@SenWhitehouse's Threads
These German reporters went undercover to expose @HeartlandInst’s “pay to play” climate denial operation. Worth. A. Watch.
zdf.de/politik/fronta…
zdf.de/politik/fronta…
To summarize: right-wing donors who wish to remain fingerprint free donate to dark money groups like DonorsTrust. DonorsTrust doesn’t have to reveal its donors because technically the donors don’t get final say on where the money goes. But realistically everyone’s in on the game. 
DonorsTrust then funnels the now anonymous money to @HeartlandInst, which uses it to spread climate denial & misinformation. One way Heartland does this is by paying influencers to speak out against climate science.
Here’s how the impeachment outcome looked to leading editorial & opinion pages:
“Republican senators are shockingly unaware of their constitutional obligations and unable to provide a coherent explanation for their actions.”
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
“What a reasonable senator could not do was what happened here: wholesale shirking of the Senate’s constitutional responsibility to assess — which includes a responsibility to obtain — all the evidence of potential wrongdoing.”
washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-p…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-p…
Astoundingly, Republican colleagues are criticizing House presentation as providing “nothing new”
—wait for it—
WHILE they are blockading ALL new evidence + witnesses! Irony Department working overtime.
—wait for it—
WHILE they are blockading ALL new evidence + witnesses! Irony Department working overtime.
But if you want something new from yesterday: White House broke the law TWICE — Impoundment Control Act and Whistleblower Protection Act — and both acts of lawbreaking serviced to cover-up Ukraine scheme from Congress.
When you break the law — twice— to cover something up, it tells you a lot about how bad that something was, particularly when lawyers are involved in the lawbreaking cover-up. Had to be pretty desperate.
My take on a long grim day.
My father served the United States government his whole life, as a WWII Marine Corps dive bomber pilot, as a CIA officer in post-war Europe, & as a career foreign service officer with three tours in the Southeast Asia conflict.
My father served the United States government his whole life, as a WWII Marine Corps dive bomber pilot, as a CIA officer in post-war Europe, & as a career foreign service officer with three tours in the Southeast Asia conflict.
Yesterday’s ordeal of relentless evidence about the Ukraine "drug deal" cooked up & covered up in our government, about disgraceful conduct & motives of the President & officials, & the damage it has done to our reputation, allies, & interests, has sickened my stomach & my heart.
As a lawyer, the role of the White House lawyers, apparently colluding with & covering up this sordid episode, is particularly troubling & raises serious questions about misuse of the law to conceal wrongdoing.
In her confirmation hearing, Chairman Neumayr agreed that climate change is real, that it’s a major issue for coastal states like Rhode Island, and that some of our most important financial institutions are warning about the dire threats it poses.
npr.org/2020/01/09/794…
npr.org/2020/01/09/794…
Now, she’s proposing to neuter the environmental law that ensures the government’s most consequential decisions account for the effects of climate change.
We didn’t need more proof that the fossil fuel industry has hardwired the Trump administration to deliver on its interests, but we got it anyway.
.@GeoffreySupran is right: obtaining fossil fuel corporate documents is “one of the most important actions Congress could take to address the climate crisis.” The House must act.
theguardian.com/business/2020/…
theguardian.com/business/2020/…
"The reality is that as much as we know about fossil fuel interests’ denial and delay, we’ve really found those skeletons in the closet just by looking through a tiny keyhole – everything we know is based on just a few hundred documents scrounged from various sources."
"From my perspective every indication of this evidence is once that closet door gets blown open, the skeletons are going to come tumbling out."
.@NOAA: “particularly endangered” are Alaska and the Florida Keys, so where’s the climate action?
@NOAA "Alaska waters are especially vulnerable to [ocean acidification]. Most vulnerable are Alaska communities that rely on subsistence crab harvests and communities with fishing economies."
@NOAA "Alaska's seafood industry employs more than 50,000 people, pays $2 billion a year in wages, and includes the nation's largest and most valuable crab fishery.”
Well, “cognitive dissonance” sure is a nice way to say it. I’d just call a lie a lie. When has Big Oil NOT lied about climate change? What makes “we care about climate change” a more difficult lie to tell than “climate change isn’t real”?
insideclimatenews.org/news/30122019/…
insideclimatenews.org/news/30122019/…
Liars lie. It’s what they do.
It is ‘not for nothing’ that the real commitment comes from a European company, @RepsolWorldwide, that’s not infected with the U.S. curse of being able to use lies and money and front groups and political muscle to deny reality and corrode politics.
As the impeachment of Donald Trump moves toward the Senate, here is an important article by @SenKamalaHarris.
nytimes.com/2019/12/18/opi…
nytimes.com/2019/12/18/opi…
And by @SenAngusKing. Lawyers will recognize how the court doctrine of “adverse inference” relates to both Angus’s and Kamala’s articles.
usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
.@gtconway3d’s not a Senator or a Democrat, but he’s written a hell of an article on Senate impeachment too.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/georg…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/georg…
Once again: “all roads lead to Putin.”
washingtonpost.com/technology/201…
washingtonpost.com/technology/201…
Wow. Check out how ‘on message’ Putin is with Trump. As Pelosi said to Trump, “With you, all roads lead to Putin.” Two-way road, it seems.
thehill.com/policy/interna…
thehill.com/policy/interna…
“Mr. President, with you all roads lead to Putin.” Here we go again.
washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
In considering Schumer’s letter, note that the House articles of impeachment are based on sworn testimony that was subject to adverse questioning, where the Trump denials include no testimony taken under oath or examination.
Oaths matter, and witnesses to the alleged Ukraine shakedown attempt should testify under oath. It’s not honest to argue the impeachment evidence is too weak and at the same time block relevant sworn evidence.
This needn’t be a big burden. In the Clinton impeachment, witness testimony was taken by deposition, and relevant parts were entered into the Senate record. Easily done.
Republican faux outrage ignores that Nunes was not targeted by any subpoena — a somewhat important fact.
Nunes did call a subpoenaed target, so his records came up. That’s different.
cnn.com/2019/12/10/pol…
Nunes did call a subpoenaed target, so his records came up. That’s different.
cnn.com/2019/12/10/pol…
You can’t complain about being wrongfully wiretapped when you call the crook whose phone has been wiretapped.
You can’t complain about being wrongfully surveilled if you go to a warehouse being surveilled for drug trafficking.
You can’t complain about being wrongfully surveilled if you go to a warehouse being surveilled for drug trafficking.
No one targeted YOU; maybe you shouldn’t have been in the warehouse or on that guy’s phone.
The Department of Justice Inspector General report shows there was a proper predicate for the FBI to investigate Russia’s malign influence on the 2016 election and contacts with the Trump campaign.
That puts to rest President Trump’s accusations of a deep state conspiracy, and no amount of spin from Attorney General Barr, the White House, or congressional Republicans can change that. Barr’s decision to question the report in the media says a lot about Attorney General Barr.
The Inspector General is a defender against political influence over law enforcement—a regrettable tendency under Attorney General Barr. I hope the Inspector General turns his attention to other allegations of politically motivated investigations by this administration.
Don’t let the Republicans get away with this faux outrage deflection.
foxnews.com/opinion/rep-ji…
foxnews.com/opinion/rep-ji…
I’ve subpoenaed phone records:
1⃣ You don’t know who your target spoke with — that’s why you want the records;
2⃣ Lev Parnas & Rudy Giuliani were totally proper targets for a phone records subpoena here;
1⃣ You don’t know who your target spoke with — that’s why you want the records;
2⃣ Lev Parnas & Rudy Giuliani were totally proper targets for a phone records subpoena here;
3⃣ The fact that Nunes turned up on calls with Parnas & Giuliani does not mean Nunes was targeted, it means he called targeted guys. (In fact if Nunes had been targeted we’d know a lot more.)
It does mean Nunes owes us some answers.
It does mean Nunes owes us some answers.
It’s an honor to hear from Rhode Islanders about the issues that matter to them and why. It takes tremendous courage to share these personal stories and there are few things more personal or painful to discuss than battling an illness.
The stories I hear make it clear what’s at stake in Republicans’ push to repeal the #AffordableCareAct and make deep cuts to #Medicare & #Medicaid. This is Bridget’s story:
medium.com/@senwhitehouse…
medium.com/@senwhitehouse…
Passage of the Affordable Care Act was a watershed moment for people like Bridget. Democrats stand ready to build on this progress and make sure Trump and Republicans don’t reverse it.
Glad to join @RepBonamici, my Oceans Caucus counterpart in the House and @RepHuffman at the 2019 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. We haven’t all forgotten our responsibilities on climate in the U.S.
@RepBonamici @RepHuffman Thank goodness @SpeakerPelosi has come to Madrid for the 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to provide a positive U.S. presence.
In the McGahn subpoena case, DOJ OLC opinions take another judicial hit as judge calls out a “string of OLC opinions that... are manifestly inconsistent with the constitutional jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit...”
Not the first time, indeed now two for two:
Significant because it was OLC opinion that Mueller relied on to not indict Trump on obstruction of justice charges, without judicial basis or opportunity for judicial review. I think that was a bad call on his part.
Let’s be crystal clear that it’s the fossil fuel industry to blame, obstructing all these solutions from behind its complex web of climate denial groups.
latimes.com/opinion/story/…
latimes.com/opinion/story/…
Aiding and abetting were groups like the @USChamber and NAM, political ‘hit men’ who took fossil fuel money to become America’s worst climate obstructors.
Wall Street was happy to indulge this behavior (and still does) as long as it kept making them money, so no heroes there.
The earth is spinning toward climate catastrophe.
bostonglobe.com/2019/11/21/opi…
bostonglobe.com/2019/11/21/opi…
Unfortunately, much of corporate America failed to support policies to #ActOnClimate
edf.org/media/climate-…
edf.org/media/climate-…
Many individual corporations profess to be on the side of fighting climate change, but support business associations, like @USChamber, a relentless adversary of climate action.
This is a pretty good argument for Medicare for All, but it overlooks folks who need attention.
cnn.com/2019/11/18/opi…
cnn.com/2019/11/18/opi…
Seniors on Medicare Advantage; union members on health/welfare plans; employees getting insurance at work; patients getting special protection in state Medicaid programs.
Plus we’ve got to assure veterans they’ve nothing to fear. There’s work to be done.
Plus we’ve got to assure veterans they’ve nothing to fear. There’s work to be done.
As @paulkrugman points out, progress can lead to more progress. The path to Medicare for All must be thoughtful and bring key constituencies along. A rash rush to Medicare for All may cause the defeat of Medicare for All.
nytimes.com/2019/11/18/opi…
nytimes.com/2019/11/18/opi…
Another one bites the dust. Has any President ever had as many convicted associates?
Lev/Igor/Giuliani next in the queue?
nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/…
Lev/Igor/Giuliani next in the queue?
nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/…
Big questions: does Stone now “flip”? Will Trump pardon him, to protect himself?
Can this flamboyant convicted liar be credible enough to stand as a government witness? (Note: even witnesses with grave credibility problems can cooperate by providing leads and access to documents/emails, etc., and Stone may have a rich trove.)
A private organization, funded by secretive anonymous donors, has an improper role in the selection of federal judges and justices. It’s called the Federalist Society. And Justice Kavanaugh is there tonight.
.@FedSoc was “insourced” by the Trump White House to choose federal judges and particularly to choose Supreme Court judges.
They hand-selected Kavanaugh and helped fund his nasty confirmation battle.
They hand-selected Kavanaugh and helped fund his nasty confirmation battle.
This isn’t some hypothesis. The EVP of @FedSoc Leonard Leo boasted on TV about the list he gave Trump of potential Supreme Court nominees. And he ushered Kavanaugh onto, and to the top of, the list.
Right now, Kavanaugh is there, paying back.
Right now, Kavanaugh is there, paying back.
A positive step, thanks to healthy pressure from #ChamberofCarbon members distressed that the Chamber was outed as one of America’s worst climate obstructors.
grist.org/article/one-of…
grist.org/article/one-of…
But @Grist is correct: “It remains to be seen whether this pattern indicates that the Chamber is serious about climate action or is simply engaging in greenwashing.”
@grist Here’s one test: look at who the @USChamber supports with its massive electioneering apparatus in 2020.
Will it always be the candidate who’s worse on climate?
So far, #ChamberofCarbon has an almost perfect record of supporting the ‘worser’ candidate.
Will it always be the candidate who’s worse on climate?
So far, #ChamberofCarbon has an almost perfect record of supporting the ‘worser’ candidate.
.@Google flack on "substantial" contributions to "notorious climate deniers":
cnet.com/news/alphabets…
cnet.com/news/alphabets…
"We're hardly alone among companies that contribute to organizations while strongly disagreeing with them on climate policy." YES, YOU CHOWDERHEAD, THAT’S THE PROBLEM!!
Sorry to vent, but... aargh.
Sorry to vent, but... aargh.
Net effect? Even today, corporate America supports climate denial and obstruction. @Google has never pushed for any serious climate legislation; and it funds obstruction and denial. And yes, they are “hardly alone” in that.
