by first waiting to see if Republicans would like to offer an alternative plan, then wait endlessly for their input on the Democrat plan, then choose to adopt the plan we think should be most amenable to them, and so on.
posted by xammerboy at 6:44 AM on March 14, 2019 [13 favorites]

Trump weighs in on Nancy Pelosi in a pair of tweets. “I greatly appreciate Nancy Pelosi’s statement against impeachment, but everyone must remember the minor fact that I never did anything wrong,” Trump wrote, followed by: "How do you impeach a man who is considered by many to be the President with the most successful first two years in history, especially when he has done nothing wrong and impeachment is for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’?”
posted by carmicha at 6:49 AM on March 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

If a Democrat becomes president, I really really don't want to be told that we must wait endlessly to draw up and enact legislation by first waiting to see if Republicans would like to offer an alternative plan

If a Democrat becomes president, I want to know that they are comitted to continuing investigations into the corruption of the Trump administration and throwing every last one of those fuckers in jail.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 6:54 AM on March 14, 2019 [47 favorites]

According to the NC local News & Observer, authorities were already watching Dowless before the NC-09 election began. " State and federal law enforcement officials had Bladen County political operative McCrae Dowless under surveillance as far back as last May, according to newly unsealed search warrants.

Before arresting Dowless last month in North Carolina’s 9th District election fraud case, authorities went after his phone records, ATM transactions and bank records for his political action committee, according to the warrants."
posted by Harry Caul at 6:55 AM on March 14, 2019 [10 favorites]

The Toronto Star's Daniel Dale turns up more Kushner-Qatar business links: Toronto-based Brookfield Faces Scrutiny From Democrats Over Deal With Kushner Company

Toronto-based real estate giant Brookfield was not attempting to influence the White House when it acquired a troubled Manhattan office building from the family of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior aide Jared Kushner, Brookfield said Tuesday.

Brookfield is facing scrutiny from the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives over the 2018 deal, in which the company paid up front to acquire a 99-year-lease in a 41-storey tower whose mortgage debt of more than $1 billion the Kushner family had struggled to deal with for years.

The Democratic skepticism has centred on one of Brookfield’s investors, the government of Qatar, which has high-stakes political dealings with Jared Kushner. Kushner, who says he recused himself from the Kushner Companies upon taking his role in the White House, is married to the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, and he has a central role in the administration’s Middle East policy.

The U.S. website Axios reported last week that Democratic committee leaders were seriously contemplating formally investigating the deal in some way. One Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Ted Lieu, called the transaction “really troubling.”

Brookfield spokesperson Andrew Brent said the Qatar Investment Authority had no advance knowledge of the acquisition and now has only a minimal stake in the 666 5th Ave. building.

Dale adds, "Brookfield also owns Westinghouse, a nuclear company that was part of a Trump meeting last month. Democrats reported last month that whistleblowers told them that Trump officials have been pushing to sell nuclear plants to Saudi Arabia, and they noted the Brookfield connection."
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:05 AM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

Gambino boss Frank Cali whacked in Staten Island.

Gambino Mob Heir Says Michael Cohen Could Get Whacked In Prison [dailywire, Feb 28 2019]

Fast forward to Wednesday, when Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee. In his opening statement, he said, "I have been smeared as a rat by the President of the United States. The truth is much different."

...

"A message for Michael Cohen: He better keep his mouth shut," Giovanni Gambino told the Daily Mail. Giovanni is the 43-year-old son of the late Sicilian mob boss Francesco "Ciccio" Gambino and is cousin to crime boss Carlo Gambino.

"Inmates love Trump, and hate rats. If he wants to get out alive, he better keep his mouth shut about Trump," Giovanni said.

posted by Buntix at 7:11 AM on March 14, 2019 [7 favorites]

Well, this seems like it could be something.

Investigators from the Spanish police and National Intelligence Center (CNI) have linked an attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid on February 22 to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

At least two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy and interrogated diplomatic staff have been identified and have connections to the US intelligence agency. The CIA has denied any involvement but government sources say their response was “unconvincing.”
...
They tied up the eight people inside and put bags on their heads. The victims were beaten and interrogated. A woman managed to escape from a window on the second floor and her screams for help were heard by a neighbor, who contacted the police.
...
Sources believe that the goal of the attack on the North Korean embassy was to get information on Kim Hyok Chol, the former North Korean ambassador to Spain.

Kim Hyok Chol was expelled from Spain on September 19, 2017 by the then-Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis given that the nuclear testing that the country was carrying out at the time was in serious breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

(El Pais)
posted by bluecore at 7:24 AM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

Nate Cohn: Why Texas Is Nearing Battleground Status (It’s Not Just About Beto)
posted by Chrysostom at 7:40 AM on March 14, 2019 [11 favorites]

“I greatly appreciate Nancy Pelosi’s statement against impeachment, but everyone must remember the minor fact that I never did anything wrong,” Trump wrote

This is what her statement bought: Trump's continuing acknowledgment that she has power over him...and so she does. The longer she keeps this going, the more time she buys for the Democratic party to solidify their authority in the House and in the court of public opinion. If she had said she was for impeachment, Trump would have moved against it by doing...who knows what, and it would have been backed by Republicans.
posted by Autumnheart at 7:44 AM on March 14, 2019 [16 favorites]

Well, that and the message that nothing matters (unless one is simply a fan of federal indictments) because the Trump administration will carry on through 2020.
posted by petebest at 7:53 AM on March 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

So, isn't an attack on a North Korean embassy by the US an act of war?

Also, this seems similar to the recent goings on in Haiti.
posted by M-x shell at 7:53 AM on March 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

So, isn't an attack on a North Korean embassy by the US an act of war?

Sure. As is online attacks from NK funded/hosted actors.

In the end an Act of War is something that a nation points to and says "this is an act of war" and gets enough other nations to say "yeah, okay." Putting aside the moral grossness, the problem here is that Trump has steadily pissed away the US's standing such that it's going to be easier, when these things (that happen all the time) go public, for other nations to get folks to concur that they're acts of aggression.

If your actual question is "is this scary?" my personal answer would be "yes."
posted by phearlez at 7:59 AM on March 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

From Buzzfeed legal reporter Zoe Tillman’s coverage of Roger Stone’s court appearance this morning:

Jackson says she's still considering the issue of Stone's book: "I don’t intend to dwell on it this morning." So she's not going to issue a ruling on whether Stone is in compliance, or not, with the gag order today
However, she said she was not impressed with the argument from Stone's lawyers that they didn't bring up the book issue sooner because it would have been "awkward": "The last thing you should worry about is whether telling the court would be an uncomfortable experience."
Jackson: "There’s no exception for awkward."
Jackson, re: Stone's book coming out: "The lawyers apparently did not know. Given the fact that some were specifically hired to deal with the First Amendment issues, and that we’re having a hearing about his ability to publish, I suppose they probably should have inquired."[…]
NEW: We have a trial date for Roger Stone: Nov. 5, 2019
Briefing schedule:
- Stone's motion to dismiss are due April 12 (govt opposition due May 3, reply due May 17)
- Stone's motion to suppress evidence are due May 10 (govt opposition due May 31, reply due June 14)
Stone is due back in court for a status conference on April 30. That's a wrap.
No "V" sign from Roger Stone as he left court today. He rebuffed attempts to get him to talk: "No fireworks"

Incidentally, Sam Nunberg attended to watch—"I'm just here for the circus".
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:05 AM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

Advertisers flee after Fox News' Jeanine Pirro spews anti-Muslim rhetoric targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar (Jessica Sutherland, Daily Kos)

As Sean Hannity himself said Tuesday night, “it never stops” when it comes to large-scale backlash against the shrieking bigots that comprise the Fox News “opinion” roster. Yet even as Hannity joked about the never-ending cycle of hate that he, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham keep spewing, yet another fearmongering Fox monster was waiting to earn her own pair of boycott wings: Judge Jeanine Pirro. At least five companies have pulled their ads from the 67-year-old’s weekend show, according to ThinkProgress.

posted by ZeusHumms at 8:14 AM on March 14, 2019 [40 favorites]

From the above link:

Here are the companies advertising on Tucker Carlson and Jeanine Pirro’s shows

Lots of meat, drugs, and cars!
posted by petebest at 8:33 AM on March 14, 2019 [7 favorites]

At least five companies have pulled their ads from the 67-year-old’s weekend show

What is the best organization to support that helps facilitate this process? Sleeping Giants?
posted by diogenes at 8:35 AM on March 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

Marcy Wheeler, writing on empty wheel.net about SCO prosecutor Andrew Weissman’s departure now that Manafort’s been sentenced: Mueller Is Close to Done But the Weissman News Is Overblown

After each prosecutor has finished their work on the Mueller team, he or she has moved on. Weissmann’s departure is more final, since he’s leaving DOJ. But his departure continues a pattern that was set last summer. Finish your work, and move on.

Nevertheless, his departure is being taken as a surefire sign the Mueller investigation is closing up.

Let me be clear: I do agree Mueller is just about done with the investigation. He’s waiting on Mystery Appellant, possibly on Andrew Miller’s testimony; he may have been waiting on formal publication of Jerome Corsi’s book yesterday. Multiple other details suggest that Mueller expects to be able to share things in a month that he’s unable to share today.[…]

I’m far more interested in the plans of James Quarles (who has been liaising with the White House and so presumably has a key part of the obstruction investigation) or Jeannie Rhee (who seems to have been overseeing the conspiracy investigation) than Mueller or his Chief of Staff, Aaron Zebley. Their plans might tell us more about what to expect in the next month (though Rhee appeared in Roger Stone’s status hearing today, and may be sticking around for his prosecution, which just got scheduled for November 2).

She adds: “The most interesting detail in this is not that Weissmann, who yesterday finished the stuff he was tasked with, is moving on, but that not all WilmerHale lawyers are returning. Is that a Mueller retirement, or someone sticking around?”
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:43 AM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

Daily Beast, Giuliani Ally Bob Costello: We Weren’t Dangling a Pardon to Michael Cohen. We Were Referencing Garth Brooks Lyrics: Things keep getting weirder.

On Wednesday, however, CNN reported that Costello wrote an April 2018 email to Cohen telling him that he could “sleep well tonight” because he had “friends in high places.”

It seemed, at first blush, possibly like evidence that a pardon—or, at a minimum, a telling wink and nod—had been dangled and that it was Team Trump doing the dangling.

Not so, says Costello.

In an email to The Daily Beast, Costello said that he was not hinting at a Trump pardon when he talked about sleeping well at night. Instead, he was referencing a song by music star Garth Brooks in an attempt to comfort a “suicidal” Cohen. And, he added, there were documents that could confirm as much.

“To repeat myself, Michael Cohen and his counsel’s interpretation of events is utter nonsense,” Costello said. “This statement: ‘Sleep Well tonight, you have friends in high places’ was a tongue-in-cheek reference to a Garth Brooks song, to a client whose state of mind was highly disturbed and had suggested to us that he was suicidal. We were simply trying to be decent human beings. There is no hidden message.”

Wait for it...

In fact, the popular 1990 single that Brooks recorded is titled, “Friends in Low Places.”

posted by zachlipton at 8:45 AM on March 14, 2019 [63 favorites]

Senate Prepares to Reject Emergency Declaration over Trump’s Objections (NYT)

The afternoon vote would set up the first veto of Mr. Trump’s presidency — on one of the core issues that has animated his political rise, the promise to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. By Thursday morning, more than a half dozen Republicans had publicly committed to join Senate Democrats in supporting the House-passed resolution of disapproval, even as Mr. Trump warned that such a vote “is a vote for Nancy Pelosi, Crime, and the Open Border Democrats!” [...]

Mr. Trump, furiously lobbying against defections, sought to frame the vote publicly as not only a declaration of support for his border security mantra, but a sign of personal loyalty in a time of divided government. On Twitter, he referred to it as a vote “on Border Security & the Wall” and urged Republican senators, “don’t vote with Pelosi!” [...]

“Never before has a president asked for funding, Congress has not provided it, and the president then has used the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to spend the money anyway,” Mr. Alexander said in a statement. “The problem with this is that after a Revolutionary War against a king, our nation’s founders gave to Congress the power to approve all spending so that the president would not have too much power. This check on the executive is a crucial source of our freedom.”

posted by Little Dawn at 9:05 AM on March 14, 2019 [18 favorites]

I'm not a fan of this Pelosi quote:

“I made the comment that I made because I make it every week,” she said, adding: “It didn’t seem to catch on until I had a gimmick: ‘He’s not worth it.’ Boom. It explodes.”

As the article notes, her words that immediately preceded that comment were "This is news. I’m going to give you some news right now because I haven’t said this to any press person before."
posted by diogenes at 9:14 AM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

Trump to Breitbart on how the left plays tough: "I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad."

Your occasional reminder that the right fully expects any actual threat from the left to be crushed with absolute fascist brutality. If this Trump lacks the competence to organize and manage paramilitary death squads, the next one won't.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:31 AM on March 14, 2019 [99 favorites]

Marcy Wheeler, writing on empty wheel.net about SCO prosecutor Andrew Weissman’s departure now that Manafort’s been sentenced: Mueller Is Close to Done But the Weissman News Is Overblown

I suspected as much when it popped up in NPR's Morning Edition.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:43 AM on March 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

Trump to Breitbart on how the left plays tough: "I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad."

Don't forget the up-and-coming Cowboys for Trump (KOB News, NM), which started in New Mexico and are spreading to other states.

If you're up for another round of Dems Grill Team Trump, while the GOP Tries Its Hand At Misdirection, Commerce Secretary To Face Lawmakers In Hearing On Census Citizenship Question (Hansi Lo Wang for NPR, March 14, 2019)

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to face tough questioning from lawmakers Thursday about why he approved including a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 census (Preview of the question from NPR).

Ross, who oversees the Census Bureau, has agreed to appear voluntarily (NPR) before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill to testify about preparations for national head count.

"We have had many very serious questions for Secretary Ross since we invited him to testify several months ago, and we will finally have a chance to ask him these questions — under oath — at our hearing," said the committee's chair, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), in a written statement before Thursday's hearing (YouTube, live streaming right now).

posted by filthy light thief at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2019 [10 favorites]

As the article notes, her words that immediately preceded that comment were "This is news. I’m going to give you some news right now because I haven’t said this to any press person before."

This is known in the trade as "sarcasm." You can look it up. She's throwing shade at dumbass reporters who keep asking the same question over and over again because they want to push the narrative of "Democrats in disarray". Perhaps not the best strategy for public relations, but I can appreciate it.
posted by JackFlash at 9:47 AM on March 14, 2019 [34 favorites]

She's throwing shade at dumbass reporters who keep asking the same question over and over again because they want to push the narrative of "Democrats in disarray".

Yeah, she really stuck it to them with her next sentence that gave them fodder for 1,000 "Democrats in disarray" articles.
posted by diogenes at 10:12 AM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

Marcy Wheeler, writing on empty wheel.net about SCO prosecutor Andrew Weissman’s departure now that Manafort’s been sentenced: Mueller Is Close to Done But the Weissman News Is Overblown

Even so, if Mueller really is wrapping up this early I think that's probably like, bad news for justice and democracy and such
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:16 AM on March 14, 2019

if Mueller really is wrapping up this early I think that's probably like, bad news

Every time "Mueller is wrapping up soon" has been said, it has been incorrect. So I'm going to assume this is also incorrect, as history backs me up.
posted by Twain Device at 10:20 AM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

“One of the things that I have found absolutely thrilling in working for this administration,” said Balash,“is the president has a knack for keeping the attention of the media and the public focused somewhere else while we do all the work that needs to be done on behalf of the American people.”
posted by Stoneshop at 10:22 AM on March 14, 2019 [20 favorites]

"I have the support of ... the military ... "

Not any more. "President Donald Trump’s approval rating among active-duty military personnel has slipped over the last two years, leaving today’s troops evenly split over whether they’re happy with the commander in chief’s job performance..." (from October 2018).
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:23 AM on March 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

So . . we're floating the hypothesis that Pelosi was joking?
posted by petebest at 10:24 AM on March 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

Citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case involving alleged sexual misconduct by President Bill Clinton, a New York appeals court ruled that Summer Zervos's defamation suit against Trump can proceed.
posted by peeedro at 10:30 AM on March 14, 2019 [31 favorites]

"So . . we're floating the hypothesis that Pelosi was joking?"

I'd need to see video. I had not considered that this was sarcasm, but reading just now it as JackFlash insists, that very much could be (justified) sarcasm.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 10:36 AM on March 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

Honest question: Was Pelosi saying she "wasn't for impeachment" before that Washington Post article? I'll accept the sarcasm argument if she was.
posted by diogenes at 10:43 AM on March 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

Any re-statement of her not being for impeachment that leaves out the “he’s not worth it” is missing the point entirely. She holds power over him, as she’s deftly demonstrated time and again. This is political judo, using the weight of his ego against him.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:53 AM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

Was Pelosi saying she "wasn't for impeachment" before that Washington Post article?

Yes, very publicly.
posted by The Tensor at 10:54 AM on March 14, 2019 [9 favorites]

PSA: There's a new draft US Politics FPP under construction at the MeFi Wiki, and contributions are welcome and appreciated!
posted by Little Dawn at 10:58 AM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

From Daniel Dale, a second tweet on the "get tough" statement by I-1.

How is this not inciting insurrection? Because nothing has happened yet?

I think that Cohen is right that if I-1 doesn't win in 2020 he will not concede and try to retain office.
posted by jgirl at 11:01 AM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

Something progressives and leftists can agree on, strong primary challenges for lackluster Dems
posted by The Whelk at 11:11 AM on March 14, 2019 [5 favorites]

I wouldn't be surprised if Beto is in it for the VP slot. A charismatic white dude to make a woman / POC more palatable to racist-lite Americans. He clearly doesn't have the machinery needed to run, and he isn't stupid.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:15 AM on March 14, 2019 [15 favorites]

Trump to Breitbart on how the left plays tough: "I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad."

Trump again nods toward violence by his supporters — and maybe something bigger (WaPo)

Trump’s public comments are often more strategic than his critics give him credit for. He will routinely suggest something without technically saying, “This is what I want.” And he will generally lather himself in plausible deniability. “It would be very bad” and “I hope they stay that way” allow him to say he doesn’t actually want this thing he’s hinting at to happen.

But it’s clear from these comments, and the repetition of this formula, that he’s suggesting his supporters from the military, law enforcement and even bikers could be tempted to rise up if things don’t go Trump’s way. He’s at the very least toying with the idea that things could become violent.
[...]
Musing about this kind of thing is a great way to plant a seed in certain people’s minds, and the fact that Trump keeps fertilizing that seed shouldn’t escape notice.

posted by peeedro at 11:25 AM on March 14, 2019 [59 favorites]

But it’s clear from these comments, and the repetition of this formula, that he’s suggesting his supporters from the military, law enforcement and even bikers could be tempted to rise up if things don’t go Trump’s way. He’s at the very least toying with the idea that things could become violent.

2014: "When the country goes to total hell — then you’ll have riots to go back to where we used to be when we were great"

Musing about this kind of thing is a great way to plant a seed in certain people’s minds, and the fact that Trump keeps fertilizing that seed shouldn’t escape notice.

The seed was planted, fertilized and watered long before Trump. All Trump's doing is accurately repeating what the base has been saying for at least a generation.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:32 AM on March 14, 2019 [17 favorites]

@frankthorp: BACK TO 9: @SenThomTillis says he will now vote NO on the resolution to terminate the President's emergency declaration, saying he's encouraged by the discussions to change the national emergencies act in the future.

@theplunlinegs: Beyond parody. "Trump is now kinda sorta acknowledging that what he's doing now constitutes a serious abuse of power that should maybe get curtailed at some point in the future, so I'm all good with this one going forward"

@stevebenen: Tillis wrote a high-profile op-ed making a principled case for voting "yes." wapo.st/2H5WVwz Now he's voting "no." No Profile in Courage Award for you, big guy.

Ah, the real reason: @costareports: Several prominent conservative activists and donors privately tell me they were ready to start drafting primary challengers to Tillis if he held firm, with an eye on Mark Meadows or Mark Walker

The vote is happening now.
posted by zachlipton at 11:34 AM on March 14, 2019 [29 favorites]

> The vote is happening now.

59-41 rebuke, including 12 (twelve) Republican senators.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:02 PM on March 14, 2019 [43 favorites]

and just on cue:

Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump 3 minutes ago

VETO!
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:20 PM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

especially when he has done nothing wrong and impeachment is for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’?” -- Trump tweet

Highlighting this because it demonstrates and reinforces an understanding that "high crime" must be way worse than regular crime.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 12:24 PM on March 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

Just to show how the base is reacting, I live in East Tennessee and here is a real comment from a real news site regarding Lamar Alexander's "Yes" vote:

"Yes, go home Alexander,you are part of the problem,you are not backing our great President on finishing the WALL,so you can craw out of the Swamp back to Tenn. & Get lost,you are useless to help MAGA, you're a Loser."
posted by all about eevee at 12:24 PM on March 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

No Profile in Courage Award for you, big guy.

Ditto for nay-voting Ben Sasse (R., Neb.), who last week warned, “If we get used to presidents just declaring an emergency any time they can’t get what they want from Congress, it will be almost impossible to go back to a Constitutional system of checks and balances. Over the past decades, the legislative branch has given away too much power and the executive branch has taken too much power.” (National Review)
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:27 PM on March 14, 2019 [24 favorites]

@StevenTDennis: LINDSEY GRAHAM in statement OPPOSES resolution calling for public release of the Mueller report UNLESS IT ALSO CALLS FOR A NEW SPECIAL COUNSEL to investigate DOJ handling of HILLARY CLINTON EMAILS and CARTER PAGE FISA warrant. !!!

Just what do they have on this guy?
posted by zachlipton at 12:32 PM on March 14, 2019 [51 favorites]

LINDSEY GRAHAM in statement OPPOSES resolution calling for public release of the Mueller report UNLESS IT ALSO CALLS FOR A NEW SPECIAL COUNSEL to investigate DOJ handling of HILLARY CLINTON EMAILS and CARTER PAGE FISA warrant. !!!

To point out the obvious logical fallacy implied by this, let's say the Mueller report comes out and it proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump is guilty as sin. A report that comes out that (in Graham's head cannon) Clinton is guilty as sin too doe not change the fact that Trump is guilty as sin. There are two entirely separate things.

Furthermore, if what he is actually implying is some sort of "blood for blood" thing ("if you guys expose Trump's crimes, we'll expose Clinton's crimes"), this is an entirely impotent threat because the only place where Clinton still has significant power is in the hollow, echo-y halls of right wing noggins.

At this point, the only logical response to this sort of foolish statement is "Is that all you've got?"
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:50 PM on March 14, 2019 [32 favorites]

WSJ, Talk to Trump, Skip the Diplomats: World Leaders’ New U.S. Tactic

Increasingly, savvy leaders are bypassing the standard protocols and government processes of American diplomacy to go directly to President Trump himself, according to current and former officials, allies and foreign-policy experts.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are among the heads of state who have cut out the middle layers of aides and agency officials to talk to Mr. Trump. For many, it’s the most direct approach to the president’s sometimes unpredictable policy decisions.

Mr. Trump has encouraged such approaches, but they have added a layer of ambiguity to foreign affairs. Some aides fret that the personal talks can sow confusion within the administration. At times, senior officials have been left in the dark or had to backtrack on some of Mr. Trump’s remarks.
...
An official familiar with the inner workings of the White House said the president’s advisers suspect that he regularly speaks with world leaders on his phone.

“We never know who he’s talking to or what he’s agreed to,” the official said.
...
Foreign officials have questioned whether conversations they have held with the president’s cabinet were “representative of reality,” a former U.S. official who served under the Trump administration said.

“They used to tell me, ‘We don’t know what to believe, what is on TV or tweeted,’ ’’ or what the president’s top advisers say, the official said.
...
More recently, on Angela Merkel’s last visit to the White House in April 2018, advisers stepped out of a meeting room, leaving Ms. Merkel and Mr. Trump to carry on the informal discussions alone. Advisers grew curious when they still hadn’t emerged after more than 20 minutes.

They later discovered Mr. Trump had taken Ms. Merkel for a room-by-room tour of the White House, according to one person briefed on their discussion.

posted by zachlipton at 12:52 PM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

UNLESS IT ALSO CALLS FOR A NEW SPECIAL COUNSEL to investigate DOJ handling of HILLARY CLINTON EMAILS and CARTER PAGE FISA warrant. !!!

And the answer is... ok? We spend a lot of money finding again that there was no wrongdoing there? Or there was, and good to know. Also, we confirm that Trump is a crook in public. Sounds like a win/win. Maybe one of those wins is a totally unnecessary waste of time, but if that's what it takes to get the other, shrug emoji. Bring it, Lindsey.
posted by ctmf at 1:02 PM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

A NEW SPECIAL COUNSEL to investigate DOJ

This is so dumb. Trump could order Barr to appoint another one to investigate the DOJ's handling of whatever tomorrow. He does not need Congress' permission!!
posted by BungaDunga at 1:08 PM on March 14, 2019 [10 favorites]

The pocket veto is only a thing if Congress goes out of session before time expires. Otherwise the bill becomes law without the president’s signature.

Unfortunately somebody will probably get around to reminding him of that in the next couple of weeks.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:11 PM on March 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

And it's even dumber because there's already a guy investigating the DoJ on this. The only reason it's not a special counsel is because Jeff Sessions didn't want it to be.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:12 PM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

There’s political hypocrisy, and then there’s Senator Tillis (R-NC) writing an op-ed laying out precisely why he’s going to vote against the President’s emergency for the wall, before voting in favor of the President’s national emergency for the wall. That’s something else.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:13 PM on March 14, 2019 [26 favorites]

To be clear on what happened, the House voted 420-0 today, you read that right, on a resolution calling for the Justice Department to make all of Mueller's findings fully public.

Then it went to the Senate, and again, this was passed unanimously by the House, Schumer called for unanimous consent there, and it was Graham's objection that blocked it. This is a resolution so obvious that not even the craziest members of the House wanted to be on the record voting against it, but now it's been blocked in the Senate.
posted by zachlipton at 1:14 PM on March 14, 2019 [64 favorites]

Shh, if it makes them think they're getting something they don't already have, let them be dumb.
posted by ctmf at 1:14 PM on March 14, 2019

I'd bet he thinks he's already vetoed the resolution with his "VETO" tweet.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:20 PM on March 14, 2019 [54 favorites]

The thing is, Graham veered so hard about a year ago, I have a strong feeling this was not something they dug up, but a honest to goodness honeypot (honeydipper?) operation run just last year. By our government personnel or, not sure if it is worse, by the Russians on behalf of Trump.
posted by M-x shell at 1:27 PM on March 14, 2019 [7 favorites]

Just what do they have on this guy?

Pics.
posted by petebest at 1:32 PM on March 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

We spend a lot of money finding again that there was no wrongdoing there? Or there was, and good to know.

It also sets the table saw blade spinning for Trump to push a lot of administration officials into by coercing them to act improperly with regard to the new special counsel investigation, with a Democratic House Oversight Committee watching. You know he won't be able to stop himself.
posted by ctmf at 1:35 PM on March 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

The thing is, Graham veered so hard about a year ago, I have a strong feeling this was not something they dug up, but a honest to goodness honeypot (honeydipper?) operation run just last year.

Everyone is just shit scared of being primaried. Trump called Ted Cruz's wife ugly and accused his dad of being part of a plot to kill JFK and he won't say a bad word about Trump now.
posted by PenDevil at 1:36 PM on March 14, 2019 [15 favorites]

I don’t think anyone has anything on Lindsey Graham; this is how he is staying relevant.
posted by notyou at 1:37 PM on March 14, 2019 [15 favorites]

I guess Tillis drew the short straw and had to embarrass himself to keep it juuuuust shy of 60, huh?
posted by Scattercat at 2:22 PM on March 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

A veto override would require 67 Senators (assuming no abstentions).
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:30 PM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

Re: Plaskett smackdown:

After acknowledging that he was “a great admirer” of Jefferson and noting that a citizenship question had been included on the Census “in one form or another” since the 1800s, Ross came under fire for the comparison by Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands).

“Mr. Ross, you’re aware also that Thomas Jefferson believed that slaves should be counted as three-fifths of a person for population basis,” said the Democratic representative. “So, I’m not sure if Thomas Jefferson should be the litmus test for what we should be doing for counting Census.”

["Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett represents the United States Virgin Islands’ at-large Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Stacey currently serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Committee on Agriculture. She is also a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where she serves as Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on the Interior, Energy, and Environment. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the New Democrat Coalition, and the Congressional Caribbean Caucus."]
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:31 PM on March 14, 2019 [36 favorites]

You may remember Rep Plaskett from this amazing moment in the Cohen hearings.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:47 PM on March 14, 2019 [7 favorites]

Also Plaskett, via CNBC:

During Cohen's testimony on Wednesday, Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, told Cohen, " I want to apologize for the inappropriate comments and tweets that have been made by other members of this body."

"And as a former prosecutor, and as former counsel on House ethics, I think that at the very least there should be a referral to the Ethics Committee of witness intimidation and tampering under [U.S. Criminal Code section] 1512 of my colleague Matt Gaetz, and it may be, possibly, him being referred for criminal prosecution."

(This was after Gaetz's now-deleted "Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?" tweet, on Feb. 26. NYC-born Plaskett, 52, was an ADA in the Bronx who eventually worked for the DOJ as "the lead attorney (heading a team of 50 attorneys against over 300) for the US RICO case against the tobacco industry (at the time the largest civil case in US history); US v. Phillip Morris, et al." (Wikipedia) Plaskett won the 2016 election by a huge margin, and ran unopposed in 2018 -- right on the heels of a cyberstalking case which involved the release of nude photos of her and her husband. Burhanistan wasn't kidding about that rising star business.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:11 PM on March 14, 2019 [27 favorites]

US official reveals Atlantic drilling plan while hailing Trump’s ability to distract public

“One of the things that I have found absolutely thrilling in working for this administration,” said Balash,“is the president has a knack for keeping the attention of the media and the public focused somewhere else while we do all the work that needs to be done on behalf of the American people."

I know by "the American people" he means "billionaires," but even if you take this statement literally it's breathtakingly arrogant; "it's better if the American people don't know what we're doing on their behalf."
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:15 PM on March 14, 2019 [40 favorites]

HuffPost, ICE Is Illegally Detaining Kids As Young As 5, Who Are Suffering ‘Horrendous’ Effects

Children as young as 5 are being illegally detained for up to 60 days in a Texas family detention center, according to a complaint filed by immigration advocates on Wednesday.

Lawyers from the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services say the Trump administration is violating the Flores settlement, a legal agreement that has been interpreted in federal court to mean that immigrant children may not be held in family detention centers for more than 20 days.

The complaint details how a group of four kids, ages 5 to 16, in the Karnes City facility are suffering “horrendous” effects such as depression, loss of appetite and physical illnesses such as chicken pox and chronic coughing.
...
Last year the average detention time in children’s-only shelters ballooned to 59 days ― almost double the average stay during the final year of the Obama administration ― and the RAICES complaint states that prolonged detention is part of a “disturbing recent trend” that violates the civil rights and liberties of immigrant families.

posted by zachlipton at 3:19 PM on March 14, 2019 [30 favorites]

President Beto would be Obama 2.0: hopeful, idealistic, charismatic, and utterly ineffective

Or as the U.S.'s most accidentally prescient news organisation puts it:

Beto O’Rourke Announces He Starting Obama Cover Campaign

EL PASO, TX—Revealing plans to “put his own spin” on beloved stump speeches and talking points, Beto O’Rourke announced Thursday that he was starting a Barack Obama cover campaign. “I’ve always loved Barack’s early stuff from back in ’08, even ’04, and I think diehard fans will go crazy when I cover all his greatest hits,” said the 46-year-old White House hopeful

[The Onion today, WaPo tomorrow]
posted by Buntix at 3:27 PM on March 14, 2019 [59 favorites]

I just want it to be revealed whether Lindsey Graham is compromised up to his eyeballs by Russian assets, or if he is merely compromised up to his eyeballs by people who are themselves compromised up to their eyeballs by Russian assets.

The end result is effectively the same; I'm just curious.
posted by delfin at 4:08 PM on March 14, 2019 [17 favorites]

Ireland's Gay Prime Minister and His Boyfriend Had Breakfast at Mike Pence's House :

The prime minister said that Pence and his team were briefed that his partner, Matt, would be joining. Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, was not present at the breakfast, although his sister Anne Pence Poynter was there.

So "mother" begs off when the Taoiseach and his partner show up for dinner, and sister-wife fills in.

The C-span video of the press conference with Trump and Varadkar here is quite something.

One could be forgiven for thinking that Varadkar is engaging in some St. Patrick's Day trolling.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:21 PM on March 14, 2019 [17 favorites]

Something progressives and leftists can agree on, strong primary challenges for lackluster Dems

The advice in this article ... seems not so good:

Progressives should ask why the movement has prioritized winning red-to-blue districts with left candidates. After all, with a Democratic majority of nearly three dozen seats, the marginal Democratic vote isn’t important. Far more important is having progressive voices that can lead in our districts.

I shouldn't need to say this, but the only reason the Democrats won those seats is that they fought for them. A Democratic victory in the 2020 election is not preordained. Also, the usual stuff about downstream races and so forth. These victories will only happen with good candidates that will appeal to the electorate and - very importantly! excite the people working for them.

Suggesting that progressives can safely concentrate on internal battles is suicidal. The minority party in Congress has always been mostly powerless and it's worse now that they've lost the ability to block unacceptable nominees. It wouldn't matter if the Democrats were represented by Rosa Luxemburg in conjunction with Murray Bookchin and Leon Trotsky: they wouldn't be able to do anything without a majority. I am all in favour of fighting primaries, but if the Democrats win, it's going to be because they've picked up red seats. Also, if progressives win those seats, the internal policy battles will naturally go their way: they'll have the numbers and the moral force that comes with having delivered an election.

I totally understand the appeal of the argument that progressives should focus on winning nomination to blue seats. They've got a natural base there, they're more in tune with the electorate, and they're much more likely to win their election than if they were nominated for a red seat. But that's an argument for normal times: the US is on life support and McElwee is arguing about the importance of a high-fibre diet. Win the damn election, reverse the damage of the Trump and Bush (and, sadly Obama) presidencies, and maybe then you can be complacent about winning red seats.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:40 PM on March 14, 2019 [15 favorites]

NY attorney general: Evidence shows Trump misused charity (AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Insider testimony, emails and other evidence show President Donald Trump turned his charitable foundation into a wing of his White House campaign, New York’s attorney general said in a new court filing Thursday.

State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, detailed her case against the foundation in a 37-page court filing in a lawsuit that seeks $2.8 million in restitution and an order banning Trump and his three eldest children from running any New York charities for 10 years.

Paging Capt. Renault ...
posted by petebest at 7:04 PM on March 14, 2019 [23 favorites]

Remember - it was David Fahrenthold of WaPo who first went down the path of asking where the foundation money went.

He won a Pulitzer prize for that work.

posted by Dashy at 7:20 PM on March 14, 2019 [44 favorites]

Maybe this isn't for the megathread, but a mosque was just massacred in New Zealand by a 4chan Nazi who livestreamed himself and promoted PewDiePie before the killings. Do not watch the video. His manifesto explicitly indicates his radicalization by alt-right youtube personalities.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:22 PM on March 14, 2019 [24 favorites]

And Trumps latest tweet consists of one shifty link that apparently just goes to Breitbart's main page. And I can't decide if we've reached a new low or if this just a middle.
posted by cirhosis at 8:25 PM on March 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'm not going to link to it, but the murderer's manifesto calls Trump "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose".
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:41 PM on March 14, 2019 [9 favorites]

Also so no one else goes down that pointless rabbit hole...

Did you know that if you put a + on the end of a bit.ly link you can look up where it goes to without following it. And also get some simple statistics about the link.

For instance Trump's is

https://bitly.com/ RemoveSpace 2KyoPz9+

Which was created on the 30th of June 2018, was used 2358 times prior to today. If you have an account you can get a bit more info about the countries that clicked it and where it's been used from as well. Not surprisingly the US and Twitter respectively.

Also some google searching seems to indicate that the link has been used by some rando twitter accounts a few months ago but nothing in the last month or so aside from his tweet and now chatter on /r/donald
Oh and maybe now metafilter (editing to remove the actual link earlier in the post)
posted by cirhosis at 8:46 PM on March 14, 2019 [23 favorites]

Stefan Molyneux, who popularized the white nationalist "Great Replacement" meme that the shooter used as the title of his manifesto, is blaming his own directly-inspired stochastic terrorism on socialism.

Candace Owens, specifically mentioned in the manifesto as an inspiration, responded to the news with two LOLs and a tears-of-laughter emoji.

Full sociopathy on full display.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:49 PM on March 14, 2019 [33 favorites]

Let's make it explicit. An hour ago, Donald Trump tweeted a link to Breitbart's main page. Right now, the main story is the massacre of Muslims by a right-wing extremist and the Breitbart comments are an orgy of bloodlust and celebration. This is not an accident.
posted by Justinian at 9:22 PM on March 14, 2019 [82 favorites]

Thank you, Justinian. I did not understand. I am going to go find the venting thread now. I encourage folks to join me there. My condolences to all MeFites from New Zealand.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:04 PM on March 14, 2019 [8 favorites]

Maybe this isn't for the megathread, but a mosque was just massacred in New Zealand by a 4chan Nazi who livestreamed himself and promoted PewDiePie before the killings. Do not watch the video. His manifesto explicitly indicates his radicalization by alt-right youtube personalities.

Oh, fucking hell. :( :(
posted by loquacious at 10:10 PM on March 14, 2019 [9 favorites]

There's an FPP about Christchurch now.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:17 PM on March 14, 2019 [12 favorites]

Southern Poverty Law Center fires co-founder Morris Dees over unspecified misconduct.

No further information at this time but be prepared for this story to get ugly far beyond the details of whatever behavior lead to the organization deciding it needed to separate itself from Dees. He is bitterly hated by many in the white supremacist right who will use whatever Dees has done to try to discredit not only Dees but any allies who have sided with him in the fight against right wing violence and white supremacy.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:13 PM on March 14, 2019 [15 favorites]

ShareBlue’s Oliver Willis: “the whole thing is much longer, but here's @AOC just absolutely pantsing wilbur ross. he tries to say she's out of time so he can't answer why his office broke the law. then @RepCummings says nah son, go ahead and answer and that sends his lawyers into a tizzy and 😆😂🤣😆 https://twitter.com/owillis/status/1106299374693437445/video/1”
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:34 AM on March 15, 2019 [28 favorites]

There's a lot of discussion and analysis of the shooter's manifesto, and a number of people online are raising a point well-summarized by this tweet:

Media: be careful with the NZ shooter's apparent manifesto. It's thick with irony and meta-text and very easy to misinterpret if you're not steeped in this stuff all the time (and even if you are).

To give an example, it includes the "Navy Seal copyposta" without context. And I'm with those who suspect that the specific way he references Candace Owens is ironic. Yes, she's with the alt-right, says and believes odious things, and she horribly handled the fact of being referenced, with inappropriate laughter. But the manifesto calls her his number-one inspiration while adding that some of her beliefs are "too extreme even for me". This is likely trolling, with the double-purpose of hurting a black member of his hateful movement and making "the left" look ridiculous by blaming her specifically rather than the movement generally.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:57 AM on March 15, 2019 [12 favorites]

Funny how the white supremacist Christchurch terrorist, Coast Guard terrorist, Pittsburgh synagogue terrorist, Quebec mosque terrorist, mail bomb terrorist & Charlottesville terrorist all talked about and loved Trump. Wonder why?
posted by chris24 at 5:19 AM on March 15, 2019 [60 favorites]

I mean, "Not a [terrorist|fascist], but first choice among [terrorists|fascists]" is basically the GOP party line* right now.

* more like lie...
posted by tocts at 6:23 AM on March 15, 2019 [16 favorites]

This morning on NPR, Steve Inskeep interviewed Adam Kennedy, Trump's Deputy Director of Communications. The very first question out of Inskeep's mouth was to ask if the president has any reaction to the news about the attack as the death toll continues to rise and that country is in a state of real pain.

This was Kennedy's reply, in full:

It's truly a complete tragedy. We're--we're all monitoring the situation, and when the president has a statement to make, he'll make it to the American people.

Inskeep followed up with "Are we expecting it sometime today?" to which Kennedy replied, "You know, I'm not gonna get ahead of it."

Even making the charitable assumption that the lack of a statement is because Trump is still sound asleep (and not because he doesn't want to piss off his base by renouncing the attack and/or sees no reason to express condolences to a woman head-of-state), I don't know what's more galling: the fact that they haven't woken him up, or the fact that his comms director couldn't even be bothered to utter some insincere niceties like "Our thoughts & prayers are with the people of New Zealand."

The whole thing was such an appalling fuck-you.
posted by Westringia F. at 6:30 AM on March 15, 2019 [44 favorites]

I would say that significantly more galling is that even those closest to him completely admit (through their actions) that they can't predict if he'll even give a statement, and if so whether it would be in support of the victims. I mean, seriously, how small of a limb would it have been to go out on for the comms director to say "I'm sure we'll hear something from the president later today"?

I cannot imagine that not being true for literally any other president. With Trump, though, even the people responsible for interfacing with the public for him have zero idea what the fuck he will do in even the most straightforward situations, and are terrified to say anything that he'll later reverse because that wasn't what he wanted (or just out of pique because he would have wanted it until someone else said he'd do it).
posted by tocts at 6:34 AM on March 15, 2019 [17 favorites]

when the president has a statement to make, he'll make it to the American people.

This morning @realDonaldTrump ungrammatically tweeted, "My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes [sic] to the people of New Zealand". When a sociopath attempts to mimic human empathy, it comes off exactly like this Hallmark card–level cant.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:36 AM on March 15, 2019 [49 favorites]

WOW, that statement is a disgusting specimen of political passive voice. "49 people have so senselessly died" -- as if it were an accident, and not a cold-blooded hate-crime mass murder. I am beyond livid.
posted by Westringia F. at 6:44 AM on March 15, 2019 [19 favorites]

He already did make his statement - it was the contextless link to Brietbart as the massacre was in progress. That was his first gleeful reaction, and his supporters heard the dog whistle loud and clear. Everything else is the hostage statement he knows he has to put out for plausible deniability.

But make no mistake. He did make a statement. It was in support of the shooter.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:47 AM on March 15, 2019 [61 favorites]

He also tweeted this morning:

The ‘Jexodus’ movement encourages Jewish people to leave the Democrat Party. Total disrespect! Republicans are waiting with open arms. Remember Jerusalem (U.S. Embassy) and the horrible Iran Nuclear Deal! @OANN @foxandfriends

It is obviously not going as he planned as nearly every Jew on Twitter is calling him names and shouting for him to resign.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:06 AM on March 15, 2019 [41 favorites]

@asteadwesley: NEW from me: In addition to 2020 stuff, I'll also be writing occassional stories abt the politics of white grievance and fears of white replacement that's currently animating Trump's GOP. This is the first, from Pennsylvania. I hope you'll read to the end. part of the reason we want to write these stories is to flip the "identity politics" narrative on its head. It's not only marginalized groups who view their identity as an important lens for their political choices; but white voters also. Just ask them. stray thoughts:
-- More than any 2020er, folks talked A TON about Ilhan Omar and AOC. Wild how popular, or infamous, the right has made two freshman members
-- "Obama chose to be a president for minorities," citing moments like Gates arrest, is underrated current of Trump flip

His story: How Trump’s Brand of Grievance Politics Roiled a Pennsylvania Campaign

None of this is new, but it’s an interesting shift inhow white identity politics are covered with explicit framing, and that bears notice. I’m a bit on the fence as to whether this mainly serves to elevate racist grievances to a higher level (which is already what happens, worse, when we talk about white identity politics without mentioning race) or is just an accurate portrayal of what drives these people.
posted by zachlipton at 7:06 AM on March 15, 2019 [12 favorites]

When a sociopath attempts to mimic human empathy, it comes off exactly like this Hallmark card–level cant.

He said “best regards” to the Charlottesville victims.
posted by chris24 at 7:13 AM on March 15, 2019 [23 favorites]

The ‘Jexodus’ movement encourages Jewish people to leave the Democrat Party. Total disrespect! Republicans are waiting with open arms. Remember Jerusalem (U.S. Embassy) and the horrible Iran Nuclear Deal! @OANN @foxandfriends

We need to come up with something like the word exodus, but which would apply to jews
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:13 AM on March 15, 2019 [127 favorites]

the politics of white grievance and fears of white replacement that's currently animating Trump's GOP

Along those lines, Utah Rep. Rob Bishop says Democrats’ Green New Deal is ‘tantamount to genocide’. Claiming that the Green New Deal is a plan to kill off people like him, he said, "I'm an ethnic. I'm a Westerner".
posted by peeedro at 7:18 AM on March 15, 2019 [18 favorites]

I cannot imagine that not being true for literally any other president. With Trump, though, even the people responsible for interfacing with the public for him have zero idea what the fuck he will do in even the most straightforward situations, and are terrified to say anything that he'll later reverse because that wasn't what he wanted (or just out of pique because he would have wanted it until someone else said he'd do it).

Why Trump didn’t stop a GOP revolt on his border emergency (Politico)

It didn’t have to be that way, Republicans say, especially if Trump had engaged more consistently with senators and made a relatively modest agreement to change the National Emergencies Act to rein in presidential power.

It also was a reminder that White House aides have long acknowledged the futility of speaking for or negotiating on the president’s behalf, a position they now are openly conveying to lawmakers: passing along his tweets rather than attempting to twist arms or hash out a compromise themselves.

posted by Little Dawn at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2019 [6 favorites]

Why Trump didn’t stop a GOP revolt on his border emergency (Politico)

He's the least effective president ever, which is cold comfort, I suppose.

His only play is to threaten and double down. That only works because he controls the base and the Republicans are scared of getting primaried.

He can't negotiate, or cajole, or charm, or compromise. His word is completely meaningless, and he doesn't understand why this hurts him. He has zero tools to deploy to work with anyone he doesn't already have leverage over; that includes Democrats, other countries, the press, etc.

He's also incompetent and hires incompetent people, which is a blessing for all the administrative agencies that his folks have screwed up trying to destroy.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:54 AM on March 15, 2019 [29 favorites]

"He's the least effective president ever, which is cold comfort, I suppose."

In a nutshell, that's why I think that Trump's support is brittle and will catastrophically collapse. Eventually. Someday. He can't hide this fact from his base forever.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 8:29 AM on March 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

The ‘Jexodus’ movement encourages Jewish people to leave the Democrat Party.....


He followed that with an extended conspiracy theory rant about Obama and Page spying on him (or something), ending with an all caps tweet.


".....THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO A PRESIDENT AGAIN!"


There were about 2 hours between his tweet to the 'people of New Zealand' and his pity party reminding everyone that it's all about him and how oppressed he is.
posted by Buntix at 8:31 AM on March 15, 2019 [17 favorites]

He can't hide this fact from his base forever.

Of course he can: Reagan destroyed the country and he's more popular now than when he was in office.
His base is lost forever and will worship him forever. Let them go. The only way forward is organizing to take political power from them and never allow it to be returned.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:34 AM on March 15, 2019 [54 favorites]

White Nationalism’s Deep American Roots, Adam Serwer, The Atlantic

The seed of Nazism’s ultimate objective—the preservation of a pure white race, uncontaminated by foreign blood—was in fact sown with striking success in the United States. What is judged extremist today was once the consensus of a powerful cadre of the American elite, well-connected men who eagerly seized on a false doctrine of “race suicide” during the immigration scare of the early 20th century. They included wealthy patricians, intellectuals, lawmakers, even several presidents. Perhaps the most important among them was a blue blood with a very impressive mustache, Madison Grant. He was the author of a 1916 book called The Passing of the Great Race, which spread the doctrine of race purity all over the globe.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:38 AM on March 15, 2019 [21 favorites]

Trump's support is brittle and will catastrophically collapse.

I was listening to the most recent episode of Jared Holt's SH!TPOST podcast yesterday, and they made the salient point that a lot of Trump's base are basically just bored internet shitposters, and they've been wringing all the juice out of this "Donald Trump" thing for going on 3 years now, it's getting pretty stale. This was in the context of some of them jumping on the Yang Gang bandwagon, but I think it's worth considering that a lot of these people are itching to move onto the next thing, not that it's likely to be better.
posted by contraption at 8:38 AM on March 15, 2019 [11 favorites]

He followed that with an extended conspiracy theory rant about Obama and Page spying on him (or something)

That rant also includes "there should be no Mueller Report." That's a change in tune from their previous claims that they aren't worried about the report because it will show that there was no collusion.
posted by diogenes at 8:39 AM on March 15, 2019 [22 favorites]

a lot of Trump's base are basically just bored internet shitposters, and they've been wringing all the juice out of this "Donald Trump" thing for going on 3 years now, it's getting pretty stale. This was in the context of some of them jumping on the Yang Gang bandwagon, but I think it's worth considering that a lot of these people are itching to move onto the next thing, not that it's likely to be better.

Most of the Pepes have lost faith in Trump being the next Hitler that they had hoped for and are expressing their frustration through Yang-Ganging, but they will always hate us more than they dislike Trump and will therefore support him when it counts. Trump could enact a death penalty for all 8chan users and they'd still promote him to the end as long as the soyboys and subhumans are still getting triggered. Remember that in the shitposter core of Trump's primal support there's no ideology, just a nihilistic desire to harm.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:45 AM on March 15, 2019 [15 favorites]

PSA: New US Politics FPP: “If the people don’t have the facts, democracy can’t work.”
posted by Little Dawn at 9:00 AM on March 15, 2019 [27 favorites]

Rust Moranis: Trump could enact a death penalty for all 8chan users and they'd still promote him to the end as long as the soyboys and subhumans are still getting triggered. Remember that in the shitposter core of Trump's primal support there's no ideology, just a nihilistic desire to harm.

There's a video from Innuendo Studios that explores this pretty well, The Alt-Right Playbook: The Card Says Moops. He makes the solid point that nihilism may be what these people claim to believe in, but it's just instrumental. They do, in fact, believe in things, but the things they believe in are beyond society's pale, thus they use "Oh, I just want to watch the world burn, in general" as a fallback.

A wolf might not be able to wear a truly convincing sheep disguise, because (if nothing else) people notice the sheep that's eating the other sheep. But what if the wolf can persuade people that sheep-wolves, which are both and neither species at once, are real and common?

I don't know about fallout from a hypothetical anti-8chan executive order or whatever. But I do know that Trump would lose massive support if he went too far in a pro-diversity, anti-bigotry direction. Something as simple as declaring "This shooter acted on the basis of Islamophobia, which I strongly condemn" (as opposed to generic "hatred") might shed him at least 4 points. It's complicated because his followers understand respectability and thus give him leeway, but there would be a breaking point eventually.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:02 AM on March 15, 2019 [17 favorites]

I think it's a little myopic to believe that obscure internet message board users are the core of Trump's support. It may seem that way if you are a heavy internet user, but I promise nearly no one you meet in real life is a "shitposter" or even knows many actual internet sites. To most people, the internet is the Facebook and Instagram apps on their phone.

Of the 27% of American voters who make up Trump's base, I doubt even a tenth of a percent even know what a *chan is.
posted by FakeFreyja at 9:05 AM on March 15, 2019 [21 favorites]

Thanks Little Dawn for all your hard work on the new thread.
posted by zachlipton at 9:08 AM on March 15, 2019 [14 favorites]

It is obviously not going as he planned as nearly every Jew on Twitter is calling him names and shouting for him to resign.

AFAICT as of noon EST not a single group that rushed to accuse Ilhan Omar of using dual-loyalty smears has publicly commented on Trump's tweet, so it seems like it kinda is going to plan.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:08 AM on March 15, 2019 [17 favorites]

Of the 27% of American voters who make up Trump's base, I doubt even a tenth of a percent even know what a *chan is.

Obscure internet message board users did most of Trump's early campaign promotion, are a crucial part of the far-right's current social media messaging, originated much of the culture and lingo that has been adopted by 80 million facebook MAGA grandparents, and are currently doing his work of massacring hundreds of people.

Trump's base not all being fully aware of Pepes doesn't matter, since individual Trump supporters aren't fully aware of much besides a sense of grievance and a longing to push others down below them on the socio-economic hierarchy. We ignore their importance as a vital organ of international fascism at our peril.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:15 AM on March 15, 2019 [23 favorites]

***** NEW THREAD, NEW THREAD *****

Since the above announcement was a bit subtle.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:18 AM on March 15, 2019 [8 favorites]

Deploy the milk and cookies!

🥛🍪🍪🍪
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:31 AM on March 15, 2019 [11 favorites]

.nihilism may be what these people claim to believe in, but it's just instrumental. They do, in fact, believe in things, but the things they believe in are beyond society's pale

Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
posted by Gelatin at 9:37 AM on March 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

Obscure internet message board users did most of Trump's early campaign promotion, are a crucial part of the far-right's current social media messaging, originated much of the culture and lingo that has been adopted by 80 million facebook MAGA grandparents, and are currently doing his work of massacring hundreds of people.

This. The "obscure internet posters" are not the numerical majority of Trump's support, but what they're doing is the strategic work of promoting white supremacy and injecting it with a firehose into the mainstream discourse. If you read what they say to each other, its exceedingly clear that this is their specific goal, they plan elaborate operations to get white power symbols on TV, to trick mainstream journalists into covering their stories, promote their codewords into the dialect, and drive views to their feeder propagandists like Jordan Peterson. And this stuff is taken verbatim from the chans onto Tucker, and Brietbart, and Steve King, then up the line to the Republican de jour on the Sunday Shows, where it spreads till your Old Uncle Bill is mouthing racist chan memes without even knowing where he heard that.

Right now, go on any comments section on any website, and tell me how long it takes you find a "subscribe to Pewdiepew!" That's how pervasive their tactics are, right under your nose. It's not raw numbers, it's sustained and strategic propaganda, abetted and amplified by FOX News, the mainstream Republican party, and now the President of the United States.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:10 AM on March 15, 2019 [23 favorites]

I'm temped to ask Quora what the difference is between PDP/*chans/etc. and terrorist training camps, but I suppose it would be likely to be shitcanned, so maybe I'll just save it for a reply to a Ben Shapiro tweet.
posted by rhizome at 12:25 PM on March 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

Mod note: New thread, folks, please don't just take this one sideways.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 1:07 PM on March 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

how did no one.....

really?


metafilter: obscure internet message board users
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:42 PM on March 15, 2019 [13 favorites]

Source:
posted by infini at 8:27 AM on March 16, 2019