US Politics, February 2018: Our country was founded by geniuses, but it’s being run by idiots

Depends- did she have to remove them herself or did he do it all by himself?

Countdown to Greenwald disavowing that story and/or firing the writers in 3...2...

Why?

Given Trump's base, I don't think confirming that he had sex with a porn star hurts him at all politically.

for the portion of his base that is bothered, they literally think that he had a conversion around the time of his campaign and that he's a totally different person now, and should only be judged on his actions since election day (seriously). so this is just more old news that no longer applies to trump because he's a changed man.

A little something from earlier today

HIGH DRAMA among the lawyers at Rick Gates/Manafort hearing this a.m.: Tom Green sauntered into the courtroom as public was exiting (first time we’ve seen him at court or with Gates).
He whisked Gates away to chat privately—without Gates’ trial lawyers. https://t.co/SQxhsG6iQK

— Katelyn Polantz (@kpolantz) February 14, 2018

HIGH DRAMA

Of possible interest

Dear MSM,
You too can read @realDonaldTrump NDA.
So it seems like an appropriate time to re-up this thread, where Sam Nunberg submitted his NDA in a legal filing.
You’re Welcome AND ENJOY
😂👇🏻Stormy w a Chance of Meatballs👇🏻😂https://t.co/fMSX35hJoY

— Alt_SeanSpicer'sMic🎙🤦🏻‍♀️🎙 (@Alt_Spicerlies) February 14, 2018

i can't keep up with any of this shit

Uh, sure.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has broken months of silence about his frequent premium-class flights at taxpayer expense, saying he needs to fly first class because of unpleasant interactions with other travelers.

— David Eggert (@DavidEggert00) February 14, 2018

unpleasant interactions with the snack boxes served in coach

"Why can't the little bottles be bigger!"

Of note -- as Mariotti adds later, Cohen was already scheduled to be interviewed.

Michael Cohen just gave Robert Mueller a reason to seek his tax returns. How did Cohen report this payment to Stormy Daniels, if at all? https://t.co/ULQF4UfR9h

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) February 14, 2018

lol these odious pieces of shit's excuses for increased security is because they are odious pieces of shit

Loved the comment that they should just put all the other passengers in first class and make him fly coach.

A true profile in courage

#BREAKING Trump says ‘totally opposed to domestic violence’

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 14, 2018

just another day ruling the empire

totally opposed to domestic violence, least racist person you've ever met etc etc

He tries, so.

"...it almost wouldn’t even have to be said,” Trump says as he makes his 1st condemnation of domestic abuse since Porter resignation a wk ago, w @maggieNYT https://t.co/kaMhsHU2R5

— Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) February 14, 2018

What a fuck up, now he's gone and lost the domestic abuser vote.

they should ask him when he stopped beating his wife

The plan as the Mail approached WH for comment was for Porter, who denied he’d hit his wives, to resign. But one WH official put on the breaks, saying these were just allegations and if Porter resigned, they could all face the same fate.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 14, 2018

Others in the room echoed that sentiment. So they all got Kelly back on the phone and told him Porter was going to try to weather the story. Kelly said okay, then let’s make my statement to the Mail more supportive. And dictated to Sanders.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 14, 2018

I'm impressed at least that Trump didn't throw in something like "and as we all know, domestic violence goes both ways, I guess the media doesn't like to report on that, but still, totally opposed"

And now it gets fun

Scoop: Trump endorses 25-cent gas tax hikehttps://t.co/Apg9o9Kypx pic.twitter.com/SPmcv8T0c8

— Axios (@axios) February 14, 2018

Scott Pruitt clearly believes that the job of protecting the environment starts with sparing no (taxpayer) expense to protect his own personal environment. Admirable, imo.

Are we up to like two dozen newsworthy moments from the Trump admin today? This is just...so fucking exhausting.

"newsworthy"

time to cut a few more cords

isn't $4 gas what killed GWB's approval

Americans have all that extra cash in their pocket now after he tax cuts, they’ll hardly notice a little bump in gas prices

As long as I can afford enough to fuel my inevitable self-immolation, I'm good to go.

25 cents a gallon would kill trump support way more effectively than supporting nazis

*more a gallon
god help us if trump makes 25 cents a gallon, they'll put him on rushmore

Maybe he's actually thinking of 25-cent tax hikes on zeppelins?

this is budget kabuki, it's not going to happen

Donald Trump has no conception of twenty-five cents. Or gas prices.

Unless you're counting the price he (and others in his proximity) pays after polishing off a three taco bowl lunch.

Apparently ol' Reince has decided to partially come clean

https://t.co/hN2yZ8SGNB pic.twitter.com/bve3zTMlnq

— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) February 14, 2018

Just after six a.m. on January 21, 2017, at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, Reince Priebus was watching the cable morning news shows, getting ready to leave for the White House. Suddenly his cell phone went off. It was Donald Trump. The new president, sworn in less than 24 hours earlier, had just seen The Washington Post, with photos showing Trump’s inaugural crowd dwarfed by that of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

The president was livid, screaming at his chief of staff. “He said, ‘This story is bullshit,’ ” recalled Priebus. “He said, ‘There’s more people there. There are people who couldn’t get in the gates. . . . There’s all kind of things that were going on that made it impossible for these people to get there.’ . . . The president said, ‘Call [Interior Secretary] Ryan Zinke. Find out from the Park Service. Tell him to get a picture and do some research right away.’ ” The president wanted his chief of staff to fix this story. Immediately.

Priebus tried to talk Trump off the ledge. “It doesn’t matter,” Priebus argued. “It’s Washington, D.C. We’re in an 85 percent Democrat area. Northern Virginia’s 60 percent. Maryland’s 65 percent. . . . This is a Democrat haven, and nobody cares.” But Trump was having none of it. Priebus thought, “Is this something that I really want to go to battle over on day one? Who needs a controversy over the inauguration?” Priebus realized he faced a decision: “Am I going to go to war over this with the president of the United States?”

This might be the funniest bit:

“People mistake me for a laid-back guy from the Midwest,” he continued. “I’m much more aggressive, and much more of a knife fighter. Playing the inside game is what I do.”

...yeah, about that.

Pure Herbert Kornfeld

Priebus realized he faced a decision: “Am I going to go to war over this with this fucking moron is the president of the United States?”

Pure Herbert Kornfeld

Are we up to like two dozen newsworthy moments from the Trump admin today? This is just...so fucking exhausting.

He's not smart, but inducing resistance fatigue is turning out to be a solid strategic choice.

Parody version Glenn doesn’t change that much.

There are going to be lots of people wildly mischaracterizing the WL story. So before you believe any of it, read just this passage I’ve highlighted. Do not read the rest. And so what if WikiLeaks wanted GOP to win? I never said otherwise. You can’t prove it. pic.twitter.com/nT9mxrEkqm

— Glem Greenwald (@gggreenwald) February 14, 2018

But they've also got definitive proof that Russia wasn't the source of the leaks by such a trusted source as Dana Rohrabacher, so, y'know, game over: https://theintercept.com/2018/02/14/dana-rohrabacher-trump-russia-wikileaks-julian-assange/

Story on McGahn is worth a read

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-is-frustrated-with-the-white-house-counsel-who-walks-a-fine-line-over-his-bosss-demands/2018/02/14/eca8b59e-101c-11e8-8ea1-c1d91fcec3fe_story.html

McGahn has frequently been at odds with the other White House attorneys, particularly Ty Cobb, who has been assigned to deal with the Russia investigation. Late last year, for example, McGahn thought Cobb should try to limit the questions he and his team would face from Mueller and protect the White House by asserting attorney-client privilege, according to people McGahn talked to at the time.

But Cobb, who has said he is eager to show the White House is cooperating, said all aides would answer questions freely. McGahn spent two days with the special counsel’s office in December and later told associates he was “thrown to the wolves,” according to people who have spoken to him. Seven other lawyers also spoke to Mueller.

McGahn has told others that Cobb is not a careful lawyer and is not carefully reviewing documents or preparing people to testify. In private conversations, McGahn has questioned whether Cobb leaked stories to the news media that could imperil McGahn’s standing in the White House. Cobb declined to comment.

Then there’s this insanity.

This story is unbelievable and a must read. The White House Counsel himself and others don’t have permanent high level clearances? Unforgivable. Never saw anything like this in 2 difft Administrations where I worked on these sensitive natl security matters https://t.co/IYChaGCI9T

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) February 15, 2018

what a complete shit show

Just imagine how much worse things could be if Trump actually knew what he was doing.

When was the last time this asshole even had a press conference?

read that as "his asshole had a press conference"