While Democrats continue to struggle to get any documents or testimony from the Trump administration — with the exception of managing to win a ruling to implement their supoena for statements from his financial services company Mazars USA LLP — Donald is going out publicly and whining that he’s been the “most transparent” and “most maligned” White House Resident in all of history.
Which, of course, is absolute bullshit.
But the worse of his bogus claims is the argument that former members of the Obama Administration who investigated Russia and four members of his campaign who were in repeated contact with Russians were committing “Treason.”
There are a lot of people out there who have done some very, very evil things. I would say treasonous things against our country. And, uh, hopefully, people who have done such horror to our country — we’ve been through a period of really bad things happens. There’s people who will certainly be looked at, I’ve been looking at them for a long time, and I’ve been saying why haven’t they been looked at. They lied to congress. Many of them, you know who they are. They’ve done so many evil things.
I will tell you I love this country. I love this country as much as I could love anything. My family, my country, my God. But what they did, it was a false narrative. It was a terrible thing.
Very few people I know could have handled it. We can never, ever let this happen to another President again.
All of this is bullshit. Every single word of it.
The people who lied to Congress and are paying the price for it are people like Trump’s good buddy Roger Stone, and his former personal “fixer” Michael Cohen who’s second set of testimony to Congress from March after he agreed to cooperate with the Mueller probe has just come out and in it he claimed that Don Jr. knew more about the Trump Tower Moscow project than he told Congress, Trump is the one who urged him to make illegal payoffs to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal and also pushed him to lie to Congress about Trump business dealings with Russia with the support and knowledge of Jay Sekolow.
1. Cohen says Trump encouraged him to do three of the crimes he’s going to prison for.
MR. RATCLIFFE: So we’ve identified two crimes that you say you believe Donald Trump in some way directed you to take the actions for which you have pled guilty.
MR. COHEN: No, sir. Three.
MR. RATCLIFFE: Okay. What is the third?
MR. COHEN: The third one is the misstatement to Congress.
MR. RATCLIFFE: Yeah. So I got that.
MR. COHEN: Two for campaign finance violation and one for misrepresentation — well, for lying to Congress.
MR. RATCLIFFE: All right.
MR. COHEN: I mean, you don’t think that l just decided to pay Stormy Daniels money on my behalf, right?
2. He described how it was customary for Trump to screw over business partners.
Q: Well, did he ever ask you to renege on contracts that The Trump Organization had?
COHEN: Some of the things that I did was reach out to individuals, whether it’s law firms or small businesses, and renegotiate contracts after the job was already done, or basically tell them that we just weren’t paying at all, or make them offers of, say, 20 cents on the dollar.
Q: Did you do things at his direction that, as you sit here today, you know were wrong?
COHEN: Well, of course, it’s wrong. I mean, somebody does a job and they put in a bill – many of these folks, you know, lost everything. One gentleman yesterday saw me on television, and he wrote to me in a text message. I could send it to you. And I think he was from Ohio. And he said, you know, I remember for Trump University that I had done — I think it was printing work. I can send it to you. But he had done some work printing for Trump University, and we ended up paying them only 20 cents on the dollar because Trump University had its own issues, and he ended up losing the company.
Q: And in that example, were you involved in doing that?
COHEN: I handled all of that.
Q: Did Donald Trump tell you, go pay 20 cents on the dollar?
COHEN: Yes.
Q: He said to you, pay specifically 20 cents on the dollar?
COHEN: Yeah, because there was X amount of dollars that was in the bank, and what we did is divided it by the amount of money that was outstanding and owed, and it came out to approximately 20 cents on the dollar.
3. He says Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow told him specifically to lie to Congress.
THE CHAIRMAN: And just to be perfectly clear about this, the statement about the Trump Tower negotiations ending in January that was part of your original draft was false, and Mr. Sekulow knew that it was false?
MR. COHEN: Yes, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Was part of the intention in releasing this statement publicly when your testimony would be private and doing so well in advance of your testimony, to telegraph to others what the party line should be in particular about the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations?
MR. COHEN: I wouldn’t say that it was to telegraph the message. Everybody knew the message. lt was just reinforcement of the message.
4. He described Trump coaching him on multiple occasions about the false Russia narrative.
Q: That May – did you have any conversations with the President other than that May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office about your testimony?
COHEN: I spoke with the President on several occasions on the phone. O And what – how many times do you think you spoke to him?
COHEN I don’t — I don’t recall.
Q: You said several times, though?
COHEN: Yes.
Q: And what did he say to you about your upcoming testimony?
COHEN: I don’t recall specifically, but it’s all .. the message that he would constantly relay had to do with it’s all — it’s not — this investigation is not going anywhere, just — there’s no Russia. I mean, I don’t know how many times he said to me: There’s just no Russia. This whole thing is a giant witch hunt. lt’s a witch hunt. And, again, I knew exactly what he meant, but he doesn’t have to — for me, he didn’t have to say it more than once. I got it the first time, you know, what we were all in agreement on.
Q Would this be a good example of what you called code?
COHEN: Yes.
5. Cohen reminded Republicans he used to be a big fundraiser for them before his crimes were exposed.
Republicans like to pretend Cohen is just a nobody who turned against Trump, rather than a deputy finance chair of the RNC:
MR. RATCLIFFE: Okay. I want to ask you about that. Are you done?
MR. COHEN: I am.
MR. RATCLIFFE: Okay. So —
MR. COHEN: You don’t seem to like me very much.
MR. RATCLIFFE: I like everybody.
MR. COHEN: I actually am a pretty nice guy.
MR. RATCLIFFE: So –
MR. COHEN: You know, I’m sorry, just one more. You guys really did love me when I raised about $140 million with Steve Wynn (ph) for the year, right?
(It should be noted, however, that despite Cohen’s claims to be a good guy, he has a long history of threatening people.)
6. Sekulow also dangled a pardon to Cohen to “shut down” the Russia investigation.
Q: Now, having had the opportunity to think about this for almost a week, do you have any better recollection as to the nature and substance of any conversations you had with Jay Sekulow about pardons?
COHEN: Nothing greater than what I had already stated to the committee.
Q: Okay. You testified last time about the notion of a pre-pardon, and that you had a conversation with him about that?
COHEN: Correct.
Q: And that that might relate – that might be conferred upon individuals other than you as well?
COHEN: Yes. And that pre-pardon wouldn’t work, again, because then you waive your Fifth Amendment rights since you now have immunity, so the concept disappeared rather quickly.
Q: Can you state again what Sekulow said about the reason why at least he was considering giving pardons to you and perhaps others?
COHEN lt was to shut down the inquiries and to shut the investigation down.
Q: And do you know whether – did he relay to you any conversations he had had with the President, who he referred to as the client, in that: on that topic?
COHEN: Virtually all my conversations were — referred back to the client. Jay wasn’t going to speak on behalf of the President, he was relaying messages back and forth, and as well giving me legal advice in certain respects.
Q So is it your testimony that whatever discussions that Jay Sekulow had regarding pardons was done with the knowledge and authority of the President?
COHEN: I believe so.
Robert Mueller did not prosecute Cohen for any of these claims, he prosecuted him for claiming what Trump claims — that there were “No deals with Russia.” But there were, most definitely.
What's even a greater stretch is that the Russia investigation itself, was some kind of “Treason”, because this walking nipple clearly doesn’t know what that really means.
You can’t commit “Treason” against a political campaign.
You can’t commit “Treason” by investigating 4 former members — Stone, Page, Manafort and Papadopoulos — of a campaign who all managed to have dozens of contacts with Russian Intelligence, at the same time that Russian Intelligence is attacking our elections.
The only member of Trump’s campaign and administration that was under investigation when he took the oath of office was Michael Flynn and about that Trump has whined, “Why didn’t somebody tell me?”
Barack Obama told you specifically not to hire the bastard, because he’d already fired him in 2014.
Chris Christie when he was head of the Trump transition team wasn't going to give Flynn a position and wanted to fire him for his erratic behavior until Ivanka intervened and offered Flynn his pick of jobs because he was “loyal.” Later that same day Christie was sent packing.
Christie’s replacement as transition chief Mike Pence was specifically told that Flynn was under investigation by Flynn Attorneys, and by Rep. Cummings in a letter.
Flynn wrote an Op-Ed claiming that an American resident should be arrested and deported to Turkey because Presiden Erdogan had a vendetta against him — not to mention the fact that Turkey had been paying Flynn $530,000 under the table with money that originated with a Russian Oligarch.
When Flynn stated he planned to schedule a meeting with Kislyak former Bush Pentagon Official Michael Billingslea warned him that any such communications with Kislyak are likely to be picked up by U.S. surveillance. He ignored that.
The DOJ specifically informed Flynn’s lawyers that he may have to register as a “Foreign Agent” because of his work for Turkey even though the Pentagon had previously warned him to get permission for such payments first, and that he was under investigation by the FBI because of it.
Flynn and his son met with Turkish government officials at the 21 Club in New York and allegedly discussed a deal to kidnap and deliver Fethullah Gulen to Turkish custody as well as transfer Turkish-Iranian gold-trader Reza Zarrab to Turkey in exchange for $15 Million.
Flynn met with Kislyak at Trump Tower along with Jared Kushner. where Kushner suggested setting up a secure back-channel back to the Kremlin using Russian facilities that could “bypass the U.S. national security bureaucracy.” Kislyak didn’t go for it.
Flynn met with Susan Rice over a plan to arm the Kurds against ISIS, Flynn vetoed the plan as the Kurds were considered terrorists by one of his financial benefactors Turkey.
Steve Bannon joined Flynn and Kushner for a separate meeting with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi [UAE], Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who made an undisclosed visit to New York. This meeting was tracked by U.S. surveillance and later unmasked by Susan Rice and happened just one day after Flynn had met reps Ahmed al-Rumahai and other reps from Qatar. Later the UAE and Saudi Arabia were involved in a blockade of Qatar based on false intelligence that they were linked to ISIS which was generated by Russian hackers.
On the same day that Obama hit Russia with Sanctions for their hacking and involvement in the Election, Flynn talked to Russian Ambassador Kislyak, mentioning that “We’ll review everything” and “we’ll rip them up” when Obama’s new sanctions are brought up. This conversation was recorded by the NSA/FBI just as Billinglea had warned.
Former CIA Director James Woolsey left the Trump transition team because he was alarmed by Flynn's stance on trying to have Erdogen’s opponent Gullen “snatched up” and shipped off to Turkey.
Flynn, Kushner and Bannon secretly met with King Abdullah of Jordan at the Four Seasons in NYC to discuss Flynn’s Saudi/US/Russia Nuclear-Power Plant “Marshall Plan.”
Sally Yates came to the White House and told Don McGahn that “Flynn could be blackmailed by the Russians” because he had lied to the FBI about his conversations with Ambassador Kislyak.
The very next day after Yates visit Trump invited James Comey to dinner and tried to get him to pledge his “loyalty”, then on February 14th he tried to get Comey to promise to “let Flynn go.”
So the real question is “Who the Fuck didn’t tell you that Flynn was trouble?” and also, don’t you realize that making secret deals with Russia and Turkey which undermine US security and foreign policy are a lot closer to “Treason” than anything people trying to investigate and identify any of these actions did?
Treason is offering “aid and comfort” to an enemy of the United States. People investigating Flynn, Manafort, Papadopoulos, Stone and Cohen for their 251 secret contacts with Russia weren’t doing that. It was exactly the opposite.
Nope. Of course, he doesn’t get that.
Here are the daily updates for the Trump Russia Corruption Timeline for this week.
May 16th —
May 17th -—
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WSJ reports that Trump’s executive privilege claim over the Mueller reports is delaying his testimony. [So it’s not “up to Bob” then is it, right Bill?]
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Trump wants the border wall painted black with spikes on top so it’s really scary. [Like the Glades Wall from Arrow or has he been watching Game of Thrones or something?] He also again claims that his campaign was “spied on” and he wants long jail sentences for “Treason.” [He apparently doesn’t understand that a political campaign isn’t a classified government entity and that you need to act to “aide and abet a foreign enemy” during a war to be a traitor? Even the Rosenbergs weren’t tried for Treason. And exactly who got helped here?] He also flips out again on Gavin Newsom for not "cleaning the California forests” even though most of that desert land is owned by the US government, not California.
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Trump's tarriff wars are destroying Kentucy Whiskey sales.
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CNN does a devastating report on Trump many business failures and grifting cash grab schemes.
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AG Barr continues to do Trump’s bidding by telling Fox News that whether a Foreign entity interferred with our elections [They did], is just as important as if government agencies spied on a campaign [They didn’t, and it’s not.] that that foreign nation was trying to help, and that he’s found answers about the Russia investigation “inadequate” and only “raise more questions.” He also calls Pelosi’s claim that he lied under oath “Laughable.” [They aren’t laughing in Congress over Meuller’s two letters and a phone call to complain about your 4 page white-wash letter, pal.]
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DOJ Veterans blast Barr as untrustworthy: ‘We can’t trust anything this attorney general says’.
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Devin Nunes (R-CA) gets caught red-handed lying about Meuller and Bill Barr
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McConnell and McCarthy are not sticking their necks out for Kushner’s not-a-plan immigration plan.
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Kirsten Powers blows up on Scott Jennings and explains what obstrution of justice is to him after the revelations that Trump's lawyers may have been dangling a pardon for Michael Flynn after he was cooperating with Mueller.
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Iran uses twitter to pit Bolton the Ideologogue vs Pompeo the manipulator.
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Jeff Toobin tears into Trump’s bullshit “Treason” claims about his campaign being spied on.
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Chuck and Nancy agree to support the portion of Trump emergency border funds which help with humanitarian concerns such as increasing capacity and facilities.
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Lara Trump tries to mock Democrats for wanting to win the Presidency in 2020. [What are you thinking they’d like to do in 2020 — have a Quincenera?]
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Romney-McDaniels calls the lack of exceptions for rape and incest in the various abortion bans “egregious.” [Yeah, well you’re RNC Chair and your party did it so couldn’t you have said something like that earlier?]
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Chris Wallace says Trump is “pumped” now that he has an AG protecting his interests. [I’ll bet.]
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Trump whines that nobody told him about Flynn being investigated. [Obama told you not to hire him. Chris Christie wouldn’t hire him until Ivanka butt in and Christie got canned as Transition chief. Both Flynn’s attorneys and Rep. Cummings told replacement transition chief Pence that Flynn was being investigation. Sally Yates said Flynn lied to the FBI and could be blackmailed by Russia then you responded by telling Comey to “let Flynn go.” Who the fuck didn’t tell you he was a problem, Jared?]
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GAO finds that Ben Carson’s purchase of a $30,000 dining set for his office — which he blamed his wife for — was illegal because expenses over $5,000 had to be reported to Congress, just like Whistle-blower Helen Foster, who previously told them that and was harrassed by a “witch hunt” and smear campaign for it, had said.
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House Ways and Means Chairman considers taking the tax return issue to court.
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An investigative report doesn't say that Jim Jordan knew about the sexual abuse at OSU while he was a wrestling coach, so he claims he’s “vindicated.” [I don’t think that’s what that word means exactly.]
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Treasury says again that they will refuse to provide Trump’s tax returns, even under the subpoena for them that was issued by Ways and Means last week.
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Now that Guiliani has face-planted with his Ukraine-Biden investigation Trump floats some cacamamie Kangaroo court investigation of Hunter Biden’s links to the Bank of China. [Can we investigate where you get your ties from first Herr Drumph? Could it be… China?]
May 18th —
May 19th —
May 20th —
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Politico reports that the Trump Admin may be looking at Acting Ice Head Tom Homan to become the Immigration “Czar.”
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Amash gets a primary challenger in Michigan just 2 days after calling for Impeachment.
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Senator Chris Coons says “many GOPers privately agree with Amash on obstruction.” [So they aren’t totally crazy, they’re just cowardly liars?]
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WaPo reports that U.S. Border Patrol Agent Matthew Bowen texted calling immigrants “disgusting subhuman shit unworthy of being kindling for a fire” days before he allegedly almost ran one down with his car.
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Brian Killamead is upset that Buttigieg attacked Ingraham and Carlson [By quoting them accurately.]
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CNN report that DOJ is analyzing “tens of thousands of Trump Inauguration docs.” [Since Sam Patten was sentenced to probation for making a straw donation to the Inauguration on behalf of a Russian — Yeah, of course they are.]
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A Fifth Minor has died in U.S. Border Patrol custody since December.
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Amash hops back on Twitter to defend himself from other Republicans saying there doesn’t need to be an underlying crime for obstruction [which is correct] and that those who believe Trump didn’t intend to illegally obstruct justice so he therefore can’t be impeached are “resting their argument on several falsehoods.” [Yep.]
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DOJ issues a legal opinion to block McGahn from testifying tomorrow before Congress about obstruction that Trump asked for which he refused, arguing that “Congress may not constitutionally compel the President’s senior advisors to testify about their official duties,” [What else would they question them about, their golf game?]
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Stephen Moore says that being on CNN was like having political salmonella. [I think he brought that smell with him when he arrived.]
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Federal Judge Amit Mehta rules that Trump’s lawsuit to stop his accounting firm Mazars USA LLP from complying with a Congressional suboenas is invalid. Mehta concludes that“It is simply not fathomable that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a President for reasons including criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct—past or present—even without formally opening an impeachment inquiry,” He also denied a request from Trump to delay the subpoena until a potential appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court, so the documents will are to be delivered immediately. [One down, 15 more bullshit claims to go.]
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Rep. David Cicciline [D-RI] vows to push for Impeachment proceedings if McGahn doesn’t appear to testify tomorrow. [He won’t]
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Reporter Mallory Shelborne argues that Trump may have gotten his idea for a border wall from an episode of The Sopranos from 2007.
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Rawstory reports that Kris Kobach demanded "24 Hour access to a government jet" and walk-in priveleges with Trump before taking the Immigration Czar job.
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West Michigan voters are backing their Rep Justin Amash’s call for Impeachment.
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Betsy Devos used four personal email accounts for official business and violated data preservations rules.
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Former Trump transition team member J.W. Verret praises Amash for his bravery.
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The Trump-Loving Proud Boys are planning to sue the Southern Poverty Law Center for “slander” for saying they have connections to “White Supremacists." [They don't? The hell you say. Also, it should be “Libel” if it's in writing.]
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Trump reportedly plans to pardon a set of soldiers who were convicted for horrible murderous war crimes on Memorial Day.
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Swedish prosecutor issues order to hold Assange on rape charges.
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Ford announces 7,000 layoffs just before Trump stages a mid-west rally,
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Congress releases a transcript of part of Michael Cohen’s testimony to them from March where he revealed that Trump attorney Jay Sekolow was aware that his previous statement to Congress claiming that the Moscow Tower project had ended in January was a lie. Cohen’s testimony also indicates that Don Jr. lied to congress about his level of involvement in the Moscow project, Trump encouraged Cohen to pay off Daniels and McDougal as well as lie to congress, it was customary for Trump to screw his business partners, Trump coached him on his false Russia narrative, and Sekolow dangled pardons in order to “shutdown” the investigation.
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Roger Stone gets permission from Judge Jackson to judge a stripper contest.
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Trump attacks Judge Mehta as being an “Obama Judge”. [He also happens to be black, so were’ back to that “unfair Judge heritage” shit again.] Then holds another of his crazed Nuremberg rallies where he again falsely accuses Democrats of “Treason.”
May 21st —
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More House Dems begin calling for the start of Impeachment hearings as Pelosi tries to tamp it down.
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Former Federal Prosecutor Elie Honig writes on CNN that Trump’s “nuts” justification for blocking McGahn’s testimony could cripple Congresses ability to conduct oversight.
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AG Barr insists he’s protecting the Presidency, not Trump. [That would be a distinction without a difference until 2020]
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Rep. Justin Amash gets unanimously condemned by the Freedom Caucus, which he’s a member of.
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Nike and other shoe companies blast Trump's tarrifs: ‘Bring this trade war to an end’.
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Pelosi tells Myka that “Bipartisan support for impeachment has to be in the Senate.” [Which is correct, but basically impossible.] And that “Amash may be one voice, but the fact that it is in the absence of other voices, it speaks very loudly.”
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Politico reports that in a newly released congressional transcript from 2017 former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said that he removed former FBI agent Peter Strzok from Russia probe the same day he found out about the text messages from the IG, not Mueller.
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Trump intends to appeal his loss in the Mazars USA case, which would go to the DC appeals court where the chief Justice is Merrick Garland, and he whines that “something strange is going on at Fox” because Buttigieg got a standing ovation during his Town Hall.
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Nadler slams McGahn for not showing up for his testimony. “Our Subpeonas are not optional” and threatens him with contempt in a blistering opening speech. ‘Each incident constitutes a crime.”
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On top of Betsy Devos using four private personal email accounts while on the job, so does: Mike Pence (as Indiana governor); Jared Kushner; Ivanka Trump; Steve Bannon; Reince Priebus; Gary Cohn; Stephen Miller; K.T. McFarland; James Comey; Kris Kobach and other former members of Trump’s bogus voter fraud commission; John Gore, to correspond with members of the President’s bogus voter fraud commission; and Scott Pruitt (as EPA administrator and Oklahoma attorney general).
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Christchurch mass murderer is charged with terrorism.
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CNN reports that Mueller’s team is hesitant for him to testify publicly because of the political environment. Congress is handing him gently, but might have him come and talk behind closed doors or they might subpoena him if Nadler think he needs to.
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House Judiciary subpoenas testimony and documents from Hope Hicks and WH Counsel Don McGahn’s former Chief of Staff Annie Donaldson. Hicks is requested to testify before a June 19 hearing. Donaldson’s hearing is scheduled for June 24.
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DOJ offers to “talk” in order to head off the contempt charges against Bill Barr for the unredacted Mueller report which have been threatened by Adam Schiff, by offering a few status updates but not the full report and threatening to end all cooperation if contempt is filed.
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Rep. Katie Porter has to Teach Ben Carson his own job because he doesn’t know anything about FHA loans or the difference between REO (Real Estate Own property in forceclosure) and Oreo cookies. He also can’t — or won’t — answer “Yes or No” whether he would let his own grandmother live in public housing. ‘It’s not like this is brain surgery’. Then he tries to “reclaim his time” while avoiding questions from Rep. Ayanna Pressley; ‘You don’t get to do that!’.
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Trump was lobbied to pardon various war criminals by Fox News’ Pete Hegsworth.
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George Conway says Justin Amash running against Trump in 2020 would be ‘a supreme act of patriotism’.
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New York Assembly passes a bill to allow prosecution of anyone Trump pardons.
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Rex Tillerson met in secret with House Foreign Affairs Committee to talk about his time with Trump. [Ruh roh! Tillerson has already publicly said he had to repeatedly tell Trump not to do illegal shit.]
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Pompeo says that Buttigieg calling Mike Pence a homophobe Is ‘slanderous’. [Also an accurate description of his policy positions.]
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IRS legal memo on Trump taxes just got leaked to the Washington Post. The 10-page memo says turning over the documents “is mandatory, requiring the Secretary to disclose returns, and return information, requested by the tax-writing Chairs.”