Month: January 2018

(Update) Congressional Republicans are running interference on the Russia investigation

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The Republican congressman who has been the most visible and aggressive in seeking to undermine the Russia investigation and to turn the House investigation into chasing conspiracy theories concocted by the conservative media entertainment complex and Donald Trump is Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the Trump transition team.

The personal actions of Rep. Nunes come perilously close to making him an accessory to a cover-up and obstruction of justice. He should be removed from his position as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee because he is compromised and is incapable of conducting an objective investigation. His only goal has been to block any objective investigation in the House from going forward.

You remember Rep. Nunes from early last year, don’t you? Mark Sumner of Daily Kos has a good summary of the obstruction of justice Rep. Nunes has been engaged in. Devin Nunes should be the subject of an investigation, not running one:

In November, 2016 Devin Nunes took a top slot in the Trump transition team—one that put him in a position to recommend and vet cabinet officials. In January, 2017 Nunes announced that the House Intelligence Committee would conduct an investigation into Russia’s efforts to impact the 2016 presidential election.

Between Nunes’s acceptance of a post in the Trump transition team and the start of the House investigation, multiple contacts occurred between the Trump transition team and Russian officials, including several communications between Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador. And between the Russian ambassador and Nunes’s partner in “clearing” Trump’s nominees—Jared Kushner.

All the evidence suggests that Devin Nunes began the House investigation both knowing that contacts had occurred, and deliberately working to cover them up.

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By March, Nunes completely derailed the House investigation after leaping from an Uber car, making secret visits to the White House, and holding a pair of press conferences in which he claimed to have evidence that Obama officials had improperly “unmasked” members of the Trump team—statements that Donald Trump used to support his contention that Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower. Though Nunes refused to say where he was getting this information, it eventually emerged that he had been working with Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a Michael Flynn assistant who had been singled out by intelligence officials for his incompetence. However, Donald Trump overruled Cohen-Watnick’s superiors, keeping him in place so he could act as a conduit to Nunes.

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Congressional Republicans are running interference on the Russia investigation

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If you spent your New Year’s weekend binge watching football games like I did, you may have missed some important reporting in the New York Times regarding the Russia investigation that blew away Dear Leader’s false narrative (fake news) and conspiracy theory that the Russia investigation is a “phony democratic excuse for losing the election” that began with the Steele dossier “funded by some combination of Russia, the Democratic Party and the FBI.”

It turns out that the Russia investigation actually began with Trump campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos — now a cooperating witness in the Special Counsel’s investigation — getting drunk one night and telling the Australian ambassador to Britain that the Russians “have dirt on Hillary Clinton” before the DNC knew that it had been hacked by the Russians. After the DNC learned of the leaks and Wikileaks began publishing the emails from the DNC, the Australians contacted the FBI about the earlier statement of George Papadopoulos, which triggered the FBI investigation.

The opposition research into Donald Trump by Fusion GPS was originally funded by the Washington Free Beacon before Christopher Steele was hired, and later was funded by the DNC and Clinton campaign after Christopher Steele was brought on. Based upon what Christopher Steele, a well-respected former British MI-6 agent specializing in Russia, was learning from his contacts it was Steele who alerted the FBI to the Russian attack on the election. The Steele “dossier” confirmed much of what the already opened FBI investigation into the Trump campaign was finding.

Fusion GPS provided all of its information to the Senate Judiciary Committee in more than 10 hours of testimony months ago, but the committee has failed to release the transcript of testimony, despite assurances from committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley that the transcript will be released. This is where things stand today.

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The threat of nuclear war should not rest in the hands of Donald Trump

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Our always insecure man-child Twitter-troll-in-chief really outdid himself over the New Year’s weekend, but he saved his most insane tweets for Tuesday when he was supposedly back at work (he was actually watching Fox & Friends). Fact-checking President Trump’s post-New Year’s tweets.

This is why for foreign leaders and diplomats around the world taking the measure of our man-child Twitter-troll-in-chief, “The word they all used was: ‘This guy is insane.’” Donald Trump’s Year of Living Dangerously.

The tweet that put the world on edge on Tuesday was President Trump’s threat of nuclear war with North Korea using the taunt of a man insecure in his own manhood. Trump Says His ‘Nuclear Button’ Is ‘Much Bigger’ Than North Korea’s:

President Trump again raised the prospect of nuclear war with North Korea, boasting in strikingly playground terms on Tuesday night that he commands a “much bigger” and “more powerful” arsenal of devastating weapons than the outlier government in Asia.

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Yeah, For Starters, There’s No Button. More importantly, a nuclear war may hinge on our always insecure man-child Twitter-troll-in-chief’s freudian insistence that “my missile is bigger than yours.”

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Mr. Trump’s combative response to a statement made the day before by Mr. Kim raised the temperature in the brewing confrontation between the United States and North Korea even as American allies in South Korea were moving to open talks with Pyongyang. The contrast between Mr. Trump’s language and the peace overture by South Korea highlighted the growing rift between two longtime allies.

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CD 8 Special Election Candidates (so far)

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Candidates interested in running for the congressional district 8 seat vacated by Rep. Trent Franks have until 5:00 p.m. on January 10 to file nominating petitions for the congressional district 8 special election.

The special election primary will take place on Tuesday, February 27. The special election general election will take place on Tuesday, April 24.

So with ten days to file, who is currently in the race?

According to the Federal Elections Commission, these are the candidates who are currently filed:

Chad Allen (R), healthcare executive

Travis Angry (R), motivational speaker, author, veteran

Scott Allen Baker (R), computer technician and informaton security analyst

Debbie Lesko (R), State Senate President Pro-Tempore (resigned), former State Representative

David Lien (R), piano teacher, former council member in Willmar, Minnesota

Phil Lovas (R), SBA Regional Official (resigned), former State Representative

Steve Montenegro (R), State Senator, Minister, former House Majority Leader, former Congressional Aide to Rep. Trent Franks

Bob Stump (R), former State Corporation Commissioner, former State Representative

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