Thursday, July 19th
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Mueller releases list of more than 500 pieces of evidence against Manafort
- Sources: Tony Podesta offered immunity in Manafort case
- Spicy Mic: Manafort Evidence Thread
- Lincoln’s Bible: Manafort Evidence Thread
Manafort’s trial is set to begin on July 24th, and a lot of the evidence is paperwork. Looks like we were right about Jeffrey Yohai flipping (The Indicted,Cooperating Witnesses).
- Justice Department plans to alert public to foreign operations targeting U.S. democracy
- Three Top FBI Cybersecurity Officials to Retire – WSJ
- Mueller adds counterespionage prosecutor to Butina case
Deborah Curtis, the newest member of The Justice League. She’s very familiar with prosecuting spies. Just ask Chelsea Manning.
- The NRA Has Deep Ties to Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina
- GOP didn’t want to ‘tarnish’ NRA by questioning alleged Russian spy, Democratic congressman says
- Russia’s not meddling? Then explain Maria Butina.
- Ex-Sheriff David Clarke’s 2015 trip expenses paid by alleged Russian agent’s group – FOX6Now.com
- Orange County Congressman Rohrabacher met with accused Russian agent in St. Petersburg in 2015
- Accused spy Maria Butina met with Russia’s former US ambassador | World news | The Guardian
- What we know about Paul Erickson, the man tied to alleged Russian agent Maria Butina
So, we’ve got at least TWO supporters of Donald Trump and Putin’s regime that traveled to Russia, with at least one of them having their expenses paid for by a Russian spy. Remember, Trump wanted David Clarke for a government position, but he couldn’t get passed the approval process. Daily Check-In 01/18/2018 has a lot of in-depth work, including a picture of David Clarke and Alexander Torshin. That was 6 months ago. Imagine what is known by this point.
- Yates: W.H. knew Flynn under investigation as Trump coaxed Comey
- Rosenstein defends intelligence, indictments: They are “based on evidence”
- Sean Spicer: Mueller’s investigation is not a witch hunt
- He’s Always Known: Trump Was Told In Jan 2017 That Putin Was Behind Attacks
- FBI director: Russia is the ‘most aggressive actor’ in election interference
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET
- He’s Always Known: Trump Was Told In Jan 2017 That Putin Was Behind Attacks
- As Russians describe ‘verbal agreements’ at summit, U.S. officials scramble for clarity
- CBS News poll: Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of Putin summit
- Dem senator: Trump is acting like a Russian ‘asset’
- Developing: White House: Trump asked national security adviser to invite Putin to Washington for fall meeting, discussions underway
- Emanuel: Take away Trump’s security clearance after summit with Putin
- Former Diplomats Furious It Took Trump 3 Days To Decide Not To Turn Former Ambassador Over To Putin
- George Will charges that Trump colluded with Putin
- Laura Walker: DNI Coats finds out about Putin invite during interview
- Outrage erupts over Trump-Putin ‘conversation’ about letting Russia interrogate ex-U.S. diplomat Michael McFaul
- Poll: Half of Americans Think Trump Acted ‘Treasonous’ in Helsinki
- Soledad O’brien: Russian TV thinks Trump is an agent of the Kremlin
- The Director Of National Intelligence Literally Started Laughing When He Found Out Trump Invited Putin To Washington
- Trump asks aide to invite Putin to Washington
- Trump Invited Putin to Washington Later This Year, Sanders Says
- Trump inviting Putin to Washington this fall
- Trump Plans To Invite Putin For Autumn Visit, Top Spy Boss Coats Caught Off Guard : NPR
- Trump says he’s looking forward to second summit with Putin
- Trump says he’s ‘looking forward’ to second Putin meeting to ‘start implementing’ what they discussed
- Trump Wants Putin to Keep Meddling to Get Himself Reelected
- Trump: Russia Is a Friend, Journalists Are the Enemy
- White House morale tanks amid Helsinki fallout
- Wyden: It’s treason for Trump to allow Russia to question U.S. official
Wow. Another meeting, this time in D.C.? Are you fucking kidding me? Wait, let me check the timeline… dammit, not a joke.
TRAITOR TOTS
- Devin Nunes Spent $15,000 In Donations On NBA Tickets And Lavish Trips
- Nunes used donations donations to buy Celtics tickets | McClatchy Washington Bureau
- Nunes used political dollars for $15K in Celtics tickets, winery tours and Vegas trips
- Rand Paul blocks Sanders’s Russia resolution, calls it ‘crazy hatred’ against Trump | TheHill
- Aaron Rupar: Jim Jordan blames the victims
While writing this, I saw another report that Rand Paul used a fuckton of campaign funds for personal use. I’ll have that link in tomorrow’s post.
FIGHTING BACK
- Between Maria Butina and Sacha Baron Cohen, Conservatives Look Like the World’s Biggest Suckers
- Dems erupt into ‘USA’ chant on House floor after Hoyer gives fiery anti-Putin speech
- Miami Dolphins players who protest during anthem could face suspension: report | TheHill
- Reddit Users Are Manipulating Google Images to Associate ‘Idiot’ with Donald Trump
- Rick Wilson: Someone uploaded the Helsinki Press Conference to PornHub
- Schiff moves to subpoena interpreter from Trump, Putin meeting
- Vice News: Representative Hoyer’s speech on the House Floor
- Time magazine merges Trump and Putin on latest cover
IMMIGRATION
- In Fiery Exchange, Warren Tells Trump Nominee Kathy Kraninger Her Role in Cruel Child Detention ‘a Moral Stain That Will Follow You for the Rest of Your Life’
- Migrants in U.S. custody describe life in ‘ice boxes’ and ‘dog pounds’
- More Evidence Emerges That Trump Intended for Family Separation to Be Permanent
- Child-Separation Policy Cost at Least $40 Million in Two Months – The Daily Beast
- The Trump administration asked 70 babies who can’t talk to make their case in immigration court
COLD WAR 2.0
- Putin appears to be targeting U.S. officials who worked on Russia sanctions
- Putin Tells Diplomats He Made Trump a New Offer on Ukraine at Their Summit
- State Department Silent on MH17 Anniversary Following Trump-Putin Firestorm – Foreign Policy
- Report: British Police Identify Russian Suspects In Novichok Attack
- Several Russians reportedly identified as suspects in ex-spy’s poisoning
- Bill Browder says Vladimir Putin would like to “kill me like he killed my lawyer Sergei Magnitsky”
- Russia tests new nuclear weapons after summit with Trump
TRADE WAR
- Trump’s next tariffs could cost U.S. in race for self-driving cars
- Trump lashes out at European Union’s massive Google fine, citing it as evidence that he is right about E.U.’s unfair behavior
#NEVERAGAIN
- Shannon Watts:“Two weeks after Parkland, @NRA executive director Chris Cox met privately in the Oval Office with Trump and Pence, and then announced: ‘POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control.’”
- GOP didn’t want to ‘tarnish’ NRA by questioning alleged Russian spy, Democratic congressman says
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- WATCH: Jeanine Piro Says Whoppi Goldberg Has ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’, Whoopi Goldberg Angrily Responds
- Fox News’ Neil Cavuto Spends Nearly 10 Minutes Reading Hate Mail After Calling Trumps Behavior in Helsinki “disgusting”.
- Congratulations, Mr. President: Zuckerberg Secretly Called Trump After The Election
- Politicians set up re-election websites to look like news sites | McClatchy Washington Bureau
MAIN STREAM MEDIA
- FCC accuses Sinclair of trying to mislead regulators over Tribune merger | TheHill
- Comcast drops bid for 21st Century Fox, paving way for Disney
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- Senate moves to install VA nominee following reports of staff targeting by acting secretary
- Trump: U.S. Can’t Afford Veterans’ Health Care Without Cuts
- You Are Paying for the Trump Brothers to Travel the World on Trump Organization Business
- CREW gets Trump family business Secret Service spending documents – CREW
- White House morale tanks amid Helsinki fallout
SCOTUS
- Dem senator ties Kavanaugh confirmation vote to Trump-Putin controversy | TheHill
- Kavanaugh’s role in Bush-era detainee debate now an issue in his Supreme Court nomination
- Democrats seize on failure of judicial pick to demand all of Supreme Court nominee’s documents
- McConnell withdraws Trump judicial pick minutes before vote
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- House GOP refuses to boost funding for election security
- GOP didn’t want to ‘tarnish’ NRA by questioning alleged Russian spy, Democratic congressman says
- House GOP refuses to boost funding for election security
- Democrats wanted to talk to the only witness to Trump and Putin’s meeting. The GOP said no.
- GOP Rejects Two Resolutions Affirming Support For U.S. Intelligence Community | HuffPost
- House Republicans defeat attempt to subpoena Trump interpreter
- Republicans block bid to extend election security grants
- Republicans block effort to subpoena only American witness to secret Trump-Putin meeting
- What’s Changed Between the G.O.P. and Trump After Helsinki: Nothing
- Are Republicans Covering for Trump, or for Themselves?
- 79% of Republicans support Trump’s press conference with Putin – Axios
- As Trump Governs For His Base, The Republican Party Is Shrinking – Rantt
- Bills intended to prevent another Charlottesville disaster have all met defeat
- Time to Bury the Illusion of a Republican Revolt Against Trump
- To my Republican friends: It’s time to let Trump go
Something to keep in mind when seeing articles like “85% of Republicans support Trump’s most recent garbage, is America screwed?” and it deals with how statistics work.
The Republican Party is shrinking. Fewer Americans identify as them, and their numbers are dwindling. Their policies for the last 30 years have slowly pushed away anyone who isn’t either a rich person looking to avoid paying taxes, or white men who feel like their power is slipping away. The last decade accelerated that, and the only people that flocked to the GOP were Baby Boomers. News flash: they’re old and dying off. Now, they can add open racists, Russian sympathizers and wannabe autocrats to their list.
Everyone else was pushed away or pushed out of the party. The Log Cabin Republicans of two decades ago were shoved aside by the Religious Right. The Hispanic Catholics are leaving as the Neo-Nazis openly attack them. The young fiscal conservatives are leaving as they can’t reconcile the take-it-or-leave-it party package of misogyny, bigotry, and ignorance of science with their desire for responsibly sized government.
Getting back to statistics. A higher percentage of a smaller sample size doesn’t correlate to a larger number of people in the whole. Also, that percentage doesn’t take into account the quality of the individual item, either.
Think of it like football, with two quarterbacks playing in a game. One completed 60% of their passes, the other completed 75%. That means the 75% is a better quarterback, right?
Not necessarily.
First quarterback completes 30 of 50 passes for 500 yards, 6 touchdowns, and no interceptions. The second quarterback completes 6 of 8 passes for 3 yards and 2 interceptions, and didn’t throw a long pass all game. The two interceptions were returned for scores against his team. In this example, the second quarterback sucks, even though they’re more accurate.
These headlines are meant to grab attention, but always remember, the pie is smaller.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Analysis | Does legal weed make police more effective?
- Three Family Members Plead Guilty to Money Laundering | USAO-SDOH | Department of Justice
- Former Background Investigator for Federal Government Pleads Guilty to Making a False Statement | USAO-DC | Department of Justice
- U.S. Files Complaint to Forfeit $500,000 in EB-5 Visa Investment Funds and Over $140,000 From Sanctioned Chinese Individual Accused of Procuring U.S. Origin Items for Sanctioned Iranian Entities | USAO-DC | Department of Justice
- FCA Reveals Money Laundering Probe Into 75 Firms
ELECTION 2018
- Young People Are Registering to Vote in Huge Numbers, New Study Finds
- Youth voter registration went up 41 percent in Florida after Parkland
- Justice Department plans to alert public to foreign operations targeting U.S. democracy
- Caroline Orr: DAG Rosenstein warns about potential election attacks, including ballot fraud
- House GOP refuses to boost funding for election security
- Kirstjen Nielsen: ‘I Haven’t Seen Evidence’ Russia Tried To Help Trump Win. The Homeland Security secretary appeared to reject U.S. intelligence, as President Donald Trump did at the Helsinki summit.
- Kirstjen Nielsen: Russian Interference In Election Infrastructure Meant To ‘Cause Chaos’ For Both Parties | HuffPost
- Microsoft executive says three 2018 campaigns have been targeted by phishing attacks
ENVIRONMENT
- U.S. EPA eases Obama-era standards on toxic coal ash
- After Flint debacle, EPA must strengthen oversight of state drinking water programs, inspector general finds
- Trump administration overhaul of Endangered Species Act would end automatic protections for some animals, plants
- Polling expert: Republicans impacted by natural disasters more likely to believe in climate change
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM
- A blue wave is the only thing that can save the republic
- House Progressives Launch the Medicare for All Caucus
- Analysis | Does legal weed make police more effective?
- The next Ocasio-Cortez: will these candidates pull Democrats to the left?
- The White House Says America Has Defeated Poverty. That’s Absurd.
RUMOR MILL
- Spicy Mic: Whataboutism
- Molly McKew: Should we talk about the current National Security Adviser appearing in films organized by a Russian spy?
- Dr. Dena Grayson: Paul Erickson recommended KT McFarland to be Flynn’s deputy
- Carole Cadwalla: Len Blavatnik tied to Cumberbatch Brexit movie
- Carole Cadwalla: We are in a Troll War
- Riotwomennn: Torshin translated “Butina in America now…”
- Andrew Laufer: Trump tweeted out a video from Russian State TV
That’s it for Thursday. It wasn’t as crazy as the previous couple days, but still nuts.
I updated The Justice League with the new lawyers added to the team. One of them, Deborah Curtis, is working on the Maria Butina case.
Heads up for Friday, the FBI has a recording Michael Cohen made of himself and Donald Trump talking about paying off Karen McDougal back in 2016. Just in case anyone was wondering what happened to that thread.
I wish I was more surprised by how bad the Republicans in Congress are acting, but I can’t. The entire GOP is complicit at this point, thanks to their accepting Russian money. The only question is how many will split off when they see that Trump is completely, totally, absolutely finished.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
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