All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[Tami]

Trump Meets With LaPierre to Discuss How N.R.A. Could Support Political Defense

President Trump met on Friday with Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association, to discuss how the N.R.A. could provide financial support for the president’s defense as he faces political headwinds, including impeachment, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

It was not clear whether Mr. Trump asked Mr. LaPierre for his support, or if the idea was pitched by the N.R.A. But in return for the support, Mr. LaPierre asked that the White House “stop the games” over gun control legislation, people familiar with the meeting said.

Mr. LaPierre has been a leader in an aggressive campaign by gun rights advocates to influence the White House in the months since the back-to-back mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. In a series of calls and meetings, he has tried to move Mr. Trump away from proposing any sort of background check measures that he said after the mass shootings he might support.

But caught between political pressures to do something and doing nothing on gun legislation, Mr. Trump has been idling while Congress waits for a sign from the White House on what it plans to propose. Mr. Trump’s meeting with Mr. LaPierre on Friday indicated that his priority may be his own political survival rather than making any strides on guns.

Meanwhile, White House aides and Mr. Trump’s allies have been seeking to blame Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who announced a formal impeachment inquiry against Mr. Trump on Tuesday, for lowering the chances of working together on bipartisan measures.

“It’s no secret the president wants meaningful solutions to protect American communities and potentially stop one of these tragedies from ever happening again,” said Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, “and he’s going to continue doing his job even though Democrats refuse to do theirs.”

[Tami]

The Rarely Used Congressional Power That Could Force William Barr’s Hand

Impeachment is Congress’s most famous, yet rarely exercised, power over wayward presidents and other federal officers. But as Trump-administration officials continue to defy House subpoenas related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Democrats in control of the chamber could turn to an even blunter weapon in their arsenal: arrest.

Courts have recognized that the House and Senate each have the authority to enforce their orders by imprisoning those who violate them—literally. They can direct their respective sergeant at arms to arrest officials they’ve found to be in contempt and bring them to the Capitol for trial and, potentially, jail. Congress hasn’t invoked what’s known as the “power of inherent contempt” in nearly a century, but the escalating clash between two co-equal branches of government has Democrats talking about moves previously deemed unthinkable.

“Its day in the sun is coming,” Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland told me by phone on Tuesday. Raskin, a second-term Democrat and former constitutional-law professor, sits on the House Judiciary Committee, which on Wednesday approved, on a vote of 24–16, a resolution finding Attorney General William Barr in contempt for his refusal to give Congress the full, unredacted Mueller report. As lawmakers met to consider the move, the White House carried out its threat to assert executive privilege over the document.

[worstblogever]

The Rarely Used Congressional Power That Could Force William Barr’s Hand

The Trump administration has been flaunting cooperation on subpoenas for months, and it would be amazing to see the Democrats finally call bulls*** on the people who ignore them, and the rule of law.

[Tami]

Suggesting His Life in Danger, Trump Lawyer Rudy Giuliani Claims He's the "Real Whistleblower"

President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Thursday referred to himself as a "legitimate whistleblower" and said he might need protection to continue informing the public about the unfolding Ukrainian phone call scandal that led this week to an impeachment inquiry.

The former New York City mayor claimed to Fox News host Laura Ingraham Thursday evening that his role in the scandal is misunderstood and that he has provided a service to the public and the White House through his work to expose corruption.

"I actually think they should all congratulate me," said Giuliani.

Rudy Giuliani Tells Laura Ingraham: ‘I’m A Legitimate Whistleblower’

Rudy Giuliani offered a doozy of a declaration about the Ukraine scandal Thursday, telling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that he is “a legitimate whistleblower” who should be congratulated. (Watch the clip below.)

Giuliani ― under fire after a newly released whistleblower complaint outlined his attempt to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate President Donald Trump’s 2020 election rival Joe Biden ― already said earlier in the day that he would wind up “the hero.”

From the interview, Rudy said that it twas Pence who was the criminal, not Trump.


This Is Your Brain On Rudy

Rudy Giuliani is the real whistleblower! Just ask him, he'll tell you.

"I'm the real whistleblower," he screamed to Politico, "If I get killed now, you won't get the rest of the story." Hours earlier he barked at The Atlantic's Elaina Plott, "If this guy is a whistle-blower, then I'm a whistle-blower too." Then he went back on Laura Ingraham's Conspiracy Laundrette to uhhhh ... who the hell knows what's happening here.

[Tami]

McCain Institute head Kurt Volker steps down as US diplomat

Executive Director of the McCain Institute Kurt Volker resigned from his position as the U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Friday, following reports he collaborated with Ukraine and President Donald Trump.

An ASU official confirmed Volker's resignation Friday, and said the University could not speak about his future at ASU because the University does not comment on personnel matters.

Volker met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Friday to announce he would be resigning, the official said.

Volker’s name was mentioned in the recent whistleblower complaint, which has sparked an impeachment inquiry for Trump. Trump has defended his actions, including a phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky where Trump requested dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden.

[worstblogever]

Cracks are clearly starting to show, a Republican Congressman, Mark Amodei (NV) has come out in support of the impeachment inquiry. Two if you want to still count Justin Amash of Michigan. Three if you count Tulsi Gabbard, who flipped and now finally supports it.

[worstblogever]

The first poll is out that shows more support for impeachment than opposition.

NBC News/Marist Poll has 49% in favor of impeachment, 46% against. Both this, and the earlier poll I cited this morning from Politico show that both Independents and Republicans are coming around to the idea, as well, rapidly.

[worstblogever]

CNN Report: The secret server the Trump White House was sequestering phone calls with world leaders where Trump was doing potentially criminal things... includes calls with Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman.

Lord only knows what sorts of s*** he and Putin talk about regarding the 2016 election, Mueller report, and lifting sanctions against Russia...

Betting the MBS phone call was a promise to not act after the death of Kashoggi in exchange for a favor.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Suggesting His Life in Danger, Trump Lawyer Rudy Giuliani Claims He's the "Real Whistleblower"





Rudy Giuliani Tells Laura Ingraham: ‘I’m A Legitimate Whistleblower’



From the interview, Rudy said that it twas Pence who was the criminal, not Trump.


This Is Your Brain On Rudy

To quote Curly from one of my all time favorite Three Stooges shorts....”Moe! Larry! The cheese!” Rantin’ Rudy has done lost it!

[Tendrin]

CNN Report: The secret server the Trump White House was sequestering phone calls with world leaders where Trump was doing potentially criminal things... includes calls with Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman.

Lord only knows what sorts of s*** he and Putin talk about regarding the 2016 election, Mueller report, and lifting sanctions against Russia...

Betting the MBS phone call was a promise to not act after the death of Kashoggi in exchange for a favor.

This from the 'but her emails!" crowd.

[Tendrin]

LOL.

"I have great respect for Mr. Giuliani but I said this yesterday and take it for what it's worth: He's wild as a March hare,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). “He's like a lot of senators, he's kind of a free range chicken, he kind of gets out there. What he says is his business, I don't speak for him."

Others put it more bluntly.

“I think it would be a good thing if he would go take a vacation,” a senior GOP lawmaker told POLITICO, one of several who declined to go on the record so they could speak critically of Giuliani.
Even some of Trump’s top allies on Capitol Hill don’t think Giuliani is doing the president or the party any favors by being such a constant presence in the media.
“Rudy’s saying a lot of things and I’m not sure he’s helping the president by being on TV every 15 minutes,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters this week.
Giuliani, however, isn’t shying away from the spotlight. Instead, he’s given a string of combative, and at times bizarre, TV appearances. In one interview, he denied that he asked Ukraine to probe the Biden family, only to admit it 30 seconds later.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...cid=spartanntp

[SquirrelMan]

Trying to separate her from the NYT reporting team represents a significant lack of understanding of their work.

But you make evident your mind is made up and this post illustrates my perfect/good point well. Seems there isnt room forward but this is deeply problematic purity thinking. I hope you reconsider.

Maybe we just have different standards for what is "Good."
For you, "Horrible" is good enough, and I have higher standards.

[SquirrelMan]

From the Washington Post today (not the NYT, gee Maggie, what are they paying you for??)

Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn’t concerned about Moscow’s interference in U.S. election, because the US does it in other countries, too

[SquirrelMan]

Has Turtle Boy given up on Trump?

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that if the House does vote for impeachment, the Senate ‘has no choice’ but to hold a trial to decide whether to remove Trump from office

But maybe it would be a mock trial, as:

“At this point, [Trump] could be caught walking out of a Federal Reserve bank with two giant sacks of money in his hands and no Republican would vote to impeach him for grand larceny,” said a senior Senate GOP aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“Our voters want two things from their congressmen: [dumping] on the media and blindly defending the president,” the aide added. “That’s what being a Republican has come to.”

[WestPhillyPunisher]

House Committees Subpoena Pompeo For Ukraine Documents

The House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight Committees also scheduled depositions for five State Department officials. So, who will be next after Pompous Pompeo?

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Trump Reportedly Said He Didn’t Care About Russian Interference In Elections

The comments, first reported by The Washington Post, allegedly came during a 2017 Oval Office meeting with two Russian officials. And I'm sure he's hoping for help from the Ivans next year.

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Trump Met With NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre About ‘Political Survival,’ NYT Report Says

The same day a Senate committee report came out saying the National Rifle Association was a “foreign asset” to Russia, Trump sought the gun group’s advice. Two crooks meeting to screw the country. Delightful.

**********

New Ad Campaign Calls On Republicans To Stand Up For The Law In Ukraine Tangle

“Stand up and say it’s wrong,” urges $1 million ad campaign by Republicans for the Rule of Law. Fat chance of gutless Republicans standing up for anything.

**********

Kellyanne Conway Lobs Sexist Dig At Nancy Pelosi, Says She Caved To Men On Impeachment

“She does the worst thing a woman in power can do ... she just changes her mind because the men around her said, ’Change your mind,’” Trump’s aide claimed. That'ss hilarious, considering Sewer Rat Barbie shamelessly slurps a serial adulterer.