GOP anxiety grows over the rich asshole’s Iran decision
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON AND JORDAN FABIAN - 04/24/18 08:23 PM EDT
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White House signals it will fight on for the rich asshole VA pick
BY JORDAN FABIAN - 04/24/18 07:18 PM EDT
The White House on Tuesday defended Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President the rich asshole’s embattled nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Jackson’s nomination is in jeopardy over allegations of misconduct as lead White House doctor, charges that the White House vociferously denied in a new statement.
“Dr. Jackson’s record as a White House physician is impeccable,” said a senior White House official. “He has improved unit morale, received glowing reviews and promotions under Republican and Democrat presidents, and has been given a clean vet from the FBI.”
The comments came after the rich asshole met with Jackson in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon. Another White House official described it as a “positive” meeting that assuaged the rich asshole’s concerns.
Just hours earlier, the president appeared to give the Navy admiral cover to withdraw.
“What does he need it for? To be abused by a bunch of politicians that aren’t thinking nicely about our country?” the rich asshole told reporters at a news conference. “I really don't think, personally, he should do it. But it's totally his — I would stand behind him — totally his decision.”
It was difficult to see how Jackson would hang on after those comments, since they came as support for his nomination on Capitol Hill quickly eroded.
But the White House is demonstrating that it plans to stick by Jackson, at least for now, pointing to his record as White House doctor for the rich asshole and President Obama.
The White House downplayed a 2012 inspector general’s report published by The Associated Press that showed Jackson and a colleague on the president’s medical team engaged in “unprofessional behavior” amid a power struggle.
The official noted the report said that the colleague, Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, was more to blame than Jackson, who requested the workplace review and acknowledged some fault for the situation.
The White House included handwritten notes from subsequent performance reports that were approved by the rich asshole and Obama.
“Ronny does a great job — genuine enthusiasm, poised under pressure, incredible work ethic and follow through. Ronny continues to inspire confidence with the care he provides to me, my family and my team. Continue to promote ahead of peers,” Obama wrote in 2016.
Officials also pushed back on allegations that Jackson overprescribed medications, saying that Jackson stayed “within the official guidelines” of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the Defense Health Agency.
Jackson still faces an uphill battle to be confirmed in the Senate.
The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee postponed a confirmation hearing scheduled for Wednesday to further review the allegations against Jackson, who already faced widespread skepticism over whether he is qualified to lead the sprawling agency.
Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) asked the White House for a wide range of documents to try to assess the claims.
“I'm doing my job as chairman. I just want the truth to get out when it's supposed to get out for the people that need to hear it, and that's the committee," Isakson said.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the panel’s ranking member, said the charges also included being drunk on duty and that he found them to be credible.
“They're credible enough that we need to vet it,” Tester said in an interview with NPR.
Nathaniel Weixel contributed.
POLITICS
Another Federal Judge Rules Against the rich asshole’s Order To Cancel DACA
The decision may pave the way for new applications to the Obama-era program.
A third federal judge ruled on Tuesday against the rich asshole administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
In September, President some rich asshole canceled the Obama-era DACA program, which shields undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as youths from deportation. But in a stinging rebuke of the rich asshole administration’s legal logic, U.S. District Judge John Bates described the program’s cancellation as “arbitrary and capricious because the Department [of Homeland Security] failed adequately to explain its conclusion that the program was unlawful.”
“Neither the meager legal reasoning nor the assessment of litigation risk provided by DHS to support its rescission decision is sufficient to sustain termination of the DACA program,” Bates wrote in the opinion.
The ruling has no immediate effect, and the decision to cancel DACA has already been stalled by a nationwide injunction. Bates’ ruling is unique, however, because it opens the possibility that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services might have to start accepting new DACA applications. The current injunctions only require the federal government to renew the applications of people who have already been approved for the program.
Bates gave the Department of Homeland Security another 90 days to give a better explanation for canceling the program before moving forward with the decision.
The consolidated lawsuits seeking to overturn the DACA cancellation in the District of Columbia were brought by several parties, including the NAACP, Microsoft, two labor unions, Princeton University and DACA recipient Maria de la Cruz Perales Sanchez.
Tuesday’s ruling adds another layer of complexity to the rich asshole administration’s efforts to squelch former President Barack Obama’s last standing immigration reform. Other lawsuits are moving through the federal court system in California and New York.
Both suits will likely drag on for months just to get through the discovery period, when lawyers demand to see the evidence that will appear as the case goes to trial. Plaintiffs in the California and New York cases are pressing the rich asshole administration to cough up more documents to shed light on its reasons for abruptly canceling DACA last fall, despite leaving the program in place for the first nine months after the rich asshole took office.
The Justice Department has argued that many of the documents describing the decision-making process are privileged and not subject to disclosure to the court.
the rich asshole's nominee for the VA is on the ropes
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 04/24/18 06:22 PM EDT
President the rich asshole's pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs was in the spotlight Tuesday as allegations of workplace misconduct swirled, and the president opened the door to his nominee's withdrawal.
"Staffers on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee are looking into charges Adm. Ronny Jackson created a hostile work environment, excessively drank on the job and improperly dispensed medications.
The allegations have roiled Jackson’s nomination, which was already facing skepticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. They have also raised questions about the rich asshole administration's vetting of Jackson.
A Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday has been indefinitely postponed while panel leaders investigate.
Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the panel's ranking member, asked the White House for a wide range of documents to try to assess the claims.
“I'm doing my job as chairman. I just want the truth to get out when it's supposed to get out for the people that need to hear it, and that's the committee," Isakson said.
Tester, in an interview with NPR Tuesday, elaborated on the allegations. Allegedly, Jackson was "repeatedly drunk while on duty" and screamed at and belittled his staff. He added that “more than 20” military personnel have come forward to speak about Jackson’s conduct.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who also sits on the committee, said the allegations were made last week, but members were not made aware of them until they had a phone call with Isakson over the weekend.
The Veterans' Affairs Committee typically operates in a bipartisan fashion, and Rounds noted that when Isakson floated the idea of delaying the hearing, members said they would support him “whichever way he decided.”
Tester told reporters that even though the allegations are unsubstantiated, he finds them credible.
“They're credible enough that we need to vet it,” Tester said, and added the soonest a hearing could be rescheduled was within 10 days.
Tester said he thinks Jackson’s nomination is still salvageable.
Yet it is difficult to see how Jackson will remain as the nominee after the rich asshole, who acted alone to pick him for the job, effectively told him he would be better off if he stepped aside.
"If I were him, I wouldn't do it,” the rich asshole said on Tuesday.
During a press conference at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron, the rich asshole said he is standing by Jackson, but suggested that Jackson should drop out rather than confront “abuse” from politicians.
“This is a vicious group of people that malign. What do you need this for? … You’re too fine a person,” the rich asshole said he told Jackson.
Later on Tuesday, the rich asshole met with Jackson at the White House for what was described as a positive meeting. News reporters after the two met said Jackson intended to fight for his confirmation.
When the rich asshole announced on Twitter last month that he was nominating Jackson, it took many in Washington by surprise. The nomination process moved quickly.
The Senate only received paperwork from the rich asshole administration formalizing the nomination last week, and Jackson's policy views on a range of subjects are unknown.
Jackson, 50, is a rear admiral in the Navy who has served as a White House physician for the past three administrations, and was the physician for both President Obama and the rich asshole. But his lack of experience in running an organization as large as the VA had already drawn questions about his qualifications.
Many believed he needed to impress members at his hearing to ensure his confirmation in the closely-divided Senate, where the GOP has a tenuous 51-49 majority.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to say on Tuesday if Jackson should withdraw his nomination, deferring to Isakson and the rich asshole administration. McConnell sidestepped a question on whether he knew about the allegations when he met with Jackson late last week.
Jackson met with committee members on Capitol Hill Tuesday, and expressed disappointment in a hallway interview with MSNBC about the postponement of the hearing, saying he had been looking forward to it. But he did not comment on the allegations.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) told reporters after his meeting with the nominee that he had yet to see any of the allegations against Jackson, and that Jackson himself denied the allegations.
“He does deny he’s done anything wrong in the service to the country,” Moran said. “He indicated he knows of nothing that would prohibit him from being qualified, capable and the right person to be the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
Moran said it’s important not to jump to conclusions, and wondered aloud why nobody raised these concerns before.
“In some ways you start with the premise that a member of the military ... has gone through review after review in his promotions,” Moran said. “I think it’s very premature to reach any conclusions about any so-called allegations that are out there.”
Democrats seized on the allegations as a failure of the White House to properly vet nominees.
“The administration has been abysmal in vetting and the lapses and failures regarding Ronny Jackson are only the latest example,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters. “These failures in vetting are a profound disservice to our nation’s veterans as well as to Adm. Jackson himself.”
“It is really frustrating to me that this administration continues to not vet, or sloppily send over a nominee that leaves us to really vet them and look at serious questions,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said there have been a “significant” number of people coming forward to talk to the committee about Jackson.
“People that knew him, or know him, have worked with him, in the military and former military that are willing to talk to investigators about him,” Brown said.
“And why wasn't the White House doing that?" he added.
POLITICS
Report: White House Doctor Ronny Jackson Will Not Withdraw VA Secretary Nomination
The embattled Veteran Affairs nominee will fight allegations of past unprofessional conduct, a White House official said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President some rich asshole’s physician Ronny Jackson will not withdraw as the nominee to head the Veterans Affairs department and will fight allegations about his conduct that surfaced ahead of a Senate confirmation hearing, a White House official said on Tuesday.
Jackson met with the rich asshole on Tuesday after the president said he was leaving the decision up to the physician. The White House is now preparing a defense, feeling that Jackson - well liked by administration figures from both parties - was being railroaded.
“We’re pushing back,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton; Editing by James Dalgleish)
the rich asshole’s pick for VA Secretary is inexperienced, and that’s the least problematic thing about him
Dr. Ronny Jackson has been accused of creating a toxic work environment and drinking on the job.
Physician to the President Dr. Ronny Jackson ran into another obstacle on his path towards confirmation as Secretary for the Department of Veteran Affairs on Tuesday afternoon.
In 2012, a report ordered by the Navy’s Medical Inspector General suggested then-President Barack Obama replace Jackson over what they categorized as a “power struggle” between him and a rival physician in the White House.
The six-page report by the watchdog group found the rivalry resulted in a lack of trust in leadership and a toxic working environment. Workers likened the tense workplace to “being caught between parents going through a bitter divorce.”
“There is a severe and pervasive lack of trust in the leadership that has deteriorated to the point that staff walk on ‘eggshells,’” the report found.
Jackson, who is President the rich asshole’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, has recently been under fire for serious allegations involving drinking on the job and over-prescribing medication. The allegations only compound long-held concerns over whether Jackson has the proper level of experience to run an agency of 375,000 people — and a budget of more than $185 billion — when he currently oversees a staff of 70.
the rich asshole has already lost one VA Secretary when David Shulkin resigned (or was he fired?) earlier this year shortly after allegations emerged that he misused taxpayer dollars to fund a European vacation for him and his wife.
During a Tuesday press conference alongside the visiting president of France, the rich asshole strongly defended Dr. Jackson, calling him “one of the finest people that I have met,” but also hinted that Jackson might soon withdraw from consideration.
“I would definitely stand behind him,” the rich asshole said. “I’d let it be his choice, but he’s a man who has just been an extraordinary person — his family, extraordinary success, great doctor, great everything, and he has to listen to the abuse? I wouldn’t, if I were him — actually, in many ways I’d love to be him — but the fact is I wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t do it.”
“What does he need it for?” the rich asshole continued. “To be abused by a bunch of politicians that aren’t thinking nicely about our country? I really don’t think personally he should do it, but it’s totally his decision.”
The rich asshole administration reportedly did little to no vetting of Jackson’s background before the rich asshole announced his nomination to be the next VA secretary via Twitter.
Senate leaders have delayed Jackson’s confirmation hearing in order to make sure Jackson receives a full vetting.
“We take very seriously our constitutional duty to thoroughly and carefully vet each nominee sent to the Senate for confirmation,” said chairman of the Veteran Affairs Committee Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), in a joint statement with Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the committee’s ranking Democrat. “We will continue looking into these serious allegations and have requested additional information from the White House to enable the committee to conduct a full review.”
the rich asshole’s personal physician accused of drunkenly banging on a female employee’s door
White House physician Ronny Jackson. Image via AFP.
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President some rich asshole’s personal physician and nominee to head the department of Veterans Affairs has been accused of drunkenly banging on the door of a female employee in 2015 — an incident witnessed by four people.
CNN reported Tuesday night that during the incident, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson’s behavior was so cacophonous “that the Secret Service stopped him out of concern that he would wake then-President Barack Obama,” one source said.
Two other sources who worked for the White House Medical Unit corroborated the claim, with one saying that it was “definitely inappropriate, in the middle of the night,” and that it made the employee in question uncomfortable.
According to CNN’s sources, “the incident was reported up the chain of command, and it is one of multiple drunken episodes involving Jackson on overseas trips.”
Ronny Jackson was called the ‘Candyman’ because he would dole out drugs to White House staff: Ranking Dem on Senate VA committee
President some rich asshole (left) and his personal White House physician, Adm. Ronny Jackson (right). Image via Saul Loeb/AFP.
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The ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday night that people in the White House used to refer to the president’s personal physician, Adm. Ronny Jackson, as “the Candyman” due to his habit of over-prescribing sleeping medication.
“He was the ‘Candyman’ because he handed out prescription drugs like they were candy,” Sen. John Tester (D-MT) told the host. The senator went on described how Jackson was allegedly known to go up and down the aisles on overseas flights in his role as White House physician during the Obama administration and offer passengers narcotics to sleep and narcolepsy drugs to wake back up.
While enumerating the allegation that Jackson was often drunk on the job during the last administration, Tester noted that being inebriated while being the president’s physician could have dire consequences.
“Adm. Jackson was the primary health care provider for the president,” the Montana senator told Cooper. “And if you’re drunk and something happens with the president, it’s difficult to treat the president. So this is totally unacceptable, and multiple people told us this was the case.”
Watch below, via CNN:
‘Get a room’: CNN panel roasts the rich asshole’s ‘weird’ PDA-laden meeting with French president Macron
Emmanuel Macron and some rich asshole AFP / Ludovic MARIN
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A group of CNN analyst appeared on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to discuss President the rich asshole’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The world leaders were overly friendly with each other. “It’s more like a love-fest,” political journalist Rebecca Berg said. “I want them to get a room. It’s a little too much PDA.”
Berg mentioned that their relationship speaks volumes and highlights that the rich asshole is attempting to play nice with American allies.
Berg also mentioned that Macron played into the rich asshole’s weakness. “Macron knows that praise works well with this president and he showered him with it,” she said.
Lawyer Jeffrey Toobin said the entire interaction was downright weird, and that the rich asshole was overcompensating when he briefly brushed off Macron’s dandruff off of his shirt.
“That was a little alpha dog move,” Toobin said. “Who wants to have their dandruff pointed out on national television, international television? I thought it was weird. I thought it was weird.”
However, Gloria Borger, political columnist, called the bluff on the entire interaction. “This is choreographed,” Borger said.
Watch the full clip below!
Fox News’ Sean Hannity ‘really ought to be investigated’ by Robert Mueller: Ex-Watergate prosecutor
Fox News personality Sean Hannity speaking at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference. Photo by Gage Skidmore.
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Fox News personality Sean Hannity is likely trying to cover-up misconduct, former Watergate prosecutor Nick Ackerman explained on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber on Tuesday.
The host played a highlight reel of Fox News attacking federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, a top deputy of special counsel Robert Mueller.
“The things they’re saying are just part of the same pattern of lies that they’ve been perpetrating on the Mueller office every chance they get,” Ackerman concluded. “The closer the office gets to actually the rich asshole people and to the president himself, the more they’re going to keep attacking.”
“The person that really ought to be investigated is Sean Hannity,” the former federal prosecutor suggested. “He’s the one who was the person whose name was brought up on the [Michael] Cohen search warrant as a client.”
“There’s no allegation of impropriety for having lawyer,” Melber argued.
“No, but why didn’t he offer himself up as a client if he’s done nothing wrong?” Ackerman asked. “So what is going on with Sean Hannity, when he allows his name to be used as a client and he says he’s not a client?”
Watch:
WATCH: The Daily Show remixes Melania the rich asshole’s hand hold diss with a classic thriller theme song
Melania the rich asshole gives an interview/Screenshot
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A video of Melania the rich asshole swirled around the internet today. While greeting guests at the White House the First Lady refused to hold hands with President the rich asshole.
She might have thought she was being discrete, but the cameras got a close up on the action.
In an attempt to show affection President the rich asshole first nudged Melania’s hand with his pinky and then index finger. After about 10 seconds the First lady finally gave in.
While the original video went viral a remake from the The Daily Show caught our eyes.
The video is set to the background of the JAWS theme songs. The video hilariously captures the true awkwardness the First Lady must have endured.
Watch the clip below!
Miss Universe host confirms the rich asshole lied when he told Comey he never stayed overnight in Moscow
Suite in the Ritz-Carlton Moscow and President some rich asshole, composite image.
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Another defense by the White House against an infamous dossier may have been undermined by reports to the contrary from another eye-witness,” The Daily Beast reported Tuesday.
Thomas Roberts, who hosted the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, says that President some rich asshole did spend the night in Moscow.
Previously, the rich asshole denied the salacious allegations that Russian hookers defiled the bed in his hotel suite. The alleged motivation was that President Barack Obama had once stayed in the same room.
But the rich asshole has said the allegations can’t be true, because he never spent the night in Moscow.
“The first time I met some rich asshole it was in Moscow on November 8th, 2013,” Roberts recalled. “I taped a sit-down interview with the rich asshole the next day on November 9th. That was also the date for the Miss Universe broadcast.”
“During the after-party for the Miss Universe event, some rich asshole offered to fly me and my husband back to New York. He said he would be leaving directly from the party. We were unable to accept the invitation. That was the early morning hours of November 10th.”
Flight records have also undermined the rich asshole’s claims.
Cohen ‘knows the president is in his corner’: the rich asshole sent a ‘message’ with his weekend tweetstorm
President some rich asshole's longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen (Screen capture)
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President Donald the rich asshole’s weekend tweets defending his longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen may have sent a signal to him that the president has his back in the FBI’s ongoing case against him following the raid on his office and residences.
In a Vanity Fair profile on Cohen’s post-FBI raid life, a source close to the attorney said they were the person who alerted Cohen to the president’s tweets over the weekend that defended him while blasting the New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman.
In the tweets issued Saturday morning, the president singled out the Times‘ White House correspondent and said she and her employer “are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will ‘flip.'”
the rich asshole went on to say that praise Cohen as “a fine person with a wonderful family,” defended the attorney’s autonomy, and said he is unlikely to “flip” on him even if he’s pressured by the government.
The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will “flip.” They use....
....non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if....
....it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!
The source close to Cohen told Vanity Fair that although the president and his personal attorney aren’t currently speaking, communication has happened nonetheless — and that although they don’t indicate a potential pardon per se, the concept isn’t far off.
“He knows the president is in his corner,” the source said. “Even though they are not speaking right now, messages were sent. I don’t want to use the p-word. I don’t want to use it. I think the president was making it very clear that he is not abandoning Michael.”
Vanity Fair‘s report also noted that Cohen’s lease to his office — presumably the one raided at 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan — was terminated following the FBI’s search earlier this month.
White House doctor Ronny Jackson to fight for VA job: White House official
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President some rich asshole's nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, meets with Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) at his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
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U.S. President some rich asshole’s physician Ronny Jackson will not withdraw as the nominee to head the Veterans Affairs department and will fight allegations about his conduct that surfaced ahead of a Senate confirmation hearing, a White House official said on Tuesday.
Jackson met with the rich asshole on Tuesday after the president said he was leaving the decision up to the physician. The White House is now preparing a defense, feeling that Jackson – well liked by administration figures from both parties – was being railroaded.
“We’re pushing back,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Reporting by Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton; Editing by James Dalgleish
‘The kids have gone underground’: Jared Kushner and Ivanka the rich asshole are in hiding as Mueller nears the Oval Office
White House senior advisors Jared Kushner and Ivanka the rich asshole. US Embassy photo by Matty Stern.
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White House senior advisors Ivanka the rich asshole and Jared Kushner have gone “underground” amidst special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigations, MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace reported on Tuesday.
“New court filings from Mueller’s office confirmed investigators were in fact searching for documents related to the now-infamous the rich asshole Tower meeting, among other things,” Wallace noted. “The filings also reveal that [Paul] Manafort was interviewed twice by the FBI while he was working as a political consultant in Ukraine years before he joined the rich asshole’s campaign.”
“Let me put up for the viewers some of the people that were involved are some rich asshole, Jr., the president’s son; Jared Kushner; Paul Manafort, who has been charged with — is facing dozens of charges at this point, and five other people connected to Russian lobbyists, many with ties to the Kremlin,” she noted. “Bob Mueller has shown no reluctance to charge people close to the president, nor has he shown any reluctance to charge people close to the Kremlin.”
“Obviously, Jared Kushner’s interactions with foreign leaders under heavy scrutiny by the Mueller probe,” Wallace noted. “We don’t know if it is by other jurisdictions as well.”
“The word I hear is that the kids have gone underground,” she reported. “What do you hear about what Jared and Ivanka are up to? ”
“Jared and Ivanka have definitely, Jared in particular, kept a lower profile in recent months, particularly since Kushner had his security clearance was downgraded,” Associated Press White House reporter Jonathan Lemire agreed.
“Look, there remains concern in the White House and outside among the rich asshole allies — from all our reporting — about what Kushner’s exposure could be here,” he explained.
Specifically, Lemire cited meetings Kushner held earlier in the administration, which White House sources fear could have mixed business and policy.
James Comey’s tell-all book sells 600,000 copies in first week
FILE PHOTO: Copies of former FBI director James Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty" are seen at Kramerbooks book store in Washington D.C., U.S. April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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Fired FBI director James Comey’s memoir that details his private meetings with U.S. President some rich asshole sold some 600,000 copies in all formats in its first week, its publisher said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of best-selling political books.
Comey’s “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership,” has so far outpaced Hillary Clinton’s campaign memoir “What Happened” and journalist Michael Wolff’s behind-the-scenes White House expose “Fire and Fury” in opening week sales, according to industry figures.
Publisher Flatiron Books, a division of privately-owned Macmillan, said it has printed more than 1 million copies of Comey’s book, which has made national headlines.
Flatiron did not say whether the first week sales were global or limited to the United States.
Comey has been on a media blitz, sitting for numerous television and radio interviews, while also on a book tour that has seen him appear before sold-out audiences of more than a thousand.
The book has drawn the rich asshole’s ire as Comey compared the president to a mob boss who stresses personal loyalty over the law and has little regard for morality or truth.
The book has drawn the rich asshole’s ire as Comey compared the president to a mob boss who stresses personal loyalty over the law and has little regard for morality or truth.
the rich asshole dismissed Comey in May last year while the FBI was investigating allegations Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between Russians and the rich asshole’s campaign.
the rich asshole has repeatedly denied any collusion.
“A Higher Loyalty,” which is billed as Comey’s thoughts on leadership, was atop Amazon.com’s bestseller list for several weeks before its release.
Clinton’s “What Happened” sold more than 300,000 copies, including hardcover, e-book, CD and digital audio, in its first week after publication in September 2017, according to CBS Corp-owned publisher Simon & Schuster.
Wolff’s portrayal of a disorganized West Wing filled with strife and aides questioning the president’s fitness to lead debuted in January with some 28,000 in sales. Higher-than-expected demand led Macmillan imprint Henry Holt & Co to order up 2.1 million copies in its first week.
Wolff’s book has sold nearly 975,000 print copies, and Clinton’s memoir has sold some 511,000 total print copies, according to NPD BookScan.
Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Tom Brown
MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace calls Sean Hannity’s bluff for a one-on-one with Michael Avenatti: ‘Text us if you’re in’
Sean Hannity (shutterstock)
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MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace hinted that Sean Hannity should call her maybe. While interviewing Stormy Daniels lawyer, Michael Avenatti, she asked why he hasn’t made an appearance on Hannity’s show.
Avenatti said that he met socially with Hannity about a week ago, and that he would love to sit down with the Fox News host. “I hope he is going to invite me on his show.”
Wallace said that the conversation would be “lively” and “spirited.” She then pulled out her cell phone and told Hannity to give her a ring. “My phone is right here, we know you watch, text us if you’re in,” Wallace said.
Watch the full clip below.
Michael Avenatti sets the stakes for the rich asshole: ‘All the tweets in the world aren’t going to save him if Cohen flips’
Nicolle Wallace and Michael Avenatti/Svcreenshot
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Why did some rich asshole freak out about the New York Times Maggie Haberman’s report on how poorly he treated personal attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen?
It’s because he knows that Cohen, who once bragged that he’d “take a bullet” for the rich asshole, could bring him down.
Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti was back on Nicolle Wallace’s MSNBC show Tuesday, talking about Cohen, the rich asshole and Haberman.
Why is this subject such a trigger for the rich asshole?
“He’s trying top put the genie in the bottle, the horse back in the barn, whatever term you want to use,” Avenatti said. “The president realizes he’s got potential liability, that Michael Cohen is the key, and he’s doing everything in his power to shore up that relationship, to try to send a message to Michael Cohen’s that he’s got his back.”
He didn’t stop there. Watch the segment below.
Ronny Jackson’s alleged day drinking ‘might explain’ his bizarre press conference claiming the rich asshole’s not obese: MSNBC
Dr. Ronny Jackson (Screenshot)
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Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President some rich asshole’s nominee to be Secretary of the Department of Veteran Affiars, may have partially confirmed some of the allegations against him, an Associated Press reporter suggested on Deadline: White House Tuesday.
Dr. Jackson has been accused of day drinking while on the job.
That fact may be related to his bizarre press conference boasting of the rich asshole’s “genes” and physical fitness, MSNBC suggests.
In January, Dr. Jackson reported that the rich asshole is six feet and three inches (75″) tall and weighs 239 lbs, one inch taller than on his 2012 driver’s license issued by the state of New York.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Body Mass Index (BMI) lists somebody with such measurements “overweight.”
If the rich asshole had been a single pound heavier or inch shorter, he would be considered medically obese.
Jackson even went out of his way to declare the rich asshole as “not obese.”
“Honestly, anyone that says that I weighed less than I do would get any job he wanted,” host Nicolle Wallace joked.
“If the allegations are true, that suggested he was drinking on the job, that might explain that press conference,” AP White House correspondent Jonathan Lemire replied.
Watch:
Government watchdog group called for the rich asshole’s VA pick to be removed over a power struggle with rival physician
Dr. Ronny Jackson, White House photo by Pete Souza.
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A 2014 watchdog report ordered by Adm. Ronny Jackson suggested the White House physician and VA head nominee be removed from his post over an “unprofessional” power struggle with a rival physician.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the Navy’s Inspector General’s Office said Jackson and his rival’s antics created low workplace morale, with employees noting that it felt like “being caught between parents going through a bitter divorce.”
“There is a severe and pervasive lack of trust in the leadership that has deteriorated to the point that staff walk on ‘eggshells,'” the 2014 IG report read. The AP noted that the six-page report did not include any references to on-the-clock alcohol use — one of the allegations leveled against Jackson that led to his Wednesday confirmation hearing being postponed.
the rich asshole, Macron call for ‘new’ nuclear deal with Iran
Emmanuel Macron and some rich asshole AFP / Ludovic MARIN
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US President some rich asshole and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron called for a “new” deal with Iran Tuesday, looking beyond divisions over a landmark nuclear accord that now hangs in the balance.
the rich asshole pilloried a three-year old agreement designed to curb Iran’s nuclear program as “insane” and “ridiculous”, despite European pleas for him not to walk away from the accord.
Instead, the rich asshole eyed a “grand bargain” that would also limit Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for militant groups across the Middle East.
“I think we will have a great shot at doing a much bigger, maybe, deal,” said the rich asshole, stressing that any new accord would have to be built on “solid foundations.”
“They should have made a deal that covered Yemen, that covered Syria, that covered other parts of the Middle East,” said the rich asshole.
“No matter where you go in the Middle East, you see the fingerprints of Iran behind problems.”
Macron, visiting Washington on a landmark state visit, admitted after meeting the rich asshole that he did not know whether the US president would walk away from the nuclear deal when a May 12 decision deadline comes up.
“I can say that we have had very frank discussions on that, just the two of us,” Macron told a joint press conference with the rich asshole at his side.
Putting on a brave face, he said he wished “for now to work on a new deal with Iran” of which the nuclear accord could be one part.
the rich asshole — true to his background in reality TV — teased his looming decision.
“This is a deal with decayed foundations. It’s a bad deal, it’s a bad structure. It’s falling down,” the US leader said. “We’re going to see what happens on the 12th.”
the rich asshole’s European allies have repeatedly tried to persuade him not to walk away from the 2015 deal, which gave Iran massive sanctions relief and the guarantee of a civilian nuclear program in return for limiting enrichment that could produce weapons grade fuel.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make a similar pitch when she visits Washington on Friday.
Neither the rich asshole nor Macron indicated what Iran would get in return for concessions on its ballistic programs or activities in the Middle East.
Iran, meanwhile, has warned it will ramp up enrichment activities if the rich asshole walks away from the accord, prompting the rich asshole to issue a blunt warning.
“They’re not going to be restarting anything. If they restart it, they’re going to have big problems, bigger than they ever had before. And you can mark it down,” he said.
– Simmering tensions –
For months American and European officials have been working behind the scenes to trying to find a compromise over the rich asshole’s demands to change the agreement.
Officials have toyed with the idea of a separate joint declaration: promising to tackle non-nuclear issues, while searching for a tougher successor agreement.
The challenge, they say, is to find a solution that allows the mercurial US president to claim a public victory, while keeping the deal intact.
More hawkish American officials accuse Europeans — particularly Germany — of putting business interests ahead of security, and of opposing a tougher stance against Iran to safeguard investments in the Islamic Republic.
That charge is sharply rejected by European officials, who are increasingly frustrated at spending time dealing with the rich asshole’s complaints rather than tackling Iran’s behavior.
The disagreement threatens to plunge transatlantic relations to their lowest point since the Iraq War.
the rich asshole comments contrasted markedly with the red carpet roll out that Macron received at the White House.
Earlier Tuesday both men waxed lyrical about shared heroes of yore — from the Marquis de Lafayette to Alexis de Tocqueville — and listened to strains of “La Marseillaise” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” echoing around the South Lawn of the White House.
“The wonderful friendship we have developed over the last year is a testament to the enduring friendship that binds our two nations,” the rich asshole glowed.
In the Oval Office, the rich asshole offered another, slightly awkward sign of their intimacy.
“We have a very special relationship, in fact I’ll get that little piece of dandruff off,” the rich asshole said, swiping something off Macron’s jacket. “We have to make him perfect — he is perfect.”
Observers are uncertain that Macron can translate the privileged relationship into concrete results.
There are also problems in the economic sphere, with Macron and Merkel both trying to secure a permanent exemption for Europe from US steel and aluminum tariffs.
the rich asshole complained about having to do trade “deals” with the European Union as a bloc, rather than individual states like France.
Ex-lover: Former the rich asshole aide mocked Kellyanne’s ‘shriveled up funbags’ and said moon landing was fake
Kellyanne Conway speaks to Fox News (screen grab)
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Explosive allegations were revealed in a custody case regarding a child conceived during President some rich asshole’s 2016 presidential campaign, the Daily Mailreported Tuesday.
Former communications director Jason Miller and campaign adviser A.J. Delgado are battling over their eight-month-old son in a Florida court.
In court filings, Delgado claimed that Miller texted her saying the rich asshole campaign manager and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has “shriveled up fun bags” that needed to remain “covered.”
Miller also allegedly said the Moon landing was fake, which he reportedly learned from spending time with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) advisors.
“It really does feel like the Handmaid’s Tale,” Delgado told DailyMailTV. “[The system] treats women, especially single mothers, like mules.”
“As a conservative we hear the term ‘white male privilege’ and we kind of roll our eyes at it,” she admitted. “I don’t. I see it all the time in this case."
Delgado hinted about her conversation with Miller last year in a tweet.
Miller released a statement alleging a “pattern of harassment” by his former mistress.
In response, Delgado argued Miller had opened himself up to a “huge” defamation lawsuit.
I look forward to having Jason Miller answer in court how I have "harassed" him or have sought to "break up [his] family." #Libel
the rich asshole trashes ‘fake news liberals’ in fundraising email announcing a ‘deplorable’ rally in Michigan
President of the United States some rich asshole speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
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President some rich asshole in a fundraising email sent out Tuesday took aim at his political opponents and journalists — and announced that instead of attending the White House Correspondents Dinner, he intends to hold a “deplorables” rally in Michigan.
A screenshot posted by Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampall includes an imaginary conversation between the rich asshole and staffers asking him if he plans to attend the annual dinner, which he did not attend last year. In response, the president says he “would not want to be stuck in a room with a bunch of fake news liberals who hate me."
As Mediaite reported, the email also includes an invitation for “one patriot” and a friend to donate to the president’s 2020 reelection campaign in exchange for a raffle for VIP tickets to a “deplorables” rally in Washington, Michigan the night of the event.
“While the fake news media will be celebrating themselves with the denizens of Washington society in the swamp that evening,” Michael Glassner, the rich asshole campaign’s chief operating officer, told CNN, “President the rich asshole will be in a completely different Washington, celebrating our national economic revival with patriotic Americans.”
During the White House Correspondents Association dinner in 2017, The Daily Show‘s Hasan Minhaj offered striking humor and criticism of the president as host of the event, which included references to then-senior aide Steve Bannon being a Nazi.
Why Melania the rich asshole has done ‘the absolute minimum necessary’ to help her husband
Melania the rich asshole gives an interview/Screenshot
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Melania the rich asshole is a cipher, a more elusive woman than any other First Lady in memory. She chooses to remain in a different residence than her husband while exuding body language that many believe indicates she is less-than-totally supportive of him.
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Because Melania the rich asshole says so little, people are left to wonder what she really thinks. Is her anti-bullying campaign a sly diss of Donald or a Trumpian meta-troll? Is she totally miserable because she’s married to a cheating lout or because the press is pushing into her private life and examining the legality of her parents’ immigration?
An expert quoted in the Los Angeles Times says that we should look at what Melania is not doing—namely, helping her husband. Robert Watson, an American studies professor at Lynn University in Florida, has studied first ladies and says that Melania is softly undermining her husband.
“The first lady can be a secret weapon and … Melania could soften his image,” Watson said, but instead she has chosen so far to do “the absolute minimum necessary.”
The Times also talked to Ohio University professor Katherine Jellison who said that she believes Melania the rich asshole just wants no part of the divisive politics her husband practices because she doesn’t want to endure ridicule in return.
“the rich asshole critics can point to Mrs. the rich asshole and say she’s been an enabler or she’s a victim of the Stockholm syndrome,” she said. “I think if she did have a more upfront role, in an effort to soften his public image, she’d come in for more slings and arrows. Part of the reason she is more popular than her husband is that she is lower profile.”
Melania the rich asshole did not call in outsider helpers to plan the Tuesday state dinner, which seemed like a low-conflict situation. And that’s what we will see more of, according to Jellison.
Focus on the Family boss: the rich asshole-loving evangelicals have no right to criticize any Dems for ‘moral failure’
some rich asshole visits Capitol Hill (screen grab)
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Jim Daly, the president of evangelical Christian advocacy organization Focus on the Family, is not happy with some of his fellow evangelicals’ embrace of President some rich asshole.
In an interview with the New York Times, the Focus on the Family boss says that he’s concerned that evangelicals are overlooking the rich asshole’s multiple infidelities, not to mention the multiple women who have accused him of sexual harassment.
“Now even the Christian culture is O.K. with it,” Daly said. “That’s the sadness… the next time a Democrat in the presidency has a moral failure, who’s going to be able to say anything?”
Many of the evangelical leaders interviewed by the Times, however, expressed no such reservations about the rich asshole.
Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, tells the Times that “I don’t know of anyone who has worked the evangelical community more effectively than some rich asshole.”
Penny Young Nance, the president of Concerned Women for America, tells the Timesthat the rich asshole cheating on his wife with adult film stars and allegedly harassing multiple women are no one else’s business.
“His family can talk to him about issues of character,” she said.
the rich asshole calls North Korea’s brutal dictator Kim Jong Un ‘very honorable’
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After over a year of childish taunts, the rich asshole suddenly veered the other way, praising Kim Jong Un.
the rich asshole has spent more than a year provoking North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un with childish taunts, but on Tuesday he declared the brutal dictator “very honorable.”
At an expanded bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, the rich asshole spoke before cameras on a variety of subjects, including his upcoming summit with Kim.
“We have been told directly that they would like to have the meeting as soon as possible, and we think that’s a great thing for the world,” the rich asshole said. “That’s a great thing for North Korea, and South Korea, and Japan, and France, and everybody.”
“So we’re having very, very good discussions,” the rich asshole said. “Kim Jong Un was — he really has been very open and I think very honorable, from everything we’re seeing.”
the rich asshole’s praise for Kim is unusual for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the dictator’s history of brutality and treachery specifically with regard to nuclear negotiations. But the comment also follows the rich asshole’s relentless campaign of provocation and mockery aimed directly at the North Korea leader.
A few months into his administration, the rich asshole naively said he would be “honored” to meet with the dictator. But then last August, the rich asshole interrupted one of his golf vacations to issue a threat of “fire and fury” against North Korea, and followed that up by threatening something “more tough” than fire and fury, which he later explained meant “military solutions.”
By September, the rich asshole had taken to calling Kim “Little Rocket Man” and threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea. By January, the taunts had turned even more sophomoric, with the rich asshole bragging about the size of his nuclear “button.”
On the other hand, the rich asshole also has a well-known admiration for brutal dictators. Most recently, the rich asshole bragged about his “chemistry” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and has made a regular habit of congratulating oppressive leaders over sham political victories and brutal policies.
Whatever the rich asshole means by this praise, it is difficult to imagine Republicans would sit still if a Democrat called someone who holds American captives “very honorable.” But it’s equally difficult to imagine they’ll speak a word against the rich asshole doing so.
After not vetting him at all, the rich asshole publicly advises hand-picked cabinet nominee to refuse the job
"What does he need it for?"
During a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, President the rich asshole advised his hand-picked choice to be secretary of veterans affairs, Ronny Jackson, to not take the job.
Jackson’s confirmation process is currently on indefinite hold because the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is investigating allegations he oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House physician, allowed the over-prescribing of drugs, and drank too much on the job, according to the New York Times.
Those allegations are apparently news to the rich asshole. During Tuesday’s news conference, the president admitted he didn’t know anything about them, but defended Jackson’s character. He said that he would “definitely stand behind him,” but then proceeded to advise him to not take the job.
“I would definitely stand behind him,” the rich asshole said. “I’d let it be his choice, but he’s a man who has just been an extraordinary person — his family, extraordinary success, great doctor, great everything, and he has to listen to the abuse? I wouldn’t, if I were him — actually, in many ways I’d love to be him — but the fact is I wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t do it.”
“What does he need it for?” the rich asshole continued. “To be abused by a bunch of politicians that aren’t thinking nicely about our country? I really don’t think personally he should do it, but it’s totally his decision.”
While the rich asshole was publicly advising him to note take the job, Jackson was reportedly on Capitol Hill meeting with senators in hopes of ultimately being confirmed.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Dr. Ronny Jackson told reporters “I can answer the questions absolutely. I’m looking forward to rescheduling the hearing and answering everyone’s questions,” per @TheOtherKeppler
Jackson has no obvious qualifications to manage an agency with nearly 400,000 employees, but during a news conference about the president’s physical exam in January, he effusively praised the rich asshole’s genetics and overall state of well-being.
REPORTER: How does a guy who eats McDonald's & all those Diet Cokes & never exercises be in as good of shape as you say he is?
PHYSICIAN: It's called genetics... he has incredible genes... I told him if he had a healthier diet over last 20 years he might live to be 200 years old pic.twitter.com/6zAPFioQ4D
the rich asshole is unbothered by Jackson’s lack of experience.
“As far as experience is concerned, the veterans administration, which is approximately 13 million people, is so big, you could run the biggest hospital system in the world and it’s small time compared to the veterans administration,” the rich asshole said on Tuesday. “So nobody has the experience.”
The rich asshole administration reportedly did little to no vetting of Jackson’s background before the rich asshole announced his nomination to be the next VA secretary on Twitter.
the rich asshole says veterans pick must decide whether to move forward
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President some rich asshole's nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, meets with Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) at his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
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U.S. President some rich asshole on Tuesday said his presidential physician must decide whether or not to move forward as his nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs department, saying he had not heard about reported allegations of past behavior issues.
Speaking to reporters at a White House news conference, the rich asshole said his pick, Ronny Jackson, was “one of the finest people that I have met” and “a great leader,” but that he did not want to put him through an ugly nomination process in the U.S. Senate.
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EPA chief Scott Pruitt finally has to answer to his critics in public this week, and reports suggest the White House won't be there to back him up.
Fox hosts lose it after reporter asks the rich asshole ‘stupid’ question about Cohen: ‘How can you call yourself a journalist?’
Kennedy Montgomery appears on Fox News (screen grab)
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The hosts of Fox News’ Outnumbered program on Tuesday lashed out at ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl after he asked President some rich asshole about the possibility of granting a pardon to embattled the rich asshole attorney Michael Cohen.
On Tuesday’s edition of Outnumbered, host Harris Faulkner noted that the rich asshole had called Karl’s question “stupid” after he asked if the president would consider pardoning Cohen, who is reportedly under investigation for crimes related to non-disclosure agreements he negotiated to prevent the rich asshole’s alleged mistresses from telling their stories.
“It is ticking me off that these reporters — [CNN’s] Jim Acosta and this guy from ABC — they continue — first of all, his attorney hasn’t even been charged,” Outnumbered guest host Lawrence Jones of Campus reform opined. “There has been no evidence of wrongdoing at this point and there’s not a conviction and you’re asking if the president is going to pardon him. I mean, that is just sickening.”
“This is what’s ticking off Americans,” he added. “Look, I try to be fair with the press, but they are literally carrying the water of the Democratic Party at this point. This is the same talking point that the Democrats are using right now and I don’t get how you can still call yourself a journalist and the American people care nothing about this.”
After liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov argued that questions about Cohen are legitimate, the other hosts on the panel reacted with outrage.
“That’s part of the problem,” co-host Kennedy Montgomery shot back. “We’re taking these disparate elements and trying to lump them together like different colors of Playdough that make a giant ugly blob."
“It’s disgusting,” Jones agreed.
“It’s sadly artless,” Montgomery continued. “We have so many more pressing issues between North Korea and Iran.”
“I would say, as a journalist, perhaps not the right day of the week [to ask about Cohen],” Faulkner said. “So then, this becomes more of an editorial session inside the White House Press Corps. And I just don’t think that’s a good look for them.”
“That’s the best thing about this idea of fake news,” Montgomery replied. “It makes people really try and contemplate what is journalism, what does it mean to seek the truth as it comes to the separation between journalism and editorializing?”
Watch the video below from Fox News.
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April 24, 2018
the rich asshole's thin skin has fueled James Comey's record-setting book sales.
The rich asshole White House continues to do an amazing job helping writers sell books that slam the rich asshole White House. And former FBI Director James Comey is the latest beneficiary.
In January, Michael Wolff’s exposé “Fire and Fury” painted a devastating portrait of the rich asshole and his administration. The book has sold an astonishing two million copies to date, thanks in part to incessant attacks and weeks of free publicity from the White House.
Now the same thing is happening with Comey’s memoir, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.” It seems the louder the White House protests the book, and the more insults the rich asshole hurls at Comey, the more people want to read it.
After its first week in stores, the book has posted record numbers, selling 600,000 copies in all formats. That surpassed Hillary Clinton’s memoir, “What Happened,” which sold 300,000 copies in its first week.
Comey’s book is now the biggest debut of 2018, and biggest debut for a non-fiction book in at least five years.
Even more stinging for the rich asshole, “A Higher Loyalty” sold more copies in one week that the rich asshole’s “The Art of the Deal” has sold over the last 17 years.
the rich asshole has shown himself to be incapable of ignoring criticism, so Comey’s book was bound to infuriate him.
At one point, a Fox News host hinted that bombing Syria could knock Comey’s book out of the news cycle. the rich asshole did just that, but it didn’t work.
Days later he returned to Twitter and rage-tweeted about the book.
Before the release of Comey’s book, White House aides were hoping the rich asshole would essentially ignore it. In fact, he was supposed to be in South America attending a diplomatic summit. The plan was for him to focus on work and stay above the fray.
But the rich asshole soon canceled his South America trip to instead obsess over Comey. He called him a “slime ball” and declared that “It was my great honor to fire James Comey!” Meanwhile, Comey has been on the television interview circuit, detailing the rich asshole’s mendacity and comparing him to a mob boss.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee — with the White House’s blessing — assembled a campaign to attack Comey as a liar and a fraud.
It’s likely that all the scheme accomplished was to help Comey sell even more books. After all, Americans today find him to be more trustworthy than the rich asshole.
the rich asshole gives cover for VA nominee to withdraw
BY JORDAN FABIAN - 04/24/18 01:37 PM EDT
President the rich asshole on Tuesday gave his embattled pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs cover if he wants to withdraw his nomination.
the rich asshole repeatedly said the choice to withdraw was Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson’s, but he also questioned why he would want to go forward and take the "abuse" from politicians.
The president said he told Jackson “this is a vicious group of people that malign. What do you need this for? … You’re too fine a person.”
It is difficult to see how Jackson will remain as the nominee after the rich asshole, who acted alone to pick him for the job, effectively told him he would be better off if he stepped aside.
"If I were him, I wouldn't do it,” the rich asshole said.
Jackson’s confirmation hearing was postponed amid allegations of misconduct during his tenure as the top physician at the White House.
CBS News reported that staffers on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee are looking into charges against Jackson of creating a "hostile work environment," including "excessive drinking on the job [and] improperly dispensing meds.”
Jackson is on Capitol Hill meeting with members and expressed disappointment in a hallway interview with MSNBC about the postponement of the hearing, saying he had been looking forward to it. But he did not comment on the allegations swirling around him.
"Kind of disappointed that it’s been postponed, but I’m looking forward to getting it rescheduled and answering everybody’s questions," he said in a response to a question about the allegations.
Asked if the charges about a hostile work environment, drinking on the job and over-prescribing medicines are "categorically untrue," Jackson said he was "looking forward to the hearing, so we can sit down and I can explain everything to everyone and answer all the senators’ questions."
the rich asshole's comments came after the White House stood by Jackson earlier on Tuesday morning.
"Admiral Jackson’s record of strong, decisive leadership is exactly what’s needed at the VA to ensure our veterans receive the benefits they deserve," White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
Veterans' Affairs Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Sen. John Tester (Mont.), the panel's ranking Democrat, said in a statement that they were delaying the hearing because of "new information presented to the committee" about Jackson, who has been serving as the White House physician.
POLITICS
some rich asshole Stands By VA Secretary Nominee Ronny Jackson But Hints At Exit
the rich asshole called the allegations against Jackson “abuse.”
WASHINGTON ― President some rich asshole on Tuesday defended his embattled nominee for veterans affairs secretary, Ronny L. Jackson, dismissing allegations that have delayed Jackson’s confirmation hearing while accusing lawmakers of “abusing” Jackson.
the rich asshole went on to suggest that if he were in Jackson’s position, he would consider withdrawing his name from consideration to avoid being “abused by a bunch of politicians.”
Several news outlets have reported that Jackson has been accused of creating “a hostile work environment” and drinking on the job. “I haven’t heard of the particular allegations,” the rich asshole said during a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
the rich asshole praised Jackson, currently the White House physician, as “one of the finest people that I have met” and “a great doctor.”
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is investigating the unsubstantiated allegations against Jackson, and on Tuesday announced that it would postpone his confirmation hearings. Committee chair Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and ranking member Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) did not specify when the hearings, originally slated to begin on Wednesday, would be rescheduled.
the rich asshole seemed to suggest that Jackson, his pick to succeed fired VA Secretary David Shulkin, should drop out, but that it was ultimately his decision.
“He has to listen to the abuse,” the rich asshole continued. “I wouldn’t do it. What does he need it for? To be abused by a bunch of politicians.”
Lawmakers have also raised questions about Jackson’s lack of managerial experience and have blamed the White House for poor vetting of top officials.
“It’s really frustrating to me that this administration continues to not vet or sloppily send over a nominee that leaves us having to really vet them and look at serious questions,” committee member Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told reporters.
This story has been updated with comment from Patty Murray.
Jeff Sessions will oversee the investigation of the rich asshole lawyer Michael Cohen: report
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia probe for his role on the rich asshole campaign and undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador, appears under threat of losing his job (AFP Photo/CHIP SOMODEVILLA)
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According to Bloomberg, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is refusing to recuse himself from a federal investigation into President some rich asshole’s personal attorney Michael Cohen.
The report notes, “Sessions could also weigh in on specific decisions by prosecutors, including whether to pursue subpoenas and indictments,” but that he “will consider stepping back from specific questions tied to the probe.”
Sessions has previously recused himself from any involvement in the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the rich asshole campaign’s possible collusion with the Russians.
the rich asshole has been highly critical of Sessions for stepping aside without informing him prior to the announcement.
Sessions declines to recuse himself from Cohen probe: report
BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 04/24/18 01:15 PM EDT
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has decided he will not recuse himself from the probe into President the rich asshole's personal attorney Michael Cohen but will think about taking a step back from some questions tied to the investigation, Bloomberg reports.
Sessions's involvement in the Cohen probe will allow him access to briefings on the status of the investigation being led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan and to voice his opinion on certain decisions made by prosecutors, according to the report.
The attorney general's reported decision to not recuse himself from the Cohen probe is in contrast to his decision involving federal probes into alleged meddling in the 2016 by Russia.
Sessions angered the president last year when he made the decision to recuse himself from the federal probe into ties between the rich asshole campaign associates and Russia.
He has since been the subject of the rich asshole's wrath in a series of tweets and public comments.
Sessions's decision to remain involved in the Cohen investigation could put him in a position for the rich asshole to ask him to disclose details and information about the probe, Bloomberg noted.
The FBI raided Cohen's office and home earlier this month, taking emails, tax documents and records related to his $130,000 payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she received the payment shortly before the 2016 election in an effort to prevent her from speaking about her alleged affair with the rich asshole.
The White House has not ruled out pardoning Cohen in the future.
“It’s hard to close a door on something that hasn’t taken place. I don’t like to discuss or comment on hypothetical situations that may or may not ever happen,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during Monday’s press briefing.
the rich asshole snapped at a reporter on Tuesday who asked whether he would consider pardoning Cohen.
"Thank you very much," the rich asshole told ABC News's Jon Karl after he asked about a possible pardon. "Stupid question."
VA nominee says he's 'looking forward' to 'answering everybody's questions'
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 04/24/18 01:44 PM EDT
Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President the rich asshole's pick for the next Veterans Affairs secretary, says he is "looking forward" to getting his confirmation hearing rescheduled and "answering everybody's questions" as his nomination looks to be in serious danger.
In a statement to NBC News, Jackson, the White House physician, would not address the allegations he faces of excessive drinking and creating an unsafe work environment, but said he was "disappointed" to hear the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee had postponed his hearing, originally scheduled for Wednesday.
"I’ll just say that I was looking forward to the hearing tomorrow. Kind of disappointed that it’s been postponed, but I’m looking forward to getting it rescheduled and answering everybody’s questions," said Jackson.
Jackson didn't answer further questions about whether he was considering withdrawing his nomination amid the allegations, but the rich asshole during a Tuesday press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron gave Jackson cover to back out.
“It’s totally his decision, he’ll be making a decision,” the rich asshole said, adding that he told Jackson “this is a vicious group of people that malign. What do you need this for? … You’re too fine a person.”
Republicans and Democrats on the Veterans' Affairs Committee are looking at allegations of improper conduct at more than one stage in the career of Jackson, according to multiple news reports on Monday evening.
Among the allegations are charges that Jackson created a "hostile work environment," CBS News reported, including "excessive drinking on the job [and] improperly dispensing meds.”
"It'll sink his nomination" if the claims are true, one source told CBS.
"All I can really tell you at this moment time is we are continuing the vetting process. We are working very hard at it. It's all hands on deck," Veterans' Affairs Committee ranking Democrat Jon Tester (Mont.) said Monday.
Jackson, who performed the rich asshole's physical in January and gave a lengthy report to the media, is the White House's replacement for David Shulkin, who says he was fired in March. The White House says Shulkin resigned.
POLITICS
Scott Pruitt Proposes ‘Transparency’ Rule To Limit The EPA’s Use Of Public Health Studies
The regulation, ironically drafted in secret, comes as Republican support for the embattled administrator wanes.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed a new rule Tuesday to overhaul the way science is used to write regulations at the agency, disqualifying huge amounts of peer-reviewed public health research and giving favor to industry-funded studies.
The new rule, widely condemned by scientists and environmental groups as an “attack on science,” comes nearly two weeks after the White House quietly revamped clean air rules by executive order. Pruitt made the announcement at a 2 p.m. event live-streamed from the EPA, flanked by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who both introduced but failed to pass bills on which the proposed regulation is based.
In a twist for an event billed as a step forward in transparency, Pruitt took no questions, and the EPA did not invite reporters from major news outlets to attend. The agency did not immediately release a copy of the proposal or respond to questions about when it would become public, issuing only a press release containing seven soundbites praising the rule. Roughly an hour and a half after the event, the EPA sent HuffPost a 27-page PDF of the proposal.
“Today is a red-letter day,” Pruitt said, decrying the EPA’s reliance on traditionally peer-reviewed studies as “wrongheaded.” He added, “It’s a banner day.”
The rule, first reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by HuffPost Tuesday morning, would deliver a change long sought by conservatives who say “secret science” unfairly cripples industry. But critics of the new EPA proposal say it blocks the agency from using traditional, peer-reviewed studies that rely on anonymity granted to interview subjects to collect data on their personal health.
“It effectively says our premier public health agency will be prohibited from using many or most public health studies,” said Andrew Rosenberg, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Center for Science and Democracy. “It’s a perfect catch 22.”
The proposal aims to do by EPA writ what has been a pet issue for Smith, the controversial head of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, for years. Smith has pushed two bills aimed at forcing the EPA to rely solely on research whose raw data could be publicly released, a bow to big industry players, particularly petrochemical companies who complained about research finding higher rates of asthma and other respiratory ailments that resulted from airborne particulates spewing from their plants. The bills passed in the Republican-controlled House, but failed in the Senate.
“In general we strongly support the general concepts in the Lamar Smith bill, which is the basis of what Pruitt is doing,” said Myron Ebell, director at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute and the former head of the rich asshole’s EPA transition team.
The concept attacks the fundamental scientific ethical standards that have guided science for more than a century. Scientists conduct research, collecting personal information from individuals under the supervision of universities’ institutional review boards. That research is then reviewed by peers who scrutinize the methodology and statistics, and a study is ultimately published in a journal. Requiring that raw data be released with any research used to write regulations not only discounts the majority of peer-reviewed health studies, it dramatically slows down the rulemaking process, potentially forcing reviewers to replicate decades-long studies down to the most minute data points.
“God forbid this means no regulation until then. We’re back in the Dark Ages,” said Tom Burke, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a former EPA science adviser until January 2017. “Do we turn back the clock and start over? And it’s open season to industries that brought us such pervasive contaminations?”
“I’m hoping during the comment period cooler heads will prevail,” he added.
The new EPA move builds on a strategy long employed by the tobacco industry to sow doubt as mounting research linked smoking to cancer. The playbook dates back to 1996, when Christopher Horner, a former fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, wrote a memo outlining plans to combat the EPA’s finding that tobacco smoke is carcinogenic by constructing “explicit procedural hurdles the agency must follow in issuing scientific reports.”
The fossil fuel industry’s concern dates back to around the same time. In 1993, the industry bucked a groundbreaking Harvard University study that linked polluted air to premature deaths after tracking thousands of people for nearly two decades. The New York Times described the research, called the “Six Cities” study, as “one of the most influential public health examinations ever conducted” and “the backbone of federal air pollution regulations.”
Steve Milloy, a former tobacco lobbyist who recreated himself over the past decade as a staunch climate change denier and online troll to scientists and reporters, has long pushed for a “transparency” rule, bemoaning the “EPA’s secret science” in a Fox News op-ed as far back as February 2001. On Tuesday morning, he took credit for the EPA proposal.
We’re back in the Dark Ages.Tom Burke, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
“I look at it as one of my proudest achievements,” Milloy told E&E News. “The reason this is anywhere is because of Steve Milloy.”
The proposal builds on moves Pruitt has already made to shackle scientists whose peer-review process Republicans call into question. In October, he banned scientists who receive EPA research funding from serving on the agency’s advisory boards, effectively turning over control of the oversight panels to industry-friendly researchers. That change, made by executive order, similarly mirrored a bill Smith proposed: the Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2017. The legislation, as The New Republic’s Emily Atkin noted in an article this month declaring Republicans had won the “war on science,” “is based on the presumption that environmental scientists who have received money from the EPA for research — as many of them have — are biased in favor of regulation.”
“The liberal media and alarmist environmental groups continue to argue against this common sense approach,” Smith said Tuesday before introducing Pruitt at the event.
But the rule proposed Tuesday outlined exceptions for industry-funded research. Emails released in response to a public records request show Nancy Beck, the deputy administrator of the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, warning that new “transparency” proposals put corporate trade secrets at risk. (The EPA released the documents before then removing them from its website, but the Union of Concerned Scientists re-published them online.)
“It’s a competitive issue,” Beck, a former chemical industry lobbyist, wrote in an email. “These data will be extremely valuable, extremely high quality, and NOT published. The directive needs to be revised.”
The text of the proposal states that the EPA administrator can provide exemptions for “confidential business information” on a case-by-case basis.
The new EPA proposal comes as Pruitt faces mounting pressure to resign after a month-long whirlwind of ethical scandals and federal investigations into his spending and management of the agency. After weeks of signaling strong support for the administrator, the White House started telling Republicans to hold off on defending Pruitt, according to a Bloomberg report.
Smith, who is not seeking re-election to another term this year, bucked the directive and repeatedly praised Pruitt.
“I know of no other administration official who goes on the offensive, who isn’t intimidated and who does what he thinks is the right thing regardless,” Smith said. “That’s why we appreciate the job that the administrator is doing.”
But, on Monday, three of Pruitt’s staunchest allies, including Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), said they supported holding hearings on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to investigate Pruitt’s actions. At least one former EPA official suggested the rule unveiled Tuesday was meant to smokescreen Pruitt’s weakening grasp on the agency.
“They’re trying to distract from the ethical questions and fiscal scandals that are going on,” said Liz Purchia, who served as the EPA’s communications director until January 2017. “Right now, it’ll be a proposed rule and it’s unclear if it will ever go into effect.”
WATCH: the rich asshole goes on whiny rant after being asked about allegations that his VA secretary pick is a drunk
President some rich asshole complains about the treatment of his pick to be Veterans Affairs secretary (Screen cap).
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President some rich asshole went on a long rant Tuesday afternoon after he was asked to respond to allegations made against his nominee for Veterans Affairs secretary.
Among other things, people who have worked with VA secretary nominee Ronny Jackson have alleged that he creates a toxic work environment and drinks on the job.
When asked about this, the rich asshole started rambling about Democrats trying to obstruct all his nominees.
“The Democrats have become obstructionists, that’s all they’re good at,” the rich asshole fumed. “They’re not good at anything else. They have bad ideas, they have bad politics. The one thing they do is obstruct.”
the rich asshole went on to lament allegations being levied against Jackson, whom he described as a “fine” man who is being unfairly maligned by Democratic politicians.
“I said to Dr. Jackson ‘what do you need it for,'” the rich asshole said of his VA nominee. “I don’t want to put a man through a process like this. It’s too ugly and disgusting… what does he need it for, to be abused by politicians who aren’t thinking nicely about our country?"
Watch the video below.
Troubles rise for the rich asshole's VA pick as Senate committee delays hearing
BY BRETT SAMUELS AND NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 04/24/18 10:20 AM EDT
The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee has postponed indefinitely the confirmation hearing for President the rich asshole’s pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs after committee leaders said they needed to look into "serious allegations" about nominee Ronny Jackson.
While the White House issued a statement Tuesday sticking by Jackson, the delay and an accompanying statement from the committee leaders underlined the problems the rich asshole's pick may have in moving forward.
Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Sen. John Tester (Mont.), the panel's ranking Democrat, said in a statement that they were delaying the hearing because of "new information presented to the committee" about Jackson, who has been serving as the White House physician.
"We take very seriously our constitutional duty to thoroughly and carefully vet each nominee sent to the Senate for confirmation," the two said in a statement. "We will continue looking into these serious allegations and have requested additional information from the White House to enable the committee to conduct a full review.”
While the statement did not offer details on the allegations faced by Jackson, CBS News reported that staffers are looking into chargers of a "hostile work environment," including "excessive drinking on the job [and] improperly dispensing meds.”
Jackson is on Capitol Hill meeting with members and expressed disappointment in a hallway interview with MSNBC about the postponement, saying he had been looking forward to it. But he did not comment on the allegations swirling around him.
JUST IN: VA secretary-nominee Ronny Jackson declines to address allegations against him; tells @MSNBC that he still looks forward to having a confirmation hearing.
"Kind of disappointed that it’s been postponed, but I’m looking forward to getting it rescheduled and answering everybody’s questions," he said in a response to a question about the allegations.
Asked if the charges about a hostile work environment, drinking on the job and over-prescribing medicines are "categorically untrue," Jackson said he was "looking forward to the hearing, so we can sit down and I can explain everything to everyone and answer all the senators’ questions."
The White House stood by Jackson earlier on Tuesday morning.
"Admiral Jackson’s record of strong, decisive leadership is exactly what’s needed at the VA to ensure our veterans receive the benefits they deserve," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
Tester and Isakson sent a joint letter to the White House on Tuesday requesting more information about Jackson's service in the White House Medical Unit and as physician to the president.
Tester told NBC that he believed every member of the committee was standing by the decision to postpone the matter.
The senators asked specifically for communications involving allegations about Jackson from 2006 to the present.
When asked what information he was hoping to get, Isakson said, "The information we asked for."
He added that he was doing his "job as chairman" and that he just wants the truth to get out."
"Everything I've got to say has been said in the letter and the release," Isakson said. "I'm doing my job as chairman. ... I just want the truth to get out when it's supposed to get out for the people that need to hear it and that's the Committee."
Isakson also said he was "sure" he would meet again with Jackson.
Tester spoke later on Tuesday on the allegations against Jackson, saying they "fall in three areas."
"Well, they fall in three different areas," the Montana Senator said."Improper dispensing of prescription drugs, repeatedly drunk while on duty while traveling and creating a toxic work environment."
He also spoke on Jackson allegedly being abusive toward staff.
"Some of the exact words were that were used ... were abusive toward staff, very explosive personality," Tester said. "Belittles the folks underneath him. ... Basically creating an environment where the staff felt like they needed to walk on eggshells."
"I think we heard the same story from enough people repeatedly that there's a lot of smoke there."
Tester did say he spoke with White House chief of staff John Kelly who denied the allegations against Jackson.
"He [Kelly] said you know these are just claims," Tester said. "There's no truth to it."
When the rich asshole announced on Twitter that he was nominating Jackson, it took many in Washington by surprise.
The Senate only received paperwork from the rich asshole administration formalizing Jackson’s nomination last week, and he has been meeting privately with senators to try to convince them of his qualifications. Jackson's policy views on a range of subjects are unknown.
Jackson is a rear admiral in the Navy who has served as physician to three different presidents, including the rich asshole. But his lack of experience in running an organization as large as Veterans Affairs had already drawn questions about his qualifications. Many believed he needed a solid hearing to ensure his confirmation in the closely-divided Senate, where the GOP has a tenuous 51-49 majority.
Jackson is a rear admiral in the Navy who has served as physician to three different presidents, including the rich asshole. But his lack of experience in running an organization as large as Veterans Affairs had already drawn questions about his qualifications. Many believed he needed a solid hearing to ensure his confirmation in the closely-divided Senate, where the GOP has a tenuous 51-49 majority.
Jordain Carney contributed.
— Updated at 5:38 p.m.
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