Daily Check-In 01/23/2019

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Cohen Witness Intimidation

President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is postponing his plan to testify before Congress in February because of concerns about his family’s safety, according to Cohen’s adviser Lanny Davis.

Davis cited “ongoing threats” to Cohen’s family from Trump and the president’s current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in the decision to postpone his Feb. 7 appearance before the House Oversight Committee.

That appearance had been set for a month before Cohen is due to surrender to begin a three-year prison sentence for multiple crimes, some of which relate to Trump.

A spokesman for committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., as well as spokesmen for the White House and Giuliani, had no immediate comment on Cohen’s decision.

Trump as recently as last week had urged people to “watch” Cohen’s father-in-law, Fima Shusterman, who was placed on probation in the mid-1990s after pleading guilty in a case in which he was charged with conspiring to defraud the IRS.

I can’t say that I’m completely surprised by this, but wannabe mob bosses are gonna do mob shit.  That includes threatening the families of witnesses.  But I also think Rick Wilson is right: this shit is gonna blow up in Trump’s face.

Here’s why…

Trump is desperate to stay in office, as he thinks it’s the only thing keeping him from prison.  Cohen testifying publicly before Congress could be the nail in the coffin of his administration.  Congress is a lot closer to beginning impeachment proceedings than they’ve ever been, but need a good reason to start it.  The BuzzFeed report from Daily Check-In 01/17/2019 seemed like a great starting point, but Mueller’s response on Daily Check-In 01/18/2019 tampered that a bit.  The two most likely events that will lead to impeachment beginning would be Mueller releasing his report or Cohen testifying to Congress.  Trump’s trying his damndest to stop both of them.  But his efforts to stop them will also be his downfall.

If Cohen does not testify, which it looks like that’s what is going to happen, and it’s for the reasons that he stated about being intimidated and pressured by Trump, that itself is an impeachable offense.  He’s trying to pull an end-run around Mueller by shutting down the government, the very thing Mueller needs to do his job.  Both of these actions are Trump flailing about, trying to save himself.  They’re not his last lines of defense, but damn close.

 

Colludy Giuliani’s Lubing the Truth Tour

The big reason that Rudy keeps going on TV for Trump about Russia is that no one else can or will.  To use a sports analogy, Trump is down to his back bench players.  He doesn’t have anyone else who can come in to the game and take Rudy’s spot, and he can’t recruit anyone good enough to do the job.  He’s stuck with Rudy because his only other options are rejects from the waiver wire.

 

 

SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION

OCTOBER 2013: DNI Clapper warns shutdown could help enemies recruit US spies

cc: “This is a dreamland for foreign intelligence service to recruit, particularly as our employees already …

[subjected] to furloughs driven by sequestration, are gonna have even greater financial challenges.” “”I’ve been in the intelligence business for about 50 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Clapper added during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday [OCT 2013]…

“Clapper said the loss of income from sequestration and the shutdown could make members of the intelligence community more susceptible to bribes. ” That was in 2013. does that put our current state in a new light for you? it should.

I briefly referred to an idea about the true purpose of the shutdown above, but I’ll address that in the Coda.

 

TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1

Trump vs. The Military

Once again, look at all of Trump’s actions and ask “Is this what someone defending the United States would do, or are these the actions of someone trying to hurt us?”

 

TRAITOR TOTS

 

CONGRESS

 

FIGHTING BACK

Poll Dancing

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

The Red MAGA Hat is the Klan Hood or the Nazi Swastika of the 21st century.  For those on the inside, it’s a symbol to rally around, something to unify around for a common though generally undefined cause.  For everyone else, it’s a symbol of hatred, bigotry, and evil.  Wearing the MAGA hat sends a message to everyone else that screams “I’m afraid of anything different and will turn that fear to hatred in a nanosecond.”  And just like the other symbols mentioned, the MAGA hat hides and obscures the person.  It’s no longer your cool cousin who likes to party and drive off-road, they’re now the racist asshole who took too much pleasure in Trayvon Martin’s killer getting away with it.

Generations from now, children will be disgusted to find MAGA hats hidden in the attic when they’re cleaning out Grandpa’s house.  The image of that old, sweet man who gave them candy and money at the holidays will be changed to one of a hate-spewing asshole.

 

SCOTUS & COURTS

 

#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Singer

For a while, I’ve debated whether or not to include male on male harassment and assault here.  I haven’t put any Kevin Spacey stuff in this section, because I was focused too much on the Women’s part of the #MeToo movement.  I’m changing that stance going forward, because not only does that type of sexual exist, but it’s a lot more pervasive than known and operates under the same position of abusing power.

 

COLD WAR 2.0

Venezuela

 

#NEVERAGAIN

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

 

THINKING AHEAD

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

 

RUMOR MILL

I don’t know about anyone else, but I enjoy watching Ming work.  Remember, everything is speculation until concrete evidence comes out, and people are innocent until proven guilty.  Even if they act like the guiltiest mother fuckers in the history of guilty mother fuckers.

 

That’s it for Wednesday.  Except one thought about the shutdown.

This might sound like a crazy conspiracy theory, but what if the shutdown was launched not to get the border wall, but to kill the FBI and the Mueller Investigation?  What if the wall was just an excuse that Trump used to drag this out so that every facet of the government that could harm him would suffer?  What if this were done on purpose?  Would it look any different than it does now?

One large piece of evidence against that hypothesis is that it would require forethought and planning, something Trump is not capable of.  Also, if that were the case, Dotard would have tweeted about it by now.

I think it’s an added side effect of his main plan, but one that will cost him in the end.  The approval polls are killing Trump and the Republicans.  They see how Mitch McConnell has turned into Trump’s Bitch, and refuses to do his job.  The outlook for Senate Republicans is bleak in 2020, and an extended shutdown will cost them the majority.  If Mitch doesn’t make a move to end the shutdown soon, I wouldn’t be surprised if the GOP Senators decide to name a new leader.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

 

 

 

 

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