rawstory--2020-01-18--All the president’s grifters

All the president’s grifters

Welcome to another edition of What Fresh Hell ?
, Raw Story ’ s roundup of news items that might have become controversies under another regime , but got buried – or were at least under-appreciated – due to the daily firehose of political pratfalls , unhinged tweet storms and other sundry embarrassments coming out of the current White House .
One of Donald Trump ’ s great gifts is an instinct for surrounding himself with people who are so sleazy and lacking in credibility that when they ’ re indicted for some scam or flip on him and reveal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easy to discredit .
This week , for example , White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham described Lev Parnas , the grifty GOP operative who released a tranche of damning documents this week , as “ a man who is under indictment and who ’ s actually out on bail .
This is a man who owns a company called Fraud Inc. We ’ re not too concerned about [ his revelations ] .
” All of that is true , but Parnas worked closely with Trump ’ s personal attorney to strong-arm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he asked Trump to remove the US ambassador and has released dozens of photos of himself mugging with Trump , both of his sons , Mike Pence and a who ’ s-who of Republican bigwigs close to White House .
As soon as Michael Cohen , Trump ’ s long-time lawyer and business partner , turned on his former boss he became “ a felon , a disbarred lawyer and a convicted perjurer who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a ‘ deliberate and premeditated ’ fashion , ” according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Trump campaign is distancing itself from one of its highest-profile supporters , David Bossie , two days after the president ’ s longtime friend was accused of using his political group to scam elderly Republican voters for his own financial gain , ” reported Politico last year .
Despite visiting the White House 13 times and being described in media reports as “ a lobbyist known for his ties to the inner circle of President Donald Trump , ” the White House claimed that nobody in the building knew George Nader after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He was later arrested on child porn charges .
When Trump announced that he was tapping George Papadopoulos as a foreign policy advisor , he called the unheralded and inexperienced “ energy consultant ” an “ excellent guy , ” but when Papadopoulos was busted for lying to the FBI and then cooperated in the Mueller probe , he became “ just a coffee boy.
” After Sam Nunberg blasted the White House in a series of bizarre ( and perhaps drunken ) press hits , then-White House spox Sarah Huckabee Jones described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t worked at the White House ” and didn ’ t know what he was talking about .
“ Matt Whitaker—I don ’ t know Matt Whitaker , ” Trump said of the buffoonish Fox News legal analyst he ’ d appointed Acting Attorney General when the media revealed that Whitaker had been involved in a series of fraudulent endeavors .
And after Omarosa Manigault Newman , whom Trump had once gushed over as “ a wonderful woman ” who was “ amazing ” and “ such a fine person , ” wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House , Trump called her “ a crazed , crying lowlife ” who is “ vicious , but not smart.
” This is , of course , only a partial list .
Speaking of the best people… “ A small number of people at a few federal agencies have vast power over the protection of American air and water , ” reports The New York Times .
“ Under the Trump administration , the people appointed to those positions overwhelmingly used to work in the fossil fuel , chemical and agriculture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have been responsible for loosening or undoing nearly 100 environmental protections from pollution and pesticides , as well as weakening preservations of natural resources and efforts to curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
” In related news , “ a lobbyist turned senior Agriculture Department official repeatedly shared information with her former industry on policy and enforcement , according to ProPublica .
Before being tapped by Trump to serve as a senior Agriculture Department official , Rebeckah Adcock “ was the chief lobbyist for the herbicide industry ’ s trade group.
” A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under an unhinged president*… Politico reports that Intelligence officials are trying to convince Congress to skip the public portion of an annual threat report after last year ’ s presentation “ provoked an angry outburst from President Donald Trump.
” This week , the regime also “ abruptly canceled four classified congressional briefings related to the ongoing Iran crisis , in some cases providing little or no explanation for doing so , ” according to CNN .
The briefings were scheduled to be conducted by officials from the State Department , the FBI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Trump was bothered by corruption in Ukraine… .
President Trump wanted to strike down a law that prohibits companies from bribing foreign officials , calling the ban “ so unfair ” to American companies , two Washington Post reporters recount in a new book .
In the spring of 2017 , Mr. Trump was at a briefing with Rex W. Tillerson , then the secretary of state , and aides in the Oval Office .
At the mention of a bribery allegation , Mr. Trump “ perked up ” and told Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scrapping the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act , the authors write .
That law , enacted in 1977 and heavily enforced since around 2005 , prohibits companies that operate in the United States from bribing foreign officials to obtain or retain business .
It has become a major factor in corporate decision-making about operations abroad .
Mr. Trump said that it was “ just so unfair that American companies aren ’ t allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas… ” According to The Denver Post , one city officials said , “ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not signed by a judge.
” The story that we believe should have been plastered all over the front pages this week… And we ’ ll leave you with two pieces of good news .
Texas Tribune : “ A federal judge temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that would have allowed governors , like Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott , and other local leaders to prevent refugees from resettling in those areas .
”

Welcome to another edition of What Fresh Hell?, Raw Story’s roundup of news items that might have become controversies under another regime, but got buried – or were at least under-appreciated – due to the daily firehose of political pratfalls, unhinged tweet storms and other sundry embarrassments coming out of the current White House.
One of Donald Trump's great gifts is an instinct for surrounding himself with people who are so sleazy and lacking in credibility that when they're indicted for some scam or flip on him and reveal his abuses of power they're easy to discredit.
This week, for example, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham described Lev Parnas, the grifty GOP operative who released a tranche of damning documents this week, as “a man who is under indictment and who’s actually out on bail. This is a man who owns a company called Fraud Inc. We're not too concerned about [his revelations].” All of that is true, but Parnas worked closely with Trump's personal attorney to strong-arm Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden, says he asked Trump to remove the US ambassador and has released dozens of photos of himself mugging with Trump, both of his sons, Mike Pence and a who's-who of Republican bigwigs close to White House.
As soon as Michael Cohen, Trump's long-time lawyer and business partner, turned on his former boss he became “a felon, a disbarred lawyer and a convicted perjurer who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a ‘deliberate and premeditated’ fashion,” according to campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany.
"The Trump campaign is distancing itself from one of its highest-profile supporters, David Bossie, two days after the president’s longtime friend was accused of using his political group to scam elderly Republican voters for his own financial gain," reported Politico last year.
Despite visiting the White House 13 times and being described in media reports as "a lobbyist known for his ties to the inner circle of President Donald Trump," the White House claimed that nobody in the building knew George Nader after he cooperated with the Mueller probe. He was later arrested on child porn charges.
When Trump announced that he was tapping George Papadopoulos as a foreign policy advisor, he called the unheralded and inexperienced "energy consultant" an "excellent guy," but when Papadopoulos was busted for lying to the FBI and then cooperated in the Mueller probe, he became "just a coffee boy."
After Sam Nunberg blasted the White House in a series of bizarre (and perhaps drunken) press hits, then-White House spox Sarah Huckabee Jones described him as someone who "hasn't worked at the White House" and didn't know what he was talking about.
“Matt Whitaker—I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Trump said of the buffoonish Fox News legal analyst he'd appointed Acting Attorney General when the media revealed that Whitaker had been involved in a series of fraudulent endeavors.
And after Omarosa Manigault Newman, whom Trump had once gushed over as "a wonderful woman" who was "amazing" and "such a fine person," wrote a tell-all book about her experience in the White House, Trump called her "a crazed, crying lowlife" who is “vicious, but not smart.”
This is, of course, only a partial list.
*****
Speaking of the best people...
"A small number of people at a few federal agencies have vast power over the protection of American air and water," reports The New York Times. "Under the Trump administration, the people appointed to those positions overwhelmingly used to work in the fossil fuel, chemical and agriculture industries. During their time in government they have been responsible for loosening or undoing nearly 100 environmental protections from pollution and pesticides, as well as weakening preservations of natural resources and efforts to curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions."
*****
In related news, "a lobbyist turned senior Agriculture Department official repeatedly shared information with her former industry on policy and enforcement, according to ProPublica. Before being tapped by Trump to serve as a senior Agriculture Department official, Rebeckah Adcock "was the chief lobbyist for the herbicide industry’s trade group."
Adcock had helped her former industry colleagues in a variety of ways. At Dow’s request, for example, she had arranged a meeting between a top company official and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.... Before the May 2017 meeting, a Dow lobbyist emailed Adcock: “Do you know who will staff the secretary?” Adcock wrote back, playfully, “Yes and u do too.” “Roger,” the lobbyist, Hunt Shipman, replied. Then he joked about the potential conflict of a public servant helping former colleagues: “Maybe you can have a chair on both sides of the table…maybe you can staff them both? :)”
*****
Art of the deal...
*****
TPM:
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) want to know whether any Mar-a-Lago members had advanced knowledge that the Trump administration would kill a top Iranian general — and whether they used that knowledge to game the stock market.
*****
A couple of stories about trying to manage under an unhinged president*...
Politico reports that Intelligence officials are trying to convince Congress to skip the public portion of an annual threat report after last year's presentation "provoked an angry outburst from President Donald Trump."
At the last such threats briefing a year ago, the chiefs presented findings that diverged from the president’s statements on the longevity of Islamic State terror group, as well as Iran and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. He blistered them on Twitter the following day, labeling them “passive” and “naive” while writing that “Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!"
This week, the regime also "abruptly canceled four classified congressional briefings related to the ongoing Iran crisis, in some cases providing little or no explanation for doing so," according to CNN. The briefings were scheduled to be conducted by officials from the State Department, the FBI and the Pentagon.
*****
Imagine actually believing that Trump was bothered by corruption in Ukraine....
President Trump wanted to strike down a law that prohibits companies from bribing foreign officials, calling the ban “so unfair” to American companies, two Washington Post reporters recount in a new book. In the spring of 2017, Mr. Trump was at a briefing with Rex W. Tillerson, then the secretary of state, and aides in the Oval Office. At the mention of a bribery allegation, Mr. Trump “perked up” and told Mr. Tillerson that he wanted his help in scrapping the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the authors write. That law, enacted in 1977 and heavily enforced since around 2005, prohibits companies that operate in the United States from bribing foreign officials to obtain or retain business. It has become a major factor in corporate decision-making about operations abroad. Mr. Trump said that it was “just so unfair that American companies aren’t allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas..."
*****
Denver this week became the national target of the Trump administration’s escalated crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoenaed information on four foreign nationals wanted for deportation. ICE usually sends the administrative subpoenas to employers or landlords as they track down immigrants who are in the country illegally. The agency confirmed to The Associated Press, which first reported the Denver subpoenas, that it was the first time they had been directed to a law enforcement agency. ICE indicated that it could expand the unusual practice to other cities.
According to The Denver Post, one city officials said, "This is not a legal document. It’s not signed by a judge.”
*****
"Trump is preparing to divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year, five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget, according to internal planning figures obtained by The Washington Post ." Just a reminder that Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 and Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution give Congress the exclusive power of the purse. *****
The story that we believe should have been plastered all over the front pages this week...
*****
And we'll leave you with two pieces of good news.
Texas Tribune: "A federal judge temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that would have allowed governors, like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and other local leaders to prevent refugees from resettling in those areas."
Daily Kos: "Scotland to Reach 100% Renewable Energy This Year."


rawstory--2020-01-18--Ken Starr will end up being a nightmare for Trump during the Senate impeachment trial: Ex-solicitor

Ken Starr will end up being a nightmare for Trump during the Senate impeachment trial: Ex-solicitor general

On Saturday ’ s edition of MSNBC ’ s “ AM Joy , ” law professor and former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal walked through the problems with President Donald Trump ’ s impeachment defense team , which includes such notable names as former anti-Clinton independent counsel Ken Starr and retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz .
“ I ’ m not going to like join the chorus of those who say because Trump has hired Epstein ’ s lawyers , that ’ s somehow bad , ” said Katyal .
“ I think it ’ s dangerous thing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the clients that they ’ ve represented in the past .
We don ’ t want to incentivize great lawyers not to take hard cases because of fear of personal attacks later.
” “ I think if I were Trump , I ’ d be worried about hiring Ken Starr because of all the things Starr said 20 years ago , ” continued Katyal .
“ For example , he said that President Clinton abused executive privilege , and , therefore , should be impeached and removed from office for it .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s nothing compared to the executive privilege abuses of Trump , I mean , that ’ s a hundred times worse and on steroids .
So it ’ s just a hard thing , because every time Starr tries to mount a defense of Trump , he ’ s going to be confronted with Ken Starr from 20 years ago.
” “ With respect to Dershowitz , his defenses are frankly silly , ” continued Katyal .
“ Yesterday he went on TV and said abuse of power is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t think you ’ ll find anyone to agree with that view , it is what impeachment is about .
If you have any doubt , look at what a congressman in 2008 said .
He said , what a high crime and misdemeanor is , it ’ s when a president puts his personal interest above those of the American people .
That congressman in 2008 was Mike Pence .
”

On Saturday's edition of MSNBC's "AM Joy," law professor and former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal walked through the problems with President Donald Trump's impeachment defense team, which includes such notable names as former anti-Clinton independent counsel Ken Starr and retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz.
"I'm not going to like join the chorus of those who say because Trump has hired Epstein's lawyers, that's somehow bad," said Katyal. "I think it's dangerous thing in this country to attack the lawyers for the clients that they've represented in the past. We don't want to incentivize great lawyers not to take hard cases because of fear of personal attacks later."
"I think if I were Trump, I'd be worried about hiring Ken Starr because of all the things Starr said 20 years ago," continued Katyal. "For example, he said that President Clinton abused executive privilege, and, therefore, should be impeached and removed from office for it. And what everyone thinks about what Clinton did, it's nothing compared to the executive privilege abuses of Trump, I mean, that's a hundred times worse and on steroids. So it's just a hard thing, because every time Starr tries to mount a defense of Trump, he's going to be confronted with Ken Starr from 20 years ago."
"With respect to Dershowitz, his defenses are frankly silly," continued Katyal. "Yesterday he went on TV and said abuse of power is not an impeachable offense. I don't think you'll find anyone to agree with that view, it is what impeachment is about. If you have any doubt, look at what a congressman in 2008 said. He said, what a high crime and misdemeanor is, it's when a president puts his personal interest above those of the American people. That congressman in 2008 was Mike Pence."
Watch below:


rawstory--2020-01-18--Lara Trump appears to mock Biden’s stutter at campaign event: ‘Let’s get the words out, Joe’

President Donald Trump ’ s daughter-in-law and campaign adviser Lara Trump appeared to mock former Vice President Joe Biden ’ s stutter during a “ Women for Trump ” event Tuesday in Iowa .
This article first appeared in Salon .
“ I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden , ” Lara Trump , who is the wife of Eric Trump , said .
“ I ’ m supposed to want him to fail at every turn , but every time he comes on stage or they turn to him , I ’ m like : ‘ Joe , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s get the words out , Joe.
’ You kinda feel bad for him .
The problem is that ’ s their front-runner , guys , OK ?
” Biden has spoken about his struggles overcoming his childhood stutter in the past , opened up about them in a recent interview with The Atlantic .
Author John Hendrickson pointed out to Biden that he still seems to struggle with his “ r ’ s. ” “ Well , I may .
I-I-I-I-I haven ’ t thought I have , ” Biden told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t doubt there ’ s probably ways people could pick up that there ’ s something .
But I don ’ t consciously think of it anymore.
” “ I ’ m everybody ’ s target ; they have to take me down .
And so , what I found is—not anymore—I ’ ve found that it ’ s difficult to deal with some of the criticism , based on the nature of the person directing the criticism , ” he added .
Not long after the piece was published , former White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s imitation of a child struggling with a speech impediment at a recent debate .
“ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about , ” Sanders tweeted last month .
“ I ’ ve worked my whole life to overcome a stutter , ” he responded .
“ And it ’ s my great honor to mentor kids who have experienced the same .
It ’ s called empathy .
Look it up.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that about you and that is commendable , ” she wrote .
“ I apologize and should have made my point respectfully.
” Biden said at the debate that he frequently gives his personal phone number to people who speak to him about their struggles at campaign events .
“ The little kid who said , ‘ I-I-I-I can ’ t talk .
Wh-wh-what do I do ? '
” he said .
“ I have scores of these young women and men who I keep in contact with.
” Biden told The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ best thing that ever happened ” to him .
“ Stuttering gave me an insight I don ’ t think I ever would have had into other people ’ s pain , ” he said .

President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law and campaign adviser Lara Trump appeared to mock former Vice President Joe Biden's stutter during a "Women for Trump" event Tuesday in Iowa.
This article first appeared in Salon.
"I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden," Lara Trump, who is the wife of Eric Trump, said. "I'm supposed to want him to fail at every turn, but every time he comes on stage or they turn to him, I'm like: 'Joe, can you get it out? Let's get the words out, Joe.' You kinda feel bad for him. The problem is that's their front-runner, guys, OK?"
Biden has spoken about his struggles overcoming his childhood stutter in the past, opened up about them in a recent interview with The Atlantic. Author John Hendrickson pointed out to Biden that he still seems to struggle with his "r's."
"Well, I may. I-I-I-I-I haven't thought I have," Biden told Hendrickson. "But I-I-I-I don't doubt there's probably ways people could pick up that there's something. But I don't consciously think of it anymore."
"I'm everybody's target; they have to take me down. And so, what I found is—not anymore—I've found that it's difficult to deal with some of the criticism, based on the nature of the person directing the criticism," he added.
Not long after the piece was published, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders mocked Biden's imitation of a child struggling with a speech impediment at a recent debate.
"I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about," Sanders tweeted last month.
Biden shamed Sanders over the comment.
"I've worked my whole life to overcome a stutter," he responded. "And it's my great honor to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It's called empathy. Look it up."
Sanders apologized and deleted her tweet.
"I actually didn't know that about you and that is commendable," she wrote. "I apologize and should have made my point respectfully."
Biden said at the debate that he frequently gives his personal phone number to people who speak to him about their struggles at campaign events.
"The little kid who said, 'I-I-I-I can't talk. Wh-wh-what do I do?'" he said. "I have scores of these young women and men who I keep in contact with."
Biden told The Atlantic that the childhood stutter was the "best thing that ever happened" to him.
"Stuttering gave me an insight I don't think I ever would have had into other people's pain," he said.


rawstory--2020-01-18--‘Liberal hack’ attacker McSally trashed by ex-GOP lawmaker for desperation move to save her seat

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday morning , former GOP lawmaker David Jolly ( R-FL ) had little good to say about Sen. Martha McSally ( R-AZ ) for her attack on CNN ’ s Manu Raju where she called the Capitol Hill reporter a “ liberal hack.
” Speaking with host Garrett Haake , Jolly was discussing multiple incumbent Republican senators who may go down in the 2020 election with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket , when he was asked about McSally who was just appointed to her seat by Arizona ’ s governor after just losing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate seat in 2018 .
Asked about embattled Sen. Thom Tillis ( R-NC ) and McSally , Jolly explained the two lawmakers are scuffling to hang onto their seats .
“ I know that the inflection part for Tom Tillis came from reprogramming money for the wall — he said the president didn ’ t have a chance .
There were rumors that Tillis would face a Senate primary challenge in North Carolina and the president would withhold his endorsement .
He quickly fell in line and , he ’ s facing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Jolly explained .
“ For McSally , I honestly think she knows she ’ s losing .
And when members know they ’ re about to lose an election they begin to act aggressively.
” “ That McSally is probably the real McSally and that is a senator who knows she ’ s going to lose in November , ” he concluded .

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday morning, former GOP lawmaker David Jolly (R-FL) had little good to say about Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) for her attack on CNN's Manu Raju where she called the Capitol Hill reporter a "liberal hack."
Speaking with host Garrett Haake, Jolly was discussing multiple incumbent Republican senators who may go down in the 2020 election with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, when he was asked about McSally who was just appointed to her seat by Arizona's governor after just losing a run for Arizona's other Senate seat in 2018.
Asked about embattled Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and McSally, Jolly explained the two lawmakers are scuffling to hang onto their seats.
"I know that the inflection part for Tom Tillis came from reprogramming money for the wall -- he said the president didn't have a chance. There were rumors that Tillis would face a Senate primary challenge in North Carolina and the president would withhold his endorsement. He quickly fell in line and, he's facing a tough re-election and needed the support," Jolly explained. "For McSally, I honestly think she knows she's losing. And when members know they're about to lose an election they begin to act aggressively."
"That McSally is probably the real McSally and that is a senator who knows she's going to lose in November," he concluded.
Watch below:


rawstory--2020-01-18--Amtrak conductor allegedly tried to force NAACP’s Sherrilyn Ifill to give up her seat — on MLK Day w

Amtrak conductor allegedly tried to force NAACP’s Sherrilyn Ifill to give up her seat — on MLK Day weekend

On Friday evening Sherrilyn Ifill , the director-counsel of the NAACP ’ s Legal Defense Fund , tweeted about an @ @ @ @ @ she boarded in Washington , D.C. — just two days before the national holiday celebrating @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. Ifill , being a prominent legal and civil rights @ @ @ @ @ acquiesce to this demand , and the situation escalated .
What happened next soon left @ @ @ @ @ her behavior to her aghast supervisor .
After several hours of silence , Amtrak ultimately @ @ @ @ @ promised they were investigating the incident .

"Trump and Giuliani had a handshake agreement that Giuliani and his team would get paid by the Trump political operation for their post-election work, according to Timothy Parlatore, an attorney for longtime Giuliani ally Bernard Kerik," Schwartz says. "But the Trump campaign and their affiliated committees ultimately did not honor that pledge, according to campaign finance records. The failure to pay Giuliani and his team came up last week in a private interview between prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith's team and Bernard Kerik, a member of Giuliani's team in late 2020, according to Parlatore."
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?
Schwartz recalls that "Federal Election Commission records and testimony from the House January 6th Select Committee hearings reveal that none of the private sector lawyers identified -- but not indicted -- in that case got paid for their post-election work: Not Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro or John Eastman."
Trump reneging on his gentleman's contract with Giuliani, Schartz observes, "is all the more striking" given that Giuliani was charged along with Trump by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for trying to steal the election in Georgia under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) of 1970 — upon which Giuliani built his career as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York.
Trump's fundraising push after he lost to President Joe Biden is also under scrutiny by Smith, whom Politico's Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney explained on August 8th is investigating if Trump's Save America Political Action Committee "violated federal laws by raising money off claims of voter fraud they knew were false."
Those efforts, predicated on Trump's insistence that the election was stolen from him, raked in $250 million, according to the final report released by the House January 6th Select Committee.
READ MORE: Why Trump’s Georgia indictment is a 'reminder of the genius of American federalism': op-ed
"The money came in response to countless fundraising appeals that claimed it was needed to fund Trump's election challenges in court," Schwartz continues. "Yet instead of paying the lawyers who tried unsuccessfully to overturn his loss, the money went into Trump’s leadership PAC."
In fact, "Trump's entire political network, including his joint fundraising committees, spent over $47 million combined from the start of 2020 through the end of 2021 on legal fees, according to a report by OpenSecrets," Schwartz adds. "Today, that money is instead helping Trump pay his own legal bills. The PAC spent over $20 million in the first half of the year alone on legal fees as the president faced the first two of his four indictments."
READ MORE: Judge randomly assigned to Georgia Trump case once worked for Willis: report
Schwartz's report is available at this link.


rawstory--2020-01-18--GOP forcing Hunter Biden to testify could ‘completely backfire’ on them — here’s why

With public pressure mounting for Senate Republicans to allow officials like former National Security Adviser John Bolton and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to testify at President Donald Trump ’ s impeachment trial , some in the GOP are now suggesting a trade — allowing these witnesses in exchange for Hunter Biden , the focus of Trump ’ s Ukraine conspiracy theories , to take the stand as well and face aggressive questioning about his role in Burisma .
This is a GOP attempt to distract from the allegations against Trump by changing the subject to the Bidens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smerconish noted on Saturday , this strategy might not even work .
“ This is my theory , pure speculation , ” said Smerconish .
“ I have this vision on the Democratic side of the aisle , some who know Hunter Biden , are sort of rubbing their hands and saying , yeah , yeah , just keep begging for this guy.
” “ The Republicans have created such a caricature of him .
In other words , they set the bar so low , ” continued Smerconish .
“ And then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes in .
He ’ s a handsome guy .
He ’ s articulate .
He ’ s smart .
He went to Georgetown , he went to Yale Law .
He puts sentences together that are not indicative of having committed anything illicit , other than earning money , perhaps because of the name with which he was bestowed .
And Americans say , ‘ Oh my god , is that all there is ?
’ It could completely backfire .
It ’ s one of the intangibles .
I don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paying attention .
”

With public pressure mounting for Senate Republicans to allow officials like former National Security Adviser John Bolton and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to testify at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, some in the GOP are now suggesting a trade — allowing these witnesses in exchange for Hunter Biden, the focus of Trump's Ukraine conspiracy theories, to take the stand as well and face aggressive questioning about his role in Burisma. This is a GOP attempt to distract from the allegations against Trump by changing the subject to the Bidens.
But as CNN's Michael Smerconish noted on Saturday, this strategy might not even work.
"This is my theory, pure speculation," said Smerconish. "I have this vision on the Democratic side of the aisle, some who know Hunter Biden, are sort of rubbing their hands and saying, yeah, yeah, just keep begging for this guy."
"The Republicans have created such a caricature of him. In other words, they set the bar so low," continued Smerconish. "And then all of a sudden, Hunter Biden comes in. He's a handsome guy. He's articulate. He's smart. He went to Georgetown, he went to Yale Law. He puts sentences together that are not indicative of having committed anything illicit, other than earning money, perhaps because of the name with which he was bestowed. And Americans say, 'Oh my god, is that all there is?' It could completely backfire. It's one of the intangibles. I don't know, but I'm paying attention."
Watch below:


rawstory--2020-01-18--Devin Nunes needs to ‘fess up’ or he’ll end up in jail after bombshell report on Parnas contacts: GO

Devin Nunes needs to ‘fess up’ or he’ll end up in jail after bombshell report on Parnas contacts: GOP strategist

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday Morning , GOP strategist Susan Del Percio said that Rep. Devin Nunes ( R-CA ) is in a very bad place now that he has been closely tied to Lev Parnas , and it is time for him to come clean before it gets worse .
Speaking with host Garret Haake , the Republican campaign consultant was asked about a report that Nunes was in contact with Parnas more than the GOP lawmaker had previously admitted .
As Politico reported on Friday , “ A set of text messages released Friday evening by the Intelligence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Derek Harvey , in frequent contact with Lev Parnas , the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani who has become a key figure in the Ukraine controversy that resulted in Trump ’ s impeachment last month .
In one exchange , Harvey appears to pass along Nunes ’ contact information two days before the Intelligence Committee ’ s impeachment report indicated that a phone connected to Nunes made contact with a phone connected to Parnas .
The text messages , provided to investigators by Parnas , show Harvey in contact with Parnas throughout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Parnas was working with Giuliani and other Trump allies to remove the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine , Marie Yovanovitch.
” According to Del Percio , Nunes needs to think long and hard about his next step .
Saying President Donald Trump ’ s attempts to distance himself from Parnas may work , Del Percio said Nunes may not have that luxury .
“ It may work for Donald Trump , it works for nobody else , ” she explained .
“ Look where Michael Cohen is , Michael Flynn , [ Paul ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ careful .
He is someone that has to fess up , put this on the table is probably his best strategy at this point .
”

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday Morning, GOP strategist Susan Del Percio said that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is in a very bad place now that he has been closely tied to Lev Parnas, and it is time for him to come clean before it gets worse.
Speaking with host Garret Haake, the Republican campaign consultant was asked about a report that Nunes was in contact with Parnas more than the GOP lawmaker had previously admitted.
As Politico reported on Friday, "A set of text messages released Friday evening by the Intelligence Committee show a top Nunes aide, Derek Harvey, in frequent contact with Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani who has become a key figure in the Ukraine controversy that resulted in Trump’s impeachment last month. In one exchange, Harvey appears to pass along Nunes’ contact information two days before the Intelligence Committee’s impeachment report indicated that a phone connected to Nunes made contact with a phone connected to Parnas. The text messages, provided to investigators by Parnas, show Harvey in contact with Parnas throughout the spring of 2019 — the same time Parnas was working with Giuliani and other Trump allies to remove the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch."
According to Del Percio, Nunes needs to think long and hard about his next step.
Saying President Donald Trump's attempts to distance himself from Parnas may work, Del Percio said Nunes may not have that luxury.
"It may work for Donald Trump, it works for nobody else," she explained. "Look where Michael Cohen is, Michael Flynn, [Paul] Manafort. So Devin Nunes should be careful. He is someone that has to fess up, put this on the table is probably his best strategy at this point."
Watch below:


rawstory--2020-01-18--Rosenstein admits he authorized release of Strzok-Page texts that spawned GOP conspiracy theories

In a court filing released on Friday , former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein admitted that he authorized the release @ @ @ @ @ FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page .
Strzok and Page , who were involved @ @ @ @ @ to dismissal by former special counsel Robert Mueller , and whose extramarital affair inflamed Fox @ @ @ @ @ , revealed a dislike of President Donald Trump in their text messages , which formed @ @ @ @ @ theories that the FBI had been secretly working to bring down the president with the @ @ @ @ @ have failed to find any evidence that Strzok , Page , or any other FBI @ @ @ @ @ Trump with the power of the agency .
However , a recent inspector general report @ @ @ @ @ may have been improper and require reform .

"Can it be a defense for Donald Trump, if he is prosecuted in Georgia, that he just sincerely believed the looney-tune lawyers who told him there was election fraud, Giuliani said Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss were drug dealers — he believed that but didn't believe [Secretary of State] Brad Raffensperger?" asked anchor Joy Reid.
"He could make that defense," said Butler. "If a belief is reasonable, it's much more likely to be seen as credible by jurors. But if Trump is specifically asking the Georgia Secretary of State to find him 11,780 votes because that's how much he needs to get the election overturned, that's not a search for truth. That's an attempt to try to stay in office by any means necessary."
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Furthermore, said Butler, "the problem with these insults to people like Fani Willis — and there are two legal problems — it might work with the political base, but the judge is likely to be concerned about witness intimidation and whether he's trying to infect the jury pool. The other problem, we know, including from our first segment, when Donald Trump threatens people, violence sometimes follows. He made threats on January 6th, and then an element of his supporters tried to murder. They were looking to murder the Vice President and the Speaker of the House at the Capitol."
Notably, Trump is already facing witness tampering charges, which form two of the counts in his indictment in the federal election plot case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Watch the video below or at the link right here.


rawstory--2020-01-18--Dershowitz admits he’s ‘not an expert on the underlying facts’ of Trump’s impeachment with trial jus

Dershowitz admits he’s ‘not an expert on the underlying facts’ of Trump’s impeachment with trial just days away

On CNN Saturday , former Harvard Law professor and attorney Alan Dershowitz , who will be speaking in President Donald Trump ’ s defense at the Senate impeachment trial , admitted to host Michael Smerconish that he was “ not an expert ” in the underlying facts of President Donald Trump ’ s impeachment — but opposes it anyway .
“ It seems to me you are casting your role as more expert witness than advocate , ” said Smerconish .
“ Let me ask you this .
are you uncomfortable arguing the underlying facts of this case ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expert on the underlying facts , ” said Dershowitz .
“ I ’ d be perfectly comfortable arguing any aspect of this .
I have argued some of them in my writings .
I ’ m an advocate , not a witness .
I ’ m advocating against impeachment .
I think it would create a terrible , terrible precedent for future presidents if we were to weaponize the impeachment provisions of the constitution and apply them to any president who was accused of abusing his power .
That would have included Adams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you name it .
Virtually half of our presidents have been accused of abusing their power .
As to obstruction of Congress , it ’ s an invented concept .
”

Seventeen minutes after the 13 new felony charges were released, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) took to social media and declared it a “ WITCH HUNT .”
And before the clock struck 11:30 p.m., House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declared the two-plus-year investigation a “ sham ,” even as a sworn grand jury in Fulton County, Ga., unanimously disagreed with the speaker’s assessment.
Today’s indictment is just the latest political attack in the Democrats’ WITCH HUNT against President Trump.
He did nothing wrong!
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 15, 2023
A senior member of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), says we ain’t seen nothing yet.
“We're going to be subjected to a massive disinformation and distraction campaign by the Republicans. Distort, distract, deflect and dissemble. Those are the tools of the trade,” Connolly told Raw Story. “But I think it's going to be very hard to overcome the facts as they're being laid out in these various indictments.”
While the conservative media machine is following the lead of Trump and his Republican allies in Congress, Connolly says their distortions-to-lies get harder to defend with each new case — not to mention the 91 felony charges now hanging over the former president.
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“They’re all engaged in defending the indefensible. You know, they can rail all they want about a laptop that was owned by the son of the president of the United States, but we've got four criminal indictments in four different locations of the former president and his acolytes,” Connolly says. “And that's pretty compelling.”
Still, even before the indictment dropped Monday evening, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) urged Republicans to defund special counsel Jack Smith, which is something Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL), for two, have been pushing in Congress.
Gingrich goes on to urge House Republicans to cut off special counsel Jack Smith's funding as of September 30, saying, "I think this is so dangerous to the very survival of the republic that it has to be stopped." pic.twitter.com/39C16cTUFw
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) August 15, 2023
Connolly wonders if some Republicans are getting nervous.
“Now, members of Congress, you know, I think many of them crossed the line. Some of them came perilously close to that line, and we'll see what happens with them,” Connolly says.
Of the four Republicans the House Jan. 6 select committee formally referred to the House Ethics Committee — McCarthy, Jordan, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) — the new indictment only mentions Perry .
After all 16 alleged fake electors in Michigan were charged last month, Raw Story exclusively reported Perry — along with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) — denied being worried.
“I don’t have any concerns,” Perry told Raw Story .
This latest indictment has the other three lawmakers named by the Jan. 6 select committee — McCarthy, Biggs and Jordan — publicly parroting Trump, even as Connolly says they’re likely singing a different tune in private.
“In some ways, this is the most sweeping of all of the indictments, because it's all-encompassing. It finally points the finger at what, in fact, all of us saw, and wraps a very coherent narrative around it as a massive conspiracy involving lots of people,” Connolly said. “I mean, that's massive. I think it's a big deal. You can't overstate the criticality of this indictment.”
Connolly says they’re mimicking Trump in more ways than one.
“That’s all part and parcel of the attempt to try to dismantle and degrade and demean and dismiss the legal system in America,” Connolly says. “When you can't win your case in front of a jury, then maybe you try to debunk the entire legal system?”
Gingrich goes on to urge House Republicans to cut off special counsel Jack Smith's funding as of September 30, saying, "I think this is so dangerous to the very survival of the republic that it has to be stopped." pic.twitter.com/39C16cTUFw
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) August 15, 2023
But that’s why Connolly and other Democrats are glad the Fulton County, Ga., trial is slated to be televised — in likely contrast to federal court proceedings, where there are no plans for television coverage.
“It’s necessary for the country to see this, to hear it, to go through this process,” Connolly says. “The public needs to hear the evidence. It's compelling. You know, it's one thing to read a headline and decide you can dismiss it. It's another to be riveted in front of the television and watch the evidence unfold in the courtroom where political rhetoric isn't going to cut it. It's now in a court of law, and you're being held to legal standards. And you're accused of violating them criminally, along with 18 co-conspirators.”