Palmer Report: All along, it’s appeared that Special Counsel Robert Mueller knows far more about Donald Trump’s Russia scandal than Congress, the media, or the public knows. Although Mueller keeps his cards close to the vest, his actions periodically suggest that he’s several steps ahead of the game. Now comes confirmation that Mueller knows about a whole new set of Trump-Russia meetings that are not yet public.
Buried all the way down in the fifteenth paragraph of a new Washington Post article, you’ll find this key revelation: “Witnesses questioned by Mueller’s team warn that investigators are asking about other foreign contacts and meetings that have not yet become public, and to expect a series of new revelations.” In other words, this week the media managed to expose Donald Trump Jr’s contacts with WikiLeaks and Jared Kushner’s contacts with a suspected Russian mobster, and yet those are still far from the last of the Trump-Russia contacts that Mueller already knows about.
So just what are we looking at here? The WaPo article hints that many of the secret meetings involved Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who is reportedly on the verge of being arrested on a variety of charges which may include conspiracy to commit kidnapping (Flynn denies the charges). So even as the media has been recently exposing Trump-Russia meetings involving members of Donald Trump’s family, Robert Mueller is focused on Trump-Russia meetings of an entirely different nature.
Another remarkable part of the WaPo article in question is the revelation that Donald Trump and his attorney Ty Cobb are both insisting Robert Mueller’s investigation will be completed soon, and that Trump will be exonerated. That’s nothing short of delusional. Mueller is just getting started, and has only arrested three of the dozens of Trump-Russia players he’s targeting. Moreover, Mueller’s entire gameplan is based around getting these targets to flip on Trump himself. Trump isn’t just a target of the investigation; he’s the target.
I missed this when it was posted on Youtube in July:
Movie trailer for A Wrinkle in Time:
https://youtu.be/E4U3TeY2wtM&rel=0
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/932363136073654275
The replies are good, as you might imagine.
You are right about the replies being great.
Thanks for posting the photo tweet, Liza. I love it!
YVW, Yahtzee.
Eight women say Charlie Rose sexually harassed them — with nudity, groping and lewd calls
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/eight-women-say-charlie-rose-sexually-harassed-them–with-nudity-groping-and-lewd-calls/2017/11/20/9b168de8-caec-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?pushid=5a134cefedb3621d00000034&tidr=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.dd4b91a0898c
HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Republicans Learn The Hard Way: You Break Obamacare, You Own It
By ALICE OLLSTEIN
Published NOVEMBER 20, 2017 6:00 AM
As his administration has steadily chipped away at the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that the public will blame the Democratic Party for any health care fallout.
Now, as Republicans in Congress inch towards striking what could be the biggest blow yet to Obamacare—sticking a provision repealing the individual mandate into their tax bill—even some on the right are starting to sweat that the GOP will fully own the issue going forward.
“You can make an argument that Obamacare is falling of its own weight, until we repeal the individual mandate,” a grave-faced Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters in the halls of the Capitol on Thursday. “I hope every Republican knows that when you pass a repeal of the individual mandate, it’s no longer their problem. It becomes our problem.”
Cohen-Watnick Strikes Again?
By JOSH MARSHALL
Published NOVEMBER 20, 2017 2:50 PM
Buzzfeed reported this morning that multiple sources claim that National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster called President Trump an “idiot” and a “dope” in a private dinner with Oracle CEO Safra Catz. McMaster also criticized Steve Bannon, Rex Tillerson and said presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner has no business being involved in national security issues at all. According to Buzzfeed, Catz told one source “[the conversation was so inappropriate that it was jaw-dropping.”
Now, let’s stipulate that the President is a dope, many of his top aides are dopes and Jared Kushner has no business being in any position in government at all.
But there’s a detail here that seems pretty germane to understanding the story.
McMaster was brought in to clean up the Mike Flynn mess and over time he fired most or maybe now all the Flynn loyalists as his power in the job grew. Public reports suggest that his biggest and most consistent antagonist was a Flynn protege named Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a guy who seems to have worked with Rep. Devin Nunes in Nunes’ ‘unmasking’ escapade. McMaster tried to fire him shortly after he took over from Flynn but was blocked by Kushner and Bannon.
Finally, in early August, McMaster canned Cohen-Watnick.
So where did Cohen-Watnick land after finally getting bounced from the National Security Council? Funny you’d ask! He went to work in the DC office of Oracle.
Republican tax cuts will hurt Americans. And Democrats will pay the price
Bruce Bartlett
The consequences of the tax program will shelve support for the Republicans, but once in power the Democrats’ hands will be financially bound for years
Ari is on it.
Trump judicial nominee who defended NC voter suppression law & racial gerrymandering may have lied to Senate about his role in Jesse Helms effort to disenfranchise over 100,000 black voters https://t.co/39nR9e1sQC
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) November 20, 2017
Why is Donald Trump launching a withering attack on nonprofits?
David Callahan
…………………………….
Members of Congress are on recess for the next 7 days.. The Town Hall Project has an updated list of where local Town Halls will be held: https://t.co/5QcogE0987 Show up. Speak out.
— meta (@metaquest) November 20, 2017
Uh huh
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/505d314b6fdbb945cb9ec20a5cb2fde321dc6227fa38f8f6591bd72a73331d94.jpg
Va. Elections boss just said there were 83 voters wrongly assigned in a House district where the Republican is currently leading by 82 votes.
— Alan Suderman (@AlanSuderman) November 20, 2017
NEWS: On Thanksgiving, Pope Francis will meet @RevDrBarber, who’s leading a revival of MLK’s Poor People’s Campaign. Barber is among international grassroots leaders meeting @Pontifex that day. https://t.co/PsYcqqJd9x
— Laurie Goodstein (@lauriegnyt) November 20, 2017
The Democrats need to be holding Town Halls in nearby GOP districts to ‘ explain’ the tax bill.
Don’t let the GOP hide out when on Thanksgiving recess.
Good riddance to bad rubbish
This greeted me as I sipped on my morning coffee:
First: Walker Bragman: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Secondly: Any “progressive” who runs as a Republican is no progressive.
Thirdly: Good luck winning a GOP primary.
And, lastly: Well, what else can you say? Bernie progressives are upset because the Democrats haven’t bent to their will and anointed Bernie Sanders as permanent Secretary General of the party. So, these two gonefs are taking their balls and saying: “See, we’ll just run as Republicans if you’re not nice to us!” That’s like a Social Democrat in Germany deciding to run as a rightwing AfD candidate. It would make one wonder about his or her’s devotion to liberal principles in the first place.
From the pinkos at Forbes: “The GOP tax cut will be the start of a decades-long economic disaster unlike any other that has occurred in US history” https://t.co/UYMYTtbaTf
— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) November 20, 2017
RIP, Della Reese
This article is too funny…
COMEDY 11/20/2017 01:55 am ET
Country Singer Neal McCoy’s Anti-Anthem Protest Song Backfires Hilariously
“Take A Knee, My Ass (I Won’t Take A Knee)” is bringing out the grammar critics.
By Ed Mazza
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/take-a-knee-my-ass-song-neal-mccoy_us_5a1258d3e4b045cf43724079
Clash of civilizations: meet Doug Jones, the overlooked Alabama U.S. Senate candidate challenging Roy Moore
The candidates in the Dec. 12 special election couldn’t be more different. While Moore is accused of preying on young girls, Jones prosecuted the white supremacists who killed four black girls in a notorious church bombing. But, the Democratic party has not won a U.S. Senate race in Alabama in 25 years.
Richard Saunders @BoycottUtah
The “Women of Alabama” then spitting on black children going to school. The “Women of Alabama” voicing their support for the perv Roy Moore. Not much has changed…maybe better dressed, put on a few pounds, most today have air conditioners in their homes.
President Trump Is Making His Only African-American Judicial Nominee Move For Brett Talley
No SEEMS about it. This is what happened.
https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/932653873868738560
Can y’all see now why these women were afraid to come forward about Roy Moore? He’s a bully. Just look at his actions now?
https://twitter.com/ludacristiano/status/932651818500403200
Stone Cold Truth, a Twitter account linked to Roger Stone, has been suspended. pic.twitter.com/vcUvXpwdSI— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/932605719081254912
Marshawn ain’t even bothered….
https://twitter.com/TwitterMoments/status/932625989699555328
The cover of this week’s @NewYorker. “Nowhere to Hide” by Barry Blitt. pic.twitter.com/RcrEXG4wEU
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 20, 2017
This Is Just How Badly Scott Walker Has Decimated Public Schools in Wisconsin
A new study highlights the dire teacher shortage created by Walker’s anti-union law.
NOV. 20, 2017 6:00 AM
From FORBES…
FORBES!
FORBES: GOP Tax Bill Is The End Of All Economic Sanity In Washington
Trump now says he ‘should have left’ Americans in Chinese jail
11/20/17 08:42 AM
By Steve Benen
………………………………………………………….
Stuart Stevens, a Republican strategist and former aide to Mitt Romney, responded to this story by explaining, “This is on emotional spectrum of a troubled child. Elected officials don’t help the taxpayers they work for because they expect praise. They do it because it’s their job.”
I realize that this president often struggles to understand the nuances of his responsibilities, but this isn’t especially complicated: for generations, U.S. officials have worked on behalf of Americans, not for glory or public displays of gratitude, but out of a desire to serve.
Trump did something worthwhile by taking steps to free those three Americans from a Chinese jail – in other words, the president did his job – but now he regrets it because one of those American’s fathers hurt his feelings.
Yes, this makes Trump appear alarmingly small. And yes, this reminds us that the president has the temperament of a spoiled child. But this incident also makes clear that in Trump’s mind, public service is a vanity exercise. He’s willing to do the right thing, but only if he’s rewarded with gratitude and praise.
Without them, Trump is inclined to ignore Americans’ needs. Indeed, in his mind, the president’s work is inherently transactional: he’ll protect our interests, and in exchange, we’ll acknowledge his greatness and satisfy his ego. Those who fail to live up to their end of the bargain, evidently, are unworthy of his efforts.
There is nothing like this in the American tradition.
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/932621790727299073
Donald J. TrumpVerified account
@realDonaldTrump
Follow Follow @realDonaldTrump
More
Marshawn Lynch of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders stands for the Mexican Anthem and sits down to boos for our National Anthem. Great disrespect! Next time NFL should suspend him for remainder of season. Attendance and ratings way down.
https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/932598252184186881
11/18/17
Trump Panama building a magnet for dirty money laundering
Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, looks at how a Panama building project bearing the Trump name became a hot spot for illegal money world wide to be cleaned through real estate transactions.
11/17/17
Trump makes position on foreign bribery clear
Richard Engel shares a CNBC clip of Donald Trump expressing his displeasure with a law that forbids American businesses from bribing foreign officials.
11/17/17
Trump comfort with foreign corruption hurts US global reputation
Sarah Chayes, author of “Thieves of State,” talks with Richard Engel about how Donald Trump’s tolerance of corruption in other countries reflects back on the reputation of the United States, and why Donald Trump is in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
11/17/17
Many Trump deals abroad come with conflicts
Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, reports on some of the unsavory circumstances and outright conflicts of interest in some of Donald Trump’s international business ventures.
11/17/17
Trump may be at legal risk for crimes at Trump-named building
Arlo Devlin-Brown, former public corruption unit chief for the Southern District of New York, talks with Richard Engel about whether Donald Trump is at any legal risk for illegal things that happen through a building to which he has sold his name.
11/17/17
Echoes of Trump in corrupt former Panama president Martinelli
Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, reports on similarities between Donald Trump and his friend, former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli, who is being held in a federal detention facility in Miami fighting extradition back to Panama.
Mueller’s latest request suggests trouble for Trump’s White House
11/20/17 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
………………………..
ABC News’ report, which hasn’t been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that this line of inquiry “marks the special counsel’s first records request to the Justice Department, and it means Mueller is now demanding documents from the department overseeing his investigation.”
The piece went on to say, “The latest move suggests the Special Counsel is still actively digging into, among other matters, whether Trump or any other administration official improperly tried to influence an ongoing investigation.”
The Melting of Republican Snowflakes
by D.R. Tucker November 19, 2017
That sound you hear is the playing of the world’s tiniest violin for Republican Governors who didn’t have enough sense to walk away from the party once Donald Trump secured the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, and who now fear the consequences:
Technical Foul: Trump Goes There Again
by D.R. Tucker November 19, 2017
…………………..
……………………………
Trump had the option of simply ignoring LaVar Ball’s dismissal of his role in freeing the UCLA players; he wouldn’t be the first person to simply ignore Ball. Trump chose otherwise, for fairly obvious political reasons: he figured that attacking supposedly ungrateful African-Americans would maintain his popularity among his most devoted followers. Ball is being attacked for the same reason Colin Kaepernick was attacked by the 45th President: he’s a convenient target.
Trump’s base undoubtedly thinks he “should have left them in jail.” Their hatred fuels Trump; their resentment is the force that gives him power. Imagine dealing with three (or even seven?) more years of this. Imagine hearing similar rhetoric from Roy Moore if (when?) he wins the US Senate seat Jeff Sessions vacated.
This Thursday, give thanks for the anti-Trump resistance movement. It’s hard to imagine our country remaining stable without it.
Ann Coulter did something ridiculous again.
The heifer Ann Coulter is describing a woman who represented America and medaled in the Olympics. You’re pathetic, Ann. https://t.co/23LU01DWje
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) November 20, 2017
The Obamas on Diana Ross: “When we heard Diana Ross was getting the lifetime achievement award, our first reaction was, she doesn’t have it yet?” #AMAs pic.twitter.com/2OE7321bve
— Michael Blackmon (@blackmon) November 20, 2017
Wow. That’s some honesty– the White House admitting that electing a pedophile is worth it to pass tax cuts. 😟 https://t.co/DvJOwJQ5e2
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) November 20, 2017
The super rich don’t need another tax cut — @NickHanauer pic.twitter.com/XYvvsHAcsz
— ATTN: (@attn) November 19, 2017
Reminder:
If Rs wanted to cut taxes for the middle class, they could go ahead and *cut taxes for the middle class,* while minimizing the huge giveaway to their corporate donors.
But Rs have publicly admitted their donors must be rewarded:https://t.co/zs0lqT1Ey7 pic.twitter.com/JVYdvU3lec
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) November 20, 2017
Happy 70th Anniversary to Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e6be0664ba6e33034ff735e0b8b7156e3d2acebcc81dca3105d13448e061ab3d.jpg
Congrats. 7 decades with the same spouse. Practically unheard of these days.
Kyle GriffinVerified account
@kylegriffin1
Follow Follow @kylegriffin1
More
Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, was informed that a conservative candidate for the Ohio legislature had been accused of fondling an 18-year-old male college student. He said would handle the situation. It appears he did nothing.
Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄
Great morning to you, rikyrah. Hope this will be a nice Thanksgiving week for you.
Good Morning, Rik & 3 Chics Family!