NYT: Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump’s longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday that she was resigning. Ms. Hicks, 29, a former model who joined Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign without any experience in politics, became known as one of the few aides who understood his personality and style and could challenge the president to change … Read More
FEMA Is A Boy’s Club?
This won’t make headlines, but it concerns me because it relates to a governmental body that I consider important. FEMA flourished under the Obama years — it has been less than stellar so far during the Trump Administration, especially its (non)handling of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. And now this: Two top public-affairs officers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency … Read More
Trump And Sessions Play Tennis
Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2018 AG Sessions releases statement: “As long as I am … Read More
Breaking: Another School Shooting (Guaranteed To Make NRA Heads Explode)
Well, NOW what’s the solution??? From The Daily Beast: Police in Dalton, Georgia say an adult is in custody after reports of shots fired at a high school. The suspect barricaded themselves inside a classroom, police said, and investigators believe the suspect is a teacher. No students were injured. The incident comes days after President Trump called for arming teachers … Read More
Breaking: Before, During And After The Election, Wikileaks Corresponded With Stone, Trump’s Confidante
If what The Atlantic is reporting is true, we have a connection between Trump and Russia. Trump——-friends with Roger Stone—-> tweeted to Wikileaks/Assange —-> received emails stole by Russia Here’s the story: On March 17, 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted that it had never communicated with Roger Stone, a longtime confidante and informal adviser to President Donald Trump. In his interview with the House Intelligence Committee … Read More
Man Connected To L’Affaire Russe Goes Underground And A Foreign Escort Lands In Thai Jail
Hmmmm. Joseph Mifsud, the professor who allegedly told former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos that Russia had obtained leaked emails related to Hillary Clinton, has completely vanished — and even his fiancee can’t find him. BuzzFeed News reporter Alberto Nardelli this month traveled to Ukraine in search of Mifsud, who has not been seen since being caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe … Read More
Kushner Can’t See The Secret Stuff
Politico has the story: Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded — a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. Kushner is not alone. All White House aides working on the highest-level interim clearances — at the Top Secret/SCI-level — were informed in … Read More
Trump Spent An Hour This Morning Watching Sunday Morning News Shows And Tweeting Angrily
Nervous much? The WITCH HUNT one is my favorite. It’s just so raw. Maybe he’s unhinged, or maybe it’s a distraction from this, reported by CNN’s White House correspondent: Trump appears to be backing away from his support for 21 year age limit for assault weapons purchases, sources tell us tonight. — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 27, 2018 Anyway, it’s … Read More
Is The NRA In Bed With Russia?
Earlier this month, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) issued a pair of letters demanding information on any financial links between the NRA and Moscow, or between the NRA and Russian nationals. The questions came after McClatchy reported: January 18, 2018 05:00 AM WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating whether a top Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin illegally funneled money to the National Rifle … Read More
All Politics Is Local
How is Trump’s “Arm The Teachers” solution playing across the states? Not well for the most part: The State (South Carolina): “SC politician giving guns to teachers in message to ‘deranged psychotic degenerates.’” Greenville News (South Carolina): GOP “Governor candidate Catherine Templeton calls for arming teachers while opening campaign.” News & Observer (North Carolina): “NC education chief says more cops … Read More
Belated Post: Oh Look — The Democratic Response To The Nunes Memo
A few weeks after the Nunes memo, the Democrats on the House Intel have finally been allowed to release their response memo. It eviscerates the Nunes memo of course, and is heavily sourced, although much of the sources lie in classified documents. It also questions, as it should, the motives of Devin Nunes. Here is the memo: The President was … Read More
Washington State Governor Calls Out Trump On His Stupid Armed Teachers Idea (and Tweeting)
President and Armchair Warrior Trump writes a script of what he THINKS — without talking to experts or the people effected. He gets taken down, and he doesn’t like it (arms folded) Armchair Warrior, you ask… Why yes. Trump: I would have run into the school with no weapon https://t.co/UZadMQzY34 pic.twitter.com/Jp6BBmA7TV — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 26, 2018
Weekly List 67
On a holiday week with Congress out of session, gun control and the Mueller probe dominated the headlines and the country’s attention. The youth-led activism on gun control sparked by Parkland students has been compared to the successful youth movement against the Vietnam War. The Trump regime was caught flat-footed on the issue, left to parrot NRA talking points; while … Read More
Superseding Manafort/Gates Indictment
Mueller’s team just dropped, literally minutes ago, its superseding indictment on Manafort and Gates. You can just look at the cover page to see who is indicted for what. 32 counts, mostly dealing with financial transactions and bank fraud and tax fraud (money laundering, basically) all before Manafort was Trump campaign manager. I did a search for “Trump” — his … Read More
Oh I Do NOT Like How This Sounds
Reuters Exclusive: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of a federal agency who has helped U.S. states protect election systems from possible cyber attacks by Russia or others is being removed from his post by Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House. Matthew Masterson, currently chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and a former Ohio state … Read More