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22 Jul, 11 tweets, 5 min read
In today's thread we're taking a deeper dive into the Thomas Barrack indictment.

The charges against Trump's former best friend are much more serious than a little foreign lobbying. Even the public evidence of Barrack's involvement with the UAE is pretty conclusive
(THREAD)
(2) What Barrack is being charged with isn't JUST acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the UAE. It's also that he obstructed justice and lied to investigators.

With Trump in the White House, US foreign policy was for sale and Barrack wanted a cut.

nbcnews.com/politics/polit…
(3) By the time Trump stumbled into the presidency with Barrack as his inaugration campaign chair, Barrack was on shaky footing financially and was looking for a quick fix.

His position of influence with Trump was an easy ace in the hole.

forbes.com/sites/forbesdi…
(4) Barrack fell back on a longstanding relationship with both the UAE and their close allies, the Saudis. At first it was just a little here & there.

Giving them copies of Trump's speeches to review and edit to be more friendly to the UAE's interests.

cnbc.com/2021/07/20/tho…
(5) Things got serious quickly as Barrack was pressured to do more, including providing sensitive info to UAE officials through an encrypted app.

At one point It appears Barrack may have been instrumental in getting the administration to cancel a summit

cnbc.com/2021/07/20/tru…
(6) Perhaps the most detrimental actions came as part of Barrack's position of influence with Trump and his ability to use that to gain a media platform for Saudi and UAE propaganda campaigns.

Especially those regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

latimes.com/business/la-fi…
(7) Bloomberg and others became friendly channels for Barrack to push talking points from the UAE.

In total he gave as many as six interviews that focused on promoting the interests of his clients and the mainstream media ate it up with a spoon.

latimes.com/business/story…
(8) It's hard to tell if the subsequent falling out between Barrack and his bestie had anything to do with the fact that Trump knew charges were possible or if he was simply mad he didn't get a cut of Barrack's payout for influence peddling.

politico.com/story/2019/08/…
(9) Regardless, this indictment appears to have been in the works for some time and was potentially delayed by prosecutors who knew AG Barr would not green light charges.

Today's DOJ feels confident about proceeding given the evidence.

cnn.com/2021/07/21/pol…
(10) Interestingly, prosecutors may have also sat on charges regarding Guiliani under Barr's DOJ for similar reasons.

At this point, it's worth asking if there was anyone in Trump's inner circle that wasn't acting as a foreign agent.

abcnews.go.com/US/giuliani-in…
(END) Thanks for stopping by for today's thread, suggestion courtesy of @lauriebidaho . Come back next week and we'll do this again.

Like threads like this and want to keep them coming? You can support my work here:

paypal.com/paypalme/kazwe…
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More from @kazweida

Kaz Weida Profile picture
20 Jul
In today's thread, we're addressing whether or not insurance companies can start hitting the unvaccinated where it hurts. In their wallet.

And the answer, as you might guess, is complicated.
As is everything about healthcare in this country.
(THREAD) Image
(2) The healthcare costs of this pandemic have been catastrophic and that is probably going to translate into a rate hike, although perhaps not as much as you might expect.

But who should bear the burden of those costs?
Shouldn't it be the unvaccinated?

freep.com/story/money/bu…
(3) That's a lot easier said than done. Certainly insurers might calculate that unvaccinated people are a greater risk, but it's likely since most Americans get their insurance through their employers that we'll all feel the brunt of those costs.

courant.com/business/hc-bi…
Read 11 tweets
Kaz Weida Profile picture
8 Jul
In today's thread, it seems like pundits who push anti-vaccination propaganda have often been vaccinated themselves.

This matters because low vaccination rates driving the current surge have one thing in common.
Trump voters.
Here's who has & hasn't been vaccinated.
(THREAD)
(2) Let's start at the top. TRUMP. That sneaky grifter and his wife got secretly vaccinated in January.

Who else? Try just about every GOP leader and most red state governors including McConnell, McCarthy, DeSantis & more. They all got their shots.

rollingstone.com/politics/polit…
(3) So what about the folks over at Fox News? Of course they did. And some of them were bragging about it on camera months before they started questioning the administration's push to vaccinate more Americans.

businessinsider.com/fox-and-friend…
Read 11 tweets
Kaz Weida Profile picture
8 Jul
I worked at a marketing firm that was one of the Utah’s “best places” to work. 95% of upper leadership were men. Most of the creatives were women. This wasn’t the 1960s. It was 2015.

I only filed one sexual harassment complaint but the microaggressions were constant.

(THREAD)
(2) I watched brilliant women bust their butts working crazy hours only to be told that some young dude had edged them out of a promotion. Again.

Coming from the education world, it was eerily reminiscent of those environments where men make the decisions and women do the work.
(3) My first month, I got pulled aside by my male manager after I had offered some suggestions about content planning in a meeting.

I was told he didn’t appreciate me “questioning” his authority and that I needed to stop being so aggressive.
Read 7 tweets
Kaz Weida Profile picture
6 Jul
Now that the 4th of July holiday has come and gone, let's check in on vaccination rates state by state.

As you're probably aware, Biden just missed his goal of having 70% of American adults vaccinated with one shot. Here's what comes next.
(THREAD) Image
(2) Vaccination rates slowed dramatically in June, so we just edged over the finish line in some spots. About 20 states reached the goal, putting the country at 67.5% of adults partially vaccinated.

58.6% of US adults are fully vaccinated
78.7% of 65+

npr.org/sections/healt…
(3) Colorado and Oregon were some of the last states to reach the goal. And surprisingly Utah joined their ranks after counting some missing doses from the Indian Health Department and VA.

Utah becomes one of the first red states to reach Biden's goal.

ksl.com/article/501996…
Read 11 tweets
Kaz Weida Profile picture
17 Jun
In today's thread, we're asking if the US is on track to meet 70% of adult Americans getting one shot by July 4th.

The short answer is it depends.
And contrary to popular belief it actually doesn't solely depend on convincing red states to roll up their sleeves.
(THREAD)
(2) Let's start with where we're at. There's been some confusion about what we're measuring. If you look at states with 70% of eligible residents vaccinated, those numbers are abysmal.

Fortunately, Biden's goal is just adults (18+)
And that makes a big difference. We're at 65%.
(3) BUT there is a HUGE difference from state to state and as you might expect it depends entirely on whether we're talking red or rural areas.

Yes. Red states are dragging our average down. Way down.
Read 12 tweets
Kaz Weida Profile picture
15 Jun
In today's thread we're tackling a complicated question. Why are Dems even trying to negotiate with Republicans at this point?

My answer is simple. Why are you pretending they don't have to? Bi-partisan solutions aren't a political luxury right now. They're a necessity.
(THREAD)
(2) There's a push by the media to frame every effort at passing legislation as Democrats too weak to play hard ball and Biden as niave.

This is disingenous because it entirely discounts the political reality of a split Senate. We don't have the votes.

politico.com/news/2021/01/2…
(3) We can't even corral our current caucus into ditching the fillibuster to supporting voting rights, nevermind garnering Republican votes.

The Senate is designed to support minority rule. And that's a problem we can't fix right now.

cnn.com/2021/05/20/pol…
Read 11 tweets

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