8/6/18 “Tremendous lack of leadership”
Wilbur Ross’s claim that the census question added to the 2020 census was demanded by the DoJ fell apart this week with the discovery of emails where he flat-out states the idea was his own, months before the DoJ’s request.
Manafort’s longtime bookkeeper testified Manafort lied and cooked the books as his foreign money started to dry up. One of his accountants testified that she agreed upon request to falsify his tax records.
In an interview with the Washington Post, a member of Donny’s now defunct (and always ridiculous) voter fraud commission, the Maine secretary of state, reveals that the commission found zero evidence of widespread voter fraud, stating that the commissions purpose appeared to be to attempt to substantiate Donald’s baseless claims of millions of fraudulent voters in the 2016 election, where he lost the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million (and overall by millions more).
The Newseum, a federally funded museum celebrating a free press and the first amendment, was offering “Fake News” shirts—tilloutcry from journalists made them pull the items and issue an apology.
Bob Woodward of Watergate-busting fame has a new book coming out about life inside the Very Stable Genius’s White House.
Russia
Here’s the big news: new evidence shows that indicted Russian spy Maria Butina socialized with a Donald associate working on little Don’s campaign in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election.
From WTF Just Happened Today, little Donny’s own national security team officially stated that Russia is behind “pervasive” and “ongoing” attempts to interfere in upcoming U.S. elections. “The threat is real. It is continuing,” said Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence. Hours later, Trump defended his “great meeting with Putin,” saying “the Russian hoax” is getting in the way of improved relations with the world’s second-ranked nuclear power.
A federal judge ruled against yet another attempt to curtail the Mueller investigation, this one by an associate of Roger Stone, sizzling in the hot seat as he prepares to be called to testify.
Republicans Against the Law
A federal judge ruled that Donny must fully restore DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or the Dreamers program), the third such mandate by a district court.
A federal judge has granted a temporary nationwide injunction on the sharing of 3-D gun plans. Earlier in the week plans were also temporarily blocked for internet users in PA after the threat of a lawsuit against the Texas company providing them by the Philadelphia attorney general.
A federal judge has ordered Donny and the GOP administration to locate the missing parents of more than 650 children still separated from their families despite another judge’s deadline for reunification last week.
A lawsuit filed by the cities of Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus alleges that Donald’s White House violated the U.S. Constitution with its deliberate undermining of the Affordable Care Act.
Thirty-six people whose visas have been denied or held in limbo have brought a lawsuit against the GOP administration—specifically naming Homeland Security head Kristjen Nelson and secretary of state Mike Pompeo—asking the administration to explain its alleged waiver process under Donald’s travel ban in the face of what seems to be denial and foot dragging in making exceptions for those in compelling circumstances.
A federal judge has denied Donny’s attempt to silence Michael Avenatti, Stephanie Clifford’s (Stormy Daniels) lawyer.
A federal Court of Appeals ruled that the mentally deranged dotard’s executive order to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities was unconstitutional.
A group of Democratic senators has asked the Pentagon to investigate reports that Don John offered tours of Air Force One to members of his golf clubs—a breach of federal ethics laws.
Republicans Reconsidering
Defense against conservative attacks on higher education came from an unlikely source this week—the Koch brothers network likened conservative smear campaigns and attacks on progressive professors to McCarthyism, and the Koch network recently granted $3.25 million to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which has been suing Trump to prevent him from blocking Twitter followers and trying to force the Justice Department to disclose secret legal memoranda.
The Kochs are actually quite vexed with Donald’s administration, and its “divisiveness” and “tremendous lack of leadership” is too much even for the Koch brothers, who are distancing themselves from the GOP and Donny and those who ally with him. Like the embarrassing impulse-control challenged two-year-old he is, Donald is lashing back, calling the Kochs “a total joke.”
Social and Civil Rights Advances
An appallingly sexist comment by a veteran judge yielded a rebuke from the U.S. Court of Appeals.
In the absence of action at the federal level or from the Supreme Court, a record number of states are introducing reform measures to combat partisan gerrymandering, creating independent commissions—not the governor or legislature—to draw up district voting maps that are equitable and fair, and an accurate representation of the state’s population.
In the face of White House attacks on unions, a group of workers exercised the power of organization. This hilarious video of a mass worker walkout at a UPS plant when employees claimed their supervisor made racist comments went viral—and clearly delighted the man who shot it.
In Austin, federal ICE officials dropped a request to detain a woman jailed two weeks ago for assault while she experiencing a mental heath crisis
Karma
Stating that it’s unable to procure general-liability insurance in connection with media liability insurance, the NRA says that it’s in deep financial jeopardy and may be “unable to exist.”
An activist published 11K messages between WikiLeaks and its supporters, showing that WikiLeaks wanted to help defeat Hillary Clinton and help the GOP.
Melania continues openly trolling her husband, this time issuing a public statement in support of LeBron James immediately after Donny tweeted an insult at the basketball star.
Your Feel-good Stories of the Week
An activist in Colorado found a striking way to draw attention to the Republican administration’s cozying up to our greatest geopolitical foe.
The Texas Trib asked readers for donations to raise $35K to hire reporters to cover border issues, particularly family separations; they got an outpouring of $60K, plus another $15K match from a charitable foundation.
The state of New Jersey is dedicating millions of dollars to help fill the gaps in community reporting left by the belt-tightening in the journalism field.
Remember Randall, of “honey badger don’t care” fame? He won a lawsuit defending his trademark of the phrase from his hilarious viral video. (And if you live in an egg and somehow missed his ingenious original video, please enjoy it.)
This happened Monday, and life was good.