Among its many other disturbing findings, Mueller’s report revealed a culture of mass chaos in Donny’s White House (WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN THAT), with a president exhorting aides and staff to blatantly break laws and democratic norms and a staff desperately ignoring his directives and trying to rein him in while Don John panicked, stating once the investigation started that his presidency was over and he was “fucked.” (Such a good little evangelical Christian, our potty-mouthed, thrice-married, pussy-grabbing, extramarital-porn-star-mistress-bribing president.) Sarah Sanders got outed by the report for blatantly lying (WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN THAT?) when she stated she’d been approached by “countless” FBI agents unhappy about the investigations. The truth turned out to be zero agents, Sanders admitting to Mueller she was entirely unable to substantiate her lie.
Regarding the report’s findings on Donny’s obstructions of justice, newsman Shepard Smith—of FOX, of all places—offers an excellent breakdown of what the redacted Mueller report does—and doesn’t—say.
The House in Da HOUSE
Don’t worry, y’all—Dems in the House are all the hell over it. Given the massive snow job the White House is trying to conduct about the report, abetted by the attorney general and most of FOX News, the House Judiciary Committee has petitioned the Justice Department for a full, unredacted copy of Mueller’s report.
House Democrats also issued a flurry of subpoenas related to investigations into Donald’s finances: the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for Trump’s personal and financial records. They also subpoenaed JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup for documents related to possible Russian money laundering, as well as five other financial institutions.
The House Judiciary Committee requested information about Trump’s reported offer to pardon the Customs and Border Protection Commissioner if he was sent to jail for blocking asylum seekers from entering the U.S.
Meanwhile, if you happen to know any of the type of GOP squawking about Dems’ continuing investigations into the report’s findings as if Democrats are a dog who won’t leave behind a bone, here is a fun game: Ask whether they might feel the same way if a special investigator’s report revealed that Russia influenced our elections deliberately to benefit Hillary Clinton, with her knowledge and welcoming of their efforts, and that she subsequently tried to block the investigation of same at least ten different legally questionable times, while lying repeatedly to the American public and directing her staff to break the law and lie. Oh—also ask them if that was how they felt during the two-and-a-half-year investigation into Benghazi that cost taxpayers more than $7 million and found zero indication that Hillary Clinton bore any personal responsibility or could have prevented the attack.
Republicans Against the Law
Y’all didn’t think a week would go by without some instance of the GOP transgressing against our laws, didja? A federal judge ruled late last week that Donny’s Interior Department acted illegally when it lifted Obama-era restrictions on coal-mining on public lands.
Social and Civil Rights Advances
Francis H. Arnold earned the Nobel Prize in chemistry, only the fifth woman ever to do so.
Arizona repealed an archaic law on the books banning the discussion of LGBTQ issues in health classes in schools, freeing teachers to actually educate students.
The Museum of Natural History in NYC canceled an event it was hosting for the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce honoring far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, after environmental groups—including the Brazilian environmental organization Observatório do Clima—protested the honoring of a leader who has been outspoken about his intentions to roll back environmental protections.
Tears continue in the evangelical fabric: Students at Taylor University, an evangelical school in Mike Pence’s hometown of Indiana, started a petition that has so far garnered more than 5,000 signatures to protest Pence’s being invited to speak at their commencement address. The petition states that the students object to inviting Pence because it makes them “complicit in the Trump-Pence Administration’s policies, which we believe are not consistent with the Christian ethic of love we hold dear.”
Your Feel-good Stories of the Week
Donald offered ridiculous advice to France for putting out the Notre Dame fire and was summarily Gallically mocked by a fire chief spokesperson for France’s civil defense organization.
In the wake of millions of dollars pouring in to rebuild Notre Dame, the tragedy and fund-raising brought new attention to the three black churches burned down in Louisiana by a white domestic terrorist: at last count a Go Fund Me account to benefit the churches has raised $1.8 million.
Feel free to widely share this illuminating video that juxtaposes the way FOX talking heads spoke of Obama versus their POV on Donny for the exact same issues.
Bernie Sanders spent an hour in a town hall format with FOX commentators and pretty much schooled them.
Michelle Obama burned Donald in the classiest of ways.