‘Hippocratic oaf’: Jim Carrey hilariously mocks the rich asshole’s doctor in his latest painting
Actor Jim Carrey. Image via Shutterstock.
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Jim Carrey’s brush has struck again — and this time, he’s taken on Dr. Harold Bornstein, some rich asshole’s personal physician who now claims the president “dictated” a letter published under his name last year that gave him a glowing bill of health.
Mocking Bornstein’s letter calling the rich asshole “the healthiest individual ever elected,” Carrey painted the doctor in a lab coat and the president shirtless under satirical praise akin to what was written in the letter released last year.
“Lab tests astonishingly excellent,” Carrey’s painting, which he posted on Twitter Wednesday, reads. “Stamina extraordinary. Urine sample delicious. Best I’ve ever tasted.”
Hillary took questions for 11 hours, the rich asshole can’t handle more than 3
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the rich asshole had the nerve to question Hillary Clinton's 'stamina.' Yet he can't even come close to matching her when it comes to simply sitting down and answering questions.
the rich asshole’s new attorneys have the same problem his old ones did: How do they shield him from meeting with special counsel Robert Mueller, where the rich asshole would undoubtedly expose himself legally by telling endless falsehoods?
Mueller is reportedly pushing for the meeting, and even suggested he might subpoena the rich asshole if he refuses to answer questions.
Based on a leak that likely came from the White House, on Monday The New York Times published dozens of questions Mueller’s team wants to ask the rich asshole. It would take many, many hours for federal investigators to properly cover all the topics they need to address.
But now the rich asshole’s latest attorney, Rudy Giuliani, claims the rich asshole would only be willing to sit for two or three at the most:
NEWS-Giuliani, mins after Cobb exit, goes on-rec w/ @WashingtonPost re: Mueller intvw. “Some people have talked about a possible 12-hour interview. If it happens, that’s not going to happen, I’ll tell you that. It’d be, max, two to three hours around a narrow set of questions."
That stands in stark contrast to the 11-hour grilling Hillary Clinton faced in 2015 about the Benghazi terror attack.
Apparently, despite his protestations to the contrary, Clinton has far more stamina than the rich asshole. Or perhaps it’s that she had nothing to hide, while the rich asshole likely has a lot he’d like to keep hidden.
Putting a tight limit on the length of the interview would help to ensure that not all of Mueller’s questions could be addressed. Giuliani may also be hoping that the rich asshole could run out the clock by giving long, convoluted answers.
the rich asshole used to insist he has nothing to hide and would be happy with meet with Mueller. But others around him felt quite differently. Attorney John Dowd abruptly quit the rich asshole’s team in March, in part because he opposed the idea of such a meeting.
It’s an understandable concern. Because every word the rich asshole says during an interview with Mueller would be subject to 18 U.S. Code 1001, the statute that criminalizes false statements to federal agents.
the rich asshole’s rhetoric about gladly meeting with Mueller has been replaced with attacks on the investigation and its very legitimacy. This new stance seems to suggest that he shouldn’t be compelled to answer questions.
The fact that the rich asshole and his attorney are making such a huge deal about wanting limits on the meeting is telling. If the rich asshole were actually innocent, he would likely welcome his chance to the tell the truth.
Clinton’s marathon Benghazi questioning wasn’t her first experience of such a thing. During President Bill Clinton’s time in office, the two met with federal prosecutors to answer questions over a dozen times.
And if either of them had ever lied, they could have been prosecuted.
They never were.
Yet the rich asshole won’t sit for more than three hours in connection to one of the most important U.S. political investigations of the last half-century.
What’s this guy hiding? Whatever it is, a stopwatch won’t be enough to keep it hidden for long.
THE
NATIONAL MEMO
Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Yes, The President Must Testify — Just Like Bill Clinton Did
some rich asshole tells reporters that he is eager to chat with Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating his campaign’s suspected collusion with the Kremlin and his attempts to obstruct that investigation, but his sincerity is in doubt. When he proclaims his willingness to let Mueller question him, “under oath,” it sounds like typical the rich asshole bluster.
Still, as one of the most successful liars in modern history — with a talent for prevarication that has seen him through many civil lawsuits and a presidential campaign — the former casino mogul may believe he can slither past Mueller verbally. His lawyers feel no such confidence, however; they reliably show up to cancel his reckless offers to testify, as they did recently under some feeble pretext.
Should Mueller insist that the rich asshole must testify, he is certain to complain that the special counsel is treating him unfairly. He will cry “witch-hunt.” He will whine that no president has ever been subjected to such diabolical persecution. He will claim again that Hillary Clinton escaped from the FBI investigation of her emails without giving testimony under oath. None of which is true.
While there is no way to avoid a barrage of self-serving jive from the rich asshole, let’s be clear about certain basic facts: Not only did the FBI interrogate Hillary Clinton about her damned emails, but she and her husband testified before investigative authorities on several occasions during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
On July 2, 2016, Hillary Clinton appeared at FBI headquarters in Washington, where she answered questions for well over three hours from the agents investigating her email practices. Although she would have been vulnerable to a subpoena, that wasn’t necessary because she came involuntarily. More important, every word of that lengthy interview was subject to 18 U.S. Code 1001, the statute that criminalizes false statements to federal agents. Had Hillary lied, she could have been indicted for any material falsehood.
That was nothing new for her, having testified on at least eight other occasions during her husband’s presidency. Prosecutors with the Office of Independent Counsel interviewed her five times for the Whitewater investigation – first in 1994, then twice in 1995 and twice in 1998. She also testified before the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Resolution Trust Corporation, always under the same punitive federal law. And eager as Kenneth Starr’s minions were to indict her, there was never “sufficient evidence…beyond a reasonable doubt.” They had no case.
As for President Clinton, it’s true that he resisted the lawsuit brought against him by Paula Jones, who claimed that he had sexually harassed her in a Little Rock hotel room, all the way to the United States Supreme Court. His lawyers argued, with ample justification in hindsight, that a civil lawsuit would become a severe distraction for a sitting president. The high court overruled the president, nine to zero.
So Clinton famously testified in the Jones case, which led to his impeachment for lying about Monica Lewinsky. He had given a deposition under oath, and later testified on videotape for Starr’s grand jury.
Years before those sorry events, Clinton also responded to the independent counsel’s questions about Whitewater, giving three interviews to OIC prosecutors at the White House between 1994 and 1995. He also submitted to three additional interviews by federal agents during the Justice Department’s investigation of illicit fundraising in the 1996 presidential campaign. And he appeared by videotape at the Whitewater trial of James McDougal, the banker who swindled him and Hillary in that ill-fated land deal.
Such facts don’t matter to the rich asshole, who will snivel and slander and invent alternative facts to portray himself as a victim. Yet no matter how much noise he makes, he will soon confront a fateful choice. If he testifies, his legal risk will be extremely serious. If he refuses — or tries to escape by firing Mueller — his political risk will be equally grave.
Either way, as one of his confederates might say, the rich asshole’s time in the barrel is coming.
Even the rich asshole’s favorite Fox News show forced to call out his latest lie
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the rich asshole's lies about Robert Mueller's questions for him took a beating at the hands of his buddies on 'Fox & Friends.'
the rich asshole responded to the bombshell report on special counsel Robert Mueller’s questions for him by falsely claiming the list included nothing about collusion with Russia. And even one of his biggest fans over at Fox News had to call that lie out.
On “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning, co-host Steve Doocy eagerly pushed the White House spin. “It’s hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened. Where were all the questions about Russia?” he wondered.
But his colleague Brian Kilmeade didn’t go along with it.
“But there is some collusion questions in there,” Kilmeade correctly pointed out. “So to say there’s not collusion is not right.”
Doocy also claimed that Mueller’s questions show he’s “just out to get” the rich asshole, echoing the rich asshole’s petulant “witch hunt” outbursts. But Kilmeade again pushed back, pointing out that the questions were actually well-founded.
“The questions aren’t don’t seem necessarily out of left field. They seem thorough and comprehensive and a bunch of traps,” Kilmeade said.
There were at least 13 questions related to the the rich asshole campaign’s possible collusion with Russia among those reported. Several focused on the infamous the rich asshole Tower meeting that the rich asshole and his White House tried to cover up.
In addition, many questions focused on disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
And according to legal experts like former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks, obstruction of justice is its own crime, separate and apart from any underlying crime.
This isn’t the first time the “Fox & Friends” gang has had to deliver a dose of reality to the rich asshole. During his unhinged marathon interview last week, Doocy had to remind the rich asshole it was his own Justice Department he was complaining about. And Kilmeade himself occasionally displays some reluctant honesty.
Kilmeade’s latest moment of candor appears to be aimed at saving the rich asshole from himself. the rich asshole is an obsessive viewer of “Fox & Friends,” and has even floated the idea of becoming a regular guest of the program.
But Kilmeade’s attempt at a course correction appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Minutes after this segment, the rich asshole was back to insisting there was “no collusion,” and calling Mueller’s investigation a “hoax.”
There are fewer and fewer safe spaces for those lies, even among the rich asshole’s favorite “friends” at Fox News.
the rich asshole insults vets by trying to put a lobbyist in charge of their care
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Veterans don't want the VA to be privatized, but the rich asshole is ignoring them by pushing a privatization zealot as his top candidate to run the agency.
the rich asshole is pushing for a lobbyist who wants to privatize veterans’ health care to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Yet some of the largest veterans groups are on record opposing privatization.
Stars and Stripes reports that former Republican congressman Jeff Miller is the “leading contender” for the nomination after the spectacular failure of the rich asshole’s hand-picked choice, Dr. Ronny Jackson.
The the rich asshole administration could never explain Jackson’s qualifications to oversee a system responsible for millions of people. And questions about Jackson’s behavior as a physician unearthed during a Senate investigation scuttled the nomination.
When Miller worked on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, he was a champion of the VA Choice system, which brings privatized health providers into the government-run system.
His support of VA Choice meshes well with this White House, which has pushed for privatization while giving lip service to veterans groups.
The the rich asshole administration already tried an expansion of VA Choice in 2017, and the rich asshole’s official budget proposed an expansion as well.
The American Legion warned about “cannibalization of services needed for the Choice program” and characterized it as a “stealth privatization attempt, which the American Legion fully opposes.”
Will Fischer, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War and director of government relations for VoteVets, called Miller “a non-starter to lead” the department. He also labeled him a “courtesan” of the right-wing billionaire Koch brothers.
The Kochs have pushed for the privatization though their front group, Concerned Veterans for America. Indeed, Fischer noted that this was “a goal” of the group.
the rich asshole has painted a target on those who have served the country ever since he took over the presidency. He has shortchanged homeless veterans and pushed to hurt 7 million vets by repealing health care reform. His former VA secretary used taxpayer funds to finance luxury travel jaunts.
Veterans do not want the system they rely on to be privatized. They have spoken out against putting leaders with such an agenda at the head of that system.
But the rich asshole is simply ignoring them.
Ex-reality TV contestant who accused the rich asshole of assault just subpoenaed key ‘Apprentice’ videos
Former "Apprentice" contest and the rich asshole accuser Summer Zervos (left) and President some rich asshole (right). Images via Shutterstock.
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Attorneys representing Summer Zervos, a former “Apprentice” contestant who has accused President some rich asshole of committing sexual assault, have issued subpoenas for key “Apprentice” video recordings that they say will prove their client’s claims.
The New York Times reports that subpoenas were issued “both to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which owns archives of the reality show, and to the Beverly Hills Hotel, where Ms. Zervos says [the rich asshole] groped her in 2007."
Zervos is suing the rich asshole for defamation after the president called her a liar when she originally made her assault claims during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“We’re gathering evidence that we believe will prove that the defendant lied when he falsely denigrated Ms. Zervos and when he denied sexually assaulting her,” attorney Mariann Wang, who is representing Zervos, said.
The subpoena seeks every video in MGM’s possession that features the rich asshole talking with or about Zervos, as well as the rich asshole talking about any women in a “sexual or inappropriate manner.”
the rich asshole hires impeachment lawyer 7 weeks after calling idea ‘fake news’
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the rich asshole ranted at The New York Times in March for reporting that he was planning to hire an impeachment lawyer. Now he's done exactly what the paper said.
the rich asshole called it “fake news” when The New York Times reported he was in talks to hire Emmet Flood, a lawyer who represented President Bill Clinton during his impeachment proceedings.
But on Wednesday, the rich asshole did just what the Times said he would.
White House lawyer Ty Cobb’s retirement was announced that morning in a statement from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. And the Times reported that the rich asshole has indeed decided to hire Flood to replace him.
In mid-March, the rich asshole lashed out at the Times and reporter Maggie Haberman for reporting that this exact move was in the works.
“The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out,” the rich asshole tweeted. He insisted that he was “VERY happy” with his team of lawyers, which included Cobb, John Dowd, and Jay Sekulow.
And he called Haberman a “Hillary flunky [who] knows nothing about me and is not given access.” In fact, Haberman was a persistent critic of Hillary Clinton, and she herself laughed off that line of attack.
Ten days after the rich asshole’s outburst, Dowd abruptly quit the legal team, reportedly because the rich asshole refused to follow the legal advice he was given.
Since then, at least a dozen lawyers have refused to represent the rich asshole.
The move to replace Cobb with Flood comes as pressure from the Mueller investigation mounts. Questions from the special counsel to the rich asshole’s legal team were leaked this week. Experts have suggested that the rich asshole’s legal team may have been behind that leak.
On Tuesday, news of Mueller’s March subpoena threat broke for the first time. And on Wednesday, the rich asshole issued a strong threat to “get involved” with the investigation.
Notably, CNN reports that Cobb quit over the rich asshole’s tweets about Mueller and the investigation, which ramped up starting in March.
There is every indication that the rich asshole knows he is in deep trouble. And now that he’s done precisely what the Times said he would by hiring an impeachment lawyer, he can hardly brush it all off as “fake news.”
Giuliani vows the rich asshole interview will be ‘2-3 hours max’ after failing to shut down Mueller investigation
Rudy Giuliani speaks to CNN (screen grab)
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Two weeks after vowing to shut down special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, attorney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Wednesday that President some rich asshole’s interview with investigators will be a “maximum” of two to three hours.
After taking a job as an attorney for the president two weeks ago, Giuliani said that he expected to be able to shut down Mueller’s Russian investigation within one to two weeks
On Wednesday, Giuliani spoke to The Washington Post about the news that Mueller wants to ask the rich asshole dozens of questions.
According to reporter Robert Costa, Giuliani drew a line in the sand regarding the length of any interview.
“Some people have talked about a possible 12-hour interview. If it happens, that’s not going to happen, I’ll tell you that. It’d be, max, two to three hours around a narrow set of questions,” Giuliani reportedly said.
Read the tweets below
NEWS-Giuliani, mins after Cobb exit, goes on-rec w/ @WashingtonPost re: Mueller intvw. “Some people have talked about a possible 12-hour interview. If it happens, that’s not going to happen, I’ll tell you that. It’d be, max, two to three hours around a narrow set of questions."
the rich asshole has notes from two doctors —and they might both be fake
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Despite his power over the world's nuclear arsenal, the status of the rich asshole's physical and mental health might as well be a complete unknown to U.S. citizens.
America is completely in the dark about the rich asshole’s physical and mental health, thanks to new revelations that call into question previous claims that the rich asshole is okay.
the rich asshole’s personal doctor, Harold Bornstein, now says that the December 2015 letter he signed proclaiming the rich asshole’s “extraordinary” strength and physical stamina was in fact dictated by the rich asshole himself.
Bornstein told CNN, “He dictated that whole letter. I didn’t write that letter.” He added, “I just made it up as I went along.”
That news comes after the rich asshole’s supposedly official health assessment in January. The letter that claimed the rich asshole was “in excellent health” was signed by “Dr. Ronnie Jackson,” but the then White House physician was Dr. Ronny Jackson.
Jackson was later forced to withdraw his nomination to be Secretary for the Veterans Administration after numerous reports surfaced about his questionable behavior, including how he dispensed drugs.
So, the only two documents giving a positive assessment of the rich asshole’s physical health have been seriously called into question. There is no reliable assessment of the rich asshole’s physical condition, as there has been for previous presidents.
the rich asshole’s physical and mental status are not simply trivial issues. In his position, the rich asshole oversees the most important economy in the world while commanding the strongest military on the planet and the most potent nuclear arsenal.
His health is a fundamental element of how he goes about the day-to-day execution of his job.
During the campaign, while promoting conspiracies and hoaxes about Hillary Clinton’s health, the rich asshole raised the topic. He accused Clinton of not having “the strength or the stamina to make America great again.”
What we have been told about the rich asshole’s health now has the appearance of another one of his orchestrated media events.
In the past, the rich asshole pushed stories designed to make him look good and to attack those he opposed (like his then-wife Ivana the rich asshole) by pretending to be “John Barron” with reporters.
The stories now circulating surrounding the origin of the rich asshole’s two public medical assessments distinctly resemble the “fake news” he pushed out about himself. Neither document was independently created, and their veracity is now in serious doubt.
the rich asshole proclaimed himself a “very stable genius” after medical professionals began raising concerns about his mental state. But there isn’t a credible medical analysis to back up his panicked denials.
the rich asshole has access to dangerous weapons that could alter the health and safety of the entire planet. Yet nobody knows — independently — if he is physically or mentally fit to hold his job. His history of lies and meddling created this situation.
Everyone’s safety requires that these key issues be addressed, but the rich asshole will not act.
Fox News analyst refuses to sugarcoat Cobb departure: the rich asshole ‘finally recognizes how serious’ Mueller probe is
02 MAY 2018 AT 14:03 ET
Andrew Napolitano appears on Fox News (screen grab)
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Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano on Wednesday said that President some rich asshole’s decision to oust Ty Cobb as White House attorney was long overdue, because it means he’s now recognizing just how much trouble he could be in.
Napolitano started out by calling Cobb’s replacement, former Clinton impeachment lawyer Emmet Flood, a “brilliant” attorney who is widely recognized as one of the best in the country
That said, Napolitano warned that his presence at this stage of the investigation still might not be enough to get the president out of legal jeopardy.
“This is very late in the game for a change of this magnitude,” Napolitano said. “There is no one on the president’s team who has been there since Day One. And with the departure of Ty Cobb, there will be no one on the president’s team who’s personally familiar with the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that the president has surrendered to special counsel.”
That said, the legal analyst said that the rich asshole was at least finally coming around to realizing that Mueller’s probe represents a major threat to his presidency.
“The president finally recognizes how serious the Mueller probe is,” he said.
Watch the video below.
POLITICS
Report: the rich asshole Replaces Ty Cobb With Clinton Impeachment Lawyer
Emmet Flood represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment.
President some rich asshole plans to replace White House lawyer Ty Cobb with Emmet Flood, a lawyer who represented former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment hearings, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
“For several weeks Ty Cobb has been discussing his retirement and last week he let Chief of Staff Kelly know he would retire at the end of the month,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
the rich asshole has been reportedly discussing the shakeup with confidantes for weeks. Cobb was leading the administration’s legal response to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
Cobb out, Clinton impeachment lawyer in as the rich asshole shakes up legal team
Washington (CNN)White House lawyer Ty Cobb is leaving his position, and a lawyer who represented former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment process is joining President some rich asshole's legal team as it adopts a more adversarial posture toward the special counsel's investigation.
Cobb has been discussing his retirement for several weeks and let chief of staff John Kelly know he would be retiring at the end of May, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. She later confirmed reports that Emmet Flood, who represented Clinton in the late 1990s, is joining the White House staff.
"I've done what I came to do in terms of managing the White House response to the special counsel requests," Cobb told CNN. "I'm extremely grateful to the President and Chief Kelly for the opportunity to serve my country."
The New York Times first reported the news.
A source familiar with Cobb's departure said the former federal prosecutor, who joined the rich asshole's legal team in July 2017, had been clashing with the President in recent weeks over the rich asshole's combative posture with the special counsel's investigation. the rich asshole has intensified his public attacks on Robert Mueller's probe in recent weeks, and on Wednesday, suggested that questions by Mueller's team about whether he obstructed justice amount to a "setup & trap."
Two sources told CNN that Cobb was uncomfortable with the rich asshole's tweets against Mueller, with one source describing a "rancid" atmosphere between Mueller and the White House.
"Ty was uncomfortable with the Mueller tweets," the source said. He was not going to be "part of a mud-slinging campaign," one of the sources added.
Cobb had tried for weeks to counsel the President against threatening the Mueller investigation, the sources said. The lawyer made it clear on multiple occasions with the President and other members of the legal team that he "can't go down that path," one of the sources added.
Flood steps into 'chaotic atmosphere'
A source familiar with the developments told CNN that one reason Flood took the job was because he is likely to replace current White House counsel Donald McGahn in months.
It's not immediately clear what Flood's job will be on the legal team and if he will attend meetings with Mueller.
Another source familiar with the matter told CNN that Flood had been under "serious consideration" for some time, and that a transition period is expected, as Flood leaves his law firm to join the "chaotic atmosphere" of the White House. This source expects Flood will get along well with McGahn and called the new White House lawyer "very smart, battle-tested, high integrity."
CNN reported in March that Flood was among several high-profile lawyers to have previously turned down invitations to join the rich asshole's legal team. One of the sources told CNN on Wednesday that Flood was not willing to work with the rich asshole's original lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.
Wednesday's developments are the latest of several recent changes in the rich asshole's legal team.
Last month, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined the rich asshole's outside legal team and said at the time that he would communicate with Mueller to bring the probe to an end. Sources told CNN last week that Giuliani met with Mueller to discuss a potential presidential interview.
the rich asshole in March announced he had brought on lawyers Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, but his lawyer, Jay Sekulow, acknowledged in a statement that conflicts prevented the pair from joining the rich asshole's team.
Showdown looms
The shakeup of the rich asshole's legal team comes as his lawyers prepare for a legal showdown with Mueller, sources familiar with their thinking have told CNN.
the rich asshole's legal team is bracing for the dramatic possibility that Mueller would subpoena the President, setting up a collision that could force a lengthy court fight and test the legal limits of the President's power all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Mueller has raised the possibility of a presidential subpoena in at least one meeting, according to two sources. But some of the President's legal advisers are gambling that Mueller would not go that far.
Shortly before the news of his departure broke, Cobb spoke with ABC News and said the rich asshole sitting for an interview with Mueller is "not off the table." He also said it is "an open question" if Mueller could compel the rich asshole to testify.
Who is Emmett Flood? Here are the key things to know about the rich asshole’s new White House lawyer
the rich asshole's attorney Emmett Flood/Screenshot
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some rich asshole’s new lawyer, Emmett T. Flood, has a bipartisan track record of getting guilty people off.
Flood, who works for the firm Williams and Connelly, is a Yale-educated attorney who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Flood is known as a conservative, but he rose to prominence when he helped Bill Clinton during the former president’s impeachment.
Flood helped write Clinton’s rebuttal to the Starr report, which argued that it was fine for Clinton to lie to a grand jury because “grand juries are not designed to search for truth” and that Clinton did not commit perjury by lying to a grand jury because “answers to questions that are literally true are not perjury.” Meaning that Clinton’s cigar situation with an intern did not constitute a sex act.
“The President has acknowledged a serious mistake – an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He has taken responsibility for his actions, and he has apologized to the country, to his friends, leaders of his party, the cabinet and most importantly, his family,” according to the rebuttal he helped write.
Flood later represented Vice President Dick Cheney in the controversy over leaking of the identify of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Cheney walked free but his Chief Of Staff, Scooter Libby, was convicted of lying to investigators—a crime he was just pardoned for by some rich asshole.
Flood then advised Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was convicted on charges of corruption.
He also represented the in the “blowout-preventer manufacturer” in the Deepwater Horizon blowout disaster.
Watch a short bio on him below.
the rich asshole’s attorney Emmett Flood as a young man and today/Screenshot
the rich asshole Gets WRECKED After His Most Delusional, Insane Tweet Yet
Holy fuckballs, some rich asshole is stupid. On Wednesday, President Stable Genius managed to include “no Collusion”, “no Obstruction of Justice”, amd “Witch Hunt” in a single tweet rather than the usual string of mindless drivel he usually spews out during his morning dookie.
“There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap),” The rich asshole said in his Oddly Capitalized, raving Tweetfest. “What there is is Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more. Witch Hunt!”
So, let’s get this straight: collusion is a “hoax” despite numerous guilty pleas and indictments of his associates, obstruction of justice (which is his normal thing) is a “setup,” yet he insists he hasn’t obstructed justice (but wouldn’t have to worry about a “trap” unless he was). It’s exactly the sort of convoluted bullshit that makes a normal, rational human being’s brain hurt. Sounds like a total “witch hunt,” right?
Fortunately, Americans aren’t buying into his crap any more than they normally do:
Make the lie big and repeat it often- Adolph Hitler
If Nixon could still talk...
I was looking at my watch thinking, "I wonder when the dumbass is going to post another public therapy tweet". Keep telling yourself it's a hoax, Spanky.
You really ARE that stupid. For one, it's a lie and second, you never show proof of what you tweet. Why do you do that? And of course you won't answer anybody. You're pathetic.
Let’s wait and see... you dictated your own letter of “astonishing” health to your doctor of 35 yrs, so.....let’s wait and see. Now you’ll probably label him as crazy.
Why don't you just sit down and answer Mueller's questions?
STFU!!! FLINT DOESN'T HAVE CLEAN WATER YOU BASTARD.
You REALLY need a lawyer... but nah, just keep tweeting out self-incriminating stuff like this!
Trump: end the hoax end the witch hunt. Meet with Mr. Mueller and answer the questions. You won’t because you’re guilty!
No trap if you tell the truth. Never heard of someone trapped into telling the truth and getting in trouble. Unless the truth is you broke the law.....
There WAS Collusion
Manafort
Flynn
Gates
Coffeboy
GUILTYnow Cohen. It's NOT a Hoax. You have attempted to Obstruct Justice several times. We've seen it with our own eyes. KJU Lies, like you do. You are a #Traitor #Cheater#Liar#SexualPredator #DictatorWannabe #WeResist
There sure are a lot of indictments for a “No-Collusion” tweet, but yeah, you do you (I guess).
There was conspiracy to defraud the United States by your close advisors
There was definitely obstruction of justice by you
There’s probably either a money laundering or campaign finance violation around the whole “crazy Stormy Daniels matter” that you admit Cohen advised u on
I always picture you standing in front of a mirror, furiously typing away looking at your unshapely reflection as you send out these tweets. As if to assure yourself these things youre saying are for yourself and not for the rest of us.
Recently, someone (even Fox News admits it was probably the rich asshole or one of his associates) leaked a shitton of questions Mueller wants to ask The rich asshole. As he feels the pressure of the investigation, we can expect him to become crazier and more obsessed — just like Nixon. Fortunately, his “presidency” will end in a similar manner.
the rich asshole rips Justice Department in stinging set of tweets
Washington (CNN)President some rich asshole threatened Wednesday to "get involved" with the Justice Department's ongoing task of producing documents to lawmakers after accusations the agency has refused requests on a variety of topics.
The message thrust the President deeper into an ongoing battle between conservatives and the Justice Department, and specifically with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who also oversees the special counsel's Russia investigation.
the rich asshole has so far avoided firing Rosenstein, who he's steamed over in private, and has asserted only limited executive power in compelling the Justice Department to release disputed documents.
His message on Tuesday signaled he may be willing to delve into the fray further.
"A Rigged System - They don't want to turn over Documents to Congress," the rich asshole wrote on Twitter. "What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal "justice?" At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!"
The Justice Department declined to comment on the rich asshole's tweet.
the rich asshole's declaration came amid a string of other tweets calling into question the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, bolstering the impression that the rich asshole remains keenly attuned to the matter, despite his insistence that North Korea and trade are dominating his agenda.
"There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap)," he wrote earlier Wednesday. "What there is is Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more. Witch Hunt!"
Republican lawmakers have accused the Justice Department and Rosenstein of hampering their attempts to obtain documents about matters like the Hillary Clinton email investigation and FISA warrant applications that they say demonstrate bias among top officials.
Some GOP lawmakers in the House Freedom Caucus, led by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, have drafted articles of impeachment for Rosenstein, who blasted the effort as "extortion" on Tuesday.
Cooper: Collusion questions won't go away 04:07
The Justice Department informed Meadows and other Republican lawmakers on Monday that it would not turn over a memo Rosenstein drafted detailing the scope of Mueller's investigation because it pertains to an ongoing criminal investigation, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Speaking Tuesday, Rosenstein said the Justice Department understands Congress has an important oversight role, but not at the expense of interfering with ongoing investigations.
"There are people who have been making threats, privately and publicly, against me for quite some time," he said. "And I think they should understand by now, the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted."
the rich asshole has so far resisted calls to fire Rosenstein, but hasn't ruled out the prospect. He said during a phone interview on Fox News last week he wouldn't remain on the sidelines forever.
"You look at the corruption at the top of the FBI -- it's a disgrace," the rich asshole said. "And our Justice Department, which I try and stay away from, but at some point I won't."
CNN's Laura Jarrett contributed to this report.
New letter reopens the rich asshole’s Panama hotel debacle
Did the White House threaten Panama's leader if he didn't side with the rich asshole in a business dispute?
After new hotel management booted the the rich asshole Organization from President some rich asshole’s former high-rise in Panama, the dramatic episode — which featured scuffles between security guards, police in body armor, and plummeting occupancy rates — appeared to be coming to a close.
However, a letter issued in late March from a Panama-based law firm reopened the entire affair, and cast the rich asshole’s involvement in a new light.
The letter, first reported by the AP, was sent from the Britton & Iglesias law firm to Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela. In it, the lawyers point to potential repercussions for Panama should Varela not intervene in the the rich asshole Organization’s favor. It’s unclear what specific steps the law firm wanted Varela to take, other than intervening in judicial affairs.
While the letter doesn’t mention the rich asshole, it hints that the White House might claim Panama was violating a bilateral investment treaty if it did not help the the rich asshole Organization’s case at the building, which is now known as the Bahia Grand.
To his credit, in mid-April Valera dismissed the letter, telling the AP that the lawyers “made a mistake in sending the letter.” Added Varela, “You have to leave your private interests aside and focus on the interests of your people.”
A spokesperson for Britton & Iglesias told ThinkProgress that the law firm hasn’t yet heard a response directly from Varela.
The letter presents perhaps the foremost example of the rich asshole’s private interests conflicting with American interests abroad — to say nothing of requesting that Varela consider breaching the country’s separation of powers.
A trio of American lawmakers would like to know why the law firm got involved in the first place, and what role the rich asshole might have played in the threat.
In an April 25 letter to the rich asshole Organization general counsel Alan Garten, Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) requested information on whether “the the rich asshole Organization sought to leverage the Office of the President and the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Panama to advance the company’s private interests.”
The lawmakers’ letter also pointed to the Panamanian law firm’s call for Varela to intervene directly in judicial proceedings:
By requesting that the President of Panama intercede in a judicial proceeding—in President the rich asshole’s name, no less—the letter shows a lack of respect for judicial independence in Panama, a country that has made considerable efforts to strengthen the capacity of its legal system to combat money laundering and corruption. It is troubling that the President of the United States would be among the principal beneficiaries of such a violation of the principle of judicial independence, and we applaud the President of Panama for his refusal to intercede in the legal proceedings in question.
Torres, Engel, and Nadler concluded the letter with a series of requests, including asking for information about whether Britton & Iglesias sent its letter directly “at the request of President the rich asshole or any other government official,” or if the rich asshole or the the rich asshole Organization had made any other attempt to contact Varela regarding the ongoing dispute.
“What other communications has the the rich asshole Organization, or any organization representing the the rich asshole Organization, made with other foreign government officials with regards to the rich asshole Organization properties, since President the rich asshole assumed office?” the lawmakers ask.
A spokesperson for Torres told ThinkProgress that the the rich asshole Organization had not yet responded to the letter. The the rich asshole Organization did not respond to ThinkProgress’ request for comment.
The lawmakers’ letter follows a pair of other letters sent by Torres and Engel about the rich asshole, Panama, and money laundering. In February, the two wrote Gartenrequesting information on how the the rich asshole Organization conducted due diligence to combat the massive money laundering that was already taking place at the hotel. As a 2017 report from Global Witness found, the rich asshole was “one of the beneficiaries” of “proceeds from Colombian cartels’ narcotics trafficking,” proceeds that were parked in the building.
Torres’ office — which also requested information from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on the money laundering that took place at the rich asshole’s former property — told ThinkProgress that they had not yet heard a response from the the rich asshole Organization.
Ex-Bush NSA chief Michael Hayden: No GOP Congress will ever impeach the rich asshole regardless of Mueller’s evidence
Michael Hayden speaks to CBS News (screen grab)
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Gen. Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA under President George W. Bush, predicted on Wednesday that President some rich asshole would never be impeached by a Republican-controlled Congress even if special counsel Robert Mueller proved that he colluded with Russia in order to win the 2016 election.
During an interview with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, Hayden said that partisanship has reached a new level in Congress.
“The normal break on the abuse of executive authority by constitutional means is the Congress, it’s designed that way,” Hayden explained. “Congress isn’t limiting the executive’s authority. What’s limiting the executive’s authority right now are the institutions, departments and agencies of the executive branch. How weird is that?”
“The president seems to be upset with that,” he continued. “He then is enlisting his allies in the legislative branch — the ones that, by design, should be limiting him — to go put pressure on elements of the executive branch that he cannot quite control or prevent them from doing what I would call their duty.”
As one example, Hayden pointed to the House Freedom Caucus recently drafting articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein because he signed off on warrants to surveil a member of the 2016 the rich asshole campaign.
During the interview, Hayden also sympathized with a caller who worried that Congress would not act if Mueller presented evidence that the rich asshole had committed high crimes.
“I don’t believe that there is any body of evidence that Bob Mueller could present that would convince a Republican-controlled Congress to impeach some rich asshole,” Hayden lamented. “That’s a sad commentary.”
Hayden admitted that he wasn’t sure that impeachment would be the best solution if Democrats manage to take control of Congress.
“I don’t have a good exit ramp here,” he said. “But I fear the one that people might take.”
Listen to the audio below from WYNC.
New pro-the rich asshole SuperPAC ad presents the rich asshole’s smears of Jon Tester as sources
America First Action Super PAC's new ad is very misleading.
Days after President some rich asshole warned that Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) “has to have a big price to pay” for raising questions about the president’s now-withdrawnsecond choice for secretary of Veterans Affairs, a pro-the rich asshole super PAC is trying to make that happen. A misleading new ad from America First Action Super PAC attempts to present the rich asshole’s own criticisms of Tester as sourced facts.
The 30-second spot, called “Disgraceful,” claims that Tester — who is up for re-election in November — “spread false information about a respected Navy admiral, helping DC Democrats derail President the rich asshole’s Veterans Affairs nominee,” Ronny Jackson.
The ad shows quotes from various sources on the screen to attempt to support its view that it is “time for Tester to go.”
The ad begins with an announcer saying, “In Montana, we value integrity.” It is unclear who “we” refers to, as the super PAC is registered to an address in Arlington, Virginia, and none of its top donors are from Montana.
As for integrity, a closer look at these quotes reveals that, really, they are just the rich asshole.
The first quote is attributed to “Fox News Insider, 4/27/18.” The quote does not actually come from Fox News Insider, but rather a Fox News Insider article quoting the rich asshole as saying Montana “won’t put up with false accusations” against Jackson.
Next, another quote is also attributed to “Fox News Insider, 4/26/18,” but also is actually a story that quotes Fox News commentator Kimberly Guilfoyle, a the rich asshole loyalist who was reportedly considered to be a potential White House press secretary, criticizing people inside the VA for raising allegations of misconduct against Jackson.
The next quote is sourced to “The Hill, 4/28/18,” but also merely quotes an articlein that publication that quoted the rich asshole directly.
After a quote from a story about the Secret Service disputing one of the accusations that had been made about Jackson, the ad finally makes clear what it is really doing.
As the narrator calls Tester “disgraceful, dishonest,” the ad shows two quotes — both attributed to the rich asshole himself.
Washington (CNN)Harold Bornstein, some rich asshole's longtime personal physician, is a comic character. From his long hair to his odd personal manner and pronouncements, he is someone that is hard to take seriously.
So when Bornstein told CNN on Tuesday that the rich asshole had personally dictated a 2015 letter ostensibly from Bornstein touting the then-presidential candidate's historic good health, the first reaction of many people was to laugh.
Of course he did! The language was totally Trumpian! "His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary," "Bornstein" wrote of the rich asshole. "If elected, some rich asshole, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."
But to dismiss this whole situation as a joke is to miss the broader points. And, yes, there are some broader points here. Here are four.
1. The President of the United States, as a candidate, faked a letter from his doctor to settle health and age questions.
the rich asshole's willingness to bend the truth is, by now, de rigeur. But, consider what he did here. At 70, the rich asshole is the oldest person ever to be elected to a first term as president. His diet and exercise regimen are not what anyone would describe as particularly healthy.
Those factors led to questions about the rich asshole's physical and mental fitness for the job during the 2016 campaign. the rich asshole's pushback was the Bornstein letter. Sure, Bornstein looked and sounded a bit kooky, but he had been the rich asshole's doctor for more than two decades, right? Because no one could prove the letter was a sham -- which it has turned out to be -- the only option for reporters was to take it, generally speaking, at face value. the rich asshole knew that -- and he exploited it to the nth degree.
2. the rich asshole repeatedly attacked Hillary Clinton as not being healthy enough to be president.
From the start, the rich asshole sought to make Clinton's stamina and endurance -- both code words for her overall health -- an issue in the campaign. That effort ramped up bigly in the wake of video capturing a decidedly wobbly Clinton leaving a September 11 memorial in New York City.
"They say pneumonia on Friday, but she was coughing very, very badly a week ago, and even before that, if you remember," the rich asshole said on CNBC shortly after Clinton's near-fainting incident. "This wasn't the first time. So, it's very interesting to see what is going on."
In the first general election presidential debate, the rich asshole was more blunt. "She doesn't have the look," he said of Clinton. "She doesn't have the stamina, I said she doesn't have the stamina, and I don't believe she does have the stamina." At an event in Pennsylvania in early October, the rich asshole mocked Clinton's shaky-knees stumble in September; "She's supposed to fight all of these different things and she can't make it 15 feet to her car? Give me a break. Give me a break," he said.
He did all of these things knowing that he had written his own doctor's note and then used it as a bulwark against questions regarding his own health.
3. the rich asshole will say or do absolutely anything to win.
In the rich asshole's mind, everything -- and I mean everything -- is justified if you win. The means are always justified by a successful end. Saying that Ted Cruz's father might have been involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy? Yup. Claiming there were Muslims celebrating on New Jersey roofs on the night of September 11, 2001? Yup. Suggesting that Mexico was purposely sending criminals and rapists to the US? Yup. Casting white nationalist violence through the lens of both-sides-ism? Yes.
In light of all of those things, faking a letter from your doctor saying how incredibly healthy you are was likely, in the rich asshole's mind, a no-brainer. Who cares? After all, he knew he was totally healthy -- among the healthiest people ever to run for president -- so what difference did it make if an actual medical doctor said it or not? He knew it, therefore it must be true.
In a world in which everything is justified by self interest, nothing can be off limits. And that, at the moment, is the space that some rich asshole willingly occupies.
4. the rich asshole eventually turns on everyone.
Bornstein should have never allowed the rich asshole to dictate a letter about his own fitness. But, he did so because he had a long relationship with the rich asshole and wanted to stay in the presidential candidate's good graces. the rich asshole routinely rewards total loyalty -- see Cohen, Michael -- and Bornstein undoubtedly thought he would reap some sort of gains from his willingness to put aside medical ethics in order to please some rich asshole.
History, however, suggests that those who pledge total fealty to the rich asshole are almost never repaid in kind. You are liked and valued by the rich asshole only as long as you are providing some sort of material service to him. When that service stops or, God forbid, you draw negative headlines to the rich asshole, you will be cut loose with the quickness. (I'm looking at you, Michael Cohen.)
In interviews on Tuesday, Bornstein clearly felt betrayed when the rich asshole bodyguard Keith Schiller came and took the President's medical records from Bornstein's office. Bornstein shouldn't feel that way. This is what the rich asshole does. It is who he is.
The media’s 2016 freak out over Clinton’s pneumonia looks really suspect today
And that's a huge problem.
Six thousand years ago, during the last few months of the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton contracted a bout of walking pneumonia.
The entire media world breathlessly covered her every movement that September day, when Clinton had to be helped into a van after baking in the summer sun at a 9/11 memorial ceremony. We learned several hours later that Clinton had retired to her daughter’s New York City apartment to cool off and recover, and that she had been diagnosed with a mild case of walking pneumonia.
The whole episode reignited the well-worn — and casually sexist — narrative that Clinton, at 68 years old, might not have had the physical fortitude to assume the most important job in the world. It was a narrative pushed heavily by some rich asshole and his loathsome progeny, but the media was equally complicit. Of course the far-right, led by Fox News and the usual consortium of internet drudgery, assumed their battle stations, but so too did outlets like NPR, where host Cokie Roberts suggested the next day that Democrats were considering replacing Clinton with Joe Biden, less than two months before election day.
On CNN, John King took umbrage with Clinton’s failure to disclose her pneumonia, suggesting it was because she “refuses to be human,” and not because a woman who exhibits even a hint of vulnerability will have her competency, stamina, and authority immediately called into question.
The New York Post went with “HILL HEALTH CRISIS,” accompanying a grainy photo of the back of Clinton’s head as she ducked into an awaiting van. “Clinton collapses at 9/11 memorial,” read a smaller headline, which also happens to be a lie.
Even the New York Times ran with Clinton’s momentary sick break as its top story in the next morning’s paper.
Fast forward 20 months. On Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported that longtime the rich asshole physician Harold Bornstein admitted that the doctor’s note he signed and publicly released during the campaign — you know, the one where he said the rich asshole’s “physical strength and stamina are extraordinary,“ that he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” and whose blood work was, in professional medical parlance, “astonishingly excellent” — was a complete fabrication, and was in fact dictated by the rich asshole himself.
As of midday Wednesday, Fox News has yet to address the subject on its website. NPR and the Washington Post ran short stories based on CNN’s reporting. The New York Times ran a short wire piece from Reuters on its website. The discrepancy between the coverage of Clinton’s health and some rich asshole’s by the country’s newspaper of record wasn’t lost on people.
One image is the @nytimes app after Hillary Clinton had *gasp* pneumonia. The other is after news broke that Trump dictated his own health report during the campaign and sent people to steal his medical records.
And so it goes. After 16 months of the the rich asshole presidency, we are completely deadened to monumental scandal. The president of the United States colluded with a licensed physician to falsify medical records — a felony — in an effort to conceal his health from the American people and win an election. What’s more, after winning, he sent some muscle, led by his personal aide, to improperly seize his legitimate medical records — another felony.
Tossing out Bornstein’s stenography means the only medical information we know about some rich asshole comes to us from the White House doctor, who conducted a routine medical exam back in January assuring the public that “the President’s overall health is excellent,” that he could correctly identify a drawing of a lion, and that he weighed 239 pounds, precisely one pound less than the threshold for clinical obesity for someone his height. The physician who administered the exam was Dr. Ronny Jackson, who would later be nominated to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, only to withdraw from considerationafter his tendency to drink on the job and dole out prescription drugs like candy was uncovered during his confirmation hearing.
So what do we actually know about the overall health of the former fast food spokesman and oldest person ever elected to the White House, the only person capable of launching a nuclear weapon, who can (and has) changed federal policy via tweet? We know he refuses to exercise because he believes human beings function like batteries (which, for the record, is the entire premise of The Matrix trilogy). We know some rich asshole’s preferred diet can be ordered via drive thru windows. We know he has a history of slurred speech. And we know that he is willing to commit multiple felonies to keep his actual medical history a secret.
Contrast that with what we knew about President Obama’s health. He released his medical records during the 2008 campaign, and continued to provide regular updates while he was in office. So too did Hillary Clinton, who released her medical history going back to her husband’s presidency, and again after the pneumonia incident.
POLITICS
GOP Senator Contradicts the rich asshole On Ronny Jackson Allegations
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said that some allegations made against the rich asshole’s VA secretary nominee were credible.
WASHINGTON ― A top Republican lawmaker undercut President some rich asshole’s attacks against Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) over the bungled nomination of Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson to head the Veterans Affairs Department, saying some of the allegations targeting the White House physician appeared credible.
Jackson was forced to withdraw from consideration for the post last week after Tester, the senior Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, raised concerns about several allegations ― including that the doctor oversaw a “toxic” work environment, overprescribed medication, and drank while on the job. the rich asshole stoutly defended Jackson over the weekend, dismissing the allegations as baseless and calling for Tester’s resignation.
But Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), the Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, contradicted the rich asshole and his top aides by saying a CNN story published earlier this week substantiated some of the misconduct accusations.
According to the story, Vice President Mike Pence’s physician raised alarms in the White House earlier this year that Jackson may have violated federal privacy protections for Pence’s wife, Karen, by discussing her medical condition with others. CNN also reported that the Pence physician said in a memo he felt intimidated when an angry Jackson confronted him about the concerns he had aired. Jackson acted unprofessionally, the doctor said.
“Part of the allegations made in one of the affidavits was verified,” Isakson said on Tuesday, referring to the CNN report. “It looks like there’s been a story that corroborates the fact that there were some of those allegations that were correct.”
While the rich asshole has focused his attacks on Tester, he and his top aides have also fumed in private at Isakson over the botched Jackson nomination, according to The Daily Beast. the rich asshole and his aides questioned whether Isakson sufficiently warned the White House about problems surrounding Jackson’s nomination.
Isakson defended his handling of the matter in his Tuesday comments.
“I did my job, and every senator has the responsibility if they’re presented with allegations, to try to seek the truth, and that exonerates anybody who seeks the truth,” he said.
Tester is ranked by analysts as one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election this November, given that the rich asshole carried Montana overwhelmingly in the 2016 presidential election. As Tester seeks a third term, he has sought to portray himself as a bipartisan voice who isn’t afraid to work with the GOP.
In his first campaign ad, released earlier this year, he highlighted 13 pieces of legislation he helped author that the rich asshole signed into law ― with many of the measures focused on veterans. His latest campaign ad featured a veteran praising Tester for his work to address mental health care for former service members.
The White House and its allies have sought to directly challenge Tester’s bipartisanship narrative. America First Action, a pro-the rich asshole super PAC, on Tuesday released an ad blasting Tester for his opposition to Jackson, claiming the senator had “spread false information” about him.
“In Montana, we value integrity and support our president,” a narrator says in the ad. “But Jon Tester spread false information about a respected Navy admiral, helping D.C. Democrats derail President the rich asshole’s Veterans Affairs nominee.”
White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short also called into a Montana talk radio show on Tuesday to criticize Tester for opposing Jackson, as well as other the rich asshole picks for high-level posts. The top White House aide said Tester’s response to the Jackson nomination was “quite unseemly;” he accused the lawmaker of wanting to “besmirch the character of an admiral in order to score political points against the rich asshole administration.”
“The state of affairs in Washington has become so corrosive that innocent people get damaged,” Short lamented on the “Montana Talks” program.
Pruitt wanted an EPA office in Tulsa so he could work from home
Sen. Inhofe staffer contacted EPA about establishing office in Tulsa.
Even before he was sworn in as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt was demonstrating the questionable judgment that has marked his 15-month tenure as head of the agency.
Working with his soon-to-be chief of staff, Pruitt explored the possibility of establishing an EPA office in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. If successful, Pruitt could have stayed in Tulsa to conduct much of his work. As it turned out, Pruitt was unable to get the office set up in 2017 and has since ended up traveling back to Tulsa on most weekends.
In January 2017, Ryan Jackson, who was working on the staff of Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) at the time, directed EPA staff to identify proposed new office space in Tulsa that included a conference room, secure parking, and secure communications space, according to information in a letter sent to Pruitt on Tuesday by three Democratic members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
On February 17, 2017, Pruitt was sworn in as EPA administrator. Jackson, who was several days away from joining the EPA himself, sent the email request for a Tulsa office to the EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations on January 31.
“It appears that even before he was confirmed, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had dreams of dismantling programs to protect air, water and kids from pollution from the comforts of an office in his hometown,” Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook said Wednesday in a statement. “What better place to have a secure phone booth to receive instructions from the energy lobby, and avoid the pesky expertise of agency scientists and lawyers?”
In early 2017, the EPA’s staff followed Jackson’s orders, even though he was still serving as majority staff director of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, headed at the time by Inhofe. The EPA staff contacted a top official at the General Services Administration (GSA), informing him that the request for a Tulsa office was coming directly from Pruitt.
“Establishing a new EPA office in Tulsa may be personally convenient for you, but it seems ethically questionable, professionally unnecessary, and financially unjustified,” the three Democrats wrote. The letter is signed by Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), the top Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee; Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), the top Democrat on the committee’s Environment subcommittee; and Don Beyer (D-VA), the top Democrat on the committee’s Oversight subcommittee.
The House members also noted that the EPA already had a regional office in Dallas, which is about 250 miles from Tulsa.
In the letter, the lawmakers said their goal was to fully understand the circumstances behind the request and find out the status of the inquires about a Tulsa office. They’ve requested all email communications between the EPA and the GSA about the proposed creation of a Tulsa office.
While Pruitt has yet to get an agency office in Tulsa, the EPA did spend $43,000 on a privacy phone booth in his office at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. In addition to the privacy booth in Pruitt’s office, there are two other sensitive compartmented information facilities, or SCIFs, at the EPA’s headquarters building, similar to the secure communications space he wanted at a Tulsa office.
The three Democrats also noted in their letter that documents previously obtained through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that Pruitt frequently traveled home to Tulsa on weekends during his first few months in office. In fact, the records showed that Pruitt traveled to Oklahoma dozens of times, at taxpayer’s expense, during his first six months as administrator.
Inhofe, who has strongly supported Pruitt as EPA administrator, recently expressed concern about the EPA chief’s spending habits and the ethics questions surrounding him. “I’ve known him since he was in the state legislature and supported him,” Inhofe told the New York Times last week. “These are accusations I did not know anything about.”
White Pruitt’s job currently appears to be safe, two top EPA officials announced their resignations on Tuesday. Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, who led Pruitt’s 24-hour security detail, and Albert “Kell” Kelly, who was in charge of the agency’s Superfund program, both left the agency.
Last week, Pruitt faced extensive questioning before two House committees. Democrats portrayed him as an embarrassment to the the rich asshole administration and called on him to resign, while most Republicans defended him.
Despite surviving the hearings relatively unscathed, controversy continues to swirl around Pruitt. Questions have arisen this week about the role played by lobbyists in Pruitt’s trip to Morocco last December and a planned trip to Australia that was canceled due to Hurricane Harvey hitting the Gulf Coast.
Pruitt’s ability to survive all of the scandals has many in Washington perplexed. Some attribute Pruitt’s ability to keep his job to his dedication to ignoring EPA’s core responsibilities: protecting the environment and human health.
“the rich asshole means what he says about people looking strong as opposed to weak,” a Republican consultant told CBS News. “Pruitt hasn’t backed down in the face of some searing criticism — even from people in his own party. He hasn’t backed down and the rich asshole probably likes that.”
Michael Cohen is learning the brutal truth about the rich asshole
(CNN)the rich asshole lawyer / fixer / organizer of Playboy model (alleged) mistress payoffs Michael Cohen graces the cover of the National Enquirer this week, pictured looking hangdog and droopy under the headline "PAYOFFS & THREATS EXPOSED: RICH ASSHOLE FIXER'S SECRETS & LIES!"
It's a particularly uncomfortable display, given that the Enquirer is owned by a close the rich asshole pal, David Pecker, who rarely publishes anything negative about the rich asshole and his cohort, and engages in egregious "catch and kill" practices -- that is shielding the President by paying for exclusive rights to troublesome stories the paper never runs. (After a New Yorker article on "catch and kill," the company said in a statement that the suggestion "that AMI engages in any practice that would allow it to hold influence over the President of the United States is laughable.")
The Enquirer cover sends a signal that Cohen, whose office and home were recently raided by federal investigators, is out of the President's good graces.
That's bad news for Cohen, a faithful the rich asshole lackey despite the President's general disrespect and mockery of him. Cohen is, to put it mildly, not a smart man, and not a particularly good lawyer. It seems likely that he breached the basic ethics and rules of his profession (and that he isn't even clear on what those ethics and rules might be); it's very possible he has committed serious crimes and could face jail time.
It also couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy. Cohen is just one of the many hangers-on who make shady careers out of fastening, remora-like, to marginally wealthier crooks and dissemblers.
That he and the rest of the villainous segment of the the rich asshole team made it to the White House is a great stain on our nation, and they have predictably exploited it as a business opportunity. And then have been (predictably) stunned by the level of examination they have drawn.
the rich asshole's alliance with the National Enquirer 04:20
What they apparently haven't learned is how to behave themselves, which is why a the rich asshole ally is now using his publication to smear Cohen. Strategically, the phone call the rich asshole reportedly made to Cohen after the federal raid (to "check in" according to two people briefed on the call, says The New York Times) appears to have been flailing and idiotic.
If, in fact, the President followed on this by taking any hand in the conspiracy-minded supermarket tabloid trashing a suddenly inconvenient man, it would be a stunning signal of how low the rich asshole has taken the dignity of his office.
Even more incredible would be the cluelessness of such an action: consider that Cohen is one of the people who could hurt the President the worst.
Indeed, the President seemed to consider it for a moment -- what else was the recent pardon of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby about, if not to signal to the rich asshole's friends and implicated associates that they're OK as long as he's in charge? In any case, he appears to have either forgotten or disregarded this consideration in favor of some other shiny object that would satisfy his yen for revenge. Enter the Enquirer.
Cohen may yet put his nearly canine loyalty to the rich asshole ahead of his own self-interest and refuse to give up what he knows (one imagines it's a whole lot). But by now, he should be well aware that just about any of the soulless mongrels who have fetched for the rich asshole would turn on any of the others in a second -- the volume of backstabbing and self-aggrandizing leaking coming out of the the rich asshole White House is evidence of that.
Cohen didn't lay down with the dogs here; he's long been one of them. The question now is whether he's at least sufficiently motivated by basic self-preservation -- and the weight of an investigation bearing down -- to break from the pack.
GOP lawmakers nominate the rich asshole for Nobel Peace Prize, cite mistranslation in their letter
The legislators claim the rich asshole's "work to end the Korean War" is worthy of the committee's most prestigious honor.
A group of Republican lawmakers has sent a formal letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, officially nominating President some rich asshole for the Nobel Peace Prize, for his “work to end the Korean War.”
The letter was signed by 18 members of Congress, including Reps. Diane Black, Marsha Blackburn, and Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, as well as Reps. Steve King (R-IA), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa), Mark Meadows (R-NC), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Jim Renacci (R-OH), and Evan Jenkins (R-WV). Texas Reps. Michael C. Burgess, Pete Olson, and Brian Babin also signed the letter.
“Since taking office, President the rich asshole has worked tirelessly to apply maximum pressure to North Korea to end its illicit weapons programs and bring peace to the region,” the letter read. “His Administration successfully united the international community, including China, to impose one of the most successful international sanctions regimes in history. The sanctions have decimated the North Korean economy and have been largely credited for bringing North Korea to the negotiating table.”
The lawmakers also cited in their letter a poorly translated phrase originally attributed to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, claiming Moon had suggested the rich asshole be awarded the peace prize for his efforts.
“President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has consistently praised the Administration’s work, and recently said ‘President the rich asshole should win the Nobel Peace Prize,'” the lawmakers wrote.
That phrase, however, was recently debunked as a mistranslation: Reuters originally attributed the information to a Blue House official (or South Korean presidential spokesperson) who addressed the media following a meeting between Moon and his senior secretaries. “President the rich asshole should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace,” the outlet quoted the official as saying.
The phrase has since been translated in full by NPR Korean interpreter Se Eun Gong, who confirmed its accuracy with the Blue House itself.
The true translation reveals instead that Moon was simply declining the honor of a Nobel Peace Prize himself and suggesting that the bigger prize for South Korea would be peace with its northern neighbor. “It’s President the rich asshole who should receive the Nobel Prize,” he said. “We only need to take peace.”
The comment reportedly came in response to a letter from Lee Hui-ho, wife of the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who wrote to Moon saying that he deserved the prize for his attempts to broker peace with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Last week, following months of tension between the two nations and ballistic missile tests by the North Korean military, Moon and Kim sat down for a landmark summit to discuss denuclearization efforts and an end to the decades-long conflict, as well as pose for a photo op. The two leaders subsequently signed a new peace agreement, the Panmunjeom Declaration, promising to reunite families, establish a “joint liaison office,” and “swiftly resolve the humanitarian issues that resulted from the division of the nation.” The two men also agreed to end all “hostile acts” against one another, with Kim claiming he would shutter the North Korean nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.
The meeting, while historic, still drew heavy skepticism from experts, who cited similar meetings in 2000 and 2007, both of which resulted in more of the same aggression and hostility that had existed prior to each summit. Kim’s claim about closing down the Punggye-ri test site was also panned as largely symbolic, as most analysts have said the site has already collapsed and is mostly unusable anyway.
the rich asshole and his supporters have been quick to take credit for the shallow win regardless, with conservative media personalities and politicians alike boasting about the president’s part in the peace talks.
“Following this historic announcement, President the rich asshole should get the Nobel Peace Prize,” Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) said in a statement on Friday. “Our peace through strength strategy is delivering never before seen results.”
Notwithstanding the president’s personal comments, the the rich asshole administration is taking a slightly more cautious tone on the peace talks.
“[We’re] not going to take the North Koreans at their word,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday. “We’re not naive in this process. We’ve seen some steps in the right direction, but we have a long way to go.”
the rich asshole notably has a history of antagonizing North Korea over its nuclear efforts, nicknaming Kim “Little Rocket Man” and threatening last summer to meet any future nuclear threats with “fire and the fury like the world has never seen.” In October, the president directly contradicted then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who had offered a diplomatic channel to to North Korea, tweeting, “I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man. Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!”
In January, the rich asshole responded to rumors that North Korea was planning another missile test by tweeting that he had a nuclear button on his desk that was “much bigger & more powerful” than the one Kim claimed to have.
“Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” he wrote.
the rich asshole is scheduled to meet with Kim for a separate summit in the coming weeks, to discuss nuclear disarmament and the nation’s missile program. The discussions will reportedly be held at the demilitarized zone on separating North and South Korea, CNN reported on Tuesday. According to the outlet, “skeptics worry holding the meeting at the DMZ will appear conciliatory toward Kim.”
the rich asshole claims ‘absolute immunity’- asks court to toss foreign payments suit
some rich asshole speaks from White House Cabinet room (CNN/screen grab)
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President some rich asshole has again asked a U.S. court to dismiss a suit accusing him of flouting constitutional safeguards against corruption by refusing to separate himself from his business empire while in office, claiming “absolute immunity.”
The lawsuit, filed by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia, accused the rich asshole of violating the U.S. Constitution’s “emoluments” clause that bars U.S. officials from accepting gifts or other payments from foreign governments without congressional approval. The same clause also bars the president from receiving gifts and payments from individual states
“If Plaintiffs want to sue the President for acts taken while in office, they must sue him in official capacity. But he is absolutely immune from any suit, including this one, seeking to impose individual liability premised on his assumption of the Presidency itself,” the rich asshole’s lawyer William Consovoy wrote in a court filing on Tuesday.
“The Supreme Court has concluded that the costs to the Nation of allowing such suits to distract the President from his official duties outweigh any countervailing interests. That choice must be respected,” Consovoy added.
“The Supreme Court has concluded that the costs to the Nation of allowing such suits to distract the President from his official duties outweigh any countervailing interests. That choice must be respected,” Consovoy added.
the rich asshole’s legal team previously sought to have the case tossed out but U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte in Greenbelt, Maryland, last month let it proceed even as he narrowed the claims only to those related to the rich asshole’s hotel in downtown Washington.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, both Democrats, argued in their suit, filed last June, that local residents were harmed by unfair competition by the rich asshole’s hotel and other businesses. Lawyers for the Republican president previously argued that such harm was speculative and difficult to link directly to the rich asshole.
the rich asshole, whose businesses include a host of real estate properties as well as golf courses and a Virginia winery, handed day-to-day management to two of his sons. But the plaintiffs said the rich asshole has not disentangled himself and is vulnerable to inducements by people, including foreign officials, seeking to curry favor.
Frosh and Racine have indicated they will seek numerous documents related to the rich asshole, including his tax returns. the rich asshole has bucked precedent by not releasing his tax returns during his 2016 presidential campaign or as president.
Frosh and Racine have indicated they will seek numerous documents related to the rich asshole, including his tax returns. the rich asshole has bucked precedent by not releasing his tax returns during his 2016 presidential campaign or as president.
A U.S. judge in Manhattan in December threw out a similar lawsuit against the rich asshole brought by another group of plaintiffs.
Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Will Dunham
the rich asshole’s climate censorship prevents CDC from preparing the public for insect-borne illness
But lead author of worrisome new CDC report says warming temperatures are "very important".
Scientists have warned us for a long time that invasive species and tropical diseases will thrive and spread in a changing and warming climate. And until recently, even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was very blunt that climate change was driving an increase in insect-borne diseases.
But the the rich asshole administration has been censoring and deleting references to climate change by federal scientists, websites, and agencies since its inception. And that seems to extend to the CDC as well, even when it is discussing one of the fastest growing threats to Americans’ health.
The CDC reported Tuesday that the number of Americans catching diseases from mosquito, flea, and tick bites more than tripled in the past decade. Its latest “Vital Signs” report explains that reported cases of insect-borne disease like dengue, Zika, and Lyme have soared from 27,000 in 2004 to 96,000 in 2016.
Worse, as the CDC explains, “The reported data substantially underestimate disease occurrence,” since many cases go unreported or misdiagnosed.
But the report fails to mention climate change or warming temperatures as having anything to do with this increase.
Significantly, though, its author, Dr. Lyle R. Petersen, the CDC’s director of vector-borne diseases, made clear during a press call and media interviews that warming temperatures and shorter winters have allowed ticks to invade areas that had been too cold for them and that heat waves are a major cause of mosquito borne disease outbreaks. Petersen explained that many factors, such as increased travel, have also aided the spread of the disease.
“We know temperature is very important,” said Petersen. “If you increase temperature, in general tick populations can move further north and extend their range.” Also, “when the tick season is longer, people are exposed over longer periods.” Lyme, which accounts for some four fifths of tick-borne disease, has doubled in the past decade.
As for mosquitoes, Petersen explained that as the temperature rises, “The amount of virus in the mosquito increases, and when it bites you, more virus gets into you and the chances of you getting infected and becoming sick goes up.”
Yet, even though Petersen himself explained in detail why warming temperatures are a major factor in the spread of insect-borne diseases, neither the CDC reportnor its four-page summary document, nor the report’s website make any mention whatsoever of this point. Nor do they make any mention of climate change.
Mashable noted that during the press call, Petersen “declined to answer whether or not human-caused global warming was responsible for these temperature increases.” He said that’s a question better left “for meteorologists.”
The CDC was not always so reluctant to attribute the rise in insect-borne diseases directly to climate change. You can still find pages created before the the rich asshole administration that fully report the science, such as a two-pager titled, “Climate change increases the number and geographic range of disease-carrying insects and ticks.”
There’s no ambiguity in that document, but then again, the page that link is on, “Climate Effects on Health,” was lasted updated in July 2016.
Exclusive: Bornstein claims the rich asshole dictated the glowing health letter
(CNN)When Dr. Harold Bornstein described in hyperbolic prose then-candidate some rich asshole's health in 2015, the language he used was eerily similar to the style preferred by his patient.
It turns out the patient himself wrote it, according to Bornstein.
"He dictated that whole letter. I didn't write that letter," Bornstein told CNN on Tuesday. "I just made it up as I went along."
The admission is an about face from his answer more than two years when the letter was released and answers one of the lingering questions about the last presidential election. The letter thrust the eccentric Bornstein, with his shoulder-length hair and round eyeglasses, into public view.
"His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary," he crowed in the letter, which was released by the rich asshole's campaign in December 2015. "If elected, some rich asshole, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."
The missive didn't offer much medical evidence for those claims beyond citing a blood pressure of 110/65, described by Bornstein as "astonishingly excellent." It claimed the rich asshole had lost 15 pounds over the preceding year. And it described his cardiovascular health as "excellent."
The White House didn't respond to a request for comment about Bornstein's claim.
Later, as questions mounted over the health both of the rich asshole and his rival Hillary Clinton, Bornstein offered a more businesslike assessment, listing things such as the rich asshole's height, weight and prescription medications.
He later told CNN's Drew Griffin he'd dashed off the first letter as he was seeing patients.
"I was just rushed for time," he said in September 2016. "I had people to see."
He insisted then that the words were his own.
"Did I really write that letter? Yeah," he said.
the rich asshole's doctor says he wrote health note in 5 minutes 01:52
Now, as Bornstein re-enters the spotlight claiming the rich asshole's ex-bodyguard Keith Schiller robbed his office when Schiller retrieved the rich asshole's medical records, the story behind the letter is becoming clearer.
"That's black humor, that letter. That's my sense of humor," he said. "It's like the movie 'Fargo': It takes the truth and moves it in a different direction."
He said the rich asshole read out the language as Bornstein and his wife were driving across Central Park.
"(the rich asshole) dictated the letter and I would tell him what he couldn't put in there," he said. "They came to pick up their letter at 4 o'clock or something."
Scott Pruitt’s attempt to defend himself against his scandals could turn into a new scandal
With list of investigations growing, EPA chief makes plans for legal defense fund.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt is setting up a legal defense fund to pay legal expenses as he faces nearly a dozen investigationsinto his work as agency chief over the past 15 months.
Pruitt is expected to operate the fund privately, with no ties to the EPA, the New York Times reported Tuesday. Legal defense funds have also been set up for the rich asshole administration officials under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller for their alleged involvement in Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
News of the legal defense fund emerged on the same day that two of Pruitt’s most trusted lieutenants resigned. Pasquale Perrotta, who served as Pruitt’s chief of security, and Albert Kelly, who ran the agency’s Superfund program, called it quits as scrutiny of their roles at the agency intensified.
Since he arrived in Washington, Pruitt’s judgment as a senior administration official has been called into question. He is the subject of investigations by the EPA’s inspector general, the Government Accountability Office, and Congress.
Pruitt is being probed for spending taxpayer funds for first class travel and a large security detail, and for renting an apartment from an industry lobbyist at a favorable rate. He is also facing allegations that he fired or demoted staff who sought to advise him against the travel expenses.
“If Scott Pruitt can’t see the ethical problem in the $50-a-night rental he was getting and all the conflicts of interest wrapped up in that arrangement, then there is certainly cause for concern over how he is going to construct a legal defense fund,” said John Wonderlich, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit group that focuses on making government and politics more accountable and transparent.
A government ethics expert told the New York Times that the creation of such a fund could cause further problems for Pruitt should energy companies or other industries regulated by the EPA contribute to it. However, the rules surrounding who can contribute to legal defense funds for government regulators are unclear.
Pruitt is opening up a legal defense fund when he hasn’t been charged with breaking the law, noted Pat Gallagher, legal director of the Sierra Club.
“Maybe he knows something about his activities we don’t,” Gallagher said Wednesday in a statement emailed to ThinkProgress. “This presents a real swamp of even more potential ethical and legal conflicts for Scott Pruitt, as he could — and, very likely, would — seek to accept contributions from his most die-hard backers, like corporate polluters who are already attempting to get Pruitt’s EPA to gut public health safeguards.”
The EPA had not responded to a request for comment from ThinkProgress. An EPA spokesperson told the New York Times that the agency “does not set up a legal expense fund for any employee.”
The number of investigations into Pruitt is growing by the week, perhaps one reason why the embattled EPA chief chose to create the legal defense fund. The current investigations and probes into Pruitt include:
- The EPA’s inspector general is auditing Pruitt’s travel, including frequent trips to his home state of Oklahoma and his December 2017 trip to Morocco.
- The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is investigatingPruitt’s frequent first-class travel on airplanes.
- The Government Accountability Office completed an investigation in which it concluded the EPA violated the law by failing to give Congress advance notification about plans to spend $43,000 on a secure phone booth in Pruitt’s office.
- The White House Office of Management and Budget is looking into the purchase of the $43,000 secure phone booth.
- The EPA’s inspector general is investigating the use of funds by the agency to construct the $43,000 secure phone booth.
- The EPA’s inspector general is investigating Pruitt’s security detail and its use for personal travel by Pruitt and his family.
- The EPA’s inspector general is conducting research into how the EPA’s criminal enforcement office reports pay awarded to officers who frequently work extra, unscheduled time beyond their regular workdays.
- The EPA’s inspector general is looking into Pruitt’s rental of a Capitol Hill bedroom from a lobbyist under favorable terms that allowed him to pay $50 per day.
- The EPA’s inspector general issued an interim report as part of its investigation into how Pruitt’s office used special legal authority to fill up to 30 positions under the Safe Drinking Water Act and award pay raises to some political appointees.
- The Government Accountability Office is examining whether the EPA violated lobbying laws because of Pruitt’s appearance in a video describing his opposition to a rule on water pollution enacted under former President Barack Obama.
- The EPA’s inspector general is gathering information about a meeting Pruitt had with the National Mining Association in April 2017, following a report the administrator urged the coal group to encourage the rich asshole to pull the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.
Other legal defense funds have been set up for top the rich asshole administration officials. One of them supports past and present members of the the rich asshole administration and campaign staff for legal expenses related to the Russia investigations. The fund, the Patriot Legal Expense Fund Trust LLC, was formally established as a limited liability corporation based in Delaware, according to a news release.
Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent a letter to the Office of Government Ethics last month suggesting that the Patriot Legal Expense Fund may be set up in a way that it could keep the identities of donors secret.
“The structure of the fund appears to allow secret donations … and it raises serious concerns about whether it complies with ethics, tax, and elections laws,” the lawmakers wrote in their April 2 letter to David Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics.
Pruitt better not call his legal defense fund the Environmental Defense Fund, amirite, @EnvDefenseFund?
Or the Natural Resources Defense Council, amirite, @NRDC? twitter.com/jwalkenrdc/sta…
The Office of Government Ethics issued a legal advisory last September on legal defense funds established to cover the costs of legal expenses incurred by executive branch employees. “OGE has been advising, and is continuing to advise, that the instruments of establishing legal defense funds include a clause stating that ‘contributions shall not be accept from anonymous sources,’” Apol wrote in the advisory.
Schaub, who now serves as senior director for ethics at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, described the Patriot Legal Expense Fund, which will reimburse legal fees stemming from the Russia investigations, as “a radical and dangerous departure” from established practice for government-employee legal defense funds. The fund, for example, is formulated under an IRS designation for political organizations, Schaub wrote in a February op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times.
Toward the end of President Bill Clinton’s presidency, the Clinton Legal Expense Trust was established to aid Clinton staff who became part of the Whitewater investigation, the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit, and Congress’ impeachment inquiry and trial.
The Clinton legal defense funds for government workers were structured as trusts — not as political fundraising entities — for one employee at a time. In such trusts, the money collected can only be disbursed to that single beneficiary. “It can’t be used to favor or shun potential recipients based on what they may or may not reveal to investigators,” Schaub wrote.
Despite its name, Patriot Legal Expense Fund Trust was set up not as a trust but as a limited liability company and its funds can go to any of the White House staffers, campaign workers, or other the rich asshole associates who get caught up in the Russia investigations, he explained.
The the rich asshole administration’s general legal defense fund “is flouting norms for how they should operate,” Wonderlich said.
For Pruitt’s legal defense fund, it is unknown at this time how it is going to operate. “But if it reflects his tenure in office,” Wonderlich said, “then there’s significant cause for concern about preventing conflicts of interest or the defense fund becoming yet another scandal for Pruitt.”
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