- May the 4th be with you.
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Before It Stopped Cooperating With Mueller, Ukraine Hired GOP Lobbyists. Hmm.
- Trump says he would ‘love to speak’ with Robert Mueller
- Rosenstein impeachment articles are gross abuse meant to sabotage Mueller Russia probe
- Judge in Manafort case says Mueller’s aim is to hurt Trump
- NRA Money Given to Lawmakers and taken from Russia
- Ex-Trump aide Michael Caputo: Mueller has ‘entire campaign’s texts’
COHEN
The school accepts almost anyone who can pay the $51,000 annual tuition bill—more than 85 percent of its applicants were admitted last year. Fewer than half of its graduates manage to pass a bar exam on their first try; among all law school graduates in the country, about 75 percent pass on their first attempt. The 46-year-old school has had to go to court over the past year to fight for its accreditation from the American Bar Association, which found that the school was out of compliance on basic admission standards for a time. Last year, the National Advisory Council for Law School Transparency gave Cooley a ranking no school wants: It was No. 1 on the group’s list of “the 10 least selective law schools in the country.
I’ve described before how bad Cooley Law School is. I’ve been seriously tempted to take the LSAT, just to see if I could score higher than their admissions guidelines, and I’m not a lawyer or legal scholar.
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, gained access to as much as $774,000 through two financial transactions during the 2016 presidential campaign as he sought to fix problems for his boss, public records show.
Those transactions could factor into a broad investigation of Mr. Cohen’s business affairs being conducted by Manhattan federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who are examining whether Mr. Cohen violated any laws in his efforts to raise cash and conceal negative information about Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. Those include transactions tied to his credit line and his ownership of real estate and taxi medallions, the people said.
Cohen’s slush fund was three quarters of a million dollars during the campaign? That’s like, 5 or 6 Stormy’s at a time.
STORMYGATE
- Trump Is Said to Know of Stormy Daniels Payment Months Before He Denied It
- Avenatti: Extensive communications between Stormy Daniel’s lawyer and Cohen that payment had to occur prior to election
- The Trump administration’s “Handmaid’s Tale” morality: Sex is for rich dudes, not for the rest of us
- Trump’s Prayer-Day Benediction: Paying Off Porn Stars Totally Normal for “People of Wealth”
- Kellyanne Conway says she didn’t know about payment to porn star while she ran Trump’s campaign
- The Legal Issues Raised by the Stormy Daniels Payment, Explained – The New York Times
RUDY
- Rudy Giuliani goes from ‘America’s Mayor’ to Trump’s chump
- Giuliani revealed sensitive State Department intel in disastrous Fox News interview
- Rudy Giuliani’s big reality-show reveal: The “billionaire” in the White House is broke
- Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani: A pair of aging New York goons plot their last big heist
- Rudy Giuliani Sounds Like a Mob Mouthpiece Now
- Donald Trump says Giuliani doesn’t have his ‘facts straight’ on Stormy Daniels
- The Washington Post: Trump says his new lawyer Giuliani is still learning the facts
- Rudy Giuliani walks back statements about porn star hush money, Comey firing
- Stormy Daniels lawyer on Trump and Giuliani statements: ‘How stupid do they think all of us are?’
I’ll cover the broke part down in the Rumor Mill section, along with a crazy hypothesis I have about his behavior, that doesn’t include dementia, or being mobbed up to his nuts.
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE: THE JOURNALISTS STRIKE BACK
- Fox’s Cavuto on pattern of false statements: ‘Mr. President, that’s your swamp’
- Neil Cavuto Calls Out Trump on His Pattern of False Statements: ‘Mr. President, That’s Your Swamp’ | Mediaite
- Fox News calls out Trump’s lies
- ‘Were you lying?’ Sanders faces new credibility questions
- White House press should stop pretending Sarah Huckabee Sanders is telling the truth
- Acosta to Sanders: Were you lying or in the dark?
- Don Lemon: “It’s my obligation as a journalist” to call Trump a racist
- The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics – POLITICO
- Detroit radio station boycotting Kanye West music after controversial comments | TheHill
- VICELAND Is Sending Tom Arnold on a Hunt for More Trump Tapes – VICE
Welcome to the weirdest timeline. It’s taken a year and a half for the White House Press Corp to call out their lies, and Tom Arnold is now an investigative journalist.
Reality just jumped the shark.
DOCTOR, DOCTOR
Dr. Jen Peña, who like Jackson is a military physician detailed to the White House, was among those who detailed claims of professional misconduct against Jackson to senators considering his nomination, according to a person familiar with the events.
If this is what I think it is, it is a clear violation of the military whistleblower protection act.
- Dr. Oz, pseudoscience peddler, will advise Trump on children’s health
- Trump to Appoint Dr. Oz, Bill Belichick to Health Council
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- Impeach Scott Pruitt for Dismantling the EPA, Not His First-Class Flights
- Senate Banking Chair Mike Crapo Set Up Campaign Shop in Scott Pruitt’s Lobbyist Pad
- A sour smell of panic in the White House as the law closes in
- Trump set to benefit as Qatar buys $6.5m apartment in New York tower
The government of Qatar bought a $6.5m apartment in one of Donald Trump’s New York towers soon after the dismissal of a lawsuit that tried to stop the president benefiting from such deals.
Qatar’s mission to the United Nations signed a deal for the condominium at Trump World Tower on 17 January, according to city records. The purchase means that the Middle Eastern state now owns four units in the building, for which it paid $16.5m.
COLD WAR 2.0
- Obama martial law scare was stoked by Russian bots, say ex-director of CIA
- Hysteria over Jade Helm exercise in Texas was fueled by Russians, former CIA director says
- Trump asks Pentagon to look at options for withdrawing troops from South Korea: report | TheHill
- Сentral Bank conceals Vekselberg’s stake in two banks
#NEVERAGAIN
- GOP Maine mayor facing recall vote over tweet mocking Parkland survivor
- NRA to host company with ties to sanctioned Russians at annual convention
- Trump Embraces the NRA, Abandoning Flirtation With Gun Control
- A pregnant black woman is in prison for defending herself. Mainstream gun groups are silent.
- Florida teacher pension fund includes gun investments | Miami Herald
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Missouri lawmakers to seek special session for impeachment proceedings against Greitens
- Alan Dershowitz joins Harvey Weinstein defense team | TheHill
- Admiral Ackbar indicted in ‘Fat Jabba’ scandal
YAVIN IV — The Rebel High Command announced Thursday it had indicted several Rebel officers for fraud and bribery, including the legendary Adm. Gial Ackbar.
Ackbar, along with several other senior members of the Rebel Alliance, are suspected of an elaborate scandal involving the notorious intergalactic gangster, “Fat Jabba.”
According to investigators, Rebel Calamari cruisers, Corellian Corvettes, and Nebulon-B frigates would frequently dock at spaceports owned by Fat Jabba, who would charge the Rebel Alliance double the normal rate for space fuel. In exchange, Ackbar was treated to lavish seafood dinners, tickets to see the Max Rebo band, and was frequently seen with a pair of Twi’lek prostitutes.
Authorities arrested Ackbar and other Rebel officers in a massive sting operation, eventually catching Ackbar mid-coitus with an underage Ewok while staying in a luxurious Coruscant hotel. Still, lawyers for Ackbar have alleged that Rebel authorities themselves are guilty of entrapment.
“It’s a trap!” Ackbar said in a written statement.
Rebel Alliance officials were tight-lipped over any punishment Ackbar may receive for siphoning off billions of New Republic credits to a disreputable criminal, but sources indicate Rebel leader Mon Mothma is considering demoting Ackbar to lieutenant colonel and retiring him with full benefits.
It’s such a shame what happened to the Admiral, but going into business with the Hutt Crime Family is just beyond the pale. And don’t even get me started on the allegations about the underage Ewok, or the apologists saying “that’s their culture.” That’s just wrong.
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Tax Cuts for the Top 1 Percent Cost More Than SNAP
- What do incels, fascists and terrorists have in common? Violent misogyny
- Greitens’ legal woes entangle two with ties to Pence aide | McClatchy Washington Bureau
- Richard Spencer website taken down by host: report | TheHill
- Trump administration will end protections for 50,000 Hondurans living in U.S. since 1999
BLUE WAVE
- Striking Arizona teachers win 20 percent raise, end walkout
- Democrats target union workers who regret Trump vote
- Poll: Trump support among union members has fallen 15 points
SAY GOODBYE TO THE ECONOMY
- Angst hangs over farm belt after reports that China stopped buying US soybeans
- U.S.-China Trade Talks End With Key Differences Still Unresolved
- China says ‘big differences’ remain after US trade talks
RUMOR MILL: TRUMP BROKE AS A JOKE
Here’s a question…
Why did it take several months for Donald Trump, a supposed billionaire, four months to pay back Michael Cohen $130,000?
Assuming if what Rudy said on Wednesday was correct (Daily Check-In 05/02/2018) which is a big if, why did it take a billionaire four months to pay off $130,000? A billionaire paying off that amount of money would be like a regular working Joe taking four months to pay off a meal at Wendy’s.
So why is that? I can come up with two reasons, and neither of them are good for Trump.
The first is they split the payments up to cover their tracks for reporting purposes. This makes the most sense if he’s trying to hide the payment. Problem with this thought is Trump doesn’t give a fuck about consequences or getting caught doing something wrong. Plus, this plan involves forethought, and nothing that he’s done at any point implies planning or forethought. Everything with him is reaction.
The second reason that it took four months for Trump to pay back Cohen is because he didn’t have the cash to pay him. Why? He’s broke.
There are three basic definitions of a billionaire. First is someone who makes a billion dollars or more a year. The second is someone whose net worth is more than a billion dollars. The third is someone who owns more than a billion dollars in assets, regardless of debts.
Trump’s not a billionaire, not by the first two definitions. His revenue stream is far less than a billion dollars per year, and he’s mortgaged out the ass. By recent accounts, he’s nearly $300 million in the hole. Almost all of his properties are upside down. His cash flow is completely dependent on his money laundering, but even that has dried up a bit as he’s under scrutiny. He can’t pull $130,000 out of his at a moment’s notice. It took a couple months to scrape the cash together.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s not rolling pennies for gas broke, or ramen noodles every night for dinner broke, but he’s not buying a fleet of Ferraris with the spare money in his pockets.
That’s it for today. Hopefully I’ll get something written this weekend, but I’m making no promises. Maybe a pledge to do what I can, but no promises.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
One thought on “Daily Check-In 05/04/2018”