Trump, May 2017: 100 days of [unintelligible]

i believe it was some of the people in this story, which is absolely nuts and insane and 100% worth reading https://www.damninteresting.com/operation-pastorius/

xxp same here

man between Trump and the House GOP the United Stats is the Space Station Mir

wholly-owned by Russia?

Da.

actually i think that pastorius incident also established the precedent of "enemy combatant", so it may not actually have been treason they were executed for. rosenburgs were espionage.

Others have pointed this out, but it sure seems like Time has mistaken St. Basil's Cathedral for the Kremlin. pic.twitter.com/r5BIMEI7vP

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) May 18, 2017

who do we think is getting executed for treason?

thx for the link caek, reading with increasing incredulity now

St. Basil's is on Red Square, just across from the Kremlin, dingus

xp

hence it is not the Kremlin

VISUALS, YOU INGRATES, VISUALS

https://www.axios.com/house-leadership-worry-more-of-their-meetings-were-secretly-recorded-2413142464.html

The most widespread theory in House leadership is that the secret recorder and the leaker was Evan McMullin, who as a former leadership aide participated in the June 15 conversation and confirmed the private conversation to the Washington Post. (I am told that the Post, in their back-and-forth with leadership over the story, privately said that the source wasn't McMullin. There's no evidence that he was the leaker and I've reached out to him for comment.)

Evidence or not, leadership sources are privately worried that McMullin had a tape on while he sat silently through all of their confidential meetings. They're concerned about what leaks could come next.

need an onion-kelly style cartoon of putin, a bear and an onion-dome robot molesting lady liberty. just about as subtle.

I was annoyed by the subbing in of St Basils as well

I have no problem with a massive mainstream weekly ham-fisting the point home, if that's what it takes

yeah, the visual shorthand for russia in the popular imagination isn't the actual kremlin building

it's the cover of tetris

Russian Orthodox churches are beautiful

I feel like if McMullin was the leaker he wouldn't have confirmed anything on the record in the same article. He could have done it anonymously? Maybe he dgaf?

p see, they'll also impose their religion on us

bc they hate our freedoms

it all fits

It's not even a church any more but I am prepared to consider the implied hypothesis that Trump is possessed by the malevolent ghost of Ivan IV.

trump probably more familiar with ivan drago

Scott Lemieux's worries: http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2017/05/scandals-american-party-system#comments

I am prepared to consider the implied hypothesis that Trump is possessed by the malevolent ghost of Ivan IV.

[photoshops trump/jared into repin painting]

Nice little update

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/05/18/politics/financial-data-intelligence-committees-senate-house/index.html

Investigators on the House intelligence committees have obtained access to valuable data from the Treasury Department, a development that will open their doors to investigate possible connections between President Donald Trump's business empire and Russians, CNN has learned.

Investigators received access to the financial data this week, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the development.

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee told reporters Thursday that his committee also had gotten the Treasury Department data.

nice little financial data hoonja doonja

if Lemieux is right, and this investigation is only likely to reach Iran-Contra levels of impact, isn't that an argument that the FBI/DOJ probe be supplemented by some sort of select or independent committee?

not sure why Graham was saying today that he and the other weasels in congress could wash their hands of the intelligence committee investigations now that Mueller is in charge. Hope that doesn't happen

that's not really what Graham said

he was being fairly straightforward imo - with a criminal investigation now ongoing, the scope of the committee's work will be inhibited by the fact that people won't want to testify or bring forward information because that is likely to be used against them in the criminal investigation. It makes the range of evidence they'll be able to both make public and get their hands on narrower.

as noted, the committees don't really have a lot of power to compel people to testify or deliver evidence (hence Flynn's refusal to comply with the subpoena) - but the criminal investigation *does* have that power, and thus will be deferred to as the better tool for ferreting that stuff out.

Tick tick tick - another day is almost done and if he doesn't fuck up again today, he will fuck up tomorrow. Tick tick tick.

I'm getting the hang of this.

as his interviewer wondered, could dual investigations be the best thing for this? he kind of hedged but I guess he didn't give a definitive no.

I'm not familiar with all this, but I would have thought there would be other counter-intelligence information that they could uncover

xp

Another great plan!

EXCLUSIVE: Trump planning retaliation for leaks -- “ludicrous” revenge plan targeting Obama administration. https://t.co/1X3jbK41Fl

— Benjamin Pauker (@benpauker) May 18, 2017

well there's already different committees in the House and Senate doing their own thing, and now the special counsel investigation, there could easily be yet another bipartisan commission or something (there probably won't be though)

xp

I'm scared!

xpost

They're out looking for you, Mr. Soto

Trump's back, and Soto's got him

acc to politico senate dems reject lieberman for FBI

nice

he burned a lot of bridges in the party

still, he'll be confirmed by a party-line vote with 51 GOP votes

(at least - I could see some Dem assholes defecting as well but idk maybe not in this climate)

that's true re: confirmation. i think (scare-quote) historically the post gets near-unanimous approval. if that's a norm they don't feel like violating right now, who knows.

even manchin is skeptical

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/18/joe-lieberman-fbi-director-senate-democrats-238570

ha that's great. Yeah I don't think McCaskill or Manchin or others are feeling v threatened by Manbaby right now re: their electoral prospects

wow Sherrod Brown *really* hates him

not that i give a rat's what "the bureau" wants but other reporting suggests they're furious and probably don't want to be led by a lieberman right now

but at his press conference Trump said the FBI guys would be overjoyed, are you calling the President a liar????

Why Lieberman of all people?

for the same reason he fired Comey, Trump sees it as a concession. Not surprising that he totally misreads his opposition.

it's a "smart play", he was a Democrat! All Democrats love all other Democrats! This'll show 'em...