All Trump sees is green. All we see is a traitorous orange menace. Who is right? Place bets now!! (Trump continued)

[badbadhusky]

A nod to Banzai there for old timers like me.

Old thread here.

Question is, is it Mueller time yet? Anyone fancy placing a bet on when Trump will exit the POTUS role?

My bet: 20 March 2019.

Brian Stelter
@brianstelter
Lindsey Graham can't confirm that Trump said "shithole countries." @DanaBashCNN: "Why can't you?" Graham: "Because I want to make sure that I can keep talking to the president." snpy.tv/2mM4V9k

Richard Blumenthal
@SenBlumenthal
Brian Benczkowski, who represented a large Russian bank with ties to Putin, refuses to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. His appointment to lead DOJ's powerful Criminal Division would imperil that vital effort.

Benczkowski nomination must be seen for what it is – the latest piece of a sustained, coordinated effort to undercut the Special Counsel’s credibility. My colleagues should put country before party and vote NO.

Remind me. Is there anything to stop him running for the Senate?

Oh god, I'm not sure I can bring myself to give that Bret Stephens piece the click.

It's the hollow feeling while you wait to work out whether it's genuinely scathing, obviously satirical piece which leaves no room for the terminally stupid to misuse it.

Or an "edgy", ambiguous piece, that claims to be daringly "provocative" and "ironic", but leaves you not entirely sure where the writer is actually coming from. And is wide open to enthusiastic retweeting by the openly racist or anti-semitic.

Too much of that shit recently.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/18/health-office-religious-freedom-deny-treatment

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/18/how-has-donald-trumps-first-year-affected-women

If you liked Fire and Fury, you may not enjoy this "critique".

www.amazon.com/Fire-Fury-Profiles-Intelligence-Biographical/dp/1983654485/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=fire+and+fury&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1516309650&sr=8-3

Fire & Fury?: Profiles of Intelligence: Michael Wolff A Biographical Look into the Mind of a Fake News Punk
Paperback – January 7, 2018
by I.M. Stu Pido

"*Our lawyers require that we advise you that this book is almost blank and contains precisely 5294 words."

Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
Transcript of House Intel interview with Fusion GPS' Glenn Simpson has just been posted:

docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG00/20180118/106796/HMTG-115-IG00-Transcript-20180118.pdf

cozie, if you're talking about Barack, the answer is 'no'. The only office he's barred from holding is the presidency. He could even be the Vice-President. But he wouldn't be able to assume the office of President if needed so it's pretty unlikely he'd accept the nomination.

FWIW, on another subject, I think it's pretty likely that we'll see a shutdown this year. I went through three during my career as well as numerous 'threats' and this just 'feels' like it's going to happen. Most people won't even notice it as far as day to day life. The mail will still be delivered, TSA will be on duty at the airports, 99% of services will continue. The most visible will be the closure of National Parks and recreational facilities. We were in Grand Teton in '13 and cut our stay short in part because we saw it coming. Well, that and the threat of a huge snowstorm!

I don't think he would run but it's interesting to have the option open.......

Thanks, Across.

They don’t have the votes to pass a cr yet so it’s eminently possible!

Betsy Woodruff
@woodruffbets
New: Glenn Simpson said the Kremlin used the release of the dossier as a justification for a purge - arrests and killings

<a class="break-all" href="https://amp.thedailybeast.com/fusion-gps-kremlin-purge-followed-dossier-release#click=t.co/0U9f2a489B" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amp.thedailybeast.com/fusion-gps-kremlin-purge-followed-dossier-release#click=t.co/0U9f2a489B

Enjoyed this cartoon of the TEST

Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
Fusion GPS cofounder Glenn Simpson says they spent "a lot of time investigating [Alexander Torshin]" — described as a "Russian banker/Duma member/Mafia leader" & "life member of the NRA" who is "well known for $ laundering."

Also mentions Trump's plans to meet w/him last Feb.

Except - in Simpson's view - it didn't affect anyone that had assisted Fusion?

Welcome.

I'd love to see him run for the Senate. (Again, he was a Senator before running for POTUS) Not sure right now exactly where his legal residence is. I think it's still in Illinois. They elected him once, hopefully they'd do it again.

Trivia; only one former president has later been a member of the Senate, Andrew Johnson, who was also the first president to be impeached in the House.

Thanks Pain. I love documents.

On balance, I don't think I would if I were he. Still...............

Jon Swain
@jonswaine
Glenn Simpson to House Intel Committee: Nigel Farage allegedly gave Julian Assange a thumb drive containing data and visited him more often than is widely known

The Trump administration is creating an office to protect the religious rights of medical providers, including those who may oppose abortion or transgender rights, in a decision that is likely to be a lightning rod for controversy.

Welcome to Gilead!

The link’s not working but it appears to be not working for lots of people on twitter so it’s not just me!

Just remember that what Scrotus does can (and will) be undone once this insanity ends. And it will end.

Thank you Across. It helps to be reminded the cray-cray is not forever.

Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
House Intel's interview with Simpson homed in on Fusion's Trump-Russia research, rather than Fusion's relationship w/Steele & the dossier. The result: a MASSIVE pile of breadcrumbs for Trump-Russia investigators. I picked out some of the biggest:

amp.businessinsider.com/read-fusion-gps-glenn-simpson-interview-with-house-intelligence-committee-2018-1?__twitter_impression=true

Slow on the uptake again - my not-so bigly place mark.

Fascinating. It's actually a large sized loaf - or two.