As far as Nunes can tell, none of us have even met with Trump

[PerkingFaintly]

Devin Nunes Gets A Pretty Basic Fact Wrong In Defending His Memo
Nunes suggested that Donald Trump had never met with George Papadopoulos. There's a photo of them sitting at the same table.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/devin-nunes-memo_us_5a788b57e4b01fe513a60603

And we certainly didn't have a national security meeting right here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3150505-The-one-in-which-Trump-orders-his-staff-to-fire-Mueller-and-they-give-him-the-finger?pg=1

I think they're trying any tactic they can in desperation, knowing that the rebuttals and take downs won't penetrate the base (see Fox's non existant coverage over Porter) and will create the illusion of a untrustworthy law enforcement branch, priming them to reject Mueller's findings. They've already tried to create a furore about Obama's messages asking to "know everything" as well as the memos and I don't think it's going to stop any time soon.

Oleg Deripaska threatens to sue the media if they publish reports about Navalny’s investigation and WaPo writes a story - about the lawsuit threat...and the investigation

www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russian-oligarch-threatens-to-sue-media-over-opposition-investigation/2018/02/09/867ae594-0d06-11e8-998c-96deb18cca19_story.html?utm_term=.74ac719e783d

Caroline O.
‏*@RVAwonk*
Fox News' hit job on @MarkWarner was debunked almost immediately — but it's still dominating among Russian-linked influence accounts.

In the network tracked by @SecureDemocracy, topics related to Warner currently make up:
-3 of 5 top trending topics
-5 of 10 top trending topics

pbs.twimg.com/media/DVlHnNjX4AAQW65.jpg:large

Not that what he has to say is credible but

Justin Miller
‏*@justinjm1*
Bannon: "Anger and fear is what gets people to the polls." www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-09/has-anyone-seen-the-president

The Time’s Up movement against sexual abuse and harassment now has Bannon’s full attention, too. “The top seven stories today are all guys getting blown up,” he says. “And these are not small guys.” He’s a connoisseur of anger, and in women’s anger about sexual harassment he senses a prelude to their anger about a lot more. “I think it’s going to unfold like the Tea Party, only bigger,” he says. “It’s not Me Too. It’s not just sexual harassment. It’s an anti-patriarchy movement. Time’s up on 10,000 years of recorded history. This is coming. This is real.”

More than 100 New York City attorneys protest after Ice arrests Bronx man

Lawyers protesting outside a Bronx courthouse say immigrations officers are arresting their clients with no distinct pattern

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/09/100-new-york-city-attorneys-protest-ice-arrest-bronx-man?CMP=twt_gu

And

California police worked with neo-Nazis to pursue 'anti-racist' activists, documents show

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/09/california-police-white-supremacists-counter-protest?CMP=share_btn_tw

And

The Michigan town where only Christians are allowed to buy houses

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/09/christians-only-town-bay-view-michigan?CMP=twt_gu&__twitter_impression=true

Kyle Griffin
‏
Verified account

@kylegriffin1
12m12 minutes ago
There is a secret memo outlining Trump’s interpretation of his legal authority to wage war, NBC News reports.

Tim Kaine is demanding the memo be released. www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/sen-tim-kaine-demands-release-secret-trump-war-powers-memo-n846176 …

Richard W. Painter
‏

@RWPUSA
2m2 minutes ago
This may or may not comply with OGE rules but there is too much risk that the trustee will use the money to influence testimony.
Mueller should look into that. Communications by lawyers and clients with the trustee should not be privileged.

cnn.it/2nEpBR0

I've been expecting Bannon and friends to start attempting to exploit MeToo

Whether they'll be able to or not remains to be seen, but from my quick glance at it, that article describes what we've been seeing in other fields.

The disruptivist strategy is to look for a source of anger, regardless of what it is. Then harness it in two ways:

1. stoke the anger to drive division
2. assiduously propagate the message that the Other Guy is the enemy in this, while remaining silent on one's own position (or hinting one might be in support), and hope the angry people assume their enemy's enemy is their friend.

So much for my prediction. The Dow is going haywire again.

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/09/kim-jong-uns-sister-arrives-in-south-korea-for-winter-olympics

I really can't believe that the 2iC of one of the world's major global powers is so hamfisted and dunderfooted in his approach to international relations. I don't know if the final line of the article is an indirect quotation, or just an interpretation of what Pence said, but he really doesn't understand what diplomacy is all about, does he? He'll be putting NK on the naughty step next.

He had been dispatched from Washington for the Olympics in part, he said, to make sure people did not lose sight of how the US government perceived the North as a misbehaving and dangerous neighbour.

Michael Learmonth
@learmonth
Sources say Trump would really like to throw Hope Hicks under the bus for the Rob Porter scandal @CNNPolitics

<a class="break-all" href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/09/politics/rob-porter-donald-trump-reince-priebus/index.html#click=t.co/Ey751VIPcQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/09/politics/rob-porter-donald-trump-reince-priebus/index.html#click=t.co/Ey751VIPcQ

Not known as an..........intellectual powerhouse, Hesaid.

The disruptivist strategy is to look for a source of anger, regardless of what it is. Then harness it in two ways:
1) stoke the anger to drive division
2) assiduously propagate the message that the Other Guy is the enemy in this, while remaining silent on one's own position (or hinting one might be in support), and hope the angry people assume their enemy's enemy is their friend.

I have already seen this happen with the trans debate and feminists walk right into it. I think it will be harder for them to exploit metoo directly because they are coming from promoting a white male dominated ideology which is basically everything metoo is against. I think they will instead attack feminism using the satellite issues around gender and women's safety where they can twist alt right ideology to seem in line with the women concerned with these issues.

Josh Dawsey
@jdawsey1
"As you probably know he says he is innocent," Trump says, breaking his silence on Porter. "We wish him well."

He really, really wants Daddy's approval.

Trump Jr. Escalates Twitter War Against Probe and Father’s Foes
Donald Trump Jr. is tweeting like a man with nothing to fear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-09/trump-jr-escalates-twitter-war-against-probe-and-father-s-foes

"As you probably know he says he is innocent"

Oh well, that's all right then.

NB: This administration is targeting undocumented dissidents. That is intolerable on its face. But also understand that treatment of undocumented immigrants is their canary in the coalmine. They will target others this way next.
twitter.com/shakestweetz/status/962020252564389891

www.colorlines.com/articles/ice-punishing-immigrant-rights-activists-their-political-activity

Full quotation

So much for sport not being the place for political protests...

The Latest: Vice President Mike Pence and his wife did not stand for the combined Korean team’s entrance. #OpeningCeremony
wintergames.ap.org/article/latest-official-pence-kims-sister-did-not-interact

More on ICE

'Pillar of the community' deported from US after 39 years to a land he barely knows

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/08/middleeast/deportee-us-intl/index.html?sr=twCNN020818deportee-us-intl1215PMVODtop&__twitter_impression=true

Here's The GOP's Next Effort To Discredit The Trump-Russia Probe
A second "dossier" is circulating among Republicans in Washington that they say shows Clinton influence on the FBI's investigation. But the evidence of that is lacking.
www.buzzfeed.com/thomasfrank/heres-the-gops-next-effort-to-discredit-the-trump-russia?utm_term=.ejE44gZdKJ#.fc2NN16GoO

Elise Foley
@elisefoley
Email subject line from the White House: "Immigration Crime Stories Round Up: Week of February 4th”

I guess that’s where we’re at now.

Rachel Maddow MSNBC
Rachel Maddow MSNBC
@maddow
How's the Chief of Staff's anti-leak effort going?

This meeting was this morning, for White House "senior staff".

The damning story about it is in the paper by lunchtime.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/kelly-offers-account-of-porter-exit-that-some-white-house-aides-consider-untrue/2018/02/09/119feb7e-0db1-11e8-95a5-c396801049ef_story.html#click=t.co/1RIHwg5EjQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/kelly-offers-account-of-porter-exit-that-some-white-house-aides-consider-untrue/2018/02/09/119feb7e-0db1-11e8-95a5-c396801049ef_story.html#click=t.co/1RIHwg5EjQ

Encouraging, despite smears, although I’m not sure if the impact of those would be felt yet (people were polled between 5th-7th Feb)

Poll: Majority say Mueller's Russia probe is fair

thehill.com/homenews/administration/373143-poll-majority-says-muellers-russia-probe-is-fair?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Bigly, agreed.

It's hugely successful, because (I think) we can't not engage with TRA activity. And when someone offers even the possibility of being an ally on one issue... it can be quite hard to then keep a sceptical distance from them on others.

www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/09/how-artemis-hit-bulls-eye-by-betting-on-stock-market-collapse