US Politics January 2019: we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger

Three Bernie Sanders Bills to Arrest the Highway Robbery in the Prescription Drug Market: https://t.co/aMCeS6sofl by @deanbaker13

— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) January 17, 2019

I'm sure Pelosi feels absolutely owned after the last-minute cancellation of her trip to *checks notes* Afghanistan

Trump is reportedly pleased at the news coverage of this. By which he probably means Fox considering every other outlet is framing it as manchildery.

Can someone leak the next time Trump has an unannounced travel engagement

Please

gbx's friend is Allegra Love and her org is the Santa Fe Dreamers Project: http://www.santafedreamersproject.org/who-we-are/

Options for donating are on the website! One-time giving or recurring.

― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Thursday, January 17, 2019 11:40 AM (forty-nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

thanks in orbit! they're trying really hard to find refugee trans women sponsors/housing right now and could use all the help they can get

she should invite him back for the SOTU and then administer a proper caning, in the rich tradition of our hallowed congressional halls

that Cillizza "analysis" is a man trying to shit out a lukewarm "actually both sides are equally wrong" turd, fuck that mediocrity forever.

was just coming here to post the same thing.

Like one of the two was an attempt to force the hand of the sole guy who is stonewalling the government from re-opening.

the other was a guy with sandpaper wedged in his asshole feeling bad that he got embarrassed by a girl

Let it be so.

New — President Trump was startled as he watched Bill Barr describe his warm relationship with Robert Mueller, bristling at his glowing remarks and telling people he didn’t realize how much their work overlapped. https://t.co/fAdKh1Px61

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 17, 2019

Did he seriously screw up when trying to appoint a loyal lackey?

He’s been thinking about this replacement for two years

not sure if that's quite right

haha

I feel like barr could be misleading congress and will end up trying to impede mueller after all. Who knows though

there's a small chance Barr is yet another deluded old line conservative who thinks it is possible to work with Trump on a collegial basis.

Davos trip cancelled?

lol

oh no Davo's gunna be devo'd

*shoutout to the Aussie ILX massivvvvvve*

downloading porn with davos

Two days ago Ian Master's guest was reporting that Barr's wife is best friends with Mueller's. There was speculation that the 19 page Barr legal memo arguing against one rationale for inquiries into Russian collusion was a Trojan horse of sorts.

Not that Barr is anything but a legal conservative. It's just that he may be motivated by saving the Republic as his last governmental act, rather than saving Trump's ass.

Hm

So trump got swindled potentially

that collins blurb...anti trump fanfic is the fucking worst

aside that, listening to barr trying to explain why he styled a good part of his “memo” as an analysis or response to mueller’s theory,” BUT ACTUALLY doesn’t _know_ what mueller’s theory of the case _is_, was.... wtf dude u are either lying now or couldn’t answer a parking ticket. idgi.

sorry “mueller’s” theory of the case

It's all wilder and wilder and yet somehow none of it can really shock or surprise.

oh no Davo's gunna be devo'd

*shoutout to the Aussie ILX massivvvvvve*

― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Thursday, January 17, 2019 6:33 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

downloading porn with davos

― peace, man, Thursday, January 17, 2019 6:47 PM (forty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol

Taibbi doing some good reporting here: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/secret-government-spending-779959/
― DJI, Thursday, January 17, 2019 8:39 PM (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

reposting from Matt Taibbi thread

xpost That's what I was babbling about yesterday or whenever. There is literally no good reason for Barr to sully his reputation and throw away a long, esteemed career in defense of Trump. But there are lots of reasons for him to see the investigation through, right down to righteously throwing himself on a grenade.

(Unlike Whitaker or Sessions, two shyster choads with nothing going for them other than hitching a ride on the Trump train.)

Why didnt trump nominate a hack?

Possibly because he wanted a "win," someone who could get approved, so no clowns. It was reported, for example, that he was surprised by the negative reaction to Whitaker.

He’s extremely stupid xp

That too. But think about all the nuts he could have nominated for the SC (even Bush chose Harriet Miers). Yet Trump picked unquestionably qualified candidates who he knew would get through, people with cred, however we might not like them.

Yeah but its a bad gamble if he wants to stop mueller

He can’t keep his priorities straight

Trump is just working straight off the Federalist Society's list of preferred judicial nominees and they do all his homework for him.

Yet Trump picked unquestionably qualified candidates

if by "Trump" you mean "The Federalist Society", then yes

Yeah but thats dumb if he wants to stay out of jail

xpost Yeah, absolutely. But he "picked" them, when he could have picked his sister or some former pro wrestler or something. He was given a list and he picked one of them, a rare instance of deferring to the expertise of someone else over his "gut." Same with these AGs. He had a list, he had to find someone on it who would say yes, he got Barr (who had already said no to him about something before, so no doubt was low on the list!). And because he's stupid he probably though, as much as he thinks about anything: "this guy is on the approved list and he'll easily be confirmed, he's even been AG before. That's a win for me, no doubt about it!"

Strongly suspect he was most persuaded by Barr's blanket-pardon advocacy in his last go-around. There are gonna be convictions.

Iirc the AG has no say in pardons, right? Pres can pardon whoever he wants, as many as he want. Not like Trump needs an AG's OK.

yes but the AG can wag his finger disapprovingly

A federal court on Thursday blocked a major aspect of last year’s lame duck power grab by Republicans in Wisconsin. U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson restored early voting and other rights relevant to the franchise which were previously curtailed by GOP state legislators and then-outgoing now-former governor Scott Walker in December 2018.

“This is not a close question,” Judge Peterson notes, “the…challenged provisions are clearly inconsistent with” previous orders handed down by the court.

nice

Wheeler has been bumping this:

https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/12/20/emmet-flood-steps-in-it-again-william-barrs-memo-makes-compelling-case-that-trump-must-be-impeached/

Well well well

🚨 President Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials https://t.co/1i9Jv5R9lC via @JasonLeopold & @a_cormier_

— Jon Passantino (@passantino) January 18, 2019

cool throw it on the crime pile

Ah, no, this is significantly next level.

Trump: Congress? Just give their noses a good twist and laugh at them. That's all they deserve.

Republicans in Congress: Thank you, sir, may we have another?