US Politics, June 2020 — You have to dominate.

You can’t fire me! Because I don’t quit!!

Jeff not fucking around!

IT’S GEOFF

lol

America is right to expect the worst of Bill Barr, who has repeatedly interfered in criminal investigations on Trump’s behalf. We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday. We welcome Mr. Berman’s testimony and will invite him to testify. https://t.co/SpVYzLhANR

— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) June 20, 2020

well this is fun

by the way, am i wrong to connect this to the relative silence on these cases since the impeachment "trial"?

have they really been just working in silence for 5 months (jfc has it only been 5 months since then), or have they been silenced?

if he loses, he's going to jail, or he's going to die with pending criminal indictments.

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Monday, June 8, 2020 5:09 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

c'mon that gov-approved strongboy body of his leads me to believe it won't be anytime soon

i'm not certain about what a biden administration would do re: sending trump's ass to prison. i actually am a centrist on this issue! IT COULD GO EITHER WAY

who would be the only guy to seek out a compromise with a white supremacist villain at the time of his final surrender? an old white guy

for the sake of healing

for the sake of a new era for the young people.

lookit

There was a Blackish episode repeat today that occurs in Jan 2017 right after Trump was elected. The Anthony Anderson main character coming between the Anti-Trump and (one) Pro-Trump co-workers, about how much he loves America. The implication of that being, well, Trump will probably suck but let's give him a chance, because America's still going to have the shitty problems anyway. Somewhat true, but I doubt they could imagine what would over the next four years...

Thread: here's where I think we are. It's pretty exquisite. Berman is court appointed and under 28 USC §546 his appointment lasts until there is a presidentially appointed and confirmed US Attorney.

— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) June 20, 2020

Good morning!

I hate Matt Gaetz but this situation with the adopted kid is not so mysterious to me and almost makes him a relatable human.

the US attorney thing was so confusing last night

who would be the only guy to seek out a compromise with a white supremacist villain at the time of his final surrender? an old white guy

xpost It's actually super confusing! For starters, he's apparently not even adopted. Following up, though, formality aside, what single 30-year old dude, let alone one with a history of DUI, adopts a 12-year old, or is even allowed to? And then keeps a secret for 7 years? It can be totally innocent and relatable yet still totally confusing and strange.

Oh, and, duh, judge denies Trump admin attempt to stop publication of Bolton book because, double duh, they already published it.

what single 30-year old dude, let alone one with a history of DUI, adopts a 12-year old, or is even allowed to?

Isn't that how Fonzie ended up?

Fonzie never had a history of DUI get those words out of your mouth

ned lol

Live from Tulsa

At the Trump rally, Brian Clothier, 61, is wearing an adult diaper over his pants that reads “Scientists say [farts] spread the virus. I COVID my ass to stop the spread.” pic.twitter.com/2Ljok0vKKe

— robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) June 20, 2020

Only been at the Trump rally since 9, but something I’ve noticed: No anti-Biden merch. This shirt is for sale, but the anti-Dem stuff has been anti-Hillary or generically about liberals being losers. pic.twitter.com/dWASK8DLDe

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) June 20, 2020

doesn't Weigel realize Biden and Clinton are the same person? Have you noticed they're never at the same place together?!

I do see one guy with a mask in that shot

As someone joked, there are fewer masks than there are black people at that rally, and there are no black people.

something to keep in mind when trump inevitably realizes that berman is a #resistance crying chuck schumer collaborator who trump never met and who probably donated to hillary clinton:

It is important to remember that Geoff Berman is no Deep State hanger-on. He is a former law partner of Rudy Giuliani and a campaign donor to Trump’s 2016 campaign. Indeed, the fact that he ended up being appointed formally by the judges in the district stemmed from the dubious circumstances of his original appointment. Berman served on Trump’s presidential transition team and Trump personally interviewed Berman before agreeing to nominate him to the New York position. The head of that office has jurisdiction over Trump’s literal home turf. It’s a key position.

I think it's another instance of Trump (who has no clue) OKing the appointment of someone his people recommended for being accomplished or at least competent and then those people realizing that competence was not the lead characteristic he was looking for.

not in this case, i don't think. trump has been in court his entire life. i think he cares who oversees the cases that directly involve him and his operations in NYC.

it's amazing how these loyalist Republicans all become these activist, troubled Democrats after spending 5 minutes in Trump's admin

i did enjoy this classic piece of josh marshall idle speculation:

Bill Barr’s profound corruption no longer requires explanation. He is unquestionably the most corrupt Attorney General in American history. It is in the nature of Trumpism however that the corruption and bad acting are so widespread that we are left uncertain just why this particular action took place. Something was and apparently is afoot that required Berman’s immediate removal. We just don’t yet know what it is. There are numerous possibilities. Berman’s office has overseen investigations of numerous Trump associates. Most of the President’s own business dealings would come under the office’s jurisdiction. Perhaps critically, many investigations which have offended foreign potentates friendly to President Trump are also housed in this office.

for real, i enjoyed that piece of idle speculation, those all seem like strong possibilities, and it's not clear what led to this.

btw, assuming we get out of this winter with a new president, i think we'll all look back and think how fortunate we were that bill barr didn't arrive on the scene until halfway through the term. if he had been there since the beginning, holy shit

oh yes, I think about that a lot

Josh the guy donated to Trump's campaign. He was a Trump supporter and he was on the transition team. He wasn't "recommended for being accomplished"

I just mean Trump himself has no clue about these people ever. He's totally ignorant. people around him keep lists, and obviously when they showed him the guy and explained he was a big Trump supporter of course Trump said sounds good to me. And then he finds out months down the line that wait, this guy's investigating me! And suddenly he changes his mind.

I imagine it's like the opening scene in the Godfather where Tom Hagen is telling Vito whom of his friends showed up and what they gave for the wedding

I got an application for a by-mail ballot for the NJ primary yesterday, but in order to get one you have to be registered as a Republican or as a Democrat. As a registered independent/unaffiliated person, MY VOTE IS BEING SUPPRESSED!!!!!

it's amazing how these loyalist Republicans all become these activist, troubled Democrats

Activists, REALLY?

Not sure they're all Democrats; just say "Biden supporters."

I was being sarcastic. that's what Trump calls a loyalist every time he dares oppose him

Btw kind of intriguing that one reason the guy in the SDNY was appointed without Senate confirmation was because Gillibrand would not have given him a so-called blue slip. But Lindsey is now saying he would support blue slip support, which gives the Democrats a little more leeway in this specific situation, but also quietly implies that maybe Graham isn't confident of keeping the Senate, so would like to go back to norms that would empower the minority.

Live from Covidcon 2020:

"I don't support him [Trump]... not exposing [Bill] Gates financing it with Soros. The money going to Wuhan Lab. Fauci, as the leader of the NIH, sending the money to the Wuhan Lab as a biological weapons scientist who has the patent to HIV & that HIV was in the COVID-19." #Tulsa pic.twitter.com/ctEmfMUQ1c

— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) June 20, 2020

This man will vote in November (if he lives through the summer).

For starters, he's apparently not even adopted.

There is the legal sense of 'adoption', but there is also a less formal sense. Taking someone into your home, caring for and feeding them for seven years would qualify for that less formal sense. But I wonder if Gaetz attempted to exercise parental powers that could only have been assigned to him through formal adoption. If so, that would be fucked up.

isn't that called a ward and does that make nestor Robin?

lol?

JUST IN - 6 members of the Trump campaign advance staff in Tulsa doing logistics for Trump's rally tested positive for COVID, per @carolelee @kwelkernbc @albamonica @kellyo

— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 20, 2020

first I've heard of a 666 microchip but it sounds fuckin' sweet, any idea when?

SIX members

Oh dear.

One GOP strategist involved in multiple congressional races said that a recent all-staff conference call to touch base on their own races filled them with growing alarm.

"I had a call this week with my entire team,” said the source, who was granted anonymity to honestly discuss their party’s current woes. “It became a 15-minute conversation. Literally every single race we’re involved in, we’re seeing Trump’s numbers dip. And most concerning is the slip with seniors."

That source said if the election were held today, it would be “devastating” for the GOP, who would lose not just the White House but the Senate and likely some House seats as well — even though most of the House map is being fought in districts Trump won that Democrats flipped in 2018. And they warned of a mirror-image result of the 1988 presidential election, when President George H.W. Bush won 40 states in an electoral romp.

“Trump has to get his shit together and his campaign has to get their shit together, or it’s going to be really problematic,” said the strategist. “It would be catastrophic."

Republicans say that Trump is getting blown out with independent voters and continues to drop with female voters, with white women who lack college degrees moving away from him. Some have also seen a concerning erosion with senior citizens as well as gen-X voters.

And Trump has even started to lose some support from his normally rock-solid GOP base. Two separate sources said recent private polls found Trump’s approval rating slipping into the low 80s with Republican voters — still a high figure but considerably lower than the 90-plus numbers he’s posted for most of his presidency.