Monday, April 15, 2019 to Wednesday April 17.
I’m publishing this on Friday. Sorry for the delay.
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
Barr Schedules Press Conference to Release Redacted Mueller Report
- Attorney general plans news conference to discuss Mueller report
- Attorney General William Barr will hold a press conference to discuss Mueller report at 9:30 am ET Thursday
- ‘This whole thing is a s—show and a sham’: Capitol Hill is in a frenzy following 2 bombshell revelations about the upcoming Mueller report
- ‘Keep your mouth shut’: Dems erupt over Barr’s Mueller report rollout – Lawmakers are accusing the attorney general of trying to spin Mueller’s findings.
- ‘This Is Stupid’: Barr’s Scheduled Mueller Report Press Conference Immediately Mocked
- Nadler accuses Barr of ‘unprecedented steps’ to ‘spin’ Mueller report
- No one from the Mueller team will be at Barr’s press conference
- On eve of Mueller report’s release, Nadler accuses Barr of protecting Trump
Release The Report
- Mueller Report Likely to Be Released Thursday, DOJ Says
- Mueller report’s release is expected Thursday, Justice Dept. says
- It may be “mandatory” to leak the full Mueller report to ensure its release, says Pentagon Papers whistleblower
- The foreman of Watergate grand jury No. 1 has been watching the confrontations with another president
- Watergate grand jury foreman says Mueller information ‘should be made public’
- Judge in FOIA case says he may want to review DOJ redactions of Mueller report after release
- Legal Experts Say There’s No Justification for Refusing to Release the Mueller Report in Full
- MSNBC Legal Analyst: ‘Strong Likelihood’ Mueller Report Has Evidence of ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’
- If the Mueller report exonerates Trump, why write a ‘counter-report’?
White House Briefed on Mueller Report
- White House and Justice Dept. Officials Discussed Mueller Report Before Release
- White House officials concerned about being exposed by Mueller report
- DOJ officials reportedly discussed Mueller’s findings with the White House for several days ahead of the report’s release
- John Brennan suggests Mueller report may already have been read to Donald Trump’s White House
- Mueller report: Barr accused of helping Donald Trump ahead of release
Barr the Bad Actor
- Should William Barr recuse himself from Mueller report? Legal experts say AG’s ties to Russia are troubling
- Cristina Maza: I wrote about Attorney General William Barr’s financial ties to Russia and work for entities connected to the Russia investigation, including dividends from Howard Lorber’s Vector Group and work for the law firm representing Alfa Bank
- While at the CIA, William Barr drafted letters calling for an end to the Agency’s moratorium on destroying records
- Why William Barr should resign
- Why Won’t Barr Just Release the Mueller Report?
- William Barr Has Trashed His Own Justice Department to Try to Save Trump
- 30 Years Ago, William Barr ‘Misled’ the Public About the Contents of a Legal Memo
- A federal judge accused AG William Barr of sowing public distrust about ‘whether or not there is full transparency’ about the Mueller report
- Barr Has A History Of Writing Summaries That Obscure The Truth: A 1989 memo Barr wrote summarizing the “principal conclusions” of a D.O.J. ruling apparently left out several of those principal conclusions.
- Barr’s Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dep’t Memo in 1989
- Should William Barr Recuse Himself From Mueller Report? Legal Experts Say Attorney General’s Ties to Russia Are Troubling
- Justice Department won’t unseal Manafort records due to several “ongoing investigations”
- Assange, Manning had reason to believe leaks would injure U.S.: prosecutors
- Australia Says It’s “Ready To Confirm” A Key Meeting That Led To The Investigation Into Trump’s Russia Links
- The attorney general’s FBI conspiracy theory is all conspiracy and no theory
- Robert Mueller, written by Sally Yates
CONGRESS
Mueller Report
- Pelosi, Schumer call on Mueller to testify after ‘Barr’s regrettably partisan handling’ of report
- House Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report
- Top Congressional Democrats call for Mueller to testify publicly
- House Chairs Demand AG Barr Cancel Press Conference on Mueller Report
- Nadler accuses Barr of ‘unprecedented steps’ to ‘spin’ Mueller report
- Pelosi, Schumer call on Mueller to testify after ‘Barr’s regrettably partisan handling’ of report
- Democrats could subpoena Mueller report redactions as soon as Friday
- Dems Plan To Subpoena Full Mueller Report Day After Redacted Version Released
- Schiff and Nunes: Mueller ‘Must Brief’ Intel Committee—And Turn Over All His Materials
Deutsche Bank
- Congressional Investigators Subpoena Deutsche Bank and Other Lenders
- Deutsche Bank faces action over $20bn Russian money-laundering scheme
- Deutsche Bank Is Subpoenaed for Trump Records by House Democrats
- House Democrats subpoena Deutsche Bank, other financial institutions tied to Trump
- House panel opens probe into allegation Trump told immigration official to break the law and promised a pardon
- House Republicans Are Upset Democrats Are Investigating Voter Suppression Allegations
- House Republicans Don’t Want Dems Probing State-Level Voting Rights Issues
- Wyden: “Americans have a right to know how Donald Trump benefits from Donald Trump’s tax laws”
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: ‘I Support Impeaching This President’
- AOC supports impeaching Trump: ‘You could reach in a bag and pull so many things out that are impeachable’
- Adam Schiff Says ‘Individual 1’ Donald Trump Should Be Prosecuted—And He’s Not Giving Up
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Eric Trump Thinks It’d Be Very Uncool of Deutsche Bank to Narc on His Dad
- Congressional Investigators Subpoena Deutsche Bank and Other Lenders
- Deutsche Bank faces action over $20bn Russian money-laundering scheme
- Deutsche Bank Is Subpoenaed for Trump Records by House Democrats
- Trump Tells Personal Accountant To Ignore Dem Subpoena For His Financial Info
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1
- On the day the Mueller report is due to drop, it looks like Trump has massively overplayed his hand
- Trump Toggles Between Golf Channel, Fox News To Fritter Away Time Until Mueller Report
- The President Is Endangering the Life of a Member of Congress Because He Thinks It’s Good Politics
- Trump ‘yells at TV while dining on chicken and burgers with Pence’
- Donald Trump Says He’s “Always Liked” Jimmy Carter, Who He Also Called The “Worst President In History”
- Donald Trump’s ever-expanding reach: A second term would be terrifying
- Trump abruptly blocks U.S. from appointing anyone to UN committee on racism
- Trump Admin Reportedly Refusing to Give Up Records Detailing Security Clearances, Foreign Meetings
- Trump administration announces new measures against Cuba
- Trump Attorneys Threaten Legal Action Against His Accounting Firm if They Comply with Dems’ Subpoena
- Trump brags of helping foreign company threaten Minnesota’s Boundary Waters
- Trump claims he could fix Boeing 737 MAX
- Trump reportedly hoped his sanctuary city idea would distract from the Mueller report
- Trump’s approval rating is abysmally low in swing districts, poll finds
- Trump’s Justice Department Now Says the Emoluments Clause Doesn’t Apply to His Hotels
- Trump’s Attorney General Has A History Of Lying To The Public
- Trump’s greatest fear: His underlings told Mueller the truth
Pentagon
- Nearly 100,000 Pentagon Whistleblower Complaints Have Been Silenced
- It’s Been Over 300 Days Since a Pentagon Press Briefing. That Should Concern All Americans — Including the Military
TRAITOR TOTS
- McConnell boasts about blocking Merrick Garland weeks after complaining of Democratic obstruction
- Mike Pence is reportedly as big a Trump suck-up in private as in public
- Robert Reich: How Mitch McConnell killed the Senate
- Sanctioned Russian Oligarch’s Company to Invest Millions in New Aluminum Plant in Mitch McConnell’s State
- Trump’s new Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, confirmed days ago, is now under investigation
FIGHTING BACK
- The Washington Post wins 3 Pulitzer Prizes; Sun Sentinel wins public-service medal for Parkland shooting coverage
- Pulitzer Prizes award Aretha Franklin a special citation for music
- Rep. Tim Ryan: ‘Quite frankly, the president is lazy’
- The Best Answer to Fox’s AOC Obsession: Elect More Democrats Like Her
- Nancy Pelosi unleashed on Trump in a ‘60 Minutes’ interview, and the president isn’t happy
- We All Need Sanctuary From Donald Trump – Trump is on a quest to refashion the United States into an authoritarian capitalist dystopian wasteland.
EMERGENCIES, SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION
- ACLU: BREAKING: Attorney General William Barr tonight directed immigration judges to deny bond hearings to asylum seekers. Our Constitution does not allow the government to lock up asylum seekers without basic due process. We’ll see the administration in court. Again.
- U.S. deports spouse of fallen soldier, quickly reverses decision
- ICE Reportedly Deported Spouse of Army Solider Killed in Afghanistan, Leaving Their Daughter Parentless
- House panel opens probe into allegation Trump told immigration official to break the law and promised a pardon
- Opinion | The latest Stephen Miller revelations require a tougher Democratic response
- Democrats take aim at Miller as questions persist about ‘sanctuary city’ targeting
RACISM, RIGHT WING TERRORISM, & WHITE NATIONALISM
- Trump and Pence tweeted about Notre Dame fire but said nothing when 3 black churches burned
- White People Don’t Live in Flint or Puerto Rico, So President Sends Aid to France
- Facebook and Twitter urged to suspend Donald Trump after attack on Ilhan Omar
- FDNY firefighter who survived 9/11 says Republican criticizing Ilhan Omar told him he was ‘too busy’ to talk victim benefits
- Just say it: Trump’s attacks on Ilhan Omar are designed to incite hatred
- Over 19K sign petition to suspend Trump from social media over Omar video
- ‘This is endangering lives. It has to stop’: Rep. Ilhan Omar says death threats spiked after Trump tweet
- Amid Growing Threats Against Her Life, Ilhan Omar Issues Urgent Call to Confront ‘Acts of Hate By Right-Wing Extremists’ — “Violent rhetoric and all forms of hate speech have no place in our society, much less from our country’s Commander in Chief. This is endangering lives. It has to stop.”
- Courage and cowardice: Trump should be impeached just for his vicious attacks on Ilhan Omar
- David Gregory: Omar facing death threats ‘because of something the President has directly done’
- The President Is Endangering the Life of a Member of Congress Because He Thinks It’s Good Politics
- White Nationalist Rep. Steve King Is Getting Buried By GOP Challenger’s Fundraising | HuffPost
SCOTUS & COURTS
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- Kamala Harris Says Christine Blasey Ford ‘Risked Everything’ For The Country
- Sex-selective abortions may have stopped the birth of 23 million girls
- Court documents reveal R. Kelly has only $625 to his name
- Judge Blocks Prosecutors’ Plan to Release Robert Kraft Spa Video
COLD WAR 2.0
Yemen
- President Donald Trump vetoes resolution calling on US to withdraw support from Saudi-led war in Yemen
- President Trump Vetoes Resolution Calling to End U.S. Support in Yemen War
- Trump vetoes bill to end US military support for Saudi-led war in Yemen
- Trump vetoes measure to end US involvement in Yemen war
- Trump vetoes resolution to end U.S. involvement in Yemen
- Trump vetoes resolution to end U.S. participation in Yemen’s civil war
- Trump vetoes Yemen War Powers Resolution, his 2nd veto since taking office
- Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna slam Trump for refusing to end the ‘horrific war in Yemen’ with second veto of his presidency
- Pelosi Statement on President Trump Veto of Bipartisan, Bicameral Yemen Resolution
#NEVERAGAIN
- A 4-year-old accidentally shoots himself in the head. He’s the 5th family member to fall victim to guns
- Florida woman deemed a threat to Columbine High School is dead, FBI says
- Florida woman sought in Columbine threats is dead, FBI says
FIXING THE INTERNET
- In Seattle, Facebook Blocks Political Ads from One City Council Candidate While Running Ads from Her Opponent
- Facebook and Twitter urged to suspend Donald Trump after attack on Ilhan Omar
- Over 19K sign petition to suspend Trump from social media over Omar video
- Ocasio-Cortez quits Facebook, calling social media a ‘public health risk’
- Ocasio-Cortez: ‘I personally gave up Facebook’
- Silicon Valley’s self-regulating days “probably should be” over, Nancy Pelosi says
- Thousands of leaked Facebook documents show Mark Zuckerberg as ‘master of leverage’ in plan to trade user data
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Now This News: What if Fox News covered Trump the way it covered Obama? It would look like this
- Stunning Supercut Video Exposes The Fox News Double Standard On Trump And Obama — Clips show Fox News personalities slamming Obama for the same things Trump does now.
- Cuomo: Trump acts like Fox News cheated on him
- Fox News attacks Bernie Sanders day after he embarrasses network with Medicare for All support
- Fox News Wildly Misjudged How Popular Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All Plan Is
- Trump angrily turns on Fox News after interview with Bernie Sanders
- Trump Bashes Fox News For Being ‘So Smiley And Nice’ With Bernie Sanders
- Trump Really Wasn’t Happy That Fox News Hosted a Bernie Sanders Town Hall ; The president’s favorite network treated viewers to a rare dose of common sense on Monday night
- Trump refers to Fox News as ‘we,’ after years of echoing the network
- Trump Sent the News Cycle So Far Into the Septic Tank No One Noticed This Barbering of the Constitution
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- The White House has reached peak ridiculousness on Donald Trump’s taxes
- White House officials concerned about being exposed by Mueller report
- WH Officials Having ‘Breakdown-Level Anxiety’ That Mueller Report Will Show They Ratted On Trump
NOTRE DAME
- Firefighters battle to save Notre-Dame
- Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral is on fire, official confirms
- France begins debate over how to rebuild Notre Dame, starting with a contest to design the spire
- French forces say they’ll use everything but Trump’s suggestion to fight the Notre Dame fire
- Notre Dame Cathedral spire collapses as Paris monument is consumed by fire
- Trump and Pence tweeted about Notre Dame fire but said nothing when 3 black churches burned
- White People Don’t Live in Flint or Puerto Rico, So President Sends Aid to France
TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, AND ECONOMY
- GOP lawmaker withdraws invite for AOC to visit Kentucky mine — “GOP’s getting scared that up close, their constituents will realize I’m fighting harder for their healthcare than their own Reps,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in response.
- Kentucky Republicans Worried Inviting AOC to Meet with Coal Miners Might Backfire — Ocasio-Cortez actually said yes to their invite, and now they’re waffling.
- ‘I Felt Americans Needed to Know’: Insurance Industry Whistleblower Gives Glimpse of Effort to Crush Medicare for All
- Elizabeth Warren Introduces Bill To Jail Corrupt CEOs
- Health Stocks Crumble as Fears of ‘Medicare for All’ Snowball
- Is America Becoming an Oligarchy?
- Pa. Supreme Court Takes UPMC-Highmark Insurance Case
- Tax Day 2019: Did the GOP tax bill live up to its promises?
- You’re Welcome, America: Workers Got a One-Cent Bonus Thanks to Trump’s Tax Cuts
STUDENT ISSUES
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: College Admissions Scandal Is Proof U.S. Justice System ‘Targets Race’ and Pardons ‘Crimes of Wealth and Privilege’
- Lori Loughlin and her husband plead not guilty in college admissions scandal
- Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli ‘outraged’ they’re being called cheaters
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Trump Is Just the Symptom. The Republican Party Is a Disease Eating Away Our Democracy.
- Roy Moore Is Proof the Republican Party’s Problem Ain’t Trump, It’s the Republican Party
- Republican rescinds Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s invite to meet coal miners after it completely backfires
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- White Man Gets 10 Years in Prison for Trying to Hire Hit Man to Lynch Black Neighbor
- Navy SEAL charged with war crimes accused of threatening to kill teammates if they talked, court documents show
- Doctors in five states charged with prescribing pain killers for cash, sex
PRIESTS & RELIGION
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- A crisis in Kentucky shows the high cost of clean drinking water
- A lawyer set himself on fire to protest climate change. Did anyone care?
- Anti-vaxxers banned from raising money on GoFundMe
- CDC reports 90 new measles cases as outbreak approaches record
- Elizabeth Warren: I’d End Offshore Drilling on Day One of My Presidency
- Forget Brexit and focus on climate change, Greta Thunberg tells EU
- Israeli scientists unveil world’s first 3D-printed heart with human tissue
- Plummeting battery prices to make electric cars cheaper than gas cars in 3 years
- Scientists 3-D-printed a tiny human heart. They hope it can revolutionize transplants.
- Scientists restore some brain cell functions in pigs four hours after death
ELECTIONS
- Collins receives more donations from Texas fossil fuel industry than from Maine residents
- Just Like Herpes, He’s Back: Accused Child Molester Roy Moore Is Leading GOP Candidate to Challenge Doug Jones for Senate Seat
- Poll: Roy Moore leading Alabama GOP field
- White Nationalist Rep. Steve King Is Getting Buried By GOP Challenger’s Fundraising | HuffPost
THINKING AHEAD
- Bill Weld officially announces he is challenging Trump for GOP nomination in 2020
- Bill Weld: I’m Running Against Trump in the Republican Primary
- Trump primary challenger: ‘It’s not spying’ to investigate Trump campaign
- Buttigieg: Trump, Pence ‘complicit’ in white nationalist revival
- Pete Buttigieg Shuts Down Anti-gay Hecklers at Iowa Event – Defends Free Speech
Bernie Sanders and Fox News
- Bernie Sanders accuses Trump of betraying working people
- Bernie Sanders boosted by Fox News town hall broadcast
- Bernie Sanders on Fox News Is Most-Watched Town Hall of 2019
- Bernie Sanders Pierces the Fox News Bubble
- Bernie Sanders released his tax returns showing he is a millionaire. He still wants to tax the rich.
- Bernie Sanders releases 10 years of tax returns, showing how his 2016 presidential run vaulted him into wealth
- Bernie Sanders says it’s a ‘disgrace’ that Amazon and Netflix pay nothing under Trump’s tax bill
- Bernie Sanders Tells Fox News Viewers That Trump Is A ‘Pathological Liar’
- Bernie Sanders’s Fox News town hall wasn’t a debate. Bernie won anyway. | Sanders was sincere with the audience, gracious to his Democratic opponents, and as prickly as ever to his Fox News hosts.
- Can Bernie Sanders really win over Trump voters?
- Fox News attacks Bernie Sanders day after he embarrasses network with Medicare for All support
- Fox News Wildly Misjudged How Popular Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All Plan Is
- Majority of Republicans think evangelical Christians are more discriminated against than minorities – Hate crimes against minorities have in fact risen under the Trump presidency.
- Sanders on Fox News Defends Omar: ‘Not anti-Semitic to Be Critical of a Right Wing Government in Israel’
- Sanders takes on Fox — and emerges triumphant | The Democratic frontrunner ventured where his rivals haven’t dared, and notched an hour of positive publicity.
- Sanders town hall audience cheers after Fox News host asks if they’d support ‘Medicare for All’
- Trump ‘Scared Of Our Campaign,’ Says Sanders, As President Tweetbombs about ‘Crazy Bernie’
- Watch: Sanders town hall audience surprises Bret Baier with how much they like Bernie’s health care plan
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
IN OTHER NEWS…
- ‘His eyes were so sad’: Oil rig crew rescues a dog swimming 135 miles off Thailand
- Is this movie going to be the ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ of summer 2019?
- Review | Hands on with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold: Make peace with a crease
- The way Americans regard sports heroes versus intellectuals speaks volumes
RUMOR MILL
- Countercheckist: Hey @RudyGiuliani, why do you need to submit a 35 page “rebuttal” to a report you & your client claimed “totally vindicated” him just a few weeks ago? I suppose rebutting your own argument isn’t the most idiotic tactic you’ve attempted thus far. But it’s close.
- MSW Podcast: BREAKING: Barr will hold a press conference tomorrow at 9:30 AM EST. Part of me wonders if he will announce an investigation into the investigation. Or perhaps another investigation into Hillary’s emails.
- Tea Pain: A leak of key portions of the Mueller report tonight would be a delightful complication for Barr’s BS press conference tomorrow mornin’. Just sayin’.
- Joe Walsh: They say Team Trump is preparing a 140-page counter report to the Mueller Report. I’m confused. Why do you need to counter a report that totally exonerates you?
- Tea Pain: Trump: “The Mueller Report totally exonerates me!” US: “Can we see it?” Trump: “NO! But my finances are clean!” US: “Can we see them?” Trump: “NO! But I’m a stable genius!” US: “Can we see your grades?” Trump: “NO!”
That’s it for the last few days. The Rumor Mill section is light due to me not being on Twitter or other social media for the last few days.
I spent the bulk of this week trying to get a handle on my father’s bills and affairs while moving him into a personal care home.
Old people require different levels of care, depending on what’s wrong with them. Assuming that everything is fine and they just want to downsize from a house, they might move into a Senior Center or Retirement Community. This is for old people that can still take care of themselves and don’t require around the clock supervision, but either they or their families felt that they need to move there. The next level is Personal Care. That’s a step above Senior Living, but below Assisted Living. Personal Care implies that the old person requires some assistance with basic tasks, but for the most part can still do some things on their own. Assisted living means that they need help with almost everything, but they aren’t bed ridden or requiring constant medical care, just basic support. The final level is a nursing home. This is where the long period terminally ill go to. To outsiders, they can all be classified as the Old Folks Home.
I’m also fighting a cold now, on top of everything. Part of me wants to blame the AC coming on for the first time, but I think it’s because I’ve had to go at full speed for the last month just to keep my head above water. As soon as I hit a point where I can relax, my body just says “fuck you, you’re taking a break” and shuts down. This happens with performers and the adrenaline rush they get from being on stage. As soon as the rush wears off, they break down.
My next post will be about the Mueller Report and the initial reactions. I might not do a news recap for everything else, but to be honest, the report is the big news.
I hope to be back to a regular posting schedule within the next week or two.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur