We stand at a tipping point: do we fire up the popcorn maker or start digging a fallout shelter in the garden? (Trump cont)

[boatyardblues]

Old thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3207431-When-a-nation-s-children-marched-and-their-President-ignored-them-Trump-cont

I’m all out of inspiration for the rest of this opening post. Send the St Bernard with the brandy please.

A little more light relief from Ms. Bee. Here doing a Hannity on Hannity.

Another good Ronan Farrow New Yorker piece.

Inside Rex Tillerson’s Ouster

The last days of his brief and chaotic tenure as Secretary of State.
www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/inside-rex-tillersons-ouster

Preet Bharara on Mueller.

time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217584/robert-mueller/

'Robert S. Mueller III doesn’t seek deferments. After a classmate died in Vietnam, this well-to-do Princeton athlete traded his lacrosse stick for a military rifle and volunteered for war. He returned with a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a gunshot wound.'

Self-preservation (but after the horse has bolted, I fear).

www.politico.com/story/2018/04/19/michael-cohen-drops-buzzfeed-fusion-lawsuit-537327

shareblue.com/gop-excuses-failed-tax-bill/

'Nationally, just 27 percent of Americans approve of the bill, which Republicans thought was going to be the hallmark of their midterm campaigns. Indeed, at the time of the signing, Trump bragged, “I don’t think I’m going to have to travel too much to sell it. I think it’s selling itself.”'

I don't think there is a date for Haspel's confirmation hearings yet but this is a reminder that the repercussions of those 'interrogations' are ongoing.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/18/gul-rahman-cia-black-site-torture-family-demands-body

'The Foia request filed on Wednesday is directed to the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the state department. It specifically seeks information relating to the disposition of Gul Rahman’s body and its present location, and to protocols for family notification, investigations, and treatment of remains in the event of a death in CIA custody.'

www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/ten-questions-for-gina-haspels-confirmation-hearings/555530/

I hope they move quickly on this.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/19/new-york-state-law-trump-pardons-eric-schneiderman

'Schneiderman, a Democrat who has emerged as a key figure in investigations related to Trump and his administration, urged state lawmakers to quickly eliminate a loophole in current state statute that he said could be used to fight state charges by anyone who has received a federal pardon for similar federal charges.'

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-shinzo-abe-us-tariff-japan-exemption-talks-mar-a-lago-florida-a8311996.html

David Fahrenthold
‏Verified account

'I just confirmed this w/the Philippine Embassy: the embassy will hold its June 12 Independence Day party at...@realdonaldtrump's hotel. That comes after Trump has praised Duterte, and vice versa.'

MSNBC
'President Trump has taken to calling Mar-a-Lago the "southern White House" and has been vocal about talking it up during his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Is the business of the president enriching the president's business?'

www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/04/18/trump-michael-cohen-flip-536926?__twitter_impression=true
Why are the 'nothing to see here' brigade worried about a Cohen flip if they think there's nothing to see?
Yep, Schneiderman had better get his skates on to seal all exits, lion.

edition.cnn.com/interactive/2018/politics/trump-business-empire/

"President Trump is the wealthiest man to hold the Oval Office"

Depending on the extent of his debt.

Just so.

Even Sarah HuckabeeS has been tweeting about the half mast flag for Barbara Bush at MaraLago.

Firstly, should she be promoting a private golf resort owned by the POTUS (emoulments clause?). Secondly it's two days too late.

Manafort Suspected of Serving as ‘Back Channel’ to Russia, DOJ Says
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-19/manafort-probed-as-back-channel-to-russia-u-s-lawyer-says

"President Trump is the wealthiest man to hold the Oval Office"

First off, that's not much of a recommendation as far as I'm concerned.

Second off, I wonder if that's really true. Some of our earliest POTUSes (POTI?) were very wealthy landowners. If they figured Scrotus' actual net worth and compared it to the net worth in today's dollars and adjusted cost of living figures for, say, Washington or Jefferson I wonder how much of a difference there would actually be.

Well, I can see what internet rabbit hole I'll probably be venturing down this afternoon.

Various social media reports suggest the very same Giuliani is to join Trump's legal team.

www.politicususa.com/2018/04/19/doj-report-on-clinton-emails-to-address-report-that-ny-fbi-leaked-info-to-trump-adviser-rudy-giuliani.html

is it wrong to admit to admiring sarah h-s? I want to be that assertive when I grow up

Yes it is wrong.

Not Trumpy.

fortune.com/longform/worlds-greatest-leaders-2018/

Senate votes 50-49 to make Jim Bridenstine the next NASA administrator. It's done.

A man with no scientific expertise who has previously denied climate change science is now in charge of NASA. What a disgrace.
twitter.com/brianklaas/status/987039120651358209?s=21

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jim-bridenstine-nasa-confirmation_us_5ad8aab7e4b03c426dac081c
Blimey, there really must be a bottomless pit of the clueless and corrupt.

And Rosenstein has caved on the Comey memos.
www.politico.com/story/2018/04/19/doj-expected-to-deliver-comey-memos-to-congress-537825

And McCabe has been referred for criminal charges.
www.cnbc.com/2018/04/19/criminal-charges-recommended-for-fired-fbi-official-andrew-mccabe.html

I'm not overly concerned about the release of the Comey memos, I confess. I just don't know enough about the McCabe case, though.

Comey's on Rachel tonight.

I confess I haven't been able to completely follow the breadcrumbs on McCabe, either cozie, other than that he allegedly lied during an internal investigation at the FBI and leaked non-classified info to the media. I don't know what he supposedly lied about or what the supposed info was.

Referral to Federal Prosecutors is for them to determine if charges should be filed. So time will tell.

The hero Balin .