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

Julia Davis
@JuliaDavisNews
Russian media reports that Putin held a phone conversation with Trump today. We always seem to be the last to know.

New Video! My Valentine to Donald and his many, many men... 💘 #StandByYourMan tinyurl.com/y6wz2c98
twitter.com/randyrainbow/status/963085892255670272

Sessions.

Ditched.

'Deputy mayor apologizes for post comparing immigrants to raccoons, Trump to exterminator.'

www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2018/02/mayor_apologizes_for_facebook_post_about_immigrati.html

Soon they will ditch the apologies too.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/12/trump-infrastructure-plan-200bn

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/12/government-spying-immigrants-america

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/11/house-democrats-to-clean-up-trump-russia-memo-in-bid-for-release

'Donald Trump is supporting controversial new legislation that would give people a nationwide right to carry concealed weapons – a measure that has been opposed by police chiefs across the country.

At the moment, concealed carry permits are issued by individual states. For example, a permit issued in Mississippi, where gun regulations are relaxed, does not allow a person to carry a weapon in California, where gun laws are much stricter.

But a bill that would mean each state has to recognise another state’s permit, in the same way it does driving licenses, recently passed the House of Representatives and a version of the legislation is now being considered by the Senate. In 2013, a similar bill failed by three votes.'

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-carry-weapons-concealed-permit-reciprocity-guns-permit-new-bill-law-right-a8207536.html

Figures.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-end-funding-eliminate-pbs-npr-budget-corporation-public-broadcasting-a8207511.html

Ooh.

Eric Geller‏Verified account
@ericgeller

Sens. Grassley and Graham ask Obama natsec adviser @AmbassadorRice about an email she sent herself on the day of Trump's inauguration, memorializing an Oval Office meeting with Obama on Russian hacking.

www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-02-08%20CEG%20LG%20to%20Rice%20(Russia%20Investigation%20Email).pdf

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/which-is-scarier--that-trump-doesnt-read-his-daily-intel-briefing-or-that-jared-kushner-does/2018/02/11/faad67e4-0f30-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html?utm_term=.61c59e8b3776

They're going to regret that letter.

Re: the letter

Asha Rangappa
@AshaRangappa_
Hmm....sounds like they were concerned that the incoming admin was potentially compromised by the Russians and that they were trying to figure out how to ensure that the IC followed its normal protocols while still protecting national security. (i.e., this is damning to POTUS)

Some good news

Trump’s Controversial Pick to Run the 2020 Census Withdraws

www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/02/trumps-controversial-pick-to-run-the-2020-census-withdraws/

Leah McElrath
@leahmcelrath
This is exactly what @sarahkendzior has been warning about:

Trump will strip our country and sell it for parts, and he and his cronies will pocket the profits.

Trump administration wants to sell National and Dulles airports, other assets around U.S.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/local/trafficandcommuting/trump-administration-wants-to-sell-national-and-dulles-airports-other-assets-around-us/2018/02/12/3cff381e-100a-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html#click=t.co/hxLNPJAmeT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/local/trafficandcommuting/trump-administration-wants-to-sell-national-and-dulles-airports-other-assets-around-us/2018/02/12/3cff381e-100a-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html#click=t.co/hxLNPJAmeT

Sarah Sanders tried to defend Trump’s praise for an alleged abuser. It was a disaster.
thinkprogress.org/sanders-trump-domestic-abusers-well-wishes-1c39f97afa79/

Even F&F remonstrated?

That attempt at a defence is really pathetic, even by their standards.

G. Elliott Morris📈🤷‍♂️
@gelliottmorris
The GOP-proposed redraw of the PA congressional map has the same (if not a higher) level of partisan bias than the last one. And if we game out the midterms, the redraw preserves an extra seat for the GOP in most likely scenarios. (link: www.thecrosstab.com/2018/02/10/pa-redistricting/ )

2/2 The proposed remedy is a perfect example of why compactness alone doesn't guarantee — or even suggest — a fair map according to partisan split.

Taniel
@Taniel
Democrats would need to win Pennsylvania's congressional popular vote by 11% just to break even in terms of seats (9-9), @gelliottmorris estimate

But!

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
DLCC says that Democrat Karla Bigham has won the special election in SD-54 for the Minnesota Senate, maintaining a seat in a district that Trump narrowly won in 2016. (link: bit.ly/2nWz5YV )

And

The two main organizations that support Democratic congressional candidates outraised their Republican counterparts by $32,000,000 in 2017, WaPo reports.

t.co/1eYGFnOw00?amp=1

And

Matt McDermott
@mattmf
Amazing: both parents of the Republican candidate running against Tammy Baldwin just maxed out their donations. Not to their son, but to Tammy Baldwin.

GOP Senate candidate's parents max out donations to primary campaign of Democrat he hopes to unseat

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/12/politics/kfile-kevin-nicholson-parents-donations/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

And

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
An internal poll taken in late January in the Tennessee senate race shows former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen narrowly edging out Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn in a hypothetical match-up, despite a sample that was overweighted with Republicans.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/02/12/tennessee-corker-republicans-senate-405971#click=t.co/U7iKPe5i5x" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/02/12/tennessee-corker-republicans-senate-405971#click=t.co/U7iKPe5i5x

Manu Raju
@mkraju
Corker, on three separate occasions today, pointedly declined to comment to me about whether he’s reconsidering retirement and may run again: “I don’t have anything to say.”
I told him that response may be viewed as him not ruling it out, and he continued the same refrain.
Corker would have a tough time against Blackburn in a primary if he were to jump back in, even as some of his colleagues are nervous she would cost them a seat in the general. He’s listening to their advice about getting back in, but hasn’t made a decision, source says

And

Ken Thomas
@KThomasDC
Trump congratulates @RalphNortham on his victory in VA. "Your opponent was not a Trump person, I have to be honest with you. If he was, he would have done much better."

Meant to include this:

Amy Siskind
@Amy_Siskind
Lissa Lucas is a shero!
“when she ignored him, reading the name of the next politician who had accepted donations related to the bill under discussion, which would make it easier for oil and gas co to drill on private land he had her forcibly escorted out”

t.co/YJinvtVkIL?amp=1

Anthony De Rosa 🗽
@Anthony
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that Trump had authorized the Russian leader to speak on his behalf.

Abbas Tells Putin: 'We Refuse to Cooperate With U.S. in Any Form'; Putin: Trump Sends Best Wishes

www.haaretz.com/amp/israel-news/trump-and-putin-discussed-israeli-palestinian-tensions-in-phone-call-1.5810763?__twitter_impression=true

David Priess
@DavidPriess
I’ve read this ten times. It’s not getting any easier to process.

“... authorized the Russian leader to speak on his behalf...”

And

X Soviet
@XSovietNews
Russia demands that YouTube and Instagram remove Navalny's materials on Deripaska. So YouTube asks Navalny to delete them. Dollars talk!

PropOrNot ID Service
@propornot
This is outrageous! @YouTube, why the hell are you even listening to Putin's brutally corrupt mafia-fascist regime!? Of course Putin is making up BS "reasons" to get Navalny's video removed - it exposes how the regime works. Do NOT bow to Kremlin demands! Which side are you on?

And

Anne Applebaum
@anneapplebaum
You couldn't make it up. From @splcenter: the links between anti-semitic pro-kremlin groups, @thenation, its editor and her husband

The far-right influence in pro-Kremlin media and political networks
www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/02/08/far-right-influence-pro-kremlin-media-and-political-networks

And

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
Devin Nunes next plans to investigate the role ex-CIA Director John Brennan and other Obama intel officials played in promoting the Steele dossier, Real Clear Investigations reports.

www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/02/11/former_cia_director_john_brennan_investigated_for_perjury.html

And

Harry Siegel
@harrysiegel
NEW—After Ezra Cohen-Watnick got booted from the National Security Council, he ended up at Oracle and Oracle execs suddenly started sending big bucks to Devin Nunes

www.thedailybeast.com/the-silicon-valley-giant-bankrolling-devin-nunes/

And

G Michael
@UsVsThemBlog
1/ Thread on @DevinNunes: In his most recent financial disclosure Nunes listed himself as having a beneficial interest in WND Books, Inc., which he also wrote a book for www.disclosures.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Devin-Nunes.pdf

2/ WND Books, Inc. is a division of World Net Daily owned by Richard Melon Scaife protege Joseph Farah

3/ Farah is a far right conspiracy theorist and pedler of fake news. He was a leader of the Obama birther conspiracy theories www.mediamatters.org/research/2011/04/12/wnd-founder-joseph-farah-is-right-wnd-publishes/178598 Farrah was the first to reveal the theory to @realDonaldTrump

[rest of thread here: mobile.twitter.com/UsVsThemBlog/status/963129219248214016 ]

Jeff Stein
@SpyTalker
Explosive if true: Nunes linked to very far-right conspiracy monger, fake news birther-generator and racist Joseph Farah, publisher of looney WorldNet Daily.

And

Serge Kovaleski
@sergenyt
Exclusive: BuzzFeed hired the former FBI official who led U.S. government response to Russian election meddling to verify the Trump dossier

<a class="break-all" href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/12/former-senior-fbi-official-is-leading-buzzfeeds-effort-to-verify-trump-dossier/amp/#click=t.co/4NMBdfHjlP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/12/former-senior-fbi-official-is-leading-buzzfeeds-effort-to-verify-trump-dossier/amp/#click=t.co/4NMBdfHjlP

And

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
The top intel watchdog put the brakes on a report last year that uncovered whistleblower reprisal issues within U.S. spy agencies, The Daily Beast has learned. The move concealed a finding that agencies like the CIA were failing to protect intel workers.

U.S. Intelligence Shuts Down Damning Report on Whistleblower Retaliation

www.thedailybeast.com/us-intelligence-shut-downs-damning-report-on-whistleblower-retaliation/

And

erica orden
@eorden
A federal court in Washington will unseal documents that have stayed secret for two decades from independent counsel Ken Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton, after CNN argued that they may show how Mueller could pursue testimony from Trump.

<a class="break-all" href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/12/politics/starr-clinton-documents-cnn/index.html#click=t.co/AayCOFO88Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/12/politics/starr-clinton-documents-cnn/index.html#click=t.co/AayCOFO88Q

Joyce Alene
@JoyceWhiteVance
Trump still hasn’t imposed sanctions on Russia. Other issues crop up daily, including access to TS materials by WH employees w/out security clearance & POTUS’ support for people who commit domestic violence. But we’ve got to stayed focused on Trump’s failure to protect the vote.

Ken Klippenstein
@kenklippenstein
In response to my FOIA, FBI says has no records on Identity Evropa, a White Supremacist group that helped lead the Charlottesville rally that resulted in the death of a counter-protester.

And

San Diego Union-Tribune‏Verified account
@sdut
California AG pushes back on proposal to ask citizenship in census dlvr.it/QG4jXG

Renato Mariotti
@renato_mariotti
That’s because the Constitution requires that we count all residents, not just citizens. This is another example of how state Attorneys General are making a difference.

And

Matthew Yglesias
@mattyglesias
It seems noteworthy that Trump and Trump’s team believe that racism (rather than, say, economic anxiety) is the core of Trump’s political appeal.

www.axios.com/trump-plan-2018-culture-war-infrastructure-budget-471751f9-7548-4a8d-9c0e-33f509a4626e.html

Here's Trump's real plan for '18:

A source close to the White House tells me that with an eye to getting Republicans excited about voting for Republicans in midterms, the president this year will be looking for "unexpected cultural flashpoints" — like the NFL and kneeling — that he can latch onto in person and on Twitter.

The source said Trump "is going to be looking for opportunities to stir up the base, more than focusing on any particular legislation or issue."

And

The Hill
@thehill
Trump Justice Dept proposes eliminating office that helps communities combat racial conflict hill.cm/tGLNMW6

And

All In w/Chris Hayes
@allinwithchris
ICE arrests surge 40% under Trump on.msnbc.com/2EBX5de #inners

And

Raw Story
@RawStory
#BREAKING: Three staffers at Trump-loving Sheriff David Clarke’s jail charged in dehydration death of prisoner

www.rawstory.com/2018/02/three-staffers-trump-loving-sheriff-clarkes-jail-charged-dehydration-death-prisoner/

And

Nicholas Kristof
@NickKristof
The Trump administration was in such a rush to deport Syed Jamal, beloved chemistry professor in Kansas, that it whisked him off by government plane. Now after a judge's stay, the plane is refueling and bringing him home. As brutal as it is incompetent.

And

Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior
Thread on NYT writer labeling a California-born athlete an "immigrant" because she's not white

porochista khakpour‏Verified account
@PKhakpour
Dear lord they keep thinking we are crazy and wanting to bait us but twitter knows better—thank you Twitter—a few words on immigrantgate & what’s happening with Bari Weiss as I’m seeing it
I am an immigrant. I was born in Iran. I came to the US on political asylum. I became a citizen in 2001.

[rest of thread here: twitter.com/PKhakpour/status/963190730914017280 ]

And

nadinevanderVelde
@nadinevdVelde
1/ With the anti "immigrant" rhetoric & policies ramping up my fear is that the Trump Regime is going to try to find a way to justify seizing property/businesses from immigrants. They will justify this by saying they weren't "legally" entitled to them in the first place.
2/ My father's family who were victims of the Holocaust had their factory, house and belongings, bank accounts, art, silver etc seized. Their House was gifted to an enforcer-a Nazi commandant. Giving property to MAGA enforcers/loyalists is a cost free way to engender loyalty

On Porter

Evan Rosenfeld‏Verified account
@Evan_Rosenfeld
NYT: People familiar w/ the security clearance process in Trump’s WH said it was widely acknowledged among sr. aides that raising questions about unresolved vetting issues in a staff member’s background would implicitly reflect on Kushner’s status, as well

Accusations Against Aide Renew Attention on White House Security Clearances

www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/us/politics/white-house-security-clearances-jared-kushner.html?smid=tw-share

Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
So dozens of people without security clearance are running around the WH — some with access to classified intel — because no one is allowed to raise questions that might raise questions about why Jared Kushner doesn't have security clearance.

Great.

Polly Sigh
@dcpoll
WH Counsel Don McGahn just tells the FBI to "keep investigating" when damaging info comes up on background checks – a WH stall tactic to prolong interim security clearance of people like Porter & Kushner who would NEVER qualify for a permanent one.

And

Maddow Blog
@MaddowBlog
Unprecedented controversies about access to classified information are turning out to be the alpha and omega scandals of the Trump administration.

twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/963244930884874242

And

Reuters Top News
‏*@Reuters*
After Porter scandal, White House leaves clearance changes up to FBI reut.rs/2nXGqak

And

Josh Dawsey‏Verified account
@jdawsey1
Kelly and Porter had a conversation "within 40 minutes," Sarah Sanders says. That's how he explains he took decisive action. But he continued to praise him for 24 hours publicly. What am I missing here?

Chris Hayes
@chrislhayes
You're not missing anything. It's pure gas-lighting. On par with "most watched inauguration ever." We all saw it unfold in real time. They are lying.

Things I forgot to include in the posts above and now will be a disparate, assorted mix

Manu Raju
@mkraju
Trump on nukes says “hopefully” we’ll never use it. But adds: “We’re always going to be No. 1” in size of nuclear arsenal

And

Hungary no longer wants to arrest former White House aide Gorka, but mystery lingers

www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/12/former-white-house-aide-gorka-no-longer-wanted-for-arrest-by-hungarian-police-mystery-lingers/

And

The Hill
@thehill
Bannon considered running for president if Trump resigned or was impeached: hill.cm/KevQOjS

And

Representatives for President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee still won’t say what the committee did—or plans to do—with the tens of millions of dollars it pledged to charity last year, The Daily Beast reports.

www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-inaugural-committee-still-wont-say-what-its-doing-with-its-leftover-money

And

Casey Michel
@cjcmichel
The Twitter feed connected to @DevinNunes's "news" site follows five accounts.

One of them is Alex Jones.

And

Brand Maintenance

The departure of Rachel Brand forebodes a future where Trump loyalists control every aspect of the Department of Justice.

slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/the-doj-is-moving-toward-absolute-control-by-trump-loyalists.html

And

Anatomy of a Presidential Untruth: What Data Did the Justice Department Really Provide the White House?

lawfareblog.com/anatomy-presidential-untruth-what-data-did-justice-department-really-provide-white-house

Steve Vladeck
@steve_vladeck
In other words, the Trump administraton’s own correspondence proves that it is intentionally and repeatedly misrepresenting (and dramatically inflating) the # of terrorist and terrorism-related crimes committed by individuals of foreign origin, as opposed to by US citizens...

I’ve fallen off the radar somewhat, but I’ve been intrigued by the NK cheerleaders (that’s not why I’ve been absent, though 🙂). This article explores their appearance at the Games and why we shouldn’t really be cheering the cheerleaders, but pitying them.

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/north-korean-cheerleaders-winter-olympics

It's very reminiscent of that scene in a Handmaid's Tale (the programme not the book because this bit wasn't in the book) where the ambassadors from another country visit and Offred is desperate to communicate her plight and servitude but everyone has to ignore the elephant in the room and pretend it's all normal and she loves her "role"