Thread: @arimelber asked me last night whether #TrumpShutDown was at all related to the pressure brought to bear by the #MuellerProbe. Let’s consider this more closely. It’s a distraction & attempt to show strength at a time that #Trump has been weakened.
First, #MuellerProbe will continue full steam ahead. It is funded and not impacted by #TrumpShutDown. The shutdown isn’t wise or good for anyone. So a shutdown only serves to help Trump if it makes him look strong and like a “winner” to his base. Wrong-headed But Trumpian logic.
Things to remember as we wake up to a partial #GovernmentShutdown: You will still get Medicare, Medicaid, SSI services. Dept of State, DOJ, DOT r among the agencies that will have to shut some activities. Homeland security won’t stop border enforcement, courts will operate.
The 420,000 women and men who work for us, you and me, everyday, will work without pay. About 41k of them are in law enforcement. They work in our federal prisons, FBI, DEA coast guard. The list goes on. bit.ly/2AbuXdD
Some employees will be sent home without the hope of being paid - people who work for the Parks Dept, housing - processing home loans. These workers are not making large salaries.
Neither party wants blame 4 a shutdown because it hurts so many & makes them look ineffective as leaders. That’s why on Tuesday #Trump had backed down on his $5B demand build a border wall. bit.ly/2AdyeJd
Tues was also the day mystery Company A, controlled by a foreign govt that had been fighting a #Mueller subpoena, lost its appeal. It must turn over commercial info feds. Is it Russia, Saudi’s Arabia or China? We don’t know. Does #Trump? bit.ly/2Shx72i
#Trump was never clear what he would accept in the form of a spending deal and by the next day, Wednesday, the war of words over the wall was back on. But through Kelly Ann Conway, Trump said he would consider a #continuingresolution
On Thurs the House Intel Committee unanimously voted to send the certified #RogerStone testimony transcripts to #Mueller. Mueller had the unofficial testimony so it was more formality than anything else, but not for Stone. For him it signals #indictment. politi.co/2AdyY0X
We also now know that #Trump lashed out at Acting AG #Whitaker for the not blocking and tackling on the #MuellerProbe starting with Cohen plea on lying abt Trump Tower Moscow business deal 1/2 way into 2016. bit.ly/2SfTaGH
Then there is the chaos in #Trump senior leadership...again...after Defense Secry #Mattis resignation over troop withdrawals from Syria & Afghanistan. Moves cheered only by #Putin & Trukey’s #Erdogan. This is more linked to #MuellerProbe.
#Erdogan won the day over #Trump military advisors, his own appointees confirmed by the Senate, when after a call with the Turkish authoritarian, Trump caved to his demand for our troops to pull out of #Syria. bit.ly/2Admc2N
#MichealFlynn got a beat down by the judge at his sentencing for rep of Turkish govt w/out disclosure our law requires. He even penned an op-Ed for Turkey on Election Day 2016! So he served Trurkey as he advised #Trump. Trump oddly wished him luck at sentencing.
#Mueller also indicted 2 #Flynn colleagues last week for working for Turkey and hiding that fact. bit.ly/2Sm6gSV
On #Russia, Putin is happy, abt #Syria. But Wed #Trump also lifted sanctions on oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is the same man #PaulManafort owed $$$ to & after volunteering for Trump campaign, asked his indicted colleague, Kilimnik, to reach out to. bit.ly/2ShLQtW
#Trump is now trying to defend his loyalty to the country by arguing with little support that he is tough on #Russia. bit.ly/2A88RbO A hollow argument against the mountain of evidence to the contrary.
One of the goals of #Russia 2016 election meddling was to see division in the US. #TrumpShutDown is a success on that front. And he is more protective of #Russian and #Turkish interests than he is of the American worker and economy. #MuellerProbe matters now more than ever.
