American Politics thread: No Nazis Allowed

[sgamer82]

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/10/01/day-620/

Day 620: A new dawn.

1/ The U.S., Mexico, and Canada reached a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, which will be known as the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement. Trump called the agreement "historic news," "an extraordinary agreement," and "a new dawn," claiming that it "solves the many deficiencies and mistakes in NAFTA" and that it's "the most important" trade deal ever agreed by the U.S. The new trade deal leaves much of the old NAFTA deal intact. Congressional approval, however, is uncertain if Democrats retake control of the House since Congress won't vote to ratify the agreement until 2019. The deal was reached with Canada shortly before a midnight Sunday deadline imposed by the Trump administration. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC / Politico / BBC)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/30/nafta-trade-canada-819081

2/ Trump said he supports a "very comprehensive" but "quick" FBI investigation into the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh as long as it's "within reason," because "we don't want to go on a witch hunt, do we?" Trump, the White House and Senate Republicans initially asked the bureau to limit interviews to four people: Mark Judge and P.J. Smyth, high school friends of Kavanaugh's; Leland Keyser, a high school friend of Christine Blasey Ford; and Deborah Ramirez, another of the accusers. The White House, however, has reportedly authorized the FBI to expand its investigation, which Trump wants completed by the end of the week. In a letter to the White House and FBI, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee listed more than two dozen people they wanted interviewed as part of the investigation. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / The Guardian)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/white-house-limits-scope-fbi-s-investigation-allegations-against-brett-n915061

3/ Sens. Jeff Flake and Chris Coons said that if the FBI investigation finds Kavanaugh lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee then his nomination would likely not move forward. During an interview, Flake and Coons were asked, "If Kavanaugh is shown to have lied to the committee, nomination's over?" Flake responded, "Oh yes." Coons added: "I would think so." (CNN / Washington Post)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/30/politics/flake-fbi-kavanaugh-investigation/index.html

One of Kavanaugh's Yale classmates issued a statement saying the Supreme Court nominee was not truthful about his drinking during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Chad Ludington claimed Kavanaugh made a "blatant mischaracterization" about his drinking while in college. (CNN / New York Times)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/01/politics/read-chad-ludington-statement-brett-kavanaugh/index.html

4/ Trump called the FBI investigation a "blessing in disguise," because "the FBI has a chance reveal a lot of different things," including who leaked the papers. Trump suggested it was Sen. Dianne Feinstein "Because certainly her body language was not exactly very good when they asked her that question." A reporter at The Intercept, who first broke the story about Ford's allegations, tweeted: "Feinstein's staff did not leak the letter to The Intercept." (NBC News / Axios)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-n915091

poll/ 48% of American voters say Kavanaugh should not be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, while 42% say he should be confirmed. 48% of voters believe Ford while 41% believe Kavanaugh. (Quinnipiac)

https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2574

Notables.
Hundreds of migrant children were moved from shelters in various states into a tent city in West Texas. The children were loaded onto buses in the middle of the night and moved from private shelters or foster homes to a camp in Tornillo, Texas. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/30/us/migrant-children-tent-city-texas.html

Devin Nunes' family dairy farm in California was actually secretly relocated to Iowa more than a decade ago and relies heavily on the work of undocumented immigrants. Nunes is the head of the House Intelligence Committee. (Esquire)

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23471864/devin-nunes-family-farm-iowa-california/

Secretary of Defense James Mattis canceled his trip to China for an annual security meeting after China refused a request by an American warship to make a port visit to Hong Kong in October. (CNBC / New York Times)

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/01/defense-secretary-james-mattis-cancels-trip-to-china.html

Trump to a female reporter: "You're not thinking. You never do." He then refused to let Cecilia Vega, ABC News, ask a question about the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh. During the press conference, Trump claimed the news media has treated him "unbelievably unfairly," saying "they're worse now than ever. They're loco." (Washington Post / Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/01/trump-reporter-insult-854870

[Jabberwok]

That Nunes Esquire article was a really interesting read! Good find.

[sgamer82]

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/10/02/day-621/

Day 621: Tired of winning.

1/ Paul Manafort met with Robert Mueller's office as part of his cooperation agreement. Following his guilty plea last month to conspiracy against the U.S. and conspiring to obstruct justice, Manafort is required to cooperate "fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly…in any and all matters as to which the government deems the cooperation relevant." (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/01/paul-manafort-meets-mueller-prosecutors-855388

2/ The intermediary between Roger Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Senate Intelligence Committee that he will plead the Fifth Amendment in response to its subpoena for testimony and documents. Randy Credico spent more than two hours last month testifying before Robert Mueller's grand jury about stolen Democratic emails. Stone, a longtime Trump adviser, said Credico was his intermediary to Assange and WikiLeaks. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/01/roger-stone-associate-senate-panel-855644

3/ Trump directed an effort to prevent Stormy Daniels from publishing a description of her alleged sexual encounter with him. In February, Trump instructed his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to seek a restraining order against Daniels through a confidential arbitration proceeding and to coordinate the legal response with his son, Eric Trump. Direct involvement by Trump and his son suggest that Trump's ties to his company continued into 2018, contradicting public statements made at the time by the Trump Organization, the White House, and Michael Cohen. (Wall Street Journal)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-directed-legal-action-to-enforce-stormy-danielss-hush-agreement-1538478000

4/ The Trump administration began denying visas to the unmarried same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and foreign staff working at the United Nations, making marriage a requirement for foreign couples to remain in the U.S. together. Diplomats with same-sex partners will have until the end of December to get married, or their partners will be sent home in January. Couples could be exposed to prosecution if they return to a country that criminalizes homosexuality or same-sex marriages. 12% of U.N. members states allow same-sex marriage. (Foreign Policy / USA Today / CNN / HuffPost)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/02/politics/same-sex-couples-diplomatic-visas/index.html

poll/ 49% of voters support the Democratic candidate in their local race for the U.S. House of Representatives while 42% support the Republican candidate. Overall, 50% of voters want Democrats to control the U.S. Senate. 53% of Americans disapprove of the job Trump is doing. (Quinnipiac)

https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2575

poll/ In the South, 48% of voters support the Republican congressional candidate over the Democratic candidate. 43% support the Democratic candidate. 52% of Southern voters approve the job Trump is doing, compared with 49% who disapprove. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/nbc-news-poll-south-leans-republican-midterms-n915486

bonus/ Trump: "THE ONLY REASON TO VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT IS IF YOU'RE TIRED OF WINNING!" Trump issued the all-caps message shortly before departing for an event in Philadelphia. (The Hill)

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/409474-trump-says-only-reason-to-vote-democrat-is-if-youre-tired-of-winning

Notables.

The White House corrected the official transcript from Trump's press conference in the Rose Garden to include his insult of a female reporter. The transcript initially showed Trump telling Cecilia Vega that she wasn't "thanking" him for calling on her. In reality, Trump told Vega that she was "not thinking. You never do." (Politico / CNN)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/02/white-house-trump-transcript-reporter-860406

The EPA proposed relaxing radiation exposure guidelines, saying it could have a "positive effect on human health." (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/6a573b6b020e453c90ecd5e84aa23f57

The Pentagon received two pieces of mail that tested positive for ricin, a highly toxic compound that causes nausea, vomiting and internal bleeding of the stomach and intestines, followed by failure of the liver, spleen and kidneys, and death by collapse of the circulatory system. The two envelopes were addressed to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and to Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson. All mail delivered to the Pentagon was put into quarantine. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/02/politics/pentagon-ricin-mail/index.html

The U.S. accused Russia of developing a banned cruise missile system that could allow Russia to launch a nuclear strike capable of hitting Europe or Alaska. The U.S. ambassador to NATO said Washington is committed to a diplomat solution but would consider a military strike if Russian continues development of the medium-range system continued. (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-russia/u-s-would-destroy-banned-russian-warheads-if-necessary-nato-envoy-idUSKCN1MC1J6

–--

Dept. of Kavanaugh.
Text messages between Brett Kavanaugh and a former classmate at Yale shows Kavanaugh and his team were working behind the scenes to refute Deborah Ramirez's allegations against him before they were made public. Kerry Berchem tried to get the text messages to the FBI so they can be reviewed as part of the new investigation, but has yet to be contacted by the FBI. The texts suggest that Kavanaugh was personally communicating with former classmates about the allegations before they were made public in a New Yorker article. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/mutual-friend-ramirez-kavanaugh-anxious-come-forward-evidence-n915566

As an undergraduate at Yale in 1985, Kavanaugh was involved in an altercation at a local bar and was accused of throwing ice at another patron. The incident led the New Haven Police Department to question Kavanaugh and four other men. Kavanaugh was not arrested in connection with the incident. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/us/politics/kavanaugh-bar-fight.html

Julie Swetnick, speaking publicly for the first time, said she was raped at a party that Kavanaugh and Mark Judge attended, but "cannot specifically say that he was one of the ones who assaulted me." Swetnick said Kavanaugh "was very aggressive — very sloppy drunk, very mean drunk. I saw him — go up to girls and paw on them, try to, you know, get a little too handsy, touching them in private parts. I saw him try to shift clothing." (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/kavanaugh-accuser-julie-swetnick-speaks-out-sexual-abuse-allegations-n915641

Republican Sen. Susan Collins called on the FBI to investigate Julie Swetnick's allegations against Kavanaugh as part of its probe. "Senator Collins was encouraged by the President’s statements that he would give the FBI agents the latitude they need to do their work," said a spokesperson for Sen. Collins. "It makes sense to start with the four named witnesses from the hearing and then the FBI can follow any leads that it believes need to be pursued, as Senators Flake, Murkowski, and Collins indicated at the time this agreement was made." (Portland Press Herald)

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/10/01/sen-collins-wants-swetnick-interviewed-as-part-of-broader-investigation-into-kavanaugh/

Two ethics complaints have been filed against Kavanaugh in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court on which he sits due to his partisan attacks against Democrats, "the Clintons" and other liberal groups during his testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. The complaints are being administered by Merrick Garland. (Law and Crime)

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/brett-kavanaugh-slapped-with-two-official-ethics-complaints-in-d-c-circuit-court/

Mitch McConnell: "We'll be voting this week." The Senate Majority Leader said "the time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close." (The Hill)

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/409340-mcconnell-senate-will-hold-kavanaugh-vote-this-week

[Kaiolino]

It is a day ending in -y and therefore the NYT is torching one of its own reporters again after a slew of bad faith right-wing tweeting. Such a good newspaper!

(A female reporter tweeted negatively about Kavanaugh in July and yesterday was one of the people who contributed to the UB40 story.)

(what do you say? All NYT reporters were very open about their disdain for Hillary Clinton throughout the 2016 election cycle? And nothing came of it?)

[tatermoog]

Meanwhile, the independent reporting wing of the NYT breaks another huge story and is both very explicit re: Trump's criminality–they refer to "tax fraud," which went through a lot of lawyers, I'm sure--and also critiques the Times's own coverage of it all at one point. There's usually a two-way newspaper split between editorial/opinion and news, but NYT lately seems to have a two-way split in the news between the "hard news" types--Susanne Craig, Lipton, etc.--and the "court politics" crew, led by Haberman and Schmidt. There's legit useful news coming out of both, but the former doesn't seem to give a shit about maintaining access, they'll just pursue other avenues.

Unrelated, but Avenatti really seems to be fucking this up.

[sgamer82]

@tatermoog:

Unrelated, but Avenatti really seems to be fucking this up.

How so?
–--
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/10/03/day-622/

Day 622: Appalling.

1/ The FBI is expected to wrap up its investigation into sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh today. Ford has not been interviewed by the FBI. Her attorneys have demanded that the FBI interview her and other witnesses to the alleged incidents. Agents completed a first batch of interviews of four individuals closest to the alleged events, including Mark Judge, and are now interviewing Tim Gaudette, a Georgetown Preparatory School classmate of Kavanaugh who lived in the home of the July 1, 1982, party. Another friend from Kavanaugh's high school days, Chris Garrett, has also completed an FBI interview. Mitch McConnell plans to vote later this week and has vowed that "only senators will be allowed to look at" the FBI's final report. (Politico / Washington Post)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/02/when-will-senate-vote-brett-kavanaugh-861232

2/ The FBI has not contacted at least 40 people who are potential corroborators or character witnesses about the allegations against Kavanaugh by Ford and Deborah Ramirez. Two sources, however, say more interviews are happening with a focus on Kavanaugh's high school friends who are listed as attending a July 1, 1982, party. (NBC News / CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/02/politics/fbi-investigation-ford-kavanaugh/index.html

Kavanaugh wrote a letter to his Georgetown Prep friends in 1983 and recommended that one of them "warn the neighbors that we're loud, obnoxious drunks with prolific pukers among us." Kavanaugh and his seven friends were staying in Ocean City, Maryland for "Beach Week." (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/brett-kavanaugh-georgetown-prep.html

3/ Trump repeatedly mocked Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, for not remembering certain details when she was questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee about the incident. "How did you get home?" Trump asked the crowd. "I don't remember. How'd you get there? I don't remember. Where is the place? I don't remember. How many years ago was it? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. What neighborhood was it in? I don't know. Where's the house? I don't know. Upstairs, downstairs, where was it? I don't know." (New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-mocks-christine-blasey-ford-mississippi-campaign-rally-n916061

Jeff Flake called Trump's ridicule "appalling," saying "there's no time and no place for remarks like that." Susan Collins added that "the president's comments were just plain wrong." (Washington Post / NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/democrats-denounce-trump-mocking-kavanaugh-accuser-ford-n916141

poll/ 41% of Americans oppose Kavanaugh's nomination, 33% support it, and 26% don't have an opinion. (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-kavanaugh-poll/opposition-to-kavanaugh-grows-after-senate-hearing-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKCN1MD27V

poll/ 56% of Republicans would still consider voting for a candidate accused of sexual harassment as long as they agreed with them on the issues. 81% of Democrats would "definitely not" vote for a candidate accused of sexual harassment. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/should-sex-harassment-charges-disqualify-political-candidate-56-percent-republicans-n916021

Notables.

International Court of Justice ruled that sanctions against Iran by the U.S. violated the Treaty of Amity, which was signed by both countries in 1955. The United Nations' highest court ordered the U.S. to ease sanctions on Iran and to not tamper with humanitarian aid efforts by using sanctions, which are due to increase significantly next month. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/03/iran-sanctions-lift-un-864134

In response, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. would cancel the treaty. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/world/middleeast/us-iran-sanctions-international-court.html

The White House called the article by The New York Times on Trump's exploitive use of tax schemes and fraud during the 1990s a "misleading attack" on the president's family. Sarah Huckabee Sanders then touted Trump's economic accomplishments. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father, helped his parents dodge taxes by setting up a "sham corporation" to take improper tax deductions, and helped undervalue their real estate holdings. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/02/nyt-report-trump-taxes-863145

Expect a text message from Trump this afternoon. The first nationwide test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System is scheduled for 2:18 p.m. ET today. "Presidential Alert," the text will read. "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/politics/cellphone-federal-emergency-alert-system-test/index.html

The history of the Presidential Alert system. (Wired)

https://www.wired.com/story/presidential-text-alert-fema-emergency-history/

[Robby]

@tatermoog:

Unrelated, but Avenatti really seems to be fucking this up.

Because the GOP is refusing to even look at his clients?
Because they want Kavanaugh to go through so Trump can pardon them all and keep them from going to jail?

The dude has made public his emails and correspondence. It's not on him. They would refuse any lawyer with more evidence at this point.

[Kaiolino]

https://twitter.com/justinlevitt/status/1047543133657939968

Young millenials still allergic to voting.

[sgamer82]

@Kaiolino:

https://twitter.com/justinlevitt/status/1047543133657939968

Young millenials still allergic to voting.

On the flip side, a record 800,000 people registered to vote in a single day

https://cnn.it/2IyMTSf

2018's National Voter Registration Day broke its previous record of 771,321 new registered voters last week, as more than 800,000 people registered in preparation for the midterms.
"No one in our shop anticipated us crossing the 800,000-voter registration mark," said Brian Miller, executive director of Nonprofit VOTE, who coordinates National Voter Registration Day.
The initial goal was 300,000 registered voters, so the extra 500,000 voters came as a surprise to organizers.
Presidential elections typically are the most popular time to register to vote, but Miller credited the recent energy surrounding politics as a reason for the uptick.

[maxterdexter]

@Kaiolino:

https://twitter.com/justinlevitt/status/1047543133657939968

Young millenials still allergic to voting.

It is that both sides, the one that is willing to compromise, and the one who is tearing the fabric of society, are equally bad!

[Envy]

I'd like to see the statistics on how many people who take this "both sides are equally evil" stance and refuse to vote or do vote third party are liberal-minded people vs conservative-minded people. I have friends who are very liberal-minded who are so adamant that them voting third party hurts absolutely nothing. sigh

[Green_vs_Red]

@Robby:

Because the GOP is refusing to even look at his clients?
Because they want Kavanaugh to go through so Trump can pardon them all and keep them from going to jail?

The dude has made public his emails and correspondence. It's not on him. They would refuse any lawyer with more evidence at this point.

And it's not even just his clients that are being swept under the rug either the FBI hasn't been listening to or trying to listen to anyone whose offered to come forward.

It's some shady shit that's on the hands of Trump loyalists who don't seem to understand how damning and stupid this looks.

[Kaiolino]

Pretty shocked that the 48-hour FBI investigation where nobody was interviewed turned up nothing.

[Robby]

They turned away and refused to take testimony from at least 40 separate witnesses. This is a complete sham.

[sgamer82]

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/10/04/day-623/

Day 623: Unfathomable.

1/ The White House received the FBI's report on Brett Kavanaugh and said it's "fully confident" he will be confirmed by the Senate. The White House said it found no evidence in the FBI report corroborating Christine Blasey Ford's allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Mitch McConnell scheduled a procedural vote for Friday. If the motion passes, Senators will have 30 hours to debate Kavanaugh's confirmation before making the final decision. (Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/mcconnell-sets-vote-friday-move-kavanaugh-confirmation-forward-n916491

More than 1,700 law professors signed onto a letter opposing Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. The letter to the Senate says "the unprecedented and unfathomable demeanor of Judge Kavanaugh" during his hearing last week displayed a lack of judicial restraint and should disqualify him from serving on the nation's highest court. (Politico / Washington Post)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/03/kavanaugh-confirmation-temperament-law-professors-868125

A group of 100,000 Christian churches called for Kavanaugh's nomination to be withdrawn, saying he "exhibited extreme partisan bias and disrespect towards certain members of the committee and thereby demonstrated that he possesses neither the temperament nor the character essential for a member of the highest court in our nation." The National Council of Churches represents 45 million churchgoers in the U.S. (Fortune)

http://fortune.com/2018/10/03/national-council-of-churches-demands-kavanaugh-withdraw/

A former Kavanaugh classmate at Yale said the Supreme Court nominee lied under oath about his drinking and the meaning of his yearbook entries. "Brett Kavanaugh stood up under oath and lied about his drinking and about the meaning of words in his yearbook," writes James Roche. "He did so baldly, without hesitation or reservation." Roche said there is "zero chance" that Deborah Ramirez made up her accusation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party. He also said Kavanaugh lied about never blacking out from drinking, and about the definition of the word "boofing." (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/politics/yale-roommate-kavanaugh-cnntv/index.html

2/ Sens. Susan Collins and Jeff Flake called the FBI report "reassuring" and "thorough," adding that they see "no additional corroborating information" to back up Ford's allegations. Democrats called the report "incomplete," saying the FBI – at the White House's direction – limited the investigation to protect Kavanaugh. The two Republican senators said they are still undecided about how to vote, but a "yes" vote from both would secure Kavanaugh's seat on the Supreme Court. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/grassley-says-new-fbi-report-kavanaugh-includes-no-new-info-n916601

48 Senators publicly support Kavanaugh's nomination – all Republicans. There are three undecided Republicans – Collins, Flake, and Lisa Murkowski – and one undecided Democrat – Joe Manchin. Kavanaugh needs to pick up at least two of those four votes to advance. Heidi Heitkamp said she will vote "no" on Kavanaugh's nomination. (Politico / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-kavanaugh-heitkamp/democratic-senator-heitkamp-a-no-on-kavanaugh-nomination-idUSKCN1ME2ED

3/ There is a single copy of the FBI's findings available to Senators to review in a vault in the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. The report cannot leave the room, Senators can't bring their phones into the SCIF, and if they take notes, the notes must be left in the room when they leave. All 100 senators, four majority committee staffers, four minority committee staffers, and one committee clerk are cleared to view the report. Sen. Dick Durbin called the process "bizarre," although it's a standard process for FBI background reports. This FBI report will likely never be made public. (CNN / MSNBC / Business Insider)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/04/politics/senator-fbi-report-review/index.html

Notables.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protective Status for more than 300,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. The judge ruled that those TPS recipients and their children would "indisputably" face "irreparable harm and great hardship" if they were to lose protected status. (Politico / New York Times / CNN / NBC News)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/03/immigrants-protections-trump-legal-868126

The Justice Department indicted seven Russian military intelligence officials for trying to hack anti-doping agencies in the U.S., Canada and Europe, which exposed Russia's state-sponsored doping scheme that resulted in the country's athletes being banned from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. (New York Times / CNBC / CNN / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-cyber/u-s-indicts-russians-in-hacking-of-nuclear-company-westinghouse-idUSKCN1ME1U6

A Russian official linked to the lawyer who met senior Trump campaign officials at Trump Tower in 2016 died in a helicopter crash outside of Moscow. Russian Deputy Attorney General Saak Albertovich Karapetyan was linked to Natalia Veselnitskaya in a Swiss court case earlier this year for running a foreign recruitment operation that involved bribery, corruption, and double-agents. It's unclear why Karapetyan and two others took off after nightfall in adverse conditions. (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-official-linked-to-natalia-veselnitskaya-the-trump-tower-lawyer-is-dead

Robert Mueller's team has gained possession of radio interviews between Roger Stone and radio host Randy Credico, who Stone claimed was his back channel to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The radio interviews took place between August 2016 and April 2017 on local New York station WBAI. Credico has denied Stone's claim that he was the intermediary between Stone and Assange. Mueller is investigating Stone's possible involvement in Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/politics/kfile-roger-stone-randy-credico-special-counsel/index.html

[Kaiolino]

They're blaming liberals for pushing it because conservatives are soulless ghouls, but it is of course quite telling that both Trump and the GOP's prospects have been the best in months because they united behind drunken sex creep.

[Satsuki]

It's hard to put this in words now. I just want to hit stuff.

[Badass SnoCone]

@Kaiolino:

Pretty shocked that the 48-hour FBI investigation where nobody was interviewed turned up nothing.

My initial reaction to this news was to wonder why conservatives wanted THIS man so desperately and not any other a-hole they have on their list- where you could "throw a dart" and hit a great pick. (https://qz.com/1317761/some-of-trumps-supreme-court-picks-could-last-for-40-years/)

But it's painfully obvious now that this isn't about Kavanaugh being the absolute best pick in their eyes- it's about getting a Republican– any Republican-- in as quickly as possible and not "losing" to any of these "liberal setbacks" (like sexual assault trials and FBI investigations). It's not about who they think is actually good for the job- but about achieving another victory for the party and it's disgusting.

[Kaiolino]

@Badass:

My initial reaction to this news was to wonder why conservatives wanted THIS man so desperately and not any other a-hole they have on their list- where you could "throw a dart" and hit a great pick. (https://qz.com/1317761/some-of-trumps-supreme-court-picks-could-last-for-40-years/)

But it's painfully obvious now that this isn't about Kavanaugh being the absolute best pick in their eyes- it's about getting a Republican– any Republican-- in as quickly as possible and not "losing" to any of these "liberal setbacks" (like sexual assault trials and FBI investigations). It's not about who they think is actually good for the job- but about achieving another victory for the party and it's disgusting.

Right, it's A) about owning the libs (a rapist on the SC will trigger them harder than anything else), and B) Kavanaugh thinks Republican presidents can't be indicted.

Anyway, Moderate Sue is voting YES on Kavanaugh: https://twitter.com/kasie/status/1048217776710721536

[Badass SnoCone]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/05/politics/kavanaugh-nomination-vote-friday/index.html

Welp. Can't say I'm shocked, just disappointed.

On a slightly different note, I found this article interesting and thought I'd share it here. It talks about how people on both sides of the political divide feel like "strangers in their own land" now and how that mentality has shifted since Trump entered office.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/upshot/estranged-america-trump-polarization.html?emc=edit_nn_20181005&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=7871708320181005&te=1 EDIT: However, my curiosity is leading me to question exactly WHY many republicans felt so estranged prior to Trump's election- they did, obviously, which is what ultimately contributed to his victory (among other tampering). Is it really, as the article above suggests, related to the the loss of religious and "traditional" family values in America? I can't quite understand how that's such a horrible thing, but perhaps I'm biased.

[Cyan D. Funk]

It's because there's more foreign brown people around.

[Ubiq]

Republicans felt estranged because the country elected a black guy.

[Badass SnoCone]

@Ubiq:

Republicans felt estranged because the country elected a black guy.

@Cyan:

It's because there's more foreign brown people around.

I suppose I was hoping it was more than that, but maybe I'm giving them too much credit.

[Kaiolino]

Susan Collins is a gender traitor.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

I was expecting her to sell out but not that she'd go Full Lindsey Graham while doing it.

[Johnny B. Decent]

@Cyan:

It's because there's more foreign brown people around.

It's a shame the acronym The "Rich, White, Old Christian Men Only Club" doesn't roll off the the tongue.

[Ubiq]

Susie Sellout was a yes from the start but too much of a coward to ever say otherwise.

[sgamer82]

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/10/05/day-624/

Day 624: A mistake.

1/ The Senate voted 51-49 to advance Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination. Republican Lisa Murkowski voted not to advance the nomination. She called the cloture vote "a mistake" and that Kavanaugh is "not the best man for the court at this time." Democrat Joe Manchin voted in favor. Confirmation is not assured as Sens. Susan Collins, Murkowski, and Manchin could vote differently during Saturday's final confirmation vote. Flake told reporters he would support Kavanaugh on the final vote, "unless something big changes." (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/05/kavanaugh-votes-confirmed-872713

How senators voted. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/brett-kavanaugh-senate-cloture-vote-count/

LIVE UPDATES: The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / CNN / CBS News

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-oct-18/index.html

2/ Susan Collins is expected to announce her decision on Kavanaugh's nomination at 3 p.m. ET today. Sarah Sanders said she thinks "we should" have the Senate votes needed to confirm Kavanaugh. (CNN / CBS News)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/05/politics/collins-kavanaugh-vote-nomination-announcement/index.html

Mitch McConnell said is "optimistic" after having lunch with Collins and GOP leadership. (The Hill)

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/410132-mcconnell-optimistic-about-kavanaugh-vote-after-lunch-with-collins

3/ Kavanaugh wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal arguing that he is an "independent, impartial judge" who "might have been too emotional" during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. (Wall Street Journal)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/i-am-an-independent-impartial-judge-1538695822

The American Bar Association is re-evaluating Kavanaugh's "well-qualified" rating. In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the ABA referred to "new information of a material nature regarding temperament" stemming from Kavanaugh's hearing. (Business Insider)

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-american-bar-association-reevaluating-kavanaugh-well-qualified-rating-2018-10

4/ Trump mocked former Senator Al Franken for folding "like a wet rag" and resigning following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct last year. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/us/politics/trump-al-franken-minnesota.html

[Kaiolino]

I was wondering why there was a piece of coal lying behind Collins' skirt but it was actually just Joe Manchin.

[Cyan D. Funk]

Manchin's made it clear that he would only vote no if there were 50 other no votes and clearly there aren't because fuck Collins and fuck Flake.

[sgamer82]

@Cyan:

Manchin's made it clear that he would only vote no if there were 50 other no votes and clearly there aren't because fuck Collins and fuck Flake.

I've heard that's Manchin's M.O. He'll vote Republican if it won't actually affect the outcome. That said he's the decider this time and the fact he voted yes now, when the worst that would have happened is a tie breaker from Pence, falls into that, but still does not bode well for tomorrow.

[Zack]

@Cyan:

Manchin's made it clear that he would only vote no if there were 50 other no votes and clearly there aren't because fuck Collins and fuck Flake.

Yeah. I'm honestly getting tired of the 'coward' insult for senators. They do what's best for them. Collins is almost certainly retiring to a nice and cushy lobbying position, so she's voting for Kav. Manchin wouldn't be the deciding vote, but he's voting for Kav because it increases his chances of getting re-elected this year.

@sgamer82:

I've heard that's Manchin's M.O. He'll vote Republican if it won't actually affect the outcome. That said he's the decider this time and the fact he voted yes now, when the worst that would have happened is a tie breaker from Pence, falls into that, but still does not bode well for tomorrow.

Manchin isn't the decider. Collins is.

[Cyan D. Funk]

We should count ourselves extremely lucky that Manchin acts on his Blue Dog instincts when it won't matter.

The man is one of the most strategically important figures in American politics right now and West Virginia will only replace him with someone actually evil.

[Kaiolino]

https://www.vox.com/2018/10/5/17941312/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-legitimacy

I reiterate:

@Kaiolino:

Abolish the Supreme Court.

[sgamer82]

That ain't happening, what with its existence written right into our Constitution.

[onemoment]

November can't come fast enough.

[sgamer82]

@Zack:

Manchin isn't the decider. Collins is.

I've been hearing that there'll be a Republican Senator who might miss the vote because of his daughter's wedding (though that's assuming he doesn't opt to come back just for the vote). That makes it 99 Senators to vote for Kavanaugh, all but two voting on party lines and one (Murkowski) a firm "No". That makes Manchin the decider unless Daines returns, in which case Daines is the decider.

[Kaiolino]

@onemoment:

November can't come fast enough.

Might be for the best that elections won't be for another month. Kavanaugh rallied the conservatives and blew a hole in Democrats' midterm prospects, but their resentment and motivation will have dissipated once he's properly seated. Meanwhile, liberal anger will remain high*.

*presumably. The pussytape actually happened LATER in the 2016 cycle (October 7) and we all know how little that ended up doing.

[sgamer82]

@Kaiolino:

Might be for the best that elections won't be for another month. Kavanaugh rallied the conservatives and blew a hole in Democrats' midterm prospects, but their resentment and motivation will have dissipated once he's properly seated. Meanwhile, liberal anger will remain high*.

*presumably. The pussytape actually happened LATER in the 2016 cycle (October 7) and we all know how little that ended up doing.

I daresay the pussy tape was offset by the FBI's "We're reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton a week before the election" antics.

[Cyan D. Funk]

@Kaiolino:

*presumably. The pussytape actually happened LATER in the 2016 cycle (October 7) and we all know how little that ended up doing.

So long as James Comey, Man of Great Non Partisan Integritude, doesn't release another letter saying GOSH OH GOLLY THAT HILLARY CLINTON SURE IS SHIFTY HUH, we're in the clear.

[Kaiolino]

@Cyan:

So long as James Comey, Man of Great Non Partisan Integritude, doesn't release another letter saying GOSH OH GOLLY THAT HILLARY CLINTON SURE IS SHIFTY HUH, we're in the clear.

Yeah, the FBI is now led by a guy who swore personal loyalty to Trump, cleansed the agency of undesirables and just finished a sham investigation. I’m sure there won’t be a convenient bombshell dropped in late October this time.

[Johnny B. Decent]

It's like, people know the American government is vastly corrupt, but it's so infuriating how utterly blatant and vile it is nowadays. Like Trump doesn't even pretend like he's putting this stooge up as a justice just to save his ass.

[Green_vs_Red]

@S.C.:

It's like, people know the American government is vastly corrupt,

Half know it's corrupt, half think it's corrupt only under specific circumstances, and a few don't care either way because they're more concerned with other less important and more stupid things.

@S.C.:

Like Trump doesn't even pretend like he's putting this stooge up as a justice just to save his ass.

And yet he's (somehow) less offensive than the thousands of bullshit artists pretending that Merrick Garland wasn't fucked on and that what's happening to Kavanaugh is unprecendented (somehow and comically also forgetting Clarence Thomas).

@Kaiolino:

Yeah, the FBI is now led by a guy who swore personal loyalty to Trump, cleansed the agency of undesirables and just finished a sham investigation.

One that Don McGahn played a role in to ensure it was as much of a sham as possible.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/10/white-house-counsel-don-mcgahn-stopped-fbi-full-kavanaugh-investigation-even-trump-okd-report/

[sgamer82]

Just got a notification from Reuters. Sounds like the confirmation vote is underway and he's been confirmed.

No word yet on how the votes shook out.

[onemoment]

Trump says GOP Sen. Murkowski ‘will never recover’ for voting ‘no’ on Kavanaugh

One annoying thing in all this, is Trump thinks this No vote will cost Murkowski her seat in 2022. Who's going to even remember this, when I doubt Trump will even be in office in 2020. Heck, he might not even be alive in 2022 (wishful thinking, maybe).

[Bigivel]

LOL … MAGA

Two Mandates, Two Scoops, Two Supreme Justices.

[Icefae]

MAGA indeed… this doesn't surprise anyone but it's depressing to see nonetheless. A part of me is still expecting democrats to somehow lose in November, in which case I will probably just check out of all American politics forever for my own sanity.

My libtard cuck shill tears aside, the allegations will further empower the left to vote in November, but the whole experience gives Republicans a platform to preach that "liberals can dig up anything that happened in your past and try to defame you, nothing is safe, etc", effectively making this whole thing an "issue of privacy". And there's a good chance that like everything else, the very gullible republican voters will actually believe that.

[Green_vs_Red]

The same Republicans were okay with digging up Obama's past with regards to him going to Jeremiah Wright's church, digging up Hillary Clinton laughing at a rape victim (which of course she didn't do), constantly digging up Bill getting it on with Lewinski, citing the racism of the southern democractic party (which they erroroneusly attribute to the whole party), citing the past criminal records of black people who get shot by police officers etc

Someone needs to call them out on the selective wayback bias.

[Satsuki]

People have called them out consistently. They just aren't listened to.

[Robby]

@onemoment:

November can't come fast enough.

Unfortunately, even a big turnover in November is too late now. Conservatives now control the supreme court, and they've appointed a toooon of unqualified judges at lower levels. And the SC is having a hearing on if the president should have full pardon power over the state level this month (which is the real reason they were so desperate to get Kavanaugh through. ) Trump is going to literally be above the law in a couple weeks, able to pardon anyone, midterms be damned.

What's having a check and balance now for the next two years, when the big harm has now been decided for the next 30 years?

And even scarier, even though all signs point to it happening, what if there ISN'T a bluewave? What if the gerrymandering and voter tampering and russian interferance… keep things where they are unchecked? We expected a blue wave in 2016 too and it didn't happen.

If we can at least get a 51-49 majority that'll be SOMETHING. McConnell won't be in control anymore. But I'm scared not even that will happen.

[onemoment]

@Robby:

Unfortunately, even a big turnover in November is too late now. Conservatives now control the supreme court, and they've appointed a toooon of unqualified judges at lower levels. And the SC is having a hearing on if the president should have full pardon power over the state level this month (which is the real reason they were so desperate to get Kavanaugh through. ) Trump is going to literally be above the law in a couple weeks, able to pardon anyone, midterms be damned.

What's having a check and balance now for the next two years, when the big harm has now been decided for the next 30 years?

And even scarier, even though all signs point to it happening, what if there ISN'T a bluewave? What if the gerrymandering and voter tampering and russian interferance… keep things where they are unchecked? We expected a blue wave in 2016 too and it didn't happen.

If we can at least get a 51-49 majority that'll be SOMETHING. McConnell won't be in control anymore. But I'm scared not even that will happen.

Why the Big Double Jeopardy Supreme Court Case Isn’t a Threat to the Mueller Probe

Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, pardons, the Supreme Court, and Gamble v. United States

That's heavy, but I can at least add that I'v seen two articles suggesting that even if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gamble, at the very least it wouldn't affect the big players in the Mueller case. For what that's worth.