Month: January 2018

In unprecedented move, GOP House Intelligence Committee jeopardizes national security to aid Donald Trump in obstruction of justice

by

Donald Trump is engaged in a slow-motion “Saturday Night Massacre” purge to get to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He does not necessarily have to fire Mueller, but he can put him on an island by replacing everyone in the chain of command around him with yes-men who will deny Mueller resources, or deny his requests for subpoenas of documents or witnesses, etc., to effectively impede his investigation.

As I pointed out in a link to Foreign Policy yesterday, it reported on an organized campaign to discredit top DOJ and FBI leadership, expressly so that they would lose power in acting as witnesses to support Comey.

President Donald Trump pressed senior aides last June to devise and carry out a campaign to discredit senior FBI officials after learning that those specific employees were likely to be witnesses against him as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, according to two people directly familiar with the matter.

* * *

The FBI officials Trump has targeted are Andrew McCabe, the current deputy FBI director and who was briefly acting FBI director after Comey’s firing; Jim Rybicki, Comey’s chief of staff and senior counselor; and James Baker, formerly the FBI’s general counsel. Those same three officials were first identified as possible corroborating witnesses for Comey in a June 7 article in Vox. Comey confirmed in congressional testimony the following day that he confided in the three men.

FBI Director Wray replaced Jim Rybicki last week. Baker was reassigned in December. And now McCabe is gone.

Trump has previously attempted to force Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign, and to force Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to resign, who is now the target of the #ReleaseTheMemo smear campaign from Rep. Devin Nunes, FAUX News (aka Trump TV) and Russian intelligence bots. Russia-linked Twitter accounts are working overtime to help Devin Nunes and WikiLeaks.

Read more

Tea-Publicans in Congress are accomplices to Trump’s obstruction of justice

by

I covered this topic in an earlier post, The GOP war on law enforcement and the rule of law to obstruct justice.

Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post adds, Republicans risk becoming accomplices in obstruction of justice (excerpt):

Republicans in Congress have shown none of the courage Comey, Wray, McGahn, etc., demonstrated. With the exception of chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Republicans have demonstrated little inclination to dig deeply into the scandal or to restrain Trump. Two bipartisan bills seeking to hinder Trump from firing Mueller remain dormant. Democrats should insist these get an up-or-down vote.

Moreover, the antics of House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) should be seen in the context of Trump’s multiple efforts to decapitate the FBI and the Russia investigation. Nunes is plowing the way — cooking up conspiracy theories and propounding baseless allegations against Mueller and the FBI — to predispose the public to accept Mueller’s firing. He is encouraging, almost baiting, Trump to fire Mueller. He is also assisting Trump by tainting the jury (the American people), if you will, to accept or even applaud Mueller’s firing. From the unmasking stunt to his latest “memo,” he has tried to distract from the Russian threat and discredit law enforcement.

Read more

Trumpism, moral relativism, and GOP tribalism (Updated)

by

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post had an interesting piece about the moral decay of the GOP the other day, Republicans redefine morality as whatever Trump does:

New evidence suggests that the damage [Trump] is doing to the culture is bigger than the man. A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found that two-thirds of Americans say Trump is not a good role model for children. Every component of society feels that way — men and women, old and young, black and white, highly educated or not — except for one: Republicans. By 72 to 22 percent, they say Trump is a good role model.

In marked contrast to the rest of the country, Republicans also say that Trump shares their values (82 percent) and that — get this — he “provides the United States with moral leadership” (80 percent).

And what moral leadership this role model has been providing!

* * *

[L]et’s see what might have led 72 percent of Republicans to conclude Trump is a good role model:

His lawyer arranged to make payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, a month before the election for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal.

He used a vulgar word to describe African countries during a racist rant to lawmakers at the White House.

He was mounting a campaign to discredit the “corrupt” FBI, the Justice Department and the special prosecutor, just as he previously sought to disqualify courts and judges.

He backed a credibly accused child molester for the Senate from Alabama.

And so on.

Read more

Activate Your Commute!

by

“Work in downtown Tucson and want to know more about getting to and from your job using bus, bike, carpool or other alternative modes? Drop by the Activate Your Commute lunch-and-learn on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The event will include lots of door … Read more

Political Calendar: Week of January 28, 2018

by

The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar.

Send notices of your events to blogforarizona@gmail.com.

Note: For Event Notices and Fliers, click on the “Calendar” button in the menu options above.

Progressive_values

Political Calendar for the Week of January 28, 2018:

Sunday, January 28 2:00 p.m.: LD 10 “How to Make Your Voices Heard” Workshop, at the Murphy-Wilmot Library, 530 N. WilmotRoad, Tucson. Learn about lawmaking and how you can influence the legislative process. Senator David Bradley and Rep Kirsten Engel will present the first part ( 2-3 p.m.) and Meg Pradelt will do a hands-on RTS (Request to Speak) training after the break (3-4 p.m.)   Bring a laptop/tablet if possible. It is suggested you set up a RTS account ahead of time either through the Tucson Legislative Office (400 W. Congress Street, Suite 201, 1-800-352-8404) or Sign Up for Request to Speak.

Sunday, January 28, 3:00 p.m.: Marana Democrats meeting, at the Continental Reserve Plaza, 8333 N. Silverbell Road, Tucson. For more information please contact Buddy Gill at maranadems@gmail.com or (408) 806-2036.

Sunday, January 28, 4:30 p.m.: Democrats of The Red Rocks Annual Meeting, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 100 Arroyo Pinion Drive, Sedona. It will be a pot luck so bring a main dish, salad, or dessert. Come and learn about other upcoming events, meet many candidates, and elect the DORR Board of Directors for 2018. For more information please contact info@democratsoftheredrocks.org or (928) 212-1357.

Read more