diff --git "a/data/be000/text/00000004.txt" "b/data/be000/text/00000004.txt" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/data/be000/text/00000004.txt" @@ -0,0 +1,2028 @@ +YxSO5qii8DQ-00000-00000513-00001981 The recent doubling down on House investigations into Donald Trump and his campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia, his businesses, his taxes, and his presidency yielded subpoenas for thousands of documents +YxSO5qii8DQ-00001-00001981-00003070 While some of Trump’s former associates have dug in their heels on giving those documents up, others are working directly with Democrats on the investigation +YxSO5qii8DQ-00002-00003070-00003875 One of those former Trump associates is his former communications director and confidante, Hope Hicks +YxSO5qii8DQ-00003-00003875-00005546 Hicks took over the post from Anthony Scaramucci, who took over for Sean Spicer, who took over for Michael Bubke, who took over for Sean Spicer when he was acting communications director after Jason Miller. It’s been quite the controversial position +YxSO5qii8DQ-00005-00009078-00010405 Most famously, Hicks helped draft the statement written on Air Force One by Trump for his son, Donald, Jr., that the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting was in regards to Russian adoptions +YxSO5qii8DQ-00006-00010405-00011601 Within hours after releasing that statement, it was proven to be a lie when emails with the subject line directly referencing the exchange of dirt on Hillary Clinton were publicly released +YxSO5qii8DQ-00007-00011601-00012432 Hicks is far from the only associate involved in the probe, but she is one of the few following the law and cooperating +YxSO5qii8DQ-00008-00012432-00014885 ‘The development comes amid a growing fight between House Democrats and the White House over a range of investigations — after the White House has ignored a number of deadlines set by Democratic chairmen, who now wield subpoena power. The White House has not yet provided information to Nadler, a Democrat from New York, as part of his investigation - despite a deadline this past Monday' +YxSO5qii8DQ-00009-00014885-00016781 Other associates have refused to do so. For instance, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has been notoriously closed-mouthed after requests for documents related to the security clearances for Trump’s son-in-law and daughter, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump +YxSO5qii8DQ-00010-00016781-00017716 Kelly left a memo during his time as chief of staff that raised concerns about Trump pushing those clearances through despite issues with them +YxSO5qii8DQ-00011-00017716-00020235 ‘Hicks’ cooperation comes in stark contrast to former White House chief of staff John Kelly, who is facing an array of questions from the House Oversight Committee over his role in the White House security clearance process. Kelly is allowing the White House counsel’s office to respond to the Democrats’ demands for information, but Hicks appears to be interacting directly with the House Judiciary Committee' +YxSO5qii8DQ-00012-00020235-00021133 Hicks was involved with Trump’s campaign since its very beginning and testified as to some of the activities she witnessed there +YxSO5qii8DQ-00013-00021133-00022424 She refused to answer questions in front of Congress once before about Trump’s activities in the White House, citing executive privilege after the Trump administration advised her to do so +YxSO5qii8DQ-00014-00022424-00023944 ‘One of the Trump campaign’s earliest hires, Hicks in 2018 was willing to answer questions about the 2016 campaign and some questions about the Trump transition, but she would not address questions about her time in the White House +YxSO5qii8DQ-00015-00023944-00025788 Democrats on the committee had urged their Republican colleagues to subpoena Hicks to answer their questions.Now in the majority, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, has indicated he also is interested in getting additional information from Hicks, too' +Yf25n3mv2r0-00000-00000513-00001302 Fox News personality Juan Williams is spreading another baseless anti-Trump conspiracy theory +Yf25n3mv2r0-00001-00001302-00002454 Williams took to Twitter where he speculated “It is no longer outside the realm of possibility that Trump could refuse to leave if he loses the 2020 election +Yf25n3mv2r0-00002-00002454-00003219 And if he does not accept an election defeat — he will have a virtual army on social media to defend him +Yf25n3mv2r0-00003-00003219-00004371 Where does this stop?”.Meanwhile, Williams wrote a piece for The Hill, where he accused Trump supporters of pushing conspiracy theories, while pushing another conspiracy theory +Yf25n3mv2r0-00004-00004371-00005371 There are hundreds of alt-right social media accounts that pump inflammatory, conspiratorial nonsense into our politics on a daily basis +Yf25n3mv2r0-00005-00005371-00006152 They are aided by trolls, bots and all manner of digital malfeasance, especially by the Russians +Yf25n3mv2r0-00006-00006152-00007100 Last week, it was reported that U.S. Cyber Command disrupted a big push by Russian trolls on the day of the 2018 midterm elections +Yf25n3mv2r0-00007-00007100-00008378 Fox News contributor Juan Williams claimed Monday that President Donald Trump could refuse to leave office if he loses reelection in 2020, sparking backlash across Twitter +Yf25n3mv2r0-00008-00008378-00009506 .In an opinion piece for The Hill, Williams wrote, “It is no longer outside the realm of possibility that Trump could refuse to leave if he loses the 2020 election +Yf25n3mv2r0-00009-00009506-00010559 And if he does not accept an election defeat — a scenario he threatened in 2016 — he will have a virtual army on social media to defend him +Yf25n3mv2r0-00010-00010559-00011854 ”.“Where does this stop?” Williams concluded.Williams tweeted out his opinion piece but was met with swift backlash from a variety of pundits accusing him of “scaremongering” and being “nuts +Yf25n3mv2r0-00011-00011854-00011954 ” +06W_cSnORT4-00000-00000513-00001168 Donald Trump really, really, really wants you to pay attention to him and his antics today +06W_cSnORT4-00001-00001168-00002030 The trouble: he doesn’t have anything to say, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that he has no remaining ammunition +06W_cSnORT4-00002-00002030-00002882 Take, for instance, how he approached things today when he decided that he desperately needed to distract us from the real news +06W_cSnORT4-00003-00002882-00004204 First, Donald Trump had one of his House GOP allies release a rather old testimony transcript from Bruce Ohr, a Department of Justice official whom Trump has been dishonestly attacking for the past year +06W_cSnORT4-00004-00004204-00005423 Trump must have thought this was going to have a big impact, and finally get the public to come around to seeing Ohr as some kind of dark overlord who has managed to frame Trump for conspiring with Russia +06W_cSnORT4-00005-00005423-00006351 But by midday, it was clear that no one cared, even a little bit.We’ve all seen this one too many times before, of course +06W_cSnORT4-00006-00006351-00007981 Remember when Trump promised us that the Devin Nunes memo was somehow going to expose the big conspiracy against him? Trump hyped that one for weeks, and the mainstream media ate it up, only for the memo to predictably turn out to be a complete dud +06W_cSnORT4-00007-00007981-00008759 Now Trump is trying to spin Bruce Ohr’s harmless testimony as evidence that Ohr is the devil himself +06W_cSnORT4-00008-00008759-00009464 No one cares.By the afternoon, Donald Trump must have realized his Ohr gambit had failed +06W_cSnORT4-00009-00009464-00010786 He began frantically posting more than a dozen tweets and retweets in rapid fashion, including retweeting some guy named Paul Sperry six times for no apparent reason, all in an attempt at getting something to stick +06W_cSnORT4-00010-00010786-00011891 Nonetheless, the public’s focus today is still on Trump’s criminal scandals. Whatever impending bombshell he’s trying to distract us from, it clearly isn’t working +06W_cSnORT4-00011-00011891-00012257 Trump is firing blanks +0zzEba-x_Ek-00000-00000571-00001864 Donald Trump has nominated Kelly Knight Craft – a Republican businesswoman and now diplomat who donated $2m to his 2016 campaign – to represent America at the UN +0zzEba-x_Ek-00001-00001864-00003559 A week after state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, Mr Trump’s first choice to replace Nikki Haley in the role of what is considered the country’s second most senior diplomat, withdraw from contention, the president said he was pleased to name Ms Craft for the role +0zzEba-x_Ek-00002-00003559-00005218 .A businesswoman who was also appointed by George W Bush as an alternate delegate to the UN, where she focussed on Africa, Ms Craft was in the summer of 2017 confirmed as the US’s ambassador to Canada, the first woman to hold that job +0zzEba-x_Ek-00003-00005218-00006012 In a recent interview when asked about climate change, she said she believed “both sides of the science” +0zzEba-x_Ek-00004-00006012-00007263 “Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our country will be represented at the highest level,” Mr Trump said in a tweet announcing his decision +0zzEba-x_Ek-00005-00007263-00008360 Not for the first time – either by Mr Trump or previous presidents – the job of representing the US’s interests internationally, has gone to a major political donor +0zzEba-x_Ek-00006-00008360-00009361 .Reuters reported that Ms Craft was known in Republican circles in Kentucky, where she and her husband donated to a number of candidates +0zzEba-x_Ek-00007-00009361-00010544 Before donating $2m to Mr Trump’s campaign, she had been a supporter of Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who had been among those seeking the Republican nomination that year +0zzEba-x_Ek-00008-00010544-00011354 It said she had been been recommended for the post based Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who is also from Kentucky +0zzEba-x_Ek-00009-00011354-00012223 The news agency said it was not immediately clear if Ms Craft would hold a cabinet-level position, as Ms Haley did +0zzEba-x_Ek-00010-00012223-00013861 She will still need to be confirmed for the job by the Senate.Ms Nauert, a former host of Fox & Friends, dropped out of the running because she had a nanny who was in the country legally but did not have the proper work visa, it was reported earlier the month +0zzEba-x_Ek-00011-00013861-00015499 She will still need to be confirmed for the job by the Senate.Ms Nauert, a former host of Fox & Friends, dropped out of the running because she had a nanny who was in the country legally but did not have the proper work visa, it was reported earlier the month +0-zRWT1DI9g-00000-00000571-00001302 Today is April 15th, Tax Day, or as Trump and Co. like to call it, April Fool’s Day +0-zRWT1DI9g-00001-00001302-00002287 It’s also three days before the Mueller Lite report is revealed to us, redacted appropriately for our tender eyes and Trump’s tender feels +0-zRWT1DI9g-00002-00002287-00003068 Meanwhile, the cries for Congress to see the full, unredacted Mueller Report are going unanswered +0-zRWT1DI9g-00003-00003068-00004941 .Our dollar is being dragged down to the Aluminum Standard as Mitch McConnell sells his soul to sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and Kremlin oil oligarch, Len Blavatnik, for a Rusal aluminum plant to be built in, of all places, McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, according to CNN +0-zRWT1DI9g-00004-00004941-00005996 Trump is off on another US-paid promotional tour in Minnesota after we paid $100 million for his numerous for-profit vacations at his properties +0-zRWT1DI9g-00005-00005996-00006884 We haven’t seen his taxes yet, and his attorneys are threatening the accounting firm that agreed to comply with a subpoena to hand them over +0-zRWT1DI9g-00006-00006884-00007600 And over it all, Putin laughs in triumph at the Grand Guignol he’s made of our democracy +0-zRWT1DI9g-00007-00007600-00008579 . .The world treasure of Notre Dame is burning, the climate is changing, and the hearts of the GOP freeze a little bit harder +0-zRWT1DI9g-00008-00008579-00009376 Now they are threatening to kick veterans who suffer from PTSD off of disability if they appear, “too happy +0-zRWT1DI9g-00009-00009376-00010353 ”. .But the day of judgment is coming. The levees are breaking and a flood of Biblical proportions is soon to be at our doorstep +0-zRWT1DI9g-00010-00010353-00011006 The tax returns will show Trump to be a crook; the Mueller Report will prove him a traitor +0-zRWT1DI9g-00011-00011006-00011897 Right now there are rumors across social media that his people are attempting to negotiate an exit for him before Thursday +0-zRWT1DI9g-00012-00011897-00012610 Don’t believe it. This guy has too much at stake, and there are too many villains watching his back +0-zRWT1DI9g-00013-00012610-00013258 He’s raking in the dough-nations for a second term, so he won’t go without a fight +0_60tTTu7c8-00000-00000571-00002527 Michael Cohen on Wednesday provided the House Intelligence Committee with new documents showing edits to the false written statement he delivered to Congress in 2017 about the Trump Organization's pursuit of the Trump Tower Moscow project into the 2016 campaign season, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter +0_60tTTu7c8-00001-00002527-00004977 The documents Cohen provided are intended to further explain his public testimony last week, in which Cohen said that President Donald Trump's then-personal lawyer Jay Sekulow made changes to his statement to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and that it was reviewed ahead of time by lawyers like Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the President's daughter and son-in-law who are both White House advisers +0_60tTTu7c8-00002-00004977-00005654 It's unclear what Cohen's documents show was specifically changed in the statement +0_60tTTu7c8-00003-00005654-00006276 Cohen testified Wednesday behind closed doors at the House Intelligence Committee +0_60tTTu7c8-00004-00006276-00006908 "There were changes made, additions -- Jay Sekulow, for one," Cohen said last week +0_60tTTu7c8-00005-00006908-00008203 "There were several changes that were made including how we were going to handle that message, which was -- the message of course being -- the length of time that the Trump Tower Moscow project stayed and remained alive'' +0_60tTTu7c8-00006-00008203-00009964 Sekulow pushed back on Cohen's allegations in a statement last week, saying that the "testimony by Michael Cohen that attorneys for the President edited or changed his statement to Congress to alter the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations is completely false +0_60tTTu7c8-00007-00009964-00011947 ".As CNN previously reported, according to two of the sources familiar with the preparation, including one close to the Trump Organization and one close to the President's legal team, the lawyers had no indication that any of the information in the testimony of Trump's now-former longtime attorney and fixer was inaccurate +0_60tTTu7c8-00008-00011947-00013237 Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney, told CNN that Cohen himself authored the false line in his 2017 testimony to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow project timeline +0_60tTTu7c8-00009-00013237-00015261 Cohen wrote the initial draft of the testimony himself and then his attorney Stephen Ryan edited it, sharing it with other attorneys who were part of the joint defense agreement, to review for accuracy and potential privilege issues and those attorneys provided some suggested changes, a source familiar with the drafting of Cohen's testimony said +0_60tTTu7c8-00010-00015261-00015807 Cohen and his attorney approved all changes, according to the source +0pWuk6BC6su-00000-00000571-00002300 President Trump is decrying federal judges who have routinely blocked his immigration reform agenda, as former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is considered for the top position at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) precisely for his longtime legal expertise +0pWuk6BC6su-00001-00002300-00002984 During conversations with the media on Tuesday, Trump slammed a recent decision by U +0pWuk6BC6su-00002-00002984-00004614 S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco, California that blocks the administration’s implementation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy whereby border crossers and illegal aliens seeking asylum in the country are returned to Mexico until their court hearings +0pWuk6BC6su-00003-00004614-00005474 .“We have a judge that just ruled, incredibly, that he doesn’t want people staying in Mexico,” Trump said in the Oval Office +0pWuk6BC6su-00004-00005474-00006163 “Figure that one out. Nobody can believe these decisions we’re getting from the 9th Circuit +0pWuk6BC6su-00005-00006163-00008078 It’s a disgrace.”.Those frustrations with pro-migration attorneys and activist judges, insiders tell Breitbart News, are precisely the reason Kobach is uniquely fit to lead DHS considering his background of legal expertise on immigration dating back to the early days of President George W +0pWuk6BC6su-00006-00008078-00009332 Bush’s administration.Currently, insiders say, Trump’s immigration reforms are stifled by career attorneys and bureaucrats opposed to changes to the immigration system +0pWuk6BC6su-00007-00009332-00010680 Kobach, they assert, can carry out the president’s initiatives, as he has championed mainstream immigration reforms like E-Verify, an Entry/Exit system, and a sustainable immigration court process +0pWuk6BC6su-00008-00010680-00012002 .Kobach graduated summa cum laude and top of his class at Harvard University in 1988 before earning his doctorate in political science at the University of Oxford in 1992 +0pWuk6BC6su-00009-00012002-00012819 Afterward, Kobach earned a law degree from Yale University in 1995, which kick-started his legal career +0pWuk6BC6su-00010-00012819-00014120 While serving as a judicial clerk in the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Deanell Tacha, Kobach was hired as a constitutional law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law +0pWuk6BC6su-00011-00014120-00015515 In 2001, Kobach won one of 12 coveted White House Fellowships — a selective program started in 1964 i8n which fellows are assigned to members of a president’s cabinet or leadership team +0pWuk6BC6su-00012-00015515-00017095 .Kobach was assigned to work for then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, just a week before the September 11 terrorist attacks, soon becoming Ashcroft’s chief adviser on immigration law and border security and Counselor to the Attorney General +0pWuk6BC6su-00013-00017095-00018877 Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Kobach was tasked with overseeing the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s (INS) response to the attacks, addressing the core gaps in the country’s legal immigration system that allowed all of the 9/11 hijackers to arrive in the U +0pWuk6BC6su-00014-00018877-00020776 S. legally and five to remain in the country illegally.While overseeing the Justice Department’s efforts to close loopholes in the legal immigration system after 9/11, Kobach created the National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS) — the first Entry/Exit system in U +0pWuk6BC6su-00015-00020776-00022398 S. history.Kobach’s NSEERS system provided U.S. officials with a streamlined process for registering, fingerprinting, and tracking legal immigrants deemed to be “high-risk” due to their ties to foreign countries labeled as state sponsors of terrorism +0pWuk6BC6su-00016-00022398-00023809 In 2002, while at the Justice Department, Kobach overhauled the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to streamline the appellate court system in order to fast-track cases where outcomes were easily determined +0pWuk6BC6su-00017-00023809-00025130 Kobach’s BIA reform effort decreased the bottleneck in the system.Years later, in 2009, Kobach co-authored Arizona’s mandatory E-Verify law, which was taken all the way to the U +0pWuk6BC6su-00018-00025130-00026794 S. Supreme Court ,where it was ultimately ruled constitutional. The reform, led by Kobach, resulted in not only mandatory E-Verify laws being adopted in Arizona, a border state, but also in non-border states like Mississippi and Alabama +0pWuk6BC6su-00019-00026794-00028127 .New York magazine writer Andrew Sullivan, a moderate-minded liberal, has called mandatory E-Verify “a completely humane way to enforce immigration law in the interior of the country via employment +0pWuk6BC6su-00020-00028127-00029642 ”.Mandatory E-Verify is likewise supported by many lawmakers associated with the Republican establishment, including Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Rob Portman (R-OH), and has gained support from the U +0pWuk6BC6su-00021-00029642-00031598 S. Chamber of Commerce.Conservative ranks in the Senate, insiders tell Breitbart News, have said perceived objections to Kobach are largely a charade and have no bearing on actual votes that the former Kansas Secretary of State would need to be confirmed to enact the president’s reforms at DHS +0pWuk6BC6su-00022-00031598-00032630 Insiders say Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) could swing in Kobach’s favor, should he be nominated +0pWuk6BC6su-00023-00032630-00033484 Conservative ranks also believe Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is more likely than not to support a Kobach confirmation +1qqU_p30Z0M-00000-00000571-00001597 It was a moment of diplomatic stagecraft months in the making. But it didn’t take long for President Donald Trump’s domestic troubles to get in the way +1qqU_p30Z0M-00001-00001597-00003358 As Trump sat alongside the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, at a luxury hotel here, he was immediately confronted by the explosive allegations that his former longtime lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, planned to deliver to lawmakers in Washington later Wednesday +1qqU_p30Z0M-00002-00003358-00004027 “Mr. President, any reaction to Michael Cohen and his testimony?” a reporter asked +1qqU_p30Z0M-00003-00004027-00004865 Trump simply shook his head. “Thank you,” he said, dismissing the reporters and photographers gathered before him +1qqU_p30Z0M-00004-00004865-00005970 Later Wednesday, the White House announced that it was limiting the number of reporters who would be permitted to attend a portion of Trump’s dinner with Kim “due to the sensitive nature of the meetings'' +1qqU_p30Z0M-00005-00005970-00008026 As he has worked to turn President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim of North Korea from foes into friends, and to rebalance the United States’ relationship with China, scandals at home have repeatedly intruded on Trump, creating dueling headlines and distracting a president who pays inordinate attention to the news coverage of his presidency +1qqU_p30Z0M-00006-00008026-00010001 This time was no different.While the president was dining on grilled cod fish and roasted Wagyu beef medallions alongside Vietnamese leaders earlier Wednesday, Cohen released a copy of his prepared testimony, undercutting the president’s self-styled image as a dealmaker by labeling him a “conman” and a “cheat +1qqU_p30Z0M-00007-00010001-00011315 ”.Cohen, who has cooperated extensively with special counsel Robert Mueller as well as federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, said in written testimony that he had proof of the president’s “illicit” acts +1qqU_p30Z0M-00008-00011315-00012694 This includes a check Trump purportedly wrote after he became president to reimburse Cohen for a pre-election hush-money payment to the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Trump +1qqU_p30Z0M-00009-00012694-00014433 The Cohen drama appeared to grate on some in the White House. “I only hope that they focus on the issues at hand and didn’t fly halfway around the world to ask questions they could have asked here," senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News on Wednesday morning +1qqU_p30Z0M-00010-00014433-00015507 Asked for comment about the Cohen testimony, the White House referred POLITICO to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' statement from Tuesday +1qqU_p30Z0M-00011-00015507-00016609 "It’s laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies," Sanders said +1qqU_p30Z0M-00012-00016609-00017858 The Cohen revelations created another surreal split-screen moment as cable news channels dissected the testimony even as Trump and Kim arrived for the first face-to-face meeting of the summit +1qqU_p30Z0M-00013-00017858-00018989 The two leaders shook hands in front of North Korean and American flags, with Kim briefly smiling and Trump declaring that he believed the summit would be a “great success'' +1qqU_p30Z0M-00014-00018989-00019885 Asked by a reporter whether the summit would result in a formal declaration ending the Korean War, Trump said, “We’ll see +1qqU_p30Z0M-00015-00019885-00021013 ” The president repeatedly praised Kim, who has been credibly accused of overseeing mass murders and widespread human rights violations, saying it was an “honor” to be with him +1qqU_p30Z0M-00016-00021013-00021740 “Our relationship is a very special relationship,” Trump said later, ahead of a dinner with Kim +1rzdD77rwok-00000-00000000-00001196 Donald Trump has a habit of selecting unusual people for positions of power. He gave power over the Veterans Administration (VA) to two members of his Mar-a-Lago club +1rzdD77rwok-00001-00001196-00002061 POTUS has chosen people for cabinet positions who have a history of condemning all that would fall beneath the scope of their new influence +1rzdD77rwok-00002-00002061-00003581 Still, his latest choice was the strangest of all.Former Fox News host and State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert released a statement withdrawing from any consideration for the United Nations (UN) ambassadorship position +1rzdD77rwok-00003-00003581-00004443 Although the president had announced that he had chosen her for the job, his formal nomination had not yet arrived at the Senate +1rzdD77rwok-00004-00004443-00005341 Trump tweeted that he had chosen Nauert on December 7, which was well before the White House career people could thoroughly vet her +1rzdD77rwok-00005-00005341-00006089 In fact, the Office of Government Ethics’ paperwork she filled out had not even been reviewed prior to that tweet +1rzdD77rwok-00006-00006089-00006773 In her withdrawal statement from the State Department, Nauert wrote, according to CNN: +1rzdD77rwok-00007-00006773-00007815 ‘I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary Pompeo for the trust they placed in me for considering me for the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations +1rzdD77rwok-00008-00007815-00008826 However, the past two months have been grueling for my family and therefore it is in the best interest of my family that I withdraw my name from consideration +1rzdD77rwok-00009-00008826-00009469 ’Nauert continued, noting that serving in this administration was one of her “highest honors:” +1rzdD77rwok-00010-00009469-00010743 ‘Serving in the Administration for the past two years has been one of the highest honors of my life and I will always be grateful to the President, the Secretary, and my colleagues at the State Department for their support +1rzdD77rwok-00011-00010743-00011449 ’Nauert was the State Department spokesperson for nearly two years, beginning in April 2017 +1rzdD77rwok-00012-00011449-00012243 During that time, she hired a nanny who was in the U.S. “legally but not legally allowed to work +1rzdD77rwok-00013-00012243-00013779 ” In addition, the nanny did not pay taxes while she worked for Nauert. Apparently, the State Department spokesperson did not report this information until she was selected for the UN ambassadorship, according to CNN’s source +1rzdD77rwok-00014-00013779-00014847 The source, who was helping Nauert prepare for the Senate hearing on her nomination, said the spokesperson did disclose the nanny in the UN position’s paperwork +1rzdD77rwok-00015-00014847-00016004 The nanny paid her back taxes, so White House staff believe they could weather the situation at first, but later Nauert agreed with them that she should not accept the nomination +1rzdD77rwok-00016-00016004-00016751 Her withdrawal was a surprise to some of the White House officials, but they assumed it was a bureaucratic holdup +1rzdD77rwok-00017-00016751-00017590 Indeed, Nauert had been answering emails in her official State Department spokesperson role until very recently +1rzdD77rwok-00018-00017590-00018953 She is not expected to return to her spokesperson job.CNN had reported earlier that the White House, Capitol Hill, and the United Nations felt a lack of urgency on quickly confirming Nauert +1rzdD77rwok-00019-00018953-00020037 At first, White House officials blamed the government shutdown. After the government re-opened, no one would admit that nominating her was a priority +1rzdD77rwok-00020-00020037-00022493 A senior diplomatic source told CNN:.‘There have been predictions of a stormy ride in confirmation, with many on the Hill saying this was a job done‎ by Henry Cabot Lodge, Madeleine Albright, Daniel Moynihan, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Richard Holbrooke, Bill Richardson … and now a Fox News presenter?’Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement from the State Department about Nauert: +1rzdD77rwok-00021-00022493-00023120 ‘Heather Nauert has performed her duties as a senior member of my team with unequalled excellence +1rzdD77rwok-00022-00023120-00024374 Her personal decision today to withdraw her name from consideration to become the nominee for United States Ambassador to the United Nations is a decision for which I have great respect +1rzdD77rwok-00023-00024374-00025471 I wish Heather nothing but the best in all of her future endeavors and know that she will continue to be a great representative of this nation in whatever role she finds herself +1rzdD77rwok-00024-00025471-00025571 ’ +1-qA5RciFiQ-00000-00000513-00001424 President Donald Trump ridiculed 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke for wanting to take down border walls +1-qA5RciFiQ-00001-00001424-00002373 Without specifically naming O’Rourke, Trump scoffed at his proposal.“I see a new candidate in the mix, he wants to take down the walls +1-qA5RciFiQ-00002-00002373-00003146 Try that sometime, you’ll see what will happen,” he said. “You’d have tens of millions of people coming in” +1-qA5RciFiQ-00003-00003146-00003940 Trump also pointed to the walls that were working in Tijuana, keeping thousands of illegal immigrants from getting in +1-qA5RciFiQ-00004-00003940-00004572 “You want to see a mess? Take down that wall, you’ll see what will happen,” he said +1-qA5RciFiQ-00005-00004572-00005510 Trump cited progress on the wall, despite Democrat attempts to block it.“As we build it, it gets better and better,” Trump said +1-qA5RciFiQ-00006-00005510-00006975 “This is serious stuff. We’re able to do it cheaper, better, it’s better wall, it’s different from what you’ve been watching growing up … It’s a beautiful looking structure, it’s much stronger, and you can build it faster and cheaper" +1VFCunwYZ7I-00000-00000571-00002679 Lies, braggadocio over dubious accomplishments, false accusations against enemies, taking credit for the work of his predecessor — this morning’s tweets from President Trump had all the ingredients to be considered a near perfect example of the president’s defensive posturing against the storm of controversy and corruption surrounding his administration +1VFCunwYZ7I-00001-00002679-00005244 Trump apparently felt that the best way to respond to the events of the week — a week where his overruling of intelligence agencies recommendations to deny security clearances to his daughter and son-in-law was revealed, New York State regulators subpoenaed the Trump Organization’s insurance broker, North Korea restarted its nuclear missile program, and a myriad of other damning events took place — was to attack and distract +1VFCunwYZ7I-00002-00005244-00007214 The attack was aimed at his usual shibboleth — the media — which he described in his typically hyperbolic and histrionic manner as “the most hostile and corrupt media in the history of American politics,” implying that his supposed accomplishments were achieved in some sort of battle with the press reporting on his administration’s actions +1VFCunwYZ7I-00003-00007214-00008561 Trump likely considers the media “hostile and corrupt” because it continues to perform its role in pointing out the truth behind Trump’s exaggerations and lies — lies like the ones contained in his tweet’s first sentence +1VFCunwYZ7I-00004-00008561-00010406 For the record, there is no indication in reality that the current state of American political media is any more unfriendly to Trump than it has been to other presidents, and, in fact, he has an entire cable news network dedicated to praising his every word, something that no other president has ever benefited from +1VFCunwYZ7I-00005-00010406-00012106 Trump’s claim that “the Trump Administration has accomplished more in its first two years than any other Administration” is such a blatantly false boast that it garnered a wave of laughter at the UN when he tried to peddle that load of horse manure in a speech before the General Assembly +1VFCunwYZ7I-00006-00012106-00013945 The list of “accomplishments” that the president then proceeds to cite, seems more like an outline of issues that any eventual Democratic opponent for the presidency (assuming that Trump evades indictment and/or impeachment long enough to run again) can utilize as a cudgel to bash Trump with during the campaign +20cgEKQHXWo-00000-00000571-00001691 Democrats will request copies of President Donald Trump’s tax returns in a matter of weeks, according to one senior member of the tax committee in the House of Representatives +20cgEKQHXWo-00001-00001691-00002650 .Federal law says the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee can request any American’s personal tax information from the Treasury Department +20cgEKQHXWo-00002-00002650-00003277 Democrats will use that power in about two weeks, according to committee member Rep +20cgEKQHXWo-00003-00003277-00004557 Bill Pascrell (D-NJ). .The Trump administration is “feeling the heat, there’s no question about it, because everybody’s talking about the tax returns now,” Pascrell said +20cgEKQHXWo-00004-00004557-00005526 .Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass) has said it is necessary to build a public case for the need to obtain Trump’s tax information +20cgEKQHXWo-00005-00005526-00006822 But he has declined to commit to a deadline. .“I don’t think that we have a definitive timeline right now, but that could change based on the information as it’s provided,” Neal told HuffPost on Wednesday +20cgEKQHXWo-00006-00006822-00007848 .Obtaining Trump’s tax returns is part of Democrats’ broader oversight of the Trump administration, which they began when they took control of the House this year +20cgEKQHXWo-00007-00007848-00009144 The House Judiciary Committee on Monday sent dozens of document requests to Trump affiliates who might have information about corruption within the Trump administration or Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign +20cgEKQHXWo-00008-00009144-00010087 .Past presidential candidates have disclosed tax info while campaigning and divested from their businesses once taking office +20cgEKQHXWo-00009-00010087-00011040 Trump did neither.Tax documents could show how much money Trump makes, where it comes from and how much he pays in taxes +20cgEKQHXWo-00010-00011040-00012307 Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, testified last week before the House oversight committee that Trump manipulated the value of his assets to get a break on his tax bill +20cgEKQHXWo-00011-00012307-00013318 .For Ways and Means, Trump’s tax returns could show whether the IRS is doing a good job of enforcing the tax laws written by members of Congress +20cgEKQHXWo-00012-00013318-00014527 The IRS has already reported that individuals who underreport business income are the biggest contributors to the gap between what Americans collectively owe and what the IRS ultimately collects +20cgEKQHXWo-00013-00014527-00015554 In separate interviews over the past week, Pascrell and Neal have both said the other man supports his public statements, even though they seem to contradict each other +20cgEKQHXWo-00014-00015554-00016633 Pascrell complained last week that Neal was taking too long to request Trump’s tax info; Neal said Pascrell told him privately he was doing a good job +20cgEKQHXWo-00015-00016633-00017523 And Pascrell said Wednesday that Neal has had no complaint about his two-week prediction, which he first made on Tuesday +20cgEKQHXWo-00016-00017523-00018892 “I’m sticking with it,” Pascrell said.Neal has previously said he would wait until special counsel Robert Mueller had finished his investigation into the Trump campaign’s collusion with the Russian government in 2016 +20cgEKQHXWo-00017-00018892-00020757 He has only ever committed to making the request sometime this year. .The law says the chairs of congressional tax committees can ask for private citizens’ tax information and the treasury secretary “shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request +20cgEKQHXWo-00018-00020757-00021481 ” Congress created the law in the 1920s specifically as a check on corruption in the executive branch +20cgEKQHXWo-00019-00021481-00022387 .Neal has said his staff has been drafting the request carefully because the Trump administration will probably not comply with the law +20cgEKQHXWo-00020-00022387-00023205 A spokesperson for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has said only that Mnuchin will review any requests “for legality +20cgEKQHXWo-00021-00023205-00024717 ” Democrats expect to wind up in court once they do request Trump’s taxes. .Ways and Means Republicans, for their part, say Democrats should just trust the IRS to audit the president, which the agency does every year by law +242VL51oB4k-00000-00000513-00001976 Even as Jerry Nadler’s House Judiciary Committee pushes forward with its broad investigation into numerous Donald Trump-related scandals, Elijah Cummings’ House Oversight Committee is focusing in on more specific scandals +242VL51oB4k-00001-00001976-00003206 Today, Cummings is targeting Jared Kushner over allegations that Kushner has been using personal email and an encrypted messaging service to communicate with foreign leaders +242VL51oB4k-00002-00003206-00004206 .Elijah Cummings is citing a meeting that he had with Kushner attorney Abbe Lowell back in December, which up to now wasn’t public knowledge +242VL51oB4k-00003-00004206-00005549 According to Cummings, Lowell admitted during the meeting that Jared Kushner uses the encrypted social media platform WhatsApp to communicate with world leaders, as reported by USA Today +242VL51oB4k-00004-00005549-00006581 This raises concerns on three levels. First, there is the question of whether this practice violates federal record keeping laws +242VL51oB4k-00005-00006581-00007354 Kushner claims he screen-shots all of his WhatsApp messages and submits them for collection +242VL51oB4k-00006-00007354-00008349 If this proves true, it would probably be compliant with the law.Second, there is the question of whether this practice is safe +242VL51oB4k-00007-00008349-00009506 According to Cummings, Kushner’s attorney said in December that he didn’t know whether or not Kushner was transmitting classified information via WhatsApp +242VL51oB4k-00008-00009506-00010946 This would raise various security issues. It’s also worth pointing out that Donald Trump routinely vilified his opponent Hillary Clinton for allegedly transmitting classified information via a private email server +242VL51oB4k-00009-00010946-00011993 Third, according to a new report from Politico, Jared Kushner “reportedly has communicated with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman via WhatsApp +242VL51oB4k-00010-00011993-00013495 ” Considering that the Crown Price is widely believed to have been behind the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, we expect Elijah Cummings to ask a whole lot of questions going forward about those WhatsApp conversations +242VL51oB4k-00011-00013495-00013793 Stay tuned +333jokUKMIo-00000-00000571-00001224 President Trump believes the situation at America’s southern border has gotten out of hand +333jokUKMIo-00001-00001224-00002318 Up to one MILLION may cross the border in 2019.But Democrats continue to do all they can to stop Trump, including capping how many ICE can detain +333jokUKMIo-00002-00002318-00003055 But now Donald is blowing past those numbers, using ICE as an “icy hammer” to clean up the border swamp +333jokUKMIo-00003-00003055-00004293 From The Daily Beast:''For the first time in its history, the US government is detaining more than 50,000 people it says are undocumented immigrants in jails and prisons around the country'' +333jokUKMIo-00004-00004293-00005171 Trump will not just let them all go free within our borders – but it turns out, that’s exactly what Democrats wanted +333jokUKMIo-00005-00005171-00006396 A year ago, when passing ICE’s most recent budget, legislators explicitly instructed the interior-immigration agency to cap detentions at 40,520 +333jokUKMIo-00006-00006396-00007240 Trump was ordered to cap detentions around 40,000. Where would the rest go? Free to roam America +333jokUKMIo-00007-00007240-00008156 Instead, when ICE ran out of money for beds and detention centers, they got permission to take extra funds from other groups like FEMA +333jokUKMIo-00008-00008156-00009162 It’s the same game Trump has to play now for border wall funding. He’s moving billions from groups flush with cash to fix our broken border system +333jokUKMIo-00009-00009162-00009899 Democrats are not happy that the numbers of detained are increasing, but it just proves Trump’s point +333jokUKMIo-00010-00009899-00010390 There’s a big border problem, and it needs fixing now +43XKpPwri4c-00000-00000571-00001898 Donald Trump’s fragile ego and narcissistic underpinnings have long motivated him to seek out praise for himself, no matter the respectability of the source, and then trumpet that praise as if it were legitimate +43XKpPwri4c-00001-00001898-00002577 For instance, Trump will quote pretty much anyone on Fox News who says nice things about him +43XKpPwri4c-00002-00002577-00003219 But even some of Trump’s longtime pundit cheerleaders have started to sour on him +43XKpPwri4c-00003-00003219-00005108 If you want evidence of just how desperate Donald Trump has grown and how far he’s fallen when it comes to finding sycophants he can quote, he ended up posting this tweet on Saturday night: “‘There’s not one shred of evidence that this president’s done anything Constitutionally (or anything else) wrong +43XKpPwri4c-00004-00005108-00006346 ’ Graham Ledger. Thank you Graham, so true!”This prompted just about everyone on Twitter to cry out at once: Who is Graham Ledger? That doesn’t even sound like a real name +43XKpPwri4c-00005-00006346-00008209 Has Lindsey Graham gone into the witness protection program? Is the “Graham Ledger” the name of a fake small town newspaper? To give you an idea of how thoroughly the internet ended up laughing at Donald Trump for quoting this guy, the name “Graham Ledger” ended up trending on Twitter, simply from everyone piling on +43XKpPwri4c-00006-00008209-00009786 If you’re wondering, Graham Ledger is the host of the “The Daily Ledger” on the One America News Network, a comparatively obscure cable news channel that’s so embarrassingly and dishonestly pro-Trump, it makes Fox News look legitimate in comparison +43XKpPwri4c-00007-00009786-00010844 That’s right, Donald Trump has now sunk to watching positive coverage of himself on the OANN channel, because it’s the only place he can reliably still find it +4XZGtF8V7ju-00000-00000513-00001592 Trump believes that thanks to this weeks testimony from disgraced and disbarred former attorney Michael Cohen, the “Russia collision” story has fallen completely apart +4XZGtF8V7ju-00001-00001592-00003459 Trump took to Twitter to voice his point of view.Oh’ I see! Now that the 2 year Russian Collusion case has fallen apart, there was no Collusion except bye Crooked Hillary and the Democrats, they say, “gee, I have an idea, let’s look at Trump’s finances and every deal he has ever done +4XZGtF8V7ju-00002-00003459-00004206 Let’s follow discredited Michael Cohen….…and the fraudulent and dishonest statements he made on Wednesday +4XZGtF8V7ju-00003-00004206-00005202 No way, it’s time to stop this corrupt and illegally brought Witch Hunt. Time to start looking at the other side where real crimes were committed +4XZGtF8V7ju-00004-00005202-00006192 Republicans have been abused long enough. Must end now!.During his testimony, Cohen admitted he had no knowledge of any Russia collusion +4XZGtF8V7ju-00005-00006192-00007088 .NBC News reported that Cohen addressed the question on everyone’s mind: Was there collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia? +4XZGtF8V7ju-00006-00007088-00007944 “Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia +4XZGtF8V7ju-00007-00007944-00009499 I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions,” Cohen said.President Trump said Friday that Democrats have placed their focus on Michael Cohen this week because the investigation into Russian collusion are “falling apart +4XZGtF8V7ju-00008-00009499-00010303 ”.The president lashed out on social media after Cohen gave three straight days of testimony to three different committees +4XZGtF8V7ju-00009-00010303-00011716 “Now that the 2 year Russian Collusion case has fallen apart, there was no Collusion except bye Crooked Hillary and the Democrats, they say, ‘gee, I have an idea, let’s look at Trump’s finances and every deal he has ever done +4XZGtF8V7ju-00010-00011716-00012573 Let’s follow discredited Michael Cohen and the fraudulent and dishonest statements he made on Wednesday,” Trump tweeted +4XZGtF8V7ju-00011-00012573-00014075 Mueller’s probe is expected to be coming to an end in the coming weeks with no known indictments related to Russia collusion so far, and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee recently said his panel’s inquiry has found no evidence of collusion +4XZGtF8V7ju-00012-00014075-00015418 However, with Democrats taking control of the House this term, congressional investigations are ramping up in the intelligence, finance, and judiciary committees looking at the president’s finances and ties to Russia +4XZGtF8V7ju-00013-00015418-00016870 In public testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Cohen testified about his work to protect Trump as his so-called fixer, including his involvement in making hush-money payments to women claiming to have had affairs with Trump +57ZVom8Z5vU-00000-00000513-00001448 Princess Beatrice has been seen with property millionaire Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi when they holidayed in Lamu, an island close to Kenya +57ZVom8Z5vU-00001-00001448-00002158 Mr Mozzi and Princess Beatrice reportedly met at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May last year +57ZVom8Z5vU-00002-00002158-00002989 The reports of their relationship were abuzz in November 2018, when a source revealed they had had a few dates +57ZVom8Z5vU-00003-00002989-00003874 .Beatrice, 30, recently attended her younger sister Princess Eugenie’s wedding to wine-merchant Jack Brooksbank +57ZVom8Z5vU-00004-00003874-00004729 .The Princess was maid of honour for her sister and was seen arriving at St George’s Chapel with their mother Sarah Ferguson +57ZVom8Z5vU-00005-00004729-00006129 Eugenie and now husband Jack had announced their engagement in January 2018. .The news of Beatrice and Mr Mozzi comes two years after she split from her boyfriend of 10 years, Dave Clark +57ZVom8Z5vU-00006-00006129-00006980 .Beatrice and Mr Clark had split in July 2016, and the MailOnline reported he has now married someone else +57ZVom8Z5vU-00007-00006980-00007824 .Whilst Beatrice’s relationship with Mr Mozzi is not official, a source told The Sun they “hit it off instantly” +57ZVom8Z5vU-00008-00007824-00009140 Mr Mozzi, also known by his nickname Edo, is a divorcee with a two-year-old son.He is believed to have founded the real estate firm Banda in 2007 and today is its CEO +57ZVom8Z5vU-00009-00009140-00010052 Speaking to The Sun in November, the insider said: “Beatrice and Edo have the same circle of friends and were introduced through a mutual chum +57ZVom8Z5vU-00010-00010052-00011032 “They hit it off instantly and have a real laugh together. .“They’ve been on holiday together and Beatrice introduced him to Fergie and her dad +57ZVom8Z5vU-00011-00011032-00011888 “Things are moving very quickly and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they can be engaged within a short period of time +57ZVom8Z5vU-00012-00011888-00012502 “They could even be tying the knot in 2019 - it’s already been discussed by her friends +57ZVom8Z5vU-00013-00012502-00013921 “Everyone is thrilled that Bea is so happy and in such a good place right now.”.Bookmakers Ladbrokes make it 5/1 Eugenie and Mr Mozzi will get engaged in 2019, slicing odds in half from 10/1 +57ZVom8Z5vU-00014-00013921-00015164 Ladbrokes spokeswoman Jessica Bridge said: ”Royal fans are hopeful Princess Beatrice has found her Prince Charming in Edo, and it may not be that long before he gets down on one knee +57ZVom8Z5vU-00015-00015164-00015264 " +5lByGwZ8QDy-00000-00000571-00002410 The United Auto Workers (UAW) — which represents thousands of American workers at General Motors (GM) — is standing with President Trump in his recent call for GM CEO Mary Barra to reopen the corporation’s idled Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant +5lByGwZ8QDy-00001-00002410-00003131 This week, Trump called on Barra to reopen the recently closed GM Lordstown assembly plant +5lByGwZ8QDy-00002-00003131-00004622 The closing of the plant resulted in the immediate layoff of about 1,600 American workers and since 2017, about 4,500 American workers in Ohio have lost their jobs at GM +5lByGwZ8QDy-00003-00004622-00005536 .“Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors about the Lordstown Ohio plant,” Trump said in a tweet this week +5lByGwZ8QDy-00004-00005536-00006085 “I am not happy that it is closed when everything else in our Country is BOOMING +5lByGwZ8QDy-00005-00006085-00007088 I asked her to sell it or do something quickly. She blamed the UAW Union — I don’t care, I just want it open!” +5lByGwZ8QDy-00006-00007088-00009055 In response, the UAW is standing with Trump, asking that the populist president be involved in negotiations between GM executives and the union workers to get the assembly plant reopened — a move that would save the Lordstown area and surrounding communities from economic decline +5lByGwZ8QDy-00007-00009055-00010643 UAW officials wrote on Twitter a “Thank you” to Trump for standing with the laid-off American workers in Lordstown, and wrote that “Corporations close plants, workers don’t” in response to claims from Barra that the plant was idled because of union workers +5lByGwZ8QDy-00008-00010643-00012163 So-called “industry experts” have blasted Trump and the UAW’s effort to include the president in negotiations to reopen the Lordstown plant, arguing to the Detroit Free Press that GM executives will not be pushed into a decision +5lByGwZ8QDy-00009-00012163-00013809 “This is an industry with very long planning horizons at huge scales of investment and production,” said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of Industry, Labor & Economics at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor +5lByGwZ8QDy-00010-00013809-00014836 “It’s economically significant and important to the country. But GM can’t be bullied into making decisions that aren’t good business decision +5lByGwZ8QDy-00011-00014836-00016356 “Neither one of the parties negotiates in public or in the press. This is a two-party negotiation and even the investments, which do involve states and local incentives, they’re not at the bargaining table,” said Dziczek +5lByGwZ8QDy-00012-00016356-00018268 “This is all about what the union and GM agree on.” [Emphasis added].GM executives and the UAW are supposed to begin negotiations on possibilities for the Lordstown plant this September, but Trump wrote online that he wants immediate action from GM +5lByGwZ8QDy-00013-00018268-00019841 This year, GM announced it would stop production at four of its U.S. plants, including Detroit-Hamtramck and Warren Transmission in Michigan, Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, and Baltimore Operations in Maryland +5lByGwZ8QDy-00014-00019841-00020577 Trump initially blasted the decision, saying, “This country has done a lot for General Motors +5lByGwZ8QDy-00015-00020577-00022056 They better get back to Ohio and soon''.While GM closed its Lordstown plant this month, the multinational corporation’s Mexico production has remained unaffected by layoffs, and production in China has ramped up +5lByGwZ8QDy-00016-00022056-00023216 The Lordstown plant closure, a new analysis finds, will have a devastating impact on the working and middle-class communities in the small, Ohio region +5lByGwZ8QDy-00017-00023216-00024025 Between the plant closure and American jobs in supporting industries around the area, about 8,000 U +5lByGwZ8QDy-00018-00024025-00024751 S. workers in the Lordstown area are expected to lose their jobs because of GM’s decision +5lByGwZ8QDy-00019-00024751-00026172 Lordstown’s economic downturn from the plant closure would come as Barra continues raking in an annual salary of about $22 million and GM profits about $11 billion before taxes +6o-MRCsCclc-00000-00000571-00001548 Everyone on the Left is hoping former VP Joe Biden will run in 2020 after Hillary bowed out, but he’s not willing to commit yet +6o-MRCsCclc-00001-00001548-00002412 During a recent speech, Biden kept talking as if he was already running, and he only barely caught himself +6o-MRCsCclc-00002-00002412-00003165 Even the media gave him a hard time about the gaffe – so Trump stepped up and gave Joe the perfect nickname +6o-MRCsCclc-00003-00003165-00004478 .From Fox New:''Trump on Monday blasted Joe Biden as “another low I.Q. individual” as he taunted the former vice president for getting “tongue tied” about whether he will launch a 2020 White House bid'' +6o-MRCsCclc-00004-00004478-00005340 Doesn’t “low-IQ Joe” has a nice ring to it? Or is “tongue-tied Joe” better?.Donald, that’s just amazing! +6o-MRCsCclc-00005-00005340-00006069 Trump roasted Biden for getting tongue-tied over a very simple question about running for president +6o-MRCsCclc-00006-00006069-00007132 Joe, how hard is it to answer a yes or no question? Are you running or not?.Liberals like to joke that Trump has a low IQ +6o-MRCsCclc-00007-00007132-00008211 Really? The president has an IQ in the 150s, some reports say, one of the smartest presidents in our nation’s history +6o-MRCsCclc-00008-00008211-00009392 Trump isn’t sitting on the sidelines while his Democrat opponents prepare. He just reminded America that, in his opinion, Biden is not very presidential +6o-MRCsCclc-00009-00009392-00010306 Given his gaffes and frequent, inappropriate moments with the ladies, Joe’s will probably have a hard time against Trump +6o-MRCsCclc-00010-00010306-00011014 Not to mention this latest fact: “Middle-Class Joe” is now a multi-millionaire.From Politico: +6o-MRCsCclc-00011-00011014-00012372 “Middle-Class Joe” Biden has a $2.7 million vacation home. He charges more than $100,000 per speaking gig and has inked a book deal likely worth seven figures +6o-MRCsCclc-00012-00012372-00013266 Since leaving office, Biden’s only gotten richer. Pretty amazing how often that happens for Washington politicians +6o-MRCsCclc-00013-00013266-00014128 Seems like “serving the public” leads to big bucks.Maybe Joe should just enjoy his millions and leave the leading to men like Trump? +6yowNX53cig-00000-00000513-00001798 President Trump lashed out at conservative pundit Ann Coulter on Saturday, labeling her a “Wacky Nut Job” and insisting he was “winning on the Border” despite opposition from a hostile Democratic Party +6yowNX53cig-00001-00001798-00003031 Coulter, one of Trump’s earliest supporters, has evolved into a persistent critic the president in recent months over his struggles to secure funding from Congress for his long-promised wall along the U +6yowNX53cig-00002-00003031-00004716 S.-Mexico border.“Wacky Nut Job @AnnCoulter, who still hasn’t figured out that, despite all odds and an entire Democrat Party of Far Left Radicals against me (not to mention certain Republicans who are sadly unwilling to fight), I am winning on the Border +6yowNX53cig-00003-00004716-00005554 Major sections of Wall are being built.,” Trump tweeted.and renovated, with MUCH MORE to follow shortly +6yowNX53cig-00004-00005554-00006319 Tens of thousands of illegals are being apprehended (captured) at the Border and NOT allowed into our Country +6yowNX53cig-00005-00006319-00007098 With another President, millions would be pouring in. I am stopping an invasion as the Wall gets built +6yowNX53cig-00006-00007098-00008451 #MAGA,” he continued.Coulter, whose books include “In Trump We Trust,” and "Resistance is Futile," did not reply to the president via Twitter on Saturday, but has been relentless in her criticism +6yowNX53cig-00007-00008451-00009679 In January, after lawmakers reached an agreement to end the 35-day partial government shutdown, she called Trump the "the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States +6yowNX53cig-00008-00009679-00010891 ".During an appearance on “Real Time With Bill Maher,” she said Trump backed down on his demands for the wall in order to reopen the government without securing funding from House Democrats +6yowNX53cig-00009-00010891-00011659 “I promise you the country would be run much better if I had a veto over what Donald Trump is doing +6yowNX53cig-00010-00011659-00012628 It’s crazy that I expect a president to keep the promise he made every day for 18 months,” Coulter told Maher over Trump's border wall promise +6yowNX53cig-00011-00012628-00013725 During Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress in February, Coulter labeled the speech as “the lamest, sappiest, most intentionally tear-jerking SOTU ever +6yowNX53cig-00012-00013725-00014822 ”.Coulter is scheduled to speak Monday at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida, not far from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, the Palm Beach Post reported +6WibecS5c2E-00000-00000513-00002394 When former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and former FBI agent Peter Strzok discussed a so-called "insurance policy" involving then-candidate Donald Trump and the Russia investigation in 2016, they were discussing how quickly to proceed with the probe, Page told lawmakers last year +6WibecS5c2E-00001-00002394-00004993 Page told House lawmakers in a closed-door interview that the text message about an "insurance policy" if Trump won the 2016 election — which Republicans have cited to point to the anti-Trump bias the investigators exhibited — was a reference to the fact that the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into whether members of Trump's team were colluding with Russia would take on a greater significance if he was in the White House +6WibecS5c2E-00002-00004993-00006753 "If he is not elected, then, to the extent that the Russians were colluding with members of his team, we're still going to investigate that even without him being President, because any time the Russians do anything with a US person, we care, and it's very serious to us," Page said +6WibecS5c2E-00003-00006753-00007581 "But if he becomes President, that totally changes the game because now he is the President of the United States," she continued +6WibecS5c2E-00004-00007581-00008519 "He's going to immediately start receiving classified briefings. He's going to be exposed to the most sensitive secrets imaginable +6WibecS5c2E-00005-00008519-00009237 And if there is somebody on his team who wittingly or unwittingly is working with the Russians, that is super serious +6WibecS5c2E-00006-00009237-00010580 ".Page was speaking to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees as part of last year's Republican-led investigation into the FBI and Justice Department's handling of the investigations into Hillary Clinton and Trump and Russia +6WibecS5c2E-00007-00010580-00011680 The transcript of Page's two-part interview in July 2018 was released publicly Tuesday by the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep +6WibecS5c2E-00008-00011680-00012939 Doug Collins of Georgia. Last week he released Justice Department official Bruce Ohr's interview transcript, and has said he plans to continue to release more of the panel's interviews conducted last year +6WibecS5c2E-00009-00012939-00014561 Page's text messages exchanged with Strzok while the FBI officials had an affair cut to the heart of the Republican probe, in which GOP lawmakers argued that key officials tasked with investigating Clinton and Trump had displayed a clear political bias +6WibecS5c2E-00010-00014561-00015804 Page's interview took place just after the raucous, public hearing with Strzok, in which he acknowledged his personal political biases but argued they did not affect his professional work +6WibecS5c2E-00011-00015804-00016998 Page made a similar argument in her closed-door interview with the panels, saying that her and Strzok's professional decisions were unconnected to the personal text messages they exchanged +6WibecS5c2E-00012-00016998-00018294 In the interview, Page noted there was also an anti-Clinton bias at the FBI. She said that Strzok told her about senior FBI officials expressing a sentiment that "you have to get her +6WibecS5c2E-00013-00018294-00019014 " But she said the comments weren't instructions to investigators, and rather amounted to "smack talk +6WibecS5c2E-00014-00019014-00019793 "."That's the point I keep trying to make, which is, like, we don't like a lot of the people we investigate +6WibecS5c2E-00015-00019793-00022039 In fact, we mostly don't like the people we investigate," Page said.CNN previously reported that Page explained another controversial text message in her interview — "We need to open the case we've been waiting on now while Andy is acting," Strzok had texted her in the hours after FBI Director Jim Comey's firing — was not about who was the FBI director +6WibecS5c2E-00016-00022039-00023413 "This case had been a topic of discussion for some time," Page said. "The 'waiting on' was an indecision and a cautiousness on the part of the Bureau with respect to what to do, whether there was sufficient predication to open +6WibecS5c2E-00017-00023413-00023513 " +7yx2CSrA3gg-00000-00000571-00002007 Democrats are in hot pursuit of Trump’s missing (but known) communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin and as of Monday, three different committees in the House have now joined forces to try to retrieve them +7yx2CSrA3gg-00001-00002007-00003219 News reports have indicated that there are records of conversations between President Trump and President Putin that Trump has purposefully had concealed or possibly even destroyed +7yx2CSrA3gg-00002-00003219-00004081 House Democrats maintain that if those records do exist, then they would be protected under a Watergate-era law +7yx2CSrA3gg-00003-00004081-00004847 Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California (Chair of the House Intelligence Committee) joined with Rep +7yx2CSrA3gg-00004-00004847-00005489 Eliot Engel of New York (Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs) and Rep +7yx2CSrA3gg-00005-00005489-00006686 Elijah Cummings (Chair of the House Oversight Committee) have sent letters formally requesting any internal documents that have information about meetings and phone calls between Trump and Putin +7yx2CSrA3gg-00006-00006686-00007780 The letters, which requested that the information be given to them by March 15th, were sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney +7yx2CSrA3gg-00007-00007780-00009186 The Washington Post dropped a bombshell with a January report stating that Donald Trump had gone to great lengths to conceal notes of a 2017 meeting with Putin in Germany and House Democrats have been on the trail ever since +7yx2CSrA3gg-00008-00009186-00010264 Democrats claim that those records should have been protected by something called The Presidential Records Act and destroying them would be in direct violation of such +8NVqbHUs1pA-00000-00000513-00002247 President Trump and his anti-immigration rhetoric were cited as an inspiration by the white supremacist shooter who killed nearly fifty people last night at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and he made it clear why that was the case this afternoon in an appalling series of statements to media +8NVqbHUs1pA-00001-00002247-00004345 Unapologetic and unfazed by the senseless slaughter that was committed by one of his supporters, Trump offered some insincere words of condolences before immediately pivoting right back into the kind of white nationalist anti-immigrant rhetoric that inspired the attack in the first place, calling immigrants coming across the southern border an “invasion” +8NVqbHUs1pA-00002-00004345-00005539 When he was asked if white nationalism was a serious problem, he said replied with “not really” and dismissed it as a “small group of people” — who all happen to support him +8NVqbHUs1pA-00003-00005539-00006549 He could not have made it more clear that he doesn’t care about the effects of his racist rhetoric, which were featured prominently in the manifesto of the Christchurch murderer +8NVqbHUs1pA-00004-00006549-00007908 The killer literally wrote the words “an invasion never before seen in history, millions of people pouring across our borders” and said he committed the attack to show the “invaders” that “our lands will never be their lands” +8NVqbHUs1pA-00005-00007908-00008736 It is terrifying and repulsive to see the President of the United States repeating the same toxic ideas the very next day +8NVqbHUs1pA-00006-00008736-00009621 He bears a great deal of blame for this horrifying tragedy but doesn’t even have the decency to even appear contrite +8hw80YbYmM0-00000-00000571-00001984 “I feel that—I feel it very strongly,” Trump replied when asked by Breitbart News’s Washington Political Editor Matthew Boyle about his pledge in the State of the Union address that the United States would never become a socialist country +8hw80YbYmM0-00001-00001984-00003058 Trump continued by explaining that many Democrats are campaigning on socialism, however, because it is “easy” to campaign on but difficult “to govern on'' +8hw80YbYmM0-00002-00003058-00004277 “Now with that being said, you always have to be very careful, because socialism is easy to campaign on but tough to govern on, because the country goes down the tubes,” Trump said +8hw80YbYmM0-00003-00004277-00005584 “But when you tell people free medical, free education, no more student loans—all of the different things that you say—it’s a great thing to campaign on, but then ten years later the country is down the tubes +8hw80YbYmM0-00004-00005584-00006926 It’s gone. So, you always have to be careful with it, because you know you talk about single-payer, it sounds very seductive—single-payer—say what you want, but it’s a very seductive thing +8hw80YbYmM0-00005-00006926-00007673 But it means you’re not going to have good healthcare, it means the country is not going to be able to afford it +8hw80YbYmM0-00006-00007673-00008843 Not only is the country not going to be able to afford it, but it’s more than the entire revenue stream taken in for the entire—it’s like not even close right? But nobody thinks about that +8hw80YbYmM0-00007-00008843-00010588 They think, free healthcare isn’t that wonderful? But the truth is when you’re up on the debate stage, and they say we’re giving you free education, we’re giving you free healthcare, we’re giving you everything you want and a Rolls-Royce in everyone’s pocket, it’s not an easy situation +8hw80YbYmM0-00008-00010588-00011414 But what happens is ten years later the country is gone. Okay, whether it’s this country or any other country'' +8hw80YbYmM0-00009-00011414-00012466 In response to a follow-up question from Breitbart News senior White House correspondent Charlie Spiering, Trump said that the pendulum swings in politics frequently +8hw80YbYmM0-00010-00012466-00013451 Trump said that if the left somehow took control down the road, the voters would eventually course correct and choose a Republican next +8hw80YbYmM0-00011-00013451-00014052 “Then what happens is you take a violent turn to the other direction,” Trump said +8hw80YbYmM0-00012-00014052-00015100 When Spiering asked if Trump is worried about a “violent turn” toward socialism after two years of his administration’s policies, Trump said he is not +8hw80YbYmM0-00013-00015100-00016048 He pointed to his rising approval rating poll numbers, which he pointed out he has achieved despite overwhelmingly negative media coverage +8hw80YbYmM0-00014-00016048-00016965 “I don’t think so,f because we’ve had our best poll numbers,” Trump said. “You saw them—we’ve had our best poll numbers +8hw80YbYmM0-00015-00016965-00017842 We had nothing but fake news. Fox treats me well—and when I say well, I define well as fairly +8hw80YbYmM0-00016-00017842-00018942 It’s not—some of it’s not so good at all. But at least it’s fair. I do really well with local—you know, the local stuff is shockingly good +8hw80YbYmM0-00017-00018942-00020104 It’s almost like not even to be believed. But CNN and MSNBC and NBC, ABC, and yeah CBS, they’re all extraordinarily bad +8hw80YbYmM0-00018-00020104-00020932 I would say NBC is maybe the worst and very dishonest. It’s not even like bad, like bad reporting +8hw80YbYmM0-00019-00020932-00021685 It’s totally dishonest reporting. It’s really pretty incredible what they can get away with'' +8hw80YbYmM0-00020-00021685-00022787 Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow noted that many on the left are now coming “out” as socialists, publicly revealing themselves as such for the first time +8hw80YbYmM0-00021-00022787-00023772 When asked by Marlow whether he thinks there is a rise in support for socialism in the country, Trump questioned whether there actually is one happening +8hw80YbYmM0-00022-00023772-00024715 In his response, he pointed to how different Democrat presidential candidates have handled the question of supporting capitalism or socialism +8hw80YbYmM0-00023-00024715-00025399 Trump said the next election may very well be a referendum on socialism versus capitalism +8hw80YbYmM0-00024-00025399-00026457 Trump specifically cited one candidate whom he mockingly said he would not name (he later whispered “Hickenlooper”) for dodging a question on capitalism +8hw80YbYmM0-00025-00026457-00027643 Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat running for president in 2020, dodged when asked whether or not he is a capitalist on MSNBC +8hw80YbYmM0-00026-00027643-00028505 “Well I don’t know if there will be a rise, we have to see that—and that we will only know in an election,” Trump said +8hw80YbYmM0-00027-00028505-00029633 “So far, if you add it all up, you know, I watched a certain gentleman—I won’t mention his name, but he made a couple of bucks, he refuses to acknowledge capitalism +8hw80YbYmM0-00028-00029633-00030597 You saw that over the weekend—Hickenlooper. He was ashamed of the word, and yet I’ve seen others maybe going in the other direction +8hw80YbYmM0-00029-00030597-00031477 ''. .Trump’s comments came during a more-than-40-minute exclusive interview in the Oval Office in the White House on Monday afternoon +9ztDQq3jqbc-00000-00000571-00002284 Aftershocks from Michael Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee continue to rattle the Trump presidency, as last night Rachel Maddow dug into Donald Trump’s extreme overvaluation of a Trump property in Bedford, NY based on documents Cohen presented to Congress +9ztDQq3jqbc-00001-00002284-00003381 In short, Trump tried to secure a cash loan from Deutsche Bank in 2012 by claiming the value of the property to be $291 million +9ztDQq3jqbc-00002-00003381-00004735 That’s the same property he claimed was worth $18 million in 2013, and in the range of $25 million to $50 million according to a 2018 financial disclosure +9ztDQq3jqbc-00003-00004735-00006602 Trump originally purchased the Bedford property for $7.5 million in 1995.The $291 million Bedford property value inflation story is one of many examples of Trump’s fraud or attempted fraud, and the barrage of similar stories tends to have a numbing effect +9ztDQq3jqbc-00004-00006602-00007796 But this is huge, because what the story does is remove any reasonable doubt that Trump, Cohen, and Paul Manafort are all guilty of the exact same type of simpleminded fraud +9ztDQq3jqbc-00005-00007796-00009016 It’s not a complex idea to hype value to secure loans; for example, it was a big factor in the mortgage lending crisis that led to the Great Recession a decade ago +9ztDQq3jqbc-00006-00009016-00010750 The obvious difference is the conspiratorial nature and much higher stakes of Trump’s fraudulent deceit that the same property valued at $18 million 2013 was worth $291 million in 2012 on loan application papers sent to Deutsche Bank +9ztDQq3jqbc-00007-00010750-00011960 That’s why Manafort and Cohen were caught: it doesn’t take a genius criminal mind to pretend that something you have is worth more than it is on a loan application, and these people are no geniuses +9ztDQq3jqbc-00008-00011960-00013112 In the pre-2008 housing world, lenders were flush with cash and practically giving it away, mitigating the fraudulent behavior of people who inflated their incomes, etc +9ztDQq3jqbc-00009-00013112-00013976 to become homeowners. That’s irresponsible on the part of those who got loans they ultimately couldn’t afford, but understandable +9ztDQq3jqbc-00010-00013976-00015314 What Cohen and Manafort are going to prison for, and Donald Trump, along with at least one of his clueless sons, will certainly be prosecuted for, is all about intent to defraud on an enormous scale +9FYe-fAGpxI-00000-00000571-00002036 Didn’t things could worse for Donald Trump, his administration, and the entire Republican party? You thought wrong…Another Trump-family insider recently spoke out to tell a story that will surely chill you to the bone, folks +9FYe-fAGpxI-00001-00002036-00003021 Trump biographer David Cay Johnston appeared on CNN recently, where he revealed damning information about Donald Trump’s shady business past +9FYe-fAGpxI-00002-00003021-00003901 In the interview, Johnston said he wrote the book “to tell people things about his background that he won’t tell them himself +9FYe-fAGpxI-00003-00003901-00004727 ”.According to Johnston, Trump received his personal helicopters from a convicted felon (drug trafficking) +9FYe-fAGpxI-00004-00004727-00005675 Rather than washing his hands of this man, Trump allegedly sets him up in an apartment, in what Johnston calls “very unusual circumstances +9FYe-fAGpxI-00005-00005675-00006803 ” After Trump wrote a letter to the courts asking for mercy for this man, his drug dealers were sitting in jail with twenty-year sentences, while trafficker got only 18 months +9FYe-fAGpxI-00006-00006803-00007778 If you think that is disgusting, wait till you hear this: the case was at one point presided over by Maryann Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister +9FYe-fAGpxI-00007-00007778-00009199 Johnston says there must be more investigation into Trump’s past business relationships, with people the likes of “Russian mobsters, con artists, violent felons, swindlers, and this big-time cocaine trafficker +9FYe-fAGpxI-00008-00009199-00010492 ”.In an attempt to shed light onto the kind of leader Trump would be, he outlines a career mired by terrible management and leadership, cheating workers of pay, thousands of law suits, etc +9INwN6l5w2c-00000-00000513-00001586 Per Sonoran Alliance,. AZ Family Reporter Cameron Ridle was caught on a hot microphone joking that a crowd of protesters are probably racist +9INwN6l5w2c-00001-00001586-00002858 In this video clip captured from the AZFamily Facebook video page, reporter Cameron Ridle is heard preparing for his coverage of a gathering across the street from Chandler’s Perry High School +9INwN6l5w2c-00002-00002858-00003942 Parents and pro-Trump supporters were gathered to protest the school principal’s decision to suspend a student over her MAGA attire during a sprit day event +9INwN6l5w2c-00003-00003942-00004938 The reporter, in conversation with his cameraman colleague, speculates that if he walked down the sidewalk, the protesters would call him the N-word +9INwN6l5w2c-00004-00004938-00005551 He then laughs and continues to refer to the Trump supporters using racist language +9INwN6l5w2c-00005-00005551-00006272 ].Trump supporters took to the comment sections to voice their disapproval. Comments included: +9INwN6l5w2c-00006-00006272-00007309 He walked in front of and then behind the group of people and when he got back to the camera man he looked really disappointed that nobody has said anything wrong to him +9INwN6l5w2c-00007-00007309-00008205 He was really hoping somebody would say something to him that was racist. Racist went trolling for hate and only found himself +9INwN6l5w2c-00008-00008205-00008540 Racism is ALL from the left +9pbDK1Lv694-00000-00000277-00000477 🎶Um🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00001-00000570-00000872 🎶Miss my🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00002-00001162-00001212 🎶WHY🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00003-00002207-00002529 🎶Why you miss me🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00004-00002684-00003115 🎶When I done forgot about you🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00005-00003276-00003657 🎶 Why you say you miss me🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00006-00003782-00004170 🎶When I do forgot about you🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00007-00004340-00004912 🎶Why do you say that you forgot about me you don't care about me oh my god you broke my heart🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00008-00004971-00005194 🎶in two pieces🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00009-00005391-00005711 🎶why you done say you forgot about me🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00010-00005944-00006197 🎶When you told me that you don't miss me🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00011-00006479-00006760 🎶Now you miss me You said you didn't need me But every time I see you🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00012-00007012-00007427 🎶I get understand why you told me you hate me🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00013-00007550-00007851 🎶I knew for the first weekend🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00014-00007963-00008426 🎶Cus when you told me you miss me Now you don't want me Now you want to miss me🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00015-00008611-00008971 🎶you done told me that you hate me So why do you keep on saying you miss me🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00016-00009151-00009445 🎶Now I get sad every single time I see you🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00017-00009632-00009941 🎶Cus I remember all the pain you gave me🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00018-00010100-00010609 🎶I remember you hate me when I wouldn't do all you ass🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00019-00010746-00010927 🎶Now you want me🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00020-00011169-00011523 🎶When I done forgot about you🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00021-00011790-00012119 🎶Now you want to miss me Now you want to kiss me🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00022-00012327-00012766 🎶When I done forgot about every single time that we had fun🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00023-00012891-00013047 🎶I'm down low🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00024-00013392-00013836 🎶Why you keep saying you miss me And I no it wasn't true🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00025-00013953-00014071 🎶Why you keep on🎶. +9pbDK1Lv694-00026-00014116-00014210 🎶Saying that you🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00027-00014294-00014415 🎶Miss me🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00028-00014539-00014663 🎶Why you keep on🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00029-00014679-00014762 🎶Saying that you🎶 +9pbDK1Lv694-00030-00014792-00014932 🎶Miss me🎶 +9aeIipP3bUk-00000-00000513-00001850 President Donald Trump is not happy that former House Speaker Paul Ryan blocked subpoenas of people and entities Trump thinks the House GOP should have been investigating during the first two years of his administration +9aeIipP3bUk-00001-00001850-00003943 Trump told Breitbart News in an exclusive lengthy Oval Office interview that Ryan blocked issuance of subpoenas to people he thinks should have been investigated on the political left, and now that the Republicans no longer have the majority in the House, people Trump says Ryan protected may have gotten away with whatever they did that warranted investigation +9aeIipP3bUk-00002-00003943-00004901 Trump said that House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and his predecessor and fellow conservative Rep +9aeIipP3bUk-00003-00004901-00005674 Jim Jordan (R-OH) wanted to be tougher with the left, but that Ryan would not let them +9aeIipP3bUk-00004-00005674-00006327 “Paul Ryan wouldn’t give the right to have any subpoenas,” Trump told Breitbart News +9aeIipP3bUk-00005-00006327-00007328 “Okay? Now in all fairness, Meadows and Jordan and all these guys, they wanted to go tougher, but they weren’t allowed to by leadership +9aeIipP3bUk-00006-00007328-00008401 ”.Trump’s comments came in a wider part of the conversation about how the left is more “vicious” than the right—and that the left in American politics plays “cuter and tougher +9aeIipP3bUk-00007-00008401-00009522 ”.“So here’s the thing—it’s so terrible what’s happening,” Trump said when asked by Breitbart News Washington Political Editor Matthew Boyle about how the left is fighting hard +9aeIipP3bUk-00008-00009522-00010543 “You know, the left plays a tougher game, it’s very funny. I actually think that the people on the right are tougher, but they don’t play it tougher +9aeIipP3bUk-00009-00010543-00012160 Okay? I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump – I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad +9aeIipP3bUk-00010-00012160-00013495 But the left plays it cuter and tougher. Like with all the nonsense that they do in Congress … with all this invest[igations]—that’s all they want to do is –you know, they do things that are nasty +9aeIipP3bUk-00011-00013495-00014430 Republicans never played this.”. .Trump’s relationship with Ryan during Ryan’s tenure was fraught with peril from the get-go +9aeIipP3bUk-00012-00014430-00015825 Ryan only hesitantly backed Trump’s 2016 campaign in 2016 once Trump won the GOP nomination, but then backed off from supporting Trump after the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape +9aeIipP3bUk-00013-00015825-00017758 Ryan ditched on a campaign event he had scheduled with Trump that weekend, and the following week held a conference call with House GOP members in early October 2016 in which he told members it would be acceptable to him if they abandoned the GOP nominee for president just weeks before the 2016 election +9aeIipP3bUk-00014-00017758-00019033 “I am not going to defend Donald Trump—not now, not in the future,” Ryan said on the private call, audio of which was obtained by Breitbart News and published in early 2017 +9aeIipP3bUk-00015-00019033-00020989 .Ryan followed through on that and never campaigned with Trump. When Breitbart News published this audio in the spring of 2017, his then-spokesman Brendan Buck claimed that “a lot has happened since then” and argued that Ryan was working with Trump on the president’s agenda in the first couple years of his administration +9aeIipP3bUk-00016-00020989-00022421 With the exception of tax cuts, however, which the president led the way on, Ryan did not deliver much in the way of helping Trump achieve any of his agenda during the time Ryan served as Speaker while Trump served as president +9aeIipP3bUk-00017-00022421-00023463 Ryan became speaker in 2015, when then-Speaker John Boehner—facing a revolt from within his own GOP ranks—was forced to step aside +9aeIipP3bUk-00018-00023463-00024158 Others had sought the job and failed before Ryan eventually ended up running for the position +9aeIipP3bUk-00019-00024158-00025257 Prior to being Speaker, Ryan was the failed 2012 vice presidential nominee for the GOP presidential ticket of former Massachusetts Gov +9aeIipP3bUk-00020-00025257-00026268 Mitt Romney. With Ryan at his side, Romney, who has since left Massachusetts behind to move to Utah and now represents Utah in the U +9aeIipP3bUk-00021-00026268-00027457 S. Senate, lost the 2012 presidential election to then-President Barack Obama.Then in early 2018, Ryan announced he would not be seeking re-election in the midterms +9aeIipP3bUk-00022-00027457-00028157 Critics argued that his not stepping aside hurt the GOP in the midterm elections +9aeIipP3bUk-00023-00028157-00028825 Now that Ryan is gone from public life, he took a sharp shot at Trump earlier this week +9aeIipP3bUk-00024-00028825-00029847 “The person who defines that race is going to win the race,” Ryan said about the 2020 presidential race at a lecture in Florida per a local news account +9aeIipP3bUk-00025-00029847-00030448 “If this is about Donald Trump and his personality, he isn’t going to win it.”. +9aeIipP3bUk-00026-00030448-00032255 Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., fired back at Ryan on Twitter earlier in the week, saying the former speaker “failed” in 2012, “lied to us,” did not deliver border wall funding he promised previously, and then went on to lose the House GOP its majority in the midterms +9aeIipP3bUk-00027-00032255-00033094 Ryan has since walked back his criticisms of Trump’s 2020 prospects, saying that he meant to blame the media +a4mDa2weeJc-00000-00000513-00002396 President Donald Trump on Monday will ask the U.S. Congress for an additional $8.6 billion to help pay for the wall he promised to build on the southern border with Mexico to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking, officials familiar with his 2020 budget request told Reuters +a4mDa2weeJc-00001-00002396-00003676 The demand is more than six times what Congress allocated for border projects in each of the past two fiscal years, and 6 percent more than Trump has corralled by invoking emergency powers this year +a4mDa2weeJc-00002-00003676-00004920 Democrats, who oppose the wall as unnecessary and immoral, control the U.S. House of Representatives, making it unlikely the Republican president’s request will win congressional passage +a4mDa2weeJc-00003-00004920-00006743 Republicans control the Senate.The proposal comes on the heels of a bruising battle with Congress over wall funding that resulted in a five-week partial federal government shutdown that ended in January, and could touch off a sequel just ahead of a trifecta of ominous fiscal deadlines looming this fall +a4mDa2weeJc-00004-00006743-00008112 Regardless of whether Congress passes it, the budget request could help Trump frame his argument on border security as the 2020 presidential race begins to take shape, with the president seeking re-election +a4mDa2weeJc-00005-00008112-00008848 “Build the wall” was one of his signature campaign pledges in his first run for office in 2016 +a4mDa2weeJc-00006-00008848-00009849 “Finish the wall” is already a feature of his re-election campaign, a rallying cry plastered across banners and signs at his campaign rallies +a4mDa2weeJc-00007-00009849-00011191 “It gives the president the ability to say he has fulfilled his commitment to gain operational control of the southwest border,” an administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of the budget request +a4mDa2weeJc-00008-00011191-00011870 “We have provided the course of action, the strategy and the request to finish the job +a4mDa2weeJc-00009-00011870-00012628 It’s a question of, will Congress allow us to finish the job,” a second administration official said +a4mDa2weeJc-00010-00012628-00013602 Funding legislation needs to be passed before Oct. 1 - the start of the 2020 federal fiscal year - or the government could shut down again +a4mDa2weeJc-00011-00013602-00014681 If Congress and the White House fail to agree to lift mandatory spending caps set in a 2011 law, steep automatic cuts in many programs would kick in +a4mDa2weeJc-00012-00014681-00015718 Around the same time, Trump and lawmakers must agree to lift the debt ceiling, or risk a default, which would have chaotic economic fallout +a4mDa2weeJc-00013-00015718-00017852 722 MILES OF WALL.Trump’s wall request is based off a 2017 plan put forward by Customs and Border Protection officials to build or replace 722 miles (1,162 km) of barrier along the border, which in total is estimated to cost about $18 billion +a4mDa2weeJc-00014-00017852-00019903 So far, only 111 miles (179 km) have been built or are underway, officials said. In fiscal 2017, $341 million in funding was allocated for 40 miles (64 km) of wall, and in 2018, another $1 +a4mDa2weeJc-00015-00019903-00021475 375 billion was directed to 82 miles (132 km).For fiscal 2019, Trump demanded $5.7 billion in wall funds, but Congress appropriated only $1 +a4mDa2weeJc-00016-00021475-00023390 375 billion for border fencing projects.Following the rejection of his wall funding demand, Trump declared the border was a national emergency - a move opposed by Democrats and some Republicans - and redirected $601 million in Treasury Department forfeiture funds, $2 +a4mDa2weeJc-00017-00023390-00024492 5 billion in Defense Department drug interdiction funds and $3.6 billion from a military construction budget, for total spending of $8 +a4mDa2weeJc-00018-00024492-00025804 1 billion for the wall.The administration has not estimated how far the 2019 funds will go, but officials said average costs are about $25 million per mile (1 +a4mDa2weeJc-00019-00025804-00027073 6 km).Trump’s $8.6 billion in proposed wall funding for fiscal 2020 would include $5 billion from the Department of Homeland Security budget and $3 +a4mDa2weeJc-00020-00027073-00027932 6 billion from the Pentagon’s military construction budget. The budget proposal will also include another $3 +a4mDa2weeJc-00021-00027932-00028727 6 million in military construction funding to make up for any projects delayed by the wall, officials said +a4mDa2weeJc-00022-00028727-00029855 The Department of Homeland Security is one of a few priority areas to get a boost in Trump’s budget plan, which seeks to slash funding to many non-defense programs +a4mDa2weeJc-00023-00029855-00030887 Trump will propose an overall 5 percent increase to the Department of Homeland Security budget over fiscal 2019 appropriations, including $3 +a4mDa2weeJc-00024-00030887-00032141 3 billion, or 22 percent more, for Customs and Border Protection, and $1.2 billion more for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a 16 percent hike, officials said +a4mDa2weeJc-00025-00032141-00033353 The budget proposal includes a plan to hire more than 2,800 law enforcement and support personnel for the agencies, and 100 immigration judge teams, officials said +a4mDa2weeJc-00026-00033353-00034152 Trump faces both political and court battles to free up the money he wants for the current fiscal year +a4mDa2weeJc-00027-00034152-00035069 Many lawmakers accused Trump of overstepping his constitutional powers by declaring an emergency to free up the funds +a4mDa2weeJc-00028-00035069-00035826 The House has already voted to revoke the emergency, and the Senate is likely to do the same this week +a4mDa2weeJc-00029-00035826-00037216 Trump is expected to veto the resolution.A coalition of state governments led by California has sued Trump to block the emergency move, though legal experts have said the lawsuits face a difficult road +atEY1ONn4ZU-00000-00000571-00001213 The vote to block “President” Trump’s fake emergency declaration looms over the Senate +atEY1ONn4ZU-00001-00001213-00002049 As Palmer Report noted earlier, the Democrats have been joined by enough Republicans to block Trump’s declaration +atEY1ONn4ZU-00002-00002049-00003366 However, Trump will veto the resolution as soon as it hits his desk. The Democrats have rallied together to weather this storm, but the remaining Republicans just can’t seem to figure out what to do +atEY1ONn4ZU-00003-00003366-00004667 Most Republicans don’t want to openly defy Trump by voting against the declaration, even though many of them seem to agree that the declaration violates the Constitution and usurps Congress’ power +atEY1ONn4ZU-00004-00004667-00005798 Instead of manning up and doing the right thing, The Hill reports that one group of Republicans wants to give Trump a one-time “pass” in order to avoid going against him +atEY1ONn4ZU-00005-00005798-00006819 Their idea of doing that is ludicrous. There’s no such thing as “one time” when considering the powers bestowed upon the separate branches of government +atEY1ONn4ZU-00006-00006819-00007872 Pardon the cliché, but one inch will lead to a mile and fiascos of this type would be fought in future administrations, instead of our country being governed +atEY1ONn4ZU-00007-00007872-00009381 According to Reuters, Senator Mike Lee of Utah presented a proposal to “reform” the National Emergencies Act of 1976 which would require that emergency declarations automatically expire if not passed by Congress in 30 days +atEY1ONn4ZU-00008-00009381-00010335 Trump indicated to Lee that he would not support the proposal, and Lee will join the other four Republicans in voting to end the declaration +atEY1ONn4ZU-00009-00010335-00011414 At the same time, Ted Cruz and Lamar Alexander are pushing an alternative that would allow Trump to take the money from elsewhere such as an asset forfeiture fund +atEY1ONn4ZU-00010-00011414-00013422 This proposal is ridiculous. Trump had no right to declare the emergency. Why in the world should his bad behavior be rewarded by “finding” money for him? Why can’t the Republicans just admit that they don’t want the wall any more than the Democrats do? They had two years to give him this funding when they controlled both Houses +atEY1ONn4ZU-00011-00013422-00014002 This proverbial walking on eggshells is no way to run our government +axkhxZ2skgg-00000-00000513-00001406 Special Counsel Robert Mueller is finished with Donald Trump’s short-lived national security adviser Michael Flynn +axkhxZ2skgg-00001-00001406-00002213 The man who was temporarily at the top of the nation’s security is now waiting to be sentenced after lying to the FBI +axkhxZ2skgg-00002-00002213-00003096 Before going to prison, he took one right action.Flynn pled guilty to his federal crimes in 2017 +axkhxZ2skgg-00003-00003096-00004219 Since then, he has been cooperating with the Mueller investigation into Russia’s attack on the U. S. presidential election and Trump campaign’s conspiracy with Moscow +axkhxZ2skgg-00004-00004219-00005431 POLITICO contacted almost all of the “81 individuals, entities, or their attorneys” that the House Judiciary committee asked to provide documents and other materials +axkhxZ2skgg-00005-00005431-00006594 One of them was Flynn and he provided “several thousand pages of documents.” The committee has been investigating POTUS’s obstruction of justice among other acts +axkhxZ2skgg-00006-00006594-00007889 Flynn’s sent information via his company, Flynn Intel Group, and those materials were the same as he gave to the FBI and the House Intelligence and Senate Intelligence committees +axkhxZ2skgg-00007-00007889-00008926 The Judiciary committee had also requested materials from Flynn’s son, Michael Flynn Jr., who worked for his father’s company and on the Trump campaign +axkhxZ2skgg-00008-00008926-00009754 Thus far, the committee has not determined whether Flynn Jr.’s documents were included in those from his father +axkhxZ2skgg-00009-00009754-00010405 Monday was the deadline for these 81 people and entities to submit their materials +axkhxZ2skgg-00010-00010405-00011525 The committee is chaired by Representative Jerrold (Jerry) Nadler (D-NY). He said that he would be willing to make arrangements for people to submit them later +axkhxZ2skgg-00011-00011525-00012991 Nadler said that his committee and other House committees have had to make up for the two years when the Republicans were in the majority and failed to do their jobs. Trump has called the investigations, including Mueller’s, “witch hunts.” +axkhxZ2skgg-00012-00012991-00014743 The New York representative also requested documents from the Trump Organization and Trump’s two elder sons, Donald Jr. and Eric. Thus far, their attorneys have not responded, and the White House has blocked all requests for materials +axkhxZ2skgg-00013-00014743-00015626 According to POLITICO, the presidential campaign has responded, but there was no word whether it planned on complying +axkhxZ2skgg-00014-00015626-00016985 A campaign official said:.‘We have communicated our response to the committee.’.The Judiciary committee also requested materials from the parent company of The National Enquirer, AMI +axkhxZ2skgg-00015-00016985-00018434 The company intends to cooperate fully. These documents would include data about any monies paid to two women who said they had affairs with the leader of the free world at the time Melanie was giving birth to their son and afterward +axkhxZ2skgg-00016-00018434-00019518 Brad Parscale was the man who managed the computer data for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and manages the 2020 Trump campaign +axkhxZ2skgg-00017-00019518-00020263 Parscale refused to answer POLITICO’s questions regarding a request for supplemental materials +axkhxZ2skgg-00018-00020263-00022000 Spokesperson for the Trump campaign Kayleigh McEnany said:.‘They will stop at nothing, including destroying the lives and reputations of many innocent Americans who only have sought to serve their country honorably, but who hold different political views than their own +axkhxZ2skgg-00019-00022000-00022820 This is abuse of power in the extreme and a reckless use of the solemn authority granted to Congress by the people of this nation’ +axkhxZ2skgg-00020-00022820-00023666 So far, the committee confirmed it had obtained over 8,000 pages from a minimum of eight participants +axkhxZ2skgg-00021-00023666-00024325 These included former campaign manager Steve Bannon and the president’s friend Tom Barrack +axkhxZ2skgg-00022-00024325-00025719 Former communications manager Sean Spicer, former adviser Hope Hicks, former chief of staff Reince Priebus, and another former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said no to POLITICO +axkhxZ2skgg-00023-00025719-00026644 Earlier, they said they would cooperate with the committee.Trump campaign data firm Cambridge Analytica’s attorney said it had complied +ajZKS88YQRM-00000-00000571-00001566 “This is the only Bush that likes me!” Trump said. “This is the only one. … Truly, this is the Bush that got it right +ajZKS88YQRM-00001-00001566-00002420 ”. .Trump called Bush forth to shake his hand and meet him, acknowledging that he was a friend of his son Donald Trump, Jr +ajZKS88YQRM-00002-00002420-00003227 Good guy, I like him. He’s going far, he’s going places,” Trump said. “Thank you, George +ajZKS88YQRM-00003-00003227-00004554 ”.George P Bush, 42, is the oldest son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, whom Trump beat in the 2016 Republican primary, and the nephew of former President George W +ajZKS88YQRM-00004-00004554-00005492 Bush.Trump welcomed the younger Bush at an event in Crosby, TX, where he signed an executive order on energy and infrastructure +ajZKS88YQRM-00005-00005492-00006503 Former President George H.W. Bush voted for Hillary Clinton, while George W. Bush did not vote for Trump or Hillary, according to reports +ajZKS88YQRM-00006-00006503-00007297 Jeb Bush also wrote an op-ed saying he would not support Trump. .In 2016, George P +ajZKS88YQRM-00007-00007297-00008198 Bush publicly supported Trump, joking with Texas Republicans that he was the only Bush supporting the entire Republican ticket +b7qSBy6YcnE-00000-00000571-00001764 It seems like Russian President Vladimir Putin may be deciding that Donald Trump is more trouble than he’s worth, after he failed to lift US sanctions against Russia multiple times +b7qSBy6YcnE-00001-00001764-00002694 Russian officials are speaking out against Trump, mocking him, taunting, and now, talking about releasing blackmail material +b7qSBy6YcnE-00002-00002694-00003517 A Russian debate took place on Russian state-run television where several Russian officials discussed various political issues +b7qSBy6YcnE-00003-00003517-00004269 One of which was was Nikita Isaev, the Director of the Russian Institute of Contemporary Economics +b7qSBy6YcnE-00004-00004269-00005625 He said, “Let’s hit Trump with our Kompromat!”, which certainly looks like a reference to the infamous Pee Pee Tape or, at the very least, some type of other blackmail material the Kremlin is holding over Trump’s head +b7qSBy6YcnE-00005-00005625-00007044 (NOTE: In Russian politics, kompromat, short for “compromising material” is damaging information about a politician or other public figure used to create negative publicity, for blackmail, or for ensuring loyalty +b7qSBy6YcnE-00006-00007044-00008028 ).The host asked, “Do we have it?” Isaev responded “Of course we have it!”.You can watch the hour-long Russian-language video can be watched here +b7qSBy6YcnE-00007-00008028-00008849 Julia Davis brought this to our attention when she pointed out Nikita Isaev’s call for the release of Kompromat +b7qSBy6YcnE-00008-00008849-00009969 The interested part here is that someone in Isaev’s position wouldn’t have said something like this on Kremlin-controlled TV unless Vladimir Putin gave him permission to say it +b7qSBy6YcnE-00009-00009969-00011422 Could it be that Putin has grown tired of Trump and wants to do everything he can to finish him off quickly and stop the bleeding? And why not? Putin wanted Trump in the White House, he should be the one to push him out +b7qSBy6YcnE-00010-00011422-00012132 We will be eagerly awaiting the release of this thing, as it will be explosive, without question +bHx1PMOFX10-00000-00000513-00001814 It is impossible for Donald Trump to simply tell the truth. Even when he has the best day of his presidency, he cannot help but lie and try to make it sound significantly better than it was +bHx1PMOFX10-00001-00001814-00002420 The hypocrisy of his Sunday lie about the Mueller report made it absolutely laughable +bHx1PMOFX10-00002-00002420-00003177 The Mueller report, according to Attorney General William Barr’s letter, did not exonerate Trump +bHx1PMOFX10-00003-00003177-00004204 It said that he would not make a “traditional prosecutorial decision” and that he would neither determine that Trump committed a crime nor would he exonerate him +bHx1PMOFX10-00004-00004204-00005215 Trump and his supporters will crow today and for some time to come about the conclusions of the Mueller report, but the truth is that we have not seen that report yet +bHx1PMOFX10-00005-00005215-00006730 We saw a summary of it from Trump’s hand-picked AG. Imagine if Eric Holder and not GOP-led committees in ten separate investigations into Benghazi had determined that Obama and Hillary Clinton had done nothing wrong +bHx1PMOFX10-00006-00006730-00007406 Trump and the Republicans would totally have considered that concrete evidence, right? +bHx1PMOFX10-00007-00007406-00009830 Many questions remain now that the four-page summary has been made public. If there was no collusion, why did Trump’s campaign officials lie about their contacts with Kremlin officials? If Trump knew he would be exonerated because he had done nothing wrong, why did he spend two years trying to discredit Robert Mueller, Rod Rosenstein, James Comey, and everyone else involved in the investigation? +bOE3YugyCBk-00000-00000571-00001281 On Tuesday, “President” Donald Trump was asked a question about the zero-tolerance immigration policy +bOE3YugyCBk-00001-00001281-00002020 Trump did not directly address the question, other than to deny he was looking to do any such thing +bOE3YugyCBk-00002-00002020-00002859 Trump then went on the attack, making more false claims about President Obama’s separation of migrant families +bOE3YugyCBk-00003-00002859-00003896 It was more “opposite day” from Donnie Delusional. .Trump went on a rant during a televised event, stating: “Obama separated the children, by the way +bOE3YugyCBk-00004-00003896-00005244 Just so you understand. President Obama separated the children … Those cages that were shown, I think they were very inappropriate, they were built by President Obama’s administration, not by Trump +bOE3YugyCBk-00005-00005244-00006234 President Obama had child separation. Take a look. The press knows it, you know it, we all know it, I’m the one that stopped it +bOE3YugyCBk-00006-00006234-00007362 ”. .Trump then turned to actually still having family separation and why it was effective, comparing not having it to Disneyland, ranting: “Now I’ll tell you something +bOE3YugyCBk-00007-00007362-00008094 Once you don’t have it, that’s why you see many more people coming. They’re coming like it’s a picnic +bOE3YugyCBk-00008-00008094-00008924 Because, let’s go to Disneyland. President Obama separated children. They had child separation +bOE3YugyCBk-00009-00008924-00009760 I was the one that changed it.”. .Trump is frantic. Trump is unhinged. You can hear it in his voice +bOE3YugyCBk-00010-00009760-00010484 And rest assured, the migrants fleeing their countries are not experiencing anything close to Disneyland +bOE3YugyCBk-00011-00010484-00011879 We must carefully watch what Trump does, despite his denials, as reports are, he wants a tougher border stance than what now exists, and reports are that he wants separation even for legal asylum seekers +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00000-00000513-00001482 Recently on Fox News, Chris Wallace interviewed far-right talk show host Rush Limbaugh to discuss the influence Limbaugh has over Donald Trump +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00001-00001482-00003125 While Limbaugh denied that he has the ability to affect policy, Wallace commented on Trump’s own statements where he said, “Rush Limbaugh, I think he’s a great guy … He’s got one of the biggest audiences in the history of the world, I mean this guy is unbelievable +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00002-00003125-00004290 ”.As if trying to confirm that he considers Limbaugh a top advisor, Trump tweeted Limbaugh verbatim a few hours later, “These guys, the investigators, ought to be in jail +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00003-00004290-00004974 What they have done, working with the Obama intelligence agencies, is simply unprecedented +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00004-00004974-00005734 This is one of the greatest political hoaxes ever perpetrated on the people of this Country, and Mueller is a coverup +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00005-00005734-00006973 ”.During the interview, Wallace pushed Limbaugh on whether his recent statements promoting Trump’s power grab were indeed hypocritical, given his past statements criticizing President Obama +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00006-00006973-00008140 “I want to ask you about the game you say we play in Washington,” Wallace said. “Because the fact is when President Obama took executive actions, you were outraged +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00007-00008140-00009436 And as you would expect, I’ve got a couple of examples.”.Wallace went on to point out that Limbaugh claimed Obama flushed the Constitution “down the toilet” when he created protections for DACA children +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00008-00009436-00010679 Instead of accepting the criticism and admitting the hypocrisy, Limbaugh doubled down on his inherent racism by saying what Trump is doing is acceptable stating “You may look at it that way +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00009-00010679-00011912 I don’t. I look at it, right and wrong. And what Obama was doing was furthering this existing problem and politicizing this using whatever executive powers he wanted to use +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00010-00011912-00013827 ”.It is beyond clear that people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and others of that ilk will continue to spew racist and hateful rhetoric in an attempt to convince Donald Trump’s dwindling base that any hateful and illegal actions are somehow justified if it prevents people of color from gaining any human rights +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00011-00013827-00014780 This despicable, yet unsurprising, narrative will only continue and get worse as long as hateful people like Trump are in power +c0k1Ln9qXBy-00012-00014780-00015438 This is just another reason why the resistance to such hate is so necessary +cABpuuf8bc4-00000-00000571-00002101 Last night we all learned that the State of New York has subpoenaed banking records relating to several specific instances of Donald Trump’s financial fraud, including the bank fraud he committed while trying and failing to buy the Buffalo Bills +cABpuuf8bc4-00001-00002101-00003222 Palmer Report explained that this is New York’s way of targeting his assets, which can be seized after he fails to pay the massive financial fines they’re going to hit him with +cABpuuf8bc4-00002-00003222-00003886 Now it looks like Donald Trump is interpreting New York State’s actions in the same way we are +cABpuuf8bc4-00003-00003886-00004708 Rather than merely shaking the whole thing off, Trump revealed this evening that he’s very much scared about what’s being done to him +cABpuuf8bc4-00004-00004708-00005508 Not only that, Trump went so bonkers about it, he ended up attacking his home state in the process +cABpuuf8bc4-00005-00005508-00006456 Here’s what Trump tweeted: “New York State and its Governor, Andrew Cuomo, are now proud members of the group of PRESIDENTIAL HARASSERS +cABpuuf8bc4-00006-00006456-00007600 No wonder people are fleeing the State in record numbers. The Witch Hunt continues!” Wait a minute here, because this doesn’t even make sense by Trumpian standards +cABpuuf8bc4-00007-00007600-00009021 For the record, Trump is wrong about people fleeing the state. New York did see its statewide population decrease by about one percent from 2017 to 2018, but that’s almost a rounding error +cABpuuf8bc4-00008-00009021-00009938 According to census estimates, New York City’s population continues to climb. So what’s Trump talking about here? Nothing at all +cABpuuf8bc4-00009-00009938-00010664 He just couldn’t think of a better insult about his home state, even as it moves in on bankrupting him +d4xP17sia0M-00000-00000571-00001665 The second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un ended in failure on Thursday with the two sides far apart on the central issues of disarmament and sanctions relief +d4xP17sia0M-00001-00001665-00003139 The abrupt end to the Hanoi meeting, which was cut short by several hours, was a setback from both leaders who had made long journeys – Kim by rail and Trump by air – in the expectation that a deal was within reach +d4xP17sia0M-00002-00003139-00003982 There are no plans for a third summit, but the US has expressed willingness to continue talks at a lower level +d4xP17sia0M-00003-00003982-00005288 The collapse of the two leaders’ talks came suddenly. Late on Wednesday night the White House circulated detailed plans for negotiating sessions, a working lunch and a signing ceremony for a joint agreement +d4xP17sia0M-00004-00005288-00006218 When the two leaders reconvened on Thursday morning, however, they appeared sombre and cautious about whether a deal was possible +d4xP17sia0M-00005-00006218-00007112 A few hours later, the summit was called off. The signing ceremony was cancelled and the official lunch left uneaten +d4xP17sia0M-00006-00007112-00008209 Table settings and name cards went unused in the empty dining hall of the Metropole Hotel, the summit venue, as the leaders made their way back to their own hotels +d4xP17sia0M-00007-00008209-00009857 In his version of events, Trump said the deal broke down because Kim wanted complete sanctions relief for dismantling the main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, but the US wanted other nuclear facilities, including covert sites, disabled as well +d4xP17sia0M-00008-00009857-00010452 “It was about the sanctions basically,” Trump said at a press conference in Hanoi +d4xP17sia0M-00009-00010452-00011442 “They wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn’t do that . Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times'' +d4xP17sia0M-00010-00011442-00012378 “There is a gap. We have to have sanctions,” he said. “There is a gap. We have to have sanctions and he wants to denuke +d4xP17sia0M-00011-00012378-00013072 But he wants to just do areas that are less important than the areas that we want'' +dq1vh3e54kk-00000-00000571-00001631 On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” President Trump said he does have plans to release the FISA applications related to the Russia probe +dq1vh3e54kk-00001-00001631-00003097 Host Sean Hannity asked, “Do you have plans to release those FISA applications, Gang of Eight information, the 302s of Bruce Ohr and others, and the five buckets that John Solomon and Sara Carter — as they call them?” +dq1vh3e54kk-00002-00003097-00003930 Trump responded, “I do. I have plans to declassify and release. I have plans to absolutely release +dq1vh3e54kk-00003-00003930-00004565 ”.He later added, “[A]t the right time, we will be absolutely releasing.” +eZ27aC6zNi0-00000-00000571-00001459 There’s absolutely no doubt about it, folks – if Ivanka gets implicated, then the entire Team Trump could come crashing down +eZ27aC6zNi0-00001-00001459-00002692 And based on the the latest call for investigations, that just might happen.More than 20 Democrats have signed a letter requesting that an FBI review of Ivanka Trump’s security clearance +eZ27aC6zNi0-00002-00002692-00003577 They argue that that Ivanka may have breached regulations that require her to disclose any foreign meetings she has had +eZ27aC6zNi0-00003-00003577-00004557 In addition, she should disclose all meetings her husband Jared Kushner and her brother Donald Trump Jr have had with foreign representatives +eZ27aC6zNi0-00004-00004557-00006315 All such contacts and meetings are supposed to filed on SF-86 forms.Ms Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were central figures in the President’s election campaign, and he insisted they take up federal jobs in the White House to allow them to continue to advise him +eZ27aC6zNi0-00005-00006315-00008162 Congressman Don Beyer wrote to acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, “As a member of the White House staff and close adviser to the president, Ms Trump applied for a security clearance, and, as a result, was required to disclose her own foreign contacts as well as those of her spouse and siblings'' +eZ27aC6zNi0-00006-00008162-00009031 Beyer noted that Kushner had had to update his SF-86 multiple times to reflect over 100 phone calls or meetings +eZ27aC6zNi0-00007-00009031-00009721 He added, “We are concerned that Ivanka Trump may have engaged in similar deception +eZ27aC6zNi0-00008-00009721-00010484 For example, did she disclose her husband’s meeting with Sergei Kislyak and and Sergey Gorkov?” +fS1PYhjGGJE-00000-00000571-00001514 While the politicians and the media enjoy the circus that is the Michael Cohen hearings, Trump is actually out in the world working to help America +fS1PYhjGGJE-00001-00001514-00002493 Look, Trump is trying to promote American interests abroad and solve a major foreign policy dilemma – what to do with North Korea +fS1PYhjGGJE-00002-00002493-00003240 Trump is not one to put his head in the sand and hope the problem goes away as Obama and Bush did +fS1PYhjGGJE-00003-00003240-00004335 Trump is a man of action – case in point, Trump just announced a great new deal between Boeing and Vietnam’s Bamboo Airlines and VietJet Aviation +fS1PYhjGGJE-00004-00004335-00005320 From Fortune:.Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways and VietJet Aviation JSC signed deals to buy 110 aircraft from Boeing Co +fS1PYhjGGJE-00005-00005320-00006041 during President Donald Trump’s visit to Hanoi for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un +fS1PYhjGGJE-00006-00006041-00007399 Bamboo agreed to purchase 10 787-9 Dreamliners worth about $3 billion, while VietJet’s order is for 100 737 Max planes valued at $12 +fS1PYhjGGJE-00007-00007399-00008347 7 billion, Boeing said Wednesday. VietJet’s 100-plane commitment was unveiled at the Farnborough air show last year +fS1PYhjGGJE-00008-00008347-00008979 The accords were signed in the presence of Trump and Vietnam’s President Nguyen Phu Trong +fS1PYhjGGJE-00009-00008979-00010680 Vietnam’s airlines are expanding their fleets as rising incomes and the region’s growing economies are spurring many to fly for the first time, boosting demand in the Asia Pacific, whose air-travel market is projected to surpass that of North America and Europe combined +fS1PYhjGGJE-00010-00010680-00011975 Demand in Vietnam is also expected to climb after U.S. regulators last month gave their approval to the nation’s air-safety system, making its airlines eligible to begin direct flights to the U +fS1PYhjGGJE-00011-00011975-00014274 S. and codeshare with American carriers.The Chicago-based planemaker had been involved in the effort to get the safety rating, which would allow state-owned Vietnam Airlines to launch nonstop flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and proceed with a long-planned order for either Boeing 777-8 or Airbus SE A350-1000 aircraft +fS1PYhjGGJE-00012-00014274-00016210 Vietnam Airlines is considering purchasing as many as 100 737 Max planes this year to replace its aging fleet of Airbus SE single-aisle jets, with the new aircraft due for delivery between 2020 and 2030, Chief Executive Officer Duong Tri Thanh said in an interview last week +fS1PYhjGGJE-00013-00016210-00016873 It may also buy long-range aircraft in preparation for flights to California +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00000-00000513-00002020 president Donald Trump's tenure in the White House has been dogged by critics and pundits calling for impeachment from the start, and talk of removing Trump from office has only escalated since Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00001-00002020-00002871 Yet, MSNBC host Chris Matthews says the impeachment process is behind schedule, and needs to begin now +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00002-00002871-00004332 During Thursday’s episode of Hardball with Chris Matthews, Matthews said Trump had committed impeachable crimes "in broad daylight," and pointed to several examples of things Trump has done that he considers worthy of being indicted by Congress: +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00003-00004332-00005228 Asking former FBI Director James Comey to drop his investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn; +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00004-00005228-00006455 Firing Comey for refusing to drop the investigation;.Firing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from probes into the 2016 presidential campaign and election +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00005-00006455-00007234 .Matthews noted that the Democrats have the majority in the House and thereby have the power to impeach Trump +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00006-00007234-00008007 Now, he said, is the time to impeach, instead of waiting two more years to find a “cherry” on top +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00007-00008007-00009013 "Some argue that the push for impeachment is ahead of schedule, I think a stronger argument should be made that it's way behind schedule," Matthews said +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00008-00009013-00010423 .The United States Constitution gives the House of Representatives sole power to impeach an official while the Senate has the authority to then hold impeachment trials to determine whether or not to remove someone from office +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00009-00010423-00011656 .While some Democratic leaders have given any indication about when, or if, they might begin the impeachment process, freshman Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib advocated for getting the process going +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00010-00011656-00012735 On Wednesday, she met with activists and announced that she would introduce a resolution to have the House Judiciary Committee look into grounds for impeachment +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00011-00012735-00014245 “If we don’t hold impeachment proceedings today, start them today and hold him accountable to following the United States Constitution, think about that, this is not going to be the last CEO that runs for president of the United States,” Tlaib said +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00012-00014245-00015423 “This is not going to be the last person that tries to get away with this. And what does that say about the most powerful, most important body, most important position in the world?” +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00013-00015423-00016577 Ahead of her announcement, Tlaib, along with freshman Representative Ilhan Omar, signed a pledge promising to impeach Trump, which was created by the advocacy group By the People +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00014-00016577-00017220 "It’s my pleasure to support this pledge to impeach Donald Trump,” Tlaib said at the time +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00015-00017220-00018490 "I can’t wait for us to show people, especially families in my district, that they are being put first—and that we’re going to hold everyone accountable to the law, including the president of the United States +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00016-00018490-00019673 ".While Trump’s impeachment garnered support from some lawmakers, a Quinnipiac Poll released on Tuesday found the majority of Americans disagree with impeaching Trump at this time +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00017-00019673-00021185 Fifty-nine percent of people polled said lawmakers shouldn’t begin impeachment proceedings, although, 58 percent responded Congress should further investigate Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen’s claim about the president’s “unethical and illegal behavior +g9qKlTLS5Qy-00018-00021185-00021285 ” +gQzjKrI4374-00000-00000571-00001848 CNN broke a story that tells a damning story of the Trump Administration making direct contact with the FBI in an attempt to squash the widely-circulating stories about Russia +gQzjKrI4374-00001-00001848-00002937 CNN explains, “The direct communications between the White House and the FBI were unusual because of decade-old restrictions on such contacts +gQzjKrI4374-00002-00002937-00003886 Such a request from the White House is a violation of procedures that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations +gQzjKrI4374-00003-00003886-00004617 ”.In other words, the White House contacted the FBI to speak specifically about Russia +gQzjKrI4374-00004-00004617-00007041 When they did this, they broke the law.The FBI response was an emphatic: NO. “The FBI rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump’s associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign, multiple US officials briefed on the matter tell CNN +gQzjKrI4374-00005-00007041-00007913 ”.Now we get on to the part of every Trump Administration story that lets you know who lied, and what they lied about +gQzjKrI4374-00006-00007913-00009481 According to CNN, the FBI Deputy Director of the time, Andrew McCabe, met with Reince Priebus, Trump’s short-lived chief-of-staff, about the Russia stories at an aside during another, unrelated meeting at the White House +gQzjKrI4374-00007-00009481-00010228 The White House said this scenario was a lie, and posited that McCabe called Priebus that morning +gQzjKrI4374-00008-00010228-00011053 Later, a White House official confirmed and verified that CNN’s description of events was, in fact, accurate +gQzjKrI4374-00009-00011053-00012803 CNN went on to discuss the situation:.The Trump administration’s efforts to press Comey run contrary to Justice Department procedure memos issued in 2007 and 2009 that limit direct communications on pending investigations between the White House and the FBI +gQzjKrI4374-00010-00012803-00015165 “Initial communications between the [Justice] Department and the White House concerning pending or contemplated criminal investigations or cases will involve only the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General, from the side of the Department, and the Counsel to the President, the Principal Deputy Counsel to the President, the President, or the Vice President from the side of the White House,” reads the 2009 memo +gQzjKrI4374-00011-00015165-00016113 The memos say the communication should only happen when it is important for the President’s duties and where appropriate from a law enforcement perspective +gQzjKrI4374-00012-00016113-00017249 A Department of Justice spokesman said Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing the memos and that “the Department is following the guidelines in its communications with the White House +gQzjKrI4374-00013-00017249-00017349 ” +h3z5E3lR28E-00000-00000513-00001665 Actor John Cusack speculated Wednesday that there may not be a “peaceful transition of power” in the United States under President Trump, panicking about possible “violence" +h3z5E3lR28E-00001-00001665-00003107 “[The] only way it stops is through direct intervention -political & legal tracts must run concurrently but dems cannot abdicate their constitutional duties – hoping mueller will do it all,” Cusack said in a social media post +h3z5E3lR28E-00002-00003107-00004402 “Also believe there will not be a peaceful transition of power & we must prepare for this – when authoritarians threaten violence – take them at their word – might be the only thing he’s not lying about,” he added +h3z5E3lR28E-00003-00004402-00005583 Cusack routinely has social media meltdowns. Just this week, he posted a bizarre fantasy of imprisoning the president and forcing him to eat garbage +h3z5E3lR28E-00004-00005583-00006604 “Trump should be tied on the neck by a chain with a 2o foot leader- in a trash heap in New Jersey – & be allowed to feed only on the local vegetation +h3z5E3lR28E-00005-00006604-00007777 ”.Last week, the Better Off Dead actor said Trump was a “pathological liar/criminal,” adding, “The only way democracy survives him – is if he rots in prison" +h3z5E3lR28E-00006-00007777-00008966 The 52-year-old has also attacked the GOP in general.“It’s good for America to see how gop is complete deathkkkult,” the Hot Tub Time Machine actor said last month +isWamgpSkd4-00000-00000571-00001634 Donald Trump came away from his meeting in Hanoi with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with at least one thing: material for a new book, The Art of No Deal +isWamgpSkd4-00001-00001634-00002572 The breakdown in talks in Hanoi reaffirms what we’ve known for almost a year – this process has been diplomatic amateur hour +isWamgpSkd4-00002-00002572-00003546 Trump has repeatedly undermined his own negotiating position by making clear that he already sees his diplomacy with North Korea as a success +isWamgpSkd4-00003-00003546-00004494 After the first summit with Kim in Singapore in 2018 Trump falsely claimed that “there is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea” +isWamgpSkd4-00004-00004494-00005583 Days before the Hanoi summit, Trump said that he didn’t need Kim to make any more concessions – “as long as there’s no testing [of nuclear weapons and missiles], we’re happy'' +isWamgpSkd4-00005-00005583-00006563 It’s no wonder that Kim wasn’t willing to give more in Hanoi – Trump has been telling him for months that the status quo is just fine +isWamgpSkd4-00006-00006563-00007469 It’s sad to see an American president embarrassed by the world’s most ruthless dictator, but that’s what the world just saw in Hanoi +isWamgpSkd4-00007-00007469-00008948 Beyond the lack of substantive progress on the nuclear weapons program, Trump continued the disgusting spectacle of standing up for a tyrant who has been found by a United Nations commission to have committed “crimes against humanity” +isWamgpSkd4-00008-00008948-00010259 In the span of hours in Hanoi Trump called Kim a “friend”, defended Kim from blame for the murder of Otto Warmbier, and yet again disputed US intelligence analysis that North Korea continues building more weapons +isWamgpSkd4-00009-00010259-00011960 And yet, diplomacy is still the way forward because there is no other option, and real diplomacy can yield impressive results – just look at the Iran deal (which, of course, stopped Iran’s nuclear weapons program and didn’t require one leader-to-leader meeting) +isWamgpSkd4-00010-00011960-00012923 More sanctions and a return to “maximum pressure” will not help. And we must all be wary of the immense danger of a return to the “fire and fury” talk +isWamgpSkd4-00011-00012923-00014566 Despite the embarrassment in Hanoi, perhaps walking away from this meeting will create some of the diplomatic leverage that Trump has repeatedly squandered over the last year and force Kim to believe he needs to make more concessions in order to keep the process going +isWamgpSkd4-00012-00014566-00015792 Trump has consistently acted as though all he cares about is the appearance of a “win” on North Korea, and so if there was only a bad deal on the table and Trump rejected it, that’s a good thing +isWamgpSkd4-00013-00015792-00016523 If there is to be any hope for progress, Trump and his team must learn from the mistakes of the last year +isWamgpSkd4-00014-00016523-00017550 And since it seems difficult for Trump himself to learn from past mistakes, it is even more important that the next steps not include Trump’s personal diplomacy +isWamgpSkd4-00015-00017550-00019373 While it’s difficult to believe that Trump would keep quiet on any subject, Trump’s staff should hope that the president doesn’t get asked any more questions in public about North Korea and doesn’t tweet anymore about it – each time Trump says something on North Korea, he gives away a little more leverage +iRZyX4_d89o-00000-00000624-00000824 BAPPY VAI LOL +iTptCxMazoI-00000-00000513-00001372 Earlier today MSNBC’s Ari Melber reported that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was finished as of today +iTptCxMazoI-00001-00001372-00002245 He didn’t end it there. This day would go down in history. As of today there is no more Special Counsel +iTptCxMazoI-00002-00002245-00003525 It’s done. It’s over as of today.But, wait, at 7:00 pm, Robert Mueller’s spokesman stated that Robert Mueller will be concluding his service in the coming days +iTptCxMazoI-00003-00003525-00004198 While this may be a minor distinction, it belies a larger problem with today’s reporting +iTptCxMazoI-00004-00004198-00005583 We just heard definitively from MSNBC that there will be no more indictments. Then, Senator Richard Blumenthal appeared on MSNBC and said more indictments are very likely +iTptCxMazoI-00005-00005583-00006481 Adam Schiff did the same. But none of that swayed MSNBC’s insistence that no one else will be indicted +iTptCxMazoI-00006-00006481-00007414 CNN has largely been pushing the same false narrative. Then CNBC reported that there are no sealed indictments anywhere +iTptCxMazoI-00007-00007414-00008508 Really? Where are they getting that information? What about Julian Assange? Are we supposed to believe there is no sealed indictment against him? +iTptCxMazoI-00008-00008508-00009441 Perhaps they mean that any additional indictments are no longer Mueller’s, because they have already been handed off to other offices within the DOJ +iTptCxMazoI-00009-00009441-00010415 That would make sense, but it would also mean this is very bad reporting, and a lot of reporters are jumping to inaccurate or misleading conclusions +id_3UfMZ-0M-00000-00000571-00001576 Democrats thought he would never use it – here it comes.Trump promised last Fall that he would declassify all the documents behind the infamous Russian probe +id_3UfMZ-0M-00001-00001576-00002744 He hesitated, waiting for Mueller’s report to come out.Well, guess what? Now that Mueller’s bombshell has exonerated the president, he’s gone some big plans +id_3UfMZ-0M-00002-00002744-00004740 Democrats should be worried.From Fox News:.President Trump… vowed to release the full and unredacted Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants and related documents used by the FBI to probe his campaign, saying he wants to “get to the bottom” of how the long-running Russia collusion narrative began +id_3UfMZ-0M-00003-00004740-00005730 President Trump promised to release the full and unredacted FISA warrants and other documents used by the FBI to launched their Russian “hunt +id_3UfMZ-0M-00004-00005730-00006952 ”.You might remember, these warrants were acquired with the Steele dossier. This dossier was crafted by the Democrats (under Clinton’s orders) and was full of false information and lies +id_3UfMZ-0M-00005-00006952-00007780 So, you could say that the FBI and DOJ used lies to acquire a warrant to spy on a Trump campaign member +id_3UfMZ-0M-00006-00007780-00008822 Which would be a serious violation of justice and the Fourth Amendment.We don’t know for sure, though, because we haven’t seen these documents +id_3UfMZ-0M-00007-00008822-00009538 If Trump declassifies them, we will know for a fact just what the swamp trying to do +id_3UfMZ-0M-00008-00009538-00010149 And if they truly violated our Constitution to block Trump from becoming President +id_3UfMZ-0M-00009-00010149-00010923 Trump has accused FBI officials of committing “treason,” in their efforts to hinder our democracy +id_3UfMZ-0M-00010-00010923-00011800 You might remember the infamous text by FBI official Strzok, speaking of an “insurance policy,” should Trump win +id_3UfMZ-0M-00011-00011800-00012675 A policy meant to stop him from entering office.Trump’s evidence might even implicate top members of the former administration +id_3UfMZ-0M-00012-00012675-00013422 Who might be on the hook?.Lynch? Obama even? Hillary?.We might find out very soon +idFQwNlt5yu-00000-00000571-00001613 Hopes were high that President Trump and Kim Jong Un would reach a deal.But Trump walked after North Korea refused to fully shut down their nuke program +idFQwNlt5yu-00001-00001613-00002261 Our media, as usual, attacked the president, saying he didn’t know what he was doing +idFQwNlt5yu-00002-00002261-00003023 But once again, the master negotiator proved them all wrong and came out with a big win +idFQwNlt5yu-00003-00003023-00003629 That might be par for the course in Washington, but not in the Trump administration +idFQwNlt5yu-00004-00003629-00004732 Donald Trump promised to reach a good, lasting deal with North Korea. He wasn’t going to agree to something bad—like Obama with Iran—just for the headlines +idFQwNlt5yu-00005-00004732-00005675 He walked to show North Korea and the world that America is not playing games. We want peace and prosperity for all parties involved +idFQwNlt5yu-00006-00005675-00007038 In walking, he showed our allies that Trump meant business. He is going to forge a deal that will denuclearize North Korea and ensure South Korea, Japan, and other Asian nations are safe +idFQwNlt5yu-00007-00007038-00007898 Not to mention help secure freedom for North Korean citizens.North Korea was shaken when Trump quickly left Vietnam +idFQwNlt5yu-00008-00007898-00008736 It’s no big surprise that they are now changing their tune.Don’t be surprised if a good deal is announced very soon +jdJDX8Upbfy-00000-00000571-00001947 While an overwhelming majority of the public’s eyes have been focused on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation regarding Russian collusion in the 2016 election, it appears more eyes should have been on Fox News +jdJDX8Upbfy-00001-00001947-00003253 Not because it is a reliable news source, but because the media giant and the man in charge of it are guilty of helping Donald Trump win the election by burying a game-changing story during the 2016 election +jdJDX8Upbfy-00002-00003253-00005085 Jane Mayer of the New Yorker has the inside scoop. According to her lengthy expose, Fox News and its head honcho Rupert Murdoch knew of Donald Trump’s affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the election, but conveniently elected not to report on it because Murdoch wanted Trump to win: +jdJDX8Upbfy-00003-00005085-00005918 “…That fall, a FoxNews.com reporter had a story that put the network’s journalistic integrity to the test +jdJDX8Upbfy-00004-00005918-00007313 Diana Falzone, who often covered the entertainment industry, had obtained proof that Trump had engaged in a sexual relationship in 2006 with a pornographic film actress calling herself Stormy Daniels +jdJDX8Upbfy-00005-00007313-00008796 Falzone had worked on the story since March, and by October she had confirmed it with Daniels through her manager at the time, Gina Rodriguez, and with Daniels’s former husband, Mike Moz, who described multiple calls from Trump +jdJDX8Upbfy-00006-00008796-00009948 Falzone had also amassed e-mails between Daniels’s attorney and Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, detailing a proposed cash settlement, accompanied by a nondisclosure agreement +jdJDX8Upbfy-00007-00009948-00010920 Falzone had even seen the contract.But Falzone’s story didn’t run—it kep tbeing passed off from one editor to the next +jdJDX8Upbfy-00008-00010920-00011827 After getting one noncommittal answer after another from her editors, Falzone at last heard from LaCorte, who was then the head of FoxNews +jdJDX8Upbfy-00009-00011827-00012749 com. Falzone told colleagues that LaCorte said to her, “Good reporting, kiddo. But Rupert wants Donald Trump to win +jdJDX8Upbfy-00010-00012749-00013702 So just let it go.” LaCorte denies telling Falzone this, but one of Falzone’s colleagues confirms having heard her account at the time +jdJDX8Upbfy-00011-00013702-00013802 '' +jnKL8GuJhwU-00000-00000571-00001339 President Donald Trump complained Wednesday that he didn't receive a thank you for approving the funeral the late Sen +jnKL8GuJhwU-00001-00001339-00002130 John McCain wanted, marking his latest grievance in his recent onslaught against the Arizona Republican +jnKL8GuJhwU-00002-00002130-00003013 "I endorsed him at his request, and I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as President I had to approve +jnKL8GuJhwU-00003-00003013-00003854 I don't care about this. I didn't get thank you. That's OK. We sent him on the way +jnKL8GuJhwU-00004-00003854-00004677 But I wasn't a fan of John McCain," Trump said during a speech Wednesday at a tank factory in Lima, Ohio +jnKL8GuJhwU-00005-00004677-00005623 Last year, McCain died of brain cancer, and as part of his services, lay in state in the Capitol building in Washington +jnKL8GuJhwU-00006-00005623-00006547 CNN previously reported that the senator, who had been held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, did not want the President at his funeral +jnKL8GuJhwU-00007-00006547-00007861 McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain, also revealed earlier this year that she wished Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Trump's daughter and son-in-law and senior advisers, had not attended the funeral +jnKL8GuJhwU-00008-00007861-00008663 Trump's remark about the funeral came as the President has continued to denigrate the dead senator's legacy +jnKL8GuJhwU-00009-00008663-00009713 Last weekend, Trump attacked McCain in several tweets that targeted his ties to the controversial Russia dossier and his vote against repealing Obamacare +jnKL8GuJhwU-00010-00009713-00011132 He also referred to McCain as being "last in his class" at the US Naval Academy.On Tuesday, he continued his criticism, telling reporters at the White House that "I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be +jnKL8GuJhwU-00011-00011132-00012830 ".The late senator's widow, Cindy McCain, publicized hateful messages she's been receiving since Trump's tweets, and daughter Meghan McCain has continued to respond to the President online and on ABC's "The View," where she's a co-host +jnKL8GuJhwU-00012-00012830-00013786 All the while, a growing number Republican members of Congress have been publicly pushing back on Trump's comments, defending McCain +jnKL8GuJhwU-00013-00013786-00014812 In front of factory workers at the Ohio plant on Wednesday, Trump dedicated a considerable amount of time in his speech to disparaging McCain +jnKL8GuJhwU-00014-00014812-00016071 "I have to be honest," Trump said, "I never liked him much. Hasn't been for me.".He said he probably "never will" like McCain, because "John McCain received a fake and phony dossier +jnKL8GuJhwU-00015-00016071-00016766 ".He also dug into McCain's now-famous vote against a repeal of the Affordable Care Act +jnKL8GuJhwU-00016-00016766-00017531 "When he finally had the chance to do it, he voted against repeal and replace," the President said +jnKL8GuJhwU-00017-00017531-00018425 "Remember thumbs down?".On Tuesday, Trump falsely accused McCain of misleading the White House over how he would vote +jnKL8GuJhwU-00018-00018425-00019417 Trump added Wednesday that veterans were on his side during the dispute, because McCain "didn't get the job done" with the Veterans Administration +jnKL8GuJhwU-00019-00019417-00020138 He also blamed McCain for wars in the Middle East."He was calling (President George W +jnKL8GuJhwU-00020-00020138-00021382 ) Bush, President Bush all the time, 'Get into the Middle East! Get in to the Middle East,' " Trump claimed, adding we've lost "tremendous health and tremendous lives in that war'' +k2xpju9juSc-00000-00000571-00001360 Even Democrats have to admit there’s a massive problem at the border, and Donald has only one choice to fix it +k2xpju9juSc-00001-00001360-00002248 It’s getting worse by the day. Thousands of people in Central American caravans are marching to our border, demanding entry +k2xpju9juSc-00002-00002248-00003125 One could be more than 20,000 people!.Sadly, Mexico seems more willing to help than Democrats in Congress +k2xpju9juSc-00003-00003125-00003773 And now President Trump is forced to take his biggest step yet to stop the bleeding +k2xpju9juSc-00004-00003773-00005210 From Newsweek:.President Donald Trump ordered thousands of additional American troops to the southwest border over the next two months, according to a document drafted last week by Defense Department officials and obtained by Newsweek +k2xpju9juSc-00005-00005210-00006411 Thank you, Mr. President! No president has been willing to order thousands of troops to secure the border, and he wants to send 9-10,000 more soldiers to deal with the effort +k2xpju9juSc-00006-00006411-00007216 Let that sink in for a moment – that’s unprecedented!.But imagine if we had a permanent wall protecting our border +k2xpju9juSc-00007-00007216-00008013 Instead, these men and women have to be deployed, leaving their families and potentially endangering their lives +k2xpju9juSc-00008-00008013-00008820 Why?.Because of immigration activists working on behalf of the Left, more caravans are bombarding our border +k2xpju9juSc-00009-00008820-00009650 These border jumpers think they can get free housing, food, and benefits if they claim they are asylum seekers +k2xpju9juSc-00010-00009650-00010708 Even though they don’t qualify.Thanks to whatever lies immigration workers in South America are saying, thousands are risking their lives to march to the US +k2xpju9juSc-00011-00010708-00011745 The only thing we can do right now? Send soldiers to deal with it. If only Congress was smart enough, two years ago, to fund the border wall +kwewDgmr-0Y-00000-00000513-00001424 Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez might not be willing to take 'no' for an answer.Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, D-N +kwewDgmr-0Y-00001-00001424-00002213 Y., broke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday on the topic of potentially impeaching President Trump +kwewDgmr-0Y-00002-00002213-00003313 The freshman congresswoman, who has previously said she “supports” impeachment, spoke to reporters in the wake of Pelosi saying Trump is “just not worth it +kwewDgmr-0Y-00003-00003313-00004091 ”."I’m not for impeachment," Pelosi told The Washington Post Magazine in an interview published Monday +kwewDgmr-0Y-00004-00004091-00005256 "Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country +kwewDgmr-0Y-00005-00005256-00006646 And he’s just not worth it.".On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez said: “Legally I don't think it's something that can ever be 100 percent off the table, but if that's how she feels right now I respect that +kwewDgmr-0Y-00006-00006646-00007610 ”.“She's always demonstrated leadership that takes all kind of factors into account,” she added in support of Pelosi, according to The Hill +kwewDgmr-0Y-00008-00011058-00011842 ".White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, meanwhile, said "I agree" in response to Pelosi's comments +kwewDgmr-0Y-00009-00011842-00012382 Sanders added of impeachment, "I don't think it should have ever been on the table +kwewDgmr-0Y-00010-00012382-00013607 ".Earlier this month, the freshman Democrat attempted to turn up the heat on Trump, saying investigators should focus on his taxes and financial statements instead of Russian collusion +kwewDgmr-0Y-00011-00013607-00015151 "While [Trump's] talking collusion, collusion, collusion I think, in oversight, we should be talking about taxes, taxes, taxes, and his bank account, bank account, his bank account,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the time +kwewDgmr-0Y-00012-00015151-00016324 “His financial statements, because that’s where I think, actually, some of the most troubling practices are with direct relevance to the American people under the scope of oversight +kwewDgmr-0Y-00013-00016324-00016424 ” +kxrnpH91bxy-00000-00000571-00002342 The president’s determined efforts to get his wall one way or another appear to be losing steam as Republican opposition to his “national emergency” declaration grows to the point where he might have to use the first veto of his presidency on shutting down a Congressional effort to stop him from doing it +kxrnpH91bxy-00001-00002342-00004429 He doesn’t even seem to care that much. His attention and energy sapped by worry over the Mueller investigation and unwelcome intrusion of the House’s investigative committees into every aspect of his life, he hasn’t made any efforts to head off the Republican rebellion — and they aren’t exactly quaking in their boots at the consequences of their backstabbing +kxrnpH91bxy-00002-00004429-00005672 His casual dismissal of any repercussions for his vote is telling, for it reveals just how little political capital the President has to work with on the Hill and how weak his own party thinks he is +kxrnpH91bxy-00003-00005672-00008486 Given how hard he complained about the failure of the Obamacare repeal — to this day, he still takes potshots at the now-dead John McCain for his vote — and the hyperaggressive, overcompensating way that he responds to the slightest indication of disloyalty or criticism from anyone and everyone, it’s very surprising to see him treat this dissension in the ranks with kid gloves — and perhaps a sign that the cracks in the shell of Donald Trump are about to splinter beyond repair +kScuNPRvDIg-00000-00000571-00001733 Even as House Democrats gear up to unearth the real Robert Mueller report and expose Donald Trump’s crimes, Trump is wasting no time pushing forward with his deranged agenda +kScuNPRvDIg-00001-00001733-00002775 Near the top of his list: getting rid of the Affordable Care Act and taking health care away from tens of millions of Americans, while replacing it with nothing +kScuNPRvDIg-00002-00002775-00003460 Suffice it to say that this isn’t going over well, and now Trump is throwing a fit about it +kScuNPRvDIg-00003-00003460-00005032 .Donald Trump’s latest attempt at sabotaging Obamacare and destroying President Obama’s legacy has gone over so poorly, even Trump’s fellow Republican leaders are letting it be known through various media leaks that they want nothing to do with it +kScuNPRvDIg-00004-00005032-00006080 Instead of realizing that he’s picked a loser of an idea, Trump is instead doubling down on it, and – naturally – doubling his empty bombast +kScuNPRvDIg-00005-00006080-00006863 On Monday night, Trump posted this angry multi-part tweet: “Everybody agrees that ObamaCare doesn’t work +kScuNPRvDIg-00006-00006863-00008344 Premiums & deductibles are far too high – Really bad HealthCare! Even the Dems want to replace it, but with Medicare for all, which would cause 180 million Americans to lose their beloved private health insurance +kScuNPRvDIg-00007-00008344-00009233 The Republicans are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare +kScuNPRvDIg-00008-00009233-00010390 In other words it will be far less expensive & much more usable than ObamaCare. Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win +kScuNPRvDIg-00009-00010390-00011469 back the House. It will be truly great HealthCare that will work for America. Also, Republicans will always support Pre-Existing Conditions +kScuNPRvDIg-00010-00011469-00012735 The Republican Party will be known as the Party of Great HealtCare. Meantime, the USA is doing better than ever & is respected again!” That’s right, he spelled it HealtCare +kScuNPRvDIg-00011-00012735-00013767 .To be clear, there is no consensus that “ObamaCare doesn’t work,” and there is no evidence that Donald Trump and the Republicans have any such alternative +kScuNPRvDIg-00012-00013767-00015220 This is the same utter nonsense that they pushed back in 2017. They didn’t have an alternative back then either, most Americans saw right through the con, and Trump and the GOP got pummeled in the midterm elections as a result +kScuNPRvDIg-00013-00015220-00015705 Now Trump is intent on making the same mistake again +kh8aprFnovA-00000-00000571-00001684 It has been suggested that one of the driving reasons he ran for president in the first place was because Barack Obama once roasted him publicly and it was his way of getting even for it +kh8aprFnovA-00001-00001684-00002465 Trump is not one that will sit back and not retaliate if he feels you have wronged him +kh8aprFnovA-00002-00002465-00003554 Another prime example is how Trump responded to CNN during the campaign after they played the now famous video of him talking about grabbing women by their genitals +kh8aprFnovA-00003-00003554-00004348 This profile of CNN bigshot Jeff Zucker gives a lot of insight into how Trump operates with vengeance: +kh8aprFnovA-00004-00004348-00006409 For Zucker, the thick-skinned TV executive and newsman, it was just business. For Trump, the thin-skinned TV star and now approval-craving politician, it was tactical but also personal: He believed that he had gotten Zucker his job at CNN and that the network’s increasingly aggressive coverage of him was an act of betrayal +kh8aprFnovA-00005-00006409-00007887 Trump actually didn’t play a meaningful role in Zucker’s hiring. (“The president is certainly entitled to believe whatever he likes about our conversation,” Kent wrote me in an email, “however, it was not a factor in the decision to hire Jeff +kh8aprFnovA-00006-00007887-00010032 ”) But after the second presidential debate in October, when several CNN panelists criticized Trump for dismissing his comments about grabbing women by the genitals as “locker-room talk,” Zucker received an email from Trump, via his campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks:''Jeff — Too bad you (CNN) couldn’t be honest with how well I did in the debate +kh8aprFnovA-00007-00010032-00010771 The dumbest thing I ever did was get you the job at CNN — you are the most disloyal person +kh8aprFnovA-00008-00010771-00011497 Just remember, I always seem to find a way to get even. Best wishes, Donald J. Trump +kh8aprFnovA-00009-00011497-00012062 ”.Trump is a revenge-driven person…it’s just who he is +l8L5fggG-Gg-00000-00000571-00002357 It is being reported by major British publication The Spectator that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is ready to indict Donald Trump, but Attorney General William Barr is preventing him from moving forward, because of a decades old DOJ memo that suggests you cannot indict a sitting President +l8L5fggG-Gg-00001-00002357-00003274 A very interesting thing just happened in New York State: Paul Manafort was indicted on state charges for sixteen felony offenses +l8L5fggG-Gg-00002-00003274-00003938 Several of Manafort’s crimes involved falsifying business records in the first degree +l8L5fggG-Gg-00003-00003938-00005027 As reported by Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night, this is the same kind of criminal charge in the same state for which Donald Trump was named as an unindicted co-conspirator +l8L5fggG-Gg-00004-00005027-00005816 This raises the very real possibility that New York State could indict President Trump at any time +l8L5fggG-Gg-00005-00005816-00006743 New York State prosecutors are not federal prosecutors (not to be confused with the Southern District of NY, which is a federal office) +l8L5fggG-Gg-00006-00006743-00007441 They are not part of the Department of Justice and are not subject to DOJ internal policies +l8L5fggG-Gg-00007-00007441-00008940 They have no restrictions on indicting a President.So, why haven’t they indicted Trump yet? First of all, most if not all, law enforcement offices work together, especially in determining jurisdiction issues +l8L5fggG-Gg-00008-00008940-00009637 Clearly, Mueller’s office has been in communication with state law enforcement offices +l8L5fggG-Gg-00009-00009637-00010742 If the President of the United States is indicted by anyone, that indictment would be challenged in the courts, and the courts would have to decide if a sitting President could be indicted +l8L5fggG-Gg-00010-00010742-00011643 Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors are first-rate, and they are by far the best-equipped office to handle that court case +l8L5fggG-Gg-00011-00011643-00013394 Additionally, the list of charges Mueller could potentially bring are much more likely to include post-election crimes that include abuse of power and other high impact crimes that could more effectively counter the defense argument that indicting a sitting President is too disruptive to the country +lHetKGHLhz8-00000-00000571-00001919 Former President Barack Obama left a powerful legacy from his time in the White House, even offering a poignant statement in his final farewell speech where he talked about “uniting to protect democracy” +lHetKGHLhz8-00001-00001919-00003282 Now, further proving his long reaching influence, a group of people who used to work with Obama are showing us just how much the future of American politics means to them- by suing President Donald Trump +lHetKGHLhz8-00002-00003282-00004092 The former members of Obama’s legal team have come together to form an organization called United To Protect Democracy +lHetKGHLhz8-00003-00004092-00004943 They are using their experience in the legal system and their legal knowledge to take on the task of taking Trump to court +lHetKGHLhz8-00004-00004943-00005654 What could Trump have done to warrant a lawsuit? According to this group, ALL KINDS OF THINGS +lHetKGHLhz8-00005-00005654-00006764 They have reason to believe that Trump’s White House is guilty of breaking codes for normal government business and that in turn, they have been breaking tons of ethical codes +lHetKGHLhz8-00006-00006764-00007678 United To Protect Democracy would like to see Trump and his willing administration face justice over the many wrongs they have committed +lHetKGHLhz8-00007-00007678-00008553 This group is full of motivated and intelligent workers and have already amassed an impressive staff and upwards of $1 +lHetKGHLhz8-00008-00008553-00009927 5 million dollars in funds. Ian Bassin is the leader of the group, and is appearing on TV news segments and podcasts to spread the word about that can be done to make sense of the Trump Era +lHetKGHLhz8-00009-00009927-00011701 He offered the following statement on the mission and progress of United To Protect Democracy’s work:“When people hear concerns about democracies declining into authoritarianism, they expect that moment to come in a singular thunderclap where everyone can see that this is the time +lHetKGHLhz8-00010-00011701-00012636 In reality, often times, democracies decline over a period of years that happen through a series of much smaller steps'' +mFPqbonKgDU-00000-00000571-00001326 Here’s the thing about congressional subpoenas. They’re a highly powerful tool, but they’re not a magic wand +mFPqbonKgDU-00001-00001326-00002062 House Democrats can’t simply issue a subpoena, and expect swift and automatic compliance +mFPqbonKgDU-00002-00002062-00003057 House Democrats have to approach the subpoena process in a judicious manner, so that if and when they’re challenged legally on it, they’ll win that legal battle +mFPqbonKgDU-00003-00003057-00004063 Accordingly, House Democrats just dropped their first big subpoena on the Trump regime today – and you can expect more such subpoenas at any minute +mFPqbonKgDU-00004-00004063-00005335 One of the keys to winning a subpoena battle in court is to convince the judge that you reasonably tried to obtain the testimony or evidence through less drastic measures before issuing the subpoena +mFPqbonKgDU-00005-00005335-00006683 House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings knows this, and so he’s gone through the necessary steps of asking nicely when it’s come to obtaining more information about the Trump White House and its security clearance scandal +mFPqbonKgDU-00006-00006683-00007399 Now those steps are out of the way, and Cummings has made his first hammer-dropping move on the matter +mFPqbonKgDU-00007-00007399-00009016 Elijah Cummings had the committee vote this afternoon to subpoena Carl Kline, who was in charge of the security clearance process, and who allegedly approved several high profile clearances at Donald Trump’s instruction, even after White House security experts and the U +mFPqbonKgDU-00008-00009016-00009669 S. intel community had flagged those people as security risks against the United States +mFPqbonKgDU-00009-00009669-00010400 But Kline is just step one.In investigations like this, you have to work your way from the bottom up +mFPqbonKgDU-00010-00010400-00011205 Cummings already has the voluntarily cooperation of whistleblower Tricia Newbold, which has led to the subpoena of Kline +mFPqbonKgDU-00011-00011205-00012351 In turn, Kline’s testimony could open the door to subpoena the people who were controversially given security clearances, two of whom are reportedly members of Donald Trump’s family +mQdLEmioALU-00000-00000571-00001524 Rep Ilhan Omar is on shaky ground as her Minnesota constituents and the Minnesota Democratic Party are in agreement: she must go +mQdLEmioALU-00001-00001524-00002815 Omar’s anti-American, anti-Semitic remarks have caused the people in her own district in Minnesota to turn their back on the Congresswoman, and they want her gone as soon as possible +mQdLEmioALU-00002-00002815-00003616 But Rep. Omar’s response was to blame President Donald Trump, not herself for her newfound troubles +mQdLEmioALU-00003-00003616-00004865 You don’t want to miss this.Omar was given a prime opportunity to represent the Somali and Muslim populations from Minnesota and reflect that they too are patriotic Americans +mQdLEmioALU-00004-00004865-00005664 Instead, the 37-year-old Congresswoman has spent her first two months in Washington, D +mQdLEmioALU-00005-00005664-00006417 C. trashing Israel and making anti-Semitic slurs against Americans who support the Jewish state +mQdLEmioALU-00006-00006417-00007495 Of course, this is nothing new for Omar, who has a long history of rabid hatred of her adopted homeland’s support for our strongest ally in the Middle East +mQdLEmioALU-00007-00007495-00009240 Most people are aware of the sickening comments by Omar which launched the Democrats to create a “Hate Resolution,” but the majority of Americans are livid that Nancy Pelosi allowed Omar to draft much of the ridiculous statement which didn’t name her and focused on Islamophobia +mQdLEmioALU-00008-00009240-00010996 Now, its come to light that Omar is in hot water back home in Minnesota. In the early 1990s, Somali refugees started to populate the 5th district which Omar represents, and their history in Minnesota is tied closely with the Jewish population +mQdLEmioALU-00009-00010996-00011790 Calling for the removal of Omar are many Minnesota Somalis who aren’t on board with her anti-Semitic tropes +mQdLEmioALU-00010-00011790-00013057 Somali community activist Omar Jamal of St. Paul said he is in touch with local Jewish leaders about how the two sides can reaffirm their solidarity at a moment of crisis [Omar created] +mQdLEmioALU-00011-00013057-00013927 He said that he supported Omar’s congressional campaign but that her comments are “wrong, period,” the Washington Post reported +mQdLEmioALU-00012-00013927-00014726 .After she was warned by the Minnesota Democrats she had gone too far, Omar doubled down +mQdLEmioALU-00013-00014726-00016400 Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, said he recently told Omar why many Jews are offended when they are accused of dual loyalty, showing her a picture of a cousin who was killed in action during World War II +mQdLEmioALU-00014-00016400-00017223 About a week later, on February 27, Omar told an audience at a town hall event in Washington, D +mQdLEmioALU-00015-00017223-00018192 C., that accusations of anti-Semitism were meant to silence her criticism of Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee +mQdLEmioALU-00016-00018192-00019151 She said she wanted to talk about “the political influence in this country that says it is okay for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country'' +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00000-00000571-00001898 The terrible fire that destroyed the roof and at least one spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday has now been put out but the virtual flames are still burning bright on social media +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00001-00001898-00002629 Once again, a tragic event is bringing out the good, the bad and the downright ugly in people +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00002-00002629-00004330 As messages of support and commiseration were being sent in the direction of Paris from all over the world, Donald Trump felt the need to take to Twitter to give advice to the Parisian firefighters: “So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00003-00004330-00007067 Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”. . .The official Twitter account of the Sécurité Civile – the French equivalent of FEMA – actually managed to squeeze a subtweet in response to the American president’s unsolicited advice into an update on the situation as it was developing on Monday afternoon: “Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00004-00007067-00008047 All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts. which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00005-00008047-00009823 ”. .A lot of American Twitter users were also quick to respond to Donald Trump’s awkward comment on the fire in Paris, reminding him of his own poor management of the California wildfires as well as his failure to address the recent arsonist attacks on three black churches in Louisiana +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00006-00009823-00011968 .More than three hours after his initial post, Trump then tweeted “God bless the people of France!” – a message of solidarity that sounded somewhat general and lukewarm, at least compared to the words of former President Barack Obama: “Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00007-00011968-00012905 It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00008-00012905-00014697 ”.Let’s hope that instead of using today’s sad news to fan the flames of distrust and division we can all come together for a moment to simply mourn the loss of a beautiful, historic building, known and beloved around the world and hope that it can be restored to its former splendor +mfuhxqdx3Mg-00009-00014697-00014797 \ +n4nqd2to3hk-00000-00000571-00001438 During his public testimony today, Michael Cohen has put a whole lot of dirt and secrets out there for all to see and hear +n4nqd2to3hk-00001-00001438-00002164 But when it came to one specific question, Cohen said that he wasn’t allowed top answer the question +n4nqd2to3hk-00002-00002164-00002961 In the process, Cohen revealed that the SDNY is criminally targeting someone really close to Donald Trump +n4nqd2to3hk-00003-00002961-00003703 Michael Cohen was asked about the last time he heard from Donald Trump, or from someone representing Donald Trump +n4nqd2to3hk-00004-00003703-00004792 Cohen said he couldn’t remember the precise date, but acknowledged that it was roughly in the fall of 2017, two months after the FBI had raided Cohen’s office +n4nqd2to3hk-00005-00004792-00005604 When Cohen was asked about the specifics of that conversation, that’s when Cohen suddenly decided he couldn’t address the matter +n4nqd2to3hk-00006-00005604-00006600 Cohen has been revealing Donald Trump’s crimes all day, so there is no reason he wouldn’t be able to reveal Trump’s role in this post-raid conversation +n4nqd2to3hk-00007-00006600-00007404 The only possible explanation here is that the SDNY is criminally targeting the person whom Trump sent to talk to Cohen +n4nqd2to3hk-00008-00007404-00008206 This in turn means that Trump sent the person to deliver a message to Cohen that was criminal in nature +n4nqd2to3hk-00009-00008206-00009107 Was it a bribe? Was it a threat?.The big question is who Donald Trump sent to have this illegal conversation with Michael Cohen +n4nqd2to3hk-00010-00009107-00010000 We don’t know, but Trump obviously would have sent someone really close to him, who could be trusted to handle it and keep it quiet +n4nqd2to3hk-00011-00010000-00010774 This confirms that the SDNY is actively targeting at least one person in Trump’s inner circle +n4nqd2to3hk-00012-00010774-00011126 There are probably a whole lot more +ns_K7af3xiI-00000-00000513-00001882 A panel on CNN’s Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer reacted live on air to news that the Mueller report has concluded and resulted in no new indictments by admitting that President Trump has won a “huge victory" +ns_K7af3xiI-00001-00001882-00002582 “He’s been vindicated by them,” Evan Pérez said of President Trump and the Mueller report +ns_K7af3xiI-00002-00002582-00003130 “And then he’s now vindicated, exactly,” Gloria Borger said +ns_K7af3xiI-00003-00003130-00005013 “You know-how do you manage that politically? I mean, we obviously can’t jump the gun here. We have to see what comes out from Barr, and what’s in the report. But if I’m at Mar-A-Lago with the president, as Pamela has been reporting, the lawyers are … that I would be very happy,” she added +ns_K7af3xiI-00004-00005013-00005839 Later, a panel member concluded that the Mueller report was in fact a “huge victory” for President Trump +ns_K7af3xiI-00005-00005839-00006364 “A couple of victories here,” CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz said +ns_K7af3xiI-00006-00006364-00008425 “The president did not have to sit down for an interview. They were so concerned about that, because he’d get caught up in lies–and there’d be perjury traps.Okay, so that’s now over. No more people being indicted. Sealed, unsealed-no more indictments. Mueller is done. Huge victory for the president,” he said +ns_K7af3xiI-00007-00008425-00009425 Special counsel Robert Mueller concluded the Russia investigation and turned over his report to Attorney General Willian Barr Friday afternoon +ns_K7af3xiI-00008-00009425-00010138 According to multiple reports, there will be no further indictments in the report, sealed or unsealed +ns_K7af3xiI-00009-00010138-00010833 According to ABC News, President Trump is reportedly “glad it’s over.” +nHES64pWB0o-00000-00000000-00000220 Ебать всех хомяков +nHES64pWB0o-00001-00000220-00000428 Женя ебёт влада в одиночку пока он геяй +nHES64pWB0o-00002-00000428-00000777 Хамик хамит и обеспечения +nHES64pWB0o-00003-00000812-00000980 Его канал в мире +nHES64pWB0o-00004-00001915-00002041 Её не к сожалению он сука блять первый +nHES64pWB0o-00005-00002823-00002984 Он сука первый +nHES64pWB0o-00006-00003102-00003202 Лол кек влад чебурек +nHES64pWB0o-00007-00003358-00003458 Мороз лучейщий плагият +nHES64pWB0o-00009-00003787-00003909 Года +nHES64pWB0o-00010-00003909-00004056 НЛО его канал в море для тебя лучше ы +nHES64pWB0o-00011-00004394-00004588 Ого жёлтый хуй у газа +nHES64pWB0o-00012-00005126-00005226 Газ еврей ебал ксамика +nHES64pWB0o-00013-00005387-00005598 Взорываем арбуз Love Kirill arbuz +nHES64pWB0o-00014-00005598-00005912 You have to see the new York NY to the other than that I have any questions about this is the way to be a bit and I have a bit of this email is not be sure you +nHES64pWB0o-00015-00006025-00006321 Look forward to the new York NY and I am so I am so I am so I am so +nHES64pWB0o-00016-00006362-00006644 Fake and arbuz +nHES64pWB0o-00017-00006654-00006754 Иди к доктору араб хуйня арбуз +nHES64pWB0o-00018-00007109-00007280 Курица немного дайте рабу газу +nHES64pWB0o-00019-00007440-00007540 Dish to be able in the a lot bit more of this a few bit and more about information on Wed Tue Mar and to the be in able at and then the new year one of is not the new other than the new York NY to on Tue Wed Feb Mar +neephvLkrI8-00000-00000571-00001856 We should have seen it coming. Over the past week, Donald Trump has been posting increasingly apprehensive and agitated tweets about the upcoming Senate vote to kill his national emergency +neephvLkrI8-00001-00001856-00002835 Senate Democrats can’t pass the measure by themselves, but more than enough Senate Republicans are on board, and Trump will lose this vote +neephvLkrI8-00002-00002835-00004162 Some of his allies tried to bail him out, but he just screwed them over.Donald Trump’s remaining Senate allies have figured out that the only way to prevent Trump from losing this vote is to keep it from happening at all +neephvLkrI8-00003-00004162-00005568 To that end, they floated legislation that would essentially let Trump keep this ridiculous “national emergency” intact (unless the courts intervene), while limiting his ability to declare future national emergencies +neephvLkrI8-00004-00005568-00006479 The hope within the GOP was that this measure might have been enough to convince the dissenting Senate Republicans to come back into Trump’s fold +neephvLkrI8-00005-00006479-00008047 Trump either doesn’t understand this kind of strategy, or he’s too far gone to care, and so he’s stepped in and made a point of killing the intervening legislation that might have prevented him from losing the big vote, according to the Washington Post +neephvLkrI8-00006-00008047-00008932 This means Trump is now actively sabotaging his own Senate allies, because he wants absolute power or nothing +neephvLkrI8-00007-00008932-00010113 If anything, we expect this will prompt a lot more GOP Senators to vote in favor of killing his current national emergency, perhaps even enough to override a veto +neephvLkrI8-00008-00010113-00011077 Donald Trump’s presidency and freedom are now entirely dependent on convincing Republican Senators not to go along with impeachment and removal +neephvLkrI8-00009-00011077-00011970 If twenty of them turn against him (out of fifty-three), he’ll be ousted from office, and then he’ll be arrested by the SDNY +neephvLkrI8-00010-00011970-00012607 Trump just gave Republican Senators every reason to lean toward kicking him out of office +neephvLkrI8-00011-00012607-00013002 This won’t end well for them or him +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00000-00000571-00001365 Wednesday CNN played a clip from Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind,” of Sen +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00001-00001365-00002141 Johnny Isakson (R-GA) criticizing President Donald Trump’s criticism of late Sen +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00002-00002141-00003306 John McCain (R-AZ).Responding to the president saying, “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be,” Isakson said, “It’s deplorable what he said +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00003-00003306-00004225 That’s what I called it from the floor of the Senate seven months ago. It will be deplorable seven months from now if he says it again +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00004-00004225-00005646 I will continue to speak out because there’s one thing that we’ve got to do — you may not like immigration, you may not like this, you may not like that, you may be a Republican or Democrat, we’re all Americans'' +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00005-00005646-00006537 “There aren’t Democratic casualties and Republican casualties on the battlefield, there are American casualties,” he continued +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00006-00006537-00007378 “And we should never reduce the service people give to this country, particularly the offering of their own life to political fodder +pwJ0D1Z7REu-00007-00007378-00007498 ” +pCWSpS22tO8-00000-00000571-00002193 A senior State Department official on Thursday expressed optimism that the denuclearization of North Korea could be achieved during President Donald Trump's first term, despite the lack of progress during the recent Hanoi summit and expert assertions to the contrary +pCWSpS22tO8-00001-00002193-00003193 "We still believe that this is all achievable within the President's first term, and that's the timetable we're working on," the official said +pCWSpS22tO8-00002-00003193-00003974 "We have discussed extensively the outlines of the calendar that allow us to do that, and it is doable'' +pCWSpS22tO8-00003-00003974-00004787 The official said they "are pushing very hard with our North Korean interlocutors" their goal of denuclearization within the first term +pCWSpS22tO8-00004-00004787-00006367 "The ultimate driver to this is not going to be the amount of days it takes, it's going to be the degree to which we can satisfactorily achieve the steps which we feel are necessary to the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," they said +pCWSpS22tO8-00005-00006367-00007140 The official's statements come in the wake of a failed summit last month between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un +pCWSpS22tO8-00006-00007140-00007934 The meeting failed to make any progress toward the US' goal, resulting instead in what Trump has come to call "the walk +pCWSpS22tO8-00007-00007934-00008862 " The official maintained Thursday that both sides left "on very good terms" but conceded that "we're not as far along as we'd like to be'' +pCWSpS22tO8-00008-00008862-00009878 Experts, however, have said it could take up to 10 or 15 years for North Korea to completely denuclearize, given how technical the process is +pCWSpS22tO8-00009-00009878-00012670 They see the Trump administration as having expressed lofty goals."For technical reasons there is a lot that could be done to reduce the military threat or the military utility of that program but there is also no way that you could actually eliminate all of North Korea's nuclear program, because that would require verification," Siegfried Hecker, a professor at Stanford University and a former director of the Los Alamos weapons laboratory in New Mexico, explained to CNN +pCWSpS22tO8-00010-00012670-00013449 "How do we know they do not have nuclear weapons in a tunnel somewhere? We will never know that," Hecker said +pCWSpS22tO8-00011-00013449-00014159 "There would have to be a verification protocol that is simply technically not possible in the two-year time frame +pCWSpS22tO8-00012-00014159-00015024 ".Beyond the technical side of the denuclearization process, developing a deal will also take time and political patience +pCWSpS22tO8-00013-00015024-00016076 Last week, after the summit in Vietnam, a State Department official said the US and North Korea are now in discussions "about things we really want to be discussing +pCWSpS22tO8-00014-00016076-00016873 " But the official admitted that the two countries still do not have the same basic definition of denuclearization +pURJZygw_n8-00000-00000513-00001720 President Donald Trump embarked on his trip to Vietnam with a political cloud hanging over his head and keen to show progress on a thorny foreign policy issue that has befuddled many of his predecessors +pURJZygw_n8-00001-00001720-00002456 Now, he is just back from a Hanoi summit with North Korea that collapsed and the cloud has grown darker +pURJZygw_n8-00002-00002456-00004366 While Trump’s much-hyped meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un broke up in disagreement over sanctions linked to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who accused him of breaking the law while in office, represented a potentially damaging development for the president at home +pURJZygw_n8-00003-00004366-00006129 Trump faced challenges on other fronts: sensitive talks with China over a trade deal, a slow-rolling crisis in Venezuela, tensions between India and Pakistan and an attempt in Congress to kill his emergency declaration aimed at securing funding for a wall on the border with Mexico +pURJZygw_n8-00004-00006129-00007545 U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller may also end his probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election in a matter of days - ensuring that speculation about the role of Trump and his campaign will keep making headlines +pURJZygw_n8-00005-00007545-00008757 Before Trump left for Vietnam, he privately complained that Democrats would go ahead with the Cohen testimony, violating an unwritten rule against attacking the president while he is overseas +pURJZygw_n8-00006-00008757-00009935 He also wished the Mueller report was finished.Back at the White House on Friday, the Republican president unleashed a series of tweets slamming Cohen and accusing him of lying +pURJZygw_n8-00007-00009935-00010972 “He was very unhappy that they were holding the hearings while he was overseas,” said one person who was present and asked to remain unnamed +pURJZygw_n8-00008-00010972-00011766 “He was also very unhappy that the Mueller investigation had not been concluded before he left +pURJZygw_n8-00009-00011766-00013359 He felt that there was a cloud hanging over him.”.While at the summit, Trump cut the talks about North Korea’s denuclearization short and the two sides gave conflicting accounts of what happened, raising doubts about the future of one of Trump’s signature initiatives +pURJZygw_n8-00010-00013359-00014250 The White House had included a signing ceremony for a deal on Trump’s public schedule in Hanoi - and then abruptly canceled it +pURJZygw_n8-00011-00014250-00015318 Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo complained about reporters being obsessed with what he tried to dismiss as “process” and said they were “radically uninformed +pURJZygw_n8-00012-00015318-00016029 ”.“Y’all shouldn’t get hung up on things like that,” Pompeo told reporters traveling with him +pURJZygw_n8-00013-00016029-00017019 As the summit unfolded, Trump kept up to date with Cohen’s testimony from his suite at a Hanoi hotel despite the 12-hour time difference +pURJZygw_n8-00014-00017019-00018450 The conclusion among Trump’s inner circle was that the president came out of the week okay, feeling there was not much new in Cohen’s testimony and that Trump was getting credit for walking away from a potentially bad deal with the North Koreans +pURJZygw_n8-00015-00018450-00019289 “There were no surprises this week,” said Christopher Ruddy, a conservative media mogul and a close friend of the president +pURJZygw_n8-00016-00019289-00020036 “We knew North Korea was a tough nut to crack and that Michael Cohen was going to say a lot of nasty stuff +pURJZygw_n8-00017-00020036-00020804 At the end of the day I don’t think it changes the political climate for President Trump,” Ruddy told Reuters +pURJZygw_n8-00018-00020804-00021893 But the Cohen testimony raised questions among Trump allies about the ability of Republicans and the president’s re-election campaign to organize a proper response +pURJZygw_n8-00019-00021893-00022810 “Where’s the defense of the president?” former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Trump friend, told ABC’s “This Week” program on Wednesday +pURJZygw_n8-00020-00022810-00023993 In Congress, efforts to block Trump’s national emergency declaration intensified with the introduction of legislation in the Republican-led Senate, although it faces an uphill path to passage +pURJZygw_n8-00021-00023993-00025088 Trump will have a friendly audience on Saturday when he addresses the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in a Maryland suburb of Washington +pURJZygw_n8-00022-00025088-00026078 At CPAC on Thursday, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel was quick to defend Trump’s handling of the Vietnam summit +pURJZygw_n8-00023-00026078-00027063 “He walked away rightly because he said we’re not going to take away the sanctions if you not going to de-nuclearize,” she said to applause +qyco1uah9Ty-00000-00000571-00001924 On this weekend’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) offered a glimpse into President Donald Trump’s reaction to the findings in the Mueller report +qyco1uah9Ty-00001-00001924-00002956 Graham said Trump was pleased with the Mueller report and dismissed the notion that Trump could collude with Russia by saying he couldn’t collude with his own government +qyco1uah9Ty-00002-00002956-00003653 “He was very pleased that everything he’d been saying for two years proved to be right,” Graham said +qyco1uah9Ty-00003-00003653-00004638 “If you know President Trump — and I have gotten to know him pretty well — there is no way he sat down with the Russians and came up with a plan and followed it +qyco1uah9Ty-00004-00004638-00005602 He doesn’t come up with a — he doesn’t collude with his own government. So this whole thing was a — was ridiculous, if you know the president +qyco1uah9Ty-00005-00005602-00006704 ”.“And it’s proven to be ridiculous. And I told him about 1,000 times there’s one person that can clear you of this, and it’s Mueller,” he continued +qyco1uah9Ty-00006-00006704-00007368 “And I want people to understand that Mr. Mueller for two years looked at this very hard +qyco1uah9Ty-00007-00007368-00008219 It came out with a conclusion there was no collusion. And Jim Clyburn said, as a Democrat, we need to move on +qyco1uah9Ty-00008-00008219-00009099 Adam Schiff represents a wing of the Democratic Party, the Oliver Stone wing of the Democratic Party, that will never let this go +qyco1uah9Ty-00009-00009099-00009199 ” +qzTV4u5lbGo-00000-00000571-00001281 “No one will ever love you the way they loved my father…. I wish I had been given more Saturday’s with him +qzTV4u5lbGo-00001-00001281-00002028 Maybe spend yours with your family instead of on twitter obsessing over mine?” McCain wrote on Twitter +qzTV4u5lbGo-00002-00002028-00003559 The View co-host’s scathing remarks came in response to President Trump’s criticism of her late father’s involvement in giving the FBI a copy of the largely debunked Steele dossier, which purported nefarious ties between the president and Russia +qzTV4u5lbGo-00003-00003559-00004996 Appearing on the Fox News Channel Saturday, former independent counsel Ken Starr said that while McCain was an “American hero,” if reports of his handling of the dossier are accurate, it would be a “very dark stain” on his legacy +qzTV4u5lbGo-00004-00004996-00006090 .President Trump quoted Starr’s remark, tweeting: “Spreading the fake and totally discredited Dossier “is unfortunately a very dark stain against John McCain +qzTV4u5lbGo-00005-00006090-00007020 He had far worse “stains” than this, including thumbs down on repeal and replace after years of campaigning to repeal and replace!” +qzTV4u5lbGo-00006-00007020-00008031 In his autobiography, The Restless Wave, McCain wrote of the dossier that he “did what duty demanded I do” in handing it over to law enforcement +qzTV4u5lbGo-00007-00008031-00008851 “I discharged that obligation, and I would do it again. Anyone who doesn’t like it can go to hell,” he declared +qzTV4u5lbGo-00008-00008851-00009611 Meghan McCain’s latest remarks follow a series of critical statements about President Trump and his administration +qzTV4u5lbGo-00009-00009611-00010560 Appearing on CNN with host Van Jones in late January, McCain said she hates the United States without her father’s leadership +qzTV4u5lbGo-00010-00010560-00011207 “As an American, I hate this country without him in it. I know that sounds awful +qzTV4u5lbGo-00011-00011207-00012124 I don’t hate America but I just hate it without his leadership,” she said when asked how she was handling her father’s passing +qzTV4u5lbGo-00012-00012124-00012876 .McCain infamously included several jabs at President Trump in her eulogy for her father +qzTV4u5lbGo-00013-00012876-00013994 “We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness,” she began. “The real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly +qzTV4u5lbGo-00014-00013994-00015353 ”.In a veiled knock on the president’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, she added, “The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great +qzTV4u5lbGo-00015-00015353-00016643 ”.In February, McCain discussed with late-night host Stephen Colbert her thoughts on President Trump’daughterer and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, attending her father’s funeral +qzTV4u5lbGo-00016-00016643-00017442 .“I didn’t actually think about who would be attending the funeral, strangely,” McCain told the funnyman +qzTV4u5lbGo-00017-00017442-00018111 “The answer is no, I did not know [Jared and Ivanka] would be attending his funeral +qzTV4u5lbGo-00018-00018111-00019065 … I thought that my family had made it clear, or at least I had, that the Trumps are unwelcome around me… So I was surprised when they were there +qzTV4u5lbGo-00019-00019065-00019838 ”.“It made me uncomfortable,” she added, “and I hope I made them uncomfortable, honestly, with everything +qzTV4u5lbGo-00020-00019838-00019938 ” +qNapt8U-ffu-00000-00000571-00001127 Whistleblowers are exposing corruption like never before under Trump +qNapt8U-ffu-00001-00001127-00002107 There's so much wrongdoing in the Trump administration that dozens of whistleblowers are now working with House Democrats to help bring misdeeds to light +qNapt8U-ffu-00002-00002107-00003384 Whistleblowers exist in every administration. But under Trump, the number of whistleblowers has skyrocketed — and many of them are already working with Democrats on the House Oversight Committee +qNapt8U-ffu-00003-00003384-00004053 It didn't take much time at all for whistleblowers to come forward in the Trump era +qNapt8U-ffu-00004-00004053-00004852 That's probably because so many Trump team members engaged in so much wrongdoing right away +qNapt8U-ffu-00005-00004852-00006432 For example, it was a whistleblower that brought attention to the fact that literally minutes after Trump was sworn into office Michael Flynn started texting someone about a plan to work with Russia on building nuclear reactors in the Middle East +qNapt8U-ffu-00006-00006432-00007937 Now that Democrats are in power, the amount of whistleblower tips they've received has been accelerating, possibly because employees know that the Democrats will investigate their concerns — something that likely didn't happen when the GOP held the House +qNapt8U-ffu-00007-00007937-00009251 An anonymous Oversight Committee aide told The Atlantic that the committee was getting three to four tips per week before the election, but now they're seeing an average of five per week, with one week topping out at 15 tips +qNapt8U-ffu-00008-00009251-00011001 The most high-profile whistleblower right now is Tricia Newbold. She's the White House employee who raised the alarm about people who were receiving security clearances even though they had issues that should have barred them from doing so, including foreign influence and conflicts of interest +qNapt8U-ffu-00009-00011001-00011670 Sadly, Newbold is likely being retaliated against for bringing her concerns to light +qNapt8U-ffu-00010-00011670-00013153 Back in January, she received a two-week unpaid suspension after NBC reported that her boss, political appointee Carl Kline, had overruled career security employees and approved a security clearance for Jared Kushner +qNapt8U-ffu-00011-00013153-00014554 It's terrible that government employees need to put their careers at risk to speak out against Trump, but House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings has vowed to protect those people brave enough to come forward +qNapt8U-ffu-00012-00014554-00015207 Under this administration, bringing misdeeds to light is a vital service to the country +qSeZeP-kJKg-00000-00000513-00002380 U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded Saturday night after a published report excoriated the freshman congresswoman for pushing her Green New Deal initiative while still traveling on airplanes and using ridesharing services -- instead greener travel methods such as public transportation +qSeZeP-kJKg-00001-00002380-00003616 The piece mentioned the New York Democrat’s call in January for more sustainable energy solutions: "The world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change,” she said at the time +qSeZeP-kJKg-00002-00003616-00004449 "But the woman who boasts of a “razor-sharp BS detector” seems to have trouble sniffing out her own,” the New York Post reported +qSeZeP-kJKg-00003-00004449-00005988 “Since declaring her candidacy in May 2017, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign heavily relied on those combustible-engine cars — even though a subway station was just 138 feet from her Elmhurst [Queens] campaign office +qSeZeP-kJKg-00004-00005988-00006894 She listed 1,049 transactions for Uber, Lyft, Juno and other car services, federal filings show +qSeZeP-kJKg-00005-00006894-00008686 The campaign had 505 Uber expenses alone.”.Instead of embracing cheaper, less green travel methods, Ocasio-Cortez logged 66 airline transactions during her 2018 campaign while only using Amtrak 18 times, according to the Post +qSeZeP-kJKg-00006-00008686-00009580 Cortez responded on Twitter, arguing that "living in the world as it is isn't an argument against working towards a better future +qSeZeP-kJKg-00007-00009580-00011095 ".“I also fly & use A/C," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “The Green New Deal is about putting a LOT of people to work in developing new technologies, building new infrastructure, and getting us to 100% renewable energy +qSeZeP-kJKg-00008-00011095-00011941 ”.The Green New Deal is an economic stimulus package designed to address income inequality, health care and climate change +qSeZeP-kJKg-00009-00011941-00013096 The concept – modeled after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal package through public works programs – could be funded through a 70 percent tax on America’s top earners +qSeZeP-kJKg-00010-00013096-00014791 Ocasio-Cortez has been a fierce advocate for addressing climate change. She recently questioned whether young couples should have children given the devastating consequences facing Earth unless an unprecedented effort is made to reduce carbon gas emissions by 2030 +rNp2BnEinCo-00000-00000571-00001665 Treason. It is a word that has created much necessary discussion, and a good deal of literature, but not too many actual occurrences in America’s history +rNp2BnEinCo-00001-00001665-00002504 Individuals like Benedict Arnold and the Rosenbergs are well known for selling out their country and will forever be known as traitors +rNp2BnEinCo-00002-00002504-00003379 While Arnold was able to defect to Britain to live out his life, the Rosenbergs were ultimately given the death penalty for their crimes +rNp2BnEinCo-00003-00003379-00004437 .Discussions on the subject have gained steam due to actions by Donald Trump, and subsequent articles pointing out his behavior, over the past two years +rNp2BnEinCo-00004-00004437-00005623 By constantly attacking the rule of law and those actively investigating him, Trump has only exacerbated the call to increase the investigations into his malfeasance +rNp2BnEinCo-00005-00005623-00007125 After Trump publicly stated that investigating his personal finances would be a “red line,” it was only proper and necessary for Special Counsel Robert Muller to look into any crimes that Trump or his family committed on a personal level +rNp2BnEinCo-00006-00007125-00008198 While it is well known that the Trump Organization has been involved in laundering Russian money for decades, not pursuing such leads would be a dereliction of duty +rNp2BnEinCo-00007-00008198-00009032 That said, House Republicans spent the past two years going out of their way to ignore the facts in an effort to protect Trump +rNp2BnEinCo-00008-00009032-00010048 It can be demonstrably proven that Republicans in Congress have been going out of their way to insulate Trump from any political or criminal prosecutions +rNp2BnEinCo-00009-00010048-00011981 The main question is, why? Why would people, who have sworn an oath to protect America and our Constitution, put themselves in a position where they have so clearly sold out their nation to protect a traitor? For one to commit such an extreme crime against their country, there must be an extreme reason +rNp2BnEinCo-00010-00011981-00013153 At this point in time, there are few answers to that question. Perhaps some believe that their reelection requires such actions, if only to appease to Trump’s base +rNp2BnEinCo-00011-00013153-00013971 The more likely answer is that they are also guilty of treason and they are doing everything in their power to protect Trump and themselves +suI0QhHsEp0-00000-00000624-00000824 як глядзець на вечар напярэдадні новага года +suI0QhHsEp0-00001-00011782-00011894 антось сівых +suI0QhHsEp0-00002-00011914-00011984 музыка кевіна маклеода +suI0QhHsEp0-00003-00012016-00012094 менск +suI0QhHsEp0-00004-00012242-00012400 ліцэнзія creative commons attribution +sgx455HWbBc-00000-00000571-00001548 In addition to everything that’s outright objectionable and quantifiably harmful about him, Donald Trump is also a just plain weird guy +sgx455HWbBc-00001-00001548-00002180 Maybe it’s because he’s been playing a cartoon character version of himself for too long +sgx455HWbBc-00002-00002180-00003206 Maybe it’s because his faculties are slipping. Or maybe it’s because he tries so overzealously to pander to the most low information of voters +sgx455HWbBc-00003-00003206-00004957 In any case, Trump is having an even weirder day than usual.Donald Trump started the day with this surreal tweet, which is – if nothing else – a reminder that he’ll watch just about anything that Fox News decides to put on the air: “So weird to watch Crazy Bernie on Fox News +sgx455HWbBc-00004-00004957-00006764 Not surprisingly, Bret Baier and the “audience” was so smiley and nice. Very strange, and now we have Donna Brazile?” What’s interesting here of course is that he’s not so subtly attacking Fox, both for supposedly being too soft on Bernie, and for hiring a Democrat like Brazile +sgx455HWbBc-00005-00006764-00008525 Of course he doesn’t hate everyone on Fox News. After Trump tweeted “No Collusion – No Obstruction!” this morning with no context, he repeated those same four words this afternoon, this time attached to a video of a Fox segment that was sycophantic toward him +sgx455HWbBc-00006-00008525-00009862 Okay, we get it. He still likes the specific Fox hosts who are still kissing up to him, even if he’s attacking Fox News overall for no longer spending the entire day trying to help him +sgx455HWbBc-00007-00009862-00011372 Donald Trump is preparing for William Barr to release a dishonestly redacted mutilation of the Mueller report that will make Trump look far better than the real Mueller report does, but will nonetheless make him look rather bad, as Barr can’t redact everything +sgx455HWbBc-00008-00011372-00012372 Even as Trump continues to falsely claim that the report exonerates him, he’s making a point of attacking his own favorite TV news outlet +sgx455HWbBc-00009-00012372-00013383 Perhaps he’s giving away that he knows even Fox is going to give him significant negative coverage once the dirt in the Mueller report starts to surface this week +sjoMfxdV-h4-00000-00000571-00001508 Donald Trump’s about to wish that he never became involved with Russia, because we’re seeing this blow up in the president’s face in real time +sjoMfxdV-h4-00001-00001508-00002431 .A video has just resurfaced that has caught The Donald in a major lie regarding his relationship with Russian mob-linked felon Felix Sater +sjoMfxdV-h4-00002-00002431-00003862 As with all of his shady dealings with Russians, the president tried to hide it.The footage, which was taken two years ago, shows Trump fleeing a BBC interview when he is asked by the interviewer about his connection with Sater +sjoMfxdV-h4-00003-00003862-00004505 This old video was brought to light by The Democratic Coalition co-founder Scott Dworkin +sjoMfxdV-h4-00004-00004505-00005743 You can watch it below.Dworkin continued to call Trump out and even posted a video of the president confessing that he knew Sater (and lying under oath – no surprise at all!) +sjoMfxdV-h4-00005-00005743-00006641 And the plot thickens as Dworkin continued to expose the president. It turns out that Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr +sjoMfxdV-h4-00006-00006641-00007436 also has quite the history with Sater, and starting doing business with the felon over a decade ago! +sjoMfxdV-h4-00007-00007436-00008493 This is of great interest at the moment, because Michael Cohen will return to Congress on March 6th and could reveal some very damaging information about Trump +sjoMfxdV-h4-00008-00008493-00009392 Sater will publicly testify on March 14th, and this could very well be the destruction of Trump’s lies about Russia +uQQ38jYdy70-00000-00000571-00001289 As he circles the drain, Donald Trump just keeps finding ways to cause trouble for everyone in his life +uQQ38jYdy70-00001-00001289-00002227 This time around he opened his mouth and said something extraordinarily dumb that may have just gotten his wife Melania subpoenaed to testify +uQQ38jYdy70-00002-00002227-00003705 No, really.Donald Trump was giving a long and rambling speech at CPAC today when he admitted that he told Melania Trump in advance that he was going to fire FBI Director James Comey for being a “bad, bad guy +uQQ38jYdy70-00003-00003705-00005202 ” The trouble: Donald committed felony obstruction of justice when he fired Comey, and he subsequently confirmed as much when he told Lester Holt during an interview that he had done it specifically to make the Russia investigation go away +uQQ38jYdy70-00004-00005202-00006004 Now, thanks to Donald Trump’s own words, we know that he discussed the illegal firing in advance with Melania +uQQ38jYdy70-00005-00006004-00007015 To be clear, Melania is not known to be under any sort of federal criminal investigation, and would not have directly benefited from Comey’s firing +uQQ38jYdy70-00006-00007015-00007845 So by having this conversation with Donald, she was not participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice +uQQ38jYdy70-00007-00007845-00009371 However, this does make her a material witness to her husband’s crimes.After this admission from Donald Trump, it’s difficult to imagine that Melania Trump won’t be subpoenaed to testify by everyone from Robert Mueller to the House Democrats +uQQ38jYdy70-00008-00009371-00010750 She can try to invoke spousal privilege once she takes the stand, but it’s possible that Donald just waived that by publicly discussing her role in the Comey firing; the courts will have to decide that part +ucpdzu35UEA-00000-00000571-00001801 The film-maker, 61, won his first competitive Academy Award, best adapted screenplay, for his film BlacKkKlansman, which was also nominated for best picture +ucpdzu35UEA-00001-00001801-00003319 Lee received an honorary Oscar in 2015.In his acceptance speech, which he read from a sheet of notes, Lee referred to February being Black History Month and discussed slavery and its legacy, particularly within his own family +ucpdzu35UEA-00002-00003319-00004708 His great-grandmother, he said, was a slave.Lee said: “Before the world tonight I give praise to our ancestors who built this country into what it is today along with the genocide of its native people +ucpdzu35UEA-00003-00004708-00005335 If we all connect with our ancestors we will have love, wisdom and regain our humanity +ucpdzu35UEA-00004-00005335-00005949 It will be a powerful moment.“The 2020 presidential election is around the corner +ucpdzu35UEA-00005-00005949-00006785 Let’s all mobilise, let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate'' +ucpdzu35UEA-00006-00006785-00007600 He concluded by referring to one of his most famous films: “Let’s do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there'' +ucpdzu35UEA-00007-00007600-00009596 At a subsequent press conference, Lee was asked if his film had changed America. He responded by discussing the white nationalist rally and march in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, during which Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old counterprotester, was killed by a car driven by an extremist +ucpdzu35UEA-00008-00009596-00010628 Lee included footage of the attack in BlacKkKlansman. Trump infamously said there had been “very fine people, on both sides” of the protests +ucpdzu35UEA-00009-00010628-00011787 “That car drove down that one street in Virginia,” Lee said, “and the president of the United States did not reject, refute [or] did not denounce the Klan, ‘alt-right’ and neo-Nazis +ucpdzu35UEA-00010-00011787-00012592 This film, whether we won best picture or not, this film will stand the test of time being on the right side of history'' +ucpdzu35UEA-00011-00012592-00013355 Around dawn on Monday, from the White House, Trump duly responded with a nasty personal jab +ucpdzu35UEA-00012-00013355-00014334 He wrote: “Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes or better yet not have to use notes at all when doing his racist hit on your president +ueOQIVirICM-00000-00000571-00001947 Special Counsel Robert Mueller has just submitted a report about his Trump-Russia investigation to Attorney General William Barr, according to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other major news outlets +ueOQIVirICM-00001-00001947-00002713 This of course raises more questions than answers, but suffice it to say that things are about to get very real +ueOQIVirICM-00002-00002713-00003611 As of this moment, there are no real details available about what Robert Mueller’s report says, or what it even covers +ueOQIVirICM-00003-00003611-00005325 Some major news outlets are characterizing the submission of this report as the “end” of Mueller’s investigation, but we’re not sure we buy that notion, considering that just a few hours ago evidence surfaced that Mueller’s grand jury is still ongoing in at least one criminal case +ueOQIVirICM-00004-00005325-00006056 Regardless, all heck is about to break loose in rapid fashion. Here’s what you can expect +ueOQIVirICM-00005-00006056-00006699 William Barr now has to decide how much of Robert Mueller’s report to give to Congress +ueOQIVirICM-00006-00006699-00007472 Keep in mind that whatever Barr gives to Congress, it’ll almost surely get promptly leaked to the public +ueOQIVirICM-00007-00007472-00009042 Barr knows this, so he could decide to make a simultaneous public release. In any case, if the Democrats in Congress believe that Barr’s version of the Mueller report is incomplete or inaccurate, they’ll quickly take steps to get their hands on the whole thing +ueOQIVirICM-00008-00009042-00010978 We’ll see what happens on the indictment front. Rudy Giuliani has spent all day insisting that Robert Mueller won’t bring any more indictments, but he’s consistently unreliable, and again, as of today Mueller is still trying to push a witness into appearing before a grand jury, whose sole purpose is to bring indictments +ueOQIVirICM-00009-00010978-00011983 If Mueller has built criminal cases against additional people, he can easily hand them off to the SDNY or other permanent federal prosecutors +ueOQIVirICM-00010-00011983-00012610 If there are sealed indictments in play, they could surface at any moment for all we know +ueOQIVirICM-00011-00012610-00013966 Of course the central question here is what Robert Mueller’s report reveals about Donald Trump’s crimes, the Trump 2016 campaign’s criminal connections to the Kremlin, and what the Trump-Russia scandal was really all about +ueOQIVirICM-00012-00013966-00015303 We’re about to officially find out soon. In the meantime, expect Trump’s allies to spin this report as inaccurately as possible, even as pundits everywhere are left to take mere guesses about what’s in it +ueOQIVirICM-00013-00015303-00015763 Take everything you hear today with a grain of salt +un0N5Y5LiCM-00000-00000513-00001816 Thais are invited to wear yellow to show support for the king starting in April and for nearly four months until his birthday in late July, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam told reporters +un0N5Y5LiCM-00001-00001816-00003005 Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, became constitutional monarch following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016 +un0N5Y5LiCM-00002-00003005-00004023 The coronation was delayed until after a mourning period for Bhumibol, who was cremated in October 2017 in a grand royal funeral in Bangkok +un0N5Y5LiCM-00003-00004023-00005254 "April 6 will mark the beginning of the coronation ceremonies. It is Chakri Day, which fortune tellers say is an auspicious day to collect holy waters," Mr Wissanu said +un0N5Y5LiCM-00004-00005254-00006270 Chakri Day commemorates the 1782 founding of the Chakri Dynasty by King Rama I, whose descendents have since reigned over Thailand +un0N5Y5LiCM-00005-00006270-00006959 The official coronation will be a mix of Buddhist religious ceremonies and Hindu Brahmin rituals +un0N5Y5LiCM-00006-00006959-00007628 .The king will be crowned on May 4, followed the next day by a celebration procession +un0N5Y5LiCM-00007-00007628-00008725 .He will meet the public and foreign dignitaries on May 6."The king will be showered with holy waters and crowned before noon on May 4," Wissanu said +un0N5Y5LiCM-00008-00008725-00009653 Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932, but the king is regarded as the spiritual protector of its people and culture +un0N5Y5LiCM-00009-00009653-00010332 The coronation will be a first for most Thais, after King Bhumibol reigned for seventy years +un0N5Y5LiCM-00010-00010332-00011457 King Bhumibol was revered by Thais and the deep relationship between the monarchy and the military helped facilitate a smooth royal transition following his death +un0N5Y5LiCM-00011-00011457-00012531 Since then, Vajiralongkorn has overseen sweeping changes to royal affairs including the running of palace finances, which were formerly managed by the government +un0N5Y5LiCM-00012-00012531-00013754 Wissanu said the military-run government has set aside £24million (1 billion baht) for the coronation ceremomies, about one-third the cost of King Bhumibol's funeral +un0N5Y5LiCM-00013-00013754-00015310 The kingdom will hold elections on March 24 meant to restore democracy after a 2014 military coup ousted an elected prime minister, though changes to the constitution in the interim ensure the military will retain a great deal of control +un0N5Y5LiCM-00014-00015310-00015861 ($1 = 31.6900 baht) +w3MGu82YczQ-00000-00000513-00001665 Kate Middleton and Prince William married in their spectacular royal wedding in 2011, after they met in 2001 while they were both studying at the University of St Andrews +w3MGu82YczQ-00001-00001665-00002469 Previously, Kate studied at the prestigious boarding school Marlborough College, which Princess Eugenie also attended +w3MGu82YczQ-00002-00002469-00003190 Kate joined the school mid-way through the academic year after an unhappy spell at Downe House in Berkshire +w3MGu82YczQ-00003-00003190-00004128 Royal author Marcia Moody, in her 2013 book “Kate: A Biography”, writes how the future Duchess of Cambridge was bullied at the school +w3MGu82YczQ-00004-00004128-00005071 She says: “It was a huge shock for Kate.“They called her names, stole her books and when she sat down for lunch they would get up and move +w3MGu82YczQ-00005-00005071-00005839 ”.Friend Emma Sayle told Ms Moody: “Downe House is a great school but it is a fighting school +w3MGu82YczQ-00006-00005839-00006928 Kate was bullied.”.Ms Moody also reveals how the unhappy experience has led the Duchess of Cambridge to focus on anti-bullying charities in her royal role +w3MGu82YczQ-00007-00006928-00008224 .She explains: “She lent her support to those who have been through similar experiences when she and William selected the charity Beatbullying to be one of the organisations their wedding donations would benefit from +w3MGu82YczQ-00008-00008224-00009219 “Kate and William has chosen each charity because it had resonance with them and reflected issues in which they were both particularly interested +w3MGu82YczQ-00009-00009219-00010167 ”.Free from the stresses of bullying, Marlborough gave Kate a new-found confidence, which led the Duchess to develop something of a “mischievous streak” +w3MGu82YczQ-00010-00010167-00011121 2001 documentary “Kate Middleton: Biography” revealed that Kate even allowed herself to indulge in some “juvenile” behaviour +w3MGu82YczQ-00011-00011121-00012322 Royal author Christopher Andersen claimed “she had a mischievous streak” and Claudia Joseph went one step further, claiming that her antics included "flashing her bottom at the boys out of the window" +w3MGu82YczQ-00012-00012322-00013043 Mr Andersen added: “She was so famous for this at the school she became known as Kate Middlebum +w3MGu82YczQ-00013-00013043-00014467 ”.Last December, sources close to the royal couple told the Daily Mail they are considering Marlborough college for Prince George in order to give him a "less traditional" education, as opposed to Prince William’s former school, Eton +w3MGu82YczQ-00014-00014467-00015478 They said: “Eton hasn’t been ruled out but they have talked at length about Marlborough as an option and the smart money is on George going there instead +w3MGu82YczQ-00015-00015478-00016457 “They are very keen to allow George to spread his wings as a child and won’t ever do what people expect them to do when it comes to their children +w3MGu82YczQ-00016-00016457-00017306 ”.Yesterday, the 36-year-old Duchess caused a stir as she dropped a major hint about a fourth royal baby +w3MGu82YczQ-00017-00017306-00018359 On a trip to Northern Ireland, she came face-to-face with a baby in Ballymena.Clearly smitten with five-year-old James, she told his father: “He’s gorgeous! +w3MGu82YczQ-00018-00018359-00019161 “It makes me feel broody.” .Stunned, the child’s father, Alan, asked: “Baby number four?” +w3MGu82YczQ-00019-00019161-00020472 With a laugh, the Duchess replied: “I think William will be a little worried.”.The video soon went viral and, in response, bookmakers were quick to slash their odds of a 2019 pregnancy announcement +w3MGu82YczQ-00020-00020472-00021600 .A Ladbrokes spokesman said: “Royal fans are already going into overdrive for Harry and Meghan’s baby, let alone William and Kate announcing their brood is expanding once again +w3MGu82YczQ-00021-00021600-00021700 ” +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00000-00000571-00001801 Special Counsel Robert Mueller is finished with his investigation into whether or not the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to get him elected, but that doesn’t mean the story is over by any means +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00001-00001801-00002974 Politico reports that Assistant US Attorney David Goodhand claimed this week that the grand jury will continue to investigate even though Mueller’s part in the probe is over +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00002-00002974-00004118 When US District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell was asked about whether or not the grand jury was still active, Goodhand said it was in fact “continuing robustly +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00003-00004118-00005704 ”.Of course, the grand jury is in the process of sorting through several things related to the Russia probe, which just happens to include a case involving an unnamed foreign company that was held in contempt for defying a subpoena by Robert Mueller +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00004-00005704-00007156 This is a big question mark in the case.It’s also important to note that before submitting his report, Robert Mueller’s office was trying to secure the testimony of Andrew Miller, an aide to Trump ally Roger Stone +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00005-00007156-00007955 Stone, of course, was indicted for perjury, witness tampering and obstruction of justice +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00006-00007955-00009468 It is not clear what more the grand jury could discover that isn’t already included in Mueller’s final report, but Politico suggests that it “adds a new layer of uncertainty” to the Mueller investigation, which has now finished after 21 months +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00007-00009468-00010173 Regardless of what Trump, his administration and Fox News may be claiming, this is far from over +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00008-00010173-00011142 More indictments could be coming from the grand jury, and even if not, there are at least 16 other investigations into Trump’s alleged corruption +x8U3pMWt5Nu-00009-00011142-00011837 All that to say, it may be a little early for Trump to be taking a victory lap +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00000-00000513-00001210 Donald Trump installed his son-in-law Jared Kushner to be responsible for the Middle East +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00001-00001210-00002224 The Kushner family is friends with the current prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, so Trump has a has supported whatever the prime minister desires +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00002-00002224-00003726 Trump moved the U.S. Israeli embassy to Jerusalem. Now, Netanyahu is just three weeks out from his elections, so Trump decided to invite the prime minister to Washington creating a definite leg up for prime minister +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00003-00003726-00004593 The commander-in-chief just trashed over 50 years of U.S. policy about the Israeli’s occupation of Golan Heights +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00004-00004593-00006061 ‘After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!’ +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00005-00006061-00006996 In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria and annexed it in 1981 +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00006-00006996-00008109 However internationally, the move was never recognized. Instead, other countries consider Golan Heights occupied territory and the Israeli settlements illegal +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00007-00008109-00009232 Former U.S. defense secretary Leon Panetta worked for President Barack Obama and said this looked like a move to increase Netanyahu’s votes and this “raises a lot of concern:” +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00008-00009232-00009997 ‘It’s hard not to put two and two together. The President has made clear his support for Netanyahu’ +xU5f1jHGQ_o-00009-00009997-00011737 Netanyahu tweeted Trump his thanks:.‘At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Thank you President Trump! @realDonaldTrump.’ +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00000-00000571-00001459 President Trump indicated some time ago that he might buck the Republican party and their NRA masters on gun legislation +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00001-00001459-00003071 That sentiment didn’t last long – he almost immediately backtracked and inexplicably echoed the NRA School Shooting Talking Points that school shootings can be reduced by introducing more guns into schools — particularly by arming teachers +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00002-00003071-00004883 The school attends Barron Trump, St Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, is one of more than 100 schools in the Greater Washington, DC and Maryland area whose principals signed an open letter demanding that the president and Congress do tackle the scourge of gun violence without arming of teachers +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00003-00004883-00006500 The letter, which was initially published by The Baltimore Sun reads, in part:.“We urge our president, our Congress, and our state leaders to enact specific, rigorous measures to reduce gun violence in our society, particularly in our schools +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00004-00006500-00007584 ”.“We need a robust system of registration and background checks, with a particular eye toward weapons capable of rapidly firing a vast number of deadly shots +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00005-00007584-00008606 We need stronger mental health services and more effective communication among agencies responsible for the well-being of children, adults and families +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00006-00008606-00009418 What we do not need is to arm our teachers with guns, which is dangerous and antithetical to our profession as educators'' +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00007-00009418-00010640 The letter was published on the same day of the national school walkout, during which thousands of students across the country demonstrated and rallied for new gun laws, including outside the White House +xgNUjJ-XWpM-00008-00010640-00011293 Trump’s youngest son began attending the school last year, after relocating from New York +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00000-00000571-00002384 Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) recently released documents which revealed the Trump administration quietly transferred $200 million from government agencies — including almost $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency — in order to pad the the budget of U +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00001-00002384-00003149 S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Merkley said in a statement to Huffington Post, “This is a scandal +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00002-00003149-00003755 ” At the start of hurricane season — when American citizens in Puerto Rico and the U +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00003-00003755-00005215 S. Virgin Islands are still suffering from FEMA’s inadequate recovery efforts — the administration transferred millions of dollars away from FEMA … And for what? To implement their profoundly misguided ‘zero tolerance’ policy +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00004-00005215-00007401 ”.Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, rebuked Trump’s new $20 million plan, and said the the foreign assistance funds had been earmarked by Congress to “lift up communities dealing with crime, corruption and so many other challenges,” as opposed to bankrolling an immigration crackdown +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00005-00007401-00008465 Engel told the New York Times, “I want answers about why the State Department thinks it can ignore Congress and dump more cash into deportation efforts +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00006-00008465-00009961 Until then, I’ll do whatever I can to stop this.Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the US-Mexico border was a prominent pillar of his 2016 election platform, as was the ridiculous claim that Mexico would pay for it +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00007-00009961-00011226 He frequently repeats the claim, though his budget proposals have included funding for the wall with money from American taxpayers, not Mexico, which has repeatedly insisted that it won’t pay +yvdPKbPa2Uc-00008-00011226-00012385 So it is indeed a strange turn of events that the Trump administration wants to pay the Mexican government to deport those who enter Mexico with the intention of entering the US illegally +yX4uurfPmWu-00000-00000571-00003551 If President Trump’s behavior has ever qualified him for the immediate application of the 25th Amendment — an option seriously and rightfully discussed by intelligence officials from the start of his presidency — his actions and statements this week — after he convinced himself and his followers that the Mueller report has exonerated him of all claims of collusion and obstruction of justice charges despite having never read a word of it — should be setting off a rush to call the nice young men in their clean white coats to come to take him away +yX4uurfPmWu-00001-00003551-00004648 Trump has gone completely off the rails since last Sunday as his seeming vindication, albeit temporary, unleashed a sense of renewed power in the unhinged president +yX4uurfPmWu-00002-00004648-00007031 To the delight of Democrats who managed to regain control of the House of Representatives in the midterms by pointing to Trump’s attempts to take away their healthcare, Trump renewed his efforts to not only remove coverage of pre-existing conditions from Obamacare but to nullify the law altogether, much to the dismay of Republicans who see their chances for a 2020 victory being flushed down the toilet +yX4uurfPmWu-00003-00007031-00008611 His rambling, nonsense-filled speeches at his rallies full of like-minded bigots have been festivals of self-aggrandizement, attacks on his opponents, and a more bountiful than usual cornucopia of lies, falsehoods, and malevolent mendacity +yX4uurfPmWu-00004-00008611-00010043 It is his obsession with immigration and his border wall solution — an answer that only the feeblest of ignoramuses would consider an intelligent idea — that Trump has returned to again and again as he contemplates his future of unobstructed power +yX4uurfPmWu-00005-00010043-00011767 He took to Twitter after lining his pockets through today’s taxpayer-funded golf excursion at his Florida course with another attack on Democrats that threatened the same type of violence that his earlier tweets claiming support from the police, the military, and Bikers for Trump +yX4uurfPmWu-00006-00011767-00014149 While families separated at the border and their children who were detained in cages might not agree with the president’s assessment of the supposedly kind behavior exhibited by Homeland Security’s ICE agents to date as they were forced apart, Trump’s threat of unleashing a policy of intentional abuse, as he seems to suggest, should inspire immediate action to remove him from office rather than mere condemnation +yX4uurfPmWu-00007-00014149-00015160 We’ve all seen enough evidence of Trump’s allegiance to white nationalist beliefs and his hatred for anyone whose skin color is darker than his own fake orange hue +yX4uurfPmWu-00008-00015160-00016207 Only a nation of insane people would tolerate the deeply disturbing misanthropy of a man so obviously psychologically and sociopathically disturbed +zFQpfW_W7iU-00000-00000571-00001292 The government recently found itself in the midst of the longest partial federal shutdown in history +zFQpfW_W7iU-00001-00001292-00002075 It went one for weeks because President Trump and Congress simply could not seem to come together to make a deal +zFQpfW_W7iU-00002-00002075-00003277 While a partial shutdown implies that part of the government is still functioning, 9 of 15 federal agencies were affected, and after nearly a month, many problems were created +zFQpfW_W7iU-00003-00003277-00004444 While some essential services such as Medicare payments and public safety were operating, over 800,000 federal employees were going to work each day with no paychck +zFQpfW_W7iU-00004-00004444-00005693 The Social Security Administration has a shutdown protocol for situations like this and it is not expected that during a shutdown checks would stop or that core programs would be halted +zFQpfW_W7iU-00005-00005693-00006821 The plan states, “Funding for the programs under Titles II, XVI, and XVIII of the Social Security Act will continue, even in the event of a lapse in appropriations,” +zFQpfW_W7iU-00006-00006821-00008159 The Social Security Administration, VA disability payments, Survivor Benefits, and retiree benefits were all part of programs funded this September which will protected them from the most recent furlough +zFQpfW_W7iU-00007-00008159-00008961 The president repeatedly stated that any agreement with Democrats had to include funding for a border wall +zFQpfW_W7iU-00008-00008961-00010058 Originally Trump agreed to a modified budget plan which didn’t include wall money but at the last minute changed his mind which propelled the government into a shutdown +-z6vq2DerUU-00000-00000513-00001508 President Donald Trump vetoed a bill designed to block his emergency declaration at the Southern Border on Friday, in a ceremony at the White House +-z6vq2DerUU-00001-00001508-00002493 “Today, I am vetoing this resolution,” Trump said. “Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution and I have the duty to veto it +-z6vq2DerUU-00002-00002493-00003956 And I’m very proud to veto it.”.The president defied Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressional Democrats, and the “dirty dozen” Senate Republicans who joined them by signing his veto in a public ceremony at the White House +-z6vq2DerUU-00003-00003956-00004812 He described the Congressional attempt to stop him as a “dangerous” and “reckless” resolution that was “a vote against reality” +-z6vq2DerUU-00004-00004812-00005917 Trump said that over a million illegal aliens were set to rush the Southern border, including a 2000 percent increase of migrants from Central America trying to claim asylum +-z6vq2DerUU-00005-00005917-00007153 “The vast majority are rejected, but smuggling operations making a tremendous amount of money, like they’ve never made before, are using these people to crash the system,” Trump said +-z6vq2DerUU-00006-00007153-00008349 “Our immigration system is stretched beyond the breaking point.”.He also noted that despite record numbers of apprehensions at the border, there was not enough space to detain them all +-z6vq2DerUU-00007-00008349-00009101 “There’s absolutely nothing we can do. We’re bursting at the seams, you can only hold so much,” he said +-z6vq2DerUU-00008-00009101-00010280 “The only option then is to release them, and you can’t do that either because when you release them they come into our society and in many cases, they are stone cold criminals” +-z6vq2DerUU-00009-00010280-00011233 Trump noted 59 different national emergency previous declarations by past presidents that were frequently used to assist foreign countries +-z6vq2DerUU-00010-00011233-00012983 “That’s why I say, America First, if that’s ok, America First,” he said. “The only emergency Congress voted to revoke was the one to protect our own country so think of that … This is the one that they don’t want to do and this is the one perhaps they should most do” +-z6vq2DerUU-00011-00012983-00014232 Trump was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, and Attorney General William Barr, as well as members of law enforcement and Angel parents +-z6vq2DerUU-00012-00014232-00015107 “I don’t know that I’ve ever been more proud than to be standing next to your desk than I am today,” Pence said, praising the president’s decision +-z6vq2DerUU-00013-00015107-00015817 Barr described Trump’s declaration as “clearly authorized under that law and consistent with past precedent” +-z6vq2DerUU-00014-00015817-00016901 “The humanitarian and security crisis is exactly the kind of emergency that presidents are permitted to address under the national emergencies act,” he said +-z6vq2DerUU-00015-00016901-00017675 Barr is tasked with defending the declaration in court, and he publicly defended his decision in the Oval Office +-z6vq2DerUU-00016-00017675-00018670 “The crisis that we’re dealing with today is right on our doorstep and presents a real clear and present danger to the American people,” Barr said +-z6vq2DerUU-00017-00018670-00019349 The president defended his decision to declare a national emergency at the border +-z6vq2DerUU-00018-00019349-00020117 “I think actually, national emergency was designed for a specific purpose like this,” Trump said +-z6vq2DerUU-00019-00020117-00021206 “Absolutely,” Barr replied.The president said he did not hold it against the twelve Senate Republicans who voted with Democrats to block his declaration +-z6vq2DerUU-00020-00021206-00023184 He said:.Look, we’re doing what they have to do, and look, I put no pressure on anybody, I actually said, I could have gotten some of them to come along, I said, ‘I want you to vote your heart, do what you want to do, I’m not putting any pressure,’ I’ll let them know when there’s pressure OK? And I told them that +-z6vq2DerUU-00021-00023184-00024262 I said when I need your vote I’ll let you know. I didn’t need their vote because we all knew it was going to be a veto and they’re not going to be able to override +-z6vq2DerUU-00022-00024262-00024973 Trump said that the funds repurposed for border defense would include 30-foot bollards and 18-foot wall +-z6vq2DerUU-00023-00024973-00026041 “We have many miles under construction right now and we’re going be signing contracts in the next couple days for literally hundreds of miles of wall,” he said +-z6vq2DerUU-00024-00026041-00026778 He also promised more canine units on the border to help catch drug smuggling across the Southern border +-z6vq2DerUU-00025-00026778-00027872 “We’re getting dogs, more dogs, believe it or not … I still say, is that still true? There’s nothing that replaces a good dog,” Trump said +-z6vq2DerUU-00026-00027872-00028849 “We haven’t been able to match the dog.”.Trump denounced Democrats for refusing to work with him to change the immigration and asylum laws +-z6vq2DerUU-00027-00028849-00030654 “There’s a point at which if the Democrats would, we’d be able to make a deal literally in 15 minutes, we could make a deal in changing catch and release, changing the horrible asylum laws that are so unfair, changing visa lottery, chain migration, these laws are horrendous,” he said +-Hv1GcjUiAU-00000-00000000-00000200 Subscrib +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00000-00000513-00002077 Congressional Democrats are debating whether to expand the scope of their inquiry into President Donald Trump’s taxes to include his business tax returns along with his personal returns, a risky step seen by some as crucial to effective oversight +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00001-00002077-00003694 The debate has intensified, aides and lawmakers said, since last week’s testimony by former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen, who alleged to lawmakers that Trump altered his business asset values and slashed employee salaries to lower his taxes +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00002-00003694-00005108 The testimony suggested that investigators in the House of Representatives will need both his personal and business returns to fully assess Trump’s compliance with tax laws and understand the network of businesses he owns, lawmakers said +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00003-00005108-00006340 The White House declined to comment on Thursday.House Democrats have spent months laying the groundwork for an unprecedented request to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for Trump’s personal tax filings +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00004-00006340-00007114 Adding Trump’s business returns could complicate an already legally delicate effort, aides and lawmakers said +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00005-00007114-00008078 Trump owns more than 550 companies and business entities, including the Trump Organization, his financial disclosure reports show +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00006-00008078-00009384 “There’s conflicting advice on this,” said Representative Richard Neal, chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and the only House lawmaker authorized by law to ask Mnuchin for Trump’s returns +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00007-00009384-00010152 “Tax policy is pretty complicated. There are times when individual returns can instruct you +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00008-00010152-00010758 Other times, you might seek a business return,” Neal told Reuters in an interview +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00009-00010758-00012333 “It has to conform to the principle of a pretty narrow law.”.Neal is trying to formulate his request to Mnuchin so that it can withstand a likely court fight with Trump, who has refused to release his returns, defying decades of presidential practice +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00010-00012333-00013380 Unlike predecessors, Trump has also retained extensive business interests while serving as president, raising questions about conflicts of interest +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00011-00013380-00014349 Interest in Trump’s business returns is coming from at least four other House panels, including Oversight and Judiciary, according to aides and lawmakers +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00012-00014349-00015266 House Oversight wants to depose long-time Trump tax attorney Sheri Dillon, who likely has a deep understanding of Trump’s tax returns +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00013-00015266-00016141 Committee officials said this week that no final decision has been made on whether to pursue the business returns in the initial request +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00014-00016141-00017505 ‘A LOT OF DOORS’.Cohen’s testimony “opened a lot of doors for investigatory bodies,” Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the House Oversight Committee, told Reuters +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00015-00017505-00018573 “It’s about comparing his financial statements with his tax reports. What Cohen named particularly were the Trump Organization taxes,” she said +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00016-00018573-00019647 Democrats, who won control of the House in the November 2018 U.S. elections, say Trump’s personal returns would reveal whether he has complied with U +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00017-00019647-00020579 S. tax laws and any IRS audits, as well as his effective tax rate, business and investment income and charitable contributions +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00018-00020579-00022115 But Democrats could blunder by focusing solely on Trump’s personal returns, if their aim is to identify conflicts of interest between his sprawling business investments and the policies he advocates from the Oval Office, tax experts say +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00019-00022115-00023178 “Personal returns alone fall short,” said Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a think tank in Washington +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00020-00023178-00024364 Success against legal resistance to disclosure by Trump would greatly depend on the ability of Democrats to demonstrate a legitimate legislative purpose for their request +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00021-00024364-00025542 Rosenthal said including business returns would strengthen the House argument because the documents are geared strongly to legitimate oversight questions such as conflicts of interest +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00022-00025542-00027010 But House Democrats are talking about simplify their request by targeting a limited number of Trump companies tied to investments of interest, rather than the entire business network, and possibly making further requests later +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00023-00027010-00027778 “It’s going to be a combination of both personal and business, because he goes back and forth between both +_x4x6Hi0k2E-00024-00027778-00028680 To get the full picture, I don’t think you can just pick one or the other,” said Representative Gerry Connolly, an Oversight member +_yhdJ231XQI-00000-00000571-00001281 The Barr Report is out, and we now see we’ll have to fight like never before to make sure the truth comes to light +_yhdJ231XQI-00001-00001281-00002593 Guilty or not guilty is up to a jury of his peers, but the facts about Trump’s strange behavior, particularly with regard to Vladimir Putin, must absolutely be presented to the American people +_yhdJ231XQI-00002-00002593-00004071 Unfortunately the news is not good. Trump appointee Attorney General Barr is going to allow Trump to edit the Mueller Report at will, according to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, though the DOJ is now disputing Graham’s assertion +_yhdJ231XQI-00003-00004071-00004983 If it does happen, prepare for a lot of black lines. In fact, Trump’s version probably won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on +_yhdJ231XQI-00004-00004983-00006103 The good news is Democrats are ready to pounce like never before. At this moment, we have Deutsche Bank handing over Trump’s financial records to the Democratic House +_yhdJ231XQI-00005-00006103-00006887 Correspondence regarding intelligence briefings to Donald Trump is still an ongoing FOIA matter at vault +_yhdJ231XQI-00006-00006887-00007704 fbi.gov. We have an unusually high number of sealed indictments on the docket at the Eastern District of Virginia +_yhdJ231XQI-00007-00007704-00008807 We don’t know what we don’t know. But our winning card is the truth – and leaks.The real Mueller Report will leak like the Trumptanic after hitting five icebergs +_yhdJ231XQI-00008-00008807-00009677 No one will be able to stop it. Eventually we will see for ourselves what Mueller investigated and what the results were +_yhdJ231XQI-00009-00009677-00010865 Was Mueller involved in a coverup? His history seems to make this unlikely. Is he willing to go along with the spin for other reasons? Perhaps for the stability of the country +_yhdJ231XQI-00010-00010865-00011570 Perhaps for the loyalty to his party. We will see if he’s a white hat or black hat eventually +_yhdJ231XQI-00011-00011570-00011923 This is far, far from over +_yNC6FK-GcY-00000-00000571-00001545 This evening Michael Flynn took the surprise step of asking the judge for yet another ninety days to continue cooperating with prosecutors +_yNC6FK-GcY-00001-00001545-00002488 For its part, Robert Mueller’s office stated that it had no opinion on the matter, while confirming that its cooperation with Flynn is complete +_yNC6FK-GcY-00002-00002488-00003731 So where does this get us?.Mueller is essentially taking the same position that he took ninety days ago, which is that Michael Flynn has been such a big help, he doesn’t even need to go to prison +_yNC6FK-GcY-00003-00003731-00004902 Of course the judge didn’t like that idea at all last time around, asking aloud if Flynn had committed “treason,” and encouraged Flynn to go back and find more ways to cooperate +_yNC6FK-GcY-00004-00004902-00005960 If Flynn had found a way to provide any additional cooperation during these past ninety days, Mueller would surely be saying so, instead of leaving him hanging +_yNC6FK-GcY-00005-00005960-00007613 Flynn is ostensibly asking for another ninety days because he fears the judge will throw him in prison if the sentencing happens this week, and he’s hoping something will come up along the way, where he can help some prosecutor on some case, even if it’s not Mueller +_yNC6FK-GcY-00006-00007613-00008687 But there’s no looking past the underlying point here: despite his hugely serious crimes, Flynn helped Mueller so much, Mueller doesn’t think he should go to prison +_yNC6FK-GcY-00007-00008687-00009666 Contrast this with Mueller’s ongoing quest to find a way to put Paul Manafort in prison for life, and to bankrupt Manafort in the process +_yNC6FK-GcY-00008-00009666-00010554 In other words, Robert Mueller is no pushover. He doesn’t believe in leniency for anyone, without a darn good reason +_yNC6FK-GcY-00009-00010554-00011380 Yet even after pushback from the judge, Mueller thinks Michael Flynn’s punishment should be to go to Disney World +_yNC6FK-GcY-00010-00011380-00012328 There’s no way Mueller sees it this way unless Flynn gave up enough evidence to take down Donald Trump and all the other biggest of fish +_yNC6FK-GcY-00011-00012328-00012997 We may have to wait longer to learn Flynn’s fate, but I think we just learned Trump’s fate +_TMyxzCSpBg-00000-00000571-00001699 Donald Trump announced this afternoon through his lawyers that he’s going to fight the House Ways and Means Committee’s decision to formally seek his tax returns from the Treasury Department +_TMyxzCSpBg-00001-00001699-00002762 That’s all well and good, but Trump has absolutely no legal standing on this matter, not as a private citizen, and not as the President of the United States +_TMyxzCSpBg-00002-00002762-00003564 He will, automatically, lose this fight. It’s far from the only losing battle he’s waging right now +_TMyxzCSpBg-00003-00003564-00004418 .Trump and his newly handpicked Attorney General William Barr are also trying to fight against the Mueller report becoming public +_TMyxzCSpBg-00004-00004418-00006218 But while the law isn’t 100% clear cut against Trump in this instance, there is overwhelming public support for the report to surface, and even Mueller’s own team is beginning to reveal what’s really in the report – so Trump will lose this battle, eventually if not necessarily immediately +_TMyxzCSpBg-00005-00006218-00007341 . .Michael Cohen has sent a twelve page letter to Congress, asserting that Donald Trump did in fact conspire with Russia to alter the outcome of the 2016 election +_TMyxzCSpBg-00006-00007341-00008384 To that end, Cohen says he’s found a hard drive full of records that implicate Trump in this conspiracy, and that he’s going to turn it all over to Congress +_TMyxzCSpBg-00007-00008384-00009583 Trump is trying to fight back against this by merely invoking delusion, insisting that whatever Cohen has, it must be “old news,” even though Trump has no way of knowing this +_TMyxzCSpBg-00008-00009583-00010776 .Last night it was revealed that Capital One has been secretly working with House Democrats since early March with regard to Donald Trump’s apparently incriminating financial records +_TMyxzCSpBg-00009-00010776-00011879 Trump has no idea how to fight that. Nor can he derail the whistleblower who has exposed his security clearance scandal, which just set off an array of subpoenas +_TMyxzCSpBg-00010-00011879-00012534 If Trump were fighting one losing battle, he might be able to simply kick it down the road +_TMyxzCSpBg-00011-00012534-00013171 But he’s now fighting losing battles on all sides – and no one ever wins that way +AzdvtzTtVoI-00000-00000069-00000252 Беларускі дыктатар +AzdvtzTtVoI-00001-00000252-00000616 не толькі падтрымлівае злачынную наступальную вайну +AzdvtzTtVoI-00002-00000616-00000777 Расіі супраць Украіны +AzdvtzTtVoI-00003-00000777-00000965 але і спрабуе цалкам знішчыць +AzdvtzTtVoI-00004-00000965-00001299 дэмакратычную апазіцыю ва ўласнай краіне +AzdvtzTtVoI-00005-00001327-00001579 Больш за год таму ён распарадзіўся арыштаваць +AzdvtzTtVoI-00006-00001579-00002157 дэмакратычнага актывіста Валянціна Стэфановіча і яго калег. +AzdvtzTtVoI-00007-00002197-00002500 З тых часоў яны несправядліва знаходзяцца ў зняволенні. +AzdvtzTtVoI-00008-00002543-00002796 Я патрабую неадкладнага вызвалення +AzdvtzTtVoI-00009-00002796-00003199 ўсіх беларускіх дэмакратычных актывістаў з турмаў. +AK711hhXUfM-00000-00000571-00001284 Sometimes it’s a grand coincidence that finally brings two long-related storylines onto the same page +AK711hhXUfM-00001-00001284-00002211 That’s the point when you start to realize just how much those two storylines overlap, and sometimes you realize they’re one big story +AK711hhXUfM-00002-00002211-00003238 That brings us to Donald Trump’s long running Michael Cohen scandal and Donald Trump’s long running Elliott Broidy scandal, which are both suddenly coming to a head +AK711hhXUfM-00003-00003238-00004460 Today we learned that the original search warrant for the FBI raid on Michael Cohen’s office, along with partially redacted evidence seized during the raid, will be abruptly made public tomorrow +AK711hhXUfM-00004-00004460-00005267 Today we also learned that the FBI raided Elliott Broidy’s office not long after it raided Cohen’s office +AK711hhXUfM-00005-00005267-00006532 Remarkably, neither of these storylines is a result of any official action taken by prosectors, and is instead a result of the media scratching and clawing its way to getting its hands on the story +AK711hhXUfM-00006-00006532-00007584 In fact the same media outlets were not involved in these two stories. This is, by all appearances, coincidentally coming to a head all at once +AK711hhXUfM-00007-00007584-00008470 But if you’ve been following these two scandals, you know that these two scandals don’t have a coincidental relationship with each other +AK711hhXUfM-00008-00008470-00009713 For instance, Michael Cohen and Elliott Broidy both worked for Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, and afterward, he gave them each cushy senior jobs with the Republican National Committee +AK711hhXUfM-00009-00009713-00010750 Trump and Broidy both had affairs with women and then paid them to keep quiet. Cohen claimed last year that Trump and Broidy were both his clients +AK711hhXUfM-00010-00010750-00011482 And now we know that not long after the Feds raided Cohen’s office, they raided Broidy’s office +AK711hhXUfM-00011-00011482-00013010 Over the past nine months we’ve seen the results of the Michael Cohen raid play out in public, from his plea deal, to his congressional testimony, to the SDNY naming “Individual-1” Donald Trump as a co-conspirator in court filings against Cohen +AK711hhXUfM-00012-00013010-00013838 We haven’t seen results of the Elliott Broidy raid play out in public at all; we’re just now learning that it even happened +AK711hhXUfM-00013-00013838-00014506 But these two raids have to be connected, and all roads lead back to Donald Trump +AK711hhXUfM-00014-00014506-00014940 No wonder he’s so agitated lately +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00000-00000571-00001503 Several Senate Republicans, who have been at odds with President Donald Trump, won't say if they'd consider backing his new primary opponent, Bill Weld +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00001-00001503-00002587 Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, like Weld, was once governor of Massachusetts and has been openly critical of Trump at times during his presidency +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00002-00002587-00003475 But a Romney spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday when asked if the freshman Republican would be open to backing Weld over Trump +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00003-00003475-00004954 Similarly, Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who is up for re-election in 2020 and did not back Trump in 2016, would not say earlier this year if she would support Trump's bid for a second term +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00004-00004954-00005871 And on Tuesday, a spokesperson did not respond to multiple inquiries seeking comment about her view on Weld's primary bid +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00005-00005871-00006949 Other GOP senators, too, who have sparred with Trump in the past were mum when asked by CNN on Tuesday about Weld's new campaign, including Sen +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00006-00006949-00007822 Ben Sasse of Nebraska, whose spokesman didn't respond to multiple emails about whether his boss is open to Weld +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00007-00007822-00008491 Two of the more vulnerable Senate Republicans up in 2020 also were quiet on Tuesday +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00008-00008491-00009674 A spokesperson for Sen. Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican, did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Weld's candidacy, while Arizona Sen +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00009-00009674-00010512 Martha McSally, who faces a difficult election bid in 2020, declined to comment through a spokesperson +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00010-00010512-00011761 And Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who has periodically broken with Trump on key votes, was not available for comment due to her travel schedule, according to a spokesperson +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00011-00011761-00013433 Not all Republicans were quiet about Weld. One of the most vulnerable Republicans, Cory Gardner of Colorado, had said previously he backed Trump for president, and on Tuesday a Gardner spokesperson noted that the senator is still backing the President +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00012-00013433-00014086 "That's who he is supporting," said Gardner spokesperson Casey Contres, referring to Trump +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00013-00014086-00015159 Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who also is up for re-election in 2020, said through a spokesperson late Tuesday that she supports Trump's re-election bid +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00014-00015159-00016539 Trump has been effectively running for a second term since coming into office in January 2017, quickly declaring himself as a candidate and raising tons of money to prepare for a bruising reelection campaign +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00015-00016539-00017510 But for the better part of the last two years, a number of House and Senate Republicans have sidestepped questions about whether they'd support him +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00016-00017510-00018411 While most Republicans will ultimately fall in line, the hesitance underscores the unusual relationship between Trump and his party +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00017-00018411-00019767 Typically, senators quickly back the sitting president of their party. But the polarizing nature of Trump's presidency, and the swirl of controversies consuming the White House, often put his party in a tough spot +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00018-00019767-00020420 And they're often silent when asked about Trump for fear of angering his loyal supporters +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00019-00020420-00021374 It is doubtful Senate Republicans will openly embrace Weld's long-shot candidacy, but he's billing himself as a candidate with crossover appeal +AeQ2NZTGDdu-00020-00021374-00022912 "I really think if we have six more years of the same stuff we've had out of the White House the last two years, that would be a political tragedy and I would fear for the Republic," Weld told CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday when he declared his candidacy +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00000-00000571-00002169 Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos told senators on Thursday morning that she was not personally involved in the decision to propose eliminating funding for the Special Olympics, but continued to defend the cut included in her department's budget +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00001-00002169-00003154 Hours later, as the controversy continued to escalate, President Donald Trump himself stepped in, saying that he had "overridden" DeVos' plans +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00002-00003154-00004677 "The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people, I want to fund the Special Olympics and I just authorized a funding of the Special Olympics," Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a rally in Michigan +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00003-00004677-00005516 He continued, "I've been to the Special Olympics. I think it's incredible and I just authorized a funding +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00004-00005516-00006297 I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people. We're funding the Special Olympics +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00005-00006297-00007049 ".Shortly after Trump's comments, DeVos issued a statement saying that she and the President agree +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00006-00007049-00007984 "I am pleased and grateful the President and I see eye-to-eye on this issue and that he has decided to fund our Special Olympics grant +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00007-00007984-00008621 This is funding I have fought for behind the scenes over the last several years," DeVos said +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00008-00008621-00009460 The reversal capped three days of public outcry aimed at DeVos, who had proposed similar cuts in previous years +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00009-00009460-00010690 Congress has rejected the proposals and preserved funding in each budget cycle.The Special Olympics released a statement later in the day to express gratitude to Trump for the change +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00010-00010690-00012142 "He joins a long history of over 50 years of United States Presidents and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in their support of Special Olympics and the work we do in communities throughout the country," the Special Olympics said +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00011-00012142-00012939 While the program has enjoyed bipartisan support, Democrats led the charge against cuts in hearings this week +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00012-00012939-00014334 Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin raised the issue at Thursday's budget hearing, saying that if DeVos hadn't come up with the cut, the person who did should get "a Special Olympic gold medal for insensitivity +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00013-00014334-00015478 ".As she did earlier in the week, DeVos argued that the Special Olympics doesn't need federal backing because it's a private organization that raises money from donations +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00014-00015478-00016217 "I love Special Olympics myself, I have given a portion of my salary to Special Olympics +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00015-00016217-00017053 I hope all of this debate encourages lots of private contributions to Special Olympics," DeVos said Thursday +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00016-00017053-00017732 She continued, "Let's not use disabled children in a twisted way for your political narrative +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00017-00017732-00018338 That is just disgusting and it's shameful, and I think we should move on from that +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00018-00018338-00019563 ".Durbin fired back: "Well Madam Secretary, let me tell you, eliminating $18 million from a $70 or $80 billion budget, I think is shameful, too +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00019-00019563-00020582 I am not twisting it.".However, DeVos has proposed the elimination twice before and lawmakers have rejected it, appropriating $17 +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00020-00020582-00021287 6 million for the Special Olympics last year as part of an overall funding increase for the department +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00021-00021287-00022620 The secretary has pointed to the fact that she's requesting $13.2 billion for grants to states under the department's Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and another $225 +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00022-00022620-00023427 6 million for teacher preparation, research and technical assistance to support children with disabilities +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00023-00023427-00024142 These requests would maintain level funding for the department's core special education programs +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00024-00024142-00024981 Overall, DeVos' proposed budget would eliminate 29 programs for an annual savings of $6 +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00025-00024981-00026203 7 billion. Some are duplicative, have achieved their original purpose, are narrowly focused, or unable to demonstrate their effectiveness, according to a department budget document +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00026-00026203-00027880 Trump publicly challenged his Cabinet heads last year to make 5% budget cuts.At the hearing, DeVos repeated what she told the House committee earlier in the week, saying that Congress has rejected her previous requests to reduce her department's budget +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00027-00027880-00028959 "I also acknowledge that it's easier to keep spending, to keep saying yes, and to keep saddling tomorrow's generations with today's growing debts," she said +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00028-00028959-00030007 Democrats also criticized the secretary for not doing more to help defrauded student borrowers who are waiting for their loan forgiveness applications to be processed +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00029-00030007-00031039 About 140,000 people have applications pending. Many have been waiting for years as DeVos fought to block the Obama-era rule from going into effect +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00030-00031039-00031935 She wants to rewrite it to ensure taxpayers aren't paying to cancel loans for students who weren't actually harmed by their colleges +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00031-00031935-00032650 But a court ordered the department to implement the rule, known as "borrower defense," in October +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00032-00032650-00033583 People can apply if they believe their school inflated job placement numbers, for example, or misled them about a program's accreditation +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00033-00033583-00034278 "There's nothing stopping you from providing full relief to struggling borrowers today +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00034-00034278-00035126 Surely there must be some of those borrowers who you feel deserve a full discharge," said Washington Democratic Sen +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00035-00035126-00036406 Patty Murray.When the senator asked DeVos how many claims had been processed since the court order, the secretary said she did not know -- though she said that the department is "reviewing them regularly +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00036-00036406-00037190 ".Murray, who has previously asked for the number in writing, was not satisfied with that response +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00037-00037190-00038143 "It appears to me we haven't moved forward at all on this and that's not fair to the students or their families or their future," Murray said +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00038-00038143-00039032 DeVos also took heat over problems that borrowers have experienced when applying for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00039-00039032-00040978 Many say they were misled by their student loan servicing companies about whether they qualified for the program, which is designed to encourage workers with student debt to remain in jobs that may be low-paid but serve the public, including teachers, primary care doctors, public defenders and social workers +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00040-00040978-00042326 When asked by Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley what she is doing to hold loan servicers accountable to improve the process, DeVos blamed Congress for making it difficult for students to qualify +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00041-00042326-00043088 "The rules that you set up, the legislation you passed, make it difficult," the secretary said +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00042-00043088-00044042 Students must have a certain kind of federal loan, work in the public sector, and pay for 10 years before qualifying for loan forgiveness +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00043-00044042-00044823 Merkley disagreed that the law was totally to blame, calling DeVos' response "unsatisfactory +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00044-00044823-00046003 "."It appears that what's going on is that you are working in partnership with these for-profit servicers rather than fighting for these public servants who were promised forgiveness," he added +B0kJ-OTdsLg-00045-00046003-00046850 DeVos has proposed eliminating the program for future students in her past three budgets, but Congress has not approved that +CmPx5gzKEbU-00000-00000571-00001508 Welcome to Trumpland, where the norm is “another day, another scandal.” This time, it involves Ivanka Trump and her security clearance +CmPx5gzKEbU-00001-00001508-00002381 Ivanka recently denied that her father had anything whatsoever to do with her husband Jared’s security clearance +CmPx5gzKEbU-00002-00002381-00003198 As information continues to come to light, not only did Trump demand clearance for Jared, but he did the same for Ivanka +CmPx5gzKEbU-00003-00003198-00003930 Et tu, Ivanka?.Ivanka was adamant in her denials during an interview with Abby Huntsman of The View +CmPx5gzKEbU-00004-00003930-00004920 “There were anonymous leaks about there being issues. But the president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband’s clearance—zero +CmPx5gzKEbU-00005-00004920-00005792 ” Ivanka took things one step further, claiming that there were no problems with either of their clearances “other than a backlog +CmPx5gzKEbU-00006-00005792-00006889 ” Sure, Ivanka. Memos from both John Kelly and Don McGahn paint a different picture: red flags were found by intelligence personnel on both of them +CmPx5gzKEbU-00007-00006889-00007780 According to CNN, while Trump can grant clearances, that task is usually left to those who better know the process +CmPx5gzKEbU-00008-00007780-00009117 Despite this, after Kelly and McGahn declined to grant the clearances, Trump apparently took things into his own (little) hands and granted the clearances, despite the misgivings of the intelligence community +CmPx5gzKEbU-00009-00009117-00009977 Of course, we all know how Trump feels about our intelligence community. I’m sure he’s much smarter than all of them combined +CmPx5gzKEbU-00010-00009977-00012453 Interestingly, even though Ivanka’s rejection could have been triggered by issues from her husband Jared’s rejection, a source tells CNN that officials “had concerns about granting Trump a cleInterestingly, even though Ivanka’s rejection could have been triggered by issues from her husband Jared’s rejection, a source tells CNN that officials “had concerns about granting Trump a clearance that were separate from those raised about her husband +CmPx5gzKEbU-00011-00012453-00013253 ” This family is looking more and more like some type of crime syndicate, and John Kelly apparently knew it +CmPx5gzKEbU-00012-00013253-00014243 The couple allegedly told others that Kelly “was blocking them” because “he did not feel like they belonged in the West Wing,” according to CNN +CmPx5gzKEbU-00013-00014243-00015233 John Kelly has been doing this for a very long time. I daresay his experience tells him what constitutes a danger to the U +CmPx5gzKEbU-00014-00015233-00016316 S. as opposed to some petty reason put forth by Kushner and Trump. But, I keep forgetting that the Trumps believe themselves to be above reproach and the law +CmPx5gzKEbU-00015-00016316-00017327 arance that were separate from those raised about her husband.” This family is looking more and more like some type of crime syndicate, and John Kelly apparently knew it +CmPx5gzKEbU-00016-00017327-00018317 The couple allegedly told others that Kelly “was blocking them” because “he did not feel like they belonged in the West Wing,” according to CNN +CmPx5gzKEbU-00017-00018317-00019307 John Kelly has been doing this for a very long time. I daresay his experience tells him what constitutes a danger to the U +CmPx5gzKEbU-00018-00019307-00020391 S. as opposed to some petty reason put forth by Kushner and Trump. But, I keep forgetting that the Trumps believe themselves to be above reproach and the law +DIL0YNkDfrM-00000-00000513-00001793 In light of Dem Rep. Ilhan Omar’s anti-semitic remarks and Pelosi’s refusal to reprimand her, a new movement has started for young Jewish people to leave the Democratic party +DIL0YNkDfrM-00001-00001793-00002503 President Trump tweeted support for the movement today, by quoting Jexodus spokesperson Elizabeth Pipko +DIL0YNkDfrM-00002-00002503-00003530 “Jewish people are leaving the Democratic Party. We saw a lot of anti Israel policies start under the Obama Administration, and it got worsts & worse +DIL0YNkDfrM-00003-00003530-00004329 There is anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party. They don’t care about Israel or the Jewish people +DIL0YNkDfrM-00004-00004329-00005267 ” Elizabeth Pipko, Jexodus.Per SaraSCarter Young Jewish Americans are leading a mass exodus out of the Democratic Party +DIL0YNkDfrM-00005-00005267-00006205 The new movement, called ‘JEXODUS’ calls itself a group of ” proud Jewish Millennials tired of living in bondage to leftist politics +DIL0YNkDfrM-00006-00006205-00007683 ”.On Monday, JEXODUS Spokeswoman and Former Trump Campaign Staffer Elizabeth Pipko told “Fox & Friends” that it was a shift in policy under the Obama administration that sparked anti-Israel sentiments in the Democratic Party +DIL0YNkDfrM-00007-00007683-00008827 Pipko discussed the strong U.S. Israel relationship under the Trump Administration and the Embassy move to Jerusalem as obvious successes for the Jewish community in America +DIL0YNkDfrM-00008-00008827-00009532 However, Pipko said the Jewish left fails to recognize these achievements.Jexodus +DIL0YNkDfrM-00009-00009532-00010627 org, a site for “Jewish Millennials tired of living in bondage to leftist politics,” launched earlier this month at the Conservative Political Action Conference +DIL0YNkDfrM-00010-00010627-00011557 “We reject the hypocrisy, anti-Americanism, and anti-Semitism of the rising far-left,” a message on the site reads +DIL0YNkDfrM-00011-00011557-00012346 “Progressives, Democrats, and far too many old-school Jewish organizations take our support for granted +DIL0YNkDfrM-00012-00012346-00014396 After all, we’re Jewish, and Jews vote for Democrats. Until today.”.American Jews supported Hillary Clinton over Trump by 71-24, the largest margin of any of the denominations (including “unaffiliated”) surveyed by Pew Research and consistent with the results of the last five presidential elections +DIL0YNkDfrM-00013-00014396-00015632 “We’re done standing with supposed Jewish leaders and allegedly supportive Democrats who rationalize, mainstream, and promote our enemies,” said a press release announcing the site’s launch +DIL0YNkDfrM-00014-00015632-00016786 “We’d rather spend forty years wandering in the desert than belong to a party that welcomes Jew-haters like Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez +DIL0YNkDfrM-00015-00016786-00016886 ” +DjIX6yfhAHc-00000-00000571-00001939 For a while now, curiosity has left many of us wandering what role New York State would play in Donald Trump’s eventual demise, but based on subpoenas it just issued, it appears we may finally have our answer +DjIX6yfhAHc-00001-00001939-00003684 According to the New York Times, late in the day on Monday, the New York attorney general’s office took Michael Cohen’s testimony and issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for records regarding several specific transactions involving Donald Trump and the Trump Organization +DjIX6yfhAHc-00002-00003684-00004797 Considering Trump’s rumored fraudulent relationship with Deutsche Bank was already a focus of the investigation, the news of the subpoena is sure to get the president’s blood boiling +DjIX6yfhAHc-00003-00004797-00005429 However, the most interesting thing about this news is how tactfully it was deployed +DjIX6yfhAHc-00004-00005429-00006519 Rather than trying to seize all of the records in order to decipher the crimes within them, it’s clear that New York State is already staring those crimes directly in the face +DjIX6yfhAHc-00005-00006519-00007867 Take Cohen’s publicly testimony, for example. In it, he let it be known that Trump falsified his financial situation while attempting to secure a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills football team +DjIX6yfhAHc-00006-00007867-00008587 Ironically, that just so happens to be one of the transactions subpoenaed by New York State +DjIX6yfhAHc-00007-00008587-00009711 If there is any uncertainty as to how telling and damning this move by New York State is, perhaps these words from the New York Times article will alleviate it:“The inquiry by Ms +DjIX6yfhAHc-00008-00009711-00010499 James’s office is a civil investigation, not a criminal one, although its focus and scope were unclear +DjIX6yfhAHc-00009-00010499-00011894 The attorney general has broad authority under state law to investigate fraud and can fine — or in extreme cases, go to court to try to dissolve — a business that is found to have engaged in repeated illegality'' +DjIX6yfhAHc-00010-00011894-00012430 Lookout, Trump. New York State is coming for you +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00000-00000571-00002018 Donald Trump’s disappearing and reappearing criminal defense mascot Rudy Giuliani has been missing in action for the past few weeks, and most of us just assumed he’d spent the whole time getting lost in Home Depot while trying to buy a toaster +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00001-00002018-00003050 But it turns out Rudy was missing for good reason. Now he’s back, and – stop us if you’ve heard this one before – he may have just given something away +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00002-00003050-00004173 .It turns out Donald Trump and the rest of his legal team decided to banish Rudy Giuliani from doing any television appearances, because he’d screwed up one too many times +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00003-00004173-00004883 This is according to an inside report from Axios, which then interviewed Rudy about the matter +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00004-00004883-00005701 Rudy is insisting that he wasn’t actually banned from doing TV, and instead he went quiet for a different reason +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00005-00005701-00007028 Giuliani claims that he went silent last month because he and Team Trump thought Robert Mueller’s report could surface at any minute, and he was waiting to see it before heading back onto TV so he could dispute it +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00006-00007028-00007861 This is nonsense, of course. But when Rudy runs his mouth like this, what he says usually ends up being half true +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00007-00007861-00009225 We think Rudy Giuliani just gave away that Team Trump has no idea when the Mueller report will be filed, and that Donald Trump has spent the past month living in constant fear that the day could be upon him +EIjzyj_Bcy0-00008-00009225-00010196 If so, no wonder Trump has been acting increasingly frantic over the past month in general, and over the past few days in particular +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00000-00000571-00001545 “President” Donald Trump has an idea, a novel idea- let’s have a big celebration on the Fourth of July to celebrate our nation and our troops +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00001-00001545-00002922 Oh wait, that has been happening since, well, the 1700s. Perhaps this is Trump’s attempt or end-around at getting his military parade, his previous idea which was dismissed as a waste of money +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00002-00002922-00004275 Trump tweeted: “HOLD THE DATE! We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, DC., on July 4th. It will be called “A Salute To America” and will be held at the Lincoln Memorial +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00003-00004275-00005064 Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!”No ego there at all +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00004-00005064-00005860 Most of us are old enough to remember big events out of D.C. and the rest of the nation on the 4th of July +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00005-00005860-00007292 In fact, one of the Founding Fathers, who was in Philadelphia on July 2, 1776, when the independence resolution was passed by the Continental Congress, predicted how this budding nation would celebrate +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00006-00007292-00008470 John Adams wrote his wife, Abigail, a prediction: “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00007-00008470-00009319 —I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00008-00009319-00010087 It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00009-00010087-00011471 It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00010-00011471-00012560 ”Adams was wrong on the date, but otherwise, his letter sure sounds like Trump’s tweet: “Pomp and Parade” and “Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00011-00012560-00013616 ” So much for this being a new idea.Donald Trump continues to be delusional. His “HOLD THE DATE” nonsense is just one more sign that he is not well +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00012-00013616-00014405 In addition, hope remains that by Independence Day, Trump will be in the Big House and not the White House +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00013-00014405-00015144 As Americans, true patriots, we don’t need a reminder of the significance of July 4th +ENdWf4Hr2jI-00014-00015144-00015820 We have been celebrating it for 243 years as of this July +FTwM2-sFQJk-00000-00000513-00002171 The right-wing media machine has kicked into overdrive to try to conceal and distract from the fact that President Donald Trump’s name and racist rhetoric are featured prominently in the manifest of the white supremacist who slaughtered nearly fifty Muslims last night in Christchurch, New Zealand +FTwM2-sFQJk-00001-00002171-00004298 FOX’s Jesse Watters showed the extreme lengths they were willing to go to protect Trump when he accused the media of “lying” about Trump’s role in the massacre and instead tried to blame China and “climate change” for inspiring the killings, rather than the racist anti-immigration rhetoric which the President of the United States was again promoting just this very afternoon +FTwM2-sFQJk-00002-00004298-00007006 “The manifesto, if you read it, does not attribute this guy’s philosophy to Donald Trump” sneered the insufferable Watters… “this guy was an eco-nationalist, meaning he was a racist…he said he’s not a conservative, he’s not a Nazi and like Greg said, he was celebrating these whacko European mass shooters more than anything, so for the media to link Donald Trump and frame Donald Trump is so irresponsible and is in fact what the guy wanted!” +FTwM2-sFQJk-00003-00007006-00008665 What is actually irresponsible is the right-wing’s insistence on whitewashing and obfuscating the bloody consequences of their propaganda when the blame largely lies with them for inciting this kind of hate and driving people to commit these kinds of heinous acts +GvRFVAZztyo-00000-00000571-00001650 Republicans may want to re-think one of their planned 2020 campaign themes: It seems that President Donald Trump has met a “socialist” country he actually likes +GvRFVAZztyo-00001-00001650-00002956 In recent months Trump has repeatedly cited what he calls the growing threat of socialism in an effort to tarnish leftist Democrats eyeing the Oval Office while also justifying his efforts to oust Venezuela’s dictator +GvRFVAZztyo-00002-00002956-00003993 .But this week, the U.S. leader has been praising Vietnam, the socialist-in-name country hosting his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un +GvRFVAZztyo-00003-00003993-00004868 In fact, Trump has pointed to Vietnam’s economic advances as a model Kim could emulate if he gives up his nuclear weapons +GvRFVAZztyo-00004-00004868-00005905 “Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize +GvRFVAZztyo-00005-00005905-00006762 The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un'' +GvRFVAZztyo-00006-00006762-00007634 During his meeting with Vietnamese leaders the same day, Trump waved a small Vietnamese flag, praised growing U +GvRFVAZztyo-00007-00007634-00008789 S.-Vietnam economic ties, and signed new trade deals. The president’s public schedules also used the country’s full official name: the Socialist Republic of Vietnam +GvRFVAZztyo-00008-00008789-00009961 Though it is standard diplomatic protocol to refer to foreign countries by their preferred name, the repeated presence of the word in official White House statements this week was jarring +GvRFVAZztyo-00009-00009961-00010567 In reality, the Vietnam model, and Trump’s praise of it, also underscores the elasticity of the concept of “socialism,” and why some of its tenets may appeal to Americans +GvRFVAZztyo-00010-00010567-00011388 Despite the presence of the s-word in its formal name, Vietnam is typically classified as a communist state +GvRFVAZztyo-00011-00011388-00012451 But its economy is largely capitalist, especially after the Communist Party adopted a policy of “doi moi” (renovation) in the 1980s +GvRFVAZztyo-00012-00012451-00013339 The country's official name "is a vestige term," said Joshua Kurlantzick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations +GvRFVAZztyo-00013-00013339-00014624 "People in Vietnam are focused on getting rich, making money''.Vietnam is in some ways mimicking China by unleashing capitalist forces while keeping tight restraints on political expression +GvRFVAZztyo-00014-00014624-00016097 In one sense, praising Vietnam is just the latest discordant note for a president whose foreign policy, more than most presidents, is a tangle of contradictions on everything from human rights to use of military force +GvRFVAZztyo-00015-00016097-00017654 After all, on the other side of the world right now, Trump is using diplomatic and economic pressure to try to push out of power Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who preaches socialist ideals but whose country's economy is in ruins +GCfi4yTzbEg-00000-00000571-00001856 Donald Trump is supposed to be winning, right? He and his allies have spent the past week insisting that he’s been exonerated in his criminal scandals, and that he’s now boldly moving forward +GCfi4yTzbEg-00001-00001856-00002721 But Trump’s own mouth told a very different story today, and it involved everything from Robert Mueller to Fred Trump to oranges +GCfi4yTzbEg-00002-00002721-00003726 No, really. .While speaking with reporters today, Donald Trump urged everyone to “take a look at the oranges, the oranges of the investigation +GCfi4yTzbEg-00003-00003726-00004721 ” After he had twice said “oranges” while trying to say “origins,” Trump gave up and instead told everyone to look at “the beginnings of that investigation +GCfi4yTzbEg-00004-00004721-00005680 ” He then somehow managed to correctly get the word “origin” to come out of his mouth, before ultimately saying “oranges” for a third time +GCfi4yTzbEg-00005-00005680-00006344 The brief video clip, which you can watch below, was nothing short of stunning. +GCfi4yTzbEg-00006-00006344-00007511 The kicker is that Trump wasn’t done screwing up. He later said that “my father is German, right, was German, and born in a very wonderful place in Germany +GCfi4yTzbEg-00007-00007511-00008227 ” Meanwhile back in the real world, Trump’s father was born in New York City in 1905 +GCfi4yTzbEg-00008-00008227-00009765 Perhaps Trump was mistakenly referring to his grandfather, who was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1869, which is now part of Germany – but it seems more likely that Trump has simply forgotten what country his own father was born in +GCfi4yTzbEg-00009-00009765-00010586 .Donald Trump misspeaks on a fairly regular basis, and he makes false claims on a near-constant basis +GCfi4yTzbEg-00010-00010586-00012513 But his words today go way beyond what we’re accustomed to seeing from him. Even as House Democrats launched their first big subpoena at the Trump regime today, and are apparently planning to launch several more tomorrow, Donald Trump suddenly sounds – in all seriousness – like he belongs in a treatment facility +GFSorqTr1LE-00000-00000571-00001260 It might have been the day when Donald Trump's Washington finally slipped the limits of credulity +GFSorqTr1LE-00001-00001260-00002822 The administration's big guns -- Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin -- got a hostile reception on Capitol Hill from Democrats eager to pull back a presidency they see as out of control +GFSorqTr1LE-00002-00002822-00003486 Tuesday zipped by in a blur of grave constitutional tussles scented with the whiff of corruption +GFSorqTr1LE-00003-00003486-00004471 Surreal exchanges unfolded in Congress that left witnesses spluttering. There were superficial feuds over alternative facts +GFSorqTr1LE-00004-00004471-00005798 The bizarre sideshow encompassed climate denial, a spat about Adolf Hitler, one senator's meditation on Hollywood's molesting actors and a schoolroom-style squabble between a top Democrat and Mnuchin +GFSorqTr1LE-00005-00005798-00006984 The weird juxtaposition of the weighty and the frivolous seemed an apt metaphor for how Trump's presidency has torn age-old codes of political custom and behavior to shreds +GFSorqTr1LE-00006-00006984-00008094 In the odd new normal of the Trump era, several top Cabinet officials found themselves answering questions about topics that would have seemed unthinkable in more conventional times +GFSorqTr1LE-00007-00008094-00009337 Barr faced a grilling over his conclusions about the most serious investigation into presidential conduct in years -- and a report by special counsel Robert Mueller that Americans have yet to read +GFSorqTr1LE-00008-00009337-00010332 Mnuchin was beating back demands for the release of Trump's tax returns, after the President bucked tradition and refused to share them with Americans +GFSorqTr1LE-00009-00010332-00011396 Both men left serious questions unanswered that offered ample evidence of the Trump administration's allergy to scrutiny, which is knotting up the political system +GFSorqTr1LE-00010-00011396-00012662 Their intransigence offered a reminder that while Democrats in the House now have the duty of oversight after the midterm elections, making effective use of their power is far from easy +GFSorqTr1LE-00011-00012662-00014449 For once, the President himself was not in the brightest spotlight.But Trump had his moments, saying that a visiting Arab dictator accused of arresting and torturing opponents was doing a "great job" and blaming former President Barack Obama for locking up kids in cages at the southern border +GFSorqTr1LE-00012-00014449-00015980 More than anything, though, a day of barely suppressed tensions, flaring mistrust and a disconnect between foes who barely share a common political language exemplified the effect the 45th President has had on the culture and character of Washington +GHL0934gGr8-00000-00000513-00001861 The Trump White House's mysterious and controversial relationship with Saudi Arabia is under fresh scrutiny over the case of a US-Saudi citizen who has reportedly been jailed, beaten and tortured in the kingdom +GHL0934gGr8-00001-00001861-00003182 The fate of physician Walid Fitaihi is again raising the question of whether strongmen leaders who are crucial to the personal political projects of administration power players are getting a pass on human rights +GHL0934gGr8-00002-00003182-00004744 Fitaihi was detained in a sweep against prominent Saudi figures orchestrated by the kingdom's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in November 2017 and was initially held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh +GHL0934gGr8-00003-00004744-00005896 His lawyer said he was then transferred to prison, where he has been held for nearly a year without due process, a period in which his health and emotional state have deteriorated +GHL0934gGr8-00004-00005896-00006986 President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was in Saudi Arabia last week to push his Middle East peace initiative and is close to the Crown Prince +GHL0934gGr8-00005-00006986-00007903 But there has been no public indication that Kushner advocated on behalf of Fitaihi or inquired about the terms of his detention +GHL0934gGr8-00006-00007903-00009013 There is already bipartisan anger in Washington over the administration's response to the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year +GHL0934gGr8-00007-00009013-00010246 CNN has reported that US intelligence agencies have concluded that the killing and dismembering of the journalist was ordered by the Crown Prince, despite the Saudi government's denials +GHL0934gGr8-00008-00010246-00012045 The administration infuriated senators by ignoring a February deadline to provide a report on the murder, and Trump has repeatedly warned that Saudi Arabia's purchases of US weapons and its role in helping the administration confront Iran are not worth jeopardizing over the episode +GHL0934gGr8-00009-00012045-00014153 US-Saudi relations under rare scrutiny.The fallout of the Khashoggi case and the brutality of the Saudi military intervention in Yemen have provoked rare unity in the Senate, with members of both parties questioning the utility and morality of America's alliance with a Gulf ally that has been an anchor of Washington's Middle East policy for decades +GHL0934gGr8-00010-00014153-00015491 Despite increasing coverage of the Fitaihi case, there is little sign that the administration is making his detention a high priority or is willing to consider it in the wider context of US-Saudi relations +GHL0934gGr8-00011-00015491-00017022 National security adviser John Bolton told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday that "as of this moment, my understanding is we have had what's called consular access, meaning American diplomats in Saudi Arabia have visited with him +GHL0934gGr8-00012-00017022-00018458 "."Beyond that, we don't really have any additional information at this point.".In a statement to CNN on Sunday, the State Department confirmed that Fitaihi is detained in Saudi Arabia and that he was getting consular services +GHL0934gGr8-00013-00018458-00019749 "We have raised his case with the Government of Saudi Arabia." the statement said, and a spokesperson added that the department took "all allegations of abuse and torture extremely seriously +GHL0934gGr8-00014-00019749-00021663 ".The Saudi government has yet to respond to several requests from CNN for a comment on the case of Fitaihi, who qualified for his US citizenship while studying and practicing medicine in the US and then returned to Saudi Arabia to found a hospital in Jeddah and forge a career as a motivational speaker +GHL0934gGr8-00015-00021663-00023254 In a statement to The New York Times, which first reported on the Fitaihi case, a Saudi Embassy spokesman said the kingdom "takes any and all allegations of ill-treatment of defendants awaiting trial or prisoners serving their sentences very seriously +GHL0934gGr8-00016-00023254-00024255 ".The quiet US handling of Fitaihi's detention contrasts with the way Trump has dealt with other cases of Americans imprisoned abroad +GHL0934gGr8-00017-00024255-00024949 He has often boasted about getting US detainees home from North Korea, for example +GHL0934gGr8-00018-00024949-00026308 He celebrated the release of Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American aid worker, by inviting her to the Oval Office after top aides said he had engaged behind the scenes with top leaders in Cairo to win her release +GHL0934gGr8-00019-00026308-00027308 The administration made the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey a diplomatic sticking point in the tense relations between the NATO allies +GHL0934gGr8-00020-00027308-00028734 Brunson also earned an Oval Office invite to thank the President.Trump frequently claimed credit for the return from North Korea of imprisoned US tourist Otto Warmbier even though he was in a vegetative state and later died +GHL0934gGr8-00021-00028734-00030223 Last week, after meeting with Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, the President said he took at face value the North Korean dictator's word that he did not know about Warmbier's ill treatment in prison, earning a rebuke from the dead man's parents +GHL0934gGr8-00022-00030223-00031477 Given the strategic importance of an American prisoner and Kim's rule of fear, most North Korea analysts and even many of Trump's GOP allies think the President's comment lacks credibility +GHL0934gGr8-00023-00031477-00032404 The administration has often been selective about pointing out human rights abuses in a way that seems to align with its political priorities +GHL0934gGr8-00024-00032404-00033238 It has used the issue as a cudgel against Venezuela and Iran, but soft-pedaled with Saudi Arabia and North Korea +GHL0934gGr8-00025-00033238-00034502 The New York Times reported on Saturday that Fitaihi told a friend he had been slapped, stripped, blindfolded and tortured with electricity before he was taken to jail from the Ritz-Carlton +GHL0934gGr8-00026-00034502-00035434 In a letter to the State Department in January, Fitaihi's lawyer Howard Cooper said his client had been able to speak briefly to his mother on the phone +GHL0934gGr8-00027-00035434-00036299 He told her that "he is fear of his life, that he cannot take his situation any longer and that he desires all help possible +GHL0934gGr8-00028-00036299-00036399 " +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00000-00000571-00001307 Over the last few months, things have been changing in the world of American politics quite dramatically +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00001-00001307-00003347 It all started back in November of last year when the Democrats won the midterm elections of 2018 and finally took back control of the House of Representatives from the Republican party, allowing the great Nancy Pelosi to become Speaker of the House and finally paving the way for an efficient check to the power of President Donald Trump +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00002-00003347-00004126 Already, they are causing unimaginable problems for the White House and the GOP government +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00003-00004126-00005774 The President of the United States and leader of the free world was forced to trigger the longest government shutdown in the entire history of the United States in a desperate attempt to pass his signature campaign pledge as policy, the Mexican Border Wall, and even then he failed +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00004-00005774-00006733 These senior Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are not willing to stand for any nonsense from the Republicans and it is showing already +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00005-00006733-00008324 Another effect of the Blue Wave that led to the Democratic resurgence in Congress late last year is the intake of young, exciting new members of Congress who bring with them radical agendas and thrilling new energy to effect real political change +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00006-00008324-00009745 An excellent example of this is Rep.Ilhan Omar, who – as we here at Blue Side Nation recently reported – did a phenomenal job of grilling Trump’s latest unqualified nominee and exposing him for his flaws +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00007-00009745-00011531 But perhaps the very best known of the new members is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who has ignited an almighty online campaign in her support and who threatens to shake up all of the political norms as we know them with her very exciting new economic proposal, called the Green New Deal +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00008-00011531-00012654 Branded as the reinstatement of true, environmental and fair and just socialism that America wants and needs, it is essentially the capitalist Republicans’ worst nightmare +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00009-00012654-00014271 However, astonishingly, hardline Republican Sen.Mitch McConnell, who is Senate Majority Leader, has now announced that he will be allowing a vote on the Green New Deal because, simply, he has been backed into a corner and has no choice at this point +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00010-00014271-00014971 This represents a truly remarkable achievement on the part of the new incoming Democrats +Gjdgvt2gDYo-00011-00014971-00016264 They have really only just arrived on Capitol Hill and already they are pushing people around and getting their way, getting their radical agenda on the table for proper debate and real potential progress +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00000-00000513-00001260 The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Friday that a recent comment by freshman U +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00001-00001260-00002198 S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who also serves on the panel, represented a "vile anti-Semitic slur," according to reports +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00002-00002198-00003428 U.S. Rep. Eliot Engle, D-N.Y., chairman of the House panel, then called on Omar to apologize for her remark, which was made at an event in Washington earlier this week +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00003-00003428-00004744 “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” Omar, who is Muslim, said, in an apparent reference to Israel +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00004-00004744-00006134 "I want to ask why is it OK for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, of fossil fuel industries, or big pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying movement that is influencing policy +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00005-00006134-00006865 ".Engle issued his rebuke of her comment late Friday, saying it they amounted to a "vile anti-Semitic slur +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00006-00006865-00008728 " Conservative critics had panned the remark earlier.Added Engel, who is Jewish: “I welcome debate in Congress based on the merits of policy, but it’s unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens because of their political views, including support for the U +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00007-00008728-00010462 S.-Israel relationship. Her comments were outrageous and deeply hurtful, and I ask that she retract them, apologize, and commit to making her case on policy issues without resorting to attacks that have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00008-00010462-00011301 ”.Omar also said at the event that she feared her religious affiliation would get in the way of meaningful discussions +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00009-00011301-00012612 “What I’m fearful of [is] that a lot of our Jewish colleagues, a lot of our constituents, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel to be anti-Semitic because we are Muslim,” she said +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00010-00012612-00013472 “But it’s almost as if, every single time we say something regardless of what it is we say … we get to be labeled something +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00011-00013472-00014415 And that ends the discussion.”.The event, called "Progressive Issues Town Hall," was held at Busboys and Poets, a D +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00012-00014415-00015585 C. restaurant. Omar was joined by three fellow Democrats in Congress: Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Pramila Jayapal of Washington state and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin +Hf4BS63Z4GM-00013-00015585-00017390 It was moderated by the venue's owner Andy Shallal, who echoed Omar's sentiment.“I know that’s a very sensitive topic and I know it’s an issue that has been out there and it’s used oftentimes to quiet people, to disparage them, to isolate them,” Shallal said, according to the New York Times +IoG_OXO4pL0-00000-00000513-00001529 “President” Donald Trump had signaled that he intended to sign an executive order that was designed to guarantee free speech on college campuses +IoG_OXO4pL0-00001-00001529-00002814 On Thursday, Trump followed through on his promise, executing his latest Executive Order, “Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability At Colleges and Universities" +IoG_OXO4pL0-00002-00002814-00004737 Like much that comes from Trump, his “winning,” it is an empty bag of gas.The Executive Order directs twelve federal grant-making agencies to ensure that the higher education schools that receive federal research funds are complying with the laws and regulations that already exist at the federal level +IoG_OXO4pL0-00003-00004737-00006058 As Vox noted, Trump’s EO “is more symbolism than substance.” Trump had promised such action at the annual Cult 45 convention, aka the Conservative Political Action Conference +IoG_OXO4pL0-00004-00006058-00007270 Violence is never the answer, and physical assaults on individuals such as Hayden Williams, who was allegedly attacked at the University of California Berkley, must be condemned +IoG_OXO4pL0-00005-00007270-00008509 The same goes for physical damage and violence against property or individuals. But Trump’s EO is especially addressed to the perceived suppression against conservative speakers and students +IoG_OXO4pL0-00006-00008509-00009661 Trump’s EO provides:.“Free inquiry is an essential feature of our Nation’s democracy, and it promotes learning, scientific discovery, and economic prosperity +IoG_OXO4pL0-00007-00009661-00011385 We must encourage institutions to appropriately account for this bedrock principle in their administration of student life and to avoid creating environments that stifle competing perspectives, thereby potentially impeding beneficial research and undermining learning” +IoG_OXO4pL0-00008-00011385-00012555 It will be interesting to see how the conservative institutions (yes, there are many such places of higher learning) implement this order not to “stifle competing perspectives +IoG_OXO4pL0-00009-00012555-00014219 ” This new executive order does not address federal financial aid programs. However, the EO does require a report by January 2020 addressing the risk-sharing proposals for colleges, something that Trump has indicated would be coming +IoG_OXO4pL0-00010-00014219-00015130 The report could address caps on student loans available and put more emphasis on the institutions sharing in the financial burdens +IoG_OXO4pL0-00011-00015130-00016005 The outcome likely will have little impact, as the cost of a college education is not likely to decrease in any meaningful way +IoG_OXO4pL0-00012-00016005-00017103 As per the normal, Trump and his Education Secretary Betsy DeVos don’t know much about education, or anything. Trump does know executive orders, though +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00000-00000571-00002088 In one of the more awkward double bookings in diplomatic history, the Hanoi hotel that was supposed to serve as a headquarters for the US press corps had also been reserved by one of the world’s most press-averse and security-fixated dictators, Kim Jong-un +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00001-00002088-00003005 Such cohabitation was never going to work for the North Korean security apparatus, which is not accustomed to dealing with inquisitive journalists +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00002-00003005-00003611 Kim’s bodyguards have been known to accost reporters they suspect of having taken pictures of the leader and demand they hand over their smartphones for scrutiny +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00003-00003611-00005118 After a brief discussion between the North Korean and Vietnamese officials in Hanoi’s Melia Hotel on Tuesday morning, the US journalists were unceremoniously evicted from the media centre that the White House advance teams had spent days erecting +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00004-00005118-00006451 The fact that the problem was only discovered on Tuesday, the day before Kim is due to meet Donald Trump in the Vietnamese capital, said a lot about the haste with which this second summit between the two leaders has been arranged +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00005-00006451-00007477 Hanoi was agreed as a venue two weeks ago, a win for the North Koreans who wanted to combine the trip with a relationship-building session with the Vietnamese leadership +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00006-00007477-00009460 The Trump administration had wanted to meet in the coastal resort of Danang.Very few details about the timing and location of the summit have been released so far, other than that Trump and Kim – who both arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday – will have a brief one-on-one encounter on Wednesday evening followed by a working dinner with top officials +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00007-00009460-00010270 Their Vietnamese hosts will put on entertainment, possibly in the French colonial-era opera house in central Hanoi +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00008-00010270-00010876 A government guesthouse has been made available for working talks on Thursday, the duration and timing of which remain uncertain, but there may also be talks in the Metropole Hotel, where Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American and where Jane Fonda stayed when she made a wartime visit to North Vietnam in 1972 +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00009-00010876-00012385 Given the warmth of the relationship Trump claims to have developed with Kim, and the very many unanswered questions about how and whether North Korea will disarm, it is unclear why the two leaders have put off their first meeting until Wednesday evening +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00010-00012385-00013334 By then, Kim will have been in town for more than 24 hours after a 65-hour ride from Pyongyang in his personal armoured train +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00011-00013334-00014162 Like his father, Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader tends to avoid air travel, apparently for security reasons +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00012-00014162-00015640 The Chinese government flew him to the first summit with Trump in Singapore last June, but according to South Korean diplomats Kim has since decided that appearing to depend on China for transport is at odds with the regime’s philosophy of self-reliance +I5bHOOxZ0Bo-00013-00015640-00016489 North Korea’s answer to Air Force One, an old Ilyushin, has not been tested over a long distance for some years +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00000-00000513-00001939 The TV pundits really, really, really want you to buy into the narrative tonight that the submission of Robert Mueller’s report somehow means that Mueller didn’t find enough evidence to build a criminal case against Donald Trump +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00001-00001939-00003133 What’s this based on? Literally nothing, of course. Meanwhile, the people in position to know better are expecting Mueller’s report to set off additional indictments +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00002-00003133-00004292 First, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff appeared on MSNBC and stated that he thinks it’s “likely” there are more indictments coming; they’ll just come from the U +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00003-00004292-00005988 S. Attorneys’ offices that Mueller handed off the cases to. But this didn’t seem to fit with the doomsday narrative, so MSNBC kept pushing the notion that it’s all over, and everyone who hasn’t yet been arrested is somehow magically off the hook +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00004-00005988-00007466 That’s when Richard Blumenthal stepped to the plate.Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, appeared on MSNBC and stated that there is a “high likelihood that there are indictments in this president’s future +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00005-00007466-00008266 ” He explained that these indictments are likely to come from SDNY and/or other federal prosecutors +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00006-00008266-00009660 But again, this didn’t fit the prevailing MSNBC narrative, so the host cut off Blumenthal, and began asking leading questions which were aimed at painting the picture that no more indictments are coming +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00007-00009660-00011115 We don’t know why the TV pundits are so eager tonight to push the notion that they somehow know that no one else will be indicted, beyond the obvious fact that scaring viewers is a good way to paralyze them into staying tuned in +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00008-00011115-00012495 But back in the real world, people who have been involved with the overall Trump-Russia investigation, such as Adam Schiff and Richard Blumenthal, are very loudly saying that they’re expecting more indictments +Iw0aAn8eMsE-00009-00012495-00012947 Blumenthal even thinks Trump is going to be indicted +JuLAKb-rq4k-00000-00000571-00001981 Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” host Andrea Mitchell said President Donald Trump was considered to epitomize America’s “profound narcissism” during a discussion with New York Times columnist David Brooks +JuLAKb-rq4k-00001-00001981-00002705 Mitchell said, “In fact, the country in so many ways has been moving toward a profound narcissism +JuLAKb-rq4k-00002-00002705-00003535 Which we see perhaps epitomized, some would say, in our president. But it goes beyond just this president +JuLAKb-rq4k-00003-00003535-00004567 It’s the culture and the political conversation.”. .Brooks said, “Right. We have a crisis of disconnection where we are just not close to each other +JuLAKb-rq4k-00004-00004567-00005309 The number of people who say no one knows them well is up. The number of people committing suicide is up +JuLAKb-rq4k-00005-00005309-00005957 The number of teenagers committing suicide is up 70% over the last few years.” +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00000-00000513-00001286 On Thursday, Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia held a gala dinner in London +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00001-00001286-00002224 The royals visited the British capital to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Crown Princess Katherine’s charity organisation, Lifeline +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00002-00002224-00002837 They hosted the great gala dinner at Claridge’s hotel and Royal Central was invited +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00003-00002837-00003974 The location of the dinner was no coincidence. The famous hotel is the birthplace of Crown Prince Alexander, making the evening especially poignant for the royal couple +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00004-00003974-00004726 The funds that were raised during the gala will go towards supplying children’s hospitals in Serbia with medical equipment +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00005-00004726-00005993 In 1993, Crown Princess Katherine founded the Lifeline Humanitarian Organisation which currently has offices in Chicago, New York, Toronto, London and Athens +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00006-00005993-00007134 This organisation, together with the HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation, works to collect money for medical equipment that has been delivered to numerous hospitals in Serbia +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00007-00007134-00008077 If you want to read more about the HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation and the Lifeline Humanitarian Organisation, you can do so here +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00008-00008077-00009190 Serbia’s Prince Philip and Princess Danica were also present. Prince Philip gave an impassioned speech where he showed his concern for his parents and thanked them for their work +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00009-00009190-00010402 Crown Princess Katherine was the speaker who touched all the 200 guests. She was so moved that she cried from the stage while she thanked everyone who had helped her over the past 25 years +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00010-00010402-00011134 A charity auction was also held where jewellery, paintings and experiences were auctioned off +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00011-00011134-00011828 All the money raised goes directly to the Crown Princess Foundation to help Serbian children +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00012-00011828-00012583 The Serbian royal couple has been working for many years to improve the situation of those who need extra support +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00013-00012583-00013806 Last year they took part in several special events including a charity evening and auction at the University Women’s Club in London to raise funds and awareness for the treatment of children with disabilities in Serbia +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00014-00013806-00014749 They also participated in a charity event in London in March 2018; which raised money for a new ambulance for a Serbian hospital +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00015-00014749-00015796 When Crown Princess Katherine’s charity organisation, Lifeline, celebrated its 20th anniversary it also held a charity gala at Claridge’s in London +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00016-00015796-00016593 That event raised money for the Cerebral Palsy Society in Greece and the Children’s Home Foundation in Greece +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00017-00016593-00017437 In addition to the Serbian royals, the event in 2014 was also attended by Princess Beatrice of York +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00018-00017437-00018257 Royal Central`s Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen was invited to the dinner +JDQ6c7ByKM0-00019-00018257-00019148 Next week Royal Central will bring you his exclusive interview with members of the Serbian Royal Family, so stay tuned +JRtO1fwVnnc-00000-00000571-00001989 America is so used to the president being creepy about his daughter Ivanka by now, it’s almost difficult to be surprised whenever he gushes about her, gives her more responsibility in the White House, or says something wildly inappropriate +JRtO1fwVnnc-00001-00001989-00003175 These are all things we have come to expect from Donald Trump, sadly, but it still doesn’t make it any less pathetic whenever he does something ridiculous to praise his daughter +JRtO1fwVnnc-00002-00003175-00004544 In a move that proves that the president will always be hungry for media attention, Trump thrust his daughter into the spotlight and practically begged Americans to watch her appearance on Fox News later tonight +JRtO1fwVnnc-00003-00004544-00005304 In a sad tweet, the president praised Ivanka for her “hard work” and posed as his daughter’s publicist +JRtO1fwVnnc-00004-00005304-00006161 He wrote:''My wonderful daughter, Ivanka, will be interviewed tonight by Steve Hilton on ‘The Next Revolution +JRtO1fwVnnc-00005-00006161-00007096 ’ @FoxNews 9:00 P.M. She works so hard and has achieved so much for the USA and gets so little credit!) +JRtO1fwVnnc-00006-00007096-00009405 Then watch Mark Levin at 10:00 P.M., a great show!”.Trump continues to do everything he can to drum up attention and business for his family, which is exactly why the president has yet to disconnect from his many businesses (despite promising America that he would) and why Trump decided to put his family members in White House positions that they’re clearly not qualified for +JRtO1fwVnnc-00007-00009405-00010502 For Trump, he sees any opportunity to promote the interests of his selfish family and sees no problem exploiting his position as POTUS to benefit himself +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00000-00000571-00001556 They have been quick to condemn WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange -- and vow that justice will be served now that its leader has been arrested +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00001-00001556-00002394 But when it comes to President Donald Trump's past praise of WikiLeaks, Senate Republicans are at a loss for words +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00002-00002394-00003188 "You need to talk to the President about his comments," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said as he left the Capitol +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00003-00003188-00003930 "That's up to the President," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham when asked about Trump's past praise +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00004-00003930-00005492 They're hardly alone. On Thursday, few Republicans wanted to revisit Trump's past comments, instead drawing their ire toward Assange while offering their support for the US government's efforts to pursue his extradition and prosecution +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00005-00005492-00006571 "I think it's about time," said Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of GOP leadership who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, when asked about Assange's arrest in London +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00006-00006571-00007968 Yet when asked about Trump's past praise for WikiLeaks, Blunt paused for several seconds before saying: "Well, I think anytime people are releasing information that shouldn't be released, that's a troublesome thing +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00007-00007968-00008632 ".The Missouri Republican then added: "I don't have anything else to say beyond that +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00008-00008632-00009496 ".On Thursday, Trump himself sought to distance himself from his own remarks, saying: "I know nothing about WikiLeaks +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00009-00009496-00011035 It's not my thing.".Yet, time and again on the campaign trail in 2016, Trump trumpeted WikiLeaks and the drip of damaging information about the Clinton campaign -- even as the authorities warned that the Russians were behind the hacked emails +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00010-00011035-00011800 "I love reading those WikiLeaks," Trump said in November 2016, a common refrain at his rallies +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00011-00011800-00012730 At the time in 2016, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio warned the GOP not to tout the WikiLeaks information +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00012-00012730-00013916 "Because it was the work of a foreign intelligence agency, and it was designed to play a role in our elections," Rubio said Thursday, recalling why he raised his past concerns +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00013-00013916-00015136 "I told people not to do that, because today it was Hillary Clinton, but tomorrow it will be a Republican, or anyone," Rubio told CNN when asked about Trump's praise at the time +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00014-00015136-00016416 The Florida Republican on Thursday blamed the media for covering the stolen emails, saying that gives incentive for other foreign powers to replicate Russians' actions of 2016 +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00015-00016416-00018156 "In the future, if foreign adversaries know if they can get access to things that are salacious and put them out there in the public domain, the media's going to focus a little bit on how that became public, but mostly on the contents of that salacious content," Rubio said +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00016-00018156-00019240 Yet when asked if Trump should re-examine his past rhetoric touting WikiLeaks, Rubio said: "During the campaign, you have to ask him why he said that +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00017-00019240-00021881 Perhaps he wasn't as familiar at the time as he is now.".On Thursday morning, the 47-year-old Assange was arrested and dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in the United Kingdom, where had been in asylum for seven years, as the US seeks his extradition on charges that he engaged in a 2010 conspiracy to break into a classified federal computer and leak secret records that officials say endangered national security +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00018-00021881-00022617 When asked what he thought about Trump's past praise, Graham instead discussed his own personal views of Assange +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00019-00022617-00023571 "I've repeatedly condemned the guy," Graham said. "He'll be offered a fair trial. The wheels of justice are finally turning +Ji8JS5K9SWy-00020-00023571-00023910 He's never been a hero." +K6W_lvFMqNQ-00000-00000000-00001781 For a multitude of very good reasons, Donald Trump is terrified of Congressman Adam Schiff, and therefore Trump’s group of complicit treason apologists in Congress are also losing their collective minds over what the new Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has the power to do +K6W_lvFMqNQ-00001-00001781-00003207 Earlier this month, John Solomon, a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist who writes for The Hill, confirmed his concerns about Schiff, stating he “has proven to be his party’s most effective antagonist toward President Trump +K6W_lvFMqNQ-00002-00003207-00003988 And now, with the new powers of being chairman, he is drawing both new weapons and new scrutiny +K6W_lvFMqNQ-00003-00003988-00005020 ”On Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy regurgitated some of Solomon’s propaganda while attacking Schiff +K6W_lvFMqNQ-00004-00005020-00007183 When asked by host Maria Bartiromo about Schiff’s investigation into Trump-Russia treason, McCarthy did not attempt to hide his unhinged disdain for the rule of law, saying “We now find that Adam Schiff met with Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, the individual that created that fake dossier, in Aspen, which never has been known to us +K6W_lvFMqNQ-00005-00007183-00008855 ”McCarthy’s inveterate lies did not end there. He went on to say that Schiff “should recuse himself based upon meeting with an individual that’s under, that we’re looking at from creating the Fusion GPS, I mean from Fusion GPS and not even telling us +K6W_lvFMqNQ-00007-00012935-00013444 They are clearly terrified of Schiff, and for very good reasons! +K7Nf8fviAHM-00000-00000571-00001971 Donald Trump, whose faltering mental and cognitive competence is increasingly on display every time he opens his mouth these days, is suddenly firing nearly the entire leadership at the Department of Homeland Security +K7Nf8fviAHM-00001-00001971-00002909 So is this merely a broad and pointless fit of rage on the part of a man who’s falling apart, or is there something more calculated going on here? +K7Nf8fviAHM-00002-00002909-00004032 A few months into his presidency, Donald Trump abruptly fired dozens of U.S. Attorneys across the nation, after having already signaled that he was planning to keep them all +K7Nf8fviAHM-00003-00004032-00005380 By the time the smoke cleared, it had become obvious that all the carnage was merely an excuse for Trump to get rid of Preet Bharara, who at the time was the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York +K7Nf8fviAHM-00004-00005380-00006618 The SDNY had federal jurisdiction over New York City, where Trump lived and ran his businesses, and Trump wanted Bharara out of there before he could expose any of Trump’s crimes +K7Nf8fviAHM-00005-00006618-00008216 .Now it’s fair to wonder if we’re in a similar situation. First Donald Trump canned his own ICE Director nominee last week, saying he wanted someone “tougher,” which made no sense considering he’d just finished handpicking the guy +K7Nf8fviAHM-00006-00008216-00008875 Then he pushed Homeland Security Director Kirstjen Nielsen out the door last night +K7Nf8fviAHM-00007-00008875-00009828 Then today he announced that he was getting rid of Nielsen’s top deputy. Now he’s getting rid of the Secret Service Director for no apparent reason +K7Nf8fviAHM-00008-00009828-00011471 It’s that last one that stands out.The leaders of DHS and ICE are supposed to carry out the president’s political agenda, so it would make sense for the president to replace these people if his agenda changes, or if they’re unwilling to continue carrying it out +K7Nf8fviAHM-00009-00011471-00012887 But there’s no evidence that this even necessarily happened. And now Trump is forcing out the head of the Secret Service, a distinctly nonpartisan agency whose operations are entirely separate from the president’s agenda +K7Nf8fviAHM-00010-00012887-00013924 The only legitimate basis for firing the Secret Service Director would be due to personal scandal or professional incompetence, and there’s no evidence of any such thing +K7Nf8fviAHM-00011-00013924-00014509 By all accounts, the Secret Service is doing as strong of a job as ever +KvGPoeSttby-00000-00000513-00001816 President Trump on Saturday accused his political opponents of coming up empty-handed in their Russia probes and now resorting to peddling “bullshit" amid increasing scrutiny of his personal finances +KvGPoeSttby-00001-00001816-00003065 During a two-hour speech Saturday that often scorned its script, the president proclaimed repeatedly he had done nothing wrong and that Democrats are grasping for straws to take him down +KvGPoeSttby-00002-00003065-00003817 “There’s no collusion, so now they go and morph into ‘let’s inspect every deal he’s ever done +KvGPoeSttby-00003-00003817-00004734 We’re going to go into his finances, we’re going to check his deals,’ these people are sick, they’re sick,” he told a spellbound crowd +KvGPoeSttby-00004-00004734-00005875 .“Unfortunately you put the wrong people in a couple of positions, and they leave people for a long time that shouldn’t be there, and all of the sudden they’re trying to take you out with bullshit +KvGPoeSttby-00005-00005875-00007377 ” .The comments come as Trump faces ongoing investigations from several powerful House committees and special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly wrapping up his probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow in 2016 +KvGPoeSttby-00006-00007377-00008731 .The House Intelligence Committee, led by chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), is conducting its own inquiry into Russian collusion and announced last month it would expand its probe into Trump’s personal finances +KvGPoeSttby-00007-00008731-00010865 “The president’s actions and posture towards Russia during the campaign, transition, and administration have only heightened fears of foreign financial or other leverage over President Trump and underscore the need to determine whether he or those in his administration have acted in service of foreign interests since taking office,” Schiff said in a statement in February +KvGPoeSttby-00008-00010865-00012077 Trump slammed the development, saying it amounted to presidential harassment. The president previously stated that investigating his personal business or his family members was “red line +KvGPoeSttby-00009-00012077-00013119 ”.“He has no basis to do that. He’s just a political hack who’s trying to build a name for himself,” Trump told reporters after Schiff’s announcement +KvGPoeSttby-00010-00013119-00013803 “It’s just presidential harassment and it’s unfortunate and it really does hurt our country +KvGPoeSttby-00011-00013803-00014592 ”.“I saw little shifty Schiff … he went into a meeting and he said, ‘we’re going to look into his finances +KvGPoeSttby-00012-00014592-00015556 ’ I said, ‘where did that come from, he always talked about collusion! Collusion with Russia, collusion delusion,’ ” Trump added Saturday +KvGPoeSttby-00013-00015556-00016462 The House Oversight and Reform Committee has launched a slew of investigations, including one examining the White House security clearance process +KvGPoeSttby-00014-00016462-00017202 .The committee also held a high-profile hearing Wednesday with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen +KvGPoeSttby-00015-00017202-00018860 The now-disbarred lawyer slammed the president as a “racist” and a “con man” who was engaged in a bevy of financial crimes and aware of Roger Stone’s efforts to coordinate with WikiLeaks on a dump of embarrassing Democratic documents during the presidential election +KvGPoeSttby-00016-00018860-00020524 .The House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee held another hearing earlier this year examining a tax law concerning presidential tax returns, another focal point of Democrats’ concerns after Trump refused during the campaign to make his finances more transparent +KvGPoeSttby-00017-00020524-00021862 Trump on Saturday repeated usual frustrations over his perceived restrictions in responding to the probes, saying criticism of Democrats’ efforts could lead to accusations the White House was obstructing justice +KvGPoeSttby-00018-00021862-00023147 .“If you use Article II, it’s called obstruction, but only for Trump, not for anyone else,” he said, referring to the section of the Constitution laying out executive branch powers +KvGPoeSttby-00019-00023147-00024349 .The congressional oversight efforts are all taking place as Mueller quietly wraps up his widespread probe, with observers estimating the final report could be filed in the coming weeks +KvGPoeSttby-00020-00024349-00025017 The inquiry has led to indictments and guilty pleas for a litany of Trump associates +KvGPoeSttby-00021-00025017-00026302 Trump lashed out at the special counsel Saturday as well, noting that Mueller never received a confirmation vote to be special counsel, a position for which no congressional approval is required +KvGPoeSttby-00022-00026302-00027919 The ongoing investigative cloud hovering over the White House has plagued Trump nearly since his 2017 inauguration, resulting in repeated claims Mueller and House Democrats are leading a “witch hunt” to make up for an embarrassing loss in the 2016 election +KvGPoeSttby-00023-00027919-00029573 .However, Democrats have expressed no desire to stem the pace of their investigations, with the House Intelligence Committee most recently calling for testimony from Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg over Trump’s personal financial habits +KPwElJgK6uk-00000-00000571-00001892 Donald Trump doesn’t seem too happy about the fact that House Democrats formally targeted just about everyone in his life who might be sitting on evidence of his crimes (and yes, even Ivanka will soon be added) +KPwElJgK6uk-00001-00001892-00002987 Trump has gone even further off the deep end than usual. In fact he’s so far out there, he’s resorting to relying on one of his own most famously failed henchmen +KPwElJgK6uk-00002-00002987-00003784 In response to the barrage of document requests, Donald Trump posted this quote today: “There is no Collusion +KPwElJgK6uk-00003-00003784-00004640 All of these investigations are in search of a crime. Democrats have no evidence to impeach President Trump +KPwElJgK6uk-00004-00004640-00005926 Ridiculous!” This is of course ridiculous on its face. Then we get to the really good part, where we find out that the quote in question is from – of all people – Devin Nunes +KPwElJgK6uk-00005-00005926-00007553 That’s right, this is the same Devin Nunes who famously went to the White House in the middle of the night in order to get his hands on classified information, then leaked it the next day, and got himself temporarily removed from his own House Intelligence Committee investigation as a result +KPwElJgK6uk-00006-00007553-00009013 This is the same Devin Nunes who then went on to massively hype a secret memo he was writing that was going to expose the Trump-Russia investigation as a hoax, and then the memo turned out to be just a couple pages of empty fluff +KPwElJgK6uk-00007-00009013-00010455 Devin Nunes is knee deep in the Trump-Russia scandal, which is part of why he went to such great lengths to try to illegally obstruct the investigation, and there’s every reason to believe he’ll end up being criminally charged for it +KPwElJgK6uk-00008-00010455-00011382 Now that House Democrats have Donald Trump cornered, he’s quoting Nunes? Why not just quote Vladimir Putin and get it over with? +LPXN3LrLA6u-00000-00000571-00001623 Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), ripped a proposal by President Donald Trump to erect a wall on the U +LPXN3LrLA6u-00001-00001623-00002235 S.-Mexico border to blunt the flow of human trafficking in an interview airing Friday +LPXN3LrLA6u-00002-00002235-00003235 “The people that are coming over the border, for the most part, are not trafficked individuals,” McCain told NBC News reporter Cynthia McFadden +LPXN3LrLA6u-00003-00003235-00004416 “It’s people within our own walls, in our own borders, so a wall is not going to fix this, but education will and awareness will and strengthening our laws will +LPXN3LrLA6u-00004-00004416-00005304 ”.“The misnomer in this is that somehow this occurs outside the country, that somehow its another country — not us, ever us +LPXN3LrLA6u-00005-00005304-00006393 Well, it is very much us,” she continued. “The trafficking I’m talking about with you is domestic trafficking, these are domestic individuals being trafficked +LPXN3LrLA6u-00006-00006393-00007451 ”.McCain serves on the Arizona governor’s human trafficking council and has worked on initiatives to reform laws on the issue since 2004 +LPXN3LrLA6u-00007-00007451-00008470 McCain recently apologized after law enforcement disputed her claim that she stopped a human-trafficking attempt at an airport in Glendale, Arizona +LPXN3LrLA6u-00008-00008470-00009125 She made the false presumption because a woman was accompanying a child of “a different ethnicity +LPXN3LrLA6u-00009-00009125-00010463 ”.In February, President Trump said human traffickers were “going through a border where there’s nobody for miles and miles, and there’s no wall to protect,” adding, “they come into our country and they sell people +LPXN3LrLA6u-00010-00010463-00011231 ”.In her interview with NBC News, McCain also criticized the lack of civility in U +LPXN3LrLA6u-00011-00011231-00012014 S. politics and said that her late husband would have been saddened by the state of Democrat-Republican relations +LPXN3LrLA6u-00012-00012014-00013352 “I am quite certain he knows what’s going on,” she said. “I know he’d be so upset over this because of the tenor, the lack of inaction on many members’ parts, specifically on members of Congress,” McCain said +LPXN3LrLA6u-00013-00013352-00013973 “He would’ve been right in the mix saying we’re going to work together, please let’s not fight +LPXN3LrLA6u-00014-00013973-00014974 That’s who he was.”.She continued: “Oh, he loved a good fight. Heck, yeah. But it was never personal with him +LPXN3LrLA6u-00015-00014974-00015752 He and Ted Kennedy used to fight like cats and dogs on the floor. but they were the best of friends +LPXN3LrLA6u-00016-00015752-00016144 I wish we could go back to that.” +M2SJFlqME_u-00000-00000571-00001981 President Donald Trump adores Twitter. This should not be a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to American politics over the last three years or so, nor should it surprise anyone who knows anything about Donald Trump +M2SJFlqME_u-00001-00001981-00003120 Throughout his life and career he has displayed all the textbook indications of narcissism, and Twitter is the perfect place for someone of that personality type to feel at home +M2SJFlqME_u-00002-00003120-00003956 You are forced to express your opinions very briefly and you have the opportunity to do it very frequently +M2SJFlqME_u-00003-00003956-00005017 Everything is short, so you do not have to have a long attention span. There are lots of people shouting, certain that they are right and everyone else is wrong +M2SJFlqME_u-00004-00005017-00005842 It is Trump’s dream.Sadly, it seems that despite his love of Twitter, Trump is very bad at using it +M2SJFlqME_u-00005-00005842-00007200 There are a great many things that can result in the national and international humilation of a sitting President, but perhaps never before has a total misunderstanding of how the Internet works been responsible for that +M2SJFlqME_u-00006-00007200-00008452 Recently, Donald Trump, the man who is somehow still our President of the United States and leader of the free world, made a mistake on Twitter so incredibly embarrassing it is better even than “covfefe” +M2SJFlqME_u-00007-00008452-00009149 .Twitter removed a campaign video posted by President Donald Trump after Warner’s Bros +M2SJFlqME_u-00008-00009149-00009823 Pictures complained about the use of the score from its 2012 movie “The Dark Knight Rises +M2SJFlqME_u-00009-00009823-00010962 ” Trump on Tuesday tweeted the video, which featured images of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton juxtaposed with images from Trump’s two years in office +M2SJFlqME_u-00010-00010962-00011672 The text, set against the movie’s score, read: “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you +M2SJFlqME_u-00011-00011672-00012477 Then they call you a racist. Donald J. Trump. Your vote. Proved them all wrong.” Warner Bros +M2SJFlqME_u-00012-00012477-00013083 said use of the score from the Batman movie starring Christian Bale was “unauthorized +M2SJFlqME_u-00013-00013083-00015138 ”.That’s right. Trump thought he could buy people’s votes, just like he has bought everything in his life (with the billions he was handed by his father) so he uploaded a video to his Twitter account simply instructing people to vote for him in 2020 so that he can spend another four years wallowing and generally doing awful things in the Oval Office +M2SJFlqME_u-00014-00015138-00015912 And he got shut down because he forgot to ask for permission to use the music from Batman +M2SJFlqME_u-00015-00015912-00016437 You could not make this stuff up. Nor would you want to, in fact +MuFgO2W5_ao-00000-00000571-00001733 Donald Trump has attacked the late John McCain multiple times over the past few days, each time in increasingly offensive fashion, but today took the cake +MuFgO2W5_ao-00001-00001733-00002807 Trump was giving a speech in Ohio today when he falsely tried to take credit for McCain’s funeral, and then attacked McCain for what happened after the funeral +MuFgO2W5_ao-00002-00002807-00003995 No, really, it was that deranged.Donald Trump said this today of John McCain: “I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve +MuFgO2W5_ao-00003-00003995-00005351 ” Then he added, “I didn’t get a thank you.” Wait, what in the name of all that is holy? For starters, Trump had nothing to do with McCain’s funeral, which he was in fact banned from attending +MuFgO2W5_ao-00004-00005351-00006067 Second of all, Trump appears to be attacking McCain for not having come back from the dead to thank him +MuFgO2W5_ao-00005-00006067-00007347 If there’s an upside to this disgusting debacle, it’s that even the Republican cowards in the Senate are finally feeling compelled to begin criticizing Donald Trump for his attacks on John McCain +MuFgO2W5_ao-00006-00007347-00008018 GOP Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia said today that Trump’s words were “deplorable +MuFgO2W5_ao-00007-00008018-00009272 ” It’s not clear if Isakson realized the irony in using Hillary Clinton’s word to describe Trump, after the GOP ripped Clinton so thoroughly for having referred to Trump’s base as “deplorables'' +MuFgO2W5_ao-00008-00009272-00010661 We’ll see where this is headed. But if Donald Trump thinks that repeatedly and grotesquely attacking John McCain is somehow going to save his dying presidency, suffice it to say that he’s miscalculating here +MuFgO2W5_ao-00009-00010661-00011424 Republican Senators have spent the past three years failing to properly defend McCain against Trump’s attacks +MuFgO2W5_ao-00010-00011424-00012631 But now that Trump is nearing his downfall anyway, if the GOP Senators are looking for an excuse to finish him off, his attacks on McCain are nothing short of the perfect excuse +MGoASkVtWWA-00000-00000513-00001466 Texas Republican Rep. Will Hurd said he would vote for Donald Trump in 2020 over his friend, former Texas Democratic Rep +MGoASkVtWWA-00001-00001466-00002098 Beto O'Rourke, should he decide to run and win the Democratic Party's nomination +MGoASkVtWWA-00002-00002098-00002817 "My plan is to vote for the Republican nominee," Hurd told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union +MGoASkVtWWA-00003-00002817-00003942 "."So, you would vote for President Trump over Beto O'Rourke?" Tapper asked."It's most likely that Donald Trump is the likely candidate, right," Hurd said +MGoASkVtWWA-00004-00003942-00004640 "So, Trump over O'Rourke?" Tapper pressed again."That's very clear," Hurd replied +MGoASkVtWWA-00005-00004640-00005350 "Unless Beto O'Rourke decides to run as a Republican, which I don't think he's planning on doing +MGoASkVtWWA-00006-00005350-00006586 ".Hurd, who is the only Republican in the House to represent a district in Texas along the southern border, has been critical of Trump, including the President's proposal for a border wall +MGoASkVtWWA-00007-00006586-00008386 "Building a 30-foot-high concrete structure from sea to shining sea is the most expensive and least effective way to do border security," Hurd told Tapper on Sunday, adding later, "What we should be doing is focusing on technology, manpower, physical barriers where it makes sense +MGoASkVtWWA-00008-00008386-00009287 ".Hurd was one of 13 Republicans who voted to block Trump's national emergency declaration to shift funds to the southern border +MGoASkVtWWA-00009-00009287-00010023 "That gives the President certain powers that I believe goes against what our Constitution has set," Hurd said +MGoASkVtWWA-00010-00010023-00011403 In 2017, when they were both in office, Hurd and O'Rourke famously took a bipartisan road trip from San Antonio to Washington, DC, broadcasting their nearly 1,600-mile drive +MGoASkVtWWA-00011-00011403-00012259 O'Rourke, who lost a bid for Senate in Texas against Ted Cruz, is weighing whether to jump into the 2020 race +MdLPEg-yqMU-00000-00000513-00001586 President Donald Trump continues to seem to treat the presidency like a five day a week job, even as investigations and security issues close in around him +MdLPEg-yqMU-00001-00001586-00003995 This Friday, he again took off for a surprise weekend trip to his Mar-a-Lago resort, where while the government continues to grapple with his policy proposals like a border wall blocking off an entire country that will cost billions of dollars, he’ll be golfing, watching television, and tweeting — and, apparently, meeting with Caribbean leaders in between those activities, he claims +MdLPEg-yqMU-00002-00003995-00004752 Trump has cost the country tens of millions of dollars and counting with his frequent golf trips +MdLPEg-yqMU-00003-00004752-00006406 In February, the Government Accountability Office released a report on the costs at the request of Congressional Democrats, outlining that early on in his presidency, average documented costs per trip to Florida come out to a whopping $3 +MdLPEg-yqMU-00004-00006406-00007380 4 million. That brings the cost of just four such trips across February and March of 2017 to a stunning $13 +MdLPEg-yqMU-00005-00007380-00008618 6 million.The information is the very first official accounting of the costs of the president’s golf habit — previously, concerned citizens only had educated estimates to go on +MdLPEg-yqMU-00006-00008618-00009650 There is no reason to believe that there was some dramatic drop-off in the cost of the president’s weekend getaways to Florida since early 2017 +MdLPEg-yqMU-00007-00009650-00011170 He’s spent more than ten percent of his presidency so far at Mar-a-Lago, and overall, he’s spent well over one-fourth of his time in office at a property branded with his own name, most of which are golf courses like the one near Mar-a-Lago +MdLPEg-yqMU-00008-00011170-00012748 It’s old news at this point, but the irony remains that Trump asserted prior to taking office that he wouldn’t take many vacations, and even lambasted Barack Obama for supposedly taking too much time off while in office +MdLPEg-yqMU-00009-00012748-00013385 Trump’s travel rate has swamped Obama’s, and yet he wants us to take him seriously +MdLPEg-yqMU-00010-00013385-00015224 It’s not the only indication of his uniquely flippant approach to the presidency. Recently, an anonymous staffer leaked about three months worth of his schedules, which revealed that around 60 percent of the president’s scheduled days were devoted to “Executive Time” — whatever on earth that’s supposed to mean +MdLPEg-yqMU-00011-00015224-00016079 Trump, of course, insists he’s done more than any other president in American history — which is a quote, not conjecture +MdLPEg-yqMU-00012-00016079-00016862 The line got him laughs at the United Nations General Assembly, but his team is still using versions of it +MdLPEg-yqMU-00013-00016862-00018996 In reality, we can all see what Trump is doing. He continues to hinge his behavior and decisions on Twitter, where in recent days, he’s ranged from attacking Kellyanne Conway’s husband George as a “stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!” to touting a decision to further entrench his administration on the side of Israeli nationalism +MdLPEg-yqMU-00014-00018996-00020355 Even Russian President Vladimir Putin said asserting Israeli control over the contested Golan Heights was a bad idea, and when he’s better at foreign policy than an American president, something is very off +MdLPEg-yqMU-00015-00020355-00022157 All of this continues to unfold while Trump faces unprecedented investigative efforts across the federal Justice Department, state authorities, and Congress, all struggling to deal with the weight of a long shady businessman taking up residence in the White House +MdLPEg-yqMU-00016-00022157-00022852 Even his long defunct inaugural committee is facing three investigations! +MmQBAzxStgy-00000-00000571-00001318 Donald Trump won the biggest victory of his presidency this week when Mueller cleared him of collusion +MmQBAzxStgy-00001-00001318-00001955 Mueller’s report ended two years of hate coverage aimed at undermining the administration +MmQBAzxStgy-00002-00001955-00002728 Trump is already on the warpath.Obama might be looking over his shoulder, after this tweet from Donald +MmQBAzxStgy-00003-00002728-00003567 “WSJ: Obama Admin Must Account for ‘Abuse of Surveillance Powers’.According to the report, Sen +MmQBAzxStgy-00004-00003567-00004189 Rand Paul wants to look into how the Obama administration abused its surveillance powers +MmQBAzxStgy-00005-00004189-00004957 This is something many of you have been demanding for years. We need to find out what Obama was up to +MmQBAzxStgy-00006-00004957-00006056 But Obama’s not the only one in the hot seat. Only hours after Trump’s good news broke, Hillary probably started sweating when she heard what happened next +MmQBAzxStgy-00007-00006056-00007135 “A “lock her up” chant broke out at Mar-a-Lago tonight during Sen. Graham’s speech as he called for an investigation into Clinton and the origins of the dossier +MmQBAzxStgy-00008-00007135-00008083 Trump watched on from a table in the ballroom.”.Obama and Hillary were often connected with abuses of power in the last administration +MmQBAzxStgy-00009-00008083-00009021 Yet we never saw a real investigation into their behavior.But it was more than just the former president and the secretary of state +MmQBAzxStgy-00010-00009021-00009711 There was a tangled web of agents potentially abusing their power to persecute their rivals +MmQBAzxStgy-00011-00009711-00010442 Here is a handy chart to help you out.Lynch, Comey, Strzok float right to the top of that list +MmQBAzxStgy-00012-00010442-00011625 But there are many more within the “deep state” may have used their power to pull strings during the 2016 Election, even abusing FISA warrants to spy on one of Trump’s campaign people +MmQBAzxStgy-00013-00011625-00012485 All to prevent you from electing Donald Trump to the White House.Lynch, Comey, Strzok float right to the top of that list +MmQBAzxStgy-00014-00012485-00013668 But there are many more within the “deep state” may have used their power to pull strings during the 2016 Election, even abusing FISA warrants to spy on one of Trump’s campaign people +MmQBAzxStgy-00015-00013668-00014209 All to prevent you from electing Donald Trump to the White House +MnwJ0A56wx4-00000-00000571-00001576 Trump’s war of words against former Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe continued this morning with another pathetic, irate Twitter outburst +MnwJ0A56wx4-00001-00001576-00003507 The president is incensed about a 60 Minutes interview with McCabe that came out over the weekend in which, amongst other things, he revealed that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein entertained the idea of using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, so convinced was he of the threat the president posed to the United States +MnwJ0A56wx4-00002-00003507-00005304 On top of that, McCabe revealed a chilling incident in which the president refused to believe the American intelligence community when they warned him about the threat of North Korean nuclear missiles because, of all things, Vladimir Putin told Trump that the weapons could not reach the United States +MnwJ0A56wx4-00003-00005304-00006490 Of course, since it’s Donald Trump, his attacks against McCabe aren’t coming in the form of substantive or credible rebukes of the former Acting Director’s bombshell claims +MnwJ0A56wx4-00004-00006490-00008405 Instead, Trump is relying on personal insults and conspiracy theory peddling.Now, for some reason, Trump has zeroed in on McCabe’s previous claim that he insulted McCabe’s wife during a phone call with the former Acting Director, referring to her as a “loser” after she lost a State Senate bid +MnwJ0A56wx4-00005-00008405-00010424 McCabe reiterated the claim during 60 Minutes.In his morning tweet, Trump claimed that he “never said anything bad about” McCabe’s wife, before immediately repeating his slanderous conspiracy theory that her State Senate campaign corruptly took contributions from Hillary Clinton as the FBI was investigating her over her emails +MnwJ0A56wx4-00006-00010424-00011247 Trump’s obvious implication was that McCabe undermined the investigation to get money for his wife’s political aspirations +MnwJ0A56wx4-00007-00011247-00012568 In reality, McCabe recused himself from the Clinton investigation once he was promoted to Deputy Director, erasing any legitimate argument that there was some kind of untoward quid pro quo at play +MnwJ0A56wx4-00008-00012568-00013334 As usual, this is Trump spewing lies he knows his delusional supporters will lap up without question +MnwJ0A56wx4-00009-00013334-00014073 .Trump went on to insist that he never called McCabe’s wife a “loser” and that McCabe is lying +MnwJ0A56wx4-00010-00014073-00015421 The fact that he thinks that any reasonable person would believe him — perhaps the most dishonest president in American history — over a lifelong public servant with a sterling reputation is quite frankly laughable +MnwJ0A56wx4-00011-00015421-00016434 The simplest and most likely case is that Trump did call McCabe’s wife a loser and has now decided to lie about it like he lies about basically everything +MnwJ0A56wx4-00012-00016434-00016816 Cowardly and disgraceful +NvcTKwwUN64-00000-00000571-00001699 President Donald Trump threatened Friday to send more illegal immigrants to Democrat-run sanctuary cities if they failed to change the existing immigration and asylum laws +NvcTKwwUN64-00001-00001699-00002906 He told a group of reporters that he was “strongly looking at” the idea after visiting Texas and California and the border, where his administration was constructing new physical barriers +NvcTKwwUN64-00002-00002906-00004233 .“If they don’t agree, we might as well do what they always say they want. We’ll bring in the illegals … we’ll bring them to sanctuary city areas, and let that particular area take care of it,” Trump said +NvcTKwwUN64-00003-00004233-00005513 “Whether it’s a state or whatever it might be. California certainly is always saying they want more people in their statuary cities, well we’ll give them more people, we can give them a lot +NvcTKwwUN64-00004-00005513-00006670 We can give them an unlimited supply.”.The president commented on the border crisis after hosting an event at the White House to promote the growth of 5G networks +NvcTKwwUN64-00005-00006670-00007516 Trump mocked Democrats for insisting that his administration let migrants and illegal immigrants in, rather than deporting them +NvcTKwwUN64-00006-00007516-00008180 “They always seem to have open arms,” Trump said. “Let’s see if they have open arms +NvcTKwwUN64-00007-00008180-00009316 ”. .Trump said the “horrible old fashioned laws” made it impossible to detain illegals longer than 20 days, adding that the current asylum laws were “absolutely insane +NvcTKwwUN64-00008-00009316-00010048 ”.Trump specifically referred to the Governor of California, who welcomed more refugees and illegals +NvcTKwwUN64-00009-00010048-00010784 “We’ll give them to the Sanctuary cities to maybe take care of if that’s what they want,” he said +Nc4v01YagYA-00000-00000000-00000880 It seems like every week there’s a new discussion of invoking the 25th Amendment in order to remove Donald Trump from the White House +Nc4v01YagYA-00001-00000880-00002110 It would be perfectly justified, and it at leastseems like it would be easier than securing a conviction in the Senate if the Democrats take over the House in November but not the upper chamber +Nc4v01YagYA-00002-00002110-00004302 As if it weren’t enough that he constantly attacks the media, or that he’s been accused of sexual assault by at least 17 women, or that he’s publicly known to have cheated on his current wife with not one but two stars of the adult entertainment industry, the fact is that Trump presents a threat to America by simply not knowing the first thing about being President +Nc4v01YagYA-00003-00004302-00006394 Like, he’s very, very bad at it.And recently, in addition to the legions of Americans who would love to see Trump booted out of the Oval Office, someone leaked a claim to theNew York Times that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein even talked about invoking the rarely (until now) discussed provision in the US Consitution +Nc4v01YagYA-00004-00006394-00007405 Even if he had — which he didn’t — it’s not like this should surprise anyone.Go ahead and type the number “25” into your Google search box +Nc4v01YagYA-00005-00007405-00008816 Does it look like this? I bet it does.Last year, when the hashtag #25thAmendment started trending on Twitter, Donald Trump had a full-blown meltdown in private over the whole thing, and talk of it now is no different +Nc4v01YagYA-00006-00008816-00009625 It’s not enough, though.It’s not enough to just know that Trump is upset by people talking about removing him from office +Nc4v01YagYA-00007-00009625-00010568 He works for the American people and should be in absolute FEAR that we will forcibly remove him from office if he keeps acting like a buffoon +OQDZgwEEoy0-00000-00000571-00002151 Just last week, back when he was still trying to convince us (and himself) that he’d been “exonerated” across the board, Donald Trump repeatedly stated that he was in favor of the full Robert Mueller report being released to Congress and the public +OQDZgwEEoy0-00001-00002151-00002820 Now, suddenly and tellingly, Trump is singing a very different tune in that regard +OQDZgwEEoy0-00002-00002820-00004047 The House Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Wednesday morning to authorize Chairman Jerry Nadler to issue as many subpoenas as he wants, in the name of forcing the Mueller report to become public +OQDZgwEEoy0-00003-00004047-00005066 By Donald Trump’s own logic, he should be fine with this, right? After all, he keeps insisting that the report is good news for him +OQDZgwEEoy0-00004-00005066-00005845 Except now he’s suddenly very offended at the idea that anyone would want to see the entire report +OQDZgwEEoy0-00005-00005845-00006665 Trump said this of Nadler this morning: “With the NO COLLUSION Mueller Report, which the Dems hate, he wants it all +OQDZgwEEoy0-00006-00006665-00008405 NOTHING WILL EVER SATISFY THEM!” Wait, so it’s wrong for the House Democrats and the public to want to see the entire report? But Trump wasn’t done changing his story: “There is no amount of testimony or document production that can satisfy Jerry Nadler or Shifty Adam Schiff +OQDZgwEEoy0-00007-00008405-00010139 It is now time to focus exclusively on properly running our great Country!”.Actually, there is something that can satisfy us all: give us the entire Mueller report, with no edits, no redactions, no more games, and let us all decide for ourselves what to make of it +OQDZgwEEoy0-00008-00010139-00011550 But Donald Trump knows he can’t do that, because he knows what all he’s done wrong, and he fears Robert Mueller uncovered much or all of it, and he knows his presidency could effectively be over the minute the Mueller report surfaces +OQDZgwEEoy0-00009-00011550-00012466 Now that House Democrats are about to subpoena everyone and everything in order to obtain the report, no wonder Trump is panicking +P1DSDop5ewM-00000-00000513-00001659 Another day, another Trump scandal. In a Thursday letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md +P1DSDop5ewM-00001-00001659-00002383 ) has laid out alleged violations of federal record keeping law on the part of none other than Ivanka Trump +P1DSDop5ewM-00002-00002383-00003911 He says that during a meeting with Abbe Lowell, who’s a lawyer to Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, he learned that she allegedly has not saved emails about official business that have come to a personal account if she did not respond to them +P1DSDop5ewM-00003-00003911-00004744 The Presidential Records Act demands that entire classes of written communication be preserved, not just some of them +P1DSDop5ewM-00004-00004744-00006265 Cummings wants information from the Trump team on their electronic communication practices, including how the number of emails dealing with official business on a personal account of Ivanka’s relates to the number of those emails that have actually been preserved +P1DSDop5ewM-00005-00006265-00008009 The Ivanka email issue has been simmering for some time. Late last year, The Washington Post revealed that she’d used a personal account for hundreds of pieces of government business, which poses a number of issues besides that of possible illegally inadequate record keeping +P1DSDop5ewM-00006-00008009-00009579 To that end, Cummings also wants to know whether or not she transmitted any sensitive or classified information via her personal account — and the fact that there’s even the possibility she did indicts the Trump team for hypocrisy yet again +P1DSDop5ewM-00007-00009579-00010839 President Donald Trump has led countless chants of “Lock Her Up!” while stirring his rally crowds into frenzies over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while Secretary of State +P1DSDop5ewM-00008-00010839-00011870 The implication was that she’d endangered national security, even though years of investigation did not produce a single criminal liability on her part +P1DSDop5ewM-00009-00011870-00013772 The danger they touted remains, though — thanks to the Trumps. At the same time he shared that Ivanka has allegedly not been complying with record keeping law, Cummings asserted that Kushner’s lawyer also told him that his client had been continuing to use WhatsApp for government business +P1DSDop5ewM-00010-00013772-00014835 Cummings claims Lowell said the question of whether Kushner has ever transmitted classified information via WhatsApp is “above my pay grade +P1DSDop5ewM-00011-00014835-00016489 ”.Lowell has unsurprisingly denied the claims, asserting he was significantly more vague than Cummings lets on, only referring to Ivanka’s use of personal email in the comparatively distant past and refusing to comment on Kushner’s WhatsApp use at all +P1DSDop5ewM-00012-00016489-00017724 He did admit, though, that he suggested they approach the White House counsel for more answers — so if Lowell was trying to undercut the legitimacy of Cummings’ latest quest, he failed +P1DSDop5ewM-00013-00017724-00019038 Cummings acknowledges that Lowell pointed him towards the White House, connecting the comment to his still standing question of whether Kushner had been authorized to use a civilian messaging system for government business +P1DSDop5ewM-00014-00019038-00020177 Up until this point, the administration has refused to comply with Cummings’ various inquiries, refusing to produce a single document or witness that they requested +P1DSDop5ewM-00015-00020177-00021271 Cummings has been seeking information on this issue since 2017, when he was the ranking member on the committee in light of House Democrats’ minority status +PslixlDE0HA-00000-00000513-00001477 First it was October, 2018, then November, then by the new year, then for sure by February, then last week for sure +PslixlDE0HA-00001-00001477-00002715 Now, people still swear Mueller will be all done by mid-March (that’s one week from now), and that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will simultaneously leave the Justice Department +PslixlDE0HA-00002-00002715-00003412 Despite all kinds of evidence to the contrary, a part of me jumps on the bandwagon every time +PslixlDE0HA-00003-00003412-00004585 I get up early every Friday, turn on the news and expect to be greeted with images of pre-dawn raids and explosive headlines about Jared Kushner, and Don Jr +PslixlDE0HA-00004-00004585-00005207 indictments along with at least a handful of others. This Friday was no different +PslixlDE0HA-00005-00005207-00006461 Instead of pre-dawn raids, what we got this Friday is another tiny indication that even if the Special Counsel does issue some kind of report soon, the investigation is far from over +PslixlDE0HA-00006-00006461-00007696 The US District Court out of the Eastern District of Virginia has a secret Mueller-related grand jury, and that grand jury is not expected to wrap up its work for up to eighteen months +PslixlDE0HA-00007-00007696-00008380 That’s right, we could be wondering if this is “the Friday,” for seventy-eight more Fridays +PslixlDE0HA-00008-00008380-00009666 Along with this still-secret grand jury, we have the secret foreign government-owned financial institution fighting a subpoena, along with hundreds and hundreds of redacted pages of court filings +PslixlDE0HA-00009-00009666-00010919 All these secrets only stay secret because of ongoing active investigations.There are more pages redacted and investigations that are ongoing than there are things un-redacted and wrapped up +PslixlDE0HA-00010-00010919-00012254 Next Friday, I’ll be waiting again, along with hundreds of other people, expecting the Mueller investigation to end with a big bang, but I suspect the next big bang will still be just the beginning +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00000-00000571-00001482 If Donald Trump has been watching Michael Cohen’s live televised testimony today, it means Trump has been up all night watching it +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00001-00001482-00002786 Trump is in Vietnam right now, which is twelve time zones away from Washington DC – and the way the hearings have been going, Trump might end up deciding to just stay in Vietnam forever +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00002-00002786-00004029 At one point Michael Cohen provided documents proving that Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg all signed checks reimbursing him for his crimes +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00003-00004029-00004941 At another point Cohen revealed he’d overheard Donald Trump and Roger Stone discussing their election rigging conspiracy with WikiLeaks +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00004-00004941-00006035 Then there was the just plain humiliating moment where Cohen produced documents showing that Trump was petrified about his school grades and SAT scores coming out +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00005-00006035-00006895 But the real consequence of today’s hearings is that House Democrats have just been given a roadmap for who and what to subpoena next +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00006-00006895-00007780 They used their questions to zero in on the precise location of incriminating documents that are apparently in Trump Tower +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00007-00007780-00008574 They’ll be subpoenaed, and if Trump doesn’t comply, a judge will sign off on a raid of Trump Tower +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00008-00008574-00009653 Yes, we’re approaching that point now.House Democrats are also now aware of the specific Team Trump attorneys who allegedly told Michael Cohen to lie to Congress +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00009-00009653-00010625 They’ll be subpoenaed to publicly testify, even as federal prosecutors presumably lean on them to cut plea deals against Donald Trump +Q7TuYXfCA9A-00010-00010625-00011672 What Cohen really did today was he broke down a whole lot of walls, allowing everyone involved to get to the treasure trove of criminal corruption that’s on the other side +QLn798nPt08-00000-00000571-00001707 The New York Times has uncovered a 19-year-old memo from none other than Kenneth Starr under the the Freedom of Information Act that certainly throws a wrench into things legally for Donald Trump +QLn798nPt08-00001-00001707-00003125 As many ponder whether or not a President is immune to indictment, this report suggests that the Starr’s memo may aid Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller in his investigation into Donald Trump’s ties to the Russian collusion scandal +QLn798nPt08-00002-00003125-00005009 From the Times:.The 56-page memo, locked in the National Archives for nearly two decades and obtained by The New York Times under the Freedom of Information Act, amounts to the most thorough government-commissioned analysis rejecting a generally held view that presidents are immune from prosecution while in office +QLn798nPt08-00003-00005009-00006477 “It is proper, constitutional, and legal for a federal grand jury to indict a sitting president for serious criminal acts that are not part of, and are contrary to, the president’s official duties,” the Starr office memo concludes +QLn798nPt08-00004-00006477-00007762 “In this country, no one, even President Clinton, is above the law''.Mr. Starr assigned Ronald Rotunda, a prominent conservative professor of constitutional law and ethics whom Mr +QLn798nPt08-00005-00007762-00009039 Starr hired as a consultant on his legal team, to write the memo in spring 1998 after deputies advised him that they had gathered enough evidence to ask a grand jury to indict Mr +QLn798nPt08-00006-00009039-00009946 Clinton, the memo shows.DailyKos.com explains why this has potential to be a big deal in this investigation +QLn798nPt08-00007-00009946-00011991 What the Starr memo gives credence to is the possibility that Robert Mueller III, the former FBI director who is now special counsel, may have more options than is generally thought to be the case when it comes to action he might take when he has completed his inquiry into Trump’s campaign dealings with Russia and whether he obstructed justice +QLn798nPt08-00008-00011991-00013741 If Mueller found enough evidence to indict and consequently chose to accept the Jaworski and Starr point of view, he would still have to ponder the impact of the anything-but-small political fallout from taking the momentous step of indicting a sitting president for the first time in the history of the Republic +QLGkPSk9dYc-00000-00000571-00001519 It’s bad enough that staff have been forced to reduce briefing reports to bullet points to keep up with Trump’s toddler-like attention span +QLGkPSk9dYc-00001-00001519-00002381 Trump has also been skipping briefings altogether in favor of tweeting and watching Fox News during his “executive time +QLGkPSk9dYc-00002-00002381-00003358 ” And now, as per a report by the New York Times, the president is completely uninterested in intelligence briefings about terrorist attacks +QLGkPSk9dYc-00003-00003358-00004259 The NYT reported that Trump had been warned by briefers about hacking from Russia and China, but Trump doesn’t give a sh*t +QLGkPSk9dYc-00004-00004259-00005740 The NYT wrote:''In an effort to accommodate President Trump, who has attacked them publicly as ‘naïve’ and in need of going ‘back to school,’ the nation’s intelligence agencies have revamped their presentations to focus on subjects their No +QLGkPSk9dYc-00005-00005740-00007046 1 customer wants to hear about — economics and trade''.Intelligence officers have stated that he doesn’t care about people being hurt, he only cares about who is winning and getting a financial advantage +QLGkPSk9dYc-00006-00007046-00008023 Quoting career CIA official Douglas H. Wise, the NYT wrote:''If Trump tailors it to his needs, that is fine and his prerogative +QLGkPSk9dYc-00007-00008023-00008708 However, if he suppresses intelligence through that tailoring, that is not helpful +QLGkPSk9dYc-00008-00008708-00009567 He is no longer making informed decisions because he is making decisions based on information he could have had but didn’t have'' +QLGkPSk9dYc-00009-00009567-00010437 The fact that Trump is showing indifference to details about potential terrorist attacks or spy work in America is terrifying +QLGkPSk9dYc-00010-00010437-00011322 Time and time again, we’ve seen the president humiliate this country by not knowing what the f*ck’s going on +QLGkPSk9dYc-00011-00011322-00012260 And still, the president still hasn’t learned that it is his responsibility to protect and work in the best interest of the United States +QLGkPSk9dYc-00012-00012260-00012738 He only cares about one thing — himself +R4LL-aG9b7E-00000-00000571-00002052 President Donald Trump may appoint an “immigration czar” to help him coordinate the government’s fractured authority over border security, asylum law, the labor supply, and visas, according to a report by the Associated Press +R4LL-aG9b7E-00001-00002052-00003515 The AP reported:.The Trump administration is considering bringing on a “border” or “immigration czar” to coordinate the president’s immigration policies across various federal agencies, according to three people familiar with the discussions +R4LL-aG9b7E-00002-00003515-00005766 Trump is weighing two potential candidates for the post: Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli — two far-right conservatives with strong views on immigration, according to the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the conversations publicly +R4LL-aG9b7E-00003-00005766-00007180 However, the report does not say if the appointee would be responsible for the border only or for the much broader issue of immigration, which includes visa workers, legal immigration, deportations, and much else +R4LL-aG9b7E-00004-00007180-00007775 The AP described the job vaguely either as “a ‘border’ or ‘immigration czar.'”. +R4LL-aG9b7E-00005-00007775-00008749 The leak may be designed to rally opposition to the proposal by pairing it with two advocates who are strongly opposed by the business wing of the GOP +R4LL-aG9b7E-00006-00008749-00009671 Kobach is a strong supporter of Trump, but he is opposed by business groups that support a large-scale inflow of foreign workers +R4LL-aG9b7E-00007-00009671-00010630 In 2013, Cuccinelli narrowly lost his race for Virginia governor after the Republican National Committee provided him little funding +R4LL-aG9b7E-00008-00010630-00011495 In the White House, Trump does not have a deputy to daily push his goals and to coordinate the agencies’ rival priorities +R4LL-aG9b7E-00009-00011495-00012362 As Trump deals with many top-level issues, his competing deputies tend to dominate low-priority debates +R4LL-aG9b7E-00010-00012362-00013305 For example, Trump’s deputies sidelined his demand for border funding during congressional budget talks in 2017 and 2018 +R4LL-aG9b7E-00011-00013305-00014378 According to the Wall Street Journal:.In March [2018], Congress completed a $1.3 trillion spending package, but included just $1 +R4LL-aG9b7E-00012-00014378-00015105 6 billion for a border barrier, with most of the money intended to replace existing fencing +R4LL-aG9b7E-00013-00015105-00015943 It banned the money from being spent on concrete slabs or any other of the wall prototypes the White House was considering +R4LL-aG9b7E-00014-00015943-00017012 Upset there wasn’t more money for the wall, Mr. Trump threatened to veto it. At an emergency meeting at the White House with his staff and Republican leaders, Mr +R4LL-aG9b7E-00015-00017012-00017897 Trump learned that the spending bill incorporated all of the border wall money that was requested in the White House budget proposal +R4LL-aG9b7E-00016-00017897-00019117 “Who the f— put that in my request?” Mr. Trump shouted. .A top-level coordinator is also needed because immigration issues are divided among several agencies +R4LL-aG9b7E-00017-00019117-00019822 For example, visas are reviewed and approved by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State +R4LL-aG9b7E-00018-00019822-00020561 Requests for workers are approved by the Department of Labor, DHS, and the state department +R4LL-aG9b7E-00019-00020561-00021865 Asylum requests are processed by DHS and the justice department.The flow of “Unaccompanied Alien Children” is managed by DHS and the Department of Health and Human Services +R4LL-aG9b7E-00020-00021865-00022560 .Lawsuits and appeals involving immigration are handled by the Justice Department +R4LL-aG9b7E-00021-00022560-00023171 The border wall is being managed by the Pentagon’s Corps of Engineers and the DHS +R4LL-aG9b7E-00022-00023171-00024307 A White House czar “could work, but it is often a bureaucratic way to be seen as doing something,” said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies +R4LL-aG9b7E-00023-00024307-00025391 “It is probably is a good idea to have one person oversee all the immigration stuff … but if you just have a border czar, I’m not sure how useful that is +R4LL-aG9b7E-00024-00025391-00026776 ”.The czar’s personal authority could be weak or strong, he said. “It certainly could not hurt — but it would depend on who it was and how much juice that person had compared to other people in the administration +R4LL-aG9b7E-00025-00026776-00027465 ” Also, he said, the czar “should be somebody who does nothing but immigration,” he added +R4LL-aG9b7E-00026-00027465-00029675 The ideological priorities of the person for the job are critical, he said. “The fact is that we have a DHS Secretary [Kirstjen Nielsen] who does not agree with the administration … Clearly, if there was a DHS Secretary who actually shared the administration’s professsed goals on immigration, of tightening up the labor market as well as enforcing the border, that would help +R4LL-aG9b7E-00027-00029675-00030498 ”.Each year, roughly four million young Americans join the workforce after graduating from high school or university +R4LL-aG9b7E-00028-00030498-00031404 But the federal government then imports approximately 1.1 million legal immigrants, refreshes a resident population of roughly 1 +R4LL-aG9b7E-00029-00031404-00032478 5 million white-collar guest workers and roughly 500,000 blue-collar visa workers, and also tolerates about eight million illegal workers +R4LL-aG9b7E-00030-00032478-00033541 This federal policy of flooding the market with cheap white-collar graduates and blue-collar foreign labor is intended to boost economic growth for investors +R4LL-aG9b7E-00031-00033541-00035855 This policy shifts enormous wealth from young employees towards older investors, widens wealth gaps, reduces high-tech investment, increases state and local tax burdens, hurts children’s schools and college education, pushes Americans away from high-tech careers, and sidelines millions of marginalized Americans, including many who are now struggling with fentanyl addictions +RQYSwuFVYCY-00000-00000513-00001555 House Democrats are introducing legislation Tuesday that would provide a pathway to citizenship for more than one million undocumented immigrants in the United States +RQYSwuFVYCY-00001-00001555-00003501 Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard and other House Democrats are unveiling the "Dream and Promise Act," which would protect undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children, sometimes referred to as "Dreamers," and immigrants with temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure +RQYSwuFVYCY-00002-00003501-00004444 "There should be nothing partisan or political in this legislation," said Pelosi, who was flanked by House Democrats and immigrants, in introducing the bill +RQYSwuFVYCY-00003-00004444-00005653 "Protecting Dreamers and TPS and (Deferred Enforced Departure) Americans is about honoring and respecting the family that is the heart of our faith and the heart of who we are as Americans +RQYSwuFVYCY-00004-00005653-00006602 ".The bill would provide a greater sense of security to a large swath of undocumented immigrants whose fate has been tied up in the courts +RQYSwuFVYCY-00005-00006602-00007680 Its enactment is unlikely, however, as it would face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate and President Donald Trump has voiced objections to such programs +RQYSwuFVYCY-00006-00007680-00009595 The nearly 700,000 beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation, have been in limbo since the Trump administration tried to end the program in 2017, prompting a slew of lawsuits +RQYSwuFVYCY-00007-00009595-00010421 Federal judges have since kept the program alive, taking issue with the reasoning for the sudden termination of protections +RQYSwuFVYCY-00008-00010421-00012325 Holders of temporary protected status -- which provides protection to people displaced by natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other events -- have similarly faced an uncertain future, as challenges to the administration's attempt to terminate the status for some designated countries works its way through the courts +RQYSwuFVYCY-00009-00012325-00013103 Approximately 318,000 people currently have this status, according to the Pew Research Center +RQYSwuFVYCY-00010-00013103-00014339 The measure addresses both of these groups.The bill would grant Dreamers with conditional permanent resident status for 10 years and cancel removal proceedings if requirements are met +RQYSwuFVYCY-00011-00014339-00015235 The criteria is similar to what DACA recipients have to meet, including graduating from high school or obtaining a GED +RQYSwuFVYCY-00012-00015235-00016381 The measure allows those who qualify to gain lawful permanent resident status, which is usually out of the question for many undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors +RQYSwuFVYCY-00013-00016381-00017319 To obtain legal status, immigrants must have a qualifying petitioner -- for example, a family member or employer -- who can sponsor them +RQYSwuFVYCY-00014-00017319-00018035 Even in that case, however, he/she is already hindered by the fact that they came in illegally +RQYSwuFVYCY-00015-00018035-00019129 TPS holders would also be given the opportunity to gain lawful permanent resident status and have their removal proceedings canceled under the new bill +RQYSwuFVYCY-00016-00019129-00020835 In addition to addressing current TPS holders, the measure would amend the law to require the Department of Homeland Security secretary to provide an explanation for terminating a TPS designation, as well as a report shortly after publishing a notice of a termination +RQYSwuFVYCY-00017-00020835-00022037 "This report must explain the original designation and any progress made by a country to resolve the issues leading to TPS designation," according to a fact sheet on the measure +RQYSwuFVYCY-00018-00022037-00023520 "The Secretary also has to describe the qualitative and quantitative methods used to assess whether or not country conditions have improved, which would include addressing any challenges or shortcomings related to the initial designation +RQYSwuFVYCY-00019-00023520-00024764 ".For years, lawmakers have tried to push forward measures that would allow some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US illegally as children to eventually obtain legal status +RQYSwuFVYCY-00020-00024764-00025459 Those attempts have repeatedly failed, despite often receiving bipartisan support +S-GYess0Uu8-00000-00000571-00001422 Just days ago, Trump-appointed acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker went through the ringer in a confirmation hearing before congress +S-GYess0Uu8-00001-00001422-00002666 His smug, arrogant, attitude and smart aleck answers to many of the questions led many to compare it to the angry, entitled, sniveling Brett Kavanaugh from his hearing last fall +S-GYess0Uu8-00002-00002666-00003935 But there are actually lots of other reasons Whitaker is unfit for the job. For instance, his relationship with Donald Trump and the large likelihood that he would aid the corruption coming from the White House +S-GYess0Uu8-00003-00003935-00005179 One prime example of this is the fact that he once said that he didn’t want to live in a country where Trump’s finances would be the subject of an investigation, as uncovered by The Democratic Coalition +Sf3w54lgf34-00000-00000513-00002305 After President Donald Trump accused Democrats of becoming an "anti-Jewish party," the White House refused Monday to tamp down his claim, insisting the party's refusal to specifically condemn a freshman lawmaker for her controversial comments amounted to an "abhorrent" display +Sf3w54lgf34-00001-00002305-00003768 Speaking at her first formal briefing in more than a month, press secretary Sarah Sanders wouldn't say whether Trump believes Democrats hate Jews, which is what he reportedly told Republican donors over the weekend at his Florida estate +Sf3w54lgf34-00002-00003768-00004823 But she did little to disavow the notion, which Trump himself had previewed on Friday morning when he told reporters: "The Democrats have become an anti-Israel party +Sf3w54lgf34-00003-00004823-00005865 They've become an anti-Jewish party, and that's too bad.".Three days later, Sanders insisted Democrats -- rather than the President -- answer for their views +Sf3w54lgf34-00004-00005865-00006727 "Democrats have had a number of opportunities to condemn specific comments and have refused to do that," she said +Sf3w54lgf34-00005-00006727-00008004 "That's a question you should ask Democrats, what their position is, since they're unwilling to call this what it is and call it out by name and take action against members who have done things like this +Sf3w54lgf34-00006-00008004-00009749 ".She was referring to the controversy over comments made by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, including criticism of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Israeli government, and an allusion to foreign allegiance that was seen by some as anti-Semitic +Sf3w54lgf34-00007-00009749-00011123 That prompted House Democratic leaders to bring forward a resolution condemning hate and intolerance, including anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim discrimination, that was chastised by some Republicans as overly broad +Sf3w54lgf34-00008-00011123-00011943 Sanders on Monday unfavorably compared Democrats' response to that of Republicans following comments made by Rep +Sf3w54lgf34-00009-00011943-00012960 Steve King, R-Iowa, in January that were sympathetic to white nationalism. In that instance, lawmakers formally reprimanded King +Sf3w54lgf34-00010-00012960-00013628 "It should be done the way the Republicans did it when Steve King made terrible comments +Sf3w54lgf34-00011-00013628-00014514 We called it out by name, stripped him of his committee memberships and we'd like to see Democrats follow suit," Sanders said +Sf3w54lgf34-00012-00014514-00015530 Reminded that Trump himself had not called out King by name -- instead he repeatedly claimed not to be following the matter -- Sanders said she spoke for the President +Sf3w54lgf34-00013-00015530-00017821 And pressed by CNN's Jim Acosta on Trump's own claim of "very fine people" on both sides in response to white nationalist deadly violence in Virginia in 2017, where some protesters chanted "Jews will not replace us," Sanders insisted he'd "been very clear and consistently and repeatedly condemned hatred, bigotry, racism in all of its forms +Sf3w54lgf34-00014-00017821-00017921 " +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00000-00000571-00001804 As the exasperating Jussie Smollett story has flipped on its head, most of us would probably like it to go away so we can get everyone’s full attention back on Trump’s daily affront to America +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00001-00001804-00003084 Whenever eyes and ears are pulled away from some awful Trump judge, damaging climate change decision, or NRA-enabled mass shooting by a click-hungry media, the president and the GOP win +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00002-00003084-00003914 But the Smollett farce is illuminating for one major reason: it serves as a quick refresher on the process of the law +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00003-00003914-00006459 Obstruction of justice. Collusion. After all, what else is it called when one allegedly conspires (colludes) with others to stage an attack for some ill-gotten gain, material or otherwise? And what else but obstruction of justice is it when law enforcement accuses a suspect of lying to investigators and charges him with disorderly conduct – a felony with a maximum three-year prison sentence? +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00004-00006459-00007898 And these are stakes much lower than what Trump and many around him are accused of, considering that colluding with Putin via Russian mob figures and obstructing investigations into that conspiracy is about as high-stakes as it gets +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00005-00007898-00009752 The alleged Smollett fakery has been red meat for MAGA twits, as it has allowed them to absolve themselves from supporting Trump’s xenophobia, divisive rhetoric and racist policies while tweeting about liberals being the judgy mean ones who will prop up falsehoods to make others look like the bad guys +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00006-00009752-00010601 Trump tweeted about Smollett this morning as well. But, like usual, Trump’s slobbering hordes go too far +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00007-00010601-00011369 Now they want Smollett to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.Okay, sure +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00008-00011369-00012613 If what Chicago PD chief Eddie Johnson alleges is eventually proven in court, Smollett should be reasonably punished for obstructing justice and conspiring with others to break the law +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00009-00012613-00014078 And Trump’s unquestioning cultists will have to figure out why their personal savior would be treated any differently by the justice system after he’s dispatched from the presidency for doing the same thing on an infinitely grander and more damaging scale +Sin2g9lOn1Y-00010-00014078-00014465 That should make for some interesting tweets +T9CXt9jrvG8-00000-00000571-00001608 Donald Trump is in a sh*tload of trouble right now, but we all know that the president is only looking out for himself — and of course his most beloved daughter Ivanka +T9CXt9jrvG8-00001-00001608-00002987 Even as many of Trump’s close associates and his own son Donald Trump Jr. are about to go to jail, what really has the president freaking out is the fact that he’s gotten his daughter in some deep sh*t and he can’t save her +T9CXt9jrvG8-00002-00002987-00003760 .Early this morning, the president was rage tweeting and he hinted that it’s because Ivanka is in trouble +T9CXt9jrvG8-00003-00003760-00004714 During the testimony of his former lawyer Michael Cohen, Cohen spoke of how Ivanka was involved in her father’s shady business dealings +T9CXt9jrvG8-00004-00004714-00005320 Now, Trump Organization financial officer Allen Weisselberg and Russian mafia money launderer Felix Sater are going to testify — and Ivanka has ties to them both +T9CXt9jrvG8-00005-00005320-00005926 Considering both of them have immunity, this is going to be TERRIBLE for Ivanka and Trump +T9CXt9jrvG8-00006-00005926-00006531 To make things worse, House Oversight Committee chair Elijah Cummings is also bringing Ivanka in to testify at least once, where she will be forced to either tell the truth and dig an even deeper hole for herself and her father or perjure herself (and go to jail) +T9CXt9jrvG8-00007-00006531-00007138 Ivanka has already been caught lying about her husband Jared’s security clearance ordeal at least once, on camera +T9CXt9jrvG8-00008-00007138-00008930 Ivanka is in a sticky situation no matter what she does, and Trump knows it. Just recently, the president’s daughter got busted making false statements about her husband’s security clearance! Needless to say, this is killing Trump because he knows he can’t save her +T9CXt9jrvG8-00009-00008930-00009374 Hence, why this Twitter meltdown happened this morning +TUt_z2hGRPY-00000-00000513-00002051 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would soon sign an executive order requiring American universities and colleges to maintain “free speech” on campuses and threatened that schools not complying could lose federal research funds +TUt_z2hGRPY-00001-00002051-00003694 Trump made his remarks at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference after bringing to the stage Hayden Williams, a conservative activist who was punched at the University of California, Berkeley, last month while recruiting students for a conservative group +TUt_z2hGRPY-00002-00003694-00004974 “Today, I am proud to announce that I will be very soon signing an executive order requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want federal research funds,” Trump said +TUt_z2hGRPY-00003-00004974-00006079 If universities do not comply “it will be very costly,” he said. The U.S. government awards universities more than $30 billion annually in research funds +TUt_z2hGRPY-00004-00006079-00006711 The White House did not immediately respond a request for comment on details of the order +TUt_z2hGRPY-00005-00006711-00008579 Freedom of speech is enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.It is not the first time that Trump, who has repeatedly lashed out at the media with cries of “fake news” and has called current defamation laws “a sham and a disgrace,” has threatened retaliatory action related to free speech +TUt_z2hGRPY-00006-00008579-00009736 Last September, he suggested in a tweet that the license of television networks could be at risk, though he offered no specifics in his tweet, which singled out NBC +TUt_z2hGRPY-00007-00009736-00010805 Broadcast networks do not receive general licenses, but they do hold licenses from the Federal Communications Commission for individual local stations they own +TUt_z2hGRPY-00008-00010805-00011837 In 2017, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the agency does not have authority to revoke broadcast licenses over editorial decisions +TUt_z2hGRPY-00009-00011837-00012484 “I believe in the First Amendment,” said Pai, whom Trump appointed as the FCC chair +TUt_z2hGRPY-00010-00012484-00013310 Trump on Saturday suggested that Williams sue the man who punched him and also “sue the college, the university +TUt_z2hGRPY-00011-00013310-00014015 And maybe sue the state.” He suggested that Williams was going to be “a very wealthy young man +TUt_z2hGRPY-00012-00014015-00015311 ”.If universities “want our dollars — and we give to them by the billions — they have to allow people like Hayden and many other great young people and old people to speak — free speech,” Trump said +TUt_z2hGRPY-00013-00015311-00016664 Trump administration officials have suggested that the rights of speakers on college campuses have been trampled by student protesters who find their views offensive and suggested conservatives have been unfairly targeted +TUt_z2hGRPY-00014-00016664-00018127 The U.S. Justice Department filed a statement of interest in 2018 in a free speech lawsuit filed against the University of California, Berkeley, accusing the school of discriminating against speakers with conservative views +TUt_z2hGRPY-00015-00018127-00019681 In a settlement announced in December, the university will modify its procedures for handling “major events,” which typically draw hundreds of people, and agreed not to charge “security” fees for a variety of activities, including lectures and speeches +TUt_z2hGRPY-00016-00019681-00020650 It will also pay $70,000 to cover legal costs of the Berkeley College Republicans and the Tennessee-based Young America’s Foundation +U8bP2YwCJLu-00000-00000513-00001902 Special Counsel Robert Mueller has just submitted a report about his Trump-Russia investigation to Attorney General William Barr, according to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other major news outlets +U8bP2YwCJLu-00001-00001902-00002736 This of course raises more questions than answers, but suffice it to say that things are about to get very real +U8bP2YwCJLu-00002-00002736-00003707 As of this moment, there are no real details available about what Robert Mueller’s report says, or what it even covers +U8bP2YwCJLu-00003-00003707-00005489 Some major news outlets are characterizing the submission of this report as the “end” of Mueller’s investigation, but we’re not sure we buy that notion, considering that just a few hours ago evidence surfaced that Mueller’s grand jury is still ongoing in at least one criminal case +U8bP2YwCJLu-00004-00005489-00006267 Regardless, all heck is about to break loose in rapid fashion. Here’s what you can expect +U8bP2YwCJLu-00005-00006267-00006889 William Barr now has to decide how much of Robert Mueller’s report to give to Congress +U8bP2YwCJLu-00006-00006889-00007667 Keep in mind that whatever Barr gives to Congress, it’ll almost surely get promptly leaked to the public +U8bP2YwCJLu-00007-00007667-00009284 Barr knows this, so he could decide to make a simultaneous public release. In any case, if the Democrats in Congress believe that Barr’s version of the Mueller report is incomplete or inaccurate, they’ll quickly take steps to get their hands on the whole thing +U8bP2YwCJLu-00008-00009284-00011351 We’ll see what happens on the indictment front. Rudy Giuliani has spent all day insisting that Robert Mueller won’t bring any more indictments, but he’s consistently unreliable, and again, as of today Mueller is still trying to push a witness into appearing before a grand jury, whose sole purpose is to bring indictments +U8bP2YwCJLu-00009-00011351-00012367 If Mueller has built criminal cases against additional people, he can easily hand them off to the SDNY or other permanent federal prosecutors +U8bP2YwCJLu-00010-00012367-00013009 If there are sealed indictments in play, they could surface at any moment for all we know +U8bP2YwCJLu-00011-00013009-00014446 Of course the central question here is what Robert Mueller’s report reveals about Donald Trump’s crimes, the Trump 2016 campaign’s criminal connections to the Kremlin, and what the Trump-Russia scandal was really all about +U8bP2YwCJLu-00012-00014446-00015820 We’re about to officially find out soon. In the meantime, expect Trump’s allies to spin this report as inaccurately as possible, even as pundits everywhere are left to take mere guesses about what’s in it +U8bP2YwCJLu-00013-00015820-00016316 Take everything you hear today with a grain of salt +UShrqelutVI-00000-00000571-00001527 President Donald Trump continued criticizing the late Senator John McCain on Tuesday, as reporters questioned him at the White House +UShrqelutVI-00001-00001527-00002141 “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be,” he said at the White House +UShrqelutVI-00002-00002141-00002770 .Trump reminded reporters that McCain essentially killed the vote to repeal Obamacare +UShrqelutVI-00003-00002770-00003838 “I’m very unhappy that he didn’t repeal and replace Obamacare as you know, he campaigned on repealing and replacing Obamacare for years,” Trump said +UShrqelutVI-00004-00003838-00005027 “And then he got to a vote and he said thumbs down.”.Trump said that McCain indicated that he supported the bill but surprised Republicans by changing his mind at the last minute +UShrqelutVI-00005-00005027-00006265 “I think that’s disgraceful, plus there were other things,” Trump said.The president commented on McCain during a visit with Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday in the Oval Office +VvmLDNjZvBo-00000-00000571-00001618 As part of their series The Trump Files, Mother Jones has released information that suggests Donald Trump was influenced by the writings of Adolf Hitler +VvmLDNjZvBo-00001-00001618-00003131 We’ve all heard Trump get compared to Hitler, which is easy to just dismiss as people over reacting to a guy who clearly has narcissistic issues, but according to Trump’s ex-wife Ivana Trump, there is more to the Hitler comparison than perhaps we thought +VvmLDNjZvBo-00002-00003131-00004831 .The revealing info comes from a 1990 Vanity Fair story on Trump:.“Ivana Trump told her lawyer Michael Kennedy that from time to time her husband reads a book of Hitler’s collected speeches, My New Order, which he keeps in a cabinet by his bed +VvmLDNjZvBo-00003-00004831-00005474 Kennedy now guards a copy of My New Order in a closet at his office, as if it were a grenade +VvmLDNjZvBo-00004-00005474-00006485 Hitler’s speeches, from his earliest days up through the Phony War of 1939, reveal his extraordinary ability as a master propagandist +VvmLDNjZvBo-00005-00006485-00007300 ”.Trump’s response to this revelation:.“Did your cousin John give you the Hitler speeches?” I asked Trump +VvmLDNjZvBo-00006-00007300-00008483 Trump hesitated. “Who told you that?”.“I don’t remember,” I said.“Actually, it was my friend Marty Davis from Paramount who gave me a copy of Mein Kampf, and he’s a Jew +VvmLDNjZvBo-00007-00008483-00009460 ” (“I did give him a book about Hitler,” Marty Davis said. “But it was My New Order, Hitler’s speeches, not Mein Kampf +VvmLDNjZvBo-00008-00009460-00010298 I thought he would find it interesting. I am his friend, but I’m not Jewish.”).Later, Trump returned to this subject +VvmLDNjZvBo-00009-00010298-00010904 “If I had these speeches, and I am not saying that I do, I would never read them +VvmLDNjZvBo-00010-00010904-00012404 ”.At least one person doubts Trump read the entire book. His Art of the Deal ghostwriter Tony Schwartz told TheNew Yorker in July, “I seriously doubt that Trump has ever read a book straight through in his adult life +VvmLDNjZvBo-00011-00012404-00013321 ”.Trump’s flippant, casual dismissal of this issue suggests that perhaps he doesn’t think being compared to Hitler is really all that bad +VvmLDNjZvBo-00012-00013321-00014783 Trump’s hilarious rationalization that his Jewish friend (he isn’t even Jewish) gave him the book, so it’s OK, is a lot like your racist friend who always talks about his black friend, making it OK to be a racist +VvmLDNjZvBo-00013-00014783-00015431 Maybe the comparisons of Trump and Hitler are more valid than people have previously thought +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00000-00000571-00002068 Earlier this week, as some of Donald Trump’s top officials began brazenly and illegally thumbing their nose at congressional oversight, we pointed out that the next logical step was for House Democrats to begin holding them in contempt of Congress +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00001-00002068-00002765 Now House Democrats are preparing to do precisely that – and they’re naming names in the process +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00002-00002765-00003797 .For instance, this afternoon House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings accused Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Gore of illegally dodging a subpoena +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00003-00003797-00004465 He also accused Attorney General William Barr of having instructed Gore to dodge the subpoena +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00004-00004465-00005283 Cummings added that if Gore “fails to comply with the subpoena, the Committee will consider him to be in contempt of Congress +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00005-00005283-00006320 ” To be clear, being held in contempt of Congress generally means being arrested by the House Sergeant-at-Arms and locked up until the subpoena is complied with +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00006-00006320-00007122 As Committee Chair, Cummings can make this happen – and he has a history of doing what he says he’s going to do +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00007-00007122-00008287 . .What stands out here is that Cummings is not only threatening to have Barr’s deputy Gore arrested, he’s directly accusing Barr of being responsible for Gore’s illegal behavior +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00008-00008287-00009530 So why not simply jump straight to arresting Barr? If House Democrats are going to succeed in taking these kinds of drastic steps, they have to do it in a manner that’s more strategic than bombastic +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00009-00009530-00010886 Arresting a high ranking DOJ official would serve to get the message across to those carrying out Trump’s illegal agenda, without handing Trump a talking point about House Democrats overreaching by having the Attorney General arrested +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00010-00010886-00011466 Gore isn’t the only name being thrown around when it comes to contempt of Congress +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00011-00011466-00012879 Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, is talking about holding Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in contempt of Congress for illegally refusing to turn over Donald Trump’s tax returns +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00012-00012879-00013778 Pascrell isn’t necessarily speaking on behalf of Committee Chairman Richard Neal, who would make the decision on such a matter +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00013-00013778-00014917 For all we know, Neal could be looking at doing something more similar to what Cummings is doing – arresting a top Mnuchin deputy in order to drive a calculated point home +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00014-00014917-00015664 But all of this speaks to just how aggressively House Democrats are looking to come out swinging +Xz1WsVg9FoQ-00015-00015664-00016711 Trump and his loyalists clearly aren’t going to back down unless and until they’re figuratively punched in the mouth – and it looks like that’s soon going to happen +XZQZnL-BRHU-00000-00000571-00002198 A federal judge in Florida just ruled that Trump’s Labor Secretary abused his prior position as a US. Attorney by violating victim’s rights laws to protect a billionaire pedophile from criminal prosecution for molesting at least 40 underage girls +XZQZnL-BRHU-00001-00002198-00004045 (ruling embedded below).Jeffrey Epstein hired an all-star legal team including Alan Dershowitz and Jay Lefkowitz to defend himself against substantiated allegations of sex crimes, and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta was then the US. attorney in charge of prosecuting him +XZQZnL-BRHU-00002-00004045-00005408 Acosta gave Epstein a top secret, sweetheart deal to avoid all federal prosecution in exchange for pleading guilty to a couple of minor state offenses and serving a cursory sentence mostly in his own plush offices +XZQZnL-BRHU-00003-00005408-00007705 Epstein’s victims filed suit over 10 years ago when they found out about Acosta’s secret deal and today the judge ruled that prosecutors broke the Crime Victim’s Rights Act (CVRA) by not only failing to inform the victims before they agreed not to prosecute the billionaire but actually lying to the women by sending out false notices that the case was ongoing +XZQZnL-BRHU-00004-00007705-00008820 The judge ruled:.“The CVRA was designed to give the victims the same opportunity to attempt to affect prosecutorial decisions before they became final +XZQZnL-BRHU-00005-00008820-00010074 ”.Instead, the Office engaged in lengthy negotiations with Epstein that included repeated assurances that the [Non-Prosecution Agreement] would not be ‘made public or filed with the Court +XZQZnL-BRHU-00006-00010074-00011696 '”.The 33-page ruling recounts in painstaking detail the numerous conversations by email between prosecutors and Epstein’s lawyers and their total coverup of one of America’s largest known sex-crimes for the sheer number of underage women he abused +XZQZnL-BRHU-00007-00011696-00012811 The judge opined:.“…Based upon the investigation, the United States has identified 40 young women who can be characterized as victims pursuant to 18 U +XZQZnL-BRHU-00008-00012811-00013874 S.C. § 2255. Some of those women went to Mr. Epstein’s home only once, some went there as many as 100 times or more +XZQZnL-BRHU-00009-00013874-00014786 Some of the women’s conduct was limited to performing a topless or nude massage while Mr Epstein masturbated himself. +XZQZnL-BRHU-00010-00014786-00015366 For other women, the conduct escalated to full sexual intercourse +XZQZnL-BRHU-00011-00015366-00016844 ”.Yet, Trump’s current Labor Secretary, the single person most responsible for policing illegal child labor and human trafficking, ignored the victims and spent his time personally conferring with the billionaire’s lawyers +XZQZnL-BRHU-00012-00016844-00017581 Two weeks ago, the Justice Department announced an internal investigation into Acosta’s behavior +XZQZnL-BRHU-00013-00017581-00019229 Acosta personally interceded to protect Epstein from his office sending out the lawfully required notices to his victims, which are required to be delivered before any plea deal is sealed on multiple occasions for nine months after he agreed to stand down his prosecution +XZQZnL-BRHU-00014-00019229-00020509 His prosecutors even agreed to keep the non-prosecution agreement totally secret and to refuse to even give a copy of it to his victims unless they pursued a compulsory legal process +XZQZnL-BRHU-00015-00020509-00022267 .Jeffrey Epstein used those nine months to challenge his non-prosecution at the highest levels of the Department of Justice while his victims thought the FBI was still trying to determine if there was enough evidence to file charges based on the government’s misleading written notices to them +XZQZnL-BRHU-00016-00022267-00024031 Ultimately, victims were kept in the dark until more than a week after Epstein pleaded guilty in a Palm Beach County Circuit Court when the current lawsuit was filed in federal by attorney Bradley Edwards, who says that today’s ruling should result in the non-prosecution agreement being invalidated +XZQZnL-BRHU-00017-00024031-00025595 Jeffrey Epstein was facing life in prison in 2008 when he got Alexander Acosta to let him off the hook with a slap on the wrists, and nobody found out about the billionaire’s secret deal until late last year when the Miami Herald‘s Julie K +XZQZnL-BRHU-00018-00025595-00026395 Brown revealed the entire shameful affair in her award-winning investigative report “Perversion of Justice +XZQZnL-BRHU-00019-00026395-00026495 ”