the rich asshole seeks chaos as his alleged mistresses hit the airwaves
The Art of Distraction.
On Thursday night at 8:00 p.m., Karen McDougal gave an interview to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, detailing what she claims was a 10-month affair with President some rich asshole.
McDougal gave a detailed and credible account of the affair. She also dropped several bombshells during the interview, including the fact that the rich asshole compared her to his daughter Ivanka, never used protection, and repeatedly told her that he loved her.
McDougal also described how she was duped into signing an agreement preventing her from sharing her story by her own attorney, who was secretly communicating with the rich asshole’s attorney, Michael Cohen.
The interview, however, did not even lead Anderson Cooper’s own show. Ninety-four minutes before McDougal’s interview was scheduled, the rich asshole announced on Twitter that he was replacing his national security adviser H.R. McMaster, with John Bolton, a noted advocate for preemptive war.
I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.
The decision was, apparently, made quite quickly. Just a week prior, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke to the rich asshole about McMaster’s status and reported back that the two had a great relationship and there were no staff changes planned.
Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster - contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.
Appearing on CNN Thursday night, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, a reporter who has covered the rich asshole for decades and is very well sourced in the White House, suggested that the rich asshole timed his decision to distract from Cooper’s interview with McDougal.
.@maggieNYT says Trump may have named Bolton national security adviser tonight to distract from Karen McDougal's interview on CNN
If that was the rich asshole’s strategy, he appears to have been successful. The McDougal interview did not make the front page of the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Wall Street Journal. (Bolton’s appointment was featured on all three.)
This is not just a salacious sex scandal. McDougal’s case lawsuit alleges that the payment to her, with the involvement of the rich asshole’s personal attorney, violated federal election law. Although Cohen sometimes claims to be acting independently of the rich asshole, this violation of federal law may have involved the president himself.
Consider a hypothetical scenario in which it was revealed in 2010 that President Obama had a secret affair with a Playboy playmate and then, months before the election, was paid off by a close friend of the president’s. Would it have been front page news?
On Sunday, adult film actress Stormy Daniels is scheduled to tell her story about an alleged affair with the rich asshole for the first time on 60 Minutes. Daniels’ attorney suggests that Daniels has photographic evidence of her affair.
If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” how many words is this worth?????#60minutes #pleasedenyit #basta
As her interview approaches, the rich asshole continues to create chaos.
Friday morning, the rich asshole announced that he might veto an omnibus spending bill, causing a government shutdown.
Just a day earlier, the rich asshole’s budget director unequivocally said the president would support the legislation. Yet the rich asshole directly contradicted his own staff and then held a dramatic press conference where he trashed the bill (which he had praised the day before) before ultimately signing it, allowing him to make his scheduled flight to Palm Beach for the weekend.
The timing of all this could be a coincidence. Or it could be an effort from the rich asshole to draw attention away from McDougal and Daniels, whose stories pose a serious threat to his presidency. (Daniels lawsuit, like McDougal’s, alleges violations of federal law.)
the rich asshole outlined his theory of the media in his famous book, Art of the Deal.
One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I understand that. The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you.
Daniels and McDougal both have compelling stories that, in normal circumstances, would dominate the media. But the rich asshole knows how the media works and appears determined to make this week anything but normal.
How the world is reacting to the rich asshole’s appointment of John Bolton
From "true friend” to “human scum."
Reactions around the world ranged following the news Thursday night that conservative hawk John Bolton will replace H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser. The appointment has sweeping implications for foreign policy, as well as U.S. attitudes towards issues like the Iran nuclear deal and tensions with North Korea. While governments in countries like Israel hailed the news, other reactions in the Middle East ranged from cautious to horrified. Across East Asia, commentators expressed concern. In Russia, meanwhile, the response was tight-lipped.
Here is a sampling of how the international community is receiving the news:
China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
“‘Fasten your seat belts’: China hawk John Bolton replaces McMaster as the rich asshole’s national security adviser,” read a piece in the South China Morning Post, an English-language newspaper in Hong Kong. The piece notes Bolton’s close ties with Taiwan and tough policies on China.
Experts in China expressed similar concern. Shi Yinhong, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing, told the Straits Times that Bolton’s appointment will make it harder for the United States and China to cooperate on security issues.
“What security cooperation with China can there be? Nuclear weapons, North Korea, Taiwan, South China Sea, cyberspace… Where is there hope for cooperation?” Shi asked.
Bolton has been an ardent supporter of diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, according to a 2001 investigation by the Washington Post, and was paid by the Taiwanese government before joining the Bush administration. Following his appointment, the Taiwan Times called Bolton “a friend of Taiwan” — noting his advice to the the rich asshole administration to reconsider the “One China” policy, an agreement made in 1972 that essentially requires countries to choose between diplomatic relations with China or diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chinying has dismissed any changes to the One China policy despite Bolton’s appointment, according to Voice of America reporter Nike Ching.
“No matter who holds the post, the importance of China-US relations is self-evident and there will be no change, China and the US respect each other, focus on cooperation, properly handle their differences to achieve a win-win,” she said. She added that the Chinese government does not want to comment on Bolton’s appointment because it is the “internal affairs of the United States.”
A Taiwanese official also told Nike Ching that Taiwan “is not doing anything or saying anything yet” on Bolton’s appointment.
Japan
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said he was “a bit surprised” at the timing of the announcement.
Just two weeks earlier, the White House said that the rich asshole would be meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for direct talks in May — an important diplomatic breakthrough. Bolton has repeatedly called for bombingNorth Korea, something that could throw a wrench in talks.
Kono said, however, that he did not expect Bolton’s appointment would seriously affect U.S. policy on North Korea. “During my recent visit to the U.S., members of the rich asshole administration seem to fully share consensus on policies,” he said. “So I believe there is no major change to their stance.”
South Korea
Bolton is unpopular with South Korean officials, with whom he reportedly shares “very bad chemistry” following a history of hardline remarks and skepticism over potential talks between the United States and North Korea. South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, has been encouraging the talks. Moon remained relatively quiet following reports of Bolton’s appointment, while aides tapered their responses.
“Bolton has much knowledge on the issues regarding the Korean peninsula and most of all, we know him to be one of the U.S. president’s aides who is trusted,” a senior official at South Korea’s presidential Blue House told reporters.
Others were less reserved. Conservative lawmaker Kim Hack-yong, who serves as head of the national defense committee for South Korea’s parliament, called the news “worrisome” and expressed concern.
“North Korea and the United States need to have dialogue but this only fuels worries over whether the talks will ever happen,” said Kim.
North Korea
Bolton has referred to North Korea’s authoritarian government as “tyrannical” and called for the United States to launch a preemptive strike against the country. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has historically met Bolton’s sentiment in kind: the government has called Bolton “human scum” and refused to meet with him. As of Friday morning there was no word from Pyongyang regarding Bolton’s appointment.
Israel and Palestine
Reactions to Bolton’s appointment in Israel divided along partisan lines. Members of Israel’s hardline conservative government praised the decision, with Education Minister Naftali Bennett calling Bolton a “stalwart friend of Israel” and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked lauding him as a “true friend.”
“He has been, unquestionably, a friend of Israel for many years, including in his position as US ambassador to the UN,” Environment Minister Ze’ev Elkin told a Tel Aviv radio station. “I have no doubt it will be comfortable for us to work with him.”
Not everyone was so pleased. Haaretz, the country’s leading progressive publication, highlighted Bolton’s lack of support for a two-state solution, as well as his anti-Palestinian rhetoric.
Hanan Ashrawi, an official on the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, said that Bolton’s appointment “adds insult to injury.”
“This is unprecedented, this legal combination of hard-liners, Israel firsters, who are in charge of decision making in the U.S.,” Ashrawi said.
Iran
Bolton has repeatedly called for bombing Iran throughout the years, once arguing it was “really the most prudent thing to do.” He also has close ties to the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a fringe group led by Maryam Rajavi that was listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States until 2012 and is still considered a terrorist organization inside Iran. Even before 2012, Bolton spoke at MEK conferences and said he did not see his being paid “as an issue.”
That connection coupled with Bolton’s calls for war have sparked concern in Iran. Abbasali Kadkhodai, spokesperson for Iran’s Guardian Council, said on his Telegram channel that the news of Bolton’s appointment was “short but meaningful,” according to BBC Persian.
“John Bolton, American sponsor of the hypocrites, has gotten the highest political post in the rich asshole’s totalitarian government,” he said. “Today, this is a fundamental question of why an extreme American politician is hired for such a sensitive post, while he regularly sat down with Rajavi’s terrorist cult and is known as a ruthless supporter of this group. Can it be believed that these are all coincidences?”
Iranian media expressed similar concerns. With Bolton’s appointment, “the alarm of danger has rung in Asia,” read one piece in Fars News. A piece in Iranian state broadcaster IRIB noted that Bolton’s appointment was his “new chance” to destroy the Iranian nuclear deal — as he has repeatedly called to scrap the agreement.
Turkey
A spokesperson for Turkey’s foreign ministry responded to the appointments of both Bolton and Mike Pompeo, who is replacing Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, with carefully-worded comments.
“We hope these changes of duty will be a means to further strengthen the continuing efforts to solve the problems that have existed between our countries for a long time,” a statement read.
Russia
Bolton seemingly breaks with President the rich asshole in his views towards Russia, criticizing the country’s alleged role in attempting to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election and taking a hardline stance on the issue. That position might seem odd — the outgoing McMaster drew the rich asshole’s ire after calling evidence of Russian interference “incontrovertible” — and it’s unclear what it will mean for U.S.-Russia relations. The Russian government offered a vague, non-committal response when asked about the implications of the appointment.
“That is not a question for us, it is for the U.S. administration,” said a spokesperson for the Kremlin.
The 26 oddest lines from some rich asshole's totally bizarro omnibus signing announcement
CNN)After threatening a veto via Twitter on Friday morning, President some rich asshole -- flanked by several of his favorite (for now) Cabinet secretaries -- announced he had signed the $1.3 trillion budget bill that will keep the government funded and open through September.
the rich asshole lambasted the so-called omnibus bill -- and pledged to never sign another piece of legislation like the one he was about to sign. Then he said he had signed it.
Drama!
I watched the theater and then went through the transcript in search of the most, well, Trumpian lines. And there were plenty. They're below -- in the order he said them.
1. "We're negotiating very long, very hard, but very quickly."
the rich asshole is referring to trade here. And everyone knows the best kind of trade negotiating is the long, hard and quick kind. So say we all.
2. "They get together and they create a series of documents that nobody has been able to read because it was just done."
On my third re-reading of this line, I am now pretty convinced the rich asshole is talking about the legislative process that produced the omnibus. Still, "a series of documents" is a super weird way to refer to it.
3. "For the last eight years, deep defense cuts have undermined our national security, hallowed our -- and they just -- if you look at what's taken out, they've hallowed our readiness as a military unit."
The official White House transcript says "hallowed." And he said "hallowed." But, he had to mean "hollowed," right? RIGHT?
4. "As crazy as it's been, as difficult as it's been, as much opposition to the military as we've had from the Democrats -- and it has been tremendous."
This line deserves more attention than it will get. the rich asshole is saying, flat out, that Democrats are opposed to the military.
5. "But we have tremendous opposition to creating, really, what will be the far -- by far, the strongest military that we've ever had. We've had that from the Democrats."
Aaaaaaand, the classic the rich asshole double down.
6. "There are a lot of things that we shouldn't have had in this bill, but we were, in a sense, forced -- if we want to build our military -- we were forced to have."
Kind of a backhanded compliment to the Republican leaders in the House and Senate who pushed this bad boy through, no?
7. "Nobody read it."
the rich asshole is 100% right on this front. The omnibus bill was filed Wednesday night and passed through the Senate minutes into Friday morning. It was 2,322 pages long.
8. "It became so big because we need to take care of our military, and because the Democrats, who don't believe in that, added things that they wanted in order to get their votes."
So. The bill being so long is really bad. But, totally necessary because of the need to protect the military. And also because Democrats are, well, bad.
9. "We have to get rid of the filibuster rule."
10. "We wanted to include DACA."
Worth noting two things here. First, the rich asshole is the one who ordered the end of DACA. Second, he did make a proposal to preserve the DACA program (and then some) in exchange for full funding for his border wall.
11. "I'm calling on Congress to give me a line-item veto for all government spending bills."
This will never happen. And that's the optimistic view. Because the Supreme Court has ruled that the line-item veto is unconstitutional.
12. "We have to get a lot of great legislation approved. And without the filibuster rule, it will happen just like magic."
Like magic, you say?
13. "But national defense is a very important two words."
Nailed it. Two words. For sure.
14. "You have to be able to see through the other side in order to see what's coming."
So true. These opaque wall advocates are clueless!
15. "All records for defense."
It's record-setting. I mean, the bill is bad. But still: records.
16. "We're spending a lot of money on nuclear -- our nuclear systems -- to upgrade and, in some cases, brand new, whether it's submarines -- nuclear submarines -- and others."
My 6th grade English teacher just passed out.
17. "Total stealth. They're hard to find; they're hard to see. Therefore, they're hard to beat. It's very tough to beat a plane when you can't see it."
Can't see it = can't beat it. Total. Stealth.
18. "The tanker aircraft is very important based on everything."
[nods head knowingly] Yes, yes it is.
19. "We have a lot of offense that's been recently installed."
The best defense is, of course, a good offense.
20. "You understand what that means; everybody does."
[nods head warily]
21. "So when you look at all of these pages, a lot of that is devoted -- a lot -- to the military."
But I thought the length of the bill was really bad?
22. "While we can be disappointed in some ways, we have to also know that there are a lot of strings pulling everybody in different directions."
Many strings. Record numbers. Some of the best strings.
23. "It's a terrible problem, but this will be also -- this will be a record."
He's talking here about money to deal with the problem of opioid addiction. But really he's talking about setting records.
24. "We looked at it to veto. I looked very seriously at the veto. I was thinking about doing the veto."
[narrator voice] He wasn't.
25. "I think the stock market is going to be great."
Well, I'm convinced!
26. "And, look, it's time. It's time. "
Time to be done? OK!
Because of this idiots trade war, we are going to end up with another recession.
Wall Street nosedives on trade-war worries
Wall Street Bull
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Wall Street tumbled on Friday as investors, increasingly nervous about a potential U.S. trade war with China, shied away from risky bets going into the weekend as they looked for shelter from further declines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 424.55 points, or 1.77 percent, to 23,533.34, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 55.43 points, or 2.10 percent, to 2,588.26 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 174.01 points, or 2.43 percent, to 6,992.67.
Reporting by Sinéad Carew; Editing by James Dalgleish
Jesus christ, the shit is getting ramped up now.
CNN’s Jake Tapper delivers expert rebuttal to the rich asshole’s ‘fake news conference’: His ‘battle with facts continues’
Jake Tapper on the strange "fake news conference" and "fake bill signing" (Photo: Screen capture)
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CNN’s Jake Tapper spent the first portion of his Friday episode of “The Lead” calling out President some rich asshole’s “fake news” claims during the so-called press conference before he signed the spending bill.
Tapper noted that the rich asshole told his staff at the last minute he wanted a press conference for the signing of the bill, and they were forced to scramble to get it done. However, the news conference was nothing more than an “airing of grievances,” according to Tapper. “A fake news conference,” he called it.
“That wasn’t even the most unusual aspect of the non-news conference news conference,” he continued. “Nor was it a bill signing, although the White house billed the event as that as well. The bill was not signed during the event. This was more of an airing of grievances. Festivus style.”
He played a clip of the rich asshole expressing his frustration with the bill that he didn’t want to sign and had pledged he would veto.
“President the rich asshole is not wrong that the appropriations process on capitol hill is pathetically broken and it has been for some time,” Tapper confessed. “But the president’s proposed remedies seemed a bit off.”
His first example was that the next bill they send him will get a “line item veto” for spending.
“So, one small problem with this, there was a Supreme Court case about the line-item-veto, it was back this 1998, twenty years ago” Tapper explained. “Clinton vs. The City of New York. The line-item-veto, 20 years ago was deemed unconstitutional. President the rich asshole surely must know that.”
the rich asshole’s second remedy was that he wanted to see the senate get rid of the filibuster.
“Here’s the thing: you’re not going to get the U.S. Senate to ending the filibuster,” Tapper explained. “Since the rules allow the minority power to have some power and every senator knows that soon enough, that could be them. Moreover is that really the problem with this bill? According to a senior Senate Republican aide, ‘Ending the filibuster isn’t the problem because the House Freedom Caucus crowd refuses to vote for any spending bills. House Republicans need Democrat votes.’ And that’s why the bill was how it was.”
He went on to say that the GOP was also confused why the president was so upset about the bill since his staff was at the negotiation table every step of the way.
Finally, Tapper played the clip of the rich asshole blaming the Democrats for preventing a deal on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
“OK, so, one other pesky little fact here: it is true the Democrats did not go with the deal offered to them by Republicans to fund border wall in exchange for DREAMers,” Tapper explained. “But President the rich asshole is the one that gave the DACA this self-imposed dead line. To sum up the news conference that was held: The president’s continued battle with facts continues unabated, starting with the basics about what the event was, wing the legislation and ending with some basic misunderstandings of governance. it was an unusual signing ceremony torsion say the least.”
Watch the commentary below:
CNN panel marvels at the rich asshole morals: ‘Not only cheating on his wife — he was cheating on his mistress’
CNN's Gloria Borger and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Wehle (Photo: Screen capture)
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As the women who engaged in consensual sexual relationships with President some rich asshole while he was married continue to come forward, all political panels can marvel at the hubris and questionable morality.
During a panel discussion with CNN’s Gloria Borger and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Wehle found the rich asshole’s predicament remarkable.
“She made him seem more human in a way than I’ve ever heard him described,” Borger described Karen McDougal’s interview with Anderson Cooper. “But she was also describing a man who was not only cheating on his wife, but he was cheating on his mistress at the same time. And so it was a remarkable story.”
Borger explained that she covered former President Bill Clinton and has covered presidents who cheated on their wives in the past, but this, seemed different somehow.
“It’s kind of remarkable, the level of detail that is coming out from these women, because we are living in a different time now than we were during the Clinton days,” Borger continued. “So now it’s just all coming out there. At some point, the president is going to have to talk about it, either in court or to the American public.”
Wehle, who worked on the Whitewater prosecution case noted that when Clinton dealt with his affair, he ultimately was forced to talk about it to the American people. Ironically, the rich asshole brought Clinton’s accusers to a press conference prior to the final presidential debate.
“These hush money deals took place around the time of the campaign and there are some potential legal liability here with respect to the campaign finance laws,” Wehle said. “So, this is beyond just the sordid details, which is really debasing the presidency, kind of in a more historic level. But it also has legal implications for this president that just compounds the problems he has, in light of [special counsel Bob] Mueller’s investigation.”
Watch the full discussion below:
‘He should confess’: Evangelical leader urges the rich asshole to ‘own’ his affairs and ‘apologize to the country’
Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Composite image.
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A prominent evangelical leader called upon President some rich asshole to “confess” any extramarital affairs he has engaged in and apologize to the First Lady and the American people.
During an appearance with MSNBC anchor Katy Tur, Bob Vander Plaats denied that evangelical Christians were giving the commander in chief a pass as both a former Playboy playmate and a prominent pornographic performer are making public allegations that the rich asshole stepped out on his marriage.
“This Sunday 60 Minutes will air its interview with Stormy Daniels,” Tur reminded. “Last night, Daniels’ attorney tweeted a cryptic picture of a disk”
If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” how many words is this worth?????#60minutes #pleasedenyit #basta
“The White House and president’s attorney have denied both affairs but how many of these claims will be too many claims for the more conservative members of some rich asshole’s base?” Tur asked. “So the president isn’t responding to this, he’s been dodging questions on this. There are a lot of folks out there who look towards the evangelical community and wonder why evangelicals are giving him a pass on this sort of stuff.”
“First of all, I don’t think evangelicals are giving him a pass, I know that I’m not,” claimed Bob Vander Platt, president and CEO of The Family Leader.
“So I think evangelicals, Katy, are very clear: adultery is wrong, whether that’s where your neighbor, your office worker, or with a porn star,” he continued. “Adultery is wrong.”
“I believe that if these affairs are true, I believe he should own it, he should confess it, he should say ‘I’m sorry.’ He should reach out to Melania and his family,” Vander Plaat counseled. “He should also reach out to the country and say he’s sorry.”
“The heart of our faith is forgiveness,” he continued, “but that forgiveness comes with an acknowledgment and with a confession of saying, ‘I did wrong.'”
Watch:
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March 23, 2018
It's been more than a year since the rich asshole held an actual press conference, because he's so afraid of having to answer reporters' questions.
Capping off a rambling White public appearance Friday in what was touted as a “press availability,” the rich asshole once again dodged transparency when he refused to answer almost any questions from the press.
After taking just two queries, he quickly exited the room full of reporters and ignored a pointed question about lawsuits that are piling up about his previous extramarital affairs.
The porn actress Stormy Daniels, who reportedly received a $130,000 hush money settlement just weeks before the 2016 election, is scheduled to tell her story on “60 Minutes” Sunday night.
This month, Daniels filed a lawsuit claiming that the agreement requiring her not to talk about the affair is invalid because the rich asshole never signed it. the rich asshole’s private attorney, Michael Cohen, insists that he alone knew about the hush-money payment and that he arranged it all without the rich asshole’s knowledge, just days before the election.
Daniels’ attorney has suggested they have evidence to prove that the rich asshole knew about the payment.
the rich asshole refusing to engage on Friday caps off a week where The White House has clearly been in damage control mode and has essentially shut the doors to the press. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders hosted just one White House press briefing all week, which is an almost unheard of lack of access for reporters.
Sanders actually announced Friday morning that there would be a press briefing that day at 1 p.m., only to later cancel it because the rich asshole was having “a press availability” when he signed the omnibus spending bill in from of reporters.
But the rich asshole essentially blew off journalists, taking just two questions and then ignoring a third about his previous affairs.
“the rich asshole is now facing a triple-barreled litigation drama involving a porn actress, a reality show star and a former Playboy model that promises further embarrassing allegations,” CNN reports.
If journalists had been allowed to quiz the rich asshole, they liked would have asked him why his top defense attorney, John Dowd, has resigned out of frustration. The stunning move came just as the rich asshole needs legal counsel in the face of special counsel Robert Mueller’s expanding Russia probe.
Note that it’s been 13 months since the rich asshole hosted an actual White House press conference.
Based on his weird, disengaged performance Friday, we know why.
Top the rich asshole campaign officials urged Papadopoulos to communicate with Russians: report
Former the rich asshole campaign adviser George Papadopoulos (image via Twitter).
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Former some rich asshole campaign adviser George Papadopoulos was encouraged by campaign officials to communicate with foreign contacts, according to the Washington Post.
As the Post reports, Papadopoulos was urged by deputy communications director Bryan Lanza to participate in an interview with a Russian news agency.
“You should do it,” Lanza told Papadopoulos, adding the connection could benefit a “partnership with Russia.”
According to the Post, emails turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller show “more extensive contact” between Papadopoulos and top campaign and transition officials “than has been publicly acknowledged.”
Papadopoulos also communicated with former White House strategist Steve Bannon and onetime national security adviser Michael Flynn, “who corresponded with [Papadopoulos] about his efforts to broker ties between the rich asshole and top foreign officials.”
Read the full report at the Washington Post
NBC political reporter explains the rich asshole’s bizarre spending bill press conference: ‘It’s just a big temper tantrum’
some rich asshole on Instagram (Screenshot)
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NBC News national political reporter Heidi Przybyla explained that President some rich asshole’s signing of the omnibus budget bill despite his veto threats was a tantrum resulting from Congress joining Mexico in refusing to pay for his border wall.
MSNBC’s Katy Tur read a quote Peter Alexander relayed from a senior Democratic Party aide on Capitol Hill, describing the rich asshole’s press conference as “the craziest damn thing I’ve ever seen.”
“When his party worked so hard to get this spending bill across the finish line — at the very last minute — and get essentially most of what he wants, and then to turn around and say he’s going to veto it,” Przybyla explained, “Katy, it’s just a big temper tantrum.”
“And you know why?” Przybyla asked rhetorically. “Because even though in terms most of the priorities of what he needs for the American people being in this bill, he lost big time on the wall.”
“Let’s also mention that Chuck Schumer (D-NY) offered to give some rich asshole that wall a couple of months ago in exchange for DACA, and some rich asshole said that was a bad deal,” Tur reminded. “So he already negotiated away his leverage.”
“So what he’s getting is some fencing,” Przybyla deadpanned, as Tur laughed. “He had to have his moment and threw a bit of a fit, but in the end, he really had no choice but to sign it.”
“But to then, go ahead and make that statement, I can see why that Democratic aide sent that message,” she concluded.
Watch:
the rich asshole says will sue drug companies over opioids
U.S. President some rich asshole speaks during an interview with Reuters at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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U.S. President some rich asshole on Friday said his administration will be suing some drug companies as part of its fight against the opioid drug crisis, without giving more detail.
“We’ll be suing certain drug companies for what they’ve done with the opioids and we’ll be bringing suits at a federal level,” the rich asshole told reporters at the White House days after outlining several steps to combat the epidemic.
Reporting by Steve Holland and Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Trott
‘The president got rolled’: CNN panel mocks the rich asshole for whining about bill he’s being ‘forced’ to sign
Manu Raju, left, and John King, right, talk about President some rich asshole's decision to sign the omnibus package (Screen cap).
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A CNN panel on Friday mocked President some rich asshole for his moody press event in which he complained he was being “forced” to sign a bill that he personally hated.
During the discussion, CNN reporter Manu Raju said there was a certain irony to the fact that the rich asshole during the 2016 presidential campaign said that “only he” was smart enough to fix Washington DC — and that now he finds himself getting forced to do things he doesn’t want by his own party.
“This is a president who essentially is conceding that the congress has rolled him on this major legislative package,” he said. “Coming in, he said he was smarter than everybody in Washington, that he alone could fix it, and everybody here was stupid. Turns out that the president is the one who got rolled by Republicans in congress, and Democrats, too.”
Host John King similarly said that the rich asshole’s decision to reluctantly sign legislation that he personally hated made a mockery of his reputation as a brilliant deal maker.
“It’s a remarkable moment in that this is what he was supposed to be best at,” said King. “And he’s being mocked, by the way. Rush Limbaugh Ann Coulter, the voices he listens to on Twitter, are mocking him for being weak.”
Watch the video below.
‘Can I sign up with Mueller?’ Ann Coulter melts down over the rich asshole’s empty veto threat
Ann Coulter (Shutterstock)
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President some rich asshole on Friday threatened to veto a bipartisan spending deal shortly after a “Fox & Friends” segment aired that criticized the deal for not having sufficient border wall funding.
With the rich asshole seemingly set to sign the bill, however, estranged the rich asshole supporter Ann Coulter unleashed an angry tirade against him for signing off on any deal that doesn’t fully fund his long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Coulter was especially mad that the rich asshole mentioned the fate of undocumented immigrants who were brought to United States as children in his original veto threat before mentioning the wall.
“Threatened veto NOT over the ‘F– You’ on the Wall — but over the DREAMERS,” a furious Coulter wrote. “Can I sign up with Mueller?”
Threatened veto NOT over the 'F-- You' on the Wall -- but over the DREAMERS. Can I sign up with Mueller? twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…
In a follow-up tweet, Coulter declared that the lack of wall funding ensured Republicans would get destroyed in the 2018 midterm elections — and she had no problem watching it happen.
“GOP is going to get wiped out in midterms and I’m not even going to say, ‘Too bad,'” she fumed.
GOP is going to get wiped out in midterms and I'm not even going to say, "Too bad." twitter.com/NeilMunroDC/st…
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March 23, 2018
the rich asshole has escalated his war against special counsel Robert Mueller, and now his campaign is actually trying to make money off it.
In a shocking new low, the rich asshole campaign is using special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion to raise campaign funds.
“I will not hide from the truth — this is a WITCH HUNT,” is the first line in a recent the rich asshole campaign email with the subject “re: Russia.” the rich asshole often refers to Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt” in his Twitter rants, even as the investigation racks up indictments against both Russian agents and former the rich asshole staffers.
This fundraising pitch further escalates the rich asshole’s feud with Mueller. In the past week, the rich asshole used Mueller’s name in a Tweet for the first time, claiming that the investigation should have never started.
He complained about the team of top-notch attorneys hired by Mueller, and lashed out against former FBI Director James Comey. the rich asshole fired Comey in early 2017, later bragging to Russian diplomats that firing “nut job” Comey relieved “great pressure” on him.
the rich asshole’s lead attorney on the Russia probe, John Dowd, recently resigned because he “ultimately concluded that some rich asshole was increasingly ignoring his advice,” according to the New York Times.
the rich asshole is bringing on an attorney who publicly theorized about an FBI conspiracy against the rich asshole.
Remember, Republican Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, allowing his top deputy, Rod Rosenstein (nominated by the rich asshole and overwhelming confirmed by a Republican-led Senate), to take charge of the investigation.
When the rich asshole fired Comey, his own appointee, Rosenstein, appointed Mueller to head the investigation. Mueller is a former FBI director first tapped to lead the FBI by Republican George W. Bush.
Yet somehow, the rich asshole’s fundraising email describes the investigation as a “witch hunt.”
The email goes on, making the unfounded claim that “the swamp” is seeking to use “our government as a weapon to overturn elections and silence millions of American voters.”
the rich asshole often refers to Washington, D.C., as a “swamp.” But both the White House and Congress are controlled by Republicans who are unfailingly loyal to the rich asshole. His reference to some entity seeking to “overturn elections” has no basis in reality, as there are no efforts underway by Republicans or Democrats to make any such attempts.
the rich asshole’s chaotic behavior in the past few weeks points to a much more aggressive stance against Mueller. Raising campaign cash off of an investigation into his unethical, and possibly illegal, actions is just one more way the rich asshole disgraces the office of the president.
If he sought to fire Mueller, even complicit Republicans might actually stand up against him.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, when asked about that possibly, said, “If he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency.”
Despite the rich asshole’s bluster, Mueller is a decorated Marine with a long history of honorable public service. Name-calling and childish behavior won’t stop him from uncovering the truth, no matter how much money the rich asshole’s campaign raises from complaining about him.
House Republican offers completely incoherent rationale for ending Russia investigation
Anything to protect the rich asshole.
On Friday, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) went on Fox News and tried to justify the decision made by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee to end the committee’s Russia probe and release a final report. It did not go well.
Wenstrup argued there is no further need to investigate the rich asshole campaign, because while a top White House official may have admitted under oath to lying, all she copped to were “white lies.”
“Look at the Hope Hicks situation,” Wenstrup said, referring to the former White House communications director who resigned shortly after testifying before the House Intelligence Committee in late February. “They had her for nine hours in there, only to go put out that she may have told some white lies for the president, such as, saying he couldn’t come to the phone when maybe indeed he could have.”
It’s far from clear, however, whether Hicks’ lies were limited to ones about the president’s availability. She refused to answer specific questions about her work in the White House, as well as her role in the firing of then-FBI director James Comey and in drafting a misleading statement about a June 2016 the rich asshole Tower meeting between top the rich asshole campaign officials and a Kremlin-connected lawyer who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton.
While Wenstrup isn’t curious about any of that, in the next breath he called for more scrutiny on leakers, like whoever informed the press about Hicks’ testimony.
Referring to the possibility that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper leaked information to the press, Wenstrup said, “We need to have concerns, especially when it concerns people in high office that are to be trusted.”
House Intelligence Committee Republicans concluded their investigation without finding any evidence of collusion between the rich asshole and Russia. Contradicting the findings of the intelligence community and indictments made by special counsel Robert Mueller, Republicans on the committee say they haven’t seen enough evidence to even conclude that Russia was trying to help the rich asshole during the 2016 election.
The position is nearly impossible to defend given what we know about the disinformation campaign waged by Russian cutouts using emails stolen by Russian hackers during the 2016 campaign. Republicans have resorted to an increasingly desperate position to justify it.
House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) recently cited talking points that were debunked last summer to dismiss the idea that the rich asshole campaign did anything untoward, while Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) has gone as far as to question the concept of cause and effect — arguing that while he accepts that the Russians wanted to discredit Hillary Clinton, that doesn’t necessarily mean they wanted to help the rich asshole.
UPDATE: He signed the bill.
the rich asshole’s wall is running into some environmental trouble
The spending bill passed by Congress prohibits using funds to build the wall through the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge.
The spending bill passed by Congress on Thursday allocates more than a billion dollars to construct President some rich asshole’s border wall through the Rio Grande Valley. But there is one key stipulation: none of those funds can be used for construction in the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge.
The administration had previously begun preparations for constructing the wall through the refuge, which stretches for 2,088-acres along the U.S.-Mexico border. The refuge, which was created in 1943, is home to at least 400 species of birds, 450 types of plants, and half of the butterfly species found in North America.
Construction of the wall through the refuge would have required 18-foot structures — designed to let water flow in and out — that would cross through nearly 3 miles of the region. It would require construction of roads, as well as clearing of land on either side. A federal official told the Texas Observer in July that construction of the wall would “essentially destroy the refuge.”
The refuge was meant to be one of the first places that the wall would be built, because the federal government already owns the land and wouldn’t have to worry about issues of private ownership.
Despite the omnibus blocking spending for construction of the wall through the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, some preparation activities have already begun. According to the Department of Homeland Security, soil samples have been drilled “at several locations along the southwest border, including in the Santa Ana Refuge in Rio Grande Valley,” to help map below-ground conditions that could impact construction of the wall.
Environmental groups have opposed the rich asshole’s wall, arguing that it would pose a serious threat to wildlife and ecosystems along the border. Construction of the wall, for instance, could cut off migration routes for land-based animals, or destroy nesting habitat for birds.
According to a 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife report, more than 100 animals that are listed as endangered, threatened, or candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act could be affected by the border wall.
Despite the potential impact on wildlife and ecosystems, the rich asshole administration has repeatedly expressed its intention to construct the wall without conducting environmental reviews.
A 2005 anti-terror law gives the department broad authority for construction of projects that relate to national security, including forgoing environmental reviews and waiving a number of fundamental environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.
The administration’s attempts to waive environmental laws has faced opposition from environmental groups and Democratic politicians. The Center for Biological Diversity and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) have filed a lawsuit to stop construction of the wall, claiming that the administration illegally failed to conduct an environmental impact study.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra also filed a lawsuit against the administration, arguing that the homeland security law used by the administration to expedite the construction process — and bypass environmental laws — only pertains to projects constructed before 2009.
Those lawsuits, however, face steep legal odds. Becerra’s lawsuit has already been rejected by a federal judge on the grounds that the administration had not exceeded its legal authority in ordering expedited construction of the project.
And Republicans in Congress are currently working to make challenging the law on environmental grounds even more difficult, with two bills that would allow the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Patrol to construct physical barriers and conduct border patrols on federal or tribal land without regard to 36 different laws.
Still, environmental groups viewed the omnibus’ prohibition of construction in the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge as a win.
“The bill is very explicit in keeping any new border walls from going up in Santa Ana,” Scott Nicol, co-chairman of the Sierra Club Borderlands, told CNN. “I think we were successful in making walling off Santa Ana politically toxic.”
The spending bill now heads to the president’s desk. It is unclear, however, whether the rich asshole will sign the bill into law — he threatened to veto the bill via Twitter on Friday morning in part because the bill fails to fully fund the wall’s construction.
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March 23, 2018
White House Counsel Don McGahn plans to leave as soon as the rich asshole finds someone to replace him.
Already plagued by out-of-control turnover, the rich asshole could soon lose another major administration official instrumental in steering policy and legal matters: White House Counsel Don McGahn.
According to a new report in Politico, four sources confirm McGahn “is expected to step down later this year, though his resignation is contingent on the president finding a replacement and several other factors.”
the rich asshole, according to the report, does not want him to go, but McGahn is anxious to return to his private law practice. He is not planning to abandon the rich asshole completely, and will possibly return to “a role he had during the 2016 campaign by handling legal matters for the rich asshole’s reelection,” but no longer wants to work in the administration.
The news follows a series of controversies and shake-ups surrounding attorneys in every aspect of the rich asshole’s circle.
This week, the team of attorneys defending the rich asshole against special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation saw major staffing changes. John Dowd resigned as head of the defense team, reportedly because the rich asshole ignored his advice to avoid an interview with Mueller. Soon after, the rich asshole added Benghazi-obsessed Fox News commentator Joe DiGenova to the payroll.
Meanwhile, ethical questions continue to circle about the conduct of the rich asshole’s private attorney Michael Cohen, who allegedly paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep the rich asshole’s extramarital affair secret.
Inside the White House, tensions between the rich asshole and McGahn have existed for a while. Last year, the rich asshole ordered McGahn to fire Mueller, and only relented because McGahn said he would resign rather than carry out that order.
But McGahn has been a central architect of the rich asshole’s policy agenda. He has done everything from advise the rich asshole on how to erase President Obama’s regulations on health care and energy, to help the rich asshole nominate a long string of far-right federal judges. His exit could leave the White House virtually rudderless on these matters.
All that is constant is the rich asshole’s penchant for chaos.
the rich asshole may dump his new Mueller probe lawyer after just one meeting: report
Attorney Joseph E. diGenova (Screen cap).
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President some rich asshole this week seemed to hire controversial attorney Joseph diGenova, a regular Fox News guest who is known for spouting conspiracy theories about the “deep state” conspiring to frame the president for crimes.
However, CNN is now reporting that the rich asshole isn’t sure diGenova and his wife, fellow lawyer and Fox News regular Victoria Toensing, are the right people for the job after meeting with them just once.
“The Thursday meeting was the first time the husband-and-wife legal team met with the President since the Monday announcement,” CNN reports. “One source said that while the rich asshole liked their message, the President is not convinced they are right for the legal jobs.”
In particular, CNN’s sources say the rich asshole White House has concerns over whether “diGenova can reasonably claim a lack of conflict when his wife represents clients like Mark Corrallo, who has spoken to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team about how the President and his team responded to the revelations regarding the June 2016 the rich asshole Tower meeting that some rich asshole Jr. and other campaign officials had with a group of Russians.”
On Thursday, top White House lawyer John Dowd resigned after he reportedly grew tired of the rich asshole not listening to his legal advice. Were the rich asshole to renege on his plans to hire diGenova, it would lead to even more chaos in his legal team as he prepares to face down special counsel Robert Mueller and his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
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March 23, 2018
Nobody knows what the rich asshole wants, including the woman who's supposed to tell us what the rich asshole wants.
For someone who reportedly may be forced to take the job of White House communications director, Kellyanne Conway doesn’t seem to communicate very well with the rich asshole.
In the kind of monumental talking point car wreck that only this dysfunctional White House could pull off, Conway appeared on CNN Friday morning and bragged about how Congress was funding the racist border wall the rich asshole wants to build along the southern U.S. border.
Then less than an hour later, the rich asshole made her look like a fool.
Conway’s boast on CNN was clear: the rich asshole’s team is getting things done, and Congress is bending to his will.
“That’s why the omnibus [bill] got through,” she said, referring to the massive spending bill that now awaits the rich asshole’s signature. “That’s why we now have funding for the wall. … This town was mocking the wall two years ago. Now they’re funding it.”
Then exactly 55 minutes later, the rich asshole, apparently taking his cues by watching “Fox & Friends,” announced on Twitter that he might veto the mandatory spending bill because — wait for it — there’s very little funding for his wall.
“I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,” the rich asshole tweeted.
Funding for the government expires at midnight on Friday, March 23. If the rich asshole vetoes the bill, that means another government shutdown.
Did we mention Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and we may be facing a shutdown because Republicans leaders in Congress have no idea what the rich asshole wants?
In the Friday battle of Conway versus the rich asshole border wall talking points, who’s right?
In this instance, it’s the rich asshole who’s dealing more with reality than Conway. Because it’s a fact that the spending bill approved by Congress delivers a stinging slap in the face to the rich asshole’s idea of building a massive wall. It’s a barrier the rich asshole promised for more than a year that Mexico would pay for. (Mexico is not paying for it.)
There’s a reason the Washington Post singled out “the rich asshole border wall promise” as being one of the big “losers” in the new spending bill.
“The president wanted $25 billion of funding for the project. He only got $1.6 billion to construct defenses on the U.S.-Mexico border, but most of the money is earmarked for specific projects that would have probably gone forward even if Hillary Clinton was president,” the Post reports.
the rich asshole rage-tweeted that the wall isn’t being “fully funded.” In truth, it’s being barely funded at all.
His fantasy border wall seems to have become a rare example of bipartisan contempt among most members of Congress.
the rich asshole to hold press conference on omnibus bill at 1 pm
BY MAX GREENWOOD - 03/23/18 12:42 PM EDT
President the rich asshole on Friday announced an afternoon news conference to discuss a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, hours after he threatened to veto the measure.
"News conference at the White House concerning the Omnibus Spending Bill. 1:00 P.M." the rich asshole tweeted.
News conference at the White House concerning the Omnibus Spending Bill. 1:00 P.M.
It was not immediately clear exactly who would be speaking at the news conference or what about the omnibus bill it would address.
Watch live: the rich asshole to hold press briefing on omnibus
BY THE HILL STAFF - 03/23/18 12:15 PM EDT
Link
President the rich asshole will hold a news conference at the White House concerning the omnibus spending bill.
The news conference is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Watch live in the video above.
Turns out all the drama was from chief snowflake, some rich asshole.
White House confident the rich asshole will sign omnibus despite veto threat
BY JULIEGRACE BRUFKE - 03/23/18 11:15 AM EDT
White House officials are confident President the rich asshole will sign the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill approved by Congress despite his surprise threat via Twitter to veto the bill.
“I think we’ll be OK,” White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short told CNN.
Another official said the White House believes that the rich asshole will ultimately sign the legislation.
“I think he just wanted to add a little drama,” the administration source told The Hill. “Everyone here is confident he'll sign it when it arrives at the White House.”
The legislation was approved easily in separate votes in the House on Thursday and the Senate early Friday morning, and the rich asshole had earlier expressed support for the measure.
But it has come under intense criticism from the right, which may have influenced the president to weigh in with his unease about the bill. the rich asshole complained that the legislation did not fully fund his wall on the Mexican border and that it did nothing to help young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children, commonly known as "Dreamers."
“I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,” the rich asshole tweeted Friday morning.
If the president opts not to sign the bill, the government will shut down at midnight on Friday.
As the drama unfolds...
the rich asshole threatens to veto omnibus over lack of wall funding, DACA fix
BY JORDAN FABIAN AND ALEXANDER BOLTON - 03/23/18 09:02 AM EDT
President the rich asshole on Friday threatened to veto a massive $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, raising the prospect of a government shutdown.
The president vented his frustration that the measure does not include enough funding for his long-promised border wall between the U.S. and Mexico or protections for young immigrants covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
"I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded," the rich asshole tweeted.
I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded.
Talking heads on one of the rich asshole's favorite television programs, "Fox and Friends," trashed the proposal on Friday morning.
“This is a swamp budget, this is a Mitch McConnell special," said Fox News personality Pete Hegseth. “There’s no wall. Ultimately, the Democrats controlled this process.”
The tweet comes after the White House reassured lawmakers that the rich asshole would sign the spending bill, pleasing leaders in both parties who scrambled to reach a deal before Friday's funding deadline.
“Let’s cut right to the chase. Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes,” White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Thursday.
If the rich asshole instead vetoes the measure, it would trigger a government shutdown beginning Saturday.
Members of the House and Senate have already begun to leave Washington ahead of a two-week holiday recess and are not prepared to quickly pass a stopgap spending measure.
The Senate sent the bill to the rich asshole’s desk early Friday morning on a bipartisan, 65-32 vote hours after the House approved the measure. The bill would fund the government through the end of September.
Sixty-five of 97 senators voted early Friday morning to approve the omnibus, giving it two-thirds support in the upper chamber and enough to override a the rich asshole veto.
The spending package, however, would face an uphill path getting two-thirds support in the House, where the rich asshole’s support among Republican lawmakers is more solid.
The House approved the measure Thursday with 256 out of 423 votes, or roughly three-fifths support — well short of the two-thirds threshold.
the rich asshole had dragged his feet in supporting the proposal, even though members of his own staff had participated in the negotiations on Capitol Hill.
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday made a last-minute trip to the White House, meeting with the rich asshole for 45 minutes to persuade the president to sign the measure.
Ryan declared victory on Thursday, telling reporters “the president supports this bill, there’s no two ways about it.”
A spokeswoman for Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the rich asshole's veto threat.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the leader did not have a statement to issue at press time.
A Democratic aide said Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would force Republicans to reopen spending negotiations if the rich asshole vetoes the bill.
"One of two things will happen. He either signs the bill by the end of the day, or he ends up signing a bill he likes even less after Republicans have to renegotiate with Democrats to get out of a shutdown," the source said of the options facing the rich asshole.
Some Republicans, however, are egging the president on.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Friday morning urged the rich asshole to veto the measure.
"Please do, Mr. President,” he wrote on Twitter. “I am just down the street and will bring you a pen. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible.”
A shutdown would wreak havoc with the congressional schedule , as many lawmakers have planned official trips for the two-week Easter recess.
Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) is leading a congressional delegation trip to Africa, for example. And many lawmakers are in Rochester, N.Y., for the funeral of Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.).
the rich asshole may be trying to highlight his reluctance to sign the bill given opposition from conservatives, who have cast it as wasteful spending. He also could be trying to skirt blame for the inability to reach a deal to protect DACA recipients, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
The president floated a plan that would offer them a pathway to citizenship in exchange for funding for his border wall and changes to the legal immigration system.
But Congress rejected that proposal, instead giving the rich asshole a fraction of the money he requested for border barriers.
“DACA was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall,” the rich asshole tweeted minutes before his veto threat.
Updated at 10:04 a.m.
Max Greenwood contributed to this story.
Stormy Daniels's lawyer posts photo of mystery disc in a safe
BY MAX GREENWOOD - 03/23/18 07:32 AM EDT
Stormy Daniels's attorney hinted on Thursday that he may have hard evidence that the adult-film actress had an affair with President the rich asshole, posting a photo on Twitter of what appeared to be a compact disc in a safe.
"If 'a picture is worth a thousand words,' how many words is this worth?????" Michael Avenatti tweeted.
If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” how many words is this worth?????#60minutes #pleasedenyit #basta
While not explicitly stated, Avenatti appeared to suggest that the disc may contain photographic or video evidence of Daniels's alleged affair with the president. Avenatti has previously declined comment on whether such evidence exists.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is currently suing to void a nondisclosure agreement that she says blocks her from speaking publicly about the alleged affair with the rich asshole more than a decade ago.
She was paid $130,000 by the rich asshole's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in 2016, just weeks before the presidential election. That payment, she has said, was intended to buy her silence on the alleged affair.
Cohen has acknowledged making the payment, but has insisted that it came from his own personal funds. The White House has denied that the rich asshole ever had an affair with Daniels.
In court papers filed last week, the rich asshole's attorneys accused Daniels of repeatedly violating the nondisclosure agreement, arguing that doing so exposed to her to paying $20 million in damages.
Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, has also come forward with allegations that she had an affair with the rich asshole years ago. The White House has also denied that affair.
CNN panel stunned as conservative blows off John Bolton’s anti-Muslim comments as a ‘dry sense of humor’
Keith Boykin, Ben Ferguson -- screengrabs
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A defender of Present some rich asshole stunned his fellow panelists on Thursday night when he defended the rich asshole appointee John Bolton’s anti-Muslim comments and affiliations as a sign of his “dry sense of humor.”
Appearing with CNN host Don Lemon and fellow panelists Keith Boykin and Peter Beinart, conservative radio host Ben Ferguson admitted that he has not always been comfortable with the controversial Bolton’s comments but overall respected the rich asshole’s decision to select the former ambassador known for pushing for war as the answer to most international conflicts.
“In 2016 Bolton gave a keynote address to the American Freedom Alliance designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center,” Lemon remarked noting Bolton said, “King Abdullah of Jordan, who is not simply the Muslim king of a Muslim country, unlike our president.”
“He called Obama a Muslim king. Do you think the president cares or is that part of the reason that he chose Bolton is because of that?” Lemon pressed.
“If you have ever seen him, and I’ve seen him multiple times, he has a dry sense of humor,” Ferguson attempted. “He was trying to be humorous. I’ve watched him speak where he does have a little bit of dry humor. I don’t think when he said that meant it in serious tone. There was a reason the audience cracked up laughing. Because that’s John Bolton — he is a guy that makes a joke and keeps a straight face.”
Panelist Beinart wasn’t having it, pointing out Bolton’s relationship with anti-Muslim demagogue Pamela Geller.
“Maybe that’s a joke, but you can’t explain all the different things he done,” Beinart charged. “He spoke three times at Pamela Geller anti-mosque rally in downtown Manhattan. And he has a longtime association with Frank Gaffney, who goes across the country testifying against construction of mosques.”
“What bothers me, and I say this as a Jew, is that I know if someone said these things about our people, about Jews, that conservatives like you would be up in arms,” Beinart concluded.
Watch the video below via CNN:
After the rich asshole threatens omnibus veto, RNC chair says Dems want to shut down government
Ronna McDaniel says the Democrats want to take back Congress in 2018 so they can do what they could have done yesterday.
Ronna McDaniel, some rich asshole’s handpicked Republican National Committee chair, charged on Friday that Democrats want to win back Congress in 2018 so they can shut down the government “as much as possible.” But if that were actually the Democrats’ goal, they literally could have done so hours before.
Congress passed an omnibus spending bill with bipartisan support on Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning. The GOP leadership’s bill, which the rich asshole administration had said it supported, passed the House and Senate only because enough Democrats voted yes to make up for Republican defections. While the Democrats are a minority in both the House and Senate, had they all voted against this deal, it would have virtually guaranteed a government shutdown.
Asked by Fox News about the rich asshole’s observation the day before that his popularity may not transfer to other GOP candidates in the 2018 midterms, McDaniel offered a non-answer, praising the rich asshole as “the best motivator of our base,” but warning that “Democrats are coming for the majorities.”
“They want to take back control and shut down this government as much as possible and stop president trump from achieving great things for the American people,” she charged. “And so President the rich asshole’s gonna continue to work, but it’s a warning sign for candidates, you’ll have to get out and make a case for yourself because voters will make a choice between you and the other Democrat that you’re running against.”
Watch:
Ironically, it was some rich asshole who said Friday that he might shut down his own government rather than sign the bill. He tweeted that he might veto the bill that his administration endorsed hours before, angry that it does not contain the billions of dollars he needs to build a massive border wall (which he promised would be funded entirely by Mexico, virtually daily during his 2016 campaign.)
the rich asshole’s threat to veto the spending bill came shortly after it was criticized “a swamp budget, Mitch McConnell special” on his the president’s favorite show, Fox & Friends.
POLITICS
the rich asshole Threatens To Veto Spending Bill Over Border Wall Funding, Then Signs It
“I will never sign another bill like this again.”
WASHINGTON ― President some rich asshole on Friday said he might veto the congressional spending bill passed earlier in the morning because it did not “fully fund” his proposed border wall, reviving the possibility of another government shutdown.
Hours after making the threat on Twitter, the rich asshole signed the bill at the White House, but made his objections known, calling the legislation “this ridiculous situation.”
“There’s a lot of things I’m unhappy about in this bill,” he said Friday afternoon. “I will never sign another bill like this again.”
the rich asshole on Friday morning took aim at Democrats for the omnibus agreement, which doesn’t include a solution for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children ― the so-called Dreamers protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
He has regularly claimed that Democrats “abandoned” Dreamers, even though he suspended DACA in September.
the rich asshole’s tweet threatening a veto contradicted statements from White House officials earlier in the week insisting the president would sign the $1.3 trillion spending agreement to keep the government funded and operating after Friday’s deadline.
the rich asshole had second thoughts about the agreement because of border wall funding before the deal was released, a source told HuffPost. But after meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the president seemed to be on board.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president and the two congressional leaders “discussed their support for the bill.”
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney on Thursday was even clearer.
“Let’s cut right to the chase: Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes,” Mulvaney said in briefing reporters.
Mulvaney acknowledged that the rich asshole wants funding for his entire proposed wall, instead of money allocated for 33 miles of fencing and other border security measures. But he nevertheless celebrated the funding agreement.
“Generally speaking, we think this is a really, really good immigration package,” Mulvaney said.
Lawmakers on Friday criticized the rich asshole, saying he’d be to blame for a government shutdown if he follows through on his veto threat.
Some, including GOP Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.), who had sought deeper spending cuts in the agreement, encouraged a presidential veto.
Please do, Mr. President. I am just down the street and will bring you a pen. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible. twitter.com/realdonaldtrum…
Both chambers of Congress overwhelmingly approved the bill, likely assuring it a veto-proof majority.
This article has been updated to note that the rich asshole signed the bill Friday afternoon.
CNN’s Toobin slaps down Alan Dershowitz for saying Mueller probe has no merit: ‘There have been guilty pleas!’
Alan Dershowitz, left, debates Jeffrey Toobin, right, on CNN (Screen cap).
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CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin quickly slapped down Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz on Friday for arguing that special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe has no legal merit.
In making his argument that Mueller’s probe should never have been founded, Dershowitz argued that cooperating with Russian government officials to help defeat a political rival isn’t a crime, which means that the rich asshole in theory shouldn’t be charged with obstructing an investigation that has no legal justification.
“Prosecutors are not supposed to investigate not-criminal conduct,” he argued. “They don’t have a roving commission to see where the political sins have occurred. They’re not supposed to look into whether there were improper political activities, they’re supposed to look only for crime.”
Toobin, however, had a simple rejoinder to Dershowitz’s claim: Mueller has already leveled multiple criminal indictments and has secured three guilty pleas so far to criminal activities.
“Allan, you keep saying there was no criminal conduct here, there have already been guilty pleas, so we know there was criminal conduct here,” he shot back.
Dershowitz tried to argue that all the guilty pleas so far have been “low-level” individuals — but Toobin shot down that argument too.
“The national security adviser, you think that’s a low-level person?” Toobin asked incredulously. “Michael Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI!”
Watch the video below.
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March 23, 2018
In an early morning tweet, the rich asshole threatened to shut down the government less than 24 hours after he agreed to the terms of a spending bill to keep it open.
Congressional Republicans are once again learning the rich asshole is an unreliable, often deceptive negotiator. Less than 24 hours after agreeing to the terms of a package to fund the government through the end of September, the rich asshole took to Twitter to complain about the bill he and his party had put together — and threatened to veto it.
Funding for the government expires at midnight on Friday, March 23. If the rich asshole vetoes the bill, that means another government shutdown.
“I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,” the rich asshole tweeted, complete with unusual capitalizations.
the rich asshole’s complaints about what he thinks the bill is missing — and his misplaced blame of Democrats — is certainly bizarre. His party controls Congress and crafted the bill. And his party decided to strip DACA protections from the bill when Democrats would not agree to fund the rich asshole’s wall.
DACA is the program started by President Obama that had protected nearly 1 million immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. the rich asshole, in furtherance of his anti-immigrant agenda, rescinded it last year. the rich asshole, and many Republicans, claimed to want to find a legislative solution, yet never did.
If he really is disappointed that DACA is not in the funding bill, he has only Republicans to blame.
In fact, Speaker Paul Ryan admitted Thursday that Republicans were holding DACA recipients, or Dreamers, hostage to the rich asshole’s demands to pay for a border wall. A border wall that, during the campaign, the rich asshole adamantly and repeatedly swore Mexico would pay for.
Earlier this week, the rich asshole agreed to the terms of the funding bill, but only after Ryan was forced to trek to the White House and hold the rich asshole’s hand through the process of understanding the bill.
But as most Americans already knew, the rich asshole’s word on an issue is not worth much. According to the Washington Post, the rich asshole surpassed telling 1,000 lies in the middle of 2017, only a few months into his term.
With this veto threat, the rich asshole threatens to shut down the federal government, all because a program he unilaterally ended didn’t get fixed and a wall he promised Americans would not pay for didn’t get funded.
WATCH: Did this ‘Fox & Friends’ segment manipulate the rich asshole into threatening a government shutdown?
Fox News 'Fox & Friends' hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade (screen grab)
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President some rich asshole strangely threatened to veto a bipartisan spending bill on Twitter Friday morning — just one day after his own White House said that he would sign it.
Although there’s no way to say for certain what convinced the rich asshole to veto the bill — which would result in the government at least temporarily shutting down — Media Matters senior fellow Matthew Gertz is floating a theory that a Friday morning “Fox & Friends” segment might be to blame.
During the segment, Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth attacked the bipartisan budget bill as too friendly to Democratic priorities while not spending enough on projects wanted by the rich asshole and his supporters.
“This is a swamp budget,” he said. “This is a Mitch McConnell special.”
Hegseth and Fox host Steve Doocy noted that while the White House did score wins on additional funding for the military and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it did nothing about the rich asshole’s biggest campaign promise: A wall built along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“There’s no wall,” fumed Hegseth, who also bemoaned the lack of action on protecting the so-called “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who were brought into the United States as children. “Ultimately, the Democrats controlled this process.”
the rich asshole’s tweet threatening to veto the deal mentioned both the lack of funding for the wall and no solution helping the Dreamers.
“I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,” the president wrote.
Watch the “Fox & Friends” segment below.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo hammers Kellyanne Conway after she blames Joe Biden for not solving opioid crisis
CNN's Chris Cuomo debates White House adviser Kellyanne Conway (Screen cap).
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Kellyanne Conway appeared on CNN Friday to talk about the rich asshole administration’s work in combating the opioid crisis — but she once again couldn’t resist taking a swipe at former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
During their discussion of the opioid crisis, Cuomo questioned whether the rich asshole was devoting as much attention to it as he should be given that he seemingly has time to get into Twitter feuds with Clinton and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Conway responded to say that it was actually Clinton and Biden who were the ones who started it, not the rich asshole.
“Joe Biden — like that woman who lost the election whose name I don’t say on your network anymore — they seem pretty obsessed,” she said. “Why do they keep mentioning him and his voters?”
Conway then attacked both Clinton and Biden for not doing more to solve the country’s problems, despite the fact that they currently hold no political power.
“They have considerable platforms,” Conway said. “Why aren’t they using them for more good? Where is [Clinton’s] center for women and girls? Why isn’t [Biden] calling me today to help on the drug crisis?”
Cuomo immediately shot down this line of argument, however.
“I don’t care what she’s doing,” he said of Clinton. “She’s not in charge of keeping my family safe. You are. You’re in power!”
Watch the video below.
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