the rich asshole CDC director resigns after getting busted for buying tobacco stocks on the job
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald (Screen cap).
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Brenda Fitzgerald, the director of the Centers for Disease Control, has resigned from her post after an investigation revealed that she bought and sold stock in tobacco companies while serving as a top the rich asshole administration health official.
“Dr. Fitzgerald owns certain complex financial that have imposed a broad recusal limiting her to complete all of her duties as the CDC director,” the CDC wrote in a prepared statement. “Due to the nature of these financial instruments, Dr. Fitzgerald could not divest from them in a definitive time period.”
Politico reported on Tuesday that Fitzgerald invested in the stock of a major tobacco company shortly after she took over as head of the CDC last year.
“Buying shares of tobacco companies raises even more flags than Fitzgerald’s trading in drug and food companies because it stands in such stark contrast to the CDC’s mission to persuade smokers to quit and keep children from becoming addicted,” Politico noted.
In addition to buying tobacco stocks, Fitzgerald also bought shares from pharmaceutical companies Merck and Bayer, as well as health insurance company Humana.
Prior to joining the the rich asshole administration, Fitzgerald served as Georgia’s Public Health Commissioner from 2011 until 2017.
the rich asshole's approval rating remains markedly underwater in key battleground states, where he's making the upcoming midterm elections even bleaker for Republican candidates.
Not only is some rich asshole historically unpopular for a first-year president, but he’s especially unpopular in states that will serve as critical battlegrounds during the November midterm elections.
That’s confirmed by a new batch of state-by-state polls from Gallup that highlights the potential losses looming for the GOP.
Democrats need to flip 24 seats to gain control of the House. According to the Cook Political Report, of the 62 Republican-held districts currently deemed to be “competitive” in November 2018, 25 of those are located in California, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
In all of those states, the rich asshole’s approval rating remains underwater. And in a few of them, he is out-and-out detested.
In California, where Republicans are clinging to their 14 congressional seats, the rich asshole’s approval rating is a paltry 29 percent. In New York, it’s only one point higher. And in New Jersey, it reaches a mere 34 percent.
the rich asshole fares slightly better in Pennsylvania, with 42 percent, and Ohio, with 45 percent. But in none of the states does he clear the 50 percent mark. And that’s a big deal.
Because historically, when new presidents hit the midterms with a 50 percent approval rating or higher, their party only loses an average of 14 seats in the House. If presidents are below 50 percent, their party loses 34 seats.
Today, the rich asshole’s approval rating stands at 38 percent. He peaked at 45 percent 12 months ago. In terms of individual states, it remains above water in only 12 states, according to Gallup.
the rich asshole retains his highest level of support in sparsely populated states, such as West Virginia, Montana, and North and South Dakota. By contrast, he’s widely disliked in the country’s most populous states, such as the aforementioned California and New York, as well as the sixth most populous state of Illinois.
Even in the traditionally Republican state of Texas, the rich asshole’s approval rating has fallen all the way down to 39 percent.
the rich asshole is an anchor around the necks of Republicans — likely why more and more of them are calling it quits.
On Monday, New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen announced his retirement, and he’s a telling case. A veteran politician who comes from a famous, wealthy New Jersey family, Frelinghuysen spent his 20-year career in the House cruising to re-election victories for the last 20 years. He won in 2016 by 20 points.
But with the tide turning so strongly against the rich asshole, especially in increasingly blue bastions like New Jersey, the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee opted to bow out, rather than face angry local voters in November.
Today, it’s a greatly daunting task to run for re-election as a Republican in a number of key states, thanks to the rich asshole and his toxic agenda. The odds of a widespread Republican wipeout are increasing every day the rich asshole remains as a stain on the office of the presidency.
the rich asshole officials take heat for declining Russia sanctions
BY MORGAN CHALFANT AND REBECCA KHEEL - 01/30/18 08:59 PM EST
The rich asshole administration faced blowback on Capitol Hill Tuesday for declining to implement new sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
The State Department on Monday said it would not immediately levy penalties on entities doing business with Russia’s defense sector, saying that the law passed by Congress last summer has already prevented a windfall of cash from going to Russia.
“I’d like to know why they’re not doing more,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said of the sanctions. “There may be a good reason, but I don’t want to send anything that could be a signal of weakness.”
Lawmakers last year passed legislation to punish Moscow with a veto-proof majority in both chambers of Congress, forcing President the rich asshole to sign it.
The law tied the rich asshole’s hands on Russia, limiting his abilities to ease sanctions on the country — and he made clear his unhappiness with it. He called the law “seriously flawed” and said it infringed on his powers under the Constitution.
The State Department faced a Monday deadline under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to begin imposing sanctions on foreign firms and governments doing large amounts of business with Russia’s defense and intelligence sector. But the law allows for the department to decide against imposing sanctions if companies are winding down their business dealings with Moscow.
Facing criticism, State Department officials sought Tuesday to clarify the decision to not announce new sanctions. They touted months of engagement with countries and companies internationally that they said have already derailed potential business deals with Moscow.
“We have been able to turn off potential deals that equal several billion dollars,” a senior State Department official told reporters. The official said the intent of this the rich asshole administration is “to remind Russia of the cost of its malign activity.”
“It’s important not to focus only on public rollouts as we look at this success of this tool,” the official said.
On Capitol Hill, the sanctions decision amplified the general feeling that the the rich asshole administration is unwilling to aggressively impose penalties on Russia.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) called the sanctions move “perplexing” during an interview on CNN, pointing to the widespread belief that Moscow will look to interfere in future elections.
Democrats were more scathing in their criticism, with Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) accusing the president of ignoring the sanctions legislation and calling the development “a constitutional crisis.”
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was still reviewing the administration’s implementation of the bill, but that he was disappointed so far.
“Not one sanction has been announced to date, so yes, I am disappointed there has not been a more aggressive use of the law that Congress passed,” Cardin told reporters.
Peter Harrell, a former State Department official who worked on sanctions policy during the Obama administration, said the department’s decision falls in line with the law, but noted that officials could have sent a “much stronger message” by announcing some sanctions.
“I think the State Department met the minimum legal requirement here,” Harrell said.
State Department officials refused to quantify the deals with Russia they were able to derail or offer any details about their engagements with other countries.
Separately, the Treasury Department was required by midnight Monday under the law to issue a report listing senior Russian officials with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and wealthy Russian oligarchs.
The department released a list of more than 200 Russian oligarchs and officials connected to Putin, noting it was not a sanctions list. The list was compiled using a Forbes article, a fact that Democrats grabbed onto in criticizing the administration.
“I am absolutely disappointed,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a Foreign Relations Committee member who helped negotiate the sanctions bill. “They’ve had six months and all they release is a list that they basically copied from Forbes magazine, and they’ve already acknowledged that. It’s unacceptable.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin promised to impose new sanctions on Russia when he came under criticism during a hearing with lawmakers Tuesday morning. The Treasury Department is not required under the law to impose sanctions on the Russian individuals, many of whom are already subject to U.S. sanctions.
“It’s not getting any better, Mr. Secretary,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said at the hearing. “I really think we’re sending the wrong message.”
Still, several Republicans refrained from criticizing the administration, taking more of a wait-and-see approach.
“I’m very invested in this, right,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters, echoing his written statement on the issue. “I care deeply about it. And we got a report late, late, late last night. We’re very familiar with what needs to happen on the sanctions. And the answer is I do think they’ve made a very good faith effort.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) told The Hill that the Treasury Department is putting the Russians “on notice” and now needs to determine which individuals on the list of oligarchs should be sanctioned.
“This is the process you pretty much have to follow in terms of dealing with the Europeans who we are trying to affect here,” Royce said. “They are following the procedure.”
Royce sent a letter to Mnuchin on Tuesday urging him to determine which Russians on the list should be subject to sanctions under previous actions that punished Moscow for human rights abuses and destabilizing behavior in Ukraine.
The issue of Russian interference in the election has consumed lawmakers in Washington for the last year, triggering concurrent congressional investigations as well as an ongoing probe by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The interference effort has triggered widespread fears that Moscow could interfere in future votes, driving the push for last year’s sanctions bill as well as other legislative attempts to deter foreign meddling.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo said during an interview with BBC published Monday that he has “every expectation” that Russia will seek to meddle in this year’s midterm elections.
The State Department could decide in the future to punish firms for doing business with Russia’s defense sector if it detects sanctioned activity, but it faces no further deadline to do so under the law.
“The questions are, what do Treasury and State do going forward?” Harrell, the former State Department official, said.
the rich asshole spent his speech attacking immigrants and blaming them for violence. He didn't have one word to say about the far more deadly threat from domestic terrorists.
In his first State of the Union address, some rich asshole spent most of his time fear-mongering about immigrants from all over the world, with a special emphasis on violence perpetuated by the MS-13 street gang.
In fact, he mentioned the gang four times in his speech.
“For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities,” the rich asshole said.
He spent a great deal of time speaking about violent immigrants, despite evidence that shows immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than American-born residents.
His administration recently expanded its attacks on sanctuary cities, angering mayors across America.
But the rich asshole didn’t have a single word during, his extremely long address, about the far more widespread and deadly violence and terror from white supremacists, including the deadly riot last summer in Charlottesville.
When neo-Nazis flooded into a college town in Virginia, complete with a torch-lit march at night, the rich asshole blamed “many sides” for the violence. He described the violent racists as “very fine people.”
Those injured and killed by white supremacists got no thoughts or prayers at the rich asshole’s first State of the Union speech. That’s the direction the rich asshole’s Department of Justice has taken too.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a statement linking terrorism and immigration, accompanying a horribly racist cherry-picked report. That report ignored the far more dangerous and deadly threat of domestic terrorism.
And the rich asshole also ignored that threat in his address, focusing instead on immigrants and gangs, suggesting they were one and the same, while giving a pass to white, American-born criminals.
In his State of the Union, the rich asshole's only mention of DREAMers was a snide statement that earned immediate praise from David Duke.
some rich asshole’s State of the Union address was predictably divisive, and he alienated the majority of Americans who disagree with him even further with his treatment of young immigrants known as DREAMers.
the rich asshole revoked protections from DREAMers last year and then caused a government shutdown by blowing up a bipartisan deal that would have restored them.
In fact, the one time he even bothered to use the term in his speech, it was to throw shade.
“So tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties — Democrats and Republicans — to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed,” he said. “My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans — to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers too.”
This is the only time in which he referred to the DREAMers by name in his entire State of the Union address — and it was a snide dismissal of their value.
the rich asshole’s slights on immigrant young people were not lost on Klan leader David Duke, who gleefully tweeted out the rich asshole’s line:
A few minutes later, the rich asshole did mention DREAMers in the context of his nonstarter proposal to restore their protections in return for massively cutting legal immigration, but callously called them “illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age.”
the rich asshole’s lack of respect for the DREAMers is another warning that he is not negotiating in good faith. And Democrats should not be taken for suckers when they go to bat for the rights of young Americans.
BY REID WILSON - 01/30/18 11:52 PM EST
President the rich asshole touted a robust economy and laid out an ambitious agenda in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, an 80-minute marathon jammed with policy proposals that will be difficult to achieve in a bitterly divided Congress.
the rich asshole’s wish list included a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package, immigration reform and new powers to promote or fire federal workers.
But just as notable was what the rich asshole didn’t say — and what that says about an inexperienced but emboldened politician still learning the trappings of his new office.
Here are eight big things that were missing from the rich asshole’s address on Tuesday.
Details
the rich asshole outlined the four pillars of an immigration reform package he said should satisfy, or at least mollify, both parties — including a path to citizenship for 1.8 million immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, a wall along the southern border, the repeal of a visa lottery program and an end to so-called chain migration.
But beyond immigration, a president who has made clear his disinterest in policy minutiae offered few details. State of the Union addresses are rarely the venue for detailed policy outlines, though the rich asshole’s address stood out for a lack of specificity.
He declared the opioid epidemic “terrible,” without offering a plan to stem the tens of thousands of deaths caused by drug overdoses every year. He called for paid family leave, a favorite subject of his daughter and senior advisor Ivanka the rich asshole, without detailing how or what that program would look like.
Most notably, the rich asshole asked Congress to pass a bill to generate $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure investments. He said federal money should be bolstered by public-private partnerships, though he offered scant details about how Congress should pay for the bill.
Debt and Deficits
The Republican Party spent the Obama years focused on fiscal prudence and discipline, harshly criticizing Democrats for spending far too much on everything from a stimulus package in the depths of a recession to the Affordable Care Act.
Today, Republicans in Congress seem far less interested in the nation’s red ink. the rich asshole himself did not use the word “debt” during his address, nor did he lay out how he would pay for the massive infrastructure spending plan. The tax-reform package Congress passed last year will only add to the bills future generations must pay off.
For the fiscally conservative GOP, the era of big deficits appears to be back.
The Affordable Care Act
the rich asshole came to office pledging to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, his predecessor’s signature domestic policy achievement. But after a year in which the GOP failed to advance a repeal measure, or even agree on a replacement, ObamaCare barely received a mention.
“We repealed the core of disastrous ObamaCare,” the rich asshole declared. “The individual mandate is now gone.”
Beyond the defunct mandate to have insurance, which Republicans repealed in their tax bill, the rich asshole did not mention the Affordable Care Act. Pointedly, he did not call on Congress to try again to repeal it.
That shouldn’t be a surprise: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in December the upper chamber would “probably move on” from its efforts to roll back the health-care law.
Attacks on the election system, and the FBI
A year after the American intelligence community concluded that Russian actors tried to influence the 2016 presidential election — and tried to hack into voting systems in nearly two dozen states — the rich asshole did not mention the cyberattacks.
He did mention Russia, once: “Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economies and our values,” the rich asshole said.
He also did not mention the FBI, which his administration has battled since its first days in office. That doesn’t mean the battle is over. The House Intelligence Committee voted Monday to release a controversial memo penned by chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) that alleges FBI misconduct, and a forthcoming inspector general report is expected to be highly critical of the agency’s actions in the run-up to the 2016 election.
But the Sturm und Drang was absent from a speech that all but ignored the most divisive controversies of the rich asshole’s first year in office.
Democrats
Presidents often use State of the Union addresses to single out members of the other party, especially on areas where they might agree. Former President Obama name-checked Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in his final State of the Union, in 2016; he mentioned Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in 2014, and he invoked his two vanquished White House opponents, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), in 2013.
the rich asshole appealed to Democrats three times, urging Congress to come together to represent all Americans. And he gestured to some Democrats who applauded his call for paid family leave. But the president did not mention a single Democrat by name.
That’s not entirely unprecedented; Obama did not mention any Republicans during his 2015 address.
For that matter, Republicans
the rich asshole made a special point to mention Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the House majority whip who survived a gunman’s assault on a congressional baseball practice last summer.
But, in a speech that highlighted a cast of characters seemingly large enough to fill half the gallery, the rich asshole did not mention any other members of Congress.
After a year in which he publicly or privately expressed his frustrations with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, the rich asshole didn’t share credit with many of his own appointees, either. He spotlighted only a single member of his own Cabinet, Defense Secretary James Mattis.
And the rich asshole did not even mention the man who purportedly helped write the speech, Vice President Pence. That’s a marked departure from Obama, who made special points to mention then-Vice President Joe Biden and his portfolio several times in each State of the Union address.
Insults and nicknames
the rich asshole kicked off his campaign for president by denigrating Mexican immigrants as murderers and rapists. He attacked a reporter with a disability and the father of a solider killed in battle.
Along the way, he peppered his opponents and adversaries with pejorative nicknames — "Little Marco Rubio," "Liddle' Bob Corker," "Crooked Hillary," "Lyin’ Ted," "Cryin’ Chuck Schumer" and "Little Rocket Man," his nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
But those insults and jibes were absent from the rich asshole’s remarks, at least for one night.
And everything else
After trying to implement a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries, the rich asshole did not say the word "Muslim." He mentioned African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans just once, in the context of record-low unemployment rates.
the rich asshole called for “fair and, very importantly, reciprocal” trade deals — though he did not mention the North American Free Trade Agreement by name.
He mentioned Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both of which suffered the brunt of mammoth hurricanes that barreled through the Caribbean, but he did not mention the hundreds of thousands of residents who remain without power in the islands months later.
And, perhaps most surprisingly, the rich asshole did not touch on his favorite subject: His against-the-odds victory in the 2016 presidential election.
Perhaps those subjects will come up in a Wednesday tweet storm.
some rich asshole used the platform of the State of the Union to once again attack black athletes who are protesting racist police brutality.
some rich asshole used his State of the Union speech to once again attack black athletes who are protesting discrimination and police brutality.
As has often been his habit, the rich asshole hid behind someone else to re-state his racist case.
Referring to a young boy who started a movement to place flags at the graves of veterans, the rich asshole returned to his attack noting, “Preston’s reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance, and why we proudly stand for the national anthem.”
For months, the rich asshole has complained about NFL players who protested racism by taking a respectful knee during the anthem at games.
the rich asshole did not show respect for the flag, refusing to stop during a television appearance on Fox News to honor the “retreat” ceremony to remember the fallen.
He instead has denigrated black players, while praising “very fine” neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Now, even the State of the Union has been tainted by his obsession with racism.
It is central to who the rich asshole is and what he believes.
At the rich asshole's first State of the Union address, Democrats represented the disapproval of the majority of the American people.
some rich asshole’s first State of the Union Address took place on Tuesday night.
And although he did his utmost to pretend he was a unifier, the reaction he met on the floor of the House proved what a weak facade his efforts were.
As the rich asshole entered the building and walked to the podium, though Republicans cheered and whistled, Democrats represented the disapproval of the majority of the American people, standing in stony, defiant silence.
This is not to say, however, that no Democrats had any reaction to the rich asshole’s entrance.
According to Business Insider reporter Joe Perticone, the entire time the rich asshole made his way across the House floor to the podium, Democratic New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell stood with a pocket-sized Constitution held aloft.
the rich asshole has proven to be the most divisive president in modern times, from his blatant racism, to a completely one-sided right-wing agenda, to his attempts to undermine the FBI and the rule of law as he faces federal investigation. The welcome he received at his address was exactly what he has earned.
Illinois Dem shreds ‘explicitly racist’ the rich asshole address: ‘Whoever translated it from Russian did a good job’
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (Wikimedia Commons)
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A Hispanic lawmaker blasted President some rich asshole’s openly “racist” State of the Union address.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) issued a statement shortly after the speech ended, saying he was dismayed at the president’s words and deeds after one year in office.
“I was born in 1953 in the U.S. when separate but equal was the law of the land,” Gutierrez said. “I am proud of the progress the United States has made as a nation on issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and many other areas where we have advanced. I was hoping to get through my life without having to witness an outwardly, explicitly racist American President, but my luck ran out.”
The Illinois Democrat heard no evidence that the rich asshole would compromise on immigration legislation.
“The White House agenda is to gut legal immigration in exchange for allowing some of the Dreamers to live here,” Gutierrez said. “For those of us who support legal immigration, and that’s most Democrats and many Republicans, it won’t fly. And the Dreamers themselves have said they do not want legal status if it comes at the expense of others who will suffer more as part of the bargain. The speech did nothing to bring the pro- and anti-immigrant sides closer together.”
Gutierrez offered a bit of faint praise to the rich asshole’s speech, before twisting the knife.
“Even though I disagreed with almost everything he said, for the rich asshole, the speech was clear and well-delivered,” he said. “Whoever translated it for him from Russian did a good job.”
CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald bought shares in a global tobacco giant even as her previous holdings were under review.
By SARAH KARLIN-SMITH and BRIANNA EHLEY
01/30/2018 05:44 PM EST
Updated 01/30/2018 06:41 PM EST
The rich asshole administration’s top public health official bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use — the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed.
The stock was one of about a dozen new investments that Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made after she took over the agency’s top job, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. Fitzgerald has since come under congressional scrutiny for slow walking divestment from older holdings that government officials said posed potential conflicts of interest.
Buying shares of tobacco companies raises even more flags than Fitzgerald’s trading in drug and food companies because it stands in such stark contrast to the CDC’s mission to persuade smokers to quit and keep children from becoming addicted. Critics say her trading behavior broke with ethical norms for public health officials and was, at best, sloppy. At worst, they say, it was legally problematic if she didn't recuse herself from government activities that could have affected her investments.
“You don’t buy tobacco stocks when you are the head of the CDC. It’s ridiculous; it gives a terrible appearance,” said Richard Painter, who served as George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007. He described the move as “tone deaf,” given the CDC’s role in leading anti-smoking efforts.
Even if Fitzgerald, a medical doctor and former Georgia Department of Public Health commissioner, met all of the legal requirements, “it stinks to high heaven,” Painter said.
A Health and Human Services Department spokesman confirmed "the potentially conflicting" stock purchases, saying they were handled by her financial manager and that she subsequently sold them.
“Like all presidential personnel, Dr. Fitzgerald’s financial holdings were reviewed by the HHS Ethics Office, and she was instructed to divest of certain holdings that may pose a conflict of interest. During the divestiture process, her financial account manager purchased some potentially conflicting stock holdings. These additional purchases did not change the scope of Dr. Fitzgerald’s recusal obligations, and Dr. Fitzgerald has since also divested of these newly acquired potentially conflicting publicly traded stock holdings.”
After assuming the CDC leadership on July 7, Fitzgerald bought tens of thousands of dollars in new stock holdings in at least a dozen companies later that month as well as in August and September, according to records obtained under the Stock Act, which requires disclosures of transactions over $1,000. Purchases included between $1,001 and $15,000 of Japan Tobacco, one of the largest such companies in the world, which sells four tobacco brands in the U.S. through a subsidiary.
The purchases also include between $1,001 and $15,000 each in Merck & Co., Bayer and health insurance company Humana, as well as between $15,001 and $50,000 in US Food Holding Co., according to financial disclosure documents.
On Aug. 9, one day after purchasing stock in global giant Japan Tobacco, she toured the CDC’s Tobacco Laboratory, which researches how the chemicals in tobacco harm human health, according to financial forms obtained from HHS’ Office of Government Ethics and calendars obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The records confirm that Fitzgerald sold the shares of tobacco on Oct. 26 and all of her stock holdings above $1,000 by Nov. 21, more than four months after she became CDC director.
Fitzgerald, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has made tobacco efforts a focus of her public health career, despite owning stock in the industry. She listed tobacco cessation as one of her primary priorities while still serving in the Georgia position in February 2017. Prior to accepting the CDC position, she owned stock in five other tobacco companies: Reynolds American, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Philip Morris International, and Altria Group Inc. — all legal under Georgia’s ethics rules. HHS did not respond to questions about why she invested in tobacco companies while working to reduce tobacco consumption.
“It’s stunning,” said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “It sends two messages, both of which are deeply disturbing. First, it undermines the credibility of a public official when they argue that tobacco is the No. 1 preventable cause of disease. Second, and perhaps even worse, it indicates a public official is willing to put their personal profit above the ethics of investing in a company whose products cause so much harm.”
“It gives you a window, I think, into her value system,” said Kathleen Clark, a professor of law focusing on government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis. “It doesn’t make her a criminal, but it does raise the question of what are her commitments? What are her values, and are they consistent with this government agency that is dedicated to the public health? Frankly, she loses some credibility.”
While holding the newly purchased tobacco, drug company and food stock, along with other financial holdings in various health companies, Fitzgerald participated in meetings related to the opioid crisis, hurricane response efforts, cancer and obesity, stroke prevention, polio, Zika and Ebola, according to a copy of her schedule between Aug. 1 and Oct. 27.
Merck, whose stock Fitzgerald purchased on Aug. 9, has been working on developing an Ebola vaccine and also makes HIV medications. Bayer, whose stock she purchased on Aug. 10, has in the past partnered with the CDC Foundation, which works closely with the CDC, to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.
“If she participated in meetings in which she has financial conflicts of interest, that is not fine in my book,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist at the liberal watchdog group Public Citizen. Because some of the meetings took place before Fitzgerald had an ethics agreement, Holman said she “could have an easy avenue for excusing herself,” by saying she didn't understand it was a conflict, or arguing she didn’t make decisions in those meetings. “But that is not how the law should be applied,” he added. “Even if you could claim you didn’t speak up at those meetings, your presence poses a conflict of interest.”
But it could have been possible for Fitzgerald to participate in briefings on topics like tobacco or Ebola without violating government ethics policy, depending on her role, said a former government ethics official. For example, if Fitzgerald was just in listening mode and not making any substantive comments or decisions, she would likely be within the rules, the official said.
Fitzgerald has already been criticized by some lawmakers for her inability to offload two financial holdings, which date to before she became CDC director and left her unable to perform some tasks, such as testifying in front of lawmakers. An HHS spokesperson said she is actively working to address her remaining recusal obligations related to the two companies, adding that both have “complex transfer restrictions.”
HHS officials said Fitzgerald’s lengthy divestment process was due to her complicated stock portfolio. They declined to say whether she had any ethics training. She didn’t enter into a formal ethics agreement with HHS until two months after taking office.
“It’s a little concerning it took two months to get her ethics agreement signed and an additional month for her to dump conflicting stock,” said Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group.
The Health and Human Services Department declined to respond to detailed questions about Fitzgerald’s investments, including whether she herself approved the transactions and what activities and decisions she recused herself from due to her holdings.
Normally, senior government officials commence the process of outlining their conflicts of interest before they assume a job, so that they can quickly divest within days of taking office, a former HHS senior legal counsel told POLITICO.
HHS lawyers usually advise employees to avoid purchasing new stock during an interim period, particularly in areas where they would likely need to divest. Fitzgerald’s ethics agreement, dated Sept. 7, identified nearly all the companies in which she bought stocks on the job as conflicts of interest.
But officials are liable for their actions, regardless of whether they have an ethics agreement in place or have been warned by ethics officials that a financial holding is a conflict, multiple former government ethics officials told POLITICO.
One reason Fitzgerald’s divestment may have taken so long is that the Office of Government Ethics has little ability to force government officials to speedily address financial conflicts, unless they are undergoing a Senate confirmation process, said Walter Shaub, who directed the U.S. Office of Government Ethics under Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017. The CDC director is not a Senate-confirmable post.
“There is a lot less transparency around the non-Senate confirmed individuals … and the ethics process lags, even though the rules still apply," said Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, a government oversight group. "Those folks put themselves at risk by not getting clearance and understanding the rules.”
Rachana Pradhan and Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.
‘Clean coal’ doesn’t exist
Just a friendly reminder that the rich asshole's energy rhetoric makes zero sense.
At his 2018 State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President the rich asshole declared that he has “ended the war on energy” and “ended the war on clean coal.” He referred to clean coal as “beautiful.”
It’s not clear what exactly the rich asshole is taking credit for here, as neither war is rooted in reality.
The U.S. did not struggle to produce domestic energy prior to the rich asshole’s declaration earlier this year that he would usher in a “new era of American energy dominance.” Production of energy in U.S. has increased steadily since 2005 due to cheaper solar and wind and rise in natural gas production.
the rich asshole seems to think that “clean coal” is literally coal that is cleaned after it is extracted from the ground, which is not true. Even aside from the dubious premise here, the technology associated with “clean coal” — carbon capture and storage, which takes the emissions from coal power and buries them underground, essentially removing them from the atmosphere — is expensive and largely unproven at the commercial level.
Even Robert Murray, executive of the country’s largest privately-held coal company and staunch the rich asshole administration supporter, has admitted that carbon capture and storage is largely a fantasy.
“Carbon capture and sequestration does not work,” Murray said in July of 2017. “It is neither practical nor economic.”
Internet blasts draft dodger rich asshole for ‘hiding behind veterans’: ‘Take that word out of your sphincter mouth’
President some rich asshole at the State of the Union address
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President some rich asshole lauded military veterans during his State of the Union address — but internet users hammered him.
Social media users pilloried the president for claiming to support military service veterans while endorsing policies that underfund their care.
“I signed the landmark VA Accountability Act,” the rich asshole said. “Since its passage, my administration has already removed more than 1,500 VA employees who failed to give our veterans the care they deserve — and we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do.”
“I will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of, which has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great journey,” he added.
Twitter users were unimpressed.
Trump, take the word "veterans" out of your sphincter mouth.#SOTU
Disgusting watching Trump use the veterans to make himself look patriotic. Trump ripped a Gold Star family, a POW, and dodged the draft. #SOTU
Did anyone notice that he talked about 1500 gone from VA, but no real number on replacement numbers? Veterans know that the VA is doomed to fail this way.#SOTU
If we want to show veterans respect Congress could start by adequately funding VA health care programs. #SOTU
No, you should just fucking give veterans healthcare. #SOTU
Veterans want the Right to Try medical marijuana. #SOTU
Trumps hiding behind veterans to get applause. #SOTU
Y'alls (government) provides the staff and the facilities for veterans at VA hospitals.
YOU SEND AMERICAS FEARLESS AND FINEST TO A TEACHING HOSPITAL w/HOLES IN THE WALLS?!
That's how you repay them? That's how you show respect @realDonaldTrump?!
FOH tangerine tyrant. #SOTU
You want to honor veterans, @RealDonad_Trump, but you don't want Americans peacefully protesting (read: kneeling)? One of the very rights our veterans have so bravely fought for us the have? #sotu— Kristin Ferrell (@KBowl) January 31, 2018
Melania the rich asshole stays seated after husband praises ‘faith and family’ as ‘center of American life’ — and declares ‘in God we trust’. Probably because she knows he screwed a porn star while she was pregnant
Melania the rich asshole (Screengrab)
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During some rich asshole’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, the president made a bold claim about the pillars of American democracy. Notably, First Lady Melania the rich asshole did not seem particularly moved by his sentiment.
“In America we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy are the center of American life,” the rich asshole said during his address. “The motto is: In god we trust.”
Anyone catch this? Melania the rich asshole failed to stand with everyone else when the rich asshole stated:
“In America we know that faith and Family, not government and bureaucracy are the center of Democracy”#SOTU #StateofOurUnion pic.twitter.com/lrsuVdWD48
— Brian Krassenstein
(@krassenstein) January 31, 2018
(@krassenstein) January 31, 2018
Melania the rich asshole was “furious” with her husband after the Wall Street Journal reported his lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid porn star Stephanie Clifford (whose stage name is Stormy Daniels) $130,000 in 2016 to hide an affair with the president. The First Lady abruptly cancelled a planned trip to Davos and rode separately from the president to the State of the Union.
CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett even related Melania the rich asshole’s white outfit to female Democratic Senators who protested the rich asshole’s election last year.
“You know, she’s wearing a cream-colored suit there, which I find interesting. Remember last year the female Democratic Senators all wore white,” Bennett noted.
Watch below:
‘The new All Lives Matter’: Internet strikes back as the rich asshole white power creed calls for unity with ‘Americans are dreamers too’
President some rich asshole at the State of the Union address
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President some rich asshole signaled a willingness to compromise on a key immigration issue — but then he blew it.
The president suggested during his State of the Union address that immigrants brought to the United States as children posed a threat to native-born Americans, and internet users were horrified.
“I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties — Democrats and Republicans — to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion and creed,” the rich asshole said. “My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans — to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers too.”
Social media users pounded the president.
"Americans are dreamers too" is the new "all lives matter." #sotu
“Americans are Dreamers too” - POTUS.
Basically the same idea as All Lives Matter. Just trying to discredit the other side and put white Americans ahead of everyone else. That’s not unity, that’s divisiveness. #SOTU
"Americans are Dreamers too" Did I hear that right? @SOTU @yvonnelatty— Monay Robinson (@monayrobinson16) January 31, 2018
And why the hell not, let’s take a swipe at Dreamers, who are Americans in every sense but on paper: “Because Americans are dreamers, too.” #SOTU
“Americans are dreamers too.” The fuck outta here with that bullshit #sotu
The racism in this #SOTU is off the charts. #DreamersAreAmericans.
WATCH: Congressional Black Caucus members unimpressed by the rich asshole’s SOTU brag about African-American unemployment
some rich asshole and the Congressional Black Caucis
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some rich asshole on Tuesday gloated about his efforts on behalf of the African American community, reverting to his oft-repeated line that the African American unemployment rate is at its lowest rate ever recorded—and members of the Congressional Black Caucus were unimpressed.
“Something I’m very proud of: African American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded,” the rich asshole said during his State of the Union address. as members of the Republican party stood to applaud the president, CNN’s cameras cut away to the Congressional Black Caucus, who sat motionless with looks of disbelief and disinterest clear on their faces.
the rich asshole has tried various appeals to black voters, 88 percent of whom voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. During the election, he asked communities of color, “What do you have to lose?” in a speech declaring war zones “safer than living in some of our inner cities.”
“To the African Americans, who I employ so many, so many people, to the Hispanics, tremendous people: What the hell do you have to lose?” the rich asshole asked in that August 2016 speech. “Give me a chance. I’ll straighten it out. I’ll straighten it out. What do you have to lose?”
His latest appeal is centered around the black unemployment rate, which is currently at currently 6.8 percent. But, as NPR notes, “those rates had been falling for long before the rich asshole took office, and their declines don’t appear to have picked up speed.”
“Indeed, both of these rates have been falling relatively steadily since around 2010, early in President Obama’s tenure in the White House,” NPR reports.
Still, the rich asshole insists on digging his heels in when it comes to his hand in the unemployment rate among African Americans. Sunday, the president took to Twitter to attack rapper Jay-Z, suggesting “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!”
Jay-Z triggered the rich asshole’s fury during a CNN interview Saturday, when he criticized the president’s “sh*thole” remarks.
“You treat people like human beings,” Jay-Z said. “That’s the main point.”
Watch below, via CNN:
The chilling attack on liberal democracy buried in the rich asshole’s speech
the rich asshole wants his cronies to be able to fire people who don't do his bidding.
President some rich asshole spent the bulk of his first State of the Union address touting his tax policy and laying out an immigration proposal that would advance many white nationalist organizations’ top priorities.
Buried within the speech, however, was a proposal that would fundamentally rework the balance of power between civil servants and political appointees — and strike a deep blow to the rule of law in the process.
“I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet Secretary with the authority to reward good workers,” the rich asshole said, “and to remove Federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.”
On the surface, this proposal may seem benign — who doesn’t want public employees who “fail the American people” to be removed? But laws protecting civil servants against politically motivated firings are one of the foundations of liberal democracy.
They are what enable a prosecutor ordered to bring frivolous charges against the president’s political rivals to say no.
They are what permit investigators to target people suspected of genuine legal violations, not companies that compete with the president’s businesses.
They enable environmental regulators to tell the presidents’ appointees that they must obey the Clean Air Act. They empower Labor Department officials to target employers who give generously to the president’s party. They ensure that Medicaid benefits are still paid out to populations the president disapproves of.
Under current law, most civil servants may not be fired without “good cause” once they have served for a three-year probationary period. Protections like these are what prevents the rich asshole from firing every civil servant who refuses to obey an illegal order.
And now the rich asshole wants to eliminate this shield against unchecked presidential power.
Kennedy rebuts the rich asshole: 'This is not who we are'
BY MAX GREENWOOD - 01/30/18 11:05 PM EST
Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered an all-out rebuke of President the rich asshole's first year in office in the Democratic response to the State of the Union address, accusing the president of drastically reshaping the United States and exacerbating political divisions.
"Many have spent the past year anxious, angry, afraid," Kennedy said in the Democratic rebuttal. "We all feel the fault lines of a fractured country. We hear the voices of Americans who feel forgotten and forsaken."
Kennedy's remarks came minutes after the rich asshole wrapped up his first State of the Union address, which set out an ambitious agenda for the future while taking a victory lap on much of his first year in office.
Kennedy's rebuttal painted a different picture of the rich asshole's leadership.
"Hatred and supremacy proudly marching in our streets; bullets tearing through our classrooms, concerts, and congregations, targeting our safest, sacred places," he said. "And that nagging, sinking feeling, no matter your political beliefs, this is not right. This is not who we are."
Kennedy also accused the the rich asshole administration of taking aim at long-standing institutions and attacking core American principles in a way that goes beyond normal partisan politics.
"This administration isn’t just targeting the laws that protect us — they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection," he said.
State of the Union fact check: What some rich asshole is claiming
After a tumultuous and busy first year in office, President some rich asshole delivered his first State of the Union address to Congress and the country.
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Our team of journalists from ABC News investigated some of those statements, looking for additional context, detail and information.
Here is ABC News' fact check of the address:
Fact check No. 1
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: "We enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history."
OUR TAKE: False
WHY: The recently enacted tax bill is the 12th largest as a percentage of the GDP and the fourth largest in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1918.
This is a claim the president has repeatedly made, but analyses of the current tax law and previous legislation show that's not the case.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law at the end of last year comes with a $1.5 trillion price tag, and according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, an independent bipartisan public policy organization, it ranks as the 12th largest tax cut as a percentage of GDP and fourth largest in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2018. If the plan is extended, the group estimates the bill would cost $2.2 trillion, making it the eighth largest tax cut as a percentage of GDP and fourth largest in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2018.
The tax cut signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 was the largest since 1918 -- reducing federal revenues by 2.9 percent of GDP, according to the Treasury Department.
The president also claimed roughly 3 million workers have received bonuses stemming from the tax cuts. That figure appears to come from a conservative political advocacy group, Americans for Tax Reform, which recently wrote based off anecdotes, “At least 3 million Americans are receiving special tax reform bonuses.”
-- Arlette Saenz
Fact check No. 2
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: “We have eliminated more regulations in our first year than any administration.”
OUR TAKE: It’s complicated
WHY: Information available from the Office of Management and Budget only goes back to 1995.
the rich asshole has definitely taken an aggressive approach to eliminating regulations. Federal agencies withdrew 635 rules between fall 2016 and fall 2017, according to the Office of Management and Budget. But it’s difficult to verify if he has eliminated more than any administration in history because similar numbers for previous administrations are not readily available. Some of the rich asshole administration’s proposals are still going through the process or held up by legal challenges. It’s not even possible to check if the rich asshole administration has rolled back more regulations than Reagan, who also emphasized deregulation, because information available from the Office of Management and Budget only goes back to 1995.
-- Stephanie Ebbs
Fact check No. 3
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: "We are now an exporter of energy to the world."
OUR TAKE: Mostly spin
WHY: The U.S. has exported energy -- from crude oil to natural gas to coal -- for a long time.
Continuing a longstanding trend, energy exports did tick up slightly during the first 10 months of the rich asshole administration, from 11.5 quadrillion BTU (standard unit of measurement) in January to October 2016 to 14.6 quadrillion BTU in January to October 2017. But the U.S. has exported energy -- from crude oil to natural gas to coal -- for a long time. And America is still a net importer, and has been since the 1950s -- meaning the U.S. still imports more energy than the nation exports. (A report from the Energy Information Administration projects the U.S. will likely become a net exporter by 2026.)
-- Erin Dooley
Fact check No. 4
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: "Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. Something I’m very proud of. African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history."
OUR TAKE: Lacking context
WHY: The figures have been on a downward trend for years.
The president’s assertion that first time claims for unemployment benefits recently hit a 45-year low is true. But the president’s claims about African-American and Latino unemployment rates are lacking context.
The African-American unemployment rate is at a record low of 6.8 percent --- but has steadily declined since reaching 16.8 percent in 2010. The Latino unemployment -- currently at 4.9 percent -- reached a record low of 4.8 percent earlier this year. In 2009, it sat at 13 percent. The current unemployment rate sits at 4.1 percent a record low after reaching as high as 10 percent in 2009. These unemployment figures are according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While the economy is faring well under the rich asshole’s watch, he can’t solely take credit for the change in unemployment rates as these figures have been consistently decreasing for years.
-- Arlette Saenz
Fact check No. 5
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: "Working with the Senate, we are appointing judges who will interpret the Constitution as written, including a great new Supreme Court justice, and more circuit court judges than any new administration in the history of our country."
OUR TAKE: True
WHY: The Senate confirmed 12 of the rich asshole’s circuit court nominees in his first year in office -- far more than his recent predecessors.
the rich asshole has broken records with his confirmation of circuit court judges. In his first year in office, the Senate confirmed 12 of his circuit court nominees -- a figure far greater than his recent predecessors. Today, another appellate court judge was confirmed by the Senate.
Anne Joseph O’Connell, a University of California, Berkley, professor who studies presidents' judicial nominations, has assembled data on judicial appointments made by recent presidents. During President Barack Obama’s first year in office, three of his circuit court nominees were confirmed while President George W. Bush saw six of his picks approved by the Senate in his first year. President Bill Clinton had three appeals court judges confirmed in his first year while five of President George H.W. Bush’s circuit court nominees were confirmed in his first 12 months.
Last year, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tweeted the president had confirmed the most circuit court judges in the history of the country.
-- Arlette Saenz
Fact check No. 6
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: "The coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated very close to 100 percent of the territory just recently held by these killers in Iraq and in Syria and in other locations as well."
OUR TAKE: True
WHY: The State Department reported in December that ISIS had lost 98 percent of the territory it once held specifically in Iraq and Syria.
The State Department reported in December that ISIS had lost 98 percent of the territory it once held specifically in Iraq and Syria at the height of its so-called caliphate after suffering a string of defeats in Iraq and then Syria. The coalition is fighting the last ISIS fighters in their remaining towns and slices of territory in eastern Syria.
But the threat from the terror group remains, and has largely morphed into cells in Iraqi and Syrian cities. In addition, the group has expanding globally, from the Philippines to West Africa.
The offensive against ISIS began under Obama, but the rich asshole did accelerate it by giving more authority to field commanders. According to the State Department, 50 percent of all the territory ISIS has lost has been taken from them in the last 11 months.
-- Conor Finnegan
Fact check No. 7
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: "Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary not just for our economy, but for our security, and our future."
OUR TAKE: False
WHY: Citizens and green card holders can petition for immediate family, not an unlimited number of family members.
U.S. citizens can petition for certain family members to receive either a green card or visa -- a spouse, minor children, sons and daughters, parents, or siblings. Green card holders can petition for a spouse, minor child, or unmarried son or daughter to also become a permanent resident. And refugees or asylum seekers can apply for a spouse or minor child to also obtain that refugee or asylum status.
Still, after applying there is a lengthy wait list for all applicants besides spouse, parent or minor child. As of November, nearly 4 million people are waiting to get off the list, according to the State Department. Once someone gets to the front of the line, he or she must pass the required background checks and meet requirements for admission.
-- Conor Finnegan
Fact check No. 8
RICH ASSHOLE CLAIM: "For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. They have allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans. Most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives.”
OUR TAKE: Mostly spin
WHY: A 2016 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that the impact of immigration on the wages of native-born workers overall is very small.
The president here is implying that lax immigration laws and enforcement have led to increased crime, but a 2015 study by the pro-immigrant American Immigration Council found that immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes or be behind bars than the native-born, and high rates of immigration are associated with lower rates of violent crime and property crime.
This held true for both legal immigrants and the unauthorized, regardless of their country of origin or level of education.
A 2017 CATO Institute study found that legal and illegal immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than natives. Although, the study’s numbers did not represent the total number of immigrants who can be deported under current law or the complete number of convicted immigrant criminals who are in the U.S., but merely those incarcerated.
In 2017, on a typical day, there were 19,828 Border Patrol agents patrolling the borders with 654 miles of U.S.-Mexico border pedestrian and vehicle primary fencing. In fiscal year 2017, CBP officers and Border Patrol agents arrested 20,131 criminal aliens, and another 10,908 individuals who were wanted by law enforcement authorities.
On the economy, a 2016 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that the impact of immigration on the wages of native-born workers overall is very small. It also found that here is little evidence that immigration significantly affects the overall employment levels of native-born workers. However, the report also found that, to the extent that negative impacts occur, they are most likely to be found for those who have not completed high school -- who are often the closest substitutes for immigrant workers with low skills.
-- Geneva Sands
ABC News' MaryAlice Parks and Troy McMullen contributed to this report.
There was never a war on coal, and the rich asshole didn’t make the US an energy exporter.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President the rich asshole squeezed in a brief boast about his administration’s energy policy.
“We have ended the war on American energy — and we have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal,” he said. “We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world.”
These statements are misleading on several counts. President Obama didn’t wage a “war on coal,” as the rich asshole has often claimed. (Read Vox’s David Roberts in-depth explainer on this.) the rich asshole hasn’t made the US an energy exporter. He also doesn’t seem to have a good grasp on what “clean coal” is.
The United States has exported coal, oil, natural gas, and energy technology for decades, and in recent years, the amount of energy the country is exporting has started to catch up to the amount of energy the United States brings in.
As you can see in this chart, the import curve inflected in the mid-2000s and the US is now on track to be a net energy exporter, according to most projections.
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But that switch hasn’t happened yet, and likely won’t until 2026.
As for coal, mining jobs have crashed from a high of 800,000 workers in the 1920s to about 76,000 today. Meanwhile, coal consumption is falling too.
Automation in coal mining and competition from other energy sources like natural gas and renewables have caused the sector’s decline; regulations have played only a small role. Coal production and its share of the electricity mix is falling too, largely coinciding with the shale gas boom.
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the rich asshole’s administration has done little to stop that decline.
the rich asshole seems confused about what “clean coal” actually means. He’s used the term to describe the process by which some mines wash or pretreat coal before it is burned in power plants. But clean coal more commonly refers to coal power plants that capture their greenhouse gas emissions. the rich asshole’s proposed budget for the US Department of Energy slashes funding for research and development in this technology from $200 million to $35 million.
The broader point is that market forces, namely changing fuel prices, have done more to shape the energy sector as it stands today than any policy levers that the rich asshole administration is pulling.
Despite the desperate effort to resuscitate coal, including a push to undo proposals to regulate greenhouse gases, the industry is going to continue to founder. In 2017 alone, utilities announced the closures of 27 coal-fired power plants, totalling 22 gigawatts of generation capacity.
Even though the White House announced stiff tariffs on imported solar panels earlier this month, the solar industry is still poised to expand, with solar installation jobs becoming the fastest-growing employment sector over the next ten years.
Live coverage: the rich asshole delivers his first State of the Union, sure to be a cavalcade of lies and half-truths
BY THE HILL STAFF - 01/30/18 06:00 PM EST
Schumer: the rich asshole's speech 'stoked the fires of division'
10:50 p.m.
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday accused President the rich asshole of having "stoked the fires of division" rather than uniting the country with his State of the Union address.
“After a long and divisive year, many Americans were yearning for the President to present a unifying vision for the country. Unfortunately, his address tonight stoked the fires of division instead of bringing us closer together," Schumer said in a statement.
the rich asshole called for bipartisan action on infrastructure and immigration during his speech. But Democrats were visibly stone-faced for much of the speech and some booed and hissed when the rich asshole called about "chain migration," changes to which family members citizens and legal residents can sponsor.
the rich asshole also touted a "great wall" along the U.S.-Mexico border, a longtime nonstarter for congressional Democrats, and urged lawmakers to make changes to immigration law.
the rich asshole acknowledges parents of Otto Warmbier
10:30 p.m.
President the rich asshole used his speech to spotlight the parents of American college student Otto Warmbier, who died when he was returned home after being detained in North Korea for 17 months.
Warmbier’s parents, Fred and Cindy, were in the audience and received two standing ovations as they teared up. the rich asshole also spotlighted Warmbier's siblings, Austin and Greta, during his speech.
“You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength truly inspires us all,” the rich asshole said. “Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto's memory with total American resolve.”
the rich asshole also highlighted audience member Ji Seong-ho, who defected from North Korea to South Korea in 2006. Ji lost his left hand and foot after he passed out on train tracks from hunger. He was later tortured in North Korea after he crossed the border into China to look for food.
North Korea 'could very soon threaten our homeland,' the rich asshole says
10:25 p.m.
President the rich asshole warned that North Korea could soon be able to strike the United States with a nuclear weapon.
“North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening," the rich asshole said.
the rich asshole took a more measured tone on North Korea than he has in the past, when he has warned of “fire and fury” if Pyongyang continues to threaten the United States.
the rich asshole touts support for prison reform
10:15 p.m.
President the rich asshole voiced his support for prison reform during his first State of the Union, saying, “As America regains its strength, this opportunity must be extended to all citizens."
“That is why this year we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a second chance," the rich asshole said.
the rich asshole’s comments Tuesday – along with recent meetings with criminal justice reform advocates – signal the White House is supportive of a federal proposal to incentivize prison programs that reduce recidivism rates.
A source familiar with the talks between the White House and GOP members of Congress told The Hill earlier this month that a bipartisan prison-reform bill offered by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) is expected to be marked up in the House Judiciary Committee before the first quarter ends in April.
The Prison Reform and Redemption Act, co-sponsored by eight Democrats and seven Republicans, allows prisoners to serve the final days of their sentences in halfway houses or home confinement if they complete evidence-based programs like job training and substance abuse treatment while in prison.
Boos, hissing erupts as the rich asshole mentions reforming 'chain migration'
10:03 p.m.
Hissing and some boos were audible in the House chamber when the rich asshole began discussing reforms to "chain migration."
Democrats booed when Trump said the current system allows a single immigrant to bring in “virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives.” “Not true, not true,” mouthed @RepJudyChu.
Lots of groans from Dems when Trump utters this line on chain migration: "Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives."
the rich asshole and other conservatives have used the term to describe "family migration" and "family reunification visas," a system of visas allowing citizens and legal permanent residents to petition for the federal government to allow close relatives to immigrate to the U.S.
the rich asshole has demanded an end to the system and it is one of the administration's four pillars for immigration talks, along with a permanent solution to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, border security and the diversity visa lottery program.
the rich asshole promises that drug prices 'will come down'
9:51 p.m.
President the rich asshole called lowering the price of prescription drugs one of his "greatest priorities."
the rich asshole said that drugs in other countries are much cheaper than in the United States, and "that is why I have directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities. Prices will come down."
the rich asshole has repeatedly said drug companies are "getting away with murder."
A draft executive order on drug prices leaked last year, though it was never actually released, and outside experts said the draft was considered to be friendly toward the pharmaceutical industry.
the rich asshole pushes Congress to give agencies power to fire federal employees
9:40 p.m.
President the rich asshole, who vowed to dramatically cut the size of the federal government, called upon Congress to give agencies the power to fire federal workers.
“All Americans deserve accountability and respect –– and that is what we are giving them,” the rich asshole said.
“So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people," he said.
Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told the federal agencies in a memo in April “to determine whether their current policies and practices are barriers to hiring and retaining the workforce necessary to execute their missions" and "if necessary, removing poor performers.”
the rich asshole raises national anthem debate during State of the Union
9:35 p.m.
President the rich asshole appeared to allude to his push for professional athletes to stand for the national anthem as he delivered his first State of the Union address.
The president applauded Preston Sharp, a young boy who has organized a campaign to place flags on soldiers' graves, saying that the boy's work was a reminder of why it's important to "stand for the national anthem."
"Preston's reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us of why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance and why we proudly stand for the national anthem," the rich asshole said to applause.
the rich asshole: Republicans repealed 'core' of ObamaCare
9:31 p.m.
President the rich asshole touted the repeal of ObamaCare's individual mandate Tuesday, saying, "we repealed the core of disastrous ObamaCare."
The GOP tax bill repealed the mandate that most Americans pay a fee if they don't have health coverage. The legislation didn't touch any other parts of former President Obama's signature health-care law, such as its expansion of Medicaid, requirements that insurers cover a list of services and other consumer protections.
GOP congressional leaders have signaled a desire to move on this year from efforts to repeal ObamaCare. Republicans, who tried unsuccessfully to repeal the law last year, have a slimmer 51-49 seat majority in the Senate going into the midterm elections this year.
The the rich asshole administration is also seeking to change the health-care law administratively.
the rich asshole: State of the Union is strong 'because our people are strong'
9:25 p.m.
President the rich asshole highlighted various economic successes during his tenure and touted the GOP tax legislation he signed into law in December in the opening portion of his remarks Tuesday, which focused on a number of challenges in his first year.
"Over the last year, we have made incredible progress and achieved extraordinary success. We have faced challenges we expected, and others we could never have imagined," the rich asshole said in prepared remarks.
"We have shared in the heights of victory and the pains of hardship. We endured floods and fires and storms. But through it all, we have seen the beauty of America's soul, and the steel in America's spine," he continued.
the rich asshole made reference to last year's Las Vegas shooting massacre, wildfires in California as well as hurricanes that ravaged portions of Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
"Let us begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our union is strong because our people are strong," the rich asshole said. "And together, we are building a safe, strong and proud America."
Dems give the rich asshole a cold reception as he enters House chamber
9:10 p.m.
Democratic lawmakers avoided standing along the center aisle to shake the rich asshole's hand as he entered the chamber, instead letting eager GOP lawmakers take up the usually coveted seats.
Many Democrats didn’t even bother clapping; those who did applauded half-heartedly and stopped well before their Republican colleagues. Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett (D) stood just feet away from the rich asshole with her arms folded, unsmiling.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus sat down before the rich asshole reached the dais, decidedly refraining from the welcoming applause.
the rich asshole motorcade arrives at the Capitol
8:55 p.m.
President the rich asshole has arrived at the Capitol to deliver his first State of the Union address.
Breaking with modern tradition, the president and first lady arrived separately at the Capitol.
A spokeswoman for first lady Melania the rich asshole told CNN that she traveled to the Capitol with her guests attending the address and would co-host a meet-and-greet with second lady Karen Pence.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also said Melania the rich asshole traveled separately for "no reason other than she can greet the guests and he can go straight in,” CNN’s Jim Acosta reported.
CBC members wearing African kente cloth to speech
8:45 p.m.
More than two dozen Democrats, mostly members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), are wearing African kente cloth to the rich asshole's speech.
The display comes after the rich asshole reportedly described Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations in vulgar terms during an Oval Office meeting on immigration policy earlier this month.
Pence, McConnell head toward House chamber for speech
8:36 p.m.
Vice President Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are leading senators over to the House chamber for the rich asshole's speech.
Senators lined up on the Senate floor before departing together as a group.
Several senators were spotted walking over to the speech with a senator from the other party, including Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and John Kennedy (R-La.) as well as Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer(D-N.Y.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
Women's rights group projects image on the rich asshole hotel before speech
8:12 p.m.
A women's rights activist group protested President the rich asshole's speech Tuesday night by projecting images on his hotel in Washington, D.C., drawing attention to allegations of sexual misconduct.
The images from the group UltraViolet called on Congress to "investigate the rich asshole" for the allegations, many of which surfaced before the election and that he has denied.
"In this moment of intense public scrutiny around sexual misconduct, Congress must act to hold the rich asshole accountable," the group said in a statement on its website.
A number of Democratic lawmakers have taken to social media or television to blast President the rich asshole ahead of his first State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) tweeted a picture of herself clapping with a pair of tiny hands ahead of the president's address.
Preparing for the State of the Union Address tonight #SOTU
Several lawmakers have posted photos of themselves with guests who are recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which the rich asshole has moved to wind down. Others have blasted the rich asshole over his recent criticism of certain FBI officials.
"He's a bully, he's mean, and he doesn't respect the institutions. He's made fun of the FBI, he's gone after judges. I think to normalize this president is wrong," Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."
Schakowsky is among more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers who have announced they will skip the rich asshole's speech Tuesday night.
"For me, it just felt wrong," she said, describing a scene of the rich asshole glad-handing lawmakers. "I could not be part of that."
the rich asshole will call for 'new American moment'
6:59 p.m.
President the rich asshole will declare a “new American moment” during his State of the Union address and call on Republicans and Democrats to work together to tackle the nation’s biggest problems.
“This is our new American moment,” the rich asshole plans to say, according to excerpts released by the White House. “There has never been a better time to start living the American dream.”
the rich asshole plans during his speech to call on lawmakers to pass bipartisan fixes on immigration and start work on a massive infrastructure proposal.
This year’s ‘designated survivor’: Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue
6:47 p.m.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will serve as the administration’s “designated survivor” for the rich asshole’s speech Tuesday, the White House announced.
The last Agriculture secretary to serve as the designated survivor was Tom Vilsack in 2012. Other departments whose heads have been named for the role in recent years include Veterans Affairs, Energy, Transportation and Homeland Security.
One Cabinet member is typically chosen to not attend a State of the Union or presidential address to a joint session of Congress as a precaution for an incident like an attack on Congress. Perdue will not be present for the address Tuesday night and will instead spend it in a secure location.
Sanders bringing 'Dreamer' to the rich asshole's speech
6:28 p.m.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is bringing a recipient of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to the rich asshole’s speech Tuesday night.
Luis Alcauter, a so-called Dreamer who worked on Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign, will be the senator's guest for the speech, Sanders's office announced.
"Luis is not a statistic or a number. He is certainly not a bargaining chip in budget negotiations. He is a real flesh and blood human being, along with 800,000 other young people, who deserves our support," Sanders said in a statement.
Several Democrats and at least one Republican, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), are bringing DACA recipients to the rich asshole’s speech on Tuesday to highlight efforts to reach an immigration deal ahead of a March deadline the rich asshole offered when announcing he would end the program.
Sanders is also among several vocal the rich asshole critics who is set to deliver a response to the State of the Union on Tuesday night, joining Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), who will be delivering the party's official response.
the rich asshole set for first State of the Union speech
6 p.m.
Interest is mounting with President the rich asshole poised to deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, where he is expected to take a victory lap on the economy and pitch an infrastructure plan to lawmakers.
The formal address comes amid high drama in Congress over efforts to protect young immigrants from deportation — a debate that spurred the recent three-day government shutdown — as well as against the backdrop of escalating Russia probes.
Tuesday’s prime-time address is the rich asshole’s first State of the Union, though he did speak before a joint session of Congress last year.
– Jesse Byrnes, Jordan Fabian, Jordain Carney, Cristina Marcos and Rachel Roubein contributed
CNN’s Van Jones hammers GOP attacks on FBI: ‘Circus inside of a zoo next to a train wreck’
Van Jones appears on CNN (screen grab)
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CNN’s Van Jones called out Republicans for attacking the FBI while claiming they want to root out corruption within the law enforcement agency.
His conservative colleague Rick Santorum argued that corrupt FBI agents had brought down former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), but CNN’s David Axelrod asked whether he’d voted to confirm Robert Mueller as FBI director.
“I think I voted for almost every Clinton appointment,” Santorum said, although Mueller was appointed by George W. Bush. “I give the president great latitude in picking the people surrounding him in the Cabinet.”
But Jones called out Santorum and GOP lawmakers attacking Mueller to defend the rich asshole from the special counsel probe, and said those partisan shots were undermining the rule of law.
“If in fact the Republicans are saying is true, that there is malfeasance at the top, then you have to proceed in the way that protects the institution,” Jone said. “What is happening is a circus inside of a zoo next to a train wreck, because you are trying to politicize this whole thing.”
Devin Nunes refuses to say if he crafted anti-FBI memo in concert with the White House
Rep Devin Nunes (Photo: Facebook)
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House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) on Tuesday declined to say whether he worked with the White House on the anti-FBI memo written by members of his staff, the Daily Beast reports.
His refusal came during a closed-door committee meeting, during which Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) asked Nunes if his staffers engaged with the White House as they wrote the memo alleging improper surveillance by the FBI during the 2016 presidential election.
That memo has created a political firestorm in recent weeks with leading Republican figures demanding the release of the memo while simultaneous deferring to the the rich asshole administration on whether to actually release it. Democrats have accused the Nunes memo of being a political ploy designed to provide cover to some rich asshole in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
As the Beast reports, Nunes told Quigley, “I’m not answering” when asked point-blank about possible communications with the White House.
Nunes’ non-denial recalls a similar effort he made last year on behalf of the the rich asshole administration. In March the House Intelligence Committee chairman held a press conference alleging former President Barack Obama’s Justice Department “unmasked” the rich asshole officials.
According to Nunes, people related to the the rich asshole transition team (which the House intel chairman was himself on) were swept up in “incidental surveillance” and improperly monitored by the former administration.
It was later reported Nunes received that information during a clandestine meeting with two White House officials—the day after former FBI Director James Comeys’ devastating testimony before Nunes’ committee.
According to the rich asshole, Nunes’ press conference “somewhat vindicated” his baseless claim that Obama “wire tapped” the rich asshole Tower in 2016. As the News Yorker’s Ryan Lizza reported last year, in the aftermath of that unsubstantiated claim, the White House put out an “all-points bulletin” to “find something” that would validate the rich asshole’s charge.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said “the unmasking thing was all created by Devin Nunes.”
the rich asshole’s own FBI director warned him not to release the Nunes memo: report
Attorney General Jeff Sessions (left) and FBI Director Christopher Wray (right). Image via Creative Commons.
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Officials at the Justice Department, including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appealed to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Monday to try and halt the publication of a memo alleging abuses by the FBI, the Washington Postreports.
Rosenstein met with Kelly just before the House Intelligence Committee voted to release the memo, written by staffers for committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA). According to the Post, Rosentein and FBI Director Christopher Wray warned the publication of the memo “could jeopardize classified information.”
Rosenstein also warned that the memo does not accurately describe how the Department of Justice conducts investigation. “Rosenstein did much of the talking,” thePost reports.
some rich asshole is reportedly inclined to release the memo, though White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday said there are “no plans” to release it.
Nunes on Tuesday refused to say whether he worked with the White House on his anti-FBI memo.
WATCH: CNN’s April Ryan gets in Jack Kingston’s face for trying to change the subject from Russia
April Ryan, Jack Kingston -- CNN screengrab
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A previously complacent pre-State of the Union ‘Anderson Cooper 360‘ erupted Tuesday afternoon, as CNN regulars April Ryan and former Republican lawmaker Jack Kingston battled over the conservative’s claim that Americans care more about their paychecks that the president trying to derail an investigation into his administration by firing special counsel Robert Mueller.
Things blew up as Kingston claimed, “I just don’t understand why that’s such a big story.”
“I’ll tell you what is a huge story, the fact that unemployment, right now, is at a 17-year row and African-American unemployment is the lowest,” Kingston claimed as Ryan could be heard saying , “Oh please, stop.”
“Hispanic unemployment is one of the lowest in history,” Kingston continued as he ignored protests from the panel. “Those are real issues. People are better off today than a year ago and the economy is growing. The other thing is, if you think about the businesses that held their money in November and December, suddenly, they are going to make a big investment.”
“Smoke and mirrors,” Ryan shot back. “Those facts are alternate.”
“Here is the deal, Jack,” Ryan lectured as the Georgia Republican tried to talk over her. “When you talk about unemployment going down, there’s a trend — it’s a trend that started over a year ago. But, here’s the devil that’s in the details. You are saying, ‘It’s great, it’s great,’ there is still great hurt.”
“The African-American unemployment rate that the president tweeted about to Jay-Z after the Van Jones interview?” she continued. ” The president saying, ‘did he see the unemployment rate, 6 percent?’ The president is talking about the numbers, not an approach, so there is a problem there. So don’t tell me –.”
“No, no. Number one, it is a significant drop, which was a far bigger drop than his predecessor,” Kingston shouted over Ryan.
“That’s not true, that’s not true,” Ryan parried.
“Absolutely, that’s why he’s talking less regulation on business so more mom and pop businesses can be created,” Kingston, exclaimed before snidely asking, “Take yes for an answer. This is good. Can you do better?” as Cooper shut down the exchange.
Watch the video below via CNN:
the rich asshole public health official bought and sold tobacco stocks on the job as CDC director
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald (Screen cap).
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A rich asshole administration official invested in a tobacco company while heading the federal agency tasked with reducing tobacco use.
Brenda Fitzgerald invested tens of thousands of dollars in stock holdings in at least a dozen companies after becoming director of the Centers for Disease Control, according to public records, reported Politico.
Purchases included shares of Japan Tobacco, one of the largest of its kind in the world, which sells four brands in the U.S.
Fitzgerald, a medical doctor and former Georgia Department of Public Health commissioner, also bought shares in Merck & Co, US Food Holding Co., Bayer and Humana, according to records obtained under the Stock Act.
She toured the CDC’s Tobacco Laboratory on Aug. 9, one day after purchasing shares in the Japanese company.
Fitzgerald sold the tobacco shares Oct. 26 and all of her stock holdings above $1,000 on Nov. 21, more than four months after assuming leadership of the federal health agency.
Ethics experts say Fitzgerald should have recused herself from government activities that could have affected her investments in food and drug companies.
“You don’t buy tobacco stocks when you are the head of the CDC — it’s ridiculous, it gives a terrible appearance,” said Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer for George W. Bush. “It stinks to high heaven.”
Fitzgerald has been criticized by lawmakers for holding on to some investments after becoming CDC director, but a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said her complicated stock portfolio was delaying some transfers.
‘If they do it again’: GOP senator gives Russia permission to fix 2018 elections before facing sanctions
Erin Burnett speaks to Jim Risch (CNN/screen grab)
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Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Tuesday that he was willing to allow Russia to interfere in the 2018 U.S. elections before sanctioning the country for interfering in the 2016 election.
CNN’s Erin Burnett noted during an interview with Risch that the rich asshole administration had waited to the last minute to provide Congress with a list of Russian oligarchs, which apparently was copied from a Forbes list of billionaires. The White House later promised that it would move to sanction Russia at a later date.
“Are you satisfied?” Burnett wondered. “Look, we did the sanctions for a very specific reason and that was to put an economic squeeze on Russia. These sanctions have done that. We were briefed on a number of transactions that were halted.”
“So, you’re saying that you don’t think there need to be more sanctions?” Burnett asked. “Or any on these individuals that are listed?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way,” the Idaho Republican replied. “I would put it this way. We have sanctions in place right now. They are actually working right now, according to the briefings we’ve had.”
“That doesn’t mean this thing is over with,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean this was done and that’s it. We’re going to watch this thing very closely. We’re in an election year, everyone is anticipating the Russians are going to do what they did in the last election and in elections before that and what they did in Germany and what they did in France.”
“And if they do that again,” Risch vowed, “you can assume those sanctions are going to get tightened even more on the Russians.”
Watch the video below from CNN.
Adult star Stormy Daniels denies affair with the rich asshole hours before State of the Union speech
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels (left, via Wikimedia Commons) and President some rich asshole (right, via screengrab).
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Adult film star Stormy Daniels, who was reportedly given $130,000 by President some rich asshole’s personal attorney, has issued a statement saying nothing untoward happened between her and the president back in 2006.
While in a 2011 interview she gave lurid details about sexual escapades with the rich asshole, she now calls accusations of an affair not true, and attacked the Wall Street Journal which reported the story as “an overseas tabloid.”
The actress posted the statement to her Instagram account — urging interested parties to “follow her” on the social media platform.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Daniels is slated for a guest appearance on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ following the rich asshole’s address to the nation.
You can see the statement below via Twitter:
Stormy Daniels (going on Kimmel tonight after Trump's State of the Union) issues a new statement saying she is denying having an affair with Trump not because of a settlement but because “it never happened.”
She would also like you to follow her on Instagram.
From @a_cormier_
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