Monday, December 31, 2018
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Mueller appears to respond early in subpoena fight at Supreme Court
- Mueller Has Referred Another Trump-Related Criminal Case to the FBI
- Mueller: Paul Manafort lied about contacts with Trump administration this year
- Republican Investigation That Sought to Undermine FBI, Mueller, Quietly Ended
- House GOP quietly ends probe into FBI’s 2016 decisions
- MSW Podcast: The house judiciary and intelligence committees have officially CLOSED the three-year investigation into Hillary’s emails ZERO indictments ZERO felonies ZERO arrests ZERO convictions Mueller has nabbed 38 people or entities with over 200 felonies. 52 are “collusion” #winning
- Roger Stone turns on Jerome Corsi: He worked with Mueller to ‘sandbag me’
- Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort Was Pressured by Former Russian Spy Over His Debts in 2016
- Exclusive: Russian Ex-Spy Pressured Manafort Over Debts to an Oligarch
- Russian Ex-Spy Pressured Manafort Over Debts to an Oligarch
- Donald Trump: Paul Manafort ‘worked with ex-Russian spy while running campaign for White House’
- Identity of Russian ex-spy who served as Manafort’s main foreign contact during 2016 election revealed
- Natasha Bertrand: Interesting. Government just filed a joint status report under seal for Sam Patten, a Manafort/Kilimnik associate who pleaded guilty in August to failing to register as a foreign agent and admitted to steering foreign funds to Trump’s inaugural. He’s been cooperating ever since.
- Tea Pain: Boom! Keep your eyes on this one. It’s like the stealth bomber no one sees until it’s too late. Sam Patten was funnelin’ Russian money to Trump’s inauguration coffers. His cooperation will blow another hole in the Trumptanic.
Sam Patten is Manafort’s lobbyist buddy who helped get Russian money to the Trump inauguration by playing the role of middleman. He pleaded guilty back in August. (2018 Retrospective)
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- New Jersey AG has obtained evidence of possible crimes at Trump’s golf club — and Mueller, FBI are involved in probe – NY Daily News
- FBI Collected Fake Green Cards Allegedly Supplied By Trump Golf Club Managers: Report
- FBI examining whether undocumented immigrants worked at Trump’s golf club, lawyer says
- Lawyer says he gave investigators documents for undocumented immigrants who claim they were employed at Trump golf course
- Trump’s New Jersey golf club accused of giving fake green cards, Social Security numbers to undocumented employees
- Fake green cards, Social Security numbers allegedly given to workers at Trump golf resort
- State and FBI investigators are reportedly probing allegations that Trump’s golf club gave fake green cards to undocumented workers
- ‘Could be human trafficking’: State and federal investigators reportedly have evidence of potential crimes at Trump’s golf club
SHUTDOWN
- House Democrats prepare bills to end government shutdown, deny Trump wall money and pressure Senate to go along
- On the 7th Day of the Shutdown, the EPA Has Run Out of Money
- Support for Donald Trump’s Impeachment and Removal Now Equal To His Approval Rating, Amid Government Shutdown, Legal Peril
- Trump Complains Democrats Are Causing the Shutdown. Americans Don’t See It That Way
- Trump retreats from public view as government shutdown continues over border wall fight
- Donald Trump Too Busy Watching FOX News To Contact Nancy Pelosi About Ending Government Shutdown, Senator Suggests
- Mitch McConnell splits with Trump over government shutdown, returns to Kentucky
- Dan Rather: Another example that we are living in the Theater of the Absurd: Shutting down the government for a wall that Mexico won’t pay for, that is really steel slats, now masquerading as a metaphor.
- Under Cover of Shutdown, Trump Admin Quietly Moves to Deprive ‘American People of Their Right to Know What Government Is Doing’
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1
- Trump Accused of Hitting ‘New Low’ After Blaming Deaths of Migrant Children on Democrats
- Trump signs order freezing federal worker pay hike
- Trump tries to blame Democrats for migrant children deaths
- Trump to axe Obama law stopping coal plants poisoning air with mercury
- A Troubling Pattern of Personal Diplomacy | Trump has a tendency to agree spontaneously to requests pitched by foreign leaders.
- Any Deaths of the Children I’ve Kidnapped Are Strictly the Fault of Parents Who Didn’t Pay the Ransom
- Vladimir Putin pens letter to Donald Trump, says they should talk about “extensive agenda” of U.S. and Russia
- Trump cancels 2019 pay raises for most federal workers
- Trump issues executive order freezing federal workers’ pay in 2019
- The President* Is So Hopelessly Compromised
- Trump made this presidency a financial drive for him and his family.
- Trump claims there’s a 10-foot wall around the Obamas’ D.C. home. Neighbors say there’s not.
TRAITOR TOTS
- Roger Stone apologizes, retracts false statements made on Infowars
- Scott Pruitt Is Doing Just Fine as a Coal Consultant: The former EPA administrator is now working for the energy companies he recently regulated.
FIGHTING BACK
- Trump doesn’t seem to value anything — except himself
- In Trump’s America, it’s important to remember: this isn’t normal
- No, Mr. Trump, the Press Is Only the Enemy of Lies
- Retired 4-Star General Stanley McChrystal Says He Wouldn’t Work For ‘Shady’ Donald Trump
- Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal: President Donald Trump immoral, doesn’t tell the truth
- Retired Gen. McChrystal: I think Trump is immoral
- How much wilder can the Trump v Deep State fight get? | Spectator USA
- What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency
- Impeach Donald Trump Effort Gained More Than 3 Million Supporters In 2018
- George Takei: When you stress a body with weights, creating tears and straining muscle, it can grow back stronger. The same is true of our body politic. The Trump years will be remembered as a time we went off the rails, but also as a time we mobilized, strengthened our resolve, and learned.
- “In Some Ways It’s a More Pleasant Club When Trump Isn’t Here”: Mar-a-Lago Prepares for New Year’s Eve without Its Star Attraction
- America’s new year’s resolution: impeach Trump and remove him
- Retired Gen. David Petraeus Says He Wouldn’t Serve in the Trump Administration
- Americans have at last figured out that the adults in the room are Democrats
- Jim Mattis Implores Defense Department To Defend The Constitution In Farewell Memo
- Donald Trump Ends 2018 With At Least A Dozen Ongoing Scandals
- Howard Dean: Dems can’t negotiate with Trump on shutdown because he’s ’mentally incapacitated’
- Leading By the Seat of His Diapers: Trump Has No Idea What a President’s Job Requires, Like Running a Government
- Impeachment Will Be on the Table in 2019: If Americans take seriously the impeachment process that led to the end of Richard Nixon’s presidency in 1974, then we can no longer neglect the arguments for Trump’s impeachment
- Twitter catches Donald Trump lying about being in the Oval Office
- Father of Parkland shooting victim calls Trump “f***Ing lunatic” for tweet about Obama’s privacy fence
- John Brennan: It is my sincere hope that the forthcoming exposure of your malfeasance & corruption will convince enough Republicans to abandon you in 2019. We have had enough of your whining from the White House. We need an actual leader—our Nation’s future is at stake.
- Sara Danner Dukic: Reminder: he was at the January 6, 2017 briefing in which they told Trump what Russia was doing to us.
- Trump claimed he knew ‘more than the generals.’ Now they want nothing to do with him.
- Kyle Griffin: Trump tweeted at 10:37AM: “I’m in the Oval Office.” The pool report, at 11:02AM, said: “No Marine posted outside of the West Wing as of 11am.” When the president is in West Wing (in the Oval, for example) a Marine always stands guard. No Marine means no Trump.
- Matthew Miller: Attacking “failed generals” a week after the NYT reported details of how he dodged the draft is an especially bad look.
- Ted Lieu: There are two possibilities here: (1) @realDonaldTrump lied. (2) A marine White House guard, who went through a highly selective process to be in that position, went AWOL. Which one do you think it is? #OccamsRazor
RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM
- Emily G: There’s a really interesting hearing happening next week in the RAM case in Los Angeles. Aaron Eason has a bond review hearing, and the government has filed some really interesting stuff in opposition to the bond review. I’ll tweet about it here.
- Federal Judge Denies Bail to White Nationalist Riot Suspect A man arrested for his alleged ties to a California white nationalist group that incited riots across the state last year was denied bail by a federal judge on Friday. courthousenews.com
- Ricky Davila: Wow, 30% of Americans don’t believe that the Holocaust ever happened. That’s the same 30% that love their vile confederate flag, support a corrupt raping racist, normalize murderous Dictators, hide behind a bible to hate others and get their info from Fox Propaganda.
- Europe is listening to Trump’s ‘America First’ rhetoric — and learning not to rely on the United States anymore
SCOTUS & COURTS
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- Fake-porn videos are being weaponized to harass women: ‘Everybody is a potential target’
- Staffers of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign allege ‘sexual violence and harassment’ – NY Daily News
- Congress’s new sexual harassment law is a major step in the right direction
IMMIGRATION
- Trump’s New Jersey golf club accused of giving fake green cards, Social Security numbers to undocumented employees
- Stu Cameron: Trump wants everyone to believe ‘The Wall’ (fence!) will deter immigrants. Britain has migrant issues too, and we’re an island! On boats, in the back of trucks, you name it. And that’s without digging tunnels! It’s almost like Trump is a total fcuking idiot… You just need to see how many migrants die in the Mediterranean Sea, trying to get from Africa to Europe – if that’s not a deterrent a wall definitely won’t be. The difference with US border control, is migrants die AFTER, they’ve reached their chosen destination. Tragic…
- Trump Accused of Hitting ‘New Low’ After Blaming Deaths of Migrant Children on Democrats
- Trump tries to blame Democrats for migrant children deaths
- Video shows migrant children dragged, pushed at since-shuttered shelter
- Videos show migrant children being dragged, pushed and slapped by shelter staffers
- Videos Show Migrant Children Being Slapped, Dragged At Since-Shuttered Arizona Shelter
- Videos showing shelter staffers pushing, shoving migrant children under review for possible criminal charges
- Incoming Democratic caucus chair: Death of migrants at southern border ‘unacceptable, un-American and unconscionable’
- ‘No to $5 Billion, No to $2.1 Billion, No to $1.6 Billion’: Progressive Groups Pressure Democrats to Reject Any Funding for Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda
- ‘Absolutely Disgusting’: In First Comment on Deaths of Two Young Kids in US Custody, Trump Falsely Blames Democrats and Child’s Father
- Trump used two innocent, dead children as political pawns
- Trump Wrongly Says Democrats Are Responsible for Children’s Deaths at the Border – A child has not died in Border Patrol’s custody for a decade until the Trump Administration
- GOP congressman defends ICE by claiming ‘only 2 children’ have died ‘in recent memory’
- Jeffries: Democrats refuse to pay $5B for Trump’s government ‘ransom note’
- McAuliffe says Democrats shouldn’t ‘give an inch’
- Mexican politician climbs border wall to prove Trump’s plan is pointless
- Beto O’Rourke rivals Trump on social media, receives 5 million views on his border wall video in 72 hours
- An Alabama sheriff personally kept $1.5 million that was supposed to feed ICE detainees
- Alabama sheriff pocketed millions of dollars allocated for food for inmates
COLD WAR 2.0
- Russia arrests American citizen on suspicion of spying
- Russia’s Arrest of Paul Whelan Is Payback for Maria Butina, CIA Veterans Say
- Bill Browder: Russia Detains U.S. Citizen in Moscow on Suspicion of Espionage. Looks like Putin wants a hostage for leverage purposes. Generally countries kick out suspected foreign spies, not arrest them
- Julia Davis: As I have been reporting, Russian lawmakers repeatedly proposed arresting Americans in response to the U.S. #sanctions and Maria #Butina’s arrest for quite some time now.
- Russia Arrests American in Moscow on Spy Charges
Russia said Monday it had detained a U.S. citizen in Moscow and accused him of spying, in the latest alleged case of espionage between the two countries. The FSB, Russia’s feared domestic security service, said the American was arrested Friday “while carrying out an act of espionage.” Official Russian news outlets said the man had been identified as Paul Whelan, but no further details on his identity have been revealed. A criminal case has been opened, the FSB said in a statement, under an anti-espionage article of the Russian criminal code, which allows for sentences of as much as 20 years in prison. In his annual press conference this month, President Vladimir Putin accused Western nations of using espionage allegations to try to undermine an increasingly powerful Russia. Monday’s arrest comes days after Russian Maria Butina entered a guilty plea in Washington to acting as an illegal foreign agent. Butina faces just six months in prison, followed by likely deportation.
- Is Russia about to invade Ukraine again? That may depend on Trump.
- He’s still in prison’: Trump lifts Turkey sanctions but Americans remain detained
- Lindsey Graham Suggests Syrian Troop Drawdown Will Take Longer Than 30 Days
- Angry White House Staffer: There’s not anyone in America who doesn’t want our troops to come home. The problem is the job isn’t done. The troops don’t even want to come home yet; they know their departure is going to create another quagmire and get the allies they trained slaughtered.
- The United States Is First in War, But Trailing in Crucial Aspects of Modern Civilization
- ‘Godkiller’ and ‘Atreexp’: the Chinese hackers accused of global attacks
- China to Retry Canadian on Drug Charge Amid Diplomatic Spat
- Eric Garland: Please share #WeStandWithCanada to protest China’s taking of Canadian hostages. This cannot stand. THREAD
- Payne questions motive behind China’s arrest of Canadians but stops short of urging release
- Louise Mensch: New Year’s Eve is #WeStandWithCanada day. Let’s get it trending, post, RT! Tell Xi and #Huawei that threatening Canadian civilians over the arrest of a Chinese spy is cowardly. Target spies and soldiers – China’s officials will be held individually accountable for their safety!
#NEVERAGAIN
- Armed Man in Tactical Clothing Headed to a Texas Church to ‘Fulfill a Prophecy,’ Police Say
- Gunman Allegedly Wanted To Fulfill ‘Prophecy’ at Texas Church: Report` The man allegedly had extra ammunition, according to a report. thedailybeast.com
- Fred Guttenberg: To anyone who knows Louis CK, please deliver this message for me. My daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting. My son ran from the bullets. My wife and I deal with loss everyday. Why don’t you come to my house and try out your new pathetic jokes?
- Shannon Watts: (To Chuck Todd) Now do gun violence. Researchers agree: Stronger laws work. @NRA lobbyists and gun extremists aren’t scientists.
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Apprentice Producers Struggled to Make Trump—and His Decisions—Seem Coherent
- Working With Trump ‘Was Like Making the Court Jester the King’ Says ‘Apprentice’ Producer
- CNN host calls out Conway for claiming Dems use migrant children who died in custody as ‘political pawns’
- Donald Trump Too Busy Watching FOX News To Contact Nancy Pelosi About Ending Government Shutdown, Senator Suggests
- A year of unprecedented deception: Trump averaged 15 false claims a day in 2018
- ‘Unprecedented Deception’: Washington Post Blasts ‘Trump’s Year Of Lies’ With Blistering Fact Check
- Video compilation shows 30 times Trump repeated ‘Fox & Friends’ talking points in 2018
- Trump Lies Again About 19,000 ‘Deleted’ FBI Text Messages
- 2018 was the year the White House press briefing died
- Trump is “worst perpetrator of false information” in America, U.N. official monitoring freedom of expression says
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- John Kelly Confirms He Was Lying All Along: The White House Is in Chaos
- Kelly, on His Way Out, Says Administration Long Ago Abandoned Idea of Concrete Wall
- Kelly: ‘To be honest, it’s not a wall’
- Lindsey Graham Reduces Trump’s Border Wall To Just A ‘Metaphor’
- Outgoing chief of staff John Kelly says Trump’s ‘wall’ won’t actually be a wall: ‘To be honest, it’s not a wall’
- Caroline Orr: So John Kelly secretly told people that Trump was unfit for office, but publicly defended him against people who said Trump was unfit for office. … and he thinks that’s redeeming? (Hint: It’s not. Not at all.)
- Emptywheel: It turns out the only General Trump really liked is the one a judge said had arguably “sold out” his country. Ah well, hopefully this means John Kelly will give Mueller something more than the limited testimony he has thus far given him.
TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY
- American farmers set for more pain as Pacific trade deal kicks in without the US
- The self-destruction of U.S. farmers
- Teachers quit their jobs in record numbers during 2018
- Trump pulled out of a massive trade deal. Now 11 countries are going ahead without the US
- Kamala Harris: Everyone Gets Sick. And We Deserve Better.
- Conservative health care experiment leads to thousands losing coverage
- Donald Trump’s ‘Lose-Lose’ Trade Wars Cost America and China $6bn in 2018
- Republicans are celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Trump tax cuts. They shouldn’t be.
- Chickpeas Sit In Silos As Trump’s Trade Wars Wage On
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Fears of Republican Power Grab in Michigan Fade as Governor Vetoes Bill
- GOP congressman defends ICE by claiming ‘only 2 children’ have died ‘in recent memory’
- The Party of Boondoggles | Republicans used to force shutdowns in the name of fiscal restraint. Now they’re digging in for the sake of the profligate wall.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Bar Refaeli to face perjury, money laundering charges – Israel News
- Cyberbullying is now a crime in Michigan punishable by jail time
- City Decides to Destroy 20 Years Worth of Police Misconduct Records
- France seizes assets of Emirati businessman in 1MDB scandal
- Smallville Actor Uses Scientology As A Defense In Sex Cult Case
PRIESTS & RELIGION
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- Trump to axe Obama law stopping coal plants poisoning air with mercury
- Here Are All the Ways Trump Tried to Shut Down Science This Year
- The Trump Administration’s War on Wildlife Should Be a Scandal
- California Becomes First State to Ban Retail Sale of Dogs, Cats and Rabbits
- Chuck Todd says his show is ‘not going to give time to climate deniers’
- Aaron Rupar: .@chucktodd: “Just as important as what we are going to do this hour is what we’re not going to do. We’re not going to debate climate change. The earth is getting hotter & human activity is a major cause, period. We’re not going to give time to climate change deniers.”
- Noam Chomsky: The Future of Organized Human Life Is At Risk Thanks to GOP’s Climate Change Denial
CONGRESS
- ‘You Control Nothing’: House Republicans Brace for Life in the Minority
- House Democrats scooping up staff, lawyers to power Trump investigations
- Nancy Pelosi Announces ‘Very Big Deal’ Lawyer Hire Ahead of Democrats’ House Takeover
- On Democrats’ wish list: Tech help for a clueless Congress
- Congress’s new sexual harassment law is a major step in the right direction
ELECTIONS
- Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith did not return over $50,000 in donations following scandal-plagued campaign
- Democrat calls for 48 witnesses at state board hearing into election fraud in NC
THINKING AHEAD
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren jumps into 2020 presidential race
- Elizabeth Warren launches 2020 presidential exploratory committee
- GOP Rep. Costello calls for Republican to challenge Trump in 2020
- ‘Medicare for All’ Gains Favor With Democrats Looking Ahead to 2020
- Warren’s 2020 agenda: break up monopolies, give workers control over corporations, fight drug companies
- Beto O’Rourke rivals Trump on social media, receives 5 million views on his border wall video in 72 hours
- Tea Pain: Tea Pain’s gonna repeat himself. The number one goal of the Dems should be to defeat Trump in 2020 should he escape impeachment. If Joe Biden vowed to serve only one term and picked a young Dem superstar like Beto or Kamala Harris for VP, it would be a tough ticket to beat.
IN OTHER NEWS…
- Old favorites, outdated attitudes: Can entertainment expire?
- In Memoriam 2018: Notable Deaths, People We Lost This Year
- [Opinion] The NFL’s Worst Day, Statistically Speaking
- Distinguished person of 2018: His results speak for themselves
RUMOR MILL
- Ming: Do you think Bilzerian know anything about Las Vegas? Where those guns moved from Tx to FL and then NV? Where the trying to discredit FBI with tired old #fastandFurious info op after massacre? Ming smile.
- Countercheckist: The suddenness and ferocity for which the Bernie-left attacked Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke recently— backed by bots and Russian trolls— shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s 2015-2016 all over again with the sabotaging of Democratic candidates who can win nationally.
- Tea Pain: For the New Year we should all make a resolution to use the right words about Trump. Trump doesn’t tell “falsehoods.” He doesn’t make “factually incorrect statements.” He doesn’t make “statements inconsistent with facts.” Let’s all say it together. “Trump Lies!”
- Claude Taylor: We are now using Mar a Lago’s WiFi. It’s totally unsecured.
That’s it for the last few days. And for 2018. It’s 9PM EST on New Year’s Eve, and I’m typing up this article. I know, such a raucous, life by the balls existence.
I wanted to wrap this up before the year ended. I released my retrospective piece yesterday.
It’s been a long year, and I’m thankful to have you along for the ride.
Have a Happy New Year.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 