A resource for journalists and for shutting down your crazy uncle.
President Donald Trump celebrated the closing of the Weekly Standard Saturday, a conservative outlet which often published harsh pieces about the President and his administration.
The pathetic and dishonest Weekly Standard, run by failed prognosticator Bill Kristol (who, like many others, never had a clue), is flat broke and out of business. Too bad. May it rest in peace!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2018
As Special Counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors in New York continue racking up convictions and guilty pleas in the ever-widening scandals connected to Donald Trump, the president is lashing out—at Hillary Clinton, at the Democratic National Committee, and, of course, at the media. Just hours after announcing the departure of his scandal-plagued Interior secretary Saturday, Trump tweeted that “never in history” had the US press been “more dishonest than it is today.”
“Stories that should be good, are bad,” Trump complained. “Stories that should be bad, are horrible.”
Never in the history of our Country has the “press” been more dishonest than it is today. Stories that should be good, are bad. Stories that should be bad, are horrible. Many stories, like with the REAL story on Russia, Clinton & the DNC, seldom get reported. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2018
President Donald Trump bashed Democrats Thursday night — arguing that their personal animus against him is the only reason for their opposition to a Southern border wall.
In a wild video rant posted to Twitter, the president railed against the Left — accusing them of being disingenuous in their stance on the wall.
“The Democrats are absolute hypocrites!” Trump said. “All along, they’ve been supporting walls and supporting fences, and supporting all sorts of border security.
The video then cut to old clips of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama making various statements against illegal immigration. None has ever voiced support for a Southern border wall anywhere near the scale Trump has proposed — although Clinton came the closest by saying she has previously backed construction of a “barrier.”
Trump, however, regards Democrats as flip-flopping on the issue. And the reason for their supposed 180? Him.
“The fact is they’ve always supported fences, and walls, and partitions,” Trump said. “But you know what? They only don’t want to do it because of me. They have to put the people ahead of politics.”
[Mediaite]
Let’s not do a shutdown, Democrats – do what’s right for the American People! pic.twitter.com/bZg07ZKQqo
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
President Donald Trump went after MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski this afternoon for the comment she made yesterday calling Sec. Mike Pompeo a “wannabe dictator’s butt boy.”
She made the comment after Pompeo’s remarks on Fox News about Saudi Arabia and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Brzezinski later acknowledged that the comment was homophobic and apologized, saying she should have said something like “water boy,” and was absent from Morning Joe Thursday because of a pre-planned day off.
She got a lot of flak for those comments, including from U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell:
outrageous. This is totally unacceptable & deeply disturbing. Sexualizing gay people this way is designed to control them & minimize our worth. https://t.co/fQidRbJSxb
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 12, 2018
Well, now President Trump has weighed in, saying if Brzezinski was conservative she’d be banned from TV immediately:
If it was a Conservative that said what “crazed” Mika Brzezinski stated on her show yesterday, using a certain horrible term, that person would be banned permanently from television….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
….She will probably be given a pass, despite their terrible ratings. Congratulations to @RichardGrenell, our great Ambassador to Germany, for having the courage to take this horrible issue on!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
[Mediaite]
President Trump on Thursday again slammed special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation as a “witch hunt” and claimed that prosecutors gave his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, “a great deal” because they felt badly about how he had been treated.
“They gave General Flynn a great deal because they were embarrassed by the way he was treated – the FBI said he didn’t lie and they overrode the FBI,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “They want to scare everybody into making up stories that are not true by catching them in the smallest of misstatements. Sad!”
They gave General Flynn a great deal because they were embarrassed by the way he was treated – the FBI said he didn’t lie and they overrode the FBI. They want to scare everybody into making up stories that are not true by catching them in the smallest of misstatements. Sad!……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
WITCH HUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
Flynn, who served a brief stint as Trump’s national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. last December and agreed to cooperate in Mueller’s investigation.
Mueller has described Flynn’s cooperation as valuable. Earlier this week, Flynn asked a federal judge to spare him from prison time and instead sentence him to at most one year probation.
In a memo filed in federal court late Tuesday, Flynn’s defense attorneys also suggested that he had been duped by FBI agents who handled his interview, playing into a theory among conservatives that Flynn had been wrongly led to commit a federal crime.
Mueller has recommended Flynn serve no jail time, citing his “substantial assistance” in the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Flynn, who served on the Trump campaign before moving to the White House, is said to have offered the special counsel valuable details about contacts between the campaign and Russia as well as information related to other unknown matters under investigation.
Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced in D.C. federal court on Dec. 18.
Late Wednesday, the judge overseeing his case, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, asked both Flynn and Mueller to turn over additional materials related to Flynn’s January 2017 interview with the FBI in which he later admitted he lied about his Russia contacts.
It is possible but unclear whether the developments could delay Flynn’s sentencing.
Asked later Thursday whether he thought the FBI had acted inappropriately in the case, Trump said it was “a great thing” that the judge was assessing the matter.
“The FBI said Michael Flynn… didn’t lie. And Mueller said, well, maybe he did,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with recently elected governors. “But now they are all having a big dispute. So I think it is a great thing that the judge is looking into that situation.”
A report released by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year said top FBI officials testified that the agents who interviewed Flynn in January 2017 did not see outward indications, such as changes in his posture or tone, that indicated he knew he was lying. Flynn has admitted to lying to the FBI agents about his discussions with Kislyak regarding sanctions on Russia among other topics.
One of the agents who interviewed Flynn was Peter Strzok, a former FBI official who has attracted intense scrutiny from Republican lawmakers as a result of text messages he sent before the election in which he expressed criticisms of then-candidate Trump. While conservatives have seized on the messages as evidence of bias at the FBI in the early days of the counterintelligence probe into Russian interference, the Justice Department inspector general has found no evidence that political bias influenced the bureau’s decisions.
[The Hill]
President Donald Trump is addressing the recent legal developments surrounding his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes he pled guilty to in a Manhattan court.
Cohen pled guilty to illegally paying off women with whom Trump had allegedly engaged in extramarital affairs, and strongly implicated the President during the court proceedings. “I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds,” Cohen said. “I was weak for not having the strength to refuse his demands. Owning this mistake will free me to be once more the person I am.”
Trump is hitting back via Twitter:
I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called “advice of counsel,” and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid. Despite that many campaign finance lawyers have strongly……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
….stated that I did nothing wrong with respect to campaign finance laws, if they even apply, because this was not campaign finance. Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me, but he plead to two campaign charges which were not criminal and of which he probably was not…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
….guilty even on a civil basis. Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did-including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
President Trump denies directing Cohen for the actions that led to his sentencing, however, the Federal prosecutors in his own Department of Justice disagree.
Court filings clearly identify Trump has having directed these actions. Also, an audio recording surfaced earlier this year in which Cohen and Trump appear to talk about the illicit payments.
President Trump previously denied knowledge paying off adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen MacDougal, though he has denied ever engaging in any untoward behavior with both.
[Mediaite]
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters again this afternoon following his contentious public spat with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi on the border wall and a possible government shutdown.
Trump directly said he would be “proud” to shut down the government in the name of fighting for border security.
During a bill signing this afternoon, Trump said the meeting was “very friendly” and stood by his comments. When asked about owning the idea of a shutdown, he said, “I don’t mind.”
He elaborated:
“I don’t mind having the issue of border security on my side. If we have to close down the country over border security, I actually like that in terms of an issue, but I don’t want it to be an issue, I want it to be something that the country needs… We need border security, and part of border security is a wall. So I don’t mind owning that issue.”
And if the fight is on border security, Trump added, “I think I win that every single time.”
[Mediaite]
Over the weekend, former FBI Director James Comey made some comments about President Donald Trump‘s unacceptable behavior and how voters can stand up to it and vote him out of office, explicitly saying the Democrats “have to win” in 2020.
Comey’s comments have gotten a lot of attention in the past few days, and after today’s wild on-camera skirmish with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), President Donald Trump took to Twitter to blast Comey and say that he exposed himself as a Democrat who shouldn’t have been in charge of the FBI:
James Comey just totally exposed his partisan stance by urging his fellow Democrats to take back the White House in 2020. In other words, he is and has been a Democrat. Comey had no right heading the FBI at any time, but especially after his mind exploded!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
“I don’t care what you think of the President…it cannot bleed over to the FBI…Comey is confirming there is bias in the FBI…”
-Chris Swecker— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
In an interview earlier this year, Comey said he used to be a Republican but lamented that the party “left me.”
[Mediaite]
President Donald Trump held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to address an earlier contentious meeting with Democrats Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
“Believe or not it was actually a friendly meeting,” Trump said.
He reiterated the idea that Congress is on the cusp of passing criminal justice reform and a farm bill. Trump then somewhat reluctantly added border security to the list. Earlier in the day Schumer and Pelosi clashed with the president over funding for a border wall.
Trump threatened to shut down the government over the wall.
“It’s common sense, the country needs it,” Trump added.
“We need border security and part of border security is a wall,” the president added.
“I think it was a very friendly meeting,” President Donald Trump says after his contentious exchange with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer at the White House pic.twitter.com/dL1qT5O89D
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 11, 2018
President Donald Trump and Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi bickered at length on Tuesday in an explosive public meeting at the White House over the president’s promised border wall and threat to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t fund it.
“If we don’t get what we want one way or the other … I will shut down the government,” Trump said during a highly unusual fight that played out in front of the press before the official meeting began. “I am proud to shut down the government for border security. … I will take the mantle of shutting it down.”
If Trump and Congress can’t agree to a funding bill by Dec. 21, large parts of the federal government will run out of operating authority. The Defense Department, however, is funded through the end of next September.
Trump said it was unlikely that he would strike a deal Tuesday with Pelosi, a California Democrat who is expected to become House speaker next month, and Schumer, a New York Democrat who is the Senate minority leader.
“We may not have an agreement today,” he said. “We probably won’t.”
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of Trump’s Republican allies in Congress, demanded Monday night that $5 billion be included for the wall in any spending bill, while the Democratic leaders have been open to accepting less than $2 billion.
Short of that, she said, they would agree to a basic extension of funding through Sept. 30, 2019, for all seven appropriations bills, including the one that funds Homeland Security.
Before Trump took ownership of a possible shutdown, Pelosi took an early dig at him in her opening remarks and noted that his party still controls both the House and Senate until January.
“We must keep the government open,” she said. “We cannot have a Trump shutdown.”
“You have the White House, you have the Senate, you have the House of Representatives,” Pelosi responded.
But, she noted, not all Republicans are on board with his plans to build a physical barrier.
“There are no votes in the House, a majority of votes, for a wall,” Pelosi said.
But for two years, he has been unable to muster those votes for his core campaign promise during the 2016 election — a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that Trump vowed Mexico would pay for.
Vice President Mike Pence watched Tuesday’s spectacle unfold in silence as Trump and the Democrats also fought over the results of last month’s midterm elections and their meaning.
Outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly and presidential advisers Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller were also in the room for the meeting.
“This is spiraling downward,” she said.
The private portion of the discussion was brief, as Pelosi and Schumer emerged quickly to talk to reporters outside the White House.
Schumer said Trump threw a “temper tantrum.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a top Trump ally, cheered the president on from the sidelines of Twitter.
“Great job sticking to your guns on border security, Mr. President!” he wrote. “You are right to want more border security funding including Wall money. They are WRONG to say no.”
Graham also advocated for Trump to add into the mix a provision protecting certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children from deportation to put pressure on Democrats to approve money for the wall.
Likewise, some Democrats took to social media to back their leaders.
“Remember when Mexico was going to pay for the President’s wall?” Rep. Val Demings of Florida tweeted. “Shutting down the government over this foolish idea would be wildly irresponsible. A shutdown would cripple the economy and degrade transportation security during the holidays.”
[NBC News]
Donald Trump lied multiple times and threw a very public temper tantrum during a photo op at the White House with Senator Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi over the southern border wall funding and averting a government shutdown, which Trump said he would take full credit for.
Trump, who promised his supporters Mexico would pay for a wall, instead demanded the American taxpayers pay for his wall.
Some of the lies include:
* Trump claiming parts of his wall has been built. Even his supporters know this is a lie.
* Trump said illegal traffic is down in areas where a wall was built. Again no construction has been completed.
* Trump said 10 terrorists have been apprehended. This is a lie.
* Trump repeated white nationalist and KKK talking points when he claimed immigrants bring crime and disease.