Wednesday, February 6, 2019

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

House Reopens Investigation

• House Intel Democrats Just Restarted and Supercharged the Trump-Russia Probe
• House Intel panel postpones Cohen testimony
• Adam Schiff: I can understand why the idea of meaningful oversight terrifies the President. Several of his close associates are going to jail, others await trial, and criminal investigations continue. We’re going to do our job and won’t be distracted or intimidated by threats or attacks.
• Chairman Schiff Statement on House Intelligence Committee Investigation
• Manu Raju: Michael Cohen delays Friday’s testimony before House Intel. “In the interests of the investigation, Michael Cohen’s testimony has been postponed until February 28th,” Schiff says
• Manu Raju: Schiff announces his and other House panels would work in tandem to examine how Trump’s financial interests driving his decisions – beyond Russia. He said this includes Russians, Saudis and others “We will be conducting our investigation to make sure our country is protected.”
• Pelosi Declares House Will Not Be Intimidated From Its Trump Inquiries
• House committee announces sweeping investigation into Trump’s finances and Russia – CNN Politics
• House Democrats respond to Trump’s call to halt investigations by relaunching Russia probe, investigating his family
• Asha Rangappa: Nooney Tunes recap: 1. Scooby Doo run to WH to look at TS/SCI docs and leak them 2. Creates fake “unmasking” scandal 3. Secretly sends staffer (now on NSC) to try and corner Steele before Mueller got to him 4. Reveals FBI sources in fake FISA scandal Who’s the embarrassment?🙄

IT’S ON LIKE MOTHER FUCKING DONKEY KONG, BITCHES!!!

Not only did the Democrats reopen the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia, but they’re expanding to include other countries, and to include which Americans helped them, “including members of Congress.”

I hope that Adam Schiff stared right at Devin Nunes as he said that.

 

Transcripts

• House Intel votes to send witness transcripts to Mueller for possible perjury charges
• House Intelligence Committee expected to send Russia probe transcripts to Mueller
• Manu Raju: The House Intelligence Committee voted to send the special counsel l interview transcripts of witnesses who testified in Russia probe, per multiple Republicans
• MSW Podcast: Schiff postpones Cohen’s testimony -> 2/28 “in the interest of the investigation.” Sounds like Mueller wants to get the other transcripts and charge everyone that lied about the Moscow Tower (like Junior?) before they talk to Cohen and risk leaks. #beans
• Natasha Bertand: In related news, House Intel is voting shortly to send 50+ witness interview transcripts to Mueller “so that he consider whether additional perjury charges are warranted.”
• Natasha Bertrand: Schiff: The House Intel Committee’s Russia investigation “will focus principally on five interconnected lines of inquiry, beginning with these incomplete or unexamined investigative threads:”
• Caroline Orr: NEW: Per @NBCNews, the House Intelligence Committee will send 7,000+ pages of transcripts from hearings & interviews to Mueller. Partial list of transcripts includes: -Jared Kushner – Brad Parscale – Jeff Sessions – Alexander Nix – Steve Bannon – Hope Hicks – Corey Lewandowski – -John Podesta -Debbie Wasserman-Schultz -Donald Trump Jr. -Michael Cohen -Erik Prince -Carter Page -John Brennan -Loretta Lynch -Sally Yates -Andrew McCabe -Susan Rice -James Clapper
• Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner Transcripts Sent To Mueller For Possible Perjury Investigation After House Intel Vote

The first step that the new committee performed was authorizing the official transcripts of the interviews to Mueller’s team.  This follows up on their promise to make this the first order of business.

Mueller needs the official transcripts from Congress.  Without them, he can’t charge anyone with Lying to Congress or Perjury regarding their testimony.  It’ll take a few days for them to get the official transcripts, a little bit of time to compare the official ones with the unofficial ones they already have, then a few weeks to take the cases to the Grand Jury and get indictments.

Some people are going to have a VERY bad end to Winter.

 

Erickson Indicted

• Sioux Falls Man Charged with Wire Fraud and Money Laundering
• Paul Erickson, Russian Agent Maria Butina’s Boyfriend, Indicted for Fraud
• Political operative who was dating alleged Russian spy Maria Butina indicted
• Spicy Mic: WhaaadddUP Our Russian Ginger Kitty’s Boo Paul Erikson totes Indicted cc ⁦@ericgarland⁩ ⁦@LincolnsBible⁩ Sioux Falls Man Charged with Wire Fraud and Money Laundering | USAO-SD | Department of Justice

WhaaadddUP Our Russian Ginger Kitty’s Boo Paul Erikson totes Indicted cc ⁦@ericgarland⁩ ⁦@LincolnsBible⁩ Sioux Falls Man Charged with Wire Fraud and Money Laundering | USAO-SD | Department of Justice

Sioux Falls Man Charged with Wire Fraud and Money Laundering justice.gov          

SpicyFiles Retweeted SpicyFiles

Weird…yet oddly refreshing to see these entities listed in Erickson’s indictment Oh my @SweetBabbyJesus I swear I’ve been a semi-good Spicy. ENJOY

SpicyFiles added,

oh Lordy this is super gross who defrauds geriatric people & in wheelchairs “Defendant, Compass Care, Inc., Investing with Dignity, LLC, and the unnamed venture to develop land in the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota” cc @ericgarland @TrueFactsStated @DrDenaGrayson @xtrixcyclex

Words you never want to see on an indictment: your own name, wire fraud and money laundering 1996 to AUGUST 2018 “Specifically, on or about the dates indicated, and in order to continue his scheme and artifice to defraud. Defendant caused interstate wire communications…”

Oh. My. God He paid Russian Kitty’s American University Tuition 1006/01/2017 $20,472.09 From Erickson Wells Fargo to American University cc @ericgarland this makes total sense in terms of the AU Subpoena from Butina In the Summer of 2018

Open Source Link via @FreeLawProject Paul Erickson SDSD Case 4:19-cr-40015-LLP

#1 in 4:19-cr-40015-1 USA v. Erickson (D.S.D., 4:19-cr-40015) – CourtListener.com Indictment courtlistener.com       

Legit Erickson already made his first appearance and Arraignment BUT I’m noticing something others will miss His arraignment is Document # 6 The indictment is # 1 so we are missing a few documents from the docket beyond seal & unseal order & arrest warrant…

Based on this Consent that Erickson is in fact in custody Attachment #1 of Indictment is restricted (sealed) is a plea deal. Also look at what I highlighted “In a multi-defendant case, access” cc @lauferlaw @TrueFactsStated @DrDenaGrayson @aliasvaughn @ericgarland

This is the most updated docket report (Paywall) Again don’t be like most people & ignore what I highlighted He already has a cooperating agreement that’s Exhbit #1 Doc #5 :” In a multi-defendant case” My bguess is the other defendants Kline Preston & NRA https://ecf.sdd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/DktRpt.pl?893243273603477-L_1_0-1…

Did it occur to you why I opted to attach a SS of the terminal? You wouldn’t know there was as attachment-unless- you clicked on Doc # 1 (1st pic) the docket report (2nd PIC) notice of coop info and further states there is or there isn’t a cooperation agreement…

SpicyFiles Retweeted SpicyFiles

You’re welcome. Sorry I am SO NOT sorry…also a Pierre S.D. affiliate reported Erickson was released after posting Bond (Document # 5) but that doc is restricted so no access… Sound UP

SpicyFiles added,

SpicyFiles Retweeted SpicyFiles

And now you can understand where I was going with this thread, trust read it especially the last three tweets I found two not that well known videos. The NRA delegation at Orsis December 11, 2015 is worth watching

SpicyFiles added,

Ya know @DrDenaGrayson called this months ago and today I finally made the “connection” 🇷🇺Heroes for Freedom and Liberty Dinner 🇷🇺 May 16, 2016…wait…for…it…so @senatemajldr I have a question for you…

 

It’s about time.  Paul Erickson, Maria Butina’s boyfriend, is indicted on multiple charges of money laundering and wire fraud.

He wasn’t indicted on being a spy for the Russians, but my guess is that these charges are place holders to get him to cop to a plea deal.

• Mueller places sealed document in vault on the same day Cohen’s congressional testimony delayed
• Sealed Document ‘Placed in Vault’ on Same Day House Dems Postpone Michael Cohen Hearin
• Mueller probe filings raise prospect of more indictments
• Treasury misses deadline to hand over documents on Deripaska sanctions
• UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION GUIDELINES MANUAL 2016 

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS

• Stormy Daniels drops defamation claim against ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen
• Mueller places sealed document in vault on the same day Cohen’s congressional testimony delayed
• Sealed Document ‘Placed in Vault’ on Same Day House Dems Postpone Michael Cohen Hearing
• T-Mobile executives seeking merger approval booked more than 52 nights at Trump’s hotel — more than previously known

 

STATE OF THE UNION

• Nancy Pelosi and the Sarcastic Point Clapback Heard Round the World
• Nancy Pelosi’s Literal Clap-Back At Trump Is The Most Iconic Moment Of The Night
• ‘Queen of Condescending Applause’: Nancy Pelosi clapped at Trump, and the Internet lost it
• Spicy Mic: HAPPY WEDNESDAY friends, I can’t stop watching Madan Speaker’s Thunderdome Clap It’s the greatest burn of all time. Period. 🤓👇🏻ENJOY👇🏻🤓 See ya in a couple of hours… Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho off to work I go Nancy Pelosi claps for President Trump

• Trump uses State of the Union address to emphasize immigration agenda
• Trump’s State of the Union address gives away the game: he fears investigations
• 5 takeaways from Trump’s State of the Union address
• A bullied boy named Trump was an honored guest at the State of the Union. He slept through it.
• At this State of the Union, Trump shares the power — but needles Democrats
• Laurence Tribe: One line stuck out like a sore thumb in Trump’s State of the Union: “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.” That’s a ridiculous threat. It equates the search for truth with war. That’s deeply wrong. And it’s unamerican.
• Melania Trump’s presence at the State of the Union marks the end of a long stretch without public events
• President Trump Used the State of the Union to Call for an End to Investigations. So Did Nixon
• Bernie Sanders slams Trump in post-SOTU rebuttal
• Trump pledged to “defeat AIDs” in his SOTU. He’s tried to cut millions from the programs that fight it.
• Angry White House Staffer: Seeing quite a few positive comments on the SOTU last night in the media. Interesting how NOT publicly denigrating people and/or spewing word vomit all over the place is the new bar for Presidential.
• Schumer: Trump’s address was ‘political, divisive, calculating, even nasty at times’
• Caroline Orr: Remember when Trump funneled money from a children’s cancer charity into his own business? He forgot to mention that as he spotlighted the child cancer survivor in the audience. #SOTU
• Dr. Dena Grayson: 👇🏼DESPERATION👇🏼Nixon: “I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of the matter to an end.”🙄Trump: “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.”🤣
• Schumer says Trump’s warning about congressional investigations shows ‘he’s scared’
• Greg Olear: The state of the Union is “run by a money launderer for the Russian mob who is actively seeking its destruction to please his whoremasters…and who slurs his speech like he had a stroke last week.” #SOTU
• Rick Wilson: Y’all are so cute with this “President Demosthenes Game Changer Totally Became President last night.” Short-Attention Span Donnie’s twitter finger is already itching.
• Dan Rather: I would love to see an 8th grade English teacher to go over that speech with a red pen. I suspect a lot of ink would be spilled.

 

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

• On Trump’s calendar, just 17 intelligence briefings in 85 days
• After claiming Obama skipped intel briefings, Trump skips intel briefings
• Donald Trump attacks John McCain again, five months after his death
• Trump presents a false choice between investigations, prosperity
• Trump sees total rout of Islamic State group as imminent
• Trump to hold second nuclear summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in Vietnam on Feb. 27-28

 

TRAITOR TOTS

• Reddit: Rand & Ron Paul, Russian Assets
• GOP leader joins Trump in calling for end to Dem investigations
• Joe Walsh: Mick Mulvaney said that Trump didn’t mention the debt & deficit last night because nobody cares about the debt & the deficit anymore. This makes me sad. Mulvaney & I were elected to Congress in 2010 to raise holy hell about the debt & the deficit. Smh. Times have changed.
• Whitaker doing significant prep ahead of testimony

 

Epstein

• DOJ Investigating Trump Appointee’s Role in Getting Billionaire Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein Off the Hook
• MSNBC: JUST IN: Senate Judiciary Cmte. member Sasse says the US Justice Dept. has opened an investigation into allegations that dept. attorneys “may have committed professional misconduct in the manner in which the [Jeffrey] Epstein criminal matter was resolved.”
• DOJ Responds to Sasse, Opens Epstein Investigation – Sasse: “The victims of Epstein’s child sex trafficking ring deserve this investigation – and so do the American people and the members of law enforcement who work to put these kinds of monsters behind bars.”
• Justice Department opens probe into Jeffrey Epstein plea deal

 

FIGHTING BACK

• Citizens United = Russian Money in American Campaigns – Foreign Policy Research Institute
• Clinton: Trump’s decision to suspend nuclear treaty with Russia ‘a gift to Putin’
• Cub Scout Takes A Knee During Pledge of Allegiance At City Council Meeting
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Trump unprepared and ‘didn’t do his homework’
• Chuck Todd: During the touching tribute to the Pittsburgh SWAT officer, POTUS has left out the shooter’s other motive for the shooting besides anti-semitism… the shooter was angry with the Tree of Life’s support for refugees
• Don’t believe President Trump when he says its a “priority” to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions: His administration is asking a federal court to rule Obamacare’s ban on pre-existing conditions unconstitutional.
• Donald Trump 2019: Same lying racist he was last year
• GAO: President Trump’s first 4 post-inauguration Mar-a-Lago trips cost taxpayers $13.6M
• Government Watchdog: Trump’s Trips To Florida Costing Taxpayers Millions
• Gillibrand jabs Trump: ‘Female jobs he created were Democratic women in Congress’

 

CONGRESS

• Donald Trump Just Tried to Take Credit For Electing the Most Women to Congress Ever
• In Democratic response, Abrams rebukes Trump and highlights parties’ contrasts

 

SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION

• Pence says government shutdown wasn’t a mistake, can’t guarantee there won’t be another one
• Pence threatens another shutdown if Democrats do not capitulate to Trump
• Mike Pence Praises Trump, Says It’s Never a Mistake to ‘Stand Up for What You Believe in,’ Despite Walking Out of NFL Game Over Anthem Protests
• Award-winning teachers plan ‘Teach-In For Freedom’ to remind Americans that thousands of immigrant kids are being held in border camps — and to call for their release
• Making The Case For Immigration — For Purely Culinary Reasons

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

• Ricky Davila: Gavin McInnes, the Founder of Neo-Nazi hate group Proud Boys, is suing the U.S. Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling his gross org a hate group, claiming the label made his neighbors despise him. Suing truth is absolutely laughable and wait until he encounters discovery.

 

VIRGINIA

• ‘This isn’t me’: Gov. Northam’s defiance caught advisers off guard
• As Goes Virginia, So Goes the Democratic Party
• Virginia Attorney General Herring says he wore blackface in college
• Professor who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of 2004 sexual assault issues statement detailing alleged incident
• Rogue Senior White House Advisor: Love how high & mighty Republicans are getting about the Virginia blackface scandal, as if the GOP isn’t built entirely on the disenfranchisement & targeted harassment of minority groups.
• Molly McKew: Here’s the hard truth on Virginia…

Here’s the hard truth on Virginia: 1- Virginia was the capital of the South not by accident 2- It has never, in any real way, dealt with this history 3- Since the 60s, it has struggled to rectify the glorification of the sacrifice of southern sons … /1

…(see: everything named for Robert E Lee, even now) with needing to confront the history of oppression, slavery, and cruelty this sacrifice was conducted to preserve (see: the Civil War was for “economic reasons”) 4- Decades of avoiding this confrontation is why we’re here…/2

…Charlottesville, battles over Confederate monuments, neo-Confederates running for Senate as Rs 5- It’s no mystery how a culture that has preserved this duality has projected racial bias onto younger generations, over and over 6- the best thing we can do is break the cycle /3

7- Which means leadership willing to confront their own bias, expose how engrained it is, including in elite culture, and willing to discuss it openly, condemning it in explicit terms so the younger generations learn something… /4

… And then doesn’t laugh all this off behind closed doors and continue on, promoting another generation with same bias. 8- this is not a problem of individuals. It is systemic. It is not just Virginia. But wouldn’t it be nice if they would be the seed for something better. /5

Like I mentioned on Daily Check-In 02/01/2019, Virginia has a pretty racist past.  I remember growing up in the 80’s and 90’s and hearing about some of the stuff happening down in Virginia, and it was … not surprising, really.  I grew up in the suburbs between Pittsburgh and Pennsyltucky.  Racism was a common thing in our neck of the woods.  My hometown was full of people who moved there from the city neighborhoods and inner suburbs because they were getting ‘too rough’ or ‘the schools were better’ or ‘there was less crime’.  All of these were euphemisms for fewer black people.

What I see with all of this stuff in Virginia now is what I saw growing up in the 80’s and 90’s in Pennsylvania.  There was a split between people who were so accustomed to racism they didn’t see a problem with it, and those that tried to do better.  I grew up in a very racist town, but some of us tried to do better.  Some parents had no problems with passing on their hatreds, while others worked their ass off to raise their kids better than they were raised.  My mom fell into the latter category, and did her damndest to make sure that we treated people based on how they deserved to be treated, not on the color of their skin.  But her generation had a lot to answer for.  Now, her generation is mostly dying off, and their kids look back at their actions with disgust.

That’s where Virginia is at.  The current leadership is the first generation that is truly trying to make a choice between letting go of past hatreds or hold onto the traditions of youth.  Meanwhile, most of the rest of the country had this conversation a long time ago.

 

SCOTUS & COURTS

• Neomi Rao pressed on past writings on date rape at hearing on her judicial nomination
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg was seen in public Monday. Conspiracy theorists still insist she’s dead.

 

#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS

• Trump campaign adviser on Democrats in white: ‘The only thing . . . missing tonight is the matching hood’

This was uttered by Katrina Peirson.  If that name sounds familiar, she was the contemptuous waste of skin that was flashing White Power hand signs during Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing. (Daily Check-In 08/14/2018). I know that’s a weird thing to say, and as much as she deserves to be called something worse, but calling her a cunt is an insult to cunts.  She lacks both the depth and warmth that are typically associated with one.

She wasn’t the only one on the Right Wing to make a Klan comment, nor was she the only one with racist tendencies to do so.  It’s actually a little funny that the first thing they thought was Klan rally.  Maybe they feel a little nostalgic?

 

• “From the Man Who Ripped Thousands of Children Away From Their Parents:” Trump’s “Loathsome” Abortion Lie Sparks Outrage
• Governor Cuomo Says Trump, Allies Are ‘Intentionally Spreading Lies’ About New York’s Abortion Law
• A 67-year-old was convicted of a sex crime. The judge said the child victims were ‘an aggressor.’
• A college student thought she had a ghost in her closet. She found a man wearing her clothes.

 

COLD WAR 2.0

• Russian court sentences Jehovah’s Witnesses elder to six years in prison for ‘extremism’ — Meduza
• Bill Browder: Russian court sentences Dennis Christensen, a Danish citizen, to six years in prison for ‘extremism’ for being a Jehovah’s Witness. Those involved in this outrageous religious persecution should be subject to Magnitsky sanctions
• Thailand blames Australia for Hakeem al-Araibi’s detention
• Bill Browder: Thailand should immediately release Bahraini political refugee (and footballer), Hakeem al-Araibi and allow him to return to safety in Australia. The Interpol Red Notice is clearly political, abusive and against Interpol’s constitution. The case is crystal clear.
• Bill Browder: Heads up. Putin will be visiting Bolivia soon. Seems to be shoring up his position in Latam.
• Cameroon’s crackdown on its English-speaking minority is fueling support for a secessionist movement
• Diabetics in Britain worry a no-deal Brexit could put their lives at risk
• The U.S. has not spent more than $7 trillion in the Middle East

 

#NEVERAGAIN

• Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz Tries to Eject Parkland Dad From Gun Violence Hearing
• Rep. Matt Gaetz calls for Parkland Fathers to be Removed from House Hearing on Gun Violence
• Shannon Watts: Border crossings are the lowest they’ve been since 1971. School gun violence reached a new record in 2018. Focus on the real crisis in America: gun violence. #hr8 #UpdateBackgroundChecks
• Shannon Watts: During today’s House hearing on #HR8, Rep. Matt Gaetz said building “the wall” would be more effective than background checks. He then got into an argument with @manueloliver00, whose son Joaquin was killed in Parkland, and tried to have him ejected.
• Emma Gonzalez: Manuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg are heroes, and have lived through enough trauma without @RepMattGaetz being too immature to handle constituents voicing their disagreement with his positions
• Officer won’t face charges in Alabama mall shooting

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

• Was tabloid exposé of Bezos affair just juicy gossip or a political hit job?

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

• Leaked calendars show how much Trump’s ad hoc approach differs from his predecessors
• Unlike Trump, most CEOs have very little ‘executive time’

 

TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, AND ECONOMY

• U.S. Banks Win $21 Billion Trump Tax Windfall Then Cut Staff, Loaned Less
• Whatever You Paid to Watch Netflix Last Month Was More Than It Paid in Income Taxes All Last Year: $0
• Why millions of people are getting hit with a surprise tax bill this year

 

STUDENT ISSUES

• The state with the biggest education funding drop over two decades? Report says it’s Betsy DeVos’s home, Michigan.
• It’s ‘Black Lives Matter at School Week’: Why that matters, and how classrooms are taking part

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

• A GOP mega-donor’s Islamophobic conspiracy emails are a major headache for the Chicago Cubs

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

• He said his wife and son moved to South Korea. Decades later, a detective learned the truth.
• A stranger offered to help a 14-year-old who said her father raped her — but only if she recorded it first
• Ex-Penn State assistant coach Sandusky gets new sentencing

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

• Children raised by same-sex couples do better in school, new study finds
• Federal judge orders Chemical Safety Board to require disclosure of chemical emissions from accidents
• Theodore Rabb, Renaissance scholar who championed Western culture, dies at 81
• The North Pole is mysteriously moving, and the U.S. government finally caught up
• Scientists found a working USB stick in some leopard seal poop. Does it belong to you?
• It’s Time to Try Fossil-Fuel Executives for Crimes Against Humanity
• It was a toasty Tuesday in the Northeast, thanks to yet another February thaw
• Vape pen kills man after exploding in his mouth
• Younger than 100? Soon, you might not be able to smoke cigarettes in Hawaii.

 

ELECTIONS

• Ohio city to stop observing Columbus Day, make Election Day holiday instead
• Susan Collins Raised More Money From Brett Kavanaugh Supporters Than Mainers
• Inaccurate claims of noncitizen voting in Texas reflect a growing trend in Republican states

 

THINKING AHEAD

• Kamala Harris: Russia was able to influence our election because they figured out that racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and transphobia are America’s Achilles heel. These issues aren’t only civil rights — they’re also a matter of national security. We have to deal with that.
• Beto O’Rourke meets Oprah Winfrey — and teases a presidential campaign

Gabbard

• Tulsi Gabbard: Bashar al-Assad is ‘Not an Enemy’ of the U.S.
• Natasha Bertand: Pressed repeatedly by @kasie, @TulsiGabbard refuses to say that Bashar Assad is either an enemy or an adversary of the United States.
• Genocide in Syria 2011-2017 Awareness Campaign
• Angry White House Staffer: Periodic reminder that Tulsi Gabbard is an Assad apologist who likes to parrot Kremlin talking points. The Democrats don’t need any more moles in the party.

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

• Ocasio-Cortez Says Trump Attack on Socialism Shows President ‘Scared’ of Popular Progressive Policies – “Every single policy proposal that we have adopted and presented to the American public has been overwhelmingly popular, even some with the majority of Republican voters.”
• Angry White House Staffer: Honest Conversations About Politics

I know the focus right now is on Trump’s crimes and 2020 — and it should be — but I can’t wait to get back to having honest conversations about politics. I hope we can recover from the hyper-partisan environment we’re currently trapped in, but I honestly don’t know. 1/4

One thing I do — and that I strongly encourage everyone try — is spend time every day reading something, or talking to someone, that I disagree with. This should be intelligent material; I’m NOT encouraging anyone to go read Jacob Wohl or anything like that. 2/4

I’ve found when we drop the “keyboard courage” and actually engage with people who we might not agree, two things happen: 1. We understand them a little better 2. It’s harder to be hostile, because you realize different ideas don’t automatically make someone a bad person. 3/4

Take me for example: I started my Twitter journey as a disgruntled person who identified as Republican who was just here because Trump sucks. Two years on Twitter taught me that I align much more with moderate Democrats than I do anyone from what I *thought* was my party <fin>

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

• The film academy finally confirms that the Oscars will not have a host this year

 

RUMOR MILL

• Ming: Gat dammit, Ming beginning to think Mensch was right about RICO too. This gonna crush some ppl. Ming laugh and laugh
• Andrew Laufer, ESQ: We the people ultimately have the power of governance.We proved that in the midterms.We’ll prove it again in 2020. Our freedoms empower us. America’s economic, military, & social might mean nothing if we cower in imaginary fear or give into gaslighting. We determine our own fate.
• Countercheckist: By his math he’s also a billionaire. Donald has never been very good with numbers. Ask Atlantic City.
• Ming: The way GOP been trying to game this treason out from the onset make the FL moves with Scott, Desantis more suspicios to Ming.
• Tea Pain: 1. Another sealed indictment today 2. Cohen testimony suddenly postponed 3. Butina boyfriend indicted 4. 7000 pages of transcripts released 5. Full assault on Mueller by Fox and far right blogs 6. Hannity spotted at WH 7. No Trump tweet since #SOTU Something’s goin’ on!
• Thread by @KylePlantEmoji: “Y’all: people are too sensitive these days [200 years ago] Man: he implied my family was not honorable so we’re gonna duel at dawn about it […]”
• Tea Pain: It’s on like Donkey Kong, traitors! Time to get your houses in order! #MuellerIsComing

Lanny and Susan Wiles

• Venture Capital: 🔥Susan Wiles who helped w getting Veselnitskaya get the seat was ALSO involved in the flash mob in Broward County thatwas a RUSSIAN op‼️
• Jed Shugerman: @McFaul: it was Trump supporters Lanny and Susie Wiles, who were paying former Soviet spy Akhmetshin $70K and helping Veselnitskaya. I connect the dots in this thread. And more soon:

Keep an ear out for those names.  They were able to get Natalia Veselnitskaya a front row seat to a Congressional hearing featuring Russian Ambassador Michael McFaul.

 

That’s it for Wednesday.  Like I said earlier this week, it’s going to be nuts.

I was expecting the Erickson indictment to come in, but I wasn’t expecting it to be for money laundering and ripping off old people.  That is a bit of a surprise.  At least until I think about how much of a scumbag he truly is.  Then it makes perfect sense.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

 

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Trump Tower Moscow

• Secret Files Show How Trump Moscow Talks Unfolded While Trump Heaped Praise On Putin
• Document Cloud Link to BuzzFeed News mails
• Trump-Moscow, in case the Document Cloud link is blocked
• Ming: Pic of a raw copy of one of Felix’s mails with a GMT timestamp.
• Newly unearthed video shows Trump ‘meeting with Russians in Moscow in 1995’ over ‘building project’ 
• Laura Rozen: Video of Trump meeting with Moscow city officials in 1995, via @MSuchkov_ALM Not sure why emerging now

BuzzFeed News released almost three hundred pages of Felix Sater’s communications involving Trump Tower Moscow from 2015 until July 21, 2016.  This includes printouts of mails and text conversations with Michael Cohen, copies of the signed and unsigned Letter of Intent, and several in-depth pdf’s of the Tower project which included artist renderings and site surveys.  The last entry was July 21, 2016.  That was a week before the news of the Russians hacking the DNC broke.  According to Felix, that’s when he walked away from the Trump Tower Moscow project. However, that contradicts his earlier interviews where he said he stopped working on the project on June 14th of that year.  (Daily Check-In 11/30/2018)

I’m not sure what’s happening with this, or what BFN is looking to accomplish.  I’ll go into that more in the Coda.

 

Manafort

• Firms Recruited by Paul Manafort Are Investigated Over Foreign Payments
• Dr. Dena Grayson: Mercury Public Affairs (former @GOP Rep. Vin Weber), Podesta Group (Democrat lobbyist Tony Podesta) and Skadden Arps (former Obama WH counsel Greg Craig) are under federal investigation in #SDNY for their #Ukraine work with Paul Manafort.🔥

Mercury Public Affairs (former @GOP Rep. Vin Weber), Podesta Group (Democrat lobbyist Tony Podesta) and Skadden Arps (former Obama WH counsel Greg Craig) are under federal investigation in #SDNY for their #Ukraine work with Paul Manafort.

Manafort hired Skadden to produce a smear of Yulia Tymoshenko (the opponent of Ukraine’s pro-#Russialeader), and hired Vin Weber’s and Podesta’s lobbying shops to push the false smear of Tymoshenko. Manafort paid them MILLIONS via a bank in Cyprus. NO ONE filed #FARA.

Skadden now admits they were a FOREIGN AGENT for pro-#Russialeaders in #Ukraine and recently settled with DOJ and agreed to cooperate FULLY. Gates (Manafort’s bagman) is cooperating, too. Meaning: the Feds have receipts and witnesses.

van der Zwaan (a Dutch/#Russian who worked at Skadden, pleaded GUILTY to lying. And Lordy, there are tapes

Kilimnik—“former” GRU #Russianintelligence officer/ Manafort partner—was intimately involved with the scheme. Kilimnik has close ties with Oleg Deripaska. The lawyers (Skadden), lobbyists (Podesta), and former congressman (Weber) did NOT file #FARA.

The #TrumpRussiaprobe is spread over MULTIPLE juridictions, including Mueller/DC, EDVA, and #SDNY, so firing one guy won’t stop this train. Justice is coming for all of those who sold our country for cash

 

Tax Returns

• Treasury plans steps to stymie Dem requests for Trump tax returns
• We may finally see Trump’s tax returns, and Republicans are panicking
• Trump already has a Treasury team tasked with hiding his tax records from Democrats 
• The plan to keep Trump’s taxes hidden

I hate to use the cliche “Why worry if you’ve got nothing to hide”, but the lengths that Trump is willing to go to just to prevent his income taxes from becoming public long passed the point of strange curiosity and is living in the land of the cover-up.

The question becomes what is he covering up?

Personally, I think he’s covering up three major areas in his taxes.

First, the existence of severe financial crimes including money laundering, tax fraud, and every other white-collar crime under the sun.  He’s worried that since this is how they “took down Capone” that the Feds will do the same to him.

Next, he’s covering up how much, or more precisely how little he actually makes and is worth.  His whole persona is built around being a billionaire deal maker, but he doesn’t act like an actual billionaire.  He’s a poor man’s idea of a rich man.  Releasing his taxes to the public would show that he’s a con man, and not worth anywhere near the $12-15 billion he claims he’s worth.  His income is nowhere near a billion dollars a year, he’s underwater on almost all of his properties, and his licensing deals barely keep the lights on.  He doesn’t own a billion dollars worth of assets outright, at least not legally.  And claiming that he’s a billionaire when he owes so much on his buildings is like a dentist in California making $200,000 a year claiming to be a millionaire because he lives in a $1.3 million dollar home but owes $900,000 on the mortgage.

Finally, he could be hiding some crazy secret that he doesn’t want to get out that is listed on his taxes but isn’t known, like that he’s paying child support on a couple dozen kids or that he secretly donates money to NAMBLA or some shit like that.

I’d put money down on the first two, but given this timeline I’m half expecting him to claim Steven Segal’s love child as a grandchild that he’s supporting.

 

• Lobbyist at Trump Tower Meeting Received Half A Million Dollars In Suspicious Payments
• Feds Eye Imaad Zuberi, Financier With Alleged Ties to Cohen, Nunes, and Qatar
• End of Mueller investigation could spark battle between Justice Dept. and Congress over release of special counsel’s report

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS

Inauguration

• Michael Cohen Strikes Again: How Secret Recordings Led to Massive Trump Inauguration Investigation
• New York prosecutors seek records from Trump inauguration committee: Sources
• New York federal prosecutors seek interviews with Trump Organization executives
• First on CNN: New York federal prosecutors seek interviews with Trump Organization executives
• Angry White House Staffer: This is big. Remember that Weisselberg flipped too. He knows where all the bodies are buried. Like seriously big, not an exaggeration. Like, “if Mueller doesn’t take down this Presidency, this could” big. We know subpoenas have been sent already for the Trump Org. A lifetime of felonies is about to come to light.
• Shimon Prokupecz: CNN: Federal prosecutors in NY have requested interviews in recent weeks with executives at the Trump Organization, signaling a growing potential threat to President Donald Trump and those in his orbit from criminal investigations by the Manhattan US Attorney’s office.
• Countercheckist: Things just keep getting worse for you, @realDonaldtRUmp. And they’re going to get a whole lot worse from here. Bet on it. … Not just for you, but for your punk kids, too.
• Tea Pain: The SDNY is movin’ on Trump like a b****.
• New York federal prosecutors seek interviews with Trump Organization executives 
• Erica Orden: NEW: SDNY prosecutors have requested interviews in recent weeks with execs at Trump Org, per people familiar w/the matter, signaling a growing potential threat to Trump & those in his orbit from criminal investigations by Manhattan US Attorney’s office. SDNY prosecutors have also questioned at least two former Trump campaign officials. One official was asked about coordination between the Trump Organization and the campaign.
• Venture Capital: 3…2…1… Tom Barrack is FINALLY in the news ✅ 🔥Associating with Donald Trump is literally becoming a guaranteed prison sentence🤗
• Confidential Memo: Company of Trump Inaugural Chair Sought to Profit From Connections to Administration, Foreigners — ProPublica
• Federal prosecutors issue sweeping subpoena for documents from Trump inaugural committee, a sign of a deepening criminal probe
• Trump’s inauguration is under serious scrutiny from New York prosecutors
• The investigation into Trump’s inauguration money looks quite serious
• Tea Pain: The Trump Foundation, Trump Inaugural Committee and Trump Organization are all under criminal investigation. Trump’s personally implicated in 2 felonies and under investigation for bein’ a foreign asset. We’re beyond the biggest fears our founders imagined. We must act now!
• Joe Walsh: So Trump’s campaign, Trump’s transition, Trump’s inaugural, Trump’s foundation, Trump’s business, lots of Trump associates, & the Trump Organization are ALL under investigation, and Sarah Sanders says the common thread here is hatred toward Trump. Ok.

Remember yesterday (Daily Check-In 02/04/2019) how I said that we should expect to hear within 2-3 days how this new investigation came from the work that SDNY did with Cohen.

I was wrong.  It took 2-3 hours.

Also, these subpoenas came after the Feds requested interviews with several executives at Trump Organization.  And let me remind everyone that Andrew Weisselberg, the Trump Org CFO, was granted immunity for becoming a cooperating witness. (2018 Retrospective, Daily Check-In 08/29/2018)

According to reports, the focus of the interviews was on how much Trump Org coordinated with the Trump Campaign.  That, combined with how wide of a net they’re casting for the inauguration, the foundation, and anything else with the Trump name on it leads me to believe that we might be looking at a RICO case later this year.

 

Scotland

• Prosecutors Subpoena Records from Trump’s Scottish Golf Clubs
• Angry White House Staffer: You know what executive privilege *doesn’t* apply to? The Trump Organization Prosecutors subpoena records from Trump’s Scottish golf clubs.

 

Trips

• Presidential Travel: Secret Service and DOD Need to Ensure That Expenditure Reports Are Prepared and Submitted to Congress
• Just 4 Of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Trips Cost Taxpayers $13 Million | HuffPost
• Senators Feinstein, Peters and Rep. Cummings Announce GAO Report Showing Trump Spent $13.6 Million in Tax Dollars on Mar-a-Lago Travel
• Senator Feinstein: BREAKING: New GAO report shows President Trump spends tens of millions of dollars to travel to Mar-a-Lago at taxpayer expense – including government funds paid directly to his own business. Trump’s first 4 trips cost $13.6 million, including $60,000 paid directly to Mar-a-Lago.

 

SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION

• Joe Walsh: Just a reminder again for everyone sick & tired of this never ending wall/shutdown mess: He did say a foreign country would pay for it. Remember that? He said that hundreds of times. He promised it. Repeatedly. You want someone to blame for this mess? Blame him.
• New Mexico governor pulls National Guard troops from border
• NM governor withdraws most National Guard troops from border
• Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Republican: ‘I’ve never been a big fan of the wall. In my farm in Mississippi we have goats and we just about can’t fence them in, or fence them out. I think people are just as smart as goats.’
• After subpoena threat, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to appear before House panel

 

STATE OF THE UNION

• State of the Union address: Trump to pitch bipartisanship amid rancor with Democrats
• Melania Trump invited a kid to the SOTU who was bullied because of his last name. She has ignored thousands bullied because of the president’s language.
• Shannon Watts: Hasn’t mentioned the five women executed in a Florida bank last month by an American 21-year-old man 👇#SOTU #SOTU2019
• Shannon Watts: Which lawmakers are bringing Black survivor families to #SOTU? Who is bringing the family of EJ Bradford? Vicki Lee Jones and Maurice Stallard? Harith Augustus? Renisha McBride? Botham Jean? Jazmine Barnes? Black Americans are 10 times more likely to die by gun homicide.
• President Trump’s 2018 State of the Union proposals: What flopped and what succeeded
• Rep. Steve King invites Diamond and Silk to State of the Union
• Sharing the State of the Union spotlight, Pelosi softly makes her own statement
• The Daily 202: State of the Union guests invited by Democratic presidential candidates preview 2020 themes
• Why are female lawmakers wearing white for State of the Union address?
• Denzican Grimes: No fucking way I’m going to listen to that mentally disabled criminal embarrassment deliver a teleprompter Nazi stump speech from Stephen Miller. And the media is still going to praise him for acting “presidential” because he didn’t take a shit and roll in it on stage.
• Joe Walsh: You gotta admit, of all the kids in America who’ve been bullied these past two years, it just figures that Trump would pick a kid who’s been bullied because the kid’s last name is Trump. Quintessential Trump: “It’s all about me.”
• Democratic women celebrate on the House floor in reaction to Trump’s State of the Union shout-out
• Fact-Checking The State Of The Union Address
• Fact Check: Trump’s State Of The Union Address
• Chuck Schumer says Trump’s administration is ‘in chaos’ as president prepares to deliver State of the Union
• Families are being ‘crushed’ by Republican leadership, Stacey Abrams says in Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union
• Stacey Abrams delivers Democratic response to the State of the Union
• State of the Union 2019: Bernie Sanders delivers response to Trump
• Donald Trump Called Chuck Schumer ‘Nasty Son Of A Bitch,’ Joe Biden ‘Dumb’ In Meeting Before State Of The Union: Report
• Nancy Pelosi’s Literal Clap-Back At Trump Is The Most Iconic Moment Of The Night | HuffPost
• Read President Donald Trump’s full 2019 State of the Union address

I’m not going into this now.  I didn’t watch it, haven’t read the speech, or done anything else about it yet.  I’ll go into the reactions and details more on Wednesday.

 

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

• Don’t believe Trump when he says it’s a “priority” to protect Americans with preexisting conditions
• Donald Trump just took credit for electing the most women to Congress ever
• Donald Trump is officially low-energy
• Donald Trump picks David Malpass to run the World Bank. If the nomination passes, the bank will be led by one of its fiercest critics.
• Trump didn’t bother to tell his top general in the Middle East that he was going to pull troops out of Syria
• Two-Thirds of Americans Oppose Trump’s Withdrawal From Nuclear Pact
• Trump has “done damage that the Soviets would have dreamt of,” former German foreign minister says 
• Top Intel Democrat: Trump Is a Bigger Threat To America Than Putin’s Russia
• Trump admin finds ‘no material impact’ from foreign interference in 2018 midterms
• Trump’s Legal Problems Might Outlast Robert Mueller’s Investigation – The special prosecutor is handing off various deep dives into the bottomless lagoon of slime and corruption that is this administration*.

 

TRAITOR TOTS

• Louise Neufy: Steve Mnuchin’s Stepford Wife = Louise Linton. Louise Linton’s Ex-Husband = Mob Lawyer Ronald Richards Ronald Richards represented rapist fashion designer Anand Jon, who targeted underage girls and who “discovered” Ivanka tRUmp at age 14.
• From Summer 2017: Designer who discovered Ivanka Trump speaks against his rape sentence
• Kellyanne Conway threatens to “perform” abortions “with a gun” on feminists in resurfaced video 
• Kellyanne Conway Threatens To Perform Abortion With A Gun In Old 2007 Video
• After subpoena threat, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to appear before House panel

 

FIGHTING BACK

• Adam Schiff: Apparently Trump’s Inauguration had nothing to do with Trump. Nor did his campaign chairman. Nor his lawyer. Nor his national security adviser. Nor his foreign policy adviser. And given the amount of Executive Time, the presidency doesn’t have much to do with him either.
• Nicolle Wallace Drops ‘Truth Bomb’ On Trump After Secret White House Memo Leaks | “Donald Trump doesn’t do much of anything as president.”
• Patriots’ McCourty twins say they won’t visit White House if invited
• After Super Bowl win, Patriots players waste no time saying they won’t visit White House
• Trump will call for ‘unity’ tonight. It’s a scam, and here’s the proof.
• Trump’s Legal Problems Might Outlast Robert Mueller’s Investigation – The special prosecutor is handing off various deep dives into the bottomless lagoon of slime and corruption that is this administration*.
• What a Waste of a Presidency
• World Freedom Report Rebukes Trump: ‘No President in Living Memory Has Shown Less Respect for Its Tenets, Norms and Principles’
• ‘Always been dirty’: Nearly every organization associated with Trump under investigation

 

CONGRESS

• Martha McSally Should Not Be in the Senate
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls Out Sexism As Her Big Pharma Knowledge Is Labeled ‘Inadequate’: ‘This Is What Being a Woman in Politics Looks Like’
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Trump unprepared and ‘didn’t do his homework’

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

• Alyssa Milano: Happy 24th Birthday, Trayvon. Rest In power.
• Texas Republicans Are Lying About Voter Fraud to Justify a Massive, Racist Voter Purge

 

#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS

• Why are female lawmakers wearing white for State of the Union address?

A century ago, U.S. suffragists carefully chose the colors of their flag. Purple represented loyalty and was a nod to England’s suffragettes. White symbolized purity and contrasted with the flag’s darker colors. Gold paid homage to the sunflowers in Kansas, where Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had campaigned for the right to vote.

The suffragists’ outfits of purple and gold sashes over white dresses were intended to look appealing in newspaper photographs, Boggs Roberts said. The white was also intended to look nonthreatening so people would have a harder time criticizing the women’s appearance as aggressive or masculine.

“When the biggest publicity tool was newspapers and images were black and white, (if) you make a good photo, it gets reproduced everywhere,” Boggs Roberts said. “And there is nothing they did that they did not consider the visual element to.”

• Kansas judge calls girls, 13 and 14, the ‘aggressor’ in a child sex solicitation case
• NYAG James: We reached a settlement with a Bronx hospital after our investigation revealed the hospital was illegally billing sexual assault survivors for forensic rape examinations. This is the 9th settlement of our statewide investigation into the illegal billing of rape examinations. Inflicting the secondary trauma of forcing survivors to fight illegal billing and collection agencies is unfathomable, and we will not allow it to continue. My office will continue to do everything in our power to protect survivors and their rights. Our investigation remains ongoing. If you have a complaint with a hospital bill or other health-care related issues, call us: 1-800-428-9071
• ‘The man who attacked me works in your kitchen’: Victim of serial groper took justice into her own hands
• Abortion legislation in New York wouldn’t do what Trump said
• Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler opens home for abused women in TN
• Pope says priests kept nuns as sex slaves
• Ted Cruz just compared rape victims to a man who climbed on a train and electrocuted himself 

 

COLD WAR 2.0

• Bill Browder: Some good news. After 9 years of advocacy (together with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee), the Norwegian government is now actively considering adopting a Magnitsky Act for Norway.
• En kort setning i Solberg-regjeringens plattform skapte jubelstemning
• Countercheckist: China and Russia accusing the US of “imperialism” over Venezuela is hilarious projection. Those 2 countries are propping up an unpopular despot who’s destroyed his country b/c they have financial interests with his regime. Pot, meet kettle.
• Europeans fear Trump may threaten not just the transatlantic bond, but the state of their union
• Russian navy unveils new weapon that makes enemies hallucinate and vomit
• Saudi Crown Prince ‘No. 1 suspect’ in Khashoggi murder, Erdogan aide says

 

#NEVERAGAIN

• Shannon Watts: Hasn’t mentioned the five women executed in a Florida bank last month by an American 21-year-old man 👇#SOTU #SOTU2019
• Shannon Watts: Which lawmakers are bringing Black survivor families to #SOTU? Who is bringing the family of EJ Bradford? Vicki Lee Jones and Maurice Stallard? Harith Augustus? Renisha McBride? Botham Jean? Jazmine Barnes? Black Americans are 10 times more likely to die by gun homicide.

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

• House Democrats tell Ajit Pai: Stop screwing over the public
• Facebook removes 22 more pages connected to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and InfoWars

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

Tulsi Gabbard

• Eric Garland: “Hey GTG, what do you mean we’ll see some “Left” wing people implicated when the foreign elements and Mob gets rolled up?” Well. Here ya go.
• Countercheckist: Americans, not ‘neocons’ and ‘neolibs,’ who want Putin out of the WH will tell the truth in order to stop you and your Kremlin pals. Then it’s time for the good ppl of #Hawaii to award your Congressional seat to an American patriot. Just like Rohrabacher.
• Charlie R. Davis: Tulsi Gabbard is now following alt-right web star Cassandra Fairbanks. Tulsi Gabbard now follows Marcus Papadopoulos, who denies the mass murder of civilians at Srebrenica.
• Jay McKenzie: Because a kook-left turned kook-right former Kremlin employee who hangs out with Roger Stone, had chats with GRU officer Guccifer 2.0 and makes appearances on Infowars really is Tulsi Gabbard’s base.
• Caroline Orr: BTW, if the host of this Russian propaganda show looks familiar, it’s because her name is Scottie Nell Hughes (@scottienhughes). She was a paid Trump surrogate during the 2016 campaign.
• Caroline Orr: David Duke endorsing Tulsi Gabbard is disgusting, but it’s also a great way to get you to stop focusing on the tacit endorsement she’s gotten from Russia. From Tulsi’s position, it’s easy to disavow Duke, and she did. What has she done to reject Russia’s support? Tulsi Gabbard knows her candidacy is being boosted by Russian influence networks. When she was made aware, she attacked those who pointed it out.

 

Poll Dancing

• Fox News Hosts Are Horrified to Learn Their Own Polls Show People Want to Tax the Rich
• Fox News Hosts Not Coping Well With Finding Out Most Americans Hate the Rich 
• Fox News Laments That Schoolchildren Are Being Taught Fairness 
• Poll: 56% of adults say they ‘definitely would not’ vote for Trump 

 

SHS

• Sanders on Trump inaugural committee subpoena: ‘This has nothing to do with the White House’
• SpicyFiles: And next week @PressSec will say @realDonaldTrump has nothing to do with @DonaldJTrumpJr @jaredkushner or @parscale The absurdity and linguistic gymnastics of @SHSanders45 is with out equal. I see her condition liabetes has only worsened.

 

Fact Checking

• No, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t have a low credit score
• No, US Rep. Rashida Tlaib wasn’t photographed in front of Osama bin Laden portrait

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

• Fox News host defends Trump’s ‘executive time’ which he spends tweeting and watching TV: ‘It sounds a lot like work’
• Jen Psaki: I spent 8 yrs in and out of the last @WhiteHouse and recieved the daily schedules. The notion that executive time includes important calls or meetings is wrong. Internal policy meetings, calls with important people were always on the schedule.

 

TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, AND ECONOMY

• Fox News Hosts Are Horrified to Learn Their Own Polls Show People Want to Tax the Rich
• Fox News Hosts Not Coping Well With Finding Out Most Americans Hate the Rich 
• Fox News Laments That Schoolchildren Are Being Taught Fairness 
• White Tax Tears: Trump Voters Are Now Realizing They’ve Been Had 
• Kurt Eichenwald: Folks need to stop making fun of the middle class republicans who are only now finding out en masse that their taxes are going up. It’s hard for people to discount bald-faced lies when they are based on statistical manipilation. We need to be angry alongside them. This was wrong.
• ‘We’re all passengers in a billionaire hijacking’ says the critic who has the world’s richest people buzzing
• Letter: Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest of us
• Over 60 percent of voters — including half of Republicans — support Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax
• Companies Spent 140 Times More on Stock Buybacks than Wage Increases in 2018 and Americans Should be ‘Outraged’ Say Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

• Christian publishing company owned by News Corp found guilty of significant fraud and destroying evidence
• Sheriff’s use of courtroom camera to view juror’s notebook, lawyer’s notes sparks dismissal of criminal case

 

PRIESTS & RELIGION

• Pope says priests kept nuns as sex slaves

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

• Pittsburgh air has been unsafe for people with asthma for 25% of days in 2019 so far
• Trump Quietly Put a Koch Official in Charge of America’s Drinking Water 
• Trump Says He Wants To Wipe Out HIV. Experts Say That Would Require Treating Trans People And Immigrants A Lot Better.
• Michigan’s New Governor Puts Climate Change at Heart of Government
• Harvard’s top astronomer says an alien ship may be among us — and he doesn’t care what his colleagues think

 

ELECTIONS

• Zero tolerance or rush to judgment? In the Trump era, Democrats hasten to push out the accused

 

THINKING AHEAD

• Billionaire Howard Schultz Would Like Non-Billionaires to Stop Calling Him a Billionaire
• Louise Mensch: You know, @jk_rowling is a very rich woman, but she fell off the “richest” list because she gave away so much to charity. If #HowardTrump dislikes “billionaire” he can fix that. Louise Mensch added,
• Elizabeth Warren apologizes for calling herself Native American

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

• ‘The day the music died’ was 60 years ago. Buddy Holly continues to live on through ‘American Pie.’
• Katherine Schwarzenegger was born in the spotlight. She’s choosing to stay there.

 

RUMOR MILL

• Countercheckist: I won’t be watching the #SOTU; as I refuse to give a platform to the factless nonsense of traitors, buffoons, and ‘nationalists’ (AKA the modern iteration of the ‘know-nothing’ movement). Instead, I’ll spend that time trying to make our Republic the country it deserves to be.
• Angry White House Staffer: If you’re feeling this way, and I’m sure a lot of you are, you should know two things: 1. This feeling is by design. Everything is so stupid because he wants to generate outrage fatigue. 2. It’s OK to take a day or two away from the news to recharge — the shitshow will be here.
• Ming: Lets put up some more wins today ❤
• Lincoln’s Bible: It’s getting fun. Federal prosecutors issue sweeping subpoena for documents from Trump inaugural committee, a sign of a deepening criminal probe
• Tea Pain: The immune system of our Democracy is attackin’ the Trump crime family like the disease it is. It is a beautiful thing to behold.
• PostimusMaximus: The fun thing for the FBI with Trump is anywhere you look you’ll find crimes. Trump Business, the election, the inauguration, his family, the presidency, no matter where you go there is criminal conduct to charge.
• Ming: “if only I could get my hands on those purloined RNC emails and Grahams FSB file’ – Ming Gao
• Louise Mensch: (Talking with Spicy) Spicy @Trump is already indicted under RICO under seal at EDVA. So are @FelixSater @RealDonaldTrump. Bayrock was involved too, my sources didn’t say how Question though can an org be indicted for RICO for more than one thing? The Bayrock deal predated this stuff in @Buzzfeed.
• Ming: Semi-related “I bet $1 I can make them destroy themselves and let the World watch real-time on Twitter” -MingGao
• Tea Pain: What if Mueller plans to drop an “interim report” in the next month, perhaps about obstruction? This would let Congress start feudin’ with William Barr in the courts for the public to see it while Mueller continues his conspiracy probe.
• Pace: Sarah Sanders is 30 days past when she said she was quitting because literally no one wants that job.

 

That’s it for Tuesday.  Like I said yesterday, it’s going to be a crazy week.

So, what’s BuzzFeed News up to? Are they releasing all of their receipts to build credibility?  Are they trying to destroy a potential trial?  Or are they like Honey Badger, just not giving a fuck?

I’m not sure.  I don’t know.  And at this point, I’m not sure what direction they’re heading in.  The last couple days have seen them release more information about Trump Tower Moscow, and they’ve been ahead of the curve on that story.  At this point, I’m waiting for the White House to say “We didn’t do anything extensive on that building” only to find out that BFN has construction permits, vendor schedules, and the building is half constructed under a different name and will be renamed once Trump finds a way to get rid of the Magnitsky Act.

Also, I didn’t watch the SOTU.  I spent a long time reading the emails and texts from Felix Sater.  The bitchiness between him and Cohen reminded me of two wannabes acting like they’re harder than rock, but would cry like a little bitch the first time they get punched in the face.

In other words, the texts portrayed them perfectly.

A spoiler for Wednesday, there’s some secret shit going on in Mueller’s Cohen case, and Cohen has postponed his February 8th hearing with House Intel until February 28th.  Adam Schiff said it was done so that it wouldn’t interfere with any ongoing investigations.  Oh, and they also authorized the committee to send the official interview transcripts over to Mueller.

Expect some indictments in the next three weeks.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Monday, February 4, 2019

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Rinat Akhmetshin

• A Lobbyist At The Trump Tower Meeting Received Half A Million Dollars In Suspicious Payments
• Lobbyist at Trump Tower Meeting Received Half A Million Dollars In Suspicious Payments 
• Lobbyist received half a million in Russia-linked deposits around 2016 Trump Tower meeting: report
• The Moscow Project: Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian lobbyist and alleged former intelligence officer, reportedly received half a million dollars in suspicious payments before and after he attended the June 9, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower. Akhmetshin’s payments add to the millions in suspicious transactions surrounding the 2016 campaign and transition, as documented in our December report on “Following the Money”:

A Russian-born lobbyist who attended the controversial Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 received a series of suspicious payments totaling half a million dollars before and after the encounter.

Documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News show that Rinat Akhmetshin, a Soviet military officer turned Washington lobbyist, deposited large, round-number amounts of cash in the months preceding and following the meeting, where a Russian lawyer offered senior Trump campaign officials dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The lobbyist also received a large payment that bank investigators deemed suspicious from Denis Katsyv, whose company Prevezon Holdings was accused by the US Justice Department of laundering the proceeds of a $230 million Russian tax fraud.

The Trump Tower meeting and those who attended it have become a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into whether the president’s campaign colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. As part of that inquiry, banks were asked to pull financial information on the meeting attendees, and investigators at Wells Fargo handed over documents on Akhmetshin to the US Treasury in 2017. Those records were passed to Mueller’s team, but Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the special counsel, declined to say whether the transactions are under investigation. Congressional investigators also requested the financial information from the Treasury Department.

Just last month, Natalya Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer with whom Akhmetshin attended the meeting, was accused by US authorities of secretly coordinating with the Russian government while defending Katsyv in a money laundering case in New York.

Katsyv, the son of a powerful Russian figure, backed a lobbying campaign by Akhmetshin and Veselnitskaya against the Magnitsky Act, a US law imposing sanctions on a group of Russians officials connected to the suspected $230 million fraud.

So, the “translator” brought in for  the June 9th meeting is also a Russian lobbyist working on the Magnitsky case with Veselnitskaya AND was paid some serious cash for his work.

There are few things that grab the attention of compliance officers and forensic accountants quite like round numbers.  This is because round numbers are pretty rare in the real world.  We have these things called taxes, which make the math on purchases and payroll a pain in the ass.  It also means that perfectly round and large deposits like $250,000 stick out like a sore thumb.  Very rarely does a large round number show up on its own in the real by chance.  But they are used constantly in large illegal or illegitimate transactions.  It would take the bank about 4 seconds to flag that transaction as suspicious and authorize an investigation.

We mentioned Rinat a few times before like on Daily Check-In 04/30/2018 & Daily Check-In 8/30/2017.

I’d go into more detail, but this isn’t the biggest story of the day.  Not by a long shot.

 

Manafort

• Manafort Judge Clears Courtroom to Hear Sealed U.S. Evidence
• Zoe Tillman: Paul Manafort Thread

The judge in Paul Manafort’s DC case is hearing sealed arguments starting at 10am on the special counsel’s claim that Manafort lied after signing his plea deal. They’ve covered the little windows on the doors so you can’t see in. A redacted transcript will come out after.

Latest dispatch from the exciting and glamorous world of legal journalism: Manafort’s lawyers walked out of the courtroom, but they were just taking a quick break

We’re now three hours into sealed arguments over whether Paul Manafort intentionally lied after signing his plea deal. The defense lawyers came out once early on for a quick break, and that’s it

Update: There is now a one-hour break for lunch in today’s Manafort sealed hearing. Manafort’s lawyer Kevin Downing confirms Manafort *is* at the hearing

Manafort’s lawyers and the special counsel office lawyers (Weissmann, Andres, and Rhee + AUSA Asonye) are back inside the courtroom now and they’ve locked the door, so we’re back on

The sealed hearing in Paul Manafort’s case ended just before 3:30pm. The lawyers politely nodded to the reporters waiting outside, but no info on what went down (there’s still a gag order in place, you may recall). So they were before the judge for roughly 4.5 hours

NEW: The judge in Paul Manafort’s DC case has rescheduled his sentencing to March 13 at 9:30 am (was previously March 5). The judge also: – ordered the parties to submit proposed redactions for releasing today’s transcript by 2/6 – set *another* sealed hearing for 2/13

Given the additional sealed hearing set for Feb. 13 (supplemental submissions are due Feb. 8), it appears the judge is pushing back Manafort’s scheduling so that she can deal with the plea deal breach issue first

 

• The Complete Roger Stone Timeline, Part I: The Campaign
• Democrats ask for revocation of Kushner’s security clearance 
• Don Jr. and Jared Kushner’s congressional testimonies are finally going to Mueller 
• Tea Pain: This is the hold-up that may have kept Don Jr. from bein’ indicted so far. The House Intel Committee will vote on Wednesday to send the transcripts to Mueller’s team. If Mueller gets these on Weds, pay close attention if there’s a Grand Jury on Thurs.
• Exclusive: Mueller Is Holding Top Secret Intelligence That Will Sink the Trump Presidency
• Fact Check: Trump Misleads Americans About His Ties to Those Charged in the Russia Investigation
• Mueller report should be made public, says GOP rep.
• Sam Nunberg: Mueller Team Has ‘A Strong Case Of A Conspiracy’
• Watergate’s lesson? If Democrats want to heal America, they have to impeach Donald Trump

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS

Trump Inauguration Subpoenaed

• New York prosecutors seek records from Trump inauguration committee: Sources
• 911corlebra777: Subpoenas for inauguration committee records. That’s a whole separate can of worms there 🙂
• Trump Inaugural Committee Ordered to Hand Over Documents to Federal Investigators
• Steve Herman: A lawyer working with the @realDonaldTrump inaugural committee has just received a subpoena seeking documents related to all of the committee’s donors and event attendees, report @WSJ and @nytimes. The subpoena asks for documents/communications related to “donations or payments made by donors directly to contractors and/or vendors,” and for communications with LA financier Imaad Zuberi and his firm, according to @wsj.
• Maggie Haberman: This subpoena is huge in scope and what the SDNY is looking at. Another reminder that as Mueller prepares to wind down, legal issues related to Trump are going to hang around in lower Manhattan for a long time
• New York prosecutors seek records from Trump inauguration committee: Sources 
• Federal prosecutors issue sweeping subpoena for documents from Trump inaugural committee, a sign of a deepening criminal probe
• Trump Inaugural Committee Ordered to Hand Over Documents to Federal Investigators 

Prosecutors in New York’s Southern District have subpoenaed documents from President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, sources with direct knowledge told ABC News, indicating that even as the special counsel probe appears to be nearing an end, another investigation that could hamstring the president and his lawyers is widening.

The subpoena from the Southern District, which came from its public corruption section, is the latest activity focusing on Trump’s political fundraising both before and immediately after the 2016 election.

“We have just received a subpoena for documents. While we are still reviewing the subpoena, it is our intention to cooperate with the inquiry,” a spokesperson for the inauguration told ABC News.

Prosecutors are seeking documents and records related to the committee’s donors to the massive inauguration fund, according to sources familiar with the request. Prosecutors also are seeking information on attendees to the events surrounding the inauguration, including benefits to top-level donors such as photo opportunities with Trump, sources said.

SDNY has subpoenaed the Trump Inauguration Committee for their bank records, donations, donor lists, and any and all documents related to money.

Let the shitstorm begin.  But first, what does the Inaugural Committee do?

They’re supposed to organize the inaugural balls, parades, and parties. Think of it like organizing a couple dozen parties, a small town Memorial Day parade, and a concert in the park all for the same day. They also have to make sure that everyone has their hotel, security, and all that goes along with inviting a bunch of dignitaries and high rollers.

Where the problem lies with the Trump Inaugural Committee (TIC) is that they secured more than $100 million in donations, but didn’t spend nearly that much on the inauguration. They brought in twice as much as Obama did for 2009, but the Trump parties paled in comparison by size, cost, and number. Obama’s team spent almost all of their money and they had acts like Beyonce and Pre-Kardashian Kanye. Trump had a bunch of people who no one ever heard of, and even some of them got stiffed.

In total, Trump’s inauguration cost something like $16 million. They brought in around $107 million. That’s close to $90 million that went missing. Some of it was spent on a remodel of the Vice President’s residence, and approximately $26 million ended up with a friend of Melania. But the vast majority of it disappeared.

We’ve talked about the TIC more than a few times before (Where to Begin?, Daily Check-In 02/01/2019, 2018 Retrospective, The Indicted).  The chairman of the TIC was Tom Barrack, one of Trump’s billionaire friends.  He and Roger Stone recommended Paul Manafort join the campaign in early 2016.  Barrack’s Chief of Staff on the TIC was Rick Gates.

Yes, THAT Rick Gates from Cooperating Witnesses.  How many times do I have to say that Mueller knows EVERYTHING about what happened?

But wait, this was SDNY, not Mueller!  Good, you’ve been paying attention.  I’m going to make a not-so-bold prediction that over the next 2-3 days that we’ll hear that the SDNY’s actions were based at least in part from their investigations into Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen (Daily Check-In 12/12/2018) and a referral from Special Counselor Robert Mueller.  Considering that they started looking into Cohen from a similar referral, it almost sounds a little meta.

Why the referral?  Mueller is authorized to investigate the Russian Affair and anything that leads from that, but some things are little too cumbersome or slightly out of scope.  And it’s not like he hasn’t already looked into the inauguration.  Remember Sam Patten? (Daily Check-In 08/31/2018)  He pleaded guilty to FARA violations and helping to launder Russian money into the TIC by using a cutout to purchase tickets to the inauguration, then got reimbursed by a Ukranian oligarch friend of him, Manafort, and Kostya from the GRU.  And did I mention Rick Gates, the Chief of Staff of the TIC Chairman?

SDNY has likely been on this case for a long time, and if they’re issuing these subpoenas now, it sounds like they have one hell of a case to bring against anyone involved with the inauguration, including Ivanka and Melania.

Yep, even Kremlin Barbie is up to her neck in this shit.  She was ostensibly in charge of the inauguration, but that’s like saying I put my infant daughter in charge of making dinner.  She ‘helped’ by getting in the way and being… well, being a Trump.  Remember how we heard reports of Ivanka raising the prices of services at the Trump DC Hotel and then charging that to the TIC? (Daily Check-In 11/20/2018, Daily Check-In 10/08/2018, Daily Check-In 12/14/2018)  That’s fraud.  And self-dealing.  And a few dozen other crimes, just from this event.

As far as Melania, she might want to give her friend the heads-up that the feds are looking into that missing money. (Daily Check-In 02/15/2018).

Expect some serious indictments later this year.  As Donnie Jr. said “I love it… especially later in the Summer.”

 

Undocumented Workers

• David Farenthold: Trump Org. was employing undocumented workers at 3 of its courses in NJ and 2 in NY. Company says it didn’t discover that until just now.
• Purge of undocumented workers by the president’s company spreads to at least 5 Trump golf courses

 

Scotland

• US prosecutors reportedly subpoena Trump golf courses in Scotland, which some Democrats worry might have been funded by Russian money

 

SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION

• MSW Podcast: According to a 2017 draft memo obtained by NBC News, Trump’s family separation policy INTENDED to traumatize migrant children. @Alyssa_Milano @MollyJongFast @JoyceWhiteVance @maddow @kathygriffin @Rosie
• From 1-19-19: Memorandum Reveals United States Government Planned to “Traumatize” Migrant Children | Robert Crown Law Library Blog
• Trump Admin Says It’s Too Hard To Reunite Thousands Of Separated Families: Court Filing
• Nathan Rubin: JFK took us to the moon. Barack Obama saved the global economy. FDR defeated Nazism as it spread throughout Europe. If they can do all that, the Trump administration can find the parents to these kids.
• Tracking down separated migrant children improbable, government says
• More Than 80% Of Americans Want Undocumented Immigrants To Have The ‘Chance To Become U.S. Citizens’ 
• 90 Democrats, one lone Republican sign onto a bill giving back pay to federal contract workers

 

STATE OF THE UNION

• AOC’s SOTU Guest: Sexual Assault Survivor Who Confronted Flake In Elevator
• The woman who cornered Jeff Flake in an elevator during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings will be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s guest to the State of the Union
• Denzican Grimes: Someone should bring Mueller as his/her guest for the State of the Union and let him emotionlessly stare down Trump through the entire speech Trump’s speech would be a trainwreck while he sweated through it.
• Rogue Senior White House Advisor: Trump is “working overtime” to get the State of the Union speech done. Has put “30 or 40 minutes” into it and is calling it “one of the great, great speeches. Maybe the greatest.”
• Tea Pain: FUN FACT: This will be Donald Trump’s final State-of-the-Union Address.

 

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

• I was in the CIA. Trump’s petty fights and insults will make us all less safe.
• Joe Walsh: Trump’s public war against our Intelligence community endangers all Americans.
• Julia Davis: Our best intelligence allies might be holding back information from their U.S. counterparts, for fear Trump could not keep it a secret, since Trump likely discussed sensitive matters with Putin behind closed doors, with no record of the conversation.
• The Trump team’s persistent lying about Russia creates counterintelligence challenge
• Trump doesn’t understand even the basics of national intelligence
• “We have very fast airplanes”: Trump’s foreign policy pronouncements go beyond self-parody — Breaking news: Trump’s “Face the Nation” interview makes clear he has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about 
• Donald Trump is ignoring the law today. And no one really cares: First Monday in February is legally the deadline for sending a president’s budget to Congress 

 

FIGHTING BACK

• Patriots player: I won’t visit White House, but it ‘would be dope’ to meet Obama instead

 

Medical Opinions

• Trump’s ‘Great Memory’ Fails As He Repeatedly Forgets Names In New Supercut
• Thread by @DrGJackBrown: “THREAD: Body Language Analysis No. 4373: Matthew Whitaker’s Press Conference re: Robert Mueller’s Investigation • • […]” #Nonverbal #EmotionalIntelligence #MatthewWhitaker #ActingAG
• Thread by @TomJChicago: “1 THREAD- Donald Trump’s Frontotemporal Dementia. Trump has a physical on 2/8. In a panicked move, he named Dr Ronny Jackson as his Medical […]”
• Dr. Jack Brown: THREAD: Body Language Analysis No. 4373: Matthew Whitaker’s Press Conference re: Robert Mueller’s Investigation
• Tom Joseph: 1 THREAD- Donald Trump’s Frontotemporal Dementia.
• Psychiatrist Warns Trump Could Become “Extremely Dangerous” As Mueller Gets Closer 

 

CONGRESS

• If Trump declares a national emergency, Pelosi can jam Republicans. Here’s how.
• Democrats prepare for week of blockbuster hearings into Trump
• Democrats Are Urging Stacey Abrams to Run for Senate. She’s Listening.
• Senate Dems introduce bill to block Trump from using military funds to build wall 
• The era of Democratic compromise is over
• ‘It’s way too many’: Senators grow concerned as vacancies pile up in Trump administration
• After Mattis, Acting Defense Chief Shanahan Is Trying Out for Permanent Role

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

• Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes sues Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center
• Racism Is A Core Component Of The Radical Right – Rantt

 

NORTHAM AND VIRGINIA

• Va. Gov. Northam meets with Cabinet, mulls stepping down
• Va. Gov. Northam weighs resignation as Lt. Gov. Fairfax faces sex assault allegation
• Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax denies sex assault allegation from 2004
• Northam’s medical school banned yearbooks in 2013 — after students posed in Confederate garb

 

SCOTUS & COURTS

• Ginsburg makes 1st public appearance since cancer surgery
• Kamala Harris says she’ll vote against all of President Trump’s judge picks.

 

COLD WAR 2.0

• The latest front in Russian infiltration: America’s right-wing homeschooling movement
• Angry White House Staffer: I don’t know if this translation is accurate — as I don’t speak or read Russian — but I’ll say again: This INF move helps exactly no one but Russia. They’ve been trying to get out of it for over a decade.
• Bill Browder: Interesting to be encountering a group of angry protesters in Houston from the Putin loving Lyndon Larouche organization in advance of my speech about Sergei Magnitsky and Putin. It has been said “the best way to judge a man is not by his friends but by his enemies.”
• Force-Feeding Is Torture, and the United States Government Is Doing It in Your Name 

 

#NEVERAGAIN

• Shannon Watts: Guys, I go into Family Dollar with my bare (bear) hands, and I promise you no one has died on my watch. But seriously folks, @DLoesch is suggesting we teach children how to use guns (even though studies confirm children still play with guns even if taught safety because they’re curious and brains undeveloped) so they can one day protect us from all the criminals the @NRA is arming.
• San Diego City Attorney secures 100th restraining order to remove guns from people who pose significant threat
• Law would penalize gun owners who leave guns out, kids hurt themselves or others

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

• Police raids target UK ‘web attackers’
• Court tells Ajit Pai he can’t take subsidies away from Tribal residents

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

Tulsi, Greenwald, and the Kremlin

• Caroline Orr: Hey @TulsiGabbard: Instead of condemning a US news org for saying that Russia is amplifying your candidacy, why not condemn Russia for its interference in our democratic process and denounce all current and future efforts by Kremlin-funded entities to boost your campaign? Worth noting: @NBCNews never asserted that @TulsiGabbard is a “stooge or asset of the Kremlin.” The point is that Russian propaganda outlets & influence networks are amplifying her campaign. If she’s offended by that, she should denounce *that*, not the people pointing it out.
• Caroline Orr: We’ve done this before, @ggreenwald, and it usually ends up with you slinking off into silence. Either get a new line or stop playing your broken record for me. If you don’t want to be called a Kremlin propagandist, you could start by not giving exclusive interviews to state sponsored Kremlin propaganda outlets. … just a thought.
• Molly McKew: Kremlin media is really going all out — in parallel with Tulsi + Intercept — to deny that they are in any way amplifying Gabbard or giving her favorable coverage. Thou dost protest too much, etc, yo
• Ben Popken: Now RT video runs new segment questioning NBC report. Talks about anything except the core, which compared the higher volume and more favorable tone for Gabbard vs other dem candidates on Russian media outlets. But the lower 3rds are pretty funny. After you get the sick joke. Now @ggreenwald just went on Fox @TuckerCarlson Carlson attacking NBC story. Apparently now he said we’re out to get Gabbard because she’s not “left” enough. Which is such a weird argument to make and wasn’t even his original one.
• Caroline Orr: Putin’s state-sponsored propaganda outlet just name-dropped and slandered me for broaching the topic of Tulsi Gabbard’s strange affection for a war criminal (Assad), and the Kremlin’s strange affection for her. … nothing weird there. Nothing at all. 👀👀

Any and all doubt that Tulsi Gabbard wasn’t bought and paid for by Russia just flew out the window.  Over the weekend, NBC News does a report that shows that the same Russian bots and trolls that pushed Sanders, Stein, and Trump are now pushing Tulsi Gabbard, the only Democratic Presidential candidate who likes Syria’s President Assad, thinks the Kremlin is okay, and pushes a Nationalistic agenda. (Daily Check-In 02/01/2019)  Instead of saying “Hey, strange coincidence” or “Screw the Russians”, Tulsi goes after NBC, the reporters who wrote the story, and anyone who isn’t on the Kremlin’s payroll.

That’s when traitor extraordinaire Glenn Greenwald shows up.  You know, the reporter who worked with Julian Assange to get Edward Snowden to spill the NSA’s secrets, helped Snowden leave the United States and ultimately end up in Russia, and helped Reality Winner get several years in prison by helping her leak NSA documents after she was cultivated by the hostile non-state group WikiLeaks?  By the way, Glenn is hiding out somewhere in South America.

Glenn joins the fray and, as the script goes, proceeds to spout every talking point he’s ever been fed from RT and Sputnik.  Of course, where Glenn goes, the trolls and bots follow.

There’s a quote I’ve seen floating around for the last few weeks.  “I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.”  This quote is attributed to FDR.  He made some damn good enemies.  Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito.   Tulsi Gabbard’s enemies are anyone who isn’t a traitor to the United States or on the payroll of Russian state-run media.  That’s more than enough for me to judge her.

 

Media

• Eric Garland: A hedge fund tied to opioid scandals trying to further consolidate the media industry? You don’t say. Why would hedge funds and private equity be so interested in media when it’s so volatile and unprofitable? Perhaps…to massage public narrative? 🤔
• Gannett Rejects $1.36B Buyout Offer From Digital First Media
• Glenn Beck, Mark Levin Create Conservative Media Powerhouse: Exclusive

 

Fact Checking

• No, Hillary Clinton wasn’t pictured in blackface 
• No, Nancy Pelosi did not get obscenely drunk at a cancer benefit
• Trump doesn’t believe his own damaging rants about ‘fake news’
• Fact Check: Trump Misleads Americans About His Ties to Those Charged in the Russia Investigation

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

• Rick Wilson: Churchill was also a brilliant polymath, scholar, and thinker with a profound understanding of history, diplomacy, and the responsibilities of office. Trump is a wilfully ignorant and narcissistic slack-wit who believes Fox News chyrons are more real than his intel briefings.
• A leaked schedule shows Trump reportedly spends up to five hours a day on ‘executive time,’ and he doesn’t hold his first official meetings until the middle of the day
• Donald Trump Spends Nearly Two Thirds Of His Time Doing Literally Nothing
• There are two types of Trump ‘executive time,’ one for each side of the political debate

 

TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, AND ECONOMY

• Why are millennials burned out? Capitalism.
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Hits Back at Republican Over Tax Rate: NFL Owners, Not Players, Would Pay Highest Rate 
• Bitcoin investors may be out $190 million after the only guy with the password dies, firm says
• Companies Spent 140 Times More on Stock Buybacks than Wage Increases in 2018 and Americans Should be ‘Outraged’ Say Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer 
• New Jersey governor signs bill increasing minimum wage to $15 an hour 
• Not ‘Left-Wing Fantasy’ But ‘Mainstream and Really Popular’: Poll Shows Enormous Public Support for Higher Taxes on Rich
• Senator Sanders to ask why drug, once free, now costs $375k
• Soak the rich? Americans say go for it
• The Tax-the-Rich Movement Keeps Growing 
• Schumer, Sanders to introduce bill restricting stock buybacks unless workers paid $15 per hour 

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

• Poll: 43 percent say this is worst run federal government of their lifetimes
• CNN Poll: 4 in 10 call this the worst governing of their lifetimes

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

• Matt Whitaker Makes Surprise Appearance at El Chapo Trial

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

• ‘It’s way too many’: As vacancies pile up in Trump administration, senators grow concerned
• Why measles is back, in five charts
• Angry White House Staffer: It’s not my job to tell people how to raise their children, but seriously, come on people. If you think vaccines cause autism (they don’t), I still need an anti-vaxxer to explain to me why a dead kid is better than an autistic one. Angry personal fact time: When my youngest son was in the hospital, he received a treatment that prevented him from getting live vaccines for one year. During that year, I was far more worried about him catching something deadly from an anti-vaxxer’s kid than I EVER was autism.
• Trump to nominate David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist, as the next Interior secretary
• New EPA Advisory Board Member Believes Burning Fossil Fuels Is Good For Earth | HuffPost
• Paleo and veganism have given birth to peganism. But is this new diet any good for you?
• Robert Reich: Let’s be very clear: Anyone who denies climate change at this point is either willfully ignorant or complicit in protecting fossil fuel profits over the safety and security of our children and grandchildren.

 

THINKING AHEAD

• Democrats in 2020: Preaching unity, taking different paths
• Howard Schultz’s own polling finds his campaign would re-elect Trump 
• Millennials & Gen Z Voters Hold All the Power in 2020 Election
• More than 30 million Americans say they’ve never heard of Mike Pence.

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

• Liam Neeson interview: Rape, race and how I learnt revenge doesn’t work

 

RUMOR MILL

• Countercheckist: Your monthly reminder: Don’t listen to the despair trolls. OSC knows everything. The recently unsealed case against Roger Stone is airtight. This is what OSC is doing w/ their cases across the board. Trust Mueller’s judgement and leave the SOCMED kooks where you find them. 🙂
• Tea Pain: Mini Thread on the Mueller Report

MINI-THREAD on the Mueller Report 1) Folks are frettin’ because they’re afraid the Mueller Report will be hidden by the White House through Trump’s Attorney General and lackey, Bill Barr.

2) Remember this. This ain’t Mueller’s first rodeo. He’s rolled up mob bosses on more than one occasion and he’s clearly treatin’ Trump just like one. The only thing different about this probe is that this mob boss is the most powerful man on the planet.

3) Mueller ain’t stupid or naive in the least and there’s no way he’s gonna spend two years of his life on this investigation only to have it filed away in Bill Barr’s top drawer.

4) Mueller will ensure we see the entire report through the numerous indictments he is bringin’. The pleadings will grow in more detail as he unveils the conspiracy portion as we approach the end.

5) As a matter of fact, we’ve already seen the beginning of his report as he started at the bottom with the Russian hackers and is buildin’ up to the part where the Trump campaign gets involved with the dissemination of the hacked information.

6) Mueller is no fool and rest assured he will do everything possible to make sure the public has a full account of his findings. EOT.

• Ming: FYI consider if speculation is true that Ming has accrued as to yet un claimed future fame that may be considerable how Ming will wield it. Ming thinking bad actosr who may not face charges will be destroyed. Ming smile ❤
• PostimusMaximus: If I were the Dems I’d tell Bernie he has to run as an Independent if he wants to pull this shit. Its more of “Dems need to put Bernie in his place” than “I’m dying for an independent run” The “Bernie doesn’t run at all’ scenario doesn’t exist. The ‘Bernie starts playing along instead of being a fucking idiot” scenario might, with proper pressure. Learn lessons from 2016.
• Ming: ICYMI The jury is not out on trump being a traitor. It is right in front of you. You should be demanding GOP action.
• 911corlebra777: @SpicyFiles , correct me if I’m wrong, but did Mueller just imply in this filing, Concord were stooges for the Russian Federation and their lawyers leaked files outside of the United States, contrary to a court order?
• Memorandum in Opposition
• Ming: Ming encourage some ppl to look into fluid intelligence and llaterall thinking. Be wiling l to accept new information that may not agree with your preious mistaken understanding . Good Night ❤

Half the times, I’m not sure what the hell Ming is saying.  The other half, I’m not sure I want to know.  As far as the typos, I’m not going to jump down the rabbit hole of reading into each and every typo like we’re deciphering chicken entrails and reading tea leaves.

 

That’s it for Monday.  Damn.  If this is happening on Monday, then the rest of the week will be nuts.

Trump is supposed to deliver the State of the Union on Tuesday.  I’m half expecting a complete and total shitshow.  The other half is expecting a complete and total clusterfuck.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Friday, February 1, 2019 and the weekend

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Deutsche Bank

• Trump Sought a Loan During the 2016 Campaign. Deutsche Bank Said No.
• Trump’s Deutsche Bank loan leak foreshadows coming investigations from House Democrats
• Deutsche Bank in Late 2016 Raced to Shed Loan It Made to Russian Bank VTB
• Deutsche Bank reportedly refused Trump a loan during the 2016 campaign after considering the possibility that they would have to seize assets of a president 
• Deutsche Bank turned Trump down for loan in 2016: report
• Eric Garland: BURIED LEDE: As soon as Russian Mob asset Trump was accidentally elected, Deutsche Bank freaked out because they were doing business with a sanctioned Russian Mob bank.VTB was sanctioned by the US in 2014. Deutsche Bank made loans to them. And to Trump. And they sold $300 million of the loan to Alfa Bank, which is straight Russian Mafiya, Semion Mogilevich. And when were they freaking out? Same time GOP is trying to staff the Trump Mob White House and Carter Page is in Moscow.
• Honest Rich People Don’t Have Trouble Getting Loans. Trump Couldn’t Get One in 2016.

The plot thickens.  Trump went to Deutsche Bank for another loan in 2016, but this time was turned down.  Most likely that Trump’s profile had risen from glorified money launderer for Russian Mafia to Presidential Candidate, and there was a real chance that they’d have to foreclose on a sitting President of the United States.

 

Blocked Calls

• From June 8 2016: Trump Seeks Campaign Cash from New York Real-Estate Buddies
• From June 9 2016:Trump held fundraising meeting with top NYC developers
• Jed Shugerman: Even if accurate, there are other ways for a father and son in the same building to conspire without using a cell phone. The timeline inside Trump Tower on June 7 and 9 has remarkable coincidences… THREAD
• Investor with Blocked Number on Other End of Trump Jr. Call Explored Moscow Tower with Trump More Than 20 Years Ago
• Blocked calls with Trump Jr. around Trump Tower meeting were not with his father, Senate investigators conclude
• Senate panel obtains records for Trump Jr.’s blocked calls 
• Donald Trump Jr. Called a ‘Family Friend’ Who Was Also a Link to Moscow

The more I hear about Lorber, the worse this sounds.  It wasn’t Daddy calling his son before and after a meeting, but one of Daddy’s BFF’s that has experience dealing with Russians calling before and after a meeting with Russia, and calling the day after that BFF was in an all-day meeting with Daddy.  If anything, this adds even more questions, like “Was Lorber instructed to call, or did he call of his own volition?” and “How did Lorber find out about the meeting?”  Someone had to tell him about the meeting with the Russians, and more than just that a meeting was planned.  He needed to have details of who was there, where it was scheduled, and when it started and stopped.  He’d have to know how long it would last, and if it ran over or not.  And Junior would have to know that Lorber was calling him, too.  Who answers a blocked phone number these days?  There is a 99.9% chance that a blocked number is coming from someone you don’t want to talk to.  Which tells me that either Junior is an idiot and answers every call he gets on his special phone, or he knew that someone specific was calling.  While I don’t doubt the former, this sounds like something organized ahead of time.

 

Stone

• Why the FBI Sent So Many Agents to Roger Stone’s Home
• Judge Tells Roger Stone His Case Is Not ‘A Book Tour,’ Considers Gag Order to Shut Him Up

 

Trump Tower Moscow

• The President Said No Site Was Picked For Trump Moscow – But Documents Show His Fixers Were Scoping A Prime Location
• BUSTED: Documents show Trump is still lying about Trump Tower Moscow
• Liar, liar: Trump changes his story again on Trump Tower Moscow

 

Deripaska

• Putin Joins Trump in Finding Ways to Ease Deripaska’s Pain
• Trump lifts U.S. sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in ‘huge gift to Putin’ 
• Russian escort says she gave Trump info to Russian tycoon

 

NRA

• Leaked documents incriminate GOP-Russia ties with NRA as a common denominator
• Fading NRA panics over exposed ties to Russia
• Emails show NRA involved in planning Moscow trip: report

 

Legal Fights

• Russia Is Attacking the U.S. System From Within 

A new court filing submitted on Wednesday by Special Counsel Robert Mueller revealed that a Russian troll farm currently locked in a legal battle over its alleged interference in the 2016 election appeared to wage yet another disinformation campaign late last year—this time targeting Mueller himself.

According to the filing, the special counsel’s office turned over 1 million pages of evidence to lawyers for Concord Management and Consulting as part of the discovery process. The firm is accused of funding the troll farm, known as the Internet Research Agency. But someone connected to Concord allegedly manipulated the documents and leaked them to reporters, hoping the documents would make people think that Mueller’s evidence against the troll farm and its owners was flimsy. The tactic didn’t seem to convince anyone, but it appeared to mark yet another example of Russia exploiting the U.S. justice system to undercut its rivals abroad.

Last year, I detailed how Russia has figured out how to use the U.S. immigration courts and so-called red notices issued by Interpol to harass and even detain its enemies. But it doesn’t end there. Experts say Kremlin proxies have targeted their rivals and other disfavored individuals by exploiting U.S. courts to pursue bogus claims via “superficially legitimate lawsuits,” Anders Aslund, a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said in a recent report. He worked as an economic adviser to the Russian government from 1991 to 1994. The Kremlin proxies have done so not only to perpetuate global harassment campaigns against their perceived enemies, Aslund argued, but also to “enrich themselves through bad faith claims made possible by the Russian state’s abuse of disfavored individuals and their businesses.”

When Mueller indicted Concord in February 2018, along with two other corporate entities and 13 Russian nationals allegedly connected to the Internet Research Agency, it seemed highly unlikely that the indictment would result in a trial, because Russians cannot be extradited to the United States. But Concord unexpectedly hired the well-connected American law firm Reed Smith to fight Mueller, arguing that the charges should be dropped because the special counsel was illegally appointed. The judge in the case, Dabney Friedrich, has twice refused to dismiss the case and recently lambasted Concord’s American lawyers for submitting “unprofessional, inappropriate and ineffective” court filings, and the legal battle has raged on.

Now, according to the Mueller filing this week, unidentified actors working out of Russia appear to have weaponized the U.S. discovery process to Concord’s benefit. More than 1,000 files on the website that hosted the leaked documents “match those produced in discovery,” the special counsel said. The documents were published from a computer with a Russian IP address, according to Mueller, and whoever released them clearly “had access to at least some of the non-sensitive discovery produced by the government.” But forged documents were mixed into the trove, too, apparently in an attempt to accuse Mueller of characterizing American websites and Facebook pages such as Occupy Democrats as Russian disinformation operations. The website also inserted irrelevant documents into folders with unique names—known only to those with access to the discovery materials—and characterized them as the sum total of Mueller’s evidence “in an apparent effort to discredit the investigation,” the special counsel said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Reed Smith denied responsibility for the breach, claiming that the data at issue were hosted by a third-party vendor working for Concord and were never stored on Reed Smith’s internal computer systems. “Reed Smith and its lawyers have at all times complied with the protective order in this case,” the firm said. A Reed Smith attorney representing Concord didn’t return a request for comment.

In October, legal and national-security experts expressed concern to ABC News that, in the Concord case specifically, the Russian government may be trying to use the discovery process in a “graymail” strategy designed to make Mueller drop the case in order to prevent sensitive U.S. national-security information from being made public. Mark Zaid, an attorney based in Washington, D.C., who focuses on national-security law, said he viewed the latest incident involving Concord and the hoax website “as part of a consistent strategy by the Russians to hinder, obstruct, and derail” Mueller’s probe. “One wonders whether pursuing the criminal charges against the Russians was worth the difficulty and these current problems,” Zaid said, “particularly given the odds of ever gaining custody of any individual is unlikely.”

…

Michelle Estlund, a criminal-defense attorney who focuses on international criminal prosecutions and politically motivated prosecutions, told me last year that the problem is that while the U.S. courts operate in good faith to assist Russian authorities, the Russian courts frequently do not. “Our courts act like, and think that, they are operating on the same type of playing field as the Russians,” Estlund said. “But they’re not. The system there is completely different from here. And when the courts are properly responding to what appears to be a legally authorized request for assistance with discovery, often what they’re doing is assisting with an extremely corrupt court proceeding.” Another lawyer who follows this phenomenon closely and requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press echoed Estlund’s assessment. “The Russians have figured out how to weaponize this,” he said. “We have this tremendous system of justice here, which isn’t equipped to address nonjudicial questions like ‘Is this litigant seeking to abuse our entire judicial system?’ ”

• Bill Browder: I’ve seen first hand how a parade of once respectable Western lawyers have sold their souls to Kremlin connected oligarchs & criminals and abused the US and UK legal systems in every way possible for their Russian clients in exchange for a little extra money.
• Russians reportedly “altered” Mueller documents and leaked them online to discredit probe
• Spicy Mic: I’d like to point out that the recently unsealed docket re Grand Jury Subpoena There was a 2nd release (late last night 1/31/19) Oh you think I’m off my rocker? Please hold while I gather your receipts.. THREAD

 

• Sanctioned Venezuela Oil Firm Gave $500,000 to Trump’s Inauguration—And Is in Debt to Moscow
• Donald Trump Jr. will be indicted by Mueller, former prosecutor says, and will help to ensnare his father
• Trump Won’t Commit to Making Mueller Report Public 
• Trump said ‘you have to get rid of’ the Russia probe and parroted a Kremlin talking point in a wide-ranging interview
• Why Mueller’s final move could be a grand conspiracy case

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS

• Trump admits foreign leaders pay him money by renting out rooms in his hotels
• Third Trump Club Fires Undocumented Workers
• Grijalva wants FBI to investigate Trump Organization over hiring of undocumented workers
• FEC: Trump campaign owes Treasury over $1 million in travel expenses
• Trump Made $35M Selling Real Estate in 2018: Forbes 

 

SHUTDOWN & IMMIGRATION

• Trump Admin Says It’s Too Hard To Reunite Thousands Of Separated Families: Court Filing 
• Trump administration says it would require extraordinary effort to reunite migrant families
• Shelter worker sentenced to 19 years in prison for sexually abusing migrant boys
• Hundreds show up for immigration-court hearings that turn out not to exist
• National Parks struggle with up to $11 million in revenue loss from shutdown
• Pelosi: I Won’t Let Republicans Shut Down Government Again 
• U.S. economy added 304,000 jobs in January, shaking off the 35-day partial government shutdown
• Instead of a border wall, get E-Verify to prevent undocumented immigrants from working
• McConnell privately cautioned Trump about emergency declaration on border wall 
• McConnell Reportedly Warns Trump Off Emergency Tactic Amid Possible GOP Revolt | HuffPost
• Historic fentanyl bust undermines Trump’s border wall
• Activists making ‘water drops’ for migrants near border say government intimidation is rising
• Judge Orders Pentagon To Stop Discriminating Against Naturalized Citizen Soldiers
• Armed Services Committee chairman rips Pentagon over lack of transparency about border mission
• Homeland Security IG questions ICE’s oversight of detention facilities
• U.S. border officers make largest-ever fentanyl bust: 254 pounds hidden under cucumbers
• No, Nancy Pelosi didn’t spend $457 million on office renovations during the shutdown 

 

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

A Lack of Intelligence

• ‘Willful Ignorance.’ Inside President Trump’s Troubled Intelligence Briefings 
• Intelligence briefers warn of ‘willful ignorance’ on Trump’s part: report 
• WH Cancels Trump’s Daily Intelligence Briefing Amid His Anger At Intel Chiefs
• ‘He’s doing the enemy’s job for them’: Current and former officials compare Trump to a toddler and say his attacks on the intel community create a goldmine for foreign governments
• Lyin’ Donald Trump is allergic to intelligence
• Trump says he doesn’t “have to agree” with intelligence chiefs on global threats
• Trump now says he fired Mattis 2 months after the defense secretary resigned and publicly rebuked Trump. 
• Trump’s Intelligence Chiefs Contradicted Him on Live TV. Naturally He’s Blaming the Media.
• US intelligence agents were reportedly warned not to tell Trump findings that contradict his public comments
• Contradicted by his own national security team, Trump tries gaslighting

 

INF Treaty

• Trump Just Scrapped a Nuclear Treaty That Kept Us Safe for Decades 
• Democrats warn of “arms race” after Trump pulls out of nuke treaty with Russia
• U.S. to Suspend Nuclear Arms Control Treaty With Russia
• U.S. to withdraw from nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, says Russian violations render the Cold War agreement moot
• US announces pullout from treaty with Russia that’s been a centerpiece of nuclear arms control since the Cold War
• Putin orders Russia to develop new missiles after US leaves treaty 
• Putin says Russia suspends INF treaty with US and will begin work on hypersonic missiles 
• Ricky Davila: So, if you haven’t heard yet, aside from condoning and covering up the murder of journalists, MAGA Cultist Mike Pompeo has announced that the U.S. has withdrawn from the Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia. I’m no expert, but this seems like another reward for master Putin, yes?

 

• The Trump Administration Said It Would Impose Tough New Sanctions on Russia. It Still Hasn’t.
• Trump says he hopes Abrams ‘does a good job’ in her response to his State of the Union speech
• Trump’s New York pastor says Trump never stepped through his church’s doors—’Not one time.’

 

TRAITOR TOTS

• Ronny Jackson appointed Trump’s chief medical advisor amid Pentagon investigation
• Ronny Jackson Named Trump’s Assistant And Chief Medical Adviser ; Meanwhile, the Pentagon continues to investigate professional misconduct allegations against the Navy doctor
• The man who stood behind Trump
• U.S. Is Perceived to Be More Corrupt Under Trump
• In Md. census trial, Trump administration tries to show citizenship question would not harm the 2020 count
• Jared Kushner shouldn’t be allowed to play government 

 

FIGHTING BACK

• Democrats send messages on immigration, jobs and shutdown with State of the Union guests
• Played by Putin: Madeleine Albright explains how Trump is “playing a strong hand poorly”
• ‘A watershed moment’: Trump faces crossroads amid mounting threats on all sides
• Americans like transgender servicemembers more than they like Trump 
• Cooper: Make-believe isn’t OK when you are president
• If you’re still working for Trump, his stink won’t ever wash off
• Maxine Waters: It is ‘absolutely’ clear that things are headed toward Trump’s impeachment
• New England resident allowed to keep ‘Impeach Trump’ sign after fight 
• Note to Sarah Sanders: God doesn’t pick presidents

 

CONGRESS

• White House Owes Congress The Answers About Jamal Khashoggi
• We need a House Select Committee on presidential crime, corruption and calumny 
• ‘A whole lot of carrot’: Pelosi keeps young and restless caucus on the same page

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

• ‘Pro-life’ forces send death threats to Virginia Democrats over abortion legislation
• ‘This was a racial and homophobic hate crime’: Jussie Smollett’s family speaks out after alleged assault
• ‘What black girl magic looks like’: White officer demoted for mocking black woman whose car he impounded
• Ann Coulter: ‘Lunatic’ Trump could be challenged in 2020 — from the right
• Ann Coulter: Trump Is ‘Lazy and Incompetent’
• Caroline Orr: Republicans, if y’all want to start caring about racism all of a sudden, that’d be great. So go ahead — disavow Trump for his racist birther conspiracy theory, Ron DeSantis for his racist record, Steve King for his racist everything… and so on.
• Ocasio-Cortez says her offices are ‘flooded’ with bigoted calls
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Issues Warning To Anonymous Bigots Flooding Her Office With Calls 
• AOC Is Right: Algorithms Will Always Be Biased As Long As There’s Systemic Racism in This Country

 

NORTHAM

• Va. Gov. Northam refuses to step down, despite flood of calls for his resignation for ‘racist and offensive’ photo, party says
• Va. Gov. Northam’s medical school yearbook page shows men in blackface, KKK robe
• Ralph Northam yearbook page shows men in blackface and KKK robe 
• Pelosi calls on Northam to resign
• Top Democrats Are Calling For Virginia’s Governor To Resign Over His Racist Yearbook Photo 
• Donald Trump Jr. slammed by Kamala Harris team over Ralph Northam tweet
• Jennifer Rubin: Imagine if whole GOP did to Trump after Access Hollywood what Dems are doing to Northam now. Northam must go. I really am not impressed with any R who didn’t abandon Trump after Access Hollywood. It isn’t bothersiderism. It’s Northam go, R’s put a sock in it.
• Sorry, Republicans. You can’t call out Northam for racism and give Trump a pass.
• Ahmed Baba: As you watch the universal condemnation of Ralph Northam on your timeline, recognize the stark difference between this reaction and the reaction to racist activity on the part of @GOP leaders The right is very… selective when deciding who they call to resign for racist activity
• Caroline Orr: Republicans, if y’all want to start caring about racism all of a sudden, that’d be great. So go ahead — disavow Trump for his racist birther conspiracy theory, Ron DeSantis for his racist record, Steve King for his racist everything… and so on.
• Donald Jr. Says GOP Would Never Get Away With A Northam Scandal; Twitter Lets Him Have It 
• Republicans Have ‘No Morals At All’ And Trump Is ‘Much Worse’ Than Northam, Former Vermont Governor Says 
• MSW Podcast: Republicans, We don’t need your help calling on Northam to resign. Given your president, reps like Steve King, senators like Hyde-Smith, governors, & state and local GOP racists, you should probably sit this one out. Thanks, The Dems #WeGotThis #NorthamResign
• Ahmed Baba: It’s very interesting to see how we weigh racism. When someone wears a racist costume, it’s somehow worse than living a life of racist rhetoric, actions, and policy implementation? I’m not defending Northam, he should resign, but so should those who perpetuate systemic racism.
• Photo of Mitch McConnell in Front of a Confederate Flag Resurfaces Amid Northam Yearbook Controversy
• A descendant of a slave, Justin Fairfax could become the next governor of Virginia
• Caroline Orr: Trump’s Racist Past, Present, and Future

Republican Donald Trump’s past: -1973: Sued by Nixon admin. for refusing to rent to black tenants -1980s: Accused of discrimination for allegedly ordering black employees into the back when he and Ivana came into his casino -1989: Central Park Five ad (“modern day lynching”) 1/

Ronna McDanielVerified account @GOPChairwoman

Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam’s past: 1981: You had a racist nickname in your college yearbook.…

Trump’s past, continued: -1991: Says “laziness is a trait in blacks” – a comment he later admits to saying (http://www.playboy.com/articles/the-art-of-the-donald …) -1992: Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino had to pay a $200K fine for moving black & women dealers off tables to satisfy the demands of a high roller. 2/

Trump’s past, continued: -2011: Floats racist birther conspiracy to delegitimize first black POTUS. Not surprisingly, belief in birtherism is strongly associated w/racism. (https://wpsa.research.pdx.edu/papers/docs/Birthers.pdf …) -2011: Suggests Obama wasn’t smart enough for Columbia or Harvard Law. 3/

Trump’s past, continued: -2016: Still believes Central Park Five are guilty, despite DNA evidence. -2017: Called Nazis “very fine people.” -2017: Said people from Haiti “all have AIDS,” & that people from Nigeria would never “go back to their huts” once they saw America. 4/

Trump’s past, continued: -2017: Calls Haiti and African nations “shithole countries.” -2017: Defends the confederacy just days after Charlottesville nazi riot -Ongoing: Targeted racist attacks against black women, black reporters, and black athletes. https://shareblue.com/trump-charlottesville-anniversary-white-supremacists-racism-hate-groups-grow/ …

Trump’s presidency has awakened and emboldened the racists among us, from Charlottesville to Covington. Racists recognize their own kind, and they see a kindred spirit in the White House.

I wrote about Trump’s white supremacist supporters back in 2017, and the words still ring just as true today. White supremacists view Trump as a vehicle for their racist ideology, and he has proven them right at every turn.

So @GOPChairwoman, maybe you had a sudden change of heart and started caring about racism because of Ralph Northam. If so, go ahead and condemn Trump’s racist history, as outlined in this thread — or admit you’re only pretending to care about racism to score political points.

 

SCOTUS & COURTS

• Abortion case provides an unexpected quick test for Supreme Court conservatives
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg Death Rumors Proliferated Online by QAnon, Former Trump Adviser
• Sen. Collins Received Numerous Out-of-State Donations Following Her Pivotal Kavanaugh Vote: Report 

 

#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS

• Military service academies see nearly 50% jump in students facing unwanted sexual contact
• No, late-term abortions are not unrestricted under new law 
• Two years ago, the Trump administration limited abortion access worldwide. These powerful images reveal the impact.
• Michael Avenatti: Let’s be honest about it – if R. Kelly’s victims were young white girls, he would already be locked up for life. It’s a disgrace that he remains free to be the predator that he is. And I can promise you it will soon change…

 

COLD WAR 2.0

• US intelligence warns China using student spies to steal secrets 
• US stops all aid to Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza 
• Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s new company is building training center in Xinjiang
• 911corlebra777: Erik Prince is now claiming he had no knowledge of FSG building a paramilitary training camp in Western China to suppress the local Muslim population. As a senior board member & founding shareholder of FSG, that is hard to believe
• U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan tied to Afghan dialogue and a Taliban cease-fire
• Sanctioned Venezuela Oil Firm Gave $500,000 to Trump’s Inauguration—And Is in Debt to Moscow
• Venezuela’s opposition leader calls for ‘unstoppable’ wave against Maduro amid huge opposition marches
• Garry Kasparov: Saying the US shouldn’t sanction Maduro’s narco-mafia state for the sake of poor Venezuelans is absurd. They are already starving, would you starve them of hope as well? With a dictator, there is none.
• Five Saudi Students Accused of Rape, Murder, Hit and Runs, Have Fled Oregon Before Trial With The Help of Saudi Consulate
• Following U.S., Putin suspends nuclear pact and promises new weapons
• Carole Cadwalladr: “Farage turns up once a month and often what he talks about has absolutely nothing to do with what’s being discussed. You think, what’s going on? And then you realise it’s got nothing to do with the parliament. It’s just for his social media output.” “It’s these YouTube set-piece speeches, pumped via the site’s algorithm to the phones of a new generation,that are Farage’s power base now. And at the centre of this is RT (formerly Russia Today), the Kremlin-controlled English-language broadcaster. RT made Farage a YouTube star”

 

#NEVERAGAIN

• Leaked documents incriminate GOP-Russia ties with NRA as a common denominator
• Fading NRA panics over exposed ties to Russia
• Emails show NRA involved in planning Moscow trip: report
• Eric Swalwell: After 6 yrs of working in Congress to end gun violence, I was losing faith. Moments of silence were never followed by action. But something changed after the Parkland tragedy. The surviving students used their voices to inspire change. That’s why my #SOTU guest is @cameron_kasky

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

• Washington state has a $171M bill for Comcast as major consumer protection trial concludes
• Opinion | Regulate social media now. The future of democracy is at stake.
• Russian troll accounts purged by Twitter pushed Qanon, other conspiracies
• FCC struggles to convince judge that broadband isn’t “telecommunications”
• Facebook defends paying people to monitor them through its controversial app in a leaked memo to employees
• YouTube wants ‘dislike mobs’ to stop weaponizing the dislike button

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

• Trump’s Intelligence Chiefs Contradicted Him on Live TV. Naturally He’s Blaming the Media.
• Renato Mariotti: “But you have to get rid of the Russia witch hunt…” – Donald Trump to CBS in the interview airing today. Another line I expect Mueller to quote when he concludes that Trump obstructed justice.
• Ann Coulter: ‘Lunatic’ Trump could be challenged in 2020 — from the right
• Ann Coulter: Trump Is ‘Lazy and Incompetent’
• Twitter CEO claims Trump is no worse than Obama on rightwing podcast
• The Newseum was a grand tribute to the power of journalism. Here’s how it failed.

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

• Trump Spends Two-Thirds of his Time as President Doing Nothing in Particular, Leaked Documents Show 
• Read Trump’s “Executive Time”-filled leaked private schedules 
• Leaked schedules show Trump has spent more than half of last 3 months in ‘Executive Time’: Axios 
• Insider leaks Trump’s “Executive Time”-filled private schedules 
• #ExecutiveTime Takes Off on Twitter After 3 Months of Trump’s Daily Schedules Leaked 
• Trump Could Be Our Laziest President Ever, According to Leaked Schedules 
• Kyle Griffin: A White House source has leaked Trump’s private schedules for nearly every working day since the midterms to Axios. Trump has spent around 60% of the last three months in “Executive Time.” You read that right: 60%.

 

TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, AND ECONOMY

• U.S. economy added 304,000 jobs in January, shaking off the 35-day partial government shutdown
• A Damning New Report Says McKinsey Allegedly Helped Purdue Sell Even More Opioids
• A majority of Americans approve of Elizabeth Warren’s new tax on the wealthy, according to a new poll 
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fuels Twitter storm by suggesting employers shouldn’t mind if men and women make their incomes public
• America is falling out of love with billionaires, and it’s about time 
• Forget philanthropy. The super-rich should be paying proper taxes. Rather than funding a better state, they hide behind the fig leaf of charitable giving.
• Foxconn says it will actually build factory, cites “conversation” with Trump
• GM to begin laying of 4,000 workers Monday 
• LA Teachers Didn’t Just Win Their Strike—They Beat Back School Privatizers 
• Stock valuations are the ‘most obscene’ since the Great Depression — and one market bear says Wall Street experts are giving people false hope before the next crash
• The Solution Hiding In Plain Sight: Tax The Rich 
• This Is a Great Time to Hike the Estate Tax, Because America’s Billionaires Are Getting Really, Really Old 
• Utah GOP lawmakers move to limit voter-approved Medicaid expansion
• Why Billionaires Make Horrible Candidates and Presidents – The rich determine which bitter pill to shove down the throats of the 99 percent
• Why record job growth in America hides a troubling reality
• Trump administration proposes big changes in how prescription drugs are priced

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

• ‘Your brand is toxic’: Bay Area’s last GOP lawmaker couldn’t overcome Trump

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

• El Chapo ‘raped girls as young as 13’ – and called them his ‘vitamins’
• El Chapo trial provides a deep look inside the Sinaloa cartel’s drug empire
• These Marines were falsely accused of war crimes. Twelve years later, they have vindication.
• Terabytes of Enron data have quietly gone missing from the Department of Energy
• Bezos Leak Probe Questions Mistress’ Brother in National Enquirer Leak Probe

 

PRIESTS & RELIGION

• Ellen Page condemns Pence for his stance on gay marriage 
• Catholic leaders in Texas name 286 accused of abusing minors
• Father blames ‘extreme Christianity’ for missionary son’s death – Premier
• Letter: ‘We’ve become a nation of phony patriots and phony Christians’
• Guardians, teen charged in death of 7-year-old Manitowoc Co. boy
• Kim Davis Thinks Taxpayers Should Cover Her $220,000 Legal Battle
• Philippine forces cleared this city of Islamist militants in 2017. It’s still a ghost town.

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

• ‘Like bathing in ice water fully clothed’: My encounter with the polar vortex
• Teaching China to recycle, village by village
• Teenagers Emerge as a Force in Climate Protests Across Europe
• A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science
• Climate change denier among those appointed to EPA science board
• House Democrats Plan to Tackle Climate with or without the GOP
• John Christy Was Just Named An EPA Science Adviser. His Climate Studies Have Been Repeatedly Corrected.
• Study: Alabama, Red States Will Bear Brunt of Climate Change 
• An Iowa college student died after being found near his dorm, one of several victims of the Midwest freeze
• A FedEx worker is one of 23 killed in the extreme weather

 

ELECTIONS

• Kentucky is disenfranchising black voters at a higher rate than any other state in the country 
• Mitch McConnell just made it much easier for Democrats to accuse Republicans of voter suppression
• Mitch McConnell Hates Democracy 
• House panel launches inquiry over voter rights roll-backs 
• Republicans seize on liberal positions to paint Democrats as radical

 

Electoral College

• Pete Buttigieg Wants to Eliminate the Electoral College: ‘It’s Made Our Society Less and Less Democratic’
• Colorado Senate passes bill favoring popular vote over Electoral College
• Colorado Senate passes bill to essentially eliminate Electoral College 
• Democrats Need to Make Getting Rid of the Electoral College a Top Priority – Two Republican losers have “won” the presidency in 16 years—that should be a lesson for Democrats. 

 

Texas

• Texas admits errors in illegal voter report of 95,000, claims it’s now much lower
• Texas Republicans Hit With Another Lawsuit Over ‘Unfounded Voter Purge’ | HuffPost
• Americans like me don’t belong on Texas’ botched list of possible noncitizen voters — but there I am 
• Naturalized citizens suing over Texas voter citizenship review, calling it conspiracy to single out foreign-born Texans
• Dems are headed to Texas to probe suspected voter suppression
• Texas Officials Are Exaggerating Voter Fraud. That’s Exactly The Point. 

 

THINKING AHEAD

• Bill Browder: The Russians have found their new favorite US candidate for president in 2020, Tulsi Gabbard, the only US member of congress who supports genocidal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Check out the Russian troll explosion under the NBC news story reporting this.
• Russia’s propaganda machine discovers 2020 Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard 
• ‘I am who I am’: Kamala Harris, daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, defines herself simply as ‘American’ 
• Howard Schultz Already Reconsidering This Whole President Thing
• Howard Schultz built a driveway through a park: This is why he shouldn’t be president
• Howard Schultz viewed unfavorably by Dems, GOP and independents 
• Michael Moore Calls for a Starbucks Boycott to Stop Howard Schultz from Running for POTUS
• Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey joins the 2020 presidential race
• Booker calls for legalizing marijuana as he launches 2020 bid 
• Trump enters the 2020 election cycle with a massive fundraising lead over Democrats
• Don’t let progressives fool you. Moderate Democrats can win.
• The Trailer: Sherrod Brown says Democrats can have it all. Can they?
• Where is the center of gravity in the Democratic Party?
• Powerful Men Can’t Stop Complaining That They’re Being Bullied
• Almost Half Of Voters Are Dead Set Against Voting For Trump
• Bloomberg builds an all-star political team — and he might not even run
• How the relationship between Trump and Bloomberg went into a tailspin
• Brown: ‘We Have A President Who Is A Racist’ 
• No, Elizabeth Warren doesn’t have racist art in her kitchen

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

• We teach black boys sports are their only hope. What if we let them dream bigger?
• Denver To Vote On Decriminalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms In May 
• Denver voters to weigh decriminalization of magic mushrooms

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

• A Netflix for video games? Why a longtime dream is closer than ever to coming true.
• On Super Bowl Monday, 17 million workers are expected to call in ‘sick’
• Opinion | The whitewashing of Japan’s Naomi Osaka was no accident

 

SUPER BOWL

• Patriots pull ahead of Rams in lowest-scoring Super Bowl in decades
• Urinating Tree: – New England executes Order 66 – Tom Brady acquires the final Infinity Stone – The Rams bandwagon disperses into the ether – Pittsburgh, Kansas City and the rest of the AFC caves into a pit. – No Sweet Victory for anyone – Most boring Super Bowl in a while The NFL deserved this
• Denzican Grimes: Reminder that CBS banned a medical marijuana commercial for the Super Bowl that showed it removing a kids seizure for the first time in his life, while at the same time shoving alcohol ads down our throats. #SuperBowl #SBLIII
• John Schindler: Next, I intend to watch just enough of the Super Bowl to make it seem that I’m not just at the party for the free beer and nachos when, in fact, I am just there for the free beer and nachos.

 

RUMOR MILL

• Sara Danner Dukic: I think it’s safe to say that the stupid thing rhyming with “ball” isn’t even about actually building anything. THREAD
• Thread by @saradannerdukic: “I think it’s safe to say that the stupid thing rhyming with “ball” isn’t even about actually building anything. Instead, (IMO) it’s about a […]”
• Eric Garland: Thread. Could this be Individual-1’s defense team, the FARA-registered firm, Alston-Bird? They specialize in defending RICO, foreign corruption…

Thread. Could this be Individual-1’s defense team, the FARA-registered firm, Alston-Bird? They specialize in defending RICO, foreign corruption…

PS. It’s Bob Dole’s old lobbying firm where they represented RUSSIA, Taiwan, Montenegro, etc.

Ketchum was the PR agency that got Vladimir Putin an OpEd in the New York Times ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 of all days.

In Spicy’s latest brilliant thread, note that Trump’s morning shitter tweets went insane the day this docket moved forward in 2018.

The firm in this sealed case employed Bob Dole, who worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch OLEG DERIPASKA, the guy who bought Trump’s house for double.

 

• Angry White House Staffer: Trump is again claiming he asked for Mattis’ resignation. This is false. Mattis resigned because POTUS is an idiot. Then he wrote a scathing letter that shook most of DC to its core.
• Countercheckist: Russia has 2 viable strategic deterrents: S-400 A2/AD system, and nuclear weapons. The Kremlin has no stealth 5th gen fighter or bomber platform, 1 aircraft carrier that’s out of commission for the foreseeable future etc. Leaving them with nuclear forces to offset the imbalance. ^^ Just so happens nuclear forces are the most expensive to develop and maintain over the long-term. And since Russia didn’t fare well in its last arms race against the west…
• Angry White House Staffer: Trump’s been panicking all day. I wonder who’s going to jail tomorrow? Man I hope it’s Jr.
• Lincoln’s Bible: Last I checked, coca plants don’t grow so well in Russia. Perhaps this is a transnational crime syndicate. (psst… you need lots and lots of kerosene to make cocaine from the plant)
• Louise Mensch: I’m a huge fan of @CoryBooker, who used social media not merely to aggrandize himself and boast of his follower count but to serve his constituents, offering to shovel the driveways of elderly residents of Newark. Republicans used to appreciate servant leadership. I still do.
• Ming: FYI Ming prbly gonna rename Facebook. Ming laugh and laugh
• Ming: Might be parscale too. If he dosent go tommorrw Ming raise odds he flipped.
• PostimusMaximus: As I’ve said before with Russia : Nukes are all they have. And anything that keeps the idea of nuclear war relevant keeps them relevant.
• PostimusMaximus: Remember when an entire media industry and literally all of his political opponents failed to find out about anything Trump Russia related let alone things like breaking financial laws or paying off affairs? Fun times 2016 was.
• Ming: Why would you attack CI experts like Strozk and Schindler and elevate Nance?
• Sara Danner Dukic: All of it’s about to come to a head. (MEGA THREAD)
• Thread by @saradannerdukic: “All of it’s about to come to a head. (MEGA THREAD) You should watch this from our girl Rachel. She ties many important points very neatly to […]”
• The Civil Rights Warrior Who May Have Linked Roger Stone to WikiLeaks
• Eric Garland: Roger Stone’s contact to Wikileaks was a “left-wing” civil rights attorney tied to Occupy Wall Street, John Gotti, and other hackers for Wikileaks? WEIRD. THREAD
• Countercheckist: Oh look, Julian and Glenn are in damage control mode trying to protect the Kremlin’s latest candidate for POTUS. There seems to be a pattern emerging… 🙂

 

That’s it for the last few days.  There’s a lot that happened, but a lot that I didn’t go into.  This was a weird weekend, the kind where I want Monday to show up just so I can put it behind me.

If there’s one thing that pisses me off, it’s a cheater.  Whether it’s a foreign government exploiting our judicial system for corrupt purposes, or a bunch of partisan racists acting like one shitty act from 4 decades ago is somehow worse than the gigantic pile of racist shit they did last week, or just watching the Patriots win yet another championship, it can be pretty disheartening.  Especially while trying to be one of the good guys.

I hate being one of the good guys.  Being a good guy means fighting by a code.  That’s all well and good when all of the fighters follow that code, but when my opponent ignores the rules, why should I follow them?  Why should I restrict myself when the stakes are high and my opponent is cheating to win?

Take the Northam stuff for example.  I promised my wife I wouldn’t go too deep on this subject, but I’m sick and tired of watching the Democrats eat themselves because they have a conscience while the Republicans literally have White Nationalists, Neo-Nazis, open racists, and indicted felons holding high offices in this country.  It makes me sick with anger.  Where the fuck was their indignation when Ron DeSantis called his black opponent a monkey during the campaign trail?  Or their disgust with dead kids locked up in internment camps along the southern border? Or their confusion that the same person who said that Neo-Nazis were “very fine people” less than a year and a half ago, and wasn’t the worst or most racist thing he’s done in that time, is calling for a man to quit his job because of a picture taken back in the 1980’s in Virginia?

Oh, by the way, let’s not act like rural Virginia was always some bastion of racial equality.  The capital of the Confederacy was Richmond.  And the 80’s were a good time for racists.  Blackface was still somewhat accepted.  Anyone remember Soul Man?  It was  a movie about a white kid who… okay, even the description is cringeworthy nowadays, but this was the 80’s.

Soul Man is a 1986 American comedy film about a white man who temporarily darkens his skin in order to pretend to be black and qualify for a black-only scholarship at Harvard Law School. The film was directed by Steve Miner^[2] and stars C. Thomas Howell, Rae Dawn Chong, Arye Gross, James Earl Jones, Leslie Nielsen, James B. Sikking, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.^[2]

The title refers to the Sam and Dave song “Soul Man“. The original soundtrack includes a version performed by Sam Moore and Lou Reed.

That’s as far as I’m going to go with this today.  I look forward to Monday because it’s a new day.

By the way, Fuck the Patriots and Fuck the Rams.  That was the most boring Super Bowl I’ve watched in my lifetime.  It wasn’t so much a defensive showdown as it was like watching paint dry.  The only player I was excited to see was Johnny Hekker, the Rams punter.  When a team is so bland that their punter is the best performer, they suck.  At least I can go back to hating Stan Kroenke for fucking over St. Louis.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur