As if this is news…but, it does bear repeating…
Do you think Bilbo Bigot was dumb enough to lie to the Special Counsel?
March 18, 2018 / 9:41 AM / Updated 2 hours ago
Exclusive: Sources contradict Sessions’ testimony he opposed Russia outreach
Karen Freifeld, Sarah N. Lynch, Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony that he opposed a proposal for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team to meet with Russians has been contradicted by three people who told Reuters they have spoken about the matter to investigators with Special Counsel Robert Mueller or congressional committees.
Sessions testified before Congress in November 2017 that he “pushed back” against the proposal made by former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos at a March 31, 2016 campaign meeting. Then a senator from Alabama, Sessions chaired the meeting as head of the Trump campaign’s foreign policy team.
“Yes, I pushed back,” Sessions told the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 14, when asked whether he shut down Papadopoulos’ proposed outreach to Russia.
Sessions has since also been interviewed by Mueller.
Three people who attended the March campaign meeting told Reuters they gave their version of events to FBI agents or congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 election. Although the accounts they provided to Reuters differed in certain respects, all three, who declined to be identified, said Sessions had expressed no objections to Papadopoulos’ idea.
https://twitter.com/people/status/976614283160236033
May she Rest In Peace..
https://twitter.com/rickklein/status/976550174154805249
Do you think Jeff Sessions will be willing to go to jail for Trump? Once he starts talking, the game is up!
Did you see this?
https://twitter.com/rickklein/status/976550174154805249
Read about it – grin
Of course he did 😒😒
https://twitter.com/Shareblue/status/976321265177853952?s=19
It may be surprising but paper ballots need to be embraced in the 2018 elections. It’s one of the safest, smartest systems because Russia cannot hack a piece of paper like they can a computer. https://t.co/qwP0Hw0F6r
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) March 21, 2018
The White House wants the leak to be the story. The leak is not the story. The story is that the President of the United States was explicitly told by his national security team, DO NOT CONGRATULATE Vladimir Putin on his sham re-election and he did it any way, right off the bat.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 21, 2018
1) MSNBC’s @SRuhle does an excellent 3-minute summary of the Cambridge Analytica story. Here’s part 1. pic.twitter.com/xxjrynwDi8
— John Aravosis (@aravosis) March 20, 2018
2) Part 2 of MSNBC’s @SRuhle’s excellent 3-minute summary of the Cambridge Analytica story. pic.twitter.com/MiLJs0tG4o
— John Aravosis (@aravosis) March 20, 2018
JUST IN: In memo to US attorneys, AG Sessions directs them to pursue the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes.
The move has been supported by President Trump. https://t.co/vbVm2oOqHQ pic.twitter.com/YM8kcivDzI— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 21, 2018
But opioid abuse is a ‘public health crisis’..
Paul Ryan bolsters Democratic concerns with focus on entitlements
03/21/18 12:52 PM
By Steve Benen
It’s only been a few months since Republicans approved a massive package of regressive tax breaks, but so far, Democratic predictions about the GOP policy are holding up pretty well.
Democrats said, for example, that the corporate beneficiaries of the tax breaks would use their windfalls on priorities such as stock buybacks, which is what’s happening. Dems said the Republican plan included all kinds of sloppy and consequential errors that would need fixes, which is also happening.
And Democrats said that once the tax cuts blow a massive hole in the budget, Republicans will use the mess they created to justify cuts to social-insurance programs that millions of families rely on. And wouldn’t you know it, a Bloomberg Politics reporter highlighted this quote yesterday from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.):
Now, we’re not.
The idea that the Wisconsin congressman actually cares about “debt and deficits” is obviously hard to take seriously. In the Bush/Cheney era, Ryan voted with his party in support of both of George W. Bush’s tax cuts, both of George W. Bush’s wars in the Middle East, Medicare Part D, and the Wall Street bailout – none of which Republicans even tried to pay for.
More recently – which is to say, a few months ago – Ryan helped champion a GOP tax plan that adds $1 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.
Does Trump understand what an ‘arms race’ is?
03/21/18 10:40 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump spoke briefly with the press yesterday from the Oval Office, sitting alongside Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, but managed to cover some interesting ground. The American president made headlines, for example, by announcing he’d called to congratulate Russia’s Vladimir Putin on his recent election.
But there was something else about Trump’s unscripted comments that stood out for me as, well, a little confusing. From the official White House transcript:
To know anything about Trump’s rhetorical style is to understand that the president often likes to use phrases he doesn’t fully understand. I’m convinced, for example, that he has no idea what a “witch hunt” is. The president also talks about “clean coal,” without knowing what that means. I don’t think he knows what a “blind trust” is, either.
He just repeatedly blurts out what’s been spit into his mouth..
You can always tell when he’s learnt a new word or concept from a briefing or chats with semi-smarter people..
He just keeps repeating and incorrectly using the new word or phrase like a toddler..
“Democratic turnout in Illinois was up 300% versus 2014 and up 30% versus 2010, the last midterm cycle… Meanwhile, Republican turnout dropped by 30% from 2014, when there was also a well-contested GOP governor’s race.”https://t.co/PvGOO2mtjH
— Arapaho415 (@arapaho415) March 21, 2018
Good news..
But I do despair that our candidates still leave a lot to be desired..
THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O’DONNELL 3/20/18
Stormy attorney: Trump team ‘stepped into every trap we’ve laid’
Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti says Donald Trump’s lawyers “have stepped into every trap we have laid” and calls their strategy “tic-tac-toe” compared to their team’s game of chess. Joyce Vance and Matt Miller react to the latest Trump legal troubles.
One day, one president, and three women Trump would like to silence
03/21/18 10:00 AM
By Steve Benen
The confluence of developments yesterday involving women who claim to have had affairs with or been sexually harassed by Donald Trump was rather extraordinary.
First, of course, there’s Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who received $130,000 in hush money from Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Soon after the president’s lawyer insisted that the pre-election payoff had nothing to do with the election, NBC News reported that Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, passed a lie-detector test.
Second, there’s Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Trump’s reality show, who alleges he made unwanted sexual advances toward her back in 2007. She’s now suing the president, and despite Trump’s lawyers’ efforts, a New York judge ruled yesterday that the case can go forward. Though the decision will be appealed, the possible discovery process in this case offers untold possibilities.
And then there’s Karen McDougal. A few days before the 2016 election, the Wall Street Journal reported the company that owns the National Enquirer paid the former Playboy centerfold $150,000 for the exclusive rights to her story about her alleged affair with Trump. The tabloid then chose not to publish it.
And as the New York Times reported yesterday, she, too, is suing in the hopes of being able to tell the public about her experiences. Her lawsuit is targeting the National Enquirer’s parent company,
Carson, cabinet colleagues face awkward questions about use of public funds
03/21/18 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is already facing difficult questions about the exorbitant costs of his taxpayer-financed travel, and this week, the story grew a little more serious. We know that the cabinet secretary inquired about using a military plane for his European honeymoon, though Mnuchin said he found another option and withdrew his request.
Mother Jones, citing documents from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), reported this week that the Treasury secretary’s version of events is in doubt.
It’s against this backdrop that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who’s also faced months of controversy over his taxpayer-financed travel, is facing another round of unflattering headlines. The Associated Press reported yesterday that the Oklahoma Republican “spent more than $120,000 in public funds last summer for a trip to Italy,” including more than $30,000 just to cover the cost of Pruitt’s enormous security detail.
The Washington Post reported last night, meanwhile, that the Environmental Protection Agency “turned over documents to Congress late Tuesday detailing nearly $68,000 in newly disclosed travel costs” Pruitt during the past seven months.
And then, of course, there’s HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who’s struggled to keep his story straight about his very expensive taxpayer-funded furniture, and who yesterday tried to clear things up during a congressional hearing. As the New York Times reported, it didn’t go well.
Senate intel moves to secure elections despite Trump indifference
Senator Mark Warner, top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about the bipartisan effort in the Senate to establish basic defenses against further Russian intrusion into U.S. elections.
Warner: ‘A lot more stories to be told’ from Cambridge Analytica
Senator Mark Warner, top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about the new revelations regarding Cambridge Analytica and its work for the Donald Trump campaign.
Against advice, Trump congratulates Putin on sham election win: WaPo
Carol Leonnig, National Reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about new reporting that Donald Trump’s advisers explicitly told him not to congratulate Vladimir Putin and to condemn the poisoning of two people in the UK. Trump did the opposite.
LOL@ Bilbo Bigot & KKK Keebler ELF”
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/976456525584748546
Good Morning,Everyone 😄😄😄
Happy HUMP Day, Rikyrah & 3Chics Family.