Month: February 2020

Economy Faces a Coronavirus Challenge as Markets Swoon

“As an uptick in the number of coronavirus infections outside China sent markets swooning on Monday, attention quickly turned to how the Federal Reserve and the United States government would assess — and even address — the economic fallout.

The Fed cut interest rates three times in 2019 to insulate the economy against uncertainty stemming from President Trump’s trade war and slowing global growth. Central bank officials have been clear that they expect to leave interest rates unchanged now unless inflation jumps — potentially causing them to lift rates — or risks upend their outlook for stable growth, prompting them to cut.

The question now is whether the new coronavirus represents such a threat. Fed officials have been unwilling to declare it a reason to move yet. But even as they strike a wait-and-see pose, markets are increasingly betting that global economic and market fallout from the disease will push the central bank to lower borrowing costs.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: This was day one of the coronavirus plunge… it didn’t get any better on day 2.

Harvey Weinstein Is Found Guilty of Sex Crimes in #MeToo Watershed

“Harvey Weinstein, the powerhouse film producer whose downfall over sexual misconduct ignited a global movement, was found guilty of two felony sex crimes after a trial in which six women testified that he had sexually assaulted them.

The jury found Mr. Weinstein guilty of rape and criminal sexual act but acquitted him of three other counts, including the two most serious charges against him — that he is a sexual predator.

Mr. Weinstein displayed little emotion as the verdict was read. He appeared stunned as he was handcuffed and led out of court, limping between two court officers on his way to jail to await sentencing. He faces a possible sentence of between five and 25 years.

The verdict offered a measure of justice to the dozens of women who had come forward with similar allegations against Mr. Weinstein. For many, the trial was a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement and a crucial test in the effort to hold influential men accountable for sexual harassment in the workplace.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Weinstein was also taken to the hospital with “chest pains” on his way to jail. I hope it was minor – I would hate to see his jail sentence cut short by a myocardial infarction.

The FBI Is Investigating Massive Embezzlement of Border Patrol Union Funds

The FBI is investigating the disappearance of some $500,000 from the coffers of the powerful union representing the country’s roughly 20,000 Border Patrol agents, said the organization’s national president, Brandon Judd.

Judd said the probe is focused on identifying the individuals responsible for siphoning the money from the bank accounts of the union’s El Paso branch in recent years.

“We know the FBI is looking at it,” said Judd, head of the National Border Patrol Council, which has forged a close alliance with President Donald Trump.

Under the Trump administration, the Border Patrol, a once obscure federal agency, has been thrust into the center of a rancorous debate over immigration policy, facing intense criticism over the squalid conditions in the agency’s overcrowded detention facilities, a string of migrant deaths and revelations that some 9,500 current and former agents were part of a private Facebook group that included vulgar and misogynistic content.” via ProPublica

Angry’s Thoughts: Of course this would happen to Trump’s new favorite agency.

To be clear, there’s no evidence that Trump is involved in this in any way – it’s just fitting.

Bloomberg’s debate strategy: Nuke Bernie

“Mike Bloomberg and a handful of staffers spent Monday at the so-called “happiest place on earth,” preparing for the bruising task ahead the next day.

Hunkered down at the Four Seasons hotel in Florida’s Disney World, the former New York mayor prepared for a mission to salvage his half-billion-dollar investment in the presidential race with a debate performance designed to quiet the critics and stall frontrunner Bernie Sanders’ momentum.

After a disastrous first outing — his net favorability rating dropped 20 points in the aftermath, according to Morning Consult — Bloomberg’s debategoals in the Charleston, S.C., debate are twofold: Persuade viewers that Sanders is too divisive to defeat President Donald Trump in November, while sidestepping landmines surrounding complaints from women at his private media company and his race-based policing practices as mayor.

“The debate tomorrow night and the campaign in general … needs to be about one candidate and that’s Bernie Sanders,” Dan Kanninen, a top strategist overseeing Bloomberg’s states operation, said in a conference call with reporters Monday morning. “We’ve been saying for some time that the nature of this contest means someone with even a small plurality of delegates can come away with an outsize and disproportionate delegate lead.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Well, the debate is over now and *everyone* went after Bernie. It’s unclear how well that strategy is going to work nationwide, but the crowd at the debate certainly wasn’t very fond of some of Bernie’s answers.

Without Evidence, Trump Accuses Schiff of Leaking Intelligence on Russia’s 2020 Interference

President Trump on Tuesday accused the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee of leaking information about Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2020 election, dismissed the intelligence as “exaggerated” and refused to acknowledge that Moscow was behind similar efforts in 2016.

“I can’t imagine that people are not going to go after them and find out what’s happening,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the committee, led by Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, a longtime foil of the president’s.

Mr. Trump also said that he did not plan on saying anything controversial during the news conference at the end of his visit to India.

When details about the persistence of Russia’s efforts related to 2020 were revealed last week, including new information about Moscow’s efforts to influence the Democratic primaries, Mr. Trump was particularly bothered that officials would tell Mr. Schiff, who led the impeachment efforts against the president and is entitled to these briefings as part of his oversight role.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Pretty standard Trump playbook here – accuse everyone else of doing what you do. He leaks to his friends and to the media *constantly*

For what it’s worth, there’s absolutely no proof that leak came from Adam Schiff – Trump is just terrified of him and likes to keep his minions riled up.

Dow closes down nearly 900 points as coronavirus fears rise

“The stock rout continued Tuesday as diving bond yields raised more concern that the global economy is slowing significantly because of the spreading coronavirus. The 10-year Treasury yield hit a record low as the Dow Jones Industrial Average added to Monday’s 1,000-point drop.

Comments from health officials warning of a possible outbreak in the U.S. also spooked investors, causing a turnaround in stocks, which had opened the day higher.

The Dow closed down 879 points, or 3.1%, at 27,081 after being up more than 180 points at one point shortly after the open. The S&P 500 slid 3% to 3,128, while the Nasdaq fell 2.8% to 8,965.” via CNBC

Angry’s Thoughts: Day two of the Dow drop wasn’t any better – we went from a all-time high to the biggest two-day drop in two years. Trump is furious that the coronavirus is hurting the stock market, but other than that, he is woefully uninformed about how dangerous of a situation this is.

Judge in Roger Stone Case Warns About Attacks on Juror From Trump and Others

“The federal judge overseeing the criminal case against Roger J. Stone Jr. warned on Tuesday about attacks by President Trump and others on a juror in the trial, saying that fomenting public anger about the guilty verdict could prompt someone to “soon take it out on them personally.”

The comments by United States District Judge Amy Jackson Berman came during a hearing on an argument by Mr. Stone’s lawyers that misconduct by a juror required a new trial.

Even as the hearing was proceeding, Mr. Trump weighed in again on the case, once more ignoring Attorney General William P. Barr’s explicit request earlier this month that he stop commenting on the department’s criminal cases.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: It’s absolutely pathetic that a judge even has to issue this warning, much less have it directed at the President of the United States, but here we are. Trump has sent a minimum of four Tweets about the Roger stone case in the last two days.

Senate GOP again thwarted on bills to restrict abortion

“Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a pair of Republican bills that would ban most late-term abortions and threaten prison for doctors who don’t try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions.

The measures have been defeated multiple times in recent years, but Senate Republicans pushed for renewed votes to allow GOP lawmakers to make an election-year appeal to conservative voters.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats of bowing to “the radical demands of the far left” to “drown out common sense” and the views of millions of Americans.” via AP

Angry’s Thoughts: The nation is facing a potential pandemic and the Republicans are still worried about how to take away women’s reproductive rights.

Trump tightens his grip on intelligence

“President Donald Trump is tightening his grip on the intelligence community as part of a post-acquittal purge of career officials and political appointees deemed insufficiently loyal, and the abrupt firing of his last intel chief is only the tip of the iceberg, current and former intelligence officials say.

Trump’s decision to replace acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire with a loyalist with no intelligence experience, Ric Grenell, shocked the national security world and has raised questions about who the president will nominate to serve in the post after Grenell’s “acting” status expires next month. In India, Trump hinted that his decision would come soon.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: We have a potential pandemic coming to our shores, and this is still the most dangerous story of the day.

U.S., South Korea postpone annual military drills due to coronavirus

“The South Korean and U.S. militaries have postponed their annual joint drills out of concerns over a virus outbreak.

Thursday’s announcement came after South Korea reported 21 cases of a new coronavirus in its military and the U.S. military reported one case among its 28,500 troops in South Korea.

The announcement was jointly made by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. military in South Korea.

Kim Jun-rak, a spokesman at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the allies will put off their drills in the first half of this year until further notice.

Kim said JCS chief Park Han-ki first proposed putting off the drills out of concerns of safety of South Korean and U.S. troops.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: People don’t often associate illnesses with military readiness, but if this becomes a global pandemic, that is another obvious problem we will have to address. We have to get this right the first time.

Thankfully we have completely sane and responsible people at the helm.

…crap.

Coronavirus in California: C.D.C. Confirms Possible Community Transmission Case

“A person in California who was not exposed to anyone known to be infected with the coronavirus, and had not traveled to countries in which the virus is circulating, has tested positive for the infection.

It may be the first case of community spread in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

“At this point, the patient’s exposure is unknown,” the C.D.C. statement said. “The case was detected through the U.S. public health system and picked up by astute clinicians.”

The case was announced shortly after President Trump concluded a news briefing in which he said that aggressive public health containment measures and travel entry restrictions had successfully limited the spread of coronavirus in the United States.

Until now, public health officials have been able to trace all of the infections in the country to a recent trip abroad or a known patient, and to identify the sources of exposure.

Though C.D.C. officials said it was possible the patient was exposed to a returning traveler who was infected, the new case appears to be one of community spread — one in which the source of infection is unknown.

“The thing that would immediately make all of us uneasy is if this person has no direct contact with someone who comes from an affected country,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University.

“That would suggest there are other undetected cases out there, and we have already started some low-grade transmission.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: I hate to make this the coronavirus news dump, but the administration isn’t taking this near seriously enough, so I want to make sure that I do my part to help make sure people are informed and prepared.

Trump: Roger Stone has ‘very good chance of exoneration’ but will ‘let the process play out’

“President Donald Trump on Thursday strongly hinted that Roger Stone would not end up serving the 40-month prison sentence handed down by a federal judge, saying his former longtime political adviser “has a very good chance of exoneration.”

But while Trump railed against the Justice Department during a prison graduation ceremony in Las Vegas, he added that he would not grant the convicted GOP operative a pardon at the moment because he wanted to “let the process play out,” an apparent allusion to Stone’s petition for a new trial.

Hours earlier, Stone had been sentenced to more than three years in prison on charges of lying to investigators, obstructing Congress and witness intimidation, immediately raising questions about whether the president will pardon his former confidant for what he’s decried as a miscarriage of justice.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Trump has been advised multiple times to stop talking about Roger Stone and his court case, so naturally, he takes every available opportunity to talk about Roger Stone and his court case.

Roger Stone juror Seth Cousins defends forewoman Tomeka Hart after Trump’s claim of ‘significant bias’

“A former juror in the trial of Roger Stone, a longtime associate of President Donald Trump, defended the forewoman whom the president accused of “significant bias” that influenced the guilty verdict. 

Juror Seth Cousins told CNN on Wednesday night, “The irony here is that Tomeka Hart, who we elected as our foreperson on a secret ballot,” was “perhaps the strongest advocate in the room for a rigorous process, for the rights of the defendant and for making sure that we took it seriously and looked at each charge.” 

Stone, who awaits sentencing Thursday, was convicted in November of lying to Congress, obstructing the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and threatening a potential witness. His lawyers requested a new trial in light of Hart’s social media posts that were critical of Trump.” via USA Today

Angry’s Thoughts: Trump could never possibly understand someone doing something that wouldn’t directly benefit themselves, so naturally he’s incapable of understanding that normal people can separate their personal feelings with their actual duty still be impartial jurors.

Russia Backs Trump’s Re-election, and He Fears Democrats Will Exploit Its Support

“Intelligence officials warned House lawmakers last week that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to try to get President Trump re-elected, five people familiar with the matter said, a disclosure to Congress that angered Mr. Trump, who complained that Democrats would use it against him.

The day after the Feb. 13 briefing to lawmakers, Mr. Trump berated Joseph Maguire, the outgoing acting director of national intelligence, for allowing it to take place, people familiar with the exchange said. Mr. Trump cited the presence in the briefing of Representative Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat who led the impeachment proceedings against him, as a particular irritant.

During the briefing to the House Intelligence Committee, Mr. Trump’s allies challenged the conclusions, arguing that he has been tough on Russia and strengthened European security. Some intelligence officials viewed the briefing as a tactical error, saying that had the official who delivered the conclusion spoken less pointedly or left it out, they would have avoided angering the Republicans.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Arguing that Trump has strengthened European security might be the most asinine thing I’ve ever seen; he’s stretched NATO to the brink. Our allies have *never* been less sure of our intentions, which inherently makes them – and the world – less safe.

On the rest of this, there are varying reports that discuss the conclusiveness of this intel – that’s to be expected, partially because intel often lacks specificity, and partially because that’s Russia’s goal: they want to sow discord and they want *everyone* to feel like the system is working against them. So far, they’re doing a pretty damn good job of it. We have to quit falling for it.

It’s obvious that they want Trump to be re-elected, though. You don’t even need to see the underlying intel to know that’s the case.

Sotomayor’s Scathing ‘Public Charge’ Dissent Lights Up Twitter

Justice Sonia Sotomayor lit up Twitter after issuing a dissent against the Supreme Court’s 5-4 vote to allow an immigrant wealth test — designed to weed out green card applicants deemed likely to need public assistance — to go into effect.

The Illinois rule says immigrants who are “likely at any time to become a public charge” because they may in the future need benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid or housing assistance may be turned away. It followed a ruling on Jan. 27 that was already poised to take effect in 49 states.

Sotomayor, who joined fellow liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan in the minority, argued that cases have repeatedly been rushed to the Supreme Court without being “ventilated fully in the lower courts.”

She went as far as to say that the practice is “putting a thumb on the scale in favor” of the party that won a stay — a pointed dig at the Trump administration and her conservative colleagues.

“Claiming one emergency after another, the Government has recently sought stays in an unprecedented number of cases, demanding immediate attention and consuming limited court resources in each,” Sotomayor wrote. “And with each successive application, of course, its cries of urgency ring increasingly hollow.” via Bloomberg

Angry’s Thoughts: If you didn’t read this full dissent, you should. There aren’t enough flame emojis to go around.

‘They like Bernie’: Biden says Russia working to prevent him from getting nomination

“Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that Russians have worked to block him from winning the Democratic nomination while favoring Sen. Bernie Sanders, though he admitted his claims were not based on anything he had been told by intelligence officials. 

“The Russians don’t want me to be the nominee,” Biden said on CBS News‘ “Face the Nation,” later adding, “they like Bernie. 

Biden made the comment after being asked about Sanders’ momentum in the Democratic primary race to determine who will take on President Donald Trump in November. 

After leading in virtually every poll on the national race for his party’s nomination for most of 2019, Biden has fallen behind Sanders in most recent polls. And Sanders has won two of the first three primary contests, while Biden has yet to win a state and performed below expectations in Iowa and New Hampshire.” via USA Today

Angry’s Thoughts: Most of you know I like Biden. Most of you know that I’m not a huge fan of Bernie. With that being said, this isn’t helpful from Biden. Bernie isn’t a Russian stooge – the Kremlin is backing Bernie because they’ve calculated a Bernie nomination will have two effects: 1. It would shake the Democratic establishment to their core. 2. On paper, it’s the easiest path to a Trump re-election.

The Democrats have to find a way to come together in opposition of Trump rather than dragging out a bloody primary that leaves the party wounded and limping into November.

White House to ask Congress for emergency coronavirus funding

The White House will soon ask Congress for emergency funds to fight the coronavirus outbreak, after weeks of hesitation by the administration to press for additional funding, said four individuals with knowledge of the pending request.

However, the amount could be significantly lower than some public health officials have argued is necessary — potentially as little as $1 billion, said two individuals, which could be rapidly exhausted by development of potential vaccines, widespread lab tests and numerous other investments.

A White House official told POLITICO that the pending request is still preliminary and the sum could change. A congressional aide said that lawmakers have been told to expect the request in the coming days.

The outbreak, which began about three months ago and has spread to 28 countries, has sickened more than 75,000 people in China and killed more than 2,200 there. While there are about three dozen confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, almost two-thirds are citizens who were flown home after contracting the virus abroad, including 18 who were evacuated from a cruise ship last week.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Fun fact. There was a position called the Senior Director of Global Health Security that worked at NSC for this exact reason. Trump eliminated it.

This is the first real crisis not of his own making, and he is woefully unprepared for it.

Not to be alarmist, but this is getting pretty scary. We’re up to nearly 3,000 deaths worldwide. Cases in Italy jumped from 3 to 152 over the weekend, and South Korea is facing at least 760 cases. It’s obvious that the quarantine strategy isn’t doing a great job, and it’s hard to see how we contain it from this point.

The United States has *so far* done a good job limiting the spread in the mainland, but with the way it’s spreading globally, I don’t know how long that can continue.

Judge won’t bow out of Roger Stone case

“The federal judge who sentenced President Donald Trump’s longtime adviser Roger Stone to more than three years in prison last week has decisively rejected a defense request that she drop off the case before ruling on a pending new trial motion challenging the conduct of a juror at his trial.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s sharply worded order also dressed down Stone’s defense team for using the court’s docket to air what she said were meritless claims that she is biased against him.

“At bottom, given the absence of any factual or legal support for the motion for disqualification, the pleading appears to be nothing more than an attempt to use the Court’s docket to disseminate a statement for public consumption that has the words ‘judge’ and ‘biased’ in it,” Jackson wrote Sunday.

In recent days, Trump has used Twitter to suggest that Jackson is biased and has used social media and public speeches to endorse claims by Stone’s allies that the jury foreperson harbored antipathy to him.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Judge Jackson has a reputation for being both incredibly fierce, and extraordinarily fair. The facts are that Roger Stone has made a mockery of the process from the beginning, and he’s lucky that she didn’t give him more time than she did.

Trump pardons Michael Milken, face of 1980s insider financial scandals

“President Donald Trump issued a pardon Tuesday to Michael Milken, the former junk bond king who became a face of the insider trading financial scandals of the 1980s.

Trump, in announcing the pardon, cited the “incredible job” that Milken has done supporting cancer research since pleading guilty in 1990 to racketeering and securities fraud charges.

Milken, 73, originally was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crimes while heading the bond department at the investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, and fined $600 million.

But that punishment was later reduced to two years locked up after he cooperated with federal investigators.

Milken also is banned for life from working in the securities industry. It was not immediately clear Tuesday if that ban would be lifted as a result of his pardon.” via CNBC

Angry’s Thoughts: Racketeering and securities fraud? But wait, hasn’t Trump been accused.. ah, it’s probably just a coincidence!

Trump pardons ex-49ers owner DeBartolo Jr.

“President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former San Francisco 49ers owner convicted in a gambling fraud scandal who built one of the most successful NFL teams in the game’s history.

DeBartolo Jr., who owned the San Francisco 49ers during their 1980s-1990s dynasty, was involved in one of the biggest owners’ scandals in the sport’s history. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony when he paid $400,000 to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in exchange for a riverboat gambling license.” via MSN

Angry’s Thoughts: Hmm. Donald Trump, former casino owner, pardons man convicted of gambling fraud and failure to report a felony? Probably just a coincidence.

Trump pardons former New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik

“President Donald Trump has pardoned former New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik, he announced at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday.

Kerik, who once served three years in federal prison for charges including tax fraud and lying to officials, was nominated as homeland security secretary by President George W. Bush but withdrew from consideration due to potential tax violations.

“There are no words to express my appreciation and gratitude to President Trump,” Kerik tweeted in a statement.

The President said he relies heavily on the recommendations of others to inform his clemency decisions, adding that Kerik is “a man who had many recommendations from a lot of very good people.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: Hmm… tax fraud and lying to officials, you say? Probably just a coincidence.

Trump Commutes Corruption Sentence of Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois

“President Trump has commuted the 14-year prison sentence of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, the Democrat who was convicted of trying to essentially sell President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat for personal gain, according to a person briefed on the decision.

Mr. Trump commuted the former governor’s sentence on Tuesday and is planning on announcing it soon, taking the action after saying for years that he was considering intervening in Mr. Blagojevich’s case.

By commuting the sentence, the president would free Mr. Blagojevich from prison without wiping out the conviction. Republicans have advised the president against it, arguing that Mr. Blagojevich’s crime epitomizes the corruption that Mr. Trump had said he wanted to tackle as president.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Trump essentially went down the white collar crimes list and pardoned all of the high-profile people that would send a message to those who might testify against him.

Spoiler alert: It’s not a coincidence that all of these crimes are ones that people in and around his campaign have been accused of.

Roger Stone will be sentenced Thursday despite his ongoing bid to overturn conviction

“Republican strategist Roger Stone, a close friend of President Trump, will be sentenced Thursday despite his ongoing efforts to overturn the guilty verdicts against him, a judge in Washington federal court ruled.

“There’s been a lot of work that’s gone into the sentencing,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Tuesday. “It makes sense to proceed.”

Jackson said that “execution of the sentence will be deferred” while she decides whether Stone deserves a new trial.

“I’m willing to make sure that there are no consequences that flow from the announcement of what the sentencing will be,” she said.” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: This is a good move by Jackson – it gets Stone a sentence and helps avoid the perception of impropriety by the jury in the case.

Top intel office lawyer who handled Ukraine whistleblower complaint resigning

“The top lawyer for the intelligence community, whose decision to block a whistleblower’s complaint about President Donald Trump and Ukraine from reaching Congress helped jumpstart the impeachment inquiry, is resigning from his post, officials confirmed.

Jason Klitenic, the general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, will depart early next month, according to an agency spokeswoman. His exit comes as the acting DNI, Joseph Maguire, nears a March 11 deadline to depart as well. Federal law prevents Maguire from serving in an acting capacity beyond that date, meaning a new director must be nominated and confirmed by then, or Trump must pick a new acting official.

No official reason for Klitenic’s departure has been provided. But he became the subject of scrutiny in September when he consulted with the Justice Department and determined that a whistleblower complaint deemed “urgent” by an internal watchdog would not be provided to Congress. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) demanded access to the complaint after learning it had been blocked — and that it likely pertained to Trump or his senior advisers — and the furor that ensued led to a cascade of support for impeachment in the House.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Weird. It’s almost like ignoring the IG and playing politics with DOJ is a bad practice.

Trump Attacks Stone Prosecutors and Judge, Ignoring Barr’s Admonishment

“President Trump renewed his attacks on law enforcement on Tuesday, denouncing the prosecutors, the judge and the jury forewoman in the case of his longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. only days after Attorney General William P. Barr warned that the president’s criticisms were making it “impossible” for him to do his job.

Undeterred, Mr. Trump kept up his running commentary on the department’s criminal cases on Twitter and in comments to reporters before leaving for the West Coast. He reasserted that he had the right to intervene in individual criminal cases but had not done so, appearing to draw a distinction between opining publicly and outright ordering law enforcement officials to take specific actions.

“I chose not to be involved,” he said before boarding Air Force One. “I’m allowed to be totally involved.”

He told journalists that he understood that his remarks were making Mr. Barr’s job harder, but that social media had helped catapult him to the White House and had given him a worldwide megaphone. “Everybody has the right to speak their mind,” he said. “Social media for me has been very important because it gives me a voice. Because I don’t get that voice in the press.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Couple things here.

One, Trump is not allowed to be “totally involved.” This is one of the (many) problems with a POTUS who has played so loose with the rules, and a GOP Congress who lets him – people are beginning to normalize this behavior and not check him when he makes claims that are patently false.

Two, I’m not paying hardly any credence to this “Barr is thinking about resigning over Trump’s Tweets” rumor. If he does it, fantastic, but I don’t see much reason for him to even want to – he’s currently the most powerful man in America, and Trump’s security blanket. It wouldn’t make sense for him to resign, or for Trump to let him.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign to request recount of Iowa caucuses

“Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign plans to ask for a partial recount of the Iowa caucus results after the state Democratic Party releases the results of its recanvass.

Sanders campaign senior adviser Jeff Weaver told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that the campaign has had a representative in contact with the Iowa Democratic Party throughout the recanvass process. “Based on what we understand to be the results, we intend to ask for a recount,” he said.

The campaign expects that the already slim margin separating Sanders from Pete Buttigieg for the lead in Iowa will remain small enough that a recount would make a difference in the outcome.” via AP

Angry’s Thoughts: This seems pointless and needlessly-divisive to me. As it currently stands, Pete got 13 delegates and Bernie got 12. I understand that every delegate counts, but it’s unlikely that a recount is going to do anything but fuel more conspiracy theories.

At the Turkish Border with Syria ‘It’s Like the End of the World’

“A slight man in a cotton jacket, carrying a knapsack, shivered in the cold, waiting for the Turkish border gate to Syria to open.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are trying to get out of Syria. Yahya Jamal, 21, was trying to get back in.

His father had just died, he said. His family had fled their home under bombardment and were sleeping under the trees. So even though he had smuggled himself into Turkey several months ago, he was going back to Syria to help them.

“There is nowhere to take them,” he said, his face white with shock. “It is impossible to find a safe place.”

Hidden behind the hills of the Turkish border crossing at Reyhanli, a humanitarian calamity is unfolding on the Syrian side.

The Syrian government, backed by Russian forces, has accelerated its monthslong offensive to seize control of Idlib, the last province held by the opposition. Facing heavy bombardment of towns and villages, about 900,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled their homes since December, joining the largest exodus of Syria’s civil war since it began nine years ago.

Most have headed north, toward the Turkish border, and are living out in the cold. The lucky ones are crammed into tent camps, others sleeping in the open on the surrounding hillsides and olive groves. At least 12 children have died of exposure.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: It’s *almost* like the US left the region and everything went more to hell. That can’t be possible, though – President Best Brain would never allow that to happen.

Mexican citizen accused of working for Russians in U.S.

“A Mexican citizen has been charged with collecting information on U.S. government employees for Russia.

Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes was allegedly recruited by a Russian contact to record details about a U.S. government source’s vehicle in Florida, including its license plate number, according to a Justice Department release Tuesday. The Russian agent allegedly instructed Cabrera Fuentes to meet him in Russia in April or May with the information.

Cabrera Fuentes stands accused of working as an agent for a foreign government without declaring so to U.S. authorities.

Cabrera Fuentes caught the attention of security guards when staking out the U.S. source’s car by trespassing on the residential compound where the source lived, according to the release. He was caught at Miami International Airport trying to leave the country for Mexico, and border agents found a close-up image of the source’s license plate on the phone of Cabrera Fuentes’ travel companion, the release said.

The release also said border agents found WhatsApp messages on Cabrera Fuentes’ phone that revealed correspondence with the Russian agent arranging the mission.

Cabrera Fuentes was, according to the DOJ, recruited by the Russian agent in 2019 and had been instructed at the time to rent an apartment under a false name. The release said he traveled to Russia shortly after and again in 2019 to meet with the Russian government agent.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: If this reads like a spy novel, welcome to the world of espionage. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. This story does a good job highlighting both the perils of being a source, and the lengths intelligence agencies will go to find – and keep tabs on – said sources. If not for clumsiness on the part of Fuentes, this story could have had a very different ending for the source he was tailing.

Trump ousts top Pentagon official who signed off on Ukraine aid

“The Pentagon’s top policy official who initially signed off on the release of military aid to Ukraine is leaving his post after President Trump requested he step down, according to his resignation letter.

“Senior administration officials appointed by the President serve at the pleasure of the President, and therefore, as you have requested, I am providing my resignation, effective February 28, 2020,” John Rood, the under secretary of defense for policy, wrote in the letter obtained by CBS News.

CNN first reported Rood was expected to leave the Defense Department, citing sources who said he lost the support of top national security leaders. Mr. Trump confirmed his departure in a tweet later Wednesday morning.” via CBS News

Angry’s Thoughts: Periodic reminder that four GOP Senators with a modicum of courage could have prevented all of this.

Trump Takes Up Call for Barr to ‘Clean House’ at Justice Dept.

“Ignoring appeals from his attorney general to stop tweeting about the Justice Department, President Trump renewed his attacks on the agency on Wednesday, demanding “JUSTICE” for himself and all future presidents.

With a series of retweets, Mr. Trump appeared to embrace the suggestion that Attorney General William P. Barr “clean shop” at the department. And the president promoted the idea of naming a special counsel to investigate what Tom Fitton, the head of the conservative nonprofit Judicial Watch, described as a “seditious conspiracy” at the department and the F.B.I.

A day earlier, Mr. Barr was, according to some of his associates, considering a different sort of shop cleaning: If his boss did not stop meddling with Justice Department investigations, he was said to be considering his own future.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: At this point, it’s almost like Trump is goading Barr to resign, which is about the dumbest thing he could possibly do.

I’m all for it. Please continue, Mr. President.

The Hill finds John Solomon ‘failed’ to identify key details of sources

“John Solomon, the former opinion writer at The Hill whose columns were seen as a central part of a smear campaign against former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, failed to identify “important details” about his sources — including that they were under investigation or indictment and were even his attorneys, according to a review of his work by his former colleagues.

In its review of 14 columns, The Hill’s news team said serious doubts about the credibility of Solomon’s Ukrainian sources were evident even before his interviews with them. Those include, most notably, two former Ukrainian prosecutors — Yuriy Lutsenko and Victor Shokin — who were the principal sources behind unsupported allegations of corruption by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: The Hill Failed to Recognize that John Soloman is a shameless propagandist.

Fixed the headline.

Lawyer: Assange was offered U.S. pardon if he cleared Russia

“WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to claim during an extradition hearing that the Trump administration offered him a pardon if he agreed to say Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, a lawyer for Assange said Wednesday.

Assange is being held at a British prison while fighting extradition to the United States on spying charges. His full court hearing is due to begin next week.

At a preliminary hearing held Wednesday in London, lawyer Edward Fitzgerald said that now-former Republican congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, visited Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in August 2017.

Fitzgerald said a statement from another Assange lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, recounted “Mr. Rohrabacher going to see Mr. Assange and saying, on instructions from the president, he was offering a pardon or some other way out, if Mr. Assange … said Russia had nothing to do with the DNC leaks.”

Responding to the the lawyer’s claims, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “This is absolutely and completely false.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: I don’t know if this is true or not, but if you take the fact that it’s Dana Russiabacker – erm, I mean, Rohrabacher, and combine that with Trump’s propensity to float pardons to people who can protect him, I’m incline to believe it – particularly since the WH came out and offered a denial so quickly.

Trump Expected to Name Richard Grenell as Acting Head of Intelligence

“President Trump was expected to name Richard Grenell, the American ambassador to Germany, to be the acting director of national intelligence, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Mr. Grenell, whose outspokenness throughout his career as a political operative and then as ambassador has prompted criticism, is a vocal Trump loyalist who will lead a group of national security agencies often viewed skeptically by the White House.

He would take over from Joseph Maguire, who has served as the acting director of national intelligence since the resignation last summer of Dan Coats, a former Republican senator from Indiana. Mr. Grenell, who has pushed to advance gay rights in his current post, would apparently also be the first openly gay cabinet member.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Grenell is a sycophant of the worst order, and the last person we need leading the intelligence community.

Besides maybe Tom Cotton. Tom Cotton would be worse.

More than 1,100 ex-Justice Department officials call for Barr’s resignation

More than 1,100 former Justice Department employees signed a public letter Sunday urging Attorney General William P. Barr to resign over his handling of the case of President Trump’s longtime friend Roger Stone — and exhorted current department employees to report any unethical conduct.

The letter is the latest sign of a crisis of confidence inside the department. Four prosecutors quit the Stone case last week after Barr and other Justice Department leaders pushed for a softer prison recommendation for Stone, who is due to be sentenced this week.

The four prosecutors had originally recommended a prison sentence of seven to nine years for Stone after he was convicted of lying to Congress and obstruction. The president publicly attacked that recommendation, and, at Barr’s urging, the Justice Department filed an updated sentencing memo suggesting that Stone should receive less prison time.

Barr has said he did not talk to the president about the Stone sentence, but current and former Justice Department officials have sharply criticized the attorney general.

“Mr. Barr’s actions in doing the President’s personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words,” the Justice Department alumni wrote in the letter posted online. “Those actions, and the damage they have done to the Department of Justice’s reputation for integrity and the rule of law, require Mr. Barr to resign.” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: As far as I can tell, this is unprecedented, but it needed to happen – Barr is politicizing the Department of Justice, and nobody should stand for it.

Imagine for a moment that it’s back during Obama’s administration and Eric Holder has just been *accused* of doing a fraction of what it’s *confirmed* that Barr has done – Sean Hannity would have spontaneously combusted on live television.

‘Something has to be done’: Trump’s quest to rewrite history of the Russia probe

“The U.S. intelligence community long ago produced evidence of Russia’s illegal interference in the 2016 presidential election to try to boost Donald Trump’s candidacy. Then the special counsel investigating the matter detailed myriad ways President Trump sought to stymie the probe. And then Robert S. Mueller III testified to Congress about Trump’s conduct — and warned of Russia’s continued interest in thwarting U.S. elections.

But it is Trump who is trying to have the last word.

Seven months after Mueller’s marathon testimony brought finality to the Russia investigation, Trump is actively seeking to rewrite the narrative that had been meticulously documented by federal law enforcement and intelligence officials, both for immediate political gain and for history.

Turbocharged by his acquittal in the Senate’s impeachment trial and confident that he has acquired the fealty of nearly every Republican in Congress, Trump is claiming vindication and exoneration not only over his conduct with Ukraine — for which the House voted to impeach him — but also from the other investigations that have dogged his presidency.

This includes lawsuits filed against Trump by the state of New York over his finances as well as alleged misuse of charity funds by his nonprofit foundation. Trump sought last week to turn the page on these probes, declaring on Twitter ahead of a White House meeting with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) that “New York must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harrassment.”

Still, Russia is foremost on Trump’s mind. Since even before he was sworn in as president, Trump has viewed the FBI’s Russia investigation as a dark cloud over his administration that threatened to delegitimize his claim on the office. And more than three years in, Trump remains haunted by all things Russia, according to advisers and allies, and continues to nurse a profound and unabated sense of persecution.” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: Adding a quid pro quo for New York while trying to pretend the other quid pro quo didn’t exist and while simultaneously trying to rewrite his Russia scandal is pretty impressively inept, even for Donald Trump.

Trump camp finds no appeasement at Munich

“For decades, the Munich Security Conference served as a powerful symbol of the strength of the Western alliance. The 2020 installment offered a testament to its accelerating decline.

If the three-day event, which drew to a close on Sunday, illustrated anything, it was that the divergence between the U.S. and the dominant European powers — Germany and France (the U.K. was MIA) — is greater than ever. Those who thought last year’s tense gathering represented a low point in the relationship left Munich this year chastened.

The two sides aren’t just far apart on the big questions facing the West (threats from Russia, Iran, China), they’re in parallel universes.

Most alarming: The biggest disconnect concerns the U.S. commitment to Europe, the very essence of the transatlantic alliance itself.

In speech after speech, whether in public or private, European leaders lamented what they perceive as the U.S.’s disengagement from both the region and the world at large.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: This is something that I’ve been yelling about since I’ve been on Twitter, and it’s not getting any better. Our allies barely trust us anymore, and they’re seriously wondering if they can count on us in a crisis. The damage Trump has done in three years is going to take decades to repair.

Vote in November. Bring friends.

Israel’s Gantz vows to form government without Netanyahu

“Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz is vowing to form a government that will include neither the indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the predominantly Arab parties in Parliament.

In a series of TV interviews two weeks before national elections, Gantz looked to project confidence that the March 2 vote will provide the decisive outcome that eluded the two previous elections last year.

Gantz’s Blue and White party is currently polling ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud, although neither appears to have a clear path to a parliamentary majority required to form a coalition government.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: It’s going to be a real shame to see Israel’s Trump relegated to the dustbins of history.

Thoughts and prayers.

Judge sets Tuesday phone hearing in Roger Stone case

“The judge handling the criminal case that set off a white-hot, national political controversy last week — the prosecution of President Donald Trump’s longtime adviser Roger Stone — has ordered both sides to take part in a telephone hearing Tuesday to discuss the status of the case.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued the unusual Sunday order after the entire four-person prosecution team withdrew from the case following Attorney General Bill Barr’s intervention to rescind their recommendation of a seven-to-nine year sentence for Stone.

The move set off a furor inside and outside the Justice Department, with Barr facing accusations he was politicizing the department by seeking to favor Trump’s friends. Barr later publicly rebuked Trump for tweeting about ongoing criminal cases.

Defense attorneys for Stone also filed a second motion for a new trial last week, after Jackson rejected one such motion filed last year.

Stone is currently set to be sentenced Thursday morning in Washington on the seven felony counts that a jury convicted him on last November, relating to efforts to impede congressional and FBI investigations into connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: This has the potential for lots of fireworks. I’m sure Judge Jackson wants to know what could have possibly happened to make four prosecutors resign.

I’ll be paying close attention to this one.

Fearful of Trump’s Attacks, Justice Dept. Lawyers Worry Barr Will Leave Them Exposed

“In an email a few days ago to the 270 lawyers he oversees, Nicola T. Hanna, the United States attorney in Los Angeles, offered a message of reassurance: I am proud of the work you do, he wrote.

Other U.S. attorneys in the Justice Department’s far-flung 93 field offices relayed similar messages of encouragement after President Trump’s efforts to influence a politically fraught case provoked the kind of consternation the department has rarely seen since the Watergate era. “All I have to say,” another United States attorney wrote to his staff, “is keep doing the right things for the right reasons.”

But the fact that the department’s 10,000-odd lawyers needed reassurances seemed like cause for worry all by itself.

In more than three dozen interviews in recent days, lawyers across the federal government’s legal establishment wondered aloud whether Mr. Trump was undermining the Justice Department’s treasured reputation for upholding the law without favor or political bias — and whether Attorney General William P. Barr was able or willing to protect it.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: This is almost a universal concern at DOJ right now. It’s bad enough when you have to defend your institution’s independence against the President of the United States, but it’s infinitely worse when you have to do it against the Attorney General – it’s literally his job to protect the institution and the rule of law, and it’s hard to imagine him failing more spectacularly.

Buttigieg hits back: I won’t ‘take lectures on family values’ from Rush Limbaugh

“Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Sunday he won’t “take lectures on family values” from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who suggested Americans wouldn’t elect Buttigieg president because he’s been “kissing his husband on stage” after debates.

‘I love my husband. I’m faithful to my husband,” the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor told CNN’s “State of the Union.

“On stage, we usually just go for a hug. But I love him very much. And I’m not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.”

Limbaugh on Wednesday said Democrats must be thinking of Buttigieg standing on a debate stage with Trump, “OK, how’s this going to look?”

“Thirty-seven-year-old gay guy kissing his husband on stage, next to Mr Man, [President] Donald Trump,” Limbaugh said. “What’s going to happen here?” via NBC News

Angry’s Thoughts: I’m really glad Pete said this; having the thrice-divorced Rush Limbaugh lecture someone about how relationships are supposed to work is almost like having Donald Trump lecture someone about how relationships are supposed to work.

Federal judges’ association calls emergency meeting after DOJ intervenes in case of Trump ally Roger Stone

“A national association of federal judges has called an emergency meeting Tuesday to address growing concerns about the intervention of Justice Department officials and President Donald Trump in politically sensitive cases, the group’s president said Monday.

Philadelphia U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, who heads the independent Federal Judges Association, said the group “could not wait” until its spring conference to weigh in on a deepening crisis that has enveloped the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr.

“There are plenty of issues that we are concerned about,” Rufe told USA TODAY. “We’ll talk all of this through.”

Rufe, nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush, said the group of more than 1,000 federal jurists called for the meeting last week after Trump criticized prosecutors’ initial sentencing recommendation for his friend Roger Stone and the Department of Justice overruled them.” via USA Today

Angry’s Thoughts: This is *insane* – I have NEVER seen anything like this happen before. I don’t even know where to guess how this is going to go, because it’s so off the rails crazy that it even had to happen in the first place.

I can’t wait to find out, though.

Democrats fear Republican sabotage in key Senate race

“Democrats are growing alarmed about Republican attempts to prop up an insurgent liberal candidate in North Carolina — fearful that GOP meddling will undercut the party’s prospects in a key Senate contest.

What seems like a generic campaign ad pitching Erica Smith, a North Carolina state senator, as “the only proven progressive” in the state’s high-profile Senate race is actually part of a multimillion dollar investment from a mysterious super PAC — the innocuously named “Faith and Power PAC” — with apparent ties to Republicans.

The ad campaign, which began last week ahead of the March 3 primary, immediately disrupted the bid from frontrunner and Democratic leadership favorite Cal Cunningham to emerge from his primary and face incumbent GOP Sen. Thom Tillis in November.

The North Carolina race is critical: Without beating Tillis, Democrats’ path back to the Senate majority is nearly impossible. Cunningham, a former state lawmaker and military veteran, lost a Senate primary in 2010, and Democrats are eager to avoid the same result this year. But things are getting messy — and expensive.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: If you expected the Republicans to play by the rules, I’m afraid you haven’t been paying attention.

Barr blasts Trump’s tweets: ‘Impossible for me to do my job’:

“In an exclusive interview, Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that President Donald Trump “has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case” but should stop tweeting about the Justice Department because his tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job.”

Barr’s comments are a rare break with a president who the attorney general has aligned himself with and fiercely defended. But it also puts Barr in line with many of Trump’s supporters on Capitol Hill who say they support the president but wish he’d cut back on his tweets.

“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.

When asked if he was prepared for the consequences of criticizing the president – his boss – Barr said “of course” because his job is to run the Justice Department and make decisions on “what I think is the right thing to do.” via ABC News

Angry’s Thoughts: Don’t be distracted by the kabuki theater, folks. Trump’s later comments made it clear that this was a fake controversy designed to distract from Barr being the most dangerous person in America. More on that later.

In Bipartisan Bid to Restrain Trump, Senate Passes Iran War Powers Resolution

“The Senate voted on Thursday to require that President Trump seek congressional authorization before taking further military action against Iran, as Democrats joined forces with eight Republicans to try to rein in the president’s war-making powers weeks after he escalated hostilities with Tehran.

The bipartisan vote, 55 to 45, amounted to a rare attempt by the Senate to restrain Mr. Trump’s authority just over a week after it voted to acquit him of impeachment charges, and nearly six weeks after the president moved without authorization from Congress to kill a top Iranian security commander.

But it was a mostly symbolic rebuke of the president, as support for the measure fell short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to override a promised veto by Mr. Trump. The House passed a similar measure last month on a nearly party-line vote that also fell well short of that margin.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: A lot of folks are saying this is also political theater, but I don’t think so. Yes, it fails to be veto-proof, but the members of the GOP who joined the Dems here have almost always been outspoken about Congress taking their war powers back.

Trump contradicts past denials, admits sending Giuliani to Ukraine

Emboldened after his impeachment acquittal, President Donald Trump now openly admits to sending his attorney Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine to find damaging information about his political opponents, even though he strongly denied it during the impeachment inquiry.

The reversal came Thursday in a podcast interview Trump did with journalist Geraldo Rivera, who asked, “Was it strange to send Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine, your personal lawyer? Are you sorry you did that?” Trump responded, “No, not at all,” and praised Giuliani’s role as a “crime fighter.”

“Here’s my choice: I deal with the Comeys of the world, or I deal with Rudy,” Trump said, referring to former FBI Director James Comey. Trump explained that he has “a very bad taste” of the US intelligence community, because of the Russia investigation, so he turned to Giuliani.

“So when you tell me, why did I use Rudy, and one of the things about Rudy, number one, he was the best prosecutor, you know, one of the best prosecutors, and the best mayor,” Trump said. “But also, other presidents had them. FDR had a lawyer who was practically, you know, was totally involved with government. Eisenhower had a lawyer. They all had lawyers.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: This is absolutely disgusting. We’re three years in to his Presidency, and he’s still publicly bashing the intelligence community. He’s also rubbing the GOP’s nose in it here. They understand that they’re going to pay for their vote to acquit him without a trial until November – and probably far beyond that, if we’re being honest.

Personally, I’ve loved watching Congressional reporters chasing GOP members all over The Hill to ask them if Trump learned his lesson.

Trump: ‘Life would’ve been a lot easier’ had I picked Barr over Sessions

“President Donald Trump on Thursday said that his “life would’ve been a lot easier” had he chosen William Barr over Jeff Sessions as his attorney general from the start, but that the move could have threatened his popularity among supporters.

“My life would’ve been a lot easier, but I might have been less popular,” Trump said in an interview on Geraldo Rivera’s podcast when asked what his life would be like if he had picked Barr over Sessions. “Because (my supporters) say they like that that I fought it. They like that I won. They like that my base is much more energized.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Saying the quiet part out loud here:
“If I had Barr to obstruct from the beginning, none of this would have happened.”

Trump installs loyalists in top jobs after impeachment purge

“President Donald Trump is surrounding himself with loyalists after a week of banishing staffers across the government in a post-impeachment revenge plot.

On Thursday, the White House confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s most trusted confidants, will return to the White House to work directly for the president’s son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, as a senior adviser after nearly two years away. Trump’s “body man” Johnny McEntee is also being promoted to run the office responsible for filling hundreds of top political jobs throughout the federal agencies, according to three senior administration officials, replacing Sean Doocey, who will move over to the State Department.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: The media is getting the story wrong here. Yes, Trump is installing loyalists after the impeachment purge, but it has nothing to do with simply wanting loyalists back, because nobody wants to come work in this White House.

Trump doesn’t have an acting… well, everything, by some stroke of genius. He can’t fill positions because this administration is a raging dumpster fire.

Trump’s story about veteran’s comeback was not quite true

“Tony Rankins, a formerly homeless, drug-addicted Army veteran, got a standing ovation at the State of the Union after President Donald Trump described how he turned his life around thanks to a construction job at a company using the administration’s “Opportunity Zone” tax breaks targeting poor neighborhoods.

But that’s not completely true.

Rankins, who indeed moved out of his car and into an apartment since landing a job refurbishing a Nashville hotel two years ago, doesn’t work at a site taking advantage of the breaks and never has done so. In fact, he started that job four months before the Treasury Department published its final list of neighborhoods eligible for the breaks. And the hotel where he worked couldn’t benefit even now because it’s an area that didn’t make the cut.” via AP

Angry ‘s Thoughts: Trump lied? Again? I can’t believe it!

Narrator: He believed it.

Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh vetting Giuliani’s Ukraine allegations

“The Ukraine allegations that President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani is providing to the Justice Department are being vetted by investigators in the US Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh, two US law enforcement officials said.

The officials told CNN that the Pittsburgh office has expertise on Russia and its cyber operations, including the 2016 disinformation campaign the Russians carried out.

A spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office in Pittsburgh declined to comment.

On Monday, Attorney General William Barr confirmed that the Justice Department has been receiving information from Giuliani about his operation in Ukraine, where Giuliani has been seeking dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. The attorney general said the Justice Department has an “obligation to have an open door to anybody who wishes to provide us information that they think is relevant” but expressed skepticism about the reporting, noting that Ukraine can be a dubious source.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: Again: It’s insane that the media is spending so much time focusing on Rudy’s Ukraine allegations. I saw an article today titled: “Poll: Majority says Hunter Biden’s work was inappropriate.”

This is another example of Trump playing the media, and by extension, the American people. He’s getting free publicity for an already debunked conspiracy theory, and it’s clearly hurting Joe Biden in the polls.

Pentagon to divert $3.8 billion from its budget to build more of Trump’s border barrier

“The Defense Department said it is diverting $3.83 billion from elsewhere in its budget to build ­177 more miles of President Trump’s border barrier, setting in motion a broader White House plan to take some $7.2 billion from the Pentagon budget this year for the project without congressional approval as Trump heads into the election.

The Pentagon informed Congress on Thursday of its plans to divert the $3.83 billion from the purchase of aircraft and other equipment and instead use the funds for the construction of border barriers. The Pentagon is moving the money using a counternarcotics law that allows the Defense Department to build fencing for other federal, state and local agencies in known drug-smuggling corridors.

According to budget documents reviewed by The Washington Post, the Pentagon is pulling the funding from two F-35 fighter jets and two Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft for the Marine Corps; one P-8A reconnaissance aircraft for the Navy; and four C-130J transport planes and eight MQ-9 Reaper drones for the Air Force.” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: This is nuts. The Pentagon is – again- diverting money from legitimate national security projects in order to fund Trump’s vanity wall.

Trump says he may stop letting others listen in on calls with world leaders

“President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that he might stop allowing administration officials to listen in on his calls with foreign leaders, musing about scrapping the longstanding practice less than a year after one such phone call kicked off events that led to his impeachment.

“That’s what they’ve done over the years — when you call a foreign leader, people listen,” the president explained in an interview with Geraldo Rivera, who’d asked why so many people were listening in on the calls.

Trump added: “I may end the practice entirely, I may end it entirely.”

The suggestion that he could block aides who typically listen in on such calls came just seconds after Trump insisted once again that his July phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, which set off the chain of events leading to Trump’s being impeached, was “perfect” and “totally appropriate.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: On every presidential phone call, there are at least two NSC staffers transcribing the conversation from the Situation Room. To end that practice would be a blatant violation of the Presidential Records Act.

DOJ announces abrupt reversal on sentencing recommendation for Trump ally Roger Stone

“The Department of Justice will reverse course Tuesday on its sentencing recommendation for President Donald Trump’s longtime friend and former campaign adviser Roger Stone, a senior DOJ official said, only hours after Trump himself reacted to the recommendation by calling it a “miscarriage of justice.”

Federal prosecutors told a federal judge on Monday that Stone should be sentenced to serve seven to nine years in prison after jurors found him guilty last November on all seven counts brought against him by former special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russian election interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The charges, brought against Stone in January 2019, included five counts of lying to Congress, one count each of witness tampering and obstruction of a proceeding.

The official insisted that senior leadership of the department were not kept in the loop on the recommendation that federal prosecutors put forward in court Monday evening.” via ABC News

Angry’s Thoughts: “The official insisted that senior leadership of the department were not kept in the loop…”

Well, that lie has already blown up in spectacular fashion.

White House budget office attempted to hide concerns over withholding of Ukraine aid, national security site reports

The Office of Management and Budget was fully aware about concerns flagged by numerous officials at the Pentagon about President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold aid from Ukraine and attempted to hide their concerns and mislead the Government Accountability Office about the circumstances surrounding the freeze, according to new emails obtained by Just Security.

The new disclosures support reporting from CNN last week that detailed how the July 18th decision to hold the military aid stunned officials, who had already assessed Ukraine deserved to receive it and were preparing a Javelin anti-tank missile order to the country. Officials grew so concerned over the deferrals by OMB that they noted the aid was at “serious risk,” and questioned if the move was illegal, according to the emails and documents reviewed by CNN.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: Seems like important information that would have gotten out if the GOP didn’t force a sham acquittal on the American people.

All 4 prosecutors quit Roger Stone case after DOJ shifts to urge lighter sentence

“Four federal prosecutors have withdrawn from the case of Roger Stone, after the Justice Department backed off prosecutors’ earlier recommendation for a lengthy prison term for President Donald Trump’s longtime adviser, and as the president himself expressed displeasure with the idea of a stiff sentence.

Jonathan Kravis, the deputy chief of the fraud and public corruption section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, said in a court filing Tuesday afternoon that he has resigned his post. Two former prosecutors for special counsel Robert Mueller, Aaron Zelinsky and Adam Jed, also notified the court that they were also stepping off the case, as did D.C.-based prosecutor Michael Marando.

The extraordinary exit of the entire prosecution team came one day after prosecutors urged that Stone be sentenced to between seven and nine years in prison on his conviction on charges of impeding congressional and FBI investigations into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: This is an extraordinary turn of events at DOJ. Luckily, it really doesn’t matter *what* DOJ’s recommended sentencing guidelines are – Judge Amy Jackson will be the one who decides his fate, and she’s no fan of Roger Stone and his constant antics. Here’s to hoping she’s not kind to him.

Trump says military may consider disciplinary action against Vindman

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the military will likely look at disciplinary action against Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, just days after the National Security Council official was ousted from the White House after giving damaging testimony during the House impeachment hearings.

“That’s going to be up to the military, we’ll have to see, but if you look at what happened, they’re going to certainly, I would imagine, take a look at that,” Trump said in response to a follow-up question about what he meant when he said, “the military can handle him.”

Trump also said he wasn’t “happy” with Vindman and his twin brother Yevgeny, who was also recalled on Friday despite not being a witness in the president’s impeachment hearings. Trump, without providing evidence or specific examples, said Vindman reported “very inaccurate things” about the “perfect” call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Esper has made clear – both in internal memos and in public communication- that Vindman shouldn’t be retaliated against. Here’s to hoping he holds firm on that and doesn’t let this renewed pressure from Trump change his mind.

Regardless, this is absolutely disgusting. Susan Collins was right: Trump certainly learned a lesson from impeachment.

Barr takes control of legal matters of interest to Trump, including Stone sentencing

The U.S. attorney who had presided over an inconclusive criminal investigation into former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe was abruptly removed from that job last month in one of several recent moves by Attorney General William Barr to take control of legal matters of personal interest to President Donald Trump, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

A person familiar with the matter has confirmed to NBC News that President Trump has now rescinded the nomination of the U.S. attorney, Jessie Liu, for a job as an undersecretary at the Treasury Department.

On Tuesday, all four line prosecutors withdrew from the case against Trump associate Roger Stone — and one quit the Justice Department altogether — after Barr and his top aides intervened to reverse a stiff sentencing recommendation of up to nine years in prison that the line prosecutors had filed with the court Monday.

But that wasn’t the first time senior political appointees reached into a case involving a former Trump aide, officials told NBC News. Senior officials at the Justice Department also intervened last month to help change the government’s sentencing recommendation for Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who pled guilty to lying to the FBI. While once the prosecutors in the case had recommended up to six months in jail for Flynn, their latest filing now says they believe probation would be appropriate.

The new filing came on the same day Jessie Liu, was removed from her job, to be replaced the next day by a former prosecutor selected by Barr. Liu had been overseeing the criminal investigation into McCabe, who was accused by the department’s inspector general of lying to investigators. McCabe has not been charged, despite calls by President Trump for him to go to prison.” via NBC News

Angry’s Thoughts: Bill Barr is the most dangerous man in America. He’s effectively weaponized the Department of Justice for Donald Trump. For those of you who were wondering why we haven’t seen any new indictments from the Mueller spinoff cases, it appears we now have our answer.

I’m also seeing a lot of people ask what we can do about Barr. The unfortunate answer is: not much. He could be impeached by the House, of course, but there’s virtually a zero percent chance he faces any sort of a real trial in this current Senate.

Vote in November. Bring friends.

Yang and Bennett suspend campaigns

Angry’s Thoughts: After less-than-stellar showings in New Hampshire, Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet both suspended their 2020 campaigns. This is for the best. Neither of them were viable candidates. Yang has made some good momentum, and I think he probably has a future in politics – for this election, I just hope his voters will stick with the eventual nominee.

Sanders edges Buttigieg in New Hampshire

“Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire’s presidential primary election Tuesday night, narrowly edging moderate rival Pete Buttigieg and scoring the first clear victory in the Democratic Party’s chaotic 2020 nomination fight.

In his win, the 78-year-old Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, beat back a strong challenger from the 38-year-old former Midwestern mayor — two men representing different generations and wings of their party.

“This victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump,” Sanders declared.

As Sanders and Buttigieg celebrated, an unexpectedly strong performance from Amy Klobuchar gave her a path out of New Hampshire as the contest moves on to the string of state-by-state primary contests that lie ahead. Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren posted disappointing results and were on track to finish with zero delegates from the state.” via AP

Angry’s Thoughts: Those of you who have been following and/or reading for more than about five minutes know that Bernie isn’t my first, or even my third choice for POTUS, but at this point, that doesn’t matter one bit: the only thing that matters is beating the GOP in November. We need a clean sweep if we’re going to put the country back on track – we *have* to keep the House, take the Senate, and kick the tangerine tyrant out of our house.

Coronavirus gets a name

“The World Health Organization on Tuesday proposed an official name for the illness caused by the new coronavirus: COVID-19. The acronym stands for coronavirus disease 2019, as the illness was first detected toward the end of last year.

The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that the new name makes no reference to any of the people, places or animals associated with the coronavirus. The goal was to avoid stigma.

Under international guidelines, the W.H.O. “had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease,” he said on Twitter.

The death toll from the coronavirus epidemic is continuing to climb, Chinese officials said on Wednesday. Nationwide, 97 new deaths and 2,015 new cases emerged in the previous 24 hours, the national health authorities said.

The new figures brought the total number of deaths in China to at least 1,113. And the total number of confirmed cases rose to 44,653. Most of the newly reported deaths, 94, occurred in Hubei Province, the heart of the outbreak.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Never fear! Trump says it’ll go away in April because of the heat. I propose a Presidential trip to Wuhan to celebrate. The sooner the better.

Kellyanne Conway says more officials may be ousted after Trump’s Senate acquittal

“White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Monday hinted that additional officials could be forced out of their roles following the ousters last week of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Ambassador Gordon Sondland — both high-profile witnesses in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump.

Asked during an interview on “Fox & Friends” whether there will be more dismissals in the days to come, Conway said, “Maybe,” and sought to defend Vindman’s removal from a detail at the National Security Council. Vindman’s twin brother Yevgeny, who had served as a senior lawyer on the NSC, was also forced out of the White House on Friday.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: If rumors are true, there are *definitely* more dismissals coming in the next couple weeks. I’d be surprised if Mulvaney lasts much longer, and Victoria Coates is still in the crosshairs, too.

Trump looks to kill student loan forgiveness program

“As student debt continues to climb, President Donald Trump released a budget for 2021 on Monday that would slash many of the programs aimed at helping borrowers.

Student loan spending would be cut by $170 billion in Trump’s plan, titled “A Budget for America’s Future.” The cuts include “sensible annual and lifetime loan limits” for graduate students and parents and the end to subsidized loans, in which the government covers the interest for borrowers who are still in school or experiencing economic hardship.

It would also reduce the number of repayment options for borrowers and nix the popular, if challenged, public service loan forgiveness program.” via CNBC

Angry’s Thoughts: Periodic reminder that the cruelty is the point. The student loan forgiveness program definitely has room for improvement, but eliminating it entirely is asinine.

CPAC chairman says he would fear for Mitt Romney’s ‘physical safety’ at conference

“Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has faced a bitter GOP backlash after casting the lone Republican vote for President Trump’s impeachment. There have been angry tweets and calls for the party to expel the man it once nominated to lead the country.

On Sunday, one influential conservative went so far as to say he could not be sure of Romney’s safety at a major right-wing gathering, alarming some of the Utah senator’s defenders and — in some critics’ eyes — crossing a line from outrage to threat.

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Conference, made the controversial comments Sunday as he explained why Romney would be excluded from this year’s four-day event. Schlapp announced last month via tweet that the senator was “formally NOT invited,” as Romney took heat for breaking from staunch Republican support of the president to call for witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial.

“We won’t credential him as a conservative,” Schlapp told Greta Van Susteren on “Full Court Press.” “I suppose if he wants to come as a nonconservative and debate an issue with us, maybe in the future we would have him come.”

He added: “This year, I would actually be afraid for his physical safety, people are so mad at him.” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: The “freedom of speech party” is going to refuse to credential a *Republican* Senator as a conservative, and is threatening his physical safety if he shows up at their cult meetin – er…, sorry – conference? That’s rich.

CPAC has been a cesspool for a long time, but it’s impressive that it manages to continue to sink to new lows.

Democrats pan Trump’s budget proposal as ‘dead on arrival’

“Democrats quickly panned President Trump’s fiscal year 2021 budget proposal on Monday, pledging that it is “dead on arrival” on Capitol Hill.

The $4.8 trillion plan includes cuts that would break with a two-year budget deal agreed to by both the White House and congressional leadership.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Trump’s proposal a “double-cross” of the Americans Trump promised to help during last week’s State of the Union speech.

“As typical, President Trump’s budget shows his State of the Union address was lie upon lie to the American people,” Schumer said in a statement.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who is pitching reforms to Congress’s budget process, called the White House proposal “dead on arrival.” via CNBC

Angry’s Thoughts: This entire budget is a disaster, and I’m honestly kind of shocked that the administration even released it. It’s not going to do anything to help the deficit, but it does do plenty to hurt the vulnerable.

As Schumer pointed out, this is essentially the exact opposite of what he promised during SOTU last week, but that shouldn’t really surprise anyone.

Trump world’s latest attack on Romney: Tie him to Burisma

“The MAGA machine is attempting to turn President Donald Trump’s latest nemesis — Sen. Mitt Romney — into the next Hunter Biden.

Trump in recent days took a new turn in his attacks on the Utah senator, veering from assailing his character and loyalty and tossing him into the wilds of Ukraine.

Trump over the weekend retweeted several conservative personalities and stories attempting to connect the Republican senator to the Ukrainian energy company Burisma and its former board member Hunter Biden, two parties at the center of Trump’s attempted quid pro quo. The allegation was featured in several far-right blog posts: A senior advisor from Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign was on Burisma’s board of directors, and that by voting to impeach Trump last week, Romney was covering for his fellow swamp crony.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: This is such a ridiculous line of attack that it would make Goebbels proud.

“Accuse others of that which you are guilty” indeed. It’s profoundly sad that these fringe right-wing bloggers have been given so much of a platform in the era of Trump, but I suppose it was inevitable; he can’t really find anyone legitimate that wants to defend him on the record, so the fringe is all that’s really left.

Prosecutors seek 7 to 9 years in prison for Roger Stone

“Federal prosecutors are urging that longtime Donald Trump adviser and Republican political provocateur Roger Stone be sent to prison for about seven to nine years for his conviction on charges of lying and witness tampering during investigations of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Following a weeklong trial last November, a Washington jury took found Stone guilty on all seven felony counts he faced: five of making false statements to Congress, one of obstruction of Congress, and one of witness tampering with both the House Intelligence Committee inquiry and special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

In a sentencing filing Monday, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington argued that Stone’s conduct was exceptionally sinister because of the importance of those investigations and the danger of overseas influence on U.S. elections.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Poor Rog. I mean, it could have gone worse; at least he didn’t break the rules of his probation and piss the Judge off at least twelve times before his sentencing.

Oh. Wait. Yikes.

Thoughts and prayers… ish.

Trump’s GOP guardrails obliterated after impeachment

“Five days after President Donald Trump was acquitted in the Senate’s impeachment trial, whatever restraints the Republican Party envisioned for him going forward are being utterly obliterated.

The president is ousting impeachment inquiry witnesses like Alexander Vindman and Gordon Sondland with hints at more to come and attacking senators whom he may need down the stretch to support his agenda. He’s defeated the GOP’s free-traders and is continuing to shift billions of Pentagon funds toward the border wall, despite Republicans’ reservations about his use of the national emergency statute.

And after initially treating Trump-sought investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden with skepticism, key Senate Republicans are now plowing ahead with probes of their own into their old colleague.

The upshot is the Senate GOP’s robust anti-Trump wing from four years ago has been whittled down to a handful of Maybe Trumpers. And those who had hoped the president would be chastened by becoming the third president ever to be impeached by the House are doing little to rein him in even though he emerged with a different lesson entirely.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: If any of the GOP actually thought he was going to be restrained after they rammed a sham acquittal through the Senate, they’re utterly moronic.

Looking at you, Senator Collins.

Barr announces sweeping new sanctions, ‘significant escalation’ against sanctuary cities

“Charging that so-called “sanctuary” cities that protect illegal immigrants are jeopardizing domestic security, Attorney General Bill Barr announced a slew of additional sanctions that he called a “significant escalation” against left-wing local and state governments that obstruct the “lawful functioning of our nation’s immigration system.”

Speaking at the National Sheriff’s Association 2020 Winter Legislative and Technology Conference in Washington, D.C., Barr said the Justice Department would immediately file multiple lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdictions for unconstitutionally interfering with federal immigration enforcement, and implement unprecedented national reviews of left-wing sanctuary governments and prosecutors.

“Let us state the reality upfront and as clearly as possible,” Barr began. “When we are talking about sanctuary cities, we are talking about policies that are designed to allow criminal aliens to escape. These policies are not about people who came to our country illegally but have otherwise been peaceful and productive members of society.  Their express purpose is to shelter aliens whom local law enforcement has already arrested for other crimes.  This is neither lawful nor sensible.” via Fox News

Angry’s Thoughts: Periodic reminder that Bill Barr is the most dangerous person in this administration. No single person – other than maybe Mitch McConnell – has furthered Trump’s goals of authoritarianism.

To be clear, this isn’t a bid to protect domestic security – it’s a shot at Democrats, primarily Nancy Pelosi.

Barr acknowledges Justice Dept. has created ‘intake process’ to vet Giuliani’s information on Bidens

“Attorney General William P. Barr acknowledged Monday that the Justice Department would evaluate material that Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, had gathered from Ukrainian sources claiming to have damaging information about former vice president Joe Biden and his family — though Barr and other officials suggested Giuliani was being treated no differently than any tipster.

At a news conference on an unrelated case, Barr confirmed an assertion made Sunday by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) that the Justice Department had “created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified.

Barr said he had established an “intake process in the field” so that the Justice Department and intelligence agencies could scrutinize information they were given.

“That is true for all information that comes to the department relating to the Ukraine, including anything Mr. Giuliani might provide,” Barr said. He did not provide any other specifics.

A Justice Department official said Giuliani had “recently” shared information with federal law enforcement officials through the process described by Barr. Two people familiar with the matter said the information is being routed to the U.S. attorney’s office in Pittsburgh. ” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: I worry about this process. No matter how much Barr is trying to make this the “same as any other tipster,”it’s not even close. This is the President of the United States personal lawyer sharing disinformation on one of the President’s political opponents directly with the FBI.

Remember when the Democrats doing oppo research on Trump with Steele and sharing it with the FBI was unforgivable? Even though it was actually started by the GOP? Yep. Fun times.

This is already having the desired effect: Biden is slipping in the polls. Some of you will probably think that’s a good thing. I’m not here to argue about any candidate – because I’ll vote for whoever the Dem nominee is – but I *really* hope we nominate someone that can win over some independents.

Rand Paul reads alleged whistleblower’s name on Senate floor

“Sen. Rand Paul used the Senate floor on Tuesday to read aloud the name of an intelligence community official alleged to be the whistleblower who first raised alarms about President Donald Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine.

Chief Justice John Roberts denied the Kentucky Republican’s attempts to mention the person’s identity last week during the question-and-answer portion of Trump’s impeachment trial. And Paul said he didn’t intend to out the alleged whistleblower or stoke reprisals against the person.

But he used the final deliberations of the impeachment trial to name the person, who has been identified in Trump-allied media as the alleged whistleblower.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Paul thinks he’s being cute here, but this is a felony violation of federal law. It’s also a shameless attempt to discourage further whistleblowers from coming forward. Coming from someone who used to be very pro-whistleblower, it only makes me wonder what they have on Rand Paul.

Susan Collins Announces She Will Vote to Acquit Trump, Calling Conduct ‘Wrong’

“Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said on Tuesday that she would vote to acquit President Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, calling his conduct “wrong” but saying she could not support removing him from office.

“I do not believe that the House has met its burden of showing that the president’s conduct, however flawed, warrants the extreme step of immediate removal from office,” Ms. Collins said in a speech from the Senate floor.

Ms. Collins, a moderate who is facing a steep re-election challenge this year, was one of only two Republicans to break with the party last week and vote in favor of considering new witnesses in Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial. But in announcing her vote on the verdict on Tuesday, she joined a growing chorus in her party who has argued that removing the president for his misconduct little more than nine months before he faces re-election was excessive.” via NYT

Angry’s Thoughts: Indeed his conduct was ‘wrong’ – it’s a real shame Collins doesn’t know a Senator with a backbone who could do something about it.

US military deploys new type of nuclear weapon seen as key to countering Russia

“The US military deployed a new submarine-launched low-yield nuclear weapon, something the Pentagon sees as critical to countering the threat posed by Russia’s arsenal of smaller tactical nukes.

Several former high-ranking administration officials, however, have said the weapons increase the potential for nuclear conflict.

“The US Navy has fielded the W76-2 low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead,” John Rood, the under secretary of defense for policy, said in a statement Tuesday.

The new nuclear weapon is a modification of the pre-existing W-76 warhead, which is used to arm submarine launched Trident II (D-5) missiles, so the new weapon does not add to the total number of nuclear weapons in the US stockpile.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: I’ve personally never been a fan of low-yield nuclear weapons. It’s not going to make a difference to any hostile country if we hit them with a low yield nuke or the biggest bomb in our arsenal – in all likelihood, we’re still looking at nuclear war in that situation.

Having nuclear weapons as a deterrent makes sense, but adding more nuclear weapons to the battlefield isn’t the answer.

Nominee for top Pentagon personnel job withdraws after op-ed surfaces

“The nominee for a top personnel job in the Pentagon has withdrawn, according to three sources close to the matter, the latest in a string of vacancy problems among high-ranking civilian officials at the Defense Department.

J. David Patterson, a former defense official in the George W. Bush administration and currently a senior vice president at SMA Inc., was nominated on Jan. 9 to be the second highest personnel official in the Pentagon.

Two sources — a Senate Democratic aide and another person familiar with the matter — told POLITICO that Patterson is withdrawing. A third source, a Defense Department official close to the situation, said Patterson lost support on Capitol Hill after word began circulating that he co-wrote an opinion piece for a conservative website linking “multiculturalism” to domestic terrorism.

In 2017, Patterson co-wrote an op-ed for The Federalist website blaming mass killings on immigrants who failed to “assimilate” into American culture. The column came out days after an immigrant from Uzbekistan who was inspired by ISIS allegedly drove a truck into cyclists and runners in lower Manhattan, killing eight and injuring a dozen more.”

Angry’s Thoughts: I would suggest that anyone who writes for The Federalist probably shouldn’t be eligible to work in Government.

Bloomberg seizes more mayoral endorsements

“The former mayor of Flint, Mich., who took over the city during a water contamination crisis that garnered national attention, endorsed Mike Bloomberg’s bid for president.

Karen Weaver was among more than two dozen current and former mayors across the country to announce their support for the former New York mayor this week, as he hits the trail in California, Michigan and Pennsylvania — all central to his strategy of dominating Super Tuesday states after snubbing the first four voting states.

In endorsing Bloomberg, who was a Republican and an independent before reregistering as a Democrat ahead of this primary bid, Weaver cited his record on infrastructure.

“Our aging infrastructure matters and it is critical that it’s addressed now,” she said in a prepared statement provided by the Bloomberg campaign. “As a former mayor, Mike Bloomberg understands the need for our cities to have safe water that residents can trust and clean air they can breath.”

Weaver narrowly lost reelection in 2019.

Other new mayoral supporters include Ethan Berkowitz of Anchorage, Alaska; Luke Feeney of Chillicothe, Ohio; and Kathy Sheehan of Albany, N.Y.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Ultimately, I’m not sure how I feel about the viability of Bloomberg’s candidacy. I don’t completely hate the idea, but I don’t love it, either. He does produce good ads, and in the end, that’ll probably benefit whoever the Democratic nominee is.

He’s also managed to stay above most of the noise, which is more than we can say for some of the other candidates. We’ll see how it goes.

Trump says he will award Rush Limbaugh with Medal of Freedom

“President Donald Trump told network anchors during a private lunch Tuesday that he will award Rush Limbaugh with the Medal of Freedom, one day after the prominent political radio host announced he has advanced lung cancer.

According to a person familiar with the discussion, Trump informed anchors he will bestow Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the coming months. Limbaugh has been a staunch ally of the President’s for years, and dined with him at his Palm Beach golf club over the holidays. Once, during an event in the Rose Garden, Trump praised Limbaugh as someone who “can speak for three hours without a phone call.

“Trump wished the conservative radio talk show host a speedy recovery Monday after Limbaugh told his audience he is beginning treatment, which will require him to miss the show some days.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: Update: well, Trump did indeed award Rush a Medal of Freedom… in the middle of the SOTU… *barf*

I wouldn’t wish cancer on anyone – and I feel for Rush – but to suggest that he deserves the Medal of Freedom is laughable .

President Trump Denounces ‘Terrible Ordeal’ of Impeachment

“Taking a victory lap a day after he was acquitted in the Senate impeachment trial, President Trump said he “went through hell” during what he deemed a politically driven investigation and called top Democrats “very evil and sick people” for seeking his removal from office.

Before an audience of aides and Republican allies, Mr. Trump offered freewheeling remarks from the East Room of the White House Thursday. Speaking for just over an hour, he characterized the event as a celebration, while taking swings at political rivals who he alleged have been targeting him since he took office.

“We’ve been going through this now for over three years. It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops, it was leakers and liars, and this should never, ever happen to another president, ever,” Mr. Trump said.

Holding up a copy of a newspaper with the headline “Trump Acquitted,” he quipped: “It’s the only good headline I’ve had in the Washington Post.” via WSJ

Angry’s Thoughts: If you missed this speech, consider yourself lucky – it was an absolutely insane, rambling, extra-sniffy recreation of Sean Hannity’s best hits… from the White House. He also did offer one helpful tidbit, and say that if he hadn’t fired Comey, he wouldn’t still be President, which sounds awfully obstruction of justice… ish to me.

He’s going to be absolutely insufferable, and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets impeached again.

White House announces death of terror leader Qassim al-Rimi

“The White House announced Thursday evening that Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of terror group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in an airstrike in Yemen.

CNN reported last week that the US conducted a strike targeting Rimi, who led the terror group’s franchise based in Yemen that has repeatedly expressed interest in conducting attacks targeting the United States, a US official said. The Pentagon did not comment when asked at the time about the report.” via CNN

U.S. citizen kidnapped in Afghanistan, U.S. officials say

“An American citizen has been kidnapped in Afghanistan, two U.S. officials have confirmed to NBC News. Mark Frerichs was taken around Jan. 31, they said.

News of his capture comes less than three months after the Taliban freed two Western hostages, American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, after holding them in captivity for more than three years. Both American University of Kabul professors, the two men were kidnapped at gunpoint in August 2016.

They were released in exchange for Taliban members Anas Haqqani, Haji Maali Khan and Hafiz Rasheed Ahamd Omari, according to the Taliban.”

Angry’s Thoughts: At least we have a totally competent and not at all insane POTUS to handle this delicate situation.

…damn.

House Democrats shut down GOP attempt to admonish Pelosi over ripping SOTU

“House Democrats on Thursday backed Speaker Nancy Pelosi in voting to kill a Republican resolution to disapprove of her ripping up President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech. 

Texas GOP Rep. Kay Granger, who’s facing a competitive primary this cycle, offered the resolution as a question of privilege, which forces the House to consider the measure. Rather than allow an up or down vote, Democratic leaders moved to table the resolution, which effectively kills it.

The motion to table was adopted, 224-193, along party lines. Independent Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan voted with the Democrats to kill the resolution.” via RollCall

Angry’s Thoughts: This is such a dumb thing for the right to be outraged about. Pelosi sure knows how to steal a moment, though; all I remember from last year’s SOTU is her clapping at Trump, and this year all I remember is she ripping up a speech full of lies.

Chinese Doctor Who Issued Early Warning on Virus Dies

“A Chinese doctor who became a folk hero after he was arrested for warning about the dangers of the deadly new virus now spreading around the world died on Friday after becoming infected with it.

Li Wenliang, a 33-year-old ophthalmologist based in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, had captivated the country and triggered an extraordinary outpouring of emotion as he ailed.

In social-media posts, many Chinese directed their frustration at government officials who many believe didn’t respond quickly enough despite clear evidence of the developing epidemic. Millions of people flocked to a live stream about Dr. Li that was run by local media outside the hospital where he was being treated.

“An all-out effort to save him was unsuccessful,” the hospital said. “We deeply grieve the loss.” At the end of the day Thursday, China’s National Health Commission reported 31,161 confirmed cases in China, with 636 deaths.” via WSJ

Angry’s Thoughts: This whole situation has been mishandled terribly by the Chinese government. I don’t know that it could have been prevented, but if they hadn’t tried to lock down all information coming out until it was too big to hide, it certainly could have been mitigated.

There are currently 61 people who have tested positive on a quarantined cruise ship in Japan. At over 31,000 confirmed cases and at least 636 deaths, it’s still not as deadly as SARS from a percentage perspective, but it does seem to be spreading much more quickly.

Sen. Murphy requests GAO to check Trump administration’s classification of documents

“Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is requesting the Government Accountability Office review whether the Trump administration is improperly classifying documents that it provided to Congress.

In an interview, Murphy, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that the Trump administration’s classification of a letter from Vice President Mike Pence’s aide Jennifer Williams centered on the vice president’s call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was the “last straw.”

“There was absolutely nothing in that document that should have been classified,” Murphy said. “It was only classified because it was politically hurtful to the president in the middle of an impeachment proceeding and you are not allowed as president of the United States to keep information from the public simply because it’s going to hurt you politically.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: This is a good move by Murphy. The White House can’t block GAO from accessing documents, and they (GAO) will release a report on their findings that will make it a lot easier for the Democrats to argue their case in court.

Judge permanently blocks another Trump immigration policy

“A federal judge issued a permanent nationwide injunction Thursday against yet another Trump administration immigration policy: a move to make it harder for foreigners to remain in the U.S. after their legal status runs out.

U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Biggs said the 2018 action by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service ran afoul of federal law.

The policy in dispute involves how immigration officials calculate the duration of a foreigner’s “unlawful presence” in the U.S.. Several American college presidents sued over the change, arguing that it could jeopardize more than one million foreign students, scholars, and others who sometimes lose their legal status when switching schools or for other reasons.

Under the policy shift, immigration officials would have started the clock sooner on some individuals, creating potential roadblocks if they sought certain forms of relief in court. Ultimately, some foreigners who might have had options to stay in the U.S. under the prior policy could have faced deportation.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Trump thinks he’s going to coast through the rest of his Presidency doing whatever he wants. I’m going to thoroughly enjoy the courts and the Democrats proving him wrong.

Rep. Jim Jordan chosen as top Republican on House Judiciary Committee

“Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has been selected as the next ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee by the House Republican steering committee, a GOP source tells CNN.

Jordan, a fierce defender of President Donald Trump, will replace Rep. Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican who is running for the Senate in a primary against Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

While the full Republican conference still needs to approve Jordan for the position, the panel usually supports the steering committee’s recommendation.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: barf.

Justice Department memo requires high-level signoff on any FBI probes of 2020 candidate

“Attorney General William P. Barr issued an internal memorandum Wednesday instructing Justice Department and FBI employees that they must get approval from the top of the department before opening an investigation of a presidential candidate, campaign, staffer, or adviser during the 2020 election year.

The three-page memo also tells senior law enforcement officials they must consult with a senior Justice Department official or U.S. attorney before opening an investigation of a congressional candidate or their campaign.

Similarly, Barr’s instruction requires federal investigators to provide written notification to a senior Justice Department official and U.S. attorney before opening an investigation “relating to illegal contributions, donations, or expenditures by foreign nationals to a presidential or congressional campaign.”

Inside the Justice Department, that last category is the broadest of the three, and could have the most widespread impact for the FBI.” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: Let’s not get this confused: this has absolutely nothing to do with keeping the FBI safe or with preventing political bias – this is Barr locking down the FBI to make sure they don’t investigate anyone close to Trump’s campaign without him knowing about it.

Senate Set to Acquit Trump as Democrats Vow to Continue Probes

“A momentous, if anticlimactic, few days lie ahead in Washington as the Senate hears closing arguments Monday in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, then holds two days of debate before voting for an all-but-guaranteed acquittal.

In between, Democrats in Iowa’s caucuses will take the first step Monday night toward choosing the candidate who’ll run against Trump in November. And on Tuesday night, the president will deliver the annual State of the Union address to Congress.

Trump’s path to a speedy acquittal was sealed when Republican senators voted Friday to rebuff Democrats’ efforts to call new witnesses.” via Bloomberg

Angry’s Thoughts: I know this sucks right now, but it’s going to ultimately be a disaster for the GOP. People keep asking me if I expect any GOP Senators to vote for conviction – with Murkowski saying that she would vote to acquit today, I think the only realistic shot at a vote against Trump is Romney. Collins is a possible, but I don’t ever count on her to do anything.

‘A very bad example’: China accuses US of spreading fear about coronavirus after travel advisory

“China’s foreign ministry said Monday that the U.S. has not helped contain the outbreak of coronavirus that began in the city of Wuhan but has instead spread fear by imposing travel bans. 

“There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel,” Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said in a statement. 

More than 17,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in China and 183 across 26 other countries from an outbreak that has killed 362 people. There are 11 confirmed cases in the U.S. 

Last week, the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory telling Americans not to go to China because of the virus. And President Donald Trump called the outbreak a public health emergency requiring quarantines for U.S. travelers who recently visited parts of China associated with the outbreak.” via USA Today

Angry’s Thoughts: You know, I’m normally happy to criticize Trump for *just* about anything – but I’m not going to go there for evacuating personnel from China and urging people not to travel there until it’s contained; this was a move that *needed* to happen; this virus has already killed more in China than SARS did. The only thing I would really criticize here is the haphazard way that the orders were rolled out – it left people in dozens of agencies scrambling to figure out how to make it happen in a short period of time.

The fatality rate still appears to be fairly low, considering the amount of people infected, but it’s still not something that we should ignore. If you’ve never had pneumonia, it’s not fun. 0/5 stars, would not recommend.

Justice Department releases more Mueller documents to CNN and BuzzFeed

“The Justice Department has released another 300 pages of notes from major witness interviews in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The documents, include memos — called 302s by the FBI — from Andrew McCabe, Sean Spicer, Reince Priebus, Rick Gates, Michael Cohen and Steve Bannon. This is the fifth time CNN has gotten documents like these from the Justice Department regarding the Mueller investigation, as part of a lawsuit in conjunction with BuzzFeed News.

So far, the previous releases have fleshed out details that Mueller summarized in his final report regarding the actions of President Donald Trump and his campaign. The memos have revealed, for instance, how top Trump campaign officials witnessed the President and other Trump campaign officials pushing for the release of stolen Democratic emails and supported a conspiracy theory that Ukraine hacked the Democrats in 2016.

The memos were typed up by agents or prosecutors after they questioned each witness. The Justice Department has kept many of the memos heavily redacted as they continue to release them this year.

The Justice Department released, for the first time, notes from Mueller’s team of their interview with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. But the five-page document is almost completely redacted, revealing nothing more about Kushner’s role in the Russia scandal.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: When Bill Barr is gone and the Jared Kushner materials finally get released, I suspect we’re going to find out a whole bunch of things that make Hunter Biden look like a choirboy.

Parnas will stand trial weeks before Election Day

“Lev Parnas, the indicted Rudy Giuliani associate who has become embroiled in the president’s impeachment proceedings, will head to trial on Oct. 5, a judge ruled Monday.

Parnas is facing a host of campaign finance charges and will stand trial with three other defendants, including Igor Fruman, another Giuliani associate.

Parnas and Fruman are accused of funneling political donations through a limited-liability company and employing straw donors to exceed maximum contribution limits. The duo, along with David Correia and Andrey Kukushkin, are also facing charges of facilitating campaign contributions from a foreign national. All have pleaded not guilty.

The trial will launch about a month before Election Day, providing an unwelcome reminder for President Donald Trump of the Ukraine scandal that got him impeached.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: That’s a long delay for such a high profile case. It’ll be a real shame to have to remind everyone about this right before the election. Darn.

Republicans pray Trump shuns impeachment in SOTU

“Senate Republicans are praying President Donald Trump does something out of character during his State of the Union address — avoid talking about impeachment.

Trump will deliver his speech Tuesday, one day before the Senate ends its nearly three-week impeachment trial with a likely vote to acquit him. While the president is all but assured to take a victory lap Wednesday, Senate Republicans don’t want the State of the Union to turn into the type of speech he’d deliver at a campaign rally.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: There’s almost a zero percent chance Trump doesn’t turn the SOTU into a campaign rally. He’s fundamentally incapable of giving an hour long Presidential speech.

Undecided Democratic senator calls for the Senate to censure Trump

“Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Monday advocated for censuring President Donald Trump for the behavior exhibited in the two articles of impeachment passed by the House as opposed to voting to remove Trump for office.

In comments made on the Senate floor, Manchin said that he believes that a “bipartisan majority of this body would vote to censure President Trump,” as opposed to voting to remove the President, which would require 67 votes, or at least 20 Republicans joining all 47 members who caucus with the Democrats.

Manchin, who is among a few Democrats from red or purple who could side with Republicans on impeachment, would not say which way he plans to go at Wednesday’s scheduled vote on whether to acquit the President.

“I remain undecided on how I will vote,” he said Monday.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: Not only is this almost certainly not going to happen, I fear that Manchin is setting the stage to vote with the GOP and give Trump the bipartisan “acquittal” he wants.

Key GOP senator: “I would concur” Trump’s actions inappropriate

“Key GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski was asked today if she agreed with Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander that President Trump’s conduct was inappropriate.

“I would concur,” she said.

Murkowski also said “yes” she made up her mind on whether to acquit, but declined to comment.

More on Alexander’s comments: The Tennessee Republican said he believes President Trump acted improperly and crossed a line in the Ukraine scandal but said the President’s actions are “a long way from treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: At this point, the GOP is just screwing with us. They almost all agree that Trump did it – they just don’t care. That is dangerous for the country, and it’s going to be detrimental to their majority.

‘Truly bizarre circumstances’: Anonymous book agents refute whisper campaign against Trump official

The literary agents for the senior Trump administration official who penned an anonymous New York Times op-ed and best-selling book are breaking their silence to swat down a whisper campaign pinning the unnamed writings on a top National Security Council aide — citing “truly bizarre circumstances” that forced their hand.

“Over the past weeks and months, there has been continual speculation as to the identity of the author known as Anonymous,” Javelin co-founder Matt Latimer, who brokered the book deal for “A Warning,” plans to say in a forthcoming statement obtained by POLITICO. “We have heard various theories and conclusions based on ‘solid reporting.’ We have politely declined to confirm or deny them. That was a decision we made in deference to our author and we had intended to stick by it. Now truly bizarre circumstances have forced us to change that position.”

In recent weeks, people in and outside the White House had suggested to reporters at multiple news outlets — including POLITICO — that the official, deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates, was Anonymous. Coates had begun to fear for her job, according to several people close to her, even though she was recently promoted by national security adviser Robert O’Brien.

“Dr. Coates is not Anonymous,” Latimer will say. “She does not know who Anonymous is. We have never discussed Anonymous or the book, A WARNING, with her prior to its publication. She did not write it, edit it, see it in advance, know anything about it, or as far we know ever read it.” via Politico

Angry’s Thoughts: Given Coates’ history, it makes sense that she’s been targeted as a potential Anonymous. The White House is really doing itself no favors by actively looking for Anonymous – all that does is confirm the accuracy of the content in the book; nobody would be searching for them if it was fake news.

Turkey suffers first deaths in direct combat with Syria since start of war

“Five Turkish soldiers and one civilian personnel were killed in Syria on Sunday, Turkey’s first fatalities as a result of direct confrontation between the countries since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011.

Nine other troops were also wounded in northwest Syria’s Idlib province after they came under heavy artillery fire from the Syrian government Sunday, according to a Turkey defense department statement which added that the troops were reinforcements.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said up to 35 Syrian government soldiers had been killed Monday in response, and pledged further retaliation.” via CNN

Angry’s Thoughts: It’s not a coincidence that this happened after we withdrew from the region. Who could have predicted that selling our allies out to be murdered on a Presidential whim would have far-reaching consequences beyond the loss of trust of said allies?

‘The guardrails are gone’: Democrats brace for emboldened Trump at State of the Union

“Democrats are bracing for a more emboldened President Trump now that his acquittal is at hand, beginning with Tuesday’s State of the Union address before a nationally televised audience.

Rather than seeking to unify Congress and the nation with remorse, Democrats expect Trump to ratchet up his rhetoric of grievance on the eve of Senate impeachment votes that are all but certain to acquit him for abuse of power and obstructing Congress.

“Whatever happens he claims that it’s a victory for him, in many instances when it’s far from it. So that’s what he’ll say,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a 2020 presidential contender, said during a break in Monday’s closing arguments by the prosecutors and the president’s defense team. 

“For a while he might almost be like a cartoon-figure president,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), comparing the president to the Incredible Hulk breaking off chains holding him down. “The guardrails are gone.” via The Washington Post

Angry’s Thoughts: I think this is pretty on the money. He’s going to be more of a nightmare now that he feels like he’s been vindicated, and I suspect he’s also going to be out for revenge against those he feels have wronged him.

Kushner to brief U.N. leaders on Mideast plan

“President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, Jared Kushner, will brief U.N. Security Council ambassadors on Thursday about the Middle East peace plan that Trump unveiled last week, a U.S. official said on Monday.

The plan has had a mixed reception, with Palestinians rejecting it but Israel welcoming the president’s decision to recognize Israeli annexation of West Bank settlements.

The plan would set forth a four-year timeline for Palestinians to develop governing institutions and rein in the Hamas militant group in order to gain statehood with a capital based in a village east of Jerusalem.” via Reuters

Angry’s Thoughts: The party who thinks it’s awful that Hunter Biden got a job in Ukraine wants you to know that Jared Kushner is perfectly qualified to brief the UN, because he’s read at least 25 books.

On a serious note, there’s nothing to brief here – Palestine rejected the plan wholesale. This is going to be yet another debacle added to Jared’s profile.

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