“If the people don’t have the facts, democracy can’t work.”
March 15, 2019 8:57 AM   Subscribe

In a hearing with many choice quotes, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson nearly doubled the prison sentence of President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, to seven and a half years, denouncing him as a man who “spent a significant portion of his career gaming the system.” Minutes later, Manafort was indicted in New York state, on charges that fall outside Trump’s pardon power. “No one is beyond the law in New York,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement announcing the indictment.

• Mueller Investigation Round-up:
Where the investigations related to President Trump stand (AP) "During Wednesday’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson brushed aside Manafort’s pleas for leniency. She rebuked him for misleading the government about his lucrative foreign lobbying work and for encouraging witnesses to lie on his behalf." • Manafort gets 7 years in prison, then faces fresh NY charges (AP) "Prosecutors are updating judges this week on the cooperation provided by other key defendants in the case. Mueller is expected to soon conclude his investigation in a confidential report to the Justice Department."

Mueller says Flynn’s cooperation ‘complete’ (Politico) "“While the defendant remains in a position to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, and could testify in the EDVA case should it proceed to trial, in the government’s view his cooperation is otherwise complete,” Mueller’s lawyers wrote. [...] “The defendant deserves credit for accepting responsibility in a timely fashion and substantially assisting the government,” the special counsel wrote in a heavily redacted December sentencing memo that counted 19 Flynn interviews with its office and other Justice Department prosecutors."

Prosecutors Seek Records on Cohen’s ‘Back Channel’ With Giuliani (NYT) "Before he pleaded guilty and began assisting federal prosecutors last summer, Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former fixer, spoke with a lawyer who agreed to reach out to the president’s legal team on his behalf. The lawyer, Robert J. Costello, had about a dozen conversations with Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, according to emails and documents reviewed by The New York Times and interviews with people involved in the matter.”

House overwhelmingly approves resolution urging release of Mueller report (Politico) "The 420-0 vote came after a fiery debate on the House floor, during which some Democratic lawmakers were admonished for their criticisms of President Donald Trump [...] “A vote for this resolution will send a clear signal to both the American people and to the Department of Justice that Congress believes transparency is a fundamental principle necessary to ensure that government remains accountable to the public,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the lead sponsor of the effort." • Graham blocks resolution calling for Mueller report to be made public (The Hill) "Graham, a close ally of Trump's who chairs the Judiciary Committee, objected after Schumer refused to amend the House-passed resolution to include a provision calling on the Justice Department (DOJ) to appoint a special counsel to investigate DOJ misconduct in the handling of the investigation into 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's email use and the Carter Page Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act applications."
• Congressional Investigations Round-up:
Former Fox News reporter’s lawyer: ‘We’ll comply’ with House request for documents about Trump and Stormy Daniels (Politico) "Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), is asking that Falzone turn over to his panel any documents “relating to women alleging extramarital affairs with Donald Trump, payments by the President or anyone on his behalf to silence them, or any potential campaign finance violation.” [...] “A government inquiry also trumps an NDA,” Erika Smith [Falzone's attorney] said, going further than her comments on MSNBC earlier this week when she told Ari Melber that a subpoena would be necessary for Falzone to share what she knows. “No NDA can prevent anybody from participating in an government investigation. We don’t really need a subpoena.”"

Whitaker ‘did not deny’ talking to Trump about Cohen, personnel at SDNY, top Democrat says (WaPo) "Democrats found suspect Whitaker’s assertion then that he never discussed his views regarding Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Whitaker was interviewing to join the White House legal team and had voiced his negative opinions about Mueller’s probe as a television pundit before Trump recommended him to be Sessions’s chief of staff." • Nadler: Whitaker "did not deny" talking to Trump about Cohen (Axios) "Whitaker testified last month that Trump had never pressured him to intervene in any investigation."

Mnuchin says U.S. government would shield Trump tax returns from Congress (Reuters) "Section 6103 of the U.S. tax code allows the chairs of three committees — Neal’s House panel, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation — to request confidential tax returns, and says the Treasury secretary “shall furnish” the documents." • Mnuchin says he'll protect Trump privacy if taxes requested (AP) "Mnuchin did not specifically say he would turn them over. The unprecedented move likely would set off a huge legal battle between Trump’s administration and Democrats controlling the House. The fight could take years to resolve, possibly stretching beyond the 2020 presidential election."

Trump's defense chief rules out "cost plus 50" demand of allies (Axios) "The Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee described the reported idea as "monumentally stupid," and other lawmakers privately fretted that Trump would demand too much and undermine relationships with key allies. [...] Alaskan Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan grilled Shanahan about the press reports in today's hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee."

Govt’s ‘Landlord’ Refuses To Answer Q’s On WH Meddling In FBI Building’s Plans (TPM) GSA Administrator Emily Murphy declined to answer questions from a House oversight committee about White House interference in the development plans for the FBI's headquarters building. A GSA IG's report previously accused Murphy of giving "incomplete" and "misleading" testimony on the subject.

Wilbur Ross grilled over role in adding citizenship question to 2020 census (NBC News) "“The key question we will ask Secretary Ross today is, what was he hiding from the Congress?" Rep. Elijah Cummings said. [...] “Mr. Secretary, you lied to Congress, you misled the American people, and you are complicit in the Trump administration’s intent to suppress the growing political power of the non-white population,” [Rep.] Clay [D-Mo] said. “You have already done great harm to the census in 2020, and you have zero credibility, and you should, in my opinion, resign.”
• National Emergency Round-up:
The Senate voted 59-41 to disapprove of Trump's national emergency declaration, leading to a veto threat by the President. Sens. Graham, Cruz, and Sasse made a last-ditch pitch (CNN) to avert the vote by crashing dinner at the White House Wednesday night to try to secure the President's support for a measure that would limit the length of national emergencies: "So they showed up at the White House uninvited Wednesday night while Trump was having dinner. Sources told CNN the meeting went downhill fast as Trump grew frustrated at attempts to limit his ability to declare national emergencies in the future. A White House lawyer was brought in to point out problems with the idea and explain why it wouldn't work for the White House, a source said. The overall meeting itself, the source said, was 'just unproductive.'" • Trump threatens veto after senate rejects national emergency in sharp rebuke (Guardian) "Nevertheless, Graham voted against the resolution to block Trump, declaring: “I believe the president is on sound legal ground. While I respect those who disagree, it is time to build the wall.”"

Trump and Dems destroy GOP effort to escape national emergency bind (Politico) "President Donald Trump scuttled a final effort by Senate Republicans to avoid an intraparty clash on his emergency declaration this week, a move that could juice the number of GOP senators that vote to rebuke Trump on the floor." • G.O.P.’s Attempt to Avoid Emergency Showdown With Trump Is Scuttled, by Trump (NYT) “If we don’t want our president acting like a king, we need to start taking back the legislative powers that allow him to do so,” [Senator Mike Lee of Utah] said.

What Emergency? (Gen. Michael Hayden and Matthew G. Olson, Politico Magazine) "an informed and honest assessment of the facts demonstrates that there is no national security crisis. We offer this assessment as former government officials with decades of experience in security, intelligence and law enforcement, serving Democratic and Republican presidents alike."

Senate Rejects Trump’s Border Emergency Declaration, Setting Up First Veto (NYT) "As the Senate was delivering its rebuke, senior military commanders announced they would begin to scale back about 40 percent of the 6,000 troops deployed at the southwestern border at Mr. Trump’s request. “It’s a security challenge — not a military threat,” said Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the Joint Chiefs chairman, when asked Thursday morning during a Senate Armed Services hearing to assess the threat posed by an influx of migrants from the Mexican side of the border."

House likely to try to override expected Trump veto on March 26 (Reuters)
• Transgender Service Ban Round-up:
Transgender Troops Caught Between a Welcoming Military and a Hostile Government (NYT) "They started coming out publicly in 2016 when the military lifted a longtime ban, after concluding that doing so would have no significant negative impact on budgets or operations. [...] in testimony before the Senate last spring, the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all said they were not aware of any issues caused by having transgender troops serving openly."

New Pentagon Policy Requires Most People To Serve In Their Birth Gender (TPM) "The final legal injunction blocking the new policy was lifted last week, allowing the Pentagon to move forward. But restrictions on transgender troops are likely to face ongoing legal challenges and have been slammed by members of Congress as discriminatory and self-defeating." • Military to begin enforcing Trump’s restrictions on transgender troops (WaPo) "Democrats, who are hoping to reverse the ban through bipartisan legislation, criticized the Pentagon’s decision to begin enforcing the measure." • Transgender Service Ban Nears Implementation (LawFare) "Attorneys for the plaintiffs in Doe 2 contend that, despite what the government says, the injunction in D.C. remains in place because the D.C. Circuit has not yet issued its mandate, as the period for the plaintiffs to seek rehearing en banc has not yet run. The 21-day window in which the plaintiffs may request rehearing opened on March 8, when two judges on the D.C. Circuit panel released full opinions in support of the per curiam judgment the court issued in January." • New Directive Says Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Will Officially Start Next Month (MoJo) "“Not only does the Trump-Pence transgender military ban violate the Constitution, but now the administration is also defying a court order,” Jennifer Levi, another lawyer for the plaintiffs in DC, said in a statement. “With brazen disregard for the judicial process, the Pentagon is prematurely and illegally rolling out a plan to implement the ban when a court injunction remains in place prohibiting them from doing so.”"

The Role of Deference in Adjudicating the Military Transgender Policy, DACA and the Census (LawFare) "As Robert Chesney wrote in a much-cited paper, courts often note that they lack the fact-finding resources of the political branches. But in rescissions, an earlier administration has found the facts. The real issue should be whether new facts justify a rescission of the policy."

IN OTHER HEADLINES:

Youth climate strikes to take place in more than 100 countries (Guardian) "Hundreds of thousands of children are expected to walk out of their classrooms on Friday for a global climate strike amid growing anger at the failure of politicians to tackle the escalating ecological crisis." • Climate strikes: students around the world walk out to demand change – live (Guardian)

US official reveals Atlantic drilling plan while hailing Trump’s ability to distract public (Guardian) “One of the things that I have found absolutely thrilling in working for this administration,” said Balash,“is the president has a knack for keeping the attention of the media and the public focused somewhere else while we do all the work that needs to be done on behalf of the American people.”

China hits back at US 'prejudice' in human rights tit-for-tat row (Guardian) "“The US government continues to publicly and fiercely accuse the media and journalists of creating ‘fake news’ and creating an atmosphere of intimidation and hostility,” the report said. “Reporters’ legal right to report has been violated,” it added, pointing to cases of the White House stripping some reporters of press credentials."

North Korea threatens to suspend denuclearization talks with the United States (WaPo) "“Personal relations between the two supreme leaders are still good, and the chemistry is mysteriously wonderful,” [Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui] said, while accusing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton of creating an atmosphere of “hostility and mistrust.” [...] [Pompeo] described his own talks with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong Chol, as professional and joked that he “vaguely remembered” having also been called “gangster-like” by North Korea last year."

DeVos Illegally Delayed Special Education Rule, Judge Says (NYT) "Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia called the Education Department’s delay of the special education rule “arbitrary and capricious.” The rule, drafted under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, would require states to identify districts with “significant disproportionality” in the number of minority students channeled into special education services, segregated in restrictive classroom settings or disciplined."

A Tale Of Two Economies: Comparing Trump's Economic Forecast With CBO's (Forbes) "President Trump’s 2020 budget is based upon an extremely optimistic view of the nation’s economic future. The White House forecast is in stark contrast to the Congressional Budget Office’s projection from just two months ago, which sees far slower growth." • Trump pledges support for health programs but his budget takes ‘legs out from underneath the system’ (WaPo) "In addition to combating HIV, the president has taken aim at childhood cancer and the opioid crisis, but his budget would undermine all those efforts by shrinking the health infrastructure that people struggling with those issues rely on while throttling back national cancer research spending — even as it offers discrete pots of money for those causes, policymakers say."

Perfect Trump Re-election Slogan: ‘I Don’t Keep Any Promises But My Voters Are Too Stupid to Notice’ (San Jose Mercury News, Opinion)

Pentagon Pushes for Weaker Standards on Chemicals Contaminating Drinking Water (NYT) "Frustration is only increasing across the United States as the Trump administration moves slowly to confront the challenge. [...] Several state and local governments — including the Security Water District in Colorado, the city of Newburgh, N.Y., and the state of New Mexico — have already filed lawsuits against the Defense Department."

Summer Zervos' Lawsuit Against President Donald Trump Can Proceed, Court Rules (ABC) "The New York State Appellate Division’s First Department turned down Trump’s argument that the case should be halted until he is out of office because, as a sitting president, he was immune from a lawsuit brought in state court. “We reject defendant President Trump's argument that the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution prevents a New York State court - and every other state court in the country - from exercising its authority under its state constitution,” the judges wrote."

Today is the 785th day of the Trump administration. There are 598 days until the 2020 elections.

MetaTalk:
MetaTalk on Keeping Arguing about the US Primaries in Check, about avoiding the stuff that has gone badly on MetaFilter in previous election cycles.
2 Hyuck 2 Hyucking, a thread where people can post their jokes, one-liners, favorite Twitter snark, alternative song lyrics, etc...

Previously in U.S. Politics Megathreads: "His deceit, which is a fundamental component of the crimes"

Megathread-Adjacent Posts and Sites:
Sanders Announces Campaign
The United State Of Labor
Breaking Point (UK Politics)
Saving The World 101
Who is Andrew Yang?
Tragedy in Christchurch
• OnceUponATime's Active Measures site
• Chrysostom's 2018 Election Ratings & Results Tracker

Elsewhere in MetaFilter: Help me be a single issue voter (Climate Change)Will having political bumper stickers on my vehicle jeopardize my job?Working for a Campaign 101Should I volunteer for this candidate?Find me a backgrounder on Trump / Russia / Special Counsel Investigation (AskMe).

As always, please consider MeFi chat and the unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack for hot-takes and live-blogging breaking news, the new 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 to Doktor Zed, zachlipton, and i.forgot.my.password for helping to create this thread. U.S. Politics FPPs are generally collaborative, and a draft post can be found on the MeFi Wiki.
posted by Little Dawn (1849 comments total) 135 users marked this as a favorite
 
Committee Probe Of Trump Organization Could Derail Infrastructure Talks (Tim Mak for NPR, March 15, 2019)
Nowhere else in the House of Representatives is the tension between legislation and investigation more present than on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where a bipartisan infrastructure deal could be in the making — even as the Democrats on the committee launch a reinvigorated investigation into the D.C. Trump Hotel.

"I have to do my duty over here and get questions answered," committee Chairman Peter DeFazio told NPR. "But I also need to pursue vigorously working with the White House to try and move an infrastructure package. And I'm willing and able to do both, and I think that the president will understand that if he really wants to do infrastructure."

Trump famously declared at his latest State of the Union address that members of Congress could choose between working with him on passing bills or probe his business and administration — not both.

"If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation," Trump said. "It just doesn't work that way."

DeFazio thinks that he can balance drafting legislation and probing the president's business. But Republican Rep. Bob Gibbs told NPR he'd prefer if DeFazio let the House oversight committee take the lead on questions related to the president's finances.

"It's going to take committee time, take resources from the committee and the staff, and we should be working on getting an infrastructure bill done," Gibbs said. "Because if we don't get something moving here fast, before the August recess, the chances of getting it done appropriately in the next year, with presidential politics and all that, the odds get slimmer."
Huh, it's as if he should have actually had a plan to complete his infrastructure ... week when he had a chance to previously. But how many previous Infrastructure Weeks were there?

NPR recapped "Why It's Infrastructure Week Again in March 2018, counting four Infrastructure Weeks at that point.

Be forewarned!: Trump preps return of Infrastructure Week -- Rachel Maddow warns viewers that Donald Trump is looking to revive Infrastructure Week, and reminds them of the major Trump scandals that broke in previous iterations of the event. (MSNBC video clip, Jan. 18, 2019)
posted by filthy light thief at 9:21 AM on March 15, 2019 [9 favorites]


[Vox]
Deeyah Khan spent months interviewing neo-Nazis and jihadists.
What she learned was more hopeful than ever
posted by growabrain at 9:55 AM on March 15, 2019 [16 favorites]


Personally I've been trying not to even think about the primaries... but this news about Beto being a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow is pretty amazing. For those who aren't up on hacker history I highly recommend the linked twitter thread by Joseph Menn. And I thought he was cool for being in a Punk band...
posted by cirhosis at 9:56 AM on March 15, 2019 [25 favorites]


Beto was clearly designed in a lab with personality traits and lifestyle choices required to get left-leaning people to look past his lack of an actual position on things.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:08 AM on March 15, 2019 [66 favorites]


Trump's defense chief rules out "cost plus 50" demand of allies

Given how specifically that was wiorded, I have to wonder if the actual demand is going to simply be a different number. "Cost plus 25% is not cost plus 50%, so what I said earlier was completely true."

The entire goal of course being to end US basing of soldiers entirely. Which is in line not only with Trump, but with the Right's nativist approach.
posted by happyroach at 10:12 AM on March 15, 2019


US bars entry of International Criminal Court investigators

“We are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation,” Pompeo said.

Another normal day in a healthy civilization.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:28 AM on March 15, 2019 [38 favorites]




Via Steve Herman on Twitter:

"This will be the first veto signed by @POTUS. He'll be joined by Angel Moms, members of the @CBP and other law enforcement officers, @hogangidley45 tells reporters."

Today of all days. He tweeted some empty sentiments to New Zealand, but the racist hatemongering show must go on!
posted by marshmallow peep at 10:34 AM on March 15, 2019 [22 favorites]


Buzzfeed: Trump’s 2020 Team Is Already Doing Something His White House Has Struggled With For Years: Hiring
The campaign has also already hired the directors for each area of responsibility, according to a spokesperson, and they are beginning to build out their teams. Trump’s reelection effort is using its headstart over Democrats’ campaigns to lay “the groundwork for recruiting and training almost 2 million volunteers across the nation,” the spokesperson said. “Time is one of the biggest advantages we have and we aim to use it.”

Those close to the administration also acknowledged that the campaign, which so far hasn't seen the type of internal feuding that was common in the 2016 campaign and at the White House, has been a more attractive option for ambitious Republicans.

"The talent pool is a lot higher than the people willing to go to the White House," said a source close to the campaign.

Another former White House official said joining the campaign made sense because it is the "closest thing a Republican operative can get to working in an actual White House,” which he and other sources described as too much work for little long-term payoff since several companies and lobbying firms have been reluctant to hire from the Trump White House.

"You're working for the president, but not in as toxic of an environment and for an entity that doesn't tarnish your resume the way the current White House would," the official said. "On the campaign of adults, you're honing your skills, bettering yourself, and making connections. In the White House of children, you're wasting your time playing whack a mole every day."
Also, the money's better.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:37 AM on March 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


It’s Gonna Be Huge: The many towers that Trump never built (Bruce Handy, The Atlantic)

I wonder how many walls he's never built.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:40 AM on March 15, 2019 [5 favorites]


Mueller Might Not Be Done With Manafort Yet (Natasha Bertrand, Atlantic)
Nevertheless, Mueller might not be quite done with Manafort yet, former prosecutors tell me. Court documents and pre-sentence hearings that dealt with the breach of Manafort’s plea deal suggest that prosecutors might have more ammunition to go after the 69-year-old on matters that go directly to the question of a conspiracy with Russia, rather than the financial crimes and violations of foreign-agent laws that he’s been charged with to date. […]

Still, the content of the 2016 meeting was only revealed by accident due to a redaction error by Manafort’s lawyers, and the significance of the episode to Mueller’s main probe, while hinted at by Weissmann, has yet to be fully explained.

“It’s hard to imagine that something so explosive and central to the mission of his investigation wouldn’t be addressed either in charges against someone (Manafort or others) or in a report,” Mimi Rocah, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, wrote in an email. “And the fact that the special counsel hasn’t brought it out but it was only revealed inadvertently, reinforces the idea that [Mueller] is saving it for something else.” […]
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:43 AM on March 15, 2019 [14 favorites]


Still, the content of the 2016 meeting was only revealed by accident due to a redaction error by Manafort’s lawyers...

Who is paying Manafort's lawyers?
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:45 AM on March 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


"You're working for the president, but not in as toxic of an environment and for an entity that doesn't tarnish your resume the way the current White House would," the official said. "On the campaign of adults, you're honing your skills, bettering yourself, and making connections. In the White House of children, you're wasting your time playing whack a mole every day."

You'd think there'd be some glimmer of awareness from the person making that comment, but nope.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:59 AM on March 15, 2019 [39 favorites]


"On the campaign of adults, you're honing your skills, bettering yourself, and making connections. In the White House of children, you're wasting your time playing whack a mole every day."

My suspicion is that it's more like they're both houses of children, but one of them is better suited to the ways of children than the other. Campaigns are about tug-of-war, painting the walls, and dress-up in a way that governing (normally) is not.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:05 AM on March 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


Doktor Zed: "You're working for the president, but not in as toxic of an environment and for an entity that doesn't tarnish your resume the way the current White House would," the official said. "On the campaign of adults, you're honing your skills, bettering yourself, and making connections. In the White House of children, you're wasting your time playing whack a mole every day."

Because a (re)election campaign is more secret and less public than actually running a country.

I somehow doubt that there'll be less tarnish on working from Re-Elect This Orange Monster than working for the Orange Monster's Administration, but I'm sure some would-be employees are convinced.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:07 AM on March 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


Beto was clearly designed in a lab with personality traits and lifestyle choices required to get left-leaning people to look past his lack of an actual position on things.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:08 AM on March 15 [10 favorites +] [!]

I laughed out loud at this, but I also thought it might be a good idea for him to be Vice President and learn the reality of governing and then run for president. 16 years of Dems! I know the normal thing would for him to be a senator or governor first, but these times are not normal, and he clearly attracts some voters that wouldn't normally vote for a woman of color. Like a Biden 2.0.
posted by mumimor at 11:15 AM on March 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


In the White House of children, you're wasting your time playing whack a mole every day.

Meanwhile, actual children have mobilized a coordinated global protest: Thank you, climate strikers. Your action matters and your power will be felt (Rebecca Solnit, Guardian Opinion)
I am writing you in gratitude and enthusiasm as someone who has lived for almost six decades, which has been time enough to see extraordinary change. To see what had been declared impossible happen over and over again. To see regimes topple when ordinary people rise up in nonviolent direct action. To see dramatic expansions of rights in both law and imagination. To see what were once radical new ideas about gender and sexual orientation and race, about justice and equality, about nature and ecology become ordinary accepted ideas – and then to see people forget how our minds were changed, and how much that process matters too. [...]

I saw wind and solar power go from awkward, ineffectual, expensive technologies only 20 years ago to become the means through which we can leave the age of fossil fuel behind. I have seen a language to recognize the Earth’s environmental systems arise in my lifetime, a language that can describe how everything is connected, and everything has consequences. Through studying what science teaches us about nature and what history teaches us about social forces I have come to see how beautiful and how powerful are the threads that connect us. Here’s one. Who did Greta Thunberg describe as a key influence on her actions? Rosa Parks.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:16 AM on March 15, 2019 [59 favorites]


[Vox] Deeyah Khan spent months interviewing neo-Nazis and jihadists. What she learned was more hopeful than ever

This was really pleasing to read.  There’s been this common thread in discourse lately, that humans can’t change their minds, that we only double down on irrational beliefs rather than discard them, and it’s treated like received wisdom.  In point of fact it is utter fucking bullshit—just another bit of craptastic biological determinism worming its way into pop culture.  I swear, it’s this century’s phrenology and we’ll eventually cringe at our collective stupidity for buying into it.  Humans do change their minds.  We can learn.  We can learn tolerance.   We can learn compassion.

The Doom & Gloom™ message that we’re all just irretrievably locked into our worldview is inherently dehumanizing, and it frustrates me to no end.  I mean, how in the world do people think we got this belief in tolerance and acceptance that we’re all fighting to defend in the first place?  Is it some sui generis event that simply emerged, unbidden, into human society at some point?   No!  It’s been a long struggle, with constant setbacks.  It’s always been a two steps forward, one back process.  That’s not gonna change, and to give up now…well, you can’t win if you don’t try.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 11:20 AM on March 15, 2019 [43 favorites]


Thank you, climate strikers. Your action matters and your power will be felt

This is excellent and better than I could articulate.

My 15-year-old daughter wasn't going to go (she had a test), but called me from school this morning to tell me she was walking out to get on a city bus, because she couldn't miss this protest. Very proud.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:22 AM on March 15, 2019 [66 favorites]


You'd think there'd be some glimmer of awareness from the person making that comment, but nope.

In fairness, the quote is credited to a "former White House official." For all we know, this person might have worked for the Obama administration.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:28 AM on March 15, 2019


“We are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation,” Pompeo said.

"And so we will never require our military or civilian personnel to take part in crimes against humanity," Pompeo didn't say.
posted by Gelatin at 11:35 AM on March 15, 2019 [16 favorites]


You're working for the president, but not in as toxic of an environment and for an entity that doesn't tarnish your resume the way the current White House would

That's... an interesting sales push.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:38 AM on March 15, 2019 [8 favorites]


There’s been this common thread in discourse lately, that humans can’t change their minds, that we only double down on irrational beliefs rather than discard them, and it’s treated like received wisdom. In point of fact it is utter fucking bullshit—just another bit of craptastic biological determinism worming its way into pop culture.

It's both true and not. People can change. They can, in the right circumstances, be brought into the light through the actions of others or at least normed into behavior by peer pressure. I think the way this is deployed in the modern discourse is really talking about where it is absolutely true: that you can't deploy that one special trick and truth that's gonna flip someone you're arguing with online. Both because the nature of humanity is that folks on the other side of a screen are not real to them the way in-person relationships are and because when you're encountering these folks online you're dealing with them in their en garde posture.

The online efforts to Reach Someone are doomed to fail because you're almost always dealing with them when they've made a deliberate effort to push their viewpoint out into the world. They're in fighting stance already and that's the circumstance all the studies are talking about where they demonstrate that showing people evidence just makes them double down. Aunt Becky, when she posts that Islamophobic meme on her facebook page, is taking a stance and you're not gonna argue her into enlightenment. You might reach her if this behavior means you block her and she doesn't get to see pictures of the baby anymore but that's about using personal leverage, not debate.

People should be less lazy in how they talk about other humans being lost causes and I include myself in that. But there's a legit danger in trying to engage with everyone on the internet with the idea that everyone can be reached. We don't have to give up on folks but we also don't have to give hate spewing any sort of audience. Giving people a simple "I don't know how to convince you that you should care about other people" and a quick block is a valid technique.

Probably there's be a lot less of this thread in discourse about humans not changing their mind if so many of the calls for trying to reach people weren't coming from friends of loathesome folks like Milo or Weev. The "cut em off" calls didn't come out of nowhere, they were responses to supposedly legitimate outlets running opeds about how we have to keep these people in our lives if we have any hope of turning them.
posted by phearlez at 11:40 AM on March 15, 2019 [20 favorites]


Deeyah Khan spent months interviewing neo-Nazis and jihadists.
What she learned was more hopeful than ever

There is a Danish-Kurdish former politician who works with this.
My former husband was a German whose parents had been Hitler Jugend. They sometimes struggled with some concepts, but they had changed, they honestly weren't holding on to the racism that had been drilled into them when they were young.
People can change.
posted by mumimor at 11:45 AM on March 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


My 15-year-old daughter wasn't going to go (she had a test), but called me from school this morning to tell me she was walking out to get on a city bus, because she couldn't miss this protest. Very proud.
posted by mcstayinskool


Eponysterical. Ironysterical?
posted by chris24 at 11:59 AM on March 15, 2019 [49 favorites]


People can change.

They can, if they want to or I guess when people make superhuman efforts to reach them. Folks like Özlem Cekic are an inspiration and deserve so much credit ... but at the same time, I would hate for the onus to be put on the people who are having abuse heaped on them to reach out to the haters. It should not be the responsibility of the abused and marginalized to do the additional emotional labor to educate and reform bigots, racists, homophobes, etc.
posted by jzb at 12:03 PM on March 15, 2019 [12 favorites]


The online efforts to Reach Someone are doomed to fail

I think the Internet Research Agency has falsified this hypothesis. Being vocal online can and does change minds. I suspect it mostly changes the minds of "bystanders" who witness the debate and not the people you're actually debating with (unless it contributes to a change of heart that comes years later). And I suspect it only changes the minds of 3% of the bystanders, and then probably mainly by influencing perceived norms rather than changing core beliefs. More research is needed.

But one way or another, I'm convinced it has an effect. And if the IRA was a "troll army," I think we all have a duty to get out there and argue online as a part of the volunteer anti-troll army.
posted by OnceUponATime at 12:04 PM on March 15, 2019 [27 favorites]


There's a really great and interesting thread on that really great and interesting link titled "Deeyah Khan spent months interviewing neo-Nazis and jihadists. What she learned was more hopeful than ever," and I think that we should all move our really great and interesting comments there.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:09 PM on March 15, 2019 [17 favorites]


Foreign nations are ignoring U.S. diplomats, focusing on wooing Trump directly ('Hunter', Daily Kos)
The Wall Street Journal reports that world leaders are beginning to ditch the formal processes of diplomacy when they want something from the United States, preferring instead to court Trump directly. That the Journal's prime examples are North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Turkey’s Erdogan, and Vladimir Putin is probably more telling than the note intends them to be, but both the glaring omission of Saudi Arabia and the fulsome efforts to explain that other, past American presidents also had summits with world leaders suggests a continued resistance on the Journal's part to fully parse out the implications of what's going on here.
So they're pointedly not talking about the 'elephant in the room' (i.e. obvious problem - see wiki entry) but glancing at the corner it's in, and alluding to it.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:11 PM on March 15, 2019 [5 favorites]


I think people sometimes conflate "no one should feel any obligation to debate with bigots" with "no one should ever attempt to debate with bigots."
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:14 PM on March 15, 2019 [25 favorites]


WaPo: Christian Conservatives In Trump Administration Build Global Anti-Abortion Coalition
Over the past few months, [Health and Human Services Department Senior Policy Advisor Valerie] Huber and other U.S. officials have traveled the world inviting other nations to join the cause. In meetings, according to people privy to the discussions who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, Huber, who previously founded an abstinence-only sex education group, has explained that “health and rights mean different things to different people.”

The first test of the coalition comes this week as U.S. negotiators seek to excise references to “universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights” — which they argue promotes abortion and normalizes sexual activity among youth — in an annual document about empowering women by the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women. They also want to replace “gender-responsive” with “family-centered” in calls for more-inclusive public services.

And they’re pushing to add a section recognizing that “women’s contribution to the home, including through unpaid care and domestic work, which is not adequately recognized, generates human and social capital.”

U.S. representatives have indicated that a declaration without their proposed changes is “unacceptable,” according to participants at the meetings.

Their position has the backing of nontraditional allies such as Bahrain, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and possibly Russia but has drawn strong opposition by many European countries.
American anti-abortion activists have been building bridges to UK political parties and politicians for some time now, e.g. the Democratic Unionist Party and anti-abortion Tories such as Jacob Rees-Mogg. This phase, begun under G. W. Bush, is unsurprising.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:15 PM on March 15, 2019 [27 favorites]


Mod note: It's time to take debate-the-trolls strategizing to its own thread if there's this much interest in it. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 12:45 PM on March 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


Sign at the Minnesota state capitol strike:

"Why should we go to school if you won't listen to the educated?"
posted by ryanshepard at 12:48 PM on March 15, 2019 [133 favorites]


A progressive group is trying to create a 2020 litmus test on judges (Li Zhou, Vox)
Demand Justice, a progressive activist group dedicated to blocking Republican efforts to remake the federal judiciary, has issued a report card [13 pg PDF] rating how Democratic senators voted on judges this past year. And it’s got some pretty harsh feedback for some presidential hopefuls.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:50 PM on March 15, 2019 [27 favorites]


I strongly recommend the Atlantic article posted on the previous thread on White Nationalism, and also, see the video below it. They are both chilling but also very true.
Way back when Reagan was running against Carter, my cousin brought home a college friend who was a young Reaganite. Most of my family was shocked by his racism, but obviously polite. I went out and did some farmwork (for a week). White suprematism never disappeared, it just hid for a while.
posted by mumimor at 1:26 PM on March 15, 2019 [12 favorites]


The Toronto Star's Daniel Dale has been live-tweeting Trump's "National Emergency" veto event at the White House this afternoon. (He also has a transcript of Trump's remarks specifically about New Zealand.)

Notably, “Asked if he thinks white nationalism is a rising threat around the world, Trump said, "I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems."” But of his manufactured southern border national emergency, he said, "It is a tremendous national emergency. It is a tremendous crisis."
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:00 PM on March 15, 2019 [9 favorites]


From The Hill: New Zealand suspect wrote in manifesto he supported Trump 'as a symbol of renewed white identity'

Because of course he did.   Sigh.  I didn't want to make the current New Zealand tread about the U.S; it feels more appropriate here instead.  The man is poison.  

Headlines like this one from The Atlantic give me hope though: Secular Democrats Are the New Normal

If the politics of the past thirty years can even begin to detangle itself from religion as we move forward, I'll be utterly thrilled. I've always felt that the refusal to unabashedly double down and embrace secular government was a failure of strategy on the part of Democrats.  Secular government—the need for it—has always been a part of our national history.  The Democratic party has repeatedly let the right dictate the terms of the discussion of religion in government, and I'd like to see them refuse to engage in it any longer.  We're a pluralistic society, always have been, and I'd like to see this correction pointed out every time someone calls us a "Christian" nation.  At least they've got demographics on their side.  We're growing consistently less religious as a population, and I have little doubt that the tipping point getting closer and closer is what's freaking out people like Pence.  They've managed to wrest control of the apparatus the past few decades, but now the numbers are working against them like never before.  The writing's on the wall, and they know it—at least I keep telling myself that.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 2:05 PM on March 15, 2019 [25 favorites]




It seems that Beto has forgotten that he's not just running in Texas anymore. You're not supposed to say the Republican positions out loud.
posted by JackFlash at 2:11 PM on March 15, 2019 [22 favorites]


It's almost like "not as bad as Ted Cruz" isn't the best qualification to represent the entire Democratic party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:13 PM on March 15, 2019 [66 favorites]




Mod note: I'm not sure where people got the idea where the megathread is a good place for video reaction shots to super-early primary news, but I regret to inform you that you are incorrect.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 2:21 PM on March 15, 2019 [58 favorites]


> It's almost like "not as bad as Ted Cruz" isn't the best qualification to represent the entire Democratic party.

Given the clown car nature of the primary field so far, O'Rourke could probably build some Betomentum™️ by being qualified to represent perhaps a third or a quarter of the party, or at least be like the second or third choice for a half of it. And yet.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:24 PM on March 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


Meanwhile, Sanders 2020 is the first major presidential campaign to unionize thier campaign workers

This is great news and a good way to remove what would have been a negative charge against the Sanders campaign. Now that issue is neutral.
posted by Justinian at 2:28 PM on March 15, 2019 [11 favorites]


Asked if he thinks white nationalism is a rising threat around the world, Trump said, "I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems."

He also said he just had no idea whether the Christchurch shooter had anything to do with white nationalism because he doesn't “know enough about it yet.” A redux of pretending to not know who the KKK was on the 2016 campaign trail, and thus supposedly being unable to say whether he would reject its support.

Saying this stuff, he's basically wearing a sandwichboard sign saying white nationalist can depend on him and deserve his support.

It's the same thing as Nikki Haley responding to the 2015 AME Church shootings by saying “we'll never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another” after the white shooter said, while he was killing his black victims, “You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go.”
posted by XMLicious at 3:20 PM on March 15, 2019 [49 favorites]




CNBC: Mueller: Former Trump Campaign Official Rick Gates ‘Continues To Cooperate’ In Several Investigation
Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates “continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations,” special counsel Robert Mueller said in a court filing Friday.

“Accordingly the parties do not believe it is appropriate” to move on to Gates’ sentencing phase, the filing in Washington, D.C., federal court said.

The joint report from Mueller and Gates’ attorney, which asks a federal judge for 60 more days before providing the next update on Gates’ status, comes amid increasing speculation that the special counsel’s Russia probe is coming to an end.
Marcy Wheeler delves deeper: On the Exonerating Information Rick Gates Just Provided "In her minute order on this (doing nothing about the breach determination), ABJ did indeed order the passage (page 36 line 16) where she discussed the recipients of the data to be corrected, making it virtually certain Manafort shared the data with one Russian and two Ukrainian oligarchs." Emphasis added, because coincidentally Trump went off on Twitter this morning, declaring "there should be no Mueller report".
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:38 PM on March 15, 2019 [16 favorites]


Mod note: Reload; a bunch deleted related to a non-story.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 5:30 PM on March 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


Newsweek, 12/27/18: President Trump's Tactics of Fear And Loathing Can Be Defeated: An Interview With Martha C. Nussbaum
The 71-year-old Nussbaum, a moral philosopher and law professor at the University of Chicago, is passionately concerned with justice and how it affects the personal and political. But her interest goes beyond the theoretical; she is committed to using philosophy to improve the very vocabulary of public discourse. Nussbaum has written five major books dedicated to this. The most recent, The Monarchy of Fear, is an engaging consideration of our current political crisis from the perspective of emotion—how anger, disgust and envy have been used, since antiquity, to divide people

Nussbaum disproves the dig on modern academics—that theylive above the political fray, in ivory towers—perhaps because she takes her cues from the OGs of philosophy. “The great thinkers of the ancient tradition were not detached from political issues,” she says. “Seneca was regent of the Roman Emperor Nero, and he was trying to curb him from doing terrible things. There was no escaping political reality.”

Fear has dominated political conversation in the U.S. for a lot longer than Donald Trump has been president. But the noise of it has grown deafening and debilitating in the past two years. Though Nussbaum is certainly adept at putting fear in context, as well as articulating how it is used for political strategy and to justify rage, she—and we—are equally interested in how to move beyond it. With hate crimes on the rise and talk of impeachment everywhere, there is perhaps no more pressing concern. Below, a conversation on how to “purify” anger and find hope in the Trump era.
posted by homunculus at 6:19 PM on March 15, 2019 [17 favorites]


Hundreds 'plank like RBG' outside Supreme Court to celebrate Ginsburg's birthday
posted by growabrain at 6:23 PM on March 15, 2019 [13 favorites]




Below, a conversation on how to “purify” anger and find hope in the Trump era.

From the Guardian:
Over 24 hours of climate action, organizers of the climate strike believe more than 1 million students skipped school on Friday or protest government inaction on climate change. From Australia and New Zealand, to Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and South America, students from all over the world took to the streets to demand change. Organizers said there were more than 2,000 protests in 125 countries.
From the Washington Post:
Starting in the South Pacific and moving west with the sun, the protests blanketed grand city centers and humble village squares, national parliament buildings and tiny town halls. The demonstrations stretched to every continent, across more than 100 countries and 1,700 locations, from India to South Africa to Greenland.

The coordinated demonstrations were planned as the largest manifestation to date of the Fridays for Future movement, in which students forgo classes each week in favor of something they have said is more important: pleading for action on an issue that will affect every person on the planet, but young people most of all. [...]

An estimated 150,000 people turned out in dozens of demonstrations across Australia. Somewhat smaller protests unfolded in cities across Asia. In Europe, capitals such as Berlin, Paris and London were filled with placard-wielding students who had packed into trains and subways to reach the demonstrations. Tens of thousands of people were estimated to have turned out in each of those cities.

Large groups also turned out in New York, Washington and some other U.S. cities in roughly three dozen U.S. states.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:10 PM on March 15, 2019 [26 favorites]


A short history of President Trump’s anti-Muslim bigotry
Trump is an Islamophobic bigot. As president, his words matter. He is using them to spread hatred. And deranged, unwell or evil people have allegedly been inspired by those words to target the very people that Trump targets in his speeches and his tweets. The charged suspect in New Zealand cited Trump “as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose” (though he also said he rejected Trump as a policymaker and leader).

...

Some of the president’s supporters might accuse me of “politicizing tragedy,” but that is the only appropriate thing to do when tragedies are made more likely because of our politics. Hollow statements of condolence are meaningless if you are willing to turn around and support an Islamophobic bigot in the White House who makes those condolences more necessary.
posted by homunculus at 7:44 PM on March 15, 2019 [17 favorites]


Russian Oligarch Sues U.S. Over Sanctions (NYT (via))

Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin, sued the United States government on Friday, demanding it lift sanctions that he claimed have cost him billions of dollars, made him ‘radioactive’ in international business circles and exposed him to criminal investigation and asset confiscation in Russia.

In a lawsuit filed in United States District Court in Washington, Mr. Deripaska said that the sanctions, leveled in April by the Treasury Department, should be struck down because they deprived him of due process and relied on unproven smears that fell outside the sanctions program.

... The Treasury Department justified the sanctions partly by citing accusations against Mr. Deripaska of bribery, links to organized crime and even murder. But Mr. Deripaska’s lawyers described the accusations as “nothing more than false rumor and innuendo and originate from decades-old defamatory attacks originated by his business competitors,” and “completely untethered” from the claims of aiding Russia’s malign activities.

The Treasury Department, Mr. Deripaska contended, did not try to link him to “the interference of democratic processes, nor has Deripaska been charged anywhere in the world for doing so.”


"Y'all locked up my boy Paulie, after we got y'all elected, and he owes me money! Gimme the rest o' my criminal blood-money billions motherf*rs", said Deripaska (okay that last part I made up, but it's based on a true story) I'd like to think a lot of discovery and cross-examination will be involved here, but.
posted by petebest at 7:52 PM on March 15, 2019 [11 favorites]


Think we should be at school? Today’s climate strike is the biggest lesson of all (Greta Thunberg, Anna Taylor and others, Guardian)
These strikes are happening today – from Washington DC to Moscow, Tromsø to Invercargill, Beirut to Jerusalem, and Shanghai to Mumbai – because politicians have failed us. We’ve seen years of negotiations, pathetic deals on climate change, fossil fuel companies being given free rein to carve open our lands, drill beneath our soils and burn away our futures for their profit. We’ve seen fracking, deep sea drilling and coalmining continue. Politicians have known the truth about climate change and they’ve willingly handed over our future to profiteers whose search for quick cash threatens our very existence.

[...] This is not just about cutting down emissions, but about equity – the system we have right now is failing us, working only for the rich few. The luxury so few of us enjoy in the global north is based on the suffering of people in the global south.

We have watched as politicians fumble, playing a political game rather than facing the facts that the solutions we need cannot be found within the current system. They don’t want to face the facts – we need to change the system if we are to try to act on the climate crisis.

This movement had to happen, we didn’t have a choice. The vast majority of climate strikers taking action today aren’t allowed to vote. Imagine for a second what that feels like. Despite watching the climate crisis unfold, despite knowing the facts, we aren’t allowed to have a say in who makes the decisions about climate change. And then ask yourself this: wouldn’t you go on strike too, if you thought doing so could help protect your own future?

So today we walk out of school, we quit our college lessons, and we take to the streets to say enough is enough. Some adults say we shouldn’t be walking out of classes – that we should be “getting an education”. We think organising against an existential threat – and figuring out how to make our voices heard – is teaching us some important lessons.

Other adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But we don’t want your hope. We don’t want you to be hopeful. We want you to panic and we want you to take action. We want you to join us.
'I want you to panic': Greta Thunberg issues climate warning at Davos (Guardian video)
posted by Little Dawn at 7:58 PM on March 15, 2019 [45 favorites]


> Over 24 hours of climate action, organizers of the climate strike believe more than 1 million students skipped school on Friday or protest government inaction on climate change. From Australia and New Zealand, to Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and South America, students from all over the world took to the streets to demand change. Organizers said there were more than 2,000 protests in 125 countries.

It's a source of real hope to see young people all over the world doing this. Younger voters have usually been less politically active than older ones, but that could change if they can hang onto their idealism. And this international bond they're forging could make them the first truly cosmopolitan generation in history. Here's a Twitter mega-thread (70+ tweets) with pictures and video clips of the protests around the world:

"[THREAD] Greta has been on #ClimateStrike for 30 weeks now. Today, she will be joined by students all over the world in over 123 countries on all continents. Only one word for this. Historical."
posted by homunculus at 7:59 PM on March 15, 2019 [31 favorites]


Houston Chronicle: Sen. Ted Cruz fined $35,000 by Federal Elections Commission Over 2012 Loans
The Federal Election Commission this week issued a $35,000 fine to Sen. Ted Cruz for failing to disclose more than $1 million in campaign loans from Citibank and Goldman Sachs.

The commission found that Cruz took out loans from the banks for use in his 2012 Senate campaign but improperly reported them as coming from his “personal funds,” according to the settlement agreement posted online by the Campaign Legal Center.

“As has repeatedly been reported, the loans were public at the time and fully disclosed on Senate ethics disclosures, but they weren’t reported correctly on the FEC forms,” said Cruz campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier, referring to a New York Times report from 2016. “This agreed settlement resolves that filing mistake once and for all.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:41 PM on March 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


i read (most of) the deripaska filing (challenging sanctions against him/his stuff as "arbitrary and capricious", as petebest linked above; can't recall where i read the filing earlier, but have just found it embedded via scribd at the bottom of this cnbc story), and browsed the administrative procedures act hoping for quick easy confirmation of my intuition/hope that the court will summary-judgment that thing away with prejudice, but my haphazard search was unavailing. i lack the stamina/time/will to read all the sources i'd need to arrive at a minimally-competently-reasoned conjecture, and, knowing that, stopped reading just at that point i'd otherwise had to have started taking notes and citations. i haven't even finished reading lisa page's testimony yet, or found a transcript of judge jackson sentencing manafort!

oleg "don't call me oligarch" deripaska's got a lawyer named ferrari who signs the filing with a pennsylvania avenue address. i idly wonder how he gets paid.

(is oleg objecting to being called an oligarch eponysterical? or false-cognasterical? homophonisterical?)

i can't believe that determinations to impose sanctions get the same treatment as, say, administrative rulemaking does under the apa. two executive orders, an act of congress, a public and a classified dossier supporting the office of foreign asset control recommendation, in the case of the plaintiff, strike me as likely satisfying due process strictures, on their face, and lacking any more particular facts (or ... actual thorough and comprehending consultation of the relevant authorities).

on the other hand, this case being live, hovering ominously in the dockets, might represent a subtle pressure in favor of the agency in a currently-pending appeal concerning a challenged agency action the supreme court is supposed to hear in, i think, april. not that deripaska's case is similar to the wilbur ross case except insofar as each challenges an agency action. for one thing: the agency in deripaska has not presented a tribunal sitting in judgment with a fabricated administrative record, yet (if only because they haven't had the chance).
posted by 20 year lurk at 9:05 PM on March 15, 2019 [9 favorites]


The Federal Election Commission this week issued a $35,000 fine to Sen. Ted Cruz for failing to disclose more than $1 million in campaign loans from Citibank and Goldman Sachs.


You know, I’m...not sure that’s actually going to be a deterrent to future criming. More like just the cost of doing business.
posted by darkstar at 9:47 PM on March 15, 2019 [47 favorites]


The Federal Election Commission this week issued a $35,000 fine to Sen. Ted Cruz for failing to disclose more than $1 million in campaign loans from Citibank and Goldman Sachs.

Instead of a fine, the punishment for FEC violations ought to be removal from office.
posted by reductiondesign at 10:04 PM on March 15, 2019 [56 favorites]


Colorado has formally joined the National Popular Vote Compact. Delaware and New Mexico are poised to do so, as well.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:48 PM on March 15, 2019 [64 favorites]


CNN notes an interesting development at the Bijan Kian trial: Flynn done cooperating with Mueller probe, but info he provided is still part of ongoing investigations, government says
Federal prosecutors in Virginia want to restrict sharing some special counsel memos of interviews with Flynn because of the "ongoing investigation" into matters he shared with investigators.

In court Friday, the prosecutor said the ongoing probes were unrelated to Flynn's Turkish lobbying case -- raising the possibility it touches on Flynn's ties to the Trump campaign, transition, administration or the Russian government.

The prosecutor in court Friday stopped himself after he acknowledged other US attorneys may be looking at what Flynn shared with the special counsel.

"At least one other district," he said, correcting himself after first saying "districts," before asking to withdraw his statement in court representing the number of ongoing investigations.
The Kian defense team is asking the judge for access to all SCO memos from Flynn's cooperation so they can prepare to cross examine him at the Turkish lobbying trial this summer.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:46 AM on March 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act: Civil Rights Under Trump

I've seen all of these separately I think but this is a concise collection of the major stories about dismantling federal civil rights protection.
posted by XMLicious at 4:12 AM on March 16, 2019 [11 favorites]


Instead of a fine, the punishment for FEC violations ought to be removal from office.

President Boehner approves of this message.
posted by Etrigan at 5:42 AM on March 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


A clear majority of Americans oppose Trump’s emergency declaration (WaPo)
Numerous polls suggest Trump’s decision was popular among his Republican base. But his decision to use executive authority to fund a wall along the southern border is opposed by a clear majority of the public.

That is reflected in six polls taken from early January to early March. By roughly a 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose Trump’s decision to use emergency powers to build a border wall. That’s a wider margin than the Senate resolution to overturn Trump’s declaration of a national emergency, which passed 59 to 41.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:11 AM on March 16, 2019 [11 favorites]


Flynn business partner facing prosecution complains he was singled out (Politico)
MacDougall noted the rarity of prosecutions under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, saying there have been just seven prosecutions in recent years. The argument echoed complaints from lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who also claimed he was singled out over foreign-lobbying because he had the misfortune of coming into Mueller’s crosshairs.

However, Gillis noted that Kian is charged not only with conspiring to violate FARA but a more serious offense of acting in the U.S. as an unregistered agent for a foreign government. Those charges are typically brought in cases considered closer to espionage, but there need not be any military or national security secrets at stake.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:20 AM on March 16, 2019 [6 favorites]


Supreme Court to rule if citizenship census question is constitutional (Axios)
The announcement followed a federal ruling in early March that Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross — whose agency is responsible for the census — is in breach of the Constitution's Enumeration Clause. A federal judge in New York also blocked the Trump administration from including the question, ruling that Ross "violated the public trust" with the citizenship question.
Supreme Court expands scope of census citizenship question case (NBC News)
Ross has argued that the question was added at his direction after he received a letter from the Department of Justice in late 2017 that said the data was needed to properly enforce the Voting Rights Act. Ross came under intense scrutiny for the move and recently defended his rationale during a fiery congressional hearing.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:45 AM on March 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


MacDougall noted the rarity of prosecutions under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, saying there have been just seven prosecutions in recent years. The argument echoed complaints from lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who also claimed he was singled out over foreign-lobbying because he had the misfortune of coming into Mueller’s crosshairs.

By this logic nobody should get speeding tickets because they only ticket about 4% of speeders.
posted by srboisvert at 7:48 AM on March 16, 2019 [20 favorites]


[Robert Reich]

What does a megalomaniacal president do when he’s cornered? We’ll soon find out.

The Democrats are beginning a series of investigations about Trump. Senate Republicans have begun to desert him. Twelve defected on the wall. Seven refused to back Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.

Almost all have gone on record that they want Robert Mueller’s report made public. That report, not incidentally, appears imminent.

Trump cannot abide losing. His ego can’t contain humiliation. He is incapable of shame.

So what does a cornered Trump do? For starters, he raises the specter of violence against his political opponents.

We must be on red alert.

posted by growabrain at 7:57 AM on March 16, 2019 [50 favorites]


Although the NY AG Letitia James's court filing in the state's lawsuit against the Trump Foundation this past Thursday came up in the previous megathread, the news is receiving surprisingly little coverage for a clear case of fraud and election law violations.

Here's the AP wire's story, which is the most widely circulated: NY Attorney General: Evidence Shows Trump Misused Charity
Insider testimony, emails and other evidence show President Donald Trump turned his charitable foundation into a wing of his White House campaign, New York’s attorney general said in a new court filing Thursday.

State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, detailed her case against the foundation in a 37-page court filing in a lawsuit that seeks $2.8 million in restitution and an order banning Trump and his three eldest children from running any New York charities for 10 years.

The filing was a response to an earlier court submission from the foundation’s lawyers, who have argued that the lawsuit against the charity is both flimsy and politically motivated.[…]

James said the evidence of banned coordination between campaign officials and the foundation includes deposition testimony from Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg and emails he exchanged with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

In one email, a Trump company vice president asked Lewandowski for guidance on how to distribute the money that was raised.

“Do you have a list of which veterans charities you want these funds sent to and how much for each charity??” the vice president, Jeffrey McConney, wrote Lewandowski on Feb. 16, 2016, according to the filing. “Lastly, how much longer do you want to keep the TrumpforVets website up and running?”

Trump was also accused in the suit of directing that $100,000 in foundation money be used to settle legal claims over an 80-foot flagpole he had built at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, instead of paying the expense out of his own pocket.
The RNC's Rona Romney McDaniel calls this a "personal and political vendetta" against Trump in a typical example of the Trumpist talking point of politicizing the accusation without addressing the substance.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:23 AM on March 16, 2019 [29 favorites]


"what is ailing the American economy?"
There are two main culprits. The first is a savings glut. Americans are saving more and spending less partly because the rich now take home so much of the economy’s income — and the rich don’t spend as large a share of their income as the poor and middle class. The aging of society plays a role too, because people are saving for retirement.

The second big cause is an investment slump. Despite all the savings available to be invested, companies are holding back. Some have grown so large and monopoly-like that they don’t need to invest in new projects to make profits. Think about your internet provider: It may have terrible customer service, but you don’t have a lot of alternatives. The company doesn’t need to invest in new technology or employees to keep you as a customer.

Beside a lack of competition, the investment slump stems from what Summers calls the de-massification of the economy. Developers aren’t building as many malls and stores, because goods now go straight from warehouses to homes. Offices don’t need as much storage space. Cellphones have replaced not just desktop computers but also cameras, stereos, books and more. Many young people have decided they’re happy living in small apartments, without cars.

For all of these economic problems, there are promising solutions. But the United States is not giving those solutions a try.
posted by wildblueyonder at 9:43 AM on March 16, 2019 [30 favorites]


‘The President … Is Not Above the Law’ (NYT Editorial Board)
A New York appeals court on Thursday ruled that Mr. Trump, like Mr. Clinton before him, is not protected by the presidency from answering civil charges. The five-judge panel in Manhattan said that the Constitution’s supremacy clause does not bar state courts from hearing claims over “alleged unofficial misconduct” — that is, claims of improper or illegal action before a president took office. The decision expands on the precedent set in Clinton v. Jones, in which a unanimous Supreme Court in 1997 ruled that a federal court had jurisdiction over a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones, a former low-level Arkansas state employee, against Mr. Clinton.

Yes, the presidency is important and its occupant may have important duties to attend to other than to produce documents or sit for depositions in a civil suit alleging sexual misconduct and defamation, the court explained, but “the President is still a person, and he is not above the law.”

Two judges dissented, observing that the threat of contempt, should Mr. Trump resist the legal process, would put a state court in “direct control” over the president. [...] Mr. Trump’s lawyers said they would appeal the ruling in the Zervos matter.

If past is prologue, these lawsuits could be a minefield for Mr. Trump, who so far has avoided, on his lawyers’ advice, a face-to-face interview with the special counsel, Robert Mueller — in no small part because of the president’s tenuous relationship with the truth.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:27 AM on March 16, 2019 [16 favorites]


Trump says he told House GOP to 'play along' on Mueller report vote (Politico)
President Donald Trump on Saturday said he encouraged House Republicans to vote in favor of a resolution calling on the Justice Department to make Robert Mueller’s final report public — despite tweeting a day earlier that the special counsel “should never have been appointed” and that “there should be no Mueller Report.”

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved in a 420-0 vote the measure urging Attorney General William Barr to release the entirety of Mueller’s findings and make them available to Congress. The resolution was blocked by Republicans in the Senate.

“On the recent non-binding vote (420-0) in Congress about releasing the Mueller Report, I told leadership to let all Republicans vote for transparency,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Makes us all look good and doesn’t matter. Play along with the game!”
posted by Little Dawn at 10:48 AM on March 16, 2019 [11 favorites]


Mueller's busy week offers new signs his report is coming soon (Politico)
“The signs I see are all pointing towards an investigation that is wrapping up,” said Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor who has worked with Weissmann on organized crime cases. “[We are] probably a few weeks or even a month or more away from the issuing of a final report, but certainly a fairly complete draft is already being circulated inside the Mueller team.”

[...] Even if Mueller’s investigation is all but complete, however, his prosecutions will continue for months.

[...] Friday’s filing suggests Gates may be helping federal prosecutors in New York who are investigating Trump's inauguration committee, which he helped run alongside real estate developer and longtime Trump friend Tom Barrack. The committee is facing questions about the source of its donations and how it spent its record-level $107 million haul.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:57 AM on March 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


Dear Editors: Stop trying to predict the Mueller report.

Mueller is close to done, but the Weissman news is overblown.
Let me be clear: I do agree Mueller is just about done with the investigation. He’s waiting on Mystery Appellant, possibly on Andrew Miller’s testimony; he may have been waiting on formal publication of Jerome Corsi’s book yesterday. Multiple other details suggest that Mueller expects to be able to share things in a month that he’s unable to share today.

None of that tells us what will happen in the next few weeks. There is abundant evidence that Trump entered into a quid pro quo conspiracy with Russia, trading dirt and dollars for sanctions relief and other policy considerations. But it’s unclear whether Mueller has certainty that he’d have an 85% chance of winning convictions, which is around what he’d need to convince DOJ to charge it. There is also abundant evidence that Trump and others obstructed the investigation, but charging Trump in that presents constitutional questions.

If Mueller does charge either of those things, I’d still expect him to resign and either retire or move back to WilmerHale and let other prosecutors prosecute it. That’s what Leon Jaworski did in Watergate.
posted by gucci mane at 11:05 AM on March 16, 2019 [6 favorites]


Monday is the deadline for complying with the 81 document requests that the House Judiciary Committee sent out. I wonder how many will comply, and how many will resist
posted by growabrain at 11:58 AM on March 16, 2019 [10 favorites]




> So what does a cornered Trump do? For starters, he raises the specter of violence against his political opponents.We must be on red alert.

Aaron Blake: Trump again nods toward violence by his supporters — and maybe something bigger

I made a Twitter thread with these and several other articles about Trump's violent rhetoric and stochastic terrorism, if anyone's interested.
posted by homunculus at 12:36 PM on March 16, 2019 [23 favorites]


From the Aaron Blake piece:
The inclusion of bikers is also interesting — and timely. As The Post wrote last week, motorcycle gangs known as “colectivos” have served as enforcers for embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. That, of course, wouldn’t explain why Trump included bikers when he said this in September.
This is probably just Trump fantasizing about having the same para-military toys the other kids have. Here's an article and short film (.mp4) from The Guardian in 2016 about a Russian biker gang called the Night Wolves / Ночные Волки who have moved into Eastern Ukraine to participate in the conflict and otherwise demonstrate loyalty to Putin.
posted by XMLicious at 3:44 PM on March 16, 2019 [13 favorites]


Facebook faces fresh questions over when it knew of data harvesting.
Allegations come as US prosecutors investigate claims of cover-up.
posted by adamvasco at 3:52 PM on March 16, 2019 [7 favorites]


"I like presidents who aren't whiny traitors"
Trump slammed as ‘a vile human being’ for attacking John McCain (who died 6 months ago)
posted by growabrain at 4:00 PM on March 16, 2019 [4 favorites]


He's right though: McCain used the ACA as grist for campaigning for years, and then did grandstanding against it when he thought that was politically expedient. That one particular line is maybe one of the few times trump will ever be right - McCain was a coward and a hypocrite, and he doesn't deserve honor just because he finally had the decency to die.
posted by codacorolla at 4:17 PM on March 16, 2019 [15 favorites]


As much as McCain may have flipped politically, it must be remembered that he was a prisoner of and tortured by the North Vietnamese army for a period of time that far exceeds the president*'s attention span. He was absolutely not a traitor, in the primary and most important sense of the term.

The simplicity of that definition is also well past the presidential* comprehension level, so much so that it is clear he was in fact a traitor, in the primary sense of that word, and his only defense may be that he does not seem to understand that primary definition, of loyalty to one's county.
posted by Dashy at 4:47 PM on March 16, 2019 [20 favorites]


The NYT examines how Mar-a-Lago influence-peddler Cindy Yang suspiciously raised $50K to get a fund-raising photo op with Trump:
The invitation limited campaign contributions to $5,400 per person, so Ms. Yang, a Chinese immigrant who had set up a string of day spas in Florida and was active in groups backed by the Chinese government and Communist Party, needed others to chip in.

Over the weeks leading up to the event, at least nine people in Ms. Yang’s orbit, some of them with modest incomes, made donations at exactly $5,400. She ended up at the dinner.[…]

One of the $5,400 political donations came from a 25-year-old woman who gives facials at a beauty school, in a strip mall in nearby Palm Beach Gardens that is owned by Ms. Yang’s family. Another $5,400 came from a woman who says she worked as a receptionist at a massage parlor owned by Ms. Yang’s husband. A third gift of $5,400 came from an associate of Ms. Yang’s who had been charged in 2014 after a prostitution sting with practicing health care without a license, police records show.

The receptionist, Bingbing Peranio, listed as a “manager” on her disclosure, spoke with a reporter about her relationship with Ms. Yang. She described herself as a big fan of Mr. Trump’s and said Ms. Yang, a registered Republican, was seen as a leader among Asian-American Republicans in Florida.

Ms. Peranio said Ms. Yang had come to the spa where she worked at the time and helped fill out the check toward the president’s campaign. “I can’t say she was pushing me or not pushing me, but I worked there then,” she said, speaking at her home in Jupiter. “I was working there. I didn’t say no.”

Asked if Ms. Yang had reimbursed her for the $5,400, Ms. Peranio said, “I do not want to answer that question.” Reimbursing someone for a political contribution or contributing in the name of another person is illegal.
Yang had no comment for the NYT reporters, and she has deleted the photo of her and Trump from her company's website.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:46 PM on March 16, 2019 [40 favorites]


'Pay-for-access to Trump club': Mar-a-Lago faces renewed ethics concerns (Guardian)
With the winding down of the annual Palm Beach social circuit comes the end of another season of controversy, scandal and ethics concerns that swirl around the exclusive resort, which drips with gold-leafed opulence and where a $200,000 “initiation fee” appears to cover the privilege of bending the president’s ear.

This year’s cast of notable characters includes the Chinese former owner of a massage parlour snared in a high-profile prostitution sting, a Russian investor wanted in his home country for tax fraud and a cosmetic dentist who influenced Trump’s thinking on veterans’ care by writing policy advice on a cocktail napkin.

Add to the mix last summer’s confirmation as ambassador to the Dominican Republic of Trump’s longtime friend and former insurance agent Robin Bernstein, a Mar-a-Lago founding member, and renewed concerns by ethics experts over the ease of access to and influence over Trump when he visits his resort are easy to understand. [...]

The Yang saga was followed by another eye-opening scandal this week when the Herald exposed the presence at a Mar-a-Lago charity event last year of Sergey Danilochkin, a Russian real estate investor accused in his home country of a $170m tax fraud. There is no suggestion he met Trump, but the Herald reported he was there as part of a $600-a-head event hosted by Elizabeth Trump Grau, the president’s sister. [...]

Some of the more extraordinary and questionable moments at Mar-a-Lago have their roots closer to home, and involve club members. Palm Beach handbag designer Lana Marks, for example, is Trump’s pick for US ambassador to South Africa.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:13 PM on March 16, 2019 [12 favorites]


Biden almost announces he's running for president in Delaware speech
"I get criticized by the new left. I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the United ... anybody who would run," Biden said, catching himself at a Delaware Democratic Party fundraising dinner. "I didn't mean ... Of anybody who would run! Because folks, we have to bring this country back together again."
...
"We need a little more of the Delaware way. We got to make it more the American way and it's lost. Our politics has become so mean, so petty, so vicious that we can't govern ourselves, in many cases, even talk to one another. It can't go on like this, folks," he said.
You really. Really. Don't.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:54 PM on March 16, 2019 [36 favorites]


I like Biden, think he was a great VP, and will vote for him against Trump without a second thought if he should win the nomination... and I think that's pretty hilariously wrong. It's okay not to have the most progressive record of the approximately ninety-seven candidates. Only one person can, after all.

But come on Joe. Love ya, buddy, but no.
posted by Justinian at 7:11 PM on March 16, 2019 [16 favorites]


"Yellow vest" demonstrations in Paris turn violent (Axios)
Tensions were running high on Saturday as protesters committed arson and looted luxury stores on the streets of Paris, in the 18th weekend of "yellow vest" demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron, the AP reports. [...]

In response to the chaotic events, Trump tweeted Saturday asking: "How is the Paris Environmental Accord working out for France?"
posted by Little Dawn at 7:12 PM on March 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


Reporters are asking Democratic politicians "Are you a Socialist? " Once again, the media is doing the far right's dirty work as our candidates have to explain the nuances of Democratic Socialism or, on the flip side, having to mount a defense of Capitalism.

I propose that all Republican politicians be asked "Are you a White Nationalist?" When they get outraged over the question, we should point out that they support a president who is an icon of the White Nationalists and whose speeches are indistinguishable from the speeches of other White Nationalists.

The GOP is embracingd White Nationalism and it is long past time to stop dancing around this.


[Paraphrasing from DM]
posted by growabrain at 7:20 PM on March 16, 2019 [79 favorites]


In response to the chaotic events, Trump tweeted Saturday asking: "How is the Paris Environmental Accord working out for France?"

In the meantime, Trump administration lifts protections on federal land, opens leases to energy industry (Axios)
Walking back a 2015 regulation under President Obama, the Trump administration on Friday finalized a move to lift protections on nearly 9 million acres of federal lands for the greater sage grouse, with the aim of expanding leases for the oil, gas and mining industry, reports the Washington Post. [...] Per WaPo: “In pursuit of that agenda over the past two years, the administration has sought to reverse dozens of regulations aimed at making oil platforms safer, reducing carbon dioxide and methane released into the atmosphere, and protecting the habitats of endangered animals and those on the verge of an endangered status.”
posted by Little Dawn at 7:24 PM on March 16, 2019 [5 favorites]


It's okay not to have the most progressive record of the approximately ninety-seven candidates.

It's even ok to say your views have evolved since the 1980s and your 30 years in office, and then explain how and what you believe today. That's the honest way to campaign and address your "flip flops", Gillibrand is doing a pretty good job of exactly that approach. What's not OK is to pretend you've been the biggest progressive the whole time and never been wrong and anyone who criticizes you from the left is doing so in bad faith. Particularity with Biden's actual record of 30 years of stanning for credit card companies, being a primary force behind the failed war on drugs, the man most responsible for the disastrous 2005 bankruptcy reform bill, countless mini #metoos, and on and on. If that's going to be Biden's whole campaign, japing at progressives for daring to point out his real record, while trying to appropriate the label and promising that no no, really, THIS TIME all it'll take is to get Mitch McConnell in a room and ask "so what's the deal, really?", like he wasn't even there for the entire 8 years he was VP...it's going to be a really long primary.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:28 PM on March 16, 2019 [40 favorites]


"We need a little more of the Delaware way. We got to make it more the American way and it's lost." - J. Biden

Salon, Feb. 22, 2016: How Delaware became an American haven for "grand corruption"
An international watchdog just called out the First State for its dangerous role in the corporate ecosystem.

Normally, when one of our 50 states gets singled out by an international body of some consequence, you would hope it would be good news and something that the locals would brag about. But that’s not likely to be the case with Delaware’s recognition by Transparency International this month as one of the world’s best examples of “grand corruption.” The dubious distinction comes in recognition of the state's laissez faire corporate registration system, which critics say provides corporations, fraudsters and wealthy individuals secrecy and asset protection that puts it on a footing with notorious tax havens like the Cayman Islands.
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:30 PM on March 16, 2019 [24 favorites]


...it's going to be a really long primary.

But you gotta admit, Biden stepping on his own candidacy announcement with an unforced gaffe is like the most on-brand Biden thing ever.
posted by Justinian at 7:35 PM on March 16, 2019 [88 favorites]


THIS TIME all it'll take is to get Mitch McConnell in a room and ask "so what's the deal, really?", like he wasn't even there for the entire 8 years he was VP...it's going to be a really long primary.

Biden and Obama let all these tumors grow because they wanted to appear above politics. Heckova jorb Bidey!
posted by benzenedream at 11:08 PM on March 16, 2019 [9 favorites]


On Twitter, AOC had an interesting perspective:
If you want to know what subconscious bias looks like, it’s a headline saying “AOC is underwater with every group EXCEPT women, nonwhites, and 18-34 year olds.”

So older, conservative white men are considered “everyone” and everyone else is discounted as an exception.

Cool 👍🏽
The tweet she links has since been deleted.
posted by Harald74 at 11:40 PM on March 16, 2019 [133 favorites]


Words do not mean anything any more, exhibit #976:
Ilhan Omar Accused of Supporting Aipac after Critiquing Assad [Jerusalem Post]
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:12 AM on March 17, 2019 [7 favorites]


Joe in Australia: Ilhan Omar Accused of Supporting Aipac after Critiquing Assad [Jerusalem Post]

That's a classic perspective from certain corners of the interwebs: Foreign military intervention, especially by the USA, has predictably horrendous consequences... therefore Bashir al-Assad didn't really gas anyone, it was the people of Syria gassing themselves to make him look bad, and they should just submit to him already (also the rebel side is helped by ISIL and obviously that makes the regime doublegood).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:37 AM on March 17, 2019 [10 favorites]


Salon, Feb. 22, 2016: How Delaware became an American haven for "grand corruption"


Has Delaware, in living memory, ever been anything more than a state level flag of convenience?
posted by ocschwar at 5:45 AM on March 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


In response to the chaotic events, Trump tweeted Saturday asking: "How is the Paris Environmental Accord working out for France?"

Just for comparison, Nebraska is underwater right now. Yeah, Nebraska. The one in the middle. The state that is entirely surrounded by land-locked states.
posted by Etrigan at 5:45 AM on March 17, 2019 [50 favorites]


See also: Gabbard, Tulsi.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:50 AM on March 17, 2019 [6 favorites]


Guardian: Preet Bharara: ‘I Didn’t Call Trump Back And It’s One Of The Best Decisions I Ever Made'
Fired by the president, the former US attorney has written his first book. He talks about if and when Trump will face justice – and why he fears for his own safety[…]

It starts with a phone call he received on 9 March 2017. The president of the United States was on the line, he was told, did he want to take it?

Bharara was puzzled. He’d been summoned to meet the president-elect in Trump Tower shortly after the November 2016 election, when Trump had invited him to stay on at the helm of the SDNY.

Before the meeting ended, Trump asked Bharara for his phone number. That struck the lawyer as odd, though he duly wrote it down on a Post-it note. Now, a few weeks after Trump had been anointed, here he was again on the phone and, against protocol, wanting to talk.

Bharara did not pick up. And he did not call back.

It has been two years since then, and Bharara is still at a loss about why Trump called him. He wonders why, the day after the call, he was told to resign, when Trump had specifically requested that he stay on. (Bharara refused to quit, forcing Trump to fire him 48 hours after his unanswered phone call, on 11 March.) More importantly, he asks himself what that call had been about. What had Trump been after?

“Imagine what it would look like now if I were still US attorney and it became known that I had quiet little chats with the president at the same time we were investigating the Trump organisation and Michael Cohen. So I didn’t call back, and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made.”
NYMag's Olivia Nuzzi on Trump's telephone addiction: Who’s in Trump’s Rolodex?—Trump’s Phone Friends May Be More Important Than His Staff. So Who’s He Calling?

"One person who has received late-night calls from the president told me this: “If you’re Trump, the last thing you want is a moment of self-reflection. That’s why he’s constantly on the phone at night. Everybody’s afraid of themselves. People fear silence because they don’t want to hear voices. But Trump really fears that.”"
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:17 AM on March 17, 2019 [45 favorites]


Trump 2020: a huge war chest, a million volunteers and a revamped digital campaign (Guardian)
How significant Cambridge Analytica, which gained access to information on 50 million Facebook users as a way to influence their behavior, and Russian operatives were in Trump’s victory over the well-oiled Hillary Clinton machine remains hotly disputed.
Cambridge Analytica a year on: ‘a lesson in institutional failure’ (Guardian)
Christopher Wylie, a 28-year-old Canadian and former research director at Cambridge Analytica, revealed how the company had exploited Facebook data harvested from millions of people across the world to profile and target them with political messages and misinformation, without their knowledge or consent. [...]

Last week, on the 30th anniversary of the worldwide web, its creator Tim Berners-Lee urged people to stop the “downward plunge” to “a dysfunctional future” that the Cambridge Analytica scandal had helped expose. It was, Berners-Lee said, the moment people realised that “elections had been manipulated using data that they contributed”.

The problem is that while the tech companies have been called to account, they haven’t actually been held accountable. In November, after Zuckerberg refused to comply with a summons to parliament to answer questions about Facebook’s role in the scandal, Collins convened an international committee of nine parliaments. Zuckerberg refused to come to that too. [...]

The story was about how a company was able to use and abuse our personal information to target us in ways we can’t even see, let alone understand. But the scandal that followed seems to reveal something far more shocking. That Facebook is not just bigger than any nation state on Earth, with 1.74 billion users, and plays a pivotal role in their elections, but that it’s completely out of control. [...]

Wylie appeared before Collins’s parliamentary committee just over a week after the initial Observer story. Since then – in what he describes as his “global testimony tour” – he has testified to Congress and given evidence to regulators and lawmakers from across the world. He testified to the European parliament “and to the [US] House Intelligence Committee for something like five hours. I’ve testified multiple times to the House Intelligence Committee. And also the House Judiciary and Senate Judiciary.” In the US, the FBI is also investigating, as is the Department of Justice, the Securities Exchange Commission, 38 state attorney generals and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), all triggered by the story. The FTC is expected to impose a fine that will run into billions. Wylie gave evidence to pretty much all of them. [...]

“I was asked by a journalist to sum up the story in a minute,” he says, “and I was like: ‘No’. It goes from Trump to Brexit to Russian espionage to military operations in Afghanistan to hacking the president of Nigeria. Where do you even begin?” [...]

In the meantime, while Robert Mueller in the US painstakingly sets out the evidence of how Russia subverted Facebook during the presidential election, we know almost nothing about what happened in Britain.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:36 AM on March 17, 2019 [23 favorites]


Trump spy agency nominee marooned in Senate standoff (Politico)
Sen. Chuck Grassley is accusing the Trump administration of stonewalling him over a request for documents related to the Russia investigation, and he’s taking it out on the president’s nominee for a critical U.S. intelligence post.

The Iowa Republican’s demand for Justice Department documents on its probe of possible links between the Trump campaign and Moscow has left William Evanina’s nomination to head the National Counterintelligence and Security Center in limbo for the past year, frustrating the nation’s top intelligence leaders and even some fellow Senate Republicans. [...]

Grassley’s refusal to allow Evanina to be confirmed threatens to inflame tensions between the U.S. intelligence community and Congress at a time when national security leaders are warning that China and Russia are not only stepping up espionage efforts but likely preparing significant operations to influence the 2020 election.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:13 AM on March 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


So it looks like whoever wrote the @realDonaldTrump tweets this morning defending Jeanine Pirro may have actually included some white supremacist dog whistles...

From @JuddLegum
1. Wow.

This could be a coincidence but one of Trump's tweets this morning appears to contain a coded message of support to white nationalists.

In defense of Jeanine Pirro, who said wearing a hijab was "antithetical" to the Constitution, Trump tweeted "be strong & prosper"

2. The 1683 Battle of Vienna is extremely significant to white nationalists. It's revered as a victory of Christians over the Ottoman Empire, which is viewed as a prelude to their current battle against Islam.

The New Zealand shooter even wrote "Vienna" on one of his weapons

3. There was a contemporaneous account of the Battle of Vienna.

The first line ends: "Be strong and prosper in thy way on behalf of the Christian faith."

(link to the account on google books)
There are screenshots/pics on the thread.

On one hand, it seems a bit tinfoil hat. On the other the white power types really do like their historical allusions and using coded references to publically flaunt their beliefs.
posted by Buntix at 8:29 AM on March 17, 2019 [48 favorites]


Jeanine Pirro’s Show Was Bumped by Fox, to President’s Chagrin (NYT)
Fox News removed Ms. Pirro’s program, “Justice With Judge Jeanine,” from its usual 9 p.m. time slot on Saturday, one week after the network took the rare step of publicly rebuking the host for an on-air monologue that questioned a Muslim lawmaker’s loyalty to the United States. [...]

At least one regular viewer of Ms. Pirro seemed to notice. Mr. Trump, posting on Twitter on Sunday morning, urged the network to “bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro.” [...] In what amounted to a presidential pep talk, Mr. Trump seemed to directly address his favorite television station, which has faced criticism in recent days over comments by Ms. Pirro and another star host, the pundit Tucker Carlson.

“Fox must stay strong and fight back with vigor,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country. The losers all want what you have, don’t give it to them.” [...]

The president has been friendly for years with Ms. Pirro, whose ex-husband, Al Pirro, served as Mr. Trump’s Westchester County power broker in the 1990s before going to prison for conspiracy and tax evasion. Ms. Pirro, whose television career had stagnated, has watched her ratings rise as she became one of Mr. Trump’s most fervent on-air defenders.

But even Fox News, which has mostly stood by star personalities in past scandals, flinched last week after Ms. Pirro’s on-air remarks about Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, a Muslim who wears a hijab. “Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Shariah law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?” Ms. Pirro asked on her March 9 program.

Among those calling her comments prejudiced was a Muslim producer at Ms. Pirro’s own network. Several advertisers said they would no longer sponsor her show. The network said Ms. Pirro’s remarks “do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly,” though officials there have not elaborated on that discussion or what internal punishment, if any, was meted out. [...]

On Sunday, Mr. Trump seemed to channel Mr. Carlson’s words. “The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country,” the president wrote on Twitter. “They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well.”
posted by Little Dawn at 8:37 AM on March 17, 2019 [5 favorites]


I don’t think it’s too tinfoil hat-ty. White supremacists love throwing little cryptic symbols all over the place, from the more common 1488, to Dylan Roof wearing Rhodesian flag patches on his clothes, to the almost esoteric, occultish symbols the KKK has adopted.
posted by gucci mane at 8:50 AM on March 17, 2019 [24 favorites]


He doesn't, but Stephen Miller does.
posted by readery at 9:01 AM on March 17, 2019 [86 favorites]


Facebook, Google and other big tech giants are about to face a ‘reckoning,’ state attorneys general warn (WaPo)
For many of these top law enforcement officials, the fear is that Silicon Valley has amassed too much personal information about Web users and harnessed it in a way that’s jeopardized people’s privacy and undermined competition, often without much oversight.

“I think what we’ve found is that Big Tech has become too big and that, while we may have been asleep at the wheel, they were able to consolidate a tremendous amount of power,” Jeff Landry (R), Louisiana’s attorney general, said in an interview. [...]

“We are in a moment where the federal government’s level of effectiveness and engagement on a range of issues, on technology, consumer protection and privacy, is limited,” added Phil Weiser (D), Colorado’s attorney general. Absent federal intervention, he said, “states in general or state AGs are able to act.” [...]

The appetite for action seemed apparent last week, when state officials gathered in Washington for events that included an annual forum with the National Association of Attorneys General, of which Landry is president. Concerns about the tech industry’s privacy practices were on full display, while a few miles away, the District appeared in court to argue that Facebook had deceived its users about its approach to collecting and monetizing their data. The lawsuit stems from Facebook’s entanglement with Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that improperly accessed data about roughly 8 million of the site’s users without their knowledge or permission.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:03 AM on March 17, 2019 [9 favorites]


We saw White Right: Meeting the Enemy (Netflix) last night and can't recommend it highly enough. Mrs. Shell, who is a counseling psychologist, confirmed that the parts of the documentary where they talk about people's emotional and mental health are relevant and accurate.
posted by M-x shell at 9:07 AM on March 17, 2019 [12 favorites]


Re: Cambridge Analytica: You can shut down a company like that but what happens to their data? Does someone somehow manage to shut down all connections at some point in time? Does that even matter if the wrong people have already made their copies? Do any of them even care what happens to the company so long as they get to keep the data?
posted by M-x shell at 9:11 AM on March 17, 2019 [3 favorites]


> On one hand, it seems a bit tinfoil hat. On the other the white power types really do like their historical allusions and using coded references to publically flaunt their beliefs.

Far right groups' coded language makes threats hard to spot (Guardian)
References to “shitposting”, YouTube stars and the 17th-century Battle of Vienna are hallmarks of “that online culture where everything can be a joke and extremist content can be a parody and deadly serious all on the same page,” said Ben Nimmo, a researcher at the Atlantic Council. “Distinguishing between the two is extremely difficult. You have these communities who routinely practise extreme rhetoric as a joke, so it’s very easy to fit in if you’re a real extremist.”

That confusion can lead to observers underplaying the risk from such communities, rendering it harder to secure convictions for crimes such as hate speech, and even missing obvious red flags until it’s too late.

“People will be asking why people didn’t flag this up, but it all sounds like that,” Nimmo said. “The problem is that’s the way that community speaks. You can’t just point to the comments they’re saying and say that should be a warning light. There are plenty of people who post like that and are not going to pick up a weapon and start massacring people.”

It also leads to situations where mainstream observers unknowingly aid terrorists by spreading propaganda without recognising it for what it is.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:13 AM on March 17, 2019 [19 favorites]


U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand formally launched her presidential bid on Sunday morning, announcing she will deliver her first major speech next week in front of Trump International Hotel in New York City. -- from CNBC piece; video at MSN
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:18 AM on March 17, 2019 [10 favorites]


I've brought this up before and people downplayed the possibility that Trump hangs out on alt-right forums. I see tons of reasons to think he does, and none to think he doesn't. He has the free time, he constantly uses signaling that fits in with their conspiracy bullshit, and it's in-character for him. This latest signal fits in with that assumption.

I don't think there is much evidence that Donald Trumps reads more than 240 characters at a time.

He is however very clearly comfortable surrounding himself with people who do live in and even lead the alt-right so either they are handling his messaging or he is picking it up second hand from them after bathing in it socially. I'm leaning toward the it being the former over the latter because I am not confident he would have the attention span or memory to remember things correctly.

If it were just Trump alone I'd expect him to accidentally tweet about vienna sausage instead.
posted by srboisvert at 9:20 AM on March 17, 2019 [18 favorites]


If it were just Trump alone I'd expect him to accidentally tweet about vienna sausage instead.

I'm wary about underestimating Trump's capacity to understand the crazy-making impact of his language choices, and I would not be surprised if the idea that he's too stupid/illiterate/naive to be held accountable as "Individual 1" becomes part of a future defense - basically that his innocent intentions were exploited by a dense thicket of gangsters and grifters who run his businesses, his charitable foundation, his campaign, his inauguration, and his administration.

The 'buck stops with everybody,' much?
posted by Little Dawn at 9:38 AM on March 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


I mean it doesn't matter if he's reading them directly or not, because he's not actually that important a person.

If I had to place money on it, though, I would bet that he doesn't have the technical knowhow to find /pol/ or 8chan whatever, but I would also bet that Miller every so often prints out his favorite chan shitposts and slips them into 45's daily flattering-stories-about-45 reports.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:41 AM on March 17, 2019 [31 favorites]


I don't think there is much evidence that Donald Trumps reads more than 240 characters at a time.

I don’t think trump knows how to use the internet in a general sense. He’s a documented non-emailer. Twitter just serves everything up for you so you don’t have to go looking.

But Steven MIller? That dude is on 8chan and gab.ai 100%.
posted by dis_integration at 10:45 AM on March 17, 2019 [41 favorites]


Kaine: Trump's rhetoric 'emboldens' white nationalists (Politico)
"The president uses language often that's very similar to the language used by these bigots and racists," Kaine said. "And if he's not going to call it out then other leaders have to do more to call it out and I certainly will."

"I think the president is using language that emboldens them. He's not creating them. They're out there," Kaine said, adding, "That kind of language from the person who probably has the loudest microphone on the planet Earth is hurtful and dangerous and it tends to incite violence."
posted by Little Dawn at 10:47 AM on March 17, 2019 [6 favorites]


Trump's 2020 map from hell (Axios)
"I’d sooner be the Dems than Trump," David Axelrod, Obama's campaign architect, told me. "He drew an inside straight in 2016 with narrow wins in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He is vulnerable today in each, with no obvious prospect of adding a state to his column in 2020."

But Axelrod added: "[P]residents often run better against an opponent than they do in the abstract, and Trump does have a kind of feral genius for caricaturing his foes and dominating the media."
posted by Little Dawn at 10:59 AM on March 17, 2019 [5 favorites]


Current Affairs podcast - meet the candidates! (Part 1) the entire crew comes together to profile each of the announced Dem candidates for 2020. This episode covers Joe Biden, Marianne Williamson, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Julian Castro , Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, and Howard Schultz. More to come in Part 2. Pull quote “There shouldn’t be a president, a dog should be chosen for president via sortition.”
posted by The Whelk at 11:00 AM on March 17, 2019 [6 favorites]


feral genius for caricaturing his foes and dominating the media

Let's not treat the media as passive here; they are very often willing subs to the narrative that Trump wants to push.
posted by nubs at 11:09 AM on March 17, 2019 [43 favorites]


Politico finds a DoJ attorney who worked on a Mueller murder conviction has returned to his orbit: Prosecutor Who Worked With Mueller 2 Decades Ago Surfaces Again
Recently unsealed court records show one veteran prosecutor who’s helping out Mueller’s office also played a role in one of Mueller’s most celebrated cases more than two decades ago.

Elizabeth Trosman, who’s now the chief of the appellate section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, was serving in a similar role back in the 1990s when Mueller made a surprising move that has become one of the most-cited aspects of his impressive biography: He gave up a partnership in a high-paying law firm and went to work as a front-line homicide prosecutor trying to rein in Washington’s sky-high murder rate.[…]

Trosman’s name surfaced again last month when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals released records about a grand jury subpoena showdown between Mueller’s special counsel team and a mystery company owned by a foreign government.

The case is one of several where lawyers from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. are sharing joint responsibility with Mueller’s prosecutors, a phenomenon thought to suggest that Mueller’s operation may soon wind down*.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed Trosman’s role in both cases, saying she was the deputy chief of the appellate operation in the 1990s and serves as the head of it today.
* Another explanation could be that Mueller is protecting the SCO investigation by sharing responsibilities with, or transferring them to, other sectors of the DoJ as an insurance policy (as he did with Michael Cohen).
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:15 AM on March 17, 2019 [4 favorites]


feral genius for caricaturing his foes and dominating the media

Let's not treat the media as passive here; they are very often willing subs to the narrative that Trump wants to push.


Yeah do not let the corporate media off the hook here, Donald Trump is President partly cause Rupert Murdoch wanted him to be president and cause CNN saw he was good for ratings.
posted by The Whelk at 11:26 AM on March 17, 2019 [29 favorites]


Yeah do not let the corporate media off the hook here

Trump's media attacks are an abuse of power. We're holding him to account (Wajahat Ali, Guardian Opinion)
Journalists and attorneys are partnering together in a new amended lawsuit filed by Pen America arguing the president is abusing the machinery of the government to threaten and target journalists, neutralize critical media coverage and exact retribution in direct violation of the first amendment. [...]

Trump Inc’s utter contempt for facts and decency is only matched by its disregard for the rule of law and loathing of the free press. Trump himself has repeatedly vilified the New York Times as “the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”. The president, who has uttered more than 8,000 false statements in the past two years, has the audacity and shamelessness to declare the “press has never been more dishonest than it is today”.

Trump has unpredictably emerged as a fickle, thin-skinned narcissist whose tiny fingers tweet perpetual victimhood, bile and hate against critics and enemies, real or imagined, even though he occupies the greatest seat of power and privilege. [...]

If Fox News and the rightwing media ecosystem has now fully transformed into state TV and propaganda, abdicating all pretenses of journalistic ethics and professionalism, then what is the responsibility for the rest of us who are at least attempting to be fair, thorough and truthful?

When an administration blatantly fails to protect a free press and instead willfully and maliciously abuses its power to threaten writers, journalists and critics, then it’s imperative for the rest of us to band together, rise up and fight back using facts, our words and the rule of law.
posted by Little Dawn at 12:08 PM on March 17, 2019 [44 favorites]


Does Trump know the words he's using are also white power code? Did Trump really not know Cohen was doing business in Russia? Did Trump really not read the book of Hitler speeches on his night table? Was Trump really just helpfully linking people to Breitbart news just after the New Zealand massacre?

I feel like I'm in high school and one kid keeps saying his dog ate his homework, and the teacher keeps saying she has to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't care whether or not Trump is actually on 8chan or just hangs out with members, he knows what he's doing on some level.

Personally? I think he wants you to know he knows what he's doing. He wants you to know that he knows that you know and that he gets away with it anyway. That's how trolling works. It's not as much fun for him or his followers if he pisses on your leg and you're genuinely confused as to whether or not it's rain.
posted by xammerboy at 1:19 PM on March 17, 2019 [55 favorites]


NYT: Kirsten Gillibrand Officially Enters 2020 Democratic Race.

What's that you say? You thought KG had already officially entered? Yeah. That's how well its going for her so far.
posted by Justinian at 1:39 PM on March 17, 2019 [12 favorites]


Emerson poll of 2020 primary in WI.
  1. Sanders: 39%
  2. Joe Biden: 24%
  3. Warren: 14%
  4. Everybody Else: lol
Those are strong numbers for Sanders, mediocre numbers for Biden, and Warren is in third which hasn't been the case elsewhere. Terrible numbers for everyone else, but particularly Harris and Klobuchar 'cause sub 5% isn't gonna cut it in the midwest for either of them. Sanders won the 2016 primary here 56-43 over Clinton, so this is one of the states he does need to show strength in to win in 2020.

The GE matchup against Trump shows Biden mopping the floor with him by 8% while Sanders leads by a smaller but not insignificant 4%.

BERNIEMENTUM?
posted by Justinian at 1:50 PM on March 17, 2019 [4 favorites]


In one breath he’s an inarticulate dementia ridden fool. In another, he’s a master communicator, capable of encoding his secret thoughts within his public speech to reassure his followers, all the while leading everyone else astray from the truth. Where in the past has he ever exhibited the ability to create and carry out long range strategic thinking? Given that he’s portrayed here as an impulsive child. I don’t think you can have it both ways. Either he’s a masterful political operative with great but underhanded communication skills or he’s an impulsive fool who can’t speak in any articulate way and just lies his way through life in a very obvious manner. To me, it’s as if the press, who are supposed to be both our voices as well as our analytical tools are afraid to speak the truth. Our constitution and our political system was unable to prevent a rank racist fool with authoritarian and narcissistic tendencies from becoming president. Our system failed. Big time. And for the last two years, in the public sphere, we have been dancing around that situation, afraid to admit that we as a nation have fucked up in a really huge way. Instead we argue about details, look for others to blame, and wait for our saviors in the SCO and the Democratic Party to save us from this man.
posted by njohnson23 at 1:51 PM on March 17, 2019 [20 favorites]


Trump has unpredictably emerged as a fickle, thin-skinned narcissist

I’m sorry; to whom was this emergence unpredictable?
posted by nubs at 2:18 PM on March 17, 2019 [42 favorites]


References to “shitposting”, YouTube stars and the 17th-century Battle of Vienna are hallmarks of “that online culture where everything can be a joke and extremist content can be a parody and deadly serious all on the same page.”

If you scan the posts on r/The_Donald every post is a bad joke. They have to be, because you couldn't get away with posting any of those messages in all seriousness. In our culture, you can say anything if it's a joke, whether or not it's acceptable, whether or not it has merit. If you want to be funny, the more outrageous the better. A lot of people believe if something's funny, instinctively, it's probably true. And if it's funny, you share it.
posted by xammerboy at 2:41 PM on March 17, 2019 [3 favorites]


The current meme incarnation of Joe Biden: Obama's Wingman has no relation to the person and Senator he was for his entire career before 2007. He's running on the meme, and getting mad that people still remember the BeforeTimes.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:42 PM on March 17, 2019 [36 favorites]


njohnson23: In one breath he’s an inarticulate dementia ridden fool. In another, he’s a master communicator, capable of encoding his secret thoughts within his public speech to reassure his followers, all the while leading everyone else astray from the truth. Where in the past has he ever exhibited the ability to create and carry out long range strategic thinking?

Encoding secret thoughts, a la dog-whistling or simple bullshitting, isn't exactly a high-level skill. xammerboy correctly compared it to the kid saying the dog ate his homework. And aside from that, specifically, being a cliche (and thus interpreted more like "Obviously the president isn't serious"), just imagine the result if he did that. Plenty of outlets would correctly call it a lie, but at the end of the day it would "work" insofar as he would't be fully discredited with everyone. You wouldn't have Mitch McConnell saying in public "Hold on a moment, how can we trust this guy? He literally said a dog, which he doesn't have, ate the national emergency declaration, and that's obviously untrue."

The more precise parallel to his (or Miller's) use of white-nationalist signlas is that routine I remember from middle-school, where it was a sworn truth that "wenis" was the medical term for the skin of the elbow. Of course it's not, and the whole point was to have the plausible deniability for potty humor. These kids weren't engaging in next-level psyops.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:43 PM on March 17, 2019 [14 favorites]


“The problem is that’s the way that community speaks. You can’t just point to the comments they’re saying and say that should be a warning light. There are plenty of people who post like that and are not going to pick up a weapon and start massacring people.”

Why not? In all seriousness, why not? Why don't we try that, actually? Let's take everyone's online words at face value, and work from the assumption that they mean what they say. Let's see what effect that has.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:55 PM on March 17, 2019 [21 favorites]


Either he’s a masterful political operative with great but underhanded communication skills or he’s an impulsive fool who can’t speak in any articulate way and just lies his way through life in a very obvious manner.

You don't have to be Goebbels to be good at communicating to people what they want to hear and getting them fired up, you just need the instinct for it and the ability to string words together (and you don't even need to be good at the latter). And you also don't need to be Goebbels to be good at media manipulation, because if your narcissism and impulsiveness and lies are outrageous enough then they're happy to cover the sideshow since the media is so focused on eyeballs and dollar signs that they don't know and/or don't care that covering sideshows as sideshows still gives the sideshows a platform. I doubt he knows shit-all about the *chans, but the people around him sure do and no doubt feed him the chain-email-from-your-racist-uncle version of it.

Regarding dementia: dementia manifests in fits and starts. You don't just wake up one day unable to function. In the early stages you can be perfectly capable of a string of days of functionality before having an episode. He could both have dementia and still have moments of control. Now, the long-term loss of vocabulary and decline in speech is a better indicator of whether it is affecting a person . . . and if you want to judge Trump on that, well, just look at videos of his younger self speaking. He didn't always used to be this way.
posted by Anonymous at 3:04 PM on March 17, 2019


I know he's going to try and use this when he gets to NY, but he's clearly unwell and there *is* a lot of blame to go around - it shows an absence of concern for the country for these supposed uber patriots to prop up a mercurial figurehead for their agenda like this is some ancient monarchy in decline. I want to know what they knew about this and when they knew it, too.
posted by Selena777 at 3:17 PM on March 17, 2019 [3 favorites]






And here's a disturbing thread by @Stonekettle (previously) on the overt extremism on full display not far from his home.
posted by homunculus at 3:34 PM on March 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


Following on from homunculus' links
Meet William S. Lind, the Extremist Author Who Might Have Influenced Donald Trump.
In Spring 2016, Donald Trump met William S. Lind who gave Trump the 2009 William Lind / Paul Weyrich co-authored book The Next Conservatism, which includes discussion of “cultural Marxism” and Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW).
posted by adamvasco at 3:59 PM on March 17, 2019 [6 favorites]


Lind and Trump.
posted by adamvasco at 4:01 PM on March 17, 2019 [10 favorites]


Judd Legum doesn't suggest that Trump came up with idea of including an alleged literary phrase. There's a very good reason for that: We can all see that Trump doesn't have the attention span or memory to use quotations. The only person he quotes is himself. But I'm not at all persuaded by Judd's theory that it is a quotation. What Trump actually said was "be strong and prosper, be weak and die", which (according to Google) is apparently original to him.

On the assumption that this was just Trump adding his own special twist to a better phrase I looked for the "be strong & prosper" language by itself. As one might imagine, it's been used by a bunch of people, very often chambers of commerce. It's not remarkable enough to point to a particular source, the alleged source isn't so well known, and if it were a quotation then the person transcribing it messed it up. If Legum is looking for a smoking gun tying Trump to racist violence then he doesn't need to find coded messages: he can just point to Trump's description of migration as " an invasion of drugs, criminals, & people", emitted only hours after the New Zealand massacre. There, boom, quotation done.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:46 PM on March 17, 2019 [7 favorites]



Meet William S. Lind, the Extremist Author Who Might Have Influenced Donald Trump.
In Spring 2016, Donald Trump met William S. Lind who gave Trump the 2009 William Lind / Paul Weyrich co-authored book The Next Conservatism


This theory falls apart if it rests on Trump reading the book. I know that him being a non reader has become a popular joke but seriously it seems far fetched to think that he digested and put into practice some ideology he learned from a book in 2016.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:14 PM on March 17, 2019 [15 favorites]


Yeah, but you can explain Crypto-Marxism in a sentence:

Mr. Trump, did you know highly esteemed professors believe communists used mass media to secretly promote feminism, homo-sexuality, and multi-culturalism in order to corrupt mainstream American culture?

Top professors, Mr. Trump, from the biggest name schools, write about it in best-selling books, which are in the most powerful countries' libraries and richest billionaire's homes. As far as theories go Mr. Trump, this one is a fact.
posted by xammerboy at 5:45 PM on March 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


The most likely scenario to me is one of two things, and perhaps a combination:

1.) trump allows a bit more outside input on tweets than he'd like to let on. Some racist semi-intellectual ghoul like Miller gave him some ideas, and perhaps made a few touch-ups to help with 'the base'. This seems plausible given the fact that we can occasionally see an obviously Miller tweet to push some awful bit of executive overreach, like the during Muslim bans.

2.) trump is getting briefings from white supremacist leaders (possibly Lind himself), and/or is getting daily messaging advice from someone who's well versed (again - likely Miller). I agree that it's unlikely he read anything longer than the back of a cereal box, but his wormy brain does have a knack for retaining the vague shape of words and ideas that he claims as his own. As far as far right propaganda go it's got more panache than normal, so I don't see it being beyond belief that he tucked it away like a magpie only to bring it out of the nest at a later date.

That being said, I am somewhat sympathetic to the idea that this doesn't necessarily change much or inform a new strategy. Winking towards white supremacist slogans isn't new for either trump nor the Stephen Miller style American Right. However, I would argue that not-so-subtle nods like this have one purpose: to condone and stoke stochastic terrorism.
posted by codacorolla at 6:24 PM on March 17, 2019 [7 favorites]


( There is a suspicion that Bruce Wilson, quoted above could be mefi's own from a long, long time ago.)
posted by adamvasco at 6:48 PM on March 17, 2019 [4 favorites]


The WaPo has a ticktock of the decision to ground the 737 Max jets, Trump cast himself as Boeing’s decider in chief, showing the perils of injecting politics into crash investigations.
posted by peeedro at 6:51 PM on March 17, 2019 [1 favorite]


It Isn’t Complicated: Trump Encourages Violence (David Leonhardt, NYT Opinion)
I’m well aware of the various see-no-evil attempts to excuse this behavior: That’s just how he talks. Don’t take him literally. Other Republicans are keeping him in check. His speeches and tweets don’t really matter.

But they do matter. The president’s continued encouragement of violence — and of white nationalism — is part of the reason that white-nationalist violence is increasing. Funny how that works.

After Trump’s latest threat, I reached out to several experts in democracy and authoritarianism to ask what they made of it. Their answers were consistent: No, the United States does not appear at risk of widespread political violence anytime soon. But Trump’s words are still corroding democracy and public safety. [...]

Drawing a direct line from the purveyors of hateful rhetoric to any specific hate crime is usually impossible. And it’s usually a mistake to try. The motive for these crimes — be it in New Zealand last week or Pittsburgh last year — is typically a stew of mental illness, personal anger and mixed-up ideology. Trump doesn’t deserve to be blamed for any specific crime. But he does deserve blame for the trend.

It isn’t very complicated: The man with the world’s largest bully pulpit keeps encouraging violence and white nationalism. Lo and behold, white-nationalist violence is on the rise. You have to work pretty hard to persuade yourself that’s just a big coincidence.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:20 PM on March 17, 2019 [50 favorites]


After another Giuliani-less Sunday of political talk shows, Axios looks into the recent absence of Trump's cable TV lawyer from the airwaves: Inside Rudy's vanishing act
Sources familiar with Giuliani's thinking say he views a major part of his job as trying to undermine public confidence in the Mueller probe and harden the support of Republican voters for Trump to protect him against impeachment. So for Giuliani to stay off TV for an extended stretch is odd.

White House officials had expected Giuliani's Jan. 20 Sunday show appearances to be an easy "victory lap" after Mueller's office took the rare step of publicly disputing a BuzzFeed story accusing Trump of committing a felony.

Instead, Giuliani tripped over himself, saying the Trump Tower Moscow talks may have lasted up until November 2016. The claim was both unhelpful and, in the White House's view, incorrect.[…]

Two sources with direct knowledge told me that both Trump and the White House lawyer handling the Russia investigation, Emmet Flood, have privately griped about some of Giuliani's TV appearances.

A third source said Trump thought it would be best if Giuliani stayed off TV for a while after his Jan. 20 hits.
On the other hand, Giuliani's almost certainly part of the regular leaks to the media on the Mueller beat, especially those predicting the imminent release of the SCO's report.

By the way, @realDonaldTrump has been on an extended Twitter tear today, CNN's Manu Raju notes:
By 3pET Sunday, Trump this weekend has attacked
- Fox News weekend anchors
- McCain twice
- Mueller report
- GM
- Local UAW leader
- Google
- HRC
- SNL
- Christopher Steele
- Dems
- Paris climate deal
- And retweeted attacks on Mueller, McCabe, HRC
And earlier this evening, he outright accused the Democrats of "trying to steal a Presidential Election" and just now tweeted all-caps MAGA exclamation point. So, a perfectly normal Sunday for a perfectly normal president.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:27 PM on March 17, 2019 [10 favorites]


15 years ago, Elizabeth Warren fought to protect families facing bankruptcy.
The person she was fighting against: Joe Biden
posted by growabrain at 7:32 PM on March 17, 2019 [76 favorites]


Giuliani's problem is, as noted, Trump's way of giving orders by suggestion. If he's not going to be precise, you can't blame Rudy for falling off a trail that doesn't exist. You can blame Rudy for a lot of things, but accurately implementing Trump's policy and PR is not one of them, because that accuracy is only in Trump's brain (if anywhere).
posted by rhizome at 8:04 PM on March 17, 2019 [2 favorites]


Rudy 911 showed up out of nowhere this evening with a weird non sequitur tweet about Cohen and Flynn, where the underlying motivation isn't clear. There have been a lot of "something's going on" weekends that panned out to nothing, but this weekend has been pretty batshit.
posted by holgate at 8:08 PM on March 17, 2019 [3 favorites]


finished lisa page testimony (day 1, haven't seen -- or noticed? -- day 2). as to revealing anything, marcy wheeler has it: Lisa Page Confirms That the Trump Campaign Investigation Was Different Than Russian Info Ops Investigation. as to the rest, well, i do not have a lot of useful reaction.

believe this is the first i've heard from ms. page directly; i found her credible and irritating. an extreme--rather than representative, of her consistent low-level glib informality, imho--excerpt, amid questioning by house oversight committee minority staff [counsel] janet kim, at pp 82-3:
Q: ...as i previewed earlier i would like to return to the text messages that --

A: i love the text messages.

Q: -- you discussed with the majority earlier. as a general matter, when you communicate by text, do you generally spend a great deal of time perfecting your word choice?

A: no. the only thing i really care about is spelling, because misspellings drive me nuts.
the gowdys and jordans and ratcliffes and the rest got up to the same old shennanigans: throwing sand in our eyes while suggesting with all available damning gravity that each grain is incontrovertible evidence of nefariousness. and various committee counsels on the minority side did more clear lawyerlike questioning to elicit facts and establish coherent timelines and context for otherwise plausibly questionable individual statements the other guys tried to bang on, with occasional cameos from representatives. ms. page made some good distinctions between the roles of doj and fbi, which should not have been news to anybody on the committee though it does seem as though some of those 'publicans might have been out sick that day in civics class and never picked up the coursework. she owned the inspector general's conclusions concerning the injudicious communications with strzok, maybe a touch flippantly. again, it is not clear how releasing this bolsters the authoritarian right's efforts to obstruct everything, or even how they could think it might (except i spent time reading that instead of some murderer's so-called manifesto or john allegro's the sacred mushroom and the cross from archive.org).

oh also a lot of the fbi person couldn't be dishonorable because institutional pride includes honor kind of reasoning. which...
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:10 PM on March 17, 2019 [3 favorites]


Paul Manafort Didn’t Get Off Easy — Unless You Compare Him to Whistleblower Reality Winner
Manafort, sentenced by a federal judge in Virginia on Thursday, did get a shorter term than Reality Winner. While Manafort was sentenced to 47 months for bank fraud and tax crimes, Winner last year got 63 months for leaking a classified document about Russian hacking attempts. And that should bother anyone who cares about equality under the law and press freedom in the United States.

...

In 2018, the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a report that showed it was the press, not the federal government, that deserved credit for warning state elections officials to the growing Russian threat to their voting systems. The federal government had done next to nothing to alert them to the problem, and many state officials didn’t realize that there even was a threat until they learned about it from the press.

In other words, Winner performed a public service, one that even the U.S. Senate has indirectly, and grudgingly, acknowledged.

As Will Bunch wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer last year, “Winner did what Daniel Ellsberg, Mark Felt and others whose difficult decisions made in real time have long since been vindicated by history had done: She blew the whistle. In sending her evidence to the news media, Winner took down a cover-up of information that the Russians had, in fact, been far more aggressive — and successful — in targeting voting systems.”

Yet while Manafort was given a 47-month sentence that was below the federal guidelines for his crimes, Winner was sentenced to 63 months, which is the longest ever handed down to someone accused of leaking to the press.

The bottom line is this: The person who tried to warn America about Russian interference in the 2016 election has been punished more severely than one of the most important figures in the Trump-Russia case.
posted by homunculus at 8:38 PM on March 17, 2019 [92 favorites]


No, the United States does not appear at risk of widespread political violence anytime soon.

Maybe. Someone above posted a link to a tweet with a picture of a town sign reading "We will protect our President. You have been advised." I've seen similar signs posted at bars across the country.

Sunday is gun day on r/The Donald. This means every other post is someone showing off their automatic rifle and other weapons, usually while extolling the need to rise up against a tyrannical government if necessary.

Nothing seems all that organized, but it really seems like a lot of people are ready and waiting for armed conflict of some kind. How many assault weapons do you need to buy before you begin, on some level, to actively want armed conflict?
posted by xammerboy at 8:39 PM on March 17, 2019 [10 favorites]


No, the United States does not appear at risk of widespread political violence anytime soon.

I mean what do we call the weekly mass shootings and attempted bombings by political radicals we got now?
posted by The Whelk at 8:49 PM on March 17, 2019 [60 favorites]


"Sporadic."
posted by Scattercat at 9:00 PM on March 17, 2019 [11 favorites]


How many assault weapons do you need to buy before you begin, on some level, to actively want armed conflict?

One.
posted by contraption at 9:50 PM on March 17, 2019 [60 favorites]


I forgot to check at the time but in January the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made no change to the Doomsday Clock, leaving it at two minutes to midnight, so the same as 1953 and 2018. From the announcement:
Humanity now faces two simultaneous existential threats, either of which would be cause for extreme concern and immediate attention. These major threats—nuclear weapons and climate change—were exacerbated this past year by the increased use of information warfare to undermine democracy around the world, amplifying risk from these and other threats and putting the future of civilization in extraordinary danger.

In the nuclear realm, the United States abandoned the Iran nuclear deal and announced it would withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), grave steps towards a complete dismantlement of the global arms control process. Although the United States and North Korea moved away from the bellicose rhetoric of 2017, the urgent North Korean nuclear dilemma remains unresolved. Meanwhile, the world’s nuclear nations proceeded with programs of “nuclear modernization” that are all but indistinguishable from a worldwide arms race, and the military doctrines of Russia and the United States have increasingly eroded the long-held taboo against the use of nuclear weapons.

[...]

Though unchanged from 2018, this setting should be taken not as a sign of stability but as a stark warning to leaders and citizens around the world.
posted by XMLicious at 10:33 PM on March 17, 2019 [9 favorites]


ProPublica, Federal Authorities Raided Trump Fundraiser’s Office in Money Laundering Probe
Federal authorities raided the office of Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy last summer, seeking records related to his dealings with foreign officials and Trump administration associates, according to a sealed search warrant obtained by ProPublica.

Agents were authorized to use the megadonor’s hands and face to unlock any phones that required fingerprint or facial scans.

The Washington Post reported in August that the Justice Department was investigating Broidy. The sealed warrant offers new details of federal authorities’ investigation of allegations that Broidy had attempted to cash in on his Trump White House connections in dealings with foreign officials. It also shows that the government took a more aggressive approach with the Trump ally than was previously known, entering his office and removing records — just as it did with Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
...
The search warrant cites three potential crimes that authorities are investigating: conspiracy, money laundering and violations of the law barring covert lobbying on behalf of foreign officials. To obtain a search warrant, authorities have to convince a judge that there’s a probable cause they will find evidence of those specific crimes.

The search warrant also for the first time links Broidy to a globe-trotting Miami Beach party promoter.
Remember, Cohen, Wynn, and Broidy were all RNC finance chairs.
posted by zachlipton at 4:09 AM on March 18, 2019 [29 favorites]


So anyone thinking Beto not wanting to reveal his first 24 hour donations the other day meant he did shitty... nope.

$6.1m, more than anyone else thus far, outpacing Bernie’s $5.9m which outpaced everybody else by a large margin.
posted by chris24 at 4:44 AM on March 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


Would be interested in the composition of Beto vs Bernie's donations. Specifically, across how many individual donations and what was the average and median size of each donation? Geographical information would be interesting as well, but pretty sure that's not the sort of thing made public.

*Edited for clarification of language.
posted by Telf at 5:04 AM on March 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


No, the United States does not appear at risk of widespread political violence anytime soon.
Well any 'new' form of widespread political violence. The usual everyday historical terrorism from within our authorities still continues. Take Ferguson for example. <NBC News.

" Two young men were found dead inside torched cars. Three others died of apparent suicides. Another collapsed on a bus, his death ruled an overdose.
Six deaths, all involving men with connections to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, drew attention on social media and speculation in the activist community that something sinister was at play.

Police say there is no evidence the deaths have anything to do with the protests stemming from a white police officer’s fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, and that only two were homicides with no known link to the protests.

But some activists say their concerns about a possible connection arise out of a culture of fear that persists in Ferguson 4 ½ years after Brown’s death, citing threats — mostly anonymous — that protest leaders continue to receive."
posted by Harry Caul at 5:07 AM on March 18, 2019 [24 favorites]


From the article linked by chris24:
Now the question is whether he can sustain that level of support. Mr. Sanders raised his first $10 million quickly in February, much of it in small contributions. There is no way to independently confirm either candidate’s initial contributions; Mr. O’Rourke, Mr. Sanders and the rest of the presidential hopefuls must file fund-raising reports at the end of March. Those first-quarter filings will be made public on April 15.
posted by Telf at 5:12 AM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


Trump administration ignoring human rights monitors, ACLU tells UN (Guardian)
Protests have poured in from organisations objecting to the government’s virtual boycott of established systems designed to protect human rights, after the US withdrew from the United Nations human rights council last year. Washington is accused of rebuffing official complaints from monitors, undermining human rights bodies and threatening officials with prosecution should they set foot on US soil. [...]

The ACLU statement, submitted by its director of human rights, Jamil Dakwar, noted that under Trump the US has not extended a single invitation to UN experts to visit the country as part of routine oversight. It notes that the UN expert on the human rights of migrants has asked repeatedly to be allowed to visit the US-Mexican border, given the serious deterioration of treatment of undocumented migrants, to no avail.

In January, the Guardian revealed that the US government had ceased to cooperate with tried and tested international procedures, in a move which threatened the nation’s standing as a beacon of good practice on the world stage. At that point, the state department had failed to respond to 13 complaints by UN monitors raising fundamental questions about America’s commitment to international law.

The number of unanswered requests from the UN’s so-called “special rapporteurs” has risen to 22. The last such demand that received a reply from any Trump official was in May last year.

The chill in US relations with the human rights community has been widely condemned as a betrayal of American values. It is also seen as potentially providing encouragement to regimes such as Saudi Arabia and North Korea to flout international norms. [...]

One of the most recent unanswered complaints to the state department was made on 7 March by Felipe González Morales, the UN monitor on the human rights of migrants. In an official letter he objected in strong language to the Trump administration’s policy since January of sending migrants back to Mexico to wait for asylum applications to be processed.

González warned that the approach amounts to “collective expulsion”. It may be in breach of both US and international law, in leading to the return of vulnerable people to their countries of origin to face danger.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:52 AM on March 18, 2019 [33 favorites]


So anyone thinking Beto not wanting to reveal his first 24 hour donations the other day meant he did shitty... nope.

$6.1m, more than anyone else thus far, outpacing Bernie’s $5.9m which outpaced everybody else by a large margin.


I may be wrong but i think the bigger deal here is not the volume of donations but the tactical savvy implied by their initial disinterest in disclosing the number and then holding back the big number. . . it is sort of out of character for a campaign that has made a bunch of rather unstrategic choices.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:58 AM on March 18, 2019 [3 favorites]


And earlier this evening, he outright accused the Democrats of "trying to steal a Presidential Election"

@realDonaldTrump, presumably without the professional, calming influence of Bill Shine, continued yesterday's harangues this morning, complaining "Fake News Media" was "working overtime" to blame him for the New Zealand terrorist attacks, mocking Joe Biden as "another low I.Q. individual", boasting about a made-up "93% Approval Rating in the Republican Party", and trying to insert himself into the upcoming GM-UAW labor negotiations.

Afterward Kellyanne Conway, CBS's Mark Knoller reports, “defends President's multitude of tweets this weekend, saying he "absolutely believes" they're a direct way for him to communicate with the country. "I would think those in the business of transparency and accountability should appreciate that," she tells press gaggle.”

And George Conway, after tweeting screenshots of the DSM-5 entries for Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Anti-Social Personality Disorder, wrote, "*[A]ll* Americans should be thinking seriously *now* about Trump’s mental condition and psychological state, including and especially the media, Congress—and the Vice President and Cabinet." (Last night, he simply commented, "His condition is getting worse.") Even if his wife isn't revealing information to him about Trump's behavior behind closed doors, there's enough in public to support his concerns, if his fellow Republicans would listen.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:02 AM on March 18, 2019 [16 favorites]


I don't trust George Conway one bit. Trump has turfed out staff for a lot less than one of his closest advisors husbands publicly accusing him of having a worsening mental condition.
posted by PenDevil at 8:07 AM on March 18, 2019 [12 favorites]


he "absolutely believes" they're a direct way for him to communicate with the country. "I would think those in the business of transparency and accountability should appreciate that," she tells press gaggle.”

I don't think the question is if they are a "direct way to communicate", the question is around what he is choosing to communicate, and the lack of accountability for the statements that are false, misleading, or serve as support & cover for racist/xenophobic groups on Twitter.

But hey, let Kellyanne change the subject again. Beyond me why the media even bothers to talk to her.
posted by nubs at 8:18 AM on March 18, 2019 [10 favorites]


The only thing more exhausting than the constant stream of "Mueller is almost done" tweets is the constant stream of "Trump is more unhinged than usual so something big must be about to happen" tweets.

It's impossible to calculate "more unhinged," and yes, something big probably is about to happen. Something big has happened every few days for years now.
posted by diogenes at 8:19 AM on March 18, 2019 [42 favorites]


Beyond me why the media even bothers to talk to her.
Cuz they love their Leaker No. 1.
posted by Harry Caul at 8:20 AM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


How many assault weapons do you need to buy before you begin, on some level, to actively want armed conflict?

How many carts do you need to pull a horse?
posted by perspicio at 8:26 AM on March 18, 2019 [16 favorites]


Forum post: AOC is heckled, makes it a teaching moment on how funding cuts are designed to divide us (poster 'Subir', Daily Kos)
AOC was hosting a town hall in her district and was talking about public schools. She talked about her dad getting into Brooklyn Tech (one of the selective NYC high schools). AOC then asks why every school can’t be like Brooklyn Tech, why NYC only has a handful of such selective high schools. She was heckled by some attendees who oppose changes to the testing program for these schools.

And this is the special moment, she points out that in many, many areas of public services, we have created an environment of scarcity. This ends up pitting communities against each other for resources. Instead, she suggests we should make the fight for more resources across the board, rather than fighting over scraps because funding has been slashed, and we’re letting plutocrats get away with rampant tax evasion aided by corrupt politicians. That’s not hyperbole, both the former NY Assembly Speaker and the NY Senate leader are in prison for corruption.

It’s worth watching how AOC turns this conversation around, arguing that we bake a bigger and better public services pie rather than fight over small pieces of it.
The video of the exchange is in the post.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:47 AM on March 18, 2019 [111 favorites]


Afterward Kellyanne Conway, CBS's Mark Knoller reports, “defends President's multitude of tweets this weekend, saying he "absolutely believes" they're a direct way for him to communicate with the country. "I would think those in the business of transparency and accountability should appreciate that," she tells press gaggle.”

This is great news in one way, actually: she's acknowledging that Trump intends for his tweets to serve as official communication, as part of an acknowledged effort to be transparent and accountable. So, although she can't officially speak for Trump, this is one more WH official saying on the record "Make no mistake, this guy absolutely means to say X totally-fucked-up or harebrained thing," which deflates the idea that he's joking, or speaking off-the-cuff, or (somehow) isn't speaking as the POTUS.

So, not an airtight case that Trump's tweets are official statements (and therefore subject to scrutiny by Congress and the courts as such), but maybe a pretty good indication that he'd be stupid enough to go on record himself saying they are (hint hint, journalists at his next press conference).
posted by Rykey at 8:48 AM on March 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


How Google influences the conversation in Washington -- Google lobbying has shifted into overdrive as Big Tech comes under increased scrutiny. (Nitasha Tiku, Wired.com via Ars Technica*, March 16, 2019)
Google is very active in shaping public policy. Last year, the company reported spending $21 million on federal lobbying, more than any other company in America. Google was also the highest-spending corporate lobbyist in 2017.

Over the past year or so, the network of academics, think tanks, trade organizations, and advocacy groups funded by Google has repeatedly come to its defense at key moments, such as after Warren’s broadside, the days after the midterm elections, and the weeks surrounding Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s December appearance before Congress. When Trump took office in January 2017, Google listed 141 organizations that receive funding from the company’s public policy division. Since then the number has more than doubled, to 349.

Op-eds by antitrust and privacy experts sympathetic to Google’s views have appeared on right-wing and cable news sites. In the editorials, the authors frame populist fervor to regulate Big Tech as the work of unserious “hipster antitrust” activists who don’t understand the law and argue that consumers are better off with the status quo.

Scholars and experts may hold these positions independent of financial incentives from tech companies like Google, but both regulators and the public are sometimes left in the dark about potential conflicts of interest. Larry Downes, project director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy, coauthored an op-ed in The Washington Post in January about the tech backlash “going askew.” Google’s donation to the Georgetown Center was not noted on its transparency page until about 10 days later, according to records from Archive.org. A Google spokesperson said the company updates its page twice a year. Downes did not respond to a request for comment. Georgetown said as a private university it does not disclose donor information.

Warren’s post last week brought out some of Google’s reliable defenders, like Geoffrey Manne, head of the International Center for Law & Economics, a nonprofit research group that receives money from Google; Wright was previously director of research there and coauthored some papers with Manne. Manne’s conflicts of interest have previously attracted attention, including New York Times articles in 2015 and 2016 that mentioned funding the center received from Comcast during the net neutrality debate.

A rebuttal to Warren, coauthored by Manne, argued that Google might stop investing in improving its products if it is regulated. He said a decline in business dynamism, cited by Warren, could be because entrepreneurs want to sell their startups to big companies, contradicting founders who say they would rather become the next Mark Zuckerberg than sell to him.

Manne’s piece was shared approvingly on Twitter by the executive vice president of the Cato Institute and the VP of policy at the Niskanen Center—both of which receive funding from Google—as well as by a senior research fellow at the Koch Institute (a recent Google ally on antitrust) and assorted venture capitalists and was eventually published by CNBC. Manne did not respond to a request for comment.
...
“Google is much savvier at this game than Comcast or AT&T in that it doesn’t pay for strict quid pro quos. Its strategy relies on social capture,” one congressional staffer told Wired. Google finds an organization that seems to share Google’s values and then donates money without a specific ask, the staffer said.

But Google’s tactics backfired last year when its employees revolted against the company’s sponsorship of the Conservative Political Action Conference, attended by white nationalists and members of the anti-LGBT movement, and where speakers included French nationalist politician Marine Le Pen.

Google did not sponsor this year’s conference, held in late February and early March. But Google was still there, indirectly. The company funds at least eight think tanks and nonprofits whose officials spoke or who sponsored events at CPAC, including Americans for Tax Reform, the Heritage Foundation, National Review Institute, and the Federalist Society. Google has been funding the American Conservative Union, the organization behind CPAC, since 2012.
I'll wimp out here and not include all the out-bound links from this blockquote, but if you're interested in this broad topic, you can read more from this article's links.

And spinning my own response, not in defense of Google, but perhaps providing broader context, Google's "spend widely to shape many support many viewpoints that align with ours" sounds a lot like the Koch Brothers' actions, including: When you're a billionaire, or the most valuable company (CNN, 2016), you can fund a lot of diverse studies and efforts, shaping public actions and perceptions. Maybe it's time to require anyone or any agency/ company receiving outside funding to start wearing Nascar-like badges of sponsorship (Common Dreams), not just politicians.

* It's interesting to see Wired re-publish articles from other sites, and now Ars Technica re-publish Wired. Bonus from this link: no view metering, as on Wired.com.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:49 AM on March 18, 2019 [14 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, I know it's really hard, but we don't want to get in the weeds about primary stuff literally a year before the actual primaries.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 8:59 AM on March 18, 2019 [16 favorites]


It’s worth watching how AOC turns this conversation around, arguing that we bake a bigger and better public services pie rather than fight over small pieces of it.

This excellence in public speaking and reacting positively to public comments makes me think of a vaguely similar example of Beto O'Rourke explaining why NFL players kneeling during the anthem is not disrespectful (link to comment by ZeusHumms on October 28, 2018). Not all people, let alone politicians, can do this, but this ability to pivot a tough question or heckler's comment into teaching moment is what makes some politicians stand out, regardless of their policies.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:59 AM on March 18, 2019 [52 favorites]


she's acknowledging that Trump intends for his tweets to serve as official communication

President Donald Trump's tweets are official government statements, Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge

Trump's Tweets 'Official Statements,' Spicer Says
posted by BungaDunga at 9:09 AM on March 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


A Guardian interview with Pete Buttigieg (new to me)
posted by growabrain at 9:12 AM on March 18, 2019 [9 favorites]


And an amusing Peter Buttgieg twitter story to go along with the interview..
posted by gusottertrout at 9:38 AM on March 18, 2019 [27 favorites]


A rebuttal to Warren, coauthored by Manne, argued that Google might stop investing in improving its products if it is regulated.

The corpses of Google Reader, Wave and all the other useful products they axed spin silently in digital graves.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:04 AM on March 18, 2019 [61 favorites]


A rebuttal to Warren, coauthored by Manne, argued that Google might stop investing in improving its products if it is regulated.

The corpses of Google Reader, Wave and all the other useful products they axed spin silently in digital graves.


Reducing regulatory impediments and costs to "doing business" has failed to motivate Verizon to improve their service coverage, and prior "limitations" didn't really limit the investments made by Charter, a major ISP: If even if Google plays the victim and reduces its innovations in reaction to regulations, then other companies may find openings that Google leaves, allowing ... a reduction in their monopoly. Huh, not a really compelling case there, Manne.

Meanwhile, I wonder what the latest Grumpy Trump technophobe comment will do to stocks or confidence in technology: Report: Trump “would never get in a self-driving car” -- "I don't trust some computer to drive me around," Trump reportedly said. (Timothy B. Lee for Ars Technica, March 18, 2019)
Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Transportation, Elaine Chao, has worked hard to avoid placing regulatory barriers in the way of self-driving cars. But Chao's boss is a driverless car skeptic, Axios reports.

One Axios source had a conversation with Trump in 2017 where he mentioned owning a Tesla with Autopilot technology. According to the source, Trump "was like, 'Yeah that's cool but I would never get in a self-driving car... I don't trust some computer to drive me around.'"

On another occasion, Trump reportedly said, "Can you imagine, you're sitting in the back seat and all of a sudden this car is zig-zagging around the corner and you can't stop the f---ing thing?"

Trump has reportedly dismissed the concept of driverless cars as "crazy," preferring a human driver to be in control of any vehicle he's riding in.

Trump's reported views on self-driving cars are in line with his views of autonomy more generally. "Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly," Trump tweeted last week in the wake of a Boeing 737 MAX crash. "Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT." People, he wrote, were "always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better."

This apparent divergence between Trump's personal views and the policies of his administration aren't that unusual. Recently, for example, the White House released a budget proposing significant cuts to Medicare and Medicaid—despite Trump's long-standing promises not to cut those programs.
It's as if the President isn't really driving his own policies. (Hah!)

Or, he's not a reliable negotiator, and we should stop listening to what he says, and react to what he does (or at least signs).
posted by filthy light thief at 10:24 AM on March 18, 2019 [18 favorites]


I don't trust George Conway one bit.

Nor do I in general, though dissent against Trump from the right should be recognized. He's not just publicly tweeting against the Trumpist grain, he also organized a group called "Checks and Balances" for #NeverTrumpers from the Federalist Society. I suspect the Conways are working a Carville/Matalin long game.

Meanwhile, Politico reports on Kellyane's reaction to her husband's Twitter feed: “"No, I don't share those concerns," she said. "I have four kids and I was getting them out of the house this morning before I got here so I can talk to the president about substance, so I may not be up to speed on all of them," she said of her husband's tweets.” Just a normal morning for a normal D.C. couple.

And late this morning, Trump is gleefully tweeting about a new USA Today/Suffolk survey's results, though of course he elides over its negative news.

USA Today: Poll: Half of Americans say Trump is victim of a 'witch hunt' as trust in Mueller erodes
[A] new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds that trust in Mueller has eroded and half of Americans now agree with President Donald Trump's contention that he has been the victim of a "witch hunt."

Support for the House of Representatives to seriously consider impeaching the president has dropped since last October by 10 percentage points, to 28 percent.

Despite that, the survey shows a nation that remains skeptical of Trump's honesty and deeply divided by his leadership. A 52 percent majority say they have little or no trust in the president's denials that his 2016 campaign colluded with Moscow in the election that put him in the Oval Office.[…]

What's more, Trump's relentless attacks on Mueller and his inquiry have taken a toll on the special counsel's credibility. Now, 28 percent say they have a lot of trust in the former FBI director's investigation to be fair and accurate. That's the lowest level to date, and down five points since December.[…]

The poll finds overwhelming and bipartisan support for releasing the report, whatever it finds. In all, 82 percent say it is important to them that the report be made public; 62 percent call that "very important."
If these results seem schizophrenic, then Trump and Kellyanne may take a little credit for persistently inserting noise in the media coverage.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:35 AM on March 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


Former DNC chair Donna Brazile has joined FOX News as a contributor. She has issued a statement justifying her decision by, among other things, castigating liberals for having safe spaces and proclaiming a need to reach out to FOX viewers.
posted by sotonohito at 10:39 AM on March 18, 2019 [7 favorites]


No, the United States does not appear at risk of widespread political violence anytime soon.

Here's another pertinent thread by Bruce Wilson: "@nytimes contributor @DLeonhardt's op-ed notes 'The United States, thank goodness, does not have armed citizen militias carrying out regular attacks.' But such citizen militias *do exist*, and Trump has ties to their waiting command structure, the CSPOA..."
posted by homunculus at 10:39 AM on March 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


I don't trust George Conway one bit.

Nor do I, but there's nothing in his DSM tweet that requires trust.
posted by M-x shell at 10:40 AM on March 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


ProPublica, Federal Authorities Raided Trump Fundraiser’s Office in Money Laundering Probe

Remember, Cohen, Wynn, and Broidy were all RNC finance chairs.

The RNC Deputy Finance Chairman who's under investigation for money laundering is a different guy from the RNC Deputy Finance Chairman who pleaded guilty in a federal fraud case and they're both different from the RNC Finance Chairman who's accused of rape and sexual misconduct. (@KevinMKruse)

Heh.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 10:47 AM on March 18, 2019 [44 favorites]


[“a salubrious and morally uplifting enterprise” / or Read The Comments Dept.]

I recently reviewed Victor Davis Hanson’s new book, The Case for Trump. Writing at National Review Online, Hanson responded with a rejoinder that was nearly twice the length of my initial piece. I had not planned to return to the discussion. I had had my say and Hanson had his. There I would have been content to let the matter rest: to allow readers to read both pieces and form their own opinions.

But things took on a life of their own.

posted by growabrain at 10:52 AM on March 18, 2019 [7 favorites]


If these results seem schizophrenic, then Trump and Kellyanne may take a little credit for persistently inserting noise in the media coverage.

And the media can take a lot of credit for letting them. Unfortunately, conservatives will never, ever, every admit the media isn't "liberal" when it's so much to their advantage to maintain the charade.
posted by Gelatin at 11:05 AM on March 18, 2019 [12 favorites]


mocking Joe Biden as "another low I.Q. individual"

Perhaps I am incredibly ignorant or naive, but it seems so incredibly easy to make Trump look like an idiot in the public arena.

How in the world does Joe Biden (or Maxine Waters before him) not say something like, "Great idea! Let's both take IQ tests! I would be fascinated to find out just how much higher your IQ is than a low IQ person like myself."

Then when he doesn't respond or dismisses the idea of taking an IQ test, he immediately should call him a coward. Repeatedly.

Clinton should have done that when he requested she take a drug test. I understand why she didn't. It would have been a sideshow. It would have been demeaning to everyone. But that was then. This is now. We know everything is going to be a sideshow and demeaning to everyone no matter what happens. At the very least, he should be called out on his bluffs relentlessly. Part of the reason he gets away with doing things outside the norms is because he knows that everyone's responses will remain inside the norms. We are way past that.
posted by flarbuse at 11:09 AM on March 18, 2019 [40 favorites]


Former DNC chair Donna Brazile has joined FOX News as a contributor.

lol

proclaiming a need to reach out to FOX viewers.

i can't decide if she's really that dumb or if she's just grifting
posted by entropicamericana at 11:10 AM on March 18, 2019 [16 favorites]


Former DNC chair Donna Brazile has joined FOX News as a contributor. She has issued a statement justifying her decision by, among other things, castigating liberals for having safe spaces and proclaiming a need to reach out to FOX viewers.

posted by sotonohito 10 minutes ago [3 favorites +] [!]


If Brazille thinks Faux Nooz is going to do anything other than use her to amplify their own propaganda, I've got several bankrupt casinos I'd like to sell her. Anyone got her number?
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:14 AM on March 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


Former DNC chair Donna Brazile has joined FOX News as a contributor.
Brazile is a friend and frequent guest of Bill Maher's on his show. He's been stomping on this idea like it's some brilliant insight for a while now. He regularly harasses guests with the question of when they are going to go on Fox. It's baffling.
posted by Harry Caul at 11:16 AM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


sotonohito: Former DNC chair Donna Brazile has joined FOX News as a contributor. She has issued a statement justifying her decision by, among other things, castigating liberals for having safe spaces and proclaiming a need to reach out to FOX viewers.

The media is "liberal" only because a number of outlets occasionally report facts, and not just Republican talking points that are either poorly sourced statistics or outright lies. So, by crying "liberal bias!," conservatives can push the narrative towards their un-reality, in the name of "balance."

For a general example, there's only a Conservapedia (Wikipedia entry, I'm not linking to the actual muck) because Wikipedia is too liberal to include such articles as Athiesm and Mass Murder ("Joseph Stalin's atheistic regime killed tens of millions of people") or note in the article on vaccines that "Many injuries from vaccination are admitted by the government, and severe potential side effects are disclosed on packaging labels that most parents never see."

And safe spaces are created because of open hatred acts of violence by angry, empowered groups or individuals. What she calls 'safe spaces' ("We have to engage that audience and show Americans of every stripe what we stand for rather than retreat into our ‘safe spaces’ where we simply agree with each other.") are echo chambers.

Like Fox News.

Classic GOP move, change the definition of a term to fit your angle.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:18 AM on March 18, 2019 [18 favorites]


I wish I were surprised by the Donna Brazile news. She seems to hold multiple grudges in multiple directions and at one time she went a little bit down the "Who Killed Seth Rich" rabbit-hole, though not to any significant depth. It's not clear at this point what she even believes.

Of course, Fox is displaying blatant hypocrisy after having made so much hay from the time Brazile gave primary debate questions to Hillary, but that turnaround is even less surprising.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:21 AM on March 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


Clinton should have done that when he requested she take a drug test.

Counterpoint: Elizabeth Warren taking the DNA test.

Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
posted by diogenes at 11:32 AM on March 18, 2019 [40 favorites]


Re Donna Brazile - How much does Fox pay for such a contract?
posted by growabrain at 11:37 AM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


The corpses of Google Reader, Wave and all the other useful products they axed spin silently in digital graves.

Well, get ready for those digital graveyards to get a lot more crowded, if Warren's plan goes through. She explicitly wants to separate the single part of Google that makes any money (search advertising) from all the other parts. I hope no one here is too attached to their @gmail.com email address.
posted by sideshow at 11:38 AM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


If you're suggesting that all I would need to do in order to break up a massive monopoly that long ago tossed "Don't Be Evil" into the bin and gleefully embraced it instead is to trash my gmail account, I mean, I'll take that deal.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:42 AM on March 18, 2019 [52 favorites]


No kidding. Email addresses are a dime a dozen. I could have another one set up in 5 minutes.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:46 AM on March 18, 2019 [9 favorites]


"I would think those in the business of transparency and accountability should appreciate that," she tells press gaggle.”

This is not what transparency or accountability means.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:28 PM on March 18, 2019 [3 favorites]


MoJo: Dems Ask FBI to Investigate Massage Parlor Owner Who Was Selling Access to Trump
Top Democrats on four congressional committees have asked the FBI investigate the activities of Cindy Yang, the massage parlor owner who offered to sell Chinese business executives access to President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

In a letter sent Friday, the lawmakers requested that the FBI conduct “criminal and counterintelligence investigations into credible allegations of potential human trafficking, as well as unlawful foreign lobbying, campaign finance and other activities by Ms. Yang.” They also ask the bureau to conduct an assessment of counterintelligence risks or related concerns “associated with any interactions between President Donald Trump and Ms. Yang.”[…]

“If true, these allegations raise serious counterintelligence concerns,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, which they sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Secret Service Director Randolph Alles, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. “China has frequently used non-traditional intelligence collectors and businesspersons to compromise targets.”[…]

The letter was sent by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the chairmen of the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees, and by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the top Democrats on the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees.
Also, the Daily Beast reports that the House Judiciary Committee is planning a hearing on the rise of white nationalism.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:32 PM on March 18, 2019 [36 favorites]


"I would think those in the business of transparency and accountability should appreciate that," [Kellyanne Conway] tells press gaggle.”

This is not what transparency or accountability means.


Of course not. It isn't enough that Republicans merely act in bad faith; they make their bad faith obvious, as a signal of contempt. In this aspect they're no different from the scurviest Internet troll, and no more worth anyone's valuable time, let alone the national media's. And valid criticism of her point will only be used as in-group signaling and a cue to dismiss the so-called "liberam" media.

At the same time, the audacity of the performance -- a spokesperson for the most corrupt and deceptive administration since Nixon -- impresses and amuses those who approach political coverage from a theater criticism perspective. Given that Kellyanne Conway has the job od defending Trump, which can't be done honestly, why wouldn't she dissemble like this? The fault is in the media that airs her comments as if they had any value, in doing so inherently giving them credibility, worth, and value they don't deserve.
posted by Gelatin at 12:46 PM on March 18, 2019 [9 favorites]




stunningly irresponsible advice

We just can't recognize agitation for more stochastic terrorism even when it's right in our faces. "In order to educate yourself about what a confused and crazy guy the killer is, you should definitely read the manifesto" is all over the mainstream conservative ecosystem right now: see Steven Crowder.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:21 PM on March 18, 2019 [28 favorites]


Meanwhile, Ben Shapiro is running scared, because he knows that if anyone reads the manifesto they might start noticing a few things about his own rhetoric.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:26 PM on March 18, 2019 [14 favorites]


Nazis contain multitudes.
posted by Yowser at 1:26 PM on March 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


Meanwhile, Ben Shapiro is running scared, because he knows that if anyone reads the manifesto they might start noticing a few things about his own rhetoric.

In Ben's case it's because he provided much of the propaganda consumed by the Quebec killer. Ben already has a confirmed body count and therefore has reason to be a bit coy, unlike Kellyanne and Crowder.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:31 PM on March 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


From Mother Jones cover story for March/April 2019 issue: How Facebook Screwed Us All.

All along the way, as Facebook pumped headlines into your feed, it didn’t care whether the “news” was real. It didn’t want that responsibility or expense. Instead, it honed in on engagement—did you share or comment, increasing value to advertisers? Truth was optional, if not an actual hindrance.

But as with actual salt and fat, we humans didn’t evolve as rapidly as our information diets did. We were still looking for information when the platforms were giving us engagement. People Googling “Hillary Clinton” in 2016 wanted to know about a candidate. When the top search results led them to a Breitbart piece on Benghazi, which generated a recommendation for an Infowars video, which sucked them into a wormhole of conspiracy chats, they weren’t thinking, “I’m being shown engaging content.” They were reading a perfect personalized newspaper.

This is what Zuckerberg and the other platform chiefs still haven’t grappled with: Their tools are great at helping you find content but not truth. (Even YouTube’s app for kids, as Business Insider discovered, recommended conspiracy videos about our world being ruled by reptile-­human hybrids.)

Facebook et al. became the primary sources of news and the primary destroyers of news. And they refused to deal with it because their business is predicated on the fallacy that technology is neutral—Silicon Valley’s version of “guns don’t kill people.”

posted by Bella Donna at 2:36 PM on March 18, 2019 [59 favorites]


USA Today: Poll: Half of Americans say Trump is victim of a 'witch hunt' as trust in Mueller erodes

CNBC: Experts push back on Trump-touted poll that shows 50% of Americans calling Mueller probe a 'witch hunt'
"President Trump has called the Special Counsel´s investigation a 'witch hunt' and said he´s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?" the new USA Today/Suffolk University poll asked 1,000 registered voters in live telephone interviews between March 13 and 17.[…]

"I'm sorry to say this question violates three basic principles of questionnaire design," said Gary Langer, president of Langer Research Associates, which polls for ABC News and others.

Langer said in an email to CNBC that the question is "triple-barreled" because it asks three things within a single question: whether the probe is a witch hunt; whether Trump has been subjected to more investigations than other presidents; and whether those probes have been lodged because of politics.

"Answers to each can differ," Langer said.

He added that asking respondents if they agree — without asking if they disagree — makes the question "unbalanced." And agree-disagree questions in general are "fundamentally biasing, because they lack the alternative proposition," Langer said.
The poll’s wording on the other questions (PDF) is a lot simpler, so perhaps that explains this particular outlier. Much of the poll is currently embargoed, though, so I expect we’ll hear more about it this week.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:04 PM on March 18, 2019 [21 favorites]




Beto O’Rourke tells you how to do the hokey pokey (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
You put a hand in. Maybe it’s the right, maybe it’s the left. Maybe it’s the hand of a friend, a neighbor. Maybe it’s my hand. Could it be my hand? It’s not Donald Trump’s hand, that’s for sure!

Then you take it — maybe you take it to beautiful Keokuk, Iowa, a place it’s been my honor to visit for the first time today. I love the enthusiasm here. Or you take it to the humble hotel of a proprietor just trying to make it. Maybe you take it to the hearts of millions of Americans. Somewhere. I’m not sure. Kerouac. The Clash.

Then who can say? Do you shake that hand? Maybe it’s not for me to say. Millions of Americans have hands. I look across this country, and I see a forest of hands. Driving across, you wonder: What’s it all about? I’m coming to that. Dust yourself off, come back stronger. Could be. I don’t know.

Drive until the answer becomes clear.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:53 PM on March 18, 2019 [28 favorites]


From the 'I guess this is the future now' department:

U.S. Blocks U.N. Resolution on Geoengineering
posted by MrVisible at 5:16 PM on March 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


So the suspect in the killing of the Gambino boss appears to be a QAnon follower. In court today he flashed his hand on which he'd penned QAnon sayings such as "MAGA forever," "Patriots in charge," and a giant Q.

In case you were wondering if 2019 was going to get more insane... yup!
posted by bluecore at 5:27 PM on March 18, 2019 [45 favorites]


Doktor Zed Wow. I'm far from an expert in polling, but I did take an intro level class back in university and that's almost a textbook example of how to rig a poll. Asking "do you agree" is well known to produce a **STRONG** bias towards agreeing, people are shockingly eager to please even strangers. Plus the fact that it's three questions in one, and that the questions are presented in a manner that is clearly very pro-Trump.

A better poll would have been something like "President Trump has said the Mueller investigation is a witch hunt, other people say it's both fair and necessary, do you think it's a witch hunt or not?" And alternated the order in which those were presented so half the respondents got it presented one way and the other half got it presented the other way "Some people say the Mueller investigation is both fair and necessary, President Trump says it's a witch hunt, do you think it is necessary or a witch hunt?"

Or just left off the preliminaries and asked "do you think the Mueller investigation is a witch hunt or a fair investigation?" again with the order the options are presented flip flopped for alternate respondents.

But presenting it as listed there is all but explicitly designed to produce results favorable to Trump, and to be honest I'm stunned that they were only able to get 50% of respondents saying the Mueller investigation was a witch hunt given the way it was phrased.

I'd also like info on how they selected their sample, because I'll bet that if they were rigging the questions so blatantly they were also selecting their sample for a solid pro-Trump bias as well.
posted by sotonohito at 5:49 PM on March 18, 2019 [26 favorites]


Daily Beast: Cambridge Analytica Secrets Allegedly Covered Up by Trump Campaign Veterans—The High Court in London heard that former insiders, including Rebekah Mercer, were pulling the strings of “biased” officials responsible for the fate of the company.
The High Court heard that administrators had deliberately misled a judge during a previous hearing by obfuscating their financial links to Emerdata, a company which was set up by [former CEO Alexander] Nix, Rebekah Mercer, and other senior figures who were previously involved with Cambridge Analytica.[…]

In Britain, court-appointed administrators are supposed to work independently on behalf of all creditors to take over running of the company, similar to chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. But the legal team of David Carroll, an associate professor at Parsons School in New York who is fighting for access to the data compiled on him, claimed that the administrators of Cambridge Analytica has succumbed to undue influence. Emerdata appointed the administrator and subsequently committed to pay them up to $1 million in fees.

The administrators, Vincent Green and Mark Newman of Crowe U.K. LLP, were accused of trying to liquidate the company before a full investigation into the company could be held.[…]

Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, daughters of billionaire Trump donor Robert Mercer, are listed as directors of Emerdata. As is former Cambridge Analytica chairman Julian Wheatland, who is named on the list of people close to President Trump being probed by the House Judiciary Committee, alongside Nix, who resigned as a director of Emerdata on the same day that he was called back for further questioning by a committee in Britain’s House of Commons. Nix remains a shareholder.
Speaking of the Mercers, Caroline Orr writes for Byline: Robert Mercer is Fueling a Multimillion Dollar Anti-Muslim Propaganda Industry
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:02 PM on March 18, 2019 [12 favorites]


The NYT with goods on DeutscheBank. We're finally getting to Justin Kennedy.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:18 PM on March 18, 2019 [49 favorites]




We're finally getting to Justin Kennedy.

We're going to look back in 20 years at this time, and Anthony Kennedy selling his Supreme Court seat to Donald Trump to save his son will be the single most corrupt thing that happened.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:23 PM on March 18, 2019 [65 favorites]


I hope Brett Kavanaugh's debts disappearing is a thread coming from this, too.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:26 PM on March 18, 2019 [48 favorites]


Speaking of the Mercers

(If you want more Mercer info, head over to the aptly named /r/MercerInfo).
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 6:38 PM on March 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


NYT: "Mr. Jain said he was surprised by [I-1's] low level of debt, the executives said"

Oh dear. He repeatedly bullshitted his net worth, been blacklisted by every US lender, and Deutsche Bank somehow didn't think he was bullshitting them? Fuckin' geniuses.
posted by holgate at 6:55 PM on March 18, 2019 [19 favorites]


the suspect in the killing of the Gambino boss appears to be a QAnon follower.

I'd be real interested in learning more about this guy's motivations and connections, because just, wow. The article mentions that he was mad at Cali because he wouldn't let him date his niece, but this isn't usually how major mob figures are brought down.

Either way, it would be so completely nuts totally 2019 if there was nobody bigger connected to this guy. Although if he's unconnected, I am kind of curious what MAGA/QAnon people would have against the mafia, what with a dimestore mafioso being in the White House and all.
posted by Rykey at 7:21 PM on March 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


Trump borrowed money from Deutsche Bank with a personal guarantee. When he was facing default he sued them, arguing that a financial crisis was "an act of God" that should free him from any personal obligation. And they subsequently lent him more money on the theory that they would benefit in two ways:
1) he would use some of it to pay back the other debt; and
2) since he would deposit some of the borrowed money with Deutsche Bank, they would earn money from the interest rate spread.

In other words, "Lend me $100. I'll use it to repay the $20 I owe you and I'll even lend you $10 myself." I don't think most people would have had the chutzpah to make those arguments, and I don't think most banks would have accepted them, but there you go and here we are.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:27 PM on March 18, 2019 [29 favorites]


The NYT with goods on DeutscheBank.

From the "Demagogy and Defaults" section of the NYT article:
After Mr. Trump won the election, Deutsche Bank’s board of directors rushed to understand how the bank had become the biggest lender to the president-elect.

A report prepared by the board’s integrity committee concluded that executives in the private-banking division were so determined to win business from big-name clients that they had ignored Mr. Trump’s reputation for demagogy and defaults, according to a person who read the report.

The review also found that Deutsche Bank had produced a number of “exposure reports” that flagged the growing business with Mr. Trump, but that they had not been adequately reviewed by senior executives.

On Deutsche Bank’s trading floor, managers began warning employees not to use the word “Trump” in communications with people outside the bank. Salesmen who violated the edict were scolded by compliance officers who said the bank feared stoking public interest in its ties to the new president.

[...] Two years after Mr. Trump was sworn in, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. The chamber’s financial services and intelligence committees opened investigations into Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Mr. Trump. Those inquiries, as well as the New York attorney general’s investigation, come at a perilous time for Deutsche Bank, which is negotiating to merge with another large German lender.

Next month, Deutsche Bank is likely to start handing over extensive internal documents and communications about Mr. Trump to the congressional committees, according to people briefed on the process.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:28 PM on March 18, 2019 [15 favorites]


Meanwhile back in farm, Devin Nunes is suing Twitter and some accounts called “Devin Nunes Mom” and “Devin Nunes Cow”. Seeking $250 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages
posted by growabrain at 7:29 PM on March 18, 2019 [13 favorites]


Devin Nunes has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Liz Mair, Devin Nunes's Cow and Devin Nunes's Mom.

Devin Nunes' attorney, Steven Biss, had his law license suspended for all of 2009 for violating securities law and general incompetence, because that's the kind of lawyer Devin Nunes would get, to sue Devin Nunes' Cow. Devin Nunes' attorney, Steve Biss, then had his law license suspended an additional 30 days for continuing to practice law while his license was suspended, then got into more trouble in October 2010 and was publicly reprimanded by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board.

Which goes some way to explaining the verbiage and attachments included in this lawsuit, as they are hysterically bad. The lawsuit accuses “Devin Nunes’ Cow” of false claims to its 1,204 Twitter followers including "He’s udder-ly worthless," it's "pasture time to move him to prison” and “Devin is whey over his head in crime.”
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:33 PM on March 18, 2019 [54 favorites]


That Nunes thing is incredible. To think Devin Nunes's Mom would falsely state that he had herp-face.
posted by downtohisturtles at 7:38 PM on March 18, 2019 [11 favorites]


Since we're likely to be hearing it a lot, I much prefer the old-fashioned "demagoguery" over "demagogy" which just sounds half-heartedly flaccid. Not for the first time, I am disappointed in the NY Times.

I agree the Justice Kennedy story is very likely to reveal some of the deepest and most systemic wells of corruption - Trump is a venal, greedy narcissist but the Kennedy thing has potential to make the worst conspiracy theories seem like night-night stories.
posted by Rumple at 7:40 PM on March 18, 2019 [20 favorites]


I much prefer the old-fashioned "demagoguery" over "demagogy"

Could be some weird news-style-guide thing to save ink and column inches like how they prefer “caldron” over “cauldron” and don’t use the serial comma.
posted by stopgap at 7:50 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


Vox: Elizabeth Warren gives a full-throated endorsement for reparations at CNN town hall
posted by Chrysostom at 7:52 PM on March 18, 2019 [28 favorites]


Lobbying Case Against Democrat With Ties to Manafort Reaches Key Stage (NYT)
The case involving the lawyer, Gregory B. Craig, was transferred in January from federal prosecutors in New York to those in Washington. The previously undisclosed move was driven by Justice Department officials in Washington, and reflects an eagerness within the department to prosecute violations of lobbying laws after the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, focused on foreign influence in his investigations. [...]

The work was steered to Mr. Craig by Paul Manafort, who was then a political consultant collecting millions of dollars from clients in former Soviet states. [...] The Manafort case, and others developed by Mr. Mueller, marked the first high-profile criminal charges in years under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. The 1938 law requires Americans to disclose detailed information about lobbying and public relations work for foreign governments and politicians. [...]

The Justice Department recently signaled that its enforcement efforts were just getting started, indicating that scrutiny of foreign influence in American politics will continue after Mr. Mueller’s investigation, which began with a focus on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

One of the first significant initiatives under the new attorney general, William P. Barr, was the reorganization of the unit that oversees FARA, suggesting that enforcing laws on foreign lobbying will become a priority of his tenure. [...]

According to people familiar with the case, Manhattan prosecutors have retained control of the investigations of the two lobbying firms. They are Mercury Public Affairs, whose lead partner on the account was Vin Weber, a former Republican member of Congress, and the Podesta Group, led by Tony Podesta, a prominent Democratic fund-raiser whose business collapsed in 2017 under the glare of Mr. Mueller’s scrutiny. [...]

Supporters of Mr. Craig bristled earlier this month when Mr. Demers appeared to again call out both Mr. Craig and Skadden Arps at an American Bar Association conference in New Orleans. The firm “was on the hook” for FARA violations because it “made a series of representations to the Justice Department that were not accurate” based on Mr. Craig’s misleading statements, Mr. Demers said, though he did not identify Mr. Craig by name. [...]

“The purpose of enforcement is increased transparency” and “lying to the government has always been a crime,” said Marc Raimondi, a Justice Department spokesman. “That is not new, nor should it be portrayed as such.”
posted by Little Dawn at 8:01 PM on March 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


Trump walks into a bank alone. He has no accountant or lawyer. He asks for a hundred million dollar plus loan. Trump has no paper work, not even bank statements. He makes up some figures that nearly everyone finds highly suspect. They give him the loan.

There's a great SNL sketch with Eddie Murphy. He's a reporter who dresses up in white face to find out what life's really like for rich white people. He finds out everything is free, so long as there are no black people around. Banks simply hand him bags of money with no questions asked.

SNL deserves a Peabody award.
posted by xammerboy at 8:03 PM on March 18, 2019 [69 favorites]


There's a great SNL sketch with Eddie Murphy. He's a reporter who dresses up in white face to find out what life's really like for rich white people.

That's "White Like Me" from December 1984. It really is pretty great.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:06 PM on March 18, 2019 [21 favorites]


Devin Nunes has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Liz Mair, Devin Nunes's Cow and Devin Nunes's Mom.

A lot of folks are sharing the Devin Nunes complaint that Fox News posted, but that document has no proof that it was even filed. There's not even a case number.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:30 PM on March 18, 2019 [9 favorites]


I read that NYT article on Deutsche Bank today while I was at work. I actually work in commercial real estate lending, albeit at a much smaller bank that actually has some ethics and a proper sense of risk. I found myself repeatedly saying "Are you fucking kidding me?!" as I read, but started actually laughing out loud when I got to "Aside from his history of defaults, he was an attractive borrower."

Aside from his history of defaults. Aside from his history of defaults. ASIDE FROM HIS HISTORY OF DEFAULTS.

You know, the reddest of red fucking flags in a borrower's history. Where I work, we have long memories. There are developers we will never lend to because, say, they tried to screw over a coworker.. when they worked at a different bank.. twenty years ago. There are builders that are still infamous in my department, even though everyone who worked with them no longer works here, and we will pass on the cautionary tales to the next folks who work here.

The fact that senior members in Deutsche Bank's credit department just casually signed off on lending Trump a bunch of new money after he had sued them while claiming the economic downturn was an Act of God just... I don't even know what to do with that fact. I want to say nothing surprises me in this industry anymore, but.. holy fuck.
posted by skycrashesdown at 8:33 PM on March 18, 2019 [110 favorites]


Nadler: ‘Tens of thousands’ of documents delivered in Trump obstruction probe (Politico)
The House Judiciary Committee announced Monday that it received responses from a “large number” of the 81 individuals and entities who were asked to provide documents as part of the panel’s wide-ranging investigation into obstruction of justice allegations against President Donald Trump — but the committee was mum on details about who complied.

“I am encouraged by the responses we have received since sending these initial letters two weeks ago,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement on Monday, the deadline for document requests the committee sent on March 4.

“It is my hope that we will receive cooperation from the remainder of the list, and will be working to find an appropriate accommodation with any individual who may be reluctant to cooperate with our investigation,” added Nadler. [...]

Most of the documents the committee asked for have already been turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller and to federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, both of which are investigating similar allegations involving the president and his associates.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:34 PM on March 18, 2019 [9 favorites]


So the suspect in the killing of the Gambino boss appears to be a QAnon follower.

That explains the pickup truck. I imagine the killer felt Trump was being squeezed by the mobster and decided to do him a favor. A slim possibility is Trump or someone near him actually organized it. Either way, I wonder if those mobsters will take this lying down?

DeutscheBank

What I wouldn't give to be the next president of the United States and have a nice chat with Ms. Merkel. For example, since everyone is surprised that DeutscheBank was behaving so stupidly, maybe there is more to the story. Like, maybe there is a silent partner, who just so happens to be one or two steps removed from Putin? I hear the German's have decent intelligence services, so how much did Ms. Merkel know and when?

Anthony Kennedy

I can only pray his deal with the devil comes out and he loses his legacy, and more, and still won't have saved his son, and lives with his shame for years to come without dementia.
posted by M-x shell at 8:38 PM on March 18, 2019 [14 favorites]



The fact that senior members in Deutsche Bank's credit department just casually signed off on lending Trump a bunch of new money after he had sued them while claiming the economic downturn was an Act of God just... I don't even know what to do with that fact. I want to say nothing surprises me in this industry anymore, but.. holy fuck.


There has to be a threshold where Hanlon's Razor no longer applies, and malfeasance is the likelier explanation. In which case, I do hope the German Federal Republic's intelligence agencies are investigating, and that a DB official will soon deem it most prudent sneak into a bathroom and French kiss a defibrillator. [)]

[0] Breaking Bad reference, for those who didn't see the show.
posted by ocschwar at 8:38 PM on March 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


DB was laundering Russian blood money through Trump. They were willing to "lose" money on him, because they made a lot more money by selling their institutional reputation to Putin.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:43 PM on March 18, 2019 [40 favorites]


So the suspect in the killing of the Gambino boss appears to be a QAnon follower.

The way I've read this, in gang terminology I think what he's doing is "claiming" QAnon, an association with them. It's really up to QAnon to validate that membership, and since Q is just such a big ol' mystery we don't have any way of validating it any way else. One reason this could be a ruse would be as a way to take attention completely off the Mafia.
posted by rhizome at 9:03 PM on March 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


Shit, and if Trump is as mobbed up as rumored then this could be a bit more orchestrated to divert law enforcement resources to internet characters and groups over the long term. Just like he's eviscerated almost every other oversight agency, the Organized Crime Taskforce (or whatever) morphs into something more abstract like "group crime" or something that keeps the allocation malleable and away from the OGs. I mean, that's one possibility, that the Mafia is about to have a rennaissance.
posted by rhizome at 9:13 PM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


CNN: White House expects to see Mueller findings before they go to Congress
White House lawyers expect to have an opportunity to review whatever version of Robert Mueller's report Attorney General Bill Barr submits to Congress before it reaches lawmakers and the public, multiple sources familiar with the matter said, setting up a potential political battle over the hotly anticipated document.

The attorneys want the White House to have an opportunity to claim executive privilege over information drawn from documents and interviews with White House officials, the sources said.[…]

While Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani suggested privilege could be used to keep parts of the report from public view, the issue is up to the White House, not the President's personal attorneys.[…]

As the White House is bracing for Mueller's investigation to conclude, some officials describe a sense of anxiety at the contents of the report, even as they welcome the probe's end.[…]

Emmett Flood, the White House lawyer tasked with handling the White House's response to the Mueller probe, and officials have held meetings to game out the White House's response to whatever becomes public, a senior White House official said.

Officials have prepared the outlines of how the White House would react to different scenarios, based on the extent of Barr's disclosure to Congress and whether the findings are exculpatory or damaging to the President, the official said. Those efforts have largely been undertaken by Flood and his team, rather than by officials in the White House press shop, which has sought to keep its distance from the Mueller investigation.
Of course, if the Trump White House tries to sit on the Mueller report by claiming executive privilege, House Democrats will undoubtedly take the issue to court.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:02 PM on March 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


Let's hope so...

"The President is immune from indictment" is bullshit. Set the precedent.
posted by Windopaene at 10:12 PM on March 18, 2019 [15 favorites]


David Cay Johnston interviewed by Democracy Now last week:

I think the single most important thing is how much money he got from the Kremlin. The Russian oligarchs are essentially a criminal gang led by Vladimir Putin. And we know they have been putting money into his pocket, as have many other—remember, the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the theft of the property of the people of the old Soviet Union. And Donald has been a person who’s laundered money for these people, held money for these people, done deals that make no sense for these people and with them. And we need to understand that Donald Trump is not a loyal American. The kindest thing, Amy, I could say about Donald is he has divided loyalties. His own actions have indisputably shown that. I think he is a Kremlin agent—unwittingly, perhaps, because Donald is not very witting. But he is absolutely, in my view, a Kremlin agent.
posted by growabrain at 10:14 PM on March 18, 2019 [22 favorites]


"The President is immune from indictment" is bullshit. Set the precedent.

No need.
Franklin Pierce was arrested while serving as president for running down a woman while on horseback.
While president, Ulysses S. Grant was arrested for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage.

Presidents can be arrested.
Presidents have been arrested.
No one is above the law.
Let justice be done though the heavens fall.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:54 PM on March 18, 2019 [92 favorites]



DB was laundering Russian blood money through Trump. They were willing to "lose" money on him, because they made a lot more money by selling their institutional reputation to Putin.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:43 PM on March 18 [7 favorites −] [!]

Just finished the article and had a similar thought. I got a twinge like I was watching Better Call Saul or something. Trump (or any other big client around the world) receives a loan layered with dirty money from one division of a bank along with a promise to deposits into personal brokerage. Then those accounts fund investments in the “legit” interests of the criminals on the other side.

Seems incredibly brazen to do it entirely internally but it fits the bank’s MO, to chase risk in incredibly innovative ways.

Favorite trump quote with regards to DB: “They’re really fast.”

A definitive quote really. He likes fast fire trucks, fast 6G internet, and fast banks.
posted by dagosto at 11:04 PM on March 18, 2019 [17 favorites]


Concertina wire used in the border fence is being stolen and re-purposed for home security in Tijuana.
posted by rdr at 12:53 AM on March 19, 2019 [51 favorites]


Concertina wire used in the border fence is being stolen and re-purposed for home security in Tijuana.
Chef's kiss. This is the kind of thing that keeps me from throwing myself off a bridge and makes me want to pour buckets of money on the L.A. Times.
posted by Don Pepino at 4:23 AM on March 19, 2019 [12 favorites]


Todays Krugman is depressing: Getting Real About Rural America
Nobody knows how to reverse the heartland’s decline.
By Paul Krugman/NYTimes
As you read this, Democratic presidential hopefuls are crisscrossing Iowa, trying to assure farmers that they share their concerns. Commentators are publishing opinion pieces about how Democrats can win back rural voters. Think tanks are issuing manifestoes about reviving heartland economies.

There’s nothing wrong with discussing these issues. Rural lives matter — we’re all Americans, and deserve to share in the nation’s wealth. Rural votes matter even more; like it or not, our political system gives hugely disproportionate weight to less populous states, which are also generally states with relatively rural populations.

But it’s also important to get real. There are powerful forces behind the relative and in some cases absolute economic decline of rural America — and the truth is that nobody knows how to reverse those forces.

Put it this way: Many of the problems facing America have easy technical solutions; all we lack is the political will. Every other advanced country provides universal health care. Affordable child care is within easy reach. Rebuilding our fraying infrastructure would be expensive, but we can afford it — and it might well pay for itself.
It's bleak, and maybe he is right, but he hints at something else, which is that 40 years ago, you could have written an identical piece on the inner cities. Back in the 70's and 80's no-one could see how the inner cities could ever return to their former glory. But while there still are places that struggle, cities in general are becoming unaffordable and rather than depleted. I hope and on good days I believe that the rural areas will rebound. Maybe because agriculture needs to change with global warming. Or because young people give up on finding space in the cities.
posted by mumimor at 4:47 AM on March 19, 2019 [20 favorites]


In December, in a past uspolitics thread, Bella Donna recommended the podcast Mueller, She Wrote (RSS)... I've been listening to it since then and wanted to add my endorsement! Lots of incisive commentary and swearing.

In yesterday's episode (27min in here) they mentioned a theory I don't think I've seen elsewhere, that the apparently lenient sentences for Manafort might be a product of further attempts to get him to flip on collusion issues instead of just general criming.
posted by XMLicious at 5:13 AM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


NYT: U.S. Pressures Iraq Over Embrace of Militias Linked to Iran
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose confrontational stand on Iran has already strained ties with European allies, is leading the push for Iraq to confront its fellow Shiite-majority neighbor. He will arrive in the Middle East on Tuesday to speak with officials in Kuwait, Israel and Lebanon about containing Iran.

Under plans recommended by Mr. Pompeo and some White House officials, the State Department would designate Iran’s military Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. It would be a first instance of the United States designating a unit of another government’s military as a terrorist group; American officials said it could put United States troops and intelligence officers at risk of similar actions by foreign governments.[…]

The proposal was described to The New York Times on condition of anonymity by a half-dozen American and Iraqi officials and experts familiar with the sensitive diplomatic plans but not authorized to discuss them by name.[…]

Officials at the Pentagon and the C.I.A. — which Mr. Pompeo ran in the Trump administration’s first year — oppose designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards or the Iraqi militias as terrorist groups, fearing a backlash that could constrain American troops.
Elsewhere at the State Dept., CNN reports: State Department Bars Press Corps From Pompeo Briefing, Won't Release List of Attendees It's entirely possible that Pompeo didn't want the mainstream media to hear about his rapture-ready, end-of-days, apocalypse-now evangelicalism.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:27 AM on March 19, 2019 [18 favorites]


I pushed to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ The transgender ban defies our values. (Adm. Mullen, WaPo Opinion)
The Defense Department announced plans last week to reinstate a ban on service by openly transgender Americans that, until now, has been blocked by multiple court rulings. This decision hurts our national security, deprives our ranks of much-needed talent and flies in the face of the values our military institution represents.

I should know. As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011, I advocated — and led our armed forces through — the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a policy that similarly forbade gay and lesbian troops from serving openly. [...]

I was troubled that our military had a policy forcing service members to lie about who they were as a condition of service. This, I felt, was a blow to their integrity, as well as to our military’s. If there were no cost for equal treatment and a high cost — in talent, careers and integrity — for discrimination, ending the ban was a simple choice. Subsequent research shows our military was stronger for it.

In 2015, a similar process took place around transgender service. The Pentagon created a working group consisting of military and civilian personnel representing all the services and the Joint Staff, and it also engaged the Rand Corp. to conduct an exhaustive study into the readiness implications of open service. The process confirmed what prior research and experience had told us: There is no valid medical or military rationale for banning openly transgender Americans from serving as their true selves, or from obtaining medically necessary health care. [...]

Several of these service members gave poignant testimony before Congress last month, displaying the kind of talent and bravery our military needs. [...] The Pentagon is being too cute by half when it claims it is not banning transgender people from service. A policy that targets proxies of being transgender amounts to an effective ban. [...] Discriminating against a group of proven patriots is no way to appeal to the next generation of fighters and serves only to place politics above readiness.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:51 AM on March 19, 2019 [20 favorites]


Pentagon sends Congress list of military construction projects that could be delayed to free up money for wall (WaPo)
Trump is planning to access the funds for the wall under Section 2808 of the U.S. code that governs the military. It allows the defense secretary, in the event of a national emergency requiring the use of the military, to undertake military construction projects “not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces.”
Emphasis added, due to this megathread link:
Senate Rejects Trump’s Border Emergency Declaration, Setting Up First Veto (NYT) "As the Senate was delivering its rebuke, senior military commanders announced they would begin to scale back about 40 percent of the 6,000 troops deployed at the southwestern border at Mr. Trump’s request. “It’s a security challenge — not a military threat,” said Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the Joint Chiefs chairman, when asked Thursday morning during a Senate Armed Services hearing to assess the threat posed by an influx of migrants from the Mexican side of the border."
posted by Little Dawn at 6:06 AM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


835 pages of Michael Cohen search warrant applications now published.

@matthewamiller: On quick read, looks like everything related to the campaign finance probe is redacted. Good sign that investigation is very much ongoing.

One thing we learned is how early this started, with Mueller’s office getting warrants for Cohen’s email in summer 2017 before referring the case to SDNY.

More as reporters work their way through the docs.
posted by zachlipton at 6:16 AM on March 19, 2019 [16 favorites]


Trump officials prepared to stonewall Democratic oversight demands (Politico)
Over the last two months, Trump’s intent has become clear: He doesn’t plan to negotiate with Congress over their demands for information and witnesses the way his predecessors did. Instead, House Democrats are going to have to fight him for everything.

POLITICO contacted the 17 House committees that unsuccessfully requested records or witnesses from the Trump administration over the last two months. In most cases involving the White House itself, as opposed to agencies and departments, the request was ignored altogether. [...]

Another deadline came and went on Monday. The White House ignored Nadler’s latest request for a slew of documents about fired administration officials, Russian nationals and Trump businesses, according to a person familiar with the situation. The White House and Committee declined to comment.

As a result — despite high hopes among Democrats that they would quickly be in possession of troves of internal Trump administration documents, and grilling a succession of administration witnesses — a long and frustrating fight with Trump lawyers lies ahead, a fight that could end up in court. [...] “I think they have an arrogant attitude toward Congress,” said Charles Tiefer, former solicitor and deputy general counsel of the House. “You have to go back to the Nixon administration to find this.”

That doesn’t mean Congress will get nothing.

House Democrats are likely to get documents, particularly on policy issues, from agencies and departments, that don’t have as many protections as the White House. And even if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can’t block Trump nominees, she can resort to other parliamentary tactics, including holding up appropriation riders and authority for different programs.

Even the most aggressive Trump lawyers can do little or nothing to prevent Democrats from getting some records from people and entities not associated with the federal government, including Trump’s adult children and business associates, who have no protections.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:17 AM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


That NYT article is bananas.

(One of the wildest parts is when they actually use the word "lie" in the sentence, "... among other things, [Trump] had been spreading a lie about President Barack Obama being born overseas..."!)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:32 AM on March 19, 2019 [25 favorites]


Another Trump Facebook election (Axios)
President Trump's re-election campaign has quietly spent nearly twice as much as the entire Democratic field combined on Facebook and Google ads, according to data from Facebook and Google's political ad transparency reports, aggregated by Bully Pulpit Interactive. [...]

The Facebook ad spend by all candidates is far-outpacing Google ad spend, according to the data. Overall, all candidates are spending roughly 3 times as much on Facebook ads than on Google ads. The Trump campaign is investing even more heavily on Facebook, spending 3.5 times as much there as on it is on Google. [...] Trump's Facebook influence won't be limited to ad spend. Even though Facebook has experienced a major backlash since the 2016 election, data from news analytics companies suggests that the same organic media trends that propelled Trump's base on Facebook in 2016 are still prevalent leading up to 2020.

National political stories thrive on Facebook, according to data from news analytics company Parse.ly. Since February, almost 28% of all traffic referrals (direct and indirect) to articles about politics, law and government came from Facebook. By comparison, just 9% came from Google.

Partisan news sources also thrive on Facebook. Fox News is the most popular news outlet on Facebook so far in 2019, according to a new report from Newswhip, which measures social engagement. Right-wing publishers like The Daily Wire, Daily Mail and Breitbart almost made the cut, as well as some left-leaning outlets.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:43 AM on March 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


The NYT’s Maggie Haberman proposes that bored shitposting was the reason for Trump’s spike in Twitter rants this weekend:
Mr. Trump on Friday was rebuked by Senate Republicans, 12 of whom voted with Democrats against a national emergency to build a border wall. But the border barely figured into Mr. Trump’s weekend tweets, which appeared to be driven more by idle hands and an empty weekend schedule.

People who spoke with Mr. Trump on the phone over the weekend said he seemed to be in good spirits. Others who communicated with him said he had spent some time railing privately against Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director. But they also said he appeared to be a little aimless, and the outpouring seemed to be more driven by a lack of structure. Mr. Trump had skipped his regular weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, because of a family commitment that kept him grounded in Washington.[…]

Tweeting has also become a normal part of how the president circumvents the news media and his own advisers to communicate to the public what is on his mind. But the weekend whirlwind was so unusual that it created its own mini news cycle, with targets using their own platforms to respond and aides fielding questions from reporters about the president’s mental state.
Right on cue, @realDonaldTrump tweeted this morning, “The Fake News Media has NEVER been more Dishonest or Corrupt than it is right now. There has never been a time like this in American History. Very exciting but also, very sad! Fake News is the absolute Enemy of the People and our Country itself!”
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:45 AM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


The Pentagon is being too cute by half when it claims it is not banning transgender people from service. A policy that targets proxies of being transgender amounts to an effective ban.

You can stay in the service so long as you affirm the sex you were assigned at birth. Of course, this means if you identify as, or look, female, you would need to shower with the men, etc. And again, that's trolling. Someone probably cruelly laughed as they made that up that rule.
posted by xammerboy at 7:05 AM on March 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


“Very exciting” is Trump’s attempt at a positive spin in a tweet that ups his attacks on the Fourth Estate. Since his electoral rout last November, he’s been trying to frame his re-election message as “My election was a historic victory, and everything would be great in America again if it weren’t for these people sabotaging me!” It’s a pretty standard propaganda ploy from the authoritarian handbook.

Shortly after, he approvingly quoted Fox Business talking head Stuart Varney, “‘You can’t dispel this mood of positive energy.’ @Varneyco The Economy is Great!” Varney then interrupted his program to publicly thank Trump for the tweet.

And just to reinforce the Fox-GOP axis, today Murdoch’s restructured News Corp. announced that former House Speaker and Trump lickspittle Paul Ryan is joining its board of directors (Variety).
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:14 AM on March 19, 2019 [11 favorites]


Homeland Security Chief Cites Top Threat to U.S. (It’s Not the Border) (NYT)
Ms. Nielsen did dedicate a portion of her speech on Monday to what she called a “humanitarian and security catastrophe” of Central American families traveling to the border.
Emphasis added. (upthread link)
Ms. Nielsen also assailed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the Kremlin “for a concerted effort to undermine our elections and our democratic process using cyberenabled means.” And she said the average American citizen or company was “no match” for virtual threats from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

“I am more worried about the ability of bad guys to hijack our networks than their ability to hijack our flights,” Ms. Nielsen said. “I am concerned about them holding our infrastructure hostage, stealing our money and secrets, exploiting children online and even hacking our democracy.”
posted by Little Dawn at 7:15 AM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


Vladimir Putin signs sweeping Internet-censorship bills -- Publishing "unreliable socially significant information" can lead to big fines. (Timothy B. Lee for Ars Technica, March 18, 2019)
President Vladimir Putin has tightened his grip on the Russian Internet Monday, signing two censorship bills (Moscow Times) into law. One bans "fake news" while the other makes it illegal to insult public officials.

Russia has never really been a liberal democracy. It lacks an independent judiciary, and the government has found a variety of techniques to harass and intimidate independent media in the country.

But the new legislation gives the Russian government more direct tools to censor online speech. Analyst Maria Snegovaya told The Washington Post that the legislation "significantly expands the repressive power of Russia’s repressive apparatus."

Under one bill, individuals can face fines and jail time (Bloomberg) if they publish material online that shows a "clear disrespect for society, the state, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and bodies exercising state power."

Insults against Putin himself can be punished under the law, The Moscow Times reports. Punishments can be as high as 300,000 rubles ($4,700) and 15 days in jail.

A second bill subjects sites publishing "unreliable socially significant information" to fines as high as 1.5 million rubles ($23,000).

"Russia has not historically had major constraints on Internet freedom," analyst Matthew Rojansky told the Post. "The Internet has thus been one realm in which full diversity of opinion and free expression, even on the most sensitive political topics, were generally permitted."
Trump asked "can I do that now?" /fake
posted by filthy light thief at 7:20 AM on March 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


Rosenstein staying "a little longer" at DOJ (Guardian)
Rod Rosenstein, the number two official at the Justice Department is planning on stay “a little longer.” Rosenstein, who oversaw the Mueller probe until the confirmation of William Barr to be attorney general, had been planning to leave in March. However, he has decided to postpone his resignation.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:21 AM on March 19, 2019 [13 favorites]


The demobilization of the resistance is a dangerous mistake (Matthew Yglesias, Vox)
The Women’s Marches over-awed Donald Trump’s Inauguration. Protesters at airports checked the initial version of Trump’s travel bans. Ordinary Americans’ phone calls and door knocks defeated multiple attempts to roll back the Affordable Care Act. It all sent a clear message during Trump’s first two years in office: Resistance works.

Engaged protesters were not able to block the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, but they did render both toxically unpopular. The resistance spurred an unprecedented level of interest in special elections, swinging seats across the country, and powered Democrats to sweeping wins in the 2018 midterms.

And then it stopped. There was no mass mobilization to call senators in advance of the resolution blocking Trump’s border emergency declaration. There were no crowds on Capitol Hill. There are no reports of Republican senators canceling town halls because they’re afraid to face angry crowds demanding a floor vote on the anti-corruption bill HR 1. There are no protesters demanding that Trump accede to Congress’s request for his tax returns in part because no request has been made.

The resistance has demobilized. And for Democrats, it’s probably a huge mistake.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:26 AM on March 19, 2019 [45 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted. If folks want to dig deeper specifically about rural areas and related policy stuff, better to make a separate thread for that.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:27 AM on March 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


@mjz_dc: Oof. This is terrible news. SCOTUS rules 5–4 that ICE may arrest and detain an unauthorized immigrant *indefinitely* once he has been taken into criminal custody. Doesn't matter if he was released from custody months or even years ago....Breyer writes that he fears the court's decision "will work serious harm to the principles for which American law has long stood." Calls it a violation of "basic American legal values." Yeah. He's mad.
posted by zachlipton at 7:28 AM on March 19, 2019 [63 favorites]


xammerboy: You can stay in the service so long as you affirm the sex you were assigned at birth. Of course, this means if you identify as, or look, female, you would need to shower with the men, etc. And again, that's trolling.

It's also self-perpetuating, because then the social conservatives can take stories and images of obviously/visibly mixed-gender situations and use that as an example of "the future the liberals want". It's what happened when, for instance, a trans male high-schooler was forced by terrible rules to wrestle in the girls' division rather than the boys' -- it was easily reframed into "The trans agenda is at it again, look at this obviously unfair competition" when of course the opposite is what trans people (including that boy) wanted.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:29 AM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


President Trump's re-election campaign has quietly spent nearly twice as much as the entire Democratic field combined on Facebook and Google ads, according to data from Facebook and Google's political ad transparency reports

Not that this would be acknowledged by Trump, who just now tweeted, “Facebook, Google and Twitter, not to mention the Corrupt Media, are sooo on the side of the Radical Left Democrats. But fear not, we will win anyway, just like we did before! #MAGA”

Media Matters’s Matthew Gertz notes, “Read this tweet with the knowledge that Fox News and Fox Business have been running segments all morning promoting Devin Nunes' lawsuit.” e.g. Nunes interview on Fox News, in which he threatened, "We're not going to let all these fake news stories that were written about this [Russia] investigation, about this hoax, that were lies, we're going to challenge every single one of them in court, we're just starting with Twitter."
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:32 AM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


we're going to challenge every single one of them in court, we're just starting with Twitter.

I'm so confused. Are th faces eating the leopards now?
posted by archimago at 7:40 AM on March 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


While reading this Wired article, which contains the following:
To recap, the campaign chairman and deputy campaign chairman were involved in a decade-long, $65 million money-laundering scheme that defrauded the US government, banks, and taxpayers while they worked on behalf of pro-Russian interests, a conspiracy that continued right through the campaign. Meanwhile, the campaign’s national security adviser was working as an unregistered foreign agent of the authoritarian government of Turkey, and the president’s longtime adviser and lawyer was also involved in his own years-long bank and tax fraud around taxi medallions.
...
At the same time, there’s still truth to the President’s increasingly unhinged tweet storms: There is “NO COLLUSION,” at least not yet.
it occurred to me that the reason Trump harps on this (collusion) so much is that it's a classic con of misdirection. If he knows there was no direct communication with Russia, then when that is stated by Mueller, he gets to claim a huge PR win, and the other crimes (see above) get swept under the rug.

Keeping the focus on Russia rather than on money laundering and influence peddling is good for him and bad for the rest of us.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:00 AM on March 19, 2019 [26 favorites]


If he knows there was no direct communication with Russia . . . outside of Manafort, Jr., and Kushner with Veselnetskaya et al in Trump Tower, Manafort and Gates with Kilimnik, Flynn, Kushner and Sessions with Kislyak, and Trump himself in the Oval Office, and in private chats with Putin worldwide.
posted by Harry Caul at 8:12 AM on March 19, 2019 [37 favorites]


And Cohen calling up Putin's press secretary over the Moscow tower. .
posted by BungaDunga at 8:14 AM on March 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


Concertina wire used in the border fence is being stolen and re-purposed for home security in Tijuana.

It's what's been done with border fortifications for decades. DUH.....

That big beautiful wall would in no time be used for storage sheds on the south side of the border.
posted by ocschwar at 8:22 AM on March 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


How a 2007 Clinton Campaign Memo Foreshadowed the Rise of Donald Trump (Jeremy Schulman, Mother Jones)
Twelve years ago today, Mark Penn suggested going after Barack Obama’s “lack of American roots.”

When Mark Penn visited the White House last month to advise President Donald Trump on polling, it wasn’t exactly a surprise. The former strategist for Bill and Hillary Clinton—who insists he’s still a Democrat—had been loudly defending the president for months. Still, it was jarring to see Penn cozying up to the man who has repeatedly said that Hillary should be in prison.

Then again, Penn has long been comfortable with Trump’s divisive style of politics. Exactly 12 years ago today—as the 2008 Democratic primary campaign was getting started—Penn wrote a remarkable memo outlining his vision for how Hillary Clinton could win the nomination. The document, first reported by Joshua Green in The Atlantic, belittled Obama’s “diverse, multicultural” background and his childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii. Penn suggested subtly drawing attention to Obama’s “lack of American roots” by, among other things, using “our logo to make some flags we can give out” […]
Unhappy anniversary?
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:23 AM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


835 pages of Michael Cohen search warrant applications now published.

NBC: Michael Cohen Search Warrants Show Federal Probe Began Nearly a Year Earlier Than Known “The documents show that the first FBI warrant was executed on July 19, 2017, seeking Cohen's Gmail messages from all of 2016 to the present.[…] The search warrants show that Mueller's office was also investigating Cohen for a previously-unknown allegation: that he was acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Cohen has not been charged with that crime.” (Screenshots from Marcy Wheeler of the three separate warrants for FARA violations, but we don’t know for which country.)

The FT’s Kadhim Shubber posted a deep-dive thread into the Cohen docs. n.b. “Curious redaction here. This section deals with money Cohen received via Essential Consultants. Elsewhere, it's fully disclosed that he received cash form Novartis, etc. But here, it references 'foreign sources' but seems to hide their identity”.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:27 AM on March 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


When Mark Penn visited the White House last month to advise President Donald Trump on polling, it wasn’t exactly a surprise.

Given Penn's track record, I hope Trump makes him campaign manager.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:28 AM on March 19, 2019 [12 favorites]


Huh. My state rep's husband is going to be Bernie Sanders's senior adviser and speechwriter. Not sure what to make of that, other than that I did think it was kinda weird for a Colorado state house candidate to get an endorsement from Sanders. Hope this doesn't distract her too much during the legislative session; she's been doing good work.
posted by asperity at 8:28 AM on March 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Twelve years ago today, Mark Penn suggested going after Barack Obama’s “lack of American roots.”
Very much not to defend Mark Penn, but the idea that no one else would have thought to make insinuations about Obama's supposed foreign-ness is transparently nonsense.
posted by neroli at 8:30 AM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


Mod note: Couple deleted; first, re-read the first clause of what neroli rather than attacking them for defending Penn. Second, we are so, SO not going to have a fight about Mark Penn or Clinton's campaign.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:03 AM on March 19, 2019 [12 favorites]


Because the Sanders Campaign thread is now closed:

Bernie Sanders Campaign Announces 10 New Women Hires

Including the super talented Briahna Joy Gray from the wonderful socialist magazine Current Affairs as National Press Secretary!

The Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign has announced 15 new hires in key positions, 10 of whom are women. This comes on the heels of the campaign hiring four key Iowa staffers and three 2016 veterans in New Hampshire last week.

The campaign says that now, every single one of its teams — management, political, policy, organizing, communications, advance, digital, and fundraising — has women, and predominantly women of color, in leadership positions. Overall, the national leadership team is around 70% women.

posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:14 AM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


Sanders also hired David Sirota who’s written hit pieces on Beto, Biden and Harris while insisting it was all just journalism and nothing to do with his association with Bernie. And deleted all his tweets from before February of this year.
posted by chris24 at 9:22 AM on March 19, 2019 [12 favorites]


You're telling me Sanders had the gall to hire someone who supports his candidacy and has objections to other candidates?

Writing negative takes about the more centrist candidates seems like normal behavior for a lefty journalist. And deleting your tweets before gaining a heavily scrutinized role of national prominence seems normal to me too.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:32 AM on March 19, 2019 [14 favorites]


If you’re supporting a candidate then maybe you’re not acting as a journalist.
posted by chris24 at 9:37 AM on March 19, 2019 [14 favorites]


Mod note: If we need a new thread for folks who want to argue about Sanders, go ahead and make one.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:39 AM on March 19, 2019 [13 favorites]


"Never in my life did I think I'd like to see a dictator, but if there's going to be one, I want it to be trump"
An angry Trump supporter attending a Steve Bannon-led pro-border wall rally this week wished that Trump could become a dictator so he could crush Congress and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border
posted by growabrain at 9:40 AM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


The woman in that Bannon rally clip has a stare that I like to call The Eye of the Leopard.
posted by Harry Caul at 9:43 AM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


And deleted all his tweets from before February of this year.

Well, yeah, it looks a little weird if you go from calling for Beto to be the next Speaker of the House to saying he's a centrist scumbag.

The resistance has demobilized. And for Democrats, it’s probably a huge mistake.

I think it's less demobilized and more that it has shifted into pre-2020 mode. That said, there's a good argument to be made for the fact that our long, ridiculous, and non-stop election schedules probably do drain resources from organizing around causes.
posted by asteria at 10:02 AM on March 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


WaPo’s Seung Min Kim reports on the Trump-Bolsonaro presser: “Per pool: @realDonaldTrump says he will look “very, very strongly” at giving Brazil NATO privileges”

Toronto Star’s Daniel Dale has more: “What happened: Trump was asked about giving Brazil "NATO privileges" (though his admin has actually been planning to name Brazil a major non-NATO ally, a MNNA), and Trump said, as he often does when he doesn't know the specifics, that he'll look into it.”

Bloomberg’s Justin Sink runs through the highlights:
Trump in oval:
- says he’s ‘very inclined’ to make brazil major non-nato ally
- says he’ll support brazil bid for oecd
- says all options on table w venezuela
- trades soccer jerseys with bolsonaro
- says: “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be.
NATO membership is a non-starter, of course, but Trump apparently has to show his approval of Brazil’s new fascist leader in the most hyperbolic fashion.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:16 AM on March 19, 2019 [13 favorites]


On Pod Save America Jon Lovettt declared Mayor Pete the love of his life, and then described how Mayor Pete astounded a Norwegian journalist by speaking Norwegian. Mayor Pete read some book by a Norwegian, wanted to read his other books, the books hadn't been translated, so Mayor Pete taught himself Norwegian so he could read the other books.


The latest Pod is also incredibly soothing if you, like me, are grumpy about Biden, Beto, and Bernie sucking the oxygen out of the room.
posted by angrycat at 10:26 AM on March 19, 2019 [25 favorites]


Mayor Pete read some book by a Norwegian

This New Yorker profile of Buttigieg identifies the book as Naïve. Super which might be the most millennial thing ever.
posted by peeedro at 10:48 AM on March 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Here's another pertinent thread by Bruce Wilson: "@nytimes contributor @DLeonhardt's op-ed notes 'The United States, thank goodness, does not have armed citizen militias carrying out regular attacks.' But such citizen militias *do exist*, and Trump has ties to their waiting command structure, the CSPOA..."

This is because they barely have to do anything. They subverted determining the actual result of an election by staging the Brooks Brothers Riot pantomime. The mere suggestion of violence gave the conservative supreme court justices the fantods if you believe their written opinions (I don't....it just gave them the cover to give the presidency to their guy).
posted by srboisvert at 10:53 AM on March 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


Buzzfeed’s Zoe Tillman posted an emoluments suit update: The Justice Department And Trump's Lawyers Argue No One Should Be Able To Sue Him For Profiting From His Hotel:
President Donald Trump's personal lawyers and attorneys from the Justice Department argued Tuesday that no one should be able to sue Trump for profiting from his businesses while he's in office — and for the first time in more than a year, things went well for the president in the case.

The US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by Maryland and the District of Columbia accusing Trump of violating the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the US Constitution by refusing to give up his interest in the Trump International Hotel in Washington. To date, a federal judge in Maryland has repeatedly ruled against Trump.

But the three-judge 4th Circuit panel expressed deep skepticism Tuesday about DC and Maryland's positions on a host of issues, including what exactly they wanted a judge to order Trump to do, whether claims that Trump's hotel had an unfair competitive advantage were too speculative, and whether DC and Maryland — or anyone, for that matter — could bring a lawsuit against a president under the emoluments clauses.
n.b. the 4th Circuit judges in this case are all GOP appointees.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:23 AM on March 19, 2019 [27 favorites]


I think it's less demobilized and more that it has shifted into pre-2020 mode. That said, there's a good argument to be made for the fact that our long, ridiculous, and non-stop election schedules probably do drain resources from organizing around causes.

Plus, well, people have lives. This administration is perpetrating horrifying things on the public nearly every week. Besides, look at the weather we've been having. Are people supposed to rally in blizzards and floods and below-zero temperatures?

I think people have also noticed that petitioning Republicans doesn't do shit to make them reconsider their horrible actions, and aren't wasting their time on it anymore.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:25 AM on March 19, 2019 [14 favorites]


WaPo, ‘A total loser!’: Trump lashes out at George Conway, who has been questioning his mental health, notable for Conway talking about his interactions with the President:
“A total loser!” Trump wrote in the tweet targeting Conway’s husband, a prominent conservative attorney. The president’s tweet also included a dubious assertion from Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, Brad Parscale, that the president “doesn’t even know” his senior adviser’s husband.

But George Conway said in an interview Tuesday that he has had a number of notable interactions with Trump over the past decade, including legal representation and sensitive legal matters since Trump became president. He described the president as “mendacious” and “incompetent” and predicted he would not win reelection.

Conway also suggested his own tweets questioning the president’s mental health were aimed in part at avoiding conflicts with his wife.

“It’s so maddening to watch,” said Conway, a longtime Washington attorney who is well-known in conservative circles. “The mendacity, the incompetence, it’s just maddening to watch. The tweeting is just the way to get it out of the way, so I can get it off my chest and move on with my life that day. That’s basically it. Frankly, it’s so I don’t end up screaming at her about it.”
Oh, well, glad none of this actually matters to you and you’re just getting it out of the way.
In a conversation with Trump at the wedding of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in June 2017, Conway said Trump approached him and complimented him for not taking a job under then-attorney general Jeff Sessions.

“He said to me, I remember it clearly, you were smart not to work for that guy,” George Conway said. “He is so weak.”

Trump then ranted for several minutes that Sessions should have never recused himself from the Mueller investigation. “I told him, I’d heard the recusal issue was pretty clear, that Sessions had to recuse himself,” Conway said. “He took great affront at that.”
...
During that flight, Trump repeatedly quizzed Conway if he should fire Preet Bharara, then the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Conway said. “I said in general, it’s better to have your people in terms of important positions than others,” Conway said. He said the president did not appear motivated by anything other than political machinations. Trump eventually fired Bharara in the spring of 2017.

During the transition, Conway said he also rode in a black SUV with Trump, his wife and Stephen K. Bannon to a costume party at the home of GOP megadonor Rebekah Mercer. Trump had heard about the party and wanted to attend. During the car ride, Conway said the president was fixated on John Bolton’s prominent mustache — and that it was a reason not to pick him as secretary of state. Since then, Trump picked Bolton as his national security adviser.

“He didn’t like the mustache,” Conway said. “He just went on and on about the mustache.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:29 AM on March 19, 2019 [16 favorites]




Mod note: A few deleted. Let's not get off into broad and pretty obvious tangents on stuff like whether today's judges are impartial -- if you want to talk about that, please make a separate thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:45 AM on March 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


From the Trump-Bolsonaro joint press conference this afternoon, via Daniel Dale:
—"We have many views that are similar," Trump says of himself and Bolsonaro, mentioning trade.
—Trump calls on the Maduro forces to "step aside." He calls Maduro "nothing more than a Cuban puppet." He adds, "The twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere," and "hopefully" in the United States too. "The last thing we want in the United States is socialism."
—Trump makes the scheduled announcement that he'll designate Brazil a Major Non-NATO Ally, then adds, off-script, "Or even possibly, if you start thinking about it, maybe a NATO ally." He says he'll have to talk to "a lot of people" to make that one happen.
—Trump gives his second question to the Daily Caller. He rejects the idea of adding seats to the Supreme Court. He is then asked by the Caller about going after social media companies.* He complains about Twitter taking followers away from him.
—Trump makes unfounded and unspecific allegations of "collusion" involving social media companies. "Something has to be going on," he says, adding, "Something's happening with those groups of folks that are running Facebook and Google and Twitter."
* The LAT’s Eli Stokols has more: “Trump, responding to a Q about the Nunes lawsuit: "We have to do something" about social media." Says social media "discrimination" against conservatives "is collusive."”
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:24 PM on March 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


From above: Rosenstein staying "a little longer" at DOJ (Guardian)
And also:  Rosenstein Extending Stay At DOJ Indefinitely—TPM

This fascinates me, because every time someone new is installed into the Attorney General's office, they seem to suddenly decide that the investigation might not be such a bad idea after all.  Just what are they seeing?
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 12:39 PM on March 19, 2019 [51 favorites]


CNN’s Katylin Polantz: “👀Mueller's top appellate lawyer Michael Dreeben tells judge he can't respond to @washingtonpost request to unseal Paul Manafort court docs because he and co-counsel "FACE A PRESS OF OTHER WORK" this week.👀

“(What is keeping him so busy???)” (w/screenshot of motion)

n.b. The mystery appellant case is coming up in the Supreme Court this week (Bloomberg).
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:35 PM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


I got a kick out of this passage in the New Yorker article peeedro linked to above:

...he believes that millennials are suffering from their elders’ short-term thinking on climate change, economics, and other issues. Whoopi Goldberg wondered whether such a case could be made without alienating older Americans...

I know it's anecdote and not data, but my dad who will be 89 this year is really excited about Pete Buttigieg running. He's regularly forwarding me articles and just ordered Buttigieg's book "Shortest Way Home."
posted by maurice at 1:45 PM on March 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


[WaPo]

Trump's administration has a stunning fail rate when it comes to getting his policies implemented with federal judges smacking them down because they don’t meet minimums of legal reasoning.

“the normal ‘win rate’ for administration officials to get new policies implemented with court approval is 70 percent. Under Trump, it has fallen to an almost non-existent 6 percent".
posted by growabrain at 1:46 PM on March 19, 2019 [60 favorites]


Meanwhile back in farm, Devin Nunes is suing Twitter and some accounts called “Devin Nunes Mom” and “Devin Nunes Cow”.

@devincow homepage now has a jpeg at the top with a sign stating
TWITTER CONSPIRACY MEETING TONIGHT
DON'T TELL DEVIN
I laughed.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:47 PM on March 19, 2019 [52 favorites]




Mod note: Comments deleted; seriously make a different thread if you want to argue about Sanders.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:45 PM on March 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


Daily Mail US political correspondent David Martosko found some odd credits in the latest document from the Trump White House:
Interns who helped with the president's economic report apparently include John Cleese, John Snow, Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Steve Rogers, Kathryn Janeway, J.T. (Jabba The) Hutt, and someone's "Aunt May."

I'm guessing John Snow knows nothing.

p. 624 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ERP-2019.pdf
Trump's Council of Economic Advisers insists this report was published like that on purpose. I'm not sure which way would reflect worse on the administration.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:21 PM on March 19, 2019 [31 favorites]


Full results of the CNN nationwide primary poll.
  1. Biden: 28
  2. Sanders: 20
  3. Harris: 12
  4. O'Rourke: 11
  5. Everybody Else: lol
The age split between Biden and Sanders supporters is roughly the same as what we always see. Under 45s have Sanders over Biden 32-19 while over 45s have Biden over Sanders 36-13.

I wonder what age has them closest to tied? Looks to be roughly my age, which makes sense, since I would vote for either of them against Trump pretty unreservedly.
posted by Justinian at 3:38 PM on March 19, 2019


State department briefing open only to "faith based media." No word on what faiths count.
posted by Emera Gratia at 3:38 PM on March 19, 2019 [19 favorites]


State department briefing open only to "faith based media."

As someone who once took a Constitutional Law course, I have questions. Because this strikes me as problematic in multiple ways. I don't see how any court could reasonably uphold this.
posted by suelac at 3:48 PM on March 19, 2019 [40 favorites]


If the Church of Satan isn't on that call my faith in Our Dark Lord will be shaken.
posted by contraption at 3:53 PM on March 19, 2019 [15 favorites]




Daily Mail US political correspondent David Martosko found some odd credits in the latest document from the Trump White House:

I think that there's a theory that says, more or less, that the attitudes and habits of an organization are essentially dictated, both knowingly and unknowingly, by the attitudes and habits of the leadership. In this case, I think we're seeing this in action with the CEA adopting two key features of Trump: 1) lack of attention to detail, and 2) inability to own up to any mistake, no matter how small or inconsequential.
posted by mhum at 4:20 PM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


In this case, I think we're seeing this in action with the CEA adopting two key features of Trump

Hmm, I may need to retract this line of thinking. According to the NYT, the CEA also inserted two jokey names into the list of interns in the 2018 report (giant pdf) as well, specifically J. T. Kirk and J-L. Picard. Maybe it really is a running gag? Although, if it is a running gag, it appears to have started only in 2018 since the 2017 report (another giant pdf) doesn't seem to have jokey names in the intern list.
posted by mhum at 4:39 PM on March 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Elijah Cummings in the WaPo, The White House hasn’t turned over a single piece of paper to my committee.

There will be no cooperation with oversight committees, get on with the subpoenas already.
posted by peeedro at 5:06 PM on March 19, 2019 [48 favorites]


Harry Enten on a bit from the CNN poll showing Sanders' favorability down to roughly even among the general electorate. Chris Hayes broadens the point to politics in general:There's a broader lesson here about the fickleness of public opinion. I see people argue all the time things like "Medicare for All is popular!" and that's true! But also public opinion is not fixed and is only really tested in the crucbile of sustained political battle.

We saw the same thing with Clinton in, say, 2014 vs 2016. Very popular... until she entered the race at which point her popularity dropped rapidly. This is why we should always look skeptically at statements about how popular a politician is when they aren't actually running for anything at present (assuming sufficient name recognition). Because it is unlikely to last.
posted by Justinian at 5:13 PM on March 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


Worth keeping in mind that since we don't have a national Democratic primary, national primary polling is of somewhat questionable value.

Poll IA, NH, SC, CA, NV. After that, we're probably down to only four candidates.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:28 PM on March 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


The sooner we consign IA/NH's prominence in the process to the dustbin of history the better as far as I'm concerned. Could you pick a less representative sample of the Democratic electorate? No, really, could you?
posted by Justinian at 5:33 PM on March 19, 2019 [27 favorites]


CNN poll showing Sanders' favorability down... There's a broader lesson here about the fickleness of public opinion.

There's more going on here than fickleness. Plenty of people who thought Sanders was the best candidate for 2016, do not think he's the best for 2020, and not because they're bored with him or they've changed their minds. The field is different now; the circumstances are not the same. Believing "Sanders was the best candidate in 2016" is not the same as thinking, "Sanders is the best presidential candidate in any year that he's running for the office."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 5:42 PM on March 19, 2019 [46 favorites]


I used Amazon to preorder the edition of "The Mueller report" that the Washington Post announced they were publishing. I think the "release date" it originally showed was March 26th.

I just got this message in my email...
We have received new release date information for the item in the order below. The release date has been changed by the publisher and we want to provide you with the updated release date. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this delay. We'll keep your pre-order open on your account and you'll receive a confirmation when the item is available for download.* As a reminder, you can change, cancel, or view the status of your orders in Your Orders on Amazon.com.

Your new pre-order release date:
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:52 PM on March 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


... some odd credits in the latest document from the Trump White House...
There is some odd content in that economic report. How often is state-sanctioned murder usually mentioned in these things?

Chapter 8, Markets versus Socialism, "Socialism's Track Record" section:
The socialist narrative emphasizes exploitation and class struggle, which in an agricultural economy refers to the power dynamic that determines the division of agricultural income between landlords and farm workers. State farms purport to end the exploitation by eliminating the landlords, known as kulaks in the USSR. (26)

(26) With landlords resisting the seizure of their property, the state often imprisoned or murdered landlords (Conquest 1986; Rummel 2011).
The CEA thinks B. Sanders is a worthy foe; in the same chapter, an extended cameo:
- "Senator Sanders has made specific proposals for the taxation of capital in the United States," as shown in Table 8-2.

-- Then, "He has also proposed adding 24 points to the top estate tax rate, even though the U.S. rate is already well above Nordic rates."

--- Per a footnote, "Senator Sanders, who is the leading socialist in Federal politics today, proposes to repeal the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced the combined Federal-State statutory corporate rate by 13 percentage points (Bollier 2018)."

---- Want to learn more? "The other rate proposals are reported on Senator Sander’s website (http://sanders.senate.gov) and by Cole and Greenberg (2016)."

Maybe one of the pseudonymous interns is secretly feelin' the Bern.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:54 PM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


Each new pronouncement from your American administration is more bone chilling than the last, Iris Gambol.
posted by Yowser at 6:00 PM on March 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


The resistance has demobilized. And for Democrats, it’s probably a huge mistake.

HR1 probably should have been broken into separate bills and given more intuitive names. I think you would have seen protests for a gerrymandering specific bill. I don't know who thinks these things through for the Democrats, but they do a consistently lousy job selling themselves.
posted by xammerboy at 6:37 PM on March 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


NBC: Ex-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Explains Why He Considered Taping a Call With Trump "We considered […] taping the president.[…] I wanted to make sure, because I had a certain amount of mistrust. It was an odd phone call to be making, it would be my word against him if he decides to say something inappropriate. […] It's something we discussed and talked about, did not think it was appropriate, did not think it was the right thing to do, so we didn't do it."

On another topic, many thanks to Oyéah for making a new Hyucking Hyuck thread on MeTa.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:49 PM on March 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


She was the victim in Jeffrey Epstein’s secret plea deal. She didn’t even know it. [CW: sexual assault]
(Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald)
The lawyer for the 16-year-old girl who state prosecutors now say was the victim attached to the mysterious plea deal given to multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein says neither he nor his client was ever informed that it was her case that ended Epstein’s prosecution.

The victim, who is now 31, wasn’t among Epstein’s youngest victims, but she was among those who were more brutally sexually assaulted, repeatedly, by both Epstein and others, according to records reviewed by the Miami Herald.

“I was never told that any of my 16 victim clients were part of Epstein’s charges in state court,’’ Robert Josefsberg said. “I can tell you that when the judge asked the prosecutor whether the victims were informed, and she said that they were, that mine were not.’’

The revelation, which comes 11 years after the case was closed, raises more troubling questions about how federal and state prosecutors misled Epstein’s victims, the public and the judge who sentenced him in 2008.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:13 PM on March 19, 2019 [51 favorites]


There's more going on here than fickleness. Plenty of people who thought Sanders was the best candidate for 2016, do not think he's the best for 2020, and not because they're bored with him or they've changed their minds. The field is different now; the circumstances are not the same. Believing "Sanders was the best candidate in 2016" is not the same as thinking, "Sanders is the best presidential candidate in any year that he's running for the office.

This is essentially where I am. I've been saying since just after the 2016 dust settled that the vitriol from a certain segment of the party he'd been building up wasn't going anywhere. Friends thought I was exaggerating, but I could see it in how a lot of Clinton supporters were speaking about him. The distaste is intense. From what I understand favorability typically doesn't start to uptick again once it's had a significant regression.

I still think he's the best candidate, but will concede that he's probably not the right candidate for the moment.

Warren and/or (potentially) a fleshed-out Buttigieg run look promising. Otherwise I'll be holding my nose and swallowing the medicine.
posted by dreamlanding at 8:09 PM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


HR1 probably should have been broken into separate bills and given more intuitive names. I think you would have seen protests for a gerrymandering specific bill. I don't know who thinks these things through for the Democrats, but they do a consistently lousy job selling themselves.

Neither approach would lead to any new laws being passed, and breaking up the bill specifically to drive up energy for a lost cause is just going to burn people out and frustrate them even more, take valuable time away from investigating Trump and his oligarchs, and goad Trump into committing even more outrageous and horrific stunts to force all the media attention back on himself. We're still over a year and a half out from the election, and it doesn't make sense to exhaust ourselves this early.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 8:21 PM on March 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


Neither approach would lead to any new laws being passed

The consolidated HR1 approach at least generated a long list of House Republicans who voted against all of the things in HR1.
posted by holgate at 8:43 PM on March 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


15 years ago, Elizabeth Warren fought to protect families facing bankruptcy.
The person she was fighting against: Joe Biden
More stuff from Biden's past: Biden’s tough talk on 1970s school desegregation plan could get new scrutiny in today’s Democratic Party (Matt Viser, WaPo)
posted by mbrubeck at 9:13 PM on March 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


HR1 probably should have been broken into separate bills and given more intuitive names.

No, because passing the full thing is worth talking about.

Now it's time to break out fifty separate bills with broad-appeal names and push them through quickly, so that Republicans have to be on record voting against "Voting Access," "Nonpartisan Districting," "American Money for American Elections," "Ethical Justice," and "Know Your President's Financial History."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:18 PM on March 19, 2019 [17 favorites]


I am worried about Biden. I don’t think he has the capacity to win the nomination. If he somehow will, I have the feeling that he will join the Dukakis, Gore, Kerry line of honorable losers.
posted by growabrain at 9:37 PM on March 19, 2019 [14 favorites]


As a reminder, this is what happened in the 2012 Republican primary, and this is what happened in the 2016 Republican primary. We are currently at the equivalent of the far left edge of both. We don't know anything yet. If there is any lesson to be learned from the last decade of polling, it's that we know far, far less than almost everyone claims.
posted by chortly at 9:43 PM on March 19, 2019 [18 favorites]


I think Secretary of State would be an excellent cap to Joe Biden's career.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:43 PM on March 19, 2019 [24 favorites]


‘Heil Hitler’: 30 Gravestones Vandalized At Jewish Cemetery In Massachusetts
[...] Among the graffiti written in black marker were “Heil Hitler,” “Hitler was right,” and “Oy vey, this is MAGA Country.” [...]
I'm not saying that Trump supporters are antisemites, but it's interesting that antisemites think they are.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:06 PM on March 19, 2019 [53 favorites]


When Trump Blocks You on Twitter, He’s Violating the First Amendment (Joshua Geltzer and Laurence Tribe, Politico Magazine)
Trump’s threats to America’s core traditions of freedom of speech and of the press have taken many forms. He repeatedly attacks the media, in language reminiscent of dictators, as “the enemy of the people.” He has also targeted particular journalists and media outlets whose coverage displeases him. Trump stripped CNN reporter Jim Acosta of his White House press credentials in retaliation for his vigorous questioning, and threatened to revoke the licenses of television stations whose reporting he dislikes. He pressured his administration to oppose the merger between AT&T and Time Warner not, many suspected, because of legitimate antitrust concerns but because of personal animus against CNN (owned by Time Warner). He reportedly sought to raise shipping rates for Amazon because of similar animus against the Washington Post (owned by Amazon’s owner, Jeff Bezos). He retaliated against American journalists he dislikes by barring them from covering his dinner with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. And, most recently, his administration is reported to have assembled a list of journalists and lawyers to interrogate at America’s southern border. [...]

A small subset of the president’s actions—like the rescission of Acosta’s White House press credentials—have been challenged in court, where Trump promptly lost. But most will never see the inside of a courtroom.

That makes the argument to be held in a New York federal court on March 26 especially significant. The legal dispute began when some Twitter users found themselves blocked by the president’s @realDonaldTrump Twitter account after they tweeted comments about Trump or his policies that he evidently disliked. They sued, represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute and alleging that the president’s blocking of them on Twitter violated their First Amendment right to free speech. A federal district court ruled in their favor. Trump appealed. Now the case will be heard by a three-judge appeals court.
Alarm over leaked US database targeting journalists and immigration activists (Guardian)
That database, part of something called Operation Secure Line, listed 59 advocates and journalists tied to the migrant caravan, according to leaked documents obtained by local news station NBC 7. [...]

“I have not seen this kind of systematic targeting of journalists and advocates in this way,” said the ACLU staff attorney Esha Bhandari. “I think it is very troubling, very disturbing.” Bhandari said there was a link between the database and the Trump administration’s arrests of immigrant activists and advocates, which could have a chilling effect on people exercising their right to free speech. “It means that the debate about immigrants’ rights, about the treatment of immigrants, about the treatment of asylum seekers, is going to be suppressed or censored because the people who are speaking out with a voice that’s critical of the government are going to be singled out for harsher treatment or punished,” Bhandari said.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:47 AM on March 20, 2019 [16 favorites]


Document: Judge Clarifies Preliminary Injunction of Transgender Service Ban (Lawfare)
On March 19, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia clarified in a filing that the court's nationwide preliminary injuction of President Trump's transgender service ban remains in effect, in response to the Defense Department's announcement that it would begin enforcing the policy in April. The notice is available in full here and below.
Emphasis added.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:54 AM on March 20, 2019 [12 favorites]




The further politicisation of a nominally independent judiciary is not even subtle.
posted by jaduncan at 5:21 AM on March 20, 2019 [25 favorites]


The emoluments suit appeared to face a rough reception in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

From the article:
One of those judges suggested that the suit could be a precursor to attempting to drive the president from office through impeachment. And two of the judges came close to accusing the Maryland-based district court judge handling the suit, Clinton-appointee Peter Messitte, of impropriety for trying to engineer the challenge rather than responding to legal issues presented to him by the officials who brought the suit: the attorneys general of Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Does this seem... weird to any law-persons here, for a court of this stature? Who would argue seriously that as a possible "precursor" to something else, the per se merits of a case should not be considered? 'Cause I for one would like to be able to argue that my next speeding ticket be thrown out because it might be a precursor to railroading me for murder.

Also, to me it seems like the judges' pointing this out is a bad idea in itself. This suit "could be a precursor to attempting to drive the president from office through impeachment", you say? Please, elaborate on why this case would make a particularly good precursor for such a case.
posted by Rykey at 5:59 AM on March 20, 2019 [53 favorites]


From the article:

One of those judges suggested that the suit could be a precursor to attempting to drive the president from office through impeachment.


IANAL, but boy howdy, but that sounds like an admission that Trump is in open violation of the Constitution, and also that the judge doesn't want to address the case on its merits because of disliking the political implications for their preferred side.
posted by Gelatin at 6:08 AM on March 20, 2019 [40 favorites]


Trump’s Tax Cut Won’t Power the Growth He Predicts, Officials Concede (NYT)
They also include steps to roll back regulations — many of which are at the state level and out of the control of Congress — that the administration says serve as a barrier to more Americans working. It cites occupational licensing rules, which restrict workers from entering certain fields without certification, and regulations that raise the cost of child care, such as caps on the ratio of children to staff in day care centers.

“One way to reduce the financial burdens of child care for both single and married females considering working is to reduce the direct costs of care,” the report says, adding, “Regulations that impose minimum standards on providers can decrease the availability and increase the cost of obtaining care, thus serving as a disincentive to work.”
Or, child care subsidies (Brookings Institution), without the entrenched sexism noted above that erases men from parenting responsibilities:
Most young children in the U.S. have parents who work outside the home. Both parents work in 56 percent of married families with children under six. For single mothers raising a young child the employment rate is 65 percent. It is 83 percent for single fathers who are the custodial parent. Childcare is a necessity for these families, which in aggregate constitute 60 percent of families with young children. [...]

There are a range of consequences of the high costs and low affordability of childcare. Among them are deleterious effects on children of unregulated and often substandard childcare;[9] [...]
See also: Why Subsidized Child Care is Vital (U Chicago), Maintaining Work: The Influence of Child Care Subsidies on Child Care-Related Work Disruptions (J Fam Issues. 2011 Mar; 32(3): 346–368.)
posted by Little Dawn at 6:14 AM on March 20, 2019 [12 favorites]


I am not opposed to thinking there are judges in this case who are putting their thumb on the scale, but some intense questioning about who can pursue this and under what circumstances isn’t remotely unusual or surprising. The question of standing might be the most significant thing in law that the press does the most shit job covering, and suits over emollients are pretty lacking in precedent. If anything is going to result in a wide ranging and often random series of questioning I think this sort of new ground is it.
posted by phearlez at 6:42 AM on March 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


The question of standing might be the most significant thing in law that the press does the most shit job covering

And justiciability, as discussed in this 1950 law review:
As a working hypothesis for carrying out the doctrine of "separation of powers" which is implicit in the Constitution, the United States Supreme Court early adopted the "political question" guide.2 That is, when the issue is one on which final decision rests with the executive or legislative branches, the Court will not take jurisdiction. The controversy is non-justiciable, for the reason that it is a question for the "political departments" and not for the judiciary to decide.
Robert E. Giles, Federal Jurisdiction -- Political Question -- Justiciability of Political Rights, 29N.C. L. Rev.72 (1950). Available at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol29/iss1/17
posted by Little Dawn at 6:58 AM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


Does this seem... weird to any law-persons here, for a court of this stature? Who would argue seriously that as a possible "precursor" to something else, the per se merits of a case should not be considered?

Also, from the Congressional Research Service, The Political Question Doctrine: Justiciability and the Separation of Powers (2014, at 2)
Understanding exactly when the doctrine applies, however, can be difficult.13 The “precise contours of the doctrine are murky and unsettled,”14 without a clear consensus among the members of the Supreme Court or academia.15 The Supreme Court itself has noted that the political question doctrine has caused “[m]uch confusion”; and determining if it applies to a given case requires “a delicate exercise in constitutional interpretation.”
So my guess is that references to impeachment in Congress as the ultimate enforcement of the emoluments clause is hinting at the political question doctrine as a possible way to dismiss the case for lack of federal court jurisdiction.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:19 AM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


I'm following Kirsten Gillibrand (and Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren) on Twitter, and damn it but I'm sick to the death of every.single.statement by KG filling up with replies braying and caterwauling about Al Franken. Same with Daily Kos - diaries discussing Gililbrand and her platform inevitably get brigaded with shitposts.

If they think they are convincing me that KG is the devil incarnate they are wrong; it makes me like her even more. How's that for a perverse incentive? Let it go, folks! Franken is gone and replaced by another Democrat! All your whining is just pissing a lot of us off! And some of us want to read about actual policy platforms without endless background noise.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:53 AM on March 20, 2019 [39 favorites]


NBC: Schiff: Real Question Is If Trump Is Under the Influence of a Foreign Power
[I]n an interview with NBC News, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said he is steering his investigation in a new direction to focus on it — and he will demand any relevant evidence compiled by the FBI or Mueller's team.

The California Democrat also expressed concern that Mueller hasn't fully investigated Trump's possible financial history with Russia.[…]

Schiff told NBC News he is not convinced that Mueller's Russia investigation — tasked with examining whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian election interference — delved deeply into Trump's personal finances.

"The concern I've had in terms of the scope of the Mueller investigation is that the president has tried to draw a red line around certain aspects of his finances," Schiff said. "That's not a line that can be observed and still protect the country."[…]

He added: "If the president has been successful in chilling the DOJ from looking at his finances, then the Congress needs to do it… Any way in which this president or those around him might be compromised by a foreign hostile power is front and center in our probe."[…]

Schiff said he is particularly concerned about the Trump Tower Moscow project, the real estate development Cohen was pitching to the Kremlin while Trump was running for president.

He noted that when it first emerged that Cohen had emailed Putin's office seeking help, Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Pescov, said he never answered the email. But it later emerged in court documents that an assistant to Pescov did respond, emailing Cohen and asking him to call, which he did.

"So here we had the Kremlin facilitating a cover up by the president of the United States," Schiff said. "This needs to be exposed."
Another ares that concerns Schiff is whether or not Mueller performed "diligent investigation" of Trump money-laundering for Russian oligarchs through Deutsche Bank.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:05 AM on March 20, 2019 [33 favorites]


In defense of Kirsten Gillibrand: Liberals can quit harassing her over Al Franken now (Amanda Marcotte, Salon)
If Democrats want to beat the groper-in-chief in 2020, they need to stop defending Al Franken's misdeeds […]

Why [harp on the question]? Not because it's important, but because editors and producers know this idiotic controversy will drive clicks, ratings and ad dollars,. And that's true because some Democratic voters, donors and operatives continue to obsess over this issue, and use bad-faith arguments about "due process" or conspiracy theories to justify what is their transparent belief that Franken should just been allowed to get away with it.

The factual, dry numbers — 35 Democratic senators, eight accusers — may surprise readers. The way this story gets told and retold, both on mainstream and social media, leaves the impression that Gillibrand singlehandedly strong-armed Franken into resigning his Senate seat after a single, unsubstantiated accusation from a conservative operative. […]

If Democratic voters and donors are serious about defeating Trump in 2020, they have to let this stupid controversy go. Every time an undecided voter hears a liberal railing on about how Kirsten Gillibrand is evil and Al Franken was railroaded, they are more inclined to believe that no one in politics really cares about sexual harassment, and to conclude that they might as well vote for Donald Trump, who at least isn't a sanctimonious hypocrite about it.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:09 AM on March 20, 2019 [36 favorites]


The precise contours of the doctrine are murky and unsettled without a clear consensus among the members of the Supreme Court or academia.

The emoluments clause says the president won't receive benefits of any kind from a foreign power. It doesn't say what the punishment is or how the rule should be enforced. There is no precedent of the law being used to serve as a guideline.

It's crystal clear the president's hotel and other businesses are unconstitutional, but the courts are saying they're not sure what to do about it or how. That's a really bad excuse for abdicating one's responsibility to uphold the law.
posted by xammerboy at 8:10 AM on March 20, 2019 [31 favorites]


on Twitter ... brigaded with shitposts

I wish it wasn't the case, but those two things are never going to become disconnected. It's like hoping for meaningful conversation in the YouTube comments, or your community FaceBook page, or the comments below online articles for your local paper. Trolling seems to be hardwired into our DNA.
posted by diogenes at 8:14 AM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mod note: Couple comments deleted; fine to post the occasional update about where the twitter troll armies are being directed, but again let's not drive off into general primaries stuff in here please.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:15 AM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


Jared and Ivanka: Moderates? Forget it. These vacuous looters epitomize the Trump presidency (Heather Digby Parton, Salon)
Vicky Ward's "Kushner, Inc." paints an unsurprising but chilling portrait of the White House power couple
They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was the kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby"
In the new book "Kushner, Inc." by Vicky Ward, Jared and Ivanka -- people so famous everyone refers to them by their first names -- are revealed as exactly what one would expect: spoiled, arrogant, narcissistic, corrupt and recklessly overconfident. As tempting as it is to mock them, it would be a mistake. These two vacuous socialites are a perfect reflection of the inept celebrity president who sits in the White House where all three wield unimaginable power over the lives of every person on this planet.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:15 AM on March 20, 2019 [30 favorites]


Some intense questioning about who can pursue this and under what circumstances isn’t remotely unusual or surprising.

Yes, but unfortunately those questions seem to be taking the entirety of the presidential term to answer. The Supreme Court could and should have heard this case on day two of Trump's presidency.
posted by xammerboy at 8:17 AM on March 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


It's crystal clear the president's hotel and other businesses are unconstitutional, but the courts are saying they're not sure what to do about it or how. That's a really bad excuse for abdicating one's responsibility to uphold the law.

The more so because, as everyone knows, the Judiciary branch reserved the right to decide what is Constitutional and what isn't in the landmark Marbury v Madison decision.

The Courts absolutely get to say "the Constitution says you can't do that." And as noted, at least one Republican judge as much as admitted Trump is in open violation of the Emoluments Clause. They just don't like the implications of holding the leader of their team to the clear letter of the law.
posted by Gelatin at 8:19 AM on March 20, 2019 [33 favorites]


Gorsuch Provides Decisive 5th Vote In Case Interpreting Treaty With Indian Tribe (Nina Totenberg for NPR, March 20, 2019)
Every year, the Supreme Court hears dozens of cases, and while there will usually be a few blockbuster opinions, the majority garner little media attention. But these more obscure decisions can often illustrate something interesting, even unexpected, about one of the justices. And so it was on Tuesday with Justice Neil Gorsuch and a relatively obscure and underplayed Indian treaty case (PDF).

On this conservative court, Gorsuch has been one of the most conservative voices. But in cases involving Indian treaties and rights, he is most often counted among those sympathetic to Indian claims.

On Tuesday, Gorsuch split from his conservative colleagues, siding with the court's more liberal members in a case involving the Yakama Tribe and its right under an 1855 treaty to travel the public roads without being taxed on the goods brought to the reservation.

Not only did he provide the decisive fifth vote in the case, he wrote an important concurring opinion for himself and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the leader of the court's liberal wing.

For those familiar with Gorsuch's record, his vote was not a surprise. He is, after all, the only westerner on the Supreme Court; indeed, prior to his 2017 appointment to the court, he served for 11 years on the federal court of appeals based in Denver — a court that covers six states and encompasses 76 recognized Indian tribes.
First, I'm glad that Gorsuch's position as "one of the most conservative voices" on the SCOTUS was included, to counter the "what-if" comments from people who were trying to counter the "liberal outrage" at Gorsuch's nomination. But second, it's interesting to see him vary from his conservative colleagues, if on a "smaller" case.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:30 AM on March 20, 2019 [20 favorites]


Meanwhile, D.C.'s Female Judges Are Central To The Russia Imbroglio, Often Behind The Scenes (Carrie Johnson for NPR, March 20, 2019)
Years from now, when people look back on the aftermath of Russia's attack on the 2016 election, a key part of that history will have been written by women.

Most of the federal judges in Washington, D.C. — who have been quietly managing the grand jury process and presiding over arraignments and guilty pleas for nearly two years — happen to be women.
The article goes on to profile judges Amy Berman Jackson, Beryl Howell, Dabney Friedrich, and to a lesser degree, Dabney Friedrich.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:35 AM on March 20, 2019 [12 favorites]


From upthread:

Would be interested in the composition of Beto vs Bernie's donations. Specifically, across how many individual donations and what was the average and median size of each donation? Geographical information would be interesting as well, but pretty sure that's not the sort of thing made public.

Some new info available on this:

@BetoORourke reveals to supporters in NH that he had 128k unique contributors for an average of $47 a person in the first 24 hours.

By comparison- @BernieSanders had $5.9 million from 223k donors for an average of $27 a person in the first 24 hours.

posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:09 AM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


Folks in that linked twitter thread are doing a good job of analyzing how little information that actually is, including:
  • The claim by the Beto campaign was about "unique contributions," not contributors, so it's even less clear how many individual persons contributed, and
  • it's not yet possible to know how many of those were maxed out donations of $2,800, and how many were tiny $1 donations, and that's important - or to put it in my own words, the mean doesn't tell us anything without the median
  • One person did a further analysis on Beto's numbers by predicting how many small donors he may have had based on prior campaign data.
I have to say though, that among all that interesting discussion, this:
Documentation for all candidates will be published between April 1 & April 15 at http://fec.gov Until then you have to take ALL candidates at their word. Knowing it’s all public in a month, not good strategy to make numbers up.
strikes me as something that was blindingly obvious in 2015 and remarkably unaware in 2019.
posted by solotoro at 9:44 AM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mod note: A few comments deleted. If you want to fight about Sanders please make a separate thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:46 AM on March 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


Speaking of Senator Gillibrand, she and Sen. Cory Gardener proudly announced that they're introducing legislation that would limit opioid prescriptions to seven days, down from 30. It has not gone over well on the twitterverse. And I have to say, this is a hard line issue for me, if this goes through, not only will I vote against her, I will actively work against her. (And him, should he reach for national prominence, and any Senator who votes for this.) None of them are trained pain specialists, none of them have to pay a doctor 160 a month now, when before, low grade pain killers were refillable. Now, you have to take a hand written prescription to the pharmacy, who will then act like they're not going to fill it, then will give you a lecture. All for a single 10mg hydrocodone a day.

If I had to do that every week? Lose a day of work every week? Pay 160 every week until I hit my 12k deductible? Would they prefer I be unemployed, homeless and in a wheelchair? Because that's how you get me unemployable, homeless and in a wheelchair.

That's insane. This legislation is insane. She is clearly a puritan who thinks she knows what's best for people, despite having zero medical training. I am furious. Furious. I am tired of Senators making medical decisions for me, whether it's my uterus or my spine.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:53 AM on March 20, 2019 [136 favorites]


Mod note: Couple comments deleted. I get this is all over the place right now but if folks want to talk opioids or Gillibrand, please make a separate thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:13 AM on March 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


How to Survive the 2020 Presidential Campaign Without Losing Your Mind

"After a while, you might notice we are no closer to impeachment, the results of the Mueller investigation, or picking the Democratic nominee than we were last week.
“If you do it for a month you realize, nothing really changed,” he said. “I’m writing the same shit every day.”

posted by jenfullmoon at 10:42 AM on March 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


Jared and Ivanka: Moderates? Forget it. These vacuous looters epitomize the Trump presidency

Jared is a high-end slum lord.

AP: NYC Official: Kushner Firm Flouted Rules, Endangered Tenants
New York Oversight Committee Chair Ritchie Torres said his investigation showed that the firm once run by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been renting apartments to hundreds of tenants in nine buildings with certificates of occupancy that expired months or years ago. Torres also said that the company has been trying to push low-paying tenants out of its buildings and didn’t want the regulatory scrutiny that comes with inspections required to renew the certificates.

“The goal here is a concerted campaign to evade scrutiny,” said Torres at a news conference outside the Kushner Cos. headquarters at 666 Fifth Avenue. “The company is engaged in what I call the weaponization of construction — the use of construction as a weapon for harassing tenants out of their apartments.”[…]

The Kushner Cos. was fined $210,000 by city regulators last year after an Associated Press report found that the company had submitted paperwork to regulators that claimed it had no low-paying, rent-stabilized tenants in dozens of its buildings when it, in fact, had hundreds. The false paperwork allowed the company to avoid inspections and other scrutiny during construction work that critics have said are often used by landlords to chase low-paying renters out.
AP, a year ago: AP Exclusive: Kushner Cos. filed false NYC housing paperwork
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:53 AM on March 20, 2019 [17 favorites]


Some wonk needs to write “The Rise of the Single-Issue Candidate” about the 2020 Democratic field hosting campaigns like Inslee for the environment, Yang for UBI, Williamson for reparations, and now memetic Mike Gravel for pushing the left-most candidates even further left. The presence of single issue candidates is even more pronounced by the DNC’s reforms to be more inclusive in the first round of debates and the usual modern advances in communications and information distribution.
posted by Apocryphon at 11:21 AM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Nate Silver:
Which candidates' announcements got the most press coverage? Looks like the order is roughly speaking

1. Bernie
2. Beto
gap
3. Harris
4. Warren
gap
5. Booker
6. Klobuchar
big gap
Everyone else.
posted by octothorpe at 11:31 AM on March 20, 2019 [2 favorites]




The Kushner Cos. was fined $210,000 by city regulators

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to launder some of that money through the city."
posted by rhizome at 11:43 AM on March 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


Trump on Mueller report: 'Let it come out' (Politico)
President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia probe to be made public, expressing confidence that it will vindicate him. "Let it come out. Let people see it," the president said, though he added that it's up to Attorney General William Barr on whether the report will be released for public view.

The president added that his supporters also want to see the report. "I want to see the report. You know who wants to see it? The tens of millions of people that love the fact that we have the greatest economy we've ever had," he said. "I look forward to seeing the report."
It's de ja vu all over again: Trump says he told House GOP to ‘play along’ on Mueller report vote (Politico)
“On the recent non-binding vote (420-0) in Congress about releasing the Mueller Report, I told leadership to let all Republicans vote for transparency,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Makes us all look good and doesn’t matter. Play along with the game!”
posted by Little Dawn at 11:50 AM on March 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


Nate Cohn writes in the NYT: Can Polls Be Predictive This Early? Yes, if Old Rules Still Apply.

The headline sums it up but its a good read if you're way too into this stuff like someone who isn't me I swear.
posted by Justinian at 11:52 AM on March 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


YouGov has a graphic showing all the 2020 Dems favorability (and Trump).

Trump is at -14. Every Democrat is between -1 (Buttgieg) and -12 (Gabbard)... except Biden at +13. As the favorability posts yesterday pointed out that's likely to drop some once he gets in for real but it is still what Biden supporters are likely to point at in terms of electability. Because it isn't that he's the most progressive of all the candidates, which one can only assume was the result of some sort of fever dream on Biden's part.

Oh yeah, and Howard Schultz is at -20. Considerably worse than even Trump. Because everyone hates you, Howard.
posted by Justinian at 11:59 AM on March 20, 2019 [14 favorites]


Deutsche Welle: Germany: US ambassador Richard Grenell should be expelled, says FDP deputy leader
Wolfgang Kubicki, the deputy chairman of the opposition Free Democrats (FDP), said Richard Grenell's repeated interference in German sovereignty should prompt Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to immediately declare Grenell persona non grata.

"Any US diplomat who acts like a high commissioner of an occupying power must learn that our tolerance also knows its limits," said Kubicki, who is also one of five deputy speakers of Germany's Bundestag parliament.[…]

Carsten Schneider, caucus manager of the Social Democrats (SPD) within the parliament, told the German news agency DPA on Tuesday that "Mr Grenell is a complete diplomatic failure."

Grenell's behavior, said Schneider, reminded him of "a flail," a farmyard term for somebody who thrashes around wildly, adding that "Mr Grenell damages trans-Atlantic relations with his repeated clumsy provocations."[…]

Michael Grosse-Brömer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative alliance (CDU/CSU), urged Grenell to show restraint.

"If one keeps an overall view, many comments made are more coherent than those of the American ambassador, if he thinks he has to comment on something every week," said Grosse-Brömer.
As for what set this round of condemnation off, the Fox News headline runs “US bristles at Germany's defense budget plans after it falls short”.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:01 PM on March 20, 2019 [14 favorites]


Schultz is a stalking horse. He might stay in until the convention, writing his travel expenses off his taxes, but he'll ultimately drop out. He's just making sure certain things get asked and talked about, kind of like the Devin Nunes Cow lawsuit.
posted by rhizome at 12:02 PM on March 20, 2019




Politico, quoted by Little Dawn: “On the recent non-binding vote (420-0) in Congress about releasing the Mueller Report, I told leadership to let all Republicans vote for transparency,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Makes us all look good and doesn’t matter. Play along with the game!”

"My plan all along" is what I'd expect him to say about it regardless, but it's probably mostly true this time. As soon as I learned how much Republican support the bill had, I was skeptical. I'm still unsure that it was the right move for them strategically, because I think the more effective approach is for them to keep moving the Overton window in the direction of "We love our criminal president, so we'll make a big show of covering up his crimes" rather than "We love our innocent president, so we'll make a big show of transparency".

But if nothing else, Individual-1 being so blatant about the con has to be added to the mountainous evidence for "not quite all there". It's literally equivalent to telling one's fellow poker players "I only have a pair but I think I'll bluff this round. I raise!" and inwardly considering oneself a tactical genius for being so bold as to bluff.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:13 PM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Conway's husband knows how to drive Trump crazy

My question is, will Kellyanne have more personal integrity than Ted Cruz did after Trump insulted his wife and father?

RON HOWARD VOICE: She won't.
posted by Rykey at 12:17 PM on March 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


The precise contours of the doctrine are murky and unsettled without a clear consensus among the members of the Supreme Court or academia.

The emoluments clause says the president won't receive benefits of any kind from a foreign power. It doesn't say what the punishment is or how the rule should be enforced. There is no precedent of the law being used to serve as a guideline.

It's crystal clear the president's hotel and other businesses are unconstitutional, but the courts are saying they're not sure what to do about it or how. That's a really bad excuse for abdicating one's responsibility to uphold the law.
posted by xammerboy at 10:10 AM on March 20 [18 favorites +] [!]


I get the frustration, but IA almost AL, and there's a pretty good reason for their reticence, one that's got nothing to do with their political affiliation.

That reason is: say they declare that yes, indeed, Trump's hotels are in violation of the emoluments clause. Say, even, implausibly, that SCOTUS affirms that decision on appeal. Then what? Then nothing. Trump's in control of the enforcement apparati.

Marbury taught the Court that it could rule on Constitutional issues just like colonial courts had done. But Worchester v. Georgia taught the Court that without a willing executive, its opinions are just so much paper. And issuing a decision from a court of appeal or the highest court in the land which you're pretty sure is going to fall dead the moment it's published is a bad look that SCOTUS has historically tried to avoid.
posted by TheProfessor at 12:20 PM on March 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


I have been and am really, really suspicious of George Conway, like Michael McKean.
posted by rhizome at 12:33 PM on March 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


My question is, will Kellyanne have more personal integrity than Ted Cruz did after Trump insulted his wife and father?

I don't think this question applies, because I get the feeling that this is all a big game/joke to the Conways. Like they'll get together for dinner later and give each other a high five because they finally got Trump to call him out. They'll probably start drafting his next tweet.
posted by mikepop at 12:46 PM on March 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


Jackie Calmes:
Trump has turned his speech at a government tank-mfg plant in Ohio, with the defense secretary in tow, into an extended attack on John McCain, a decorated military vet & POW--for voting agst an Obamacare repeal, for favoring an Iraq war based on "lies" and more.
It got worse...

Trump claims of McCain, "I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted. I didn't get a thank you."

It does seem the audience at this tank plant has gotten more subdued, the applause muted and less frequent, since unexpectedly Trump launched into his marathon attack on the dead John McCain.
I mean it's hard to precisely quantify how unhinged Trump is but this seems pretty damn loopy.
posted by octothorpe at 12:53 PM on March 20, 2019 [38 favorites]


WaPo: Trump could be left off some states’ ballots in 2020 if these bills become law

Has anyone opined as to what leaving Trump off the ballot might do to turnout and downballot races in those states?
posted by C'est la D.C. at 12:53 PM on March 20, 2019 [12 favorites]


He was expecting a dead man to thank him?!

He was explicitly uninvited & didn't show up to make a scene. That's what he wants thanks for, just being civil for once.
posted by scalefree at 12:59 PM on March 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


WaPo: Trump could be left off some states’ ballots in 2020 if these bills become law

Hey now, all Trump would have to do to comply with these laws would be to release his tax returns.

A pretty dilemma, I admit.
posted by Gelatin at 12:59 PM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


> Trump claims of McCain, "I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted. I didn't get a thank you."

Even as someone with genuinely low expectations for Trump's mental health, this seems bonkers to me. Who is he expecting a thank you from, exactly? He's lost his mind.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:59 PM on March 20, 2019 [12 favorites]


The tank speech is still going (C-SPAN)

Trump just said something about Mingo Junction, which, in Lima, Ohio, might evoke memories of James Traficant. Then he held up some random graph and said 'You don't have to know what is on it--that's a good line.'
posted by box at 1:00 PM on March 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


I'm lost. What set off this current round of McCain bashing?
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 1:03 PM on March 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


Steelmanning a bit, he was probably talking about getting a thank you from McCain's living relatives. Or (and I'm not going to watch any streams to check) it could have been a joke.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:07 PM on March 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


> Marbury taught the Court that it could rule on Constitutional issues just like colonial courts had done. But Worchester v. Georgia taught the Court that without a willing executive, its opinions are just so much paper. And issuing a decision from a court of appeal or the highest court in the land which you're pretty sure is going to fall dead the moment it's published is a bad look that SCOTUS has historically tried to avoid.

In Marbury, the Court found that its core function is judicial review, and as the weakest branch, it surely relies on the appearance of integrity to help ensure compliance with its decisions. The political question doctrine suggests that there are cases beyond the Court's jurisdiction due to the separation of powers in the Constitution, and it would seem to undermine the integrity of the Court if they tried to overstep those boundaries.

Also, Politico reported in December 2017: Judge dismisses suits claiming Trump violated emoluments clause
Daniels, who sits in Manhattan and is an appointee of President Bill Clinton, also said the issue was one that Congress should police, not the courts. “As the only political branch with the power to consent to violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, Congress is the appropriate body to determine whether, and to what extent, Defendant’s conduct unlawfully infringes on that power,” the judge wrote. “If Congress determines that an infringement has occurred, it is up to Congress to decide whether to challenge or acquiesce to Defendant’s conduct. As such, this case presents a non-justiciable political question.”
With this construction of the Emoluments Clause, federal court jurisdiction may be problematic, and it tosses the hot potato to Congress for investigation.
posted by Little Dawn at 1:11 PM on March 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


RedOrGreen: Even as someone with genuinely low expectations for Trump's mental health, this seems bonkers to me. Who is he expecting a thank you from, exactly?

The media, the political elite, the people whose appreciation he wants (plus the family, as Jpfed said). It can be interpreted as "McCain himself didn't thank me from beyond the grave" but I don't think that's necessarily the case. Key here is that he really feels that his display of petulance at the time should be understood as huge self-control and expects gratitude for not somehow canceling the funeral altogether.

I do think some reporter should have the guts to ask a question premised on McCain still being alive, like "Last week, John McCain told me he'd like to run against you in the 2020 primary. What are your thoughts? Do you plan to beat him?" If done with a straight enough face, it really could prompt an answer other than "Huh? He's not alive", and more like "Absolutely I will, he doesn't have a chance". It probably wouldn't move many needles (there would be a whole "Totally unfair to ask such a loaded question" thing, plus "Obviously joking"). But who knows -- there are a lot of rats out there anxiously looking for The One Big Reason to jump ship.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:11 PM on March 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


Say they declare that yes, indeed, Trump's hotels are in violation of the emoluments clause... Then what? Then nothing.

If all the court did was say that Trump is violating the constitution, and then Trump does nothing, at the very least we can have that out in the open. As far as the public is concerned, it's no longer an open question. Maybe Trump isn't forced to step down, maybe Trump isn't forced to liquidate his assets, but Americans get to decide how they feel about a president who ignores the constitution.

If the court further ordered Trump to stop receiving foreign money through his businesses, and he refuses, the court could either leave it at that, in which case case at least the public knows their president is ignoring an order from the Supreme Court, or they could have him arrested for contempt. Several courts have let these cases proceed. They must feel there is some merit to these arguments.

I don't think you're wrong. The court could make a decision. The president could ignore the court, and that would show up the court as being powerless. I just feel strongly that if that's the case then it's the court's job to make it plain, so that it can be fixed in the future and the public can render their own judgement.
posted by xammerboy at 1:13 PM on March 20, 2019 [15 favorites]


Anyone who is still ostensibly looking for One Big Reason to jump off the Trump Train at this point is going to find Any Old Excuse to not do so when the curtains of the voting booth are drawn.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:15 PM on March 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


Trump has turned his speech at a government tank-mfg plant in Ohio, with the defense secretary in tow

As a reminder to journalists, Patrick Shanahan is merely the acting Secretary of Defense. The United States hasn’t had a Senate-approved Defense Secretary for two and a half months, and Trump is in no hurry to nominate anyone. Back in January, he declared, “My ‘actings’ are doing really great. […] But I sort of like ‘acting.’ It gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that? I like ‘acting.’ So we have a few that are ‘acting.’”

Also, Shanahan is now under investigation by the IG for his pro-Boeing remarks at the Pentagon (Politico). (Maybe that’s why the Trump White House was ducking the question about nominating him for DefSec.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:16 PM on March 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


I don't think this question applies, because I get the feeling that this is all a big game/joke to the Conways. Like they'll get together for dinner later and give each other a high five because they finally got Trump to call him out. They'll probably start drafting his next tweet.

I believe completely that they have a difference of opinion on Trump and it may even be a slight source of friction between them. But they are not on opposite sides here about baby eating: yea or nay. They are just arguing about the method of preperation or perhaps where to dine.

Conway is just another flavor of person who is annoyed at Trump saying the quiet parts loud. They're all in line on the overall mission.
posted by phearlez at 1:23 PM on March 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


I'm lost. What set off this current round of McCain bashing?

I'm not sure what prompted Trump's initial tweet about McCain's ObamaCare vote last week, but the ongoing attacks are probably in response to Meghan McCain calling him "pathetic" and "jealous."
posted by diogenes at 1:24 PM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Isaac Chotiner, Donna Brazile Explains Why She’s Working for Fox News

It's a very odd interview.
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


Civil Rights And Faith Leaders To FBI: Take White Nationalist Violence Seriously (Leila Fadel for NPR, March 20, 2019)
A group of civil rights and faith leaders are demanding a meeting with FBI Director Christopher Wray in the wake of the New Zealand terror attacks that killed at least 50 people as they prayed in mosques. The killer was a white nationalist who named President Trump as an inspiration in his online racist screed.

The groups want the FBI to address "the threat to public safety" and to their communities "by white nationalist violence."

Leaders from Muslim Advocates, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Sikh Coalition all signed a letter sent to Wray on Tuesday, urging the FBI to take the threat seriously.
...
The letter cited a spate of attacks by white supremacists on houses of worship in recent years, including the killing of six people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., in 2012; the murder of nine African Americans as they worshipped at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015; and the slaying of 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., last year.
...
Following the New Zealand attacks, President Trump was asked if he sees white nationalism as a rising threat around the world. "I don't really," he said. "I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems." But Khera argues this downplaying of white nationalist violence predates President Trump's administration.

Khera points out that, when nine African Americans were gunned down in a Charleston, S.C., church in 2015, the killer was a white supremacist who said he wanted to start a race war. Yet then head of the FBI, James Comey, wouldn't call the murders an act of terrorism.

That attitude has only deepened, Khera says, under the current administration.
The letter is embedded in the NPR article.

Speaking of institutional racism, Supreme Court Justices Seem Incredulous At Repeated Racial Bias In Jury Selection (Nina Totenberg for NPR, March 20, 2019)
The U.S. Supreme Court signaled strongly on Wednesday that it is likely to rule for a death-row inmate in Mississippi who was prosecuted six times for the same crime by a prosecutor with a history of racial bias in jury selection.
...
Wednesday's case involved the conduct of Doug Evans, a district attorney in Winona, Miss., and his pursuit of a conviction against Curtis Flowers, a black man who prior to this case had no criminal record. Months after a quadruple murder in Winona, Flowers was arraigned, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. He has been on death row for 22 years.

During that time, the state Supreme Court three times threw out his murder conviction for prosecutorial misconduct.

The misconduct was not some technicality. It ranged from misleading the jury about evidence that did not exist to striking prospective jurors based on race.

In the fourth and fifth trials, Evans ran out of strikes; at least two black jurors were seated; and the juries deadlocked. But in the sixth trial, with one black juror, the jury convicted, and the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction, ruling that this time, there had not been any racial discrimination in jury selection.

In arguments on Wednesday, most of the U.S. Supreme Court members did not seem inclined to uphold that conclusion.

Chief Justice John Roberts pressed defense lawyer Sheri Johnson to identify what rule the court should adopt for cases "not as extreme as this"?

The current rule that requires looking at the prosecutor's history is good enough, she said, but, here, the Mississippi Supreme Court didn't do that.

Mississippi Assistant Attorney General Jason Davis admitted that the history of the case was "troubling," but he insisted that aside from that, the jury selection in the sixth trial was done correctly, given that Winona is a small town, population less than 5,000, where everybody knows everybody.

Justice Samuel Alito interrupted to ask, couldn't the attorney general of Mississippi have said, "Enough already, we're going to send one of our own people to try this case, preferably in a different county"?

Yes, replied attorney Davis, but the local prosecutor would have to request that, and Evans didn't do that.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh interjected, "You said, if we take the history out of the case" but "we can't do that." Here, 41 of 42 potential African-American jurors were struck, he observed.

Davis insisted that each of the potential jurors struck in the sixth trial was struck for a good reason. That brought an astonished reaction from Justice Elena Kagan, who noted that one of the struck jurors would seem to be the "perfect prosecution juror," because she strongly favored the death penalty and her brother was a prison guard.

Kavanaugh noted that one of the reasons the court has embraced increasingly tough rules to eliminate racial bias in jury selection is the need for "confidence of the community in the fairness of the criminal justice system."

And, he asked, "against that backdrop of a lot of decades of all-white juries convicting black defendants ... can you say confidently, as you sit here today ... that you have confidence in how all this transpired in this case?"
Again, somewhat reassuring to see Kavanaugh siding with what appears to be a clear case of racial or social justice, though to hear him talk about "the fairness of the criminal justice system" made me snort derisively. Cocky thing to say, Bart.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:55 PM on March 20, 2019 [25 favorites]




Okay, if Trump is taken off the primary ballots in states with a considerable number of delegates, is it possible that a token primary challenger could win the Republican nomination?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:01 PM on March 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


What set off this current round of McCain bashing?

Last week was the 40th anniversary of McCain’s release as a Vietnam POW (USA Today). Seeing the hagiographic coverage all over the media, especially the contemporary TV clips, must have gotten under his skin. Also, it no doubt gives him a nasty thrill to trash McCain while Lindsey Graham has to stay quietly on Trump’s good side, unlike his GOP senate colleagues (The Bulwark).
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:07 PM on March 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


Okay, if Trump is taken off the primary ballots in states with a considerable number of delegates, is it possible that a token primary challenger could win the Republican nomination?

Technically the answer to this question is yes but I think it's based on a mistaken understanding of what's happening. There isn't so far as I'm aware any significant movement to change the rules for the Republican primary which is what your question is about. A couple states have shown some movement towards requiring general election candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the ballot. So Trump would still be on the Republican primary ballot he just wouldn't have his name on the ballot in November.

Even if this happens it's only being talked about in solid blue states where Trump wouldn't win anyway. But some people think it could have downballot effects if MAGAheads didn't show up to the general if they knew their god-king wasn't on the ballot.

But it has no effect on the Republican primary AFAIK, where rules are set by the Republican Party and not the state government.
posted by Justinian at 2:20 PM on March 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


I've disliked Lindsey Graham since he was an impeachment manager against Clinton, but was fooled into a grudging respect during his brief and phony anti-Trump phase. He's a fucking coward and I despise him not standing up for his alleged lifelong friend.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:29 PM on March 20, 2019 [25 favorites]


Why should he stand up for McCain? McCain's dead, nobody can profit from that. Graham can always profit from sucking up to Trump.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:39 PM on March 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


A dead McCain is an even better foil for His Trumpness than a live one, since Dead McCain can't defend himself and can't vote in the Senate.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:43 PM on March 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm lost. What set off this current round of McCain bashing?

In addition to the other theories proffered I’d like to offer Trump’s Razor: It’s a Trump fed shitstorm centered on Trump.
posted by notyou at 2:44 PM on March 20, 2019 [6 favorites]


It's also an object lesson for the Senate GOP at a time when they've given him their very first baby steps of pushback. Deviate from Trump's Will and you will be hounded by Trump and his Trumpoids even beyond the grave.
posted by delfin at 3:04 PM on March 20, 2019 [1 favorite]




Trump’s strange rant about John McCain’s funeral, decoded. There’s also some weird stuff about Russia, naturally. (Vox)
... But that’s not even the most telling thing Trump said during his McCain diatribe. At one point, he vents about McCain’s role in the beginning of the Russia investigation.

You might recall that McCain played an instrumental role in bringing the Steele Dossier — the source of the “pee tape” rumor and more grounded evidence of Trump-Russia ties — to the FBI’s attention. McCain received a copy of the dossier late in 2016, before it was public knowledge, and quietly sent it over to the appropriate authorities.

Trump believes he shouldn’t have done this. ... This isn’t the logic of a public servant, to put it mildly.

Trump didn’t have to say any of this. It’s not a hostile interview or a televised debate. It’s just a speech, where he decided — for no reason at all — to say stuff that makes him sound guilty and angry at a man who’s been dead since last August.

Our president is extremely normal.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 3:27 PM on March 20, 2019 [45 favorites]


Why should he stand up for McCain?

I dunno...honor?
posted by kirkaracha at 3:37 PM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


A bit of good news about bail from Mother Jones: In November, Democrats swept Harris County, Texas, courtrooms, replacing every Republican judge to occupy each of the 59 seats on the ballot. Many of those candidates, including the 19 black women who campaigned together, ran on reform-minded platforms focused on upending the county’s bail system. “We’re locking up a lot of nonviolent people that can’t afford to get out,” said Toria Finch, a Democratic judge who won a seat in a misdemeanor court, during a radio interview soon before the November election. “That’s not right.” Now, the judges have a chance to do just that. A federal judge in Harris County is currently considering a case that would transform the way bail is set for people charged with felonies, a population that comprises the vast majority of people in jail awaiting trial.

Note: Harris County has a population of 4 million and is the third-largest county in the country.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:57 PM on March 20, 2019 [37 favorites]


Schultz is a stalking horse. He might stay in until the convention, writing his travel expenses off his taxes, but he'll ultimately drop out. He's just making sure certain things get asked and talked about, kind of like the Devin Nunes Cow lawsuit.

I really don't think he will drop out. He's in the race on behalf of the rich overclass, who cannot abide Bernie or Warren winning the general and raising thier taxes or unleashing real enforcement from the oversight agencies. Schultz already laid out his game, if the nominee is Biden or someone the rich trust to make the right mouth noises to the base, but not actually come after their assets when in office, yes, he'll drop out. If it's Warren, he will stay in and attack her exclusively, while never mentioning Trump. His entire goal is to make sure the 1% tax cuts keep on coming, and all he needs is 1-2% of the vote in Michigan to make sure that happens. That's his real plan, and he's willing to help reelect Trump to achieve it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:14 PM on March 20, 2019 [23 favorites]


He's in the race on behalf of the rich overclass

If the nominee does turn out to be somebody willing to openly go after the aristocracy, I really wonder if Schultz being in the race would be a net hindrance or a help. What a perfect punching bag he'll be, just a universally-reviled case study in privileged entitlement, up there for all to see trying to throw the election to a fascist despite his alleged "Democratic" allegiances. It's one thing to tell people the billionaires aren't acting in their interests, but it's quite another to be able to point across the debate stage at a representative example.
posted by contraption at 4:21 PM on March 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


If the nominee does turn out to be somebody willing to openly go after the aristocracy, I really wonder if Schultz being in the race would be a net hindrance or a help.

Sadly, one cannot discount the ability of the electorate to vote in opposition to their own best interests. If Schultz stays in, he will be a hindrance, to be sure. Despite what we hope for, 2020 will be a lot closer than is comfortable. Schultz staying in will very probably monkeywrench things enough to deliver a second term for his orangeness.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:33 PM on March 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


Say they declare that yes, indeed, Trump's hotels are in violation of the emoluments clause... Then what? Then nothing.

The Emoluments Clause is also known as the Titles of Nobility Clause:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
The Supreme Court has no power to impose penalties on an official who accepts a foreign title; the only remedy for that is impeachment, which is a power reserved for Congress. I have to think that similar logic applies to the other wrongs enumerated in that clause.

There may be other remedies, such as civil forfeiture of the emoluments, but I think it will be hard to demonstrate a legislative basis for them. It's not as if this sort of thing comes up very often. Alternatively, someone like, e.g., a hotel owner affected by unfair competition for the business of foreign diplomats might apply for an injunction, but I don't know what they'd be trying to enjoin - it's not like Trump needs to post ads saying "Stay at Ye Olde Poste Office if you want to Get Special Treatment in Washington, Hint Hint".

Going forward, there should be special legislation covering this stuff, but at present the real remedy seems to be impeachment followed by criminal prosecution for things like tax evasion and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. I don't think this action would be taking place if Congress were impeaching the President , which (apart from the other problems) really does make it the sort of political question that courts aren't equipped to resolve.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:12 PM on March 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


The easy and obvious remedy is civil and/or criminal forfeiture.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:48 PM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


I did discuss civil forfeiture. As for criminal forfeiture, it's basically a fine and it can only be a remedy for crimes that a court can address. It's not all clear to me that courts have any way of prosecuting unlawful emoluments of this sort, any more than they can prosecute the receipt of foreign titles. The penalty for misfeasance in office is impeachment.

Civil forfeiture is closer to the old maritime proceedings against property in rem, like seizing a ship for unpaid harbour fees. Except, in this case you're seizing money or goods because they're the proceeds of crimes. Whatever form of forfeiture is used, though, it needs to be explicitly sanctioned by the law. You can't just say "this was money earned wrongfully, therefore we will confiscate it". Is there a State or Federal forfeiture law broad enough to cover money earned through a breach of Constitutional duties? I don't know of one.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:07 PM on March 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


The worst part about the McCain bashing is seeing how many people (conspicuously white and Republican, of course) are disgusted by it all...but not so disgusted by the Muslim Ban, or the abandonment of Puerto Rico after the hurricane, or all the kids locked up and effectively orphaned by this administration.

They're moved by disrespect for a white man. That's it. None of them have learned anything or changed at all.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:09 PM on March 20, 2019 [78 favorites]


the titles of nobility clause is art. i, sec.9.
there is also art. ii, sec.1, clause7, which reads,
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
the u.s. district court for the district of maryland (where DC and MD seek injunctive and declaratory relief) calls these the "foreign" and "domestic" emoluments clauses, respectively. as to the latter, judge messitte notes, at p.45, in the section considering "political question" -- a prudential principle bearing on determination of standing -- that
[T]he Domestic Emoluments Clause clearly does not assign any oversight role to Congress or any other entity. Insofar as a State has a right to pursue a violation of the Clause, it may do so directly and Congress has nary a say about it.
the judge also fails to find a "a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department," (internal citation omitted) -- or, in english, a clearly dispositive separation of powers issue -- in the case of the foreign clause.
posted by 20 year lurk at 6:13 PM on March 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


Ratfucking Florida Republicans are attempting to ratfuck the felon reenfranchisement amendment that voters just passed.
posted by Weeping_angel at 6:38 PM on March 20, 2019 [22 favorites]


Plenty of Democratic billionaires- Oprah, Zuckerberg, Bloomberg, Tom Steyer, Joe Sanberg, (Dwayne Johnson?) have decided against running this election. Especially Bloomberg, who always makes noises about running, and then backs out every year. Schultz is deeply unpopular in current polls. But he might be the first one dumb enough to give it a go.
posted by Apocryphon at 6:40 PM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


sorry y'all. that was the opinion on standing, march 2018; this is the more recent opinion denying president horrorshow's motion to dismiss (for failure to state a claim) that, unappealed, would lead to scheduling discovery in the normal course of litigation against the president. july 2018; same judge, same court. judge messitte goes deeper, here, on the clauses themselves, and promises another ruling considering president horrorshow's motion to dismiss "the individual capacity claims...." i do not find that opinion, if it issued. scanning some of the appellate briefs suggests messitte opened discovery on the "official capacity" claims without ruling on the individual capacity claims.
posted by 20 year lurk at 6:53 PM on March 20, 2019


Schultz is deeply unpopular in current polls. But he might be the first one dumb enough to give it a go.

He doesn't have to win to get his way, just pull a Ross Perot and spoil it for "his" side.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 7:23 PM on March 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


I look forward to soon re-introducing my legislation re-naming the Senate Russell Building after American hero, Senator John McCain.

Seems like the appropriate name for a building of people who have lots of concerns that they never act on much like Senator John McCain.
posted by srboisvert at 7:27 PM on March 20, 2019 [15 favorites]


scaryblackdeath: "The worst part about the McCain bashing is seeing how many people (conspicuously white and Republican, of course) are disgusted by it all...but not so disgusted by the Muslim Ban, or the abandonment of Puerto Rico after the hurricane, or all the kids locked up and effectively orphaned by this administration.

They're moved by disrespect for a white man. That's it. None of them have learned anything or changed at all.
"

I don't care about John McCain's honor or anything like that but it's still pretty disturbing to have a president get into a bitter feud with a dead person.
posted by octothorpe at 7:28 PM on March 20, 2019 [51 favorites]


Does the electoral college spark joy? (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
Take up the electoral college from your closet. Lay it in a pile. Stare at it. I think you want to keep it. After all, consider:
  • If the electoral college is abolished, people would be forced to stop ignoring Massachusetts during campaign season, and it would be awkward after all those years of pretending not to see it, during which Massachusetts started to build a life and identity of its own that didn’t revolve around the attention of presidential candidates.
  • The electoral college is very old, and why would you want to get rid of something very old, even if it did not spark joy? Consider measles, something we thought about getting rid of and then decided to hang onto because of nostalgia!
  • Has it ever steered us astray?
  • Okay, point taken, but if the election of Donald Trump occurred within the guardrails of the electoral college, I can’t even picture what might be lurking outside those guardrails?
  • FiveThirtyEight would be forced to change its name.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:48 PM on March 20, 2019 [44 favorites]


All [Schulz] needs is 1-2% of the vote in Michigan to make sure [Trump wins].

Polls show Democrat candidates beating Trump by less of a margin than Hillary beat Trump. It's still early, but if the election were held today we'd be looking at razor thin margins.
posted by xammerboy at 8:11 PM on March 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


Re Devin Nunes speechifying at the Saint Ronnie event. I will personally help kickstart cow costumes. If I lived nearby I would wear one.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:23 PM on March 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


Schumer: "I look forward to soon re-introducing my legislation re-naming the Senate Russell Building after American hero, Senator John McCain."

This would be a great improvement on the Russell name. Richard Russell was a virulent white supremacist and diehard proponent of racial segregation. Russell was one of the authors of the Southern Manifesto, which was a congressional denunciation of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision declaring segregation of public schools illegal. Russell's name on one of the most prominent Washington office buildings is an insult to history.

Republicans, of course, are opposed to the renaming just as they are opposed to removing Confederate monuments. If Schumer can leverage the John McCain backlash to Trump and remove the Russell name, it would be a win for posterity.
posted by JackFlash at 8:25 PM on March 20, 2019 [41 favorites]


Politico: Gillum to launch Florida voter-registration campaign to trip up Trump
posted by Chrysostom at 8:31 PM on March 20, 2019 [33 favorites]


WP: Federal judge demands Trump administration reveal how its drilling plans will fuel climate change -- The ruling temporarily blocks drilling on 300,000 acres of leases in Wyoming.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:52 PM on March 20, 2019 [32 favorites]


I don't care about John McCain's honor or anything like that but it's still pretty disturbing to have a president get into a bitter feud with a dead person.

They are all diversions, Nunes Mom, too. Absolutely substance-free bullshit they can riff on when anybody asks them about it. Sure the McCain family is hurt by his words, but that doesn't affect him.

This is how they eliminate the possibility of talking about anything anyone else wants to talk about, how they control the conversation. They suck all the air out of the room by saying or doing something...not even controversial (though they obviously don't shy away from that), just...headliney. Attention-grabbing dipshits, and I wish there was some grand realization that made Lard Lads out of these people.
posted by rhizome at 9:11 PM on March 20, 2019 [15 favorites]


CNN: Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director and long-time confidante of President Donald Trump, plans to turn over documents to the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into potential obstruction of justice.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:19 PM on March 20, 2019 [48 favorites]


Devin Nunes is going to be the keynote speaker at the Fresno Lincoln Reagan award dinner

Nobody moo. Pass it on.
posted by scalefree at 10:44 PM on March 20, 2019 [32 favorites]


WaPost has a brief history about the incoming enigmatic Murdoch heir, Lachlan. The headline teases some sort of anti-Trump era, but the details anonymously sourced inside describe to me, a post-Disney deal Team Trump 2.0 being formed. Lachlan's new crew includes Hope Hicks, AMC-turnaround-master Charles Collier, and Paul Ryan on the board. All this is also interesting context for Donna Brazile's arrival.
posted by Harry Caul at 4:17 AM on March 21, 2019 [5 favorites]


I don't care about John McCain's honor or anything like that but it's still pretty disturbing to have a president get into a bitter feud with a dead person.

Even weirder that he is managing to lose the fued.
posted by srboisvert at 5:54 AM on March 21, 2019 [52 favorites]


The Eastwood principle: Never debate an empty chair.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:08 AM on March 21, 2019 [30 favorites]


All kinds of trial balloons from the accidentally-announced Biden campaign this morning.

Scoop: Biden advisers debate Stacey Abrams as out-of-the-gate V.P. choice

Biden Weighing Unique Steps to Reassure Voters Concerned About His Age
Mr. Biden and his top advisers are considering nodding to the rising next generation in Democratic politics — and elevating an heir — by announcing a running mate early, well before the nomination is sealed. Also under discussion is a possible pledge to serve only one term and framing Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign as a one-time rescue mission for a beleaguered country, according to multiple party officials.
So if you're concerned about being too old to do the job of president...maybe the answer is not to run for president, rather than promise to be a useless lame duck from day 1.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:23 AM on March 21, 2019 [44 favorites]


framing Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign as a one-time rescue mission for a beleaguered country

This is hilarious framing for a Biden campaign. He'll "rescue" us by restoring our save point to 2015, so the next bumbling fascist can win in 2024 after 4 years of bog standard centrist Democratic leadership.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 6:29 AM on March 21, 2019 [64 favorites]


Has any presidential candidate ever announced their running mate at the same time they announced their own candidacy? Like, ever?
posted by DrAstroZoom at 6:32 AM on March 21, 2019 [1 favorite]


He'll "rescue" us by restoring our save point to 2015, so the next bumbling fascist can win in 2024 after 4 years of bog standard centrist Democratic leadership.

The next fascist won't be a illiterate grifter surrounded only by his inbred failsons. It only takes a marginally more competent Republican fascist the next time now that Trump has shown the way and proved the country is primed for dictatorship.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:35 AM on March 21, 2019 [58 favorites]


Has any presidential candidate ever announced their running mate at the same time they announced their own candidacy? Like, ever?

Not any who weren't already elected President that were just keeping their current VP.

It concedes an enormous amount of leverage as the VP slot can be used to bridge intra-party divides and sooth over hurt egos. The fact that Biden is floating that is proof that he know's he has such a major deficiency as to sacrifice that advantage so he can secure the nomination.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 6:35 AM on March 21, 2019 [5 favorites]


Also under discussion is a possible pledge to serve only one term and framing Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign as a one-time rescue mission for a beleaguered country We really don't need any more narcissistic white male savior complexes calling the shots, please.
posted by Harry Caul at 6:35 AM on March 21, 2019 [24 favorites]




Remember how well it went for Cruz and Fiorina?
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 7:04 AM on March 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


octothorpe: I don't care about John McCain's honor or anything like that but it's still pretty disturbing to have a president get into a bitter feud with a dead person.

rhizome: They are all diversions, Nunes Mom, too. Absolutely substance-free bullshit they can riff on when anybody asks them about it. Sure the McCain family is hurt by his words, but that doesn't affect him.

And better yet, John McCain himself can't reply, so I realize that it's so very Trump to use a dead guy as a punching bag.


T.D. Strange: The next fascist won't be a illiterate grifter surrounded only by his inbred failsons. It only takes a marginally more competent Republican fascist the next time now that Trump has shown the way and proved the country is primed for dictatorship.

You'd think so, but a counterpoint is that Jair Bolsonaro’s First 53 Days As President Of Brazil Have Been A Resounding, Scandalous Failure (adamvasco's Brazilian politics post from Feb. 22, 2019).

It seems that fascists, like many fringe political movements that suddenly come into power, may win thanks to some ugly, terrible appeal, or succeed because of other turmoil, possibly stirred up by locally vested or external instigators, they have no idea of how to actually achieve their terrible visions. They're not really politicians, in the functionally operating the political system sense, but terrible idea men who think they can bring about some change, without understanding the legal paths to achieve those changes.

My worry is that these fascists can stick around long enough and somehow cobble together a staff that stays long enough that they actually learn how to implement their ideas. Yes, Trump is continuing to be disastrous for the United States, the people who live and work here, and our allies, but his staff don't stick around (CNN interactive record of administration staff duration, last updated March 12, 2019), and federal judges have ruled against the Trump administration at least 63 times over the past two years, an extraordinary record of legal defeat that has stymied large parts of the president’s agenda on the environment, immigration and other matters (Washington Post, March 19, 2019)
Seth Jaffe, a Boston-based environmental lawyer who represents corporations and had been looking forward to deregulation, said the administration has failed to deliver.

“I’ve spent 30 years in the private sector complaining about the excesses of environmental regulation,” Jaffe said, but “this administration has given regulatory reform a bad name.”

Some errors are so basic that Jaffe said he has to wonder whether agency officials are more interested in announcing policy shifts than in actually implementing them. “It’s not just that they’re losing. But they’re being so nuts about it,” he said, adding that the losses in court have “set regulatory reform back for a period of time.”
Emphasis mine -- you don't say that the Social Media President, who rose from being the GOP Reality TV Candidate, doesn't actually care about the policies as much as the optics.

That said, Trump's administration has made significant negative impacts, as seen in a running list of how President Trump is changing environmental policy from National Geographic, published March 15, 2019.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:23 AM on March 21, 2019 [21 favorites]


The WaPo gives this choice quote from the McCain camp:
Some of McCain’s supporters said the criticism would amuse McCain, who would have appreciated that the president was still tormented by his legacy. Mark Salter, McCain’s longtime friend and co-author, said that at first he was angered by the president’s mischaracterizations.

“It’s reaching a point of boredom for all of us. McCain is getting some kind of amusement out of it that he’s still in the guy’s head somewhere,” Salter said. “It doesn’t help him, but he can’t control himself. He obviously resents John. He obviously craves the admiration that John received in life. He may excoriate the establishment and fake news and everything else, but he craves its approval.”
NYMag's Yashar Ali notes, "John and Cindy McCain’s daughter Bridget, who never speaks out....until now." Here are her two tweets to @realdonaldtrump.

Also, Lindsey Graham posted this video interview in which he said (in a hushed voice), "I think the president's comments about Sen. McCain hurt him more than they hurt the legacy of Sen. McCain. […] A lot of people are coming to John's defense now that called him 'crazy' and 'warmonger'. […] So it's kind of interesting to see the politics, how this dispute is being used to bash Trump by people who are against both Trump and McCain. My job is to represent the people of South Carolina. They want me to work with the President where I can. I've got to know the President. We've got a good working relationship. I like him. I don't like it when he says things about my friend John McCain, and the best thing I think that can happen for all of us is to move forward[…]." What an utterly abject spectacle.

Finally, the Daily Beast turns up what may be the origin of Trump's feud with McCain: Trump's "Television City" multi-tower estate project that Jerry Nadler fought in the 90s—and that McCain denounced in the Senate.
Nadler was joined by Sen. John McCain in opposing the financing. McCain gave a speech from the Senate floor that may have still rankled Trump in 2016. Maybe the truth is that Trump likes war heroes who don’t challenge one of his scams.

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development is processing an application from a team of developers, headed by the venerable Donald Trump,” McCain began.

McCain noted that the loan guarantee would entitle Trump to “a vast array of municipal tax benefits, which one group calculates to be in the range of nearly $4.5 million per ‘needy’ individual assisted.”

“Not exactly what most Americans would consider cost-effective use of government assistance,” McCain said. “I certainly have nothing against luxury apartments nor do I have anything against very successful project developers, including Mr. Trump. I do object, however, to asking the taxpayer to bear the risk of a development for one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the country, to help finance a project that will predominantly benefit upper-income Americans.”

McCain noted, “Congressman Nadler, who represents the area in the House and who is a member on the other side of the aisle, does not consider the area around the development site to be blighted and he opposes the project.”

McCain went on, a principled conservative Republican expressing an opinion he shared with the ultra-liberal Nadler: “The Donald Trumps of the world can more than afford to bear the risk of their endeavors, and should not be indemnified with taxpayer dollars.”
And, as we know, Trump never forgets a defeat and always wants revenge.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:29 AM on March 21, 2019 [23 favorites]


It's been a week since Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, and I keep waiting for a response from the US government, even just an acknowledgment that this unprecedented disaster is happening:

‘Everything is destroyed’: Mozambique fears massive human toll from Cyclone Idai (WaPo)
Government and aid agency officials sounded the alarm on Tuesday after the first flights over a vast area of wreckage wrought by Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe, Malawi and especially Mozambique spurred fears of a massive human toll. [...] The United Nations estimated that more than 2.5 million people need immediate assistance. And with the crops and homes of thousands of families destroyed, a prolonged humanitarian crisis appeared inevitable. [...] “There’s a sense from people on the ground that the world still really hasn’t caught on to how severe this disaster is,” Matthew Cochrane, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.
‘It was too late’: Hundreds are dead as rescue efforts stall in Mozambique and Zimbabwe (WaPo)
“Many people are in a desperate situation, fighting for their lives at the moment, sitting on rooftops in trees and other elevated areas — this includes families and obviously many children,” UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac said in a video released Wednesday. [...] The government estimates that about 400,000 people have been displaced, but WFP said that about 1.7 million people were in the cyclone’s path and that “the extent of the human suffering is not known.” Given the vast size of the affected region, “we do expect the death toll to increase significantly,” the agency said.
Thousands still need rescuing as aid agencies struggle with cyclone aftermath in Mozambique (WaPo)
Ceaseless rain and widespread devastation hampered rescue operations Thursday as underequipped aid agencies struggled to cope with the extensive damage inflicted by Cyclone Idai on central Mozambique. [...] For now the aid agencies and local authorities struggling to help people are woefully underequipped, with just two U.N. helicopters that arrived from Uganda and South Africa and one cargo aircraft. There is also an urgent need for flat-bottomed boats to venture out into the flooded areas to find people.
Cyclone Idai: satellite images show extent of flooding around Beira (Guardian)
A large number of people in and around Beira who sought refuge on rooftops and trees are still waiting to be rescued a week after the cyclone struck. [...] Gerald Bourke, the regional communications officer at the World Food Programme, said the affected area was one of the most densely populated in Mozambique and rescuers still did not know how many people remained trapped. [...] More than 150 sq miles in the region are flooded and in some places the water is six metres (19ft) deep. At least 600,000 people have been affected, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, ranging from those whose lives are in immediate danger to those who need other kinds of aid.
Although I did find this press release today, after some searching: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deploys Disaster Assistance Team to Mozambique in Response to Cyclone Idai
Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is activating a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Mozambique to lead the U.S. Government's response to Cyclone Idai, which has caused catastrophic flooding, killed hundreds of people, and affected hundreds of thousands of others in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. To date, USAID has mobilized $700,000 in total assistance to support emergency water, sanitation, hygiene, and shelter needs in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi caused by torrential rain and flooding in early March, followed by Cyclone Idai.
Foreign aid begins flowing to cyclone-hit southern Africa (ABC News)
The United Nations allocated $20 million for a humanitarian response to the crisis. The European Union released 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million) in emergency aid, while the U.K. pledged up to 6 million pounds ($7.9 million). Neighboring Tanzania's military airlifted 238 tons of food and medicine. The United Arab Emirates plans to provide 18.3 million dirhams ($4.9 million) to Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, the Emirates News Agency reported Wednesday, citing the Emirates Red Crescent. Norway said it was providing 6 million krone ($700,000).
posted by Little Dawn at 7:30 AM on March 21, 2019 [30 favorites]


It's been a week since Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, and I keep waiting for a response from the US government, even just an acknowledgment that this unprecedented disaster is happening

Has the US government even acknowledged the flooding in Nebraska?
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:35 AM on March 21, 2019 [40 favorites]


‘No PAC money’ pledges leave corporations in a partisan bind (Kate Ackley, Roll Call)
Corporate PACs fear upending of their ‘balanced approach’ as more Democrats reject their cash
Many PACs donate to both Republicans and Democrats. Some have specific ratios that they're mandated to reach. The current wave of Democratic candidates refusing to take PAC money throws these ratios off (and reduces the possibility of influence).

Corporate PACs Sad No One Likes Them Anymore :( (Libby Watson, Splinter)
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:41 AM on March 21, 2019 [45 favorites]


Some errors are so basic that Jaffe said he has to wonder whether agency officials are more interested in announcing policy shifts than in actually implementing them. “It’s not just that they’re losing. But they’re being so nuts about it,” he said, adding that the losses in court have “set regulatory reform back for a period of time.”

He's making every policy position he supports a little more toxic every time he advocates for it.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:45 AM on March 21, 2019


Always figured this was coming, at some point:
Trump to order colleges to back free speech or lose funding
(AP) -- President Donald Trump is expected to order U.S. colleges to protect free speech on their campuses or risk losing federal funding.

White House officials say Trump on Thursday will sign an executive order requiring colleges to certify that their policies support free speech as a condition of receiving federal research grants.

Trump initially proposed the idea during a March 2 speech to conservative activists. The Republican president highlighted the case of activist Hayden Williams, who was punched in the face while recruiting at the University of California, Berkeley.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:48 AM on March 21, 2019 [12 favorites]


Parker Malloy points out that the person who punched Williams was arrested and charged with several counts so exactly what was the deficiency here anyway.
posted by phearlez at 7:55 AM on March 21, 2019 [20 favorites]


Donald Trump is using Stalinist tactics to discredit climate science (Michael Mann and Bob Ward, Guardian Opinion)
The Trump administration has already purged information about climate change from government websites, gagged federal experts and attempted to end funding for climate change programmes.

Now a group of hardcore climate change deniers and contrarians linked to the administration is organising a petition in support of a new panel being set up by the National Security Council to promote an alternative official explanation for climate change.

The panel will consist of scientists who do not accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are behind climate change and its impacts. [...] Media reports suggest that Professor Happer and his fellow propagandists will target the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which was prepared by leading researchers in the United States, and concluded last November: “The impacts of climate change are already being felt in communities across the country.”

Although the report was subjected to rigorous review by America’s top experts at the National Academy of Sciences, it was rejected by President Trump, who told journalists: “I don’t believe it.”
posted by Little Dawn at 7:55 AM on March 21, 2019 [13 favorites]


Has the US government even acknowledged the flooding in Nebraska?

Pence showed up the other day to hang out with Governors Ricketts and Reynolds et al. No information on whether Mother came along to chaperone the meetings that included several women. We have been assured that the Government stands with us. Is this better or worse than "tots and pears"? To quote a fatuous gasbag: "We shall see."
posted by Fezboy! at 8:04 AM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


“But once you realize McConnell has already achieved his life’s dream, and ascended to the limits of his ambition, his behavior suddenly starts to make more sense. He’s not trying to cap off his career with a legislative masterstroke, because he doesn’t care about legislation. He already won. He’s the Senate majority leader, his parliamentary prowess is regularly feted, and he has already left his legacy indelibly inscribed on the highest court in the land.” Mitch McConnell, Nihilist In-Chief
posted by The Whelk at 8:06 AM on March 21, 2019 [19 favorites]


Trump on Thursday will sign an executive order requiring colleges to certify that their policies support free speech as a condition of receiving federal research grants.

What does such a certification actually look like, and what does "free speech" in this context actually mean, though? As always, the devil's in the details. Let's hope it's some stupid goddamn optics stunt—university presidents sign a statement that says "This school supports free speech," Trump's base high-five each other for his owning the libs, and that's the end of it.
posted by Rykey at 8:13 AM on March 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


Donald Trump is using Stalinist tactics to discredit climate science

Not to stand up for Uncle Joe but at least Lysenkoism was intended to increase the food supply. "Everything's fine because screw you lib, and hey maybe CO2 is actually good for you and we should make more if it" is way beyond any Soviet bad science, if for no other reason than that Stalin's science only killed millions of people and not billions.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:15 AM on March 21, 2019 [10 favorites]


The Fight to Tame a Swelling River With Dams That May Be Outmatched by Climate Change (NYT)
Mr. Remus controls an extraordinary machine — the dams built decades ago to tame a river system that drains parts of 10 states and two Canadian provinces. But it was designed for a different era, a time before climate change and the extreme weather it can bring.

“It’s human nature to think we are masters of our environment, the lords of creation,” said Mr. Remus, who works for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. But there are limits, he said. And the storm last week that caused him so much trouble was beyond what his network of dams can control. “It was not designed to handle this,” he said.
‘Potentially historic’ flooding may deluge parts of US south, experts warn (Guardian)
Scientists are warning that historic flooding could soon deluge parts of several southern states along the lower Mississippi River, and floodwaters could persist for several weeks.
As part of Midwest starts flood cleanup, downstream region braces for inundation (WaPo)
Communities across the Midwest are facing massive cleanup efforts after last week’s late-winter “bomb cyclone” caused at least four deaths, forced the evacuation of entire communities and drenched vast tracts of land with icy and often polluted water. Nebraska’s emergency agency set the estimated cost of the destruction at $1.3 billion on Wednesday, including $400 million for dead livestock, $440 million in lost grain and $439 million in damaged infrastructure.

Vice President Pence promised prompt federal aid when he surveyed the destruction Tuesday and visited a shelter in Nebraska. [...] But for many in the devastated region, the start of the cleanup was coupled with a realization that the recovery could be prolonged, amid warnings that the current infrastructure of dams and levees will not be adequate to protect them from the increased frequency and severity of flooding that comes from climate change. “It will last for months,” said Tom Waters, chairman of the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:17 AM on March 21, 2019 [8 favorites]


A one-term promise from Biden (76) would make for some pretty awkward questions for Sanders (77). There is a lot of appeal to the idea of one term, but it feels like that would just turn into the 2024 election cycle beginning the day after the election.. or hell, maybe the day after the democratic convention. And it would fix the spotlight on the VP choice, because I guess the VP would be the presumptive 2024 nominee should Biden win, and the 2022 midterms would become a referendum on the presiding VP, and so the VP would have to take a front and center position leading up to the midterms, and the VP's relationship to Congress and ability to get legislation passed would need to be tested, and just what is the point of Biden being president in all of this?
posted by skewed at 8:19 AM on March 21, 2019 [16 favorites]


He’s not trying to cap off his career with a legislative masterstroke, because he doesn’t care about legislation. He already won. He’s the Senate majority leader
Confirmed. For more on McConnell's career long single need to feed his injured ostracized ego burns, check out the excellent and brief 'The Cynic' by Alec MacGillis. McConnell has gone from supporting pro-choice and public employee unions to revolutionizing his party's obstructionism not as some long range master plan, but as a pragmatic principle for how to always win no matter what. He has no loyalties besides his need to aggrieve his imagined wounds. One of his earliest nicknames among his staff was "love me love me love me."
posted by Harry Caul at 8:22 AM on March 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


skewed: "A one-term promise from Biden (76) would make for some pretty awkward questions for Sanders (77)."

These men are too old to serve as President.

The fact that the Presidency has a minimum age requirement, but not a maximum one, is yet another increasingly-major oversight that we desperately need to address.
posted by namewithoutwords at 8:26 AM on March 21, 2019 [40 favorites]


(AP) -- President Donald Trump is expected to order U.S. colleges to protect free speech on their campuses or risk losing federal funding.
In which case, these colleges, like cities hosting major-party presidential nominating conventions, could happily comply by erecting 'free-speech' zones, i.e. cramped little enclosures complete with 10-foot-high chain-linked fences topped by loops of razor wire, and surrounded by security personnel armed with truncheons and pepper spray. But meanwhile back in the real world, nobody ever went broke overestimating the willingness of college upper administrators to enthusiastically comply with the whims and wishes of authoritarian governments.

And further to Rykey's comment above, hands up everyone who hears the term 'free speech' and knows the speaker 99% of the time means 'fascism.'
posted by hangashore at 8:35 AM on March 21, 2019 [22 favorites]


ThinkProgress story (a scoop according to the writer) from yesterday: Why was Franklin Graham schmoozing with a sanctioned Russian official this month? Graham described his meeting with one sanctioned Russian official as an "honor"—and claimed Mike Pence signed off on it.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:36 AM on March 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


I would begrudingly vote for a Biden-Abrams ticket with a one-term promise if Stacy Abrams told me to.

I would GLEEFULLY vote for a Biden-Abrams ticket with a one-day promise.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:37 AM on March 21, 2019 [10 favorites]


Not to abuse the edit window, but: "hands up everyone who hears the term 'free speech' these days and knows the speaker 99% of the time means 'fascism.'"
posted by hangashore at 8:38 AM on March 21, 2019 [20 favorites]




Why was Franklin Graham schmoozing with a sanctioned Russian official this month?

Because American evangelical protestantism is entirely inseparable from the ascendant alliance of intercontinental ethnonationalism and has less than nothing to do with religion. Franklin Graham was schmoozing with a Russian fascist because they're buddies and their interests align as fascists, no more speculation necessary.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:46 AM on March 21, 2019 [28 favorites]


I don't care about John McCain's honor or anything like that but it's still pretty disturbing to have a president get into a bitter feud with a dead person.

It seems Trump has reached the "Nixon talking to the portraits on the wall" stage of his dementia.
posted by JackFlash at 8:50 AM on March 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


So hey, I just found out a well-regarded local bookstore here in DC (beloved by upper-crust white liberals) is hosting an author event with George Papadopoulos featuring his conspiracy fantasies that the Deep State is sabotaging Trump.

awesome
posted by duffell at 8:54 AM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]




So hey, I just found out a well-regarded local bookstore here in DC (beloved by upper-crust white liberals) is hosting an author event with George Papadopoulos featuring his conspiracy fantasies that the Deep State is sabotaging Trump.

One of those liberal/leftist dichotomy moments.

See also: NH youth ask Beto to sign a pledge to not take fossil fuel industry money, Beto refuses
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:01 AM on March 21, 2019 [13 favorites]


The fact that the Presidency has a minimum age requirement, but not a maximum one, is yet another increasingly-major oversight that we desperately need to address.

I learned through a previous job that Supreme Court Justices in Nepal have a mandatory retirement age of 65 (I assume this exists in other countries as well). When I first heard this, my gut reaction was "but isn't this age discrimination?" These days I'm much more equivocal about it.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:06 AM on March 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


[Salon]
We are about to learn something important about this country. Trump is running for re-election as a flat-out racist and bigot, and we are going to discover who we are as a nation by how many of our fellow citizens vote for him in 2020. Whether Trump wins or not, I’m afraid it’s going to be a bitter, nasty lesson.

It’s hardly worth discussing anymore whether Trump is a racist. After three years of tweeting and screeching his anti-black, anti-woman, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-anyone-who-isn’t-a-white-male-just-like-him, Trump’s wide ranging prejudice is a settled issue. He doesn’t even pretend otherwise. It’s the centerpiece of his campaign, practically the whole reason he’s running for a second term.

The GOP has surrendered to the racist-in-chief and has become the white people’s party. Support for the president among Republicans runs between 80 and 90 percent. They have almost completely thrown in their lot with him and will turn out in force in 2020. The election has boiled down to a contest between a man who coddles white supremacists and belittles African-Americans, and any Democrat at all willing to stand in opposition to Trump’s hateful mien.

How did we get to be a country with such a disgusting piece of racist, bigoted garbage as our president? It seems incredible to think of now, but there was a time in the not-so-distant past when racism seemed on the wane. I’m not talking about the moment Barack Obama first took office in 2009, when newspaper pages and cable news shows were awash in talk of a “post-racial” America. The time I’m thinking of was back in the 1980s, when I first saw, if not a racial healing, at least a diminishment of racial animus.

posted by growabrain at 9:12 AM on March 21, 2019 [29 favorites]


How did we get to be a country with such a disgusting piece of racist, bigoted garbage as our president?
Well, it starts with The 3/5ths Compromise which is found in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution.
posted by Harry Caul at 9:17 AM on March 21, 2019 [27 favorites]


Miami Herald has a scoop in the Cindy Yang scandal: Cindy Yang Helped Chinese Tech Stars Get $50K Photos With Trump. Who Paid?
More than a year before her Super Bowl selfie with the president, Li “Cindy” Yang brought two Chinese-born tech executives — an Australia-based cryptocurrency guru known in the industry as “the Martian” and a startup CEO whose firm recently became a jersey sponsor for the Dallas Mavericks — to take formal photos with President Donald Trump.[…]

But neither Ryan Xu nor Lucas Lu appear to have paid for the privilege. A search of a federal database showed no record of either man giving to Trump Victory, the political action committee that sold tickets — as well as perks like photos with the president — for the Dec. 2, 2017, breakfast fundraiser hosted by the Republican National Committee in New York City.

So who paid Trump Victory for their photos?

Yang isn’t saying — but she and three associates with an Asian-American political group donated a total of $135,500 to Trump Victory in the weeks leading up to the event. None of those associates would comment either. One of them told the Miami Herald she could not recall making a $25,000 donation listed in her name and address.[…]

Selling tickets to campaign fundraisers without disclosing the buyer to the Federal Election Commission is illegal. Selling tickets to foreign nationals, who are banned from donating to American political causes, would be an additional violation of U.S. law. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents can contribute, although foreign nationals can attend fundraisers if they do not reimburse anyone for their tickets. It would be legal for Yang and her associates to give away tickets and high-dollar extras like photos with the president as gifts, but illegal to sell them.

Through a spokesman, Lu said a friend gifted him a ticket to the event, which is legal because he said he never paid the friend back. He declined to name the friend. Lu’s spokesman provided a copy of his green card, issued three weeks before the event. His company, 5miles, offers an online marketplace through a mobile app. Last year, the company, which has branches in Beijing and Dallas, secured a three-year deal to place its patch on the Dallas Mavericks’ jersey, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Xu, a bitcoin miner whose business is mostly outside the United States, did not respond to emails and calls. It is unclear if Xu would have been legally able to pay for his presidential photo. He lives primarily in Australia and his U.S. immigration status could not be determined.

An RNC spokeswoman said both Xu and Lu were guests of a U.S. citizen — and had been vetted by the Secret Service — but declined to name the donor or donors who brought them. The RNC would have little way of knowing whether any guests had reimbursed donors for tickets.[…]

In Chinese-language social media posts and news accounts, both men were listed as guests of Yang’s political group, the Washington, D.C.-based National Committee of Asian-American Republicans. The group is often called the Asian GOP.
Elsewhere in Spa-gate, Politico reports: Trump Wants Patriots Owner Robert Kraft At White House Despite Prostitution Bust—The prospect has White House aides worried the visit could turn a feel-good photo op into an embarrassing media spectacle.. Because doubling down on a sex scandal is the Trumpist way.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:21 AM on March 21, 2019 [27 favorites]


As a Georgian and huge Stacey Abrams supporter, I'd just like to point out that it's not clear that she has agreed to be Biden's running mate, and as someone who remembers his treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings, Biden not caring about the wishes of a black woman remains a bad look for him.

For the record, what Abrams was quoted as saying yesterday about meeting with Biden:
"Georgia’s Stacey Abrams is willing to meet with any candidate running for president in 2020, but she warned she has two ground rules before she starts meeting with the wide range of Democratic hopefuls.

“My two requirements,” Abrams said Tuesday at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “One, you have to tell me what you’re going to do about voter suppression. And two, you have to believe Georgia is a swing state.”
posted by hydropsyche at 9:35 AM on March 21, 2019 [64 favorites]


How did we get to be a country with such a disgusting piece of racist, bigoted garbage as our president?

Well, it starts with The 3/5ths Compromise which is found in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution.


I object to this glib fatalism. 40-50 years ago we were trending in the right direction, becoming a better country where racism was not socially acceptable.

The more precise answer is the regression got underway with Reagan. The more important point is that white supremacy may be our original sin, but it does not have to be our preordained eternal destiny.

At least I hope not.
posted by whuppy at 9:40 AM on March 21, 2019 [48 favorites]


Kamala puts Beto on notice (Politico)
Kamala is coming after Beto — in his own backyard. Hours before the former El Paso congressman unveiled his presidential bid, Harris announced she was heading to Texas — an unmistakable warning shot at a fellow upstart competing to capture the imagination of Democratic voters.

She’ll meet Friday outside Dallas with Tarrant County Democrats, then it’s on to Houston Saturday for a big rally at Texas Southern University in Houston. It’s the start of a sustained, delegate-focused strategy that aims to take advantage of the front-loaded primary calendar in which Texas and California will significantly shape the race on March 3.

Harris has already reached out to Congressional Black Caucus members from Texas, including Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Al Green, Colin Allred and Marc Veasey ... The aggressive maneuvering is the surest sign yet that for all of O’Rourke’s appeal at home — owing to his tantalizingly close loss to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last fall — Harris isn’t ceding Texas to O’Rourke or his fellow Texan Julián Castro, the former Obama-era Housing and Urban Development secretary from San Antonio. If anything, it’s the opposite: She wants to make clear that she’s willing to go toe-to-toe with O’Rourke, the charismatic Gen-Xer who starts the race with more money and a similar knack for drawing media and exciting audiences.

"There is no state in America we will cede to anyone," a senior Harris campaign official told POLITICO. "We see a lot of opportunity to deepen support with African American and Latino communities and to expand into suburban areas where Democrats are resurgent."
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:41 AM on March 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, this is not the thread for Every Bad Thing Ever. Please keep it to national politics specifically. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:42 AM on March 21, 2019 [12 favorites]


I learned through a previous job that Supreme Court Justices in Nepal have a mandatory retirement age of 65 (I assume this exists in other countries as well). When I first heard this, my gut reaction was "but isn't this age discrimination?" These days I'm much more equivocal about it.

As I see it, there's a big difference between an ordinary job and one that involves public safety (as in airline pilots) or has the potential to affect millions of lives (Supreme Court Justices, President of the US). You want to work in retail or as a middle manager or a therapist until you're 80? Knock yourself out, and no-one should be forced out on account of age. But SCOTUS and POTUS are not ordinary jobs, and extraordinary jobs require extraordinary people. And I'm assuming Supreme Court Justices get cushy retirement packages and can go on speaking engagements, etc. afterwards. So yes, there should be an upper age limit. If nothing else, this will keep the Court from getting ossified. And it will keep the public from having to rely on the health of very old judges holding up.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:54 AM on March 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


CNN looks into the under-reported angle of how Team Trump's siphoning off legal fee payments from the re-election campaign's funds: Money, Power And Data: Inside Trump's Re-Election Machine
The campaign's fundraising has also served another crucial function: paying the legal bills of Trump campaign officials and family members.

In the first two years of Trump's presidency, donors to the Trump campaign have underwritten more than $6.7 million in legal expenses — more than $1 out of every $10 the campaign has spent on operating costs — at a time when the President, his family and aides have had to respond to federal and congressional investigations stemming from Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.[…]

The bulk of the campaign's spending on legal fees — nearly $4.4 million — has gone to the law firm Jones Day, which handles the campaign's FEC compliance and document request matters. Almost all the remaining $2.3 million has flowed to other law firms, several of which represent Trump campaign officials and Trump family members swept up in the Russia-related investigations.

More than $317,000 of those legal expenses have been paid out to firms representing Donald Trump Jr., who brokered the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting in the summer of 2016 with a Russian lawyer promising "dirt" on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.

And firms representing former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, former Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller and Kushner have been paid nearly $366,000 by the campaign. A spokesman for Kushner's attorney said payments to his firm were related to the DNC's lawsuit against Trump's campaign officials, including Kushner.
And Forbes digs into more details about the Trump 2020–Trump Org axis: Trump Has Now Shifted $1.3 Million Of Campaign-Donor Money Into His Business
Donald Trump has charged his own reelection campaign $1.3 million for rent, food, lodging and other expenses since taking office, according to a Forbes analysis of the latest campaign filings. And although outsiders have contributed more than $50 million to the campaign, the billionaire president hasn’t handed over any of his own cash. The net effect: $1.3 million of donor money has turned into $1.3 million of Trump money.

In December, Forbes reported on the first $1.1 million that President Trump moved from his campaign into his business. Since then, his campaign filed additional documentation showing that it spent another $180,000 at Trump-owned properties in the final three months of 2018.[…]

It is also unclear what exactly the 2020 effort is renting from Trump Restaurants LLC, which has received $60,000 in campaign funds. Trump Restaurants LLC is another holding company tied to Trump Tower. The building’s website, which features a handful of Trump-branded eateries, includes a page of legal disclaimers for Trump Restaurants LLC.

Inside the building lie clues to the purpose of the payments. Near Trump Grill and Trump’s Ice Cream Parlor, there’s a kiosk where tourists can buy T-shirts, hats and other campaign memorabilia. The fine print at the bottom of a poster next to the stand says, “Paid for by Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.”—the official name for the president’s 2020 campaign committee.

The Trump Organization did not respond to a list of questions, including whether the stand is in fact the basis for the payments and how many square feet it occupies. So a Forbes reporter paced out the space to take a rough measurement. It appears the entire stand is approximately 60 square feet. With monthly payments of $3,000, that implies that the campaign is paying $600 per square foot in annual rent. For comparison, Gucci rents prime space upstairs, along Fifth Avenue, for only $440 per square foot, according to an analysis of a debt prospectus obtained by Forbes.
The grift goes on…
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:54 AM on March 21, 2019 [38 favorites]


If Trump is a national emergency, it’s time for Democrats to act like it

Sometimes I wonder if part of the reason Democrats are hesitant to go full-out on the "this guy is a corrupt fascist" messaging is because they fear that when they say it out loud a significant percentage of the voting populace will realize that's the menu option they actually want.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:13 AM on March 21, 2019 [29 favorites]


I think they're hesitant to go full-out because most Democratic politicians are from the same elite social class as republican politicians, have no real skin in the game, and aren't particularly threatened in any meaningful sense by any of the foul shit the Trump administration has been up to.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:17 AM on March 21, 2019 [48 favorites]


I think they're hesitant to go full-out because most Democratic politicians are from the same elite social class as republican politicians, have no real skin in the game, and aren't particularly threatened in any meaningful sense by any of the foul shit the Trump administration has been up to.

When your life and livelihood aren't obviously at risk electoral politics become a game, and for gentlemanly sports fans it's unseemly to label the opposing team evil and to call its fans bad people.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:24 AM on March 21, 2019 [18 favorites]


How did we get to be a country with such a disgusting piece of racist, bigoted garbage as our president?

Trump ran against an army of conservative candidates. What differentiated Trump was that his policies were not conservative while his racism was front and center. This isn't a liberal take. Almost every prominent conservative is on the record openly acknowledging it.

When Trump's supporters were asked why they voted for him, they overwhelmingly said he says what he means instead of hiding it. If you look at virtually any conservative website today, its members are openly racist in a way that would have been unthinkable ten years ago.

Now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Trump's supporters have lately been saying another idea out loud that was supposed to remain quiet. Namely, it's more important to defeat liberals than to live in a democracy.
posted by xammerboy at 10:33 AM on March 21, 2019 [65 favorites]


Trump to order colleges to back free speech or lose funding

Right wingers like to pretend that Universities generally allow anyone with an idea to come and talk about it to large crowds of people. If one of their kind is denied such a platform, they call it a "free speech issue," which is, of course, nonsense. If I show up at Harvard and ask to speak to an assembly of faculty, staff, and students about my great idea for becoming emperor of reality so I can fix what's ailing us, they are not obliged to give me that opportunity and it's not a matter of denying free speech. It's a matter of selecting good faith intellectual arguments from reasonably informed and sincere people whose ideas are of interest to the community.

In short, fuck Trump.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:45 AM on March 21, 2019 [53 favorites]


Right wingers like to pretend that Universities generally allow anyone with an idea to come and talk about it to large crowds of people.

Jeffrey Sachs with a long twitter
THREAD: I'm on record as saying that there are a lot of sincere and principled people working the campus politics/free speech beat, but lately I've grown much more cynical about the entire thing. I'd like to give you an example of why...
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:20 AM on March 21, 2019 [11 favorites]


CheesesOfBrazil: Trump to order colleges to back free speech or lose funding

As has been said before, free speech doesn't mean you're free from its consequences.

Meanwhile, Pay Raises, More Staff, Earmarks: Lawmakers Propose Ways To Overhaul Congress (Susan Davis for NPR, March 21, 2019)
Members of Congress have not received a pay raise in a decade. So like most Americans, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., would like a raise.

"The cost of rent, childcare and other necessities has risen substantially in Washington and across the country in recent years, but members and staff pay and benefits have not kept pace with the private sector," Hoyer said last week at a hearing held by the new Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

Most House members make $174,000 per year, but they often have to maintain two residences and related expenses. Congress has not approved a raise since the economic recession hit in 2009. Hoyer said if Congress wants to attract Americans from all socio-economic backgrounds to run for office, it needs to pay better. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said that applies not just to lawmakers, but also to the thousands of staffers who work on Capitol Hill.

"Simply put, we don't have enough staff to do our jobs. The staff we have are underpaid, and they don't stay very long," she told the committee.

Better pay and more employees are just two of hundreds of ideas offered up at a recent lawmaker spitballing session on how to make Congress function better. It's a question a new bipartisan task force has just one year to answer before making formal recommendations for change.

The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress is equally divided between six Republicans and six Democrats, and it is expected to file a report by the end of the year with formal recommendations for how best to reform the House's internal operations. Last week, the panel held a hearing in which all lawmakers were invited to come and offer up their best ideas for change.
NPR has a sampling of the current proposals.

In other news, Fentanyl-Linked Deaths: The U.S. Opioid Epidemic's Third Wave Begins (Martha Bebinger for NPR, March 21, 2019)
Men are dying after opioid overdoses at nearly three times the rate of women in the United States. Overdose deaths are increasing faster among black and Latino Americans than among whites. And there's an especially steep rise in the number of young adults ages 25 to 34 whose death certificates include some version of the drug fentanyl.

These findings, published Thursday in a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, highlight the start of the third wave of the nation's opioid epidemic. The first was prescription pain medications, such as OxyContin; then heroin, which replaced pills when they became too expensive; and now fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that can shut down breathing in less than a minute, and its popularity in the U.S. began to surge at the end of 2013. For each of the next three years, fatal overdoses involving fentanyl doubled, "rising at an exponential rate," says Merianne Rose Spencer, a statistician at the CDC and one of the study's authors.
The article includes some theories on geographic distribution differences, and why men are dying more than women (in short, because women usually use drugs with someone else, who can get help if the user ODs, where as men do drugs alone more often).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:33 AM on March 21, 2019 [13 favorites]


Democrats are hesitant to go full-out on the "this guy is a corrupt fascist" messaging because they fear ... [voters] will realize that's the menu option they actually want.

Yesterday we were talking about why the supreme court won't rule on Trump's emoluments violations, and the upshot was that it's because everyone would likely see the supreme court's rulings can't be enforced. In other words, Trump's violating the constitution, but to officially declare that would be to point out that Trump's violating the constitution.

What happens then? Trump's obviously not stepping down. What if he says that he thinks the constitution is wrong? What if his supporters agree? What if Trump decides that the constitution is an old rag that deserves to be burned? I think we know it's likely a third of this country would be right there with him.

Why wasn't Trump arrested for obstructing justice when he said on national television that he fired the director of the FBI for investigating him? Why isn't Trump being impeached for asking for and receiving the hacked emails of his political opponent? The argument that there are fine legal distinctions that deserve weighty consideration has worn thin.

Quite simply, the operating procedure of government at this point is to give Trump what he wants, because otherwise he may decide to take it. We must sometimes pretend Trump's ideas have merit, because otherwise we're doing his bidding. We must act as if there is a question as to whether or not Trump's actions are legal, because otherwise it may become clear that they are not.
posted by xammerboy at 11:50 AM on March 21, 2019 [40 favorites]


The free speech thing is largely aimed at schools that block right wing speakers (especially the trolls and overt fascists/racists) from speaking unless they foot the security bill) because the cost of providing security (and possible liability when people get injured when they clash with counter protesters). Someone like Milo appearing at a CA University can easily hit $50k+ just for security and planning for the worst.
posted by Candleman at 11:51 AM on March 21, 2019 [8 favorites]


Meanwhile, I-1 is in full-on campaign mode ... for his friend Bibi.

NYT: Trump Wants U.S. to Recognize Israeli Sovereignty Over the Golan Heights
The president’s announcement, in a midday Twitter post, came after repeated pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. ... Mr. Netanyahu, who is facing a tough challenge in upcoming parliamentary elections, immediately praised Mr. Trump on Twitter for his decision. ... Mr. Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Mr. Trump in Washington next week, and the new United States’ stance on the disputed land is expected to help the prime minister significantly.
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:55 AM on March 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


Would a reporter please hold up a map and ask Trump to point at where the Golan Heights are, and then afterward reveal to him that it was a map of Idaho? Please?

I'm sick and tired of reporters saying things like "Trump Wants US to Recognize Israeli Sovereignty over Golan Heights". No, Trump doesn't want that, one of his handlers does. Trump doesn't know half of those words.
posted by mmoncur at 12:20 PM on March 21, 2019 [56 favorites]


[Scary / Politico]

How Trump is on track for a 2020 landslide

Trump has a low approval rating. He is engaging in bitter Twitter wars and facing metastasizing investigations.

But if the election were held today, he’d likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.
posted by growabrain at 12:21 PM on March 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


Not to revisit Infrastructure Week again, but as far as climate change and dams go, we're in a real bind.

Most of the dams in the USA were built from the end of WWII through the mid 1970's, with a few final projects trickling to completion through the 1980's.

Most of the dams that were built have a roughly 60 year lifespan before they need to be taken down (and possibly replaced) or undergo extensive and very expensive maintenance. You may note that we're hitting that sixty year lifespan on a huge number of dams. Coupled with climate change adding more flooding we're looking at disasters like we're seeing in Nebraska, and which almost happened in California with the Oroville dam becoming increasingly common over the next decade or so.

There are several thousand dams teetering on the edge of failure right now, and it doesn't take much to push them into catastrophic failure. It'll cost several tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions, to either safely decommission America's dying dams, or to make them safe for another 60 years.
posted by sotonohito at 12:24 PM on March 21, 2019 [26 favorites]


Better pay and more employees are just two of hundreds of ideas offered up at a recent lawmaker spitballing session

It's almost like their being treated like . . . teachers (gasp!)
posted by archimago at 12:26 PM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


But if the election were held today, he’d likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.

This article was a really longwinded way of saying "Incumbents running during a very strong economy usually get re-elected." Which I don't think anyone would argue with. On the other hand, Presidents with a very strong economy also don't usually have a net -12 approval, sooooooooooooo
posted by Justinian at 12:32 PM on March 21, 2019 [42 favorites]


But if the election were held today, he’d likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.

Nothing about the 2020 election will be normal or predictable. Just get out there and do what you can.
posted by benzenedream at 12:42 PM on March 21, 2019 [32 favorites]


Man who'se strong economy is this anyway?
posted by The Whelk at 12:47 PM on March 21, 2019 [14 favorites]


sotonohito: There are several thousand dams teetering on the edge of failure right now, and it doesn't take much to push them into catastrophic failure. It'll cost several tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions, to either safely decommission America's dying dams, or to make them safe for another 60 years.

I recently read about an old inquiry into how to fund roadway damages from a storm a decade ago that's still being disputed today. It's a small community, but because of a not-so-minor technicality, FEMA can't provide funds to repair the road because it's the "territory" of another federal agency. And in another instance, I've heard that a storm-damaged pipeline couldn't be moved out of a creek channel with disaster relief funds because that's a changed project, and those funds are only for replacing the damaged infrastructure, as-was. The local agency could move it, but that would cost twice as much, and the cost would come from their already limited local budget. So they'll use federal funds to put it back where it was.

Systematically, we're not ready to handle storm damages now, let alone when weather events continue to amplify in scale and scope. I imagine some of the "it's not our jurisdiction, it's theirs" kind of rules are 1) old, and 2) look like the kind of government inefficiency that might make the GOP happy because it means less coordinated government oversight, but when it comes to repairing weather-related damages, and more importantly, building infrastructure in places and ways that will make it more resilient to future events, we need to be able to have more fluid definitions and boundaries for oversight and support.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:47 PM on March 21, 2019 [17 favorites]


growabrain: How Trump is on track for a 2020 landslide

Trump has a low approval rating. He is engaging in bitter Twitter wars and facing metastasizing investigations.

But if the election were held today, he’d likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.


The problem with statements like "past presidents have been reelected under (circumstances)" is that they're true, until they're not (XKCD).


In some better news: Judge Restores Wisconsin Governor's Powers, Strikes Down GOP Laws (Shawn Johnson for NPR, March 21, 2019)
A judge has struck down the laws Wisconsin Republicans passed in December's lame-duck session of the Legislature, restoring powers to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, if only temporarily.

A county judge ruled Thursday that all of the laws and appointments passed by legislators were unlawful because they met in what's known as an "extraordinary session," which isn't explicitly allowed under the state constitution.

Gov. Evers seized on the decision almost immediately, calling on the Wisconsin Department of Justice, led by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, to withdraw the state from a lawsuit that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

"As the governor has requested, please take whatever steps are necessary to remove Wisconsin from Texas v. United States," wrote Evers' chief legal counsel, Ryan Nilsestuen in an email to the Department of Justice shortly after the ruling was released.

Evers and Kaul campaigned on leaving the case, but one of the lame-duck laws has prevented them from following through on their pledge.

The ruling also temporarily struck down 82 appointments former Republican Gov. Scott Walker made during the waning days of his administration, all of which were confirmed by Republican state Senators in the lame-duck session.

If the ruling holds, those appointments would now be Evers' to make.
The "If" is whether a higher court will step in to block Evers from taking further action.
Republican leaders Rep. Robin Vos and state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald promised to appeal the ruling, saying in a statement that it ran contrary to the way the Legislature had done business for years.
May they have the same luck as Trump has had in the courts.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:52 PM on March 21, 2019 [32 favorites]


Republican leaders Rep. Robin Vos and state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald promised to appeal the ruling, saying in a statement that it ran contrary to the way the Legislature had done business for years.

I am surprised that the Dems chose the argument that they did and shocked that they won. I do not think it will stand when it gets to the state Supreme Court. In Wisconsin, the judiciary traditionally gives the legislature deference as to how they go about legislation.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 12:58 PM on March 21, 2019


This seems like a good time to mention that there's an election on April 2 for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Wisconsin's right wing is stanning hard for extreme anti-abortion activist Brian Hagedorn, a former staff attorney to Scott Walker. His opponent, Lisa Neubauer, used to volunteer for Planned Parenthood.

Wisconsin mefites, this is a statewide election, so please show up on April 2.
posted by duffell at 1:00 PM on March 21, 2019 [51 favorites]


> Yesterday we were talking about why the supreme court won't rule on Trump's emoluments violations, and the upshot was that it's because everyone would likely see the supreme court's rulings can't be enforced. In other words, Trump's violating the constitution, but to officially declare that would be to point out that Trump's violating the constitution.

As a clarification, the issue appears to be that the federal courts may lack jurisdiction to hear the dispute in the first place. It has nothing to do with a risk that a ruling might not be enforced - it looks like the case will be dismissed because it is within the authority of Congress to address (i.e. a 'political question'). Every branch of the US government is limited to the authority granted by the US Constitution, and the separation of powers is designed to be a critical check on any branch acting in a tyrannical manner. There are many reasons to be concerned about the integrity of our democratic institutions, but this does not appear to be one of them at this time. If anything, the political question doctrine should provide reassurance that there is a democratic process available, because it appears to be an issue for Congress.

A case like Worchester v. Georgia demonstrates the limits of federal court power, but the actual reason why there was no "enforcement" of that decision is because the historically important part of the ruling was dicta, which is sardonically known as the latin term for 'bullshit,' because it refers to court discussion of issues not properly before the court on appeal and therefore not within its authority to decide. We don't know what would happen if a genocidal president actually refused to follow a US Supreme Court ruling, because that did not happen in Worchester v. Georgia and its horrific aftermath.

The argument that there are fine legal distinctions that deserve weighty consideration has worn thin.

Except these legal distinctions go to the heart of our democracy. Each branch of government is limited to the authority granted by the Constitution, and it appears that we are in a period of American history where those limits are going to matter more than ever.

We must act as if there is a question as to whether or not Trump's actions are legal, because otherwise it may become clear that they are not.

I worry about giving up on constitutional guarantees like the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial, because these protections are designed for all of us. It is clear that the GOP majority in Congress took no action to check a dangerous president, and the Democrats only won back the House, and now have to contend with the GOP's ongoing control of the Senate, as well as a current DOJ policy against indicting a sitting president. It is going to be hard enough to remove Trump from office under these circumstances, but giving up our fundamental rights to get it done seems even more dangerous to our democracy.
posted by Little Dawn at 1:13 PM on March 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


Spare me from the idea that any accountability for the powerful will destroy the presumption of innocence for all time. It was the GOP's refrain during the Kavanaugh hearings and it was fallacy then, too. It elides the distinction between being accused of a crime and being convicted of one, and it also pretends that "innocent until proven guilty" means you can't form a conclusion based on all the, y'know, proof that keeps showing up.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:51 PM on March 21, 2019 [14 favorites]


The argument that there are fine legal distinctions that deserve weighty consideration has worn thin.

Except these legal distinctions go to the heart of our democracy. Each branch of government is limited to the authority granted by the Constitution...


How about the DOJ policy that you can't indict the President? That seems like a good example of a fine legal distinction that we're dithering over that isn't in the Constitution.
posted by diogenes at 1:58 PM on March 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


Trump gets $2.9 million payday earlier this month from mysterious real estate buyer (Kerry Eleveld, Daily Kos)
Well, here's another thing for House Democrats to scrutinize: Donald Trump sold a $2.9 million Manhattan condo earlier this month to a mystery buyer for a premium price.

Forbes reports that public documents show the condo went to an entity called Koctagon LLC, with a listed address that is a New York City condo on 45th Street, which may be owned by a person named Xiu Qong Li. City records show that particular condo is owned by Smile Caribbean LLC, which until last year had an address at a property in Queens that was also partly owned by one Xiu Qong Li.

Adding to the intrigue, the purchaser paid $3,069 per square foot for the condo at Trump Parc East, more than anyone has paid for a unit there since 2016. In fact, Trump went through a dry spell of nearly two years in sales of Manhattan condos that finally ended in January with the sale of another top-dollar unit in the same building.

So who's paying premium prices for Trump real estate that no one else seems to want? It's hard to know, but Trump—and the Trump Organization he still owns—are surely happy about it. If Trump had actually divested ownership of his company, perhaps it wouldn't raise such obvious questions around corruption and quid pro quos. But he didn't, which makes every new transaction landing him millions of dollars especially suspicious.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:04 PM on March 21, 2019 [34 favorites]


according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.

538: Models Based on ‘Fundamentals’ Have Failed at Predicting Presidential Elections
"The publisher’s description for Lynn Vavreck’s excellent 2009 book, “The Message Matters,” for instance, made the following claim:

The economy is so powerful in determining the results of U.S. presidential elections that political scientists can predict winners and losers with amazing accuracy long before the campaigns start.

[. . . ]

But is it true? Can political scientists “predict winners and losers with amazing accuracy long before the campaigns start”?

The answer to this question, at least since 1992, has been emphatically not. Some of their forecasts have been better than others, but their track record as a whole is very poor.

And the models that claim to be able to predict elections based solely on the fundamentals — that is, without looking to horse-race factors like polls or approval ratings — have done especially badly."
And to be completely honest, I'm not seeing "multiple models with strong track records" in the Politico article - I'm seeing mention of two (2) that happened to get the 2016 election right and one that didn't, out of a total of three models specifically cited. And with absolutely no clarification of how good their track record is beyond that.

That's a long way from being a robust enough sample size for us to throw our hands up in despair quite yet.
posted by soundguy99 at 2:30 PM on March 21, 2019 [7 favorites]


US judge halts hundreds of drilling projects in groundbreaking climate change ruling (Cassidy Randall, The Guardian)
In a rebuke of the Trump administration’s ‘energy-first’ agenda, a judge rules greenhouse gas emissions must be considered

In the first significant check on the Trump administration’s “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account.

Drilling had been stalled on more than 300,000 acres of public land in Wyoming after it was ruled the Trump administration violated environmental laws by failing to consider greenhouse gas emissions. The federal judge has ordered the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages US public lands and issues leases to the energy industry, to redo its analysis.

The decision stems from an environmental lawsuit. WildEarth Guardians, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Western Environmental Law Center sued the BLM in 2016 for failing to calculate and limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from future oil and gas projects.

The agency “did not adequately quantify the climate change impacts of oil and gas leasing”, said Rudolph Contreras, a US district judge in Washington DC, in a ruling late on Tuesday. He added that the agency “must consider the cumulative impact of GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions” generated by past, present and future BLM leases across the country.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:31 PM on March 21, 2019 [33 favorites]


> Spare me from the idea that any accountability for the powerful will destroy the presumption of innocence for all time.

My point is essentially about how to impose that accountability, in a way that also protects our democracy. I believe that Trump has already done a lot of damage to our democratic institutions, and I'm thinking about damage control.

and it also pretends that "innocent until proven guilty" means you can't form a conclusion based on all the, y'know, proof that keeps showing up.

It's probable cause, and I am surely not trying to say that there isn't plenty available. I also believe that we're in the midst of a constitutional crisis, and I don't have clear answers about how to fix it. I am trying to express caution about things that sound like an undermining of democratic principles, including because it looks like that was the point of the apparent Russian attempts to influence our elections and our political discourse.

> How about the DOJ policy that you can't indict the President? That seems like a good example of a fine legal distinction that we're dithering over that isn't in the Constitution.

I've previously posted this: Can the President Be Indicted? A Long-Hidden Legal Memo Says Yes (NYT) and I personally don't see the US Constitution as a bar to indictment of a sitting president, which is part of why I am such a fan of every time a court or prosecutor reminds us that "no one is above the law."

Technically, I think a similar 'separation of powers' argument could be made to try to block an indictment, because we still have Congress and its ability to impeach, but I think it is much weaker than the application of the 'political question' doctrine to an Emoluments Clause lawsuit, because Congress is not a law enforcement agency and Congress does not appear to have the authority to consent to criminal activity in the way it apparently can consent to an Emoluments violation.
posted by Little Dawn at 2:39 PM on March 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


Cesar Sayoc pleads guilty to mailing explosive devices to Trump critics (WaPo)
Cesar Sayoc, the Florida man accused of mailing explosive devices to more than a dozen politicians and media figures who have been critical of President Trump, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court.

Sayoc, 57, was arrested and charged in October after a series of possible explosive devices were sent to former president Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and the news network CNN, among others. Officials said he sent a total of 16 devices to 13 people across the country.

On Thursday, Sayoc appeared in a Manhattan court room and read from a brief written statement in a quiet, raspy voice. Naming recipients of the packages, Sayoc acknowledged that he had created the devices — using materials that included powder from fireworks — and sent them in the mail.

... “I was aware of the risk they would explode.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:41 PM on March 21, 2019 [12 favorites]




Gerrymandering Kept GOP Midterm Losses to a Minimum (NBC news)

An Associated Press analysis finds that Republicans won about 16 more U.S. House seats in the 2018 midterms “than would have been expected based on their average share of the vote in congressional districts across the country.”

“In state House elections, Republicans’ structural advantage might have helped them hold on to as many as seven chambers that otherwise could have flipped to Democrats.”


Cheaters, crooks, and racists! Oh my!
posted by petebest at 2:48 PM on March 21, 2019 [25 favorites]


Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Use Private Accounts for Official Business, Their Lawyer Says (NYT):
The chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee revealed information on Thursday that he said showed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner used private messaging services for official White House business in a way that may have violated federal records laws.

The chairman, Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, said that a lawyer for Ms. Trump, President Trump’s daughter, and Mr. Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, told the committee late last year that in addition to a private email account, Mr. Kushner uses an unofficial encrypted messaging service, WhatsApp, for official White House business, including with foreign contacts.
posted by peeedro at 3:00 PM on March 21, 2019 [28 favorites]


As a clarification, the issue appears to be that the federal courts may lack jurisdiction to hear the dispute [on Emoluments] in the first place.

I understand where you're coming from, but I just don't buy it. The Supreme Court's powers do not include deciding on whether or not Trump's violations are constitutional? If true, the Supreme Court is too busy to say it? Even though there are lawsuits in front of judges that apparently don't understand this rather fundamental point either?
posted by xammerboy at 3:16 PM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]



But if the election were held today, he’d likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.


How's this possible now or in 2020? If Democrats actually come out to vote next time he can't win. And I think pretty much all of them are going to come out to vote.
posted by Liquidwolf at 3:24 PM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


Mr. Kushner uses an unofficial encrypted messaging service, WhatsApp, for official White House business, including with foreign contacts.

WhatsApp, if you're listening...
posted by banshee at 3:29 PM on March 21, 2019 [20 favorites]


Liquidwolf: How's this possible now or in 2020? If Democrats actually come out to vote next time he can't win. And I think pretty much all of them are going to come out to vote.

A fundamentals model assumes that the economy, and perhaps other factors, are always a "baseline" for turnout/enthusiasm/etc, and that little deviation from this should be expected. The high 2018 turnout alone probably refutes the premise that's where we are.

That Nate Silver article linked by soundguy99 is from all the way back in 2012, but I think it still holds. The thing about outliers like 2016 is that they sear an impression that's maybe not proportionate to their actual significance.

An easy trick to convince at least some people you're a prophet is to always predict the opposite of "expert consensus". In principle this should just make you rack up bad predictions and ruin your reputation... but from time to time the experts screw it up big, and then you get to be The One Who Was Right When Everyone Else Was Wrong. One big win is a more digestible Cassandra story than a portfolio of successful boring predictions.

Do the "fundamentals" people just reverse the other experts? No, of course not -- they're doing real work that has some merit. But my point is how easy it is for anyone to make hay from major one-off events (as we see quite a bit in convos about FiveThirtyEight, both about 2016 and back in 2012 when the common discourse was "this election proves their amazing foresight").
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:38 PM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


WhatsApp Facebook if you're listening. (FB bought it for $19 billion.)
posted by emelenjr at 3:42 PM on March 21, 2019 [7 favorites]




From the link:

BARTIROMO: But Mr. President, he's dead, he can't punch back. I know you punch back--
TURMP: No.
BARTIROMO: --but he's dead.
TRUMP: I don't talk about it. People ask me the question.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:26 PM on March 21, 2019 [7 favorites]


Commandant of the Marines Says Deploying Troops to the Border Poses ‘Unacceptable Risk’ (LAT via KTLA)
In two internal memos, Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller said the “unplanned/unbudgeted” deployment along the border that President Trump ordered last fall, and shifts of other funds to support border security, had forced him to cancel or reduce planned military training in at least five countries, and delay urgent repairs at bases.

The border deployment and funding transfers, as well as recovery costs from hurricanes Florence and Michael, new housing allowances and civilian pay raises, are taking a toll on combat readiness, Neller wrote to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

The Times obtained copies of the memos, dated March 18 and March 19.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:43 PM on March 21, 2019 [21 favorites]


How's this possible now or in 2020? If Democrats actually come out to vote next time he can't win. And I think pretty much all of them are going to come out to vote.

It also depends on who ends up running against him. And what policy stances they take, or don't take. And what smears do or do not stick to them. And how many people who pulled the lever for Trump because Otherwise, It's Hillary will accept whoever runs next year as a better alternative. And how many of Trump's faithful will remain faithful. And how the media -- mainstream and Mirror Universe, weighed separately -- will report on all aspects of the contest, the nominee and the horserace mentality. And what, if anything, Mueller's team has released and successfully gotten into the public eye by that point. And if the Senate, the courts or the general public care about that. And who we may or may not be at war with at the time. And many, many other considerations.

At this point, the only thing we know for sure about the 2020 election is that we do not know a goddamned thing yet.
posted by delfin at 5:40 PM on March 21, 2019 [13 favorites]


I think we know it's a lot closer than it should be. I guess that's how I'm feeling in regards to things like the emoluments violations, etc. This stuff seems a lot more complicated than it should be. I'm sure there are good arguments and reasons, but on the whole it just seems like Trump should have been impeached and his support dried up a long time ago. It's inconceivable to me that he's running again with a real chance of winning.
posted by xammerboy at 6:06 PM on March 21, 2019 [8 favorites]


That Nate Silver article linked by soundguy99 is from all the way back in 2012, but I think it still holds. The thing about outliers like 2016 is that they sear an impression that's maybe not proportionate to their actual significance.

2020 won't be a "normal" election either. There will never be another election where Repulbicans respect the democratic process. They do not believe in it. Full stop. They will try to steal every election from now until eternity. They're going to do it again. They're going to cheat again. They're going to ask for, and receive, Putin's help, again. This time they're going to have the full weight of the Federal government behind them, including a bought and paid for Supreme Court majority. We don't have "models" for elections weighted by direct foreign interference and Republican subversion of the democratic process. All models based on past results are tire fires.

2020 will be another "outlier", because it won't be free, or fair. We already know this. There's zero point in looking at polls, or past results that presume any semblance of small-d democratic values or equality. Polls have no predictive value whatsoever where there's no presumption of fair process, and that's American "democracy" now and going forward.

The only way to win is overwhelming numerical supremacy, such that it overwhelms their ability to subvert and steal. If it's a close election, they will steal it. If it's in dispute, their Supreme Court picks will award it to Trump. We're going to need to win by 4, 7, 10 points, beyond the margin of ratfuckery.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:48 PM on March 21, 2019 [92 favorites]


CNN: The American Bar Association says US immigration courts are 'on the brink of collapse'
The American Bar Association is proposing a major overhaul of the US immigration system, calling the courts that decide whether to deport immigrants "irredeemably dysfunctional."

"The immigration courts are facing an existential crisis," the association says in a report released Wednesday {PDF}. "The current system is irredeemably dysfunctional and on the brink of collapse."

The only way to fix "serious systemic issues," the report argues, is to create what's known as an Article I court. Akin to tax or bankruptcy courts, this would be a court that's independent from the Justice Department.[…]

The report also alleges that judicial independence has been called into question "with a resurgence of alleged politicized hiring and the adoption of policies that arguably undermine immigration judges' ability to perform their role as a neutral arbitrator of fact and law."
The US immigration courts have a backlog of over 800,000 cases at this time.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:36 PM on March 21, 2019 [34 favorites]


But if the election were held today, he’d likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.

Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown clickbait.
posted by Slothrup at 7:38 PM on March 21, 2019 [5 favorites]




Trump should have been impeached and his support dried up a long time ago. It's inconceivable to me that he's running again with a real chance of winning.

This, so this. We can allow that a republican led congress actively held back all investigations for two years, so we can say hey let's get the fire started and so on, but then "No Impeachment, don't think he's worth it", which, gotta wash that media reading jacket like 20 times to get the stink off it. And this "White House" strategy of just blatantly thumbing their noses at committee requests for information - I think that this is not so much a "politics is broken" thing as much as this is a "this *isn't* politics" thing. These guys are seriously mob connected, just not mobsters we're famliar with. These are CEO, luxury yacht, 8 billion in liquid, etc.

One of the big "red yarn figures" I want to see is the connection between Fox News, NRA, and whatever "magnificient" oligarch is assigned to drug them, compromise them, and then push in the demands. A lot of the Russia gate story is being performed by people who are absolutely in the mob, but they're not going to shakedown a local proprietor; they're selling weapons and oil and humans trafficking all day every day. Those are Trumps people. They are not government people, but they do have a very big rolodex, should they need one.
posted by petebest at 8:02 PM on March 21, 2019 [19 favorites]


“How I left the alt-right”

And how'd his radicalization start? "Then this youtube video popped up." Another algorithm casualty.

Of course that video was Stefan Molyneux, the "Great Replacement" popularizer who still puts out content every single day. There's going to be more blood on Stefan's hands.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:14 PM on March 21, 2019 [14 favorites]


Bloomberg notes that we're seeing lots of ideas that were seen as pretty non-mainstream - court packing, abolishing the Electoral college, DC statehood, killing the filibuster - being touted by multiple Dem presidential candidates.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:31 PM on March 21, 2019 [27 favorites]


Pentagon plan to fund Trump’s wall could hit Puerto Rico, European allies hard (WaPo)
The Trump administration plans to take up to $3.6 billion, or 83 percent, for the wall, meaning most of the projects on the shorter list face could be defunded. Puerto Rico is the most affected U.S. territory or state, with 10 projects at a value of $403 million on the smaller list, according to The Post’s analysis. The projects in Puerto Rico that would potentially have their funding taken away include the construction of a school for military children on what was once Ramey Air Force base and improvements to Camp Santiago, a training facility operated by the Puerto Rico National Guard.

Also on the most-vulnerable list is some $745 million worth of projects for the European Deterrence Initiative and its predecessor program. President Barack Obama launched the program in 2014 to shore up the defenses of European allies after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
Aides struggle to see strategy in Trump’s Conway, McCain fights (Politico)
As the lurid disputes dominated cable news for several more hours, it was unclear whether Trump had any strategy in mind. Some people close to Trump speculated that he might be consciously trying to remake the news environment — creating a bizarre spectacle to displace criticism of his tepid response to the massacre of dozens of Muslims in New Zealand, the timing of the administration’s decision to ground Boeing’s 737 Max jets, and frenzied anticipation around the expected release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:07 PM on March 21, 2019 [5 favorites]


but then "No Impeachment, don't think he's worth it"

I saw on CNN or MSNBC today the first actual explanation that makes sense for Pelosi's comment. One of the panelists said that he's been told by people who are in a position to know that Pelosi and the Dem leadership believe that if they impeach Trump and he isn't convicted in the Senate that they guarantee his re-election in 2020. So, to them, there is no scenario following a vote to convict in the House besides either bipartisan conviction or Trump in office until 2024 which they rightly see as the worst case scenario.

We can disagree with that analysis and, frankly, I think they are probably overreacting to what they saw happen when Clinton was impeached for bullshit reasons in the 90s but it at least puts forward a rational basis for Pelosi's comment when before I was just like "what the fuck is she thinking".
posted by Justinian at 9:17 PM on March 21, 2019 [14 favorites]


> I think that this is not so much a "politics is broken" thing as much as this is a "this *isn't* politics" thing.

And the Mueller report should be made public due to this overwhelming law-enforcement need (ABC News)
If Mueller follows the guidance of the man who appointed him and supervised his investigation, he cannot publicly disparage those who have not been charged with a crime.

Rosenstein is emphatic on this point: "In fact, disclosing uncharged allegations against American citizens without a law-enforcement need is considered to be a violation of a prosecutor's trust."
posted by Little Dawn at 9:36 PM on March 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


if they impeach Trump and he isn't convicted in the Senate that they guarantee his re-election in 2020.

I agree with this. It would not only mobilize his base, it would also look like a final "no" answer to the "is he a criminal?" question that the politically uninformed center was pondering.

I've also been worried for some time about this less-likely scenario:

1. Dem house impeaches Trump.
2. He IS convicted in the senate.
3. Trump leaves office, Pence becomes President, wins 2020 in a landslide on the "Republicans are the ones who solved the Trump problem" platform.

I think Impeachment is a gun aimed at a bear. Unless you're absolutely sure you have enough power to bring down the bear, best not pull the trigger.
posted by mmoncur at 9:37 PM on March 21, 2019 [16 favorites]


Why the Democratic leadership continues to think the Trump investigation is more like previous bullshit failed investigations of Democrats (Lewinsky, Benghazi) than like substantive, successful investigations of Republicans (Watergate, Iran-Contra) continues to baffle me. But I guess sticking with my current hobby-horse -- that we really can't predict anything -- then if an impeachment-scale investigation is only somewhat more likely to succeed than to backfire (not measured by conviction but by presidential approval post-investigation) then I guess the safest strategy is to avoid the chance of backfire even if success is more likely overall. If they're already assuming Democrats are likely to win in 2020, there's not much electoral advantage to a successful approval-decreasing investigation, whereas there's a definite electoral disadvantage to a backfiring, approval-increasing investigation. So best to play it safe, I guess is their reasoning. (Though I don't personally agree, on both moral and strategic grounds.)
posted by chortly at 9:38 PM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


substantive, successful investigations of Republicans (Watergate, Iran-Contra)

I mean, I agree, but I don't? One of the worst things in American governance is Ford pardoning Nixon for Watergate. If he'd gone to federal prison it might have dissuaded his Republican successors from breaking the law.

Reagan and Bush both should've been impeached and removed from office, possibly imprisoned, for Iran-Contra, but Bush skated and pardoned everyone.

How we let that shit slide and impeached Clinton for lying about an affair I don't know.

there's not much electoral advantage to a successful approval-decreasing investigation, whereas there's a definite electoral disadvantage to a backfiring, approval-increasing investigation

The Democrats don't need to conduct an Impeachment Investigation. Several committees are already investigating the president's malfeasance. All they need to do is say, "Holy shit! Look at all these crimes! Impeach the motherfucker!"

And all Pelosi's saying is that it's premature to say let's impeach until we get to that point. She said she opposes impeachment "unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan."

We're not there yet. But if we do get there, the Democrats will impeach Trump.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:47 PM on March 21, 2019 [15 favorites]


AOC responding to CNN report that Kushner was using WhatsApp to communicate government business...
posted by growabrain at 9:50 PM on March 21, 2019 [34 favorites]


Won’t impeachment proceedings like, expose Trumps long list of crimes? I thought that was one of the arguments for impeachment even though removal from office is unlikely.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 10:42 PM on March 21, 2019 [5 favorites]


His crimes have already been exposed and it hasn't seemed to affect his support. Impeachment is a huge risk.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:45 PM on March 21, 2019 [15 favorites]


Democratic Socialists of America back Bernie: 'The best chance to beat Trump'
The Democratic Socialists of America has officially endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, with the organization throwing its growing political clout behind the Vermont senator ahead of the 2020 election.

The DSA’s National Political Committee leadership team voted to back Sanders during a meeting on Thursday night, after the rank-and-file membership had earlier overwhelmingly pledged their support.

The backing of the DSA will provide a further fillip to Sanders, who quickly outraised most of his rivals for the Democratic nomination. The DSA endorsed Sanders in 2016 and helped the leftwing candidates Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib win long-shot elections to Congress in 2018.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:34 PM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


It’s amazing to watch this whole American way of life being dismantled in front of our eyes
posted by growabrain at 11:40 PM on March 21, 2019 [23 favorites]


the real question is if this is paper or what, if any, resources should be allocated to national electoral given that there's already an existing vibrant, well-funded electoral campaign.

This comes down to the convention in Atlanta and I know where I stand. (All power to the locals! Build socialism in your community!)

I'm going to be spending the rest of my life on the phone in a light blue suit saying "No the Caucus doesn't agree with that" aren't I?
posted by The Whelk at 11:41 PM on March 21, 2019 [3 favorites]




As I see it, the Sanders campaign is a fine opportunity for DSA members to join other organizations like Our Revolution and PDA and agitate for real socialist organizing from within those groups. Having DSA run its own parallel electoral campaign seems redundant and likely to siphon energy away from other important work.
posted by contraption at 12:02 AM on March 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


His crimes have already been exposed and it hasn't seemed to affect his support. Impeachment is a huge risk.

I think back to the NY Times story on the Trump family finances. They were so proud of themselves they made a documentary about it as they were writing about it.

No one cared.
posted by armacy at 3:59 AM on March 22, 2019 [20 favorites]


No one cared.

I think by then (late 2018), we were so far into full-blown stage four outrage fatigue it was like hearing about a documentary claiming John Gotti was involved in criminal activity.
posted by Rykey at 4:11 AM on March 22, 2019 [11 favorites]


Here at MeFi, we have a tendency to think of most voters as being like ourselves: curious news hounds who inform ourselves about the issues of the day. Pelosi knows which voters swing elections: poorly informed people who've kind of heard a thing about some stuff. There are lots of people who voted for Trump because he was a big-shot on TV (that reality show none of US watched, but plenty of other people did). I think her calculus on impeachment, while crushingly depressing, is correct.
posted by rikschell at 4:42 AM on March 22, 2019 [70 favorites]


Trump claims of McCain, "I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted. I didn't get a thank you."

CNN’s Jim Acosta: "According to the Washington National Cathedral, this is false: “Only a state funeral for a former president involves consultation with government officials. No funeral at the Cathedral requires the approval of the president or any other government official.”"

CNN: GOP Struggles to Respond to Trump's Attacks on McCain. “Speaking anonymously, an aide to a Republican senator up for re-election in 2020 explained the dilemma many GOP senators face. Should they weigh in and criticize Trump, something that could draw his wrath, or let the news cycle pass without their fingerprints? This senator decided to stay mum after determining it was not worth inflaming GOP voters at home.”

Seen from that angle, Trump’s attacks on McCain look like another of his dominance ploys. By attacking a revered former colleague without repercussions, he’s paying them back for their vote against his national emergency. It’s a warning sign of his profoundly insecure narcissism, but his anti-establishment base is too busy revelling in how he makes the GOP senators squirm to notice.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:55 AM on March 22, 2019 [26 favorites]


Sure, Trump's a narcissist but, crucially, he's an unrequited narcissist. And that's the most dangerous kind.
posted by M-x shell at 5:13 AM on March 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


Why the Democratic leadership continues to think the Trump investigation is more like previous bullshit failed investigations of Democrats (Lewinsky, Benghazi) than like substantive, successful investigations of Republicans (Watergate, Iran-Contra) continues to baffle me.

Because it's like playing baseball where the umpires are openly wearing the uniform of the other team.

If impeachment happened in a vacuum -- where the investigators and Dems could present their case to an impartial jury, the GOP could defend Trump and Team Trump's actions, and a verdict would be reached -- the political calculus involved might be very different. The Benghazi hearings, as a counterexample, were a series of complete circuses because they were explicitly partisan. The Democrats who participated might as well have read aloud from the phone book, because nothing they had to say mattered to the Jim Jordans of the world who were solely interested in their own nakedly partisan agenda.

A successful impeachment will require the support of every Democratic Senator and double-digit support among Republican Senators. The Democrats know that reaching even a simple majority to convict in the current Senate, let alone the required two-thirds majority would be miraculous. The backlash of an unsuccessful impeachment attempt could be severe. Therefore, the only reason to hold such a hearing would be in the belief that getting the information and evidence out there is that self-sacrificingly important, because what would be revealed will motivate a sufficient percentage of the American viewing public to demand meaningful action in unignorable numbers.

And I'm not sure that anything on this planet could make that happen.
posted by delfin at 6:39 AM on March 22, 2019 [23 favorites]


Your morning dose of elections with consequences: Gov. Tony Evers withdraws Wisconsin from ACA lawsuit:
Gov. Tony Evers is pulling Wisconsin out of a multistate lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act after a judge blocked lame-duck laws prohibiting him from withdrawing the state from legal actions.
State and local elections make a huge difference. We may or may not be able to get Trump impeached, but we can definitely run and vote for Democrats on the state and local level, which will make a huge difference to their residents and shield them from the worst of federal excesses.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 6:58 AM on March 22, 2019 [67 favorites]


The backlash of an unsuccessful impeachment attempt could be severe. Therefore, the only reason to hold such a hearing would be in the belief that getting the information and evidence out there is that self-sacrificingly important, because what would be revealed will motivate a sufficient percentage of the American viewing public to demand meaningful action in unignorable numbers.

I suspect there’s also consideration by Democratic leadership of the very real possibility that any actual impeachment proceedings would trigger a not-insubstantial part of his base to take things into their own hands, and do so rather violently.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:01 AM on March 22, 2019


Little Dawn: Aides struggle to see strategy in Trump’s Conway, McCain fights

That was my snarky first-take, but isn't it pretty clear that his strategy is to control the narrative? That's how he won the election, and how he keeps losing court cases and members of his administration but his base still thinks he's winning.

Doktor Zed: “Speaking anonymously, an aide to a Republican senator up for re-election in 2020 explained the dilemma many GOP senators face. Should they weigh in and criticize Trump, something that could draw his wrath, or let the news cycle pass without their fingerprints? This senator decided to stay mum after determining it was not worth inflaming GOP voters at home.”

Seen from that angle, Trump’s attacks on McCain look like another of his dominance ploys. By attacking a revered former colleague without repercussions, he’s paying them back for their vote against his national emergency. It’s a warning sign of his profoundly insecure narcissism, but his anti-establishment base is too busy revelling in how he makes the GOP senators squirm to notice.


Aand then there's this. Trump is seeming to be more crazy like a fox than plain old crazy. I mean, his rambling speeches indicate that he's not 100% on top of things, but there's schroedinger's comment:

Regarding dementia: dementia manifests in fits and starts. You don't just wake up one day unable to function. In the early stages you can be perfectly capable of a string of days of functionality before having an episode. He could both have dementia and still have moments of control.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:06 AM on March 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


Calling all grifters: Federal Court Ruling May Open The Door To More 'Scam PACs' (Jessica Taylor for March 21, 2019)
he world of political fundraising is about to get a lot more complicated and confusing thanks to a federal court ruling that could lead to the rise of more groups that seek to raise money off of a candidate's name, even if the group has nothing to do with that candidate.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan struck down the Federal Election Commission's rules that prohibited unauthorized political committees from using a candidate's name.

Chutkan wrote (opinion, PDF) that that while the FEC's regulation prohibiting candidate names to be used is meant to prevent "confusion in the voting process," the rule violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The case stemmed from a challenge by Pursuing America's Greatness, a super PAC that supported former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2016 presidential campaign. The FEC tried to order the group to not use Huckabee's name on its website and on social media.
I have a number of conflicted thoughts on this, but mostly that it's going to make for a much noisier election cycle. And I'm not hoping for any changes in the laws with the current crop of grifters.

Which made me think about progressive candidates who are pushing the Dems left: the GOP is running on short-term personal gains under the guise of "smaller government for better businesses" (and often means big businesses who are in positions to donate to political campaigns), where the Democrats, particularly the progressive Democrats, are looking to bring broad improvements for the general public, and particularly the most in need of support and relief.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:24 AM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


I suspect there’s also consideration by Democratic leadership of the very real possibility that any actual impeachment proceedings would trigger a not-insubstantial part of his base to take things into their own hands, and do so rather violently.

We can't let that influence our decision.

(1) I suspect a large number of the militias would not actually take that step.
(2) For those that would, they will expose themselves and be dealt with.
(3) Lives may be lost, but we should never bow to terrorism or extortion.
posted by M-x shell at 7:24 AM on March 22, 2019 [39 favorites]


Turn in your smartphones! How Mueller kept a lid on Trump-Russia probe (Karen Freifeld, Nathan Layne; Reuters)
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:57 AM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


A problem with bringing Trump to justice is that while his base is a minority, it is a fanatically rabid minority. At least in my lifetime, we've never had a President who so brazenly cultivated a cult of personality. Trump's followers don't care that he's done illegal things. On the contrary, they take pride in his breaking laws and getting away with it because it shows that he's strong, and if he's strong, then they are strong. They will never support impeachment because to them it's a loser's attempt to punish the winner for "winning." I don't see that changing at all unless he himself self-destructs.

But I think it's a bit premature to predict with any level of certainty all these nightmarish doomsday scenarios if impeachment were to come to pass. Sometimes it feels like people are morbidly excited by the prospect of civil war or suspended elections.
posted by xigxag at 8:04 AM on March 22, 2019 [10 favorites]


Turn in your smartphones! How Mueller kept a lid on Trump-Russia probe (Karen Freifeld, Nathan Layne; Reuters)

From that article:

"Mueller is widely expected to conclude his work anytime and send a report to the U.S. attorney general"

So we've gone from "Mueller expected to wrap up soon" to "Mueller expected to wrap up." Well yes. Yes at some point, either the heat death of the universe, or the next 5 minutes, I do expect him to finish up.

I'm not trying to just make a hot take here, and I've harked on this before but.... Every time you see a "Mueller report expected to wrap up soon" replace it with the more factual, "Eventually Mueller will be finished"
posted by Twain Device at 8:08 AM on March 22, 2019 [11 favorites]


Schools in Charlottesville, VA have been closed yesterday and today because of a threat of violence against black and Hispanic students posted online. We're used to losing a few school days a year because of snow, but now, right wing terrorist threats? We need to elect a Democrat to the White House as soon as possible who will appoint an Attorney General who will go investigate and go after these #%#^@%*#@#$%^&*!#@#$%^&*%#^@%*#@!%...

(I live in Charlottesville, and my house-mate has kids in school here.)
posted by nangar at 8:21 AM on March 22, 2019 [55 favorites]


Politico, Rick Reilly, Trump’s Caddy Will Put You in a Chokehold If You Criticize His Boss, an excerpt from Commander-in-Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, in which the President hits himself in the head and accuses his caddy of whacking him:
A.J. sticks with Trump no matter how much it costs him. “I used to caddy for a lot of the ladies here, sir,” he says, meaning the female members of the club. “But once Mr. Trump won the election, that all ended. Now I hardly do it at all, sir. I guess they don’t like him. I’m the president’s caddy and they’re not gonna ask for me, sir. So that’s it.”

One time, after a bad drive, Trump slammed his driver back in his bag, as guys will do, and wasn’t really watching what he was doing, and the driver ricocheted back and hit Trump in the head. “A.J.?” Trump asked, pissed. “Did you just hit me in the head with my own driver?”

“Sir, Mr. Trump, why would I do that?” A.J. said. “You’re my president!”
posted by zachlipton at 8:30 AM on March 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


As mentioned before, most of the public isn't following this nearly at all, much less as closely as those of us here.

Yep. Which is also why I don't think the messaging The Card Cheat suggests upthread would be terribly effective: a large number of would-be swing voters under 40 don't seem to be familiar with the term "fascism." (Not specifically criticizing your comment, Card Cheat. I've just had a number of conversations with younger people where my use of the term is met with a blank look until I explain what I mean).
posted by Rykey at 8:34 AM on March 22, 2019 [7 favorites]


We can't let that influence our decision.

(1) I suspect a large number of the militias would not actually take that step.
(2) For those that would, they will expose themselves and be dealt with.
(3) Lives may be lost, but we should never bow to terrorism or extortion.


History is not on your side. America has capitulated to almost every single instance of right wing terror except the civil war.
posted by srboisvert at 8:49 AM on March 22, 2019 [6 favorites]


Turn in your smartphones! How Mueller kept a lid on Trump-Russia probe

I realize that reporters don't write their own headlines - but this is a terribly misleading headline. It makes it seem that Mueller's extraordinary confidentially has to do with rules like confiscating phones, while that is a trivial part of it.

Mueller's office is a designated SCIF, Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, because they are routinely dealing with national security information. It is standard procedure that everyone surrenders their phones when they enter a SCIF so that shouldn't be news.

The real key is not simple phone rules. It is the integrity of Mueller and the integrity of the people he has selected to work with him. They don't leak, not because they don't have phones, but because it is the right thing to do.

Kenneth Starr and his crew in the Whitewater investigation routinely illegally leaked selective bits of secret grand jury proceedings to manipulate public relations in a blatantly political manner. Mueller's team does not. That should be the headline, not trivialities about phones.
posted by JackFlash at 8:52 AM on March 22, 2019 [70 favorites]


Re New SuperPAC rules. Let the trump brand poaching begin. I mean, is it ethically wrong to fleece the MAGA crowd? Asking for everyone.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:52 AM on March 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


Sure, Trump's a narcissist but, crucially, he's an unrequited narcissist. And that's the most dangerous kind.

Can Trump Survive Mueller? (Politico)
“He has very poor coping mechanisms when he is criticized or when he feels humiliated,” Bandy Lee, a forensic psychiatrist from Yale and the editor of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, the second edition of which is out this month, told me, “and at these points he generally goes into attack mode and he threatens others or tries to get revenge. The Mueller report is of a scale that is probably unlike what we have seen him undergo before.”

Worst-case scenario? “Obliterate observing eyes of his humiliation,” Lee said. Meaning? “Destroying the world. That, very quickly, becomes an avenue, a perceived solution … for individuals with his personality structure.” [...]

Those who believe in the power of Trump’s survival skills to protect him from even this unprecedented threat draw an analogy between the Republican Party—its members of Congress and especially the Senate—and the institutions that have enabled him in the past.

“The banks were heavily invested in Trump, and they couldn’t have him go down,” former Trump campaign staffer Sam Nunberg told me, “and the Republican Party can’t have him go down.” “I think he believes that the presidency is too big to fail, too powerful to be taken down,” O’Donnell added. “And I think that this is kind of something that he learned in the ‘90s, where the banks basically said to him, ‘You’re too big to fail, we have to back you.’ And they did it, time and time again, in Atlantic City.”

To be determined in the coming weeks and months: how well those lessons will hold up. [...]

Those who predict Trump will ultimately fall don’t disagree that he has benefited from well-placed safety nets before. This time is different, they insist, because his high-wire act is being performed at unprecedented heights. [...]

Bandy Lee is worried. The forensic psychiatrist from Yale has studied thousands of people with the mental disorders she perceives Trump has. Their behavior, untreated, had predictable and unpleasant results. She foresees a similar unraveling for Trump, albeit with a wild card she has never encountered in any of her patients: the awesome power of the commander in chief. “Under stress, we can see the limits of one’s ability to cope, and we can see that the president has reached his limits fairly rapidly, in terms of not being able to sit with the advancing special counsel’s investigation. You can see there is a heightening of activity and creation of crises, distractions, if you will, in order to distract both themselves as well as the public away from the bad news he is continuing to receive,” Lee said.

“He has very poor coping mechanisms when he is criticized or when he feels humiliated,” she continued, “and at these points, he generally goes into attack mode, and he threatens others or tries to get revenge.”
posted by Little Dawn at 8:54 AM on March 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


The DCCC warned political strategists and vendors Thursday night that if they support candidates mounting primary challenges against incumbent House Democrats, the party will cut them off from business.

Coercive measures to prevent any and all primaries seem like yet another fantastic way to alienate your base but you do you, Democratic Party.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:03 AM on March 22, 2019 [24 favorites]


Somehow not covered in the prior thread (at least by name): Trump signs largest wilderness protection bill in a decade -- New law protects 375,000 acres of wilderness in California desert, expands Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks (Paul Rogers for Mercury News / Bay Area News Group, March 12, 2019)
Capping a rare bi-partisan effort in Congress, President Trump on Tuesday signed into law the largest wilderness preservation bill in a decade, a measure that includes new protections for California’s Mojave desert.

The new law, which passed the U.S. Senate last month by a vote of 92-8, designates 1.3 million acres of federal land in California, Oregon, Utah and New Mexico as wilderness, the highest level of protection, in which logging, oil drilling, mining and road-building are banned.

Among its provisions, the measure establishes 375,000 acres of new wilderness — an area nearly 13 times the size of San Francisco — in the Mojave Desert, most of it on federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The legislation also enlarges Death Valley National Park by 35,929 acres and Joshua Tree National Park by 4,518 acres, and creates a new national monument in Los Angeles County as a memorial to 431 people killed when the St. Francis Dam collapsed in 1928 near Santa Clarita.

The White House did not issue a news release or remarks from Trump after he signed the bill, which also passed the House 362-63, enough to override a potential veto.

But Geary Hund, executive director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust, said, “”This legislation is a huge win for conservation.”

He added, “It ensures that some of the most important natural and cultural resources in the Mojave Desert will be protected and connected in perpetuity.”
The bill in question is the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, in memory of John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019), who was a member of the Democratic Party, and he holds the record for longest-ever serving Congressperson in American history, representing Michigan for more than 59 years.

Emphasis mine -- because of course this is a monumental thing, something bigger than anything Obama did, that Trump does NOT mention repeatedly. But it's because it's not really his thing -- it's something of the people, in so far that a supermajority in both the House and Senate passed it, and they could override his veto.

Here's the Wikipedia article on the omnibus bill, which is broken into three main sections, Land Exchanges And Conveyances, Public Land And National Forest System Management, and Wilderness Designations And Withdrawals, and includes forty-five unique sections.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:04 AM on March 22, 2019 [44 favorites]


Unless you're absolutely sure you have enough power to bring down the bear, best not pull the trigger.

Maybe if we're nice to him, the bear will just leave.
posted by banshee at 9:06 AM on March 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


The Republicans impeached but did not convict Clinton in 1998. Two years later, they won the presidency, and we've been suffering the consequences ever since.
posted by vibrotronica at 9:11 AM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Emphasis mine -- because of course this is a monumental thing, something bigger than anything Obama did, that Trump does NOT mention repeatedly. But it's because it's not really his thing -- it's something of the people, in so far that a supermajority in both the House and Senate passed it, and they could override his veto.

Well, and it's fundamentally antithetical to all of his personal interests. He doesn't care about wilderness, he doesn't care about stewardship of the public lands, he doesn't care about protecting national parks or educating people about American history, he doesn't care about giving 4th graders free access to the public lands in perpetuity.

He wants to expand private-sector exploitation of the public lands, and this act expressly counters that. None of his wealthy buddies benefits personally from this act. And it's named after John Dingell.

I'm sure he loathes it, and has refused to take credit for it, which shows what a terrible politician he is. A smart politician would glom onto this as evidence that he's clearly not anti-environmental.
posted by suelac at 9:17 AM on March 22, 2019 [28 favorites]


The mostly-defunct Village Voice digs into its archives and finds a story from 1993: Rudy’s Long History of Quashing Trump Probes.
Tony Lombardi, the G-man who thought the G in his unofficial government title stood for Giuliani, single-handedly contducted a low-profile probe of Donald Trump in early 1988, closing it despite evidence of fraud and an informant who said he could implicate the supposed billionaire. The quick shutdown of this mysterious inquiry — which Lombardi concedes was never given a case number in Southern District files, or assigned to any assistant U.S. attorney, but which reportedly was known to then U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani — launched a personal relationship between the agent and his subject Trump. It may also have helped create a political alliance between Lombardi’s ambitious boss and the developer who was, at the time, both the city’s biggest political donor, and most outspoken critic of incumbent Ed Koch.

Within a few weeks of Lombardi’s two face-to-face, hour-long interviews with Trump about his alleged involvement in the suspect sale of two Trump Tower apartments to the mob-connected operator of the city’s largest illegal gambling operation, the developer announced in May 1988 news stories that he could raise $2 million in a half hour if the then U.S. Attorney decided to run for mayor. Trump ultimately did become of the the co-chairs of Giuliani’s first fundraisers, sitting on the dais of his May 1989 extravaganza at the Waldorf (he, his family, and his staff raised and gave at least $41,000 to the campaign.)
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:20 AM on March 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


I think we mostly all agree there will never (barring unforeseen bombshells) be a Senate conviction. The pragmatic debate isn't about whether he will be removed from office, but about what the effects on his approval and reelection numbers will be in the scenario of impeachment trials in the House and Senate, vs just the existing array of committee-level investigations. As I've argued before, Democrats seem to overgeneralize from Clinton not just in assuming that that is the most likely outcome here, but even in generating the very idea of "backfire." Historically, investigations rarely "backfire" regardless of outcome: they damage the approval of their targets, whether or not they are indicted or convicted in the end, although that approval damage (as in Iran-Contra) may not last forever. And even Clinton is arguably not an example of backfiring: first, because his approval merely continued the grand trend upward experienced throughout the economic boom of the 90s, and second, because the Republicans did in fact win in the next election.

But regardless of the probabilities one assigns to these outcomes, there's no question that Democrats are once again adopting the most conservative, risk-averse strategy available. Best not to fire at the bear if you're not absolutely sure, which is the usual Democratic logic: don't try anything high-risk/high-reward, because what if it fails? And this makes sense when you are already ahead in the race: don't do anything to louse it up. That seems to be the logic of Pelosi and many others: 2020 is looking good, so don't risk lousing it up. This is also, in a way, the logic of incrementalist politics: whatever the local dips, the country is gradually improving across the centuries, so better to stick to the slow, low-risk path of incremental improvement than higher-risk grand policies that are more likely to fail or backfire.

But if you don't think 2020 is in the bag and things are basically going ok, you have to start taking risks. You don't win at poker by betting a nickel for every hand you get. Some things have to be gambled on if you want to get ahead after falling behind -- high risk, high-reward, potentially high downsides. Maybe despite the historical arguments you think there's too much downside risk to an impeachment trial relative to the upside benefits, or you think there's too much failure/backfire/cost downsides to the Green New Deal or Medicare for All or free college or whatever. But unless you are really, really sure 2020 is in the bag, some (judicious) risks have to be taken, otherwise we go into the next election with a pretty high likelihood the incumbent will win reelection just like they usually do, and if we do win, we spend the next eight years getting very little done, at which point an even worse Republican takes us two steps back.
posted by chortly at 9:41 AM on March 22, 2019 [7 favorites]


The Republicans impeached but did not convict Clinton in 1998. Two years later, they won the presidency, and we've been suffering the consequences ever since.
Except they stole the presidency. And the Dems refused to call them on that violation, and so refused to fight the good fight. That's where the consequences follow. Not fighting again is just asking for more.
posted by Harry Caul at 9:42 AM on March 22, 2019 [54 favorites]


Coercive measures to prevent any and all primaries seem like yet another fantastic way to alienate your base but you do you, Democratic Party.

The DCCC is not the Democratic Party. The DCCC is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It is a campaign committee set up and run by incumbent congress members to re-elect incumbent congress members. All the money in the committee is money raised and contributed by incumbent congress members. Why would incumbent congress members raise money to support their opponents? Would you expect Bernie Sanders to raise money for Joe Biden in the primary?

The DCCC is not the Democratic Party. The DCCC is not the DNC.
posted by JackFlash at 9:44 AM on March 22, 2019 [59 favorites]


In case DACA matters have fallen too far off the radar, here's one ongoing awful example: Airline Assured Flight Attendant She’d Be Safe to Fly to Mexico. When She Returned, ICE Detained Her.

Selene Saavedra Roman is 28 and has lived in the US since she was 3. She's got an American college degree, married an American citizen, has a SSN and pays taxes and is halfway through her citizenship process. She's been in ICE detention for a month and a half because her employer assured her she was safe to fly to Mexico for work on her passport.

There's a MoveOn petition for her release, for what it's worth.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:46 AM on March 22, 2019 [46 favorites]


I agree, Harry Caul. I believe the Brooks Brother Riot was the crossing of the Rubicon.
posted by vibrotronica at 9:55 AM on March 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


. Why would incumbent congress members raise money to support their opponents? Would you expect Bernie Sanders to raise money for Joe Biden in the primary?

This is wrong. The DCCC is an organ of the official Democratic party. It says right on the website: "the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the House of Representatives" and "the only political committee in the country whose principal mission is to support Democratic House candidates every step of the way to fortify and expand our new Democratic Majority". Their official pupose is definitively not " to re-elect incumbent congress members", it's to elect more Democrats.

On top of that, what they're doing is not "rais[ing] money to support their opponents", they're telling election vendors that they will cut them off from all business with the party if they work with primary challengers. That's fundamentally anti-democratic. It's exactly what progressive accuse them of being. They're proving the Jill Stein deadenders and the worst Bernie Bros right, that they're much more worried about holding down progressive voices in the party than actually beating Republicans.

Primaries are democracy. If you're against primary challengers, you are anti-democracy. This is exactly what we mean when we say we need better Democrats. All of these people must go.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:26 AM on March 22, 2019 [35 favorites]


This is really, really strange.

@realDonaldTrump: It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!

Most Presidents would be afraid of looking incompetent if they proudly announce reversing their own government after they presumably saw what it did on TV, but yet here we are.

@ajmount: Over and over officials and optimists explain to me that negotiations policy is rational, unified, coordinated, managed by experts, that DPRK could never divide the government or the alliance, that the president effectively exerts leverage. Somehow I'm still not convinced. The Trump administration has applied "large scale" sanctions in the past to reduce the regime's currency intake and suppress its economy. Yesterday, OFAC simply designated two shipping companies based in China that helped evade existing sanctions. Where did Trump get the idea that these sanctions are "large scale" and must go? It's highly unlikely that it came from one of his advisors. Was there a communication from Pyongyang? If so, it implies an astonishing degree of deference and risk aversion. The message this sends is unmistakable. After refusing to consider sanctions relief at Hanoi, Trump volunteers to loosen enforcement in order to preserve the talks after facing coercive pressure at Sohae. It shovels leverage to other side, assuring them their tactics could work.
posted by zachlipton at 10:48 AM on March 22, 2019 [23 favorites]


I'm sure the Press Secretary's statement will clarify why the heck he would do such a—oh

@Bencjacobs: Per pool reporter @AndrewRestuccia, Sarah Sanders passes along the following comment "On North Korea Sanctions: “President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary.”
posted by zachlipton at 10:50 AM on March 22, 2019 [18 favorites]


It says right on the website: "the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the House of Representatives"

IN the House. And only in the House.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:50 AM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


The DCCC is an organ of the official Democratic party.

No it isn't. You quoted it right there - "the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the House of Representatives." It represents Democratic members in congress, not their primary opponents. It is setup by Democratic incumbents, not the party, it is run by Democratic incumbents, not the party, it is funded by Democratic incumbents, not the party, it works to re-elect Democratic incumbents. It would be stupid for Democratic incumbents to raise money and spend it for their primary opponents.

they're telling election vendors that they will cut them off from all business with the party if they work with primary challengers.

No they are not. They are telling them they will cut them off from the funds of the DCCC, money the incumbents raised to re-elect themselves. The DCCC is not the Democratic Party. The DNC, which represents the Democratic Party, has their own funds and their own committee that is entirely separate from the DCCC and makes their own decisions about who to support.

Vendors are people like ad agencies and campaign consultants. Look, would you be outraged by the headline "Sanders campaign says it will not hire ad agency if it works for Joe Biden."

Would you be outraged by the headline "Biden campaign says it will not be hiring David Sirota if he works for Sanders."

Why are you outraged by the headline "DCCC says it will not hire vendors who work for their opponents."
posted by JackFlash at 10:51 AM on March 22, 2019 [20 favorites]


[On preview, I've edited out some stuff regarding the DCCC strategy that T.D. Strange put more eloquently. But one additional point from the original article:]

Effectively, this means that the established consultancies, which for better or worse are a fundamental pillar of congressional elections, have to refuse all efforts to buy their services by new challengers. For centrist groups this is no problem, since they already serve mainly established incumbents anyway (a nice job if you can get it). But for more left-leaning groups who would like to support both left-leaning incumbents and left-leaning challengers, they are now in a pinch, and as the article points out, the result will be a potential division of firms into pro-incumbent, pro-establishment DCCC-supported firms (with mostly white and/or male clients) and anti-establishment firms (with much more female, non-white clients). But even this isn't really sustainable, because what happens when those challengers win their races? Does the DCCC demand that a consultant group drop last year's winner for their sophomore election if the group wants to continue to work with other left-wing challengers?

And just to reiterate a broader point: the DCCC isn't some generic organization. The DCCC is basically the electoral arm of (Democrats in) Congress, and as such is more, not less, important to Congress than the DNC or the "Democratic party" more generally. Its decisions are a big deal -- if they actually enforce this rule.
posted by chortly at 10:53 AM on March 22, 2019 [6 favorites]


It is a campaign committee set up and run by incumbent congress members to re-elect incumbent congress members
That is far from the only thing it does. Last year the DCCC targeted over a hundred races without Democratic incumbents.
it is funded by Democratic incumbents
and by direct donations from individuals who want to support Democratic House candidates, incumbent or not.
posted by mbrubeck at 11:02 AM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


filthy light thief, thanks for your comment highlighting Trump signs largest wilderness protection bill in a decade.

That bill had true bipartisan support: 92-8 in the Senate, and 362-63 in the House, enough to override a veto.

There are some issues that have true bipartisan support, and I really celebrate the legislators choosing to get this done.

When I hear Democrats lauding bipartisan efforts, I think of laws like this, and the Violence Against Women Act - and I believe those Democratic politicians are correct in believing that most Americans want their representatives to pass the laws that have broad support across parties.

"Bipartisan" is only a dirty word when its meaning is perverted to "Republicans dictate, Democrats give in." Before Republicans became the Obstructionist Party, bipartisan bills were more common - and this shows that even in these bleak obstructionist days, some true bipartisan efforts can still pass.
posted by kristi at 11:14 AM on March 22, 2019 [18 favorites]


That is far from the only thing it does. Last year the DCCC targeted over a hundred races without Democratic incumbents.

Why is that surprising? That is exactly the point. They will contribute to campaigns for more Democrats in seats with no incumbent because more Democrats means more influence in congress. They will not contribute to their own opponents.

Dialing for dollars is one of the most hated but unfortunately necessary jobs of congress members. It would be insane to expect congress members to do this dreary job to help their opponents.
posted by JackFlash at 11:21 AM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Nobody is asking for the DCCC to “contribute” in any way to incumbent Democrats’ primary opponents. They are asking for consulting firms, who may have many clients, to be free to work for such campaigns without being blacklisted from DCCC-supported campaigns.
posted by mbrubeck at 11:23 AM on March 22, 2019 [20 favorites]


They are asking for consulting firms, who may have many clients, to be free to work for such campaigns without being blacklisted from DCCC-supported campaigns.

They are blacklisted if they are opposing DCCC members. The DCCC members raised the money for the DCCC. The DCCC is going to oppose giving money to vendors who run ads against their members. Why is that hard to understand?

Should Bernie Sanders be allowed to blacklist the same ad agency that is running ads for Joe Biden? You could go a step farther - should the Democratic Party be allowed to blacklist vendors working for Donald Trump?
posted by JackFlash at 11:44 AM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


One of the definitions of playing "hardball" in politics (or the mafia, for that matter) is not whether you refuse to help people who do X (eg, run against incumbents in primaries) -- that's just "softball," the standard one-degree-of-separation strategy. "Hardball" is escalating it to two-degrees-of-separation: you refuse to support not only those who directly do X, but anyone who even works with those who do X (ie, freezing out all consultants who even work with primary challengers). That's hardball because it targets a vastly larger population, and in a way that leads to long-term polarization of the entire system into two opposed sides. There are of course plenty of examples of second-degree hardball that we like (eg, refusing to support Democrats who embrace Republicans, although we then get consternated with folks like Beto), and many may in fact support this second-degree strategy by the DCCC, but either way, adding such a broad new second-degree rule would change the landscape pretty significantly and lead to much more polarization between the far left and center left than if the DCCC merely continues to refuse to directly support primary challengers.

They are blacklisted if they are opposing DCCC members. The DCCC members raised the money for the DCCC. The DCCC is going to oppose giving money to vendors who run ads against their members. Why is that hard to understand?

Because in open races, multiple primary candidates can be DCCC members, so the DCCC already deals with multi-DCCC-candidate races. If the DCCC allowed primary challengers to be supported by and raise money for the DCCC, then those challengers would be DCCC candidates. So it's not the membership that causes the DCCC support, it's the DCCC (non)support that causes the membership. But again -- one can sympathize with the DCCC being pro-incumbent, but it's a whole nother ballgame to escalate that to a two-degree ban.
posted by chortly at 11:46 AM on March 22, 2019 [7 favorites]


David Dayen with the test question I really want to hear answered: Does this DCCC blacklist of companies working with primary challengers include challenges to @IlhanMN?

If that answer is 'no', it's not about protecting incumbents, it's about striking back at progressives.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:59 AM on March 22, 2019 [17 favorites]


The DCCC Sure as Hell Isn't Going to Let Another AOC Win (Jack Crosbie, Splinter)
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:00 PM on March 22, 2019 [15 favorites]


CNN’s Joan Biskupic posts an excerpt from her upcoming bio of the Chief Justice: The inside story of how John Roberts negotiated to save Obamacare
Roberts' moves behind the scenes were as extraordinary as his ruling. He changed course multiple times. He was part of the majority of justices who initially voted in a private conference to strike down the individual insurance mandate -- the heart of the law -- but he also voted to uphold an expansion of Medicaid for people near the poverty line.

Two months later, Roberts had shifted on both.

The final tallies, 5-4 to uphold the individual mandate and 7-2 to curtail the Medicaid plan, came after weeks of negotiations and trade-offs among the justices.[…]

The decision was revealed on June 28, the last courtroom sitting of the 2011-12 session. As Roberts began reading his opinion from the bench, he tried to speak steadily, but he was nervous. About 13 minutes into the 20-minute announcement, after he had summarized various legal rationales, he misstated the overall judgment. Few noticed the slip because he had already laid out the reasoning.
Also, RGB is a badass, should there ever be any doubt:
When Ginsburg found out about Roberts' new position, her first thought was, "It ain't over till it's over." She understood that the process could continue to be fluid, especially in such a monumental case.

"People change their minds about what they thought. So it isn't at all something extraordinary, and that's how it should work. We're in the process of trying to persuade each other and then the public," she told me in a 2012 interview in her chambers.
At the time, Ginsburg knew that Roberts was not deviating from his view of limited commerce clause power, and she wanted to make her dissent as persuasive as possible.

"I was forcing myself to stay awake and work on the opinion," Ginsburg said.

Another complication for Ginsburg was that in late spring she had fallen on the marble floor of her bathroom and cracked several ribs. There was nothing to be done except to work through the pain.
The legalistic back-and-forth of upholding the ACA in exchange striking down Medicaid expansion is an object lesson in how SCOTUS sausage is made.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:04 PM on March 22, 2019 [21 favorites]


Also a lesson in John Roberts’ hypocrisy. The “I Just Call Balls And Strikes” justice completely flip-flopped his legal reasoning because he got cold feet about the outcome.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:05 PM on March 22, 2019 [22 favorites]




> Trump Nominates Famous Idiot Stephen Moore to Federal Reserve Board

kak·i·sto·cra·cy /kakəˈstäkrəsē/ (noun)
A kakistocracy is a system of government which is run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens. The word is derived from two Greek words, kakistos (κάκιστος; worst) and kratos (κράτος; rule), with a literal meaning of government by the worst people.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:22 PM on March 22, 2019 [35 favorites]


Proctocracy: government by assholes
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:29 PM on March 22, 2019 [17 favorites]


@realDonaldTrump: It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!

The Toronto Star’s Daniel Dale: “After announcing he's reversing new North Korea sanctions because he likes Kim Jong Un, Trump's spokesperson issues a statement announcing his new sanctions on Venezuela, saying he won't allow Maduro to steal his country's wealth for personal gain while his people go hungry.” Screenshot
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:46 PM on March 22, 2019 [11 favorites]


Effectively, this means that the established consultancies, which for better or worse are a fundamental pillar of congressional elections, have to refuse all efforts to buy their services by new challengers.

Well, some of these consultancies have managed to lose elections despite winning the popular vote so maybe not a huge loss to have challengers need to find fresh talent.
posted by srboisvert at 12:56 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Giuliani tried to shoot down the theory that Trump conspired with Russia to undermine the 2016 presidential election by citing a Wikipedia entry:

“Since 2009 Steele has not been to Russia, or visited any former Soviet states and in 2012, an Orbis informant quoted an FSB-agent describing him as an ‘enemy of Mother Russia. The below excerpt from Wikipedia, if true, is another indication that the Steele Dossier about Russia is a phony work of political opposition research. Comey never bothered to check when Steele was last in Russia. So where was it written and who wrote it? We demand answers!”
posted by growabrain at 12:59 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Via The Daily Mail [*Not a reliable source]:
Police surround Ecuadorian embassy in London as Julian Assange stays inside.
This is after another story yesterday that the DoJ sent an airplane from Manassas, where its fugitive retrieval agents are based, to London.
posted by growabrain at 1:32 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Effectively, this means that the established consultancies, which for better or worse are a fundamental pillar of congressional elections, have to refuse all efforts to buy their services by new challengers.

Well, some of these consultancies have managed to lose elections despite winning the popular vote so maybe not a huge loss to have challengers need to find fresh talent.


Are those losses not more attributable to gerrymandering and targeted voter suppression than said consultancies? I'm sure if they too could purge rolls and redistrict congressional boundaries they'd have been a lot more successful.

I'm all for maintaining Democratic control in the house, but they must continue to be challenged from the left in my opinion, otherwise they're functionally conservative in practice.
posted by avalonian at 1:33 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


If Assange is somehow retrieved I'll have a dance party with myself.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:45 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


growabrain: "Trump Nominates Famous Idiot Stephen Moore to Federal Reserve Board"

The Intercept: "Capitalism is a Lot More Important Than Democracy, " Says Donald Trump's Economic Adviser
Moore is particularly notable because he’s entertainingly honest about prioritizing money over Americans. In the 2009 documentary Capitalism: A Love Story, Moore said on camera that “Capitalism is a lot more important than democracy. I’m not even a big believer in democracy.”
That's a little on the nose, even for one of President Shitbag's nominees.
posted by Rhaomi at 2:01 PM on March 22, 2019 [17 favorites]


BREAKING - MSNBC: Attorney General Barr has the Mueller Report [sic] in-hand and this investigation is over (per DOJ)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:02 PM on March 22, 2019 [52 favorites]


JackFlash's line of argument mostly depends on pretending that the DCCC is solely a pooled re-election fund for incumbents, and we should judge it's actions the same way we'd judge any candidate running for election. Obviously, to fulfill the DCCC's goals--such as keeping a Dem majority in the house, or "support[ing] Democratic House candidates every step of the way"--it will sometimes function as if it's merely a re-election fund for the incumbents. But let's not pretend that's all the organization is.

Drawing lines in the sand like this, in the short term, will harm primary challengers and upstart, progressive organizations. But I think, from a long-term perspective, it's bad for the party as a whole.

House Democrats Move to Hobble Primary Challengers

The new protocol, intentionally debuted early in the off-year before most campaign hiring begins, presents a stark financial deterrent to the country’s top firms that provide essential services ranging from polling to TV advertising to strategy. It could cripple would-be primary opponents’ ability to entice top talent to join their staff. The DCCC independent-expenditure arm doles out millions in contracts to consultants and drives more revenue toward them by connecting campaigns with vetted operatives.

“The DCCC is oftentimes the gatekeeper for consultants to get to candidates,” said Ian Russell, a campaign media strategist and former top official at the committee. “Unless you have a steady stream of income coming from another source, it would be very difficult to navigate the House world if you were shut out by the DCCC.”


As mentioned upthread, this risks bifurcating the set of camapaign-supporting organizations into a challenger/progressive group and an incumbent/establishment group. If it does, then you might have a primary challenger who wins in one cycle finding it hard to hire the very people that got them elected during the next. Even if you buy the argument that the DCCC's only there to re-elect incumbents, the long-term consequences of their new policy are self-undermining, so not worth defending.
posted by davedave at 2:06 PM on March 22, 2019 [6 favorites]


I am sick in bed, sneezing my head off, but not on my deathbed. So I may take a subway train to an open store to buy ice cream because even if I don't get to read the report, this is an ice cream day.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:07 PM on March 22, 2019 [9 favorites]


Here is an article in WaPo about the Mueller report, if you want to read about it.

Basically: Barr will summarize the report for Congress in the coming days. All the other info is backstory any threadreader is already aware of. Although you may have forgotten some.
posted by Emmy Rae at 2:08 PM on March 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


Julia Ainsley, NBC Justice correspondent, reports that Barr may be submitting the report to Congress as soon as this weekend.
posted by Justinian at 2:09 PM on March 22, 2019 [5 favorites]


If you can't access WaPo, here's a link to Bloomberg:

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted his final report, a still-secret document that closes his 22-month investigation into whether President Donald Trump or those around him conspired in Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

The Justice Department has notified key lawmakers that Attorney General William Barr has received the report and that he will take some time to review it, according to department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec.

It’s only the beginning of a struggle between Barr, lawmakers and the White House over how much of Mueller’s findings -- and the evidence behind them -- will be disclosed to Congress and the public. That fight is likely to escalate from social-media wars between the president and his critics to hearing rooms on Capitol Hill and ultimately to the Supreme Court. ...

posted by Bella Donna at 2:10 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mueller report: Special Counsel submits report to AG William Barr - The Washington Post
The Justice Department notified Congress late Friday that it had received Mueller’s report but did not describe its contents. Barr is expected to summarize the findings for lawmakers in coming days.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:10 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


So, no prosecution of Don Jr. Or Kushner. Or Ivanka. Or Eric Prince. Let's hope the report was also accompanied by a whole lot of referrals to SDNY.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:10 PM on March 22, 2019 [48 favorites]


The actual statement from DOJ is that Barr might release a summary of Mueller's conclusions as early as this weekend. That's a much different statement than Ainsley's stronger one, and could mean almost anything.
posted by Justinian at 2:14 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


I find the lack of indictments disturbing.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:15 PM on March 22, 2019 [64 favorites]


Mueller report released today, concluding FBI investigation into Russia interference in Trump Campaign and 2016 election - CBS News
Barr will now summarize it for lawmakers, in accordance with the law governing the special counsel. It is not clear whether the report or any part of it will be made public -- that's left to Barr's discretion.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:15 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Weren't there still many indictments under seal? If they were filed previously, they wouldn't be "new" indictments, even if they pierce directly into Trump's inner circle, right?
posted by Rhaomi at 2:18 PM on March 22, 2019 [9 favorites]




HEART PALPITATIONS HERE.

And that's nothing compared to what the Trump Klan and their minions must be feeling....

I find the lack of indictments disturbing.

How will the process work? Does Mueller handle the indictments under his purview and refer the rest to other jurisdictions? And does the lack of indictments for today mean he's done indicting people and it's up to other prosecutors now?
posted by orange swan at 2:20 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Friday after 5 p.m., right on time!
posted by Melismata at 2:20 PM on March 22, 2019 [15 favorites]


Just a reminder, from the WSJ: The wide-ranging inquiry yielded criminal charges against 34 people and the convictions of five Trump advisers, including his former campaign chairman, his first national-security adviser and his personal lawyer, several of whom admitted to lying about contacts they had with Russians before Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

... Neither side may be satisfied by the immediate result. The regulation governing Mr. Mueller’s work mandates that Mr. Barr is only required to notify specific lawmakers that the investigation has concluded. He will likely spend the coming days combing through the report for information protected by grand-jury secrecy and other classified information, and assembling his own, abridged version to provide to Congress.

Democrats and some Republicans are particularly concerned about what Mr. Barr will do, given an unsolicited memo he wrote before being picked as attorney general criticizing what he believed at the time to be Mr. Mueller’s theory for investigating the president.

Even as the Mueller probe is ending, other legal threads involving the president and his allies, including his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who implicated Mr. Trump in federal campaign-finance crimes, will carry on under other jurisdictions. At the same time, House Democrats are intensifying their investigations into Mr. Trump and his associates, and the party is debating whether to initiate impeach proceedings against Mr. Trump regardless of what Mr. Mueller’s probe turns up.

posted by Bella Donna at 2:22 PM on March 22, 2019 [9 favorites]


So, no prosecution of Don Jr. Or Kushner. Or Ivanka. Or Eric Prince. Let's hope the report was also accompanied by a whole lot of referrals to SDNY.

It feels like justice and democracy got shafted
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:23 PM on March 22, 2019 [10 favorites]


So why again does Congress have to go through Barr for the report? As a coequal branch with oversight responsibility, shouldn't they have the right to receive everything in it direct from Mueller? I don't understand why the DOJ would be able to hide anything from Congress. Taxpayers paid for the report. Congress represents them. They should get everything.
posted by downtohisturtles at 2:23 PM on March 22, 2019 [10 favorites]


Russia-Trump inquiry: Special Counsel Robert Mueller ends Russia investigation - BBC News
Mr Mueller's report has been delivered to the Department of Justice, where Attorney General William Barr will decide how much to share with Congress.

In a letter to Congress, Mr Barr said he may be able to report back the principal conclusions by the weekend.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:24 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Subpoena everybody!
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:27 PM on March 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


Robert Mueller Submits Report on Trump Russia Probe - Bloomberg
congressional Democrats -- who now control the House -- say they want broad disclosure of Mueller’s investigative work, citing the earlier success of Republicans in pressuring the Justice Department to release details they said showed anti-Trump bias in the FBI. They have talked of issuing subpoenas to force disclosure and even public testimony by Mueller.

“We’re going to insist on the underlying evidence,” Representative Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in February on ABC’s “This Week.”

“If you take the position that the president cannot be indicted, and the only remedy for improper, illegal or other conduct is impeachment, then you cannot withhold that information from Congress, or essentially the president has immunity,” he said.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he, too, wants Mueller’s report made public. “Let it come out,” he said. “Let people see it.”
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:30 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


Weren't there still many indictments under seal?

There were some sealed indictments numbered between Flynn and Manafort, but no proven link to Mueller.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:31 PM on March 22, 2019 [5 favorites]


Between this and Trump's 'yeah, let's make sure it's ALL public!' this week it sure feels like the fix is in, and Barr put it there. Hope I'm wrong.
posted by dragstroke at 2:33 PM on March 22, 2019 [14 favorites]


One of the sealed indictments must be for Assange no? That got leaked through improperly redacted court filings as I recall. I think the report dropping now adds credibility to growabrain's link above about Assange being surrounded by police at the Ecuadorian embassy in London today, which also seems to be bubbling up on twitter.

I wonder where Jared and Ivanka are this evening.
posted by aiglet at 2:35 PM on March 22, 2019 [5 favorites]


downtohisturtles, your question is answered in the WSJ report I quoted. "The regulation governing Mr. Mueller’s work mandates that Mr. Barr is only required to notify specific lawmakers that the investigation has concluded."
posted by Bella Donna at 2:36 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


I would really love more concrete updates on the Embassy in London. Twitter is just full of noise on it.
posted by Brainy at 2:40 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


You and me and everyone I know, odinsdream. Let us see what happens over the weekend. Meanwhile, I am off to get ice cream. Some right-wing asshole on Twitter made some comment about "no more indictments" and I thought, maybe no more from Mueller but don't you worry, asshole, more indictments are coming.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:40 PM on March 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


There were some sealed indictments numbered between Flynn and Manafort, but no proven link to Mueller.

Yes, and there's no particular reason to think they were Mueller indictments. They could easily be completely unrelated.

So why again does Congress have to go through Barr for the report? As a coequal branch with oversight responsibility, shouldn't they have the right to receive everything in it direct from Mueller? I don't understand why the DOJ would be able to hide anything from Congress. Taxpayers paid for the report. Congress represents them. They should get everything.

First- a lot of it is grand jury testimony- they'd have to go through both Barr and the judge overseeing the grand jury.

Second- the tradition is that raw prosecutorial stuff doesn't leave the FBI. Nunes blew that up by subpoenaing all sorts of stuff, and getting it. There's good reasons for this, if you trust career FBI prosecutors, you probably shouldn't have pinhead legislators looking over their shoulders, even after the fact. But if the Dems want to press on it, they probably could get an awful lot.

your question is answered in the WSJ report I quoted. "The regulation governing Mr. Mueller’s work mandates that Mr. Barr is only required to notify specific lawmakers that the investigation has concluded."

The regulation requires that report, but it doesn't preclude a more expansive accounting of what happened. Barr or Mueller could call a press conference, Comey-style.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:41 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


via Twitter: joint statement from Schumer and Pelosi
(NBC News)

They insist that Barr “must not give Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller's findings or evidence" and that the White House should not "interfere in decisions" related to how much should be made public:

“The American people have a right to the truth.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:44 PM on March 22, 2019 [30 favorites]


Same, dragstroke. There's a distinct feeling of Kavanaugh all over again. I just have to balance that against the fact that even the publicly available, unredacted evidence is, by any sane measure, damning for Trump:

1) His closest advisers, including his own family, attended a meeting at the skyscraper that houses both his home and office, with representatives of the Russian government who promised them "dirt" on his election rival, and discussed lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs should Trump become president.

2) His campaign manager, who was an illegal agent of the Russia-friendly Ukrainian government before its ouster, gave internal polling data to a KGB agent during Russia's pro-Trump electioneering campaign.

3) At the RNC, the only change the Trump campaign sought to the party platform was to soften its position on arming the newly Russia-unfriendly Ukrainian government.

4) The candidate himself publicly called on Russia to hack his opponent, which they proceeded to do.

If Mueller had a free hand in writing the report, the best conclusion Trump could hope for is that there is no evidence that he was aware of points 1 through 3, and we can't prove that the "Russia, if you're listening" speech was anything more than a wacky coincidence. Which is entirely possible (the lack of evidence in hand), even if it strains belief that it might be true for Trump to be innocent.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:45 PM on March 22, 2019 [21 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, I know this is big news, but we really need to manage both the funny one-liners and the doomsaying. Take those to their appropriate MeTa threads, please. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 2:50 PM on March 22, 2019 [16 favorites]




Second- the tradition is that raw prosecutorial stuff doesn't leave the FBI. Nunes blew that up by subpoenaing all sorts of stuff, and getting it. There's good reasons for this, if you trust career FBI prosecutors, you probably shouldn't have pinhead legislators looking over their shoulders, even after the fact. But if the Dems want to press on it, they probably could get an awful lot.

James Comey also blew up this precedent by handing over all of the Clinton emails investigation to Congress. The new precedent is that Congress gets every single shred of evidence Mueller looked at, just like the FBI did with the Clinton case. Call it the Comey Rule.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:57 PM on March 22, 2019 [43 favorites]


That means nothing for SDNY. It means nothing for all the additional legal trouble coming Trump's way in the future.
posted by xammerboy at 2:57 PM on March 22, 2019 [11 favorites]


CNN confirms no sealed indictments coming down the road (though that's only as far as Mueller's team is concerned).
posted by Rhaomi at 2:59 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


I have a suspicion that we aren't going to need to wait until past 10pm to start hearing what the report conclusions are. Like, I just can't fathom people in that office not starting to leak things tonight.

Also, the wording on the bit preceding "there were no such instances" seems to leave open the possibility that actions were denied on grounds that were not earth shattering, like it being outside scope, for whoever determines scope.
posted by Slackermagee at 3:02 PM on March 22, 2019




Was it actually Mueller's job to bring indictments against all those found to have been involved in criminal activity?

The ones he has brought seem to have been a part of the process as much as anything, ways of getting leverage and information.

It seems fairly improbable that there weren't other people and crimes ancillary to the Cohen and Stone cases for instance. It can't have been just them criming all by themselves.

I mean I'm personally not optimistic, and half expect us to be onto the next big news thing by next weekend. But there just doesn't really seem to be enough information yet to predict anything with certainty.

Also, The Guardian Liveblog seems to be on the good caffeine tonight and getting all the pertinant updates as fast as they appear.
posted by Buntix at 3:12 PM on March 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


Like, I just can't fathom people in that office not starting to leak things tonight.

Very few people will have seen the report itself by tonight, and the people who will have seen it don’t leak.
posted by sallybrown at 3:24 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


via the Guardian: Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) Schiff to @MSNBC on 'no further indictments': "It doesn't mean, of course, that Main Justice, or the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney's office or the Eastern District or others may not bring indictments ... It's entirely possible ... there will be other indictments."
posted by Little Dawn at 3:32 PM on March 22, 2019 [6 favorites]


John Harwood: "Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, among the senior lawmakers directly informed this afternoon that Mueller has submitted his report, will be at Mar-a-Lago tonight".
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:35 PM on March 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


What does the Mueller report say and what does it mean for Trump? (Guardian)
Are any other Trump-related investigations still ongoing?

Yes, lots. While the special counsel’s office has concluded its work, investigations taken up by federal prosecutors in the southern and eastern districts of New York continue, and prosecutors have also been active in the eastern district of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Unlike Mueller, those prosecutors are not bound by narrow authorizations dictating what activity they can investigate, and there is no pressure to hasten the investigations.

Congress is conducting separate investigations of Trump’s campaign and other matters. Evidence gathered by Mueller could feed those investigations.
posted by Little Dawn at 3:47 PM on March 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


Anything that doesn't lead to a Nixon style resignation full abdication followed by having his phone broken over his head will be disappointing. Most likely it emerge he and his cretinous sons were too incompetent to actually break a law. I'm going to stop refreshing and catch up on the sort reading that Jeeves would call 'improving'. This is a long war of attrition on the soul and it won't end here. Take care of yourselves and your communities.
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 3:52 PM on March 22, 2019 [54 favorites]


Robert Mueller's Russia investigation is officially complete (Politico)
The department wouldn't discuss the precise format or length of the report.

“It’s comprehensive,” DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said.
posted by Little Dawn at 3:54 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


Small Story Good News Update: Selene Saavedra Roman has been released. Apparently the article I linked above got some media traction along with a tweet by Hillary Clinton and Roman was released today. (Her husband has to drive a mere four hours to pick her up.) She still has immigration hearings and the whole stupid incident may put her status in further jeopardy but at least she's out. Thank you to anyone here who signed the MoveOn petition or retweeted or anything.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:18 PM on March 22, 2019 [46 favorites]


@emptywheel Congratulations to Jerome Corsi who gambled huge and won.
posted by pjenks at 4:28 PM on March 22, 2019 [9 favorites]


@emptywheel Congratulations to Jerome Corsi who gambled huge and won.

Can someone break down the significance of this? I'm not seeing it. So Mueller isn't indicting this particular bit player. Who cares?
posted by diogenes at 5:19 PM on March 22, 2019


She is congratulating him on being a good poker player and/or playing chicken with Robert Mueller. He was offered plea deal copping to a single small charge. The general rule of thumb is that if you pass on a plea deal you will be charged with something bigger and in this case that doesn't appear to be true.
posted by mmascolino at 5:28 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


Jill Wine-Banks on Chris Hayes MSNBC, her lapel pin is a diamante question mark.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:40 PM on March 22, 2019


Jerome Corsi seems small fry compared to a number of the other ppl that could potentially be fucked.
posted by gucci mane at 5:40 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Very Quick Thoughts on the End of the Mueller Investigation
It’s possible, for example, that Mueller is not proceeding against certain defendants other than the president because he has referred them to other prosecutorial offices; some of these referrals are already public, and it’s reasonable to expect there may be other referrals too. In this iteration, what is ending here is not the investigation, merely the portion of the investigation Mueller chose to retain for himself. It’s possible also that Mueller is finished because he has determined that while the evidence would support a prosecution of the president, he is bound by the Justice Department’s long-standing position that the president is not amenable to criminal process. On the obstruction front, he may well have concluded that, while the president acted to obstruct the investigation, he cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the president’s obstructive acts were not exercises of Trump’s Article II powers. It’s also possible that Mueller has strong prudential reasons for not proceeding with otherwise viable cases.

My gut instinct is that it is some combination of these factors that explains the end of the probe. Without knowing the reasons the investigation is finished, it is impossible to know how to assess its end—and nobody should try.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:46 PM on March 22, 2019 [11 favorites]


"But Her Emails" By Maggie Haberman (and Annie Karni)
posted by pjenks at 6:08 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


I find it extremely disturbing that Mueller appears to have wrapped things up without getting testimony under oath from anyone named Trump, or filing any other charges. I mean, you'd think that'd be a pretty basic and necessary component of any investigation wouldn't you?
posted by sotonohito at 6:09 PM on March 22, 2019 [58 favorites]


If it turns out that Trump violated ethics and/or legal prescriptions — quite aside from whether he could be indicted or impeached — are there any civil lawsuit remedies available for, say, Hillary Clinton to pursue? Or for perhaps a state whose electors voted for Clinton, and thus were disenfranchised by Russian collusion?

It seems a long shot. But if there are factual crimes that just aren’t going to be indictable because of the DoJ’s rule against indicting the President, then surely there could be civil lawsuits, no?
posted by darkstar at 6:16 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


as soon as Trump came out to say “Mueller Report needs to be published” I knew he had already seen it, and nothing would happen.

I grew up during the Nixon years, and I became a young man during the Reagan years. As a news junkie, it was scary. But the thing is? I’m still here. As are we all. It ain’t over yet.
posted by valkane at 6:35 PM on March 22, 2019 [29 favorites]


This is report is supposed to answer the question of obstruction of justice.

I don't see how he could possibly look at all the evidence that is already public and not conclude there was obstruction.Of course, per DOJ policy, it won't lead to an indictment.

Still that is a stick of dynamite that feels like it might finally be about to detonate. The fuse is lit..
posted by OnceUponATime at 6:35 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


I don't give a shit about the regs, I want this report read into the record, ASAP.

The standard here is in 75-100 years all of the report will be unclassified.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 6:37 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Update on the Andrew Miller loose end from the Atlantic’s Natasha Bertrand: “Update from Miller's lawyer: "Several days ago the Special Counsel notified us that they are still interested in having Andrew Miller testify before the grand jury...It is not clear at this point whether any further request for testimony will come from the U.S. Attorney's office"”
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:38 PM on March 22, 2019 [5 favorites]


Mueller has to understand the public needs Something Actually.

The whole purpose of the thing was to see if there was collusion and obstruction of justice by Americans on behalf of the Trump campaign. Mueller indicted several Russians, but has nothing to say on American involvement? Either there is something very weird in the report, or Mueller punted.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:42 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


As soon as Trump came out to say “Mueller Report needs to be published” I knew he had already seen it, and nothing would happen.

That made me think Barr was going to bury it and Trump was setting up the "I wanted it to be public but the AG said no" line of BS.
posted by carmicha at 6:49 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Seth Abramson Twitter threads on the news of report's release: Part 1; Part 2.

They're long threads - here's how it starts:

1/ At the risk of sounding like Mike Myers' famous SNL talk-show host Linda Richman, "Mueller's final Trump-Russia report" is neither "Mueller's," final, about "Trump-Russia" or a "report." So all the breathless "reporting" today suggesting otherwise is inaccurate and misleading.

2/ What we call the "Trump-Russia" investigation is a web of criminal, counterintelligence, and Congressional investigations that intersect with the work of the Special Counsel's Office. So there are three key "c"-words here—"criminal," "counterintelligence," and "Congressional."

3/ Special Counsel Mueller is part of the "criminal" investigation; Mueller's work *intersects* with the "counterintelligence" investigation; and his work feeds into and draws from the Congressional investigation. And here's the key: all three of these investigations are ongoing."

posted by soundguy99 at 6:52 PM on March 22, 2019 [17 favorites]


as soon as Trump came out to say “Mueller Report needs to be published” I knew he had already seen it

Am I missing something obvious? Mueller turned his report over to Barr earlier today. Are you saying Trump got a copy before Barr?
posted by Justinian at 7:15 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin: “Jerry Nadler tonight: "If the Justice Department doesn't release the whole report or tries to keep parts of it secret, we will certainly subpoena the parts of the report and we will reserve the right to call Mueller to testify before the committee or to subpoena him."” And “Jerry Nadler tonight: “The Mueller report concerns only crimes that may have been committed. Our constitutional mandate is to maintain the rule of law, which means examining not only crimes, but other abuses of power and obstructions of justice.”

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: “President Trump is surrounded by more staff than normal in Palm Beach this weekend. Not only is he joined by Pat Cipollone & Emmet Flood, but also other members of the legal team, both press secretaries and several other West Wing officials. Usually only a handful of aides travel”

(So much for reports that Trump was just planning to have a family meal with Melanie and Barron tonight.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:16 PM on March 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


As has been noted above, the mandate was Russian interference and whether the Trump campaign coordinated their efforts with Russian operatives. Maybe the answer to that is not really beyond what we already know from the majority of indictments (mostly Russians). Along with the identification of lots of illegal Trump stuff outside the mandate that was tangentially uncovered that has been referred to other courts, that might be it.

The media is going to totally blow this out of proportion and Trump is going to be crowing on Monday.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:27 PM on March 22, 2019 [3 favorites]



Am I missing something obvious? Mueller turned his report over to Barr earlier today. Are you saying Trump got a copy before Barr?


yes I am.
posted by valkane at 7:28 PM on March 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


Costa just reported on CNN w Anderson Cooper that the WH is quietly celebrating tonight.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:30 PM on March 22, 2019


Hyucking thread was succeeded by Political Humorizing Thread.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:37 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]




Well, if there's no federal indictments then there's nothing for Trump to pardon, and no reason to worry about double jeopardy when state indictments come through.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:53 PM on March 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


Elsewhere:

@AOC: Huge update: JP Morgan & Wells Fargo have announced that they will no longer fund private prisons. How did this happen? Through organizing people & public pressure! Everyday folks began paying attention to who was funding for-profit prisons & family separation,+ acted on it.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:56 PM on March 22, 2019 [94 favorites]


Seth Abramson Verified account @SethAbramson 4h4 hours ago

22/ What we have today are a large number of non-attorney journalists who don't understand what a *small part* of the big picture is being dealt with and discussed today because they want to believe they have a handle on a story they do *not* have a handle on. That's distressing.
...
29/ But Mueller did something else for America that we are only just beginning to appreciate: news stories tracking down what Mueller was working on informed us that what we call "Trump-Russia" isn't really "Trump-Russia" at all—that Trump's malfeasance goes *well* beyond Russia.
...
35/ To put this in concrete terms: If Mueller found 81% proof that Trump criminally conspired with the Kremlin, it's entirely possible you wouldn't find that anywhere in any "report" Mueller files. Would you then call that a full and final "report on conspiracy"? No—you wouldn't.
...
41/ As for offenses underlying collusion and conspiracy—obstruction, witness tampering, perjury, bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, RICO and more—as to both Donald Trump *and* his family and aides I have every reason to believe such investigations and cases proceed onward.
...
47/ I'm sad that—for the sake of clicks, eyeballs, ratings, and the salaries of those who live by a breaking-news chyron—what happened today has wrongly been cast as the end of something rather than (as @neal_katyal wisely said) the beginning of something. But that's media today.


Either the Mueller SCO investigation was a polite fiction that didn't touch Trump und Der Org or we have the main attraction still to come and I agree with Seth Abramson. Which. Yeah. #2019
posted by petebest at 8:15 PM on March 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


Trump to lift 'not necessary' North Korea sanctions, White House confirms (Guardian)
On Thursday, White House national security adviser John Bolton praised the US treasury for taking “important action” to stop North Korea’s illicit shipping activities. “Everyone should take notice and review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Korea’s sanctions evasion,” he tweeted.

Adam Schiff, a Democrat who heads the intelligence committee in the House of Representatives, blasted Trump for cancelling sanctions “imposed only yesterday and championed by his own national security advisor, because he ‘loves’ Kim”.

“Foolish naivete is dangerous enough. Gross incompetence and disarray in the White House make it even worse,” Schiff tweeted.

Hours after the sanctions announcement, North Korea on Friday pulled out of a liaison office with the South, a major setback for Seoul.

North Korea said it was quitting the joint liaison office set up in September in the border city of Kaesong after a historic summit between Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, early last year.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:29 PM on March 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


I feel like the megathreads have discussed Seth Abramson before and reached the tentative conclusion that he was, at best, ten notches more worth taking seriously than (for example) Louise Mensch. (No, I won't disclose my measurement scale.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:34 PM on March 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


Meanwhile, Politico checks in at the Pentagon: Shanahan’s Nomination to Head Pentagon on Ice—An investigation into the acting defense secretary has stalled his hopes of winning President Donald Trump's nod.
Patrick Shanahan’s expected promotion to permanently head the Defense Department has stalled amid an ethics investigation and a series of unimpressive public performances, according to four people with knowledge of internal White House discussions.

Shanahan, who has served as the Pentagon’s acting chief since Jim Mattis resigned in December, has also been hampered by the deadly crashes of two airliners manufactured by his former employer, Boeing — the company that's also at the heart of his ethics problems.

The sources aware of the White House discussions believe Shanahan is still in the mix for the job, but they say recent events and his own missteps haven't done him any favors with President Donald Trump. And some said his fate will remain uncertain until the Defense Department's inspector general finishes a probe into allegations that Shanahan has privately boosted Boeing during meetings at the Pentagon.
Maybe it would have been better for Trump to have let Mattis stay on until the end of February, as he’d asked.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:42 PM on March 22, 2019 [5 favorites]


he's obviously, though facilely, correct as to the descriptions concerning certain failures of that set of persons and organizations we collectively call the media (except those failures can hardly be surprising to anyone by now), and the three c's were a useful framework, though i think i recall page &/or ohr testifying to the effect that the counterintelligence investigation was folded into the special counsel's investigations. i think you have summarized the collective posture pretty fairly. (seems a counterintelligence investigation of things not directly related to election interference might persist, notwithstanding the special counsel completing its mandate, just fold it back out to the fbi)

for my part, my unwonted impulse to buttress my hopes -- or salve my anxieties -- in his pronouncements, seeing them just now, and despite the chance that i may entertain similar or congruent notions, is disturbing.
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:50 PM on March 22, 2019


Politico: Trump Faces Mueller Report in Mar-a-Lago Bubble—The president kicked off a weekend at Mar-a-Lago with a speech at a fundraising dinner but few words about special counsel Robert Mueller.
The president spoke to the cheering crowd for about two minutes, with the first lady standing beside him on stage, according to a video of his remarks obtained by POLITICO. He said nothing about the Mueller news. Instead, he thanked “the legendary Pam Bondi,” Florida’s former attorney general who was honored at the dinner, and marveled at the first lady’s poll numbers. The president also cracked a joke about the keynote speaker, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

“If Lindsey’s speaking, I want to come down here,” Trump said, “for two reasons. No. 1: he’s a great speaker. And No. 2, I know if I’m here, he’s not going to say anything bad about me.”[…]

“We'll see what happens,” Trump had said early in the day as he departed for his weekend in Florida. “There was no collusion. There was no obstruction,” he repeated once again. “Everybody knows it. It's all a big hoax. It's all a witch hunt.”

But he didn’t mention Mueller for the rest of the day. Though the president is often eager to field reporters’ questions, he ignored journalists as he sat alongside the Caribbean leaders, under two gold and crystal chandeliers. For once, it seemed, Trump felt he had nothing more to say. He was content to wait. By late evening, he had resisted tweeting once about Mueller or Russia.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak: “A “lock her up” chant broke out at Mar-a-Lago tonight during Sen. Graham’s speech as he called for an investigation into Clinton and the origins of the dossier. Trump watched on from a table in the ballroom.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:19 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


for my part, my unwonted impulse to buttress my hopes -- or salve my anxieties -- in his pronouncements, seeing them just now, and despite the chance that i may entertain similar or congruent notions, is disturbing.

You should always, always be at least as skeptical of someone telling you exactly what you want to hear as you are of someone telling you what you don't want to hear. I fear a lot of people are headed for a sort of Mueller Of The Gaps theology where they hold fast to the idea that Mueller could yet, like Barbarossa or Charlemagne or Arthur sleeping under the mountain, ride forth to save us all when we don't expect it via gradually shrinking windows of opportunity. (The Mueller Report! No? Gates/Flynn are still cooperating! No? Cohen's stuff is still being analyzed? No!??)

It's possible Mueller's report is going to say that Trump engaged in a campaign of obstruction that would have led to an indictment were he not the President. But as to a conspiracy to cooperate with Russia to steal the election... the fact that there were no more indictments really does, I think, mean that we're unlikely to ever see any Americans held to account for doing that. Either because they did immoral stuff that barely skirted the line of illegal conduct, or because the obstruction campaign hindered the investigation into proving the law was broken. Perhaps we'll learn which of those cases happened via Mueller. But I think the idea that this isn't a major milestone bringing to the close a big aspect of investigation into TrumpCo is an Abramson fantasy of telling people what they want to hear. Like, for example, Jill Stein's "recount" grift which suckered so many.

It's obvious Trump is a criminal and perhaps SDNY or NY state will reveal that in the fullness of time. One hopes. But it won't be about Russian interference in the election and it likely won't be before we have to toss Trump out on his ass electorally.
posted by Justinian at 10:39 PM on March 22, 2019 [35 favorites]


Extended Mueller theorizing is turning into the QAnon- or the Pizzagate- of the left. It'd be interesting to compare the left/liberal-aligned conspiracy theories that have arisen from 2016, much like the right-aligned theories that arose after 2008, and 1992.
posted by Apocryphon at 10:59 PM on March 22, 2019 [15 favorites]


Reminder: If you're hoping for the Special Counsel to have accused the President of a felony, please bear in mind that the President has already been accused of a felony by the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Michael Cohen was charged with and pleaded guilty to the felony of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution, and the felony of making an excessive campaign contribution. In his sentencing memo, Robert Khuzami, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said:
With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election. Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments. In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.
And who is this "Individual-1"?
In January 2017, Cohen formally left the Company and began holding himself out as the “personal attorney” to Individual-1, who at that point had become the President of the United States.
That narrows it down, certainly. The Department of Justice, while declining to indict a sitting president, has nonetheless told us without ambiguity that the President is guilty of a felony, a high crime, and all we are waiting for is for the Congress, or the Electoral College, to take action.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:25 PM on March 22, 2019 [77 favorites]


I had been ambivalent about impeaching Trump, given the situation with Republicans in the Senate. Like some other people, I was afraid that if we didn't get a conviction, the whole things could backfire.

My mind was changed by an article in the March edition of The Atlantic.

Here's an excerpt:
"In these five ways—shifting the public’s attention to the president’s debilities, tipping the balance of power away from him, skimming off the froth of conspiratorial thinking, moving the fight to a rule-bound forum, and dealing lasting damage to his political prospects—the impeachment process has succeeded in the past. In fact, it’s the very efficacy of these past efforts that should give Congress pause; it’s a process that should be triggered only when a president’s betrayal of his basic duties requires it. But Trump’s conduct clearly meets that threshold. The only question is whether Congress will act."
posted by NotLost at 12:11 AM on March 23, 2019 [30 favorites]


Michael Cohen was charged with and pleaded guilty to the felony of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution, and the felony of making an excessive campaign contribution. In his sentencing memo, Robert Khuzami, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York

Same Rob Khuzami who announced he was leaving the SDNY yesterday, for what it’s worth.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 4:54 AM on March 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


Luppe B. Luppen (@nycsouthpaw), writing for Yahoo, runs down the numerous loose ends in the Mueller probe: Subpoenas, sentencings and Stone: What will become of the special counsel’s unfinished business? For instance, the Mystery Appellant could argue before SCOTUS that the subpoena they’d been resisting is now moot.
That may not, however, be the end of the matter. Mueller’s grand jury in Washington, D.C., the legally independent body that issued the subpoenas, had its term extended in January for up to six months, just before its initial 18-month term was set to expire. Another part of the Justice Department, such as the department’s foreign influence unit or the prosecutors who take over Stone’s case, could seek to step in and begin working with the grand jury to obtain the witnesses’ testimony.

In addition, two former federal prosecutors agreed that the Justice Department would likely be loath to see recalcitrant witnesses come away with such an easy victory.

“I think some other unit within the Justice Department will likely see it through, either [the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C.] or maybe DOJ national security,” said Harry Sandick, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office. “It would set a bad precedent for Mueller to let witnesses defeat a subpoena through delay.”

“I think that somebody will carry on the litigation because the grand jury is still in session until June,” said Elizabeth de la Vega, a former organized crime prosecutor, agreeing.
Same Rob Khuzami who announced he was leaving the SDNY yesterday, for what it’s worth.

NBC has more: New York prosecutor who oversaw case against Michael Cohen stepping down. “The decision has been in the works for weeks, according to multiple people familiar with the matter who stressed that Khuzami was not asked to leave.”

NY Law Journal profiles his successor: Audrey Strauss, Long Steeped in White-Collar Enforcement, Takes Over as SDNY's No. 2

👀Mueller's top appellate lawyer Michael Dreeben tells judge he can't respond to @washingtonpost request to unseal Paul Manafort court docs because he and co-counsel "FACE A PRESS OF OTHER WORK" this week.👀

We might have the answer about what was keeping them so busy.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:30 AM on March 23, 2019 [11 favorites]


I've been thinking about what I am hoping and expecting this report to cover. Here are my five biggest questions.

1) It certainly looks like the president obstructed justice. He had "corrupt intent" (that is, intended to interfere with the investigation) when he fired Comey, which can be proved because the special counsel has a earlier draft of a memo justifying that firing which references the Russia, and because Trump publicly and privately made comments about his desire to end the investigation and belief that he had done so by firing Comey. He also fired a bunch of other DoJ employees who had been working on the investigation, and attempted to fire Mueller, once he was appointed. And finally, he dictated a misleading statement purportedly from Trump Jr about the Trump Tower meeting, which shows that he was not fully cooperating with the investigation. Does Mueller believe that, if Justice Department regulations allowed the president to be charged, this would rise to the standard of a prosecutable crime?

2) Trump also appears to have lied in his written answers (under penalty of perjury) when he said that "to the best of his recollection" Roger Stone did not tell him about WikiLeaks, nor was he told about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son, campaign officials and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. This is contradicted by Michael Cohen’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee. The president also indirectly let Cohen know that he wanted Cohen to lie to Congress, and the president's lawyers approved Cohen's false testimony. Did the president perjure himself or suborn perjury?

3) Manafort colluded with Russia in that he shared proprietary campaign polling data with Konstantin Killimnik. He also offered briefings on the campaign to Oleg Deripaska. Everyone else who has been indicted so far (Stone, Cohen, Gates, Flynn, Papadopoulos) knew something more than the public about what Russia was doing and deliberately helped cover up those activities. Don Jr. knew about '"Russia and its government's support" for his father, and covered that up. Cohen and Don Jr. both knew about the negotiations for Trump Tower Moscow, and thus knew Trump was lying when he said he had no dealings with Russia. They covered THAT up. Since collusion does not have a legal meaning but just colloquially means "working together to do something bad," aiding the Russian efforts to cover up their activities can be construed as "collusion." However, Mueller evidently does not think it rises to the level of an indictable crime unless and until those lies are repeated to Congress or to federal law enforcement. Stone, Cohen, Gates, Flynn, and Papadopoulos were all indicted for lying to Congress or the feds as a part of this cover up effort. Did they coordinate those lies with the president?

4) We will hopefully learn a lot more about Cambridge Analytica, Erik Prince, each of which had suspicious contact with Russian entities relating to the campaign (the meetings in the Seychelles in Prince's case, and the use of Russian researchers and briefings of Russian Lukoil executives in Cambridge Analytica's). And about Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin, who are Russian, and had suspicious contacts with Americans relating to the campaign. At present the public does not know what was said or done during meetings Erik Prince attended, the briefings Cambridge Analytica arranged, the meeting between Torshin and Don Jr at the 2016 NRA convention, or the photo ops with Butina and other powerful Americans. Since the existence but not the content of these meetings has become public, we can hope that Mueller will also share with the public what he has learned about the content.

5) Michael Flynn led efforts to transfer nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia and other middle eastern countries. Russian contractors would have been used in building the nuclear power plants, so this business opportunity would have required sanctions on Russia to be lowered, but otherwise, this appears to have been a separate issue, which Mueller began investigating after Flynn's arrest. Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner were reportedly also involved in this planning, along with Rick Gates and Tom Barrack. We do not know yet if any part of this effort was illegal, but the law requires that Congress approve any transfer of nuclear technology to a foreign country. A House Oversight Committee report states that a senior director at the National Security Council (NSC), Derek Harvey, "reportedly ignored ... warnings and insisted that the decision to transfer nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia had already been made." Due to Flynn's and Gates' cooperation agreements, Mueller likely has a great deal more information to share with us on this topic.

Any Mueller report which does not summarize this already-public information and answer these questions which have been publicly raised would be incomplete, and the public should demand a fuller accounting.
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:43 AM on March 23, 2019 [48 favorites]


Whoever was leaking information to Buzzfeed was a part of law enforcement and believed the evidence clearly indicated Trump directed Cohen to continue doing business in Russia while publicly lying about it. My gut feeling is that Trump will not be impeached for reasons along the lines of his using the words "cabbage" instead of "money". I doubt that's going to heal the divide in this country.
posted by xammerboy at 6:11 AM on March 23, 2019


The report could say that Trump traded sekret SMS with Vlad about the whole plot saying 'lets collude yo' and the chances of him being removed from office via impeachment and conviction in the Senate would still be around 1%.

2020 is the only way he'll be removed from office, and it won't be easy — we must do everything in our power to elect someone else.
posted by localhuman at 6:21 AM on March 23, 2019 [7 favorites]


From Fast Company: President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Interior Secretary and his former lobbying firm have donated almost $1 million to senators who will vote on his confirmation since 2013.

David Bernhardt, a partner at the law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, was confirmed as the Interior Department’s deputy secretary in 2017. He has served as the department’s acting secretary since former Interior chief Ryan Zinke resigned in December.

A MapLight review of campaign finance data found that Bernhardt, Brownstein Hyatt employees and the firm’s political action committee contributed more than $225,000 to members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee between 2013 and 2018. The panel will hold a hearing on his nomination next week.

posted by Bella Donna at 6:39 AM on March 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


Extended Mueller theorizing is turning into the QAnon- or the Pizzagate- of the left. It'd be interesting to compare the left/liberal-aligned conspiracy theories that have arisen from 2016, much like the right-aligned theories that arose after 2008, and 1992.
posted by Apocryphon

This is astonishingly insulting both-sidesism garbage.

Pizzagate involved a dude firing an AR-15 at a restaurant. QAnon is not some abstract conspiracy theory but a community of far right-wing extremists who have both a) been directly cited in acts of terror and b)indirectly incited stochastic acts of terror, both of which are directly supported by the reigning regime's henchman, in public, right out in the open.

The contortions you have to go through to suggest that the above are equivalent to "the left" theorizing (i.e. like, thinking and writing about thinking?) regarding what criminal consequences might be for the Trump syndicate as the result of the legally appointed special counsel investigation are so extreme that I hope you stretched really well before writing this nonsense.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:40 AM on March 23, 2019 [83 favorites]


Justinian: I fear a lot of people are headed for a sort of Mueller Of The Gaps theology where they hold fast to the idea that Mueller could yet, like Barbarossa or Charlemagne or Arthur sleeping under the mountain, ride forth to save us all when we don't expect it via gradually shrinking windows of opportunity.

It's a mode of thinking I've done my best to avoid, and yet this news of the report's completion made me realize how susceptible I've been to "Mueller Report will be a panacea" regardless. It's rather like trying to commit to not caring about the Oscars, then nonetheless feeling nontrivial disappointment (or vindication) based on the outcome -- cultural osmosis is powerful stuff.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:41 AM on March 23, 2019 [19 favorites]


I feel the same intense anxiety about this situation that many people do, but there is no evidence to suggest Trump got an advance copy of this report, when that’s not only against federal regulations and DOJ policy but also contrary to what all sources are saying. Mueller is as principled as it gets for a lifetime fed gov lawyer. (I realize for some people that means “not that principled,” which is certainly fair considering the history of the DOJ.) There is no reason to believe he’s part of some grand cover-up or a patsy for Trump or corrupt or what have you. We haven’t even seen the report yet!

Real life is a lot more mundane. He spent the last two years investigating alongside some of the most talented prosecutors in the country, likely saw some crazy shit, wrote and presented a report that I bet is scrupulously by the book in the sense of only including things he could prove with reliable evidence, and went out for dinner last night with his wife to their local restaurant.

The content of the report—when none of us has seen the evidence the SCO has—should not be what drives your opinion of his or his team’s credibility.
posted by sallybrown at 6:51 AM on March 23, 2019 [5 favorites]


there is no evidence to suggest Trump got an advance copy of this report

I just have such a hard time understanding why anyone still believes Trump's tweets and public statements are ever evidence of ANYTHING, and one of my biggest complaints with the news sources I consume is that they still report on his words as if they were meaningful. I mean fine, report on actions people are taking in response to his words, but stop reporting on his words themselves as if they function as any indication of what he intends to do.

I'm not even saying he is a liar; if he consistently lied then there would be relevant information in his communications, we could try to figure out what he is lying about. But he is never consistent. His words are not aligned or opposed to his actions, they are simply orthogonal. Sometimes he does something he said he'd do. Sometimes he does the opposite of what he said he'd do. Sometimes he does something he never talked about, sometimes he never does something he's talked about voluminously. You'd have better luck reading tea leaves then you ever will reading 45 tweets.
posted by solotoro at 7:01 AM on March 23, 2019 [21 favorites]


Bloomberg, Trump’s Sanctions Staff Defects as U.S. Expands Economic War
The U.S. office in charge of financial sanctions, President Donald Trump’s favorite weapon against American adversaries, risks being hobbled by staff departures due to management turmoil and growing private-sector demand for its expertise.

Trump has nearly doubled the number of people and companies under U.S. sanctions. But in the last two years, about 20 staff have left the office in charge of implementing and enforcing sanctions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control -- about 10 percent of its workforce.
posted by zachlipton at 7:04 AM on March 23, 2019 [8 favorites]


This weekend reminds me of the part of Christmas morning between waking up and opening gifts—my parents making coffee in the kitchen while we sat around evaluating the size and shape of the wrapped gifts, trying to figure out what they might be.
posted by sallybrown at 7:13 AM on March 23, 2019 [14 favorites]


ProPublica’s Eric Umansky has posted a thread about remembering how Trump has already been exposed as a Moscow mook, whatever the conclusions of the Mueller Report:
There’s something I wanna say about Mueller Mania.

It’s something that became clear to me working on our Trump Inc episode about Trump’s Moscow Tower.

We may not get clarity on “collusion” —but what’s already clear is *Trump was compromised.*

Meet Trump’s Other Partners on His Attempted Moscow Tower — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast — ProPublica

Trump was secretly working on getting a tower in Moscow. It had the potential to be *his most profitable project.* To make it happen, he *needed* the Kremlin’s help.

Not in some hypothetical, vague way. In a very concrete way.[…]

So let’s remember, regardless of whether or not Mueller finds collusion:

Trump stood to make big $$ from cozying up to the Kremlin. That’s just a fact.

In case you’re wondering, we reached out to all the relevant parties here, as we always do. They didn’t comment.

Listen to our whole episode. It's nuts.
What concerns me is not that we megathread readers already know this, but that it hasn’t sunk in with the great American public. While the pending release (or not) of the SCO’s report will generate a lot of noise in the media and on Capitol Hill, maybe there’s a chance that we can revisit this and other recently uncovered evidence of Trump’s malfeasance.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:20 AM on March 23, 2019 [32 favorites]


What concerns me is not that we megathread readers already know this, but that it hasn’t sunk in with the great American public.

Cable viewers digest Mueller news through Hannity, Maddow
(AP)
For Sean Hannity, the “witch hunt” was finally over. Rachel Maddow considered it the start of something.

The diametrically opposed opinion hosts, who vie for the distinction of the most popular in cable news, were the windows through which many Americans digested Friday’s news that special counsel Robert Mueller had concluded a nearly two-year investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election. While his report, or even a summary, has not been released, television news still had hours to fill talking about it.

Fox News Channel’s Hannity, a close Trump ally, focused on reports there will be no additional indictments from Mueller. “The left’s favorite conspiracy theory is now dead,” Hannity said. “It is buried, and there was no collusion, no conspiracy, no obstruction. The witch hunt is over and there will be no further charges.” He lamented that lives were ruined by the investigation and said that people who have been prosecuted or convicted had committed “process crimes.” [...]

As he talked, Maddow was doing the same. Unlike most evenings, when the two figures work in studios across Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue from each other, Maddow had rushed to a studio in Tennessee where she had spent the day trout fishing. “Finally, it happened,” she said. “In terms of what that means and what Mueller has found, we know only the smallest little bits. This is the start of something, not the end of something.” In meticulous fashion, she detailed how the news that Mueller’s investigation had concluded was reported and what a letter by Attorney General William Barr meant about what will be released to the public. [...]

Still, some Fox personalities, including Chris Wallace and Harris Faulkner, had to caution guests that Mueller’s report hadn’t been seen yet. “To say that somehow this clears the president seems like the height of rushing to judgment,” Wallace said. He dismissed the idea that those prosecuted had been charged of process crimes, saying they were very serious.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:31 AM on March 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


John Campanelli: “Is it possible, @PreetBharara or @benjaminwittes, that the filing of the report before tying up apparent loose ends (Company A, Corsi, etc.) is because the SCO believes its findings need to be seen by Congress ASAP? Or is that just wishful thinking?”

Lawfare’s Benjamin Wittes considers this blue-sky thinking:
This is a very good question, and the short answer is that we just don't know. I'll be curious whether @PreetBhararaagrees with me on this but here's my sense of it.

The most logical explanation for wrapping things up with a lot of loose ends is that Mueller has construed his role very narrowly. Everything that does not need to be handled by the SCO is being kicked back to DOJ. The most dramatic example of this is Corsi, where OSC engaged in a plea negotiation but appears to have not followed through on an indictment threat.

Mueller has been behaving this way for a while: Even cases of Russian interference in electoral matters like Butina and Khusyanova have gone back to DOJ. And electoral matters like Cohen have been referred elsewhere as well. So have FARA matters like the Manafort spinoff cases.

So I think the most obvious explanation is that Mueller is just being disciplined. But that, in turn, raises another question: Is he being disciplined because his job is X, not Y? Or is he being disciplined because he feels a great urgency about resolving X and reporting on it?

Or both?

We don't know the answer to that question and won't until we read the report.
The alternative (“dark-sky thinking”?) is the worst-case scenario that Barr shut Mueller down.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:48 AM on March 23, 2019 [10 favorites]


To make a long story short, the mere fact of the delivery of the report to Barr is not actually news. It is merely fodder for speculation.

We will have news when we have in-depth reporting on the circumstances surrounding the delivery of the report, and when the contents of the report become known (or when a stonewall or cover-op operation surrounding the report becomes obvious).

Until then, nothing material has changed. Please be kind to yourselves and ignore your brains when they start building terrifying fortresses out of these wispy clouds.
posted by murphy slaw at 8:01 AM on March 23, 2019 [28 favorites]


FFS, no fewer than five white men have threatened to kill national treasure (yup, I am saying it) Maxine Waters. “I am pleased by the identification, arrest, and conviction of the men who threatened me, my family, and my staff in support of their racist, white supremacist, and hate-filled agenda. Let these convictions be a lesson to all those who would threaten to kill or cause bodily harm to us: you will be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“Unfortunately, these types of violent threats – and other acts of hate – by ultra right-wing extremists and white nationalists are on the rise in this country and around the world. This disturbing trend is only made worse by the violent rhetoric and bullying tactics of the current President of the United States."

No kidding. CW for violent, racist, women-hating verbiage by these men quoted in the release issued by the office of the Congresswoman. So satisfying that four out of five (I believe) are in jail, and the fifth (the Coast Guard office with the gun collection) will be facing a trial.
posted by Bella Donna at 8:41 AM on March 23, 2019 [46 favorites]


Mueller was never going to be our savior, and if we want someone to actually punish Donald Trump and his misanthropic and corrupt toadies for their crimes, we need to get working class people and socialists into office who are not beholden to the same ideological and class interests that keep our current establishment unwilling to police itself.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:54 AM on March 23, 2019 [17 favorites]


Perhaps Mueller is so concerned about the compromised status of the President, who controls the Executive Branch and the Department of Justice, that he wishes to allow a coequal branch, the Congress, to decide whether to remove the President from office, before any further attempt is made to have the Department of Justice target the friends and family of their own President.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:56 AM on March 23, 2019 [7 favorites]


In hindsight there might be a lesson here about putting all your antifascist faith in an old white republican cop.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:03 AM on March 23, 2019 [37 favorites]


Mod note: If people want to vent/talk in general terms about whether to despair, let's generally redirect that to the fucking fuck metatalk thread. Let's try to stick to actual updates in here.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:04 AM on March 23, 2019 [16 favorites]


From the ACLU: One pork sandwich every eight hours for six straight days. That’s the only food that Border Patrol provided to Adnan Asif Parveen, a Muslim immigrant who was detained in South Texas in January because his work permit had expired and was pending renewal. Mr. Parveen reportedly informed officials that his religion forbids him from eating pork, but they didn’t care. All he could eat were the slices of bread from the sandwich.

Mr. Parveen’s experience was not an isolated incident. While President Trump and his administration have repeatedly proclaimed their commitment to religious liberty, in practice, this has only translated to religious freedom for some. Detained immigrants are apparently not among them. Detained immigrants from various faiths — Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians — have reported incidents in which Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement brazenly violate their religious-freedom rights.


As has been mentioned so many times before, the cruelty is the point.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:18 AM on March 23, 2019 [74 favorites]


In hindsight there might be a lesson here about putting all your antifascist faith in an old white republican cop.

I forget who said it on Twitter, but when Mueller was appointed Democrats had only two levers of power in the federal government: filibusters in the Senate and shaming Republicans into taking specific actions that could fall within a hundred miles of human decency. The special counsel was at the time the only institution performing any concrete oversight of Donald Trump. So it's understandable for some people to see him as The Savior, because who else was there at the time? The Senate Intelligence Committee was the best second option there was. That no longer applies because we've got the entire Democratic House to do investigations, but emotions don't turn on a dime even when the facts underlying them suddenly change.

Also, I feel like emphasizing that Mueller's investigation has been immensely valuable even if he didn't go nearly as far as the known facts should warrant (whether it's because of DOJ guidelines, pressure from Barr to wrap it up or just the old-fashioned American tradition of letting white collar criminals get away with it), just because it means that the Democratic House isn't starting from square one to try and uncover all of the details about Trump Tower, Manafort/Kilimnik, Cohen, etc., etc., that came out from the SCO's court filings.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:21 AM on March 23, 2019 [23 favorites]


Who has said Mueller is a savior other than those saying he isn't one? He doesn't have to be "Capital-S Savior, Help Us Obi-Wan" in order to deserve support in helping the country right itself. I recognize the impulse to despair that elevates the rhetoric around Mueller's work, but it's misplaced exaggeration. Easy to say, harder to feel. I'm not a religious person, but I think maybe we're in the "three days" part of the story (oddly, there doesn't appear to be an official term for that period?). Muelleaster rather than Muellermas, perhaps.
posted by rhizome at 9:49 AM on March 23, 2019 [18 favorites]


I’ve never felt that we needed Mueller to accuse the President of conspiracy in order to justify the President’s removal from office. There’s now a wide web of Federal criminal investigations, state criminal investigations, and Congressional investigations, which could achieve the same thing. And if they don’t do it in time, it’s not beyond possibility to imagine the most corrupt President in history losing a presidential election.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:07 AM on March 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


Damn y’all, just relax for a second and take a deep breath! I’m just as scared and anxious as you are, but let’s take a step back and think about what’s happened thus far.

Mueller was ostensibly assigned to investigate allegations that members of the Trump campaign had communicated with Russians, whether Russian intelligence units had deliberately been used to mess with the election, and other matters related or unrelated. There are more details than that (obstruction of justice as it pertains to being a counter-intelligence operation, etc.) but let’s put the needle there for now.

So what has Mueller found out?

Well, we have two extremely specific indictments detailing the intricate measures that Russian intelligence units took in derailing the election for Trump. I personally think that these are some of the most invaluable pieces of information to ever be made public. We have detailed information on how the Russian intelligence units manipulated American social media in order to foment dissent and distrust (as far as I can tell, this would be considered a literal psychological warfare operation on our populace, a pretty big deal!!!), details of their intricate hacking operations, and other mischief (like how Russian agents came here and used fake IDs to scout out things). This is all a VERY VERY VERY VERY BIG DEAL!!!!!

He figured some things out about Trump campaign officials, and not just some random coffee boys. He was highly successful in that regard. We now know that Manafort shared proprietary polling info with Putin-linked oligarchs! Not bad, that’s one piece of the puzzle. We also know from public sources about all the other times the Trump campaign talked with Russians. I mean, we got Flynn talking to Kislyak almost immediately.

So I’d say just from this highly limited summary that Mueller and his team and everyone involved in this have done a pretty fucking good job. And we can debate the tenets of American prosecutorial law re: can a sitting president be indicted y/n? But I think Mueller and his people would have a pretty good idea as to the answer, maybe even a little bit more than we do.

I definitely hope that it’s some bombshell, the most exhaustive and complete document of American political corruption ever created, but I don’t think it’s going to be. I never once thought we’d get “Trump did it we’re hanging him from the gallows next week” out of the investigation (I’m not saying anybody really thought that either, I’m just exaggerating for fun). I’m shocked we’ve gotten as much as we have!

We have no idea what we’re going to get or what to expect. It’ll probably be underwhelming to be honest, but it could be p fucking good, too! The only words the DoJ official said were “it’s comprehensive”. That sounds pretty fucking good to me, even if the end result isn’t specifically “Trump did it”.
posted by gucci mane at 10:08 AM on March 23, 2019 [22 favorites]


Also I can’t imagine Mueller bringing a “comprehensive” report and there not being any goodies. His indictments are comprehensive af and they gave us hella goodies to snack on.
posted by gucci mane at 10:12 AM on March 23, 2019 [10 favorites]


I wish someone had actually been indicted for all the obstruction of justice that was going on. I guess that's just another thing that rich white people don't get prosecuted for.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:15 AM on March 23, 2019 [16 favorites]


"but I think maybe we're in the "three days" part of the story (oddly, there doesn't appear to be an official term for that period?)."

The Triduum. So the ... Muelliduum? It's also when the Harrowing of Hell happens, which feels like fertile ground for Mueller analogies.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:26 AM on March 23, 2019 [9 favorites]


Mueller has been all about the convincing painting of a large picture. He has gone to great lengths to make sure that certain events, actions, intentions, were made manifest and public. There was always a danger that his final report might be sat upon, so he sensibly communicated in other ways. I have every confidence that he has ensured that much more is about to become manifest, but probably not all at once. He would have been a fool to rely on the final report to communicate much of substance. He has given us every reason to believe he is not a fool.
posted by stonepharisee at 10:27 AM on March 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


We have no idea what we’re going to get or what to expect. It’ll probably be underwhelming to be honest, but it could be p fucking good, too! The only words the DoJ official said were “it’s comprehensive”. That sounds pretty fucking good to me, even if the end result isn’t specifically “Trump did it”.

The failure to interview Trump or any of his family members seems pretty glaring. It makes me wonder if the report ultimately says "This is too big for the Department of Justice. Over to you congress."
posted by srboisvert at 10:30 AM on March 23, 2019 [12 favorites]


@kyledcheney: NEWS: DOJ has told lawmakers not to expect to receive Mueller findings today, per a source familiar with the discussion.

This appears to fit with last night's report, Battle Looms Over Executive Privilege as Congress Seeks Access to Mueller Files ("Mr. Barr also plans to consult with the White House about any confidential internal information, including private conversations of the president, that is potentially subject to executive privilege. Decisions about what to make public will be even more complicated.")

What's happening now is that Trump's handpicked AG, the guy who Trump previously wanted to defend him and also the guy who is such a crank he sent in a 19-page unsolicited memo dumping on the Mueller investigation, is chatting with the White House about whether stuff the President has said can be kept secret because the President said it. The whole "there's no news here; we're all just waiting" vibe is an incomplete picture. The news that's happening right now is that the guy specifically hired to cover up Trump's crimes is talking to Trump's lawyers about how much of the report to make public.
posted by zachlipton at 10:33 AM on March 23, 2019 [47 favorites]


MSNBC reports that Attorney General Barr will not be giving his summary to Congress today. Perhaps it is not as simple a summary as we might have imagined.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:33 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


The news that's happening right now is that the guy specifically hired to cover up Trump's crimes is talking to Trump's lawyers about how much of the report to make public.

And the next step will be for the SCOTUS justice Trump bought (along with the one McConnell stole) to rule on whether the withheld material was constitutional.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:49 AM on March 23, 2019 [10 favorites]


Kamala Harris, preparing the first new major policy proposal of her 2020 presidential campaign, will call for a major federal effort to boost teachers’ salaries.
(Los Angeles Times)
Sen. Kamala Harris plans to call for a federal effort to boost teachers’ salaries Saturday, offering up the first new policy proposal of her 2020 presidential campaign on an issue that is roiling school districts across the country and is dear to a powerful Democratic constituency.
The plan, which Harris is slated to unveil while addressing a morning rally at Texas Southern University in Houston, would promise an unprecedented federal investment in teacher pay because of widespread concern that teaching, a female-dominated profession, is badly underpaid, according to a campaign aide who was not authorized to discuss the plan on the record.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 11:07 AM on March 23, 2019 [17 favorites]


Marcy Wheeler writes on emptywheel.net about what we know the Mueller report will contain from the lies Trump’s aides told to cover up their ties to Russia: After Mueller: An Off-Ramp on Russia for the Venal Fucks
• Trump pursued a ridiculously lucrative $300 million real estate deal even though the deal would use sanctioned banks, involve a former GRU officer as a broker, and require Putin’s personal involvement at least through July 2016.
• The Russians chose to alert the campaign that they planned to dump Hillary emails, again packaging it with the promise of a meeting with Putin.
• After the Russians had offered those emails and at a time when the family was pursuing that $300 million real estate deal, Don Jr took a meeting offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” At the end (per the sworn testimony of four people at the meeting) he said his father would revisit Magnitsky sanctions relief if he won. Contrary to the claim made in a statement authored by Trump, there was some effort to follow up on Jr’s assurances after the election.
• The campaign asked rat-fucker Roger Stone to optimize the WikiLeaks releases and according to Jerome Corsi he had some success doing so.
• In what Andrew Weissmann called a win-win (presumably meaning it could help Trump’s campaign or lead to a future business gig for him), Manafort provided Konstantin Kilimnik with polling data that got shared with Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs. At the same meeting, he discussed a “peace” plan for Ukraine that would amount to sanctions relief.
• Trump undercut Obama’s response to the Russian hacks in December 2016, in part because he believed retaliation for the hacks devalued his victory. Either for that reason, to pay off Russia, and/or to pursue his preferred policy, Trump tried to mitigate any sanctions, an attempt that has (with the notable exception of those targeting Oleg Deripaska) been thwarted by Congress.
If Barr leaves out any of this from his summary, we’ll know the fix is in.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:28 AM on March 23, 2019 [31 favorites]


EPIC has already filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain the final report (pdf).
posted by peeedro at 11:30 AM on March 23, 2019 [12 favorites]


I pre-ordered the WaPo version of the book, and I got a confirmation email from Amazon that it will be delivered on Apr 30th. I wonder what I'm actually gonna get. ;-)
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:34 AM on March 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


If Barr leaves out any of this from his summary, we’ll know the fix is in.

I thought it was a foregone conclusion.
posted by petebest at 11:34 AM on March 23, 2019 [8 favorites]


Well, yes, we know Trump appointed Barr as his DoJ fixer, but we have yet to see what he’ll try to get away with.

Further to Wheeler’s piece, here are five mutually non-exclusive possibilities for the report’s conclusion that she theorizes:
• Mueller ultimately found there was little fire behind the considerable amounts of smoke generated by Trump’s paranoia
• The report will be very damning — showing a great deal of corruption — which nevertheless doesn’t amount to criminal behavior
• Evidence that Manafort and Stone conspired with Russia to affect the election, but Mueller decided not to prosecute conspiracy itself because they’re both on the hook for the same prison sentence a conspiracy would net anyway, with far less evidentiary exposure
• There’s evidence that others entered into a conspiracy with Russia to affect the election, but that couldn’t be charged because of evidentiary reasons that include classification concerns and presidential prerogatives over foreign policy, pardons, and firing employees
• Mueller found strong evidence of a conspiracy with Russia, but Corsi, Manafort, and Stone’s lies (and Trump’s limited cooperation) prevented charging it
Some of those possibilities provide Barr with plenty of opportunity to muddy the waters in his forthcoming summary.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:49 AM on March 23, 2019 [5 favorites]


The delay in turning over a summary could also suggest there’s a legitimately thorny legal issue involved (whether executive privilege, national security, etc). That could mean the report is not just a sunny “nothing to see here” or that Barr is struggling with how to summarize its contents (rather than just passing along that there were no indictable crimes or something similarly empty and generic).
posted by sallybrown at 11:50 AM on March 23, 2019 [5 favorites]


It’s also interesting that they set an expectation yesterday for the timing of the summary, because any delay makes it seem like there’s something in there they weren’t expecting or find hard to deal with. I think it’s fair to assume Barr and other AG staff gamed out how they would proceed with crafting the summary long before yesterday (what types of things to leave in and out) and how they would interact with White House counsel versus Congress, so what wrench has been thrown in the works?
posted by sallybrown at 11:59 AM on March 23, 2019 [5 favorites]


None of the kids or Kushner got indicted, that speaks for itself pretty clearly. The fact that the DOJ was scared shitless of going after the autocrat's relatives proves we're already well beyond rule of law territory.
posted by benzenedream at 12:02 PM on March 23, 2019 [53 favorites]


CNN’s Katelyn Polantz: “NEW: Rick Gates' case before Judge Amy Berman Jackson in DC federal court will be handled by the DC US Attorney's Office as Mueller exits, per the special counsel's office today.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:14 PM on March 23, 2019 [9 favorites]


Maddow had a guest on, sorry was listening, not watching and can’t remember who, who stated that Trump could have asked for and legally received a preliminary copy of the report, as well as demanding a copy as soon as Barr got it. Barr serves at the pleasure of the president, if Trump asked for it, there is no constitutional reason why Barr did not give it to him.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 12:16 PM on March 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted; please keep the "extinction", "we're doomed", etc, predictive stuff over in the fucking fuck metatalk thread and stick to specific updates on actual events in this one.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:33 PM on March 23, 2019 [14 favorites]


Maddow's guest was the awesome Chuck Rosenberg.
posted by effluvia at 1:04 PM on March 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


Am I missing something obvious? Mueller turned his report over to Barr earlier today. Are you saying Trump got a copy before Barr?

yes I am.


Since we're back to quoting Abramson, here's another blast from the past:
Chuck Schumer: AG Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers, or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller's findings or evidence. The White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public. #ReleaseTheReport

@RoguePOTUSStaff: Too late.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:59 PM on March 23, 2019 [12 favorites]


I'm perfectly willing to believe that Barr immediately handed a copy of the report to TrumpCo. It's the idea that Mueller gave a copy of the report to Trump before Barr saw it that I was raising an eyebrow at.
posted by Justinian at 2:36 PM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


He's been tweeting to release the whole thing for days...something tipped him off it to say that.

Barr could've made some sort of ruling, or gotten a briefing and seen the contents, or otherwise gotten a look at a draft earlier this week, and done what he was put in place to do running straight back to Trump. There's no way Trump would've been calling for a full release if it recommended impeachment or charges.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:40 PM on March 23, 2019 [7 favorites]


25 subplots to watch in the Mueller Investigation (Politico)
The main plot of the Mueller probe is well-known — he is looking at whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, and whether the president obstructed the attempts to find out about that potential collusion.

But there are also has intertwined storylines, subplots and characters that span the globe. We’ve broken the story into five acts and laid out some of the subplots for each to help organize this complex narrative. [...]

Trump’s incessant social media feed — logged forevermore as official presidential records — have represented something else for Mueller and his investigators: evidence that can be used to establish intent.

“They’re a gold mine,” a former DOJ prosecutor told POLITICO just weeks after the special counsel’s appointment.
posted by Little Dawn at 2:46 PM on March 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


There's no way Trump would've been calling for a full release if it recommended impeachment or charges.

Trump calling for a full release is like Trump saying he'll release his tax returns. He doesn't actually mean it, it's just bullshit for the cameras. If he actually wanted it fully released it could have been fully released already. Trump has unilateral authority to release the thing without any redactions.
posted by Justinian at 3:46 PM on March 23, 2019 [31 favorites]


In answer to questions about whether Trump has seen the whole report, it's pretty clear that he has. Per Doctor Zed's post upthread: CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: “President Trump is surrounded by more staff than normal in Palm Beach this weekend. Not only is he joined by Pat Cipollone & Emmet Flood, but also other members of the legal team, both press secretaries and several other West Wing officials. Usually only a handful of aides travel”
posted by StrawberryPie at 3:53 PM on March 23, 2019


Moreover, it would be consistent with Trump's MO whenever he doesn't want to do a thing that many people feel he ought to do. He says "I want to do this thing." A day or two goes by. Then his lawyers come out with a statement saying "Trump will not be doing this thing." Then Trump says "I want to do this thing, but here my lawyers are saying I cannot. They are the bad guys, not me." Trump's moronic followers eat it up.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 3:55 PM on March 23, 2019 [13 favorites]


“President Trump is surrounded by more staff than normal in Palm Beach this weekend. Not only is he joined by Pat Cipollone & Emmet Flood, but also other members of the legal team, both press secretaries and several other West Wing officials. Usually only a handful of aides travel”

I think this is a good sign that Trump et al fear the findings, especially if he's already seen the report. I love the smell of flopsweat in the morning!
posted by carmicha at 4:03 PM on March 23, 2019 [7 favorites]




I'm sorry, I can't take Taibbi seriously when his entire article is ripping the media for jumping the gun and connecting too many dots, yet his second paragraph is doing exactly that:

As has long been rumored, the former FBI chief’s independent probe will result in multiple indictments and convictions, but no “presidency-wrecking” conspiracy charges, or anything that would meet the layman’s definition of “collusion” with Russia.


It's one thing to argue the media fucked up the Russia story, but he chooses to completely ignore all of the publicly available information (from guilty pleas, convictions, and DTJR's fucking emails) that is exactly evidence of collusion (not proof, mind you, but evidence).

Further, I'm challenged to accept the thesis in that essay. I simply can't imagine how anyone could argue the media has messed this story up in the same manner that they messed up WMDs in Iraq. The failure of Iraq was to accept the government line regarding intelligence reporting that the media had no obvious way of falsifying. With Russiagate, there's no such analog--Taibbi spends forever on the Steele dossier trying to act as though that's the same as the yellow cake uranium reporting. But it isn't at all the same, and there's way more to this story (including admitting obstruction of justice on national fucking television) than the dossier, which every outlet except Fox News has basically moved on from.
posted by Room 101 at 5:28 PM on March 23, 2019 [14 favorites]


I’m sorry, but if you’re going to post links to original “reporting” in here, don’t act surprised when some of us actually click the links:
Nobody wants to hear this, but news that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is headed home without issuing new charges is a death-blow for the reputation of the American news media.
This is, shall we say, not the observation of a sober observer in this particular universe.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:32 PM on March 23, 2019 [12 favorites]


Marcy Wheeler:
I keep wondering if William Barr has been reflecting today about these comments he made.
Obviously, the President and any other official can commit obstruction in this classic sense of sabotaging a proceeding’s truth-finding function. Thus, for example, if a President knowingly destroys or alters evidence, suborns perjury, or induces a witness to change testimony, or commits any act deliberately impairing the integrity or availability of evidence, then he, like anyone else, commits the crime of obstruction.
* * *
"Do you believe a President could lawfully issue a pardon in exchange for the recipient's promise to not incriminate him?" Leahy asked.

"No. That would be a crime," Barr responded.
Some things Trump has done that the Attorney General says amount to a crime:

1) Floated pardons to at least 3 people
2) Had his lawyer edit false testimony
3) Draft a statement that became false testimony
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:34 PM on March 23, 2019 [24 favorites]


Those are apparently just "process crimes".
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:39 PM on March 23, 2019 [7 favorites]


I look forward to seeing them all in “process jail.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:41 PM on March 23, 2019 [51 favorites]


As appalling as it is, I am fascinated to see the introduction of a new term like "process crime" work its way into the mainstream of public consciousness in real-time, thanks to its vigorous promotion by everybody's favorite propaganda network and their allies.

It's repugnant to me to think that anyone is cynical enough to deliberately construct such phrases in order to excuse criminal culpability at the highest levels of our government but it's clearly the process of a unified messaging push, rather than just something that a guest threw out there which the network glommed onto. It would not, in fact, surprise me in the least if it had been workshopped, focus-grouped, tested via push-polls, and who knows what else. I know this is not news but we can never forget for a moment that this is not the effort of a few crazies who somehow wound up at the top -- our current situation is the result of a decades-long coordinated campaign to undermine American values and manipulate opinion for the most cynical of ends.
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:55 PM on March 23, 2019 [15 favorites]


Isn't a "process crime" still a crime crime?
posted by kirkaracha at 6:02 PM on March 23, 2019 [8 favorites]


As appalling as it is, I am fascinated to see the introduction of a new term like "process crime" work its way into the mainstream of public consciousness in real-time, thanks to its vigorous promotion by everybody's favorite propaganda network and their allies.

I don't think it's term they just made up.
posted by AdamCSnider at 6:10 PM on March 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


Seems like astute talking-points-makers could rebut this easily enough: "Thing is, many 'process crimes' are felonies, which carry prison time. Which attorneys advising the president know."
posted by Rykey at 6:16 PM on March 23, 2019 [6 favorites]


WaPo Opinion (from January): How Trump defenders try to play down charges against his associates

“Many of the charges brought so far by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III against those close to President Trump — including Stone, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen — involve similar charges of lying to investigators or to Congress. Trump’s supporters have been quick to dismiss such charges as mere “process crimes.” As a former federal prosecutor, I can tell you prosecutors don’t use the term ‘process crimes.’ They just call them ‘crimes’ and take them very seriously, because these crimes threaten the very foundations of the justice system.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:19 PM on March 23, 2019 [13 favorites]


They're only "process crime" when committed by Republicans. The media, to say nothing of Republicans, didn't draw any distinction between "process crimes" and "actual crimes" for either Bill or Hilary Clinton. And tried for 4 years to find any crimes, process or otherwise, connected to Benghazi.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:33 PM on March 23, 2019 [12 favorites]


Why doesn't the HSCI just subpoena I-1 and get this thing going. He'd admit to 20 crimes in his opening statement, which he'd veer off from many times.
posted by petebest at 6:41 PM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


Aiding in the cover up of Russia's crimes IS collusion, in my book. It helps the Russians get away with it. Being part of the cover up is like being the getaway driver.

And that's what Flynn, Manafort, Gates, Papadopoulos, Stone and Cohen lied in service of. (Not to mention Patten!)

The "process crimes" are the collusion.
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:05 PM on March 23, 2019 [10 favorites]


Benjamin Wittes writes in Lawfare: How to Understand the End of the Mueller Investigation (Hint: You Can’t Yet)
I have a confession: I don’t understand the reaction to the news of the Mueller investigation’s end. I don’t understand the evident glee among some of the president’s defenders. I don’t understand the gloom among some of the president’s critics. I don’t understand either why people seem surprised at news that has been foreshadowed for months in a sequence of stories by good reporters in a variety of different reputable news outlets.[…]

But here’s the thing: Having vested in an executive branch official the principal authority to investigate the president—having done so knowing that this official cannot indict the president, and thus knowing also that all he can do is “report” about him—the report becomes everything. It becomes the only mechanism by which you can figure out why the investigation is over. It becomes the central vehicle for the redeployment of the criminal probe for all of the other democratic purposes we have invested in that probe. At least as regards the president himself, one cannot then read much into the end of the investigation without reference to the text of the report. The report is the investigation and the investigation is the report.

If the Mueller report declares that there was, as a factual matter, no cause for concern about the relationship between President Trump and the Russian Federation, I will accept that finding. If it declares that the evidence of an untoward relationship between Trump world and Russia is insufficient to justify criminal prosecution, I will accept that finding. If Mueller concludes that the president’s interactions with law enforcement were all within his Article II powers, I will confine my future criticisms of Trump on this score to the normative acceptability of his conduct and accept the judgment that the criminal law has nothing to say about such presidential behavior. But to accept these conclusions, one needs to be in the same position that one is in at the end of a normal high-profile investigation. That is, one needs to know within a certain broad set of parameters not merely that the investigation has concluded but why.

We don’t know that yet. Until we do, the end of the Mueller investigation means very little—a great deal less than many people seem to imagine.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:28 PM on March 23, 2019 [19 favorites]


> As appalling as it is, I am fascinated to see
> the introduction of a new term like "process
> crime" work its way into the mainstream of
> public consciousness in real-time..
I don't think it's term they just made up.
No, you're right, and I struggled (clearly unsuccessfully) with how to express in simple terms that the term, while not newly coined, is pretty newly introduced to the public discussion of these kinds of issues.

But probably by the end of the weekend and if not, certainly within a week it will have been repeated hundreds of times on Fox and people who had never heard the term before will have strong and surprisingly deeply held opinions on how process crimes are or are not different in nature than "regular" crime. And I would venture to guess that while we're having a national argument about the nature of process crime we'll wind up talking a lot less about the underlying criminal acts committed by Trump and his enablers than we otherwise might be.
posted by Nerd of the North at 8:11 PM on March 23, 2019 [17 favorites]


Fair enough, Nerd of the North. Sorry for the misunderstanding - probably a sign I should get some sleep.
posted by AdamCSnider at 8:37 PM on March 23, 2019


See, “process crimes” are the kind of crimes committed by wealthy, connected white people. So they are dismissible as irrelevant. Mere peccadilloes, really.

“Regular crimes” are committed by those “other” people. So they must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the mandatory-sentencing-minimum, tough-on-crime, broken-window-theory, three-strikes, rule of the long arm of the law, don’t you know.
posted by darkstar at 8:48 PM on March 23, 2019 [19 favorites]


“But once you realize McConnell has already achieved his life’s dream, and ascended to the limits of his ambition, his behavior suddenly starts to make more sense. He’s not trying to cap off his career with a legislative masterstroke, because he doesn’t care about legislation. He already won. He’s the Senate majority leader, his parliamentary prowess is regularly feted, and he has already left his legacy indelibly inscribed on the highest court in the land.” Mitch McConnell, Nihilist In-Chief

Just wanted to agree that this Alex Pareene article is a good Mitch McConnell encapsulation, and well worth the time! Rich interior lives and convictions are overrated.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:10 PM on March 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


You guys, I just checked and Trump hasn't tweeted at all today. Not once. That, more than anything else, gives me hope about what's in Mueller's report.
posted by Weeping_angel at 9:20 PM on March 23, 2019 [24 favorites]


Mueller's Report is Done -- Here's What to Expect Now.

You guys, I just checked and Trump hasn't tweeted at all today. Not once. That, more than anything else, gives me hope about what's in Mueller's report.

He hasn't tweeted in *32 hours*, and hasn't mentioned the Mueller Report. Someone on his staff has definitely put the fear of God into him, and my guess is they may have taken away his phone.
posted by orange swan at 10:11 PM on March 23, 2019 [12 favorites]


Donald Trump has been committing 'process crimes' since long before he declared himself as a Republican, and was waved on by prosecutors including Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie. You don't HAVE to be Republican in New York to get away with it (but it helps). If he can handwave away the specific charge of 'collusion', there are so many other crimes for today's prosecutors to choose from... they just need to find a combination of crimes that are not shared by the entire Forbes 400.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:21 PM on March 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


"Process crime" might have been a practical distinction in the past, but now it just means that law enforcement is to blame for any criminality they uncover. Just like "gotcha journalism" had a useful meaning until it was used to shame the press for asking a republican VP nominee what newspapers she was reading.
posted by peeedro at 10:43 PM on March 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


Pelosi has said that she will not try to impeach Trump without compelling evidence and broad based bi-partisan support. We don't know what's in the report, but the lack of new indictments suggests it does not include the kind of smoking gun evidence Pelosi feels is needed to move forward.

Where will that leave us? Waiting to see what other investigations find while we sit on a mountain of circumstantial evidence and impeachable offenses? Again, we don't know what's in the report, but this possible paralysis in the face of obvious wrong doing doesn't bode well for the country.
posted by xammerboy at 10:43 PM on March 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


None of the kids or Kushner got indicted, that speaks for itself pretty clearly.

Mueller report: Trump camp celebrates but danger is not past yet (Guardian)
Kushner is reportedly cooperating with the committee’s investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice by firing perceived enemies, such as FBI director James Comey, from the justice department and abused his power by possibly dangling pardons or tampering with witnesses.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:44 PM on March 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


@JuliaDavisNews: Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee: "After Trump's Golan statement, any demagoguery about Crimea is groundless."

Politico, Trump's Golan Fiasco: Recognizing the disputed territory won't help Israel. But it will reverberate all over the world.
So the fallout from Trump’s abandonment of these principles will extend well beyond the Golan Heights. Take American opposition to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea—Trump now has no leg to stand on. Moscow can likewise call out American hypocrisy in its refusal to recognize the Russian-sponsored “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the Republic of Georgia. Morocco and Algeria can now dismiss the U.N. mediator for the Western Sahara, whose work Trump’s administration has sought to bolster. Or what if Saudi Arabia waltzes into Qatar? If Washington stops upholding the core international principle opposing the acquisition of territory by force, we should expect more states to seize territory they covet from their neighbors.
posted by zachlipton at 11:59 PM on March 23, 2019 [21 favorites]


Foreign policy doesn't seem to be the President's strong suit...

Seems like most of his policies help Russia more than the US interests. How odd...
posted by Windopaene at 12:09 AM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


But apart from foreign policy, domestic policy, the symbolic duties of the office, respecting the rule of law, and setting an example for our children he's ok!
posted by Justinian at 12:32 AM on March 24, 2019 [25 favorites]


As Mueller Report Lands, Prosecutorial Focus Moves to New York
Even as the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, submitted his confidential report to the Justice Department on Friday, federal and state prosecutors are pursuing about a dozen other investigations that largely grew out of his work, all but ensuring that a legal threat will continue to loom over the Trump presidency.

Most of the investigations focus on President Trump or his family business or a cadre of his advisers and associates, according to court records and interviews with people briefed on the investigations. They are being conducted by officials from Los Angeles to Brooklyn, with about half of them being run by the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan.
About the Mueller report: I'm thinking how it must be to be Barr. I have no doubt that the report is damning, and points directly at the president and his crime family. Its release will lead to at least huge political turmoil, at worst a constitutional crisis. How does one handle that as a Republican and as Attorney General, a member of the administration? I think the silence we are hearing now is very natural and it covers a chaotic scramble to figure out what to do. Because of course the Trump administration didn't plan in advance for something like this to happen even though they must have known it would happen for at least a year now. Maybe they will figure out some patch that will fool the Fox viewers and push out the release for a while. But the report will come out. This is the leakiest administration ever.
posted by mumimor at 2:49 AM on March 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


Former Assistant Attorney General for National Security David Kris posted a thread about reasonable expectations for the Mueller report:
Regarding Mueller, there are of course a lot of possibilities, but here are a few predictions to occupy the mind while we wait.

First, we are told no more indictments are coming (beyond the many already filed), but I bet the Mueller report will still include significant new derogatory information on the Trump inner circle and probably on POTUS himself.

My bet is that, despite this new derogatory information, Mueller declined to bring new indictments mainly for "prudential reasons." Meaning, for example, that some key evidence cant be used because it's classified (despite CIPA); or there are problems with witnesses or document provenance; or the evidence shows that guilt is very likely, but it isn't quite proof beyond a reasonable doubt, etc.

If/when all or most of the facts come out, which is very likely, Trump critics will say Mueller was too cautious (I would not be surprised if some *within* SCO held that view), but in any event they will argue that the report makes out a clear case to impeach. Trump defenders, I predict, will go with "no-indictment-no-collusion" and/or discover a newfound appreciation for DOJ traditions and the vital democracy-protecting prudential standards in the Justice Manual.

In the end, however, while it may not be as sexy as Russia, I predict that SDNY (or NYAG) will get him fair and square for campaign finance or other crimes.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:48 AM on March 24, 2019 [19 favorites]


The NYT has some DoJ leaks in their update yesterday: Mueller’s Findings Will Remain Confidential at Least Another Day
Attorney General William P. Barr and his team on Saturday pored over the highly anticipated report by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, a senior Justice Department official said, preparing to deliver the investigation’s “principal conclusions” to jittery lawmakers and President Trump as soon as Sunday.

Mr. Barr and Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who appointed Mr. Mueller and oversaw much of his work, were cloistered inside the Justice Department debating how to present the findings. Mr. Mueller was not participating in the process, the official said.[…]

Only a few people in the Justice Department had seen the report and a copy had not been given to the White House, said the senior law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.[…]

When Mr. Barr was briefed on the investigation this month, he was told that there would be no more subpoenas or indictments, and that Mr. Mueller’s team was ready to wrap up in mid-March, according to people familiar with the investigation who were not authorized to discuss it. The special counsel’s office later notified Mr. Barr that it needed a few additional days to take care of administrative issues, which pushed the delivery to Friday.
And Maggie Haberman contributes Trumpworld leaks:
Allies surrounding the president at Mar-a-Lago found themselves in a similar place. Mr. Trump’s lawyers and aides urged him to stay quiet, people briefed on the discussions said. Wait and see what was in the report, and trust that Mr. Barr is not trying to harm you, they cautioned. They assured him that there would be ample time to claim vindication after they knew what was in the report, the people said.[…]

One friend of Mr. Trump said that despite his outward good spirits, the president remained anxious about the contents of the report and was concerned that its release was taking longer than he expected.

In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has been canvassing friends and allies for their opinions of Mr. Barr, a long-serving Republican legal hand who was confirmed last month. Mr. Trump, people who have spoken with him said, does not know Mr. Barr well or what to expect from him.

“Do you know Barr?” the president has asked others of his attorney general.
(Caveat lector, as always—this isn’t what the players are necessarily thinking as much as what they want people to think they’re thinking.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:07 AM on March 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


Politico: Pelosi tells Dems she'll reject highly classified briefing on Mueller findings
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats on Saturday she’ll rebuff any efforts by the Justice Department to reveal details of special counsel Robert Mueller's findings in a highly classified setting — a tactic she warned could be employed to shield the report's conclusions from the public.

Three sources who participated in a conference call among House Democrats said Pelosi (D-Calif.) told lawmakers she worried the Justice Department would seek to disclose Mueller's conclusions to the so-called Gang of Eight — the top Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate — which handles the nation’s most sensitive secrets. The substance of Gang of Eight briefings are heavily guarded.

“Everyone pounded the transparency drum continuously,” said a source who was on the Saturday afternoon call.[…]

During the conference call, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) both cited the Clinton precedent as evidence to support their calls for complete transparency.
Also yesterday, from the WaPo: Democrats will direct FBI, White House counsel to preserve records shared with Mueller
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:18 AM on March 24, 2019 [19 favorites]


The drought is over.
@RealDonaldTrump:
7:01:44 Good Morning, Have A Great Day!
7:02:59 MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
posted by pjenks at 6:41 AM on March 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


Our prez-bot has rebooted.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:17 AM on March 24, 2019 [25 favorites]


The drought is over.

Those tweets sound like a kidnapper has his phone and is sending unconvincing proof of life.
posted by Emera Gratia at 7:19 AM on March 24, 2019 [67 favorites]


The drought is over.

Probably a mistake for me to try to read the twitter tea leaves, but those tweets feel like "they're starting to do stories about how unusual it is he hasn't tweeted, so we better tweet something." But if he rages about it, then it'll come off as the report having damning evidence, and if he praises it then the next question is: why not release the full report?
posted by bluecore at 7:20 AM on March 24, 2019 [17 favorites]


Update about Charlottesville: Police have arrested the person who posted the threat, who's been identified as a teenager who lives in Albermarle County just outside Charlottesville. Schools will reopen Monday.
posted by nangar at 8:05 AM on March 24, 2019 [12 favorites]


Fox News Poll today showing the two old white guys still dominating the democratic field with Biden at 31%, Sanders at 23% and everyone else in single digits.
posted by octothorpe at 8:10 AM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


> I don’t understand the reaction to the news of the Mueller investigation’s end. I don’t understand the evident glee among some of the president’s defenders. I don’t understand the gloom among some of the president’s critics.

The American public has a twenty-minute attention span and no capacity for nuanced understanding. If the Mueller report is anything but utterly, immediately damning, there's a very good chance the way it'll be reported is 'no new indictments, guess that means they didn't find anything,' and that'll be the end of public interest in it. And public interest in it is the only thing that can possibly compel Congress to act against Trump. The broad public perception of it is, unfortunately, very important.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 8:35 AM on March 24, 2019 [31 favorites]


Of all the screwy, wrong, and even evil stuff that Trump has done... that recognition of Golan, it seems so incredibly wrong and stupid, even for him. Surely nobody, not even Bolton, would be advocating for such an unforced error. He did not even devote 45 seconds to thinking through the repercussions of that decision. What a maroon.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:03 AM on March 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


@JenniferJJacobs: Congress will get highlights of the Mueller report today from the attorney general, @cstrohm reports.

(@JenniferJJacobs - White House reporter for Bloomberg).
posted by Buntix at 10:27 AM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Surely nobody, not even Bolton, would be advocating for such an unforced error. He did not even devote 45 seconds to thinking through the repercussions of that decision.

I'm quite sure he did it for no better reason than feeling sympatico with Bibi.
posted by flabdablet at 10:50 AM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Buzzfeed’s Zoe Tillman is hearing this as well: “Barr's report to Congress on Mueller's "principal conclusions" is expected today, per source familiar with the situation” And “AG Bill Barr, DAG Rod Rosenstein, and DOJ's congressional liaison Stephen Boyd are all here at DOJ headquarters today”
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:51 AM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Did Mueller even interview Don Jr., Ivanka, or Jared?

I don't understand why he didn't indict Don Jr. and Jared for their involvement in the Trump Tower meeting. Publicly-available evidence suggests they're guilty as fuck.

I get not indicting Trump due to the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting president (even though I disagree with it) but what excuse is there for not indicting the family members?
posted by kirkaracha at 11:33 AM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


Democrats, Awaiting Mueller Report Findings, Vow to Press On With Their Inquiries (NYT)
In a tweet on Saturday, Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, asked Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, to apologize for saying there was public evidence of collusion between Mr. Trump’s team and Russia.

“I hope he will apologize for his mistake,” Mr. Giuliani wrote. “We all make them. The real virtue is to admit it. It would help us heal.”

But Mr. Schiff, appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” was prepared to make no such recompense. Instead, he said his committee had seen evidence of collusion — in public reporting and the special counsel’s indictments.

“Mr. Giuliani would be wise to do something he has rarely done, and that is wait till we see the facts,” Mr. Schiff said.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:37 AM on March 24, 2019 [10 favorites]




I get not indicting Trump due to the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting president (even though I disagree with it) but what excuse is there for not indicting the family members?

Because they would be pardoned immediately and face no consequences for their crimes.
posted by Uncle Ira at 11:47 AM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


I get not indicting Trump due to the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting president (even though I disagree with it) but what excuse is there for not indicting the family members?

Likely a calculation that indictment of his immediate family members would cause Trump to immediately shut everything down, combined with an assessment that Jr. wouldn't flip in any event. Meanwhile, Javanka's crimes are, I believe, tangential, occurring after the Russian conspiracy, and so will be handed off.

As to why he never interviewed Jr.? That's a question I don't have an answer to--it's odd to me as well. But a possible explanation presents itself: Mueller knows exactly what transpired in the Trump Tower meeting and doesn't feel it's worth further inquiry--whether that's because Mueller thinks the meeting was not indicative of conspiracy or because he doesn't need Jr.'s testimony to prove that it was is something that can't be known until the report is released.
posted by Room 101 at 11:51 AM on March 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


There is always a major risk calculation in interviewing someone you believe is dishonest in the way the Trump family is. Your questions give them a preview of your thinking that they can share with others or use to prepare (or try and destroy evidence). You want to preserve that first chance to spring something on them for when it’s most effective. And depending on your access to their documents, you may not need them to fill in blanks for you. We don’t know what Mueller did or what he may have handed off to other federal investigators.
posted by sallybrown at 12:03 PM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


Barr is expected to deliver his summary of the Mueller report in less than an hour, according to Zoe Tillman of Buzzfeed.
posted by sallybrown at 12:11 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Lawfare’s Benjamin Wittes’s Very Quick Thoughts on the End of the Mueller Investigation:
It’s possible, for example, that Mueller is not proceeding against certain defendants other than the president because he has referred them to other prosecutorial offices; some of these referrals are already public, and it’s reasonable to expect there may be other referrals too. In this iteration, what is ending here is not the investigation, merely the portion of the investigation Mueller chose to retain for himself. It’s possible also that Mueller is finished because he has determined that while the evidence would support a prosecution of the president, he is bound by the Justice Department’s long-standing position that the president is not amenable to criminal process. On the obstruction front, he may well have concluded that, while the president acted to obstruct the investigation, he cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the president’s obstructive acts were not exercises of Trump’s Article II powers. It’s also possible that Mueller has strong prudential reasons for not proceeding with otherwise viable cases.
Incidentally, half an hour ago, the WSJ’s Alex Leary reported, “Trump has left his golf club, where he played today with Mick Mulvaney, Lindsey Graham and Trey Gowdy, per WH official.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:17 PM on March 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


@RepJerryNadler: DOJ has just sent us a very brief letter about the Mueller report, which we will share shortly.

As a reminder, this will be Barr's summary, not the report itself.
posted by zachlipton at 12:37 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Topline Summary: “The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’”
posted by Justinian at 12:40 PM on March 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


Here's the letter in full, if you click through the Twitter images, 4 pages. Here's a more readable PDF version.

@RepJerryNadler: “The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’”
posted by zachlipton at 12:40 PM on March 24, 2019 [17 favorites]


With all the talk about no more indictments, I'm a little confused, so maybe some others are too. There were a bunch of sealed indictments, I think at EDVA. What happened to them? Can't they still be unsealed at some point? i don;t think you can retract them because grand juries were involved.
posted by M-x shell at 12:42 PM on March 24, 2019


There’s no reason to conclude that the sealed indictments are related to the Mueller probe.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:43 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Reading it now (zachlipton's link), the letter states that there are no more sealed indictments. It also says, "The Special Counsel's investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign consipired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." So there's the "no collusion" headline.
posted by mrgoat at 12:46 PM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


From the letter:
The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. As the report states: "[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."
Fuck-a-doodle-do. #noCollusion
posted by kirkaracha at 12:46 PM on March 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


Well looks like Manafort is getting pardoned.
posted by PenDevil at 12:48 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


He's gonna be unbearable, isn't he?
posted by Imperfect at 12:49 PM on March 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


Well, I guess I’ll be continuing this over in the fucking fuck thread.
posted by greermahoney at 12:49 PM on March 24, 2019 [23 favorites]


This is Barr's preferred way to mention some of the stuff he can't keep under wraps. He mentions, but doesn't dwell on, the fact that matters have been referred to other agencies and they are currently being pursued. In short, Mueller knew they would squelch this, they are squelching this, and, inshallah, his pursuit of the matter changes hands, but does not stop.
posted by stonepharisee at 12:56 PM on March 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


On CNN, Jeffrey Toobin notes that the decision that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Obstruction of Justice was not made by Mueller. It was made by Barr.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:56 PM on March 24, 2019 [53 favorites]


And regarding the obstruction of justice case:
The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusion - one way or the other - as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. Instead, for each of the relevan actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as "difficult issues" of law and fact concerning whether the President's actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
posted by mrgoat at 12:57 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


We need to see the full report. This summary could literally have spun the facts in every different direction to arrive with this "no collusion" take. I remain unconvinced there isn't more dirt and damning information concerning Trump in there. This hot take/spin from Barr is doing exactly what it's intended to do, giving cover and support to the enemy while taking the wind out of our sails.

The facts need to come out. We knew Barr was going to pull some bullshit, and this sort of "report synopsis" before the real report emerges is exactly the cover they thought they could take. The longer this narrative holds in public before the full release, the less likely that the actual release will have an impact.

We need this thing to get out asap.
posted by andruwjones26 at 12:58 PM on March 24, 2019 [40 favorites]


CNN reports that Mueller was not consulted on this letter. The letter that says there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Obstruction of Justice, a determination that Mueller did not make.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:58 PM on March 24, 2019 [33 favorites]


It's notable that the rabbit hole of corruption that Cohen points to was not part of the special counsel's report and I hope the House keeps digging there.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:58 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


On CNN, Jeffrey Toobin notes that the decision that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Obstruction of Justice was not made by Mueller. It was made by Barr.

And remember, Barr is one of those folks taking the maximalist position that Trump definitionally can not have obstructed justice through use of his otherwise legal powers, such as firing a member of the executive branch like Comey. So when you think "but we saw Trump admit to obstruction on television!", AG Barr's position is that firing Comey can not be obstruction no matter what because it falls within Trump's authority.

It seems likely that isn't Mueller's position but Barr was hand picked as AG for precisely this reason; he sent that crazy letter to TrumpCo about it before he was picked.
posted by Justinian at 1:03 PM on March 24, 2019 [28 favorites]


On CNN, Jeffrey Toobin notes that the decision that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Obstruction of Justice was not made by Mueller. It was made by Barr.

Who, if we'll all remember, penned a memo basically stating it was impossible for the President to obstruct justice. So yeah. We need the full report. I can't trust this process. I need to decide for myself based on the source evidence.
posted by Room 101 at 1:04 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


On CNN, Jeffrey Toobin notes that the decision that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Obstruction of Justice was not made by Mueller. It was made by Barr.

And by Rosenstein, who was a party to the primary conduct of the obstruction charge, the decision to fire Comey.

Trump's political appointees made the decision he cannot be indicted, not Mueller. But Mueller intentionally deferred his conclusions to the political appointees to make that call. He had to know what their decision would be.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:04 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


I am not a lawyer by any means. But I am genuinely so baffled as to how publicly known facts such as Manafort leaking polling data to Russia and Don Jr's "if it's what you say I love it" could square with the apparent "no collusion" conclusion of this letter. Like. Seriously. How is this possible.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 1:05 PM on March 24, 2019 [35 favorites]


That letter answers none of my questions! What was Cambridge Analytica's role? What was up with that transfer of nuclear tech to Saudi Arabia? What did Torshin and Don Jr say to each other at thr NRA convention? WAS Michael Cohen ever in Prague?
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:05 PM on March 24, 2019 [13 favorites]


@nycsouthpaw puts it well:
This is a complicated and problematic decision for both of them. Before he took office, Barr wrote a memo preemptively attacking the obstruction component of Mueller's investigation. Rosenstein was part of the conduct (firing Comey) that the investigation would have examined.

Both the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, in other words, had highly compelling reasons to recuse themselves from making any decision about whether Trump obstructed justice. They made the decision anyway, and in a manner that appears to serve their own interests.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:06 PM on March 24, 2019 [42 favorites]


The argument that the President of the United States is subject to the rule of law (unlike his predecessor the King of England) depends on the ability of the Congress to receive evidence of his criminality. The determination of the President's hand-picked underling, the Attorney General, that the evidence is insufficient, will not suffice. The entire report and its underlying documentary evidence must be made available to the Congress immediately.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:06 PM on March 24, 2019 [28 favorites]


No evidence of conspiring with the Russians to sway the election says nothing about conspiring with the Russians to, if elected, dump sanctions to get Trump Tower Moscow built.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:06 PM on March 24, 2019 [16 favorites]


I find the statements on the last page regarding 6(e) material to be the most concerning, particularly the
"the schedule for processing the report depends in part on how quickly the Department can identify the 6(e) material that by law cannot be made public. . . Separately I also must identify any information that could impact other ongoing matters, including those that the Special Counsel has referred to other offices."

This reads to me like Barr has the full intention of redacting anything that might provide evidence of obstruction or collusion. Congress needs to fight like hell to get the whole thing public, now.
posted by nat at 1:10 PM on March 24, 2019 [12 favorites]


And honestly, the comments about 6(e) material almost read like a threat -- the idea that releasing any of what Barr deems to be 6(e) would be illegal. Perhaps someone with expertise can clarify -- members of Congress do have the right to read many things into the congressional record, yes?
posted by nat at 1:12 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Subpoena Mueller and his report today. Why not?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:12 PM on March 24, 2019 [25 favorites]


A few quick thoughts:

It seems from context that the full report appears to contain a detailed accounting of Russian efforts to influence the election, both from the IRA and hacking. While many of the pieces of that, perhaps even all of it, will be what we already know, the record of Russia attempting to get Trump elected as he publicly encouraged it followed by his insistence as President on believing Putin over our own intelligence agencies, ought in any sensible world to be itself an impeachable offense. We know this already, we've known it for quite a long time, and any reports about collusion now don't change that.

The bigger issue is on obstruction. Barr writes that Mueller did not reach a prosecution decision and that Barr and Rosenstein came to the conclusion that Trump did not commit obstruction of justice. They further say that when they decided this, they kept in mind that "the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference." However, one of the repeated themes we've seen throughout this investigation is people being charged with obstruction as its own thing. Papadopoulos, Flynn, Cohen: these were all charges based mainly on lying and obstruction. Further, the entire purpose of appointing Mueller as special counsel was to have prosecution decisions made by an independent person, so why was the obstruction prosecution decision made by Trump's handpicked AG?

We need to see the actual report. Not a Trump appointee's spin.

"Institutions will not save you"
posted by zachlipton at 1:13 PM on March 24, 2019 [52 favorites]


I think House Dems could get a lot of traction out of "we don't have Mueller's info but here's what we've found." IMO there has been way to much time waiting for a Mueller rescue. They have information that is incriminating (as do we all) and pushing that evidence means Dems can shape the narrative rather than waiting for Republicans to do so, whether Rosenstein or Mueller or Barr or Trump.

Spending all this energy protecting Mueller and now trying to get the report made public means a much greater pivot is needed to point out that this report is not the end of a road to justice for the Trump regime, and then make sure that is true.
posted by Emmy Rae at 1:14 PM on March 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


On the one hand, legitimate concerns about publishing grand jury information is a real thing. There's a hard norm and practice going against it. He's not making it up out of nothing. Grand Jury proceedings are very secret.

On the other hand, it's a really convenient reason to slow-walk the release. Why would Mueller put lots of grand jury info into the report if he wanted the report made public in substantially readable form?
posted by BungaDunga at 1:15 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


After reading the letter, the open questions I see:

For purposes of Barr’s “no collusion” paragraph, what people or entities constitute the Trump campaign and what people or entities constitute “Russia” or the “Russian government,” and how did the DOJ draw those lines? The footnote on page 2 defines coordination as specifically between the Campaign and the Russian government. Were there less-official people or entitles involved in collusion or coordination (Roger Stone, Wikileaks)? Note that Barr’s letter says Mueller investigated whether any Americans, whether or not part of the Trump campaign were involved with the Russian effort, but says in the very next sentence that members of the Trump campaign were not involved. Were any other Americans?

This may be too subtle, but this letter would have been drafted carefully: it notes that the investigation did not find evidence that Trump campaign members colluded. That makes me wonder whether the report notes there is reason to believe they may have, but no conclusive evidence to support it (as opposed to conclusive evidence that they did not collude).

As for obstruction, I find it very notable (and frankly, a huge mistake) that they factored the lack of collusion/coordination evidence into their determination of Trump’s obstruction intent. People can be incredibly stupid, counter-productive, illogical, etc. We know Trump is often self-defeating for no logical reason. It is not difficult for anyone familiar with human nature or Donald Trump to believe he may have illegally attempted to cover up a crime that didn’t occur.

I so wish this included a list of all matters referred out to other offices, and whether they are ongoing or closed.
posted by sallybrown at 1:15 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


Giovanni Tiso @gtiso:
Apropos of nothing in particular, one of the most disastrous mistakes of the Italian left during the Berlusconi years was waiting for the justice system to disqualify him from political office or, better still, jail him.

He was under one investigation or another during his entire time in office, members of his inner circle were jailed for crimes up to and including colluding with the mafia, and he did nothing but get re-elected over and over again.
If there's one thing Trump does seem good at, it's having other people do his dirty work, and doing it by suggestion rather than direct order.

It's concerning how the far right are going to react, there's a lot of prediction about how they'd riot, become violent, etc. when defeated, but it seem more like what empowers and enthuses them is smug entitlement and feeling they are impervious. This has just validated them wholesale. Probably a good time for a whole lot of rest-of-us solidarity.
posted by Buntix at 1:16 PM on March 24, 2019 [35 favorites]


White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: "The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction [lie]. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction [lie]. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States [explicitly contradicted lie].”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:16 PM on March 24, 2019 [18 favorites]


Solidarity in despair, maybe.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:18 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


CNN says that Barr's justification for saying there is insufficient evidence to prosecute Obstruction of Justice is that there was no proof of the President's corrupt intent.

The. President. Was. Never. Interviewed.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:22 PM on March 24, 2019 [33 favorites]


So basically we don’t have Mueller’s report we just have Barr’s personal summary of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by gucci mane at 1:23 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


This is the Barr Report. Publish the Mueller Report.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:23 PM on March 24, 2019 [32 favorites]


From David Corn:

Mueller: Trump cannot be exonerated of obstruction of justice.
Barr: I exonerate him.
posted by diogenes at 1:24 PM on March 24, 2019 [33 favorites]


Dem Jerry Nadler is already calling for Barr to testify.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:24 PM on March 24, 2019 [21 favorites]


No evidence of conspiring with the Russians to sway the election says nothing about conspiring with the Russians to, if elected, dump sanctions to get Trump Tower Moscow built.

Right, the summary implies that Mueller framed his investigation of Team Trump around the most narrow definition of conspiracy -- that in order to qualify the Trump campaign would have had to work with Russia to hack the Democrats or disseminate the hacked material. What the public evidence suggested was a quid pro quo arrangement, with Russia offering an October Surprise in exchange for future sanctions relief. If the Trump campaign accepted, that would absolutely be a felony. We know the offer was made, but there's no hard proof in the public sphere of whether it was accepted or rejected. The report ought to (but judging by this summary maybe doesn't) at least address that.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:25 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


I don't care what Barr has to say. I care what Mueller has to say. Mueller should testify.
posted by nat at 1:25 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


On CNN, Rudy Giuliani says the letter that includes the phrase "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him" completely exonerates him.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:27 PM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Also, the idea that Trump would have no corrupt motive for obstructing the investigation of a covert foreign influence project that helped secure his election, unless there was provable conspiracy between his campaign and that foreign power, is laughable.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:29 PM on March 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


I don't care what Barr has to say. I care what Mueller has to say. Mueller should testify.

Right, the big question is whether Mueller didn't reach a conclusion on Obstruction of Justice because he had some but not enough evidence, or whether he chose to leave it to Congress to decide since DOJ position on indictment meant that Mueller couldn't indict no matter what... and then Barr jumped in and torpedoed that intent by reaching a bullshit conclusion that Mueller specifically declined to make.

I suspect the latter but if its the former we really need to know.
posted by Justinian at 1:29 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


On CNN, Rudy Giuliani says the letter that includes the phrase "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him" completely exonerates him.

Giuliani also said that the result on obstruction was “better than expected.” Think about that for a second.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:29 PM on March 24, 2019 [64 favorites]


Question that I haven't heard answered: how did this get leaked so quickly? Like, this letter wasn't supposed to IMMEDIATELY be made public, right? Was it only sent to the 4 recipients, or did others receive it? My general reading of this is that it was intended to be made public quickly, so either a staffer for one of the receiving congress members leaked it or someone else?

In trying to wring some optimisim out of this, I hope this means further releases of any other info will also be immediately leaked. But how did this get out right away? Was that supposed to happen? Seems like there's too much going on to focus on the source, but this seems concerning in itself...especially since the "report" gives great press for the president....
posted by andruwjones26 at 1:30 PM on March 24, 2019


In another lie, Giuliani says that the letter correctly states that there can't be Obstruction of Justice without an underlying crime. The letter correctly and explicitly says that the absence of evidence establishing an underlying crime is not determinative of the President's intent.

Lies and the lying liars who tell them.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:31 PM on March 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


The special counsel's report would have to have been incredibly, overwhelmingly damning to even begin to stand up against the hard problem of getting Republicans in the Senate to turn on Trump in an impeachment and conviction process. And taking that route, while good for the country, would do nothing to beat back the ugliness in this country that got him and the Republicans in power in the first place. It was always going to ultimately come down to the hard slog of winning elections with more and better Democrats with better and more popular policies to win the bigger fight, and investigations will continue to provide leverage along the way, but won't provide the solution. The special counsel didn't win the House for us in 2018, we did that.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:31 PM on March 24, 2019 [15 favorites]


The third act of the HBO film "The Pentagon Wars" will give a person a good idea of what Barr's memo actually represents and how this kind of bureaucratic wrangling works. Obviously, it's fictionalized, but the underlying ideas are all too real.
posted by wierdo at 1:32 PM on March 24, 2019


Question that I haven't heard answered: how did this get leaked so quickly?

What? The letter wasn't leaked, it was released by Jerry Nadler and others. The whole point of the letter was to be made public.
posted by Justinian at 1:32 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


With Clinton we got an immediate 12-zillion-page Starr report. Here we get a bullshit letter from A.G. Obvious Toady. No.
posted by riverlife at 1:32 PM on March 24, 2019 [27 favorites]


This is so far from over. There is no way Mueller or members of his team aren’t going to get marched in front of Congress and asked all kinds of juicy shit. “Did you find evidence of money laundering as part of your investigation and refer it to other prosecutors?”
posted by jasondigitized at 1:37 PM on March 24, 2019 [24 favorites]


Thanks for the explanation Justinian; since it dropped I've been watching cable news and reading online, but missed that Nadler and others released it. I get the Repubs would want it to get out, but surprised the Dems would be so eager to pass it on; regardless of how they preface/explain it, the Barr report on its surface is not a good look for the opposition.

But basically, it sounds like someone was going to release it one way or the other. I hate these sort of show letters where they're addressed to members of congress but that's clearly not the intended audience. Like it's this "serious letter I'm only sending to you" but clearly that is not the purpose at all...fucking kayfabe bullshit (perfectly fitting for this administration.)
posted by andruwjones26 at 1:39 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


With Clinton we got an immediate 12-zillion-page Starr report.

Which was available in the supermarket checkout aisle the next morning.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:41 PM on March 24, 2019 [18 favorites]


The Attorney General is entitled to say that his boss is a nice guy. The Congress is entitled to decide whether the President has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. The arguments that the report in its entirety, and at least much of the underlying evidence, should not be immediately provided to the Congress, seem very weak and very evil indeed.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:42 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


For everyone hand-wringing about this, please do remember that this response was to a huge degree a foregone conclusion. Sessions would have released something very similar to this, Mueller's mandate wasn't particularly expansive, the Senate isn't going to do anything regardless.

My (older, white, liberal) co-workers seemed to make Mueller into some sort of Messianic figure who would certainly save us, rather than confronting the likelihood that, since none of our other institutions was operating to provide necessary checks on the out-of-control and incompetent executive, it was unlikely that the Executive Branch itself would provide any meaningful checks.

It matters that this report was filed, and I want to know what's in it, but nothing in it will change the fundamental balance of power. Battles at the state level seem much more effective, and in the interim we need to be setting up plans for impeaching Trump's judicial appointees. Waiting for the Mueller report to drop gave several people I know the emotional cover they needed to just go back to doing whatever they were doing pre-2016.
posted by aspersioncast at 1:46 PM on March 24, 2019 [48 favorites]


Yeah, Barr, and Rosenstein are only delaying the inevitable.
It would be really useful if there was a Beto-type person in Kentucky who could challenge McConnell. He isn't the main crook here, Trump is, but McConnell is an evil villain and it is essential to get rid of him if you guys want to save the universe.
posted by mumimor at 1:46 PM on March 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


@realDonaldTrump: No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!

This President lies.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:47 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


Trump: "This was an illegal takedown that failed ... it's a complete exoneration"

Is it worthless and criminal, or is it an infallible proof of innocence? ¿Por que no los dos?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:50 PM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


People, Mueller's report was written by a Republican. It was never going to conclude that Trump committed a crime, even if there's a ton of public evidence of him publicly committing that crime (which there is, at least on the obstruction count). The phrase "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him" means that Mueller does know that Trump committed a crime, that he believes the evidence does absolutely prove that, and that he's covering his own ass in case somebody does actually manage to make a conviction for the obvious, publicly-committed crime stick. (That's going to be on people who aren't conservatives to do, of course.) There is nothing in the universe that would have made Mueller conclude that Trump committed a crime except perhaps if Trump was actually found to be in cahoots with Hillary Clinton.

Remember that we're talking about the same Robert Mueller here who helmed the FBI during a period when Russian crime organizations, gaining in both power and audacity, were openly committing financial crimes with American citizens, and that Trump was one of those citizens. Listen to Sarah Kendzior on this. Mueller isn't the one magic Republican who loves personal responsibility and thinks people in power should be held to account for their crimes. That idea is antithetical to the entire conservative belief structure. Trump's not part of the out group. The law does not bind him.
posted by IAmUnaware at 1:51 PM on March 24, 2019 [48 favorites]


Hey, if the investigation is done, can we shift all that media attention and public energy over to the families still separated and locked up in cages? Like I get that the fight for a full release of the report is worth having, but I feel like there are lots of battles that have gone without enough attention while everyone was hoping for a silver bullet.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:51 PM on March 24, 2019 [25 favorites]


For everyone hand-wringing about this, please do remember that this response was to a huge degree a foregone conclusion. Sessions would have released something very similar to this, Mueller's mandate wasn't particularly expansive, the Senate isn't going to do anything regardless.

I kinda wonder about Sessions, actually. I can't think of why he'd have been pushed out if he'd have done the same as Barr with the report. He had every incentive to act like Barr since he was knee deep in any campaign dirt himself, but he couldn't be trusted to? Weird.

Also, I keep coming back to Comey's take on Rosenstein: "Rod is a survivor."
posted by jason_steakums at 1:56 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ana Marie Cox: I think this means Democrats are just going to have to gain the presidency the old-fashioned way: getting fewer votes.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:57 PM on March 24, 2019 [60 favorites]


The report might well conclude that Trump committed a crime. We don't know, because what we are getting at this point is the opinion of Barr and Rosenstein. (Sounds a lot like a Shakespeare play). We do know that the Special Council has already indicted a lot of Trump associates. We need the democrats to read the report, and we need voters to get out and vote in 2020.
posted by mumimor at 1:57 PM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


Republicans find republicans not guilty.

Is this really a surprise?
posted by srboisvert at 1:58 PM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


Can't we at least nail Don Jr's balls to the wall for lying to Congress?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:03 PM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


We have all known all along that Trump is a crook and that he is conspiring with Russia. Remember that meeting of the gang of eight after the election, where the Democrats were furious but the Republicans didn't give a shit? Obviously, the Mueller report confirms whatever they heard, why wouldn't it? And obviously, the Republicans pretend it doesn't.
As long as the Republicans control the Senate and the electoral college, truth and reality doesn't matter.
posted by mumimor at 2:08 PM on March 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


As long as the Republicans control the Senate and the electoral college, truth and reality doesn't matter.

The Republicans are getting quite a bit of help from clumsy journalism and other quarters, though. Al Jazeera English's anchor led the hour with Trump's “complete and total exoneration” statement (not just the footage of him saying that... the anchor repeated it and then added on “...that's what the White House is saying!”) with a guest commentator buried five minutes in eventually actually pointing out that even Barr's letter literally says the report “does not exonerate him” in a direct quote.
posted by XMLicious at 2:18 PM on March 24, 2019 [15 favorites]


So the president will desperately try to seek refuge in reelection while associated parties get got by the state of NY. Let's get started on denying him that refuge.
posted by Selena777 at 2:20 PM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


We still have. Not. Seen. The. Report.

I refuse to draw any conclusions at all until we do.

And I think we will. Besides the possibility of leaks and thr fact that Nadler is drawing up subpoenas right now, there's still the possibility that the grand jury itself can issue a report.

Mueller Has a Way Around Trump and His Minions By Richard Ben-Veniste and George Frampton for NYT Nov. 9, 2018
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:21 PM on March 24, 2019 [14 favorites]


Actually, I think this is part of the general problem with Trump: if you ever engage with him, for whatever reason, you will be part of the problem. He smites everyone with corruption and evil and there is no way to wipe it off.
Barr was already not exactly a clean person, but by accepting a Trump appointment he lost all authority.
If it wasn't about the fate of our planet, it would be fascinating. Trump himself has stated this very clearly from the outset, he said out loud that he was a corrupter of politics and that he was corrupt, and people voted for him for that very reason.
In that, he is more like Mussolini than like Hitler, and we should all pay attention. because while Hitler is universally reviled, Mussolini is not.
posted by mumimor at 2:26 PM on March 24, 2019 [13 favorites]


I mean to add an excerpt of that "Mueller has a way around Trump" link, but messed up. Here it is:
Following the Oct. 20, 1973, “Saturday Night Massacre” — in which President Nixon forced the Justice Department to fire the original special prosecutor, Archibald Cox — the Watergate grand jury played a critical role in forcing the president to back down, hand over the subpoenaed tapes and appoint a new special prosecutor.

Although Mr. Cox had been fired, his staff — duly appointed federal prosecutors — had not. The grand jury, as an arm of the judicial branch, could not be fired by the president. Indeed, Judge John Sirica of the United States District Court immediately summoned the grand juries (there were two) to his courtroom and exhorted them to continue to pursue their investigations and assured them that they could rely on the court to safeguard their rights and preserve the integrity of their proceedings.

In the face of Congress’s inability to obtain evidence that the grand jury well knew incriminated the president, we prepared the grand jury report to Judge Sirica and requested that he use his plenary authority to transmit that evidence to the House Judiciary Committee, which had already commenced a proceeding to consider Mr. Nixon’s impeachment. It was carefully written to avoid any interpretations or conclusions about what the evidence showed or what action the committee should take. The report contained a series of spare factual statements annotated with citations to relevant transcripts of tapes and grand jury testimony. Copies of those tapes and transcripts were included as attachments.

Judge Sirica was convinced that the materials contained in the report should be made available to the House Judiciary Committee. His decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This evidence formed the gravamen of Article I (obstruction of justice) of the impeachment resolution adopted by the Committee.

Much note has been made of the fact that the Justice Department regulations under which Mr. Mueller was appointed actually require him to submit a report to the attorney general. Importantly, nothing in the department regulations prohibits Mr. Mueller’s Department of Justice superior, now Mr. Whitaker [Barr], from refusing to release the report.
...
If Mr. Mueller has obtained such evidence, his responsibility and the correct operation of our system of government compel the conclusion that he and the grand jury can make that evidence available to Congress through a report transmitted by the court.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:29 PM on March 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


He's gonna be unbearable, isn't he?

Why would now be any different, regardless of this process? Honestly the only this this (supposedly) equivocating report changes is we don’t have to wonder why folks refuse to see “we have pictures of Putin and Trump pissing on an American flag together” as what it is. It was always going to turn now to the fighting over transparency and accountability.
posted by phearlez at 2:34 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Prediction: Goonybird Carter Page will be all over cable news next week. I bet Chris Hayes is the first to entertain him, too.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:46 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


"It was always going to turn now to the fighting over transparency and accountability."

It's still very disappointing. We've known all along exactly what kind of person Mueller is -- he would aggressively do his job to the letter, no more or no less -- but given how obvious it is that Trump is a cancer in our democracy, that he is doing precedental damage that can't be repaired, what I hoped for, what I wanted, was someone like Starr who had a visceral desire to nail Trump's balls to the wall. We got a deranged zealot like Starr in response to Clinton's mild sleaziness, but a by-the-book institutionalist like Mueller in response to one of the top three worst, most corrupt presidents in US history. If this isn't the worst timeline, it certainly is a remarkably shitty one.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:50 PM on March 24, 2019 [33 favorites]


The Mueller Report is sort of like True Detective in that diehard fans were expecting the ending to be slapping handcuffs on Cthulhu
posted by Apocryphon at 2:53 PM on March 24, 2019 [43 favorites]


Why are you guys all acting like this means anything other than that Barr is trying to bury the report, as we all worried he would?

BE ON HIGH ALERT.

There will be national protests if efforts to get the full Mueller report released are not successful very soon.

You can find your local protest here:

http://trumpisnotabovethelaw.org
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:54 PM on March 24, 2019 [33 favorites]


On CNN, Jeffrey Toobin brilliantly observes that the entire purpose of the Acting Attorney General appointing a Special Counsel was to ensure that decisions of whether crimes took place would be made by a neutral third-party instead of a Trump appointee. And now, the decision that insufficient evidence of Obstruction of Justice was found has been made not by the Special Counsel but by the Attorney General! It makes a mockery of the entire investigation. Barr's opinion is worthless without the underlying report and evidence.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:17 PM on March 24, 2019 [74 favorites]


Mueller most assuredly wrote his own summary of his investigation. And you can also be sure that Mueller was smart enough to write his summary in a manner that does not include redactable material. So why didn't Barr just publish Mueller's own summary instead of Barr's personal interpretation? It was so that Barr could put his own "exoneration" spin on the document, which means it is probably less flattering than Barr's interpretation.

Sure, Mueller's original summary will eventually be published but that may be days or weeks from now, long after the news media has lost interest and Trump supporters have firmly established their acquittal narrative.
posted by JackFlash at 3:29 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


ensure that decisions of whether crimes took place would be made by a neutral third-party

I agree with Toobin's general point, but if Mueller was supposed to decide whether any crimes took place, why didn't he? If your job is decide, how do you end up writing "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." Isn't that kinda the opposite of deciding?
posted by diogenes at 3:35 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


“The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’”

Donald Trump is a land of contrasts
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:38 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


aspersioncast:For everyone hand-wringing about this, please do remember that this response was to a huge degree a foregone conclusion. Sessions would have released something very similar to this, Mueller's mandate wasn't particularly expansive, the Senate isn't going to do anything regardless.

...

It matters that this report was filed, and I want to know what's in it, but nothing in it will change the fundamental balance of power. Battles at the state level seem much more effective, and in the interim we need to be setting up plans for impeaching Trump's judicial appointees. Waiting for the Mueller report to drop gave several people I know the emotional cover they needed to just go back to doing whatever they were doing pre-2016.


I flagged your comment as excellent, aspersioncast. I really think that a lot of people were putting all their eggs in the Mueller basket and hoped Daddy would save us. That was never going to happen, not with this administration. Our battles are better fought at the ballot box. Just think of how in the soup we'd be if the House was still red. Flipping the House and several governorships (how sweet it was to turf out Scott Walker) and downballot races did the Democrats a lot of good. That, not the Mueller report, is what we need to build on.

I know people are disappointed. But, 1) we don't even know what is in the report yet, and 2) even if the report was to say "Trump is the puppetiest puppet who ever puppeted and colluded like a mofo" there was no way Mueller was just going to march into the White House and perp-walk Trump out. Elections, consequences, etc.

And New York State and other states are waiting with charges that can't be easily wiggled out of and cannot be pardoned. So there is definitely that.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:44 PM on March 24, 2019 [25 favorites]


From CNN’s live news link:

The special counsel’s office deliberated at length with Department of Justice officials about issuing a subpoena for President Trump to be interviewed, but ultimately the decision was made not to move forward with such a significant investigative step, according to a source familiar with the matter.

For months, Robert Mueller’s team had requested a sit-down interview with Trump, but the President’s lawyers refused to commit, and negotiations continued. Eventually, last fall, the special counsel submitted written questions to the President concerning the time frame before 2016 election, which Trump answered in late November 2018.

The source said the sensitive discussions between DOJ officials and the special counsel team, and the determination that a subpoena would not be pursued, was based on the perception of the evidence and merits of the issues — separate and apart from the fact that current Justice Department policy dictates that a sitting President cannot be indicted.

While not directly addressing the issue of a presidential interview, Attorney General William Barr’s letter to Congress Sunday offers a further glimpse into how officials at the department didn’t believe they had a prosecutable case against Trump on collusion or on the question of obstruction of justice.

“In cataloguing the President’s actions, many of which took place in public view, the (Mueller) report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Department’s principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to establish an obstruction-of-justice offense,” Barr wrote.
The special counsel’s office and the Justice Department declined to comment on internal discussions of a subpoena.

Why this matters: In the end, the decision to not make a formal request for a subpoena was critical because that demand — should it have been rejected — would have been communicated by the attorney general to Congress, as the special counsel regulations mandate. Instead, a formal request from Mueller wasn’t made, allowing the Barr to say in his letter to Congress Friday "there were no such instances during the Special Counsel investigation" where Mueller was turned down.

posted by gucci mane at 3:50 PM on March 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


Nadler just held a press conference and called bullshit on Trump and Barr and was pretty clear about dropping subpoenas on Barr and the Mueller report.
posted by jasondigitized at 3:54 PM on March 24, 2019 [46 favorites]


I really really hope that this is a "winning a battle" vs "winning a war" strategy - to let the Republicans dig themselves further and blindly walk themselves into a pincer formation.

In exchange for a flurry/ tidalwave of "exonerated!" bullshit in the short term (losing a battle), in order to be able to demonstrate full culpability once the entire unredacted report is disseminated to point to how corrupt the Republican leadership was in remaining in denial of wrongdoing.

William Barr needs to be painted as a partisan puppet. Repeatedly. He is either a partisan shill protecting corruption or is too stupid and incompetent (and his confirmation by people too stupid to see how stupid and incompetent he is) to parse Mueller's report accurately.
posted by porpoise at 4:07 PM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


I really really hope that this is a "winning a battle" vs "winning a war" strategy - to let the Republicans dig themselves further and blindly walk themselves into a pincer formation.

It'll work THIS time!
posted by MrBadExample at 4:21 PM on March 24, 2019 [19 favorites]


Caroline Orr in my Twitter timeline wrote something that rings true: "Something to look out for in coming days/weeks: Trump will, without a doubt, try to use his false narrative about being "exonerated" by Barr to shut down future investigations into the rampant corruption that plagues his presidency, administration, businesses, and family."
posted by StrawberryPie at 4:24 PM on March 24, 2019 [22 favorites]


I haven't been this pissed off at the obvious criminality and malfeasance happening before our very eyes, and the unwillingness of the American political class to do anything about it since 2004.

I'm gonna take a step back and look after myself before I burst a fucking vessel.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:35 PM on March 24, 2019 [56 favorites]


'The decision was made' is remarkably passive-voiced, and leaves open the possibility that Barr (or Whittaker) or someone else at the DoJ blocked the SCO from issuing a subpoena.

I call attention again to the Barr letter wording about their being no "unwarranted" actions that were blocked. Which would seem technically true if interviewing individual 1 in an investigation were considered normal and warranted.
posted by Slackermagee at 4:40 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


'The decision was made' is remarkably passive-voiced, and leaves open the possibility that Barr (or Whittaker) or someone else at the DoJ blocked the SCO from issuing a subpoena.

If that happened, and it did not trigger a report to Congress... there should be hell to pay. Per the regulations, "If the Attorney General concludes that a proposed action by a Special Counsel should not be pursued, the Attorney General shall notify Congress."
posted by BungaDunga at 4:42 PM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


I really want to read the report. But until we do, please remember what is already public. Remember that all those Trump campaign guys convicted of lying, were lying to help cover up what Russia had done. Remember that Paul Manafort offered briefings on the campaign to Oleg Deripaska and shared polling data with Konstantin Killimnik. Remember that he and Gates pled guilty to "Conspiracy against the United States" because they were laundering money from a Ukrainian politican who was so much in Putin's pocket that later convicted of treason -- for inviting Putin to invade Ukraine. Remember they pled guilty to acting as foreign agents for secretly trying to influence American politics and the American political system on behalf of that Putin crony. Remember what we already know.

David Corn has a good summary at Mother Jones.

Trump Aided and Abetted Russia’s Attack. That Was Treachery. Full Stop.
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:46 PM on March 24, 2019 [44 favorites]


Maybe Mueller made the decision not to subpoena a Trump interview and has a considered reason. I think that's somewhat likely, all things considered, but we need to learn what it was.
posted by BungaDunga at 4:47 PM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


We still have. Not. Seen. The. Report.

I refuse to draw any conclusions at all until we do.


At the very least, if one claims that the report exonerates your side, then there is absolutely no reason not to release the report. Barr said he has an interest in full transparency, as have others. If it's all Great News, then why wouldn't you want that Great News released in full, proclaimed from the rooftops?

Of course, that won't stop Republicans from trying. But it's an obvious, awkward question that won't go away, the question itself suggesting the answer that it's not Great News at all.
posted by Capt. Renault at 4:50 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


Meanwhile, back at the Democrats-gonna-Democrat ranch: Key House Democrat: We will work to find common ground with Trump [Politico]

Sure, why not. I mean he's exonerated right, he said so. What's next on the Democratic agenda? Bipartisanship at all costs, is it? Great, let's get on with it.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 4:51 PM on March 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


strictly speaking, the grand jury information supposedly embedded in the report is a good reason. but I refuse to believe (as pointed out upthread) that there isn't a Mueller-written summary somewhere that doesn't contain grand jury information that could be released yesterday.
posted by BungaDunga at 4:53 PM on March 24, 2019


If it's all Great News, then why wouldn't you want that Great News released in full, proclaimed from the rooftops?

Because sometimes you'd rather not have something defined. It can be more powerful to leave people guessing. For instance, any evidence that Trump is, in fact, clear-headed.
posted by rhizome at 4:55 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


If Trump could be indicted, then there would be justification in keeping the grand jury info secret. But since I still believe that indicting Trump would be ridiculous (he'd just fire the marshals or FBI agents who showed up to arrest him, then fire the prosecutors who tried to try him, then order his prison guards to release him) the only entity that can hold him accountable to the law is Congress. That means Congress needs to see that grand jury info.

But as East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 says in the comment I have flagged as fantastic above (and quoted all over the internet already):

The argument that the President of the United States is subject to the rule of law (unlike his predecessor the King of England) depends on the ability of the Congress to receive evidence of his criminality. The determination of the President's hand-picked underling, the Attorney General, that the evidence is insufficient, will not suffice. The entire report and its underlying documentary evidence must be made available to the Congress immediately.
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:00 PM on March 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


Because sometimes you'd rather not have something defined. It can be more powerful to leave people guessing.

To a degree.

If I said to my partner, "Great news! I had my friend check, and there are no pictures of another woman on my phone. Also, you can't look at my phone", that probably wouldn't end the discussion.
posted by Capt. Renault at 5:08 PM on March 24, 2019 [45 favorites]


Remember way back in ancient history when Attorney General Loretta Lynch was called corrupt because she spent 15 minutes talking golf and grandchildren with Bill Clinton?

Bill Barr wrote a 19-page memo declaring the Mueller investigation bullshit and illegal a few months before he was installed as Attorney General.
posted by JackFlash at 5:09 PM on March 24, 2019 [64 favorites]


The grand jury information 100% needs to be sent to Congress, certainly anything that pertains to any of Trump's personal illegalities needs to, and it should not go through Barr's hands. I'd be far more comfortable with the whole thing if Mueller had applied to the presiding judge to transmit a watergate-style "road map" to Congress containing everything relevant to Congress' impeachment responsibilities.
posted by BungaDunga at 5:11 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Wisconsin Supreme Court GOTV update! My neighborhood team spun ourselves back up and we have been blown away at the turnout for canvassing- people just keep showing up, and we should hit around a thousand doors for the weekend, and we will be on track to finish our whole territory by the first or second shift next weekend. The candidate that we are working for is pretty meh, but compared to actively evil, she’s a great choice. Conveniently, the conservative candidate is so bigoted that even most outside groups won’t touch him, so he’s in trouble, especially if the level of excitement in my area is representative.

If this election goes well, the split on the court will be 4-3. The next election will be in April of 2020, at the same time as the presidential primary, which is of course expected to have far more dem turnout than republican, which means for the first time in many years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has a shot to at least be somewhat reasonable.

We also have paid state party organizers supporting us (and other teams across the state) who are going to be building teams and momentum through 2020, which bodes well for the future.
posted by rockindata at 5:25 PM on March 24, 2019 [35 favorites]


Neal Katyal thinks Barr's letter stinks to high heaven.
posted by Sublimity at 5:29 PM on March 24, 2019 [13 favorites]


Just for precedent, Starr's Whitewater report, published to the world, contained the word for word grand jury testimony of dozens of people including Monica Lewinsky, Lewinsky's friends, Lewinsky's family, Lewinsky's psychologist!, Linda Tripp's testimony, Bill Clinton's grand jury testimony, and the grand jury testimony of the president's aides including John Podesta, Erskine Bowles, Sidney Blumenthal and Harold Ickes among others.

This notion that grand jury testimony cannot be published is bullshit. The notion that executive privilege prevents releasing testimony of the president's aides is bullshit.
posted by JackFlash at 5:31 PM on March 24, 2019 [74 favorites]


Wisconsin Supreme Court GOTV update!

Ooh, I've been writing Postcards to Voters for this!

I'm so glad to hear there are people out canvassing. Thank you for all your hard work!
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:32 PM on March 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


We still have. Not. Seen. The. Report.

And this summary by the conflicted Barr and the entangled Rosenstein does not contain a single full sentence from Mueller's report. The American public must see the full document and the three of them must testify in front of Congress before Team Trump can brag about "a total and complete exoneration".

n.b. MSNBC's Kyle Griffin: "Reporting from Pete Williams read out on @MSNBC: Bill Barr, in writing the letter sent to the Hill today, did not consult with Mueller, according to a senior DOJ official."
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:48 PM on March 24, 2019 [18 favorites]


What's next on the Democratic agenda?

I'd not be shocked to hear a Dem proclaim that the Wall should get a second look.

This notion that grand jury testimony cannot be published is bullshit.

Just because Starr did a bad thing that shouldn't have been done doesn't mean it's all good now and should become the defacto
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:49 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


The Mueller Report may contain a wide variety of things, but Occam's Razor states that it contains at least some things that could prove embarrassing, damaging and/or actionable on the part of Team Trump.

Reasoning: If it did not, there would be an executive order mandating that it be read in its entirety on every television network and printed in every national newspaper. Trump could not possibly refrain from such a glorious opportunity to gloat at the top of his lungs.

However, it is also likely that it does not contain smoking-gun beyond-a-reasonable-doubt proof of so-impeachable-that-even-Republicans-have-to-agree actions by Team Trump.

Reasoning: There's spin, and then there's SPIN. It's possible that Trump and Barr think that they can simply look at a full-on smoking-gun report and completely bareface their way out of it with complete suppression and denial, but they have to know that the pressure for as much of it as possible to see at least Congressional light of day will be immense. They're not quite visibly panicked enough for that yet.

Supposition: What's in there includes damaging and questionable material, but material that can be argued or spun as less than a full indictment of Donald himself. As previously noted, the rich and powerful rarely face justice themselves for misdeeds because they have people to do the actual dirty work and are rarely dumb enough to leave a concrete trail leading directly to themselves.

So that is something that they feel that they can suppress, deny and spin. Trumpoids will take a simple repetition of "no indictment means no collusion" as absolute proof that Dear Leader is innocent. The media will take that repetition as reasonable doubt. And we will spin our wheels until next November.

Carry on.
posted by delfin at 5:54 PM on March 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


I'd not be shocked to hear a Dem proclaim that the Wall should get a second look.

If this was meant in earnest, please cite your evidence.
If not, please don’t.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:03 PM on March 24, 2019 [21 favorites]


Letter: After reviewing the Special Counsel's final report on these issues; consulting with Department officials, including the Office of Legal Counsel; and applying the principles of federal prosecution that guide our charging decisions ... Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence ... is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.

How did Barr review an x-hundred page report with the most senior parts of the DOJ, come to legal conclusions, and write a letter summarizing its contents in 48 hours over a weekend?
posted by sylvanshine at 6:13 PM on March 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


You say that like the conclusions came after the report.
posted by mrgoat at 6:19 PM on March 24, 2019 [27 favorites]


Whistleblower Christopher Wylie: “Whatever this report says, here’s what I know: when I was at Cambridge Analytica, the company hired known Russian agents, had data researchers in St Petersburg, tested US voter opinion on Putin’s leadership, and hired hackers from Russia - all while Bannon was in charge.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:23 PM on March 24, 2019 [72 favorites]


Just because Starr did a bad thing that shouldn't have been done doesn't mean it's all good now and should become the defacto

Remember, Congress is only constrained by norms when controlled by Democrats.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:32 PM on March 24, 2019 [29 favorites]


Robert Mueller was never going to end Donald Trump’s presidency (Dylan Matthews, Vox)
It was never up to Robert Mueller. It was always up to Mitch McConnell.

The idea of Mueller as a kind of deus ex machina capable of rescuing the American people from the Trump presidency has taken on almost comical proportions. A recent NPR story canvassed families whose dying relatives expressed a concern that they’d never get to read the Mueller report. In Vanity Fair, Rachel Dodes wrote an (“may I call you Swan?”), the “dreamiest G-man to ever hunt for collusion.” Spike Lee — Spike Lee! — became so enamored of a former FBI director that he started [selling] “God Protect Robert Mueller” T-shirts [as a fundraiser] [...]

All of this reflects a yearning for something, anything, to end the death loop that American democracy appears to be trapped in — for a big, dramatic blowup to fix the system’s ills. In the liberal imagination, that blowup typically takes the form of Trump’s removal from office, an event that sets us back to a path of normalcy and sane politics.

This yearning is understandable — but it is both dangerous and misplaced. Ending the Trump presidency will not fix, or even substantially ameliorate, most of the problems plaguing the American political system. They were mounting for years before he took office — indeed, they made him possible — and will continue to plague us for years after he leaves.

And more importantly, as this week clarifies, there will be no dramatic end for Trump. He will not be impeached, at least not the way the Bill Clinton was impeached, following recommendations from an independent prosecutor. He will certainly not be removed from office by a Republican Senate — that’s one prediction I am willing to make as long as Mitch McConnell is majority leader.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:39 PM on March 24, 2019 [14 favorites]


Whistleblower Christopher Wylie: “Whatever this report says, here’s what I know: when I was at Cambridge Analytica, the company hired known Russian agents, had data researchers in St Petersburg, tested US voter opinion on Putin’s leadership, and hired hackers from Russia - all while Bannon was in charge.”

A good example of the gray area that’s likely explored in the report but elided in Barr’s statement that there was no coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. How do go-betweens, cutouts, and people operating without official authorization fall (or not fall) into those categories?
posted by sallybrown at 6:39 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


Er, have been unpacking from a big house to house move since Thursday, wonder what I’ve missed.

*cosplays as Tehund, catches up*

Ahhh, so the President finally got that nice letter of exoneration from someone at the DOJ after 2+ years of asking.
posted by notyou at 6:44 PM on March 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


Previously from zachlipton on 2/13:
So Barr sends a 19-page unsolicited memo arguing that the President didn't obstruct justice without knowing any facts, gets appointed AG which oversees the investigation, and now his son-in-law [Tyler McGaughey] is moving to the White House counsel's office. This all seems totally on the up-and-up.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:47 PM on March 24, 2019 [25 favorites]


So Barr sends a 19-page unsolicited memo arguing that the President didn't obstruct justice without knowing any facts, gets appointed AG which oversees the investigation, and now his son-in-law [Tyler McGaughey] is moving to the White House counsel's office.

Or this from the National Law Journal earlier this month: William Barr Fills Front Office With Trump White House Lawyers.

Absolutely above-board and unsuspicious.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:55 PM on March 24, 2019 [24 favorites]


I half-disagree with the common assumption that, if the report is basically non-damning, then Barr and the other Republicans would be releasing it in full and shouting it to the skies. From a strictly tactical perspective, it may be better for them to draw out the release. They're already making as much hay as possible from a narrative that two years' worth of expectations have been dashed, and they'd be glad to repeat the trick if they can; a "nothingburger" seems emptier the longer one waits for it.

To use a malformed parallel (because it certainly doesn't match in terms of actual guilt here), the Obama administration chose a strategic moment to announce the release of his long-form birth certificate, years after having released the short one during his campaign. I'm not actually concerned that the real report is some kind of dud, but if it is, that's a weapon in the regime's pocket, to be held on as close to October 2020 as they can manage.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:06 PM on March 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent

this is pretty narrow: obstructive conduct undertaken with corrupt intent having a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding. each criterion is reasonably elastic and subject to framing. i write for the specific corrupt intent criterion, as to which i think little can be known with confidence. it is my impression that every intent that colors president horrorshow's perceptions of the world or that moves him to action is corrupt. this accords with every impression that i have ever taken in of that man. corrupt through and through. when he talks with howard stern about his newborn daughter, or, later, is photographed with his adolescent daughter sitting in his lap, or, later, hugs adult ivanka, or cheats at golf or on his wives, all that is apparent of his intention appears corrupt. when he brags about avoiding vietnam, or likens his sexual promiscuity to service in that police action, he appears animated by nothing but corrupt intent. when he habitually breaks contracts, when he applies for loans, when he says "you're fired" on tv, when he brags about the size of his buildings, it is with corrupt intent. when he describes himself, his behavior and his corrupt intent to billy bush he seems powered by corrupt intent. everything betokens his corruption and his continuing corrupt intent. against that background of nothing but pure concentrated corruption, how is a prosecutor to distinguish the intent to, say, exonerate his son's apparent exposure to charges of conspiring to receive stolen information from a hostile foreign state during an election by drafting a cover story for dissemination to the press, or to publicly abuse a former close associate and confidant who is about to testify before congress, as specifically corrupt?

something else. barr's letter explained that mueller's investigation did not find [sufficient] evidence of campaign or associates colluding or conspiring with two particular efforts to influence the election by russian state actors and agents. but the counterintelligence investigation was opened against president horrorshow well before the special counsel was empowered or charged with investigating those russian efforts, and congress has taken testimony to the effect that that investigation was folded into mueller's investigation. there is, as yet, no reason to conclude that that counterintelligence investigation -- to the degree, if any, that its subject matter was different from the influencing or the hacking operations -- has ended just because robert mueller has fulfilled his mandate as to those particular questions.

finally, a fugitive hope in the unlikely possibility that there may be republicans in congress who have been hoping that the mueller report would excuse them from having to behave like congresspersons with a duty to preserve the republic, who now, lacking mueller's special-counsel-ex-machina resolution of the crisis in the republic, will try to conscientiously do their jobs at last. i know: bwaa-haa-haa, but among a group who used to fantasize about "muellermas" as a panacea.
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:08 PM on March 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


Has the President Been Exonerated? (Politico Magazine)
We asked top legal experts to decode the attorney general’s summary of the Mueller report—and what it means for Donald Trump.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:21 PM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


From the piece NYTime's Op Ed sublimity linked to:
On the law, Mr. Barr’s letter also obliquely suggests that he consulted with the Office of Legal Counsel, the elite Justice Department office that interprets federal statutes. This raises the serious question of whether Mr. Barr’s decision on Sunday was based on the bizarre legal views that he set out in an unsolicited 19-page memo last year.

That memo made the argument that the obstruction of justice statute does not apply to the president because the text of the statute doesn’t specifically mention the president. Of course, the murder statute doesn’t mention the president either, but no one thinks the president can’t commit murder. Indeed, the Office of Legal Counsel had previously concluded that such an argument to interpret another criminal statute, the bribery law, was wrong.

As such, Mr. Barr’s reference to the office raises the question of whether he tried to enshrine his idiosyncratic view into the law and bar Mr. Trump’s prosecution. His unsolicited memo should be understood for what it is, a badly argued attempt to put presidents above the law. If he used that legal fiction to let President Trump off the hook, Congress would have to begin an impeachment investigation to vindicate the rule of law.
posted by xammerboy at 8:29 PM on March 24, 2019 [17 favorites]


In a sane world, Barr's actions would do more to implicate him than to exonerate Trump.
posted by yesster at 8:46 PM on March 24, 2019 [23 favorites]


Has the President Been Exonerated? (Politico Magazine)
We asked top legal experts to decode the attorney general’s summary of the Mueller report—and what it means for Donald Trump.


"And the president’s critics should reconsider their assertions that the president’s actions were corruptly intended acts of 'obstruction of justice,' rather than simply defensive actions by a president who believed himself an innocent and wrongly accused man."

How in the fuck is that not still obstruction?
posted by jason_steakums at 8:51 PM on March 24, 2019 [14 favorites]


How in the fuck is that not still obstruction?

According to David Cole, national legal director of the ACLU:
The report’s very different treatment of the collusion issue and the obstruction-of-justice issue is telling. While Mueller reportedly did not find that anyone in the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians’ interference in the 2016 elections, his report pointedly declines to exonerate Trump on charges of obstruction of justice. Instead, it details the facts on both sides of that issue and makes no judgment. While Barr and Rosenstein have gone further and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to establish that Trump obstructed justice, surely the American people have a right to judge for themselves. We do not merely ask our presidents to avoid criminal conduct. We should hold them to a higher standard of ethical conduct. Criminal responsibility is only one form of accountability. Political accountability is another, and it is the lifeblood of democracy. The American people deserve to know both the facts underlying Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and any facts bearing on the president’s possible attempts to interfere with the investigation.
According to Jennifer Taub, a professor at Vermont Law School:
Barr also directly quoted Mueller, writing, “The Special Counsel states ‘while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’” Instead of leaving that finding as is, perhaps as a roadmap or referral by Mueller to Congress, Barr took it upon himself to make the determination on obstruction. While he was free to make that choice, it did not belong in this letter purporting to summarize the Mueller report. That conclusion is not, and should not be, treated as part of Mueller’s report. In short, Barr’s conclusions are not credible.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:57 PM on March 24, 2019 [22 favorites]




The 19-page document Barr sent to the White House in June wasn't a memo. It was a proposal. Like making a pitch for a reality TV series. Trump eagerly picked up the option and Republican senators provided the backing to hire Barr.
posted by JackFlash at 9:21 PM on March 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


PopeHat's writeup of the Barr summary hits most of the same notes as the other lawyers in Little Dawn's link.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:23 PM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


How in the fuck is that not still obstruction?

What to Make of Bill Barr’s Letter (Lawfare)
In other respects, however, Barr’s summary of Mueller’s report is ominous for the president. While Mueller did not find that Trump obstructed his investigation, he also made a point of not reaching the opposite conclusion: that Trump didn’t obstruct the investigation. Indeed, he appears to have created a substantial record of the president’s troubling interactions with law enforcement for adjudication in noncriminal proceedings—which is to say in congressional hearings that are surely the next step. [...]

This is, as a preliminary matter, a striking decision on Mueller’s part. It almost certainly flows from the difficult questions that arise when one tries to imagine how one would apply the obstruction of justice statutes to presidential acts that are, on their face, authorized by Article II of the Constitution—questions we have addressed at great length on this site.

In laying out this summary, Barr’s letter reveals several new facts about Mueller’s obstruction probe. First, it notes that Mueller’s report covers several actions by Trump that could raise obstruction concerns, “most of which have been the subject of public reporting.” This confirms what has long been suspected: that Mueller believed that at least some of the president’s publicly reported actions—likely including some of his public actions—could raise obstruction problems. It also suggests that there are potentially obstructive acts that have not yet been reported. Barr’s letter thus leaves the distinct sense that Mueller’s detailed accounting of the president’s potential acts of obstruction is significant, regardless of Barr’s own judgment as to the criminality of any of those acts.

It also makes clear that the Mueller report creates an extensive record on the obstruction question. And that may well be the point. After all, what is the point of a prosecutor’s amassing a factual record and then refusing, as Mueller apparently has refused, to evaluate it in a traditional prosecutorial framework? The answer the letter suggests but does not state is that the Mueller report has teed up the question of presidential obstruction for evaluation by a different actor—to wit, by Congress—on a decidedly noncriminal basis. Mueller, being barred from indicting the president, has done the investigation, has apparently declined even to evaluate the matter as a prosecutor, and has laid out all of the facts and the arguments for and against treating the president’s behavior as criminal. It is now for other actors to decide whether the conduct Mueller describes is acceptable in a president.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:28 PM on March 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


William Barr Has Some Explaining to Do (Renato Mariotti, Politico Magazine)
Barr’s poor reasoning in the four-page summary will reinforce the conclusion that he prejudged the matter. For example, he claimed that because Mueller was unable to establish that Trump was “involved in an underlying crime,” that suggested that he lacked the intent to obstruct justice. That will come as a surprise to Martha Stewart and many other defendants who were convicted of obstruction of justice but not of any underlying crime. Simply put, that is a fragile reed upon which to support a finding that there was no obstruction.

Barr’s poor judgment means that Congress will have to take steps to find out what is in Mueller’s report and what underlying evidence Mueller found. While many have suggested that the full report be made public, that is likely not possible under existing law unless Congress and the President take action. But there is no reason why House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler cannot see the full report, or why his committee could not subpoena Barr or even Mueller.

There can be no serious question that obstruction of justice is an impeachable offense. Bill Clinton was impeached for obstruction of justice, and Richard Nixon would have been if he had not resigned. The stakes are high, and regardless of the outcome, the American people deserve to know what Mueller found without Barr’s unwise interference.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:58 PM on March 24, 2019 [26 favorites]


William Barr Can’t Exonerate Donald Trump (David R. Lurie, Salon)
Despite what his letter to Congress states, the attorney general’s argument clearing the president of obstruction goes against established law, and is profoundly dangerous.
...

The question, then, is why Attorney General Barr felt the need to supplement Mueller’s account of the relevant evidence on the obstruction issue—none of which Barr detailed in his letter—with an answer to the entirely hypothetical question of whether the DOJ would seek to charge Trump if it could. One can’t help but question whether Barr’s letter amounts to an attempted usurpation of the constitutionally assigned authority of the House to determine whether the president engaged in an impeachable offense.

In any event, one thing is clear: Given the, at best, idiosyncratic, and more than arguably outright wrong views of the obstruction of justice offense that appear to have informed Barr’s conclusion, it is all the more clear that all of the evidence regarding the president’s conduct adduced in the Mueller inquiry must be transmitted to Congress in connection with its investigation of whether Trump engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:43 PM on March 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


Bill Barr’s Weasel Words (William Saletan, Slate)
[...] The letter says the Justice Department won’t prosecute Trump, but it reaches that conclusion by tailoring legal standards to protect the president. Here’s a list of Barr’s weasel words and what they’re hiding.

“The Russian government.” The letter quotes a sentence from Mueller’s report. In that sentence, Mueller says his investigation didn’t prove that members of the Trump campaign “conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” The sentence specifies Russia’s government. It says nothing about coordination with other Russians. Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, gave campaign polling data to Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian associate who has been linked to Russian intelligence. Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner met secretly in Trump Tower with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Kremlin-connected lawyer. But neither Kilimnik nor Veselnitskaya is part of the Russian government. They seem to be excluded from Barr’s analysis. [...]

“That the President was involved in.” In narrowing the permissible premises for an obstruction charge, Barr doesn’t just specify that the crime in question has to be related to the two Russian interference operations. He specifies that the crime has to involve Trump himself. This immunizes Trump against prosecution for anything he did to obstruct investigations, not only into Flynn, but also into the established crimes of Manafort and the alleged crimes of Roger Stone.

“Pending or contemplated proceeding.” Barr says none of Trump’s acts against Comey or other investigators can be prosecuted as obstruction of justice, since they lack “a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding.” For example (this is my example, not Barr’s), when Trump fired Comey, Trump wasn’t facing trial and wasn’t officially a target of the Russia investigation. By this standard, the president can bury an investigation as long as he does so before it gets to him. You can’t walk out on Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, because that’s assault with a deadly weapon. But if somebody gets shot on Fifth Avenue, and your friend lies to police about it, you can order the cops to drop their investigation of your friend. [...]

When we get our hands on Mueller’s report—and ultimately, Mueller’s evidence—we’ll have a fuller picture of what he found. We know from Barr’s letter that in the report, Mueller “sets out evidence on both sides” of the obstruction question—and that Mueller says his report “does not exonerate” Trump. For now, all we have is the letter. And it doesn’t show that Trump is innocent of collusion or obstruction. It shows that collusion and obstruction were defined to exclude what he did.
Final emphasis mine. The article also defines 8-9 other terms from Barr's letter.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:58 PM on March 24, 2019 [38 favorites]


Top Republicans are calling to make the Mueller Russia investigation report public (Business Insider)
Senators John Kennedy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, and Roy Blunt of Missouri, all called for the report's release in Congress and to Americans. Kennedy wrote that because the "report cost a lot of taxpayer money" and had sparked "so much spin & innuendo" about its contents, the attorney general should release the file as soon as possible. "Mueller's report needs to be released to the public ASAP," Kennedy tweeted. "Americans deserve to know the contents, I trust them to draw their own conclusions."
Battle over Mueller's probe moves to Capitol Hill (Politico)
Some Senate Republicans also called for the report to be made public as soon as possible, including Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who urged in a statement for Barr to release the full report “without jeopardizing U.S. intelligence sources and methods or ongoing Department of Justice prosecutions.”
posted by Little Dawn at 10:58 PM on March 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


I basically endorse Julian Sanchez's take:
Two predictions, because why not: (1) The full report is significantly less flattering to Trump & the campaign than the summary, and (2) Fallout from the Mueller probe, via investigations farmed out to other offices, continues for months or years.

Corrolary: The idea that the submission of the report constituted some kind of cloud lifting/game changing/chapter closing is going to seem a bit silly in six months. Very little will change, beyond the replacement of the name “Mueller” in headlines.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:02 PM on March 24, 2019 [33 favorites]


Barr’s mandate, which he proposed last year in the memo he wrote suggesting the Pres can’t be indicted, is to get the word out (facts be dammned) that “Trump is clean!” And he did. “A lie will race half-way around the world, while the truth is still lacing up its shoes” you say? Yeah, Barr heard that too.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:19 AM on March 25, 2019 [24 favorites]


Marcy Wheeler, writing on emptywheel.net: How William Barr Did Old Man Back-Flips to Avoid Arresting Donald Trump
Attorney General William Barr just engaged in utterly cowardly dereliction of duty.[…]

We know Trump has repeatedly floated pardons to witnesses who have, in hopes of obtaining a pardon, not incriminated him.

That’s true of Paul Manafort most of all.

So on the basis of what he said to get this job, Barr is already on the record saying that Trump obstructed justice.[…]

Here’s the thing, though: at least given what they lay out here, they only considered whether Trump was covering up his involvement in the hack-and-leak operation. It doesn’t consider whether Trump was covering up a quid pro quo, which is what there is abundant evidence of.

They didn’t consider whether Trump obstructed the crime that he appears to have obstructed. They considered whether he obstructed a different crime. And having considered whether Trump obstructed the crime he didn’t commit, rather than considering whether he obstructed the crime he did commit, they decided not to charge him with a crime.

Update: Corrected that these fuckers didn’t even spend two days reviewing the report.
Also, The Mueller Report, The Short Version: “Trump may have done impeachment-worthy things, but not prosecution related things.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:23 AM on March 25, 2019 [19 favorites]


One of the biggest questions that still needs answering is why, if only the little fish committed crimes and there was no big fish, did all the little fish get plea deals and light sentences?
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:18 PM on March 24 [12 favorites +]


Well, and why did all those little fishes commit crimes in the first place? Why is the Trump family surrounded by crooks?
TBH, having slept on it now, I see Barr's letter as farcical, a typical Trump administration piece of blatant bullshit.
On top of that, Barr has no legitimacy: he publicly applied for his job, saying he would protect Trump by all means, and he is doing just that, shamelessly.
posted by mumimor at 1:58 AM on March 25, 2019 [21 favorites]


It seams the media have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker, it's depressing. Now we can expect to see Democratic demands to read the report described as partisan bickering. I'm heading for a forest bath.
posted by mumimor at 2:55 AM on March 25, 2019 [20 favorites]


By Barr's logic, if you SUCCESSFULLY obstruct justice (thus preventing an investigation from finding evidence of your guilt) them you can't be guilty of obstruction of justice.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:08 AM on March 25, 2019 [39 favorites]


Asian markets suffer blood-letting on global growth fears
US and European equities went into reverse on Friday as the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds fell below those for three-month notes - the first time this had happened since before the global financial crisis in 2007.

[...]

The yield curve is closely watched since it has inverted prior to recessions in recent decades.
The first couple of minutes of this Financial Times video are a primer on the yield curve using historical US data as examples.
posted by XMLicious at 3:11 AM on March 25, 2019 [11 favorites]


If Barr's already written an opinion previously that the president cannot be guilty of obstructing justice under any circumstances, then who knows what the report says?
posted by xammerboy at 4:17 AM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


Please don't be depressed! This is tough, but it's played out as we predicted. And regardless of what's in the report, what's in Mueller's heart, etc. we already know about so much crime and wrongdoing from this administration. This is a great time to contact your Congresspeople and renew the call for impeachment... or if you like, simply demand that the report be read into the record, and then have investigations. Or just generally let them know where you stand on this. I think we need to let our reps know that while the media is trying to wash this away, we can see through that.

Stay angry, my friends!
posted by heatvision at 4:19 AM on March 25, 2019 [35 favorites]


It seams the media have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker, it's depressing.

Local news is not distinguishing between the Barr letter and the full report. Also not pointing out that there are at minimum half a dozen unrelated scandals still in play. The national media is basically repeating PR releases from the White House at this point.

Among the institutions that will not save you: professional journalism.
posted by gimonca at 5:08 AM on March 25, 2019 [62 favorites]


The national media is basically repeating PR releases from the White House at this point.

The 'national media' *are* the Trump administration. By any measure of what the press is supposed to do it has failed miserably. There's only so much naked corruption it can dance around and it's been over two years now. Waiting on Mueller gave them plausible deniability. Corporate news got us here and they're not were never interested in getting us out.

The Big Six want us to flop around clicking on things for two more years while the engineer a Horse Race of the Century for 2020. F**k that. I appreciate we're in a-rock-and-a-hard-place position with regard to sourcing here, and there isn't a clear path yet, but Chuck Todd is not welcome, Maggie Haberman is not welcome, anything that treats Fox News as other than the TASS-level catapult propaganda it is - out.

Maybe AOC's Twitter is the new CNN, I dunno. *Something* has got to change as of 2016. There's only a wall full of talking heads telling us a wall full of talking heads are the source of official news.
posted by petebest at 5:39 AM on March 25, 2019 [48 favorites]


NPR, in the 20 minutes I’ve had it on, has had multiple people on to say this report exonerates 45 completely, with no pushback. The official media line is that Everything is fine. This is fine. Nothing to see.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:44 AM on March 25, 2019 [27 favorites]


NYU historian of fascism Ruth Ben-GhiatVerified account gave this warning last night: "Prediction: the new narrative that is already forming will come to normalize Trump’s crimes- the “turning point” is acquiescence. The most dangerous time is ahead since TrumpFox will feel empowered."

Sure enough, "News Analysis" by the NYT's Peter Baker shows the so-called paper of record is ready to join the rush to judgement: A Cloud Over Trump’s Presidency Is Lifted. For instance, its lede is full of pro-Trump spin: "For President Trump, it may have been the best day of his tenure so far. The darkest, most ominous cloud hanging over his presidency was all but lifted on Sunday with the release of the special counsel’s conclusions {the AH's summary of the SCO report}, which undercut the threat of impeachment and provided him with a powerful boost for the final 22 months of his term."

There's also the evergreen "Dems in disarray" theme, which mainstream media is folding into their coverage, e.g. NBC's Josh Lederman: "It’s fair to assume there is a significant degree on panic setting in this afternoon at the DNC, Democratic primary campaigns across the country".

NYU journalism prof Jay Rosen fires back: "No, it's an odd thing to assume. In the Democratic primary I have been watching, it's striking how little the talk between voters and candidates revolves around the Russia investigation. I would be surprised if other NBC correspondents on the 2020 trail share this assumption."
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:47 AM on March 25, 2019 [27 favorites]


NYU journalism prof Jay Rosen fires back: "No, it's an odd thing to assume. In the Democratic primary I have been watching, it's striking how little the talk between voters and candidates revolves around the Russia investigation. I would be surprised if other NBC correspondents on the 2020 trail share this assumption."

Yeah, the winning strategy in 2018 was to keep talking about healthcare and other policy solutions, with barely a mention of the investigation, and I don't see anyone seriously running on Trump-Russia or obstruction when Trump has been an utter policy failure who keeps trying to screw poor and middle class people over.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:56 AM on March 25, 2019 [23 favorites]


I was listening to a radio debate (after a news program that briefly stated "Trump has been exonerated, here is an expert to confirm it", then had an idiot in to confirm it); well, in the debate, the guest Democrat said two important things. One was to state clearly and emphatically that we have no idea what is in the Mueller report. He did it so well that the host had to hedge every statement after that with an "as far as we know now". Then, after two crazy right wing people had screamed about "Democrat scandal" and "Democrat witch hunt" for a while, he very calmly pointed out that the life-long Republican Mueller was appointed by a Republican deputy AG when there was a Republican congress.

In the end, even one of the right-wing shrills conceded that Trump is probably completely incompetent. But this was in Denmark
posted by mumimor at 6:15 AM on March 25, 2019 [27 favorites]


@lawrencehurley: NEW: Supreme Court rejects mystery company's challenge to Mueller-related grand jury subpoena. The unknown, foreign country-owned company was hit was a $50,000 day a fine, which started accruing on Jan 15, for not complying with the Mueller-related grand jury subpoena

So, uh, I have to assume Mueller didn't fight this whole thing for no particular reason, right?
posted by zachlipton at 6:37 AM on March 25, 2019 [42 favorites]


So, uh, I have to assume Mueller didn't fight this whole thing for no particular reason, right?

It's definitely possible that Mueller didn't deliver a giant shrug emoji as Barr would have us believe.
posted by diogenes at 7:13 AM on March 25, 2019 [16 favorites]


I'm absolutely astonished that so many people are buying Barr's "I saw the report and it clears the guy who hired me and me and my friend Rod, theres nothing to see here and it won't be released bye" shtick. What a disappointment we are.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 7:25 AM on March 25, 2019 [33 favorites]


I've been holding back from commenting, because what's there to say - the newspaper front pages are all over their chance to regurgitate propaganda from I-1's handpicked AG. And I had - honestly - very, very low expectations for the Mueller report to start with. The investigation was launched by a Republican AG with a Republican Congress looking over his shoulder, so it is the minimum response that they thought they could get away with. I never expected a by-the-book guy to indict the President in contravention of DOJ policy, and Ivanka is of course untouchable. (What, because she's too pretty? my wife asked.)

But I'm surprised and disappointed that there isn't any resolution to the Jared and Junior scandals (yet). Even the Russians blanched when Junior requested an encrypted communication channel to shield their discussions from US intelligence, and Jared has had to amend his security clearance form (filled out under penalty of perjury) not once, but multiple times. If they don't wind up with some consequences, there has been a miscarriage of justice somewhere.

I'm going to wait for more shoes to drop. Meanwhile, if the conclusions are so great for I-1, release the report!
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:40 AM on March 25, 2019 [13 favorites]


I'm absolutely astonished that so many people are buying Barr's "I saw the report and it clears the guy who hired me ..." shtick.

Whipping that out on a Sunday spun up the news cycle, but it's not going to last long. Pmurt wants it to go in the history books, but it ain't. WE AIN'T EVEN SEENT THE REPORT YET.

"FBI Sees No Clear Link To Russia" second verse same as the first.
posted by petebest at 7:40 AM on March 25, 2019 [16 favorites]


Re: buying Barr's thing, who's buying it? Republicans? They were always going to believe that no matter what.

If you read past the headline, all three major papers I have in front of me almost immediately state that Barr's statement doesn't exonerate Trump and only asked about conspiracy with the Russian Government. Even CNN interspersed the jagoffs with semi-intelligent commentary.

The giant chunk of Americans who only read clickbait are going to believe whatever their uncle on Facebook tells them. We can't ignore them, obviously, but there's no percentage in listening to them either.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:47 AM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


I'm absolutely astonished that so many people are buying Barr's "I saw the report and it clears the guy who hired me and me and my friend Rod, theres nothing to see here and it won't be released bye" shtick. What a disappointment we are.
To be fair, part of it is those fine old norms. People respect the office and the political proces. In the old reality, an AG who did what Barr just did would be beyond the pale, regardless of party. You know, Attorney General was a very serious post for which only very honorable and trustworthy people were nominated and appointed, and then they did serious things. But the norms are broken, and it is a huge failure of journalism that this is not on the top of the front page every day.
Barr has been working at the norm-breaking for his entire career, you don't need to be a highly educated specialist to see that. But journalism isn't up to it.
posted by mumimor at 7:48 AM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]


If you read past the headline

I know many people don't read past the headline. USA Today went with "NO CONSPIRACY" as their headline, which is clearly misleading.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 7:56 AM on March 25, 2019 [12 favorites]


Only We Can Save Us:
Donald Trump has thrown children in cages. His deportation force has terrorized families all over the country. He’s sided with white supremacists. He’s imposed a quasi-religious test on entering the United States. He is an unrepentant bigot who curries favor with other unrepentant bigots. All of this is more than enough to justify a forced removal of office. But with the Mueller investigation now over, it should be clearer now than ever before that the only chance we have for that to happen is in the 2020 presidential election.

Is it an adequate form of accountability? No, absolutely not. Looking back at recent transitions of power, the fact that the most significant rebuke of George W. Bush’s war presidency we saw didn’t involve a cell at the Hague but rather the landslide Democratic victory in 2008 is a pittance, especially considering the ultimate similarities between the Bush and Obama presidencies.

The next Democratic president, whenever that happens, will in all likelihood call for a return to norms and a period of healing or whatever bullshit helps them feel good about the country they’ve signed up to run. Trump will never face real consequences for his actions like you or I would. It will be undoubtedly infuriating.

But getting Trump out of office in 2020 should be viewed as more than a consolation prize; it’s an opportunity to end the worst aspects of Trump’s presidency, to protect vulnerable people, and to make the United States a more livable place for everyone. Outside of a popular uprising—which, I cannot stress enough, would be vastly preferable to waiting around for an election—the best shot to do that will come in November 2020. And the only way we’re going to get there is by doing politics, not by running away from them.
Ironically enough, last week was the 16 year anniversary of the Iraq War, an immoral and illegal war that has led to millions of lives lost, even more people displaced and mutilated, and absolutely no consequences for the powerful politicians behind it other than more money and power for them.

Trump getting away with it is only business as usual for America.
posted by Ouverture at 7:58 AM on March 25, 2019 [44 favorites]


Conway calls on Schiff to resign over past collusion comments (Brett Samuels, The Hill)
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Monday called on House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to resign after Attorney General William Barr said a special counsel investigation found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Conway lashed out on "Fox & Friends" at Democrats and media personalities who suggested over the course of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election that the Trump campaign had conspired with Russia, but she went particularly hard after Schiff.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:01 AM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


I still suspect the White House has not seen the Mueller Report. One of the dangers of Barr overstating or overspinning it as positive is it giving the White House a false sense of safety (compounded by the fact that Trump has seemingly gotten away with everything illegal he’s ever done in his horrible life...). I hope they keep flying closer and closer to the sun.
posted by sallybrown at 8:05 AM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


The only way we are going to get rid of Trump is to vote him - and his Republican enablers - out. There is no magic bullet to make his base say "well, THIS is the last straw," because they elected him knowing exactly who he was and what he wanted to do. People who wear "I'd rather be Russian than Democrat" shirts are not going to be amenable to sweet reason and appeals to morality.

Meanwhile, Democrats have been campaigning and should continue to campaign on bread-and-butter issues - jobs, health care, infrastructure, justice for all, no more children in cages. People who don't like the sight of children in cages, who value their health care, who want a better future for their kids, are not going to say "Welp. No collusion! I'm gonna vote Republican now!"
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:06 AM on March 25, 2019 [30 favorites]


Three Takeaways From the Barr Letter
We still haven’t seen the Mueller report.
by David Leonhardt/NYTimes

I am not impressed by the Times' coverage, but this is fine.
posted by mumimor at 8:08 AM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


...but she (Conway) went particularly hard after Schiff.

Oh, so Schiff is on to something. Right.
posted by From Bklyn at 8:12 AM on March 25, 2019 [39 favorites]


NYT op-ed, Scott Wiener [my State Senator] and Daniel Kammen [UC Berkeley], Why Housing Policy Is Climate Policy
In November, the California Air Resources Board released an update on efforts to reduce pollution from transportation. The numbers were alarming. Despite headlines about California’s push for more electric vehicles, pollution from cars is still climbing. “With emissions from the transportation sector continuing to rise, California will not achieve the necessary greenhouse gas emissions reductions to meet mandates for 2030,” the board warned.

The solution? “Significant changes to how communities and transportation systems are planned, funded and built,” the board said.

Put more directly, in order to solve the climate crisis, we have to solve the housing crisis.
posted by zachlipton at 8:14 AM on March 25, 2019 [22 favorites]


Reuters, For Asylum Seekers in Mexico, U.S. Judge Asks,' How Does the Court Serve Them?'
On the second day of hearings under the program, known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), Judge Jonathan Simpson at a San Diego courthouse repeatedly asked the government's attorney how to handle cases of applicants told to wait for their U.S. court dates in Mexican border towns.

"How does the court serve them if we do not have an address?" Simpson asked, after saying he was concerned whether the government could serve notices for court appearances to migrants in Mexico.

"I don't have the answer," replied government attorney Robert Wetteis.

Simpson on Wednesday heard petitions from 12 migrants, with two saying they were confused over appearance orders with conflicting dates. Applicant William Melendez said he received two orders to appear, each scheduled 10 days apart, and was unclear if both were valid.
posted by zachlipton at 8:24 AM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]


I think this outcome is basically why Pelosi and others wouldn't get on board with impeachment a couple of weeks ago. In this way, she has preserved as much power as possible through what every republican out there is portraying as the debacle of the century.
posted by feloniousmonk at 8:26 AM on March 25, 2019 [10 favorites]


I think this outcome is...

We haven't seen the outcome yet. We haven't read the report.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:29 AM on March 25, 2019 [10 favorites]


Trump getting away with it is only business as usual for America.
Yes, Trump is the analog to David Simon's anecdotal 'Snot Boogie', from the first scene in The Wire (and Homicide.).
He gets away with ruining and cheating various instances of business, because well . . that's part of the way the game is played. He will continue to be allowed to do until some of the owners of the game tire of his interruptions, or his interruptions cease to be useful to them. But the game, must go on.

"In the DVD commentary for this scene, David Simon says that “those who are excluded from the legitimate economy make their own world.” The Street is that world, built around its own laws. Above all else, there is the one rule: Don’t snitch. The witness, in spite of his obvious disgust at Snot’s murder (“Kill a man over some bullshit”), insists that he will not testify: “I ain’t going to no court.” His crisis will plague many of the most complex players throughout the series. Do you speak out against injustice and risk retribution, or do you stay silent and allow the world to continue on its destructive path? The witness in this scene seems to be on the edge, and his choice depends on the enforcers of the “legitimate economy,”…
posted by Harry Caul at 8:29 AM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]


MisantropicPainforest: I'm absolutely astonished that so many people are buying Barr's "I saw the report and it clears the guy who hired me and me and my friend Rod, theres nothing to see here and it won't be released bye" shtick. What a disappointment we are.

Partly it's because a a lot of people were maintaining the assumption that once the report was delivered, the gloves would be off and a leak-proof operation would become more sieve-like in order to correct public misconceptions and rebut administrative lies. Stemming from this, it's assumed that Barr is equivocating and spinning, but not outright lying or fabricating quotes.

Further, a lot of people expected, at the bare minimum, an explicit finding that the president did indeed obstruct justice (we all saw him confess it!), even if coupled to an agreement with the principle that he's immune to any indictment. Assuming Barr merely stretched the truth rather than break it, the most damning possibility is that Mueller found that obstruction maybe-probably occurred, something like a ~60% chance, but not that it probably-definitely did, a 90+% chance.

Mueller may have done a super-commendable job with this. But commendable is inadequate in the face of venality. My current feeling is that, like Comey, he's more or less "above politics", and we have years of evidence for why that's a terrible approach to a criminal president. Leaving the prosecutorial-reccomendation decision entirely to Barr and Rosenstein (unless he didn't do so, and Barr lied through his teeth about that part) is a Pontius Pilate hand-washing maneuver.

In a way, it comes down to which sort of "normalcy" Mueller represents -- the kind who doesn't feel it's his place to call (involuntary salute and single tear for America) The! President! a likely criminal, or the kind who doesn't feel it's his place to correct the record about having said he was a likely criminal, or thirdly, who will state such a correction, but only after taking measured, thoughtful steps.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:32 AM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]


If availability of the full report actually makes a difference I would be the happiest person in the room. Unless there's incontrovertible primary source evidence in it, I can't see any of its contents overshadowing the initial stage managed fizzle and the relentless, soul sucking energy being put into pushing the exoneration narrative.
posted by feloniousmonk at 8:33 AM on March 25, 2019 [16 favorites]


the gloves would be off and a leak-proof operation would become more sieve-like in order to correct public misconceptions and rebut administrative lies

I think this will happen in Congress. Mueller doesn't talk to the media.

And if you think Barr wouldn't stay stuff that will be immediately rebutted in Congress, I would like to remind you that Trump and his cronies tell easy-disproven lies all the time, starting with the inauguration crowd size. Sadly, it seems to work pretty well for them.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:48 AM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


Surprise announcement that Sen. Tom Udall [D-NM] is not running for re-election in 2020.

Udall's a good guy, but this should be a pretty safe Dem hold.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 AM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


@lawrencehurley: NEW: Supreme Court rejects mystery company's challenge to Mueller-related grand jury subpoena. The unknown, foreign country-owned company was hit was a $50,000 day a fine, which started accruing on Jan 15, for not complying with the Mueller-related grand jury subpoena

So, uh, I have to assume Mueller didn't fight this whole thing for no particular reason, right?


The article linked in those tweets raises a good question:

"The Supreme Court in January refused to put the lower court ruling on hold. According to court filings, the daily fine imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell started accruing on Jan. 15. Such fines accrue until the grand jury is no longer sitting. It is unknown whether the grand jury has completed its work."

Is the grand jury still empanelled and if so, why was the report completed?

And, why run this all the way up to the Supreme Court and then issue the report before the company complies and provides evidence?
posted by jason_steakums at 8:57 AM on March 25, 2019 [18 favorites]


what every republican out there is portraying as the debacle of the century.

I think we're pretty safe to discount what every republican and Fox news has to say about anything. They've had the microphone for years, do we really expect anything reasonable to come out? Really? No.

"Kerry Conway's on Fox" and there's a couple of usernames on reddit who are saying things too. SSDD.

Maybe Buzzfeed News can release their source now ...
posted by petebest at 9:02 AM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


CNN's Jim Acosta: "Trump adviser says there are concerns that during the president's upcoming victory lap Trump will "overreach" and say something that will create more trouble for him with the public. Happens whenever he gets good news, adviser says."

It's a reminder not to give up the fight, even as Team Trump is celebrating.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:21 AM on March 25, 2019 [34 favorites]


If I were the Qatar Investment Authority and had something explosive to hide, I’d gladly pay a measly $50k / day to hide it. This ruling is a good thing, but how is it going to force them to comply with the subpoena?
posted by Room 101 at 9:21 AM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


Senator Graham is now taking credit for telling Senator McCain to share the Steele Dossier with the FBI. Funny that he stayed silent while the right tried to tear apart his dead friend’s reputation for this decision for a year but is willing to step forward the day the right becomes convinced it didn’t hurt the President. Classy move.
posted by sallybrown at 9:37 AM on March 25, 2019 [11 favorites]


Walter Shaub:
I‘ve been fully exonerated by a report I won’t let you see, but here’s a short letter by a man I installed as AG because he wrote an odd memo about how I couldn’t have obstructed justice after I spent a year pressuring my first AG to violate a criminal conflict of interest law.”
posted by growabrain at 9:52 AM on March 25, 2019 [67 favorites]


If I were the Qatar Investment Authority and had something explosive to hide, I’d gladly pay a measly $50k / day to hide it. This ruling is a good thing, but how is it going to force them to comply with the subpoena?

I forgot that the company in question was likely a Qatar entity and that just raises even more questions about the whole thing, because unless Qatar was a suspected cutout for Russia, that feels separate from the Russia or obstruction inquiries and more into broader corruption, which is not mentioned in the summary of the report.

I really really want to know what all was spun off to other parts of the DOJ and why, if the Mueller grand jury is done or is continuing on with other DOJ prosecutors instead of Mueller, and above all whether Mueller was actually done or he was told he was done.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:55 AM on March 25, 2019 [10 favorites]


and above all whether Mueller was actually done or he was told he was done.

6 weeks ago: Tomorrow will be the first day that President Trump will have a fully operational confirmed Attorney General. Let that sink in. Mueller will be gone soon.

Barr successfully killed the Mueller investigation. He told us he would. And he did.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:15 AM on March 25, 2019 [53 favorites]


unless Qatar was a suspected cutout for Russia

You would think the Arab oil countries would not want Russian oil on the market, so I'm not sure why Qatar would help Russia, especially since Qatar are victims of the Orb Axis.
posted by M-x shell at 10:18 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


It blows my mind that Trump found a guy willing to stoop lower than Jefferson Beauregard Sessions to protect him.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:24 AM on March 25, 2019 [19 favorites]


By Barr's logic, if you SUCCESSFULLY obstruct justice (thus preventing an investigation from finding evidence of your guilt) them you can't be guilty of obstruction of justice.

There's a meme for that.

We can see how access-driven establishmentarians like Peter Baker (and Maggie, oh yes Maggie) want to package this up. That, combined with the Lindsay Graham's zest to bring in Hillary Clinton, is the platform for Russia's 2020 active measures.
posted by holgate at 10:27 AM on March 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


Barr successfully killed the Mueller investigation. He told us he would. And he did.

And...Sessions would not have done any differently. Elections, consequences, etc. Daddy Mueller was not going to be the one to save us - in fact, there is no Great Man (or woman) who will. Trump's base knew who he was and elected him anyway. Meanwhile, people who don't want children in cages and who do want health care aren't going to change their minds.

I think a lot of us were counting on that report because, two years ago, we didn't even have a House majority and we hadn't gained the state houses we now have. The Mueller report was our Hail Mary. Now we have a House majority and have taken back several state houses. This is what we need to build on. It's a very good thing this came out when it did and not in 2020 when election season is in full swing. We don't need to convert Trump's base, which is a good thing because that is practically the textbook definition of futility. We need to turn out the voters we do have.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:29 AM on March 25, 2019 [15 favorites]


Just now starting to peep at the usual parades.

WHY WAS BARR THE DECIDER? Legal Experts Puzzled By Attorney General’s Obstruction Decision (TPM)

“It is unacceptable that, after Special Counsel Mueller spent 22 months meticulously uncovering this evidence, Attorney General Barr made a decision not to charge the President in under 48 hours,” the statement reads. ... “I’m not aware of any case where an attorney general made the decision on a prosecution or non-prosecution for obstruction of justice.”
posted by petebest at 10:41 AM on March 25, 2019 [28 favorites]


You would think the Arab oil countries would not want Russian oil on the market

Arab oil countries and Russia share an economic reliance on oil. They're not competitors, they're allies that share a common cause -- keeping demand for oil as high as possible for as long as possible.

The Mueller report was our Hail Mary.

I didn't think Trump would face actual consequences based on the Mueller report, but the real possibility that the whole investigation was a sham still blindsided me yesterday.

I feel like I was scammed, like Mueller's investigation was a magician's misdirect -- and I wonder what tricks were being played while all of our eyes were on it.

I also wonder how the Congressional Democrats are feeling now, and I keep thinking of Elijah Cummings saying that the WH has refused to turn over even one piece of documentation or evidence requested by the House investigations. This is a dark day not because the Mueller report was ever going to save us but because the revelation that there may never have been a real investigation at all is very ominous.
posted by rue72 at 10:51 AM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]


But... it was a real investigation? I mean ask Paul Manafort how real it was.

As far as I can make sense of it, the question of whether Trump's campaign coordinated with the Russian government hinges on whether Konstantin Kilimnik is or was part of the Russian government. Mueller believed he was, but I got the impression that ABJ didn't have him establish that because it wasn't relevant to the specific charges she cared about. And if Barr and Rosenstein believe that it was never proven that Kilimnik was part of the Russian government, then the Manafort-Kilimnik contact doesn't count as far as coordination with the Russian government.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:59 AM on March 25, 2019 [17 favorites]


I didn't think Trump would face actual consequences based on the Mueller report, but the real possibility that the whole investigation was a sham still blindsided me yesterday.

It looks like the Trump administration planned to get ahead of the news curve, regardless of what the Mueller report actually said.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:00 AM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]




$35 billion in research funding “now at stake” after Trump executive order (John Timmer, Ars Technica)
Vague order wants research funding agencies to look into First Amendment issues. […]

But the order itself doesn't clearly follow through on Trump's threats. Those agencies are directed to identify any institutions that receive federal research or education grants and ensure that they "promote free inquiry, including through compliance with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies." "Free inquiry" is defined within the context of this order as First Amendment-focused for public universities, while for private institutions it is defined with whatever self-imposed policies they have.

Critically, however, the executive order does not spell out how these agencies should measure compliance, nor what they should do if any institutions come up short. If there's a threat to withhold research funding, it's not spelled out in the actual executive order. In addition, it's not sure what the order adds compared to existing standards. Private institutions can simply alter their policies so that their existing management of speech issues is in compliance, while public institutions were already bound by the First Amendment.

In other words, while the announcement includes threats to $35 billion in research money, it's not clear whether the actions that followed change anything.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:02 AM on March 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


WaPo's Margaret Sullivan: Serious Journalists Should Be Proud Of — Not Bullied Over — Their Russia Reporting
There are calls for a “reckoning” on news coverage.

All right, then. Here goes.

I reckon that American citizens would have been far worse off if skilled reporters hadn’t dug into the connections between Trump’s associates — up to and including his son Don Jr. — and Russians. That reporting has not been invalidated.

I reckon that the felonious lying to the public about a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow remains a scandal — and that we know about this in large part because journalists were doing their jobs aggressively.

I reckon that the hard-nosed reporting about former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn — roundly denied, you might recall, before it was proved — was an early sign of the venality that was to follow.

I reckon that reporting by The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, CNN, Bloomberg News, the Daily Beast, Mother Jones, ProPublica and others drove forward a national conversation that needed to happen. As Americans saw with their own eyes Trump’s bizarre efforts to ingratiate himself with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, that reporting mattered and provided context.

And that shouldn’t be forgotten or swept aside now.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:24 AM on March 25, 2019 [58 favorites]


Media stares down 'reckoning' after Mueller report underwhelms (Michael Calderone, Politico)
[...] blaming “the media” writ large is problematic in potentially lumping unsupported speculation — whether on cable news or on social media — with dogged reporting on an investigation which led to a half-dozen Trump associates, including a former campaign chairman and national security adviser, either being charged or pleading guilty to crimes. Not to mention, there are still a dozen investigations, largely based in New York, stemming from the special counsel’s investigation.

And while fair-minded criticism can be beneficial to the news media, there are likely to also be bad faith attempts to delegitimize journalism (as the president has attempted to do for years in dismissing "fake news" and characterizing the media as "the enemy"). A Trump adviser told CNN’s Jim Acosta to expect the president and his team to "slam and shame the media" in the coming days.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:32 AM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


I have a theory. My theories have been wrong before (I thought Jeff Sessions was the criminal mastermind behind Trump.)

But here's my current theory.

Some Russian guys, not necessarily formally employed by the Russian government, reached out to Felix Sater and his buddies and suggested it would be really great if their boss could get elected and sanctions lowered. Great for everybody. Who knows, he might even get that Trump Tower Moscow he always wanted. And I bet showing he could make a deal like that would really help him get elected. You know what I mean?" Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more.

And then the whole Trump Tower Moscow thing started, and simultaneously the whole election interference thing started, and nothing more was ever said because... say no more.

But everybody involved knew what was going on. And everybody on the team was offered some kind of carrot of their own.

If that's what happened, would it violate any laws? It's not clear to me that it would. Would Mueller conclude that there was no evidence of conspiracy with the Russian government in the election interference? He might well.

Would Trump still be selling out his country for personal gain, though? Absolutely.

I've been trying so hard to avoid theorizing or at least putting too much stock in my own theories. And it's physically painful now because the evidence to either validate or repudiate this exists, just out of my reach. And I want so badly to know.
posted by OnceUponATime at 11:37 AM on March 25, 2019 [14 favorites]


Saying there needs to be a media "reckoning" about thier Mueller coverage is like - no it is - saying "the left-wing media bias" crap. It's always been bullshit. The bullshit factor is cranked up to 11 now. Fox News is totally unhinged.

Some Russian guys, not necessarily formally employed by the Russian government,

There's a theory that the Russian government is ... mmm, very friendly ... with the mob. Just as we're trying to do in this country. This latest affront to the rule of law as an example. And that's one of the weird things about a Mueller report being "whatevs" about the whole Trump-Russia thing. Mueller, after all, is no stranger to prosecuting them.

What if Barr's summary was an incredible pile of misdirecting dung and the report itself has a hundred prosecute-it-yourself kits in there?
posted by petebest at 11:54 AM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


Just to be blunt about it, I personally think that the Venn diagram of "the Russian mob" and "the Russian government" is very nearly a circle.
posted by VTX at 11:59 AM on March 25, 2019 [35 favorites]


Avenatti arrested and charged with extortion. < WaPost

when Michael Avenati's name first started popping up, it struck me as familiar. Then I remembered. He raced cars, and at a pretty high level. But more to the point, he'd figured in a Patrick Dempsey documentary I'd stumbled across at Youtube. Basically, they were partners in a sports car team that was racing in the IMSA series ... but then something happened that the doc didn't really go into. Except money seemed to be involved, and Mr. Dempsey wasn't pleased.

Also this. And a little more.
posted by philip-random at 12:02 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


Also too, the States can get people that the Feds decide not to go after. New York State, for instance, could charge Don Jr. - and state charges can't be pardoned away by the President. New York is a blue state, and its new Attorney General, Letitia James, is gunning for Trump and Co.

The actual Mueller report has not come out yet - just the statement - and even if it says, "Donald Trump is as innocent as a lamb" he's not out of the woods yet. The states are waiting.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:05 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


The progressive base is not as far left as you might think (Lara Putnam, Vox)
Door knockers know that on the issues, Democratic voters are far from uniform. They’re working with that.

Pundits keep insisting there is danger ahead for progressives. The “Democratic base” that will dominate among primary voters, they argue, has swung too far to the left, losing touch with the concerns of moderate swing voters needed to win the general election.

To which I say: When was the last time you knocked on 50 strangers’ doors in an afternoon to talk about an upcoming election?

Today’s Democratic foot soldiers — the folks out knocking on doors, not the ones posting on Twitter — started out ideologically diverse and pragmatic and have just gotten more so. Canvassing on behalf of midterm candidates, they met voters like the suburban mom who is a pro-union feminist but is struggling over late-term abortion. And the center-city African-American family who does not vote at all because it’s against their religious beliefs. And the man with the pickup truck and Trump-loving neighbors who was already sold on the Democratic woman in the race by the guys in the plumbers union.

These are real stories from progressive door knockers — and lots of progressives knocked doors. Last year, the number of Democratic volunteers was higher than for any midterm cycle for which we have nationwide data. In the midterm year of 2014, volunteers and paid canvassers working with progressive groups and Democratic campaigns knocked on 96 million doors, according to data provided by NGP VAN, Democrats’ shared voter database source. In the presidential year of 2016, that rose to 111 million. In 2018, the total was 155 million.

In other words, the Democratic presidential primary electorate has not encompassed this much personal experience with recent voter outreach since at least 2008, and possibly long before that. And nothing builds pragmatic knowledge of the American electorate like trying to win votes face to face.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:10 PM on March 25, 2019 [26 favorites]


But putting people on blast via Twitter is easier! /s
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:18 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


I have read that Vox piece twice now and I am still not sure what I am supposed to take from it. It's headlined in the "but moderates!" style but doesn't seem to necessarily support that. I guess it is saying that not all the fired-up folks are on the "eat the rich" side of the spectrum? Which... was anyone saying that?

I really wish all the media and the people they opt to publish would stop talking about so-called moderates (which depending on your set of axis I could be among, sometimes on some things I guess) without (1) defining their terms and (b) talking about whether they are people who would (i) ever vote for a D in the first place AND (ii) will stay home rather than vote for someone farther left. Because I have spent two years hearing over and over about the Not a Nazi But Still Gonna Vote For One folks so maybe I don't need to hear only half the story on the D side, thanks.
posted by phearlez at 12:22 PM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]


The Avenatti thing feels like a gut punch on a day where we didn't need any more bad news. Yes, he was a flawed ally and is clearly involved with some wrong and sketchy things. But he became a vocal point of the Resistance (whether we liked it or not) when he went after the President. Sadly, his cool demeanor and smooth talking persona really seemed to rattle 45 and inflict some damage. And I'm hurt and angered by the large role he put himself in, because his continued fall only serves to hurt those who shared similar viewpoints, and are now being attacked with this bullshit ad hominem misdirection.

It doesn't matter if the people here know better, the narrative in the media is "Avenatti is guilty" the day after one of his biggest targets is "exonerated." It's just more ammunition for the supporters who felt so vindicated yesterday and now are very clearly looking to take out their anger on others. Avenatti is turning out to be an asshole and it's shitty timing all the way down, but the narrative being developed by the MSM really hurts our chances with low-info voters.
posted by andruwjones26 at 12:23 PM on March 25, 2019 [16 favorites]


WaPo, Puerto Rico faces food stamps crisis as Trump privately vents about federal aid to Hurricane Maria-battered island
At the Casa Ismael clinic for HIV-positive men with severe health complications, the staff used to immediately change patients’ diapers after they were soiled.

But last week, clinic administrator Myrna Izquierdo told the nurses that had to stop. To save money, the nonprofit clinic, which relies on its patients’ food stamp money for funding, will ask patients to sit in diapers in which they have repeatedly urinated, sometimes for hours.

The Casa Ismael clinic is short on funds in part because of cuts in food stamps that hit about 1.3 million residents of Puerto Rico this month — a new crisis for an island still struggling from the effects of Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
...
The island would not need Congress to step in to fund its food stamps and Medicaid programs if it were a state. For U.S. states, the federal government has committed to funding these programs’ needs, whatever the cost and without needing to take a vote. But Puerto Rico instead funds its programs through a block grant from the federal government, which need to be regularly renewed, and also gives food stamp benefits about 40 percent smaller than those of U.S. states.

After initially vowing to reject the food stamp funding, President Trump has agreed to the emergency request to help Senate Republicans pass a broader disaster relief package, which may be taken up for a vote this week.

But at an Oval Office meeting on Feb. 22, Trump asked top advisers for ways to limit federal support from going to Puerto Rico, believing it is taking money that should be going to the mainland, according to senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the presidents’ private remarks.

The meeting — an afternoon session focused on Housing and Urban Development grants — ended abruptly, and Trump has continued to ask aides how much money the island will get. Then, Trump said he wanted the money to only fortify the electric grid there.

Trump has also privately signaled he will not approve any additional help for Puerto Rico beyond the food stamp money, setting up a congressional showdown with Democrats who have pushed for more expansive help for the island. A senior administration official with direct knowledge of the meeting described Trump’s stance: “He doesn’t want another single dollar going to the island.”
posted by zachlipton at 12:25 PM on March 25, 2019 [21 favorites]


nothing builds pragmatic knowledge of the American electorate like trying to win votes face to face

This isn't how door knocking works. You aren't there to have policy discussions. Knocking on doors is all about identifying likely votes and making sure those voters go to the polls on election day. If they raise specific policy issues you can point them to resources or flag them for follow up by the candidate or their staff. You're doing it wrong if you spend 20 minutes with a suburban mom chit-chatting about how she's a pro-union feminist struggling over late-term abortion.
posted by diogenes at 12:28 PM on March 25, 2019 [21 favorites]


Avenatti would love for this to become a “persecuting Trump’s enemy” situation, but this is a clear case of an idiot scammer/grifter getting nailed for bad acts. He’s caught on tape clearly attempting to extort, and also alleged to have used a client’s money to pay his personal debt, which is the cardinal sin for lawyers. If you passed the ethics test for being a lawyer, you know you can’t mix a client’s money with yours or use it to pay your bills. He deserves no more sympathy than the rest of the hucksters and leeches around Trump. He’s no ally, just another user.
posted by sallybrown at 12:33 PM on March 25, 2019 [29 favorites]



To which I say: When was the last time you knocked on 50 strangers’ doors in an afternoon to talk about an upcoming election?

If you are a left -iberal or Progressive or Social Democrat or Democratic Socialist the important thing is putting in the work putting up the cash and building your base. We have a world to win.
posted by The Whelk at 12:35 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]




You're doing it wrong if you spend 20 minutes with a suburban mom chit-chatting about how she's a pro-union feminist struggling over late-term abortion.

I'm not sure that's a fair characterization. I find it pretty easy to imagine a conversation that goes like this:
Me: hi, I'm here talking to voters about the election November 9, do you know who you'll be supporting?
Lady: Well, I usually vote democrat. I am a feminist and I support my union. but I am concerned that Candidate X approves of late term abortion.
Me: I understand that people are concerned about that. I can tell you that candidate X believes healthcare is between a person and their doctor, and that includes abortions for the health of the pregnant person or because the fetus will not survive birth, which is the cause of basically all late term abortions.

And then if they want to argue, encourage them to read up on Candidate X and give them lit. Done.
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:40 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


What SallyBrown said. Avenatti never really was the "Resistance Icon" he thought he was. He had his 15 minutes of fame and it went to his head when he thought of a Presidential run (!). And then he blew it by, among other things, saying that only a white male could win (considering that Democrats are mostly women and POC, that was an ill-advised remark).

Avenatti was never "the face of the Resistance" whatever that may mean, and I doubt his arrest will mean anything but bye-bye to another grifter. He was already yesterday's news.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:40 PM on March 25, 2019 [12 favorites]


Yeah, that character story arc, sleazy left talking missing stair lawyer, was on its downward curve after he was fired by the feisty adult actress with a heart of gold. Arrest and striped suit was the only possible outcome. I’m pretty sure that same story arc was on Bonanza. The writers have clearly gone on strike.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 12:52 PM on March 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


Avenatti's always clearly been in it for himself, and what's come out recently about his bankruptcies and mishandling of client funds has continued to support that impression. His judgment is clearly flawed -- he called up Ken White to yell at him, which gets you nothing but mockery.
posted by suelac at 12:52 PM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


As far as a larger theme for 2020 (excluding the actual policy, which should dominate), I think it might be more effective to reframe things as a referendum on honesty and trust rather than on Trump. If the spectrum is grifters/fakes/cheaters<>honest brokers instead of Trump lovers<>Trump haters, then Trump and people like Avenetti (as well as Alex Jones and his ilk and the Twitter personalities like Louise Mensch and the Krassensteins making deluded claims) all fall into the same camp instead of opposing ones. The culture right now is consumed with examples of scams, like the Theranos story, and there have been hints that one of the investigations branching off Mueller is into lobbyists in both parties violating FARA.
posted by sallybrown at 12:52 PM on March 25, 2019 [11 favorites]


Trump set to weaponize Mueller report in war on Democrats and media (David Smith, Guardian)
Findings play into the president’s narrative of ‘no collusion’ as he embraces the role of victim […]

With 588 days to go until the election, some believe the Mueller report will have little impact, noting it apparently played little part in November’s midterms and rarely comes up when Democrats campaign in early primary states.

Rick Tyler, a Republican consultant, said: “Not much has changed except the two sides are more solidified. The people who already dislike him dislike him more intensely than ever, and the people like him now like him more. If the report is released in full, which I think it will be, there will be enough to make Democratic ad makers happy.”

He added: “People are tired of it and want leaders to move forward on issues they care about. I’ve never seen an interview with a single person who was casting their vote based on what came out of the Mueller report.”
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:55 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


About that SCOTUS-upheld subpoena, Shimon Prokupecz:
The special counsel’s office now specifically says the DC US Attorney’s Office will be involved in both the ongoing subpoena challenge by the foreign company and the “underlying matter.”
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 12:55 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


When tf do we get to see the actual report?
posted by gucci mane at 1:03 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


When tf do we get to see the actual report?

Yes. This is the only question that needs asking or answering. I'm ignoring any other take.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:05 PM on March 25, 2019 [67 favorites]


The special counsel’s office now specifically says the DC US Attorney’s Office will be involved in both the ongoing subpoena challenge by the foreign company and the “underlying matter.”

Is it likely that Mueller interpreted interference from countries other than Russia to be outside his specific purview?
posted by C'est la D.C. at 1:07 PM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


I like it, sallybrown, and it lends itself to a simply-stated message by a suitable Dem candidate (I'm looking at you, Mayor Pete): "I don't care if you're a Republican, I don't care if you're a Democrat—if you're corrupt, if you're a liar, you need to go!"

No, not specific enough, and yes, the president can only do so much vis-a-vis Congress and the courts, but it's a powerful, simple message that might get the attention of swing voters and non-voters. Which, apparently, is the new currency for American elections.

Edited to add "non-voters" above.
posted by Rykey at 1:12 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


Is it likely that Mueller interpreted interference from countries other than Russia to be outside his specific purview?

Possibly, but other things that he felt were better served by another prosecutor like the Cohen stuff in SDNY he was really quick to hand off ages ago, but this one he kept til the end and someone else took over. I'm very curious about what this is.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:14 PM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


> @lawrencehurley: NEW: Supreme Court rejects mystery company's challenge to Mueller-related grand jury subpoena. The unknown, foreign country-owned company was hit [with] a $50,000 [per day] fine, which started accruing on Jan 15, for not complying with the Mueller-related grand jury subpoena

So, uh, I have to assume Mueller didn't fight this whole thing for no particular reason, right?


It's almost like the investigation produced several reverse warrant canaries as an ongoing process. The sign still says "The SCO is not done seeking cooperation from this entity" even though the investigation was closed. See also: all of the sealed indictments as well as revelations like Julian Assange (for example) was definitely being charged.

Coupled with how little Barr's letter changed the attitudes of the public, this is all going to amount to a serious case of trying to put the cat back in the bag.

For what it's worth, the Mueller rapid response changed the action criteria to the full release of the report but provided no specific ultimatum on the timeline as of yet.
posted by Arson Lupine at 1:15 PM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]


Yes. This is the only question that needs asking or answering. I'm ignoring any other take.

Yeah information is scarce but if the Mueller report said "Trump did not conspire with the Russian government or other Russians" we would be sure to know that by now, so clearly it didn't say that.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 1:22 PM on March 25, 2019 [17 favorites]


Yes, it is certainly interesting to look at what the Barr letter does not say. Mueller is still here, and Barr can't get away with the most preposterous lies.
posted by mumimor at 1:26 PM on March 25, 2019


Rep. José Serrano [D - NY-15] is not running again in 2020 (he's got Parkinson's).

This is the bluest district in the country, so this would be a great place to run some left in the primary (AOC actually considered running here first).
posted by Chrysostom at 1:28 PM on March 25, 2019 [11 favorites]


NBC: Trump Campaign Sends Memo to Television Producers Warning About ‘Credibility’ of Six Trump Critics Who It Says Spread False Claims About Collusion
The memo names:
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez
John Brennan, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chair of the House Intelligence Committee
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who has floated a potential bid for president
Screenshot of memo, via Axios's Jonathan Swan

NBC's Allan Smith: “Steve Bannon says Trump is "going to come off the chain" post-Mueller summary. "Starting today, we’re gonna have the most vicious, vitriolic year in American politics since before the civil war," he adds in Rome”

Team Trump's doing a blitzkrieg post-Mueller. Buckle up, everyone.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:32 PM on March 25, 2019 [27 favorites]


Sarah Sanders: "They literally accused the President of the United States of being an agent for a foreign government. That's equivalent to treason. That's punishable by death in this country."

"Trump accuses aide of treason for anonymous New York Times op-ed"
"Trump Accuses Critics of 'Treasonous Things"
"Trump Accuses McCabe and Rosenstein of Plotting Treason Against Him"
"President Trump on Monday accused Democrats who did not clap during his State of the Union address of being un-American and even treasonous."
Trump accuses some who investigated him of ‘treasonous’ actions"
" Trump said Thursday that an FBI agent once involved in the special counsel’s Russia probe committed “treason,” "
posted by JackFlash at 1:33 PM on March 25, 2019 [35 favorites]


I am no fan of Sarah Sanders by any means, but having watched the clip I'm pretty sure the "that" in her statement is referring to the "being an agent for a foreign government" part, not the "accusation" part (as in, "can you believe the Dem's want to put the President to death?"). Still a ridiculous statement, but not quite as malicious as people are making it out to be.
posted by Roommate at 1:35 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


Sarah Sanders: "They literally accused the President of the United States of being an agent for a foreign government. That's equivalent to treason. Thats punishable by death in this country."
[real]


This is worded in a very specific and interesting fashion.

One possible interpretation -- "They" accused the president of working for a foreign government, a.k.a. treason, and treason is punishable by death, so that's a very serious accusation.

Another equally reasonable interpretation -- "They" accused the president of working for a foreign government, so "they" committed treason, which is punishable by death.

My take is that Sanders knows exactly what she's doing here -- plausible deniability so she can say she obviously meant the first, but she wouldn't mind stirring up a little stochastic terrorism, when Trump's supporters hear the second.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 1:37 PM on March 25, 2019 [26 favorites]


I don't know who'd doing their PR advice, but I like all the commentary and push-back that puts Trump and treason in the same sentence. Please proceed.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:37 PM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


NBC: Trump Campaign Sends Memo to Television Producers Warning About ‘Credibility’ of Six Trump Critics Who It Says Spread False Claims About Collusion

"The campaign wrote that the producers should “begin by asking” the following question:

Does this guest warrant further appearances in our programming, given the outrageous and unsupported claims made in the past?"

Oh let's absolutely abide by this standard. It will not go the way the Trump campaign hopes.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:38 PM on March 25, 2019 [48 favorites]


Does this guest warrant further appearances in our programming

Seriously? The Executive Branch is telling the media that they shouldn't talk to the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee?
posted by diogenes at 2:02 PM on March 25, 2019 [29 favorites]


Does this guest warrant further appearances in our programming, given the outrageous and unsupported claims made in the past?"

A: Yes, given the outrageous and unsupported claims made in the past by the president, we'd absolutely like to hear what guests like those you mention have to say.
posted by Rykey at 2:05 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


Meanwhile, possibly related to Trump decreeing that the seizure of the Golan Heights by the government of Israel was entirely right and proper, the Likud government of Israel is conducting airstrikes on the Gaza strip and massing soldiers on the border.
posted by sotonohito at 2:07 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


Conway calls on Schiff to resign over past collusion comments

Politico: McCarthy demands Schiff step down as intel chairman
Trump and senior White House aides, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other allies of the president on Capitol Hill raced to paint the California Democrat as an overeager disciple of a theory debunked by the Justice Department in a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's findings released Sunday.[…]

Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended Schiff on Monday, saying the reason he's being attacked is because he's been effective.

"Democrats aren’t going to be intimidated by the White House or Congressional Republicans, we’re not going to be distracted from securing the release of the full Mueller report and the underlying evidence, and we will continue to pursue legitimate oversight because that’s what the Constitution requires," said Pelosi spokeswoman Ashley Etienne.
This pile-on won’t have any effect on Schiff’s committee status, but Team Trump can count on solidifying their base’s animus toward him.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:08 PM on March 25, 2019 [14 favorites]




"Kevin 'There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump' McCarthy demands Schiff step down as intel chairman"
posted by jason_steakums at 2:20 PM on March 25, 2019 [41 favorites]


Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg surged into third place in a poll of the Iowa caucus, after Biden and Bernie
I like Mayor Pete, but holy fuck is it telling that the top three candidates are all white guys.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:27 PM on March 25, 2019 [65 favorites]


Sotonohito, probably not related. There was a missile attack from Gaza outside Tel Aviv that wounded three children last night, and there were more rocket attacks in the past two weeks, also aimed at Tel Aviv before that (these were possibly sanctioned by Hamas in response to Palestinian protests against them as a way to change the conversation in the international news). Bibi is possibly doing it as part of his own reelection strategy, but the Golan is a completely separate and unrelated area.
posted by Mchelly at 2:29 PM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


Trump's base can hate Schiff all they want, but his district - California's 28th - is D+23, in other words, sky blue. Let 'em caterwaul their little hearts out; California's Republican party is all but moribund at this point.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:29 PM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


I'm impatient for the MoveOn people to start scheduling rapid response protests, or at least set a deadline for them. I feel like there's a window when we can affect this thing somewhat with our collective rage, and if it passes we might never really see the full report at all. Is that overly paranoid?
posted by gerstle at 2:35 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


Meanwhile Schiff is moving ahead on the House Intel Committee’s inquiry into the SCO probe, the Atlantic’s Natasha Bertrand reports: “New: The House Intel Committee is "working in parallel with other Committees to bring in senior officials from the DOJ, FBI and SCO to ensure that [we are] fully and currently informed about the SCO’s investigation, including all counterintelligence information." Sater postponed.” (Screenshot of statement)

Team Trump will of course try to politicize this, the same way they’re attacking Schiff. Welcome to the post-Mueller phase of the Trump presidency.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:52 PM on March 25, 2019 [13 favorites]


Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg surged into third place in a poll of the Iowa caucus, after Biden and Bernie

I like Mayor Pete, but holy fuck is it telling that the top three candidates are all white guys.


It's Iowa. They elect white supremacists to congress.
posted by srboisvert at 2:54 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


his district - California's 28th - is D+23, in other words, sky blue

Yeah, this is my district, and includes for example Hollywood and West Hollywood. Not somewhere you're going to get a GOP rep under any circumstances I can imagine. Trump attacking him probably makes him more popular, not less.

(I guess the northern part --- maybe near La Canada Flintridge --- would be the "redder" part?)
posted by thefoxgod at 2:55 PM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg surged into third place in a poll of the Iowa caucus, after Biden and Bernie

I like Mayor Pete, but holy fuck is it telling that the top three candidates are all white guys.

It's Iowa. They elect white supremacists to congress.


Oof, that's just U.S. business as usual. Iowa also happens to be 91% white so I think even in the most egalitarian of societies, 9/10 candidates would likely be white. No need to single out Iowa as being any worse than the other 29.25 states that went for a white supremacist for president.
posted by avalonian at 3:09 PM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


avalonian: Iowa also happens to be 91% white so I think even in the most egalitarian of societies, 9/10 candidates would likely be white.

If the candidates had to be Iowan themselves, that would naturally explain it, but white people voting for out-of-state whites on the basis of shared race is pretty much racist any way you slice it. I don't see any other compelling explanation; nobody whose first choice is Joe Biden should have Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, as their second choice, nor vice versa.

I agree that Iowa is not unique on this, though (and that it's much more a consequence of degree-of-whiteness than some quality of Iowanness specifically).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:23 PM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


CNN's Manu Raju has Schiff's response to Barr's summary letter and McCarthy's demands:
Schiff says his Russia probe is NOT over. While he says he accepts Mueller’s finding there was no Trump-Russia conspiracy, he says that’s different than counterintel, saying his probe is focused on if Trump “or anyone around him compromised in some way? That work has to go on”

Schiff added: “We need to look at for example into the financial issues - was the president driven during the campaign and to this day by financial interests consummating a lucrative real estate deal ... Or any other illicit purpose. That work has to go on.”

GOP leaders, McCarthy and Scalise, say Schiff should step aside from House Intel. Asked to respond, Schiff said: “I’m more than used to attacks from my GOP colleagues and I would expect nothing less.”
CNN: Democrats not yet ready to conclude there's no Russia conspiracy

CNN: Pelosi stands by comment that Trump may be compromised by Russia
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:27 PM on March 25, 2019 [34 favorites]


white people voting for out-of-state whites on the basis of shared race is pretty much racist any way you slice it. I don't see any other compelling explanation;

xenophobic feels a more accurate word choice to me, certainly less divisive than racist. And there is a difference. The former speaks to a suspicion of people/things that are strange to us, outside of our comfort zone. The latter is pretty much a synonym for evil.
posted by philip-random at 3:30 PM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


Felix Sater Had Laundering Plans for Moscow Trump Tower, Bank Says (@adamklasfeld)
Two days shy of his anticipated congressional testimony, Russian-mafia tied businessman Felix Sater has been hit with a lawsuit accusing him of trying to launder looted money through the aborted Trump Tower deal in Moscow.

Filed Monday afternoon in Manhattan, the federal complaint is part of a series of global litigation that grew out of the systematic looting of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank in 2009.

Since that time, courtroom battles against Almaty Mayor Viktor Khrapunov; his son, Ilyas Khrapunov; and BTA’s former chairman, Mukhtar Ablyazov, soon cropped up in London, Paris, Los Angeles and here in New York.

Lurking in the wings of these court battles has been Sater, a former senior adviser to the Trump Organization expected to testify before Congress Wednesday and the central figure in a lawsuit filed today by BTA Bank and Kazakhstan’s largest city of Almaty.

“Sater helped Ablyazov, Khrapunov, and others launder tens of millions of dollars in those stolen funds into the United States, where they were invested in real estate and used to procure immigration status for Khrapunov’s sister,” the 61-page complaint states. “Sater also tried to help them stash some of the stolen money overseas, including in real estate in Moscow.” The lawsuit does not accuse President Donald Trump of any impropriety over the deal.

Represented by Boies Schiller, BTA alleges that this Moscow real estate was the proposed Trump skyscraper that Sater and the president’s former fixer Michael Cohen pursued over the course of the 2016 election.

“Among other proposed investments, Sater conspired with Ilyas to invest the stolen funds to develop a Trump Tower project in Russia, which Sater has claimed would have been a ‘high-rise, high-end development that could make a significant amount of money,’” the complaint states. ... “My idea was to give a $50 million penthouse to Putin and charge $250 million more for the rest of the units,” Sater told the outlet. “All of the oligarchs would line up to live there.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 3:35 PM on March 25, 2019 [12 favorites]


Possibly the idea that a person of a non-white race is automatically strange and foreign is itself, a racist assumption. There's no need to trip over ourselves, fellow white people, to explain how people liking other people less based purely on race isn't really racism.
posted by threeturtles at 3:37 PM on March 25, 2019 [20 favorites]


Oof, that's just U.S. business as usual. Iowa also happens to be 91% white so I think even in the most egalitarian of societies, 9/10 candidates would likely be white. No need to single out Iowa as being any worse than the other 29.25 states that went for a white supremacist for president

But Iowa is different than most of those other states. Iowa and New Hampshire are the 2nd and 6th whitest states respectively and have and have an outsized influence on electoral politics.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:38 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


It's Iowa. They elect white supremacists to congress.
Hi! I live in Iowa! I promise you that I am painfully aware of this at all times.

Iowa went for Obama in both 2008 and 2012: we're capable of voting for people who aren't white guys. Something really does seem to have shifted in the last couple of years, though, and my sense is that a lot of people are more focused on white identity politics than they were prior to 2014 or so.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:43 PM on March 25, 2019 [14 favorites]


Mod note: Folks let's please skip the "but surely it's not really racist" sidebar, which we've had many, many times in the last few years. It's not going to lead anywhere different or more rewarding this time than the last ten times.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 3:43 PM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


Schiff added: “We need to look at for example into the financial issues - was the president driven during the campaign and to this day by financial interests consummating a lucrative real estate deal ... Or any other illicit purpose. That work has to go on.”

Yes, exactly. I believe I've brought this up here quite a while ago, but I have always thought it's entirely possible that Trump personally had little or no direct involvement with the Russian election interference - Russia was offering (through a variety of channels), and a whole pack of the grifters and ripe sucks in Trump's orbit latched on to these offers as a way to curry favor and line their pockets, but Trump hisownself paid little or no attention to that. He was and is afraid of any Russian investigation because it would reveal his shady and probably illegal financial ties to Russian "businessmen" aka mobsters.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:48 PM on March 25, 2019 [20 favorites]


Never mind! Rigged witch hunts are the best! (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
I AM THRILLED BY THE CONCLUSIONS OF THIS RIGGED WITCH HUNT BY THIRTEEN ANGRY DEMOCRATS! When I said that “All credibility is gone from this terrible Hoax,” I meant “I am confident it will fully vindicate me or, at the very least, not charge me with crimes,” which I think is the same thing, just as when someone says, “It is a difficult call whether this conduct was technically illegal,” it means that what you did was right, GOOD, perhaps even GREAT and that AMERICA IS THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! AMERICA!

It turns out that this was not the MOST TAINTED AND CORRUPT CASE EVER, no matter what I said earlier! It was not ILLEGALLY BROUGHT at all. In fact, it was good all along, and I was rooting for it. I hope it knew I was rooting for it.

Before, I would have said — maybe even 183 times! — that this was a witch hunt with all the rigor of someone dunking a woman into water and trying to see whether she will float! But now that I have (apparently!) failed to float, I say that dunking women into water to see whether they float is a wise and valid methodology and I stand behind it!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:17 PM on March 25, 2019 [44 favorites]


There will be national protests if efforts to get the full Mueller report released are not successful very soon.


More like national collective shrugs. IRL isn’t twitter.
posted by moorooka at 4:29 PM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


heatvision, thanks for your encouragement to exercise our democratic rights. I just sent this to my Dem Senators. Taking that action makes me feel a bit better. If anybody wants to copy & paste, copy & paste away:

"Dear [Senator], thank you for your statement on the Barr Summary of the Mueller Report, in which you cogently point out the corruption involved in Barr issuing conclusions that he reached several months before being appointed to this position. Please take steps to have the Mueller Report read into the record, and please continue investigations. Thank you for protecting American democracy."
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 4:36 PM on March 25, 2019 [17 favorites]


Did the Special Counsel accuse the President of a felony? Until we receive the report, we do not know. It's possible the Special Counsel felt he had sufficient evidence to make a charge regarding Obstruction of Justice, but was prevented from doing so by the Department of Justice policy stating that a sitting President cannot be indicted. Then, the Trump-appointed Attorney General came along and imposed his factually incorrect view of Obstruction of Justice on his report summary, deciding that there was insufficient evidence. Without the underlying report and evidence, this legal opinion is as worthless as the President's own.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:48 PM on March 25, 2019 [15 favorites]


Manu Raju (CNN): Pelosi was pressed further on the Barr letter and refused to take questions: “I’m not going to be having a press conference about the soul of our democracy in the hallway of the basement of the Capitol.”

If the soul of our democracy is at stake, maybe we shouldn't worry about impeachment being divisive?
posted by diogenes at 4:52 PM on March 25, 2019 [10 favorites]


Make no mistake: if Speaker Pelosi believed the Senate would convict Trump, she would immediately file articles of impeachment. Anything to the contrary is a political maneuver. It's very likely that an impeachment without a conviction would be worse than no impeachment at all.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:55 PM on March 25, 2019 [19 favorites]


Mueller’s moves doom impeachment in Senate (Politico)
“He has been exonerated on the issue of conspiracy or coordination with the Russians,” Collins said in an interview, adding that she wants to read the full Mueller report and get a classified briefing on the obstruction of justice issue. She added: “But it seems to me that we have seen no grounds, at all, for impeachment proceedings to be started by the House. When even Speaker Pelosi says that it would not be the right route, I believe that puts it to rest regarding these allegations.” [...]

“The American people recognize that if there is no crime, it’s hard to suggest that there was obstruction of justice to prevent an investigation in the absence of a crime,” Romney said on Monday evening. [...]

“If the factual basis has now been factually disproven by Mueller, it should take some wind out of the sails,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a former GOP whip. “People have stylistic differences with the way the president runs his business, but in terms of any potential threat of criminal activity, I think everybody’s reassured.“

“Russia collusion and obstruction of justice, I think those are dead issues,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the GOP’s oversight chairman. And impeachment? “There's no point even talking about it,” he replied. [...]

Impeachment “should be off the table. And I think that Democrats in the House would be much better off if they legislate and not investigate,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) who came under fire from conservatives back home for opposing Trump’s emergency declaration. [...]

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) urged the Congress to move on from the Russia investigation because “there’s no evidence. None. Zero. Nada.”
Explainer: Why Trump's legal woes go beyond the Mueller report (Reuters)
The closure of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election does not mark the end of legal worries for President Donald Trump and people close to him. Other ongoing investigations and litigation are focusing on issues including his businesses and financial dealings, personal conduct, charitable foundation and inaugural committee. These investigations, pursued by prosecutors at the federal and state level, could result in charges beyond those brought in Mueller’s investigation or civil liability.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:57 PM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


Trump administration officials and prominent anti-choice activists appeared at a conference hosted by the Hungarian Embassy earlier this month designed to promote government policies to encourage women to have more babies.

The “Make Families Great Again” conference, which was held at the Library of Congress on March 14, promoted far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s seven-point “Family Protection Action Plan.” The plan is “designed to promote marriage and families and spawn a baby boom” through financial incentives, according to a Washington Post report on the event. White House special assistant Katy Talento, White House Strategic Communications Director Mercedes Schlapp, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Senior Advisor Valerie Huber spoke at the event.


The Hungarian "conference demonstrates the insidious connections between authoritarian governments, far-right nationalists, and anti-choice movements who conspire to strip women and gender diverse people of their rights," according to Rewire.News, just in case Mike Pence's current job didn't make that obvious.
posted by Bella Donna at 5:05 PM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]


One of the primary assigned tasks that Robert Mueller agreed to when he signed up to become Special Counsel was to decide whether people had committed crimes. And he did. He decided that 37 people and entities had committed crimes.

Another of his assigned tasks was to decide when there was insufficient evidence to indict someone. And he did. He decided that there was insufficient evidence that any US person knowingly conspired with the Kremlin's Internet Research Agency. Including the President.

But when it came to the question of whether the President committed unlawful Obstruction of Justice, Mueller is, as far as we know, Silent Bob. Why?

Do we imagine that he panicked and slammed his unfinished report down on the Attorney General's desk in a fit of despair? Was he exhausted and eager to finish up and head to a Florida golf course?

Or, is it possible that Mueller did in fact perform his assigned task to what he perceived as the best of his ability, by following the Department of Justice guidelines prohibiting him from accusing the sitting President of a crime? Is it possible that the only fitting explanation for the absence of BOTH a decision to find sufficient evidence AND a decision to find insufficient evidence is: there was indeed sufficient evidence, and were Donald Trump no longer the President, he would now be awaiting trial?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:21 PM on March 25, 2019 [19 favorites]


I believe I've brought this up here quite a while ago, but I have always thought it's entirely possible that Trump personally had little or no direct involvement with the Russian election interference - Russia was offering (through a variety of channels), and a whole pack of the grifters and ripe sucks in Trump's orbit latched on to these offers as a way to curry favor and line their pockets, but Trump hisownself paid little or no attention to that.

Yeah. I've been trying to frame this up in an easily explainable analogy and kind of failing. But this is basically the reason you don't elect a fucking billionaire with business ties with foreign nationals. They don't need to directly communicate to collude. Their (personal, financial) interests are so highly visible to the other party that they can anticipate each other's needs and act on them in a manner likely to meet those needs. And their actions are so visible (hacking, Moscow tower, sanctions relief, and just plain good PR) that each party can be sure that the message was received.

This is the whole show right here. It's been said a hundred times before, but it's precisely because it's all so out in the open that no one can really wrap their brains around it.

And in another very real sense, this is exactly how the mechanisms of power work in the world today.
posted by Room 101 at 5:26 PM on March 25, 2019 [52 favorites]


Is it possible that the only fitting explanation for the absence of BOTH a decision to find sufficient evidence AND a decision to find insufficient evidence is: there was indeed sufficient evidence, and were Donald Trump no longer the President, he would now be awaiting trial?

According to Jill Wine-Banks, a former assistant Watergate special prosecutor and former general counsel of the U.S. Army:
In my opinion, Trump was not exonerated of either obstruction of justice or conspiracy with Russia. Claims of total exoneration are pure spin.

Regarding obstruction of justice, even Barr’s letter to Congress admits that the Mueller report “does not exonerate” Trump. Mueller, according to Barr, set out evidence on both sides of the question of obstructive activities and the president’s intent. Despite the existence of evidence of guilt, Mueller, for reasons we can only hope will be clear when we see his full report or in subsequent congressional testimony, decided to leave the decision to someone else. Barr took it upon himself to be the decider, although in Watergate and Whitewater—and I believe under the Constitution—that decision belonged to Congress. It seems strange that he would evade deciding unless he were passing the facts to Congress.
Emphasis added. I think the political question doctrine looms in the background with its complicated (and potentially time-consuming) separation of powers issues, but if the Constitution prohibits indictment of a sitting president, then Congress clearly has jurisdiction. Also:
Not having an indictable set of facts does not equal innocence. Even a not guilty verdict after trial would not do that. All it means is there was not proof beyond a reasonable doubt of sufficient facts to establish every element of a crime. That is not the same as being innocent or exonerated. Nor does it address whether there is impeachable conduct.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:35 PM on March 25, 2019 [27 favorites]


Also, Barr seems to violate the current DOJ policy against indictment of a sitting president by making an assessment of the potential criminal conduct of a sitting president. If it's a determination that only Congress can make, pursuant to current DOJ policy, then Barr appears to lack the authority.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:54 PM on March 25, 2019 [18 favorites]


If it's a determination that only Congress can make, pursuant to current DOJ policy, then Barr appears to lack the authority.

And since Congress isn't going to accept that responsibility, we're left with the fact that the President is officially above the law.
posted by diogenes at 6:00 PM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


Not exactly. The Legislative Branch creates the law. A bad Congress creates bad law. Fix the Congress, fix the law.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:01 PM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


Theory: if the Mueller Report was anything other than damning for the President, most of it would already be on WhiteHouse.Gov.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:21 PM on March 25, 2019 [26 favorites]


If he knew what a PDF is, he’d tweet it out ASAP too.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:29 PM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


I don't see any other compelling explanation; nobody whose first choice is Joe Biden should have Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, as their second choice, nor vice versa.

The connecting factor is that polls are showing that primary voters care more about nominating someone that can beat Trump than who aligns with their political ideals. Unfortunately, race and gender heavily play into what is considered “electable.”
posted by BeginAgain at 6:32 PM on March 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


Oof, that's just U.S. business as usual. Iowa also happens to be 91% white so I think even in the most egalitarian of societies, 9/10 candidates would likely be white. No need to single out Iowa as being any worse than the other 29.25 states that went for a white supremacist for president.

Heh, too many racists to chose from!

I was taking about Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa, Steve King, who apparently also proudly represents the Confederacy.
posted by srboisvert at 6:56 PM on March 25, 2019


Steve King (*spit*) is only one of Iowa's congressional representatives. Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer are two others. There's also David Loebsack, who while stubbornly being a white male, somehow manages to not be a public embarrassment and white supremacist.

[We're probably getting really close to a moderator intervention.]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:03 PM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


Mod note: Probably we can leave it there on Iowa primary polls stuff unless someone has actual new information.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:07 PM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]


Amy Klobuchar's Sorry Record on Police Violence Exposed in Damning Report:
In her eight years as county prosecutor, Minneapolis paid out $4.8 million in settlements related to police misconduct, while the police were involved in 29 citizen deaths. As laid out by MPR, Klobuchar sent all but one of those 29 cases to a grand jury and none of the involved officers were ever charged. The report details two cases—those of 15-year-old Courtney Williams and Christopher Burns—in which the families of those killed by police believed the force employed by the officers was excessive and pleaded with Klobuchar to prosecute them. In both cases, Klobuchar declined and sent the cases to a grand jury.
posted by Ouverture at 7:12 PM on March 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


I don't know what is going on with the media, but this is ridiculous. Mueller's investigation was 99% successful just based on what we know so far. He found evidence of collusion. He identified a laundry list of impeachable actions. He nailed half of Trump's retinue.

Was I hoping for smoking gun evidence that would lead to Trump being led out of the White House in handcuffs? Of course. But I also understood that, like Capone, Trump may have insulated himself from legal action. Any thinking person should still suspect he's been up to no good.

We don't have a Mueller problem. We have a media problem, and the extent to which they've supported the crazy alternate narrative Trump is promoting shows the depth of that problem.
posted by xammerboy at 7:32 PM on March 25, 2019 [71 favorites]


why run this all the way up to the Supreme Court

Sometimes setting a precedent is all that's needed.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:34 PM on March 25, 2019


McConnell blocks Schumer effort to call for public release of Mueller report

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday blocked an effort by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to unanimously pass a non-binding measure expressing that Congress wants Robert Mueller’s report outlining the results of his Russia investigation be made public.

Schumer attempted to unanimously pass the measure — the same resolution that unanimously passed the House in a 420-0 vote earlier this month — without a roll call vote Monday evening.


House committee chairs demand full Mueller report by April 2 deadline

Six Democratic committee chairs in the House sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Monday requesting that he submit the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation to Congress by April 2.

In a three-page letter to Barr, the lawmakers wrote that his summary of the Mueller report "is not sufficient for Congress."

posted by gucci mane at 7:39 PM on March 25, 2019 [29 favorites]


We don't have a Mueller problem. We have a media problem, and the extent to which they've supported the crazy alternate narrative Trump is promoting shows the depth of that problem.

Well put. And, as amply demonstrated here and elsewhere, we clearly have a whataboutism problem.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:43 PM on March 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


The press keeps saying that Trump was "exonerated" on the Russian collusion charges. Keep in mind that no one has seen the Mueller report outside the Justice Department so we don't know what Mueller did or did not find. We only have Bill Barr's spin on that.

Even in Barr's words he says that Mueller "did not find" coordination with the Russians. He does not say it doesn't exist. There are witnesses we know that refused to cooperate, like Stone, and in at least Manafort's case directly lie to the investigators. It is possible that further investigation or testimony could establish a connection.

Trump has not been exonerated (cleared) from collusion. The question still remains open.

Note that Barr refuses to release Mueller's report or even Mueller's own summary in his report. So we have Trump and his surrogates free to claim "exoneration". They will do this for days or weeks until Barr decides to release the report, if at all. Then, no matter what the report says, they will say "Why are you dragging this up again. It's old news." They will have already firmly established the "exoneration" narrative in the public's mind.

Barr is purposely manipulating the public in Trump's defense. Trump has whined for two years "Where is my Roy Cohn?" He has finally found him in Bill Barr, Attorney General for the United States.
posted by JackFlash at 7:46 PM on March 25, 2019 [26 favorites]


We don't have a Mueller problem. We have a media problem, and the extent to which they've supported the crazy alternate narrative Trump is promoting shows the depth of that problem.

I don't understand how people keep looking at our media's conduct throughout 2016 until now and expecting anything different. They worked to elect Trump. They're working now to shield him from accountability. They will work to reelect him in 2020. They want Trump in power, period.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:48 PM on March 25, 2019 [20 favorites]


Oh, in other news today, the Bill Barr Justice Department has suddenly reversed itself in the crazy Texas judge case and is now arguing in support of the judge that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down. The United States Attorney General is not just refusing to defend but actively arguing against a duly passed act of congress.

Bill Barr is going to be a busy man for the next two years, giving Trump the loyal mafia lawyer he wanted in place of Jeff Sessions.
posted by JackFlash at 7:55 PM on March 25, 2019 [16 favorites]


If you're keeping score at home, in 24 hours Bill Barr has ended the Mueller investigation without releasing the report to Congress, charged one of the President's loudest critics with an array of felonies, and told a federal court that 30 million people should lose health coverage.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:07 PM on March 25, 2019 [45 favorites]


Who did he charge with felonies?
posted by gucci mane at 8:13 PM on March 25, 2019


Michael Avenatti, who did indeed deserve to be charged with multiple felonies.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:15 PM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


And was he was charged today because he was about to have a press conference to give out the dirt on Nike because they wouldn’t pay his blackmail demands. This isn’t the Trump power play people seem to think.
posted by sideshow at 8:17 PM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]


House committee chairs demand full Mueller report by April 2 deadline

This is beyond pathetic. That is a week from now. By that time, it's all over. The exoneration narrative will be baked.

There is no reason that they shouldn't demand Mueller's own summary today, not a week from now. As I said before, I am sure that Mueller was smart enough not to put redactable material in his summary so there is no excuse for not releasing it instead of Barr's "summary."

And in the mean time, Democrats should schedule Mueller's personal testimony this week. Let Mueller say in his own words what his summary means. Maybe that threat will speed up the release of the report.
posted by JackFlash at 8:45 PM on March 25, 2019 [35 favorites]


> In other news, Fentanyl-Linked Deaths: The U.S. Opioid Epidemic's Third Wave Begins (Martha Bebinger for NPR, March 21, 2019)
These findings, published Thursday in a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, highlight the start of the third wave of the nation's opioid epidemic. The first was prescription pain medications, such as OxyContin; then heroin, which replaced pills when they became too expensive; and now fentanyl.

And in response to this, Kamala Harris promises "As president, I’ll fight to end the opioid epidemic — and take on Big Pharma for fueling this crisis nationwide."

Except that while Big Pharma helped start the opioid epidemic, they are no longer feuling it. Big Pharma doesn't make the illicit fentanyl that's killing people, and the CDC's recent data shows that RX opioids are not driving the opioid epidemic - overdose rates keep rising as prescription rates keep falling. Harris is making the same kind of mistake that Gilibrand and Gardener are making by reacting to headlines instead of facts, and she's going to fuel the rising epidemic of untreated chronic pain for pain patients whose lives are already being made living hells by bad policies and a climate of fear.
posted by homunculus at 9:39 PM on March 25, 2019 [42 favorites]


Give Donald Trump credit: His cover-up is working, so far (Amanda Marcotte, Salon)
[...]

The truth, however, is somewhat different. What actually happened over the weekend is that after two years of trying, President Trump successfully, derailed an investigation into this question. As he has also done for the last two years, he continues to cover up the evidence about the exact nature of his relationship to Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. So we are still facing the question we've been facing for two years: If Trump is innocent, as he claims, than why does he act so terrified of getting caught?

[...]

It's easy to get into the weeds on the various scandals and engage in line-by-line debates over the evidence, but that's not the important part. The bigger picture is clear: Republicans are corrupt and will go to great lengths to cover up criminality. They are taking down the country with their greed and depravity. Bill Barr's fake version of the Mueller report is just the latest example.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:10 PM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


And in another very real sense, this is exactly how the mechanisms of power work in the world today.

As someone who was breathlessly watching every episode of Rachael Maddow two years ago, this has been my big takeaway from this whole kerfuffle. You just need to, like, join the DSA or something if you live in the US and want to have any hope of fixing this situation.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 10:25 PM on March 25, 2019 [9 favorites]


NYT contributing op-ed writer Will Wilkinson posted a thread on how Team Trump is playing the media with the Barr letter:
The crescendo of furious gaslighting following Barr's propaganda summary suggests a plan was place to exploit the gap between the submission of the report and public revelation of what's in it to delegitimize Mueller's actual findings and the ongoing investigations. Trump cronies are incoherently claiming BOTH (a) that the report exonerates him AND (b) the investigation was so ethically compromised and politically biased nothing that came of it can be taken seriously and shouldn't be made public. Obviously can't be both. Trump's "one weird trick" is the shameless public delegitimization of anyone aligned against his interests. Once again, we're seeing he's the GOAT at this evil art. It's what's made him the Houdini of industrial-scale white-collar theft. Our idiot media still isn't capable of understanding how to not be co-opted by Trump's reality-bending propaganda machine, and continues to get played like a burgled Stradivarius.

Barr's cover-up gambit means Mueller will certainly be called to testify under oath in the House. That's why we're getting the full-on blitz to mischaracterize his findings: to lock the media and public into a favorable narrative nowhere in evidence, before he actually speaks. The Trump machine's rush to assert an adamantly conclusive interpretation of the investigation on nothing but a crony appointee's spin on it, and then using this to discredit the larger attempt to uphold the rule of law and separation of powers is completely poisonous. The media's atrocious gullibility, which is letting this happen without serious resistance, is even more scandalous than the credulity that herded public opinion behind the invasion of Iraq. Because we already *know* this administration does nothing but lie.[…]

Trump's hand-picked AG (confirmed by a lapdog Senate, with a record of shielding presidents from scandal) telling us what the report says & sitting on it doesn't settle anything. But spinning it like it does to prevent congressional oversight tell us a lot. This is far from over.
This thread's rhetorical style is probably too passionate for the pages of the Grey Lady, but I think our current situation warrants it.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:08 AM on March 26, 2019 [31 favorites]


What do we do when the person obstructing justice is the Attorney General?

Maybe I’ll call my congressman and ask him to start an investigation.
posted by nat at 12:33 AM on March 26, 2019 [14 favorites]


Trump ran on being a criminally corrupt liar. He has delivered on the most important things for Republicans: Conservative judges and tax cuts. And by doing all that, he has unleashed an unending torrent of moral, political and economic corruption that was formerly barely harnessed within the Republican party. They now know for sure that their voters don't give a damn about norms and procedures. They know white supremacism is just fine. They are having the time of their lives testing these newly found rules. That's why I wrote yesterday that Barr's letter is farcical. It's deliberately farcical, he's having great fun seeing how far he can go and realising there is no limit.
After Watergate, the Republicans didn't learn that it is a bad idea to have a crooked president. They learnt that they needed to be more in control of the proces and messaging. Every subsequent Republican president has been engaged in criminal activities, and gotten away with it. Trump is the natural high point of that movement. Through Reagan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr., Republican voters have learnt to think that it is OK for their leaders to be crooked. They will mainly argue that both sides do it, and also that it is to some extent necessary, creating false equivalences (which are happily shared by the far left). Maybe Trump is more crooked, or differently crooked, but they don't care, because a president is in their minds always a compromised person.
As a consequence, I am beginning to think Pelosi is right, that impeachment can only happen if for some reason the Republican voters change their minds radically, not just about Trump, but about the entire political system. And that is not very likely right now, if only because the prospect of investigating almost every Republican senator and public official is implicit in the prospect of a serious investigation of Trump. He has corrupted almost everyone.
Things may change, but at this point, I can't think of anything Trump could do that would turn 30 Republican senators against him. He jokes about shooting a man on 5 Avenue, but that's nothing. Dick Cheney already did shoot a man.
If it turns out that the actual conclusion in the Mueller report is "it cannot be proven that Trump conspired with the Russian Government" rather than "it can be proven that Trump did not conspire with the Russian Government", there is room for some further investigations. But those would certainly implicate the whole Republican convention who voted to change their policy on Ukraine. It's dark.
posted by mumimor at 2:32 AM on March 26, 2019 [19 favorites]


Quinta Jurecic, Barr Has Left Us in a State of Suspended Animation
Perhaps the most baffling portion of Barr’s letter, though, is the section on obstruction of justice. According to Barr, Mueller’s report sets out evidence both for and against viewing Trump’s conduct as obstruction of justice, but ultimately declined to make a call one way or another—which is, certainly, highly unusual. Why? What made Barr himself decide it was necessary for the attorney general to make the call that Mueller’s evidence was “not sufficient to establish” that Trump had committed obstruction? To what extent was Barr’s decision—and, for that matter, Mueller’s—shaped by Barr’s aggressive view of the interaction between presidential authority and the obstruction statutes, under which an action definitionally cannot be obstructive if it is authorized under Article II of the Constitution? To what extent did that view mean that Barr wrote off presidential conduct that the FBI worried might be both obstructive and a benefit to Russia—like, for example, firing James Comey as FBI director?
...
After the release of Barr's letter, former FBI Director James Comey posted on Twitter a pensive picture of himself alone in a forest. To me, it recalled Dante Aleghieri’s description of fear and uncertainty at the beginning of Inferno, before he meets the poet Virgil who will guide him through Hell: “I came to myself in a dark wood, where the straight way was lost." Or as Comey wrote: “So many questions.”
posted by zachlipton at 4:05 AM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


Sen. Chuck Schumer at #AIPAC: "When someone looks at a neo-Nazi rally and sees some, 'very fine people' among its company, we must call it out. When someone suggests money drives support for Israel, we must call it out."

Medhi Hasan: Imagine, just imagine, comparing Ilhan Omar’s criticisms of AIPAC to Trump’s praise of neo-Nazis.

The likes of Schumer and Hoyer know that increasing numbers of people are threatening to *kill* Omar, right? Do they not realize how irresponsible their cheap shots at her are?
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:14 AM on March 26, 2019 [63 favorites]


According to Barr, Mueller’s report sets out evidence both for and against viewing Trump’s conduct as obstruction of justice, but ultimately declined to make a call one way or another—which is, certainly, highly unusual

I don't think it is unusual. As Ari Melber points out (with citations) both Leon
Jaworski, in his investigation of Nixon, and Kenneth Starr, in his investigation of Clinton, left it up to Congress to decide wherher thr conduct they described was Obstruction of Justice. It's not up to the investigator to decide what is an impeachavle offense. Presidents have to be "indicted" by the House and tried in the Senate. Therefore decisions involving "prosecutorial discretion" propey belong to Congress, not the special counsel OR the attorney general.

The Justice Department is under the president's control. That's why he must be impeached before being indicted. Congress is a co-equal branch of government which the president does NOT control. Barr is trying to take for himself authorities which belong to congress.
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:19 AM on March 26, 2019 [20 favorites]


In which Russian kompromat Terrapin Extraordinaire, Mitch Coca de la McConnell, toots the whistle on the bullshit train while wagging his tongue out the window:

McConnell Blocks Resolution to Release Mueller Report

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked a non-binding resolution to make special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report public, Axios reports.

“The resolution was passed unanimously in the House. McConnell cited national security concerns for his decision to block the proposal, and argued that Attorney General Bill Barr should have time to decide what’s made public.


"Muwhahahaha" McConnell was later heard mumbling to himself as he stole the admin's clearly-labeled yogurt from the break room fridge.
posted by petebest at 4:52 AM on March 26, 2019 [12 favorites]


Just catching up here. So we're at "it was a thoroughly corrupt investigation that completely exonerates me but you can never see the report"? Got it.

Something I think that's getting lost in the headlines is that Mueller conclusively proved Russia acted to undermine our election and elect Trump, which even Barr alluded to in his letter. We've certainly known this for a while, but the administration has been playing the coy "who really knows what was in the hackers' hearts?" game. Any story that doesn't repeat this fact is committing journalistic malpractice, imo. And I want just one journalist to ask Trump if a) he understands that Russia worked to get him elected and b) what he's doing to stop it from happening in 2020.
posted by bluecore at 5:07 AM on March 26, 2019 [40 favorites]


Something I think that's getting lost in the headlines is that Mueller conclusively proved Russia acted to undermine our election and elect Trump

Yup, and Trump still accepts Putin's denial.
posted by diogenes at 5:26 AM on March 26, 2019 [10 favorites]


“A Crime in Public View”: How William Barr Pardoned Donald Trump (VanityFair)

Short article stating the obvious about the obvious. tl;dr:

In particular, Barr’s conclusion that obstruction can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt ... requires a nexus to an underlying crime. ... Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States after a sustained series of crimes by the Russian government aimed at boosting his chances of winning.

Because of the political damage to the president that Russia’s criminal interference posed, he had an obvious reason to terminate the investigation. In other words, he had something to hide, and the Mueller inquiry seems to have concluded that there was plenty of evidence that he hid it.

To argue that no underlying crime means no obstruction is therefore nonsense. That is fallacious reasoning and it impugns Barr’s integrity and his reputation as a lawyer. Worse, it represents a troubling effort to paper over the acknowledged evidence that Mr. Trump committed a crime in public view.


"impugns Barr's integrity" - ugh.
posted by petebest at 5:41 AM on March 26, 2019 [13 favorites]


NBC: Mike Pence Talked Dan Coats Out of Quitting the Trump Administration—Whenever Trump is souring on Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, whom he calls "Mister Rogers," Pence encourages him to stick with Coats.
The country's intelligence chief was on the verge of resigning at the end of last year over his frustrations with President Donald Trump but was talked out of it by his closest ally in the administration, Vice President Mike Pence, according to current and former senior administration officials.

Among the tensions the officials said have marred the relationship between the president and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats: Trump pushed Coats to find evidence that former President Barack Obama wiretapped him; he demanded Coats publicly criticize the U.S. intelligence community as biased; and he accused Coats of being behind leaks of classified information. More recently Trump also fumed to aides after Coats publicly defended the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in countering Russia's aggression, officials said.

But the tipping point for Coats came in December with Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, and the contentious departure of former Defense Secretary James Mattis after protesting the policy, according to the current and former officials. The vice president, who has repeatedly played the role of envoy between Trump and Coats, convinced his longtime Indiana friend to stay until at least this summer, the officials said.

Similarly, whenever Trump is souring on the DNI he privately calls "Mister Rogers" — because he won't implement a directive or has left the impression he thinks the president is irrational — Pence has encouraged Trump to stick with Coats, according to the current and former officials.
And Coates has experienced Trump's paranoia and irrationality up close and personal:
In his new role, Coats was responsible for walking a president he hardly knew through his daily intelligence briefing. He quickly found his boss had a short attention span for the information he was providing, current and former administration officials said. Coats struggled with how to respond when Trump veered off on unrelated tangents or bluntly disagreed with the intelligence he presented — as he often did, the current and former senior administration officials said.

Coats found it particularly hard to hide his exasperation with Trump's insistence in the weeks after taking office that Obama had wiretapped him during the 2016 campaign, according to the officials. Over and over again Trump raised the issue, and over and over Coats told him he wasn't wiretapped, officials said, but the president didn't want to hear it.

"It was a recurring thing and began early on," a senior administration official who observed the exchanges said. "You could tell that Coats thought the president was crazy."
Rumors that Trump plans to fire Coates hit a high point last month (WaPo), following the departure of Coats's ally Mattis and Coats's particular frustration with Trump's Syria pullout, as well as Trump's anger with his congressional testimony of his intelligence assessments about Iran, North Korea and the Islamic State.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:59 AM on March 26, 2019 [9 favorites]


No, I think it’s entirely inappropriate and dangerous to compare Omar’s inartful criticisms of Israel to Trumps fullthroated embrace of Nazis. And I find the continued piling on against a progressive woman of color from Democratic leadership fucking shameful. Schumer could easily respond to Omar without engaging in the exact same rhetoric as he allegedly finds objectionable from Trump.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:05 AM on March 26, 2019 [47 favorites]


The likes of Schumer and Hoyer know that increasing numbers of people are threatening to *kill* Omar, right? Do they not realize how irresponsible their cheap shots at her are?

Jews are also getting death threats. Anti-semitic attacks in the US are up, and almost 60% of religious/ethnic-based hate crimes are anti-semitic. She doesn't get a pass (and neither do the Republicans who also make those same comments). It's not a cheap shot and I'm glad he called it out. The goal should be more Republicans calling out their own, not fewer Democrats doing so.

And while we're at it, addressing the also very real issue of why women in power get so many death threats in the US. Because I'm pretty sure the reason has nothing to do with them getting called out for any particular policy position.
posted by Mchelly at 6:16 AM on March 26, 2019 [9 favorites]


GOP congressman quotes Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ to slam Trump’s adversaries as liars

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) took to the House floor on Monday to portray President Trump’s detractors as Nazis, but ended up slurring them using an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory drawn verbatim from Adolf Hitler’s writings. ...

Brooks, a five-term Republican, accused Democrats and members of the media of propagating a “big lie” about collusion. The expression was first coined by Hitler to describe how Jews used their “unqualified capacity for falsehood” to blame a top German military commander for the country’s losses in World War I. A lie could be so big, Hitler claimed, that it perversely defied disbelief.

It was unclear if Brooks grasped that by leveling charges of the “big lie,” he had inverted his own analogy, making Democrats the equivalent of interwar German and Austrian Jews. He set out to compare the other side to fascists, but he was the one employing a fascist smear — one that, ironically, came to define Nazi propaganda.


"Ironically". Right. Good one WaPo. Bonus spew from Mo ("Mo Spew" as he's known around this here parts), He added that, “If socialists in the fake news media had any honor, they would cleanse their souls and atone for their sins.”

Yeah get up in my grill about how we need to cleanse our souls. It's good advice that you just didn't take, and who would have thought ... it figures.
posted by petebest at 6:21 AM on March 26, 2019 [13 favorites]


She doesn't get a pass (and neither do the Republicans who also make those same comments).

There’s a lot of ground in between giving someone a pass and making a parallel with marching torch-burning white supremacists. It has someone faded into distant memory with the actual marching nazis, but the reason we talked about someone Godwin-ing when they called people nazis online was because it was ridiculous to compare folks you disagree with online full-on supporters of segregation and genocide. It’s very 2019 that now we need a way to describe how foolish it is to call something the same as marching car-killer nazis that now walk about emboldened.
posted by phearlez at 6:28 AM on March 26, 2019 [32 favorites]


The crescendo of furious gaslighting following Barr's propaganda summary suggests a plan was place to exploit the gap between the submission of the report and public revelation of what's in it to delegitimize Mueller's actual findings and the ongoing investigations.

That was clear as soon as the summary was released and that there would be a delay (at minimum) in releasing the actual report. It fits Trump's model exactly (obfuscate, lie, win over the low information voter).
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:48 AM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


Mchelly Bibi is possibly doing it as part of his own reelection strategy, but the Golan is a completely separate and unrelated area.

I meant that in general when Trump gives the government of Israel important rhetorical cover for its actions, it seems to embolden the government of Israel to do more and worse things to the Palestinian civilian population. We saw an uptick in Israeli government violence against Palestinians following Trump's embassy move, and now that Trump is justifying and embracing the decades old seizure of Golan it seems that Netanyahu is seeing that as a go ahead to inflict violence on the people crammed into Gaza.

Obviously Netanyahu is an independent actor, but having a reminder that the current US government is adopting a radical anti-Palestinian position seems to encourage him to more violence.

As for Rep Omar, I do not think it is fair, proper, or appropriate for Sen Schumer to use the occasion of an AIPAC meeting to rhetorically link her with the Nazi marchers in Charlottesville. It is absurd to compare what was, at absolute worst, unknowingly sloppy language on her part with actual literal no exaggeration self described Nazis, and from my POV it seems that Schumer is encouraging the people sending death threats to Rep Omar.

Especially considering that most of the 40% of religion based hate crimes in America that aren't directed at Jews are directed at Muslims. If we examine Schumer's words with the same lens of presuming bias and Islamophobia that people used to examine Omar's words, it would be very easy to conclude he was being Islamophobic. After all, it's a well known anti-Muslim trope that Muslims are violent and wish to commit violence against Jews. But I think that would be improper and I suspect he was just trying to score some cheap political points rather than deliberately invoking long standing anti-Muslim canards.
posted by sotonohito at 6:55 AM on March 26, 2019 [18 favorites]


I get that accusations of dual loyalty are a time-worn trick by racists, and Omar's statement may have been ill-considered in light of that, but AIPAC as it currently acts doesn't look much like an organization that deserves our support. As Bernie Sanders said, we should be "concerned about the platform AIPAC is providing for leaders who have expressed bigotry and oppose a two-state solution."
posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 6:58 AM on March 26, 2019 [8 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, we already had a post and thread open for a whole month to fight about Omar/AIPAC; please give it a rest now here. If there is really big new news about that, then another post is the way to go.
posted by taz (staff) at 7:00 AM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


@jihnberman: JUST NOW: @WhipClyburn tells me that he sees the Mueller investigation as a "chapter closed." He sees health care as the "new chapter." Fascinating framing from Dem leadership this morning on @NewDay

It’s a messaging device— don’t take it too literally—, but it’s a potent symbol of the extent to which Republicans simply cant help themselves by not been being able to get through a whole news cycle before handing Democrats back the signature issue with which we just won the midterms by jumping back on the ACA repeal train.

More on just what all the end of the ACA would mean: 20 million more people would become uninsured, and a whole bunch of random things would go away like restaurant calorie labeling and workplace lactation room mandates. The whole FDA biosimilar drug program goes away. It’s just an utterly inconceivable litigation position for the administration to take that this all has to be abolished.

Dems will be announcing “ACA 2.0” today as well, a package of measures to improve and expand the ACA immediately as everyone debates more expansive health care reform efforts.
posted by zachlipton at 7:03 AM on March 26, 2019 [17 favorites]


WaPo, quoted by petebest: It was unclear if Brooks grasped that by leveling charges of the “big lie,” he had inverted his own analogy, making Democrats the equivalent of interwar German and Austrian Jews. He set out to compare the other side to fascists, but he was the one employing a fascist smear — one that, ironically, came to define Nazi propaganda.

Hmmm. I'll be honest; I never knew that "Big Lie" was something Nazis accused Jews of doing. I've always heard people use it as an example of something the Nazis did, and variously heard it attributed to either Hitler or Mussolini as a kind of Machivellian insight they had about power, that if you (which is to say, "if we fascists") tell a lie big enough people will swallow at least some of it. By extension, I often saw people say "Trump is employing a Big Lie now" or whatever. I think that various cultural forces (namely the accurate re-casting of Nazis as deceptive villains) have spread the term well beyond its original context; I don't think I ever used it but I'll be sure to not do so in the future.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:04 AM on March 26, 2019 [6 favorites]


In shift, Trump administration backs judge’s ruling that would kill Obamacare
The Trump administration on Monday said it supports a federal judge's ruling that the entire Affordable Care Act should be thrown out, signaling a shift in the Justice Department's position...
posted by clawsoon at 7:04 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]


McConnell Uses Mueller Report To Place Blame On Obama (Caitlin MacNeal, TPM)
On Congress’ first day back in Washington, D.C., since Attorney General Bill Barr released his summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell swiftly used the four-page letter to criticize former President Obama.

McConnell argued that the report shows that Obama was unprepared to address Russian election meddling efforts, but the majority leader conveniently ignored his [own] reported attempts to water down the Obama White House’s attempts to call out the Russia interference efforts ahead of the 2016 election.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:12 AM on March 26, 2019 [23 favorites]


Green New Deal Vote Sets Up Climate Change As Key 2020 Issue (Susan Davis, NPR)
Senate Republicans will force a vote on the Green New Deal this week as part of an ongoing effort to turn the provocative climate change resolution into a wedge issue in the 2020 elections. Democrats say the GOP gambit carries its own political risk of mocking an issue that is a priority for a growing number of Americans.

"I think it's a real stupid political move for them to show how cavalier they are about climate change by playing games with the Green New Deal," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., "If they don't like the Green New Deal, fine, put up your own idea. It smells so disingenuous, especially to young voters. I think it's a really dumb move for them to mess around with this."

All 53 Republicans oppose the Green New Deal. All 47 Democrats (including the 2 independent senators) plan to vote "present" as part of a strategy led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Vote supposedly scheduled for today.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:22 AM on March 26, 2019 [10 favorites]


In shift, Trump administration backs judge’s ruling that would kill Obamacare

A ruling, to be clear, which was totally batshit that used the Republicans' half-gutting of the mandate to, somehow, invalidate the whole thing:

1) the mandate was legal because it was a tax
2) Congress acts to zero out the penalty, but keep the mandate for procedural reasons
3) It's not a tax now because it's zero, so the mandate is unconstitutional
4) The mandate is not severable from the rest of the law
5) ergo the entire ACA is unconstitutional

despite 2) being pretty rock solid evidence that Congress decided it really was severable, even if the Congress that passed the law in the first place thought it wasn't.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:36 AM on March 26, 2019 [10 favorites]


I did some reading on Barr after learning he was involved in the pardoning of Iran Contra criminals and found another scandal he was privy to: the BNL scandal, which involved an Italian bank giving Iraq a $4.5 billion loan. Democrats believed the Bush 1 admin was covering up the scandal, as Barr had appointed a judge to investigate his DoJ and the FBI’s handling of the case.

WaPo Oct 14, 1992:
House Banking Committee Chairman Henry B. Gonzalez (D-Tex.), who, with aides has been investigating the administration's handling of the BNL scandal for several years, separately reiterated his call last spring for Barr to appoint an independent counsel. In a letter to Barr provided to reporters, Gonzalez also said the attorney general should resign for what he claimed were "repeated, clear failures and obstruction" by the department in the BNL case.
Mueller was Assistant Attorney General at the time and was under scrutiny as well. He recused himself, however.
posted by gucci mane at 7:44 AM on March 26, 2019 [21 favorites]


I bought a domain name some time ago thinking it would be an interesting project to put out short narritives, potentially with sources (say, a personal info redacted hospital bill) to hilight things we'd lose if the ACA was repealed. Examples of preexisting condition situations, someone getting to stay on their parents' insurance, hospital chargemaster transparency, etc. It seemed like the moment passed after the last repeal failure but I guess might still be worth resuscitating.

If that strikes any of you as a worthwhile thing to be involved with feel free to memail me. I don't want to say the domain name here where some counter-looker might track me down later to harass me but I'm happy to tell you privately.
posted by phearlez at 8:02 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]


In other cheery news: Stephen Moore could inflict more long-term damage than any of Trump’s other nominations (Catherine Rampell, WaPo)
President Trump has made a lot of ill-advised nominations. But perhaps no single choice could inflict more long-term damage than the one he announced Friday: Stephen Moore, Trump’s pick to join the Federal Reserve Board.

Moore’s many economic claims over the years have revealed him to be, shall we say, easily confused.

A decade ago, as the Fed was battling deflation (that is, price declines ) during the financial crisis, Moore preposterously fearmongered that hyperinflation (that is, out-of-control price increases ) was nigh: Americans could soon be carting “wheelbarrows full” of cash a la Weimar Germany. Moore has also repeatedly predicted that tax cuts would pay for themselves — both at the federal level, and in Kansas — despite all evidence to the contrary.

It’s not only his forecasts for the future that have proved chronically incorrect; it’s his characterizations of past and present, too.

A newspaper banned him from its pages because of his struggles in getting basic statistics right. During the dozens of times I’ve debated him on TV, he has persistently misstated easily Google-able facts. These include whether the country is experiencing deflation, whether Canada’s tariffs are “twice as high as” ours, and whether the Fed predicted that Trump would crash the stock market. (Nope, nope, and huh ? )

Now, somehow, Moore has been nominated to the Fed. To understand why this is concerning, consider a brief primer of what the Fed does.
Also:

Aléx Young:
I really hope this video of Stephen Moore getting absolutely destroyed by @crampell doesn't get retweeted and seen by the rest of the internet, because it would be very embarrassing for him.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:04 AM on March 26, 2019 [43 favorites]


President Trump has made a lot of ill-advised nominations.

They are only ill-advised if your goal is to sustain these institutions and have them operate effectively. They are well advised if your goal is to hinder and destroy them.
posted by diogenes at 8:13 AM on March 26, 2019 [16 favorites]


I suspect that the whole "getting destroyed" video thing doesn't work on right-wingers because being considered malicious and/or incompetent by TEH LIBS isn't going to be considered a threat to their hold on power or even an insult. If anything it's another display of their contempt for civil society; sure, you *COULD* take years to learn things, gain expertise and rise through the ranks of your profession on merit...or, you could just get promoted to the top of your field by an old frat buddy or someone more powerful than you are who needs a toady.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:17 AM on March 26, 2019 [12 favorites]


I suspect that the whole "getting destroyed" video thing doesn't work on right-wingers because being considered malicious and/or incompetent by TEH LIBS isn't going to be considered a threat to their hold on power or even an insult.
Sadly, I think you are right. Also, per definition an elder white man cannot be "destroyed" by a younger woman. He is smarter than her, that's what God and tradition tells us, so it's true. Regardless of how stupid he looks.
posted by mumimor at 8:22 AM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


Stephen Moore could inflict more long-term damage than any of Trump’s other nominations

Bloomberg: Swift Pushback on Stephen Moore, Trump's Latest Pick for the Fed
“He does not have the intellectual gravitas for this important job,” Greg Mankiw, a Harvard professor who was chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, wrote in a blog post on Friday. “It is time for senators to do their job. Mr. Moore should not be confirmed.”[…]

“I’m kind of new to this game, frankly, so I’m going to be on a steep learning curve myself about how the Fed operates, how the Federal Reserve makes its decisions,” Moore, 59, said on BTV. “It’s hard for me to say even what my role will be there, assuming I get confirmed.”

He also tweeted on Friday, thanking Trump “for the opportunity to serve & for your zealous commitment to freeing the American economic engine from government overreach & oppressive taxation!”[…]

Moore, who has a master of arts in economics from George Mason University in Virginia, is better known for helping promote a fiscal agenda than he is for monetary-policy expertise. He co-wrote, with Laffer, a 2018 book on Trump’s economic strategy entitled “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.”
As always, the chief qualification for a position in this administration is flattering Trump.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:28 AM on March 26, 2019 [14 favorites]


I think having a willingness to go out in public and brazenly say anything, regardless of veracity or sanity, is a powerful secondary qualification for Trump. Shows up on tv and is white and male and never backs down or admits being incorrect? That's his image of "central casting" for people who should be in authority.
posted by phearlez at 8:31 AM on March 26, 2019 [16 favorites]


There are many things amenable to Trump's interference in the sense that it won't cause too much trouble for the wealthy. Appointing Stephen Moore to a position at the Fed is not one of those things.

In fact, it's so damningly stupid that I consider it quite likely to be another of Trump's decisions made at the behest of the Kremlin. There are only two possible outcomes. First, he fails to matter one iota because he doesn't understand how to manipulate the bureaucracy. The second is that confidence in the Fed's ability to manage the US' money supply leads to a flight from dollar denominated assets, quite possibly making some of the fear mongering about the debt finally come true. Turns out that when you intentionally destroy the institutions that enable the system to work, your dreams of catastrophe can come true! Never mind that none of it would have happened without the constant attacks the right wingers and the Nazis have been perpetrating on our government.

If intentionally kneecapping your own country isn't treason, what exactly is?
posted by wierdo at 8:56 AM on March 26, 2019 [22 favorites]


Are you surprised by the Mueller report? We ask 3 legal experts. (Politico)
Randall Samborn was the spokesman for the special counsel investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame’s identity and the resulting prosecution of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. He’s a former assistant U.S. attorney and public information officer in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. [...]

Are you surprised? [...] Yes, on two points. I did not expect that Mueller would punt the question of obstruction to Congress, although I understand it makes sense if we assume that he was never going to make a decision to indict the president.

I think Attorney General Barr inserted a plot twist yesterday by superimposing his own judgment about obstruction in the absence of any special counsel regulation or authority calling for him to make that judgment.
Emphasis added.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:03 AM on March 26, 2019 [28 favorites]


In fact, it's so damningly stupid that I consider it quite likely to be another of Trump's decisions made at the behest of the Kremlin.

You seriously underestimate his stupidity. Though it is not quite exactly stupidity, it is more like hubris that he believes he has all the right answers and is not only the smartest guy in the room, but in the country. Hanlon's Razor at work.

I think the scariest thing isn't that russia manipulated an election, or that they control Trump, it is that probably they didn't do terribly well, and they don't, but instead he really is who america wants, and he really is that bad.
posted by Bovine Love at 9:05 AM on March 26, 2019 [17 favorites]


‘Let’s just get the goods’: Pelosi rallies dejected Dems post-Mueller (Politico)
“The president was not exonerated,” Pelosi told Democrats, referring to Trump’s claim on Sunday that Mueller’s report amounted to a “total exoneration.” [...] She also projected optimism, telling lawmakers: “Some people are viewing it as the glass half empty. I think it is half full.” [...]

“We have not seen the report. We’ve only gotten a summary that was created by a man who was appointed by the president, who clearly said before his appointment that he didn’t believe a sitting president could be charged, if you will, with obstruction of justice,” said Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:13 AM on March 26, 2019 [21 favorites]


Are you surprised? [...] Yes, on two points ... I think Attorney General Barr inserted a plot twist yesterday by superimposing his own judgment about obstruction in the absence of any special counsel regulation or authority calling for him to make that judgment.

Cripes. How can so-called intelligent legal pundits be surprised at this? Barr literally wrote a 19-page memo outlining these very same obstruction arguments months ago in his job application to Trump.
posted by JackFlash at 9:21 AM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


Rick Steves has a comment
There was a longform Rick Steves feature in the NYTimes in the weekend, which is why I looked at his youtube channel. It has good points, and dwells a bit on that Mussolini posture Trump loves so much.
I think that because I live in a safe Social Democratic country, I underestimate the economic catastrophe which is happening in some places because of the kleptocracy. Even here things are bad, but no one is starving. And that type of catastrophe can both lead to communism and fascism.
posted by mumimor at 9:25 AM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


The correct response to “are you surprised by the Mueller report” is “I haven’t seen the Mueller report, and neither have you”.

At least that’s the case for any pundit. And the vast majority of American citizens.
posted by nat at 9:30 AM on March 26, 2019 [70 favorites]


I've been trying to figure out why the (purported) finding of no collusion doesn't upset me that much. I think it's because the idea of the Trump campaign colluding with the Russian operation was never the worst or scariest part the 2016 debacle for me. Russia is good at espionage; Trump and his campaign members clearly are not. Does anyone think Trump's assistance would make the Russian operation *more likely* to succeed? The fact of Russian interference in the election is scary, and was harmful. The idea of a president bought and paid for by the Russians (as opposed to only bought and paid for by corporations, per usual) is even scarier.

Pursuing a case of collusion during the election had the advantages of (1) being maybe easier to prove than Trump serving Russia's interests after he took office and (2) more clearly treasonous than obstruction. But the collusion itself wasn't the really dangerous part--the dangerous part is the return Putin is getting on his investment.
posted by mabelstreet at 9:34 AM on March 26, 2019 [11 favorites]


NYMag: Recession Worries Move to DEFCON 3—Are bond markets signaling a flagging economy or just reflecting Trump’s Fed battles?
Is it possible President Trump has caused the yield curve to invert simply by engaging in a public pressure campaign toward the Fed?

“That’s an interesting hypothesis,” said Tim Duy, an economics professor at the University of Oregon who writes the Fed Watch blog. “I suspect the answer might be yes.”[…]

But a more modest level of political interference — where the president’s jawboning might be expected to cause the Fed to set rates a quarter- or a half-point lower than it otherwise would — might push down market expectations about long-run interest rates without spiking inflation fears, causing a yield-curve inversion, Duy said.

Still, my hypothesis is not Duy’s primary hypothesis.

He sees the recent changes in long-term interest rates as being driven mostly by economic fundamentals, not political pressure. The Fed has twice cut its forecast for economic growth — still expecting positive growth, but closer to 2 percent than 3 percent — and it has gotten less worried about the prospect of higher inflation. Both of these shifts in expectations mean the bank has substantive economic reasons to set interest rates lower in the future than it otherwise would have, whatever the president’s mood and preferences. Markets have digested the bank’s shift in outlook and long rates have fallen accordingly.

That’s the more normal inverted-yield-curve story: The curve inverts because the economic outlook is starting to look weaker. But “weaker” doesn’t necessarily mean a recession.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to bungle trade and the economy.

CNBC: Trump Tariffs Costing Us Consumers $1.4 Billion Per Month, Study Shows
A new study [by Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton and Columbia universities] finds the Trump administration’s trade policies and tariffs reduced U.S. income at a rate of $1.4 billion per month by November.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton and Columbia conservatively estimate that U.S. tariffs cost American consumers at least $6.9 billion last year.

“Tariffs were almost completely passed through into U.S. domestic prices, so that the entire incidence of the tariffs fell on domestic consumers,” the paper finds.
Bloomberg: Trump Tariffs Vex Investors. Here’s What Anxiety Looks Like.—Stock-market turbulence betrays doubt about the prospects for corporate America. "If there is any certainty in the Trump trade imbroglio, few U.S. companies are bringing their production back home. […] For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression, Mexico is poised to overtake the U.S. in growth during the next three years, according to 32 economists surveyed by Bloomberg."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:41 AM on March 26, 2019 [22 favorites]


Teegeeack AV Club Secretary, I agree, and was loose with the statement. I often like to point out to the gloom and doom crowd that Obama, a black intellectual with Hussein as his middle name, actually won the popular vote.

But none the less, way too much of America wants Trump. That is far more alarming than Russians, IMO.
posted by Bovine Love at 9:59 AM on March 26, 2019 [16 favorites]


WH Pushes For Obama Probes: Those Who Want To Move On ‘Got This Party Started’ (Nicole LaFond, TPM)
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway joined Sen. Lindsey Graham in his calls for an investigation into the FBI’s handling of the infamous dossier, but took it one step further by pushing for a probe into the Obama administration’s handling of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
So very disingenuous.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:37 AM on March 26, 2019 [8 favorites]


"The Russians" are not the same thing as "The Russian Mob". They can be the same thing but are also separate. We need to not be in the Cold War mindset because the USSR doesn't exist, but Oligarchworld does.

it's fairly relevant
posted by petebest at 10:40 AM on March 26, 2019 [6 favorites]


I'm not very familiar with Matt Tait, but he's followed by a bunch of people I respect, so I'm assuming he's worth listening to. He said this today:

The entire second half of his report is an impeachment recommendation. It will not say so in as many words because he is not allowed to say it explicitly, but that is what it is *for*.

He goes on to say:

what the "SCO considers as difficult areas of law" doesn't read to me as what a prosecutor would say if he thought the facts suggested no obstruction. It's a "there was factually obstruction, but the law here is complicated, and the right forum for this is Congress"

If he's right, I don't see how we can proceed without impeachment, regardless of how the Senate is likely to vote on conviction.
posted by diogenes at 10:41 AM on March 26, 2019 [19 favorites]


"The Russians" are not the same thing as "The Russian Mob". They can be the same thing but are also separate. We need to not be in the Cold War mindset because the USSR doesn't exist, but Oligarchworld does.

Um... in both cases we're talking about the Russians that impact us, not random farmers or whatever.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:12 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]


The unofficial Metafilter Slack has added the #coping channel, for one more option for how to get a handle on all this shit.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:16 AM on March 26, 2019 [8 favorites]


Politico gallery of Nancy Pelosi photos as she turns 79
posted by growabrain at 11:17 AM on March 26, 2019 [3 favorites]


What's up with that bootleg-looking Ernie?
posted by box at 11:22 AM on March 26, 2019 [4 favorites]


Kevin Drum: Let Us Now Praise Republicans (Sort Of)
As much as we despise this stuff, you have to hand it to Republicans. They never gave up on Benghazi. That led directly to Hillary’s emails, and they never gave up on that. It seemed hopeless, but they never gave up. And in the end, they won. They managed to get even a buffoon like Donald Trump elected president.

I’ve never really been someone who believed that one party was fundamentally rougher and tougher than the other. Progressives complain that Democrats let Republicans walk all over them, but it’s the same on the other side: conservatives complain endlessly that Republicans let Democrats walk all over them. Both sides believe the other party is more disciplined, more ruthless, and more strategic than theirs.

But it’s hard to really believe there’s any symmetry here when you read stuff like this. Sure, there are cutthroat operatives in both parties. But look at the big picture. We know almost nothing about the Mueller report except for the carefully curated excerpts provided by a partisan attorney general, but many Democrats are eager to give up anyway. Even though we almost literally know nothing. In the meantime, Republicans, based on nothing at all, are revving up yet another investigation of Hillary Clinton—who is now a private citizen and will never run for any public office again.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:27 AM on March 26, 2019 [55 favorites]



What's up with that bootleg-looking Ernie?


I assume this was when she visited some Eastern Bloc country and they welcomed her with a creepy knockoff muppet character. That's definitely not legit Henson/CTW.
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:28 AM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


WH Pushes For Obama Probes: Those Who Want To Move On ‘Got This Party Started’

PoliticsUSA*: Trump Is Now Demanding That Obama Be Investigated (w/video)
Trump went to Capitol Hill and suggested that Barack Obama was behind the Russia investigation and demanded an investigation of the former president.

Here was Trump’s exchange with reporters:

Q: You’ve accused the people who launched the investigation into your campaign of “treasonous” acts – how high up do you think it went.

Trump: “I think it went very high up. I think what happened is a disgrace. I don’t believe our country should allow this ever to happen again. This will never happen again. We can never let it ever happen again. It went very high up, and it started fairly low, but with instructions from the high up. This should never happen to a president again. We can’t allow that to take place.”

Do you think it reached the West Wing of the Obama White House?

Trump: “I don’t want to say that, but I think you know the answer.”
* Trump's astonishing assertion/insinuation is being covered mostly by the right-wing press—which loves it—and ignored by the mainstream media. If Barr starts investigating Trump's political opponents, which even Jeff Sessions resisted, that'll be another boxed ticked off on the autocrat's to-do list.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:29 AM on March 26, 2019 [33 favorites]


Mod note: Couple comments deleted; let's reel it back from future predictions about doom, hopelessness, the definitely-inevitable future actions of the villains, etc, and try to keep this thread for specific concrete updates on actual events.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:37 AM on March 26, 2019 [8 favorites]


If Barr starts investigating Trump's political opponents, which even Jeff Sessions resisted, that'll be another boxed ticked off on the autocrat's to-do list.

Only sort of, and then the DoJ plausibly perjured itself to cover up the documentation.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:41 AM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


It went very high up, and it started fairly low, but with instructions from the high up.

I'll withhold firm judgment until I see the Mueller report, but given that Trump's usual playbook is to immediately counter-attack by reflecting accusations back at his enemies, I think we've just seen the basic outline of what the Mueller report concludes.
posted by jedicus at 11:44 AM on March 26, 2019 [50 favorites]


not random farmers or whatever.

Right, but the mob and the government flow between each other easily in Russia, and it's not part of the US news-consumer mindset. Specifically, this is relevant to the context of whether Trump conspired "with Russia" to spike the 2016 election. There were definitely Russian government actors (i.e. Guccifer2.0 and FancyBear etc.) But Trumps orbit is bathed in a fine mist of Russian mob characters IRL who interact with the government characters all the time, or are them, depending. Deripaska, Rybolovlev, et. al.

In fact, at least 63 Russian elites and oligarchs have invested around $100 million into Trump-brand real estate in southern Florida, a Reuters investigation revealed. In the Florida resort town of Sunny Isles Beach, an area with the highest number of Russian-born residents in the U.S., the Trump brand has six residential towers.

"I don't have any deals in Russia" -Trump, Feb. 2017 (before it was very fine and very cool to do so)

No, we're not talking about farmers. But "didn't collude with Russia" is (aside from a blatant lie) is not the whole story about the conspiring, which at some point we want to get. If Mueller says the State Department of Russia didn't hand-deliver emails to Ivanka at a photo-op (and who would be surprised if they did) it's still collusion if the GRU funnels counterintelligence to your campaign via Big Schwifty the Russian Magnesium Magnate. Say that reminds me WHERE'S THE WHOLE REPORT.
posted by petebest at 11:44 AM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


Members of Congress are calling on Robert Mueller to publicly testify on his findings. He’s reportedly more than willing to do so. A formal request for him to testify could be sent as early as this week
posted by growabrain at 11:49 AM on March 26, 2019 [30 favorites]


We are going to see them pull levers of authoritarianism we've been warned about but haven't seen in action yet.

The BBC has been broadcasting Revolution in Ruins: The Hugo Chavez Story, which kind of seems written to allude to as many parallels to Trump as possible, from a beauty pageant connection to the manipulation of the media to steadfast ignorance of all details of governing. Though it's probably pareidolia on my part since Chavez seems to have been easily competent enough to direct his own state TV show, plus I don't think we'll see agribusiness broken up into agricultural co-ops. Hopefully this link still works.
posted by XMLicious at 11:58 AM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


Members of Congress are calling on Robert Mueller to publicly testify on his findings. He’s reportedly more than willing to do so.

This is a completely unsourced rumor about Mueller's intentions from #Resistance grifter Scott Dworkin (see Cash for Coalition Against Trump Going Into Consultants’ Pockets Instead—Daily Beast; Meet the Anti-Trump Scam PAC Getting Rich Off the Resistance>—Splinternews; FEC filing). His M.O. is tweeting anonymous gossip primed to boost anti-Trump morale while soliciting donations for his do-nothing PAC. which pays him handsomely. During the entire Mueller investigation, he made wild claims just short of Louise Mensch's, regurgitated news other people broke without giving them attribution, and pulled media stunts like reporting Roger Stone to the FBI for cyberterrorism. He should emphatically not be used as a primary source for news, "BREAKING" or otherwise.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:10 PM on March 26, 2019 [45 favorites]


Marcy Wheeler makes a good point that this rather importance sentence is actually a sentence fragment:

[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

Really Barr? You couldn't give us Mueller's full sentence there? I'm sure it wasn't because the preceding words weren't as beneficial to Trump...

Interestingly, most publications printed the line as though it was a complete sentence.
posted by diogenes at 12:21 PM on March 26, 2019 [26 favorites]


Do you all notice how palpably eager Trump and the Democratic establishment and the media seem to be to move on to other topics?

I-1 tweet, 10 AM: The Republican Party will become “The Party of Healthcare!”

No, really. That's what he tweeted while his Justice department asked to strike down all of Obamacare. Again.

And meanwhile the Washington Post:
House Democratic leaders urge focus on health care in wake of Mueller findings - Many Democrats appeared eager to pivot to other matters, even as some members said they need to do more to hold President Trump accountable.
There's this desperate urgency to close the chapter on the Mueller report and move on to other stuff, eliding the fact that we haven't even seen the report yet. It's an impressive bit of sleight of hand.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:31 PM on March 26, 2019 [21 favorites]


For those confused by the presence of a subject and a predicate, indicating a complete sentence, it is a fragment because the [T] indicates there was more there.
posted by M-x shell at 12:32 PM on March 26, 2019 [26 favorites]


Metafliter: For those confused by the presence of a subject and a predicate.

This is all very confusing but I think patience until we can actually read the report is best. One thing I’ve noticed is I’m finding a lot more cool people to follow on Twitter as I desperately search for more information on why I shouldn’t be panicky!
posted by Drumhellz at 12:35 PM on March 26, 2019 [8 favorites]


Hey remember that request above/last thread/over and over again about not going way down the despair/doomsayer path here and taking it to the fuckity-whatever post du jour? That's still a thing I think. Hope. Please?
posted by phearlez at 12:55 PM on March 26, 2019 [8 favorites]


Israeli PM Netanyahu jokes about corruption during White House event with Trump (Aaron Rupar | Vox)

The joke is on us.
Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump’s new handpicked attorney general announced he would not prosecute him for obstruction of justice, the president participated in a White House event with another head of state who knows a thing or two about legal problems: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, who currently faces multiple charges of bribery and corruption.

In a remarkable moment at the end of the event, Netanyahu made a punchline out of the very thing that has landed him in deep trouble at home and that has Trump under scrutiny from House Democrats.

“Mr. President, I have to tell you that I brought you a case of the finest wine from Golan. I understand you’re not a great wine drinker, but could I give it to your staff? I hope they don’t open an investigation on us!” Netanyahu joked, as Trump smiled and other administration officials chuckled.
It’s all a joke to these folks.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:59 PM on March 26, 2019 [39 favorites]


Mod note: A few comments deleted, friendly reminder about the venting and fears thread and the jokes, riffing, creative artistic responses thread in Metatalk for all your those kind of needs.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:07 PM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


Julian Zelizer:
This week is starting to remind me of the 2000 presidential election. This is what I was thinking.
  1. Republicans declare victory before the results are actually in.
  2. Republicans count on the national media to quickly repeat their conclusion. Pack journalism gets to work. [election video]
  3. When serious concerns emerge about the results, Republicans stand by the initial declaration of victory.
  4. Meanwhile, charge that Democrats are being “sore losers” by asking legitimate questions about what is going on.
  5. The GOP then tries to force an ending to the controversy by running out the clock.
After the Supreme Court stops the Florida recount in December 2000, Republicans act like there is a clear mandate and national consensus about the results. Never look back. Kevin Kruse and I write about the history of the election in #FaultLines. Does this all bring back some memories?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:15 PM on March 26, 2019 [81 favorites]


The White House will get the Mueller report before the public does in case it wants to make redactions, Barr says [business insider]
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that Attorney General William Barr told him he will send the special counsel Robert Mueller's final report on the Russia investigation to the White House before the public sees it, in case they want to make executive privilege claims over any parts of it.

Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, also said Barr told him it will likely take "weeks, not months" to get a version of Mueller's final report out to the public.
On the bright side, that does marginally increase the chance that it will get released in whole via leaks, or because the person redacting it does so with a sharpie on the computer monitor.
posted by Buntix at 1:22 PM on March 26, 2019 [39 favorites]


Mueller report details to be issued in 'weeks, not months': Justice Department (Reuters)
U.S. Attorney General William Barr plans to issue a public version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election within “weeks, not months,” a Justice Department official said on Tuesday. [...]

He relayed his plans to release a public version of the report in the coming weeks to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham during a phone call this week, the official said.

The official said there is no plan to share an advanced copy of the report with the White House.
posted by Little Dawn at 2:18 PM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


Wait, I don't understand - is the White House getting an advance preview, or not?

Reuters, Little Dawn's comment: "The official said there is no plan to share an advanced copy of the report with the White House."

Business Insider, Buntix's comment directly before that: Graham says "Barr told him he will send the special counsel Robert Mueller's final report on the Russia investigation to the White House before the public sees it, in case they want to make executive privilege claims."

Are these two different trial balloons? Is there some delicate parsing of "no plan" or "public" involved? Or is this just left hand - right hand communication gap?
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:35 PM on March 26, 2019 [18 favorites]


The GOP then tries to force an ending to the controversy by running out the clock.

After the Supreme Court stops the Florida recount in December 2000, Republicans act like there is a clear mandate and national consensus about the results.


You are leaving out the critical part in between where the GOP threatened a campaign of lawless violence and staged the Brooks Brothers riot. There is a reason right wingers always go on about false flag operations. It's because the GOP themselves ran an extremely successful one.
posted by srboisvert at 2:43 PM on March 26, 2019 [25 favorites]


Nah he just wants the Senate to convene some bullshit panel and force Obama to testify. After that he won’t give a shit.
posted by um at 3:50 PM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


The World Famous: this is the guy who thinks that "try, once more, to repeal the ACA" will be So Much Winning instead of playing into the hands of the Democrats - who won the 2018 midterms on the strength of health care (among other issues, but health care was one of the biggest). "Repeal the ACA" may be a winner with donors but it seems to be a loser with voters.

These are not very bright guys, etc.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:53 PM on March 26, 2019 [6 favorites]


Ex-Trump campaign aide says FBI wanted him to wear a wire (KWCH12)
A former Trump campaign aide central to the early days of the FBI's Russia investigation said the FBI wanted him to wear a wire to record conversations with a professor who had told him the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

George Papadopoulos, the first of five Trump aides to plead guilty and agree to cooperate in special counsel Robert Mueller's recently-concluded investigation, told House lawmakers and staff in a closed-door interview last October that he rejected the FBI request.

A transcript of that interview was released Tuesday by the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee as part of an ongoing effort to sow doubt about the origins of the FBI's investigation into possible coordination between Russia and President Donald Trump's campaign. [...] The Papadopoulos transcript is the latest release over the last month from Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
Judiciary Committee seeks obstruction of justice probe records from DOJ (Politico)
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation demanding more details from the Justice Department on the obstruction of justice investigation into President Donald Trump. The straightforward result belied an odd partisan dance that led a Democratic panel to embrace a GOP proposal on one of the most divisive issues in Washington.

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, introduced the measure last week — before it was known that special counsel Robert Mueller would be finalizing his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. [...]

Democrats have argued the GOP inquiries were really efforts to undermine the investigations into Trump. But following Mueller’s report they sensed a moment to embrace the GOP call for information as part of their broader call for more details from the Justice Department.

“I would not have been supportive of the underlying resolution had the Mueller report not come to a resolution,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)

In fact, the rare kumbaya moment for the committee followed a staff-level discussion late last week in which Democrats revealed they'd be backing the Collins measure.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:10 PM on March 26, 2019 [4 favorites]




FBI releases documents on Trump Organization after years of resistance (Guardian)
Documents offering a glimpse of attention paid to Donald Trump’s real estate company by the FBI over the past four decades were published by the bureau on Tuesday, following years of resistance.

A pair of subpoenas for testimony to a federal grand jury in Manhattan, which were accepted by attorneys who worked for the Trump Organization, were among the files released under freedom of information (Foia) laws.

But the name of the people called as witnesses and the federal crimes alleged to have been broken in the November 1985 case were redacted, along with hundreds of other details across 149 pages that were published following requests by reporters.

Also among the released files was an FBI report on a threat made against the life of a New York City official who was refusing to give Trump a tax break. Trump denied any involvement in the threat and later gave the official a job. [...]

The files were released by the FBI following the conclusion of legal action to dislodge them brought by the Foia specialists Jason Leopold of BuzzFeed News and Ryan Shapiro of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:43 PM on March 26, 2019 [15 favorites]


Bloomberg, Trump Tried to Undo North Korea Penalty, Contrary to U.S. Account
President Donald Trump last week intended to reverse sanctions imposed on two Chinese shipping companies accused of violating North Korea trade prohibitions -- until officials in his administration persuaded him to back off and then devised a misleading explanation of his vague tweet announcing the move.

Trump stunned current and former government officials Friday afternoon with a tweet saying he had “ordered the withdrawal” of “additional large scale sanctions” against North Korea. For hours, officials at the White House and Treasury and State departments wouldn’t explain what he meant.

The president in fact intended to remove penalties Treasury had announced the day before against two Chinese shipping companies that had helped Pyongyang evade U.S. sanctions, according to five people familiar with the matter. Trump hadn’t signed off on the specific measures before they were announced but had given Treasury discretion to decide some sanctions as it saw fit, according to one person familiar with the matter.

Later Friday, in the wake of Trump’s tweet, the administration sought to explain away the move with a statement -- initially requesting no attribution to anyone -- that said the penalties against the Chinese companies hadn’t been reversed but the U.S. wouldn’t pursue additional sanctions against North Korea. There were no additional North Korea sanctions in the works at the time, according to two people familiar with the matter.
So they lied.
posted by zachlipton at 5:03 PM on March 26, 2019 [20 favorites]


transcript of papadopoulos interview before october 25, 2018 joint session of house committees on the judiciary and on government reform and oversight, 239 pp, released by doug collins of georgia's ninth district. as yet unread by yours truly.
posted by 20 year lurk at 5:23 PM on March 26, 2019 [4 favorites]


The main takeaway of the Papadopoulos interview is that he relies as much on the narrative supplied by Chuck Ross and others on the frothy right as he does his own experience. Lots and lots of hearsay there.
posted by holgate at 5:48 PM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


[The Hill] Ocasio-Cortez to followers: If Mike Lee can be a senator, you can do anything

In which Senator Lee rebuffs the Green New Deal as "unserious" and makes the totally-serious argument—on the floor of the Senate—that all we need to do is "to fall in love, get married, and have some kids" instead. [video, via Twitter]
posted by Rykey at 5:57 PM on March 26, 2019 [14 favorites]


The entire Republican establishment has shown its ass, can only be taken seriously as a joke. It's been so since at least Goldwater but the figleaf of a figleaf now is obliterated. Only really satire like this in The Onion can in any way seriously begin to address the upside-down narrative with which Republicans and their bought-and-paid-for media (hello NYT, WaPo and the rest) bullshit and gaslight us. Hanging around waiting for the press to save us, at this late date, is futile at best. They will contort themselves to print whatever justifies their own profits, which to their oligarchic understanding has nothing to do with the truth, decency, the health of the nation, nor fairness.
posted by riverlife at 6:29 PM on March 26, 2019 [9 favorites]


I can't even piece together how Mike Lee's speech is anything but a nonsequiter. I seriously want some Democrat to just repeat it, complete with that picture of babies, at the next discussion of a Republican proposal to deregulate banking or whatever. "Senator Lee declares that taxes on the wealthy are too high, but you know what? The solution to so many of our problems, at all times and in all places, is to fall in love, get married, and have some kids."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:37 PM on March 26, 2019 [46 favorites]


An aside: who is the arbiter of executive privilege claims? Is there one, or is it simply "make a claim/get a redaction"?
posted by j_curiouser at 6:44 PM on March 26, 2019 [4 favorites]


From the Papadopoulos transcript:
[at 9] my thought process going into the Trump campaign was, there's one country that the candidate wanted to work closely with, and that's Russia. So I said to myself, Okay, if he wants to work with Russia, how am I going to stand out as much as possible? Let's try and do something. And then obviously, things happened the way they did, and I'm here to clarify, many, many things.

[at 14] And I'm attending a conference there at this Italian university, which I now have researched, and it seems to be some sort of western intelligence spying training center, where they had opposition members of the Libyan Government at the time at some conference with Italian officials and Joseph Mifsud was there. And I was introduced to Joseph Mifsud at Link Campus, and he took a liking to me, immediately once he knew that I would be working on the Trump campaign.

[at 16] And, you know, I guess I took the bait because, you know, usually somebody who -- at least in Washington, when somebody portrays themselves in a specific way and has credentials to back it, you believe them. But that's how he portrayed himself. And then I can't remember exactly the next thing that happened until he decided to introduce me to Putin's fake niece in London, which we later found out is some sort of student.

[at 17 - 18] He invites me to the Holborn Hotel in London. It's a beautiful five-star hotel, where there's this young lady with him. And, you know, I -- she doesn't really speak good English, you know, she was there just kind of talking about how nice it would be for Russia to work with Trump, or Trump to work with Russia, you know, but keeping things quite general. That's my understanding and my memory of this person. She really didn't leave that big of an impression on me, except that she was very beautiful.

But besides that, then after we leave that meeting, I think he starts emailing me, and he tells me she wants to be in touch with you. This, apparently, the same person who barely spoke English at this meeting. Then all of a sudden, I'm talking to who I think is the same person, but she's writing in more fluent English. Her grammar is excellent. And now she goes from a seemingly obscure girl who, you know, I thought might have been, you know, Putin's niece, to now the interlocutor with Mifsud to the Russian Government for me.

[at 24] Q Besides just the language difference, did her proficiency in any topics you have discussed seem to increase or decrease when you started communicating via email? A That's my memory of that, is that during the face-to-face meeting, she was doing a lot of smiling, a lot, you know, and then all of a sudden, she becomes this middle woman to the Russian Government and she knows everything about sanctions. It was just bizarre.

[at 28] And all I can say is that I believe the day I was, my name was publicly released and Papadopoulos became this person that everyone now knows, Mifsud gave an interview to an Italian newspaper. And in this newspaper, he basically said, I'm not a Russian agent. I'm a Clinton supporter. I'm a Clinton Foundation donor, and that -- something along those lines. I mean, don't quote me exactly, you could look up the article yourself. It is in La Republica. And then all of a sudden, after that, he disappears off the face of the planet, which I always found as odd.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:53 PM on March 26, 2019 [11 favorites]


An aside: who is the arbiter of executive privilege claims? Is there one, or is it simply "make a claim/get a redaction"?

Kavanaugh.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:07 PM on March 26, 2019 [11 favorites]


imma not live narrate this, but, having read through the majority's first hour, holgate nailed it. george p does not inspire credulity, but tends to ... expire, i guess, or frustrate it: he does not satisfy the conditions for the coalescence of credulity. do not think he or his testimony are gonna merit my 239-pages of attention, but i am curious to see the democratic representatives' questioning and his deportment under it. also am vaguely, fantasy-spycraftly, interested in the mifsud theme, and gp has just offered hearsay concerning his associate's report of fbi interviewers displaying photos of george and [mifsud? downer? the associate whose hearsay this is? -- a little confused circa p 48] together in a casino. i bet counsel for the minority will clear it up right away though.
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:47 PM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


For sale, ‘IT’S MUELLER TIME’ sweatshirt, lightly used (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
I’m doing great! Why would you ask if I was doing okay? It is not like I had started a pile of Things To Start Dealing With After Mueller Comes. I certainly had not started to sell my earthly possessions, arrange cat care, and make plans around the Release of the Report, or to refer to time as ante-Mueller (A.M.) and post-Mueller (P.M.), which would not only have been disappointing but extremely confusing to everyone I tried to make plans with. I certainly did not think I would receive an apology in person, or even in writing, from anyone who had ever questioned my assertion that the Trump Tower meeting was the key to everything. (Did I think there would be a bigger payoff to the 60 hours of my life I devoted to studying the Trump Tower meeting and Rob Goldstone? Possibly. But learning about Rob Goldstone was its own reward.)

It was not that this was an apocalyptic event to which I had pinned all my hopes, after which I thought things would be different. This was not the Muellerite Great Disappointment. Did I think a swift investigative end to the Trump presidency would save me from having to reckon with all the forms of ugliness revealed in 2016? Is it still emotionally taxing for me to hear “Fight Song”? Is this the most disappointed I’ve felt about something I have not read or seen since “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”? Is it the first time I’ve tried to sell apparel since I had to get rid of my “Surely Iran-Contra Will End the Reagan Presidency” hoodie? Am I just asking questions for days, weeks, months that apparently lead NOWHERE and are, I guess, RHETORICAL ONLY and will lead to no indictments?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:22 PM on March 26, 2019 [26 favorites]


Does anyone care that while Trump attacks the people who started the Special Counsel Investigation as criminal and treasonous, he is nonetheless still voluntarily employing the person who started the Special Counsel Investigation, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein? No? Alrighty then.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:37 PM on March 26, 2019 [20 favorites]


So, this is what a White House Press Secretary does:
@PressSec
Mueller Madness! Which of the angry and hysterical @realDonaldTrump haters got it most embarrassingly wrong? #YouDecide
[image of playoff chart with journalists' pictures and allegdly amusing captions]
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:42 PM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]


Cooked Media's Brian Beutler points out another suspicious detail about Barr's suppression of the Mueller report:
This says Barr isn't even going to send a redacted version of the full Mueller report. He's going to write a summary of the Mueller report, and send that instead. We don't even know how long the Mueller report is.
NYT: Mueller’s Investigation Erases a Line Drawn After Watergate

Beyond those bottom-line conclusions, Mr. Mueller’s full report has yet to be released, and it remained unclear if it ever would be. House Democrats have demanded that it be sent to them by next Tuesday, but the Justice Department outlined a longer schedule, saying that it will have its own summary ready to send to lawmakers within weeks, though not months.
George Conway, writing in the WaPo: George Conway: Trump Is Guilty — of Being Unfit For Office
[Mueller] plays by the rules, every step of the way. If his report doesn’t exonerate the president, there must be something pretty damning in it about him, even if it might not suffice to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. And in saying that the report “catalogu[ed] the President’s actions, many of which took place in public view,” Barr’s letter makes clear that the report also catalogues actions taken privately that shed light on possible obstruction, actions that the American people and Congress yet know nothing about.

At the same time, and equally remarkably, Mueller, according to Barr, said he “ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment” regarding obstruction. Reading that statement together with the no-exoneration statement, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that Mueller wrote his report to allow the American people and Congress to decide what to make of the facts. And that is what should — must — happen now.
The more the Trump officials refuse to release the full Mueller report, the more suspicious Americans should be about their efforts to characterize it as completely exonerating. And an overwhelming 84% of U.S. voters want to see the Mueller Report, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:40 AM on March 27, 2019 [19 favorites]


Fresh Air: Author Says New Zealand Massacre Points To A Global Resurgence Of 'Extremism'
Berger, who studies the online activity of extremists, notes that the New Zealand shooter praised President Trump as "as a symbol of renewed white identity" in a 74-page document he published before the massacre. That mention, Berger says, aligns with a trend he found when he studied the hashtags and language used by alt-right Twitter users.

"When we do the social media analysis, it comes shouting out at you," he says. "We can count the links that they put out on Twitter and other social media platforms, and what we find is the most common is '#MAGA.' The most common description of somebody that they use in the profile, they use on Twitter, is 'Trump supporter.'"

[...]

"So what we've seen is because Trump is a huge magnet for news attention, for media attention, he's a really useful figure to give all these diverse movements something to coalesce around. White nationalism and the far-right in general is very factional. Everybody has their own little group. The groups don't get along. They don't believe the same things. There's often a lot of infighting and they sometimes kill each other. What they have now is kind of a common theme, a common cause that they can work into their dialogue, and make it more palatable to people. It helps bring out the attitudes that are friendly to what they want, and really, support for him has become a crystallizing factor."

[...]

"At the time I found [the 2011 Utøya massacre in Norway] not only appalling but alarming, not just for white nationalists but really for extremists of all kinds because it really set a precedent that said that one person can carry out a spectacular terrorist attack: a terrorist attack that is highly lethal and very impactful without resources and for all extremists who look at that, methodologically, he's very influential. And then what we've also seen is that he's ideologically influential, so the writings that he left frame his actions as meaningful."
...and imitation and influence of the Utøya killer has been evident in subsequent mass shootings.

A bit more than two weeks before Christchurch, J.M. Berger wrote an article in The AtlanticThe Dangerous Spread of Extremist Manifestos: By sharing the writings of terrorists, media outlets can amplify their impact.” and in October “Trump Is the Glue That Binds the Far Right: An analysis of 30,000 Twitter accounts provides a map of online extremists—and reveals that support for Trump is what holds them together.”
posted by XMLicious at 3:16 AM on March 27, 2019 [20 favorites]


The Trump administration wants to undo an Obama-era regulation designed to make a wide array of specialty lightbulbs more energy efficient.

"Remember, new "environment friendly" lightbulbs can cause cancer. Be careful-- the idiots who came up with this stuff don't care."


This is unsurprising, since incandescent lightbulbs, in the stupidest timeline, were already a right-wing shibboleth
posted by thelonius at 4:39 AM on March 27, 2019 [8 favorites]


From Al Jazeera English: “How to Sell a Massacre” (content warning: footage of mass shootings, ~50min video, alt link, text article—part 2 video not available yet?)
Al Jazeera’s three-year investigation into the US’s gun lobby uncovers how officials from a far-right Australian political party sought millions of dollars in political funding, while offering to soften the Pacific country’s strict anti-gun laws.

Using hidden cameras, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit tracked representatives of ‘Pauline Hanson’s One Nation’ as they traveled to Washington DC for meetings with the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other lobby groups, including the energy giant, Koch Industries.

James Ashby, One Nation’s chief of staff, and Steve Dickson, its leader in the Australian state of Queensland, were recorded seeking up to $20m for their election war chest, while promising to loosen legal restrictions placed on firearms after a massacre in Australia in 1996.
Not exactly passive observers; from the text article: Muller, Al Jazeera's undercover reporter who posed as a gun-rights campaigner, introduced One Nation's Chief of Staff, James Ashby, and the leader of its Queensland branch, Steve Dickson, to the NRA, and travelled with the pair to Washington, DC last year. And “Gun Rights Australia” is a fake organization, though the political party is real. Still, the footage they got, some from during the 2016 election in the US, was both horrible and fascinating and I hope Australian democracy becomes even more resolved to have reasonable firearms regulation.

Journalist Rodger Muller describing the investigation: “I went undercover to expose the US, Australia gun lobby”
At one gathering, an albino python was released onto a lawn and a tiger paced in a cage for the amusement of cocktail-sipping guests.

There, I spoke to Donald Trump Jr, the son of the US president and an outspoken gun rights advocate. Wayne LaPierre, the NRA chief, applauded as my presence was announced by an MC. At another event, I fired shotguns at clay pigeons beside US congressmen, and posed for a photograph with Chris Cox, a chief lobbyist for the NRA.
posted by XMLicious at 5:52 AM on March 27, 2019 [17 favorites]


The light bulb thing is such a perfect distillation. God forbid anybody should have to take on any additional responsibility (being a bit more careful about breaking a bulb) in order to create any benefit for society as a whole (reduced carbon & pollution)
posted by Rat Spatula at 5:54 AM on March 27, 2019 [11 favorites]


WaPo: ‘Undoubtedly There Is Collusion’: Trump Antagonist Adam Schiff Doubles Down After Mueller Finds No Conspiracy (Obviously the Post's Schiff-vs-no-collusion framing is troublesome here, but it's part of the current trend in mainstream media to take Barr's summary letter at face value.)
“Undoubtedly there is collusion,” Schiff said in an interview this week, after Attorney General William P. Barr submitted a four-page letter to Congress summarizing key aspects of Mueller’s report. “We will continue to investigate the counterintelligence issues. That is, is the president or people around him compromised in any way by a hostile foreign power? . . . It doesn’t appear that was any part of Mueller’s report.”[…]

This week, the Trump campaign singled out Schiff, along with Intelligence Committee member Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), on a list of people it urged media outlets to avoid booking for interviews after Barr announced Mueller’s findings, according to reports. The list includes House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and former CIA director John Brennan, both of whom, like Schiff, have infuriated the president with their public scrutiny and criticism.[…]

Still, Schiff has taken steps to put the panel’s investigation on hold, pending the release of Mueller’s findings. On Monday, he announced that the committee had indefinitely postponed a planned hearing with Felix Sater, a former business associate of the president’s who was involved with the pursuit to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Schiff said the pause is temporary, adding that the intelligence panel might still uncover “deeply compromising” evidence in its counterintelligence investigation that falls outside the scope of Mueller’s criminal probe. He pledged that his panel, in partnership with the House Financial Services Committee, would continue to explore allegations of money laundering involving Trump’s properties and loans his business sought through Deutsche Bank.
Speaking of Deutsche Bank, The Hill reports: Waters: Deutsche Bank Providing Trump Financial Records For House Probe
When asked Tuesday at the Capitol if Deutsche Bank had started to hand over records of it financial relationship with Trump, Waters replied, "Yes."

The chairwoman also said she was satisfied with Deutsche Bank’s cooperation with the probe and that the Financial Services panel is looking into "everything" regarding Trump’s dealings with the bank.
And a new poll from Politico/Morning Consult finds nearly half still think Trump obstructed Russian probe. "The poll shows a plurality of voters, 47 percent, think Trump “tried to impede or obstruct the investigation into whether his campaign had ties to Russia” — despite the fact that Special Counsel Robert Mueller didn't reach a decision on the question. Thirty-nine percent don’t think Trump tried to impede the investigation, and 14 percent don’t know or had no opinion about whether Trump tried to obstruct the investigation." (The March 25-26 poll began the day after the public release of Barr’s letter.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:48 AM on March 27, 2019 [19 favorites]


Americans Are Getting Secondhand Embarrassment From Trump (Olga Khazan, Atlantic)
An analysis of all tweets sent in the United States from June 2015 to December 2017 found that there’s been a 45 percent increase in tweets about embarrassment since January 2017, when Trump took office. And when there is a spike in people tweeting about feeling embarrassed, it is often because they are talking about Trump, says the study, which was published on Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Communication. On days when there were a lot of embarrassment-related tweets, 20 to 35 percent of them mentioned Trump’s name.
from this journal article:

The Politics of Embarrassment: Considerations on How Norm-Transgressions of Political Representatives Shape Nation-Wide Communication of Emotions on Social Media (Frieder M. Paulus, Laura Müller-Pinzler, Dar Meshi, Tai-Quan Peng, Marina Martinez Mateo and Sören Krach)
In this article, we hypothesize, and then demonstrate, that experiences of embarrassment have significantly increased in the United States, due in part, to the current situation in American politics under President Donald Trump. We provide support for our hypothesis by conducting both qualitative and quantitative analyses of Twitter posts in the U.S. obtained from the Crimson Hexagon database. Next, based on literature from social psychology, social neuroscience, and political theory, we propose a two-step process explaining why Trump's behavior has caused people in the U.S. to feel more embarrassment.

First, compared to former representatives, Trump violates social norms in a manner that seems intentional, and second, these intentional norm violations specifically threaten the social integrity of in-group members—in this case, U.S. citizens. We discuss how these norm violations relate to the behavior of currently represented citizens and contextualize our rationale in recent changes of political representation and the public sphere. We conclude by proposing that more frequent, nation-wide experiences of embarrassment on behalf of the representative may motivate political actions to prevent further harm to individuals' self-concepts and protect social integrity.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:06 AM on March 27, 2019 [7 favorites]


Trump’s Travel Ban Faces Fresh Legal Jeopardy (Robert L. Tsai, Politico Magazine)
New lawsuits challenging the ban have two things going for them: Real-world evidence of the ban’s effects, and precedent showing how it violates the Constitution.
At the time of the high court’s ruling, the key question was whether the policy was constitutional as written. But now, more than two years since Trump first issued the ban, the question isn’t simply whether the travel ban is up to snuff; it’s whether evidence demonstrates the law is equitable in practice—and whether its real-world enforcement is as fair as the administration promised the justices.

There are plenty of reasons to believe it is not. [...] New lawsuits challenging the ban bring into play court precedents that were not raised in the initial travel ban lawsuits—cases involving laws that were facially neutral but discriminatory in practice, and which were struck down on that basis.

[...] Indeed, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who provided the decisive fifth vote in the decision upholding Trump’s travel ban, authored a separate concurrence specifically to highlight the point that the policy was valid only if it wasn’t a vehicle for religious bigotry. “The First Amendment … promises the free exercise of religion,” Kennedy wrote. “It is an urgent necessity that officials adhere to these constitutional guarantees … even in the sphere of foreign affairs,” he said, contemplating the possibility that “further proceedings” might illuminate the issue further.

As more information about the ban’s real-world enforcement emerges—and as immigrants’ rights activists mount fresh challenges to the law—it looks more likely that those “further proceedings” will start to chip away at the policy’s defenses. [...] In the absence of legal process or congressional oversight, the Trump administration has refused to volunteer that data every step of the way. But thanks to new legal challenges, we may soon find out. [...] How the new arguments of bias and unfairness will fare in the Supreme Court is anybody’s guess. But Kennedy’s final words on the matter of religious equality will no doubt linger: “An anxious world must know that our Government remains committed always to the liberties the Constitution seeks to preserve and protect, so that freedom extends outward, and lasts.”
posted by Little Dawn at 7:10 AM on March 27, 2019 [16 favorites]


Senate Democrats broadly shut down Republican trolling on the Green New Deal (Li Zhou and Ella Nilsen, Vox)
Senate Democrats aren’t having it with Republican trolling on the Green New Deal.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held a procedural vote on the resolution — a wide-ranging progressive wish list aimed at making the US carbon-neutral by 2030 — this week, in an effort to get Democrats on the record about their support for the ambitious proposal. And Democrats, largely, didn’t bite.

Nearly all members of the Democratic caucus voted “present” when the resolution came up for a vote on Tuesday, with just four breaking and voting against it. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Doug Jones (D-AL), all lawmakers from more moderate or conservative states voted “No” on the resolution. Sen. Angus King (I-ME), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted against it.

Democrats predominately voted “present” on the resolution as a means of calling out Republicans, who had set up this vote to highlight potential splits in the Democratic caucus and force lawmakers to splinter from a high-profile, progressive idea.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:14 AM on March 27, 2019 [20 favorites]



‘He's doing a victory lap’: Rejuvenated Trump pushes aggressive agenda post-Mueller
(Politico)
Trump’s decision to jump headlong into another divisive health care effort — with Democrats in control of the House no less — shows that he isn’t shying away from conflicts, even those that could hurt vulnerable GOP lawmakers. In fact, Republicans had no real plans to pass or even necessarily plan for sweeping health care legislation as of 24 hours ago. And most in the party have been eager to put the disastrous effort to repeal Obamacare behind them.
White House Obamacare reversal made over Cabinet objections (Politico)
The Trump administration’s surprising move to invalidate Obamacare on Monday came despite the opposition of two key cabinet secretaries: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General Bill Barr. [...]

The new challenge to Obamacare follows a heated internal administration debate that began late last year and continued through yesterday's announcement. Azar argued against backing a lawsuit seeking the full repeal of the health care law at a White House meeting in late December, citing the lack of a Republican alternative, according to two sources briefed on internal discussions, while Mulvaney said that taking a bold stance would force Congress into repealing and replacing the law. [...]

Barr also opposed the decision, and now finds himself in the uncomfortable position of running the department that leads the new charge against Obamacare. His opposition was based in part on skepticism among conservative lawyers about the wisdom of seeking to overturn the law, officially known as the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court in 2012 upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare's individual mandate, which the current lawsuit is once again challenging. The attorney general, who was confirmed only a month ago, was overruled by the White House. [...]

Democrats, meanwhile, indicated they are poised once again to pounce on health care as a campaign issue ahead of the 2020 election. “They really are coming after your health care and we will be talking about that from today all the way through November of next year,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “There’s no indication that we were planning on running a campaign regarding the Mueller investigation. We were, frankly, looking for a way to put health care front and center. And they just did it for us.”
posted by Little Dawn at 7:39 AM on March 27, 2019 [9 favorites]


Senate Democrats broadly shut down Republican trolling on the Green New Deal (Li Zhou and Ella Nilsen, Vox)
AOC is just so sharp in that article. I can feel I'm going all fan-girly about her.
posted by mumimor at 7:40 AM on March 27, 2019 [8 favorites]


Doktor Zed: CNN: Pelosi stands by comment that Trump may be compromised by Russia

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Mr. Trump said during a news conference here in an apparent reference to Mrs. Clinton’s deleted emails. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.” NYT article from July 27, 2016

But that's just locker room campaigning talk. Oh, you should keep reading ...
Mr. Trump’s call was another bizarre moment in the mystery of whether Vladimir V. Putin’s government has been seeking to influence the United States’ presidential race.

His comments came amid questions about the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers, which American intelligence agencies have told the White House they have “high confidence” was the work of the Russian government.

At the same news conference, Mr. Trump also appeared to leave the door open to accepting Russia’s annexation of Crimea two years ago — which the United States and its European allies consider an illegal seizure of territory. That seizure, and the continued efforts of Russian-aided insurgents to undermine the government of Ukraine, are the reason that the United States and its allies still have economic sanctions in force against Moscow.
Yeah, it's old news, but that still doesn't make it noteworthy, and very troubling.


Meanwhile, Kavanaugh Seems Conflicted On Partisan Gerrymandering At Supreme Court Arguments (Kavanaugh Seems Conflicted On Partisan Gerrymandering At Supreme Court Arguments
Domenico Montanaro and Nina Totenberg for NPR, March 26, 2019)
Whether Kavanaugh is actually a swing vote is anyone's guess. He replaced retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, who truly was a swing vote on the issue of partisan gerrymandering.
From this article, it sounds like Bart is actually considering proportional representation to be a key factor, which could be significant, given that AP's analysis indicates that the GOP won about 16 more seats in 2018 than suggested by vote share (David A. Lieb for AP, March 21, 2019).
posted by filthy light thief at 7:48 AM on March 27, 2019 [11 favorites]


Unpacking the Obstruction of Justice Mystery in the Barr Letter (Paul Rosenzweig, Lawfare)
Barr writes that Mueller’s silence “leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime.” It is by no means clear why that is so. Nothing in the Justice Department’s principles requires that Barr make that determination. Indeed, the principles seem to lean in the other direction, providing for internal communications of declination decisions, rather than public expressions of a determination. The applicable principle says: [...] "When prosecution is declined in serious cases on the understanding that action will be taken by other authorities, appropriate steps should be taken to ensure that the matter receives their attention." [...]

On this reading, it would have been perfectly acceptable for Barr to have said something like: “As the Special Counsel did, I have declined to determine the substantive merits of the case for obstruction charges. I do so in the expectation that action relating to those circumstances will be taken by other authorities (namely, those in Congress).”

That Barr thought it necessary to reach out and determine a matter that Mueller chose not to is the single most problematic aspect of his action. And not until the substance of Mueller’s report becomes public will it be possible to adequately judge Barr’s actions.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:07 AM on March 27, 2019 [18 favorites]




That Barr thought it necessary to reach out and determine a matter that Mueller chose not to is the single most problematic aspect of his action. And not until the substance of Mueller’s report becomes public will it be possible to adequately judge Barr’s actions.

If Mueller had been shut down, there were plans for protest. The current situation is actually worse than if Mueller had been shut down.
posted by diogenes at 8:39 AM on March 27, 2019 [22 favorites]


One opinion I saw put forward by a number of people who consider themselves "centrists" online is that they expect the Mueller report will show that Trump was Russia's useful idiot, manipulated into doing their bidding. It makes sense that Mueller would first emphasize he did not find evidence of Trump's ill intent, but neither is he exonerated, if Mueller goes on to argue that Trump was Russia's foolish patsy.
posted by xammerboy at 8:43 AM on March 27, 2019 [9 favorites]


Plans to protest are still on. The MoveOn/Public Citizen team say they will trigger if "the administration blocks the public from seeing Mueller's findings."

It's not clear at what threshold they will deem that to have happened, but I am thinking a good one would be if the DOJ misses the House's April 2nd deadline.

So, no official word yet, but I am tentatively penciling an April 3rd protest into my schedule.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:48 AM on March 27, 2019 [13 favorites]


One opinion I saw put forward by a number of people who consider themselves "centrists" online is that they expect the Mueller report will show that Trump was Russia's useful idiot, manipulated into doing their bidding.
This is what I am hearing too. Trump is too stupid to be a traitor, but obviously smart enough to be POTUS. I scream inside when I hear this argument, but it's out there.
posted by mumimor at 8:53 AM on March 27, 2019 [8 favorites]


>> An aside: who is the arbiter of executive privilege claims? Is there one, or is it simply "make a claim/get a redaction"?
> Kavanaugh.


This is from a while ago, but T. D. Strange's response is spot on: it's the Supreme Court that adjudicates a conflict over Executive privilege, and Bart is the determining vote.

Couple that with Kavanaugh's apparent hemming and hawing on partisan gerrymandering, and the consequences of the 2016 elections are starker than ever...
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:57 AM on March 27, 2019 [6 favorites]


The MoveOn/Public Citizen team say they will trigger

I'm not crazy about this being led by a faceless group. I wish we had an elected Democrat for a leader.

It seems so likely to fracture and implode in the way of the Women's March movement.
posted by diogenes at 9:06 AM on March 27, 2019 [5 favorites]


Bloomberg, Trump Tried to Undo North Korea Penalty, Contrary to U.S. Account

One of the two Chinese shipping companies, Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. Ltd., is doing business with a sanctioned North Korean company, Treasury said in a statement on Thursday. The other, Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd., was sanctioned for “operating in the transportation industry in North Korea,” Treasury said.

What I'd like to know is how these two Chinese companies got to Trump in order to plant the idea of of over-ruling the sanctions.
posted by srboisvert at 9:06 AM on March 27, 2019 [2 favorites]


Mod note: A few comments deleted; let's bring it back to specific updates on actual events, rather than the general continuing analysis of "can you believe these fuckers" stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:14 AM on March 27, 2019 [4 favorites]


Kavanaugh Seems Conflicted On Partisan Gerrymandering At Supreme Court Arguments

Well, there were actually two cases argued. One is that Republicans gerrymandered North Carolina and Democrats gerrymandered Maryland. So, you can see his conflict -- how can he spin this so Republicans win both cases.
posted by JackFlash at 9:24 AM on March 27, 2019 [45 favorites]


So they were targeted by Putin, did their bidding, recieved assistance to win the election, but no collusion.

More or less it seems that just because you know there's a conspiracy in place to help you doesn't mean that you're actually implicated in it criminally unless you take some sort of act to further the conspiracy. If you just passively accept the help, it's not actually a crime. I think that's possibly what Mueller concluded. Not calling the FBI when you learn about the conspiracy is not illegal.

It's obviously a betrayal of the country, a dereliction of duty (to whoever you choose), and imho an impeachable offense, but I can see why it might not be something that Mueller thinks he can charge.

That said, obstructing the investigation into the conspiracy after-the-fact sure seems like an overt act to benefit the conspiracy, even if the conspiracy has kind of finished. Just because there's no underlying crime on your part (you didn't actually conspire) doesn't mean that you're not conspiring now by trying to block the investigation. In my opinion two things- collusion and obstruction- are really one thing. If you're obstructing investigation into the conspiracy, you're colluding! You don't need to communicate with the members of the conspiracy to decide that you want to protect them for your benefit.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:27 AM on March 27, 2019 [36 favorites]


It seems so likely to fracture and implode in the way of the Women's March movement.

Bear in mind the Women's March was also targeted by a social media/ratfucking attack. There's no reason to think that the MoveOn/Public Citizen protests won't have the same thing done to them, even if they have a convenient politician as a leader.

The inability of the opposition to recognize GoP/Russian ratfucking, and it's continual willingness to take the bait and fracture its efforts just leads me to despair.
posted by happyroach at 9:50 AM on March 27, 2019 [16 favorites]


A few days back, I suggested that too much focus on collusion might be a mistake, because if the Mueller report cleared Trump on that particular charge, he'd be in everyone's face with a big I told you so.

And while we haven't seen the report yet, that seems likely to be the case. I believe that it's important to ensure the full report is made public, but I would also suggest that that eventually is not a panacea either, since the whole obstruction of justice issue may well have strong arguments on its side, an FBI agent isn't going to say it's there without hard evidence and I suspect it's more likely to be circumstantial.

What I do think the Democrats should do next is follow the bread crumbs that Mueller has unearthed that are not specifically about collusion and obstruction, namely corrupt practices. We know that he's a con man - Trump U and his "charity" have shown it. We know that he's either been involved in or turned a blind eye to money laundering in the past because of the sanctions against the Trump Casino.

I think the most productive tacks are to focus on areas of criminal activity matching those he's been involved with in the past, and these must have both evidentiary and prosecutable elements because things like the emoluments clause which he seems to be violating, are too nebulous or require congressional rather than criminal prosecution. Focusing on what Mueller did show (and who he did convict) is also important in showing Trump's proximity to criminal activity.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 10:13 AM on March 27, 2019 [7 favorites]


Not calling the FBI when you learn about the conspiracy is not illegal.

But it could be the kind of circumstantial evidence that helps establish intent, especially if the Trump campaign was informed instead of the FBI. From the Papadopoulos transcript:
[at 75 - 76] Q Why -- when you say you heard this, you meant that you heard that about -- A Repeating, I guess, what Joseph Mifsud had dropped on me. Q Why would -- why would you say that after being nervous? I guess I'm trying to understand what prompted you to bring it up. A I don't know. People gossip in these circles. And it's not uncommon, especially in this city, that if you hear something strange, you're just going to gossip about it and -- I don't know. I don't -- I really don't know why I said it. Q What was the Greek foreign minister's reaction to you saying that? A My understanding was he was a bit shocked. Q A bit shocked. But did he say anything in response? A My understanding, as far as I remember, was he was like, This isn't something that should be talked about. So that was it.

[at 83 - 84] So, "On or about April 26, 2016, Defendant Papadopoulos met the professor for breakfast at a London hotel. During this meeting, the professor told Defendant Papadopoulos that he had just returned from a trip to Moscow where he had met with high-level Russian Government officials. The professor told Defendant Papadopoulos that on that trip he, the professor, learned that the Russians had obtained 'dirt' on then-Candidate Clinton. The professor told Defendant Papadopoulos, as Defendant Papadopoulos later described to the FBI, that 'They, the Russians, have dirt on her'; 'the Russians had emails of Clinton'; 'they have thousands of emails.'" So is that paragraph accurate, to your knowledge? A Yes.

[at 92] Ms. Hariharan. You didn't think that would be worthy of informing law enforcement?
Mr. Papadopoulos. Well, I did inform law enforcement when I spoke to them in my first interview.
Ms. Hariharan. I mean when you found out. When he first said to you, Hey, I think the Russians may have these emails, at the time, did you think that was worthy of informing law enforcement.
Mr. Papadopoulos. I don't remember back then. But, of course, today, I do regret not sharing that information immediately with U.S. law enforcement, whether it was the FBI or the CIA. But I was happy that I shared it with the FBI during my initial interview, so that's all I could say. It was a mistake.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:23 AM on March 27, 2019 [10 favorites]


AUSA David Goodhand just told Chief Judge Howell (of the federal district court for DC) that the grand jury empaneled related to the Mueller investigation is “continuing robustly.” So while the matters have been handed off to AUSAs like Goodhand, the same team of jurors is weighing evidence.

Goodhand’s history includes involvement in the failed inauguration protest cases.
posted by sallybrown at 10:25 AM on March 27, 2019 [15 favorites]


A few days back, I suggested that too much focus on collusion might be a mistake,

correct me if I'm wrong, but collusion is all Trump himself ever focused on with regard to Mueller. At least, that's all I've ever seen when it comes up on CNN or wherever. Trump smugly, ugly saying "no collusion, no collusion". Which again reveals just how effective he is when it comes to playing to the collective stupidity of the media eye.

in fact, it's easy to imagine him knowing, after talking it through with his lawyers, that A. whatever he did, he didn't technically collude, and B. Mueller was a straight enough shooter that he wouldn't go there, so C. it was easy and effective to play things as he (Trump) did.
posted by philip-random at 10:27 AM on March 27, 2019 [7 favorites]


Defining collusion as the beginning and end of possible Trump misdeeds has been a moderatly successful campaign by conservatives despite the fractal wrongness of this: Of course something like "collusion" probably happened by any reasonable definition, and all the other corrupt behavior is vast and obvious.

Now we're seeing how far they'll run with the "logic". If, say, the state of New York pushes an extremely credible case of various white-collar crimes against the Trump Organization, apologists will say "We've been over this -- there was no collusion. Your beloved Mueller found him innocent. Case closed!"

Part of me wishes this could be employed in reverse when it comes to, say, Trump's apparent persistent paranoia that Obama "illegally wiretapped" him. "Ah, some people still haven't gotten the memo -- he was born in Hawaii. Get over it."

(Of course this isn't a perfect parallel because, unlike birther allegations, collusion really happened, and it always frustrated me to see that downplayed on the basis of "There's no crime called that" or whatever. I do regret never considering the difficulty of proving the collusion argument to legal rather than public-opinion standards. Still, we need an honest national conversation about when it's fine to generalize beyond the particulars of legal proof. You don't need all the apparatus of perjury and defamation laws to have a totally fair impression that the Trump cabal is dishonest, for instance.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:49 AM on March 27, 2019 [4 favorites]


And while we haven't seen the report yet, that seems likely to be the case.

Personally, I'm going to reserve judgement until the report is released in full because this administration has proven they only lie and lie more and then double-lie before lying about the opposite thing. Whatever Meuller's report reveals, I have very high confidence it was misrepresented or otherwise dishonestly interpreted by AG Barr.

That there was collusion has been in obvious, public evidence since the news of the Trump Tower meeting. Their laughable hamfisted attempts to cover that up were just more giant billious clouds of smoke. Comey's firing was publicly stated - on a televised interview, to a direct question - that it was to stop the "Russia investigation". Obstruction is obvious. Collusion is obvious.

Is it prosecutable collusion, like can all Americans sue Trump into the stone age and scatter his overestimated posessions to the winds? MMm.. Maybe, maybe not. But that's only one small point in a thousand points of -gate.

This hideously repeated narrative that he's exonerated (When he literally and specifically wasn't, per his own toady's misrepresentation of the actual why-isn't-it-here-yet report), is another freight train worth of proof that the corporate news have no game other than to serve their own masters' interests. Not heaving a demented flatulent mobby sex abuser out of the top office in the land serves their interests. Tomorrow, another shiny thing.
posted by petebest at 10:53 AM on March 27, 2019 [12 favorites]


Orin Kerr tweet:
Imagine if the Starr Report had been provided only to President Clinton's Attorney General, Janet Reno, who then read it privately and published a 4-page letter based on her private reading stating her conclusion that President Clinton committed no crimes.
Monica Lewinsky tweet:
If. Fucking. Only.
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:55 AM on March 27, 2019 [131 favorites]


The case against Trump’s corruption will continue to build (Greg Sargent, WaPo Opinion)
One glaring analytical error we’re seeing in the coverage of Robert S. Mueller III’s findings is the idea that we’re suddenly in a “post-Mueller” political world. The suggestion is that there’s been a sudden, clean break from a rapidly receding past in which the special counsel’s activity threatened President Trump, to a new future in which it does not.

The reality is quite different. In fact, while Mueller’s no-conspiracy finding does close one chapter of this affair, the Mueller probe and its spinoffs added substantial new material to the building case against Trump’s corruption, and they have spawned other investigations that will keep that process moving forward. [...]

Trump’s corruption provides a natural focal point for Democrats going forward after the conclusion of the Mueller investigation. That’s because this conclusion does not mean “total exoneration” for Trump in the slightest.

Because of all these investigations and their consequences, Trump has been implicated in a criminal hush-money scheme to pay off women alleging affairs, and we’ve learned he tried to negotiate an enormous real estate deal with the Kremlin’s help while Republican voters were picking their 2016 nominee — and lied to America about both. [...]

The emerging narrative is that demoralized Democrats are debating how to “move on” from Mueller. But Democrats don’t have to get drawn into that debate. That’s because the Mueller probe and its spinoffs have actually made the political terrain a lot more fertile for the focus on Trump’s corruption than before. And the ongoing ripple effects of those investigations will continue to do so.
Also: There's No Such Thing as 'Collusion' (Ron Fein, US News & World Report Opinion)
We can't have an intelligent conversation about the Trump campaign's dealings with Russia when we're focused on a nonsense word.

And: Trump’s Preposterous 'Collusion Is Not a Crime' Defense: What Real Lawyers—If Asked—Would Have Advised His Campaign About the Trump Tower Meeting (Bob Bauer, Lawfare)
The untenable position Giuliani is staking out is well illustrated by the following questions: Did the Trump campaign ever consult lawyers on the legal implications of planned or proposed Russian contacts? If not, why not? And had the campaign done so, what would a lawyer have advised about the legal risks? Any reasonably experienced, competent campaign counsel would say that he or she would never have advised the campaign management that it was legal to take up the Russian offer and hold the meeting. Nor would any such lawyer have given a green light to other points of contacts between the campaign and Russia, or to dodgy maneuvers like the president’s public appeal to the Russians to locate deleted Clinton emails.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:02 AM on March 27, 2019 [17 favorites]


page 154:

Q I'm sorry. I know we discussed this, but why did you become in contact with Ivan Timofeev, why did you begin discussions with him?

A My understanding is that Joseph Mifsud introduced us over email as somebody that might be helpful for me to get a quick understanding of where the U.S.-Russia relationship said at the time, considering he was an academic, and that he potentially had contacts in Russia could facilitate a meeting between Trump and Putin.


Won't somebody please get candidate Trump a meeting with Putin?? They have a lot of not colluding to do.
posted by petebest at 11:03 AM on March 27, 2019 [11 favorites]


Imagine if the Starr Report had been provided only to President Clinton's Attorney General, Janet Reno, who then read it privately and published a 4-page letter based on her private reading stating her conclusion that President Clinton committed no crimes.

Monica Lewinsky tweet: If. Fucking. Only.

Note that Starr published to the world every word of Lewinsky's "secret" grand jury testimony, including every excruciating salacious pornographic detail of their encounters, including cigars. Starr also published the "secret" grand jury testimony of Lewinsky's psychology therapist.
posted by JackFlash at 11:06 AM on March 27, 2019 [80 favorites]


Good news dept: New Mexico has just added same day and automatic voter registration.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:15 AM on March 27, 2019 [50 favorites]


@Politico: BREAKING: The House Oversight and Reform Committee is demanding 10 years of Donald Trump’s financial records from an accounting firm, according to two Republicans on the panel
posted by Chrysostom at 11:16 AM on March 27, 2019 [73 favorites]


I know this much about the Green New Deal - it's struck a nerve with the GOP. It's going to be a campaign issue, no doubt. The progressives need to message this thing right. Arizona just had a ballot proposition, prop 127, rejected strongly at the ballot box. The utilities dumped tens of millions into the opposition campaign. The bill would have required 50% of the state's energy to come from renewable resources by 2030. The major scaremongering points were massively higher energy bills (no surprise they went there...) and that the state would have to close power plants, particularly Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (which was not true, but that never stopped anyone.) The GOP used Tom Steyer, who funded the campaign, as a major boogeyman.

So what do the progressives need to do, in my opinion? First, get people out there talking about how much of a benefit green energy really is, financially. We got the go-ahead to turn on our solar panels earlier this month, and currently we're only using 1/4 to 1/3 of what we're generating. That will change this summer but we're still looking at coming out ahead, with a break-even of 8-9 years, after which we'll pay only the basic connection charge to the local utility. (It's fun as hell to watch the meter turn backwards... :) ) There are millions of homeowners who have installed solar. Get them talking to neighbors. Start highlighting just how damaging coal is to the environment, starting from the strip mines all the way to the leftover toxic coal ash. Next, you need a broad coalition. You need lots of well-liked people out there talking it up. Don't make this about AOC. Don't give them that easy target to concentrate the anti-campaign vitriol.
posted by azpenguin at 11:16 AM on March 27, 2019 [20 favorites]


ABC News, Transcript: Former Trump legal team spokesman Mark Corallo on ABC News' 'The Investigation' podcast
CORALLO: Yeah and so I pointed out that the statement was inaccurate and that there were documents, that I understood there were documents that would prove that [about the Trump Tower meeting] Hope Hicks replied to me when I, when I said look there are you know there are documents. She said, well nobody's ever going to see those documents. Which you know made my throat dry up immediately. And I just - at that point I just said, Mr. President we can't talk about this anymore. You got to talk to your lawyers. And for me, it was just the fact that she was even A. that you would say something like that in the presence of the president the United States. That you would not be aware that that could be construed as obstruction. Right? The threat to withhold documents? Like what does that mean that no one's ever going to see them? What are you gonna destroy them? She showed a complete lack of understanding of the situation and was completely in over her head.
I saw Preet Bharara's book tour last night, and one thing he pointed out is that in any sensible non-2019 world, it would be the worst day of a President's administration to have a federal prosecutor be all 'I can't rule out that he obstructed justice.' And it strikes me that the actual Mueller report is going to contain a whole lot more instances like this where Trump and members of his staff actively sought to hide the truth
posted by zachlipton at 11:40 AM on March 27, 2019 [40 favorites]


The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand: The Critical Part of Mueller’s Report That Barr Didn’t Mention—The special counsel’s most interesting findings about Trump and Russia might be in the counterintelligence portion of his report.
[N]ational-security and intelligence experts tell me that Mueller’s decision not to charge Trump or his campaign team with a conspiracy is far from dispositive, and that the underlying evidence the special counsel amassed over two years could prove as useful as a conspiracy charge to understanding the full scope of Russia’s election interference in 2016.

“As described by Barr, at least, Mueller’s report was very focused on criminal-law standards and processes,” said David Kris, a founder of Culper Partners, who served as the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s National Security Division under former President Barack Obama. “We won’t know for sure if that is the case, and if it is the case, why Mueller confined himself in that way, until we see the full report.” Kris noted, however, that “there is no question that a counterintelligence investigation would have a wider aperture than a strict criminal inquiry as applied here, and would be concerned, for example, with the motivations and any sub-criminal misconduct of the principal actors.”

A counterintelligence probe, he added, would ask more than whether the evidence collected is sufficient to obtain a criminal conviction—it could provide necessary information to the public about why the president is making certain policy decisions. “The American people rightly should expect more from their public servants than merely avoiding criminal liability,” Kris said.[…]

Mueller’s mandate, given to him by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, empowered him to investigate not only any “coordination” between the campaign and Russia, but any “links” between them as well. Barr’s summary does not describe how Mueller investigated or came to explain the many interactions the campaign had with various Russians during the election.[…]

Mueller “always noted that the term evidence meant something different to intelligence analysts who had to work with a variety of sources of varying reliability, whereas an FBI officer needed something so unassailable as to work in a court prosecution,” [former acting CIA Director John] McLaughlin told me, referring to the conversations he had with Mueller while he was FBI director. But as former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell, who now hosts the Intelligence Matters podcast, told me, “We still do not understand why President Trump has this affinity for Putin. What happened yesterday is Mueller took one possibility off the table—that there was a criminal conspiracy. But we still don’t know what is going on between these two leaders, and what is driving this relationship.”
NWC Prof. Tom Nichols, writing in USA Today: Even After Mueller, We Still Don't Know What's Really Going On With Trump And Russia
Until Congress sees the full report, we will not know Mueller’s reasoning. But if this is the case, and Mueller refused to pursue charges for which he did not have an ironclad case, then the president’s exoneration ironically rests entirely on Mueller’s caution and prudence — in other words, on the very qualities that prevented a swift and fruitful investigation from turning into a witch hunt.

Finally, it is important to note that this summary of the Mueller report only answers a very specific question about the election of 2016. It tells us nothing about the president’s longstanding relationship with the Kremlin, including his attempts to hide a pending deal in Moscow during the election, nor about his bizarre admiration of, and deference to, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Robert Mueller has done his country a great service. He has cleared a president on an important charge against him and damaged the Russian intelligence services in the process by exposing their efforts to influence our elections. He has jailed people for serious crimes. But he cannot answer questions that he was not asked, and those questions remain.
Of course, Barr has already said that he'll redact the Mueller report over national security concerns, so, should Barr actually release it, its counter-intelligence section may be the least of it we'll see. Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell blocked the release of the Mueller report for the third time (via Sen. Dick Durbin).
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:43 AM on March 27, 2019 [14 favorites]


So what do the progressives need to do, in my opinion? First, get people out there talking about how much of a benefit green energy really is, financially.

Definitely. Also, local renewables = local jobs and energy independence.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:47 AM on March 27, 2019 [8 favorites]


An FBI agent isn't going to say it's there without hard evidence and I suspect it's more likely to be circumstantial.

I guess the odd part of this to me is the precedent. The president fires someone who investigates him, and it's the Attorney General or Congress' job to decide if that's obstruction? As long as the president's party is in power, doesn't that effectively put him above the law? On obstruction, Mueller is punting on what should be a legal question, not a political question.
posted by xammerboy at 11:50 AM on March 27, 2019 [6 favorites]


Florida Republicans Are Trying a New Way to Bar People With Felony Records From Voting ... "by redefining what it means to commit certain crimes". (Samantha Michaels, Mother Jones)
The ballot measure restored the right to vote to former felons except those who were “convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.” Now Republican lawmakers argue that the language of the bill wasn’t clear enough; they’re attempting to create definitions of “murder” and “felony sexual offense” that go beyond what the drafters of Amendment 4 intended.

On Monday, Republicans in a state Senate committee advanced a bill that says “murder” includes a host of crimes, including first-degree and second-degree murder, but also attempted murder, the unintended killing of someone during the course of committing another felony, and the “unlawful killing of an unborn child, by any injury to the mother.” (An earlier version of Senate Bill 7086 also included manslaughter on the list of murder crimes, but that offense was removed in an amendment approved on Monday.) Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican who helped draft the legislation, said it made sense to add “attempted murder” to the definition of murder, even if nobody had died. “Obviously murder—first degree, second degree—to me, that means attempted murder, because there’s intent,” he told the Tampa Bay Times.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:56 AM on March 27, 2019 [3 favorites]


Bill Barr's fake Mueller report: Is this WMDs in Iraq all over again? (Amanda Marcotte, Salon)
"To suppress and spin the Mueller report, GOP pulls out the playbook of lies it used to sell us on invading Iraq" [...]

But those of us who are willing to speak these truths are already being written off as crazy conspiracy theorists who have been driven mad by our dislike of Trump. Others who see these truths are beginning to silence themselves and play along with the media narrative about Trump's "vindication," rather than run the risk of being called crazy, which can mean lost job opportunities and social shunning.

This is why gaslighting works: You drive people crazy with all your lies, and then write them off as crazy when they call you a liar. [...]

Being a skeptic about WMDs in Iraq was a lonely position. People were afraid to join you, out of fear that Bush would find some small cache of WMDs and right-wingers would never let the skeptics live it down. The same thing is happening again with the Barr letter, where the tiny chance that he is offering a good-faith reading of the Mueller report is dangled over people's heads to silence them from expressing doubts.

But the stakes are too high to give into this intimidation campaign. We must learn from the Iraq debacle that while it might seem easier to lie down and give into a misinformation campaign, the price of doing so is too high. The Mueller report must be released in full, and nothing short of that is acceptable.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:11 PM on March 27, 2019 [23 favorites]


Lawfare has an interesting rundown on how the White House (fails to) responds to Congressional requests for information: generally by ignoring them, refusing to answer the question, claiming to have no information, or challenging the basis for asking. For instance, at no time over the last 2 years has the White House provided information about the process of granting security clearances that was requested by Congressional representatives.

For example:
On March 22, 2017, then-Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings requested information on whether Michael Flynn had fully disclosed his payments from Russian, Turkish or other foreign sources, including the Kremlin-backed media outlet RT. On April 19, the White House responded by referring the committee to the Department of Defense on some aspects of the request, claiming not to have possession of documents relevant to other parts of the request, signaling that documents responsive to other aspects of the request may be classified, or indicating its view that some of the requested documents were not within the scope of the committee’s investigation.
posted by suelac at 12:19 PM on March 27, 2019 [25 favorites]


Also: There's No Such Thing as 'Collusion' (Ron Fein, US News & World Report Opinion)
We can't have an intelligent conversation about the Trump campaign's dealings with Russia when we're focused on a nonsense word.


Maybe I'm missing something but I'm amazed that our collective immediate response wasn't something like, “Oh there was definitely collusion, there just wasn't conspiracy. That's why they're hiding the Mueller report, to conceal the non-conspiracy collusion crimes.”

I mean, wasn't the whole logic of Trumpworld saying “No collusion!” instead of “No conspiracy!” to shift the discussion to appear as though we were dithering over some lesser crime than a conspiracy involving the President of the United States and the former-KGB-agent-run Russian government?

Maybe we're too far down another path at this point for it to be optimal but contrary to the opinion piece at the above link, I'd think we'd want to be the ones leaning into “collusion” now. The whole point was that it's a word which can mean anything the speaker wants in this counterintelligence context, so we just say it means every crime from just below conspiracy down to high misdemeanors. And that's what the Mueller report says, and more.
posted by XMLicious at 12:26 PM on March 27, 2019 [9 favorites]


Facebook has announced some major changes today:
Today we’re announcing a ban on praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism on Facebook and Instagram, which we’ll start enforcing next week. It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services.

...

As part of today’s announcement, we’ll also start connecting people who search for terms associated with white supremacy to resources focused on helping people leave behind hate groups. People searching for these terms will be directed to Life After Hate, an organization founded by former violent extremists that provides crisis intervention, education, support groups and outreach.
Better late than never. Shameful that it took so many deaths to move Facebook to action. I hope Twitter follows suit soon.
posted by jedicus at 12:44 PM on March 27, 2019 [71 favorites]


Great news. But YouTube is where the most action is needed.
posted by jetsetsc at 12:55 PM on March 27, 2019 [43 favorites]


What I'd like to know is how these two Chinese companies got to Trump in order to plant the idea of of over-ruling the sanctions.

I suspect this was a rhetorical question, but given that this is 2019 it should be made clear that access purchased through Mar-a-Lago is the obvious answer since it's well known that access was sold to other Chinese people through that mechanism. And continues to be to this day.
posted by wierdo at 12:57 PM on March 27, 2019 [4 favorites]


As part of today’s announcement, we’ll also start connecting people who search for terms associated with white supremacy to resources focused on helping people leave behind hate groups. People searching for these terms will be directed to Life After Hate, an organization founded by former violent extremists that provides crisis intervention, education, support groups and outreach.

Life After Hate's website, if you want to know more about them, or donate to their work, and SPLC's webpage on the organization for more history.


Chrysostom: Good news dept: New Mexico has just added same day and automatic voter registration.

My instant reaction was to pump my fist. When I was out knocking on doors, I didn't do my homework to know when the voter registration deadline was (and it wasn't included in my outreach script/ information). I got home and saw that you had to register 30 days before an election, so I was getting out the vote after that deadline had passed.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:01 PM on March 27, 2019 [10 favorites]


Mod note: If folks want to dive into the Facebook news, better to make a separate post for that.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:03 PM on March 27, 2019 [3 favorites]


So what do the progressives need to do, in my opinion? First, get people out there talking about how much of a benefit green energy really is, financially. We got the go-ahead to turn on our solar panels earlier this month, and currently we're only using 1/4 to 1/3 of what we're generating. That will change this summer but we're still looking at coming out ahead, with a break-even of 8-9 years, after which we'll pay only the basic connection charge to the local utility. (It's fun as hell to watch the meter turn backwards... :) )
This. I have solar too, and I live in an extremely windy area, so when my panels aren't generating much, I get wind electricity from the public utility system. I have to call them tomorrow and argue about the pricing, but I'm pretty sure that from an environmental POV, I am at the least completely neutral, maybe even a plus in my home. (I have geothermal heating, too). If I could afford an electric car, and got my kitchen garden up to a bigger scale, I would be entirely CO2 clean and it is not a far reach.
If we had smart grids on a big scale, this could work for everyone, and really it wouldn't be very expensive if the financing was solid and again, large scale. I've seen solutions that work for inner cities. Then we could take on energy for industry and transportation. But it all requires government planning, although it could easily happen with public-private partnerships. A lot could be done completely privately, maybe encouraged by tax rebates. Tax the rich, but give people who create sustainable energy at home credit.
posted by mumimor at 1:17 PM on March 27, 2019 [10 favorites]


and it's the Attorney General or Congress' job to decide if that's obstruction? As long as the president's party is in power, doesn't that effectively put him above the law?

Congress’s interest in the Legislative Branch’s power to police the Executive should be a lot stronger than it is—not that GOP Congresspeople act out of a sense of moral duty, just that they should be more self-interested in the House and Senate’s power than the GOP’s power. But political parties have become the national sport to such a point that a Congressperson’s power in the party seems to be more important to them than their power in the Legislature. See also: Congress letting Presidents of both parties ignore the constitutional requirements for going to war. If you’re ever interested in Robert Caro’s LBJ books, the earlier volumes’ history on FDR vs. Cactus Jack Garner vs. Sam Rayburn is a good example of how politicians of the same party spread over different branches can and will flex on each other.
posted by sallybrown at 1:24 PM on March 27, 2019 [5 favorites]


they should be more self-interested in the House and Senate’s power than the GOP’s power. But political parties have become the national sport to such a point that a Congressperson’s power in the party seems to be more important to them than their power in the Legislature.

If it makes us feel any better this seems to be a modern phenomenon not-strictly-associated with the US system - on the BBC this morning there was a discussion of how party discipline is playing into individual legislators decisions on Brexit votes with the overwhelming takeaway that many of them are not voting their personal views but are overtly concerned with how they are expected to vote.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:35 PM on March 27, 2019 [3 favorites]


Trump Nominates Famous Idiot Stephen Moore to Federal Reserve Board

Update: Bloomberg, Trump Fed Pick Stephen Moore Owes $75,000 to IRS, Court Document Says
posted by zachlipton at 1:55 PM on March 27, 2019 [37 favorites]


Yeah I’d guess there’ve been scores of PoliSci dissertations written about the nationalization of house and senate seats as races have gotten pricier (because pols need to go outside their districts for funding) and what’s that done wrt party cohesion or at least discipline (bucking leadership means risking access to national funding streams).
posted by notyou at 1:55 PM on March 27, 2019 [1 favorite]


@NateWeixel: BREAKING: federal judge strikes down Kentucky's Medicaid work requirements. Again. Remands them back to HHS. Same judge also strikes down work requirements in Arkansas

Here's a link to the Arkansas decision
posted by zachlipton at 1:59 PM on March 27, 2019 [55 favorites]


Another instance of fiction driving policies: Trump signs executive order to make America greater than EMPs -- Order combines hardening against mythical high-altitude attack with space weather readiness. (Sean Gallagher for Ars Technica, March 27, 2019)
On March 26, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (Whitehouse.gov) aimed at preparing the US to withstand an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. "Human-made or naturally occurring EMPs can affect large geographic areas, disrupting elements critical to the Nation's security and economic prosperity, and could adversely affect global commerce and stability," Trump's order stated. "The Federal Government must foster sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective approaches to improving the Nation's resilience to the effects of EMPs."
...
The EMP menace has been raised frequently by the Heritage Foundation and EMPact America—a nonprofit advised by former Republican Maryland Congressman Roscoe Bartlett. Bartlett railed against the EMP menace for much of his congressional tenure and was behind the language in the 2001 and 2006 Defense Authorization Acts that mandated the creation of the EMP Commission—language that was assisted by post-9/11 fears over new types of attacks on the homeland.

Bartlett's concerns sprang from the science-fiction thriller One Second After (Wikipedia), a book he cited in Congress. The book now includes a forward by Gingrich. Bartlett is now a survivalist living in the mountains of West Virginia, preparing for doomsday (Politico).
...
The drumbeat picked up again after North Korea's successful nuclear tests. In March of 2017, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey and EMP Commission Chief of Staff Dr. Peter Vincent Pry penned an opinion piece for The Hill warning that North Korea "could kill 90 percent of Americans" with an EMP attack. "A single warhead delivered by North Korean satellite could blackout the national electric grid and other life-sustaining critical infrastructures for over a year—killing (PDF, GPO.gov) 9 of 10 Americans by starvation and societal collapse," Woolsey and Pry wrote.

That claim comes from figures cited in One Second After.

Wait, what?

An actual EMP attack would be far less destructive, based on testing conducted by the EMP Commission—in some cases, it would be more annoying than truly disruptive. Tests found that a "significant fraction" of electrical, industrial, and communications systems would fail—but not enough to kill 90 percent of the population.
GOP = FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt, a disinformation strategy -- Wikipedia)

Meanwhile, India shoots down a weather satellite, declares itself a “space power” -- "It shows the remarkable dexterity of India’s outstanding scientists." (Eric Berger for Ars Technica, March 27, 2019)
India announced Wednesday that it successfully fired an anti-satellite weapon and intercepted an unidentified Indian satellite at an altitude of 300km. This test, named “Mission Shakti,” gives India the prestige of becoming only the fourth nation to shoot down a satellite, but it raises serious questions about orbital debris and the ongoing militarization of space.

The country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced the anti-satellite test in a televised speech (Twitter) Wednesday, which he characterized as an "important message for our nation." Later, on Twitter and in English, he added (Twitter) that the mission "was a highly complex one, conducted at extremely high speed with remarkable precision. It shows the remarkable dexterity of India’s outstanding scientists and the success of our space programme."
posted by filthy light thief at 2:02 PM on March 27, 2019 [8 favorites]


Republicans Really Hate Health Care Krugman/NYTimes
The point is that it’s no longer possible to see any of this as part of a clever political strategy, even a nefariously cynical one. It has entered the realm of pathology instead. It’s now clear that Republicans just have a deep, unreasoning hatred of the idea that government policy may help some people get health care.

Why? The truth is that I don’t fully get it. Maybe it’s anger at the thought of anyone getting something they didn’t earn themselves, unless it’s an inheritance from daddy. Maybe it’s a sense that a lot of gratuitous suffering is or should be part of the human condition, or God’s plan, or something. I try to understand how others think, but in this case I really do find it hard.
posted by mumimor at 2:05 PM on March 27, 2019 [39 favorites]


Scoop: Kevin McCarthy tells Trump new health care push makes no sense (Axios)
McCarthy told Trump over the phone that the decision made no sense — especially after Democrats killed Republicans in the midterms in part over the issue of pre-existing conditions, according to two sources familiar with their recent conversation. As Bloomberg's Sahil Kapur points out — health care was the top issue for 2018 midterm voters, and voters who cared most about health care favored Democrats over Republicans by more than 50 percentage points.

The big picture: McCarthy is far from alone in his view. Multiple GOP sources — from the most conservative to the most moderate wing of the party — have told Axios that they can't fathom why the president would want to re-litigate an issue that has been a clear loser for Republicans.

A senior House Republican aide texted: "Members feel like [the Mueller report announcement] was great and Trump stepped all over that message with the Obamacare lawsuit announcement."

They’re also exasperated about Trump’s substance-free declaration that Republicans will become "The Party of Healthcare.” Republicans aren’t united on health care, and they have been unable to advance a replacement for the ACA.
posted by Little Dawn at 2:11 PM on March 27, 2019 [19 favorites]


Julia Ioffe: “One of the best things I learned on my last trip to Russia is that in Muslim communities there, Maga is short for Mohammed.”
(via)
posted by petebest at 2:12 PM on March 27, 2019 [22 favorites]


Oh for Allah’s sake, do not tell the Petulant Leader. I cannot even imagine the chaos if that man puts that name is his mouth.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 2:21 PM on March 27, 2019 [5 favorites]


Trump signs executive order to make America greater than EMPs

Oh that must be why SwiftOnSecurity was retweeting old quotes from 2013 how EMPs don't actually seem to break cars:
Of the 55 vehicles exposed to EMP, six at the highest levels of exposure needed to be restarted. A few more showed ‘nuisance’ damage to electronics, such as blinking dashboard displays.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:30 PM on March 27, 2019 [9 favorites]


Another instance of fiction driving policies: Trump signs executive order to make America greater than EMPs

LAT: Executive Orders: Trump Loves to Sign Them, But They Seldom Have Much Effect
The Times reviewed 101 executive orders Trump has signed since inauguration day, and interviewed experts, advocates and administration officials about their effects. Many were geared toward favored political constituencies, including veterans, blue-collar workers and evangelical Christians. Few moved policy significantly; generally the orders created committees or task forces, demanded reports or pressed for enforcement of existing laws.[…]

Many orders seek action from Cabinet secretaries, something Trump could easily accomplish with a phone call.

“You don’t really need an executive order for a lot of this stuff, but it makes for a good show,” said Elaine Kamarck, a Clinton administration veteran who is the director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution.

“He even gives out pens, which is really sort of ridiculous,” she added, noting that past presidents reserved that tradition for signing momentous laws like the Civil Rights Act.[…]

Experts say Trump’s inability to stock his administration with experienced officials can diminish the impact of his orders; it takes committed, loyal advisors to oversee the laborious rule-making processes at government agencies.
On the other hand, if the purpose of these executive order signings is to surround Trump with approving groups of people in front of news cameras, then they're highly successful.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:58 PM on March 27, 2019 [9 favorites]


Pelosi: No Reason To Trust Barr, That Boot-Licking Hack (Bess Levin, Vanity Fair)
In a private meeting with House Democrats, Pelosi said lawmakers “cannot make a judgment on the basis of an interpretation by a man who was hired for his job because he believes the president is above the law.”
posted by ZeusHumms at 3:01 PM on March 27, 2019 [36 favorites]


Maybe it’s a sense that a lot of gratuitous suffering is or should be part of the human condition, or God’s plan, or something.

Seriously, don't underestimate how much of it can boil down to "God's Plan".

Remember the "Duck Dynasty" guy? Well not doggos long ago he tweeted about how he didn't need insurance, because he was going to live forever.

So if you're going to live forever with God, sickness is either a trial, or a sign you've sinned. Either way that's b no reason to risk your soul with Godless Communism. And if you're right with Jesus, maybe a miracle will cure your cancer.

Yes, it's like something from the era of the Hundred Years War. A modern oration of an old superstition. But as a performative expressed belief, it's hard to argue against.
posted by happyroach at 3:03 PM on March 27, 2019 [6 favorites]


Betsy DeVos grilled in Congress over proposed elimination of Special Olympics funding (Doha Madani, NBC)
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos struggled before a congressional subcommittee on Tuesday to defend the administration's proposal to cut at least $7 billion from education programs, including eliminating all $18 million in federal funding for the Special Olympics.
posted by ZeusHumms at 3:07 PM on March 27, 2019 [16 favorites]




Pete Buttigieg calls Pence 'at best complicit' with resurgence of white nationalism (Politico)
Buttigieg said the vice president has been “consistently horrible” and said Americans face a danger of the continued radicalization with “what seems at best to be a level of negligence, if not encouragement, coming from the highest office in the land.”

“I think the moment you come on board with a project like the Trump campaign or the Trump-Pence administration, you are at best complicit in the process that has given cover for the flourishing and the resurgence of white nationalism in our midst,” Buttigieg said.

“It’s an obligation for anyone in a position of authority or power — or even just visibility — to speak out about why it’s wrong, why it’s not consistent with American values and why if we really want to talk about safety and security, that has less to do about putting up a wall from sea to shining sea than making sure that people are not continuing to be radicalized into violent white nationalism,” the mayor said during the interview.
posted by Little Dawn at 3:16 PM on March 27, 2019 [40 favorites]


> Life After Hate's website, if you want to know more about them, or donate to their work, and SPLC's webpage on the organization for more history.

There's more on Life After Hate in this excellent Twitter thread on white supremacy. They're one of the groups whose federal grant funding got cut by Trump.
posted by homunculus at 3:24 PM on March 27, 2019 [8 favorites]


> Remember the "Duck Dynasty" guy? Well not doggos long ago he tweeted about how he didn't need insurance, because he was going to live forever.

It seems as though he meant this in the "live forever in Heaven with God" sense, but the larger point stands in that he doesn't want health care because "The temporary reprieve [from death, via health care] is not worth it" (which implies that any sort of medical treatment is a literal sin? Or at the very least a bad idea because it will delay the day you die and go to Heaven?). Did he ever take any of his children to a medical professional or any reason? Did his wife give birth in a hospital? I have so many questions but his answers would almost certainly never make sense to me anyway.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:39 PM on March 27, 2019 [6 favorites]


Sometimes it's hard to put perspective on budget amounts when given in the millions and billions.

So, to put a perspective on just how spiteful and evil the Special Olympics getting zeroed out by Overt Villain Betsy DeVos:

The previous federal budget for Special Olympics assistance was $18 million. The one she just put forward it's $0.

Just five trips to Mar-A-Lago cost taxpayers $18 million.

In the exact same Education department budget she just put forward there is a $60 million INCREASE for charter schools (DeVos was an architect of badly damaging Michigan public schools via charter schools).

So, while she's defending zeroing out Special Olympics funding because "we have to make hard choices", she's also adding 4x that many dollars in increases to Charter Schools. All while the President* continues to travel for golf on our dime, at higher expense.

Pure evil.
posted by mcstayinskool at 4:01 PM on March 27, 2019 [87 favorites]


In a private meeting with House Democrats, Pelosi said lawmakers “cannot make a judgment on the basis of an interpretation by a man who was hired for his job because he believes the president is above the law.”

So uhh...why haven't there been subpoenas for the full report and Mueller to testify in open hearings? Why are we waiting weeks to give them more opportunity to run smokescreen and lay a counter narrative? What possible purpose is there behind this much time between every new broken norm without a real Democratic response?

We need evidence that Democratic leadership is up to this moment. We're not getting it. Are they even going to issue subpoenas? Ever? When? Is the full report the new Trump's taxes? They're going to fundraise off getting them/it, but never take any steps to actually do so?
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:04 PM on March 27, 2019 [19 favorites]


he doesn't want health care because "The temporary reprieve [from death, via health care] is not worth it"

Hm, you'd think the fleeting moments he'd spend enduring Earthly scourges like taxation on the wealthy, racial justice, or gay marriage would pale in comparison to the blissful eternity that awaits him after death, too. But you never hear that reasoning coming from these people.
posted by Rykey at 4:07 PM on March 27, 2019 [10 favorites]


The Special Olympics vs. Mar-a-Lago trip comparison is getting a lot of play in social media. It's even worse than it looks at first. We need to emphasize that, when the presidential entourage goes to Mar-a-Lago, remember that a big chunk of those taxpayer dollars end up in Trump's pocket. Money is literally being denied disabled children that will go to Trump's business.
posted by Sublimity at 4:10 PM on March 27, 2019 [46 favorites]


A fascinating cartographic juxtaposition regarding Beto O'Rourke.

posted by homunculus at 3:14 PM on March 27 [1 favorite +] [!]


Hilarious. There are more Starbucks and more watch parties where there are people. Where they ain't, not so much.
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:15 PM on March 27, 2019 [9 favorites]


I guess we don't want people searching Google and Facebook for information about how to become a white nationalist. But I'll just mention a downside of that. Last summer I was traveling down the Interstate and saw this. From having been exposed to lots of things about our new reality on MetaFilter I had a hunch that the last symbol on the bottom was a Nazi symbol. Sure enough, some Google image searching confirmed my suspicion. I was able to contact the trucking company and give them the truck and trailer numbers and emailed them the photos. I asked them to take some sort of action as they saw fit and I believe they did. If I were unable to research those symbols I would not have been able to take the action I did. Or worse I might have been labeled as an extremist or cut off from social media accounts. Censorship is a two-edged sword.
posted by M-x shell at 4:25 PM on March 27, 2019 [9 favorites]


So, to put a perspective on just how spiteful and evil the Special Olympics getting zeroed out by Overt Villain Betsy DeVos:

U.S. government wasted up to $1 billion on charter schools and still fails to adequately monitor grants (WaPo):
The U.S. government has wasted up to $1 billion on charter schools that never opened, or opened and then closed because of mismanagement and other reasons, according to a report from an education advocacy group. The study also says the U.S. Education Department does not adequately monitor how its grant money is spent.
posted by peeedro at 4:31 PM on March 27, 2019 [16 favorites]


Kevin McCarthy tells Trump new health care push makes no sense

It makes sense in the only way important to Trump. Trump can finally settle his grudge with a dead man.
posted by JackFlash at 4:46 PM on March 27, 2019 [8 favorites]


Trump says "I understand health care now"

"I mean it 100 percent, I understand health care now, especially very well. A lot of people don't understand it, we are going to be, the Republicans, the party of great health care. The Democrats have, they've let you down, they came up with Obamacare, it's terrible."
posted by zakur at 4:57 PM on March 27, 2019 [10 favorites]


Out in the the real world: This is El Paso right now, where hundreds of migrant families are being held in the parking lot of a Border Patrol station because there is no room for them inside, or anywhere else.
posted by adamvasco at 6:10 PM on March 27, 2019 [18 favorites]


Out in the the real world: This is El Paso right now, where hundreds of migrant families are being held in the parking lot of a Border Patrol station because there is no room for them inside, or anywhere else.

The Guardian reports:
They are migrants trying to make their way to the United States from Central America and found themselves being held at the US-Mexico border in a parking lot of a border patrol station at the international crossing point in El Paso, in western Texas. [...] Most are seeking refuge from violence and poverty, particularly in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and a new start or a connection with relatives in the US.

Many were crowded into the cramped and dingy parking area beneath the Paso del Norte bridge in El Paso on Wednesday. [...]

CBP has temporarily closed all highway checkpoints along the 268-mile stretch of border in the El Paso sector to try to contain a surge in illegal entry.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:20 PM on March 27, 2019 [4 favorites]


Border Patrol Takes a Rare Step in Shutting Down Inland Checkpoints (NYT)
The closing of checkpoints — not at the border, but up to 100 miles inland — reflects the strain on border operations as the number of migrants entering the country, which in February reached an 11-year high, continues to climb.

The authorities closed checkpoints across the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector, which includes 121,000 square miles in New Mexico and 4,500 square miles in Texas, in order to free more agents to work directly on the border. [...]

Agents at the Border Patrol checkpoints arrest relatively few unauthorized migrants, and most of those who are seeking asylum quickly surrender to the authorities at the border.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:34 PM on March 27, 2019 [5 favorites]


Interior Nominee Intervened to Block Report on Endangered Species (NYT link)
Their analysis found that two of the pesticides, malathion and chlorpyrifos, were so toxic that they “jeopardize the continued existence” of more than 1,200 endangered birds, fish and other animals and plants, a conclusion that could lead to tighter restrictions on use of the chemicals.

But just before the team planned to make its findings public in November 2017, something unexpected happened: Top political appointees of the Interior Department, which oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service, blocked the release and set in motion a new process intended to apply a much narrower standard to determine the risks from the pesticides.

Leading that intervention was David Bernhardt, then the deputy secretary of the interior and a former lobbyist and oil-industry lawyer. In October 2017, he abruptly summoned staff members to the first of a rapid series of meetings in which the Fish and Wildlife Service was directed to take the new approach, one that pesticide makers and users had lobbied intensively to promote.
posted by MrVisible at 6:41 PM on March 27, 2019 [26 favorites]


i was laughing to myself, contemplating this misministration's rate of agency actions ruled to be impermissibly "arbitrary and capricious," imagining how it might, ultimately, compare to that rate of other administrations, or, whether it was as likely as, say, the evolution of life in this solar system, probability-wise. in short i was feeling pretty smug about the medicare ruling zachlipton mentioned earlier, when (flash!-bang!-alakazaam!) i recalled they may be appealed. then in a cascade of nightmarish associations i believe a pillar of the unitary executive endgame was revealed to me as in a beam of doom: for the supreme court to strike down the administrative procedure act. i want to believe such a ruling is impossible, that the elimination of such a significant edifice of post war public law is preposterous. but so much that two-year-younger-me would have dismissed as preposterously unthinkable has, over that span, already occurred (...out of that or-ange co-lored guy!). i balk, trying to imagine how to even approach the question in a legal/scholastic mode. so. i guess the starting place would be a review of early administrative cases, which. and then a review of certain justices' prior public statements concerning the act, doubly which. and then, i guess, continue discussing and arguing with strangers and trolls on the internet, while the institutions upon which we mustn't rely abdicate, until the (ethnonationalist) authoritarians get around to recognizing me as the enemy? suppose it could be worse: gorsuch and kavanaugh could convince the court to overturn marbury v. madison. sorry for the grim. check me. is it a crazy notion--not, you know, 1999, or 2006 or 2013 crazy, but crazy today?

separately, to tragicomic chagrin, i failed to stop reading that coffee-boy's interview transcript. he is a fascinating mystery to himself, and everyone he encounters is terribly interested in his ideas and the things he was working on, though he cannot recall now what those things were with any particularity, having "some beers" with beautiful women and scholars and diplomats. i am ashamed that i remain fascinated with this self-aggrandizing no-one's weasel timelines, his bullshit affectations and his rambling, constant self-contradictions, but will probably read the rest tonight. i will try not to afflict it on you, gentle mefites.
posted by 20 year lurk at 6:43 PM on March 27, 2019 [3 favorites]


"We have an undocumented client in the shelter from Ireland who wants to go back home. He went to the consulate, they sent him to the police. The police sent him to ICE. ICE refused to deport or detain him! They said 'You're not the type of person we’re looking for.' So he asked 'so if I was latino or black you’d deport me?' and they literally told him 'Yes. Those are the ones we’re looking for.' He asked to be deported because he can’t afford a flight. ICE said no."
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:47 PM on March 27, 2019 [103 favorites]


separately, to tragicomic chagrin, i failed to stop reading that coffee-boy's interview transcript.

Spoiler alert: "Putin's neice" was named Olga. Which, y'know. Of course. Very beautiful women who can't speak English very well but are suddenly able to email policy positions with excellent grammar are named Olga. It's what every creative writing course teaches.

It's a one-man show waiting to happen. And just like that, I suddenly miss Spalding Gray again.
posted by petebest at 6:51 PM on March 27, 2019 [12 favorites]


Update from MoveOn and Public Citizen.
If Barr misses the deadline to make the Mueller report public, shielding the Trump administration from public accountability, we will likely activate the Nobody Is Above the Law rapid-response network on Wednesday morning, calling for a national day of action the following day, THURSDAY, APRIL 4, at 5 p.m. local time.
Find your local protest and RSVP here:

http://trumpisnotabovethelaw.org
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:10 PM on March 27, 2019 [24 favorites]




This is your regular reminder that ENTERING A COUNTRY TO SEEK ASYLUM IS NOT ILLEGAL. I can understand how a person who has little familiarity with immigration can misunderstand that idea. I don't understand how reporters and editors writing for international media can misunderstand that idea; at this point, I don't know if they're just sucking up to U.S. law enforcement and our racist president or pandering to an ignorant and racist readership but given how long we've been focused on this issue I can't believe that they're ignorant or misinformed about U.S. and international law.
posted by ElKevbo at 7:23 PM on March 27, 2019 [46 favorites]


Border Patrol starts releasing migrants onto streets in Rio Grande Valley as Trump critics cite ‘moral’ crisis (Dallas News)
Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen made a brief visit to the Texas border Thursday as authorities began releasing detained migrant families onto the streets of the Rio Grande Valley almost immediately after they crossed into the U.S., saying they didn't have enough space in facilities to accommodate soaring numbers.

Central Americans — many in families and traveling in large groups from Honduras and Guatemala — have been traveling north through Mexico to the U.S. border in growing numbers. Some are waiting in Mexico for a chance to cross at border checkpoints to seek asylum legallty, while others have become increasingly desperate, crossing the border in remote areas and even in urban areas such as El Paso, where they then turn themselves in to authorities.

The crunch has become so intense that U.S. authorities briefly stopped processing asylum cases from across the border because shelters in the El Paso area were at capacity.

Now, Nielsen said, federal authorities at the border in far South Texas are simply releasing families to await the outcome of their cases rather than sending them to federal facilities where they would normally be detained for days or weeks. [...]

The situation is about to get more complicated as the Trump administration prepares to implement its Migrant Protection Protocols in the El Paso-Juarez region on Friday. A high-level meeting between U.S. and Mexican authorities was held Friday in El Paso. No details were provided. The protocols, also known as Remain in Mexico, require that asylum seekers wait in Mexico until they are summoned by U.S. officials to have their cases heard in U.S. immigration courts.

Critics say the protocols, in place in the San Diego-Tijuana region since December, will deepen the humanitarian and legal crisis that already has shelters on both sides of the border at a breaking point. [...]

Several groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, have sued to challenge the legality of the measure that calls for asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their cases can be heard in U.S. immigration courts. They say international law assures migrants the right to seek asylum when they cross into U.S. territory. They also say the migrants are further endangered when they have to wait for days or weeks in high-crime areas such as Juarez and Reynosa, across from McAllen.

A hearing is scheduled for Friday on a request for a temporary injunction to block the Migrant Protection Protocols.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:33 PM on March 27, 2019 [4 favorites]


A hearing is scheduled for Friday on a request for a temporary injunction to block the Migrant Protection Protocols.

Actually, the hearing happened on March 22, and:
Lawyers for the rights groups and for the government argued over the technical aspects of the policy on Friday in front of U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg. He asked a series of detailed questions about whether the Trump administration had discretion to implement the policy. Seeborg also wondered how broadly of an injunction he could issue and whether any stop to the policy should apply nationally. He is expected to rule on the case in a written decision.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:01 PM on March 27, 2019 [5 favorites]


This Atlantic piece on how “the Robert Mueller fetishization cottage industry” is reacting to the last week is a helpful collection of People and Pages to Avoid on Social Media.
posted by sallybrown at 8:20 PM on March 27, 2019 [5 favorites]


“SHE WAS NOT INVOLVED”: E-MAILS SHOW IVANKA’S LAWYER ASKED FOR CHANGES TO MICHAEL COHEN’S CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY
A previously unreported e-mail exchange alleges how attorney Abbe Lowell suggested changes to Cohen’s testimony that would distance Ivanka from the Moscow Tower deal. Emily Jane Fox, Vanity Fair.
posted by AwkwardPause at 8:21 PM on March 27, 2019 [37 favorites]


Mnuchin says U.S. government would shield Trump tax returns from Congress

Getting Trump's tax returns from the IRS could prove difficult if Mnuchin decides not to cooperate. Mnuchin, as Treasury Secretary, controls the IRS. It could take months or years of appeals going to the Supreme Court.

So word out today is the House Oversight and Reform Committee is demanding 10 years of Donald Trump’s financial records from an accounting firm.

This is a clever move. You don't have to get Trump's tax returns from the IRS. You can just bypass the IRS and get copies from Trump's accountants. Sure, they will fight the congressional subpoena but there is no claim of executive privilege that applies nor can a recalcitrant Treasury Secretary to simply stonewall it. It is no longer a Constitutional case. It is a much narrower civil privacy case.
posted by JackFlash at 10:23 PM on March 27, 2019 [52 favorites]


He asked to be deported because he can’t afford a flight. ICE said no."

When white supremacy becomes ironic.
posted by jaduncan at 12:55 AM on March 28, 2019 [14 favorites]


This appeared on one of my feeds this morning and I feel in a sharing mood.
I don’t know – it’s hard for me to see any U.S. ties to Russia…except for the Roger Stone things
and the Manafort things
and the Cohen things
and the Flynn things
and the Maria Butina / NRA thing
and the NRA campaign contribution thing
and the Tillerson thing
and the Sessions thing
and the Kushner thing
and the Carter Page thing
and the Felix Sater thing
and the Boris Ephsteyn thing
and the Rosneft thing
and the Gazprom thing
and the Sergey Gorkov banker thing
and the Azerbaijan thing
and the “I love Putin” thing
and the Donald Trump, Jr. thing
and the Sergey Kislyak thing
and the Russian Affiliated Interests thing
and the Russian Business Interests thing
and the Emoluments Clause thing
and the Alex Schnaider thing
and the hack of the DNC thing
and the Guccifer 2.0 thing
and the Mike Pence “I don’t know anything” thing
and the Russians mysteriously dying thing
and Trump’s public request to Russia to hack Hillary’s email thing
and the Trump house sale for $100 million at the bottom of the housing bust to
the Russian fertilizer king thing
and the Russian fertilizer king’s plane showing up in Concord, NC during Trump
rally campaign thing
and the Nunes sudden flight to the White House in the night thing
and the Nunes personal investments in the Russian winery thing
and the Wilbur Ross with his Cyprus bank thing
and Trump not releasing his tax returns thing
and the Republican Party’s rejection of an amendment to require Trump to show
his taxes thing
and the election hacking thing
and the GOP platform change to the Ukraine thing
and the Steele Dossier thing
and the Leninist Bannon thing
and the Sally Yates can’t testify thing
and the Sally Yates firing thing*
and the intelligence community’s investigative reports thing
and Trump’s reassurance that the Russian connection is all
“fake news” thing
and Spicer’s Russian Dressing “nothing’s wrong” thing
and Trump warning the Russians
and Syrians before the Bombing thing*
and the Trump refusing to provide Flynn's foreign ties documents to Congress
thing*
and Flynn's illegal Turkish lobbying was paid for the
Russians thing*
and Flynn's illegal lobbying for Russia thing*
and the Trump asking Comey for a "loyalty oath" thing*
and Trump lying to the world about Comey saying he's not
being investigated thing*
and the Trump firing Comey thing*
and the Trump or stooges lying to the world about why he fired Comey with 3
different lies*
and Trump hosting Russian foreign minister
and ambassador one day after to demonstrate his authoritarian
street cred*
and the finding out that Trump actually tried to fire Robert Mueller in June
2017 thing
and the claim by trump that the Russia investigation is over some unrefunded
golf club fees to Robert Mueller thing...
and the lying to the American public during the campaign about have no business in Russia thing…
and the Ivanka super-duper Moscow hotel spa thing…
So there’s probably nothing, all of this must be normal, just a bunch of separate dots with no connection whatsoever.
posted by adamvasco at 3:10 AM on March 28, 2019 [133 favorites]


Nathaniel Rakich, 538: What To Make Of The ‘Buttigieg Bump’
posted by nangar at 3:40 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


If you're the kind of information consumer that watches popular politics through your fingers, this might be the perfect thing. Some fine Interwebber put together an animated GIF of AOC handing the GOP their keester with captions. Now Imma get the AOCmania.

As a counterpoint, you-know-who told Fascist Network some crazy crap that they want everyone to pick up. Doesn't mean anything, won't go anywhere, just more crazy crap to keep - whatever he thinks it is - going. Such a difference.
posted by petebest at 4:31 AM on March 28, 2019 [9 favorites]


Attorney general expected to miss deadline for giving Mueller report to Congress, will not commit to releasing it in full (WaPo)

Barr would not promise that “an unredacted full report with the underlying documents, evidence, would be provided to Congress and to the American people,” Nadler said. “We’re not happy about that, to put it mildly.”

Speaker Pelosi - a word?
posted by petebest at 4:41 AM on March 28, 2019 [15 favorites]


Six tweets so far this morning, including Schiff-should-resign (trending in a parallel universe) and, rising up the charts, DOJ-should-investigate-Jussie-Smollett.
posted by box at 4:51 AM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]


Photo of a site under an El Paso overpass being run by US Border Patrol as ... an internment camp would be the most neutral term, I suppose. Some people in the comments say that this photo is propaganda; that US Border Patrol want potential migrants to see this image, so they'll be dissuaded from entering the US. You can see Border Patrol officers in the background, so that may be correct.

I don't want to facilitate their propaganda effort, but (most of?) the people here aren't the target, and even if it has been staged the people in it are hardly there voluntarily. Consequently, I feel that from the perspective of US Border Patrol it may be propaganda, but in a better future it's evidence against them.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:17 AM on March 28, 2019 [7 favorites]


The Guardian: US-Mexico border at 'breaking point' amid immigration surge, official says


While arrests are still well below highs of the early 2000s, the surge of families and children has tested both the migrants and the US authorities. Customs and Border Protection is taking more than 60 migrants to the hospital each day, McAleenan said.

CBP has temporarily closed all highway checkpoints along the 268-mile stretch of border in the El Paso sector to try to contain a surge in illegal entry.

[in the article, a photo of immigrant families caged under a highway overpass]

NPR: Immigration System At The 'Breaking Point,' Homeland Security Official Warns

The majority of these migrants are families and children fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. McAleenan says they are straining the resources of Border Patrol facilities, which were designed primarily for single men and are far beyond their official capacity.

"We are doing everything we can to simply avoid a tragedy," McAleenan said. "But with these numbers, with the types of illnesses we're seeing at the border, I fear that it's just a matter of time."

CBP has stepped up medical care for migrants since two children died in custody in December. But McAleenan says efforts to provide that medical attention have diverted Border Patrol agents from their security duties. "Our expanded medical checks and concerted efforts are saving lives," McAleenan said. "But they have a high cost to our enforcement mission."


Emphasis mine. Coming from the Trump Regime, this sounds to me like a threat. I'm so, so sorry to every one of these families and individuals.
posted by Emmy Rae at 5:20 AM on March 28, 2019 [9 favorites]




Photo of a site under an El Paso overpass being run by US Border Patrol as ... an internment camp would be the most neutral term, I suppose

If only there was a presidential hopeful from El Paso who could raise this to national level visibility.
posted by The Whelk at 5:27 AM on March 28, 2019 [16 favorites]


I know you can say this about practically everything with this administration, but you know who else thought differently-abled people weren’t worth the cost?
posted by chris24 at 5:29 AM on March 28, 2019 [8 favorites]


From the WaPost story on the Hannity interview last night, Trump's mirror still reflects brightly:
"(Trump) said that despite being the “most innocent human being,” he didn’t know what the Mueller report would ultimately conclude because “you know, maybe they would take a sentence from here and a sentence from there.”
posted by Harry Caul at 5:41 AM on March 28, 2019 [3 favorites]


Trump told Hannity he won’t rule out pardoning Michael Flynn and others in first interview since Mueller probe ended

Trump's Hannity "interview" last night to proclaim his innocent and celebrate his supposed vindication went off the rails at several points. His obvious lies and wild hyperbole are a tactic to demoralize the opposition, to convey that not only did he get away with everything (he hasn't yet), but also he's going to do more and worse. (It's not that Trump is a Machiavellian plotter on a Nixonian level, just that he's got an instinct for manipulating his audience and his opponents.)

In any case, Daniel Dale has a thread of the highlights:
—Trump tells Hannity, extremely inaccurately, that you're only allowed to launch an investigation "legally" if there is a crime. "There was no crime," he says, obviously not mentioning Cohen, Manafort, Gates and Flynn.
—Trump on either Page and Strzok specifically or the investigation more broadly: "It was treason. It was really treason." (Treason has a definition, and this is not it.)
—Asked if he'd consider pardons for Flynn or Papadopoulos, Trump says, "Many, many people were hurt, incredibly hurt, by this whole scam." He says Flynn had a great record in the military. He adds, "I don't want to talk about pardons now, but...it's so sad on so many levels."
—Trump says "you can say it's a crime" that Rep. Adam Schiff made false statements about him and collusion. (You can, but you would be wrong.)
—Trump has moved from calling the investigation a failed "illegal takedown" to calling it a failed "Illegal takeover," suggesting that his enemies were trying to perpetrate a literal coup.
—Trump: "I was the most innocent human being."
—Trump asked about declassifying FISA-warrant materials: "I have plans to declassify and release, I have plans to absolutely release." He says his lawyers didn't want him to do it before. "We got a great result without having to do it. But we will."
—Trump says former CIA director John Brennan is "a sick person" and that "there's something wrong with him." He adds, "Either sick or there's some other problem."
—Trump: "Devin Nunes is someday going to be hailed as a great American hero.
—Asked about how to stop malicious Russian cyber activity, Trump criticizes Obama for his handling of the Russian activity in 2016, then talks vaguely about "major, major treason," then asks why Obama didn't do more in response to Russian interference when he was informed.
—The interview is over. Hannity is now pre-emptively defending his decision to just let Trump ramble, saying he believes in letting interviewees just share their thoughts without "gotcha" questions. The end.
Trump's mirror was on full display last night, but he couldn't stop himself from admiring his new imperial clothes in it.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:52 AM on March 28, 2019 [27 favorites]


From that Guardian article above:
Nearby, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, declared an “operational crisis” because of a recent surge in the number of people arriving at the border, many hoping to seek asylum, and either crossing into the US unlawfully or waiting in gathering numbers on the Mexican side to be processed.

He said the immigration system on the southern border was at “breaking point” and called on Congress to bring solutions.
Okay, considering how much this administration lies, I would not be publishing an article without significant pushback and research against the CBP commissioner. You can’t quote these people, reiterate their propaganda, and then leave it to a longform journalism piece to be published later on that most people probably won’t read to put down the facts of the matter. The Trump admin lies nonstop for propaganda purposes. Is there actually a “surge” of people arriving at the border? And how many? Border crossings are at an all-time low, so what surge are they talking about? Is the descriptor “surge” a literal quotation from Kevin McAleenan, or did the author use it? Because to be honest, based on the propaganda rhetoric this admin has used in the past, and the manufactured video of immigrants “rushing the border” and then being tear gassed, when I picture a “surge” I’m imagining something far more intense than what is probably the reality of the situation.
posted by gucci mane at 5:54 AM on March 28, 2019 [25 favorites]


Trump told Hannity he won’t rule out pardoning Michael Flynn and others in first interview since Mueller probe ended

This means that it's a good thing that Mueller has handed a lot of the investigations off to individual states. If New York State, for instance, indicts Junior or Jared or any of the other Trump hangers-on, Trump cannot pardon them. They're stuck. New York AG Letitia James has already subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for records relating to the Trump real estate empire. Asha Rangappa at WaPo has more on states potentially charging Trump and his circle.

I know it would be demoralizing if Trump just pardoned his way out of federal charges but the states are waiting for him, and it will be harder for him to wiggle out.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 6:00 AM on March 28, 2019 [7 favorites]


gucci mane, I also want to know what level of lying and exaggeration this "surge" is. In one of the articles they point out that it is lower than 2000 levels, but it is not a proper fact check or pushback.

I think they are muddying the waters because border crossings are slightly up from already low levels.
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:10 AM on March 28, 2019 [8 favorites]


Is there any good reason to preserve the Presidential pardon, or would we just be better off amending the Constitution to get rid of that particular executive power?

Rosie M. Banks I think the American left is putting far too much faith in the idea that if Trump issues a pardon for a purely state level crime the five Republicans on the Supreme Court wouldn't rule that he could do so. Do not expect state level institutions to save us.
posted by sotonohito at 6:15 AM on March 28, 2019 [9 favorites]


“They’re watching because they suspect it doesn’t get any better, in a country that punted on punishing the bad guys since they can remember, and in a TV news climate that sucks almost the whole ass. Wanting to indulge the notion that one person can take you on a journey that explains an entire saga you can’t possibly chronologize, and at the end of it the worst president and one of the worst human beings in living memory might be threatened with jail, makes sense. It’s the most normal thing in the world. ” On Muller fallout, shouting over who was right all along, living inside the TV and the reasonable if impossible desire for everything to go back to normal
posted by The Whelk at 6:57 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]


This Atlantic piece on how “the Robert Mueller fetishization cottage industry” is reacting to the last week is a helpful collection of People and Pages to Avoid on Social Media.

See also:

The Mueller-Industrial Complex Collapses (Ian Bogost, The Atlantic)
Newsmakers, pundits, and hustlers banked their future on the investigation taking down the president. The jig is up. […]

But there’s something different about Mueller industrialism. It’s more than yet another fusion of 24-hour information, meme culture, and internet opportunism. It also speaks to Americans’ strong desire to anticipate the future, and to live in the present as if that future has already arrived, and in the way they’d planned it to besides.

The media theorist Richard Grusin has a name for this practice: premediation. News analysts, pundits, product designers, influencers, and all the rest now create media in the present whose content anticipates future events or actions. The nonstop coverage of the 2020 Democratic primary offers an effective if humdrum example. That the left perceives the Trump presidency as odious partly explains why his opponents are coming out earlier, but the media landscape also demands and rewards this kind of anticipation. Are Kamala Harris’s policies suitable for the Democratic ticket? Is Beto O’Rourke’s hacker youth a benefit or a liability? Will Joe Biden run or won’t he? These and other stories seem like news about the present, but they are really speculations on information from the future.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:09 AM on March 28, 2019 [3 favorites]


'Nowhere to hold them': exhausted migrants crowded under a bridge in Texas (Guardian)
For the past two days, the small shaded area underneath the bridge has also been busy: hundreds of recently apprehended migrants are now spending hours out in the open behind a chain-link fence and razor wire. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says they are there due to the continued rise of mostly Central American migrants who have to be processed at various ports of entry and have generated a bottleneck. [...]

A CBP spokesman, Ramiro Cordero, said he didn’t have an accurate estimate of the number of migrants at the shelter because it fluctuated every hour. But he said that as of 6am Wednesday, the CBP’s El Paso sector, which covers New Mexico and parts of west Texas, had approximately 3,500 migrants in custody. The sector is averaging 570 daily apprehensions this month, up from around 200 per day early last year. He noted the migrants in the shelter had been detained within the last 15 to 20 hours. [...]

Another CBP official, who asked not to be named, told the Guardian that if the current situation did not improve, CBP might have to release some of the migrants it processes into the streets rather than waiting for other agencies to pick them up. [...] Only two blocks away from the bridge, the CBP commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, said at a news conference on Wednesday morning that the number of migrants coming to the US was unprecedented. He said on that morning CBP had more than 13,000 migrants in its custody; normally, it was closer to 4,000.
Trump Criticizes Central American Nations a Day After U.S. Signed a Security Agreement With Them (NYT)
President Trump on Thursday criticized Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras for accepting monetary aid from the United States but doing nothing in return, a day after his Homeland Security secretary struck what she described as a historic agreement with three of those same countries to help strengthen security on the United States Southern border.

Mr. Trump also threatened to close the Southern border, a move he has previously considered, which would have a significant economic impact by disrupting the flow of trade and labor. [...]

It was not immediately clear what sparked Mr. Trump’s outrage early Thursday, but it comes on the heels of the House Democrats’ refusal to sign off on a Defense Department request to redirect funds to be used to help build the president’s border wall.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:10 AM on March 28, 2019 [7 favorites]


Preet Bahara was saying on Pod Save America, and I don't know sports, so I may have messed this up, but that Mueller punted to Congress, and Barr swooped in like some sort of shitty football eagle while the ball of the investigation was in the air and took the ball to Trump.

Anyway, if I have that right, that's a pretty simple narrative that can gain (may be? gaining) traction.
posted by angrycat at 7:11 AM on March 28, 2019 [19 favorites]


Pennsylvania Lawmaker Prays for God’s Forgiveness Before First Muslim Woman Sworn In as Representative (Molly Olmstead, Slate)
State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz gave a nearly two-minute opening prayer before Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell, a Democrat, joined the Legislature after winning a special election. In the prayer, according to the Capital-Star, Borowicz said Jesus 13 times, quoted from a chapter of the Bible asking God’s followers to “turn from their wicked ways,” asked explicitly for God’s forgiveness for having “forgotten you, God, in our country,” called Jesus “our only hope,” and praised President Donald Trump for his support of Israel.

As she gave the invocation, other members of the Legislature became visibly uncomfortable, and Democratic Rep. Margo Davidson yelled “objection” near the end of the prayer, according to the Capital-Star. House Speaker Mike Turzai can be seen in video of the moment placing his hand on Borowicz’s arm. She then quickly finished the prayer.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:32 AM on March 28, 2019 [27 favorites]


I think “punted” is the wrong analogy, since it involves transferring the ball to the other side.

Mueller lateraled to Congress, the Coach jumped onto the field for the interception and locked the ball in a five gallon Gatorade bucket. The Team’s President then got on the PA and proclaimed he’d won the Super Bowl and it was likely the refs would begin investigating last season’s winner because people are saying that that outcome was rigged.

Meanwhile 60% of the fans in attendance are looking over at one another with eyebrows raised as if to say, “this isn’t how they are supposed to play, is it?”
posted by notyou at 7:33 AM on March 28, 2019 [61 favorites]


Mueller Report Exceeds 300 Pages, Raising Questions About Four-Page Summary (NYT)
WASHINGTON — The still-secret report on Russian interference in the 2016 election submitted by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, last week was more than 300 pages long, according to American officials with knowledge of it, a length that raises new questions about Attorney General William P. Barr’s four-page summary.

Mr. Barr wrote to Congress on Sunday offering what he called the “principal conclusions” of the report — including that Mr. Mueller had not found evidence that the Trump campaign took part in a conspiracy to undermine the election. But he had notably declined to publicly disclose its length.

The total of 300-plus pages suggests that Mr. Mueller went well beyond the kind of bare-bones summary required by the Justice Department regulation governing his appointment and detailed his conclusions at length. And it raises questions about what Mr. Barr might have left out of the four dense pages he sent Congress.

Democrats, who like all other lawmakers have not seen the report, have all but accused Mr. Barr of covering up damaging information it contains. They have specifically focused on an apparent difference between the views of Mr. Barr and Mr. Mueller on whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. Democrats have demanded that the attorney general make the full report and evidence public.

The American officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss details of the report, titled “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:37 AM on March 28, 2019 [43 favorites]


Mick Mulvaney pushed Trump to stop defending Obamacare. It can only backfire. (Jordan Weissmann, Slate)

Also titled: "Mick Mulvaney Has Consolidated His Influence in the White House to Everyone’s Detriment"
Both Politico and the New York Times report that the White House chief of staff, along with one of his proteges, was the main driver behind the president’s decision, which was opposed by the attorney general, vice president, and secretary of health and human services.

Mulvaney’s power move probably does not mean much for the future of Obamacare. But it does confirm that the man has acquired a great deal of influence in the White House—which, given his venal policy instincts and tin ear for politics, can’t possibly bode well for anybody, least of all Republican lawmakers.
Apparently, this is in line with Mulvaney's behavior as a Tea Party congressman, and leverages his frequent golf outings with Trump.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:38 AM on March 28, 2019 [8 favorites]


Mick Mulvaney is in the running for most evil person in the administration. The only judging controversy is whether his hatred of poor people is categorically worse than Stephen Miller's hatred of nonwhite people or Trump's sheer bullheaded stupidity.
posted by Etrigan at 8:00 AM on March 28, 2019 [14 favorites]


> Mueller Report Exceeds 300 Pages, Raising Questions About Four-Page Summary (NYT) ... The American officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss details of the report, titled “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.”

See, this is the one thing that still gives me hope for the Mueller report. When Trump gets his tiny hands on the actual report, there will be leaks.
The staff can't help themselves, and the one thing the "access journalism" media has shown itself capable of so far is flattering and toadying up to their subjects to get juicy leaks. It's a matter of days, not several weeks, I would bet, before there are anonymously-sourced excerpts floating around.
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:03 AM on March 28, 2019 [10 favorites]


Trump told Hannity he won’t rule out pardoning Michael Flynn and others in first interview since Mueller probe ended

AP: Close Advisers Try to Steer Trump Away From Issuing Pardons. "Trump has not brought up pardons since the Mueller probe ended, but has privately complained about what he believes is the unfair treatment a number of his former aides have received, according to a White House official not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations. The president has expressed sympathy for Manafort, believing his sentence of seven-plus years for a variety of financial crimes was unjust, according to the official."

See, this is the one thing that still gives me hope for the Mueller report. When Trump gets his tiny hands on the actual report, there will be leaks.

There will definitely be leaks of the Mueller report from the Trump administration, but unfortunately, they're more likely to be selective pieces to friendly media outlets that will spin the report as favorably as possible. What we're seeing at the moment is Barr's deliberate prevention of it winding up in Democratic hands even as he promises to give the Trump White House an advance look at it ‘in case they want to claim executive privilege’. Nothing short of an official public release of the Mueller report is acceptable.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:19 AM on March 28, 2019 [15 favorites]


Republicans warn Trump to back off economy-wrecking tariffs (Politico)
Behind closed doors, GOP senators push back on Trump consistently when he brings up existing tariffs on steel and aluminum or potential tariffs on automakers, according to Republican senators. But Trump doesn’t back down from his position: He says the threat of tariffs gets the attention of trading partners — like China — who need to permit more imports of American products. [...]

Administration officials have tried to reassure worried Republicans that the president has hit pause as he considers a trade report that would allow him to declare tariffs on the basis of national security. But Republican senators said in interviews on Wednesday they have enormous concerns that Trump might go ahead with it anyway. That’s in part because Trump may once again make a unilateral decision. “He’s in conflict, to a certain extent, with his agencies,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, home to a Kia plant.

“To suggest that Volkswagens are a national security threat to the United States is not true and we should not be doing that. It would be very bad for our economy and very bad for our consumers,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), among the most fervent tariff opponents. [...]

“Most of our members are opposed to auto tariffs and they’ve made that clear to the president,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican whip. Republicans have been through this before on the steel and aluminum tariffs. Some urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to bring legislation to the floor allowing them to block the tariffs. But McConnell never did, in part because Trump would never sign it and also because it would expose another intraparty divide.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:30 AM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]


In any case, Daniel Dale has a thread of the highlights:

—Trump tells Hannity, extremely inaccurately, that you're only allowed to launch an investigation "legally" if there is a crime. "There was no crime," he says, obviously not mentioning Cohen, Manafort, Gates and Flynn.


Also, Mueller indicted Russian GRU officers for interfering in our election. Apparently it was a big enough section of the report that even Barr alluded to it in his summary. It's pretty fucking telling he doesn't consider that a crime. Of course he doesn't, because they attacked his political opponent and helped him win. And of course he's fine with it happening again.

With all our hand wringing in these threads, I'd say we could save ourselves some time if we just put up a static web page with the quote by Frank Wilhoit:
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit:

There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.

There is nothing more or else to it, and there never has been, in any place or time.
posted by bluecore at 8:33 AM on March 28, 2019 [45 favorites]


There will definitely be leaks of the Mueller report from the Trump administration, but unfortunately, they're more likely to be selective pieces to friendly media outlets that will spin the report as favorably as possible.

This administration has absolutely leaked things that are damaging to it, e.g. Trump's leak of top-secret intelligence info and assets to Russian officials during an Oval Office conversation. There will definitely be leaks that selectively support the Trump narrative, but I'll be surprised if there aren't unsanctioned leaks that paint a more complete picture (though still not as good as having the actual report).
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:35 AM on March 28, 2019 [3 favorites]


(To be clear, I mean the fact of Trump blabbing to the Russian officials he met with was, itself, leaked to the U.S. press)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:36 AM on March 28, 2019


Mick Mulvaney is in the running for most evil person in the administration. The only judging controversy is whether his hatred of poor people is categorically worse than Stephen Miller's hatred of nonwhite people or Trump's sheer bullheaded stupidity.

Heartily second this. He made it very clear that he knows exactly what he signed up for in this quote that was making the rounds at the end of last year (on CNN for example) from a 2015 interview:
MERCER: Immigration. Donald Trump says build a wall. Deport all illegal immigrants. Rules are rules.

MULVANEY: I've never been in the boxcar caucus. You know, ship them home in boxcars and let the Lord sort them out. The fence is an easy thing to sell politically. It's an easy thing for someone who doesn't follow the issue very closely to say, oh well, that'll just solve everything, build the fence.
Total stone-cold consciousness that he's saluting to a President who advertised a re-run of the Holocaust. For the same kind of evidence purposes Joe in Australia mentions above, the broadcast of the interview was by station WRHI on August 25, 2015 as an episode of the program Closeup with interviewer Patti Mercer. The above quote starts 8 minutes in.

(Internet Archive link, although the IA site is indicating that robots.txt rules don't allow them to display the actual .mp3 audio of the interview. So... perhaps anyone who clicks through would like to save a copy of it.)

Another damning quote from the interview: That's what concerns me—I wonder who's more interested in going around the Constitution to get things done, Barack Obama or Donald Trump! Chief of Staff of the boxcar and “military eminent domain” and “protesting has to have consequences” administration, super duper worried about Constitutional freedoms.
posted by XMLicious at 8:43 AM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]




Folks might want to watch this intel hearing live.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 8:45 AM on March 28, 2019 [9 favorites]


Folks might want to watch this intel hearing live.

Today's hearing is "Putin's Playbook: The Kremlin's Use of Oligarchs, Money and Intelligence in 2016 and Beyond"—and Schiff is on fire.

This administration has absolutely leaked things that are damaging to it, e.g. Trump's leak of top-secret intelligence info and assets to Russian officials during an Oval Office conversation.

That almost certainly came not from the Trump White House but from the intelligence community (i.e. the so-called "deep state"). And other damaging leaks tend to come from either Trump officials and staffers engaged in backstabbing or from civil servants in the federal government (such as whoever was behind Trump's "executive time" schedules). Maybe the full Mueller report might be leaked by someone in the DoJ at some point, because it's not going to come from the SCO as long as the grand jury is still in session or Trump aides are on trial or awaiting sentencing.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:47 AM on March 28, 2019 [11 favorites]


Reuters, Trump administration approves secret nuclear power work for Saudi Arabia
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved six secret authorizations by companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, according to a copy of a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The Trump administration has quietly pursued a wider deal on sharing U.S. nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia, which aims to build at least two nuclear power plants. Several countries including the United States, South Korea and Russia are in competition for that deal, and the winners are expected to be announced later this year by Saudi Arabia.

Perry’s approvals, known as Part 810 authorizations, allow companies to do preliminary work on nuclear power ahead of the deal, but not ship equipment that would go into a plant, a source with knowledge of the agreements said on condition of anonymity. The approvals were first reported by the Daily Beast.
...
Separately, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has accepted a request by Senators Marco Rubio, a Republican and Bob Menendez, a Democrat, to probe the administration’s talks on a nuclear deal with Saudi, a GAO official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday.
posted by zachlipton at 8:48 AM on March 28, 2019 [15 favorites]


‘We need a plan’: GOP shaken by Trump’s health care demands (Politico)
And if Trump wants them to move forward with larger changes, they said, the president needs to propose them himself.

“The president makes very clear that he understands the importance of health care and that he wants the Republican Party to be the party of health care,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose opposition to repeal efforts in 2017 was critical in stopping the effort. “In order to do that, he has to have a detailed plan that is going to be an improvement over the ACA.”

Even the lawmakers closest to Trump, including Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), acknowledged to reporters that Republicans, still recovering from the toxic fallout from failed repeal attempts in 2017, would be better off tackling more manageable goals like drug pricing reform going into 2020. [...] Most Republicans don’t want to openly defy Trump, but many are privately complaining about the president ordering them back in the Obamacare minefield. “We need a plan, and right now we don’t have one,” said one frustrated Republican senator, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “I’m not going to just throw this to the whims of our creativity.”

Other lawmakers have tried and failed in the past few days to steer Trump away from the idea, telling him the anti-ACA push is bad for his own reelection campaign. “[Trump] knows that he made a mistake, but he’s dug in now,” said a person close to the president.

The Trump administration sent lawmakers scrambling this week when the Justice Department abruptly announced that it is backing a lawsuit led by Texas seeking to throw out Obamacare entirely, reversing a far narrower legal strategy. [...] The Supreme Court has upheld Obamacare twice, and even many conservative legal experts predict this assault on the law will ultimately fail.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:49 AM on March 28, 2019 [9 favorites]


Vox, Foreign aid to Central America is in limbo because officials are afraid of Trump: "The Trump administration is seeking Central America’s help to reduce migration. But Trump keeps throwing tantrums."
On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen signed a regional compact with officials from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to conduct joint police operations and fight unauthorized migration. On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump was (once again) blaming those same three countries, as well as Mexico, for the record levels of unauthorized migration of families into the US.
...
But it seems that Trump’s complaints about how those countries “have taken our money for years, and do Nothing” are beginning to affect his administration’s actual policy. The Trump administration is reportedly stalling on disbursing Northern Triangle aid — with a substantial portion of its budget from last year still unspent.

And the reason, according to Politico’s Ted Hesson, is that officials don’t want to make Trump mad.

“People don’t know what the president wants,” an anonymous State Department official told Hesson. “No one wants to do something that looks like they’re not following his guidance.”

The result is that the State Department is entering the second half of the fiscal year without even starting the process to spend a large chunk of its $627 million Central American aid budget, a paralysis that threatens the aid in next year’s allocation too. In general, it is not a good thing that the fear of a presidential temper tantrum is stopping the federal government from spending money Congress already appropriated.
Beyond basic human decency, Central American aid is given on the longstanding premise that trying to make these countries less miserable, and securing cooperation with their governments, is an essential part of reducing migration to the US. But Trump throws fits at these countries, so now we're cutting their aid despite the express wishes of Congress.
posted by zachlipton at 8:57 AM on March 28, 2019 [21 favorites]


I am the most innocent person ever

Growing up during the 80's homophobia was rampant. I knew a lot of guys who spent their every waking moment trying to prove they were real men. It was exhausting. It was sad. It was a lot of needless hate. It owned them completely.

Trump's narcissistic pathology demands that his every thought be the greatest thought ever. It requires there always be an enemy unfairly trying to persecute him. Its rules demand that every fact and circumstance be bent to support that narrative. Trump is fascism personified.
posted by xammerboy at 9:00 AM on March 28, 2019 [36 favorites]


This article was from last week, but it just goes to show how the Trump's immigration policies are part of the problem that they "say" they're trying to "solve":

With Thousands of Migrants Crossing the Border Daily, We Asked "Why Now?" (Joel Rose, NPR)

From surveying recent Central American immigrants, NPR came up with 3 reasons people are crossing now:
Human Smuggling pricing- they're advertising on social media, and it's easier/cheaper to take a family right across the border to surrender immediately than it is to bring single individuals past the interior checkpoints
Social Media from family members- "People are seeing that others are making it," said Argueta. "Everybody has cell phones. Everybody has Facebook. You know you'll see pictures of people with vehicles, with jobs, with nice clothes."
The threat of future "zero tolerance" policies- better get here now, before the border is completely closed!

agh. Let people in, do basic background/security checks, then give them green cards. I hate this xenophobic, idiotic administration.
posted by Hermeowne Grangepurr at 9:11 AM on March 28, 2019 [31 favorites]


National Journal, NRA Wades Into Debate Over Violence Against Women Act
As House Republicans had hoped, the group will issue a key vote against the politically dicey Violence Against Women Act over its so-called red-flag provisions, which seek to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said the group objects because it believes the legislation could lead to firearm confiscations over misdemeanor domestic violence or stalking convictions.
...
The move comes after Republicans discussed enlisting backup from the NRA to give them cover to vote against the bill, in a sign that they are feeling political pressure on the issue.

Staff from the House Judiciary Committee and a handful of rank-and-file GOP member offices concerned about the VAWA bill held a conference call Monday. Staff for the individual member offices said having a key vote from the NRA would alleviate political pressure on their bosses.

A key-vote alert may dissuade Republicans from voting for the measure because of the possibility of losing percentage points on their NRA rating, a metric that the group’s supporters use to evaluate whether they should support a political candidate..
I know the cruelty is the point, but I just didn't realize these folks were so cowardly that they needed the NRA to cover for them while they're being cruel.
posted by zachlipton at 9:15 AM on March 28, 2019 [27 favorites]


This means that it's a good thing that Mueller has handed a lot of the investigations off to individual states.

Mueller is referring parts of the investigation to individual US Attorneys in the SDNY, DC and EDVA. These are still federal prosecutions, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York is different than the Attorney General of New York Latitia James. There are state level investigations into the Trump organization, but these are separate from the federal Special Prosecutor and spinoffs, and as far as we’ve seen, there was no coordination between Mueller and any state offices. Despite the predictions of such.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:20 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]


Documentarian Alison Klayman followed Steve Bannon for a year. Here’s what she learned.
Alissa Wilkinson
He clearly sees himself as a mastermind. But one thing I like about your film in particular is how long you follow him, to the point where you can see his delusions about himself be actually confronted in real time, by reality.

Alison Klayman
He has built himself as a personality, and he has so much access to journalists at mainstream outlets. I wish that there was a little more responsibility in terms of how he is portrayed [in the media], because it does validate some of his ideas about himself, as if his [ideas] are more valuable in the marketplace than they really are. Thinking that he’s a mastermind starts to legitimize things that I think aren’t legitimate.

Alissa Wilkinson
There are two kinds of criminal masterminds in superhero films. You have the ones who are actually dangerous, and then you have the ones who are silly, and they come across as silly. It’s strange to see him vacillating between those two modes in the film.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:23 AM on March 28, 2019 [14 favorites]


It should be noted that at the House Intel Committee's meeting on Russian election interference going on right now, not a single Republican showed up. Zero.
posted by Harry Caul at 9:26 AM on March 28, 2019 [44 favorites]


NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said the group objects because it believes the legislation could lead to firearm confiscations over misdemeanor domestic violence or stalking convictions.

I have had 2 stalkers in my life, and I do not know where they live or what has happened in their lives since I blocked them on social media and left the places where we interacted. But every time there is a headline about the NRA's opposition to all reasonable gun polity, I think about how either of them could at any time google me, find my workplace or current address, obtain a gun and come to kill me.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:27 AM on March 28, 2019 [42 favorites]


It should be noted that at the House Intel Committee's meeting on Russian election interference going on right now, not a single Republican showed up. Zero.

Isn't Will Hurd there?
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:28 AM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]


It should be noted that at the House Intel Committee's meeting on Russian election interference going on right now, not a single Republican showed up. Zero.

They did, each of them, sign on to a statement calling on Dem Chair Schiff to resign, though.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:29 AM on March 28, 2019 [13 favorites]


From Vox, The Green New Deal and the case against incremental climate policy.
... The only way Democrats can hope to pass any legislation — not big legislation, any legislation — is by radically shaking up the status quo balance of powers. That would mean getting rid of the filibuster, possibly granting statehood to Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, reforming the electoral college and voting laws, and possibly expanding the Supreme Court.

... few of the GND’s left-leaning critics are arguing against liberal social and economic policy as such, at least not directly. The implied argument always seems to be: That much can’t pass, but something more modest can. Trying to help workers activates a bunch of opposition, but more technocratic policies won’t. Something bold and aspirational will overwhelm Congress and voters, but they will embrace something deliberate and careful.

The House Democratic Caucus has recently produced a group of “New Democrats” who are making this pitch explicit: “New Democrats position themselves as realistic alternative to Green New Deal.” (The New Democrats are also offering up a bunch of policies that are perfectly commensurate with the GND framework.)

But what does that mean, “realistic”? Why are any of the policies any of these people are offering any more likely to pass the US Congress than the bolder policies necessary to achieve GND goals? They would all get zero Republican votes. They would all ground out in the filibuster. So what does this “realism” consist in exactly?


TL;DR: We gotta go big or go home. On everything, basically.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:33 AM on March 28, 2019 [34 favorites]


not a single Republican showed up. Zero

Right, because even though the ones who aren't fully in the tank for T absolutely know the Russians interfered (based on the 17 intelligence agencies and multiple other determinations by believable analysts), none of them can afford to be seen by T as acknowledging this. They're terrified he'll go after them.

They're more afraid of losing their seats to a primary from one of the 27% than they are of having foreign entities manipulate our electoral systems.

Shameless spineless treasonous cowards.
posted by suelac at 9:36 AM on March 28, 2019 [33 favorites]


How the White House Plays Hardball on Congressional Oversight of Security Clearances (Lawfare)
In fights with Congress over access to information, it is not unusual for administrations to selectively assert vague legal principles as the basis for broad executive privilege and then try to back up those arguments with case law and other statements that are not directly on point. What is unusual in this case is the near total lack of recognition of any legitimate constitutional role for Congress. In the post-Watergate era, most presidents have generally acknowledged, either explicitly or tacitly, the legitimacy of the role of congressional oversight and the benefits of transparency and oversight. Typically, in asserting executive privilege, administrations argue that some competing public interest overcomes Congress’s interest. [...]

In the present case, however, Cipollone neither makes meaningful concessions nor puts forth arguments about what public interest is served by not making concessions. [...] Finally, the scope of executive privilege is subject to a balancing of the competing interests and legitimate needs of the executive and legislative branches. In the Clinton pardons case, the committee’s reasoning for why it needed to see the information was comparatively weak. Today, however, the oversight committee already has a remarkably strong case—thanks to whistleblowers and reporting by the press—to create a compelling showing of need for the documents requested. [...]

Traditionally, the standards for asserting executive privilege focus on protecting national security or maintaining secrecy when it is in the public’s interest to do so. Allowing the executive branch to build a dubious case for a more expansive view risks hindering a fundamental principle of proper checks and balances. Abuse of power will follow if the executive branch is allowed to create a norm of secrecy and distrust in its functioning. [...]

It remains to be seen which tools will work in the current political environment. Whatever its precise next steps, Congress is more likely to be successful if it frames its actions as part of a sustained campaign of support for transparency and accountability in governance. If the legislature is unable to position itself as the proper repository for the American public’s trust on these matters, it risks setting precedents that will erode Congress’s role as a check on the presidency.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:37 AM on March 28, 2019 [8 favorites]


A fight inside the White House exposes Trump’s depravity and unfitness (Greg Sargent, WaPo)
Over the past two years, we’ve learned countless times that President Trump indulged in this or that reckless, venal, destructive or racist act or utterance to please his base. This is treated as so routine at this point that the sheer depravity and dereliction at the core of this posture often no longer even get remarked upon.

But the latest example of this perhaps deserves a category all its own. We’re now learning that pleasing his base is a key reason Trump fully embraced a lawsuit targeting the Affordable Care Act that, if successful, could unleash enormously destructive damage throughout the health-care system, including, perversely enough, in areas often mythologized as “Trump country.” […]

The New York Times reports that during a “heated” argument inside the White House, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, a tea party zealot, and another adviser named Joe Grogan, prevailed upon Trump as follows:
Mr. Trump has declared that he has kept his promises, Mr. Mulvaney and Mr. Grogan argued, and as a candidate he campaigned on repealing the health law. His base of voters would love it. Besides, they argued, Democrats have been campaigning successfully on health care, and Republicans should try to claim the issue for themselves. This could force the matter.

Among those with concerns was Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, who shared that the new attorney general, William P. Barr, opposed such a move. Vice President Mike Pence was worried about the political ramifications of moving ahead without a strategy or a plan to handle the millions who could be left suddenly uninsured if the suit succeeded.

His base of voters would love it. This apparently overrode the fact that the new attorney general opposed the move, presumably because the lawsuit is utterly absurd on its legal merits, and the fact that the administration has no plan to deal with the millions who would suddenly lose health coverage. Note that Pence appeared worried about the politics of this, not its enormous human toll, but never mind that for now.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:40 AM on March 28, 2019 [25 favorites]


It should be noted that at the House Intel Committee's meeting on Russian election interference going on right now, not a single Republican showed up. Zero.

Also, in the Adam Schiff clip linked above, isn't that Devin Nunes sitting next to Adam Schiff? I didn't watch the whole hearing but I think this statement is wrong.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:42 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


Also, in the Adam Schiff clip linked above, isn't that Devin Nunes sitting next to Adam Schiff? I didn't watch the whole hearing but I think this statement is wrong.

That was posted at 6:49am this morning (or so it tells me, that's probably CDT), so I'm guessing that's a different hearing yesterday.
posted by jammer at 9:45 AM on March 28, 2019


Members of Congress will often leave a hearing after giving their opening statement or asking their questions of the witness (assuming there is one), whether it's to go cast a vote on the floor or to attend another committee hearing or just because they have something else scheduled through their own office, so especially if one party doesn't actually care about the subject of the hearing (as is surely the case here) it can look pretty one-sided once you get past the opening fireworks.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:45 AM on March 28, 2019 [3 favorites]


WaPo, David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O'Connell, How Donald Trump inflated his net worth to lenders and investors. The story focuses on Trump's "Statements of Financial Condition," which he'd send to people including lenders and business partners. The Post has reviewed them from various years, including the documents provided by Cohen.
But, for someone trying to get a true picture of Trump’s net worth, the documents were deeply flawed. Some simply omitted properties that carried big debts. Some assets were overvalued. And some key numbers were wrong.

For instance, Trump’s financial statement for 2011 said he had 55 home lots to sell at his golf course in Southern California. Those lots would sell for $3 million or more, the statement said.

But Trump had only 31 lots zoned and ready for sale at the course, according to city records. He claimed credit for 24 lots — and at least $72 million in future revenue — he didn’t have.

He also claimed his Virginia vineyard had 2,000 acres, when it really has about 1,200. He said Trump Tower has 68 stories. It has 58.
...
Welch said he’d never seen a document stretch so far past the normal conventions of accounting.

“It’s humorous,” Welch said. “It’s a humorous financial statement.”
...
The accountants also note that Trump had told them to simply omit two of his major hotels, in Chicago and Las Vegas. Both buildings were carrying mortgages. That omission means that some of Trump’s actual debt load was hidden from anyone reading the statement.
posted by zachlipton at 9:50 AM on March 28, 2019 [48 favorites]


That was posted at 6:49am this morning (or so it tells me, that's probably CDT), so I'm guessing that's a different hearing yesterday.

Good point. But regardless, I listened to the last hour or so of the hearing and Will Hurd was there and spoke.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:52 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


Sorry for the errror all, I was echoing Speier's comment that no one from the other side of the aisle was there, and that the norm is that there is usually at least one present. (About 03:08:00 on the time line.)
posted by Harry Caul at 10:00 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


TL;DR: We gotta go big or go home. On everything, basically.

So agree. AOC and Schiff are doing it right lately. Justinian/Chrysostom - we need a plan to take the Senate in 2020, stat. It should be realistic but give us 100% in the Senate. Okay fine 80%. Whatever, just make it happen. We need content for a viral trap hit in the feeds by April.

Also Georgia just screwed the next generation of voters with paper ballots that print out barcodes, so factor that in. Yeah. Barcodes. Because cheating is the GOP strategy still.

Also: Ivanka Trump-branded voting machines. Yeah no. Yeah.
posted by petebest at 10:01 AM on March 28, 2019 [12 favorites]


or someone trying to get a true picture of Trump’s net worth, the documents were deeply flawed. Some simply omitted properties that carried big debts. Some assets were overvalued. And some key numbers were wrong.

What are the odds that Deutsche Bank's repeated lending to Trump on the basis of his "surprisingly low debt load" was based on taking Trump at his word regarding his financial condition and failing to do any due diligence?
posted by jedicus at 10:03 AM on March 28, 2019 [12 favorites]


Members of Congress will often leave a hearing after giving their opening statement or asking their questions of the witness (assuming there is one), whether it's to go cast a vote on the floor or to attend another committee hearing or just because they have something else scheduled through their own office

It's fundraising calls. It's always fundraising calls.
posted by Etrigan at 10:06 AM on March 28, 2019 [12 favorites]


But Trump doesn’t back down from his position: He says the threat of tariffs gets the attention of trading partners — like China — who need to permit more imports of American products.

Not only have his threats not worked, he has played along with a certain trading partner kneecapping one of our most lucrative export markets in a way that makes me question whether he even understands that we are losing the completely unnecessary fight that nobody except for a subject of his feverish dreams ever asked for.
posted by wierdo at 10:09 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]


USA Today, Brad Heath, Justice under AG Barr began vast surveillance program without legal review – in 1992, inspector general finds
The Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr launched a vast surveillance program that gathered records of innocent Americans’ international phone calls without first conducting a review of whether it was legal, the department’s inspector general concluded Thursday.

It happened in 1992, the last time Barr served as attorney general.

The secret program, run by the Drug Enforcement Administration, ultimately gathered billions of records of nearly all phone calls from the United States to 116 countries, with little oversight from Congress or the courts, a USA TODAY investigation found. It provided a blueprint for far broader phone-data surveillance the government launched after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
...
At its peak, the program harvested records of nearly all calls from the United States to Mexico, Canada, nearly all of Central and South America and much of the rest of the world. The program, known within the drug agency as USTO (a play on call going from the United States to other countries), was carried out in part by the department’s Criminal Division, run at the time by Robert Mueller.
Here's the IG report, which is not particularly flattering.
posted by zachlipton at 10:10 AM on March 28, 2019 [37 favorites]


jedicus: What are the odds that Deutsche Bank's repeated lending to Trump on the basis of his "surprisingly low debt load" was based on taking Trump at his word regarding his financial condition and failing to do any due diligence?

Close to zero, I'd imagine. "We didn't follow due diligence" would be their defense.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:10 AM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]


jedicus: What are the odds that Deutsche Bank's repeated lending to Trump on the basis of his "surprisingly low debt load" was based on taking Trump at his word regarding his financial condition and failing to do any due diligence?

Close to zero, I'd imagine. "We didn't follow due diligence" would be their defense.


I'm not a lawyer, banker or economist. Can you explain what you are implying here?
posted by archimago at 10:15 AM on March 28, 2019


That they were funneling illicit funds to him with these ludicrous applications as a fig leaf for why it would be proper to give him that money.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:16 AM on March 28, 2019 [16 favorites]


Also Georgia just screwed the next generation of voters with paper ballots that print out barcodes, so factor that in. Yeah. Barcodes. Because cheating is the GOP strategy still.

You have to admire the chutzpa of a company who would make a voting product that's susceptible to a hack demonstrated in a show on the CW over a decade ago.
posted by phearlez at 10:19 AM on March 28, 2019 [9 favorites]


He says the threat of tariffs gets the attention of trading partners — like China

He's got their attention, all right—"Hey, look at this moron trying to beat our long game with his soundbyte posturing!"
posted by Rykey at 10:28 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]


Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: That they were funneling illicit funds to him with these ludicrous applications as a fig leaf for why it would be proper to give him that money.

Yes. To elaborate further, the history of Trump and banks can probably be divided into two parts, one where they really did tend to fall for the schtick that "The name Trump is synonymous with wealth, of course he's good for the money", and a later period where they mostly wised up, and he resorted to (even) shadier means. That second era is where Deutsche Bank, with its extensive laundering (and curious connection to Anthony Kennedy), fits.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:31 AM on March 28, 2019 [20 favorites]


“No man’s land”: How Trump Tower became Chicago retail’s biggest failure (Alex Nitkin and Joe Ward, The Real Deal)
"A decade after the tower opened, it has just one small retail tenant"
Despite its location, poor design decisions, including a hard to find front door, make it hard to find any tenants.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2019 [7 favorites]


Schiff is on fire

More of this please Democrats! That's the first time I've felt like a Democrat's words and actions aligned with the seriousness of the situation.
posted by diogenes at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]


What are the odds that Deutsche Bank's repeated lending to Trump on the basis of his "surprisingly low debt load" was based on taking Trump at his word regarding his financial condition and failing to do any due diligence?

Deutsche Bank has been caught up in laundering Russian oligarch money, a business that's not much good if you don't have access to/influence over the entities, such as Trump Org, through which those funds are laundered.

They must have known the dicey condition of Trump Org's finances; the Org's precariousness may have made it a good risk for the business they were involved in.
posted by notyou at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]


*spins the great big mad libs generator to see what random outrage awaits us today*

Daily Beast, Trump Ally Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University Landed Pentagon Contract Months After Trump’s Election [alternate link if you hit the paywall]
Just months after President Donald Trump took office, the federal government signed a contract to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jet fuel from a university run by one of the president’s top political supporters.

The Pentagon’s energy procurement arm inked the contract, worth nearly $900,000, with a company called Freedom Aviation on May 9, 2017, and has purchased more than $400,000 in turbine fuel from the company since then. Freedom Aviation is wholly owned by Liberty University, a conservative school in Lynchburg, Virginia, led by high-profile Trump supporter Jerry Falwell Jr.
Yep, just a Christian university run by a major supporter of the President selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jet fuel to the Pentagon. Totally normal stuff here. Freedom Aviation is, for some reason, the sole Fixed Base Operator at the Lynchberg airport. There's also this detail:
Falwell also appears to have used Freedom Aviation in service of the Trump campaign. He officially endorsed Trump in late January 2016, and joined him at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a day before the state’s crucial Republican presidential caucus. About a week later, the Trump campaign paid Freedom Aviation more than $19,000 for air travel expenses.
posted by zachlipton at 10:45 AM on March 28, 2019 [38 favorites]


From Bloomberg Law: President Donald Trump’s pick for the top lawyer job at the agency that protects federal government workers’ union rights is part of a group accused of violating the labor rights of Health and Human Services Department employees.

The White House announced March 26 that Trump intends to nominate Catherine Bird, an HHS lawyer who oversees negotiations with the department’s employee union, to serve as the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s general counsel.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would be responsible for prosecuting unfair labor practice charges in cases involving government employees, unions, and agencies.

Bird’s nomination comes as the union representing HHS workers has filed unfair labor practice charges against the department, alleging that it forcefully pushed through changes to the union contract without bargaining. The charges are currently before an arbitrator, but similar allegations against other agencies are pending at the FLRA.


Because of course they are. Finding a fox to guard the hen house has been the underlying principle behind every Trump administration staffing recommendation for every agency at all times.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:46 AM on March 28, 2019 [20 favorites]


I've never been in the boxcar caucus. You know, ship them home in boxcars and let the Lord sort them out.

Any reporter who fails to point out that the people most known for being shipped in boxcars died in the millions in a follow up question is a failure at their profession.

Him using that phrase actually made me physically sick.
posted by winna at 10:48 AM on March 28, 2019 [63 favorites]


He's barely even saying the quiet part quiet, seeing as the full cliche is "Kill 'em all and let the Lord sort them out."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:52 AM on March 28, 2019 [21 favorites]


Who is the "boxcar" quote from?
posted by Bacon Bit at 10:56 AM on March 28, 2019


Mick Mulvaney, former Freedom Caucus muppet, former OMB chief, current Trump Chief of Staff.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:57 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


Mick Mulvaney, former Freedom Caucus muppet, former OMB chief, current Trump Chief of Staff.

He is still OMB chief, because Trump knows that when he burns him out of being his Chief of Staff, he'll still be "Senate-confirmed" and can go back to destroying the budget from the inside.
posted by Etrigan at 11:00 AM on March 28, 2019 [10 favorites]


Good point. I also left out that he was the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for a bit, and used that time to reorient that bureau towards protecting consumers from having any legal rights and/or money.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:01 AM on March 28, 2019 [17 favorites]


Kushner is reportedly cooperating with the committee’s investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice

Buzzfeed: Jared Kushner Spoke In Private To The Senate Intelligence Committee As It Probes the Russia Investigation—It was unclear exactly what the president’s son in law told senators. Kushner did not answer questions.
Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, exited the committee’s secure space just before noon Thursday and did not answer questions. The meeting, which included several senators as well as staff, began at around 9:30 a.m

“I can’t tell you anything about the investigation,” Committee Chair Richard Burr said as he left the committee’s secure space. A spokesperson for Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chair, declined to comment.
The first time Kushner appeared before the committee, back in July 2017, he was interviewed by only staff about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign. This time, senators were asking him the questions.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:12 AM on March 28, 2019 [12 favorites]


All in one place the ongoing Moscow Project starting in 1987 through to pesent.
For decades, Donald Trump has relied on Russian money to bail him out after repeated business failures. Meanwhile, as liberal “color revolutions” threatened Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, he developed a strategy of “hybrid warfare” to sow discord and dissent in western democracies. By the time Trump decided to run for president, his relationships with powerful Russian figures and admiration for Putin made him a perfect candidate for Russia’s efforts to undermine American democracy—and his campaign was ready and willing to help. Since his victory, Trump has continued to align himself with Putin’s strategic goals, all while his administration attempts to obstruct any investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and his own campaign’s complicity in that effort.
posted by adamvasco at 11:42 AM on March 28, 2019 [23 favorites]


Meanwhile: "Today, rural America is largely viewed as politically and culturally “a world apart,” when in reality the picture is bleaker: conservatives simply maintain a stronger grasp on power in rural areas than liberals do. Liberals think that the majority of people in rural areas see this as a desirable state of affairs. Many of us don’t. It’s just that our voices have been erased by the overwhelming might of power and industry.

Krugman would do better to skip the psychoanalysis and examine the way power is actually constituted in rural America: to look at why and how ideology is formed, who does the forming, and what material interests are served by it. " Getting Real
posted by The Whelk at 12:06 PM on March 28, 2019 [28 favorites]


What are the odds that Deutsche Bank's repeated lending to Trump on the basis of his "surprisingly low debt load" was based on taking Trump at his word regarding his financial condition and failing to do any due diligence?

Would getting accurate information about Trump's financial status have been the responsibility of Justin Kennedy?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:07 PM on March 28, 2019 [12 favorites]




WaPo: Next Time Trump Bullies Someone On Twitter, the Company Might Call Him Out On It—Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s head of legal, policy, and trust and safety, made the revelation on stage at a Washington Post-sponsored event in San Francisco.
The next time a politician, dignitary — or perhaps a president — makes an utterance that violates Twitter standards, the message might be accompanied by a note that expands on the 280-character tweet, a top official with the company said Wednesday.

Twitter is exploring how it can annotate offensive tweets that break its rules but remain in the public interest, said Vijaya Gadde[….]

“One of the things we’re working really closely on with our product and engineering folks is, ‘How can we label that?’ ” Gadde said in a response to questions from the Post’s Silicon Valley correspondent, Elizabeth Dwoskin. “How can we put some context around it so people are aware that that content is actually a violation of our rules and it is serving a particular purpose in remaining on the platform.”
Before we get too excited, the Post article ends, "The company didn’t provide details concerning who the new notation standard would apply to or specify the form the annotations would take." We'll see what Trump's reaction is to this overdue half-measure proposal.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:14 PM on March 28, 2019 [8 favorites]


Next Time Trump Bullies Someone On Twitter, the Company Might Call Him Out On It

Well that right there is a nearly Mitt-Romney level of tepid opposition to white nationalism
posted by tivalasvegas at 12:34 PM on March 28, 2019 [48 favorites]


"How can we put some context around it so people are aware that that content is actually a violation of our rules and it is serving a particular purpose in remaining on the platform."

***warning: the following tweet contains obvious hate speech which violates our terms of service but we aren't deleting it because we're afraid of the government ***
posted by tivalasvegas at 12:37 PM on March 28, 2019 [50 favorites]


Roll Call, McConnell moves to ‘nuclear option’ for confirmation of Trump nominees
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set up debate next week to make it easier for Republicans to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees.
...
The resolution, as reported out of the committee, would establish a standing order reducing the debate time to up to two hours after cloture has been invoked on nominees to be district judges, as well as most executive branch posts below Cabinet level. The post-cloture debate time is up to 30 hours under current rules.
@nycsouthpaw: Notice how McConnell is about to force through a Senate rules change that will allow him to populate federal offices with Trump nominees 15x faster and no networks are breaking in with special reports? You probably haven't even gotten a push notification from your newspaper...
posted by zachlipton at 12:44 PM on March 28, 2019 [69 favorites]


CNN: Special Counsel Briefly Interviewed Maria Butina, Sources Say
Investigators from special counsel Robert Mueller's team briefly questioned Maria Butina in January, but she did not appear to be central to their investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, according to two sources familiar with the matter.[…]

Mueller's team questioned her on only one occasion for approximately an hour, sources said. The vast majority of Butina's cooperation has been focused on the case the US Attorney's office in Washington, DC, has been building against Butina's boyfriend, Paul Erickson.

The special counsel's office was interested in Butina's interactions with J.D. Gordon, a former national security aide on the Trump campaign, two sources said. Investigators also questioned Butina about whether she had any insight into the Trump campaign's effort in July 2016 to change language in the Republican National Committee platform about Russia's aggressive moves in Ukraine.

Gordon was also questioned as part of Mueller's probe but was not accused of any criminal wrongdoing.
Natasha Bertrand adds, "Can confirm...and if there is an NRA money laundering angle here, it wasn't part of Butina's case, I'm told."

Butina has been scheduled for sentencing on April 26th (TPM).
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:47 PM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]


Despite its location, poor design decisions, including a hard to find front door, make it hard to find any tenants.

It has no tenants because they refuse to charge what the market will pay for the space.

I'm really curious how this works for them financially. Somehow the losses must pay off for them to stay empty for a decade. As it is with the corrupt Chicago property tax system they are only getting about a 10% rebate on what they could earn at market rates. I'm guessing the losses must either pay off some other way (keeping the property value up for loan collateral?) or that the losses are somehow dispersed on others (how separated are the Trump Tower's condo's finances?). In general I am baffled by long term vacancies of high value properties but this one is particularly egregious. That spot would be great for a touristy high end restaurant (despite all the supposed criticisms - a lot of places in Chicago successfully operate in much more awkward spots).

Now of course it has an added stigma (the biggest!) that seriously hurts its prospects.
posted by srboisvert at 12:48 PM on March 28, 2019 [7 favorites]


Krugman would do better to skip the psychoanalysis and examine the way power is actually constituted in rural America: to look at why and how ideology is formed, who does the forming, and what material interests are served by it. " Getting Real
posted by The Whelk at 12:06 PM on March 28 [6 favorites −]


There's a very good point in this article, and that is that school boards are important. If you are worried and don't feel you are doing enough, get into local politics. Get onto the school board. You can make a bigger difference there than by going to a protest (but do both, both are important)
posted by mumimor at 12:50 PM on March 28, 2019 [22 favorites]


Now of course it has an added stigma (the biggest!) that seriously hurts its prospects.

I can't imagine that any business would take on the risk of being associated with Donald Trump in the heart of Chicago. Mind you we have our corrupt conservative fucks like anyone else, but with the notable exception of the cops everyone hates Trump.

I dunno, maybe Chik-fil-A would bite? But otherwise I think leasing literally any other space in the city would be a better business move.
posted by tivalasvegas at 12:54 PM on March 28, 2019 [3 favorites]


Trump Ally Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University Landed Pentagon Contract Months After Trump’s Election

Falwell isn't just an ally. He is promotes a radically new theology about the relationship of Christians with their government, one which literally argues that Trump is “the Lord's Annointed” and that consequently must support him and advance his agenda.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:06 PM on March 28, 2019 [22 favorites]


I loved this part of this morning's NY Times story:
Mr. Barr wrote to Congress on Sunday offering what he called the “principal conclusions” of the report — including that Mr. Mueller had not found evidence that the Trump campaign took part in a conspiracy to undermine the election.
And by "loved" of course I mean "asked rhetorically whether the Times understands what the phrase 'did not establish' means, then screamed futile profanity to the sky, and regretted not having another NY Times subscription I could cancel."

How do you write an article suggesting that Barr may not have fairly represented Mueller's report, and in it treat a wildly unsupportable interpretation of Barr's weasel words as a basic fact?
posted by bjrubble at 1:17 PM on March 28, 2019 [24 favorites]


Meanwhile: "Today, rural America is largely viewed as politically and culturally “a world apart,” when in reality the picture is bleaker: conservatives simply maintain a stronger grasp on power in rural areas than liberals do.

As long as churches continue to illegally support Republican candidates, Republican control of rural politics will continue. When you're constantly exposed to propaganda and are made to feel that the world is on fire, it's hard to make space in the brain to think through the issues rationally while still maintaining the attention necessary to keep your job and raise your kids.

Nearly everyone in many small towns are exposed to this psychological abuse because the flight of people and capital away from those areas has left church-based activities as one of the few ways to socialize with other people.

On the topic of Trump properties losing money, paper losses are a good thing as far as he's concerned, as long as cash flow is at least neutral. At worst, it means a lower tax bill on the stuff that remains profitable even after all the creative accounting tricks have been applied.
posted by wierdo at 1:18 PM on March 28, 2019 [29 favorites]


Adam Schiff basically going Jeff Foxworthy on their ass.
posted by blueberry at 1:35 PM on March 28, 2019 [10 favorites]


Falwell isn't just an ally. He is promotes a radically new theology about the relationship of Christians with their government, one which literally argues that Trump is “the Lord's Annointed” and that consequently must support him and advance his agenda.

I wouldn't call it a radically new theology. Divine Right of Kings is centuries old.

And if anyone thinks that "Politicians are elected to enforce the Word of God" is new to America, wow, do we have some stories to share.
posted by delfin at 2:50 PM on March 28, 2019 [12 favorites]


The Prosperity Gospel is relatively recent, Falwell is one of the original disciples of The Holy Dollar and Trump is the first universally recognized Pope.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:01 PM on March 28, 2019 [7 favorites]


White evangelicals’ apocalyptic fantasies are driving U.S. policy.
In a visit to Jerusalem, the US secretary of state suggests president could be on a holy mission to save Jews from 'an Iranian menace'.
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), among Pompeo’s traveling press team, sat down with the secretary in Jerusalem, and breathlessly reported something quite different from the mainstream press’s legalistic coverage: that Trump might just be “a modern-day Esther, poised to defend Israel and save the Jewish people.”
The steady undercurrent to CBN’s focus is the Christian Zionist conviction that the return of Christ depends on a specific scenario involving the return of Jews to Israel. It’s a belief that Pompeo seems to share, having told a Kansas church audience in 2015 to keep fighting “until the rapture.”
posted by adamvasco at 3:14 PM on March 28, 2019 [20 favorites]


The Prosperity Gospel is relatively recent

In some respects, but as an R.H. Tawney fanboi (from back when UK Labour could actually be arsed progressing the plight of the working and disenfranchised classes) I would be remiss not to suggest reading Religion and the Rise of Capitalism [1926]

The cool thing is how much the new socialist revival is similar to what was going on back then, there's even kinda international brigades in Kurdish Syria.

The uncool thing is how similar the new fascist revival is.
posted by Buntix at 3:22 PM on March 28, 2019 [11 favorites]


NYT: Trump, in Abrupt Pivot, Says Funding for Special Olympics Will Continue

"Just look at these fuckers" is officially frowned upon, but just look at this asshole:
Matt Wolking, deputy communications director of Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign, said [...]: “I’m sure that Democrats who see abortion as the cure for Down syndrome and other disabilities are sincerely concerned about kids having a chance to be in the Special Olympics.”
Then his boss hung him out to dry:
"I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people. We’re funding the Special Olympics.”
(Of course, none of this posturing matters at all, because House Democrats are writing a budget from scratch.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 3:30 PM on March 28, 2019 [24 favorites]


Greenpeace sent swamp creatures to silently protest and photobomb Interior Secretary nominee David Bernhardt's confirmation hearing today. Some pictures and video on Greenpeace's twitter.
posted by peeedro at 3:52 PM on March 28, 2019 [18 favorites]


Daily Beast: House Chairman Demands Briefing on Kushner’s Trip to Saudi Arabia—Chairman Engel’s request comes after reports that key U.S. officials were kept out of meetings with the Saudis.
A key House committee is demanding a briefing from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Jared Kushner’s trip to Saudi Arabia last month that included a senior State Department official but otherwise left American diplomats in the dark.

In a letter sent Thursday, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) expressed concern that embassy staff were reportedly sidelined from participating in the meetings on that trip, including those with the Royal Court and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

“U.S. government resources are expended to support embassies in countries around the world to aid in the planning and execution of U.S. foreign policy, and no official visit to the Middle East by a senior White House aide would presumably bear meaningfully on the conduct of U.S. foreign policy in that region,” he wrote, adding that he wanted a briefing no later than April 5.[…]

The letter goes on to mention Brian Hook, the department’s special representative for Iran, who traveled with Kushner. Hook is one of several current and former State Department officials under investigation by the Office of the Inspector General for alleged politically-motivated personnel decisions.
(While Jared's trip went underreported in the mainstream media, megathread readers will recall it.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:00 PM on March 28, 2019 [9 favorites]


My Jack Russell Terrier, Dexter, took a moment to follow Matt Wolking's alma mater, Christian fundamentalist Patrick Henry College. It is hard for Dexter to type online, but he managed to send the following DM:

"Your 2013 graduate Matt Wolking, deputy director of communications for the Donald J. Trump re-election campaign had the following to say about why it would be appropriate to defund the Special Olympics: "I’m sure that Democrats who see abortion as the cure for Down syndrome and other disabilities are sincerely concerned about kids having a chance to be in the Special Olympics.” I hope he is not representative of your graduates. Also, I am a Jack Russell Terrier and I am offended by your graduate's inane, inflammatory and just plain stupid pronouncement. My owner is a Democratic Party voter who is super proud that his Down Syndrome cousin has participated in Special Olympics for over two decades. Shame on your graduate and shame on you if you don't publicly address this."
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 4:02 PM on March 28, 2019 [29 favorites]


Trump-linked US Christian ‘fundamentalists’ pour millions of ‘dark money’ into Europe, boosting the far right.
MEPs call for action as openDemocracy analysis reveals ‘shocking’ flows of cash crossing the Atlantic to push ultra-conservative agendas.
Among the biggest spenders is a group whose chief counsel is also Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow.
posted by adamvasco at 4:40 PM on March 28, 2019 [17 favorites]


Demands for Adam Schiff’s Head Highlight Chasm That Only Widened With Mueller’s Conclusion (NYT, with video)
[transcribed from the video: My colleagues may think it's O.K. that the Russians offered dirt on a Democratic candidate for president as part of what was described as the Russian government's effort to help the Trump campaign. You might think that's O.K. My colleagues might think it's O.K. that when that was offered to the son of the President, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, that the President's son did not call the FBI, he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help, no, instead, that son said that he would 'love' the help of the Russians. You might think it's O.K. that he took that meeting. You might think it's O.K. that Paul Manafort, the campaign chair, someone with great experience running campaigns, also took that meeting. You might think it's O.K. that the President's son-in-law also took that meeting. You might think it's O.K. that they concealed it from the public, you might think it's O.K. that their only disappointment after that meeting was that the dirt they received on Hillary Clinton wasn't better. You might think that's O.K. I think it's immoral, I think it's unethical, I think it's unpatriotic, and yes, I think it's corrupt, and evidence of collusion.]

“You might think that it’s O.K. that the president’s son-in-law sought to establish a secret back channel of communications with the Russians through a Russian diplomatic facility. I don’t think that’s O.K. You might think it’s O.K. that an associate of the president made direct contact with the G.R.U. through Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks; that is considered a hostile intelligence agency,” Mr. Schiff said, referring to Russian military intelligence and a Russian intelligence hacker.

He continued: “You might think that it’s O.K. that the national security-designate secretly conferred with the Russian ambassador about undermining U.S. sanctions. And you might think it’s O.K. he lied about it to the F.B.I. You might say that’s all O.K. You might say that’s just what you need to do to win. But I don’t think it’s O.K. I think it’s immoral. I think it’s unethical. I think it’s unpatriotic. And yes, I think it’s corrupt.”
posted by Little Dawn at 4:42 PM on March 28, 2019 [65 favorites]


How do you write an article suggesting that Barr may not have fairly represented Mueller's report, and in it treat a wildly unsupportable interpretation of Barr's weasel words as a basic fact?

Paradoxically, a lot of journalists are just not that concerned with facts.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 5:31 PM on March 28, 2019 [7 favorites]


El Paso “This is a fucking Concentration Camp
posted by The Whelk at 5:45 PM on March 28, 2019 [14 favorites]


This is a fucking Concentration Camp

I'm confused about what is happening there. Are the people imprisoned in that space?

The article describes it this way:

Lines of migrants behind fencing, being processed by agents from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), walked into a camp area that appeared to be standing room only.

That makes it sound like they voluntarily walked into the "camp" area. I assume they were forced there, but that's a strange way to phrase it.

One of the tweets in the article says "The queue of migrants who turned themselves in," but then there's a quote from a CBP agent talking about "apprehensions."

(I'm not defending any of this.)
posted by diogenes at 6:03 PM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


Delaware joins National Popular Vote Compact.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:10 PM on March 28, 2019 [29 favorites]


National Popular Vote Compact is vulnerable to state vote tally manipulation.
posted by LarsC at 6:12 PM on March 28, 2019


If you think vote tallies are being manipulated, they can be done so whether popular vote or electoral is used.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:19 PM on March 28, 2019 [23 favorites]


‘The Russian Hoax Is Finally Dead,’ Trump Tells Michigan Rally (NYT)
At his last rally in El Paso, a member of the audience assaulted a BBC cameraman.

The signs of tighter security in Grand Rapids included more visible security personnel and sturdier barriers between the press and the audience. In El Paso, reporters were seated in the stands, unprotected from the crowd.
Trump in Michigan for first rally since Mueller report (Guardian)
To cheers from the crowd he called House Intelligence Committee Chair, “little pencil neck Adam Schiff” and continued to mock both him and NY Congressman Jerry Nadler.

“All of the Democrat politicians, the media bosses—bad people—the crooked journalists” he said, “have to be accountable”. The crowd answered with the chant that originated in 2016 to condemn Hillary Clinton: “Lock them up!”
posted by Little Dawn at 6:28 PM on March 28, 2019 [4 favorites]


CBP commissioner visits El Paso border, says immigration system at 'breaking point' (El Paso Times, 3/27/2019)
In the past two mornings, border officers took more than 12,000 migrants into custody along the border, [U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K.] McAleenan said. [...] The number of migrants detained in El Paso is not as large as in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, but the Border Patrol's El Paso Sector has seen the biggest growth along the border.

McAleenan said that Congress needs to come up with legislative solutions to expedite political asylum claims made by migrants. “The surge numbers are just overwhelming the entire system," McAleenan said. He said that 10 to 15 percent of migrants have legitimate asylum claims, but it will take years for those claims to be heard in court. "Economic migration" from impoverished Central American nations is overwhelming the legitimate asylum system, McAleenan said. While 65 percent of border crossings are families and children surrendering to agents, the rest are adults trying to evade capture, including some with criminal backgrounds, McAleenan said.

The Border Network for Human Rights, an El Paso immigrant advocacy group, [...] accused McAleenan of painting migrants as criminals. “Asylum seekers are not criminals,” the group stated. “Asylum is a lawful process and migrants need to have an ability to claim asylum. Denying migrants the ability to claim asylum at ports, as our laws are designed to work, may force them to cross without authorization but does not make them criminals or undermine their asylum claims in any way.” The group added that they "invite Commissioner McAleenan to tell the Irish of the 1840s or the Italians of the 1890s that poverty and starvation are not reasons to come to seek the opportunity, welcome, and grace of these United States."
Migrants Held in El Paso, Texas, Enclosure as Surge Overwhelms City (US News & World Report, 3/28/2019)
Hundreds of migrants are being held in a chain link enclosure in El Paso, Texas as the number of families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the city overwhelms U.S. Border Patrol facilities, the agency said on Thursday. The enclosure holds migrants crossing the border illegally in metropolitan El Paso as they wait to be processed at a nearby Border Patrol station, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Ramiro Cordero said by phone.

How long they remain in the enclosure, set up late last month below the city's Paso del Norte International Bridge to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, depends on how many migrants cross the border, he said. [...] "It could be a couple of hours, it could be more than that, it could be overnight, I can't tell you, it's just too many people for me to tell you an exact time or time frame,” Cordero said.

The enclosure was put up to help Border Patrol cope with a surge in mainly Central American asylum seekers that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been predicting for "some time," agency head Kevin McAleenan said at an El Paso press briefing on Wednesday. Migrants at the "transition center" are given silver thermal blankets and can get shelter, food, water and a medical evaluation, officials said. A Reuters photographer saw children sleeping outside in the enclosed area on Sunday night when the low was around 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius).
posted by Little Dawn at 6:59 PM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]


Ugh, can our media stop referring to refugees and asylum-seekers as a fucking "surge"? I realize we can't expect them to actually explain that asylum is a completely legal thing that the government has obligations to fulfill under domestic and international law, but could they at least not use dehumanizing language?

future narrator: they could've, but they didn't
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:18 PM on March 28, 2019 [40 favorites]


Border Patrol orders quick releases of families (AP)
The number of migrant families and children entering the U.S. from Mexico is so high that Border Patrol is immediately releasing them instead of transferring them to the agency responsible for their release, forcing local governments to help coordinate their housing, meals and travel. [...] Agents are still doing medical screenings and criminal checks, but the decision means thousands of families will be released without first going through U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, which manages their deportation cases.

The Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors in Texas and the Yuma, Arizona, sector earlier announced that agents would begin to release families on their own recognizance. A Border Patrol official not authorized to speak on the matter said Wednesday that El Paso and San Diego planned on doing the same. Some sectors were not part of the change, including Tucson, Arizona and El Centro, California.

Families are typically released with notices to appear in immigration court due to legal restrictions on detaining them and lack of holding space. Until now, Customs and Border Protection has detained them briefly before turning them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, generally within 72 hours, to be released pending the outcome of their immigration cases. [...]

“The sheer volume of family units crossing the border has overwhelmed ICE’s limited transportation resources; combined with a requirement to detain these individuals for no more than 20 days, the agency has no option but to expeditiously arrange for their release,” ICE spokeswoman Sarah Rodriguez said in a statement.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:30 PM on March 28, 2019 [4 favorites]


That sounds good, but I presume the intent is bad: they're probably hoping to overwhelm local charities so they can push stories like "HORDES of STARVING REFUGEES are ROAMING YOUR STREETS".
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:42 PM on March 28, 2019 [15 favorites]


I realize we can't expect them to actually explain that asylum is a completely legal thing that the government has obligations to fulfill under domestic and international law

I think we can, and we must expect this to be explained, because there are vulnerable people and children at risk of harm if they are treated like a criminal horde. The president refers to an 'invasion' (PolitFact) to support a national emergency declaration to build a wall, as if concrete or steel slats or razor wire could ever stop asylum claims. The news media can and must do better in reporting the context and giving voice to the voiceless.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:00 PM on March 28, 2019 [11 favorites]


As long as churches continue to illegally support Republican candidates, Republican control of rural politics will continue.

There's a lot of reasons this happens. I'm convinced there will *always* be a kind of religiosity associated with political conservatism. There's a common thread of Lakoff-like strict father psychology.

But I think it's addressable. If the progressive church and progressive polity can cultivate a better relationship with one another, there's an incredible opportunity right now. The millennial relationships with the institutional and conservative strains of Christianity is notably different than in the past -- more of them are simply leaving, and of those that stay, investment in dogma and political affiliation may well be more mixed.

This may look different in, say, Texas or Indiana, though, than it does in California or New England. I don't know what that means precisely and where progressive worshipers are more likely to find one another and congregate. But I could guess it especially represents an opportunity at the margins in swing states, and maybe an opportunity to start building the grassroots even among the red.

I think the hardest part in that front is working out a messaging framework on abortion, one that ultimately values choice when it's most important, but shows a respect for life not only by making unwanted pregnancies rare but judo-reverses that whole "highest standard of care" for viable late-term fetus thing back on Republicans (Fully state-funded total natal health care, you're in on that, conservatives, right?) Blue states already tend to do better at this on the policy than Red States do, so I think it's possible, but we have to leapfrog conservatives on the messaging. If we can get there even if only locally in rural areas that's so often a single remaining issue for religious people, it could be a sea change.
posted by wildblueyonder at 8:08 PM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]


The number of migrant families and children entering the U.S. from Mexico is so high that Border Patrol is immediately releasing them instead of transferring them to the agency responsible for their release

I want someone to put the screws to Trump about this, but his reaction could only spell pain for these people. But look at it, the CBP in open revolt seems like a big story while Trump is fixated on Schiff and setting the stage for the Mueller Report. This is people on the ground, from both sides of the border, and Trump's signature move -- one of the few things he's actually been able to accomplish at any level -- lies isolated and discarded like a piece of licorice dropped in a movie theater.

Yeah, maybe if you get a Hoss character who wants to kick some ass you'll find these transfers happening (there's always someone who ignores the 5-second rule), but that would have to be about it, since these officers (or whatever) here are proving they can just go back to the old ways and not make a big ol cruelty-times-1000 show out of it. Less work is better than more work.

ETA:
Long story short: I'm always searching for things that could be used to humiliate Trump, and I think this is one.
posted by rhizome at 8:20 PM on March 28, 2019 [4 favorites]


Long story short: I'm always searching for things that could be used to humiliate Trump, and I think this is one.

McConnell to Trump: Health care’s all yours (Politico)
Mitch McConnell has no intention of leading President Donald Trump’s campaign to transform the GOP into the “party of health care.”

“I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker,” McConnell said in a brief interview Thursday, adding, “I am focusing on stopping the ‘Democrats’ Medicare for none’ scheme.” [...]

While the GOP leader has endorsed efforts to protect pre-existing conditions, McConnell told his caucus on Wednesday he will stick to a message of asking the administration for a plan and focusing on making Democratic measures unpopular, according to attendees.

Soon after, Senate Republicans from across the caucus adopted a similar mantra: Let’s see what the White House proposes.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:56 PM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]


If you think vote tallies are being manipulated, they can be done so whether popular vote or electoral is used.

But with electoral votes the state boundaries provide firewalls for the effects of fraud.
posted by M-x shell at 9:00 PM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


An interesting side effect of the Justice Department concluding that the entire ACA is unconstitutional is that it's now the government's official position that, well, the entire ACA is unconstitutional. Which is a problem, because there's an awful lot of stuff in that law. Like amendments to Medicare fraud statutes. Which is music to the ears of someone accused of massive Medicare fraud and kickbacks:
On Wednesday, Esformes’ lawyers filed a motion in a federal court in Florida arguing that the case against their client must be dismissed — effectively ruining three years of work by prosecutors — because “the Justice Department has admitted that the health care offenses at issue in this trial are unconstitutional.” Alternatively, Esformes’ legal team suggests that the judge should declare a mistrial.

The problem arises because O’Connor did not simply strike down the core provisions of the Affordable Care Act. He declared that every single provision of the law is invalid, including relatively minor provisions amending the statutes governing Medicare fraud and kickbacks paid to health providers. Though Esformes alleged actions may also be illegal under the unamended versions of those statutes, Esformes was charged under the amended versions. According to Esformes’ motion, “every health care statute cited in the Indictment has been identified as among those ruled unconstitutional” by Judge O’Connor.

The crux of Esformes’ legal argument is that “the Due Process Clause will not permit the Justice Department to prosecute the Defendant based upon alleged violations of statutes and regulations that they have independently deemed and declared to be unconstitutional.” It’s an aggressive argument. Nevertheless, it’s an argument that puts the Justice Department in a terrible bind.
One alarming bit of this is the reporting that AG Barr, along with HHS Secretary Azar, was opposed to the decision to argue against the ACA. This is supposed to be a legal conclusion by the Justice Department, not a political decision. DOJ generally has the duty to defend federal law (indeed, the career DOJ attorneys withdrew from the case last year instead of signing onto the government's brief), and if Barr caved in a cabinet meeting and backed the absurd position that the entire law has to go, reversing his department's previous conclusions that the law was constitutional or that only portions were constitutional, that's hardly a principled legal decision that the law is indefensible. And that, in turn, says a lot about him and his leadership of the Justice Department.
posted by zachlipton at 9:34 PM on March 28, 2019 [50 favorites]


President Donald Trump’s campaign to transform the GOP into the “party of health care.”

Surely this.
posted by Rykey at 9:49 PM on March 28, 2019 [4 favorites]


Buildings housing Oklahoma Democratic Party headquarters, Chickasaw Nation office vandalized with hate-spewing graffiti

I wonder whether anyone ever sprays racist graffiti on Republican Party headquarters.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:00 AM on March 29, 2019 [8 favorites]


If the progressive church and progressive polity can cultivate a better relationship with one another, there's an incredible opportunity right now. The millennial relationships with the institutional and conservative strains of Christianity is notably different than in the past -- more of them are simply leaving, and of those that stay, investment in dogma and political affiliation may well be more mixed.

While I'm an atheist, my (current) view is that shared values are more important than the framework which purports to ultimately justify them. For that reason, I'd be more than happy for an alliance between secular and religious leftists.

While I think I would've ended up an athiest irrespective of the environment I grew up in, my family's move from an area where we were surrounded by fellow moderate Catholics to the deeply reactionary and extremely religious suburbs of North Texas brought my doubts and grievances with religion to a breaking point. I think that had I been exposed to religion playing a more positive role in the public sphere, I wouldn't have gone through an edgy teen Movement Athiest phase. In my defense, it didn't take long for me to figure out that those people didn't share my values either.

But, I digress. My main point is that I not only now would welcome progressive Christians becoming more outspoken, visible, etc. and forming closer ties with secular leftist forces, I think I would've benefited from that back when I was forming my basic beliefs about religion.

Relatedly, I'd be remiss not to mention Liz Bruenig when it comes to the topic of Christianity and the left. After going through my bookmarks, I came upon this talk of hers: Liz Bruenig on Religion, Politics, and the Left
posted by davedave at 12:12 AM on March 29, 2019 [21 favorites]


Oliver North Showed Republicans the Way Out
Belligerence, shamelessness and partisanship can take you far.

By Jamelle Bouie/NYTimes
Watergate, the modern template for an impeachment-worthy scandal, has informed much of the coverage of the Russia scandal, from congressional inquiries to the special counsel’s investigation into President Trump and his campaign. Central questions — Did the president conspire to illegally influence the election? Did he obstruct justice? — have clear antecedents in Watergate. And Trump himself bears more than a slight resemblance to Richard Nixon at his most paranoid and intransigent.

But while Trump’s belligerent and at times bizarre behavior may mirror that of his predecessor, he is operating in a vastly different political context than Nixon was in the 1970s. Then, the Republican Party had an influential moderate faction willing to work with Democrats. Now it’s synonymous with the right-wing. Then, fact-finding produced public consensus and eventually pushed Republicans to do the right thing. Now it heightens the partisan divide.

For this and other reasons, the Watergate example doesn’t fit the circumstances of the moment. But Iran-contra, the major scandal of the Reagan administration, does.
posted by mumimor at 1:54 AM on March 29, 2019 [20 favorites]


While the GOP leader has endorsed efforts to protect pre-existing conditions, McConnell told his caucus on Wednesday he will stick to a message of asking the administration for a plan and focusing on making Democratic measures unpopular, according to attendees.

McConnell can only do that if he lies, and then only if the media uncritically repeats his lies. Which that story already did by quoting his "Medicare for none" slur -- pretty rich coming from a representative of the party that opposed Medicare from its inception to now, and himself only recently having proposed cutting it -- so I can see why he's confident in approaching his work.
posted by Gelatin at 5:21 AM on March 29, 2019 [18 favorites]


What are the odds that Deutsche Bank's repeated lending to Trump on the basis of his "surprisingly low debt load" was based on taking Trump at his word regarding his financial condition and failing to do any due diligence?

I can't find a link but Maddow has reported that this specifically is not true. Around the time Cohen was testifying, she said that DB probably knew about the lying about assets thing Cohen was talking about, and "is it still fraud if the bank is willingly defrauded?"
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 6:10 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]


Another call to action, folks. Time to grab your phones, resistbot, whatever. From Talking Points Memo: Our situation now seems pretty clear. The administration plan is this: Release the Barr Letter and use it as a cudgel to claim bogus exoneration and threaten revenge against the President’s perceived enemies while Bill Barr tries to run down the clock until January 2021.

So where’s the report? There’s zero reason it can’t be released today. To the degree there is some classified information that must remain secret it can be released today either to the full Congress or the so-called Gang of Eight. If there’s a purported issue with Grand Jury secrecy, a judge can rule to release it. (There’s also a Watergate precedent in this case) In other words, there’s zero reason it can’t be released to Congress today and a very lightly redacted version to the public a short time later.

Now here’s the thing: just a couple weeks ago the House voted unanimously to demand the report be released with no Barr-ite funny-business. The resolution called for a full un-redacted release to Congress and a full public release “except to the extent the public disclosure of any portion thereof is expressly prohibited by law.”

This makes it easy in terms of holding people accountable. Did your Rep vote to release it? Of course they did! Because the vote was unanimous! The only exceptions were four Reps who voted “present”: Reps. Amash, Gaetz, Massie and Gosar. Call them too if you want. (Call Senators if you want. But Leader McConnell forbade a vote. So there no one is on the record.) But with these four exceptions everyone is now on the record demanding the immediate release. The problem is GOPs Reps found out about the Barr Letter plan and went silent. Indeed, Republican Reps are starting to say, the Barr Letter is plenty, let’s move on and investigate Hillary! It’s so damn exonerating that it’s critical that no one ever see it except Bill Barr.

Everyone should go on the record again or explain why they changed their position on full release. This is a case where individual reps are using the herd protection of numbers. So it’s important to find out what their position is now.

posted by Bella Donna at 6:47 AM on March 29, 2019 [23 favorites]


Also, was listening to the Pod Save America dudes on the most recent podcast and the two hosts were incredulous that Democrat Jerry Nadler was saying, essentially, "Barr says we will get it in weeks not months" instead of saying, "If we don't have the report by next week we will be issuing a subpoena." So I will be communicating to my home state reps and senators, who are all elected Democratic officials, that the nation needs them to stop acting like everything is normal and they need to demand, not request, that the Mueller report be given to Congress ASAP.

(Note: Fuck the mainstream media as well as the GOP propaganda arm, Fox. End derail.)
posted by Bella Donna at 6:52 AM on March 29, 2019 [15 favorites]


If you think vote tallies are being manipulated, they can be done so whether popular vote or electoral is used.

But with electoral votes the state boundaries provide firewalls for the effects of fraud.


As much as I hate to pick at a metaphor, "firewalls" is entirely wrong. The last election was decided by small differences in a few states. Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million and lost because of less than a tenth of that in a few states.
posted by Etrigan at 6:54 AM on March 29, 2019 [26 favorites]


Democrats say they will accuse Barr of a 'cover up' if he delivers incomplete Mueller report (SFGate)
The pointed warning, delivered by senior Democratic aides during a media briefing Thursday, marked the latest sign of a potential legal standoff between lawmakers and the Justice Department over access to Mueller's complete findings. [...]

"If he does not include grand jury information in the summary or report or redacted report or whatever he gives to Congress, that amounts to a coverup," a House Democratic staffer told reporters during Thursday's briefing. "We do not want anything in the words of the attorney general. We want to see Robert Mueller's words." [...]

House Democratic staffers said Thursday they believe Barr's statement broke with Justice Department precedent and showed a willingness to flout Congress' oversight role.
A subpoena may not be an ideal tactic under these circumstances, because it could create additional delay if courts need to become involved to enforce it against claims of executive privilege/national security/grand jury confidentiality. The Dems appear to be trying to exert political pressure, which may be more expedient than giving the GOP a further opportunity to delay the release of the report.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:04 AM on March 29, 2019 [22 favorites]


> Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million and lost because of less than a tenth of that in a few states.

No disagreement; just adding this for precision:

WaPo link: Of the more than 120 million votes cast in the 2016 election, 107,000 votes in three states effectively decided the election.

(Of course, in a national popular vote election, the strategies would be entirely different, blah blah blah.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:06 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]


Donald Trump rails against 'greatest hoax' at first rally since Mueller report (Guardian)
President wrongly claims special counsel’s report fully exonerated him as he woos voters in Grand Rapids, Michigan
The rally in Michigan highlights the state’s importance to Trump’s re-election bid. To loud cheers, he recounted that Grand Rapids was the last stop during his 2016 campaign. Despite the enthusiasm, the latest polling shows a strong majority of Michigan voters – including independents – don’t plan to vote for Trump in 2020. Moreover, Democrats in 2018 swept all three statewide offices by healthy margins, and Democrat candidates received more collective votes in the state legislature.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:23 AM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]


A Mueller mystery: How Trump dodged a special counsel interview — and a subpoena fight (WaPo):
The president was initially inclined to sit for an interview with Mueller. He thought he could deliver a convincing performance and put a swift end to the probe.

Negotiations between the sides began around Thanksgiving 2017, and an interview was scheduled for January 2018, according to a person close to the legal team and a former senior administration official.

But John Dowd, then the president’s lead attorney, canceled the session. He had argued against it because he feared Trump could misspeak or even lie. And a practice session with the president further convinced Dowd that the president could be a problematic interviewee, these people said.
The stonewall strategy:
1) Mueller needed approval from Rosenstein who "was under intense political pressure" from the White House not to let it happen.
2) Later, Bill Barr of the Barr memo.
3) The SCO was hesitant to spend time bogged down in a court fight over a Trump subpoena.
4) Successful legal strategy of Jane and Martin Raskin consisting of "pressing [SCO] for a legal justification for seeking to interview the president" and to "cooperate fully with every request for documents and witnesses from Mueller, including Trump’s written answers to some questions."

Trump submitted his written answers in Nov 2018, "citing executive privilege, refused to provide answers to questions pertaining to the president’s time in office — questions that went to the heart of the special counsel’s inquiry into possible obstruction of justice." Mueller again requested an interview after receiving the written answers and made followup inquiries to the president's lawyers, "Trump’s lawyers again declined" to offer any additional cooperation.
posted by peeedro at 7:28 AM on March 29, 2019 [10 favorites]


But, I digress. My main point is that I not only now would welcome progressive Christians becoming more outspoken, visible, etc. and forming closer ties with secular leftist forces, I think I would've benefited from that back when I was forming my basic beliefs about religion.

I'm an atheist who was raised in a progressive Lutheran church that did stuff like sponsor refugees and build housing for developmentally disabled adults. My godsister's current church runs a shelter for homeless LGBT+ youth. Because of my experiences, among my nonreligious peers I think I'm definitely the most vocal about the good works that religion can inspire. Knowing that so many people have had awful experiences with organized religion, I kind of see myself as a goodwill ambassador or something. Not in the sense of "don't be mean to religion" but in the sense of "we have allies in the religious community."
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:36 AM on March 29, 2019 [15 favorites]


I see the logic of the firewalls argument; under a national popular vote, Texas (plus other states if necessary) could report just enough votes to alter the outcome, whereas they can't "report" additional electoral votes -- their influence there is capped at a certain percentage of the total (the "firewall").

Relatedly, I've seen it argued that we shouldn't give solid states the same incentive that, e.g, Florida has for bogus vote suppression. As demonstrated with the special senate election, Alabama has millions and millions of Democrats, and if their vote actually counted nationally, the state government would do everything to make it not count. But this... generalizes to an argument against democracy per se, and it's not like the incentive to suppress doesn't already exist for purposes of local governance anyway.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:36 AM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]


Also, was listening to the Pod Save America dudes on the most recent podcast and the two hosts were incredulous that Democrat Jerry Nadler was saying, essentially, "Barr says we will get it in weeks not months" instead of saying, "If we don't have the report by next week we will be issuing a subpoena."

The lack of urgency is unbelievable. What are they waiting for? Not even considering how much time they're letting Republicans run wild with the "No collusion! Fully exonerated!" cover story, there's a limited amount of time to conduct real oversight before 2020 election cycle takes over everything. If they're going to allow "weeks" or even "months" between every tiny procedural step before maybe, maybe, but no we're not even promising to do it, issuing subpoenas, they're doing the Republicans work of running out the clock and the statue of limitations for them.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:37 AM on March 29, 2019 [33 favorites]


Another call to action, folks. Time to grab your phones, resistbot, whatever. From Talking Points Memo

I just want to second and amplify this. It's important. I know we all get like 3 calls to action every day, but we've entered a phase where it really matters. There are going to be more calls to action over the next several months, and they are probably going to get more consequential and more challenging to respond to. So let's use this relatively early and easy one to start getting our "responding" muscles into shape.

The lack of urgency is unbelievable. What are they waiting for?

Exactly. We need to light a fire under our representatives.
posted by diogenes at 7:45 AM on March 29, 2019 [14 favorites]


Is there a web form / letter generator on the report issue? I usually get push notifications for these types of calls for action, but not on this.
posted by armacy at 7:57 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]


Mueller report's release to AG Barr is the end of the beginning for Trump, not the beginning of the end (Kurt Bardella, NBC News Opinion)
Anything short of releasing the full, un-redacted report to Congress will presumably result in a high-stakes standoff between Congress and the executive branch. Should the attorney general fail to voluntarily produce the report, Congressional committees will subpoena the Justice Department for it. If the DOJ refuses to comply with the subpoena, a lawsuit will be filed and this could end up in the Supreme Court’s hands. Meanwhile, newly minted private citizen Robert Mueller will almost certainly be invited to testify at a congressional hearing to discuss his report’s findings.

Withholding or sanitizing the Mueller report is a political loser for the president. Recent polls reveal that nearly 9 in ten Americans believe the full report should be made public. This is also a tough fight for Congressional Republicans given their past rhetoric about transparency and oversight during President Barack Obama’s time in office. [...]

In fact, oversight Republicans’ fight with then Eric Holder’s Justice Department over the release of documents related to “Operation Fast and Furious” is instructive now. Following President Obama’s use of executive privilege to ignore a Congressional subpoena, Republicans filed a lawsuit in district court declaring, “The Attorney General’s conception of the reach of ‘Executive privilege,’ were it to be accepted, would cripple congressional oversight of Executive branch agencies, to the very detriment of the Nation and our constitutional structure.” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson [...], who is also the judge presiding over Roger Stone’s case, ruled against the Justice Department.

If Barr and the Trump White House resist efforts by Congress to get the full report, history could repeat itself.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:13 AM on March 29, 2019 [14 favorites]


Rykey President Donald Trump’s campaign to transform the GOP into the “party of health care.”

Anecdotal, but I've already had someone on twitter loudly proclaiming themselves to be a Democrat who totally hate Trump, but also that they just don't see why we should be childish and obstruct things because even though they're **TOTALLY** a Democrat and totally hate Trump they see nothing wrong with border security and healthcare, and why do I hate healthcare if I'm advocating for opposing Trump.

So clearly the bots/MAGAhatters/Channers/Russians/whatevers are taking their cue from Trump here and are dutifully parroting his BS about border security and healthcare.
posted by sotonohito at 8:14 AM on March 29, 2019 [8 favorites]


Daniel Dale:

1. Every Trump budget proposes steep cuts to Great Lakes restoration
2. Congress ignores him every year, fully funds it
3. Trump goes to Michigan and brags he's fully funding Great Lakes restoration, "which you have been trying to get for over 30 years"


President Donald Trump reverses course on Great Lakes Restoration Initiative:

“I don’t think you can handle it. I support the Great Lakes. Always have. They are beautiful. They are big, very deep. record deepness, right?"

Actually, the deepest lake in the world is Lake Baikal, which is in Russia, naturally. That's a bit on the nose, even by current standards.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:15 AM on March 29, 2019 [40 favorites]


Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 President Election: The Redacted Mueller Report, via emptywheel. It really highlights just how little was in that "summary" from Barr.
posted by Apoch at 8:20 AM on March 29, 2019 [11 favorites]


Under NPV, Republicans in California might be much more inclined to vote, especially if early returns from the East Coast are close. So maybe our 3,000,000 vote win wouldn't have been there after all. Also, corrupt state officials from both parties have a much greater incentive to cheat on the count. Imagine recounting the entire nation like Florida 2000. Ugh.
posted by M-x shell at 8:21 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]


Also, corrupt state officials from both parties have a much greater incentive to cheat on the count.

What makes you think that they'll cheat in presidential elections more than they would in local, state, or congressional elections, which are far more likely to feature candidates that they know personally?
posted by Etrigan at 8:40 AM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]


This is also a tough fight for Congressional Republicans given their past rhetoric about transparency and oversight during President Barack Obama’s time in office.

Republicans aren't susceptible to charges of hypocrisy. They don't operate in good faith, so they just don't care. Newt Gingrich and Henry Hyde were each having an affair at the very time they impeached Bill Clinton for lying about a supposedly consensual affair. Republicans ignore Trump's documented affairs as they have for decades now whenever a Republican politician is concerned. Al Franken resigned his Senate seat; Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh sit on the SCOTUS, the latter after the Republicans ran the exact same phony sham of a hearing they did with Anita Hill. Republicans only care about deficits when Democrats are in office.

And none of these facts are new. They've been true for decades now.

Republicans and the modern movement conservatives that support them don't have principles, except opposing whatever liberals want and helping the ultra-rich transfer the other half of the nation's wealth upwards. Pretending that past Republican rhetoric acts as any constraint whatsoever should be an immediate disqualification from the punditocracy. Instead, it only goes to show that the latter is far from a meritocracy.
posted by Gelatin at 9:13 AM on March 29, 2019 [54 favorites]


The lack of urgency is unbelievable. What are they waiting for?

For someone else (many someone elses) to step out on the thin ice first.

They are aware that the media has bought into the narrative that Trump won and that the report is a nothingburger. GOP hacks are already moving on to "since it's proven that the Mueller Special Counsel was corrupt from the beginning, those who were behind it and part of it must be investigated." Which is nothing but political three card monte -- follow the corruption, folks, watch the cards move, it's over here, it's over there, only look where WE want you to look -- but it's also a political reality that the narrative matters as much as the fact that the report itself hasn't even been seen yet.

And they're staring at an uphill battle against the GOP _and_ some of the media declaring "this has been decided, and only kooks and crackpots would continue to claim that there was collusion," when the report that could prove otherwise is the very thing that the GOP is capable of stonewalling and slow-walking, and it might not prove their case in a way that the general public can grasp even if they do obtain it.

So sticking their necks out at the moment is brave, but also dangerous, a combination that Congresspersons are not generally known for embracing.
posted by delfin at 9:17 AM on March 29, 2019 [9 favorites]


David Corn goes back to the basic fundamentals in Here’s the Real Trump-Russia Hoax: It’s Trump defenders and lefty Russiagate skeptics claiming there is no scandal.
These critics are wrong. And here’s an easy way to tell whether they are engaging in honest discourse.

Two fundamental facts were established long before Mueller completed his investigation. First, the Russians attacked an American election in order to sow chaos, hurt Hillary Clinton, and help Donald Trump. Second, Trump and his top advisers during the campaign repeatedly denied this attack was underway, echoing and amplifying Moscow disinformation (the false claim that Russia was not attacking). Whether or not the Trumpers were directly in cahoots with the Russian government, they ran interference for Vladimir Putin’s assault on the United States, and they even did so after the intelligence community had briefed Trump on Russia’s culpability.

So to determine if the Barr triumphalists are acting in good faith, you need only ask them a simple question: do you accept these basic facts and acknowledge the profound seriousness of each one?
...
This is the original sin of the Trump presidency: he and his crew aided and abetted the Russian attack by lying about it and running interference for the Russians. And contrary to what Conway asserted, the Trump crowd, after the election, lied about most of these interactions. Trump and Trump Jr. lied about the Trump Tower meeting, claiming it had been merely a discussion of Russian adoption policy. Manafort lied to Mueller’s investigators about his meeting with Kilimnik. (By the way, Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser, was indicted by Mueller for lying about his efforts during the campaign to contact WikiLeaks as it pumped out Democratic material swiped by the Russians.)
posted by zachlipton at 9:27 AM on March 29, 2019 [33 favorites]




Lawfare, Nate Jones, To Understand Mueller’s Work, Focus on Counterintelligence (Corn's column touches on this as well)
The special counsel’s prosecution and declination decisions tell only a small part of the story that all Americans, and their elected representatives, should care deeply about. After all, criminal culpability is not the standard by which someone’s fitness to be elected to the office of president of the United States, or in this case to remain in that office, should be judged. As some observers have correctly explained in recent days, this distinction goes to the heart of the difference between a criminal investigation, on the one hand, and a counterintelligence investigation, on the other. Barr’s summary speaks only to the former and omits any facts, findings or conclusions from the latter. Counterintelligence is always where the action was going to be.
...
The Mueller investigation has always been both a counterintelligence and a criminal investigation. In his initial appointment order, Mueller was charged with investigating Russian election interference, including any “links and/or coordination between the Russian government and [the Trump campaign].” Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, on his own account, authorized a counterintelligence investigation of Trump himself in the wake of the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
posted by zachlipton at 9:33 AM on March 29, 2019 [12 favorites]




So sticking their necks out at the moment is brave, but also dangerous, a combination that Congresspersons are not generally known for embracing.

The House voted last week 420-0 in favor of releasing the full report...it's literally the least they could possibly do to subpoena its release and Mueller to testify...yet they haven't and won't commit to doing it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:41 AM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]


The House voted last week 420-0 in favor of releasing the full report

The Republicans knew McConnell would block it.
posted by Gelatin at 9:43 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]


Now trending on twitter #YouMightThinkItsOK
posted by growabrain at 9:46 AM on March 29, 2019 [23 favorites]


Daily Beast, ‘You Keep Telling Me That’: How Michael Flynn Kissed Up to Russia’s Ambassador
The call between Flynn and Kislyak after inauguration seemed to carry on normally to those in the room listening in. The two officials exchanged pleasantries and expressed optimism about working to broker a new era of U.S-Russia relations. But then, as the two officials were saying their goodbyes, Kislyak invited Flynn to the Russian embassy in Washington to eat Russian food. Flynn’s response: “You keep telling me that.”

That one, short phrase raised eyebrows among intelligence and national security staffers in the room. The call, they thought, was supposed to have been the first official conversation between the two men. At least that’s what they had been told.

It wasn’t until much later that they realized how extensively the two had communicated during the transition.
Anyway, this seems like as good a time as any for a reminder that Flynn sold out US military policy to his Turkish employers as basically his first act on the job, something some of us saw back in March 2017, and nobody seems to care about this very obvious scandal.
posted by zachlipton at 9:54 AM on March 29, 2019 [35 favorites]


This cannot continue to be the calculus used by the media:

Report: Not Exonerated. Trump: Totally Exonerated. Media: Totally Exonerated?
Science: Climate Change. Republicans: No Climate Change. Media: No Climate Change?
History: Tax Cuts Don't Work. Republicans: Tax Cuts Work. Media: Do Tax Cuts Work?

I don't know what the solution is. Ad admission of total failure and a systemic breakdown in their ability to inform the public would be a good start.
posted by xammerboy at 9:55 AM on March 29, 2019 [70 favorites]


Democrats say they will accuse Barr of a 'cover up' if he delivers incomplete Mueller report (SFGate)

This is the problem. The Dems are being out-maneuvered by the media savvy Trumpsters. To prevent the Dems from screaming cover-up immediately, which would have had media punch, the TrumpCo strategy was to make noises about eventually (whatever that means) "releasing as much as they can," and then releasing that disingenuous "summary" by Barr right away. Now they can string out the outrage over several news cycles, severely blunting it and keeping it relatively low key. The Dems should have yelled about a cover-up the minute Barr released his summary and should still be yelling it everyday to any reporter who will listen. They should have issued a subpoena for the document, for Barr's testimony, and, especially, for Mueller's. Otherwise, the GOP will effectively smother the outrage by slow-walking the release, just like they're doing.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:59 AM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]


The Dems are being out-maneuvered by the media savvy Trumpsters.

I am a little incensed by this at the moment, so I'll double post on the topic. If the report says that Trump is not exonerated, and Trump says he is exonerated, and the media concludes that maybe he is exonerated, I... don't know what to say. A saner conclusion would be asking if perhaps, after all this time, we've just found out Trump can't read. One might even ask whether or not this Orwellian attempt to mislead the public is itself the kind of behavior that might normally lead to impeachment?
posted by xammerboy at 10:06 AM on March 29, 2019 [17 favorites]


Now Team Trump is out for vengeance: It's crucial that Democrats push back, hard (Heather Digby Parton, Salon)
It's not just Lindsey Graham: Trump's flunkeys are trying to flip the script on "treasonous" Obama administration […]

It seems clear that Trump's philosophy of life is zero-sum primitive domination and not much else. And there is one credo in "The Art of the Deal" he does live by: "I fight when I feel I'm getting screwed, even if it's costly and difficult and highly risky." Over the years that's evolved into something a little bit more elemental. It's no longer about just fighting. It's about vengeance.
He must always feel he's getting screwed.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:07 AM on March 29, 2019 [8 favorites]


Democrats to create havoc if Barr doesn't hand over Mueller report ASAP (Guardian)
Democrats on the Hill have demanded to see the full report by April 2. But Barr has been sending increasingly strong signals this week that he is in no hurry to hand over the report and there is no guarantee that they will get the full report, without redactions, or the evidence underlying the findings.

It’s all setting up a major confrontation next week if the Justice Department doesn’t send the full Mueller report to Congress by Tuesday, NBC writes, as six committee chairmen have demanded. The next step, House Democratic staffers told journalists, would be a subpoena. “We’ll have more to say on April 3,” one said.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:08 AM on March 29, 2019 [8 favorites]


Very interesting thread by Kyle Kondik about recent state trends in partisanship.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:12 AM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]


Maryland Dems overrode the governor's veto and increased the minimum wage (gradually to $15 in 2025).
posted by Chrysostom at 10:14 AM on March 29, 2019 [44 favorites]


Another reason to subpoena everything and ask questions later: all of this will be decided by the court. Which will take a lot of time. We're pretty sure we already know how the corrupt and stolen Gorsuch*-Kavanaugh court will rule, but there's always the possibility Roberts has another moment of decency...and getting to that point will take months and months, on top of however long Democrats dither in making the first necessary steps.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:15 AM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]


Donald Trump Jr. reveals he may one day follow his father's footsteps into politics (Shira Tarlo, Salon)
"My father decided to get into politics at 68. I'm 41," the president's eldest son says. "I've got plenty of time"
Gods forbid no.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:20 AM on March 29, 2019 [17 favorites]


New documents raise questions over State Dept. move to rescind honor for Trump critic:

Jessikka Aro, a Finnish investigative journalist with a history of breaking stories on Russian propaganda efforts, had been slated to receive a prestigious award in Washington along with several other women selected by the State Department for their courage in the face of great risks overseas.

Suddenly and without warning, the honor to appear at the International Women of Courage awards with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and first lady Melania Trump was rescinded -- with no explanation from the department.


Foreign Policy: U.S. Cancels Journalist’s Award Over Her Criticism of Trump

“I use Twitter to exchange ideas and share information freely,” Aro said. “I find the idea of U.S. government officials stalking my Twitter and politicizing my perfectly normal expressions of opinion deeply disturbing.”

After first being notified she would get the award, Aro filled out forms and questionnaires at the request of officials and cancelled paid speaking engagements to travel to Washington to attend the March 7 ceremony in Washington. The State Department also sent her an official invitation to accept the award and planned an itinerary for a corresponding tour of the United States, complete with flights and high-profile visits to newspapers and universities across the country.


U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations - Examining the State Department's Claims about the International Women of Courage Award and Jessikka Aro [pdf]:

On March 7, Foreign Policy reported that the Department of State rescinded the award because it was displeased with social media posts Aro made criticizing President Trump’s assaults on the media and rule of law. In response, the Department insisted that Aro had been “incorrectly notified” of her selection for the award due to “a lack of coordination in communications with candidates and our embassies.”3 At a press briefing on the day that the article was published, a Department spokesperson was asked whether Aro had ever been selected as a finalist. He replied that “[s]he had not” (see Appendix I).

The Department’s statements are not borne out by, and appear to be in direct contradiction with, the communications and documents reviewed by Democratic Committee staff. Because of this, Senator Menendez and other Senators have referred the matter to the State Department’s Inspector General for investigation.


Aro, back in 2015: My Year as a Pro-Russia Troll Magnet: International Shaming Campaign and an SMS from Dead Father

Aro has also reported extensively on the Night Wolves, a pro-Putin biker gang comprised of unsavoury ex-Spetnaz types and various other thugs. Finland, with plenty of reasons to be concerned about Putin, hasn't been the only country where they've been showing up.

Balkan Insight: Bosnian Branch of ‘Putin’s Angels’ Enjoys Political Backing
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:25 AM on March 29, 2019 [17 favorites]


Border crisis: US failure to respond to migration surge has created chaos (Guardian)
The chaotic scenes in El Paso are the result of a regional crisis in which growing numbers of Central American families flee violence, corruption and poverty – only to come up against failed migration polices in Mexico and the US. [...] Authorities in US border towns have struggled to cope with the crush of families and unaccompanied minors. Because of limits on how long children can be held in detention, most families are now being released to pursue their claims in immigration courts, a process that can take years. [...]

And there is no sign that the mass exodus is likely to end soon. Most of the current wave of migrants come from three small Central American countries – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – where migration is driven by a a toxic mix of violence, poverty, food insecurity, climate change, political instability and corruption. Violence perpetrated by drug traffickers, street gangs and state security forces have made this region, known as the Northern Triangle, the most dangerous place in the world outside an official war zone. [...]

And there is little doubt that the Northern Triangle countries are in crisis. Guatemala is the most unequal country in Central America with 59% of the population living in poverty without access to basic rights such as health, education, housing and justice, said Jorge Santos from Udefegua, an organisation which monitors attacks against activists, journalists and community leaders. The country’s politicians meanwhile, have been mired in a string of corruption scandals. [...]

Migration from Honduras has accelerated amid a dire political, economic and security situation triggered by the 2009 coup which ushered in the pro-business and pro-military rightwing National party. An upsurge in human rights violations including high profile cases like the murder of the indigenous leader Berta Cáceres triggered international condemnation but failed to stop the bloodshed or stem US aid. [...]

In January, migration agents were deployed to the southern border city Tapachula and issued several thousand temporary humanitarian visas to migrants in an attempt to dissuade them from continuing north. But on Wednesday, Mexico’s interior secretary, Olga Sánchez Cordero, announced that federal police and civil protection agents would be deployed to southern Mexico, indicating a more punitive response. The surprise announcement came after Sánchez met with the US homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:26 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]


Report: Not Exonerated. Trump: Totally Exonerated. Media: Totally Exonerated?
Science: Climate Change. Republicans: No Climate Change. Media: No Climate Change?
History: Tax Cuts Don't Work. Republicans: Tax Cuts Work. Media: Do Tax Cuts Work?


Chomsky: the job of the media is Manufacturing Consent.
posted by Harry Caul at 10:29 AM on March 29, 2019 [28 favorites]


In Metafilter-adjacent news, it turns out that Mick Mulvaney is not very good at LearnedLeague.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:29 AM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]


If the report says that Trump is not exonerated, and Trump says he is exonerated, and the media concludes that maybe he is exonerated

...then the media is ignoring the abundant information in the public domain -- the Trump Tower meeting and Donald trump himself crafting a lying statement explaining it, to name only one -- including the results of their own reporting. Unforgivable.
posted by Gelatin at 10:37 AM on March 29, 2019 [10 favorites]


peeedro: U.S. government wasted up to $1 billion on charter schools and still fails to adequately monitor grants (WaPo):

This is not new, and this is not only a problem with Federal charter support: How a couple worked charter school regulations to make millions (Anna M. Phillips for the Los Angeles Times, Mar 27, 2019)
The Parkers have cast themselves as selfless philanthropists, telling the California Board of Education that they have “devoted all of our lives to the education of other people’s children, committed many millions of our own dollars directly to that particular purpose, with no gain directly to us.”

But the couple have, in fact, made millions from their charter schools. Financial records show the Parkers’ schools have paid more than $800,000 annually to rent buildings the couple own. The charters have contracted out services to the Parkers’ nonprofits and companies and paid Clark Parker generous consulting fees, all with taxpayer money, a Times investigation found.
...
How the Parkers have stayed in business, surviving years of allegations of financial and academic wrongdoing, illustrates glaring flaws in the way California oversees its growing number of charter schools.

Many of the people responsible for regulating the couple’s schools, including school board members and state elected officials, had accepted thousands of dollars from the Parkers in campaign contributions.

Like other charter operators who have run into trouble, the Parkers were able to appeal to the state Board of Education when they faced the threat of being shut down; the panel is known for overturning local regulators’ decisions. A Times analysis of the state board’s decisions has found that, over the last five years, it has sided with charters over local school districts or county offices of education in about 70% of appeals.

California law also enables troubled charter operators to escape sanction or scrutiny by moving to school districts more willing to accept them. The Parkers have used this to their advantage, keeping one step ahead of the regulators.
My wife works at a public "alternative" school that is focused on helping kids graduate high school. Students have the opportunity to get a semester-worth of of a class in a quarter because of block-type scheduling. Other schools benefit because they ship off their under-performing students, which keeps their test scores up, and kids can get more attention here, thanks to smaller class sizes. My wife really enjoys it, and it seems like teachers and administrators are invested in the program.

Which is me giving background to the idea that charters just need to go away. Develop alternative schooling options within the public school system. Stop pretending that private companies are better at providing public functions that government agencies, because there are a LOT of rotten apples in those baskets, which takes money from legitimate schools, harms students' futures, and burns through teachers who are already willing to work for low salaries because they want to help kids. Yes, #NotAllCharters, but at some point, realize that the bad is seriously outweighing the good.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:37 AM on March 29, 2019 [42 favorites]


NYT, Miriam Jordan (who has been amazingly on this very strange beat), Former Trump Family Driver Has Been in ICE Custody for 8 Months
When Donald Trump’s children and campaign staff arrived in South Florida during the 2016 presidential campaign, they were often greeted at the airport by Zoltan Tamas in a black Cadillac Escalade. As a senior security guard at Trump National Golf Club in the town of Jupiter, Mr. Tamas was licensed to carry a gun. He bought a home, paid taxes and never ran afoul of the law since immigrating legally to the United States from Romania in 2011.

But for eight months, Mr. Tamas, 38, has been locked in a correctional facility six hours’ drive from his family as he fights a protracted legal battle to remain in the United States. During that time, he has not once seen his wife, 11-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter, who suffers from congenital heart disease.

Mr. Tamas has fallen prey to the crackdown on immigration that is at the top of the president’s national agenda — and letters of support from high-profile businesspeople and his former bosses have so far not helped him win leniency.

Mr. Tamas, a green-card holder, was arrested by immigration authorities after he applied for United States citizenship in 2016 and a background check revealed that he had been convicted in absentia of committing insurance fraud in Romania.
What if, and I’m just spitballing here, we didn’t jail people indefinitely for that?
posted by zachlipton at 11:16 AM on March 29, 2019 [37 favorites]


Matt Grossmann: "AOC’s favorability is 2% to 74% unfavorable among Republicans; meanwhile 44% of Democrats haven’t heard enough to have an opinion!"

This is a rather astounding result. It says that a large portion of Democrats know little or nothing about AOC but that almost all Republicans know about and dislike her because of Fox's 24/7 obsessive sliming. This clearly demonstrates the power of Fox in driving the narrative in the Republican sphere. Republicans live in a very isolated world.
posted by JackFlash at 11:28 AM on March 29, 2019 [44 favorites]


Thoughtful piece (ignore the dumb headline):

Chasten Buttigieg Is Winning the 2020 Spouse Primary (Joanna Weiss, Politico)

“The first same-sex husband of a major-party presidential candidate is a historic figure, but he’s also a surprisingly traditional one.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 11:39 AM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]


It says that a large portion of Democrats know little or nothing about AOC

Isn't the problem that a large portion of Americans know little or nothing about Mueller and Barr?

I live on a street with 9 houses. I always vote after work, almost at closing time. When I vote, which is for everything including the dog warden if I'm allowed to vote on it, I can see who on my street has voted as they use a paper record and cross names off when people show their ID. My husband and I are ALWAYS the only people on our street to vote. I like my neighbors, but I guarantee none of them even know who Barr is.
posted by archimago at 11:45 AM on March 29, 2019 [11 favorites]


Re migrant families. Y’all, I live in Texas. Not too long ago, I drove six hours at 70mph to get somewhere else in Texas. During that drive, there was a solid two hours of nothing but country. My point is, we got plenty of room. Freaking out about a few thousand people, in a state with so much room, seems silly. Our cities and towns are not constrained geographically, unemployment is at record lows, and more workers means more taxes, better schools, new infrastructure, all the things that come from gradual growth. How a few thousand people can be seem as a threat to an economy as robust as Texas, with as much room for growth as Texas has, just seems, on its face, to be absurd.

Also, all the news frenzy about the Surge, has taken attention away from all the separated kids, many of whom are still MIA.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 11:48 AM on March 29, 2019 [45 favorites]


NPR: Poll: After Barr Letter, Overwhelming Majority Wants Full Mueller Report Released
Only about a third of Americans believe, from what they've seen or heard about the Mueller investigation so far, that President Trump is clear of any wrongdoing. But they are split on how far Democrats should go in investigating him going forward.[…]

At the same time, 56 percent said Mueller conducted a fair investigation, and 51 percent said they were satisfied with it. That included 52 percent of independents who said they were satisfied with the investigation. It's one of the rare questions in the first two years of the Trump presidency in which a majority of independents sided with Republicans instead of Democrats on a subject.[…]

Overall, three-quarters said the full Mueller report should be made public. That included a majority of Republicans (54 percent). Just 18 percent overall said Barr's summary is enough.

Two-thirds (66 percent) also said they want Mueller to testify before Congress, and 64 percent said the same for Barr.

Almost six in 10 (56 percent) said that questions still exist, with just 36 percent saying Trump is clear of any wrongdoing. That latter figure is close to where Trump's approval rating has been throughout his presidency.
Here's a link to the full results (PDF).
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:50 AM on March 29, 2019 [13 favorites]


Oh. It actually looks like the Barr derail was an own goal. If you rush out saying that the president has been exonerated in the Mueller report, a majority of people on both sides will think that the report should be released. I'm heading out for som popcorn right away.
posted by mumimor at 11:54 AM on March 29, 2019 [23 favorites]


My favorite frame right now is a simple two words: Barr Cover-up.

Repeat. Early and often. For journalism types who for some reason have to make it a question: Who is Really Being Fooled by the Barr Cover-up?
posted by wildblueyonder at 11:55 AM on March 29, 2019 [16 favorites]


Pete Buttigieg from Vox: [My emphasis]

"Appealing to independents, in particular, has never been more important. It has also never been less connected to ideological centrism, which was the formula in the 90s when we thought of everything ideologically. It seemed very natural that, if you want to appeal to independents, they must be in some middle — and if you’re on the left you just move to the right.

Independents are often not so much committed centrists as they are unusual cocktails of right- and left-wing positions. Or they’re not that ideological at all and they want a feel for a kind of person who would step forward and be a leader. Either way, it does not point to there being some huge market for that kind of split-the-difference politics."
posted by JackFlash at 11:58 AM on March 29, 2019 [46 favorites]


Trump’s Treachery Goes Way Beyond Russia (William Saletan, Slate)
He’s not working for Putin. He’s working for any dictator who flatters him. […]

And Russia is just the beginning of the story. Trump’s treachery goes well beyond his service to Moscow. Transcripts, videos, and government records show that he has repeatedly collaborated with tyrants against our country. He has defended North Korea’s Kim Jong-un against U.S. intelligence that shows Kim is lying about his nuclear programs. He has defended Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, against American intelligence that exposes the crown prince’s role in the murder of a U.S. resident. He has sided with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, against American generals and U.S. law enforcement. He has declared that the Chinese government is more honorable than the American Democratic Party. […]

That clash in late January underscores our country’s predicament: Congress, our intelligence agencies, and our national security officials know the truth about Trump’s authoritarian friends. But Trump stands by his friends. He repeats their lies and attacks any American, even a dead war hero, who tells the truth. He’s a traitor.

Go back and watch Trump’s remarks at the White House on Jan. 10, during the government shutdown. At the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer were refusing to fund Trump’s border wall. But Trump was getting love from Chinese President Xi Jinping. So Trump declared that the Chinese government was better than the Democratic Party of the United States. “I find China, frankly, in many ways, to be far more honorable than Cryin’ Chuck and Nancy,” said Trump. “I think that China is actually much easier to deal with than the opposition party.”

That’s how Trump sees the world. Xi isn’t the opposition. Nor is Putin or Kim. The opposition is Americans: Schumer, Pelosi, and unruly intelligence officials. These troublemakers contradict Trump and threaten the dictators with whom he enjoys warm “chemistry.” When Trump negotiates with men like Kim or Erdogan, he claims to do so on behalf of Americans. But in truth, he sees himself as part of a club of CEOs: heads of state. In that club, little people like Khashoggi and the Kurds don’t count. And helping your fellow CEO by hacking the Democratic Party of the United States—in Trump’s view, the real opposition—isn’t an assault on democracy or American sovereignty. It’s a favor.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:02 PM on March 29, 2019 [47 favorites]


To paraphrase @johnsonjoeb

He's "rich" but you can't see his taxes.
He's "smart" but you can't see his grades.
He's "exonerated" but you can't see the report...🤔
I call bullshit.

Corporate Media: He's rich, smart, and exonerated. Democrats say no.
posted by petebest at 12:05 PM on March 29, 2019 [98 favorites]


But with electoral votes the state boundaries provide firewalls for the effects of fraud.

It doesn’t make sense to give this credit as some sort of payoff (which I do not concede but whatever, let’s put that aside for now) while ignoring the way it creates this vulnerability from the stair-step effect. We JUST SAW this happen in 2016 where a difference measured in tens of thousands - a number of people often contained in just one NEIGHBORHOOD of a city, not the entire city - pushed the result over to give 100% of that state’s electoral votes to a candidate.

So if the EC actually somehow provides a protection against fraud that could be perpetrated against a nationwide count it does so at the cost of creating a vulnerability in a state level count.

One of the few advantages of our long period between election and seating a president is that it allows plenty of time for audit possibilities.
posted by phearlez at 12:14 PM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]


The House voted last week 420-0 in favor of releasing the full report

The Republicans knew McConnell would block it.


420-0. That's... a significantly eye-raising number of full Trumpists who voted for release of the report, or who conveniently had other important engagements at the time of the vote.

Now I would never accuse fascists of having a "surely this" moment, but. Hmmm.

what is in that damn report.
posted by tivalasvegas at 12:15 PM on March 29, 2019 [18 favorites]


Is there a web form / letter generator on the report issue? I usually get push notifications for these types of calls for action, but not on this.

I've never used letter generators myself. This page will let you find your senators. Here is the same deal for the House of Representatives. Most if not all of them have online forms you can fill out to submit correspondence.

This situation is so severely fucked up--and a lot of us have been stewing in the daily details of it for so long--that it can be difficult to even know where to begin. That also means that we can simply state the facts and keep stating them, and that is the best thing we can possibly do right now. It shows our representatives that we are not swallowing this attempt to squelch the report.

I'm telling my Congresspeople again and again that I'm concerned about election tampering and that some members of the US government represent a national security risk. If these things are true, we must act as soon as possible to ensure the continued freedom and safety of Americans. This report has been exhaustively prepared examining the issue. I want it to be made public immediately, as the Starr report was. Barr's whisper-thin summary of a three-hundred page report is not good enough.

My Congresspeople are all Republicans. I write from the perspective that as public servants, they will listen to my words and represent me, and that as government employees, they will behave ethically and do their goddamn jobs. (Stop laughing.) I can't imagine how urgently I would state my case if I actually had Democratic representatives that might actually do something helpful. Someone said before that they think that even Democrats are trying to hide the report because it implicates senators of both parties. If that's true, I would still be saying the exact same thing. No matter what, the right thing to do right now is get the report out.

The protest is planned for a weekday, so it's going to look thin compared to the Women's March. I think it's much more important to act now and basically yell about this and keep yelling. It's an outrage. My understanding is that when you contact your representatives, they're pretty much just tracking numbers. So you don't need to worry about being a great writer/orator, just state your opinion. Based on newspaper comment sections, I'm fairly certain that most of what they get is...not great.
posted by heatvision at 12:21 PM on March 29, 2019 [8 favorites]




barr friday letter to graham/nadler: "I anticipate we will be in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner," pending redactions. Further, "there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review."
posted by 20 year lurk at 12:25 PM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]


Does anyone know: have they given a reason the Senate and House Intelligence Committees or just the Gang of Eight can't have the full nonredacted Mueller report right now while they prepare the redacted version? They have security clearances and oversight responsibility.
posted by bluecore at 12:26 PM on March 29, 2019 [19 favorites]


Further, "there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review."

My emphasis. Going a little closer to the edge, this also doesn't mean the WH doesn't already have it.
posted by rhizome at 12:35 PM on March 29, 2019 [10 favorites]


I can’t wait to get my hands on this dang thing, even though I’m sure it will be covered with tons of intruiging black bars. No matter how much you redact, the source document will always be more telling than some summary or list of clips and I’m glad it’s coming out. As Marcy Wheeler points out, it’s notable AG Barr is pushing back on the characterization of his prior letter as a “summary” of the report...
posted by sallybrown at 12:40 PM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]


So they were going to let the Trumps cut it up first, but now they're not. Got it. So they'll change their minds about ...mmm 2 weeks? That seem about right?

First of all, this is bullshit on top of bullshit. Democrats, you're getting played and we all can see it. Why don't you use some of that powder? Give it to Congress, you don't have to release it to the public. This "oh we're bringing in The Mueller to personally hand-sign copies for everyone ... in about two weeks" yeah screw that. Give it.
posted by petebest at 12:40 PM on March 29, 2019 [9 favorites]


bluecore: Does anyone know: have they given a reason the Senate and House Intelligence Committees or just the Gang of Eight can't have the full nonredacted Mueller report right now while they prepare the redacted version? They have security clearances and oversight responsibility.

Upthread may answer this. On May 24, Doktor Zed linked the Politico article with the headline Pelosi tells Dems she'll reject highly classified briefing on Mueller findings. So in addition to stonewalling on the executive/Republican side, it sounds like an official concern from Democratic leadership is that any such briefing will be used as an excuse for never having a public release: "We gave it to the Gang of Eight, move on already".
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:44 PM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]


Does anyone know: have they given a reason the Senate and House Intelligence Committees or just the Gang of Eight can't have the full nonredacted Mueller report right now while they prepare the redacted version? They have security clearances and oversight responsibility.

The report contains confidential grand jury information. There are steps Barr could take to ask the court to waive that protection, but we found out this week that the grand jury is still empaneled, so it’s not clear that would make sense while they’re still working on matters.

(Interestingly enough, members of Congress do not have security clearances or undergo background checks—they are deemed trustworthy by dint of their elected positions.)
posted by sallybrown at 12:47 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]


(Interestingly enough, members of Congress do not have security clearances or undergo background checks—they are deemed trustworthy by dint of their elected positions.)

We might want to rethink that. Just saying.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:58 PM on March 29, 2019 [15 favorites]


...trustworthy by dint of their elected positions, which, obviously, many are not.

every one of those house government affairs/judiciary committee transcripts, recently released by committee republicans includes significant introductory dialogue in which, among other preliminary matters, committee representatives make it clear to the interviewee that the interview is confidential and may not be disclosed. from papadopoulos transcript at p. 6, for example:
Finally we ask that you not speak about what we discuss in this interview with anyone else outside of who is here in the room with us today in order to preserve the integrity of our investigation. This confidentiality rule applies to every one present in this room.
posted by 20 year lurk at 12:58 PM on March 29, 2019


Yeah, imagine if elected federal officials had to pass the same kind of background check (including financial inquiry) as regular government employees. Ahem ahem. ;-)
posted by sallybrown at 1:04 PM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]


Vox, Lind, Trump’s threats to close the US-Mexico border, explained
On a press call Friday, a senior administration official acknowledged that the Trump administration is currently moving border agents from ports of entry to care for people (especially children and families) apprehended between ports of entry. That reduces capacity at the ports.

And if the number of people coming into the US continues to increase without DHS getting additional resources, the official said, closure of some ports would be “on the table.”

But the official, like everyone else in the Trump administration except Trump, sees port closure as a last resort. Trump’s enthusiasm for closing the border — and claims that the US would somehow save money — still don’t reflect administration willingness to actually do it.
...
What the government does control is legal traffic into the US, via official border crossings: ports of entry. So the only thing Trump could do to “shut down” the border would be to shut down the ports, stopping people and goods from legally entering the US.

The senior administration official on Friday claimed that that was what Trump meant by shutting down the border — and that the tweet wasn’t actually a commitment to shut down the border next week, but a warning that if the current flows of unauthorized families and children continued, the administration would close ports as a last resort.
This strikes me as an escalation, as we've gone from Trump's tweets threatening to close the border (ignored by the rest of the administration) to administration officials threatening to close the border.

BuzzFeed, Hamed Aleaziz, Fewer Immigrant Families Will Be Held In Detention Centers As DHS Struggles To Handle An Influx At The Border
Federal officials are scaling down their capacity to hold immigrant families in detention centers and will instead likely release them directly into the US as they struggle to handle an influx at the border.

Starting Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will temporarily convert one of its three family detention centers, Karnes Family Residential Center, to hold 700 women, maintaining only a small portion of family units. Earlier in March, there were more than 500 family members at Karnes.
posted by zachlipton at 1:04 PM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]


Kyle Griffin tweet:
Jerry Nadler responds to the new Barr letter: "As I informed the Attorney General earlier this week, Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. That deadline still stands."
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:14 PM on March 29, 2019 [46 favorites]


Barr isn't going to release anything that make his boss look bad so how are we expected to believe that the report is the real unedited thing? Seems like the report will just further "exonerate" him in the eyes of the suckers.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:20 PM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]


Call Mueller and Barr to testify on April 3rd and subpoena them if they don’t agree immediately.
posted by chris24 at 1:29 PM on March 29, 2019 [19 favorites]


While these are very obviously not the brightest dudes, I’m having a hard time imagining them submitting a fabricated Mueller report. The downsides are just completely overwhelming.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 1:32 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]


barr friday letter to graham/nadler: "I anticipate we will be in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner," pending redactions.

I'm sure Lucy won't pull the football away at the last minute this time.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:35 PM on March 29, 2019 [16 favorites]


The various House and Senate committees have the intelligence ratings to receive all the information, don't they? Let them decide how to declassify it.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:36 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]



While these are very obviously not the brightest dudes, I’m having a hard time imagining them submitting a fabricated Mueller report. The downsides are just completely overwhelming.


No not a fake one but an edited one. It's hard to imagine them releasing one that has any damaging information.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:36 PM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]


An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden

My honest theory the whole time has been that he's been delaying tactically to see when/if anything like this would come out. I imagine given what we know about him anecdotally that we'll be seeing a lot more of this if he actually decides to run.
posted by dreamlanding at 1:37 PM on March 29, 2019 [39 favorites]


Let them decide how to declassify it

Declassification authority is vested in the President. Short of passing a statute, classified is classified, and Congress can't declassify something.

They can, however, "read it into the record." Members of Congress have absolute immunity from prosecution for anything they say on the floor of the House, and they could read classified information into the House record (they wouldn't have to actually read it aloud, though they could). It would still be classified! But it would be public, permanently.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:43 PM on March 29, 2019 [13 favorites]


No not a fake one but an edited one. It's hard to imagine them releasing one that has any damaging information.

Would a document like this have been digitally signed, so as to make it possible to detect tampering? I would hope so, given how ubiquitous the technology is, but I can imagine paperwork processes having not caught up yet somewhere...
posted by XMLicious at 1:44 PM on March 29, 2019


Ajit Pai wants to cap spending on broadband for poor people and rural areas (Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica)
Pai plans budget cap on program designed to make broadband available to everyone.
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:45 PM on March 29, 2019 [9 favorites]


An important thought exercise from the Biden piece:
Imagine you’re at work and a male colleague who you have no personal relationship with approaches you from behind, smells your hair, and kisses you on the head. Now imagine it’s the CEO of the company.
Would you be ok with that? I know I would not.
posted by sallybrown at 1:46 PM on March 29, 2019 [49 favorites]


>> "No not a fake one but an edited one. It's hard to imagine them releasing one that has any damaging information."

> Would a document like this have been digitally signed, so as to make it possible to detect tampering?


You're overthinking this - Congress can (will) subpoena (or voluntarily interview) Mueller to make sure that the report includes what he putin it.

(Not edited to fix glorious typo)
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:48 PM on March 29, 2019 [30 favorites]


Would a document like this have been digitally signed, so as to make it possible to detect tampering?

It wouldn't really help, the signature would change if it was altered at all, including redactions. So you could redact a few sentences and do your edits, and hand that over; you'd have a good reason for the signature to be broken.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:50 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]


Ajit Pai wants to cap spending on broadband for poor people and rural areas

Meanwhile, Amy Klobuchar proposed a $1 trillion infrastructure plan which would get everyone connected to broadband by 2022.
posted by Emmy Rae at 1:52 PM on March 29, 2019 [20 favorites]


Politico, Millions in family planning grants given to groups and states fighting Trump's policy changes
The Trump administration is awarding about $250 million in Title X federal family planning grants to states and providers, including an anti-abortion chain of clinics that doesn't offer FDA-approved birth control and several organizations and states that are suing to halt conservative-led changes that go into effect in a few weeks.

The changes — designed largely to partially achieve conservatives' long-sought goal of cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood — would block funding to groups that make abortion referrals, potentially leaving gaps in care for low-income women. It's already illegal to use federal taxpayer dollars for abortion, with very limited exceptions.

According to a list of grantees posted on HHS' website Friday, seven Planned Parenthood affiliates in eight states are still set to receive funding through 2022 beginning on Monday. Oregon and Washington state's health departments will also continue to serve as the sole grantees in those states. Those states and Planned Parenthood are among those threatening to withdraw unless federal courts halt the new anti-abortion rules due to take effect May 3.

Planned Parenthood's $16 million a year allotment is a drop from the $50 to 60 million the group had been receiving annually. Fewer affiliates, including the one in Wisconsin that now serves 87 percent of the state's Title X patients, received grants.
One of the groups funded for the first time is Obria, an anti-abortion group that does not provide contraception, which is a bit of a problem since Title X is the federal program that funds birth control. They will supposedly partner with other clinics that do offer contraception.

NYT, U.S. Expands Anti-Abortion Policies With New Overseas Funding Rules
The Trump administration will withhold funding from foreign nongovernmental organizations that give money to foreign groups that perform abortions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday.
This is an even further expansion of the "Global Gag Rule," in which funds will be denied to groups worldwide that give money to groups that perform abortions, even if US funds are for an entirely different purpose.
posted by zachlipton at 2:19 PM on March 29, 2019 [20 favorites]


Guess who's winning in a landslide

Um, Who is Paul Tsongas, Alex?
posted by riverlife at 3:51 PM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]


Vox, Lind, Trump’s threats to close the US-Mexico border, explained

Trump threatens to close the U.S.-Mexico border next week: 'I'm not playing games' (Politico)
During a rally in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Trump mocked refugee-seeking migrants who often tell officials that their lives [are] in danger back in their home country. "I am afraid for my life," Trump mimicked to a cheering crowd. "It's a big fat con job."
I've been waiting for Politico to fix the typos, because it is hard to type while experiencing abject horror, but I think this is about as far as we need to go when looking for an explanation.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:05 PM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]


BuzzFeed, Adolfo Flores, “It’s Hell There": This Is What It's Like For Migrants Being Held In A Pen Underneath An El Paso Bridge
The migrants, standing behind a chain-link fence topped with razor wire, said they’ve endured cold and windy nights sleeping on bare, rocky dirt underneath the Paso Del Norte International Bridge that links Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. Most of the migrants had nothing but thin, mylar blankets. Above, roosting pigeons dropped feces on them.
...
During the days they could hear shouts from people they assumed were walking overhead.

“You’re not alone.”

“You’re with God.”

Others were less supportive.

“You’re not welcomed.”

“Go back to your country.”
posted by zachlipton at 4:23 PM on March 29, 2019 [8 favorites]


Reuters, Exclusive: With a piece of paper, Trump called on Kim to hand over nuclear weapons
On the day that their talks in Hanoi collapsed last month, U.S. President Donald Trump handed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a piece of paper that included a blunt call for the transfer of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States, according to the document seen by Reuters.
...
Jenny Town, a North Korea expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank, said the content of the U.S. document was not surprising.

“This is what Bolton wanted from the beginning and it clearly wasn’t going to work,” Town said. “If the U.S. was really serious about negotiations they would have learned already that this wasn’t an approach they could take.” Town added, “It’s already been rejected more than once, and to keep bringing it up ... would be rather insulting. It’s a non-starter and reflects absolutely no learning curve in the process.”
posted by zachlipton at 4:26 PM on March 29, 2019 [13 favorites]


guarantee none of them even know who Barr is.

Was home last weekend and......sure everyone knows and loves or hates Trump. But Barr? Mueller? Who are they?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 4:49 PM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]


He’s not working for Putin. He’s working for any dictator who flatters him.

I completely agree but moreover, it's less about having an elite club or being flattered by heads of state, although those are nice side benefits.

DJT has permanent dollar-signs for eyeballs, but is terrible at running an actual business, so he has learned to seek out business partners who operate in criminal and/or ethical gray areas of business to take advantage of the opportunities passed over by the rest of the business world. It just so happens that dictators, authoritarians, and heads of smaller developing states are usually into gray markets and corrupt practices, so he's treating the presidency like a college fraternity, making plenty of shady BFFs to call as soon as he's out of office (and accepting emoluments in office too, as much has he can get away with).
posted by p3t3 at 5:05 PM on March 29, 2019 [15 favorites]


Joe Biden Isn't the Answer , Rebecca Traister
For his whole career, Biden’s role has been to comfort the lost, prized, and most fondly imagined Democratic voter, the one who’s like him: that guy in the diner, that guy in Ohio, that guy who’s white and so put off by the changed terms of gendered and racial power in this country that decades ago he fled for the party that was working to roll back the social advancements that had robbed him of his easy hold on power. That guy who believed that the system worked best when it worked for him.

Biden is the Democrats’ answer to the hunger to “make America great again,” dressed up in liberal clothes.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:10 PM on March 29, 2019 [31 favorites]


Jerry Nadler responds to the new Barr letter: "As I informed the Attorney General earlier this week, Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. That deadline still stands."

Thinking about it a little further, if Barr has to give the whole report to Congress/Nadler, I would LOVE Trump to go through and redact stuff to also be released to the public. It would be a gold-plated roadmap to Trump's weaknesses and concerns. A true window into his place in the issue.
posted by rhizome at 5:11 PM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]




Trump mocked refugee-seeking migrants who often tell officials that their lives [are] in danger back in their home country. "I am afraid for my life," Trump mimicked to a cheering crowd.

Just in case you need a way to prove you hate yourself as much as I apparently do, here's video.
posted by Rykey at 5:42 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]


That Current Affairs article on Mayor Pete is brutal, but should be required reading for anyone who wants to support him. No candidate is perfect, but he’s a lot more neoliberal than I realized, and significantly less progressive.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:04 PM on March 29, 2019 [15 favorites]


We definitely will replace the Affordable Care Act with something (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
Be of good cheer!

The GOP is the party of health care! The Justice Department is asking an appeals court to invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act, but don’t worry, the GOP is going to be “the Party of Great HealthCare,” and it is going to replace what currently exists (a health-care system) with something even better: the void; oblivion; the rush of wings of an enormous eagle departing, never to return!

In place of the Affordable Care Act, you will have the words “Get Well Soon” written on the back of a McDonald’s wrapper. In place of the Affordable Care Act, your doctor will just read you a long list of reasons he, personally, would prefer that you never had an abortion, although you went in because of a disturbing growth on your left foot and he is a dermatologist. In place of the Affordable Care Act, you will have a picture taken of you and placed in a yearbook — far better than preserving your body, a fragile and useless vessel that will inevitably decay.

Who needs the Affordable Care Act when, somewhere, there is the smile in the eyes of a child? Who needs care when you can see the sight of fresh spring leaves? Why, to recollect a line from Walt Whitman as you bite down firmly on a piece of wood — surely that is as good as medicaments!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:53 PM on March 29, 2019 [24 favorites]


NYT, Trump Directs State Dept. to End Aid to 3 Central American Countries
President Trump said on Friday that there would be a “very good likelihood” that he would seal off the United States border with Mexico next week, even as he moved to punish Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador for migrant caravans by cutting off all foreign aid to the countries.
...
At Mr. Trump’s direction, the State Department on Friday began the process of informing Congress that it intended to end the foreign aid. A person with knowledge of the decision said that Mr. Trump met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday, after which diplomats were directed to begin the process of cutting off the funds by drafting letters to lawmakers. Mr. Trump publicly said as much on Friday in comments to reporters.

“No money goes there anymore,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re giving them tremendous aid. We stopped payment.”

The State Department issued a statement late on Friday saying: “At the secretary’s instruction, we are carrying out the president’s direction and ending FY 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle. We will be engaging Congress as part of this process.”
This is an enormous reversal of the stuff Sec. Nielsen was just saying the other day about historic cooperation with these Central American countries, and is yet another Trump tantrum-induced policy reversal for the administration this week (add it to North Korea sanctions and the Special Olympics, about which the Department of Education would like to to be known that it's all OMB's fault for insisting the funding be zeroed out).

On a related note, Trump's lie this afternoon about Jakelin Caal Maquin's father, she's the 7-year-old who died in US custody last year, is really one of his most disgusting yet, and it didn't really even register. Trump claimed that Maquin's father "actually admitted blame" for his daughter's death by withholding water, when he in fact said he did nothing of the sort and an autopsy report released today found she died from an infection. First we withhold medical treatment from your kid, then the President lies to blame you for her death.
posted by zachlipton at 7:22 PM on March 29, 2019 [44 favorites]


"It's a big fat con job."
It sure is, Donny Two Scoops. It sure is.

Oh hey lookit that:
Butina Seeks Speedy Deportation Back to Russia (Daily Beast)

“Maria Butina has waived her right to try to stay in the United States after serving her sentence,” the Daily Beast reports.

“In the filing, released on Friday, Butina asked for a judicial order of removal, which would keep her and the government from having to go through the typical process Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses to deport immigrants. In short, the filing expedites her deportation from the country. In the filing, Butina––a Russian national, who pleaded guilty to one conspiracy count––said she does not expect to face persecution or torture in Russia.”


A parade, maybe. A new car ding ding ding ding ding but no, no persecution etc. Say what was her beau's name again? Oh yeah Paul Erickson

During Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, Erickson attempted to develop a back-channel between the NRA and the Russian government.[1] In May 2016, Erickson sent an e-mail with the subject line "Kremlin Connection" to Trump campaign adviser Rick Dearborn asking Dearborn and then-Senator Jeff Sessions for advice on setting up a meeting between Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin at an annual NRA convention.[1][14][15] After Trump won the presidential election in November 2016, Erickson said he was advising his transition team.[6]
posted by petebest at 7:57 PM on March 29, 2019 [9 favorites]


Was home last weekend and......sure everyone knows and loves or hates Trump. But Barr? Mueller? Who are they?

This raises the question of why Doug Jones, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema were the only Democrats to vote for Barr's nomination. Who were they pandering to? I doubt one person in ten in their states could name the US Attorney General if you spotted them "Bar".

Was it big state donors pushing them because I doubt they gained any Republican supporters for their vote?
posted by JackFlash at 8:23 PM on March 29, 2019 [18 favorites]


In the filing, released on Friday, Butina asked for a judicial order of removal, which would keep her and the government from having to go through the typical process

Please please please someone subpoena her and Erickson; we need to know how deep the rot goes in the GOP ecosystem.
posted by benzenedream at 8:45 PM on March 29, 2019 [9 favorites]


The current affairs article on mayor Pete is really long, though well worth the read. I'll break it down for you. Is Buttigieg a progressive liberal, or did he choose to be a Democrat because it afforded him a more optimal path to political success? If you can't tell after having read his memoirs, then it's likely the latter. For a guy who's written a lot, he hasn't written much about social issues.

The article is more than an analysis of the Rorschach that is Buttigieg. It's an argument that when choosing a candidate we should heavily take into account their past actions, writings, and the specifics of their policy proposals. Unfortunately, it may be too late to get to know the real Buttigieg. His past is a blank slate and any announcement at this point of his values or policy priorities would likely be pure political calculation win the campaign.

Personally? I wouldn't mind a master Democrat tactician as president. It would make for a nice change, that's for sure. But you can't shake the feeling after reading the article that no matter what campaign Pete runs in the future, it may be a con camouflaging a candidate with deep sympathies for business interests and little real empathy for the struggles of ordinary people. We already have a president that's a con.
posted by xammerboy at 8:59 PM on March 29, 2019 [12 favorites]


> Would a document like this have been digitally signed, so as to make it possible to detect tampering?

It wouldn't really help, the signature would change if it was altered at all, including redactions. So you could redact a few sentences and do your edits, and hand that over; you'd have a good reason for the signature to be broken.

Is there really no one trustworthy who would ever have access to the unredacted report to verify it? I'd have thought you might even have a special type of witness just for this purpose.

You're overthinking this - Congress can (will) subpoena (or voluntarily interview) Mueller to make sure that the report includes what he putin it.

And I'll bet he genuinely has the ability to detect changes down to the punctuation and word order level. His vision is probably overlaid with threat analysis indicators like the Terminator and RoboCop.

Still though, it seems a shame if a technology everybody's phone probably uses a dozen times a day when checking for software updates goes unused in legal contexts like this.

(p.s. I love that my autocorrect fixed the capitalization of "RoboCop" but was unfamiliar with "unredacted".)
posted by XMLicious at 9:27 PM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]


Personally? I wouldn't mind a master Democrat tactician as president. It would make for a nice change, that's for sure. But you can't shake the feeling after reading the article that no matter what campaign Pete runs in the future, it may be a con camouflaging a candidate with deep sympathies for business interests and little real empathy for the struggles of ordinary people. We already have a president that's a con.

You can tell everything by who a candidate is willing to make their enemy. Warren and Bernie have clearly marked themselves as enemies of corporate power. Others have made moves in that direction. Booker and Harris have gone further to stake out claims as enemies of racism. Who is Buttigieg willing to make angry? Who's he willing to piss off to serve the higher purpose? If the answer is no one...
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:33 PM on March 29, 2019 [30 favorites]


Lucy Flores isn’t alone. Joe Biden’s got a long history of touching women inappropriately. (Laura McGann, Vox)
The media gave Biden a pass for years. It won’t in 2020. [...]

Democrats are conflicted about what to do about this category of behavior. It’s not the same as what other men of the #MeToo movement have bee accused of, but it’s also not what liberals want to endorse. Sen. Al Franken’s resignation is still controversial for this reason. Some Democrats feel the party is putting itself at a disadvantage against Republicans, who let the president get away with far worse than any accusation Franken faced.

Flores confronts the issue of whether some bad behavior is okay, forcing us to consider what these seemingly small incidents are really like. “The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners — and I felt powerless to do anything about it.”

The Democratic Party is more than half women. More women than ever in history ran as Democrats in the 2018 elections — and won. They outperformed their male peers. They were central to Democrats retaking the House. Women are leading the sustained resistance to Trump. The party should be committed to making sure that women and girls participate in government and politics to their fullest potential. The party needs them.

The question is whether the party needs a president who disrespects them.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:57 PM on March 29, 2019 [17 favorites]


So PBS Frontline recently released an episode (S37E15) entitled “The Mueller Investigation“. Seems like maybe they should have kept their powder dry on that one. I just caught the end and it wraps up extremely rapidly with “Welp, here's what the Barr memo said! Sure is confusing!“ (Without, I think, even mentioning Barr by name, explaining who he is, or his role in “Not the summary! Not the summary! You're the summary!” from these last few hours, of course.)
posted by XMLicious at 12:28 AM on March 30, 2019 [4 favorites]


Who is Buttigieg willing to make angry? Who's he willing to piss off to serve the higher purpose? If the answer is no one...
Seems he's made an enemy out of whomever has started commissioning hit pieces against him at this early stage in the game...
posted by Hal Mumkin at 3:49 AM on March 30, 2019 [33 favorites]


I woke up in Georgia this morning where my life is worth less than that of a 6 week embryo. A 6 week embryo is the size of a pea and still has a tail, but it has the right to demand the use of my organs to keep it alive, a right that no living breathing human being not inside a uterus has. Also zygotes will be reported on the 2020 census in Georgia. So this is all going to work out great.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:54 AM on March 30, 2019 [61 favorites]


I woke up in Georgia this morning where my life is worth less than that of a 6 week embryo.

Georgia approves abortion ban if foetus has heartbeat (Guardian)
The push comes amid rising optimism among conservatives that the restrictions might prevail in the reconfigured high court that includes Donald Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.[...]

The legislation faced a groundswell of opposition, including Democratic lawmakers and protesters saying on social media and in person that lawmakers who voted in favuor of the bill would be targeted in 2020 elections. If signed and not blocked in court, the Georgia law would take effect from 1 January 2020.
North Carolina’s 20-week abortion ban is unconstitutional, a federal judge rules (WaPo, 3/26/2019)
U.S. District Judge William Osteen sided with the advocacy groups this week, writing that courts across the country have struck down “week- or event-specific abortion bans” and North Carolina’s is no different. Under the ruling — which will take effect in 60 days, pending an appeal from the state or revised legislation — women will be able to seek abortions at any point before a doctor determines the fetus is “viable” and could be able to survive outside the womb. [...]

“This decision is just a reminder of what the law is,” Andrew Beck, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who was one of the lawyers fighting the North Carolina law, said in an interview with The Washington Post. [...] Before Mississippi was Kentucky, where, earlier this month, another conservative governor tried to enact a similar measure that a federal judge quickly blocked. This year alone, at least 11 states — including some of the country’s most populous, such as Texas and Florida — have introduced fetal heartbeat legislation.

“There’s been a span of politicians trying to ban abortion whether it’s at six weeks or 20 weeks,” Beck said. “We should all be concerned that there are extreme politicians across the country passing bans on abortion. . . . This is all happening at a state level.” [...] Advocates have already called 2019 an “unprecedented” year for antiabortion legislation.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:19 AM on March 30, 2019 [12 favorites]


NPR's Planet Money: “A New Way To Pay For College” (.mp3 link) talks about “income sharing agreements” where in exchange for some portion of their tuition, students sign a contract that promises a percentage of their income for some number of years after graduation. My thought while listening to it was that we might see this deployed as some sort of counter-argument against the more progressive policies offering government-funded higher ed tuition. (The presumed argument being that this solves the high cost of college)

But I also wonder whether it would be possible to come up with some hybrid of the two approaches to funding an education, such that a still-primarily-government-funded approach could be marketed as “See, no loans—this is the real way for Americans to pull themselves up by their bootstraps! And it makes colleges and universities accountable by giving them an interest in their graduates' income levels and therefore their personal success!” Maybe integrated with the sorts of programs that encourage medical students to work in under-served communities via various incentives.
posted by XMLicious at 6:42 AM on March 30, 2019




Also zygotes will be reported on the 2020 census in Georgia.

I think we need to be careful about posting unsubstantiated rumors, especially because the reported facts are already bad enough. The census is a federal program, and according to CBS in January, "a federal judge blocked the Commerce Department from adding a question on U.S. citizenship to the 2020 census."

However, CBS also recently reported that the Census Bureau is preparing to fight disinformation campaigns ahead of 2020 count, noting "Already, online discussion forums on places like 4chan are showing conversations about disrupting the count from both U.S. and foreign actors, according to Reuters."

According to Reuters, "So-called “fake news” strategies can take myriad forms, according to cyber experts: posing as a demographic group to convey false information under the guise of advocacy; spreading false data by doctoring ads and news stories; or circulating bogus information to drum up fear and opposition."

A DuckDuckGo search reveals that places like Yahoo Answers and Quora are promoting the question, but I haven't seen any credible news reports that suggest any state (or the federal government) is trying to add zygotes to the US Census.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:55 AM on March 30, 2019 [14 favorites]


The U.S. Census is a national survey. They don't create different forms by state, it's the same everywhere. That is NOT happening.
posted by waitingtoderail at 7:04 AM on March 30, 2019 [10 favorites]


FWIW, I read it as a joke. An angry joke
posted by mumimor at 7:06 AM on March 30, 2019 [6 favorites]


FWIW, I read it as a joke. An angry joke

Angry jokes don't always translate well in online comments, and perhaps even more so in our current political environment. The threat of disinformation is real (e.g. Risk that Fraudulent News and Disinformation Become “New Normal” Political Tactics Going into 2020 Election, Warns PEN America Report), and after what we've been dealing with here in trying to figure out what is happening to refugees seeking asylum, let's just be careful, especially with issues that strike at the core of our democratic processes.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:16 AM on March 30, 2019 [11 favorites]


Seems he's made an enemy out of whomever has started commissioning hit pieces against him at this early stage in the game...

what, you think someone else wrote the book with his name on it and put fake opinions and fake personal history in it, to set him up? fascinating if true.

I don't think the editor of a publication has to be solicited or commissioned in order to write a piece for the publication he edits, but I guess I don't know exactly how Current Affairs works.
posted by queenofbithynia at 7:24 AM on March 30, 2019 [17 favorites]


Mayor Pete is holding himself out as a progressive while playing the same game of pandering to invented right wing grievances that people attack centrists for. While also trashing Hillary. It will probably appeal to a lot of people.
posted by Mavri at 8:55 AM on March 30, 2019 [12 favorites]


FWIW, I read it as a joke. An angry joke

Satire died long ago, we are in an environment where Onion headlines and actual government policy are indistinguishable. Comedy, one more things that has been destroyed by the current administration... pown the libs!
posted by Meatbomb at 9:23 AM on March 30, 2019 [11 favorites]


Beto's rally was playing Clampdown

So at least he has good taste in music
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:09 AM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


BBC to pay 'substantial' sum for story libelling Ukrainian president: News report on TV and online claimed Petro Poroshenko had bribed Donald Trump’s lawyer
The BBC has agreed to pay substantial libel damages to Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, after wrongly claiming he had been involved in making a secret $400,000 payment to Donald Trump’s lawyer in return for access to the US president.
...
A BBC spokesperson said: “In our News at Ten bulletin and in an online article published on 23 May 2018 we incorrectly reported that Petro Poroshenko, the president of the Ukraine, had procured or authorised a corrupt payment of $400,000 [about £306,000] to be made to Michael Cohen, the personal lawyer of Donald Trump, to extend a brief meeting between Mr Poroshenko and President Trump, that had already been agreed, into wider talks.

“We believed that the publications made a less serious allegation against Mr Poroshenko, but in the light of a finding by the high court that the allegation was as set out above, we are happy to accept that this allegation was untrue. We apologise to Mr Poroshenko for any distress caused and have agreed to pay him damages, legal costs and have participated in a joint statement in open court.”
posted by zachlipton at 10:23 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]


Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones blames 'psychosis' for Sandy Hook claims (Guardian)
The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones blamed various claims he has made, including that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was a hoax, on “psychosis”, according to a deposition given by the Infowars host as part of a Texas lawsuit.

Jones described his conspiracy thinking as a kind of mental disorder in the deposition, which was taken earlier this month for the lawsuit filed against him by the family of a six-year-old who was among 20 children and six adults killed in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Jones said he “almost had like a form of psychosis back in the past where I basically thought everything was staged, even though I’m now learning a lot of times things aren’t staged”. Jones blamed his mental state on “the trauma of the media and the corporations lying so much, then everything begins – you don’t trust anything anymore, kind of like a child whose parents lie to them over and over again, well, pretty soon they don’t know what reality is”. [...]

On Friday, a federal judge in West Virginia allowed another defamation case against Jones to proceed. The suit was filed on behalf of Brennan Gilmore, who captured footage of a fatal car attack on counter-protesters during a far-right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. In a statement, Andrew Mendrala, supervising attorney with the Civil Rights Clinic at Georgetown Law, said: “Victims of vile conspiracy theories should take comfort … today’s decision shows that the law will protect victims of baseless lies by holding people like Alex Jones accountable for the harm they cause.”
posted by Little Dawn at 10:29 AM on March 30, 2019 [17 favorites]


Y'know if Beto marched that crowd over to the concentration camp under the bridge and cut open that fence with bolt cutters, I'd vote for him today. Otherwise I'm not that impressed.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:37 AM on March 30, 2019 [44 favorites]


Yes, show me a time where the white male candidate demonstrates having skin in the game. Talk is cheap.

Jones said he “almost had like a form of psychosis back in the past where I basically thought everything was staged, even though I’m now learning a lot of times things aren’t staged”. Jones blamed his mental state on “the trauma of the media and the corporations lying so much, then everything begins – you don’t trust anything anymore, kind of like a child whose parents lie to them over and over again, well, pretty soon they don’t know what reality is”.

By a similar token, I haven't heard of him translating this insight into activities or rhetoric counteracting the forces he's been promoting to these ends. Talk is still cheap.
posted by rhizome at 10:44 AM on March 30, 2019 [10 favorites]


Ray Walston, Luck Dragon: Y'know if Beto marched that crowd over to the concentration camp under the bridge and cut open that fence with bolt cutters, I'd vote for him today. Otherwise I'm not that impressed.

That's... a high bar, if meant to be taken literally. I'd be floored (in a good way) by literally any person doing that, especially any presidential candidate.

To be clear I'm not a major Beto fan -- actually, I can't muster unfiltered excitement for any of them, which may be a case of the ~purity~ problem afflicting me.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:50 AM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


As the saying goes, a good compromise means nobody gets everything they want, so not settling on a candidate yet signals an openness to a Best Candidate emerging with time. Everything else is horserace.
posted by rhizome at 10:54 AM on March 30, 2019 [3 favorites]


I can't muster unfiltered excitement for any of them, which may be a case of the ~purity~ problem afflicting me.

The election is over a year away and all the potential candidates haven’t even made their intentions to run known yet. Nobody should feel bad about a lack of enthusiasm at this point.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 11:11 AM on March 30, 2019 [9 favorites]


So lies by media caused Alex Jones to lie even more in the media? Got it.
posted by gingerbeer at 11:20 AM on March 30, 2019 [11 favorites]


Judge restores Obama-era drilling ban in Arctic (AP)
President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he reversed bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, a U.S. judge said in a ruling that restored the Obama-era restrictions.

Judge Sharon Gleason in a decision late Friday threw out Trump’s executive order that overturned the bans that comprised a key part of Obama’s environmental legacy.

Presidents have the power under a federal law to remove certain lands from development but cannot revoke those removals, Gleason said.

“The wording of President Obama’s 2015 and 2016 withdrawals indicates that he intended them to extend indefinitely, and therefore be revocable only by an act of Congress,” said Gleason, who was nominated to the bench by Obama.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:26 AM on March 30, 2019 [47 favorites]


I can't muster unfiltered excitement for any of them, which may be a case of the ~purity~ problem afflicting me.

I have unfiltered excitement galore at the thought of President Harris, President Gillibrand, or President Warren, and I am resentful of white guys - especially old ones - sucking all the oxygen out of the campaign room. But it is a long way until 2020 and plenty of other fish to fry.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:37 AM on March 30, 2019 [16 favorites]


Some good news, which is always welcome. The Sleeping Giants confirmed list of advertisers dropping Breitbart was updated today. Sez SG on Twitter: "It’s up to 4,129, folks. Wow." This milestone was 2.5 years in the making. Here's a GQ profile of the group when it was still totally anonymous.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:50 AM on March 30, 2019 [34 favorites]


Act Two of This American Life #670 covered some of Alex Jones's background. Definitely worth the listen. Bottom line is the guy has been a mentally disturbed conman from the time he was a teenager.
posted by Anonymous at 12:05 PM on March 30, 2019


I think we need to be careful about posting unsubstantiated rumors, especially because the reported facts are already bad enough. The census is a federal program, and according to CBS in January, "a federal judge blocked the Commerce Department from adding a question on U.S. citizenship to the 2020 census."

FWIW, I read it as a joke. An angry joke

Angry jokes don't always translate well in online comments, and perhaps even more so in our current political environment. The threat of disinformation is real (e.g. Risk that Fraudulent News and Disinformation Become “New Normal” Political Tactics Going into 2020 Election, Warns PEN America Report), and after what we've been dealing with here in trying to figure out what is happening to refugees seeking asylum, let's just be careful, especially with issues that strike at the core of our democratic processes.


I wish it were an unsubstantiated rumor. I wish it were a joke. I know it doesn't make any fucking sense. I know that the census is a federal program. These fuckers do not give a fuck about that. It's in the fucking bill. I'm sorry that you don't like it. I don't fucking like it either since it actually applies to my fucking life. I'm sorry I didn't provide a source this morning. I didn't think anyone would doubt my word as a citizen of Georgia whose rights are being stolen. But since y'all think I fucking made it up, here is proof.

From the text of the fucking bill (edited a bit for readability)
19LC 28 9335S- 3 -"1-2-1.61(a) There are two classes of persons: natural and artificial. 'Natural person' means any human being including an unborn child. Corporations are artificial persons. They are creatures of the law and, except insofar as the law forbids it, they are subject to be changed, modified, or destroyed at the will of their creator. Unless otherwise provided by law, any natural person, including an unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat, shall be included in population based determinations.
Yes, by "population based determinations" they mean the fucking census. No, it doesn't make any fucking sense. Yes, we are fucked.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:10 PM on March 30, 2019 [54 favorites]


I didn't include the rest of that section, so here it is, in case you still think I'm a hyberbolic lying hysterical woman:
"As used in this Code section, the term: 'Detectable human heartbeat' means embryonic or fetal cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the heart within the gestational sac. 'Unborn child' means a member of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development who is carried in the womb."
posted by hydropsyche at 12:20 PM on March 30, 2019 [19 favorites]


hydrospyche, that is terrible. But doesn't it mean that the bill is unconstitutional?
posted by mumimor at 12:23 PM on March 30, 2019


Ask the Supreme Court. I'm sure that Kavanaugh is a totally reasonable guy who respects women as people so everything should be just fine.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:24 PM on March 30, 2019 [41 favorites]


JFC, hydropsyche. I am so, so sorry that MetaFilter didn't get it and let you down. After the State of Georgia did. Time for the venting thread for me.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:00 PM on March 30, 2019 [8 favorites]


Whoa, hydropsyche. Your first comment started off by misreporting the actual status of the law, which while extremely horrible, hasn't been signed into law, but it is part of a nationwide campaign that includes disinformation intended to discourage people from exercising their reproductive rights. I'm not accusing you of actively trying to discourage people from seeking access to safe and legal abortion in Georgia, but your comment could have that impact if it isn't challenged with a credible source that provides context and accurate information about the actual status of the law.

I very much appreciate you adding the text of the law, because it is so horrible, it could be read like an angry joke, and while I did look for more information about whether Georgia was seriously going that far in its attempt to restrict fundamental rights and create fear, uncertainty, and doubt, I hadn't found anything about that part of the law. The point remains that it is not the current law, and it won't become law until January 2020, if it is not struck down by one of the courts currently striking down similar legislation across the nation.

I'm pointing all of this out because if we are going to successfully protect reproductive rights, it includes being clear about what the law currently is, so attempts to stoke unsubstantiated fears aren't able to hurt people. If I'm attacking anything, it is unnecessary fear in already frightening times, but I am not trying to attack you personally or otherwise. I'm glad you raised the issue and I'm sorry about how my comments otherwise sound, because my point is to support reproductive rights.
posted by Little Dawn at 1:04 PM on March 30, 2019 [19 favorites]


While states can and are encouraged to allocate funds to supplement the federal government’s efforts and form “Complete Count Commissions” dedicated to reaching everyone living within their borders, the census form itself and the administration of census workers is by the US Census Bureau and is uniform across the US. I don't see any way in which that Georgia bill could have any actual effect on the 2020 US Census.

However, it may well be the case that there are local "population based determinations" independent of the federal census, though at the moment I can't think of what they might be.

That section of the bill is most likely symbolic and it's not unusual for state legislatures to pass bills containing unenforcable or inapplicable declarations. It's typical of these numerous radical right-wing dominated state legislatures and a cause of concern more for what it represents (especially aspirationally) than an immediate practical concern. And these days states pass laws they know will immediately be challenged and without question found unconstitutional, but they do it anyway.

Where there's smoke, there's fire: the garbage fires in landfills burn underground, mostly unseen -- so if they're grandstanding like this, they're surely doing many less obvious things to achieve similar goals. This is notoriously true with regard to anti-choice activism. Outrage at this nonsense is always appropriate but, more to the point, we should be alert to the tactics of misdirection where they're drawing attention over here with some deliberate provocation so we won't notice the numerous more obscure but collectively horrendous shit over there.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:10 PM on March 30, 2019 [5 favorites]


Surely your googling told you that Brian Kemp campaigned on this law and has promised to sign it. I'm pointing this out because if we are going to successfully protect reproductive rights, it includes believing people who actually live in the places where these things are happening and know what is going on there.
posted by hydropsyche at 1:10 PM on March 30, 2019 [12 favorites]


Mod note: Please drop it.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:14 PM on March 30, 2019 [12 favorites]


Whether or not the Georgia statute actually could affect how the federal census operates in Georgia, the legislative history at least suggests the legislature did intend to add fetuses to the national census count. Earlier versions of the bill refer to "state population based deterninations" while the final version going to the governor's desk refers to "certain population based determinations." This change is provocatively ambiguous, but by striking "state" from the original draft the legislature certainly seems to be saying at least "maybe" to applying the provision in federal census taking. This provision along with the "heartbeat" provision are I believe being passed in Georgia specifically to create challenges that will wind up in the Supreme Court and which they hope will result in overturning Roe v. Wade. They even bother to include some fig leaf language about how science has changed since Roe was decided, without getting into any specifics (naturally), so you can see where their minds are. But in sum, this is a crappy piece of legislation, passed with crappy intent, top to bottom.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 1:24 PM on March 30, 2019 [14 favorites]


While no one was watching, the Trump administration started launching a wrath of strikes in Somalia.

I have no idea whether the USA's actions in Somalia are a good idea. What scares me is the possibility that nobody knows. The action is apparently one of those purportedly authorised by the 2001 Congressional resolution, which really has no ongoing relevance. Consequently, any objective that gets put in writing will necessarily be a lie: the administration can't reveal their actual goals, because that would amount to admitting the war is unauthorised by Congress and therefore unconstitutional. And, in order to maintain this figleaf of legitimacy, every detail of the operation is being kept secret or, which is worse, suppressed. People don't want to know the details, because that knowledge might make them complicit. They'd have to face up to betraying their oath of office and their duty to the the people of the USA, the soldiers, and to the victims of an illegal war.

Nobody except the fighters and their targets even know how many people are being killed or who they are; and because the true objective is a secret nobody will ever be able to say that the mission has succeeded, or failed, and should therefore be brought to an end. It's going to be war unending, war that is its own justification, war that corrupts everyone involved forever and ever amen.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:57 PM on March 30, 2019 [23 favorites]


and because the true objective is a secret
the true objective as is everything in this administration is profit.
posted by adamvasco at 4:38 PM on March 30, 2019 [3 favorites]


Bezos Investigation Finds the Saudis Obtained His Private Data
Gavin De Becker, The Daily Beast.

“Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos’ phone, and gained private information. As of today, it is unclear to what degree, if any, AMI was aware of the details.”
posted by AwkwardPause at 4:40 PM on March 30, 2019 [24 favorites]


I was convinced it was the brother! It sounds like the brother did give over the stuff but he was just a cutout, handing over stuff the Saudis had already provided as a fall guy. We are truly living in interesting times and I wish to exit the ride.
posted by Justinian at 4:52 PM on March 30, 2019 [12 favorites]


George Conway: “‘Trump’s caddy came up to me and said, “You know that shot you hit on the par 5?”’ Tirico says. ‘“It was about 10 feet from the hole. Trump threw it in the bunker. I watched him do it.”’”

Your regular reminder that the man has less charisma than a sentient hefty bag full of cheap dog food
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 5:09 PM on March 30, 2019 [23 favorites]


“‘Trump’s caddy came up to me and said, “You know that shot you hit on the par 5?”’ Tirico says. ‘“It was about 10 feet from the hole. Trump threw it in the bunker. I watched him do it.”’”

This is pretty much the metaphor for the entire Republican party; you can’t win playing fair against cheaters.
posted by valkane at 5:28 PM on March 30, 2019 [23 favorites]


How much does your caddy have to hate you to tell that story? How do you even make your caddy hate you that much? That's one of those things that just shines an immense light on the the truth of his personality.
posted by feloniousmonk at 5:33 PM on March 30, 2019 [52 favorites]




Teegeeack AV Club Secretary: "Mayor Pete and Beto seem to have a lot in common. Centrists playing the part of progressive heroes. Which is common for Democrats."

I don't know, I think it's a very good sign that Democratic candidates are loudly saying how progressive they are. We've just come off of several straight decades where all Democrats wanted to talk about was how moderate they were; if they feel the need to pander to the left, that means we're finally getting somewhere.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 PM on March 30, 2019 [44 favorites]


Mod note: There's a Buttigieg thread over here, FYI.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 8:21 PM on March 30, 2019 [9 favorites]


Right, I'm just saying in a broader sense, things are happening. Like we have Beto today saying, "This extraordinary, unprecedented concentration of wealth and power and privilege must be broken apart." I mean, shit, this is the centrist Texan guy!

I was born in 1973, almost at the very peak of conventional liberalism. My entire life has been a slide to the right. Sure, some good things came about under Clinton and Obama, but they didn't turn the tide. Like Elrond, I've seen many defeats, and many fruitless victories. And I feel like finally, things are maybe turning around.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:48 PM on March 30, 2019 [38 favorites]


I have no idea whether the USA's actions in Somalia are a good idea.

I am pretty sure that these kind of remote and secret drone strikes, against ill-defined enemies, in countries that the US is not at war with, are never a good idea.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:09 PM on March 30, 2019 [18 favorites]


They're an excellent idea for drone manufacturers.
posted by flabdablet at 9:19 PM on March 30, 2019 [5 favorites]


In light of the news about the Saudis hacking Bezos' phone: This here is a smart thread pointing out the stupidity of hacking the personal phone of the guy who runs Amazon Web Services, which hosts much of the world's data.
There will be a massive counterintelligence investigation.

The IC will be involved because Bezos, as Amazon CEO, has large amounts of control over vital national security infrastructure.

Bezos has unlimited funding, massive leverage, and independent investigative resources...

Bezos has extraordinary leverage over MANY of the world’s governments, as their infrastructure runs in his cloud.

He has deep connections to law enforcement & intel.

This is one of the most powerful men in the world. And he is known to hold a grudge.

posted by suelac at 11:37 PM on March 30, 2019 [19 favorites]


This is Bezos essentially enlisting the US intelligence machine to sort this out, which, it seems to me, they kind of have to do for him. Perhaps the "national security" excuse cuts both ways, finally.
posted by rhizome at 12:06 AM on March 31, 2019 [3 favorites]


Man, picking a side between MBS and Bezos is like asking Tokyo to pick between Godzilla and Mothra. One secretly hopes they drown each other and leave the city standing. Also, for an Arab take on this story, from someone who was a direct source for the Bezos team, you might consider following this guy.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 12:19 AM on March 31, 2019 [8 favorites]


Man, picking a side between MBS and Bezos is like asking Tokyo to pick between Godzilla and Mothra.

You take that back about Mothra! Mothra is like an Earth Mother Goddess, often depicted as a protector of nature and Japan. In one movie, she cocooned Tokyo Tower to protect it from other kaiju. There is no Mothra in this story.

So this comment is actually on topic: have we ever heard a credible explanation for that glossy propaganda AMI published to sing MBS's praises? They claim they weren't paid for it, but surely they lost money on a 97 page magazine about a Saudi prince that sold for $13.99 in Walmarts? If they weren't paid and it was a quid pro quo, what did they get in exchange? It seems like maybe we have an answer?
posted by bluecore at 4:45 AM on March 31, 2019 [36 favorites]


Oklahoma Republicans approve bill requiring doctors to lie to patients that abortions can be reversed.
This will basically have the effect of a gag order on doctors, keeping them from discussing abortion at all. Sneaky.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:33 AM on March 31, 2019 [6 favorites]


Man, picking a side between MBS and Bezos is like asking Tokyo to pick between Godzilla and Mothra.
Seriously? One murders journalists and the other employs them.
posted by dbx at 6:34 AM on March 31, 2019 [54 favorites]


Under the bridge: migrants held in El Paso tell of dust, cold and hunger (Guardian)
Veronica Escobar, the Democrat who replaced O’Rourke as El Paso’s representative in Congress, told reporters on Friday CBP’s handling of the migrants showed a crisis of leadership. “This administration has made a challenge into chaos because of the policies that they have chosen to enact,” she said. “Having people corralled under a bridge out in the elements with half of them being children is absolutely inhumane and unacceptable and is not representative of who we are as a country and is not reflective of the kind of resources that Congress has given CBP and homeland security.”
US struggling with growing number of asylum seekers (AP)
Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.
A Federal Judge Is About to Decide If Trump’s Latest Immigration Restrictions Are Illegal (MoJo, 3/22/2019)
Lawyers fighting to stop the Trump administration from requiring Central American refugees to spend months waiting in Mexico had their first day in court on Friday. The lawsuit, brought by the ACLU and other immigrant rights group on behalf of 11 asylum-seekers, argues that the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy threatens migrants’ lives by forcing them to wait in some of the world’s most dangerous cities.

Lawyers for the ACLU—along with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies—are asking San Francisco-based federal Judge Richard Seeborg to block the new rules. “The policy on its face is wrong,” the ACLU’s Judy Rabinovitz said in court Friday. “It’s illegal. It’s unreasonable.”
posted by Little Dawn at 7:18 AM on March 31, 2019 [13 favorites]




That pic in the article about the stabbing in SF. That pic, to me, represents the Trump administration and should be used whenever possible as an illustration.
posted by sundrop at 8:02 AM on March 31, 2019 [7 favorites]


The victim tried to grab the hat, a symbol of President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and the other man whipped out a sword and slashed him

Swordplay following a hat-related insult. The mid nineteenth century speedrun continues apace.

On May 3rd, Alt-Right and homophobic troll Baked Alaska, who marched in Charlottesville, + other pro-Trump grifters, will rally in SF on May 3rd.

Tim "baked" Gionet should certainly be deplatformed as a Nazi but it should be noted that he's lost practically his entire following, is a laughingstock in mask-off Nazi circles and has been forgotten by MAGAhat circles. Stochastic risk notwithstanding, he's not likely to bring a crowd to SF.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:14 AM on March 31, 2019 [5 favorites]


Actual Fox News headline: Trump Cuts Aid to 3 Mexican Countries

Lee Atwater would be proud. Republicans have created a new all purpose ethnic slur guaranteed to trigger their base.
posted by JackFlash at 8:42 AM on March 31, 2019 [16 favorites]


Baked Alaska denounces the alt-right (Will Sommer, Daily Beast
Remember Baked Alaska, the alt-right memelord who got pepper-sprayed in Charlottesville and memorably cried out for milk? Now he tells me he’s ditching the alt-right, which he says has ruined his life.

Alaska — real name Timothy Gionet — called me last week from Phoenix, where he’s living after watching his internet fameball career crash and burn along with the rest of his racist movement.

“It’s been a pretty big disaster, to be honest,” Gionet said. “It’s been terrible for my employment opportunities, my reputation. It’s ruined lifelong friendships, it’s ruined relationships with family. It’s hurt my soul.”
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:23 AM on March 31, 2019 [11 favorites]


“It’s been a pretty big disaster, to be honest,” Gionet said. “It’s been terrible for my employment opportunities, my reputation. It’s ruined lifelong friendships, it’s ruined relationships with family. It’s hurt my soul.”

Well, boo fucking hoo, bub. Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas, etc. If more people had their lives ruined by joining the alt-right, that might help bring them down. Actions need to have consequences.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:43 AM on March 31, 2019 [51 favorites]


More about Moore. The Guardian reports Trump's Fed pick "was held in contempt for failing to pay ex-wife over $300,000" and "owes $75,000 in taxes, IRS alleges". There's more stomach churning stuff in the article.
posted by Botanizer at 9:55 AM on March 31, 2019 [13 favorites]


He has frequently derided the views of the American left on cultural issues, claiming in a 2015 article published by the Christian Broadcasting Network that to liberals “if you support traditional marriage, you are a fascist”. (from The Guardian article on Moore)

This is why he qualifies as The Best People

If he truly believed what he said, his unconsidered credulity disqualifies him from the position to which he has been nominated. If not, his willingness to tell blatant lies in public rises to the level of disqualifying dishonesty. Digging into his personal life, however heinous his behavior, is more attention than he deserves since his public statements alone show that he is not in any way fit for duty.
posted by wierdo at 10:32 AM on March 31, 2019 [4 favorites]


Speaking of duty, it occurs to me that we increasingly refer to public positions, both elected and appointed as just "jobs." They are not. Their occupants are not there to do a job for the President or their ego or their political friends or even their paymasters. They are there to do their duty in service to the nation. It is reasonable and correct that people occupying these offices be held to a higher standard of conduct than management or any position in the private sector.

If we actually prosecuted people for misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance and not just blatant bribery, maybe people would think twice before so cavalierly violating the public trust. Hell, we need not even prosecute in most cases. Being willing to force them from office before they get so brazen as to engage in blatant criminality would be even better.

For some reason, it always turns out to be the fault of the underlings, though. Very odd, that.
posted by wierdo at 10:46 AM on March 31, 2019 [28 favorites]


Speaking of duty, it occurs to me that we increasingly refer to public positions, both elected and appointed as just "jobs." They are not. Their occupants are not there to do a job for the President or their ego or their political friends or even their paymasters. They are there to do their duty in service to the nation. It is reasonable and correct that people occupying these offices be held to a higher standard of conduct than management or any position in the private sector.
This! This! This!
posted by mumimor at 11:06 AM on March 31, 2019 [8 favorites]


NYT, Why Elizabeth Warren, a Presumed Front-Runner, Trails Her Rivals in Fund-Raising
But as the first fund-raising deadline arrives at midnight on Sunday, Ms. Warren — who last year was widely considered a would-be front-runner — finds herself in a political vise. Her rivals on either ideological flank will raise substantially more money in the first quarter than she does, and her focus on policy has not yet translated in the polls.

Ms. Warren’s early troubles reflect the broader challenges confronting the vast Democratic field, all vying for money and attention as they seek to dethrone President Trump. Harvesting online donations does not come easily to noncelebrity candidates, and the party’s longstanding fascination with youthful charisma — along with its current, Trump-driven fixation on electability — can outweigh qualities like experience or policy expertise.
...
And after demonstrating little capacity to raise cash online, Ms. Warren effectively doubled down on small-dollar contributions, announcing last month that she would no longer hold big-money fund-raisers or seek wealthy donors to bundle hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks.

She cast it as a decision long in the making that will offer her more time with voters. In truth, she made the choice only after a robust debate inside her campaign that led to the resignation of her finance director, Michael Pratt, who strenuously objected to the idea.

At a Valentine’s Day meeting at Ms. Warren’s Washington condominium that began with a heart-shaped cake but soon grew heated, Mr. Pratt noted that campaigns often collapse when they run out of money and pleaded with her not to cut off a significant cash stream, according to Democrats briefed on the conversation. He pointed out that winning over wealthy fund-raisers across the country helped build networks that could translate into political support, not just checks. But Mr. Pratt lost the argument to two of Ms. Warren’s closest advisers, Dan Geldon and Joe Rospars, who made the case about standing apart from the field and freeing up her schedule.
posted by zachlipton at 11:28 AM on March 31, 2019 [10 favorites]


In truth, she made the choice only after a robust debate inside her campaign that led to the resignation of her finance director, Michael Pratt, who strenuously objected to the idea.

Not surprising. The article itself points it out: it's a huge field and small-dollar contributions generally require a candidate to be a celebrity. It is a huge decision for somebody without the star power of other candidates, especially when the person is a policy-minded woman and therefore is automatically banned in people's minds from having charisma.
posted by Anonymous at 11:51 AM on March 31, 2019


Mr. Pratt noted that campaigns often collapse when they run out of money

Only "often?" This seems like an important point told uncharitably! "The campaign can survive running out of money."
posted by rhizome at 12:12 PM on March 31, 2019


I think there’s a lot of danger in exhausting one’s hype so early in the campaign. If candidates are fundraising millions of dollars and blitzing advertising channels with ads and info, what happens a year from now when the primary actually begins, and everyone has already hit the fatigue point?
posted by Autumnheart at 12:22 PM on March 31, 2019 [3 favorites]


I really don't see the distinction the Times article about Warren draws between "a decision long in the making" and something robustly debated within the campaign. The implication seems to be that the decision is a calculated one rather than a principled one. Does it only get to count as a principled decision if everyone in the campaign found the idea of doing big-money fundraisers literally unimaginable and refused to even consider the relative advantages of taking a more conventional approach? Making principled decisions doesn't mean that you have to refuse any rational evaluation of their consequences. It's an absurd level of purity-testing - not only do you have to do the right thing, but you have to not even consider other options.
posted by vathek at 12:42 PM on March 31, 2019 [6 favorites]


I can't vote so I'm not the target audience and I don't get any sort of say in this, but I've been very impressed with the way Warren's has kept releasing substantial policy documents. Maybe there's a risk she'll have to amend some or even walk them back, but it's a refreshing difference.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:16 PM on March 31, 2019 [26 favorites]


Adam Serwer (Atlantic)
Warren has the most ambitious and realized progressive policy agenda of the pack, but I suspect her struggles have a great deal to do with the assumption among Dems that she will get the Hillary treatment in the press. As in, we will spend the entire election season parsing and re parsing her identification as Native American, much as Clinton’s emails dominated coverage in 2016. Of course, no matter who the dems pick there’s gonna be a relatively meaningless thing (falsehood that Gore said he “invented the internet,” smears of Kerry’s service, etc) that becomes the focus of the campaign so dem voters should just donate to and vote for who they like.
posted by chris24 at 3:12 PM on March 31, 2019 [16 favorites]


but I suspect her struggles have a great deal to do with the assumption among Dems that she will get the Hillary treatment in the press

That's a lot of my reticence, yeah, but primarily because that's combined with her relatively lackluster general election polling. Say what you want about it being early, etc, but better to be +10 against Trump early than +1 against Trump early.
posted by Justinian at 3:16 PM on March 31, 2019 [2 favorites]


Of course, no matter who the dems pick there’s gonna be a relatively meaningless thing (falsehood that Gore said he “invented the internet,” smears of Kerry’s service, etc) that becomes the focus of the campaign so dem voters should just donate to and vote for who they like.

I agree - "electability" is a mug's game. It's like trying to get rich off of essential oils or ugly leggings - maybe, sometimes, it works, but in the majority of cases the shiny promise doesn't pay off. Remember John "Electable" Kerry? I think what happens when people hedge their bets and don't vote for the person they really like, the person who actually wins the nomination can't win the office because - nobody really likes him that much, so voters stay home. Voter apathy is a much bigger problem for Democrats than finding a candidate with no oppo.

How ridiculous to give "heckler's veto" to the Republicans. There is no Johnny Unbeatable. If you like Elizabeth Warren, vote for her. If you like Kamala Harris - vote for her. That's the way we actually get good candidates.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:23 PM on March 31, 2019 [30 favorites]


IMO "electability" is what pundits talk about when there is no data (and sometimes even when there is data that doesn't fit their priors). Once you have decent data in the form of polling its possible to talk about how likely someone is to beat Trump without it being a mug's game.

I agree it's too early for that in this case, though, even though the polling also isn't meaningless. Warren's polling is in the range where beating Trump is a plausible outcome.
posted by Justinian at 3:29 PM on March 31, 2019 [3 favorites]


Hamilton Nolan “ If you are an undecided democrat please consider making a small donation to Elizabeth Warren just to demonstrate that a strategy of A) focusing on policy and B) rejecting big money donors is not politically fatal. This will make future campaigns less bad.“
posted by The Whelk at 4:06 PM on March 31, 2019 [40 favorites]




Between the delay in the release of the Mueller Report and the Brexit extension I feel like an NPC in a paused World Chaos video game.
posted by srboisvert at 4:15 PM on March 31, 2019 [10 favorites]


This was a pretty unsatisfactory response, particularly since the complainant herself alluded to other instances where Biden's overtures seemed unwelcome.

The Hill: Sanders not sure that 'one incident alone' disqualifies Biden
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:29 PM on March 31, 2019 [7 favorites]


please don’t post clickbait without context, the statement begins “I have no reason not to believe Lucy," the Vermont senator said on Sunday. "And I think what this speaks to is the need to fundamentally change the culture of this country and to create environments feel comfortable and feel safe.”
posted by The Whelk at 4:43 PM on March 31, 2019 [5 favorites]


This is a really surprising result from a survey PewResearch published last year. I have to say that it makes me think that fact-based arguments have little or no chance of succeeding in US politics:
@PewHispanic Many Americans overestimate the share of the immigrant population that is in the U.S. illegally
About half the respondents thought most / about half of the immigrants in the US were there illegally; the true figure is about 3.3%. Fewer Democrats than Republicans believed it (as one would expect) but more Latinx and Blacks than Whites. Older people were more likely to believe it than younger people; having a college education basically halved your chance of believing it.

[via @PopChassid]
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:48 PM on March 31, 2019 [12 favorites]


Harvesting online donations does not come easily to noncelebrity candidates, and the party’s longstanding fascination with youthful charisma — along with its current, Trump-driven fixation on electability — can outweigh qualities like experience or policy expertise

"Youthful charisma"? The leading candidates are two white guys who are so old they practically need phylactories to keep from crumbling into dust.

Really what the obsession seems to be is with a nice, safe, white male father figure to save everything. And this top-down obsession is one reason the party is so weak.
posted by happyroach at 4:50 PM on March 31, 2019 [23 favorites]


Barring additional worse allegations no Democratic candidate with an actual shot is likely to say Biden is disqualified for the simple reason that either they or Biden might be the nominee. In the former case they need the support of people who are Biden boosters and they've seen what happened to Kirsten Gillibrand, and in the latter case the absolute last thing they want is a GOP superPAC cutting a tv spot in which they are shown calling Biden disqualified for the Presidency.

Is it hypocritical bullshit for the GOP and Trump, who is on tape bragging about much worse stuff up to and including straight up sexual assault, to make that an issue? Sure. Will it stop them? Nope.

Should Democratic candidates go after Biden anyway, 2020 be damned? That's an ethical conundrum they'll all have to grapple with.
posted by Justinian at 4:50 PM on March 31, 2019 [6 favorites]


I feel like every female presidential candidate gets the Geraldine Ferraro treatment, and frankly, I'm sick of it. As always, female candidates are held to a higher standard than their male counterparts, they are not taken seriously, despite their qualifications, despite the fact that they never sexually harassed anyone, despite their multiple degrees, etc, etc. ad infinitum. I really want to see a female president in my lifetime. I could give a rat's ass about Biden or any of the other male candidates, no matter how pretty they are or how great they've been. It's time to get a woman to head up this ship, and steer it back on course.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 4:56 PM on March 31, 2019 [69 favorites]


please don’t post clickbait without context, the statement begins “I have no reason not to believe Lucy,"
I know, but listen to the segment from Face the Nation. He really doesn't handle it well. He tries to interrupt the host when she suggests that the Democrats aren't taking it seriously, he says disqualification is a matter for Biden, and it's something "not just for Democrats or Republicans, the entire country has got to take seriously". At least he could have said that he believes Flores (one of his own workers in 2016!) rather than resort to a confusing double negative about not having reasons not to believe her.

When the host points out that Sanders' own 2016 campaign had had similar allegations (regarding aides, not Sanders himself) he says that they've “instituted the strongest protocols of any political campaign in history.” Maybe it was cut off, but I'd have liked him to have addressed the women who were affected and the people responsible, not come out with something that sounds like “here's how we won't get into trouble this time."
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:09 PM on March 31, 2019 [12 favorites]


McConnell to Trump: Health care’s all yours (Politico)

via Politico Playbook:
JAKE TAPPER spoke with MICK MULVANEY on CNN’S “STATE OF THE UNION”: TAPPER: “Where’s the [health care] plan?” MULVANEY: “We are doing the same thing on this that we did with taxes. Remember when we started with taxes, people criticized us for not giving enough detail. What did we do? We sent principles to the Hill, I think it was one or two pages, and from that following the proper legislative process, we got a tremendous tax bill that passed into law.”

-- THIS IS NOT EVEN CLOSE to a legitimate parallel. The Hill was completely bought into moving a tax-reform bill, and is not really interested in health care reform at the moment. Furthermore, Trump’s party controlled all of Congress when they passed tax reform.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:00 PM on March 31, 2019 [2 favorites]


and from that following the proper legislative process

I recall there being hand scribbled edits in the margins of the bill.
posted by Slackermagee at 6:01 PM on March 31, 2019 [19 favorites]


I have to say that it makes me think that fact-based arguments have little or no chance of succeeding in US politics:

That's been the case for *years*. Literally. Only with the emergency of the current administration, such as it is, have the left begun to acknowledge it openly. The catch is we can't believe it.

Within a day or so, someone will dutifully post an article whose premise is along the lines of "Republicans say X but X isn't really feasible", with the implication that look at these GOP f*ers they can't do anything right, but that mindset is exactly our problem. They have no intention of doing anything right, and any interaction we give them that presupposes they actually want to do something right is a loss for us. An L. They win again through cheating and dishonesty.

We have to let them flop around and not engage at all - Not a single one of them argues in good faith; let's start flipping them off as step 1 and get down to what we can do by ourselves. Make the policy, marshall the votes, make it happen. No interaction with GOP is necessary because no interaction with GOP is going to go anywhere good. Don't argue with Mitch - he's only hoping you will to eat up some news cycles.

One of the things that annoys me about the future crop of contenders is the required open-arms "All Americans" talk. It's a trap! I'm not saying Dems way or the highway - a good plan lifts all boats - but a big No Time to Fox News, No Time to conservative tweeter X, No Time to Republican Fquenuts from wherever - just focus on the goals we want to do and get them done.
posted by petebest at 7:36 PM on March 31, 2019 [28 favorites]




The House Must See the Whole Mueller Report (Rep. Jerrold Nadler, NYT Opinion)
We — the members of the Judiciary Committee, the House of Representatives and the entire American public — are still waiting to see that report. We will not wait much longer. We have an obligation to read the full report, and the Department of Justice has an obligation to provide it, in its entirely, without delay. If the department is unwilling to produce the full report voluntarily, then we will do everything in our power to secure it for ourselves.

The entire reason for appointing the special counsel was to protect the investigation from political influence. By offering us his version of events in lieu of the report, the attorney general, a recent political appointee, undermines the work and the integrity of his department. He also denies the public the transparency it deserves. We require the full report — the special counsel’s words, not the attorney general’s summary or a redacted version.

We require the report, first, because Congress, not the attorney general, has a duty under the Constitution to determine whether wrongdoing has occurred. The special counsel declined to make a “traditional prosecutorial judgment” on the question of obstruction, but it is not the attorney general’s job to step in and substitute his judgment for the special counsel’s.

That responsibility falls to Congress — and specifically to the House Judiciary Committee — as it has in every similar investigation in modern history. The attorney general’s recent proposal to redact the special counsel’s report before we receive it is unprecedented. We require the evidence, not whatever remains after the report has been filtered by the president’s political appointee. [...]

Our job is to hold the president accountable any time he undermines the rule of law, and is not limited to his involvement with the Russian government during the campaign.

Whether or not the president could have been charged with a crime, even the attorney general acknowledges the existence of evidence that has so far been hidden from view. We have every reason to suspect that the unedited obstruction section of the Mueller report resembles the report that Congress received from the Watergate grand jury in 1974. That evidence showed that President Richard Nixon had attempted to obstruct justice. It did not recommend that the president should be prosecuted. It did not say the president should be impeached. It simply stated the evidence so that Congress could do its job.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:36 AM on April 1, 2019 [47 favorites]


Democrats to prepare subpoenas for full Mueller report (AP)
The Judiciary panel plans to vote on subpoenas Wednesday, a day after the deadline. The chairmen of several House committees asked for the full report last week after Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary laying out the report’s “principal conclusions.” Barr said in a letter to the House and Senate Judiciary committees on Friday that a redacted version of the full 300 page report would be released by mid-April, “if not sooner.”

The planned committee vote, announced Monday morning, would not automatically issue subpoenas but authorize House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to send them.

The panel will also vote to authorize subpoenas related to a number of President Donald Trump’s former top advisers, including strategist Steve Bannon, Communications Director Hope Hicks, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, White House Counsel Donald McGahn and counsel Ann Donaldson. Donaldson served as McGahn’s chief of staff before both left the administration.

The five were probably key witnesses in Mueller’s probe of possible obstruction of justice. The meeting notice says they “may have received documents from the White House relevant to the special counsel investigation, or their outside counsel may have, waiving applicable privileges under the law.” The subpoenas would be related to documents where executive privilege was waived “and related matters,” the notice says.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:41 AM on April 1, 2019 [32 favorites]


Trump Announces Aid Cuts to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras

(though maybe it's just talk unless Congress approves it, hopefully?)

It would be fitting if some sort of super-Zika-virus plague were to evolve in the Northern Triangle due to collapse of public health measures, and the U.S. were especially vulnerable to it because we set up our own public health system to be dependent on undocumented immigrant sanitation and health workers who've been eliminated due to the same xenophobia. Also it would make us a racist version of the Golgafrinchans from HG2G.
posted by XMLicious at 7:29 AM on April 1, 2019 [7 favorites]


Cross-posting from the Tragedy in Christchurch thread: New Zealand Introduces Gun Control Bill Expected To Become Law Within Weeks (Francesca Paris for NPR, April 1, 2019)
New Zealand's government has introduced legislation that would ban most semi-automatic firearms, including the types of weapons used in shootings last month at two Christchurch mosques that killed 50 people.

The bill's introduction on Monday marks the next step in passing gun control reform announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern following the March 15 attacks. Days after the shooting, Ardern vowed that "every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack last Friday" would be banned.

New Zealand immediately imposed (NPR) some gun control measures on March 21. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the bill under consideration now, which is a broader ban, would go into effect on April 12 if it passes. That legislation reportedly has support across party lines (New York Times).

"This will mean that within four weeks of the Christchurch terrorist attack, New Zealand will have passed legislation banning all military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles," deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told reporters (Newstalk ZB) on Monday.

The Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Bill (Legislation.govt.NZ), introduced by Nash, would make it illegal to own certain parts that can be used to assemble prohibited weapons. Nash said Monday that the gunman in the Christchurch attacks created military-style weapons from legally purchased semi-automatic guns and high-capacity magazines.

"The loophole that this terrorist used to kill 50 people was totally unacceptable," Nash said, according to The Associated Press. "We're closing that down."
Borrowing a stolen headline from clawsoon: "New Zealand bans military-style weapons less than a week after mosque attack, claims it's too soon to start discussing thoughts and prayers"

THAT is how you react to mass murder. Too bad the NRA's claims that they were running out of money and on the verge of collapse (Bob Fredericks for NY Post, August 3, 2018) were not accurate, or the US might have had a more likely path towards this sort of quite reasonable gun control.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:39 AM on April 1, 2019 [41 favorites]


Trump Announces Aid Cuts to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras

(though maybe it's just talk unless Congress approves it, hopefully?)


Reuters: U.S. ending aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras over migrants "The State Department said it would “engage Congress in the process,” an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers’ approval to end the funding."

NYT: Trump Turns U.S. Policy in Central America on Its Head "While legislators have tools to push back against that decision, it is very possible that some, if not all of that aid, could be suspended for now."
posted by Little Dawn at 7:43 AM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


White House whistleblower: More than 25 security clearances reversed under Trump (Guardian)
A White House whistleblower has told members of Congress that Donald Trump’s administration overturned more than two dozen denials for security clearances, often ignoring the guidance of intelligence officials in what she dubbed as ‘systemic’ problems with the process.

Tricia Newbold, a White House security adviser holding nearly two decades of experience with clearances, made the revelation during an interview with the House Oversight and Reform Committee last month, according to documents released Monday.

“I feel that right now this is my last hope to really bring the integrity back into our office,” Newbold said, according to the panel’s memo summarizing her interview.
White House Whistleblower Comes Forward in Oversight Committee Investigation of Security Clearances (House Oversight and Reform Committee)
The Committee will not be releasing the full transcript at this time.

Click here to read the letter from Cummings to the White House.

Click here to read the memo from Cummings to Committee Members.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:52 AM on April 1, 2019 [47 favorites]


Trump Announces Aid Cuts to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras

The plan here is so obvious. Create more suffering so more people have to flee, and then campaign on the "crisis" of more people showing up at the border.
posted by diogenes at 7:52 AM on April 1, 2019 [39 favorites]


Donald Trump’s administration overturned more than two dozen denials for security clearances

And Bolton is on the list!
posted by diogenes at 7:54 AM on April 1, 2019 [44 favorites]


Did the media botch the Russia story? A conversation with Matt Taibbi. (Sean Illing, Vox)
“In purely journalistic terms, this is an epic disaster.” […]

Matt Taibbi

Cable news was notably egregious. Rachel Maddow went all in, devoting an extraordinary amount of time to this story, constantly holding up all these glossy photos of shady Russians night after night, with wild graphics and dramatic monologues. It was all about pushing this web of connections and this concept of connecting the dots became a thing that infected the entire of audience of blue state America.

But this is a particularly bad kind of reporting. If the dots have to be mentally connected in the heads of your audience, then you haven’t connected them factually in your piece. And so we were using a trick to dance around normal journalistic procedures.

Take Jonathan Chait’s 2018 cover story for New York magazine. Chait says, “Has Trump been an agent for Russia since 1987?” And the dots that he puts out there are that Trump talked to a Soviet official in 1986 when they visited America, when Gorbachev visited, and then Trump later visited the Soviet Union in 1987. And essentially, the thrust of the article is, “We want you to take those little data bits and draw the conclusion that Donald Trump was recruited a Russian agent during that period.”

You can’t do that. That’s not the way this job works.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:08 AM on April 1, 2019 [5 favorites]


Matt Taibbi is doing the same thing. Unless he's seen the Mueller report.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:10 AM on April 1, 2019 [40 favorites]


Did the media botch the Russia story? A conversation with Matt Taibbi

I don't know if it's common knowledge, but Taibbi has gone full Greenwald.
posted by diogenes at 8:10 AM on April 1, 2019 [36 favorites]


Sean Illing asks about the GRU indictment (the hackers), and Taibbi keeps changing the subject to the Internet Research Agency (the trolls). That's either ignorant or disingenuous, and either way it's disqualifying.
posted by holgate at 8:25 AM on April 1, 2019 [15 favorites]


I'm surprised Cummings used "she" throughout that press release. It must have been intentional, but why?
posted by M-x shell at 8:28 AM on April 1, 2019


Americans Not Buying Barr’s Summary of Mueller Report

A new NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll finds that 29% of Americans say they believe President Trump has been cleared of wrongdoing, based on what they have heard about special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings, while 40% say they do not believe he has been cleared.

But a third of Americans — 31% — say they’re not sure if Trump has been cleared. That includes nearly half of independents (45%) and about a quarter of both Democrats (27%) and Republicans (25%.)


So 30% say he's been exonerated, 30% say he hasn't been, and 30% ... dunno with 10% left over for ? If only there were some way to understand what was in the report.
posted by petebest at 8:38 AM on April 1, 2019 [17 favorites]


When the host points out that Sanders' own 2016 campaign had had similar allegations (regarding aides, not Sanders himself) he says that they've “instituted the strongest protocols of any political campaign in history.” Maybe it was cut off, but I'd have liked him to have addressed the women who were affected and the people responsible, not come out with something that sounds like “here's how we won't get into trouble this time."

Bernie issued an apology after the letter from his campaign aides seeking a meeting with him was first published. He then went and met with them.

The people facilitating the meeting said it was just one part of their fact-finding, and that they were planning on creating a blueprint for how his next campaign could avoid sexual violence and harassment. They mentioned that maybe they'd make the blueprint public for other campaigns to use, but either that didn't happen or I just wasn't able to find it. But the fact that he apologized, called the meeting, had it facilitated by experts on the issue, and that many of his senior campaign staff attended, there's reason to believe he meant what he said about implementing protocols to actually deal with the issue. Or, at least, I wouldn't characterize all that as merely trying not to get in trouble.

edit: One of the women who signed the letter wrote more an article that's worth linking as well.
posted by davedave at 8:40 AM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


Taibbi has always presented himself as an edgelord arguing against conventional wisdom.

I think in one sense he is correct that there has been a bit of a media misrepresentation of the Russia conspiracy as an organized hierarchical conspiracy with an org chart, ranks and clear chain of command.

However it is deeply disingenuous to not notice and point out that this opaque disorganized and disavowable organizational style is exactly what Russia used in their invasion of Ukraine.
posted by srboisvert at 8:47 AM on April 1, 2019 [20 favorites]


Best response to Taibbi...

David Corn for Mother Jones: "Here’s the Real Trump-Russia Hoax -- It’s Trump defenders and lefty Russiagate skeptics claiming there is no scandal."
Trump and his partisans, as well as the small number of lefty Russiagate deniers, have declared that because Mueller found no direct collaboration, the Trump-Russia scandal is kaput. Some have even declared it was a hoax—and a gargantuan media con job—from the start.

These critics are wrong. And here’s an easy way to tell whether they are engaging in honest discourse.

Two fundamental facts were established long before Mueller completed his investigation. First, the Russians attacked an American election in order to sow chaos, hurt Hillary Clinton, and help Donald Trump. Second, Trump and his top advisers during the campaign repeatedly denied this attack was underway, echoing and amplifying Moscow disinformation (the false claim that Russia was not attacking). Whether or not the Trumpers were directly in cahoots with the Russian government, they ran interference for Vladimir Putin’s assault on the United States, and they even did so after the intelligence community had briefed Trump on Russia’s culpability.

So to determine if the Barr triumphalists are acting in good faith, you need only ask them a simple question: do you accept these basic facts and acknowledge the profound seriousness of each one?
...
[A]nyone citing the Mueller report, as it is narrowly capsulized by Barr, must also accept his key finding: Russia attacked the United States and intervened in the election. (They must also accept that, as the Barr letter disclosed, Mueller found evidence suggesting Trump obstructed justice but did not reach a final judgment on this question.)
...
There were contacts with Russia and lies about those contacts—and false denials that provided cover for the Russian attack. How can all this be regarded as not a scandal?
...
It always seemed quite possible—probable—that the Russians did not need to conspire directly with Trump or his campaign to go after Democratic targets or to mount a disinformation campaign boosting Trump and discrediting Clinton. Yet Trump, by claiming this foreign adversary was not attacking the United States, made it easier for Putin to pull this off. Whether the Trump gang helped the Russian operation deliberately or inadvertently, it committed a foul act that undermined national security and a national election. Anyone who doesn’t accept this—Trump and his lieutenants assisting the attack, whether or not a crime was committed—as significant wrongdoing deserving investigation and opprobrium ought not to be considered a serious voice in any discussion of the Trump-Russia scandal.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:56 AM on April 1, 2019 [70 favorites]


Either I'm in some sort of denial, or there's something really weird going on with commentators I respect going seemingly into deep denial when it comes to Russia.

First Glenn Greenwald, he was a strong leftist voice, he was right on many critical and important issues, and then suddenly when it became apparent that Russia was messing with the US elections it seems that he went into this very weird thing where he started denying the big picture based on the most minute of technical details. Or, worse, denying the big picture entirely regardless of the supporting evidence. It was as if the word Russia triggered something in him.

Now it's gotten to Matt Tabbi too. He did important and good reporting on Trump and the elections, and yet for whatever reason the magic word Russia has turned his former analytic skill to mush and he's going into the same weird space of denying the big picture by hyper focus on a few minute details.

Either I'm deeply wrong about the big picture, and given the available evidence I don't really think I am, or something is happening to otherwise respectable journalists that's turning them towards serious denial on one of the biggest issues of our era.

Is it just reflexive contrarianism on their part? Are we all wrong about Russian involvement? Surely they aren't being compromised by the GRU, that sounds really paranoid to even consider.

My ego doesn't like me to think that I'm deeply wrong about Russian involvement in the 2016 election in the USA, and other elections worldwide, but I don't think it's just ego or leftism that's making me think Putin is up to something.
posted by sotonohito at 9:04 AM on April 1, 2019 [27 favorites]


I think it's just hard for some people to believe that American intelligence agencies can ever be the good guys. They're so used to thinking of them as the enemy.

But we don't live in a comic book. Everybody does good stuff and bad stuff sometimes, and that's especially true of long lived institutions over the course of decades.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:11 AM on April 1, 2019 [33 favorites]


Glenn Greenwald was on the Skulduggery podcast, which I might have skipped had it not been a double-header with Benjamin Wittes (talk about whiplash). He was just... aggressively chill about the Russian hack-and-leak operation. Everyone does it, the USA got Yeltsin reelected, Hillary also poked around Ukraine to try and dig up dirt on her opponent with foreign help, the IRA influence operation was not really competent, and Wikileaks published the emails in the spirit of honest journalistic inquiry.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:21 AM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


Which is very weird since it's the operations part of the security state that has historically been shady as fuck and does pretty much whatever it wants regardless of what the people notionally in charge think. The intelligence gathering part, on the other hand, has an excellent track record of getting facts correct, even when they miss the big picture. Still shady in many ways, of course, but generally on the reservation, at least.
posted by wierdo at 9:22 AM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


srboisvert: I think in one sense he is correct that there has been a bit of a media misrepresentation of the Russia conspiracy as an organized hierarchical conspiracy with an org chart, ranks and clear chain of command.

Except, like, the hackers of the DNC servers were Russian Federation military officers from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (aka “GRU”), Units 26165 and 74455. Russian military intelligence worked to elect Donald Trump.

I'd argue the misrepresentation the media is guilty of is not making this clear to the public, and conflating Russian military hacking with social media influence operations, in the same way that the public was left confused about how Clinton's administrative email server was different from the hacked DNC servers.
posted by bluecore at 9:29 AM on April 1, 2019 [36 favorites]


Greenwald is reflexively pro-Assange, and discounts any narrative that involves Wikileaks being a dishonest broker. He also sees the idea that Russia helped Trump win as a way for the Democratic establishment to avoid any responsibility for Hillary's failure, and to refuse to deal with “anti-elite” sentiment that prompted voters to go with the political outsider. The idea that the election was a complicated mix of factors, or that the swing voters might have wanted racism rather than an “outsider” more nebulously, is never grappled with.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:32 AM on April 1, 2019 [17 favorites]


The phrase "on the reservation", which I assume is the counterpart of "off the reservation" is a racist term derived from the historic mistreatment of Native Americans and I do not think it should be used here or anywhere.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:33 AM on April 1, 2019 [27 favorites]


I'm one of these who you would probably classify as "chill" about it or having the big picture wrong.

Why? Why would I ignore the evidence? I *don't*. I believe the russians made a concerted effort to influence the election. I think they may have even managed to move the needle a little; possibly even enough to make DT win.

But I think the big picture view of "Russians stole the election for DT" is still wrong. He barely eked out the win, so yah, the russian involvement may have been enough. But so were a hundred other things. My problem is this: it should not have been nearly that close. At its core, he only won because it was that close, and it was the close because of domestic issues. When you start looking to cast the blame on the russians, you start ignoring the racism, the blue collar anger and dispair, the voter cynicism. It is ignoring the very very real issues that made a bunch of people say "burn the world, I'm voting for the DT". And, at the end of the day, that problem needs fixed. And, in fact, it was that problem that the russians exploited.
posted by Bovine Love at 9:33 AM on April 1, 2019 [18 favorites]


My problem is this: it should not have been nearly that close.
Except of course, it really wasn't that close at all.
< Huffpost. and more at Snopes.
Dismantling the electoral college, and neutering the mechanisms of gerrymandering are the best start.

"Trump’s substantial deficit in the popular vote makes his margin by percentage of votes the third-worst among winning candidates since 1824 (when the popular vote was first officially recorded), according to an analysis by The New York Times published earlier this week.

Thanks to the Electoral College, none of this matters. Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232 on Election Day, securing him a comfortable victory last month. Although many of Trump’s opponents had spent the past few weeks trying to figure out how they could deny the real estate mogul a path to the White House, the Electoral College on Monday further secured his win."

posted by Harry Caul at 9:43 AM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


He is so clearly guilty of so many impeachable offences tthat focusing on one seems like a sticky trap for anti-45 energy.

This admin is straight up kidnapping people, and that's just daily news
posted by The Whelk at 9:44 AM on April 1, 2019 [29 favorites]


News You May Have Missed for yesterday including round-ups of horrible nominees and some good news in the science section that I haven't seen on Metafilter.
posted by joannemerriam at 9:46 AM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


Anyone who doesn’t accept this—Trump and his lieutenants assisting the attack, whether or not a crime was committed—as significant wrongdoing deserving investigation and opprobrium ought not to be considered a serious voice in any discussion of the Trump-Russia scandal.

Repeated for (sadly) badly-needed emphasis.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:48 AM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


Greenwald is reflexively pro-Assange, and discounts any narrative that involves Wikileaks being a dishonest broker.

Greenwald and Taibbi are both reflexively anti-government, anti-US intervention, anti-intelligence, anti-security state, etc. They both made their niche and careers exposing very real abuses of intelligence authority and US misdeeds. But when the intel community gets something right, their priors won't allow them to acknowledge that the security state isn't always 100% wrong and 100% evil. Then you get Greenwald's slow, and then all at once, embrace of Putin; and Taibbi's incoherent insistence that "the media" made it all up. They're gaslighting the rest of us because they're incapable of crediting the spooks for doing something pretty much competently for once. It invalidates their entire worldview, prior work, and future compensation as the anti-intel guys.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:48 AM on April 1, 2019 [46 favorites]


Bovine Love: He barely eked out the win, so yah, the russian involvement may have been enough. But so were a hundred other things. My problem is this: it should not have been nearly that close.

I don't think this is wrong, but... like the references to "servers" and the misunderstandings of Russian organized crime, yet another conflation we see too often involves whether Russian interference involved criminality from the Trump camp vs whether it was decisive.

By contrast, I've never seen anyone litigate whether or not the specific espionage the Republicans committed against the DNC in their room at the Watergate hotel had an actual affect on the 1972 election (basically everyone agrees that Nixon was easily popular enough to win no matter what, and I recall no actual dirt emerging from the break-in). I'll grant that was before my time, so maybe it was a common Nixon apologetic during the events.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:49 AM on April 1, 2019 [11 favorites]


Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232

Trump got 304 electoral votes to Clinton's 227 due to faithless electors.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:51 AM on April 1, 2019 [8 favorites]


It invalidates their entire worldview, prior work, and future compensation as the anti-intel guys.

This makes sense and is probably part of it.

Greenwald's slow, and then all at once, embrace of Putin

This is the part that doesn't make sense and makes me wonder if there's more to it. I get how he could refuse to accept an evidence based conclusion due to his priors. But how do you go from there to embracing Putin?
posted by diogenes at 9:55 AM on April 1, 2019 [2 favorites]


The phrase "on the reservation", which I assume is the counterpart of "off the reservation" is a racist term derived from the historic mistreatment of Native Americans and I do not think it should be used here or anywhere.

I'm sorry for not considering my words more carefully. While it's in common use among people (Native and otherwise) in Oklahoma, where I lived for some years, it is best not to perpetuate the use of the phrase. You are absolutely correct that it casually elides centuries of genocide, abuse, and lesser mistreatment that continues to this day in large part.
posted by wierdo at 10:12 AM on April 1, 2019 [14 favorites]


Greenwald is a really good case study of how unwillingness to re-examine prior beliefs and refusal to agree with people you dislike (regardless of the facts) can trap you on a bad path that takes you way off course over time. Lots of us took the same initial wrong turns he did but then doubled back and checked or changed our assumptions once we got more facts. I remember thinking Wikileaks was Hella Awesome at the beginning—go Assange! Yay transparency! But history is all about context, and you can’t see context contemporaneously. You have to keep circling back on events as more transpires.

It’s a good lesson for everyone—left, right, and center—as we wait for the Mueller Report. None of us has seen it. Thus it’s somewhat unwise to jump to a conclusion about it, and especially unwise to stick to an uninformed conclusion years later.
posted by sallybrown at 10:14 AM on April 1, 2019 [30 favorites]


My problem is this: it should not have been nearly that close. At its core, he only won because it was that close, and it was the close because of domestic issues. When you start looking to cast the blame on the russians, you start ignoring the racism, the blue collar anger and dispair, the voter cynicism. It is ignoring the very very real issues that made a bunch of people say "burn the world, I'm voting for the DT". And, at the end of the day, that problem needs fixed. And, in fact, it was that problem that the russians exploited.

Yes, it should not have been that close, but all the other discord and disinformation campaigns, Russian and otherwise, made it nearly impossible to avoid given the level of distrust that was being actively cultivated with coordinated trolling activity.

I think a lot of people fail to understand the full breadth and depth of the operation. Or that it never actually stopped. It is an ongoing operation, quite visible across the English-language Internet despite the best efforts of engineers to implement algorithmic solutions to keep it down in the noise where no human is likely to see it.
posted by wierdo at 10:22 AM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


Greenwald's bullshit rationale back in October 2016 for reporting on the Podesta leak -- it doesn't matter that it was the product of a hack, and powerful public figures aren't entitled to privacy in acts with public implications -- remains his bullshit rationale.

It certainly doesn't extend to his own private communications from his Brazilian gated street.
posted by holgate at 10:24 AM on April 1, 2019 [5 favorites]


Didn’t Taibbi live in Moscow for a while?
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:28 AM on April 1, 2019 [1 favorite]


Didn’t Taibbi live in Moscow for a while?

Yes, he wrote many horribly misogynist things about his time there.
posted by Emmy Rae at 10:31 AM on April 1, 2019 [24 favorites]


I'm not sure why people consider GG a leftist. The only 'leftist' position I've seen him publicly state is anti-US interventionism, a position he shares with that other well known leftist Pat Buchanan. I don't know what his stated economic outlook is but considering he had no qualms pulling in $400 000/year from The Intercept (a registered charity let's not forget) while it laid off workers I have the feeling he is not exactly a socialist either.
posted by PenDevil at 10:33 AM on April 1, 2019 [20 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, the Greenwald thing is becoming a pretty big derail. Let it go, please. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 11:15 AM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


And another fervent Trump backer from the campaign who has been wanting some of the defense contract money gets their prize: Palantir WaPost

"Industry experts said it marked the first time that the government had tapped a Silicon Valley software company, as opposed to a traditional military contractor, to lead a defense program of record, which has a dedicated line of funding from Congress. The contract is potentially worth more than $800 million."
posted by Harry Caul at 11:50 AM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


White House whistleblower: More than 25 security clearances reversed under Trump

Update: House Oversight Republicans have released their own nine-page memo accusing Democrats of cherry-picking excerpts to make their case. The Republican defense, and I swear this is true:
Ms. Newbold testified that only 4-5 of her unfavorable 25 adjudications were for “very serious reasons.”

If Kline overturned only—at most—five clearance adjudications with very serious concernsout of five thousand, Ms. Newbold’s concerns seem overblown.
Oh, well, if he only overturned five "very serious" problems, that's ok then, no need to investigate that further.

After Newbold raised concerns, she was suspended for two weeks without pay supposedly for "Failure to follow a new policy to scan documents in separate pdf files instead of a single pdf file," in case you're wondering if there was retaliation (which White House employees are not protected from). Her supervisor also humiliated her on account of her disability.
posted by zachlipton at 12:15 PM on April 1, 2019 [39 favorites]




"Failure to follow a new policy to scan documents in separate pdf files instead of a single pdf file,"

Um, yah, that is actually a very serious violation of policy if the policy is designed to split up documents to shield sensitive information from FOIA requests. Which she may have well been trying to undermine the policy by scanning them all in one PDF. So, that might have been a genuine bit of rebellion there.
posted by Bovine Love at 12:30 PM on April 1, 2019 [7 favorites]


Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker today signed a supplemental budget bill to make up any loss of federal Title X funds to health centers that continue to advise patients about abortions and birth control. The roughly $8 million will go to health centers that serve an estimated 75,000 people a year. The measure had passed both houses of the legislature overwhelmingly.
posted by adamg at 1:07 PM on April 1, 2019 [35 favorites]


Trump's Title X rule will restrict abortion access and obstruct women's healthcare (LAT Editorial Board)
Lawsuits filed by Planned Parenthood with the American Medical Association, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, the California attorney general, Essential Access Health (the state’s Title X grantee) and a coalition of nearly two dozen states argue that the rule prevents healthcare providers from offering the comprehensive counseling and information they have an ethical obligation to give patients. The lawsuits also contend that the rule violates federal statutes — including the Affordable Care Act, which prevents HHS from interfering with a provider telling patients about their full range of treatment options. They also argue it violates the 1st and 5th Amendments.
Georgia approves abortion ban if foetus has heartbeat (Guardian)
The ACLU of Georgia said it will challenge the law in court if it is signed by Kemp. “Under 50 years of supreme court precedent, this bill is blatantly unconstitutional,” Sean Young, legal director for the ACLU of Georgia, said in an interview. “That is why every single federal court that has considered such bans has struck them down.”
posted by Little Dawn at 1:25 PM on April 1, 2019 [13 favorites]


Connecticut woman says then-Vice President Joe Biden touched her inappropriately at a Greenwich fundraiser in 2009
"It wasn't sexual, but he did grab me by the head," Amy Lappos told The Courant Monday. "He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth."
The question I always come back to when dealing with an incident like this that isn’t necessarily sexual: if this is just Biden’s way of expressing affection (putting aside the basic “no touching” boundary rules most of us learn as kids), then why doesn’t he also seem to do this to men?
posted by sallybrown at 1:32 PM on April 1, 2019 [49 favorites]


Supreme Court Closely Divides On 'Cruel And Unusual' Death Penalty Case (Nina Totenberg and Domenico Montanaro for NPR, April 1, 2019)
A closely divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that a death row inmate with a rare medical condition is not entitled to an alternative method of execution just because the one the state uses could cause him several minutes of great pain and suffering.

In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the Missouri death row inmate, Russell Bucklew, who had asked the state to use a different method of executing him. Bucklew said that because of his medical condition, using lethal injection could cause him "cruel and unusual punishment," which is barred by the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment.

Writing for the five-justice court majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch, though, noted that Bucklew had been on death row for more than 20 years, and he said the state and the victims of the crime are entitled to timely enforcement of the death penalty.

"Those interests have been frustrated in this case," Gorsuch said, declaring that there was not enough evidence that the method of execution Bucklew proposed — nitrogen gas — would be better.

Bucklew was convicted of murder, kidnapping and rape. He was scheduled to be executed in 2014 before his case made it to the Supreme Court.

The court's four liberals dissented. Justice Stephen Breyer noted that the last time the court had ruled on this question, in 2015, the justices said that a person facing execution had the burden of showing there was an alternative method of execution that significantly reduced a substantial risk of severe pain.

Bucklew has satisfied that burden, he said, adding that three states have authorized nitrogen gas as an alternative method of execution. Instead of just admitting that, Breyer said, the court has now invented new requirements, creating what amounts to an "insurmountable hurdle for prisoners like Bucklew."

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing separately in dissent, said she was "especially troubled" by the majority's statement that last-minute stays of execution should be the "extreme exception." If that is the case, she said, and last-minute applications for a stay of execution are reviewed with "an especially jaundiced eye," that "would effect a radical reinvention of established law and the judicial role."
Emphasis mine -- that sounds like part of their plan, no?

Also, NPR chose the best protest sign for their header image: "Why do we kill people to show it is wrong to kill people?"

More GOP cruelties: More Than 750,000 Could Lose Food Stamps Under Trump Administration Proposal (Pam Fessler for NPR, April 1, 2019)
Three-quarters of a million people would likely lose their food stamps later this year under a new proposal by the Trump administration. The goal is to encourage able-bodied adults to go to work and get off government aid. But opponents predict people would go hungry instead, if the rule goes into effect.

A public comment period, which ends Tuesday, has so far drawn more than 28,000 comments overwhelmingly against the proposed rule.

Those affected by the proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are known as able-bodied adults without dependents, or ABAWDs. There were close to 4 million adults in this category receiving food stamps in 2016. About three-quarters of them did not work, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the administration thinks these people should be able to get jobs, especially now that the nation's unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in years.

"We believe the purpose of our welfare system should help people to become independent rather than permanent dependency," he recently told the House Agriculture Committee. "We think we are helping people to, again, move into the dignity of work and the respect of providing for their families."

To do that, the administration would stop food stamps after three months for ABAWDs who don't work, volunteer or get job training for at least 20 hours a week. That's already the law, but many states waive that requirement in high unemployment areas. The Trump administration would make those waivers much more difficult to come by.

It's part of a broader effort by the administration to impose tighter work requirements on recipients of government aid, such as housing vouchers and Medicaid. A federal judge last week blocked two states, Arkansas and Kentucky, from implementing the Medicaid work rule, calling it "arbitrary and capricious."

But the concept has strong Republican support.

"People believe that able-bodied people who can work, should work," Tennessee Republican Rep. Scott Desjarlais told Perdue, "Do you have any idea why there might be so much pushback and concerns on this measure?"

"I have no clue," Perdue responded.

At the Franciscan Center in Baltimore, where low-income individuals come every day for food, clothing and other help, people think they have a pretty good idea why opposition is so strong.

"Right now, I'm literally dependent on places like this," says 41-year-old Alton Royal, who carries a small plastic bag containing a couple of rolls and two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. "This is my meal for the rest of the day."

Royal says he gets $185 a month in SNAP benefits, but he worries he'll lose them under the proposed rules because he can't find work. He has a severely injured leg and a criminal record, which limit his options.
...
For the most part, SNAP has enjoyed strong bipartisan support. A similar work requirement was rejected by Congress last year when lawmakers debated a new farm bill. President Trump announced the proposed rule the same day he signed that bill into law (NPR).

As a result, congressional Democrats have threatened to sue if the change goes into effect later this year, as the administration intends.
If you have no idea why people would push back against this, perhaps it's time to read some of the almost 8,000 comments on the proposed rule. But those are all paid crisis actors and/or bots, right? Like this supposed Christian:
As a supporter of Catholic Charities USA, I urge you to withdraw or modify the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Requirements and Services for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) proposed rule so that it protects access to necessary food and nutrition programs and adheres to the bipartisan policies implemented in the recently-passed 2018 Farm Bill.

As a Catholic, I support policies committed to the integral development of individuals. Food remains a fundamental human right and basic need to sustain life. I also support the dignity of work and the role that decent work has in supporting families and communities. However, the proposed rule:

Rejects the express decision of Congress by setting a new unemployment floor for ABAWD state waivers.
Disrespects subsidiarity and local decision making by overriding the assessment of states and local communities to establish community nutrition needs for applying for a waiver.
Establishes new requirements for individuals to participate in work or education and training programs without providing additional assistance for individuals and states to meet the requirements.

I therefore urge you to withdraw or modify the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Requirements and Services for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) proposed rule.
GOP = Greedy, Opportunistic Predators
posted by filthy light thief at 1:54 PM on April 1, 2019 [30 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, if the Biden issue needs to be hashed out in details, it needs its own thread.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 2:13 PM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


Senior U.S. House Republican questions Trump plan to cut Central American aid (Reuters)
The top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said on Monday that cutting aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras would make the situation there worse, not better, a sign that President Donald Trump will face bipartisan objections in Congress as he pursues the plan.

“If we cut all this funding, and a lot of it, quite honestly, is seriously law enforcement that we’re doing down there ... I think it’s going to make things tragically worse, not better,” Representative Michael McCaul said in a presentation at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington. [...]

However, congressional aides noted that, since the U.S. constitution says Congress, not the president, sets spending policy, Trump cannot overrule spending bills passed by Congress, which he signed into law, without lawmakers’ approval.
posted by Little Dawn at 2:19 PM on April 1, 2019 [9 favorites]


Daily Beast, Trump ‘Very Bitter and Sensitive’ About Puerto Rico, and Dems Say His Team Is Stonewalling Their Investigation
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who chairs the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on government operations, told The Daily Beast he still hasn’t seen key documents from the administration detailing its response to the hurricanes. He said the committee should be prepared to use its subpoena power to obtain those documents—and, if necessary, to hold officials in contempt of Congress if they don’t comply.

“This is not an academic exercise,” said Connolly. “People lost their lives.”
...
Trump, however, has tripled down on blaming others and insisting that, somehow, everything he and his officials had done was perfect. A senior Trump administration official who has discussed Puerto Rico with the president said that in conversations on the topic, Trump has shown he feels he “has nothing to apologize” for and is far more likely to insult Democratic politicians for, in his view, trying to use the disaster and high death toll to make him look bad, than to to talk about ways to ameliorate suffering on the U.S. territory.
posted by zachlipton at 2:22 PM on April 1, 2019 [18 favorites]


Supreme Court Closely Divides On 'Cruel And Unusual' Death Penalty Case

There was also an interesting death penalty stay granted a couple days ago, this time a Buddhist inmate's execution was stayed because Texas was blocking a Buddhist priest from attending the execution. This is in contrast to a similar case last month involving a Muslim inmate in Alabama in which the execution was allowed to proceed without an imam present as requested by the inmate.

The possible explanations for the different outcomes in very similar cases are that the conservative justices were sensitive to the criticisms of their earlier decision and now more receptive to the reasoning in Kagan's dissent and were trying to correct that without admitting their error, or maybe some of the conservative justices care more about the rights of a white inmate who practices Buddhism than a black Muslim inmate.
posted by peeedro at 2:38 PM on April 1, 2019 [13 favorites]


Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press asks court to authorize release of grand jury materials included in Mueller report (RCFP)
This morning the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a request in the federal district court for the District of Columbia for an order that would authorize the public release of grand jury material that is “cited, quoted, or referenced” in the report submitted to Attorney General William Barr by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. [...]

The Reporters Committee is represented in the matter by Townsend and its executive director, Bruce Brown, as well as by attorneys, led by Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., from the law firm of Gibson Dunn. “The exceptions to the federal grand jury secrecy rules, multiple precedents, the First Amendment and the public interest all support releasing the Mueller report in full given the extraordinary circumstances of this matter and the need to ensure public confidence in the results of this investigation,” said Boutrous. “The American people deserve to see and scrutinize the full contents of the report so they can evaluate for themselves the threats to our electoral system from Russian interference and make their own judgments about whether the president and his campaign coordinated with Russia or obstructed justice.”
via Axios
posted by Little Dawn at 2:56 PM on April 1, 2019 [7 favorites]


[No irony]
Meanwhile, Fox Business Host Elizabeth MacDonald on Monday declared that The Pope Is ‘Weak on the Border Wall’
posted by growabrain at 3:31 PM on April 1, 2019 [12 favorites]


In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the Missouri death row inmate, Russell Bucklew, who had asked the state to use a different method of executing him. Bucklew said that because of his medical condition, using lethal injection could cause him "cruel and unusual punishment," which is barred by the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment.

I'm not going into detail here, but this guy is going to have a very bad death. Shame
posted by angrycat at 3:46 PM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


FTC gives ISPs green light to block applications as long as they disclose it
Despite Ajit Pai's assurances, FTC can't fully police net neutrality.
The FTC can punish US companies for unfair or deceptive practices. But in regard to net neutrality, this simply means that ISPs must disclose any behavior that would have violated the old net neutrality rules.

"Under Section 5 of the FTC Act, we may prosecute unfair or deceptive acts or practices... Simply stated, we have a strong interest in ensuring that companies stand by their promises to consumers," Simons said.

The FTC would review whether ISPs keep their promises just as it reviews whether other companies keep their promises. "We would review ISPs' activities in the same way," Simons said. "For example, we could take action against ISPs if they block applications without adequately disclosing those practices or mislead consumers about what applications they block or how."
posted by XMLicious at 5:52 PM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted. If people need to talk about touchy Biden it should get its own thread, seriously.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 6:23 PM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


WaPo, Massive disaster relief bill stalls in Senate over Puerto Rico dispute
A massive emergency aid bill for victims of hurricanes, wildfires, flooding and other natural disasters was defeated in the Senate on Monday amid a fight between Democrats and President Trump over relief for Puerto Rico.

Senate Democrats opposed the $13.45 billion legislation, contending the $600 million included for Puerto Rico’s food stamp program is inadequate to meet the U.S. territory’s needs as it attempts to recover from Hurricane Maria. The Democrats are embracing a House-passed relief bill containing hundreds of millions of dollars more for Puerto Rico than the GOP version the Senate is voting on Monday.

But Trump opposes sending any additional aid to Puerto Rico apart from the food stamp money, funding Republicans convinced him to accept as the price for passing the long-pending disaster bill.

The vote was 44 in favor and 49 against; 60 votes would have been needed for the legislation to advance. It’s unclear how Congress and the administration will move forward to revive it, an impasse that risks indefinitely delaying disaster funding nationwide amid partisan sniping.
...
The congressional impasse has already led to cuts of about 25 percent to the food stamp benefits received in March by the 1.3 million Puerto Rico residents — 43 percent of the island’s population — who rely on the program. If Congress does not pass the funding soon, those people will again be forced to survive on the reduced food stamp allocation. The island’s government has also had to cut the size of a supplemental cash benefit to the food stamp program that many elderly Puerto Ricans say they use to buy basic necessities, such as detergent and toothpaste.
posted by zachlipton at 6:40 PM on April 1, 2019 [12 favorites]


A massive ... bill ... was defeated in the Senate on Monday amid a fight between Democrats and President Trump over relief for Puerto Rico.

I'll admit that's not the scenario I had envisioned in 2017 *checks watch* for a massive fight from Senate Democrats, but I'll take it. Whatever we can do to get this pawty stawted.
posted by petebest at 7:40 PM on April 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


I will forever regret once writing that Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue was the best of a bad lot. He fully supports reprehensible policies that are designed to hurt people.
posted by wintermind at 7:53 PM on April 1, 2019 [3 favorites]


He's very verbose tonight
Everybody agrees that ObamaCare doesn’t work. Premiums & deductibles are far too high - Really bad HealthCare! Even the Dems want to replace it, but with Medicare for all, which would cause 180 million Americans to lose their beloved private health insurance. The Republicans.........are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare. In other words it will be far less expensive & much more usable than ObamaCare. Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win..........back the House. It will be truly great HealthCare that will work for America. Also, Republicans will always support Pre-Existing Conditions. The Republican Party will be known as the Party of Great HealtCare. Meantime, the USA is doing better than ever & is respected again!
Oh no, please don't make the next election about health care too! And the Republican health care plan is "we'll have a vote in 19 months?"

"Their beloved private health insurance" is objectively hilarious, but I remind you that there's polling (see slides 11-12) behind the sentiment: Medicare-For-All is a really popular idea, but support tanks if you tell people it would eliminate private insurance companies or that they wouldn't be allowed to keep their current insurance.

I also really appreciate "premiums (cost)" without any corresponding explanation for "deductibles." And, uh, "HealtCare." Even in this though, he manages to lay out how Republican health care scams work. They do, in fact, have the potential to lower premiums and deductibles. They do so because there's a third component to any any insurance plan, coverage, and if you do things like say you can charge sick people a million dollars a year for insurance, that does tend to lower premiums (cost) for those who are left. Trump mentions premiums and deductibles, but says nothing about coverage, because Republicans want to reduce it.
posted by zachlipton at 8:05 PM on April 1, 2019 [23 favorites]


To put it in a 3 second soundbite ready for TV debates: Republicans want to lower cost by taking away healthcare from old and sick people.
posted by Justinian at 8:17 PM on April 1, 2019 [30 favorites]


There's a real messaging problem in the space between middle class people with good (ish) employer plans and moving to a government provided or backed plan, when most working age people haven't really had to rely on their health insurance, and have no frame of reference for how a universal system would actually work. Republicans demagogue Canadian and European systems relentlessly, and most Americans have never been exposed to the reality that those places aren't actually hellholes.

The good news is there's space for transition, if executed well. Something like the Center for American Progress plan, with a robust public option and Medicare buy-in, and crucially, automatic enrollment of children and the uninsured, could demonstrate to all those people that public insurance can be better, and cheaper. And eventually, it will be the only plan, because employers stop duplicating efforts, and everyone wants the better, public, coverage.

There's opportunity in the space Republicans think they're winning with stupid gotcha lines like "if you like your plan, you can keep it". Sure. Keep it. But we're offering something better, whenever you want to switch.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:26 PM on April 1, 2019 [14 favorites]


And the Republican health care plan is "we'll have a vote in 19 months?"

There's this from the Washington Examiner, White House working on secret healthcare plan with three conservative think tanks. The article is almost free of any details other than identifying the think tanks writing the White House's proposal as the Heritage Foundation, the Mercatus Center, and the Hoover Institute, and saying any proposal would crib heavily from both the Graham-Cassidy bill and Heritage Foundation's Health Care Choices proposal. So the only surprise left will be how awful it will be when it's unveiled.
posted by peeedro at 8:32 PM on April 1, 2019 [7 favorites]


when most working age people haven't really had to rely on their health insurance

I mean, yes: but how does this cognitive dissonance perpetuate itself when: a) at very least everybody knows somebody with a chronic illness who has to ; b) at very least everybody knows somebody who's been fucked over by their insurance company; c) GoFundMe medical bill appeals exist. Is it that people in general think of it as, I dunno, like having their house flattened by a tornado?

The sell here is "cheaper and better", and the person making the explicit sell is the bullshit artist who many voters believed in 2016, even though he had no plan other than bullshit. Is it because the actual profiteers in American healthcare -- basically everyone -- aren't worried about it actually being cheaper and better, and instead are busy shitting on M4A and anything that goes after the set of contractual relationships where everyone takes a cut?
posted by holgate at 8:49 PM on April 1, 2019 [6 favorites]


Nifty WaPo visualization showing which Dem candidates support which pro-democracy measures (DC statehood, eliminate the Electoral College, etc.)
posted by Chrysostom at 9:15 PM on April 1, 2019 [15 favorites]


My "beloved private health insurance"?!? My Lord and Savior, yes. My wife and child, sure. My whole family, right. My friends, yeah. My community of fellow sentient beings, of course.

My private health insurance? Get the fuck outta here.
posted by riverlife at 9:16 PM on April 1, 2019 [27 favorites]


2 Republican AGs urge court to throw out Obamacare ruling (Politico)
Republican attorneys general in Ohio and Montana are opposing a federal judge’s ruling that the entire Affordable Care Act should be thrown out, breaking with the Trump administration's recent decision to support the ruling.

In a brief filed in federal appeals court Monday, the attorneys general argue a federal judge erred in concluding that Obamacare must be struck down because law's individual mandate is unconstitutional and cannot be severed from the rest of the law. Though the two attorneys general oppose the requirement to purchase coverage, they say they rest of the law should be allowed to stand, and they warn there could be negative consequences for millions of their residents if the judge's decision is upheld.

The fact that a ruling has negative consequences does not mean it is wrong,” write Dave Yost of Ohio and Timothy Fox of Montana. “Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall. But the District Court’s ruling is wrong, and its errors threaten harm to millions of people in the Buckeye and Treasure states.” [...] “It is understandable that some who dislike the Affordable Care Act would cheer the result below,” they write. “But they should remember what goes around comes around.”
posted by Little Dawn at 9:18 PM on April 1, 2019 [8 favorites]


Medicare for all, which would cause 180 million Americans to lose their beloved private health insurance

I have my doubts that 180 million Americans love their private health insurance. There is no question that 180mil people want to make sure they have health care, but I call shenanigans on the idea that their current health care plan is "beloved."

If he wants to actually claim people have "beloved" health insurance plans, he can name the companies.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:34 PM on April 1, 2019 [8 favorites]


It's like saying "your beloved cable TV provider."
posted by holgate at 9:35 PM on April 1, 2019 [58 favorites]


support tanks if you tell people it would eliminate private insurance companies or that they wouldn't be allowed to keep their current insurance

Australia has public health care funding for all (it's even called Medicare!) and those of us for whom ideology trumps reality remain perfectly free to piss money up the wall on private health insurance if we want to.
posted by flabdablet at 9:44 PM on April 1, 2019 [10 favorites]


After Years Of Blocking Obama’s Nominees, McConnell Slams Dems’ ‘Historic Obstruction’ (Kate Riga, TPM)
Sen. Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wrote an op-ed in Politico Monday decrying Democrats’ “historic obstruction,” an accusation that won’t sit well with liberals still furious about McConnell’s refusal to allow a vote on former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

“Since January 2017, for the first time in memory, a minority has exploited procedure to systematically obstruct a President from staffing up his administration,” McConnell wrote. “This new, across-the-board obstruction is unfair to the President and, more importantly, to the American people.”

He continued that he is introducing a proposal to make it easier for Republicans to get President Donald Trump’s nominees approved by circumventing Democratic opposition.

“Our proposal would only reduce the time a minority can keep delaying lower-tier nominations after a majority has invoked cloture,” he wrote. “This would keep the Senate floor moving, saving time that is currently tied up in inoffensive nominations that senators don’t even really debate. And, at last, it would let President Trump fill important vacancies at a more reasonable pace.”
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:45 PM on April 1, 2019 [21 favorites]


McConnell Is a Massive Hypocrite, but It Hardly Matters (Libby Watson, Splinter News)
Mitch McConnell has a new favorite media strategy: placing op-eds in mainstream media outlets to make liberals’ heads to explode. In January, in the midst of the longest government shutdown in history, he wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post decrying the Democrats’ proposed electoral reform bill as a “power grab.” He was mad, essentially, that Democrats wanted more people to be able to vote, because that tends to mean more people will vote for Democrats. [...]

Mitch’s deep-seated hypocrisy is unimportant to him and his donors. It’s completely immaterial. What matters to him is consolidating more power, by whatever means necessary, saying whatever he needs to at that moment to justify it, regardless of what he’s said or done in the past. He practically dares you to point out his hypocrisy, because the charge doesn’t matter to him, and he knows it doesn’t particularly impact whether or not his gambit will succeed. There are no prizes for Most Consistent Politician, and there’s certainly no money in that.
I wonder if protesters still show up and interrupt his meals.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:51 PM on April 1, 2019 [22 favorites]


US will run out of avocados in three weeks if Trump closes Mexico border (Guardian)
Nearly half of all imported US vegetables and 40% of imported fruit are grown in Mexico, according to the latest data from the United States Department of Agriculture.

Avocados would run out in three weeks if imports from Mexico were stopped, said Steve Barnard, president and chief executive of Mission Produce, the largest distributor and grower of avocados in the world. [...] Monica Ganley, principal at Quarterra, a consultancy specializing in Latin American agricultural issues and trade, said that a border closure would inevitably hit consumers. “We’re absolutely going to see higher prices. This is a very real and very relevant concern for American consumers.”

The US and Mexico trade about $1.7bn in goods daily, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be “an unmitigated economic debacle” that would threaten 5m American jobs.
Avocado Shortages and Price Spikes: How Trump’s Border Closing Would Hit U.S. (NYT)
While President Trump sees shutting the border with Mexico as punishment for its failure to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants, economists warn that the move would effectively paralyze the United States economy given the huge volume of bluejeans, cars, flat-screen TVs, avocados and other goods that cross the border every day.

[...] one of the biggest victims of a border shutdown would be American manufacturing, a sector the president has promised to help. [...] Automakers, who have spread their supply chains across North America, would be among those most affected. [...] Over all, some of the world’s biggest multinational companies would be affected — including Ford, Toyota, Boeing and Caterpillar — but so would countless small- and medium-size businesses that depend on trade to make and sell their products. [...]

If the border were shut down, consumers would most likely see an immediate spike in food prices, and supplies of fresh food could dwindle from grocery store shelves in a matter of days. American farmers would lose a major market, causing a drop in prices for their crops and a potential buildup of their goods in factories, slaughterhouses and grain bins.

[...] shuttering the border to legitimate commerce and travel could quickly undermine American growth and productivity, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a statement on Monday. “Closing the U.S.-Mexico border would inflict severe economic harm on American families, workers, farmers and manufacturers across the United States,” said Neil Bradley, the chamber’s executive vice president and chief policy officer. [...]

Northern Mexican cities that depend on trade with the United States would be devastated by any extended border closing, leading to mass unemployment that could ironically prompt more attempts to cross the United States border.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:30 PM on April 1, 2019 [11 favorites]


This reporting on Venezuela struck me as deeply strange on many levels. It finally struck me that the framing is just bizarre.

First, and of least substance, is the way the initial quote from Guaido's wife was presented. It's only natural to be worried about being arrested, but it seems an odd thing to complain about when you and your husband are literally taking part in the extraconstitutional overthrow of a duly elected, if deeply problematic and frankly undeniably unfit, government.

The other thing that struck me was the uncritical assignment of all responsibility for Venezuela's economic collapse to Maduro. Even if we assume they mean to include Chavez implicitly, it ignores the significant contributions to both the economic decline and the political instability in the country that are directly attributable to the opposition, who worked to cast both administrations as illegitimate and worked to sabotage them in many ways, often illegally even under US law. Which of course we did not care to prosecute since it was good for the US financially.

It got me thinking that this is a very common framing in US politics also. Somehow everything that happens in a country is the fault of the single head of government in our press' eyes. In an individual story, sure, maybe Mitch McConnell or Nancy Pelosi made something happen, but not in a summary or offhand reference to anything but the recent past.

"Obama left the nation the nation more polarized than ever," an article might say before going on to lament recent events. Never do you see "The Republican Congress left the nation more polarized than ever," though, no matter how the responsibility is actually shared between the two. There seems to be an unstated assumption that the executive is the only party that controls the fate of the nation. The framing itself promotes a grave misunderstanding of how government works among readers. Even if they know better intellectually, the comfortable mental shortcut is easy for the innately lazy human brain to accept without conscious thought.
posted by wierdo at 10:37 PM on April 1, 2019 [12 favorites]


There seems to be an unstated assumption that the executive is the only party that controls the fate of the nation. The framing itself promotes a grave misunderstanding of how government works among readers.

The US is a strong-presidency republic that behaves like an 18th century limited monarchy with a parliament. This is now baked into the cake. Juan Linz's 'The Perils of Presidentialism' speaks to much of your comment. Strong presidencies are shit for democracy.
posted by holgate at 10:58 PM on April 1, 2019 [8 favorites]


If Congress were as impotent as conventional wisdom seems to say, I dare say it would have had much less success in thwarting Obama's policy proposals.

Perhaps if we (really, the media) stopped talking about them that way in nearly every conversation that isn't directly related to political inside baseball more people would recognize the influence on our nation's trajectory and take Congressional elections as seriously as they deserve.

We handicap ourselves when we accept the false narrative that the President is the only one that really matters to history. Congress is only as impotent as the overall public perceives it to be so.
posted by wierdo at 12:10 AM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


T.D. Strange: when most working age people haven't really had to rely on their health insurance

holgate: I mean, yes: but how does this cognitive dissonance perpetuate itself when: a) at very least everybody knows somebody with a chronic illness who has to ; b) at very least everybody knows somebody who's been fucked over by their insurance company; c) GoFundMe medical bill appeals exist.

That's precisely how it perpetuates -- they can see just what it would be like to lose their insurance, horrible though it may be, and the possibility is obviously terrifying. If you promise everybody the option of a great new plan, they'll be relieved on behalf of their chronically ill cousin. But if you suggest that, one way or another, all the current plans will go away, they'll first imagine becoming that cousin in addition to being happy for their sake.

It's an evolutionary-landscape problem; climbing the highest hill means descsending my current hill and I don't want to climb downward for any reason. "My" plan is the devil I know. Decades of navigating American health insurance will give anyone the flinch instinct.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:13 AM on April 2, 2019 [10 favorites]


A senior Trump administration official who has discussed Puerto Rico with the president said that in conversations on the topic, Trump has shown he feels he “has nothing to apologize” for

The American govt is not a closed door board meeting. This is called accountability, and I hope Congress investigates this entire administration for every crime against humanity to the point where Jared and Ivanka scream enough please how many life sentences can one human serve! This klan of monsters needs to be schooled for the next 20 years if that's how long it takes.

And I fully support my tax dollars funding this. In fact, it may be the only way to restore faith in our democracy.
posted by archimago at 4:19 AM on April 2, 2019 [32 favorites]


Eh, we need not even wish for prison, as satisfying as that might be. Simply toss 'em from office and use our alarmingly lax civil forefeiture process to seize most or all their assets, preferably enough to force them to go without a lawyer like the tens of thousands of people who have their stuff taken by the cops on far less evidence, often with nothing but baseless suspicion.

Treat the Trump family like the least of us are treated when they feel like they can't actually jail us. There has been clear enough evidence of money laundering, among other crimes that legitimately make them legally vulnerable to civil forefeiture, printed in the damn newspaper to make the preponderance of the evidence standard that is required to win. Maybe we get lucky and they don't bother contesting it like the vast majority of people whose property is taken through civil forefeiture.

Note that an enterprising prosecutor need not bother with having a hearing prior to seizing most assets in most states. They don't even need to file a criminal charge. They could just take all his shit and hang on to it for a good long while (at least a year in some states) before actually filling papers against the property. Courts have repeatedly upheld these sorts of actions, even on the rare occasion the government fails to prove its case there is no recourse.

No need to make it a huge deal. The biggest assholes we need to worry about will think far more carefully about a repeat when they see the very real risk of being left destitute far more than they would any likely prison sentence. Both would be great, but if I had to pick one tool to use against Trump and his ilk, I'd choose asset forefeiture.
posted by wierdo at 4:51 AM on April 2, 2019 [16 favorites]


White House whistleblower: More than 25 security clearances reversed under Trump

Update: House Oversight Republicans have released their own nine-page memo accusing Democrats of cherry-picking excerpts to make their case. The Republican defense, and I swear this is true:
Ms. Newbold testified that only 4-5 of her unfavorable 25 adjudications were for “very serious reasons.”


It's telling that the Republicans concede there is a problem and concede the point further by complaining that investigating said problem -- to be clear, multiple potential threats to national security -- is a "partisan issue."

It's also telling that some in the so-called "liberal media" (I'm looking at you, NPR) are airing this argument uncritically, as if it were not nonsense on its face, and highly suggestive nonsense at that, not to mention made in obviously bad faith. The same media, I might add, that presumes the Republicans are "the party of national security." Feh.

Daily Beast, Trump ‘Very Bitter and Sensitive’ About Puerto Rico, and Dems Say His Team Is Stonewalling Their Investigation

Good. It's a sore spot for Trump? Keep pressing on it.

Really bad HealthCare! Even the Dems want to replace it, but with Medicare for all, which would cause 180 million Americans to lose their beloved private health insurance. The Republicans.........are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare. In other words it will be far less expensive & much more usable than ObamaCare. Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win..........back the House.

Nixon won a second term by promising a "secret plan" to end the war in Vietnam (send more troops!). But while Trump's base will swallow this nonsense whole, one hopes the American public won't, given not only Trump's generally recognized untrustworthiness but also the fact that Republicans have failed to put forth any alternative to Obamacare other than simple repeal. It'd be nice if the media also notice, this time, that Trump claiming to have a plan does not mean he actually does.
posted by Gelatin at 5:27 AM on April 2, 2019 [13 favorites]


Opinions Unchanged After Mueller Probe Ends (PublicPolicyPolling (via))

A new Public Policy Polling survey finds 49% of voters think that Trump has committed obstruction of justice, to 40% who say they don’t think so. When PPP previously asked that question in June of 2017 49% said they believed Trump had committed obstruction of justice, to 41% who didn’t think so.

Also interesting: 44% of voters think that members of Trump’s campaign team worked in association with Russia to help Trump win the election for President to 43% who don’t think so. When PPP asked the same question in January, 45% thought there was collusion, to 43% who thought there wasn’t.


And that's what a failing "free press" actually looks like.
posted by petebest at 5:46 AM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


Opinions Unchanged After Mueller Probe Ends

This is a good thing at this point, isn't it? If people were accepting Barr's bogus summary, the numbers would be getting better for Trump.
posted by diogenes at 5:56 AM on April 2, 2019 [33 favorites]


Good in the sense that people seem to have better bullshit detectors than other evidence would indicate.

Bad in the sense that obstruction was loudly proclaimed by Trump and is in abundant evidence - the corporate news might do a better job of focusing on that.

Collusion as well, but *gasp* conspiracy theoristses everywheres makes people reluctant to go there after Official Mr. Man said not to.
posted by petebest at 6:25 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


Inside the Democrats’ Plan to Fix Their Crumbling Data Operation (Issie Lapowsky, Wired)
Since 2011, Vertica has been the Democratic Party's central repository for data—a place to store every state's voter file, every door knock and phone call organizers make, and every bit of commercially available data campaigns collect. It played an important role in President Obama's successful bid for reelection in 2012, and established having a strong data operation as core to modern-day campaigning. After just a few years, however, the system was already showing its age, and many Democrats feared that the lack of a strong data operation could handicap their candidates in 2020 and beyond.
Epic stories abound, including 16 hour downtimes. It's being replaced though.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:39 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


But I do wonder how many people live in the bubble I used to live in...

I think most people who have employer funded insurance do. In my working life I only had a couple of times between jobs when I had to fund the gap and my reaction was my God, COBRA is expensive. Because it has a name it feels like a thing in itself rather than just here's what paying for your own damn insurance costs. It wasn't until I went back to grad school that I realized the true cost and then I was lucky to qualify for Obamacare.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:04 AM on April 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


I've got good(ish) employer health insurance that was also covering my partner a few months ago. She got sick, had a really worrying episode of respiratory distress, and we rushed to a local urgent care clinic which had us wait for several hours and charged us $70 (my health insurance copay for urgent care) to tell us to get to an actual Emergency Room.

How that would have played out in Australia: we would have gone straight to Emergency at the nearest public hospital, seen the triage nurse, been taken through to a cubicle almost immediately because they do not fuck around with respiratory distress, seen a doctor and got a diagnosis. Had the diagnosis warranted it she would have been admitted to a bed in the Short Stay ward for observation, otherwise we would have walked out with a prescription for asthma meds and/or a referral to a specialist.

At no point would we have needed to deal with paperwork more complicated than name, address, date of birth, been here before? if not, Medicare number please and fill in this questionnaire about previous medical history.

The hospital visit would not have cost us a cent.

This system is worth fighting for. It's really, really good.
posted by flabdablet at 7:06 AM on April 2, 2019 [70 favorites]


Trump shutting Mexico border would 'cripple' El Paso, Republican mayor says (Guardian)
“It would be a critical killer to us, frankly”, the mayor, Dee Margo, said. In an interview with the Guardian at city hall, Margo reflected the views of a community that is now on tenterhooks over the US president’s next move. [...] Margo rattled off key statistics showing the interconnected nature of the urban border economies, especially, his own El Paso at the western end of the Texas section of the border and its Mexican twin city directly across the large barrier that divides their downtown areas, Ciudad Juárez. [...]

Margo told the Guardian that the treatment of those migrants was “inhumane”. But he said criticism should not be directed at the border protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) federal agents, but against both parties and houses in Congress, as well as Trump.

“The major problem is that there’s been inaction on immigration for 30 years in Washington – they lack intestinal fortitude to do what’s needed, on both sides of the aisles and with presidential leadership.”

He added that the rhetoric from the White House about a possible border closure was exacerbating the current surge in migration from Central America. “My supposition is that there’s been a marketing thrust by the coyotes [people smugglers] in Central America to say: ‘This is your last chance, the border’s going to close, so hop on the bus and let’s go.’”

The result was that thousands of people from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador were making “a quick rush to the border. I think the rhetoric coming out of Washington has the ability to control or exacerbate the situation – and right now it’s not good.”

CBP ended on Sunday the practice of detaining people under the bridge and moved the remaining migrants to an undisclosed location. The American Civil Liberties Union issued a formal complaint about children being forced to sleep on the bare ground there, saying conditions were “among the worst we’ve seen in recent history”.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:14 AM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


We have "good" insurance, for which we pay close to 20k per year. Our deductible is 10k, as it's a high deductible, HSA plan. My son was riding his bike to school when he got hit, in a crosswalk, in front of a crossing guard, in a school zone, by a woman who was looking at her phone. (He's ok, but it crushed his bike, dislocated his knee and bruised him up pretty good.)

Ambulance, Children's Hospital, MRI, referral to orthopedist, (who charged us $800 for a brace and an ace bandage, which trust me, I fought tooth and nail), all in, our total bill came to more than $40,000.

I've lived in countries with real healthcare, and this ain't it, chief.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:17 AM on April 2, 2019 [60 favorites]


The Whelk: He is so clearly guilty of so many impeachable offences tthat focusing on one seems like a sticky trap for anti-45 energy.

"All of your crimes are in perfect balance ... we call it Three Stooges Syndrome. "
"What you're saying is I'm invincible."
"No, in fact, even the most minor court case against you ..."
"Invincible."


History To Be Made As Chicago Votes For Mayor (Dan Mihalopoulos for NPR, April 2, 2019)
No matter who wins Tuesday's election for mayor of Chicago, the United States' third-largest city will be led by an African-American woman for the first time.

The historic race pits Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle against Lori Lightfoot, a lawyer and former head of a police oversight board who also would become the city's first openly gay mayor.
...
Both Lightfoot and Preckwinkle have sought to brand themselves as much more progressive Democrats than Emanuel, a centrist who often feuded with public-employee labor groups, including the teachers' union.
Chicago Sun-Times has a summary of how the preliminary votes lead to this historic moment. Good luck, Chicago!
posted by filthy light thief at 7:17 AM on April 2, 2019 [23 favorites]


At no point would we have needed to deal with paperwork more complicated than name, address, date of birth, been here before?

That sounds heavenly.

I'm constantly amazed that anybody could deal with the dystopian bureaucratic nightmare that is US health insurance and come away saying "What a great system. Best in the world!"
posted by diogenes at 7:17 AM on April 2, 2019 [33 favorites]


CBP ended on Sunday the practice of detaining people under the bridge and moved the remaining migrants to an undisclosed location.

Well, that's reassuring. I personally feel very reassured when people are detained in an "undisclosed location".
posted by Frowner at 7:20 AM on April 2, 2019 [48 favorites]


I'm posting a link to this FPP: Lessons Of A 618,616 Death because I think this points to something that people with employer-provided insurance, or at least "Cadillac" PPO employer-provided insurance, fear: losing Cadillac coverage - the kind where all kinds of experimental treatments are covered. There are people who say "my life, or at least my quality of life, or my loved one's lives, depends on hot and cold running specialists and a cornucopia of experimental and/or off-label treatments and medications provided, no questions asked."

I think these are the people who scream "Rationing!" "Death Panels!" because they are used to being able to see a specialist instantly, get that off-label drug without having to fight for it, and so on. I do not think a lot of people actually have this type of insurance, at least anymore, and arrays of specialist medical personnel are not to be found in rural areas or small towns. But people who are lucky enough to have Cadillac care don't want to give that up, and because most of them are older people, and older people are more likely to vote, I think their voices are louder out of all proportion to their numbers.

Personally, I think it would be best if everyone had, so to speak, Camry care or Chevy care,, rather than some people having Cadillac care and many others having "die in a ditch" care.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:22 AM on April 2, 2019 [29 favorites]


Latin Americans fear precedent set by legal justification for Syria intervention (Guardian)
Latin American states are mounting a challenge to the acceptance of a legal standard promoted by the US, UK and their allies to justify military operations in the Middle East, fearing the same standard could eventually be used to justify intervention in their own hemisphere. [...] Latin American states say that one of the most important questions in international law – when is it permissible to wage war on another country’s territory – is being settled by stealth, by a small group of military powers, with no global debate.

States involved in the counter-Isis campaign and other foreign military operations have submitted letters of justification for their actions to the UN, citing self-defence against the threat of terrorism and arguing in many cases that the governments of the countries involved have been “unwilling or unable” to deal with the threat. The letters have typically been submitted after the military operations have taken place. [...]

Unease in Latin America has been heightened by Donald Trump’s recent rhetoric. He accused the Mexican armed forces of being “unable or unwilling” to stop columns of migrants reaching the US border, and in March he said he was thinking “very seriously” about designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, claimed in February there were Hezbollah “active cells” in Venezuela, and declared: “We have an obligation to take down that risk for America.”
posted by Little Dawn at 7:24 AM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


Trump accuses 'grossly incompetent' Puerto Rican politicians of misusing federal hurricane aid (Politico)
President Donald Trump criticized Puerto Rico's government on Tuesday over federal aid directed to the island territory, pushing an inaccurate figure for the cost of hurricane recovery effort and ripping local leaders as “grossly incompetent” and corrupt.

In a string of tweets late Monday night and Tuesday morning, Trump falsely claimed that “Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before.” According to The Washington Post, that amount is likely the sum of $41 billion in approved aid and a $50 billion estimate of recovery costs over as much as the next 20 years. Even less than the appropriated $41 billion has actually been spent on the island thus far, the Post reported. [...]

The president has faced accusations that his administration was not prioritizing disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico as much as in red states like Florida and Texas, claims that were compounded by reports that he planned to divert relief funding for Puerto Rico toward his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, an idea that faced fierce bipartisan pushback.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:37 AM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


wierdo: "If Congress were as impotent as conventional wisdom seems to say, I dare say it would have had much less success in thwarting Obama's policy proposals."

It's easier to prevent action than to take action. The US system has many chokepoints; as a result, the GOP hasn't been able to wholesale roll back the welfare state, but has been able to prevent any good new things from happening.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:43 AM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


Latin American states are mounting a challenge to the acceptance of a legal standard promoted by the US, UK and their allies to justify military operations in the Middle East, fearing the same standard could eventually be used to justify intervention in their own hemisphere. [...] Latin American states say that one of the most important questions in international law – when is it permissible to wage war on another country’s territory – is being settled by stealth, by a small group of military powers, with no global debate.


There was a flat out honest to goodness not hyperbole genocide being waged against the Yazidis by ISIS before the intervention. I'd worry more if a legal standard that DIDN'T allow intervention was established.
posted by ocschwar at 7:44 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


filthy light thief: "History To Be Made As Chicago Votes For Mayor "

Also today, important elections for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania State Senate!
posted by Chrysostom at 7:45 AM on April 2, 2019 [17 favorites]


Thing is, you get the "Cadillac care" in the UK if you need it.

Two anecdotes:

1) A friend of mine came back to the UK from Uganda. On her last night there, she stupidly slept out in a hammock. Surprise surprise, ended up with not one, but two forms of malaria. Collapsed, got taken to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. When she came to, they put a piece of paper in front of her barely-conscious face and told her to sign it so they could give her some brand-new, not-fully-certified-yet treatment and save her skin. To this day she doesn't really know what it was, but it worked, and she's still around to get herself into further stupid predicaments. Total cost: £0.

2) My mother was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The NHS has (well, had at the time, at least) a policy that if you're diagnosed with cancer, you get treated within a month, guaranteed. The consultant who was dealing with her was like "I know a guy, does this funky keyhole surgery thing, you'd be ideal for it". They brought her in, made four tiny holes in her side for the instruments and cameras, then a bigger one, shorter than your thumb, for a funnel. Snip snip, they throw the damn thing into a Ziplog bag and pull it out through the funnel. Minimal pain, minimal aftercare, she's on her feet in no time and out after, I think, three or four days. After five years of regular check-ups they declared her in the clear. It's been, I dunno, at least 8 years now and she remains cancer-free and generally indomitable. Cost? you guessed it, £0.

Anybody that tells you quality of care has to suffer in a state healthcare system is scaremongering. The food is shit, though.

(Hope this isn't too much of a derail)
posted by Buck Alec at 8:29 AM on April 2, 2019 [71 favorites]


The Daily 202: Bernie Sanders is more pragmatic than you may think
He opposes court-packing, ending the legislative filibuster and reparations.
posted by octothorpe at 8:32 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Mod note: Let's please leave it there, on health-care stories. If folks want to continue on that topic, better to make a new thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:59 AM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


The historic race pits Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle against Lori Lightfoot, a lawyer and former head of a police oversight board who also would become the city's first openly gay mayor.

Amusingly, Lightfoot looks like she will crush Preckwinkle. Which means that Lightfoot will be mayor and Preckwinkle will remain Cook County president. Their offices will end up with them separated by just a bit of wall that divides Cook County HQ from Chicago City Hall.
posted by srboisvert at 9:03 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Deutsche Welle Docfilm: The New Cold War - More Nuclear Weapons in Europe? (42½min video, direct .mp4 link)
Nuclear rearmament is back in full swing and the INF treaty between the USA and Russia has been suspended. East and West seem to be on a collision course again. Are we looking at a return to a scenario such as the balance of terror in the 1980s?

In the 1980s, millions of people in Europe took to the streets to demonstrate against the nuclear arms race. After the Cold War ended, thousands of nuclear weapons were pulled out of Europe. Since then, however, the political situation has worsened dramatically, and a new nuclear arms race between the USA and Russia is already in full swing. Many experts think nuclear conflict is more likely now than it was during the Cold War and are talking about a second nuclear age. Both the Russians and the Americans have apparently been breaking the INF treaty signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, which was designed to prevent nuclear escalation. The deployment of nuclear weapons has once more become a possibility, and that could have fatal consequences for Europe. The modernization of US nuclear bombs on European soil, the debate about the development of a separate European deterrent and constant military maneuvers on both sides of NATO's eastern border in the Baltic States are exacerbating the situation considerably.
Amazingly doesn't mention the fact that the current US President openly spoke of willingness to use nuclear weapons in Europe, and a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory official talks as through someone else, some other country in the world, is the source of a renewed possibility of nuclear war, because of a belief that a contained, limited nuclear war is possible. (The documentary is plenty critical of the United States though, but is a bit detached and sangfroid for my tastes.)

To be clear the “modernization” was happening under Obama and Bush 43 and earlier but putting everything in the hands of a drooling moron who doesn't know anything about anything in the first place and on top of that believes his own and Republicans' bullshit about Obama supposedly having been weak, and hence whatever stances the previous administration took need to be “strengthened”, has made everything much worse.
posted by XMLicious at 10:12 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


The Daily 202: Bernie Sanders is more pragmatic than you may think
He opposes court-packing, ending the legislative filibuster


That isn't pragmatic, it's ensuring that your stated agenda is guaranteed to fail, either in the Senate or in the Republican-packed courts, which seems kind of the opposite of pragmatic.
posted by Gelatin at 10:13 AM on April 2, 2019 [19 favorites]


The Daily 202: Bernie Sanders is more pragmatic than you may think
He opposes court-packing, ending the legislative filibuster and reparations.


I think this is true, but there was a counterpoint the other day that's also not wrong: Bernie Sanders Says ‘No’ to Incrementalism, Highlighting Divide Among Democrats
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced legislation this week to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, Democrats across the ideological spectrum were quick to express their support: moderates, liberals, even Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the often uncompromising progressive freshman.

But not Bernie Sanders.

When asked on Tuesday night whether he, too, supported the House bill, Mr. Sanders was defiant.

“No,” he said tersely.

“No,” he said again, when pressed. “The incremental reform that I support is phasing in ‘Medicare for all.’”
...
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 55 percent of Democratic primary voters preferred a candidate who “proposes larger-scale policies that cost more and might be harder to pass into law, but could bring major change on these issues”; 42 percent said they preferred someone who “proposes smaller-scale policies” that would “bring less change.”
This was particularly a surprise as Sen. Sanders previously co-sponsored a similar Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Warren, to strengthen the ACA (that link also has a full transcript of what Sen. Sanders said to Chris Hayes about this, if you'd like to read his exact words).

But this thread from Rhiana Gunn-Wright takes a step back and reframes the incrementalism vs bold action debate everyone keeps having in a slightly different way (there's more in the thread that's worth reading beyond the below):
i'm so tired of these constant arguments about vision vs. incrementalism. all of the articles basically say the same thing. can we get some new angles? some new voices? this deserves to be talked about as more than a DC, intraparty squabble

besides, this framing always misses the most important ?s: what policies do we need to SOLVE the problem? how do everyday folks - not just elites – define the problem? what are they asking us to solve? how do we do that? who is suffering and how do we serve them *fully*?


it seems to me that most folks aren't proposing BIG IDEAS (*cue scary music*) to make themselves seem important or set themselves apart. it's because the problems are just that damn big. and the levels of suffering are just that damn high.

we also need to weigh the success of incrementalism as a long term strategy, beyond the passage of the initial legislation. incrementalism is designed to be a series of small, advancing policy steps that eventually lead to a full solution. but in our hypercompetitive political system, one party rarely has leadership for long enough to put forward – much less pass – the rest of the steps. so what was supposed to be a first step becomes the entire path, rather than one stepping stone. THEN we have to fight to the death to keep that stepping stone in place, which usually means we're not advancing the next steps. and when folks do put forward the next policy step – or a policy that bundles a few steps into one – people pop off on them, Us style.
I do think this is a risk that isn't discussed enough: if we pass incremental legislation, Republicans can spend a decade sabotaging it and trying to take it away from people. If we pass something that everyone relies on, there's a broad base of interests devoted to fighting to keep it (on the other hand, that also maximizes the harm if Republicans are successful in destroying it, because we're all in). If we have a more incremental Medicare-for-All plan where people can keep their existing private insurance, why wouldn't Republicans try to sabotage the public option to make sure it dies before it's widely viewed as indispensable? But it's also positively insane that one of the major risks we have to deal with when it comes to any policy proposal is "a major force in our government doesn't believe government should exist beyond the parts with guns, so they'll use anything we do to try to improve people's lives to try to hurt millions of people." And I'm not entirely sure the correct response to that problem is "go bold and dare the Republicans to shoot even more hostages."
posted by zachlipton at 10:18 AM on April 2, 2019 [13 favorites]


The Daily 202: Bernie Sanders is more pragmatic than you may think
He opposes court-packing, ending the legislative filibuster


Well, yeah. Unless you're sure your party will have a lock on the Senate for the foreseeable future--or don't care about long term consequences--that's a no-brainer. Especially for a minority Senator.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:39 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


WaPo, White House spokesman twice calls Puerto Rico ‘that country’ in TV interview: "Gidley later attributed his misstatements to “a slip of the tongue.”"
posted by zachlipton at 10:39 AM on April 2, 2019 [22 favorites]


Can Trump actually just shut down the border with Mexico? Is that really a power we've granted to the Executive branch, or is this just bizarre posturing, or is it one of those "he legally technically can't do it, but he can do XY&Z that basically accomplish that goal" situations?
posted by sotonohito at 10:48 AM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


Trump can get all the media to spend this week talking about Trump wanting to shut down the Mexican border, which serves his purposes.

To the extent it keeps the media from talking about his publicly obvious corruption, it's a two-fer.
posted by Gelatin at 10:59 AM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


Can Trump actually just shut down the border with Mexico?

Trump’s threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border sounds like this 1969 Nixon operation (WaPo)
Trump, as immigration reporter Dara Lind explained at Vox, cannot physically stop anyone from illegally entering the United States, but he can close ports of entry, which would prevent “people and goods from legally entering the country.”
posted by Little Dawn at 11:02 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Nearly everything Trump just said about Puerto Rico is wrong (WaPo)
On Monday, the Senate failed to pass legislation providing funding to bolster the food-stamp program on the island along with relief for floods in the Midwest. [...] That failed vote triggered a pair of tweets from Trump that are sweeping in their misrepresentations of reality. [...]

“& only take from USA....”: This is Trump’s most revealing comment. Puerto Rico is “taking from the United States,” of which, of course, it’s a part. But Trump tips his hand here that he sees this island in the Atlantic Ocean as something separate and less American than the continental United States.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:07 AM on April 2, 2019 [19 favorites]


[Long read]
Trump’s rallies transcends politics. They are actually religious events.
posted by growabrain at 11:11 AM on April 2, 2019 [11 favorites]


From growabrain's "religious events" link:

Yet faith in the absence of proof—indeed, in the face of evidence to the contrary—is the purest form of belief. For Trump rally attendees, the virtue to be celebrated is a pagan one—victory—and the underlying text to be followed isn’t so much Scripture or even the Constitution, but Trump himself, his narrative of political ascendancy and his heretical deification as a leader capable of defining the value that all of our freedom rests upon: truth.

The founding of the Church of Trump would be a fitting endpoint for American evangelical Christianity.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:26 AM on April 2, 2019 [19 favorites]


Well, along the Mexican border are two states that went for Trump, Texas & Arizona, and two that went against him, New Mexico & (of course) California. Closing the border for any stretch of time will lose him over 45 electoral votes.

And I previously stated that "The Prosperity Gospel" had been taking over Evangelical Christianity over the last 40 years, and Trump is their first universally recognized Pope.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:31 AM on April 2, 2019 [10 favorites]


Mod note: A few deleted; if folks want to talk about the psychology/ideology/etc underlying US health care etc, again, better to make a thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:32 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Team Pelosi Was Reportedly Trawling for Anti-Medicare for All Research:
Today, Politico reported on another meeting, this one with health policy researchers, in which Primus “dismissed Medicare for All during the private session as an unhelpful distraction” and asked for “more research focused on the risks and tradeoffs of Medicare for All.”

According to the site, Primus raised concerns that Medicare for All would “distract” from the party’s “core health agenda.” This messaging is common across single-payer opponents, from Pelosi herself to the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a healthcare industry-backed lobbying group that was formed to defeat single-payer and which frequently says Democrats should focus on “building upon the progress we’ve made” and protecting the ACA. Primus believes Democrats should focus on protecting pre-existing conditions and lowering drug prices, per the site.

The most troubling part is Primus’ reported “invitation to discredit the idea, or at least amplify its risks” with research. Pelosi spokesman Henry Connelly told Politico that “no one has anything to fear from good faith research on Medicare for All.” He also said: “Wendell absolutely did not ask for any kind of one-sided analysis of Medicare for All, and anyone who says otherwise wasn’t actually listening,” and that, “As Democrats, across the entire spectrum, we believe in legislating based on facts, data and honest analysis.”
posted by Ouverture at 11:33 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Trump: If the Democrats don’t make a deal to fix immigration, I’ll close the southern border, one-hundred-percent.

Reporter: Are you concerned about the effect on the economy?

Trump: Sure, I’m concerned! It’s going to have a big negative effect on the economy. But I care more about security than trade. [real]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:41 AM on April 2, 2019 [11 favorites]


Trump: Our healthcare plan is much better than Obamacare, but we don’t think the Democrats will go for it, so we’re going to show it to you after we win back the House. [real]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:45 AM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]




Some Democrats are joining Republicans in reviving anti-BDS legislation:
Before, the Democratic leadership and more hardline pro-Israel Democrats might have been content to let S. 1 die a quiet death in the House, a failed Republican scheme to divide and shame the Democrats amidst the Trump-induced government shutdown. But after the flimsy allegations of antisemitism against BDS-supporting Rep. Ilhan Omar blew up, 57 Democrats and 52 Republicans between the Senate and the House have found a way to resuscitate the effort by co-sponsoring the two new bills. Thanks to the eager participation of these key Democrats, the new anti-BDS bills have removed the poison pill boycott language, instead simply offering a broad condemnation of BDS and its supporters, which reads like a not-so-subtle smear of certain members of the Democratic caucus.
posted by Ouverture at 11:49 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Trump’s done a full 180° and is arguing forcefully against the release of the Mueller report, on the basis that the Democrats will be unsatisfied no matter what, and that Representative Nadler (D) supposedly opposed the release of the Starr report. Now Trump is repeatedly demanding an investigation of the report’s “oranges” [sic].

(He means origins.)
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:51 AM on April 2, 2019 [16 favorites]


Promising jam tomorrow (but not today) is a much smarter move on healthcare for his election campaign than to try and push it again, not least because there is no plan, could be no plan, and any plan that the Republicans actually like would sink congressional reelection campaigns.

I think some sane (if evil) political advisers finally got to him.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:52 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


A message from the real President:

@sahilkapur:
After Trump abandons his call to revisit Obamacare, a reporter asks Mitch McConnell if there’s any daylight between him and the president on health care.

McConnell smiles. “Yeah, not any longer.”

“I made it clear to him we were not going to be doing that in the Senate.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on April 2, 2019 [12 favorites]


That’s... some kind of Congressional oversight, I guess... 🤷‍♂️
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:54 AM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


which reads like a not-so-subtle smear of certain members of the Democratic caucus.

Meanwhile, amidst the kerfluffle a few weeks ago, my neighbors put their Ilhan for Congress sign back up.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:54 AM on April 2, 2019 [13 favorites]


(He means origins.)

Well, the origins are probably orange, so for once it's not like he's wrong, really.
posted by loquacious at 11:59 AM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


@tommyxtopher: Trump just said "my father is German, was German. Born in a very wonderful place in Germany." Fred Trump was born in New York.

Trump's grandfather was born in Germany, and weirdly, this is a lie he keeps repeating, usually when he's saying something mean about Germany and wants to sound considerate.

@MiekeEoyang: Trump's starting a birther rumor on his own father.
posted by zachlipton at 12:04 PM on April 2, 2019 [62 favorites]


House panel votes to subpoena former White House official over security clearances (WaPo)
A House panel voted Tuesday to subpoena a former White House official accused of overturning denials for security clearances after a whistleblower complained that the Trump administration had put the nation’s most guarded secrets in jeopardy.

The Oversight and Reform Committee voted 22 to 15, along party lines, to force Carl Kline, the former White House personnel security director, to answer questions as part of its ongoing investigation into the security clearance process.

The move represents one of the committee’s first compulsory measures aimed at the administration and follows whistleblower Tricia Newbold’s allegation that Trump’s White House has behaved recklessly with national security.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:21 PM on April 2, 2019 [18 favorites]


The move represents one of the committee’s first compulsory measures aimed at the administration and follows whistleblower Tricia Newbold’s allegation that Trump’s White House has behaved recklessly with national security.

Compare and contrast:

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: Trump: If the Democrats don’t make a deal to fix immigration, I’ll close the southern border, one-hundred-percent.

Reporter: Are you concerned about the effect on the economy?

Trump: Sure, I’m concerned! It’s going to have a big negative effect on the economy. But I care more about security than trade.
[real]


In case it wasn't clear before, he's talking about security theater, not actual security.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:25 PM on April 2, 2019 [27 favorites]


I suspect the "my father is German" narrative is of a piece with the "I have the best genes" narrative. He thinks the Nazis were right about eugenics, and wants to sell himself to Nazis as being of the purest Aryan stock.
posted by contraption at 12:26 PM on April 2, 2019 [24 favorites]


Nuzzi, Trump Aides Fear He Is Overselling His ‘Exoneration’
as the excitement waned, “cooler heads” emerged in the White House with brand-new anxieties about a president inclined to inflict self-harm by taking things too far. “There will be plenty of unfavorable things about the president in the full report, which we think will eventually come out, so let’s not go overboard saying there’s no wrongdoing. Let’s move on,” one senior White House official told me.
posted by zachlipton at 12:30 PM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


He thinks the Nazis were right about eugenics, and wants to sell himself to Nazis as being of the purest Aryan stock.
Thinking the Nazis were right about eugenics is by proxy thinking Americans were right about eugenics before them. A belief that Orange probably heard a lot of in his household growing up.
posted by Harry Caul at 12:31 PM on April 2, 2019 [17 favorites]


Let’s move on,” one senior White House official told me.

Eh... let's not.
posted by Rykey at 12:37 PM on April 2, 2019 [25 favorites]


The Baltimore community my father grew up in was overwhelmingly German and German-American, and overwhelmingly in favor of the U.S. entering WWII on the OTHER side until Pearl Harbor.

I threw away a red cap I bought with an ingenious message "MAKE DONALD DRUMPF AGAIN" (Drumpf being his family's pre-Americanized name) because I thought it'd be mistaken as pro-Trump. But we really do need to bring back the Drumpf.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:47 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Thinking the Nazis were right about eugenics is by proxy thinking Americans were right about eugenics before them.

Important to note that many of the incidents of sterilization on that page, and the ones the prominently-featured film No Más Bebés is concerned with, take place well after WWII. Although the Buck v. Bell SCOTUS decision which legalized sterilization when it's in the state's interest, and which that PBS page notes was never overturned, is from 1927.
posted by XMLicious at 12:51 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


NYT: North Carolina G.O.P. Chairman Indicted in Corruption Probe
posted by Chrysostom at 12:52 PM on April 2, 2019 [23 favorites]


Daily Beast: Homeland Security Disbands Domestic Terror Intelligence Unit
posted by Chrysostom at 12:53 PM on April 2, 2019 [18 favorites]


Barack Spinoza: "House panel votes to subpoena former White House official over security clearances (WaPo) "

They also authorized subpoenas over the Census citizenship question.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:55 PM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


The Oversight and Reform Committee voted 22 to 15, along party lines, to force Carl Kline, the former White House personnel security director, to answer questions as part of its ongoing investigation into the security clearance process.

The Republicans voted along party lines to decline to investigate a security clearance scandal that they acknowledge resulted in clearance being granted in at least four cases where there were serious reasons not to.

And the so-called "liberal media" will continue to echo the Reagan-era branding that the Republicans are the party of national security.
posted by Gelatin at 12:57 PM on April 2, 2019 [10 favorites]


AP, Chinese woman charged with illegally entering Mar-a-Lago
A woman carrying two Chinese passports and a device containing computer malware lied to Secret Service agents and briefly gained admission to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club over the weekend during his Florida visit, federal prosecutors allege in court documents.
...
Ivanovich said Zhang carried four cellphones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive and a thumb drive containing computer malware. She did not have a swimsuit.
The various permutations of her story are behind the link. It's all very weird, and I have no idea if "a thumb drive containing computer malware" means "she was trying to intentionally spread malware" or "a seemingly strange person happened to have infected her devices."
posted by zachlipton at 1:07 PM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


Ivanovich said Zhang carried four cellphones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive and a thumb drive containing computer malware. She did not have a swimsuit.

Moral: when trying to infect the president's laptop, always wear a swimsuit.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 1:24 PM on April 2, 2019 [22 favorites]


his narrative of political ascendancy and his heretical deification as a leader

Wow, I totally misread that the first time through. Totally still on-brand though.
posted by petebest at 1:26 PM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Trump’s aides warn him a border shutdown would be disastrous (Politico)
Both the White House’s Kevin Hassett and Larry Kudlow have shared economic papers and data with Trump over the last 36 hours, illustrating the way economic growth could slow down even if the president shut down the border for just one day – not to mention the effect on the flow of goods, raw materials, and the U.S. supply chain. [...]

Republican Party leaders do not share Trump’s view. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that closing the border would potentially be “catastrophic” and that while he agrees there is a crisis at the border, shutting down the border is not the answer.

Trump’s threat to close the southern border also set off a panic among influential business groups in Washington, which have scrambled to publicly underline the economic stakes of such a move in hopes of convincing the president to back down.

“You have a lot of people who are freaking out over this,” said an executive at a prominent industry group who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record, adding that shuttering the border would result in an unprecedented blow to the economy.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents Ford and General Motors, have all warned in recent days of dire consequences if Trump pulls the trigger. [...]

The president put the onus on Congress to reach an immigration deal. “If we don’t make a deal with Congress, the border’s going to be closed, 100 percent,” he said on Tuesday afternoon.
posted by Little Dawn at 1:26 PM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


Elizabeth Warren: “You know, the Trump administration is a walking, talking, living, breathing threat to National Security,”

This was in reference to yesterday's news about the sham security clearances, but i suppose applies equally well to today's news of Mar-a-Lago hosting spies and hackers.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:27 PM on April 2, 2019 [54 favorites]


Democrats: Stop being babies and get Trump's tax returns (Ryan Cooper, The Week)
Of course, Trump is probably not just going to hand his returns over simply because the law says he has to. He'll kick up a big fuss, try to drag it out in the courts, yell about how Democrats are doing a WITCH HUNT, and so on. That's our president for you.

This appears to be why Neal is taking an ultra-cautious approach. "This has to be part of a carefully prepared and documented legal case," he said in January. "It will be done judiciously and methodically, but it will be done." He's not even promising he'll try to get it done before the 2020 election.

This reasoning is moronic. As Greg Sargent writes at The Washington Post, Trump's contempt for the law militates in the opposite direction. They should instead kick up their own fuss to put maximum pressure on the administration — holding press conferences to demand the returns, subpoenaing people to testify, and so on. Some Democrats are reportedly worried that they might violate the law by improperly disclosing the returns, but the same is true of the administration — if Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin refuses to turn over the returns, he will be breaking the law. That's called leverage.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:28 PM on April 2, 2019 [35 favorites]


Second Democratic debate set for July 30-31st in Detroit.

It's a two night event since it's hard to fit seventy people on one stage.
posted by Justinian at 1:30 PM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


HarrisX releases first post-Flores poll and shows no statistically significant change in candidate support for the Democratic nomination.
posted by Justinian at 1:34 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


This appears to be why Neal is taking an ultra-cautious approach. "This has to be part of a carefully prepared and documented legal case," he said in January. "It will be done judiciously and methodically, but it will be done." He's not even promising he'll try to get it done before the 2020 election.

I'm convinced Neal isn't going to do anything. I don't know why and I'm not sure it matters. He's had four months to work on the issue and has apparently done nothing.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:36 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Barr overstepped his authority and undermined the integrity of the Mueller investigation (CNN, Opinion)

Mueller's decision that he lacked sufficient evidence to make a criminal charging decision, however, *is* a decision. There is nothing in the special counsel regulations that would appear to authorize the attorney general to make another decision.

The appropriate course of action would have been for Barr not to have made a determination about whether Trump could or would be prosecuted for obstruction.

Instead, Barr should have transmitted Mueller's full report to Congress for Congress to consider the next step -- whether the evidence that Mueller assembled may be worthy of evaluation in a potential impeachment investigation. Lack of a determination of criminal liability does not resolve the question whether the President's conduct and intentions constituted an impeachable abuse of the powers of his office.


#WheresthefsckingReportAlready
posted by petebest at 1:40 PM on April 2, 2019 [33 favorites]


Second Democratic debate set for July 30-31st in Detroit

I’ll do my best to get tix and share a ground-floor take.

Trump just realized his mistake on health care. But it’s too late. (Plum Line, WaPo)
We’ve seen this pattern before: Trump blurts out a promise he thinks everyone will like, but it turns out his party has no interest in pursuing it, and eventually it just disappears. This can apply to both the general and the specific; in this case, Trump promised that the GOP would be “the party of health care” and also said that Republicans “will take care of preexisting conditions better than they’re taken care of now.” But Republicans would like to talk about health care as little as possible, and the last thing they want to bring up is preexisting conditions.

That’s because the guarantee that people with preexisting conditions can get health coverage exists only because of the Affordable Care Act, and if Republicans succeed in any of their attempts to destroy the ACA — most recently with the lawsuit the administration is supporting that would tear out the ACA root and branch — that protection would be eliminated. They can swear up and down that they’ll figure out some way to restore the protection, but they know that voters don’t really believe them.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:45 PM on April 2, 2019 [19 favorites]


AP, Chinese woman charged with illegally entering Mar-a-Lago

So this got even weirder, thanks to the Miami Herald, which has done an incredible job staying on top of the many Trump issues happening on their turf. While the AP report said there was no indication of any connection to Li Yang, the Herald says there is one: Chinese woman carrying ‘malware’ arrested at Mar-a-Lago, heading to a Cindy Yang event
A Chinese woman carrying a thumb drive loaded with malware was detained at Mar-a-Lago Saturday after trying to gain access to an event advertised on Chinese-language social media by Li “Cindy” Yang, the South Florida massage parlor entrepreneur who also ran a business selling access to President Donald Trump and his family.
...
No mention is made of Yang in the court documents charging Zhang.

But Zhang told agents she was invited to Mar-a-Lago by a Chinese friend she identified only as “Charles,” according to court records. Yang worked with a Chinese event promoter named Charles Lee to advertise Safari Night and other galas and political fundraisers featuring the Trump family at Mar-a-Lago over the past year.

Lee runs a group called the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association, similar to the name of the event Zhang said she wished to attend. The group actively promoted the Chinese Communist Party, and advertised events at Mar-a-Lago as ways for Chinese businessmen to participate in President Xi Jinping’s so-called business diplomacy agenda — essentially, an effort to have Chinese executives make friends with important people abroad.
I'd still like to know more about this malware.
posted by zachlipton at 2:09 PM on April 2, 2019 [23 favorites]


There was an anti-Semitic rally in New York City this weekend.

Where does Trump stand on Poland this week?
posted by Mchelly at 2:19 PM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


A few more details on Yujing Zhang, the Chinese national who tried to talk her way into Mar-A-Lago: Prosecutors unseal charges against woman who allegedly illegally entered Mar-a-Lago (Erica Orden for CNN, April 2, 2019)

In short, she said she was there for a United Nations Chinese American Association or United Nations Friendship Event between the United States and China event (which wasn't really a thing), and her proof was a letter in Chinese, so agents were unable to read it. Then she said a friend named "Charles" told her to "travel from Shanghai, China, to Palm Beach, Florida, to attend this event and attempt to speak with a member of the President's family about Chinese and American foreign economic relations." She couldn't elaborate on who "Charles" was, as they talked through WeChat.
Prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida charged her with one count of having made a false statement to a federal officer and one count of having entered restricted property.

Zhang made a brief initial appearance in Florida federal court Monday where she was advised of the charges against her and the possible penalties she faced, according to a court filing. She is due in court for a detention hearing on April 8
We might learn more about the malware and 4 phones, or we might not.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:44 PM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


WaPo coverage on WorldNetDaily, Inside the spectacular fall of the granddaddy of right-wing conspiracy sites. Spoiler: it's grifters all the way down.
posted by peeedro at 2:46 PM on April 2, 2019 [22 favorites]


What was she going to do, stick the thumb drive into a random computer on the premises to launch a keylogger? I'm intrigued.
posted by Melismata at 2:59 PM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


Some of the most sophisticated software attacks out there, such as Stuxnet, have been initially transmitted via USB drive infection. It doesn't seem necessary here but physical access grants you the most control and who knows what the ultimate target was.
posted by feloniousmonk at 3:22 PM on April 2, 2019 [17 favorites]


Polish claims of clean hands during the Holocaust (shading from incapacity to innocence to justification) have been going on for a long time, possibly ever since WW2, but they're now being backed up by their legislature. There are similar efforts in other Eastern – and some Western – European countries.

I wouldn't think that this has anything to do with US politics except for the weird adjacency of early Trump boosters to White revanchists. E.g., it appears that the person who allegedly committed the NZ massacre described Trump's election in November 2016 to his fellow supporters of an Australian White Nationalist group as “simply one of the most important events in modern history". I don't know whether the connection is genuine, but they think it is.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:31 PM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


What was she going to do, stick the thumb drive into a random computer on the premises to launch a keylogger? I'm intrigued.

Maybe! I don't suppose Trump uses a laptop, but I'm sure his aides do, and they probably don't respect operational security enough to avoid logging on to random networks. The only thing that gives me pause is that the guest list at Mar a Lago is so promiscuous, why would they wait until now?
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:50 PM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


Chrysostom: "NYT: North Carolina G.O.P. Chairman Indicted in Corruption Probe"

Oh ho, it appears that Rep Mark Walker [R] is involved in this affair. Walker's NC-06 went Trump 56-41, by the by.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:51 PM on April 2, 2019 [22 favorites]


WaPo, Mike DeBonis and Rachael Bade, Democratic leaders stand firm on incumbent-favor rule, rebuff liberal cries of ‘blacklist’. This story gets into a lot of the details and nuance around the DCCC's announcement, which I know has been of considerable interest here, with a sidetrip through the Congressional Black Caucus, and notes that the policy impacts the DCCC's preferred vendors list—it "is not technically a “blacklist” — vendors are still free to work for primary challengers but would forgo an official DCCC endorsement." The story also points out where the policy came from—the inherent asymmetry of DCCC fundraising in safe districts:
But the new policy was written largely to respond to those very lawmakers, who have complained for years about how they are expected to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in party dues but, because they are rarely in a competitive general election contest, are unlikely to see any DCCC investment in their races. It’s a particularly sore subject for many minority lawmakers, who argue it is more difficult to raise those dues in their relatively poor districts. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), a DCCC finance co-chairman, said the hard feelings were understandable. “It’s really hard to go say . . . ‘Please pay your $150,000 dues or your $300,000 dues, and we may use it to hire vendors who are going to run against you in a primary,’” he said. “That’s an impossible ask to make.”
On the other hand:
In the meeting, the liberals argued that Bustos’s new policy risked alienating the party’s energetic left and excluding potential Democratic stars, pointing to former congressman Beto O’Rourke (Tex.) as well as Reps. Eric Swalwell (Calif.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Seth Moulton (Mass) — all of whom beat veteran incumbents.
posted by zachlipton at 4:03 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


I really don't see how its a huge issue to withhold an official DCCC endorsement from people who are trying to take out DCCC members. The job of the DCCC is to protect its members.
posted by Justinian at 4:05 PM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


That's not the huge issue, I think. The DCCC is saying that vendors working for incumbents can't also take jobs for challengers to the incumbency. So if Rep Incumbent hires the only video production firm in the district to make their ads, that firm cannot take jobs from any other candidates.
posted by carsonb at 4:20 PM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


The DCCC's new rules are confusing and problematic, and there aren't any good solutions from this voter's perspective. Any reasoning for or against the new rules is inherently based on the presumption that so much money should be involved in the political election process in the first place, which I firmly disagree with.

Burn it down.
posted by carsonb at 4:32 PM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


The Virginia legislature is back in session this week, so the commonwealth's omniscandal is making news again. Both of Lt Gov Fairfax's accusers have given their first televised interviews, CBS's coverage of the interviews with Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson both contain graphic descriptions of sexual assault. Prosecutors in North Carolina and Massachusetts have been in contact with the two women but there has been no public indication yet of ongoing criminal investigations.

Fairfax is, of course, fighting back. The WaPo reports two polygraph tests show he was truthful when he denied allegations of sexual assault made against him and his office claims the timing has nothing to do with these interviews. At a recent event honoring Dorothy Height, one of the chief organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, Fairfax makes the story of her struggle all about him in what the NY Times calls "barely subtext":
“She saw what was happening in this country, where people were being falsely accused,” Mr. Fairfax said. “They were not given due process. They were having their lives in so many ways impacted negatively, in some ways taken away, because people wanted not to get to the truth but ultimately wanted things changed in a negative way for nefarious reasons.”
This is not the first time he has defended himself against these allegations by invoking the Civil Rights movement.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Kirk Cox accuses Democrats of blocking a hearing on allegations against Fairfax. The republican speaker has proposed a public bipartisan hearing where Tyson, Watson, and Fairfax would provide testimony under oath, the democratic minority leader says the matter is best left to law enforcement and that a public hearing would "easily be exploited for political purposes."
posted by peeedro at 4:33 PM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


What was she going to do, stick the thumb drive into a random computer on the premises to launch a keylogger?

I visited the state department headquarters in DC with my wife who's cousin works there. I had to empty my pockets to pass through security. As I was walking away from the checkpoint putting stuff back in my pockets I looked up and somehow every thing had gotten REALLY tense and everyone was starting at me. It turned out that I had dropped my thumb drive without realizing it. The impression that I got is that if I had done anything other than very slowly walk back and pick up the drive armed guards would have been deployed and I would have had a very bad day.

Federal government security protocols around thumb drives is deadly serious.
posted by VTX at 4:35 PM on April 2, 2019 [28 favorites]


Yesterday, Rachel Maddow said that tomorrow (April 4) there would be a day of action if the full Mueller report wre not released. Is this still happening?
posted by StrawberryPie at 4:36 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


I believe that's describing MoveOn's #ReleaseTheReport events.
posted by zachlipton at 4:42 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ooops, April 4 is actually Thursday, not tomorrow. Sorry for the mistake–missed the edit window.
posted by StrawberryPie at 4:46 PM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


It’s established that Trump doesn’t use email, and I feel sure that he breezed through his accusations of Secretary Clinton’s negligent abuse of such systems while warm in the glow of his belief that nothing similar could happen to him. He has never considered that his persistent use of an unsecured phone line, or his persistent discussion of classified material in front of an audience of golf club members, might present a greater security issue.

Honestly, how confident are we that Trump’s phone isn’t sending 24/7 ambient audio to Beijing? (Quite aside from its intended purpose of sending 24/7 ambient audio to Moscow)
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:20 PM on April 2, 2019 [17 favorites]


What was she going to do, stick the thumb drive into a random computer on the premises to launch a keylogger?

You know what was really cheap in Iraqi- and Afghan-run shops on coalition military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan? Well, everything was. That was the point. Cigarettes for $5 a carton, DVDs for $2 (bootlegs), and thumb drives. Thumb drives were like a buck for a petabyte. Okay, maybe not that cheap, but hella cheap. And you'd use them to pass around copies of bootleg DVDs, because what's better than a $2 movie that's still out in theaters? A free movie that's still out in theaters because one guy buys it and gives it to everyone else on their personal thumb drives. That they plug into their work computers. That are cheap because China was essentially giving them away to the Iraqis and Afghans. Because they were crammed full of keyloggers and suchlike.

But wait, you ask. What if someone wasn't a filthy thief of intellectual property? What if someone was a good and decent person? How do you get into that person's computer?

Simple: you drop a thumb drive on the ground. PFC Goodguy picks it up and thinks, "I should return this to its owner. I'm sure if I plug it into my computer and look at the files uponst it, I'll figure out whom it belongs to."

Federal government security protocols around thumb drives is deadly serious.

Yes. It is.
posted by Etrigan at 5:32 PM on April 2, 2019 [44 favorites]


Lori Lightfoot is now projected to win the Chicago mayoral runoff.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:39 PM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


[You say “origins” I say “oranges”]
This is not a normal tic
posted by growabrain at 5:44 PM on April 2, 2019 [19 favorites]


The impression that I got is that if I had done anything other than very slowly walk back and pick up the drive armed guards would have been deployed and I would have had a very bad day.

They let you retrieve it? And then continue into State Dept. HQ? Sounds like they were concerned about an IED rather than a thumb drive.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:04 PM on April 2, 2019


Democrats flip America's greatest state senatorial district, PA SD-37!

This puts the Dems in good position to flip the state Senate in 2020.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:45 PM on April 2, 2019 [42 favorites]


Yeah, when I worked at State, the USB slots were filled with glue and any data devices (eg my ancient click-wheel iPod) and cell phones went in the lockers outside the door before you could go in. Mar-A-Lago seems like a really leaky way to dirty up some data devices in hope that it winds up inside those cordons. Even when 45 is shouting about classified material to everyone around him and googling 'where is Syria' on his assuredly hacked twitter phone. If MBS supposedly used Bezos's phone to take down his marriage, you know targets like 45 and those around him are being watched by numerous state actors for any slip-ups. I wouldn't be surprised if a less bumbling actor has succeeded long before now.
posted by msbutah at 7:23 PM on April 2, 2019 [16 favorites]


was detained at Mar-a-Lago Saturday after trying to gain access to an event advertised on Chinese-language social media by Li “Cindy” Yang, the South Florida massage parlor entrepreneur

How is this woman holding events at Mar-a-Lago? She was basically outed as a likely spy, slave trafficker, prostitution ring runner, and selling access to the president.
posted by xammerboy at 7:33 PM on April 2, 2019 [21 favorites]


Those are her qualifications.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:44 PM on April 2, 2019 [53 favorites]


@daveweigel:
Meanwhile, looks like at least two socialist candidates -- Byron Sigcho-Lopez and André Vasquez -- are heading to Chicago's city council. Could end up with four or five @DemSocialists in there... would outnumber the three Republicans on the 50-member council.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:07 PM on April 2, 2019 [26 favorites]


There are reports that some Border Patrol agents will, as part of a pilot program, begin conducting credible fear interviews for people requesting asylum. That's the initial screening, and it's deliberately a low bar, to determine whether someone is even allowed to pursue an asylum claim. The Border Patrol, the same people with a track record of, well, being the Border Patrol, conducting these interviews seems likely to lead to refugees being turned away.
posted by zachlipton at 8:16 PM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


There are reports that some Border Patrol agents will, as part of a pilot program, begin conducting credible fear interviews for people requesting asylum.

Credible fear will be tough to ascertain when the only appropriate response to CBP encounters is incredible fear.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:19 PM on April 2, 2019 [14 favorites]


How is this woman holding events at Mar-a-Lago? She was basically outed as a likely spy, slave trafficker, prostitution ring runner, and selling access to the president.

According to the Miami paper, the events had been booked, but were cancelled after the whole spy, sex trafficker thing came up. Apparently, they forgot to tell this particular useful idiot.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:22 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Meanwhile, looks like at least two socialist candidates -- Byron Sigcho-Lopez and André Vasquez -- are heading to Chicago's city council. Could end up with four or five @DemSocialists in there... would outnumber the three Republicans on the 50-member council.

*champange pops*
posted by The Whelk at 8:23 PM on April 2, 2019 [21 favorites]


Trump steps back from Mexico border threat as companies warn of economic fallout (Reuters)
Trump praised efforts by Mexico to hinder illegal immigration from Central America at its own southern border. On Monday, the Mexican government said it would help regulate the flow of migrants.

“I really wanted to close it,” Trump said on Tuesday night at a fundraiser for congressional Republicans.
Trump the Punisher (Michelle Cotter, NYT Opinion)
In threatening to shut down the border, Mr. Trump isn’t looking to solve a crisis. His primary aim is to make life unpleasant for those who have crossed him — or simply had the misfortune to get in his way.

In politics, as in life, there are Fixers and there are Punishers. Fixers shine a light on problems or injustices and work to find ways to resolve them. Theirs is a constructive vision, one that values cooperation and pragmatism and getting stuff done.

Punishers, too, are about spotlighting problems, a skill at which they may excel even more than Fixers. But Punishers aren’t looking to make things right so much as to find someone to blame — and chasten — for the perceived wrongs. [...]

The desire to crush those who displease him is a defining characteristic of this president. When challenged, his impulse is to lash out — preferably with personal, degrading insults. This has been on most vivid display with the myriad investigations into sketchy presidential behavior, but it also has been a hallmark of Mr. Trump’s approach to key policy issues. Border security, health care, trade — you name the debate, Mr. Trump’s answer is to stake out his position, vowing pain and regret for those who do not embrace it. [...]

The president’s fans cheer his pugilism, as though he was bravely defending himself — and them — against big, bad bullies. But all too often, the price is paid by the innocent and vulnerable: migrant children snatched from their parents at the border, federal workers thrown into financial turmoil by the government shutdown, farm workers and manufacturers caught up in the trade war, the millions of Americans who stand to lose their health insurance if the administration keeps laboring to kill Obamacare.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:25 PM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


Meanwhile, looks like at least two socialist candidates -- Byron Sigcho-Lopez and André Vasquez -- are heading to Chicago's city council. Could end up with four or five @DemSocialists in there... would outnumber the three Republicans on the 50-member council.

Vasquez's win is even sweeter given the shit-ass, racist dogwhistle avalanche campaign the incumbent ran as soon as he was up against a POC in the runoff. Fuuuuuuuuuck that guy.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:40 PM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


On the down side, it looks like Dems are going to lose the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. This is basically disastrous - they've fumbled their shot at taking control in time to affect redistricting, and the conservative candidate is really, really appalling.

I don't get Wisconsin.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:43 PM on April 2, 2019 [15 favorites]


The story of how the Consumer Product Safety Commission's change in leadership under Trump influenced the handling of a product the commission believed to be defective: After hundreds of crashes, this Britax jogging stroller faced recall. Then Trump appointees stepped in. (WaPo)
posted by peeedro at 8:46 PM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


I feel like the father-born-in-Germany thing is one of the best possible points of evidence one could make, to some hypothetical neutral party, for the president's untrustworthiness. That's in the plain sense that his words can't be trusted, without worrying about whether it's because of deliberate dishonesty, compulsive lying, or dementia.

There may be some "strategic" reason to make that claim -- it softens criticism he might make of immigrants (as in "I am one too", although his mother was actually born overseas so..), or softens criticism of Germany, or indeed to strengthen the eugenics/Nazi thing. (I wouldn't be surprised if he's kind of melded that in his mind with birthright citizenship, and so believes that white nationalists believe that if your father was born in the right place, you're extra pure, even though the actual right-wing impetus for jus soli is that it's a workable proxy for race, not a dedication to birthplaces for their own sake.)

But that strategy is really non-obvious, and then there's the nature of the falsehood. Lies about numbers of people in crowds (or elections) are at least complex in a single dimension, quantity. But Fred Trump's birthplace is a very, very simple fact. It's the sort of thing almost everyone should either know about their own family or at least not possess misinformation about unless one's own family members did the misinforming. And even though they've swallowed many a gnat and camel, I don't honestly expect the Trump-apologist media to generate the requisite alternative reality and become Fred Birthers. The likelier excuse would be... "he forgot". Which is just a restatement of the evidence for something like dementia.

(I'd say what he long, long ago forgot was his relationship with the truth. There has not been, possibly for decades, a sense in which Donald thinks that his father, or anyone, was born in any particular real place, but rather that people are said to have been born in places as a pose in some larger argument.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:00 PM on April 2, 2019 [19 favorites]


Meanwhile, looks like at least two socialist candidates -- Byron Sigcho-Lopez and André Vasquez -- are heading to Chicago's city council. Could end up with four or five @DemSocialists in there... would outnumber the three Republicans on the 50-member council.

*champange pops*


Not so fast, comrade. To each according to their need.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:28 PM on April 2, 2019 [17 favorites]


This is basically disastrous - they've fumbled their shot at taking control in time to affect redistricting, and the conservative candidate is really, really appalling.

I saw a lot of negative ads against Hagedorn, but not many ads making a positive case for Neubeuer. If my experience was typical, blue voters may not have been sufficiently motivated, because "the other guy is awful" is for some reason (how I wish this were different!) not enough to get people to the polls.

Just to be clear on how awful this guy is, if I even quoted his thoughts on gay marriage my comment would probably get deleted. I don't know what areas are not yet counted, but the counting does seem to trend redder and redder as the night goes on, so he's probably going to keep his current razor-thin lead and win.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:36 PM on April 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


Neubauer's campaign manager said they were expecting a recount, but the areas still out are very red. (Apparently there's some sort of server problem in Outagamie County.)
posted by gerstle at 9:41 PM on April 2, 2019


@WisVoter is painting a more complex picture of the remaining vote. There's not much to count now- 99% precincts in- but Hagedorn's margin of victory has come down to 1618 votes.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:57 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Yeah, I looked up 2018 election results for Outagamie County and I was completely, entirely wrong about that. I apologize. (To y'all and to the good people of Appleton)
posted by gerstle at 10:04 PM on April 2, 2019


Oh for goodness sake. No, I just can't read a map.

Anyway, this is going to a recount and I am officially banned from Metafilter on election nights from here on out.
posted by gerstle at 10:09 PM on April 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


This is not a normal tic

It seem so obvious to me that Trump's mental faculties are failing. He repeatedly gropes for the word "origins", says "oranges", and eventually substitutes "beginnings". He talks in circles, and doesn't seem to find the point he was looking for. He's losing his language. How can this not be front page news?
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:19 PM on April 2, 2019 [42 favorites]


Blue support for Neubeuer, contra my earlier comment, was actually not weak. Turnout for her was actually slightly higher than for victorious progressive Rebecca Dallet in the 2018 election. But, for whatever reason, Hagedorn is doing *much* better among conservatives than Screnock did in 2018, in a broad-based way.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:01 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


He's losing his language. How can this not be front page news?

Because everybody has already know for years that he has the best words.
posted by flabdablet at 11:03 PM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


A couple of years ago, filthy light thief mentioned NOAA nominee Barry Myers, former CEO of AccuWeather. His original nomination failed because of ethics concerns. This guy thinks NOAA should release less weather data to the public, and sell some to private companies instead. He was renominated in January and has already divested by selling his stock to his family for many millions below value. WaPo says that the Senate is rushing to confirm this Trump nominee despite ethics concerns. Today.
posted by heatvision at 4:00 AM on April 3, 2019 [34 favorites]


An intruder brought malware to Mar-a-Lago, which experts have warned was vulnerable (WaPo)
[...] security officials and intelligence experts have been warning for more than two years that Mar-a-Lago is ill-suited for statecraft. Guests stream through its doors without a security clearance. Internet protections have been found similarly incomplete, reportedly marked by weakly encrypted WiFi networks, wireless printers unguarded by passwords and insecure databases that could provide access to sensitive information about the club’s staff and members.

The club set aside just $442,931 for security in 2016, according to a joint investigation by ProPublica and Gizmodo. That’s a fraction of the $64 million spent by the military that year simply on updating the networks at the White House and at Camp David, the more traditional presidential retreat, nestled in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. [...]

Trump properties have been targeted by numerous hacks. One breach, between August 2016 and March 2017, exposed the names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card numbers and expiration dates of guests at 14 Trump properties, including hotels in more than one country.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:07 AM on April 3, 2019 [20 favorites]


He's losing his language. How can this not be front page news?

For the same reason that Reagan's decline was simultaneously an object of satire and a taboo discussion in elite media. Reagan was better at hiding it in public because he could still deliver a script, and his staff were mostly good at avoiding awkward moments. Though Iran-Contra -- the real template for how the presidency handles a massive scandal -- exposed a lot of that.

Strong presidencies, like old-school monarchies, stake a huge amount on the capacity of the office-holder. The medieval theory of the king's two bodies supposed that the infirmities and weaknesses of the body natural were offset by being merged with the body politic, but that in turn sets up the question of what makes a bad king. (See also: Glenda Jackson playing Lear.)

It's easy to say that the president makes bad decisions; it's hard to say that the president lacks the capacity to make any decisions under the protection of the body politic and instead debilitates it with his own infirmities.
posted by holgate at 5:46 AM on April 3, 2019 [8 favorites]


He's losing his language. How can this not be front page news?

Just yesterday he:

1) Couldn’t say origins.
2) Misremembered/misspoke/maybe lied about where his father was born.
3) Said wind turbines cause cancer.
4) Said he was worried the speech was going to be leaked when it was being aired on CSPAN live with cameras in front of him.

Honestly I’m torn between his obvious decline being good news or bad news. Bad because he controls nukes. Good because unlike Reagan who would listen/was able to be controlled by staff, Trump won’t stop talking/tweeting and it will be hard to hide and hopefully will help convince some people to vote against him.
posted by chris24 at 5:52 AM on April 3, 2019 [47 favorites]


House panel to vote on issuing subpoena for Mueller report (Reuters)
A subpoena would open a new legal front against the Trump administration by Democrats who won control of the House in last year’s congressional elections. But it is not clear if the Justice Department would simply hand over all the documents they now seek.

The Department could ignore the subpoena, running the risk of being held in contempt of Congress, and prepare for a lengthy battle in the courts.

Democrats have pledged to fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to enforce a subpoena and obtain the full report. [...] It was not clear when Nadler might start issuing subpoenas, if authorized to do so.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:09 AM on April 3, 2019 [5 favorites]


Why AOC told her Twitter followers to “pause” donations to the official House Democratic campaign arm (Tara Golshan for Vox)
Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking a stand against House Democrats’ policy protecting sitting members. […]

The controversy comes down to something the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has always done informally: prioritize incumbent Democrats. But last week, the organization put it in writing, publishing its criteria for determining which political vendors — like direct mail companies, advertising firms, or political consultants — it will do business with in 2020. And it made clear that won’t include vendors that work with candidates challenging incumbent Democrats. […]

This was one of three main standards the DCCC has established in writing this year.

The first, which the DCCC wanted everyone to focus on, is a diversity initiative. The organization will prioritize businesses with nonwhite, women, or LGBTQ owners. Another is mandating that the companies the DCCC contracts with use union labor as much as possible (with the understanding that in parts of the country, that’s just not possible). If you ask the DCCC, that’s what it says these rules are about. […]

But ever since the DCCC made these guidelines public, the policy around political vendors — designed to protect sitting Democratic members — has overshadowed any other initiatives around labor and diversity. […]
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:58 AM on April 3, 2019 [8 favorites]


Ars Technica has the best headline about the Mar-a-Lago Malware situation:
Woman from China, with malware in tow,
illegally entered Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

posted by Tabitha Someday at 7:00 AM on April 3, 2019 [27 favorites]


Trump’s New Legal Strategy Is to Lose and Then Blame the Courts (Dahlia Lithwick, Slate)
It’s not just that Trump’s principal brand is chaos, though. It’s that his principal claim is “I alone can fix it.” He has shown, time and again, a willingness to blame even putative allies if it serves to position him as the sole savior—bread and butter stuff if you’re an authoritarian who hates institutions. When the Framers crafted the three-way system of checks and balances, they assumed that any two branches could promote stability by checking the third if it went off the rails. Donald Trump has managed to invert that tripartite structure, happily spreading the blame for government dysfunction among the other two branches, instead of his own. The rule of three as the most stable structure can be subverted to afford you double the scapegoats. That is his current play on the ACA, betting on the opportunity to use decisions of the courts and the Congress as excuses for his failure to perform on a central campaign promise. This will always be his play so long as allocating blame is more valuable to him than achieving any policy outcomes. Cruelty itself is still emphatically the purpose of this president’s decision-making, but evading responsibility is the prime method.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:22 AM on April 3, 2019 [21 favorites]


He talks in circles, and doesn't seem to find the point he was looking for. He's losing his language. How can this not be front page news?

"Front page news" being defined as corporate media in America (as opposed to American corporate media) have long held the position of normalization and enabling. Whatever break in that position during Nixon was overcorrected 100 times over during Reagan and beyond.

Trump has made no difference in that stance. Corporate media in America is ridiculously broken, and IMO irretrievably so. Everyone still tunes into major networks or print through training or cultural momentum, but the existing corporations are never going to change or do the right thing when it comes to Trump - probably not even for the next, competent, fascist.

That perspective should be accepted and worked around, but we're all eternal optimists when it comes to the press. Many of us thought Trump would break it and they would be forced to confront his palpable lunacy, but alas they've participated in it with predictable blandness. Oh he's just having a moment, sure he's not well but people like him, breaking: new outrage, etc.

These media companies got us into this mess by pumping up his stunt candidacy and they refuse to support the efforts to stop his comic book villiany due to the constant grabbing for fast money and power. Truth didn't make the cut. Alternatives are getting bad press - for valid reasons and invalid ones - but they're our only option at this point for un-hitching our perspective of this shared reality from Fox and the NYT. That there *is* an option is new.
posted by petebest at 7:43 AM on April 3, 2019 [8 favorites]


~He's losing his language. How can this not be front page news?
~For the same reason that Reagan's decline was simultaneously an object of satire and a taboo discussion in elite media.


There's a huge precedent for the media not making a President's disability a public story. FDR.

The primary difference between Roosevelt and both Trump and Reagan, though, is that FDR's disability was, more or less, common knowledge. Trump's and Reagan's disability aren't/weren't officially diagnosed and made public while in office.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:56 AM on April 3, 2019 [3 favorites]


Good because unlike Reagan who would listen/was able to be controlled by staff, Trump won’t stop talking/tweeting and it will be hard to hide and hopefully will help convince some people to vote against him.

The time for hoping that Trump will say or do anything that will lose him a single 2016 voter is long past.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:57 AM on April 3, 2019 [15 favorites]


Caroline Orr
@RVAwonk

#BREAKING: The House Judiciary Committee has approved issuing subpoenas on the Mueller report.
11:31 AM - 3 Apr 2019
posted by bluesky43 at 7:59 AM on April 3, 2019 [46 favorites]


peeedro: The story of how the Consumer Product Safety Commission's change in leadership under Trump influenced the handling of a product the commission believed to be defective: After hundreds of crashes, this Britax jogging stroller faced recall. Then Trump appointees stepped in. (WaPo)

Similar but different: The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was busy this year deleting contaminated sites from the national Superfund list, including a former Southington landfill now deemed safe. In all, 22 sites were removed from the Superfund list — the most taken off in 13 years. (Bill Cummings for Connecticut Post, December 15, 2018) This comes after Superfund work touted by Trump EPA was completed years ago, as reported by Michael Biesecker and Jason Dearen for the AP, January 5, 2018.

This is problematic in part because Superfund nominee to steer clear of dozens of cleanups (Kevin Bogardus and Corbin Hiar, E&E News reporters, August 6, 2018)
President Trump's pick to oversee the Superfund cleanup program has agreed to avoid decisions related to more than 170 sites for which his former employer is partially responsible.

Ethics documents obtained by E&E News under the Freedom of Information Act mean Peter Wright, who is awaiting Senate confirmation to lead EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management, won't be able to weigh in on roughly 14 percent of all the toxic waste sites on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites eligible for federal cleanup dollars until July 2020.

Wright promised to avoid getting involved with 171 proposed and final sites on the National Priorities List as well as nearly 130 sites that have been removed from the list or may one day be added to it, an EPA spreadsheet (PDF) shows.

An EPA spokesman stressed that Wright would still be able to work on the majority of toxic waste sites under EPA's management.

"Mr. Wright may work on 86 percent of all Superfund sites," EPA spokesman James Hewitt told E&E News.

Currently working as a senior adviser to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Wright spent nearly two decades as a top lawyer at Dow Chemical Co., which last year merged with E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. The polluted tracts he's promised to avoid include sites that both Dow and DuPont are responsible for cleaning up.
I think he's still a nominee, as I can't find any more recent news than Senate committee advances Peter Wright to run EPA's OLEM, as of Feb. 6, 2019.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:03 AM on April 3, 2019 [6 favorites]


House Judiciary authorizes subpoena for full Mueller report (NBC News)
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to authorize a subpoena for the full, unredacted report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the U.S election and alleged obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump. [...]

The measure also authorizes the committee to issue subpoenas for documents and testimony from five individuals: former White House counsel Don McGahn, former Trump adviser and White House strategist Steve Bannon, former White House communications director Hope Hicks, former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and former White House deputy counsel Ann Donaldson. [...]

Nadler said Wednesday that he would give Barr "time to change his mind" before he issues the subpoena.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:04 AM on April 3, 2019 [19 favorites]


The primary difference between Roosevelt and both Trump and Reagan, though, is that FDR's disability was, more or less, common knowledge.

I would argue that the primary difference is that (limited) paraplegia doesn't have much of an effect on whether one should be allowed to order a nuclear first strike.
posted by Etrigan at 8:12 AM on April 3, 2019 [42 favorites]


Trump again threatens Mexico border closure, seeks Congress action (Reuters)
President Donald Trump again threatened on Wednesday to close the U.S. border with Mexico, this time calling on Congress to take steps immediately to deal with immigration and security loopholes that he says are creating a national emergency.

“Congress must get together and immediately eliminate the loopholes at the Border!” Trump wrote in a Twitter post. “If no action, Border, or large sections of Border, will close. This is a National Emergency!” [...]

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that closing the border could have devastating economic consequences, and joined his Democratic colleagues in warning Trump against such a move.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:22 AM on April 3, 2019 [3 favorites]


The time for hoping that Trump will say or do anything that will lose him a single 2016 voter is long past.

Convert diehard Trumpers? Of course not. But maybe keep a few soft Rs from voting and convince some Is and Ds to go vote to get this deranged man out of office? Sure. Elections are won on the margins and it’ll be death by a thousand cuts to beat him and I’ll take every advantage and every lost vote.
posted by chris24 at 8:23 AM on April 3, 2019 [12 favorites]


Last night the President of the United States made a speech in which he claimed that the noise from windmills causes cancer, and that his American-born father was actually born in Germany (a self-birther-conspiracy he has been pushing for years after he decided to stop falsely claiming his father was born in Sweden). During the speech he lamented that someone in the crowd would probably leak the speech to the “fake news media”. In fact the speech was broadcast live on C-SPAN by highly visible cameras pointed directly at the President’s face.

That’s the state of the union.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:33 AM on April 3, 2019 [70 favorites]


But maybe keep a few soft Rs from voting and convince some Is and Ds to go vote to get this deranged man out of office?

Zero soft Rs will be kept from voting for him, if soft Rs exist at all. The entire #nevertrump movement is going to vote for Trump; they're saying this openly. Ds are going to vote against him anyway, oranges or no. Any independent convinced to vote against him because he can't pronounce the word origins and not because of the child concentration camps is a completely alien intelligence.

Nothing Trump says or does will keep him from winning 2020. The only thing that can is if a few hundred thousand 2016 non-voters are convinced to vote for somebody else.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:34 AM on April 3, 2019 [10 favorites]


The time for hoping that Trump will say or do anything that will lose him a single 2016 voter is long past.
There's no need for that. The same voting result as 2016 will do fine. As long as it's spread over three different counties in three different states. I've got no problem with him losing by nearly 2.1 percent of the vote again.
posted by Harry Caul at 8:35 AM on April 3, 2019 [3 favorites]


BREAKING: The House Judiciary Committee has approved issuing subpoenas on the Mueller report. 11:31 AM - 3 Apr 2019

And, as predicted, Nadler said he will not issue the subpoena and will instead give Barr an unknown amount of time to reach an agreement. Come. The. Fuck. On.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 AM on April 3, 2019 [37 favorites]


Mod note: Let's leave it there on "here's what will definitely happen in the next election" and "ugh this fucker" stuff; we know, but let's keep the channel for news and updates on actual events.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:38 AM on April 3, 2019 [11 favorites]


Colorado Springs' municipal election went badly, from my perspective. The issue to grant collective bargaining rights to the fire department was soundly defeated and internet televangelist and transphobe Gordon Klingenschmitt came in 4th in the race for 3 at-large city council seats. I should not be boggled that 24K of my neighbors voted for him, but I am. It's cold comfort that he just barely didn't win. Three other old white guys got elected, including the former Secretary of State, whose wife is a county commissioner. The conservative mayor was re-elected. Turnout was low. It's demoralizing, but despair is a sin.
posted by danielleh at 9:04 AM on April 3, 2019 [6 favorites]


Woman from China, with malware in tow,
illegally entered Trump’s Mar-a-Lago


Hmm, that doesn't quite scan. How about:

Chinese woman with malware cargo
Illegally entered Trump's Mar-a-Lago
posted by The Tensor at 9:07 AM on April 3, 2019 [20 favorites]


Pork industry soon will have more power over meat inspections (WaPo):
The Trump administration plans to shift much of the power and responsibility for food safety inspections in hog plants to the pork industry as early as May, cutting the number of federal inspectors by about 40 percent and replacing them with plant employees.

Under the proposed new inspection system, the responsibility for identifying diseased and contaminated pork would be shared with plant employees, whose training would be at the discretion of plant owners. There would be no limits on slaughter-line speeds.
They are also working to shift inspection of beef to the plant owners. Welcome (back) to The Jungle.
posted by peeedro at 9:10 AM on April 3, 2019 [55 favorites]


Holy, er, cow, that slaughterhouse inspection idea seems like a bad one. Put aside the added risks to the health and welfare of the beasts and workers a plant-led inspection regime will lead to. American foodstuffs are desirable the world over because of their reputation for wholesomeness -- entirely due to the relatively strong government inspection system in place over the past 100 years.
posted by notyou at 9:29 AM on April 3, 2019 [12 favorites]


American foodstuffs are desirable the world over because of their reputation for wholesomeness -- entirely due to the relatively strong government inspection system in pl;ace over the past 100 years.
I'm afraid that isn't the case. Look at the Brexit threads; it's a huge worry that standards will be lowered to American levels. If the Trump administration goes below a level that is already seen as too low, I don't know how that will end for the US food industry.

What is globally appreciated about American products is reliability, not exactly wholesomeness. A burger from MacD's or a coke is not the same all over the world, but they are reliably not poisonous and also cheapish. Philadelphia cream cheese never changes. Kellogs products are sweet and unhealthy, but they are the same every day every year. Before WW's one and two, this was unusual and very attractive. I'm not sure it holds today to the same degree.
posted by mumimor at 9:39 AM on April 3, 2019 [21 favorites]


Great irony if America reduces meat consumption and thus carbon footprint because there too much of a risk of getting swine flu from it now (until we all get E. coli from salad greens)
posted by The Whelk at 9:48 AM on April 3, 2019 [6 favorites]


Regarding that meat inspection trend, I'm annoying enough to become a militant vegan but I'd never really considered it as a career option before...
posted by delfin at 10:04 AM on April 3, 2019 [2 favorites]


NYT Investigation: How Rupert Murdoch’s Empire of Influence Remade the World
Mr. Murdoch, the founder of a global media empire that includes Fox News, helped topple governments and destabilize democracies around the world.
But what do the Murdochs want? Over the last six months, we spoke to more than 150 people about the most powerful media family on earth.
Here are six takeaways from The Times’s investigation.
The Times explored those family dynamics and their impact on the Murdoch empire, which is on the cusp of succession as its 88-year-old patriarch prepares to hand power to the son whose politics most resemble his own: Lachlan Murdoch... His two sons are very different people. James wanted the company to become more digitally focused and more politically moderate, while Lachlan wanted to lean into the reactionary politics of the moment... But all of these succession plans — as well as the lucrative Disney deal — were thrown into chaos last year when Mr. Murdoch broke his spine and collapsed on a yacht.

He was rushed to a hospital, and appeared to be so close to death that his wife, the model Jerry Hall, summoned his children to say their goodbyes.

Mr. Murdoch survived, but his brush with death only highlighted the instability in his family — and at the heart of his empire.
posted by BungaDunga at 10:23 AM on April 3, 2019 [12 favorites]


Tom Engelhardt -
How Donald Trump will bankrupt America - Americans elected a bankruptcy king as their president
posted by growabrain at 10:28 AM on April 3, 2019 [12 favorites]


William Burns, a former ambassador to Russia as well as state department adviser to both Bush presidencies and to Barack Obama, is widely seen as the most respected American career diplomat of the last 30 years.
A former US state department adviser to five previous American presidents he says Donald Trump’s narcissistic unilateralism is doing Vladimir Putin’s work for him by widening the fissure between the US and Europe over climate change, Iran, Brexit and Nato.
The former adviser, William Burns, said on Wednesday that the corrosive damage to the transatlantic relationships might never be repaired, and described Trump being uninterested in those alliances at a time when China was “rising’” and Russia “resurging”, as criminal.
posted by adamvasco at 10:44 AM on April 3, 2019 [39 favorites]


The Trump administration plans to shift much of the power and responsibility for food safety inspections in hog plants to the pork industry as early as May, cutting the number of federal inspectors by about 40 percent and replacing them with plant employees.

Because that system worked just swell with the 737MAX.

“Congress must get together and immediately eliminate the loopholes at the Border!” Trump wrote in a Twitter post.

To be clear, Trump is referring to the law that lets refugees request asylum in the United States, which is both a legal and moral duty. This so-called "loophole" didn't close when the Republicans had control of the government, so all Trump can do is complain. Weak!
posted by Gelatin at 10:56 AM on April 3, 2019 [10 favorites]


Meanwhile, looks like at least two socialist candidates -- Byron Sigcho-Lopez and André Vasquez -- are heading to Chicago's city council. Could end up with four or five @DemSocialists in there... would outnumber the three Republicans on the 50-member council.

Vasquez's win is even sweeter given the shit-ass, racist dogwhistle avalanche campaign the incumbent ran as soon as he was up against a POC in the runoff. Fuuuuuuuuuck that guy.


His opponent was Pat O'Connor, Rahm Emanuel's floor leader on city council who was also one of "Vrdolyak 29", the white aldermen block, during Chicago's racist Council Wars where they stymied Harold Washington's attempts at reform in the early 80s.

This is a big part of why l have a visceral dislike of Rahm's 'third way' politics.
posted by srboisvert at 11:02 AM on April 3, 2019 [10 favorites]


New Yorker, Jonathan Blitzer, How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis
In February, citing a “national-security crisis on our southern border,” Donald Trump declared a state of emergency, a measure that even members of Congress from his own party rejected. Three months earlier, with much less fanfare, thirteen federal agencies issued a landmark report about the damage wrought by climate change. In a sixteen-hundred-page analysis, government scientists described wildfires in California, the collapse of infrastructure in the South, crop shortages in the Midwest, and catastrophic flooding. The President publicly dismissed the findings. “As to whether or not it’s man-made and whether or not the effects that you’re talking about are there, I don’t see it,” he said. There was a deeper layer of denial in this, since overlooking these effects meant turning a blind eye to one of the major forces driving migration to the border. “There are always a lot of reasons why people migrate,” Yarsinio Palacios, an expert on forestry in Guatemala, told me. “Maybe a family member is sick. Maybe they are trying to make up for losses from the previous year. But in every situation, it has something to do with climate change.”
Also, this just caused me to stop and sit quietly for a few minutes:
The day after Palacios and I visited Quilinco, I headed farther north with an agronomist named Silvia Monterroso, who worked for an organization in Huehuetenango called FundaEco. Monterroso has lived in the area for more than twenty years and had close relationships with a number of families along the road to the city of Todos Santos. En route, we passed a cemetery with a series of gravestones and sepulchres painted ornately with American flags, an indication that the deceased had died as immigrants in the U.S. “It’s a symbol of thanks,” Monterroso told me. “The family of the person who died is thanking those who left, because if they hadn’t left for the U.S. and sent money home, the family would have nothing.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:07 AM on April 3, 2019 [24 favorites]


jedicus: Facebook has announced some major changes today (March 27, 2019):

Today we’re announcing a ban on praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism on Facebook and Instagram, which we’ll start enforcing next week. It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services.


jetsetsc: Great news. But YouTube is where the most action is needed.

Related: YouTube reportedly ignored extremism in order to boost engagement -- Bloomberg report shows how employees offered solutions but were turned down. (Valentina Palladino for Ars Technica, April 3, 2019)
A new report from Bloomberg's Mark Bergen details in damning specificity how YouTube has allowed extremist content to run rampant on its site. According to the report, YouTube executives, including CEO Susan Wojcicki, repeatedly ignored warnings from YouTube employees regarding extreme and misleading videos gaining popularity on the site. This was done reportedly for "fear of throttling engagement."

Reportedly, "scores" of YouTube and Google employees raised concerns about incendiary content on YouTube. Some also offered solutions—one engineer suggested removing videos from recommendations that were "close to the line" of the company's takedown policy, while another employee wanted to track toxic videos in a spreadsheet to monitor how popular they became over time. YouTube did not take these employees up on their suggestions and continued to turn a blind eye to many types of extreme content.

While none of these rebuttals seem to be documented on paper as official policy, employees were reportedly discouraged from being proactive. YouTube lawyers told employees who were not assigned to moderation tasks to not research toxic content on their own.

A YouTube spokesperson refuted the claim that the company focuses, first and foremost, on engagement. However, engagement has been a huge part of YouTube's bottom line for years. Much to creators' dismay, the company consistently changes its algorithm to prioritize some videos over others on the site's home page and in its recommended lists. Engagement—or the number of views a video has, how long a viewer spends watching a video, and other interactions with the site as a whole—continues to have an effect on the rising popularity of some channels over others.
The article then outlines what has and hasn't changed at YouTube.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:08 AM on April 3, 2019 [13 favorites]


peeedro: Pork industry soon will have more power over meat inspections (WaPo)
...
They are also working to shift inspection of beef to the plant owners. Welcome (back) to
The Jungle.

See also -- Whistleblowers: FAA 737 MAX safety inspectors lacked training, certification -- Senate committee launches investigation into 737 MAX certification process. (Sean Gallagher for Ars Technica, April 3, 2019)
Multiple whistleblowers have raised issues over the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety inspection process connected to Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft, according to a letter to the FAA (Commerce.Senate.gov press release) from Senate Commerce Committee chairman Sen. Roger Wicker on April 2. And the FAA’s leadership was informed of these concerns as far back as August of 2018.

The whistleblowers cited “insufficient training and improper certification” of FAA aviation safety inspectors, “including those involved in the Aircraft Evaluation Group (AEG) for the Boeing 737 MAX," Wicker said in his letter to FAA acting administrator David Elwell.
Huh, it seems like government regulation actually makes things safer. Whoda thunk? Maybe hiring a developer who is known for cutting corners in business, like lobbying in NYC to not require fire suppression sprinklers and -- surprise -- Trump Tower had two fires in 2018 alone, including one that killed a resident, Todd Brassner, and left six firefighters injured (Caroline Linton for CBS News, April 8, 2018). Related: A Primer on Donald Trump’s Real Estate Deals (Kevin Brass on Medium, Dec 27, 2017).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:17 AM on April 3, 2019 [10 favorites]


Trump Loves Calling Fox News Hosts. What Happens When His Comms Director Calls the Control Room? (Aidan McLaughlin, Mediaite.com)
Bill Shine was accustomed to calling into control rooms at Fox News when he served as co-president of the network. Micromanaging shows was a tradition handed down by longtime Fox News boss Roger Ailes, who had a dedicated line in the control room he would to ring regularly, known as the ‘red phone.’ (The ‘red phone’ is black.) Ailes used the line to issue directives. “Change the lower third,” or “end this segment,” he’d bark at show producers.

The ‘red phone’ tradition died with Ailes. But Mediaite has learned Shine continued to call into Fox News’s studios — even after he was ousted from the network and hired by Trump to serve as his communications director.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:45 AM on April 3, 2019 [21 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted - friendly reminder these threads are not a dumping ground for literally all bad news/atrocities/etc happening in the US and the internet at large. If one of these side topics is worth discussing please make a new thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:45 AM on April 3, 2019 [6 favorites]


NYT Opinion: We Fled the Gangs in Honduras. Then the U.S. Government Took My Baby.
I am an asylum seeker from Honduras and a mother of three children. For over a month my youngest daughter was separated from her father and me by the United States government. I still don’t know where she was during that time or who took care of her.

She’s a toddler, so she can’t tell me if something bad happened to her. I don’t know if she thinks we chose to abandon her. All I know is she came back pounds thinner, with lice and a hacking cough, and she cried for days, traumatized by a government that keeps children from their parents because they are migrants.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:57 AM on April 3, 2019 [48 favorites]


In his third attempt through the nomination process, the Senate Commerce Committee today voted along party lines to advance the nomination of Barry Myers, the former CEO of AccuWeather, to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Walter Shaub and Gabe Lezra from CREW in the WaPo, The Senate is rushing to confirm this Trump nominee despite ethics concerns. TL,DR; 1) Myers has promised to only implement a narrow recusal from matters in which AccuWeather is an identified party, such as a litigation, contract or grant but a broader recusal is warranted; and 2) he owned $57 million in AccuWeather stock that he recently sold for $16 million, the very steep discount suggests that this sale was a sham transaction to hide his real interests in the company.
posted by peeedro at 12:11 PM on April 3, 2019 [19 favorites]


he owned $57 million in AccuWeather stock that he recently sold for $16 million, the very steep discount suggests that this sale was a sham transaction to hide his real interests in the company.

The fact that he appears to have sold the stock to his wife and brother also suggests it's a sham.
posted by Etrigan at 12:18 PM on April 3, 2019 [43 favorites]


Barry Myers has been outspoken in his belief that NOAA should stop sharing the weather data it collects and the analysis it performs with the public, but should continue sharing both with private firms, such as AccuWeather, so that they can sell it to the public.
posted by notyou at 12:21 PM on April 3, 2019 [35 favorites]


Yes, AccuWeather and its competitors desperately want to go back to the days before the Internet, when very little current weather information was available to the public directly. They loved that you had to turn on the TV or open a newspaper (and therefore see some ads) to find out what the weather is doing.

Never mind that thousands of organizations across the country make use of NWS forecast products to plan their activities. This is of far greater economic benefit than would be generated by the few organizations that would actually pay for it buying it from private companies. Not to mention the safety improvement we all get from more widely disseminated weather (and warning) data.
posted by wierdo at 12:29 PM on April 3, 2019 [18 favorites]


Barry Myers has been outspoken in his belief that NOAA should stop sharing the weather data it collects and the analysis it performs with the public, but should continue sharing both with private firms, such as AccuWeather, so that they can sell it to the public.

It's important to remember that government data of this nature is inherently in the public domain, so Myers' plan is rent-seeking of the most despicable sort. It's of a piece with the private companies who would act as middlepeople for government guaranteed student loans, assuming no risk but charging students a fee for no perceivable added value. (Naturally, when the Obama administration ended the practice, Republicans complained about a "government takeover," with precious little pushback about "wasting taxpayer money on a direct subsidy to the ownership class that fleeces America's youth."
posted by Gelatin at 12:37 PM on April 3, 2019 [29 favorites]


Roll Call, Senate goes nuclear again, speeding up Donald Trump’s nominations

It's done. 30 hours of post-cloture debate is now just two. They'll do it a a second time today for district court nominees as well.

Merrick Garland weeps.
posted by zachlipton at 12:56 PM on April 3, 2019 [20 favorites]


Presented without comment:*

Kobach Suggests ‘Processing Towns’ for Migrants

Kris Kobach, who President Trump is considering appointing as his administration’s “immigration tsar,” suggested on Fox Business creating “camps” for asylum seekers in the United States.

* because ...
posted by petebest at 12:58 PM on April 3, 2019 [31 favorites]


American foodstuffs are desirable the world over because of their reputation for wholesomeness -- entirely due to the relatively strong government inspection system in place over the past 100 years.

It's wild that you think that, the opposite is true - the reputation of US produce is abysmal because of the famously lax regulations and low standards. For example, in the EU there are no allowable limits for foreign bodies in food products, the US has insanely high allowable limits for tasty morsels like mammalian faeces, insect parts, rat hair, maggots.

This is one of those areas, like guns control or healthcare, where the rest of the developed world thinks America is completely crackers.
posted by jack_mo at 1:10 PM on April 3, 2019 [71 favorites]


This is one of those areas, like guns control or healthcare, where the rest of the developed world thinks America is completely crackers.

Yeah, I just yesterday listened to some speechifying in the House of Commons wherein the Rt. Hon. Gentleman basically said, "So apparently after Brexit we're supposed to enter into some kind of awesome trade agreement with America that will save our supermarket shelves form being bare, but as we're all aware, their food safety standards are shit. And they are not going to change how shit their regulations are just because little old us asked them nicely, so get ready for your shitty, dirty, unregulated, inhumanely-raised American food."
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:24 PM on April 3, 2019 [42 favorites]


It's wild that you think that, the opposite is true - the reputation of US produce is abysmal because of the famously lax regulations and low standards.

It is wild and now I'll have to re-check my priors. My thought is based on the perception of US produced food in China, as told to me by several Chinese nationals.
posted by notyou at 1:27 PM on April 3, 2019 [10 favorites]


In China American food products are generally considered safer than Chinese, but most of the rest of the world’s is considered better than American.
posted by wobumingbai at 2:25 PM on April 3, 2019 [10 favorites]


i don't get the Zhang thing, she supposedly had 2 Republic of China passports and everyone is going crazy about China...


that's Taiwan!
posted by Wilder at 2:33 PM on April 3, 2019 [5 favorites]


> I think this article may help explain the subpoena delay: Dems won’t embrace hardball GOP tactic to force Mueller report release (Politico)
Under the process Republicans used to release the [Nunes] memo, the House Intelligence Committee "may disclose publicly any information in its possession" if a majority of members determine it is in the public interest. Any member of the committee may request such a determination and force a committee vote within five days.

If the committee supports releasing the information, it would then notify Trump, who has five days to either allow the information to become public or lodge an objection in writing.

If Trump denies the request, however, the process doesn't end. Instead, the committee can vote to send the matter to the full House of Representatives, which would meet in a secret session to vote on the committee's decision.

Though a secret session would be another unprecedented spectacle for Capitol Hill, a Democratic House would be almost certain to approve of such a disclosure request made by the Intelligence Committee, forcing the disclosure of Mueller's sensitive information.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), another House Intelligence Democrat, said he doesn't think taking such a draconian step is necessary because he's confident the Justice Department is working in good faith to release Mueller's report.

"I think we're getting there but one step at a time," he said.
Emphasis added, even though I haven't looked up the rules in Congress, but the reference to 'good faith' sounds a lot like the dance lawyers do when trying to avoid a long court fight in a complicated, potentially precedent-setting case that may or may not go their way, while also getting the information they want as quickly as possible. If only there were 'good faith' actors on the other side, the outcome of this tactic would be more predictable...
posted by Little Dawn at 2:33 PM on April 3, 2019 [8 favorites]


It’s been 11 days since the Attorney General received the Special Counsel’s report. Congress is still waiting to receive the report. The Attorney General intends to supply them with a version of the report in the next couple of weeks. Before this, he intends to redact information including that which “impugns the integrity and character of peripheral third parties”. He intends to redact information obtained from Grand Jury testimony. He has declined to accept the invitation from the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to ask a judge to allow the Grand Jury testimony to be released to Congress, as occurred in the Watergate inquiry.

There is no longer any doubt about the Attorney General’s motivation. He is attempting to cover up the Special Counsel’s report by falsely conflating the release of the report to the House Judiciary Committee, which deals with classified information all the time, and the release to the public. He hopes that this one weird trick will allow the crimes of the President and those around him to remain hidden.

It’s the role of Congress to oversee the Executive Branch. The Attorney General is IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. The idea that he should be allowed to unilaterally prevent the House Judiciary Committee from receiving the evidence required to do its job, based on his personal whim, is contrary to the Constitutional principle of separation of powers, and in itself constitutes an effort to obstruct justice.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:44 PM on April 3, 2019 [51 favorites]


Yes, all of that is true.

So please join us in protesting Barr's cover up tomorrow.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:50 PM on April 3, 2019 [20 favorites]


i don't get the Zhang thing, she supposedly had 2 Republic of China passports and everyone is going crazy about China...that's Taiwan!

I've seen weirdly conflicting reports on this. The criminal complaint says she traveled from Shanghai, but says she had two "Republic of China" passports. It is, of course, entirely possible for both those things to be true. The connections to "Charles" and Yang, plus the use of WeChat and the event she said she was trying to attend, all point to...not Taiwan. But it's really not at all clear what's going on.

NPR just sort of unhelpfully gave up on which country she's even from: "Many details about her weren't immediately clear — for example, whether she is from Taiwan or from mainland China; she told investigators she had come to Florida from Shanghai."

In any event, the Miami Herald now reports that a counterintelligence investigation has been opened into all this:
Federal authorities are investigating possible Chinese intelligence operations targeting President Donald Trump and his private Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, sources familiar with the never-before-reported investigation told the Miami Herald Wednesday.

The federal counterintelligence probe was turbo-charged on Saturday when U.S. Secret Service agents arrested a Chinese woman, Yujing Zhang, after they said she tried to enter the club with a bevy of electronic devices, including a thumb drive infected with “malicious malware.”

The ongoing investigation has also recently focused on Li “Cindy” Yang, the sources told the Herald. Yang is a South Florida massage parlor entrepreneur who has promoted events at Mar-a-Lago with ads targeting Chinese business executives hoping to gain access to Trump and his family. The investigation — spearheaded by the FBI — began before the Herald revealed Yang’s business of selling access last month and focused on other Chinese nationals doing business in the region.
posted by zachlipton at 2:52 PM on April 3, 2019 [4 favorites]


NYT, House Democrat Demands Six Years of Trump Tax Returns From I.R.S., in which itshappening.gif
The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, using a little-known provision in the federal tax code, formally requested on Wednesday that the I.R.S. hand over six years of President Trump’s personal and business tax returns, starting what is likely to be a momentous fight with his administration.

Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts, hand-delivered a two-page letter laying out the request to Charles P. Rettig, the Internal Revenue Service commissioner, ending months of speculation about when he would do so and almost certainly prompting a legal challenge from the Trump administration.
...
And the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee said that he would soon ask for a vote on a subpoena of his own to compel Mazars USA, an accounting firm tied to the president, to produce a decade’s worth of Mr. Trump’s financial records.

“They have told us that they will provide the information pretty much when they have a subpoena,” the chairman, Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, told reporters. “And we’ll get them a subpoena.”
Plus this morning's authorization of the Mueller report subpoena. Not entirely sure why today was the day Democrats decided to start demanding this stuff, but it's about time.
posted by zachlipton at 3:09 PM on April 3, 2019 [35 favorites]


I don't know anything about the particulars of this case, but it is not entirely unknown for a person employed by the government of mainland China to go abroad and engage in nefarious activities while holding a Taiwan passport.
posted by Etrigan at 3:14 PM on April 3, 2019 [6 favorites]


Caroline Orr ( @RVAWonk ):
#BREAKING: The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, @RepRichardNeal, has used an "obscure provision" in the tax code to demand that the IRS turn over six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 3:16 PM on April 3, 2019 [17 favorites]


I predicted yesterday that this wouldn't happen, so I'm taking credit for it


You're welcome
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:17 PM on April 3, 2019 [25 favorites]


You're not supposed to say you're using obscure provisions or procedural tricks? That's the quiet part?
posted by Justinian at 3:17 PM on April 3, 2019 [3 favorites]


What's good for the (Republican) goose...
posted by Rykey at 3:19 PM on April 3, 2019 [1 favorite]


Not entirely sure why today was the day Democrats decided to start demanding this stuff, but it's about time.

The Dems do seem to be on a roll today: House condemns Trump's bid to get rid of Obamacare (Politico)
The non-binding resolution is one of is one of several steps Democrats are taking to try to link vulnerable Republicans with the administration's controversial legal strategy while touting their own work to shore up the law. [...] The 240-186 vote came one week after the Justice Department abandoned a narrower legal strategy and backed scrapping the entire law in the case brought by 20 GOP attorneys general that's now at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. [...]

Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota was the only Democrat to vote against the resolution. The mostly swing district Republicans who backed the measure were Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Denver Riggleman of Virginia, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Pete Stauber of Minnesota, Fred Upton of Michigan and John Katko, Tom Reed and Elise Stefanik, all of New York. [...]

Still, the vast majority of Republicans, including Walden, voted against the resolution at the urging of the White House and House GOP leadership, sources told POLITICO. [...]

Democrats plan to continue highlighting the contrasts between the parties when it comes to health care, by teeing up votes in the coming weeks on a series of bills that would make Obamacare's subsidies more generous and restoring ACA outreach and enrollment funding that was cut by the administration.
posted by Little Dawn at 3:25 PM on April 3, 2019 [5 favorites]


Representative Jeffries (D-NY), Chair of the House Democratic Caucus:
“Billionaire”, but no tax returns.

“Stable genius”, but no grades.

“Exonerated”, but no #MuellerReport.

“Party of Healthcare”, but no plan.

The American people are being hustled straight out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. #FACTS
This post is now too-big-to-not-fail on iOS Safari, can we get a new one?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:26 PM on April 3, 2019 [44 favorites]


Since I couldn't access the Times article, I found this explainer of the "obscure provision" in the tax code.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:28 PM on April 3, 2019 [5 favorites]


Since I couldn't access the Times article ... an archive.today link
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 3:35 PM on April 3, 2019 [1 favorite]


This post is now too-big-to-not-fail on iOS Safari, can we get a new one?

Yes, I've been waiting on the comments count here, but the draft is in progress and basically ready to publish, although if anyone can find a place to add more news on the draft FPP quickly, please do.
posted by Little Dawn at 3:41 PM on April 3, 2019 [7 favorites]


Here is the bit about it in the NYT:
Instead, he is invoking an authority enshrined in the tax code granted only to the tax-writing committees in Congress that gives the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee the power to request tax information on any filer.
posted by rhizome at 3:42 PM on April 3, 2019 [2 favorites]


The ‘red phone’ tradition died with Ailes. But Mediaite has learned Shine continued to call into Fox News’s studios — even after he was ousted from the network and hired by Trump to serve as his communications director.


Just to put that in stark relief...

The U.S. President is not just heavily influencing and influenced by the Fox network, but — through his Communications Director — was literally directing the network’s moment-by-moment programming, including how the President was being covered.

At which point, whatever distinctions there may be between Fox and an actual state television network become rather irrelevant, don’t they?
posted by darkstar at 4:19 PM on April 3, 2019 [55 favorites]


Hey, does anyone hear a leaking sound around here? NYT, Some on Mueller’s Team See Their Findings as More Damaging for Trump Than Barr Revealed
Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.
Gosh, the report that, by Barr's own admission, can't rule out that the President committed crimes? That might be damaging?
posted by zachlipton at 4:27 PM on April 3, 2019 [50 favorites]


We're going to look back on those "Mueller finds no collusion" headlines exactly like "FBI sees no links between Russia".
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:41 PM on April 3, 2019 [33 favorites]


Two scoop Wednesday! WaPo, Jared Kushner identified as senior White House official whose security clearance was denied by career officials
The senior White House official whose security clearance was denied last year because of concerns about foreign influence, private business interests and personal conduct is presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to people familiar with documents and testimony provided to the House Oversight Committee.

Kushner was identified only as “Senior White House Official 1” in committee documents released this week describing the testimony of Tricia Newbold, a whistleblower in the White House’s personnel security office who said she and another career employee determined that Kushner had too many “significant disqualifying factors” to receive a clearance.

Their decision was overruled by Carl Kline, the political appointee who then headed the office, according to Newbold’s interview with committee staff.
...
In her testimony, Newbold said that when Kushner applied for an even higher level of clearance, another agency contacted her to determine “how we rendered a favorable adjudication,” an inquiry she said reflected that agency’s “serious concerns.”

The agency was not identified in committee documents. The CIA is the agency responsible for granting White House officials access to government information classified above top secret.
posted by zachlipton at 4:48 PM on April 3, 2019 [35 favorites]


Gosh, the report that, by Barr's own admission, can't rule out that the President committed crimes? That might be damaging?

NEW US POLITICS FPP: “There will be plenty of unfavorable things about the president...
posted by Little Dawn at 5:10 PM on April 3, 2019 [21 favorites]




Seems we just get started and before you know it-
Comes the time we have to say
So long

🍪🍪🍶
posted by petebest at 6:15 PM on April 3, 2019 [16 favorites]


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