Day 646 of NO EVIDENCE produced by Trump that his phones were tapped by Obama.
The FISA warrant Trump referenced targeted Carter Page. #TrumpLies
Day 436 since the deadliest mass shooting on U.S soil in Las Vegas that killed 58, injuring 546 and Congress has taken NO action to prevent future mass shootings. #NeverForget #NeverAgain #EnoughIsEnough
FYI: The Trump admin has quietly resumed separating immigrant families at the border.
At one agency, the children were put into temporary foster care and shelters with little or no indication that they arrived at the border with their parents: propub.li/2QcsPvY
Reminder: The Trump administration is systematically locking up thousands of children at unheard of rates - now more than 14,000 are in U.S. custody.
The government classifies these children as "unaccompanied"
sfchronicle.com/nation/article…
Fact Check: Congress hasn’t approved funding for *any* of the eight different wall prototypes.
Not one.
There are no “newly built Walls” — only upgraded fencing — the kind used during previous administrations.
Over 200 religious leaders and advocates gathered at the border on Human Rights Day to send a message to the Trump admin, arguing that migrants who have not been allowed to enter the U.S. have a right under international law to seek asylum. nbcnews.com/news/latino/fa…
"Until now, you had two different charges, allegations," Jerry Nadler said. "One was collusion ... One was obstruction of justice ... And now you have a third — that the president was at the center of a massive fraud against the American people."
nytimes.com/2018/12/08/us/…
“I don’t have any observations about that,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when asked if he had any concerns that Trump was implicated in two crimes by federal prosecutors
Trump says he relied on Michael Cohen, who should have known what to do about payments to women. "Number one, it wasn't a campaign contribution. If it were, it's only civil, and even if it's only civil, there was no violation based on what we did. OK?"
Following the Mueller/SDNY news, top officials are suddenly more attuned to the Mueller probe fallout and are growing anxious about Trump's re-election prospects.
Even hardcore Trump allies were rattled by the specificity of the revelations. axios.com/donald-trump-p…
Trump defends Saudi crown prince as "a very good ally" despite Senate push for action over Khashoggi killing hill.cm/EobZNbm
See why Donald Trump was named as a runner up for TIME's Person of the Year 2018 #TIMEPOY
bit.ly/2EqaW6z
CIA chief Gina Haspel to brief House on Khashoggi as pressure mounts on Trump — w/ @AlexNBCNews
nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
Trump continues to reject the judgments of U.S. spy agencies on major foreign policy fronts, creating a dynamic in which intel analysts frequently see troubling gaps between Trump's public statements and the facts laid out for him in daily briefings.washingtonpost.com/world/national…
Despite the CIA and DNI streamlining the PDB and reducing it to a collection of bulletpoints and images/graphics, briefers often voice concern.
"Either it doesn't resonate or there is a lack of comprehension," a U.S. official said.
washingtonpost.com/world/national…
Nancy Pelosi did something that not a single Republican has had the guts to do in 2 years.
Stand up to Trump, in public, to his face.
Trump gives the Democrats the best soundbite they could possibly hope for: "I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck...I will take the mantle, I will be the one to shut it down."
2016: Who's going to pay for Wall? Mexico!
2018: If US Taxpayers don't borrow money from China to pay for the Wall, Trump will shut the government down.
Reminder:
A government shutdown would impact: Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Interior, State, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, as well as several smaller agencies.
usatoday.com/story/news/pol…
The summation of today: After shouting matches, we are where we were yesterday. Both Sen Schumer and Leader Pelosi say they will only offer Pres Trump the same amount of money for border security as last year ($1.3 billion). Trump says he is happy to shut down the govt.
After Pelosi left the WH, she returned to the Capitol and spoke to members at a meeting of the Steering and Policy Committee and said this about Trump: "It’s like a manhood thing for him. As if manhood could ever be associated with him. This wall thing."
Trump called the meeting with Schumer and Pelosi “very friendly” and said he “respects them both.” He adds of shutdown: “I don’t mind owning that issue...If we have to close down the country over border security I actually like that."
6 years ago today
In today's meltdown, Trump claimed voters will side with him if he shuts down government over his wall.
Behind the scenes, GOP strategists studying midterm results have concluded Trump's immigration stances were even more toxic than they thought:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/…
Reminder: Democrats offered Trump *$25 billion* for wall/border in return for a path to citizenship for the DACA-eligibles.
White House rejected.
The weaker Trump becomes, the harder he tries to display strength.
It’s not convincing.
cnbc.com/id/105621862
"I was trying to be the mom," Pelosi said, but "it goes to show you: you get into a tinkle contest with a skunk, you get tinkle all over you."
politico.com/story/2018/12/…
Steve Schmidt on Mike Pence in the Trump-Pelosi-Schumer meeting: "If you sit like that on a commercial airliner, what will happen is all the flight attendants will have a meeting upfront to decide which one will check his pulse." @DeadlineWH
Trump stormed out of the Oval Office right after the Pelosi-Schumer meeting ended, flicking away a folder and scattering briefing materials in frustration, said one staffer who saw it. latimes.com/politics/la-na…
"Why would anybody want to be Trump's chief of staff unless you want to steal the office supplies before they shut the place down?" said Chris Whipple, who wrote the book on chiefs of staff. "If you're coming into that job, you've got to lawyer up." nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
John Kelly is said to be furious with Ivanka and Jared.
One official said that Kelly was known to have kept written notes about Ivanka & Jared and the things they had done or requested, which he conspicuously left on his desk in view of his staff. nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
NBC News has obtained the plea agreement of Maria Butina, the Russian operative accused of building ties to the NRA and influential Republicans.
The deal says that Butina has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with federal prosecutors.
nbcnews.com/politics/justi…
Putin on Butina: "She's facing 15 years in prison. For what? When I heard that something was happening to her [...] I started by asking all our secret service chiefs: who is she? Nobody knew anything about her!"
Judge postpones plea hearing for NRA-linked alleged Russian agent hill.cm/ffVLnLU
Alan Dershowitz is advising an Israeli billionaire who was sanctioned by the US for using his connections to the Congolese president to facilitate "opaque & corrupt mining and oil deals." Trump has had Dershowitz at WH to discuss Middle East issues.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
One of Rudy Giuliani's companies has been negotiating a consulting deal to work in the Democratic Republic of Congo through an Israeli firm that was paid $8,000,000 to block sanctions by the Trump admin against the DRC for human rights abuses.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
The Trump admin is expected to unveil a plan that would weaken federal clean water rules designed to protect millions of acres of wetlands and thousands of miles of streams nationwide from pesticide runoff and other pollutants.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/cli…
Interior Sec Ryan Zinke last month quietly issued a secretarial order giving a former adviser to Charles & David Koch the authority to oversee all FOIA requests at the agency, according to a document obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity. thehill.com/policy/energy-…
This is disturbing. Arctic lost 95 percent of oldest and thickest ice over last 33 years
hill.cm/VKXSwCu
Trump loyalist at VA was forced out after collecting pay but doing little work. ‘There were times I didn’t have a lot to do,’ he tells @reinlwapo & @jdawsey1
washingtonpost.com/politics/there…
The Senate confirmed Jonathan Kobes as an appeals court judge.
The Bar Assoc. said he was unqualified, citing an inability to provide writing samples that were "reflective of complex legal analysis" or showed sophisticated "knowledge of the law." nytimes.com/2018/12/11/us/…
Ivanka and Jared Kushner could profit from developer tax break they pushed for: report hill.cm/e57CZAd
The Trump admin concealed a report that showed Wells Fargo charged college students fees that were on average several times higher than some of its competitors.
The incoming Education Cmte. chair has said the concealment warrants investigation. politico.com/story/2018/12/…
A jury has recommended life in prison plus 419 years for James Alex Fields Jr., convicted of killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens when he plowed his car into a group of counter-protesters last year in Charlottesville.
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/j…
The IRS budget has been gutted. ProPublica estimates that it costs us $18 billion every year in lost revenue. propublica.org/article/how-th…
White collar crime is often absurdly hard to convict on because it turns on the defendant’s state of mind. Fortunately for prosecutors, Trump won’t stop telling everyone what he’s thinking. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
WATCH: Dem lawmaker asks Google CEO why Trump photos keep showing up when she searches for "idiot" hill.cm/JhB7WCA
In case you missed yesterday's thread:
@NancyPelosi is on the verge of a deal w/the rebel group that once vowed to oust her. The deal will deliver her at least FIVE new votes & will likely give her the final numbers she needs to win the gavel.
politico.com/story/2018/12/…
Trump tells Reuters tonight that he relied on Michael Cohen to know what to do about the hush money payments to women.
FLASHBACK: April 5.
Q: Did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?
TRUMP: No. No. What else?
Trump says release of #Huawei CFO could be part of a broader trade deal with China.
This is not how it's supposed to work.
reut.rs/2RXJSix