"Truth Isn't Truth"
August 20, 2018 3:36 PM Subscribe
The New York Times breaks new details of how White House Counsel, Don McGahn, has cooperated extensively in Mueller inquiry and follows up on Trump lawyers’ sudden realization that they don’t know what he told Mueller’s team (@realDonaldTrump strenuously denied their implication his "Councel" was "a John Dean type ‘RAT’"). Writing for the Lawfare blog, Obama's White House Counsel Bob Bauer points out the issues how McGahn is handling his duties. And national security blogger Marcy Wheeler tears into his possible motives for leaking to the NYT. Meanwhile, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani may have coined the definitive meme for his defense on Sunday's Meet the Press: "Truth Isn't Truth" (NBC follows up, Team Trump still isn't telling the truth about that 2016 Trump Tower meeting.)
• So far in Omarosa Manigault Newman's machiavellian media campaign for Unhinged, she has released a secret tape of Lara Trump offering her $15K/month campaign job (NBC), "terrified" Trump staffers about her next ones, and totally triggered Trump's "death spiral" of spin (Vanity Fair). Trump's attempts to ban top aides from penning tell-alls have come to light (Politico) as a Manhattan judge says the Trump Campaign screwed up its NDA's wording (Yahoo). And Omarosa's publisher, Simon & Schuster, tells the Trump Campaign they will not be intimidated (CNN).
• To distract from his apprentice's media blitz (WSJ), Trump rescinded the Security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan and is gearing up to strip more from officials tied to the Russia Investigation (Washington Post). Currently he's attacking Justice Department Official Bruce Ohr, putting pressure on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire him (CNBC).
• In last week's primaries for the midterm elections, the Dems embraced diversity while the GOP pulled closer to Trump (NYMag) in a groundbreaking night for women and diversity (NYT). But while Trump hurls racial invective on the campaign trail, most Congressional Republicans stay silent—‘I’m not going there’. (Washington Post). With FiveThirtyEight's new forecast of the race for the House, Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) cautions, "The chances our model gives Democrats—between 70 and 75 percent depending on what version you look at—are pretty much exactly the odds that Hillary Clinton had of winning in 2016! So hopefully everyone's learned their lesson and won't mistake that for a sure thing."
• Kavanagh Supreme Court Nomination: Sens. Feinstein, Leahy, and Durbin say documents indicate that Kavanaugh misled Senate must be made public and Leahy writes to McGahn to disclose what was discussed at a private White House meeting that led Republicans to abruptly change course on Kavanaugh's document trail. In addition, Kavanaugh's newly released 1998 memo detailed explicit questions for President Clinton, where beyond the salacious questions, Kavanaugh took a harsh tone toward President Clinton that resonates with our present situation: "He has lied to his aides. He has lied to the American people. He has tried to disgrace you and the Office with a sustained propaganda campaign that would make Nixon blush."
In Other Headlines:
• Manafort Trial Day 16 (CNN live coverage): With closing arguments wrapped on Wednesday (ABC), Judge Ellis's revelation he's been receiving threats (Buzzfeed), and Trump telling reporters on Friday, "I think the whole Manafort trial is sad", jury deliberations went on for a third day and, with no verdict reached today, will continue Tuesday morning.
• MN AG nominee Keith Ellison denies allegations he abused his ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan (CNN), while Monahan says she won't release her video of the incident (MPR News).
• The LA Times revealed Trump backed 'Space Force' after months of lobbying by officials with ties to aerospace industry, although polls show little public support for it (Ars Technica).
• Trump’s Ex-Lawyer Michael Cohen is being investigated for bank fraud in excess of $20 million (New York Times) even as his attorney says he's soliciting advice from John Dean, the lawyer who brought down Nixon (Politico).
• In the Government's Sentencing Memorandum, the Special Counsel says Papadopoulos harmed the Russia investigation by lying and should get up to 6 months in prison. (Buzzfeed)
• Rolling Stone broke the news last week of a successful cyberattack in the California congressional race against Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Reuters now reports that the FBI is probing a cyber attack on a Democratic congressional campaign in California's 45th Congressional district.
• New York Times Afghanistan Bureau Chief Rod Nordland asks Who Is Winning the War in Afghanistan? Depends on Which One, and Trump is showing renewed interest in a proposal by Blackwater founder Erik Prince to privatize the war. (NBC)
• Trump escalated his criticisms (Washington Post) of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy and threatened the central bank's independence, telling Reuters he is "not thrilled" with Chairman Jerome Powell because "I should be given some help by the Fed."
• New records reveal that former EPA Director Scott Pruitt's $43,000 phone booth was used to place just a single five-minute phone call to the White House (the records do not show incoming calls). (Washington Post)
• ICE roundup: ICE arrested a man driving his pregnant wife to deliver baby (Talking Points Memo), forged a document to deport an immigrant who qualified for legal status (Slate), and set a bureaucratic trap for undocumented spouses of US citizens (Mother Jones).
• The President held a "Salute to the Heroes of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection" today, during which he saluted them by repeatedly calling CBP "CBC" and called up a Latino Border Patrol agent for recognition with the phrase "speaks perfect English."
This is the 577th day of the Trump administration.
As always, please consider MeFi chat for hot-takes and live-blogging breaking news, the current MetaTalk venting thread for catharsis and sympathizing, and funding the site if you're able. Also, for the sake of the ever-helpful mods, please keep in mind the MetaTalk on expectations about U.S. political discussion on MetaFilter. (Thanks again to Zachlipton for collaborating on this FPP's draft on the MeFi wiki.)
• So far in Omarosa Manigault Newman's machiavellian media campaign for Unhinged, she has released a secret tape of Lara Trump offering her $15K/month campaign job (NBC), "terrified" Trump staffers about her next ones, and totally triggered Trump's "death spiral" of spin (Vanity Fair). Trump's attempts to ban top aides from penning tell-alls have come to light (Politico) as a Manhattan judge says the Trump Campaign screwed up its NDA's wording (Yahoo). And Omarosa's publisher, Simon & Schuster, tells the Trump Campaign they will not be intimidated (CNN).
• To distract from his apprentice's media blitz (WSJ), Trump rescinded the Security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan and is gearing up to strip more from officials tied to the Russia Investigation (Washington Post). Currently he's attacking Justice Department Official Bruce Ohr, putting pressure on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire him (CNBC).
• In last week's primaries for the midterm elections, the Dems embraced diversity while the GOP pulled closer to Trump (NYMag) in a groundbreaking night for women and diversity (NYT). But while Trump hurls racial invective on the campaign trail, most Congressional Republicans stay silent—‘I’m not going there’. (Washington Post). With FiveThirtyEight's new forecast of the race for the House, Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) cautions, "The chances our model gives Democrats—between 70 and 75 percent depending on what version you look at—are pretty much exactly the odds that Hillary Clinton had of winning in 2016! So hopefully everyone's learned their lesson and won't mistake that for a sure thing."
• Kavanagh Supreme Court Nomination: Sens. Feinstein, Leahy, and Durbin say documents indicate that Kavanaugh misled Senate must be made public and Leahy writes to McGahn to disclose what was discussed at a private White House meeting that led Republicans to abruptly change course on Kavanaugh's document trail. In addition, Kavanaugh's newly released 1998 memo detailed explicit questions for President Clinton, where beyond the salacious questions, Kavanaugh took a harsh tone toward President Clinton that resonates with our present situation: "He has lied to his aides. He has lied to the American people. He has tried to disgrace you and the Office with a sustained propaganda campaign that would make Nixon blush."
In Other Headlines:
• Manafort Trial Day 16 (CNN live coverage): With closing arguments wrapped on Wednesday (ABC), Judge Ellis's revelation he's been receiving threats (Buzzfeed), and Trump telling reporters on Friday, "I think the whole Manafort trial is sad", jury deliberations went on for a third day and, with no verdict reached today, will continue Tuesday morning.
• MN AG nominee Keith Ellison denies allegations he abused his ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan (CNN), while Monahan says she won't release her video of the incident (MPR News).
• The LA Times revealed Trump backed 'Space Force' after months of lobbying by officials with ties to aerospace industry, although polls show little public support for it (Ars Technica).
• Trump’s Ex-Lawyer Michael Cohen is being investigated for bank fraud in excess of $20 million (New York Times) even as his attorney says he's soliciting advice from John Dean, the lawyer who brought down Nixon (Politico).
• In the Government's Sentencing Memorandum, the Special Counsel says Papadopoulos harmed the Russia investigation by lying and should get up to 6 months in prison. (Buzzfeed)
• Rolling Stone broke the news last week of a successful cyberattack in the California congressional race against Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Reuters now reports that the FBI is probing a cyber attack on a Democratic congressional campaign in California's 45th Congressional district.
• New York Times Afghanistan Bureau Chief Rod Nordland asks Who Is Winning the War in Afghanistan? Depends on Which One, and Trump is showing renewed interest in a proposal by Blackwater founder Erik Prince to privatize the war. (NBC)
• Trump escalated his criticisms (Washington Post) of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy and threatened the central bank's independence, telling Reuters he is "not thrilled" with Chairman Jerome Powell because "I should be given some help by the Fed."
• New records reveal that former EPA Director Scott Pruitt's $43,000 phone booth was used to place just a single five-minute phone call to the White House (the records do not show incoming calls). (Washington Post)
• ICE roundup: ICE arrested a man driving his pregnant wife to deliver baby (Talking Points Memo), forged a document to deport an immigrant who qualified for legal status (Slate), and set a bureaucratic trap for undocumented spouses of US citizens (Mother Jones).
• The President held a "Salute to the Heroes of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection" today, during which he saluted them by repeatedly calling CBP "CBC" and called up a Latino Border Patrol agent for recognition with the phrase "speaks perfect English."
This is the 577th day of the Trump administration.
As always, please consider MeFi chat for hot-takes and live-blogging breaking news, the current MetaTalk venting thread for catharsis and sympathizing, and funding the site if you're able. Also, for the sake of the ever-helpful mods, please keep in mind the MetaTalk on expectations about U.S. political discussion on MetaFilter. (Thanks again to Zachlipton for collaborating on this FPP's draft on the MeFi wiki.)
"Truth isn't truth" seems like an unfortunately-phrased sentence that would have been more artfully phrased as "Even honest and forthright testimony can be turned against you." I was nearly subpoenaed as a witness for a hit-and-run that I'd observed, a year after the fact, and I was really preoccupied by the thought of getting the details wrong in a way that would harm someone, and I wasn't even under suspicion of anything. I imagine that even if Trump makes every effort to be truthful there's a huge chance that he'd perjure himself.
Of course, everyone knows his personality and knows that he certainly can't be expected to even try to tell the truth. But I have some sympathy for for Giuliani when it comes to this "truth isn't truth" gotcha story.
posted by lostburner at 4:08 PM on August 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Of course, everyone knows his personality and knows that he certainly can't be expected to even try to tell the truth. But I have some sympathy for for Giuliani when it comes to this "truth isn't truth" gotcha story.
posted by lostburner at 4:08 PM on August 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
All these great, amazing links! And yet you missed this humdinger:
WATCH: Rand Paul Calls For Criminal Justice Reform Because The System is Too Hard on… Paul Manafort
"Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) believes Paul Manafort‘s legal troubles are so horribly unfair that there’s no choice but to remake the American justice system.
Paul shared this opinion with Neil Cavuto Monday while discussing Manafort’s alleged bank fraud, tax evasion, and the possible implications his trial will have for Robert Mueller‘s ongoing investigation. Since this doesn’t directly tie into the question of whether President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in 2016, Paul said he had “sympathy” for Manafort because the legal system might have “gone too far” to penalize him over “paperwork crimes.”
posted by pjsky at 4:09 PM on August 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
WATCH: Rand Paul Calls For Criminal Justice Reform Because The System is Too Hard on… Paul Manafort
"Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) believes Paul Manafort‘s legal troubles are so horribly unfair that there’s no choice but to remake the American justice system.
Paul shared this opinion with Neil Cavuto Monday while discussing Manafort’s alleged bank fraud, tax evasion, and the possible implications his trial will have for Robert Mueller‘s ongoing investigation. Since this doesn’t directly tie into the question of whether President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in 2016, Paul said he had “sympathy” for Manafort because the legal system might have “gone too far” to penalize him over “paperwork crimes.”
posted by pjsky at 4:09 PM on August 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
But I have some sympathy for for Giuliani when it comes to this "truth isn't truth" gotcha story.
That might be more believable if every word out of his mouth to date hadn’t been a Freudian slip.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 4:16 PM on August 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
That might be more believable if every word out of his mouth to date hadn’t been a Freudian slip.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 4:16 PM on August 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
PSA:
77 days until the 2018 midterm elections
805 days until the 2020 elections
posted by dilettante at 4:17 PM on August 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
77 days until the 2018 midterm elections
805 days until the 2020 elections
posted by dilettante at 4:17 PM on August 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
More from that Reuters interview, and we're back to this again (emphasis added):
He again neglected to blame Russia for interfering in the 2016 election, a conclusion reached by the U.S. intelligence community.posted by zachlipton at 4:20 PM on August 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
The probe, he said, “played right into the Russians - if it was Russia - they played right into the Russians’ hands.”
To me the most remarkable moment in the interview was after the "truth isn't truth" moment when Chuck Todd caused Rudy to sit with his pie-hole gaping open for a good 5-6 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity and it was delicious.
RUDY GIULIANI:
-- they have two pieces of evidence, Trump says I didn’t tell them and the other guy says that he did say it, which is the truth? Maybe you know because you’re a genius.
CHUCK TODD:
At that point, you’re right. Under two people, I, no, you’re right. I don’t read minds on that front. Let me ask you this final question.
RUDY GIULIANI:
No, we have, we have, no, no, no, let me finish. We have a credibility gap between the two of them. You’ve got to select one or the other. Now, who do you think Mueller’s going to select? One of his best friends, Comey, or the president who he has been carrying on a completely wild, crazy--
CHUCK TODD:
It it possible--
RUDY GIULIANI:
--unorthodox investigation.
CHUCK TODD:
-- is it possible he makes a conclusion based on who’s been more truthful over the years?
RUDY GIULIANI:
O.O
.................................................
posted by pjsky at 4:20 PM on August 20, 2018 [138 favorites]
RUDY GIULIANI:
-- they have two pieces of evidence, Trump says I didn’t tell them and the other guy says that he did say it, which is the truth? Maybe you know because you’re a genius.
CHUCK TODD:
At that point, you’re right. Under two people, I, no, you’re right. I don’t read minds on that front. Let me ask you this final question.
RUDY GIULIANI:
No, we have, we have, no, no, no, let me finish. We have a credibility gap between the two of them. You’ve got to select one or the other. Now, who do you think Mueller’s going to select? One of his best friends, Comey, or the president who he has been carrying on a completely wild, crazy--
CHUCK TODD:
It it possible--
RUDY GIULIANI:
--unorthodox investigation.
CHUCK TODD:
-- is it possible he makes a conclusion based on who’s been more truthful over the years?
RUDY GIULIANI:
O.O
.................................................
posted by pjsky at 4:20 PM on August 20, 2018 [138 favorites]
Because as a former prosecutor Giuliani knows damn well the answer is not just "yes" but "hell yes". And that this isn't in favor of his client.
posted by Justinian at 4:22 PM on August 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 4:22 PM on August 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
I posted that whole speech he gave that included this quote: "Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do." That was in 1994. This is who he is.
posted by scalefree at 4:23 PM on August 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 4:23 PM on August 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
That fits right in!
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Freedom is Authority
posted by kirkaracha at 4:25 PM on August 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Freedom is Authority
posted by kirkaracha at 4:25 PM on August 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
a Manhattan judge says the Trump Campaign screwed up its NDA's wording
posted by clawsoon at 4:27 PM on August 20, 2018 [33 favorites]
In an ironic twist, President Trump was personally a party to the New York case that establishes the legal principle controlling Bluth’s decision. ... President Trump sought to avoid private arbitration in that [1993] case, and won the issue on appeal. Bluth specifically cited that decision in her ruling against Trump’s campaign.I do like irony.
posted by clawsoon at 4:27 PM on August 20, 2018 [33 favorites]
Mod note: Just a reminder, this is not an "all current events" thread and certainly Aussie politics can have its own thread if someone wants to make one!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:36 PM on August 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:36 PM on August 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Rand Paul said he had “sympathy” for Manafort because the legal system might have “gone too far” to penalize him over “paperwork crimes.”
Failing to report $75 million on his income tax returns is a mere "paperwork" crime.
Libertarians like Paul think that white collar crime is non-violent even if it results in destroying people's lives, taking away their homes, taking away their jobs, cheating them, or defrauding them as long as you do it with a piece of paper instead of a gun.
Guys like Manafort do violence to government institutions, the justice system and people's sense of fairness and foster the idea that everyone is corrupt and you are a fool if you are not. They are a disease that infects if not stopped and creates a sick society.
posted by JackFlash at 4:41 PM on August 20, 2018 [165 favorites]
Failing to report $75 million on his income tax returns is a mere "paperwork" crime.
Libertarians like Paul think that white collar crime is non-violent even if it results in destroying people's lives, taking away their homes, taking away their jobs, cheating them, or defrauding them as long as you do it with a piece of paper instead of a gun.
Guys like Manafort do violence to government institutions, the justice system and people's sense of fairness and foster the idea that everyone is corrupt and you are a fool if you are not. They are a disease that infects if not stopped and creates a sick society.
posted by JackFlash at 4:41 PM on August 20, 2018 [165 favorites]
From Trump Lawyers’ Sudden Realization: They Don’t Know What Don McGahn Told Mueller’s Team:
The report by The Times also reignited a debate about whether Mr. Trump had been given bad advice by his former lawyers Mr. Dowd and Ty Cobb to allow full cooperation with Mr. Mueller’s team, including by waiving attorney-client privilege. Mr. Dowd and Mr. Cobb believed that the cooperation would help prove that the president had done nothing wrong and bring a swifter end to the investigation.
But the strategy “put Don McGahn in an impossible situation, because once you waive that privilege and you turn over all those documents, Don McGahn has no choice then but to go in and answer everything, every question they could ask him,” Chris Christie, a former United States attorney and a close ally of Mr. Trump
posted by JamesBay at 5:08 PM on August 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
The report by The Times also reignited a debate about whether Mr. Trump had been given bad advice by his former lawyers Mr. Dowd and Ty Cobb to allow full cooperation with Mr. Mueller’s team, including by waiving attorney-client privilege. Mr. Dowd and Mr. Cobb believed that the cooperation would help prove that the president had done nothing wrong and bring a swifter end to the investigation.
But the strategy “put Don McGahn in an impossible situation, because once you waive that privilege and you turn over all those documents, Don McGahn has no choice then but to go in and answer everything, every question they could ask him,” Chris Christie, a former United States attorney and a close ally of Mr. Trump
posted by JamesBay at 5:08 PM on August 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
But I have some sympathy for Giuliani when it comes to this "truth isn't truth" gotcha story.
I'm becoming uncomfortable by the anti-Trump memes entering my Facebook airspace. Some seem just as unfair as the anti-Obama screeds that used to drive me crazy. "X dollars go to [some thing] while homeless vets go hungry; share if you support our brave soldiers!" is not the nuanced argument I would hope for. And while Giuliani is puzzlingly incompetent, it's not really fair to always use that one photo of him with the popped-out eyes. And yet, "an eye for a [popped out] eye, a tooth for a [slur-inducing denture] tooth" is where we are. When I sit down with my Trump-supporting colleague and recommend that she read Paul Krugman's columns on trade agreements or check out "This American Life", I get exactly nowhere. I won't even try this nifty Adam Smith edition of "In Our Time" that I happened to hear this weekend. More and more I pin my hopes on John Oliver, who is as cruel and unfair as the latest meme while also being intelligent and lucid and funny and educational. I highly recommend last night's show.
posted by acrasis at 5:15 PM on August 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm becoming uncomfortable by the anti-Trump memes entering my Facebook airspace. Some seem just as unfair as the anti-Obama screeds that used to drive me crazy. "X dollars go to [some thing] while homeless vets go hungry; share if you support our brave soldiers!" is not the nuanced argument I would hope for. And while Giuliani is puzzlingly incompetent, it's not really fair to always use that one photo of him with the popped-out eyes. And yet, "an eye for a [popped out] eye, a tooth for a [slur-inducing denture] tooth" is where we are. When I sit down with my Trump-supporting colleague and recommend that she read Paul Krugman's columns on trade agreements or check out "This American Life", I get exactly nowhere. I won't even try this nifty Adam Smith edition of "In Our Time" that I happened to hear this weekend. More and more I pin my hopes on John Oliver, who is as cruel and unfair as the latest meme while also being intelligent and lucid and funny and educational. I highly recommend last night's show.
posted by acrasis at 5:15 PM on August 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
Libertarians like Paul think that white collar crime is non-violent even if it results in destroying people's lives, taking away their homes, taking away their jobs, cheating them, or defrauding them as long as you do it with a piece of paper instead of a gun.Woody Guthrie had an answer to that sixty years ago..
Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.
And as through your life you travel,
Yes, as through your life you roam,
You won't never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home.
Nowadays, of course, we put the guys with the metaphorical fountain pens in charge of cabinet departments.
Guys like Manafort do violence to government institutions, the justice system and people's sense of fairness and foster the idea that everyone is corrupt and you are a fool if you are not. They are a disease that infects if not stopped and creates a sick society.Yes, absolutely right. Furthermore, it has become painfully apparent that we have tolerated far too much of this behavior already. It didn't begin with Trump and it won't end with him, but Trump probably represents a significant inflection point -- if he is not stopped and suffers no consequences then it will become immeasurably harder to arrest our society's momentum towards corruption.
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:16 PM on August 20, 2018 [61 favorites]
[Just a reminder, this is not an "all current events" thread and certainly Aussie politics can have its own thread if someone wants to make one!]
Here's an Australian politics post for our own garbage fire today.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:20 PM on August 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
Here's an Australian politics post for our own garbage fire today.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:20 PM on August 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
And yet, "an eye for a [popped out] eye, a tooth for a [slur-inducing denture] tooth" is where we are.
Have you seen any of Rudy’s recent appearances? I hate to break it to you, but that one photo is not unrepresentative.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 5:21 PM on August 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
Have you seen any of Rudy’s recent appearances? I hate to break it to you, but that one photo is not unrepresentative.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 5:21 PM on August 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
"Paperwork crimes" has a real ring to it. "White collar crime" sounds stale, maybe it's time for an update. When a Republican Senator talks comfortably about the kind of malfeasance Manafort was involved with as though it were a missed checkbox on a form, the left should throw it right back in his face as evidence of how widespread corruption is along the wealthy and connected, and we should use his words.
posted by contraption at 5:39 PM on August 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by contraption at 5:39 PM on August 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
FBI is probing a cyber attack on a Democratic congressional campaign in California's 45th Congressional district.
Serious question: what happens when Democrats across the country are hacked in the 2018 mid-terms and the republican candidates squeak out just enough victories to control the House? Senator Bill Nelson got dragged by republican senate candidate Rick Scott last week for alleging Russians have "penetrated" some county voter registration databases in Florida ahead of the 2018 elections. Turns out Nelson is likely correct.
I'm convinced Trump's talk of a red wave is because he knows something the rest of us don't.
posted by photoslob at 5:46 PM on August 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
Serious question: what happens when Democrats across the country are hacked in the 2018 mid-terms and the republican candidates squeak out just enough victories to control the House? Senator Bill Nelson got dragged by republican senate candidate Rick Scott last week for alleging Russians have "penetrated" some county voter registration databases in Florida ahead of the 2018 elections. Turns out Nelson is likely correct.
I'm convinced Trump's talk of a red wave is because he knows something the rest of us don't.
posted by photoslob at 5:46 PM on August 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
Russian interference in Florida Primaries?
posted by tilde at 5:55 PM on August 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by tilde at 5:55 PM on August 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm convinced Trump's talk of a red wave is because he knows something the rest of us don't.
Regardless of where the truth lies in this, Donald J Trump is the last person anybody on any side of it is going to trust with any covert strategic information.
posted by scalefree at 6:01 PM on August 20, 2018 [27 favorites]
Regardless of where the truth lies in this, Donald J Trump is the last person anybody on any side of it is going to trust with any covert strategic information.
posted by scalefree at 6:01 PM on August 20, 2018 [27 favorites]
Serious question: what happens when Democrats across the country are hacked in the 2018 mid-terms and the republican candidates squeak out just enough victories to control the House?
American democracy dies.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:08 PM on August 20, 2018 [64 favorites]
American democracy dies.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:08 PM on August 20, 2018 [64 favorites]
I'm convinced Trump's talk of a red wave is because he knows something the rest of us don't.
Well, he owns coastal property in Florida, so
posted by Sys Rq at 6:11 PM on August 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Well, he owns coastal property in Florida, so
posted by Sys Rq at 6:11 PM on August 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Regardless of where the truth lies in this, Donald J Trump is the last person anybody on any side of it is going to trust with any covert strategic information.
posted by scalefree at 6:01 PM on August 20 [+] [!]
To the contrary, it's worked brilliantly so far.. They don't even have to give him any facts, just a catchphrase.
posted by bird internet at 6:12 PM on August 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm convinced Trump's talk of a red wave is because he knows something the rest of us don't.
We have to assume at this point that Trump is colluding right now with Putin and the approval of most Republicans to steal whatever isn't bolted down and burn down whatever they can't keep. We still have to resist in every way possible and can't let defeatism paralyze us, unless you are willing/able to flee the country and think you can escape America's influence in the world.
posted by benzenedream at 6:19 PM on August 20, 2018 [50 favorites]
We have to assume at this point that Trump is colluding right now with Putin and the approval of most Republicans to steal whatever isn't bolted down and burn down whatever they can't keep. We still have to resist in every way possible and can't let defeatism paralyze us, unless you are willing/able to flee the country and think you can escape America's influence in the world.
posted by benzenedream at 6:19 PM on August 20, 2018 [50 favorites]
Good News Dept: New York enacts law establishing permanent independent commission for investigating prosecutorial misconduct by DAs.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:29 PM on August 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:29 PM on August 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
From that NYT story on White House counsel Donald McGahn talking to Mueller:
McGahn is the White House counsel and serves the the President in his official capacity only. Nobody even pretends that this decision should have been driven by Constitutional considerations. They're saying - probably correctly - that cooperation was a bad idea because it's in the President's personal interest to obstruct the investigation and “an early strategy of full cooperation with the inquiry was a potentially damaging mistake”. In other words, everybody knows Trump is guilty. It's not even worth reporting on that! The only thing of interest here is the soap opera centering around Trump and his cronies and their disputes over which one has the most cunning schemes. What a very bad paper.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:58 PM on August 20, 2018 [49 favorites]
… Legal experts and former White House counsels said the president’s lawyers had been careless in not asking Mr. McGahn what he had planned to tell Mr. Mueller’s prosecutors. The experts said Mr. Trump’s lawyers had the right to know the full extent of what Mr. McGahn was going to say.I find it legitimately astonishing that the NYT is printing these remarks as if it were a discussion on the level of "should I let the nice police officer into my house?"
[...]
“It’s bad legal advice, bad lawyering, and this is a result of it,” Mr. Christie added.
[…]
Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, who had argued last summer against cooperating with Mr. Mueller, said, “This was a reckless and dangerously naïve strategy, and I’ve vocally said that since the time I left the White House, and I’ve said it to the president.”
McGahn is the White House counsel and serves the the President in his official capacity only. Nobody even pretends that this decision should have been driven by Constitutional considerations. They're saying - probably correctly - that cooperation was a bad idea because it's in the President's personal interest to obstruct the investigation and “an early strategy of full cooperation with the inquiry was a potentially damaging mistake”. In other words, everybody knows Trump is guilty. It's not even worth reporting on that! The only thing of interest here is the soap opera centering around Trump and his cronies and their disputes over which one has the most cunning schemes. What a very bad paper.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:58 PM on August 20, 2018 [49 favorites]
Can someone remind me why the Manafort trial had to happen before the Cohen, and then Stormy Daniels (as plaintiff) ones?
And I know I'm really really reeeeaally not supposed to get into the 'reality show' aspects of this trainwreck, but wasn't Omarosa working in the White House when the Stormy Daniels allegations came out? Because I have a feeling that when those tapes come out it's going to be the best episode so far. Already popping the corn.
Also, have we started a pool for the date of Muellermas yet? Because put me down for November 7th.
posted by sexyrobot at 7:00 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
And I know I'm really really reeeeaally not supposed to get into the 'reality show' aspects of this trainwreck, but wasn't Omarosa working in the White House when the Stormy Daniels allegations came out? Because I have a feeling that when those tapes come out it's going to be the best episode so far. Already popping the corn.
Also, have we started a pool for the date of Muellermas yet? Because put me down for November 7th.
posted by sexyrobot at 7:00 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, have we started a pool for the date of Muellermas yet? Because put me down for November 7th
Ya gotta give a year.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:18 PM on August 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
Ya gotta give a year.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:18 PM on August 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 House:
Tomorrow, primaries in Alaska and Wyoming. Previews from 538 and DKE.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:21 PM on August 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
** 2018 House:
-- AZ-08: Lake Research Partners poll has incumbent GOPer Lesko up 49-40 on Dem Tiperneni [MOE not listed]. This poll appears to be commissioned by the Tiperneni campaign. Notable that this is a rematch of the recent special election; subsequent general elections with the same matchup generally turn out the same way.** 2018 Senate:
-- NC-02: Incumbent GOPer Holding has been touting an internal poll showing him *trailing* Dem challenger Coleman. District went 53-44 Trump and is rated Likely R by Cook, so hmmm.
-- Weekly check-in with the 538 generic polling average shows D+7.8 (47.7/39.9).
-- AZ: GOP hopeful Kelli Ward has enlisted Pizzagater Mike Cernovich to campaign for her.** Odds & ends:
-- MI: Strategic National poll has incumbent Dem Stabenow up 50-35 on GOPer James [MOE: +/- 3.7%]. Strategic National is a GOP-aligner pollster.
-- NM: Emerson poll has incumbent Dem Heinrich with 39, Libertarian Johnson with 21, and GOPer Rich with 11 [MOE: +/- 4.6%].
-- KS gov: Independent Greg Orman had apparently qualified for the fall ballot, but signature validity is now being challenged by the Dems. Opinions are mixed on the effect Orman will have on the race, although it seems clear KS Dems think he's a threat.====
-- MI gov: Strategic National poll above has Dem Whitmer up 45-36 on GOPer Schuette.
-- WI gov: PPP poll has Dem Evers up 49-44 on incumbent GOPer Walker [MOE: +/- 4.0%].
-- NV gov: Incumbent GOP governor Sandoval is declining to endorse GOP nominee Laxalt.
-- Virginia legislature called into special session to redraw lines for 11 House of Delegates districts found to be racially gerrymandered.
-- Wasserman: Vulnerable GOP House seats have very different geography from vulnerable Senate seats. I.e., a uniform swing in the vote that just gave the Dems the House, would actually lose them Senate seats.
-- Early look at state legislature predictions at Decision Desk. Dems favored to pick up trifectas in four states, good short at four more.
-- ACLU suing Arizona over failure to properly keep registered voters addresses update (and thus possibly disenfranchising them).
Tomorrow, primaries in Alaska and Wyoming. Previews from 538 and DKE.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:21 PM on August 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
Serious question: what happens when Democrats across the country are hacked in the 2018 mid-terms and the republican candidates squeak out just enough victories to control the House?
Riots. Or at least there should be a massive protest on the scale of the contingency plans for the firing of Mueller. Democrats cannot accept an indefinite status quo where every two years, a national win of 7 points is necessary to take or maintain control of the House. A massive country-wide shutdown in the name of restoring majority-rule democracy is considered a democratic revolution by the rest of the world. Gradual anti-gerrymandering legislation on the state level is not going to fix this for the red states, and gradual congressional action is unlikely given that at best Democrats will control all three chambers only 2 years out of 10 or 20, and even then will never get anything substantial passed if they allow the 60-vote Senate threshold to remain. That all means that the only significant fix to this fundamental anti-democratic injustice will have to be, in some form or other, revolutionary. We can put it off if we take the House in despite of our handicap in 2018. But at some point we'll have to accept that the damage done by 12 years (and counting) of stolen presidencies and ever more years of stolen House control outweighs the potential damage done by radical restorative action of some form.
Though of course the real answer will be: "Don't rock the boat, we don't want to ruin our chances for 2020."
posted by chortly at 7:22 PM on August 20, 2018 [76 favorites]
Riots. Or at least there should be a massive protest on the scale of the contingency plans for the firing of Mueller. Democrats cannot accept an indefinite status quo where every two years, a national win of 7 points is necessary to take or maintain control of the House. A massive country-wide shutdown in the name of restoring majority-rule democracy is considered a democratic revolution by the rest of the world. Gradual anti-gerrymandering legislation on the state level is not going to fix this for the red states, and gradual congressional action is unlikely given that at best Democrats will control all three chambers only 2 years out of 10 or 20, and even then will never get anything substantial passed if they allow the 60-vote Senate threshold to remain. That all means that the only significant fix to this fundamental anti-democratic injustice will have to be, in some form or other, revolutionary. We can put it off if we take the House in despite of our handicap in 2018. But at some point we'll have to accept that the damage done by 12 years (and counting) of stolen presidencies and ever more years of stolen House control outweighs the potential damage done by radical restorative action of some form.
Though of course the real answer will be: "Don't rock the boat, we don't want to ruin our chances for 2020."
posted by chortly at 7:22 PM on August 20, 2018 [76 favorites]
"Paperwork crimes" has a real ring to it.
It’s fucking theft. No cutesy names. Government theft. Tax theft. And we, the people are the ones with less money and services when they do it. So, yeah, they’re stealing from us.
posted by greermahoney at 7:33 PM on August 20, 2018 [63 favorites]
It’s fucking theft. No cutesy names. Government theft. Tax theft. And we, the people are the ones with less money and services when they do it. So, yeah, they’re stealing from us.
posted by greermahoney at 7:33 PM on August 20, 2018 [63 favorites]
Also, have we started a pool for the date of Muellermas yet?
As for the prosecutors in the Cohen case, they have said if an indictment doesn't come by the end of August, there won't be anything until after the election. This is in accordance with Justice Department guidelines that you don't do political indictments or subpoenas in the 60 days before an election. Note that the Chris Collins indictment was squeezed in between the primaries and the general election to meet the guidelines.
posted by JackFlash at 7:42 PM on August 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
As for the prosecutors in the Cohen case, they have said if an indictment doesn't come by the end of August, there won't be anything until after the election. This is in accordance with Justice Department guidelines that you don't do political indictments or subpoenas in the 60 days before an election. Note that the Chris Collins indictment was squeezed in between the primaries and the general election to meet the guidelines.
posted by JackFlash at 7:42 PM on August 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Democrats cannot accept an indefinite status quo where every two years, a national win of 7 points is necessary to take or maintain control of the House.
I don't know what I'd call the political system of a country where the President gets fewer votes than his opponent, the Party which receives fewer votes in the House maintains a majority, and the Party which receives fewer votes in the Senate maintains a majority but I wouldn't call it a healthy democracy. And we're teetering on the verge of all of that being true though the view is complicated by the Senate's staggered elections.
Republicans will soon also have appointed 15 of the last 19 SC judges!. 4 of those appointments will have been made by a President who lost the popular vote.
posted by Justinian at 7:45 PM on August 20, 2018 [90 favorites]
I don't know what I'd call the political system of a country where the President gets fewer votes than his opponent, the Party which receives fewer votes in the House maintains a majority, and the Party which receives fewer votes in the Senate maintains a majority but I wouldn't call it a healthy democracy. And we're teetering on the verge of all of that being true though the view is complicated by the Senate's staggered elections.
Republicans will soon also have appointed 15 of the last 19 SC judges!. 4 of those appointments will have been made by a President who lost the popular vote.
posted by Justinian at 7:45 PM on August 20, 2018 [90 favorites]
Whoa. I just solved a mystery from my workday today. I'm a bartender, mostly days, everyday I give one thing away- a coffee, or a coke, or an iced tea. It is a good trick- if I'm crazy busy, I can give a low cost beverage away so I can get to work on the four margaritas three glasses of wine two Cape Pouge Punches and one Shirley Temple I need to make, and I say something like " put good vibes into the universe!"
Today I gave away a hot green tea to Lisa Blunt Rochester even though it was not slam busy, call it fate. We had a nice chat, she told me she was a congresswoman, and I did not have the presence of mind to ask her name. We had a more intense chat, It was very good. I told her the only thing I miss about NYC is there is nowhere to protest here in Dukes County. She is super awesome and I'm going to send her campaign fund 50 bucks and I've never been to Delaware. Check her out. Sometimes you can strike sparks anywhere.
posted by vrakatar at 7:57 PM on August 20, 2018 [62 favorites]
Today I gave away a hot green tea to Lisa Blunt Rochester even though it was not slam busy, call it fate. We had a nice chat, she told me she was a congresswoman, and I did not have the presence of mind to ask her name. We had a more intense chat, It was very good. I told her the only thing I miss about NYC is there is nowhere to protest here in Dukes County. She is super awesome and I'm going to send her campaign fund 50 bucks and I've never been to Delaware. Check her out. Sometimes you can strike sparks anywhere.
posted by vrakatar at 7:57 PM on August 20, 2018 [62 favorites]
Don't worry, Rand is on the case, avoiding WWIII while securing our elections. (He is so very compromised)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:03 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:03 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, in news just to the north, Justin Trudeau correctly calls out a fucking Nazi for being a fucking Nazi (CBC, Le Devoir), and the chattering classes get the vapors.
posted by gimonca at 8:07 PM on August 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 8:07 PM on August 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
I say fuck these antifa cosplayers in their ninja suits. The Oregon crowd needs to clean up their shit. They have coddled the violent wing for too long. Guys who just want an excuse for violence. (We're looking at you, Eugene.)
Here you see the antifas beat a guy over the head with a club because he dared to carry an American flag in protest against the fascists.
Back in the old days we used to shut these kind of guys down and box them out before they could do their damage. I'm guessing there was no organized protest leaders to do that in this case.
posted by JackFlash at 8:25 PM on August 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
Here you see the antifas beat a guy over the head with a club because he dared to carry an American flag in protest against the fascists.
Back in the old days we used to shut these kind of guys down and box them out before they could do their damage. I'm guessing there was no organized protest leaders to do that in this case.
posted by JackFlash at 8:25 PM on August 20, 2018 [22 favorites]
and the chattering classes get the vapors.
The chattering classes in Canada are largely white supremacist.
posted by JamesBay at 8:25 PM on August 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
The chattering classes in Canada are largely white supremacist.
posted by JamesBay at 8:25 PM on August 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
If you understand French she is actually heckling him for supporting immigrants and not "Quebecois de souche" (or "pure Quebcers"). I think that qualifies as racist.
posted by JamesBay at 8:28 PM on August 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by JamesBay at 8:28 PM on August 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
I don't know what I'd call the political system of a country where the President gets fewer votes than his opponent, the Party which receives fewer votes in the House maintains a majority, and the Party which receives fewer votes in the Senate maintains a majority but I wouldn't call it a healthy democracy.
Representative Democracy.
It's what happens when you make up a country ad hoc based on thirteen participants who hate each other slightly less than King George III.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:34 PM on August 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
Representative Democracy.
It's what happens when you make up a country ad hoc based on thirteen participants who hate each other slightly less than King George III.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:34 PM on August 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
'Silent Sam' is down: Protesters topple Confederate statue on UNC campus
From the statue's 1913 dedication speech:
One hundred yards from where we stand, less than ninety days perhaps after my return from Appomattox, I horse-whipped a negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds, because upon the streets of this quiet village she had publicly insulted and maligned a Southern lady.
The present generation, I am persuaded, scarcely takes note of what the Confederate soldier meant to the welfare of the Anglo Saxon race during the four years immediately succeeding the war, when the facts are, that their courage and steadfastness saved the very life of the Anglo Saxon race in the South – When “the bottom rail was on top” all over the Southern states, and to-day, as a consequence the purest strain of the Anglo Saxon is to be found in the 13 Southern States – Praise God.
Tear them all down.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:40 PM on August 20, 2018 [168 favorites]
From the statue's 1913 dedication speech:
One hundred yards from where we stand, less than ninety days perhaps after my return from Appomattox, I horse-whipped a negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds, because upon the streets of this quiet village she had publicly insulted and maligned a Southern lady.
The present generation, I am persuaded, scarcely takes note of what the Confederate soldier meant to the welfare of the Anglo Saxon race during the four years immediately succeeding the war, when the facts are, that their courage and steadfastness saved the very life of the Anglo Saxon race in the South – When “the bottom rail was on top” all over the Southern states, and to-day, as a consequence the purest strain of the Anglo Saxon is to be found in the 13 Southern States – Praise God.
Tear them all down.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:40 PM on August 20, 2018 [168 favorites]
I think that qualifies as racist.
I definitely agree that it's pretty clear... and this really just hits it home...
From the CBC article: A woman who identified herself on social media as a member of the right-wing group Storm Alliance took responsibility for the confrontation with Trudeau in a post on Facebook.
Storm Alliance is pretty much what you think it is.
The fact that the f'ing racists up here are starting (well intensifying) to pull this familiar xenophobic BS has me very worried. Our 'premier' Dough Ford *shudder*, proved that the politics of hate, division, fear, and selfishness work perfectly well in Ontario and now the Right has started to move in some very Trump like directions for our next federal election.
posted by cirhosis at 9:10 PM on August 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
I definitely agree that it's pretty clear... and this really just hits it home...
From the CBC article: A woman who identified herself on social media as a member of the right-wing group Storm Alliance took responsibility for the confrontation with Trudeau in a post on Facebook.
Storm Alliance is pretty much what you think it is.
The fact that the f'ing racists up here are starting (well intensifying) to pull this familiar xenophobic BS has me very worried. Our 'premier' Dough Ford *shudder*, proved that the politics of hate, division, fear, and selfishness work perfectly well in Ontario and now the Right has started to move in some very Trump like directions for our next federal election.
posted by cirhosis at 9:10 PM on August 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
I don't know what I'd call the political system of a country where the President gets fewer votes than his opponent... but I wouldn't call it a healthy democracy.
I'm not sure I would even call this Representative Democracy. In gerrymandered states, the edge is often so great that it amounts to a fix. There's no reason to run anything but a pro forma campaign. There's no reason to listen to your constituents. That's not any kind of democracy.
posted by xammerboy at 9:16 PM on August 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
I'm not sure I would even call this Representative Democracy. In gerrymandered states, the edge is often so great that it amounts to a fix. There's no reason to run anything but a pro forma campaign. There's no reason to listen to your constituents. That's not any kind of democracy.
posted by xammerboy at 9:16 PM on August 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
"Paperwork crimes" has a real ring to it.
It’s fucking theft. No cutesy names. Government theft. Tax theft.
Strongly agreed. I originally read "Paperwork" as a belittling modifier. Just some "paperwork" mistake that is "technically" criminal.
But I also agree that "white collar" has so much cultural baggage. Financial Fraud is probably succinct but overly broad.
How about "Tax Cheat."? He made a bunch of money, he should pay a bunch of taxes on it like everyone else does.
Sure, he made that money doing dirty deeds in geopolitics (sometimes against the interests of America), but he still owes Uncle Sam!
posted by porpoise at 9:16 PM on August 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
It’s fucking theft. No cutesy names. Government theft. Tax theft.
Strongly agreed. I originally read "Paperwork" as a belittling modifier. Just some "paperwork" mistake that is "technically" criminal.
But I also agree that "white collar" has so much cultural baggage. Financial Fraud is probably succinct but overly broad.
How about "Tax Cheat."? He made a bunch of money, he should pay a bunch of taxes on it like everyone else does.
Sure, he made that money doing dirty deeds in geopolitics (sometimes against the interests of America), but he still owes Uncle Sam!
posted by porpoise at 9:16 PM on August 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
As for the prosecutors in the Cohen case, they have said if an indictment doesn't come by the end of August, there won't be anything until after the election. This is in accordance with Justice Department guidelines that you don't do political indictments or subpoenas in the 60 days before an election.
Why would that apply to Cohen? He's not a politician and he's not running for office.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:19 PM on August 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Why would that apply to Cohen? He's not a politician and he's not running for office.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:19 PM on August 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Which is not to say that tax evasion is more serious than participating in a conspiracy to compromise a US Federal election.
posted by porpoise at 9:19 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by porpoise at 9:19 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
-- AZ: GOP hopeful Kelli Ward has enlisted Pizzagater Mike Cernovich to campaign for her.
Update: @VaughnHillyard [video]: Kelli Ward tonight on bus tour inclusion of Cernovich, who has said "diversity" is "white genocide": Ward: "Attaching those things to me is ridiculous" NBC: "But you’re inviting him on your bus-" Ward: "We need to have a hook to get you guys interested in seeing the bus tour..."
She knows exactly what she's doing.
posted by zachlipton at 9:27 PM on August 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
Update: @VaughnHillyard [video]: Kelli Ward tonight on bus tour inclusion of Cernovich, who has said "diversity" is "white genocide": Ward: "Attaching those things to me is ridiculous" NBC: "But you’re inviting him on your bus-" Ward: "We need to have a hook to get you guys interested in seeing the bus tour..."
She knows exactly what she's doing.
posted by zachlipton at 9:27 PM on August 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
No, but if we were prosecuting tax evasion all along, we likely wouldn't have anybody compromising elections today.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:27 PM on August 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:27 PM on August 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
I just came here to post this video link -- from Oregon's 2nd Congressional District race -- because it's inspiring. At least, it is to me, an Oregonian. Here, we are getting to see a pro-resistance, pro-common human decency candidate rise up against the GOP#3, and Trump enabler, Greg Walden. We might not be able to directly fight Trump, electorally, this year, but we can support good people and go after his enablers.
Anyway, the 3-minute vid.
posted by slab_lizard at 9:28 PM on August 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Anyway, the 3-minute vid.
posted by slab_lizard at 9:28 PM on August 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Why would that apply to Cohen? He's not a politician and he's not running for office.
It would suggest to me that there is a political aspect to the expected indictment.
posted by JackFlash at 9:32 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
It would suggest to me that there is a political aspect to the expected indictment.
posted by JackFlash at 9:32 PM on August 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
It’s fucking theft. No cutesy names. Government theft. Tax theft.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of Republicans would cheer these names, as well tax cheat. After all, this just means the criminals are "smart", successful people outwitting the true enemy - our government. Personally, I think it's a form of treason. "Stealing from Americans"?
Also, don't forget Ukraine believes the money Manafort hid is related to war crimes. Money laundering often hides hideous crimes.
posted by xammerboy at 9:34 PM on August 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Unfortunately, I think a lot of Republicans would cheer these names, as well tax cheat. After all, this just means the criminals are "smart", successful people outwitting the true enemy - our government. Personally, I think it's a form of treason. "Stealing from Americans"?
Also, don't forget Ukraine believes the money Manafort hid is related to war crimes. Money laundering often hides hideous crimes.
posted by xammerboy at 9:34 PM on August 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Money laundering often hides hideous crimes.
Behind every great fortune there is a crime.
—Balzac
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:50 PM on August 20, 2018 [39 favorites]
Behind every great fortune there is a crime.
—Balzac
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:50 PM on August 20, 2018 [39 favorites]
Agreed, Xammerboy. My dad excuses tax theft. I mean, taxes are practically theft to him, so stealing them back can hardly be a crime.
posted by greermahoney at 9:54 PM on August 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by greermahoney at 9:54 PM on August 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Republicans love to talk about people having "skin in the game." Now they have skin in the game.
Microsoft says it has found a Russian operation targeting U.S. political institutions
Microsoft says it has found a Russian operation targeting U.S. political institutions
SAN FRANCISCO — A group affiliated with the Russian government created phony versions of six websites — including some related to public policy and to the U.S. Senate — with the apparent goal of hacking into the computers of people who were tricked into visiting, according to Microsoft, which said Monday night that it discovered and disabled the fake sites.New Russian Hacking Targeted Republican Groups, Microsoft Says
[...]
Among those targeted were the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington think tank active in investigations of corruption in Russia, and the International Republican Institute (IRI), a nonprofit group that promotes democracy worldwide. Three other fake sites were crafted to appear as though they were affiliated with the Senate, and one nonpolitical site spoofed Microsoft’s own online products.
BOSTON — The Russian military intelligence unit that sought to influence the 2016 election appears to have a new target: conservative American think tanks that have broken with President Trump and are seeking continued sanctions against Moscow, exposing oligarchs or pressing for human rights.posted by scalefree at 9:56 PM on August 20, 2018 [32 favorites]
In a report scheduled for release on Tuesday, Microsoft Corporation said that it detected and seized websites that were created in recent weeks by hackers linked to the Russian unit formerly known as the G.R.U. The sites appeared meant to trick people into thinking they were clicking through links managed by the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute, but were secretly redirected to web pages created by the hackers to steal passwords and other credentials.
Reuters, Exclusive: Pentagon raises alarm about sharp drop in Iraqi refugees coming to U.S.
Military officials are sounding the alarm inside the Trump administration about the sharp drop in admission to the United States of Iraqi refugees who have helped American troops in battle, said two U.S. officials aware of the internal discussions.@elisefoley:
The Pentagon is concerned that not providing safe haven to more of the Iraqis, many of whom interpreted and did other key tasks for U.S. forces, will harm national security by dissuading locals from cooperating with the United States in Iraq and other conflict zones, the officials said.
...
One official said the White House meeting last week resulted directly from a smaller, higher-level meeting of senior national security officials earlier this month. They discussed the maximum number of refugees the United States will admit into the country next year. The administration must reach a decision on the ceiling by Sept. 30.
In the earlier, high-level meeting, the Pentagon and State Department both supported maintaining the admissions ceiling at 45,000, one current official and one former official informed of the discussions said. Other agencies’ positions on the cap were not yet clear.
...
The refugee ceiling Trump set last year of 45,000 is the lowest since 1980, when the modern refugee program was established. The United States is on track to admit about 22,000 refugees this year, approximately half of the maximum allowed.
Admission numbers for Iraqis who helped the US government and are trying to come to the US as refugees (FY)posted by zachlipton at 10:26 PM on August 20, 2018 [45 favorites]
2016: ~5,100
2017: 3,000+
This year: 48
Microsoft: We are taking new steps against broadening threats to democracy
Broadening cyberthreats to both U.S. political parties make clear that the tech sector will need to do more to help protect the democratic process. Last week, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) successfully executed a court order to disrupt and transfer control of six internet domains created by a group widely associated with the Russian government and known as Strontium, or alternatively Fancy Bear or APT28. We have now used this approach 12 times in two years to shut down 84 fake websites associated with this group. Attackers want their attacks to look as realistic as possible and they therefore create websites and URLs that look like sites their targeted victims would expect to receive email from or visit. The sites involved in last week’s order fit this description.posted by scalefree at 10:35 PM on August 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
We’re concerned that these and other attempts pose security threats to a broadening array of groups connected with both American political parties in the run-up to the 2018 elections. That’s why today we are expanding Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program with a new initiative called Microsoft AccountGuard. This initiative will provide state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection at no extra cost to all candidates and campaign offices at the federal, state and local level, as well as think tanks and political organizations we now believe are under attack. The technology is free of charge to candidates, campaigns and related political institutions using Office 365.
An expansion of political targets
Last week’s order transferred control of the six internet domains listed below from Strontium to Microsoft, preventing Strontium from using them and enabling us to more closely look for evidence of what Strontium intended to do with the domains. These six domains are listed here:http://my-iri.orgOur new Microsoft AccountGuard initiative
http://hudsonorg-my-sharepoint.com
http://senate.group
http://adfs-senate.services
http://adfs-senate.email
http://office365-onedrive.com
AccountGuard will provide three services that will cover both organizational and personal email accounts:
1. Threat notification across accounts. The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center will enable Microsoft to detect and provide notification of attacks in a unified way across both organizational and personal email systems. For political campaigns and other eligible organizations, when an attack is identified, this will provide a more comprehensive view of attacks against campaign staff. When verifiable threats are detected, Microsoft will provide personal and expedited recommendations to campaigns and campaign staff to secure their systems.
2. Security guidance and ongoing education. Officials, campaigns and related political organizations will receive guidance to help make their networks and email systems more secure. This can include applying multi-factor authentication, installing the latest security updates and guidance for setting up systems that ensure only those people who need data and documents can access them. AccountGuard will provide updated briefings and training to address evolving cyberattack trends.
3. Early adopter opportunities. Microsoft will provide preview releases of new security features on a par with the services offered to our large corporate and government account customers.
Why would that apply to Cohen? He's not a politician and he's not running for office.
I presume the theory is that prosecuting one criminal makes other criminals look bad.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:22 PM on August 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
I presume the theory is that prosecuting one criminal makes other criminals look bad.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:22 PM on August 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
> Don't worry, Rand is on the case, avoiding WWIII while securing our elections. (He is so very compromised)I did find myself wondering, while reading Sen. Paul's letter (linked from the quoted comment) about this claim:
My Russia trip was sponsored by a non-profit group. No campaign or government funds were used.Do we have any idea who this non-profit group is that's funding Republican senators' travel to Moscow?
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:39 AM on August 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
That might be more believable if every word out of his mouth to date hadn’t been a Freudian slip.
A Freudian slip? Giuliani would come in first against a Teflon-coated Freud careening down a grease-covered 45 degree incline.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:59 AM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
A Freudian slip? Giuliani would come in first against a Teflon-coated Freud careening down a grease-covered 45 degree incline.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:59 AM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
A gem from the Reuters interview (excerpts here):
ON WHETHER HE HAS A TIME FRAME TO END TRADE DISPUTES WITH CHINA
“No. No time frame. I’m like them, I have a long horizon.”
Indeed.
posted by stonepharisee at 1:05 AM on August 21, 2018
ON WHETHER HE HAS A TIME FRAME TO END TRADE DISPUTES WITH CHINA
“No. No time frame. I’m like them, I have a long horizon.”
Indeed.
posted by stonepharisee at 1:05 AM on August 21, 2018
Why would that apply to Cohen? He's not a politician and he's not running for office.
I think you avoid anything that might impact the elections, period. But... where is the Democrat that will run with this? Why aren't any journalists asking Giuliani, who's accused Mueller of dragging his feet, prolonging the investigation, arguing that the public wants this over as soon as possible, why the president doesn't ask Mueller to press on? Why the hold up?
posted by xammerboy at 2:39 AM on August 21, 2018
I think you avoid anything that might impact the elections, period. But... where is the Democrat that will run with this? Why aren't any journalists asking Giuliani, who's accused Mueller of dragging his feet, prolonging the investigation, arguing that the public wants this over as soon as possible, why the president doesn't ask Mueller to press on? Why the hold up?
posted by xammerboy at 2:39 AM on August 21, 2018
Everything Trump Touches Dies - Rick Wilson
Just got through this, written by a former GOP hatchet man and never-trumper. It's a collection of reddit zingers first and foremost. I gave this a look after hearing him on the With Friends Like These podcast on Crooked. I thought , this guy is so so close, he could be an ally.
No. While some of the witticisms are passable ('the bonfire of inanities'), the rest is reddit fodder. If he wants to put someone down, he'll compare them to a junkie, or someone that works at starbucks, or a prostitute, or... you get the idea.
The meat in this thin gruel is the insider perspective from the never trump camp, and there is something worthwhile there. The style is appalling though, it's written like an 80s standup routine.
2/5
The podcast linked above, which I recommend, is titled 'Almost Bravery w/ Rick Wilson', and that's a pretty good summary.
posted by adept256 at 2:40 AM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Just got through this, written by a former GOP hatchet man and never-trumper. It's a collection of reddit zingers first and foremost. I gave this a look after hearing him on the With Friends Like These podcast on Crooked. I thought , this guy is so so close, he could be an ally.
No. While some of the witticisms are passable ('the bonfire of inanities'), the rest is reddit fodder. If he wants to put someone down, he'll compare them to a junkie, or someone that works at starbucks, or a prostitute, or... you get the idea.
The meat in this thin gruel is the insider perspective from the never trump camp, and there is something worthwhile there. The style is appalling though, it's written like an 80s standup routine.
2/5
The podcast linked above, which I recommend, is titled 'Almost Bravery w/ Rick Wilson', and that's a pretty good summary.
posted by adept256 at 2:40 AM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
“No. No time frame. I’m like them, I have a long horizon.”
If Trump's base wants Rome to burn, Trump will keep Rome burning.
posted by xammerboy at 2:46 AM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
If Trump's base wants Rome to burn, Trump will keep Rome burning.
posted by xammerboy at 2:46 AM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Re: White collar crimes.
Why bother even qualifying them? They are just crimes, and those who do them are criminals, full stop.
posted by snortasprocket at 3:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [46 favorites]
Why bother even qualifying them? They are just crimes, and those who do them are criminals, full stop.
posted by snortasprocket at 3:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [46 favorites]
Why bother even qualifying them? They are just crimes, and those who do them are criminals, full stop.
Paul said he had “sympathy” for Manafort because the legal system might have “gone too far” to penalize him over “paperwork crimes.”
Yeah, it does sound less good when you strip that out.
posted by jaduncan at 3:28 AM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
Paul said he had “sympathy” for Manafort because the legal system might have “gone too far” to penalize him over “
Yeah, it does sound less good when you strip that out.
posted by jaduncan at 3:28 AM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
How about just include the price tag. Millions of dollars? Those are megacrimes.
posted by adept256 at 3:34 AM on August 21, 2018 [58 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 3:34 AM on August 21, 2018 [58 favorites]
I love megacrimes. It also speaks to how many people are affected.
I listened to a podcast with my wife that interviewed criminals recently. All the poor ones were so clear about what they did and their reasons for doing it: "I stole, because I was greedy and wanted money for drugs. I'm a criminal." All the rich criminals just kept stating over and over again that they were innocent, and even if they did do it, they really hadn't done anything wrong.
posted by xammerboy at 3:41 AM on August 21, 2018 [76 favorites]
I listened to a podcast with my wife that interviewed criminals recently. All the poor ones were so clear about what they did and their reasons for doing it: "I stole, because I was greedy and wanted money for drugs. I'm a criminal." All the rich criminals just kept stating over and over again that they were innocent, and even if they did do it, they really hadn't done anything wrong.
posted by xammerboy at 3:41 AM on August 21, 2018 [76 favorites]
Paul says:
"My Russia trip was sponsored by a non-profit group. No campaign or government funds were used. None of my overseas trips have spent campaign money. Trips that were fund-raising in nature, did exactly that —raised money. Any money spent overseas was spent to raise money. Last year’s trip netted over $70,000 for my committee.
The fake news media, however, reported that I went to Europe and spent $11,000 of my campaign donors’ contributions there. Instead of noting that my campaign came home with more money than we left with, the group dishonestly reported only the expenditures for the group while ignoring the contributions gained." Link
Isn't it illegal to accept campaign contributions from foreign entities? Or am I wrong about that, because it sure seems like it ought to be.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 5:29 AM on August 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
"My Russia trip was sponsored by a non-profit group. No campaign or government funds were used. None of my overseas trips have spent campaign money. Trips that were fund-raising in nature, did exactly that —raised money. Any money spent overseas was spent to raise money. Last year’s trip netted over $70,000 for my committee.
The fake news media, however, reported that I went to Europe and spent $11,000 of my campaign donors’ contributions there. Instead of noting that my campaign came home with more money than we left with, the group dishonestly reported only the expenditures for the group while ignoring the contributions gained." Link
Isn't it illegal to accept campaign contributions from foreign entities? Or am I wrong about that, because it sure seems like it ought to be.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 5:29 AM on August 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
I'm not sure I would even call this Representative Democracy. In gerrymandered states, the edge is often so great that it amounts to a fix. There's no reason to run anything but a pro forma campaign. There's no reason to listen to your constituents. That's not any kind of democracy.
Oligarchy masquerading as a democratic Republic. We're on track to be permanently ruled by a minority government explicitly beholden to a tiny overclass of the uberweathly. Which will quickly slide into an outright kleptocracy. Exactly like Putin's Russia. We're already pretty close in just 18 months of rampant Republican looting without any oversight whatsoever. 2-6 more years of this will end the rule of law in the US just like Russia now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:32 AM on August 21, 2018 [57 favorites]
Oligarchy masquerading as a democratic Republic. We're on track to be permanently ruled by a minority government explicitly beholden to a tiny overclass of the uberweathly. Which will quickly slide into an outright kleptocracy. Exactly like Putin's Russia. We're already pretty close in just 18 months of rampant Republican looting without any oversight whatsoever. 2-6 more years of this will end the rule of law in the US just like Russia now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:32 AM on August 21, 2018 [57 favorites]
The Oligarchy is already here.
It was just on a year ago that Jimmy Carter said that US had become more an 'oligarchy than a democracy' and Bernie pointed out last March that The corporate media ignores the rise of oligarchy. The rest of us shouldn't.
Most people don´t understand the term billionaire. ($1,000,000,000)
If you take $1 = 1 second of time then $1 million represents 11 and a half days.
1 billion is approx 32 years.
There are approximately 540 billionaires in USA
posted by adamvasco at 5:50 AM on August 21, 2018 [55 favorites]
It was just on a year ago that Jimmy Carter said that US had become more an 'oligarchy than a democracy' and Bernie pointed out last March that The corporate media ignores the rise of oligarchy. The rest of us shouldn't.
Most people don´t understand the term billionaire. ($1,000,000,000)
If you take $1 = 1 second of time then $1 million represents 11 and a half days.
1 billion is approx 32 years.
There are approximately 540 billionaires in USA
posted by adamvasco at 5:50 AM on August 21, 2018 [55 favorites]
> The fact that the f'ing racists up here are starting (well intensifying) to pull this familiar xenophobic BS has me very worried. Our 'premier' Dough Ford *shudder*, proved that the politics of hate, division, fear, and selfishness work perfectly well in Ontario and now the Right has started to move in some very Trump like directions for our next federal election.
Yep. And if even a small percentage of "left of centre" voters can be swayed by this messaging we're looking at a Conservative wave in the next election due to the FPTP voting system Trudeau promised to change but quickly decided not too because winning an unassailable majority with like 36% of the vote is the brass ring of Canadian politics.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:06 AM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yep. And if even a small percentage of "left of centre" voters can be swayed by this messaging we're looking at a Conservative wave in the next election due to the FPTP voting system Trudeau promised to change but quickly decided not too because winning an unassailable majority with like 36% of the vote is the brass ring of Canadian politics.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:06 AM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mod note: A few deleted. Let's please not get off into the weeds with a flame war among members about the government being / not being the real enemy. The comment said that some republicans view it that way.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:19 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 6:19 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Morning moment of snark:
Donald Trump tweets that we should "Study the late Joseph McCarthy."
According to McCarthy biographer Richard Rovere,
Roy Cohn was Donald Trump's mentor.
Roy Cohn died in 1986.
Steven Miller was born in 1986.
Coincidence? I think not.
posted by Sophie1 at 6:30 AM on August 21, 2018 [89 favorites]
Donald Trump tweets that we should "Study the late Joseph McCarthy."
According to McCarthy biographer Richard Rovere,
He was “a chronic opportunist.” He was “a political speculator.” He was “a Republican who had started as a Democrat.” He was “a fertile innovator, a first-rate organizer and galvanizer of mobs, a skilled manipulator of public opinion, and something like a genius at that essential American strategy: publicity.” He was “a vulgarian.” He was “a man with an almost aesthetic preference for untruth.” He “faked it all and could not understand anyone who didn’t.” He “made sages of screwballs and accused wise men of being fools.” He was “the first American ever to be actively hated and feared by foreigners in large numbers.” He “favored the third person.”Roy Cohn was McCarthy's chief counsel.
Roy Cohn was Donald Trump's mentor.
Roy Cohn died in 1986.
Steven Miller was born in 1986.
Coincidence? I think not.
posted by Sophie1 at 6:30 AM on August 21, 2018 [89 favorites]
This is in accordance with Justice Department guidelines that you don't do political indictments or subpoenas in the 60 days before an election.
Guidelines are not law and NOTHING about this is normal.
Mueller is a Marine and I expect he had long ago internalized "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome". I would like to hope that no mere guideline will prevent him completing his mission, and issuing criminal indictments to those who chose to commit crimes.
(Periodic Reminder: Despair is a sin.)
posted by mikelieman at 6:35 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
Guidelines are not law and NOTHING about this is normal.
Mueller is a Marine and I expect he had long ago internalized "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome". I would like to hope that no mere guideline will prevent him completing his mission, and issuing criminal indictments to those who chose to commit crimes.
(Periodic Reminder: Despair is a sin.)
posted by mikelieman at 6:35 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
Broke, Busted And Disgusted: A Fuller Picture Of Manafort’s Financial Perils As He Joined Trump Camp (Tierney Sneed | TPM)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:42 AM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:42 AM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Pentagon is concerned that not providing safe haven to more of the Iraqis, many of whom interpreted and did other key tasks for U.S. forces, will harm national security...
I have seen this same sentiment on social media posts from recent veterans who are very grateful to the locals who worked alongside them as translators. They can't understand why the government isn't helping people who provided very specific & very important services in aid of American foreign policy aims.
I don't know them quite well enough to tell them, "It's racism, my dude," but it really just is.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
I have seen this same sentiment on social media posts from recent veterans who are very grateful to the locals who worked alongside them as translators. They can't understand why the government isn't helping people who provided very specific & very important services in aid of American foreign policy aims.
I don't know them quite well enough to tell them, "It's racism, my dude," but it really just is.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
Isn't it illegal to accept campaign contributions from foreign entities? Or am I wrong about that, because it sure seems like it ought to be.
52 U.S. Code § 30121 - Contributions and donations by foreign nationals
52 U.S. Code § 30121 - Contributions and donations by foreign nationals
(a) Prohibition It shall be unlawful for—posted by mikelieman at 6:57 AM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make—
(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
(B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or
(C) an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 30104(f)(3) of this title); or
(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national....
There are plenty of Americans overseas, or at least people with American citizenship. So, he may be getting from those.
IMO it would be much better if he was spending government money to visit overseas. It is part of his job, after all. He puts it as if it is a good thing that he doesn't spend government money but of course the voters interest would be much better served if his attention was fully focused on the job (instead of the shadow job, raising money) and could be fully disinterested in donors agendas.
posted by Bovine Love at 7:06 AM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
IMO it would be much better if he was spending government money to visit overseas. It is part of his job, after all. He puts it as if it is a good thing that he doesn't spend government money but of course the voters interest would be much better served if his attention was fully focused on the job (instead of the shadow job, raising money) and could be fully disinterested in donors agendas.
posted by Bovine Love at 7:06 AM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Who was the non-profit that sent him to Moscow, and who did they get the money from?
posted by gucci mane at 7:29 AM on August 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 7:29 AM on August 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
I've been tempted to run as a caricature candidate. Nominally Republican, but with campaign slogans like, I'm only in it for the grift, and Talk to me about your bribing needs. A platform that sounds like a cross between Darth Vader and Snidely Whiplash. In the tradition of the Monster Raving Loony Party.
Only now, I think I'd get elected.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:30 AM on August 21, 2018 [55 favorites]
Only now, I think I'd get elected.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:30 AM on August 21, 2018 [55 favorites]
I've been tempted to run as a caricature candidate. Nominally Republican, but with campaign slogans like, I'm only in it for the grift, and Talk to me about your bribing needs. A platform that sounds like a cross between Darth Vader and Snidely Whiplash. In the tradition of the Monster Raving Loony Party.
So a moderate Republican then?
posted by ian1977 at 7:35 AM on August 21, 2018 [71 favorites]
So a moderate Republican then?
posted by ian1977 at 7:35 AM on August 21, 2018 [71 favorites]
The government is full of no good thieves out to rob honest taxpayers. It's time we made SecretAgentSockpuppet that no good thief!
posted by cmfletcher at 7:51 AM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 7:51 AM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
Who was the non-profit that sent him to Moscow, and who did they get the money from?
Very small charity operation, called comintern
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:11 AM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Very small charity operation, called comintern
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:11 AM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
But a few Facebook ads and posts couldn't have affected the election...
Justin Hendrix (NYC Media Lab)
Landmark study in Germany scrutinized every anti-refugee attack in the country, 3,335 in 2 yrs, concluded that wherever per-person Facebook use rose to one standard deviation above the national average, attacks on refugees increased by about 50 percent. NYT: Facebook Fueled Anti-Refugee Attacks in Germany, New Research Suggests
• Estimates "...this effect drove one-tenth of all anti-refugee violence. The uptick in violence did not correlate with general web use or other related factors; this was not about the internet as an open platform for mobilization or communication. It was particular to Facebook."
• "Other experts, asked to review the findings, called them credible, rigorous — and disturbing. The study bolstered a growing body of research, they said, finding that social media scrambles users’ perceptions of outsiders, of reality, even of right and wrong."
• "Could Facebook really distort social relations to the point of violence? The University of Warwick researchers tested their findings by examining every sustained internet outage in their study window. Sure enough, whenever internet access went down in an area with high Facebook use, attacks on refugees dropped significantly."
• This will be a pull quote in the space alien retrospective on the human race:
Justin Hendrix (NYC Media Lab)
Landmark study in Germany scrutinized every anti-refugee attack in the country, 3,335 in 2 yrs, concluded that wherever per-person Facebook use rose to one standard deviation above the national average, attacks on refugees increased by about 50 percent. NYT: Facebook Fueled Anti-Refugee Attacks in Germany, New Research Suggests
• Estimates "...this effect drove one-tenth of all anti-refugee violence. The uptick in violence did not correlate with general web use or other related factors; this was not about the internet as an open platform for mobilization or communication. It was particular to Facebook."
• "Other experts, asked to review the findings, called them credible, rigorous — and disturbing. The study bolstered a growing body of research, they said, finding that social media scrambles users’ perceptions of outsiders, of reality, even of right and wrong."
• "Could Facebook really distort social relations to the point of violence? The University of Warwick researchers tested their findings by examining every sustained internet outage in their study window. Sure enough, whenever internet access went down in an area with high Facebook use, attacks on refugees dropped significantly."
• This will be a pull quote in the space alien retrospective on the human race:
“Many people lie and fake things in the newspapers,” she said, referring darkly to matters of war and disease. “But with the internet, I can decide for myself what to believe and what not.”posted by chris24 at 8:14 AM on August 21, 2018 [109 favorites]
I would bet a lot of money Facebook already knew this from their own internals, and did nothing about it.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:24 AM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by schadenfrau at 8:24 AM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
Who was the non-profit that sent him [Rand Paul] to Moscow, and who did they get the money from?
He is just using non-profit as a nicer sounding word for his own 527 political action committee RAND PAC. He uses the committee as a slush fund to finance his trips abroad and personal expenses.
As for who he is collecting donations from overseas, Rand has been a stanch supporter of revoking the law requiring overseas ex-pats to report their foreign income and bank accounts -- the same law Paul Manafort is accused of violating. So there are lots of rich ex-pats that would give him money.
This is also the reason he thinks Manafort is guilty of a mere paperwork crime. He doesn't believe Manafort should be required to report his foreign income and assets at all.
posted by JackFlash at 8:33 AM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
He is just using non-profit as a nicer sounding word for his own 527 political action committee RAND PAC. He uses the committee as a slush fund to finance his trips abroad and personal expenses.
As for who he is collecting donations from overseas, Rand has been a stanch supporter of revoking the law requiring overseas ex-pats to report their foreign income and bank accounts -- the same law Paul Manafort is accused of violating. So there are lots of rich ex-pats that would give him money.
This is also the reason he thinks Manafort is guilty of a mere paperwork crime. He doesn't believe Manafort should be required to report his foreign income and assets at all.
posted by JackFlash at 8:33 AM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
• This will be a pull quote in the space alien retrospective on the human race:
There's a short story out there I think about a lot these days (I swear it's on the internet somewhere, but can't find it); the end of the world is nigh, and before everything started to fall apart, the remainder of humanity decided to attempt to carve a giant message into the earth in a few places for whatever alien species found the planet later. The four words agreed upon were "Don't be like us".
Of course, my sense is that these days we wouldn't be able to agree on anything, and that what would likely be carved into the surface for North America would be "Fuck you, got mine."
posted by nubs at 8:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
There's a short story out there I think about a lot these days (I swear it's on the internet somewhere, but can't find it); the end of the world is nigh, and before everything started to fall apart, the remainder of humanity decided to attempt to carve a giant message into the earth in a few places for whatever alien species found the planet later. The four words agreed upon were "Don't be like us".
Of course, my sense is that these days we wouldn't be able to agree on anything, and that what would likely be carved into the surface for North America would be "Fuck you, got mine."
posted by nubs at 8:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
I mean it's thanks to gateway drugs like Facebook that our borderline-racist older relatives have waded into true cesspits of the Online Rightosphere (Alex Jones, Breitbart, /pol/, and so on) and emerged like some horribly radicalized fash Swamp Thing. I see grandparents at my kid's karate class wearing Alex Jones "Hilary for Prison" shirts like it's NBD to support a religious fanatic who calls for his ideological enemies to be murdered and leads a harassment campaign against victims of crime. I feel like without Facebook the hardest dose of fascism they'd be able to easily get their hands on is the occasional forgettable Pat Buchanan polemic that they'd skim once and leave to collect dust. That kind of fash-lite is like children's cough syrup compared to the fentanyl patch of content Facebook funnels their way.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 8:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [84 favorites]
posted by Kitty Stardust at 8:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [84 favorites]
So Many Guns, So Much Smoke - Mark Joseph Stern, Slate
"GOP obstruction is indefensible, but Democrats don’t need to see more documents to vote against Brett Kavanaugh."
"GOP obstruction is indefensible, but Democrats don’t need to see more documents to vote against Brett Kavanaugh."
There is, no doubt, a tantalizing mystery surrounding the hidden Kavanaugh documents. Like Omarosa’s Trump tapes, the missing papers have become an object of fascination for many progressives, who feverishly speculate that they might contain a smoking gun that could sink Kavanaugh’s nomination. Republicans’ resistance to their release only stokes their curiosity; the New York Times editorial board, for instance, openly pondered what the GOP is covering up by concealing the documents.posted by ZeusHumms at 8:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
The likely answer? Nothing—or, at least, nothing more damaging to Kavanaugh’s nomination than the information that’s already in the public record. ... Kavanaugh is a Republican loyalist who has sided with the GOP on every major issue to come before the D.C. Circuit. We know [what he believes and how he's likely to act] because, over the course of more than 300 aggressively conservative opinions, he has told us what he believes in exhaustive detail. What more could the documents reveal? Kavanaugh, for instance, has already declared war on the constitutional right to abortion access. We have the smoking guns. More evidence would gild the lily.
...
Why, then, is McConnell so eager to push through Kavanaugh’s nomination before the documents are released? Aside from the looming election, there is one clear reason: The Supreme Court has stacked its October docket with major cases that will require Kavanaugh’s vote for a conservative victory. In the first 10 days of October, the court will hear cases involving environmental protections, age discrimination in employment, the execution of mentally disabled death-row inmates, mandatory arbitration, and immigrant detention. Without Kavanaugh’s vote, any or all of these cases could deadlock 4–4, allowing the liberal justices to thwart a conservative rout. With Kavanaugh’s vote, the Supreme Court could quickly begin rolling back the liberal components of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s legacy.
So the Manafort jury has sent a note to the judge asking what happens if they "cannot come to a consensus on a single count", and Twitter seems to have decided this means that the rest of the counts are all guilties, while I immediately take it to mean they cannot come to a consensus on any single count.
I hope I'm wrong.
posted by Gaz Errant at 8:44 AM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
I hope I'm wrong.
posted by Gaz Errant at 8:44 AM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
Per twitter - Manafort jury sends not to judge "if we cannot come to a consensus on a single count" how should they fill in verdict form and "what does it mean for the final verdict"
im really nauseated over here parsing whether this means they agree on all but one charge or dont agree on any. . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:45 AM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
im really nauseated over here parsing whether this means they agree on all but one charge or dont agree on any. . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:45 AM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
I take it to mean they have formed a consensus on all but one count. And per the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: "If the jury cannot agree on all counts as to any defendant, the jury may return a verdict on those counts on which it has agreed ... If the jury cannot agree on a verdict on one or more counts, the court may declare a mistrial on those counts."
If Manafort is convicted on all but one count, regarding which there is a mistrial, and he declines to co-operate, he will be sentenced to jail for the rest of his life. And, the President will claim that he is completely exonerated. It is known.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:47 AM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
If Manafort is convicted on all but one count, regarding which there is a mistrial, and he declines to co-operate, he will be sentenced to jail for the rest of his life. And, the President will claim that he is completely exonerated. It is known.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:47 AM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
Twitter seems to have decided this means that the rest of the counts are all guilties, while I immediately take it to mean they cannot come to a consensus on any single count.
I would not at all be surprised if there's some MAGA chud in the jury that is refusing to convict on any count becuase QAnon or some shit. Because this is the worst timeline, what else could we expect other than a mistrial for a hung jury.
posted by dis_integration at 8:48 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I would not at all be surprised if there's some MAGA chud in the jury that is refusing to convict on any count becuase QAnon or some shit. Because this is the worst timeline, what else could we expect other than a mistrial for a hung jury.
posted by dis_integration at 8:48 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I feel the same way that Emperor Joseph II felt after listening to Mozart: there are simply too many notes.
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:48 AM on August 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:48 AM on August 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
I was going to post links to more folks (even reporters who have been watching the whole trial) but nothing will actually help us figure out which of those two possibilities is coming, so im here waiting with everyone else . . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:50 AM on August 21, 2018
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:50 AM on August 21, 2018
So the Manafort jury has sent a note to the judge asking what happens if they "cannot come to a consensus on a single count", and Twitter seems to have decided this means that the rest of the counts are all guilties, while I immediately take it to mean they cannot come to a consensus on any single count.
My reason for optimism here is that I'd be very surprised if the form for one of the busiest federal courts in the country doesn't have a clear way to mark that the result is "no consensus on all charges," as opposed to the more complicated question of "guilty/not guilty on some, hung jury on others."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:53 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
My reason for optimism here is that I'd be very surprised if the form for one of the busiest federal courts in the country doesn't have a clear way to mark that the result is "no consensus on all charges," as opposed to the more complicated question of "guilty/not guilty on some, hung jury on others."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:53 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
as a distraction - NBC now reporting that a Michael Cohen plea deal is imminent, details not yet final but there could be a hearing on it as soon as today.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:53 AM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:53 AM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Also keep in mind there's another Manafort trial across the river...and then Trump can pardon him on all counts. This isn't close to the Manafort end game.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would not at all be surprised if there's some MAGA chud in the jury that is refusing to convict on any count becuase QAnon or some shit.
Someone like that would not be subtle. If they somehow managed to make it through jury selection, I feel confident enough that another juror would have since complained about their blatant bias to the judge.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 8:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Someone like that would not be subtle. If they somehow managed to make it through jury selection, I feel confident enough that another juror would have since complained about their blatant bias to the judge.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 8:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Twitter just lit up with a bunch of people saying that MSNBC (on air) is reporting Cohen is going to take a plea deal.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:54 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Twitter just lit up with a bunch of people saying that MSNBC (on air) is reporting Cohen is going to take a plea deal.
Says who?
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:55 AM on August 21, 2018 [80 favorites]
Says who?
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:55 AM on August 21, 2018 [80 favorites]
If Trump decides to pardon Manafort, then 'twere well it were done quickly. No point in letting Manafort sit around deciding whether to spill the beans to Mueller. It could happen today. History in the making.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:56 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:56 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Jonathan Dienst, chief investigative reporter for WNBC and a contributing nbc news correspondant.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:56 AM on August 21, 2018
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:56 AM on August 21, 2018
as a distraction - NBC now reporting that a Michael Cohen plea deal is imminent, details not yet final but there could be a hearing on it as soon as today.
I was doing a magazine shoot of a lawyer yesterday and we were shooting at and around the courthouses at Foley Square. My assistant and I were standing in front of the SD NY Courthouse waiting for him when a couple reporters came up and asked if we were waiting for Cohen, since they assumed with the camera equipment we were photojournalists/paps and they had heard he was turning himself in yesterday with a plea. So I guess it was true.
posted by chris24 at 8:57 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I was doing a magazine shoot of a lawyer yesterday and we were shooting at and around the courthouses at Foley Square. My assistant and I were standing in front of the SD NY Courthouse waiting for him when a couple reporters came up and asked if we were waiting for Cohen, since they assumed with the camera equipment we were photojournalists/paps and they had heard he was turning himself in yesterday with a plea. So I guess it was true.
posted by chris24 at 8:57 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
MSNBC's chyron is phrasing the jury's question as: "What if we cannot reach consensus on one charge?", which is how I interpreted it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:00 AM on August 21, 2018
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:00 AM on August 21, 2018
Mod note: Folks, let's ramp down the speculation and chatter. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:01 AM on August 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:01 AM on August 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
MSNBC: The judge has instructed the jury to continue deliberating on the remaining charge.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:01 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:01 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
(For those unaware, the “Says Who?” refrains are a nod to Cohen making a fool of himself with said phrase. More info here.)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:05 AM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:05 AM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
My reason for optimism here is that I'd be very surprised if the form for one of the busiest federal courts in the country doesn't have a clear way to mark that the result is "no consensus on all charges," as opposed to the more complicated question of "guilty/not guilty on some, hung jury on others."
Lawyer here (but not a criminal lawyer and don't practice in NY): At least where I practice, in civil cases jury forms are often a custom-made document prepared by counsel, often using model jury forms as a starting point. If the parties' counsel can't agree, they submit the forms to the judge who makes a ruling. Those forms pretty much never would have a spot to fill in "not sure". That would invite the jury to pick that box, which is exactly what you don't want. They would instead have something like (and I can't stress how much this is completely made up, and purely for illustration, and how exact wording might be a battle or might be according to model jury verdict form): "On Count 18, for [insert crime], do you find beyond a reasonable doubt that Manafort is guilty? Yes ______ No ______.]
I do think it's relatively clear the jury agrees on 17 counts, disagrees on the 18th. Given the mountain of evidence, I'd be surprised if the other 17 were all not guilty. But we have no way to know that from the question itself, and juries do crazy things sometimes. (I mentioned in a much older thread, but I once participated in a mock trial training with fake facts designed to lead to equally reasonable conclusions of suicide or accident, and one of the juries came back thinking it could be a murder.) They could be all guilty, all not guilty, or anything in between.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 9:21 AM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
Lawyer here (but not a criminal lawyer and don't practice in NY): At least where I practice, in civil cases jury forms are often a custom-made document prepared by counsel, often using model jury forms as a starting point. If the parties' counsel can't agree, they submit the forms to the judge who makes a ruling. Those forms pretty much never would have a spot to fill in "not sure". That would invite the jury to pick that box, which is exactly what you don't want. They would instead have something like (and I can't stress how much this is completely made up, and purely for illustration, and how exact wording might be a battle or might be according to model jury verdict form): "On Count 18, for [insert crime], do you find beyond a reasonable doubt that Manafort is guilty? Yes ______ No ______.]
I do think it's relatively clear the jury agrees on 17 counts, disagrees on the 18th. Given the mountain of evidence, I'd be surprised if the other 17 were all not guilty. But we have no way to know that from the question itself, and juries do crazy things sometimes. (I mentioned in a much older thread, but I once participated in a mock trial training with fake facts designed to lead to equally reasonable conclusions of suicide or accident, and one of the juries came back thinking it could be a murder.) They could be all guilty, all not guilty, or anything in between.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 9:21 AM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
I concur with kingjoeschmoe and, further, I expect the 18th count they're disagreeing on is one of the highly technical financial ones dealing with foreign accounts, with multiple or obscured owners and slightly murky facts around intent. The wording of those statutes is very technical and it can be complicated to figure out if the facts fit the necessary elements for the crime.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:30 AM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:30 AM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
NBC: Migrant parents say they were coerced into signing away right to be reunified with their children
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:32 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:32 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Most people don´t understand the term billionaire. ($1,000,000,000)
My standard way of explaining a billion: it's a thousand millions. Somehow that shocks people. Then you flip it around and say, would a thousand dollars make a difference in your life? In the life of anyone you know? Well, this guy has a million thousands.
posted by Caxton1476 at 9:35 AM on August 21, 2018 [51 favorites]
My standard way of explaining a billion: it's a thousand millions. Somehow that shocks people. Then you flip it around and say, would a thousand dollars make a difference in your life? In the life of anyone you know? Well, this guy has a million thousands.
posted by Caxton1476 at 9:35 AM on August 21, 2018 [51 favorites]
Midterm elections mean it's ballot measures season. We've got three that have made the ballot in Arizona, and all three have been facing all sorts of court challenges to get them tossed out. We're looking at likely slam dunks for passage as long as they stay on, which is why they're facing so many attempts to block them from going to voters. The three include restrictions on dark money, requiring 50% of power in the state to be renewable by 2030, and a tax increase on the top earners to go towards education. These have the potential to help drive Dem turnout in the state.
posted by azpenguin at 9:42 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 9:42 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
This reminds me of the most recent episode of the podcast "Srsly Wrong", Blue Shell Bezos:
The Wrong Boys interview Matthew Lang of the Seattle Transit Riders Union, and Matt Bruenig of the People’s Policy Project, to discuss HITTING JEFF BEZOS with a PEOPLE’S BLUE SHELL, knocking him back to fourth, and housing all homeless people in Seattle and across America!
Very funny and on-point show, I highly recommend it.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:56 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
The Wrong Boys interview Matthew Lang of the Seattle Transit Riders Union, and Matt Bruenig of the People’s Policy Project, to discuss HITTING JEFF BEZOS with a PEOPLE’S BLUE SHELL, knocking him back to fourth, and housing all homeless people in Seattle and across America!
Very funny and on-point show, I highly recommend it.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:56 AM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Author of Trump-Russia dossier wins libel case in US court.
Suit against Christopher Steele by three Russian oligarchs thrown out by judge.
posted by adamvasco at 10:02 AM on August 21, 2018 [45 favorites]
Suit against Christopher Steele by three Russian oligarchs thrown out by judge.
posted by adamvasco at 10:02 AM on August 21, 2018 [45 favorites]
Mod note: Come on, folks, general chatter about eating the rich doesn't go here.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 10:14 AM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 10:14 AM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Rep. Steve Scalise: I might have attended white supremacist event
posted by Artw at 10:15 AM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:15 AM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Sophie Weiner (SplinterNews) took a look at the above-mentioned Trump interview with Reuters, and came to this conclusion: Trump Has No Idea How Perjury Works
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
@LisaDNews: Sen. Collins just said Kavanaugh told her he agrees w Roberts' take on Roe V Wade - that it is settled law.
@samstein: As a tell of how sincere this proclamation is or is being taken, just watch how many anti-abortion Senators or even anti-abortion outside groups put out statements of concern on Kavanaugh now. The answer will be, approximately, zero.
posted by zachlipton at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
@samstein: As a tell of how sincere this proclamation is or is being taken, just watch how many anti-abortion Senators or even anti-abortion outside groups put out statements of concern on Kavanaugh now. The answer will be, approximately, zero.
posted by zachlipton at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
Rep. Steve Scalise: I might have attended white supremacist event
Like a GOP House Conference meeting?
posted by rocketman at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
Like a GOP House Conference meeting?
posted by rocketman at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
Sometimes people don't appreciate the difficult task the jury is faced with in a financial crimes case. In comparison, the typical robbery or assault or murder case is pretty straight forward -- either they did it or not.
Financial crimes are much more complicated. You have to check off all of the technical elements that define each crime before you can find guilt. For example, did he have 50% ownership of the account, is the value of the account more than $10,000, did he have direct oversight of the account, did he conceal his ownership of the account, did he do so willfully, etc. The jury must find evidence for every single element in the crime to find guilt. And they have to do the same thing for all 18 counts in the indictment.
But here's the crazy thing. The jury doesn't find out these criteria until the very end of the trial, after all the testimony, after closing statements, after everyone is finished and the judge gives them the instructions. So the jury has to go picking back through weeks of testimony, relying only on their memories, to see if there are pieces of evidence supporting all of these elements that they only found out about after the trial was over. They may have half-dozed through portions of the testimony because no one told them of the importance or relevance of some arcane element in the instructions they would receive at the end.
It's a wonder that juries can come up with verdicts at all in these complex cases.
It would be much better if the jury was given a checklist of items at the beginning of the trial so they would know what to look out for. But that isn't the way U.S. trials work. They only get those instructions at the end.
Given this handicap, it might be better if prosecutors would narrow down their charges to only one or two that they think would have the biggest penalties and the clearest, simplest evidence. By flooding them with every possible charge, they risk confusing the jury and making their decisions more difficult.
posted by JackFlash at 10:18 AM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
Financial crimes are much more complicated. You have to check off all of the technical elements that define each crime before you can find guilt. For example, did he have 50% ownership of the account, is the value of the account more than $10,000, did he have direct oversight of the account, did he conceal his ownership of the account, did he do so willfully, etc. The jury must find evidence for every single element in the crime to find guilt. And they have to do the same thing for all 18 counts in the indictment.
But here's the crazy thing. The jury doesn't find out these criteria until the very end of the trial, after all the testimony, after closing statements, after everyone is finished and the judge gives them the instructions. So the jury has to go picking back through weeks of testimony, relying only on their memories, to see if there are pieces of evidence supporting all of these elements that they only found out about after the trial was over. They may have half-dozed through portions of the testimony because no one told them of the importance or relevance of some arcane element in the instructions they would receive at the end.
It's a wonder that juries can come up with verdicts at all in these complex cases.
It would be much better if the jury was given a checklist of items at the beginning of the trial so they would know what to look out for. But that isn't the way U.S. trials work. They only get those instructions at the end.
Given this handicap, it might be better if prosecutors would narrow down their charges to only one or two that they think would have the biggest penalties and the clearest, simplest evidence. By flooding them with every possible charge, they risk confusing the jury and making their decisions more difficult.
posted by JackFlash at 10:18 AM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
NYT, Lisa Friedman, E.P.A. Unveils New Coal Pollution Rules. In the Fine Print: More Deaths.
posted by zachlipton at 10:21 AM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
The Trump administration on Tuesday made public the details of its new pollution rules governing coal-burning power plants, and the fine print includes an acknowledgment that the plan would increase carbon emissions and lead to up to 1,400 premature deaths annually.And while we're talking about lawsuits, this one wasn't thrown out by a judge: @kenvogel: NEW: A NY State judge rejects TRUMP's effort to dismiss a lawsuit against his private security team for roughing up protesters, writing that Trump "authorized & condoned the specific type of conduct of defendants @KeithSchiller45, GARY UHER & EDDIE DECK." In declining to dismiss TRUMP from the case, the judge specifically cited his justification after his supporters roughed up a #BlackLivesMatter protester at a 2015 campaign rally: "Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing."
The proposal, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, is a replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which was an aggressive effort to speed up the closures of coal-burning plants, one of the main producers of greenhouse gases, by setting national targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions and encouraging utilities to use cleaner energy sources like wind and solar.
The new proposal, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, instead seeks to make minor on-site efficiency improvements at individual plants and would also let states relax pollution rules for power plants that need upgrades, keeping them active longer.
...
Mr. Obama’s E.P.A. also estimated that, by 2030, the Clean Power Plan would result in 180,000 fewer missed school days per year by children because of ozone-related illnesses. Asthma instances would also drop significantly, according to the analysis.
By contrast, the Trump administration analysis finds that own its plan would see 48,000 new cases of exacerbated asthma and at least 21,000 new missed days of school annually by 2030 because those pollutants would increase in the atmosphere rather than decrease.
posted by zachlipton at 10:21 AM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
Rep. Steve Scalise: I might have attended white supremacist event
WhiteKKKongressman.
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
WhiteKKKongressman.
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
“I don't support any of the things I have read about this group, but I spoke to a lot of groups during that period. I went all throughout South Louisiana,” Scalise said. “I spoke to the League of Women Voters, a pretty liberal group ... I still went and spoke to them. I spoke to any group that called, and there were a lot of groups calling.”
You heard it here first, folks:
According to Steve Scalise, the KKK and the League of Women Voters are merely two sides of the same extremist coin.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [54 favorites]
You heard it here first, folks:
According to Steve Scalise, the KKK and the League of Women Voters are merely two sides of the same extremist coin.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [54 favorites]
, but by the lack of will to solve them.
Or rather the will of the minority to make sure they aren't fixed so that they can amass even more ridiculous fortunes and power.
The shadow-and-not-so-shadow finance behind all the populist far-right propaganda and machinations seems squarely aimed at making sure the oligarchs of the world are able to remain beyond both taxes and the law so their influence and wealth-theft remains unchecked.
If we survive Trump then the very minimum required to avoid someone even worse four years down the line is global action to make tax havens (and legal tax avoidance on large corporate profits) a thing of the past.
The propaganda tools used to put Trump in power aren't going away, if anything they'll just be refined and become more effective. Kinda need to make sure no group is so untouchable as to be able to use them again.
posted by Buntix at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Or rather the will of the minority to make sure they aren't fixed so that they can amass even more ridiculous fortunes and power.
The shadow-and-not-so-shadow finance behind all the populist far-right propaganda and machinations seems squarely aimed at making sure the oligarchs of the world are able to remain beyond both taxes and the law so their influence and wealth-theft remains unchecked.
If we survive Trump then the very minimum required to avoid someone even worse four years down the line is global action to make tax havens (and legal tax avoidance on large corporate profits) a thing of the past.
The propaganda tools used to put Trump in power aren't going away, if anything they'll just be refined and become more effective. Kinda need to make sure no group is so untouchable as to be able to use them again.
posted by Buntix at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Financial crimes are much more complicated.
It's not just the complexity of the content, it's the framing favorable to the well-off. You don't have to prove that the guy who held up the 7-11 intended to commit a crime. For mega-crimes, the lawmakers make sure you often have to prove that the perps knew what they were doing was illegal and intended to do it. That's a pretty high fucking bar when you have high-paid legal help.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:23 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
It's not just the complexity of the content, it's the framing favorable to the well-off. You don't have to prove that the guy who held up the 7-11 intended to commit a crime. For mega-crimes, the lawmakers make sure you often have to prove that the perps knew what they were doing was illegal and intended to do it. That's a pretty high fucking bar when you have high-paid legal help.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:23 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
Rep. Steve Scalise: I might have attended white supremacist event
"I may have committed a little...light White supremacy."
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:25 AM on August 21, 2018 [51 favorites]
"I may have committed a little...light White supremacy."
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:25 AM on August 21, 2018 [51 favorites]
@NatashaBertrand: Just in: Mueller’s team has again delayed Flynn’s sentencing hearing. Next update will be September 17.
Not really sure what to make of delay, since they were moving forward earlier, but this sums up my feelings right now:
@kylegriffin1: I don't think I'm properly prepared for everything that could happen this afternoon.
posted by zachlipton at 10:28 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Not really sure what to make of delay, since they were moving forward earlier, but this sums up my feelings right now:
@kylegriffin1: I don't think I'm properly prepared for everything that could happen this afternoon.
posted by zachlipton at 10:28 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Yeah, if Manafort goes down and Cohen pleads, Trump is gonna go apeshit.
posted by chris24 at 10:29 AM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 10:29 AM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
There is too much news. It's a Tuesday in August. Nothing is supposed to be happening.
@AlexPappas: Breaking: Ex-Dem IT aide Imran Awan gets no jail time. Federal judge sentences him to time served and three months of supervised release. No fine. Pleaded guilty to false statement on loan application in July. Awan blamed the "mistake" on being stressed over his dying father's deteriorating health, saying it was "the most stressful time in my life." He was emotional, as he referenced negative news stories about him, but said "I have no grudges in my heart for anyone. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan acknowledged that Awan did not end up on investigators radar because of fraud, but because of his work in House. But called those allegations "unfounded," and said they came from "highest level" of government.
More here from the Post. This is the man Trump called the "Pakistani gentleman" during his press conference with Putin, so the judge really meant "highest level" there.
posted by zachlipton at 10:34 AM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
@AlexPappas: Breaking: Ex-Dem IT aide Imran Awan gets no jail time. Federal judge sentences him to time served and three months of supervised release. No fine. Pleaded guilty to false statement on loan application in July. Awan blamed the "mistake" on being stressed over his dying father's deteriorating health, saying it was "the most stressful time in my life." He was emotional, as he referenced negative news stories about him, but said "I have no grudges in my heart for anyone. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan acknowledged that Awan did not end up on investigators radar because of fraud, but because of his work in House. But called those allegations "unfounded," and said they came from "highest level" of government.
More here from the Post. This is the man Trump called the "Pakistani gentleman" during his press conference with Putin, so the judge really meant "highest level" there.
posted by zachlipton at 10:34 AM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
Yeah but I feel like his outrage level towards this investigation is already, like, full apeshit. He already just sends out tweets full of 10 slurs attached to Mueller's name, or whoever else is pissing him off that day. What's next - every single word all capped? Exclamation points in the middle of words? Literal F-bombs?
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 10:37 AM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 10:37 AM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sometimes people don't appreciate the difficult task the jury is faced with in a financial crimes case. In comparison, the typical robbery or assault or murder case is pretty straight forward -- either they did it or not.
This is extremely not true. Any court case can be incredibly complicated.
My father deliberated on a jury for a bank robbery trail an extra 4 days because of just whether or not the main dude had a pistol in his hand during specific moments of the crime, and whether or not he was running the show during very specific moments in the crime.
With the pistol, it was an extra 10 years per felony (and there were lots of felonies). And if he was "in charge" (there's a legal term for this, not sure what it is) during certain moments vs on equal footing with the other crime doers, then there were all kinds of other considerations for other felonies that were committed.
In the end I think the four days were just deliberating about giving him 2 life sentences plus 500 years vs 2 life sentences plus 200 years, so it was all moot but the wheels of justice must complete their turn.
posted by sideshow at 10:40 AM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
This is extremely not true. Any court case can be incredibly complicated.
My father deliberated on a jury for a bank robbery trail an extra 4 days because of just whether or not the main dude had a pistol in his hand during specific moments of the crime, and whether or not he was running the show during very specific moments in the crime.
With the pistol, it was an extra 10 years per felony (and there were lots of felonies). And if he was "in charge" (there's a legal term for this, not sure what it is) during certain moments vs on equal footing with the other crime doers, then there were all kinds of other considerations for other felonies that were committed.
In the end I think the four days were just deliberating about giving him 2 life sentences plus 500 years vs 2 life sentences plus 200 years, so it was all moot but the wheels of justice must complete their turn.
posted by sideshow at 10:40 AM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
It's happening. @KFaulders: NEW: @ABC has learned that Michael Cohen has entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.
There was another report (CNN's) that this is looking like a straight plea, not a cooperation agreement.
posted by zachlipton at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
There was another report (CNN's) that this is looking like a straight plea, not a cooperation agreement.
posted by zachlipton at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
Full apeshit to me is the risk of launching a war or firing Mueller. He's wanted to fire Mueller since day 1 and has not yet despite his total lack of self-control and morals. So I assume that somehow some Rs have convinced him behind the scenes that doing so would be catastrophic. But as an actual catastrophe gets closer and closer to him, the hypothetical one holding him back gets less and less persuasive. So any time there's a huge development IMO we get closer to when he snaps. May not be this time, but it's going to happen. He'd rather destroy the world rather than suffer any consequences himself.
posted by chris24 at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
So any time there's a huge development IMO we get closer to when he snaps.
A narcissist's rage will eventually translate into action of (to the narcissist) appropriate scale. No impulse control, no empathy, and an ever-increasing sense of injury must lead to lashing-out and there are really only a few paths this could take:
(1) Attack the rule of law. Fire Mueller, fire Rosenstein, fire Sessions, arrest enemies, who knows what else.
(2) Physically attack a nation perceived as weaker; literally punching down. Iran, presumably. It wouldn't go good.
(3) Rage-quit. Sudden resignation followed by a prolonged dotage of grifting and stoking grievance cultism.
In order of most-to-least likely.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:55 AM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
A narcissist's rage will eventually translate into action of (to the narcissist) appropriate scale. No impulse control, no empathy, and an ever-increasing sense of injury must lead to lashing-out and there are really only a few paths this could take:
(1) Attack the rule of law. Fire Mueller, fire Rosenstein, fire Sessions, arrest enemies, who knows what else.
(2) Physically attack a nation perceived as weaker; literally punching down. Iran, presumably. It wouldn't go good.
(3) Rage-quit. Sudden resignation followed by a prolonged dotage of grifting and stoking grievance cultism.
In order of most-to-least likely.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:55 AM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
Vanity Fair taps its anonymous sources from Trumpland for their latest: “They’re Squeezing Don Jr. Right Now”: As the Mueller Siege Tightens, Trump’s Twitter Rage Crests
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:09 AM on August 21, 2018 [47 favorites]
In recent weeks, Donald Trump has privately expressed doubts about White House lawyer Don McGahn’s loyalty. Trump has vented to aides that McGahn doesn’t support the House Freedom Caucus’s quixotic campaign to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—a bank shot that would leave Robert Mueller unprotected. McGahn has also clashed with Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, whom one Republican said McGahn “hates with the intensity of 1,000 burning suns.” There has been talk of Trump replacing McGahn with his outside lawyer Emmet Flood.And for the coda, a unnamed "person close to the Trump family" told VF's reporter, “A lot of what Trump is doing is based on the fact [that] Mueller is going after Don Jr. [...] They’re squeezing Don Jr. right now.”
But The New York Times’ revelation that McGahn had spoken for more than 30 hours with Mueller’s investigators has rattled Trump and the West Wing to the core, according to three of Trump’s outside advisers, causing Trump to ratchet up his Twitter war on Mueller to new heights. Over the weekend, Jared Kushner described Trump’s mood as “rip-shit,” according to one of the advisers. “Total meltdown” was how another adviser put it. “He’s extremely frustrated,” a Republican close to the White House said.
Since news broke of McGahn’s extensive cooperation with Mueller, Trump has been lashing out on Twitter. “He’s got to frame the narrative. He thinks the media is like a shark: you’re either feeding it or it eats you,” one Republican close to the White House said. Privately, Trump blames his precarious position on the people who work for him. Trump’s fury at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, already raging, has been stoked thanks to Sessions’s refusal to resign after months of public abuse. “You can’t talk to Trump without him bringing up Sessions,” one adviser said.
Trump’s frustration with Sessions has even caused him to turn on Giuliani. Over the weekend, Trump blamed Giuliani for the entire Russia probe. According to a person to whom the conversation was described, Trump loudly said to his lawyer: “It’s your fault! I offered you attorney general, but you insisted on being secretary of state. Had I picked you none of this would be happening.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:09 AM on August 21, 2018 [47 favorites]
That Vanity far piece reminds me, I've been thinking for a while that the things Trump goes Twitter rants about aren't always directly related to the days events. I can't recall the specifics but there was something that came out here recently from way early in the Mueller investigation. It just so happened that when that interview, or event or what have you was taking place, Trump had a Twitter Tantrum. Everyone kind of logically chalked it up to whatever was in the news that day, but it was more likely about the stuff that people didn't know about yet pertaining to the investigation.
For all we know, that is what is happening now.
posted by Twain Device at 11:13 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
For all we know, that is what is happening now.
posted by Twain Device at 11:13 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
"A lot of what Trump is doing is based on the fact [that] Mueller is going after Don Jr. [...] They’re squeezing Don Jr. right now.”
If it's what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer.
posted by chris24 at 11:14 AM on August 21, 2018 [110 favorites]
If it's what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer.
posted by chris24 at 11:14 AM on August 21, 2018 [110 favorites]
Cohen watch:
@EamonJavers: CNBC cameras in Manhattan spotted Michael Cohen entering a building that houses the FBI field office in New York at about 1:45 pm.
@JenniferJJacobs: BREAKING: Federal court hearing set for Tuesday at 4p for Michael Cohen.
posted by zachlipton at 11:14 AM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
@EamonJavers: CNBC cameras in Manhattan spotted Michael Cohen entering a building that houses the FBI field office in New York at about 1:45 pm.
@JenniferJJacobs: BREAKING: Federal court hearing set for Tuesday at 4p for Michael Cohen.
posted by zachlipton at 11:14 AM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
Over the weekend, Jared Kushner described Trump’s mood as “rip-shit,” according to one of the advisers. “Total meltdown” was how another adviser put it. “He’s extremely frustrated,” a Republican close to the White House said.
I know it's petty to revel in this, but I do. Or I would, anyway, but for two things: first, most obviously, the consequences for real people when he vents his frustration and rage, as he inevitably will; and second that his mood has been described in these selfsame terms at so many points in the last eighteen months, and on every single occasion he's failed to stroke out, rage-quit or do anything other than keep on keeping awfully on. One way or another, I'm afraid we're in this for the duration.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:15 AM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
I know it's petty to revel in this, but I do. Or I would, anyway, but for two things: first, most obviously, the consequences for real people when he vents his frustration and rage, as he inevitably will; and second that his mood has been described in these selfsame terms at so many points in the last eighteen months, and on every single occasion he's failed to stroke out, rage-quit or do anything other than keep on keeping awfully on. One way or another, I'm afraid we're in this for the duration.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:15 AM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
Does anyone actually believe any of these gossipy, behind-the-scenes stories of palace intrigue being continually dished out by "unnamed White House sources"? They all read like bad fanfiction to me.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
> He thinks the media is like a shark: you’re either feeding it or it eats you
All models are wrong, but some are useful. -Box (I think)
posted by klarck at 11:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
All models are wrong, but some are useful. -Box (I think)
posted by klarck at 11:22 AM on August 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
Over the weekend, Jared Kushner described Trump’s mood as “rip-shit,”
It's amazing how much new vocabulary I've learned from the Trump regime. Is this part of DeVos's education plans?
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:23 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
It's amazing how much new vocabulary I've learned from the Trump regime. Is this part of DeVos's education plans?
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:23 AM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Personally, I don't have a very hard time believing that Trump goes through life in a state of constant rage fits and blaming others for his problems.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
So if Cohen pleads guilty today, the discussion about whether or not the case proceeds before or after the mid-terms is moot, right?
posted by AwkwardPause at 11:31 AM on August 21, 2018
posted by AwkwardPause at 11:31 AM on August 21, 2018
CNN:
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:33 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
As part of the plea deal under discussion, Cohen is not expected to cooperate with the government, one source said. However, by pleading guilty both Cohen and prosecutors would avoid the spectacle and uncertainty of a trial.I find it sort of hard to believe DOJ would agree to a simple plea without cooperation simply to avoid trial when they're about to secure at least a partial guilty verdict against Manafort with similarly strong evidence. But if so, this could mean either Cohen really doesn't have anything to give up, or more likely, Mueller already has whatever Cohen told him.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:33 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Does anyone actually believe any of these gossipy, behind-the-scenes stories of palace intrigue being continually dished out by "unnamed White House sources"? They all read like bad fanfiction to me.
At any reputable outfit, the "unnamed sources" are only unnamed in print, the reporter tells the editor who the source is, and they keep track of each source's statements so they know if they are saying X to one reporter and Y to another. This has limitations, the sources can say different things to different papers without worrying too much about getting caught, and of course, they can exaggerate their stories to seem better/more important. And they can lie, of course, just like anybody else. But judicial use of an unnamed source by a respectable journalist shouldn't by itself be a cause for alarm. To the contrary, I'm very skeptical of criticism that takes aim primarily at the use of unnamed sources, it's an easy way to muddy the water and disingenuously suggest that a story someone doesn't like is just made up.
posted by skewed at 11:33 AM on August 21, 2018 [52 favorites]
At any reputable outfit, the "unnamed sources" are only unnamed in print, the reporter tells the editor who the source is, and they keep track of each source's statements so they know if they are saying X to one reporter and Y to another. This has limitations, the sources can say different things to different papers without worrying too much about getting caught, and of course, they can exaggerate their stories to seem better/more important. And they can lie, of course, just like anybody else. But judicial use of an unnamed source by a respectable journalist shouldn't by itself be a cause for alarm. To the contrary, I'm very skeptical of criticism that takes aim primarily at the use of unnamed sources, it's an easy way to muddy the water and disingenuously suggest that a story someone doesn't like is just made up.
posted by skewed at 11:33 AM on August 21, 2018 [52 favorites]
Trump has a campaign rally tonight, which should be -- 'interesting' isn't the right word, but.
I think it's time for protests to surround this dipshittery. Up to now, it looks like mainly the left has been hands off, knock yourself out in your shitty little enclaves, but these people need to be surrounded by other people yelling 'this is bullshit'.
Enough.
Time to confront, as if they were the bunch of racists they so clearly are.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
I think it's time for protests to surround this dipshittery. Up to now, it looks like mainly the left has been hands off, knock yourself out in your shitty little enclaves, but these people need to be surrounded by other people yelling 'this is bullshit'.
Enough.
Time to confront, as if they were the bunch of racists they so clearly are.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
December 2015.
@MichaelCohen212
@HillaryClinton when you go to prison for defrauding America and perjury, your room and board will be free!
posted by chris24 at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [96 favorites]
@MichaelCohen212
@HillaryClinton when you go to prison for defrauding America and perjury, your room and board will be free!
posted by chris24 at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [96 favorites]
The Times adds a new detail: Trump’s Former Fixer, Michael Cohen, Reaches a Plea Agreement Over Payments to Women
posted by zachlipton at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors investigating payments he made to women for Mr. Trump but has not agreed to cooperate, two people familiar with the matter said.If that holds up, if the plea is specifically over the payments (and I note that "payment" and "women" are plural) and not his taxi medallions or loans or any of the other stuff, holy shit.
posted by zachlipton at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
That Vanity far piece reminds me, I've been thinking for a while that the things Trump goes Twitter rants about aren't always directly related to the days events.
Precisely. And that's really the only justification for passing along Vanity Fair's glossy magazine version of RUMINT. Sometimes, despite the dismally low signal:noise ratio, something accurate slips through, though confirmation comes long after, if ever.
Does anyone actually believe any of these gossipy, behind-the-scenes stories of palace intrigue being continually dished out by "unnamed White House sources"?
In VF's favor, they've be covering Trump closely for decades and have built up a network of sources that's as good as, if not superior to, the Washington Post and the New York Times (why else did the Grey Lady hire Maggie Haberman, who's been covering/cultivating Trump since her early days at the New York Post?). That said, we're only hearing filtered versions of the stories these anonymous sources want to spread. (For instance, that VF article's sources don't appear to have mentioned Omarosa even once, which fits the Trump White House's overall media strategy of distraction.) Caveat lector, as always.
Speaking of anonymously sourced reporting, the NYT says: Trump’s Former Fixer, Michael Cohen, Reaches a Plea Agreement Over Payments to Women "Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors investigating payments he made to women for Mr. Trump but has not agreed to cooperate, two people familiar with the matter said."
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Precisely. And that's really the only justification for passing along Vanity Fair's glossy magazine version of RUMINT. Sometimes, despite the dismally low signal:noise ratio, something accurate slips through, though confirmation comes long after, if ever.
Does anyone actually believe any of these gossipy, behind-the-scenes stories of palace intrigue being continually dished out by "unnamed White House sources"?
In VF's favor, they've be covering Trump closely for decades and have built up a network of sources that's as good as, if not superior to, the Washington Post and the New York Times (why else did the Grey Lady hire Maggie Haberman, who's been covering/cultivating Trump since her early days at the New York Post?). That said, we're only hearing filtered versions of the stories these anonymous sources want to spread. (For instance, that VF article's sources don't appear to have mentioned Omarosa even once, which fits the Trump White House's overall media strategy of distraction.) Caveat lector, as always.
Speaking of anonymously sourced reporting, the NYT says: Trump’s Former Fixer, Michael Cohen, Reaches a Plea Agreement Over Payments to Women "Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors investigating payments he made to women for Mr. Trump but has not agreed to cooperate, two people familiar with the matter said."
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:36 AM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
To clarify: I don't take issue with quoting unnamed sources. It's that their content is so comfortingly schadenfreudelicious and also that they come from people who chose to work for this administration, which automatically makes me skeptical of their being given in good faith.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:39 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:39 AM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
VoteSaveAmerica.com is live now. This is the Pod Save America guy's tool for people to get involved, find events, look at sample ballots and all kinds of fun stuff. Give it a look!
posted by adept256 at 12:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 12:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
None of these anonymice are leaking in good faith or with the best interest of the republic at heart. Schadenfreude has to be factored in, but every time we learn about the inner workings of the Trump White House, it comes off as a den of thieves, and an incompetent one at that. We just have to read between the lines to infer the possible motives behind the leaks.
For instance, just now an anonymous source told Politico's Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) that "Donald Trump's schedule ahead of the midterm elections is being held open for at least 40 days of travel, per person familiar. Predecessors G.W. Bush had 33 days and Obama had 36 days. States identified so far include N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Missouri, Nevada, Kentucky, Tennessee".
There's no reason why the Trump White House couldn't have announced that formally, unless they were afraid that Trump could cancel unpredictably or a major crisis could ground Donald in D.C. As it is, this leak gets the message out to Trump supporters and GOP faithful in those states. And Tiger Beat on the Potomac comes off looking like it has a special source for insider information. For the rest of us, though, it promises more insane Trump rallies, so buckle up…
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
For instance, just now an anonymous source told Politico's Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) that "Donald Trump's schedule ahead of the midterm elections is being held open for at least 40 days of travel, per person familiar. Predecessors G.W. Bush had 33 days and Obama had 36 days. States identified so far include N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Missouri, Nevada, Kentucky, Tennessee".
There's no reason why the Trump White House couldn't have announced that formally, unless they were afraid that Trump could cancel unpredictably or a major crisis could ground Donald in D.C. As it is, this leak gets the message out to Trump supporters and GOP faithful in those states. And Tiger Beat on the Potomac comes off looking like it has a special source for insider information. For the rest of us, though, it promises more insane Trump rallies, so buckle up…
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
WaPo: Michael Cohen has surrendered to the FBI and will plead guilty.
posted by schmod at 12:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by schmod at 12:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [42 favorites]
So, I'll guess we'll know more in an hour+, but doesn't the language of "taking a plea deal" but "agreed not to cooperate" just REEK of playing for a pardon? Like if I was Cohen and wanted to somehow use the media to get these tidbits to the Prez, this is how I would play it- all the quotes about avoiding the spectacle of a trial and not cooperating could minimize Trump's animosity toward him, yet serve as that "Hey, if you don't pardon me for this, we might have an issue" reminder.
I'm sorry for the idle speculation, and I believe others have pointed this out already, but doesn't this seem concerning? Either the sentence for the plea deal is so light that somehow he did give something up, or he's holding on hope for that pardon. Perhaps state charges are waiting in that event, but it's one more hiccup on the road to justice.
So looking forward to the day when we can stop attributing N dimensional chess to a bunch of assholes playing chutes n ladders.
posted by andruwjones26 at 12:08 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
I'm sorry for the idle speculation, and I believe others have pointed this out already, but doesn't this seem concerning? Either the sentence for the plea deal is so light that somehow he did give something up, or he's holding on hope for that pardon. Perhaps state charges are waiting in that event, but it's one more hiccup on the road to justice.
So looking forward to the day when we can stop attributing N dimensional chess to a bunch of assholes playing chutes n ladders.
posted by andruwjones26 at 12:08 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
So, I'll guess we'll know more in an hour+, but doesn't the language of "taking a plea deal" but "agreed not to cooperate" just REEK of playing for a bargain?
Judd Legum: If Cohen pleads guilty to a campaign finance violation involving the payment(s) to Daniels and/or McDougal and agrees to a statement of facts that he discussed the payments with Trump it doesn't matter whether he is formally "cooperating" or not. Stay tuned.
posted by PenDevil at 12:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
Judd Legum: If Cohen pleads guilty to a campaign finance violation involving the payment(s) to Daniels and/or McDougal and agrees to a statement of facts that he discussed the payments with Trump it doesn't matter whether he is formally "cooperating" or not. Stay tuned.
posted by PenDevil at 12:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
I think they're all playing Diplomacy.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:14 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:14 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
at the risk of engaging in more uneducated speculation - im not sure why the way this is coming out would suggest Cohen is (still trying to) work on a bargain - from his negotiating perspective, once hes agreed to plead guilty, he kind of doesnt have a lot of leverage there. The thought behind striking a cooperating deal is that he gives up information in exchange for getting out of a trial . . . but hes made it clear hes already going to plead guilty so why would prosecutors fear going to trial? Similarly, from Mueller's perspective, he would need to think Cohen had additional useful information which would imply that he doesnt know everything Cohen knows AND that he thinks Cohen has more info which Mueller needs to make his case (which also seems unlikely).
Guilty plea + non cooperation looks, to my eye, like hes hanging his hopes on a pardon. . . which is also a weird play from a guy who has so clearly alienated the person who would be pardoning him?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:14 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Guilty plea + non cooperation looks, to my eye, like hes hanging his hopes on a pardon. . . which is also a weird play from a guy who has so clearly alienated the person who would be pardoning him?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:14 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Neal Katyal: "Whether the agreement today specifies cooperation or not, Cohen can (and very likely will) cooperate given jail on line. The big news is that @nytimes is reporting his plea is to payments to silence women, a campaign finance vio that implicates Trump. NOT just taxis and taxes."
posted by BungaDunga at 12:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 12:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
Josh Marshall at TPM:
According to current reports, Michael Cohen has agreed to a plea deal in which he will plead guilty to a number of charges tied to charges related to most of the issues we’ve heard about: hush payoffs, bank fraud, taxes. The deal includes jail time, though we don’t know how much yet.posted by lazaruslong at 12:17 PM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
Here’s the question. There doesn’t appear to be a “deal”, at least in the sense of agreeing to cooperate. So why not? The Times says negations for that kind of deal “fell part.” But if that’s true, why is Cohen pleading guilty?
There are a few possibilities here.
One is that the Special Counsel’s Office just doesn’t need Cohen. So he’s, to put it baldly, screwed. They don’t need him so there’s really nothing he can offer to limit his sentence. Another version of that possibility is that everything he has to offer they already know. Again, he’s not useful enough to get a deal.
Another, related possibility is that our assumptions have wrong: He just doesn’t know anything. Or he doesn’t know anything about collusion. Mueller may be going after Manafort for stuff unrelated to collusion. But I think that’s because he has high confidence that Manafort knows the real, big story of what happened. Maybe they simply don’t think Cohen knows enough.
Another possibility – the most plausible one, I think, from people I’ve talked to – is that Cohen is caught so dead to rights on these corruption charges that prosecutors in the SDNY (presumably in consultation with the Special Counsel’s Office and the highest level officials in the Justice Department) that they don’t think they need to promise anything. A more formal deal to cooperate may emerge post-plea. But there’s no guarantee. In this scenario, Cohen has no protection. He will have to be as helpful as he can going forward to try to reach a deal and hopefully (for him) some accommodation from the government.
Somewhat bolstering this last possibility is the fact there are contradictory reports about whether he’s agreed to cooperate. I suspect these may be semantic distinctions between having a formal cooperation agreement (which seems not to exist) and just a factual statement that he is going to be cooperating.
I'm sorry Exceptional_Hubris, I typoed bargain instead of pardon. Obviously very different things in this context...no way he can bargain with SDNY after taking the plea.
It does sound like either him cooperating or taking a pardon are inevitable- unless he's really willing to spend some time in prison. Not sure if he's looking at a few years or something more permanent though.
posted by andruwjones26 at 12:18 PM on August 21, 2018
It does sound like either him cooperating or taking a pardon are inevitable- unless he's really willing to spend some time in prison. Not sure if he's looking at a few years or something more permanent though.
posted by andruwjones26 at 12:18 PM on August 21, 2018
For instance, just now an anonymous source told Politico's Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) that "Donald Trump's schedule ahead of the midterm elections is being held open for at least 40 days of travel, per person familiar. Predecessors G.W. Bush had 33 days and Obama had 36 days. States identified so far include N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Missouri, Nevada, Kentucky, Tennessee".
In this particular case, it's such a stupid use of anonymity that we know exactly what happened, thanks to one reporter giving away the game.
@kaitlancollins: The White House just held a conference call with reporters to discuss the president’s schedule for the midterms. But they required reporters to attribute the information to "a person familiar with the president's thinking." No name. Not even a generic title.
So the White House demanded it be an anonymous source. Then they turn around and whine about anonymous sources and call them "fake news." And everybody goes along with it.
Reporters shouldn't play this game with the White House. Not with any White House, but especially not this one. Even without breaking the agreement or just not reporting on it, why not be explicit about it? "Per a person familiar with the president's thinking, who organized a conference call for hundreds of reporters on the White House press list and then refused to be identified despite regularly decrying anonymous sources."
posted by zachlipton at 12:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [66 favorites]
In this particular case, it's such a stupid use of anonymity that we know exactly what happened, thanks to one reporter giving away the game.
@kaitlancollins: The White House just held a conference call with reporters to discuss the president’s schedule for the midterms. But they required reporters to attribute the information to "a person familiar with the president's thinking." No name. Not even a generic title.
So the White House demanded it be an anonymous source. Then they turn around and whine about anonymous sources and call them "fake news." And everybody goes along with it.
Reporters shouldn't play this game with the White House. Not with any White House, but especially not this one. Even without breaking the agreement or just not reporting on it, why not be explicit about it? "Per a person familiar with the president's thinking, who organized a conference call for hundreds of reporters on the White House press list and then refused to be identified despite regularly decrying anonymous sources."
posted by zachlipton at 12:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [66 favorites]
Sen. Collins just said Kavanaugh told her he agrees w Roberts' take on Roe V Wade - that it is settled law.
Curiously, not a single hard-right anti-abortion Republican has come out opposing the nomination.
Gee, I wonder why?
posted by JackFlash at 12:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
Curiously, not a single hard-right anti-abortion Republican has come out opposing the nomination.
Gee, I wonder why?
posted by JackFlash at 12:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
Another possibility is that everything Cohen knows about misdeeds by Trump etc. are tied up in his own malfeasance, such that his confession in the plea agreement will include everything he could offer Mueller regardless.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
If Cohen is expecting a pardon, wouldn't he want to fast-track the broadest possible conviction for himself?
posted by schmod at 12:22 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by schmod at 12:22 PM on August 21, 2018
If he pleads guilty to crimes x,y, and z, but there is no connection between the conduct of x, y, and z and crimes p, q, and r, there is nothing preventing the feds from later indicting him for p, q, and r. So the 'deal' might be "don't fuck with us, we have plenty of other shit on you that we haven't burned yet, plead guilty now and we'll go relatively soft on you for sentencing."
At the federal level, prosecutors can ask the court for a reduced sentence after sentencing (up to a year I believe) for "substantial assistance". Generally, this is not as good a deal for a defendant as it would be to do a regular plea bargain, but it can still amount to a big cut, if the assistance so warrants.
posted by skewed at 12:30 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
At the federal level, prosecutors can ask the court for a reduced sentence after sentencing (up to a year I believe) for "substantial assistance". Generally, this is not as good a deal for a defendant as it would be to do a regular plea bargain, but it can still amount to a big cut, if the assistance so warrants.
posted by skewed at 12:30 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Curiously, not a single hard-right anti-abortion Republican has come out opposing the nomination.
That'd be an interesting false-flag-ish astroturf play if some bazillionaire was bored ("Wrong about Roe v Wade, Wrong for America"?), but that's probably wandering a bit too close to the flames of the fake news fire.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
That'd be an interesting false-flag-ish astroturf play if some bazillionaire was bored ("Wrong about Roe v Wade, Wrong for America"?), but that's probably wandering a bit too close to the flames of the fake news fire.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Wasn't the long-time Trump accountant accessed (not the right word) via the Cohen investigation? So Cohen could just be collateral damage now.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:33 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:33 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
"If Cohen is expecting a pardon, wouldn't he want to fast-track the broadest possible conviction for himself?"
If Cohen is pardoned, he can't plead the Fifth when asked to testify against Trump.
(I mean pleading out closes off a lot of avenues to plead the Fifth as well.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:35 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
If Cohen is pardoned, he can't plead the Fifth when asked to testify against Trump.
(I mean pleading out closes off a lot of avenues to plead the Fifth as well.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:35 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Isn't Cohen mobbed up to his eyeballs? Might be that he wants the appearance of not cooperating.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 12:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I don't see why Trump wouldn't just pardon him again for refusing to testify.
posted by Justinian at 12:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 12:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cohen is also open to any number of state government level charges from if a pardon were issued.
posted by cmfletcher at 12:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by cmfletcher at 12:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
@Evan_Rosenfeld: BREAKING: Fox News’ @johnrobertsFox, citing sources, reports Michael Cohen’s guilty plea includes 3-5 years in jail
posted by zachlipton at 12:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [43 favorites]
Cohen is also open to any number of state government level charges from if a pardon were issued.
Not for the same or equivalent crimes for which he receives a federal pardon. NY has a double jeopardy law which attaches to any crime for which he receives a federal pardon. So any crime charged in NY would have to be new and different.
If he cheated on federal taxes it isn't unreasonable to believe he cheated on state taxes, though, and those would be chargeable.
posted by Justinian at 12:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Not for the same or equivalent crimes for which he receives a federal pardon. NY has a double jeopardy law which attaches to any crime for which he receives a federal pardon. So any crime charged in NY would have to be new and different.
If he cheated on federal taxes it isn't unreasonable to believe he cheated on state taxes, though, and those would be chargeable.
posted by Justinian at 12:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
@Evan_Rosenfeld: BREAKING: Fox News’ @johnrobertsFox, citing sources, reports Michael Cohen’s guilty plea includes 3-5 years in jail
Cohen's plea should be enough on its own to charge Trump himself with criminal campaign finance violations and enough to impeach. If he were any other person in the world other than the President, he'd be going to jail too. If he were a Democrat, he'd be impeached already just on this alone. The President is inarguably a criminal.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:50 PM on August 21, 2018 [100 favorites]
Cohen's plea should be enough on its own to charge Trump himself with criminal campaign finance violations and enough to impeach. If he were any other person in the world other than the President, he'd be going to jail too. If he were a Democrat, he'd be impeached already just on this alone. The President is inarguably a criminal.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:50 PM on August 21, 2018 [100 favorites]
If he cheated on federal taxes it isn't unreasonable to believe he cheated on state taxes, though, and those would be chargeable.
His business partner, the "taxi king," was originally charged with failure to remit MTA surcharges for his taxi business (a $0.50 per ride tax). So, there's likely a long list of state financial charges that Cohen could/may still face that have nothing to do with federal crimes or even federal tax filings.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
His business partner, the "taxi king," was originally charged with failure to remit MTA surcharges for his taxi business (a $0.50 per ride tax). So, there's likely a long list of state financial charges that Cohen could/may still face that have nothing to do with federal crimes or even federal tax filings.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just because it feels good to be reminded how out of whack the world has become: The President of the United States' long time attorney is set to plead guilty to campaign finance and bank and tax fraud violations as a result of his paying, with the President's approval and knowledge, two women hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep silent about their prior sexual relationships with the President.
And nobody in a position to do something about it is doing anything about it.
(Yet?)
posted by notyou at 12:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [70 favorites]
And nobody in a position to do something about it is doing anything about it.
(Yet?)
posted by notyou at 12:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [70 favorites]
The President of the United States' long time attorney
and Deputy Chair of the RNC Finance Committee...
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [92 favorites]
and Deputy Chair of the RNC Finance Committee...
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [92 favorites]
In obviously a coincidence in Michael Cohen's legal world, the Daily Beast's Olivia Messer (@ OliviaMesser) reports: "Judge Kimba Wood, who was overseeing the materials seized from Michael Cohen, on Tuesday accepted a final set of privilege recommendations by the special master, which found “7,146 of those items are privileged, 8 are partially privileged, and 285 are highly personal.” None of those items—out of 3.2 million—may be supplied to the government as part of its investigation, Wood ruled."
In addition, Michael Avenatti (@ MichaelAvenatti) promises: "The developments of today will permit us to have the stay lifted in the civil case & should also permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it. We will disclose it all to the public."
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
In addition, Michael Avenatti (@ MichaelAvenatti) promises: "The developments of today will permit us to have the stay lifted in the civil case & should also permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it. We will disclose it all to the public."
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
And nobody in a position to do something about it is doing anything about it.
(Yet?)
Are you looking for the phrase "surely this"?
posted by jaduncan at 1:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
(Yet?)
Are you looking for the phrase "surely this"?
posted by jaduncan at 1:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
@Evan_Rosenfeld: BREAKING: Fox News’ @johnrobertsFox, citing sources, reports Michael Cohen’s guilty plea includes 3-5 years in jail
Mikey doesn't need a plea deal to tell what he knows. He's now going to a not-so-nice place for a few years, while his client/boss faces no such penalty. All those years of loyal service in the muck, and what does he get? A sentence of 3-5. Mikey may well become a Highly Motivated Speaker.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:04 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Mikey doesn't need a plea deal to tell what he knows. He's now going to a not-so-nice place for a few years, while his client/boss faces no such penalty. All those years of loyal service in the muck, and what does he get? A sentence of 3-5. Mikey may well become a Highly Motivated Speaker.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:04 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
@JesseRodriguez: SOON: Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Burr & Vice Chairman Warner to make a rare joint statement on camera @MSNBC
I, for one, am glad something is finally happening on this dead quiet news day.
posted by zachlipton at 1:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [78 favorites]
I, for one, am glad something is finally happening on this dead quiet news day.
posted by zachlipton at 1:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [78 favorites]
It's been quite an infrastructure week today, zach.
posted by Justinian at 1:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [79 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [79 favorites]
Outside of Roswell, a stunned alien looks out over an utterly empty press conference room.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:14 PM on August 21, 2018 [81 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:14 PM on August 21, 2018 [81 favorites]
the writers are just really letting it all out in today's episode - Cohen just walked in to court at literally the moment it is being reported there is another note from the jurors in the Manafort case.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
The Burr&Warner statement is essentially claiming Cohen likely perjured himself in his testimony about whether he had prior knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting if I interpreted what I heard correctly.
posted by Justinian at 1:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
If I see a single "surely this" said without a healthy dollop of irony and eye-rolling I will unplug the Internet for the rest of the week kiddo, and don't think for a second that I won't.
posted by Tevin at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Tevin at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
Manafort verdict, Cohen guilty plea, and Senate Intelligence joint statement, all in the next hour. Special thanks to Eris, Greek goddess of chaos, for making sure to line this all up on my lunch break. Super convenient!
posted by Rhaomi at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
Trump has a campaign rally tonight, which should be -- 'interesting' isn't the right word, but.
I'm waiting for the Hannity monologue. Shit is going to be 🔥 af.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm waiting for the Hannity monologue. Shit is going to be 🔥 af.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Holy crap. Burr says they talked to Cohen again about the Trump Tower meeting, and he now says he knew about the meeting before it happened, which contradicts his testimony to the committee. They say they want him back and hope his plea deal won't interfere with that.
Cohen is in court. The plea agreement involves 8 counts. Details on what those are to come.
Waiting on word from the Manafort jury's note. NBC reports that they've reached an verdict on 8 out of 18 counts. Not on 10 counts yet. Unclear whether they'll be sent back to talk more.
Trump unscripted on stage in a couple hours.
Every good musical needs a Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number (caution: TV Tropes)
posted by zachlipton at 1:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
Cohen is in court. The plea agreement involves 8 counts. Details on what those are to come.
Waiting on word from the Manafort jury's note. NBC reports that they've reached an verdict on 8 out of 18 counts. Not on 10 counts yet. Unclear whether they'll be sent back to talk more.
Trump unscripted on stage in a couple hours.
Every good musical needs a Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number (caution: TV Tropes)
posted by zachlipton at 1:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
The Manafort jury has indicated that they have reached a verdict on 8 counts and are deadlocked on 10. I have no idea if thats good or bad news.
posted by Justinian at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by Justinian at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2018
Bit late, but
posted by 6ATR at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Isn't it illegal to accept campaign contributions from foreign entities? Or am I wrong about that, because it sure seems like it ought to be.I am certain this law is why Rupert Murdoch created Fox News52 U.S. Code § 30121 - Contributions and donations by foreign nationals
(a) Prohibition It shall be unlawful for—
(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make—
(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
(B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or
(C) an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 30104(f)(3) of this title); or
(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national....
posted by 6ATR at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
From:
Verified account @spettypi (at Bloomberg)
MANAFORT VERDICT COMING
posted by Sophie1 at 1:26 PM on August 21, 2018
Verified account @spettypi (at Bloomberg)
MANAFORT VERDICT COMING
posted by Sophie1 at 1:26 PM on August 21, 2018
I expect the judge will send them back to deliberate further if they are deadlocked on 10.
posted by Justinian at 1:27 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by Justinian at 1:27 PM on August 21, 2018
Please don't be 8 counts of "not enough evidence for this highly technical charge" and 10 counts of "a MAGA hat infiltrated the jury and hasn't actually given away the game aside from deadlocking it."
posted by Slackermagee at 1:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Slackermagee at 1:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
If they are deadlocked on 10 is that a hung jury?
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 1:28 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 1:28 PM on August 21, 2018
Ten seems like a lot.
posted by notyou at 1:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by notyou at 1:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
I regret to inform you that there is more.
@HardballChris: Omarosa says she has video tapes. She's going to bring one to #Hardball tonight at 7.
NBC reports that the judge will poll the jury and try to see if additional deliberation will be productive.
For Cohen! @jriley8832: Counts 1-5 tax evasion. 6 — false statement to bank. 7 - causing unlawful corp camp contrib. 8 - making an excessive campaign contribution.
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
@HardballChris: Omarosa says she has video tapes. She's going to bring one to #Hardball tonight at 7.
NBC reports that the judge will poll the jury and try to see if additional deliberation will be productive.
For Cohen! @jriley8832: Counts 1-5 tax evasion. 6 — false statement to bank. 7 - causing unlawful corp camp contrib. 8 - making an excessive campaign contribution.
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
The Manafort jury has indicated that they have reached a verdict on 8 counts and are deadlocked on 10. I have no idea if thats good or bad news.
In hindsight I guess there was no way this didn't end with Cohen and Manafort being convicted of the same number of crimes at the exact same time.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
In hindsight I guess there was no way this didn't end with Cohen and Manafort being convicted of the same number of crimes at the exact same time.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
Every good musical needs a Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number (caution: TV Tropes)
This metaphor signifying we're only at the end of Act I is chilling but also pretty accurate. (I'm not gonna duck out at intermission but I'm tempted.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
This metaphor signifying we're only at the end of Act I is chilling but also pretty accurate. (I'm not gonna duck out at intermission but I'm tempted.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
If they are deadlocked on 10 is that a hung jury?
Yes, a mistrial on 10 counts and a verdict on 8.
The judge is now polling the jurors as to whether they think they will be able to reach any more unanimous verdicts. So he may indeed be considering declaring a mistrial on 10 counts tonight. Which means we'll have 8 verdicts in hours.
It seems likely to me that its either 8 guilty or 8 not guilty counts rather than a split but nothing this jury does would surprise me at this point.
posted by Justinian at 1:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, a mistrial on 10 counts and a verdict on 8.
The judge is now polling the jurors as to whether they think they will be able to reach any more unanimous verdicts. So he may indeed be considering declaring a mistrial on 10 counts tonight. Which means we'll have 8 verdicts in hours.
It seems likely to me that its either 8 guilty or 8 not guilty counts rather than a split but nothing this jury does would surprise me at this point.
posted by Justinian at 1:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
NBC News is confirming that verdicts reached on 8 counts, “hopelessly deadlocked” on 10 counts. We’ll be hearing a Manafort verdict tonight.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Manafort found guilty on five counts of tax fraud.
[“tonight” = in two minutes]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
[“tonight” = in two minutes]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
MANAFORT GUILTY ON 5 COUNTS OF FELONY TAX CHARGES, more to come.
Here's the full Burr and Warner statement. They "recently reengaged" with Cohen and his lawyers after press reports that Cohen knew about the Trump Tower meeting in advance, despite Cohen's testimony to the contrary. They want to hear from him again and hope this plea won't be a problem for that.
posted by zachlipton at 1:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
Here's the full Burr and Warner statement. They "recently reengaged" with Cohen and his lawyers after press reports that Cohen knew about the Trump Tower meeting in advance, despite Cohen's testimony to the contrary. They want to hear from him again and hope this plea won't be a problem for that.
posted by zachlipton at 1:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
Manafort guilty on felony tax fraud.
Hooray!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Hooray!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Guilty on 8 counts. We don't know what the other 3 are.
But he is manafucked.
posted by Justinian at 1:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [50 favorites]
But he is manafucked.
posted by Justinian at 1:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [50 favorites]
Shimon Prokupecz: Manafort found guilty of 5 tax fraud charges, 1 charge of hiding foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud.
Ouch.
posted by Justinian at 1:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Ouch.
posted by Justinian at 1:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Hung jury on 10 counts of nuanced white collar crime. It's almost like the fucking judge should have given the fucking prosecution enough time to explain the fucking charges. It's eye opening to me just how many ways our system is fucked.
posted by H. Roark at 1:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [97 favorites]
posted by H. Roark at 1:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [97 favorites]
Dearly Beloved we are gathered today to celebrate this thing called schadenfreude.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 1:42 PM on August 21, 2018 [106 favorites]
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 1:42 PM on August 21, 2018 [106 favorites]
OMG I am so relieved. Not giddy with happiness, not luxuriating in schadenfreude. Just relieved that some parts of our system appear to be in mostly working order, facts are acknowledged as such, and judgments are rendered appropriately.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [47 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 1:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [47 favorites]
I hope the prosecution goes after him on the remaining ten. I demand more blood.
posted by nubs at 1:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by nubs at 1:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
@ThePaulSRyan: According to @PPVSRB, Count 8 of the plea relates to the excessive campaign contribution alleged in @CommonCause complaint. And Count 7 seemingly relates to Cohen's use of Essential Consultants LLC, another violation alleged by @CommonCause
posted by zombieflanders at 1:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 1:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Does he get sentenced today on the counts he was found guilty of?
posted by lazaruslong at 1:45 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by lazaruslong at 1:45 PM on August 21, 2018
I wonder if the government will decide to retry him (Manafort) on the counts for which the jury couldn't reach a verdict.
He's facing 240 years in prison (that's 2,880 months in federal prosecutor language). Not bad.
posted by holborne at 1:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
He's facing 240 years in prison (that's 2,880 months in federal prosecutor language). Not bad.
posted by holborne at 1:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Mod note: Guys you need to clarify if you're talking about Cohen or Manafort, both male felons found guilty on 8 counts. CONFUSING!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [217 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [217 favorites]
2 questions:
1. My friend said that’s 240 years in prison for those charges. Is that true?
2. He also said that on CNN ppl were cheering and clapping. Anyone have a clip of this?
posted by gucci mane at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
1. My friend said that’s 240 years in prison for those charges. Is that true?
2. He also said that on CNN ppl were cheering and clapping. Anyone have a clip of this?
posted by gucci mane at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Does he get sentenced today on the counts he was found guilty of?
Nope. The court will set a sentencing date and the parties will make submissions arguing for this or that sentence.
posted by holborne at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Nope. The court will set a sentencing date and the parties will make submissions arguing for this or that sentence.
posted by holborne at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
He's currently in Air Force One, so that'll be a substantial audience.
And God help us all when he takes the stage in WV in....2 hours, 15 minutes.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
And God help us all when he takes the stage in WV in....2 hours, 15 minutes.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
@PPVSRB: Cohen admits to working “at direction of the candidate” Trump and national enquirer to silence Karen McDougal. He also admits to Stormy Daniels payment that he made “with and at direction of the same candidate.”
Wow. He's pleading guilty to a criminal conspiracy involving the President.
posted by zachlipton at 1:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [193 favorites]
Wow. He's pleading guilty to a criminal conspiracy involving the President.
posted by zachlipton at 1:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [193 favorites]
That is maybe my favorite mod note ever.
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [111 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [111 favorites]
Called it. Cohen didn't need a cooperation agreement because the plea admission is his testimony implicating Trump.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:48 PM on August 21, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:48 PM on August 21, 2018 [56 favorites]
My friend said that’s 240 years in prison for those charges. Is that true?
I'm assuming they were referring to the statutory maximums. As Popehat says: [T]his number — the sum of the maximum sentence for all the crimes charged in a federal case — usually bears almost no relation to the sentence the defendant actually faces.
posted by teraflop at 1:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm assuming they were referring to the statutory maximums. As Popehat says: [T]his number — the sum of the maximum sentence for all the crimes charged in a federal case — usually bears almost no relation to the sentence the defendant actually faces.
posted by teraflop at 1:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wow. [Cohen’s] pleading guilty to a criminal conspiracy involving the President.
I was told there’d be cake.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
I was told there’d be cake.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
1. My friend said that’s 240 years in prison for those charges. Is that true?
If you mean the charges Manafort was found guilty on, not quite. 240 years was the maximum he could have been sentenced if he had been found guilty on all 18 counts. He was found guilty on 8. I believe the max on the ones he was found guilty of is more like 50 or 55 years but I haven't seen the math yet.
posted by Justinian at 1:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
If you mean the charges Manafort was found guilty on, not quite. 240 years was the maximum he could have been sentenced if he had been found guilty on all 18 counts. He was found guilty on 8. I believe the max on the ones he was found guilty of is more like 50 or 55 years but I haven't seen the math yet.
posted by Justinian at 1:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
So, will Manafort theoretically be out of prison before his natural life ends?
posted by Melismata at 1:50 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by Melismata at 1:50 PM on August 21, 2018
*COHEN SAYS HE VIOLATED CAMPAIGN LAW AT DIRECTION OF CANDIDATESHIT IS GOING DOWN PEOPLE! I REPEAT! SHIT IS GOING DOWN!
*COHEN SAYS HE ACTED FOR PURPOSE OF INFLUENCING ELECTION
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 1:51 PM on August 21, 2018 [111 favorites]
Today is shaping up to be quite the year, isn't it?
posted by mrjohnmuller at 1:51 PM on August 21, 2018 [144 favorites]
posted by mrjohnmuller at 1:51 PM on August 21, 2018 [144 favorites]
Oh damn I thought the 18 charges together was like 360 years and the 240 was these 8.
posted by gucci mane at 1:51 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by gucci mane at 1:51 PM on August 21, 2018
Wow. He's pleading guilty to a criminal conspiracy involving the President.
Criminal conspiracy to do what? (geniune question, not Trumpy retort)
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:51 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Criminal conspiracy to do what? (geniune question, not Trumpy retort)
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:51 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
So, will Manafort theoretically be out of prison before his natural life ends?
He'll do 3-5 years and be released for good behavior.
posted by dilaudid at 1:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
He'll do 3-5 years and be released for good behavior.
posted by dilaudid at 1:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
He could easily be, but he could just as easily get 8 years (which at this point I expect because why wouldn't it be another 8) -- prison sentences for multiple convictions don't just add up in sequence. It all feeds into a complicated sentencing guideline that provides a recommended minimum and maximum for the judge.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018
So, will Manafort theoretically be out of prison before his natural life ends?
That is completely up to the whims of Judge Ellis, so ...
posted by JackFlash at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018
That is completely up to the whims of Judge Ellis, so ...
posted by JackFlash at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018
SHIT IS GOING DOWN PEOPLE! I REPEAT! SHIT IS GOING DOWN!
@kept_simple: need a word for when it's all happening yet nothing is gonna happen
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [49 favorites]
@kept_simple: need a word for when it's all happening yet nothing is gonna happen
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [49 favorites]
Federal prison sucks ass (I assume, having first-hand experienced how hard a county jail sucked even for the short time I was there). Even 5 years in the pokey will be FUCKING MISERABLE for Paul Manafort. I mean, he's going to get pardoned basically instantly but a girl can dream.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
He'll do 3-5 years and be released for good behavior.
Nope. No parole in the federal system. If he's sentenced to 55 years, that's what he serves, minus maybe five to six years.
posted by holborne at 1:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
Nope. No parole in the federal system. If he's sentenced to 55 years, that's what he serves, minus maybe five to six years.
posted by holborne at 1:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
He'll do 3-5 years and be released for good behavior.
...and then, like Conrad Black, get a job writing for National Review.
posted by clawsoon at 1:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
...and then, like Conrad Black, get a job writing for National Review.
posted by clawsoon at 1:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Criminal conspiracy to do what? (geniune question, not Trumpy retort)
Violate campaign finance law by arranging payoffs to former mistresses in order to avoid bad election PR by one or more of them coming forward.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
Violate campaign finance law by arranging payoffs to former mistresses in order to avoid bad election PR by one or more of them coming forward.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
I think in addition to the campaign finance law violations there’s some bank and tax fraud tucked in there, because God knows that’s the only way they know how to manage money.
posted by notyou at 1:56 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 1:56 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
@fordm: It's less of a "news cycle" these days and more of that BSG episode where the Cylons attack every 33 minutes.
posted by zombieflanders at 1:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [144 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 1:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [144 favorites]
I still highly doubt the Republicans will do anything, but wouldn’t it be best for them and Trump to be impeached for campaign violations instead of conspiracy with a foreign nation? Wouldn’t the investigation go away then?
posted by gucci mane at 1:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 1:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
As one person on Twitter summed up TODAY:
—Manafort guilty on 8 counts
—Cohen guilty plea
—Trump nixes coal rules
—DJT hits Clapper
—Eliz. Warren speech
—Collins/Schumer meet Kavanaugh
—VP on Capitol Hill
—Nazi guard deported
—Chris Steele wins in court
—Rand on NATO/Russia
—Omarosa on Hardball
—Trump rally in WV
posted by Bella Donna at 1:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [56 favorites]
—Manafort guilty on 8 counts
—Cohen guilty plea
—Trump nixes coal rules
—DJT hits Clapper
—Eliz. Warren speech
—Collins/Schumer meet Kavanaugh
—VP on Capitol Hill
—Nazi guard deported
—Chris Steele wins in court
—Rand on NATO/Russia
—Omarosa on Hardball
—Trump rally in WV
posted by Bella Donna at 1:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [56 favorites]
Violate campaign finance law by arranging payoffs to former mistresses in order to avoid bad election PR by one or more of them coming forward.
Per a thing I saw by one of Fox News' own talking-judge-heads a while back: It's important to remember that at least in one case (McDougal), she was paid by the Enquirer with the understanding that the story would be published. Instead, they bought the story to spike it.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:59 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Per a thing I saw by one of Fox News' own talking-judge-heads a while back: It's important to remember that at least in one case (McDougal), she was paid by the Enquirer with the understanding that the story would be published. Instead, they bought the story to spike it.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:59 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm really hoping for a meltdown in WV.
posted by Tarumba at 1:59 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Tarumba at 1:59 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
wouldn’t it be best for them and Trump to be impeached for campaign violations instead of conspiracy with a foreign nation? Wouldn’t the investigation go away then?
Michael Cohen was the Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee until this summer.
This is not going away.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
Michael Cohen was the Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee until this summer.
This is not going away.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
As one person on Twitter summed up TODAY:
and (also metaphorically) Silent Sam torn down at UNC.
posted by Harry Caul at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
and (also metaphorically) Silent Sam torn down at UNC.
posted by Harry Caul at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
Popehat speaking for all of us: I took an Ativan.
posted by Justinian at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 2:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Boston Globe: Giuliani was never 'America's Mayor'. Nothing we don't already know, but a good refresher.
posted by Melismata at 2:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 2:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
What happens if 45 pardons both of them in an unscripted, off the cuff fit at the podium tonight?
posted by zrail at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zrail at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
What happens if 45 pardons both of them in an unscripted, off the cuff fit at the podium tonight?
Endgame.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Endgame.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I find some satisfaction that this is all happening on the day that prisoners across the country have started a labor strike.
posted by mcduff at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [49 favorites]
I'm not really the best political strategist, but can Democrats run on the platform of impeaching the President now?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
Omarosa might have picked a bad night for this tape drop. She might have some media competition.
posted by greermahoney at 2:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by greermahoney at 2:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Michael Cohen was the Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee until this summer.
This is not going away.
So hypothetically if the Republicans did actually impeach Trump and he was ousted, and Pence sworn in, would Mueller still be investigating all this?
posted by gucci mane at 2:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is not going away.
So hypothetically if the Republicans did actually impeach Trump and he was ousted, and Pence sworn in, would Mueller still be investigating all this?
posted by gucci mane at 2:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
What happens if 45 pardons both of them in an unscripted, off the cuff fit at the podium tonight?
Somebody upthread said a pardon means that they would have to answer questions that Mueller poses to them, so it may not be a good idea to pardon them. Likewise, Cohen just directly implicated Trump in his plea.
posted by gucci mane at 2:06 PM on August 21, 2018
Somebody upthread said a pardon means that they would have to answer questions that Mueller poses to them, so it may not be a good idea to pardon them. Likewise, Cohen just directly implicated Trump in his plea.
posted by gucci mane at 2:06 PM on August 21, 2018
Pfft. You’re all acting under the impression that the unnamed candidate Cohen is talking about is Trump. What if it’s... dunn dunn dunnnnnn... Clinton? That would explain EVERYTHING.
I bet someone somewhere at Fox is trying on that spin for size right about now.
posted by lydhre at 2:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
I bet someone somewhere at Fox is trying on that spin for size right about now.
posted by lydhre at 2:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
Sentencing for Cohen is set for December 12th, and he's out on $500,000 bail. Going to be interesting to see what happens between now and then. I hear there's an election? A Supreme Court nomination? Does anything matter?
@eorden: Michael Cohen just exited federal court to screams of “Lock Him Up!”
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on August 21, 2018 [68 favorites]
@eorden: Michael Cohen just exited federal court to screams of “Lock Him Up!”
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on August 21, 2018 [68 favorites]
would Mueller still be investigating all this
You bet your ass he would.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 2:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
You bet your ass he would.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 2:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
(SLCNBC) The White House is preparing a new executive order expanding rules favoring American-made products in government projects, according to four administration officials and two other people familiar with the matter.
The order, which is said to be nearing completion, would apply current "Buy America" provisions to programs where they do not currently exist. In particular, the rules will apply to infrastructure projects such as roadways, pipelines and broadband.
Earlier iterations of the order sought broader — and stricter — mandates for federal agencies to source U.S. goods and services, but the language was significantly tailored during the review process as procedural and ideological roadblocks arose, three of these people said.
The release of the order would conclude a contentious process that's lasted more than six months in which multiple federal agencies and offices — the Department of Defense, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Management and Budget and the White House's Office of Legal Counsel — raised concerns about the potential purview of the order, originally proposed by one of President Donald Trump's key trade advisors, Peter Navarro.
Reached for comment, Navarro said: "It's not my job to correct fake news."
posted by Bella Donna at 2:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
The order, which is said to be nearing completion, would apply current "Buy America" provisions to programs where they do not currently exist. In particular, the rules will apply to infrastructure projects such as roadways, pipelines and broadband.
Earlier iterations of the order sought broader — and stricter — mandates for federal agencies to source U.S. goods and services, but the language was significantly tailored during the review process as procedural and ideological roadblocks arose, three of these people said.
The release of the order would conclude a contentious process that's lasted more than six months in which multiple federal agencies and offices — the Department of Defense, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Management and Budget and the White House's Office of Legal Counsel — raised concerns about the potential purview of the order, originally proposed by one of President Donald Trump's key trade advisors, Peter Navarro.
Reached for comment, Navarro said: "It's not my job to correct fake news."
posted by Bella Donna at 2:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, and I made a new Fucking Fuck venting thread, coincidentally just as the Cohen and Manafort news hit.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
What happens if 45 pardons both of them in an unscripted, off the cuff fit at the podium tonight?
We’ll almost certainly find out. Maybe not tonight, but probably before the end of the week. Or does sentencing have to be handed down before a pardon can be made?
posted by Thorzdad at 2:12 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
We’ll almost certainly find out. Maybe not tonight, but probably before the end of the week. Or does sentencing have to be handed down before a pardon can be made?
posted by Thorzdad at 2:12 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Who knew there were so many witches in the world.
Trump personal lawyer/RNC Deputy Chairman - GUILTY
Trump Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Deputy Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Senior Campaign Advisor - GUILTY
Trump National Security Advisor - GUILTY
Trump - Un-Indicted co-conspirator
posted by chris24 at 2:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [88 favorites]
Trump personal lawyer/RNC Deputy Chairman - GUILTY
Trump Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Deputy Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Senior Campaign Advisor - GUILTY
Trump National Security Advisor - GUILTY
Trump - Un-Indicted co-conspirator
posted by chris24 at 2:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [88 favorites]
Sentencing for Cohen is set for December 12th
So, almost four months from now. Is that normal?
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:15 PM on August 21, 2018
So, almost four months from now. Is that normal?
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:15 PM on August 21, 2018
Somebody upthread said a pardon means that they would have to answer questions that Mueller poses to them, so it may not be a good idea to pardon them.
Wouldn't the fact that they might still be charged with, and convicted of, state crimes even after a federal pardon mean they could still avail themselves of their Fifth Amendment right not to testify, at least regarding things that might incriminate them on state charges?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wouldn't the fact that they might still be charged with, and convicted of, state crimes even after a federal pardon mean they could still avail themselves of their Fifth Amendment right not to testify, at least regarding things that might incriminate them on state charges?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
What happens if 45 pardons both of them in an unscripted, off the cuff fit at the podium tonight?
Cohen basically named Trump as a co-conspirator twice in his plea. I would doubt Trump is in a pardoning mood for him.
posted by chris24 at 2:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Cohen basically named Trump as a co-conspirator twice in his plea. I would doubt Trump is in a pardoning mood for him.
posted by chris24 at 2:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
As if it couldn't get any better, don't forget to buckle up for this year's edition of Muellerween!
It was just a little over a year ago that we first heard the good news.
posted by Krazor at 2:17 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
It was just a little over a year ago that we first heard the good news.
posted by Krazor at 2:17 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Who knew there were so many witches in the world.
Trump personal lawyer/RNC Deputy Chairman - GUILTY
Trump Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Deputy Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Senior Campaign Advisor - GUILTY
Trump National Security Advisor - GUILTY
Trump - Un-Indicted co-conspirator
Can we please get a photo of their faces all in one photo with the word GUILTY pasted over them in red? Pretty please?
posted by gucci mane at 2:17 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Trump personal lawyer/RNC Deputy Chairman - GUILTY
Trump Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Deputy Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Senior Campaign Advisor - GUILTY
Trump National Security Advisor - GUILTY
Trump - Un-Indicted co-conspirator
Can we please get a photo of their faces all in one photo with the word GUILTY pasted over them in red? Pretty please?
posted by gucci mane at 2:17 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Sentencing for Cohen is set for December 12th, and he's out on $500,000 bail.
Wonder if it'll be revoked like Manafort's for blabbing too much.
posted by Melismata at 2:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Wonder if it'll be revoked like Manafort's for blabbing too much.
posted by Melismata at 2:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
updated graveyard
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Sentencing for Cohen is set for December 12th
So, almost four months from now. Is that normal?
Well Michael Flynn plead guilty on December 1, 2017 and just had his sentencing moved back for the 4th time, to September 2018.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
So, almost four months from now. Is that normal?
Well Michael Flynn plead guilty on December 1, 2017 and just had his sentencing moved back for the 4th time, to September 2018.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
has anyone made the ‘art of the plea deal’ joke yet
posted by Sys Rq at 2:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [112 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 2:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [112 favorites]
Federal prosecutors in the Cohen case are speaking at a press conference: 5 counts of tax evasion for years 2012-2016 for not reporting ~$4m in income, including millions in interest from a personal loan, his taxi business, and smaller amounts of brokerage commissions, and consulting fees. They say he owed the government ~$1.3m he didn't pay.
Next count is false statements in connection with a $500k HELOC for failure to disclose $14M in debt.
Then two campaign finance charges. One for causing an unlawful corporate contributions and a second for making for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election. He worked to pay money to silence two women who had information that he believed would be detrimental to the 2016 campaign and the candidate and the campaign. He sought reimbursement for the payments by submitting untrue and false invoices to the candidate's company "for services rendered for the year 2017," but they were a sham as he did not provide legal services.
"He is going to pay a very very serious price."
posted by zachlipton at 2:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
Next count is false statements in connection with a $500k HELOC for failure to disclose $14M in debt.
Then two campaign finance charges. One for causing an unlawful corporate contributions and a second for making for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election. He worked to pay money to silence two women who had information that he believed would be detrimental to the 2016 campaign and the candidate and the campaign. He sought reimbursement for the payments by submitting untrue and false invoices to the candidate's company "for services rendered for the year 2017," but they were a sham as he did not provide legal services.
"He is going to pay a very very serious price."
posted by zachlipton at 2:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
CAKE FOR EVERYONE.
posted by Sophie1 at 2:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 2:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
So the Grand Old Party's chief financial officer pleads guilty to a number of financial crimes. The GOP has to be as dirty, or dirtier, than the President himself. By the time this is done, we're going to discover there is, in fact, a swamp--that over half of our elected and appointed government officials are utterly corrupt, going back years and years.
And because we're a society with a hell of a lot more racists than we were willing to acknowledge, and the GOP can count on their support, they might get away with it.
posted by maxwelton at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
And because we're a society with a hell of a lot more racists than we were willing to acknowledge, and the GOP can count on their support, they might get away with it.
posted by maxwelton at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Riots. Or at least there should be a massive protest on the scale of the contingency plans for the firing of Mueller
General strike.
Start getting ready for it. Just treat it as any other disaster you're supposed to prepare for anyway. Stock up on shelf-stable foods, medicines, hygiene products, et cetera. Persuade your neighbors to do the same. Persuade your fellow left wing Deep State gay space communists to do the same. When enough ot the country is explicitly preparing for a general strike, it's 1. more likely to actually happen, and 2. the mere prospect of it will be enough to make the right peopel scared instead of us.
posted by ocschwar at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
General strike.
Start getting ready for it. Just treat it as any other disaster you're supposed to prepare for anyway. Stock up on shelf-stable foods, medicines, hygiene products, et cetera. Persuade your neighbors to do the same. Persuade your fellow left wing Deep State gay space communists to do the same. When enough ot the country is explicitly preparing for a general strike, it's 1. more likely to actually happen, and 2. the mere prospect of it will be enough to make the right peopel scared instead of us.
posted by ocschwar at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
Trump's mirror is the oily sheen on a filthy swamp, as it turns out.
posted by Rumple at 2:26 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Rumple at 2:26 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
So the Grand Old Party's chief financial officer pleads guilty to a number of financial crimes. The GOP has to be as dirty, or dirtier, than the President himself. By the time this is done, we're going to discover there is, in fact, a swamp--that over half of our elected and appointed government officials are utterly corrupt, going back years and years.
Manafort worked for Reagan. That should be shouted from the rooftops.
posted by dilaudid at 2:26 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
Manafort worked for Reagan. That should be shouted from the rooftops.
posted by dilaudid at 2:26 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
So, almost four months from now. Is that normal?
In federal criminal cases sentencing is usually a month or two after plea/guilty verdict. For more complex cases it can be longer. They are often delayed on the government or defendant's motion, for pretty much any legitimate reason (vacation, difficulty contacting witnesses, etc.). Sentencing hearings can be like a mini-trial in some cases, even when there's been a guilty plea. Four months seems like it's on the high side, but maybe they wanted to wait until after the November elections.
Source: former fed court employee
posted by skewed at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
In federal criminal cases sentencing is usually a month or two after plea/guilty verdict. For more complex cases it can be longer. They are often delayed on the government or defendant's motion, for pretty much any legitimate reason (vacation, difficulty contacting witnesses, etc.). Sentencing hearings can be like a mini-trial in some cases, even when there's been a guilty plea. Four months seems like it's on the high side, but maybe they wanted to wait until after the November elections.
Source: former fed court employee
posted by skewed at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Nice Cohen capsule summary from Chris Hayes:
“Today, in federal court, the President's fixer said the president directed him to break campaign law to cover up an explosive allegation a few days before an election that the president won by 77,000 votes across three states.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [109 favorites]
“Today, in federal court, the President's fixer said the president directed him to break campaign law to cover up an explosive allegation a few days before an election that the president won by 77,000 votes across three states.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [109 favorites]
And also Bob Dole!
posted by notyou at 2:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 2:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
> Manafort worked for Reagan. That should be shouted from the rooftops.
And also Bob Dole!
Hell, Trump already reminded everyone about this.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
And also Bob Dole!
Hell, Trump already reminded everyone about this.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Truth is apparently something that can send your ass to jail though.
posted by East14thTaco at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East14thTaco at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
In other news, Molly Tibbetts was apparently murdered by an undocumented immigrant, which means that Steve King is definitely getting reelected, and I think the chances are looking a lot more grim for any Democrat in Iowa this year. Sigh.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Robert Costa: standby for news
Does anyone have a brown paper bag.
posted by PenDevil at 2:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Does anyone have a brown paper bag.
posted by PenDevil at 2:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Or does sentencing have to be handed down before a pardon can be made?
You don't even need to be indicted. See: Nixon. About the only thing that can't be pardoned are actions that haven't happened yet.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:34 PM on August 21, 2018
You don't even need to be indicted. See: Nixon. About the only thing that can't be pardoned are actions that haven't happened yet.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:34 PM on August 21, 2018
The pipedream I've harbored for the better part of a year:
GOP campaign financing undisputedly corrupt with organizations like the NRA funneling foreign, mostly Eurasian, money into various PACs with the approval and sometimes assistance of party elders and associated media personalities/networks. DJT fell into this money pit and, being DJT, could not help but help himself bigly. This gluttony shattered the GOP containment field and the whole fucking party goes the way of the Whigs and No Nothings. In its place, a sensible center-right party forms leaving us with two centrist parties and associated fringe elements. The whole ordeal scarring the republic to such an extent that serious campaign and election reforms are enacted with bipartisan support.
This is the only way history absolves us of this fucking mess. Today's news pushes this whole narrative closer to the surface.
[spelling and grammatical edits]
posted by Fezboy! at 2:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
GOP campaign financing undisputedly corrupt with organizations like the NRA funneling foreign, mostly Eurasian, money into various PACs with the approval and sometimes assistance of party elders and associated media personalities/networks. DJT fell into this money pit and, being DJT, could not help but help himself bigly. This gluttony shattered the GOP containment field and the whole fucking party goes the way of the Whigs and No Nothings. In its place, a sensible center-right party forms leaving us with two centrist parties and associated fringe elements. The whole ordeal scarring the republic to such an extent that serious campaign and election reforms are enacted with bipartisan support.
This is the only way history absolves us of this fucking mess. Today's news pushes this whole narrative closer to the surface.
[spelling and grammatical edits]
posted by Fezboy! at 2:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
If you, like me, like reading the documents yourself, here's Cohen's plea deal.
Because today, eight shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be eight, the document is eight pages long.
posted by zachlipton at 2:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [59 favorites]
Because today, eight shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be eight, the document is eight pages long.
posted by zachlipton at 2:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [59 favorites]
And here's the GOP talking points: [SPOILER]"It's all Obama's fault!!!"[/SPOILER]
@frankthorp GRAHAM: "I don't know how much you can expect President Trump to know about his business practices before he signed on. But I do believe that if the government knew Manafort was a shady character they should have told the Trump campaign..."
posted by zombieflanders at 2:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
@frankthorp GRAHAM: "I don't know how much you can expect President Trump to know about his business practices before he signed on. But I do believe that if the government knew Manafort was a shady character they should have told the Trump campaign..."
posted by zombieflanders at 2:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
In the 8th month.
posted by Melismata at 2:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 2:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Everything I’m reading is “Cohen plea deal” but barely any mention that Cohen was instructed to do those things by Trump, which should be a fucking huge bombshell.
posted by gucci mane at 2:39 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 2:39 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
In two weeks the Republican Senate is going to confirm a Supreme Court Justice nominated by a criminal president, who has already said that that president can never be indicted.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:39 PM on August 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:39 PM on August 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
Is there any way that this would be used to justify accelerating the nomination process for Kavanaugh? Or rather, how long before some one tries doing that?
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:40 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:40 PM on August 21, 2018
Trump just answered a question about Manafort. His answer was essentially "Paul who? Also, witchhunt."
posted by Justinian at 2:40 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 2:40 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
GRAHAM: "I don't know how much you can expect President Trump to know about his business practices before he signed on. But I do believe that if the government knew Manafort was a shady character they should have told the Trump campaign..."
From dignity wraith to full soulless Nazagul (Nazigul?)
posted by jaduncan at 2:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
From dignity wraith to full soulless Nazagul (Nazigul?)
posted by jaduncan at 2:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump exiting AF1 on Manafort. He's "sad" about it: "This has nothing to do with Russian collusion. This started as russian collusison. This has absolutely nothing to do. This is a witch hunt and a disgrace. This has nothing to do with what they started out. I feel very bad for Paul Manafort. He worked for Bob Dole, he worked for Regan...This was not the original mission, believe me. Had nothing to do with Russian collusion, we continue the witch hunt."
He does not respond to shouted questions about Cohen.
(Video)
posted by zachlipton at 2:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
He does not respond to shouted questions about Cohen.
(Video)
posted by zachlipton at 2:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
Robert Costa: standby for news
Does anyone have a brown paper bag.
Trump adviser Larry Kudlow hosted publisher of white nationalists at his home
posted by zombieflanders at 2:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
Does anyone have a brown paper bag.
Trump adviser Larry Kudlow hosted publisher of white nationalists at his home
posted by zombieflanders at 2:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
Forget Kavanaugh’s papers. We’ve got multiple felons involved at the highest levels of the campaign and administration. That’s grounds enough to call for at least stalling his confirmation. (I’m aware of the Senate math.)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:42 PM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:42 PM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
"I don't know how much you can expect President Trump to know about his business practices before he signed on.“
Aren’t the campaigns suppose to be vetting these people? It’s not the FBI’s responsibility to do it for you 🙄
posted by gucci mane at 2:42 PM on August 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
Aren’t the campaigns suppose to be vetting these people? It’s not the FBI’s responsibility to do it for you 🙄
posted by gucci mane at 2:42 PM on August 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
"This has nothing to do with Russian collusion. This started as russian collusison. This has absolutely nothing to do. This is a witch hunt and a disgrace. This has nothing to do with what they started out. I feel very bad for Paul Manafort. He worked for Bob Dole, he worked for Regan...This was not the original mission, believe me. Had nothing to do with Russian collusion, we continue the witch hunt."
Not to worry, the Manafort collision trial is up next!
posted by jaduncan at 2:43 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
Not to worry, the Manafort collision trial is up next!
posted by jaduncan at 2:43 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
"I don't know how much you can expect President Trump to know about his business practices before he signed on.“
Trump has known Manafort for 40 years. He knew exactly what he was getting.
posted by ryoshu at 2:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [49 favorites]
Trump has known Manafort for 40 years. He knew exactly what he was getting.
posted by ryoshu at 2:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [49 favorites]
As if being "a shady character" were a bug and not a feature for these clowns. Lindsey Graham is a disgrace.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 2:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oddly, FoxN actually headlines with 'violating campaign finance laws 'at direction of' Trump'.
posted by Harry Caul at 2:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Harry Caul at 2:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
No, that indictment drops next week.
Mueller is laying a solid foundation, brick by brick. It's going to be wild watching Trump freak out about Russian Collusion as he's indicted for good old tax and bank fraud. If there's no-one who can get him to understand the truth here, that's theoretical 25th Amendment territory.
posted by mikelieman at 2:48 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Mueller is laying a solid foundation, brick by brick. It's going to be wild watching Trump freak out about Russian Collusion as he's indicted for good old tax and bank fraud. If there's no-one who can get him to understand the truth here, that's theoretical 25th Amendment territory.
posted by mikelieman at 2:48 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
But I do believe that if the government knew Manafort was a shady character they should have told the Trump campaign..."
Didn't Obama specifically warn Trump about Flynn, to no avail?
posted by Rumple at 2:48 PM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Didn't Obama specifically warn Trump about Flynn, to no avail?
posted by Rumple at 2:48 PM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Mod note: I know we're all eating cake right now, but try to slow down on riffing and context-free reaction to random talking heads saying exactly what we'd expect them to say on cable news; look for more substantive takes or at least put things in context.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 2:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 2:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
Robert Costa: standby for news
From the Washington Post's Kudlow article, "Peter Brimelow attended the gathering, a birthday bash for Kudlow, one day after a White House speechwriter was dismissed in the wake of revelations that he had spoken alongside Brimelow on a 2016 panel.
"Brimelow [...] has become a zealous promoter of white-identity politics on Vdare.com, the anti-immigration website that he founded in 1999."
Kudlow claims that he never knew about Brimelow's offensive views—which, incidentally include writing on his site that Kudlow "certainly has the ancestral Jewish fondness for immigration and he's certainly toed the supply-side line on free trade etc., which some of them extend to immigration."
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
From the Washington Post's Kudlow article, "Peter Brimelow attended the gathering, a birthday bash for Kudlow, one day after a White House speechwriter was dismissed in the wake of revelations that he had spoken alongside Brimelow on a 2016 panel.
"Brimelow [...] has become a zealous promoter of white-identity politics on Vdare.com, the anti-immigration website that he founded in 1999."
Kudlow claims that he never knew about Brimelow's offensive views—which, incidentally include writing on his site that Kudlow "certainly has the ancestral Jewish fondness for immigration and he's certainly toed the supply-side line on free trade etc., which some of them extend to immigration."
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I mean, a different publisher of white nationalists was the White House chief strategist. That seems like a bigger deal than Kudlow's birthday party guests.
posted by zachlipton at 2:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
Rod Rosenstein outlined scope for special counsel probe in August 2017
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein explicitly authorized the Justice Department's special counsel to investigate allegations that President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman colluded with the Russian government.Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election and Related Matters:
...
In addition to authorizing the Russia collusion investigation of Manafort, Rosenstein also specifically authorized Mueller to investigate any crimes related to payments Manafort received from the Ukrainian government during the tenure of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
(b) The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including:posted by kirkaracha at 2:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
(iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).
(c) If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters
I mean, a different publisher of white nationalists was the White House chief strategist. That seems like a bigger deal than Kudlow's birthday party guests.
There was never a Bannon & Cramer show on CNBC
posted by ocschwar at 2:55 PM on August 21, 2018
There was never a Bannon & Cramer show on CNBC
posted by ocschwar at 2:55 PM on August 21, 2018
Fox News might be mentioning Trump in that headline, but putting "at direction of" in quotes is them saying "I'm not saying WE'RE saying this, but SOMEONE is saying this."
posted by emelenjr at 2:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by emelenjr at 2:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, headlines should be leading with BREAKING: Trump ordered Cohen to make campaign finance violations.
posted by gucci mane at 2:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 2:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
The NYT website lede right now is "Cohen says Trump told him to pay off adult film star." Pretty close, and active voice was used.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
@PoliticsWolf:
Huge victory North Carolina democracy! The heavily gerrymandered GOP legislature put deceptively worded amendments on the ballot to utterly neuter the independence of the executive & judicial branches. They even threatened Supreme Court with impeachment!posted by zombieflanders at 3:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
North Carolina GOP will likely appeal this ruling, but Dems hold a 4-3 majority on the NC Supreme Court. The GOP may try to drag things out so that the GOP-dominated Court of Appeals gets the final say pre-election, but we'll see them in court if they try
This ruling still didn't block the voter ID constitutional amendment the North Carolina GOP put on the ballot after their 2013 voter ID statute was struck down for targeting black voters "with almost surgical precision." Voting rights are still on the ballot this fall
The Cohen criminal information is out, and it's a read (count 7 is anyway, though check out the rest for Birkin bag shenanigans). This isn't great for American Media:
Yeah that all looks really bad. What "tech services" are mixed up with his hush money reimbursement? How do you "gross up" a $180K payment to $360K? They just tossed him an extra bonus on top of that?
posted by zachlipton at 3:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
In or about August 2015, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Corporation-1 ("Chairman-1"), in coordination with Michael Cohen, the defendant, and one or more members of the campaign, offered to help deal with negative stories about Individual-1's relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided. Chairman-1 agreed to keep Cohen apprised of any such negative stories.And this is just bad:
...
Between in or about late August 2016 and September, MICHAEL COHEN, the defendant, agreed with Chairman-1 to assign the rights to the non-disclosure portion of Corporation-1's agreement with Woman-1 to COHEN for $125,000.
...
However, after the assignment agreement was signed but before COHEN had paid the $125,000, Chairman-1 contacted COHEN and told him, in substance, that the deal was off and that COHEN should tear up the assignment agreement. COHEN did not tear up the agreement, which was later found during a judicially authorized search of his office.
MICHAEL COHEN, the defendant, caused and made the payments described herein in order to influence the 2016 presidential election. In so doing, he coordinated with one or more members of the campaign, including meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments.It goes on to say that the Trump Organization accounted for the payments as legal expenses, when they weren't.
...
In or about January 2017, MICHAEL COHEN, the defendant, in seeking reimbursement for election-related expenses, presented executives of the Company with a copy of a bank statement from the Essential Consultants bank account, which reflected the $130,000 payment COHEN had made to the bank account of Attorney-1 in order to keep Woman-2 silent in advance of the election, plus a $35 wire fee, adding, in handwriting, an additional $50,000. The $50,000 represented a claimed payment for "tech services," which in fact related to work COHEN had solicited from a technology company during and in connection with the campaign. After receiving this document, executives of the Company "grossed up" for tax purposes COHEN's requested reimbursement of $180,000 to $360,000, and then added a bonus of $60,000 so that COHEN would be paid $420,000 in total. Executives of the Company also determined that the $420,000 would be paid to COHEN in monthly amounts of $35,000 over the course of twelve months, and that COHEN should send invoices for these payments.
Yeah that all looks really bad. What "tech services" are mixed up with his hush money reimbursement? How do you "gross up" a $180K payment to $360K? They just tossed him an extra bonus on top of that?
posted by zachlipton at 3:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
And now Cohen's lawyer is straight up accusing the President of crimes:
@LannyDavis: Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?
posted by zachlipton at 3:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [110 favorites]
@LannyDavis: Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?
posted by zachlipton at 3:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [110 favorites]
Could the Cohen plea lead directly to Trump's income tax returns? Is it likely Mueller already has those returns?
posted by Rumple at 3:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Rumple at 3:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
And now Cohen's lawyer is straight up accusing the President of crimes:
@LannyDavis: Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?
Unindicted but loudly tweeted co-conspirator.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 3:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
@LannyDavis: Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?
Unindicted but loudly tweeted co-conspirator.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 3:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
Is it likely Mueller already has those returns?
I am absolutely sure Mueller has the returns.
posted by suelac at 3:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
I am absolutely sure Mueller has the returns.
posted by suelac at 3:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
I wish I felt happier about these crooks having to answer for their crimes. Our country has been hurt by their greed (and racism) and it's going to take a lot more to put things right.
posted by stowaway at 3:12 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by stowaway at 3:12 PM on August 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
It goes on to say that the Trump Organization accounted for the payments as legal expenses, when they weren't.
That's tax fraud, isn't it?
posted by notyou at 3:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
That's tax fraud, isn't it?
posted by notyou at 3:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
California Republican congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife apparently just got indicted by a federal grand jury, because someone decided there wasn't enough political news today.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [71 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [71 favorites]
Rep. Hunter and his wife were indicted for using campaign money for personal expenses.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
California Republican congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife apparently just got indicted by a federal grand jury, because someone decided there wasn't enough political news today.
The DOJ, in a rush to get its cases in or done before the 60 day pre-election "quiet period," breaks newsrooms coast-to-coast.
posted by notyou at 3:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
The DOJ, in a rush to get its cases in or done before the 60 day pre-election "quiet period," breaks newsrooms coast-to-coast.
posted by notyou at 3:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [26 favorites]
Here's the Duncan Hunter press release from DOJ (not seeing the actual indictment yet).
He and his wife accused of illegal use of campaign funds from 2009-2016 for vacations, school tuition, and other personal expenses, mischaracterizing them in FEC filings. From the press release: "Family dental bills paid with campaign funds were charactirzed as a charitable contribution to 'Smiles for Life'...Tickets for the family to see Riverdance at the San Diego Ciivic Center became 'San Diego Civic Center for Republican Women Federated/Fundraising'"
posted by zachlipton at 3:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
He and his wife accused of illegal use of campaign funds from 2009-2016 for vacations, school tuition, and other personal expenses, mischaracterizing them in FEC filings. From the press release: "Family dental bills paid with campaign funds were charactirzed as a charitable contribution to 'Smiles for Life'...Tickets for the family to see Riverdance at the San Diego Ciivic Center became 'San Diego Civic Center for Republican Women Federated/Fundraising'"
posted by zachlipton at 3:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
In or about January 2017, COHEN left the Company and began holding himselfAnyone with any idea who this Individual-1 could be? I have a hunch it's James K. Polk.
out as the "personal attorney" to Individual-1, who at that point had become the President of the United States.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [78 favorites]
@JesseLehrich:
Chris Collins & Duncan Hunter were the first two Congressmen to endorse Trump.
they're now both under federal indictment.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [97 favorites]
Chris Collins & Duncan Hunter were the first two Congressmen to endorse Trump.
they're now both under federal indictment.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [97 favorites]
The Trump Arrest Montage gets more and more real.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 3:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Duncan Hunter is a huge Trumpist, too
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:21 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:21 PM on August 21, 2018
In the Cohen plea agreement, although the penalties for the crimes total to 65 years, under federal sentencing guidelines as a first offender, prosecutors are asking for 46 to 63 months.
posted by JackFlash at 3:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by JackFlash at 3:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Yo, the women who slept with Donald Trump are not "whores" and you are all very above that shit.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 3:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [203 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 3:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [203 favorites]
On a day when news sites can't figure out whether the PRESIDENT'S LAWYER IMPLICATES HIM IN CRIME headline should come before the PRESIDENT'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER DID A TON OF FRAUD headline, Fox News has figured what should be at the top of their website: Brown Person Commits a Murder, Maybe
posted by 0xFCAF at 3:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by 0xFCAF at 3:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
My favourite part of the Hunter story below in italics.
(CNN) Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, were indicted Tuesday on charges related to the misuse of $250,000 worth of campaign funds for personal expenses and the filing of false campaign finance records.
The charges of wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations and conspiracy were the culmination of a Department of Justice investigation that has stretched for more than a year, during which the Republican congressman from California has maintained his innocence.
Republican Party leaders had long worried that with a potential indictment looming, Hunter's traditionally safe district which makes up much of eastern San Diego County could be at risk of Democratic takeover in November's midterm election.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
(CNN) Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, were indicted Tuesday on charges related to the misuse of $250,000 worth of campaign funds for personal expenses and the filing of false campaign finance records.
The charges of wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations and conspiracy were the culmination of a Department of Justice investigation that has stretched for more than a year, during which the Republican congressman from California has maintained his innocence.
Republican Party leaders had long worried that with a potential indictment looming, Hunter's traditionally safe district which makes up much of eastern San Diego County could be at risk of Democratic takeover in November's midterm election.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
GOP's Chief Goalpost Mover.
Well I think Graham is performing a real public service here:
The American legal system is working its will in both the #PaulManafort and #MichaelCohen cases.
Thus far, there have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.
He's just pointing out we're only part way through the story with plenty more charges and convictions to come, so keep the popcorn popping.
posted by gusottertrout at 3:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well I think Graham is performing a real public service here:
The American legal system is working its will in both the #PaulManafort and #MichaelCohen cases.
Thus far, there have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.
He's just pointing out we're only part way through the story with plenty more charges and convictions to come, so keep the popcorn popping.
posted by gusottertrout at 3:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ammar Campa-Najar is the dem running against Hunter in CA-50. RCP has the race as lean republican, but that was obviously based on polls that were done before today's news.
Can the republicans substitute another candidate for Hunter at this point?
posted by nathan_teske at 3:40 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Can the republicans substitute another candidate for Hunter at this point?
posted by nathan_teske at 3:40 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
@tparti
Source close to the White House says what a lot of people are thinking, with Trump on his way to W. Va.: "What if he pardons Manafort live on television? This is crisis PR firms worst nightmare.."
Does he not have to at least wait for sentencing?
posted by Artw at 3:44 PM on August 21, 2018
Source close to the White House says what a lot of people are thinking, with Trump on his way to W. Va.: "What if he pardons Manafort live on television? This is crisis PR firms worst nightmare.."
Does he not have to at least wait for sentencing?
posted by Artw at 3:44 PM on August 21, 2018
No, he could have issued blanket pardons even before a crime was charged. Ford issued blanket pardons for uncharged crimes after Watergate.
posted by Justinian at 3:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 3:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Come on, guys, it was just locker room campaign finance violations.
posted by snofoam at 3:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [79 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 3:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [79 favorites]
In the Cohen plea agreement, although the penalties for the crimes total to 65 years, under federal sentencing guidelines as a first offender, prosecutors are asking for 46 to 63 months.
Cohen still has loads of legal jeopardy ahead, though, right? Just today they made a decision on which of the 8 million items seized from Cohen's office were privileged as attorney-client communication and which weren't (about 7k were deemed privileged).
Or does today's action in court wrap it up for Cohen?
(I understand that Manafort still has more courtrooms to visit.)
posted by notyou at 3:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cohen still has loads of legal jeopardy ahead, though, right? Just today they made a decision on which of the 8 million items seized from Cohen's office were privileged as attorney-client communication and which weren't (about 7k were deemed privileged).
Or does today's action in court wrap it up for Cohen?
(I understand that Manafort still has more courtrooms to visit.)
posted by notyou at 3:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
@mattdpearce: The Rep. Duncan Hunter indictment starts out with a... glum overview of a his finances.
Glum as in "$37,761 in overdraft fees" because that's what happens when you overdraft your bank accounts more than 1,100 times in a seven-year period.
The DOTA 2 charges also make an appearance; they're accused of falsely telling the bank, the FEC, and the public that they were fraudulent charges.
posted by zachlipton at 3:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
Glum as in "$37,761 in overdraft fees" because that's what happens when you overdraft your bank accounts more than 1,100 times in a seven-year period.
The DOTA 2 charges also make an appearance; they're accused of falsely telling the bank, the FEC, and the public that they were fraudulent charges.
posted by zachlipton at 3:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
does today's action in court wrap it up for Cohen?
Cohen's guilty plea agreement was from the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York. Regarding Cohen, Special Counsel Mueller hasn't shown his hand yet.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
Cohen's guilty plea agreement was from the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York. Regarding Cohen, Special Counsel Mueller hasn't shown his hand yet.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
You know what’s utterly infuriating? The Trumpists are so bogged down with sunk cost that they don’t even care that Trump took their donations to make America great again and used them as his own personal slush fund to pay for his... indiscretions...
If it turned out Hillary sloshed my money around for Bill I’d be calling for blood. I’m sure Republicans would have impeachment on the floor by COB and demanding either her out or Civil War 2 starting.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
If it turned out Hillary sloshed my money around for Bill I’d be calling for blood. I’m sure Republicans would have impeachment on the floor by COB and demanding either her out or Civil War 2 starting.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
The Trumpists are so bogged down with sunk cost that they don’t even care that Trump took their donations to make America great again and used them as his own personal slush fund to pay for his... indiscretions...
This should be the talking point. He took your MAGA money and paid off his mistresses. Is that how you want your democracy to work?
posted by greermahoney at 3:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [51 favorites]
This should be the talking point. He took your MAGA money and paid off his mistresses. Is that how you want your democracy to work?
posted by greermahoney at 3:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [51 favorites]
Duncan Hunter took your campaign contributions and went to Costco.
posted by notyou at 3:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by notyou at 3:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
Giuliani is actually trying to pretend Individual-1 is not President Trump.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:55 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump outside counsel GIULIANI: "There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government's charges against Mr. Cohen. It is clear that as the prosecutor noted Mr. Cohen's actions reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over a significant period of time.”Ceterum autem censeo Trumpem esse delendam
posted by kirkaracha at 3:55 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trumpists and the GOP will put up with literally anything so long as doing so affords them the opportunity to brutalize POC and steal money from the public sector.
Appealing to their better senses is simply not worth anyone's time. They are not opponents to be reasoned with, they are enemies to be smashed.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 3:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
Appealing to their better senses is simply not worth anyone's time. They are not opponents to be reasoned with, they are enemies to be smashed.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 3:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [65 favorites]
nathan_teske: "Ammar Campa-Najar is the dem running against Hunter in CA-50. RCP has the race as lean republican, but that was obviously based on polls that were done before today's news.
Can the republicans substitute another candidate for Hunter at this point?"
Apparently he is on the ballot regardless:
posted by Chrysostom at 4:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Can the republicans substitute another candidate for Hunter at this point?"
Apparently he is on the ballot regardless:
At this juncture, Duncan Hunter’s name will remain on the ballot regardless of what he chooses to do. No other GOP candidate can run for CA-50. The only way to remove his name is if that is ordered by a judge. That is a huge development in race for control of US House.Keep in mind this is a pretty red district (Romney 60-38, Trump 55-40). Cook is moving it to Likely R, but this is still a pretty steep climb.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Rudy: Trump Not Implicated by Crime He Definitely Committed
...there may be a loophole upon which Giuliani can rest his case. Cohen’s plea agreement does not actually name Donald Trump as the co-conspirator. Instead, it simply states that Cohen went to work as an attorney for “Individual 1,” who “became President of the United States.”posted by kirkaracha at 4:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [45 favorites]
That Individual 1 could be anybody.
Stephen Colbert sure picked the wrong week to go on vacation.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [50 favorites]
> Graham: "if the government knew Manafort was a shady character they should have told the Trump campaign"
Anyone whose been on these threads over the year knows this is complete bullshit; Manafort was extremely well known the world over as the shadiest of shady political operatives.
And Trump, who had worked closely with the Manafort-Stone lobbying firm closely from 1980 through the early 1990s on a wide variety of extremely shady deals, certainly knew it better than most.
But actually proving this might take up to five minutes of googling, so I decided to save everyone the effort.
Apologies for the length. I tried to condense as much as possible, but there is just so much of it, and so much variety of crookedness and criminality. And this list is far from exhaustive.
None of this is a surprise in the least. Many of us were screaming to high heavens about it back at the time.
The shady shit wasn't some kind of "problem" that no one knew about at the time. It was very well known and in fact the very reason Trump was attracted to him.
posted by flug at 4:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [124 favorites]
Anyone whose been on these threads over the year knows this is complete bullshit; Manafort was extremely well known the world over as the shadiest of shady political operatives.
And Trump, who had worked closely with the Manafort-Stone lobbying firm closely from 1980 through the early 1990s on a wide variety of extremely shady deals, certainly knew it better than most.
But actually proving this might take up to five minutes of googling, so I decided to save everyone the effort.
Apologies for the length. I tried to condense as much as possible, but there is just so much of it, and so much variety of crookedness and criminality. And this list is far from exhaustive.
- Manafort's lobbying firm, Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, was included in a 1992 report by the Center for Public Integrity titled "The Torturers' Lobby." (NPR, 16 July 2016)
- [O]ver the years, they made millions by representing a rogue’s gallery of clients far away from D.C.’s genteel corridors of power: dictators, guerilla groups, and despots with no regard for human rights—including one man responsible for mass amputations, and another who oversaw state-sanctioned rape. (Daily Beast, 13 April 2016)
- Manafort served as adviser to Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian presidential candidate with ties to Vladimir Putin. Yanukovych ultimately won his election in 2010 but was removed from office in 2014 after years of suppressing his opposition and the press. . . . spokesman for the Ukraine Freedom Support Group saying that Manafort should not be allowed within 100 feet of government buildings. (Heavy.com, 27 May 2016)
- Over a 40-year career as a lobbyist and political consultant, Manafort and his firms have advised, in no particular order, a business group tied to Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator of the Philippines; Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted Ukrainian president and ally of Vladimir Putin; and Lynden Pindling, the former Bahamian prime minister who was accused of ties to drug traffickers. (Washington Post, 7 April 2016)
- “Any presidential candidate should properly vet the backgrounds of and moral decisions of the people he picks to advise him,” said Atlantic Council deputy director Alina Polyakova, adding that Manafort’s past work in Ukraine “absolutely should cast a shadow on Trump’s campaign”. (The Guardian, 27 April 2016)
- helped a scandal-plagued Ukrainian oligarch with ties to political and criminal figures in Russia vpark millions of dollars in offshore real estate investments, according to documents released as part of a federal racketeering suit. (Free Beacon, 31 March 2016)
- Manafort ... has always been in the Trump orbit ... he did lobbying work for Trump's gambling and real estate interests ... in private business Manafort seemingly went to the dark side, with a shabby but deep-pocketed client list that reportedly included the likes of Mobutu Sese Seko, of Zaire, and Ferdinand Marcos, of the Philippines, both crooked dictators who stole national wealth worth billions of dollars. (29 May 2016, Sydney Morning Herald)
- a Russian aluminum magnate has accused Manafort in a Cayman Islands court of taking nearly $19 million intended for investments, then failing to account for the funds, return them or respond to numerous inquiries (Washington Post, 26 April 2016)
- a trail of complicated offshore business dealings (many of them through firms registered in the Cayman Islands, Cyprus and elsewhere) that Manafort engaged in with wealthy Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs (Yahoo News, 26 April 2016)
None of this is a surprise in the least. Many of us were screaming to high heavens about it back at the time.
The shady shit wasn't some kind of "problem" that no one knew about at the time. It was very well known and in fact the very reason Trump was attracted to him.
posted by flug at 4:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [124 favorites]
Can the democrats please run at least partly on an anti-corruption platform to clear government of tax cheats and campaign-finance abusers? We sooooo need more money for the IRS investigate tax fraud, and for more FBI investigations into campaign-finance violations. I'm thinking of what good the democrats can do if (as seems likely to me) they win the house but not the senate. Passing strong ethics-related legislation out of the house and having the republican senate and white house refuse to pass them would be almost as good as them actually passing meaningful legislation.
posted by skewed at 4:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by skewed at 4:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
He took your MAGA money and paid off his mistresses.
Yeah, probably not gonna work. Paying off those women got him elected. They have no morals - they voted for Trump - so they'll see it a smart move. Getting him elected was what they were donating for.
posted by chris24 at 4:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Yeah, probably not gonna work. Paying off those women got him elected. They have no morals - they voted for Trump - so they'll see it a smart move. Getting him elected was what they were donating for.
posted by chris24 at 4:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
It goes on to say that the Trump Organization accounted for the payments as legal expenses, when they weren't.
Yeah that all looks really bad. What "tech services" are mixed up with his hush money reimbursement? How do you "gross up" a $180K payment to $360K? They just tossed him an extra bonus on top of that?
Grossing-up a number is a common way of making sure that you net-pay the amount you're supposed to, eating the additional tax expense on the behalf of the payee.
There's a very well laid out demonstration in that information about how the Trump Organization accepted and paid fraudulent invoices. I expect when they drill down into the corporate finances, it's going to get really messy.
posted by mikelieman at 4:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah that all looks really bad. What "tech services" are mixed up with his hush money reimbursement? How do you "gross up" a $180K payment to $360K? They just tossed him an extra bonus on top of that?
Grossing-up a number is a common way of making sure that you net-pay the amount you're supposed to, eating the additional tax expense on the behalf of the payee.
There's a very well laid out demonstration in that information about how the Trump Organization accepted and paid fraudulent invoices. I expect when they drill down into the corporate finances, it's going to get really messy.
posted by mikelieman at 4:07 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Duncan Hunter took your campaign contributions and went to Costco.
To be fair, anyone who looked at the Brosentative of Vape Nation and thought "he seems trustworthy with campaign funds" should really know what they're in for.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 4:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
To be fair, anyone who looked at the Brosentative of Vape Nation and thought "he seems trustworthy with campaign funds" should really know what they're in for.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 4:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Is that how you want your democracy to work?
They don't want democracy. They want an autocracy that promises them status and dehumanises everyone not like them.
Fascism isn't a kind of democracy, and these people want fascism, and they'll gladly pay for it.
posted by Devonian at 4:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [75 favorites]
They don't want democracy. They want an autocracy that promises them status and dehumanises everyone not like them.
Fascism isn't a kind of democracy, and these people want fascism, and they'll gladly pay for it.
posted by Devonian at 4:09 PM on August 21, 2018 [75 favorites]
We sooooo need more money for the IRS investigate tax fraud, and for more FBI investigations into campaign-finance violations.
At this point I want the US military to blockade places like Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis to enforce US tax law. Or cut out such tax haven countries from access to the US banking system on the scale of sanctions we use against North Korea and Iran. The root of all of this is a global elite opting out of national laws and the social contract, and usurping national governments to do so.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [32 favorites]
At this point I want the US military to blockade places like Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis to enforce US tax law. Or cut out such tax haven countries from access to the US banking system on the scale of sanctions we use against North Korea and Iran. The root of all of this is a global elite opting out of national laws and the social contract, and usurping national governments to do so.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [32 favorites]
Can the democrats please run at least partly on an anti-corruption platform to clear government of tax cheats and campaign-finance abusers?
I was saving this story for a break in the news that never came, but since you requested it... One thing that happened this morning that's now maybe the 25th most important politics story of the day is this.
WaPo, Weigel, Elizabeth Warren unveils anti-corruption plan, takes aim at Trump
posted by zachlipton at 4:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [128 favorites]
I was saving this story for a break in the news that never came, but since you requested it... One thing that happened this morning that's now maybe the 25th most important politics story of the day is this.
WaPo, Weigel, Elizabeth Warren unveils anti-corruption plan, takes aim at Trump
If Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has her way, federal judges will face steep new ethics standards, high-ranking government officials will be banned from ever becoming lobbyists — and any candidate for president will have to release at least eight years of past tax returns.What I don't know is how you break through with this anti-corruption platform when everyone is focused on the non-stop corruption.
“Padlock the revolving door between big business and government,” Warren said Tuesday at the National Press Club. “It’s insane that we have to beg the president of the United States to put the American people ahead of his own business interests. Insane.”
Warren’s speech, focusing on the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act that she’s introducing this week, highlighted a set of transparency reforms that would affect everything from how lobbyists have to report meetings with members of Congress to what would be accessible in Freedom of Information Act requests.
posted by zachlipton at 4:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [128 favorites]
Ken Starr Just Produced the Most Incredible Hypocrisy in the History of Cable News
“The mandate that Bob Mueller received has some broad language, including ‘related-to’ type of language, which tends to open the door, but there are some checks and balances,” Starr continued to say, “We don’t want investigators and prosecutors out on a fishing expedition.”posted by kirkaracha at 4:12 PM on August 21, 2018 [79 favorites]
Keep in mind this is a pretty red district (Romney 60-38, Trump 55-40). Cook is moving it to Likely R, but this is still a pretty steep climb.
As was pointed out in the long-ago time last week when the other early Congressional supporter of Trump was indicted, this is why you have a 50-state, 535-seat strategy. Hunter only got 47% in the top-two primary (down from 63 percent in the primary in 2016), so Ammar Campa-Najjar is suddenly an actual candidate rather than a sacrificial lamb.
posted by Etrigan at 4:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
As was pointed out in the long-ago time last week when the other early Congressional supporter of Trump was indicted, this is why you have a 50-state, 535-seat strategy. Hunter only got 47% in the top-two primary (down from 63 percent in the primary in 2016), so Ammar Campa-Najjar is suddenly an actual candidate rather than a sacrificial lamb.
posted by Etrigan at 4:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
Omaraosa's video was absolutely nothing. It's Michael Cohen saying hi as he gets onto a campaign plane in 2016. It's of no interest whatsoever, and I am only posting a comment about it to note that it's over and everyone can stop caring about it.
posted by zachlipton at 4:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 4:15 PM on August 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
So help me... against my better judgement I'm watching President Shithole's rally in WV out of some morbid curiosity about how much more madly unhinged than usual he may be. Preparing for major SAN damage...
posted by jammer at 4:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jammer at 4:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'd encourage anyone who wants to subject themselves to the rally (live link) join us in chat and BYOMFB.
posted by 0xFCAF at 4:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by 0xFCAF at 4:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Looks like he's just playing the hits for now. Sadly, if he makes it through without imploding he'll be adored as presidential by the awaiting partisan hacks pundits.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 4:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 4:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
@dhm:
This is the funniest part of the Duncan Hunter indictment:
This is the funniest part of the Duncan Hunter indictment:
116) On or about March 20, 2015, when DUNCAN HUNTER told MARGARET HUNTER that he was planning "to buy my Hawaii shorts" but had run out of money, she counseled him to buy the shorts at a golf pro shop so that they could falsely describe the purchase later as "some [golf] balls for the wounded warriors."posted by Atom Eyes at 4:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [78 favorites]
What I don't know is how you break through with this anti-corruption platform when everyone is focused on the non-stop corruption.
Is that sarcastic? Honestly don't know. Seems like it would be a no-brainer to introduce a bill to remove the president's exemption from conflict of interest rules.
If Republicans want to oppose it before this tough election, please proceed sir.
posted by msalt at 4:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Is that sarcastic? Honestly don't know. Seems like it would be a no-brainer to introduce a bill to remove the president's exemption from conflict of interest rules.
If Republicans want to oppose it before this tough election, please proceed sir.
posted by msalt at 4:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
> Graham: "if the government knew Manafort was a shady character they should have told the Trump campaign"
Recall that Obama, in their meeting in the Oval Office shortly after the election, warned Trump face to face about Michael Flynn -- and Trump still hired him as National Security Advisor.
So, warnings just don't matter to Trump. Shadiness is a positive attribute in his sphere.
posted by JackFlash at 4:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
Recall that Obama, in their meeting in the Oval Office shortly after the election, warned Trump face to face about Michael Flynn -- and Trump still hired him as National Security Advisor.
So, warnings just don't matter to Trump. Shadiness is a positive attribute in his sphere.
posted by JackFlash at 4:21 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
against my better judgement I'm watching President Shithole's rally in WV out of some morbid curiosity about how much more madly unhinged than usual he may be.
You can at least content yourself in the knowledge that you’re not alone, and at that not even giving up the most to indulge your morbid curiosity. It’ll be one in the morning for me, here on London time, by the time any of this kicks off, and probably a couple-few minutes after that before the real fireworks start. So what I’m confessing is that I actually value the possibility of witnessing a full-on Trumponian meltdown/rage-infarction more highly than I do sweet, merciful sleep.
posted by adamgreenfield at 4:24 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
You can at least content yourself in the knowledge that you’re not alone, and at that not even giving up the most to indulge your morbid curiosity. It’ll be one in the morning for me, here on London time, by the time any of this kicks off, and probably a couple-few minutes after that before the real fireworks start. So what I’m confessing is that I actually value the possibility of witnessing a full-on Trumponian meltdown/rage-infarction more highly than I do sweet, merciful sleep.
posted by adamgreenfield at 4:24 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Having taken a look at his website, I can report that Ammar Campa-Najjar has some sound policy proposals and is also really, really ridiculously good-looking.
posted by nonasuch at 4:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by nonasuch at 4:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
NYT, Facebook Identifies New Political Influence Operation Ahead of Midterm Elections
posted by zachlipton at 4:27 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Facebook said it had identified a new political influence campaign on its platform that appeared intended to disrupt the midterm elections, with the social network finding and taking down 652 fake accounts and pages that were trying to sow discord around social issues.Not really any further details at this point.
Some of the accounts in the new influence campaign originated in Iran and Russia, Facebook said.
The campaign’s scale exceeded that of another influence operation that Facebook revealed last month, in which the company said it detected and removed 32 pages and fake accounts that had engaged in activity around divisive social issues ahead of the midterms.
posted by zachlipton at 4:27 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Stormy Daniels, a single mom and adult performer – despite physical threats to her and her child, despite ridicule and harassment, despite a politically motivated arrest and detainment – took on the most powerful person in the world and his righthand man and took down Cohen already, implicated Trump in multiple felonies and might help end his presidency.
Hero.
posted by chris24 at 4:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [232 favorites]
Hero.
posted by chris24 at 4:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [232 favorites]
Um, they're chanting "lock her up," about Hillary Clinton, at the Trump rally. This followed a round of "drain that swamp" chants. I did not detect any hints of irony.
posted by zachlipton at 4:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 4:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
anti-corruption platform
While a good idea in general, Bob Menendez might not be on board... (and he is unfortunately important if Dems have any chance at flipping the Senate).
Still think its possible to run on that, but would have been nicer if Dems had chosen a different candidate in NJ.
posted by thefoxgod at 4:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
While a good idea in general, Bob Menendez might not be on board... (and he is unfortunately important if Dems have any chance at flipping the Senate).
Still think its possible to run on that, but would have been nicer if Dems had chosen a different candidate in NJ.
posted by thefoxgod at 4:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
So help me... against my better judgement I'm watching President Shithole's rally in WV out of some morbid curiosity about how much more madly unhinged than usual he may be. Preparing for major SAN damage...
I outsource all my sanity-draining Trump rally–watching duties to the Toronto Star's Daniel Dale (@ddale8), who's live-tweeting this gonzo affair. Here are some highlights so far:
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
I outsource all my sanity-draining Trump rally–watching duties to the Toronto Star's Daniel Dale (@ddale8), who's live-tweeting this gonzo affair. Here are some highlights so far:
—Trump begins by attacking the NFL, which he describes as unpatriotic, and ESPN, for not televising the national anthem. "So while the players are kneeling..."More madness to come!
—Trump lies that U.S. Steel is opening "seven different plants," which is down from eight plants but up from six plants. He varies the lie depending on the day.
—Trump repeats his ludicrously inaccurate monologue about how coal is "indestructible" and you "can do whatever you want" to it, unlike windmills and other kinds of energy, which are not indestructible.
—Trump on West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who is tall and hefty: "He is the largest, most beautiful man."
—After Jim Justice finishes speaking, Trump says, not trying to be funny, that Justice is "6-foot-11." Justice is 6-foot-7. "He's a big man. He's ALL man," Trump says.
—Hours after Trump's lawyer pleaded guilty to crimes and implicated Trump and Trump's campaign chairman was convicted of crimes, the crowd at the Trump rally is chanting "drain that swamp."
—The crowd then proceeded to a "lock her up" chant.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
I've seen a lot of people saying that Flynn's sentencing being delayed repeatedly is a sign of continued cooperation - is the implication there that the special counsel keeps coming back to him with new evidence to corroborate, and each time for his cooperation he gets a little bit more time on the outside before prison? Like, it wouldn't be Flynn withholding and parceling out info when the sentencing gets close, right? I feel like Mueller wouldn't play that game. Either way, seems like he's done a loooot of talking over the past year.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 4:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
From ddale8: "Trump: "The Democrats want to turn America into one big fat sanctuary city for criminal aliens. And honestly they're more protective of aliens, criminal aliens, than they are of the people.""
That is some straight-up Nazi-ass shit that, even at this hour of this day, sent my eyebrows rocketing up so fast they have yet to decelerate and are rapidly nearing the moon. Democrats and aliens vs. "the people."
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:43 PM on August 21, 2018 [103 favorites]
That is some straight-up Nazi-ass shit that, even at this hour of this day, sent my eyebrows rocketing up so fast they have yet to decelerate and are rapidly nearing the moon. Democrats and aliens vs. "the people."
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:43 PM on August 21, 2018 [103 favorites]
—Trump on West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who is tall and hefty: "He is the largest, most beautiful man."
—After Jim Justice finishes speaking, Trump says, not trying to be funny, that Justice is "6-foot-11." Justice is 6-foot-7. "He's a big man. He's ALL man," Trump says.
Every time I think I can't be surprised by anything this man says, he slips in something so utterly baffling that it makes me take notice.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
—After Jim Justice finishes speaking, Trump says, not trying to be funny, that Justice is "6-foot-11." Justice is 6-foot-7. "He's a big man. He's ALL man," Trump says.
Every time I think I can't be surprised by anything this man says, he slips in something so utterly baffling that it makes me take notice.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:46 PM on August 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
Trump just now: This is the greatest American economy in history. Also, we've "gone up $10 trillion," whatever that means.
posted by Rykey at 4:50 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by Rykey at 4:50 PM on August 21, 2018
That is some straight-up Nazi-ass shit that, even at this hour of this day, sent my eyebrows rocketing up so fast they have yet to decelerate and are rapidly nearing the moon. Democrats and aliens vs. "the people."
posted by Eyebrows McGee
🤨
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee
🤨
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
@johnrobertsFox: .@MichaelCohen212 attorney @LannyDavis tells @FoxNews “This is just the beginning” and that Cohen will speak with any investigators (including Mueller) “to make sure the truth about @realDonaldTrump gets out”
@LannyDavis: This is a new beginning for Michael Cohen, his chance to tell the “rest of the story.” On July 2nd Michael announced his independence and his commitment to tell the truth. Now @MichaelCohen212 is committed to continue to do so going forward as can be seen from his sworn statement in federal court today about @realDonaldTrump instruction to @MichaelCohen212 to pay money to 2 women that Mr. Cohen admitted was a campaign finance law violation.
[There's supposed to be a part 3 to Davis's tweet, but it doesn't seem to be forthcoming.] I think Cohen "flipped." Or he wants a pardon.
Oh, and Bret Stephens is now in favor of impeachment. Nobody will care.
posted by zachlipton at 4:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
@LannyDavis: This is a new beginning for Michael Cohen, his chance to tell the “rest of the story.” On July 2nd Michael announced his independence and his commitment to tell the truth. Now @MichaelCohen212 is committed to continue to do so going forward as can be seen from his sworn statement in federal court today about @realDonaldTrump instruction to @MichaelCohen212 to pay money to 2 women that Mr. Cohen admitted was a campaign finance law violation.
[There's supposed to be a part 3 to Davis's tweet, but it doesn't seem to be forthcoming.] I think Cohen "flipped." Or he wants a pardon.
Oh, and Bret Stephens is now in favor of impeachment. Nobody will care.
posted by zachlipton at 4:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
Trump says, not trying to be funny, that Justice is "6-foot-11." Justice is 6-foot-7. "He's a big man. He's ALL man,"
Trump lies about his own height, so he must also exaggerate the heights of people standing nearby so as not to give himself away.
posted by contraption at 4:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump lies about his own height, so he must also exaggerate the heights of people standing nearby so as not to give himself away.
posted by contraption at 4:54 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
That is some straight-up Nazi-ass shit
MAGA rallygoers aren't supporting Trump in spite of everything because "the economy is strong."
We know why.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:55 PM on August 21, 2018 [30 favorites]
MAGA rallygoers aren't supporting Trump in spite of everything because "the economy is strong."
We know why.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:55 PM on August 21, 2018 [30 favorites]
LOL NYT : For a witch hunt, Mr. Mueller’s investigation has already bagged a remarkable number of witches. Only the best witches, you might say.
posted by Rumple at 4:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Rumple at 4:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
Also, in the United States we have the worst human trafficking problem in history right now. And it's because of the internet. [Real]
posted by Rykey at 4:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 4:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
At this point I want the US military to blockade places like Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis to enforce US tax law. Or cut out such tax haven countries from access to the US banking system on the scale of sanctions we use against North Korea and Iran. The root of all of this is a global elite opting out of national laws and the social contract, and usurping national governments to do so.
I'm no fan of tax havens, but maybe we should fix those at home first before we start going after other countries?
posted by Tsuga at 5:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm no fan of tax havens, but maybe we should fix those at home first before we start going after other countries?
posted by Tsuga at 5:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
AL Franken endorsing my long-held view of Manafort: My wife Franni has been saying for months that Trump won’t pardon Manafort—because he doesn’t have to. Her theory is simple and chilling. Manafort knows that if he talks, the Russians will seek retribution.
[Facebook link]
[Facebook link]
Franni has been saying for months that Trump won’t pardon Manafort—because he doesn’t have to. Her theory is simple and chilling. Manafort knows that if he talks, the Russians will seek retribution. Trump knows this too, Franni believes. Perhaps, even, he and Putin discussed this in Helsinki.posted by T.D. Strange at 5:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
PUTIN: Have no worry about Manafort talking. He knows is dead man if takes plea.
TRUMP: Wow! Good to know.
PUTIN: Same goes for interpreters. You hear me, you two?! Yuri, tell American interpreter I am serious.
RUSSIAN INTERPRETER: He means it. He’ll have us both killed.
PUTIN: Very painful death.
RUSSIAN INTERPRETER: Very painful. Most likely a nerve agent.
Okay, I don’t know if that actually happened. Maybe they just talked about adoptions. The point is, under Franni’s theory, Trump doesn’t have to pardon Manafort to keep him quiet. So, he won’t.
Which would be pretty telling. Look, I don’t like Donald Trump. Like many of us, I am sickened by his words and actions on an almost daily basis. And, in the grand scheme of things, his behavior towards the other sickening people he has surrounded himself with since getting into politics isn’t the biggest deal. I mean, separating children from their parents at the border is infinitely worse than letting your former campaign chairman spend the rest of his life in prison. For one thing, Manafort kind of deserves it.
But, if, down the road, Trump starts pardoning every other player in this collusion scandal who didn’t cop a plea, but not Paul Manafort, it will say something so deeply disturbing about Donald Trump.
MAGA rallygoers aren't supporting Trump in spite of everything because "the economy is strong."
Funny the flag and all the handheld signs all say 2016 still. These are supposed to be 2020 campaign events but from the bits and pieces a hear, DJT never seems to talk much about the 2020 race.
Maybe it'll turn out to be a good thing that these people are donating to the campaign early so they'll have less to give if and when he makes it to the actual campaign season.
posted by p3t3 at 5:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Funny the flag and all the handheld signs all say 2016 still. These are supposed to be 2020 campaign events but from the bits and pieces a hear, DJT never seems to talk much about the 2020 race.
Maybe it'll turn out to be a good thing that these people are donating to the campaign early so they'll have less to give if and when he makes it to the actual campaign season.
posted by p3t3 at 5:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
During the rally, Trump announced "We are going to put a tax of 25% on every car that comes in from the European Union."
Officials had previously said that talks would continue and tarriffs wouldn't be imposed. I have no earthly idea if he's just saying stuff and nobody will remember it tomorrow or if this is an actual announcement of policy that's really happening and therefore major news.
He also said something about his mom cooking turkey that wouldn't really make any more sense if I gave you the context.
posted by zachlipton at 5:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Officials had previously said that talks would continue and tarriffs wouldn't be imposed. I have no earthly idea if he's just saying stuff and nobody will remember it tomorrow or if this is an actual announcement of policy that's really happening and therefore major news.
He also said something about his mom cooking turkey that wouldn't really make any more sense if I gave you the context.
posted by zachlipton at 5:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
> Manafort worked for Reagan. That should be shouted from the rooftops.
Hell, Trump already reminded everyone about this.
And he did it again, just before his WVA rally (VOA): "Paul Manafort's a good man. He was with Ronald Reagan. He was with a lot of different people over the years. I feel very sad about that. It doesn't involve me, but I still feel, you know, it's a very sad thing that happened. It has nothing to do with Russian collusion. This started as Russian collusion, this has absolutely nothing to do… it's a witch hunt, and it's a disgrace!"
Meanwhile, Trump's more or less off the rails in WVA, and Daniel Dale gauges, "I'd currently assess Trump's hingedness level as above-averagedly hinged, by his rally hingedness standards. This is subject to change."
More highlights:
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Hell, Trump already reminded everyone about this.
And he did it again, just before his WVA rally (VOA): "Paul Manafort's a good man. He was with Ronald Reagan. He was with a lot of different people over the years. I feel very sad about that. It doesn't involve me, but I still feel, you know, it's a very sad thing that happened. It has nothing to do with Russian collusion. This started as Russian collusion, this has absolutely nothing to do… it's a witch hunt, and it's a disgrace!"
Meanwhile, Trump's more or less off the rails in WVA, and Daniel Dale gauges, "I'd currently assess Trump's hingedness level as above-averagedly hinged, by his rally hingedness standards. This is subject to change."
More highlights:
—The crowd delivers bigger boos for Maxine Waters than for Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.At this point, Dale observers, "As per usual, Trump is getting less hinged." More to come!
—Trump makes the same case in all of his speeches in red states with Dem incumbents, such as North Dakota and West Virginia: a vote for the local incumbent is effectively a vote for Schumer, Pelosi and Waters.
—Trump lies: "By the way: the wall, right now, that wall is coming along...it's moving along very nicely...it's going up."
Construction of Trump's wall has not begun. There are scattered fence-replacement projects.
—"Sir" alert: Trump claims he came to West Virginia before the election and told coal miners he'd help them learn how to make "little widgets or gidgets or gadgets," but they responded, "Sir, we wanna keep coal."
—Trump is boasting of West Virginia having achieved GDP growth near the top of the nation. That was the first quarter of 2017. In the fourth quarter of 2017, West Virginia had fallen to 44th in the country, at a mere 1 per cent growth.
—Trump chides "fake news," then the Russia "witch hunt." He says, "Where is the collusion?...You know, they're still looking for collusion! Find some collusion!"
—Trump on Rocket Man: "I won't say it because I don't want to insult Chairman Kim...Elton John! I don't wanna insult, so I'm not gonna mention it. But the fake news back there said heee is going to get us into a war! He's craaazy! This guy is craaazy! Our president is craaazy!"
—Best "sir" yet: Trump says he was blasting NATO members for not paying their bills, and then: "Somebody said 'sir' - this is the president of a country calling me sir!"
—Trump repeats his lie that the U.S. is paying "close to 90% of the cost of protecting Europe." U.S. defence spending is 72% of total NATO defence spending, not all of which goes to protecting Europe.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:11 PM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
This is the funniest part of the Duncan Hunter indictment:
The list of things in the indictment is incredible and absurd. Along with the shorts there is:
$14261 on a family trip to Italy (After telling the Nazy to "go fuck themselves". Hunter represents San Diego.).
$463 on tequlia shots at a bachelor party
$300 on the water bill and $700 at the dentist
$300 at a horse track
$250 on flying a pet to DC
$1912 at a Steelers game
$1582 on video games on Steam (I would give anything to see the list of PC games he purchased)
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
The list of things in the indictment is incredible and absurd. Along with the shorts there is:
$14261 on a family trip to Italy (After telling the Nazy to "go fuck themselves". Hunter represents San Diego.).
$463 on tequlia shots at a bachelor party
$300 on the water bill and $700 at the dentist
$300 at a horse track
$250 on flying a pet to DC
$1912 at a Steelers game
$1582 on video games on Steam (I would give anything to see the list of PC games he purchased)
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
"We have the cleanest country in the world right now. No other country is cleaner."
His brain might be so swiss-cheesed with tertiary syphilis that he has more spirochetes than neurons, but he still has his finger on the pulse of the authoritarian personality.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
His brain might be so swiss-cheesed with tertiary syphilis that he has more spirochetes than neurons, but he still has his finger on the pulse of the authoritarian personality.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
More from the WVA rally, via Shareblue managing editor Kaili Joy Gray (@ KailiJoy): “'It's got to gestate. The word gestate. It's like when you're cooking a chicken. Turkey for Thanksgiving. My mother made the best turkey.'
“A thing Trump just said. Yes, really.”
This was in reference to asking Congress members to be patient on tariffs.
Seriously, Trump is cognitively impaired.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [68 favorites]
“A thing Trump just said. Yes, really.”
This was in reference to asking Congress members to be patient on tariffs.
Seriously, Trump is cognitively impaired.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [68 favorites]
Trump’s campaign chairman, national security adviser and personal lawyer are now all convicted or admitted felons
posted by growabrain at 5:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [73 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 5:23 PM on August 21, 2018 [73 favorites]
@TwitterSafety: Working with our industry peers today, we have suspended 284 accounts from Twitter for engaging in coordinated manipulation. Based on our existing analysis, it appears many of these accounts originated from Iran.
----
This is not the most important thing that happened today, but one weird detail is that Cohen was asked the standard question of whether he had drugs or alcohol in the last 24 hours (judge isn't taking your plea if you're too drunk or high to understand what you're doing), and he responded:
I know I’d at least pick up the 18 year if I was about to plead guilty to a bunch of felonies and implicate the President in crimes, but he’s the expert here.
posted by zachlipton at 5:26 PM on August 21, 2018 [53 favorites]
----
This is not the most important thing that happened today, but one weird detail is that Cohen was asked the standard question of whether he had drugs or alcohol in the last 24 hours (judge isn't taking your plea if you're too drunk or high to understand what you're doing), and he responded:
“Yes, your honor. Last night at dinner I had a glass of Glenlivet 12 on the rocks,” he said to some laughter.This has been bothering me. He was not asked to identify the brand; "It was clearly a bit of showmanship."
I know I’d at least pick up the 18 year if I was about to plead guilty to a bunch of felonies and implicate the President in crimes, but he’s the expert here.
posted by zachlipton at 5:26 PM on August 21, 2018 [53 favorites]
Ten Takeaways from the Craziest Day Yet of the Trump Presidency:
.... 10) Believe it or not, all this remarkable news will all be largely forgotten by Monday. That is until the NEXT time we have the nuttiest news day of the Trump presidency...
posted by growabrain at 5:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
.... 10) Believe it or not, all this remarkable news will all be largely forgotten by Monday. That is until the NEXT time we have the nuttiest news day of the Trump presidency...
posted by growabrain at 5:28 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
David Roberts:
The dominant theme of the Trump years: He is what he seems to be. The people around him? They are as they appear. What's going on? Just what it looks like. It's all right there. It's just taking everyone a long time to believe/accept that it is what it is.posted by gwint at 5:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [107 favorites]
Trump: Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem was a brilliant move, because it took Jerusalem off the table for future negotiations with the Palestinians.
Um, also: the "elite" aren't the elite. It's the people here, in West Virginia, who are the elite, who actually have more money than the so-called elite do. [Real]
posted by Rykey at 5:30 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Um, also: the "elite" aren't the elite. It's the people here, in West Virginia, who are the elite, who actually have more money than the so-called elite do. [Real]
posted by Rykey at 5:30 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
"You are all already rich" is an interesting evolution of the "I will make you all rich" canard.
posted by penduluum at 5:43 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by penduluum at 5:43 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
The real richness was in their hearts all along, penduluum.
Can someone explain the Embassy thing? How does it improve the negotiating position when you reduce the number of items you can use to offer concessions?
posted by Justinian at 5:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Can someone explain the Embassy thing? How does it improve the negotiating position when you reduce the number of items you can use to offer concessions?
posted by Justinian at 5:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
(I haven't had time to find out who #3 was...)
Jeff Sessions. Not being flippant. Totally true.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:50 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
Jeff Sessions. Not being flippant. Totally true.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:50 PM on August 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
Can someone explain the Embassy thing? How does it improve the negotiating position when you reduce the number of items you can use to offer concessions?
Ron Howard: No one could explain it.
posted by Rykey at 5:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Ron Howard: No one could explain it.
posted by Rykey at 5:52 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Duncan Hunter indictment taught me a new word: malversation.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 5:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
How does it improve the negotiating position when you reduce the number of items you can use to offer concessions?
Giving things up makes you look weak, and the person who makes the most concessions in a deal is the loser. Thus, burning your bargaining chips on an arbitrary whim before negotiations even begin is a Power Move.
posted by contraption at 5:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Giving things up makes you look weak, and the person who makes the most concessions in a deal is the loser. Thus, burning your bargaining chips on an arbitrary whim before negotiations even begin is a Power Move.
posted by contraption at 5:53 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Last round of WVA highlights via Dale:
All in all, Trump's behavior wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated, certainly not after today's breaking news, but excerpting his speech at length serves as a reminder of how badly abnormal he is. (The transcript doesn't convey how much he's playing to his audience or how easily it comes to him, like a mad medicine showman or vaudeville MC.) The media's continuing problem with covering Trump is that the few sound bites that will be shown on cable news and the excerpts that will appear in print can't convey the cumulative effect of his rallies.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:56 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
—Trump with his 12th lie about how he had the first tax cuts since Reagan: "How come it's been Ronald Reagan since you got the last big tax cut. And they looked at me and said, 'We don't know!'" Even if he's only talking Republicans, George W. Bush passed major tax cuts.Dales concludes, "Trump has concluded after about an hour and 15 minutes, longer than usual. No mention of Cohen, Manafort, or Mueller, and less time spent on the Russia probe - just a couple sentences - than at most events."
—Trump denounces social media "censorship": "I would rather have fake news than have anybody, included liberals, socialists, anything...stopped and censored...we'll live with fake news."
Trump called in October for the revocation of networks' broadcast licenses.
—Trump on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh: "Central casting. How do you vote against him?"
—"The Space Force. That's very exciting. We need it. That's the new frontier...militarily, that's where it's at."
—Trump on what happened when he was contemplating moving the embassy to Jerusalem: "Every country: don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, please don't do it. DON'T DOO ITTT." He says he thus stopped taking foreign leaders' calls for five days.
—Trump to his supporters: "We're the smart ones. Remember. I say it all the time: you hear, 'the elite'...you're smarter than they are, you have more money than they do...let them have the word elite. You're the super-elite."
—Trump on himself and "the elite": "I'm smarter than they are. I have many much more beautiful homes than they do. I have a better apartment at the top of Fifth Avenue. Why the hell are they 'the elite?' ...To me, I'm insulted."
—Trump says Patrick Morrisey will come to him and say, "THEY DON'T WANNA WIN SO MUCH. THEY CANNN'T STANNND IT." He says, he'll respond, "I don't care WHAT THE HELLLL THE PEOPLE OF WEST VIRGINIA WANT WE'RE GONNA KEEP ON WINNING ANYWAY."
All in all, Trump's behavior wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated, certainly not after today's breaking news, but excerpting his speech at length serves as a reminder of how badly abnormal he is. (The transcript doesn't convey how much he's playing to his audience or how easily it comes to him, like a mad medicine showman or vaudeville MC.) The media's continuing problem with covering Trump is that the few sound bites that will be shown on cable news and the excerpts that will appear in print can't convey the cumulative effect of his rallies.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:56 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
So here is a twitter link to a picture of the Manafort jury verdict form. (Click on the picture to embiggen). I doubt this is the actual form filled out by the jury. More likely it is an identical copy filled out by a journalist in the courtroom as the verdicts were read. But it is still interesting to look at either way.
You can see what the jury was faced with. Notice that the counts go up to 32, but only 18 of them are listed. That suggests that the prosecution pruned down their original list of charges before submitting them to the jury.
They found guilty on all five of his falsified tax returns from 2010 to 2014.
Note that in a couple of cases the jury found guilty of "bank fraud" but not "conspiracy to commit bank fraud" for the same loans of $3.4 million and $1 million. Apparently conspiracy is harder to prove.
And then it looks like they just kind of gave up on bank fraud for his most recent loans of $5.5 million, $9.5 million and $6.5 million.
posted by JackFlash at 5:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
You can see what the jury was faced with. Notice that the counts go up to 32, but only 18 of them are listed. That suggests that the prosecution pruned down their original list of charges before submitting them to the jury.
They found guilty on all five of his falsified tax returns from 2010 to 2014.
Note that in a couple of cases the jury found guilty of "bank fraud" but not "conspiracy to commit bank fraud" for the same loans of $3.4 million and $1 million. Apparently conspiracy is harder to prove.
And then it looks like they just kind of gave up on bank fraud for his most recent loans of $5.5 million, $9.5 million and $6.5 million.
posted by JackFlash at 5:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
No other country is cleaner
I mean, I know its Trump, but he was just in Singapore a few months ago and he says this?
posted by thefoxgod at 6:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
I mean, I know its Trump, but he was just in Singapore a few months ago and he says this?
posted by thefoxgod at 6:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
The other charges were against Gates
Ah, thanks edeezy.
posted by JackFlash at 6:08 PM on August 21, 2018
Ah, thanks edeezy.
posted by JackFlash at 6:08 PM on August 21, 2018
(It’s so weird to hear Michael Cohen described, on every NPR news break, as the President’s “former lawyer and fixer.”) Mob lingo is now in the news writer style guide.
posted by notyou at 6:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by notyou at 6:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
Can someone explain the Embassy thing? How does it improve the negotiating position when you reduce the number of items you can use to offer concessions?
There are specific situations where irrevocably committing to a course of action can force the other party to make concessions. If you can credibly say "I am doing this no matter what," you can (sometimes) coerce the other party into doing whatever would be best for them if you do the thing. There are a bunch of examples, but all the ones I can think of are in games, like ripping out your steering wheel and throwing it out the window when playing Chicken. You might notice that this is an extremely dangerous strategy: if your counterpart is suicidal, or you misjudge their desires, or they think you threw a decoy steering wheel, or they try the same strategy, or they just plain didn't see that you tossed the steering wheel, then you die.
How might this apply to moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by reventlov at 6:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
There are specific situations where irrevocably committing to a course of action can force the other party to make concessions. If you can credibly say "I am doing this no matter what," you can (sometimes) coerce the other party into doing whatever would be best for them if you do the thing. There are a bunch of examples, but all the ones I can think of are in games, like ripping out your steering wheel and throwing it out the window when playing Chicken. You might notice that this is an extremely dangerous strategy: if your counterpart is suicidal, or you misjudge their desires, or they think you threw a decoy steering wheel, or they try the same strategy, or they just plain didn't see that you tossed the steering wheel, then you die.
How might this apply to moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by reventlov at 6:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
I know I’d at least pick up the 18 year if I was about to plead guilty to a bunch of felonies and implicate the President in crimes, but he’s the expert here.
This is one of the things that most annoys me about the super-rich (or more broadly, governments that facilitate the acquisition and hoarding of huge wealth due to their lack of eye-watering progressive tax bands, i.e. basically all of them nowadays):
The people who are driven to hog all of the money have terrible taste, never enjoy their money and - worst - never spend it properly. They're so cheap! Why shouldn't Cohen get whatever 50 year-old single cask they have behind the bar, at $200 / measure? Dude, you got away [for a while] with not paying $1.4 million in taxes, at least put that back into the economy! Paul Manafort may be an utterly ammoral scumbag, but at least he's buying $15,000 ostrich-leather jackets with his blood-soaked and ill-gotten gains. More respect for that than sitting on a pile of money so large that you will never touch 99% and neither will anyone else. I mean, my estimation of Mark Zuckerberg would instantly go up a hundred times if he were, say, buying jackets made of spidersilk woven by cocaine-addled Golden Orb Weavers reared in special farms in Monaco, instead of his stupid hoodies.
Naturally I am assuming that none of the above would consider doing something more useful with their money beyond "just spend it, for god's sake". We're not talking schools and hospitals here, just gold-plated helicopters upholstered with vellum or whatever.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 6:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
This is one of the things that most annoys me about the super-rich (or more broadly, governments that facilitate the acquisition and hoarding of huge wealth due to their lack of eye-watering progressive tax bands, i.e. basically all of them nowadays):
The people who are driven to hog all of the money have terrible taste, never enjoy their money and - worst - never spend it properly. They're so cheap! Why shouldn't Cohen get whatever 50 year-old single cask they have behind the bar, at $200 / measure? Dude, you got away [for a while] with not paying $1.4 million in taxes, at least put that back into the economy! Paul Manafort may be an utterly ammoral scumbag, but at least he's buying $15,000 ostrich-leather jackets with his blood-soaked and ill-gotten gains. More respect for that than sitting on a pile of money so large that you will never touch 99% and neither will anyone else. I mean, my estimation of Mark Zuckerberg would instantly go up a hundred times if he were, say, buying jackets made of spidersilk woven by cocaine-addled Golden Orb Weavers reared in special farms in Monaco, instead of his stupid hoodies.
Naturally I am assuming that none of the above would consider doing something more useful with their money beyond "just spend it, for god's sake". We're not talking schools and hospitals here, just gold-plated helicopters upholstered with vellum or whatever.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 6:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
Federal grand jury today indicted seven men, all former officials of President Nixon's Administration or of his 1972 reelection campaign, on charges of covering up the Watergate scandal.
Never before have so many close and trusted advisers of an American President faced criminal accusations in a single indictment.
All were charged with conspiracy — a conspiracy, the Igrand jury said, that continued “up to and including” today six were charged additionally with obstruction of justice; two with perjury and three with false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the grand jury or both. (NYT - MARCH 2, 1974)
posted by growabrain at 6:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
Never before have so many close and trusted advisers of an American President faced criminal accusations in a single indictment.
All were charged with conspiracy — a conspiracy, the Igrand jury said, that continued “up to and including” today six were charged additionally with obstruction of justice; two with perjury and three with false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the grand jury or both. (NYT - MARCH 2, 1974)
posted by growabrain at 6:19 PM on August 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
This is the happiest day of my life.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:20 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
@StormyDaniels
How ya like me now?! #teamstormy
---
@Yates4Prez
Replying to @StormyDaniels
Heroes dont always wear capes. Sometimes they wear nothing at all ❤
posted by chris24 at 6:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [118 favorites]
How ya like me now?! #teamstormy
---
@Yates4Prez
Replying to @StormyDaniels
Heroes dont always wear capes. Sometimes they wear nothing at all ❤
posted by chris24 at 6:22 PM on August 21, 2018 [118 favorites]
Note that in a couple of cases the jury found guilty of "bank fraud" but not "conspiracy to commit bank fraud" for the same loans of $3.4 million and $1 million. Apparently conspiracy is harder to prove.
Conspiracy requires two or more people acting together. [At least one member of] The jury may have felt the prosecution did not prove that element.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:25 PM on August 21, 2018
Conspiracy requires two or more people acting together. [At least one member of] The jury may have felt the prosecution did not prove that element.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:25 PM on August 21, 2018
The guy in the office next door to mine follows the Mueller investigation closely, but I swear, every time I’d want to go lean in his doorway and say, “Wow! Can you believe this day!?” he is on vacation.
He is set to retire within the year. I’ll have to find out the exact date and place a bet that the day after will be Trump’s indictment.
posted by Kriesa at 6:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
He is set to retire within the year. I’ll have to find out the exact date and place a bet that the day after will be Trump’s indictment.
posted by Kriesa at 6:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
Conspiracy requires two or more people acting together.
It must be a bit more than that. I assume that Gates and Manafort are the two people. Gates confessed guilt and they found Manafort guilty. Did they work together?
posted by JackFlash at 6:32 PM on August 21, 2018
It must be a bit more than that. I assume that Gates and Manafort are the two people. Gates confessed guilt and they found Manafort guilty. Did they work together?
posted by JackFlash at 6:32 PM on August 21, 2018
On Rachel, Lanny Davis just said that Cohen has information that should be of interest to Mueller, including on collusion and also about Trump having foreknowledge of the hacking. And is willing to cooperate.
posted by chris24 at 6:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 6:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
This is the happiest day of my life.
Matt Yglesias: Scheduling the season finale for a late-August Tuesday was weird.
posted by JackFlash at 6:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
Matt Yglesias: Scheduling the season finale for a late-August Tuesday was weird.
posted by JackFlash at 6:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [34 favorites]
When the next season starts the following morning, the writers can pull whatever kind of scheduling stunts they want.
posted by nubs at 6:39 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by nubs at 6:39 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
On Rachel, Lanny Davis just said that Cohen has information that should be of interest to Mueller, including on collusion and also about Trump having foreknowledge of the hacking. And is willing to cooperate.
Can I get a link to a clip of this or an article?!
posted by gucci mane at 6:40 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Can I get a link to a clip of this or an article?!
posted by gucci mane at 6:40 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Can someone explain the Embassy thing? How does it improve the negotiating position when you reduce the number of items you can use to offer concessions?
If the compromise is going to be each side gives half of what is on the table, then putting fewer of your chips on the table is a good move.
This is actually very standard in the pre-negotiations to set ground rules for any diplomatic discussion. E.g., I only want to discuss nuclear disarmament but you want to discuss that plus my military exercises. If you get the agenda set the way you want you have won the pre-negotiation, as it is.
The flip side of course is if you are truly constrained it might be impossible to make a deal. That is a valid concern. But if a deal is going to be made the side that has more constraints often gets the better deal. A lot of time in negotiations is spent asserting that I can't possibly concede that, my wife / boss / corporate policy / voters will never stand for that, sometimes but not always with the subtext that maybe I could concede it but you better give me something big.
posted by mark k at 6:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
If the compromise is going to be each side gives half of what is on the table, then putting fewer of your chips on the table is a good move.
This is actually very standard in the pre-negotiations to set ground rules for any diplomatic discussion. E.g., I only want to discuss nuclear disarmament but you want to discuss that plus my military exercises. If you get the agenda set the way you want you have won the pre-negotiation, as it is.
The flip side of course is if you are truly constrained it might be impossible to make a deal. That is a valid concern. But if a deal is going to be made the side that has more constraints often gets the better deal. A lot of time in negotiations is spent asserting that I can't possibly concede that, my wife / boss / corporate policy / voters will never stand for that, sometimes but not always with the subtext that maybe I could concede it but you better give me something big.
posted by mark k at 6:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
NYT, Adam Liptak and Jim Rutenberg, Cohen Implicates President Trump. What Do Prosecutors Do Now?
Lanny Davis clip for you.
posted by zachlipton at 6:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
When a lawyer tells prosecutors that his client directed him to commit a crime and pleads guilty to related crimes himself, an indictment of the client is very likely to follow.Can I get a link to a clip of this or an article?!
The nation is about to find out whether there is an exception to that general rule when the client is the president of the United States.
Although there is no explicit prohibition in the Constitution against indicting a president, the Justice Department has long taken the position that sitting presidents are not subject to criminal prosecution.
Lanny Davis clip for you.
posted by zachlipton at 6:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
Trump personal lawyer - GUILTY
Trump Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Deputy Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Senior Campaign Advisor - GUILTY
Trump National Security Advisor - GUILTY
Note that the LLC Cohen pled guilty to using for the Stormy Daniels stuff also recieved over $1 million indirectly from Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
The money Manafort was convicted of hiding came from Putin crony Viktor Yanukovich and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
The "conspiracy against the United States" Rick Gates pled guilty to also involved hiding money from Yanukovich.
Papadopoulos pled guilty to lying about the fact that he knew Russia had hacked emails from the Clinton campaign.
And Flynn pled guilty to lying about the fact that he was discussing sanctions relief for Russia with the Russian ambassador before he ever even took office.
So when Trump says these guilty pleas and convictions have nothing to do with Russian collusion he is lying. And reporters need to stop going along with that narrative. You do not have to stretch AT ALL to say these charges are related to collusion with Russia. You have to stretch to say they aren't. And too much of the media is bending over backward to say that right now.
posted by OnceUponATime at 6:50 PM on August 21, 2018 [122 favorites]
Trump Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Deputy Campaign Manager - GUILTY
Trump Senior Campaign Advisor - GUILTY
Trump National Security Advisor - GUILTY
Note that the LLC Cohen pled guilty to using for the Stormy Daniels stuff also recieved over $1 million indirectly from Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
The money Manafort was convicted of hiding came from Putin crony Viktor Yanukovich and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
The "conspiracy against the United States" Rick Gates pled guilty to also involved hiding money from Yanukovich.
Papadopoulos pled guilty to lying about the fact that he knew Russia had hacked emails from the Clinton campaign.
And Flynn pled guilty to lying about the fact that he was discussing sanctions relief for Russia with the Russian ambassador before he ever even took office.
So when Trump says these guilty pleas and convictions have nothing to do with Russian collusion he is lying. And reporters need to stop going along with that narrative. You do not have to stretch AT ALL to say these charges are related to collusion with Russia. You have to stretch to say they aren't. And too much of the media is bending over backward to say that right now.
posted by OnceUponATime at 6:50 PM on August 21, 2018 [122 favorites]
> Ammar Campa-Najar is the dem running against Hunter in CA-50. RCP has the race as lean republican, but that was obviously based on polls that were done before today's news.
Chrysostom's answered this already.
The name نجار is Arabic, Farsi and Urdu for "carpenter", all ultimately from Sumerian. In Latin transcription, it's spelled Najjar, with a double J. (The name's etymologically identical with my user name, thus the nitpick.)
posted by nangar at 7:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
Chrysostom's answered this already.
The name نجار is Arabic, Farsi and Urdu for "carpenter", all ultimately from Sumerian. In Latin transcription, it's spelled Najjar, with a double J. (The name's etymologically identical with my user name, thus the nitpick.)
posted by nangar at 7:05 PM on August 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
NYT cover tomorrow.
March 2, 1974
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [40 favorites]
March 2, 1974
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [40 favorites]
Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) passes along Team Trump's reaction to today's news: "Trump folks are worried about impeachment more than before. The thinking goes like this: this is something tangible, not a theoretical. And it didn't come from Mueller. Does not mean it will happen, but this has moved to a different stage in their minds." Also, "Important and/but on predictions of how this will play politically - Trump when cornered can be at his most dangerous, according to ppl who know him well. And the day after Access Hollywood tape, Ryan and Heller were booed for voicing any distance from Trump."
She then spent a while on Twitter in sniping with the WSJ's James Grimaldi over who should get and who should give credit for breaking Cohen stories, because that's what's really important to our Fourth Estate…
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
She then spent a while on Twitter in sniping with the WSJ's James Grimaldi over who should get and who should give credit for breaking Cohen stories, because that's what's really important to our Fourth Estate…
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:25 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
I just filled out ten postcards to encourage voters in far-off districts (from needtoimpeach.com), and the back door is open so cool air is blowing around my legs as I sit on the couch. With this news on my laptop screen I am feeling DAMN GOOD tonight.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:27 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 7:27 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
As giddy as today’s events have made me, I am still chastened by two little words...President Pence.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:59 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:59 PM on August 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Conspiracy requires two or more people acting together.
The defense strategy was to cast doubt on the credibility of Gates -- he cheated on his wife, stole money from Manafort, etc. I'd bet $20 that the convictions were counts with clear paper trails, the hung jury counts depended on Gates' testimony (conspiracy) and there were a couple holdouts who bought the disparagement strategy, or fixated on "reasonable doubt."
posted by msalt at 8:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
The defense strategy was to cast doubt on the credibility of Gates -- he cheated on his wife, stole money from Manafort, etc. I'd bet $20 that the convictions were counts with clear paper trails, the hung jury counts depended on Gates' testimony (conspiracy) and there were a couple holdouts who bought the disparagement strategy, or fixated on "reasonable doubt."
posted by msalt at 8:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Etrigan: "Hunter only got 47% in the top-two primary (down from 63 percent in the primary in 2016), so Ammar Campa-Najjar is suddenly an actual candidate rather than a sacrificial lamb."
Sure, and I'm not saying Hunter will pull this off. But it's worth noting that while he personally only got 48.2% in the primary, Republican candidates as a group got 63.2%. That's pretty red.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sure, and I'm not saying Hunter will pull this off. But it's worth noting that while he personally only got 48.2% in the primary, Republican candidates as a group got 63.2%. That's pretty red.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
In the Wyoming GOP Senate primary, incumbent John Barrasso wins easily, with 65-ish percent over more moderate rich guy Dave Dodson. That's actually pretty low for an incumbent.
On the Dem side, Gary Trauner was unopposed.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
On the Dem side, Gary Trauner was unopposed.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
It turns out President Deals was actually President Crimes the whole time!
posted by Going To Maine at 8:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 8:29 PM on August 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
@waltshaub:
posted by zachlipton at 8:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [84 favorites]
The criminal information in the Cohen case shows that Trump paid Cohen $35k per month for 12 months in January 2017. This means that TRUMP KNEW HE HAD A DEBT TO COHEN WHEN HE OMITTED IT from the liabilities section of the financial disclosure report he filed in June 2017. He certified that his financial disclosure report was "complete" and that certification was subject to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 208 and 5 U.S.C. app. § 104. Some of you will remember @bykowicz reported that his attorney asked that he not have to certify the report.Love when finding out about crimes means we learn about more crimes.
Until now, we didn't know for sure that the payments started in January 2017. So, although it was extremely unlikely, there was at least a very remote possibility that (as the White House claimed) he didn't know about his debt to Cohen in June 2017. Now we know he did.
posted by zachlipton at 8:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [84 favorites]
chappell, ambrose: "The people who are driven to hog all of the money have terrible taste, never enjoy their money and - worst - never spend it properly."
Remember that pic of the practically empty Halloween basket one of the trump kids managed? These people's entire social circle are incredibly cheap. The only reason the Cheeto looks like he spends money frivolously is because he steals everything.
We're seeing what happens when the Cheeto doesn't pay his soldiers like a good king pin; not looking like a good move Cotton.
posted by Mitheral at 8:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Remember that pic of the practically empty Halloween basket one of the trump kids managed? These people's entire social circle are incredibly cheap. The only reason the Cheeto looks like he spends money frivolously is because he steals everything.
We're seeing what happens when the Cheeto doesn't pay his soldiers like a good king pin; not looking like a good move Cotton.
posted by Mitheral at 8:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Love when finding out about crimes means we learn about more crimes.
Wish there were a metaphor involving Russian things nestled within slightly larger Russian things and so forth.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [119 favorites]
Wish there were a metaphor involving Russian things nestled within slightly larger Russian things and so forth.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:47 PM on August 21, 2018 [119 favorites]
The conviction, well, it didn't restore my faith in society or anything, but it saved it from complete collapse. With the super-fast voir dire and the non-sequestration, if there had been a hung jury 10-2 or 11-1 or something on all counts, I would have been convinced that Trump supporters or bribed jurors were just stopping anything from going ahead and the rule of law was dead and buried.
Instead we have the American justice system like it always has been, flawed, never quite satisfying, but still breathing. It's better than the alternative.
posted by mark k at 8:51 PM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
Instead we have the American justice system like it always has been, flawed, never quite satisfying, but still breathing. It's better than the alternative.
posted by mark k at 8:51 PM on August 21, 2018 [36 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 House:
** 2018 House:
-- CA-50: GOP incumbent Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted for personal use of campaign funds. Hunter has been removed from his committee assignments. There is no way for Hunter to be removed from the ballot; Cook moving the seat to Likely R for now (it's still pretty red).** Odds & ends:
-- NY-25: Siena College poll has Dem Morelle up 55-31 on GOPer Maxwell [MOE: +/- 4.4%].
-- CA-49: Trump tweeted an endorsement of GOPer Harkey, which may have been unwanted, given that Clinton won the district 51-43.
-- GA-07: Tulchin Research poll has Dem Bourdeaux up 46-44 on GOP incumbent Woodall [MOE: +/- 4.9%]. This poll was commissioned by the Bourdeaux campaign.
-- KS-03: Global Strategy Group poll has Dem Davids up 46-43 on GOP incumbent Yoder [MOE: +/- 4.9%]. This poll was commissioned by the Davids campaign.
-- PA gov: This long-time Jeopardy! host will be moderating the upcoming gubernatorial debate. Who is: Alex Trebek?posted by Chrysostom at 8:57 PM on August 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
-- IL gov: Marist poll has Dem Pritzker up 46-30 on GOP incumbent Rauner [MOE: +/- 4.4%]. This is getting into the area where Rauner's poor performance may have downballot effects.
-- NH gov: UNH poll has GOP incumbent Sununu up about 15 points versus either prospective Dem candidate [MOE: +/- 4.4%].
-- Judicial panel in NC pulls two constitutional amendments from the fall ballot due to misleading descriptions crafted by the NC GOP. The amendments would have further centralized power in the legislature. The decision is near certain to be appealed.
-- Byler: How to make your safe seat into a competitive one.
chappell, ambrose: "The people who are driven to hog all of the money have terrible taste, never enjoy their money and - worst - never spend it properly."
It's a truism:
It's a truism:
"This only makes sense if you picture it as a whacky AM sports radio call-in show. 'Our next caller is "DONALD FROM QUEENS"...' -- Mick Hargreavesposted by mikelieman at 9:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
(warning: link to Facebook)
I am still chastened by two little words...President Pence.
I do not want us worried about the chance of President Pence. Or at least, I don't want that to be a reason to do less than full-strength fighting against POTUS45 and his pack of thieves. (Although, do keep sharing that idea around - nothing disturbs Mr. Mango more than the idea of someone else being in charge; if he knows Mike's ready to jump into his place, he'll make sure there's dirt on Mike to go around.)
Pence doesn't have his populist support. He does play better with the "moderate" conservatives, but in a climate where solid liberal democrats are being primaried from the left, that's not going to be enough to keep R's in office. He doesn't have the Russian support network, either. He'd be a lot more scary because he's got some skill at getting things done, but he's not going to become the media's new darling because he won't say ratings-hiking outrageous lies on camera.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [53 favorites]
I do not want us worried about the chance of President Pence. Or at least, I don't want that to be a reason to do less than full-strength fighting against POTUS45 and his pack of thieves. (Although, do keep sharing that idea around - nothing disturbs Mr. Mango more than the idea of someone else being in charge; if he knows Mike's ready to jump into his place, he'll make sure there's dirt on Mike to go around.)
Pence doesn't have his populist support. He does play better with the "moderate" conservatives, but in a climate where solid liberal democrats are being primaried from the left, that's not going to be enough to keep R's in office. He doesn't have the Russian support network, either. He'd be a lot more scary because he's got some skill at getting things done, but he's not going to become the media's new darling because he won't say ratings-hiking outrageous lies on camera.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [53 favorites]
In the Wyoming GOP gubernatorial primary, state treasurer Gordon wins with about 32%. Gordon was the most moderate candidate (well, for a Wyoming Republican), with the rest of the field contending on who could be nuttiest.
On the Dem side, Mary Throne wins with about 71%. Throne's nomination brings the number of Dem women nominees to 10 so far, the largest number ever.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
On the Dem side, Mary Throne wins with about 71%. Throne's nomination brings the number of Dem women nominees to 10 so far, the largest number ever.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
I don’t understand the “Donald from Queens” joke. Is this a New York City thing?
posted by gucci mane at 9:07 PM on August 21, 2018
posted by gucci mane at 9:07 PM on August 21, 2018
Overnight overseas friends, I am very curious how non-US media is reporting and analyzing all this, if any of you want to share links or a general sense of how your local media is taking it on and what they're emphasizing, shocked by, etc. (I mean of course I can look at different papers around the world and read it myself, but that's not quite the same as hearing from someone immersed in the local reaction, and it's not always easy to find the analysis pieces from talking heads that have a lot of influence (because you have to guess which talking heads matter.))
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
I've been sitting on these links for a while!
To Supporters, Trump Isn't Just Right—He Controls the Truth - "It has been clear for some time that Trumpism has all the seeds of a genuine authoritarian movement. " Maybe we could call it The Trump Effect: " Their study finds a correlation between white American's intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy." We Can Probably Go Ahead and Start Calling Fascists Fascists Now:
more at OMNIVORE
The Centrist Grievance Against “Victim Politics”
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [74 favorites]
To Supporters, Trump Isn't Just Right—He Controls the Truth - "It has been clear for some time that Trumpism has all the seeds of a genuine authoritarian movement. " Maybe we could call it The Trump Effect: " Their study finds a correlation between white American's intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy." We Can Probably Go Ahead and Start Calling Fascists Fascists Now:
The news, in other words, isn’t “Member of Congress Likes a European Fascist.” It’s “Member of Congress Is Fascist.” Print that.Lest we think this is an old-white-men problem, start noticing The Housewives of White Supremacy. Instead of wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross, it's Fascism With A Reality TV Face. Let's take a step back and get some perspective, maybe understand The Assault On Reason. While it may be tempting to say that American politics has been worse, stay sharp and remember How Horrific Things Come To Seem Normal. Can we set politics aside?
Does he not espouse authoritarian politics with little regard for human rights, a philosophy that “exalts nation and often race above the individual”? Hasn’t he repeatedly tried to enact unconstitutional policy? Sure, the Extremely Online right could accuse you of “calling anyone you disagree with a fascist,” but that’s sort of unavoidable when you’re disagreeing with a literal fascist. Anyone defending King, or in the same governing party, should have to answer for his direct and uninhibited fascist statements, not rest easy knowing the media still alludes to him “flirting” with white nationalism
more at OMNIVORE
The Centrist Grievance Against “Victim Politics”
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:10 PM on August 21, 2018 [74 favorites]
>I don’t understand the “Donald from Queens” joke. Is this a New York City thing?
It's how you identify callers (ie, insane, crank-type callers, the type who typically call in and go on extended rants with little/no connection to reality) on, for example, radio call-in shows or on CSPAN. It's a reference to his regular morning call-ins to Fox and Friends which are, to put it mildly, somewhat different in tone that any previous known presidential communications in U.S. history.
On a more important note, somehow one of the links in my 5-minute-google expose of Manafort's lengthy criminal history got horched up, and I know everyone would be dreadfully disappointed to not be able to track it down to the source:
It's how you identify callers (ie, insane, crank-type callers, the type who typically call in and go on extended rants with little/no connection to reality) on, for example, radio call-in shows or on CSPAN. It's a reference to his regular morning call-ins to Fox and Friends which are, to put it mildly, somewhat different in tone that any previous known presidential communications in U.S. history.
On a more important note, somehow one of the links in my 5-minute-google expose of Manafort's lengthy criminal history got horched up, and I know everyone would be dreadfully disappointed to not be able to track it down to the source:
- helped a scandal-plagued Ukrainian oligarch with ties to political and criminal figures in Russia park millions of dollars in offshore real estate investments, according to documents released as part of a federal racketeering suit. (Free Beacon, 31 March 2016)
[Pence] doesn't have the Russian support network, either.
Talking Points Memo, Do We Remember That Manafort Picked Pence? (Josh Marshall doesn’t think there’s necessarily a Russia connection, but it’s a data point worth considering.)
posted by donatella at 9:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
Talking Points Memo, Do We Remember That Manafort Picked Pence? (Josh Marshall doesn’t think there’s necessarily a Russia connection, but it’s a data point worth considering.)
posted by donatella at 9:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
Sports Talk Radio... the Golden Hour, from 5:00pm until 6. Very few who are not under the influence or flat out cranks call in to slur and/or shout their sort of topical point. The rest of'em? Yeah. Announced by their first name and where they're from.
"Slap from Rhode Island, you're on! Go!"
"Tom Brady is a beautiful space alien, inflating the footballs with his home atmosphere should be legal! What a railroad! I hear Roger Goddell is a disguised Predator type alien. Totally unfair!"
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:33 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
"Slap from Rhode Island, you're on! Go!"
"Tom Brady is a beautiful space alien, inflating the footballs with his home atmosphere should be legal! What a railroad! I hear Roger Goddell is a disguised Predator type alien. Totally unfair!"
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:33 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
Mod note: Talk radio riff is thoroughly riffed.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 9:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 9:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Lest we think this is an old-white-men problem
chills me to the bone when I remember the major movers and shakers at The Daily Stormer are basically my age.
posted by The Whelk at 9:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
chills me to the bone when I remember the major movers and shakers at The Daily Stormer are basically my age.
posted by The Whelk at 9:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
A quiet time on a megathread on a day like this feels different somehow, a calm vigilance. Sleep well Mefite politos
posted by dagosto at 11:04 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by dagosto at 11:04 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
For the person who asked: BBC Radio 4 Today Show coverage this morning has very much been about Cohen being convicted for the campaign stuff, and that this (and his lawyer's) statements by definition mean Trump is a co-conspirator. It's the lead item by far.
We did have to listen to some Tea Party chairman trying to claim Obama was worse and asking where the collusion was, but the BBC North America Editor, John Sopel is now laying down the facts - and explaining the gravity of it - pretty well.
"I don't like to be hyperbolic. I haven't liked the tendency to compare Trump to Nixon. But it is true now. This is the same as Nixon."
He's also pretty much tore through all the tea party points and then explained the importance of this being a NON RUSSIA crime and something both domestic and now a matter of simple criminal fact.
Lots of discussion of impeachment and its chances of happening.
Put it this way: we haven't had a single Brexit story all morning. This has monopolised all the time normally given to some element of our own clusterfuck.
posted by garius at 12:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [60 favorites]
We did have to listen to some Tea Party chairman trying to claim Obama was worse and asking where the collusion was, but the BBC North America Editor, John Sopel is now laying down the facts - and explaining the gravity of it - pretty well.
"I don't like to be hyperbolic. I haven't liked the tendency to compare Trump to Nixon. But it is true now. This is the same as Nixon."
He's also pretty much tore through all the tea party points and then explained the importance of this being a NON RUSSIA crime and something both domestic and now a matter of simple criminal fact.
Lots of discussion of impeachment and its chances of happening.
Put it this way: we haven't had a single Brexit story all morning. This has monopolised all the time normally given to some element of our own clusterfuck.
posted by garius at 12:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [60 favorites]
Meanwhile, the dissolution of NATO proceeds apace:
Russia to deliver S-400 missiles to Turkey in 2019 (Al Jazeera)
Trump-Berater Bolton: "Die Türkei hat einen schweren Fehler gemacht" (Der Spiegel, in German)
posted by stonepharisee at 1:00 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Russia to deliver S-400 missiles to Turkey in 2019 (Al Jazeera)
Trump-Berater Bolton: "Die Türkei hat einen schweren Fehler gemacht" (Der Spiegel, in German)
posted by stonepharisee at 1:00 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Surely the US will demand access to those S-400 missiles in order to appraise their effectiveness? As a member of NATO (if it's still there in 2019) can Turkey reject them?
posted by PenDevil at 1:08 AM on August 22, 2018
posted by PenDevil at 1:08 AM on August 22, 2018
In Russia, Kommersant leads with the fact that additional sanctions on Russia come into force today. A little lower we have Trump calling the conviction "sad" as the headline, and quoting him as saying it has nothing to do with the Russian affair.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Eyebrows, Norwegian news media today:
Aftenposten (biggest conservative (in Norwegian terms) newspaper) leads with this, calling the Cohen thing a "bombshell" and bringing in their US correspondent to explain it all. The biggest piece on the front page leads with Stormy Daniel's "how ya like me now" quote. They bring a lot of other quotes from Guiliani, Pelosi and others. Manafort's case is summoned up in a single sentence. They summarise a bit of Trump's rants, but do not convey how unhinged it was.
Dagbladet (biggest tabloid, but a bit more serious than other European tabloids, I think) also leads with Trump's woes, bringing in a senior researcher on US matters (American Studies are a thing in foreign universities, y'all) who basically shakes his heads but anyways try to give a coherent summary. There's some video of Trump's statements and a look back at Watergate for perspective.
NRK (the state broadcaster) also leads with Trump, with a summary from the foreign desk, trying to make sense of it all. They also bring out Manafort on the front page, not just Cohen.
All media are pretty light on how unhinged both Trump and some of his closest supporters come off. The narrative is mostly "Trump's darkest hour yet" but the framing is still a bit like it is a normal presidency that's run into a bit of trouble. FWIW, however I think mostly the Norwegian public feels like it's not "business as usual" but something quite different. However, I think the impression is that US democracy is robust enough to weather this as well.
posted by Harald74 at 1:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [31 favorites]
Aftenposten (biggest conservative (in Norwegian terms) newspaper) leads with this, calling the Cohen thing a "bombshell" and bringing in their US correspondent to explain it all. The biggest piece on the front page leads with Stormy Daniel's "how ya like me now" quote. They bring a lot of other quotes from Guiliani, Pelosi and others. Manafort's case is summoned up in a single sentence. They summarise a bit of Trump's rants, but do not convey how unhinged it was.
Dagbladet (biggest tabloid, but a bit more serious than other European tabloids, I think) also leads with Trump's woes, bringing in a senior researcher on US matters (American Studies are a thing in foreign universities, y'all) who basically shakes his heads but anyways try to give a coherent summary. There's some video of Trump's statements and a look back at Watergate for perspective.
NRK (the state broadcaster) also leads with Trump, with a summary from the foreign desk, trying to make sense of it all. They also bring out Manafort on the front page, not just Cohen.
All media are pretty light on how unhinged both Trump and some of his closest supporters come off. The narrative is mostly "Trump's darkest hour yet" but the framing is still a bit like it is a normal presidency that's run into a bit of trouble. FWIW, however I think mostly the Norwegian public feels like it's not "business as usual" but something quite different. However, I think the impression is that US democracy is robust enough to weather this as well.
posted by Harald74 at 1:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [31 favorites]
I am very curious how non-US media is reporting and analyzing all this, if any of you want to share
Not front page news in Australia at present, but our government is dissolving so maybe the public is politically satiated. Also, it's early evening here, so it's out of sync with the news cycle. Maybe we'll see more tomorrow.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
Not front page news in Australia at present, but our government is dissolving so maybe the public is politically satiated. Also, it's early evening here, so it's out of sync with the news cycle. Maybe we'll see more tomorrow.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
Eyebrows, here in China the media outlets are mostly uninterested in the Manafort and Cohen stories. The non-stop coverages have centred on the trade dispute.
You can find some schadenfreude from state-controlled media mocking His Trumpiness, but they're careful enough not to focus on the Mueller investigations. A head of the state struggling with the rule of law, this isn't a message the state media wants to send.
A Chinese-language commentary focuses on Trump's verbal hostility in trade and security issues towards China, interpreting this as a weak leader's diversion tactics as he's being swamped by domestic opposition.
posted by runcifex at 1:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
You can find some schadenfreude from state-controlled media mocking His Trumpiness, but they're careful enough not to focus on the Mueller investigations. A head of the state struggling with the rule of law, this isn't a message the state media wants to send.
A Chinese-language commentary focuses on Trump's verbal hostility in trade and security issues towards China, interpreting this as a weak leader's diversion tactics as he's being swamped by domestic opposition.
posted by runcifex at 1:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
Oh, by the way, unless I've missed it, I've not seen anyone explain exactly why it was Glenlivet 12 Cohen was boasting about drinking, rather than going for the 18.
It's because Glenlivet 12 hasn't been available in a lot of places for three years now. The short version is that they seem to have accidentally oversold to the Asian markets somehow and screwed their reserves.
Given the timeline we seem to be living in, it would not surprise me if it turns out Cohen has actually been part of a Triad/Mafia conspiracy to corner the world's supply of Glenlivet 12, and that this statement turns out to be the thing that tips off the FBI.
Hopefully Jackie Chan and Chris Rock can team up again and solve the case.
posted by garius at 1:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [79 favorites]
It's because Glenlivet 12 hasn't been available in a lot of places for three years now. The short version is that they seem to have accidentally oversold to the Asian markets somehow and screwed their reserves.
Given the timeline we seem to be living in, it would not surprise me if it turns out Cohen has actually been part of a Triad/Mafia conspiracy to corner the world's supply of Glenlivet 12, and that this statement turns out to be the thing that tips off the FBI.
Hopefully Jackie Chan and Chris Rock can team up again and solve the case.
posted by garius at 1:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [79 favorites]
Here in France it's getting passing mention as well. Not quite front-page, but not stuffed down either.
Le Monde and Libération reporting it as blows to Trump. Both use language that put it across as cinematic and symbolic, and they conclude there's not much realistic danger for Trump even though it further confirms he consorts with escrocs (crooks, con men). Strongly implied is that con men do as con men are, i.e. those who voted Trump got exactly what they wanted, which is why there won't be serious consequences.
Not much word on the street, no one in our offices had heard of it until it briefly came on the TV news channel broadcast in our little cafeteria (in general I don't bring up Trump, don't read news about him – because it's never surprising – and as such don't talk about him). No one who's brought it up with me thinks that there's any real risk for Trump.
Lots more talk here about Venezuela, Brexit, and France-specific politics.
posted by fraula at 1:57 AM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
Le Monde and Libération reporting it as blows to Trump. Both use language that put it across as cinematic and symbolic, and they conclude there's not much realistic danger for Trump even though it further confirms he consorts with escrocs (crooks, con men). Strongly implied is that con men do as con men are, i.e. those who voted Trump got exactly what they wanted, which is why there won't be serious consequences.
Not much word on the street, no one in our offices had heard of it until it briefly came on the TV news channel broadcast in our little cafeteria (in general I don't bring up Trump, don't read news about him – because it's never surprising – and as such don't talk about him). No one who's brought it up with me thinks that there's any real risk for Trump.
Lots more talk here about Venezuela, Brexit, and France-specific politics.
posted by fraula at 1:57 AM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
Headlines from Poland: "Trump's Darkest Hour", "Trump's not knocked out but the count is on", "The lawyer will bring Trump down?"
Corner-of-front-page news. Too much else going on, including yet another child-death saga (three siblings drowned in the Darłowo seaside resort)...
posted by I claim sanctuary at 2:01 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
Corner-of-front-page news. Too much else going on, including yet another child-death saga (three siblings drowned in the Darłowo seaside resort)...
posted by I claim sanctuary at 2:01 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
The round-up from a variety of global perspectives is really useful at a time like this. Thanks to everyone!
posted by stonepharisee at 2:03 AM on August 22, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 2:03 AM on August 22, 2018 [55 favorites]
This morning's Graun leads with a punchy take on Trump's "worst hour," but Omnigate cedes first place in the opinion section to a George Monbiot piece on a proposed Oxford-Cambridge expressway that could have run at any time in the past (or next) six months without altering its meaning or significance.
It's a slow(er) Brexit news day, and there appear to be no new Grenfell or Windrush revelations today, which means that what's probably happening is that the Trump material is displacing what would ordinarily have been the morning's furcup news in a more-or-less 1:1 proportion, without mussing everything else going on in the background.
posted by adamgreenfield at 2:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's a slow(er) Brexit news day, and there appear to be no new Grenfell or Windrush revelations today, which means that what's probably happening is that the Trump material is displacing what would ordinarily have been the morning's furcup news in a more-or-less 1:1 proportion, without mussing everything else going on in the background.
posted by adamgreenfield at 2:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
not so much from the press, but the Malaysians I know have a bit of a knowing wink about that whole 'Individual 1' bit since we had our own MO1 named by the US DOJ as well.
posted by cendawanita at 2:12 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 2:12 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Overnight overseas friends, I am very curious how non-US media is reporting and analyzing all this, if any of you want to share links or a general sense of how your local media is taking it on and what they're emphasizing, shocked by, etc.
Might be because of timezones, but yesterday's US politics bombshells made exactly one of all of today's print front pages here in Italy, the Corriere della Sera just matter-of-factly titling a summary quote of Cohen's admission plea. This morning the most with-it online newspage il Post went with the NYT pic of Cohen, "A horrible hour for Trump" and an excellent in-depth summary, conveying the gravity of the situation, while the other main three have it in third or fourth place (behind the Asia Argento, the Genoa bridge, and 10 dead in a ravine-flood), all of them with the treasured Italian word "pornostar" in their title, corriere.it most salaciously on its homepage, with pictures of both women framing one of Trump.
(Elsewhere online in Europe, libération and taz both have it front and center, demurely.)
posted by progosk at 2:14 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Might be because of timezones, but yesterday's US politics bombshells made exactly one of all of today's print front pages here in Italy, the Corriere della Sera just matter-of-factly titling a summary quote of Cohen's admission plea. This morning the most with-it online newspage il Post went with the NYT pic of Cohen, "A horrible hour for Trump" and an excellent in-depth summary, conveying the gravity of the situation, while the other main three have it in third or fourth place (behind the Asia Argento, the Genoa bridge, and 10 dead in a ravine-flood), all of them with the treasured Italian word "pornostar" in their title, corriere.it most salaciously on its homepage, with pictures of both women framing one of Trump.
(Elsewhere online in Europe, libération and taz both have it front and center, demurely.)
posted by progosk at 2:14 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
New Yorker, Adam Davidson, With the Manafort Convictions and Cohen Plea, President Trump Has Been Implicated in a Criminal Conspiracy
The day had a feeling, on one level, of history, of recognizing that one is living through moments that will become central parts of the Trump Presidency. At the same time, the day felt small and shabby, as we learned more details about the crude crimes of those who surround the President. Manafort and Cohen did not commit clever, subtle crimes; they blatantly and crudely lied. They lied to banks to get money; they lied to the I.R.S. In Manafort’s case, he instructed countless support people to lie on his behalf. In Cohen’s case, it was Trump demanding that a subordinate do the lying. The crimes were not unravelled by brilliant detective work. All it took was law-enforcement officials looking.posted by zachlipton at 2:14 AM on August 22, 2018 [46 favorites]
It is conventional wisdom these days that views of Trump are fixed: those who hate him can’t hate him more and those who love him can’t be budged, and, all the while, Republicans in Congress will do nothing, no matter what he says or does. There is another way of understanding the impact of Tuesday’s news. Trump was widely viewed to be morally challenged, a man comfortable with pushing the limits of legality, before he was elected. Perhaps he did business with some bad characters, maybe he engaged in some light civil fraud. But that fact had been priced into the election and, anyway, we don’t impeach Presidents for things they did before they were in office. The possibility of the Trump campaign colluding with Russia was a separate matter that was worth investigating because it had to do with his election. Keeping these two matters separate—Trump’s private business and possible campaign collusion—has been an obsession of Trump’s, for obvious reasons. His business cannot withstand this level of scrutiny.
The Cohen plea and the Manafort indictment establish that this separation is entirely artificial. Trump did not isolate his private business from his public run for office. He behaved the same, with the same sorts of people, using the same techniques to hide his actions. It is impossible, after Tuesday, to imagine that a responsible congressional investigation wouldn’t thoroughly examine every deal with which Cohen was involved and wouldn’t even more aggressively seek to understand Manafort’s links to Russian figures. These two men are now convicted financial fraudsters, each found guilty of precisely eight counts of various financial crimes, though nobody, glancing at their record, would imagine this is an exhaustive list. Tuesday was not the end of an examination of their record; it is much more like a beginning. Manafort has another trial ahead, as well as a possible retrial for the ten counts for which the jury could not reach a consensus; Cohen is all but screaming that he has more to share.
...
We will know far more about Trump, his business, and his campaign in the months to come. The country will be moving down two tracks simultaneously. There is one track of investigation and prosecution in which more of the people close to Trump fall or coöperate and the man himself appears increasingly vulnerable and desperate.
There is the other track, though, in which he remains President. He will likely successfully transform the Supreme Court and imperil the environment, immigrants, consumers of financial products, and others. Those who carefully study Trump and those around him know where this story likely ends—in humiliation and collapse—but we can’t underestimate his embrace of mendacity and deflection. Shortly after the fateful hour, Trump flew to West Virginia for a rally with some of his strongest supporters. The crowd, referring to Hillary Clinton, chanted, “Lock her up.”
Surely the US will demand access to those S-400 missiles in order to appraise their effectiveness? As a member of NATO (if it's still there in 2019) can Turkey reject them?
No obligation to allow inspection as far as I'm aware. Aside from that, the list of things Turkey has done that are theoretically disallowed for a NATO member is quite long at this stage.
posted by jaduncan at 2:16 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
No obligation to allow inspection as far as I'm aware. Aside from that, the list of things Turkey has done that are theoretically disallowed for a NATO member is quite long at this stage.
posted by jaduncan at 2:16 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Overnight overseas friends, I am very curious how non-US media is reporting and analyzing all this,...
Trump is screwed, is the general gist of it.
S-Z (liberal-leaning paper from Munich) says "The shame is in the White House" and kind of imply/ take it for granted that Manafort and Cohen are going to jail.
FAZ (conservative-leaning out of Frankfurt) says, "buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride." A much more neutral report - it also mentions that Cohen ties Trump in on it all.
Notably, all three mention that Bolton said Turkey fucked up not letting the priest go - and as prominently as the news of Trumps legal problems. Of course, Germany has a large population with interests in Turkish politics, so its not a surprise - but I haven't heard this out of any US media. (An on the third hand, shit is kind of blowing up all over, so I might have missed it, too.)
posted by From Bklyn at 2:32 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump is screwed, is the general gist of it.
S-Z (liberal-leaning paper from Munich) says "The shame is in the White House" and kind of imply/ take it for granted that Manafort and Cohen are going to jail.
FAZ (conservative-leaning out of Frankfurt) says, "buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride." A much more neutral report - it also mentions that Cohen ties Trump in on it all.
Notably, all three mention that Bolton said Turkey fucked up not letting the priest go - and as prominently as the news of Trumps legal problems. Of course, Germany has a large population with interests in Turkish politics, so its not a surprise - but I haven't heard this out of any US media. (An on the third hand, shit is kind of blowing up all over, so I might have missed it, too.)
posted by From Bklyn at 2:32 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
NYP, but:
posted by jaduncan at 2:46 AM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
“Mr. Cohen has knowledge on certain subjects that should be of interest to the special counsel and is more than happy to tell the special counsel all that he knows,” Davis told the [MSNBC] network.Well, that's a thing.
“Not just about the obvious possibility of a conspiracy to collude and corrupt the American democracy system in the 2016 election, which the Trump Tower meeting was all about, but also knowledge about the computer crime of hacking and whether or not Mr. Trump knew ahead of time about that crime and even cheered it on.”
posted by jaduncan at 2:46 AM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
Just a little request to those of you that can actually change things by voting: make sure you are still enrolled.
I keep seeing people post on Twitter that they were purged for apparently no reason at all and had to re-enroll.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
I keep seeing people post on Twitter that they were purged for apparently no reason at all and had to re-enroll.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
Leading article in NRC: "Former lawyer Cohen violated law "on Trump's orders"". With a solid exposition of the amount of problems Trump is now facing. A second article on the Manafort trial, with a similar amount of detail. They've been covering the various developments since the elections, digging deeper since Mueller really got going; before that they were rather "So. Um. Trump. Well.".
NRC is a national Dutch newspaper with a liberal tinge on economic matters, slightly to moderate leftish on social and environmental issues.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [17 favorites]
NRC is a national Dutch newspaper with a liberal tinge on economic matters, slightly to moderate leftish on social and environmental issues.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [17 favorites]
Front and center of the BBC News homepage and World sections: Michael Cohen trial: Trump accused of directing hush money
And since I'm commenting, I'll take a slice of cake and thank everyone for the international coverage - its a real bubble expander.
posted by Molesome at 3:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [48 favorites]
And since I'm commenting, I'll take a slice of cake and thank everyone for the international coverage - its a real bubble expander.
posted by Molesome at 3:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [48 favorites]
The two things you're hearing from the rightwing nutosphere are 1) a president can't be indicted, and 2) No Russia!
Well, if your only defense/excuse/protection is an unlitigated and uncertain DOJ policy, that's not a great spot to be in. And no Russia? The idiots don't seem to realize this is actually worse for Trump. Why? I'll let the conservative WSJ explain.
"Michael Cohen not only directly implicated Donald Trump in a federal crime but undercut the belief that if the president could show there was no collusion between his campaign and Russian operatives in 2016, his legal problems would crumble." - WSJ: Michael Cohen Deals Grievous Blow to His Former Boss
posted by chris24 at 3:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [46 favorites]
Well, if your only defense/excuse/protection is an unlitigated and uncertain DOJ policy, that's not a great spot to be in. And no Russia? The idiots don't seem to realize this is actually worse for Trump. Why? I'll let the conservative WSJ explain.
"Michael Cohen not only directly implicated Donald Trump in a federal crime but undercut the belief that if the president could show there was no collusion between his campaign and Russian operatives in 2016, his legal problems would crumble." - WSJ: Michael Cohen Deals Grievous Blow to His Former Boss
posted by chris24 at 3:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [46 favorites]
Just a little request to those of you that can actually change things by voting: make sure you are still enrolled.
I received my card telling me I'm registered for the primary and general elections in NYC (the one that tells you what table to go to) a week or two ago. So if yours hasn't shown up, double check your registration.
posted by hoyland at 3:59 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
I received my card telling me I'm registered for the primary and general elections in NYC (the one that tells you what table to go to) a week or two ago. So if yours hasn't shown up, double check your registration.
posted by hoyland at 3:59 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Eyebrows McGee: I am very curious how non-US media is reporting and analyzing all this,...
From Bklyn: Trump is screwed, is the general gist of it.
Hmm. Do any of the foreign outlets have a grasp on just how craven our Republican Party is? That they should start shifting the story's template from "Watergate all over again" to something more like "government at some risk of instability", as they would with a story on a head of state attempting unilateral changes to his country's constitution or whatever? (I recall a New Yorker profile of former agent Christopher Steele, wherein he became increasingly surprised by certain American officials behaving as partisans rather than civil servants.)
To be clear, I don't think Trump's position is totally safe at all. (He's a lot more screwed now than he was just a couple days ago.) In fact, I think the more that media (both American and international) makes impeachment noises, the better chance it has of happening (it's not a normal process and has to be normalized before it's doable). But those noises need to be coupled with a full understanding of the game's state of play, so that the half-informed bystander doesn't think "Huh, if this were as bad as it looks we'd be on a fast track to impeachment, but we're not, so I guess it isn't."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:31 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
From Bklyn: Trump is screwed, is the general gist of it.
Hmm. Do any of the foreign outlets have a grasp on just how craven our Republican Party is? That they should start shifting the story's template from "Watergate all over again" to something more like "government at some risk of instability", as they would with a story on a head of state attempting unilateral changes to his country's constitution or whatever? (I recall a New Yorker profile of former agent Christopher Steele, wherein he became increasingly surprised by certain American officials behaving as partisans rather than civil servants.)
To be clear, I don't think Trump's position is totally safe at all. (He's a lot more screwed now than he was just a couple days ago.) In fact, I think the more that media (both American and international) makes impeachment noises, the better chance it has of happening (it's not a normal process and has to be normalized before it's doable). But those noises need to be coupled with a full understanding of the game's state of play, so that the half-informed bystander doesn't think "Huh, if this were as bad as it looks we'd be on a fast track to impeachment, but we're not, so I guess it isn't."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:31 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Beyond “pornostars,” Italian newspapers are also concerned about the impromptu 25% tariffs on European cars that Trump trotted out at last night’s rally. This is what happens when no one knows when or how to take the idiot seriously.
posted by lydhre at 4:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by lydhre at 4:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
The biggest problem is that Trump is extremely popular with the Republican electorate at large. He's sitting at 80-something percent which means any Republican who defects to either impeachment or conviction will be signing their own political death warrant. As long as he keeps steam shooting from the ears of liberals he could eat a baby on live TV and the Republican electorate wouldn't abandon him.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 4:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 4:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
At this point in the non-stupid Watergate, it was B. Goldwater who had had enough of the lies, and went to the WH with back up from Hugh Scott and John Rhodes to tell Nixon to resign. I'm wondering who (besides McCain?) would be the self righteous equivalent in today's Congress.
Of course by this point, the GOP had lost hope of getting Agnew in, as the VP had gone down on counts similar in nature to Manafort's.
Also Nixon could, in the non-drinking, non-paranoid part of the day listen to reason and tactics from his former peers. Not so much with our Diapered Dictator.
posted by Harry Caul at 5:03 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Of course by this point, the GOP had lost hope of getting Agnew in, as the VP had gone down on counts similar in nature to Manafort's.
Also Nixon could, in the non-drinking, non-paranoid part of the day listen to reason and tactics from his former peers. Not so much with our Diapered Dictator.
posted by Harry Caul at 5:03 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
In this White House, it's Fredos all the way down.
posted by octothorpe at 5:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
I put on my waders and ventured into /r/The_Donald/ to see how things look from the Russian troll farm swamp. The main theme there seems to be the Mollie Tibbetts death.
posted by Slothrup at 5:11 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Slothrup at 5:11 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I saw someone comment somewhere that he was outraged that MSNBC was ignoring the Mollie Tibbets story as if some random local crime was more important than two of the president's aids being convicted.
posted by octothorpe at 5:24 AM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:24 AM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
Of course it's all-Mollie-all-the-time. It's a perfectly timed distraction from the Orange Cosa Nostra that can be pointed at and screeched at, that the REAL problem facing America isn't Trump's bimbo eruptions or his criminal associations but that we'll all be murdered in our beds by illegal aliens. Because the alleged killer's illegal alien status is in-and-of-itself more significant than his personal conduct.
The right-wing defense du jour for Trump-Cohen is adorable, by the way. You see, there is not a SHRED of evidence that Trump directing Cohen to pay hush money was intended to influence the Presidential election... despite Trump being months out from a Presidential election at that exact moment... because Trump did not SAY THE WORDS "election" or "federal law" or "campaign finance violation" on the tape, so it was the furthest thing from his mind and therefore no campaign finance violations can have happened. This was just one of the NORMAL hush-money-to-porn-stars-to-keep-embarrassing-information-from-surfacing-months-before-a-Presidential-election transactions.
posted by delfin at 5:28 AM on August 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
The right-wing defense du jour for Trump-Cohen is adorable, by the way. You see, there is not a SHRED of evidence that Trump directing Cohen to pay hush money was intended to influence the Presidential election... despite Trump being months out from a Presidential election at that exact moment... because Trump did not SAY THE WORDS "election" or "federal law" or "campaign finance violation" on the tape, so it was the furthest thing from his mind and therefore no campaign finance violations can have happened. This was just one of the NORMAL hush-money-to-porn-stars-to-keep-embarrassing-information-from-surfacing-months-before-a-Presidential-election transactions.
posted by delfin at 5:28 AM on August 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
So, Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, was just on NPR and straight-up, unequivocally declared that Donald Trump is a criminal. Court jester Giuliani aside, attorneys generally pick their words very, very carefully, so...
posted by Thorzdad at 5:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 5:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [50 favorites]
This was just one of the NORMAL hush-money-to-porn-stars-to-keep-embarrassing-information-from-surfacing-months-before-a-Presidential-election transactions.
Stormy Daniels was paid off on October 27th, 12 days before the election. The affair happened in 2006, so of course it had nothing to do with the election to do it right then.
Yeah, I saw someone comment somewhere that he was outraged that MSNBC was ignoring the Mollie Tibbets story as if some random local crime was more important than two of the president's aids being convicted.
The local crime where the undocumented immigrant had been employed by a senior Republican official in the state for 4 years?
posted by chris24 at 5:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [43 favorites]
Stormy Daniels was paid off on October 27th, 12 days before the election. The affair happened in 2006, so of course it had nothing to do with the election to do it right then.
Yeah, I saw someone comment somewhere that he was outraged that MSNBC was ignoring the Mollie Tibbets story as if some random local crime was more important than two of the president's aids being convicted.
The local crime where the undocumented immigrant had been employed by a senior Republican official in the state for 4 years?
posted by chris24 at 5:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [43 favorites]
If the senate refused to vote on a supreme court justice with more than a year left in President Obama's term how can the senate possibly be in favor of voting for a justice when the president is now an unidicted co-conspirator?
Seems like we have fresh ammunition to keep Kavanaugh off the bench and the court at 8 justices for the foreseeable future. I know the entirety of the republican party is based on naked hypocrisy but there's no tenable position to argue Kavanaugh should be pushed through now.
posted by photoslob at 5:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [42 favorites]
Seems like we have fresh ammunition to keep Kavanaugh off the bench and the court at 8 justices for the foreseeable future. I know the entirety of the republican party is based on naked hypocrisy but there's no tenable position to argue Kavanaugh should be pushed through now.
posted by photoslob at 5:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [42 favorites]
Seems like we have fresh ammunition to keep Kavanaugh off the bench and the court at 8 justices for the foreseeable future. I know the entirety of the republican party is based on naked hypocrisy but there's no tenable position to argue Kavanaugh should be pushed through now.
I mean, there obviously is, because the Republicans don't give a shit about hypocrisy, coherency, or morals and they control all three branches of the government. There was no tenable position to argue against Merrick Garland's nomination either and yet here we fucking are.
I'm not saying the Dems shouldn't be screaming that from the rooftops, I'm saying that pretending that logic and integrity have any place in this Republican controlled Senate is a recipe for crushing disappointment.
posted by lydhre at 5:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
I mean, there obviously is, because the Republicans don't give a shit about hypocrisy, coherency, or morals and they control all three branches of the government. There was no tenable position to argue against Merrick Garland's nomination either and yet here we fucking are.
I'm not saying the Dems shouldn't be screaming that from the rooftops, I'm saying that pretending that logic and integrity have any place in this Republican controlled Senate is a recipe for crushing disappointment.
posted by lydhre at 5:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
For anybody overwhelmed by yesterday’s news deluge, Dylan Matthews (Vox) summarizes:
Cohen, Manafort, Hunter, oh my: Donald Trump’s nightmare news day, explained.
Tuesday was a ridiculous news day. Here’s everything that happened.
——
And, uh, the president is tweeting:
If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!
8:44 AM · Aug 22, 2018 [real]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:50 AM on August 22, 2018 [29 favorites]
Cohen, Manafort, Hunter, oh my: Donald Trump’s nightmare news day, explained.
Tuesday was a ridiculous news day. Here’s everything that happened.
——
And, uh, the president is tweeting:
If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!
8:44 AM · Aug 22, 2018 [real]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:50 AM on August 22, 2018 [29 favorites]
If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!
I have a feeling that Cohen is unavailable for new work for the foreseeable future...
posted by Servo5678 at 5:52 AM on August 22, 2018 [37 favorites]
I have a feeling that Cohen is unavailable for new work for the foreseeable future...
posted by Servo5678 at 5:52 AM on August 22, 2018 [37 favorites]
I'm taking Lanny Davis with a grain of salt for now. As some have pointed out, if Mr. Cohen DOES have extremely interesting knowledge that the special counsel WOULD find valuable enough to cut deals for, one would think that he would be speaking directly to the special counsel in a very loud voice and obtaining "cooperating witness" status... rather than to MSNBC after not obtaining that.
posted by delfin at 5:53 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by delfin at 5:53 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
And the move away from the US as the centerpiece of the world economic and political order continues apace.
As a result of Trump sanctioning EU for trading with Iran, German FM says it's "essential that we strengthen European autonomy by setting up payment channels independent of the US ... and building an independent Swift system."
posted by chris24 at 5:57 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
As a result of Trump sanctioning EU for trading with Iran, German FM says it's "essential that we strengthen European autonomy by setting up payment channels independent of the US ... and building an independent Swift system."
posted by chris24 at 5:57 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
He's sitting at 80-something percent which means any Republican who defects to either impeachment or conviction will be signing their own political death warrant.
That seems to be the fundamental problem here. At this stage any Republican candidate who is no 100% behind Trump is going to be perceived as a traitor by the voters, so the choice for a sane Republican candidate is either to give up now (and be replaced by a crazy Republican candidate) or bend the knee to the Great Leader. Democracy and cult of personality is an ugly mix. Are there precedents for this situation in modern democracies?
posted by elgilito at 6:00 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
That seems to be the fundamental problem here. At this stage any Republican candidate who is no 100% behind Trump is going to be perceived as a traitor by the voters, so the choice for a sane Republican candidate is either to give up now (and be replaced by a crazy Republican candidate) or bend the knee to the Great Leader. Democracy and cult of personality is an ugly mix. Are there precedents for this situation in modern democracies?
posted by elgilito at 6:00 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Definitely Not Sean Spicer: He's sitting at 80-something percent which means any Republican who defects to either impeachment or conviction will be signing their own political death warrant.
Yes and no: we can't extrapolate national stats into local ones.
For example, Trump is obviously massively unpopular with Democrats. Ergo, no Democrat would be dumb enough to openly embrace Trump (not just side with some of his policies in the usual sometimes-Dems-are-disppointing way, but consistently avow support for him), right? But of course, Joe Manchin exists, and his Trump support is more smart than stupid, because his state is West Virginia.
Equivalently, at least a few Republicans are marginal -- they represent relatively moderate regions, even as the party on the whole is a fascist cult. I don't want to derail into which specific Republicans could defect, I'm just pointing out that defection isn't impossible because the fervor of the base is somewhat unevenly distributed. Trump may well be brought down in part thanks to a kind of intra-party version of gerrymandering or the electoral college (mmm, poetic justice).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:02 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yes and no: we can't extrapolate national stats into local ones.
For example, Trump is obviously massively unpopular with Democrats. Ergo, no Democrat would be dumb enough to openly embrace Trump (not just side with some of his policies in the usual sometimes-Dems-are-disppointing way, but consistently avow support for him), right? But of course, Joe Manchin exists, and his Trump support is more smart than stupid, because his state is West Virginia.
Equivalently, at least a few Republicans are marginal -- they represent relatively moderate regions, even as the party on the whole is a fascist cult. I don't want to derail into which specific Republicans could defect, I'm just pointing out that defection isn't impossible because the fervor of the base is somewhat unevenly distributed. Trump may well be brought down in part thanks to a kind of intra-party version of gerrymandering or the electoral college (mmm, poetic justice).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:02 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!
8:44 AM · Aug 22, 2018
Your lawyer just implicated you and your response is a bad Yelp review? WEAK and LOW ENERGY!
posted by nubs at 6:03 AM on August 22, 2018 [107 favorites]
8:44 AM · Aug 22, 2018
Your lawyer just implicated you and your response is a bad Yelp review? WEAK and LOW ENERGY!
posted by nubs at 6:03 AM on August 22, 2018 [107 favorites]
Are there precedents for this situation in modern democracies?
Yes, many and they have come pretty regularly post-Enlightenment. Mishra's Age of Anger
posted by Harry Caul at 6:04 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, many and they have come pretty regularly post-Enlightenment. Mishra's Age of Anger
posted by Harry Caul at 6:04 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
If the senate refused to vote on a supreme court justice with more than a year left in President Obama's term how can the senate possibly be in favor of voting for a justice when the president is now an unidicted co-conspirator? Seems like we have fresh ammunition to keep Kavanaugh off the bench...
Not only that but despite 2018 not being a presidential election year, the election is supposedly a reason for the Special Counsel to not release any conclusions... if the mid-terms are going to be embiggened in that way for Mueller-related purposes it ought to also trigger the “no new SCOTUS picks in an election year!” “rule” used to block Garland.
posted by XMLicious at 6:09 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
At least two people have thought of the "How's everything Cohen this morning?" response to Trump's tweet.
posted by arcticseal at 6:20 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by arcticseal at 6:20 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Nixon's approval with Rs was mid-70s until July 1973 and never dropped below 54%. Obviously nothing's happening with Trump before November, but assuming Ds take the House, just think of all the crimes we'll find with subpoena power. And the constant drumbeat of hearings. Combined with what Mueller will come up with - Jr. and Jared indicted? Stone almost certainly indicted - the political winds may very well start to turn just enough even with Rs after what is hopefully an asskicking at the polls. Losing elections bigly might be the trigger for possibilities.
Charles Franklin (Pollster.com, UW-Mad prof) - each tweet has a chart illustrating the ratings
Nixon, Watergate and Partisan Opinion. This topic comes up often enough these days that I think it worthwhile to lay out the facts in some detail in hopes of clarifying how partisans and the public at large reacted and when. /1
2/ Let's start with Nixon's approval by party over his entire term. Nixon was fairly popular through the first term, almost always over 50% approval, though hovering at or just below 50 for most of 1971. (Black line is overall approval)
3/ To modern eyes the most striking fact is approval among Democrats is pretty strong: high 40s in 1969, around 40 in 1970, mid-30s in 1971, rising back to the 40s in 1972. Compare opposition party approval since 2005 has been about 10%
4/ Republican approval held in the low-to-mid 80s until 1971, then dipped sightly to high 70s before rising to near 90% in run-up to 1972 reelection. (As was their practice, Gallup didn't poll approval during campaign, from 6/23-11/11/72)
5/ The overlap between the overall line (black) and the independent line (purple) is fairly common in approval by partisanship, though currently independents are a bit below Trump's overall approval.
6/ Had Nixon left office on Jan 29, 1973 he would have gone out with a very high 67% approval rating in the wake of a landslide reelection and the Paris Peace Accords, finally ending (or so we thought) the Vietnam war.
7/ Nixon did not leave office, and the next 9 months showed one of the sharpest sustained declines in the history of presidential approval. dropping 4.1 points per month from late January to early October 1973, from 67% to 30%
8/ Approval declined a little more but from January 1974 through August it remained in the 26-28% range until the last two Gallup polls of his presidency, both at 24% approval, the last taken 8/2-5/74.
9/ So that is the overall story. Almost all the decline in Nixon's approval took place between February and early October 1973, a period of continuous damaging news stories about Watergate and a summer of televised Senate hearings.
10/ By the time of the Saturday Night Massacre, on October 20, 1973, Nixon's approval had already reached its "steady state" low point, with almost no change until the bitter end.
11/ The Massacre itself and subsequent revelations, including tape transcripts, and impeachment proceedings did little to reduce his approval ratings. Republican support remained about 54%, independents about 25% and Dems about 15%.
12/ This last point deserves emphasis. The shocking Saturday Night Massacre, Nixon cited as an "unindicted co-conspirator", the release of tape transcripts that introduced "expletive deleted" to the lexicon barely moved opinion.
13/ Note there is noise but possibly Republican approval declined slightly after the tape transcripts were released, to 50% or a shade higher. Independents and Dems don't seem to have been affected.
14/ Nixon's resignation ended our job approval data. After the "smoking gun" transcript was released Aug 5 the 11 Republicans who voted against article 1 said they would now support the obstruction of justice article on the floor
15/ It is probable that with the collapse of support from elected Republicans, approval of Nixon would have fallen below 50% among Republican partisans.
16/ For reference, in the fall of 2008 during the financial crisis, Republican approval of President Bush ranged from 55 to 63, before rising after the election.
17/ Nixon's approval collapsed between Feb and Oct 1973. Steady before, steady after. Revelations & evidence presented in those 9 months, not subsequent events, persuaded all who could be persuaded. \end
posted by chris24 at 6:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
Charles Franklin (Pollster.com, UW-Mad prof) - each tweet has a chart illustrating the ratings
Nixon, Watergate and Partisan Opinion. This topic comes up often enough these days that I think it worthwhile to lay out the facts in some detail in hopes of clarifying how partisans and the public at large reacted and when. /1
2/ Let's start with Nixon's approval by party over his entire term. Nixon was fairly popular through the first term, almost always over 50% approval, though hovering at or just below 50 for most of 1971. (Black line is overall approval)
3/ To modern eyes the most striking fact is approval among Democrats is pretty strong: high 40s in 1969, around 40 in 1970, mid-30s in 1971, rising back to the 40s in 1972. Compare opposition party approval since 2005 has been about 10%
4/ Republican approval held in the low-to-mid 80s until 1971, then dipped sightly to high 70s before rising to near 90% in run-up to 1972 reelection. (As was their practice, Gallup didn't poll approval during campaign, from 6/23-11/11/72)
5/ The overlap between the overall line (black) and the independent line (purple) is fairly common in approval by partisanship, though currently independents are a bit below Trump's overall approval.
6/ Had Nixon left office on Jan 29, 1973 he would have gone out with a very high 67% approval rating in the wake of a landslide reelection and the Paris Peace Accords, finally ending (or so we thought) the Vietnam war.
7/ Nixon did not leave office, and the next 9 months showed one of the sharpest sustained declines in the history of presidential approval. dropping 4.1 points per month from late January to early October 1973, from 67% to 30%
8/ Approval declined a little more but from January 1974 through August it remained in the 26-28% range until the last two Gallup polls of his presidency, both at 24% approval, the last taken 8/2-5/74.
9/ So that is the overall story. Almost all the decline in Nixon's approval took place between February and early October 1973, a period of continuous damaging news stories about Watergate and a summer of televised Senate hearings.
10/ By the time of the Saturday Night Massacre, on October 20, 1973, Nixon's approval had already reached its "steady state" low point, with almost no change until the bitter end.
11/ The Massacre itself and subsequent revelations, including tape transcripts, and impeachment proceedings did little to reduce his approval ratings. Republican support remained about 54%, independents about 25% and Dems about 15%.
12/ This last point deserves emphasis. The shocking Saturday Night Massacre, Nixon cited as an "unindicted co-conspirator", the release of tape transcripts that introduced "expletive deleted" to the lexicon barely moved opinion.
13/ Note there is noise but possibly Republican approval declined slightly after the tape transcripts were released, to 50% or a shade higher. Independents and Dems don't seem to have been affected.
14/ Nixon's resignation ended our job approval data. After the "smoking gun" transcript was released Aug 5 the 11 Republicans who voted against article 1 said they would now support the obstruction of justice article on the floor
15/ It is probable that with the collapse of support from elected Republicans, approval of Nixon would have fallen below 50% among Republican partisans.
16/ For reference, in the fall of 2008 during the financial crisis, Republican approval of President Bush ranged from 55 to 63, before rising after the election.
17/ Nixon's approval collapsed between Feb and Oct 1973. Steady before, steady after. Revelations & evidence presented in those 9 months, not subsequent events, persuaded all who could be persuaded. \end
posted by chris24 at 6:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
We're moving onto Manafort now:
posted by lazaruslong at 6:31 AM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “Justice” took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break” - make up stories in order to get a “deal.” Such respect for a brave man!It's only 9:31 EST.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:31 AM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
Democracy and cult of personality is an ugly mix.
This week I was volunteering at a community farm in my Rhode Island town. [N.b.: RI is very blue, but we often have a Republican governor.] A local guy running for state legislature showed up, and a friend introduced him around. He's a Republican, we were told, but not like the president, and also he wants to break the hold on state politics of a pol named Mattiello who is Speaker of the state House of Reps and who acts as a gate-keeper on a very dysfunctional chamber.
The guy then laughed and said that he and my friend like to disagree, and basically dodged any distance that he could have put between himself and Trump....and we were standing in the field of a town-owned farm, staffed entirely by volunteers, who were doing free stoop labor to stock the local foodbank.
Dude, there is no one there who is sympathetic to Trump, and if you don't disclaim him, we're all writing you off. But this guy still couldn't bring himself to say that he opposes Trump.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:33 AM on August 22, 2018 [57 favorites]
This week I was volunteering at a community farm in my Rhode Island town. [N.b.: RI is very blue, but we often have a Republican governor.] A local guy running for state legislature showed up, and a friend introduced him around. He's a Republican, we were told, but not like the president, and also he wants to break the hold on state politics of a pol named Mattiello who is Speaker of the state House of Reps and who acts as a gate-keeper on a very dysfunctional chamber.
The guy then laughed and said that he and my friend like to disagree, and basically dodged any distance that he could have put between himself and Trump....and we were standing in the field of a town-owned farm, staffed entirely by volunteers, who were doing free stoop labor to stock the local foodbank.
Dude, there is no one there who is sympathetic to Trump, and if you don't disclaim him, we're all writing you off. But this guy still couldn't bring himself to say that he opposes Trump.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:33 AM on August 22, 2018 [57 favorites]
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family...Such respect for a brave man!
I smell a pardon coming for Manafort.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
I smell a pardon coming for Manafort.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
I for one am shocked that Trump thinks rich white men should be able to get away with tax and bank fraud.
posted by chris24 at 6:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [65 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 6:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [65 favorites]
> If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!
Mr. The Best People sure does have a weird habit of hiring criminals who betray him.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
Mr. The Best People sure does have a weird habit of hiring criminals who betray him.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
That Manafort tweet sounds really strange coming from the nation’s top law enforcement official.
posted by notyou at 6:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by notyou at 6:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Mr. The Best People sure does have a weird habit of hiring criminals who betray him.
Given the way he tends to treat his business partners IRL, you'd think he's actually have a bit of respect for backstabbing.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Given the way he tends to treat his business partners IRL, you'd think he's actually have a bit of respect for backstabbing.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
While I'm far too timeline-weary to declare yesterday a "Surely this" moment, I did think it was very, very interesting that Trump didn't mention Cohen or Manafort once in his West Virginia speech last night. I'd love to know what was said to him before he went on stage that finally got through his skull, because there's no fucking way he could have resisted talking smack about somebody who had wronged him hours earlier otherwise ("You could go to jail over what you say" obvs doesn't work, after all). And he went off the rails a bunch of times, so it was no "SAY THE WORDS ON THE TELEPROMPTER—AND ONLY THE WORDS ON THE TELEPROMPTER" tactic on his part (although I'm certain people did tell him just that). Maybe we witnessed the first act of self-control of his presidency up there last night?
posted by Rykey at 6:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 6:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm not even going to link it because fuck Fox News, but even Fox News is now running opinion pieces titled e.g. "President Trump, Manafort is guilty – please don't abuse the pardon power". They know he's probably going to do it in a fit of pique, and even his literal cheerleading section is freaking the fuck out about the likely fallout.
posted by tocts at 6:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by tocts at 6:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Maybe we witnessed the first act of self-control of his presidency up there last night?
“No pivot you’re the pivot.”
posted by notyou at 6:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
“No pivot you’re the pivot.”
posted by notyou at 6:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
NBC news is reporting a closed election security briefing with the Senate today
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:47 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:47 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
Maybe we witnessed the first act of self-control of his presidency up there last night?
I think it's possible he simply didn't know and his staff kept the information away from him--maybe they set him in front of a good Backyardigans episode. That's what I did when I had a toddler.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:48 AM on August 22, 2018 [53 favorites]
I think it's possible he simply didn't know and his staff kept the information away from him--maybe they set him in front of a good Backyardigans episode. That's what I did when I had a toddler.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:48 AM on August 22, 2018 [53 favorites]
I have a question that I"ve been pondering w/r/t Nixon and Trump:
When the recordings were released, the elected members had some political cover. They could say, well we were going along and then some tapes and after listening it was like HOLY SHIT OUR DEMOCRACY. And then things moved quickly after that. The tapes allowed them to say they had their holy shit moment.
What is the political cover, the holy shit moment, for somebody wishing to escape the cult of Trump? I mean, of course said cultist should do it for the good of humankind, but what is the cover that allows them to say, Omarosa style, I thought the dude was cool and then woah (and I don't see that Omarosa has garnered any, like, moral standing, she just has some receipts and is thus getting airtime--what is a random GOP rep going to do?).
Because it's all out in the open, staining anybody who supports Trump. It seems to be to be an indelible stain at this point. And if that's the case, what is the end game for these people? Does each and every one need to be voted out of office?
posted by angrycat at 6:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
When the recordings were released, the elected members had some political cover. They could say, well we were going along and then some tapes and after listening it was like HOLY SHIT OUR DEMOCRACY. And then things moved quickly after that. The tapes allowed them to say they had their holy shit moment.
What is the political cover, the holy shit moment, for somebody wishing to escape the cult of Trump? I mean, of course said cultist should do it for the good of humankind, but what is the cover that allows them to say, Omarosa style, I thought the dude was cool and then woah (and I don't see that Omarosa has garnered any, like, moral standing, she just has some receipts and is thus getting airtime--what is a random GOP rep going to do?).
Because it's all out in the open, staining anybody who supports Trump. It seems to be to be an indelible stain at this point. And if that's the case, what is the end game for these people? Does each and every one need to be voted out of office?
posted by angrycat at 6:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Because it's all out in the open, staining anybody who supports Trump. It seems to be to be an indelible stain at this point. And if that's the case, what is the end game for these people? Does each and every one need to be voted out of office?
Yes, yes, and yes. Today's R's are cut from an entirely different cloth than the Nixon era's. They might as usefully be compared to Lincoln-era R's.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yes, yes, and yes. Today's R's are cut from an entirely different cloth than the Nixon era's. They might as usefully be compared to Lincoln-era R's.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Donald Trump’s winning argument in 2016 is his key weakness in 2020
In October 2016, feeling the election slipping from his grasp, Trump took the stage in Colorado Springs and mounted the argument that would close his campaign and win him the election.posted by kirkaracha at 6:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [32 favorites]
“The stakes on November 8 could not be higher,” he said. “A vote for Hillary is a vote to surrender our government to public corruption, graft, and cronyism that threatens the very foundations of our constitutional system. What makes us exceptional is that we are a nation of laws, and that we are all equal under those laws — Hillary’s corruption shreds that foundational principle.”
...
On November 4, 2016, the Washington Post and ABC News released one of their final polls of the race. It found that voters trusted Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump to handle terrorism, immigration, health care, and national security. It found the two candidates equally trusted on jobs and the economy. The lone bright spot for Trump was his 9-point lead on corruption in government — the largest margin either candidate enjoyed on any issue.
If there was any issue that won Trump the election, it was government corruption.
My guess/hope is that they're waiting on the conclusion of the Mueller investigation to give them that cover.
I don't think Mueller will reveal anything we don't already know but he'll do it with a mountain of hard evidence and testimony that will be impossible to ignore without sounding like a loon.
It's not so much that Rs in congress will learn anything they don't already know either but my hope is that the evidence will be so damning that they'll feel like they have no choice but to do something and/or it will give them enough political cover to act.
posted by VTX at 6:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
I don't think Mueller will reveal anything we don't already know but he'll do it with a mountain of hard evidence and testimony that will be impossible to ignore without sounding like a loon.
It's not so much that Rs in congress will learn anything they don't already know either but my hope is that the evidence will be so damning that they'll feel like they have no choice but to do something and/or it will give them enough political cover to act.
posted by VTX at 6:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
What is the political cover, the holy shit moment, for somebody wishing to escape the cult of Trump?
It's Russia.
"Reds under the bed" trumps Trump in America, then, now and forever.
Which is why he's fucking terrified of it and spends his days shouting "no collusion!" into the howling void.
posted by garius at 6:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's Russia.
"Reds under the bed" trumps Trump in America, then, now and forever.
Which is why he's fucking terrified of it and spends his days shouting "no collusion!" into the howling void.
posted by garius at 6:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Indictments of Stone and Junior with Trump as un-indicted co-conspirator will end the no collusion bullshit game they're playing even though everyone knows he did. At that point it's either go full authoritarian or start to look for the exits for Rs.
posted by chris24 at 6:56 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 6:56 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
SPLC: Klan Leader Richard Preston Sentenced to Four Years In Prison For Firing Gun At ‘Unite the Right’ "A judge in Charlottesville, Virginia, sentenced the 53-year-old Preston on Tuesday to four years in prison with another four years suspended for firing a gun into a crowd during the “Unite the Right” rally of Aug. 12, 2017. The prison sentence handed down by Charlottesville Circuit Judge Richard Moore marked the first felony sentence stemming from the deadly rally[...]."
The mills of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:00 AM on August 22, 2018 [69 favorites]
The mills of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:00 AM on August 22, 2018 [69 favorites]
It's Russia. "Reds under the bed" trumps Trump in America, then, now and forever.
I wish I had your confidence.
posted by ragtag at 7:04 AM on August 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
I wish I had your confidence.
posted by ragtag at 7:04 AM on August 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
It's not so much that Rs in congress will learn anything they don't already know either but my hope is that the evidence will be so damning that they'll feel like they have no choice but to do something and/or it will give them enough political cover to act.
I dunno. I get the feeling that the Rs in Congress aren't going to do anything, no matter how tall the pile of evidence is against Trump, unless that evidence clearly indicts some of their own. At that point, they'll have to act. Unfortunately, the actions they take will probably be of the "burn the democracy to the ground" sort.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:05 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
I dunno. I get the feeling that the Rs in Congress aren't going to do anything, no matter how tall the pile of evidence is against Trump, unless that evidence clearly indicts some of their own. At that point, they'll have to act. Unfortunately, the actions they take will probably be of the "burn the democracy to the ground" sort.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:05 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
Today's R's are cut from an entirely different cloth than the Nixon era's.
While I think today's Rs are more craven, Nixon's era were partisan pieces of shit too and most stuck with Nixon to the bitter end or until it was political suicide to not go long with his removal. I posted this last thread.
NYT: The Myth of Watergate Bipartisanship: The Republicans stuck with their president, right up to the end
While I think today's Rs are more craven, Nixon's era were partisan pieces of shit too and most stuck with Nixon to the bitter end or until it was political suicide to not go long with his removal. I posted this last thread.
NYT: The Myth of Watergate Bipartisanship: The Republicans stuck with their president, right up to the end
After it was revealed in July 1973 that Mr. Nixon had secretly taped conversations, Mr. Ford said he found nothing wrong with the president’s practices. Republican Senator John Tower of Texas later warned Congress not to get caught up in “the hysteria of Watergate.”posted by chris24 at 7:07 AM on August 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
Most congressional Republicans rallied around Mr. Nixon when the White House released edited transcripts of those tapes in April 1974 that showed Mr. Nixon scheming with his aides. As the House Judiciary Committee began debating possible impeachment in July, Representative Delbert Latta of Ohio said the evidence failed to prove Mr. Nixon’s direct involvement in Watergate.
> If there was any issue that won Trump the election, it was government corruption.
SHM, *facepalm*, etc.. Anyway, sure. It was "government corruption" and not racism and sexism.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
SHM, *facepalm*, etc.. Anyway, sure. It was "government corruption" and not racism and sexism.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
Has anybody asked Lanny Davis questions about Prague and passports yet? That's the interview I want to see.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 7:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Lindsey Graham’s Old Comments About Impeachment Come Back To Haunt Him
So the point I'm trying to make is that you don’t have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this constitutional republic. If this body determines that your conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds in your role. Because impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office.posted by kirkaracha at 7:21 AM on August 22, 2018 [53 favorites]
I like Campaign Chairmen who don’t get captured.
*kisses fingers*
posted by arcticseal at 7:21 AM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
*kisses fingers*
posted by arcticseal at 7:21 AM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
Pete Souza (Instagram): Witch Hunt during the Obama administration
posted by mochapickle at 7:24 AM on August 22, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 7:24 AM on August 22, 2018 [48 favorites]
There is no hope for 'the Republicans' as a body to flip in Trump - if it happens, it will be a small breakaway group of Republicans. Who knows what the final straw would need to be for them, but I doubt any of them will make a move before they have some reason to believe that making a move will help them specifically - not 'democracy' or 'their party' but them. Whether this happens in the runup to the midterms or the aftermath of the midterms, who knows? But the midterms seem like the most likely catalyst.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Seth Masket
If you become president:
-while losing the popular vote;
-by accepting clandestine help from a foreign adversarial power;
-by using illegal campaign funds to silence a damaging story;
you just might have a legitimacy problem.
posted by chris24 at 7:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [111 favorites]
If you become president:
-while losing the popular vote;
-by accepting clandestine help from a foreign adversarial power;
-by using illegal campaign funds to silence a damaging story;
you just might have a legitimacy problem.
posted by chris24 at 7:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [111 favorites]
What is the political cover, the holy shit moment, for somebody wishing to escape the cult of Trump?
The scene from the second Burton Batman movie, where the crowds hear the Penguin ranting about how his followers are all rubes and morons and he's played this town like a harp from Hell?
Something like that. It would take Trump on a live mic repudiating his own base, laughing about how of course he was never going to get the fucking Wall built, he doesn't really give a rat's ass about Hillary's alleged crimes or border security or The Swamp, and this was all one huge scam to slash tax rates for billionaires and keep his Russian debt-holders from breaking his legs.
At which point the NeverTrumpers would harumph "I told you so" and swiftly move in to regain power in the GOP and implement about 80% of what Trump wants to implement, and most of Trump's voter base would turn on him and shift their allegiance to the next populist blowhard in line promising to Get Rid Of The Brown People and Put America First For Real This Time You Guys.
posted by delfin at 7:30 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
The scene from the second Burton Batman movie, where the crowds hear the Penguin ranting about how his followers are all rubes and morons and he's played this town like a harp from Hell?
Something like that. It would take Trump on a live mic repudiating his own base, laughing about how of course he was never going to get the fucking Wall built, he doesn't really give a rat's ass about Hillary's alleged crimes or border security or The Swamp, and this was all one huge scam to slash tax rates for billionaires and keep his Russian debt-holders from breaking his legs.
At which point the NeverTrumpers would harumph "I told you so" and swiftly move in to regain power in the GOP and implement about 80% of what Trump wants to implement, and most of Trump's voter base would turn on him and shift their allegiance to the next populist blowhard in line promising to Get Rid Of The Brown People and Put America First For Real This Time You Guys.
posted by delfin at 7:30 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
POTUS: Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and it was easily settled!
he … pled guilty … in a criminal court … to federal campaign finance violations that carry a prison sentence … but they're not crimes
posted by murphy slaw at 7:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [95 favorites]
he … pled guilty … in a criminal court … to federal campaign finance violations that carry a prison sentence … but they're not crimes
posted by murphy slaw at 7:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [95 favorites]
That spin will probably work on his base. Just convince them that it's a civil matter, it's just a technical "violation", like a parking ticket.
I'm actually sort of impressed.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm actually sort of impressed.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
At least he gave the next thread title: "Crimes that aren't crimes."
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 7:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 7:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [32 favorites]
I really do think they kept him away from the news until this morning.
posted by angrycat at 7:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 7:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
The scene from the second Burton Batman movie, where the crowds hear the Penguin ranting about how his followers are all rubes and morons and he's played this town like a harp from Hell? Something like that.
Trump's base wouldn't see itself as citizens of Gotham but as the Penguin's clownsuited goons. Any "I sure fooled those SOBs" moment would be met with "hahaha yeah you sure did trigger those libs, God-Emperor!"
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
Trump's base wouldn't see itself as citizens of Gotham but as the Penguin's clownsuited goons. Any "I sure fooled those SOBs" moment would be met with "hahaha yeah you sure did trigger those libs, God-Emperor!"
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
He knew yesterday. The mills of narcissistic injury grind slowly, but exceedingly fine.
posted by notyou at 7:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by notyou at 7:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Honestly, if 45's tweets and actions get much more deranged, he may actually have built a solid "mental incapacity" defense, should indictments come his way.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:46 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:46 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
The mills of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.White supremacist pleads guilty as an accessory to an armed confrontation after the Richard Spencer rally in Gainesville (that cost the University and City nearly a $1 million to police).
posted by 6ATR at 7:46 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
> There is no hope for 'the Republicans' as a body to flip in Trump - if it happens, it will be a small breakaway group of Republicans. Who knows what the final straw would need to be for them...
Trump would probably have to attack them personally. Like, with a candlestick, in the study.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump would probably have to attack them personally. Like, with a candlestick, in the study.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
nah they'd just roll over and bare their neck like they did after the primaries
posted by entropicamericana at 7:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 7:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
I really do think they kept him away from the news until this morning.
With any other president since the advent of radio newscasts, this would be utterly impossible to believe, but with Trump? It's not a stretch to imagine Air Force One filled with heavily modified TVs. Ordinarily, you can only tune to Fox News and reruns of CHiPs; on bad news days like yesterday, his handlers lock it down further, so the commander in chief can only watch reruns of Paw Patrol en route to rallies.
posted by Mayor West at 7:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
With any other president since the advent of radio newscasts, this would be utterly impossible to believe, but with Trump? It's not a stretch to imagine Air Force One filled with heavily modified TVs. Ordinarily, you can only tune to Fox News and reruns of CHiPs; on bad news days like yesterday, his handlers lock it down further, so the commander in chief can only watch reruns of Paw Patrol en route to rallies.
posted by Mayor West at 7:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Michael Cohen walked into a courthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday and told a federal judge under oath that he committed a felony and that his former client, President Donald Trump, directed him to do so. In that moment, Cohen upended a months-long strategy by Trump to undermine the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, and for the first time presented a path to the end of the Trump presidency.How Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen and the Justice Department just exploded the president’s narrative (Renato Mariotti | Politico)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:58 AM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
Notyou: the nation’s top law enforcement official.
I'm lost. Do you have a name to go with that?
posted by Stoneshop at 8:02 AM on August 22, 2018
I'm lost. Do you have a name to go with that?
posted by Stoneshop at 8:02 AM on August 22, 2018
Individual Number One?
posted by Artw at 8:02 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:02 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
"Individual Number One" is one of Lou Bega's lesser-known songs
posted by BungaDunga at 8:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [105 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 8:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [105 favorites]
a little bit collusion with moscow
a little bit campaign fraud, watch me now
a little bit of nazi on the side
a little bit of real estate, watch me slide
a little money laundering here we go
a little dog whistlin' for the show
a little bit her emails what i says
a little bit of crime makes me your prez
posted by murphy slaw at 8:12 AM on August 22, 2018 [235 favorites]
a little bit campaign fraud, watch me now
a little bit of nazi on the side
a little bit of real estate, watch me slide
a little money laundering here we go
a little dog whistlin' for the show
a little bit her emails what i says
a little bit of crime makes me your prez
posted by murphy slaw at 8:12 AM on August 22, 2018 [235 favorites]
The crowd, referring to Hillary Clinton, chanted, “Lock her up.”
a few days ago i was flipping through radio stations in the car and listened to a minute of limbaugh's show. i recall two points that limbaugh's stand-in made in those sixty-or-so seconds. first, he made vague insinuations about hillary clinton being, i don't know, a manticore who eats nazi gold bars and bathes in blood, etc. etc. second, before he went to break he briefly added that joe biden is having some kind of health problem and wished biden a swift recovery. while also blaming hillary for not helping him out with his medical expenses? ...or something?
it finally brought it home for me. joe biden gets civility and well-wishing, tim kaine gets politely ignored, bill clinton gets a shrug, every white male politician gets the benefit of the doubt, but HRC is still the monster under conservatives' beds nearly two years after she disappeared from public engagement. and trump rally crowds save their greatest ire for hillary clinton, maxine waters and nancy pelosi. i had naively continued to entertain the possibility that some people really were unenthused about clinton because of her policy positions. but it's safe to say that that group of people is a vanishingly slim fraction of the electorate.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 8:13 AM on August 22, 2018 [98 favorites]
a few days ago i was flipping through radio stations in the car and listened to a minute of limbaugh's show. i recall two points that limbaugh's stand-in made in those sixty-or-so seconds. first, he made vague insinuations about hillary clinton being, i don't know, a manticore who eats nazi gold bars and bathes in blood, etc. etc. second, before he went to break he briefly added that joe biden is having some kind of health problem and wished biden a swift recovery. while also blaming hillary for not helping him out with his medical expenses? ...or something?
it finally brought it home for me. joe biden gets civility and well-wishing, tim kaine gets politely ignored, bill clinton gets a shrug, every white male politician gets the benefit of the doubt, but HRC is still the monster under conservatives' beds nearly two years after she disappeared from public engagement. and trump rally crowds save their greatest ire for hillary clinton, maxine waters and nancy pelosi. i had naively continued to entertain the possibility that some people really were unenthused about clinton because of her policy positions. but it's safe to say that that group of people is a vanishingly slim fraction of the electorate.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 8:13 AM on August 22, 2018 [98 favorites]
Lindsey Graham’s Old Comments About Impeachment Come Back To Haunt Him
I can assure you he doesn't feel haunted. Republicans have wholeheartedly embraced the idea that you espouse whatever principles enhance your political power at any given moment, and that they have no meaning beyond that. They've utterly defanged the charge of hypocrisy, formerly a powerful rhetorical weapon, by simply deciding they don't care.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:16 AM on August 22, 2018 [31 favorites]
I can assure you he doesn't feel haunted. Republicans have wholeheartedly embraced the idea that you espouse whatever principles enhance your political power at any given moment, and that they have no meaning beyond that. They've utterly defanged the charge of hypocrisy, formerly a powerful rhetorical weapon, by simply deciding they don't care.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:16 AM on August 22, 2018 [31 favorites]
I know that engaging in speculation about the various players' states of mind and motivations is as frivolous as trying to predict how this is all going to play out, but it really seems like Trump and his cronies have underestimated how pissed off Michael Cohen is at being abandoned by Trump.
CNN Twitter: Would Michael Cohen seek a pardon from the President of the United States for an of this?
It really seems, if we take Cohen's lawyer at his word, that even if Cohen were pardoned he'd still try to help take Trump down.
Related question: can someone refuse a pardon?
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:17 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
CNN Twitter: Would Michael Cohen seek a pardon from the President of the United States for an of this?
It really seems, if we take Cohen's lawyer at his word, that even if Cohen were pardoned he'd still try to help take Trump down.
Related question: can someone refuse a pardon?
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:17 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
(The President sits atop the federal law enforcement apparatus, stoneshop, but I agree it’s kinda weird to refer to the position that way, since we normally think of the Attorney General as the top cop.)
posted by notyou at 8:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by notyou at 8:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Related question: can someone refuse a pardon?
Yes.
US v Wilson: "A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it is rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him."
posted by chris24 at 8:20 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
Yes.
US v Wilson: "A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it is rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him."
posted by chris24 at 8:20 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
joe biden gets civility and well-wishing, tim kaine gets politely ignored, bill clinton gets a shrug, every white male politician gets the benefit of the doubt, but HRC is still the monster under conservatives' beds nearly two years after she disappeared from public engagement. and trump rally crowds save their greatest ire for hillary clinton, maxine waters and nancy pelosi. i had naively continued to entertain the possibility that some people really were unenthused about clinton because of her policy positions. but it's safe to say that that group of people is a vanishingly slim fraction of the electorate.
The Republican mantra is very simple: attack, attack, and attack, and focus your attacks on the person whom is in the most threatening position to you, whether they plan on attacking you back or not.
This is how someone like Tom Daschle, whose picture appears in the encyclopedia next to "milquetoast," was briefly The Greatest Threat To American Society a while back. Not because he was going to obstruct anything effectively, but because he was the one person capable of even making that threat. This is how Mueller, naturally, takes center stage, because he IS a threat to them. This is how functionaries like Bruce Ohr get their turn in the spotlight, because trying to discredit each minor piece of the investigation in order is how they attempt to whitewash the whole thing away as partisan attacks.
And if you are a misogynist, every woman threatens your entire worldview.
posted by delfin at 8:22 AM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
The Republican mantra is very simple: attack, attack, and attack, and focus your attacks on the person whom is in the most threatening position to you, whether they plan on attacking you back or not.
This is how someone like Tom Daschle, whose picture appears in the encyclopedia next to "milquetoast," was briefly The Greatest Threat To American Society a while back. Not because he was going to obstruct anything effectively, but because he was the one person capable of even making that threat. This is how Mueller, naturally, takes center stage, because he IS a threat to them. This is how functionaries like Bruce Ohr get their turn in the spotlight, because trying to discredit each minor piece of the investigation in order is how they attempt to whitewash the whole thing away as partisan attacks.
And if you are a misogynist, every woman threatens your entire worldview.
posted by delfin at 8:22 AM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
To those wondering about Trump's behavior and supposed self-control at last night's rally (and even somewhat this morning); a prediction by noted narcissist-expert @HoarseWisperer:
Ok, with Trump set to take the stage in West Virginia in a mere 90 mins, might as well take a swing at what we might see from him.posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [120 favorites]
The Vegas betting odds have installed "Completely raging like an unhinged lunatic" as the odds-on favorite.
I'm gonna throw a curve though.
I used to write about Trump's narcissistic personality disorder all the time. Back in the day, it was almost eerie how accurately his shtick could be predicted. Folks who have been around my feed for a while can vouch for that...
It has gotten harder though...
...not because Trump has become less predictable. Nope. That dude is the simplest of simple machines. With enough insight into what he's experiencing, he'd be regular as rain.
We just don't have enough of a window anymore. We see too little.
Today though, there's no way he could know more than we know. He had no advanced knowledge of the Manafort verdict. It's unlikely he knew about the Cohen plea.
So, we know what Trump is taking in as new inputs...
While he'd seem likely to rage, like a whole lotta people with NPD, Babyfingers tends to go quiet when he is completely "caught". He freezes. Retreats. Cocoons himself away from scrutiny.
He can't do that on stage obviously...
So, I'd wager he's going to instead focus on distancing himself from Cohen and Manafort.
Narcissists have only two impulses: Seek adoration; avoid shame.
Trump will likely aim to avoid shame by pushing Cohen and Manafort as far away as possible.
I won't be shocked at all to hear Senor Loco dismiss the Cohen and Manafort convictions as having absolutely nothing to do with him...
...and then pivot off that to blaming the media for alleging he's in trouble when those other fellas' problems have nothing to do with him..
My money is on Trump surprising folks.
Look for:
1) A more sedate Trump than expected
2) Effort to distance himself from Cohen/Manafort
3) A show of empathy for only Manafort
4) Insisting "collusion" was the only legitimate accusation Mueller was supposed to investigate
5) Whining about how unfair it is to HIM that Mueller is going after other people who's issues have "nothing to do with him"
6) Insisting that Mueller's investigation is STILL a "Witch Hunt" because it has delivered no proof he "colluded" and is now "spiraling out of control"
Bottom-line: I'm guessing tonight's one-hour crazygram from the dais will mostly be about distancing the narcissist from the shame...
If Trump shows up with a flat affect and way less fire than he usually brings - and everyone expects tonight - somebody owes me beer.
Not exactly news media, but I've spent the week hanging out with a group of fairly lefty refugees and asylum seekers here in Hong Kong. If there's anything asylum seekers tend to have, it's time on their hands to read the news and debate global politics--living as outsiders in a place that's doing its best to criminalize folks seeking refugee status, the personal is unequivocally political--so I've been privy to lots of kibitzing about the situation:
This is an amazing thing to watch, says a Somali friend (who spent much of his life in Dadaab (the refugee camp across the border in Kenya where lots of people have fled to, and still are, because Somalia has no functioning institutions, banks, etc) because it shows less-stable countries how a strong legal system can uphold rule of law and maintain the legitimacy of a democratic state, even in the face of corruption and large-scale criminal behavior. Someone from Ghana is spitballing that this will trigger a new election, because the mounting evidence that the 2016 election was compromised won't leave Pence untainted. A friend from Zimbabwe says this guarantees impeachment, but Pence is worse. Though America is the promised land for asylum seekers in many ways, folks are enormously, rightly, cynical about American foreign policy (esp. because many Muslims here see the way American/western Islamophobia is being leveraged to legitimize state violence against relatively powerless groups--Uighurs, Rohingya, etc), and yet I think there's some worry that American instability will create an even more massive power vacuum for China to step into, at the expense of many of their home countries in Africa.
For what it's worth, these are all guys who follow international news pretty thoughtfully and thoroughly, and understand the big picture situation better than I do. There are a couple Trump supporters (which is frankly baffling to me, and to plenty of their fellow asylum seekers, too), but they haven't chimed in, and also quite a few folks who are just enjoying the salacious political soap opera of it all from afar.
posted by tapir-whorf at 8:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [65 favorites]
For what it's worth, these are all guys who follow international news pretty thoughtfully and thoroughly, and understand the big picture situation better than I do. There are a couple Trump supporters (which is frankly baffling to me, and to plenty of their fellow asylum seekers, too), but they haven't chimed in, and also quite a few folks who are just enjoying the salacious political soap opera of it all from afar.
posted by tapir-whorf at 8:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [65 favorites]
Sen Mazie Hirono continues to be the resistance inspiration we need but don't talk about enough:
@AlexLimonNews
Senator @maxiehirono just told us she will cancel her meeting w Kavanaugh as a result of yesterday's developments. Says she will not extend the courtesy of interviewing a judge for a lifetime appointment, to a President who is an unindicted co-cosnpinator [sic].
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [129 favorites]
@AlexLimonNews
Senator @maxiehirono just told us she will cancel her meeting w Kavanaugh as a result of yesterday's developments. Says she will not extend the courtesy of interviewing a judge for a lifetime appointment, to a President who is an unindicted co-cosnpinator [sic].
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [129 favorites]
Court jester Giuliani aside, attorneys generally pick their words very, very carefully, so...
Not that you're wrong but nearly everyone involved in this story is an attorney.
posted by East14thTaco at 8:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
Not that you're wrong but nearly everyone involved in this story is an attorney.
posted by East14thTaco at 8:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
After thinking about it further, Cook moves CA-50 (Hunter) to Lean R.
I'm still a little skeptical about this one, but I have to admit, Hunter saying, "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" may not play super well in San Diego.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
I'm still a little skeptical about this one, but I have to admit, Hunter saying, "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" may not play super well in San Diego.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
perhaps my own senator was listening to Mazie Hirono's inspiring words:
@SenChuckSchumer
Judge Kavanaugh's refusal to say a POTUS must comply w a duly issued subpoena & Mr Cohen' implication of POTUS in a federal crime make the danger of Kavanaugh's nomination to the SCOTUS abundantly clear.
It's a game changer & Chairman Grassley should delay confirmation hearings
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [94 favorites]
@SenChuckSchumer
Judge Kavanaugh's refusal to say a POTUS must comply w a duly issued subpoena & Mr Cohen' implication of POTUS in a federal crime make the danger of Kavanaugh's nomination to the SCOTUS abundantly clear.
It's a game changer & Chairman Grassley should delay confirmation hearings
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:37 AM on August 22, 2018 [94 favorites]
I did hear Cohen referred to (by a news org!) as "one of Trump's closest lawyers" the way you'd say "one of Emmy Rae's closest friends" for a regular person who isn't a heartless grifting crook.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
@JamesArkin: A sampling of West Virginia front pages this morning (Arkin is a reporter for Politico covering Senate campaigns.)
posted by Going To Maine at 8:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 8:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
On Reddit, much of the discussion about the Klan leader going to prison for firing a gun into a crowd is currently dominated by "but what about the guy with the flamethrower?"
Pretty telling that an AR-15 in a white guy's hands is in no way, shape or form an assault rifle, while a spray can and a lighter in a black guy's hands is definitely a flamethrower.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [41 favorites]
Pretty telling that an AR-15 in a white guy's hands is in no way, shape or form an assault rifle, while a spray can and a lighter in a black guy's hands is definitely a flamethrower.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [41 favorites]
After thinking about it further, Cook moves CA-50 (Hunter) to Lean R. I'm still a little skeptical about this one, but I have to admit, Hunter saying, "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" may not play super well in San Diego.
It also looks like maybe he used the funds for an affair?
It also looks like maybe he used the funds for an affair?
In one instance in January 2010, the congressman allegedly spent more than $1,000 for a three-night stay at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino for what was described as a "personal ski trip" with a person identified in the indictment only as "Individual 14."posted by chris24 at 8:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
The indictment states that in June 2011, Hunter used $162 in campaign funds "for a personal stay at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel with Individual 14."
Look for...Bottom-line: I'm guessing tonight's one-hour crazygram from the dais will mostly be about distancing the narcissist from the shame...
If that really went out before he took the stage, it's pretty damn prescient, which is to say that whatever model of Trump they have in their head, it seems like a usefully predictive approximation of the real thing. That kind of accuracy buys a fair amount of future credibility, in these times when there aren't a whole lot of institutions or individuals with functioning crystal balls.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
If that really went out before he took the stage, it's pretty damn prescient, which is to say that whatever model of Trump they have in their head, it seems like a usefully predictive approximation of the real thing. That kind of accuracy buys a fair amount of future credibility, in these times when there aren't a whole lot of institutions or individuals with functioning crystal balls.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
Same people screaming “they broke the law!” about terrified Central American moms who committed a misdemeanor suddenly not so into “zero tolerance” where law-breaking is concerned.Chris Hayes
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [102 favorites]
HRC is still the monster under conservatives' beds nearly two years after she disappeared from public engagement.
For most of 2005, I worked at an 50,000 watt AM talk station. There was a small collection of conservative hosts of varying stripes, we syndicated Limbaugh, all that. One of the hosts had a no-fooling pre-produced "Hillary Alert!" bumper that he would play before any segment in which he talked about her. My memory is that it consisted of wailing sirens, along with The Imperial Death March, and maybe garbagey clips of her saying things like "vast right-wing conspiracy," shit like that. For a woman who was, at the time, the junior senator from New York! Spoiler alert: we were not in New York.
Clinton Derangement Syndrome is real, and there's a reason that it focuses almost entirely on her.
Hint: it's the pervasive sexism that's a defining characteristic of the republican party
posted by god hates math at 8:44 AM on August 22, 2018 [99 favorites]
For most of 2005, I worked at an 50,000 watt AM talk station. There was a small collection of conservative hosts of varying stripes, we syndicated Limbaugh, all that. One of the hosts had a no-fooling pre-produced "Hillary Alert!" bumper that he would play before any segment in which he talked about her. My memory is that it consisted of wailing sirens, along with The Imperial Death March, and maybe garbagey clips of her saying things like "vast right-wing conspiracy," shit like that. For a woman who was, at the time, the junior senator from New York! Spoiler alert: we were not in New York.
Clinton Derangement Syndrome is real, and there's a reason that it focuses almost entirely on her.
Hint: it's the pervasive sexism that's a defining characteristic of the republican party
posted by god hates math at 8:44 AM on August 22, 2018 [99 favorites]
"I'm still a little skeptical about this one, but I have to admit, Hunter saying, "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" may not play super well in San Diego."
Seriously, someone just needs to put up posters with Hunter's face, that quote and a line that says"I am Duncan Hunter and Isupport this message literally said this." and put them up everywhere in SD.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 8:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
Seriously, someone just needs to put up posters with Hunter's face, that quote and a line that says"I am Duncan Hunter and I
posted by Hairy Lobster at 8:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
joe biden gets civility and well-wishing
The faux expression of concern about Joe Biden's health is straight out of the long game portion of the GOP playbook: frame popular Democrats as suffering from debilitating medical issues to undermine their political campaigns. See also: Hilary, who was always allegedly at death's door while, of course, also fit enough to murder people with her bare hands, dispose of their bodies with no assistance, and then complete a cover-up.
posted by carmicha at 8:52 AM on August 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
The faux expression of concern about Joe Biden's health is straight out of the long game portion of the GOP playbook: frame popular Democrats as suffering from debilitating medical issues to undermine their political campaigns. See also: Hilary, who was always allegedly at death's door while, of course, also fit enough to murder people with her bare hands, dispose of their bodies with no assistance, and then complete a cover-up.
posted by carmicha at 8:52 AM on August 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
See also: Hilary, who was always allegedly at death's door while, of course, also fit enough to murder people with her bear hands, dispose of their bodies with no assistance, and then complete a cover-up.
Obligatory: Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the [Hillary Clinton is] at the same time too strong and too weak.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
Obligatory: Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the [Hillary Clinton is] at the same time too strong and too weak.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
"I'm still a little skeptical about this one, but I have to admit, Hunter saying, "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" may not play super well in San Diego."
Seriously, someone just needs to put up posters with Hunter's face, that quote and a line that says"I am Duncan Hunter and I support this message literally said this." and put them up everywhere in SD.
On the flip side, I know some former Navy dudes and "go fuck yourself" is basically how they say hello.
posted by phearlez at 8:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Seriously, someone just needs to put up posters with Hunter's face, that quote and a line that says"I am Duncan Hunter and I support this message literally said this." and put them up everywhere in SD.
On the flip side, I know some former Navy dudes and "go fuck yourself" is basically how they say hello.
posted by phearlez at 8:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Update: @VaughnHillyard [video]: Kelli Ward tonight on bus tour inclusion of Cernovich, who has said "diversity" is "white genocide": Ward: "Attaching those things to me is ridiculous" NBC: "But you’re inviting him on your bus-" Ward: "We need to have a hook to get you guys interested in seeing the bus tour..."
She knows exactly what she's doing.
Receipts on that: Mike Cernovich's far-right conspiracy theories, bigotry, and association with white supremacists
posted by Artw at 8:56 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
She knows exactly what she's doing.
Receipts on that: Mike Cernovich's far-right conspiracy theories, bigotry, and association with white supremacists
posted by Artw at 8:56 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I grew up in the eastern part of San Diego County with Hunter pere as my congressman, and I don't think the navy comment moves the needle much. Maybe the district has shifted location a bit, but it was composed of the more rural inland parts of the county, and Imperial County, without much navy influence. Plus. San Diego is not the navy-dominated city it once was.
posted by LionIndex at 8:58 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by LionIndex at 8:58 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
from Reuters ...
The longer Trump stays in office, the more acquiescent people he can appoint to key positions. This month, the U.S. military announced a number of new top appointments, all of which will have required presidential approval. Trump’s comments about the Fed rate hike may do little to sway those currently running the Federal Reserve, but they inevitably will shape the views and statements of those who wish to be appointed to it in the future. Trump is also reshaping the bench of the Supreme Court in his favor through his choice of a conservative nominee to replace a retiring judge. Even more important will be developments at the Department of Justice, where Trump has explicitly tried to sideline and undermine those involved in the Mueller probe.
To Trump, these may look like confrontations in which raw political realism outguns legal niceties. He knows removal through impeachment remains unlikely. Even if the Democrats dominate the House of Representatives in November and start the process, they are much less likely to be able to do so in the Senate – which is where any such charges would ultimately be decided.
As long as that remains the case, the more the president is likely to work at exploiting the country’s searing political divide – even as his one-time friends face jail.
posted by philip-random at 9:01 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
The longer Trump stays in office, the more acquiescent people he can appoint to key positions. This month, the U.S. military announced a number of new top appointments, all of which will have required presidential approval. Trump’s comments about the Fed rate hike may do little to sway those currently running the Federal Reserve, but they inevitably will shape the views and statements of those who wish to be appointed to it in the future. Trump is also reshaping the bench of the Supreme Court in his favor through his choice of a conservative nominee to replace a retiring judge. Even more important will be developments at the Department of Justice, where Trump has explicitly tried to sideline and undermine those involved in the Mueller probe.
To Trump, these may look like confrontations in which raw political realism outguns legal niceties. He knows removal through impeachment remains unlikely. Even if the Democrats dominate the House of Representatives in November and start the process, they are much less likely to be able to do so in the Senate – which is where any such charges would ultimately be decided.
As long as that remains the case, the more the president is likely to work at exploiting the country’s searing political divide – even as his one-time friends face jail.
posted by philip-random at 9:01 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
After thinking about it further, Cook moves CA-50 (Hunter) to Lean R.
I'm still a little skeptical about this one, but I have to admit, Hunter saying, "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" may not play super well in San Diego.
Hunter is essentially the top of the ticket for Republicans in CA-50. The gubernatorial race is done (barring calamity) and the U.S. Senate race is between two Democrats. So the only reason Republicans have to bother getting out of the house on November 6th is to support their local Representative. "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" to own the libs probably won't sell too many tickets. Sure, he's going to get the 30-40 percent of his constituents who are yellow-dog vote-every-election Republicans, but how many more than that?
posted by Etrigan at 9:07 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'm still a little skeptical about this one, but I have to admit, Hunter saying, "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" may not play super well in San Diego.
Hunter is essentially the top of the ticket for Republicans in CA-50. The gubernatorial race is done (barring calamity) and the U.S. Senate race is between two Democrats. So the only reason Republicans have to bother getting out of the house on November 6th is to support their local Representative. "Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves" to own the libs probably won't sell too many tickets. Sure, he's going to get the 30-40 percent of his constituents who are yellow-dog vote-every-election Republicans, but how many more than that?
posted by Etrigan at 9:07 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
Someone from Ghana is spitballing that this will trigger a new election, because the mounting evidence that the 2016 election was compromised won't leave Pence untainted.
Except that in the US, there is no mechanism for having Presidential elections outside the 4-year schedule. There is a chain of succession defined down some distance (not quite to the Washington DC municipal dogcatcher, but not too far), to the point where, should circumstances leave it exhausted, not having a President will probably be the least of one's problems.
posted by acb at 9:07 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Except that in the US, there is no mechanism for having Presidential elections outside the 4-year schedule. There is a chain of succession defined down some distance (not quite to the Washington DC municipal dogcatcher, but not too far), to the point where, should circumstances leave it exhausted, not having a President will probably be the least of one's problems.
posted by acb at 9:07 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Hunter was a Marine, so he'll blow off the Navy thing easily enough by saying it's good-natured inter-service rivalry bullshit. That kind of shit can be really gross (see also: "operators" looking down their noses at people in support roles), but it's also widely accepted as normal.
The blithe exploitation of Wounded Warriors for the sake of hiding money is a much bigger hit to the shield of military exceptionalism (which, yes, is also bullshit). From what I know, WW isn't even the cleanest of the vet's orgs. I've seen it called out for focusing more on its image and branding than its charitable work, kind of like Komen or the Red Cross--and yet, much like those charities, it has one of the highest profiles in its fields. Taking advantage of Wounded Warriors like that won't play well at all.
All that said: we've seen time and again how Republicans don't really care about vets, or graft, or really much of anything else if it gets in the way of the racism and sexism. Hard to know how much this stuff moves the needle.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
The blithe exploitation of Wounded Warriors for the sake of hiding money is a much bigger hit to the shield of military exceptionalism (which, yes, is also bullshit). From what I know, WW isn't even the cleanest of the vet's orgs. I've seen it called out for focusing more on its image and branding than its charitable work, kind of like Komen or the Red Cross--and yet, much like those charities, it has one of the highest profiles in its fields. Taking advantage of Wounded Warriors like that won't play well at all.
All that said: we've seen time and again how Republicans don't really care about vets, or graft, or really much of anything else if it gets in the way of the racism and sexism. Hard to know how much this stuff moves the needle.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Economic anxiety.
G. Elliott Morris (Crosstab)
Wow: Our new poll with detailed questions about the N-word:
• 47% (!) of white Trump voters say they would "definitely" or "probably" vote for a POTUS who has used the N-word
• 37% admit to using the word
• Trump voters are 1.6x as likely to use
posted by chris24 at 9:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [53 favorites]
G. Elliott Morris (Crosstab)
Wow: Our new poll with detailed questions about the N-word:
• 47% (!) of white Trump voters say they would "definitely" or "probably" vote for a POTUS who has used the N-word
• 37% admit to using the word
• Trump voters are 1.6x as likely to use
posted by chris24 at 9:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [53 favorites]
Here is Mike Cernovich’s page at the Southern Poverty Law Center site.
He is described as a male supremacist who promotes rape. That is his thing. That is how he rose to prominence. He is an accused rapist who got the charges against him dropped when his lawyer went after his accuser, and he has since made a career out of promoting the punishment, degradation, and hatred of women.
Why this is not enough to illicit outrage is left as an exercise to the reader.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:13 AM on August 22, 2018 [65 favorites]
He is described as a male supremacist who promotes rape. That is his thing. That is how he rose to prominence. He is an accused rapist who got the charges against him dropped when his lawyer went after his accuser, and he has since made a career out of promoting the punishment, degradation, and hatred of women.
Why this is not enough to illicit outrage is left as an exercise to the reader.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:13 AM on August 22, 2018 [65 favorites]
As a reminder, throughout this whole time, Duncan Hunter was making an annual salary of about $175,000 plus benefits.
And yet still needed to embezzle from his campaign to fund his lifestyle.
Meanwhile, his website says "Government does not have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem. Federal spending is out-of-control and must be reduced so the government can live within its means."
posted by melissasaurus at 9:19 AM on August 22, 2018 [64 favorites]
And yet still needed to embezzle from his campaign to fund his lifestyle.
Meanwhile, his website says "Government does not have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem. Federal spending is out-of-control and must be reduced so the government can live within its means."
posted by melissasaurus at 9:19 AM on August 22, 2018 [64 favorites]
After the inclusion of Livin' on the Edge last night at the klan Trump rally, Aerosmith have denounced Trump's usage of it and BMI are pulling the public performance rights from ASCAP.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:23 AM on August 22, 2018 [87 favorites]
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:23 AM on August 22, 2018 [87 favorites]
"Tell the Navy to go fuck themselves"
I can't think of a better way to secure the USMC vote. The only trash talk about the Navy I've ever heard has been from Marines.
posted by mabelstreet at 9:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I can't think of a better way to secure the USMC vote. The only trash talk about the Navy I've ever heard has been from Marines.
posted by mabelstreet at 9:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I saw someone comment somewhere that he was outraged that MSNBC was ignoring the Mollie Tibbets story as if some random local crime was more important than two of the president's aids being convicted.
They don't even care about Mollie. She's just a pawn to whip up the votes.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:36 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
They don't even care about Mollie. She's just a pawn to whip up the votes.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:36 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
Clinton Derangement Syndrome is real, and there's a reason that it focuses almost entirely on her.
I was driving through Ohio, real nowhere towns with maybe a church, grain silo, and bowling alley, and came across this huge homemade sign on some farmland reading HILLARYNEVER. This was in the mid-nineties. It wouldn't have occurred to many people she might run for president one day.
I really underestimated the degree to which she had been demonized over the decades since. I think for a lot of Republicans nominating Hillary was like nominating the devil.
Personally, I was crushed by her loss. I really believed she was going to be one of the best presidents of all time. She's a fighter, a lot less middle of the road than people think, and her experience meant she would be up and running on day one, hard.
posted by xammerboy at 9:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [81 favorites]
I was driving through Ohio, real nowhere towns with maybe a church, grain silo, and bowling alley, and came across this huge homemade sign on some farmland reading HILLARYNEVER. This was in the mid-nineties. It wouldn't have occurred to many people she might run for president one day.
I really underestimated the degree to which she had been demonized over the decades since. I think for a lot of Republicans nominating Hillary was like nominating the devil.
Personally, I was crushed by her loss. I really believed she was going to be one of the best presidents of all time. She's a fighter, a lot less middle of the road than people think, and her experience meant she would be up and running on day one, hard.
posted by xammerboy at 9:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [81 favorites]
Breaking: DNC calls FBI after detecting attempt to hack its voter database (CNN)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
I really wish I’d have gone to school to study network security, I’d love to be working for a campaign right now helping them out with their security issues, or doing forensics.
posted by gucci mane at 9:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 9:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
gucci mane, the very good Risky Business infosec podcast should be posting a new interview with Bob Lord today or tomorrow, described thusly:
posted by wenestvedt at 10:02 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I do have a feature interview this week, but it’s a long one so I’ll be breaking that out in to a separate podcast. It’s a nice long chat with Bob Lord, the CSO for the Democratic National Committee.It was recorded just a few days ago, and I am looking forward to this one!
You know, the guy who hid “the server”.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:02 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I saw someone comment somewhere that he was outraged that MSNBC was ignoring the Mollie Tibbets story as if some random local crime was more important than two of the president's aids being convicted.
They don't even care about Mollie. She's just a pawn to whip up the votes.
Like in a Wag The Dog scenario?
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:08 AM on August 22, 2018
They don't even care about Mollie. She's just a pawn to whip up the votes.
Like in a Wag The Dog scenario?
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:08 AM on August 22, 2018
Trump: “Justice” took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him
Manafort was convicted on five counts of filing fraudulent tax returns in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Trump: "Math is hard".
The statute of limitations for IRS audits is normally three years, but in cases in which more than 25% of income in omitted, that limitation extends to six years.
The six years is from the date of filing the return. Manafort's 2010 return would have been filed in 2011 and six years gets you to 2017, which apparently is when the IRS audits began. I suspect the IRS is also currently looking very closely at 2015, 2016 and 2017.
posted by JackFlash at 10:11 AM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
Manafort was convicted on five counts of filing fraudulent tax returns in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Trump: "Math is hard".
The statute of limitations for IRS audits is normally three years, but in cases in which more than 25% of income in omitted, that limitation extends to six years.
The six years is from the date of filing the return. Manafort's 2010 return would have been filed in 2011 and six years gets you to 2017, which apparently is when the IRS audits began. I suspect the IRS is also currently looking very closely at 2015, 2016 and 2017.
posted by JackFlash at 10:11 AM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
More Cook ratings moves:
AK-AL (Young) | Solid R => Likely R
IA-04 (King) | Solid R => Likely R
posted by Chrysostom at 10:12 AM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
AK-AL (Young) | Solid R => Likely R
IA-04 (King) | Solid R => Likely R
posted by Chrysostom at 10:12 AM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
47% (!) of white Trump voters say they would "definitely" or "probably" vote for a POTUS who has used the N-word
"You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables."
posted by zombieflanders at 10:13 AM on August 22, 2018 [114 favorites]
"You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables."
posted by zombieflanders at 10:13 AM on August 22, 2018 [114 favorites]
The indictment states that in June 2011, Hunter used $162 in campaign funds "for a personal stay at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel with Individual 14."
Who knew there was a Liaison Capital Hill hotel in DC? But of course there is.
posted by JackFlash at 10:15 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Who knew there was a Liaison Capital Hill hotel in DC? But of course there is.
posted by JackFlash at 10:15 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Watch ‘The Wire’ to Understand the Mueller Investigation - Nancy Letourneau, Washington Monthly
Trump’s enablers would have you believe that their use of the word “collusion” applies to the investigation, which is a “witch hunt” that needs to be shut down immediately. In the first season of The Wire, while Avon Barksdale wound up pleading guilty to a small offense and went to prison for a short time (leaving his operation to be run by his deputy Stringer Bell), powerful people in the police department shut down the whole investigation before it damaged any elected officials.posted by ZeusHumms at 10:16 AM on August 22, 2018 [25 favorites]
I highly recommend that you watch (or re-watch) the first season of The Wire and keep in mind the analogy to the following players in our real-life drama.We’ll have to wait and see if Mueller meets the same fate in his investigation.
- Avon Barksdale is Vladimir Putin
- Lt. Cedric Daniels (who is in charge of the Barksdale investigation) is Robert Mueller
- Detective Jim McNulty is the (sometimes rogue) James Comey
- Detective Lester Freeman is Christopher Steele
- Senator Clay Davis is Donald Trump
- Deputy Police Commissioner Ervin Burrell represents all of Trump’s congressional enablers
Six Big Questions After the Cohen and Manafort Bombshells
At least two separate criminal conspiracies helped elect Donald Trump president in 2016, one executed by the Russian government, another by Trump’s personal lawyer.posted by kirkaracha at 10:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
The questions now are how many different crimes aided the president—and how closely and personally involved was Donald Trump himself?
- How long does Paul Manafort go to prison?
- What will Michael Cohen say?
- What happens next with “Individual-1”?
- Where does Robert Mueller go next?
- What other investigations—and crimes—are out there that we don’t know about?
- When does this cross over from the courts to politics?
I think it's important to note that the question they asked is not "would you continue to support a presidential candidate who used the N-word." There is no textual implication in the question that the candidate has a platform other than racial slurs, and yet 47% of white respondents said "yep, that sounds like someone I'd vote for."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
IA-04 (King) | Solid R => Likely R
Horrible, scummy racist King's opponent in IA-04 is JD Scholten, who is running a campaign I'd call Wellstonian. He drives an RV all over the district, stopping in towns and talking to anyone that will talk to him. Keep an eye on that one, a King loss would be so utterly fantastic.
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:19 AM on August 22, 2018 [37 favorites]
Horrible, scummy racist King's opponent in IA-04 is JD Scholten, who is running a campaign I'd call Wellstonian. He drives an RV all over the district, stopping in towns and talking to anyone that will talk to him. Keep an eye on that one, a King loss would be so utterly fantastic.
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:19 AM on August 22, 2018 [37 favorites]
Detective Jim McNulty is the (sometimes rogue) James Comey
Enormous asshole narcissist with terrible judgement inexplicably viewed by many as a protagonist, checks out.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:22 AM on August 22, 2018 [52 favorites]
Enormous asshole narcissist with terrible judgement inexplicably viewed by many as a protagonist, checks out.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:22 AM on August 22, 2018 [52 favorites]
If that really went out before he took the stage, it's pretty damn prescient, which is to say that whatever model of Trump they have in their head, it seems like a usefully predictive approximation of the real thing. That kind of accuracy buys a fair amount of future credibility, in these times when there aren't a whole lot of institutions or individuals with functioning crystal balls.
I don't know if it's the same person, but back in 2016 there was a poster on SomethingAwful who laid out a really good case for Trump having NPD, and she made many predictions about his behavior which later came true.
I think we can stop short of literally armchair diagnosing Trump with NPD, while still taking into consideration that it's proven over time to be a pretty good model for comparison.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:22 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
I don't know if it's the same person, but back in 2016 there was a poster on SomethingAwful who laid out a really good case for Trump having NPD, and she made many predictions about his behavior which later came true.
I think we can stop short of literally armchair diagnosing Trump with NPD, while still taking into consideration that it's proven over time to be a pretty good model for comparison.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:22 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
We just arrived in the UK - literally the first conversation we had with someone not employed in transport quickly segued to "What the hell is going on with Trump!?"
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:24 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:24 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Someone from Ghana is spitballing that this will trigger a new election, because the mounting evidence that the 2016 election was compromised won't leave Pence untainted.
Not a bad prediction for another country's system of government, but in the United States it would absolutely, 100% require a constitutional amendment to hold a new election. We have no 'trigger' for non-standard-interval presidential elections built into the system as it currently exists.
A constitutional amendment to change this would require the support of 38 of the 50 states -- almost twice the number of states that Hillary Clinton won. And I don't want to know what awful shit would need to happen to make 18 Trump states vote to have a new election, but it hasn't come close to happening yet.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:30 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
Not a bad prediction for another country's system of government, but in the United States it would absolutely, 100% require a constitutional amendment to hold a new election. We have no 'trigger' for non-standard-interval presidential elections built into the system as it currently exists.
A constitutional amendment to change this would require the support of 38 of the 50 states -- almost twice the number of states that Hillary Clinton won. And I don't want to know what awful shit would need to happen to make 18 Trump states vote to have a new election, but it hasn't come close to happening yet.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:30 AM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
It would take Trump on a live mic repudiating his own base, laughing about how of course he was never going to get the fucking Wall built, he doesn't really give a rat's ass about Hillary's alleged crimes or border security or The Swamp, and this was all one huge scam to slash tax rates for billionaires and keep his Russian debt-holders from breaking his legs.
His base would just say it wasn't Trump saying those things but Obama or Hillary in a Trump suit or Democrats paid that woman in Spain who resembles him to fool them. Unfortunately for the Democrats, they underestimated the intelligence of Trump's base who saw right through that conspiracy!
posted by juiceCake at 10:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
His base would just say it wasn't Trump saying those things but Obama or Hillary in a Trump suit or Democrats paid that woman in Spain who resembles him to fool them. Unfortunately for the Democrats, they underestimated the intelligence of Trump's base who saw right through that conspiracy!
posted by juiceCake at 10:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
Huh.
To date, the implementation of the Presidential Succession Act has never been necessary and no Speaker has ever acted as President. Implementation of the law almost became necessary in 1973 after the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew.
posted by Artw at 10:34 AM on August 22, 2018
To date, the implementation of the Presidential Succession Act has never been necessary and no Speaker has ever acted as President. Implementation of the law almost became necessary in 1973 after the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew.
posted by Artw at 10:34 AM on August 22, 2018
Trump has taken to the comfortable confines of Fox News for an interview that airs tomorrow morning (lots of time to edit), and they're releasing clips. Asked if the press is the enemy of the people, he says "no, not at all, but the fake news is" and says the fake news is 80% of the press. He goes on to say that only the 20% reports stuff he does well and the New York Times is "crazed. They're like lunatics."
Also, this interview has some of the worst audio I've heard for a broadcast network. Why did they do this outside surrounded by crickets?
posted by zachlipton at 10:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also, this interview has some of the worst audio I've heard for a broadcast network. Why did they do this outside surrounded by crickets?
posted by zachlipton at 10:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
The statute of limitations for IRS audits is normally three years, but in cases in which more than 25% of income in omitted, that limitation extends to six years.
The six years is from the date of filing the return. Manafort's 2010 return would have been filed in 2011 and six years gets you to 2017, which apparently is when the IRS audits began. I suspect the IRS is also currently looking very closely at 2015, 2016 and 2017.
The statute of limitations for this case works in a slightly different manner, though 6 years is the correct duration. The 3 year SoL (6 years for substantial understatement) relates to the time that the IRS has to assess the tax due -- that is, tell Manafort that he had a tax liability for that year of $XYZ not $ABC. Then, they would have the duration of the statute of limitations on collection of an assessment (10 years) to pursue that liability through garnishment, foreclosure, etc. All of that may also be happening behind the scenes; we wouldn't necessarily know about it.
In his criminal case, he was found guilty of subscribing to false returns under IRC 7206, a criminal charge, which has a statute of limitations of six years from the date of the offense. The date of the offense may be the return filing date, but could be a later date if there was a multiyear evasion scheme and/or any amended returns were filed. It's possible that, for some of the earlier years, he's outside the SoL for assessment but not for criminal charges.
Also, I believe for assessment, collection, and criminal tax offenses, the SoL is tolled while the offender is outside of the United States.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
The six years is from the date of filing the return. Manafort's 2010 return would have been filed in 2011 and six years gets you to 2017, which apparently is when the IRS audits began. I suspect the IRS is also currently looking very closely at 2015, 2016 and 2017.
The statute of limitations for this case works in a slightly different manner, though 6 years is the correct duration. The 3 year SoL (6 years for substantial understatement) relates to the time that the IRS has to assess the tax due -- that is, tell Manafort that he had a tax liability for that year of $XYZ not $ABC. Then, they would have the duration of the statute of limitations on collection of an assessment (10 years) to pursue that liability through garnishment, foreclosure, etc. All of that may also be happening behind the scenes; we wouldn't necessarily know about it.
In his criminal case, he was found guilty of subscribing to false returns under IRC 7206, a criminal charge, which has a statute of limitations of six years from the date of the offense. The date of the offense may be the return filing date, but could be a later date if there was a multiyear evasion scheme and/or any amended returns were filed. It's possible that, for some of the earlier years, he's outside the SoL for assessment but not for criminal charges.
Also, I believe for assessment, collection, and criminal tax offenses, the SoL is tolled while the offender is outside of the United States.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump: “Justice” took a 12 year old tax case,
Unless there was some evidence in the case about something Manafort did in 2006 (in which case, the statute of limitations analysis would apply), I think Trump's Mirror just let us know that we should take a look at what Trump was doing with banks and taxes in 2006.
posted by mabelstreet at 10:48 AM on August 22, 2018 [72 favorites]
Unless there was some evidence in the case about something Manafort did in 2006 (in which case, the statute of limitations analysis would apply), I think Trump's Mirror just let us know that we should take a look at what Trump was doing with banks and taxes in 2006.
posted by mabelstreet at 10:48 AM on August 22, 2018 [72 favorites]
Overnight overseas friends, I am very curious how non-US media is reporting and analyzing all this, if any of you want to share links or a general sense of how your local media is taking it on and what they're emphasizing, shocked by, etc.
Here in Denmark, it's on all the front-pages including the public service radio tv and radio but except for one of the tabloids. Maybe there has been a time-zone delay. Generally there seems to be sort of a numbness, but the most right wing paper asks How is one supposed to imagine a USA after Trump. They seem genuinely shocked.
posted by mumimor at 10:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Here in Denmark, it's on all the front-pages including the public service radio tv and radio but except for one of the tabloids. Maybe there has been a time-zone delay. Generally there seems to be sort of a numbness, but the most right wing paper asks How is one supposed to imagine a USA after Trump. They seem genuinely shocked.
posted by mumimor at 10:49 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
2006 was at the time of his affair with Daniels. It's possible he's confusing the crimes of his henchmen.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 10:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [31 favorites]
47% (!) of white Trump voters say they would "definitely" or "probably" vote for a POTUS who has used the N-word
I get the comments about this being another index of his deplorables' deplorableness, but on the other hand, this is by far the biggest dent I've seen in his blind support. If 53% of White Trump Supporters are less than "probably vote" (even acknowledging a residual shame to tell a pollster that) then I think it is a vaguely silver lining on a very dark cloud.
posted by Rumple at 10:57 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
I get the comments about this being another index of his deplorables' deplorableness, but on the other hand, this is by far the biggest dent I've seen in his blind support. If 53% of White Trump Supporters are less than "probably vote" (even acknowledging a residual shame to tell a pollster that) then I think it is a vaguely silver lining on a very dark cloud.
posted by Rumple at 10:57 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
There really needs to be more pressure on Fox as a company. What they're doing isn't right, and there needs to be active, organized pressure on their parent company and major shareholders and partners.
posted by cell divide at 10:58 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by cell divide at 10:58 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
We need someone to hold Paul Ryan's feet to the fire. So far, he's put out a statement through a spokesperson that "We will need more information than is currently available at this point". What more information could they need?
posted by frogmanjack at 11:04 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by frogmanjack at 11:04 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Information like "how to throw this asshole out and not be stabbed in the street by angry MAGA hatters."
posted by delfin at 11:05 AM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by delfin at 11:05 AM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
> "We will need more information than is currently available at this point".
This is the grown-up version of how my sister would tell her young children that something would arrive or occur "after later."
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:09 AM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
This is the grown-up version of how my sister would tell her young children that something would arrive or occur "after later."
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:09 AM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
That's my first question, when I heard about, was -- did they come out of the campaign? Because that could be a little dicey. And they didn't come out of the campaign, and that's -- it's not even a campaign violation!
Leon Wolf, of The Blaze, via twitter: By the way Trump has this exactly backwards. The fact that Cohens repayment didnt come out of campaign funds (and thus wasn't reported) is exaclty what turns this into a knowing (criminal) violation rather than a civil one. Will have more on this soon.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [33 favorites]
Leon Wolf, of The Blaze, via twitter: By the way Trump has this exactly backwards. The fact that Cohens repayment didnt come out of campaign funds (and thus wasn't reported) is exaclty what turns this into a knowing (criminal) violation rather than a civil one. Will have more on this soon.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [33 favorites]
Mother Jones, Hannah Levintova, The Trump Official Overseeing Migrant Girls’ Health Care Once Wrote He Couldn’t “Support Abortion for Any Reason”: When a woman Scott Lloyd slept with got pregnant, he took her to get an abortion. Now he’s on a crusade to stop migrants from having their own.
Scott Lloyd’s anti-abortion crusade began when, as a young man, he found himself faced with a partner’s unexpected pregnancy. Many years later, Lloyd would take his battle to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, where, as its leader since March 2017, he has personally intervened to block teenage migrants in federal custody, including at least one rape victim, from accessing abortions. But it was that summer day long ago that made him decide abortion is wrong under all circumstances, including rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at risk. When asked about his plans for the day, he said he was going fishing; instead, he drove the young woman he had gotten pregnant to get the abortion he disagreed with. Years later, as a first-year law student at Catholic University, he described this formative experience in anguished detail in a class assignment provided to Mother Jones by a classmate and confirmed by seven others.posted by zachlipton at 11:10 AM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
“The truth about abortion,” he wrote, “is that my first child is dead, and no woman, man, Supreme Court, or government—NOBODY—has the right to tell me that she doesn’t belong here.”
Today, after a career spent harnessing the law to restrict abortion access, Lloyd oversees the lives of nearly 12,000 migrants under the age of 18, most of whom were detained after crossing the border without proper papers. As their legal guardian, the Office of Refugee Resettlement is charged with housing them in federally funded shelters and providing them with health care, including reproductive services. Under both the Bush and Obama administrations, ORR routinely permitted abortions sought by undocumented teens who obtained private funding for the procedure. But after President Donald Trump appointed Lloyd to lead the agency last spring, he quickly changed this longstanding policy, requiring any teenager in ORR’s custody seeking to terminate a pregnancy to get his direct approval.
Leon Wolf, of The Blaze, via twitter ... a knowing (criminal) violation
Huh. What're the odds I'll see rightwing clickbait viral videos on Facebook from the Blaze explaining this over the next few days? Because right now their page is all "MSNBC downplays murdering immigrants" and "Increasing minimum wage hurts businesses"
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Huh. What're the odds I'll see rightwing clickbait viral videos on Facebook from the Blaze explaining this over the next few days? Because right now their page is all "MSNBC downplays murdering immigrants" and "Increasing minimum wage hurts businesses"
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:18 AM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Not a bad prediction for another country's system of government, but in the United States it would absolutely, 100% require a constitutional amendment to hold a new election. We have no 'trigger' for non-standard-interval presidential elections built into the system as it currently exists.
We don't need a new election. There was a clear, non-fraudulent winner in 2016.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:21 AM on August 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
We don't need a new election. There was a clear, non-fraudulent winner in 2016.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:21 AM on August 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
Information like "how to throw this asshole out and not be stabbed in the street by angry MAGA hatters."
At this point, it's on us leftist-agitator-types to make it a huge political liability NOT to throw this asshole out. Ryan doesn't care because he's retiring, but we need to make it painfully obvious to GOP leadership that Democrats are going to run ads accusing them of fiddling while Rome burns if they refuse to act after the president is clearly implicated as a co-conspirator. I'll happily throw money to any superPAC that promises to run those ads in competitive districts.
posted by Mayor West at 11:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
At this point, it's on us leftist-agitator-types to make it a huge political liability NOT to throw this asshole out. Ryan doesn't care because he's retiring, but we need to make it painfully obvious to GOP leadership that Democrats are going to run ads accusing them of fiddling while Rome burns if they refuse to act after the president is clearly implicated as a co-conspirator. I'll happily throw money to any superPAC that promises to run those ads in competitive districts.
posted by Mayor West at 11:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
We don't need a new election. There was a clear, non-fraudulent winner in 2016.
That's just not how it works. It doesn't matter what's right or fair - we have a really specific set of legal rules for presidential elections, and according to those rules, Trump won the election, and there is no existing legal method for contesting that result.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
That's just not how it works. It doesn't matter what's right or fair - we have a really specific set of legal rules for presidential elections, and according to those rules, Trump won the election, and there is no existing legal method for contesting that result.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:25 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
If I'm not mistaken, that thing about "it can't be a campaign violation because it didn't come from campaign funds" is something that Giuliani was saying a few weeks (months? who knows? time no longer has meaning) ago on the Sunday talk shows. Also, we probably don't need to reiterate that this line of reasoning is on par with "a husband and wife can't be tried for the same crime" level of legal argument. The worst fuckin' attorneys.
posted by mhum at 11:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mhum at 11:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
What you have to understand Ainsley -- what he did -- and they weren't taken out of campaign finance, that's a big thing, that's a much bigger thing, that they didn't come out of the campaign, they didn't come out of the campaign, they came from me
The campaign fund has nothing to do with the crime. Trump is just throwing dust in the eyes of the public.
There are two crimes that Cohen pleaded to. The first is an illegal corporate contribution. This is related to Cohen coordinating with the publisher of the National Enquirer to pay off Karen McDougal to kill her story. That is an illegal corporate contribution and both Cohen and Trump were in on the arrangement, hence the conspiracy.
The second crime was Cohen's payoff of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels from his personal account. This is an illegal excessive contribution, that is, greater than the allowed $2700. Whether Trump later reimbursed Cohen for this contribution is irrelevant. It was an illegal campaign contribution and coordinated with Trump.
None of this money, as far as alleged, came from the Trump campaign. It doesn't matter. It was still illegal. And Trump conspired with the contributors of these illegal contributions.
posted by JackFlash at 11:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [62 favorites]
The campaign fund has nothing to do with the crime. Trump is just throwing dust in the eyes of the public.
There are two crimes that Cohen pleaded to. The first is an illegal corporate contribution. This is related to Cohen coordinating with the publisher of the National Enquirer to pay off Karen McDougal to kill her story. That is an illegal corporate contribution and both Cohen and Trump were in on the arrangement, hence the conspiracy.
The second crime was Cohen's payoff of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels from his personal account. This is an illegal excessive contribution, that is, greater than the allowed $2700. Whether Trump later reimbursed Cohen for this contribution is irrelevant. It was an illegal campaign contribution and coordinated with Trump.
None of this money, as far as alleged, came from the Trump campaign. It doesn't matter. It was still illegal. And Trump conspired with the contributors of these illegal contributions.
posted by JackFlash at 11:26 AM on August 22, 2018 [62 favorites]
We don't need a new election. There was a clear, non-fraudulent winner in 2016.
Yeahhhh....no. Unless you really, truly look forward to actual blood in the streets, you do not want the courts removing Trump and ensconcing Clinton in the Oval Office, given the current political climate. Shit would absolutely hit the fan.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Yeahhhh....no. Unless you really, truly look forward to actual blood in the streets, you do not want the courts removing Trump and ensconcing Clinton in the Oval Office, given the current political climate. Shit would absolutely hit the fan.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
We don't need a new election. There was a clear, non-fraudulent winner in 2016.
That's just not how it works. It doesn't matter what's right or fair - we have a really specific set of legal rules for presidential elections, and according to those rules, Trump won the election, and there is no existing legal method for contesting that result.
Yeah, the remedy is impeaching Trump, and possibly Pence and having a caretaker administration maintain the US until a new presidential election comes around. It's not the most flexible system, but it does offer clarity . . . as long as someone is willing to impeach and remove a criminal.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:28 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
That's just not how it works. It doesn't matter what's right or fair - we have a really specific set of legal rules for presidential elections, and according to those rules, Trump won the election, and there is no existing legal method for contesting that result.
Yeah, the remedy is impeaching Trump, and possibly Pence and having a caretaker administration maintain the US until a new presidential election comes around. It's not the most flexible system, but it does offer clarity . . . as long as someone is willing to impeach and remove a criminal.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:28 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
On legal precedent for elections, it sounds like we need a Marbury v Madison type ruling.
posted by Slackermagee at 11:32 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Slackermagee at 11:32 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Hillary getting appointed president is about as likely as Hillary getting indicted for Qanon storm cheese pizza and merits the same amount of discussion here
posted by theodolite at 11:33 AM on August 22, 2018 [88 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 11:33 AM on August 22, 2018 [88 favorites]
Re: Duncan Hunter. I don't think the Navy remark will matter.
The old story was that it was his wife (his former campaign manager) who was at fault, charging expenses to the wrong accounts. Now they've both been indicted. If he doesn't divorce her, the new story will be Hunter's alcohol addiction and untreated PTSD. (Which he denied, like six months ago, but back then he was in denial.) He'd seek treatment to try to salvage the family political "dynasty." (I don't think two generations qualify, but that's how they're trying to sell it; Hunter Sr. weathered a lesser finance-related scandal, over kiting checks, in 1992.)
(I'm contacting my rep to ask that rep to clearly support Hunter's opponent, the Obama-alum, Latino-Arab-American Democrat, Ammar Campo-Najjar.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
The old story was that it was his wife (his former campaign manager) who was at fault, charging expenses to the wrong accounts. Now they've both been indicted. If he doesn't divorce her, the new story will be Hunter's alcohol addiction and untreated PTSD. (Which he denied, like six months ago, but back then he was in denial.) He'd seek treatment to try to salvage the family political "dynasty." (I don't think two generations qualify, but that's how they're trying to sell it; Hunter Sr. weathered a lesser finance-related scandal, over kiting checks, in 1992.)
(I'm contacting my rep to ask that rep to clearly support Hunter's opponent, the Obama-alum, Latino-Arab-American Democrat, Ammar Campo-Najjar.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:34 AM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
We've gone over "the election was invalid" shit many many times in these threads. There's no new information that invalidates the election results in anything that's happened recently, so can we not?
posted by runcibleshaw at 11:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 11:35 AM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
From zachlipton earlier: Asked if the press is the enemy of the people, he says "no, not at all, but the fake news is" and says the fake news is 80% of the press.
From a Pacific Standard article by Jared Keller: There's plenty of evidence to suggest Trump won't just survive Michael Cohen's testimony—he'll thrive.
... when it comes to party die-hards, crying "fake news" is a far more politically effective response than an admission of guilt. And there's little reason to think the "fake news" response will land on deaf ears. Seventy-seven percent of Americans believe that major broadcast and print outlets report fake news "at least occasionally," according to an April poll from Monmouth University, up from 63 percent in 2017. What's more, the Monmouth poll found that the most significant increases in skepticism regarding conventional media since Trump entered office came from Independents (16 percent) and Democrats (18 percent)—not Republicans (10 percent).
Trump's impulse to attack the media isn't just about finding a scapegoat; the fake news canard hinges on epistemic chaos, on taking Americans' already-fragile trust in public institutions and driving a stake through whatever remains. Trump's assault on the media as "the enemy of the people" has always been built "on an assault on reality, a national gaslighting that has wrought epistemic chaos among what was supposed to be an informed citizenry," as I wrote back in April.
"No society works if people don't speak the same moral and ethical language, if they can't find a way to communicate—and, more importantly, if they don't trust each other." Trump's immediate comment on Manafort's conviction—"this is a witch hunt and it's a disgrace"—reveals a long-term strategy to effectively gaslight his way to innocence in the eyes of his base, despite a mountain of evidence.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
From a Pacific Standard article by Jared Keller: There's plenty of evidence to suggest Trump won't just survive Michael Cohen's testimony—he'll thrive.
... when it comes to party die-hards, crying "fake news" is a far more politically effective response than an admission of guilt. And there's little reason to think the "fake news" response will land on deaf ears. Seventy-seven percent of Americans believe that major broadcast and print outlets report fake news "at least occasionally," according to an April poll from Monmouth University, up from 63 percent in 2017. What's more, the Monmouth poll found that the most significant increases in skepticism regarding conventional media since Trump entered office came from Independents (16 percent) and Democrats (18 percent)—not Republicans (10 percent).
Trump's impulse to attack the media isn't just about finding a scapegoat; the fake news canard hinges on epistemic chaos, on taking Americans' already-fragile trust in public institutions and driving a stake through whatever remains. Trump's assault on the media as "the enemy of the people" has always been built "on an assault on reality, a national gaslighting that has wrought epistemic chaos among what was supposed to be an informed citizenry," as I wrote back in April.
"No society works if people don't speak the same moral and ethical language, if they can't find a way to communicate—and, more importantly, if they don't trust each other." Trump's immediate comment on Manafort's conviction—"this is a witch hunt and it's a disgrace"—reveals a long-term strategy to effectively gaslight his way to innocence in the eyes of his base, despite a mountain of evidence.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
@ddale8: Sarah Sanders introduces what I think is a new defence, saying twice that "no charges" have been filed against Trump. Interesting because it's likely that no charges will ever be filed while he's in office no matter what investigators find.
I like how they've twisted their defense (Trump can't be charged) into evidence of innocence (he hasn't been charged).
When asked if Trump lied to the American people, Sanders responded "That's a ridiculous accusation," despite his admission today to Fox News that boils down to the fact that he lied when he was previously asked about the payments. Asked to reconcile this a few times, Sanders repeatedly reads off: "Trump has done nothing wrong, there are no charges against him, there is no collusion."
posted by zachlipton at 11:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
I like how they've twisted their defense (Trump can't be charged) into evidence of innocence (he hasn't been charged).
When asked if Trump lied to the American people, Sanders responded "That's a ridiculous accusation," despite his admission today to Fox News that boils down to the fact that he lied when he was previously asked about the payments. Asked to reconcile this a few times, Sanders repeatedly reads off: "Trump has done nothing wrong, there are no charges against him, there is no collusion."
posted by zachlipton at 11:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
Hillary getting appointed president is about as likely as Hillary getting indicted for Qanon storm cheese pizza and merits the same amount of discussion here
There's definitely a nonzero chance of Hillary being indicted on bogus conspiracy-theory-related charges in the future (see: Putin planting child pornography on enemies' computers to get them locked up). So maybe not the best comparison.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
There's definitely a nonzero chance of Hillary being indicted on bogus conspiracy-theory-related charges in the future (see: Putin planting child pornography on enemies' computers to get them locked up). So maybe not the best comparison.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Here in Denmark, it's on all the front-pages including the public service radio tv and radio but except for one of the tabloids. Maybe there has been a time-zone delay. Generally there seems to be sort of a numbness, but the most right wing paper asks How is one supposed to imagine a USA after Trump. They seem genuinely shocked.
I read this article in Google Translate, and I think it's worth a look. Highlights:
The problem is that Trump's method requires a radicality that must be constantly driven. Standstill is the beginning of a decline. Trump must constantly sharpen its contempt for institutions and people who do not give up his whims in violence if the strategy is to work. Continuously, those who have predicted that now-now-now he can not drive himself further, taken inside. It actually makes the president constant.
Later:
It follows that no one yet has an overview of the damage caused by the Trump regime to the political principles and bearing institutions in the world's only superpower. Trump has only been sitting for a year and unless he is judged in an empire case [impeached?], the army can continue for years. How is the dignity and viability of the different democratic bodies of the United States democracy re-established after Trump?
It's also not done with Trump. He still has solid support in the constituency of his course and his shape. His method is also polarization, and the American population is as divided as ever. How should a successor knock the deep cuts that are struck?
There is only history to comfort. The magnificent US has overcome major crises in the past.
('Magnificent' was translated from the word 'storslåede' - I'm curious whether that word has as positive a connotation as 'magnificent' does in English, or whether it's closer to something like 'formidable.')
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
I read this article in Google Translate, and I think it's worth a look. Highlights:
The problem is that Trump's method requires a radicality that must be constantly driven. Standstill is the beginning of a decline. Trump must constantly sharpen its contempt for institutions and people who do not give up his whims in violence if the strategy is to work. Continuously, those who have predicted that now-now-now he can not drive himself further, taken inside. It actually makes the president constant.
Later:
It follows that no one yet has an overview of the damage caused by the Trump regime to the political principles and bearing institutions in the world's only superpower. Trump has only been sitting for a year and unless he is judged in an empire case [impeached?], the army can continue for years. How is the dignity and viability of the different democratic bodies of the United States democracy re-established after Trump?
It's also not done with Trump. He still has solid support in the constituency of his course and his shape. His method is also polarization, and the American population is as divided as ever. How should a successor knock the deep cuts that are struck?
There is only history to comfort. The magnificent US has overcome major crises in the past.
('Magnificent' was translated from the word 'storslåede' - I'm curious whether that word has as positive a connotation as 'magnificent' does in English, or whether it's closer to something like 'formidable.')
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:39 AM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Re: Mollie Tibbets being the most important story in the world.
~ 3 women are killed every day by their domestic partner, with no The_Donald fanfare at all. My condolences to the family but the reporting on this is pure one-minute-immigrant-hate propaganda.
posted by benzenedream at 11:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [76 favorites]
~ 3 women are killed every day by their domestic partner, with no The_Donald fanfare at all. My condolences to the family but the reporting on this is pure one-minute-immigrant-hate propaganda.
posted by benzenedream at 11:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [76 favorites]
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on whether the President lied when he said that he knew nothing about the Karen McDougal payment (something the President's lawyer Giuliani has repeatedly admitted, and regarding which the President's former lawyer Cohen just pleaded guilty): "I think that's a ridiculous accusation".
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:40 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
That Mother Jones article on Scott Lloyd is horrifying.
In one case before Lloyd was formally ORR’s director, a shelter halted a medication abortion halfway through at the agency’s request while Lloyd conferred with colleagues about deploying a scientifically unproven method to, as Lloyd recounted in a deposition on the case, “reverse” the abortion to “save the life of the baby.” (After being taken to an emergency room at the direction of Lloyd and another staffer to check for a fetal heartbeat, the girl received her second dose.)
This is torture. How have we gotten to the point where medical decisions are made on the basis of a stranger's misguided guilt?
Also, from his essay:
It doesn’t speak highly of women to assume that they can’t handle the pressures of being a mother, and that they need a procedure that is so directly opposed to femininity. Ask any of the female deans or professors at our school how much abortion was a factor in their success as a female professional. Ask them if having a child spelled mental and financial ruin. I sort of doubt that abortion was a key step on their path to success.
Dude, you know nothing. If you actually listened to women your dumb little mind would be blown.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 11:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [68 favorites]
In one case before Lloyd was formally ORR’s director, a shelter halted a medication abortion halfway through at the agency’s request while Lloyd conferred with colleagues about deploying a scientifically unproven method to, as Lloyd recounted in a deposition on the case, “reverse” the abortion to “save the life of the baby.” (After being taken to an emergency room at the direction of Lloyd and another staffer to check for a fetal heartbeat, the girl received her second dose.)
This is torture. How have we gotten to the point where medical decisions are made on the basis of a stranger's misguided guilt?
Also, from his essay:
It doesn’t speak highly of women to assume that they can’t handle the pressures of being a mother, and that they need a procedure that is so directly opposed to femininity. Ask any of the female deans or professors at our school how much abortion was a factor in their success as a female professional. Ask them if having a child spelled mental and financial ruin. I sort of doubt that abortion was a key step on their path to success.
Dude, you know nothing. If you actually listened to women your dumb little mind would be blown.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 11:41 AM on August 22, 2018 [68 favorites]
At last Donald Trump gives a speech that he may have written himself
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:44 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:44 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
If I'm not mistaken, that thing about "it can't be a campaign violation because it didn't come from campaign funds" is something that Giuliani was saying a few weeks ... ago
Yes, unfortunately for Trump that contributed even more evidence that the activity was illegal.
For the second count, the one in which Cohen paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, it would have been perfectly legal for Donald Trump to personally pay her off from his personal funds using Cohen as a conduit. But he didn't.
Cohen paid Daniels out of his personal account using money he had just secured from a personal home equity loan. And when Trump paid back Cohen, they didn't do it as you would expect. They specifically billed it as "a monthly retainer for legal services". If Trump had simply paid Cohen back $130,000 for his expenses on his behalf to pay off Daniels, it wouldn't be a crime. But Trump was trying to be cheap, as usual, and stretch out the payment over months, and describing it as monthly retainers, not repayment for expenses. That means the Cohen payment was a personal contribution, not a service rendered.
Further Giuliani made it even worse when be bragged on TV that Trump had "grossed up" the payment to Cohen to cover his taxes on the income. That was a big mistake. You wouldn't gross up a payment for legal expenses. Cohen would simply deduct the $130,000 from his legal fees as expenses and owe no tax on it. By grossing it up, Giuliani is confirming that the payments are income to Cohen, not repayment for expenses.
posted by JackFlash at 11:50 AM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
Yes, unfortunately for Trump that contributed even more evidence that the activity was illegal.
For the second count, the one in which Cohen paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, it would have been perfectly legal for Donald Trump to personally pay her off from his personal funds using Cohen as a conduit. But he didn't.
Cohen paid Daniels out of his personal account using money he had just secured from a personal home equity loan. And when Trump paid back Cohen, they didn't do it as you would expect. They specifically billed it as "a monthly retainer for legal services". If Trump had simply paid Cohen back $130,000 for his expenses on his behalf to pay off Daniels, it wouldn't be a crime. But Trump was trying to be cheap, as usual, and stretch out the payment over months, and describing it as monthly retainers, not repayment for expenses. That means the Cohen payment was a personal contribution, not a service rendered.
Further Giuliani made it even worse when be bragged on TV that Trump had "grossed up" the payment to Cohen to cover his taxes on the income. That was a big mistake. You wouldn't gross up a payment for legal expenses. Cohen would simply deduct the $130,000 from his legal fees as expenses and owe no tax on it. By grossing it up, Giuliani is confirming that the payments are income to Cohen, not repayment for expenses.
posted by JackFlash at 11:50 AM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
There are plenty of ways out of this mess that don't require violating the Constitution.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
There are plenty of ways out of this mess that don't require violating the Constitution.
I believe the best way, consistent with the Rule of Law, Due Process of Law, and Equal Protection of the Laws would simply be for Mueller's team to indict Donald J. Trump for all felony charges handed down by a Grand Jury, and to hell undemocratic "Guidelines" suggesting that a sitting president cannot be indicted.
posted by mikelieman at 11:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
I believe the best way, consistent with the Rule of Law, Due Process of Law, and Equal Protection of the Laws would simply be for Mueller's team to indict Donald J. Trump for all felony charges handed down by a Grand Jury, and to hell undemocratic "Guidelines" suggesting that a sitting president cannot be indicted.
posted by mikelieman at 11:54 AM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
Mod note: We've been over the potential ways of undoing an election plenty of times, and this one isn't adding anything. Please drop it. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 11:59 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 11:59 AM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
At last Donald Trump gives a speech that he may have written himself
Needs more accordion.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Needs more accordion.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Newt Gingrich (in multiply-nested quote from cjelli): "If Mollie Tibbetts is a household name by October, Democrats will be in deep trouble..."
While this may have some truth (I'm sort of optmistically skeptical that the electorate as a whole, beyond the deplorables, can be that manipulated), it's so infuriating for so many reasons. Aside from the racism, any emphasis of the death of Mollie Tibbetts (assuming Cristhian Rivera did kill her) undercuts its own ostensible purpose. Murders by undocumentaed migrants are so rare that Americans collectively know the names of individual victims.
These nativist creeps' other ghoulish cause celebre is Katie Steinle, and she was killed by accident. Both accidental shootings and misoginy-driven acts of violence are appalingly common in this country. (A probable example of the latter is the horrific multiple-murder involving a man named Chris Watts. Given that he's white, it's actually sort of good that his crime is getting the "tragedy" rather than "statistic" treatment in the news cycle -- every time someone brings up Rivera, you can counter with Watts, even though arguing from anecdotes is terrible.)
In each of those stories, the legal status of the perpetrator is the least relevant part. We're not even talking about gangs that thrive on the margins of the broken system, like the exaggerated MS-13 threat. (Probably because their victims aren't white women). So the only way it's a notable factor is that it raises the question of why the perpetrators took the additional risk of deportation (which is of course the main reason undocumented citizens commit crime at a much lower rate).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
While this may have some truth (I'm sort of optmistically skeptical that the electorate as a whole, beyond the deplorables, can be that manipulated), it's so infuriating for so many reasons. Aside from the racism, any emphasis of the death of Mollie Tibbetts (assuming Cristhian Rivera did kill her) undercuts its own ostensible purpose. Murders by undocumentaed migrants are so rare that Americans collectively know the names of individual victims.
These nativist creeps' other ghoulish cause celebre is Katie Steinle, and she was killed by accident. Both accidental shootings and misoginy-driven acts of violence are appalingly common in this country. (A probable example of the latter is the horrific multiple-murder involving a man named Chris Watts. Given that he's white, it's actually sort of good that his crime is getting the "tragedy" rather than "statistic" treatment in the news cycle -- every time someone brings up Rivera, you can counter with Watts, even though arguing from anecdotes is terrible.)
In each of those stories, the legal status of the perpetrator is the least relevant part. We're not even talking about gangs that thrive on the margins of the broken system, like the exaggerated MS-13 threat. (Probably because their victims aren't white women). So the only way it's a notable factor is that it raises the question of why the perpetrators took the additional risk of deportation (which is of course the main reason undocumented citizens commit crime at a much lower rate).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
@AP: BREAKING: New York state investigators have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of Trump Foundation probe.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:10 PM on August 22, 2018 [78 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 12:10 PM on August 22, 2018 [78 favorites]
This Is An Elegant Fucking Civil Rights Master Class From Beto O'Rourke, Sit And Get Learned!
Here's a video of O'Rourke's answer to a question from an audience member who said he comes from "a family of veterans," at a town hall in Houston on August 10. The man wanted to know whether O'Rourke agreed that the players' taking a knee was incredibly disrespectful to the flag, the troops, and America. And wow, what an answer!posted by kirkaracha at 12:16 PM on August 22, 2018 [211 favorites]
Where a lot of politicians might try to avoid the question, O'Rourke actually contends with it, and while making clear he respects the questioner, he also says nobody's less American for having different views on the matter -- which is where some politicians might cue "Kumbayah" and call it a day. Instead, he rejects the premise outright: "My short answer is no, I don't think it's disrespectful." And then he launches into his longer answer, mentioning Taylor Branch's history bestseller Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63, and we're already in weird territory because here's a US Senate candidate talking about a book? How refreshingly unusual!
And so O'Rourke recites the litany of civil rights milestones, even noting the movement of the '50s and '60s only secured "better -- because they didn't get full -- civil rights for their fellow Americans." And Crom bless him, he even points out that these too are the heroes who fought to ensure all Americans' rights, not to take anything away from veterans, but damn it's good to hear a candidate willing to say thatThe freedoms that we have were purchased not just by those in uniform -- and they definitely were -- but also by those who took their lives into their hands riding those Greyhound buses, the Freedom Riders in the deep South in the 1960s who knew full well that they would be arrested, and they were, serving time in the Mississippi State Penitentiary.And among those heroes, O'Rourke adds, are those who take a knee in protest of the killing of unarmed black men, teenagers, and even children who "are being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement, without accountability and without justice."
Des Moines Register: Mollie Tibbetts’ accused killer is in Iowa legally, his lawyer says, calling Trump 'sad and sorry' for weighing in.
Someone else this morning was reporting that he was a long-ish term (farm) employee of a well know GOP fundraiser.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:17 PM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
Someone else this morning was reporting that he was a long-ish term (farm) employee of a well know GOP fundraiser.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:17 PM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
jeebus its right in the article i linked:
Rivera has lived in Iowa for four to seven years, working at Yarrabee Farms, a Brooklyn-area farm owned by Eric Lang, the brother of Craig Lang, a prominent Republican.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Rivera has lived in Iowa for four to seven years, working at Yarrabee Farms, a Brooklyn-area farm owned by Eric Lang, the brother of Craig Lang, a prominent Republican.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
When they say illegal, they just mean brown.
posted by jaduncan at 12:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [102 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 12:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [102 favorites]
Murders by undocumentaed migrants are so rare that Americans collectively know the names of individual victims.
I was talking about this with some friends the other day, and as best as we could figure by looking at CDC stats, children under 5 dying of obesity is thousands of times more common than it is for anyone to be killed by any immigrant.
But then we realized we must have sorted the stats incorrectly because because there's no national conversation about saving children from dying of obesity, and surely.....
These nativist creeps' other ghoulish cause celebre is Katie Steinle, and she was killed by accident
I assumed somewhat good faith on criminal immigrant claims until I discovered that one of 45's go-to stories was about a drunk driver. I live in Milwaukee and am pretty sure drunk driving isn't an immigration issue.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
I was talking about this with some friends the other day, and as best as we could figure by looking at CDC stats, children under 5 dying of obesity is thousands of times more common than it is for anyone to be killed by any immigrant.
But then we realized we must have sorted the stats incorrectly because because there's no national conversation about saving children from dying of obesity, and surely.....
These nativist creeps' other ghoulish cause celebre is Katie Steinle, and she was killed by accident
I assumed somewhat good faith on criminal immigrant claims until I discovered that one of 45's go-to stories was about a drunk driver. I live in Milwaukee and am pretty sure drunk driving isn't an immigration issue.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
Beto O'Rouke has the charisma, intelligence, heart and drive to be President. Senator first. You can do it, Texas.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:22 PM on August 22, 2018 [97 favorites]
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:22 PM on August 22, 2018 [97 favorites]
This Is An Elegant Fucking Civil Rights Master Class From Beto O'Rourke, Sit And Get Learned!
I must admit, I watched that last night and just hearing a candidate speak thoughtfully about the issue, in such a decent and honest way, without either pandering or wavering in his core belief, in these dark times, it was inspiring.
Reader, I donated.
posted by gwint at 12:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [81 favorites]
I must admit, I watched that last night and just hearing a candidate speak thoughtfully about the issue, in such a decent and honest way, without either pandering or wavering in his core belief, in these dark times, it was inspiring.
Reader, I donated.
posted by gwint at 12:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [81 favorites]
@AP: BREAKING: New York state investigators have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of Trump Foundation probe.
And NY AG Barbara Underwood is all out of bubble-gum, and figures it's easiest to kick Trump when he's down, since he's closer to your foot.
Similar to how the DNC is pursuing the civil aspect of the crimes Russia and the Trump Campaign committed against it prior to criminal indictments I would like to think that Underwood is beta-testing the idea that sitting presidents cannot be indicted in a State jurisdiction.
posted by mikelieman at 12:26 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
And NY AG Barbara Underwood is all out of bubble-gum, and figures it's easiest to kick Trump when he's down, since he's closer to your foot.
Similar to how the DNC is pursuing the civil aspect of the crimes Russia and the Trump Campaign committed against it prior to criminal indictments I would like to think that Underwood is beta-testing the idea that sitting presidents cannot be indicted in a State jurisdiction.
posted by mikelieman at 12:26 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
I am not particularly afraid of the Mollie Tibbetts blowback because even if it does turn out that Rivera ISN'T legally entitled to live in Iowa, the case is pure red meat for the Trumpoid base, who were coming out to vote in the mid-terms anyway.
If by October, people who AREN'T part of that hard-right base are convinced that (a) Mollie Tibbetts' murder means that MS-13 is coming to slaughter us all in our beds and (b) Building That Wall and Deporting Them All are suddenly the most important reasons to vote for or against Congresspersons, then yes, we are in deep trouble. But if Democrats allow that false narrative to sway the alleged middle, then they deserve it.
posted by delfin at 12:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
If by October, people who AREN'T part of that hard-right base are convinced that (a) Mollie Tibbetts' murder means that MS-13 is coming to slaughter us all in our beds and (b) Building That Wall and Deporting Them All are suddenly the most important reasons to vote for or against Congresspersons, then yes, we are in deep trouble. But if Democrats allow that false narrative to sway the alleged middle, then they deserve it.
posted by delfin at 12:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
('Magnificent' was translated from the word 'storslåede' - I'm curious whether that word has as positive a connotation as 'magnificent' does in English, or whether it's closer to something like 'formidable.')
It's a difficult question, because Danish is one of the fastest moving languages in the world and the meaning of a word can be literally reversed over twenty years. However, given that JP is extremely conservative (it's nickname is "The Morning Fascist Jutland Pest"), and extremely pro US, I think magnificent is how they meant it.
posted by mumimor at 12:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's a difficult question, because Danish is one of the fastest moving languages in the world and the meaning of a word can be literally reversed over twenty years. However, given that JP is extremely conservative (it's nickname is "The Morning Fascist Jutland Pest"), and extremely pro US, I think magnificent is how they meant it.
posted by mumimor at 12:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
I love that the R position now is basically "Yeah, he did crimes, but they didn't involve Russia so it's all good."
posted by chris24 at 12:43 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 12:43 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
Also implicated in court documents for Michael Cohen:
Allegra Kirkland | TPM
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:44 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
- The Trump Organization & two unnamed executives thereWho Else Is Implicated by Michael Cohen?
- American Media Inc., CEO David Pecker, the National Enquirer, & mag's EIC
- "One or more members" of the Trump campaign
Allegra Kirkland | TPM
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:44 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
xammerboy: "Personally, I was crushed by her loss. I really believed she was going to be one of the best presidents of all time. She's a fighter, a lot less middle of the road than people think, and her experience meant she would be up and running on day one, hard."
100 years from now there is a going to be a ripping good business in the niche speculative fiction market of "What if Clinton won?" that will rival todays "What if the Nazis won WWII".
cjelli: "A less charitable read would be that Trump has known for twelve years that Manafort has engaged in tax fraud, and so it's a twelve-year-old case to him, but that's purely speculative."
Or he thinks it's 2022.
posted by Mitheral at 12:58 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
100 years from now there is a going to be a ripping good business in the niche speculative fiction market of "What if Clinton won?" that will rival todays "What if the Nazis won WWII".
cjelli: "A less charitable read would be that Trump has known for twelve years that Manafort has engaged in tax fraud, and so it's a twelve-year-old case to him, but that's purely speculative."
Or he thinks it's 2022.
posted by Mitheral at 12:58 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Beto O'Rouke has the charisma, intelligence, heart and drive to be President.
He even has the endorsement of Chuck Tingle:
" . . . those buckaroos [in Texas] should learn who man name of BETO is he is fighting against the void"
thanks Beto for proving love is real
posted by robotdevil at 12:58 PM on August 22, 2018 [50 favorites]
He even has the endorsement of Chuck Tingle:
" . . . those buckaroos [in Texas] should learn who man name of BETO is he is fighting against the void"
thanks Beto for proving love is real
posted by robotdevil at 12:58 PM on August 22, 2018 [50 favorites]
@AP: BREAKING: New York state investigators have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of Trump Foundation probe.
And NY AG Barbara Underwood is all out of bubble-gum, and figures it's easiest to kick Trump when he's down, since he's closer to your foot.
Similar to how the DNC is pursuing the civil aspect of the crimes Russia and the Trump Campaign committed against it prior to criminal indictments I would like to think that Underwood is beta-testing the idea that sitting presidents cannot be indicted in a State jurisdiction.
I remember when former AG Eric Schneiderman was accused of sexual assault and resigned - and the "boo hoo hoo hoo he's too valuable to lose!" cry arose. But current AG Underwood is not only on the case, she's probably going after Trump much more aggressively than Schneiderman would have. The right thing was done all around.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:59 PM on August 22, 2018 [107 favorites]
And NY AG Barbara Underwood is all out of bubble-gum, and figures it's easiest to kick Trump when he's down, since he's closer to your foot.
Similar to how the DNC is pursuing the civil aspect of the crimes Russia and the Trump Campaign committed against it prior to criminal indictments I would like to think that Underwood is beta-testing the idea that sitting presidents cannot be indicted in a State jurisdiction.
I remember when former AG Eric Schneiderman was accused of sexual assault and resigned - and the "boo hoo hoo hoo he's too valuable to lose!" cry arose. But current AG Underwood is not only on the case, she's probably going after Trump much more aggressively than Schneiderman would have. The right thing was done all around.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:59 PM on August 22, 2018 [107 favorites]
This Is An Elegant Fucking Civil Rights Master Class From Beto O'Rourke, Sit And Get Learned!
Yeah, this brought me to tears. I wondered if the person who asked the question was at all moved to think differently.
posted by bluesky43 at 1:01 PM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
Yeah, this brought me to tears. I wondered if the person who asked the question was at all moved to think differently.
posted by bluesky43 at 1:01 PM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
Mollie Tibbetts’s family doesn’t want her death politicized. Trump is doing it anyway.
It took the White House less than a day to use Tibbetts’s murder to push Trump’s immigration agenda. (Dara Lind | Vox)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [41 favorites]
It took the White House less than a day to use Tibbetts’s murder to push Trump’s immigration agenda. (Dara Lind | Vox)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [41 favorites]
As for how Trump's campaign finance lawyer fits in with Cohen's guilty plea, Bloomberg digs up a source: Trump Didn’t Consult McGahn About Hush-Money Payments, Source Says
And all this is taking its toll in Trumpland, per NYT's Jeremy Peters (@ jwpetersNYT): “Just talked one of Trump's earliest supporters & true believers - very rattled - who's been talking to big GOP donors. They want to support Trump. They tried hard to ignore all the noise. They can't anymore. 'They're over it. This is not how a president comports himself.'”
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
President Donald Trump didn’t consult his campaign finance lawyer Don McGahn about hush-money payments that were made days before the election and are now the center of a criminal case, a person familiar with the matter said.In other hush-money breaking stories, CNN Obtains Secret Trump-Cohen Audio Recording: "Presidential candidate Donald Trump is heard on tape discussing with attorney Michael Cohen how they would buy the rights to a Playboy model's story about an alleged affair Trump had with her years earlier." (It's very murky audio, but Cohen's clearly talking about setting up a shell company much like the one for the Stormy Daniels payout.)
The absence of McGahn, who is now White House counsel, could be a key piece of evidence in any criminal prosecution, according to the person close to McGahn. Prosecutors could argue it shows Trump knew the payments were illegal and hid them. But Trump’s lawyers could counter that it’s a sign Trump didn’t realize they were related to the campaign.
McGahn, the person said, expects to be questioned by federal prosecutors in New York about his knowledge of the payments, which were the basis for campaign finance charges against Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.[...]
McGahn wasn’t asked about the payments in any of his three interviews with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the person added.
And all this is taking its toll in Trumpland, per NYT's Jeremy Peters (@ jwpetersNYT): “Just talked one of Trump's earliest supporters & true believers - very rattled - who's been talking to big GOP donors. They want to support Trump. They tried hard to ignore all the noise. They can't anymore. 'They're over it. This is not how a president comports himself.'”
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
That's just them asking for another round of tax cuts/regulatory rollbacks.
posted by notyou at 1:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by notyou at 1:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
Beto O'Rouke has the charisma, intelligence, heart and drive to be President. Senator first. You can do it, Texas.
I get the same feeling from him I got from Obama around 2004. Still, it's up to Texas.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:21 PM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
I get the same feeling from him I got from Obama around 2004. Still, it's up to Texas.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:21 PM on August 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
yeah no this freak was ranting that mexicans were feeding them bc they're animals too so, uh.
Right-wing conflation of unreasonable fear of wild animals and (also unreasonable) fear of immigrants is a very real and weird phenomenon: I know people in the rural west who are terrified of wolves and bears, and think that the deep state is conspiring with foreigners to import them and make the countryside more dangerous for real citizens. They also think that immigrants are starting all the wildfires; to them, immigrants are a natural/inhuman force as pervasive and destructive as climate change is to sane people. For me, the last few years have really lifted the veil from the softness and malleability of the human brain.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:22 PM on August 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
Right-wing conflation of unreasonable fear of wild animals and (also unreasonable) fear of immigrants is a very real and weird phenomenon: I know people in the rural west who are terrified of wolves and bears, and think that the deep state is conspiring with foreigners to import them and make the countryside more dangerous for real citizens. They also think that immigrants are starting all the wildfires; to them, immigrants are a natural/inhuman force as pervasive and destructive as climate change is to sane people. For me, the last few years have really lifted the veil from the softness and malleability of the human brain.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:22 PM on August 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
I love that the R position now is basically "Yeah, he did crimes, but they didn't involve Russia so it's all good."
Not even that, they’re openly citing that “the President can’t be indicted”. I know this is a cliche at this point, but imagine Ben Rhodes or David Alexrod saying that about Obama.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Not even that, they’re openly citing that “the President can’t be indicted”. I know this is a cliche at this point, but imagine Ben Rhodes or David Alexrod saying that about Obama.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Personally, I was crushed by her loss. I really believed she was going to be one of the best presidents of all time. She's a fighter, a lot less middle of the road than people think, and her experience meant she would be up and running on day one, hard.
I was crushed, too, and I agree with everything you said except her being one of the best presidents of all time. I think she would have been among the best people to ever become president, and one of the most qualified.
However, assuming the same election results except for president, with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress we'd have gridlock and nonstop Benghazipalooza. She still would've been immeasurably better for the country and we would've had a liberal Supreme Court for the rest of my life instead of a conservative one. Plus taco trucks on every corner.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:25 PM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
I was crushed, too, and I agree with everything you said except her being one of the best presidents of all time. I think she would have been among the best people to ever become president, and one of the most qualified.
However, assuming the same election results except for president, with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress we'd have gridlock and nonstop Benghazipalooza. She still would've been immeasurably better for the country and we would've had a liberal Supreme Court for the rest of my life instead of a conservative one. Plus taco trucks on every corner.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:25 PM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
Beto O'Rouke has the charisma, intelligence, heart and drive to be President. Senator first. You can do it, Texas.
I get the same feeling from him I got from Obama around 2004. Still, it's up to Texas.
I get the added effect that Beto is much more unabashedly liberal. Part of this is because Obama had to appear much more centrist so as not scare people (his identity was the radical aspect about him), while Beto is a white man that is allowed to talk how NFL players protesting police brutality are not only patriotic, but part of a tradition of protesting patriots. But yes, he has that same intellect and easy-going charisma combined with an even more fiercely progressive stance on what America can be.
If Texas takes him away from us, I will be very cross.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 1:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [63 favorites]
I get the same feeling from him I got from Obama around 2004. Still, it's up to Texas.
I get the added effect that Beto is much more unabashedly liberal. Part of this is because Obama had to appear much more centrist so as not scare people (his identity was the radical aspect about him), while Beto is a white man that is allowed to talk how NFL players protesting police brutality are not only patriotic, but part of a tradition of protesting patriots. But yes, he has that same intellect and easy-going charisma combined with an even more fiercely progressive stance on what America can be.
If Texas takes him away from us, I will be very cross.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 1:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [63 favorites]
If Texas takes him away from us, I will be very cross.
We're doing our very best, but it's an amazingly tough battle. I really don't want to live here any more, but I'm glad I'm here for this election.
posted by blurker at 1:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [50 favorites]
We're doing our very best, but it's an amazingly tough battle. I really don't want to live here any more, but I'm glad I'm here for this election.
posted by blurker at 1:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [50 favorites]
Personally, I was crushed by her loss. I really believed she was going to be one of the best presidents of all time.
Beto O'Rouke has the charisma, intelligence, heart and drive to be President. Senator first. You can do it, Texas.
OK, I don't care that she'll be 73 in 2020. Here's hoping that President O'Rourke (or Harris, Gillibrand, whoever) appoints Supreme Court Justice Hillary Clinton. (If RBG can serve into her mid 80s, so can Hillary!)
posted by martin q blank at 1:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
Beto O'Rouke has the charisma, intelligence, heart and drive to be President. Senator first. You can do it, Texas.
OK, I don't care that she'll be 73 in 2020. Here's hoping that President O'Rourke (or Harris, Gillibrand, whoever) appoints Supreme Court Justice Hillary Clinton. (If RBG can serve into her mid 80s, so can Hillary!)
posted by martin q blank at 1:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
-- Des Moines Register: Mollie Tibbetts’ accused killer is in Iowa legally, his lawyer says, calling Trump 'sad and sorry' for weighing in.
-- Rivera has lived in Iowa for four to seven years, working at Yarrabee Farms, a Brooklyn-area farm owned by Eric Lang, the brother of Craig Lang, a prominent Republican.
According to the brief filed by Allen Richards, the defendant's lawyer, it is Craig Lang himself verifying that Cristhian Bahena Rivera is in the country legally.
Craig Lang is an owner of Yarrabee Farms (son Dane, the other owner, said so last night).
Also, in Rivera's account, he has no memory of murdering Tibbetts.
(I'm not saying the Lang family has undue influence in Poweshiek County, or anything. No one's saying that.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:41 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
-- Rivera has lived in Iowa for four to seven years, working at Yarrabee Farms, a Brooklyn-area farm owned by Eric Lang, the brother of Craig Lang, a prominent Republican.
According to the brief filed by Allen Richards, the defendant's lawyer, it is Craig Lang himself verifying that Cristhian Bahena Rivera is in the country legally.
Craig Lang is an owner of Yarrabee Farms (son Dane, the other owner, said so last night).
Also, in Rivera's account, he has no memory of murdering Tibbetts.
(I'm not saying the Lang family has undue influence in Poweshiek County, or anything. No one's saying that.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:41 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
According to the brief filed by Allen Richards, the defendant's lawyer, it is Craig Lang himself verifying that Cristhian Bahena Rivera is in the country legally.
No one I've ever seen on Facebook complaining about illegal immigration will give a damn that he was here legally. Not one. At best, they'll pivot to "Well, that just means we need to clamp down on legal immigration! America is full!"
It's not about the law. It's never been about the law.
posted by Etrigan at 1:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [49 favorites]
No one I've ever seen on Facebook complaining about illegal immigration will give a damn that he was here legally. Not one. At best, they'll pivot to "Well, that just means we need to clamp down on legal immigration! America is full!"
It's not about the law. It's never been about the law.
posted by Etrigan at 1:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [49 favorites]
@AP: BREAKING: New York state investigators have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of Trump Foundation probe.
NY Daily News has a bit more:
NY Daily News has a bit more:
Shortly after the subpoena went out, Cohen personally contacted the tax department to talk, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.posted by melissasaurus at 1:59 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
The source wouldn’t say what the response was. But typically in such cases where someone has a lawyer, investigators deal with their counsel and not directly with the person.
Yep. The whole "illegals" thing is 100% the first step in getting rid of "undesirables". It has nothing to do with the rule of law or economics or anything other than nativism, nationalism, and racism.
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:01 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:01 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
Agreed. Not even my comment was about the law.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:03 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:03 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
@AP: BREAKING: New York state investigators have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of Trump Foundation probe.
Having Eric, Ivanka, Jared, and Don Jr. go to jail for a very long time (state charges?), and not having a blood relation available to run the hotels would be the only conceivable situation where Trump would step down (because managing $HOTEL_FORTUNE is the most important thing in the Trumpverse).
posted by benzenedream at 2:11 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Having Eric, Ivanka, Jared, and Don Jr. go to jail for a very long time (state charges?), and not having a blood relation available to run the hotels would be the only conceivable situation where Trump would step down (because managing $HOTEL_FORTUNE is the most important thing in the Trumpverse).
posted by benzenedream at 2:11 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Speaking of Beto, new Marist poll has him down to Cruz by only 4 points, 49-45.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:12 PM on August 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 2:12 PM on August 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
Beto O'Rouke has the charisma, intelligence, heart and drive to be President.
Fun fact: I was at a Beto town hall a few weeks ago and he talked about how grateful he was to the teacher who introduced him to The Odyssey. The book has such a profound effect on him that he named his first kid Ulysses "because we didn't have the guts to name him Odysseus."
He followed that up with a concise explanation of racial disparities in drug sentencing and then made sure an agitated guy in a "Veterans for Greg Abbott" T-shirt got the last question, because "we have to walk the walk."
As a lifelong East Texan, I am not accustomed to this level of discourse from people who want my vote. It was nice.
posted by mcdoublewide at 2:16 PM on August 22, 2018 [88 favorites]
Fun fact: I was at a Beto town hall a few weeks ago and he talked about how grateful he was to the teacher who introduced him to The Odyssey. The book has such a profound effect on him that he named his first kid Ulysses "because we didn't have the guts to name him Odysseus."
He followed that up with a concise explanation of racial disparities in drug sentencing and then made sure an agitated guy in a "Veterans for Greg Abbott" T-shirt got the last question, because "we have to walk the walk."
As a lifelong East Texan, I am not accustomed to this level of discourse from people who want my vote. It was nice.
posted by mcdoublewide at 2:16 PM on August 22, 2018 [88 favorites]
O'Rourke and Cruz still haven't had a debate yet, have they? With luck, that ought to shift things a few more points in Beto's favor.
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Beto O'Rourke visits the Harris County jail today with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, says he is convinced Texas can take the lead in criminal justice reform. There's been a lot of local voter drives to help people (there are thousands) who are not convicted of a crime, awaiting trial in jail, registering them, setting up a poling place, educating the public about it, that's taking off to some degree. When Beto is not at really huge Town Halls he attends "Roundtables" with local leaders on issues we need to work on. Today was the Justice Roundtable (facebook live video link), where he listens with people who have been doing this work for decades. He often says about this and many issues: no one will see this coming! No one will believe it is us. But Texas can and should lead the way.
posted by dog food sugar at 2:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by dog food sugar at 2:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
And when Trump paid back Cohen, they didn't do it as you would expect. They specifically billed it as "a monthly retainer for legal services". If Trump had simply paid Cohen back $130,000 for his expenses on his behalf to pay off Daniels, it wouldn't be a crime. But Trump was trying to be cheap, as usual, and stretch out the payment over months, and describing it as monthly retainers, not repayment for expenses. That means the Cohen payment was a personal contribution, not a service rendered.
I'm assuming that it was the Trump Corporation, not Donald Trump personally, that wrote the checks fraudulently described as legal fees, which would make this all an illegal corporate campaign contribution.
Can anyone verify?
posted by msalt at 2:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm assuming that it was the Trump Corporation, not Donald Trump personally, that wrote the checks fraudulently described as legal fees, which would make this all an illegal corporate campaign contribution.
Can anyone verify?
posted by msalt at 2:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
After Mollie Tibbett's Death, White House Releases 'Permanently Separated' Video About Illegal Immigrant Crime
Halfway through the video, the video reads that “their children were killed by illegal aliens in this country.” Toward the end of the video, the families say they have been “permanently separated” from their loved ones.
And the first words in the video: "We were permanently separated. Not just for a week or a month."
They're explicitly using Tibbett to defend, excuse and promote their past and ongoing crimes against humanity. These fucking scumbags.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [105 favorites]
Halfway through the video, the video reads that “their children were killed by illegal aliens in this country.” Toward the end of the video, the families say they have been “permanently separated” from their loved ones.
And the first words in the video: "We were permanently separated. Not just for a week or a month."
They're explicitly using Tibbett to defend, excuse and promote their past and ongoing crimes against humanity. These fucking scumbags.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [105 favorites]
There was an email between Trump Org execs saying "Please pay this from the Trust." I don't know which trust or how related people/entities are treated for election law purposes, though.
posted by melissasaurus at 2:28 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 2:28 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
With Tibbetts and Steinle and others (and setting aside whether the defendant is even in the country illegally), the underlying premise behind the message coming from the White House is "if they weren't here, she would still be alive." And while we know that immigrants commit fewer crimes and violence against women is a much broader problem than immigrants, there's also a really painful one-way kind of humanity expressed in this message.
The people who spew this hate are arguing that keeping a "bad person" out of the country could better the lives of Americans, but they're entirely unwilling to consider the possibility that letting someone in could also better America. It all goes back to Don Jr's damn Skittles meme (for which serious people at Wrigley had to sit down and respond that "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people": no risk that an immigrant could possibly commit a crime is ever acceptable. But that only runs one way: nothing that immigrants could bring to the country could ever be worth it (immigrants shouldn't be admitted to the country purely based on what they can contribute, but since anything other than total self-interest is a non-starter with these people...).
The White House races to yell about "immigrant crime," as if that's actually a separate category of crime, yet when Trump has a dinner with business leaders, the immigrants are erased and he's just meeting with "American business leaders." There's an office to blame immigrants for crimes, but when Trump just sat down for dinner with MasterCard's Ajaypal Bang, Pepsi's Indra Nooyi, and Honeywell's Darius Adamczyk, nobody lifted a finger to mention immigrants' successes.
And the first words in the video: "We were permanently separated. Not just for a week or a month."
They know that what they're doing (there are still hundreds of children that have not been returned to their parents) is wrong. That's why they leap to use cases like this, regardless of the facts, to justify it.
posted by zachlipton at 2:28 PM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
The people who spew this hate are arguing that keeping a "bad person" out of the country could better the lives of Americans, but they're entirely unwilling to consider the possibility that letting someone in could also better America. It all goes back to Don Jr's damn Skittles meme (for which serious people at Wrigley had to sit down and respond that "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people": no risk that an immigrant could possibly commit a crime is ever acceptable. But that only runs one way: nothing that immigrants could bring to the country could ever be worth it (immigrants shouldn't be admitted to the country purely based on what they can contribute, but since anything other than total self-interest is a non-starter with these people...).
The White House races to yell about "immigrant crime," as if that's actually a separate category of crime, yet when Trump has a dinner with business leaders, the immigrants are erased and he's just meeting with "American business leaders." There's an office to blame immigrants for crimes, but when Trump just sat down for dinner with MasterCard's Ajaypal Bang, Pepsi's Indra Nooyi, and Honeywell's Darius Adamczyk, nobody lifted a finger to mention immigrants' successes.
And the first words in the video: "We were permanently separated. Not just for a week or a month."
They know that what they're doing (there are still hundreds of children that have not been returned to their parents) is wrong. That's why they leap to use cases like this, regardless of the facts, to justify it.
posted by zachlipton at 2:28 PM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
@jordyntieman:
posted by gwint at 2:31 PM on August 22, 2018 [85 favorites]
Mollie Tibbetts was murdered because she told a man to leave her alone while she was jogging. But because he was an illegal immigrant you all wanna advocate for border control instead of against the root of the problem: violence towards women for saying noAlso today: Utah Man Killed City Official and Set Fire to Her Body, Truck and a Nearby Home, Police Say. AFAIK, no comment from the White House. Oh, btw: Suspect was white.
posted by gwint at 2:31 PM on August 22, 2018 [85 favorites]
And... ugh, even after all this time, I still fall for the trap. The news is Cohen and Manafort and I'm posting about the NFL and immigration, just like Trump wants me to. Grrrr.
posted by gwint at 2:34 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by gwint at 2:34 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Beto O'Rourke vs. Ted Cruz and the Fight for America
posted by kirkaracha at 2:37 PM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
Ted Cruz is misunderstood, Ted Cruz tells me....In Cruz's view, he's been maligned and unfairly portrayed for years as a surly right-winger...The truth, Cruz wants me to know, is that he's always been a more lighthearted fellow than he's been given credit for being.In conclusion, Texas is a land of contrast.
...
A man rose and began railing against the Deep State in alarming terms, mumbling something about Ruby Ridge. As Cruz listened, the man reasoned that the FBI was a greater threat to Americans than ISIS, because terrorists could be dispatched with violence, whereas “it's against the law to shoot the FBI.”
Cruz ditched his kumbaya act. “I share your frustration. And it is a frustration that millions across this country share,” he said. He pointed out that the FBI was awash in partisan shenanigans that required urgent attention.
...
When O'Rourke was growing up in El Paso, immersing himself in the local punk scene, Cruz was touring with the Constitutional Corroborators, a youth group that discussed the text of America's founding documents in front of rotary clubs. When Cruz was securing a clerkship with Chief Justice William Rehnquist, O'Rourke was living in a loft with his bandmates in Brooklyn.
Whereas Cruz, as Texas solicitor general, was tasked with upholding a dildo ban, O'Rourke, as a city-council member in El Paso, was pressing to legalize weed.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:37 PM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
> for a personal stay at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel
The Writers, they're just killing me . . . You just CAN'T have the meetup spot for an affair be the "Liaison Hotel"--that's just w-a-y too obvious.
On a more serious matter, I'm quite interested in the many ramifications of the Cohen plea deal statement. (A bit of analysis here via TPM, though it doesn't discuss the specific points I address below.)
P. 13-14 outlines a deal set up with (presumably) National Enquirer to purchase and deep-six (presumably) Karen McDougal's story. But then it seems that the Trump Access Hollywood tape hits and the whole deal is called off.
So this brings up a large number of questions:
So why did the deal to deep-six the story suddenly disappear?
That deal must have been replaced with something. A different deal. A better deal. A deal with more money or more leverage or more whatever involved.
What was the deal that replaced the Natl Enquirer deal, how much money was involved, and who was involved in initiating and brokering it?
This definitely would have gone straight up to Trump, no question, and it's an issue that definitely, definitely had the capacity to swing the election one way or another.
If one bombshell humiliating sex story after another had hit the media every let's say week or so after Access Hollywood for even a couple or three weeks, that would have been enough to make the difference in the November vote.
But those stories didn't happen.
They were there. They existed. They were explosive. But they didn't break in national media.
Why not? Who stopped them?
Because we now know that (at least for McDougal) it wasn't this previously-known deal with the Natl Enquirer.
So who was it, what was the deal, and what are the details?
They are bound to be damning.
posted by flug at 2:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [40 favorites]
The Writers, they're just killing me . . . You just CAN'T have the meetup spot for an affair be the "Liaison Hotel"--that's just w-a-y too obvious.
On a more serious matter, I'm quite interested in the many ramifications of the Cohen plea deal statement. (A bit of analysis here via TPM, though it doesn't discuss the specific points I address below.)
P. 13-14 outlines a deal set up with (presumably) National Enquirer to purchase and deep-six (presumably) Karen McDougal's story. But then it seems that the Trump Access Hollywood tape hits and the whole deal is called off.
So this brings up a large number of questions:
- When is National Enquirer leadership going to be prosecuted for this? It's a very clear and very large campaign finance violation.
- Why was the deal suddenly called off?
- Was the deal called off because Natl Enquirer decided they were going to go ahead and publish the story, or let McDougal publish somewhere else, or for some other reason?
- Another reason might be: They found some other way to deep-six the story. If so, what was the other way?
- To put it another way: When the deal was called off, why was story never published?
So why did the deal to deep-six the story suddenly disappear?
That deal must have been replaced with something. A different deal. A better deal. A deal with more money or more leverage or more whatever involved.
What was the deal that replaced the Natl Enquirer deal, how much money was involved, and who was involved in initiating and brokering it?
This definitely would have gone straight up to Trump, no question, and it's an issue that definitely, definitely had the capacity to swing the election one way or another.
If one bombshell humiliating sex story after another had hit the media every let's say week or so after Access Hollywood for even a couple or three weeks, that would have been enough to make the difference in the November vote.
But those stories didn't happen.
They were there. They existed. They were explosive. But they didn't break in national media.
Why not? Who stopped them?
Because we now know that (at least for McDougal) it wasn't this previously-known deal with the Natl Enquirer.
So who was it, what was the deal, and what are the details?
They are bound to be damning.
posted by flug at 2:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [40 favorites]
Has anybody asked Lanny Davis questions about Prague and passports yet? That's the interview I want to see.
From your fingertips to Chuck Todd's lips [video]. It's a very strong denial.
They're sticking with "never, never in Prague," when Cohen did once tell David Corn he was in Prague for an afternoon 14 years ago. Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with happening to be in Prague 14 years ago and that likely wouldn't implicate him in anything relevant to the election, but it is still inconsistent.
posted by zachlipton at 2:52 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
From your fingertips to Chuck Todd's lips [video]. It's a very strong denial.
They're sticking with "never, never in Prague," when Cohen did once tell David Corn he was in Prague for an afternoon 14 years ago. Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with happening to be in Prague 14 years ago and that likely wouldn't implicate him in anything relevant to the election, but it is still inconsistent.
posted by zachlipton at 2:52 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
O'Rourke and Cruz still haven't had a debate yet, have they? With luck, that ought to shift things a few more points in Beto's favor.
What's great is that apparently several months ago O'Rourle requested six debates - two of them in Spanish. Cruz had to admit that his Spanish isn't good enough.
posted by dilettante at 2:53 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
Roll Call, Senate Could Be Tied up For Weeks Voting on Trump Nominees
posted by zachlipton at 2:54 PM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
The move sets up the potential for weeks of virtually continuous sessions of the Senate, although it is more likely that a bipartisan agreement will be reached at least ahead of the long Labor Day weekend.The work of filling the judiciary with Trump nominees continues at a terrifying pace, and nobody seems to care.
The list of 17 nominees is highlighted by Richard Clarida to the Federal Reserve and a slew of Trump nominees to fill federal judgeships in seats across the country.
If senators were to object to time agreements, the Senate could literally spend weeks doing little other than considering the nominations, a move that complicates much of the legislative agenda for the rest of the year, particularly when it comes to finishing consideration of government spending bills before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
posted by zachlipton at 2:54 PM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
Streetsblog, Trump’s Federal Transit Administration Has Gone Rogue
posted by zachlipton at 3:13 PM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
Donald Trump’s U.S. DOT is refusing to do its job when it comes to transit, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office [PDF]. The GAO says the agency is failing to follow through on key provisions of the last two federal transportation bills, yet more evidence that under Trump, federal officials are obstructing programs intended to improve transit in American cities.The administration wants to zero out the capital grants entirely, so they just aren't bothering to follow the law, even though Congress continues to fund the grant program against the administration's wishes.
MAP-21, the transportation bill enacted in 2012, instructed the Federal Transit Administration to develop a mechanism to grant transit agencies funds for multiple, “interrelated” projects at the same time. This could spur agencies to think about transit expansion in terms of networks, not just single routes.
The same bill also told the FTA to streamline the approval process for “Core Capacity” grants, which agencies use to rehab existing infrastructure like tracks and signals. In addition, the 2015 transportation bill, known as the FAST Act, included a provision to expedite FTA transit capital grants.
Under Trump, the FTA is disregarding all of these instructions, the GAO reports. And FTA officials admitted to the GAO that they don’t intend to follow through.
posted by zachlipton at 3:13 PM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
Just a data point, not an indicator of how the Cruz/O'Rourke race is actually going: I live in Houston, in a rather well educated and upper class area. I have seen dozens of BETO signs in front yards. I have seen no Cruz signs. The local congressman (R) has a single sign with his name on it in the area. There are a fairly good number of signs for this opponent (D). Read into this what you will.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 3:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Midnight Skulker at 3:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
> Having Eric, Ivanka, Jared, and Don Jr. go to jail for a very long time (state charges?), and not having a blood relation available to run the hotels would be the only conceivable situation where Trump would step down (because managing $HOTEL_FORTUNE is the most important thing in the Trumpverse).
Orchestrating a criminal conspiracy with the assistance of a hostile foreign power in order to get yourself elected President of the United States seems like an awfully convoluted way to attempt to increase the profitability of your hotel chain, but far be it from me to try and plump the depths of the Trump psyche.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Orchestrating a criminal conspiracy with the assistance of a hostile foreign power in order to get yourself elected President of the United States seems like an awfully convoluted way to attempt to increase the profitability of your hotel chain, but far be it from me to try and plump the depths of the Trump psyche.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Oh. Michael Cohen also paid $50,000 to a “tech company”?
posted by Brainy at 3:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Brainy at 3:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
And half a day later: Under Mueller's looking glass: who's who?. Brief descriptions of the main subjects with links to background articles, classified under Sentenced (Manafort, van der Zwaan), Plead Guilty (Cohen, Gates, Flynn and Coffeeboy), Indicted (several Russian officials and citizens, and Kilimnik), Interviewed (Kushner, Miller, McGahn, Spicer, Bannon, Hicks, Obvious Anagram, Page, Sessions, Pompeo, Comey) and Not Yet (Don jr, Stone and Donnie himself).
posted by Stoneshop at 3:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Stoneshop at 3:24 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
> I'm assuming that it was the Trump Corporation, not Donald Trump personally, that wrote the checks fraudulently described as legal fees, which would make this all an illegal corporate campaign contribution.
> There was an email between Trump Org execs saying "Please pay this from the Trust."
I'm assuming the "the Trust" is some sort of family entity, and therefore a personal account. This would be the way to do it if you wanted to legally pay hush money. You couldn't do it from a Trump Organization business account. You can spend money from a trust for personal expenses such as buy a car or a house or pay your mistress.
But there is also this note: "Post to legal expenses." This would imply they were trying to deduct the payments as trust expenses, which would be illegal. The payments would be for the personal benefit of Donald Trump, which is not deductible. So there is potential tax fraud.
posted by JackFlash at 3:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
> There was an email between Trump Org execs saying "Please pay this from the Trust."
I'm assuming the "the Trust" is some sort of family entity, and therefore a personal account. This would be the way to do it if you wanted to legally pay hush money. You couldn't do it from a Trump Organization business account. You can spend money from a trust for personal expenses such as buy a car or a house or pay your mistress.
But there is also this note: "Post to legal expenses." This would imply they were trying to deduct the payments as trust expenses, which would be illegal. The payments would be for the personal benefit of Donald Trump, which is not deductible. So there is potential tax fraud.
posted by JackFlash at 3:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Just a data point, not an indicator of how the Cruz/O'Rourke race is actually going: I live in Houston, in a rather well educated and upper class area. I have seen dozens of BETO signs in front yards. I have seen no Cruz signs. The local congressman (R) has a single sign with his name on it in the area. There are a fairly good number of signs for this opponent (D). Read into this what you will.
It's good to hear, but Houston was also pretty dark blue on that NYT 2016 election map.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's good to hear, but Houston was also pretty dark blue on that NYT 2016 election map.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Oh. Michael Cohen also paid $50,000 to a “tech company”?
Almost posted this too. Very curious about what those "tech services" are--especially because the information is (a) very vague but also (b) careful to note that it was related to the campaign. The CNBC article suggests it was reimbursement for a payment Cohen had already made, but I wonder if it could be a fee for Cohen's services as some kind of liaison or money man -- for Cohen to deliver money or information to "tech services" people in, oh, I don't know, Prague. Maybe my mind's just running wild, though.
posted by cudzoo at 3:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Almost posted this too. Very curious about what those "tech services" are--especially because the information is (a) very vague but also (b) careful to note that it was related to the campaign. The CNBC article suggests it was reimbursement for a payment Cohen had already made, but I wonder if it could be a fee for Cohen's services as some kind of liaison or money man -- for Cohen to deliver money or information to "tech services" people in, oh, I don't know, Prague. Maybe my mind's just running wild, though.
posted by cudzoo at 3:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Speaking of Beto, I had reason to drive around my rural Texas county today and was AMAZED at the number of Beto signs. This is a truly redneck place, poor and agricultural. But I must have seen ten Beto signs just on the few roads I traveled. Some had three signs, including our long-shot Democratic Congressional candidate Rick Kennedy, some just had Beto. No other political signs of any kind were out.
I know trying to judge by yard signs is a fool's game, but still... I also know our local democratic party was offering to deliver signs to anyone who wanted them (I demurred because where I live is so remote the only person who would see the sign is the UPS guy.) All this in a district that 538 rates 99% likely to go for the GOP incumbent (who I DESPISE).
So anyway, at the very least people ARE trying out here.
posted by threeturtles at 3:36 PM on August 22, 2018 [41 favorites]
I know trying to judge by yard signs is a fool's game, but still... I also know our local democratic party was offering to deliver signs to anyone who wanted them (I demurred because where I live is so remote the only person who would see the sign is the UPS guy.) All this in a district that 538 rates 99% likely to go for the GOP incumbent (who I DESPISE).
So anyway, at the very least people ARE trying out here.
posted by threeturtles at 3:36 PM on August 22, 2018 [41 favorites]
Lanny Davis on the Trump Tower meeting: "at this juncture I can only say that he was present during a discussion with Junior and dad, and beyond that, his testimony to the Senate Intelligence and House Intelligence committees was accurate."
A discussion with dad, huh? Interesting.
posted by zachlipton at 3:41 PM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
A discussion with dad, huh? Interesting.
posted by zachlipton at 3:41 PM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
On three separate issues, what Trump knew when emerges as critical
posted by kirkaracha at 3:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
When did Trump know about the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016? If he knew about it in advance, legal experts who have spoken with The Post suggest that Trump could be considered to have been involved in a conspiracy to violate legal prohibitions against soliciting something of value from a foreign actor.Ceterum autem censeo Trumpem esse delendam
In light of those concerns, let’s evaluate what Trump may have known about the Trump Tower meeting and the payments to Daniels and McDougal as well as how and when he’s denied knowing about them.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
at this juncture I can only say that he was present during a discussion with Junior and dad
Tonight's Fox News headline: "Why Did Michael Cohen Meet With Lanny Davis's Dad?"
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Tonight's Fox News headline: "Why Did Michael Cohen Meet With Lanny Davis's Dad?"
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
If one bombshell humiliating sex story after another had hit the media [...] that would have been enough to make the difference in the November vote.
I let out an audible half-laugh half-sob when I read this and now everyone in earshot is looking at me funny. You wildly overestimate how much people care about straight white cis men mistreating women. It would have made no difference at all.
posted by jesourie at 3:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [60 favorites]
I let out an audible half-laugh half-sob when I read this and now everyone in earshot is looking at me funny. You wildly overestimate how much people care about straight white cis men mistreating women. It would have made no difference at all.
posted by jesourie at 3:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [60 favorites]
I’ve donated because a blue TX senate seat would be huge, but if Beto doesn’t make it happen in Texas, he’d probably be #1 on my list for 2020. It’s so slick how he has these super liberal values that he won’t waver from, but does a great job of talking like he’s on your side, whatever it is. Everything about him is approachable. It’s something a lot of politicians struggle with or have no interest in doing.
posted by BeginAgain at 3:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by BeginAgain at 3:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
I let out an audible half-laugh half-sob when I read this and now everyone in earshot is looking at me funny. You wildly overestimate how much people care about straight white cis men mistreating women. It would have made no difference at all.
I mean...I, too, take an incredibly dim of the American electorate. And obviously we have no idea what could have happened in the slightly-less-dark timeline. But Clinton lost the electoral college by about 11,000 votes in the Midwest. What if the press spent more time on the Tabloid Candidate and less time implying the Clinton presidency would be the truly seedy and exhausting one? What if some of the 53% of white women Trump voters just didn't vote? When the margin is that slim, I'm a little more willing to have faith in what-ifs.
posted by grandiloquiet at 4:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
I mean...I, too, take an incredibly dim of the American electorate. And obviously we have no idea what could have happened in the slightly-less-dark timeline. But Clinton lost the electoral college by about 11,000 votes in the Midwest. What if the press spent more time on the Tabloid Candidate and less time implying the Clinton presidency would be the truly seedy and exhausting one? What if some of the 53% of white women Trump voters just didn't vote? When the margin is that slim, I'm a little more willing to have faith in what-ifs.
posted by grandiloquiet at 4:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
New Yorker, Jonathan Blizer, Will Anyone in the Trump Administration Ever Be Held Accountable for the Zero-Tolerance Policy?
Since the middle of July, a group of some twenty government officials has been gathering each week at the headquarters of Customs and Border Protection, in Washington, D.C., to discuss what the Trump Administration should do in the aftermath of the President’s failed zero-tolerance policy. The policy, which called for the criminal prosecution of anyone crossing the border illegally, and led to the separation of more than twenty-five hundred children from their parents, has coincided with a broader effort to dismantle the U.S. asylum system. Yet the government never had a plan for keeping track of the separated parents and children once they were in custody, and, even after a federal judge in San Diego, Dana Sabraw, ordered the government to reunite them, it struggled to comply. “I definitely haven’t seen contrition,” an Administration official, who told me about the weekly meetings, said. “But there was frustration with the incompetence of how zero tolerance got implemented. From the perspective of the political leaders here, there’s recognition of how badly the policy failed.” The lesson, according to the official, didn’t seem to be that the Administration had gone too far in separating families but, rather, that “we need to be smarter if we want to implement something on this scale” again.This is the same pattern as the travel ban. They started with total chaos and incompetence, everyone reacted, and courts stepped in. After a few more tries, they got slightly less stupid and figured out how to make it stick. And nobody can be held accountable, even when they planned this all along:
The meetings—which, the official said, were first called by a team at the White House that reports directly to Stephen Miller, the President’s senior adviser on policy—include representatives from the Department of Justice, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security. The main focus, the official added, has been to “map out” how the government can detain asylum seekers as they wait for a hearing before an immigration judge, which can take several months: “The job is to model all the steps in the process. If we go after families, where do we detain them? What are the resources required at each step?” (While officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the meetings, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense said in a statement that “the Department of Defense participates in many border planning meetings with DHS, CBP, and other federal partners,” adding that it “has also been asked by DHS and HHS”—the Department of Health and Human Services—“to plan for potential sheltering of family units and unaccompanied children on military installations.“)
In the next week, officials are planning to generate a first round of proposals, which is expected to include projections such as how many beds might be needed in detention centers and children’s shelters, as well as how many additional immigration judges and asylum officers should be hired to keep the system moving. The official told me that the proposals need not be restricted by existing federal laws and court agreements, such as the Flores settlement, which provides protections for the treatment of immigrant children in custody and guidelines on how long they can be detained. (The Administration is also trying to rewrite the terms of the Flores settlement.) It is all part of a “planning exercise,” in which the participants are encouraged to explore any option to end the “catch and release” of asylum seekers.
Such boldness doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. To date, no one in the Trump Administration has been held accountable for its family-separation policy, even after evidence has steadily mounted as to its immense human costs and administrative failures. The government’s own data show that it has had no appreciable effect on migration patterns throughout the summer, but the Administration pursued the policy anyway, targeting immigrant families.
...
Some five hundred and sixty children are still separated from their parents, including twenty-four who are five years old or younger, and the parents of more than three hundred and sixty of them have already been deported. Between seven hundred and eight hundred other children were reunited with their parents in detention, where their situation is especially confounding.
I asked the current Administration official whether the outcry over family separation had caught the government by surprise. It had, the official said. “The expectation was that the kids would go to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, that the parents would get deported, and that no one would care.” Yet, when it became clear that the public did, the Administration chose not to change course.posted by zachlipton at 4:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [60 favorites]
“The expectation was that the kids would go to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, that the parents would get deported, and that no one would care.”
Not everyone is like you, you Nazi bastard.
posted by benzenedream at 4:25 PM on August 22, 2018 [88 favorites]
Not everyone is like you, you Nazi bastard.
posted by benzenedream at 4:25 PM on August 22, 2018 [88 favorites]
Trump's posting these direct-to-camera videos to Twitter now—three today so far—where he rants about whatever grievances he has today in some sort of new effort to to the Presidency into a low rent vlogging shop. But aside from the weirdness of the format, what the hell happened to his eyes in these videos? Did they make him stare into the sun while he did this or something?
One of the videos is a Mollie Tibbetts rant, so I guess he's not interested in the family's request that "at this time, our family asks that we be allowed the time to process our devastating loss and share our grief in private."
posted by zachlipton at 4:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
One of the videos is a Mollie Tibbetts rant, so I guess he's not interested in the family's request that "at this time, our family asks that we be allowed the time to process our devastating loss and share our grief in private."
posted by zachlipton at 4:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
@JoyceWhiteVance: Alabama’s @SenDougJones calls for Kavanaugh confirmation process to hold off at least until October, when the National Archives will produce documents, so his full WH record is available for review, in light of yesterday’s “bombshell” convictions.
@imillhiser: This is significant. Jones often votes with conservadems like Manchin and Heitkamp. If he's saying this, it suggests that they may be inclined to vote against Kavanaugh. If all Dems stick together, either Collins or Murkowski, who claim to be pro-choice, can kill the nomination.
posted by zachlipton at 4:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [55 favorites]
@imillhiser: This is significant. Jones often votes with conservadems like Manchin and Heitkamp. If he's saying this, it suggests that they may be inclined to vote against Kavanaugh. If all Dems stick together, either Collins or Murkowski, who claim to be pro-choice, can kill the nomination.
posted by zachlipton at 4:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [55 favorites]
either Collins or Murkowski, who claim to be pro-choice, can kill the nomination
Collins will not save us.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:37 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
Collins will not save us.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:37 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
But aside from the weirdness of the format, what the hell happened to his eyes in these videos?
I don't know if he's ever been directly quoted saying it, but reportedly for some reason he thinks doing that squinty thing is some sort of Alpha Power Move™. That's why his official WH portrait has the same eye thing going on.
posted by sideshow at 4:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
I don't know if he's ever been directly quoted saying it, but reportedly for some reason he thinks doing that squinty thing is some sort of Alpha Power Move™. That's why his official WH portrait has the same eye thing going on.
posted by sideshow at 4:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
The thing I'm now seeing from a conservative blogosphere (read, my father-in-law) is that it doesn't count as high crimes and misdemeanors because it didn't take place while he was in office. (It being a campaign Finance violations with Cohen)
posted by Twain Device at 4:42 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Twain Device at 4:42 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
The thing I'm now seeing from a conservative blogosphere (read, my father-in-law) is that it doesn't count as high crimes and misdemeanors because it didn't take place while he was in office. (It being a campaign Finance violations with Cohen)
Obstruction of justice and violating the Emoluments Clause have taken place while he's been in office, though.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:48 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Obstruction of justice and violating the Emoluments Clause have taken place while he's been in office, though.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:48 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump's Now-Deleted Vlogs Offer A Look Into His Bizarre, Nonsensical Thoughts
He's very mad about China imposing tariffs. And windmills! Also endorses violence!
posted by kirkaracha at 4:54 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
He's very mad about China imposing tariffs. And windmills! Also endorses violence!
posted by kirkaracha at 4:54 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Re: Beto O'Rourke losing the Senate Race and then winning the presidency. Lincoln lost to Douglas in 1858 then won the presidency against Douglas and others in 1860.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
This is getting speculative, but it's pretty obvious that the president needs corrective eyewear that he doesn't use (because of vanity, squeamishness, or other hangup). That's my guess for the origin of his squinting habit.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is getting speculative, but it's pretty obvious that the president needs corrective eyewear that he doesn't use (because of vanity, squeamishness, or other hangup).
And all the traumatic eye damage he suffered.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
And all the traumatic eye damage he suffered.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
The thing I'm now seeing from a conservative blogosphere (read, my father-in-law) is that it doesn't count as high crimes and misdemeanors because it didn't take place while he was in office. (It being a campaign Finance violations with Cohen).
In addition to the obstruction occuring after the fact, the tax fraud likely committed by the Trump Org's repaying Cohen via sham legal services invoices (also likely with the President's approval and knowledge) occurred throughout 2017.
posted by notyou at 5:03 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
In addition to the obstruction occuring after the fact, the tax fraud likely committed by the Trump Org's repaying Cohen via sham legal services invoices (also likely with the President's approval and knowledge) occurred throughout 2017.
posted by notyou at 5:03 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
What the heck is he thinking with those twitter videos?
posted by notyou at 5:07 PM on August 22, 2018
posted by notyou at 5:07 PM on August 22, 2018
what is even happening with these vlogs, how is this meant to be damage control
He conflates 'ICE' and 'ISIS' (presumably meaning Daesh?) in one; I guess it's supposed to be a sick burn on Pelosi, somehow, I guess, but it makes him sound confused. He spins out completely into confused free-association riffing in another, and the vlog is only 39 seconds long and was clearly rehearsed. Is this Bill Shine's effort? And are these the best takes they could manage?
posted by halation at 5:09 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
He conflates 'ICE' and 'ISIS' (presumably meaning Daesh?) in one; I guess it's supposed to be a sick burn on Pelosi, somehow, I guess, but it makes him sound confused. He spins out completely into confused free-association riffing in another, and the vlog is only 39 seconds long and was clearly rehearsed. Is this Bill Shine's effort? And are these the best takes they could manage?
posted by halation at 5:09 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm dying to know who is producing these godawful videos bc I hope very much it is someone affiliated in some way with that little breitbart shitstain o'keefe
posted by poffin boffin at 5:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 5:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
That's what we were all asking about Ford Nation up here in Toronto.
...the show, taped one day before its airing, reportedly took five hours to record and an additional eight hours to edit.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
...the show, taped one day before its airing, reportedly took five hours to record and an additional eight hours to edit.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Is this Bill Shine's effort? And are these the best takes they could manage?
It's so reminiscent of the ones he used to make before he found Twitter, I think this has to be Trump's own initiative. Bad production values & all.
posted by scalefree at 5:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's so reminiscent of the ones he used to make before he found Twitter, I think this has to be Trump's own initiative. Bad production values & all.
posted by scalefree at 5:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Why was the [National Enquirer] deal suddenly called off?
Was the deal called off because Natl Enquirer decided they were going to go ahead and publish the story, or let McDougal publish somewhere else, or for some other reason?
From the indictment, the publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, had a longstanding agreement with Trump and Cohen to keep an eye out for sex scandals that might affect Trump's election. Being the sort of publication they are, they would likely be in a position to see those rumors first.
Pecker, as a Trump supporter, would buy the stories and kill them. The understanding was that Trump would later reimburse Pecker for the kill fees and transfer the rights to Trump. But when the Access Hollywood tape blew up, with the ensuing media frenzy, Pecker might consider it a very poor time to execute a shady payoff deal with Trump. So he canned the hand off to Trump.
>That deal must have been replaced with something.
Not necessarily. Pecker is a wealthy person. Unlike Cohen, he didn't need to be paid back by Trump right away. So he just decided to sit on the deal for a while until the firestorm blew over. He continued to suppress the McDougal the story same as before. Remember, he was doing this as a favor to Trump from the beginning.
But unfortunately Trump won the election and it certainly wouldn't do for Pecker to be receiving payoffs from the president-elect, so he continued to sit on the story as he has to this day.
Nothing particularly complicated here. Just bros covering for bros.
posted by JackFlash at 5:23 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Was the deal called off because Natl Enquirer decided they were going to go ahead and publish the story, or let McDougal publish somewhere else, or for some other reason?
From the indictment, the publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, had a longstanding agreement with Trump and Cohen to keep an eye out for sex scandals that might affect Trump's election. Being the sort of publication they are, they would likely be in a position to see those rumors first.
Pecker, as a Trump supporter, would buy the stories and kill them. The understanding was that Trump would later reimburse Pecker for the kill fees and transfer the rights to Trump. But when the Access Hollywood tape blew up, with the ensuing media frenzy, Pecker might consider it a very poor time to execute a shady payoff deal with Trump. So he canned the hand off to Trump.
>That deal must have been replaced with something.
Not necessarily. Pecker is a wealthy person. Unlike Cohen, he didn't need to be paid back by Trump right away. So he just decided to sit on the deal for a while until the firestorm blew over. He continued to suppress the McDougal the story same as before. Remember, he was doing this as a favor to Trump from the beginning.
But unfortunately Trump won the election and it certainly wouldn't do for Pecker to be receiving payoffs from the president-elect, so he continued to sit on the story as he has to this day.
Nothing particularly complicated here. Just bros covering for bros.
posted by JackFlash at 5:23 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
The thing I'm now seeing from a conservative blogosphere (read, my father-in-law) is that it doesn't count as high crimes and misdemeanors because it didn't take place while he was in office. (It being a campaign Finance violations with Cohen)
There is a subreddit called the great awakening that deals with q Anon and a lot of this stuff seems to pop up there first then make its way outward. It is a direct line into Teh Crazy, be warned. Like really some university group or the CIA or someone should be taking notes because it's like a real time case study on how rumors are formed and come to be. Even the theme in the background is apocalyptic. I assume it's all being manipulated by a handful of people but hats off to them. Idiots are buying it hook, line and sinker. Also a lot of clearly mentally ill or impaired people unfortunately.
They've decided that Cohen has really been working for Chelsea Clinton all along somethingsomethingDesperateHousewives. Thanks to Facebook what would have remained the raving of a single madman can now be delivered to your credulous elderly relatives and people with thinking disorders in no time at all!
posted by fshgrl at 5:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
There is a subreddit called the great awakening that deals with q Anon and a lot of this stuff seems to pop up there first then make its way outward. It is a direct line into Teh Crazy, be warned. Like really some university group or the CIA or someone should be taking notes because it's like a real time case study on how rumors are formed and come to be. Even the theme in the background is apocalyptic. I assume it's all being manipulated by a handful of people but hats off to them. Idiots are buying it hook, line and sinker. Also a lot of clearly mentally ill or impaired people unfortunately.
They've decided that Cohen has really been working for Chelsea Clinton all along somethingsomethingDesperateHousewives. Thanks to Facebook what would have remained the raving of a single madman can now be delivered to your credulous elderly relatives and people with thinking disorders in no time at all!
posted by fshgrl at 5:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
Technically a Plea Deal is a Deal, so Trump's brand is still intact here.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
One of the Manafort jurors is appearing live on Fox News tonight at 11:00EDT. Is this the MAGAhead who hung 10 counts? Or someone about to tell Fox to kiss his or her ass? Should be interesting but I'm not watching Fox News to find out. I'm sure any highlights will make it to Twitter inside 2 minutes.
posted by Justinian at 5:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 5:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
There is a subreddit called the great awakening that deals with q Anon and a lot of this stuff seems to pop up there first then make its way outward. It is a direct line into Teh Crazy, be warned. Like really some university group or the CIA or someone should be taking notes because it's like a real time case study on how rumors are formed and come to be.
I always assumed that most of /r/the_donald, /r/conspiracy, /r/thegreatawakening etc are state sponsored propaganda and psyops -- it's just that the state is Russia.
posted by nathan_teske at 5:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
I always assumed that most of /r/the_donald, /r/conspiracy, /r/thegreatawakening etc are state sponsored propaganda and psyops -- it's just that the state is Russia.
posted by nathan_teske at 5:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
The thing I'm now seeing from a conservative blogosphere (read, my father-in-law) is that it doesn't count as high crimes and misdemeanors because it didn't take place while he was in office. (It being a campaign Finance violations with Cohen)
Were flags with fringes mentioned, or admiralty courts? Wingnuts love the classics.
posted by emjaybee at 5:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Were flags with fringes mentioned, or admiralty courts? Wingnuts love the classics.
posted by emjaybee at 5:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
There have been multiple threats of mass shootings in the last 24 hours from /r/thegreatawakening which, regardless of their country of origin, are pretty horrifying. Reddit's completely abdicated any responsibility or control over safety in the pursuit of "free speech," and it's only a matter of time before people are killed because of it.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 5:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
I always assumed that most of /r/the_donald, /r/conspiracy, /r/thegreatawakening etc are state sponsored propaganda and psyops -- it's just that the state is Russia.
I agree with that for the Donald and maybe the GA started out that way but now it seems to be a meeting of the mentally unusual. These are the people who dream of burning witches and now they have the internet so they can all hang out together. yay. 0_0
Q is a 15-24 year old trolling the internet, imho. The posts are pretty idiotic and consistently wrong and they ALL reflect internet culture, nothing you couldn't learn by spending 4 or 5 years online and nothing you'd learn at all by having a normal job or life during that time.
posted by fshgrl at 5:44 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
I agree with that for the Donald and maybe the GA started out that way but now it seems to be a meeting of the mentally unusual. These are the people who dream of burning witches and now they have the internet so they can all hang out together. yay. 0_0
Q is a 15-24 year old trolling the internet, imho. The posts are pretty idiotic and consistently wrong and they ALL reflect internet culture, nothing you couldn't learn by spending 4 or 5 years online and nothing you'd learn at all by having a normal job or life during that time.
posted by fshgrl at 5:44 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
Speaking of all the Beto love, Gallup moves Texas to "competitive"
In Texas, any hope for Democratic victory is something we treat like a giant bubble; don't even breathe on it, don't look at it, hold your breath, cross your fingers, lest you pop it.
posted by emjaybee at 5:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [54 favorites]
In Texas, any hope for Democratic victory is something we treat like a giant bubble; don't even breathe on it, don't look at it, hold your breath, cross your fingers, lest you pop it.
posted by emjaybee at 5:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [54 favorites]
scalefree: It's so reminiscent of the ones he used to make before he found Twitter, I think this has to be Trump's own initiative. Bad production values & all.
As I've said before: The "When I'm president..." president. (Or the Onion's version of same, from back in the Bush era.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
As I've said before: The "When I'm president..." president. (Or the Onion's version of same, from back in the Bush era.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
The problem is that the people being trolled are apparently mostly 50- and 60-somethings who can't or won't be able to tell the difference between chan culture and the real world. The guy who murdered and maimed almost 1000 people in Las Vegas was a 64 year-old steeped in right-wing conspiracies just like QAnon, thought liberals were coming to take his guns, and believed in the need for a "patriotic" uprising. These people are saying the exact same things.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:50 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 5:50 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
One of the Manafort jurors is appearing live on Fox News tonight at 11:00EDT
I have a hunch we're about to hear a whole lot of uninformed complaining about this: Unsealed Manafort transcripts show juror tensions; mistrial requests denied
I have a hunch we're about to hear a whole lot of uninformed complaining about this: Unsealed Manafort transcripts show juror tensions; mistrial requests denied
Newly unsealed transcripts of sidebar discussions in the Paul Manafort trial show the judge in the case wrestled for days with a juror’s assertion that other members of the panel had discussed the case before deliberations began.The article also features Judge Ellis making other pronouncements (out of the jury's earshot) that the jurors "are intimidated" and that this trial is "this is unique in American history," and then realizing later in the day that he regretted his words:
The transcripts show Manafort’s defense team asked for a mistrial on multiple occasions, but those requests were denied by the judge.
...
The issue emerged two weeks ago, toward the end of the prosecution case, when a female juror expressed concerns that a handful of others on the panel were talking about the case before deliberations — which is prohibited by court rules.
Judge T.S. Ellis III called the unidentified juror in for a private discussion, in which she said another juror had recently said to her that “the defense was weak,” or words to that effect. That same juror had also said that about three jurors total had made comments that concerned her, because the rules of juries is they are not to discuss the issues in the case until they have heard all the evidence and begin deliberating.
He said his claim about the jurors being intimidated “is completely without any factual basis. I mean it’s sort of a human thing, but it has nothing whatever to do with the facts.”posted by zachlipton at 5:50 PM on August 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
Of his assertion that American history had never seen such a trial, the judge said, “that’s kind of a ridiculous thing for me to say.”
The thing I'm now seeing from a conservative blogosphere (read, my father-in-law) is that it doesn't count as high crimes and misdemeanors because it didn't take place while he was in office. (It being a campaign Finance violations with Cohen)
Ask your FIL if he remembers Whitewater and Ken Starr. Rs were certainly fine pursuing high crime and misdemeanors when it was Democrats' pre-office supposed wrongdoing.
posted by chris24 at 5:53 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Ask your FIL if he remembers Whitewater and Ken Starr. Rs were certainly fine pursuing high crime and misdemeanors when it was Democrats' pre-office supposed wrongdoing.
posted by chris24 at 5:53 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
Speaking of all the Beto love, Gallup moves Texas to "competitive"
I know nothing of the reality on the ground in Texas, but many of the great upsets in political history share one common factor -- an incumbent of storied power, wealth, name recognition, skilled staff, and money, who no one actually liked as a person.
Just saying....
posted by msalt at 5:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [17 favorites]
I know nothing of the reality on the ground in Texas, but many of the great upsets in political history share one common factor -- an incumbent of storied power, wealth, name recognition, skilled staff, and money, who no one actually liked as a person.
Just saying....
posted by msalt at 5:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [17 favorites]
You’re blowing on the bubble.
posted by AwkwardPause at 5:59 PM on August 22, 2018 [67 favorites]
posted by AwkwardPause at 5:59 PM on August 22, 2018 [67 favorites]
But what about the crimes Trump’s inner circle didn’t commit? (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
When confronted with the information that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts of tax and bank fraud and President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen has stated under oath that he broke the law “at the direction of a candidate for federal office,” a Trump supporter has two options.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:02 PM on August 22, 2018 [38 favorites]
One is to do what House Speaker Paul Ryan did: respond that you would need a lot more information before you could even begin to dream to venture a morsel of a hint of an opinion and then transform into a bat and swoop out of range of the camera.
Another is to point out, as Matt Schlapp quite sensibly did, that no one is tougher on crime than you, but surely these are not real crimes.
Look, you know crime. Crime is what Hillary Clinton did, and probably also Barack Obama, somehow. Crime is, as Donald Trump pointed out at his rally in West Virginia on Tuesday night, what Democrats want to fill the country with.
There are crimes, and then, there are crimes. We can all agree that nothing someone in an ostrich jacket does is a real crime. A real crime is something a mother does to make a better life for her children while wearing sneakers from a discount bin. You can tell that no real crime has been committed this time because nobody on Fox News is upset about it. If a crime had happened, like Clinton sent an email or an immigrant got a speeding ticket, Fox News would be covering it from wall to wall, and there would be no end to it.
WaPo, Aaron C. Davis, Trump called this White House defender ‘wonderful.’ He was fired from his previous job for alleged sexual harassment.
A conservative commentator who was lauded by President Trump this week as “wonderful” and who has argued that past sexual indiscretions should have no bearing on Trump’s presidency was fired from Arizona State University four years ago for making sexually explicit comments and gestures toward women, according to documents and a university official.posted by zachlipton at 6:02 PM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
An internal investigation by the university concluded that Paris Dennard, a surrogate during the campaign and now a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, told a recent college graduate who worked for him that he wanted to have sex with her. He “pretended to unzip his pants in her presence, tried to get her to sit on his lap, and made masturbatory gestures,” according to a university report obtained by The Washington Post.
According to the 2014 report, Dennard did not dispute those claims but said he committed the acts jokingly. The investigation began after the woman and a second female employee told superiors Dennard’s actions went too far and had made them uncomfortable.
Dennard, a CNN political commentator, opinion contributor to the Hill, and regular guest on NPR’s “Here & Now,” was working at the time as events director for ASU’s McCain Institute for International Leadership.
The thing I'm now seeing from a conservative blogosphere (read, my father-in-law) is that it doesn't count as high crimes and misdemeanors because it didn't take place while he was in office. (It being a campaign Finance violations with Cohen)
Literally Orrin Hatch: “I think he has changed a lot of his life once he was elected. I think Trump is a much better person today than he was then.”
None of them will ever admit he did anything wrong. Never. This isnt 1972, Republicans will never turn on him, ever.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [47 favorites]
Literally Orrin Hatch: “I think he has changed a lot of his life once he was elected. I think Trump is a much better person today than he was then.”
None of them will ever admit he did anything wrong. Never. This isnt 1972, Republicans will never turn on him, ever.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:20 PM on August 22, 2018 [47 favorites]
Fox News Slammed for Covering Tooth Fairy Over Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen Convictions
posted by kirkaracha at 6:31 PM on August 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 6:31 PM on August 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
WaPo Fact Checker, Not just misleading. Not merely false. A lie.
posted by zachlipton at 6:34 PM on August 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
In April, Trump finally weighed in, answering a question about whether he knew about a payment to porn star Stephanie Clifford, who uses the stage name Stormy Daniels, with a flat “no.”There's a useful timeline in there if you want to trace through the iterations of the lie, but I think it speaks pretty terribly of the Washington Post fact checker that, of the 4,229 false or misleading Trump claims they've tracked, they're only just now getting around to calling one of them a lie.
It’s now clear that the president’s statement was a lie — and that the people speaking for him repeated it
...
How to characterize Trump’s statements has become its own pitched political battle, with many of the president’s critics demanding that they be called “lies.” The Fact Checker has been hesitant to go that far, as it is difficult to document whether the president knows he is not telling the truth.
On Wednesday, Sanders said during a White House briefing that it was “a ridiculous accusation” to say the president has lied to the American people. But this week’s guilty plea by Cohen, offers indisputable evidence that Trump and his allies have been deliberately dishonest at every turn in their statements regarding payments to Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Here is the definitive story of a Trump lie
posted by zachlipton at 6:34 PM on August 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
They want to support Trump. They tried hard to ignore all the noise. They can't anymore. 'They're over it. This is not how a president comports himself.
Oh, bullshit. Let's recall what we knew about him before the election. Seth Meyers on A Closer Look:
Oh, bullshit. Let's recall what we knew about him before the election. Seth Meyers on A Closer Look:
...a lot of Americans just don't love the two choices. I mean, do you pick someone who's under federal investigation for using a private email server?posted by kirkaracha at 6:42 PM on August 22, 2018 [96 favorites]
Or do you pick someone who called Mexicans rapists, claimed the president was born in Kenya, proposed banning an entire religion from entering the US, mocked a disabled reporter, said John McCain wasn't a war hero because he was captured, attacked the parents of a fallen soldier, bragged about committing sexual assault, was accused by 12 women of committing sexual assault, said some of those women weren't attractive enough for him to sexually assault, said more countries should get nukes, said he'd force the military to commit war crimes, said a judge was biased because his parents were Mexican, said women should be punished for having abortions, incited violence at his rallies, called global warming a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, called for his opponent to be jailed, declared bankruptcy six times, bragged about not paying income taxes, stiffed his contractors and employees, lost a billion dollars in one year, scammed customers at his fake university, bought a six foot tall painting of himself with money from his fake foundation, has a trial for fraud coming up in November, insulted an opponent's looks, insulted an opponent's wife's looks, and bragged about grabbing women by the pussy?
How do you choose?
New Fox poll. A few highlights.
• Generic ballot: Ds up +11, 49 - 38. Up from +8 (48 - 40) last month
• Approval of Mueller probe: +22, 59 - 37. Up from +8 (48 - 40) last month.
A 14 point move in Mueller's direction seems like Trump is losing his propaganda battle there.
• GOP tax cut is less popular (40% favorable) than Obamacare (51% favorable).
posted by chris24 at 6:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
• Generic ballot: Ds up +11, 49 - 38. Up from +8 (48 - 40) last month
• Approval of Mueller probe: +22, 59 - 37. Up from +8 (48 - 40) last month.
A 14 point move in Mueller's direction seems like Trump is losing his propaganda battle there.
• GOP tax cut is less popular (40% favorable) than Obamacare (51% favorable).
posted by chris24 at 6:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [45 favorites]
WSJ, Why Michael Cohen Agreed to Plead Guilty—And Implicate the President. There's a lot in here, but let's just get this amazing quote out of the way first:
Trump's habit of stiffing his employees never fails to impress:
Mr. Cohen’s father urged him not to protect the president, saying he didn’t survive the Holocaust to have his name sullied by Mr. Trump, according to a person who was told about the conversation. The elder Mr. Cohen couldn’t be reached for comment.The gist here is that they threatened him with around 20 criminal counts and his wife, as a joint signatory on his tax returns, was also implicated. And David Pecker (the National Enquirer publisher) has talked to prosecutors and given them information about the payments.
Trump's habit of stiffing his employees never fails to impress:
Soon after the April raids, Mr. Cohen’s relationship with Mr. Trump began to deteriorate.posted by zachlipton at 6:48 PM on August 22, 2018 [54 favorites]
The estrangement began over legal bills, said a person who has spoken with Mr. Cohen about the matter. The Trump family covered part of Mr. Cohen’s legal fees after the raids, but then stopped paying.
Um, @passantino: Trump said he is considering a pardon for Paul Manafort, Fox's Ainsley Earhardt says after interview
This is because Trump reportedly "feels bad" for Manafort.
posted by zachlipton at 6:49 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
This is because Trump reportedly "feels bad" for Manafort.
posted by zachlipton at 6:49 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
So, Collins & Hunter. What's the outlook on their indictments leading to flipping the Senate? Is either of them resigning? Would either seat be in play if they did? What would the timeframe on either election be?
posted by scalefree at 6:50 PM on August 22, 2018
posted by scalefree at 6:50 PM on August 22, 2018
This is because Trump reportedly "feels bad" for Manafort.
He practically gushed over him. I wouldn't rule it out.
He practically gushed over him. I wouldn't rule it out.
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “Justice” took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break” - make up stories in order to get a “deal.” Such respect for a brave man!posted by scalefree at 6:53 PM on August 22, 2018
So, Collins & Hunter. What's the outlook on their indictments leading to flipping the Senate?
Since neither of them is a Senator the outlook is poor!
posted by Justinian at 6:54 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
Since neither of them is a Senator the outlook is poor!
posted by Justinian at 6:54 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
> I let out an audible half-laugh half-sob when I read this and now everyone in earshot is looking at me funny. You wildly overestimate how much people care about straight white cis men mistreating women.
Yeah, if someone said this was going to move the dial by 5% or 10%, I'd be snorting, too. If someone said 1% or 2%--well, maybe.
But could it move the dial 0.1% or 0.01%? Because that was the amount needed.
And the answer is: Yes, definitely.
In reality it might have been by 0.25% or even 0.5%. It would have continued an important narrative at an important moment in the campaign when, instead, other things came up and drowned this out.
It would have made a small difference--but that is the difference that was needed.
posted by flug at 6:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
Yeah, if someone said this was going to move the dial by 5% or 10%, I'd be snorting, too. If someone said 1% or 2%--well, maybe.
But could it move the dial 0.1% or 0.01%? Because that was the amount needed.
And the answer is: Yes, definitely.
In reality it might have been by 0.25% or even 0.5%. It would have continued an important narrative at an important moment in the campaign when, instead, other things came up and drowned this out.
It would have made a small difference--but that is the difference that was needed.
posted by flug at 6:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
If it helps, there is a Senator Collins who is a Republican she just isn't this Collins.
posted by Justinian at 6:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 6:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
I wonder if anyone's told the president that someone who's been pardoned can be subpoena'd for full details, since self-incrimination is no longer on the table. Once he's been pardoned, he has no legal excuse for not talking. (He could hold out, and hope for a pardon for the resulting contempt of court charges, but that's a loop that stops when the tangerine terror gets bored, and then Manafort's stuck with whatever legal status he was abandoned in.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Manafort wasn't, however, charged with anything directly related to the Russia inquiry. So Trump could pardon him for the tax and bank fraud stuff and withhold a pre-emptive Russia pardon. Thus Manafort would still enjoy 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in anything unrelated to cheating on his taxes (and the unregistered foreign agent counts from his next trial if that gets pardoned as well).
Trump probably doesn't give a shit if Manafort rolls on the money stuff. Trump isn't the one who gets poloniumed if Manafort implicates Russian oligarchs.
posted by Justinian at 7:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump probably doesn't give a shit if Manafort rolls on the money stuff. Trump isn't the one who gets poloniumed if Manafort implicates Russian oligarchs.
posted by Justinian at 7:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I thought Manafort wants prison because he's an assassination target if he's out. I am so confused on what all the consequences are of pardoning/ not pardoning.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:03 PM on August 22, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:03 PM on August 22, 2018
JackFlash > But when the Access Hollywood tape blew up, with the ensuing media frenzy, Pecker might consider it a very poor time to execute a shady payoff deal with Trump. So he canned the hand off to Trump.
Aha, that makes sense. The only part actually "called off" (or postponed or whatever) was the Trump reimbursement of Pecker's expense.
It also explains why Pecker suddenly ran McDougal on a magazine cover recently - basically trying to make it out as an "oh, yeah, just a regular business deal, no illegal campaign contributions whatsoever, just puttin' people on covers and all as usual, nothing to see here, move right along" type of thing.
posted by flug at 7:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Aha, that makes sense. The only part actually "called off" (or postponed or whatever) was the Trump reimbursement of Pecker's expense.
It also explains why Pecker suddenly ran McDougal on a magazine cover recently - basically trying to make it out as an "oh, yeah, just a regular business deal, no illegal campaign contributions whatsoever, just puttin' people on covers and all as usual, nothing to see here, move right along" type of thing.
posted by flug at 7:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
‘He’s Unraveling’: Why Cohen’s Betrayal Terrifies Trump (Michael Kruse | Politico)
“Perhaps for the first time, an insider has bitten back—hard.”
“Perhaps for the first time, an insider has bitten back—hard.”
... “He is terrified,” Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio told me early Wednesday morning. “This is 40 years of deceit coming home to torment him.”posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:06 PM on August 22, 2018 [33 favorites]
“Michael Cohen,” Lanny Davis, Cohen’s attorney, told CNN’s Don Lemon Tuesday night, “has information that would be of interest to Mr. Mueller in his probe of a conspiracy to corrupt American democracy.”
Trump has cast people adrift before. He has savaged people before. Some spoke up or talked back. It didn’t matter. They were dismissed as disgruntled ex-employees. They were dispatched as rhetorical irritants. Many of them were little more than co-opted sparring partners in rank celebrity feuds to feed his need for fame. They couldn’t hurt him.
But Cohen is not Rosie O’Donnell. Cohen is not Omarosa. And Trump seems to know it. Over the many decades that Trump has been a hyperpublic character clomping across the American landscape, one of his most predictable, clockwork-consistent patterns of behavior has been the launching of noisy, petulant epithets at people he sees as enemies, as obstacles, as disloyal. His conspicuous stretch of silence concerning Cohen was the loudest sound yet.
Rick Hasen is idly speculating about a Pecker plea deal at some point, perhaps after the election, seeing as the Cohen documents seem "to implicate folks at AMI for engaging in criminal campaign finance activity." Given the report above that Pecker is cooperating, he's clearly trying to save himself.
posted by zachlipton at 7:12 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 7:12 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
From the WSJ article,
”Adding to the pressure, David Pecker, the chairman of American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer, provided prosecutors with details about payments Mr. Cohen arranged with women who alleged sexual encounters with President Trump, including Mr. Trump’s knowledge of the deals.”
Prosecutors plan Pecker plea post proffered peccadillo palaver particulars.
posted by petebest at 7:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [69 favorites]
”Adding to the pressure, David Pecker, the chairman of American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer, provided prosecutors with details about payments Mr. Cohen arranged with women who alleged sexual encounters with President Trump, including Mr. Trump’s knowledge of the deals.”
Prosecutors plan Pecker plea post proffered peccadillo palaver particulars.
posted by petebest at 7:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [69 favorites]
Aha, that makes sense. The only part actually "called off" (or postponed or whatever) was the Trump reimbursement of Pecker's expense.
Yes, when the Access Hollywood tape blew up, Pecker postponed the payback from Trump as being ill-timed and too risky. But the very next day after the Hollywood tape, Stormy Daniels, sensing the time was ripe, approached the National Enquirer apparently looking for a deal to tell her story, not knowing that Pecker would just buy the story and kill it.
But Pecker, feeling the media heat around Access Hollywood, decided he couldn't get away with a second pay-and-kill deal so he passed the story off directly to Cohen. Effectively he told Cohen "I can't touch this one, but if you want do a deal directly without me, have at it." And that is exactly what Cohen did, executing a deal with Daniels lawyer and using money from his home equity loan to make the payment. But note that Pecker and the National Enquirer were still looking out for Trump's interests, on the prowl for sex scandals, but declining to get directly involved anymore.
So that is why one deal was done with the National Enquirer, in the calm before the Hollywood access tape came out, and the second was done directly by Cohen, when the National Enquirer declined anymore to get involved.
posted by JackFlash at 7:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [17 favorites]
Yes, when the Access Hollywood tape blew up, Pecker postponed the payback from Trump as being ill-timed and too risky. But the very next day after the Hollywood tape, Stormy Daniels, sensing the time was ripe, approached the National Enquirer apparently looking for a deal to tell her story, not knowing that Pecker would just buy the story and kill it.
But Pecker, feeling the media heat around Access Hollywood, decided he couldn't get away with a second pay-and-kill deal so he passed the story off directly to Cohen. Effectively he told Cohen "I can't touch this one, but if you want do a deal directly without me, have at it." And that is exactly what Cohen did, executing a deal with Daniels lawyer and using money from his home equity loan to make the payment. But note that Pecker and the National Enquirer were still looking out for Trump's interests, on the prowl for sex scandals, but declining to get directly involved anymore.
So that is why one deal was done with the National Enquirer, in the calm before the Hollywood access tape came out, and the second was done directly by Cohen, when the National Enquirer declined anymore to get involved.
posted by JackFlash at 7:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [17 favorites]
Manafort's gonna be pardoned. Maybe not this year, maybe not next. But he will get a pardon.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:34 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:34 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Boy, Cohen really, really wants to talk. The Hill says he wants to discuss being present at a meeting with Trump and Jr where they discussed the Trump Tower meeting.
posted by Brainy at 7:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Brainy at 7:39 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews
@DavidKlion: For the next 24 hours, everyone on cable news is going to be an overnight expert in land reform in southern Africa, and no one is going to be an overnight expert in white nationalist tropes
@AdamSerwer: Sometimes I think about the hysterical response to the people who described [him] early and accurately, because the truth made them feel bad.
Worse, Trump had to delete and retweet it, because the President of the United States originally tagged some dude named @MikePompeo4USA, who is not the Secretary of State.
@chick_in_kiev: so the president just tagged a fan account for his secretary of state instead of the secretary of state’s real account while boosting a racist fox news segment im going to bed
imagine being the person that runs a mike pompeo fan account jesus christ
If you're wondering where all this is coming from: Ted Cruz Staff, USAID Met With Group That Called Apartheid A ‘So-Called’ Injustice
posted by zachlipton at 7:44 PM on August 22, 2018 [52 favorites]
@DavidKlion: For the next 24 hours, everyone on cable news is going to be an overnight expert in land reform in southern Africa, and no one is going to be an overnight expert in white nationalist tropes
@AdamSerwer: Sometimes I think about the hysterical response to the people who described [him] early and accurately, because the truth made them feel bad.
Worse, Trump had to delete and retweet it, because the President of the United States originally tagged some dude named @MikePompeo4USA, who is not the Secretary of State.
@chick_in_kiev: so the president just tagged a fan account for his secretary of state instead of the secretary of state’s real account while boosting a racist fox news segment im going to bed
imagine being the person that runs a mike pompeo fan account jesus christ
If you're wondering where all this is coming from: Ted Cruz Staff, USAID Met With Group That Called Apartheid A ‘So-Called’ Injustice
posted by zachlipton at 7:44 PM on August 22, 2018 [52 favorites]
Manafort's gonna be pardoned. Maybe not this year, maybe not next. But he will get a pardon.
Yeah, sure, why not. But Manafort faces many, many state charges that Trump can't discharge with a wave of his stubby hands.
posted by dogrose at 7:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, sure, why not. But Manafort faces many, many state charges that Trump can't discharge with a wave of his stubby hands.
posted by dogrose at 7:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Cohen needs to be in protective custody. He's in as much danger of taking a polonium vitamin for breakfast or "accidentally" falling from a 30th floor balcony as Manafort.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:45 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Senate Democrats want to know whether Kavanaugh crossed line as source during Clinton probe (WaPo):
posted by peeedro at 7:50 PM on August 22, 2018 [58 favorites]
During independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr’s tumultuous investigation of President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, there were loud objections and even lawsuits filed over the fact that information meant to be kept secret was being leaked to the press by Starr’s staff.Includes a reporter who has recordings from 1998 of Starr's team offering up Kavanaugh for info and that he subsequently set up an interview with Kavanaugh at Old Ebbitt Grill. The reporter's 1999 book says he discussed Hillary Clinton's alleged affair with Vince Foster with an unnamed informant at Old Ebbitt Grill. If you connect the dots, looks like Kavanaugh was leaking confidential information from the Independent Counsel investigation including far-right conspiracy fodder about Hillary Clinton.
Among those guiding the journalists and authors was a young lawyer named Brett M. Kavanaugh, now a federal judge and President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.
posted by peeedro at 7:50 PM on August 22, 2018 [58 favorites]
For the record, we made it about 40 hours from the White House being pleased with itself for deporting a Nazi before the President ordered a government agency to look into the granddaddy of white genocide complaints that are de rigueur on the most hateful of websites.
posted by zachlipton at 7:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 7:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews
I guess it should be surprising that it took this long for him to start explicitly spreading White Genocide memes. What's not so surprising, though, that it comes at this particular moment, on the heels of their gleeful exploitation of Tibbett. Whenever confronted with existential threats to itself, the administration's atavistic response is the rally the base with threats of racial violence to come and promises of racial violence to be delivered.
The "hey whites, we're what's standing between you and death at the hands of subhumans" strategy works like a charm for his 25% and no amount of suffering and bloodshed will make them stop using it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
I guess it should be surprising that it took this long for him to start explicitly spreading White Genocide memes. What's not so surprising, though, that it comes at this particular moment, on the heels of their gleeful exploitation of Tibbett. Whenever confronted with existential threats to itself, the administration's atavistic response is the rally the base with threats of racial violence to come and promises of racial violence to be delivered.
The "hey whites, we're what's standing between you and death at the hands of subhumans" strategy works like a charm for his 25% and no amount of suffering and bloodshed will make them stop using it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:57 PM on August 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
dances_with_sneetches: "Re: Beto O'Rourke losing the Senate Race and then winning the presidency. Lincoln lost to Douglas in 1858 then won the presidency against Douglas and others in 1860."
Not to go too far down the 19th century politics hole, but the 1860 election featured four candidates winning states and Lincoln only getting 39.8%. We're not likely to see any analogous situation in 2020.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:01 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Not to go too far down the 19th century politics hole, but the 1860 election featured four candidates winning states and Lincoln only getting 39.8%. We're not likely to see any analogous situation in 2020.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:01 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on whether the President lied when he said that he knew nothing about the Karen McDougal payment (something the President's lawyer Giuliani has repeatedly admitted, and regarding which the President's former lawyer Cohen just pleaded guilty): "I think that's a ridiculous accusation".
Those of us who lived through the beta testing release of Trump, Rob Ford, will recall that early on, His Worship’s default response to questions about the crack tape were to call it “ridiculous.” And then, as now, the term “ridiculous” has nothing to say about truthfulness of accusations. Yes, it was indeed ridiculous to imagine a prominent public figure smoking crack on camera, but it did happen.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
Those of us who lived through the beta testing release of Trump, Rob Ford, will recall that early on, His Worship’s default response to questions about the crack tape were to call it “ridiculous.” And then, as now, the term “ridiculous” has nothing to say about truthfulness of accusations. Yes, it was indeed ridiculous to imagine a prominent public figure smoking crack on camera, but it did happen.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:05 PM on August 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
chris24: "New Fox poll. A few highlights.
• Generic ballot: Ds up +11, 49 - 38. Up from +8 (48 - 40) last month"
Exciting, isn't it? Of course, a Monmouth generic also dropped today that was D+5 (48-43). My advice is to always stick to the average, and not get too excited either way.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:07 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
• Generic ballot: Ds up +11, 49 - 38. Up from +8 (48 - 40) last month"
Exciting, isn't it? Of course, a Monmouth generic also dropped today that was D+5 (48-43). My advice is to always stick to the average, and not get too excited either way.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:07 PM on August 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Oh, bullshit. Let's recall what we knew about him before the election. Seth Meyers on A Closer Look:
IMHO Seth Meyers is the Jon Stewart for the Trump era. His A Closer Look segments are extremely cathartic for me!
posted by bluesky43 at 8:10 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
IMHO Seth Meyers is the Jon Stewart for the Trump era. His A Closer Look segments are extremely cathartic for me!
posted by bluesky43 at 8:10 PM on August 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
And Ipsos is down to D+3. It seems really, really noisy but I suppose that's what happens with a tracking poll. The average is still hanging around 7-7.5 most of the time even with all these fluctuations in individual pollsters.
posted by Justinian at 8:10 PM on August 22, 2018
posted by Justinian at 8:10 PM on August 22, 2018
Manafort's gonna be pardoned. Maybe not this year, maybe not next. But he will get a pardon.
Yeah, sure, why not. But Manafort faces many, many state charges that Trump can't discharge with a wave of his stubby hands.
This was the brilliance of the Mueller referral to NYS. I love Robert Mueller.
posted by bluesky43 at 8:11 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yeah, sure, why not. But Manafort faces many, many state charges that Trump can't discharge with a wave of his stubby hands.
This was the brilliance of the Mueller referral to NYS. I love Robert Mueller.
posted by bluesky43 at 8:11 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
NYT, Betsy DeVos Is Said to Weigh Letting School Districts Use Federal Funds to Buy Guns
posted by zachlipton at 8:13 PM on August 22, 2018 [76 favorites]
Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, is considering whether to allow states to use federal funding intended to increase academic and enrichment opportunities to purchase guns for educators, according to multiple people with knowledge of the plan.It's hard to say this without tooting my own horn, but earlier today, I donated to a bunch of public schools through DonorsChoose, which has a couple of large match offers from foundations running today. Some of the projects I contributed to include buying a classroom computer projector, a bunch of deodorant, socks, underwear, hygiene products, and snacks for a high-poverty school, textbooks for a school that's trying to implement their science curriculum, and food, toothbrushes, and other necessities for a school that has a dozen homeless 3rd-8th graders. I'm happy to give what I can, but it's utterly enraging that the federal government is looking to buy guns for schools when I'm out here just trying to chip in a few bucks so a teacher can give homeless kids a damn toothbrush.
Such a move appears to be unprecedented, reversing a longstanding position taken by the federal government that it should not pay to outfit schools with weapons. And it would also undermine efforts by Congress to restrict the use of federal funding on guns. As recently as March, Congress passed a school safety bill that allocated $50 million a year to local school districts, but expressly prohibited the use of the money for firearms.
posted by zachlipton at 8:13 PM on August 22, 2018 [76 favorites]
Right-wing conflation of unreasonable fear of wild animals and (also unreasonable) fear of immigrants is a very real and weird phenomenon
This was up thread but its so true- If you want a view on this please read "Coyote America" By Dan Flores, which gives a very interesting perspective on this phenomenon from the perspective of Canis latrans. The reason why this book is so interesting to me is that we had people on this site in a thread about coyote killings talking about how evil the creatures are, and it wasn't until I read the book how I realized how entrenched this view of the animal is, and how connected to racism against people it is.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
This was up thread but its so true- If you want a view on this please read "Coyote America" By Dan Flores, which gives a very interesting perspective on this phenomenon from the perspective of Canis latrans. The reason why this book is so interesting to me is that we had people on this site in a thread about coyote killings talking about how evil the creatures are, and it wasn't until I read the book how I realized how entrenched this view of the animal is, and how connected to racism against people it is.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
It seems really, really noisy but I suppose that's what happens with a tracking poll. The average is still hanging around 7-7.5 most of the time even with all these fluctuations in individual pollsters.
It might be notable that the "gold standard" polls (basically, live interview) have been showing consistently more Dem than the IVR/online polls. Whether that's meaningful, we'll just have to wait and see.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
It might be notable that the "gold standard" polls (basically, live interview) have been showing consistently more Dem than the IVR/online polls. Whether that's meaningful, we'll just have to wait and see.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
But Cohen is not Rosie O’Donnell. Cohen is not Omarosa. And Trump seems to know it.
What the heck happened to Omarosa??? Where did she go???
posted by bluesky43 at 8:15 PM on August 22, 2018
What the heck happened to Omarosa??? Where did she go???
posted by bluesky43 at 8:15 PM on August 22, 2018
I think Omarosa went to the drive-thru at Nothing Burger.
posted by perhapses at 8:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by perhapses at 8:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [25 favorites]
@MarshallCohen: NEW: In an interview on Fox News, Manafort juror says there was a SINGLE holdout for the 10 counts that ended in a mistrial. The final votes were 11-1 for guilty. (They convicted Manafort on the other 8 counts of tax and bank fraud.) One of the jurors just said on Fox News that the jury did NOT trust Manafort deputy Rick Gates, who testified against him at trial. She said: “We agreed to throw out his testimony,” and focus on the documents and paper trail instead.
posted by zachlipton at 8:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:19 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Update: the juror Fox News had on is clearly a Trump supporter. She called Mueller's case "clearly a witch hunt to try to find Russian collusion" and said that Manafort wouldn't have been caught if not for Trump, but she found Manafort guilty.
posted by zachlipton at 8:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
These cultists serve on juries. God help us.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
I find it hard to believe that she a) made it through jury selection and b) made it through jury selection without lying.
Also c) that she was with everyone else on convicting over eight counts.
posted by Slackermagee at 8:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
Also c) that she was with everyone else on convicting over eight counts.
posted by Slackermagee at 8:35 PM on August 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
Given she was a MAGAhead who could have fucked the entire case we should count our lucky stars to get the 8 guilty verdicts. The 8 verdicts were spread across the 3 categories of crimes Manafort was charged with so guilty on those 8 is almost as good as guilty on all of them. Because the standard of proof for what the judge can take into account for sentencing is not beyond a reasonable doubt.
On the other hand, Trump and Fox News' assault on truth and the rule of law has almost succeeded. She is indoctrinated. She just thank jeebus felt a duty to find Manafort guilty on some stuff despite that indoctrination. What if the next MAGAhead on a jury doesnt?
posted by Justinian at 8:36 PM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
On the other hand, Trump and Fox News' assault on truth and the rule of law has almost succeeded. She is indoctrinated. She just thank jeebus felt a duty to find Manafort guilty on some stuff despite that indoctrination. What if the next MAGAhead on a jury doesnt?
posted by Justinian at 8:36 PM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
Does anyone doubt that this is the juror that was repeatedly starting drama to try to get the other jurors in trouble? We know it was one of the female jurors.
posted by Justinian at 8:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 8:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Oh his supporters are turning on Manafort now and claiming he was a plant. Q posted it months ago apparently- months!!
Ryan, Cruz, McConnell et al must know they have to flip on Trump at some point. But when and how? Who will inherit the leaderless mob? Who to ally with and who to stab in the back? This is more middle school than congressional so I'm not sure they're ready for it and it's possible some interloper could take it all. I'm sure they are holed up in their various towers furiously sending ravens back and forty and hiring witches. I can't wait to see how it goes down and I just hope it's all being recorded for the miniseries.
posted by fshgrl at 8:42 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Ryan, Cruz, McConnell et al must know they have to flip on Trump at some point. But when and how? Who will inherit the leaderless mob? Who to ally with and who to stab in the back? This is more middle school than congressional so I'm not sure they're ready for it and it's possible some interloper could take it all. I'm sure they are holed up in their various towers furiously sending ravens back and forty and hiring witches. I can't wait to see how it goes down and I just hope it's all being recorded for the miniseries.
posted by fshgrl at 8:42 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Huh. The MAGAhead... wasn't the lone holdout? She said it was one of the other jurors who held out. So the witch-hunty Trumpist wanted to find Manafort guilty on all 18 counts. I suppose its good to be reminded that people can be complicated.
Paul Manafort: So scummy even MAGAheads hate him.
posted by Justinian at 8:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
Paul Manafort: So scummy even MAGAheads hate him.
posted by Justinian at 8:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 Senate:
** 2018 Senate:
-- TX: Marist poll has GOP incumbent Cruz up 49-45 on Dem Cruz [MOE: +/- 3.8%]. Same poll has a relative blowout in the governor race (Abbott 56-37), similar to what Abbott pulled in 2014, lending credence to the Senate result.** 2018 House:
-- MN(A): Suffolk University poll has incumbent Dem Klobuchar up 54-34 on GOPer Newberger [MOE: +/- 4.4%].
-- MN(B): Same Suffolk poll has incumbent Dem Smith up 44-37 on GOPer Housley.
-- NJ: Quinnipiac poll has incumbent Dem Menendez up 43-37 on GOPer Hugin [MOE: +/- 4.4%].
-- WI: Marquette Law poll has incumbent Dem Baldwin up 49-47 on GOPer Vukmir [MOE: +/- 4.4%]. There's been some eyebrow raising about this one, as it seems to be an outlier - perhaps the likely voter screen is off. Notably, it has GOP enthusiasm exceeding Dem enthusiasm, which seems to be belied by special election and primary results.
-- NY-27: Local GOP interviewing possible replacements for Chris Collins; still unclear if they'll actually be able to get him off of the ballot, though.** Odds & ends:
-- Republicans criticizing NRCC's midterm strategy, particularly spending money on lost cause races.
-- 538 compares their model with the qualitative outfits (Cook, etc.), finds pretty good alignment.
-- SC gov: A pair of sponsored polls here. GOPer McMaster leads Dem Smith by 47-43 (Garin-Hart-Yang for Smith campaign) or maybe by 52-41 (Tarrance Group for the RGA).posted by Chrysostom at 8:49 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
-- MN gov: Same Suffolk poll has Dem Walt up 46-41 on GOPer Johnson.
-- WI gov: Same Marquette poll has Dem Evers tied at 46 with GOP incumbent Walker.
-- Roundup of AK & WY primaries.
NJ: Quinnipiac poll has incumbent Dem Menendez up 43-37 on GOPer Hugin
That's some weak shit. 6 points up and 7 points under 50%? For an incumbent in a blue state in a good environment.
posted by Justinian at 8:52 PM on August 22, 2018
That's some weak shit. 6 points up and 7 points under 50%? For an incumbent in a blue state in a good environment.
posted by Justinian at 8:52 PM on August 22, 2018
That's some weak shit. 6 points up and 7 points under 50%? For an incumbent in a blue state in a good environment.
Well up until the start of this year he was embroiled on felony corruption charges that were only dropped because of what could be termed a technicality. He's a shitty candidate and should have stepped down.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
Well up until the start of this year he was embroiled on felony corruption charges that were only dropped because of what could be termed a technicality. He's a shitty candidate and should have stepped down.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
Jared Holt is collecting responses from white supremacists to the President's South Africa tweet. They're all very excited. David Duke wants to know if we'll join Russia in taking in white South Africans as refugees (this has been a right-wing cause in Australia this year, fueled by the Murdoch papers), which rather tells on himself since he spent last year railing against the fact that Trump let in any refugees at all.
posted by zachlipton at 9:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 9:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [22 favorites]
Well, he's corrupt as fuck, of course. I think he'd be toast in 2016. But NJ hasn't elected a Republican to Senate since 1972, and I don't see them breaking that streak in this environment.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:00 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
kirkaracha: "The truth, Cruz wants me to know, is that he's always been a more lighthearted fellow than he's been given credit for being."
Cruz could be the fucking Patch Adams of US Senators and it wouldn't make any difference to the people he'd make destitute by eliminating Social Security and Medicaid. I hope Beto doesn't only beat him but does so by such a margin there is a new floor on the crazification factor.
The Card Cheat: "Orchestrating a criminal conspiracy with the assistance of a hostile foreign power in order to get yourself elected President of the United States seems like an awfully convoluted way to attempt to increase the profitability of your hotel chain, but far be it from me to try and plump the depths of the Trump psyche."
The Cheeto didn't expect to win and didn't want to win. All the crap currently swirling around the Trump Crime Family Syndicate likely never would have come to light if he hadn't won. The Cheeto only ran for the Grift that a presidential election campaign allows. Which is also why his 2020 campaign started on day 1.
JackFlash: "I'm assuming the "the Trust" is some sort of family entity, and therefore a personal account. This would be the way to do it if you wanted to legally pay hush money. You couldn't do it from a Trump Organization business account. You can spend money from a trust for personal expenses such as buy a car or a house or pay your mistress."
Is it still legal if the trust is the family's charitable trust? The one currently being investigated by NY State?
zachlipton: "Manafort wouldn't have been caught if not for Trump, but she found Manafort guilty."
Well that is probably true.
posted by Mitheral at 9:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
Cruz could be the fucking Patch Adams of US Senators and it wouldn't make any difference to the people he'd make destitute by eliminating Social Security and Medicaid. I hope Beto doesn't only beat him but does so by such a margin there is a new floor on the crazification factor.
The Card Cheat: "Orchestrating a criminal conspiracy with the assistance of a hostile foreign power in order to get yourself elected President of the United States seems like an awfully convoluted way to attempt to increase the profitability of your hotel chain, but far be it from me to try and plump the depths of the Trump psyche."
The Cheeto didn't expect to win and didn't want to win. All the crap currently swirling around the Trump Crime Family Syndicate likely never would have come to light if he hadn't won. The Cheeto only ran for the Grift that a presidential election campaign allows. Which is also why his 2020 campaign started on day 1.
JackFlash: "I'm assuming the "the Trust" is some sort of family entity, and therefore a personal account. This would be the way to do it if you wanted to legally pay hush money. You couldn't do it from a Trump Organization business account. You can spend money from a trust for personal expenses such as buy a car or a house or pay your mistress."
Is it still legal if the trust is the family's charitable trust? The one currently being investigated by NY State?
zachlipton: "Manafort wouldn't have been caught if not for Trump, but she found Manafort guilty."
Well that is probably true.
posted by Mitheral at 9:15 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
Breaking: DNC calls FBI after detecting attempt to hack its voter database (CNN)
An update here, from the DNC's chief security officer Bob Lord. They now think the phishing site was "built by a third party as part of a simulated phishing test on VoteBuilder" unauthorized by the DNC, VoteBuilder, or any other vendors, but that it wasn't an attempted hack by a foreign entity.
Sounds like someone did not have the best of ideas.
posted by zachlipton at 9:26 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
An update here, from the DNC's chief security officer Bob Lord. They now think the phishing site was "built by a third party as part of a simulated phishing test on VoteBuilder" unauthorized by the DNC, VoteBuilder, or any other vendors, but that it wasn't an attempted hack by a foreign entity.
Sounds like someone did not have the best of ideas.
posted by zachlipton at 9:26 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Cruz could be the fucking Patch Adams of US Senators and it wouldn't make any difference to the people he'd make destitute by eliminating Social Security and Medicaid. I hope Beto doesn't only beat him but does so by such a margin there is a new floor on the crazification factor.
Ted Cruz is an alien dressed in a human suit he learned to make by watching Men in Black & a sense of humor picked up from watching that Steve Buscemi SNL sketch. "How do you do, fellow humans?" If he does win it won't be because voters find him relatable.
posted by scalefree at 9:37 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Ted Cruz is an alien dressed in a human suit he learned to make by watching Men in Black & a sense of humor picked up from watching that Steve Buscemi SNL sketch. "How do you do, fellow humans?" If he does win it won't be because voters find him relatable.
posted by scalefree at 9:37 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
imagine being the person that runs a mike pompeo fan account jesus christ
I'm imagining a bored Russian in a cubicle in NovoSibirsk, actually.
posted by Rumple at 9:41 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
I'm imagining a bored Russian in a cubicle in NovoSibirsk, actually.
posted by Rumple at 9:41 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
Is it still legal if the trust is the family's charitable trust? The one currently being investigated by NY State?
NY State is investigating Trump's private foundation. That is an entirely different kind of entity from a trust and no executive would confuse them. According to the plea agreement the Trump executive's email said "Please pay from the Trust". They didn't say pay from the Foundation.
I doubt that Trump has a charitable trust. He probably has an inheritance trust to facilitate eventual transfer of his wealth to his children at his death. While he is alive he can write checks from the trust just as if from his own personal bank account.
So I don't think this payment came from the foundation that NY is investigating. That is an entirely different set of fraudulent activity.
But here's the stupid thing. It would be perfectly legal for Trump to use money from his Trust to pay hush money. What isn't legal is calling it "legal expenses" and taking a tax deduction, but that is what they did. Trump is so cheap that he just can't help himself from taking a perfectly legal expense and turning it into tax fraud to save a few bucks.
I'm guessing he does this so often that tax fraud is just as natural to him and his close associates as breathing. He routinely takes personal expenses and writes them off as tax deductions. It's a pretty difficult thing to catch in an organization as big as Trump's unless it turns up serendipitously in some other investigation (like this one).
posted by JackFlash at 9:47 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
NY State is investigating Trump's private foundation. That is an entirely different kind of entity from a trust and no executive would confuse them. According to the plea agreement the Trump executive's email said "Please pay from the Trust". They didn't say pay from the Foundation.
I doubt that Trump has a charitable trust. He probably has an inheritance trust to facilitate eventual transfer of his wealth to his children at his death. While he is alive he can write checks from the trust just as if from his own personal bank account.
So I don't think this payment came from the foundation that NY is investigating. That is an entirely different set of fraudulent activity.
But here's the stupid thing. It would be perfectly legal for Trump to use money from his Trust to pay hush money. What isn't legal is calling it "legal expenses" and taking a tax deduction, but that is what they did. Trump is so cheap that he just can't help himself from taking a perfectly legal expense and turning it into tax fraud to save a few bucks.
I'm guessing he does this so often that tax fraud is just as natural to him and his close associates as breathing. He routinely takes personal expenses and writes them off as tax deductions. It's a pretty difficult thing to catch in an organization as big as Trump's unless it turns up serendipitously in some other investigation (like this one).
posted by JackFlash at 9:47 PM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
What Comes Next In The Manafort Case?
First, it will be up to the government to decide whether it would like to seek a new trial on the counts where the jury deadlocked. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis gave prosecutors a week to inform him whether they would be doing so. Such a retrial would still likely be in front of Ellis, and some former prosecutors I spoke to Wednesday were skeptical that the government would seek that.posted by kirkaracha at 9:47 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
...
If it doesn’t look like the prosecutors will be seeking a retrial from the judge, then the ball will be in the defense’s court. They will have the opportunity to file two more requests of Judge Ellis: one that Manafort be acquitted on the 10 counts where there was a mistrial, another that he receive a new trial, on the basis of some procedural issue in the trial.
Manafort’s attorneys asked for 30 days to file those requests. The judge on Tuesday seemed inclined to give them that time, but said the government had until Friday to object to that timeline.
...
Sentencing won’t happen for at least three months...and maybe as much as eight.
that Steve Buscemi SNL sketch
30 Rock. My bad.
posted by scalefree at 9:53 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
30 Rock. My bad.
posted by scalefree at 9:53 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump repaid Cohen via Trump Org, as legal fees, same as he always did. It’s made clear here (and a bunch of other places).
posted by notyou at 10:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:27 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Trump administration is using federal disability law to disenfranchise minority voters
posted by Crystalinne at 10:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [66 favorites]
Randolph County, Georgia is the latest place where officials are using the American with Disabilities Act to suppress votes.They're pretending to care about disabled people (by CLOSING stations??) to infringe on voting rights. I'm so angry.
“It’s a diabolical move: citing one civil rights statute (the ADA) as the justification for violating another (the VRA),” Tucker, who previously worked in the DOJ’s Voting Section, told ThinkProgress. “These sorts of closures can effectively disenfranchise entire communities of voters, all under the false guise of purportedly seeking to make polling places accessible for the disabled.”
posted by Crystalinne at 10:30 PM on August 22, 2018 [66 favorites]
I think the Govt should object to the 30 day timeline and to the acquittal request, especially in light of the jurors’ (well one, anyway) seeming desire to turn the after trial into a Fox News circus. Close the door, move on.
posted by notyou at 10:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
the Department of Justice’s Disability Rights Section is targeting at least three largely Native American counties, where facilities used as polling locations often lack paved parking lots, designated handicapped parking spots, entrance ramps, wide doorways ...
Legal mefites: Is there a way for private citizens to get polling places closed in rural white counties? I seriously doubt the most rural district polling places can pass an ADA inspection.
posted by benzenedream at 10:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Legal mefites: Is there a way for private citizens to get polling places closed in rural white counties? I seriously doubt the most rural district polling places can pass an ADA inspection.
posted by benzenedream at 10:46 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Not too crazy about that idea. If progressives are also going to cynically deprive people of their right to vote, that kind of weakens the overall case for being progressive.
posted by xigxag at 10:59 PM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by xigxag at 10:59 PM on August 22, 2018 [34 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: NO COLLUSION - RIGGED WITCH HUNT!
The President of the United States, totally unconcerned at 1:10am.
@JSwiftTWS: Sir, Olive Garden is closed for the evening.
posted by zachlipton at 11:12 PM on August 22, 2018 [56 favorites]
The President of the United States, totally unconcerned at 1:10am.
@JSwiftTWS: Sir, Olive Garden is closed for the evening.
posted by zachlipton at 11:12 PM on August 22, 2018 [56 favorites]
Legal mefites: Is there a way for private citizens to get polling places closed in rural white counties? I seriously doubt the most rural district polling places can pass an ADA inspection.It's wrong to conspire to deliberately deprive legitimate voters of their franchise. Frankly it ought to be criminal in my opinion and even if it's not found to be it should be scandalous and shameful. But even if the courts will not take action and society hasn't yet seen fit to condemn those who engage in it it's morally wrong and not a tactic we can or should adopt.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:13 PM on August 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
Legal mefites: Is there a way for private citizens to get polling places closed in rural white counties? I seriously doubt the most rural district polling places can pass an ADA inspection.That's just still using ADA against a group as a tool. There are real disabled people who need access. How about instead raising hell to get those polling places ADA compliant, everywhere, instead of closing them down. I may not agree with rural, white voters on average, but they deserve their right to vote too. As do disabled people deserve their right to access and to vote. Disabled activists didn't crawl up steps in protest for the ADA to be used like this.
posted by Crystalinne at 11:18 PM on August 22, 2018 [31 favorites]
Trump repaid Cohen via Trump Org, as legal fees, same as he always did.
From notyou's source:
posted by msalt at 11:38 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
From notyou's source:
Trump’s trust paid Cohen early in 2017, but according to Trump’s attorney, he personally paid Cohen the rest of the monthly invoices.In context, that suggests that the Trump Org (corporation) (illegally) paid the January and February invoices -- enough to be illegal -- and Donald paid the rest himself. Probably because he found out it was illegal and was sort of ineptly covering it up.
posted by msalt at 11:38 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's wrong to conspire to deliberately deprive legitimate voters of their franchise.
Yeah but I'm sick of us playing fair and them cheating to win, over and over. Is there some way that the ACLU could sue, asking the court to either keep both open or close both? Because closing only the ones in minority areas sure seems like it would violate the Equal Protection clause.
posted by msalt at 11:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah but I'm sick of us playing fair and them cheating to win, over and over. Is there some way that the ACLU could sue, asking the court to either keep both open or close both? Because closing only the ones in minority areas sure seems like it would violate the Equal Protection clause.
posted by msalt at 11:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Also not all rural white voters are voting for Trump, or voting Republican. I realize that in most areas there aren't enough of them to shift the vote, but my relatives and friends who live in rural, white areas and are Democrats also deserve the right to cast their vote, even if you think it ultimately doesn't matter.
posted by tiger tiger at 11:48 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by tiger tiger at 11:48 PM on August 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
my relatives and friends who live in rural, white areas and are Democrats also deserve the right to cast their vote, even if you think it ultimately doesn't matter.
I know you know this, but your non-relatives and non-friends who are Republicans and Nazis deserve the right to cast their vote. Democracy isn't something that should be bartered away for a temporary advantage.
posted by jaduncan at 11:53 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
I know you know this, but your non-relatives and non-friends who are Republicans and Nazis deserve the right to cast their vote. Democracy isn't something that should be bartered away for a temporary advantage.
posted by jaduncan at 11:53 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
jaduncan, I'm confused. Not sure where you think we disagree--I am also against the suggestion to close polling places in rural, white areas as some are suggesting.
posted by tiger tiger at 12:00 AM on August 23, 2018
posted by tiger tiger at 12:00 AM on August 23, 2018
In context, that suggests that the Trump Org (corporation) (illegally) paid the January and February invoices -- enough to be illegal -- and Donald paid the rest himself.
I think the Trump attorney providing clarification is Giuliani, so, you know, I’d wager the Org was on the hook for the payments all year. Nevertheless, assuming Trump covered the fees out of his own pocket, there’s still the campaign finance violation and the conspiracy. And we’d probably still want to see the receipts for those payments to make sure they weren’t fraudulently expensed to some other Trump affiliated entity.
posted by notyou at 12:24 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think the Trump attorney providing clarification is Giuliani, so, you know, I’d wager the Org was on the hook for the payments all year. Nevertheless, assuming Trump covered the fees out of his own pocket, there’s still the campaign finance violation and the conspiracy. And we’d probably still want to see the receipts for those payments to make sure they weren’t fraudulently expensed to some other Trump affiliated entity.
posted by notyou at 12:24 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
The temptation to say, "well, let's do it to them, too!" is very strong. It appeals to our sense of balance and fair play - if some people can't have their full rights by law, then maybe nobody should have them.
We have to remember that this doesn't work. Never mind how unfair it is, how much it erodes the foundations of the laws we want to function - it's ineffective, because a culture that will happily disenfranchise minorities and allow gov't officers to steal from the public coffers absolutely will not turn that corruption against itself, no matter how reasonable it would be to interpret the law the same way when it's pointed at them.
Their claim is that the law is their tool, not ours, and that we are not allowed to choose how it's applied. We're not even allowed to know how it will be applied - it's a matter of their whims, not of reliable standards.
It's not "twisted laws" we're fighting. It's twisted people. We will need to fight through whatever roadblocks they put in our way, and vote them out, or push them through prosecutions, until their house of gilt-edged cards falls down. But as difficult as it's going to be - things have been worse, and they got better, because people fought for better.
The way to fight voting booth closures is with support to take people to the now-distant polling booths, and help them register for vote-by-mail, and make sure they know how to claim their time for voting, if their state allows it. Help them be part of the blue wave, so that the next few years can focus on moving the Overton window so far to the left that the two major parties are "Democratic" and "Democratic Socialist," and the Republicans are known as "those wacky bigots who hate health care" until they literally die out.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
We have to remember that this doesn't work. Never mind how unfair it is, how much it erodes the foundations of the laws we want to function - it's ineffective, because a culture that will happily disenfranchise minorities and allow gov't officers to steal from the public coffers absolutely will not turn that corruption against itself, no matter how reasonable it would be to interpret the law the same way when it's pointed at them.
Their claim is that the law is their tool, not ours, and that we are not allowed to choose how it's applied. We're not even allowed to know how it will be applied - it's a matter of their whims, not of reliable standards.
It's not "twisted laws" we're fighting. It's twisted people. We will need to fight through whatever roadblocks they put in our way, and vote them out, or push them through prosecutions, until their house of gilt-edged cards falls down. But as difficult as it's going to be - things have been worse, and they got better, because people fought for better.
The way to fight voting booth closures is with support to take people to the now-distant polling booths, and help them register for vote-by-mail, and make sure they know how to claim their time for voting, if their state allows it. Help them be part of the blue wave, so that the next few years can focus on moving the Overton window so far to the left that the two major parties are "Democratic" and "Democratic Socialist," and the Republicans are known as "those wacky bigots who hate health care" until they literally die out.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
I would like to see some sort of serious law, with teeth and penalties--frankly, firing squads at this point--for any government officials, agencies, whatever which put up any roadblocks to voting. ID laws, oddball polling hours, inadequate facilities, you name it. I'm so fucking pissed at this bullshit. Maybe all candidates associated with the party pulling the BS have to sit out the next election. I know, I know, unworkable.
How about this as a standard? All defense department contracts must have a fraud rate which matches the rate at which voter fraud occurs. I bet they can't get within a couple of orders of magnitude.
posted by maxwelton at 12:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [37 favorites]
How about this as a standard? All defense department contracts must have a fraud rate which matches the rate at which voter fraud occurs. I bet they can't get within a couple of orders of magnitude.
posted by maxwelton at 12:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [37 favorites]
South Africa currently has a large trade surplus (80% more exported than imported) with the US thanks to AGOA (African Growth and Oppurtunities Act). The anti-foreign trade lobby in the US wants to get SA out of from under the AGOA using the clause that makes it conditional on "respect for property rights". So Trump harping on this is the start of a concerted effort to do so.
Ironically if the GOP does manage to to this the right wingers here, especially those in rural areas, will be shooting themselves in the foot as our agricultural exports get cut to the US, our largest foreign market. Leopards and faces etc etc.
Also it's been almost two years and there has yet to be a US ambassador appointed here.
posted by PenDevil at 12:46 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Ironically if the GOP does manage to to this the right wingers here, especially those in rural areas, will be shooting themselves in the foot as our agricultural exports get cut to the US, our largest foreign market. Leopards and faces etc etc.
Also it's been almost two years and there has yet to be a US ambassador appointed here.
posted by PenDevil at 12:46 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
There is still no US Ambassador to Australia too. We have an acting-Ambassador though...
posted by awfurby at 12:52 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by awfurby at 12:52 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
We in NZ got a former male model as an ambassador, but then Bush sent us a realtor
posted by mbo at 12:52 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by mbo at 12:52 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wow, so a downgrade then...
posted by awfurby at 12:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by awfurby at 12:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Also it's been almost two years and there has yet to be a US ambassador appointed here.
True, but they've summoned the Chargé d’Affaires to demand an explanation. She's been a career foreign service officer for 24 years, and presumably did not get into it because she thought she'd have to go explain complaints the president threw forth one night after a network of white supremacists managed to get their message onto his favorite tv channel.
posted by zachlipton at 1:02 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
True, but they've summoned the Chargé d’Affaires to demand an explanation. She's been a career foreign service officer for 24 years, and presumably did not get into it because she thought she'd have to go explain complaints the president threw forth one night after a network of white supremacists managed to get their message onto his favorite tv channel.
posted by zachlipton at 1:02 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Wow, so a downgrade then...
Well compared with the guy Obama sent, who was most excellent, they were both downgrades, and essentially political hacks being paid off for some service they've done for the GOP
posted by mbo at 1:29 AM on August 23, 2018
Well compared with the guy Obama sent, who was most excellent, they were both downgrades, and essentially political hacks being paid off for some service they've done for the GOP
posted by mbo at 1:29 AM on August 23, 2018
The way to fight voting booth closures is with support to take people to the now-distant polling booths, and help them register for vote-by-mail, and make sure they know how to claim their time for voting, if their state allows it.
I don't have a good answer, but the closure of these local voting centers can be difficult problem to solve. A lot of poor people don't trust mail voting. Many people won't travel out of their way to vote. For some communities, voting is a community activity. They meet at the local voting booths as a get together event. We should do all we can, but closing local voting centers will depress voting in those communities.
posted by xammerboy at 1:58 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
I don't have a good answer, but the closure of these local voting centers can be difficult problem to solve. A lot of poor people don't trust mail voting. Many people won't travel out of their way to vote. For some communities, voting is a community activity. They meet at the local voting booths as a get together event. We should do all we can, but closing local voting centers will depress voting in those communities.
posted by xammerboy at 1:58 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Well compared with the guy Obama sent, who was most excellent, they were both downgrades, and essentially political hacks being paid off for some service they've done for the GOP
Speaking of downgrades, our previous Ambassador was Patrick Gaspard who is now at the Open Society. For months the rumours have been swirling that (South African born) Breitbart EIC Joel Pollak would get the nod to come over.
posted by PenDevil at 1:59 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Speaking of downgrades, our previous Ambassador was Patrick Gaspard who is now at the Open Society. For months the rumours have been swirling that (South African born) Breitbart EIC Joel Pollak would get the nod to come over.
posted by PenDevil at 1:59 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
The man who swore to uphold the constitution and our laws thinks it should be illegal for criminals to testify against other criminals. Funny coming from a guy who repeatedly and even recently advocated for the guilt and execution of the Central Park 5 where the defendants were turned against each other and individual "confessions" and statements were used to force all of them to sign false confessions. I guess he means flipping on white men.
Jill Colvin (AP)
Trump to Fox: "It's called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal ... they go from 10 years to they're a national hero. They have a statue erected in their honor. It's not a fair thing."
posted by chris24 at 4:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [23 favorites]
Jill Colvin (AP)
Trump to Fox: "It's called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal ... they go from 10 years to they're a national hero. They have a statue erected in their honor. It's not a fair thing."
posted by chris24 at 4:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [23 favorites]
Somewhere between "Lock her up" and "Build the wall", the next rally's litany of chants is going to include "Snitches get stitches."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:43 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:43 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
It's going about as well as expected. Usually not the boss who says he was just following orders.
Lisa Desjardins (PBS)
President Trump about the campaign: I wasn't in charge, people like to say that, but I wasn't in charge.
posted by chris24 at 4:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
Lisa Desjardins (PBS)
President Trump about the campaign: I wasn't in charge, people like to say that, but I wasn't in charge.
posted by chris24 at 4:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
"The buck stops anywhere but here."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:51 AM on August 23, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:51 AM on August 23, 2018 [45 favorites]
I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it.
- Voltaire
posted by adept256 at 5:01 AM on August 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
- Voltaire
posted by adept256 at 5:01 AM on August 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
The WaPo has coverage of the Manafor juror's appearance on Fox News, Lone holdout on Manafort jury blocked conviction on all counts, juror says. Three things stand out:
posted by peeedro at 5:07 AM on August 23, 2018 [76 favorites]
she described the special counsel team as seeming “a little bored” during the proceedings. “I saw them napping during the trial,” Duncan said, citing in particular prosecutors Brandon Van Grack and Greg Andres.This makes me think we're dealing with an unreliable narrator. Judge Ellis scolded attorneys for making disrespectful faces and rolling their eyes; napping seems unlikely to go unnoticed in Ellis's court.
“We’re supposed to assume he’s innocent and therefore he does not need to defend himself, and the judge made that very clear, that there is no requirement for him to do so. However, just based on what I saw, what I heard, I think I would have liked to have heard a little more from the defense,” she said. “They gave a very easygoing atmosphere to the whole thing, they objected to very little, and appeared agreeable throughout it all.”This sounds like a person who thinks a real courtroom works like they do on tv and doesn't understand that an objection is a violation of law or procedure and not a disagreement over the evidence.
Duncan also said the case was politicized. Prosecutors “tried to make the case about the Russian collusion right from the beginning, and of course the judge shut them down on that,” she said. “We did waste a bit of time with that shenanigans.”This makes me think this juror did not follow the court's instructions to avoid news coverage of the trial.
That comment might be taking into account information that was public but not presented to jurors. Judge T.S. Ellis III had barred both sides from broaching that topic of Russian collusion before the trial began.
posted by peeedro at 5:07 AM on August 23, 2018 [76 favorites]
President Trump about the campaign: I wasn't in charge, people like to say that, but I wasn't in charge.
NO PUPPET NO PUPPET YOU’RE THE PUPPET
posted by lydhre at 5:10 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
NO PUPPET NO PUPPET YOU’RE THE PUPPET
posted by lydhre at 5:10 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
That juror is going to get the whole thing chucked out on a mistrial
posted by chiquitita at 5:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by chiquitita at 5:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Listening to his interview, he gives himself an A+ in everything except how the media talks about him - which isn't actually a thing he did. It's classic narcissism, his only flaw is someone else's failing towards him.
posted by scalefree at 5:20 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 5:20 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
I don't have a good answer, but the closure of these local voting centers can be difficult problem to solve.
The only response to this is, "It's un-American to close polling places." as loudly and often as possible.
posted by mikelieman at 5:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
The only response to this is, "It's un-American to close polling places." as loudly and often as possible.
posted by mikelieman at 5:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
If you're wondering where all this is coming from: Ted Cruz Staff, USAID Met With Group That Called Apartheid A ‘So-Called’ Injustice
Just a perfect reminder that American libertarianism is at its core an ideology built on, sustained by, and a willing participant in white supremacy:
Just a perfect reminder that American libertarianism is at its core an ideology built on, sustained by, and a willing participant in white supremacy:
In addition, Roets and Kriel tweeted about meetings at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank; the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank; and the International Republican Institute, a democracy promotion nonprofit that receives U.S. government funding.posted by zombieflanders at 5:24 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
“We agreed that rule of law and property rights are essential components of economic development,” Marian Tupy, a senior policy analyst at Cato, told HuffPost in an email. “Conversely, expropriation without compensation is incompatible with tranquility and prosperity. [The] international community should do what it can to dissuade [the South African] government from embracing catastrophic policies that destroyed Cuba, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.”
Asked about AfriForum’s apparently dismissive comment about apartheid being a “so-called” historical injustice, Tupy said there “should be no doubt that apartheid was a historical injustice” ― and then suggested there were similarities between the current South African government and the apartheid regime.
“The current policies of [the South African] government are explicitly racist, because not all South African citizens are treated equally before the law (some people are favored over others, as was the case under apartheid),” Tupy wrote.
[...]
Some in Washington appear to be persuaded by Roets’ narrative. “It is my understanding that AfriForum did not refer to ‘so-called’ injustices of apartheid; that we all agree that apartheid was an unjust system; that the words ‘so-called’ were lifted out of context to besmirch the reputation of AfriForum; and that a non-racial society based on individual, not group, identity ought to be the goal in South Africa,” Tupy wrote in an unprompted follow-up email that included Roets on the cc line.
Isn’t it true that a judge can set aside any verdict? Say, if there’s overwhelming evidence that someone committed a murder but the jury liked him or whatever so they acquit. It probably doesn’t happen very often.
posted by Melismata at 5:24 AM on August 23, 2018
posted by Melismata at 5:24 AM on August 23, 2018
Lone holdout on Manafort jury blocked conviction on all counts, juror says.
This says to me that the prosecution should definitely go for a re-trial on the 10 counts, and especially the bank-fraud-for-gig-in-Trump-Admin charge.
And a better fucking voir dire this time.
posted by mikelieman at 5:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
This says to me that the prosecution should definitely go for a re-trial on the 10 counts, and especially the bank-fraud-for-gig-in-Trump-Admin charge.
And a better fucking voir dire this time.
posted by mikelieman at 5:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
Was it once not legal for jurors to give interviews to the media? Or was there just a cultural shift to where it went from unthinkable to normal?
posted by thelonius at 5:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 5:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
A libertarian FB friend posted this drivel from Reason:
"But it's going nowhere, because of Hillary Clinton. Make that every Democrat who's ever run for federal office. Given how complex and abstruse campaign finance laws are, can any candidates be 100 percent confident they committed zero violations? Or, more to the point, that they cannot be credibly alleged to have committed violations?"
Shorter Reason: because Hillary Clinton exists - who we're sure is a multiple felon in our imagination (though somehow never indicted or convicted of anything in the real world, despite YEARS of hearings and investigations), we can ignore all actual convictions of Republicans, because staying on the right side of the law is HARD! Because even after Citizens United, campaign finance laws are just way too complicated too actually follow. Amirite?
posted by jetsetsc at 5:41 AM on August 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
"But it's going nowhere, because of Hillary Clinton. Make that every Democrat who's ever run for federal office. Given how complex and abstruse campaign finance laws are, can any candidates be 100 percent confident they committed zero violations? Or, more to the point, that they cannot be credibly alleged to have committed violations?"
Shorter Reason: because Hillary Clinton exists - who we're sure is a multiple felon in our imagination (though somehow never indicted or convicted of anything in the real world, despite YEARS of hearings and investigations), we can ignore all actual convictions of Republicans, because staying on the right side of the law is HARD! Because even after Citizens United, campaign finance laws are just way too complicated too actually follow. Amirite?
posted by jetsetsc at 5:41 AM on August 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
Why Trump Voters Won't Care About Cohen and Manafort's Convictions:
"The coalition is a strike at not just tone deafness in both Congress and the White House but also high levels of incompetence, negligence and shoddy performance at agencies, as well as inept social services, a bloated and incompetent bureaucracy, endless wars and multinational agreements and treaties that don’t benefit average people.
These voters knew who Trump was going in, they knew he was a thrice-married, Playmate-dating, Howard Stern regular who had the morals of an alley cat. They were willing to look past all of that because of how institutions had failed their communities for three consecutive presidencies.
Right now the value of Trump to the Trump voter is he is all that stands between them and handing the keys to Washington back over to the people inside Washington. That’s it. He’s their only option. You’ve got to pick the insiders or him."
Interesting read. Obviously a lot to pick apart here.
posted by rednikki at 6:02 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
"The coalition is a strike at not just tone deafness in both Congress and the White House but also high levels of incompetence, negligence and shoddy performance at agencies, as well as inept social services, a bloated and incompetent bureaucracy, endless wars and multinational agreements and treaties that don’t benefit average people.
These voters knew who Trump was going in, they knew he was a thrice-married, Playmate-dating, Howard Stern regular who had the morals of an alley cat. They were willing to look past all of that because of how institutions had failed their communities for three consecutive presidencies.
Right now the value of Trump to the Trump voter is he is all that stands between them and handing the keys to Washington back over to the people inside Washington. That’s it. He’s their only option. You’ve got to pick the insiders or him."
Interesting read. Obviously a lot to pick apart here.
posted by rednikki at 6:02 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Why Trump Voters Won't Care About Cohen and Manafort's Convictions
This is an op-ed from the staunchly pro-Trump Murdoch-owned NY Post. Of course their writer is going to take this position, if only to reassure the faithful and reinforce the party line. In the past, she's opined that "Trump's not the reason the GOP sputtered in Ohio", "the 2016 election was far from a fluke", and "Anti-Trump hysteria has only hardened his voters' support". It's useful to be acquainted with what the opposition's thinking, but we need to be aware of where links are coming from.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:10 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
This is an op-ed from the staunchly pro-Trump Murdoch-owned NY Post. Of course their writer is going to take this position, if only to reassure the faithful and reinforce the party line. In the past, she's opined that "Trump's not the reason the GOP sputtered in Ohio", "the 2016 election was far from a fluke", and "Anti-Trump hysteria has only hardened his voters' support". It's useful to be acquainted with what the opposition's thinking, but we need to be aware of where links are coming from.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:10 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
What Trump has done, by consistently defending his criminal associates, and by attacking the prosecutions as politically motivated or corrupt, is make the implicit obvious: Regular people go to prison; rich or connected people do whatever they want. At least most of the time. The surprise is not that Trump surrounded himself with advisers who committed crimes, or that Trump himself encouraged his advisers to flout the law. The surprise is the mere possibility that any of them will pay for it.Adam Serwer | The Atlantic
Attempting to get the jury in the Manafort trial to nullify was only the president’s latest attempt at undermining the rule of law. Since taking office, he has fired the FBI director over the investigation into his campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election; he has successfully urged the FBI’s leadership to purge civil servants he deems disloyal; and he has demanded the Justice Department prosecute his political rivals and critics. There is no law his allies must respect, and no transgression by his critics, real or imagined, that does not demand prosecution and punishment.
What Trump seeks is nothing less than a federal government that enriches himself and his allies, prosecutes his political opponents and critics, and turns a blind eye to any crimes he or any of his cohorts commit. The institutional guardrails that have restrained him will not hold forever. Either American voters will remove him from office, or the federal government will increasingly become an enterprise run for the benefit of a single wealthy family and whoever earns its favor.
Many commentators have described that kind of authoritarianism as foreign to the United States. But it isn’t. It has its inspiration and precursor in the racial kleptocracy of the Jim Crow South, in which states were essentially criminal enterprises that existed to expropriate black wealth, exploit black labor, disenfranchise black voters, and shield acts of racist terrorism and violence from prosecution.
Remnants of this society are still with us, from mass incarceration, to discrimination against black jurors, to stand-your-ground laws. But alongside it, America retains a system in which the wealthy remain largely immune to financial crimes. ... Trump himself is a remarkable synthesis of America’s history of cruelty toward people of color and the poor of any race, but he is still only a symptom of a greater disease.
Manafort and Cohen may see prison time. But even if they are held to account, the outcomes of their cases on Tuesday can’t legitimize a system of justice in which wealthy people who commit financial crimes can fully expect to get away with them.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:11 AM on August 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
Will Stancil points out that Haberman has written the same paragraph about Trump being "increasingly isolated" at least seven times over the last two years.
posted by octothorpe at 6:11 AM on August 23, 2018 [90 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:11 AM on August 23, 2018 [90 favorites]
“Increased isolation” being one of the unfortunate side effects of solipsism.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:13 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:13 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
They were willing to look past all of that because of how institutions had failed their communities for three consecutive presidencies.
I'm having a hard time taking seriously any article that has this sentence in it. Literally the only failing of past presidencies that he consistently promised to rectify was "not being openly white supremacist".
They voted for him because he hates non-white people like they do. They won't give a fuck about Cohen and Manafort because he hates non-white people like they do. They'll happily acquiesce to becoming a vassal state of Russia because he hates non-white people like they do. They would literally slit their own throats for him because he hates non-white people like they do.
tl;dr they're single-issue voters whose issue is being white supremacists
posted by tocts at 6:21 AM on August 23, 2018 [76 favorites]
I'm having a hard time taking seriously any article that has this sentence in it. Literally the only failing of past presidencies that he consistently promised to rectify was "not being openly white supremacist".
They voted for him because he hates non-white people like they do. They won't give a fuck about Cohen and Manafort because he hates non-white people like they do. They'll happily acquiesce to becoming a vassal state of Russia because he hates non-white people like they do. They would literally slit their own throats for him because he hates non-white people like they do.
tl;dr they're single-issue voters whose issue is being white supremacists
posted by tocts at 6:21 AM on August 23, 2018 [76 favorites]
I think there's a good chance that the Trump Trust cited paying the legal bills is Fred Trump's Trust. I remember waaaayy back in one of the many articles that looked in to the Trump family finances that Fred Trump had structured his bequest to partly be a trust and that an unnamed source in the Trump organization said that although Donald had no access to the bulk of the trust, he relied on the quarterly distributions because Trump Co is often (aways?) cash poor.
This is ancient history and I sure don't have time to find it but it stuck with me because it was indicative that old Fred both wanted control beyond the grave and understood his son's nature.
posted by readery at 6:43 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
This is ancient history and I sure don't have time to find it but it stuck with me because it was indicative that old Fred both wanted control beyond the grave and understood his son's nature.
posted by readery at 6:43 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Why Trump Voters Won't Care About Cohen and Manafort's Convictions
Who cares what they do or don't care about? The political value of these criminal convictions is that they motivate people who do care to get out and vote against Republicans.
(Not snarking at you, Rednikki, just tired of journos re-hashing the "uncaring, oblivious people are uncaring and oblivious" angle)
posted by Rykey at 6:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Who cares what they do or don't care about? The political value of these criminal convictions is that they motivate people who do care to get out and vote against Republicans.
(Not snarking at you, Rednikki, just tired of journos re-hashing the "uncaring, oblivious people are uncaring and oblivious" angle)
posted by Rykey at 6:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
tl;dr they're single-issue voters whose issue is being white supremacists
Now, now, I'm sure many of them would absolutely BLANCH at being labeled white supremacists. They are merely concerned, patriotic citizens who were concerned how institutions had failed their communities for three consecutive presidencies.
Communities that happened to be completely dominated by white, Christian, male, heterosexual, cis, Anglo-Saxon stock, conservatives who were unamused by the notion that people who were not white, Christian, male, heterosexual, cis, of Anglo-Saxon stock, or conservative deserved a minute of the government's time or assistance, equal rights and justice under law, the ability to cast a vote, or the ability to cast a vote that is actually counted.
posted by delfin at 6:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Now, now, I'm sure many of them would absolutely BLANCH at being labeled white supremacists. They are merely concerned, patriotic citizens who were concerned how institutions had failed their communities for three consecutive presidencies.
Communities that happened to be completely dominated by white, Christian, male, heterosexual, cis, Anglo-Saxon stock, conservatives who were unamused by the notion that people who were not white, Christian, male, heterosexual, cis, of Anglo-Saxon stock, or conservative deserved a minute of the government's time or assistance, equal rights and justice under law, the ability to cast a vote, or the ability to cast a vote that is actually counted.
posted by delfin at 6:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
To tie together a couple things I've been saying: some very accurate generaliations don't apply at the margins and therefore don't work as absolutes.
For instance, Trump voters were and are essentially in the "deplorable" camp. They didn't care about corruption or the economy, they were racially resentful, full stop. However, that doesn't mean every significant fact about the Republican Party's political strengths boils down to racism. A number of folks either voted for Trump or stayed home because of percieved Clinton corruption and similar issues; racism is the GOP's primary fuel source but it still needs to supplement that with other issues. (In addition to rigging things at the margins with racist vote suppression.)
(According to the Vox article linked by kirkaracha, Donald had a ludicrous nine-point edge on being "less corrupt". Partial blame goes to horse-race coverage, a mindset in which you can't have one candidate hog all the bad traits, it doesn't make sense, so if Donald is a xenophobic sleazefart, then Hillary must be "the corrupt one".)
That set of voters is small enough not to represent "Trump voters" at all, but large enough to have an impact on what was an extremely close election. Hence, everything that hurts Trump, every indictment and stupid misstep, really does matter. He's only "teflon" in the sense that he possesses a cult that will not amabndon him even though they should have years ago for three dozen different reasons. He's not actually "untouchable" in that even his current numbers are set in stone. The stone gets eroded with every scandalous drip-drip-drip.
The recent upward shift in Mueller's approval rating also lines up with my suspicion that a fair amount of "disapproval" was from people hoping for him to indict everyone months ago -- a very reasonable expectation if you're informed of the regime's through awfulness but less acquainted with the typical agonizing slowness of the wheels of justice (at least when it comes to the types of crimes under consideration, thanks to the privileges of rich white men). Caveat: The polls would have to have been conducted before the newest events, but I think the existence of the Manafort trial would have had an effect, for example.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:56 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
For instance, Trump voters were and are essentially in the "deplorable" camp. They didn't care about corruption or the economy, they were racially resentful, full stop. However, that doesn't mean every significant fact about the Republican Party's political strengths boils down to racism. A number of folks either voted for Trump or stayed home because of percieved Clinton corruption and similar issues; racism is the GOP's primary fuel source but it still needs to supplement that with other issues. (In addition to rigging things at the margins with racist vote suppression.)
(According to the Vox article linked by kirkaracha, Donald had a ludicrous nine-point edge on being "less corrupt". Partial blame goes to horse-race coverage, a mindset in which you can't have one candidate hog all the bad traits, it doesn't make sense, so if Donald is a xenophobic sleazefart, then Hillary must be "the corrupt one".)
That set of voters is small enough not to represent "Trump voters" at all, but large enough to have an impact on what was an extremely close election. Hence, everything that hurts Trump, every indictment and stupid misstep, really does matter. He's only "teflon" in the sense that he possesses a cult that will not amabndon him even though they should have years ago for three dozen different reasons. He's not actually "untouchable" in that even his current numbers are set in stone. The stone gets eroded with every scandalous drip-drip-drip.
The recent upward shift in Mueller's approval rating also lines up with my suspicion that a fair amount of "disapproval" was from people hoping for him to indict everyone months ago -- a very reasonable expectation if you're informed of the regime's through awfulness but less acquainted with the typical agonizing slowness of the wheels of justice (at least when it comes to the types of crimes under consideration, thanks to the privileges of rich white men). Caveat: The polls would have to have been conducted before the newest events, but I think the existence of the Manafort trial would have had an effect, for example.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:56 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Isn’t it true that a judge can set aside any verdict? Say, if there’s overwhelming evidence that someone committed a murder but the jury liked him or whatever so they acquit. It probably doesn’t happen very often.
In civil cases either party can move to set aside a jury's verdict, and in a criminal case, a defendant can move to set aside a guilty verdict. Such motions can be granted when no reasonable jury could have properly arrived at the verdict based on the evidence presented. But there is no analogous trial motion available to the prosecution. This is why jury nullification is a thing.
posted by skewed at 7:05 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
In civil cases either party can move to set aside a jury's verdict, and in a criminal case, a defendant can move to set aside a guilty verdict. Such motions can be granted when no reasonable jury could have properly arrived at the verdict based on the evidence presented. But there is no analogous trial motion available to the prosecution. This is why jury nullification is a thing.
posted by skewed at 7:05 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
$1582 on video games on Steam (I would give anything to see the list of PC games he purchased)
AND SO YOU SHALL
Be sure to click on the triangle next to "Duncan Hunter" to see "also played as", with such classics as:
AND SO YOU SHALL
Be sure to click on the triangle next to "Duncan Hunter" to see "also played as", with such classics as:
- Trump2016_build_that_wall_bro
- Alimony Paying Tentacle
- Jew Fission
(According to the Vox article linked by kirkaracha, Donald had a ludicrous nine-point edge on being "less corrupt". Partial blame goes to horse-race coverage, a mindset in which you can't have one candidate hog all the bad traits, it doesn't make sense, so if Donald is a xenophobic sleazefart, then Hillary must be "the corrupt one".)
No, the issue is that fascists have a different definition of corrupt than we do. In their view, Clinton is "corrupt" because she "perverts the natural order" (that is, she's a woman seeking high elected office.)
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:28 AM on August 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
No, the issue is that fascists have a different definition of corrupt than we do. In their view, Clinton is "corrupt" because she "perverts the natural order" (that is, she's a woman seeking high elected office.)
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:28 AM on August 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
Fashion tip for white supremacists: In dowdy Boston, leave the steel-plated camo body armor at home - oh, and the loaded guns, too. A Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that Boston police did nothing wrong in ordering a white supremacist in town for a rally the week after Charlottesville to surrender his steel body armor and helmet if he wanted to get to the bandstand where his pals were gathering - and in arresting him when he came to pick them up afterwards because they found he'd hidden a loaded semi-automatic handgun inside the armor (turns out he had a license to carry in New York State, but, tsk, Massachusetts doesn't recognize NY gun licenses).
posted by adamg at 7:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [58 favorites]
posted by adamg at 7:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [58 favorites]
Fascists do have that alternative view, but even mainstream folk have been barraged for decades with endless screaming about how Hillary has committed every mortal sin known to mankind and invented a handful of new ones.
You don't have to believe that Hillary personally murdered Vince Foster or led the Benghazi embassy assault herself to hear twenty-five years of slander avalanches and think "well, at least SOME of that has to be true, right?"
posted by delfin at 7:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
You don't have to believe that Hillary personally murdered Vince Foster or led the Benghazi embassy assault herself to hear twenty-five years of slander avalanches and think "well, at least SOME of that has to be true, right?"
posted by delfin at 7:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Independent journalism group Proekt.Media has turned up more Putin-associated spycraft by convicted felon Paul Manafort (I love saying that) and his GRU handler/fixer, the indicted Konstantin Kilimnik, the Guardian reports: Paul Manafort Went to Kyrgyzstan to 'Strengthen Russia's Position'—Investigation claims former Trump campaign chair promoted Russian interests
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
According to a report published on Wednesday by the new investigative media outlet Project, Manafort and his fixer Konstantin Kilimnik were sent in 2005 to the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, where the two promoted Russian interests, including the closure of the US military base Manas.And following up on the "RUSSIAN OFFICIAL" named in Mariia Butina's indictment, Alexander Torshin is linked even more closely to Russian intelligence ops in the US, Politico has uncovered: Handler of Alleged Spy Butina Tied to Suspicious U.S.-Russia Exchange Program—Russian politician Alexander Torshin’s meetings with American students, coupled with his role managing alleged covert Russian agent Mariia Butina, suggest he may be a more important Kremlin operative than previously known.
According to the article, their travel was funded by a Russian oligarch who was later sanctioned by the US over meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.
“I heard about Kyrgyzstan – they went there to strengthen Russia’s position,” a former member of Manafort’s team from Ukraine said in the article, which was obtained by the Guardian before its release. A colleague of Kilimnik confirmed to Project that the two men worked there.
Kilimnik worked in the country for the then new president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who had come to power following an uprising dubbed the Tulip revolution. It would mark the second time Manafort appeared in a post-Soviet country shortly after a “coloured revolution”, as the uprisings sparked by contested elections which Moscow has blamed on malign US influence are known.
While Manafort’s work in the country has not previously been reported, leaked documents had indicated he later wired money that he received from a Ukrainian political party to offshore accounts he held in Kyrgyzstan.
Six years before he was exposed for allegedly managing a covert agent on U.S. soil, the Russian politician Alexander Torshin hosted young Americans visiting Moscow as part of two cultural exchange programs, including one that has drawn the FBI’s scrutiny.[...]Butina, of course, also met with Russian Cultural Center director Oleg Zhiganov before he was removed from the US as part of the group of spies expelled over the Skripal attack.
Many of the first-class student exchanges were officially organized by the Russian Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., and included top-flight meals, airfare and hotel accommodations. But the center’s exchange programs abruptly stopped in fall 2013, after FBI counterintelligence agents urgently located dozens of trip participants and told them the program was an elaborate cover for a Washington-based Russian spy recruiting effort.
The agents said the Russians had prepared dossiers on some of the most promising participants, two of the former students told POLITICO. They pressed for every detail of the program, including whom the students met, where they went and what they discussed. They also said that Russian government official [Oleg Zhiganov] who oversaw the program — from a mansion about a mile and a half from the White House — was a suspected spy and would be kicked out of the U.S. soon.[...]
The FBI’s interest in that cultural exchange program for young American political and business leaders was reported at the time, including a single, passing reference to Torshin. But the details of his involvement in the exchanges is a new revelation, as is his participation in the second exchange program for student body presidents at American universities dating back to at least 2010.[...]
While Torshin is not identified by name in the Butina court filings, several sources close to the investigation told POLITICO he is the Russian official described as directing Butina’s alleged efforts to establish “unofficial lines of communications with U.S. politicians and political organizations" and “to send reports, seek direction, and receive orders in furtherance of the conspiracy” from Moscow.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
cjelli: WaPo, Derek Hawkins: A person familiar with the incident said this morning that it was a test organized by the Michigan Democratic party, which brought on a group of volunteer white hat hackers, DigiDems, to do ''penetration testing" of the voter file. And they did so without notifying the DNC.
It's genuinely good to hear they're doing real testing! Notifying the target in any way might have jeopardized the experiment. Of course various people are going to misinterpret "Democrats... hacked themselves!" for either a "disarray" or "No Russia collusion" narrative. But as such, it seems everything happened the way it should.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:41 AM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
It's genuinely good to hear they're doing real testing! Notifying the target in any way might have jeopardized the experiment. Of course various people are going to misinterpret "Democrats... hacked themselves!" for either a "disarray" or "No Russia collusion" narrative. But as such, it seems everything happened the way it should.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:41 AM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition. There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” - Frank Wilhoit
Republicans make more sense when you accept that they think rich white men should be protected by the law but not subject to it. And everyone else should be subject to the law but not protected by it.
posted by chris24 at 7:46 AM on August 23, 2018 [176 favorites]
Republicans make more sense when you accept that they think rich white men should be protected by the law but not subject to it. And everyone else should be subject to the law but not protected by it.
posted by chris24 at 7:46 AM on August 23, 2018 [176 favorites]
Notifying the target in any way might have jeopardized the experiment
Notifying the DNC bosses before they had people call the FBI would have had minimal impact in my opinion. It's a minor screw-up.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:55 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Notifying the DNC bosses before they had people call the FBI would have had minimal impact in my opinion. It's a minor screw-up.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:55 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's genuinely good to hear they're doing real testing! Notifying the target in any way might have jeopardized the experiment.
A pen test should be indistinguishable from a real hack? That seem kind of highly impractical, and probably illegal.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 7:57 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
A pen test should be indistinguishable from a real hack? That seem kind of highly impractical, and probably illegal.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 7:57 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
chris24, I've never heard of Frank Wilhoit, but that is the single most elegantly concise formulation of the conservative mindset I've ever encountered. Thank you.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:00 AM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:00 AM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
Yes, that quote is prompting me to order a copy of The Politics of Massive Resistance.
posted by ian1977 at 8:03 AM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 8:03 AM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Of course various people are going to misinterpret "Democrats... hacked themselves!" for either a "disarray" or "No Russia collusion" narrative. But
one hopes we're finally at the point where tip-toeing around the sort of "various people" who are going to willfully misinterpret everything toward their poisonously skewed worldview regardless of what actually happened (or didn't) or was said (or wasn't). Maybe what we need is some sort of iconic t-shirt (and related branding) that effectively says with a straight face:
Are You Fucking Serious?
Because a lesson I learned a long long time ago, is that you can't let crazy people direct the conversation. Things just get ... crazy.
posted by philip-random at 8:07 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
one hopes we're finally at the point where tip-toeing around the sort of "various people" who are going to willfully misinterpret everything toward their poisonously skewed worldview regardless of what actually happened (or didn't) or was said (or wasn't). Maybe what we need is some sort of iconic t-shirt (and related branding) that effectively says with a straight face:
Are You Fucking Serious?
Because a lesson I learned a long long time ago, is that you can't let crazy people direct the conversation. Things just get ... crazy.
posted by philip-random at 8:07 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
T.D. Strange: $1582 on video games on Steam (I would give anything to see the list of PC games he purchased)
murphy slaw: AND SO YOU SHALL
Be sure to click on the triangle next to "Duncan Hunter" to see "also played as"
"The vape king of video games" indeed.
Rep. Duncan Hunter says Democrats, 'deep state' behind indictment, says he's not resigning (Andrew Dyer and Kristina Davis for the San Diego Union Tribune, Aug. 22, 2018)
But back to Duncan Hunter:
posted by filthy light thief at 8:11 AM on August 23, 2018 [29 favorites]
murphy slaw: AND SO YOU SHALL
Be sure to click on the triangle next to "Duncan Hunter" to see "also played as"
"The vape king of video games" indeed.
Rep. Duncan Hunter says Democrats, 'deep state' behind indictment, says he's not resigning (Andrew Dyer and Kristina Davis for the San Diego Union Tribune, Aug. 22, 2018)
Hunter said every purchase listed in the 47-page indictment was campaign-related.I'd love to hear how he spins paying for water bills, going to the dentist, and a solid 8 years on Steam as "campaign activities." Oh, I'm a dolt - he says it right there in his bio: "I'm a congressman! Tweet me @Rep_Hunter. See you on the battlefield! :steamhappy:" And it's clearly paying off big-time. See his rep points:
“They took legitimate campaign expenses and just tossed them all in and said these are all illegal,” he said.
Two of the items prosecutors cited — Pittsburgh Steelers games in 2010 and 2013 — amounted to $4,129 in alleged campaign spending on personal activities. Prosecutors identified one of the games as a family outing and the other as a birthday gift for a family member.
Hunter said both games were, in fact, campaign activities.
“They were massive campaign events,” he said. “(We were) raising money off doing them. That’s what we do.”
ItsRainingWhales Jul 23, 2017 @ 11:36amFYI, the Arabic name used by Grandpa James (جدي جيمس) translates to "My grandfather James" -- and the Japanese (ゴ異王 and 夜ァ芋花るム位 科ブせ) translates to "miserable" and "Buddhist altar at night." The internet is a weird place.
+rep And they say perfect politcians don' exist
Grandpa James Jul 21, 2017 @ 4:25am
+rep chill dude
But back to Duncan Hunter:
“I didn’t have as much visibility on my personal finances as I should have,” Hunter said. “There’s nothing illegal about being poor. I don’t think there’s anything illegal about not having money in your bank account.”Vape king has an odd definition of "poor."
Hunter is paid $174,000 a year as a member of Congress, and his campaign paid his wife $3,000 a month as campaign manager.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:11 AM on August 23, 2018 [29 favorites]
Not just misleading. Not merely false. A lie. WaPo Fact Checker (Glenn Kessler)
posted by kingless at 8:16 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
The first denial that Donald Trump knew about hush-money payments to silence women came four days before he was elected president, when his spokeswoman Hope Hicks said, without hedging, “We have no knowledge of any of this.”The article also provides a timeline of the statements made by Trump, Sanders, etc. beginning November 4, 2016.
The second came in January of this year, when his attorney Michael Cohen said the allegations were “outlandish.” By March, two of the president’s spokesmen — Raj Shah and Sarah Huckabee Sanders — said publicly that Trump denied all the allegations and any payments. Even Cohen’s attorney, David Schwartz, got in on the action, saying the president “was not aware of any of it.”
In April, Trump finally weighed in, answering a question about whether he knew about a payment to porn star Stephanie Clifford, who uses the stage name Stormy Daniels, with a flat “no.”
It’s now clear that the president’s statement was a lie — and that the people speaking for him repeated it.
posted by kingless at 8:16 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Okay I don't get the "vape king" thing . . . is that a weed reference? Is that, like, okay for a congressman? Or is it some other internet/ video game thing I don't know about?
posted by robotdevil at 8:16 AM on August 23, 2018
posted by robotdevil at 8:16 AM on August 23, 2018
Isn’t it true that a judge can set aside any verdict? Say, if there’s overwhelming evidence that someone committed a murder but the jury liked him or whatever so they acquit.
No. The judge can throw out a guilty verdict, or give a very light or suspended sentence, but the judge can't find someone guilty if the jury acquits.The law works to protect the innocent at the cost of sometimes letting the guilty go free.
That's the whole point of a jury trial - the community, not legal experts, get to decide whether what happened was really a crime. And having 12 of them is supposed to guarantee that no overwhelming bias by any one of them can let a guilty person go free--rather, you get a hung jury and a potential retrial, to avoid the problem of one or two biased or bought jury members.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:19 AM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
No. The judge can throw out a guilty verdict, or give a very light or suspended sentence, but the judge can't find someone guilty if the jury acquits.The law works to protect the innocent at the cost of sometimes letting the guilty go free.
That's the whole point of a jury trial - the community, not legal experts, get to decide whether what happened was really a crime. And having 12 of them is supposed to guarantee that no overwhelming bias by any one of them can let a guilty person go free--rather, you get a hung jury and a potential retrial, to avoid the problem of one or two biased or bought jury members.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:19 AM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Duncan Hunter, The Vaping Congressman, Also Got Indicted Yesterday
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:19 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:19 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Vaping tobacco products is a thing, but Hunter also lives in California where weed is legal.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:20 AM on August 23, 2018
posted by Sophie1 at 8:20 AM on August 23, 2018
Hunter is infamous for vaping during Congressional sessions, and has tried to insert handouts to the vaping industry in multiple funding bills.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:20 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 8:20 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
Okay I don't get the "vape king" thing
A vocal supporter of e-cigarettes, the California Republican proudly declared, "Yes, I vape," in an op-ed last year.posted by Etrigan at 8:21 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Are we sure that's not just some troll who changed their Steam name to Duncan Hunter?
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:21 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:21 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'd love to hear how he spins paying for water bills, going to the dentist, and a solid 8 years on Steam as "campaign activities."
Well, I suppose you have to bathe, not die from dehydration, and have nice teeth, to win an election to Congress. You're on your own with the Steam though.
posted by thelonius at 8:21 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well, I suppose you have to bathe, not die from dehydration, and have nice teeth, to win an election to Congress. You're on your own with the Steam though.
posted by thelonius at 8:21 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Vaping is also kind of a young-conservative shibboleth these days, largely because of how it enables them to flagrantly engage in an offensive/unhealthy personal habit, while claiming that it puts them on a bold new frontier of personal freedom by resisting anti-vaping laws and regulations.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:23 AM on August 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:23 AM on August 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
Trump this morning on Fox & Friends:
posted by zakur at 8:24 AM on August 23, 2018 [77 favorites]
I don't know how you can impeach somebody who has done a great job. I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor because without this thinking, you would see — you would see numbers that you wouldn't believe, in reverse.Got that? Numbers that you wouldn't believe. In reverse.
posted by zakur at 8:24 AM on August 23, 2018 [77 favorites]
It didnt just come from nowhere:
Grover Norquist Wants Vapers to Save the G.O.P.
New Yorker, Nov 2016
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Grover Norquist Wants Vapers to Save the G.O.P.
New Yorker, Nov 2016
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
BTW, ye denizens of Megathread Nation, refresh my memory here, 'cause my Google-fu's failing me? Remind me of the name of the architect of Russian disinformation and confoundment doctrine we've so often discussed here, the dude responsible for the idea that power may be pursued by undermining reality itself/throwing up so much chaff and superficially plausible but inconsistent narratives that the target population gives up on even trying to discern a common underlying reality?
If it helps, I'm not thinking of Aleksandr Dugin, as he's more geopolitical in focus.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
If it helps, I'm not thinking of Aleksandr Dugin, as he's more geopolitical in focus.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Why Michael Cohen agreed to plead guilty -- and implicate the president [WSJ]
Mr. Cohen’s father urged him not to protect the president, saying he didn’t survive the Holocaust to have his name sullied by Mr. Trump.posted by jgirl at 8:28 AM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
As someone who vapes to mitigate a decades long habit and not stink like shit and offend people at my workplace, fuck those guys.
posted by adept256 at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
Anyone wanna see convicted felon Paul "gratis" Manafort pimp Eric Trump's speech at the RNC in 2016 as interviewed by CBS That Morning? Sure, why not.
Bonus groper Charlie Rose and that rosy 2016-lets-treat-this-like-its-really-happening-but-not-really-because-c'mon media point of view.
Also, this could be the hindsight talking, but ol' Paulie Tax Fraud has some shifty-ass eyes.
posted by petebest at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2018
Bonus groper Charlie Rose and that rosy 2016-lets-treat-this-like-its-really-happening-but-not-really-because-c'mon media point of view.
Also, this could be the hindsight talking, but ol' Paulie Tax Fraud has some shifty-ass eyes.
posted by petebest at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2018
Vaping is also kind of a young-conservative shibboleth these days
Vaping is how you roll coal when you're not in your truck.
posted by dis_integration at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2018 [49 favorites]
Vaping is how you roll coal when you're not in your truck.
posted by dis_integration at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2018 [49 favorites]
As someone who vapes to mitigate a decades long habit and not stink like shit and offend people at my workplace, fuck those guys.
Chalk vaping up alongside mayonnaise and the undercut as yet another innocuous thing the ancaps and white supremacists have managed to smear their spoor all over & more or less permanently ruin.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:32 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
Chalk vaping up alongside mayonnaise and the undercut as yet another innocuous thing the ancaps and white supremacists have managed to smear their spoor all over & more or less permanently ruin.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:32 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
I wonder if anyone's told the president that someone who's been pardoned can be subpoena'd for full details, since self-incrimination is no longer on the table. Once he's been pardoned, he has no legal excuse for not talking. (He could hold out, and hope for a pardon for the resulting contempt of court charges, but that's a loop that stops when the tangerine terror gets bored, and then Manafort's stuck with whatever legal status he was abandoned in.)
I wonder what the upshot would be of pardoning someone who'd fled the country. Not like it would be that hard for one of these clowns to borrow a spare DeVos yacht and head somewhere with weak extradition laws. Once they're pardoned how do you get them back to testify, removed 5th Am protections or not? I guess you might get into esoterica like pardons vs contempt charges but they already vaguely floated that trial balloon with Sheriff Hatecrime. But overall that seems like it moves things into a territory where there's nothing further to be done.
The optics would be terrible but that seems to not concern Trump at all. The only thing I can think of that would be effective at that point would be civil measures to claw back money from remaining family.
Really that's about the most effective thing I can think of vs Trump and his family as well, and one of the things that makes me excited to see what happens with the attention on this "charity" foundation and going after all the fraud it's committed. Not only does that hurt them in one of the few ways they actually care about, but it means opportunities for seizures and looking around in accounts to get that money back. Financial embarrassment - the only kind of shame they can feel - on top of taking money and getting to peek in more sekret boxes? It's like resistance boxing day.
posted by phearlez at 8:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I wonder what the upshot would be of pardoning someone who'd fled the country. Not like it would be that hard for one of these clowns to borrow a spare DeVos yacht and head somewhere with weak extradition laws. Once they're pardoned how do you get them back to testify, removed 5th Am protections or not? I guess you might get into esoterica like pardons vs contempt charges but they already vaguely floated that trial balloon with Sheriff Hatecrime. But overall that seems like it moves things into a territory where there's nothing further to be done.
The optics would be terrible but that seems to not concern Trump at all. The only thing I can think of that would be effective at that point would be civil measures to claw back money from remaining family.
Really that's about the most effective thing I can think of vs Trump and his family as well, and one of the things that makes me excited to see what happens with the attention on this "charity" foundation and going after all the fraud it's committed. Not only does that hurt them in one of the few ways they actually care about, but it means opportunities for seizures and looking around in accounts to get that money back. Financial embarrassment - the only kind of shame they can feel - on top of taking money and getting to peek in more sekret boxes? It's like resistance boxing day.
posted by phearlez at 8:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Remind me of the name of the architect of Russian disinformation and confoundment doctrine we've so often discussed here, the dude responsible for the idea that power may be pursued by undermining reality itself/throwing up so much chaff and superficially plausible but inconsistent narratives that the target population gives up on even trying to discern a common underlying reality?
Maybe you mean Vladislav Surkov and Political Technologism?
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Maybe you mean Vladislav Surkov and Political Technologism?
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
adamgreenfield, are you thinking of Vladislav Surkov?
posted by peeedro at 8:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 8:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Russian disinformation doctrine in question might be the Gerasimov Doctrine.
posted by KatlaDragon at 8:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by KatlaDragon at 8:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Russian disinformation doctrine in question might be: The Gerasimov Doctrine?
Or maybe not, who knows anymore: I’m Sorry for Creating the ‘Gerasimov Doctrine’, I was the first to write about Russia’s infamous high-tech military strategy. One small problem: it doesn't exist.
posted by peeedro at 8:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Or maybe not, who knows anymore: I’m Sorry for Creating the ‘Gerasimov Doctrine’, I was the first to write about Russia’s infamous high-tech military strategy. One small problem: it doesn't exist.
posted by peeedro at 8:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Mod note: few comments removed, please feel free to refer to the giant MeTa thread about how we're trying to keep these threads on track.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:44 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:44 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Cheers peeedro, cheers RustMoranis, LOL Gerasimov.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:44 AM on August 23, 2018
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:44 AM on August 23, 2018
I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor
Christ, that really is the best he can do at this point, isn't it. Well, I guess I'd *still* rather weather a crashed market than to see what this orange scrotum could do to us in the next 2–6 years. Which could, ironically, itself entail a crashed market.
posted by Rykey at 8:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
Christ, that really is the best he can do at this point, isn't it. Well, I guess I'd *still* rather weather a crashed market than to see what this orange scrotum could do to us in the next 2–6 years. Which could, ironically, itself entail a crashed market.
posted by Rykey at 8:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
Mike Casca (BdB comm director)
uh, holy shit new @Reuters poll
"would you support a policy of medicare for all?"
democrats: 84.5%
republicans: 51.9%
---
Kyle Griffin (MSNBC)
Fox News poll: Do you favor or oppose Medicare for All?
46% Favor
31% Oppose
23% Don't know
Is health care the responsibility of American government?
63% Yes
30% No
posted by chris24 at 9:01 AM on August 23, 2018 [83 favorites]
uh, holy shit new @Reuters poll
"would you support a policy of medicare for all?"
democrats: 84.5%
republicans: 51.9%
---
Kyle Griffin (MSNBC)
Fox News poll: Do you favor or oppose Medicare for All?
46% Favor
31% Oppose
23% Don't know
Is health care the responsibility of American government?
63% Yes
30% No
posted by chris24 at 9:01 AM on August 23, 2018 [83 favorites]
It looks as though Team Trump is trying to push North Korea as their new distraction from Manafort/Cohen. @FoxNews: “President @realDonaldTrump: 'When I took over, President Obama thought we would have to go to war with North Korea.'”
Slate's Will Saletan (@saletan) wryly quotes Trump's self-congratulation: Trump on his triumph with North Korea: “Nobody could believe I was able to do it. Obama couldn’t get a meeting. Clinton couldn’t get a meeting. Bush couldn’t get a meeting. … I got a meeting.” (Fox & Friends, 8/23)
Meanwhile, Department of State (@StateDept): ".@SecPompeo announces Steve Biegun as the Special Representative for #NorthKorea, who will lead our efforts to achieve @POTUS Trump’s goal of the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea, as agreed to by Chairman Kim Jong Un." Biegun is currently Vice President, International Governmental Affairs, at Ford Motor Company and having served as Executive Secretary of the National Security Council during the G. W. Bush administration (where he specialized in Russia/Europe issues. rather than Asia/North Korea). They'll be visiting Pyongyang next week.
They'll have plenty to discuss, too, about Kim's lack of progress on denuclearization. A confidential UN report throws cold water on North Korea's claim that it is committed to denuclearization (Business Insider). And the think tank 38 North says sateillite images indicate North Korea halted dismantling of launch site (Reuters).
I don't know how you can impeach somebody who has done a great job. I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash.
Good grief, he's setting up this probability ahead of time the same way he started talking about a stolen election in fall 2016. His economic policies are going to crash and burn sooner rather than later, so he might as well link that eventuality to his probable political downfall.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:02 AM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Slate's Will Saletan (@saletan) wryly quotes Trump's self-congratulation: Trump on his triumph with North Korea: “Nobody could believe I was able to do it. Obama couldn’t get a meeting. Clinton couldn’t get a meeting. Bush couldn’t get a meeting. … I got a meeting.” (Fox & Friends, 8/23)
Meanwhile, Department of State (@StateDept): ".@SecPompeo announces Steve Biegun as the Special Representative for #NorthKorea, who will lead our efforts to achieve @POTUS Trump’s goal of the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea, as agreed to by Chairman Kim Jong Un." Biegun is currently Vice President, International Governmental Affairs, at Ford Motor Company and having served as Executive Secretary of the National Security Council during the G. W. Bush administration (where he specialized in Russia/Europe issues. rather than Asia/North Korea). They'll be visiting Pyongyang next week.
They'll have plenty to discuss, too, about Kim's lack of progress on denuclearization. A confidential UN report throws cold water on North Korea's claim that it is committed to denuclearization (Business Insider). And the think tank 38 North says sateillite images indicate North Korea halted dismantling of launch site (Reuters).
I don't know how you can impeach somebody who has done a great job. I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash.
Good grief, he's setting up this probability ahead of time the same way he started talking about a stolen election in fall 2016. His economic policies are going to crash and burn sooner rather than later, so he might as well link that eventuality to his probable political downfall.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:02 AM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Good piece in The Atlantic on Why Trump Supporters Don't Believe He's Corrupt despite saying strongly they're against corruption.
tl;dr - they're against corruption of the American traditions that include rich men abusing power escaping the consequences of misbehaviour, not against corruption of the rule of law.
It all depends what's being corrupted, and The Cult Of 45 see the correction of a corrupt body politic as being itself corruption. It's the pathogen's fear of the cure.
posted by Devonian at 9:06 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
tl;dr - they're against corruption of the American traditions that include rich men abusing power escaping the consequences of misbehaviour, not against corruption of the rule of law.
It all depends what's being corrupted, and The Cult Of 45 see the correction of a corrupt body politic as being itself corruption. It's the pathogen's fear of the cure.
posted by Devonian at 9:06 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor
I think it's a threat.
"That's an awfully nice country you have there. Would be a shame if something happened to it... everybody would be very poor..."
posted by sour cream at 9:08 AM on August 23, 2018 [46 favorites]
I think it's a threat.
"That's an awfully nice country you have there. Would be a shame if something happened to it... everybody would be very poor..."
posted by sour cream at 9:08 AM on August 23, 2018 [46 favorites]
"would you support a policy of medicare for all?"
republicans: 51.9%
Expect this to plummet once the health insurance industry sees it as a plausible outcome and starts spending money on lobbying and advertising to combat it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
republicans: 51.9%
Expect this to plummet once the health insurance industry sees it as a plausible outcome and starts spending money on lobbying and advertising to combat it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
Interesting article (Lawfare) by Alex Stamos, the ex-Facebook chief security officer, on election security: "It’s Too Late to Protect the 2018 Elections. But Here’s How the U.S. Can Prepare for 2020."
posted by ltl at 9:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
If the weak response of the Obama White House indicated to America’s adversaries that the U.S. government would not respond forcefully, then the subsequent actions of House Republicans and President Trump have signaled that our adversaries can expect powerful elected officials to help a hostile foreign power cover up attacks against their domestic opposition.Stamos left Facebook this year after disagreements with other executives about the scope of public disclosures regarding the Russian government's influence operation, with Stamos pushing to disclose as much as possible.
[...]
Republican efforts to downplay Russia’s role constitute a dangerous gamble: It is highly unlikely that future election meddling will continue to have such an unbalanced and positive impact for the GOP. The Russians are currently the United States’ most visible information-warfare adversaries, but they are not alone. Their proven playbook is now “in the wild” for anyone to use. Recent history has shown that once a large, powerful nation-state actor demonstrates the effectiveness of a technique, many other groups rush to build cheaper, often more nimble versions of the same capability.
[...]
In short, if the United States continues down this path, it risks allowing its elections to become the World Cup of information warfare, in which U.S. adversaries and allies battle to impose their various interests on the American electorate.
posted by ltl at 9:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor
Trump's mirror. His business would crash without Russian money-laundering propping it up, and he and his family would be very poor. That's what he means by "everybody".
posted by rocket88 at 9:20 AM on August 23, 2018 [42 favorites]
Trump's mirror. His business would crash without Russian money-laundering propping it up, and he and his family would be very poor. That's what he means by "everybody".
posted by rocket88 at 9:20 AM on August 23, 2018 [42 favorites]
petebest, that RNC video is such a weird little time capsule.
Thanks to you, I fell down the rabbit hole for more 2016 Manafort interviews and found this one from late July 2016 with CBS. The first two minutes, he points answers back to Hillary's emails and dodges a tax return question.
And then there's this amazing moment at 1:58 where he's asked point blank about Trump's relationships with Russia and he can't seem to make himself fully voice the lie:
posted by mochapickle at 9:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [40 favorites]
Thanks to you, I fell down the rabbit hole for more 2016 Manafort interviews and found this one from late July 2016 with CBS. The first two minutes, he points answers back to Hillary's emails and dodges a tax return question.
And then there's this amazing moment at 1:58 where he's asked point blank about Trump's relationships with Russia and he can't seem to make himself fully voice the lie:
Q: So to be clear, Mr. Trump has no financial relationships with any Russian oligarchs?Watch his eyes.
Manafort: Th-that's what he said. I'dn't-- I-- That's what I-- Obviously that's what the-- our position is.
posted by mochapickle at 9:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [40 favorites]
Somebody's getting nervous. I'm sure there's a Footloose joke to be made.
posted by scalefree at 9:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
@tedcruz Most Texans stand for the flag, but Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with NFL players protesting the national anthem that Kevin Bacon just retweeted it. That means all of us us can now win Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!@nowthisnews ‘I can think of nothing more American.’ — Beto O'Rourke — the man taking on Ted Cruz — brilliantly explains why NFL players kneeling during the anthem is not disrespectful@kevinbacon Thanks For sharing this!
posted by scalefree at 9:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash I would intentionally crash the market
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yes, there's definitely an implicit threat in Trump's prediction about a market crash if he's impeached.
On that note, the conservative Weekly Standard outlines a nightmare scenario: Trump's Nuclear Option—With Cohen and Manafort going to jail, the president could choose to burn the system down.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:31 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
On that note, the conservative Weekly Standard outlines a nightmare scenario: Trump's Nuclear Option—With Cohen and Manafort going to jail, the president could choose to burn the system down.
First, he will continue to draw a red line at his “no collusion” claim and insist that anything else Mueller finds is the harvest of an illegitimate Democratic “witch hunt” that seeks to overturn the election results through criminal process. This approach depends on Mueller finding no serious dirt on Trump related to Russian meddling. Even if that assumption holds, the mounting stench of criminality enclosing the Trump presidency may render the red line politically irrelevant.In a slightly better scenario, Trump could threaten this as leverage if he thought he could strike a deal with the political establishment to somehow save his skin. In his past business affairs when they went sour, he's certainly threatened his investors and creditors with declaring bankruptcy and walking away in order to negotiate better terms and keep his personal finances stable.
Which is why the president is also likely to deploy offensive weapons. Three powers that a president can wield unilaterally with practically limitless discretion and with little constraining process are pardons, dismissals of executive officials, and security clearance revocations.
Trump could bark orders today to pardon everyone Mueller is investigating (except possibly himself); to fire Mueller and his team, as well as everyone in the Justice Department who didn’t carry out this order; and to yank the security clearances of anyone he didn’t fire, which would seriously slow any federal investigation that remained.
If you think the wounded, cornered Trump won’t choose some version of this nuclear option, you haven’t been paying attention. Trump believes in his bones that razing the institutions around him brings him advantage. And even if that belief proves false in this context, he will enjoy trying to burn them down even as he is consumed.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:31 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
That means all of us us can now win Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!
If nothing else, imagine how much worse the world would be right now if the Texas Democratic Party hadn't been able to find a decent challenger and Ted Cruz had been allowed to just drift into a second term, propping up his eventual Presidential race.
He's below 50 percent as a Republican in Texas. He may stay in the Senate, but he isn't moving up, ever again.
posted by Etrigan at 9:32 AM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
If nothing else, imagine how much worse the world would be right now if the Texas Democratic Party hadn't been able to find a decent challenger and Ted Cruz had been allowed to just drift into a second term, propping up his eventual Presidential race.
He's below 50 percent as a Republican in Texas. He may stay in the Senate, but he isn't moving up, ever again.
posted by Etrigan at 9:32 AM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
Obama couldn’t get a meeting. Clinton couldn’t get a meeting. Bush couldn’t get a meeting. … I got a meeting
Obama didn’t get rolled. Clinton didn’t get rolled. Bush didn’t get rolled. … I got rolled.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:35 AM on August 23, 2018 [64 favorites]
Obama didn’t get rolled. Clinton didn’t get rolled. Bush didn’t get rolled. … I got rolled.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:35 AM on August 23, 2018 [64 favorites]
You can replace "if I ever got impeached" with "if Democrats take the house" or "if the next tax cut isn't passed" or any number of dumb excuses. The propaganda is already written. They know the market correction is coming eventually and they will find someone to blame.
posted by dilaudid at 9:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by dilaudid at 9:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
In a slightly better scenario, Trump could threaten this as leverage if he thought he could strike a deal with the political establishment to somehow save his skin. In his past business affairs when they went sour, he's certainly threatened his investors and creditors with declaring bankruptcy and walking away in order to negotiate better terms and keep his personal finances stable.
I notice that in all the paying off women thing, Doe v. Trump and Epstein's strange resolution -- at the same time as Cohen's payouts -- didn't get drawn mentioned, and expect that it's a card that Cohen's holding to play if he has to.
posted by mikelieman at 9:36 AM on August 23, 2018
I notice that in all the paying off women thing, Doe v. Trump and Epstein's strange resolution -- at the same time as Cohen's payouts -- didn't get drawn mentioned, and expect that it's a card that Cohen's holding to play if he has to.
posted by mikelieman at 9:36 AM on August 23, 2018
Most Texans stand for the flag, but Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with NFL players protesting the national anthem that Kevin Bacon just retweeted it. That means all of us us can now win Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!
Cruz even attempting a burn is almost physically painful. How did this utter vacuum of charisma make it so far in life? I blame David Dewhurst.
posted by orrnyereg at 9:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
Cruz even attempting a burn is almost physically painful. How did this utter vacuum of charisma make it so far in life? I blame David Dewhurst.
posted by orrnyereg at 9:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
So, with the national inquirer being a de facto Trump run magazine, this is ...interesting Publisher David Pecker of NE granted immunity in Cohen case.
posted by The Whelk at 9:43 AM on August 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:43 AM on August 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
The problem with expecting loyalty to go only one way is that eventually your allies catch on and aren't allies anymore.
posted by chris24 at 9:44 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 9:44 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
How did this utter vacuum of charisma make it so far in life?
@NinaTotenberg, 1:25 PM - 24 Feb 2016
posted by kirkaracha at 9:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [56 favorites]
@NinaTotenberg, 1:25 PM - 24 Feb 2016
#SCOTUS sources say Cruz asked to sit w Scalia clerks @ funeral. They said no. Then GOP leadership said no bc he wasn't 1 of them either.You know no one likes you when you get shunned at a funeral.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [56 favorites]
Reflecting on the relative ease of obtaining Michael Cohen and David Pecker's testimony that the President committed a felony related to campaign finance, I'm beginning to have more hope about this whole situation. I'm beginning to believe that if the Democrats take the House of Representatives in January, and control the investigative apparatus, they will uncover so many crimes, including ones unrelated to Mueller's Russian remit, that they will be able to successfully impeach and convict the President regardless of Mueller's timeline. We don't need every Republican Senator to acknowledge such a tidal wave of evidence: just enough to join with every Democratic Senator to reach a safe 2/3rds majority. It could happen!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:46 AM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:46 AM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but you don't grant immunity to Pecker unless he's got great evidence, the best evidence, evidence like you've never seen.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:47 AM on August 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 9:47 AM on August 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
Which is why the president is also likely to deploy offensive weapons. Three powers that a president can wield unilaterally with practically limitless discretion and with little constraining process are pardons, dismissals of executive officials, and security clearance revocations. [...] If you think the wounded, cornered Trump won’t choose some version of this nuclear option, you haven’t been paying attention.
Weird that this article refers to "three powers that a president can wield unilaterally with practically limitless discretion and with little constraining process", describing them as "offensive weapons" and a "nuclear option", without mentioning the fourth unilateral presidential power: the literal nuclear option.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 9:50 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Weird that this article refers to "three powers that a president can wield unilaterally with practically limitless discretion and with little constraining process", describing them as "offensive weapons" and a "nuclear option", without mentioning the fourth unilateral presidential power: the literal nuclear option.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 9:50 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Senate Signals Interest in Investigating Cohen's Claims on Trump
Let's check below the fold on that one...
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:51 AM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
Let's check below the fold on that one...
Senator Lindsey Graham, another Republican on the committee, said he didn’t want to open a probe at this point of Cohen’s claims that Trump directed him to pay hush money to two women in order to help him win the presidency because he didn’t want to interfere with an "ongoing investigation."Cool. Just one of the most senior Republican Senators clumsily trying to cover for Donny.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 9:51 AM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but you don't grant immunity to Pecker unless he's got great evidence, the best evidence, evidence like you've never seen.
I am voting this dude most likely to actually have the pee tape.
Pecker has the pee tape. Fire the writers.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [64 favorites]
I am voting this dude most likely to actually have the pee tape.
Pecker has the pee tape. Fire the writers.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [64 favorites]
without mentioning the fourth unilateral presidential power: the literal nuclear option.
Because the context for that list was ways he can hamstring the Mueller investigation. The idea of Trump dropping a literal nuclear bomb on DC is pretty far down on my list of immediate worries.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:54 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Because the context for that list was ways he can hamstring the Mueller investigation. The idea of Trump dropping a literal nuclear bomb on DC is pretty far down on my list of immediate worries.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:54 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
WSJ: Pecker Granted Immunity in Cohen Case
You know the old saying: live by the pecker die by the Pecker.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:55 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
You know the old saying: live by the pecker die by the Pecker.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:55 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Loony Left Update
Tenants across NYC push for universal rent control
“holy shit new @Reuters poll
"would you support a policy of medicare for all?"
democrats: 84.5%
republicans: 51.9%”
posted by The Whelk at 9:58 AM on August 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
Tenants across NYC push for universal rent control
“holy shit new @Reuters poll
"would you support a policy of medicare for all?"
democrats: 84.5%
republicans: 51.9%”
posted by The Whelk at 9:58 AM on August 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
without mentioning the fourth unilateral presidential power: the literal nuclear option.
See, thoughts like this are why I am going to keep canning and storing all my garden produce down in the basement.
posted by mike_honcho at 10:05 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
See, thoughts like this are why I am going to keep canning and storing all my garden produce down in the basement.
posted by mike_honcho at 10:05 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
You don't have to believe that Hillary personally murdered Vince Foster or led the Benghazi embassy assault herself to hear twenty-five years of slander avalanches and think "well, at least SOME of that has to be true, right?"
Remind me again why a foreign-owned propaganda machine is allowed to operate in this country...and literally talk to/at/for the president every GD day?
posted by sexyrobot at 10:09 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Remind me again why a foreign-owned propaganda machine is allowed to operate in this country...and literally talk to/at/for the president every GD day?
posted by sexyrobot at 10:09 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Remind me again why a foreign-owned propaganda machine is allowed to operate in this country...and literally talk to/at/for the president every GD day?
I believe the root-cause is that the Constitution is very poorly written and is predicated on a culture where duels upon the field of honor were an out-of-band mechanism for limiting bad-faith and dishonesty.
posted by mikelieman at 10:14 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
I believe the root-cause is that the Constitution is very poorly written and is predicated on a culture where duels upon the field of honor were an out-of-band mechanism for limiting bad-faith and dishonesty.
posted by mikelieman at 10:14 AM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Yowzers, David Pecker goes from facing 10 years to national hero.
posted by notyou at 10:17 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:17 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
TPM: Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s crusade to block Medicaid expansion in his state took another hit on Thursday, after the state’s highest court ruled that he must submit a plan to implement the Medicaid expansion voters overwhelmingly approved in 2017.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:17 AM on August 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:17 AM on August 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
I believe the root-cause is that the Constitution is very poorly written and is predicated on a culture where duels upon the field of honor were an out-of-band mechanism for limiting bad-faith and dishonesty.
Well they looked at the monarchy of King George the III and thought "we'll do the opposite".
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 10:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well they looked at the monarchy of King George the III and thought "we'll do the opposite".
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 10:18 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Bold strategy, not endlessly praising Trump & cravenly promising to comply with his merest whim. Over/under on how long before he's out on his ass & replaced by Rudy?
@ZoeTillman DOJ just released the following statement from AG Jeff Sessions: "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action."
[full statement follows]
posted by scalefree at 10:28 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
@ZoeTillman DOJ just released the following statement from AG Jeff Sessions: "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action."
[full statement follows]
posted by scalefree at 10:28 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
chris24, I've never heard of Frank Wilhoit, but that is the single most elegantly concise formulation of the conservative mindset I've ever encountered. Thank you.
posted by adamgreenfield
Yes, that quote is prompting me to order a copy of The Politics of Massive Resistance.
posted by ian1977
That's a different Frank Wilhoit, although the book is probably excellent. The comment on Crooked Timber is by Frank Wilhoit the composer.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:28 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield
Yes, that quote is prompting me to order a copy of The Politics of Massive Resistance.
posted by ian1977
That's a different Frank Wilhoit, although the book is probably excellent. The comment on Crooked Timber is by Frank Wilhoit the composer.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:28 AM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Remind me again why a foreign-owned propaganda machine is allowed to operate in this country...and literally talk to/at/for the president every GD day?
The falcon's too distracted by all that money to hear the falconer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:30 AM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
The falcon's too distracted by all that money to hear the falconer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:30 AM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Bold strategy, not endlessly praising Trump & cravenly promising to comply with his merest whim. Over/under on how long before he's out on his ass & replaced by Rudy?
Sessions has a meeting right now with Trump and Kushner on sentencing reform. Should be fun.
posted by chris24 at 10:35 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sessions has a meeting right now with Trump and Kushner on sentencing reform. Should be fun.
posted by chris24 at 10:35 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Um, how reliable is Russia Today? Because this is…really interesting.
The White House has Russian communication facilities
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
The White House has Russian communication facilities
KUBINKA, August 23 - RIA Novosti. The direct line of Washington - Moscow is carried out with the help of Russian communications, which are installed in the official residence of the US president, told RIA Novosti representative of Rostecha.Original story in Russian
"The complex of encrypted communications developed by Rostek, the concern of Automation, for the country's top leadership, which absorbed the best achievements in enciphering, was tested by US specialists and recommended by them for equipping the Moscow-Washington straight line. only Russian-made equipment, "- said the agency's interlocutor.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Minneapolis free weekly City Pages shows how to cover murder. U.S.-born American citizen in country legally charged in teen's death
posted by misterpatrick at 10:42 AM on August 23, 2018 [77 favorites]
posted by misterpatrick at 10:42 AM on August 23, 2018 [77 favorites]
Prosecutors informed the court they plan to cite "aggravating factors" in the case against Rothmeyer, the Star Tribune reports -- including his fleeing police and a "callous disregard" for his victims -- though Rothmeyer's country of origin, the United States, was not among them.
Nice.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Nice.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:45 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Remind me again why a foreign-owned propaganda machine is allowed to operate in this country...and literally talk to/at/for the president every GD day?
Assuming you’re talking about 21st Century Fox: Rupert Murdoch became a US citizen precisely so people wouldn’t ask this question.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:48 AM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Assuming you’re talking about 21st Century Fox: Rupert Murdoch became a US citizen precisely so people wouldn’t ask this question.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:48 AM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
DOJ just released the following statement from AG Jeff Sessions: "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action."
CNN's Laura Jarrett (@LauraAJarrett) offers some background: “After months of attacks, am told Sessions hit back today in part b/c of Trump's assertion he "never took control of the Justice Department" -- a "macro" criticism compared to the more granular gripes on Twitter about different individual cases”
Totally unrelatedly, Bloomberg reports: Key Republicans Signal Trump May Fire Sessions After Election
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:48 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
CNN's Laura Jarrett (@LauraAJarrett) offers some background: “After months of attacks, am told Sessions hit back today in part b/c of Trump's assertion he "never took control of the Justice Department" -- a "macro" criticism compared to the more granular gripes on Twitter about different individual cases”
Totally unrelatedly, Bloomberg reports: Key Republicans Signal Trump May Fire Sessions After Election
Two key Republican senators signaled to President Donald Trump that he could replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the midterm elections in November, a move that would open the way for firing Robert Mueller or constraining his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.Sessions is meeting with Trump in the White House as we type…
“The president’s entitled to an attorney general he has faith in, somebody that’s qualified for the job, and I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who may be in line to head the Judiciary Committee next year, told reporters Thursday. “Clearly, Attorney General Sessions doesn’t have the confidence of the president.”[...]
Graham warned against acting against Sessions before the election, calling that possibility “a nonstarter.” That “would create havoc” with Senate efforts to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and with the midterm elections in November, he said.[...]
Senator Chuck Grassley, the current Judiciary chairman, also changed his position on Thursday, saying in an interview that he’d be able to make time for hearings for a new attorney general after saying in the past that the panel was too busy to tackle that explosive possibility.[...]
Grassley declined to comment specifically on the fate of Sessions when asked about Graham’s prediction the president will replace him after the election.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:48 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
If Trump shot Michael Cohen in broad daylight, here's what Republicans would say.
posted by adamvasco at 10:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 10:53 AM on August 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
With Pruitt gone, is there another Senate-confirmed cabinet member with a legal degree that could step in without a confirmation hearing?
posted by contraption at 10:55 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by contraption at 10:55 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would think that the RT article is referring to the “Red Phone” hotline, which according to Wikipedia, hasn't even involved voice communication for most of its history much less any actual red phones.
posted by XMLicious at 10:57 AM on August 23, 2018Since 2008, the Moscow–Washington hotline has been a secure computer link over which messages are exchanged by a secure form of email.
I'm beginning to believe that if the Democrats take the House of Representatives in January, and control the investigative apparatus, they will uncover so many crimes, including ones unrelated to Mueller's Russian remit, that they will be able to successfully impeach and convict the President regardless of Mueller's timeline. We don't need every Republican Senator to acknowledge such a tidal wave of evidence: just enough to join with every Democratic Senator to reach a safe 2/3rds majority. It could happen!
A tiny reminder that when the Republican Senate faced bills that were slightly less popular than tertiary syphilis with the American public, the Democrats had to strain mightily to peel off _three_ defectors.
Let alone the sixteen-plus defectors that even a best-case scenario this fall would leave the Democratic Senate needing.
posted by delfin at 11:11 AM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
A tiny reminder that when the Republican Senate faced bills that were slightly less popular than tertiary syphilis with the American public, the Democrats had to strain mightily to peel off _three_ defectors.
Let alone the sixteen-plus defectors that even a best-case scenario this fall would leave the Democratic Senate needing.
posted by delfin at 11:11 AM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
If the dems take the House, and do impeach, it almost won't matter if Trump is convicted. I'd expect the blowback to almost paralyze the administration and Senate. There would, of course, be desperate scuttling to do as much damage as possible through appointments and other means, but I think it would be the end of most of their mischief.
posted by SandCounty at 11:13 AM on August 23, 2018
posted by SandCounty at 11:13 AM on August 23, 2018
Impeachment isn't going to happen. I could be wrong, but It just seems extremely far fetched despite all the insanity.
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:16 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:16 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Let alone the sixteen-plus defectors that even a best-case scenario this fall would leave the Democratic Senate needing.
Particularly when in not reaching the sixteen-plus defectors, Donnie gets acquitted, and the GOP and its base see that as the Great Vindication.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:19 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Particularly when in not reaching the sixteen-plus defectors, Donnie gets acquitted, and the GOP and its base see that as the Great Vindication.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:19 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Which is why impeachment talk does one thing and one thing only: rev up the Breitbart base about how they all have to get to the polls this November to keep the dastardly Dems from impeaching Trump for the crime of Being Donald Trump Who Is Awesome.
Not that we can stop them from using that as a bludgeon, of course.
posted by delfin at 11:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not that we can stop them from using that as a bludgeon, of course.
posted by delfin at 11:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
This anonymous tidbit from the WSJ yesterday packs plenty of schadenfreude in it, but it's also an instructive admission that Trump's mid-term rallies lack the appeal of his from 2016: "Mr. Trump [...] learned of Mr. Cohen’s guilty plea and Mr. Manafort’s conviction aboard Air Force One on his way to a campaign rally in West Virginia Tuesday and returned to the White House that evening in a “rotten” mood, further irritated by what he felt had been a flat audience, according to people close to the White House. His frustrations were amplified by the fact that his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is golfing in Scotland this week, people close to the president said."
Also, Donald just made the cover of Time magazine, but not in a way he'd like.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
Also, Donald just made the cover of Time magazine, but not in a way he'd like.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
Gail Collins about the insanity
I clicked the comment thinking, yeah, nothing can happen there. But she does have a point
posted by mumimor at 11:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I clicked the comment thinking, yeah, nothing can happen there. But she does have a point
posted by mumimor at 11:22 AM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
....Trump’s long, long train wreck of a life is full of broken, victimized, and traumatized people. His loyalty is conditional, transactional, and expedient on a good day. After so many long years of escaping consequences for his failures, his reprobate behavior, and his lack of any sense of honor or honesty, the Con Man in Chief is facing people who can tell his story outside the power of his tweeted and televised narrative. He doesn’t like it, and it’s not going to get easier from here.
The most significant misread of yesterday’s news came from Trump’s media cheer section. They raced for their keyboards, declaring breathlessly that this had nothing to do with Russia, whew! The glorious era of Trump is safe! Witch hunt! Phoney! Mueller and Soros are BFFs! Many of them see themselves as serious people mounting an intellectual defense of Trump, but the gymnastics needed to mount what one wag called “the Titanic only hit part of the iceberg” defense are hilariously weak. Yesterday didn't end the Russia probe, as many of the Foxentariat declared.
The fall of Cohen and Manafort is the first at-bat of the first inning of the first game of the World Series, and Bobby Three Sticks is next in the batting order.
Rick Wilson, who worked for W, Cheney & Giuliani is currently my favorite Ex-Republican writer.
posted by growabrain at 11:24 AM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
The most significant misread of yesterday’s news came from Trump’s media cheer section. They raced for their keyboards, declaring breathlessly that this had nothing to do with Russia, whew! The glorious era of Trump is safe! Witch hunt! Phoney! Mueller and Soros are BFFs! Many of them see themselves as serious people mounting an intellectual defense of Trump, but the gymnastics needed to mount what one wag called “the Titanic only hit part of the iceberg” defense are hilariously weak. Yesterday didn't end the Russia probe, as many of the Foxentariat declared.
The fall of Cohen and Manafort is the first at-bat of the first inning of the first game of the World Series, and Bobby Three Sticks is next in the batting order.
Rick Wilson, who worked for W, Cheney & Giuliani is currently my favorite Ex-Republican writer.
posted by growabrain at 11:24 AM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Impeaching Trump and paralyzing the country, even if he isn't able to be removed from office, would be harm reduction compared to the damage he's able to do now.
posted by gerryblog at 11:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by gerryblog at 11:25 AM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Which is why impeachment talk does one thing and one thing only: rev up the Breitbart base about how they all have to get to the polls this November to keep the dastardly Dems from impeaching Trump for the crime of Being Donald Trump Who Is Awesome.
If Democrats are already saying that they can't impeach Trump because (insert excuse here) then I see no reason to vote for them.
posted by dilaudid at 11:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
If Democrats are already saying that they can't impeach Trump because (insert excuse here) then I see no reason to vote for them.
posted by dilaudid at 11:27 AM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Which is why impeachment talk does one thing and one thing only: rev up the Breitbart base
The problem is that literally anything can go in front of that colon. The Breitbart base is gonna get revved up if (the collective) we talk about impeachment. They're gonna get revved up if we don't talk about impeachment because it shows that they're winning. They're gonna get revved up if we start calling it "the bagel" because Deep State blah blah blah.
Fuck 'em. I don't want to play defense. I want to get people on my side revved up. Maybe impeachment talk does that, maybe talking about health care does that, maybe talking about the racist shitbag in the Oval does that. No one is doing just one thing, and it doesn't matter to the Breitbart base what we do, because Breitbart will gin up something regardless.
posted by Etrigan at 11:29 AM on August 23, 2018 [68 favorites]
The problem is that literally anything can go in front of that colon. The Breitbart base is gonna get revved up if (the collective) we talk about impeachment. They're gonna get revved up if we don't talk about impeachment because it shows that they're winning. They're gonna get revved up if we start calling it "the bagel" because Deep State blah blah blah.
Fuck 'em. I don't want to play defense. I want to get people on my side revved up. Maybe impeachment talk does that, maybe talking about health care does that, maybe talking about the racist shitbag in the Oval does that. No one is doing just one thing, and it doesn't matter to the Breitbart base what we do, because Breitbart will gin up something regardless.
posted by Etrigan at 11:29 AM on August 23, 2018 [68 favorites]
If Democrats are already saying that they can't impeach Trump because (insert excuse here) then I see no reason to vote for them.
Nah, I'd rather a paralyzed administration and congress, alongside an endless endless Endless series of congressional hearings and investigations of every organization, group, business, and individual Trump has ever had contact with, with weekly releases of salacious damaging material until 2020. Done well, we will take back the presidency, the senate and secure the House. Then... MEDICARE FOR ALL.
posted by Chrischris at 11:32 AM on August 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
Nah, I'd rather a paralyzed administration and congress, alongside an endless endless Endless series of congressional hearings and investigations of every organization, group, business, and individual Trump has ever had contact with, with weekly releases of salacious damaging material until 2020. Done well, we will take back the presidency, the senate and secure the House. Then... MEDICARE FOR ALL.
posted by Chrischris at 11:32 AM on August 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
Lindsey Graham, 2:03 PM - 3 May 2016: If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it
posted by growabrain at 11:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 11:33 AM on August 23, 2018 [55 favorites]
Poll after poll shows voters, even many Republicans, want a check on Trump. You don't have to run on impeachment, but you don't have to run away from it either. Ds should be saying 'We will provide appropriate oversight of the government and will go where the evidence leads. If high crimes and misdemeanors are found, then that's what it is, but the important thing is Congress provide its constitutional role as a check on the presidency.'
posted by chris24 at 11:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 11:36 AM on August 23, 2018 [33 favorites]
Spurring Democratic in-fighting about whether or not impeachment is the top priority for a Democratic congress is exactly why Republicans keep bringing up the topic.
Stop getting played.
posted by 0xFCAF at 11:37 AM on August 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
Stop getting played.
posted by 0xFCAF at 11:37 AM on August 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
And @CNN points out Donald's latest TIME magazine cover is part of a series.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:38 AM on August 23, 2018 [45 favorites]
Was it once not legal for jurors to give interviews to the media?
The first amendment to the Constitution would suggest not. Jurors have an absolute right to discuss the trial after it is finished. Maybe there are some edge cases with national security stuff (I have no idea) but in general the only bar to jurors talking about cases is their own desire to remain relatively anonymous.
The reason you maybe see it more often now is that national news channels are ubiquitous.
posted by Justinian at 11:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
The first amendment to the Constitution would suggest not. Jurors have an absolute right to discuss the trial after it is finished. Maybe there are some edge cases with national security stuff (I have no idea) but in general the only bar to jurors talking about cases is their own desire to remain relatively anonymous.
The reason you maybe see it more often now is that national news channels are ubiquitous.
posted by Justinian at 11:40 AM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'd rather a paralyzed administration and congress, alongside an endless endless Endless series of congressional hearings and investigations of every organization, group, business, and individual Trump has ever had contact with, with weekly releases of salacious damaging material until 2020.
Look at how much of today's republican leadership is run by people who got their start in the Great Clinton Penis Hunt of the 1990's: Brett Kavanaugh, Kellyanne Conway, Laura Ingram, David Bossie, and Barbara Comstock just off the top of my head. Fully funding extensive investigations into every dirty corner of TrumpWorld is an opportunity to replenish the democratic back bench and fill the bullpen with young, smart, dedicated people.
posted by peeedro at 11:42 AM on August 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
Look at how much of today's republican leadership is run by people who got their start in the Great Clinton Penis Hunt of the 1990's: Brett Kavanaugh, Kellyanne Conway, Laura Ingram, David Bossie, and Barbara Comstock just off the top of my head. Fully funding extensive investigations into every dirty corner of TrumpWorld is an opportunity to replenish the democratic back bench and fill the bullpen with young, smart, dedicated people.
posted by peeedro at 11:42 AM on August 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
Yahoo, White House blocks bill that would protect elections
A bill that would have significantly bolstered the nation’s defenses against electoral interference has been held up in the Senate at the behest of the White House, which opposed the proposed legislation, according to congressional sources.This is a bill backed by Republicans Lankford, Graham, and Collins and Democrats Harris and Klobuchar. A summary of the bill:
As it currently stands, the legislation would grant every state’s top election official security clearance to receive threat information. It would also formalize the practice of information-sharing between the federal government—in particular, the Department of Homeland Security—and states regarding threats to electoral infrastructure. A technical advisory board would establish best practices related to election cybersecurity. Perhaps most significantly, the law would mandate that every state conduct a statistically significant audit following a federal election. It would also incentivize the purchase of voting machines that leave a paper record of votes cast, as opposed to some all-electronic models that do not. This would signify a marked shift away from all-electronic voting, which was encouraged with the passage of the Help Americans Vote Act in 2002.posted by zachlipton at 11:42 AM on August 23, 2018 [69 favorites]
While impeachment is, of course, a worthy end goal, I don't think we should underestimate the necessity of things like congressional investigations. Every cabinet secretary and department needs to get dragged in front of Congress to answer for their various crimes and/or fuck-ups.
posted by mhum at 11:54 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by mhum at 11:54 AM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
I don't know if it's even necessary to impeach. Certainly that's a long term goal, but I think just as effective would be crippling investigations. Of everything Trump. That seven dollars Trump scammed from his foundation to pay for his son's boy scout fee? We should find out where every single dollar came from.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:57 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:57 AM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
Rick Wilson, who worked for W, Cheney & Giuliani is currently my favorite Ex-Republican writer.
A couple weeks ago Rick Wilson had himself an "Ask Me Anything" thread on the r/politics subreddit.
I asked him: "What behavior on the part of the GOP will it take for you to no longer call yourself a Republican?"
He responded: "Stay tuned."
At first I thought that this was a placeholder and that he'd later get around to writing an actual, detailed response. Eventually I realized that the place-holder was his response. Something clicked when in the same thread I saw him praising "poor people should die and women who get abortions should be executed" Kevin Williamson.
He's not ex-Republican. He will never be ex-Republican. He's a lying grifter of the highest order and he'll keep us staying tuned forever so long as his checks keep coming in from people desperate to see some human goodness from the other team.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [53 favorites]
A couple weeks ago Rick Wilson had himself an "Ask Me Anything" thread on the r/politics subreddit.
I asked him: "What behavior on the part of the GOP will it take for you to no longer call yourself a Republican?"
He responded: "Stay tuned."
At first I thought that this was a placeholder and that he'd later get around to writing an actual, detailed response. Eventually I realized that the place-holder was his response. Something clicked when in the same thread I saw him praising "poor people should die and women who get abortions should be executed" Kevin Williamson.
He's not ex-Republican. He will never be ex-Republican. He's a lying grifter of the highest order and he'll keep us staying tuned forever so long as his checks keep coming in from people desperate to see some human goodness from the other team.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [53 favorites]
Ideally Trump should be impeached and removed from office by the current Congress, but congressional Republicans are cowards and/or traitors who won't go along. I believe Trump could be impeached right now just based on what's in the public record.
Democrats shouldn't mention impeachment at all unless they're asked about it, and if they are they should says it's premature to talk about it without either a report of Trump's criminal behavior from Mueller or a congressional investigation that finds criminal behavior.
As a practical matter I don't think that Trump should be impeached by the House unless it's pretty certain he would be convicted by the Senate. That won't happen unless it becomes the safe smart play for enough Republican senators to impeach. That's hard to imagine now but if Trump were to obviously be on track to lose in 2020 the smart play might be to distance themselves.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:08 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Democrats shouldn't mention impeachment at all unless they're asked about it, and if they are they should says it's premature to talk about it without either a report of Trump's criminal behavior from Mueller or a congressional investigation that finds criminal behavior.
As a practical matter I don't think that Trump should be impeached by the House unless it's pretty certain he would be convicted by the Senate. That won't happen unless it becomes the safe smart play for enough Republican senators to impeach. That's hard to imagine now but if Trump were to obviously be on track to lose in 2020 the smart play might be to distance themselves.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:08 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Rust Moranis - Re Rick Wilson, I stand corrected. But I still love to read his acerbic columns.
posted by growabrain at 12:09 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by growabrain at 12:09 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Doktor Zed: If you think the wounded, cornered Trump won’t choose some version of this nuclear option, you haven’t been paying attention. Trump believes in his bones that razing the institutions around him brings him advantage. And even if that belief proves false in this context, he will enjoy trying to burn them down even as he is consumed.
But he still has to face lawsuits in New York and beyond: New York files civil suit against President Trump, alleging his charity engaged in ‘illegal conduct’ (David A. Fahrenthold for Washington Post, June 14, 2018) and Trump Named in More Than 50 Lawsuits Since Inauguration (Phil McCausland for NBC News, Feb 2, 2017)
notyou: Yowzers, David Pecker goes from facing 10 years to national hero.
Wut? He just has immunity in this case. That doesn't mean he has a get out of jail free card. Also, national hero status is a bit much.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:09 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
But he still has to face lawsuits in New York and beyond: New York files civil suit against President Trump, alleging his charity engaged in ‘illegal conduct’ (David A. Fahrenthold for Washington Post, June 14, 2018) and Trump Named in More Than 50 Lawsuits Since Inauguration (Phil McCausland for NBC News, Feb 2, 2017)
President Donald Trump has been named in more than 50 lawsuits since taking the oath of office, a staggering number compared to the first days of past administrations.AND THAT STORY IS FROM FEB. 2017. Even if the orange atrocity avoids impeachment, and if the gods above and below really have no mercy, is re-elected, I hope he spends the rest of his life in different courts, if not in jail.
Since being sworn in Jan. 20, Trump has been named in 52 federal cases in 17 different states, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Comparatively, Barack Obama was named in three and George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were each named in four cases between Jan. 20 and Feb. 1.
notyou: Yowzers, David Pecker goes from facing 10 years to national hero.
Wut? He just has immunity in this case. That doesn't mean he has a get out of jail free card. Also, national hero status is a bit much.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:09 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Rick Wilson is also actively advising Republican campaigns. Listen to him on monthly with Ana Marie Cox, he’s advising Republcians on how to defeat us on a daily basis, both for pay and for free. They may not be taking his advice, and he may not have as much work as before, but he has in no way, none, walked away from the Republican party or its money.
Like all NeverTrump critics, 100% of his criticism is tone, not policy. And even that is sort of rich for a guy who’s main schtick is saying “shit” on cable news and homophobic and/or mental disability jokes in print.
In short, no, Rick Wilson is not your friend. Just like Egg or Bill Kristol.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
Like all NeverTrump critics, 100% of his criticism is tone, not policy. And even that is sort of rich for a guy who’s main schtick is saying “shit” on cable news and homophobic and/or mental disability jokes in print.
In short, no, Rick Wilson is not your friend. Just like Egg or Bill Kristol.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
If you're assuming that Republicans will never ever break with Trump and vote for removal, then impeachment should be timed for maximum political impact, whether that's Day 1 or farther down the line (or never, though I doubt that impeachment would end up a net negative for the Dems). If you see a possibility that they might actually turn, then you wait until the best time for that, which would have to be after the Mueller investigation produces a report to Congress.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:12 PM on August 23, 2018
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:12 PM on August 23, 2018
David Pecker goes from facing 10 years to national hero
You don't get to be a hero by sneaking a shark in the pool only to later tell the lifeguards how you snuck a shark into the pool.
posted by gwint at 12:13 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
You don't get to be a hero by sneaking a shark in the pool only to later tell the lifeguards how you snuck a shark into the pool.
posted by gwint at 12:13 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Wut? He just has immunity in this case. That doesn't mean he has a get out of jail free card. Also, national hero status is a bit much.
I think he was just referencing the quote below, which was reported somewhere up there ^^^^
Trump to Fox: "It's called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal ... they go from 10 years to they're a national hero. They have a statue erected in their honor. It's not a fair thing."
posted by history_denier at 12:13 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
I think he was just referencing the quote below, which was reported somewhere up there ^^^^
Trump to Fox: "It's called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal ... they go from 10 years to they're a national hero. They have a statue erected in their honor. It's not a fair thing."
posted by history_denier at 12:13 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
We get these warnings about "ex-" Republicans every time they get quoted here. We do not need them. It's really patronizing to assume people are going to succumb to conservatism just because we like hearing the Rick Wilsons of the world tee off on Donald Trump.
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:15 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:15 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
The real easy solution there is not to quote them.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
Axios, Trump won't endorse criminal justice bill before midterms
posted by zachlipton at 12:19 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
President Trump has stymied a plan to push prison and sentencing reform before the midterms, according to an administration source with direct knowledge. In a White House meeting on Thursday afternoon, Trump decided that the compromise package that Jared Kushner, Sen. Chuck Grassley and others have been advocating for is too politically difficult to endorse before the elections, the source told Axios.Sorry Jared. Thanks for trying, I guess.
Why it matters: Without the president backing the bill, which might have reduced some mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug crimes and sent around 4,000 prisoners home, it has zero chance of getting a vote before the midterms. Senate leadership was already reluctant to bring it up for a vote. The collapse of the bill is a win for opponents of the package, including law-and-order hardliners Sen. Tom Cotton and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
posted by zachlipton at 12:19 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Reality Winner Sentenced To 5 Years, 3 Months For Leaking Classified Info (NPR, Aug. 23, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:23 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Reality Winner, the former National Security Agency contractor who pleaded guilty to leaking classified intelligence to a media outlet, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.I'm still confused why what she leaked was sensitive. Was it because it published the ways that Russia exploited the US systems, so someone else could try the same thing more easily?
On Thursday, a federal judge in Georgia approved a plea deal that called for five years and three months in prison along with three years of supervision after release.
Winner, 26, also will have to complete 100 hours of community service once she is released.
...
It's more than twice as long as the sentence for a former CIA officer who disclosed the name of a covert officer to the press, and more than three times as long as the sentence for an FBI translator who leaked wiretaps of the Israeli Embassy to a blogger.
In justifying the sentence, federal prosecutors emphasized that Winner acted "willfully" and was always aware the report she leaked was classified as top secret. They said comparing her case to other leaking cases is "of little utility" because the details of such cases are often classified.
Winner, who worked for private contractor Pluribus International, sent classified documents to the online news site The Intercept detailing an attempt by Russian military intelligence to attack U.S. elections, specifically by trying to "phish" more than 100 local election officials.
...
After The Intercept published its report, NPR's Pam Fessler has reported, "State election officials express[ed] anger that they learned about the cyberattack from the news media, and not from federal authorities."
posted by filthy light thief at 12:23 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Reality Winner is the source that The Intercept shanked, right?
I'm a bit surprised that Winner accepted a plea that included 5+ years of prison. That's incredibly harsh. Of all the people to throw the book at she seems like a poor choice of targets.
posted by Justinian at 12:27 PM on August 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
I'm a bit surprised that Winner accepted a plea that included 5+ years of prison. That's incredibly harsh. Of all the people to throw the book at she seems like a poor choice of targets.
posted by Justinian at 12:27 PM on August 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
Whereas Cruz, as Texas solicitor general, was tasked with upholding a dildo ban
There's a conundrum for you.
posted by Gelatin at 12:27 PM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
There's a conundrum for you.
posted by Gelatin at 12:27 PM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
GOP tax cut is less popular (40% favorable) than Obamacare (51% favorable)
Take the hint, Democrats: It's really okay to say that it's high time that all the people of this great nation, and not just the super-rich, get to enjoy the benefits of the economy to which we all contribute.
posted by Gelatin at 12:40 PM on August 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
Take the hint, Democrats: It's really okay to say that it's high time that all the people of this great nation, and not just the super-rich, get to enjoy the benefits of the economy to which we all contribute.
posted by Gelatin at 12:40 PM on August 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
> Impeachment isn't going to happen. I could be wrong, but It just seems extremely far fetched despite all the insanity.
I think the insanity is that it seems far fetched. (not a slam at you personally, just the prevailing attitude.)
posted by klarck at 12:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think the insanity is that it seems far fetched. (not a slam at you personally, just the prevailing attitude.)
posted by klarck at 12:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
From The Brookings Institution, Laying out the obstruction of justice case against President Trump:
Forget the Russians, the adult film stars, the Playboy bunnies, and the illegal payoffs covering up sexual misconduct. Forget the hotels full of foreigners enriching the president. And forget the convictions of his former campaign manager and his personal lawyer who may in the near future implicate the president himself in their wrongdoings.posted by peeedro at 12:42 PM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
The clearest potential violation of the law so far has been around a much less sexy issue—the issue that got President Richard Nixon in the end—obstruction of justice. In an exhaustively documented, 167-page 2nd edition of their report, “Presidential Obstruction of Justice: The Case of Donald J. Trump,”(big pdf warning) Barry H. Berke, Noah Bookbinder and Norman L. Eisen lay out the historical and legal bases for the concept and the charge. If, at some point in the future, some young lawyers on the House Judiciary Committee are instructed to draft articles of impeachment they will, no doubt, read this paper first and put its analysis to use.
Flint water crisis: Michigan health director ordered to manslaughter trial -- Michigan Health Director Nick Lyon is highest-ranking official charged for Flint water issues. (Beth Mole for Ars Technica, Aug. 21, 2018)
What Tech Has—and Hasn’t—Done for Puerto Rico -- Balloons, batteries, and the crypto invasion. A progress report on the industry's aid to the island. (Nick Stockton for Wired, Aug. 23, 2018) tl;dr: not a lot.
In contrast: What Happened in the Dark: Puerto Rico's Year of Fighting for Power -- More Americans rely on Puerto Rico's grid than on any other public electric utility. How one renegade plant worker led them through the shadows. (Daniel Alarcón for Wired, Aug. 23, 2018) tl:dr; PREPA employees and volunteers helped bring power back in very real ways.
More from Jorge Bracero, the primary "renegade plant worker" in the Wired article: Three months after Hurricane Maria, power outages linger -- Jorge Bracero knew the road to recovery after the hurricane would be a tough one, but he underestimated just how bad the aftermath of the storm was. (9 News / ABC10 Staff, December 26, 2017)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:46 PM on August 23, 2018 [39 favorites]
A judge on Monday ordered Michigan’s top health official, Nick Lyon, to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter charges in two deaths linked to the Flint water crisis.Further Reading: Michigan health director, 4 others charged with manslaughter over Flint water -- Lead poisoned thousands, but infections also linked to water killed at least a dozen. (Beth Mole for Ars Technica, June 16, 2017)
Genesee District Judge David Goggins determined that there was probable cause that Lyon committed involuntary manslaughter against Robert Skidmore and John Snyder in 2015. The two men died during an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease, which researchers have connected to the devastating use of improperly treated water in Flint starting in 2014.
Lyon, the director of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, is the highest-ranking official in the state to stand trial in connection with the catastrophe. An additional 14 current or former state and local officials have been criminally charged in connection with the water issues.
What Tech Has—and Hasn’t—Done for Puerto Rico -- Balloons, batteries, and the crypto invasion. A progress report on the industry's aid to the island. (Nick Stockton for Wired, Aug. 23, 2018) tl;dr: not a lot.
In contrast: What Happened in the Dark: Puerto Rico's Year of Fighting for Power -- More Americans rely on Puerto Rico's grid than on any other public electric utility. How one renegade plant worker led them through the shadows. (Daniel Alarcón for Wired, Aug. 23, 2018) tl:dr; PREPA employees and volunteers helped bring power back in very real ways.
More from Jorge Bracero, the primary "renegade plant worker" in the Wired article: Three months after Hurricane Maria, power outages linger -- Jorge Bracero knew the road to recovery after the hurricane would be a tough one, but he underestimated just how bad the aftermath of the storm was. (9 News / ABC10 Staff, December 26, 2017)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:46 PM on August 23, 2018 [39 favorites]
Good piece in The Atlantic on Why Trump Supporters Don't Believe He's Corrupt despite saying strongly they're against corruption.
tl;dr - they're against corruption of the American traditions that include rich men abusing power escaping the consequences of misbehaviour, not against corruption of the rule of law.
That's part of it -- I think at some level the GOP really does want a society of privilege rather than a nation of laws.
But for me this piece filled in a crucial piece of a puzzle regarding George Lakoff's works (previously. I think Trump is an especially EXTRA (if unbalanced) form of Lakoff's strong father model.... except he's so so obviously corrupt himself, and even Lakoff has said the one thing the strict father can't be is corrupt or a betrayer of trust, and maybe that'd be Trump's downfall. But nope. We've had Trump's supporters double and triple down on him being the force for good and the rest of the system being corrupt at every turn.
This piece fills the gap. It isn't that his supporters see themselves as allied with corruption, and afraid of accountability. It's that the "law and order" has little to do with the law itself as written and especially doesn't have to do with any enlightenment/liberal principles that may be behind it. It has everything to do with a social order that they see as legitimate.... and exists in the archetypical if non-reasoned strict father mold that Lakoff describes. It's the wholesale embrace of tribal patriarchy as the orienting metaphor.
I don't know if this means Lakoff may be right in some ways about how to engage this problem. He's always been a little hard to apply, I think, and I have my doubts that any approach is going to dent the crazification-floor. But some things about what the Trump phenomena have revealed makes me think there's more to Lakoff's approach than I'd previously considered.
posted by wildblueyonder at 12:46 PM on August 23, 2018 [33 favorites]
tl;dr - they're against corruption of the American traditions that include rich men abusing power escaping the consequences of misbehaviour, not against corruption of the rule of law.
That's part of it -- I think at some level the GOP really does want a society of privilege rather than a nation of laws.
But for me this piece filled in a crucial piece of a puzzle regarding George Lakoff's works (previously. I think Trump is an especially EXTRA (if unbalanced) form of Lakoff's strong father model.... except he's so so obviously corrupt himself, and even Lakoff has said the one thing the strict father can't be is corrupt or a betrayer of trust, and maybe that'd be Trump's downfall. But nope. We've had Trump's supporters double and triple down on him being the force for good and the rest of the system being corrupt at every turn.
This piece fills the gap. It isn't that his supporters see themselves as allied with corruption, and afraid of accountability. It's that the "law and order" has little to do with the law itself as written and especially doesn't have to do with any enlightenment/liberal principles that may be behind it. It has everything to do with a social order that they see as legitimate.... and exists in the archetypical if non-reasoned strict father mold that Lakoff describes. It's the wholesale embrace of tribal patriarchy as the orienting metaphor.
I don't know if this means Lakoff may be right in some ways about how to engage this problem. He's always been a little hard to apply, I think, and I have my doubts that any approach is going to dent the crazification-floor. But some things about what the Trump phenomena have revealed makes me think there's more to Lakoff's approach than I'd previously considered.
posted by wildblueyonder at 12:46 PM on August 23, 2018 [33 favorites]
I'm a bit surprised that Winner accepted a plea that included 5+ years of prison. That's incredibly harsh. Of all the people to throw the book at she seems like a poor choice of targets.
Marcy Wheeler suggests the harsh sentence has to do with: 1) the new Trump Admin wanting to crack down and set an example; 2) the Trump appointed ADA in charge is a terrible human.
posted by notyou at 12:47 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Marcy Wheeler suggests the harsh sentence has to do with: 1) the new Trump Admin wanting to crack down and set an example; 2) the Trump appointed ADA in charge is a terrible human.
posted by notyou at 12:47 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Ds should be saying 'We will provide appropriate oversight of the government and will go where the evidence leads. If high crimes and misdemeanors are found, then that's what it is, but the important thing is Congress provide its constitutional role as a check on the presidency.'
Out of curiosity, chris24, about how long would you say it took you to formulate that statement?
I'm curious because I don't understand how, given teams of experienced operatives and writers, the likes of Senator Schumer and various other powerful Democrats haven't been hitting the airwaves and web for months and months with such a concise and powerful declaration about how they will handle this President and his collaborators.
posted by lord_wolf at 12:48 PM on August 23, 2018 [31 favorites]
Out of curiosity, chris24, about how long would you say it took you to formulate that statement?
I'm curious because I don't understand how, given teams of experienced operatives and writers, the likes of Senator Schumer and various other powerful Democrats haven't been hitting the airwaves and web for months and months with such a concise and powerful declaration about how they will handle this President and his collaborators.
posted by lord_wolf at 12:48 PM on August 23, 2018 [31 favorites]
WaPo, Trump sought his lawyers’ advice weeks ago on possibility of pardoning Manafort but they counseled against it, Giuliani says
posted by zachlipton at 12:52 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
President Trump sought his lawyers’ advice several weeks ago on the possibility of pardoning Manafort, Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani said Thursday. The subject of the pardon came up while Manafort was on trial on multiple charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, and the president was expressing his anger at how federal prosecutors had “beat up” and mistreated the former Trump campaign manager, Giuliani said. The president’s lawyers counseled him against the idea, suggesting he should wait until special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation was concluded, and Trump agreed.Well, we all know that Trump loves to follow the advice he's given, so surely this will take. And hold up a second, does that really say they advised him to "wait" instead of "not do that thing that's obviously an abuse of power?"
posted by zachlipton at 12:52 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
There is speculation that Donny Jr. and Eric might be directly involved in the illegal payments to Cohen. From Cohen's plea agreement:
"Executive-1 forwarded the invoice to another executive of the Company ("Executive-2") the same day by email, and it was approved. Executive-1 forwarded that email to another employee at the Company, stating: ‘Please pay from the Trust. Post to legal expenses. Put ‘retainer for the months of January and February 2017’ in the description.'"
It is quite possible that Executive-1 and Executive-2 are Donny and Eric. This is quite plausible. The Trump Organization is quite flat. There aren't really any other executives or vice-presidents. The family runs everything themselves. And if you were submitting bills for hush money, you wouldn't send them to just anybody in the organization. You would send them to a family member. And it would have to someone familiar with the hush money arrangement to get approval for disbursement and the "legal expenses" cover story.
The whole family might be directly involved in the campaign finance and tax fraud conspiracy.
posted by JackFlash at 12:54 PM on August 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
"Executive-1 forwarded the invoice to another executive of the Company ("Executive-2") the same day by email, and it was approved. Executive-1 forwarded that email to another employee at the Company, stating: ‘Please pay from the Trust. Post to legal expenses. Put ‘retainer for the months of January and February 2017’ in the description.'"
It is quite possible that Executive-1 and Executive-2 are Donny and Eric. This is quite plausible. The Trump Organization is quite flat. There aren't really any other executives or vice-presidents. The family runs everything themselves. And if you were submitting bills for hush money, you wouldn't send them to just anybody in the organization. You would send them to a family member. And it would have to someone familiar with the hush money arrangement to get approval for disbursement and the "legal expenses" cover story.
The whole family might be directly involved in the campaign finance and tax fraud conspiracy.
posted by JackFlash at 12:54 PM on August 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
The whole family might be directly involved in the campaign finance and tax fraud conspiracy.
Maddow detailed last night on her show how Ivanka, Don Jr., and Eric and the Trump corp. are all in legal jeopardy over the use of the Trump "Charitable Foundation". Barbara Underwood, new AG in NY has already filed.
posted by Sophie1 at 12:58 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Maddow detailed last night on her show how Ivanka, Don Jr., and Eric and the Trump corp. are all in legal jeopardy over the use of the Trump "Charitable Foundation". Barbara Underwood, new AG in NY has already filed.
posted by Sophie1 at 12:58 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
That Charitable Foundation stuff is small bore. It might hurt Trump in public relations but nobody is going to jail over it. The worst case is that the foundation is disbanded, they pay restitution and some penalties, and the kids are banned from running a charity for a year or two.
posted by JackFlash at 1:03 PM on August 23, 2018
posted by JackFlash at 1:03 PM on August 23, 2018
The whole family might be directly involved in the campaign finance and tax fraud conspiracy.
Lock ‘em up.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Lock ‘em up.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Longtime Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg was subpoenaed by the DOJ as part of the Cohen investigation, so I'd guess he's one of the Executives mentioned.
posted by notyou at 1:06 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by notyou at 1:06 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
@JackFlash, I believe the NY AG action referenced above is a new, criminal rather than civil action.
posted by notyou at 1:08 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by notyou at 1:08 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
What Tech Has—and Hasn’t—Done for Puerto Rico...the crypto invasion.
One of the things I devoutly hope there's some reckoning with in the long run, if there is a long run, is the ungodly amount of time, space, energy, attention and actual material investment siphoned up by crypto bullshit (of either the conscious, Ponzi-scheming or mark-ass mark varieties) that could have been devoted instead to concrete progress toward addressing the various crises that beset us.
It feels sickeningly criminal to me that what Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans needed was a state-actor-scale effort to restore, upgrade and stormproof their critical infrastructure, and what they got instead was some self-regarding cryptobros douching the place up with their etherian nontributions. A seeping, permanent pox on anyone who talks blockchain jazz, anywhere ever, when there's mission-critical applications under discussion & real human lives on the line.
posted by adamgreenfield at 1:08 PM on August 23, 2018 [47 favorites]
One of the things I devoutly hope there's some reckoning with in the long run, if there is a long run, is the ungodly amount of time, space, energy, attention and actual material investment siphoned up by crypto bullshit (of either the conscious, Ponzi-scheming or mark-ass mark varieties) that could have been devoted instead to concrete progress toward addressing the various crises that beset us.
It feels sickeningly criminal to me that what Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans needed was a state-actor-scale effort to restore, upgrade and stormproof their critical infrastructure, and what they got instead was some self-regarding cryptobros douching the place up with their etherian nontributions. A seeping, permanent pox on anyone who talks blockchain jazz, anywhere ever, when there's mission-critical applications under discussion & real human lives on the line.
posted by adamgreenfield at 1:08 PM on August 23, 2018 [47 favorites]
It is quite possible that Executive-1 and Executive-2 are Donny and Eric. This is quite plausible. The Trump Organization is quite flat. There aren't really any other executives or vice-presidents.
There's Allen Weisselberg.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:09 PM on August 23, 2018
There's Allen Weisselberg.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:09 PM on August 23, 2018
Ilyse Hogue (president of NARAL Pro-Choice America) wrote a really wonderful letter to a friend about the situation with Kavanaugh.
And a friend posted this link from Indivisible East Bay this morning claiming that Senators aren't feeling a "groundswell" against Kavanaugh. I haven't been calling as much lately, but I'll call one more time about this.
posted by sunset in snow country at 1:10 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
And a friend posted this link from Indivisible East Bay this morning claiming that Senators aren't feeling a "groundswell" against Kavanaugh. I haven't been calling as much lately, but I'll call one more time about this.
posted by sunset in snow country at 1:10 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I called my Republican U.S. Senators' D.C. offices to ask whether the two campaign finance felonies Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to were in fact crimes, or were, as the President tweeted yesterday, not crimes. The senatorial staff were unable to clarify whether bills passed into law by Congress and signed by a President providing penalties of imprisonment for violations are describing crimes or, as the President now claims, are not describing crimes, because crimes are something totally different from that. I suggested that the President was being inaccurate in saying that crimes are not crimes, truth is not truth and America First is Russia First, and was doing so because he is guilty of the very same crimes that Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to, among many others, and deserves to go to prison for a long time, along with any Republican politician who refuses to speak out and knowingly enables his felonious desecration of the Constitution and the rule of law. I was thanked and my message will be passed along
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:12 PM on August 23, 2018 [54 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:12 PM on August 23, 2018 [54 favorites]
@JDiamond1: The President, via his attorney, is essentially telegraphing that he'll likely pardon Manafort after the Mueller investigation has wrapped. Meaning Manafort just has to stick it out, not offer damaging information about Trump & he'll be home free
posted by zachlipton at 1:14 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:14 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
~The whole family might be directly involved in the campaign finance and tax fraud conspiracy.
~It might hurt Trump in public relations but nobody is going to jail over it.
Maybe. I’ve always gotten the feeling that Trump would kick Eric and/or Jr. under the bus at a moment’s notice, if it suited his needs, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:15 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
~It might hurt Trump in public relations but nobody is going to jail over it.
Maybe. I’ve always gotten the feeling that Trump would kick Eric and/or Jr. under the bus at a moment’s notice, if it suited his needs, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:15 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Attorney General of Manafort's home state of Virginia is a Democrat. I hope he is following these developments.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:16 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:16 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Meaning Manafort just has to stick it out, not offer damaging information about Trump & he'll be home free.
I keep running across the theory that Manafort has kept silent because of his decades-long involvement with Russian powerbrokers, and he sincerely fears for his life, should he talk. Maybe someone should “leak” information saying he is talking to Mueller, and see if that doesn’t kick-start him into talking in exchange for a complete disappearing act?
posted by Thorzdad at 1:21 PM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
I keep running across the theory that Manafort has kept silent because of his decades-long involvement with Russian powerbrokers, and he sincerely fears for his life, should he talk. Maybe someone should “leak” information saying he is talking to Mueller, and see if that doesn’t kick-start him into talking in exchange for a complete disappearing act?
posted by Thorzdad at 1:21 PM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota for some reason went on CNN today and got smushed into itty bitty pieces:
CNN'S JOHN BERMAN: The constitution says it's Congress's job to provide this oversight. Why not look for the answers? Can Congress look for the answers to these questions?posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:28 PM on August 23, 2018 [58 favorites]
ROUNDS: To begin with, you have a hearing going on right now with Mr. Mueller who has started the process. He'll do a report to Congress. He'll do it based upon whether or not there was any activity with the Russians concerning the campaign that Mr. Trump ran and to this point there has been no evidence of any collusion there.
BERMAN: This isn't about -- sorry, this isn't about collusion. This isn't about collusion. Michael Cohen's not about collusion. Michael Cohen's not about the Russians. This is, again, about a campaign finance law that he admitted to breaking, that he's convicted of breaking here. On just this matter, we're not going to hear anything from Robert Mueller.
ROUNDS: There's a difference between being in violation of a campaign finance law which in many cases is settled on a civil side. You can have violations of a campaign finance law and in fact I think there were some by Mr. Obama --
BERMAN: But those were civil. This is criminal. This is a criminal violation.
ROUNDS: No, wait. We don't know whether we're talking about a criminal violation.
BERMAN: Michael Cohen is. Michael Cohen absolutely pleaded to a criminal violation.
ROUNDS: Well, but Mr. Trump did not.
...
BERMAN: Second very quick question, do you believe the President?
ROUNDS: Say that again now? You're saying do I believe the President?
BERMAN: Do you believe what the President says when he talks about what happened with Michael Cohen? Do you believe him?
ROUNDS: I think the President has a way of expressing things to where there is doubt in what he is telling us and I think just as many people across the United States want to see this President succeed in what he's trying to get done, most of them are willing to look at this and saying look, a lot of the discussions he's having is a coffee klatch conversation. And we're prepared to understand that sometimes Mr. Trump will share things that are favorable to him and that that's a part of -- when they elected him they knew that and at the same time they're saying look, for the most part we like his policies, we want him to be successful. We want to continue to support him and we think the President long term is doing what he believes is right for the country.
BERMAN: That's not a yes.
I keep running across the theory that Manafort has kept silent because of his decades-long involvement with Russian powerbrokers, and he sincerely fears for his life, should he talk. Maybe someone should “leak” information saying he is talking to Mueller, and see if that doesn’t kick-start him into talking in exchange for a complete disappearing act?
I think that would be an understandable stance if he were up against the Mayberry PD vs the mob or something.
But really he couldn't just say 'Look Robert, I got all these puloniuum umbrellas pointed at me. Can you help me out if I talk?'
I don't buy that he is afraid for his life.
posted by ian1977 at 1:32 PM on August 23, 2018
I think that would be an understandable stance if he were up against the Mayberry PD vs the mob or something.
But really he couldn't just say 'Look Robert, I got all these puloniuum umbrellas pointed at me. Can you help me out if I talk?'
I don't buy that he is afraid for his life.
posted by ian1977 at 1:32 PM on August 23, 2018
A light reprieve: A Bad Lip Reading - White House Press Briefing
posted by Crystalinne at 1:38 PM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Crystalinne at 1:38 PM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
This is sort of shades of 2016 to me, because most of the Democratic leadership does routinely talk about the need for investigations, oversight, and anti-corruption efforts. You can trawl through anybody's public press archive if you're curious. We just -- and this is the 2016 parallel I'd draw -- don't hear about it much because 'Democrats criticize Trump' or 'Democrats call for support of Mueller' isn't treated as news. There's no specific verbiage that can guarantee news coverage, and without amplification by social media & the press it doesn't particularly matter how concise or how powerful anyone's statements are -- you don't hear them unless you go looking for them. - cjelli
Exactly right. It's not that the Dems need a better message, thay just need better methods of getting it out. Here's Pelosi last week:
"A key part of our For The People agenda is to CLEAN UP CORRUPTION to make Washington work for the American people. The most recent revelations of corruption among the Trump Administration, his friends and the GOP Congress are a call to action that present an opportunity for change to happen now.
In the election of 2006, Democrats pointed out the Republicans’ pattern of corruption, cronyism and incompetence, under the frame “Drain the Swamp.” In the Majority, we acted on that promise by passing a strong ethics package. Donald Trump hijacked the name and totally betrayed the mission...
To honor the pledge of our For The People agenda, a Democratic Majority will swiftly act to pass tougher ethics and campaign finance laws and crack down on the conduct that has poisoned the GOP Congress and the Trump Administration. We are grateful to Congressman John Sarbanes and the Democracy Reform Task Force for their leadership on A Better Deal For Our Democracy. We urge members to highlight it in events in August, as was suggested by our DPCC co-chairs on yesterday’s conference call."
posted by jetsetsc at 1:38 PM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
Exactly right. It's not that the Dems need a better message, thay just need better methods of getting it out. Here's Pelosi last week:
"A key part of our For The People agenda is to CLEAN UP CORRUPTION to make Washington work for the American people. The most recent revelations of corruption among the Trump Administration, his friends and the GOP Congress are a call to action that present an opportunity for change to happen now.
In the election of 2006, Democrats pointed out the Republicans’ pattern of corruption, cronyism and incompetence, under the frame “Drain the Swamp.” In the Majority, we acted on that promise by passing a strong ethics package. Donald Trump hijacked the name and totally betrayed the mission...
To honor the pledge of our For The People agenda, a Democratic Majority will swiftly act to pass tougher ethics and campaign finance laws and crack down on the conduct that has poisoned the GOP Congress and the Trump Administration. We are grateful to Congressman John Sarbanes and the Democracy Reform Task Force for their leadership on A Better Deal For Our Democracy. We urge members to highlight it in events in August, as was suggested by our DPCC co-chairs on yesterday’s conference call."
posted by jetsetsc at 1:38 PM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
cjelli:
One possible workaround is shown by Trump's own behavior: be vulgar, or at least yelly and screamy. There are a lot of drawbacks to the approach, but at least some Democrats should try it out even while others play concilatory. "Impeach Trump the traitorous fuckwad" may go father than "Impeach Trump" does. Literally flip off your Republican colleagues in the hallowed halls of the Senate. You'll get sanctioned for contempt of some sort, but the last time that happened, "Nevertheless she persisted" became a rallying cry.
(I think my examples also make it clear why that isn't happening -- Democrats generally are sensible people you'd actually want to stand in an elevator with. The behaviors I have in mind are very counter to that, and burn a lot of social capital fast; I don't know if I'd be capable of them, myself.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
We just -- and this is the 2016 parallel I'd draw -- don't hear about it much because 'Democrats criticize Trump' or 'Democrats call for support of Mueller' isn't treated as news. There's no specific verbiage that can guarantee news coverage, and without amplification by social media & the press it doesn't particularly matter how concise or how powerful anyone's statements are -- you don't hear them unless you go looking for them.This thissy this. The messenger isn't just the party, it's the party and the media. Otherwise I could open a sandwich shop and become rich overnight by "hitting the airwaves" with the message of how tasty my sandwiches are.
One possible workaround is shown by Trump's own behavior: be vulgar, or at least yelly and screamy. There are a lot of drawbacks to the approach, but at least some Democrats should try it out even while others play concilatory. "Impeach Trump the traitorous fuckwad" may go father than "Impeach Trump" does. Literally flip off your Republican colleagues in the hallowed halls of the Senate. You'll get sanctioned for contempt of some sort, but the last time that happened, "Nevertheless she persisted" became a rallying cry.
(I think my examples also make it clear why that isn't happening -- Democrats generally are sensible people you'd actually want to stand in an elevator with. The behaviors I have in mind are very counter to that, and burn a lot of social capital fast; I don't know if I'd be capable of them, myself.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
We're back to this again. Bloomberg, Trump Tells Sessions He Favors Death Penalty for Fentanyl Dealers
It doesn't seem like the sentencing reform meeting went as Jared planned.
posted by zachlipton at 1:49 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
It doesn't seem like the sentencing reform meeting went as Jared planned.
posted by zachlipton at 1:49 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
There are a lot of drawbacks to the approach, but at least some Democrats should try it out even while others play concilatory.
Avenatti is whole-heartedly endorsing this approach. Whether he actually considers a run for the 2020 primaries remains to be seen, but maybe he's the guy to kick the ass of left into being just a touch more aggressive in the future.
In the meantime, it's fun to watch him taunt Trump on Twitter. Avenatti must have something on the guy, since he never gets a response.
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:54 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Avenatti is whole-heartedly endorsing this approach. Whether he actually considers a run for the 2020 primaries remains to be seen, but maybe he's the guy to kick the ass of left into being just a touch more aggressive in the future.
In the meantime, it's fun to watch him taunt Trump on Twitter. Avenatti must have something on the guy, since he never gets a response.
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:54 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Counterpoint: Beto O’Rourke.
posted by notyou at 2:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by notyou at 2:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
AJC: The elections consultant who proposed closing most voting locations in a majority African-American rural Georgia county has been fired ahead of a vote Friday on consolidating precincts.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:03 PM on August 23, 2018 [75 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 2:03 PM on August 23, 2018 [75 favorites]
One possible workaround is shown by Trump's own behavior: be vulgar, or at least yelly and screamy.
There's another possible workaround that we've talked about in this thread, and it's exemplified by Beto O'rourke's answer to the kneeling question: Be bold. Be honest. Be calm.
He was asked a difficult, polarizing question, but he didn't answer with doublespeak. He gave a bold, simple answer without dodging: "My short answer is no, I don't think it's disrespectful."
Then he honestly, thoughtfully, and calmly elaborated on his thinking behind the answer. And he's been getting a lot of news coverage as a result. A lot of that coverage is about the substance of his answer, but the style of it is also remarked upon positively, even among some of my Republican friends here in Texas.
Let Trump be as vulgar, yelly, and screamy as he wants. I think that a lot of the country is tired of all the yelling and wants someone who sounds honest.
posted by Uncle Ira at 2:06 PM on August 23, 2018 [91 favorites]
There's another possible workaround that we've talked about in this thread, and it's exemplified by Beto O'rourke's answer to the kneeling question: Be bold. Be honest. Be calm.
He was asked a difficult, polarizing question, but he didn't answer with doublespeak. He gave a bold, simple answer without dodging: "My short answer is no, I don't think it's disrespectful."
Then he honestly, thoughtfully, and calmly elaborated on his thinking behind the answer. And he's been getting a lot of news coverage as a result. A lot of that coverage is about the substance of his answer, but the style of it is also remarked upon positively, even among some of my Republican friends here in Texas.
Let Trump be as vulgar, yelly, and screamy as he wants. I think that a lot of the country is tired of all the yelling and wants someone who sounds honest.
posted by Uncle Ira at 2:06 PM on August 23, 2018 [91 favorites]
That was delightfully fast! But not as fast as these kids hacked the election! Just Hacked a State Election. I’m 17. And I’m Not Even a Very Good Hacker. -- It took a lot less than you'd think for myself and my fellow teens to steal the midterms. (River O'Connor for Politico, August 21, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 2:10 PM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
The replica state election websites used in this year’s competition were built on MySQL, a database management system that stores data in simple tables containing columns and rows. By inputting a command into the search bar to see all the website’s tables, I could then see all of its data, including vote tallies, candidate names and tables of basic website functions. Once someone has that kind of access, they can do plenty of damage. First, the organizers instructed us to double candidates’ vote tallies. Then, with the assistance of volunteers, some of us easily changed the names of candidates or even their parties, or inflated the vote tallies to ridiculously high, Putinesque numbers.The Voting Machine Village at DEF CON was discussed in prior threads, but I missed the fact that The DNC Enlists Kids in Its Fight Against Hackers (Wired coverage, Aug. 2, 2018).
The entirety of the hacking came down to entering no more than two lines of code: the first to display all columns and rows for the site, the second to alter the vote tally. Of the few dozen participants, most completed the very simple hack assigned by the instructors. About a quarter figured out how to rename or delete other candidates and their parties from the list.
But getting kids involved was more than just a cutesy ploy to get the public to pay attention to election security, says Jake Braun, who worked for the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama and is organizing the event. State election sites are so deeply flawed, Braun says, no adult hackers would be interested in cracking them. “The hackers would laugh us off the stage if we asked them to do this.”Tell me again that things will be better by 2020, Alex Stamos.
So the Voting Village team partnered with r00tz Asylum, a nonprofit that runs security training for kids and is one of the cosponsors of the event along with the DNC and the University of Chicago. They tapped prominent cybersecurity expert Brian Markus to design mockups of state websites for 13 presidential battleground states, which the kids will attempt to hack.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:10 PM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
> Chrysostom:
"AJC: The elections consultant who proposed closing most voting locations in a majority African-American rural Georgia county has been fired ahead of a vote Friday on consolidating precincts."
Dude was only making $55/hr? That seems low for this amount of damage done.
posted by rhizome at 2:14 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
"AJC: The elections consultant who proposed closing most voting locations in a majority African-American rural Georgia county has been fired ahead of a vote Friday on consolidating precincts."
Dude was only making $55/hr? That seems low for this amount of damage done.
posted by rhizome at 2:14 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
“The current policies of [the South African] government are explicitly racist, because not all South African citizens are treated equally before the law (some people are favored over others, as was the case under apartheid),” Tupy wrote.
[...]
Some in Washington appear to be persuaded by Roets’ narrative. “It is my understanding that AfriForum did not refer to ‘so-called’ injustices of apartheid; that we all agree that apartheid was an unjust system; that the words ‘so-called’ were lifted out of context to besmirch the reputation of AfriForum; and that a non-racial society based on individual, not group, identity ought to be the goal in South Africa,” Tupy wrote in an unprompted follow-up email that included Roets on the cc line.
This "starting now everything is equal" is exactly how reparations are never paid, justice never done and the perpetrators of past injustices preserve their ill-gotten gains and powers.
Forgiveness should never precede justice unless you want to incentivize injustice.
posted by srboisvert at 2:32 PM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
[...]
Some in Washington appear to be persuaded by Roets’ narrative. “It is my understanding that AfriForum did not refer to ‘so-called’ injustices of apartheid; that we all agree that apartheid was an unjust system; that the words ‘so-called’ were lifted out of context to besmirch the reputation of AfriForum; and that a non-racial society based on individual, not group, identity ought to be the goal in South Africa,” Tupy wrote in an unprompted follow-up email that included Roets on the cc line.
This "starting now everything is equal" is exactly how reparations are never paid, justice never done and the perpetrators of past injustices preserve their ill-gotten gains and powers.
Forgiveness should never precede justice unless you want to incentivize injustice.
posted by srboisvert at 2:32 PM on August 23, 2018 [26 favorites]
Goodwin = Badlose: one of Deandre Harris's attackers from Unite the Right 1.0 has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:34 PM on August 23, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:34 PM on August 23, 2018 [48 favorites]
The entirety of the hacking came down to entering no more than two lines of code
So the "hacking" started with the kids just being given an account to the database? Sure they could tear it up then. And it's a good point that there should be redundancy. But I'd like to know how difficult it is for an attacker to obtain those credentials, too, starting from just knowing a public URL.
posted by thelonius at 2:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
So the "hacking" started with the kids just being given an account to the database? Sure they could tear it up then. And it's a good point that there should be redundancy. But I'd like to know how difficult it is for an attacker to obtain those credentials, too, starting from just knowing a public URL.
posted by thelonius at 2:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
> Rust Moranis:
"Goodwin = Badlose: one of Deandre Harris's attackers from Unite the Right 1.0 has been sentenced to 8 years in prison."
And not a single mugshot to be found in any of the stories.
posted by rhizome at 2:37 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
"Goodwin = Badlose: one of Deandre Harris's attackers from Unite the Right 1.0 has been sentenced to 8 years in prison."
And not a single mugshot to be found in any of the stories.
posted by rhizome at 2:37 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
Yeah, that article made it sound like all they did to test the security was sit the kids down in front of the SQL database with full permissions already granted. That kind of bypasses the security entirely, doesn't it? It's not news that you can use basic SQL commands to delete things in a SQL database. Why didn't they model the actual hard part, the process of getting into the database?
I'm not a database security expert though. Is the problem that they're using a regular SQL database in the first place, or what?
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:39 PM on August 23, 2018
I'm not a database security expert though. Is the problem that they're using a regular SQL database in the first place, or what?
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:39 PM on August 23, 2018
There's another possible workaround that we've talked about in this thread, and it's exemplified by Beto O'rourke's answer to the kneeling question: Be bold. Be honest. Be calm.
You think that was good? You should hear him do it for an hour straight, extemporaneously. He's the best natural campaigner I've ever seen, hands down. He's going to set the standard for many years to come.
posted by scalefree at 2:39 PM on August 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
You think that was good? You should hear him do it for an hour straight, extemporaneously. He's the best natural campaigner I've ever seen, hands down. He's going to set the standard for many years to come.
posted by scalefree at 2:39 PM on August 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
No, they had a website. Which was vulnerable to SQL injection attacks, a very common situation. The code was entered into the search fields on the site, where normally you'd put common search terms.
Oh, okay, that makes a lot more sense. Guarding against injection attacks is super basic security... Whoever is in charge of securing these systems isn't even trying.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:42 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh, okay, that makes a lot more sense. Guarding against injection attacks is super basic security... Whoever is in charge of securing these systems isn't even trying.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:42 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
I’m beginning to suspect these were not in fact the best people (Alexandra Petri, WaPo, gets a bit surreal)
I thought I had the best team ever to be assembled, but I had, just, a big coat full of skunks, six rejected concepts for Batman villains, and a disembodied voice that yells rude things in the Quiet Car.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:44 PM on August 23, 2018 [48 favorites]
I thought I had the finest cadre of advisers and lawyers the Earth had ever seen, but now that I look I see that all I had was the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, an aardvark in a Model U.N. sweater, a hairpiece on top of a novelty skeleton with light-up eyes, a Mr. Monopoly Man, a paid advertisement for unscientific vitamin supplements and a cursed Oscar statuette brought to life until someone speaks the single phrase that will allow him to sleep once more. […]
I thought I had the best people, but I had a big plane filled with money, a bear that has wandered into a school by mistake, Zombie James Buchanan, a pair of Ivanka Trump pumps that want to speak to a manager, the hair of a televangelist, a Pixar villain whose origin story involved a tanning bed struck by lightning and an anthropomorphic liver. I had a scorpion asking for a ride across a river, an ominous forwarded email with a sad face drawn on it, a statue brought to life by the love of its sculptor but in a twist on the classic Pygmalion scenario it was a Confederate statue, a piece of toast on which sexist words appeared for no reason, a gallon container of snake oil in an expensive leather coat, everyone at a surf-side bar on a Thursday, a reality-TV contestant and Anthony Scaramucci.
I am chagrined. I thought that a pick-up artist book in a big collared shirt, an animatronic statue of Rutherford B. Hayes reprogrammed by HYDRA, and the Thing that appears in the mirror when you blink were good people to surround yourself with, but, in fact, no. A television chicken sales personality, a stand of reeds into which hateful words have been whispered for months, a bag of money with a severed finger in it, a book by a Fox News personality brought to life by the love of a lonely child and a phrenology head — not the elite team I had been led to suspect!
SQL injection from the search bar? I just...please tell me that this isn't a broader representation of the state of election systems in the field. Because it's enough to make you throw up your hands at the idea of securing a valid election result.
It's 2018. I started writing code to guard against SQL injection attacks 20 years ago. WTF.
posted by Brak at 2:56 PM on August 23, 2018 [39 favorites]
It's 2018. I started writing code to guard against SQL injection attacks 20 years ago. WTF.
posted by Brak at 2:56 PM on August 23, 2018 [39 favorites]
And it's really drop-dead easy code to write/swap in. This is not okay.
posted by Brak at 2:57 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Brak at 2:57 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Addendum to my notion of strategic headline-grabbing: There is not, and never can be, One True Strategy. In fact, the phrase "fifty state strategy" should probably be plural. I'm thrilled that Beto has tapped into something that works. But reaching different audiences requires different approaches, that's all.
anem0ne: i reread the article a few times and it really just strikes me as a lot of words to say, "they're sexist, racist bigots"
Bigotry and sexism are amenable to analysis, which is sometimes valuable. "Trump voters actually aren't racist" is like young-Earth creationism, in both its wrongness and unearned popularity. But that doesn't mean there's nothing else to say about the Trumpist worldview beyond "It's racism", any more than a scientific paper about dinosaurs is an over-elaborated version of "They lived millions and not thousands of years ago, and there wasn't a giant flood, you morons". Trumpism is certain kind of racism, one that occurs when the social acceptability of racism is in flux, leading to racist fears and lies (both to others and themselves) that could be useful to understand, to know the terrain.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:02 PM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
anem0ne: i reread the article a few times and it really just strikes me as a lot of words to say, "they're sexist, racist bigots"
Bigotry and sexism are amenable to analysis, which is sometimes valuable. "Trump voters actually aren't racist" is like young-Earth creationism, in both its wrongness and unearned popularity. But that doesn't mean there's nothing else to say about the Trumpist worldview beyond "It's racism", any more than a scientific paper about dinosaurs is an over-elaborated version of "They lived millions and not thousands of years ago, and there wasn't a giant flood, you morons". Trumpism is certain kind of racism, one that occurs when the social acceptability of racism is in flux, leading to racist fears and lies (both to others and themselves) that could be useful to understand, to know the terrain.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:02 PM on August 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
I started writing code to guard against SQL injection attacks 20 years ago.
Well, maybe you need to finish.
posted by Etrigan at 3:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [128 favorites]
Well, maybe you need to finish.
posted by Etrigan at 3:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [128 favorites]
The replica state election websites used in this year’s competition were built on MySQL, a database management system that stores data in simple tables containing columns and rows.
But it was a "replica" website? I keep seeing this story but I can't tell where it falls of the spectrum of "CTF Contest with purposeful vulnerabilities" to "direct VM image of the real life production website run but the state".
The article mentions instructions, so I think this was a CTF contents/vuln demo?
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 3:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
But it was a "replica" website? I keep seeing this story but I can't tell where it falls of the spectrum of "CTF Contest with purposeful vulnerabilities" to "direct VM image of the real life production website run but the state".
The article mentions instructions, so I think this was a CTF contents/vuln demo?
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 3:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
SQL injection from the search bar? I just...please tell me that this isn't a broader representation of the state of election systems in the field.
A friend recently discovered an election staff login page for a major city where arbitrary Javascript could be executed from the URL. The authorities were alerted (or should I say, alert()ed) and said they will inform their supplier.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:05 PM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
A friend recently discovered an election staff login page for a major city where arbitrary Javascript could be executed from the URL. The authorities were alerted (or should I say, alert()ed) and said they will inform their supplier.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:05 PM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
Remember Black Cube? It's back. New Yorker, Adam Entous and Ronan Farrow, The Conspiracy Memo Aimed at Obama Aides that Circulated in the Trump White House
posted by zachlipton at 3:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
In early 2017, some of Donald Trump’s advisers concluded that they faced a sophisticated threat responsible for “coordinated attacks” on the new Administration. They circulated a memo, titled “The Echo Chamber,” which read like a U.S. military-intelligence officer’s analysis of a foreign-insurgent network. Instead of being about enemies in a distant war zone, however, the network described in the memo consisted of former aides to President Barack Obama.A copy of the memo is included in the article
The memo claimed that the “communications infrastructure” that the Obama White House used to “sell Obamacare and the Iran Deal to the public” had been moved to the private sector, now that the former aides were out of government. It called the network the Echo Chamber and accused its members of mounting a coördinated effort “to undermine President Trump’s foreign policy” through organized attacks in the press against Trump and his advisers. “These are the Obama loyalists who are probably among those coordinating the daily/weekly battle rhythm,” the memo read, adding that they likely operated a “virtual war room.” The memo lists Ben Rhodes, a former deputy national-security adviser to President Obama, as “likely the brain behind this operation” and Colin Kahl, Vice President Joe Biden’s former national-security adviser, as its “likely ops chief.” Rhodes and Kahl both said in interviews that the allegations are false and no such organization exists.
...
Some of the same conspiracy theories expressed in the memo appear in internal documents from an Israeli private-intelligence firm that mounted a covert effort to collect damaging information about aides to President Obama who had advocated for the Iran deal. In May, 2017, that firm, Black Cube, provided its operatives with instructions and other briefing material that included the same ideas and individuals discussed in the memo. The Black Cube documents obtained by The New Yorker referred to Rhodes and Kahl, arguing that they were using allies in the media to undermine the Trump Administration.The Black Cube documents use the term echo chamber five times, including in a document describing the operatives’ directive as “Investigating the Rhodes’ / Kahl ‘Eco-chamber.’ ” The same document states that “Rhodes and Kahl are suspected to make use of privileged access and information leveraging it against the incumbent administration.”
...
A source familiar with the operation has maintained that the investigation of Rhodes and Kahl was part of Black Cube’s work for a private-sector client in the shipping industry, pursuing commercial interests. But the memo, circulated at senior levels in the White House, shows just how deeply the “echo chamber” conspiracy theory had penetrated business and politics, and suggests a commonality of interests between Black Cube’s unidentified client and parts of the Trump Administration.
...
Black Cube also assembled a list of six additional journalists and commentators it described as being “close to Rhodes vessels of his message.” Operatives approached targeted individuals to elicit potentially damaging statements about Rhodes and Kahl. At least one of those conversations, with a commentator on the list, Trita Parsi, was secretly recorded. Operatives also used false identities and front companies to try to dupe individuals into unwittingly sharing information, including Rhodes’s and Kahl’s wives.
posted by zachlipton at 3:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
The nutjobs need something plausible to leap to given Qanon being on the downswing.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:13 PM on August 23, 2018
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:13 PM on August 23, 2018
AP, National Enquirer’s safe held damaging Trump stories
That's not a metaphor. There was a literal safe:
That's not a metaphor. There was a literal safe:
The National Enquirer kept a safe containing documents on hush money payments and other damaging stories it killed as part of its cozy relationship with Donald Trump leading up to the 2016 presidential election, people familiar with the arrangement told The Associated Press.posted by zachlipton at 3:14 PM on August 23, 2018 [29 favorites]
...
The Trump records were stored alongside similar documents pertaining to other celebrities’ catch-and-kill deals, in which exclusive rights to people’s stories were bought with no intention of publishing to keep them out of the news. By keeping celebrities’ embarrassing secrets, the company was able to ingratiate itself with them and ask for favors in return.
But after The Wall Street Journal initially published the first details of Playboy model Karen McDougal’s catch-and-kill deal shortly before the 2016 election, those assets became a liability. Fearful that the documents might be used against American Media, Pecker and the company’s chief content officer, Dylan Howard, removed them from the safe in the weeks before Trump’s inauguration, according to one person directly familiar with the events.
The AP cannot say whether the documents were destroyed or simply were moved to a location known to fewer people.
The AP cannot say whether the documents were destroyed or simply were moved to a location known to fewer people.
You never, never, ever destroy anything that you might be able to use as leverage against anyone, even those you are currently in bed with. Break-ups happen.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
You never, never, ever destroy anything that you might be able to use as leverage against anyone, even those you are currently in bed with. Break-ups happen.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Investigating the Rhodes’ / Kahl ‘Eco-chamber’...
...Rhodes and Kahl are suspected to make use of privileged access and information leveraging it against the incumbent administration...
...close to Rhodes vessels of his message.
I see from the manifest illiteracy that they are still committed to working with solo las Mejores Personas.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:21 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
...Rhodes and Kahl are suspected to make use of privileged access and information leveraging it against the incumbent administration...
...close to Rhodes vessels of his message.
I see from the manifest illiteracy that they are still committed to working with solo las Mejores Personas.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:21 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
White farmers: how a far-right idea was planted in Donald Trump's mind.
The idea that there is a ‘genocide’ of white farmers in South Africa was once the province of conspiracy theorists but, thanks to News Corp’s media promotion, it has moved into the policy realm.
posted by adamvasco at 3:50 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
The idea that there is a ‘genocide’ of white farmers in South Africa was once the province of conspiracy theorists but, thanks to News Corp’s media promotion, it has moved into the policy realm.
posted by adamvasco at 3:50 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
You think that was good? You should hear him do it for an hour straight, extemporaneously. He's the best natural campaigner I've ever seen, hands down. He's going to set the standard for many years to come.
The crazy thing is that he keeps getting better. Unicorn on the Cob and I first saw him last year, a few weeks after the travel ban protests at DFW. There were about 300 people standing outside in the parking lot of a brewery. The air was unseasonally cold, and the sound system wasn't working.
Beto grabbed a megaphone and started talking, and immediately we could tell there was something different about him. Being a Democrat in Texas, you get used to disappointment. You get used to settling for subpar candidates. But this guy was believable. Smart. Charismatic. Charming. You could tell he was untested, and a little nervous at the size of the task he was undertaking.
Now that he's been campaigning hard for the past 16 months? That shakiness and uncertainty is gone. He's been putting in the work: not just fundraising and wooing donors, but legitimately campaigining and talking to voters.
And that work has made him stronger.
Beto and AOC are both getting a lot of attention as the future of the party, and not all of it is down to their policy choices. They seem to have a different work ethic from what we're used to seeing from candidates for Federal office. Less focus tested, more earnest. A shift of priorities from courting donors to winning voters. And I think that's going to be the key model as the demographics in this country shift away from the boomers and towards the GenX/Millennial crowd.
posted by Uncle Ira at 3:56 PM on August 23, 2018 [86 favorites]
The crazy thing is that he keeps getting better. Unicorn on the Cob and I first saw him last year, a few weeks after the travel ban protests at DFW. There were about 300 people standing outside in the parking lot of a brewery. The air was unseasonally cold, and the sound system wasn't working.
Beto grabbed a megaphone and started talking, and immediately we could tell there was something different about him. Being a Democrat in Texas, you get used to disappointment. You get used to settling for subpar candidates. But this guy was believable. Smart. Charismatic. Charming. You could tell he was untested, and a little nervous at the size of the task he was undertaking.
Now that he's been campaigning hard for the past 16 months? That shakiness and uncertainty is gone. He's been putting in the work: not just fundraising and wooing donors, but legitimately campaigining and talking to voters.
And that work has made him stronger.
Beto and AOC are both getting a lot of attention as the future of the party, and not all of it is down to their policy choices. They seem to have a different work ethic from what we're used to seeing from candidates for Federal office. Less focus tested, more earnest. A shift of priorities from courting donors to winning voters. And I think that's going to be the key model as the demographics in this country shift away from the boomers and towards the GenX/Millennial crowd.
posted by Uncle Ira at 3:56 PM on August 23, 2018 [86 favorites]
While I'm glad that the use of South Africa to inflame white nationalist sentiment is being rightly debunked, I do feel like "white farmers aren't being targeted, huge numbers of people of all races are being murdered" isn't a defense which paints SA in a particularly good light.
posted by Justinian at 3:58 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 3:58 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
The idea that there is a ‘genocide’ of white farmers in South Africa was once the province of conspiracy theorists but, thanks to News Corp’s media promotion, it has moved into the policy realm.
This is genuinely terrifying. The number of bots / dudes spreading and amplifying this message on Reddit is alarming, and now Fox, with its direct line to the president’s brain, is getting in on it? Christ.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is genuinely terrifying. The number of bots / dudes spreading and amplifying this message on Reddit is alarming, and now Fox, with its direct line to the president’s brain, is getting in on it? Christ.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
@jacobsoboroff:
BREAKING: New Trump administration breakdown of 2,654 separated migrant kids.posted by zachlipton at 4:01 PM on August 23, 2018 [31 favorites]
Numbers barely moving.
➡️ 528 *still* separated; 23 are 0-5 year olds.
➡️ Parents of 343 *already* deported; 6 are 0-5.
➡️ Parents of 139 waived right to reunite, but many say they were coerced.
It called the network the Echo Chamber and accused its members of mounting a coördinated effort “to undermine President Trump’s foreign policy” through organized attacks in the press against Trump and his advisers
As it turns out, “Crooked Media” focus-grouped better.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:03 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
As it turns out, “Crooked Media” focus-grouped better.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:03 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Parents of 139 waived right to reunite, but many say they were coerced.
Buzzfeed: Immigration Agents Told Parents They Must Agree to Deportation Or Never See Their Children Again
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Buzzfeed: Immigration Agents Told Parents They Must Agree to Deportation Or Never See Their Children Again
US immigration authorities coerced parents who were separated from their children at the border under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy into signing documents they didn't understand or didn't want to sign, according to a complaint filed Thursday.Meanwhile, the Trump administration presses on: Immigration Judges Have Been Told To Hold More Hearings—Advocates say the move could threaten due process rights for immigrants and lead to more deportations. (Buzzfeed)
The complaint filed by the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association includes testimonials from some parents who said immigration officers told them they had to sign the forms, including deportation papers, or they would never see their children again.
Still others said they were pressured by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers into signing forms that already had been filled out. Some of the parents were seeking asylum who signed the forms.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
I do feel like "white farmers aren't being targeted, huge numbers of people of all races are being murdered" isn't a defense which paints SA in a particularly good light.
Farm murder rate at 19-year low, says AgriSA
---
There is no evidence of an increase of such murders taking place. The government noted 47 murders and 638 attacks on farm owners, whose race was not specified, over the past year. That is historically low when compared with a high of 140 killings and 1,069 attacks over the same period in 2001-2002.
posted by chris24 at 4:23 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
Farm murder rate at 19-year low, says AgriSA
---
There is no evidence of an increase of such murders taking place. The government noted 47 murders and 638 attacks on farm owners, whose race was not specified, over the past year. That is historically low when compared with a high of 140 killings and 1,069 attacks over the same period in 2001-2002.
posted by chris24 at 4:23 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
and then i read the tl;dr quote a few times and it really just strikes me as a lot of words to say, "they're sexist, racist bigots"
this is in fact the answer to every single "why are trump voters doing this or that thing" thinkpiece, every single time, no matter what topic is under discussion in the article. however, sometimes an additional "also because they're stupid" can be noted.
posted by poffin boffin at 4:24 PM on August 23, 2018 [37 favorites]
this is in fact the answer to every single "why are trump voters doing this or that thing" thinkpiece, every single time, no matter what topic is under discussion in the article. however, sometimes an additional "also because they're stupid" can be noted.
posted by poffin boffin at 4:24 PM on August 23, 2018 [37 favorites]
Russian Trolls Used Vaccine Debate to Sow Discord, Study Finds (nytimes, by Donald G. McNeil Jr.)
I largely agree with this redditor's take on it:
I largely agree with this redditor's take on it:
Russians used misinformation to kill American children in order to terrorize people for political purposes.posted by sebastienbailard at 4:32 PM on August 23, 2018 [92 favorites]
That makes Trump an accomplice to foreign-state terrorism.
uncleozzy:
Yeah, I noticed a huge spike in the South African White Farmer stories a couple days ago. Like, huge increase in posts on certain channels I monitor (you know, for “fun”).
Then the brigading and actual echo chamber hit. Waiting to see it leak to other spheres, but the fact that Trump is commenting on it tells you a lot about how this is a coordinated push.
The worst part is that the framing and language used is straight out of the schizophrenic word salad bin, and not even remotely attempting to hide the message (BE AFRAID!).
I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse.
posted by daq at 4:34 PM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yeah, I noticed a huge spike in the South African White Farmer stories a couple days ago. Like, huge increase in posts on certain channels I monitor (you know, for “fun”).
Then the brigading and actual echo chamber hit. Waiting to see it leak to other spheres, but the fact that Trump is commenting on it tells you a lot about how this is a coordinated push.
The worst part is that the framing and language used is straight out of the schizophrenic word salad bin, and not even remotely attempting to hide the message (BE AFRAID!).
I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse.
posted by daq at 4:34 PM on August 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
They seem to have a different work ethic from what we're used to seeing from candidates for Federal office. Less focus tested, more earnest.
They bust their ass.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:43 PM on August 23, 2018 [51 favorites]
They bust their ass.
The Queens Democratic Party had 300 foot soldiers knocking on doors on Crowley’s behalf on Election Day, and he had every major union in the city doing the same. Ocasio-Cortez went to doors that don’t often see politicians knock on them; many didn’t know there was even a primary happening, which allowed her to make her caseBeto O’Rourke has been to every one of the 254 counties in Texas, including many that aren't likely to vote for him.
“Since 1998, what we’ve seen is the triangle — they go to Houston, Dallas, and Austin and San Antonio. They’ll do one swing through the Valley and one trip through El Paso,” said Colin Strother, a longtime Democratic strategist in Texas. “That’s not how we’re going to energize our own voters, educate new voters, and it’s not how we’re going to win. What’s exciting and refreshing about Beto’s approach is that he’s going to go campaign everywhere.”It reminds me of Obama walking holes in his shoes.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:43 PM on August 23, 2018 [51 favorites]
Yeah, sure, why not. But Manafort faces many, many state charges that Trump can't discharge with a wave of his stubby hands
I mean, yeah sure. But get a Pardon, get out, get on a plane and, well sure the states can charge him but he'll be in a lax extradition country.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 4:51 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mean, yeah sure. But get a Pardon, get out, get on a plane and, well sure the states can charge him but he'll be in a lax extradition country.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 4:51 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
@frankthorp, in which Sen. Corker (R-TN) gives the whole game away and acknowledges that Trump's South Africa tweet excites white supremacists:
CORKER calls Trump’s South Africa tweet “a base stimulator”posted by zachlipton at 5:10 PM on August 23, 2018 [74 favorites]
Q: What do you mean? What is his base that would be stimulated?
CORKER:“Well, there are portions of those who support the president that are—I’m sure that generates excitement. I mean, it’s—you know what I’m saying...”
Yeah, sure, why not. But Manafort faces many, many state charges that Trump can't discharge with a wave of his stubby hands
I mean, yeah sure. But get a Pardon, get out, get on a plane and, well sure the states can charge him but he'll be in a lax extradition country.
Does he have access to capital anymore? I would think he's radioactive at this point as far as business connections go, and he would need cash to flee.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 5:10 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I mean, yeah sure. But get a Pardon, get out, get on a plane and, well sure the states can charge him but he'll be in a lax extradition country.
Does he have access to capital anymore? I would think he's radioactive at this point as far as business connections go, and he would need cash to flee.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 5:10 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seqnate wall of support for Sessions splinters
As the president renewed his attacks on his attorney general, two Senate Republicans indicated they’d be open to replacing him — sparking a quick smackdown from GOP leaders.
Eliana Johnson and Burgess Everett (Politico)
As the president renewed his attacks on his attorney general, two Senate Republicans indicated they’d be open to replacing him — sparking a quick smackdown from GOP leaders.
Eliana Johnson and Burgess Everett (Politico)
Top Senate Republicans sent dueling signals on Thursday about whether it would be safe for President Donald Trump to fire the attorney general he can’t stand.posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
GOP leaders moved quickly to quell a rebellion against Jeff Sessions after Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa signaled publicly that they’d be willing to give Trump what he wants and confirm a new attorney general after the midterms — even at the cost of betraying a former Senate colleague.
...Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa signaled publicly that they’d be willing to give Trump what he wants and confirm a new attorney general after the midterms...
So, they’ve done the math and, even if Democrats take the House, Republicans will still have the numbers in the Senate to kill an impeachment. So, Sessions will be out after the midterms and Mueller is shut-down immediately after. Then, they just let the Dems go ballistic because fuck you.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:23 PM on August 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
So, they’ve done the math and, even if Democrats take the House, Republicans will still have the numbers in the Senate to kill an impeachment. So, Sessions will be out after the midterms and Mueller is shut-down immediately after. Then, they just let the Dems go ballistic because fuck you.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:23 PM on August 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
I follow Beto O’Rourke on Facebook, and all the live updates give me the impression the man is out there campaigning every single day. He’s working his ass off. I hope it pays off.
I just moved from Austin proper to a suburb to the north. I was expecting it to be more conservative, but I swear, every third house in our new neighborhood has a Beto yard sign. And I’ve never seen a Cruz sign.
posted by liet at 5:24 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
I just moved from Austin proper to a suburb to the north. I was expecting it to be more conservative, but I swear, every third house in our new neighborhood has a Beto yard sign. And I’ve never seen a Cruz sign.
posted by liet at 5:24 PM on August 23, 2018 [19 favorites]
Anti-vaccine sentiment is lower in Russia than in many other European countries. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 100 percent of Russian children have had all their shots.
That's just... so telling. State-sponsored trolls from a country with a nearly 100% vaccination rate spread dis-information about vaccines. That's... evil!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 5:30 PM on August 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
That's just... so telling. State-sponsored trolls from a country with a nearly 100% vaccination rate spread dis-information about vaccines. That's... evil!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 5:30 PM on August 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
When you're predicting a populist revolt from a European golf course.
It would actually be funny if Joe Red Meat wasn't sitting there nodding his head along with it unable to grasp the complete fucking irony of the situation.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:33 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
It would actually be funny if Joe Red Meat wasn't sitting there nodding his head along with it unable to grasp the complete fucking irony of the situation.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:33 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh good God. Did somebody already post this Ronan Farrow New Yorker article and subsequent thread from Colin Kahl about the Israeli ...espionage? firm, Black Cube, running ops inside the NSC to go after domestic political enemies?
Or is this a fresh hell?
posted by schadenfrau at 5:35 PM on August 23, 2018
Or is this a fresh hell?
posted by schadenfrau at 5:35 PM on August 23, 2018
So, Sessions will be out after the midterms and Mueller is shut-down immediately after.
And the House Intelligence Committee chaired by Adam Schiff hires Mueller as the lead investigator for their re-opened Russia investigation.
“Well, there are portions of those who support the president that are—I’m sure that generates excitement. I mean, it’s—you know what I’m saying...”
That Trump is playing the race card? That Rs are using identity politics? That being racist was the original identity politics and it's white conservatives who do it all the time?
posted by chris24 at 5:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
And the House Intelligence Committee chaired by Adam Schiff hires Mueller as the lead investigator for their re-opened Russia investigation.
“Well, there are portions of those who support the president that are—I’m sure that generates excitement. I mean, it’s—you know what I’m saying...”
That Trump is playing the race card? That Rs are using identity politics? That being racist was the original identity politics and it's white conservatives who do it all the time?
posted by chris24 at 5:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
liet, I'm visiting my folks in east Williamson County, just beyond the Austin sprawl. My parents (longtime Republican Party precinct chairs) are still on the Fox News/Patriot Radio disinfo drip -- but my 20-y.o. nephew, who voted for Trump, openly mocks him now. When I've gone into town, I've seen plenty of Beto yard signs and not a single Cruz sign. I know yard signs are kind of a garbage indicator but that is one more data point.
I'm guardedly hopeful.
posted by dogrose at 5:37 PM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
I'm guardedly hopeful.
posted by dogrose at 5:37 PM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
Re, Black Cube, y'all remember me talking a while back about how a medical data analytics company was bought up by people connected to Black Cube and Mike Flynn? They subsequently fired everyone, packed up the data and left, with over 55 million lines of American medical records. If you have had any medical procedure in the last five years, and you used a major medical plan, the odds are Black Cube has all your info, from ss# to medical records. So, that's nice.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:46 PM on August 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:46 PM on August 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
I know yard signs are kind of a garbage indicator
You know, people keep saying this, but I have memories of concerned stories from the ground in battleground states in 2016 talking about how there were Trump signs everywhere but not nearly as many for Hillary. And they were generally laughed off with the same sort of comment, yet we see how that turned out.
I'm not saying they're not a garbage indicator, just that maybe there's more there than we think and their significance shouldn't be blown off quite so placidly.
posted by jammer at 5:51 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
You know, people keep saying this, but I have memories of concerned stories from the ground in battleground states in 2016 talking about how there were Trump signs everywhere but not nearly as many for Hillary. And they were generally laughed off with the same sort of comment, yet we see how that turned out.
I'm not saying they're not a garbage indicator, just that maybe there's more there than we think and their significance shouldn't be blown off quite so placidly.
posted by jammer at 5:51 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
I think signs are a good measure of enthusiasm , there may fewer Beta voters in the area but the ones there are very invested in voting for him.
Speaking of which our Uptown DSA chapter meeting was at or over capacity if that means anything.
posted by The Whelk at 5:56 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Speaking of which our Uptown DSA chapter meeting was at or over capacity if that means anything.
posted by The Whelk at 5:56 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Black Cube's login page is so extremely ARG that I'm just clicking around the rest of the site now looking for morse code in the stock photo backgrounds
posted by theodolite at 5:58 PM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 5:58 PM on August 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
Neil Gorsuch is the most illegitimate member of the Supreme Court in U.S. history [Think Progress]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 6:01 PM on August 23, 2018 [79 favorites]
Last year, for the first time in American history, “the United States Senate confirmed a nominee for the High Court appointed by a President who had failed to win the popular vote with the support of a majority of senators who had garnered fewer votes—indeed far fewer votes— in their most recent elections than their colleagues in opposition.”Link to paper [PDF]
The 45 senators who opposed Gorsuch, McMahon writes, received nearly 20 million more votes than the 54 senators who supported him — 73,425,062 to 54,098,387. The 45 senators in the minority also represent more than 25 million more people than the senators who voted to confirm Gorsuch.
By contrast, when President Obama named Chief Judge Merrick Garland to fill the Supreme Court vacancy that is currently occupied by Gorsuch, the 46 Senate Democrats represented about 20 million more people than the 54 Republicans. Also, President Obama won the popular vote. Twice.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 6:01 PM on August 23, 2018 [79 favorites]
A query: if we pick up a couple of seats in the Senate, will Dems be able to torch SCOTUS nods because the filibuster rule is gone?
(does the jinx turning/spitting thing)
posted by angrycat at 6:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
(does the jinx turning/spitting thing)
posted by angrycat at 6:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
As long as Democratic Senators stayed united in opposition, yes. Currently any judicial nominee needs 50 votes (+ Pence). If Republicans have 49 or fewer seats, then they would need at least 1 Dem vote.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:17 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by thefoxgod at 6:17 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
If the Democrats control the Senate, they can torch SCOTUS nods by never bringing them to a vote, Merrick Garland style.
posted by Uncle Ira at 6:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Uncle Ira at 6:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
Yes, but not because of anything to do with the filibuster. Picking up a couple seats would mean a Democratic majority. No filibuster needed.
Before people object about traaaaitor Dems like Manchin voting for the nominees anyway and getting them passed; when you have the majority you control what votes are brought to the floor. Manchin, Heitkamp, Donnelly, et al aren't faced with that problem because there wouldn't so much as be hearings on a Trump nominee.
posted by Justinian at 6:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Before people object about traaaaitor Dems like Manchin voting for the nominees anyway and getting them passed; when you have the majority you control what votes are brought to the floor. Manchin, Heitkamp, Donnelly, et al aren't faced with that problem because there wouldn't so much as be hearings on a Trump nominee.
posted by Justinian at 6:18 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
The filibuster is mostly about blocking judges, so that part doesn't even matter. Just think of it as needing either 50 votes + the vice president, or 51 votes without, to confirm. If Republicans can't get 50 votes to confirm, filibuster or no, the nominee is not confirmed.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:19 PM on August 23, 2018
posted by thefoxgod at 6:19 PM on August 23, 2018
PA News: NBC News/Marist Poll: Casey and Wolf Hold Double Digit Leads; Trump Sees Negative Numbers
posted by octothorpe at 6:19 PM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:19 PM on August 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
NYT, Manhattan D.A. Eyes Criminal Charges Against Trump Organization
The Manhattan district attorney’s office is considering pursuing criminal charges against the Trump Organization and two senior company officials in connection with Michael D. Cohen’s hush money payment to an adult film actress, according to two officials with knowledge of the matter.posted by zachlipton at 6:23 PM on August 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
A state investigation would center on how the company accounted for its reimbursement to Mr. Cohen for the $130,000 he paid to the actress, Stephanie Clifford, who has said she had an affair with President Trump, the officials said.
Both officials stressed that the office’s review of the matter is in its earliest stages and prosecutors have not yet made a decision on whether to proceed.
...
The Trump Organization recorded the reimbursement as a legal expense. But Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s longtime fixer, said on Tuesday that he paid Ms. Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels, to buy her silence during the 2016 campaign. Federal prosecutors have said the reimbursement payments were for sham legal invoices in connection with a nonexistent retainer agreement. Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges, did no legal work in connection with the matter, prosecutors said.
“On its face, it certainly would be problematic,” said one of the officials familiar with the district attorney’s office review, noting that listing the reimbursement as a legal expense could be a felony under state law.
...
As the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., considers opening an investigation, the New York State attorney general’s office has moved to open a criminal investigation into whether Mr. Cohen has violated state tax law, an inquiry that would be unrelated to the federal tax evasion charges that he pleaded guilty to on Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the state matter.
The attorney general, Barbara D. Underwood, in recent days sought a referral from the state Department of Taxation and Finance, which is needed to conduct such an inquiry and to prosecute any violations of state tax law it might uncover, the person said. Such requests are seldom denied. The state’s double jeopardy laws do not apply to tax crimes.
I know yard signs are kind of a garbage indicator
I don't think they are at all. Yard signs mean people are enthusiastic enough to advertise their support for someone. The lack of yard signs mean the opposite. We should have learned that from 2016.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I don't think they are at all. Yard signs mean people are enthusiastic enough to advertise their support for someone. The lack of yard signs mean the opposite. We should have learned that from 2016.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:04 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I think the biggest problem with yard signs is people are usually just looking at a weird slice/sample based on where they go. If someone was actually going around to representative locations and sampling yard signs, it might be more interesting data (more like polling data). In other words, with no real methodology behind it, "I saw more signs" is subject to way too much bias to be more than noise.
posted by thefoxgod at 7:13 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by thefoxgod at 7:13 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm a little skeptical of the zero-sum idea that "not the best" means "worthless," if that's the argument.
posted by rhizome at 7:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 7:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Yard signs and bumper stickers get into fascinating psychological territory when your preconceived notions of a house or a neighborhood or a vehicle are upended by the sign. Which can be scary, my last neighborhood always seemed nice until Trump signs started going up, and then, especially after the election, it felt like living in enemy territory. And sometimes you make a shitty negative judgement of a place or a big obnoxious truck and then see the Hillary sticker and feel foolish and uplifted and it's a hell of a boost to the part of you that wants to do everything you can to help GOTV. And then there are the social proof aspects. I feel like the real effects of yard signs are really hard to quantify.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 7:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [44 favorites]
I wonder if yard signs real value is in discouraging opposing voters. If an entire neighborhood is completely riddled with signs of a candidate you can’t stand, maybe people are more likely to just skip voting cuz why bother ?
posted by ian1977 at 7:42 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 7:42 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Dunno about yard signs (though there are a LOT for Beto in Austin), but damn near every car in my neighborhood, and at my daughter's school has a Beto sticker. Usually on the backlight, not the bumper. Obviously Austin isn't all of TX, but damned if he doesn't have a big, motivated crowd here.
But, then, meeting up with a friend of mine last weekend, who lives just outside Austin-- he and his wife were like, "I've heard of him, but I don't know anything about him."
posted by rp at 7:52 PM on August 23, 2018
But, then, meeting up with a friend of mine last weekend, who lives just outside Austin-- he and his wife were like, "I've heard of him, but I don't know anything about him."
posted by rp at 7:52 PM on August 23, 2018
I'm a little skeptical of the zero-sum idea that "not the best" means "worthless," if that's the argument.
yeah, politics is not a science (despite the faculty). This time, let's get the vote out any f***ing way we can.
posted by philip-random at 8:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
yeah, politics is not a science (despite the faculty). This time, let's get the vote out any f***ing way we can.
posted by philip-random at 8:00 PM on August 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
NYT, Manhattan D.A. Eyes Criminal Charges Against Trump Organization
Booking the legal settlement as a legal expense to take a deduction on double it's amount would definitely be NY Penal Law S 175.10 Falsifying business records in the first degree territory.
And tax and finance will definitely want to talk to someone about criminal liability under tax art. 37 S 1803 - Criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree. It's a felony to cheat more than 3 grand.
posted by mikelieman at 8:36 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Booking the legal settlement as a legal expense to take a deduction on double it's amount would definitely be NY Penal Law S 175.10 Falsifying business records in the first degree territory.
And tax and finance will definitely want to talk to someone about criminal liability under tax art. 37 S 1803 - Criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree. It's a felony to cheat more than 3 grand.
posted by mikelieman at 8:36 PM on August 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 Senate:
** 2018 Senate:
-- PA: Marist poll has incumbent Dem Casey up 53-38 on GOPer Barletta [MOE: +/- 4.2%].** 2018 House:
-- CT: Quinnipiac poll has incumbent Dem Murphy up 59-31 on GOPer Corey [MOE: +/- 3.9%].
-- VA: Roanoke College poll has incumbent Dem Kaine up 51-34 on GOPer Stewart [MOE: +/- 4.3%].
-- TX GOP getting really worried about Sessions, Culberson seats.** Odds & ends:
-- Where does the 538 model disagree with the handicappers?
-- Crystal Ball: Incumbency advantage is much less than it used to be, and it no longer seems to build over time.
-- FWIW note that the Crosstab and 538 are now putting the generic ballot margin the Dems need for control at about 5.5 points, which is a little lower than conventional wisdom has had it.
-- PA gov: Same Marist poll has incumbent Dem Wolf up 54-40 on GOPer Wagner.posted by Chrysostom at 8:58 PM on August 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
-- CT gov: Pair of polls here. Quinnipiac poll from above has Dem Lamont up 46-33 on GOPer Stefanowski; Sacred Heart University has Lamont up 41-37 [MOE: +/- 4.23%].
-- Michigan court rules initiative to raise minimum wage to $12 must go on the ballot.
Even if there's a Magic Pardon, that doesn't prevent the evidence from the federal case being used in a state case. I'm not sure Donnie from Queens is aware that a pardon doesn't actually erase the legal history of the case. (Hm, there's an interesting thought - if you have immunity from prosecution in one jurisdiction, can you still take the 5th on the grounds that some other jurisdiction might prosecute?) (Probably. The right not to self-incriminate gets interpreted very broadly.)
I suspect Cohen has confessed because he's realized he has no chance of being high-profile enough to be "worth" a pardon, and he really doesn't want to put up with the years of required toadying and blackmail threats after - and has decided, "if I'm going down, I'm taking that bastard with me."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:21 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I suspect Cohen has confessed because he's realized he has no chance of being high-profile enough to be "worth" a pardon, and he really doesn't want to put up with the years of required toadying and blackmail threats after - and has decided, "if I'm going down, I'm taking that bastard with me."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:21 PM on August 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
"If I'm going down, I'm taking that bastard with me"
I can't wrap my head around even getting into that position with Trump.
Maybe, yeah, some deal looks a bit shady, but the reward looks pretty good, so ...
but this is Donald J. Trump.
If you showed up to a used car lot, one with lots of shitty vehicles obviously overpriced, and were already primed to get screwed over, and Donald J. Trump walked out to the lot to sell you a car, wouldn't you ask to talk to the manager, or run away and go to another shady dealer?
I seriously, seriously seriously do not understand this.
posted by yesster at 9:33 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
I can't wrap my head around even getting into that position with Trump.
Maybe, yeah, some deal looks a bit shady, but the reward looks pretty good, so ...
but this is Donald J. Trump.
If you showed up to a used car lot, one with lots of shitty vehicles obviously overpriced, and were already primed to get screwed over, and Donald J. Trump walked out to the lot to sell you a car, wouldn't you ask to talk to the manager, or run away and go to another shady dealer?
I seriously, seriously seriously do not understand this.
posted by yesster at 9:33 PM on August 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
You know who has been quiet lately? Former finance chair of the Trump Campaign, Steve Mnuchin.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [45 favorites]
A good summary by four writers at the Lawfare blog, "What Michael Cohen’s Plea and Paul Manafort’s Conviction Mean for Trump and the Mueller Investigation," discusses seven questions: 1) Does Donald Trump choose 'the best people'? 2) Do these convictions have implications for L’Affaire Russe? 3) How big a deal is the Manafort verdict? 4) How big a deal is the Cohen plea agreement? 5) How close is this to the president? 6) Is a second special counsel needed? 7) Are there dangers here?
The answer to the last question begins "Yes. Big ones."
posted by LeLiLo at 10:09 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
The answer to the last question begins "Yes. Big ones."
posted by LeLiLo at 10:09 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Michael Cohen is trying to get some of that #resistance con money. If he was making a deal, we wouldn't be hearing about it from his lawyer shilling a fundraiser.
posted by Yowser at 10:10 PM on August 23, 2018
posted by Yowser at 10:10 PM on August 23, 2018
This is the thing about Trump: for all his talk about how hard he works he's really quite lazy, he's always about the shortcuts. And if you follow him then so are you. He's far too smart to need to put any energy into planning, he can always just wing it. His superior genes that give him his superior brain are all that he needs. And if there's two paths to take, he'll take the easier one even if it's riskier. He'll commingle funds, draw from whatever's most convenient in the moment or blow off paying altogether if it suits him. If it lands him in trouble he can always just talk, buy or bully his way out of it. It's an attitude that exudes from him & infuses those in his orbit. It's a recipe for incompetence & failure.
posted by scalefree at 10:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 10:11 PM on August 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
It's a recipe for incompetence & failure.
But sometimes things fall uphill.
posted by yesster at 10:17 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
But sometimes things fall uphill.
posted by yesster at 10:17 PM on August 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
CORKER:“Well, there are portions of those who support the presidentYou know... amygdalae, spleens, sphincters, and so forth.
posted by non canadian guy at 10:20 PM on August 23, 2018 [22 favorites]
I like the part where the president of the United States is saying cooperating with prosecutors should be illegal.
I mean in general more skepticism about prosecutors from Congress and the president would result in better laws, but that's not this.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:32 PM on August 23, 2018 [31 favorites]
I mean in general more skepticism about prosecutors from Congress and the president would result in better laws, but that's not this.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:32 PM on August 23, 2018 [31 favorites]
I think we all saw this, er, coming: tomorrow's NY Daily News front page.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:35 PM on August 23, 2018 [29 favorites]
I mean in general more skepticism about prosecutors from Congress and the president would result in better laws, but that's not this.
Good Twitter thread about this from Ken "Popehat" White.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:38 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Good Twitter thread about this from Ken "Popehat" White.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:38 PM on August 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
But sometimes things fall uphill.
Because people who don't know better, who can't see through the glamour or allow themselves to be bought follow their expectations, paper over his deficiencies & lend their talents to him to actually get things done. Things get done in spite of him not because of him.
posted by scalefree at 10:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Because people who don't know better, who can't see through the glamour or allow themselves to be bought follow their expectations, paper over his deficiencies & lend their talents to him to actually get things done. Things get done in spite of him not because of him.
posted by scalefree at 10:41 PM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
I still can't get over this bit of the Fox interview, which I don't think got mentioned here today: He told Fox that Cohen "pled to two counts that aren't a crime. Which nobody understands. In fact, I watched a number of shows. Sometimes you get some pretty good information by watching shows. Those two counts aren't even a crime..."
The man is the President of the United States and can call up any expert on any topic anywhere in the world for information, but he chooses to get his (terrible) legal advice by getting "some pretty good information by watching shows."
Of course, when he does choose to get legal advice from his lawyer, he calls up Rudy, who the Post managed up to sum up in a paragraph:
The man is the President of the United States and can call up any expert on any topic anywhere in the world for information, but he chooses to get his (terrible) legal advice by getting "some pretty good information by watching shows."
Of course, when he does choose to get legal advice from his lawyer, he calls up Rudy, who the Post managed up to sum up in a paragraph:
Giuliani initially said he and Trump had the conversation “three to five weeks ago” but later corrected his statement to say he believed they discussed it several weeks earlier, in June. Giuliani clarified in a follow-up call to The Post that his conversation with Trump was a general discussion about potential pardons for a range of people under investigation, including but not limited to Manafort.posted by zachlipton at 10:43 PM on August 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
I think signs are a good measure of enthusiasm , there may fewer Beto voters in the area but the ones there are very invested in voting for him.
Not to cross-polinate threads, but I rode a motorbike down the length of the UK in the week preceding the Brexit vote, and went from "blithely optimistic" to "actually worried" based on the fact that I saw hundreds of pro-Leave signs by Britain's major arterial routes and literally not a single Remain sign. I spoke to a few members of my family in Italy a few days later, and they were really complacent, while I was... less so.
Anyhow, I'm very happy to hear about a lot of Beto signs!
posted by chappell, ambrose at 11:40 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Not to cross-polinate threads, but I rode a motorbike down the length of the UK in the week preceding the Brexit vote, and went from "blithely optimistic" to "actually worried" based on the fact that I saw hundreds of pro-Leave signs by Britain's major arterial routes and literally not a single Remain sign. I spoke to a few members of my family in Italy a few days later, and they were really complacent, while I was... less so.
Anyhow, I'm very happy to hear about a lot of Beto signs!
posted by chappell, ambrose at 11:40 PM on August 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I think there's a direct link between enthusiasm and yard signs, honestly: if you go to the campaign office to get a yard sign and they don't have one, you're probably going to lose some enthusiasm because if you can't even make yard signs, is your campaign actually doing well?
posted by Merus at 11:47 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Merus at 11:47 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cohen's story keeps changing:
I didn't do it
Nobody saw me
You can't prove anything
...besides, I wasn't alone.
That last one, the Atlantic says, is the most damaging thing that happened yesterday to Trump:
I didn't do it
Nobody saw me
You can't prove anything
...besides, I wasn't alone.
That last one, the Atlantic says, is the most damaging thing that happened yesterday to Trump:
It was that the United States Department of Justice allowed him to enter a guilty plea whose factual basis was that Trump had directed him in the commission of a crime. ... the Justice Department believes this allegation to be true and is willing to proceed criminally against Cohen on that basis. That’s ominous for both Trump personally and for his campaign. What’s more, this particular front in the war is not under Mueller, who spun it off to the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York. This is not, in other words, a problem Trump can fire his way out of.posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:09 AM on August 24, 2018 [34 favorites]
because if you can't even make yard signs, is your campaign actually doing well?
The candidate that I’m most excited about who is running for my state house seat doesn’t have yard signs. He’s the (only) clean election candidate and they can’t afford them. He’s got posters instead. I asked for extras so I could make my own yard sign out of them, and within a couple of hours, the candidate himself was dropping them off.
I don’t know if he’s doing “well,” but I’m hopeful!
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:13 AM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
The candidate that I’m most excited about who is running for my state house seat doesn’t have yard signs. He’s the (only) clean election candidate and they can’t afford them. He’s got posters instead. I asked for extras so I could make my own yard sign out of them, and within a couple of hours, the candidate himself was dropping them off.
I don’t know if he’s doing “well,” but I’m hopeful!
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:13 AM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
I recall an article in the NyTimes from someone who traveled across the country using a southern route during the presidential campaign reporting he had seen a ton of Trump signs and not one Hillary sign. This kind of report should have been made earlier, and should have been taken as a serious indicator by Hillary's campaign that something was seriously off with all the polling data. Polling data isn't what it was. When your own eyes are showing you something drastically different, that's meaningful.
posted by xammerboy at 2:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 2:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
The man is the President of the United States and can call up any expert on any topic anywhere in the world for information, but he chooses to get his (terrible) legal advice by getting "some pretty good information by watching shows."
Yeah, there have been countless examples of this through his presidency, and it is obviously ridiculous. But it is also a clear message to his followers that their own knowledge, gathered from Fox and Facebook, is just as fine as any knowledge from government experts.
posted by mumimor at 2:35 AM on August 24, 2018 [56 favorites]
Yeah, there have been countless examples of this through his presidency, and it is obviously ridiculous. But it is also a clear message to his followers that their own knowledge, gathered from Fox and Facebook, is just as fine as any knowledge from government experts.
posted by mumimor at 2:35 AM on August 24, 2018 [56 favorites]
guys. really. yard signs do not vote, and as part of a statewide campaign, are close to useless. for downticket races, sure, yes, that kind of local visibility effort might make a difference. but it's such a thin margin that it won't really help Beto. it won't help any race that's confined to more than one or two counties, and even then, the candidate had best be-- and I know I'm a broken record here-- the candidate had best be knocking on doors.
I mean that I'm working with several different races, both statewide, Congressional, and state legislative, and the race I don't worry about? Is the one where the candidate goes and knocks on doors in her district every single day.
yard signs go to volunteers, or donors, and they still make me breathe a sigh or relief, because I generally know where they're coming from. but they're more marking a start, and probably not indicative of a wave. the wave comes when we build it.
I'm so not trying to rain on anyone's parade. Truly, I'm just trying to tell you what I know, and what I got drummed into me is always and forever: 'signs are good. clipboards are better.'
posted by dogheart at 3:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
I mean that I'm working with several different races, both statewide, Congressional, and state legislative, and the race I don't worry about? Is the one where the candidate goes and knocks on doors in her district every single day.
yard signs go to volunteers, or donors, and they still make me breathe a sigh or relief, because I generally know where they're coming from. but they're more marking a start, and probably not indicative of a wave. the wave comes when we build it.
I'm so not trying to rain on anyone's parade. Truly, I'm just trying to tell you what I know, and what I got drummed into me is always and forever: 'signs are good. clipboards are better.'
posted by dogheart at 3:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
Besides the National Enquirer, I recall that TMZ is also a Trump-loving media outlet. Has there been any concrete evidence of them spiking stories so far?
posted by PenDevil at 3:20 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 3:20 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
ThinkProgress: The inside story of how TMZ quietly became America’s most potent pro-Trump media outlet
posted by Rhaomi at 3:43 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 3:43 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
In other news, the Spanish government has approved a decree to take Franco out of the Valley of the Fallen (no word about Primo de Rivera yet). I honestly hope they take out all remains and then dynamite the whole place.
posted by sukeban at 4:21 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by sukeban at 4:21 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
'signs are good. clipboards are better.'
Because everyone loves it when someone knocks on their door to talk politics. No one cares what the people in their community are thinking.
posted by xammerboy at 4:25 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Because everyone loves it when someone knocks on their door to talk politics. No one cares what the people in their community are thinking.
posted by xammerboy at 4:25 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you're not doing anything in October, come to Indiana for a Chamber of Commerce seminar...
posted by Thorzdad at 4:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 4:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yard signs
Peggy Noonan in the WSJ the day before the 2012 election:
Peggy Noonan in the WSJ the day before the 2012 election:
...There is no denying the Republicans have the passion now, the enthusiasm. The Democrats do not. Independents are breaking for Romney. And there’s the thing about the yard signs. In Florida a few weeks ago I saw Romney signs, not Obama ones. From Ohio I hear the same. From tony Northwest Washington, D.C., I hear the same.posted by chris24 at 4:30 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Is it possible this whole thing is playing out before our eyes and we’re not really noticing because we’re too busy looking at data on paper instead of what’s in front of us? Maybe that’s the real distortion of the polls this year: They left us discounting the world around us...
When your own eyes are showing you something drastically different, that's meaningful.
The Clinton campaign deliberately downplayed yard signs because the data show they don’t impact election results.
Maybe this was incorrect in her case. In the case of HRC - someone who was publicly perceived as being wildly unpopular but who actually had a great deal of support- maybe placing yard signs would have helped people to understand they were not alone in supporting her. But overall, yard signs do very little, and a campaign that doesn’t try to distribute them likely won’t have many on display.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 4:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Clinton campaign deliberately downplayed yard signs because the data show they don’t impact election results.
Maybe this was incorrect in her case. In the case of HRC - someone who was publicly perceived as being wildly unpopular but who actually had a great deal of support- maybe placing yard signs would have helped people to understand they were not alone in supporting her. But overall, yard signs do very little, and a campaign that doesn’t try to distribute them likely won’t have many on display.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 4:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
I agree with you that yard signs are not the end all be all, but they're not nothing. Many people do use yard signs to gauge what people in their community are thinking. I think Trump showed us that a lot of what supposedly didn't work - digital ads, social media, yard signs, dumb memes, works in spades.
posted by xammerboy at 4:36 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 4:36 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
THE TWEETER HAS AWAKENED
“Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.” Jeff, this is GREAT, what everyone wants, so look into all of the corruption on the “other side” including deleted Emails, Comey lies & leaks, Mueller conflicts, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Ohr......posted by Rhaomi at 4:45 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
....FISA abuse, Christopher Steele & his phony and corrupt Dossier, the Clinton Foundation, illegal surveillance of Trump Campaign, Russian collusion by Dems - and so much more. Open up the papers & documents without redaction? Come on Jeff, you can do it, the country is waiting!
Ex-NSA contractor to spend 63 months in jail over “classified” information. Gee, this is “small potatoes” compared to what Hillary Clinton did! So unfair Jeff, Double Standard.
Because everyone loves it when someone knocks on their door to talk politics. No one cares what the people in their community are thinking.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but either way I don't see the relationship between these two ideas.
posted by adamgreenfield at 4:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but either way I don't see the relationship between these two ideas.
posted by adamgreenfield at 4:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
THE TWEETER HAS AWAKENED
And of course live-tweeting Fox & Friends.
Matthew Gertz (MMFA)
President watches television, tweets for attorney general to investigate his political enemies and the people investigating his associates.
Left, Fox & Friends, 6:09 am
Right, Trump, 6:17 am
SCREENSHOTS
---
FOX & friends
Former NSA worker Reality Winner sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for leaking classified information to the media
posted by chris24 at 4:52 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
And of course live-tweeting Fox & Friends.
Matthew Gertz (MMFA)
President watches television, tweets for attorney general to investigate his political enemies and the people investigating his associates.
Left, Fox & Friends, 6:09 am
Right, Trump, 6:17 am
SCREENSHOTS
---
FOX & friends
Former NSA worker Reality Winner sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for leaking classified information to the media
posted by chris24 at 4:52 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Because everyone loves it when someone knocks on their door to talk politics. No one cares what the people in their community are thinking.
That's how campaigning works. Signs are nice but there's not much evidence that they do much to change outcomes; what does work is door-to-door canvassing.
posted by octothorpe at 4:53 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
That's how campaigning works. Signs are nice but there's not much evidence that they do much to change outcomes; what does work is door-to-door canvassing.
posted by octothorpe at 4:53 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
Open up the papers & documents without redaction?
Good idea, let's start with Trump's latest Supreme Court nominee - ALL the papers.
posted by arcticseal at 5:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [25 favorites]
Good idea, let's start with Trump's latest Supreme Court nominee - ALL the papers.
posted by arcticseal at 5:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [25 favorites]
Randolph County, GA not closing any voting locations.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:15 AM on August 24, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 5:15 AM on August 24, 2018 [64 favorites]
So I guess we can set our clocks in terms of narcissistic injury to acting out. I forget what hour we're at from the verdicts this week, but we seem to be in the full flail that many of us, including me, expected in W Va the night of the verdict.
posted by angrycat at 5:15 AM on August 24, 2018
posted by angrycat at 5:15 AM on August 24, 2018
In the case of HRC - someone who was publicly perceived as being wildly unpopular but who actually had a great deal of support- maybe placing yard signs would have helped people to understand they were not alone in supporting her.
I so strongly believe this, even though I have heard from campaign staffers that yard signs don't matter. But I think that if your opponent is covering the area with the yard signs and you're not, you'd better look into what's going on.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:20 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
I so strongly believe this, even though I have heard from campaign staffers that yard signs don't matter. But I think that if your opponent is covering the area with the yard signs and you're not, you'd better look into what's going on.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:20 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
Are there actual, genuine malefeasence that the R’s ascribe to ‘the other side’ or is it just madness. I’m willing to give a bit of lee-way for like some things might be unethical/morally suspect but not illegal - but in hard terms what do they think ‘they’ did?
... it’s just like my kids, isn’t it? One gets caught doing something he’s not supposed to he immediately accuses the other of various crimes. Nothing concrete, just wants to share the misery...
posted by From Bklyn at 5:27 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
... it’s just like my kids, isn’t it? One gets caught doing something he’s not supposed to he immediately accuses the other of various crimes. Nothing concrete, just wants to share the misery...
posted by From Bklyn at 5:27 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm not a big fan of the Clintons, I could 100% believe either or both of them have done things that were shitty, but the right-wing media has been having a shared fever dream about the two of them since the early '90s. You can't even begin to peel back the layers of this onion; there's literal years and years of insinuation, innuendo, urban legend, and outright lies that have been spewed forth, regurgitated, and spewed anew. To even try to understand what "crimes" the Clintons are accused of requires a context of decades of shared 5-minutes-hate style interactions. Anything they might actually have done is drowned under the ocean of things they've been imagined to have done.
It's pretty much just crazy all the way down.
posted by tocts at 5:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [66 favorites]
It's pretty much just crazy all the way down.
posted by tocts at 5:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [66 favorites]
I so strongly believe this, even though I have heard from campaign staffers that yard signs don't matter.
We don't have to believe anecdotes. There's scholars studying this.
The effects of lawn signs on vote outcomes: Results from four randomized field experiments
Highlights:
We conduct the first four randomized field trials of lawn signs.
On average, lawn signs increase vote share by 1.7 percentage points.
The effects of lawn signs spill over into adjacent precincts.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 5:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
We don't have to believe anecdotes. There's scholars studying this.
The effects of lawn signs on vote outcomes: Results from four randomized field experiments
Highlights:
We conduct the first four randomized field trials of lawn signs.
On average, lawn signs increase vote share by 1.7 percentage points.
The effects of lawn signs spill over into adjacent precincts.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 5:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
Mod note: Couple of comments deleted. Maybe take a step back from the whole lawn sign thing, guys.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 5:53 AM on August 24, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 5:53 AM on August 24, 2018 [42 favorites]
NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission sent Michael Cohen a letter [pdf here] saying they intend to revoke all of his taxi medallions because he's now a convicted felon. He has until Sept 10th to divest and transfer them to a person who is eligible to hold them.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 6:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
Bloomberg: Senate Signals Interest in Investigating Cohen's Claims on Trump "Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley’s staff has begun talks with Michael Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, as a first step before deciding whether his committee will investigate Cohen’s claims about President Donald Trump." (Sens. LIndsey Graham and Thom Tillis oppose this.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:09 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:09 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
@smotus: The Klingon summer intern writing CNN’s chyrons is doing a bang up job.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:44 AM on August 24, 2018 [97 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 6:44 AM on August 24, 2018 [97 favorites]
NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission sent Michael Cohen a letter [pdf here] saying they intend to revoke all of his taxi medallions because he's now a convicted felon. He has until Sept 10th to divest and transfer them to a person who is eligible to hold them.
TIL Michel Cohen owns ten NYC taxi medallions, under the names of Golden Child Cab Corp, Sir Michael Hacking Corp, Lady Laura Hacking Corp, Samantha B Good Cab Corp, and Mad Dog Cab Corp.
I am literally becoming more convinced by the day that nothing is real.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:44 AM on August 24, 2018 [58 favorites]
TIL Michel Cohen owns ten NYC taxi medallions, under the names of Golden Child Cab Corp, Sir Michael Hacking Corp, Lady Laura Hacking Corp, Samantha B Good Cab Corp, and Mad Dog Cab Corp.
I am literally becoming more convinced by the day that nothing is real.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:44 AM on August 24, 2018 [58 favorites]
The Klingon summer intern writing CNN’s chyrons is doing a bang up job
He has until Sept 10th to divest and transfer them to a person who is eligible to hold them.
Today is a good day to divest.
posted by Servo5678 at 6:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [39 favorites]
He has until Sept 10th to divest and transfer them to a person who is eligible to hold them.
Today is a good day to divest.
posted by Servo5678 at 6:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [39 favorites]
TIL Michel Cohen owns ten NYC taxi medallions, under the names of Golden Child Cab Corp, Sir Michael Hacking Corp, Lady Laura Hacking Corp, Samantha B Good Cab Corp, and Mad Dog Cab Corp.
Upon further research -- he may own over 30 medallions, but the TLC notice only pertains to 10 of them. There are 10 outstanding tax warrants in NY for these three companies as well, which he owns/owned an interest in; these companies were not listed in the notice: Martha Cab Corp., Smoochie Cab Corp., and Laf Hacking Corp (you can search for the warrants here).
posted by melissasaurus at 6:58 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Upon further research -- he may own over 30 medallions, but the TLC notice only pertains to 10 of them. There are 10 outstanding tax warrants in NY for these three companies as well, which he owns/owned an interest in; these companies were not listed in the notice: Martha Cab Corp., Smoochie Cab Corp., and Laf Hacking Corp (you can search for the warrants here).
posted by melissasaurus at 6:58 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
John Oliver occasionally buys ad time on Fox to try to reach the President. Not sure why this isn't done more. Though I think it would be more effective if done with doppelganger blond Fox and Friends types, rather than the cowboy Oliver uses.
posted by jetsetsc at 6:59 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by jetsetsc at 6:59 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley’s staff has begun talks with Michael Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, as a first step before deciding whether his committee will investigate Cohen’s claims about President Donald Trump.
Anyone want to be this is subterfuge to feed info to the White House?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Anyone want to be this is subterfuge to feed info to the White House?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Senate investigatons have been more or less above board, if hobbled. If this were Devin Nunes’ committee in the House, then yeah.
posted by notyou at 7:05 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by notyou at 7:05 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
What's interesting is that the value of taxi medallion has plummeted I think. Can anyone comment more on this? My impression is that they aren't as valuable as they use to be, but Its not a topic I'm well versed in.
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:09 AM on August 24, 2018
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:09 AM on August 24, 2018
Uber and Lyft have taken the price of a medallion from a peak of about 1 million dollars to around 200k in the past few years.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:16 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 7:16 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
So Cohen has set up a GoFundMe for his legal bills. There was a tongue in cheek story about it on my local news last night.
Afterwards, my wife asked me if I would ever consider contributing to it. I was utterly flabbergasted, and kind of spluttered out a no, and she pressed further and said "what if he's the guy to bring down Trump?"
And I composed myself and explained that from my perspective, even if Cohen brings down Trump, he deserves to have his life in tatters - he benefited from the relationship for years, and that if Trump does fall because his inner circle turns on him, I want it to be a Pyrrhic moment - everyone involved should get so damaged in the process that none of them come back. Burn the ground they've walked on, and salt the earth.
posted by nubs at 7:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [64 favorites]
Afterwards, my wife asked me if I would ever consider contributing to it. I was utterly flabbergasted, and kind of spluttered out a no, and she pressed further and said "what if he's the guy to bring down Trump?"
And I composed myself and explained that from my perspective, even if Cohen brings down Trump, he deserves to have his life in tatters - he benefited from the relationship for years, and that if Trump does fall because his inner circle turns on him, I want it to be a Pyrrhic moment - everyone involved should get so damaged in the process that none of them come back. Burn the ground they've walked on, and salt the earth.
posted by nubs at 7:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [64 favorites]
In October 2017, tax warrants were filed for these corporations:
NY TRUMP SOHO 2102 CORP
NY TRUMP SOHO 2306 CORP
...right around the time the news was breaking that Don Jr. and Ivanka had been investigated for fraud related to that project. According to property tax records, the 2102 Corp owns both units.
Warrants for <$1000 were filed in 2018 for:
IVANKA TRUMP MARKS JEWELRY MEMBER CORP
TRUMP NATIONAL GOLF CLUB COLTS NECK LLC
posted by melissasaurus at 7:35 AM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
NY TRUMP SOHO 2102 CORP
NY TRUMP SOHO 2306 CORP
...right around the time the news was breaking that Don Jr. and Ivanka had been investigated for fraud related to that project. According to property tax records, the 2102 Corp owns both units.
Warrants for <$1000 were filed in 2018 for:
IVANKA TRUMP MARKS JEWELRY MEMBER CORP
TRUMP NATIONAL GOLF CLUB COLTS NECK LLC
posted by melissasaurus at 7:35 AM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
And one more -- warrants filed in 2014 ($268,152.67), 2015 ($52,157.86), and 2017 ($5,165.06) for "MADISON AVENUE DIAMONDS, LLC D/B/A IVANKA TRUMP FINE JEWELRY"
posted by melissasaurus at 7:39 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 7:39 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
On CNN, new pro-Trump contributor confirms he is contractually forbidden from criticizing Trump - Media Matters
Cable networks are still hiring contributors for Trump-related commentary who are legally forbidden from criticizing himposted by ZeusHumms at 7:41 AM on August 24, 2018 [93 favorites]
North Dakota Farmers Condemn GOP Senate Candidate For Telling Them to Suck It Up on Trump's Tariffs - Matthew Chapman, AlterNet
"The problem is, when you have a long game plan and there's short term, potential short term pain, we don't have a very high pain threshold in the United States of America," Cramer said of the Trump tariffs in June.posted by ZeusHumms at 7:44 AM on August 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
That comment has angered many farmers in the state. And at a forum hosted by the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party and attended by Agriculture Commissioner candidate Jim Dotzenrod, local farmers condemned Cramer for telling them to just go ahead and accept themselves as economic casualties.
@SteveKopack DOW JONES: *Allen Weisselberg, Longtime Trump Organization CFO, Granted Immunity by U.S. Prosecutors in Cohen Investigation -- SourcesYep, that Allen.
posted by pjenks at 7:52 AM on August 24, 2018 [67 favorites]
On CNN, new pro-Trump contributor confirms he is contractually forbidden from criticizing Trump - Media Matters
Meanwhile, at Fox, reporters are leaving because of the network's slant, per Politico: Second Fox News Reporter Leaves Amid Objections to Network—In the Trump era, hard reporting is being crowded out by opinionated panels, current and former staffers say.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Meanwhile, at Fox, reporters are leaving because of the network's slant, per Politico: Second Fox News Reporter Leaves Amid Objections to Network—In the Trump era, hard reporting is being crowded out by opinionated panels, current and former staffers say.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Holy shit.
WSJ: Allen Weisselberg, Longtime Trump Organization CFO, Is Granted Immunity in Cohen Probe
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [48 favorites]
WSJ: Allen Weisselberg, Longtime Trump Organization CFO, Is Granted Immunity in Cohen Probe
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [48 favorites]
Holy shit. The guy in charge of the Trump money for 40 years has been granted immunity?
Hoooooly shit.
This seems bigger than Manafort or Cohen, honestly. And every single member of the Trump family should be shitting their pants.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:55 AM on August 24, 2018 [92 favorites]
Hoooooly shit.
This seems bigger than Manafort or Cohen, honestly. And every single member of the Trump family should be shitting their pants.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:55 AM on August 24, 2018 [92 favorites]
Allen Weisselberg has ALL of the secrets. All of them. He's been with the company for years, he's also listed as CFO of the Trump Charitable Foundation (which he didn't actually know about, allegedly). If he's cooperating, I have a feeling that my guess that Trump will ultimately go down for money laundering is more and more accurate.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:56 AM on August 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 7:56 AM on August 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
I would think Tiffany would be OK though.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:57 AM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:57 AM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
We can infer a likelihood that there are maybe at least a handful of things (ALL THE CRIMES) that Trump has not yet confessed to that the Trump Org's CFO might be privy to and would be willing to testify about.
Trump's strategy at this point is to have his CFO divulge every single crime knowing he'll be cold and dead in the ground before Weisselberg even stops talking.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
Trump's strategy at this point is to have his CFO divulge every single crime knowing he'll be cold and dead in the ground before Weisselberg even stops talking.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 8:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
They don't even care about Mollie. She's just a pawn to whip up the votes.
Thankfully for some Rs, that's a bridge too far.
U of Iowa Turning Point USA
Please read our chapters response to the planning of an immigration event hosted by Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens.
@samlucasss
Retweeted Candace Owens
hey i’m a member of mollie’s family and we are not so fucking small-minded that we generalize a whole population based on some bad individuals. now stop being a fucking snake and using my cousins death as political propaganda. take her name out of your mouth.
- and fyi @RealCandaceO, my whole family is hurting right now and you’re not helping. you’re despicable and this is so far from the loving and kind soul that mollie was. my prayers go out to you in hopes that maybe you’ll become a better person. not hedging my bets tho.
posted by chris24 at 8:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [109 favorites]
Thankfully for some Rs, that's a bridge too far.
U of Iowa Turning Point USA
Please read our chapters response to the planning of an immigration event hosted by Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens.
August 24, 2018If you're wondering what the harassment reference to Owens is, a family member of Tibbetts tweeted Owens condemning her politicization of the death and asking her to stop using Millie's death. Owens proceeded to repeatedly attack them and harass her family.
To Whom It May Concern:
Late this week, our chapter President was contacted by a field director for Turning Point USA in regards to the death of Mollie Tibbetts. The voicemail left insisted that Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens visit the University of Iowa to host an immigration event in light of the recent tragedy our campus has faced.
We respectfully decline this invitation. We find it in poor taste to exploit the death of a Hawkeye to suit a political agenda. Should this event go on, it does so without the support of this executive board. Members of this chapter would like time to grieve and mourn the death of their classmate. We are all shocked, hurting, and in need of more respect than what was given to us by Turning Point USA.
This board also extends sympathy to the member of Mollie's family that dealt with public harassment from Turning Point USA Communications Director, Candace Owens. We ask that your exchange with Owens represent only herself and not conservatives as a whole. UI TPUSA stands with you and grieves alongside you.
When members of this board took on their roles, they were told that Turning Point USA would focus solely on fiscal issues. Our chapter does not take responsibility for statements made by Turning Point USA regarding immigration or other social issues. With that being said, executive board members have stepped down from their positions and association with Turning Point USA.
Sincerely,
Former University of Iowa Turning Point USA Executive Board Members
@samlucasss
Retweeted Candace Owens
hey i’m a member of mollie’s family and we are not so fucking small-minded that we generalize a whole population based on some bad individuals. now stop being a fucking snake and using my cousins death as political propaganda. take her name out of your mouth.
- and fyi @RealCandaceO, my whole family is hurting right now and you’re not helping. you’re despicable and this is so far from the loving and kind soul that mollie was. my prayers go out to you in hopes that maybe you’ll become a better person. not hedging my bets tho.
posted by chris24 at 8:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [109 favorites]
Wikipedia on Weisselberg: Weisselberg and Donald Trump Jr. also serve as the two sole trustees of the company, making them the only people who know details of the Trump trust's finances.
and
On January 11, 2017, it was announced that Weisselberg would serve as a trustee at the Trump Organization alongside Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. while Donald Trump serves as President of the United States. On April 4, 2017, a report by ProPublica revealed Eric Trump was degraded from a trustee to an adviser to the trust, leaving Trump Jr. and Weisselberg as its sole trustees. The report clarifies that the only people who know the details of the Trump trust's finances are its trustees.
Juicy!
posted by stonepharisee at 8:03 AM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
and
On January 11, 2017, it was announced that Weisselberg would serve as a trustee at the Trump Organization alongside Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. while Donald Trump serves as President of the United States. On April 4, 2017, a report by ProPublica revealed Eric Trump was degraded from a trustee to an adviser to the trust, leaving Trump Jr. and Weisselberg as its sole trustees. The report clarifies that the only people who know the details of the Trump trust's finances are its trustees.
Juicy!
posted by stonepharisee at 8:03 AM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
Holy shit. The guy in charge of the Trump money for 40 years has been granted immunity?
This might be a big deal, but before you get too excited, it might be a very limited immunity related just to the Cohen case and the hush money payments. It doesn't necessarily mean he's going to spill the beans on 40 years of business practices. It doesn't mean that he made a deal to cooperate. It might mean that he can be compelled to testify to a grand jury only on the Cohen case with possible penalties if he refuses.
It might mean testifying against Donny Jr or Eric, but we still don't know if he is willing to cooperate. It isn't a plea deal in exchange for cooperation.
posted by JackFlash at 8:03 AM on August 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
This might be a big deal, but before you get too excited, it might be a very limited immunity related just to the Cohen case and the hush money payments. It doesn't necessarily mean he's going to spill the beans on 40 years of business practices. It doesn't mean that he made a deal to cooperate. It might mean that he can be compelled to testify to a grand jury only on the Cohen case with possible penalties if he refuses.
It might mean testifying against Donny Jr or Eric, but we still don't know if he is willing to cooperate. It isn't a plea deal in exchange for cooperation.
posted by JackFlash at 8:03 AM on August 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
Bet the Donalds Trump are still shitting themselves, though
And that is enough for a great Friday afternoon
posted by schadenfrau at 8:08 AM on August 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
And that is enough for a great Friday afternoon
posted by schadenfrau at 8:08 AM on August 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
It might mean testifying against Donny Jr or Eric, but we still don't know if he is willing to cooperate. It isn't a plea deal in exchange for cooperation.
This is healthy skepticism, but this also means that Weisselberg's career is now over. There must be something big there.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [32 favorites]
This is healthy skepticism, but this also means that Weisselberg's career is now over. There must be something big there.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [32 favorites]
Not to get in the habit of posting Random Idiot Ideas, but a caller on Breitbart today had the best rationale ever for why the Trump - Sessions feud is all a smokescreen and Trump actually LOVES Jeff Sessions.
"Look, Sessions got to the DOJ and took one look at Rosenstein and Mueller and said 'These guys are obvious Deep State operatives.' So I'll just recuse myself and step aside, then steer them towards a wild goose chase, spending month after month tracking down Trump - Russia collusion that everybody knows doesn't actually exist!"
The host cut him off before he could utter the words "pizza," "QAnon" or "child prostitute," alas.
posted by delfin at 8:13 AM on August 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
"Look, Sessions got to the DOJ and took one look at Rosenstein and Mueller and said 'These guys are obvious Deep State operatives.' So I'll just recuse myself and step aside, then steer them towards a wild goose chase, spending month after month tracking down Trump - Russia collusion that everybody knows doesn't actually exist!"
The host cut him off before he could utter the words "pizza," "QAnon" or "child prostitute," alas.
posted by delfin at 8:13 AM on August 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
ZeusHumms quoting Matthew Chapman quoting Kevin Cramer: "The problem is, when you have a long game plan and there's short term, potential short term pain, we don't have a very high pain threshold in the United States of America," Cramer said of the Trump tariffs in June.
Yes, but also no one's really articulated what the long-term plan is. A total re-awakening of the steel and coal industries (even as the former generally relies on imports of the latter)? That still doesn't help farmers. Unless they want to pretend there'd be a "trickle-sideways" effect once the USA is, somehow, powered entirely by a fossil fuel that even other fossil fuels call obsolete.
Far from any kind of long-term thinking, the tariffs are simple self-sabotage akin to the behavior of addicts. It's like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman telling himself everything's going to work out, he just needs that one big break or whatever.
JackFlash: This might be a big deal, but before you get too excited, it might be a very limited immunity related just to the Cohen case and the hush money payments.
I hadn't considered that and it makes sense; immunity has to be qualified in come form. Otherwise someone could testify in exchange for "immunity" and then go rob a bank later that day. (I am not putting it past anyone in Trump's circle to do literally that while explicitly believing that's how it works.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:17 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yes, but also no one's really articulated what the long-term plan is. A total re-awakening of the steel and coal industries (even as the former generally relies on imports of the latter)? That still doesn't help farmers. Unless they want to pretend there'd be a "trickle-sideways" effect once the USA is, somehow, powered entirely by a fossil fuel that even other fossil fuels call obsolete.
Far from any kind of long-term thinking, the tariffs are simple self-sabotage akin to the behavior of addicts. It's like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman telling himself everything's going to work out, he just needs that one big break or whatever.
JackFlash: This might be a big deal, but before you get too excited, it might be a very limited immunity related just to the Cohen case and the hush money payments.
I hadn't considered that and it makes sense; immunity has to be qualified in come form. Otherwise someone could testify in exchange for "immunity" and then go rob a bank later that day. (I am not putting it past anyone in Trump's circle to do literally that while explicitly believing that's how it works.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:17 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
From Molly Jong-Fast: As a Jewish, and thus a lawyer I can say that this Allen Weisselberg thing is a nothing burger. It’s not like he arranged payoffs, it’s not like Trump is in bed with organized crime, it’s not like this will bring down the Trump presidency. No, I mean it is like those things.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:19 AM on August 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 8:19 AM on August 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
With Manafort, Cohen and now Weisselberg, does anyone get the impression that Muller is throwing a wrench in the more catastrophic machinations of the administration, specifically to blow as much up as possible to make the supreme court nomination impossible? Seems to me that of all the damage done to the institutions, that one has the most far reaching consequences.
posted by stonepharisee at 8:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 8:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
This is healthy skepticism, but this also means that Weisselberg's career is now over. There must be something big there.
Arguably, the CFO was the only competent one in the room, and I would expect his net-worth is orders of magnitude higher than all the Trumps put together thus retirement doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.
All Weisselberg needs to do is tell the truth. That's surprisingly easy.
posted by mikelieman at 8:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Arguably, the CFO was the only competent one in the room, and I would expect his net-worth is orders of magnitude higher than all the Trumps put together thus retirement doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.
All Weisselberg needs to do is tell the truth. That's surprisingly easy.
posted by mikelieman at 8:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Arguably, the CFO was the only competent one in the room, and was grifting the grifter and that's about to come out so might as well make the best of it and take immunity?
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
All Weisselberg needs to do is tell the truth. That's surprisingly easy.
And yet seemingly so difficult for most of those in Trump's orbit.
Goes back to that recent saying [Paraphrasing] "Trump may not be guilty, but he and his sure aren't acting like it"
posted by Twain Device at 8:32 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
And yet seemingly so difficult for most of those in Trump's orbit.
Goes back to that recent saying [Paraphrasing] "Trump may not be guilty, but he and his sure aren't acting like it"
posted by Twain Device at 8:32 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Does anyone get the impression that Muller is throwing a wrench in the more catastrophic machinations of the administration, specifically to blow as much up as possible to make the supreme court nomination impossible
I don't. While it could certainly be a repercussion of these revelations, I don't think it's accurate to ascribe a secret pro-Liberal agenda to Mueller's investigation. (Not that the narrative isn't already out there by some.)
In my opinion, the shroud of secrecy and little if any leaks coming out of Mueller's team is a testament to their professionalism, but that tabula rasa can make it tempting to paint the timing of announcements as part of some master chess game to stall judicial appointments , etc.
posted by mike_honcho at 8:32 AM on August 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
I don't. While it could certainly be a repercussion of these revelations, I don't think it's accurate to ascribe a secret pro-Liberal agenda to Mueller's investigation. (Not that the narrative isn't already out there by some.)
In my opinion, the shroud of secrecy and little if any leaks coming out of Mueller's team is a testament to their professionalism, but that tabula rasa can make it tempting to paint the timing of announcements as part of some master chess game to stall judicial appointments , etc.
posted by mike_honcho at 8:32 AM on August 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
Vanity Fair: “Holy Shit, I Thought Pecker Would Be the Last One to Turn”: Trump’s National Enquirer Allies Are the Latest to Defect
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:33 AM on August 24, 2018 [107 favorites]
Pecker’s apparent decision to corroborate Cohen’s account, and implicate Trump in a federal crime, is another vivid example of how isolated Trump is becoming as the walls close in and his former friends look for ways out. “Holy shit, I thought Pecker would be the last one to turn,” a Trump friend told me when I brought up the news. Trump and Pecker have been close for years. According to the Trump friend, Pecker regularly flew on Trump’s plane from New York to Florida. In July 2013, Trump tweeted that Pecker should become C.E.O. of Time magazine. “He’d make it exciting and win awards!”Sarah Kendzior (@ sarahkendzior) warned these people back in September of 2016: "What media and GOP don't get is any action taken now out of fear or favor expires in November. Your loyalty to Trump won't be rewarded. I study authoritarian states. I know how this works. Maybe he's blackmailing you. Maybe he's bribing you. Either way, his word is no good. Trump is going to screw you over like he screws everyone else over. He will humiliate you and you will have sacrificed yourself for nothing." {Emphasis added, because it keeps coming true.}
During the 2016 campaign, Pecker provided invaluable media support to Trump by regularly attacking his Republican rivals and Hillary Clinton. At times, it seemed like the Enquirer operated as a de-facto arm of the campaign. In October 2015, I reported that Trump aides were a source for an Enquirer article exposing Ben Carson’s malpractice lawsuits (“Bungling Surgeon Ben Carson Left Sponge in Patient’s Brain!”). Pecker denied it at the time. In June, The Washington Post reported that the Enquirer routinely sent stories to Trump to review prior to publication. (The Enquirer denied that as well.) During the transition, rumors circulated that Trump was considering Pecker for a prime ambassadorship. Last summer, Pecker reportedly brought an adviser to Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman to meet Trump in the Oval Office to help him expand A.M.I.’s business.
But that was before federal prosecutors investigating Cohen subpoenaed A.M.I. Pecker’s friendship with Trump now seems to be over. According to a source close to A.M.I., Pecker and Trump haven’t spoken in roughly eight months. Howard remains particularly angry at Trump, two people close to Howard told me. “There is no love lost,” one person familiar with Howard’s thinking said. Another person said Howard “hates Trump” and feels “used and abused by him.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:33 AM on August 24, 2018 [107 favorites]
Joyce Vance is the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District in Alabama (Birmingham) and a University of Alabama Law Professor. She is not prone to hyperbole from what I've seen of her and fairly well sticks to facts.
Her latest tweet:
@JoyceWhiteVance
You don’t give Trump Org CFO Weisselberg & David Pecker immunity just to prosecute Michael Cohen.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:35 AM on August 24, 2018 [108 favorites]
Her latest tweet:
@JoyceWhiteVance
You don’t give Trump Org CFO Weisselberg & David Pecker immunity just to prosecute Michael Cohen.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:35 AM on August 24, 2018 [108 favorites]
Trump is going to screw you over like he screws everyone else over. He will humiliate you and you will have sacrificed yourself for nothing." {Emphasis added, because it keeps coming true.}
"All our people are businessmen. Their loyalty is based on that." -- Michael Corleone, Godfather II
posted by mikelieman at 8:38 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
"All our people are businessmen. Their loyalty is based on that." -- Michael Corleone, Godfather II
posted by mikelieman at 8:38 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
With Manafort, Cohen and now Weisselberg, does anyone get the impression that Muller is throwing a wrench in the more catastrophic machinations of the administration
fwiw, Cohen (and it seems Weisselberg) is being handled by the Southern District of New York, a different (and more regular) part of the DoJ, not the special counsel. The WSJ story says it was "[a] decision by prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office to grant immunity."
posted by BungaDunga at 8:43 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
fwiw, Cohen (and it seems Weisselberg) is being handled by the Southern District of New York, a different (and more regular) part of the DoJ, not the special counsel. The WSJ story says it was "[a] decision by prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office to grant immunity."
posted by BungaDunga at 8:43 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
From Molly Jong-Fast: As a Jewish, and thus a lawyer
דלת ׳ר אככת
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:46 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
דלת ׳ר אככת
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:46 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Cue 'Trump is increasingly isolated' story from the palace stenographers.
posted by localhuman at 8:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by localhuman at 8:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
The fact that the Cohen thread is not being handled by Mueller makes it all the more hilarious that Trump has been banging on about "12 Angry Dems" for months when he should have been decrying the... career prosecutors in the SDNY, I guess. The Cohen investigation might have been started by a referral from Mueller's team (there was a referral, but it's possible they were already looking into it?) but everything since then on the Cohen front was handled by the SDNY, who are the same guys who (on a good day) prosecute your average white collar criminal. Trump just happens to be President.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 8:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
You don’t give Trump Org CFO Weisselberg & David Pecker immunity just to prosecute Michael Cohen.
Especially when Cohen has already pled guilty to multiple counts. They effectively have him already.
posted by chris24 at 8:49 AM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Especially when Cohen has already pled guilty to multiple counts. They effectively have him already.
posted by chris24 at 8:49 AM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
NBC has confirmed that Weisselberg is Executive 1 in the Cohen documents.
posted by chris24 at 8:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 8:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [52 favorites]
Cue 'Trump is increasingly isolated' story from the palace stenographers.
We have been reading 100 variations of this article every month. "Alone in the White House/at his golf course/in the cabin of Air Force One, an increasingly despondent/angry/frustrated President Trump turned to his favorite medium to lash out/scold/decry the latest scandal. Sources close to the President/the White House/the Capitol were grim/uncertain/had no further comment. 'This is different/I've never seen him like this before/There's definitely a new tone in the office' said an official who wished to remain unnamed/anonymous/Omarosa."
posted by mike_honcho at 8:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [108 favorites]
We have been reading 100 variations of this article every month. "Alone in the White House/at his golf course/in the cabin of Air Force One, an increasingly despondent/angry/frustrated President Trump turned to his favorite medium to lash out/scold/decry the latest scandal. Sources close to the President/the White House/the Capitol were grim/uncertain/had no further comment. 'This is different/I've never seen him like this before/There's definitely a new tone in the office' said an official who wished to remain unnamed/anonymous/Omarosa."
posted by mike_honcho at 8:54 AM on August 24, 2018 [108 favorites]
career prosecutors in the SDNY
The more the GOP becomes the party of open plutocracy, the more the SDNY gets the 9th Circuit treatment from the shithead sphere. The firing of Preet Bhara was entirely political.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:56 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
The more the GOP becomes the party of open plutocracy, the more the SDNY gets the 9th Circuit treatment from the shithead sphere. The firing of Preet Bhara was entirely political.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:56 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Where’d you dig up that copy of Mad Libs: The Presidency? That’s some goooood shit right there.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:56 AM on August 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:56 AM on August 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
We have been reading 100 variations of this article every month.
The national media are lazy, and love to repeat the established narratives -- it's so much easier! That's why we also have, for example, keep reading variations of the "Dems in Disarray" article, when everyone to the left of Susan Collins is united against the Trump Administration and can't wait to vote someone else into office, while Republicans fall in line solely out of fears -- often realized -- about being primaried by someone more unhinged than Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 8:59 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
The national media are lazy, and love to repeat the established narratives -- it's so much easier! That's why we also have, for example, keep reading variations of the "Dems in Disarray" article, when everyone to the left of Susan Collins is united against the Trump Administration and can't wait to vote someone else into office, while Republicans fall in line solely out of fears -- often realized -- about being primaried by someone more unhinged than Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 8:59 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Well, the Weisselberg news is pretty huge. I hope this is a sign that those in Trump’s orbit are beginning to internalize the fact that on Tuesday August 21st, 2018, under oath and in a courtroom with corroborating evidence, the President of the United States was named as an unindicted conspirator in the commission of a felony.
That’s a big fucking deal.
Also, putting my marker down now that it will be revealed at some point that Trump cheaped out on paying Weisselberg for something, per usual.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [59 favorites]
That’s a big fucking deal.
Also, putting my marker down now that it will be revealed at some point that Trump cheaped out on paying Weisselberg for something, per usual.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [59 favorites]
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter seemed to shift any blame onto his wife, Margaret, on Thursday for alleged campaign fund abuses, saying she was the one handling his finances.
"She was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did that'll be looked at too, I'm sure," the California Republican said on Fox News.
"But I didn't do it," Hunter said. "I didn't spend any money illegally."
I guess Semper Fi doesn't extend to the home front. Thanksgiving dinner this year is going to be awkward.
posted by JackFlash at 9:02 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
"She was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did that'll be looked at too, I'm sure," the California Republican said on Fox News.
"But I didn't do it," Hunter said. "I didn't spend any money illegally."
I guess Semper Fi doesn't extend to the home front. Thanksgiving dinner this year is going to be awkward.
posted by JackFlash at 9:02 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
Cook moves ratings in three races towards Dems:
NY-25 (open) | Likely D => Solid D
NC-02 (Holding) | Likely R => Lean R
OH-01 (Chabot) | Lean R => Toss Up
posted by Chrysostom at 9:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
NY-25 (open) | Likely D => Solid D
NC-02 (Holding) | Likely R => Lean R
OH-01 (Chabot) | Lean R => Toss Up
posted by Chrysostom at 9:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
Especially when Cohen has already pled guilty to multiple counts. They effectively have him already.
I think the immunity was granted a little while back, before Cohen plead. So you could imagine the immunity was just to get evidence against Cohen. But that seems pretty unlikely, because... it's Michael Cohen. They probably knew full well they could nail him on bank fraud without Weisselberg's help. And they gave immunity to him and Pecker. Just to nail Cohen on a couple charges of campaign finance violations? There has to be someone else they're aiming at.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think the immunity was granted a little while back, before Cohen plead. So you could imagine the immunity was just to get evidence against Cohen. But that seems pretty unlikely, because... it's Michael Cohen. They probably knew full well they could nail him on bank fraud without Weisselberg's help. And they gave immunity to him and Pecker. Just to nail Cohen on a couple charges of campaign finance violations? There has to be someone else they're aiming at.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Trump says stock market would crash, ‘everybody would be very poor’ if he were to be impeached
I see he's starting to move from anger to bargaining.
posted by zachlipton at 9:14 AM on August 24, 2018 [55 favorites]
I see he's starting to move from anger to bargaining.
posted by zachlipton at 9:14 AM on August 24, 2018 [55 favorites]
By "everybody" I assume he means "everyone who MATTERS, which is me."
Let's find out!
posted by emjaybee at 9:16 AM on August 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
Let's find out!
posted by emjaybee at 9:16 AM on August 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
The guy in charge of the Trump money for 40 years has been granted immunity?
I've said it before, I'm sure I'll say it again. Wherever all of this is ultimately going, it will play out with Trump on the run, probably a reality show.
posted by philip-random at 9:17 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
I've said it before, I'm sure I'll say it again. Wherever all of this is ultimately going, it will play out with Trump on the run, probably a reality show.
posted by philip-random at 9:17 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
NBC has confirmed that Weisselberg is Executive 1 in the Cohen documents.
posted by zachlipton at 9:17 AM on August 24, 2018 [34 favorites]
On February 14, 2017, Cohen sent an executive of the Company ("Executive-1") the first of his monthly invoices, requesting "[p]ursuant to [a] retainer agreement, . . . payment for services rendered for the months of January and February, 2017." The invoice listed $35,000 for each of those two months. Executive-1 forwarded the invoice to another executive of the Company ("Executive-2") the same day by email, and it was approved. Executive-1 forwarded that email to another employee at the Company, stating: "Please pay from the Trust. Post to legal expenses. Put 'retainer for the months of January and February 2017' in the description."Yeah this is a really bad day for Executive-2. And if Executive-2 is someone Weisselberg would seek approval from for the payments, it sure seems likely to be a Trump family member.
posted by zachlipton at 9:17 AM on August 24, 2018 [34 favorites]
I see he's starting to move from anger to bargaining.
I'm not sure that "nice global economy, be a shame if anything happened to it" really fits the Kubler-Ross schema.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:18 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
I'm not sure that "nice global economy, be a shame if anything happened to it" really fits the Kubler-Ross schema.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:18 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
The Manafort verdict and Cohen’s plea won’t halt the slow motion fascism of the Trump administration- Lucian K. Truscott IV , Salon
Donald Trump is the kind of president the Constitution was written to protect us from, only it’s not working.posted by ZeusHumms at 9:19 AM on August 24, 2018 [57 favorites]
...
Unwritten in the Constitution is what you might call a “good faith” clause. This is because there was an assumption on the part of the founders that the powers granted to the president, congress, and courts would be carried out with a modicum of respect for the law and for the other branches of government.
Whatever good faith we ever had in this nation is gone. What has replaced it is a form of open warfare against the traditions and norms of government we’ve had in the past, and a contempt for the rule of law. This war is being led by Donald Trump and the Trump Republican party, and it has produced a form of fascism we’ve never seen before in this country.
This is most evident in the behavior of the Republican Party with respect to laws that have been passed by the congress and the president when they are controlled by the other party. Think back a few decades. There was a time within my memory when major legislation was passed and signed into law, and major court decisions were made, and those laws and Supreme Court decisions were recognized and treated with respect and forbearance. Think of the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960’s. These laws were controversial and difficult to pass, but once passed, war was not immediately declared against them, and attempts were not made to immediately repeal or overturn them.
I know the 'increasingly isolated' theme is lazy and has been with us for a long time, but that doesn't mean it's not true. I don't think a month (week?) has gone past since January '17 where one or more of 45's nominal allies hasn't peeled off from him - and now a close-in cadre is turning against him, going to jail, or both.
His political protection in government may not turn against him before the November numbers are in, because they get their jobs directly from his base. The downside for the pro-45 media of jumping ship is also part of a hard calculus. But the rest of the retinue, the lawyers, financiers, business people and so on, who can't expect to get much from him now and can expect the connections to turn venomous if not legally dangerous, can and I expect will be more than ready to be out like 'Oumuamua.
posted by Devonian at 9:22 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
His political protection in government may not turn against him before the November numbers are in, because they get their jobs directly from his base. The downside for the pro-45 media of jumping ship is also part of a hard calculus. But the rest of the retinue, the lawyers, financiers, business people and so on, who can't expect to get much from him now and can expect the connections to turn venomous if not legally dangerous, can and I expect will be more than ready to be out like 'Oumuamua.
posted by Devonian at 9:22 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yeah this is a really bad day for Executive-2. And if Executive-2 is someone Weisselberg would seek approval from for the payments, it sure seems likely to be a Trump family member.
There are two people with signing authority on the Trump accounts: Weisselberg and Donald Jr.
Since Weisselberg cannot be both Executive-1 and Executive-2, that leaves a short list of other candidates.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [79 favorites]
There are two people with signing authority on the Trump accounts: Weisselberg and Donald Jr.
Since Weisselberg cannot be both Executive-1 and Executive-2, that leaves a short list of other candidates.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [79 favorites]
This is because there was an assumption on the part of the founders that the powers granted to the president, congress, and courts would be carried out with a modicum of respect for the law and for the other branches of government.
From a few days ago.
Kumail Nanjiani
So we’ve realized that our entire political structure is based on the honor system.
Preet Bharara
Basically correct @kumailn
posted by chris24 at 9:26 AM on August 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
From a few days ago.
Kumail Nanjiani
So we’ve realized that our entire political structure is based on the honor system.
Preet Bharara
Basically correct @kumailn
posted by chris24 at 9:26 AM on August 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
I guess Semper Fi doesn't extend to the home front. Thanksgiving dinner this year is going to be awkward.
Somehow I think they will be spending Thanksgiving separately...
Helen Kennedy
•The indictment details money he spent on what appears to be at least 5 mistresses.
•Hunter and wife arrived and left court separately today, did not speak or even look at each other.
•Then he goes on TV to blame her for any fraudulent campaign spending.
Yiiiiiiiiikes.
posted by PenDevil at 9:27 AM on August 24, 2018 [56 favorites]
Somehow I think they will be spending Thanksgiving separately...
Helen Kennedy
•The indictment details money he spent on what appears to be at least 5 mistresses.
•Hunter and wife arrived and left court separately today, did not speak or even look at each other.
•Then he goes on TV to blame her for any fraudulent campaign spending.
Yiiiiiiiiikes.
posted by PenDevil at 9:27 AM on August 24, 2018 [56 favorites]
I know the 'increasingly isolated' theme is lazy and has been with us for a long time, but that doesn't mean it's not true.
“So I was sitting in the oval office today, and I realized, ever since I became president, every single day of my life has been more isolated than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s the most isolated day of my life.”–Donald Trump
posted by Green With You at 9:29 AM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
“So I was sitting in the oval office today, and I realized, ever since I became president, every single day of my life has been more isolated than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s the most isolated day of my life.”–Donald Trump
posted by Green With You at 9:29 AM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
cjelli: "NYT: John McCain Will No Longer Be Treated for Brain Cancer, Family Says"
The governor will appoint a replacement (by Arizona law, replacement must be the same party as the former occupant of the seat), who will serve until 2020.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
The governor will appoint a replacement (by Arizona law, replacement must be the same party as the former occupant of the seat), who will serve until 2020.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Loony Left Update: the NYC DSA socialist semi-formal is tonight! Fundraiser for city charters including newly minted Staten Island DSA (all five boroughs now)
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Hey lawyers! In a long-term-health-of-the-republic thinking mood. Anyone have an creative ideas about what to do about propaganda machines like Fox News, Breitbart, Facebook, etc? Is there any way to make them liable for the shit they pull that won't fall afoul of the first amendment? Can we just make it prohibitively expensive to be an evil propagandist? Like to the point where we could seize Murdoch's entire evil empire? or Zuckerberg's?
Because they have committed crimes so large we might not have figured out how to deal with them. Probably in actual law, but definitely in, like...morality.
I'm starting to get overexcited at that idea, honestly. I'm vengeful. If I had my way they'd be in fucking jail.
including newly minted Staten Island DSA
oh bless their presumably lonely hearts, that's lovely
posted by schadenfrau at 9:37 AM on August 24, 2018 [23 favorites]
Because they have committed crimes so large we might not have figured out how to deal with them. Probably in actual law, but definitely in, like...morality.
I'm starting to get overexcited at that idea, honestly. I'm vengeful. If I had my way they'd be in fucking jail.
including newly minted Staten Island DSA
oh bless their presumably lonely hearts, that's lovely
posted by schadenfrau at 9:37 AM on August 24, 2018 [23 favorites]
Sadly, the legal enforcement wing of the ruling class is unlikely to ever take on the propaganda wing of the ruling class. I feel that the best path toward curtailing right-wing propaganda corporations is for more socialists to take power and start exercising it.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:43 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:43 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
We've had this discussion before, and I think it gets pretty close to an unprovability theorem for politics. Any system of rules has to be enforced by people. Every system is recreated every day, and no system can survive if the people who recreate it do so in bad faith.
Ours certainly tried to account for bad faith, and it worked as long as only one bulkhead was breached. More modern constitutions probably do it better.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 9:50 AM on August 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
Ours certainly tried to account for bad faith, and it worked as long as only one bulkhead was breached. More modern constitutions probably do it better.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 9:50 AM on August 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
@chrisgeidner [letter attached]: Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats — all 10 of them — call for a special committee meeting to discuss the Kavanaugh nomination process and postpone his Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
posted by zachlipton at 9:55 AM on August 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 9:55 AM on August 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
Think of the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960’s. These laws were controversial and difficult to pass, but once passed, war was not immediately declared against them, and attempts were not made to immediately repeal or overturn them.
The key word there being "immediately." John Roberts has been on a decades-long mission to overturn the Voting Rights Act, though, winning incremental victories (and suffering occasional losses) until he achieved the position in which he could declare that Southern states were no longer bound by some of its more demanding clauses -- and lo and behold, said Southern states immediately began restricting African-Americans' ability to vote. It is, of course, not at all a coincidence that those suppressed votes tended to go Democratic.
posted by Gelatin at 10:00 AM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
The key word there being "immediately." John Roberts has been on a decades-long mission to overturn the Voting Rights Act, though, winning incremental victories (and suffering occasional losses) until he achieved the position in which he could declare that Southern states were no longer bound by some of its more demanding clauses -- and lo and behold, said Southern states immediately began restricting African-Americans' ability to vote. It is, of course, not at all a coincidence that those suppressed votes tended to go Democratic.
posted by Gelatin at 10:00 AM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
NY Post, Cohen told Congress he doesn’t know if Donald knew about Trump Tower meeting
posted by zachlipton at 10:02 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
CNN reported last month that Cohen was willing to testify to special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump knew in advance of the meeting, during which the Russian lawyer offered “dirt” on then-candidate Hillary Clinton.Yikes. He really shouldn't be doing this. The right is now in full on Davis-is-a-liar mode, if you'd like a preview of what I assume will be Hannity's grievance of the day.
When The Post called Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, at the time to confirm the report, he said as an anonymous source that it was accurate.
But Thursday, Davis, speaking on the record, apologized for confirming something he did not know to be true.
“I regret that I wasn’t clear enough to The Post. I should have been more clear. I could not independently confirm the information in the CNN story,” he said.
“I’m sorry that I left that impression. I wasn’t at the meeting. The only person who could confirm that information is my client.”
posted by zachlipton at 10:02 AM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
Call me a cynical marxist, but: The number one animating principle of our entire political and legal system is the protection of private property and the facilitation of private profit. Everything else is of secondary importance at best. Donald Trump is able to run rampant over our system because in everything he does he respects that principle. People in power don't have a strong interest in stopping that because it serves their material interests. If someone in Trump's shoes started breaking all those same norms in pursuit of any goal that contradicted private property and private profit.... Well, to be frank they'd be dead by now.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
The governor will appoint a replacement (by Arizona law, replacement must be the same party as the former occupant of the seat), who will serve until 2020.
A stark reminder that literally one of McCain's last political acts was to ensure, by not retiring and thus triggering a special election, that his seat would remain in Republican hands. And that retention inevitably means enabling Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 10:08 AM on August 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
A stark reminder that literally one of McCain's last political acts was to ensure, by not retiring and thus triggering a special election, that his seat would remain in Republican hands. And that retention inevitably means enabling Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 10:08 AM on August 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
Everything else is of secondary importance at best.
I mean, apart from the systematic racist and sexist oppression going on since biblical times, sure.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:08 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
I mean, apart from the systematic racist and sexist oppression going on since biblical times, sure.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:08 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
NYT: Kremlin Sources Go Quiet, Leaving C.I.A. in the Dark About Putin’s Plans for Midterms
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
[V]ital Kremlin informants have largely gone silent, leaving the C.I.A. and other spy agencies in the dark about precisely what Mr. Putin’s intentions are for November’s midterm elections, according to American officials familiar with the intelligence.This is the direct consequence of the attacks by Trumpists and their GOP enablers on the intelligence community, particularly blowing the cover of sources from Stefan Halper to Christopher Steele.
The officials do not believe the sources have been compromised or killed. Instead, they have concluded they have gone to ground amid more aggressive counterintelligence by Moscow, including efforts to kill spies, like the poisoning in March in Britain of a former Russian intelligence officer that utilized a rare Russian-made nerve agent.
Current and former officials also said the expulsion of American intelligence officers from Moscow has hurt collection efforts. And officials also raised the possibility that the outing of an F.B.I. informant under scrutiny by the House intelligence committee — an examination encouraged by President Trump — has had a chilling effect on intelligence collection.[...]
[...] American intelligence agencies have not been able to say precisely what are Mr. Putin’s intentions: He could be trying to tilt the midterm elections, simply sow chaos or generally undermine trust in the democratic process.
The officials, seeking to protect methods of collection from Russia, would not provide details about lost sources, but acknowledged the degradation in the information collected from Russia. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal classified information. A spokesman for the C.I.A. declined to comment.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
I for one am shocked SHOCKED that Michael Cohen's attorney is not a brilliant legal mind who acts with care and caution in the representation of his clients.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
I mean, apart from the systematic racist and sexist oppression going on since biblical times, sure.
I mean, yes. Of course. That goes hand in hand with private property and private profit. It divides the people that the owners exploit, and it keeps the pool of owners smaller (so each of them can own more).
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mean, yes. Of course. That goes hand in hand with private property and private profit. It divides the people that the owners exploit, and it keeps the pool of owners smaller (so each of them can own more).
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Based on Cohen's guilty plea details, the obvious targets for further investigative scrutiny are Executive 1 and Executive 2 of the Trump Trust. Executive 1 has been granted immunity. If I was a betting man, I'd give good odds on an indictment against Donny Junior in the next few days. (Please let it be today!)
posted by rocket88 at 10:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by rocket88 at 10:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Like clockwork. October 2016.
@realDonaldTrump:
ATTN: @HillaryClinton - Why did five of your staffers need FBI IMMUNITY?! #BigLeagueTruth #Debates
posted by chris24 at 10:12 AM on August 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump:
ATTN: @HillaryClinton - Why did five of your staffers need FBI IMMUNITY?! #BigLeagueTruth #Debates
posted by chris24 at 10:12 AM on August 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
The fact that the Cohen thread is not being handled by Mueller makes it all the more hilarious that Trump has been banging on about "12 Angry Dems" for months when he should have been decrying the... career prosecutors in the SDNY, I guess.
Even better, the US Attorney and lead prosecutor on the Cohen case is none other than Robert Khuzami, a Republican who spoke at the RNC (!) in support of GWB and who has donated to Republican candidates since, including John McCain.
posted by un petit cadeau at 10:13 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Even better, the US Attorney and lead prosecutor on the Cohen case is none other than Robert Khuzami, a Republican who spoke at the RNC (!) in support of GWB and who has donated to Republican candidates since, including John McCain.
posted by un petit cadeau at 10:13 AM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
U of Iowa Turning Point USA
Please read our chapters response to the planning of an immigration event hosted by Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens.
In case you briefly thought that Iowa TPUSA people were doing the right thing, they took it back and went so far as to apologize to Candace Owens, who spends her free time attacking a member of the Tibbetts family:
Please read our chapters response to the planning of an immigration event hosted by Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens.
In case you briefly thought that Iowa TPUSA people were doing the right thing, they took it back and went so far as to apologize to Candace Owens, who spends her free time attacking a member of the Tibbetts family:
It has come to our attention that students not affiliated University of Iowa Turning Point USA were in contact with Turning Point USA to plan to bring Charlie and speak on illegal immigration. It was a misunderstanding on our end that the event was already planned when it had just been in the works with students not affiliated with UI TPUSA. We sincerely apologize to Charlie and Candace for this misunderstanding.posted by zachlipton at 10:14 AM on August 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
Lindsey Graham Just Totally Backed Off His Threat To Unleash ‘Holy Hell’ On Trump
posted by kirkaracha at 10:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
“The president is entitled to an attorney general he has faith in,” Graham said on Thursday. “And I think there will come a time sooner rather than later where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice.”Aha! Offer expires December 31, 2017.
That’s in stark contrast to what he said in July 2017.
“I’m 100 percent behind Jeff Sessions,” Graham told CNN then. “There will be no confirmation hearing for a new attorney general in 2017. If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay.”
posted by kirkaracha at 10:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
Here Are The 52 Trump Investigations That Democrats Plan If They Win The Midterms
Democratic members on the [House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform] have asked the Republican majority to issue subpoenas related to the administration’s conduct 52 times during the first 20 months of Donald Trump’s presidency. Republicans turned down each of those 52 requests. If Democrats held the committee gavel, the subpoenas would be approved.posted by kirkaracha at 10:26 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
Vigorous use of the subpoena power, which was granted to Congress to oversee the executive branch, could bring real attention to the many stories of inept governance, malicious policy and outright corruption that seem to bubble up as brief controversies, only to sink under the flood of the president’s Twitter froth.
Aside from assumptions about honor, I think some of the founding fathers expected personal ambition to work differently than it does in practice. A maximally ambitious Paul Ryan might, hypothetically, be using his full Congressional power as a check on the executive. The problem is that partisanship overrides all that. Ryan's position doesn't depend on the support of some trove of Ryanists who like him specifically, but instead on a swamp of Trumpists whose first allegience is to white nationalism.
(The white nationalim also ties into that Atlantic piece by Peter Beinart. They live in fantasyland not simply because That's How Conservatives Are. Rather, what happened over the last five decades is such a stark shift in the national understanding of Where Everyone's Place Is (as in, your role based on sexual and racial identities), and deplorables refuse to catch up. If Neo had to explain the Matrix to someone, he might be reduced to "Reality isn't reality" gibberish; that's how they feel about so many things, and it's one reason a faction of them uses that movie as a metaphor.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
(The white nationalim also ties into that Atlantic piece by Peter Beinart. They live in fantasyland not simply because That's How Conservatives Are. Rather, what happened over the last five decades is such a stark shift in the national understanding of Where Everyone's Place Is (as in, your role based on sexual and racial identities), and deplorables refuse to catch up. If Neo had to explain the Matrix to someone, he might be reduced to "Reality isn't reality" gibberish; that's how they feel about so many things, and it's one reason a faction of them uses that movie as a metaphor.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
Donald Trump is the kind of president the Constitution was written to protect us from, only it’s not working.
...
Unwritten in the Constitution is what you might call a “good faith” clause.
Separation of powers can work as a check as long as only one branch has gone rogue. Judicial is holding its own, but will be chipped away with new appointments.
We. Must. Flip. Congress.
posted by gwint at 10:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [22 favorites]
...
Unwritten in the Constitution is what you might call a “good faith” clause.
Separation of powers can work as a check as long as only one branch has gone rogue. Judicial is holding its own, but will be chipped away with new appointments.
We. Must. Flip. Congress.
posted by gwint at 10:28 AM on August 24, 2018 [22 favorites]
The governor will appoint a replacement (by Arizona law, replacement must be the same party as the former occupant of the seat), who will serve until 2020.
A stark reminder that literally one of McCain's last political acts was to ensure, by not retiring and thus triggering a special election, that his seat would remain in Republican hands. And that retention inevitably means enabling Trump.
The House and Senate really need some sort of proxy scheme or remote voting or something. Neither Giffords or McCain or anyone deserves debilitating injury/illness, but their constituents deserve representation. Giffords was gone a full year between the attempt on her life and her eventual resignation. McCain had varied absences for months leading up to being entirely out in 2018. I can't say that I was sorry for him to be absent given what it meant for Republican legislative efforts but that's a pretty shit thing for Arizona to have 50% of the Senators it's allotted. Voters deserve someone who is there doing the job, regardless of whether it's campaigning or physical problems keeping them from it.
posted by phearlez at 10:38 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
A stark reminder that literally one of McCain's last political acts was to ensure, by not retiring and thus triggering a special election, that his seat would remain in Republican hands. And that retention inevitably means enabling Trump.
The House and Senate really need some sort of proxy scheme or remote voting or something. Neither Giffords or McCain or anyone deserves debilitating injury/illness, but their constituents deserve representation. Giffords was gone a full year between the attempt on her life and her eventual resignation. McCain had varied absences for months leading up to being entirely out in 2018. I can't say that I was sorry for him to be absent given what it meant for Republican legislative efforts but that's a pretty shit thing for Arizona to have 50% of the Senators it's allotted. Voters deserve someone who is there doing the job, regardless of whether it's campaigning or physical problems keeping them from it.
posted by phearlez at 10:38 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
(by Arizona law, replacement must be the same party as the former occupant of the seat)
McCain could theoretically change party affiliation before passing, and therefore change his replacement, no? (Yes, I realize this is pretty darn unlikely)
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 10:39 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
McCain could theoretically change party affiliation before passing, and therefore change his replacement, no? (Yes, I realize this is pretty darn unlikely)
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 10:39 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
@renato_mariotti: THREAD: What does the grant of immunity to Trump Organization CFO Alan Weisselberg tell us?
@gtconway3d: It means that Individual-1 needs a real lawyer.
posted by zachlipton at 11:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
@gtconway3d: It means that Individual-1 needs a real lawyer.
posted by zachlipton at 11:01 AM on August 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
More to the point is that if anything a post-McCain ratfucking would work the other way, because of the Governor's politics. If the AZ statute was based on party affiliation at time of vacating the office, then Ducey would just appoint a conservative willing to re-register as a Dem.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:05 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:05 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Perfect for infrastructure week, ‘Surrender Donald’: A highway overpass along the Capital Beltway goes political (WaPo):
posted by peeedro at 11:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
Call it the Wicked Witch of the West Wing: Sometime before dawn Friday, a person or persons unknown put up a message on a bridge over the Beltway in Maryland near Georgia Avenue. Capital letters there spell out the command “Surrender Donald.”Google image search also turn up "Bridges not walls" graffiti from Feb 2017.
The pointed vandalism comes at the end of a week that saw President Trump’s former campaign manager convicted of eight felony counts and his former attorney plead guilty to campaign finance violations in connection with the payment of two women who allegedly had affairs with Trump, in an effort to quash their stories.
The railroad bridge has long been a favorite canvas for graffiti artists. For years, drivers on the Outer Loop encountered the spray-painted words “Surrender Dorothy,” a reference to the Mormon temple that rises like the Emerald City beyond it. The Mormons apparently were not amused, but as soon as “Surrender Dorothy” was painted over, someone would paint it back.
posted by peeedro at 11:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
wait so what would happen if he hypothetically retired like. today. tomorrow. next week. etc.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 11:06 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
I can't say that I was sorry for him to be absent given what it meant for Republican legislative efforts but that's a pretty shit thing for Arizona to have 50% of the Senators it's allotted.
Keep in mind, our other senator, Flake, has long since announced he's retiring.
Neither of my senators have offices that regularly answer their phones.
posted by meese at 11:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Keep in mind, our other senator, Flake, has long since announced he's retiring.
Neither of my senators have offices that regularly answer their phones.
posted by meese at 11:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
>>Manafort faces many, many state charges that Trump can't discharge with a wave of his stubby hands
>I mean, yeah sure. But get a Pardon, get out, get on a plane and, well sure the states can charge him but he'll be in a lax extradition country.
Well, Manafort is in jail without bail at least until his second trial, due to witness tampering. Which is another federal charge that can be brought against Manafort anytime during (iirc) the next five years, say after Trump is no longer president.
Also, I read an interesting analysis that the 10 mistrial counts are bad news for Manafort. Current New York law has stricter double jeopardy provisions that prevent charging and trying someone for crimes for which he or she was convicted or acquitted in federal court. But "tried and hung jury/mistrial" does not trigger those provisions, so New York prosecutors could handle a retrial instead of the feds -- which would also take the retrial out of the grasp of judge Ellis.
posted by msalt at 11:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
>I mean, yeah sure. But get a Pardon, get out, get on a plane and, well sure the states can charge him but he'll be in a lax extradition country.
Well, Manafort is in jail without bail at least until his second trial, due to witness tampering. Which is another federal charge that can be brought against Manafort anytime during (iirc) the next five years, say after Trump is no longer president.
Also, I read an interesting analysis that the 10 mistrial counts are bad news for Manafort. Current New York law has stricter double jeopardy provisions that prevent charging and trying someone for crimes for which he or she was convicted or acquitted in federal court. But "tried and hung jury/mistrial" does not trigger those provisions, so New York prosecutors could handle a retrial instead of the feds -- which would also take the retrial out of the grasp of judge Ellis.
posted by msalt at 11:07 AM on August 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
...what to do about propaganda machines like Fox News, Breitbart, Facebook, etc? Is there any way to make them liable for the shit they pull that won't fall afoul of the first amendment?
Sure. Prosecute for criminal fraud - 1st amendment doesn't allow lying to people for profit. That includes both willfully ignoring the contents of the advertisements they took in (because it's not like people didn't complain about them being fake), and failing to inform users about how their feeds would be manipulated, thus misleading them into thinking they were seeing news instead of paid content.
Hell, prosecute them for misleading users into thinking their "friends" page would actually let them keep up with all their friends. The people who found out about friends who were dying months after the fact should have grounds to sue; Facebook certainly implies you will see the content you most care about by friending people.
Go after everyone who had a hand in decision making, and hit heavier up the chain: the more underlings, the more charges filed. Middle managers are responsible for choices related to thousands of accounts; VPs are responsible for millions.
We could also use some serious overhaul of the legal standards for "puffery," the exaggerations allowed in advertising because no "reasonable person" would take them seriously. (Good puffery: "Our breakfast cereal is the absolute best! It's triple-awesome!" Misleading puffery: "Lose weight scientifically without diet or exercise!")
Aside from prosecutions, we could enact laws that require political ads (or any ads, really) disclose more info: who paid for it (with links to actual names for online ads, not just "paid for by the Committee for a More Awesome America"), who's the target audience (who did they pay to reach?), and how much they spent.
It's not hard to make laws that hold corporations accountable - you just need a legislature that believes deceit is suspect.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Sure. Prosecute for criminal fraud - 1st amendment doesn't allow lying to people for profit. That includes both willfully ignoring the contents of the advertisements they took in (because it's not like people didn't complain about them being fake), and failing to inform users about how their feeds would be manipulated, thus misleading them into thinking they were seeing news instead of paid content.
Hell, prosecute them for misleading users into thinking their "friends" page would actually let them keep up with all their friends. The people who found out about friends who were dying months after the fact should have grounds to sue; Facebook certainly implies you will see the content you most care about by friending people.
Go after everyone who had a hand in decision making, and hit heavier up the chain: the more underlings, the more charges filed. Middle managers are responsible for choices related to thousands of accounts; VPs are responsible for millions.
We could also use some serious overhaul of the legal standards for "puffery," the exaggerations allowed in advertising because no "reasonable person" would take them seriously. (Good puffery: "Our breakfast cereal is the absolute best! It's triple-awesome!" Misleading puffery: "Lose weight scientifically without diet or exercise!")
Aside from prosecutions, we could enact laws that require political ads (or any ads, really) disclose more info: who paid for it (with links to actual names for online ads, not just "paid for by the Committee for a More Awesome America"), who's the target audience (who did they pay to reach?), and how much they spent.
It's not hard to make laws that hold corporations accountable - you just need a legislature that believes deceit is suspect.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:10 AM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
wait so what would happen if he hypothetically retired like. today. tomorrow. next week. etc.
Governed by the same statute. My understanding is that the special election ship sailed a while ago.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:11 AM on August 24, 2018
Governed by the same statute. My understanding is that the special election ship sailed a while ago.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:11 AM on August 24, 2018
poffin boffin: "wait so what would happen if he hypothetically retired like. today. tomorrow. next week. etc."
Gov Ducey would fill the vacancy with a Republican. If McCain somehow held on until late January, the new governor would fill the vacancy with a Republican.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:12 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Gov Ducey would fill the vacancy with a Republican. If McCain somehow held on until late January, the new governor would fill the vacancy with a Republican.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:12 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
...what to do about propaganda machines like Fox News, Breitbart, Facebook, etc?
I like the civil defamation and slander suits by non-political people exploited in their stories: Set Rich's family, Sandy Hook parents, etc. They don't raise much risk of government censorship and put the focus rigth where it should be, on the inhuman shittiness of this propaganda.
They also are ways to subpoena these shitheads internal documents and establish the falseness of their claims. And ideally, they shift money from the bad guys to deserving victims.
posted by msalt at 11:18 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
I like the civil defamation and slander suits by non-political people exploited in their stories: Set Rich's family, Sandy Hook parents, etc. They don't raise much risk of government censorship and put the focus rigth where it should be, on the inhuman shittiness of this propaganda.
They also are ways to subpoena these shitheads internal documents and establish the falseness of their claims. And ideally, they shift money from the bad guys to deserving victims.
posted by msalt at 11:18 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
I can't say that I was sorry for him to be absent given what it meant for Republican legislative efforts but that's a pretty shit thing for Arizona to have 50% of the Senators it's allotted.
Keep in mind, our other senator, Flake, has long since announced he's retiring.
Neither of my senators have offices that regularly answer their phones.
I feel for you, but why do we need to make this a competition a la "well sometimes people wearing their seatbelts still die anyway." It would be nice if every congresscritter - and 100% of AZ's Senators - were not-shit at their jobs. They can't ever achieve that if they can't cast a vote. That some of them can't manage to suck even when they're in the office doesn't change that base fact.
posted by phearlez at 11:23 AM on August 24, 2018
Keep in mind, our other senator, Flake, has long since announced he's retiring.
Neither of my senators have offices that regularly answer their phones.
I feel for you, but why do we need to make this a competition a la "well sometimes people wearing their seatbelts still die anyway." It would be nice if every congresscritter - and 100% of AZ's Senators - were not-shit at their jobs. They can't ever achieve that if they can't cast a vote. That some of them can't manage to suck even when they're in the office doesn't change that base fact.
posted by phearlez at 11:23 AM on August 24, 2018
FOX & friends
Former NSA worker Reality Winner sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for leaking classified information to the media
posted by chris24 at 8:52 PM on August 24 [5 favorites +] [!]
If the presidential pardon power continues to exist after Trump, I would like it used on her FIRST.
^^^^
is what I wrote before I Googled and threadsearched to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Then I found this:
President Trump Calls 5-Year Prison Sentence for NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner 'Unfair'
@realDonaldTrump
Ex-NSA contractor to spend 63 months in jail over “classified” information. Gee, this is “small potatoes” compared to what Hillary Clinton did! So unfair Jeff, Double Standard.
7:10 PM - Aug 24, 2018
Oh STFU. How does this guy know how to make everything worse I mean just f**kin dude that's not even no don't and Jeff isn't even in charge of this except indirectly and now I'm defending Jeff Sessions? Fire him and pardon her if you think you're such hot shit Donny. Just shut up. The only hero here is going to prison and you're too dumb to realize she did what she did to get you impeached, and I will be glad when it works and I will be buying her book when the moral arc of the universe bends back toward her name. Donald from Queens indeed.
posted by saysthis at 11:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [22 favorites]
Former NSA worker Reality Winner sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for leaking classified information to the media
posted by chris24 at 8:52 PM on August 24 [5 favorites +] [!]
If the presidential pardon power continues to exist after Trump, I would like it used on her FIRST.
^^^^
is what I wrote before I Googled and threadsearched to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Then I found this:
President Trump Calls 5-Year Prison Sentence for NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner 'Unfair'
@realDonaldTrump
Ex-NSA contractor to spend 63 months in jail over “classified” information. Gee, this is “small potatoes” compared to what Hillary Clinton did! So unfair Jeff, Double Standard.
7:10 PM - Aug 24, 2018
Oh STFU. How does this guy know how to make everything worse I mean just f**kin dude that's not even no don't and Jeff isn't even in charge of this except indirectly and now I'm defending Jeff Sessions? Fire him and pardon her if you think you're such hot shit Donny. Just shut up. The only hero here is going to prison and you're too dumb to realize she did what she did to get you impeached, and I will be glad when it works and I will be buying her book when the moral arc of the universe bends back toward her name. Donald from Queens indeed.
posted by saysthis at 11:23 AM on August 24, 2018 [22 favorites]
Is there a term for his refusal to refer to anyone by their titles? He pulls this first name basis stuff and it's weird af, but is it dominance? Faux familiarity? Is this a tactic of some sort that I just don't know the name to?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:26 AM on August 24, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:26 AM on August 24, 2018
ProPublica: No, a Teen Did Not Hack a State Election
posted by Chrysostom at 11:26 AM on August 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:26 AM on August 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
Is this a tactic of some sort that I just don't know the name to?
It’s what salesmen do. Trump is nothing more than a real estate developer. His operating mode is “make a sale.”
posted by Thorzdad at 11:30 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
It’s what salesmen do. Trump is nothing more than a real estate developer. His operating mode is “make a sale.”
posted by Thorzdad at 11:30 AM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Not to throw cold water on things, but the CNN report on Weisselberg's immunity doesn't make it sound like his cooperation is supporting an on-going investigation into all things Trump:
Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, whose entanglements with Trump's finances are extensive, was granted immunity by federal prosecutors for providing information about Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen.posted by pjenks at 11:31 AM on August 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
The interview, which focused on Cohen and the payments, happened weeks ago under a deal negotiated by his attorney, one of the sources said. Weisselberg hasn't been called back, the source said.
Perfectly normal symptoms of being bitten on the neck by Trump (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
Do not be concerned. These things are to be expected, when you allow Donald Trump to inject himself into your party. […]posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:34 AM on August 24, 2018 [41 favorites]
To start with you will find yourself apologizing less. You will crave red meat all the time. But you have always liked red meat. You will hear yourself shouting things — “Lock her up!” “Build the wall!” You will hear things about the media, certainly, but nothing you have not already started to say (coastal elitists, snobs). Facts will start to blur, just a little. Crowds will alter their size with alarming rapidity.
You will notice yourself becoming fonder of Russia. You will even make a T-shirt. Some mornings you will wake up and think, Russia? I don’t like Russia, do I? []
One morning your spine will just fall out. Do not worry; this is normal. You will scarcely notice. It was not doing you any good, back there.
Besides, the tax cuts continue.
They start separating children at the border and you think, wouldn’t I have felt something about this? You try very hard to see what you are feeling, but all you can feel is the urge to go on TV and defend the president. That can’t be right.
You start to lose bits and pieces of your face and great clumps of your hair. A fine yellow-blonde hair not seen in nature grows back in its place, on a skin of burnt umber.
Is there a term for his refusal to refer to anyone by their titles? He pulls this first name basis stuff and it's weird af, but is it dominance? Faux familiarity? Is this a tactic of some sort that I just don't know the name to?
It’s what salesmen do. Trump is nothing more than a real estate developer. His operating mode is “make a sale.”
The faux familiarity version of this is a sales tactic right out of "win friends and influence people."
The refusal to use formal titles and the practice of giving people denigrating nicknames instead is the adult version of playground/frat-house bullying. Seen also in athletics, the military (where it is in interesting counterpoint to outward formality) and the industries that ape those cultures in performing and transacting status.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:34 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
It’s what salesmen do. Trump is nothing more than a real estate developer. His operating mode is “make a sale.”
The faux familiarity version of this is a sales tactic right out of "win friends and influence people."
The refusal to use formal titles and the practice of giving people denigrating nicknames instead is the adult version of playground/frat-house bullying. Seen also in athletics, the military (where it is in interesting counterpoint to outward formality) and the industries that ape those cultures in performing and transacting status.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:34 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Instead, students were working with look-alikes created for the event that had vulnerabilities they were coached to find. Organizers provided them with cheat sheets, and adults walked the students through the challenges they would encounter.
There was an op-ed from one of the kids in Politico which more or less said as much:
This sort of hack could be dangerous if it undermines people's trust in the election. But "changing vote totals" it is not.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:36 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
There was an op-ed from one of the kids in Politico which more or less said as much:
The replica state election websites used in this year’s competition were built on MySQL, a database management system that stores data in simple tables containing columns and rows. By inputting a command into the search bar to see all the website’s tables, I could then see all of its data, including vote tallies, candidate names and tables of basic website functions. Once someone has that kind of access, they can do plenty of damage. First, the organizers instructed us to double candidates’ vote tallies. Then, with the assistance of volunteers, some of us easily changed the names of candidates or even their parties, or inflated the vote tallies to ridiculously high, Putinesque numbers.They built a website with a bonehead SQL injection vulnerability and taught kids how to use it. Which, sure: the simplest SQL injection is so easy, a kid could do it- it's the Bobby Tables situation. I was a motivated 14-year-old scriptkiddie and I could have done it. If anyone has connected their actual vote tabulation to a public-facing website, they should be tarred and feathered, but I doubt it.
This sort of hack could be dangerous if it undermines people's trust in the election. But "changing vote totals" it is not.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:36 AM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Jake Braun, the co-organizer of the event, defended the attention-grabbing way it was framed, saying the security issues of election websites haven’t gotten enough attention. Those questioning the technical details of the mock sites and whether their vulnerabilities were realistic are missing the point, he insisted.
"The boy who cried wolf defended his attention-grabbing, saying the security issues of sheepherding haven't gotten enough attention. Those questioning the details of the mock wolf attack and whether the wolf didn't exist are missing the point, he insisted."
posted by BungaDunga at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
"The boy who cried wolf defended his attention-grabbing, saying the security issues of sheepherding haven't gotten enough attention. Those questioning the details of the mock wolf attack and whether the wolf didn't exist are missing the point, he insisted."
posted by BungaDunga at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
The use of the word "replica" in that op-ed doesn't do much to clarify my confusion on the point. Are the actual production systems audited for these vulns, or not?
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is there a term for his refusal to refer to anyone by their titles? He pulls this first name basis stuff and it's weird af, but is it dominance? Faux familiarity? Is this a tactic of some sort that I just don't know the name to?
"Good job, Jeff!" He's playing POTUS exactly like he played the character he played on The Apprentice. He did it for 15 years, and at at this point it's all he knows how to do.
posted by Don Pepino at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
"Good job, Jeff!" He's playing POTUS exactly like he played the character he played on The Apprentice. He did it for 15 years, and at at this point it's all he knows how to do.
posted by Don Pepino at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump is pushing North Korea this afternoon, presumably as a distraction tactic, because at this rate, headlines about failed nuclear negotiations look better than criminal investigations:
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:41 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula...The fact these tweets are threaded suggests a more capable comms person posted them, but the "warmest regards" and "look forward to seeing him soon!" sound like unfiltered Trump.
...Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)...
...Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:41 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Are the actual production systems audited for these vulns, or not?
I think these "replicas" were built from scratch to look like the official sites, but share no code with them at all. The people organizing the event wouldn't have had access.
In theory the actual production sites would be thus audited, in practice maybe not. Even if you have a SQL injection attack on such a site, you're just defacing the site. As long as the official vote tallies are being calculated and stored somewhere else, having a copy that you hooked up to the internet changed doesn't actually change the result of the election. I don't think even the organizers of the event are arguing otherwise.
A site reporting fake vote totals could seriously confuse people's trust of course, and any such sites that do have bonehead SQL injection vulnerabilities at all makes you worry for their security generally.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think these "replicas" were built from scratch to look like the official sites, but share no code with them at all. The people organizing the event wouldn't have had access.
In theory the actual production sites would be thus audited, in practice maybe not. Even if you have a SQL injection attack on such a site, you're just defacing the site. As long as the official vote tallies are being calculated and stored somewhere else, having a copy that you hooked up to the internet changed doesn't actually change the result of the election. I don't think even the organizers of the event are arguing otherwise.
A site reporting fake vote totals could seriously confuse people's trust of course, and any such sites that do have bonehead SQL injection vulnerabilities at all makes you worry for their security generally.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
this is “small potatoes” compared to what Hillary Clinton did
I can point to specific things in the Constitution and United States Code that I believe Trump has violated. Are there any specific actual crimes she's been accused of? Wait, wait, don't tell me. I think I know the answer.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
I can point to specific things in the Constitution and United States Code that I believe Trump has violated. Are there any specific actual crimes she's been accused of? Wait, wait, don't tell me. I think I know the answer.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:48 AM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
Trump says stock market would crash, ‘everybody would be very poor’ if he were to be impeached
(a) they won't.
(b) YOUR TERMS ARE ACCEPTABLE.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:03 PM on August 24, 2018 [73 favorites]
(a) they won't.
(b) YOUR TERMS ARE ACCEPTABLE.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:03 PM on August 24, 2018 [73 favorites]
If there is a shocking upset GOP victory in November
I really fear we're counting our chickens in exactly the same way as we did in 2016. It would not be shocking if the GOP held the house. Once again pundits, analysts, and unfortunately the public are taking "it is more likely than not that the Democrats capture the House" to mean "ITS IN THE BAG".
The odds of taking the House are more than 50%. They are less than 75%. It would not be shocking to fail a 60% shot.
posted by Justinian at 12:13 PM on August 24, 2018 [59 favorites]
I really fear we're counting our chickens in exactly the same way as we did in 2016. It would not be shocking if the GOP held the house. Once again pundits, analysts, and unfortunately the public are taking "it is more likely than not that the Democrats capture the House" to mean "ITS IN THE BAG".
The odds of taking the House are more than 50%. They are less than 75%. It would not be shocking to fail a 60% shot.
posted by Justinian at 12:13 PM on August 24, 2018 [59 favorites]
Frank Rich: We know we’ve reached a nadir when the president’s lawyer is reduced to claiming that “truth isn’t truth” and even a lowlife crook like Michael Cohen can take the moral high road by professing he’d rather go to prison than be “dirtied” by a Trump pardon.
Oh you sweet summer child.
posted by duffell at 12:14 PM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh you sweet summer child.
posted by duffell at 12:14 PM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
A Lone Holdout Juror Actually Made It More Likely That Paul Manafort Will Go to Jail Even if Trump Pardons Him - Jed Sugarman, Slate
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:15 PM on August 24, 2018 [53 favorites]
Manafort also faces New York state tax fraud liability with no double jeopardy protection. New York has a double jeopardy law, but it won’t help Manafort in another tax case. Leona Helmsley, the hotel magnate known as the “Queen of Mean,” had benefited from the double jeopardy rule to escape state tax prosecution. In 2011, New York fixed the rule to allow state tax fraud prosecutions to follow a federal prosecution. Now Manafort could face New York tax fraud charges, even after a federal pardon.And so on.
Manafort was also tried on bank fraud relating to New York and California banks. Both states have double jeopardy statutes that seem to create a potential pardon protection. But there was a hung jury on the conspiracy bank fraud charge for the California bank. California’s double jeopardy law states, “No person can be subjected to a second prosecution for a public offense for which he has once been prosecuted and convicted or acquitted.” That obviously excludes mistrials. So California could prosecute the separate act of conspiracy bank fraud because Manafort has never been prosecuted and convicted or acquitted of that charge.
There was also a hung jury on the four bank fraud charges for his dealings with the Federal Savings Bank in Illinois. The state’s double jeopardy law also allows a second state prosecution after a mistrial. It is ironic that the one holdout juror who caused a mistrial on some charges opened up Manafort to state retrials.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:15 PM on August 24, 2018 [53 favorites]
Use of titles implues set roles, responsibilities, lines of authority. None of these exist in a Trump organization. He is the center & all revolves around & passes through him. Your job is to do what he tells you it is the in the moment, subject to change at any other moment. This maximizes his freedom to do whatever the hell he wants at any given moment without regard for the consequences.
posted by scalefree at 12:19 PM on August 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 12:19 PM on August 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
I really fear we're counting our chickens in exactly the same way as we did in 2016.
I think this is a reasonable concern. I do not want to repeat the experience of turning in a walk packet on election day and crying from the fear that it wasn't going to be enough to win, as I did in 2016. It was very cold comfort that the Clinton campaign office in El Paso County had done what it needed to do and turned out enough Dem voters that Hillary won CO (in fact, she resoundingly lost the county, but would not have carried the state without us). I've been canvassing for a long-shot candidate in my Congressional district (current Cook rating is solid R, R+14) because she is amazing and for a State House candidate in the district over from me and for Jared Polis who's running for governor. Decent numbers of people are volunteering to canvass and phone bank and write postcards and I would say the demeanor of many of the volunteers I encounter is both guardedly optimistic and determined. We know that we have our work very much cut out for us here. People don't always learn from experience, but sometimes they do.
posted by danielleh at 12:30 PM on August 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
I think this is a reasonable concern. I do not want to repeat the experience of turning in a walk packet on election day and crying from the fear that it wasn't going to be enough to win, as I did in 2016. It was very cold comfort that the Clinton campaign office in El Paso County had done what it needed to do and turned out enough Dem voters that Hillary won CO (in fact, she resoundingly lost the county, but would not have carried the state without us). I've been canvassing for a long-shot candidate in my Congressional district (current Cook rating is solid R, R+14) because she is amazing and for a State House candidate in the district over from me and for Jared Polis who's running for governor. Decent numbers of people are volunteering to canvass and phone bank and write postcards and I would say the demeanor of many of the volunteers I encounter is both guardedly optimistic and determined. We know that we have our work very much cut out for us here. People don't always learn from experience, but sometimes they do.
posted by danielleh at 12:30 PM on August 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
I exaggerate some but not much. He hates set roles & lines of authority, they limit his freedom & that's what's most important to him. It's one of the biggest reasons everything he touches dies, all the chaos & uncertainty because nobody knows the big picture because there are no plans, just often contradictory orders from Trump.
posted by scalefree at 12:38 PM on August 24, 2018
posted by scalefree at 12:38 PM on August 24, 2018
I dunno, I think a lot of potential Clinton voters believed she was going to win handily and so they stayed home because it didn't matter or threw away a protest vote because they lived in a safe blue state like Wisconsin or Pennsylvania.
posted by Justinian at 12:42 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 12:42 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Trump says stock market would crash, ‘everybody would be very poor’ if he were to be impeached
...
I see he's starting to move from anger to bargaining.
No. This is just how an abuser talks to their victim(s).
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:45 PM on August 24, 2018 [76 favorites]
...
I see he's starting to move from anger to bargaining.
No. This is just how an abuser talks to their victim(s).
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:45 PM on August 24, 2018 [76 favorites]
‘everybody would be very poor’ if he were to be impeached
So the question is: what does he mean by "very poor?"
When he appointed Gary Cohn to direct the National Economic Council, and said “He went from massive pay days to peanuts.” Cohn makes $30,000 a year at the job. And yeah, that's poorer than a lot of us would like.
But in order to have "everyone" be that poor? HELL YES IMPEACH NOW. I have lived on $30k/year; it was tight but not horrible, even while supporting a family. Definitely willing to return to that if we can replace the current administration with people actually interested in improving the lives of citizens.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:46 PM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
So the question is: what does he mean by "very poor?"
When he appointed Gary Cohn to direct the National Economic Council, and said “He went from massive pay days to peanuts.” Cohn makes $30,000 a year at the job. And yeah, that's poorer than a lot of us would like.
But in order to have "everyone" be that poor? HELL YES IMPEACH NOW. I have lived on $30k/year; it was tight but not horrible, even while supporting a family. Definitely willing to return to that if we can replace the current administration with people actually interested in improving the lives of citizens.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:46 PM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Justinian:"I really fear we're counting our chickens in exactly the same way as we did in 2016. It would not be shocking if the GOP held the house. Once again pundits, analysts, and unfortunately the public are taking "it is more likely than not that the Democrats capture the House" to mean "ITS IN THE BAG".
The odds of taking the House are more than 50%. They are less than 75%. It would not be shocking to fail a 60% shot."
Definitely agree with your broader point - a GOP victory would not be a shock. FWIW, the three major quantitative models I keep an eye on are low 70s for a Dem takeover:
538: 72.3%
Crosstab: 74%
Economist: 71%
posted by Chrysostom at 12:48 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
The odds of taking the House are more than 50%. They are less than 75%. It would not be shocking to fail a 60% shot."
Definitely agree with your broader point - a GOP victory would not be a shock. FWIW, the three major quantitative models I keep an eye on are low 70s for a Dem takeover:
538: 72.3%
Crosstab: 74%
Economist: 71%
posted by Chrysostom at 12:48 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Conway channels Cohen:
CUOMO: That’s a lie.posted by kirkaracha at 12:50 PM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
CONWAY: Says who, you?
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Yes, says me, says the facts.
CONWAY: Why? Why? What facts?
‘everybody would be very poor’ if he were to be impeached
So the question is: what does he mean by "very poor?"
The whatever-passes-for-reasoning in his mind is that it would trigger a market crash because the tycoon class would see it as a signal that the financial guillotines are around the corner and they would start extracting their wealth from the economy en masse.
The reality is that he's just spilling out narcissitic spleen. Wall Street will sanctimouniously pretend they always hated Donnie the Slumlord from Queens the moment he's gone if that's what it takes to keep the gears turning.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:50 PM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
So the question is: what does he mean by "very poor?"
The whatever-passes-for-reasoning in his mind is that it would trigger a market crash because the tycoon class would see it as a signal that the financial guillotines are around the corner and they would start extracting their wealth from the economy en masse.
The reality is that he's just spilling out narcissitic spleen. Wall Street will sanctimouniously pretend they always hated Donnie the Slumlord from Queens the moment he's gone if that's what it takes to keep the gears turning.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:50 PM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
FWIW, the three major quantitative models I keep an eye on are low 70s for a Dem takeover
Not disagreeing, just pointing out that 538 has 3 different models taking various things into account. 72.3% is their "classic" model. The other two have blue's chances lower, with "lite" being as low as 59.5% and "deluxe" having it at 68.5%.
Regardless, neither 59.5% nor 72.3% are sure things where the opposite result would be shocking.
posted by Justinian at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Not disagreeing, just pointing out that 538 has 3 different models taking various things into account. 72.3% is their "classic" model. The other two have blue's chances lower, with "lite" being as low as 59.5% and "deluxe" having it at 68.5%.
Regardless, neither 59.5% nor 72.3% are sure things where the opposite result would be shocking.
posted by Justinian at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
CONWAY: Why? Why? What facts?
Because you helped elect the worst president in the history of the republic. That’s why.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:52 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Because you helped elect the worst president in the history of the republic. That’s why.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:52 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Chrysostom, do you know if the models have a time variable where they leave greater uncertainty because of the months between now and the election, and thus the models will tighten their predictions as we get closer to election day? Like if the polls, etc, were exactly where they are today on November 5th would the forecasts be the same as they are today or would the tails of the distributions be smaller?
posted by Justinian at 12:57 PM on August 24, 2018
posted by Justinian at 12:57 PM on August 24, 2018
My mom told me a couple months after Trump took office and it was crystal clear what a disaster it was going to be that had she known Clinton had a chance of not winning, she would have voted for her. She voted third party instead. We live in Pennsylvania. (To her credit, she had the good sense to feel bad about it rather than doubling down.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:59 PM on August 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:59 PM on August 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
When Trump says "Everyone will be poor" he means "Everyone that I care about" which happens to be exactly who ought to be poor, so bring it on. Make everyone poor, put everyone in prison.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:59 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:59 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Mod note: DO 👏 NOT 👏 RELITIGATE 👏 THE 👏 ELECTION
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:03 PM on August 24, 2018 [98 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:03 PM on August 24, 2018 [98 favorites]
‘everybody would be very poor’ if he were to be impeached
So the question is: what does he mean by "very poor?"
"everybody" = "all the people I talk to regularly, none of whose net worth is less than 8 digits"
"very poor" = "might not be able to keep both vacation homes if they were to suffer from a crisis of liquidity"
Joke's on him, though. Most of my generation don't even have retirement accounts, much less real estate holdings, so all the horrible market crash is going to do is keep us from finding gainful employment. The Millenials have nothing to lose, Donnie. We're coming for you.
posted by Mayor West at 1:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
So the question is: what does he mean by "very poor?"
"everybody" = "all the people I talk to regularly, none of whose net worth is less than 8 digits"
"very poor" = "might not be able to keep both vacation homes if they were to suffer from a crisis of liquidity"
Joke's on him, though. Most of my generation don't even have retirement accounts, much less real estate holdings, so all the horrible market crash is going to do is keep us from finding gainful employment. The Millenials have nothing to lose, Donnie. We're coming for you.
posted by Mayor West at 1:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
If just Betsy DeVos and Erik Prince no longer have enough money to force their vision of America on us it will all be worth it.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:06 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 1:06 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
'Silent Sam' to be reinstalled within 90 days, UNC Board of Governors member says
The Confederate monument known as Silent Sam will be reinstalled with 90 days, according to a member of the UNC System Board of Governors. Thom Goolsby posted to Twitter and YouTube saying the monument will go back up as required by state law.
"Criminals who destroyed state property at UNC and police who did nothing will be held accountable," Goolsby wrote.
It's like at least 25% of these people are required by law to have Dickensian villain names. Anyways how about melting the statue down into a large plaque reading THE NEXT SHERMAN WILL FINISH THE JOB?
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:13 PM on August 24, 2018 [54 favorites]
The Confederate monument known as Silent Sam will be reinstalled with 90 days, according to a member of the UNC System Board of Governors. Thom Goolsby posted to Twitter and YouTube saying the monument will go back up as required by state law.
"Criminals who destroyed state property at UNC and police who did nothing will be held accountable," Goolsby wrote.
It's like at least 25% of these people are required by law to have Dickensian villain names. Anyways how about melting the statue down into a large plaque reading THE NEXT SHERMAN WILL FINISH THE JOB?
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:13 PM on August 24, 2018 [54 favorites]
If any of you are like me, you are refreshing your sources for another fix of schadenfreude. It seems like over the last week, it's been fast, furious and juicy. We all have to remind ourselves (especially me) that this is likely to be a long and drawn out process. He's probably not going to abdicate the throne anytime soon and articles of impeachment are not being drawn up this calendar year. Let's all take a deep breath and work like hell for the 2018 midterms.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:16 PM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 1:16 PM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
Here we go again. "What does Trump mean by that?" is a category error. Words don't have meaning to him as such, they're more of an expression of his will in a given moment which is ephemeral & subject to change in the next. Everything he ever says should be prefaced by "I wish that" & be understood to be true only as long as it takes to say it.
posted by scalefree at 1:17 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 1:17 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
'Silent Sam' to be reinstalled within 90 days, UNC Board of Governors member says
I knew they should have bashed the shit out of that statue. Too bad it didn't fold up and crumple like the other one that got pulled down.
posted by emjaybee at 1:19 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
I knew they should have bashed the shit out of that statue. Too bad it didn't fold up and crumple like the other one that got pulled down.
posted by emjaybee at 1:19 PM on August 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Maybe pulling it down can become a quarterly tradition. Fun for every incoming class.
posted by Justinian at 1:20 PM on August 24, 2018 [74 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:20 PM on August 24, 2018 [74 favorites]
Yeah, we really ought to start erecting Sherman statues in the South to see how soon the racists walk back their support of history in monument form.
posted by explosion at 1:21 PM on August 24, 2018 [101 favorites]
posted by explosion at 1:21 PM on August 24, 2018 [101 favorites]
Justinian: "Chrysostom, do you know if the models have a time variable where they leave greater uncertainty because of the months between now and the election, and thus the models will tighten their predictions as we get closer to election day? Like if the polls, etc, were exactly where they are today on November 5th would the forecasts be the same as they are today or would the tails of the distributions be smaller?"
I believe the models incorporate time and the tails should get smaller as we get nearer, yes.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:33 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
I believe the models incorporate time and the tails should get smaller as we get nearer, yes.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:33 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'll bet the NC Museum of History (conveniently just down the road in Raleigh!) would have a nice spot for 'Silent Sam'. Don't clean it up. Leave it all battered and dirty and add a plaque about how it represents how shitty confederate monuments were erected all over the south 75 years after the Civil War as a means of reinforcing the racist power dynamic and boy howdy we know better than that now, don't we? Because now our enlightened selves have torn it down as part of a popular movement of equality and civil rights that will ultimately triumph. Don't want to erase history, after all.
posted by GodricVT at 1:35 PM on August 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by GodricVT at 1:35 PM on August 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
GOPer Balderson formally wins the OH-12 special, by a final margin of 1,680 votes.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:38 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 1:38 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Unfortunately the (thoroughly reprehensible and anti-democratic) NC state legislature has already enacted a law that prohibits removing Silent Sam and similar treason memorials to any non-public place, specifically including museums, mausoleums and cemeteries.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:39 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:39 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
There's an active Silent Sam thread.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:45 PM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 1:45 PM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
There are a few more confederate statues half a block from the North Carolina History Museum, on the grounds of the State Capitol. Our government does not have an interest in dealing with this issue.
posted by something something at 1:46 PM on August 24, 2018
posted by something something at 1:46 PM on August 24, 2018
Well, I haven't posted one of my special 'portraits' in awhile, so here would be one of the key players in the Trump miasma, one Mr Vladimir Putin, drawn as a monster because that's what I think he is.
This one is a bit more disturbing than usual, so a heads up.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 1:49 PM on August 24, 2018 [28 favorites]
This one is a bit more disturbing than usual, so a heads up.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 1:49 PM on August 24, 2018 [28 favorites]
Yeah, we really ought to start erecting Sherman statues in the South to see how soon the racists walk back their support of history in monument form.
The market for terrorizing the people of the South already produced such products. Didn't matter. Hypocrisy and state's rights go together nicely it seems. WaPost "Why those Confederate soldier statues look a lot like their Union counterparts"
posted by Harry Caul at 1:57 PM on August 24, 2018
The market for terrorizing the people of the South already produced such products. Didn't matter. Hypocrisy and state's rights go together nicely it seems. WaPost "Why those Confederate soldier statues look a lot like their Union counterparts"
posted by Harry Caul at 1:57 PM on August 24, 2018
Anyone want to read the stupidest editorial written about Trump/Cohen/Manafort from a mainstream newspaper? 'Cause Pittsburgh's own Post-Gazette's Editorial Team shat out this completely incoherent defence of Trump today.
posted by octothorpe at 2:01 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 2:01 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
When he appointed Gary Cohn to direct the National Economic Council, and Trump said “He went from massive pay days to peanuts.” Cohn makes $30,000 a year at the job. And yeah, that's poorer than a lot of us would like.
Let's see how that worked out for poor Gary. While at Goldman Sachs, Cohn earned $22 million per year. When he left to go to the White House, Goldman Sachs gave him a severance payment of $285 million to do their bidding in Washington. That's more than 10 times his annual salary.
Cohn stayed at the White House for one year, in which time he worked to pass the Republican tax cuts for corporations and the rich. As a result so far this year, Goldman Sachs has earned profits that are nearly $1 billion higher due to the tax cuts.
Not a bad investment. For his one year at the White House, Cohn gets 10 times his previous salary. For its $285 million investment, Goldman Sachs books an extra billion dollars in just six months. Everyone is a winner!
posted by JackFlash at 2:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [51 favorites]
Let's see how that worked out for poor Gary. While at Goldman Sachs, Cohn earned $22 million per year. When he left to go to the White House, Goldman Sachs gave him a severance payment of $285 million to do their bidding in Washington. That's more than 10 times his annual salary.
Cohn stayed at the White House for one year, in which time he worked to pass the Republican tax cuts for corporations and the rich. As a result so far this year, Goldman Sachs has earned profits that are nearly $1 billion higher due to the tax cuts.
Not a bad investment. For his one year at the White House, Cohn gets 10 times his previous salary. For its $285 million investment, Goldman Sachs books an extra billion dollars in just six months. Everyone is a winner!
posted by JackFlash at 2:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [51 favorites]
Trump redirects over $200 million in U.S. aid for West Bank, Gaza
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the State Department to “redirect” more than $200 million in economic aid for projects in the West Bank and Gaza to programs elsewhere, a department official said on Friday.posted by Rykey at 2:05 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
...
“As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million in FY2017 Economic Support Funds originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza. Those funds will now address high-priority projects elsewhere.”
Read that redistribution of Gaza funds as "to" the Gaza Strip, and was dumbfounded. Then I re-read it, and another small part of my soul I didn't still know was alive died. Again.
posted by triage_lazarus at 2:22 PM on August 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by triage_lazarus at 2:22 PM on August 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
So, remember Lionel, the formerly progressive radio host turned-Qanon conspiracy monger I mentioned a couple weeks ago? He just got invited to meet Trump in the Oval Office. This is the same guy who guest hosts for Alex Jones and regularly puts out videos questioning the veracity of 9/11, the Sandy Hook/Parkland shooting, and the deaths of Antonin Scalia and Anthony Bourdain. And now he's live-tweeting Qanon hashtags from the East Room.
posted by Rhaomi at 2:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 2:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
Damn good satire from The Onion
And this one too why not
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:34 PM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
And this one too why not
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:34 PM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
I myself might have gone with "Meghan McCain Forced to Live Out Socialist Nightmare of Empathy for Sick Person" but then I like the Onion bits where the entire barb is in the headline.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:48 PM on August 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:48 PM on August 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
Let's see how the visit to the children's hospital is going:
Kellyanne Conway introduced the president to a girl who appeared to be 5 or 6 years old. Conway told the president that the girl wanted to be the first female president.posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on August 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Is that right? said the president.
I told her we kept open the job for first female president, said Conway.
New poll from Morning Consult.
• Appropriate to pardon Cohen? 62% No, 9% Yes, 29% undecided (Rs 45% No, 16% Yes, 40% undecided)
• Appropriate to pardon Manafort? 60% No, 11% Yes, 29% undecided (Rs 38% No, 20% Yes, 42% undecided)
• 66% say it should be permissible to charge a sitting president with a crime (including a plurality of Rs at 48%).
• 50% of voters say there is more corruption in Trump's Washington. 26% say less.
• 42% say impeachment proceedings should begin, 42% say no. R bigly against and Ds hugely for as you'd guess, but a plurality of Independents are for starting proceedings. 40% for, 34% against, 26% undecided.
posted by chris24 at 3:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
• Appropriate to pardon Cohen? 62% No, 9% Yes, 29% undecided (Rs 45% No, 16% Yes, 40% undecided)
• Appropriate to pardon Manafort? 60% No, 11% Yes, 29% undecided (Rs 38% No, 20% Yes, 42% undecided)
• 66% say it should be permissible to charge a sitting president with a crime (including a plurality of Rs at 48%).
• 50% of voters say there is more corruption in Trump's Washington. 26% say less.
• 42% say impeachment proceedings should begin, 42% say no. R bigly against and Ds hugely for as you'd guess, but a plurality of Independents are for starting proceedings. 40% for, 34% against, 26% undecided.
posted by chris24 at 3:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
The Endgame for Trump Comes Into View, by Frank Rich
posted by growabrain at 3:06 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 3:06 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Conway channels Cohen:
CUOMO: That’s a lie.
CONWAY: Says who, you?
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Yes, says me, says the facts.
CONWAY: Why? Why? What facts?
posted by kirkaracha at 12:50 PM on August 24 [12 favorites +] [!]
This and "whattaboutisms" are all they have left. A FB discussion about a new study estimating a much lower rate of crime among both documented and undocumented immigrants led one friend to flatly declare, "Bogus Statistics!"[sic] and another to declare that Democrats would circle the country with barbed wire and machine-gun turrets if immigrants voted Republican.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:10 PM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was just looking at some FEC filings again (following up on some mild digging in March after Susan Simpson sent out that conspiracy-minded tweet about the possible campaign origins of the Stormy Daniels payout).
We now know (from the criminal information document accompanying Cohen's plea) that:
posted by pjenks at 3:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
We now know (from the criminal information document accompanying Cohen's plea) that:
- Cohen heard from Stormy Daniels and her lawyer on or about October 8, 2016, after she tried to sell her story to the National Enquirer (and David Pecker immediately passed it along to Trump et al).
- Cohen created Essential Consultants LLC on October 17, 2016, wired $131,000 from his home equity credit line to an EC-LLC bank account on October 26, 2016, and wired $130,000 to Stormy Daniels' lawyer on October 27, 2016.
- Cohen was re-paid $420,000 by the Trump Org in 12 monthly payments of $35,000 in 2017. (He had submitted a bill for $130k plus $50k for "tech services"; Trump Org doubled it to gross up the amount, to $360,000, and then added a $60k bonus to Cohen.)
That $174k together with the hinky late-2016 payments to Trump International Las Vegas would cover Cohen's invoices...
date recipient amount cum-amount
17Jan2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 7928 7928
12Mar2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 16112 24040
04May2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 5544 29584
30Jun2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 89561 119145
07Sep2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 25885 145030
10Oct2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 9510 154540
01Dec2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 9510 164050
11Dec2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 9510 173560
posted by pjenks at 3:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Even by his usual speech standards, this is pretty weird stuff. @ddale8:
posted by zachlipton at 3:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
Trump falsely claims that a new "poll" shows that "all of the candidates put together can't beat Trump in the election of 2020." He was talking about...gamblers' betting decisions on a website called BetOnline.ag.He's super low energy off the teleprompter too. He's getting a little excited when he goes off script sometimes, but his heart really doesn't seem into it tonight. Sad.
Trump: "Today's Democrats are not just extreme. They're really not in a position to govern. They're just not in a position to govern when you look at what they are."
Trump: "We have in New York a governor, Governor Cuomo, sues everybody. You go into that state, you get sued...if you go into New York, you get sued. And people are afraid to go to New York. They don't want to do it." I have no idea what he is talking about
The president: "The Democrat Party: you notice I never say 'Democratic Party?' Because it's not really the name. It sounds better, flows better. In a speech it sounds better. I always hate to say 'The Democrat Party' - 'cause it doesn't sound good, that's why I say it."
posted by zachlipton at 3:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
50% of voters say there is more corruption in Trump's Washington. 26% say less.
As compared with what? Nixon?
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 3:27 PM on August 24, 2018
As compared with what? Nixon?
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 3:27 PM on August 24, 2018
Democrats would circle the country with barbed wire and machine-gun turrets if immigrants voted Republican.
These people do realize that Cuba is a thing, right? Nobody on the D side has/is demanding the Cuban people be thrown back to Castro's wolves because they might naturalize and then proceed to vote Republican.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:33 PM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
These people do realize that Cuba is a thing, right? Nobody on the D side has/is demanding the Cuban people be thrown back to Castro's wolves because they might naturalize and then proceed to vote Republican.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:33 PM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
Not to scare anyone, but it looks like the Republican precinct chair for my neighborhood just spammed NextDoor with an announcement saying she finally had Ted Cruz yard signs available for everyone.
If you guys see a lot of Cruz signs going up, I'm guessing they had few (or none) available for distribution in my area before.
Still fiercely optimistic about Beto's election shot!
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 3:36 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
If you guys see a lot of Cruz signs going up, I'm guessing they had few (or none) available for distribution in my area before.
Still fiercely optimistic about Beto's election shot!
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 3:36 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Today's Democrats are not just extreme. They're really not in a position to govern. They're just not in a position to govern when you look at what they are.
The Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency and couldn't repeal and replace Obamacare after saying for eight years that they would.
The president: "The Democrat Party: you notice I never say 'Democratic Party?' Because it's not really the name."
Chris Matthews: "They call themselves the Democratic Party. Let's just call people what they call themselves and stop the Mickey Mouse here."
Ceterum autem censeo Trumpem esse delendam
posted by kirkaracha at 3:42 PM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
The Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency and couldn't repeal and replace Obamacare after saying for eight years that they would.
The president: "The Democrat Party: you notice I never say 'Democratic Party?' Because it's not really the name."
Chris Matthews: "They call themselves the Democratic Party. Let's just call people what they call themselves and stop the Mickey Mouse here."
Ceterum autem censeo Trumpem esse delendam
posted by kirkaracha at 3:42 PM on August 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
Nobody on the D side has/is demanding the Cuban people be thrown back to Castro's wolves because they might naturalize and then proceed to vote Republican.
Candidate criticized for saying displaced Puerto Ricans shouldn't be able to vote in Florida
posted by kirkaracha at 3:46 PM on August 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
Candidate criticized for saying displaced Puerto Ricans shouldn't be able to vote in Florida
A Republican congressional candidate is facing a backlash after saying that Puerto Ricans who moved to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Maria last year should not be able to register to vote in the state.God damn it, that "Democrat Party" thing really pisses me off. I know I'm being pwned but it still pisses me off.
...
Ward replied by saying, "First of all, I don't think they should be allowed to register to vote. It's not lost on me that, I think, the Democrat party's really hoping that they can change the voting registers in a lot of counties and districts, and I don't think they should be allowed to do that."
posted by kirkaracha at 3:46 PM on August 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
Bloomberg, Jailed Russian of Interest in U.S. Election Probe, Official Says
posted by zachlipton at 3:50 PM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
A Russian charged with hacking LinkedIn is of great interest in a U.S. probe of election meddling, according to a Justice Department official, even as his own lawyers complain he hasn’t cooperated with them since landing in a California jail in March.This is all more in the "huh that's odd" category than anything meaningful, but huh, that's odd.
The mystery around Yevgeniy Nikulin deepened Friday when a federal judge asked why his lawyers, who want him evaluated for possible mental illness, chose a San Francisco psychiatrist with a troubled past at California’s medical board.
And Nikulin’s defense team -- led by a New York-based attorney seasoned in representing Russians and Eastern Europeans charged with serious crimes in the U.S. -- say Russian officials have shown unusually strong interest in his case, arranging at least once to visit him in jail when the attorneys weren’t present.
The lead attorney, Arkady Bukh, said he remains concerned, maybe ”paranoid,” over Nikulin’s safety after a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned earlier this year in England with a nerve agent.
“They are very active, by far more active than any other case," Bukh said of Russian embassy officials. “Now it’s less frequent, but earlier in the case they were calling almost every day. I have no duties to them. They’re not my client.”
posted by zachlipton at 3:50 PM on August 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Sounds like a Yogi Berra quotation.
Yes and no.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:55 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yes and no.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:55 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Democrats would circle the country with barbed wire and machine-gun turrets if immigrants voted Republican.
These people do realize that Cuba is a thing, right? Nobody on the D side has/is demanding the Cuban people be thrown back to Castro's wolves because they might naturalize and then proceed to vote Republican.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:33 PM on August 24 [4 favorites +] [!]
Great minds must always roll in the same gutter. I pointed out that exact thing to Friend #2.
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:05 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
These people do realize that Cuba is a thing, right? Nobody on the D side has/is demanding the Cuban people be thrown back to Castro's wolves because they might naturalize and then proceed to vote Republican.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:33 PM on August 24 [4 favorites +] [!]
Great minds must always roll in the same gutter. I pointed out that exact thing to Friend #2.
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:05 PM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
God damn it, that "Democrat Party" thing really pisses me off. I know I'm being pwned but it still pisses me off.
Me too. Makes me think the Dems should start calling them the Republicans Party until they knock it off. Same bullshit logic/sophistry -- they may be the ones calling themselves "Republicans" but their ideas have nothing to do with Republicanism.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:10 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Me too. Makes me think the Dems should start calling them the Republicans Party until they knock it off. Same bullshit logic/sophistry -- they may be the ones calling themselves "Republicans" but their ideas have nothing to do with Republicanism.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:10 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Just because it's Friday night doesn't mean this thread has room for extended riff sessions. Go, read things that aren't politics! It's good for you!
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 4:38 PM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 4:38 PM on August 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
Jerry George. Put a pin in that. Former LA editor fo the Nationel E. Just went on CNN and said things. It gave me a theory but I don't want this to get deleted for ghoulish speculation. According to Mr. George, many, many stories were killed, and he just said on live TV some of them are about wives. And kids.
posted by vrakatar at 4:45 PM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by vrakatar at 4:45 PM on August 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
He's super low energy off the teleprompter too. He's getting a little excited when he goes off script sometimes
e.g. MSNBC's Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1): Trump just thanked "the great Jim Jordan" at the Ohio Republican Party's annual dinner, adding, "Don't ever wrestle him." Jordan is accused by multiple Ohio State wrestlers that he coached of having ignored sexual abuse that they were experiencing.
Dale sums it up, "Well that was something, and also nothing."
So, remember Lionel, the formerly progressive radio host turned-Qanon conspiracy monger I mentioned a couple weeks ago? He just got invited to meet Trump in the Oval Office.
Daily Beast reporter Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) is still trying to find out how this happened:
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:53 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
e.g. MSNBC's Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1): Trump just thanked "the great Jim Jordan" at the Ohio Republican Party's annual dinner, adding, "Don't ever wrestle him." Jordan is accused by multiple Ohio State wrestlers that he coached of having ignored sexual abuse that they were experiencing.
Dale sums it up, "Well that was something, and also nothing."
So, remember Lionel, the formerly progressive radio host turned-Qanon conspiracy monger I mentioned a couple weeks ago? He just got invited to meet Trump in the Oval Office.
Daily Beast reporter Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) is still trying to find out how this happened:
We haven’t been able to get to the bottom of this yet, but of the 4 senior WH aides we asked about how Trump ended up in a photo op w/ this prominent QAnon guy in the Oval, they all pleaded ignorance. 2 of them audibly could not contain their laughter.Another distraction, maybe?
It is highly unlikely the QAnon man was simply able to stumble into this Trump meet. Those familiar w/ how this Oval Office works say typically the only way that something like this happens is if a senior official vouched for the guests & waved them in :/
I am obviously still trying to get a straight answer out of someone, anymore who will simply explain how exactly they got in there with Trump. It’s just so… fucking weird!
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:53 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
We haven’t been able to get to the bottom of this yet, but of the 4 senior WH aides we asked about how Trump ended up in a photo op w/ this prominent QAnon guy in the Oval, they all pleaded ignorance. 2 of them audibly could not contain their laughter.
For the last year (since around when QAnon first entered the crankosphere, come to think of it) Lionel's been a frequent Russia Today contributor.
RT's how Lionel got to see him. The Russian propaganda apparatus is closer to Trump than his aides are.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:58 PM on August 24, 2018 [47 favorites]
For the last year (since around when QAnon first entered the crankosphere, come to think of it) Lionel's been a frequent Russia Today contributor.
RT's how Lionel got to see him. The Russian propaganda apparatus is closer to Trump than his aides are.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:58 PM on August 24, 2018 [47 favorites]
@MichLKosinski: Source: State Dept folks caught "completely off guard" by Trump's cancelling Pompeo's trip to NKorea; they had been "briefing allies’ embassies about their objectives for the trip like ten minutes before!"
posted by zachlipton at 6:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 6:04 PM on August 24, 2018 [30 favorites]
CNN's Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) has more on Pompeo's abortive trip: “Mike Pompeo was in the room when President Trump authored his tweet announcing he was delaying his trip to North Korea, which he was supposed to leave for tomorrow. John Bolton was on speakerphone, @eliselabottcnn and I are told.”
It sounds as though Pompeo, having oversold Trump on what the Singapore summit accomplished, couldn't promise this new trip would go any better than Pompeo's humiliating one last month. After all the narcissistic injury Trump experienced this week, he lashed out at the nearest target—his Secretary of State—to humiliate him publicly.
He's decompensating.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:26 PM on August 24, 2018 [23 favorites]
It sounds as though Pompeo, having oversold Trump on what the Singapore summit accomplished, couldn't promise this new trip would go any better than Pompeo's humiliating one last month. After all the narcissistic injury Trump experienced this week, he lashed out at the nearest target—his Secretary of State—to humiliate him publicly.
He's decompensating.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:26 PM on August 24, 2018 [23 favorites]
CNN, Exclusive: Ex-Trump World Tower doorman releases 'catch-and-kill' contract about alleged Trump affair
posted by zachlipton at 7:55 PM on August 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
A former Trump World Tower doorman who says he has knowledge of an alleged affair President Donald Trump had with an ex-housekeeper, which resulted in a child, is now able to talk about a contract he entered with American Media Inc. that had prohibited him from discussing the matter with anyone, according to his attorney.I'm less interested in the story, which appears to be totally unverified, and more in under what circumstances the contract with AMI was terminated now. How many other 'catch-and-kill- agreements does AMI have about Trump, and have they also been terminated?
On Friday, Marc Held -- the attorney for Dino Sajudin, the former doorman -- said his client had been released from his contract with AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer, "recently" after back-and-forth discussions with AMI.
CNN has exclusively obtained a copy of the "source agreement" between Sajudin and AMI, which is owned by David Pecker. The contract appears to have been signed on Nov. 15, 2015, and states that AMI has exclusive rights to Sajudin's story but does not mention the details of the story itself beyond saying, "Source shall provide AMI with information regarding Donald Trump's illegitimate child..."
The contract states that "AMI will not owe Source any compensation if AMI does not publish the Exclusive..." and the top of the agreement shows that Sajudin could receive a sum of $30,000 "payable upon publication as set forth below." But the third page of the agreement shows that about a month later, the parties signed an amendment that states that Sajudin would be paid $30,000 within five days of receiving the amendment. It says the "exclusivity period" laid out in the agreement "is extended in perpetuity and shall not expire."
The amendment also establishes a $1 million payment that Sajudin would be responsible for making to AMI "in the event Source breaches this provision."
...
Sajudin's allegation that Trump fathered a child out of wedlock has not been independently confirmed by any of the outlets that have investigated the story.
posted by zachlipton at 7:55 PM on August 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
Things will get interesting if that housekeeper turns out to be an illegal immigrant...
posted by xammerboy at 8:18 PM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 8:18 PM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
You mean, like the First Lady?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:20 PM on August 24, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:20 PM on August 24, 2018 [50 favorites]
I have a feeling Trump will rue the day he didn't keep Pecker under wraps
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:20 PM on August 24, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:20 PM on August 24, 2018 [62 favorites]
This and "whattaboutisms" are all they have left
Y'know...I've been thinking about 'whataboutism' for a little while now and reached an interesting conclusion: it should be treated for what it is, a direct and frank admission of guilt. Like, it's never "NO, but what about..." Nobody has ever said that. It's always "YES, but what about..." And that 'YES' should be prosecuted for the admission of guilt that it is.
posted by sexyrobot at 8:33 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Y'know...I've been thinking about 'whataboutism' for a little while now and reached an interesting conclusion: it should be treated for what it is, a direct and frank admission of guilt. Like, it's never "NO, but what about..." Nobody has ever said that. It's always "YES, but what about..." And that 'YES' should be prosecuted for the admission of guilt that it is.
posted by sexyrobot at 8:33 PM on August 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
It's not YES, but....
It's, YOU can't ASK THAT BECAUSE
It's a deflecting tactic meant to avoid having to defend the accusation, and to discourage the accuser from pursuing it by making them defensive on the same points or apt to reach for the same justifications in a different context.
It does sort of attempt to make everyone guilty, rather than anyone righteous, but it skirts confession artfully.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:40 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's, YOU can't ASK THAT BECAUSE
It's a deflecting tactic meant to avoid having to defend the accusation, and to discourage the accuser from pursuing it by making them defensive on the same points or apt to reach for the same justifications in a different context.
It does sort of attempt to make everyone guilty, rather than anyone righteous, but it skirts confession artfully.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:40 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
TL;DR -- it's the rhetorical equivalent of rug-pissing and weasel-tossing.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:46 PM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:46 PM on August 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
I dunno, I feel like the 'but' makes the 'no' nonsensical.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:01 PM on August 24, 2018
posted by sexyrobot at 10:01 PM on August 24, 2018
Short answer, "yes" with an "if." Long answer, "no" with a "but."
posted by Chrysostom at 10:10 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:10 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
A Russian charged with hacking LinkedIn is of great interest in a U.S. probe of election meddling, according to a Justice Department official, even as his own lawyers complain he hasn’t cooperated with them since landing in a California jail in March.
Can Mueller offer asylum as well as immunity?
posted by msalt at 10:19 PM on August 24, 2018
Can Mueller offer asylum as well as immunity?
posted by msalt at 10:19 PM on August 24, 2018
I really quite love it when these happen. Almost want to make a collection of them.
posted by scalefree at 11:03 PM on August 24, 2018 [66 favorites]
@mmfa Infowars host alleges that Hurricane Lane, which is threatening Hawaii, has been split in two by an energy beam shot from Antarctica, possibly by John Kerry http://mm4a.org/4Zq@JohnKerry The secret's out - busted!
posted by scalefree at 11:03 PM on August 24, 2018 [66 favorites]
It's the Wars AGAINST Info, right?
I mean, if the enemies of Trump were capable of doing 1/10 of the things Q and IW claim, Donald would've been thrown in jail or shot down in cold blood years ago...
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:21 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
I mean, if the enemies of Trump were capable of doing 1/10 of the things Q and IW claim, Donald would've been thrown in jail or shot down in cold blood years ago...
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:21 PM on August 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
My thought about whataboutisms is the asker is telling you he (and isn’t it usually?) thinks you are a hypocrite because you haven’t applied whatever standards to whatever other issue. That puts the pressure on you to defend your principles/identity. I think one tack might be to reverse the pressure and make it personal: “are you calling me a hypocrite?”
Honestly I have no idea where it goes from there.
posted by notyou at 11:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Honestly I have no idea where it goes from there.
posted by notyou at 11:24 PM on August 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think one tack might be to reverse the pressure and make it personal: “are you calling me a hypocrite?”
Don't bother. They're using the fallacy, "Tu Quoque". They are arguing in bad-faith, and being dishonest.
Thus the best response would be, 'Your argument is invalid and in bad faith. Why are you being dishonest?"
posted by mikelieman at 11:32 PM on August 24, 2018 [41 favorites]
Don't bother. They're using the fallacy, "Tu Quoque". They are arguing in bad-faith, and being dishonest.
Thus the best response would be, 'Your argument is invalid and in bad faith. Why are you being dishonest?"
posted by mikelieman at 11:32 PM on August 24, 2018 [41 favorites]
I mean, if the enemies of Trump were capable of doing 1/10 of the things Q and IW claim, Donald would've been thrown in jail or shot down in cold blood years ago...
It's the Hillary Paradox, that she is simultaneously diabolical/omnipotent & incompetent/frail. Capable of pulling off fiendish plots while leaving no evidence even as she's on death's door.
posted by scalefree at 11:41 PM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's the Hillary Paradox, that she is simultaneously diabolical/omnipotent & incompetent/frail. Capable of pulling off fiendish plots while leaving no evidence even as she's on death's door.
posted by scalefree at 11:41 PM on August 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
Great gods below. Is there nothing he cannot desecrate?
@2020fight The President has colored his flag wrong.
That is all.
[image]
posted by scalefree at 12:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [65 favorites]
@2020fight The President has colored his flag wrong.
That is all.
[image]
posted by scalefree at 12:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [65 favorites]
The President has colored his flag wrong.
He got confused on the order of the stripes on the Russian flag. White, blue, red Donny, not red, white, blue.
posted by chris24 at 4:14 AM on August 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
He got confused on the order of the stripes on the Russian flag. White, blue, red Donny, not red, white, blue.
posted by chris24 at 4:14 AM on August 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
It's the Hillary Paradox, that she is simultaneously diabolical/omnipotent & incompetent/frail. Capable of pulling off fiendish plots while leaving no evidence even as she's on death's door.
That's literally point 8 in Eco's definition of fascism.
posted by octothorpe at 4:25 AM on August 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
They are arguing in bad-faith, and being dishonest.
I return the favor when this happens. It changes nobody's mind (that will never happen), but it's fun to take the wind out of the sails of an argument that seems so ironclad when employed by FOX News.
Me: Trump should be prosecuted for colluding with Russia to subvert the 2016 election.
Trumpie: What about Hillary's collusion to sell Russia uranium on a visit there, personally accompanied by Mueller?*
Me: Wow, that sounds serious. It sounds like we are both concerned about crimes committed by polticians. So we agree that Hillary needs to be fully investigated for that alleged crime, and punished accordingly, and Trump needs to be fully investigated for his alleged crime, and punished accordingly. Sounds fair.
Trumpie: Well, Hillary's crimes are actual crimes, but Trump's collusion, if it even exists, is not even a crime.
Me: Gee, you may be right. Only investigating them both thoroughly will get to the bottom of it, I guess. I'm glad our system allows more than one crime to be prosecuted at once. Maybe they'll share the same prison cell! (chuckle and walk away)
*Actual accusation I saw somewhere.
posted by Rykey at 5:03 AM on August 25, 2018 [56 favorites]
I return the favor when this happens. It changes nobody's mind (that will never happen), but it's fun to take the wind out of the sails of an argument that seems so ironclad when employed by FOX News.
Me: Trump should be prosecuted for colluding with Russia to subvert the 2016 election.
Trumpie: What about Hillary's collusion to sell Russia uranium on a visit there, personally accompanied by Mueller?*
Me: Wow, that sounds serious. It sounds like we are both concerned about crimes committed by polticians. So we agree that Hillary needs to be fully investigated for that alleged crime, and punished accordingly, and Trump needs to be fully investigated for his alleged crime, and punished accordingly. Sounds fair.
Trumpie: Well, Hillary's crimes are actual crimes, but Trump's collusion, if it even exists, is not even a crime.
Me: Gee, you may be right. Only investigating them both thoroughly will get to the bottom of it, I guess. I'm glad our system allows more than one crime to be prosecuted at once. Maybe they'll share the same prison cell! (chuckle and walk away)
*Actual accusation I saw somewhere.
posted by Rykey at 5:03 AM on August 25, 2018 [56 favorites]
Al Jazeera has some interesting opinions on the likelihood of Trump defying a subpoena:
Mr Trump is likely to resist the subpoena. That would force a challenge in the United States Supreme Court as to whether a sitting president is accountable to the criminal law, as are all other officers of the United States, including members of Congress and justices of the Supreme Court. The controlling precedents are against President Trump. In United States v Nixon, the Supreme Court unanimously compelled President Richard Nixon to surrender presidential tapes and documents for use in a criminal trial against his top assistants. None of Mr Nixon's four Supreme Court appointees voted in his favour. In Clinton v Jones, the Court held that President Bill Clinton could be compelled to testify in a civil suit bright by Paula Jones alleging sexual harassment. Neither of Mr Clinton's two appointees voted in his favour. Mr Trump is similarly unlikely to win the votes of Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom he appointed, or Brett Kavanaugh, whose nomination will soon be confirmed. They would strain to avoid an appearance of bowing to their benefactor as did the Nixon and Clinton justices.
posted by stonepharisee at 5:11 AM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Mr Trump is likely to resist the subpoena. That would force a challenge in the United States Supreme Court as to whether a sitting president is accountable to the criminal law, as are all other officers of the United States, including members of Congress and justices of the Supreme Court. The controlling precedents are against President Trump. In United States v Nixon, the Supreme Court unanimously compelled President Richard Nixon to surrender presidential tapes and documents for use in a criminal trial against his top assistants. None of Mr Nixon's four Supreme Court appointees voted in his favour. In Clinton v Jones, the Court held that President Bill Clinton could be compelled to testify in a civil suit bright by Paula Jones alleging sexual harassment. Neither of Mr Clinton's two appointees voted in his favour. Mr Trump is similarly unlikely to win the votes of Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom he appointed, or Brett Kavanaugh, whose nomination will soon be confirmed. They would strain to avoid an appearance of bowing to their benefactor as did the Nixon and Clinton justices.
posted by stonepharisee at 5:11 AM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Mr Trump is similarly unlikely to win the votes of Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom he appointed, or Brett Kavanaugh, whose nomination will soon be confirmed. They would strain to avoid an appearance of bowing to their benefactor as did the Nixon and Clinton justices.
Gorsuch is a significantly inferior justice in general, and Brett Kavanaugh is political enough that he was literally a political operative in the Bush (W) White House. This is extending them way too much credit.
In fact, I'll skip to the chase. Bush v Gore was a party line vote, and these new justices are considerably more ideological.
posted by jaduncan at 5:18 AM on August 25, 2018 [59 favorites]
Gorsuch is a significantly inferior justice in general, and Brett Kavanaugh is political enough that he was literally a political operative in the Bush (W) White House. This is extending them way too much credit.
In fact, I'll skip to the chase. Bush v Gore was a party line vote, and these new justices are considerably more ideological.
posted by jaduncan at 5:18 AM on August 25, 2018 [59 favorites]
Kavanaugh has opined that a sitting president shouldn't be distracted by an investigation, right? Like, he learned his lesson while with W. That the president should be unbothered by the law.
I mean bravo if he changes that bullshit theory
posted by angrycat at 5:42 AM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
I mean bravo if he changes that bullshit theory
posted by angrycat at 5:42 AM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
The "catch-and-kill" business reminds me of the criminal career of Mark Hofmann, a forger. He had hit upon the idea of forging letters and other documents related to the early Mormon church. He would then offer these to the current Mormon church administrators, who would pay Hofmann for them and then conceal them because they cast the early church in a bad light. Most famous was the Salamander Letter, which had Joseph Smith consorting with daemons.
Unlike an art forger, whose work might hang in a gallery for all to see, Hofmann's forgeries were designed to remain unseen. Nice work, for a grifter.
posted by SPrintF at 5:55 AM on August 25, 2018 [58 favorites]
Unlike an art forger, whose work might hang in a gallery for all to see, Hofmann's forgeries were designed to remain unseen. Nice work, for a grifter.
posted by SPrintF at 5:55 AM on August 25, 2018 [58 favorites]
There is now a fake Melania theory, to go with all the other stupid shit in the world.
TBH by the video I’d say a bit more than a theory.
posted by Artw at 6:09 AM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
TBH by the video I’d say a bit more than a theory.
posted by Artw at 6:09 AM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Fake Melania looks like some Secret Service shenanigans. Probably more SOP than people know.
posted by Harry Caul at 6:18 AM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Harry Caul at 6:18 AM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
SPrintF: The "catch-and-kill" business reminds me of the criminal career of Mark Hofmann, a forger. He had hit upon the idea of forging letters and other documents related to the early Mormon church. He would then offer these to the current Mormon church administrators, who would pay Hofmann for them and then conceal them because they cast the early church in a bad light. Most famous was the Salamander Letter, which had Joseph Smith consorting with daemons.
That's a really good parallel. The trick wouldn't work with invented lies about just anyone... but people's bullshit detectors have to work differently when it comes to people like Smith or Trump. Also, in either case, you couldn't just ask the guy if it's true (Smith because he's dead and Trump because his lying is pathological), so you pay the hush money to be safe.
One thing about the whole National Enquirer affair I'm not clear on: their specific motivation to suppress anti-Trump stories, becuase that doesn't seem consistent. Like, in their overall history, their relationship with Trump seems good enough that they just filter stories he disliked as a matter of course. But when it came to Karen McDougal, they apparently expected payment? Was this a result of his name and money becoming less and less valuable over time?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:20 AM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
That's a really good parallel. The trick wouldn't work with invented lies about just anyone... but people's bullshit detectors have to work differently when it comes to people like Smith or Trump. Also, in either case, you couldn't just ask the guy if it's true (Smith because he's dead and Trump because his lying is pathological), so you pay the hush money to be safe.
One thing about the whole National Enquirer affair I'm not clear on: their specific motivation to suppress anti-Trump stories, becuase that doesn't seem consistent. Like, in their overall history, their relationship with Trump seems good enough that they just filter stories he disliked as a matter of course. But when it came to Karen McDougal, they apparently expected payment? Was this a result of his name and money becoming less and less valuable over time?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:20 AM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
The president: "The Democrat Party: you notice I never say 'Democratic Party?' Because it's not really the name. It sounds better, flows better. In a speech it sounds better. I always hate to say 'The Democrat Party' - 'cause it doesn't sound good, that's why I say it."
Hello, media, there's the leader of the Republican Party admitting that "Democrat party" isn't an accidental slip of the tongue but a deliberate insult.
You should flatly refuse to run any quote in which a Republican uses that term.
posted by Gelatin at 6:53 AM on August 25, 2018 [68 favorites]
Hello, media, there's the leader of the Republican Party admitting that "Democrat party" isn't an accidental slip of the tongue but a deliberate insult.
You should flatly refuse to run any quote in which a Republican uses that term.
posted by Gelatin at 6:53 AM on August 25, 2018 [68 favorites]
There is now a fake Melania theory, to go with all the other stupid shit in the world.
TBH by the video I’d say a bit more than a theory.
The worst part about our contemporary, always-on-video universe is that people don't have a basic grasp of how distorting lenses and lighting can be.
That's Melania. The SS doesn't run lookalikes around, and anyway, if they did, the principal would have the lookalike, not Melania.
posted by dis_integration at 7:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
TBH by the video I’d say a bit more than a theory.
The worst part about our contemporary, always-on-video universe is that people don't have a basic grasp of how distorting lenses and lighting can be.
That's Melania. The SS doesn't run lookalikes around, and anyway, if they did, the principal would have the lookalike, not Melania.
posted by dis_integration at 7:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
There is now a fake Melania theory, to go with all the other stupid shit in the world.
Jesus people. I think its more like former model caught in unflattering lighting looking bad in low-res cell phone video taken of a tv screen. Here's a picture of the Trumps walking to Marine One to get to AF1. Here's a picture of the Trumps disembarking Marine One to board AF1 on the way to Ohio. Here are pictures of the Trumps in Ohio. This theory posits that there was a body double on the ground at Joint Base Andrews, but not beforehand at the White House and not afterwards at appearances in Ohio.
posted by peeedro at 7:05 AM on August 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Jesus people. I think its more like former model caught in unflattering lighting looking bad in low-res cell phone video taken of a tv screen. Here's a picture of the Trumps walking to Marine One to get to AF1. Here's a picture of the Trumps disembarking Marine One to board AF1 on the way to Ohio. Here are pictures of the Trumps in Ohio. This theory posits that there was a body double on the ground at Joint Base Andrews, but not beforehand at the White House and not afterwards at appearances in Ohio.
posted by peeedro at 7:05 AM on August 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
We haven’t been able to get to the bottom of this yet, but of the 4 senior WH aides we asked about how Trump ended up in a photo op w/ this prominent QAnon guy in the Oval, they all pleaded ignorance. 2 of them audibly could not contain their laughter.
The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) has more: "Am told QAnon gentleman who posed with Trump behind Resolute Desk came into Oval with a larger group. No separate appointment with POTUS. But aides either don’t know or won’t say how he got in with larger group. Several seemed startled themselves tonight when question was posed."
I'm tempted to start a conspiracy theory about how the conspiracy theorist pulled this off—besides "birds of a feather"—but now Fake Melania is back for us to obsess over.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:05 AM on August 25, 2018
The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) has more: "Am told QAnon gentleman who posed with Trump behind Resolute Desk came into Oval with a larger group. No separate appointment with POTUS. But aides either don’t know or won’t say how he got in with larger group. Several seemed startled themselves tonight when question was posed."
I'm tempted to start a conspiracy theory about how the conspiracy theorist pulled this off—besides "birds of a feather"—but now Fake Melania is back for us to obsess over.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:05 AM on August 25, 2018
growabrain: The Endgame for Trump Comes Into View, by Frank Rich
And hearing concern that the 2018 elections aren't safe from voting system hacking, it means that the blue wave will have to be all the stronger to overcome shifting on the margins. By which I mean, as long as the results are somewhere in the scope of predictions and forecasts, then there will be much wailing and grieving over the failure of polling, questions of sample sizes and what really drove people to or from the polls, but the GOP will retain their power and do nothing substantial to question their own wins.
But if the polls all indicate a significant upset and we end up with a repeat of 2016, or the party of Trump does better than two years ago, it will be harder to ignore the potential for vote tampering. So vote tampering happens in those margins, to maybe look questionable, but not truly suspicious.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:15 AM on August 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Have we reached the August 1974 of the Trump presidency?Sadly, emphasis mine. In retrospect, the trajectory of Trump's presidency will be stretched and fit to the Nixon collapse curve, but while we're living it, there's no way to really tell what's a mortal wounding and what's an injury that makes his diseased tenure stronger, for the time being.
There have been so many times when Trump was doomed, dating at least as far back as his denigration of John McCain’s war heroism three summers ago, that it would be foolish to declare any new horror the final blow. But I do believe, as I wrote last summer, that Trump’s path to “a premature exit from the White House in disgrace” is “on a comparable timeline” to Nixon’s. The tumult of August 2018 hasn’t finished off his presidency, but the endgame looks closer by the day.
With all the debate about whether Trump could or should be impeached this very minute — a wholly theoretical debate as long as the GOP controls Congress — we tend to forget that Nixon was never tried for impeachment. He quit once he realized he didn’t have the votes to survive such a trial and when he no doubt realized that he was in criminal jeopardy. (A fear that would only be alleviated when his successor, Gerald Ford, granted him a pardon.) Trump, unlike Nixon, is out of touch with reality. He doesn’t know how to count votes, and he believes he can defy the law with impunity.So we're left with the mid-terms, because if the GOP retain their control, there's zero certainty that anything Trump does will be a mortal blow to their confidence in him as their president.
And hearing concern that the 2018 elections aren't safe from voting system hacking, it means that the blue wave will have to be all the stronger to overcome shifting on the margins. By which I mean, as long as the results are somewhere in the scope of predictions and forecasts, then there will be much wailing and grieving over the failure of polling, questions of sample sizes and what really drove people to or from the polls, but the GOP will retain their power and do nothing substantial to question their own wins.
But if the polls all indicate a significant upset and we end up with a repeat of 2016, or the party of Trump does better than two years ago, it will be harder to ignore the potential for vote tampering. So vote tampering happens in those margins, to maybe look questionable, but not truly suspicious.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:15 AM on August 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
For the first year of the Trump-Russia investigation, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was only known to have given immunity to one person, an international political operative named George Nader. But now, over the past few weeks, Mueller has begun handing out immunity like candy, to people high and low. So why the sudden shift in strategy for Mueller, and what does it tell us about what’s really going on?
posted by growabrain at 7:33 AM on August 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 7:33 AM on August 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Why Manafort and Cohen Thought They’d Get Away With It -- It takes a special counsel to actually catch white-collar criminals. (Jesse Eisinger for ProPublica, co-published with The New York Times, Aug. 24, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 7:33 AM on August 25, 2018 [82 favorites]
Oh, the audacity of dopes. The crimes of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen are notable not just for how blatant they were but also for their lack of sophistication. The two men did little to hide their lying to banks and the Internal Revenue Service. One can almost sympathize with them: If it wasn’t for their decision to attach themselves to the most unlikely president in modern history, there’s every reason to think they might be still working their frauds today.Let's change this in 2018 or 2020.
But how anomalous are Mssrs. Manafort and Cohen? Are there legions of K Street big shots working for foreign despots and parking their riches in Cypriot bank accounts to avoid the IRS? Are many political campaigns walking felonies waiting to be exposed? What about the world of luxury residential building in which Cohen plied his trade with the Trump Organization?
The answer is more disturbing than the questions: We don’t know. We don’t know because the cops aren’t on the beat. Resources have been stripped from white-collar enforcement. The FBI shifted agents to work on international terror in the wake of 9/11. White-collar cases made up about one-tenth of the Justice Department’s cases in recent years, compared with one-fifth in the early 1990s. The IRS’ criminal enforcement capabilities have been decimated by years of budget cuts and attrition. The Federal Election Commission is a toothless organization that is widely flouted.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:33 AM on August 25, 2018 [82 favorites]
Coming down hard on white-collar crime could be a sufficient dog-whistle for eat the rich. Let's float that balloon.
posted by klarck at 7:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [96 favorites]
posted by klarck at 7:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [96 favorites]
@growabrain, Palmer Report isn’t a reliable source, and the whole article is predicated on an incorrect assumption — the SDNY cases aren’t being prosecuted by Mueller’s team directly, they were handed off some time ago.
posted by Andrhia at 7:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Andrhia at 7:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
I messed up some of the dates from my comment last night about the FEC filings showing payments by the Trump Campaign to the Trump Organization for "LEGAL CONSULTING". The corrected table is this:
If these payments are related to Cohen-Stormy, I don't know if their campaign origin would make the legal liability for Trump greater or less, but the obfuscation can't be looked on favorably.
The "hinky Trump International Hotel Las Vegas payments" that I mentioned yesterday are probably just conspiracy theory on my part. But here's why I think they are weird:
Ok, I'm done with my numerology, and I'll leave you all alone now.
posted by pjenks at 7:52 AM on August 25, 2018 [24 favorites]
I found a few more articles that mention these payments (e.g., here and here). But most of the reporting on "legal consulting" disbursements by the campaign focused on the payments to actual lawyers (for Trump, for Don Jr, etc), and was often hampered by a quarterly filing cycle in which the sum totals (over the year, or multiple years) were ignored. Plus, as I mentioned last night, these take on a whole new significance given our knowledge of Cohen's $420k payout from the Trump Org, which Allen Weisselberg said to "post to legal expenses."
date recipient (description) amt cum-amt
-------------------------------------------------------
30Jun2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 89561 89561
07Sep2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 25885 115446
10Oct2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 9510 124956
01Dec2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 9510 134466
11Dec2017 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 9510 143976
17Jan2018 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 7928 151904
12Mar2018 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 16112 168016
04May2018 Trump Corp (LEGAL CONSULTING) 5544 173560
If these payments are related to Cohen-Stormy, I don't know if their campaign origin would make the legal liability for Trump greater or less, but the obfuscation can't be looked on favorably.
The "hinky Trump International Hotel Las Vegas payments" that I mentioned yesterday are probably just conspiracy theory on my part. But here's why I think they are weird:
- The overwhelming majority of 2015-2016 FEC disbursements for "TRAVEL:LODGING" (98.8% of them) were paid by the campaign using an AMEX card, and look like regular hotel stays.
- The remaining 1.2% of these disbursements were direct payments with no AMEX notation. Almost all of these disbursements (15 of the 70 entries, but 95% by amount) were to Trump properties. (Most of the others were to hotels.com)
- The largest three of these 15 disbursements were to Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, all of them in late-October and early-November 2016 (see below). These $140k, $79k, and $19k direct payments to TIH-LV rank 3rd, 6th and 29th of all 5881 "LODGING" disbursements.
If you add that total to the "LEGAL CONSULTING" payments, you get $424,633. Not exactly $420k, but pretty close.
date recipient (description) amount cum-amt
---------------------------------------------------------------
17Oct2016 Trump Intl Hotel LV (TRAV:LODG) 79043.94 79043.94
23Nov2016 Trump Intl Hotel LV (TRAV:LODG) 18584.97 97628.91
28Nov2016 Trump Intl Hotel LV (TRAV:LODG) 139616 237244.91
10Feb2017 Trump Intl Hotel LV (TRAV:LODG) 13828.09 251073
Ok, I'm done with my numerology, and I'll leave you all alone now.
posted by pjenks at 7:52 AM on August 25, 2018 [24 favorites]
A statement by Mollie Tibbetts's cousin:
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:29 AM on August 25, 2018 [66 favorites]
Especially for those of you who did not know her in life, you do not get to usurp Mollie and her legacy for your racist, false narrative now that she is no longer with us. We hereby reclaim our Mollie....I'm worried for Mollie Tibbetts's family and friends. On the one hand, they're clearly increasingly furious about the way that her death is being politicized. On the other hand, the more they speak up, the more they're going to get harassed, and it already seems to be happening on Twitter.
Mollie’s murder is truly tragic and horrifically painful for all of us who knew and loved her, the extinguishing of a treasured spirit much too soon. It is not your right to exacerbate this grievous act by hijacking Mollie and all she believed with your racist fear-mongering. You do not get to use her murder to inaccurately promote your “permanently separated” hyperbole. You do not have permission to callously use this tragedy to demonize an entire population for the acts of one man.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:29 AM on August 25, 2018 [66 favorites]
I think they're aware of that, and prepared for the harassment. Just like the Parkland kids, they're willing to take the awful to make sure no one else gets to write their narrative.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 8:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 8:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [31 favorites]
Yeah, the twitter replies to Tibbets’ cousin’s comments on the platform are just awful. People need to step back before they start piling on.
posted by notyou at 9:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 9:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
The "permanently separated" thing is so dumb. I know they're trying to make it seem like this is worse than taking children from their parents at the border. But you know who else is permanently separated from their families? People killed in mass shootings (enabled by the NRA), peopled killed by domestic violence, the families of the children killed in Yemen... I could go on... I don't know why they'd want to go there.
posted by maggiemaggie at 9:07 AM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by maggiemaggie at 9:07 AM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Today I was wondering to myself if we’ll ever see another bastion of public integrity like Mueller again in my lifetime and it occurred to me that there are so many people that are working under him and learning from him. And that gives me just a little bit of hope about the next generation of public servants.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:13 AM on August 25, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:13 AM on August 25, 2018 [35 favorites]
I know they're trying to make it seem like this is worse than taking children from their parents at the border. But you know who else is permanently separated from their families? People killed in mass shootings (enabled by the NRA), peopled killed by domestic violence, the families of the children killed in Yemen... I could go on... I don't know why they'd want to go there.
They want to go there because they like abusing migrant children and want to keep committing crimes against humanity. Don't try and apply logic here: if they have any it's "we must disappear their children so that they don't disappear ours," and there's no arguing with that.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:17 AM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
They want to go there because they like abusing migrant children and want to keep committing crimes against humanity. Don't try and apply logic here: if they have any it's "we must disappear their children so that they don't disappear ours," and there's no arguing with that.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:17 AM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Anybody have info on Doug Doucey or insight into who he might replace McCain with?
Has he eaten the Trump brain worms?
I was looking at the list of potential appointees and they mostly seem like the usual generic chamber of commerce R imbeciles, with the exception of McCain's wife.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:33 AM on August 25, 2018
Has he eaten the Trump brain worms?
I was looking at the list of potential appointees and they mostly seem like the usual generic chamber of commerce R imbeciles, with the exception of McCain's wife.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:33 AM on August 25, 2018
It's increasingly clear that a lot of people love the rhetorical Mollie Tibbetts, who is a symbol of white female purity and vulnerability that needs to be protected by militant white patriarchy, but they really hate the actual Mollie Tibbetts, who was a feminist and a progressive who spoke out against racism. So people can claim that they need to "honor" Mollie Tibbetts by supporting policies that she despised, while at the same time responding to anguished Twitter posts by her friends by blaming her for her own murder in really hateful and graphic terms. They don't see that as a contradiction, because when they talk about avenging Mollie Tibbetts, they're not talking about the actual person at all.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:45 AM on August 25, 2018 [80 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:45 AM on August 25, 2018 [80 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted; Silent Sam stuff has its own thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:49 AM on August 25, 2018
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:49 AM on August 25, 2018
but they really hate the actual Mollie Tibbetts, who was a feminist and a progressive who spoke out against racism.
Absolutely. Were you to abuse yourself and take a gander at the comments of the innumerable "avenge the murder of our wonderful Mollie" threads, you won't get far before you get to the no great loss and the this is what she was fighting for and the she paid the price for promoting white genocide and the why was she allowed out alone in the first place, White Sharia Now. They hated her alive but love her dead, and not just because they can now exploit her name.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:55 AM on August 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
Absolutely. Were you to abuse yourself and take a gander at the comments of the innumerable "avenge the murder of our wonderful Mollie" threads, you won't get far before you get to the no great loss and the this is what she was fighting for and the she paid the price for promoting white genocide and the why was she allowed out alone in the first place, White Sharia Now. They hated her alive but love her dead, and not just because they can now exploit her name.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:55 AM on August 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
China, if you're listening: I hope you can find Donald Trump's tax returns: An excellent Bill Maher's New Rules from last night
posted by growabrain at 10:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 10:02 AM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
WP: A federal judge late Friday dealt a victory to federal employees and the unions that represent them, invalidating overnight key provisions of a series of Trump administration executive orders aimed at making it easier to fire employees and weaken the unions.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:09 AM on August 25, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:09 AM on August 25, 2018 [52 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 House:
** 2018 House:
-- VA-02: Virginian-Pilot investigation finds large number of fraudulent signatures on petitions for spoiler candidate backed by Taylor campaign. Update from special prosecutor still pending.** 2018 Senate:
-- Cook prediction for Dem gains: 20-40 seats, most likely 25-35. Dems need 23 seats for control.
-- NM: Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research poll finds incumbent Dem Heinrich up 44-33 over GOPer Rich, Libertarian Johnson taking 17[MOE: +/- 4.4%].** Odds & ends:
-- NV: PPP poll has Dem Rosen up 48-43 on GOP incumbent Heller [MOE: +/- 4.3%].
-- MS: Trump has endorsed appointed incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the special. She's the favorite, although it will very likely go to a runoff.
-- TX: Enten: Beto will lift Texas Dem fortunes, even if he loses.
-- Nebraska has certified that an initiative for Medicaid expansion will be on the ballot.posted by Chrysostom at 10:29 AM on August 25, 2018 [35 favorites]
-- Vox preview of the Florida gubernatorial race (primary is this Tuesday).
Nebraska has certified that an initiative for Medicaid expansion will be on the ballot.
Oh hell yes, we've been wanting to move to Omaha and the lack of Medicaid expansion is one of the hurdles in the way!
posted by jason_steakums at 10:56 AM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh hell yes, we've been wanting to move to Omaha and the lack of Medicaid expansion is one of the hurdles in the way!
posted by jason_steakums at 10:56 AM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Chrysostom thanks again for all of your election updates. I hope you somehow currently hold all local offices
Just...the republic of Chrysostom, I guess
posted by schadenfrau at 11:01 AM on August 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
Just...the republic of Chrysostom, I guess
posted by schadenfrau at 11:01 AM on August 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
while we're living it, there's no way to really tell what's a mortal wounding and what's an injury that makes his diseased tenure stronger, for the time being.
When more Congressional Republicans start turning on him, we'll know. I just wish I believed that Pence would be an improvement.
posted by wondermouse at 11:10 AM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
When more Congressional Republicans start turning on him, we'll know. I just wish I believed that Pence would be an improvement.
posted by wondermouse at 11:10 AM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I’m starting to come around to the idea of not pushing for impeachment, even assuming we take back the House.
First, I really don’t want Trump to be pardoned, and I believe Pence would pardon him. I know there are prosecutors working on separate, unpardonable state-level cases, but still.
Second, I don’t think Pence is less corrupt or horrible than Trump, and in fact he's more competent, and his agenda more complex and pestilent. What are the benefits of president Pence? Maybe: (a) He won't make underarm fart noises in front of Angela Merkel, (b) He's not likely to start a war in a fit of pique (though he may if he thinks God is telling him to), and (c) he wouldn't pervade our national consciousness the way Trump has. Otherwise I'm struggling to think of ways life would be materially better under President Pence.
Third, Trump is more damaging to the Republican brand than Pence would be, and more of a motivating force for the left. There's going to come a point when we as a country will collectively feel this chapter of our history is over, and if Trump is impeached in 2019 I'm worried people will start exhaling in relief the minute he's out of office, just as we're about to enter a new dark period of competent malevolence. On the other hand, if we can make it to 2020, Democrats can fill those two years with congressional investigations and subpoenas, Trump will have inflicted maximum damage to his party, and we'll be in a position to take both houses of congress and the presidency.
The pessimistic view of the alternative and (to me) most-likely timeline: Democrats take the house, and impeachment proceedings start. Either we can't make it happen, which is demoralizing, or if we do, Pence takes office and pardons Trump and his family with the idea the country needs to move on and heal. State prosecutions roll forward, but as with most white-collar prosecutions, amount to little more than fines. Meanwhile, apolitical and low-information swing voters have a sense that the Democrats won; Republicans will certainly be beating that drum. There's an economic downturn brewing and when it hits they'll say, "See? See what happens when you elect Democrats?"
There are risks to waiting – Trump could use that time to start a nuclear war or achieve an actual authoritarian regime, for example – but I remain hopeful that those are long shots.
And of course one compelling argument against the proposal of waiting is that we should always do what's right regardless of strategy, and the right thing is to get this incompetent Nazi out of office immediately or die trying. It's hard to argue with that; I just know I'll feel defeated if he gets a pardon. For me, “moving on and healing” will require a sense that justice has been done and that a fundamental blow has been dealt not just to Trump but to American fascism. I worry the country's focus will be lost when he's out of the picture. I can do two more years if it would help bring about a sea change.
In summary, I think Trump is a symbol of, rather than the cause of, the country's problems, and I worry that bringing the net down too soon will both remove focus and allow him to escape justice but also not slow down the destruction or offer relief to people currently being harmed in real ways by this administration.
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 11:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
First, I really don’t want Trump to be pardoned, and I believe Pence would pardon him. I know there are prosecutors working on separate, unpardonable state-level cases, but still.
Second, I don’t think Pence is less corrupt or horrible than Trump, and in fact he's more competent, and his agenda more complex and pestilent. What are the benefits of president Pence? Maybe: (a) He won't make underarm fart noises in front of Angela Merkel, (b) He's not likely to start a war in a fit of pique (though he may if he thinks God is telling him to), and (c) he wouldn't pervade our national consciousness the way Trump has. Otherwise I'm struggling to think of ways life would be materially better under President Pence.
Third, Trump is more damaging to the Republican brand than Pence would be, and more of a motivating force for the left. There's going to come a point when we as a country will collectively feel this chapter of our history is over, and if Trump is impeached in 2019 I'm worried people will start exhaling in relief the minute he's out of office, just as we're about to enter a new dark period of competent malevolence. On the other hand, if we can make it to 2020, Democrats can fill those two years with congressional investigations and subpoenas, Trump will have inflicted maximum damage to his party, and we'll be in a position to take both houses of congress and the presidency.
The pessimistic view of the alternative and (to me) most-likely timeline: Democrats take the house, and impeachment proceedings start. Either we can't make it happen, which is demoralizing, or if we do, Pence takes office and pardons Trump and his family with the idea the country needs to move on and heal. State prosecutions roll forward, but as with most white-collar prosecutions, amount to little more than fines. Meanwhile, apolitical and low-information swing voters have a sense that the Democrats won; Republicans will certainly be beating that drum. There's an economic downturn brewing and when it hits they'll say, "See? See what happens when you elect Democrats?"
There are risks to waiting – Trump could use that time to start a nuclear war or achieve an actual authoritarian regime, for example – but I remain hopeful that those are long shots.
And of course one compelling argument against the proposal of waiting is that we should always do what's right regardless of strategy, and the right thing is to get this incompetent Nazi out of office immediately or die trying. It's hard to argue with that; I just know I'll feel defeated if he gets a pardon. For me, “moving on and healing” will require a sense that justice has been done and that a fundamental blow has been dealt not just to Trump but to American fascism. I worry the country's focus will be lost when he's out of the picture. I can do two more years if it would help bring about a sea change.
In summary, I think Trump is a symbol of, rather than the cause of, the country's problems, and I worry that bringing the net down too soon will both remove focus and allow him to escape justice but also not slow down the destruction or offer relief to people currently being harmed in real ways by this administration.
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 11:40 AM on August 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Well, there's always the possibility that the Congressional Republicans know that their hacker allies (whether Russian or not) will protect them and turning against Trump would take them out of that protective umbrella. They've worked for the last decade and farther back to capture total control of the Federal Government 'by any means necessary' and they're not going to stop now. The one thing that would make them think twice would be if the polls turned against them so badly that their winning "legitimately" would require a major statistical anomaly and the hackers probably are smart enough to not want to make their work too obvious.
Even without the 'hacker factor', I don't see an abandonment of Trump before the election unless the polls turn more against them. But if they lose the House Majority (and especially if they lose the Senate), the rats will be fleeing the sinking ship and all bets are off...
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:41 AM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Even without the 'hacker factor', I don't see an abandonment of Trump before the election unless the polls turn more against them. But if they lose the House Majority (and especially if they lose the Senate), the rats will be fleeing the sinking ship and all bets are off...
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:41 AM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'd like to see some pushback on the idea the president can't be indicted. He's an unindicted co-conspirator in federal felonies. Are we supposed to just go, "So he's a crook. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"?
The usual argument against indicting the president is that he's too busy running the country. That's arguably untrue with the current incumbent, but we already have a suggestion for what to do if the president can't do his job.
The 25th Amendment says when "the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President." There's nothing in the amendment that says why he's unable to handle the job.
Even if the 25 Amendment was taken to only apply in medical situations, it pretty clearly establishes a procedure for what to do if the president can't do his job for a while, like the duration of a trial. (And besides, busy people get taken to court all the time.)
posted by kirkaracha at 11:44 AM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
The usual argument against indicting the president is that he's too busy running the country. That's arguably untrue with the current incumbent, but we already have a suggestion for what to do if the president can't do his job.
The 25th Amendment says when "the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President." There's nothing in the amendment that says why he's unable to handle the job.
Even if the 25 Amendment was taken to only apply in medical situations, it pretty clearly establishes a procedure for what to do if the president can't do his job for a while, like the duration of a trial. (And besides, busy people get taken to court all the time.)
posted by kirkaracha at 11:44 AM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Mod note: Folks, these very general "what if" predictions/fears about impeachment, when, if, etc, would Pence be better, will they allow elections, etc have all been gone over many many times in these threads. Let's please stick to actual events or updates, and if there isn't anything going on right this very second, just go check out other good stuff on the site instead.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:47 AM on August 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:47 AM on August 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
Here's something else, the Trump Perpetual Campaign is still spamming one of my email addresses daily, including frequent 'surveys' that I respond to in the most Anti-Trump way possible. (The last couple had a "What else should the President do?" question to which I responded "Resign and turn yourself in.") It has changed the way it addresses me from my first name to "True", short for "True American".
In the last week, I got the following emails...
Addressed from Donald himself, a repeat "please fill out this survey" for a survey I had already filled out.
from Donald, "Never in my life have I seen the Democrats this angry."
from Mike Pence, a promise to "Defend and Protect ICE"
from Donald, "ESPN has now decided it will no longer play the National Anthem before Monday Night Football." with a petition to sign that just says "TELL ESPN: PLAY AMERICA’S ANTHEM!"
from Newt Gingrich, the results of the previous survey that "Immigration" is the #1 Issue concerning his supporters, and another almost identical "issues" survey.
from Melania, a "please sign this Presidential Pledge of Support".
from Lara Trump, " “It felt like we weren’t in America anymore...” That’s what CNN said about being at a Trump rally in Florida…" leading to a "Media Accountability Survey".
Of course, all the surveys and petitions led to SEND MONEY pages.
I smell desperation and it smells good.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
In the last week, I got the following emails...
Addressed from Donald himself, a repeat "please fill out this survey" for a survey I had already filled out.
from Donald, "Never in my life have I seen the Democrats this angry."
from Mike Pence, a promise to "Defend and Protect ICE"
from Donald, "ESPN has now decided it will no longer play the National Anthem before Monday Night Football." with a petition to sign that just says "TELL ESPN: PLAY AMERICA’S ANTHEM!"
from Newt Gingrich, the results of the previous survey that "Immigration" is the #1 Issue concerning his supporters, and another almost identical "issues" survey.
from Melania, a "please sign this Presidential Pledge of Support".
from Lara Trump, " “It felt like we weren’t in America anymore...” That’s what CNN said about being at a Trump rally in Florida…" leading to a "Media Accountability Survey".
Of course, all the surveys and petitions led to SEND MONEY pages.
I smell desperation and it smells good.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
from Lara Trump, " “It felt like we weren’t in America anymore...” That’s what CNN said about being at a Trump rally in Florida…"I just love the faux-outrage over that statement, coming (as it does) from people who probably drag out "It felt like we weren't in America anymore" when the recorded greeting on the phone offers them the choice to press 2 for Spanish..
Hmmm.. two dystopian visions of America -- one where nativist crowds are whipped into a frenzy by an authoritarian con man and the other, where there is an extra option on the telephone voice menu system. How will we ever choose between them?
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:21 PM on August 25, 2018 [28 favorites]
One thing about the whole National Enquirer affair I'm not clear on: their specific motivation to suppress anti-Trump stories
From what I've read, catch-and-release is SOP for gossip columnists. The stories don't actually go away; they become leverage for the columnist to extract gossip about other people. That's how Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons operated: they had half of Hollywood under their thumbs. Not coincidentally, both Hopper and Parsons were notoriously right-wing.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:36 PM on August 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
From what I've read, catch-and-release is SOP for gossip columnists. The stories don't actually go away; they become leverage for the columnist to extract gossip about other people. That's how Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons operated: they had half of Hollywood under their thumbs. Not coincidentally, both Hopper and Parsons were notoriously right-wing.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:36 PM on August 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
I'd like to see some pushback on the idea the president can't be indicted. He's an unindicted co-conspirator in federal felonies. Are we supposed to just go, "So he's a crook. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"?
If this is what you're looking for, there's a legal analysis on indictment and prosecution on pages 151 to 160 in the Brookings Institution paper(big pdf) on Trump's obstruction of justice that I linked to here. In a nutshell:
Can the president be indicted?
If this is what you're looking for, there's a legal analysis on indictment and prosecution on pages 151 to 160 in the Brookings Institution paper(big pdf) on Trump's obstruction of justice that I linked to here. In a nutshell:
Can the president be indicted?
- The Constitution does not grant the president immunity from criminal prosecution, the framers did not discuss it, and no court has ruled one way or another
- OLC memoranda finding that a sitting president cannot be indicted acknowledge that there is no explicit support in the Constitution for the conclusion
- While OLC guidance treats them as interchangeable processes, the availability of impeachment does not foreclose the possibility of indictment
- OLC guidance is just guidance, courts would not be obliged to follow it if they found it contrary to the rule of law; they have overruled it in the past
- OLC guidance is considered to be binding on the executive branch, but may not be binding on Special Counsel Mueller for reasons
- Indeed, Special Prosecutor Jaworski (Watergate), Independent Counsel Walsh (Iran/Contra), and Independent Counsel Starr (Whitewater) did not view themselves to be bound by the OLC guidance
- Alternatively, DOJ regulations permit Mueller to ask Rosenstein for relief of OLC regulation in "extraordinary circumstances"
- Our constitutional co-equal branches of government require the judiciary to maintain jurisdiction over criminal actions against a sitting president
- The argument that criminal prosecution would incapacitate the executive branch is flawed as it would disregard "an equally powerful Constitutional interest: preserving the Article III jurisdiction of federal courts to resolve alleged violations of the criminal law by any person, regardless of station"
- The Supreme Court has held on several occasions that the unique powers enjoyed by the president justify special accommodation but not immunity from judicial process
- "there are plenty of ways that a court could make special accommodations: Trial could be scheduled (and rescheduled) to fit the president’s schedule; the execution of any sentence might, for instance, be delayed until the completion of the president’s term or subsequent removal from office"
- The enforcement of criminal law "is distinct from the question of whether that person will continue to hold the office to which he or she was elected", see Spiro Agnew
- The "disruption" of criminal charges should be assessed in relation to the disruption caused by (constitutionally valid) impeachment proceedings
- Resignation and the 25th Amendment are remedies for an incapacitated president
The only reason we even have to ask these questions because the GOP that controls the legislative branch isn't doing its job as a check on the executive.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
From what I've read, catch-and-release is SOP for gossip columnists
For an excellent example of how this works, check out Sweet Smell of Success, starring Burt Lancaster as the most evil sonofabitch who ever lived
Seriously it’s great and depressingly educational, and bears repeated viewings to catch all the really fucked up details
Aaaaaaand it’s how our dumb world still works
posted by schadenfrau at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
For an excellent example of how this works, check out Sweet Smell of Success, starring Burt Lancaster as the most evil sonofabitch who ever lived
Seriously it’s great and depressingly educational, and bears repeated viewings to catch all the really fucked up details
Aaaaaaand it’s how our dumb world still works
posted by schadenfrau at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
DHS Asks For 'Positive Gems' About War-Torn Countries To Justify Returning Immigrants
In court documents released this week, internal emails from the Department of Homeland Security show that federal officials tried to prove countries were becoming safer, even when that was not the case, in order to justify ending Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war or natural disasters. [...] The messages reveal that DHS asked staffers to find "positive gems" about war-torn countries to justify sending more than 300,000 people back to their homelands. The internal back-and-forths also demonstrate more subtle ways DHS sought to downplay the severity of conditions in volatile countries, like using the word "challenges," instead of "disasters" in talking points to the public.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
In court documents released this week, internal emails from the Department of Homeland Security show that federal officials tried to prove countries were becoming safer, even when that was not the case, in order to justify ending Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war or natural disasters. [...] The messages reveal that DHS asked staffers to find "positive gems" about war-torn countries to justify sending more than 300,000 people back to their homelands. The internal back-and-forths also demonstrate more subtle ways DHS sought to downplay the severity of conditions in volatile countries, like using the word "challenges," instead of "disasters" in talking points to the public.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
I'd like to return to this comment, made yesterday by odinsdream, because it's something I've been concerned about since the rumors were circulating about Mark Burnett concealing potentially disastrous outtake videos from The Apprentice:
One of the easiest ways to be disqualified from any sort of significant security clearance is to have hidden debts or personal behavior that would give a potential blackmailer a lever to influence a person -- long experience has taught our military and intelligence services that people who can be easily compromised are an unacceptable security risk.
The president is the highest elected official in the land and authority for the classification of materials derives from him; Trump is not going to be denied access to anything because of his vulnerability to blackmail. But are we even going to have any sort of general acknowledgement in the public discourse over how this is not just a problem of his private moral decisions or financial dealings but can be legitimately and clearly understood as a potential national security issue? Because it very much is one.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:32 PM on August 25, 2018 [67 favorites]
It's a shame the otherwise ridiculous point that the President was able to be blackmailed by the National Enquirer has been overshadowed, but totally understandable, given the timeline we find ourselves in.We now have pretty indisputable evidence that at least one wealthy US businessman bought and held compromising information about the American president and it has been suggested that he had a large collection of such material acquired at significant expense. And nobody has reasonable cause to believe that we know about all such compromising material; in fact the much safer bet is that there's other stuff out there.
One of the easiest ways to be disqualified from any sort of significant security clearance is to have hidden debts or personal behavior that would give a potential blackmailer a lever to influence a person -- long experience has taught our military and intelligence services that people who can be easily compromised are an unacceptable security risk.
The president is the highest elected official in the land and authority for the classification of materials derives from him; Trump is not going to be denied access to anything because of his vulnerability to blackmail. But are we even going to have any sort of general acknowledgement in the public discourse over how this is not just a problem of his private moral decisions or financial dealings but can be legitimately and clearly understood as a potential national security issue? Because it very much is one.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:32 PM on August 25, 2018 [67 favorites]
NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch: Democrats are “trying to Al Capone the president”
I guess we are but if Trump didn’t commit financial crimes it wouldn’t really be a problem, would it? I thought this mob were about law and order and we wanted criminals running free on the streets?
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 2:34 PM on August 25, 2018 [31 favorites]
I guess we are but if Trump didn’t commit financial crimes it wouldn’t really be a problem, would it? I thought this mob were about law and order and we wanted criminals running free on the streets?
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 2:34 PM on August 25, 2018 [31 favorites]
NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch: Democrats are “trying to Al Capone the president”
As with Capone, Loesch would prefer that Trump be prosecuted for the fraud and the money laundering and the extortion and the human trafficking and the murders.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:43 PM on August 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
As with Capone, Loesch would prefer that Trump be prosecuted for the fraud and the money laundering and the extortion and the human trafficking and the murders.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:43 PM on August 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
One thing about the whole National Enquirer affair I'm not clear on: their specific motivation to suppress anti-Trump stories
The publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, was a avid Trump supporter and wanted to help Trump. So he offered to catch and kill any negative stories about Trump and his relationships with women. That's the motivation -- to help get Trump elected.
Here is the prosecutor's narrative from the Cohen indictment:
In or about August 2015, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Corporation-1 [AIM/National Enquirer David Pecker], in coordination with Michael Cohen, the defendant, and one or more members of the campaign [?Donald? or ?Don Jr? perhaps], offered to help with negative stories about Individual-1's [Trump's] relationship with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided. [Pecker] agreed to keep Cohen apprised of such stories.
Consistent with the agreement described above Corporation-1 [AIM/National Enquirer] advised Michael Cohen, the defendant, of negative stories during the course of the campaign, and Cohen, with the assistance of Corporation-1 [AIM/National Enquirer], was able to arrange for the purchase of two stories so as to suppress them and prevent them from influencing the election.
Apparently this testimony came from David Pecker as a result of the immunity agreement. This testimony is important because it establishes that the motive for the hush money was to help the campaign, not just personal. That makes the payoffs an illegal, in-kind, campaign donation. It also establishes the conspiracy aspect that at least one representative of the Trump campaign was in on the plan, in advance, with Pecker and Cohen. It also provides a second witness corroborating Cohen's testimony.
We can only guess who the members of the campaign were, but you might expect future indictments. On the other hand, because the prosecutor is being coy, it might mean that the member of the campaign was Donald himself and they don't currently plan to indict a sitting president.
posted by JackFlash at 2:43 PM on August 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
The publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, was a avid Trump supporter and wanted to help Trump. So he offered to catch and kill any negative stories about Trump and his relationships with women. That's the motivation -- to help get Trump elected.
Here is the prosecutor's narrative from the Cohen indictment:
In or about August 2015, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Corporation-1 [AIM/National Enquirer David Pecker], in coordination with Michael Cohen, the defendant, and one or more members of the campaign [?Donald? or ?Don Jr? perhaps], offered to help with negative stories about Individual-1's [Trump's] relationship with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided. [Pecker] agreed to keep Cohen apprised of such stories.
Consistent with the agreement described above Corporation-1 [AIM/National Enquirer] advised Michael Cohen, the defendant, of negative stories during the course of the campaign, and Cohen, with the assistance of Corporation-1 [AIM/National Enquirer], was able to arrange for the purchase of two stories so as to suppress them and prevent them from influencing the election.
Apparently this testimony came from David Pecker as a result of the immunity agreement. This testimony is important because it establishes that the motive for the hush money was to help the campaign, not just personal. That makes the payoffs an illegal, in-kind, campaign donation. It also establishes the conspiracy aspect that at least one representative of the Trump campaign was in on the plan, in advance, with Pecker and Cohen. It also provides a second witness corroborating Cohen's testimony.
We can only guess who the members of the campaign were, but you might expect future indictments. On the other hand, because the prosecutor is being coy, it might mean that the member of the campaign was Donald himself and they don't currently plan to indict a sitting president.
posted by JackFlash at 2:43 PM on August 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Really good background on Pecker and his relationship with Trump in Jeffrey Toobin's 2017 New Yorker story.
posted by neroli at 2:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by neroli at 2:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch: Democrats are “trying to Al Capone the president”
How long until Trump posthumously pardons Al Capone because of prosecutorial abuse?
"I feel very badly forPaul Manafort Al Capone and his wonderful family. I have heard that he has been treated very unfairly."
posted by JackFlash at 2:55 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
How long until Trump posthumously pardons Al Capone because of prosecutorial abuse?
"I feel very badly for
posted by JackFlash at 2:55 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well one thing I didn't see coming in this year is the rehabilitation of Al Capone, although what beneficial things he supposedly represented I have no idea
posted by angrycat at 2:58 PM on August 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 2:58 PM on August 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
although what beneficial things he supposedly represented I have no idea
He sponsored soup kitchens, which is more than Republicans will do.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [35 favorites]
He sponsored soup kitchens, which is more than Republicans will do.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [35 favorites]
The freedom to die from drinking methanol fouled booze.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:00 PM on August 25, 2018
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:00 PM on August 25, 2018
Well, it's balanced out by their new-found condemnation of Joseph McCarthy.
posted by JackFlash at 3:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 3:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
How a Trump tariff is strangling American newspapers -- Nearly half of 272 newspaper publishers who responded to a recent survey said they had laid off staff as a direct result of newsprint price increases. (Paul Farhi for Washington Post, August 24, 2018)
Still, I wonder if the hit to newspapers is a happy coincidence, or part of someone's plan.
Speaking of plans: How the Trump Administration Is Remaking the Courts -- Thanks to ruthless discipline — and a plan long in the making — the G.O.P is carrying out a sweeping transformation of the federal judiciary. (New York Times Magazine feature, Aug. 22, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 3:08 PM on August 25, 2018 [25 favorites]
Print isn’t dead. But the soaring cost of newsprint is contributing to the slow death of America’s newspapers.Meanwhile, Recycling in the United States is in serious trouble. How does it work? (Rayne Ellis for Mashable, Aug. 18, 2018)
A months-long spike in the price of paper, driven by federal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canadian suppliers, is slamming newspapers at a time when the news about the news industry wasn’t very good to begin with.
Newspapers, magazines and print advertisers have seen the cost of their most basic commodity rise at double-digit rates since the Commerce Department began imposing the tariffs in March on Canadian imports, by far the publishing industry’s dominant paper source.
You probably have no idea how recycling works.I know newspapers require a certain quality of pulp, but it seems like there's some way to make the supply of recycled paper meet the demand for raw materials from the printing industry.
Most Americans — who recycle nearly 87 million tons of waste each year — likely think that the plastic and paper thrown into those special blue bins gets sorted by some nebulous government agency and automatically becomes an environmentally-friendly product.
But that's not how it works. Recycling, first and foremost, is a business.
When recycled goods get picked up by the state's waste management corporation, they are taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) where everything is separated and packaged up to be sent to another facility where it's processed depending on the material.
For example, paper is processed at a mill where it is turned into pulp to be repurposed.
But in order for the recyclable material to get to its proper sorting center, someone has to buy it first.
And that's where we have a problem.
...
First, since the United States has to rely on other countries to buy the recyclables, the value of the commodity is staggeringly low. Over the course of 2017, the value of mixed paper dropped from $75 per ton in January to $25 per ton in December.
Second, the U.S. has more supply than these countries are demanding.
“The material keeps coming in. It’s piling up and the value is diminishing,” Changaris said. “And recycling isn’t free.”
Still, I wonder if the hit to newspapers is a happy coincidence, or part of someone's plan.
Speaking of plans: How the Trump Administration Is Remaking the Courts -- Thanks to ruthless discipline — and a plan long in the making — the G.O.P is carrying out a sweeping transformation of the federal judiciary. (New York Times Magazine feature, Aug. 22, 2018)
As White House counsel, McGahn has exercised an unprecedented degree of control over judicial appointments. In previous White Houses, both Republican and Democrat, judicial nominations were typically crowdsourced among officials from different parts of the administration. Under George W. Bush, for instance, there was a judicial-selection committee made up of people from the offices of the White House counsel, political affairs and legislative affairs, as well as officials from the Justice Department. This tended to produce a leveling effect. “You killed nominees by committee,” says one Republican involved in judicial confirmations. Under Trump, the job belongs exclusively to the White House Counsel’s Office, with McGahn and his deputy, Robert Luther, and about 10 associate counsels identifying and then scrutinizing candidates. This process is unique in White House history. Instead of engaging in the typical legislative horse-trading for nominating judges — promising a senator, for instance, that the president will support the nomination of the lawyer who served as the senator’s campaign-finance chairman in exchange for a yes vote on the administration’s agriculture bill — the Trump White House has given the counsel’s office near-absolute authority. In a White House known for chaos and dysfunction, the counsel’s office, under McGahn, is generally viewed as an island of competence. “The White House is like a Dante’s ‘Inferno’-strange comedy,” says one leading conservative lawyer who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, “but the people in the counsel’s office are like the A-Team.” That many of the lawyers in the counsel’s office are also Federalist Society members — as elite Republican lawyers today often are — has given McGahn a handy rebuttal to the complaint that Trump has outsourced his judicial-selection process to the group. “Frankly,” McGahn has said, “it seems like it’s been insourced.”This is one of the strongest areas of continued focus from the Trump administration, as seen in the Wikipedia list of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:08 PM on August 25, 2018 [25 favorites]
Andrew O'Hehir @ Salon: Forget all the arcane theories about Russian collusion. It’s simpler than that: Donald Trump is a mobster
posted by growabrain at 3:47 PM on August 25, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 3:47 PM on August 25, 2018 [37 favorites]
I know newspapers require a certain quality of pulp, but it seems like there's some way to make the supply of recycled paper meet the demand for raw materials from the printing industry.
The major cost isn’t the feedstock, it’s the energy and the capital for the facilities that can turn paper into usable pulp. Virgin pulp is extremely cost managed with long managed forests supplying the majority of the pulp cheaply.
It just costs more to recycle paper than to make it new.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:50 PM on August 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
The major cost isn’t the feedstock, it’s the energy and the capital for the facilities that can turn paper into usable pulp. Virgin pulp is extremely cost managed with long managed forests supplying the majority of the pulp cheaply.
It just costs more to recycle paper than to make it new.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 3:50 PM on August 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
It’s probably best to understand Pecker less as publisher and more as an information broker—one who saw the obvious value in having leverage over a Republican nominee and was in a position to continue to capitalize on that, given his years long broker relationship with Trump.
Trump was a source before he was the Republican nominee, too. Brokers don’t do favors for nothing.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:56 PM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Trump was a source before he was the Republican nominee, too. Brokers don’t do favors for nothing.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:56 PM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
I guess we are but if Trump didn’t commit financial crimes it wouldn’t really be a problem, would it? I thought this mob were about law and order and we wanted criminals running free on the streets?
Living in Chicago and enjoying its crazy assed history I follow a few facebook groups about the Chicago Mob and the Chicago Outfit. I'd say the members are about 75% history fans and about 25% outright mob lovers who wish they would come back and start gunning people down in the streets. Coincidentally, I am sure, the mob lovers are almost all racist as hell and generally have their own pages full of Trumpist memes.
posted by srboisvert at 4:05 PM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Living in Chicago and enjoying its crazy assed history I follow a few facebook groups about the Chicago Mob and the Chicago Outfit. I'd say the members are about 75% history fans and about 25% outright mob lovers who wish they would come back and start gunning people down in the streets. Coincidentally, I am sure, the mob lovers are almost all racist as hell and generally have their own pages full of Trumpist memes.
posted by srboisvert at 4:05 PM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
I would like to see them referred to in the media as The Trump Crime Family
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:12 PM on August 25, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:12 PM on August 25, 2018 [30 favorites]
Well, it's balanced out by their new-found condemnation of Joseph McCarthy.
Their new take on communism: "We're ok on the authoritarianism, but we're not ok with the government providing services like health care and stuff."
posted by sebastienbailard at 4:28 PM on August 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
Their new take on communism: "We're ok on the authoritarianism, but we're not ok with the government providing services like health care and stuff."
posted by sebastienbailard at 4:28 PM on August 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
Trump was a source before he was the Republican nominee, too. Brokers don’t do favors for nothing.
Trump travelled in high society & would have heard many rumors over the years but he also had access to the secrets of guests at his hotels as he listened in on their calls & rooms through the phone system. That's a source any gossip rag owner would dearly love to have under his thumb.
posted by scalefree at 4:36 PM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Trump travelled in high society & would have heard many rumors over the years but he also had access to the secrets of guests at his hotels as he listened in on their calls & rooms through the phone system. That's a source any gossip rag owner would dearly love to have under his thumb.
posted by scalefree at 4:36 PM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
For more on the National Enquirer, read this great piece from Popbitch last year that goes back to the founding of American Media Inc., its mob connections and, of course, Roy Cohn. (FPP on it here)
posted by triggerfinger at 4:41 PM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by triggerfinger at 4:41 PM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Capitalism fucking ruins everything. Why people would just default to thinking recycling is supposed to be profitable is ridiculous. We should be reducing carbon footprints in any goddamn way possible, damn the costs.
A lot of the time it is. Recycling aluminium for instance is a ridiculously profitable industry because of the obscenely low energy required to make new ingots. Your average aluminium beverage can is about 70% recycled aluminium, more recycled content by percent than any other packaging container. You also don't have to do any fancy processing like deinking or bleaching or any of that shit. You just heat to 600C and obliterate everything else in the can.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:14 PM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
A lot of the time it is. Recycling aluminium for instance is a ridiculously profitable industry because of the obscenely low energy required to make new ingots. Your average aluminium beverage can is about 70% recycled aluminium, more recycled content by percent than any other packaging container. You also don't have to do any fancy processing like deinking or bleaching or any of that shit. You just heat to 600C and obliterate everything else in the can.
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:14 PM on August 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
I have never agreed with McCain once
We have fought on like seventy-five diff’rent fronts
But when all is said and all is done
McCain had beliefs. Trump has none
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:23 PM on August 25, 2018 [42 favorites]
We have fought on like seventy-five diff’rent fronts
But when all is said and all is done
McCain had beliefs. Trump has none
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 5:23 PM on August 25, 2018 [42 favorites]
Eh, he traded away all his beliefs when he chose Palin.
posted by rikschell at 5:24 PM on August 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 5:24 PM on August 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
.
May he continue to torment Trump from above/below
posted by localhuman at 5:25 PM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
May he continue to torment Trump from above/below
posted by localhuman at 5:25 PM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Before making fun of John McCain, remember that he was a true American. He put his life on the line for an imperialist war, then came back and spent his entire career serving the interests of the rich.
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:41 PM on August 25, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:41 PM on August 25, 2018 [64 favorites]
While I disagreed with him on most things, McCain seemed like a somewhat decent human being to me, so a full dot:
.
(I'm curious about what the Trump tweets are going to be)
posted by Dumsnill at 5:42 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
.
(I'm curious about what the Trump tweets are going to be)
posted by Dumsnill at 5:42 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
.
I'm crying. I voted against him and I'm crying right now.
posted by vrakatar at 5:43 PM on August 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm crying. I voted against him and I'm crying right now.
posted by vrakatar at 5:43 PM on August 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
So it appears that two of the people responsible for impeaching the West Virginia Supreme Court are now on it:
Gov. Jim Justice appointed West Virginia House Speaker Tim Armstead and Congressman Evan Jenkins to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. [...]posted by ragtag at 5:44 PM on August 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
Armstead will hold the seat former Justice Menis Ketchum left at the end of July. He announced his retirement one day before the House Judiciary Committee began an investigation into the possible impeachment of justices on the state Supreme Court. That term expires in 2020.
Jenkins will hold the seat recently vacated by former Justice Robin Davis, who announced her retirement one day after being named in four of 11 articles of impeachment adopted by the House of Delegates. That term expires in 2024. [...]
The remaining three justices—Chief Justice Margaret Workman, Justice Beth Walker and suspended Justice Allen Loughry—were also impeached by the House of Delegates for their roles in the court scandal. They await trial in the state Senate. In addition, Loughry has pleaded not guilty to 25 counts of federal charges, including fraud, witness tampering, making false statements and obstruction.
McCain was the only Republican I lied to my conservative family members about, saying I would consider voting for him, way back before he went full wingnut. It's like the end of a weird era for me.
I'll honor him by being very concerned, then keep doing what I was going to do anyway. It's what he'd want.
.
posted by mrgoat at 5:45 PM on August 25, 2018 [97 favorites]
I'll honor him by being very concerned, then keep doing what I was going to do anyway. It's what he'd want.
.
posted by mrgoat at 5:45 PM on August 25, 2018 [97 favorites]
McCain is unconcerned.
posted by JackFlash at 5:46 PM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 5:46 PM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Here is Presidente Vicente Fox with some helpful Spanish phrases if you want to visit Mexico before Trump "builds that fucken wall"
posted by growabrain at 5:47 PM on August 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 5:47 PM on August 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
However you feel about John McCain personally, you have to acknowledge that this is a deeply sad moment for his family, and also that watching Donald Trump struggle to say nice things about him is going to be hilarious
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:48 PM on August 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:48 PM on August 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
Buried in this Forbes piece about McCain is this gem:
"McCain has asked two of his onetime political rivals, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to deliver his eulogy. Trump will not be invited."
posted by Surely This at 5:51 PM on August 25, 2018 [84 favorites]
"McCain has asked two of his onetime political rivals, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to deliver his eulogy. Trump will not be invited."
posted by Surely This at 5:51 PM on August 25, 2018 [84 favorites]
Has Dear Leader tweeted any condolences for McCain? Even though he was forbidden to attend the funeral, I wouldn’t put it past the orange narcissist to crash it.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:52 PM on August 25, 2018
posted by Thorzdad at 5:52 PM on August 25, 2018
Somebody with Trump's password posted his condolences for him.
@realDonaldTrump My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!
posted by scalefree at 5:52 PM on August 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!
posted by scalefree at 5:52 PM on August 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
CNN reporting that McCain, before death, stipulated both that President Obama speak at his funeral and that Donald Trump be barred from attending. [real]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
Congratulations to whatever piece of garbage is rushed into his place without consulting the democratic process...
Arizona’s governor is required by law to choose a replacement who is of the same political party as McCain.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:59 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Arizona’s governor is required by law to choose a replacement who is of the same political party as McCain.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:59 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I’m fascinated by his request for Obama to deliver a eulogy.
posted by greermahoney at 6:01 PM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by greermahoney at 6:01 PM on August 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Anybody who bars Donald Trump from attending his or her funeral cannot be entirely bad. I'm not gonna whitewash his career just because he's dead but I do wish Republicans in Congress were more like McCain and less like Trump.
posted by Justinian at 6:01 PM on August 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 6:01 PM on August 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
He ran against George W., and he ran against Obama. And those are the guys he wants to speak at his funeral.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:02 PM on August 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:02 PM on August 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
McCain was the only Republican I've ever cast a vote for in my life; it was in the 2000 primary (my state had open primaries), and I did it out of disgust at the Bush campaign over their "McCain's black love child" thing in South Carolina (which makes the whole thing with inviting GWB to deliver a eulogy feel especially weird).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:03 PM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:03 PM on August 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
A quick interruption to the McCain discussion: Per the Guardian Democrats change superdelegate rules.
Under the new rules for 2020, superdelegates will still be automatic delegates to the convention. But they will not have a vote on the first presidential ballot if the convention remains contested, which is a distinct possibility given the number of Democrats considering running.
Superdelegates would get to vote on any subsequent rounds of voting, though the Democratic nomination has been settled on the first ballot of every convention since the 1970s, when the modern system of primaries and caucuses was established.
posted by Botanizer at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Under the new rules for 2020, superdelegates will still be automatic delegates to the convention. But they will not have a vote on the first presidential ballot if the convention remains contested, which is a distinct possibility given the number of Democrats considering running.
Superdelegates would get to vote on any subsequent rounds of voting, though the Democratic nomination has been settled on the first ballot of every convention since the 1970s, when the modern system of primaries and caucuses was established.
posted by Botanizer at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
(Not his biggest fan, but I think John McCain deserves a eulogy post.)
posted by box at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by box at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Say what you will about Senator McCain, but his thumbs down for the skinny repeal was one of the first times after the 2016 election that I thought that there might be some brakes on this runaway speeding train.
posted by Alison at 6:05 PM on August 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by Alison at 6:05 PM on August 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
Mod note: Folks, let’s get an obit up posthaste so it doesn’t overrun this thread. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:10 PM on August 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:10 PM on August 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Arizona’s governor is required by law to choose a replacement who is of the same political party as McCain.
He chose not to step down to achieve that.
posted by Artw at 6:19 PM on August 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
He chose not to step down to achieve that.
posted by Artw at 6:19 PM on August 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
He chose not to step down to achieve that.
He chose to not step down in May because doing so would have put his seat on the ballot in November. Hanging on like he did secured it as a Republican seat until 2020. Because fucking McCain had to have one last McCain moment on the way out.
Sorry. No dot.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:25 PM on August 25, 2018 [67 favorites]
He chose to not step down in May because doing so would have put his seat on the ballot in November. Hanging on like he did secured it as a Republican seat until 2020. Because fucking McCain had to have one last McCain moment on the way out.
Sorry. No dot.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:25 PM on August 25, 2018 [67 favorites]
Walter Shaub:
Jennifer Rodgers:
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Here's an insightful analysis of SDNY's grant of immunity to Weisselberg from someone who was a SDNY prosecutor. Jennifer Rodgers is now Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School.
Can you tell us more about your real-world experiences with immunity? If they used him only for campaign violations now, might the immunity be contingent on helping with other things later? Or might this immunity have been crafted narrowly so there's more to trade for help later?
Jennifer Rodgers:
Yes @waltshaub, happy to! Immunity is fairly common in grand jury investigations (almost all investigations conducted by the US Atty are GJ investigations, the GJ is where the power to subpoena and take testimony under oath come in). Immunity is tied to the specific testimony at issue. Here, SDNY was investigating the Cohen/AMI payments as campaign finance violations and learned that Cohen was paid for “legal services” that was actually a reimbursement for the Stormy payoff, so they subpoenaed the Trump Org/Weisselberg, presumably for both documents and testimony about this.(Emphasis mine)
What happened next is Weisselberg’s atty would have called SDNY to discuss and would have said W would invoke his 5th Am right because he could be incriminated by these docs/testimony. This is where prosecutors have a decision to make. Here the claim was legit because W oversaw payments that were part of the cover-up (not actual legal services payments) and depending on what W knew he could have exposure. So prosecutors can either do without W’s docs and testimony, or they can give him immunity.
This kind of immunity is called use immunity and it means that prosecutors can’t use the witness’s testimony or documents against him. But in theory they could still charge W if they procured other evidence against him. This is very rare though; once prosecutors decide to give someone immunity on their testimony it means practically that they’ve decided not to prosecute that person (and if they did charge the person they would almost surely have litigation where prosecutors would have to prove the charges were brought without using the immunized evidence).
The reporting has been, to the extent it’s accurate, that W was only asked about issues related to the payoffs. The subject of testimony would have been discussed in detail in advance with the lawyers because witnesses can’t have a lawyer with them in the GJ. So W’s involvement looks like it only relates at this point to the payoffs.
If SDNY decided to launch a broader investigation into the Trump Org (which, since they could do as they can investigate any federal crimes over which SDNY has jurisdiction), they could issue W another subpoena for info related to that, and they would no doubt have another immunity negotiation on their hands.
But W is not a cooperator in any sense of the word, and once he has immunity he has no choice but to comply with subpoena or risk contempt of court. So no reason to believe he has “flipped” at all. /end
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:00 PM on August 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
I like my war heroes to not have monstrous policy positions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:05 PM on August 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:05 PM on August 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
I've written an obituary for Senator McCain as a MeFi post.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 7:07 PM on August 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 7:07 PM on August 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
On a similar theme from Daniel Goldman (cleaned up) that gets into the use immunity distinction:
There has been a lot of confusion about what is going on in the Michael Cohen SDNY case and where it goes from. As a prosecutor in the SDNY for 10 years handling both organized fraud and white collar/securities fraud cases, this is my best guess as to where we are now.posted by zachlipton at 7:08 PM on August 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
Cohen pled guilty to a straight plea agreement, not a cooperation agreement. And, even though Cohen seems desperate to cooperate, it sounds like he did not meet with the SDNY to explore cooperation before his plea. I see two potential reasons why that happened:
1) the SDNY wanted to charge him before considering cooperation, perhaps in part bc Cohen said earlier he wanted to evaluate the charges against him before deciding on coop or perhaps to charge him before the election moratorium, and then begin the lengthy cooperation process.
2) the SDNY is not interested in his cooperation. Most likely they would have received an attorney proffer from Cohen’s lawyer - a preview of what Cohen would say - and there are several reasons why they would not be interested, including: A) they don’t believe Cohen has significant information that they don’t already have from the documents and recordings hey seized from him; B) they don’t believe he is telling the truth: C) his past lies, threats to others, and propensity for publicity have turned them off.
That does not preclude Mueller from meeting with him if he has info about the Russia-Trump investigation (which is separate from SDNY). But WaPo has reported Mueller is not interested in Cohen, and I believe that meeting would have happened before Cohen was charged/plead guilty. If it is true that Mueller is not interested in Cohen, and Cohen has info about the Trump Tower meeting, campaign knowledge of Russia hacking, and perhaps more, that is a sign that Mueller has WAY more evidence than we even imagined.
Another reason why SDNY may not be interested in Cohen is that they may get as much or more evidence from David Pecker, Dylan Howard, and Allen Weisselberg, all of whom were granted immunity by the SDNY. Immunized witnesses are better for prosecutors than coop witnesses because they have not pled guilty to crimes and do not have an agreement with the govt (immunity is ultimately authorized by the court). If reports are correct that SDNY granted immunity to those three witnesses, it almost certainly is use (or testimonial) immunity.
Use immunity is granted by the govt when someone asserts his/her 5th Am right in response to a subpoena to testify (in this case GJ). This is also called compelling a witness to testify. It is NOT cooperation. Cooperation is when an individual meets with the govt and volunteers everything s/he knows about their own criminal conduct or that of others. It can result in a non-prosecution agmt where govt agrees not to prosecute in return for cooperation or a cooperation agreement which requires a guilty plea.
Based on the reports, the three witnesses got use immunity and testified in the grand jury. The prosecutors would have been allowed to ask them any questions related to the grand jury’s investigation. We don’t know the limits of the investigation, just what Cohen pled guilty to.
If that is correct, the three witnesses are NOT cooperating and did not “flip.” They testified under oath because they had to, as our system requires. The allegations against the Trump Org in the Cohen case are enough to expand the invest into the Trump Org. SDNY is therefore likely looking into the Trump Org for other efforts to conceal payments or the like, and that invest would include bank records, emails, and other docs (SDNY reportedly subpoenaed Trump Org previously). As often happens, those documents could lead elsewhere.
So to recap: Cohen is not cooperating with the govt (yet), even tho that’s the only way to reduce his 4-yr sentence, the immunized witnesses also are not cooperating witnesses, and we may be just beginning the SDNY investigation. As my old boss @PreetBharara likes to say: stay tuned.
Here's a Vox piece from earlier today with speculation on who might be appointed to fill McCain's seat. Ducey has said he won't appoint himself.
For my money, I would suspect Cindy McCain.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:22 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
For my money, I would suspect Cindy McCain.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:22 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would bet on Cindy McCain as well. She makes too much sense for it to be someone else.
posted by Justinian at 7:27 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:27 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hm, I was thinking Meghan.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:27 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:27 PM on August 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Joe Arpaio has time on his hands these days.
posted by delfin at 7:28 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by delfin at 7:28 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, until Tuesday, Arpaio is running for the GOP nomination for the Flake Senate seat. So, I imagine he's semi-busy.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:32 PM on August 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:32 PM on August 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Per the Guardian Democrats change superdelegate rules.
A reform that went along with this is that state party caucuses will now be required to accept absentee ballots, which (since it kind of defeats much of the point of a caucus, not quite sure how this works) is expected to accelerate the more away from caucuses to primaries.
It's about time.
posted by zachlipton at 8:04 PM on August 25, 2018 [25 favorites]
A reform that went along with this is that state party caucuses will now be required to accept absentee ballots, which (since it kind of defeats much of the point of a caucus, not quite sure how this works) is expected to accelerate the more away from caucuses to primaries.
It's about time.
posted by zachlipton at 8:04 PM on August 25, 2018 [25 favorites]
Well, until Tuesday, Arpaio is running for the GOP nomination for the Flake Senate seat. So, I imagine he's semi-busy.
Not even semi-busy. I’ve heard no radio ads and seen no tv commercials. In contrast, GOP candidates McSally, Ward, and Sinema have had commercials on multiple stations at multiple channels, every night. No speaking engagements for Arpaio either, that I know of.
I’ve also seen multiple large street corner campaign signs for the latter three, but only one street sign for Arpaio. It’s posted on Thunderbird Road, to be seen by people turning off of Coral Gables Dr., the main entrance/exit road to the wealthy Moon Valley neighborhood.
Basically, it looks like Arpaio is running a minimalist “campaign” as a grift to get donations from a handful of sympathetic, wealthy white folks. I suspect it’s to help pay off his legal bills from his criminal contempt conviction last year, because when he loses the race — and he will — he can shift any campaign funds to that purpose.
posted by darkstar at 8:27 PM on August 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
Not even semi-busy. I’ve heard no radio ads and seen no tv commercials. In contrast, GOP candidates McSally, Ward, and Sinema have had commercials on multiple stations at multiple channels, every night. No speaking engagements for Arpaio either, that I know of.
I’ve also seen multiple large street corner campaign signs for the latter three, but only one street sign for Arpaio. It’s posted on Thunderbird Road, to be seen by people turning off of Coral Gables Dr., the main entrance/exit road to the wealthy Moon Valley neighborhood.
Basically, it looks like Arpaio is running a minimalist “campaign” as a grift to get donations from a handful of sympathetic, wealthy white folks. I suspect it’s to help pay off his legal bills from his criminal contempt conviction last year, because when he loses the race — and he will — he can shift any campaign funds to that purpose.
posted by darkstar at 8:27 PM on August 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
Do we have any sense of what Cindy McCain's politics might be? My fantasy is that she burns with anger at Trump (& Mitch McConnell) for all the disrespect toward her husband, will say the right things until appointed, and then blow up Kavanaugh and caucus with Dems.
posted by msalt at 8:54 PM on August 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by msalt at 8:54 PM on August 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
MeFi's own Paul Ford gets philosophical:
posted by zachlipton at 8:58 PM on August 25, 2018 [52 favorites]
There's a video on here where it shows a very somber news farewell to John McCain, then cuts back to the regularly scheduled programming, which is two obese men in dolphin masks engaging in erotic dolphin foreplay, and I just want to say: That's MY America.If you're looking for a moment of surrealism this Saturday night, the clip is worth watching.
“We now return to our regularly scheduled programming” is the single phrase you need to understand to understand America. They should just make them the 28th amendment.
It's sort of a wonderful eulogy every time. “We have shown you all the suffering. The girls are back at their house, the astronauts are buried, and the president is out of the hospital. Now it's time for Doritos and Knight Rider and commercials for Prell.”
posted by zachlipton at 8:58 PM on August 25, 2018 [52 favorites]
Argh. Of course I meant “GOP candidates McSally and Ward, and Dem candidate Sinema...”
posted by darkstar at 9:19 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by darkstar at 9:19 PM on August 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've seen a few Arpaio street signs around Tempe and Mesa, but every one I've seen has been spray painted with "GUILTY" in large black letters.
It's kind of satisfying.
posted by nat at 9:39 PM on August 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
It's kind of satisfying.
posted by nat at 9:39 PM on August 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
Arizona Republic, Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward suggests John McCain statement on ending treatment timed to hurt her campaign
Ward wrote on Facebook that "I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that they hope is negative to me."posted by zachlipton at 9:43 PM on August 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Her comment was made under a Facebook post by one of her campaign staffers, who questioned if it was "just a coincidence" that the McCain family released the statement the same day that Ward was kicking off her campaign bus tour, "or if it was a plan to take media attention off her campaign?"
"I'm not saying it was on purpose but it's quite interesting," Jonathan Williams wrote.
Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward suggests John McCain statement on ending treatment timed to hurt her campaign
The entire GOP has a Cluster B personality disorder.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [71 favorites]
The entire GOP has a Cluster B personality disorder.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:53 PM on August 25, 2018 [71 favorites]
If she thinks the treatment announcement was aimed to tank her campaign, wait until she finds out he just died.
posted by Autumnheart at 10:02 PM on August 25, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 10:02 PM on August 25, 2018 [40 favorites]
Basically, it looks like Arpaio is running a minimalist “campaign” as a grift to get donations from a handful of sympathetic, wealthy white folks.
Sometimes one runs a vanity campaign designed to grift America and come in second while fluffing one's own ego... and ends up President.
posted by delfin at 4:36 AM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
Sometimes one runs a vanity campaign designed to grift America and come in second while fluffing one's own ego... and ends up President.
posted by delfin at 4:36 AM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
As for Kelli Ward, she's the kind of person good people would cross the street to avoid, and for whom I'd cross the street to shit on the sidewalk in a place I know she'd be forced to walk.
posted by delfin at 4:44 AM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by delfin at 4:44 AM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
If John McCain held on to the seat clearly past the point where he was able to serve just to hand down his seat to his daughter, with all the attendant incumbent privilege, that is...while a funny fuck you to Trump, it is not what happens in a functioning representative democracy.
posted by schadenfrau at 5:40 AM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by schadenfrau at 5:40 AM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
Yeah. I was pretty disturbed when I realized his seat would be filled by appointment and not by a special election. What the heck, America? Whose idea was that.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 5:48 AM on August 26, 2018
posted by mrjohnmuller at 5:48 AM on August 26, 2018
Report: Trump to Demand Recognized Palestinian Refugees Be Capped at Tenth of Current Number According to the Israel Television News Company, Trump administration will also announce freezing funding to UNRWA in the West Bank and asking Israel to limit its activities
The Trump administration is about to announce a change in policy regarding the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN agency responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees and their descendants in the Middle East, according to a report on Saturday in the Israel Television News Company, formerly known as Channel 2 News.posted by scalefree at 6:10 AM on August 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
According to the News Company, a report that is set to be published by the administration at the beginning of September will cap the number of Palestinian refugees at half a million - about a tenth of the UN's number.
The News Company reported that the administration is expected to announce that it will not accept UNRWA's definition of a Palestinian refugee, which states that refugee status is passed from one generation to the next. In addition, the report said that the U.S. intends to freeze funding for the organization in the West Bank and to ask Israel to consider limiting its activities. The U.S. is the largest donor to UNRWA, and last year transferred more than 360 million dollars to the organization.
Senior American government officials have recently visited UNRWA several times. A senior Trump administration official told Haaretz this month that "UNRWA’s mandate has perpetuated and exacerbated the refugee crisis and must be changed." The senior official also said that only a change in the organization's mandate would allow the Palestinians to "reach their full potential."
There will be a special election for McCain’s seat, but it’ll be in 2020 instead of 2018. The appointment is for between now and then, and apparently hasn’t ever happened in Arizona before. The term ends in 2022, so whoever wins that special will have to run again in 2 years anyway.
It’s late August. Election is in early November. I guess they didn’t want to try to run 2 rounds of campaign + election in half a year. I don’t know if they run any elections at all in odd years.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:18 AM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
It’s late August. Election is in early November. I guess they didn’t want to try to run 2 rounds of campaign + election in half a year. I don’t know if they run any elections at all in odd years.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:18 AM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
This UNRWA thing is predicated on the belief that by continuing to support the refugees, they are preventing Israel's arab neighbors from absorbing the refugee population.
Which makes sense only if the long term strategy is waiting it out and letting attrition do the work. There won't be a palestinian problem if there are no palestinians. I leave the similarities to various totalitarian regimes ethnic cleansing schemes as an exercise to the reader.
I need to step away now.
posted by mikelieman at 6:22 AM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Which makes sense only if the long term strategy is waiting it out and letting attrition do the work. There won't be a palestinian problem if there are no palestinians. I leave the similarities to various totalitarian regimes ethnic cleansing schemes as an exercise to the reader.
I need to step away now.
posted by mikelieman at 6:22 AM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
My social media feed is full of Republican politicians (we have a bunch in Georgia) expressing their sadness at McCain's death and condolences to his family, followed by dozens of comments saying McCain bombed and killed a bunch of fellow soldiers, "sang like a songbird" to the Vietcong, and betrayed his country when he voted against the ACA repeal. Oh and a few saying he was a pedophile. It's pretty fucking terrifying. Is this a bunch of troll accounts, or is this just what Fox News/Breitbart/RT/QAnon have wrought?
posted by hydropsyche at 6:23 AM on August 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 6:23 AM on August 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
Is this a bunch of troll accounts, or is this just what Fox News/Breitbart/RT/QAnon have wrought?
One of the most popular Trumpettes on Twitter last year. This is the GOP now.
Bill Mitchell
The more I see of John McCain the more I believe he was the songbird in Vietnam and sold out his friends. He does that now every day.
posted by chris24 at 6:48 AM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
One of the most popular Trumpettes on Twitter last year. This is the GOP now.
Bill Mitchell
The more I see of John McCain the more I believe he was the songbird in Vietnam and sold out his friends. He does that now every day.
posted by chris24 at 6:48 AM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
I thought MCain was kind of tragic. Incapable, when it really came down to it, of being the principled man he wanted to be. He did refuse to leave his camp without his fellow servicemen though. McCain doesn't deserve to be painted as some kind of turncoat. Ironically, that kind of politics is straight from the Palin playbook his campaign introduced.
posted by xammerboy at 7:16 AM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 7:16 AM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Is this a bunch of troll accounts, or is this just what Fox News/Breitbart/RT/QAnon have wrought?
The latter. Thanksgiving dinner, my sister was discussing her work with veterans and PTSD. We're having a good, sober conversation about the emotional and psychological struggles of vets, and my very-MAGA mother says, "You should tell them they should feel good that at least they're not John McCain, who betrayed and murdered his fellow soldiers and still has the nerve to think he's a patriot." The rest of us moved the conversation away, though I'm sure she had lots more to say on the subject. (It's not just McCain, granted, though she detests him very much and I'm glad I don't have to be around her in the aftermath of his death. But there's very little that doesn't trigger her into ranting on her favorite topic: how "disgusting" liberals/Democrats/feminists/the Parkland students/the mainstream media/RINOs/etc. are. But this incident was egregious and she seemed to remain oblivious that what she dropped was not the righteous truth bomb she assumed it was.)
posted by mixedmetaphors at 7:16 AM on August 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
The latter. Thanksgiving dinner, my sister was discussing her work with veterans and PTSD. We're having a good, sober conversation about the emotional and psychological struggles of vets, and my very-MAGA mother says, "You should tell them they should feel good that at least they're not John McCain, who betrayed and murdered his fellow soldiers and still has the nerve to think he's a patriot." The rest of us moved the conversation away, though I'm sure she had lots more to say on the subject. (It's not just McCain, granted, though she detests him very much and I'm glad I don't have to be around her in the aftermath of his death. But there's very little that doesn't trigger her into ranting on her favorite topic: how "disgusting" liberals/Democrats/feminists/the Parkland students/the mainstream media/RINOs/etc. are. But this incident was egregious and she seemed to remain oblivious that what she dropped was not the righteous truth bomb she assumed it was.)
posted by mixedmetaphors at 7:16 AM on August 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
Is this a bunch of troll accounts, or is this just what Fox News/Breitbart/RT/QAnon have wrought?
Oh, it's all of 'em. He was definitely more hated by the GOP these last few years than he was by the center-to-center-left. It's an interesting demonstration of the difference between the basic psychologies of the right and the left, in that both the hard right and actual left mostly hated him in their own distinct ways:
Left hate: he supported harmful policies.
Right hate: he was a snitch and a demonic pedophile and his daughter is black.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:20 AM on August 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
Oh, it's all of 'em. He was definitely more hated by the GOP these last few years than he was by the center-to-center-left. It's an interesting demonstration of the difference between the basic psychologies of the right and the left, in that both the hard right and actual left mostly hated him in their own distinct ways:
Left hate: he supported harmful policies.
Right hate: he was a snitch and a demonic pedophile and his daughter is black.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:20 AM on August 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
NBC/WSJ poll: Trump approval 'remarkably stable' after a stormy week of bad news.
Because nothing matters.
posted by Justinian at 7:25 AM on August 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
Because nothing matters.
posted by Justinian at 7:25 AM on August 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
NBC/WSJ poll: Trump approval 'remarkably stable' after a stormy week of bad news.
Because nothing matters.
I see where you're coming from but, like, who's actually swayed by this anymore? I can't say my opinion of the man has changed in the last week, nor the opinions of any of my family and friends. It's pretty baked in at this point, including "the Russia stuff" and "the corruption stuff." Also you have to acknowledge that the Manafort verdict and the Cohen plea were a bit abstract and technical to the casual news watcher, it wasn't shocking new direct audio/visual evidence that Trump did X bad thing we never suspected before.
All that's to be done now is pump up D turnout in November. I don't think we can count on his base support to crumble for any reason.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 7:52 AM on August 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
Because nothing matters.
I see where you're coming from but, like, who's actually swayed by this anymore? I can't say my opinion of the man has changed in the last week, nor the opinions of any of my family and friends. It's pretty baked in at this point, including "the Russia stuff" and "the corruption stuff." Also you have to acknowledge that the Manafort verdict and the Cohen plea were a bit abstract and technical to the casual news watcher, it wasn't shocking new direct audio/visual evidence that Trump did X bad thing we never suspected before.
All that's to be done now is pump up D turnout in November. I don't think we can count on his base support to crumble for any reason.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 7:52 AM on August 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
I don't think we can count on his base support to crumble for any reason.
Yup. So we need to start figuring out what a civil society with 40% actual fascists looks like. Or...the other thing.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:58 AM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
Yup. So we need to start figuring out what a civil society with 40% actual fascists looks like. Or...the other thing.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:58 AM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
Also you have to acknowledge that the Manafort verdict and the Cohen plea were a bit abstract and technical to the casual news watcher
I guess, but c'mon... everybody around the President is going to jail. You don't have to be a news junky to notice that basically everybody involved is a criminal and the President is fine with that. 🤷
I had thought Trump's floor was probably in the mid 30s but now it seems clear it is in the low 40s.
posted by Justinian at 7:58 AM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
I guess, but c'mon... everybody around the President is going to jail. You don't have to be a news junky to notice that basically everybody involved is a criminal and the President is fine with that. 🤷
I had thought Trump's floor was probably in the mid 30s but now it seems clear it is in the low 40s.
posted by Justinian at 7:58 AM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
But there's very little that doesn't trigger her into ranting on her favorite topic: how "disgusting" liberals/Democrats/feminists/the Parkland students/the mainstream media/RINOs/etc. are.
Disgust is powerful.
Consider this paper. by Valerie Curtis, "Why disgust matters"
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011 Dec 12; 366(1583): 3478–3490.
Disgust is powerful.
Consider this paper. by Valerie Curtis, "Why disgust matters"
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011 Dec 12; 366(1583): 3478–3490.
Abstractposted by mikelieman at 7:59 AM on August 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
The new synthesis about disgust is that it is a system that evolved to motivate infectious disease avoidance. There are vital practical and intellectual reasons why we need to understand disgust better. Practically, disgust can be harnessed to combat the behavioural causes of infectious and chronic disease such as diarrhoeal disease, pandemic flu and smoking.
Disgust is also a source of much human suffering; it plays an underappreciated role in anxieties and phobias such as obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia and post-traumatic stress syndromes; it is a hidden cost of many occupations such as caring for the sick and dealing with wastes, and self-directed disgust afflicts the lives of many, such as the obese and fistula patients.
Disgust is used and abused in society, being both a force for social cohesion and a cause of prejudice and stigmatization of out-groups. [emphasis mine - mikelieman]
This paper argues that a better understanding of disgust, using the new synthesis, offers practical lessons that can enhance human flourishing. Disgust also provides a model system for the study of emotion, one of the most important issues facing the brain and behavioural sciences today.
Keywords: disgust, obsessive compulsive disorder, disease, behaviour, evolution
Look, all of this would be sorted out by the Galactic Empire if it were not for that Galactic Executive Order to not interfere in the politics of developing worlds.
posted by angrycat at 8:00 AM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by angrycat at 8:00 AM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Look, all of this would be sorted out by the Galactic Empire if it were not for that Galactic Executive Order to not interfere in the politics of developing worlds.
Counterpoint: The Culture -- without a non-interference policy -- decided to use us as a control case of what non-interference can do. In other words, Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism is our own responsibility.
posted by mikelieman at 8:04 AM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Counterpoint: The Culture -- without a non-interference policy -- decided to use us as a control case of what non-interference can do. In other words, Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism is our own responsibility.
posted by mikelieman at 8:04 AM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Disgust is used and abused in society, being both a force for social cohesion and a cause of prejudice and stigmatization of out-groups.
Heightened disgust is also directly correlated with conservatism and authoritarianism. An excessive focus on things being disgusting or infected or impure (see the different ideas of "corrupt") or unclean is a pretty good predictor/indicator of fascism.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:06 AM on August 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
Heightened disgust is also directly correlated with conservatism and authoritarianism. An excessive focus on things being disgusting or infected or impure (see the different ideas of "corrupt") or unclean is a pretty good predictor/indicator of fascism.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:06 AM on August 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
Ariel Edwards-Levy, HuffPo: "We Asked 1,000 People What Happened On Tuesday. Here’s What Some Of Them Said."
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of federal charges, and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to charges in a separate federal case. The week was one of the worst of Trump’s presidency, with questions about how much he was involved in illegal campaign finance schemes.posted by OnceUponATime at 8:22 AM on August 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
Here’s how some journalists described the news: “almost surreal,” “all-consuming” and “even by the dizzying standards of the Trump-fueled news cycle ... the most frenetic yet.”
And here’s how a 50-year-old California man saw it who said he spent a little under half an hour reading the paper and checking Facebook and Twitter: “Nothing special. Just a ho-hum day.”
Most Americans pay at least a little attention to current events, but they differ enormously in where they turn to get their news and which stories they pay attention to. To get a better sense of how a busy news cycle played out in homes across the country, we repeated an experiment, teaming up with YouGov to ask 1,000 people nationwide to describe their news consumption and respond to a simple prompt: “In your own words, please describe what you would say happened in the news on Tuesday.”
Tuesday? How many Scaramuccis ago was that?
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:41 AM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:41 AM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
North Korea accuses U.S. of plotting invasion while talking with ‘smile on its face’ (WaPo)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:03 AM on August 26, 2018
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:03 AM on August 26, 2018
schadenfrau: "If John McCain held on to the seat clearly past the point where he was able to serve just to hand down his seat to his daughter, with all the attendant incumbent privilege, that is...while a funny fuck you to Trump, it is not what happens in a functioning representative democracy."
Cindy McCain is McCain's wife, not his daughter (that's Meghan McCain). This is just armchair psychology, but I think McCain's refusal to resign was a mixture of stubbornness/refusal to admit he was going to die and wanting to keep the seat in GOP hands, rather than specifically trying to keep it in the family. Also should be noted that widows being appointed to their late husband's vacant seats is something that is quite frequent in US history. I'm not saying it is a good idea, but it's not some new subterfuge.
mrjohnmuller: "Yeah. I was pretty disturbed when I realized his seat would be filled by appointment and not by a special election. What the heck, America? Whose idea was that."
Keep in mind that the Senate was not originally popularly elected, so appointments are not quite so weird when the original occupant was put in by the state legislature anyway. As with many things, how exactly Senate vacancies are filled varies by state.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:08 AM on August 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Cindy McCain is McCain's wife, not his daughter (that's Meghan McCain). This is just armchair psychology, but I think McCain's refusal to resign was a mixture of stubbornness/refusal to admit he was going to die and wanting to keep the seat in GOP hands, rather than specifically trying to keep it in the family. Also should be noted that widows being appointed to their late husband's vacant seats is something that is quite frequent in US history. I'm not saying it is a good idea, but it's not some new subterfuge.
mrjohnmuller: "Yeah. I was pretty disturbed when I realized his seat would be filled by appointment and not by a special election. What the heck, America? Whose idea was that."
Keep in mind that the Senate was not originally popularly elected, so appointments are not quite so weird when the original occupant was put in by the state legislature anyway. As with many things, how exactly Senate vacancies are filled varies by state.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:08 AM on August 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
538 speculation on who Ducey will pick to fill the McCain vacancy. Their thought is a caretaker figure (i.e., someone who would not run in 2020 to serve the remaining two years of the term), so probably someone like former Senator Jon Kyl. From Ducey's perspective, this has the benefit of not pissing off any wing of the party - there would be a primary in 2020, everyone can run then - plus, Kyl obviously knows how Senate stuff works, and wouldn't need to ramp up.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2018
Yup. So we need to start figuring out what a civil society with 40% actual fascists looks like. Or...the other thing.
The thing is, half that number are what we might call soft fascists — possessed of deep authoritarian tendencies, to be sure, and under ordinary circumstances latent racists and misogynists all day long, but handily suppressed by a healthy, functioning civilizational immune system. They're opportunistic infectors only, and when things are working properly we can hold our noses and live and work alongside them. We don't need to love them, or they us, but so long as they keep their vitriol to themselves and act civilly in the public sphere they are entitled to the same freedom of conscience we all enjoy.
Which, for better or worse, leaves only one out of every five we need to treat as actual come-hell-or-high-water fascists. I don't know how you feel about the prospect, but I find some comfort in that.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
The thing is, half that number are what we might call soft fascists — possessed of deep authoritarian tendencies, to be sure, and under ordinary circumstances latent racists and misogynists all day long, but handily suppressed by a healthy, functioning civilizational immune system. They're opportunistic infectors only, and when things are working properly we can hold our noses and live and work alongside them. We don't need to love them, or they us, but so long as they keep their vitriol to themselves and act civilly in the public sphere they are entitled to the same freedom of conscience we all enjoy.
Which, for better or worse, leaves only one out of every five we need to treat as actual come-hell-or-high-water fascists. I don't know how you feel about the prospect, but I find some comfort in that.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
TPM: ...What stands out about the various criminal actions within the Trump orbit is not so much the crimes as their very casualness.
...There is a whole other discussion to be had about just how Trump managed to operate with such impunity for so long. The relevant immediate point is that almost none of it stands up to the most cursory legal scrutiny. Trump and members of his family have routinely broken the law – certainly with respect to money laundering, tax evasion and various financial crimes. They attract people who routinely violate the law. They rely upon and get favors from people who routinely break the law – often extending well outside the class of financial crimes. He has brought that culture to the presidency, routinely treating the government as something comparable to his own personal business, something that brings you potentially into a whole new class of criminal activity....
posted by growabrain at 9:29 AM on August 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
...There is a whole other discussion to be had about just how Trump managed to operate with such impunity for so long. The relevant immediate point is that almost none of it stands up to the most cursory legal scrutiny. Trump and members of his family have routinely broken the law – certainly with respect to money laundering, tax evasion and various financial crimes. They attract people who routinely violate the law. They rely upon and get favors from people who routinely break the law – often extending well outside the class of financial crimes. He has brought that culture to the presidency, routinely treating the government as something comparable to his own personal business, something that brings you potentially into a whole new class of criminal activity....
posted by growabrain at 9:29 AM on August 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
Cindy McCain is McCain's wife, not his daughter (that's Meghan McCain).
I know. I was responding to the speculation that he made a deal with the governor to give the seat to Meghan.
I think that would be...quite the fucking scandal, in normal times, for the reasons I mentioned. But nothing has been normal for a long time, so. And Senator Meghan McCain running as an independent or a Democrat in 2020 against Kelli Ward of the batshit ghouls party would be just like the fucking writers.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:36 AM on August 26, 2018
I know. I was responding to the speculation that he made a deal with the governor to give the seat to Meghan.
I think that would be...quite the fucking scandal, in normal times, for the reasons I mentioned. But nothing has been normal for a long time, so. And Senator Meghan McCain running as an independent or a Democrat in 2020 against Kelli Ward of the batshit ghouls party would be just like the fucking writers.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:36 AM on August 26, 2018
And Senator Meghan McCain running as an independent or a Democrat in 2020 against Kelli Ward of the batshit ghouls party would be just like the fucking writers.
Meghan running as a Democrat would be too much even for the writers. She still represents the Batshit Ghoul Party, just the tiny fraction of its younger wing that consists of rich kids without empathy but also with no fondness for ranking racial skull types.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:41 AM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Meghan running as a Democrat would be too much even for the writers. She still represents the Batshit Ghoul Party, just the tiny fraction of its younger wing that consists of rich kids without empathy but also with no fondness for ranking racial skull types.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:41 AM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Okay, sorry, I haven't seen any speculation about Meghan. I'd be very surprised by that.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:42 AM on August 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:42 AM on August 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think there's a difference between the "retrospective on John McCain's life" and "who will be filling his vacant Senate seat" discussions.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:48 AM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:48 AM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
On the flip side we can also probably throttle back on the time-filling riffy speculation thereon. Stuff will actually happen when it actually happens.
posted by cortex at 9:51 AM on August 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by cortex at 9:51 AM on August 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
July 16, 1973: "Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?"
posted by growabrain at 10:57 AM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 10:57 AM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Heightened disgust is also directly correlated with conservatism and authoritarianism. An excessive focus on things being disgusting or infected or impure (see the different ideas of "corrupt") or unclean is a pretty good predictor/indicator of fascism.
It is insanely annoying to me that large amounts of people are disgusted by a weird concept of impurity but not concrete human rights violations.
posted by jaduncan at 12:28 PM on August 26, 2018 [33 favorites]
It is insanely annoying to me that large amounts of people are disgusted by a weird concept of impurity but not concrete human rights violations.
posted by jaduncan at 12:28 PM on August 26, 2018 [33 favorites]
Mod note: A mass shooting is an awful thing but it is not ipso facto US national politics news; please let’s not use this as a “literally everything that is happening” catchall.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:05 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:05 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
The thing is, half that number are what we might call soft fascist
I might be hopelessly naive, but I still think there must be a way to present these folks with a new narrative that helps them allow themselves to support a more mainstream civil society/political structure rather than the Trump/Tea Party/extremist of the season.
They got where they are by being propagandized by Limbaugh, Fox, O'Reilly, etc. Pulling them back from the brink may not be easy but in essence it would just be another propaganda exercise.
With Trump pushing his base towards seeing everything except Trump as illegitimate, it's horrifying to think what will happen if he is impeached. De-radicalizing some folks would go a long way towards keeping a critical mass on the don't-start-a-civil-war side of things.
posted by duoshao at 1:05 PM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
I might be hopelessly naive, but I still think there must be a way to present these folks with a new narrative that helps them allow themselves to support a more mainstream civil society/political structure rather than the Trump/Tea Party/extremist of the season.
They got where they are by being propagandized by Limbaugh, Fox, O'Reilly, etc. Pulling them back from the brink may not be easy but in essence it would just be another propaganda exercise.
With Trump pushing his base towards seeing everything except Trump as illegitimate, it's horrifying to think what will happen if he is impeached. De-radicalizing some folks would go a long way towards keeping a critical mass on the don't-start-a-civil-war side of things.
posted by duoshao at 1:05 PM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
NBC/WSJ poll: Trump approval 'remarkably stable' after a stormy week of bad news.
I see what they did there.
Is it of note that now mainstream, old-line TV news media are openly trolling the president*? I've lived through 10 previous administrations at least semi-aware of politics, and can't recall another time when staid organizations like the Big Three networks would do something like this headline. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. Or maybe we are, no matter where we are...
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
I see what they did there.
Is it of note that now mainstream, old-line TV news media are openly trolling the president*? I've lived through 10 previous administrations at least semi-aware of politics, and can't recall another time when staid organizations like the Big Three networks would do something like this headline. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. Or maybe we are, no matter where we are...
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
NBC/WSJ poll: Trump approval 'remarkably stable' after a stormy week of bad news.
In any case, I'm shocked that according to that poll, 44% of all Americans approve of the president and his politics. Fourty-frigging-four percent. Who are these people?
posted by sour cream at 1:23 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
In any case, I'm shocked that according to that poll, 44% of all Americans approve of the president and his politics. Fourty-frigging-four percent. Who are these people?
posted by sour cream at 1:23 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Who are these people? Some of them are the relatives/neighbors/colleagues we're avoiding entirely or not confronting when they say something we know to be untrue, in meatspace and on social media. They've got their safe place, we've got ours. (When this is all over, and it will be, it's going to take work on both sides to see each other as fellow Americans again.)
posted by Scram at 1:29 PM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Scram at 1:29 PM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
it's going to take work on both sides to see each other as fellow Americans again
You're not wrong (at all), and yet...I'm honestly not sure whether I'll be able to hold up my end of that bargain. I kind of doubt it.
Which does not bode well for the future of this country.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 1:34 PM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
You're not wrong (at all), and yet...I'm honestly not sure whether I'll be able to hold up my end of that bargain. I kind of doubt it.
Which does not bode well for the future of this country.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 1:34 PM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
it's going to take work on both sides to see each other as fellow Americans again
When was this that the racists were seeing their targets as fellow Americans? I must have missed that.
posted by Harry Caul at 1:37 PM on August 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
When was this that the racists were seeing their targets as fellow Americans? I must have missed that.
posted by Harry Caul at 1:37 PM on August 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
I'm honestly not sure whether I'll be able to hold up my end of that bargain. I kind of doubt it.
Racist child torture did it for me. That was when I lost all remaining hope for them, tiny as it may have been. The most optimism I’ve felt about this in a while came when I read the comment above, suggesting that maybe we could propaganda them out of being Nazis. But then it’s sort of like...they’re just sheep? Like then we’re just in an eternal propaganda war, trying to keep enough sheep from being led to evil to avoid the perennial threat of Nazis and civil war. Just this constant treadmill of having to beg our fellow citizens not to listen to people who want to kill us and commit genocide. Which also doesn’t sound great.
But I’m unwilling to say where that leaves me, I guess, even to myself.
posted by schadenfrau at 1:44 PM on August 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
Racist child torture did it for me. That was when I lost all remaining hope for them, tiny as it may have been. The most optimism I’ve felt about this in a while came when I read the comment above, suggesting that maybe we could propaganda them out of being Nazis. But then it’s sort of like...they’re just sheep? Like then we’re just in an eternal propaganda war, trying to keep enough sheep from being led to evil to avoid the perennial threat of Nazis and civil war. Just this constant treadmill of having to beg our fellow citizens not to listen to people who want to kill us and commit genocide. Which also doesn’t sound great.
But I’m unwilling to say where that leaves me, I guess, even to myself.
posted by schadenfrau at 1:44 PM on August 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
In any case, I'm shocked that according to that poll, 44% of all Americans approve of the president and his politics. Fourty-frigging-four percent. Who are these people?
A white man over 40 has greater than 2/3 odds of approving of Trump. "These people" are the vast majority of white men and over half of white women.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:05 PM on August 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
A white man over 40 has greater than 2/3 odds of approving of Trump. "These people" are the vast majority of white men and over half of white women.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:05 PM on August 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
44% of all Americans approve of the president and his politics. Fourty-frigging-four percent. Who are these people?
The economy is very strong right now, as the effects of Trump's destructive policies haven't kicked in yet globally, which the stimulative effects of massive deficit spending have pushed Obama's fundamentally strong economy even further.
It won't last a whole lot longer, but maybe until November (as planned). A LOT of people don't follow politics and notice the economy, something very consistent over many years. Heck, McCain was poised to win in 2008 until the house of cards that was the Bush Jr. economy collapsed two months before the election. And that was against a historically talented and squeaky-clean opponent.
posted by msalt at 2:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
The economy is very strong right now, as the effects of Trump's destructive policies haven't kicked in yet globally, which the stimulative effects of massive deficit spending have pushed Obama's fundamentally strong economy even further.
It won't last a whole lot longer, but maybe until November (as planned). A LOT of people don't follow politics and notice the economy, something very consistent over many years. Heck, McCain was poised to win in 2008 until the house of cards that was the Bush Jr. economy collapsed two months before the election. And that was against a historically talented and squeaky-clean opponent.
posted by msalt at 2:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
Just this constant treadmill of having to beg our fellow citizens not to listen to people who want to kill us and commit genocide.
It does sound exhausting. But we're already on a treadmill of motivating our base so we can elect folks that want to govern rather than "let's burn it all down y'all". And a treadmill of cleaning-up the economic mess when we're in power only to have the next economic mess created by the republicans blamed on us.
I have no idea what this initiative would look like, but I don't think it's begging anyone to not do bad things x, y, and z. Hopefully it's more like showing how the more root-level values they have can and are actually represented by non-fringe politicians (fair play, self-reliance, taking responsibility, caring for your family and neighbors, treating people with respect).
And maybe painting a proud picture of America where freedom is people having a real voice that's not drowned-out and manipulated by the donor class, and where we have a shared goal of building/maintaining a country that's functional, even if that requires figuring out how to compromise on what's the best way to achieve that. Maybe there's a way to shine light on the fact that "owning the libs" is a way to distract people from the pickpocket walking up behind them.
Of course I'm describing this using language that makes sense to me, but would undoubtedly turn off the folks I'm talking about. The key part is expressing this whole thing in a way that resonates with the target audience. Someone must be able to do that.
posted by duoshao at 2:13 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
It does sound exhausting. But we're already on a treadmill of motivating our base so we can elect folks that want to govern rather than "let's burn it all down y'all". And a treadmill of cleaning-up the economic mess when we're in power only to have the next economic mess created by the republicans blamed on us.
I have no idea what this initiative would look like, but I don't think it's begging anyone to not do bad things x, y, and z. Hopefully it's more like showing how the more root-level values they have can and are actually represented by non-fringe politicians (fair play, self-reliance, taking responsibility, caring for your family and neighbors, treating people with respect).
And maybe painting a proud picture of America where freedom is people having a real voice that's not drowned-out and manipulated by the donor class, and where we have a shared goal of building/maintaining a country that's functional, even if that requires figuring out how to compromise on what's the best way to achieve that. Maybe there's a way to shine light on the fact that "owning the libs" is a way to distract people from the pickpocket walking up behind them.
Of course I'm describing this using language that makes sense to me, but would undoubtedly turn off the folks I'm talking about. The key part is expressing this whole thing in a way that resonates with the target audience. Someone must be able to do that.
posted by duoshao at 2:13 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Of course I'm describing this using language that makes sense to me, but would undoubtedly turn off the folks I'm talking about. The key part is expressing this whole thing in a way that resonates with the target audience. Someone must be able to do that.
Beto O'Rourke seems to be doing a good job.
posted by ryoshu at 2:15 PM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Beto O'Rourke seems to be doing a good job.
posted by ryoshu at 2:15 PM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
it's going to take work on both sides to see each other as fellow Americans again
Pretty much over any "both sides" anything from here on in. It was one side that doubled down on racial resentment. It was one side that openly sided with dominionists who literally want to bring about the apocalypse. It was one side that colluded with a hostile foreign power to subvert our system of government. It's one side that marches with torches through the night, chanting white supremacist slogans. One side wants polluters and plutocrats to get away with everything under the sun. One side saw a future coming where people would enjoy equality and access to the good life like never before, and said "No."
Our side got called "elitist" and "deep state globalist" and "cuck" for valuing and believing in democracy and the rule of law. These are not equivalent positions. I grant absolutely fucking zero ideological footing to the Republican party in the years ahead. One side did this. They used to be the folks who called themselves "the party of personal responsibility." I'm ready to see them exhibit some of that for once.
posted by EatTheWeek at 2:18 PM on August 26, 2018 [133 favorites]
Pretty much over any "both sides" anything from here on in. It was one side that doubled down on racial resentment. It was one side that openly sided with dominionists who literally want to bring about the apocalypse. It was one side that colluded with a hostile foreign power to subvert our system of government. It's one side that marches with torches through the night, chanting white supremacist slogans. One side wants polluters and plutocrats to get away with everything under the sun. One side saw a future coming where people would enjoy equality and access to the good life like never before, and said "No."
Our side got called "elitist" and "deep state globalist" and "cuck" for valuing and believing in democracy and the rule of law. These are not equivalent positions. I grant absolutely fucking zero ideological footing to the Republican party in the years ahead. One side did this. They used to be the folks who called themselves "the party of personal responsibility." I'm ready to see them exhibit some of that for once.
posted by EatTheWeek at 2:18 PM on August 26, 2018 [133 favorites]
It won't last a whole lot longer, but maybe until November (as planned)
Someone who knows things, please correct me, but if we're going off what the yield curve predicts, the curve doesn't look like it will actually hit zero until 2019, and that doesn't mean that the recession will hit right away; it could wait a year or two.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:19 PM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Someone who knows things, please correct me, but if we're going off what the yield curve predicts, the curve doesn't look like it will actually hit zero until 2019, and that doesn't mean that the recession will hit right away; it could wait a year or two.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:19 PM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
I wonder what would happen if you could give 10$ to voters to donate to whichever candidate they support. Massive corruption and grift probably, but if money is political power now, how do you give the power back to the people?
posted by adept256 at 2:24 PM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by adept256 at 2:24 PM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I might be hopelessly naive, but I still think there must be a way to present these folks with a new narrative that helps them allow themselves to support a more mainstream civil society/political structure rather than the Trump/Tea Party/extremist of the season.
Well, the Germans had de-Nazification and a long period of national self-reflection. I don't see why it has to be some sort of sugar-coated "new narrative" rather than being confronted with the awful shit they are supporting.
posted by Behemoth at 2:35 PM on August 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
Well, the Germans had de-Nazification and a long period of national self-reflection. I don't see why it has to be some sort of sugar-coated "new narrative" rather than being confronted with the awful shit they are supporting.
posted by Behemoth at 2:35 PM on August 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
Axios, Swan, Republicans secretly study their coming hell
posted by zachlipton at 2:48 PM on August 26, 2018 [114 favorites]
Congressional Republicans are getting ready for hell. Axios has obtained a spreadsheet that's circulated through Republican circles on and off Capitol Hill — including at least one leadership office — that meticulously previews the investigations Democrats will likely launch if they flip the House.I'm really confused how leaking a massive list of the President's crimes is supposed to be helpful to Republicans. "Vote for us, or people are going to look into all this crap" is a really strange message to be sending.
...
It has churned Republican stomachs. Here are some of the probes it predicts:
President Trump’s tax returns
Trump family businesses — and whether they comply with the Constitution's emoluments clause, including the Chinese trademark grant to the Trump Organization
Trump's dealings with Russia, including the president's preparation for his meeting with Vladimir Putin
The payment to Stephanie Clifford — a.k.a. Stormy Daniels
James Comey's firing
Trump's firing of U.S. attorneys
Trump's proposed transgender ban for the military
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's business dealings
White House staff's personal email use
Cabinet secretary travel, office expenses, and other misused perks
Discussion of classified information at Mar-a-Lago
Jared Kushner's ethics law compliance
Dismissal of members of the EPA board of scientific counselors
The travel ban
Family separation policy
Hurricane response in Puerto Rico
Election security and hacking attempts
White House security clearances
The spreadsheet — which I'm told originated in a senior House Republican office — catalogs more than 100 formal requests from House Democrats this Congress, spanning nearly every committee.
...
Lawyers close to the White House tell me the Trump administration is nowhere near prepared for the investigatory onslaught that awaits them, and they consider it among the greatest threats to his presidency.
posted by zachlipton at 2:48 PM on August 26, 2018 [114 favorites]
Here's the work I am willing to do: If someone has seen the error of their ways and renounces fascism, I will welcome them. I'll even do it the old Gen X way where I just accept a sincere apology, leave their awful social media history out of it, and don't require a prolonged period of hairshirt-wearing. And I'll patiently explain why not everyone they encounter is able to accept an apology yet, and that's okay.
But as a whole society, we're not going to get anywhere without truth and reconciliation and an acknowledgement that there aren't "two sides" to this problem.
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:52 PM on August 26, 2018 [60 favorites]
But as a whole society, we're not going to get anywhere without truth and reconciliation and an acknowledgement that there aren't "two sides" to this problem.
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:52 PM on August 26, 2018 [60 favorites]
I wonder what would happen if you could give 10$ to voters to donate to whichever candidate they support. Massive corruption and grift probably, but if money is political power now, how do you give the power back to the people?
The diagnosis is easy. End corporate personhood. If you don't have a vote, you don't get a voice.
The treatment is not easy, and I'm open to someone doing a FPP for suggestions, because this isn't the place to dive deeper on this.
posted by mikelieman at 2:55 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
The diagnosis is easy. End corporate personhood. If you don't have a vote, you don't get a voice.
The treatment is not easy, and I'm open to someone doing a FPP for suggestions, because this isn't the place to dive deeper on this.
posted by mikelieman at 2:55 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
I'm really confused how leaking a massive list of the President's crimes is supposed to be helpful to RepublicansIf they don't get their base out to vote they're going to be washed away.
It's a call to arms.
posted by fullerine at 2:55 PM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Here's the work I am willing to do: If someone has seen the error of their ways and renounces fascism, I will welcome them. I'll even do it the old Gen X way where I just accept a sincere apology, leave their awful social media history out of it, and don't require a prolonged period of hairshirt-wearing. And I'll patiently explain why not everyone they encounter is able to accept an apology yet, and that's okay.
My expectation is that they would have gone through sincere repentance before even asking forgiveness, in which case, that's a good guideline.
posted by mikelieman at 2:58 PM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
My expectation is that they would have gone through sincere repentance before even asking forgiveness, in which case, that's a good guideline.
posted by mikelieman at 2:58 PM on August 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Two Trumpspams in my inbox today:
1: from Donald J. Trump (contact@campaigns.rnchq.com)
subject line: What would they do?
Authorized By Trump Headquarters
You’ve seen what liberals have done to try and sabotage our Administration.
But what would they do if they actually seized control of our House majority?
That’s why I need you to renew your Sustaining Membership for the 2018 year and be FULLY committed to victory for these critical elections. I’ve requested a list of all those who renewed their membership. I hope to see your name tonight.
(note: I have not given them one cent to get on this 'membership list' where I am currently listed with firstname:True lastname:American)
Democrats are praying for our economy to CRASH just so they can win.
That right there is everything that’s wrong with the swamp.
These politicians don’t care about making your life better. They only care about for themselves.
You think Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer or any of them care about the people of Iowa or Ohio or Michigan or Minnesota? They have no time for the hardworking people of America who run our country. They think we’re deplorable.
The “deplorables” cannot sit out this election. Our movement needs to keep fighting.
They’re not going to give you back your country without a fight.
Can I trust you to step up?
Please renew your 2018 Sustaining Membership for the election year, and let’s win for AMERICA.
Thank you,
(Trump Signature Headshot)
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
2: essentially a resending of the email of a couple days ago from
Melania Trump (contact@campaigns.rnchq.com)
subject line: I never envisioned
From the moment my husband, Donald, placed his hand on the bible and took the oath of office to serve as America’s President, he has worked nonstop to deliver on his promises.
Democrats and the opposition media are doing everything they possibly can to discredit Donald with false accusations by spreading their fake news and making it appear that he does not have the support of America’s voters.
That is why I am asking that you join my husband as he fights for our nation by signing your Presidential Pledge of Support.
Up until a few years ago, I never envisioned that I would one day serve our nation as First Lady.
Everything you and I believe in regarding the future of America is on the line in the coming months. This is a battle we must win together.
I’m asking you and other Americans across the country to personally register your support and help prove that the Democrats and media are wrong.
Please sign your Presidential Pledge of Support. I look forward to telling Donald that you are standing with him.
Sincerely,
(Melania Trump headshot - a not-very-attractive unsmiling pic)
Melania Trump
Excuse the long post but this is so telling in many ways how Trump&Co. (which definitely includes RNCHQ) is communicating with its base. I won't do this regularly (it HURTS just to cut&paste it) but if something else revealing is in future Trumpspam, I'll bring it here unless the Mods tell me to cut it out.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:19 PM on August 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
1: from Donald J. Trump (contact@campaigns.rnchq.com)
subject line: What would they do?
Authorized By Trump Headquarters
You’ve seen what liberals have done to try and sabotage our Administration.
But what would they do if they actually seized control of our House majority?
That’s why I need you to renew your Sustaining Membership for the 2018 year and be FULLY committed to victory for these critical elections. I’ve requested a list of all those who renewed their membership. I hope to see your name tonight.
(note: I have not given them one cent to get on this 'membership list' where I am currently listed with firstname:True lastname:American)
Democrats are praying for our economy to CRASH just so they can win.
That right there is everything that’s wrong with the swamp.
These politicians don’t care about making your life better. They only care about for themselves.
You think Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer or any of them care about the people of Iowa or Ohio or Michigan or Minnesota? They have no time for the hardworking people of America who run our country. They think we’re deplorable.
The “deplorables” cannot sit out this election. Our movement needs to keep fighting.
They’re not going to give you back your country without a fight.
Can I trust you to step up?
Please renew your 2018 Sustaining Membership for the election year, and let’s win for AMERICA.
Thank you,
(Trump Signature Headshot)
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
2: essentially a resending of the email of a couple days ago from
Melania Trump (contact@campaigns.rnchq.com)
subject line: I never envisioned
From the moment my husband, Donald, placed his hand on the bible and took the oath of office to serve as America’s President, he has worked nonstop to deliver on his promises.
Democrats and the opposition media are doing everything they possibly can to discredit Donald with false accusations by spreading their fake news and making it appear that he does not have the support of America’s voters.
That is why I am asking that you join my husband as he fights for our nation by signing your Presidential Pledge of Support.
Up until a few years ago, I never envisioned that I would one day serve our nation as First Lady.
Everything you and I believe in regarding the future of America is on the line in the coming months. This is a battle we must win together.
I’m asking you and other Americans across the country to personally register your support and help prove that the Democrats and media are wrong.
Please sign your Presidential Pledge of Support. I look forward to telling Donald that you are standing with him.
Sincerely,
(Melania Trump headshot - a not-very-attractive unsmiling pic)
Melania Trump
Excuse the long post but this is so telling in many ways how Trump&Co. (which definitely includes RNCHQ) is communicating with its base. I won't do this regularly (it HURTS just to cut&paste it) but if something else revealing is in future Trumpspam, I'll bring it here unless the Mods tell me to cut it out.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:19 PM on August 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
I'm really confused how leaking a massive list of the President's crimes is supposed to be helpful to RepublicansIf they don't get their base out to vote they're going to be washed away.
It's a call to arms.
It's also a warning: This is what they know about. If you have any evidence that may be subpoenaed, burn it now. Take care of and/or discredit any staffer with evidence you can't burn (including potential testimony). If there are any other scandals that aren't on this list, don't assume things will stay that way; warn people who may also be caught up.
posted by Etrigan at 4:03 PM on August 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
NBC/WSJ poll: Trump approval 'remarkably stable' after a stormy week of bad news.
Because nothing matters.
Some clerics argue that Trump's behaviour actually makes him a better leader, a more Biblical leader. I'm not even kidding, though I wish I were. They started (before his nomination!) by comparing him to Cyrus; one day they'll compare him to Herod.
“Corruption” in its older sense meant “the act of becoming putrid or spoiled”. Our supposed moral arbiters have been hypocrites for so long that we would laugh if they condemned Trump for repeatedly betraying his spouse. This is where we are now: we view a whoremonger's seductions and blackmails with comparative equanimity and we only ask where his money came from and whether the payments were contrary to election law. We are all thoroughly corrupt, every one of us.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Because nothing matters.
Some clerics argue that Trump's behaviour actually makes him a better leader, a more Biblical leader. I'm not even kidding, though I wish I were. They started (before his nomination!) by comparing him to Cyrus; one day they'll compare him to Herod.
“Corruption” in its older sense meant “the act of becoming putrid or spoiled”. Our supposed moral arbiters have been hypocrites for so long that we would laugh if they condemned Trump for repeatedly betraying his spouse. This is where we are now: we view a whoremonger's seductions and blackmails with comparative equanimity and we only ask where his money came from and whether the payments were contrary to election law. We are all thoroughly corrupt, every one of us.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm really confused how leaking a massive list of the President's crimes is supposed to be helpful to Republicans. "Vote for us, or people are going to look into all this crap" is a really strange message to be sending.
Elected officials, is you passing notes on multiple criminal fucking conspiracies?
posted by srboisvert at 4:11 PM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
Elected officials, is you passing notes on multiple criminal fucking conspiracies?
posted by srboisvert at 4:11 PM on August 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
I've mentioned before that I used to work for a nonprofit called the International Center for Transitional Justice, which gave technical assistance to countries emerging from periods of conflict or repression. Here's their What is Transitional Justice? page. The (pretty new) field of transitional justice has mostly been applied to third world countries at this point, but I think we're going to need to look to it post-Trump.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:48 PM on August 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:48 PM on August 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
I'm really confused how leaking a massive list of the President's crimes is supposed to be helpful to Republicans. "Vote for us, or people are going to look into all this crap" is a really strange message to be sending.
Why do people still think the Republicans care about this stuff? As long as Trump helps them control all three branches of the federal government, they will happily repress videos of him stomping on kittens for fun.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:50 PM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Why do people still think the Republicans care about this stuff? As long as Trump helps them control all three branches of the federal government, they will happily repress videos of him stomping on kittens for fun.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:50 PM on August 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Damn, the new NYT Duncan Hunter story goes hard.
posted by neroli at 4:59 PM on August 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by neroli at 4:59 PM on August 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
Are Republicans deliberately looking for exactly where the "unelectable" line resides? Why do this? It's like they are calibrating exactly how corrupt and terrible they can be without stepping over the line.
Candidate body slams reporters? Oh yeah, we're still ok. Candidate molests children? Ok, ok our bad that's apparently slightly too far. Candidate steals tons of donor cash and buys all kinds of stupid shit including gifts for at least 5 mistresses? Sure why not we like the cut of his jib.
posted by Justinian at 5:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
Candidate body slams reporters? Oh yeah, we're still ok. Candidate molests children? Ok, ok our bad that's apparently slightly too far. Candidate steals tons of donor cash and buys all kinds of stupid shit including gifts for at least 5 mistresses? Sure why not we like the cut of his jib.
posted by Justinian at 5:06 PM on August 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
Mr. Hunter... has sought to blame his wife for the corruption charges, saying in a Fox News interview that she was responsible for the couple’s finances. “Whatever she did, that will be looked at, too, I’m sure,” he said. “I didn’t do it. I didn’t spend any money illegally.” Mr. Hunter has also responded to the charges by blaming a “deep state” conspiracy.
Where's that personal responsibility that Republicans like to talk about so much?
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:14 PM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Where's that personal responsibility that Republicans like to talk about so much?
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:14 PM on August 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Lawyers close to the White House tell me the Trump administration is nowhere near prepared for the investigatory onslaught that awaits them, and they consider it among the greatest threats to his presidency.
“Among?” So, like...top 5? Top 10? Any one or three or five of the things on this list would be #1 for any other administration, but for this one it’s just, collectively, one of Trump’s 99 problems.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:14 PM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
“Among?” So, like...top 5? Top 10? Any one or three or five of the things on this list would be #1 for any other administration, but for this one it’s just, collectively, one of Trump’s 99 problems.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:14 PM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
... and a snitch ain’t none.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:17 PM on August 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:17 PM on August 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
I don't understand how Democrats can't run on that list with the base. We're in dire need of a clean up crew.
posted by Selena777 at 5:34 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Selena777 at 5:34 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Exactly, Dems can run on that list of investigations, and avoid the apparently touchy subject of impeachment altogether.
posted by klarck at 5:39 PM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by klarck at 5:39 PM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Just in case they were too subtle, the White House wants us to know that, yes, it was an intentional snub, Trump rejected plans for a White House statement praising McCain (WaPo):
President Trump nixed issuing a statement that praised the heroism and life of Sen. John McCain, telling senior aides he preferred to issue a tweet before posting one Saturday night that did not include any kind words for the late Arizona Republican.posted by peeedro at 5:51 PM on August 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and other White House aides advocated for an official statement that gave the decorated Vietnam War POW plaudits for his military and Senate service and called him a “hero,” according to current and former White House aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. The original statement was drafted before McCain died Saturday, and Sanders and others edited a final version this weekend that was ready for the president, the aides said.
But Trump told aides he wanted to post a brief tweet instead, and the statement praising McCain’s life was not released.
Damn, the new NYT Duncan Hunter story goes hard.
In traditional NYT style it goes so hard that this piece about a member of congress who exemplifies the rot in his party but may not be incredibly well known to all readers literally fails to state his party identification even once. The first time it's even obliquely hinted at is 7 paragraphs in. The closest they come to stating it outright is 9 paragraphs in, but they only do so by noting that his district's Republican leanings means he's still a favorite despite the scandal.
What the fuck is the NYT afraid of that they can't state in the headline, "Republican Duncan Hunter ..."?!
posted by tocts at 6:00 PM on August 26, 2018 [87 favorites]
In traditional NYT style it goes so hard that this piece about a member of congress who exemplifies the rot in his party but may not be incredibly well known to all readers literally fails to state his party identification even once. The first time it's even obliquely hinted at is 7 paragraphs in. The closest they come to stating it outright is 9 paragraphs in, but they only do so by noting that his district's Republican leanings means he's still a favorite despite the scandal.
What the fuck is the NYT afraid of that they can't state in the headline, "Republican Duncan Hunter ..."?!
posted by tocts at 6:00 PM on August 26, 2018 [87 favorites]
I don't understand how Democrats can't run on that list with the base. We're in dire need of a clean up crew.
Yes, I would extend the list beyond the White House too. Most of the GOP congress should be investigated for what they knew about the crimes and the extent to which they helped in cover ups.
posted by p3t3 at 6:02 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
Yes, I would extend the list beyond the White House too. Most of the GOP congress should be investigated for what they knew about the crimes and the extent to which they helped in cover ups.
posted by p3t3 at 6:02 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: Over 90% approval rating for your all time favorite (I hope) President within the Republican Party and 52% overall. This despite all of the made up stories by the Fake News Media trying endlessly to make me look as bad and evil as possible. Look at the real villains please!
@ddale8: Trump is lying about his approval rating again. He doesn't have a 52% approval rating even with his favourite pollster, Rasmussen - he's at 46% in their latest daily tracker. Overall, he's at 41.9% (FiveThirtyEight) or 43.6% (RealClearPolitics). Perhaps Trump strategically misread the latest NBC/WSJ poll, which had him at 52% DISapproval.
Love to have a President that doesn't know the difference between approval and disapproval.
posted by zachlipton at 6:28 PM on August 26, 2018 [35 favorites]
@ddale8: Trump is lying about his approval rating again. He doesn't have a 52% approval rating even with his favourite pollster, Rasmussen - he's at 46% in their latest daily tracker. Overall, he's at 41.9% (FiveThirtyEight) or 43.6% (RealClearPolitics). Perhaps Trump strategically misread the latest NBC/WSJ poll, which had him at 52% DISapproval.
Love to have a President that doesn't know the difference between approval and disapproval.
posted by zachlipton at 6:28 PM on August 26, 2018 [35 favorites]
re: Duncan Hunter, when I saw the indictment I thought "Wow, this guy is done" but then I remembered Republican Greg Gianforte, who physically attacked a reporter the day before the special election and won. It'll be interesting crucial to see how many middle of the road Republican voters in these R-heavy districts can no longer stomach the near constant announcements of corruption in their party and just stay home, while D's who don't usually bother come out to vote like they've never come out before.
posted by gwint at 6:41 PM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by gwint at 6:41 PM on August 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
538's projection for that race still has Hunter with an 83% chance of winning but I can't tell how recently that's been updated.
posted by octothorpe at 6:47 PM on August 26, 2018
posted by octothorpe at 6:47 PM on August 26, 2018
Re: Gianforte - One issue there is that Montana has a heavy early vote. I think something like 3/4 of the vote had already been cast before the Gianforte punching incident.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:50 PM on August 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:50 PM on August 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Two things about the Gianforte election. 1) Early balloting/vote by mail meant more than 60% of Montanans had already cast their ballots. 2) Gianforte and his campaign initially lied about the event and it took several days (after the election) before the truth was known.
The results might have been different had the altercation taken place a few weeks earlier.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:53 PM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
The results might have been different had the altercation taken place a few weeks earlier.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:53 PM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
That may be true but Montanans have had almost two years to think about Gianforte and he's still heavily favored to be re-elected.
posted by octothorpe at 6:55 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:55 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
538's projection for that race still has Hunter with an 83% chance of winning but I can't tell how recently that's been updated.
I don't recall seeing any polling on CA-50, so the forecast is mostly going to be district lean and the generic ballot (i.e., no change). I anticipate we are going to see some polling in the near future, based on events.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:56 PM on August 26, 2018
I don't recall seeing any polling on CA-50, so the forecast is mostly going to be district lean and the generic ballot (i.e., no change). I anticipate we are going to see some polling in the near future, based on events.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:56 PM on August 26, 2018
Definitely true but it's unclear whether the results would have been even more favorable to Gianforte given how red Montana is.
posted by Justinian at 6:56 PM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 6:56 PM on August 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
So red that it has a Democratic Senator and governor?
posted by Chrysostom at 7:00 PM on August 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:00 PM on August 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
stop with your facts
posted by Justinian at 7:00 PM on August 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:00 PM on August 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
Montanans have had almost two years to think about Gianforte and he's still heavily favored to be re-elected.
Are you sure?
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:20 PM on August 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Are you sure?
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:20 PM on August 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
CheeseDigestsAll: "Montanans have had almost two years to think about Gianforte and he's still heavily favored to be re-elected.
Are you sure?"
Me, no. I'm just going by 538 which doesn't really tell you why and doesn't let you link to a specific race either.
posted by octothorpe at 7:22 PM on August 26, 2018
Are you sure?"
Me, no. I'm just going by 538 which doesn't really tell you why and doesn't let you link to a specific race either.
posted by octothorpe at 7:22 PM on August 26, 2018
NYT has AZ GOP pouring cold water on the Cindy McCain idea, as it would piss off the Trumpier faction, whom Ducey will need in his re-election bid in November.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:22 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:22 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
The GOP consists entirely of tigers and people trying desperately to pretend that they're not riding those tigers.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:24 PM on August 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:24 PM on August 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
Cook has MT-AL as Lean R, fwiw. So, maybe an 85% chance for Gianforte? Again, haven't seen any polling, though.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:27 PM on August 26, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 7:27 PM on August 26, 2018
Ducey doesn't exactly come across as a profile in courage in that NYT piece on McCain's successor. He should just appoint a life-size cardboard cutout of Donald Trump and get it over with.
posted by Justinian at 7:39 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:39 PM on August 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
NYT has AZ GOP pouring cold water on the Cindy McCain idea, as it would piss off the Trumpier faction, whom Ducey will need in his re-election bid in November.
"I've got this thing and it's fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for fuckin' nothing."
posted by JackFlash at 7:45 PM on August 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
"I've got this thing and it's fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for fuckin' nothing."
posted by JackFlash at 7:45 PM on August 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
Being from Montana, I get to actually see how the races are going.
On the House side, Gianforte has pretty much doubled down on a fully negative campaign, looking to tie Williams to the Democratic leadership. Williams, on the other hand, is going bread and butter, with a focus on healthcare (which is a big issue here.)
The Senate side is just...Tester is running a bog standard re-election campaign with a good mix of positive ads focusing on his accomplishments (in particular his work with the VA) and negative ads remindng people that Rosendale is an outsider from Maryland who made his career there by acquiring and developing land (this is a sore point here) and who spent his time as Insurance Commissioner denying people health care. Rosendale's ads...are pretty much "hey, did you know I was on a stage with Trump and he said good things about me?"
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:28 PM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
On the House side, Gianforte has pretty much doubled down on a fully negative campaign, looking to tie Williams to the Democratic leadership. Williams, on the other hand, is going bread and butter, with a focus on healthcare (which is a big issue here.)
The Senate side is just...Tester is running a bog standard re-election campaign with a good mix of positive ads focusing on his accomplishments (in particular his work with the VA) and negative ads remindng people that Rosendale is an outsider from Maryland who made his career there by acquiring and developing land (this is a sore point here) and who spent his time as Insurance Commissioner denying people health care. Rosendale's ads...are pretty much "hey, did you know I was on a stage with Trump and he said good things about me?"
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:28 PM on August 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Montanans have had almost two years to think about Gianforte and he's still heavily favored to be re-elected.
Duncan Hunter is under federal criminal indictment and is still favored to be reelected. The entire state of Alabama damn near elected a child molester. Punching a journalist is a plus in Republican politics. If you get enough Republicans in one place, nothing can stop the candidate with an R by their name from being elected.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:32 PM on August 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Duncan Hunter is under federal criminal indictment and is still favored to be reelected. The entire state of Alabama damn near elected a child molester. Punching a journalist is a plus in Republican politics. If you get enough Republicans in one place, nothing can stop the candidate with an R by their name from being elected.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:32 PM on August 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
I have a friend working in Montana, which means they're running a field program there, which they wouldn't do if they didn't think there was a possibility it could be flipped. Anecdata, to be sure, so take that for what it's worth.
posted by dogheart at 9:30 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by dogheart at 9:30 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Axios has obtained a spreadsheet ... that meticulously previews the investigations Democrats will likely launch if they flip the House.
Just off the top of my head, it doesn't include the Florida AG Trump paid off to not investigate Trump University. Also, Trump University.
posted by msalt at 9:45 PM on August 26, 2018 [34 favorites]
Just off the top of my head, it doesn't include the Florida AG Trump paid off to not investigate Trump University. Also, Trump University.
posted by msalt at 9:45 PM on August 26, 2018 [34 favorites]
Just off the top of my head, it doesn't include the Florida AG Trump paid off to not investigate Trump University. Also, Trump University.
Or anything about Betsy Devos. Or Erik Prince.
posted by chris24 at 10:10 PM on August 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
Or anything about Betsy Devos. Or Erik Prince.
posted by chris24 at 10:10 PM on August 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
Ooh, good one! Erik Prince secret meeting in the Seychelles and Alfa Bank server!!
posted by msalt at 10:47 PM on August 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by msalt at 10:47 PM on August 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
Sounds like it's time to start up a Google doc for proposed investigations.
posted by DebetEsse at 11:21 PM on August 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by DebetEsse at 11:21 PM on August 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Google doc? This is enough for a full wiki.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:58 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:58 PM on August 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
a secretive group is requesting 2016 ballots from michigan clerks, right at a time when they're gearing up for this election - who is "emily"? who are the "united impact group"?
posted by pyramid termite at 2:40 AM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by pyramid termite at 2:40 AM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
a secretive group is requesting 2016 ballots from michigan clerks, right at a time when they're gearing up for this election - who is "emily"? who are the "united impact group"?
I dug in so you won't have to! Most clerks are consulting with legal, and they're saying "Don't accept a check without a legible signature and the address of the payor." and bouncing it back to "Emily" with, "send us real payment that's traceable".
The address is a US post office in queens, and there's a phone number in the request, which should be able to be located by local law enforcement officers in the jurisdictions receiving these probably illegitimate requests.
posted by mikelieman at 3:19 AM on August 27, 2018 [20 favorites]
I dug in so you won't have to! Most clerks are consulting with legal, and they're saying "Don't accept a check without a legible signature and the address of the payor." and bouncing it back to "Emily" with, "send us real payment that's traceable".
The address is a US post office in queens, and there's a phone number in the request, which should be able to be located by local law enforcement officers in the jurisdictions receiving these probably illegitimate requests.
posted by mikelieman at 3:19 AM on August 27, 2018 [20 favorites]
Just off the top of my head, it doesn't include the Florida AG Trump paid off to not investigate Trump University. Also, Trump University.
You mean Pam Bondi who co-hosted a program on Fox News last week even though she's still AG in Florida for another 4 months. She went so far as to consult the FL commission on ethics before her audition for wing nut welfare. It's adorable that anyone would think any republican will be investigated for ethics issues in FL.
posted by photoslob at 5:50 AM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
You mean Pam Bondi who co-hosted a program on Fox News last week even though she's still AG in Florida for another 4 months. She went so far as to consult the FL commission on ethics before her audition for wing nut welfare. It's adorable that anyone would think any republican will be investigated for ethics issues in FL.
posted by photoslob at 5:50 AM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
In total it's about 7,000 ballots the city will have to produce. It's not a lot in the grand scheme of Michigan elections, but it's enough to make the two-person office grind to a halt.This is another assault on the offices that make democracy work, plain and simple. Look for more requests in September, then lawsuits in October, then astroturfed protests in November.
posted by Etrigan at 5:54 AM on August 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
That was quick, Flags at White House return to full staff after brief tribute to McCain (WaPo).
Karen Travers, ABC News: Camera shot facing south over the White House - you can see the flag at the WH at full staff while the flags surrounding the Washington Monument are lowered [picture]
posted by peeedro at 6:16 AM on August 27, 2018 [27 favorites]
Karen Travers, ABC News: Camera shot facing south over the White House - you can see the flag at the WH at full staff while the flags surrounding the Washington Monument are lowered [picture]
posted by peeedro at 6:16 AM on August 27, 2018 [27 favorites]
a secretive group is requesting 2016 ballots from michigan clerks, right at a time when they're gearing up for this election - who is "emily"? who are the "united impact group"?
It seems that the websites most exercised about this currently are all right-wing loonytunes, which is interesting. I guess their assumption is that it's a left wing conspiracy to prove that the MI election was tampered with? Which, tbh, sounds about right, if by "left wing conspiracy" they mean "a single person in Queens who decided she's found the one weird trick that will Solve Everything."
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:17 AM on August 27, 2018
It seems that the websites most exercised about this currently are all right-wing loonytunes, which is interesting. I guess their assumption is that it's a left wing conspiracy to prove that the MI election was tampered with? Which, tbh, sounds about right, if by "left wing conspiracy" they mean "a single person in Queens who decided she's found the one weird trick that will Solve Everything."
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:17 AM on August 27, 2018
There are two Republicans competing in the Sept. 4 primary for attorney general in Massachusetts. The Globe sent a questionnaire to them (and incumbent and Democrat Maura Healey) that asks, among other things, that they name the state's best clam shack. One of them answered by naming a sushi place. And he lives in a coastal town, the monster (oh, and he gives Trump a B+, for his "solid" handling of the economy and North Korea).
posted by adamg at 6:30 AM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by adamg at 6:30 AM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Crooked pols here [Illinois] would love 'flipping' ban, former top prosecutor says - Greg Hinz, Crain's Chicago Business
Ex-[Illinois] Govs. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich—and lots of other white collar criminals—might never have been convicted of their misdeeds had President Donald Trump’s suggestion to do away with “flipping” in criminal cases been in effect, says a veteran senior federal prosecutor here.posted by ZeusHumms at 6:35 AM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
In an interview, Gary Shapiro, the interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and the longtime first assistant in the office, says it would be “extremely difficult if not impossible to prosecute any even halfway complicated financial or political crimes” if plea bargaining with mid-level officials aimed at getting them to incriminate bigger officials was banned.
@ithacatimes: We are using this week’s cover to provide all our readers with a fully functional New York State voter registration form.
posted by klarck at 7:16 AM on August 27, 2018 [87 favorites]
posted by klarck at 7:16 AM on August 27, 2018 [87 favorites]
Millions of Texas Voter Records Exposed online—Over 14 million detailed voter records were found on an unprotected server (Tech Crunch)
The data — a single file containing an estimated 14.8 million records — was left on an unsecured server without a password. Texas has 19.3 million registered voters.[...]Sounds like it's time to start up a Google doc for proposed investigations.
TechCrunch obtained a copy of the file, which was first found by a New Zealand-based data breach hunter who goes by the pseudonym Flash Gordon. It’s not clear who owned the server where the exposed file was found, but an analysis of the data reveals that it was likely originally compiled by Data Trust, a Republican-focused data analytics firm created by the GOP to provide campaigns with voter data.[...]
Granted, much of that data is public. According to The Texas Tribune, that kind of voter data in Texas is already obtainable for a fee, but information relating to individuals’ political affiliations and party memberships is not.
The data also includes additional personal information, such as a person’s phone numbers and their ethnicity and race.
Speaking of which, a new, very preliminary draft for the next mega-thread FPP is available on the MeFi wiki for collaboration and commentary. Cheers,
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:18 AM on August 27, 2018 [31 favorites]
Doktor Zed: thank you for taking initiative on the new thread wiki and for all your other contributions here!
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:44 AM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:44 AM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
[sirens GIF]
New Emerson poll of TX Sen has Cruz up 1 point on O'Rourke, 38-37.
Reasons to think this is real:
* Matches general polling trend of drift towards O'Rourke
* Emerson's done well this year in specials polling
* Poll also shows gov Abbot winning his race in a blowout, 48-28
Reasons not to think so:
* Very high number of undecideds
* It's Texas
posted by Chrysostom at 8:16 AM on August 27, 2018 [60 favorites]
New Emerson poll of TX Sen has Cruz up 1 point on O'Rourke, 38-37.
Reasons to think this is real:
* Matches general polling trend of drift towards O'Rourke
* Emerson's done well this year in specials polling
* Poll also shows gov Abbot winning his race in a blowout, 48-28
Reasons not to think so:
* Very high number of undecideds
* It's Texas
posted by Chrysostom at 8:16 AM on August 27, 2018 [60 favorites]
@SeanMcElwee:
posted by gwint at 8:47 AM on August 27, 2018 [49 favorites]
I’m at a mixer for Obama-Trump voters in Michigan. A coal miner just said, “I heard about the Ocasio-Cortez agenda on Fox. I may be crazy, but I think it would play well here.” Another chimes in “Buddy I’m a lifelong Republican and if she’s socialist sign me up for DSA.” Amazing.The notion that Fox News introduced Ocasio-Cortez's platform positions to their viewers (but as a nightmare) and some of them decided "Actually, that sounds pretty good." is *kisses fingers* [fake]
posted by gwint at 8:47 AM on August 27, 2018 [49 favorites]
a mixer for Obama-Trump voters
I'm sorry, a what now?
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:53 AM on August 27, 2018 [21 favorites]
I'm sorry, a what now?
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:53 AM on August 27, 2018 [21 favorites]
I was just reading something about one of the main reasons de Gaulle became the major figure in the resistance is that the Vichy government put his face on posters all over the place, saying what a terrible guy he was.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:54 AM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:54 AM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
@SeanMcElwee:
I’m at a mixer for Obama-Trump voters in Michigan.
This is a riff on Salena Zito’s tendency to “find” perfect quotes from supposed swing voters at gas stations.
posted by Etrigan at 8:54 AM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
I’m at a mixer for Obama-Trump voters in Michigan.
This is a riff on Salena Zito’s tendency to “find” perfect quotes from supposed swing voters at gas stations.
posted by Etrigan at 8:54 AM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
As far as I can tell those quotes are 100% invented by Sean McElwee; it's a total inside joke.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
Yeah, @SeanMcElwee dropped his [fake] tag.
posted by history_denier at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by history_denier at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Breaking: Nation's top student loan official resigns (AP)
The government's top official overseeing the $1.5 trillion student loan market resigned in protest on Monday, citing what he says is the White House's open hostility toward protecting the nation's millions of student loan borrowers.posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2018 [57 favorites]
Seth Frotman will be stepping down from his position as student loan ombudsman at the end of the week, according to his resignation letter which was obtained by The Associated Press. He held that position since 2016.
... “The damage you have done to the bureau betrays these families and sacrifices the financial futures of millions of Americans in communities across the country," Frotman said.
A spokesman for the bureau was not immediately available to respond to Frotman's letter.
I thought it was pretty well known there was a demographic that just wanted a disruption, therefore Obama then Trump. Am I dreaming, I thought I learnt that here?
posted by adept256 at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2018
posted by adept256 at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2018
Welp, I'm guessing tomorrow I'll hear about the end of PLSF. I really needed that for mu student loans.
I'm glad he resigned based on morals, but his replacement will be terrifying if (and that's pretty big if these days) he is replaced.
posted by AlexiaSky at 9:01 AM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm glad he resigned based on morals, but his replacement will be terrifying if (and that's pretty big if these days) he is replaced.
posted by AlexiaSky at 9:01 AM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
Oh, and Trump’s “solution” to NAFTA?
Rename it “The US-Mexico Trade Agreement”
[real]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:02 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Rename it “The US-Mexico Trade Agreement”
[real]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:02 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
adept256: I thought it was pretty well known there was a demographic that just wanted a disruption, therefore Obama then Trump. Am I dreaming, I thought I learnt that here?
Obama-Trump voters do exist, and are worth some analysis. But lots of factors complicate it. For one thing, there's a bias of people wanting to be known as having voted for the winner, perhaps even to the point of genuinely misremembering their own vote.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:04 AM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Obama-Trump voters do exist, and are worth some analysis. But lots of factors complicate it. For one thing, there's a bias of people wanting to be known as having voted for the winner, perhaps even to the point of genuinely misremembering their own vote.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:04 AM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Doh, sorry folks. Wishful thinking. Mods, please add [fake] tag.
posted by gwint at 9:05 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gwint at 9:05 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I thought it was pretty well known there was a demographic that just wanted a disruption, therefore Obama then Trump. Am I dreaming, I thought I learnt that here?
A study by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group found that 9.2% of Obama voters voted for Trump in 2016. According to the American National Election Study, 13% of Trump voters had voted for Obama in 2012.
posted by gwint at 9:07 AM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
A study by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group found that 9.2% of Obama voters voted for Trump in 2016. According to the American National Election Study, 13% of Trump voters had voted for Obama in 2012.
posted by gwint at 9:07 AM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Welp, I'm guessing tomorrow I'll hear about the end of PLSF.
Yeah, I've been waiting for that shoe to drop ever since Betsy "10 yachts" DeVos was voted in. I also fully expect them to get rid of the income-based payback options and make everybody revert to paying the full interest-accrued amounts. Because they are swine.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:09 AM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
Yeah, I've been waiting for that shoe to drop ever since Betsy "10 yachts" DeVos was voted in. I also fully expect them to get rid of the income-based payback options and make everybody revert to paying the full interest-accrued amounts. Because they are swine.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:09 AM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
Oh, and Trump’s “solution” to NAFTA?
Rename it “The US-Mexico Trade Agreement”
When I saw this speech on CNN (with the sound blessedly off) the sub-chryon read "unclear where this leaves Canada, the third member of NAFTA"
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:11 AM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
Rename it “The US-Mexico Trade Agreement”
When I saw this speech on CNN (with the sound blessedly off) the sub-chryon read "unclear where this leaves Canada, the third member of NAFTA"
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:11 AM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
The whole thing was a cluster. Brace yourselves for memes of Trump fumbling with the phone connection to Mexico. It was a hot mess.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:12 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:12 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I've been waiting for that shoe to drop ever since Betsy "10 yachts" DeVos was voted in. I also fully expect them to get rid of the income-based payback options and make everybody revert to paying the full interest-accrued amounts. Because they are swine.
Maybe now they'll realize that there isn't actually that much money in the economy, and that there's this very basic concept called supply and demand. Oh, right.
posted by Melismata at 9:14 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Maybe now they'll realize that there isn't actually that much money in the economy, and that there's this very basic concept called supply and demand. Oh, right.
posted by Melismata at 9:14 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't expect them to get rid of PSLF and IBR/ICR for people with outstanding loans--student-loan debt is probably as big a third rail for Generation X and millennial voters as Social Security is for their parents. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if these plans become unavailable for new borrowers.
posted by box at 9:25 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by box at 9:25 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Fun part was when Dummy claimed that Mexico was the larger trading partner, when the figure seems to be that Canada out-trades them with the US to the tune of $50 Billion or so.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 9:26 AM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by mrjohnmuller at 9:26 AM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
it's especially sad as you've got a burgeoning college student population; we're apparently on the edge of some demographic bubble.
posted by angrycat at 9:27 AM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 9:27 AM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
This is a riff on Salena Zito’s tendency to “find” perfect quotes from supposed swing voters at gas stations.
@rod_inanimate
So @salenazito blocked me and I couldn’t figure out why. All I’d done was ask her a simple question about a piece of reporting in her book. Then I ran into people in twitter threads who she’d done the same thing to.
• We were talking about the correction @nytimes had to run for @secupp’s column because Zito in her book had hid the fact that Amy Giles-Maurer was a Republican party official. Cool.
• So we decided to google the rest of the names in her book. And then we started a twitter account to tell y'all about it.
• Six - SIX! - of the “lifelong Democrats” and “former Obama voters” in her book are actually elected Republicans
• Cupp isn’t the only reporter to fall for her shtick. @wjlester’s book review says David Rubbico is a longtime Democrat who “liked Obama.” He’s really an elected Republican committee member who said Obama “decimated” the country.
• There’s Dawn Martin, whose vote was totally up for grabs even though she’s the elected secretary of the Lake County GOP and a Republican candidate for county commissioner.
• Rural Howard County's Neil Shaffer is chairman of the Howard County Republican Party.
• Cynthia Sacco, an “independent-minded suburban voter” who “spent most of her life voting mostly Democrat” was elected GOP delegate in 94 and is married to a current elected GOP delegate. Cynthia’s on page 14 here. Here’s her hubby.
• Zito describes Patti Bloomstine as a Democratic donor. She’s on the Republican committee with Dave Rubbico. She’s also secretary of the Erie Republican Independent Conservative PAC, which totally sounds like a thing for Democrats.
• Michael Martin is the “grandson of the late Democratic mayor,” who “did not care for" Mitt Romney. He hated Romney so much, he gave him $2,000 and threw a few grand more to Pat Toomey and Mike Kelly. But yeah, Democratic mayor’s grandkid is probably the most honest description.
• She pulls the same shit outside her book, too. She wrote a column about Jill Gillmore without mentioning she’s a Republican politician. Here’s the column. And here's this.
• If Zito actually traveled to (the oddly specific) 719 cities and towns, and conducted (the hilariously made-up number of) 4913 interviews, it feels weird that half the people she quotes are elected Republicans. It feels even weirder that she hides that detail every time. SCREENSHOT
• So she's presenting the views of elected Republicans in a flattering way. There's a job for that. It's called “Republican spokesperson.”
• But when hosts like @donlemon, @brianstetler, @jaketapper and @jejohnson322 bring her on, they don’t call her a spokesperson. They call her a journalist. Maybe they don’t know. Maybe they didn’t check. But it’s not hard to figure out. We used google.
• Same with the @nypost, @dcexaminer and @penguinrandom. Maybe @SethAMandel and @jimantle and her book editor know about this. Maybe they don’t. Either way, it feels like a problem.
• And we’re not even starting with all the made-up shit that @cnn94cnn, @UrbanAchievr and @KT_So_It_Goes have been posting.
• Or the plagiarism. SCREENSHOTS
• Or the laziness. SCREENSHOTS
• Seriously, somebody at @nypost or @dcexaminer or @CNN or @poynter is gonna look into this, right? You know, even saying "look into" makes it sound harder than it is. Like, at this point, it's just looking.
posted by chris24 at 9:29 AM on August 27, 2018 [133 favorites]
@rod_inanimate
So @salenazito blocked me and I couldn’t figure out why. All I’d done was ask her a simple question about a piece of reporting in her book. Then I ran into people in twitter threads who she’d done the same thing to.
• We were talking about the correction @nytimes had to run for @secupp’s column because Zito in her book had hid the fact that Amy Giles-Maurer was a Republican party official. Cool.
• So we decided to google the rest of the names in her book. And then we started a twitter account to tell y'all about it.
• Six - SIX! - of the “lifelong Democrats” and “former Obama voters” in her book are actually elected Republicans
• Cupp isn’t the only reporter to fall for her shtick. @wjlester’s book review says David Rubbico is a longtime Democrat who “liked Obama.” He’s really an elected Republican committee member who said Obama “decimated” the country.
• There’s Dawn Martin, whose vote was totally up for grabs even though she’s the elected secretary of the Lake County GOP and a Republican candidate for county commissioner.
• Rural Howard County's Neil Shaffer is chairman of the Howard County Republican Party.
• Cynthia Sacco, an “independent-minded suburban voter” who “spent most of her life voting mostly Democrat” was elected GOP delegate in 94 and is married to a current elected GOP delegate. Cynthia’s on page 14 here. Here’s her hubby.
• Zito describes Patti Bloomstine as a Democratic donor. She’s on the Republican committee with Dave Rubbico. She’s also secretary of the Erie Republican Independent Conservative PAC, which totally sounds like a thing for Democrats.
• Michael Martin is the “grandson of the late Democratic mayor,” who “did not care for" Mitt Romney. He hated Romney so much, he gave him $2,000 and threw a few grand more to Pat Toomey and Mike Kelly. But yeah, Democratic mayor’s grandkid is probably the most honest description.
• She pulls the same shit outside her book, too. She wrote a column about Jill Gillmore without mentioning she’s a Republican politician. Here’s the column. And here's this.
• If Zito actually traveled to (the oddly specific) 719 cities and towns, and conducted (the hilariously made-up number of) 4913 interviews, it feels weird that half the people she quotes are elected Republicans. It feels even weirder that she hides that detail every time. SCREENSHOT
• So she's presenting the views of elected Republicans in a flattering way. There's a job for that. It's called “Republican spokesperson.”
• But when hosts like @donlemon, @brianstetler, @jaketapper and @jejohnson322 bring her on, they don’t call her a spokesperson. They call her a journalist. Maybe they don’t know. Maybe they didn’t check. But it’s not hard to figure out. We used google.
• Same with the @nypost, @dcexaminer and @penguinrandom. Maybe @SethAMandel and @jimantle and her book editor know about this. Maybe they don’t. Either way, it feels like a problem.
• And we’re not even starting with all the made-up shit that @cnn94cnn, @UrbanAchievr and @KT_So_It_Goes have been posting.
• Or the plagiarism. SCREENSHOTS
• Or the laziness. SCREENSHOTS
• Seriously, somebody at @nypost or @dcexaminer or @CNN or @poynter is gonna look into this, right? You know, even saying "look into" makes it sound harder than it is. Like, at this point, it's just looking.
posted by chris24 at 9:29 AM on August 27, 2018 [133 favorites]
It won't last a whole lot longer, but maybe until November (as planned). A LOT of people don't follow politics and notice the economy, something very consistent over many years. Heck, McCain was poised to win in 2008 until the house of cards that was the Bush Jr. economy collapsed two months before the election. And that was against a historically talented and squeaky-clean opponent.
Although this is from yesterday, I think it's worth correcting: this is not accurate. Obama was the expected winner throughout most of the time there was Obama:McCain polling (meaning post selection/primaries), almost always beyond the stated margin of error.
posted by phearlez at 9:32 AM on August 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
Although this is from yesterday, I think it's worth correcting: this is not accurate. Obama was the expected winner throughout most of the time there was Obama:McCain polling (meaning post selection/primaries), almost always beyond the stated margin of error.
posted by phearlez at 9:32 AM on August 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
Re-negotiated the NAFTA treaty? I smell another Nobel Prize in the works.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:44 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:44 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I hope the media doesn't fall for this "deal" shit again. As far as I can tell there is no deal. There's a preliminary, partial understanding on some portions of a slightly altered NAFTA which only involves Mexico, despite Canada needing to buy into any changes.
Trump is going to claim credit for the greatest, biggest trade deal in history for this isn't he? Despite it not being a trade deal, or very big, or agreed to by all parties?
Even if he does get an agreement, does he try to rush it through Congress before the end of the year? They have to, right?
posted by Justinian at 10:54 AM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
Trump is going to claim credit for the greatest, biggest trade deal in history for this isn't he? Despite it not being a trade deal, or very big, or agreed to by all parties?
Even if he does get an agreement, does he try to rush it through Congress before the end of the year? They have to, right?
posted by Justinian at 10:54 AM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
President Donald Trump is threatening to exclude Canada from a final deal, and to hit Canada with auto tariffs.
This Canadian was pretty firmly opposed to both the original Free Trade Agreement and subsequent NAFTA, but was resigned to it as a done thing and the foreseeable political reality until however many generations from now. Never did I expect that we would be kicked out. And over... what? It's not even dairy quotas or softwood lumber this time.
Offhand, Canada's exclusion is going to be bad for the auto sector -- for everybody. Taking away U.S. rights over Canadian water, though -- I don't mind that part so much. Stay thirsty, my friends!
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:55 AM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
This Canadian was pretty firmly opposed to both the original Free Trade Agreement and subsequent NAFTA, but was resigned to it as a done thing and the foreseeable political reality until however many generations from now. Never did I expect that we would be kicked out. And over... what? It's not even dairy quotas or softwood lumber this time.
Offhand, Canada's exclusion is going to be bad for the auto sector -- for everybody. Taking away U.S. rights over Canadian water, though -- I don't mind that part so much. Stay thirsty, my friends!
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:55 AM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
May be time for Ottawa to dust off Defence Scheme No. 1.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Honestly wouldn't mind to not be literally forced to sell our energy to the United States.
posted by Yowser at 11:06 AM on August 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 11:06 AM on August 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
Taking away U.S. rights over Canadian water, though -- I don't mind that part so much. Stay thirsty, my friends!
Oh man, this is the thing that genuinely scares me, because like...war. Countries go to war over water rights. Please continue to be patient and sane while we try to get our right wing poltergeist under control. We're really very very sorry.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:09 AM on August 27, 2018 [29 favorites]
Oh man, this is the thing that genuinely scares me, because like...war. Countries go to war over water rights. Please continue to be patient and sane while we try to get our right wing poltergeist under control. We're really very very sorry.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:09 AM on August 27, 2018 [29 favorites]
Yeah, they'll block the water, but nothing is going to stop that oil-sands pipeline. They've been paid.
posted by adept256 at 11:10 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by adept256 at 11:10 AM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Welcome to the Theocracy: Tonight - ‘Like a State Dinner’: Trump to Host Huge White House Event Honoring Evangelical Christians.
The White House has not released a list of invited guests, nor any agenda.
posted by adamvasco at 11:11 AM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
The White House has not released a list of invited guests, nor any agenda.
posted by adamvasco at 11:11 AM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
Mark Knoller, CBS : Pres Trump declined to answer questions at the end of the announcement. Was asked to reflect on the legacy of Sen. McCain, but declined. Sat silent and cross-armed as press pool herded out of the Oval Office.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:20 AM on August 27, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:20 AM on August 27, 2018 [26 favorites]
The whole thing was a cluster. Brace yourselves for memes of Trump fumbling with the phone connection to Mexico. It was a hot mess.
Here's video of them trying to get the phones to work (which, honestly, is the most normal and relatable thing these people have ever done)
Also, @JoshNBCNews: "A hug from you would be very nice," Trump tells the president of Mexico as he concludes speakerphone call to announce trade deal
Interested Canadians (and Americans interested in our relationship to Canada) can read a transcript of Trump's remarks about Canada and Daniel Dale's story, Trump tries to put squeeze on Canada as U.S. and Mexico make NAFTA breakthrough
Here's video of them trying to get the phones to work (which, honestly, is the most normal and relatable thing these people have ever done)
Also, @JoshNBCNews: "A hug from you would be very nice," Trump tells the president of Mexico as he concludes speakerphone call to announce trade deal
Interested Canadians (and Americans interested in our relationship to Canada) can read a transcript of Trump's remarks about Canada and Daniel Dale's story, Trump tries to put squeeze on Canada as U.S. and Mexico make NAFTA breakthrough
The U.S. and Mexico have come to a preliminary agreement on new North American rules for automotive manufacturing and for other industries — and President Donald Trump is using it to threaten Canada, using a novel tactic to try to pressure Prime Minister Justin Trudeau into a final deal.posted by zachlipton at 11:27 AM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
The U.S.-Mexico deal, announced Monday, had widely been described as a preliminary, informal sub-agreement that would be folded into the broader North American Free Trade Agreement talks.
But the Trump administration, seeking to push Canada into concessions, is describing it as a separate trade agreement, a “United States-Mexico Trade Agreement,” that Canada can either choose to join or not.
But the Trump administration, seeking to push Canada into concessions, is describing it as a separate trade agreement, a “United States-Mexico Trade Agreement,” that Canada can either choose to join or not.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he would “get rid of the name NAFTA,” which he said has a “bad connotation.”
Trump again threatened Canada with auto tariffs. “Canada will start negotiations shortly. I’ll be calling the prime minister very soon. And we’ll start negotiation, and if they’d like to negotiate fairly, we’ll do that.
just surfed across this
I was naive, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, personal blog Making Light, June 17, 2018
I was naive, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, personal blog Making Light, June 17, 2018
I’ve realized that the reason I no longer write blog posts about politics is that events taught me that I was completely full of shit. I imagined I lived in a country that doesn’t exist.posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:33 AM on August 27, 2018 [65 favorites]
Turns out I live in a country 35-45% of which are super-happy with fascism, including the concentration-camps part. And 45-60% of the same country are insufficiently bothered by this fact to do anything to stop it.
This has me rethinking about hundreds of conversations I’ve had over the decades with people I thought meant well. I was wrong. Most of them didn’t mean well.
I’ve seen the future, baby; it is murder.
Sat silent and cross-armed as press pool herded out of the Oval Office.
Someone (Kelly, Sanders, Pence, Mattis, I dunno) told him under no uncertain terms that he was not to say word fucking one about McCain. That's his "My underlings aren't being nice to me and they're right" pose.
posted by Etrigan at 11:35 AM on August 27, 2018 [35 favorites]
Someone (Kelly, Sanders, Pence, Mattis, I dunno) told him under no uncertain terms that he was not to say word fucking one about McCain. That's his "My underlings aren't being nice to me and they're right" pose.
posted by Etrigan at 11:35 AM on August 27, 2018 [35 favorites]
He's making a mental list of people to ban from his funeral ceremony. How ashamed and disgraced they will feel, he imagines.
posted by adept256 at 11:41 AM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 11:41 AM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
Can He Keep Himself in Check? - Josh Marshall, TPM
The most difficult part for the President will almost certainly be the fact that he sees the whole pageantry [of the tributes to John McCain] – rightly – as in significant measure a rebuke aimed at him. Through his life and especially in the last quarter century of his life McCain presented himself as a public icon for service, selflessness, sacrifice, honesty, courage. Whether he always lived up to those ideal isn’t the point. Frequently, he didn’t. But that’s what the coming days, inevitably, will be about. And every invocation of them will be at least an implicit and often an explicit rebuke of Trump who, for all McCain’s failings, is like an anti-McCain – most known for selfishness, indiscipline, lack of self-control, lying and being clinically bereft of shame.posted by ZeusHumms at 11:41 AM on August 27, 2018 [26 favorites]
If you have any concern that this amounts to Trump and his awfulness somehow stepping on McCain’s moment, don’t be. It is almost certain that this would be and was precisely how McCain wanted it. It is almost unimaginable that Trump will be able to go a full week without some crass statement or public outburst aimed at McCain since McCain’s final public moments will all come at his expense. He will find that excruciating and it is hard to imagine he will get through it without further demeaning himself.
Really? I think it's his "I can sit here all night not eating these brussels sprouts" pose.
posted by Horkus at 11:41 AM on August 27, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 11:41 AM on August 27, 2018 [32 favorites]
45-60% of the same country are insufficiently bothered by this fact to do anything to stop it.
What legal options do we have except voting, trying to get others to vote, and supporting candidates who aren't fascists?
posted by kirkaracha at 11:45 AM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
What legal options do we have except voting, trying to get others to vote, and supporting candidates who aren't fascists?
posted by kirkaracha at 11:45 AM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
He's making a mental list of people to ban from his funeral ceremony. How ashamed and disgraced they will feel, he imagines.
No. He does not and never will understand that he's going to die some day. Like so many others, he shares the belief of Ayn Rand: “I will not die, it's the world that will end."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:45 AM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
No. He does not and never will understand that he's going to die some day. Like so many others, he shares the belief of Ayn Rand: “I will not die, it's the world that will end."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:45 AM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
Vanity Fair, Gabe Sherman, “TRUMP IS NUTS. THIS TIME REALLY FEELS DIFFERENT”: TRUMP REJECTS “WAR COUNCIL” INTERVENTION, GOES IT ALONE
After Michael Cohen’s plea deal last week, Donald Trump spiraled out of control, firing wildly in all directions. He railed against “flippers” in a rambling Fox & Friends interview, and lashed out on Twitter at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department, and Robert Mueller. In the wake of his outbursts, White House officials have discussed whether Trump would listen to his closest New York City friends in an effort to rein him in. Two sources briefed on the matter told me that senior officials talked about inviting Rudy Giuliani and a group of Trump’s New York real-estate friends including Tom Barrack, Richard LeFrak, and Howard Lorber to the White House to stage an “intervention” last week. “It was supposed to be a war council,” one source explained. But Trump refused to take the meeting, sources said. “You know Trump—he hates being lectured to,” the source added. (Spokespeople for LeFrak and Lorber say they have no knowledge of a meeting. A spokesperson for Barrack didn’t comment.)posted by zachlipton at 11:49 AM on August 27, 2018 [27 favorites]
More than ever, Trump is acting by feeling and instinct. “Trump is nuts,” said one former West Wing official. “This time really feels different.” Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Shine has privately expressed concern, a source said, telling a friend that Trump’s emotional state is “very tender.” Even Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are unsettled that Trump is so gleefully acting on his most self-destructive impulses as his legal peril grows. According to a source, Jared and Ivanka told Trump that stripping security clearances from former intelligence officials would backfire, but Trump ignored them. Kushner later told a friend Trump “got joy” out of taking away John Brennan’s clearance. His reaction to the death of John McCain—quashing a White House statement in praise of the senator, and restoring White House flags to full staff—falls into the same self-indulgent category.
...
After Cohen effectively named Trump an unindicted co-conspirator in campaign-finance crimes with the payments to Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, Trump’s public posture was that the payments weren’t crimes. Privately, according to two sources, Trump attorneys suggested that a strategy for dealing with the issue could be for Trump to admit to having affairs with women and paying hush money to them for years. That way, he could assert that the payments to Daniels and McDougal were normal business—not campaign donations meant to influence the 2016 election. Trump, according to the sources, rejected this advice. “It was because of Melania,” one source said.
Two sources told me that Trump continues to raise the possibility of a pardon for Manafort, his former campaign chairman. Trump has been clashing with White House counsel Don McGahn, who, sources said, is strongly against granting Manafort a pardon. (A lawyer for McGahn did not respond to a request for comment.) Trump has told people he’s considering bringing in a new lawyer to draft a Manafort pardon, if McGahn won’t do it. “He really at this point does not care,” a former official said. “He would rather fight the battle. He doesn’t want to do anything that would cede executive authority.”
Honestly wouldn't mind to not be literally forced to sell our energy to the United States.
NAFTA: Hydroelectricity at natural gas prices!
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 11:50 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
NAFTA: Hydroelectricity at natural gas prices!
posted by Definitely Not Sean Spicer at 11:50 AM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Privately, according to two sources, Trump attorneys suggested that a strategy for dealing with the issue could be for Trump to admit to having affairs with women and paying hush money to them for years. That way, he could assert that the payments to Daniels and McDougal were normal business—not campaign donations meant to influence the 2016 election. Trump, according to the sources, rejected this advice. “It was because of Melania,” one source said.
Notice the pattern here, of Trump obviously being guilty of behavior that he also doesn't want to admit publicly, applies to so much else, from money laundering for the Russian mob to accepting an in-kind campaign contribution from a hostile foreign power (also Russia, not coincidentally) to wanting a Muslim ban while denying it to the courts to so much else.
posted by Gelatin at 11:53 AM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
Notice the pattern here, of Trump obviously being guilty of behavior that he also doesn't want to admit publicly, applies to so much else, from money laundering for the Russian mob to accepting an in-kind campaign contribution from a hostile foreign power (also Russia, not coincidentally) to wanting a Muslim ban while denying it to the courts to so much else.
posted by Gelatin at 11:53 AM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
Federal fiscal year starts October 1, no budget deal yet.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:53 AM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:53 AM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
He doesn’t want to do anything that would cede executive authority.
Ah yes, he's doing all this to protect the office of the president, not his own ass.
posted by chris24 at 11:55 AM on August 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
Ah yes, he's doing all this to protect the office of the president, not his own ass.
posted by chris24 at 11:55 AM on August 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
Trump, according to the sources, rejected this advice. “It was because of Melania,” one source said.
Okay, so either the source is lying about that second part, or Melania has something that will turn Trump into a fucking pile of ashes, because there's no way he gives a shit about whether she's humiliated in public, especially at this stage of the game.
posted by Etrigan at 11:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
Okay, so either the source is lying about that second part, or Melania has something that will turn Trump into a fucking pile of ashes, because there's no way he gives a shit about whether she's humiliated in public, especially at this stage of the game.
posted by Etrigan at 11:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
What legal options do we have except voting, trying to get others to vote, and supporting candidates who aren't fascists?
Since the erstwhile rule of law is currently being catastrophically subverted and warped in service of evil, it's best to get used to the idea of constraining political activism by morality and not "legality."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [20 favorites]
Since the erstwhile rule of law is currently being catastrophically subverted and warped in service of evil, it's best to get used to the idea of constraining political activism by morality and not "legality."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:56 AM on August 27, 2018 [20 favorites]
“He really at this point does not care,” a former official said. “He would rather fight the battle. He doesn’t want to do anything that would cede executive authority.”
If impeachment hearings actually become politically possible post-midterms, I wonder if Trump would refuse to show up for them? Or maybe he'd show up and just sit there with his arms crossed again. It's hard to imagine what happens in a world where everyone in DC isn't tiptoeing around him like courtiers in the palace of a mad king.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:58 AM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
If impeachment hearings actually become politically possible post-midterms, I wonder if Trump would refuse to show up for them? Or maybe he'd show up and just sit there with his arms crossed again. It's hard to imagine what happens in a world where everyone in DC isn't tiptoeing around him like courtiers in the palace of a mad king.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:58 AM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
Melania has something that will turn Trump into a fucking pile of ashes
We know there's a prenup. We don't know what's in it, but it's entirely possible given his history that admitting an affair would have significant financial consequences for him.
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on August 27, 2018 [22 favorites]
We know there's a prenup. We don't know what's in it, but it's entirely possible given his history that admitting an affair would have significant financial consequences for him.
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on August 27, 2018 [22 favorites]
Melania has something that will turn Trump into a fucking pile of ashes
We know there's a prenup. We don't know what's in it, but it's entirely possible given his history that admitting an affair would have significant financial consequences for him.
This is the most likely, and a very likely answer. But it is also fun to imagine she is the handler...
posted by mumimor at 12:03 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
We know there's a prenup. We don't know what's in it, but it's entirely possible given his history that admitting an affair would have significant financial consequences for him.
This is the most likely, and a very likely answer. But it is also fun to imagine she is the handler...
posted by mumimor at 12:03 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
From Chrysostom's link: no one has any idea whether President Trump will sign any appropriations if Congress doesn’t provide at least $5 billion for the wall he wants to build between the United States and Mexico.
And although he no longer needs to pay for his military parade, you can’t help but wonder whether Trump will now also demand at least initial funding for his space force as the price for his signature.
I suspect he'll sign almost anything. He'll whine about it after, but he doesn't want the bad press of, "both parties were able to reach an agreement, so it's ALL YOUR FAULT that the government shut down." He'll sign, and then say he shouldn't have, it was a bad deal, they tricked him, and so on.
We need Dems not to budge on "no wall" and "%*@$! no 'space force' dude we already have a gov't org that does space."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:06 PM on August 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
And although he no longer needs to pay for his military parade, you can’t help but wonder whether Trump will now also demand at least initial funding for his space force as the price for his signature.
I suspect he'll sign almost anything. He'll whine about it after, but he doesn't want the bad press of, "both parties were able to reach an agreement, so it's ALL YOUR FAULT that the government shut down." He'll sign, and then say he shouldn't have, it was a bad deal, they tricked him, and so on.
We need Dems not to budge on "no wall" and "%*@$! no 'space force' dude we already have a gov't org that does space."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:06 PM on August 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
We don't know what's in it, but it's entirely possible given his history that admitting an affair would have significant financial consequences for him.
I'm no family lawyer, but I can't imagine that he would sign such an agreement (what power did she have in the relationship to demand something like that?), or that such an agreement could be written to only apply to affairs he admits to. The cat is out of the bag as far as whether the number of women he's slept with since the wedding is greater than 1. It's gotta be something else.
posted by Etrigan at 12:07 PM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
I'm no family lawyer, but I can't imagine that he would sign such an agreement (what power did she have in the relationship to demand something like that?), or that such an agreement could be written to only apply to affairs he admits to. The cat is out of the bag as far as whether the number of women he's slept with since the wedding is greater than 1. It's gotta be something else.
posted by Etrigan at 12:07 PM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
We know there's a prenup. We don't know what's in it, but it's entirely possible given his history that admitting an affair would have significant financial consequences for him.
Perhaps in addition to possibly invalidating any financial agreement in the prenup, an affair might also invalidate any confidentiality/non-disparagement clause in it.
posted by chris24 at 12:09 PM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
Perhaps in addition to possibly invalidating any financial agreement in the prenup, an affair might also invalidate any confidentiality/non-disparagement clause in it.
posted by chris24 at 12:09 PM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
The entire concept that threatening government shutdowns is a legitimate move in politics needs to die, People who try it need to face consequences of public shame and career death.
posted by thelonius at 12:09 PM on August 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 12:09 PM on August 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
The entire concept that threatening government shutdowns is a legitimate move in politics needs to die, People who try it need to face consequences of public shame and career death.
From Republican voters? Fat chance.
posted by Gelatin at 12:12 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
From Republican voters? Fat chance.
posted by Gelatin at 12:12 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
What legal options do we have except voting, trying to get others to vote, and supporting candidates who aren't fascists?
Inoculating the Body Politic against fascism. This isn't a legal issue. It's a social issue, therefore fought in the "Court of Public Opinion", where I believe ( "Preponderance of the evidence" times "number of impressions" ) is the standard of proof.
e.g.: the film "Don't Be A Sucker"
Don't legitimize them by discussing their views.
The discussion is not "What's wrong with Nazis?" but rather, "You are legitimizing these Nazi beliefs by pretending they aren't Nazi beliefs. What the hell is wrong with you?"
posted by mikelieman at 12:15 PM on August 27, 2018 [44 favorites]
Inoculating the Body Politic against fascism. This isn't a legal issue. It's a social issue, therefore fought in the "Court of Public Opinion", where I believe ( "Preponderance of the evidence" times "number of impressions" ) is the standard of proof.
e.g.: the film "Don't Be A Sucker"
Don't legitimize them by discussing their views.
The discussion is not "What's wrong with Nazis?" but rather, "You are legitimizing these Nazi beliefs by pretending they aren't Nazi beliefs. What the hell is wrong with you?"
posted by mikelieman at 12:15 PM on August 27, 2018 [44 favorites]
e.g.: the film "Don't Be A Sucker"
OK now what do we do when 1/3 of Americans call themselves Proud Suckers and own I'd Rather Be A Sucker Than A DemocRAT bumper stickers?
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:18 PM on August 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
OK now what do we do when 1/3 of Americans call themselves Proud Suckers and own I'd Rather Be A Sucker Than A DemocRAT bumper stickers?
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:18 PM on August 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
I encourage everyone to watch 'Don't be a sucker', linked above. This is part of the measures America took to inform the public about fascism and it's virulance. Unfortunately, they stopped doing that generations ago. It's original audience are gone now, and it's passed from living memory. They don't teach that anymore. And it's more important than ever!
posted by adept256 at 12:19 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 12:19 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm no family lawyer, but I can't imagine that he would sign such an agreement (what power did she have in the relationship to demand something like that?), or that such an agreement could be written to only apply to affairs he admits to. The cat is out of the bag as far as whether the number of women he's slept with since the wedding is greater than 1. It's gotta be something else.
Maybe Trump's violation of the prenup voids her NDA too? She could, you know, just tell the truth to everyone, and Trump would.... We cannot expect rational behaviour from irrational people.
posted by mikelieman at 12:23 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Maybe Trump's violation of the prenup voids her NDA too? She could, you know, just tell the truth to everyone, and Trump would.... We cannot expect rational behaviour from irrational people.
posted by mikelieman at 12:23 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
OK now what do we do when 1/3 of Americans call themselves Proud Suckers and own I'd Rather Be A Sucker Than A DemocRAT bumper stickers?
Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism re-education camps.
But really, just keep on keeping on and hope their children are smarter. I never thought I'd see ssm and recreational weed, but here we are.
posted by mikelieman at 12:25 PM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism re-education camps.
But really, just keep on keeping on and hope their children are smarter. I never thought I'd see ssm and recreational weed, but here we are.
posted by mikelieman at 12:25 PM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
Welcome to the Theocracy: Tonight - ‘Like a State Dinner’: Trump to Host Huge White House Event Honoring Evangelical Christians.
The White House has not released a list of invited guests, nor any agenda.
I believe there will be a Receiving (of gifts) Line on the way in followed by Individual Oaths of Praise & Loyalty, a Ten Minute Mandatory Applause Session & closing with Group Prostration Before the Image of the Beast.
posted by scalefree at 12:28 PM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
The White House has not released a list of invited guests, nor any agenda.
I believe there will be a Receiving (of gifts) Line on the way in followed by Individual Oaths of Praise & Loyalty, a Ten Minute Mandatory Applause Session & closing with Group Prostration Before the Image of the Beast.
posted by scalefree at 12:28 PM on August 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
cjelli: I'm not sure why we're speculating about the precise nature of the language in Melania's pre-nup, when the alternative -- that an anonymous-to-us source lied about Trump making a decision due to his caring for Melania, seems...not less likely?
It comports with other accounts. For example, Comey says that Trump explicitly worried about Melania believing the pee tape might be real.
I think it really could be as simple as not wanting his own wife to hate him any more than she already does. It sounds nonsensical because he's not doing anything that you or I might do to achieve that purpose, but that's just him being really bad/self-destructive at it.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:30 PM on August 27, 2018
It comports with other accounts. For example, Comey says that Trump explicitly worried about Melania believing the pee tape might be real.
I think it really could be as simple as not wanting his own wife to hate him any more than she already does. It sounds nonsensical because he's not doing anything that you or I might do to achieve that purpose, but that's just him being really bad/self-destructive at it.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:30 PM on August 27, 2018
I'd assumed it was because any divorce proceedings could make more of his lousy finances public.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:32 PM on August 27, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:32 PM on August 27, 2018 [16 favorites]
Weird Al has one request: "Please don't pickaxe my star. I know it's all the rage these days, but that's not cool. Unless at some point in the future, I do something unfathomably monstrous and evil in which case, sure, fine, okay, go ahead"
posted by Etrigan at 12:35 PM on August 27, 2018 [90 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 12:35 PM on August 27, 2018 [90 favorites]
I think Trump really does worry about Melania leaving him. A large part of his self-worth comes from the sexual conquest and ownership of beautiful women. He doesn't (he can't) love her in the normal sense, but I believe he is intensely possessive of her and it would cause him great pain to lose her.
posted by theodolite at 12:39 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 12:39 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
NYT, Kushner Companies and Michael Cohen Accused of Falsifying Building Permits to Push Out Tenants
posted by zachlipton at 12:40 PM on August 27, 2018 [47 favorites]
Charles Kushner, the developer whose son Jared Kushner is a senior adviser to President Trump, and Michael Cohen, the president’s former personal lawyer, face scrutiny in New York for claims that they falsified construction permits in an attempt to remove rent-regulated tenants from buildings scattered across the city.Oh what do you know? More crimes.
On Monday, the city’s Department of Buildings fined Kushner Companies $210,000 for 42 instances in which it says the company falsified construction permits at 17 residential buildings, where many of the tenants were protected by rent regulations from steep rent increases and eviction.
Tenant activists also issued a report on Monday based on city and state records that suggested that an investment group led by Mr. Cohen had also falsified construction permits by claiming that three buildings in Manhattan were vacant or without rent-regulated tenants, when they were occupied and many tenants had rental protections.
posted by zachlipton at 12:40 PM on August 27, 2018 [47 favorites]
I think it really could be as simple as not wanting his own wife to hate him any more than she already does. It sounds nonsensical because he's not doing anything that you or I might do to achieve that purpose, but that's just him being really bad/self-destructive at it.
Or perhaps it's concern about what might happen when she hits a breaking point. Spousal privilege is something you have to elect to use, it's not automatic. And as Iris Gambol points out, it could surface his finances. So perhaps he thinks that there's some point at which she'll walk even if it costs her; since she's supposedly unhappy with this current life it may be he perceives her "fuck you" threshold as lower than it would otherwise be. Or he thinks she might have saved copies of something at some time and might leak it if angered.
Or perhaps it's a question of power. If he would be much more publicly blamed than her then she might have leverage of some sort even if they stay married.
As far as a possible adultery clause, I can see two possibilities: there is one because he would insist on one for her and they didn't think a court would uphold an asymmetric situation. Or there isn't one for him and they think a court would side with her if she sought to assert what was written in for her should be applied to him.
I suppose it could also be the more pedestrian outlook that my wife and I adhere to: don't cross someone who has easy access to smothering you in your sleep.
posted by phearlez at 12:43 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Or perhaps it's concern about what might happen when she hits a breaking point. Spousal privilege is something you have to elect to use, it's not automatic. And as Iris Gambol points out, it could surface his finances. So perhaps he thinks that there's some point at which she'll walk even if it costs her; since she's supposedly unhappy with this current life it may be he perceives her "fuck you" threshold as lower than it would otherwise be. Or he thinks she might have saved copies of something at some time and might leak it if angered.
Or perhaps it's a question of power. If he would be much more publicly blamed than her then she might have leverage of some sort even if they stay married.
As far as a possible adultery clause, I can see two possibilities: there is one because he would insist on one for her and they didn't think a court would uphold an asymmetric situation. Or there isn't one for him and they think a court would side with her if she sought to assert what was written in for her should be applied to him.
I suppose it could also be the more pedestrian outlook that my wife and I adhere to: don't cross someone who has easy access to smothering you in your sleep.
posted by phearlez at 12:43 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
She's been married to him for 15 years or something right?
And she's not dumb.
There's no way Melania hasn't collected some tapes of her own. I mean, he's not a strategic thinker. If he's a afraid of pissing her off, it's because there's a very direct, and probably visual, reason for that.
I invite you all to remember the spanking allegation, and other rumors that would put DJT in a submissive position to a woman, which is probably the only thing he's capable of feeling shame about.
And I apologize.
posted by schadenfrau at 12:47 PM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
And she's not dumb.
There's no way Melania hasn't collected some tapes of her own. I mean, he's not a strategic thinker. If he's a afraid of pissing her off, it's because there's a very direct, and probably visual, reason for that.
I invite you all to remember the spanking allegation, and other rumors that would put DJT in a submissive position to a woman, which is probably the only thing he's capable of feeling shame about.
And I apologize.
posted by schadenfrau at 12:47 PM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
Spousal privilege is automatic - you can't decide that you hate your spouse and now you're going to report every illegal thing they've done. The point of having it is to encourage spouses to confide in each other, and they won't do that if they have to worry that the spouse will change their mind later. (Like doctor privilege or lawyer privilege, the person receiving info doesn't have the option to share it with third parties, without consent of the person giving info.)
However, there are situations where it doesn't apply: "The spousal communications privilege may not be invoked if the spouses are suing each other or each other's estates in a civil case; if one of the spouses has initiated a criminal proceeding against the other; or in a competency proceeding regarding one of the spouses."
Suing for divorce is a civil case. Also, the privilege only applies to private communications, not actions that happen to be known to the spouse - "he spent $15,000 on X" is not privileged communication.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
However, there are situations where it doesn't apply: "The spousal communications privilege may not be invoked if the spouses are suing each other or each other's estates in a civil case; if one of the spouses has initiated a criminal proceeding against the other; or in a competency proceeding regarding one of the spouses."
Suing for divorce is a civil case. Also, the privilege only applies to private communications, not actions that happen to be known to the spouse - "he spent $15,000 on X" is not privileged communication.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
That was quick, Flags at White House return to full staff after brief tribute to McCain (WaPo).
Update: @JaxAlemany: The White House flag is now at half-staff.
Are they just going to raise and lower it all day long? The American Legion released a strongly worded letter that they were pretty upset about this.
However, @EamonJavers: Flag atop the White House’s Executive Office Building is still fully raised now, even as the White House goes to half staff.
posted by zachlipton at 12:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Update: @JaxAlemany: The White House flag is now at half-staff.
Are they just going to raise and lower it all day long? The American Legion released a strongly worded letter that they were pretty upset about this.
However, @EamonJavers: Flag atop the White House’s Executive Office Building is still fully raised now, even as the White House goes to half staff.
posted by zachlipton at 12:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
PSLF is super tricky because it’s not a payment plan like IBR or Pay As You Earn. I used to work for a loan servicer.
It’s a credit that you apply for after 10 years. You have to upload all of the documention regarding the discounted payments you made and your job history. Then it has to be approved.
It’s not a guaranteed thing. And it’s barely been around 10 years so there not many people who’ve gotten it.
But many people made life choices based on it.
They could change the rules at any time and screw over many many people.
All of this is true, trust me I'm one of the people that planned their entire career around getting PSLF and would have absolutely no hope of repaying if it were taken away. But, Congress isn't going to take it away from current borrowers. The education reform bill they're talking about is the PROSPER Act which is stalled, maybe to death in the House. Even that implicitly grandfathers all current borrowers, and changes to PSLF would take effect only on new loans disbursed after passage. That still SUCKS for anyone who wants to go into public service, but would not retroactively fuck hundreds of thousands of people like me who structured their entire financial outlook and life choices on receiving forgiveness.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:49 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
It’s a credit that you apply for after 10 years. You have to upload all of the documention regarding the discounted payments you made and your job history. Then it has to be approved.
It’s not a guaranteed thing. And it’s barely been around 10 years so there not many people who’ve gotten it.
But many people made life choices based on it.
They could change the rules at any time and screw over many many people.
All of this is true, trust me I'm one of the people that planned their entire career around getting PSLF and would have absolutely no hope of repaying if it were taken away. But, Congress isn't going to take it away from current borrowers. The education reform bill they're talking about is the PROSPER Act which is stalled, maybe to death in the House. Even that implicitly grandfathers all current borrowers, and changes to PSLF would take effect only on new loans disbursed after passage. That still SUCKS for anyone who wants to go into public service, but would not retroactively fuck hundreds of thousands of people like me who structured their entire financial outlook and life choices on receiving forgiveness.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:49 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
However, @EamonJavers: Flag atop the White House’s Executive Office Building is still fully raised now, even as the White House goes to half staff.
So the question becomes, is it incompetence or internecine strife causing this inconsistent messaging? Does someone not realize they have two flags or are there warring factions, each in control of one flag?
posted by scalefree at 12:58 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
So the question becomes, is it incompetence or internecine strife causing this inconsistent messaging? Does someone not realize they have two flags or are there warring factions, each in control of one flag?
posted by scalefree at 12:58 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Update: @JaxAlemany: The White House flag is now at half-staff.
Now that Trump had to back down on this, even more likely he's going to lose it sometime this week and say something awful regarding McCain. Especially given McCain's farewell statement released today which includes a pretty overt repudiation of Trump.
posted by chris24 at 12:59 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
Now that Trump had to back down on this, even more likely he's going to lose it sometime this week and say something awful regarding McCain. Especially given McCain's farewell statement released today which includes a pretty overt repudiation of Trump.
posted by chris24 at 12:59 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
Rampant speculation about White House intrigue based on flag elevation is such a perfect 2018 metaphor it makes me kind of angry
posted by theodolite at 1:04 PM on August 27, 2018 [66 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 1:04 PM on August 27, 2018 [66 favorites]
Is lowering flags for senators a routine thing? Were flags lowered to half staff when Paul Laxalt died on August 6?
Or is it just because McCain was technically still in office?
posted by shenderson at 1:10 PM on August 27, 2018
Or is it just because McCain was technically still in office?
posted by shenderson at 1:10 PM on August 27, 2018
But, Congress isn't going to take it away from current borrowers. The education reform bill they're talking about is the PROSPER Act which is stalled, maybe to death in the House.
*Congress* might not end PSLF, but the Dept of Education can do a lot to effectively end the program as described in this 2017 NYT article and this Mother Jones article from last week. While agency decisions can't be "arbitrary and capricious" that's still a standard that has to be litigated as applied to PSLF determinations. Currently, the Dept. of Ed. says that having the loans forgiven is the only confirmation that you're in PSLF; annual employer certifications aren't binding (according to DoE).
posted by melissasaurus at 1:11 PM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
*Congress* might not end PSLF, but the Dept of Education can do a lot to effectively end the program as described in this 2017 NYT article and this Mother Jones article from last week. While agency decisions can't be "arbitrary and capricious" that's still a standard that has to be litigated as applied to PSLF determinations. Currently, the Dept. of Ed. says that having the loans forgiven is the only confirmation that you're in PSLF; annual employer certifications aren't binding (according to DoE).
posted by melissasaurus at 1:11 PM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Remember: wait for the rage-tweeting. His patterns say it'll happen. Maybe he'll stay off Twitter for a day or two, maybe he'll even let a staffer put out a statement on his Twitter account. But in a day or two? He'll whine about it. He'll whine up a storm.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:12 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:12 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
chris24: Especially given McCain's farewell statement released today which includes a pretty overt repudiation of Trump.
And for the record, McCain was the 5th from the Republican/Democrat line of Trump support, per 538 (at 83.0% in support), with only Lisa Murkowski (82.7%), Mike Lee (81.6%), Susan M. Collins (78.9%) and Rand Paul (74.0%) voting less in line with Trump.
Joe Manchin III currently represents the lightest of Dem Lites, with 60.5% of his votes in line with Trump, followed by Heidi Heitkamp (55.3%), Joe Donneley (54.7%), and Doug Jones (52.6%) at the only Dems voting with Trump more than 50% of the time. This gradient is pretty stark, in terms of what could have previously been supported as bipartisan coordination.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:15 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
And for the record, McCain was the 5th from the Republican/Democrat line of Trump support, per 538 (at 83.0% in support), with only Lisa Murkowski (82.7%), Mike Lee (81.6%), Susan M. Collins (78.9%) and Rand Paul (74.0%) voting less in line with Trump.
Joe Manchin III currently represents the lightest of Dem Lites, with 60.5% of his votes in line with Trump, followed by Heidi Heitkamp (55.3%), Joe Donneley (54.7%), and Doug Jones (52.6%) at the only Dems voting with Trump more than 50% of the time. This gradient is pretty stark, in terms of what could have previously been supported as bipartisan coordination.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:15 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Former DOJ lawyer matthewamiller:
Unreal: the White House ordered GSA officials not to tell the agency’s IG what Trump said in meetings with them.Followed by an indirect link to this document from the IG, which states
Early in the review the OIG learned that during the course of GSA’s decision-making on the revised FBI headquarters plan, Murphy met with the President on January 24, 2018, about the project. When we asked about the meeting, some GSA witnesses refused to answer any questions about this and other relevant White House meetings, and some of those said they were told or believed the information was subject to executive privilege. We sought to determine whether GSA took the position that executive privilege precluded sharing information with the OIG, which is part of GSA and within the Executive Branch. Ultimately, GSA’s Acting General Counsel informed us that he received direction from White House Counsel’s Office regarding the matter. He told us that pursuant to those directions, GSA employees were authorized to disclose to the OIG the existence of the White House meetings, discuss who attended, and discuss any high level agreements that resulted from the meetings; but not to disclose any statements made by the President. We describe the information we received about the meetings in this report.posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:16 PM on August 27, 2018 [22 favorites]
Moments ago Beto For Texas released their GOTV blueprint for winning Ted Cruz's Senate seat in November: The Plan to Win. Although tailored for Texas & Beto's message, much of it can be readily adapted to any progressive campaign.
We only have 56 days until the start of early vote and 71 days until election day.posted by scalefree at 1:19 PM on August 27, 2018 [46 favorites]
To elect Beto, we are organizing the largest Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign in Texas history.
It’s going to take more than showing up on Election Day to knock on a few doors or make a few calls to pull off the kind of historic volunteer and voter mobilization we need to win.
It’s going to take real, determined, disciplined leadership by thousands of volunteers taking on mission-critical responsibilities in the final weeks of the election.
In this plan, we’re going to ask you to commit to being organizers and trainers throughout October and all the way up to Election Day. We’re counting on you to help us manage the massive flood of first-time volunteers who will soon join our campaign. But first, we need to explain our plan to win.
In most campaigns, what follows would be a tightly held secret usually only shared with staff. But we need volunteers to take on key roles in executing our campaign strategy – so we’re sharing our Get Out The Vote (GOTV) strategy in full detail.
Note that, of the four sentences in the proclamation about honors to be afforded to Senator John McCain and his memory, the subject of all four was "I".
posted by Etrigan at 1:25 PM on August 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 1:25 PM on August 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
This is potentially explosive: the deputy leader of the UK's Labour Party, [MeFi's Own] Tom Watson has called for an investigation into Russian interference in the Brexit campaign, along the lines of Mueller's investigation into Trump's election. Both campaigns were assisted by the consulting firm Cambridge Analytica:
Tom Watson demands answers about alleged Russian Brexit plot
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:33 PM on August 27, 2018 [34 favorites]
Tom Watson demands answers about alleged Russian Brexit plot
Tom Watson, the deputy leader of the Labour party, has called on the government to confirm if the National Crime Agency is looking into whether there was Russian interference in the EU referendum.
Watson suggested the vote may have been “stolen” and said that if the NCA was not investigating then a full public inquiry with powers similar to those of the US special counsel Robert Mueller must be held. Mueller is investigating Russian interference into the 2016 US presidential election.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:33 PM on August 27, 2018 [34 favorites]
*Congress* might not end PSLF, but the Dept of Education can do a lot to effectively end the program as described in this 2017 NYT article and this Mother Jones article from last week.
Yea, I agree the Dept. of Ed. is doing all it can to drag its feet and provide no transparency. Ideally they would certify employment up front, certify employers broadly and make that public, and advertise the program, and retroactively count payments instead of abuse administrative forbearance to delay forgiveness. But a lot of the consternation in these articles is from people not clearly covered by the statutory mandate, ie, people arguing that their non-profit, non-501c3, organization serves a public purpose, like a professional organization such as the ABA. Is the ABA a public service employer? I mean maybe?, but it's clearly not a local school or police department or hospital, I'm not that concerned or moved by those people's argument that it is, and I think planning on receiving forgiveness based on an edge case employment situation was even more risky than betting on PSLF continuing to exist overall, even if those specific people told that it would count should have an estoppel argument.
It's not the majority of people working for a local, state or government employer, or a recognized 501c3 that get caught up in the grey areas. It's clearly not working particularly well, but I disagree that DeVos can stop PSLF from existing simply because she hates public employees. The requirements are clearly spelled out in the statute, and the grey areas where DOE can fuck with people are smaller than advertised, although for the people affected its still a disaster.
I've read every word of the CCRAA and the CFR, and have a google alert for anything related to PSLF. I was much more worried about PSLF right after his election, but progressively less so (at least for current borrowers, future students is a different question) over the last year.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:38 PM on August 27, 2018
Yea, I agree the Dept. of Ed. is doing all it can to drag its feet and provide no transparency. Ideally they would certify employment up front, certify employers broadly and make that public, and advertise the program, and retroactively count payments instead of abuse administrative forbearance to delay forgiveness. But a lot of the consternation in these articles is from people not clearly covered by the statutory mandate, ie, people arguing that their non-profit, non-501c3, organization serves a public purpose, like a professional organization such as the ABA. Is the ABA a public service employer? I mean maybe?, but it's clearly not a local school or police department or hospital, I'm not that concerned or moved by those people's argument that it is, and I think planning on receiving forgiveness based on an edge case employment situation was even more risky than betting on PSLF continuing to exist overall, even if those specific people told that it would count should have an estoppel argument.
It's not the majority of people working for a local, state or government employer, or a recognized 501c3 that get caught up in the grey areas. It's clearly not working particularly well, but I disagree that DeVos can stop PSLF from existing simply because she hates public employees. The requirements are clearly spelled out in the statute, and the grey areas where DOE can fuck with people are smaller than advertised, although for the people affected its still a disaster.
I've read every word of the CCRAA and the CFR, and have a google alert for anything related to PSLF. I was much more worried about PSLF right after his election, but progressively less so (at least for current borrowers, future students is a different question) over the last year.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:38 PM on August 27, 2018
shenderson: "Is lowering flags for senators a routine thing? Were flags lowered to half staff when Paul Laxalt died on August 6?
Or is it just because McCain was technically still in office?"
Flags are customarily lowered for the death of sitting Senators. Normally, from their death until their internment.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:38 PM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
Or is it just because McCain was technically still in office?"
Flags are customarily lowered for the death of sitting Senators. Normally, from their death until their internment.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:38 PM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
Is lowering flags for senators a routine thing? Were flags lowered to half staff when Paul Laxalt died on August 6?
Protocol & the US Flag Code only require flags to be lowered for two days to honor the death of a member of Congress but in the case of an elder statesman like McCain the White House frequently issues a proclamation extending the mourning period to the date of their funeral.
posted by scalefree at 1:41 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Protocol & the US Flag Code only require flags to be lowered for two days to honor the death of a member of Congress but in the case of an elder statesman like McCain the White House frequently issues a proclamation extending the mourning period to the date of their funeral.
posted by scalefree at 1:41 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
the man of twists and turns: "I’ve realized that the reason I no longer write blog posts about politics is that events taught me that I was completely full of shit. I imagined I lived in a country that doesn’t exist."
The thing I find interesting about conversion narratives is that they're basically, "I was totally wrong about things for decades. But NOW I am correct." I mean, you might want to consider for the possibility that you're not right now, either.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:46 PM on August 27, 2018 [55 favorites]
The thing I find interesting about conversion narratives is that they're basically, "I was totally wrong about things for decades. But NOW I am correct." I mean, you might want to consider for the possibility that you're not right now, either.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:46 PM on August 27, 2018 [55 favorites]
> I think Trump really does worry about Melania leaving him. A large part of his self-worth comes from the sexual conquest and ownership of beautiful women. He doesn't (he can't) love her in the normal sense, but I believe he is intensely possessive of her and it would cause him great pain to lose her.
I suspect his ego would be bruised (he leaves women, not the other way around), but on the other hand it would be a chance for him to get another one (dehumanizing language intentional). Now that I type this, I'm kind of amazed he never had a "Flavor Of Love"-style dating show where bevies of women competed for a chance to be his next wife.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I suspect his ego would be bruised (he leaves women, not the other way around), but on the other hand it would be a chance for him to get another one (dehumanizing language intentional). Now that I type this, I'm kind of amazed he never had a "Flavor Of Love"-style dating show where bevies of women competed for a chance to be his next wife.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's clearly not working particularly well, but I disagree that DeVos can stop PSLF from existing simply because she hates public employees. The requirements are clearly spelled out in the statute, and the grey areas where DOE can fuck with people are smaller than advertised, although for the people affected its still a disaster.
I agree with your analysis of the law/regs, but want to note that laws are not self-enforcing. There's a lot that can be done in the next few years (including just slow-walking approvals) that can harm a lot of PSLF-eligible folks whether they're clearly within the law's mandate or not. Legal disputes over those actions or nonactions may take years to resolve, assuming there are willing and able plaintiffs.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:53 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I agree with your analysis of the law/regs, but want to note that laws are not self-enforcing. There's a lot that can be done in the next few years (including just slow-walking approvals) that can harm a lot of PSLF-eligible folks whether they're clearly within the law's mandate or not. Legal disputes over those actions or nonactions may take years to resolve, assuming there are willing and able plaintiffs.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:53 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Rampant speculation about White House intrigue based on flag elevation is such a perfect 2018 metaphor
Semaphore, surely.
posted by cortex at 1:57 PM on August 27, 2018 [56 favorites]
Semaphore, surely.
posted by cortex at 1:57 PM on August 27, 2018 [56 favorites]
Multiple people on the interwebs are pointing out that Trump giving in on honoring McCain (though he is sure to retract it at some point) means he does, in fact, bow to pressure (it doesn't even take special negotiation, just resistance) and hence Republicans hold that much more responsibility for every time they don't act to constrain him.
Patrick Nielsen Hayden: "I’ve realized that the reason I no longer write blog posts about politics is that events taught me that I was completely full of shit. I imagined I lived in a country that doesn’t exist."
Chrysostom: The thing I find interesting about conversion narratives is that they're basically, "I was totally wrong about things for decades. But NOW I am correct." I mean, you might want to consider for the possibility that you're not right now, either.
But it sounds like that consideration is exactly the reason Hayden says he stopped writing political posts? And he's not making any particular description of what he now believes, other than the incontrovertible fact that a lot of people voted for Trump.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:00 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Patrick Nielsen Hayden: "I’ve realized that the reason I no longer write blog posts about politics is that events taught me that I was completely full of shit. I imagined I lived in a country that doesn’t exist."
Chrysostom: The thing I find interesting about conversion narratives is that they're basically, "I was totally wrong about things for decades. But NOW I am correct." I mean, you might want to consider for the possibility that you're not right now, either.
But it sounds like that consideration is exactly the reason Hayden says he stopped writing political posts? And he's not making any particular description of what he now believes, other than the incontrovertible fact that a lot of people voted for Trump.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:00 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
The thing I find interesting about conversion narratives is that they're basically, "I was totally wrong about things for decades. But NOW I am correct." I mean, you might want to consider for the possibility that you're not right now, either.
Seriously. I mean, I get his general point which is "Wow, things are worse than I thought back when I was in my bubble" but I think it's a stretch to get to "35-45% of [Americans] are super-happy with fascism, including the concentration-camps part."
It's crappy to be confused about why people you maybe didn't agree with but had a live-and-let-live detente with are now seemingly reneging on that "and let live" part. Or why your racist neighbors are now more emboldened about their racism. but it's a very navel-gazey-internet-people way of looking at all of this to just flip a switch and be like "OK 40% of everyone are human monsters" because it basically keeps you from having to figure out what the fuck to do.
posted by jessamyn at 2:00 PM on August 27, 2018 [28 favorites]
Seriously. I mean, I get his general point which is "Wow, things are worse than I thought back when I was in my bubble" but I think it's a stretch to get to "35-45% of [Americans] are super-happy with fascism, including the concentration-camps part."
It's crappy to be confused about why people you maybe didn't agree with but had a live-and-let-live detente with are now seemingly reneging on that "and let live" part. Or why your racist neighbors are now more emboldened about their racism. but it's a very navel-gazey-internet-people way of looking at all of this to just flip a switch and be like "OK 40% of everyone are human monsters" because it basically keeps you from having to figure out what the fuck to do.
posted by jessamyn at 2:00 PM on August 27, 2018 [28 favorites]
Bruce Ohr Fought Russian Organized Crime. Now He’s a Target of Trump.
By Adam Goldman and Katie Benner / NYTimes
Those who know Mr. Ohr seem perplexed that the president has singled him out. Co-workers and former associates describe him as a scrupulous government official who cares deeply about the Justice Department.
Perplexed? Really? I'm not blaming the Times here, so many people should by now understand that we are no longer enjoying the safety of norms and rules, but they keep on pretending and thus protecting the Trumpists.
posted by mumimor at 2:01 PM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
By Adam Goldman and Katie Benner / NYTimes
Those who know Mr. Ohr seem perplexed that the president has singled him out. Co-workers and former associates describe him as a scrupulous government official who cares deeply about the Justice Department.
Perplexed? Really? I'm not blaming the Times here, so many people should by now understand that we are no longer enjoying the safety of norms and rules, but they keep on pretending and thus protecting the Trumpists.
posted by mumimor at 2:01 PM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
assuming there are willing and able plaintiffs.
I've got 19 months left, I volunteer as tribute. The good thing about this situation is the a ton of the people with expectations of seeing crushing levels of debt wiped away are lawyers.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:03 PM on August 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
I've got 19 months left, I volunteer as tribute. The good thing about this situation is the a ton of the people with expectations of seeing crushing levels of debt wiped away are lawyers.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:03 PM on August 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
The flag on the White House is not visible from inside the White House so maybe he doesn't know it was lowered. But he can see the office building so they left it up.
posted by Botanizer at 2:06 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Botanizer at 2:06 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
@gelles: Sen. James Inhofe told reporters that Sen. John McCain was “partially to blame” for the controversy over the lowering of the White House flag. Inhofe said McCain "disagreed with the president in certain areas and wasn’t too courteous about it."
I did not think Inhofe could get any stupider than that time he nearly killed a construction crew by landing over them onto a closed runway, but everything is so stupid all the time now.
posted by zachlipton at 2:07 PM on August 27, 2018 [41 favorites]
I did not think Inhofe could get any stupider than that time he nearly killed a construction crew by landing over them onto a closed runway, but everything is so stupid all the time now.
posted by zachlipton at 2:07 PM on August 27, 2018 [41 favorites]
via Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money
Glenn Greenwald, the Bane of Their Resistance, Ian Parker at The New Yorker
I can't find a good blockquote.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:09 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Glenn Greenwald, the Bane of Their Resistance, Ian Parker at The New Yorker
I can't find a good blockquote.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:09 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think it's a stretch to get to "35-45% of [Americans] are super-happy with fascism, including the concentration-camps part."
34% Are not opposed to child concentration camps.
45% Don't think it's racist to not want the sort of people that come from shithole countries.
Is 34-45% that much of a stretch from 35-45%?
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:18 PM on August 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
34% Are not opposed to child concentration camps.
45% Don't think it's racist to not want the sort of people that come from shithole countries.
Is 34-45% that much of a stretch from 35-45%?
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:18 PM on August 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
I can't find a good blockquote.
It's this: "[Greenwald] added that, even if Putin himself had ordered the hacking, “and worked with WikiLeaks and Michael Cohen and Jared Kushner to distribute the e-mails,” then this was still just “standard shit.”"
Not sure why Greenwald is still considered more trustworthy than Jill Stein or Louis Menche at this point, and statements like that prove the point. If he's not paid by Putin, there's no way to tell the difference.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:18 PM on August 27, 2018 [28 favorites]
It's this: "[Greenwald] added that, even if Putin himself had ordered the hacking, “and worked with WikiLeaks and Michael Cohen and Jared Kushner to distribute the e-mails,” then this was still just “standard shit.”"
Not sure why Greenwald is still considered more trustworthy than Jill Stein or Louis Menche at this point, and statements like that prove the point. If he's not paid by Putin, there's no way to tell the difference.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:18 PM on August 27, 2018 [28 favorites]
I can't find a good blockquote.
"I don’t actually think I’ve been wrong about anything.”
posted by chris24 at 2:20 PM on August 27, 2018 [16 favorites]
"I don’t actually think I’ve been wrong about anything.”
posted by chris24 at 2:20 PM on August 27, 2018 [16 favorites]
I mean, I get his general point which is "Wow, things are worse than I thought back when I was in my bubble" but I think it's a stretch to get to "35-45% of [Americans] are super-happy with fascism, including the concentration-camps part."
I was surprised by this (given the, erm, ideological makeup of my family and neighbors), but it seems like support for authoritarianism is closer to the crazification factor after all.
Follow the Leader: Exploring American Support for Democracy and Authoritarianism:
posted by ragtag at 2:22 PM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
I was surprised by this (given the, erm, ideological makeup of my family and neighbors), but it seems like support for authoritarianism is closer to the crazification factor after all.
Follow the Leader: Exploring American Support for Democracy and Authoritarianism:
Perhaps many of us conflate authoritarians with populists? (I hadn't realized there was a distinction, myself, for what it is worth.)
- The overwhelming majority of Americans support democracy and most of those who express negative views about it are opposed to authoritarian alternatives.
- Nearly a quarter of Americans say that a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with Congress or elections would be “fairly” or “very good” and 18 percent say that “army rule” would be “fairly” or “very good.” More than a quarter of respondents show at least some support for either a “strong leader” or “army rule.”
- While support for “army rule” has increased steadily over the past 20 years, we actually find support for a strong leader declining for the first time in 2017 and returning to levels last seen in 1995. At the same time, the partisan tilt on the “strong leader” question has changed. Prior to 2017, Democratic respondents were consistently more likely to support a “strong leader” (even in 2006, with a Republican in the White House). As of 2017, Republicans are now more likely.
- The highest levels of support for authoritarian leadership come from those who are disaffected, disengaged from politics, deeply distrustful of experts, culturally conservative, and have negative views toward racial minorities.
- We find no relationship between dissatisfaction with democracy and support for an authoritarian system in which a strong leader doesn’t have to bother with Congress or elections.
Authoritarianism and populism are easy to conflate, but they actually refer to very distinct tendencies.This actually makes me feel a little better. Not, like, lots better, but...
Authoritarianism, as understood by political psychologists, refers to a set of personality traits that seek order, clarity and stability. Authoritarians have little tolerance for deviance. They’re highly obedient to strong leaders. They scapegoat outsiders and demand conformity to traditional norms.
Populism, on the other hand, is a type of political rhetoric that casts a virtuous “people” against nefarious elites and strident outsiders. Scholars measure populism in a variety of ways, but we focus on three central elements:
- Belief that a few elites have absconded with the rightful sovereignty of the people;
- Deep mistrust of any group that claims expertise;
- Strong nationalist identity
posted by ragtag at 2:22 PM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
Is 34-45% that much of a stretch from 35-45%?
Yeah actually, I think it's a stretch to go from the two studies you linked to get to "Super happy with fascism including the concentrations camps part." though I could see how people might feel those are closer than they are comfortable with.
posted by jessamyn at 2:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yeah actually, I think it's a stretch to go from the two studies you linked to get to "Super happy with fascism including the concentrations camps part." though I could see how people might feel those are closer than they are comfortable with.
posted by jessamyn at 2:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
THR, Donald Trump's New Trade Deal With Mexico Leads to Confusion About Copyright Term
posted by zachlipton at 2:28 PM on August 27, 2018 [14 favorites]
On Monday, the Donald Trump Administration announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with Mexico to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. According to government officials, the deal will lead to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth.Nobody seems to know what's going on. There's reason to think the USTR legitimately doesn't understand the language or the difference between a life+75 term and a minimum 75 year copyright term, as TechDirt will report shortly. Anyway, copyright foolery is afoot, and it's even more incompetent than normal.
Here was the item that caused terrific confusion: A fact sheet originally put out by Office fo the United States Trade Representative indicates that the copyright term would "extend" to 75 years.
Currently, the copyright term for most works is life of the author plus 70 years. If what's meant by the announced extension is life of author plus 75 years, it would represent five more years of copyright protection — a modest amount, but certainly a noteworthy and potentially controversial one as a slew of works were set to begin pouring into the public domain this coming January for the first time in decades. The fact sheet also indicates that the copyright term will be extended for works "like song performances," so it also possible that this designated term would pertain to certain classes of authorship.
But then there are works of copyright authorship with a term of 95 years. And works from anonymous authors.
So what's going on?
One official at the USTR explained to The Hollywood Reporter that the fact sheet referred to "publication-based" works — meaning the ones with a 95 year term. Meaning there wouldn't be any extension. Then again, others who had a briefing with the USTR heard something different. There's even been talk this was all a typo.
Fake news? Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell.
posted by zachlipton at 2:28 PM on August 27, 2018 [14 favorites]
Speaking of that momentous trade deal...
Joshua Green (Business Week)
Goldman Sachs note unimpressed by Trump's new deal w/Mexico: "We do not expect the revised terms to have substantial macroeconomic effects in the U.S. if they do take effect."
posted by chris24 at 2:31 PM on August 27, 2018
Joshua Green (Business Week)
Goldman Sachs note unimpressed by Trump's new deal w/Mexico: "We do not expect the revised terms to have substantial macroeconomic effects in the U.S. if they do take effect."
posted by chris24 at 2:31 PM on August 27, 2018
@yashar: Roger Stone says [on Instagram] that someone has told Ronan Farrow/The New Yorker that he told Trump about the Wikileaks email dump head of time and exactly what would be in it. He denies the allegations.
*gets the mini cannon ready*
posted by zachlipton at 2:34 PM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
*gets the mini cannon ready*
posted by zachlipton at 2:34 PM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
another interesting piece of Trumpspam:
10:38AMPDT from Lara Trump (contact@victory.donaldtrump.com)
subject: Just got a call from a reporter
A reporter from the media just called to ask where we currently stand on our August fundraising goal.
I said we’ll call back in one hour with our current total.
So for the next hour, ALL CONTRIBUTIONS toward our end-of-month goal will be TRIPLE-MATCHED.
The media seems to think our fundraising will take a dip. Let’s prove them wrong.
Nothing more 4 hours later. Of course, they'd never give us any discouraging news.
So which billionaire is providing the $3 for every $1 from "true Americans"?
Can they get more dishonest about EVERYTHING they do?
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:37 PM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
10:38AMPDT from Lara Trump (contact@victory.donaldtrump.com)
subject: Just got a call from a reporter
A reporter from the media just called to ask where we currently stand on our August fundraising goal.
I said we’ll call back in one hour with our current total.
So for the next hour, ALL CONTRIBUTIONS toward our end-of-month goal will be TRIPLE-MATCHED.
The media seems to think our fundraising will take a dip. Let’s prove them wrong.
Nothing more 4 hours later. Of course, they'd never give us any discouraging news.
So which billionaire is providing the $3 for every $1 from "true Americans"?
Can they get more dishonest about EVERYTHING they do?
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:37 PM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
I wasn't a McCain fan, but I do credit him for being the proximate cause of Trump's latest tantrum, which I think is going to live longer than his other instances of shitting in the sink.
From what I gather on Twitter, veterans were pissed. Imagine: "Some people think Trump is doing a good job. Me, I choose to support veterans instead."
posted by rhizome at 2:38 PM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
From what I gather on Twitter, veterans were pissed. Imagine: "Some people think Trump is doing a good job. Me, I choose to support veterans instead."
posted by rhizome at 2:38 PM on August 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
Roger Stone says [on Instagram] that someone has told Ronan Farrow/The New Yorker that he told Trump about the Wikileaks email dump head of time and exactly what would be in it.
Roger Stone also recently told Political Insider, "The special counsel is going to charge Donald Trump Jr. with lying to the FBI." But not, he immediately—and falsely—claimed, that there was anything with his Russian meeting at Trump Tower.
Stone is a self-proclaimed chaos agent who once cosplayed as the Joker. He always bears watching but never believing.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:46 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
Roger Stone also recently told Political Insider, "The special counsel is going to charge Donald Trump Jr. with lying to the FBI." But not, he immediately—and falsely—claimed, that there was anything with his Russian meeting at Trump Tower.
Stone is a self-proclaimed chaos agent who once cosplayed as the Joker. He always bears watching but never believing.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:46 PM on August 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
I think it’s wise to check in with the direct propaganda apparatus from time to time when something really significant shows up. Aside from that, I feel like posting the trump spam in these threads isn’t great. No aspersions cast on you, foop.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 2:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [26 favorites]
Is lowering flags for senators a routine thing? Were flags lowered to half staff when Paul Laxalt died on August 6?
This has been addressed above, but they are lowered at the Capitol and legislative branch buildings upon the death of a former senator or representative. So, those flags were down in D.C. for Laxalt, as were the RNC and NRSC flags.
posted by jgirl at 2:51 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think it’s wise to check in with the direct propaganda apparatus from time to time when something really significant shows up. Aside from that, I feel like posting the trump spam in these threads isn’t great.
Agreed 1000%. Please do not do this. If I cared to know what their stank-ass take was on Matters of the Day, I'd sign up for their liebursts myself.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:36 PM on August 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
Agreed 1000%. Please do not do this. If I cared to know what their stank-ass take was on Matters of the Day, I'd sign up for their liebursts myself.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:36 PM on August 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
Melania has something that will turn Trump into a fucking pile of ashes...
She doesn't strike me as the type to go to the media with a tell all. She's either very media shy or a genuinely private person. In the end, I think it's just the threat of divorce. J.F.K. and Clinton have been down this road before, and most Americans came to the conclusion that it was none of their business. I kind of think that's where most Americans are now too. If there was a divorce though, that would be new territory. In the States, for better or for worse, you're free to have whatever kind of sham marriage you want so long as it doesn't founder.
posted by xammerboy at 3:56 PM on August 27, 2018
She doesn't strike me as the type to go to the media with a tell all. She's either very media shy or a genuinely private person. In the end, I think it's just the threat of divorce. J.F.K. and Clinton have been down this road before, and most Americans came to the conclusion that it was none of their business. I kind of think that's where most Americans are now too. If there was a divorce though, that would be new territory. In the States, for better or for worse, you're free to have whatever kind of sham marriage you want so long as it doesn't founder.
posted by xammerboy at 3:56 PM on August 27, 2018
Emerson College poll puts Cruz ahead of Beto by only one point but with 21% undecided.
posted by octothorpe at 3:59 PM on August 27, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 3:59 PM on August 27, 2018 [14 favorites]
OK, I thought the combo of "last hour" urgency and 3X matching contributions was at least semi-newsworthy. And previously, the "proudly deplorable" angle from Donald and the one "from Melania" that really didn't sound like her seemed notable. So I'll back way off, leaving the threads to the most important issues, like the positioning of the White House flags. But I'm phasing out use of that email address anyway, and probably will cut it off well before the midterms.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:16 PM on August 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:16 PM on August 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Clinton were married to men they cared for, men whose aspirations and values they shared. They were willing to cope with their feelings of betrayal and whatever humiliation went with public awareness of his affairs, because they shared goals and hoped to build a better relationship eventually.
We have seen nothing that indicates Melania likes her husband, nor that she wants to spend any more time with him than she has to. So proof of affairs - especially if that's mentioned in the prenup - may be what puts her over the edge into "I really don't have to put up with this any longer."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:20 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
We have seen nothing that indicates Melania likes her husband, nor that she wants to spend any more time with him than she has to. So proof of affairs - especially if that's mentioned in the prenup - may be what puts her over the edge into "I really don't have to put up with this any longer."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:20 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
uh guys, Ari Melber tweeting an hour ago:
Breaking: Paul Manafort began negotiations to *cut a deal with Mueller* for charges in the DC case - first report of Manafort looking to plea.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:25 PM on August 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
Breaking: Paul Manafort began negotiations to *cut a deal with Mueller* for charges in the DC case - first report of Manafort looking to plea.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:25 PM on August 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
Someone needs to start circulating, where Trump can see them, book cover mock-ups for "The Art of the Deal, Part II -- by Robert Mueller"
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:29 PM on August 27, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:29 PM on August 27, 2018 [22 favorites]
The WSJ has the scoop: Manafort Sought Deal in Next Trial, but Talks Broke Down—Negotiations stalled after Mueller raised issues "Paul Manafort’s defense team held talks with prosecutors to resolve a second set of charges against the former Trump campaign chairman before he was convicted last week, but they didn’t reach a deal, and the two sides are now moving closer to a second trial next month, according to people familiar with the matter."
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:30 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:30 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
Quite a coincidence that plea talks broke down at the same time Trump was busy sky-writing Manafort pardon offers.
posted by scarylarry at 4:33 PM on August 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by scarylarry at 4:33 PM on August 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
Three-judge panel rules unconstitutional gerrymandering in North Carolina (WaPo):
A panel of three federal judges held Monday that North Carolina’s congressional districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to aide Republicans over Democrats and said it may require new districts before the November elections, possibly impacting control of the House.posted by peeedro at 4:39 PM on August 27, 2018 [49 favorites]
The judges acknowledged that primary elections have already produced candidates for the 2018 elections but said they were reluctant to let elections take place in congressional districts that it has twice found violate constitutional standards.
MA election doings: "Rufus Gifford is putting his experiences as a gay man at the forefront of his campaign for state office. He is one of ten Democrats seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Massachusetts District 3, a predominantly democratic district. A little over a week before the party primary on September 4, Gifford has released a heartfelt advertisement discussing the many struggles he’s faced as a gay person, while still recognizing his privilege as a white man."
[Link to out.com article with campaign ad -- here is the candidate's own site. He was a senior Obama aide, and from 2013-2017 he was the U.S. ambassador to Denmark.]
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:46 PM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
[Link to out.com article with campaign ad -- here is the candidate's own site. He was a senior Obama aide, and from 2013-2017 he was the U.S. ambassador to Denmark.]
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:46 PM on August 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
The judges acknowledged that primary elections have already produced candidates for the 2018 elections but said they were reluctant to let elections take place in congressional districts that it has twice found violate constitutional standards.
The court should have produced non-partisan districting in the way that Pennsylvania did if that's what they wanted. And to be clear, that's what I want too. But the court redrawing the districts after the primaries seems super sketchy to me. Even this conservative Supreme Court has mostly respected the idea that State Courts have the ultimate say on these state issues but I could see them stepping in on equal protection grounds if the NC courts redraw districts after primaries but before elections. And I'm not completely sure I'd blame them even though NC is basically a one-party anti-democratic junta at this point. The actions of the NC Republican party are indefensible.
posted by Justinian at 4:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
The court should have produced non-partisan districting in the way that Pennsylvania did if that's what they wanted. And to be clear, that's what I want too. But the court redrawing the districts after the primaries seems super sketchy to me. Even this conservative Supreme Court has mostly respected the idea that State Courts have the ultimate say on these state issues but I could see them stepping in on equal protection grounds if the NC courts redraw districts after primaries but before elections. And I'm not completely sure I'd blame them even though NC is basically a one-party anti-democratic junta at this point. The actions of the NC Republican party are indefensible.
posted by Justinian at 4:48 PM on August 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
It would be kinda funny if the SC took it up and split 4-4 on the issue, thus leaving the NC courts decision in place.
posted by Justinian at 4:50 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 4:50 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
>Flags are customarily lowered for the death of sitting Senators. Normally, from their death until their internment.
Lock them up!
posted by GeckoDundee at 4:53 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Lock them up!
posted by GeckoDundee at 4:53 PM on August 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
---------------->🇺🇸 NEW THREAD 🇺🇸
---------------->Because today the White House couldn't decide if the flag should be at half-mast or not.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:55 PM on August 27, 2018 [17 favorites]
Well, if you look at the decision, one thing the court pointed out is that the NC legislature already abolished primaries for some judicial elections, in an effort to pack those. So the court said, "Guess primaries aren't a big deal for you guys."
Court gave the legislature about two weeks to come up with new maps, or they may do it for them.
Also note that SCOTUS needs 5 votes to issue an emergency stay, which they may not have in the current situation.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:57 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Court gave the legislature about two weeks to come up with new maps, or they may do it for them.
Also note that SCOTUS needs 5 votes to issue an emergency stay, which they may not have in the current situation.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:57 PM on August 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Because today the White House couldn't decide if the flag should be at half-mast or not.
Half-staff. It's only half-mast if you're on a boat.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:59 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
Half-staff. It's only half-mast if you're on a boat.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:59 PM on August 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
Or on a ship.
posted by Etrigan at 5:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 5:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [21 favorites]
Siena Research has John Katko (R) with a 15(!) point lead over Dana Balter (D) in NY-24, one of the districts which has a Republican incumbent but was won by Hillary Clinton in 2016. This is a really brutal result for Balter. The only other poll I am aware of was a PPP poll a month ago which had Balter up 4.
I'd trust a Siena poll over a PPP poll and I believe that Katko likely has a lead but I'd take some convincing that it's 15 points. If Katko wins NY-24 by 15 points on election night it would probably be a long night for blue nationwide.
posted by Justinian at 5:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'd trust a Siena poll over a PPP poll and I believe that Katko likely has a lead but I'd take some convincing that it's 15 points. If Katko wins NY-24 by 15 points on election night it would probably be a long night for blue nationwide.
posted by Justinian at 5:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
As "Truth isn't truth", I personally am comfortable with "Fifteen points isn't fifteen points." An eighteen-point Republican over-performance in this electoral climate will not be remotely legitimate. That truth will not be truth.
posted by riverlife at 5:58 PM on August 27, 2018
posted by riverlife at 5:58 PM on August 27, 2018
Katko is relatively popular so like I said I buy he could be leading, I just think 15 is a stretch. Also NEW THREAD!!!
posted by Justinian at 6:43 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 6:43 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
🥛🍪🍪
how do these new threads keep happening so fast
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 6:55 PM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
how do these new threads keep happening so fast
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 6:55 PM on August 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I think the NY-24 poll - which agreed, seems a little outlier-ish - is a reminder that you can't just look at the 2016 presidential result and project from there. Katko, as Justinian points out, is a relatively popular incumbent. While Clinton was winning the district 48.9-45.3, Katko himself was winning 60.6-39.4. Local factors do still matter.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:06 PM on August 27, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 7:06 PM on August 27, 2018
Vanity Fair, Gabe Sherman, “TRUMP IS NUTS. THIS TIME REALLY FEELS DIFFERENT”: TRUMP REJECTS “WAR COUNCIL” INTERVENTION, GOES IT ALONE
The thread has moved on, but… I used to be a fan of Gabe Sherman's column. But for the past year its been the same feel-good "White House in disarray" stories with slightly different details about the latest blowup. I've given up on him because:
1. his columns are not falsifiable.
2. his columns are not predictive.
3. the reality-show drama of speculating on Trump's inner emotional turmoil is a dead-end time-waster and only feeds into the very worst of the protofascist personality cult coverage Trump actively encourages to distract from actual issues.
4. Sherman either has amazing sources inside the West Wing, Trump's personal friends, and Javanka-adjacent millennials, but he chooses to only file stories about Trump's feelings for some reason, or he has shit sources and writes bullshit about Trump's feelings because he's a useless hack -- the result is the same either way.
Sorry to be a negative Ned, but I don't think Gabe Sherman is someone we should be paying attention to anymore.
posted by peeedro at 7:08 PM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
The thread has moved on, but… I used to be a fan of Gabe Sherman's column. But for the past year its been the same feel-good "White House in disarray" stories with slightly different details about the latest blowup. I've given up on him because:
1. his columns are not falsifiable.
2. his columns are not predictive.
3. the reality-show drama of speculating on Trump's inner emotional turmoil is a dead-end time-waster and only feeds into the very worst of the protofascist personality cult coverage Trump actively encourages to distract from actual issues.
4. Sherman either has amazing sources inside the West Wing, Trump's personal friends, and Javanka-adjacent millennials, but he chooses to only file stories about Trump's feelings for some reason, or he has shit sources and writes bullshit about Trump's feelings because he's a useless hack -- the result is the same either way.
Sorry to be a negative Ned, but I don't think Gabe Sherman is someone we should be paying attention to anymore.
posted by peeedro at 7:08 PM on August 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
xammerboy: " I kind of think that's where most Americans are now too. If there was a divorce though, that would be new territory. In the States, for better or for worse, you're free to have whatever kind of sham marriage you want so long as it doesn't founder."
The Cheeto has already been divorced twice and his most recent marriage was to a person 24 years his junior (59% of his age) and a foreign national to boot. It's pretty obvious the GOP and Cheeto supporters care not one wit about divorces of their leaders.
The only thing that might make him care is if the divorce was messy and his financials became public.
posted by Mitheral at 10:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Cheeto has already been divorced twice and his most recent marriage was to a person 24 years his junior (59% of his age) and a foreign national to boot. It's pretty obvious the GOP and Cheeto supporters care not one wit about divorces of their leaders.
The only thing that might make him care is if the divorce was messy and his financials became public.
posted by Mitheral at 10:26 PM on August 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
The only thing that might make him care is if the divorce was messy and his financials became public.
We may not have to wait for a divorce for Trump's financials to come to light. If the Blue Wave happens & the Dems take control of the House, one slot in specific may prove most consequential of all when leadership of the House Financial Services Committee changes hands.
posted by scalefree at 10:57 PM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
We may not have to wait for a divorce for Trump's financials to come to light. If the Blue Wave happens & the Dems take control of the House, one slot in specific may prove most consequential of all when leadership of the House Financial Services Committee changes hands.
The House Financial Services Committee has jurisdiction over issues pertaining to the economy, the banking system, housing, insurance, and securities and exchanges. Additionally, the Committee also has jurisdiction over monetary policy, international finance, international monetary organizations, and efforts to combat terrorist financing.Jeb Hensarling (R-TX 5), its current Chair, has refused to subpoena any Trump financial records. If the Dems take the House that changes as the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee takes over from him. That Member? Maxine Waters.
The Committee oversees the Nation’s economy through its oversight of the Federal Reserve Board and individual reserve banks, the Treasury, the production and distribution of currency, and the Nation’s capital markets.
Agencies under oversight by the Committee include: the Federal Reserve, Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Export-Import Bank.
posted by scalefree at 10:57 PM on August 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
how do these new threads keep happening so fast
Some people have wanted new threads after 1000 comments instead of 2000 for the sake of mobile users. The timing is also influenced by weekends and when new big events happen. This one is well over 1000 (after I hit post, we'll be at 1699).
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:12 AM on August 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Some people have wanted new threads after 1000 comments instead of 2000 for the sake of mobile users. The timing is also influenced by weekends and when new big events happen. This one is well over 1000 (after I hit post, we'll be at 1699).
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:12 AM on August 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Half-staff. It's only half-mast if you're on a boat.
This is a bit of US-specific pedantry (it's "half-mast" at sea or on land in all other English-speaking countries).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:25 AM on August 28, 2018 [5 favorites]
This is a bit of US-specific pedantry (it's "half-mast" at sea or on land in all other English-speaking countries).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:25 AM on August 28, 2018 [5 favorites]
U-S-A! U-S-A!
posted by kirkaracha at 10:47 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kirkaracha at 10:47 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Considering we're talking about the US here, then US-centric pedantry seems appropriate.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:57 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:57 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Suspect this is magazine/clip type nonsense, and therefore to be ignored.
posted by Artw at 11:06 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 11:06 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nerd of the North: Someone needs to start circulating, where Trump can see them, book cover mock-ups for "The Art of the Deal, Part II -- by Robert Mueller"
My hasty Photoshop hackery -- it's pretty high resolution, but the compression makes the red bar look pretty bad up close, and the font selection is sub-par.
And the tagline could use some workshopping ;)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:02 PM on August 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
My hasty Photoshop hackery -- it's pretty high resolution, but the compression makes the red bar look pretty bad up close, and the font selection is sub-par.
And the tagline could use some workshopping ;)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:02 PM on August 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
Welcome to the Theocracy continued: 'This Is Spiritual Warfare' (Christian Post), Where Ivanka Trump Smiles With Pastor Who Thinks Marriage Equality Is Satan’s Work.
Trump was presented with a Bible inscribed “History will record the greatness that you have brought for generations.”
posted by adamvasco at 12:15 PM on August 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump was presented with a Bible inscribed “History will record the greatness that you have brought for generations.”
posted by adamvasco at 12:15 PM on August 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Thanks, but I wanted to tuck away that goofiness here, instead of adding into the new thread.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:30 PM on August 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 1:30 PM on August 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Paul said he had “sympathy” for Manafort because the legal system might have “gone too far” to penalize him over “paperwork crimes.
Oh, the cupidity!
Isn't being in the country without a visa a "paperwork crime"? Why, oh, why does the GOP excuse one and not the other? Well, let's consider the economic status and skin color of the two putative criminals...
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:02 AM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh, the cupidity!
Isn't being in the country without a visa a "paperwork crime"? Why, oh, why does the GOP excuse one and not the other? Well, let's consider the economic status and skin color of the two putative criminals...
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:02 AM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
« Older void void let there be void void | It's on! I mean, it was on. It was on, but now... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Investigative journalist David Cay Boyle Johnston: This one from just before the election, and that one from January 2018. Also, an old one with Tony Schwartz, the author of his book: All chock-full of salacious details about corruption and ignorance
posted by growabrain at 3:59 PM on August 20, 2018 [4 favorites]