No sharks with lasers?

October 2, 2019October 1, 2019 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Trump wanted to dig a water-filled trench at the border stocked with snakes or alligators. He wanted a wall electrified with spikes on top. And he suggested migrants be shot in the legs to slow them down. From the stunning new book by @juliehdavis @shearm https://t.co/tFeCqvE02x
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) October 1, 2019

Impeachment roundup

October 2, 2019October 1, 2019 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

I can’t even keep up with it all, so I’m dumping it in this thread:

I’m concerned with aspects of the Committee’s request that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, & treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career FSOs. pic.twitter.com/QRtMaXlhQM
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 1, 2019

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: I’m told that Pompeo’s office in recent days asked State Department HR/IG if they could “discipline” officers for “failure to follow direction” if they cooperate with Congress.
— Scott Stedman (indefinite hiatus) (@ScottMStedman) October 1, 2019

House impeachment investigators respond to Pompeo: If he was on the July Trump Ukraine call, "Pompeo is now a fact witness in the House impeachment inquiry. He should immediately cease intimidating Department witnesses in order to protect himself and the President." pic.twitter.com/ZWFmHwxf9s
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) October 1, 2019

IMPEACHMENT LATEST: After @SecPompeo told Ds his officials won't comply w/their requests, State employees appear to be DEFYING Pompeo.

1st: Volker says he will testify. Yovanovitch too.

& now @karoun @John_Hudson report the State IG is coming 2 Hill tomorrow to turn over docs
— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) October 1, 2019

I continue to believe that Elijah Cummings had the right idea when he suggested the House cut off the paychecks of government officials who stonewall congressional investigations. https://t.co/3r53lDbC83
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) October 1, 2019

Rep. Cohen on Sec. Pompeo: "I think that he is obstructing justice."https://t.co/zXzykrr0NB
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 1, 2019

Here's Trump's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, saying on Fox Business this morning that the impeachment inquiry is an "attempted coup d'etat," comparing House Dems to Stalin's secret police, and saying House Democrats could be "more dangerous" than China, Russia, or Iran. pic.twitter.com/76e0mVF2U9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2019

NEW: A watchdog group asked a judge to issue an emergency order that the Trump admin preserve records of calls with foreign leaders. At a hearing today, DOJ wouldn't immediately make a voluntary assurance to keep the status quo, to the judge's puzzlement https://t.co/M5d4Z6r3h2
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) October 1, 2019

This seems so ordinary

October 1, 2019September 30, 2019 ~ susie

Compared to the rest of GOP criminals these days:

BREAKING: Rep. Christopher Collins resigns, a day before he will change his not-guilty plea on felony charges of insider trading https://t.co/YoD4b4peyz
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 30, 2019

Turtle soup

October 1, 2019September 30, 2019 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

JUST IN: Mitch McConnell says Senate will put Trump on trial if House impeacheshttps://t.co/YL7H5T2TEP
— Axios (@axios) September 30, 2019

Senate Dems ‘giddy’ at prospect of GOP defending ‘stinking fish’ Trump during impeachment trial: report https://t.co/KcHCKV02Vt
— Raw Story (@RawStory) September 30, 2019

Bad boys, bad boys

October 1, 2019September 30, 2019 ~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Bill Barr and Mike Pompeo need to be impeached, too. This is nuts:

https://twitter.com/NatSecMulligan/status/1178790140560445440

Don’t lose focus over bad actors like Barr, Pompeo, etc. @realDonaldTrump extorted another country using YOUR tax dollars to help himself. And he’s actively covering it up. President Trump would love to distract us with the lawlessness of others. Stay focused.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) September 30, 2019

CNN has confirmed WSJ reporting that Pompeo was on the July call between Trump & Zelensky. When ABC asked him eight days ago what he knew about those conversations about pushing for an investigation into the Bidens, he said, "You just gave me a report…none of which I've seen."
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 30, 2019

https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1178788112157351938

Ho boy

October 1, 2019September 30, 2019 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

The floodgates have opened:

https://twitter.com/Politidope/status/1178849959417929728

House lawyers just replied to DOJ’s brief opposing the disclosure of Mueller’s grand jury information. They argue that DOJ can’t tell them whether or not they’re in an impeachment inquiry, which is the House’s central claim to Mueller’s grand jury files. pic.twitter.com/US4TOHkHw1
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) September 30, 2019

STORY >> House lawyers say they have “grounds to believe” Mueller’s grand-jury info shows Trump lied under oath about his knowledge of his campaign’s contacts w/ WikiLeaks.

House attorneys say the Judiciary Committee needs the grand-jury info to find out.https://t.co/i8i0OH5nVu
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) October 1, 2019

Slippery pig boy

September 30, 2019September 29, 2019 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

WATCH: Stephen Miller refuses to answer why Trump used private lawyers as his emissaries to the Ukrainian government?

Chris Wallace: "You have your non-answer at this point." pic.twitter.com/jAknD6gt4h
— DNC War Room (@DNCWarRoom) September 29, 2019

Fuck the New York Times

September 27, 2019September 26, 2019 ~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Why did they feel it necessary to publish this? This description really narrows it down:

Breaking News: The whistle-blower is said to be a CIA officer who was assigned to work at the White House. His complaint suggests he is a trained analyst. https://t.co/wA0GOwwiWX
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 26, 2019

The @nytimes just revealed the gender and position of the #whistleblower.
Trump just said that the whistleblower should be punished with death.
During the Bush administration it was right wing media who revealed Valerie Plame's identity.
Is the NYT now working with Trump? https://t.co/mH1vQ4eTeI
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) September 26, 2019

https://twitter.com/ExumAM/status/1177301345029754880

It’s all so crazy

September 27, 2019September 26, 2019 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

The whistleblower says officials covered up Trump's call by moving it to an ultra-classified computer system.

This is a *much* worse abuse than it seems.

I spoke to a former NSC staffer, who explained in detail how this really works and what it means:https://t.co/j3Y1XEiB1k
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) September 26, 2019

The beat goes on

September 27, 2019September 26, 2019 ~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Trump was trying to coerce Ukraine’s president into giving up Crimea to the Russians by withholding the weapons needed to defend themselves along the Russia border. Trump is and always was a tool of Putin. Also, in a footnote to the complaint, the whistleblower cites Giuliani saying Barr’s prosecutor is spending a lot of time in Europe “investigating Ukraine” i.e. Biden. The DoJ!

Russia is attacking Ukraine in Donetsk region today. To 19:00 on September 26th, Russian armed forces attacked Novoluhanske, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, Novotroitske, Novohnativka, and Vodyane. 1 Ukrainian serviceman was wounded by enemy shelling. #PutinAtWar https://t.co/X2kMSyia7U pic.twitter.com/PC4KOpjn0D
— Michael MacKay (@mhmck) September 26, 2019

The Kremlin clearly stood to benefit from the fulfillment of Trump's demands for Ukraine to "play ball":
✔️Clear Russia of election interference
✔️Smear Trump's political rival (Putin prefers Trump)
✔️Make a deal with Putin=surrender to Russia on its termshttps://t.co/COoQGhsclD
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) September 26, 2019

https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/1177263905883791361

Headlines from whistleblower complaint & Maguire:
– WH covered up Ukraine call
– WH did same for calls w/other leaders
– DNI believes call transcript is “in alignment with” complaint
– DNI asked WH first about releasing complaint
– Trump still doesn’t believe Russia hacked DNC
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) September 26, 2019

Trump’s remarks to our diplomats today are simply unacceptable. He has crossed another red line by describing a loyal and law-abiding public servant as a “spy”. This is not Russia but America. https://t.co/QYBTaG0Ker
— Nicholas Burns (@RNicholasBurns) September 26, 2019

Remember when Jared Kushner tried to arrange a private, back-channel communications system with Russia that nobody else in the US government would be able to monitor?

This is why.
— Jay Bookman (@jaysbookman) September 26, 2019