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Whatever you think of @realDonaldTrump, this notion—that he’s just doing what prior Presidents have done when it comes to using foreign policy for his personal benefit—is not just wrong, but it will only encourage future Presidents to stoop to his level:

nytimes.com/2020/01/23/opi…
Do Presidents often pursue policy goals because they may also have electoral benefits? Sure. That’s beyond dispute.

But are there _any_ prior examples of a President actively strong-arming a foreign power for no reason other than to dig up dirt on his political opponents? No.
Blurring this distinction is not just disingenuous, but it would set a terrible precedent going forward—the very concern that @JoshMBlackman’s op-ed is purportedly responding to.
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Steve Vladeck
@steve_vladeck
The Solicitor General has responded to this #SCOTUS order, which follows up on statements he made at oral argument on Jan. 15:

supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/1…

The long and short of it is ... not good. The SG _did_ misstate the law, but doesn't acknowledge—or apologize for—doing so:
The dispute is over the availability of other remedies _besides_ the ADEA for the kind of claim advanced by the Petitioner in Babb.

Here is the Solicitor General at the oral argument in response to a question from Justice Kavanaugh:

supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments…
In his rebuttal, @lathamwatkins partner Roman Martinez accused the Solicitor General of misrepresenting the law on this point.

This exchange is almost certainly what prompted the Justices to issue the unusual order requesting supplemental briefing on exactly this question...
Read 6 tweets
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Steve Vladeck
@steve_vladeck
Something I’ve never understood about the “impeachment requires crime” argument:

The “Madisonian Compromise” at the const’l convention left unresolved whether there would be _any_ lower federal courts. Without those, there couldn’t be federal crimes—so no impeachable offenses??
And if the argument is that the Constitution’s reference to “high crimes and misdemeanors” is a reference to _state_ criminal laws, why would—or should—state criminal laws ever speak to abuses of federal offices?
Here’s Michael Collins and Jonathan Nash in the @VirginiaLawRev in 2011 on why federal crimes generally can’t (and couldn’t be) prosecuted in state court:

virginialawreview.org/volumes/conten…
Read 3 tweets
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Steve Vladeck
@steve_vladeck
To me, the most important takeaway from today's Fifth Circuit #ACA ruling is that #SCOTUS is off the hook, at least for now.

Yes, the court struck down the "individual mandate." But the real question (whether the rest of the ACA must fall) got kicked back to the district court.
It's entirely possible that we're right back in this same place a year from now, if the district court reaffirms its ... controversial ... severability analysis and this same panel affirms. But this issue could look very different to #SCOTUS in early 2021 than it would look now.
And so long as the rest of the ACA isn't going anywhere in the interim (which, for now, it isn't), there's just no imperative for the Justices to step in now. So even though California (et al.) may ask #SCOTUS to take the case, I'd be shocked if the Court agreed—at least for now.
Read 3 tweets

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David Roberts
@drvox
If you're worried the media is going to screw up impeachment coverage, this will give you no comfort. It's practically a guided tour through media dysfunctions.
Look at this shit. It's like a sick joke.
The media is openly proclaiming that the facts of the matter, the most corrupt president in history using foreign policy to extort personal political favors, have no valence, no power of their own, no "pizazz." ONLY performance matters. It's a sociopathic ideology.
Read 5 tweets
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JMHendersonSr❌
@JMHendersonSr
I'm a coastal resident in NC. I support oil exploration and oil drilling on our coast.

I also support the continued development of sources through fracking.
We possess the untapped means to be self-sufficient. Doing so relieves "pressures" that might otherwise exist to engage in #foreign #military #adventures.

It's not about thinking that the Houthis or the Iranians should not be held to account for their attack on Saudi Arabia.
It's that the #USA does not have to be the #point of #everyone's #spear.
Read 3 tweets
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The Strategy Bin
@StrategyBin
06/01/2019 - 78 years ago today, the longest-serving #UnitedStates #President, #Franklin D. #Roosevelt (#FDR) addressed the 77th #Congress with his "#Four #Freedoms" speech with the intent to shift #US #foreign #policy from that of #neutrality to #interventionist.
#FDR promoted the idea that the people of the world, in all nations, shared entitlement to four freedoms: that of the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want and the freedom from fear.
#FDR is arguably one of the most 'successful' #US Presidents. Some would argue that on the basis of his numerous social policies such as 'the New Deal'. Others, however, would argue that his role during the second world war was more prevalent to his success & everlasting legacy.
Read 39 tweets
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foone
@Foone
Whatever you think about the man and whether he's sufficiently apologized for what he's done, I'm wondering how exactly Louis CK can continue to do stand-up from this point.
Cause his main gag was "I am a terrible person who has a terrible life because of that".
That was the core of his comedy: most of his jokes were about how he's a terrible, terrible person.
The problem with that as a joke is that now people are likely to believe it's not a joke anymore. that he really IS a terrible person.
and whether that's true or not, it seems that most of his audience believing it to be true is going to ruin the humorous aspect of his comedy, and comedy kinda needs to be humorous, you know?
Read 12 tweets
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#PoorPeoplesCampaign
@billyjoecain
At dinner, I learned more about corruption + racism built into society by our masters. A book we discussed (Zinn) was used as part of this "Left" resource's bibliography. I had to share. [A thread]

@BlackSocialists - thoughts on this resource?

historyisaweapon.com/indextrue.html
It very simply lays out the case that we are all being controlled. It covers hidden history of the United States including their (and, due to the systems created by our masters, our) racism. 

#racism #systemicracism #history
If you haven't been in school for a while (or are in a terrible school), some of the words might trip you up. Dictionary.com and Wikipedia.org are two good resources to help you.
Read 39 tweets

Trending hashtags

#SyrianArabArmy #Corps #KeepItInTheGround #USA #Muallem #Washington #Chaldean #Raising #Relocation #Rouhani #Aleppo #Conspiracy2DefraudUSA #Israeli #Cuban #Jableh #foreign #military #AlQaeda #children #NewYork #everyone #FakeNews #REMEMBER #Iraq #FalseFlag
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