Greg Sargeant: As early as today, the FBI may conclude its renewed background investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — and predictably enough, Senate Republicans are already insisting that the report will never see the light of day. The FBI’s report will be given to all Senators, but it will not be released publicly, because, as Republican Senate Majority … Read More
And Now The Committee Vote [NOPE! An FBI Investigation!]
SEPT. 28, 2018. The front pages. pic.twitter.com/LxSjyD0eaS — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 28, 2018 With the embarrassingly empty Kavanaugh hearings behind us, and a nation left wrecked by the he said/she said testimonies, the Senate is going ahead with the votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court. After a closed-door meeting of the Republican conference late last … Read More
This Is It: The Kavanaugh Hearings
Two more allegations last night, although they were anonymous and went to the Senate Judiciary Committee. They were released last night in an effort by Republicans, I suspect, to show that there are many loony accusations. Also two men came forward to take “credit” for the Kavanaugh assault on Dr. Ford, which actually does not HELP Kavanaugh. I will not … Read More
More Women Accuse Kavanaugh
From The New Yorker: As Senate Republicans press for a swift vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Senate Democrats are investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. The claim dates to the 1983-84 academic school year, when Kavanaugh was a freshman at Yale University. The offices of at least four Democratic senators have … Read More
The Insane Theory of Mistaken Identity In The Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Allegation
Ed Whelan floats a trial balloon pic.twitter.com/qjc6QmEhtz — Mr Toad’s Wild Ride (@goddamnedfrank) September 21, 2018 I watched this unfold in real time on Twitter. it was bizarre: Ed Whelan, a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and the president of a think tank called the Ethics and Public Policy Center, took this theory to a new, wildly irresponsible … Read More
Breaking: Ford Says She Is Willing To Testify If “Fair”, But Monday Is Impossible
NY Times: The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual assault has told the Senate Judiciary Committee, in an apparent bid to jump-start negotiations, that she “would be prepared to testify next week,” so long as senators offer “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety,” according to an email her lawyers sent to committee staff … Read More
Dr. Ford Calls For FBI Investigation Before She Appears
NY Times: The woman who has accused President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault all but ruled out appearing at an extraordinary Senate hearing scheduled for next week to hear her allegations, insisting on Tuesday that the F.B.I. investigate first. Speaking through lawyers, Christine Blasey Ford said she would cooperate with the Senate Judiciary Committee and left open the … Read More
Letter Alleges Brett Kavanaugh Tried To Rape When In High School. Is The Nomination Jeopardized?
NY Times: WASHINGTON — A secretive letter shared with authorities by the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee charges that a teenage Brett M. Kavanaugh and a male friend trapped a teenage girl in a bedroom during a party and tried to assault her, according to three people familiar with the contents of the letter. According to the letter, … Read More
Nunes Admits That He’s An Accomplice In Protecting Trump From Mueller Probe
Greg Sargent has a nice concise write-up: Last night, Rachel Maddow reported on leaked audio of Rep. Devin Nunes, who is perhaps President Trump’s staunchest bodyguard against accountability on Capitol Hill, in which he candidly revealed that Republicans hope to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein after the elections. Nunes is already leading such an impeachment drive — which … Read More
Swamp Drained A Little
Congressman Chris Collins (R – NY) was arrested this morning by the FBI shortly after he was indicted for securities related fraud related to insider trading allegations. From NBC: Chris Collins, a Republican congressman from upstate New York, surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday morning on securities fraud-related charges, prosecutors said. Collins, 68, faces insider trading charges along with his son, … Read More
Breaking: Senate Confirms Benczkowski to Justice Department And He Could Decide Fate Of Russia Investigation
On purely partisan lines (Manchin broke Dem ranks; McCain unable to vote), the Senate has just confirmed a top Justice Department official who could help oversee the Trump-Russia investigation, despite his own troubling connections to Russia and his close ties to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Brian Benczkowski, a former Senate aide to Sessions, will now lead the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, a job … Read More
Four — No, FIVE — Wrestlers Accuse Rep. Jim Jordan Of Ignoring Molestations
TPM: Two more former Ohio State wrestlers came forward Thursday to claim that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) knew about allegations of rampant sexual abuse carried out by the team doctor while Jordan was the assistant coach, despite his denials. This brings the total up to five of Jordan’s former wrestlers accusing him of lying. Two more former Ohio State wrestlers … Read More
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A 28-Year-Old Democratic Giant Slayer
Some primaries were held last night, and there is news. The New York Times talks about a candidate who won the Dem primary in the House 14 (notably, the Times never even mentioned her before in any article, showing how unlikely her win was): She has never held elected office. She is still paying off her student loans. She is … Read More
EVERYONE Is Expendable In Trump World
Trump allies gang up on Trey Gowdy: Rep. Trey Gowdy has been a pitbull investigator for Republicans for years. Now, he’s in President Donald Trump’s doghouse for daring to challenge the president’s unsupported claim that Democrats and their sympathizers in the FBI embedded a spy in his 2016 campaign. Trump allies have been pummeling Gowdy in recent days, branding him … Read More
Senate Intelligence Committee — In A Bipartisan Statement — Show Up The House Intel GOP
Picture says it all: Unlike the GOP majority in House Intelligence Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee states clearly that it agrees with the Intelligence Community Assessment — Russia attempted to interfere with the 2016 election, and Putin ordered it.