@jaketapper's Threads
10 subscribers
Combat veteran I know just texted me, furious: “Pardoning convicted war criminals is a slap in the face to everyone who fought honorably. To everyone who didn’t commit war crimes. To everyone who chose the harder right over the easier wrong...
2/“... It sends the worst possible message from the very top to everyone still fighting - the Rules of Engagement are just annoying suggestions - do whatever you want and the CinC will pardon you because nothing matters anymore. These war crimes weren’t close calls....
3/“... They weren’t protecting their brothers in arms by making tough split second decisions to pull a trigger or to direct mortars/artillery/CAS onto questionable but necessary targets. This wasn’t collateral damage. These dudes are just straight up murderers....
At long last! A new edition of TOOTY-CUBE™️ by my 9-year-old! 
Panel 1: Highway patrol on the job. 🚔
2: TOOTY-CUBE™️’s girlfriend ITCHY™️
Seeing tweets about how Alabama executed a prisoner within 24 hours of its new abortion ban. I get why this is getting attention, but I'd just like to take a moment here to tell you about why Michael Brandon Samra was executed.
2/ In 1997, at age 19, Samra and his friend, Mark Duke, shot Duke’s father Randy, and the father’s girlfriend Dedra Mims Hunt. This was over a dispute they were having with Randy over a pickup truck.
3/ Out of bullets, Samra and Duke then slit the throats of Hunt's daughters Chelsea, 7, and Chelisa, 6, below, to hide their crimes.
That's Chelisa and Debra Hunt below, then a photo of Chelsea.
That's Chelisa and Debra Hunt below, then a photo of Chelsea.
Here’s a NYT oped on Orban that explains more of what the congresswoman is referring to —
google.com/amp/s/www.nyti…
google.com/amp/s/www.nyti…
And more here: google.com/amp/s/www.poli…
In his Oval office meeting, President Trump says Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has "done the right thing, according to many people, on immigration."
@Amnesty International has condemned Hungary for its "systematic crackdown on the rights of refugees and migrants."
@Amnesty International has condemned Hungary for its "systematic crackdown on the rights of refugees and migrants."
2/ e.g.: "More than 20,000 people were summarily and sometimes violently returned to Serbia or otherwise prevented from entering Hungary without access to fair and efficient asylum processes and an examination of their protection needs," @amnesty wrote.
3/ "In March, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Ilias and Ahmed v. Hungary that the confinement of asylum-seekers in 'transit zones', essentially heavily guarded container camps at Hungary’s external land borders, amounted to arbitrary deprivation of liberty..."
Asked to respond to progressive voters who learn about her and say, dismissively, “she’s a cop,” @KamalaHarris has a lengthy response:
2/ “I'm acutely aware of the impact of the criminal justice system on communities, both in terms of what the criminal justice system can do to rightly make sure there is consequence and accountability when a woman is raped, when a child is molested,...
3/“... when one human being kills another human being, and I would never apologize for prosecuting people for those crimes.
“I am also acutely aware that we have a criminal justice system in America that is deeply flawed, has often been informed by bias,...
“I am also acutely aware that we have a criminal justice system in America that is deeply flawed, has often been informed by bias,...
1/ The White House calling the Special Counsel report the "no-collusion, no-conspiracy, no-obstruction Mueller report" is dishonest. Let us now take a look at the report's own language to explore why.
justice.gov/storage/report…
justice.gov/storage/report…
2/ First, re "no-collusion" -- Mueller makes clear from the beginning of the report that "we applied the framework of conspiracy law, not the concept of 'collusion.'" This is right on page 2 of Volume I.
Mueller did not even address collusion.
Mueller did not even address collusion.
3/ Mueller did that because "collusion is not a specific offense or theory of liability found in the United States Code, nor is it a term of art in federal criminal law."
On this day in 2006, a horrible helicopter crash in Afghanistan cost 10 American lives. The KIA included Lieutenant Colonel Joseph J. Fenty, 41, of Florida, whose daughter had just been born. He had not yet met her.
2/ Others on the mission who were KIA: Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten, 34, of Texas.
3/ Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, 28, of Illinois
Justice Department prosecutors, in yet another court filing Friday, argued that Special Counsel Robert Mueller didn’t need to bring an underlying conspiracy case in order to prosecute Trump associate Roger Stone for lying to Congress and obstruction, @kpolantz reports.
2/ More @kpolantz: Stone had argued that his criminal charges were unfair because they had little to do with a case Mueller brought against several Russians who allegedly hacked the DNC.
3/ Yet the DC-based DOJ prosecutors—who have taken over from Mueller—say that Stone’s charges arose out of a common investigation, that used similar search warrants, and he allegedly lied to Congress.
Appreciate @zbyronwolf's remembering my ABC News blog's coverage of then-VP-nominee Biden's adventures on the trail: "Oh! That Joe!"
Oh! That Joe! (No. 51 In A Series) - Biden Invites Fireman to WH For Beer, Says 'This is no bulls***'
abc-7.com/story/40406953…
Oh! That Joe! (No. 51 In A Series) - Biden Invites Fireman to WH For Beer, Says 'This is no bulls***'
abc-7.com/story/40406953…
@zbyronwolf 2/ I don't know where they've disappeared to but one can find hints of them on the web here and there.
"Oh, That Joe! (Number 4 in a Series) -- Biden on Difference Between Him And Palin: 'She's Good Looking',"
"Oh, That Joe! (Number 4 in a Series) -- Biden on Difference Between Him And Palin: 'She's Good Looking',"
@zbyronwolf Good times.
Re what AG Barr just said to Feinstein about how direct POTUS was with McGahn about firing Mueller, here’s what Mueller wrote, pp. 86-88of Vol II:
2/ “When the President called McGahn a second time to follow up on the order to call the Department of Justice, McGahn recalled that the President was more direct, saying something like, ‘Call Rod, tell Rod that Mueller has conflicts and can’t be the Special Counsel.’...
3/“... McGahn recalled the President telling him ‘Mueller has to go’ and ‘Call me back when you do it.’ McGahn understood the President to be saying that the Special Counsel had to be removed by Rosenstein. To end the conversation with the President, McGahn left the President...
Acting WH Chief of Staff Mik Mulvaney tells auience at Milken Institute that morale in the West Wing has improved dramatically since GEN John Kelly (ret) left as Chief of Staff and he was installed, @Kevinliptakcnn reports ... 1/
@Kevinliptakcnn 2/ "We have the right team on the field, we just need to be managed in a different way. My predecessor -- I will not say anything bad about my predecessor, he’s a true great American, he’s a Gold Star parent and a four star general,...
@Kevinliptakcnn 3/ "... I have a great deal of admiration for him except for one thing. He openly let everybody know who worked for him that he hated his job. Every single day, he told people how much he hated his job. Imagine what that would do for morale in your operation?...
.@theintercept: "In the past six months there have been three mass shootings at houses of worship in Western countries — two targeting Jews and one targeting Muslims. In each case the ideology has been the same....
2/ "The shooters were driven not just by white supremacy, but by a bigoted conspiracy claiming whites are being demographically 'replaced' by ethnic minorities. Earnest’s manifesto is a stomach-churning blend of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,...
3/ "...with justifications for violence liberally mixed in. He leaves no ambiguity about who inspired him. 'Tarrant was a catalyst for me personally,' he wrote, referring to the New Zealand mosque shooter who left behind a similar manifesto. 'He showed me that it could be done.'
Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, a victim of the shooting at the Chabad of Poway Synagogue, tells NBC his “fingers got blown away” during Saturday’s incident.
2/ Goldstein heard a “large bang” and turned around, “face to face with this murderer, terrorist who was holding the rifle and looking straight at me. Then as soon as he saw me he started to shoot toward me, and that’s when I put my hands up, and my fingers got blown away.”
3/ Rabbi Goldstein went on to say his close friend Lori Kay, was shot dead in the moments following. “Then he continued on, and he just killed Lori Kay right there on the spot.”
Biden set the 24-hour-fundraising bar in that conf. call earlier this week and he appears to have met it --raised $6.3 million in 1st 24 hours, more than Sanders and O'Rourke. 96,926 contributors.
THOUGH pay attention to potential spin in that Biden press release -- 1/2
THOUGH pay attention to potential spin in that Biden press release -- 1/2
2/2 Biden heralds ONLINE donations.... "97% of online donations were under $200... average online donation was $41"...
What about donations overall?
And how much of $6.3M is just for primary cash v general election? Will update with more when we get it --
What about donations overall?
And how much of $6.3M is just for primary cash v general election? Will update with more when we get it --
UPDATE: Campaign says ALL of this $6.3M is primary cash, NONE is for general.
ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Larry Hogan today called for Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign as Mayor of Baltimore:
"On April 1, I directed the state prosecutor to investigate the disturbing allegations surrounding Mayor Catherine Pugh’s questionable financial dealings with...
"On April 1, I directed the state prosecutor to investigate the disturbing allegations surrounding Mayor Catherine Pugh’s questionable financial dealings with...
2/“...the University of Maryland Medical System. Today, Federal law enforcement agents are raiding Baltimore’s City Hall, the homes of Mayor Catherine Pugh and the office of her attorney.
"Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership...
"Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership...
3/“... Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust. She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign."
.@barbarastarrcnn notes that in the last week three US servicemembers have died overseas in ‘non combat” related deaths. They were ages 20, 22, and 24 years old.
1/
1/
2/ Spc. Michael T. Osorio, 20, from Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, died April 23, 2019, in Taji, Iraq, in a non combat related incident. The incident is under investigation.
Spc. Ryan Dennis Orin Riley, 22, from Richmond, Kentucky, died April 20, 2019 in Ninawa Province, Iraq, from a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation.
A senior administration official tells me that while Secretary Nielsen grew frustrated with the White House‘s lack of engagement on election security, she continued to push the matter on her own, organizing two principals' meetings on her own -- hosted at DHS offices in DC 1/
2/ Nielsen also pressed to brief the Hill on election threats and the Administration’s mitigation efforts, participating in briefings for the House and Senate on election security.
3/ Her efforts, and those of DHS and other agencies, also took place outside of DC, participating in an election security summit in St. Louis, meeting with secretaries of state at conventions to talk about DHS support, and was involved in a "election apocalypse" exercise in CO
Confirming much of what's in this @NYTimes scoop, a US Gov official tells me "it's like pulling teeth to get the White House to focus the attention needed on” Russian election interference 1/
nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/…
nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/…
2/ The official says attempted Russian interference in US public affairs has continued and DHS officials and sr leaders "spent months and months trying to sound the alarm at the White House about the need to take foreign interference more seriously and to elevate the issue."
3/ In addition, the official says the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats shared those views and felt that the Administration “was not being forward-leaning enough in notifying Congress and the American people.”
Every time I cross this bridge on I-95, I think about the fact that Senator Tydings was defeated in his 1950 re-election campaign at least partly because Senator Joe McCarthy and his team used smears and illegal financial transactions to beat him.
2/ Tydings had helmed a Senate subcommittee that investigated McCarthy’s accusations about Communists in the State Department. He called McCarthy’s charges “a fraud and a hoax.” McCarthy then got involved in the race to defeat Tydings.
3/ A bipartisan Senate Rules subcommittee later investigated the race, which Tydings lost. Per the Senate Historian, the subcommittee looked at “excessive campaign expenditures, massive out-of-state contributions unlisted in the required financial reports, and...
One of my favorite parts of the Passover Seder is the story of the Four Sons (Wise, Wicked, Simple, and the Son Too Young to Know What To Ask) and how we’re told to answer their particular questions about the meaning of the holiday. 1/
2/ The parable comes from 4 different times in the Bible that Jews are instructed to tell their children of the Exodus from Egypt.
In Deuteronomy 6 the son asks "What are the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?"
He’s Wise.
In Deuteronomy 6 the son asks "What are the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?"
He’s Wise.
3/ The son has a different tone in Exodus 12. “What is this service to you?"
Wicked seems a little harsh to me, but that’s what he gets called.
Wicked seems a little harsh to me, but that’s what he gets called.
AG Barr on obstruction charge says “in assessing the President’s actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context. President Trump faced an unprecedented situation...
2/ “...As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates....
3/“... At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President’s personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion....
DOJ charges 60 in 5 states -- incl. 31 doctors, 7 pharmacists, 8 nurse practitioners -- for "alleged participation in the illegal prescribing and distributing of opioids and other dangerous narcotics and for health care fraud schemes."
In Tennessee a "doctor who branded himself the 'Rock Doc,' allegedly prescribed powerful and dangerous combinations of opioids and benzodiazepines, sometimes in exchange for sexual favors..."
3/ In Alabama, "a doctor allegedly recruited prostitutes and other young women with whom he had sexual relationships to become patients at his clinic, while simultaneously allowing them and their associates to abuse illicit drugs at his house..."
Only a couple episodes in but I really like this Ned Stark character —
Robb Stark also seems cool
Robert Baratheon is colorful!
