Monday, April 29, 2019 to Sunday, May 5th. Published on May 7th.
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
Mueller Writes A Letter
- Mueller objected to Barr obstruction finding in March letter
- Nadler: Barr ‘must answer’ for Mueller’s objections to letter on probe’s findings
- Mueller frustrated with Barr over portrayal of findings
- Mueller complained that Barr’s letter did not capture ‘context’ of Trump probe
- Mueller Objects to Barr’s Description of Russia Investigation Findings
- Mueller expressed misgivings to Barr about 4-page letter
- DOJ Confirms Robert Mueller Was Displeased with William Barr’s Four-Page Letter
- Robert Mueller Told William Barr He Mischaracterized His Findings
- Mueller told AG Barr his short summary of the special counsel report caused confusion
- Robert Mueller told AG Barr his depiction of report wasn’t accurate
- Mueller told Barr his letter didn’t capture ‘context, nature and substance’ of findings
- Mueller Wrote to Barr Expressing Concern About His Presentation of Investigation’s Conclusions: WaPo
- Mueller told the attorney general that the depiction of his findings failed to capture ‘context, nature, and substance’ of probe
- House Democrats released Mueller letter to Barr
- Mueller complained to Barr about Russia report memo
- Natasha Bertrand: Something I’m hearing from lots of former DOJ/FBI folks tonight is just how rare & significant it is for a DOJ official, especially an institutionalist like Mueller, to “go to paper” like this. “We are conditioned not to” do that, Chuck Rosenberg told me.
- Angry White House Staffer: I hope people realize exactly how unusual it is for someone like Mueller to speak out against Barr’s letter, much less to document it on paper. This is another Sally Yates hair on fire moment, and it’s going to get messy.
- Every American should read the Mueller report. All Americans should set aside partisanship, as best they can, and carefully read the report that has been the focus of so much attention.
- House Democrats Just Released Robert Mueller’s Letter to William Barr
- Mueller letter: AG Barr’s summary of Russia findings caused ‘public confusion about critical aspects’ of investigation
- Mueller Pushed Twice for Barr to Release Report’s Summaries
- Mueller told the attorney general that the depiction of his findings failed to capture ‘context, nature, and substance’ of probe
- Reddit: Mueller contacted Barr three times in the four days after Barr’s summary
- Robert Mueller Was Wrong. President Trump Can Be Indicted
- Special Counsel Robert Mueller Wanted Key Parts Of His Report Released Weeks Before The Full Document Came Out
- There Was No Legal Reason for Barr to Withhold Mueller’s Executive Summaries … But He Did
May 15th, Save the Date
- House Dems: Mueller Willing To Testify, DOJ Won’t Set A Date
- Agreement reached to have Mueller testify on Russia probe: lawmaker
- Mueller agrees to “tentative date” to testify before House Judiciary
- Mueller and House Judiciary Committee tentatively agree on May 15 for his testimony on Russia investigation, House Democrat says
- Mueller’s Willing to Testify But Trump DoJ is Holding It Up: Dems
- Mueller Insider: He will reveal Trump’s criminal obstruction
- Mueller wins again with appeals court ruling against Stone associate
- Notes on the Mueller Report: A Reading Diary
- Poll: 70 percent of Dems support impeachment hearings after Mueller report
- Pundits Sarcastically Wonder Why Trump Doesn’t Want Mueller to Testify Despite ‘no collusion’
- Reports: House Judiciary Speaking Directly With Mueller Team About Potential Hearing
- Robert Mueller to testify to congress about Trump-Russia report, senior Democrat says
- Omarosa Accuses Trump Administration Of Destroying Boxes Of Evidence For Mueller
- Omarosa accuses White House of destroying evidence
- White House ‘Destroyed’ Documents Instead Of Turning Them Over To Mueller, Alleges Former Aide
- Rod Rosenstein to resign effective May 11 – The Washington Post
- Read: Rod Rosenstein Submits Resignation Effective May 11
- Rod Rosenstein to resign effective May 11
- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein resigns, effective May 11
- Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, resigning
- Natasha Bertrand: Trump suggested Rosenstein should be jailed for treason. But today, Rosenstein told Trump that he is “grateful…for the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations.” And he signed off with a favorite Trump phrase: “America first.”
- MSW Podcast: Rosenstein resigns. Should have done it in protest when Barr lied to us all about the Mueller findings. Good riddance, you soggy wisp of a man.
- Tea Pain: Rosenstein’s letter to Trump said “grateful to you for the opportunity to serve; for the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations; and for the goals you set in your inaugural address.” Odd words to a President that accused Rod of treason last year.
- Rod Rosenstein is leaving as a diminished man and shamed lawyer
- Trump and Putin discussed outcome of Mueller probe as part of hourlong phone conversation, White House says
- Trump and Putin spoke by phone, discussed Mueller report
- ‘Investigate the investigators’ is new Trump rallying cry to counter Mueller report
- FBI told Trump Russians would try to infiltrate his campaign
- Natasha Bertrand: Barr just said that the FBI did not give a defensive briefing to the Trump campaign warning that the Russians would try to infiltrate it in 2016. …but they did, according to NBC.
- Adam Schiff: The 2020 campaign is already in full swing and Trump just told Putin, the man behind the most serious cyber attack on our democracy ever, that he believes it was all a hoax. Once again, he betrays our national security and for what? Nothing more than his own vanity and delusion.
- President Trump Is Spending $20 Billion on an Aircraft Carrier. The Navy Wanted That Money for Cybersecurity
- Russia Says Trump Initiated Friday’s 1.5-Hour Call With Putin
- Russian Embassy: Trump Initiated Putin Call, And It Was 90 Minutes, Not 60
- The Latest: Warren Warns of Election Risk After Putin Call
- U.S. agencies want to ‘Russia-proof’ 2020. The White House isn’t on board.
- WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange sentenced to 50 weeks in prison in bail-jumping case
CONGRESS
Erik Prince
- House Intelligence Committee to make criminal referral for Erik Prince to Justice Department
- Dr. Dena Grayson: 💣BOOM💣 House Intel Chair @RepAdamSchiff said that his committee will make a **criminal referral** for @realDonaldTrump campaign adviser Erik Prince to DOJ.😎 #LockThemUp
- Erik Prince: Criminal referral accusing Trump ally of ‘lying to Congress’ to be sent to Justice Department
- It Looks Like Betsy DeVos’s Brother Erik Prince May Be Prosecuted for Perjury
- Schiff says House will make a criminal referral of Trump ally Erik Prince for possible perjury
- Democrats accuse Trump ally Erik Prince of lying to Congress, refer case to Justice Dept. for possible prosecution
Barr
- AG William Barr won’t attend House Judiciary hearing scheduled for Thursday, committee aide says
- Attorney General William Barr declines to testify before House panel, says Judiciary Committee aide
- Barr besieged by allegations he’s being Trump’s protector
- Barr hesitates when asked if campaigns need to report foreign governments offering ‘dirt’ on competitors
- Barr is a no-show at House hearing on Mueller report as Democrats warn of threat to democracy
- Barr Must Resign Immediately for Lying to Congress, Says Rep. Adam Schiff
- Barr says he didn’t review underlying evidence of Mueller report before making obstruction call
- Barr testifies about the Mueller investigation
- Barr will be subpoenaed if he fails to appear at House hearing: Democrat
- Barr: “It’s Not a Crime” for Trump to Demand Staffers Lie to Investigators — Isn’t That Literally Obstruction of Justice?
- Barr’s no-show triggers contempt threats, Nixon comparison and more impeachment talk
- Barr’s oddest falsehood: Trump ‘fully cooperated’ with Mueller
- Blumenthal: This devastates Barr’s credibility
- Dem senator: Republicans ‘quietly planning to do nothing’ about Barr
- Democrats blast Atty. Gen. Barr, calling him Trump’s ‘paid federal public defender’
- Democrats Must Make an Example of Bill Barr
- Dems Ask Bar Associations to ‘Review’ Barr Because He ‘Appears to Have Lied to Congress Twice’
- Lincoln’s Bible: Holy sh*t. Leahy is exposing that Barr hasn’t fully read the report. As said, I bet he sauntered into AG job, got the 411 from Mueller, freaked out – b/c the cognitive dissonance btwn reality & FoxNews bubble rocked him, & pulled a Bush “Just make it work, Rod. I’m over my head.”
- Caroline Orr: *wow*: Barr says that once Mueller submitted his report, “it was MY BABY … it was my decision how and when to make it public.”
- Countercheckist: Barr was warned. This is on him.
- Joe Walsh: So now Bill Barr too? Smh. Everybody who works with Trump eventually lies. And lies. And lies.
- Caroline Orr: Barr is arguing that there is a meaningful difference between Trump saying “fire Mueller” vs “have Mueller removed”. This is what he based his conclusion of “no obstruction” on. Are you kidding me???
- Caroline Orr: Here’s Attorney General Barr testifying on April 10. Asked if special counsel Mueller supported his conclusions, Barr replied: “I don’t whether Bob Mueller supported my conclusion.” Except he did. Mueller told Barr on March 27 that his conclusions mischaracterized his findings.
- Angry White House Staffer: “On obstruction, Mr. Mueller left it to Mr. Barr to decide” – Lindsey Graham False. Mueller left it to Congress to decide. He specifically states that several times in his report.
- Bill Kristol: Mueller’s report, read without Barr’s coloring, invites the House at least to consider impeachment. Now that Barr’s coloring has been, as it were, erased, how can the House avoid its responsibility? What’s at this point to be gained by trying fastidiously to avoid the dread word?
- Caroline Orr: NEW: House Oversight chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings tells Trump administration officials they are risking jail time if they defy congressional subpoenas: “It is either fines and/or prison.”
- Angry White House Staffer: I’m told Mueller will be getting an invite to testify “soon.” I get the impression they want him to come next week if possible, but I think that might be a little ambitious.
- MSW Podcast: Mueller is still a DoJ employee. Not sure if this matter. @matthewamiller ? Can Barr stop Mueller from testifying if he’s still a DoJ employee, and wouldn’t that be a really dumb thing to do since he already said he wouldn’t object? Not to mention the pattern of obstruction?
- Jennifer Rubin: Applause for @RepJerryNadler for having counsel question Barr, who is too chicken to show. Yes, subpoena him. Hold him in contempt. And if need be impeach him. The AG is lawless
- Elizabeth Warren is now calling for Barr to resign
- Harris Demands Justice Dept. Inspector General Investigate Whether White House Improperly Ordered or Pressured Barr to Open Investigations
- ‘He needs to resign tomorrow’: Democrats tell Attorney General William Barr to resign after damning report
- Hirono calls Barr a liar and says he should resign
- Hirono rebukes Barr during hearing: ‘You should resign’
- House Democrats consider holding Barr in contempt of Congress
- House panel chairman says Barr must testify Thursday
- If William Barr refuses to testify, he should be impeached
- Kamala Harris asked Barr if Trump ever ‘suggested’ he investigate someone. Barr didn’t answer.
- Kamala Harris Cross-Examined William Barr Until He Gave Away the Game on His Obstruction Decision: The toady attorney general admitted he did not examine the underlying evidence before deciding the president would not be charged.
- Kamala Harris Seeks Investigation Into Attorney General Barr
- Kamala Harris’s questioning of Barr delivers a punch after an uneven campaign stretch
- Moderates Joe Manchin and Doug Jones feel “buyer’s remorse” for voting to confirm Bill Barr; Joe Manchin says he has “buyer’s remorse.” Doug Jones is “greatly disappointed.” It’s a little late for that now
- Moulton calls for Barr impeachment hearings
- Nancy Pelosi accuses AG Bill Barr of committing a crime by lying to Congress
- Ocasio-Cortez demands William Barr resign over Trump-Mueller report
- Pelosi warns Barr against ‘obstructing Congress’
- Pelosi: Barr committed a crime by lying to Congress
- Pelosi: Barr will be ‘obstructing Congress’ if he does not appear before House Judiciary
- Rep. Ted Lieu: Barr should apply for White House press secretary job “where he can lie all he wants”
- Reps Lieu and Rice call for Bar Investigation into Conduct of Attorney General William Barr
- Republicans falsely claim it’s unprecedented to use lawyers to question Barr in Congress
- Robert Reich: Congress Should Be Ready to Arrest Attorney General William Barr If He Defies Subpoena
- Robert Reich: Congress Should Be Ready to Arrest Attorney General Barr if He Defies Subpoena
- Schiff calls for Barr to step down over ‘misleading public’
- Sen. Kamala Harris Overwhelmed Attorney General Bill Barr With a ‘Yes or No’ Question
- ‘Send Him to Jail’: Calls to Arrest Barr for Contempt After AG Refuses to Show Up for House Hearing
- Speaker Pelosi says Attorney General Barr committed a ‘crime,’ accuses him of lying to Congress
- Van Hollen Calls for Barr to Resign
- William Barr Is Cornered by Robert Mueller
- William Barr is in contempt. Congress should send him to jail.
- William Barr is in deep trouble
- William Barr Is Orchestrating a Slow-Rolling Coup Against the Constitutional Order
- William Barr lied to Congress about the Mueller report. He should resign.
- William Barr Must Face the House of Representatives. Then He Must Be Impeached. It’s the only way to get past the stonewalling to the bottom of this administration*’s corruption.
- William Barr torched his reputation. His testimony compounded the damage.
- William Barr: is his defence of Trump paving the road to tyranny?
- William Barr’s Justice Department Just Filed the Most Nakedly Political Brief in the Agency’s History
- Wyden Calls on Attorney General Barr to Resign
- Bennet says Trump ‘committed impeachable offenses’
- Congress must be allowed to investigate a rule-breaking, law-defying president
- Congressional Democrats’ emoluments lawsuit targeting President Trump’s private business can proceed, judge says
- Dan Rather: A deep and corrosive cynicism on display in the U.S. Senate. A shameful chapter in American history abetted by those who would happily trample the safeguards of our democracy in the service of a president who sees our Department of Justice as his own private protector and cudgel.
- Donald Trump Is the Most Impeachable President in American History
- Durbin says Trump gets “totally dazzled” and “googly eyed” when talking to Putin
- Impeach now: It’s time for Democrats to fight, or surrender. History will judge them
- It’s painfully clear: today’s Congress wouldn’t have impeached Richard Nixon
- No cameras, no conservative handlers: Trump wheels and deals with Democrats
- O’Rourke joins calls to impeach Trump
- Former Whitewater prosecutor: Start impeachment proceedings
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Trump Sues Deutsche Bank and Capital One to Block Compliance With Subpoenas
- Deutsche Bank has “reams” of Trump documents including his tax returns for congressional investigators: Report
- Someone Did Get to Look at Trump’s Tax Returns: Deutsche Bankers
- New York attorney general’s office hits back at Trump: We wish he ‘would share our respect for the law’
- Michael Cohen Suggests Donald Trump Should Face Prison: ‘I’m Not the One That Slept With the Porn Star’
- How Taxpayers Covered a $1,000 Liquor Bill for Trump Staffers and More at Trump’s Club
- Trump Staffers Got Drunk at Mar-a-Lago. You Paid For It
- At Trump golf course, undocumented employees said they were sometimes told to work extra hours without pay
- James Comey: How Trump Co-opts Leaders Like Bill Barr
- Don Jr. Email to Campaign Officials ‘Sounds a Lot Like an Admission’ He Committed a Federal Crime
- How to Get Trump’s Tax Returns—Without a Subpoena: A 1924 Law suggests Democrats can sue the Treasury Department if it doesn’t turn over the President’s Taxes.
- Nancy Pelosi fears Trump won’t leave White House if he loses 2020 election by small margin: ‘If we win by four seats, by a thousand votes each, he’s not going to respect the election,’ senior Democrat says
- New York Times: Pelosi worries Trump won’t give up power if he loses re-election by small margin
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1
- Trump lashes out against Firefighters Union hours after Biden endorsement
- Trump must release tax returns or be barred from California 2020 election ballot, state senate votes
- Trump Objects to Mueller Testifying Before Congress
- Trump retweets a major QAnon account spreading Islamophobia — The account boasts that it has now been retweeted by the president nine times.
- Trump retweets far-right, 9/11 conspiracy theorist recently banned from Facebook
- Trump Says It Directly: “Mueller Should Not Testify”
- Trump says Mueller shouldn’t testify
- Trump Scared to Let Robert Mueller Testify, Despite ‘Exoneration’
- Trump serves cold fast food again; Baylor women can’t stop laughing
- Trump Sues Banks to Stop Them From Complying With House Subpoenas
- Trump supporters allegedly recruited gay men to falsely accuse Buttigieg of rape
- Trump wants ‘toughness’ to deter migration, but physical measures keep failing
- Trump, top Democrats agree on goal of crafting $2 trillion infrastructure plan
- Trump’s 2020 Campaign Manager Happily Accepting Cash From Romania – Brad Parscale Is Practically Begging for Mueller Report II.
- Trump’s lack of cooperation with Congress sparks impeachment push in House
- Trump’s Trying to Poison the Jury (AKA the Electorate) for Mueller’s Testimony
- Trump’s Narrow Definition of Emoluments Rejected by Judge
- Trump’s subpoena obstruction has fractured the Constitution’s system of checks and balances
- Trump and Democrats prepared for a fight — but a truce broke out instead
- Trump Blasts Facebook, Demonstrates Again He has No Clue How First Amendment Works
- Trump Calls Sen. Kamala Harris ‘Nasty’ Because That’s What Misogynists Do
- Trump Campaign owes City of El Paso more than $470,000 for February rally.
- Trump Claims He Can Ignore Subpoenas Because Congress Is Mean
- Trump claims Russia’s outreach was ‘rebuffed at every turn,’ which is the opposite of true
- Trump Enters His Comfort Zone: Suing the Hell Out of Everyone | The president has now filed multiple lawsuits to prevent congressional Democrats from conducting their oversight duties. Impeachment may be the only answer
- Trump faces string of setbacks to his efforts to juice U.S. economy
- Trump finds in Barr the attorney general — and shield — he long sought
- Trump Fires Off 60, Mostly Anti-Biden, Retweets in an Hour
- Trump Gave Putin ‘Green Light’ to Meddle in 2020 Election, Ex-FBI Boss Says
- Trump hires Don Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle as senior campaign adviser: ‘He’s running out of family members’
TRAITOR TOTS
- Far-Right Smear Merchants Gin Up Bogus Sex Assault Claims Against Buttigieg
- Caroline Orr: Wow. Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were caught on tape attempting to recruit young men to make false allegations of sexual assault against Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and promising to make them wealthy in return.
- Angry White House Staffer: Notice how the fake sex assault stories that would be damaging to Democrats all seem to come from the Gateway Pundit? Someone should tell Jacob to get a real job.
- Rick Wilson: And since we all know Jacob Wohl is reading every word about him, here’s a message: Trump will never pardon you. Ever.
- Jacob Wohl Allegedly Tried to Smear Peter Buttigieg, Failed Almost Immediately
- Lindsey Graham Goes Full “But Her E-Mails” in Barr Hearing Meltdown
- Lindsey Graham Has Always Just Been a Political Parasite
- Lindsey Graham’s stunningly fact-free, pro-Trump spin of the Mueller report
- Sen. Lindsey Graham Lambasted for Giving ‘Every Obstruction Defendant a New Defense’
- MSNBC cut into Lindsey Graham’s opening statement to fact check his ‘no collusion’ claim
- Asked about evidence of obstruction, Graham says, ‘I don’t care’
FIGHTING BACK
- Rick Wilson: The point made in my new piece is simple: Democrats either take scalps of just call it a day and let Trump wreck the Republic. You know who Barr and Trump are, now. Proceed accordingly.
- Joe Walsh: 12 days ago, we learned that the President of the United States committed obstruction of justice. Tonight, it sure looks like the Attorney General of the United States has been obstructing justice as well.
- Two award-winning teachers boycott White House ceremony to protest Trump policies
- Kentucky, Minnesota teachers of the year skip White House ceremony in protest of Trump
- Why Won’t the Media Hold Trump Accountable for His Lies?
- Please Explain How This Entire Presidency* Isn’t a National-Security Crisis
- Poll: 55 percent say they won’t vote for Trump in 2020
- Preet Bharara: There’s a ‘Reasonable Likelihood’ Trump Will Get Indicted After He Leaves Office
- Swalwell: Impeachment ‘maybe the only road to save the country’
- This nation is at the mercy of a criminal administration
- Was Donald Trump the target of a coup? No
- We Wouldn’t Have Let Obama Get Away With This: I worked for Republicans on the House Oversight Committee back when the GOP cared about keeping the president in check.
- A majority of seniors now say they definitely won’t back Trump in 2020
- Chelsea Handler: Experts say a whale that has been harassing Norwegian ships was likely trained by Russia. I feel for the Norwegians. We too have been harassed by a 2-ton whale trained by Russia.
- HUD’s top watchdog: Agency impeded probe into Puerto Rico hurricane aid
- Iowa Woman Confronts Republican Senator Grassley Over His 7 Obamacare Repeal Votes: ‘You’re Threatening My Life’
- Most Americans think Trump is a crook
- Most migration to the U.S. costs money. There’s a reason asylum doesn’t.
- The President* Is Treating Congress Like a Contractor He Stiffed
EMERGENCIES, SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION
- A 16-Year-Old Unaccompanied Immigrant Boy Has Died In US Government Custody
- Child found dead, three other migrants missing after raft overturns in Rio Grande along Texas border
- John F. Kelly joins board of contractor running shelters for migrants
- John Kelly joins board of company operating largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children
- John Kelly’s new role on a detention center board set off ethics concerns that he may be profiting from the child separation policy he pushed
- Mexico Aims to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Before October
- The Rio Grande and a cinematic odyssey about the river, its ecology and a border wall
- Trump announces Obama-era Border Patrol chief will head Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- U.S. sending asylum seekers to Mexico while awaiting court ruling, in some cases ignoring own protocols
- White House asks Congress for $4.5 billion in emergency spending for border
- White House asks Congress for additional $4.5 billion in emergency border spending, on top of billions already requested
- Trump issues memo calling for changes to handling of asylum cases
- Poll: Percentage of Democrats who see border ‘crisis’ jumps 17 points since January amid spike in migrant families
- They fear being deported. But 2.9 million immigrants must check in with ICE anyway.
- President Trump’s claim that migrants are being sent to sanctuary cities
- Recognizing limits of border wall, Trump turns his focus to asylum changes amid immigration surge
RACISM, RIGHT WING TERRORISM, & WHITE NATIONALISM
- Caroline Orr: After posting this, 8chan users are now calling me a “whore,” threatening to dox me, and telling me to “prepare for visitors at night.”
- Caroline Orr: 8chan has a “John Earnest Appreciation Thread” in which people are: -Criticizing the Poway synagogue shooter for not killing more jews -Encouraging others to try to get a higher kill score -Suggesting the shooting was a false flag orchestrated by jews &/or gun control advocates
- Facebook bans extremist leaders including Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos for being ‘dangerous’
- Holocaust survivors are dying, but their stories are more relevant than ever
- Jews fleeing the Holocaust weren’t welcome in the U.S. Then FDR finally offered a refuge to some.
- Mastercard Has Been Forced By Activists To Hold A Shareholder Vote That Could Cut Off Payments To The Far-Right
- Neo-Nazi networks exposed across US military
- Right-Wing Responsible For 71% Of Anti-Semitic, Extremist Incidents: ADL
- Some Very Fine People Pleaded Guilty To Inciting Violent Riots In Charlottesville
- Ignore The Poway Synagogue Shooter’s Manifesto: Pay Attention To 8chan’s /pol/ Board – bellingcat
- Senator Calls Synagogue Shooting ‘Domestic Terrorism,’ Says Trump’s ‘Rhetoric’ Gives White Supremacists ‘License’
- Suspect in Capital Gazette mass shooting enters insanity plea
- Ilhan Omar Slams Ted Cruz For Criticizing Her While Staying Silent On San Diego Synagogue Attack: ‘Shame On You’
- Trump Admin Disbanded Domestic Terror Unit Amid Rising Far-Right Violence
- White teens donned blackface on video. Their classmates walked out in protest.
- Ancient hatreds, modern methods: How social media and political division feed attacks on sacred spaces
- As Trump stands by Charlottesville remarks, rise of white-nationalist violence becomes an issue in 2020 presidential race
- Blackface image of students at top Md. high school draws rebuke from politicians
- Meghan McCain’s Attempt to Link Ilhan Omar to the San Diego Synagogue Attack Doesn’t Make Sense—Conservatives keep giving racist and anti-Semitic attacks the “both sides” treatment.
- Populist economic frustration threatens Trump’s strongest reelection issue, Post-ABC poll finds
SCOTUS & COURTS
- Allegations remain in forefront for Kavanaugh, 7 months after his confirmation
- Mitch McConnell Signs Shirt Joking About Merrick Garland’s Death
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- A pregnant inmate came to term in jail. Lawyers say she was forced to give birth there — alone.
- Mentally ill woman gave birth alone in isolated jail cell, Broward public defender says
- Old Creep Struggles to Sell Memoir
- Sexual assaults in the military spiked last year, Pentagon says, amid renewed debate over how to handle cases
- You might have spent hours of your life listening to Julia Whelan’s voice, without ever realizing it – The Lily
- A high-ranking lawyer says she was told to serve the cake. She complained, then she was fired.
- Man who removed condom during intercourse with sex worker jailed for rape
- ‘Bizarre, Dangerous, and Insulting’: Baby Nurses Fed Up With Trump’s Bogus Abortion Rants
- Court says Olympian Caster Semenya, thought to have an intersex condition, cannot compete unless she uses hormone-suppressing drugs
COLD WAR 2.0
- Caroline Orr: Maduro’s national guard just ran over a group of pro-Guaido protesters in Venezuela. (Warning: Video is graphic).
- Mattis ignored orders from Trump, White House on North Korea, Iran: report
- Angry White House Staffer: Shoutout to everyone who accused me of spreading conspiracy fiction when I said this was happening. 🤷♂️
- Alleged Russian spy whale is refusing to leave and seeking Norwegians’ devotion, authorities say
- Death toll rises as Gaza militants fire more than 500 rockets into Israel and Israel responds with airstrikes
- GOP Lawmaker Gave Pro War Speech On Yemen — By Reading Saudi Lobbyist’s Talking Points Verbatim
- Guaidó says opposition overestimated military support for uprising
- Thousands of Venezuelans take to the streets as Guaidó and Maduro rally supporters
- Trump insists Kim Jong-un will keep “his Promise to Me” hours after new North Korea missile test
- Venezuela’s Maduro denies Pompeo’s claim that he sought to escape to Cuba after day of clashes that left 1 dead, dozens hurt
- Dozens wounded in clashes as Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó, with troops, announces ‘final phase’ against President Maduro
- Beijing’s one-child policy is gone. But many Chinese are still reluctant to have more.
- Japan’s popular emperor abdicates in short ceremony at Imperial Palace
- New Japanese Emperor Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne
- There’s a new alleged Russian spy. It’s a beluga whale.
- NSA unmasked more U.S. identities, likely to warn victims of foreign spying, new report suggests
- For inured foreign officials, the sting of Trump’s tweets has begun to dull
#NEVERAGAIN
- Kaz Weida: My six-year-old daughter last year after an actual lockdown: “The best places to hide are the big cupboards. But how do we choose, Mom?’ “What do you mean, sweetie?” “There’s not enough room for everyone. How do we choose who gets to hide and who has to die?” #GenerationLockdown
- Shannon Watts: Two people dead and several injured at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and NOT A SINGLE MAJOR TELEVISION OUTLET IS COVERING IT. Please, reporters, don’t ask me if I’m numb. Are you? UNCC
- Shannon Watts: We don’t have to live like this. Our children sure as hell shouldn’t die like this. No other high income country would allow this. But no other peer nation allows gun lobbyists to write their gun laws. UNCC
- Teachers with guns will make schools even less safe. Veto this dangerous legislation, Gov. DeSantis
- University of North Carolina-Charlotte campus shooting: Hero student died after tackling gunman
- Two killed, four injured in shooting at UNC Charlotte
- ‘Unbelievable grief that this … came to our campus’: Two killed, four injured in shooting at UNC Charlotte
- 12 seconds of gunfire
- Two Tennessee students allegedly created a ‘plot’ to shoot up their school. Authorities have detained them.
FIXING THE INTERNET
- Alaska will connect to the continental US via a 100-terabit fiber optic network
- Here’s why Instagram is going to hide your ‘likes’
- It turns out the FCC ‘drastically overstated’ US broadband deployment after all
- Would you confess your secret crush to Facebook?
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- “Executives Are Very Worried Fox & Friends Will Be Next”: After Taking Over Fox, Lachlan Murdoch Is in a Trump Trap
- Fox News’ Andrew Napolitano says Bill Barr may have committed felonies: “He has a problem”
- Fox News Legal Expert Says William Barr’s Obstruction Defense for Trump Is ‘Absurd’
- Trump made 45 false or misleading claims in a single 45-minute Sean Hannity interview
- George Conway congratulates Trump on surpassing 10,000 false claims: ‘No one but you could have achieved this’
- The Mueller report: A catalog of 77 Trump team lies and falsehoods
- The President Is Now Saying 23 False Things a Day. All News Coverage Should Reflect That.
- The ‘fake news’ is coming from inside the Trump White House — again
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, AND ECONOMY
- ‘America First’ may be last hope for these cattle ranchers
- ‘Baby on Board’: How a cutesy decal embodies the enduring terror of parenthood
- An ornament honoring Eisenhower is sponsored by Lockheed. Would he have approved?
- Charter flight from Guantanamo Bay skids off runway and winds up in a Florida river
- Iowa Woman Confronts Republican Senator Grassley over his Seven Obamacare Repeal Votes: “You’re Threatening My Life”
- The Trump Era Calls for an ‘American Spring’ – It’s time that our president—like the autocrats he is propping up across North Africa and the Middle East—finally be held accountable.
- Trump says Wisconsin poverty rate is lowest in 22 years. It’s not.
- U.S. unemployment fell to 3.6 percent, lowest since 1969
- Warren Buffett: If a bank needs a government bailout, the CEO and spouse should lose ‘net worth’
- Warren unveils plan to restructure Puerto Rico debt
- WATCH LIVE: Plane carrying 143 passengers skids into St. Johns River
- Yes, millions of families spend the bulk of income on housing
- Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders call for investigation into TurboTax and H&R Block for allegedly steering customers away from free tax filing
- Why Vermont’s single-payer effort failed and what Democrats can learn from it
- As bank profits soar, Wall Street’s political spending hits new high
- Boeing says safety alert in 737 Max didn’t work in all planes
- Dying Activist Tells Congress GoFundMe Isn’t a “Substitute” for Health Care
- Populist economic frustration threatens Trump’s strongest reelection issue, Post-ABC poll finds
- Profitable Giants Like Amazon Pay $0 in Corporate Taxes. Some Voters Are Sick of It.
- Rejecting Trump Spin, 62% of Americans Believe US Economy Primarily Benefits Rich and Powerful
- Researchers say there’s a simple way to reduce suicides: Increase the minimum wage
- The story behind the viral Google spreadsheet with more than 20,000 salaries – The Lily
- Trump’s trade war leads to the lowest income for American farmers in years
- Trump’s washing machine tariffs are costing Americans almost $100 more per appliance
- Universal Health Care Might Cost You Less Than You Think—We don’t think of the premiums we already pay as taxes, but maybe we should.
- Whistleblowers: Drug company bribed doctors to boost sales
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: U.S. Hands Tax Cuts To Wealthy While Housing Cuts Leave Kids with Lead Poisoning, Sewage In Apartments
STUDENT ISSUES
- Lori Loughlin Wants to Face Trial to Save Reputation: ‘Only Chance of Avoiding Jail,’ Says Source
- Elizabeth Warren’s plan to cancel 42 million Americans’ student-loan debt could give her a huge boost in the 2020 race
- Florida’s charter-school sector is a real mess
- I paid off all my student loans. I still support student loan forgiveness.
- ‘Certainly a possibility’: Prison for parents accused in college admissions scandal?
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Rick Wilson: A note to my GOP friends: when a Democratic AG is overtly political, runs daily interference for his or her Dem POTUS, lies to Congress, spins and distorts investigations, and uses the agitprop rhetoric of the campaign, y’all just stay quiet, ok? You lost your bitching rights.
- GOP, Not Russia, Is Greater Threat to Free Elections
- Dear Republicans: Stop using my father, Ronald Reagan, to justify your silence on Trump
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- The FBI found Dorothy’s stolen ruby slippers. But who was the thief?
- Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigns amid book scandal
- Former CIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Espionage
- Judge hands Roy Moore a defeat in lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen
- Judge says Alabama failed to protect prisoners from suicide
- Minnesota police officer convicted of murder in fatal shooting of Australian woman who called 911
- Amazon’s facial-recognition technology is supercharging local police
- Former CIA officer Jerry Lee expected to plead guilty Wednesday
PRIESTS & RELIGION
- Rachel Held Evans, progressive Christian author who challenged evangelicals, dies at 37
- Georgia AG opens sex abuse investigation of the state’s Catholic Church — home to D.C.’s next archbishop, Wilton Gregory
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- America’s cherry pies may soon feature fewer cherries. Here’s why.
- Burger King’s ‘Real Meals’ are about more than trolling McDonald’s. They’re about mental health.
- Court rules Olympic runner Caster Semenya must use hormone-suppressing drugs to compete
- NASA Says Metals Fraud Caused $700 Million Satellite Failure
- Scientology cruise ship quarantined after crew member tests positive for measles
- Trump administration pushed to strip mention of climate change from Arctic policy statement
- Enough with the ‘Actually, Electric Cars Pollute More’ Bullshit Already
- FDA clears Philip Morris’s heat-not-burn IQOS tobacco device for sale
- India’s army claims it found yeti footprints in Nepal. The world is skeptical.
- Japan has a 10-day holiday to mark the ascension of the new emperor. So why are people unhappy?
- Suicide attempts using poison have surged among young people, particularly girls
- Suicides spiked in the months after Netflix released ‘13 Reasons Why,’ study finds
- The betrayal: How a lawyer, a lobbyist and a legislator waged war on an Alabama Superfund cleanup
ELECTIONS
- Maryland elections company bought by Russian oligarch close to Putin | Maryland | The Guardian
- Ohio’s Congressional Map Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Court
- Young voter turnout increased by 79 percent in 2018 midterms
- Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi announces he’ll retire in 2020
- Gerrymandering lawsuit stunner: Daughter of deceased GOP mapmaker turns over his documents to Common Cause
- The Daily 202: Stacey Abrams not running for Senate in Georgia is another recruiting blow for national Democrats
THINKING AHEAD
- Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign unveils tech tool to increase its voter database
- Caroline Orr: Whether or not you’re a supporter of Bernie Sanders, this kind of data harvesting tool masquerading as a form of “organizing” should scare the hell out of you.
- Rebecca Ballhaus: Inbox: The Trump campaign names as a senior adviser Kimberly Guilfoyle, who has been serving as vice chair of the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action and is dating Don Jr.
- Pete Buttigieg was falsely accused of sexual assault in a stunt concocted by conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl
- Mary Bruce: People in Pittsburgh have been lining up for hours to see @JoeBiden. The line for his first campaign event already stretches for blocks.
- Bernie Sanders Calls for a National Right-to-Repair Law for Farmers
- Bernie Sanders introduces ‘rebuild rural America’ proposals
- Bernie Sanders rolls out “Roosevelt style trust-busting” agriculture plan
- Beto O’Rourke Calls for Impeaching Trump
- Beto O’Rourke Calls for Impeaching Trump, No More Hedging: ‘No Man… is Above the Law’
- Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies
- California Senate passes bill that would keep Trump off 2020 ballot unless he releases tax returns
- Chasten Buttigieg has been a homeless community college student and a Starbucks barista. Now, he could be ‘first gentleman.’
- Democrats and the ‘electability’ trap. Can anyone define what it means?
- Inside Bernie Sanders’s 1988 10-day ‘honeymoon’ in the Soviet Union
- Joe Biden’s strong debut puts pressure on other candidates vying to challenge Trump
- Sanders mocks president’s claims wind turbines cause cancer
- Sanders voices support for voting to hold Barr in contempt
- Trump’s fight with Biden over union endorsement foreshadows a fierce battle over labor votes in 2020
- Bernie Sanders: Everyone deserves to vote, even felons like Paul Manafort & Michael Cohen
- Biden fires back at Trump: ‘I’m sick of this president badmouthing unions’
- Biden swipes back at Trump over ‘phony story’ about Charlottesville remarks: ‘Hatred was on the march, and he knew it’
- Buttigieg releases 10 years of tax returns
- Elizabeth Warren Has the Plans
- Elizabeth Warren says she warned about the financial crisis before it happened. That’s True
- Joe Biden’s big test: To overcome the same problems that doomed his first two presidential campaigns
- Sen. Bernie Sanders rips CEO Bob Iger’s pay and urges Disney to use ‘Avengers: Endgame’ profit to give employees raises
- The Trailer: What we learned about Biden 2020
- Warren makes headway in three new polls
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
- Illinois Governor Announces Plan to Legalize Marijuana
- Expelled in 1956, black woman gets doctorate at U of Alabama
- ‘Making history’: Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue will feature a model in a burkini and hijab
IN OTHER NEWS…
- “Boyz n the Hood” director John Singleton died Monday due to complications from a stroke he suffered nearly two weeks ago. He was 51.
- Adam Sandler’s SNL monologue was a song all about being fired from SNL
- Kentucky Derby 2019: Why were objections raised after Maximum Security’s finish?
- Peter Mayhew, known for playing Chewbacca in Star Wars, dies at 74
- Sansa Stark should sit on the Iron Throne in ‘Game of Thrones’ — and it looks like she might
- ‘Game of Thrones’ is full of heroines. But is the series actually feminist? – The Lily
- This woman turned her tree stump into a Little Free Library fit for magical elves. It went viral.
- The Battle of Winterfell was dark and full of terrors. So dark, in fact, we couldn’t see anything.
- John Singleton, director of powerful inner-city drama ‘Boyz N the Hood,’ dies at 51
- Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel created a box office streak few thought was possible. Now they are doing something even more surprising.
RUMOR MILL
- Angry White House Staffer: Now that I’ve finished puking, Rosenstein appears to have accidentally left the #MAGA off of his resignation letter
- Tea Pain: Obama made a campaign promise that “you can keep your doctor.” Even though insurance companies were at fault, the GOP forever labeled him a “liar.” As of today, Trump has told over 10,000 lies, yet GOP says “I don’t care.” Explain again to Tea Pain how the GOP ain’t racist.
- Angry White House Staffer: I have a feeling that “Trump is a fucking idiot” quote from Graham is going to be played out of contest a ton. And I’m here for it.
- Ming: GOP legal strategy on origins and underlying evidence and subsequent discovered crimes will be fatal to GOP. This will be evident soon but will require a tad more patience from you guys.
- Tea Pain: Rosenstein resigned 24 hours before this massive Mueller bombshell. Tea Pain don’t believe in coincidences, do you?
- Lincoln’s Bible: Dear Dems, Here is your go-to mantra. Say it non-stop: “What. Are. They. Hiding?!”
- Tea Pain: Don’t let your fury against Barr’s cover-up and perjury take your attention away from the real criminal: “Individial-1.”
- Kurt Eichenwald: Rosenstein, who knew that Mueller told Barr his statements were not true, submits resignation. 24-hours later, the disclosure of lying by the Attorney General comes oozing out of the Justice Department.
That’s it for the last week. I’m tired. I feel like I’m being pulled in multiple directions. Because I am.
Without going into too many details, I’m in the middle of trying to clean out a house that would be too dirty for the Hoarders TV show, trying to figure out what bills to pay and not to pay with the limited funds at hand, balancing everyone’s expectations about what I should be doing, and now I get to play amateur detective and try to find half-siblings that I never new existed.
Yeah, I’ve been busy.
I’ll probably do a different format for next week, and I don’t plan on getting back to daily posts until later in May, once I figure out what to do with the house. I want to get back in the battle for democracy. At least back in the thick of it.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 