Washington Post: Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister disparaged Ukraine to Trump
“President Donald Trump’s urging of Ukraine’s President to investigate political rivals coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pushing a disparaging view of the country to Trump, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Citing current and former US officials, the Post reported that Putin and Orban did not explicitly name Ukraine as a potential source of dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden or mentioned the country’s potential role in the 2016 US presidential election. However, the two leaders characterized Ukraine as corrupt and reinforced Trump’s views of the country.
George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, described Putin and Orban’s influence during closed-door testimony to House investigators last week, US officials told the Post. Kent pointed to their efforts as a factor in turning Trump against Ukraine in the months leading up to his controversial call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that prompted a whistleblower complaint and impeachment inquiry, the Post reported.” via CNN
I said from the beginning that I wondered what promises Trump made to – or information he gathered from – Vladimir Putin in regards to Ukraine. It’s not a coincidence that Trump’s entire theory on Ukraine is exculpatory to Russia.
Republicans rip Mick Mulvaney’s ‘rough patch’
“Mick Mulvaney’s two stumbling public appearances over the past week have deepened the president’s Ukraine scandal, undercut a chief GOP talking point and left the party stunned and frustrated as Republican lawmakers look to hold off Democrats’ impeachment drive.
Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, the most senior GOP senator, put it this way: Mulvaney is “probably somebody that didn’t know what they were talking about.”
It’s been a “tough week” and “rough patch for Mick Mulvaney” that has not aided his credibility, said Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) bluntly.
“It’s hard to figure out what led him to make some of those statements last week, both in the initial news conference and then the follow-up. I’m glad they walked some of that stuff back but yeah, it’s hard to explain,” Thune said in an interview. “He’s trying to make amends and correct the record, so to speak, so we’ll see. Ultimately, he serves at the pleasure of the president.”
And if Trump is weighing whether to keep Mulvaney or cut loose the third man who’s held the seemingly impossible job, many Senate Republicans are not likely to offer the embattled aide much support. Trump himself did not answer a question about Mulvaney’s status on Monday and the White House did not return a request for comment for this story.” via Politico
I’d be pretty surprised if Mulvaney lasts another week. Everyone in the administration is pissed at him. He’s managed to spectacularly screw up on national television twice this week. I said it yesterday, but I’m really starting to wonder if some of it was intentional. He’s not the brightest crayon in the box, but this is an impressive blunder even for him.
Trump might expose whistleblower, Schumer tells Intel officials
“As President Donald Trump continued his attacks on the Ukraine whistleblower on Monday, Chuck Schumer is asking the intelligence community what is being done to protect the source from harm.
The Senate Minority leader asked both the acting director of national intelligence and the inspector general on Monday afternoon to outline what “specific steps” they are taking to protect the whistleblower. Schumer said his understanding is the unidentified individual is receiving some security but said that he fears “safety risks may intensify in the event that the whistleblower’s identity is disclosed.”
“In light of the President’s ill-advised statements, his lack of respect for the rule of law and his well-documented habit of condoning violence by his supporters, I am concerned that he may disclose the whistleblower’s identity or cause it to be disclosed by others in the administration,” Schumer wrote in a letter to acting DNI Joseph Maguire and IG Michael Atkinson. “If that were to happen, it will be your responsibility to take immediate action to protect the whistleblower from both workplace reprisal and threats to his or her personal safety.” via Politico
This has been a discussion on the Hill for quite some time now. The Democrats fully expect Trump or one of his Congressional allies to out the whistleblower at some point. Getting it out was a good move by Schumer. I just hope they prosecute the hell out of whichever Congresscritter ends up betraying our country. My money is on Jordan, Nunes, or Gaetz, for what it’s worth.
Trump defends Gabbard after Clinton claims she’s a Russian asset
“President Donald Trump on Monday defended Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard against Hillary Clinton’s accusation that the Democratic congresswoman’s presidential campaign is being bolstered by the Russian government.
“She’s accusing everyone of being a Russian agent,” Trump told reporters of his 2016 general election opponent.
“These people are sick. There’s something wrong with them,” he said, arguing that Clinton’s controversial comments would aid Gabbard’s White House bid.
Republicans in recent days have criticized the former secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee for remarks she made on a podcast with David Plouffe, former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager.” via Politico
I know some of you might not buy the whole Tulsi is a Russian asset thing, but it’s worth asking the obvious question here: why are Republicans going out of their way to defend Tulsi and support her candidacy?
Her goals and most of her talking points align much more closely with the GOP, Putin, and Assad than they do any of her Democratic colleagues. It’s not out of bounds to ask why that might be.
Trump Rages Over Republican Defections as Democrats Press on Impeachment
“President Trump, increasingly embittered by an impeachment inquiry that Democrats are intensifying by the day, complained on Monday that Republicans were not united enough in defending him against what he called “vicious” adversaries bent on removing him.
Mr. Trump lashed out at Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, the only member of his party who has signaled he may be open to impeaching Mr. Trump, arguing that the senator’s defection showed weakness in the party.
Launching into a series of attacks on Democrats, Mr. Trump said approvingly that they were “vicious and they stick together. They don’t have Mitt Romney in their midst — they don’t have people like that.”
They stick together,” Mr. Trump added, during a lengthy question-and-answer session with reporters at a cabinet meeting. “You never see them break off.”
It was the second time in as many days that Mr. Trump — coming to terms with the fact that he will most likely be impeached by the Democrat-led House within weeks and face a Senate trial immediately after — has complained about a lack of support from Republicans as he faces the greatest threat yet to his presidency.” via The New York Times
If you didn’t witness that Cabinet Meeting, it was absolutely bonkers, even by Trump’s standards. CNN wrote an article titled “The 41 most out-there lines from Donald Trump’s Cabinet meeting“
Having someone be able to pick out 41 lines insane lines from a Cabinet meeting is probably bad enough, but that wasn’t even half of the actual crazy, if we’re being honest. He further stuck his foot in this mouth about the Kurds, openly trashed the Constitution, bashed Mitt Romney, ranted about having to cancel the G7 at Doral, and more.
Translation: it must be Monday.
Israel’s Netanyahu gives up effort to form new government
“Benjamin Netanyahu gave up his effort to form a new government on Monday after failing to secure a majority coalition, creating an opportunity for centrist rival Benny Gantz to replace Israel’s longest serving prime minister.
Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party, said he had been unable to form a government following an election in September, and was returning the mandate back to Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin. Rivlin said he intends to task Gantz with the job of putting together a new government.” via Reuters
Womp womp.
U.S. mulls leaving some troops in Syria to guard oil: Pentagon
“The Pentagon is considering keeping some U.S. troops near oilfields in northeastern Syria alongside Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to help deny oil to Islamic State militants, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday.
U.S. troops are crossing into Iraq as part of a broader withdrawal from Syria ordered by President Donald Trump, a decision that allowed Turkey to launch an offensive against the SDF which for years was a U.S. ally battling Islamic State.” via Reuters
Or, we could have not capitulated to Turkey, stayed in Syria where our mission was succeeding, not abandoned our allies, not released ISIS, and not had any oil to need to protect. Crazy idea, huh?
‘Get tougher’: Trump slams Democrats and chides Republicans as allies criticize his erratic impeachment response
“President Trump lashed out against the impeachment process during a raucous Cabinet meeting Monday, turning the White House gathering into a Trump-run war room as he continues to unnerve many of his Republican allies by insisting on a personal and largely uncoordinated response to his mounting challenges.
In extemporaneous remarks that lasted more than an hour, Trump railed against what he called a “phony investigation” of his dealings with Ukraine and blasted the “phony emoluments clause” of the Constitution, which played a role in forcing him to scrap plans to host a global summit at his private golf club in Florida. And as Cabinet secretaries looked on, Trump called on Republicans to “get tougher” before making a stream of false allegations about several of his predecessors, from George Washington to Barack Obama.
Behind the scenes, Trump’s erratic and bombastic behavior is causing growing alarm among Republican lawmakers, donors and advisers who have called for a more disciplined impeachment response from the White House.” via The Washington Post
I’ve told you guys that donors were getting nervous for awhile, but it’s reaching a fever pitch at the moment. I wouldn’t be at all shocked to see a pretty big exodus from the Trump train soon – they all realize this isn’t a winning ticket for 2020.
White House Personnel Director Tells Trump Top DHS Picks Are Ineligible
“The White House personnel office chief has told President Trump that his top two picks to fill the Homeland Security secretary job aren’t eligible under a federal law dictating who can fill the role without Senate confirmation, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Trump and many of his top immigration advisers favor Ken Cuccinelli or Mark Morgan for the job. Both men have only worked at DHS for the past few months but are ardent defenders of the president’s immigration policies on television. The previous acting secretary, Kevin McAleenan, submitted his resignation this month but will remain on the job through the end of the month.” via WSJ
Only the best people.
House Democrats zero in on ‘abuse of power’ in Trump impeachment inquiry
“House Democrats are zeroing in on a framework for their impeachment case against President Donald Trump that will center on a simple “abuse of power” narrative involving the president’s actions regarding Ukraine, according to multiple people familiar with the deliberations.
As Democrats continue closed-door depositions with critical witnesses and prepare to move to the next phase of public hearings, they are wrestling over which elements and evidence to bring in, which to leave out. The goal is to explain to the public the reasoning and relevance of any eventual impeachment charges.
Democratic House committee chairs and leaders are still debating the need for additional articles or charges that extend beyond the president’s dealings with Ukraine, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been adamant that the case against Trump must be targeted and easy to communicate in order to build public support, according to those familiar with discussions.” via NBC News
This is a good move. They’re also considering obstruction / contempt of Congress, but it’s better to keep it simple at this point – the impeachable offenses are obviously in the open, just explain them to the people and get him out of here.
