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Greg Sargent @ThePlumLineGS
, 4 tweets, 3 min read Read on Twitter
Two-part thread:

1) Here @benjaminwittes paints a worrisome picture of the long term impact Trump's attacks on law enforcement could have.

The crux is that Rs are helping Trump normalize these assaults, with unpredictable consequences:

lawfareblog.com/why-trumps-war…—so-far
2) There is a reason this is worrisome.

There is a massive propaganda network behind Trump's attacks on law enforcement that did not exist for Nixon.

This means that as Trump's battle with Mueller escalates, we are headed into new territory. Like so:

wapo.st/2lwWC1i
3) Here is a working link to @benjaminwittes' piece: lawfareblog.com/why-trumps-war…
4) And here are thoughts from @jbview on my piece about this new propaganda network and what it might be able to accomplish. As Jon says (I agree), danger is this network could *goad* Trump into thinking he can get away with the worst: bloomberg.com/view/articles/…
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More from @ThePlumLineGS see all

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We are not in the midst of a conventional negotiation, in which each side is offering concessions in exchange for concessions from the other side.

Here's the basic asymmetry, as clearly as I can explain it:
1) If Democrats agree to what Trump wants, they will have made massive unilateral concessions (the wall) in exchange for Trump doing what *he himself* says he wants to do, i.e., reopening the government.
2) By contrast, if Trump agrees to what Dems want (border security + reopening govt), he will have given up *nothing whatsoever* in concessions.

All he'll be giving up is his ability to use govt shutdown & pain it's causing as leverage to get his way. That's not a concession.
Read 4 tweets
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As we wait for Trump to speak, here's a quick rundown of the ways in which his case for the wall has proven flimsy or fallen apart.

First, in Jan 2017, Trump ordered DHS to do a comprehensive study of the border. It has not been released, I'm told:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Second, the claims that DHS has made about terrorism and the border have fallen apart. And experts have noted that if the administration had classified info that would support its case, it would have been declassified by now:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Third, the briefing that the White House gave to members of Congress, ostensibly to *inform* them so they could make good policy choices, was full of falsehoods and absurdities. This leaves no doubt about the depths of bad faith here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 4 tweets
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Trump may declare a national security emergency to build his wall in part because of its "symbolic power for his core voters."

Yes, that is real:

washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…
It is overwhelmingly obvious that at this point, the wall is nothing but a symbol, a political and even religious totem.

Among white evangelical Christians, the core of Trump's base, support for the wall has soared since he campaigned on it:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
“For white evangelicals who see the sun setting on white Christian dominance in the country, the wall is a powerful metaphor."

That's @robertpjones. He has researched these voters for years.

Trump has a real instinct for tapping into these wellsprings:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

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#THREAD

Yesterday's indictment is a major signal that we're nearing the end of the #TrumpRussia prologue.

I interviewed @Mimirocah1 about the story which she said indicates that "prosecutors are putting the pieces together."

I agree.

Here's my $0.02.

washingtonpress.com/2019/01/08/a-m…
Why is Natalia Veselnitskaya's link to the Kremlin so important?

1 - SDNY provides Mueller with apolitical evidence sent from the target that predates all investigations.
2 - Proves Don Jr. met a Kremlin Agent
3 - Burns the Russian prosecution against @Billbrowder

2/
Natalia Veselnitskaya had been working on the Prevezon case for years, but in 2014 she involved herself drafting of the official response to the DoJ's invocation of a treaty for legal assistance.

She sent the evidence that she worked with the Kremlin to SDNY prosecutors.

3/
Read 15 tweets
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THREAD

#Trump #Farage #DonJr #Rohrabacher #Putin
1.#Farage is deeply involved in #TrumpRussia as we already know, here he is in a picture with @RepRohrabacher, @RepRohrabacher has been called #Putin´s favorite congressman and has done business with #Manafort

#Trump #Farage #DonJr #Rohrabacher #Putin

2.@DonaldJTrumpJr forwarded the #email after #TrumpTower meeting with #Russian´s to #Manafort and #Kushner

#Trump #Farage #DonJr #Rohrabacher #Putin

Read 13 tweets
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#Thread Here's an incredible story about a young man who was busy with loading and unloading in #KeralaFloods relief centres. Only days later people came to know that he was none other than, Kannan Gopinathan, the Collector of Dadra & Nagar Haveli! (1/n)
He travelled in KSRTC buses and covered 5 districts in 10 days without revealing identity. He took leave for serving his homeland in the time of crisis. Kannan is a native of Kottayam. Even his relatives were not aware of his unofficial visit! (2/n)
It was only after Eranakulam Collector Y.Safirulla's visit to centre at KBPS press, the volunteers of the camp came to know that the guy who was helping in loading goods was an IAS officer! (3/n)
Read 9 tweets
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Here are my favorite quotes from this amazing book. #THREAD
1. "Bitcoin can be best understood as distributed software that allows for transfer of value using a currency protected from unexpected inflation without relying on trusted third parties"
2. "While Bitcoin is a new invention of the digital age, the problems it purports to solve - namely, providing a form of money that is under the full command of its owner and likely to hold its value in the long run - are as old as human society itself"
Read 137 tweets
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THREAD

How #Trump became a #Soviet/#Russian Agent
1. #Trump's first known visit to #Soviet and #Moscow in 1987 looks to be part of a pattern. The #SteeleDossier says that the #Kremlin had been cultivating# Trump for “at least five years” before 2016 elections, meaning it asserts a beginning in 2011 or 2012.
2.The #SovietUnion was interested in #Trump three decades earlier. The top level of the #Soviet diplomatic service arranged his 1987 #Moscow visit.
Read 76 tweets

Trending hashtags

#servicejournalism #maga #SOTU #TrumpRussia #Clovis #MuellerProbe #USA #TrumpLies #Charter #MarALago #whitehousetalk2018 #ambassador #WoS #Canada #NewYork #Russia #American #Norway #GRU #nomuslimbanever #Toronto #bespoke #CitizensFinancialGroup #CORRUPTION #thedonald

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