Wednesday, July 25th
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION: MARK MEADOWS FILES IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES AGAINST ROD ROSENSTEIN
- House Republicans have introduced articles of impeachment against deputy AG Rod Rosenstein
- House conservatives move to impeach Rosenstein
- GOP lawmakers introduce articles of impeachment against Rosenstein
- Republicans Move to Impeach Rosenstein
- House Conservatives Draft Articles Of Impeachment Against Rod Rosenstein
- Conservative lawmakers introduce resolution calling for impeachment of Rod Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel probe on Russia
- GOP lawmaker: ‘I do not support’ impeaching Rosenstein
- GOP lawmakers introduce articles of impeachment against Rosenstein | TheHill
I can’t say I’m surprised by this move. Hell, I was expecting it after what happened a couple weeks ago. (Daily Check-In 07/13/2018). These articles have been sitting around for a while, but the timing on them is a publicity stunt.
Congress’s last day in session is Thursday. After that, they’re in recess until after Labor Day. Meadows and Jordan could have forced a voice vote on this, but decided no to. Likely because they have little to no support.
Only 11 people sponsored this bill. Here is the list so far…
- Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC)
- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)
- Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
- Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA)
- Rep. Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (R-AZ)
- Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA)
- Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
- Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN)
- Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
- Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC)
- Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL)
All 11 are members of the Freedom Caucus, the Tea Party wing of the House. Many of them have their own problems or tie-ins. Matt Gaetz has ties to Roger Stone, (Daily Check-In 12/13/2017), Mark Meadows is closely tied to the Trump Organization, and Jim Jordan has spent the last month calling sexual assault victims liars (Daily Check-In 07/18/2018). Paul Gosar is a dentist who claimed to know more about reading people than the former head of FBI Counterintelligence (Daily Check-In 07/12/2018).
The accusations are baseless and an obvious attempt to obstruct justice. They claim that Rod Rosenstein has not provided enough information to the House in their “investigations” into Russia, even though the DOJ has handed over hundreds of thousands of documents. Their basis for the claim is that some information is being withheld which is vital to an active investigation, and this Congress has shown no interest in honoring law enforcement practices or traditions.
Republicans filed impeachment proceedings against a Republican appointee as Deputy Attorney General who ordered an investigation into the firing of a Republican FBI Director by a Republican President, and appointed a Republican Special Counselor after the Republican Attorney General recused himself from the investigation. Yet they’ll scream this is all the Democrats fault.
- Pompeo seeks to reassure lawmakers on Russia amid bipartisan backlash
- Under fire in Congress, Pompeo defends Trump’s Putin summit
- The Latest: Pompeo: US won’t recognize Crimea annexation
COHEN
- Cohen says he won’t be a ‘punching bag’ for Trump anymore
- Michael Cohen’s Tape Is Trouble for Trump
- Trump lashes out at Cohen after release of recording
- Caught in brazen lie, Trump rewrites transcript of Cohen tape to fit his own alternate reality
- Rep. Ted Lieu: Tapes don’t lie. Even if the president does.
We’re now to the point where the President releases a fake transcript of a recording his attorney made because the client is a lying sack of shit.
As this goes on, more and more tapes will come out, and the content will get worse and worse.
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET
- Soccer ball Putin gave Trump contains transmitter chip — but for Adidas: report | TheHill
- Trump family relies on nemesis of free-speech advocates in legal battles
- Photos Show Chinese Factory Workers Making ‘Trump 2020’ Flags
TRAITOR TOTS
- Nunes still hasn’t read unredacted FISA documents he requested: DOJ
- Congress to ease Russia sanctions amid clamor for tougher measures
- DeVos Proposes to Curtail Debt Relief for Defrauded Students – The New York Times
Nunes hasn’t read it because he doesn’t have the security clearance to read it.
FIGHTING BACK
- Oregon GOP official leaves party over ‘racism,’ ‘misogyny’ of Trump administration
- Man who destroyed Trump’s Hollywood star in 2016 to bail out new vandal
- Fmr. FBI special agent: ‘Putin seems to understand U.S. politics better than the President does’
- Schumer: Trump’s farm aid ‘like a soviet-style program’
EMOLUMENTS
- Donald Trump Could Lose His Washington Hotel After Judge Rules ‘Emoluments’ Case Can Proceed, Says Maryland Attorney General
- Trump loses big in emoluments case
- Federal judge rejects Trump effort to stop lawsuit alleging he violates Constitution by doing business with foreign governments
TRADE WAR
- Coca-Cola says it’s raising soda prices after Trump tariffs
- Europe is ready to unleash a $20 billion tariff retaliation against Trump to hit a ‘long list’ of American goods
- Trump pushes 25 percent auto tariff as top advisers scramble to stop him
- Trump, E.U. announce deal to avert escalation of trade tensions
- Trump’s trade war bailout could force the U.S. to borrow more from China — to maintain Trump’s trade war with China
- Top American brands say the trade war is now eating into their profits
- Photos Show Chinese Factory Workers Making ‘Trump 2020’ Flags
I want to sit back and admire, just for a second, the sheer amount of stupid at play here.
Trump decides to start a trade war with China because reasons (treasons, more likely). He places tariffs on the Chinese buying produce from the U.S., which causes them to say “screw it” and not buy that produce. Farmers who depend almost exclusively on the Chinese and their 1.3 billion people to buy their products are about to lose everything. Instead of rolling back the tariffs, Trump doubles down on them, and then says that they’ll help the farmers by offering them $12 billion in welfare to help them, but can’t make that money out of other programs because he signed a tax cut of more than a trillion dollars, so the only place he can get that money to pay the farmers suffering because of high tariffs on the Chinese are… the Chinese.
IMMIGRATION
COLD WAR 2.0
- Boris Johnson Has Been Privately Talking To Steve Bannon As They Plot Their Next Moves
- Browder Launches New Money-Laundering Complaint – Barron’s
- Russia says the U.S. military must work with President Vladimir Putin or leave Syria immediately
- The military does not belong to Donald Trump
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- White House May Have Broken Federal Law by Doctoring Trump-Putin Video
- From ‘alternative facts’ to rewriting history in Trump’s White House
- Acosta: Banning CNN reporter a ‘new low’ for the White House
- Fox News Announces Support of CNN after White House Bans Reporter
- White House bans CNN reporter from event for ‘inappropriate’ questions
- White House bans network pool reporter from Rose Garden event
- Facebook earnings Q2 2018+
- FCC Chair Tells Congress Net Neutrality Rules Harmed Investment
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- ‘Revolting’: Betsy DeVos Unveils Proposal to Make It Harder for Students Defrauded by Predatory Schools to Get Loan Relief
- DeVos Proposes to Curtail Debt Relief for Defrauded Students – The New York Times
- Melania Trump will watch ‘any channel she wants,’ spokeswoman says
- Donald Trump ‘erupted with rage’ when Melania’s Air Force One television was tuned to CNN, not Fox News
- Photos Show Chinese Factory Workers Making ‘Trump 2020’ Flags
SCOTUS
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- When Paul Ryan leaves government, the federal deficit will be $1.2 trillion higher than when he arrived
- Oregon GOP official leaves party over ‘racism,’ ‘misogyny’ of Trump administration
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Whistleblower provides emails that show Stormy Daniels’ arrest was pre-planned – Fayette Advocate
- Owner Of Russian Import/Export Company Charged With Evading U.S. Export Controls By Smuggling Sensitive Electronics To Russian Military And Intelligence Agencies | USAO-NJ | Department of Justice
ELECTION 2018
- Michelle Obama encourages voter registration in star-studded PSA
- New Emails Show Michigan Republicans Plotting to Gerrymander
- Emails suggest Republicans gerrymandered Michigan to weaken ‘Dem garbage’
- Poor people die younger in the U.S. That skews American politics. – The Washington Post
- Stark pattern of discrimination’: Judge makes it easier for college students to vote
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
- 2020 Democrats Band Together to Call for Puerto Rico Debt Cancellation
- Ocasio-Cortez: In New York City, there are 3 vacant apartments for each homeless person
- Sacha Baron Cohen’s Showtime show has forced a Georgia politician to resign
- House Democrats introduce bill to require two years of debt-free college across the US
IN OTHER NEWS…
- What’s with this wild weather? Blame an ‘extreme’ jet stream pattern.
- A 12-mile-wide body of water lies beneath a Mars ice cap
- Trial of new Alzheimer’s drug shows promising results
RUMOR MILL
- Lincoln’s Bible: Trump’s Russian Mafia Connections
- Renato Mariotti: This is a political stunt
- Xtrixcyclex: Thread on Jim Jordan
- Kaz Weida: List of the co-signers
That’s it for Wednesday.
I’m not sure what’s coming on Thursday, but I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in the last few days on Reddit. Normally on /r/politics, there are decent collection of varied stories on the front page, all about new stories from within the last day or two. Recently, I’ve seen several examples of old stories, more than a week old, hitting the front page and sticking, and almost all of them are either non-Russia related, or have clickbaity titles. This then buries new stories that are Russia related, or focuses the attention elsewhere.
I hope this is just a fluctuation and not a trend.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalits, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
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