Lots of stuff going on, my friends.! We can view much of it in a positive light, which gives us the strength to fight, fight, fight! The lousy news (and there’s plenty of that) goes into other diaries.
💙 Russia, Russia, Russia ❤️
💙 Vanity Fair’s piece on where the Mueller investigation might go next:
Castro [Joaquin] has a unique window onto the special counsel’s possible course and sees careful calculation in its unfolding. “By indicting the 13 Russians first,” he says, “Mueller laid the groundwork to show that there is this malignant force out there that was interfering with the American elections. Once everybody can appreciate that, then he moves forward and says, ‘O.K., these are the Americans that were helping these bad people.’”
Possible big-name targets—all of whom have consistently denied conspiring with or aiding the Russian election-meddling—include Roger Stone Jr., the longtime Trump adviser; Guccifer 2.0 correspondent, and gleeful dirty trickster; Cambridge Analytica, the data-mining company; and Brad Parscale, who ran the Trump campaign’s social-media operation. But Mueller has so far proven adept at uncovering previously obscure operatives and forcing them to plead guilty—including foreign-policy adviser George Papadopoulos, Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan, and Rick Gates, the right-hand man to Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman who has financial ties to Eastern Europe.
Of course, the brazen poisoning of a Soviet double agent in the UK — brazen in that it was obviously done by Russia, and no matter how often they say Nyet, Nyet! — was done in order to convince those who might speak not to do so. I am certain that Manafort fears for his life. I have also wondered about Devin Nunes, who seems so cowardly. And I think some of the Republicans who are retiring are doing so just because they don’t want to be involved with such dangerous people.
We have to recognize that some of these people are seriously, seriously bad people, and be aware of the danger that they present.
I’m to the point of wanting to engage in defenestration, which means pushing bad leaders out of office windows in order to get them out of government. If you do this on the ground floor it shouldn’t hurt them.
💙 Mueller is helping himself to some Trump Organization documents!
The Axios summary:
The New York Times' Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman reported that Special Counsel Bob Mueller is demanding documents related to Russia from the Trump Organization.
Why it matters: This brings the Russia probe even closer to President Trump, as it's the first time Mueller and his team are seeking documents directly from Trump's business. And this subpoena signals that the investigation is not wrapping up any time soon, contrary to Trump's lawyers telling him otherwise.
Flashback: In July Trump told NYT that Mueller would be "crossing a red line" if he investigated his family’s finances, which he argues is outside of the scope of Russia-related matters.
💙 Trump’s lawyers are prepping for an interview with Robert Mueller
Donald Trump has been dancing around the idea of talking to Robert Mueller for months. After first saying that he would be happy to talk to the special counsel and that he was “looking forward to it,” Trump’s legal team began attempting to tamp down that enthusiasm. They tried to push the idea that Trump might respond to a list of questions in writing. Or that he might provide a recorded response. Or, most recently, that he’d talk to Mueller so long as Trump gets to pick the questions, and the setting—and only if Mueller promises to stop investigating Trump after the interview.
But none of that has ever seemed likely. Robert Mueller not only has the option of a grand jury subpoena, but the ability to pull Trump in for an interview on his own.
Another diary warns to take this with several shakers of salt, as the source may only be Trump lawyers, who are not the most honest bunch. On the other hand the White House is as leaky as a sieve, so who knows?
💙 💚 💛 The US defended itself from the Russians who hacked our energy grid:
Besides explaining what was going on, the Dkos diarist (Karen Wehrstein) has some interesting theories about why that story was just leaked by those in the government.
1) To force the administration by the weight of public opinion to act against Putin’s Russia. If so, it’s working; Trump went ahead with the sanctions, albeit in a limited manner, and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley announced that the US considers Putin’s Russia responsible for the UK poisoning on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, closing ranks with all the other NATO countries.
2) We are nearing the end-game, i.e. Mueller is working towards indicting Trump and/or Trump family members. As that impends, the above agencies want to:
- turn American public opinion further against Putin’s Russia
- make it understood by the public, the media and Congress that Putin’s Russia is a hostile foreign power, is dangerous, and is in effect at war with the US
- add greater credibility to the accusation that Putin’s Russia interfered with the presidential election
- make everyone and anyone who conspired with Putin’s Russia look like the traitors they are in the eyes of the public, the media and Congress, so that when Mueller indicts Trump for conspiring, support for him from his base is weakened
- force Republicans in Congress to consider impeachment at that point
💙 ❤️ ❤️ McCain and Sasse want NATO to act against Russia
Senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Ben Sasse sent a joint letter to the Trump administration Thursday urging them to coordinate with NATO allies to respond to Russia’s use of a nerve agent in Salisbury, England.
McCain is Putin’s least-favorite Republican senator because of the Magnitsky Act.
💙 The Trump Administration is finally imposing some of those sanctions on Russia
The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on a series of Russian organizations and individuals in retaliation for interference in the 2016 presidential elections and other 'malicious cyberattacks.' It was the most significant action taken against Moscow since President Trump took office."
💙 I heartily recommend Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, the new book by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. It’s not exactly good news, but it is excellent reporting. (And Mitt Romney may have been right back in 2012; Russia, not al Qaeda, was our greatest threat.)
It has also convinced me of the importance of never, ever clicking on a pfishing email and the importance of establishing two-factor security everywhere.
💙 And other sordid affairs… 💚
💛 Buzzfeed maneuver could free Stormy Daniels to tell her tale
...Now, BuzzFeed is using Cohen’s libel suit as a vehicle to demand that Daniels preserve all records relating to her relationship with Trump, as well as her dealings with Cohen and the payment he has acknowledged arranging in 2016.
❤️ Trump has bragged about making stuff up to the Prime Minister of Canada. Bragged about it. Have any of his supporters heard this? How does this make them feel? Do they like being lied to? (Rhetorical question, as the answer must be yes, at least some of them do.)
💙 Republican Suck and Democrats Are Great! 💛
We all enjoyed the Lambslide earlier this week. Now, we know that Saccone originally tried to run on the R tax cuts. After all, it is the only substantial piece of legislation that the Congress passed, and besides, it’s what the Rs usually run on. ❤️ But the R-supplied message in that special election was not popular:
Republicans didn't just approve massive tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations because they believed the policy would be good for the economy; they also saw the regressive tax cuts as a powerful electoral tool. A president's party traditionally does poorly in the first midterm cycle, but GOP leaders saw their tax plan as key to bucking the historical trend.
Those assumptions have been shaken of late. In Pennsylvania's congressional special election, Republicans initially focused heavily on the GOP tax cuts, only to discover that voters in the district -- an area Donald Trump won easily in 2016 -- were wholly unimpressed.
It's against this backdrop that the president apparently wants ... wait for it ... more tax cuts.
Of course Trump is offering more tax cuts. He needs to give a reason for the Koch brothers and the Mercers to finance the campaigns of all those Republicans in the House and Senate. But this article at ❤️ VOX shows how the Republicans got fleeced in PA18.
Republicans dumped close to $10 million into the race and still lost. Democrats also spent millions but were vastly outspent by their GOP counterparts.
❤️ 💙 The Guardian supplies some fun numbers: each of Saccone’s votes cost $99+ apiece, while each of Lamb’s votes cost $42+. And Saccone lost 😄! And Lamb raised most of his money, while Saccone’s money came from outside big donors. I am all for the Kochs and the Mercers throwing money at losing candidates; it helps get some of their ridiculous wealth back into circulation!
💙 ❤️ 💙 538 thinks the Rs should be freaking out, because PA18 is part of a trend
The Democratic overperformance in Pennsylvania 18
Special elections this cycle, by the constituency’s partisan lean and final vote margin
Year |
Date |
Seat |
Partisan Lean |
Vote margin |
Dem. Swing |
2017 |
April 4 |
California 34th† |
D+69 |
D+87 |
+18 |
|
April 11 |
Kansas 4th |
R+29 |
R+6 |
+23 |
|
May 25 |
Montana At-Large |
R+21 |
R+6 |
+16 |
|
June 20 |
Georgia 6th |
R+9 |
R+4 |
+6 |
|
June 20 |
South Carolina 5th |
R+19 |
R+3 |
+16 |
|
Nov. 7 |
Utah 3rd |
R+35 |
R+32 |
+3 |
|
Dec. 12 |
Alabama U.S. Senate |
R+29 |
D+2 |
+31 |
2018 |
March 13 |
Pennsylvania 18th |
R+21 |
0* |
+22 |
538 has a few other gems: how special elections tend to predict midterms and how turnout is a sign of enthusiasm.
❤️ For some reason, Tennessee Republicans can’t seem to call Nazis terrorists. Gee, what does it take, you cowards? Oh, right, principles, which brings us to...
❤️ Senator Jeff Flake (R) admits his party has no principles
Sen. Jeff Flake further distanced himself from the administration on Thursday at an event at the National Press Club, saying the Republican party "might not deserve to lead."
"Never has a party abandoned, fled its principles and deeply held beliefs so quickly as my party did in the face of the nativist juggernaut... If we are going to cloister ourselves in the alternative truth of an erratic leader, if we are going to refuse to live in a world that everyone else lives in... then my party might not deserve to lead."
— Flake, at the National Press Club
Hey Flake, how about actually doing something! Like declaring yourself an independent and caucusing with the democrats for the rest of the year! (He’s my senator, so I paused during writing this diary to reach out and suggest this to him. If you live in AZ do so too! Or if you are in NY, reach out to Schumer, and suggest he reach out to Flake. It is a long shot, but you miss all the shots you never take.)
As we know, Democrats are in the minority — perhaps we wouldn’t be if Flake takes my suggestion - but we can still make a fuss about stuff:
💙 Senator Feinstein urges CIA to release Gina Haspel docs:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Thursday morning called on the CIA to release documents related to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel’s involvement in the agency’s torture program.
“As we move forward with the nomination process for Ms. Haspel, my fellow Senators and I must have the complete picture of Ms. Haspel’s involvement in the program in order to fully and fairly review her record and qualifications. I also believe the American people deserve to know the actual role the person nominated to be the director of the CIA played in what I consider to be one of the darkest chapters in American history,” Feinstein wrote in a letter to CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
💙 The California AG, Xavier Becerra, told the US AG, Jeff Sessions, that California is in the business of protecting public safety and not so concerned with deportations
💙 Fighting Against Guns 💜
We’re all still super-impressed by the Parkland Survivors!
💙 Trio of measures advancing in Maryland assembly:
A ban on bump stocks, no guns for those in domestic abuse, and the authority for law enforcement to intervene in extreme risk situations and at least temporarily confiscate firearms
💙 Even the NRA is inching back on that last item, extreme risk situations
After combating these types of laws for years, here is NRA spokesman Chris Cox advocating for extreme-risk protection laws (which you can read more about below). Folks, this is a big deal and the NRA should be applauded for shifting in the direction of reform, however slight the shift might be.
OK, I cannot and will not applaud the NRA. But those teen activists are having an impact indeed! Lots of great diaries yesterday on how kids across the country stood up and walked out for gun safety.
💙 Odds and Ends
💚 FDA to reduce nicotine in cigarettes
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it wants to sharply reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. The idea is to help wean millions of smokers off their deadly habit and prevent millions more from becoming regular smokers in the first place.
"Despite years of aggressive efforts to tackle the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, tobacco use — largely cigarette smoking — still kills more than 480,000 Americans every single year," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement.
💚 Some oil companies are changing:
One of the world’s largest oil companies, Statoil, is scrubbing the word “oil” from its name to reflect a growing focus on renewable energy. The new name will be Equinor.
“The world is changing, and so is Statoil,” said Board Chair Jon Reinhardsen in a Thursday morning statement. “The biggest transition our modern-day energy systems have ever seen is underway, and we aim to be at the forefront of this development.”
💙 💛 💚 💜
Because this diary now appears at 4 am my time, I can’t always review the late-breaking news. So put it in the comments if I’ve missed something. And please tell everyone how you will fight to rescue our country!