February 5th-6th, 2017. It's been 450-451 days since the Nov 8, 2016, election of some rich asshole, no.45, and 378-379 days since the Jan 20th inauguration.
Carter Page flames out in ABC interview: Handing documents to Russian spies ‘sounds a lot worse’ than it was
Former the rich asshole campaign adviser Carter Page appears on ABC's 'Good Morning America' (Screen cap).
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Former the rich asshole campaign adviser Carter Page on Tuesday did an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in which he admitted to handing documents to a Russian spy — but defended himself by saying it wasn’t as bad as it looks.
During the interview, Stephanopoulos pointed out to Page that he gave documents to a Russian agent whom the FBI had charged with espionage. Page, however, insisted that it was a completely innocent transaction.
“I was teaching a course… at NYU, and I told him a couple of things about what I was talking about in my course, and I gave him a couple of notes, uh, documents that I gave my students,” he said. “So in terms of, when you say, ‘Giving documents to a quote-unquote spy’… it sounds a lot worse than reality, but that’s reality.”
Stephanopoulos then asked Page about the fact that he boasted in 2013 that he was an informal adviser to staff at the Kremlin.
“That does lead people to believe — is this guy working with Russia?” Stephanopoulos pointed out.
“There was a lot of people advising,” Page replied. “We were an informal group. We met in Geneva, Paris, New York… the first meeting was in the New York Stock Exchange, the heart of capitalism!”
“But you can understand how that could raise questions and lead to probable cause,” Stephanopoulos argued. “At one point you say you’re an adviser to the Kremlin, then you’re an adviser to some rich asshole!”
Watch the video below.
Stephanie Ruhle burns down the rich asshole collusion denials: ‘Notice, he never says there’s no money laundering’
MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle -- screenshot
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MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle pointed out that President some rich asshole has yet to deny laundering money for Russians even though he has insisted that he did not participate in collusion or commit obstruction of justice with regard to the Russian investigation.
During a panel discussion on Tuesday, Ruhle wondered what it would signal if the president declines to be interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
“In the past, President the rich asshole has said, ‘I would definitely sit down with him,'” the MSNBC host noted.
MSNBC judicial analyst Matthew Miller argued that refusing the interview would signal that the rich asshole “has something to hide.”
“Lawyers are worrying about one of two things happening in that interview,” Miller continued. “One, he tells the truth and his admissions constitute admission to a crime, probably obstruction of justice. And, two, he lies to investigators and puts himself in greater legal jeopardy.”
“It was just a couple of weeks ago that the president said, ‘I look forward to sitting down with Mueller,'” Ruhle reminded her panelists. “[He says], ‘There’s no collusion whatsoever. There’s no obstruction of justice.”
“Notice, he never says there’s no money laundering,” she added.
Conservative commentator Charlie Sykes pushed back on the assertion from the rich asshole’s attorney’s that investigators are trying to “trap” him into lying.
“There’s no such thing as a perjury trap,” Sykes explained. “You just have to not lie. And some rich asshole has shown himself incapable of doing this.”
Watch the video below from MSNBC.
Scarborough to the rich asshole: 'Your own lawyers think you are too stupid' to talk to Mueller
BY JOE CONCHA - 02/06/18 08:47 AM EST
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said Tuesday that President the rich asshole's "own lawyers think [he is] too stupid and too much of a liar to stand up to the heat" of a possible interview with special counsel Robert Mueller.
Scarborough mocked the rich asshole further by adding that anyone "with big, beautiful hands" would be brave enough to sit down with the Mueller.
The "Morning Joe" co-host was commenting on several news reports that said members of the president's legal team were advising the rich asshole against doing an interview with the special counsel.
The "Morning Joe" co-host was commenting on several news reports that said members of the president's legal team were advising the rich asshole against doing an interview with the special counsel.
The president has said he would talk to Mueller if asked, but added that decision would ultimately be up to his legal counsel.
“I’m looking forward to it, actually,” the rich asshole told reporters last month.
After some back-and-forth with co-host Mika Brzezinski, Scarborough laid out his case for the rich asshole to go ahead with the interview by seemingly challenging the president's pride.
"Mika, let me finish my sentence," Scarborough began. "This may be the most important sentence I’ve made in the past 30 seconds: Mr. President, your own lawyers think you are too stupid and too much of a liar to stand up to the heat that Bob Mueller is going to send in your direction."
"So if I had lawyers that thought I was too stupid to talk to Bob Mueller, I tell you what I would do, what any man would do, or any woman would do that had any confidence in themselves — they would do that interview," he continued. "And they would show those lawyers. They would show those lawyers they’re not scared, that they don’t have small hands, that they're not timid, they have, big, beautiful hands and they have a big, beautiful mind."
"And they’re not going to let their lawyers think that they’re too stupid and too much of a liar to talk to Bob Mueller."
"Mika, let me finish my sentence," Scarborough began. "This may be the most important sentence I’ve made in the past 30 seconds: Mr. President, your own lawyers think you are too stupid and too much of a liar to stand up to the heat that Bob Mueller is going to send in your direction."
"So if I had lawyers that thought I was too stupid to talk to Bob Mueller, I tell you what I would do, what any man would do, or any woman would do that had any confidence in themselves — they would do that interview," he continued. "And they would show those lawyers. They would show those lawyers they’re not scared, that they don’t have small hands, that they're not timid, they have, big, beautiful hands and they have a big, beautiful mind."
"And they’re not going to let their lawyers think that they’re too stupid and too much of a liar to talk to Bob Mueller."
The remarks about the rich asshole's hands are a nod to the belief that the rich asshole has long hated insults about the size of his hands.
Scarborough and Brzezinski once had a relatively friendly relationship with the rich asshole up until the time he clinched the Republican presidential nomination in April 2016.
Their criticism has been relentless and largely personal since. the rich asshole has not appeared on the program or MSNBC since May 2016.
Their criticism has been relentless and largely personal since. the rich asshole has not appeared on the program or MSNBC since May 2016.
the rich asshole has responded to the insults with criticism of his own, tweeting in June of last year that "low I.Q. Crazy Mika" had showed up at his Mar-a-Lago resort "bleeding badly from a face-lift."
Brzezinski and Scarborough are engaged.
the rich asshole worked for NBC as the host of "The Apprentice" for 14 seasons.
GOP strategist Rick Wilson: ‘Vulgar clown’ the rich asshole ‘betraying the nation’ by accusing critics of ‘treason’
President some rich asshole during a tax reform speech in Ohio. Image via screengrab.
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Republican strategist Rick Wilson said President some rich asshole “mainstreamed the T-word” by accusing his Democratic critics of treason.
Wilson is a frequent the rich asshole critic, but he wrote for The Daily Beast that the president had “cracked another seam in the foundation of our Republic” with his dark accusation during a “prissy, self-indulgent” speech in Blue Ash, Ohio.
“One thing we’ve learned in the last two years is that no legal, moral or cultural strictures bind the rich asshole and that he is immune to the better angels of human nature,” Wilson said. “The moral event horizon around him consumes the good in anyone who becomes one of his vassals. There is no better version of the rich asshole, ever. He can only degrade and destroy everything he touches, but today was remarkable, even for him.”
The treason allegation represented a “new low,” Wilson said — even for the rich asshole.
“the rich asshole lacks the mental capacity to see where this very slippery slope leads, but the political arsonists around him do,” Wilson said. “With that, prepare to reap the whirlwind.”
“Our Founders viewed treason as the most severe crime against the Republic,” Wilson added. “Treason was an act without shades of gray, without gradations, without rationalization. It is the one crime we punish by stripping those found guilty of it of their citizenship, or even their lives.”
Wilson argued the president was accusing his critics of treasonous activity of which the rich asshole was himself guilty.
“If you’re looking for someone who is betraying this nation, look for a person who would deliberately and systematically wreck the institutions that guarantee the separation of powers and the accountability of the executive and legislative branches,” he said. “Look for a person who would suborn the rule of law to protect himself, his family, and his cronies from justice.”
“If you’re looking for someone in the act of betraying the glorious vision of our Founders and our Constitution, look no further than the vulgar, prancing, reality-show clown who holds the presidency,” Wilson added.
He pointed out that the rich asshole was perilously close to being brought down by legal violations that tiptoed up to the edge of treason.
“If it is treason you seek, look no further than a man who gladly allows Russia’s continued attacks on our democracy, our Republic and our institutions,” Wilson said. “Putin’s implacable hostility, aggression and desire to divide and disrupt this nation are not in question by anyone except the rich asshole and his most slavish sycophants. Putin’s desire to weaken our standing, diminish our power and to harm our interests in the world is stated Russian policy, not speculations in the fevered minds of Never Trumpers.”
A Black life finally mattered to the rich asshole, but not for the reason you think
Edwin Jackson's death was purely preventable, but so are the deaths of other DUI victims.
Over the weekend, a twice-deported unlicensed, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala suspected of driving under the influence killed Indiana Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and another passenger. Conservative media immediately seized on Jackson’s death to bring attention to unauthorized migration. No one has yet brought the same level of attention to drunk driving, one of the deadliest causes of driving fatalities.
Jackson’s tragic death took place around 4 a.m. Sunday when he and his Uber driver stood outside the car on Interstate 70 because Jackson had become sick. A F-150 driven by the immigrant struck the two men, throwing one of the men into the center lane. As a passing state trooper slowed to a stop, the officer struck the body in the center lane. Police have since identified Manuel Orrego-Savala as the driver of the vehicle, although he originally gave an alias at the scene– Alex Cabrera Gonsales– and tried to flee on foot. Orrego-Savala was taken to jail and “accused of driving without a license and on suspicion of intoxicated driving,” CNN reported. Police are working with immigration officials who have placed a hold on him for deportation proceedings.
Vice President Mike Pence, the former governor of Indiana, tweeted on Monday that Jackson’s death was a “senseless & avoidable tragedy.” Tuesday morning, Fox and Friends ran a segment on the incident and linked the car crash to a need for stronger immigration enforcement.
After the Fox segment aired, the president weighed in on Jackson’s death on Twitter, calling it “just one of many such preventable tragedies.” The tweet appeared to allow the rich asshole to acknowledge that this particular Black man’s death was senseless and preventable. But almost immediately, the rich asshole used the moment to call for border security.
So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!
the rich asshole was right to say that this was a preventable tragedy. To be clear, Jackson’s death should absolutely induce indignation, but not necessarily because the driver who killed him was undocumented.
Drunk driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported, kills tens of thousands of people each year. That organization estimated 10,497 people — out of 37,461 people who died in traffic crashes in 2016 — were killed in drunk driving crashes involving a driver with an illegal Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level. In 67 percent of those crashes, at least one driver in the crash had a BAC of .15 or higher, or twice the legal limit. A recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine pointed out that alcohol-impaired driving crashes are a “persistent public health and safety problem” with an average of one death every 49 minutes.
the rich asshole didn’t tweet condolences for the other 10,497 people who died from drunk driving. That’s likely because his administration has a militant focus on senseless crimes committed by immigrants, particularly undocumented ones, to sharply differentiate and “other” white Americans from the immigrants who live in the country. That happened in 2015 when Republican lawmakers exploited the murder of San Francisco resident Kate Steinle by a five-time deported undocumented immigrant. Her death became the basis for multiple Republican-led bills to force cities to turn over suspected undocumented immigrants for federal deportation proceedings. The president also made immigrant crime a focus at his State of the Union event when he invited the parents of victims of the MS-13 gang.
The lives and deaths of Jackson and the other passenger mattered. And their deaths perhaps achingly resonate too well for people who have dealt with drunk-driving fatalities themselves. But twisting the topline of why Jackson’s death mattered by highlighting immigrant crime shouldn’t have been the focus of the rich asshole’s tweet.
North Korean press shreds the rich asshole: His ‘nasty’ body odor is caused by ‘fraud, sexual abuse and all other crimes’
some rich asshole at the NBCUNIVERSAL 2015 Winter TCA Press Tour at The Langham Huntington Hotel (Shutterstock)
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A North Korean newspaper on Tuesday issued a vicious attack on President some rich asshole’s body odor.
As reported by Japan Times, North Korea’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun wrote a furious editorial that launched a series of highly personal insults at the president.
Addressing the rich asshole’s repeated threats to North Korea, the paper said that its country stood ready to fend off any potential attack.
“No matter how desperately the rich asshole may try to defame the dignified and just system in the DPRK with the worst invectives, he cannot deodorize the nasty smell from his dirty body woven with fraud, sexual abuse and all other crimes, nor keep the U.S. from rushing to the final destruction,” the paper said.
Additionally, the newspaper called the rich asshole “dolt-like” and encouraged other world leaders to “urgently detain the rich asshole… in the isolated hospital of psychopaths.”
According to CNN reporter Ivan Watson, the paper also called the rich asshole an “old lunatic,” which seems to be a favorite phrase used by North Korean media to attack the president.
Watch Watson reading the North Korean editorial below.
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 02/06/18 07:28 AM EST
Former the rich asshole campaign adviser Carter Page said the GOP memo alleging surveillance abuses at the Department of Justice was worse than he could have imagined.
During an interview late Monday on Fox News, Page was asked about his reaction to the recently released memo.
"My first reaction, Laura, when I saw it was, you know, there was a lot of details that kept dripping out," he said.
"And it sounded really bad. When I actually saw it, it was even worse than I could've possibly imagined."
The four-page memo, released last Friday, accuses senior Justice Department officials of improperly using information from the so-called Steele dossier — which originated as an opposition research document during the 2016 presidential race — to obtain surveillance warrants on Page, a former the rich asshole campaign adviser.
the rich asshole tweeted this past weekend that the memo "totally vindicates" him in the investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between his campaign and Moscow.
Democrats have called the memo misleading and said it includes cherry-picked claims to undermine the ongoing Russia probe.
On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously to release a document drafted by Democrats to rebut the GOP memo.
The 10-page classified document now goes to President the rich asshole, who has five days to block its release if he so chooses.
The Democratic memo is expected to lay out a point-by-point rebuttal of the assertions in the GOP memo and make the case that the FBI had good reason to spy on Page as part of the counterintelligence probe into the rich asshole campaign.
During the interview on Fox News, Page also commented on what happened in the days after the GOP memo was released.
"What was particularly interesting is sort of the next 48 hours after that where part of the attack on Chairman Nunes and the committee was to come up with any new information to discredit me and anything related to the investigation or the overall investigation and all the great work that HPSCI has been doing," he said, referring to the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).
"So, it's pretty stark contrast between getting the facts out there, having — you know, still getting attacked. So, it’s pretty crazy."
Correction: Carter Page worked as a foreign policy adviser on the rich asshole campaign. An earlier version of this story included incorrect information.
The GOP is panicked about the looming special election in Pennsylvania. It should be an easy win for Republicans, but it's not.
How does the GOP know it’s facing a wave election in November as the party remains anchored down by the unpopular some rich asshole?
Simple. Republicans are pumping millions of dollars into trying to save a Pennsylvania House district that the rich asshole not only won by 20 points 15 months ago, but where Democrats didn’t even field a candidate in 2016.
But suddenly, the looming special election next month for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District has morphed into a white-hot race, garnering national attention. And it’s giving the GOP fits. the rich asshole rushed there in January to try to give the Republican candidate a boost, and Pence joined him on the trail last week.
The election pits a young Marine Corps veteran, Democrat Conor Lamb, against local Republican Rick Saccone, who’s trying to save a GOP House seat after the incumbent was forced out following the revelation of an extramarital affair.
That’s former seven-term Congressman Tim Murphy who resigned last October. And In 2016, Republican Murphy won 100 percent of the vote in his re-election bid.
Today, outside Republican groups are pumping millions into the race, panicked that losing the once-safe seat would signal a coming tsunami in November.
“Four conservative groups have purchased $4.7 million in television and radio ads to help state Rep. Rick Saccone, their candidate for the Pittsburgh-area seat held until last year by disgraced former GOP Rep. Tim Murphy,” the Washington Post now reports.
In some press accounts, the massive spending is being depicted as a victory for the GOP. But is it? Doesn’t the fact that Republican have to raise and spend millions of dollars defending a seat they won by 100 points in 2016 represent a major defeat for the GOP?
How is the Republican Party possibly going to defend all its vulnerable candidates in November when its forced to break the bank to save a seat that was so safe in 2016 that Democrats didn’t even run a candidate?
Adding to the Republican woes in Pennsylvania is the fact that the commonwealth’s supreme court recently demanded that congressional districts across the state be redrawn in a fairer away, knocking down the radical gerrymandering the GOP counted on when it won control of the state legislature.
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court let stay that groundbreaking Pennsylvania decision. And while local Republicans now mull the radical move of impeaching the justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to punish them for the gerrymandering decision, it’s likely the districts will be redrawn in a way that’s far more favorable to Democrats.
So even if the GOP spends millions to save the 18th District seat in March, Saccone will have to turn around and face voters again in November and do it from a district that isn’t so safe.
The Republican Party is crumbling in Pennsylvania.
BY BEN KAMISAR - 02/06/18 06:00 AM EST
Longtime Hillary Clinton confidant Lanny Davis visited his old friend shortly after President the rich asshole’s inauguration, hoping to cheer her up after her loss.
But the former Democratic presidential candidate was just as worried about him.
“I’m fine. You’re the one that’s not OK. Are you all right?” Davis recalled Clinton saying. “It’s been tough, but you’re the one that needs to move on. You and all my friends, we’ve got to move on.”
Instead, Davis studied polls and recently declassified Justice Department documents to try to make sense of why Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election.
Davis makes his conclusion clear in the title of his new book: “The Unmaking of the President 2016: How FBI Director James Comey Cost Hillary Clinton the Presidency.”
Davis first struck up a friendship with the future first lady while they both attended Yale Law School, later serving as a special counsel and White House spokesman for former President Clinton. He’s emerged as an ardent supporter of the Clintons and is a contributor to various publications, including The Hill.
Davis blames both Comey and the Justice Department at large for decisions he believes delivered the rich asshole the White House.
Davis puts much of Clinton’s election defeat on the “Comey letter,” the then-FBI director’s October 2016 notification to Congress that the FBI had uncovered another stash of Clinton emails from her time as secretary of State.
One week later, just days before the election, Comey announced those emails contained no new information. But Davis believes the damage had been done.
“the rich asshole is resisting allegations of Russian meddling because he doesn’t want to be called an illegitimate president. I can’t prove Russian meddling cost Hillary Clinton the election — how many voters do I know were affected by a Russian Facebook ad?” Davis told The Hill in an interview.
“But I can prove by raw statistics that the change in status between the two candidates between the 29th of October and the 8th of November was caused by the Comey letter, because nothing else happened,” he said.
Davis dedicates his book’s eighth chapter to a statistical analysis of all the ways he believes the letter sank Clinton in the race’s final days.
He blames the letter for an overwhelming shift in negative stories about Clinton, a steady polling drop and a sharp decline in voter sentiment toward her, coupled with a massive increase in sentiment toward the rich asshole.
From Oct. 23 to Election Day, consumer sentiment about Clinton dropped 12 percentage points while the rich asshole’s rating rose by 8 points, according to marketing data from Engagement Labs.
Clinton’s forecasted lead in the popular vote evaporated from 5.9 points in FiveThirtyEight’s forecast the day Comey released his letter to less than 3 points one week later.
Clinton’s poll lead in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin fell too, by margins of around 6 to 7 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics.
Davis doesn’t ascribe any broad, anti-Clinton motive to government officials or members of the media who he believes played a role in electing the rich asshole.
Davis argues that reporters are “accustomed to going after somebody who isn’t being fully transparent” — setting them up for a clash with Clinton, who had grown wary of the media after decades in politics.
Davis compares Clinton’s relationship with the media to a Skinner Box, a science experiment where a rat learns how to obtain food by being repeatedly shocked for pushing the wrong lever.
“When no matter what you do, you get slammed by the media, it’s called pain avoidance, you … turn away,” Davis said.
Davis doesn’t believe that Comey and others at the Justice Department acted to help the rich asshole win. But he believes overconfidence about a Clinton victory led those officials to unwittingly deliver him the presidency.
“If Barack Obama, [former Deputy Attorney General] Sally Yates or James Comey would have ever thought their decision would elect some rich asshole president,” Davis told The Hill, they would have acted differently.
“Comey ... was more worried about what the Republicans would say after the election than following the rules and not doing anything to affect the election,” he said.
Davis’s charge that Comey cost Clinton the election has found validation within the rich asshole administration. In a letter written ahead of Comey’s firing, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein specifically points to Comey’s decision to “release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation.”
A central tenet of Davis’s book has also been bolstered by new reporting by The Washington Post, which reported last week that the Justice Department’s inspector general is interested in the delay in investigating the new Clinton emails that prompted Comey’s letter.
The Post reported that those new emails were uncovered weeks before Comey sent his letter. Since the FBI’s ultimate review took about six days, Davis believes the case could have been wrapped up by Oct. 9, instead of two days before the election.
“I agree with the rich asshole on one thing: Comey should have been fired, but by Barack Obama,” Davis said.
Davis’s book includes a robust discussion on the topic of impeachment and invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the rich asshole from office, complete with five “grounds for possible impeachment.”
Even so, the veteran of the Clinton impeachment wars advises extreme caution to those Democrats looking to boot the rich asshole from office, calling on the party instead to defeat the rich asshole at the ballot box.
“If they can’t attract Republican support in the Judiciary Committee, and therefore on the floor of the House, wait two years and beat him in 2020,” Davis said.
“Learn the lesson of history of Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton’s impeachment was illegitimate because it was partisan,” he said.
But Davis also lists a few actions the rich asshole could take that he thinks would justify impeachment immediately: a “reckless” provocation of nuclear war with North Korea, or a “constitutional coup” that would see the rich asshole fire special counsel Robert Mueller and other investigators probing the rich asshole campaign connections to Russia.
“If no Republican is ready to hold him accountable and our lives are threatened, even then I would like to know why [GOP Sens.] Lindsey Graham [S.C.], John McCain [Ariz.] or Susan Collins [Maine] won’t support impeachment. I think they will,” Davis told The Hill.
“If my life is threatened and the constitutional form of government is threatened, then maybe Democrats will have to go forward and hope there will be Republicans who join,” he said.
Kellyanne Conway trying to fight opioids by sidelining experts and focusing on the rich asshole’s border wall
Kellyanne Conway speaks to Fox News (screen grab)
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Kellyanne Conway is exploiting her position as head of the White House “opioid cabinet” to bolster the president’s call for a border wall.
According to Politico, the senior counselor to President some rich asshole is blocking the acting opioid czar’s experts and leaders from attending meetings while 175 people die each day from drug abuse.
“The best way to prevent drug addiction and overdose is to prevent people from abusing drugs in the first place. If they don’t start, they won’t have a problem,” the rich asshole said during his briefing in August. “So we’re going to do our job. We’re going to get it going. We’ve got a tremendous team of experts and people that want to beat this horrible situation that’s happened to our country — and we will. We will win.”
That “tremendous team of experts” the president touted have no power or authority to advise or even speak with the president, thanks to Conway blocking them. Until just recently, the highest ranking the rich asshole appointee to the effort was a 24-year-old recent college graduate. the rich asshole’s previous appointee to chair the office withdrew from consideration after a “60 Minutes” expose on his efforts to undermine the FDA’s war against opioids.
“It’s fair to say the [Office of National Drug Control Policy] has pretty much been systematically excluded from key decisions about opioids and the strategy moving forward,” a former the rich asshole administration staffer told Politico.
Rich Baum has been serving as acting director after decades in the office and he too has been shut out of meetings due to Conway.
While the rich asshole started his first year in office with a commission headed by former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) that generated a report, little seems to have been done since.
“I don’t know what the agency is doing. I really don’t,” said former chief of staff Regina LaBelle, who served under President Barack Obama’s administration. “They aren’t at the level of visibility you’d think they’d be at by now.”
In an interview with Politico rencetly, Conway claimed a circle of advisers help “formalize and centralize strategy, coordinate policy, scheduling and public awareness” throughout the government agencies. It’s a definition for what the drug czar does.
“I haven’t talked to Kellyanne at all and I’m from the worst state for this,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), whose state has the highest overdose death rate in the U.S. “I’m uncertain of her role.”
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who has also been working on the opioid crisis, noted the same problem. His wife, however, was at an event with Conway for the first lady.
“If I want technical advice, I’m going to work with Baum,” said Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), who’s co-chairing a bipartisan task force on heroin. “If I want to get a message to the president, Kellyanne is somebody that I know I can talk to.”
“Kellyanne Conway is not an expert in this field,” said Andrew Kessler. His consulting group, Slingshot Solutions, has worked with federal agencies on substance abuse issues. “She may be a political operative and a good political operative. But look. When you appoint a secretary of labor, you want someone with a labor background. When you appoint a secretary of defense, you want someone with a defense background. The opioid epidemic needs leadership that ‘speaks’ the language of drug policy.”
the rich asshole is expected to issue a 95 percent budget cut to the “drug czar” office
He tried to do it last year in the budget but backed off.
Mike Pence was in charge of the rich asshole presidential transition, but his name is suspiciously absent from records of it.
Mike Pence was the head of the rich asshole presidential transition team, but his name is mysteriously missing from emails during that period.
Investigators on the House Intelligence Committee say they have looked over thousands of emails from the transition team but cannot find Pence’s name. The committee has been tasked with investigating the emails as part of its examination of Russia’s election interference.
Pence’s missing mentions raise questions about how much transparency is truly being offered by the rich asshole team, and if his role is being covered up to protect him from fallout from the investigation.
He was named as the head of the presidential transition in November 2016, after the rich asshole team decided to shove Chris Christie aside.
The announcement was heralded in a asshole press release at the time with a quote from the rich asshole noting that a team “led by Vice President-elect Mike Pence” would “help prepare a transformative government ready to lead from day one.”
Pence’s unusual disappearance from the emails during this period raises questions about his role in the vetting and hiring of Michael Flynn.
It was during this period that the transition team was told by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) that Flynn had lobbied on the behalf of a foreign entity.
After receiving that information, the Pence-led team nonetheless gave him a rubber stamp to become the rich asshole’s national security adviser.
It soon became public knowledge that Flynn had been in communications with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition, lied about it, and was purged from his position after serving only 24 days.
The fallout from his tenure has continued to plague the the rich asshole team. Pence has repeatedly tried to evade blame and responsibility for his role in vetting and hiring Flynn.
Flynn recently pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is reportedly cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and the rich asshole campaign’s related role.
It seems unusual that during a transition period in which so much happened, with key figures like Flynn and the Russian ambassador and documents warning about Flynn that were received by the committee, that Pence’s name has disappeared.
Yet the omissions follow a pattern, where Pence has tried mightily to separate himself from this disturbing and scandal-plagued episode with the rich asshole team.
He has insisted that he was “not aware” of collusion between the the rich asshole team and Russia. When confronted on the campaign’s outreach to Russian operatives, Pence always claims that happened before he joined the presidential ticket.
If any emails showed Pence’s name in connection with vetting Flynn, his carefully constructed narrative where the Russia scandal does not taint him would quickly collapse. But conveniently, those emails can’t be found.
The Memo: the rich asshole doubles down amid some GOP doubts
BY NIALL STANAGE - 02/06/18 06:00 AM EST
President the rich asshole on Monday doubled down on his contention that a controversial memo released last week exposed deep political bias at the highest reaches of law enforcement — but some Republicans are dissenting.
the rich asshole insists the memo, written by the staff of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and alleging misdeeds at the FBI and Department of Justice, helps his case that the broader probe into Russia’s election meddling spearheaded by special counsel Robert Mueller is a “witch hunt.”
Democrats scoff, but some Republicans back that position whole-heartedly.
Yet a number of Republicans — including some outside the ranks of the rich asshole’s usual critics — have broken from the president’s line.
The memo is primarily focused on how a dossier funded by Democrats and prepared by a former British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, was used in the FBI’s application for a surveillance warrant on Carter Page in 2016. Page had been an adviser to the rich asshole campaign.
“There is a Russia investigation without a dossier,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. Gowdy added that the dossier “doesn’t have anything to do with obstruction of justice.”
Other leading Republicans, most notably Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.), were pumping the brakes on the most grandiose pro-the rich asshole claims about the Nunes memo before it was even released. On Thursday, Ryan asserted at a news conference, “It does not impugn the Mueller investigation or the deputy attorney general.”
Among the other Republicans who have expressed skepticism, albeit of varying intensity, are Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Reps. Will Hurd (Texas), Brad Wenstrup (Ohio) and Chris Stewart (Utah).
Gaetz acknowledged his differences with party colleagues, even though he suggested there were more profound points of agreement.
“I disagree with the conclusion that Speaker Ryan and Chairman Gowdy have drawn, but I think it would be ill-advised to get lost in that,” he said.
The release of the Nunes memo has fueled speculation that the rich asshole could move against Mueller or — in perhaps a more likely scenario — seek to oust Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general.
The White House has denied any such moves are afoot, a point reiterated by principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah when he spoke to reporters on board Air Force One on Monday. Shah said there had been no “consideration” given to moving key personnel at the Justice Department.
Democrats have warned that any move against Mueller or Rosenstein would precipitate a constitutional crisis.
Still, the rich asshole’s tweets earlier in the day revealed a president deeply resentful of the way the probe has been conducted — and the degree to which it has overshadowed his time in office.
the rich asshole tweeted that Nunes was “a man of tremendous courage and grit [who] may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed.”
The president also took aim at Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Schiff has pushed a Democratic memo aimed at refuting the Nunes document, and the Intelligence Committee voted Monday evening to release it. Shah said the White House would “consider” consenting to such a release if Congress pushed for it.
Another Republican congressman, Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.), said on Monday that the Democratic memo should be made public.
But the president took a much more negative tack on Twitter Monday.
“Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with [James] Comey, [Sen. Mark] Warner [D-Va.], [John] Brennan and [James] Clapper!” the rich asshole said, referring to the former FBI director, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a former CIA chief and a former national intelligence chief, respectively.
The president added to the incendiary tone of the political discourse in an unrelated matter on Monday. Speaking in Ohio, he accused Democrats of “treason” for not having reacted more enthusiastically to his State of the Union speech last week.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) shot back on Twitter that the rich asshole “doesn’t know what ‘treason’ means.”
The president continues to enjoy the backing of the clear majority of Republicans, both inside and outside Congress. His approval rating with GOP voters is around 80 percent in most polls.
But among Republican observers who are critical of him, the latest controversy is the clearest example yet of how the party has lost its way.
“Too many Republican leaders are afraid of taking on the rich asshole or taking on the rich asshole supporters, and so they are not willing to call out Nunes and this entire corrupt effort,” said Peter Wehner, who served in the administrations of the three most recent Republican presidents before the rich asshole.
“This is just part of the decline of the Republican Party under the rich asshole,” Wehner added. “They hitched their wagon to him, so he goes down and they go down with him. They just can’t seem to find the courage to break from him.”
the rich asshole backers like Gaetz clearly don’t believe a lack of courage has anything to do with it.
“I think he was vindicated in the broader argument that the Russia investigation is a witch hunt. The memo demonstrates the rotten core that the Mueller investigation is built on,” Gaetz said.
the rich asshole, as usual, is not backing down. Whether that will deepen GOP divisions or ultimately bring the party even more firmly to his side is anyone’s guess.
The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage, primarily focused on some rich asshole’s presidency.
Kellyanne Conway is supposed to be leading the fight on the opioid crisis. Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who represents one of the hardest hit states, has no idea how she is doing that.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway wears a wide variety of hats in some rich asshole’s administration, one of the most visible of which is going on cable news to sing the rich asshole’s praise and threaten journalists who don’t unconditionally agree.
One of her lesser known but more important roles is heading up the administration’s strategy to combat the opioid crisis. The problem is that, according to one Republican senator, she does not seem to be doing much of anything.
“I haven’t talked to Kellyanne at all and I’m from the worst state for this,” West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told Politico. “I’m uncertain of her role.” This is not encouraging coming from a lawmaker who represents the state with the highest drug overdose death rate in America.
Treating drug addiction is a function usually reserved for the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of National Drug Control Policy. the rich asshole, however, has proposed massive budget cuts for both agencies, leaving the bulk of the responsibility for a major epidemic to a political adviser whose professional expertise is in political consulting rather than medicine.
Not only are senators like Capito not getting the support they need, but the administration’s public decisions on the opioid crisis over the past several months has been riddled with missteps.
the rich asshole’s decision to declare the epidemic a “public health emergency” rather than a “national emergency” meant that essentially nothing got done. The administration’s public message echoes the “Just Say No” from the Reagan era, which not only failed but infantilized substance abuse as a choice rather than a mental illness. And Conway’s so-called “opioid cabinet” is even claiming the epidemic will be fixed by the border wall, ignoring the fact that opioids came not from Mexico but from doctors’ prescription pads.
It is apparent that, just as in her TV interviews, Conway is going to rely on “alternative facts” to cure the nation of opioids, all but ensuring the only help senators like Capito will receive for their states will be a figment of imagination.
GOP congressman: Democrats disrespected the rich asshole during SOTU, Republicans were right to heckle Obama
Republicans were just acting on emotion, he argued.
During a speech at a factory in Ohio on Monday afternoon, President the rich asshole accused Democrats of being “treasonous” because they had not stood to applaud him during his first State of the Union speech. In an interview with CNN’s New Day on Tuesday morning, Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) attempted to defend those remarks.
“Well, no, I wouldn’t use the word treasonous. But, boy, was it embarrassing,” he told host Alisyn Camerota.
Collins then singled out Illinois Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D), who had left the room three minutes prior to the end of the rich asshole’s speech to get to an interview with Univision.
“When Gutierrez stood up when the president said ‘we should stand and respect our flag for the pledge of allegiance, the national anthem,’ and those of us Republicans stood and cheered and started shouting ‘USA, USA,’ Gutierrez storms out of the chamber. I think that says it all when it comes to the Democrat response,” he said. “They were stoic, sitting on their hands. They did not want to applaud at any turn…. It was just a very partisan reaction. And I’ve sat through some of former President Obama’s [State of the Union speeches].”
When Camerota played back footage of Republicans refusing to stand during Obama’s 2010, 2013, and 2016 speeches, noting that Republicans had done the same, Collins punted.
“So, congressman, why wasn’t that embarrassing?” Camerota asked.
“Well, again, it’s degrees,” Collins insisted. “As I had already acknowledged, we did not overreact or we did not stand and cheer with Obama anymore than they did. I guess it’s degrees of it. I just said I believe the Democrat response was more subdued than our’s with Obama.”
Camerota then played back a clip of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) yelling “You lie” at Obama in 2009, as Republicans booed the president’s immigration reform policy. Collins responded by arguing that the clip was humorous, adding that he had suggested to Wilson that Wilson stand during the rich asshole’s first State of the Union and yell “Now that’s the truth.”
“Congressman, that’s a funny line, but you seem to be ignoring the point, which is that was incredibly disrespectful,” Camerota said. “Why are you more focused on Democrats not applauding?”
Collins shrugged.
“Well, no, that was disrespectful,” he said. “[… But] Joe Wilson was reacting to something he thought was not truthful and Gutierrez was reacting to the president saying we should respect our flag.”
Gutierrez has since sought to defend himself against those accusations, repeatedly insisting that he did not leave the chamber in protest of the rich asshole’s remarks, but rather to get to his interview on time. In a tweet shortly thereafter, he added that he had even watched the remainder of the president’s speech on a monitor outside the room.
“There is a story going around that I ‘stormed out’ of the President’s speech last night which is completely false. That I boycotted the speech or protested by leaving during an applause break is just someone’s spin,” he tweeted. “I was due on TV for an interview and the speech was running late. I waited until the President stopped talking and walked to the back and watched the last 90-seconds on TV (after sitting for 80 minutes). Then went to my interview. Those are the facts.”
the rich asshole came under heavy criticism for his “treasonous” remarks on Monday. In that same speech, he also blasted Democrats as un-American and suggested that they weren’t patriotic.
“Even on positive news — really positive news, like [the current African-American unemployment numbers] — they were like death and un-American. Un-American,” he said. “Somebody said treasonous. Yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean, they certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”
As several outlets have since pointed out, treason, as outlined in the Constitution, consists of “levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”
Carter Page admits to advising the Kremlin and the rich asshole, but doesn’t understand the FBI’s suspicion
The idea that Page was a victim of a partisan conspiracy takes another big hit.
During an interview on Good Morning America on Tuesday, Carter Page admitted that he served as an adviser to the Kremlin before joining some rich asshole’s campaign for president. But he doesn’t think the FBI had good reason to view that as suspicious.
Host George Stephanopoulos read Page an excerpt of a letter he wrote in 2013 stating that “Over the past half year, I have had the privilege to serve as an informal advisor to the staff of the Kremlin in preparation for their presidency of the G-20 summit next month.” Stephanopoulos also mentioned Page’s relationship with Victor Podobnyy, who was later charged with working as a Russian intelligence agent under diplomatic cover.
“So you were recruited at one point by a Russian agent, then you wrote yourself that you’re an informal adviser to the Kremlin, so that does lead people to believe — is this guy working with Russia?” Stephanopoulos said.
Page didn’t deny any of the facts, but tried to downplay his Russia connections.
“First of all, the G-20 summit was in Saint Petersburg that year, and they were bringing together people form around the world, and so a lot of people were from — literally from Australia, U.K., here, everywhere,” he said.
But as Stephanopoulos pointed out, that were “a lot of people” advising the Kremlin doesn’t change the fact that Page was one of them. So Page’s next argument was that he was merely part of “an informal group” that held its first meeting in “the center of capitalism.”
“There was a lot of people advising.” Page said. “We were part of an informal group — meeting in Geneva, Paris, we had a meeting in the New York Stock Exchange. The first meeting was in the New York Stock Exchange, the center of capitalism, right?”
Both on Good Morning America and during an interview on Monday night’s edition of Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show, Page played up the significance of a recently released House Republican intelligence memo alleging the FBI’s investigation of the rich asshole campaign is rooted in anti-the rich asshole bias among Obama-era officials.
But that theory doesn’t square with the facts. While both the Clinton campaign and the rich asshole campaign were under investigation, FBI officials only publicized the Clinton email investigation — and the FBI’s silence about the rich asshole investigation arguably cost Clinton the election. President rich asshole himself cited the FBI’s harsh treatment of Clinton as a reason to fire then-FBI Director James Comey. Republicans who have been pushing the narrative of anti-the rich asshole bias have had a hard time explaining the disconnect between history and their conspiracy theory.
Page’s past also doesn’t square with the allegation of anti-the rich asshole bias in the FBI. It seems reasonable the FBI would be curious about whether a rich asshole campaign official who previously advised the Kremlin, was recruited by an alleged Russian intelligence agent, and traveled to Moscow during the campaign might still be working on behalf of the Kremlin. In order to obtain a FISA warrant like the one the FBI had against Page, federal agents have to demonstrate probable cause to believe someone is working as a foreign agent.
In many respects, as Stephanopoulos noted, Page appears to be a prototypical candidate for surveillance under the FISA law.
“On the one hand, at one point you say you’re an adviser to the Kremlin, then you’re an adviser to some rich asshole,” he said.
Nunes Says Republicans Lied In FISA Memo Because The FBI’s Font Size Was Too Small
You know how Republicans are playing up the story that the FBI failed to disclose that one of its many many sources providing information about the rich asshole goon Carter Pate was partially paid by Democrats after they took over funding from Republicans?
“Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding [British agent Christopher] Steele’s efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior and FBI officials,” the most explosive (if it can reasonably be called that) claim in the memo says, in case you needed your memory jogged.
While Republicans have been saying this information is “worse than Watergate,” there’s just one tiny problem — the FBI actually disclosed that information in a pretty standard location: the footnote of the page of the application itself.
Nunes was asked about this latest instance of the facts f*cking up the GOP narrative on Fox and Friends, and he explained that it now doesn’t matter if the FISA application actually made it clear that Steele was a political source because — get this — the font size of the font was too small.
“A footnote saying something may be political is a far cry from letting the American people know that the Democrats and the Hillary campaign paid for dirt that the FBI then used to get a warrant on an American citizen to spy on another campaign,” Nunes told Fox — not that it matters to him one way or the other, as he admitted recently that he didn’t bother to read the FISA application in the first place.
Nunes also claimed that the rich asshole “never even met” with former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, whose ties to Russia kicked off the investigation in the first place. If you’re unsure of who he is, you can see him below in this photo. Meeting with the rich asshole. Which he totally didn’t do:
Papadopoulos recently cut a plea deal with Robert Mueller and is currently cooperating with the FBI in their ongoing criminal investigation into the rich asshole campaign.
Republicans are, in a way, impressive. When they are caught lying, they throw their hands up and say “nuh-uh because we’re mad at something that makes us look even dumber than the original thing” and their voters buy it every single time.
Watch Nunes complain about font size below:
Image via screengrab
Nothing better than to hear the VP of the USA actively agreeing that people losing money and a possible stock market crash is a GOOD thing. Jackass
Pence: “We couldn’t be more proud” of stock market after record 1175-point plunge
FEBRUARY 6, 2018
Mike Pence brags about the stock market after it takes a major dive.
While some rich asshole runs from Monday’s record 1175-point stock market plunge, Mike Pence is cluelessly bragging about the “fundamentals” of an imperiled economy.
Monday was a very bad day for the rich asshole, who suffered the indignity of giving a speech on his economy while cable networks showed the stock market crashing nearly 1,200 points in split-screen. That drop followed a 666-point slide on Friday, for a two-day loss of 1,841 points, and 7 percent of the market’s value.
the rich asshole has since refused to answer any questions about the steep drop, but Pence couldn’t avoid them as he spoke to reporters in Alaska on Monday.
A reporter pointed out that the rich asshole “frequently touts the success of the stock market as a sign of his own administration’s success,” and asked what the steep drop “says, if anything, about the the rich asshole administration?”
“We couldn’t be more proud of the fact that the stock market has increased by thousands of points since Election Day 2016,” Pence answered. “Today’s sell-off represents what is, very likely, simply the ebb and flow of our stock markets, and we recognize that.”
He then parroted the same talking point that devastated John McCain’s presidential bid as the 2008 economic crisis unfolded.
“The most important numbers to focus on are the fundamentals,” Pence said, “And the fundamentals of this economy continue to be very strong.”
Pence also touted job growth that has, in fact, slowed under the rich asshole, reaching a six-year low in December.
and wage growth that has the world laughing at Paul Ryan for lauding a $1.50-a-week pay increase.
But Pence was light on policy specifics, citing the tax cut scam that preceded this crash, and, for some reason, oil drilling in the pristine Alaskan wilderness.
the rich asshole inherited an economy from President Barack Obama that was near full employment and has been riding a years-long streak of stock market gains that buoyed the rich asshole’s first year in office. If investors are panicked, the rich asshole’s silence and Pence’s repetition of a cursed talking point aren’t likely to calm them.
Lt. Col. Tammy Duckworth Just Kicked ‘Cadet Bone Spurs’ Right In His Tiny Orange Balls
You know how some rich asshole accused Democrats of treason for refusing to mindlessly applaud his divisive State of the Union address? Well, it appears people in general aren’t very happy about that for some reason.
One of his harshest critics is Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth — or if you prefer, Lt. Colonel Tammy Duckworth, who lost her legs in Iraq while fighting to protect our country. the rich asshole, by way of contrast, famously obtained five deferments to avoid fighting in Vietnam.
the rich asshole, who bravely received five deferments (four while he was attending school at Wharton and, after graduating, a medical deferment for “bone spurs”), said on Monday that Democrats who didn’t cheer him “certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”
“Can we call that treason?” the rich asshole asked.
The answer, as it happens, is no. We can’t call that Treason. You know what? We’ll just let the Lieutenant Colonel handle it:
We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap twitter.com/mitchellreport…
“We don’t live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap,” Duckworth tweeted in response to President Stable Genius’ moronic treason allegation.
some rich asshole routinely demands loyalty pledges from everyone around him — including former FBI Director James Comey, whom the rich asshole fired not long after he refused to swear fealty.
When the rich asshole hears about this on Fox News, he’s gonna be furious.
Sean Hannity Just Blamed Obama For The Stock Market Crash
some rich asshole has consistently taken credit for every stock market gain ever since he was “elected” President by an extreme minority of the population thanks to an archaic Electoral College that exists primarily to preserve the power of slave states — but Fox News’ resident the rich asshole fart-smeller Sean Hannity wants you to know whos’s really to blame for the historic crash the rich asshole presided over.
So, whose fault is it? Well, Obama, of course!
Drawing on a nearly decade-long tradition of blaming President Obama for everything including every single dip in the market, Hannity blamed the 1,175-point Dow Jones dip on “cheap money” Obama handed out all over the place:
Because the Obama economy was so weak all of these years we had just artificially cheap money. Now what’s cheap money? Cheap money is when you can borrow at ridiculously low rates. The era of cheap money at some point has to come to an end. The government has artificially, the Fed has artificially kept the price of money down and the price borrowing down and now that’s going to come to an end. In many ways it represents; Ashley Webster is the name? In many ways it’s a sign of the strength of the economy more than anything else.
Yes, he actually said this. Even after he said this when the stock market continued its prior upward trend and hit an all-time high while the rich asshole was President:
Stock market is at an all-time high and hit over 60 record closes in 2017 alone. The Dow Jones was up 25 percent, over $5 trillion in new wealth has now been created. Unemployment — yes, unemployment at a 17-year low since — just 4.1 percent. And since taking office, President the rich asshole has created 1.7 million new jobs. African-American unemployment, a 17-year low.
It’s interesting that good things that happen to the stock market are President the rich asshole’s doing, but bad things that happen more than a year after President Obama left office well…it’s still the black guy’s fault in his eyes.
Well, you know what they say — if Fox News didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any at all.
Listen to it below:
Image via screengrab
Sean Hannity blames Obama for historic market crash, because "feels" or whatever
Hannity: "The era of cheap money at some point has to come to an end"
Video ››› ››› MEDIA MATTERS STAFF
From the February 5 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:
SEAN HANNITY (HOST): Because the Obama economy was so weak all of these years we had just artificially cheap money. Now what’s cheap money? Cheap money is when you can borrow at ridiculously low rates. The era of cheap money at some point has to come to an end. The government has artificially, the Fed has artificially kept the price of money down and the price borrowing down and now that’s going to come to an end. In many ways it represents; Ashley Webster is the name? In many ways it’s a sign of the strength of the economy more than anything else.
Molly McKew explains how bots and pro-the rich asshole trolls worked together to push #ReleaseTheMemo on social media
Video ››› ››› MEDIA MATTERS STAFF
From the February 5 edition of MSNBC Live with Hallie Jackson:
HALLIE JACKSON (HOST): So, we've talked about on this show how Russian bots have helped drum up support on social media for the release of this Nunes memo. So now, we're getting a closer look at how this thing got pulled off and what it might mean for the future. There's this new report out from Politico that breaks down just how this hashtag, #ReleaseTheMemo, caught on. The first tweet reportedly appeared January 18th from this specific user here, the account is restricted by Twitter for unusual activity, but Politico reports the account seems to belong to a real person. Fine. But then, on the same day, several accounts, each with a few thousand followers, said to be run by real people but also some automation, retweeted that first tweet, pushing the hashtag, #ReleaseTheMemo. Politico repo
From the February 5 edition of MSNBC Live with Hallie Jackson:
HALLIE JACKSON (HOST): So, we've talked about on this show how Russian bots have helped drum up support on social media for the release of this Nunes memo. So now, we're getting a closer look at how this thing got pulled off and what it might mean for the future. There's this new report out from Politico that breaks down just how this hashtag, #ReleaseTheMemo, caught on. The first tweet reportedly appeared January 18th from this specific user here, the account is restricted by Twitter for unusual activity, but Politico reports the account seems to belong to a real person. Fine. But then, on the same day, several accounts, each with a few thousand followers, said to be run by real people but also some automation, retweeted that first tweet, pushing the hashtag, #ReleaseTheMemo. Politico reports that the early promoters of the hashtag meet basic criteria for bots, for trolls. The day before the memo was released, the hashtag was everywhere. Lawmakers like Congressman Lee Zeldin, Jeff Duncan were using it too. I'm joined now by the author of that piece, really interesting stuff. Molly McKew, an information warfare expert specializing in U.S.-Russia relations, along with my panel, Nick Johnston and Nancy Cook. So Molly, we'll start with you. This is a really fascinating deep dive into the anatomy of #ReleaseTheMemo. Is this, in your view, standard operating procedure for how Russians spread disinformation and try to sow chaos? MOLLY MCKEW (INFORMATION WARFARE EXPERT): So I think the -- you're right about both of those things. I think the really interesting thing about looking at this campaign, all week, there had been sort of this discussion, was it Russian bots, was it authentic, organic Republican grassroots campaigns? Twitter sort of said one thing, other analysts said the other. And the truth is it's both. And the way that these --JACKSON: So it's both bots and it's both legit?MCKEW: It's sort of automated content and machine aspects. It is humans. It is Russian. It is American. There's probably other mixed in there. But the way they now fuse together in this information architecture within social media is incredibly interesting. And I would just note, because I get -- it'll be a criticism, but there's also a far-left architecture that is often manipulated in this as well. So it's not just the right. There is also sort of the Bernie bot contingent which still exists on social media. But the way that these now work together, they sort of feed and fuel each other, they drive these campaigns, and that's really the more important question. It's not is it a bot or not, but it's was it an automated and amplified campaign for the purpose of manipulative content, and what was the purpose of that campaign?JACKSON: And that is called computational propaganda, you write.MCKEW: Exactly.JACKSON: And that's what that is sort of defined, right?MCKEW: Yeah, and so there is this whole new field of computational propaganda that's sort of backed by data analytics and other technologies, some of it is AI. Some of it is very basic. On Twitter, a lot of it is automated Twitter software, sort of things that allow you to repost things very quickly, but the purpose of it is to change perceptions, to change the way that people make decisions in the way that they think, and, ultimately, to change behavior, and I think that's really what's been missing in some of these conversations in the last year about sort of fake news, which I think is a terrible term. Aspects of it are not just about disinformation, that they are information warfare, they are meant to achieve specific outcomes.
the rich asshole lawyers warn him against Mueller interview because they know he's a constant liar: report
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN - 02/05/18 08:20 PM EST
President the rich asshole’s lawyers are urging him to not sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, The New York Times reported Monday.
the rich asshole’s attorneys have advised him against the interview over concerns that he could be charged with lying to investigators in the probe into Russian election meddling, according to the Times.
“I’m looking forward to it, actually,” the rich asshole told reporters last month.
the rich asshole has been privately telling others that he wants to do the interview, believing it would clear his name in the investigation into Russian election interference, which includes probing any possible ties between his presidential campaign and Moscow.
If the rich asshole declined to sit for an interview, Mueller could try to subpoena him for one — a move that could create a complicated legal battle.
the rich asshole's personal lawyer, John Dowd, has been taking the lead on a possible interview with Mueller and is urging against it, the Times reported.
However, White House lawyer Ty Cobb has broken with the rest of the legal team and is siding with the rich asshole in favor of an interview with Mueller.
Cobb has pushed for the White House to be fully cooperative with the special counsel, and he has said in the past that he expected the investigation to be completed by the end of 2017.
Mueller reportedly wants to question the rich asshole about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey
Duckworth fires back at the rich asshole: I swore an oath to the Constitution, not 'Cadet Bone Spurs'
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN - 02/05/18 07:36 PM EST
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) fired back at President the rich asshole for calling Democrats who didn’t stand and applaud during his State of the Union address “treasonous,” saying she didn’t swear an oath “to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs.”
We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap twitter.com/mitchellreport…
the rich asshole called Democrats “treasonous” earlier Monday for not applauding when he listed his achievements to Congress last Tuesday.
"Can we call that treason? Why not?" the rich asshole said during a speech about the GOP tax plan in Ohio. "They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."
Duckworth was referring to the rich asshole’s multiple deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War, one of which was for heel spurs, or bone protrusions caused by calcium buildup.
The Democrat also shared a quote by President Theodore Roosevelt saying that to block criticism of the president “is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Thankfully, there are better quotes from better Republican Presidents. Here’s one from Theodore Roosevelt—a Republican who earned the applause he received—that Trump might want to consider
Duckworth, a military veteran who lost both of her legs when her helicopter was shot down over Iraq in 2004, has hit the rich asshole over the deferments before.
She ripped the rich asshole as a “five-deferment draft dodger” during a speech on the Senate floor last month.
House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes threw a tantrum on Fox News because no one is taking him seriously after his embarrassing FBI memo failure.
Rep. Devin Nunes began the week with his reputation in complete tatters.
After weeks of promising a memo detailing extensive surveillance abuses by the Obama administration and the FBI — neither of which ultimately panned out — he has faced mounting calls for his removal from the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee
And on House Speaker Paul Ryan’s urging, Nunes was forced to release a Democratic counterpoint memo that he had previously blocked.
He’s also facing electoral vulnerability back in his California district.
Amid all of these humiliations, Nunes spoke with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night, and treated the right-wing talk show host to a long-winded self-pity monologue about the fact that nobody is taking him seriously anymore.
“I think the bigger problem, challenge here, is that the mainstream media is totally uninterested in this,” said Nunes.
He then launched into a bizarre, rambling rant about absurd hypotheticals.
“Can you imagine if the shoe was on the other foot, if some rich asshole or George Bush or Karl Rove had paid for information, and then George W. Bush’s FBI had opened an investigation into the Obama campaign because they were talking to Russians ― which by the way, really did happen, the Obama campaign was talking to Russians back in 2008 ― and open up a counterintelligence investigation using dirt and dug up and paid for by the RNC and George W. Bush supporters?” Nunes asked.
“This town would be on fire. Every reporter would be following around Karl Rove and George W. Bush all over town. Yet it’s crickets from the media.”
“I mean, it is embarrassing,” Nunes spluttered. “It’s absolutely embarrassing, and I mean, I’m almost flabbergasted because I thought, at least, there would be some ounce of credibility left. but there really isn’t any.”
The Obama campaign did not, in fact, talk to the Russians in 2008, and Bush was well-known for investigating people without a warrant.
Furthermore, Nunes has no right to complain about how the media has treated him; he played them like suckers, and far from ignoring him, they ate up his every word.
The media only stopped giving him credulous attention after his memo was released and it became plainly apparent that not only did he have no substantive allegations of wrongdoing, he had not even read the underlying intelligence that went into his memo.
It is only fitting that, to complain about the end of his fifteen minutes of infamy, Nunes ended up on Hannity’s absurdity and lie-filled show where denying reality is a common theme.
the rich asshole has never hesitated to take credit for the stock market — until now.
some rich asshole, who has spent much of his presidency taking credit for gains in the stock market, suddenly became camera shy on Monday, refusing to answer questions about the market as the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its largest single-day point drop ever.
As the stock market entered a free-fall, the rich asshole was in Ohio delivering a speech about the economy. At one point during his speech, the Dow Jones plunged 1600 points before eventually settling in for a record loss of 1175 points.
the rich asshole didn’t hesitate to tout recent figures on job creation and wages as he spoke to the crowd — but when reporters tried to ask him about the stock market, he had much less to say.
Actually, as CNN highlighted, the rich asshole had nothing to say.
“President the rich asshole [refused] to answer questions about the historic plunge in the market today,” CNN’s Erin Burnett reported. “That’s because the dow plunged 1175 points. At one point it was down nearly 1600 points and, no matter which way you look at it, it was the biggest drop in history.”
The 4.6 percent loss “took away all the gains for this year so far for 2018,” Burnett added.
Showing footage from his speech in Ohio, Burnett pointed out the painfully awkward splitscreen image that Americans that Americans saw Monday, with the rich asshole bragging about the economy as the stock market’s free-fall accelerated.
“This is what it looked like on split screen — just continuing to go down,” she noted.
the rich asshole may be ignoring the stock market’s historic drop, but the rest of the country isn’t. Even Fox News — a veritable propaganda arm of the the rich asshole White House — cut away from the rich asshole’s speech in Ohio when the stock market plunge hit 1000 points. Throughout Monday afternoon, Fox continued to flash a banner reading “DOW, S&P turn negative for the year.”
the rich asshole’s refusal to answer questions about the stock market stands in stark contrast to his frequent boasts about record highs on Wall Street. As CNN noted, the rich asshole personally took credit for recent gains in the stock market during a speech in December, “as if he had repeatedly steered the Dow through a year of smashed record highs.”
“We broke it 84 times this year. The stock market hit a new high 84 times since we won the election on November 8 of last year, so that’s something we can all be proud of,” the rich asshole said.
The stock market is still setting records — but not in the right direction. And now that its performance is down, the rich asshole suddenly isn’t so keen on taking credit for it — or even acknowledging that it’s happening.
Growing number of killings tied to young white supremacists, all because of some rich asshole's rhetoric
A new report shines a light on the transition from online hate to real world ramifications.
A report published last month by the Anti-Defamation League showed that the rate of killings tied to white supremacists surged during President the rich asshole’s first year in office. Now, a new report out of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has tabulated just how many of those killings were from those affiliated with the so-called “alt-right” — the misogynistic milieu, steeped in online propaganda, targeting the youngest generation of white supremacists.
According to the SPLC, the number of killings and injured persons attributed to this newest generation of white nationalists has skyrocketed since the group first made itself known a few years ago. Since 2014, the report found that some 43 individuals had been killed and 67 had been injured in attacks by the so-called “alt-right.”
In just the past year alone, 17 individuals were killed and an additional 43 were injured — by far the highest annual rate of all years included in the study.
“Of the 12 alleged or convicted killers connected to [this new generation of white supremacists], the average age of perpetrators is 26 years old,” SLPC researchers write. “Only three have been older than 30 with the youngest being just 17.”
The SPLC traces the first killings associated with this trend to 2014, when Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old, killed six people as well as himself in a spree near the University of California, Santa Barbara. The killings were admittedly spurred by Rodger’s loathing of both women and interracial couples. Rodger, as well as 26-year-old Chris Harper-Mercer — who killed another nine people at Umpqua Community College in Oregon in October 2015 — were considered biracial.
Rodger’s murder spree later become something of a model for young white supremacists who would later follow in his footsteps. His name was even summoned in online posts by 21-year-old William Atchison, a young white supremacist who killed a pair of high school students in Aztec, New Mexico this past December, before taking his own life.
The SPLC report also singled out two high profile attacks perpetrated in the last few years: then-21-year-old Dylann Roof’s massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, which left nine African-American parishioners dead, and 20-year-old James Fields’ car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia last August, which left one woman dead and several more injured. The report also details the 2017 killings tied to 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonette in Canada. Bissonnette allegedly opened fire on the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City on January 29, 2017, killing six worshipers and wounding an additional 19.
While that attack did not generate as much press in the United States as Roof or Fields, Bissonette also lurked in the same online forums as many of the others mentioned in the report. Bissonette reportedly also shares a link with a handful of the other attackers mentioned in the report: his support for the rich asshole. Not only did Bissonette and Fields reportedly profess their support for the president online — the latter used a photo of the rich asshole as a king for his Facebook cover image — but a third murderer included on the list, Lane Davis, even penned raps in support of the rich asshole and posted them on his YouTube channel. Davis, 33, was reportedly “obsessed with liberal ‘pedophilia,’” according to SPLC, and summoned various right-wing conspiracy theories before stabbing his father to death in July last year.
The SPLC report isn’t without its issues. To wit, the report includes Jeremy Christian, who killed a pair of Portlanders last summer, in its tally of so-called “alt-right” killings. Christian may have espoused white supremacist beliefs, but he also professed support for Bernie Sanders. Likewise, there’s still no concrete indication that the 2017 murder of Richard Collins III — allegedly at the hands of Sean Urbanski, who had joined a Facebook group called “Alt Reich: Nation” — was due to racism.
However, the report presents a sobering reality: that the transition of young white supremacists from online hate to real world ramifications, long feared, has finally begun taking place. Given that the White House is effectively uninterested in combating the trend — at times even suggesting that the young men in those extremist movements are associating with “very fine people,” as the rich asshole did when referring to white supremacists and neo-Nazis last August — there’s little reason to think this pattern will end anytime soon.
“After a year of escalating alt-right violence, we are probably in for more,” the report concludes.
Pennsylvania Republican launches effort to impeach state supreme court to save GOP gerrymander
Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer.
In a direct attack on the rule of law, Pennsylvania state Rep. Cris Dush (R) sent a memo to his colleagues Monday evening asking them to cosponsor articles of impeachment against five of the state’s seven supreme court justices.
The justices’ crime? Striking down the state’s gerrymandered congressional maps, which allowed Republicans to win 13 of the state’s 18 congressional seats even in election years when Democrats won a majority of the statewide popular vote.
It’s a serious threat. Though the state supreme court’s decision dealt exclusively with the GOP’s successful effort to gerrymander the state’s congressional maps, the state senate maps also produced a senate that is far more Republican than the state as a whole (these maps were drawn by a 5 member commission, not the state legislature).
Republicans control more than two-thirds of the senate seats in Pennsylvania despite the fact that the state has a Democratic governor and some rich asshole’s margin of victory in the 2016 presidential election was less than 1 percentage point in the state. Under the state constitution, two-thirds of senators must concur with a majority of the state representatives in order to remove a state official from office.
So, to summarize, Pennsylvania Republicans have outsized majorities in the state legislature, despite the fact that the state is closely divided between Democratic and Republican voters. After the state supreme court voted 5-2 to rein in gerrymandering, the GOP may use its house majority and senate supermajority to remove all five of the justices that opposed gerrymandering.
Nor is this the first such escalation by the Pennsylvania GOP. Shortly after the state supreme court handed down its decision, two Republican leaders asked the Supreme Court of the United States for a stay. In support of this request, the Republican leaders relied on legal arguments that literally are at odds with 215 years of established law. On Monday, Justice Samuel Alito, one of the most conservative members of the Supreme Court, rejected this long shot bid for a stay.
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Pennsylvania Senate President pro tempore Joseph Scarnati (R) sent a letter to the state supreme court last week informing them that Scarnati refuses to comply with a court order intended to help the state justices unravel the gerrymandered congressional map. It remains to be seen if Scarnati will be held in contempt of court.
Should the state GOP impeach and remove the five justices who struck down the state’s gerrymander, they would break with a well-established norm that is more than two centuries old.
In 1804, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Justice Samuel Chase, a staunch Federalist Party member who had taken genuinely reprehensible actions against Jeffersonians who criticized Federalist President John Adams. Though Jeffersonians controlled Congress during Chase’s impeachment trial, the Senate did not convict Chase.
Several Jeffersonians joined with Federalist senators to acquit Chase, warning that if a sitting judge could be impeached for their decisions on the bench, that would lead to dangerous incursions on judicial independence. For 214 years, Justice Chase’ acquittal has stood as a monument to the proposition that judges shall not be impeached because the legislature disagrees with their rulings.
Now, however, Pennsylvania Republicans want to throw this centuries-old norm in the wastebasket. They want to do so, moreover, to rescue their own lawless efforts to rig the state’s elections.
U.S. Stocks Sink Most Since 2011 as Rout Deepens: Markets Wrap
By Sarah Ponczek @SarahPonczek More stories by Sarah Ponczek
Updated on February 5, 2018, 4:05 PM EST
·
· Equity plunge follows declines in Asia, Europe markets
U.S. stocks plunged the most in 6 1/2 years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking more than 1,100 points, as the equity selloff reached a fever pitch amid rising concern that inflation will force interest rates higher. Treasuries rallied and gold rose on haven demand.
Volatility roared back into American equity markets, as the S&P 500 Index sank 4.1 percent to wipe out its January gain and turn lower on the year. The index capped its worst day since the U.S. lost its pristine credit rating, topping the rout that followed China’s shock devaluation of the yuan, the Brexit selloff and jitters heading into the presidential election. Trading volume was almost double the 30-day average. All but two stocks in the broad gauge declined.
“This is classic risk off that may not end any time soon,” says Win Thin, head of emerging-market currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman.
Selling accelerated shortly after 3 p.m. in New York, with the Dow sinking more than 800 points in a matter of 15 minutes only to snap back. The blue-chip index ended lower by 4.6 percent -- its steepest drop since August 2011, and is also lower for the year. The Cboe Volatility Index more than doubled to its highest level in 2 1/2 years.
Treasuries popped, sending the 10-year yield down more than 10 basis points, and gold future pushed higher. The dollar stabilized while the yen advanced.
While Friday’s market rout came amid U.S. wage data on Friday that pointed to quickening inflation, which would lead to higher rates and, in turn, rising borrowing costs for companies, the selling Monday came amid few major data points.
“I think sentiment was a little too optimistic,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. “What was driving the market up in January? It wasn’t the fundamentals, as good as they were, it was excessive confidence.”
Elsewhere, oil extended declines after U.S. explorers raised the number of rigs drilling for crude to the most since August. Copper climbed the most in a week. Bitcoin slid below $7,000.
Terminal users can read more in our markets blog.
Here are some key events scheduled for this week:
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Currencies
Bonds
Commodities
— With assistance by Andrew Dunn, Adam Haigh, Natasha Doff, Kailey Leinz, and Lananh Nguyen
‘Cadet Bone Spurs’: Sen. Tammy Duckworth smacks down the rich asshole after he accuses Democrats of ‘treason’
Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Image via Creative Commons
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) on Monday hit back at some rich asshole after the president suggested Democrats who did not clap for him during the State of the Union may have committed “treason.”
During a speech in Cincinnati on Monday, the rich asshole told the crowd Democrats “were like death and un-American” during his speech last week.
“They were like death and un-American. Un-American,” the rich asshole claimed. “Somebody said, ‘treasonous.’ I mean, Yeah, I guess why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn’t seem to love our country that much.”
Duckworth hit back at those remarks.
“We don’t live in a dictatorship or a monarchy,” Duckworth, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, tweeted. “I swore an oath ― in the military and in the Senate ― to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap.”
We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap twitter.com/mitchellreport…
We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap twitter.com/mitchellreport…
Thankfully, there are better quotes from better Republican Presidents. Here’s one from Theodore Roosevelt—a Republican who earned the applause he received—that Trump might want to consider pic.twitter.com/WAhvB23zGJ
Reagan economic adviser mocks the rich asshole as Dow falls: The market just realized an ‘unstable lunatic is president’
President some rich asshole speaks in Ohio while the Dow Jones plummets in historic drop. Image via screengrab.
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At the exact moment when President some rich asshole was bragging about the economic boon from his tax reforms, the stock market experienced a historic crash — and according to one former White House economic adviser, that wasn’t coincidental.
“The stock market just noticed that an unstable lunatic is president of the United States,” Bruce Bartlett, a Treasury Department official under President George H.W. Bush and an economic adviser to President Ronald Reagan tweeted.
MSNBC’s Joy Reid noted Bartlett’s resume soon after he made the quip on Twitter.
From one of Ronald Reagan’s economic advisers, who was also a treasury official during the administration of George H.W. Bush... twitter.com/brucebartlett/…
The simultaneity of the president’s speech and the stock market drop wasn’t missed on programmers at Fox News, who made the unusual move of cutting from the rich asshole’s Ohio speech to focus on the largest single-day stock point drop in history.
Don Jr hinted the rich asshole would review anti-Russia law — and asked for documents on Clinton campaign: Lawyer
Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer some rich asshole, Jr. met with to get "dirt" on Hillary Clinton (image via Twitter).
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Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who played a central role in the June 2016 meeting at the rich asshole Tower during the presidential campaign, said some rich asshole Jr. indicated his father, some rich asshole, would review the Magnitsky act pending his election.
“Looking ahead, if we come to power, we can return to this issue and think what to do about it,’’ the rich asshole Jr. said during that meeting, according to the lawyer. “I understand our side may have messed up, but it’ll take a long time to get to the bottom of it.”
Veselnitskaya, also said the president’s son asked for documents to prove Hillary Clinton’s campaign benefited from “money that allegedly evaded U.S. taxes,” Bloomberg reports.
That documents request goes to the heart of the rich asshole Jr.’s email, sent to publicist Rob Goldstone, which indicated he’d “love” promised dirt on Clinton.
Veselnitskaya told the Moscow reporter she’s willing to testify before special counsel Robert Mueller if requested.
Devin Nunes tells Fox News’ Sean Hannity he has ‘clear evidence of collusion’ with Russia — and the Clinton campaign
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Forget collusion between some rich asshole and Russia — according to House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), it was Hillary Clinton who should be investigated for working with the Kremlin to undermine her opponent.
Discussing links between Nunes’ controversial declassified memo and a request written by two Senate Republicans to investigate the rich asshole-Russia dossier author and former British spy Christopher Steele, Fox News host Sean Hannity claimed that the two documents taken together paint a portrait of collusion between Clinton’s campaign and the Kremlin.
“Sir, are there crimes committed here?” he asked Nunes, who appeared to agree and said he hoped viewers “understood” Hannity’s comments.
“We have a clear link to Russia,” the chairman said. “You have a campaign who hired a law firm, who hired [dossier author firm] Fusion GPS, who hired a foreign agent, who got information from the Russians on another campaign.”
“It seems like a counterintelligence investigation should have been opened up against the Hillary Campaign when [the FBI] got a hold of the dossier,” Nunes continued, “but that didn’t happen either.”
Later, Nunes reiterated that he has seen “clear evidence of collusion — that the Democratic party and the Hillary Clinton campaign colluded with the Russians.”
Devin Nunes on House Democrats' role in the Russia probe: "I just go by the old rule: Whatever they accuse you of doing, they're actually doing." pic.twitter.com/8B0aizXD5m
Nunes: "There's clear evidence of collusion — that the Democratic party and the Hillary Clinton campaign colluded with the Russians...It goes to what they accuse you of is what they are actually doing."
Watch below, via Fox News:
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Forget collusion between some rich asshole and Russia — according to House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), it was Hillary Clinton who should be investigated for working with the Kremlin to undermine her opponent.
Discussing links between Nunes’ controversial declassified memo and a request written by two Senate Republicans to investigate the rich asshole-Russia dossier author and former British spy Christopher Steele, Fox News host Sean Hannity claimed that the two documents taken together paint a portrait of collusion between Clinton’s campaign and the Kremlin.
“Sir, are there crimes committed here?” he asked Nunes, who appeared to agree and said he hoped viewers “understood” Hannity’s comments.
“We have a clear link to Russia,” the chairman said. “You have a campaign who hired a law firm, who hired [dossier author firm] Fusion GPS, who hired a foreign agent, who got information from the Russians on another campaign.”
“It seems like a counterintelligence investigation should have been opened up against the Hillary Campaign when [the FBI] got a hold of the dossier,” Nunes continued, “but that didn’t happen either.”
Later, Nunes reiterated that he has seen “clear evidence of collusion — that the Democratic party and the Hillary Clinton campaign colluded with the Russians.”
Devin Nunes on House Democrats' role in the Russia probe: "I just go by the old rule: Whatever they accuse you of doing, they're actually doing." pic.twitter.com/8B0aizXD5m
Nunes: "There's clear evidence of collusion — that the Democratic party and the Hillary Clinton campaign colluded with the Russians...It goes to what they accuse you of is what they are actually doing."
Watch below, via Fox News:
"Sloppy" Steve Bannon ‘not expected’ to testify before House intel committee despite subpoena
Steve Bannon (Screengrab / 60 minutes)
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Former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon is “not expected” to appear before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, defying a subpoena issued during his last appearance before the panel.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram reports the former top aide to some rich asshole won’t speak before the committee, a continuation of his refusal to answer questions during his closed door session last month. On January 16, the House intel committee took the unusual step of subpoenaing Bannon during his 10-hour testimony after he refused to answer questions citing “executive privilege.”
Speculation over Bannon’s compliance mounted Monday as his scheduled appearance before the committee loomed.
“We have a subpoena for him in the morning and we expect it to be complied with,” House intel member Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) told reporters. “We have questions that are unanswered that we want answered on both sides.”
So does this mean that because I didn't watch the SOTU I'm also committing a treasonous act, you orange faced shitgibbon?
some rich asshole attacks Democrats not clapping at State of the Union as 'treasonous'
WASHINGTON ― President some rich asshole accused Democrats on Monday of being “un-American” and “treasonous” in a campaign-style speech in Cincinnati that was actually meant to tout the recent GOP tax bill and the economy.
“Can we call that treason?” the rich asshole said, referring to Democrats who did not clap for him during his State of the Union address last week. “They certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”
At the State of the Union address, it is typical for politicians of the president’s party to enthusiastically applaud, while lawmakers in the opposite party usually have a muted response.
A handful of Democratic lawmakers did not attend last Tuesday’s address to protest the rich asshole.
the rich asshole suggested on Monday that Democrats were “very selfish” in not clapping for him. “They would rather see the rich asshole do badly, OK, than our country do well,” he said.
Earlier in the speech, the president claimed that he was “non-braggadocious” after bragging about his first year in office.
the rich asshole spoke at length about the midterm elections, even though White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters before the speech, held at a factory, that “this isn’t a political event.”
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Interspersed with remarks about jobs and the economy, the rich asshole brought up popular issues for his base, including the “fake news media” in attendance and the lack of players kneeling during the national anthem at Sunday’s Super Bowl, which he appeared to take some credit for.
“We’re one team, one people and one family, and we’re saluting one great American flag. And everybody stood up yesterday,” he said. “There was nobody kneeling at the beginning of the Super Bowl. We’ve made a lot of improvement, haven’t we? That is a big improvement, and on top of that, it was a good game. So a lot of good things happened. There was no kneeling before that Super Bowl.”
This story has been updated with additional details from the rich asshole’s speech.
- This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
02-05-2018 1:21 p.m. By NOAH BIERMAN
the rich asshole on Democrats who failed to clap for him: 'Can we call that treason? Why not?'
Trump likens the reaction of Democrats during State of the Union to "treason," says it's "un-American." (via ABC)
President the rich asshole called Democrats who failed to clap for his State of the Union address last week “un-American.”
Then, somewhat flippantly, he threw out another loaded charge: “Someone said 'treasonous.' I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not?”
the rich asshole’s remarks came during a free-wheeling, highly partisan speech he gave at a factory in Cincinnati on Monday. The speech was billed as official government business, meaning taxpayers footed the rich asshole’s expenses rather than the Republican Party, which is supposed to cover costs when the president is on political business.
The White House insisted the event was not political, even as Trump traveled with Rep. Jim Renacci aboard Air Force One. Renacci, a Republican whose Akron-based district is across the state from Cincinnati, is vying to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2018.
“This isn't a political event,” Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters aboard Air Force One. “The president is there to talk about the tax cut bill that Congressman Renacci and many other Republicans in the House and Senate voted for.”
This is not the first time that Trump has used the word treason against a perceived political enemy. In an interview last month with the Wall Street Journal, Trump accused a pair of FBI agents, Peter Strzok, once the bureau’s second-ranking counter-intelligence official, and Lisa Page, of treason.
“That is treason,” Trump said. “See, that's treason right there.”
The U.S. Constitution specifically defines treason — the only crime for which the document provides a definition: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”
Strzok and Page, in the midst of an extramartial affair, shared text messages during the presidential campaign making disparaging remarks about Trump’s fitness for office.
Both agents served briefly on special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian meddling in the presidential election.
The texts were later made public.
02-05-2018 11:28 a.m. By NOAH BIERMAN
Rep. Adam Schiff, leading Democrat in Russia probe, gets a new the rich asshole nickname
President the rich asshole flashed anger at one of his leading antagonists in the Russia probe, mocking Rep. Adam Schiff’s personal appearance and accusing him without evidence of illegally leaking “confidential information.”
Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of “Executive Time.” Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or...really anything else. twitter.com/realdonaldtrum…
The attack comes as Schiff (D-Burbank), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, continues his efforts to rebut Republican criticism of the investigation into the rich asshole’s associates and their possible ties to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. On Monday, Schiff plans to try to win public release of a Democratic answer to a Republican memo released Friday that attempted to undermine one aspect of the investigation.
In a morning tweet, the rich asshole labeled Schiff “little,” an insult he has used on others, and called him “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper!”
James Comey is the former FBI director fired by the rich asshole; Sen. Mark Warner is the Virginia Democrat who serves as the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee; John Brennan is a former CIA director; James Clapper is the former director of national intelligence.
All of the men have been critical of the release of the GOP memo, charging that it cherry-picked details from classified documents to paint a false picture of the FBI investigation into Carter Page, a former the rich asshole campaign advisor.
the rich asshole has seized on the memo to claim that the investigation is politically motivated. He has hinted at times that he could use the memo as a justification to fire top law enforcement officials, a course that several Republicans have warned against.
Shortly after the tweet attacking Schiff, the rich asshole sent another that praised the chief author of the Republican memo, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare).
Later in the day, a White House spokesperson declined to commit when asked if the rich asshole would agree to the release of the Democrats’ rebuttal memo. Like the GOP memo, the Democratic document draws on classified material, so the White House could object to its release.
The Democratic memo “appears to be up for a vote later today in the House Intelligence Committee. If that memo is voted out, and it comes to the White House, we will consider it on the same terms we considered the Nunes memo,” White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters. “Which is, to allow for a legal review, national security review led by the White House Counsel’s Office.”
UPDATE
11:30 a.m.: This post was updated with comments from the White House.
Nunes: Fine, the FBI Didn’t Lie, But Its Font Was Too Small
The central, and most damaging, accusation in the memo published Friday by House Republicans is that the FBI failed to disclose the bias of one of its sources when it applied to wiretap Carter Page. “Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding [British agent Christopher] Steele’s efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior and FBI officials,” charged the memo. That was hardly explosive, or the kind of damning failure that would send people to prison or be worse than Watergate, as the rich asshole defenders charged. But it was something. If true.
It’s not true. As the Ellen Nakashima reported, the application to wiretap Page did disclose that one of the sources of intelligence to generate suspicion that Page might be acting illegally came from a political source. It was mentioned in a footnote on the FISA application. Nunes was asked about this on Fox & Friends. He did not deny the point. Instead he insisted that it wasn’t good enough because the disclosure was merely a footnote. “A footnote saying something may be political is a far cry from letting the American people know that the Democrats and the Hillary campaign paid for dirt that the FBI then used to get a warrant on an American citizen to spy on another campaign,” the distinguished Republican explained.
Notice how “The FBI LIED about the Steele dossier” has been scaled back to, “The FBI did not highlight the truth about the Steele Dossier in the part of the application we bothered to read.” So now the main attack on the FBI is about font size. No doubt all the subsequent memos Nunes is promising to release will have additional bombshells.
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