Monday, May 20, 2019 and Tuesday, May 21.
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Mueller and House Democrats at impasse over how much of his testimony would be public
- I Watched 20 Hours of Robert Mueller Testifying. Here’s What Congress Would Be In For: The former FBI head hasn’t talked in public for two years—but when he did, he knew his Russia threats and didn’t suffer fools gladly.
- This thread contains images with passages from the Mueller Report. I will add new ones as I create them.
- Trump says he was not warned about Flynn. The Mueller report disagrees.
- Wife of lobbyist for Russian plant in KY got boost from McConnell: Maddow notes how the dots connect awkwardly for McConnell after the wife of the lobbyist who alerted McConnell to a huge Russian investment in Kentucky was suddenly processed for a federal judgeship for which she is not qualified.
McGahn
- RNC paid $2 million to law firm employing former White House counsel Donald McGahn
- As McGahn Prepares to Defy Subpoena, Democrats’ Anger Swells
- Don McGahn expected to be held in contempt over refusal to testify – live | US news
- Don McGahn skips House hearing on the Mueller report
- Don McGahn’s law firm is getting a lot of cash from the GOP these days
- McGahn fails to show at Judiciary hearing, amping up anger among House Democrats
- Nadler: We’ll Hold McGahn in Contempt if He Skips Congressional Testimony
- Trump preparing to tell McGahn to defy House subpoena: report
- White House blocks former counsel McGahn from testifying to Congress
- White House intends to block former counsel Donald McGahn from testifying to Congress, defying another request from House Democrats
- Deutsche Bank staff flagged suspicious Trump and Kushner transactions, report claims
- Kushner Companies and Russian individuals exchanged suspicious money transfers at the height of the 2016 race, ex-Deutsche Bank employee says
- Russian documents reveal desire to sow racial discord — and violence — in the U.S.
- Secret documents show Russian plot to stoke racial violence in America
CONGRESS
Impeachment and Obstruction
- A Republican Congressman’s Case for Impeaching Trump: Representative Justin Amash is the first member of the House GOP to call for the constitutional remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors.
- Chris Coons: Republicans say privately Mueller report shows Donald Trump obstructed justice
- Coons: ‘Many’ GOPers ‘Privately’ Agree With Amash On Trump Obstruction
- Just This Week, Trump Has Already Committed 5 More Impeachable Acts
- Justin Amash explains every move on Facebook. Backing impeachment could be his highest-stakes sell.
- Michigan GOP congressman says Trump conduct is ‘impeachable’
- Nancy Pelosi Must Defend the Essential Integrity of the Constitution: Initiate impeachment proceedings. It really is time.
- Ocasio-Cortez: ‘We have to move forward’ with impeachment
- O’Rourke: We should begin impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump – CNN Video
- Republican Justin Amash Gets What Top Democrats Don’t — It’s Time to Impeach Trump
- Revolting Against Speaker’s Inaction, Pelosi’s Own Leadership Team Demands Trump Impeachment Proceedings
- ‘The Dam Is Breaking’: Progressives Say Pelosi ‘Running Out of Excuses’ Not to Impeach Trump. “The drum is beating,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday, “and it is getting louder.”
- The House has the power to arrest people who defy its orders
- The House Now Has a Constitutional Duty to Impeach Trump. When the framers designed the Constitution to protect against tyranny, they had a moment just like this in mind.
- Under mounting pressure from House Democrats, Pelosi to hold closed-door impeachment meeting
- Key Democrats press Pelosi to move forward with impeachment inquiry
Financial Records and Taxes
- Judge upholds Dem subpoena for Trump financial records
- Judge rules in favor of House Democrats’ efforts to obtain Trump’s financial records from former accounting firm
- Accountants Must Turn Over Trump’s Financial Records, Lower-Court Judge Rules
- Trump loses lawsuit challenging subpoena for financial records
- U.S. judge denies Trump bid to quash House subpoena for years of financial records
- Federal judge smacks down Trump’s resistance to congressional oversight. Well, at least one judge still cares about what the law says.
- Federal judge rules against Trump in records dispute with congress
- Federal judge declines to block congressional subpoena seeking years of Trump’s financial records from his accounting firm
- IRS Says It’s Required to Turn Over Trump’s Tax Returns to Congress
- Confidential draft IRS memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless president invokes executive privilege
- Trump Appeal Now Goes To Court Headed By Merrick Garland | Twitter users can’t stop laughing at the irony of the situation.
- House Democrats subpoena ex-White House staffers Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson
- House Democrats Subpoena Hope Hicks
- Tillerson meets for seven hours with House Foreign Affairs Committee
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- House Intel Committee votes to release Michael Cohen testimony, exhibits
- Michael Cohen implicated at least 4 people in Trump’s orbit during marathon House testimony
- Michael Cohen Testified Under Oath That Trump Lawyer Jay Sekulow Instructed Him to Lie to Congress
- Michael Cohen told lawmakers that Trump’s attorney asked him to give false testimony
- Cohen told lawmakers Trump attorney Jay Sekulow instructed him to falsely claim Moscow project ended in January 2016
- The Words ‘Money Laundering’ and ‘President’ Should Never Be in the Same Sentence
- Deutsche Bank staff flagged suspicious Trump and Kushner transactions, report claims
- Kushner Companies and Russian individuals exchanged suspicious money transfers at the height of the 2016 race, ex-Deutsche Bank employee says
- Trump administration doles out $2M more to meatpacker owned by shady Brazilian brothers, bringing total to $64.4M
- Trump reacts angrily to New York Times report on Deutsche Bank transactions
- Trump says he didn’t need to borrow from banks
- Trump Denies Report That Deutsche Bank Ignored Suspicious Transactions: “I Don’t Need Banks”
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1
- NYT: Trump Appears Ready to Pardon Several Americans Accused of War Crimes
- Former Navy SEAL who oversaw the 2011 Osama bin Laden raid says Trump ‘needs to be very careful’ about pardoning several accused war criminals
- Opinion | Trump dishonors the military he claims to love
- Donald Trump’s latest financial disclosure was just released
- Trump Already Owed More Money Than Any President in History—and Borrowed Millions More in 2018
- The narrator in chief: Trump opines on the 2020 Democrats — and so much more
- The evidence of Trump’s corruption just keeps growing
- Trump Suggested His Pet Attorney General May Prosecute His Enemies for ‘Treason’
- Trump Is Considering Deputizing the Military as a Civilian Police Force. That Is Terrifying.
TRAITOR TOTS
- Trump Jr, Bolsonaro Jr … beware the Adult Idiot Sons of unhinged presidents
- Alabama GOPer: If Cancer Patients Need Weed, They Can Just Buy It On The Streets
- Despite national security concerns, GOP leader McCarthy blocked bipartisan bid to limit China’s role in U.S. transit
- Some Republicans unsettled by Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity: Veteran lawmakers are increasingly alarmed over the president’s claim that Congress can’t police him.
- Susan Collins just proved she’s the most willfully ignorant person in the Senate
CULT 45
FIGHTING BACK
- What is ‘milkshaking?’ Ask the Brits hurling drinks at right-wing candidates.
- This Is How Republics Die – And no, the nation will not just “bounce back” once Trump is gone
- De Niro: Imprisoning Trump would make America great again
- Either the Trump Camp’s Claims About Executive Power Stand, or the Constitution Does
EMERGENCIES, SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION
- ‘Mindless murdering savages’: Border agent used slurs before allegedly hitting migrant with his truck
- 16-year-old migrant boy dies in U.S. custody, 5th child to die since Dec.
- HUD Secretary Ben Carson defends plan to evict undocumented immigrants: ‘It’s not that we’re cruel, mean-hearted. It’s that we are logical.’
- A Homeland Security Whistleblower Goes Public About ICE Abuse Of Solitary Confinement
- Prosecutors examining tens of thousands of Trump inauguration documents
RACISM, RIGHT WING TERRORISM, & WHITE NATIONALISM
- A transgender woman survived a brutal beating. Weeks later, she was killed, police say.
- Texas Republicans pass a ‘Chick-fil-A’ bill. LGBT advocates are up in arms.
SCOTUS & COURTS
- The conservative “dark money” organization that spearheaded controversial Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation received $22 million in anonymous donations in the year before the 2018 court fight, newly released tax records show.
- Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Native American Rights In Wyoming Hunting Case
- Federal court presses Trump administration to release Khashoggi documents
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- Kristen Wiig’s New Lionsgate Comedy Pulls Out of Georgia Following Anti-Abortion Bill Signing
- ‘A responsibility to say no’: Prosecutors vow not to bring charges under severe abortion laws
- Alabama Senator Vivian Figures and five other woman introduce a Bill to repeal the Abortion ban
- Alabama’s Biggest Newspapers Publish Essays By 200 Women On Abortion Ban
- Breastfeeding moms don’t have to go it alone. Here are 4 ways partners can pitch in. – The Lily
- Ex-NFL star Kellen Winslow Jr. on trial for allegedly raping homeless woman, hitchhiker, unconscious teen
- Georgia district attorneys refuse to enforce new abortion law
- Lily Lines: One of the world’s ‘least feminist’ countries may surprise you – The Lily
- Majority of Americans don’t want Roe v. Wade overturned, CBS News poll finds
- Reddit: What about the Children?
- Stripped of women’s records, transgender powerlifter asks, ‘Where do we draw the line?’
- The First TV Show Is Leaving Georgia Over the New Abortion Law. The Local Film Industry Fears What Comes Next
- Trump shifted from pro-choice to pro-life only as he planned a presidential run
- Trump’s ‘pro-life’ administration just killed a program on children’s health
COLD WAR 2.0
- The Israeli Military Is now Training Big Data Analysts
- Trump officials to brief Congress on escalating tensions with Iran
- ‘Genocidal’: Trump—Who Claims He Doesn’t Want War—Threatens ‘Official End of Iran’
- Iran Gives Donald Trump a History Lesson: We’ll Survive U.S. Like We Survived Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan: ‘Genocidal Taunts Won’t End Iran’
- Google pulls Huawei’s Android license, forcing it to use open source version
- The ‘American Taliban’ will be free after 17 years. Is the U.S. ready to welcome him back?
#NEVERAGAIN
FIXING THE INTERNET
- Google pulls Huawei’s Android license, forcing it to use open source version
- Is revenge porn protected by the Constitution? Some states might say yes.
- The new hot thing on YouTube is destroying someone else
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- Ben Carson, Housing Secretary, Does Not Know Basic Housing Term
- Long-serving Trump aide DeStefano to depart White House
TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, AND ECONOMY
- As Trump escalates China trade dispute, economic ties lose stabilizing force in matters of national security
- Ford Motor Co to cut 10% of white-collar jobs.
- It’s Time to Hold American Elites Accountable for Their Abuses
- James Holzhauer is the face of ‘Jeopardy!’ He’s also the new face of sports betting.
- Nike, Converse, Adidas among 170 shoe retailers warning Trump against trade war with China
- Walmart workers invited a special guest to crash the company’s annual meeting: Bernie Sanders
- The IRS Barely Bothered to Audit Superrich People Last Year
STUDENT ISSUES
- Lock Her Up! Betsy DeVos Used Her Personal Email for Government Business
- DeVos used personal emails for work in ‘limited’ cases, say Feds
- Betsy DeVos is the eighth Trump official to use personal email for official White House business
- Betsy DeVos used her private email account for government work, internal probe finds
- 3 million senior citizens in the US are still paying off their student loans
- A mock funeral aims to help students bury their pain
- Ocasio-Cortez: College students shouldn’t need donation from billionaire to afford college
- The University of Maryland waited 18 days to inform students of a virus on campus.
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- A CIA suicide sparks hard questions about the agency’s Memorial Wall
- A jewelry box led police to revisit hundreds of deaths. They may have found a serial killer.
- Five myths about prisons
PRIESTS & RELIGION
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- Anti-vaxxers target communities battling measles
- China has a new facial recognition app — this time for pandas
- EPA to ‘Massage Death Projections’ to Make Trump’s Coal Plan Look Less Deadly: Report
- Experts call out Trump’s EPA for redefining environmental standards to allow for more air pollution— “Let me be blunt: Trump is choosing to kill people in order to increase the profits of the polluting interests” salon.com
- First named tropical storm could form even before 2019 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins
- India To Surpass Paris Agreement Commitment, Says Moody’s | CleanTechnica
- States aren’t waiting for the Trump administration on environmental protections
- The U.S. put nuclear waste under a dome on a Pacific island. Now it’s cracking open.
- Tornado confirmed near Tulsa airport; water closes highway
- Updates: Destructive tornadoes and severe flooding expected in Oklahoma and Texas through Monday night
- Yes, U.S. suicides have risen by 30% in past decade and a half
ELECTIONS
THINKING AHEAD
- Broken promises of the past weigh on black voters as they consider the 2020 presidential campaign
- Buzz grows Rep. Amash will challenge Trump as a Libertarian
- Inslee’s $9 Trillion Climate Plan Praised for Showing Why Rapid Mobilization a ‘Massive Economic Opportunity’
- Jay Inslee wants to be the climate change president. His record shows what a tough sell that issue could be.
- Pete Buttigieg Slams Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham On Fox News, Gets Standing Ovation At End Of Town Hall
- What do Native Americans want from a president? Or is the real question: Will 2020 candidates listen?
- Dem Candidates Should Say They Won’t Pardon Trump If He’s Charged, Says Preet Bharara
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
IN OTHER NEWS…
- Have you been career-zoned? 10 new terms for dating behavior that’s driving us crazy.
- Review | The ‘Game of Thrones’ finale, while lacking, goes out on an important note: Stories matter
- The long journey of Bran Stark on ‘Game of Thrones’
That’s it for the last couple days. I didn’t have time to go through the Rumor Mill in the last couple days. I’ve been busy.
There’s a lot of frustration with how slow things are going on the Impeachment front, but for once I’m not freaking out. Impeachment is no longer an if but a when, and we’re building to it. We’ll get one shot at it, and I think the Contempt of Congress cases will be included. Trump is ordering people to actively ignore subpoenas. These orders will be at the top of his Obstruction of Congress charges.
Think about it…
Congress will get one shot at impeaching and removing Trump before the 2020 election. Everything will need to be brought to the table. All of his financial crimes, the witness tampering, the Russian and Saudi work, the abuse of immigrants and his inaction on Puerto Rico. But what is one thing that is above party lines?
Telling Congress to go fuck themselves. That move will cause everyone to get behind impeachment.
One of the things with Impeachment is that the articles, or charges, are voted on individually. They aren’t voted on collectively unless Congress decides to do so. If an Impeachment resolution passes the House Judiciary, the articles are voted on before a full session of Congress. The charges can be voted on individually. That way, if a lawmaker says that activity doesn’t reach criminality for all of them but only a couple, they can vote for those couple.
Think of it like a Grand Jury. Let’s say there’s 20 charges that are being discussed. Bob allegedly shot and killed Gary, then drove the getaway car into a McDonald’s seriously injuring Ethel and Edith. Some jury members might question if there is enough evidence of Bob shooting Gary, but the store had security cam footage of Bob driving a car into the restaurant and hitting Edith and Ethel. That jury member might not vote for the murder charge, but they will for the vehicular assault, property damage, and the other 10 related crimes.
That’s what I think we’re building to. Trump might not be impeached and removed for Russia, but for Obstruction of Congress and Obstruction of Justice. And tax evasion. And money laundering. And being a dick.
I’ll try to be back in a couple days.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 