This is a daily or weekly record of the Trump presidency so hopefully future generations will learn what happens when you elect an narcissistic, thin skinned, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic unqualified buffoon in a position of power where he has access to nuclear codes.
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https://horroroftrumpaspotus.blogspot.com/
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Twitter feed https://twitter.com/RealDbagDJTrump
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
December 18th, 2017 - December 19th, 2017. 399-400 days since the Nov 8, 2016, election of some rich asshole, no.45, and 331-332 days since the Jan 20th inauguration.
A Fox News guest on Tuesday absolutely roasted the network’s attempts to attack the FBI as a way to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
During a segment on FBI agent Peter Strzok’s anti-the rich asshole text messages that he sent during the 2016 presidential election campaign, guest Ben Kissel mocked the notion that the FBI is filled with wild-eyed left wingers who are chomping at the bit to take down a Republican president.
“I think this is making a mountain out of a molehill here,” Kissel said. “There is no liberal witch hunt going on with the FBI in an attempt to get some rich asshole. The FBI isn’t some hippie organization filled with people… wearing Birkenstocks and going to Flaming Lips concerts. They’re serious individuals and they’re able to hold personal opinions, and it does not necessarily impact their professional life.”
Fellow panelist Lawrence Jones, however, disagreed with Kissel’s take and said that Stzrok’s text messages showed that the entire Mueller investigation has been compromised. Kissel again laughed off this assertion.
“His deputy Attorney General [Rod] Rosenstein appointed Mueller!” Kissel said. “It wasn’t as if Mueller was chomping at the bit to have the investigation go down.”
A Fox News contributor on Tuesday said that it was possible that the FBI had plotted to assassinate President some rich asshole — although he quickly backed off when “Outnumbered” host Harris Faulkner expressed alarm at his baseless speculation.
Appearing on “Outnumbered,” guest Kevin Jackson said that Congressional Republicans need to get to the bottom of what FBI agent Peter Strzok meant when he said that there needed to be an “insurance policy” in the event that the rich asshole got elected.
Even though the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Strzok’s “insurance policy” quote referred to his sincere belief in the need to investigate the rich asshole because he was possibly compromised by Russian intelligence services, Jackson immediately went off the deep end and suggested much darker motives.
“What was his intent, right?” Jackson asked. “Because that’s exactly what FBI Director, former FBI Director [James] Comey said when he was letting Hillary Clinton off the hook. And his intent, regardless of whether it was an assassination attempt or whatever, it was definitely something…”
At this point, a surprised Faulkner interjected and said, “Whoa, whoa!” Jackson then responded by toning his rhetoric down a notch.
“Well, I’m just saying, we don’t know what it was,” Jackson said. “When you say, ‘we’ve got to make sure that this guy doesn’t get in at all cost,’ what does that mean? So I’m saying there’s a spectrum of what does it mean, but one thing that we know for sure, is that he was plotting in an election against a candidate, and there’s FBI fingerprints all over this.”
Later in the segment, Jackson admitted that everything he has heard about FBI plots to kill the rich asshole has come from social media accounts that were “nothing credible.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks to White House Press Corps (CNN/screen grab)
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White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was challenged on Tuesday after she claimed the Republican tax bill would cost President some rich asshole “a lot of money” even though it is expected to disproportionately benefit real estate developers.
After the House voted to pass the GOP tax bill on Tuesday, Sanders was asked to defend claims that the bill was going to cost the president “a lot of money.”
“It likely will — certainly on the personal side — could cost the president a lot of money,” Sanders opined. “The president’s focus hasn’t necessarily been at all on himself.”
The reporter pointed out that the rich asshole would benefit from several provisions of the bill, including top-rate tax reductions, pass-through reductions and estate tax exemptions.
“He’s going to make money on that,” she told Sanders.
“Look,” Sanders stuttered, “again, this is a tax plan that we hope benefits all Americans primarily. And priority number one is middle-class Americans. That has been this administration’s focus. We feel like that is certainly addressed.”
Later in the press conference, MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson pointed out to Sanders that it would be impossible to verify her claims until the rich asshole agreed to release his tax returns.
Sanders responded with the familiar refrain that the president would release his taxes when he is no longer under audit.
“A minister friend of ours is working with the White House and members of Congress on a congressional resolution that would call for this national day of repentance,” Anderson explained during an interview with Christian online news network SkyWatch TV. “The idea is that, from the Oval Office, he would read the Lincoln proclamation, repent of America’s sins before God and there would be a day-long event.”
According to the Amazon.com description of their forthcoming “Trumpocalypse” book, the authors examine “the enigmatic prophecies and ‘biblical codes’ involving the rich asshole” and ask “whether God raised up President the rich asshole as a fearless leader to guide America and the free world through a series of major crises as the biblical end-time narrative unfolds.”
Watch the video of the authors being interviewed below.
President some rich asshole reportedly believes special counsel Robert Mueller will soon issue a letter of exoneration that will get him off the hook on Russia — but a former U.S. attorney said they’re just trying to keep him calm.
Joyce White Vance, who prosecuted federal cases for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017, compared the president to a screaming toddler who had to be soothed before getting dragged out of a toy store.
“Mueller and his team know where they are in the investigation,” Vance told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The special counsel probe has already resulted in two guilty pleas and two indictments, and have indicated more charges could be coming, but the president’s lawyers have said they believe the Mueller investigation of the rich asshole campaign ties to Russia would end by Christmas.
“You can’t help but think that what’s going on here is a lot like these toddlers you see in toy stores with their parents, and they’re screaming and they want their parents to buy them something, and their parents will tell them anything just to get them out of the toy store without making a scene,” Vance said.
“This presidency feels a little that way as though perhaps the president’s lawyers are just (saying), ‘Really, you won’t get indicted, please let’s leave the toy store,'” Vance added.
CNN political commentator Angela Rye on Monday explained the problem with reports some rich asshole considered rescinding Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, pointing to the president’s pattern of demanding personal loyalty over loyalty to American democracy.
As the Washington Post reported Monday, the rich asshole considered pulling Gorsuch’s nomination over concerns he would not be “loyal” to him after his then-nominee reportedly called the president’s attacks on the judicial system “disheartening.”
Scott Jennings, the former special assistant to the president under George W. Bush, dismissed the Post, arguing the publication was “playing ‘Gossip Girl’” with its report.
“I mean, the reality is I went to breakfast this morning and considered having a cheese danish and made a much better decision to have bacon and eggs, so the president did the right thing,” Jennings (apparently) argued. “[Gorsuch] is his main accomplishment this year, it’s a great one and I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Rye noted “loyalty” is a “word that keeps coming up and permeates this administration,” arguing the rich asshole “is under the delusion and illusion that people owe him a loyalty pledge rather than taking that oath, passing the bar as now-Justice Neil Gorsuch had to do.”
“He does not owe some rich asshole his loyalty,” Rye continued. “He owes his loyalty to the bench. There are three branches of government, the judiciary is one. And I don’t know how many times we’ve said—whether it was during the campaign, during the transition period or after he was sworn into office—this is not normal. This is not an authoritarian government. There are three branches of government, all to hold one or the other accountable. This is not about your cheese danish, Scott, this is about ensuring that you understand you have to up hold the law, not about some rich asshole’s fragile ego.”
The talking President some rich asshole robot at Disney's Hall of Presidents.
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A talking robot resembling President some rich asshole has now been added to the Hall of Presidents exhibit in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida — and it has filled with internet with both horror and ridicule.
Disney announced on Monday that it had added the rich asshole to the Hall of Presidents exhibit, just more than a year after he was first elected in November 2016. The choice to give the rich asshole a speaking role at the exhibit has proven controversial, although Disney has wisely steered away from having the robotic the rich asshole call Mexican immigrants “rapists” or boast about grabbing women by their genitals.
However, the appearance of the rich asshole robot was deeply disturbing to a great number of Twitter users, and many quickly jumped to mock the way the robot looked.
Trump's animatronic figure for the Disney Hall of Presidents looks like it was carved out of Play-Doh and left out in the Florida heat, where it was discovered by a dying albino squirrel who settled atop its head and has been left there to decompose. pic.twitter.com/3vMZUTEylx
Disney debuts Donald Trump in the Hall of Presidents at Disney World, and it looks nothing like Donald Trump! (Jon Voight maybe.) Well, they got the rumpled suit and too long tie right (but the tie should be red). And look how the other Presidents are glaring at him!
Comment today by local news channel anchor in Orlando: “Donald Trump robot just added to Disney’s Hall of Presidents. I hope they programmed all the former presidents to not roll their eyes and shake their heads while he’s talking.”
Disney was so sure Hillary would win they just made a Hillary robot for their hall of presidents and when Trump won they just put a trump skin over it and it looks like something straight from hell pic.twitter.com/IixdGd2WpE
This video of the new Trump robot speaking at Disney’s Hall of Presidents is the creepiest thing ever. As he speaks, watch the other Presidents glare at him thinking “what the f**k are you doing here”. Then watch Trump scan the audience for p***y to grab. https://youtu.be/NePlddZpNKs
If any of you have ever wondered if vegetables can have nightmares, it's safe to say after seeing the Trump robot from Disney's Hall of Presidents, we're about to find out. pic.twitter.com/xq4LUfc1cY
no joke, that Donald Trump robot at Disney’s Hall of Presidents looks like the child of him, Hillary Clinton, Jon Voight, and Roger Ebert. kill it before AI gives it more than two terms.
People really are being too harsh on Disney’s Trump robot; the goal is to capture the historical essence of the President, and they nailed “unacceptable abomination”
So Disney's Hall of Presidents reopened today after being closed for a year, now with the Trump Robot. It is nightmare fuel. pic.twitter.com/t7LZPnKM7H
A new animatronic figure in the Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World was added, where every former leader of the republic is depicted in an “audio-animatronics show.” The figure which supposedly resembles Jon Voight some rich asshole was added to the collection and it’s absolutely horrifying. The internet noticed that, too.
Trump's animatronic figure for the Disney Hall of Presidents looks like it was carved out of Play-Doh and left out in the Florida heat, where it was discovered by a dying albino squirrel who settled atop its head and has been left there to decompose.
Disney unveiled Trump figure at the Hall of Presidents. To save production costs, they pulled the animated hands off of a retired figurine from the Its a Small World ride.
The best part of Donald Trump being in Disney's Hall of Presidents will be when they remove him from the Hall of Presidents and put him in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride's jail.
Comment today by local news channel anchor in Orlando: “Donald Trump robot just added to Disney’s Hall of Presidents. I hope they programmed all the former presidents to not roll their eyes and shake their heads while he’s talking.”
NPR: Disney World Adds Trump Animatronic Figure, But Likeness Is Lacking. But who REALLY wants to look at an accurate Donald? The man is about as presidential looking as a fucking Pokemon. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIw-46nojo …
Carly Mallenbaum, USA TODAY Published 9:42 p.m. ET Dec. 18, 2017 | Updated 6:16 a.m. ET Dec. 19, 2017
Disney World is reopening its decades-old Hall of Presidents exhibit with a new addition: President the rich asshole.
Or should we say, Jon Voight?
After a year of renovations, Disney Parks presents its new animatronic the rich asshole on Tuesday in Orlando's Magic Kingdom park. And, of course, Twitter has thoughts on the robotic creation meant to look just like the rich asshole.
THIS IS NOT POLITICAL! But how terrifying is the new Donald Trump in Disney's Hall of Presidents?!?! It's hilarious! And look at the reaction shots from the other presidents. It's like they didn't even try.
If any of you have ever wondered if vegetables can have nightmares, it's safe to say after seeing the Trump robot from Disney's Hall of Presidents, we're about to find out.
A-Plus trolling from Disney, in the Hall of Presidents. Terrible hair? Check. Orange skin? Check. Cheaply tailored suit, and too long tie? Check. Short fingers? Bingo.
However, they did substantially shrink the waistline.
Whatever you do, don't tell Donald Trump that his Hall of Presidents figure is unspeakably hideous, because he would get very mad about it and that would be super funny. So definitely DON'T do that, ok? #HideousOrangeWaxMonster
As has been tradition since the early '90s, the rich asshole recorded a speech exclusively for the Hall of Presidents show. This show has been a Disney attraction since a single animated figure of former president Abraham Lincoln was developed for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair.
President the rich asshole is overseeing a robust economy — and receiving little political dividend for it.
Now, the question is whether the near-certain passage of a tax-reform bill this week will change that or whether widespread opposition to the rich asshole is a semi-permanent part of the political landscape.
the rich asshole’s approval rating is the lowest of any president at this time in his tenure since modern polling began. In the RealClearPolitics average as of Monday afternoon, 37.9 percent of the electorate gives him the thumbs-up but 57.1 percent disapprove of his job performance.
That finding comes in the face of a plethora of positive economic data.
The Dow Jones industrial average has risen more than 35 percent since the rich asshole’s election. It closed at 18,332 on Election Day last year and at 24,792 on Monday.
The unemployment rate has ticked down from 4.8 percent in the month of the rich asshole’s inauguration to 4.1 percent last month.
Overall economic expansion has been strong, with gross domestic product growth running at about 3 percent on an annualized basis in both the most recent quarters.
On Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders retweeted a CNBC tweet that noted the Dow has risen by 5,000 points within a calendar year for the first time ever. Sanders proclaimed this “The @realDonaldTrump effect.”
But a large swath of the population seems to disagree. The evidence is seen not only in the rich asshole’s low approval ratings, but in recent election results that have frayed Republican nerves and buoyed Democratic spirits.
Democrats say the dynamic is simple: the rich asshole’s unconventional, fractious style dominates voters’ minds more than an economy that, they say, has stayed on the same general trajectory established in the latter part of former President Obama’s tenure.
Unemployment from the Great Recession peaked at 10 percent in October 2009, Obama’s first year in office. It had been more than halved, to 4.8 percent, by the time he left the White House. The Dow more than doubled during Obama’s tenure.
When it comes to the rich asshole, voters “don’t think he created this economy,” said Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. “People think he is unqualified to be president, out of control, fundamentally not presidential and maybe even dangerous.”
There is also the question of whether people’s overall view of the economy has shifted, whatever the official indicators say.
The widely used consumer sentiment index calculated by the University of Michigan shows small declines in two of the three categories it measures — consumer sentiment and consumer expectations — since a year ago. The third category, the public’s assessment of current economic conditions, has ticked up modestly.
Allies of the president insist that he will eventually receive popular credit for the prevailing economic conditions. They say the rich asshole has already helped juice the economy by cutting back on regulations, and they insist this effect will be amplified by the tax-reform plan.
In essence, their argument is that the rich asshole will own the economy once the tax-reform bill becomes law.
Andrew Surabian, a senior adviser to a pro-the rich asshole outside group, Great America Alliance — and a close ally of erstwhile chief strategist Stephen Bannon — said it is unreasonable to expect that economic growth would instantly translate into political popularity.
He also emphasized that voters would not necessarily see the concrete benefits from tax reform in their paychecks until they file their 2018 tax returns in early 2019.
“It’s always a lagging indicator,” Surabian told The Hill. “It takes time for people to feel the good news happening in the economy.”
Over time, he added, “what he is doing will take full effect.”
Danger for the Republican Party arises if those feel-good sensations fail to manifest themselves before the midterm elections IN November, however. Behind the scenes, Republican incumbents and their aides are pinning their hopes on a strong economy overcoming the rich asshole’s polarizing political persona.
It is not necessarily a bad bet, according to some independent experts.
“If the economy continues on the path that it seems to be on, then that does look pretty good in a midterm election — at least when it comes to limiting losses,” said Grant Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University.
Reeher added that the deficit-raising element of the tax-reform plan — it is projected to increase the federal deficit by about $1.5 trillion over a decade — would not necessarily be the political millstone around the GOP’s neck that some Democrats would like to think.
“No one’s ever lost an election on the deficit or the debt,” Reeher said. “If the economy continues to rebound more strongly and voters start focusing on what they are getting out of the tax cut, that can be a powerful combination. To me, it’s not clear that we are headed for the [Democratic] tidal wave that some folks are predicting.”
the rich asshole’s backers have a more pronounced view of the disconnect between economic strength and polling weakness. They blame a hostile media for, as they see it, assailing the president day after day and presenting the most negative possible interpretation of his every move.
Some believe the passage of tax reform will be a rebuttal to one of the more damaging narratives — that the rich asshole has not been able to rack up legislative accomplishments despite having Republican majorities in both the Senate and the House.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that a newspaper headline doesn’t take a shot at the president’s legislative accomplishments or lack thereof,” said Jason Miller, who served as senior communications adviser on the the rich asshole campaign. “Now, that all goes away.”
Miller, like many in the rich asshole’s orbit, evinces confidence that it will all come right in the end.
“If the economy keeps not just humming but soaring, I think voters will give President the rich asshole credit for that and put him in much better shape,” he said.
But if that proves wrong, the outlook for the rich asshole and his party looks bleak.
The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage, primarily focused on some rich asshole’s presidency.
Attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller’s credibility from some of President some rich asshole’s closest allies have again fallen flat with the U.S. Senate, which is in no rush to advance recently proposed legislation that would shield Mueller from presidential interference.
Questions over whether the rich asshole will interfere with the Mueller probe resurface often, prompting lawmakers to do damage control for the president. Despite the heightened criticisms as of late, senators are still confident that Mueller is up for the job. But legislating the problem away is a bridge too far for some.
“Well, as long as he follows through,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) quipped to The Daily Beast when asked if he takes the rich asshole at his word.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who dedicated his retirement speech on the Senate floor to impugning the rich asshole, said “I don’t know how to answer that.”
Still, Flake does not believe a legislative backstop is necessary.
“I don’t think it’s needed. I don’t think he’s going to do it,” Flake told The Daily Beast. “I’ve been troubled by the efforts to discredit the investigation, coming from a lot of sources.”
Two pieces of legislation were introduced in August, just before Congress left Washington for the summer, ostensibly as a way to put a spotlight on the possibility that the rich asshole moves to fire Mueller while Congress was away. At the time, the rich asshole was floating the idea of firing the special counsel for looking into his personal finances as part of its investigation into Russia’s election meddling and possible collusion between the rich asshole campaign associates and Russian operatives.
One of the legislative backstops, proposed by Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), would allow a special counsel to challenge his or her firing in front of a panel of three federal judges who would the decide within 14 days whether there was probable cause for the termination. Another, introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), would codify a judicial review before a firing can take place.
Graham, who has cultivated a close friendship with the rich asshole despite characterizing him as a “kook” and “unfit” to be president during the 2016 campaign, previously suggested to The Daily Beast that his own bill was not necessary “until you show me a reason that Mr. Mueller is in jeopardy.” On Monday, Graham reiterated that he takes the president at his word that he will not fire Mueller.
“We need another special counsel to look at Fusion GPS. But we’re working on a compromise,” Graham told The Daily Beast, referring to the rich asshole’s lawyer’s call for a special counsel investigation into a Justice Department official’s ties to Fusion GPS, the firm responsible for the dossier containing allegations about the rich asshole’s connections to Russia.
Because the bills are slightly different, staffers for each lawmaker and the Senate Judiciary Committee have been working to reconcile the two pieces of legislation into one. As of last week, a committee spokesman told The Daily Beast, aides were still working on the effort. But they’re not in any particular rush to hash out a solution.
“The only thing I saw was the president saying he didn’t have any intentions at all, so we’re still having the discussion but it’s not driven by any current events,” Tillis, the other GOP co-sponsor, told The Daily Beast.
The rich asshole’s allies outside the White House have long questioned the credibility of Mueller’s probe, characterizing it as a “witch hunt.” But in recent days, those same allies—notably, hosts and commentators on Fox News, which the rich asshole watches regularly—have ramped up their attacks against the investigation, which they believe is rampant with anti-the rich asshole biases.
The rich asshole has shown throughout his presidency to be heavily influenced by Fox News, which he tunes into regularly. The network has parroted a barrage of attacks against the Mueller investigation, spurred as of late by the revelation that Peter Strzok, an FBI agent working on the Mueller probe, sent anti-the rich asshole text messages in 2016. Mueller removed Strzok from the investigation after the messages were discovered. (The Wall Street Journal recently revealed that Strzok also bashed prominent liberals including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Attorney General Eric Holder, and Chelsea Clinton.)
But the accusations of bias on the Mueller team’s part from Fox News personalities began long before Strzok’s messages were publicized. Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett has accused Mueller of weaponizing the FBI, comparing the agency to Russia’s KGB. On Saturday, host Jesse Watters said the rich asshole might be the victim of a “coup” because “the investigation was weaponized to destroy his presidency for partisan political purposes and to disenfranchise millions of American voters.” Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told Watters that Mueller’s investigators “can’t possibly be seen as objective or transparent or evenhanded or fair.” Another pro-the rich asshole host on the network, Jeanine Pirro, argued on Saturday that the special counsel probe aims to invalidate the 2016 election results.
While Senate Republicans have largely dismissed those suggestions, some pro-the rich asshole House members have gone as far as to call for a second special counsel to investigate the integrity of the Mueller investigation. One of those lawmakers, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has called for Mueller’s firing, traveled with the rich asshole to a rally in Pensacola, Florida, on Air Force One earlier this month.
For his part, the rich asshole has said as recently as Sunday that he is not considering firing Mueller. He hasn’t gone as far as Watters and Pirro, but he has tweeted that the FBI is “tainted” and in “tatters.” On Capitol Hill, Democrats have raised concerns about the president’s whims. Over the weekend, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) suggested that a Mueller firing is imminent.
The rich asshole cannot technically fire Mueller. But he can direct Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—who oversees the special counsel investigation—to do so. As recently as last week at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rosenstein has stood by Mueller, whom he appointed, and has maintained that there is no “good cause” to fire him or disband the investigation.
For now, Congress is taking Rosenstein and the rich asshole at their word, save for the few lawmakers still pushing for a legislative backstop.
“I think there is urgency to getting to consensus on re-introducing a revised bill. We’ve got language. Getting all four members to actually agree is our current challenge,” Coons, one of the Democratic co-sponsors, told The Daily Beast. “I think it is in the country’s best interest, I think it is in the president’s best interest, I think it is in the best interest of the rule of law, President the rich asshole should not fire Robert Mueller. That would be disastrous.”
President some rich asshole (left) and his Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch (right). Image via Wikimedia Commons.
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President some rich asshole privately discussed his frustrations with Neil Gorsuch, his Supreme Court nominee, earlier this year amid worries that he wasn’t “loyal” enough to the president.
As The Washington Post reported Monday night, the rich asshole “was upset that [then-nominee] Gorsuch had pointedly distanced himself from the president in a private February meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT),” claiming he was “worried that Gorsuch would not be ‘loyal.'”
According to several Post sources familiar with the conversations, the rich asshole floated the idea of rescinding Gorsuch’s nomination over the slight, though it’s unclear his “explosion” was mere venting or was discussed as a genuine prospect.
Nevertheless, “at the time, some in the White House and on Capitol Hill feared that Gorsuch’s confirmation — which had been shaping up to be one of the clearest triumph’s of the rich asshole’s tumultuous young presidency — was on the verge of going awry,” the report continued.
Gorsuch’s confirmation and short tenure in the Supreme Court has been touted by the president as one of his greatest achievements since taking office in January.
According to 11 sources within the White House or familiar with the discussion, “the rich asshole was especially upset by what he viewed as Gorsuch’s insufficient gratitude for a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court.” Shortly after his interview with Blumenthal, Gorsuch sent the president a handwritten note thanking him.
“Your address to Congress was magnificent,” Gorsuch wrote to the president in a note obtained by the Post. “And you were so kind to recognize Mrs. [Maureen] Scalia [widow of the late Justice Antonin Scalia], remember the justice, and mention me. My teenage daughters were cheering the TV!”
Upon receiving the note, the president was placated, the report continued.
“As head of legislative affairs, our team was in charge of his nomination, and never did I view his nomination in jeopardy, nor did the president ever suggest to me that he wanted to pull him,” Marc Short, the White House’s director of legislative affairs and assistant to the president, told the Post. “The process obviously caused frustration, but that frustration was compounded by the fact that Gorsuch had sent him a personal letter that he never received.”
As Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis noted on Twitter after the Post published their story, the rich asshole’s concerns that Gorsuch would not be “loyal” to him are misplaced given that judges and other federal law enforcement officials take oaths to uphold the constitution rather than the presidency. The story, Dennis continued, is reminiscent of the rich asshole’s request that former FBI Director James Comey swear loyalty to him — the denial of which led to his firing.
some rich asshole during CNN debate (Photo: Screen capture via video)
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Donald Tump is “living in his own world” and refusing to take special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation seriously, the Washington Post reports.
the rich asshole’s lawyers have reportedly assured the president the special counsel’s probe into collusion between his campaign and Russia will wrap up by the year’s end. This week, his lawyers plan to meet with Mueller’s team to ask if the special counsel requires more information or documents before concluding the investigation.
One adviser described the rich asshole as “confident, even arrogant” in his belief that Mueller’s probe will draw to a close soon.
But for all of the rich asshole’s self-assuredness, people familiar with the investigation told the Washington Post the special counsel’s investigation is likely to carry on for at least another year.
“I think it’s possible Mueller’s team could give them an idea of how much longer they anticipate their investigation will last,” former deputy special counsel Peter Zeidenberg said. “I would be shocked if they have a timeline anything similar to what we’ve heard coming from the White House.”
Mark Corallo, a one-time spokesman for the rich asshole’s legal team, likewise said he doesn’t see Mueller’s probe ending in the timeframe the president believes it will. But, he argued the special counsel “understands you can’t have a president who is living this cloud of uncertainty.”
CNN on Monday reported the rich asshole predicts a “letter” of exoneration from Mueller, noting allies fear a “meltdown” if he doesn’t receive it.
“I’ve known him long enough to know that disappointing him is a problem and they’ve built up a level of expectations for him that are unrealistic,” a friend of the rich asshole told CNN.
Special counsel and former FBI director Bob Mueller (image via screengrab).
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Refuting President some rich asshole’s “arrogant” assumption that the Russia investigation will be over at the end of the year, members of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team confirmed they would continue their probe until at least 2018.
As The Washington Post reported Monday, “the special counsel’s office has continued to request new documents related to the [the rich asshole] campaign, and members of Mueller’s team have told others they expect to be working through much of 2018, at a minimum.”
The possibility of the probe ending by the year’s close becomes even narrower considering that multiple witnesses, including former the rich asshole aides George Papadopoulos and Mike Flynn, are continuing to cooperate with the investigation, the report continues.
President the rich asshole made erroneous claims during his speech on national security on Monday. CreditEvan Vucci/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a speech outlining his first national security strategy, President the rich asshole sought to distinguish himself as a commander in chief who is breaking records and setting precedents.
some rich asshole spoke of historic military spending, a never-before-seen emphasis on border security at home and allies finally sharing the United States’ defense burdens abroad — all claims that require some explanation. Here’s an assessment.
He falsely called the $700 billion defense policy bill for 2018 “a record.”
“We are once again investing in our defense — almost $700 billion — a record this coming year,” some rich asshole said.
He was referring to the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that authorizes funding for the Pentagon, nuclear weapons programs at the Energy Department and military elements of the intelligence community. That is different from an appropriations bill, which actually provides the funding.
The defense authorization that some rich asshole signed into law last week included a base defense budget of $626 billion for the 2018 fiscal year. It also authorized about $66 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, a spending account that is used to fund wars.
One does not need to look far for authorization bills that have been larger. President Barack Obama signed a defense authorization bill of billion for the 2011 fiscal year, more than $150 billion of which funded continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Adjusted for inflation, the gap between the 2011 bill and the 2018 bill would be greater still.
He misleadingly suggested that NATO members are increasing defense contributions at his urging.
some rich asshole claimed “tens of billions of dollars more pouring in because I would not allow member states to be delinquent.”
Under NATO guidelines, member states agree to commit a minimum 2 percent of gross domestic product to the organization’s defense efforts, but few nations actually do so.
Members that were not meeting that bar of 2 percent pledged in September 2014 — nine months before some rich asshole announced his candidacy — to do so over the next decade.
The secretary general of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said in July that five countries contributed at least 2 percent of their G.D.P. in 2016. He said he expected Romania to reach the benchmark this year, and Latvia and Lithuania to do so next year.
It is conceivable that some rich asshole ushered along the process, but efforts to address the disparity predated his complaints.
He exaggerated when he said foreign countries were not sharing the “cost of defending them.”
“We have made clear that countries that are immensely wealthy should reimburse the United States for the cost of defending them,” some rich asshole said. “This is a major departure from the past, but a fair and necessary one.”
The notion that allies do not share the costs of hosting American troops abroad is inaccurate. His emphasis on a dollar-for-dollar “reimbursement” also mischaracterizes the relationship between the United States and its allies.
“That would be mercenary,” said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “They pay for a lot of the cost supporting our troops in their country.”
A 2004 report from the Pentagon detailed the contributions that allies make toward hosting American troops. Japan, for example, provided over $4.4 billion in direct and indirect support, equal to about 75 percent of costs to the United States.
The government of South Korea said in 2014 that it would pay $866 million, equal to about 40 percent of the total, for American troops there.
The United States also benefits from these relationships in the form of a larger global footprint, counterterrorism intelligence sharing and trade advantages.
He exaggerated his national strategy’s emphasis on border security as “the first time ever.”
While some rich asshole’s strategy may be the first to call for the construction of a border wall, it is not the first to pay tribute to the importance of border security.
Mr. Obama’s 2010 strategy spoke of efforts to “maintain effective control of our physical borders” and “safeguard lawful trade and travel into and out of the United States.”
It also included a goal of pursuing comprehensive immigration overhaul that “effectively secures our borders” and deters unlawful entry.
President George W. Bush’s 2006 strategy declared a goal of working with the United States’ nearest neighbors to reduce illegal immigration.
And in his 1998 strategy, President Bill Clinton vowed to “cooperate with other states to curb illegal immigration into this country” and listed border protection as one of his major goals and initiatives.
A UN security council resolution calling for the withdrawal of some rich asshole’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has been backed by every council member except the US, which used its veto.
The unanimity of the rest of the council was a stark rebuke to the rich asshole administration over its unilateral move earlier this month, which upended decades of international consensus.
The Egyptian-drafted resolution did not specifically mention the US or the rich asshole but expressed “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem”.
A spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, responded to the veto by saying it was “unacceptable and threatens the stability of the international community because it disrespects it”.
The UK and France had indicated in advance that they would would back the text, which demanded that all countries comply with pre-existing UNSC resolutions on Jerusalem, dating back to 1967, including requirements that the city’s final status be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The resolution was denounced in furious language by the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, who described it as “an insult” that would not be forgotten. “The United States will not be told by any country where we can put our embassy,” she said.
“It’s scandalous to say we are putting back peace efforts,” she added. “The fact that this veto is being done in defence of American sovereignty and in defence of America’s role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us; it should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the security council.”
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, tweeted: “Thank you, Ambassador Haley. On Hanukkah, you spoke like a Maccabi. You lit a candle of truth. You dispel the darkness. One defeated the many. Truth defeated lies. Thank you, President the rich asshole.”
The tabling of the resolution followed a weekend of negotiations aimed at securing the widest consensus possible on the issue. The vote has underlined once again the widespread international opposition to the US move, even among some of its closest allies.
It came ahead of a trip by the US vice-president, Mike Pence, to Jerusalem on Wednesday that will take place amid a deep rupture in US-Palestinian relations.
The Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party has called for a day of demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories to coincide with the Pence trip.
Palestinian officials had warned that in the event of a US veto on the security council, they would also seek a resolution at the general assembly.
The push for a vote – which came in the knowledge that the US would use its veto – followed the rich asshole’s decision to upend decades of policy by declaring that the US recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that he plans to move its embassy there.
Speaking before the vote, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, said the text was in line with London’s position on Jerusalem as an issue that must be resolved through negotiations.
In an apparent rejection of the authority of the security council, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Dann, said ahead of the vote: “Members of the council can vote again and again — for a hundred more times. It won’t change the simple fact that Jerusalem is, has been, and always will be the capital of Israel.”
President some rich asshole's "America First" national security strategy, released Monday, overwhelmingly focuses on terrorism and nuclear weapons, but barely mentions human rights or the promotion of democracy—issues that members of Congress from both parties have cited as vital to the nation's security.
The 68-page document, which the rich asshole outlined in a speech Monday afternoon, includes the word "terrorist" 53 times and the word "nuclear" 54 times. The phrase "human rights," however, is only mentioned once. That seems to offer a major indication as to what the rich asshole is prioritizing in terms of foreign policy. Comparatively, former President Barack Obama's national security strategy from 2015 mentions "human rights" 16 times, "terrorist" 20 times and "nuclear" 33 times.
Meanwhile, the rich asshole's national security strategy mentions "democracy" just three times, during a period where autocratic governments are rising in many parts of the world. the rich asshole has praised many of the leaders of such countries, such as Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Rodrigo Duterte, leader of the Philippines. Obama's 2015 strategy mentioned "democracy" more than a dozen times.
There is ample evidence that habitual violations of human rights and democratic norms by governments can destabilize countries and lead to humanitarian crises that endanger the wider world, including the U.S. As Obama's 2015 strategy stated, "Defending democracy and human rights is related to every enduring national interest. It aligns us with the aspirations of ordinary people throughout the world. We know from our own history people must lead their own struggles for freedom if those struggles are to succeed. But America is also uniquely situated—and routinely expected—to support peaceful democratic change."
Republican members of Congress also have explicitly pointed to defending human rights as vital to national security, including Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While discussing Cuba in June, Rubio said, "It's in our national security interest to have human rights and democracy in our region."
In the wake of the rich asshole's speech on Monday, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and previously served as its chairman, tweeted, "Extremely disappointed by what was left out of Pres. the rich asshole's speech. Supporting democracy & human rights creates global stability & peace. A National Security Strategy w/o those values strengthens dictators’ ability to oppress & adversaries' ability to create war."
1. Extremely disappointed by what was left out of Pres. Trump's speech. Supporting democracy & human rights creates global stability & peace. A National Security Strategy w/o those values strengthens dictators’ ability to oppress & adversaries' ability to create war
Just days after @washingtonpost reported that @CDCgov was told to not use terms like vulnerable, diversity, transgender & more,Trump-Pence administration fails to mention #LGBTQ & human rights abuses in the National Security Strategy.As hard as he tries, Trump will not erase us.
Amid the worst refugee crisis since World War II, with 22.5 million refugees worldwide, the rich asshole's strategy doesn't include a single mention of "refugees." the rich asshole has consistently demonized refugees and suggested they posed a danger as potential terrorists, despite evidence to the contrary. The vast majority (85 percent) of individuals responsible for jihadist terror attacks in the U.S. since 9/11 were citizens or legal residents.
During his speech outlining the strategy on Monday, the rich asshole reiterated his calls for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as well as an end to chain migration, which he's claimed will help protect the U.S. from terrorism. In doing so, the rich asshole ignored the fact the most recent jihadist terror attacks in the U.S. were perpetrated by individuals who legally entered the country and were radicalized after their arrival.
Pres. Trump: "For the first time ever, American strategy now includes a serious plan to defend our homeland," including building border wall, restricting immigration. http://abcn.ws/2hFejwL
The national security strategy presents jihadist terrorism as one of the greatest threats to the U.S. Since 9/11, jihadist terrorists have killed 103 people on U.S. soil. In 2017 alone, nearly 15,000 people have been killed by gun violence in the U.S., a topic not mentioned a single time in the rich asshole's strategy or accompanying speech.
the rich asshole's strategy also makes no mention of climate change, which the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have described as a national security threat. Obama's 2015 strategy, however, mentioned the issue more than a dozen times.
Eugene Kaspersky, founder and head of cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, speaks in Berlin, Germany, last month. Kaspersky's company filed a lawsuit against the rich asshole administration today.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Kaspersky Lab, a massive, Russian cybersecurity company, sued the rich asshole administration in U.S. federal court on Monday, arguing that the American government deprived it of due process rights when Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke banned its software from U.S. government agencies in September.
"Kaspersky anti-virus products and solutions provide broad access to files and elevated privileges on the computers on which the software is installed, which can be exploited by malicious cyber actors to compromise those information systems," said the Department of Homeland Security's September statement. "The Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies."
The DHS's directive gave government agencies 30 days to identify any presence of Kaspersky products, 60 days to develop plans to remove them, and 90 days to execute the plans.
President the rich asshole signed the ban into law last week as part of a broad defense policy bill.
"There are concerns on record and some that suggest there has been direct collaboration with certain officials from Kaspersky and from the FSB, which is of course the successor to the KGB," Sen. Jean Shaheen, D-N.H., told NPR.
"Kaspersky Lab said it was disappointed by the decision to ban its products. It said the company has never helped any government anywhere with cyber-espionage and added that it's, quote, 'disconcerting that a private company can be considered guilty until proven innocent due to geopolitical issues.'"
Kaspersky Lab's lawsuit also claims that the ban violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the Fifth Amendment. The Administrative Procedures Act controls how agencies like the DHS can establish regulations, and requires that agencies must provide "substantial evidence" for their regulation decisions if questioned by a U.S. court.
The company's founder, Eugene Kaspersky, issued an open letter condemning the DHS on Monday. "DHS has harmed Kaspersky Lab's reputation and its commercial operations without any evidence of wrongdoing by the company," he said.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Until recently, Kaspersky Lab was among NPR's underwriters.
Seven months and a thousand outrages ago, some rich asshole's firing of FBI Director James Comey significantly raised the stakes of the scandal over Russian interference in the 2016 election. The most pressing question was no longer Did the rich asshole campaign aid Russian efforts to bring down Hillary Clinton's candidacy through email hacking and leaking? but instead Did the rich asshole fire the FBI director in an effort to block an investigation into him or his associates? The initial explanation for the firing put forth in a letter by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was that Comey had breached federal law enforcement norms and been unfair to Clinton. But that rationale was pretty much immediately contradicted by the rich asshole in a TV interview, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions declined to provide any clarity on the decision-making process when he was subsequently grilled by Congress.
From the rich asshole's Twitter account, you might get the impression the president is unable to have a thought without making it public. Yet in the case of the Comey firing, which may prove to be one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency, we still don't understand his reasoning. And that reasoning could be more and more important as the rich asshole seems poised on the brink of another monumental choice: whether to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
On Sunday, the rich asshole told reporters he wasn't going to do that, but with this president, that kind of denial is hardly the end of the story. In the same conversation, the rich asshole said “my people were very upset about” Mueller's team obtaining emails sent by the rich asshole aides during the transition, which his lawyers contend was unlawful. And on Friday, the rich asshole denounced the FBI in general and in particular a pair of agents who sent anti-the rich asshole text messages back and forth during the campaign. (One of the agents, Peter Strzok was removed from Mueller's team earlier this year after the text messages came to light; the other had already left the investigation.) Opposition groups are now openly bracing for the rich asshole to fire Mueller, with former Attorney General Eric Holder one of the more prominent figures to call for mass protests if the special counsel gets the axe.
When Mueller was appointed in the wake of the Comey firing controversy, the former FBI director was almost universally praised, with Newt Gingrich saying "his reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity [ sic]." But even before Mueller indicted the rich asshole associates from former campaign chair Paul Manafort to former National Security Adviser and famed Russian ambassador caller Mike Flynn—the latter has already pleaded guilty—conservative media and other the rich asshole allies began to turn on him. Fox News hosts have recently begun comparing the FBI to communist secret police squads, with one bottom-of-the-screen chyron going so far as to ask if we faced "a coup in America." Fox News host Jeanine Pirro went further than most when she called for the firing and even arrest of a bunch of people at the FBI and the Department of Justice.
The narrative on the right is, generally speaking, a consistent one: the FBI and Mueller are biased against the president. "I have confidence in Director Mueller," Republican Texas Senator John Conryn said on This Week Sunday. "I would just think he would be concerned about the appearance of conflicts of interest that would undermine the integrity of the investigation."
In months past, at least some of the rich asshole's lawyers expressed eagerness to cooperate with Mueller's probe, presumably on the logic that the president had nothing to fear—and the sooner he was cleared, the better. But with at least some members of the rich asshole's legal team now publicly criticizing the investigation, that era of good feelings seems to be at an end.
The most alarming conclusion is that the skids are being greased—by conservative media outlets and political leaders—for Mueller's removal, which would likely involve ordering Rosenstein to fire the special counsel, and then firing the deputy AG if he didn't comply. (Rosenstein told Congress just last week that he has seen no cause to fire the man.) But the anti-Mueller narrative could also just end up giving Republicans in Congress an excuse not to impeach the rich asshole if the investigation concludes he committed obstruction of justice or another crime. It's not difficult to imagine the GOP leaping from This investigation is tainted by partisanship to This investigation is irredeemably tainted and we will ignore it.
In the end, the rich asshole himself is likely to enjoy a measure of protection from a GOP-dominated Congress. But some rich asshole, Jr. and presidential son-in-law/toady Jared Kushner will not have the same sort of insulation. If Mueller is moving toward indicting either of them, it's possible to imagine the rich asshole's familial loyalty—one of his defining characteristics—kicking in, leading him to preemptively can the special counsel or issue preemptive pardons to people in legal jeopardy.
The consequences of that would be predictable and disastrous. Even if the rich asshole campaign didn't collude directly with Russia (and there is no smoking-gun evidence yet indicating that it did), a Mueller firing or a Kushner pardon would make the rich asshole look guilty, galvanize the opposition, take center stage in the media for weeks if not months, and put Republicans in an even more precarious political position than the one they find themselves in.
Then again, you could have said the same thing about Comey's firing months ago, and the rich asshole did it anyway. There's no hole so deep that this president can't make it deeper.
With special counsel Robert Mueller facing a deafening drumbeat of criticism from conservatives in recent days, Democrats have grown increasingly worried — and some conservatives have grown hopeful — that President some rich asshole will fire him any day now.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) said there was a “rumor on the Hill” that the rich asshole planned to fire Mueller at the end of this week. Meanwhile, conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told my colleague Alex Ward recently that Mueller should have been fired “long ago.” Former Attorney General Eric Holder called for protests in the event of Mueller’s firing, and the liberal activist group MoveOn.org has set up a plan for rallies in case it happens.
Now, both the rich asshole and his lawyers say they have no plans to fire Mueller. (The president reiterated that statement Sunday night.) But of course, it’s at least possible that this is a lie, or even that the rich asshole could change his mind later on.
With four former the rich asshole advisers already facing charges in Mueller’s investigation, and the probe apparently moving closer to the rich asshole’s family members and potentially the president himself, the rationale for firing the special counsel might appear clear. And so long as Republicans control Congress, the prospect of the rich asshole actually being impeached and removed from office for this is still a very long shot.
But it’s important to realize that there are also some real, practical reasons for the rich asshole not to fire Mueller. That is: Doing so would cause him several new problems, without entirely solving his old ones.
For one, any attempt to fire Mueller would likely lead to a storm of leaks. For another, he’d have to fire more people than just Mueller to get rid of him. the rich asshole would have to do yet more to actually end the investigation. Perhaps most importantly, the controversy that would ensue would make a Democratic takeover of Congress more likely — which could end up putting the rich asshole and his administration under even more investigative scrutiny.
I of course can’t predict what the president will do in the future, particularly if the legal jeopardy for him and his family members grows more serious. (Though he’s still got that pardon power in his pocket...) But the rich asshole has clearly been reluctant to move against Mueller so far — and that hesitation makes sense for these reasons.
1) Firing Mueller would unleash the leaks
When the rich asshole fired FBI Director James Comey back in May, the eventual consequence was Mueller’s appointment. But it’s also worth remembering what happened in between those two events — namely, a remarkable series of bombshell leaks that made their way to the press.
The leaks were about events both old (the rich asshole’s inappropriate request for Comey’s “loyalty” at a private meeting and his later request that Comey end the investigation into Michael Flynn) and new (the rich asshole’s revelation of classified intelligence to Russian officials in an Oval Office meeting). And they continued after Mueller’s appointment, with the revelation that Jared Kushner sought a back channel to communicate with Russia during the transition.
The sources for these leaks varied. The fired Comey was the ultimate source of some of them, as he tried to get out information he had long sat on. Others were likely leaked by still-serving government officials alarmed by what they saw as a cover-up. And top reporters began digging on these topics even more vigorously after Comey’s firing. But the commonality is that an attempted cover-up unleashed leaks. (We saw a similar situation after the rich asshole got a Justice Department warning that Michael Flynn could be vulnerable to Russian blackmail and failed to act on it — the warning leaked into the press weeks later.)
Now, when it comes to Mueller, keep in mind that he and his team have been at work for seven months, and the FBI investigation into the rich asshole associates and Russia was ongoing for months before that. He’s gathered a ton of information in that time — from his two cooperating witnesses George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn, from other people he’s interviewed, from intelligence intercepts, from various subpoenas, and so on. We recently learned that Mueller even obtained the full transition team email accounts of 13 the rich asshole aides.
Basically, Mueller’s team has a lot. We don’t know how much of what they have relates to potential criminality, or how much might just be politically damaging were it to leak. But the gist is that we have reason to believe that any attempt by the rich asshole to cover up or obstruct the investigation would be responded to with some painful leaks.
2) the rich asshole would have to clear out much of the Justice Department, not just Mueller
The process that it would take to fire Mueller also makes it more difficult and costly to actually do it.
Mueller is a special counsel appointed under a Justice Department regulation that tries to make it deliberately difficult for him to be fired. The regulation states that only the attorney general can fire a special counsel, and that even then, there would have to be a good reason — that it could only be done for “misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause.”
In another twist here, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the case — so it is Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who appointed Mueller in the first place, who has the sole authority to fire the special counsel.
Rosenstein repeated in congressional testimony last week that he believes he is the only person who has the authority to fire Mueller, that he believes he legally can’t fire Mueller without “good cause,” that he’s seen no good cause to fire Mueller yet, and that he would not carry out an order to fire Mueller without that good cause.
Now, most agree that the rich asshole could probably get rid of Mueller if he really wanted to. He’d just have to fire Rosenstein, and anyone else in the Justice Department’s line of succession who’d refuse to carry out the order, until he finds someone willing to do it.
But the upshot is that we’re not talking about one firing here — we’re talking about several, to get rid of Mueller alone. The more people who go down, the uglier the move looks. And even then...
3) Firing Mueller wouldn’t necessarily end the investigation
The Mueller investigation is more than just Mueller. It predated him of course, and since his appointment, he’s assembled a team of more than a dozen prosecutors who are working with FBI agents. And a case against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates is currently moving toward a trial. This is a sprawling operation that can’t just be shut down by the firing of one person.
Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor and former Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration, made this point on Twitter recently. “The overall investigation has already yielded fruit and there is a clear justification for it to continue,” he tweeted. “Pressure in and out of DOJ to appoint Mueller’s successor, as opposed to killing investigation, would be enormous, as would pressure to appoint someone of integrity/independence who would continue pushing hard. FBI Dir. Wray would continue to investigate until ordered not to.”
Again, it would probably be possible for the rich asshole to do this if he really wanted to — he could get whichever crony of his is left standing at the Justice Department to shut down the investigation, or appoint another crony to run it. But it’s another layer of difficulty and controversy that makes it harder to end the investigation entirely, and calls into questions the benefits of firing Mueller.
It’s also worth remembering that President Richard Nixon failed at this stage of the cover-up process. He fired his top Justice Department officials until he found one who’d get rid of the special prosecutor investigating Watergate. But then that Justice official (Robert Bork) appointed a new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who ended up investigating the case vigorously.
4) A the rich asshole cover-up could improve Democrats’ chances of retaking Congress — which would only worsen his legal woes
It’s well understood that the rich asshole would face a political backlash for firing Mueller. In and of itself, that probably wouldn’t be enough to hold him back from doing it — after all, he’s been willing and even eager to make controversial political moves in the past.
But the real risk for the rich asshole is in what that political backlash could lead to — a Democratic takeover of one or both chambers of Congress in 2018.
It’s not that the rich asshole would necessarily care about his party’s electoral fate. The more serious problem is that Democratic control of even one chamber would unleash empowered opposition party–controlled investigations into him and his administration on Russia, obstruction, and a host of other issues.
That’s an underappreciated reason why firing Mueller might backfire for the rich asshole — because if it helped Democrats retake Congress, the rich asshole would end up under far more investigative scrutiny, not less.
As of now, the rich asshole has nearly a year to turn that around or at least improve things somewhat. Or he could spark an enormous crisis over the rule of law in America by firing Robert Mueller. We’ll see which he picks.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks to White House Press Corps (CNN/screen grab)
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White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was challenged on Tuesday after she claimed the Republican tax bill would cost President some rich asshole “a lot of money” even though it is expected to disproportionately benefit real estate developers.
After the House voted to pass the GOP tax bill on Tuesday, Sanders was asked to defend claims that the bill was going to cost the president “a lot of money.”
“It likely will — certainly on the personal side — could cost the president a lot of money,” Sanders opined. “The president’s focus hasn’t necessarily been at all on himself.”
The reporter pointed out that the rich asshole would benefit from several provisions of the bill, including top-rate tax reductions, pass-through reductions and estate tax exemptions.
“He’s going to make money on that,” she told Sanders.
“Look,” Sanders stuttered, “again, this is a tax plan that we hope benefits all Americans primarily. And priority number one is middle-class Americans. That has been this administration’s focus. We feel like that is certainly addressed.”
Later in the press conference, MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson pointed out to Sanders that it would be impossible to verify her claims until the rich asshole agreed to release his tax returns.
Sanders responded with the familiar refrain that the president would release his taxes when he is no longer under audit.
Watch the video below.
some rich asshole in Cleveland prayer huddle -- (YouTube screen grab)
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A certain sect of American evangelical Christians believes that President some rich asshole has been chosen by God to bring about the end of the world — but at least two “End Times” prophets think the president ought to give Americans one last chance to redeem themselves before unleashing his “Trumpocalypse.”
Right Wing Watch reports that Paul McGuire and Troy Anderson — who are co-authors of an upcoming book called “Trumpocalypse: The End-Times President, a Battle Against the Globalist Elite, and the Countdown to Armageddon” — are trying to personally lobby the rich asshole to declare an official call for national repentance, in which Americans will be encouraged to ask God for forgiveness of their sins.
“A minister friend of ours is working with the White House and members of Congress on a congressional resolution that would call for this national day of repentance,” Anderson explained during an interview with Christian online news network SkyWatch TV. “The idea is that, from the Oval Office, he would read the Lincoln proclamation, repent of America’s sins before God and there would be a day-long event.”
According to the Amazon.com description of their forthcoming “Trumpocalypse” book, the authors examine “the enigmatic prophecies and ‘biblical codes’ involving the rich asshole” and ask “whether God raised up President the rich asshole as a fearless leader to guide America and the free world through a series of major crises as the biblical end-time narrative unfolds.”
Watch the video of the authors being interviewed below.
some rich asshole (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
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President some rich asshole reportedly believes special counsel Robert Mueller will soon issue a letter of exoneration that will get him off the hook on Russia — but a former U.S. attorney said they’re just trying to keep him calm.
Joyce White Vance, who prosecuted federal cases for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017, compared the president to a screaming toddler who had to be soothed before getting dragged out of a toy store.
“Mueller and his team know where they are in the investigation,” Vance told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The special counsel probe has already resulted in two guilty pleas and two indictments, and have indicated more charges could be coming, but the president’s lawyers have said they believe the Mueller investigation of the rich asshole campaign ties to Russia would end by Christmas.
“You can’t help but think that what’s going on here is a lot like these toddlers you see in toy stores with their parents, and they’re screaming and they want their parents to buy them something, and their parents will tell them anything just to get them out of the toy store without making a scene,” Vance said.
“This presidency feels a little that way as though perhaps the president’s lawyers are just (saying), ‘Really, you won’t get indicted, please let’s leave the toy store,'” Vance added.
CNN commentator Angela Rye -- (Screenshot)
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CNN political commentator Angela Rye on Monday explained the problem with reports some rich asshole considered rescinding Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, pointing to the president’s pattern of demanding personal loyalty over loyalty to American democracy.
As the Washington Post reported Monday, the rich asshole considered pulling Gorsuch’s nomination over concerns he would not be “loyal” to him after his then-nominee reportedly called the president’s attacks on the judicial system “disheartening.”
Scott Jennings, the former special assistant to the president under George W. Bush, dismissed the Post, arguing the publication was “playing ‘Gossip Girl’” with its report.
“I mean, the reality is I went to breakfast this morning and considered having a cheese danish and made a much better decision to have bacon and eggs, so the president did the right thing,” Jennings (apparently) argued. “[Gorsuch] is his main accomplishment this year, it’s a great one and I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Rye noted “loyalty” is a “word that keeps coming up and permeates this administration,” arguing the rich asshole “is under the delusion and illusion that people owe him a loyalty pledge rather than taking that oath, passing the bar as now-Justice Neil Gorsuch had to do.”
“He does not owe some rich asshole his loyalty,” Rye continued. “He owes his loyalty to the bench. There are three branches of government, the judiciary is one. And I don’t know how many times we’ve said—whether it was during the campaign, during the transition period or after he was sworn into office—this is not normal. This is not an authoritarian government. There are three branches of government, all to hold one or the other accountable. This is not about your cheese danish, Scott, this is about ensuring that you understand you have to up hold the law, not about some rich asshole’s fragile ego.”
Watch the video below, via CNN:
The talking President some rich asshole robot at Disney's Hall of Presidents.
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A talking robot resembling President some rich asshole has now been added to the Hall of Presidents exhibit in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida — and it has filled with internet with both horror and ridicule.
Disney announced on Monday that it had added the rich asshole to the Hall of Presidents exhibit, just more than a year after he was first elected in November 2016. The choice to give the rich asshole a speaking role at the exhibit has proven controversial, although Disney has wisely steered away from having the robotic the rich asshole call Mexican immigrants “rapists” or boast about grabbing women by their genitals.
However, the appearance of the rich asshole robot was deeply disturbing to a great number of Twitter users, and many quickly jumped to mock the way the robot looked.
Check out the top responses below.
It's like they didn't even try.
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