Trump talk: HOW MUCH for that inauguration?

[PerkingFaintly]

We can start whole new threads for less than $26,000,000.

This one only cost 23p I found down the back of the sofa:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3171217-Trump-Talk-or-Lift-every-voice-and-sing?pg=1

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
Melania Trump has parted ways with adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff after news broke about Wolkoff’s firm reaping $26,000,000 in payments to help plan Trump’s inauguration, NYT reports.
www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/us/politics/melania-trump-inauguration-adviser.html

Apologies if you've seen this before, it's my first time and it's scary.

Holding the meeting in the White House was a mite bone-headed, I’d have though. Is Jared not quite switched on?

The New York Times‏Verified account
@nytimes
Following Following @nytimes
More
Breaking News: One company lent the Kushners' business $184 million. Another put up $325 million. Both had held White House meetings with Jared Kushner.

The news just keeps coming!

Ex-Trump campaign aide says Mueller's team reportedly asked about comments made by Hope Hicks to the NYT after the election denying that the campaign had ever had contacts with Russian operatives.

Former Trump campaign official said Mueller's team asked about Hicks

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/28/politics/robert-mueller-hope-hicks/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

A former Trump campaign aide who has spoken with the special counsel's office said Robert Mueller's team asked about comments made by Hope Hicks during the ex-aide's session with investigators.

This former aide said a comment Hicks made to The New York Times shortly after the election denying that the campaign had ever had contacts with Russian operatives has been raised in sessions with Mueller's team as well as with the House and Senate Intelligence committees.

Two days after the 2016 election, Hicks told The New York Times there had been no contacts with Russian officials. "We are not aware of any campaign representatives that were in touch with any foreign entities before yesterday, when Mr. Trump spoke with many world leaders," Hicks said to the Times then. "Those discussions were congratulatory and forward looking.“

The former campaign aide said investigators with the special counsel's office, as well as with the House and Senate Intelligence committees, wanted to know if the comment made by Hicks was accurate, given that numerous contacts with Russian individuals have since come to light.
Investigators wanted to know whether Hicks in fact knew there had been contacts.

The former aide has responded repeatedly in those sessions: "You have to ask her."

Sorry, I'm still harping on the latest list.
Jon Cooper
🇺🇸 #BoycottNRA
🚫‏Verified account @joncoopertweets

In the 242-year history of the United States, there have NEVER been as many firings, resignations and departures of White House officials & staff as have occurred during the first 13 months of Donald Trump’s term. Virtually all left with their reputations in tatters or destroyed.

And I love the first reply to it:

Phillip Woodham
🌊
👊🏻
‏ @phillip_woodham
4h4 hours ago
Replying to @joncoopertweets @ZanaMason10

But her emails. 🤬
2 replies 1 retweet 54 likes

Axios
@axios
Scoop: Under attack from Trump, Sessions dines with Rosenstein in show of solidarity

www.axios.com/scoop-jeff-sessions-dines-with-rod-rosenstein-solidarity-1519865511-4afe726b-6642-4ca5-8ebf-e9f0600df79b.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic

And

Jeff Sessions Huddles With His Top Lawyers In The Wake Of Trump's Tweet Attacking The Attorney General

On Wednesday morning, Trump attacked the Justice Department's decision to refer FISA abuse claims to the inspector general. The tweet was "multidimensionally reprehensible," a conservative lawyer who had considered taking a job in the administration tells BuzzFeed News.

www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/chrisgeidner/jeff-sessions-huddles-with-his-top-lawyers-in-the-wake-of?__twitter_impression=true

"Multidimensionally reprehensible" ranks with "bumbling wankspanner" as my favourite description for this week

TheBeat w/Ari Melber
@TheBeatWithAri
BREAKING: Trump aide @NunbergSam said he thinks Trump Jr. would have told his father about Russia meeting:

mobile.twitter.com/TheBeatWithAri/status/968999826779267072/video/1

Or go large and hit the combo for the ultimate put down:

A multidimensionally reprehensible bumbling wankspanner

Mueller approves Gates’ request to end GPS monitoring

www.politico.com/story/2018/02/28/rick-gates-probation-guidelines-430748

ABC News
@ABC
Police in helmets and bulletproof vests entered, and then left the Trump luxury hotel in Panama at the center of a management dispute. (link: abcn.ws/2F21UJX)

Pain

Maggie Haberman
@maggieNYT
It was pointed out to me that Pence had to be a tie-breaking confirmation vote today on a deputy role at OMB. It got basically no coverage, and it speaks volumes about 2018.

Steven Beschloss
@StevenBeschloss
Between the chaos over Trump's positions on gun control & focus on witches, Jared's degradation & exploitation, Hope's resignation, Sessions' humiliation and Ben's $31k dining set, it's hard to tell whether there's any actual governance going on.

Rachel Maddow MSNBC
@maddow
Someday, on timelines showing important moments in the Trump Administration, there will be an awkward squish of this formal announcement of the Trump Russia Legal Defense Fund onto the same date as the announcement of his re-election campaign:

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/patriot-legal-expense-fund-to-assist-persons-involved-in-investigations-300605297.html

There's now just one person in the White House who has been by Trump's side since Day 1 of his campaign

amp.businessinsider.com/dan-scavino-trump-longest-tenured-aide-after-hope-hicks-resigned-2018-2?__twitter_impression=true

TL;DR Dan Scavino

Amy Siskind
@Amy_Siskind
It's interesting that Kusher and Ivanka's spokesperson quit yesterday and Hicks today, and now we're getting a deluge of leaks on the entire family, including stories about Kelly and McMaster. This is not a coincidence.

Jonathan Swan
@jonathanvswan
Trump is hopping mad tonight. In a bad place. I think when we do the tick tocks we’ll find this was a moment where he said “F it.” (Though I think this one is still very TBD, and I assume at some point tonight John Kelly will locate the steering wheel again.)

Saw someone in twitter is trying to spark a new movement

White Lies Matter

Exxon to Quit Russian Oil Ventures Frozen by U.S. Sanctions

www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-02-28/exxon-quitting-russian-oil-ventures-frozen-by-u-s-eu-sanctions?__twitter_impression=true

Decision unwinds former CEO Tillerson’s crowning achievement

Withdrawal to result in after-tax loss of $200 million

Let’s check in our favourite alternative reality

Parker Molloy
@ParkerMolloy
😂😂😂 Tucker Carlson had a guy on his show tonight to complain about having his face photoshopped onto a picture of a Saltine cracker.

mobile.twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/969043885216423936/video/1

If you’re overwhelmed with information, much as I am, this is a handy summary of theclaws’s nyt piece on Kushner’s and his business loans

Timeline:

1. Trump promises to close the carried interest tax loophole that benefits private equity
2. Apollo (private equity firm) founder starts meeting with Jared Kushner
3. Kushner receives huge loan from Apollo
4. Trump reverses position on carried interest loophole

Does this count as a lighthearted “fluff” piece?

Nobel committee investigating possibly fake Trump nomination for Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize awarding committee is investigating an allegedly fraudulent nomination of President Trump for the coveted international award, according to Wednesday reports.

"I can say that we have good reason to believe that [Trump's nomination] is a fake," Nobel Institute Director Olav Nj lstad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, according to the BBC.

Nj lstad did not say whether the committee has specific suspects, but the Nobel Institution has filed a report with the Norwegian police, according to Spanish news agency EFE.

Potential recipients can only be nominated by a select group that includes national ministers, members of parliaments, certain university professors and former honorees.

He added that there was no precedent for similar fraudulent nominations, with one exception.

"The same 'fake' nomination probably took place last year too," Nj lstad said.

[...]

There's been a whole host of gun related news too. Will put it all in one post so as not to deluge the thread

CNN‏Verified account
@CNN
"Take the guns first. Go through due process second," President Trump says at a meeting with bipartisan lawmakers. "I like taking the guns early." cnn.it/2EYPjXJ

Brian Klaas
@brianklaas
More Brian Klaas Retweeted CNN
Just so we are clear, these words have literally been the caricature of the NRA’s fundraising bogeyman “Democrat” for decades. (Democrats who support tougher gun laws believe in due process because, unlike Trump, they value democracy and rule of law).

Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
Trump just shot down the idea of national concealed carry reciprocity on live TV. This is the thing the NRA is pushing for more than anything else. And Trump just flat out shot it down.

I would love to see Wayne LaPierre's face right now.

Dennis Mersereau
@wxdam
NRA's Dana Loesch promptly stopped livetweeting the Trump/Congress meeting after Trump said "I like taking the guns early. Take the guns first, go through due process second."

The NRA would've issued a drone strike on the White House had Obama said that.

And

Illinois becomes 6th state to advance tougher gun laws since Parkland

States like Illinois are not letting the intransigence of congressional Republicans stop them from acting on gun safety.

shareblue.com/illinois-gun-safety-laws-parkland-shooting/

And

Jason Sparks
@sparksjls
There was a school shooting today in Georgia, so naturally Georgia Republicans spent the day coddling the @NRA.

The Hill‏Verified account
@thehill
JUST IN: Georgia lawmakers vote to remove tax break that benefits Delta after airline stopped discounts for NRA members hill.cm/G27oRiC

And

Danny Openshaw‏
@danopen11
this is how our governor presented himself at Spring Mills High School today. heartless @WVGovernor @wvgov @FoxNews

twitter.com/danopen11/status/968243113595719680

natasha #NeverAgain
‏*@sighnatasha*
More natasha #NeverAgain Retweeted Danny Openshaw
He walked in and said “Nobody’s going to shoot at me or anything, are you?” Absolutely disgusting and disheartening to hear politicians “joke” around this matter. Shame on you @WVGovernor

And

Bloomberg Politics‏Verified account
@bpolitics
Like clockwork, the NRA reduces gun injuries in the U.S. for three days every year, when it holds its annual convention bloom.bg/2GSkk00

Tom Nichols
@RadioFreeTom
More Tom Nichols Retweeted Bloomberg Politics
I don't have the medical or stats chops to evaluate this, but it's kind of awesome: keep enough NRA members at enough conferences and they won't accidentally hurt themselves

And

Oklahoma elementary school installs bulletproof shelters in classrooms

abcnews.go.com/US/oklahoma-elementary-school-installs-bulletproof-shelters-classrooms/story?id=53409001

And

Jennifer Bendery
‏*@jbendery*
NEWS: In statement, Walmart says it is raising its age requirement for gun and ammo purchases to 21. It's also taking items off its website that look like assault-style weapons.

And

Merchants of death watch, more or less literally: the reason FedEx won't drop its special deals with the NRA is that it makes a lot of money shipping guns

EXCLUSIVE: FedEx’s secret deal with the NRA and the gun industry
While publicly trying to distance itself from the NRA, FedEx has made a secret agreement with the association and other major players in the firearms industry.

thinkprogress.org/exclusive-fedex-secret-deal-nra-c28dc09530d8/

And

AP Images‏Verified account
@AP_Images
Worshippers clutching AR-15 rifles and some wearing bullet crowns, participated in a commitment ceremony today at World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, in Newfoundland, Pa. The event led a nearby school to cancel classes for the day. Photos @jacquelinelarma

[the photos are REALLY bizarre and creepy but won't attach for some reason. They're found here: twitter.com/AP_Images/status/968938936973365255 ]

Qasim Rashid, Esq.
@MuslimIQ
More Qasim Rashid, Esq. Retweeted AP Images
•Crown of bullets
•Clutching assault rifles
•Celebrating a weapon of death

These aren’t Daesh in a mosque in Iraq or Syria—these are devout Christians in a church in Pennsylvania.

My questions:
•Is this “radical Christian extremism?”🤔
•#WhereWereTheyRadicalized?🤔

White supremacy/ICE

Green card veteran facing deportation placed on suicide watch, advocates say

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-green-card-veteran-suicide-watch-20180226-story.html

A U.S. Army veteran and green card holder with a felony drug conviction has been denied an opportunity to see his doctor and placed on suicide watch as he enters his fourth week of a hunger strike to protest his likely deportation, advocates said.

Miguel Perez Jr., 39, was placed in solitary confinement at the detention center in Kenosha County, Wis., where he has been held while his lawyer and supporters, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., work to keep him in the country.

Perez served two tours in Afghanistan but was later convicted of felony drug charges and has been ordered deported to his native Mexico, where he hasn’t lived since age 8.

And

Man detained by ICE during green card meeting with American husband

thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/375963-man-detained-by-immigration-officials-during-green-card-meeting

Immigration officials in Philadelphia detained a man during what he thought was a routine meeting as part of the process to obtain a green card.

NBC News reported that Jose Ivan Nuñez and his American husband, Paul Frames, attended a meeting at the Philadelphia office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services late last month.

During the meeting, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Nuñez.

“The day of the hearing, I had no suspicions at all," Frames told NBC News.

"I was very confident that the hearing would be fine, and we would be out in less than a half hour. After the fact, looking back, we were sitting ducks."

And

Tara Copp‏Verified account
@TaraCopp
EXCLUSIVE: Trump admin seeking to deport wife of .@USArmy #7th Special Forces Group #veteran -hearing Monday in Arlington, Va.

www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/02/28/wife-of-7th-special-forces-group-vet-faces-deportation-under-tighter-immigration-rules/

And

Hassan Ahmad
@HMAesq
Possible new #ICE trend: Sending "report letters" to family members of people who are already in removal proceedings (deportation) - making them think they have to appear, and then putting them into removal proceedings or detaining them when they do.

We don't know if this is a new ICE initiative, but are trying to get more data on it.

ICE sometimes sends these official-looking "report letters" instructing people to appear at a certain date/time. That's been an old practice.

Here's an example of such a letter from 2009 that one of my old clients received. (He's now a green card holder.) At the time, he didn't even know he was in removal proceedings. Note where it says "OSUP" (order of supervision) - he was not eligible for OSUP at that time.

twitter.com/HMAesq/status/968988224046747648

If this is a new trend, it would mean ICE is beginning to go through all their active cases and collecting the info for their families.

These report letters are not legally binding - but if they send the letter, the obvious takeaway is they know where the person lives.

I want to alert lawyers and advocates to pay attention to this possible new trend.

People who might receive such report letters:

Don't go without talking to a lawyer first.

And

ICE trying to interview students
www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/oag-sed-letter-ice-2-27-17.pdf

And

The Trump Official Who Blocked Undocumented Teens From Getting Abortions Said He Doesn’t Believe They Have The Constitutional Right To The Procedure

Scott Lloyd, the head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, is a central figure in several lawsuits over the Trump administration blocking undocumented teenagers from obtaining abortions.

www.buzzfeed.com/emaoconnor/a-trump-administration-official-said-he-does-not-believe?utm_term=.emn7gDEvK#.jxyymRVJw

And

Trump campaign sells hat with slogan embraced by white supremacists

thinkprogress.org/trump-hats-american-dreamers-2a5280b5018f/

And

David Martosko
@dmartosko
NEW: An Infowars employee says Alex Jones called him 'the resident Jew.' Another says Jones groped her rear end. A third said she was subject to racial slurs on the job. And yes, EEOC complaints have been filed

[dailymail link]

And

Washington Post
@washingtonpost
Arizona Senate candidate Joe Arpaio claims supernatural connection with President Trump: "I can read his mind without even talking to him. I think he may be reading mine."

www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/in-arizona-joe-arpaios-senate-bid-tests-the-strength-of-trumpism/2018/02/28/4cda8a94-135d-11e8-9570-29c9830535e5_story.html?tid=sm_tw