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The Trump-Venezuela scandal is coming, and this'll be a data-point. Stay tuned. The short version: Trump is pulling a variation of his Ukraine scheme with Venezuela right now; he never stopped criming, folks, and never will. And Lamar Alexander and the other GOP senators know it.
PS/ Keep in mind that, per official U.S. foreign policy, Guaido is *not* the Venezuelan "opposition leader"... he's the *rightful president* of Venezuela. So ask yourself, why would Trump want to prop up Putin ally Maduro by *refusing to meet* with Venezuela's rightful president?
PS2/ Now what if I told you many of the same characters involved in the Russia and Ukraine scandals, including Erik Prince and Rudy Giuliani and Lev Parnas and Pete Sessions and several GOP megadonors, conducted secret negotiations (they claim with Trump's approval) in Venezuela?
PS3/ Those who think Guaido failed, despite the support of 60 nations including the U.S., for reasons having nothing to do with Trump's secret scheme, think again: had Trump not been secretly negotiating with Putin pal Maduro, but instead met Guaido, things may've been different.
PS4/ So ask yourself, did Trump's allies, who were negotiating in Venezuela (with Trump's approval) with Putin's man instead of the man supported by US foreign policy, have business interests in the country? You bet your ass they did. Did Trump get any kickbacks? No one's asking.
PS5/ OTOH, I'm not sure how hidden the kickback is. Giuliani has made clear his legal services cost *many millions*, and also that he always works for Trump for free. If Trump helps him extract money from Venezuela, then doesn't pay for legal services, how is that not a kickback?
PS6/ So in Venezuela, short version, you have Trump secretly supporting a Putin-backed regime his allies are secretly negotiating with and extracting untold millions from, even as Trump undercuts U.S. policy by refusing to meet with the Venezuelan president America *recognizes*.
PS7/ So the results of Trump's secret plot in Venezuela are, at a minimum:

1️⃣ He gets kickbacks in the form of millions of dollars of value from Giuliani.
2️⃣ He pleases Putin at a time he still wants a tower deal in Moscow.
3️⃣ He aids Putin in gaining a foothold in the Americas.
PS8/ And as Trump is doing all this—which mirrors in so many respects what he did and is doing in Russia and Ukraine and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Turkey and Egypt and Israel and China and elsewhere—his shills are on cable telling us that he FIGHTS CORRUPTION.
SOURCE1/ dallasnews.com/news/politics/…
SOURCE2/ washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…
SOURCE3/ cnbc.com/2019/12/30/giu…
SOURCE4/ rollcall.com/news/politics/…
SOURCE5/ apnews.com/e7fa47d52c0c48…
SOURCE6/ lawandcrime.com/high-profile/a…
SOURCE7/ reuters.com/article/us-ven…
SOURCE8/ reuters.com/article/us-ven…
SOURCE9/ Link: infodio.com/291218/pdvsa/h…
SOURCE10/ miamiherald.com/news/politics-…
SOURCE11/ reuters.com/article/us-ven…
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More from @SethAbramson see all

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Seth Abramson
@SethAbramson
I'm mystified that Buttigieg declared victory with 0% of precincts reporting, then justified doing so by releasing ONLY the data for HIS campaign with 75% of precincts reporting. He may or may not be right that he won 25% of the vote, but how would he know that was enough to win?
PS/ I think we have to be careful not to change history here. Buttigieg didn't just come out last night and declare that he had a good night. He said that his campaign was emerging from Iowa "victorious." I watched him do it. The man *definitely* declared himself the Iowa winner.
PS2/ I suspect what Pete's saying is that his campaign believes he won 28% of state delegate equivalents, and that he's reasonably sure no one could have won 29% of state delegate equivalents or higher given that it looks like 5 candidates were in double figures. Still a stretch.
Read 5 tweets
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Seth Abramson
@SethAbramson
BREAKING: Sanders Campaign Releases First 40% of Iowa Results

Note: the results below are INCOMPLETE results from the first—apparently only—40% of precincts with data available.

Sanders: 30%
Buttigieg: 25%
Warren: 21%
Biden: 12%
Klobuchar: 11%

We'll see if the numbers hold up.
ANALYSIS/ If you watched TV last night, you presumed a Sanders win based on what you saw and were stunned when Buttigieg declared himself the victor. It looks like a *real* fight for second between Warren/Buttigieg. Note I'm also considering the results CNN/MSNBC *did* broadcast.
ANALYSIS2/ My thinking in sharing the Sanders data tonight is that I'm a fairness guy, and *someone*—either Sanders, Buttigieg, or Warren—is being denied good press tonight. That's just wrong—especially when the fact that Biden and Klobuchar were not in the top three seems clear.
Read 15 tweets
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Seth Abramson
@SethAbramson
BREAKING (CNN): Biden Campaign "Questioning Results" of Iowa Caucus Via Lawyers

Well, there it is. Can't imagine a bigger disaster than this. A candidate who seems not to have done well tonight *at least from what we saw on TV* trying to delegitimize the caucuses. This is ugly.
1/ People who read this feed obviously know that Biden is not my candidate, even though I admire the man. But pulling a stunt like this to publicly question the results of a caucus he appears not to have done well in is just such a Trumpian move that I'm pretty livid right now.
2/ Now more than ever, the Democratic Party needs unity and a sense we can come together when the primaries are over. And as a nation, we need a sense that truth still exists. And here's the Biden campaign, apparently as a way of erasing the Iowa caucuses, blowing up all of that.
Read 11 tweets

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Zach Everson
@Z_Everson
Just last night, @realDonaldTrump shared a Trump Org tweet promoting—

Ferry Point.

Via @1100Penn bit.ly/2EbZMke
@realDonaldTrump @1100Penn If Eric Trump is no longer involved in his charity, why does this golfer—who just played in a benefit for it—call it "the Eric Trump Foundation"? [H/T @npenzenstadler]

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Via @1100Penn zacheverson.substack.com/p/40842294
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Sotiri Dimpinoudis ❁‏
@sotiridi
#Breaking: Just in - Reports that the power plant in #Venezuela has stopped in delivering power to most parts in the Country, including the entire city of #Caracas.
#Update: Just in - 12 states of the 23 in #Venezuela are reporting no more power!
#Update: Just in - States reporting no more power!

- #VARGAS
- DISTRITO CAPITAL
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#Venezuela #SinLuz
Read 8 tweets
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Sotiri Dimpinoudis
@sotiridi
#Breaking:Just in #Venezuela is experiencing a nation wide Power outage! For almost 1 hour! Maduro regime is claiming sabotage at the power station. The #Caracas airport control tower is working on generators to keep flight landing and departing.
#Breaking: Just in - Reports that generator in the biggest "Hospital de Clínicas" in #Caracas in #Venezuela has failed to start the power in the building.
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Read 223 tweets
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Sotiri Dimpinoudis
@sotiridi
#Breaking: Unconfirmed - Highest general in #Venezuela says: "90 percent of the army is against acting active President #Maduro. He has airplanes ready to flee they say.
#Update: Also hundreds of Thousands of protestors are on foot across the country in #Venezuela right now to protest against the brutal regime of #Maduro. Picture Credit: @ThomasVLinge
#Update: Video of thousands of protestors marching to bring an end to the #Maduro regime in the city of #Acarigua Video Credit: @ThomasVLinge
Read 28 tweets
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snarke
@snarke
#Trump is going to speak in the Rose Garden any minute now. Is he going to lie a bunch about reopening the government? Is he just going to yell "no collusion! witch hunt!" over and over again? Both? Stay tuned!
Oh hell, #Trump is going to take questions too. This is going to be a sh*tshow.
#Trump is running about a half hour late. I wonder if he's spent this whole time on the phone with Ann Coulter, begging for permission to cave?
Read 17 tweets
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Greg Palast
@Greg_Palast
#Trump was not elected president because he did not win the electoral vote via @RealTimBlack #TimBlackShow #Resist
#Trump used the same trick as George W did in Florida. By removing voters of color in 28 states, Trump supposedly won the electoral college.
#Trump is not our legitimate president, rather he's the Commander-in-Thief! via @RealTimBlack #TimBlackShow #Resist
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