I'm forced to agree, here. Much as I personally loathe the "THEIR SIDE BAD!!!!!" brand of politics we have today, the Republican party as it currently exists is objectively the less competent and trustworthy of the two parties whose policies deserve to be opposed at every turn.
This is sadly true, I suppose. I just try to think of the conservatives I do know who are actually really nice people.
The DNC has announced the list of candidates qualifying for the first debates.
Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado
Former Vice President Joe Biden*
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey*
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg*
Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro*
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii*
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York*
Sen. Kamala Harris of California*
Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington*
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota*
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas*
Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont*
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts*
Author Marianne Williamson*
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang*
They've increased the donor and poll threshold from here on out so this might be a one-and-done for several of these. The asterisk means that they met both standards for inclusion.
Those not meeting the requirements include: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Mayor Wayne Messam (Miramar, Florida); and Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. Plus the teenagers that are doing the Weekend At Bernie's thing with Mike Gravel.
Complicating things since 2009.
The DNC has announced the list of candidates qualifying for the first debates.
The DNC has helpfully provided a song to help remember how many candidates are running.
Howard Schultz is, of course, a late seasons Digimon.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/13/day-875/
Day 875: The green light
1/ Trump admitted that he'd "want to hear" from foreign governments with damaging information about his political opponents. Trump claimed "there isn't anything wrong with listening" to a foreign government if they contacted him and said "we have information on your opponent." Trump also rejected the notion that accepting damaging information from a foreign government would constitute election interference, saying "It's not an interference, they have information – I think I'd take it." FBI Director Christopher Wray during congressional testimony last month told lawmakers that "the FBI would want to know about" any foreign election meddling. Trump, however, said he might alert the FBI "if I thought there was something wrong," but then said "The FBI director is wrong, because frankly it doesn't happen like that in life." (ABC News / Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg)
https://apnews.com/4f12f64313cf4fdcb7cb55d7f24a3e9e
Putin: Relations between Moscow and Washington "are going downhill, they are getting worse and worse." (Reuters)
2/ Nancy Pelosi: "Everybody in the country should be totally appalled" by Trump's comments and that he "gave us evidence once again he does not know right from wrong." Pelosi added that Trump is giving Russia "the green light" to again interfere in the presidential election. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, meanwhile, called Trump's remarks "disgraceful" and "shocking," saying that "it's as if the president had learned absolutely nothing in the past two years" from Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. (Washington Post / Associated Press / ABC News / CNBC / CNN / Wall Street Journal)
https://www.apnews.com/4f12f64313cf4fdcb7cb55d7f24a3e9e
More than a dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates rebuked Trump after he admitted he would consider taking information on his political opponents from a foreign government. Many renewed calls for impeachment while also voicing new concerns about the security of American elections. (Washington Post)
3/ Trump tried to defend and recast his comments about accepting information about his rivals from foreign governments, tweeting that he talks to foreign leaders every day and asking: "Should I immediately call the FBI about these calls and meetings? How ridiculous!" Trump then argued that his comments were taken out of context, claiming that his "full answer is rarely played by the Fake News Media" and that "They purposely leave out the part that matters." He did not offer evidence to support the claim. (Politico / HuffPost)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/13/trump-tweet-interference-1363403
4/ The Justice Department plans to interview senior CIA officials about the origins of its Russia investigation and their conclusion that Putin ordered an influence campaign that "aspired to help" Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton. Attorney General William Barr previously said he wanted to review why the FBI opened the counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign in order to determine whether law enforcement officials abused their power. (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/us/politics/russia-investigation-cia.html
5/ Sarah Huckabee Sanders resigned and will leave the White House at the end of the month. Sanders has not held a press briefing for a record 94 days. (Politico / NBC News / CNN / The Guardian / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/13/sarah-sanders-to-leave-white-house-1364563
6/ A federal watchdog agency recommended that Kellyanne Conway "immediately" be "removed from service," citing repeated violations of the Hatch Act, which bans federal employees from political activity. The Office of Special Counsel – unrelated to Mueller's office – said Conway has been a "repeat offender" by "disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media." The decision to remove Conway is up to Trump. (Washington Post / Politico / ABC News / New York Times / Axios / Reuters / Associated Press / The Hill / The Guardian)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-conway-idUSKCN1TE2FI
7/ The House Intelligence Committee issued subpoenas to Michael Flynn and Rick Gates. The committee is demanding that Flynn and Gates provide documents by June 26 and testify before the committee on July 10. Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the committee issued the subpoenas after both "refused to fully cooperate with Congress." Flynn and Gates both pleaded guilty and cooperated in Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. (New York Times / CNN / Politico / Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congress-subpoenas-idUSKCN1TE1UV
Trump approves of Flynn's new lawyer, saying his former national security adviser "has not retained a good lawyer, he has retained a GREAT LAWYER." Sidney Powell previously accused the FBI of spying on Flynn as part of a "setup," arguing that Flynn should withdraw his guilty plea and that his case should be dismissed. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/13/trump-michael-flynn-lawyer-1363094
Notables
Trump Jr. indicated that he plans to campaign against Justin Amash, the only Republican congressman who has called for Trump's impeachment. (CNBC / Washington Post)
Two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman were attacked as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. The attack comes a month after four tankers were damaged in the same area. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, said intelligence showed that Iran was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers. While Pompeo didn't present any evidence, he called the sabotage against the tankers the latest in a series of "unprovoked attacks [that] present a clear threat to international peace and security." (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg)
https://apnews.com/d67714ab8ac344a3b3af19cca1c20192
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney used his position to push for the nomination of a federal judge over the objection of White House lawyers. Mulvaney repeatedly pushed Don McGahn to nominate Halil Suleyman Ozerden to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mulvaney was a groomsman at Ozerden's wedding in 2003. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/13/mulvaney-halil-suleyman-fifth-circuit-1362794
Trump still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in security fees to at least ten U.S. cities. The Trump campaign has failed to reimburse the cities for public-safety costs associated with his presidential and campaign rallies. The total bill currently sits at $841,219 and includes invoices that date back to before Trump was elected in 2016. (Center for Public Integrity / The Hill / NBC News)
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/448323-10-cities-say-trump-owes-them-money-from-rally-security
Trump revealed images of Air Force One's proposed redesign, which features a color scheme similar to his own private jet. The two new planes will cost $3.9 billion, but won't be ready for takeoff until 2024. (ABC News / Washington Post)
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/17/day-789/
Day 879: True cowards
1/ The Supreme Court ruled that criminal defendants may be prosecuted for the same offenses in both federal and state court without running afoul to the Constitution's double jeopardy clause. The ruling could impact Trump's pardon power – which only extends only to federal crimes – by leaving people he pardons subject to state prosecutions. Paul Manafort, for example, is facing charges in New York similar to the federal charges for which he has been tried. A presidential pardon could free Manafort from federal prison, but it would not protect him from being prosecuted in New York. (New York Times / NBC News / CNN / USA Today)
2/ U.S. Cyber Command hacked and deployed malware inside Russia's power grid that could be used for surveillance or attack – without Trump's knowledge. Pentagon and intelligence officials reportedly did not brief Trump due to concerns that he might countermand it or discuss it with foreign officials. The actions were taken under a new set of legal authorities granted to U.S. Cyber Command by Congress last year, which allows the routine use of "clandestine military activity" in cyberspace without requiring presidential approval in order to "deter, safeguard or defend against attacks or malicious cyberactivities against the United States." Officials at the National Security Council declined to comment about how deep into the Russian grid the U.S. had accessed, but said they had no national security concerns about the details of reporting about the targeting of the Russian grid. (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/us/politics/trump-cyber-russia-grid.html
[emoji419] Day 571: Trump signed defense legislation named after John McCain but didn't mention the Senator's name during the ceremony. Trump praised the U.S. military and took credit for the $716 billion defense bill, which represents a $16 billion increase in authorized funding for the Pentagon over the current year. The bill is formally named the "John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2019." (Bloomberg / Washington Post)
3/ Trump accused The New York Times of committing a "virtual act of treason" for reporting that the U.S. had increased its cyberattacks on Russia, which were meant to deter future cyber activity by Moscow. In a separate tweet, Trump claimed that the story was "NOT TRUE!" and characterized the journalists as "true cowards." The New York Times' responded to Trump's tweet, calling the accusation "dangerous" and noting that the paper reached out to the administration for comment on the story, but Trump's own officials said they had "no concerns" about the story. (Associated Press / NBC News / The Hill)
https://www.apnews.com/ed30a98cafa94ecab4e540ffbd16a385
The Kremlin warned of a possible cyberwar with the U.S. for hacking into Russia's electric power grid. (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/world/europe/russia-us-cyberwar-grid.html
4/ Trump's re-election campaign fired several pollsters after leaked internal polling showed he trailed Joe Biden in 11 battleground states. Trump denied the existence of any negative polling last week, calling them "fake polls" and claiming "we are winning in every single state that we've polled." The campaign fired Brett Lloyd, Mike Baselice and Adam Geller. Lloyd is the head of the Polling Company, a firm started by Kellyanne Conway in 1995. (CNN / Politico / New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / ABC News)
poll/ 27% of Americans say there's enough evidence to begin impeachment hearings now — up 10 points from last month. 24% think Congress should continue investigating to see if there's enough evidence to hold impeachment hearings in the future, while 48% believe that Congress should not hold impeachment hearings and that Trump should finish out his term as president. (NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
poll/ 50% of Americans believe the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia — up six points over the last three months — compared to 44% who do not believe there was coordination. (Fox News)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-voters-doubt-impeachment-will-happen
poll/ 50% of Americans say enforcement of immigration laws has "gone too far." 24% say actions haven't gone far enough. (Bloomberg)
Notables
Trump suggested his supporters might "demand that I stay longer" than two terms as president. "At the end of 6 years," Trump tweeted, "after America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT), both of these horrible papers will quickly go out of business & be forever gone!" The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits the presidency to two terms. In April, Trump told a crowd that he might remain in office "at least for 10 or 14 years." And, last year Trump joked about doing away with term limits entirely, praising Xi Jinping for doing so in China. (Washington Post / The Independent)
The Supreme Court ruled that the legislative districts in Virginia that it previously said were racially gerrymandered have to remain in their redrawn form. The Republican-led Virginia House of Delegates attempted to challenge a lower court opinion that struck several district maps as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The justices found that House Republicans did not have legal standing to challenge the decision. (NPR / Washington Post / CNN / The Hill)
Congressional leaders from both parties will meet this week in an attempt to reach a deal to avoid tens of billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts this fall. Neither side says they are close to reaching an agreement at the moment, and Republicans have acknowledged that they're even having trouble finding a common position with the White House. At stake is $125 billion in automatic, mandatory spending cuts to the Pentagon and domestic spending unless a deal is reached to increase those limits. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/16/white-house-congress-leaders-spending-deal-1365905
The State Department will cut off all foreign aid to Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador until the countries take "concrete actions to reduce the number of illegal migrants coming to the U.S. border." (Axios)
Trump directed all agencies to cut their advisory boards by "at least" one third. Agencies have until Sept. 30 to "evaluate the need" for each of their current advisory committees and reduce them by one-third. (The Hill)
Waldorf: You know Statler, after watching the last one thousand episodes of One Piece, I think I've come to a conclusion.
Statler: No you haven't.
Both: DOHOHOHOHOHO!
Notables
Trump suggested his supporters might "demand that I stay longer" than two terms as president. "At the end of 6 years," Trump tweeted, "after America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT), both of these horrible papers will quickly go out of business & be forever gone!" The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits the presidency to two terms. In April, Trump told a crowd that he might remain in office "at least for 10 or 14 years." And, last year Trump joked about doing away with term limits entirely, praising Xi Jinping for doing so in China. (Washington Post / The Independent)
This guy is such an idiot. We all know that, but it's like every day it's hammered into our heads even harder.
Just keep the burgers flowing.
God, he's such an arrogant asshole.
I thought Trump hated China.
I thought Trump hated China.
He likes it's dictatorship and wishes he had one just like it.
He only doesn't want China to outdo his own country because he hates to lose.
He likes their money.
Trump is so fucking New York. All he does is talk shit day in and day out… but he's the president. It's absurd.
Check out my podcast for conversations about Greatness in anime, sports, music, and whatever else we can think of.
Trump is so fucking New York. All he does is talk shit day in and day out… but he's the president. It's absurd.
I'm not sure that's a fair comparison, and not just because comparing Trump to anything is an automatic insult to whatever he's being compared to. It seems unfair given the New York Attorney General is one of the primary people investigating Trump right now, so his own state is one of the biggest thorns in his side… Probably precisely because they know the man.
Waldorf: You know Statler, after watching the last one thousand episodes of One Piece, I think I've come to a conclusion.
Statler: No you haven't.
Both: DOHOHOHOHOHO!
I'm not sure that's a fair comparison, and not just because comparing Trump to anything is an automatic insult to whatever he's being compared to. It seems unfair given the New York Attorney General is one of the primary people investigating Trump right now, so his own state is one of the biggest thorns in his side… Probably precisely because they know the man.
Fair enough, and I think you're right.
I appreciate the defense of New York. Anyone with sense in the East Coast knows the guy is an idiot and a fink, and have long since rejected him as one of their own.
Trump is so fucking New York. All he does is talk shit day in and day out… but he's the president. It's absurd.
Not all of us a shit talking, shit stirrers that let everyone live in their head rent free while trying to collect on rent.
I appreciate the defense of New York. Anyone with sense in the East Coast knows the guy is an idiot and a fink, and have long since rejected him as one of their own.
Florid can have him.
I've often wondered about that myself; seems like being supported by people who only want you there so the world can end in fire (with you going to Hell in the process) would be somewhat off-putting
3DS Friend Code 0044-2806-5284
Florid can have him.
You reminded me Trump is having a rally in Orlando, isn't he? I look forward to the horrible excerpts from the news tomorrow.
And yes, Florida is pretty much Trump's hometown now, considering Mar-lag and the collection of old people who are angry at everything, I fully expect him to adopt it.
https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/1141157838481498113
https://twitter.com/JamilSmith/status/1141171263320121344
Now Biden is fondly remembering people who opposed the Civil Rights Act, complained of “mongrelization,” and spoke of black people as “an inferior race.”
[https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/18/day-880/
[h=1]](https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/18/day-880/)Day 880: Let's see[/h]
1/ Trump threatened to arrest and deport "millions of illegal aliens" next week. The action is not for people who have been in the country long term, but focused on recent arrivals who skipped court dates. There are an estimated 12 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Of those, a senior administration official estimated that over "1 million" undocumented immigrants "have been issued final deportation orders by federal judges yet remain at large in the country." A senior administration official said the department is still in the planning phase. (Washington Post / Politico / ABC News / CNN / NPR / Reuters)
Day 868: Mexico proposed sending about 6,000 National Guard troops to the country's border with Guatemala to help stem migration as part of a deal to avoid Trump's tariffs. Mexico and Guatemala also agreed to consider significant changes in asylum laws in the region, allowing the U.S. to reject requests for protection from many people fleeing persecution. The arrangement being discussed would require migrants to seek asylum in the first safe country they enter. Trump threatened to charge a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods starting Monday unless the country reduces the flow of migrants streaming to the U.S. border. The U.S., however, is considering delaying the tariffs as talks continue and Mexican negotiators have made clear that they will pull their offers if Trump imposes the tariffs. (Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico) Day 872: Trump backed off his threat to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods, tweetingthat the U.S. reached an agreement with Mexico to reduce the number of migrants at the southern border. According to a joint statement, Mexico agreed to "take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration," including the deployment of thousands of national guard troops to its border with Guatemala to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. Mexico also agreed to an expansion of a Trump administration program to host more migrants seeking asylum while their court proceedings are in progress in the U.S. (New York Times / Washington Post)2/ Trump's nominee for defense secretary "decided not to go forward with his confirmation process so that he can devote more time to his family." An FBI background check revealed that Patrick Shanahan's ex-wife had accused him of punching her in the stomach after she was arrested and charged for punching him in the face, and in a separate incident, his son hit his mother with a baseball bat. Shanahan's nomination process had been delayed by an unusually lengthy FBI background check. Trump named Mark Esper, the secretary of the Army, to take over as acting secretary of defense. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC / USA Today / Reuters)
3/ Trump's nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations was frequently missing from her post while the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. FAA records show that a private jet registered to Kelly Craft's husband and used by the ambassador made 128 flights between the U.S. and Canada during a 15-month span of her tenure in Ottawa – the equivalent of a round trip once a week. (Politico)
4/ Attorney General William Barr's top deputy intervened in Paul Manafort's prison designation. The former Trump campaign manager was expected to be transferred to Rikers Island this month to await trial on a separate state case. Instead, Jeffrey Rosen informed prosecutors that Manafort will await trial at a federal lockup in Manhattan or at the Pennsylvania federal prison where he is serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence. (New York Times / NBC News)
5/ The White House explored demoting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in February, shortly after Trump talked about firing him. When asked if Trump still wants to demote Powell, he told reporters: "Let's see what he does." The comment comes a day before the Fed was set to announce its next decision on interest rates. (Bloomberg / CNBC)
6/ Trump accused Fox News anchor Bret Baier of pushing "fake news." Baier cited Fox's own polling results that showed Joe Biden leading the 2020 presidential field in several battleground states. (Daily Beast)
7/ The EPA will allow states to use a pesticide that is harmful to bees. The use of Sulfoxaflor was temporarily banned in 2015. (The Hill)
Waldorf: You know Statler, after watching the last one thousand episodes of One Piece, I think I've come to a conclusion.
Statler: No you haven't.
Both: DOHOHOHOHOHO!
I appreciate the defense of New York. Anyone with sense in the East Coast knows the guy is an idiot and a fink, and have long since rejected him as one of their own.
I can easily say that 95% of New England hates his guts. Even New Hampshire (the one red state in a field of blue) hates him, and some only voted for him so that they didn't have to vote for Dems.
7/ The EPA will allow states to use a pesticide that is harmful to bees. The use of Sulfoxaflor was temporarily banned in 2015. (The Hill)
FUCKING GODDAMN IDIOTS!!!!!
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
And God bless you, Jon, for shitting on Mitch McConnell for being Mitch McConnell.
@Cyan:
In order:
Getting hit by a train and not being Ubiq
This seems oddly specific. Did Ubiq get hit by a train or is this an inside joke or?
I accept Jesus Burgess as my Lord and Savior 
@Medical:
This seems oddly specific. Did Ubiq get hit by a train or is this an inside joke or?
I hope it means that Ubiq is Bruce Willis.
How original is it to still have this in my signature 6 years later?
https://twitter.com/ArletteSaenz/status/1141498143831461888
Biden now saying Booker (the, uh, black guy) should apologize to him for being dissappointed about Biden puffing up segregationists.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/19/day-881/
Day 881: Misplaced certainty
1/ The EPA rolled back Obama's Clean Power Plan, allowing states to set their own carbon emissions standards for coal-fired power plants and limits the agency's authority to set national restrictions on carbon emissions in the future. Andrew Wheeler, the EPA administrator, insisted that the new plan will reduce carbon emissions in the power sector 34% below 2005 levels – roughly equal to the goals of the Clean Power Plan. Experts, however, say the U.S. power sector needs to cut its emissions 74% over 2005 levels by 2030 to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. As of last year, the power sector had cut its greenhouse gas emissions 27% compared with 2005. The EPA also said the new rules could result in 1,400 more premature deaths by 2030 than the Obama-era plan. (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Axios)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/politics/epa-rolls-back-obama-coal-emissions/index.html
2/ Hope Hicks refused to answer questions during a closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary Committee as part of their ongoing investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice. While the White House did not formally assert executive privilege to block Hicks from answering questions, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone's said Hicks was "absolutely immune" from discussing her tenure in the Trump administration. Hicks, however, is a private citizen. Hicks also wouldn't answer questions as basic as where she sat in the West Wing or whether she told the truth to Mueller. Meanwhile on Twitter, Trump accused Democrats of putting Hicks "through hell" and seeking a "Do Over" of the Mueller investigation. The Judiciary Committee said it will release a full transcript of the interview within 48 hours. (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Daily Beast /CNN)
Earlier Today: House Democrats will question former White House communications director Hope Hicks during a closed-door session of the Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers intend to ask Hicks about five specific incidents of possible obstruction of justice outlined in the Mueller report. White House counsel Pat Cipollone claimed in a letter that Hicks is "absolutely immune" from answering any questions about her time working for the White House and for the Trump transition team. The committee also plans to ask Hicks about the hush money payments that Trump made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. (Politico / Washington Post)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/18/hope-hicks-donald-trump-obstruction-1368197
3/ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is privately claiming that Iran has ties to Al Qaeda in order to justify invoking the 2001 war authorization and allow the Trump administration to go to war with Iran. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force permits the U.S. to wage war on Al Qaeda and its allies. While Pompeo claimed Trump "does not want war," Trump ordered 2,500 additional troops to the region recently. On Monday, the Pentagon said it would send an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East. (New York Times / Washington Post)
Senator Tom Cotton wants to launch a "retaliatory strike" on Iran for the two recent tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman. "Whatever Iran thinks they can do to the United States or our security partners in the region we can do tenfold to them," Cotton said. "One hundredfold to them." (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/19/tom-cotton-iran-attack-trump-1369863
Tucker Carlson has privately advised Trump against taking military action against Iran. The Fox News host compared Pompeo's "misplaced certainty" that Iran attacked the tankers to former Secretary of State Colin Powell's now-discredited claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. (Daily Beast)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-tucker-carlson-privately-advises-trump-against-iran-war
poll/ 67% of Democrats want lawmakers to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump – up from 59% in April. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/19/impeachment-democrats-poll-congress-1368158
Notables
A U.N. investigator called for further investigation into Saudi officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. U.N. Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard released a 101-page report detailing her months-long investigation into Khashoggi's death, providing new details which Callamard says place the blame for the murder beyond just the 11 Saudi agents who are currently on trial. Callamard said Khashoggi's death amounted to an extrajudicial killing, possibly involving torture, for which the Saudi kingdom is responsible. (Washington Post / CNN / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/middleeast/khashoggi-saudi-arabia-report-intl/index.html
Trump vowed to cure cancer and ends AIDS if he's elected to a second term. Trump promised to "come up with the cures to many, many problems, to many, many diseases" as he officially kicked off his 2020 campaign in Orlando. (CBS News)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-cure-cancer-aids-joe-biden-orlando-campaign-rally/
Trump Jr. mocked Joe Biden for saying he wants to cure cancer. Junior's remarks came shortly before his father made the same promise to the same audience. (Washington Post)
Trump took credit for passing a veteran's health care bill that was signed into law by Obama in 2014. The Veterans Choice program allows veterans to see doctors outside the government-run VA system at taxpayer expense. (The Hill / Associated Press)
https://www.apnews.com/375515aecedb4aed949e4f2eb9c54eb6
Trump refused to apologize for the full-page ad he ran in 1989 calling for the execution of the Central Park Five who were exonerated in 2002 after Matias Reyes confessed to raping the woman, which was backed up by DNA evidence. Trump suggested the men might still be guilty, because "they admitted their guilt." "You have people on both sides of that," Trump added. A new Netflix series has renewed scrutiny surrounding the Central Park Jogger case. (NBC News / ABC News / Washington Post / USA Today)
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is "extremely serious" about running for governor of Arkansas. Sanders is preparing to leave her current role as White House press secretary at the end of the month and has been privately considering a gubernatorial run for months. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/19/sarah-huckabee-sanders-arkansas-governor-1369873
Today marks 100 days without an on-camera White House press briefing. The previous record was 42 days. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/media/reliable-sources-06-18-19/index.html
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/20/day-882/
[h=1]Day 882: The best is yet to come[/h]
1/ Trump warned that Iran "made a very big mistake" after its military claimed responsibility for shooting down an American drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed the drone "violated" Iranian airspace, while U.S. military claimed the unmanned aircraft was taken down in "an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset" over international airspace. Trump called the action "a new fly in the ointment" and a "very foolish move," saying the "this country will not stand for it, that I can tell you." Trump added that it also could have been a "mistake" by someone "loose and stupid." A top Iranian commander, meanwhile, warned that Iran was "fully ready for war." And, when asked whether the U.S. would attack Iran, Trump responded: "You'll soon find out." (ABC News / Associated Press / New York Times / Politico / The Guardian / NBC News / CNN / CNBC)
2/ The Senate voted to block the sale of $8.1 billion in munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In back-to-back votes, the Senate passed three measures to block Trump from using his emergency authority to complete the arms sales, but fell short of the support needed to overcome a pledged veto. Trump is expected to veto the Senate's resolutions. (New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)
3/ A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration's family planning "gag rule" can immediately take effect nationwide. The ruling lifts national injunctions ordered by lower federal courts in Oregon and Washington state, as well as a statewide injunction in California, allowing the Trump administration to strip federal Title X funding from any clinic that provides abortions or abortion referrals. Planned Parenthood faces a cut of $60 million in Title X funds. (Washington Post / Politico)
4/ A watchdog group filed a complaint claiming Ivanka Trump violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in elections in their official capacity. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington cited a tweet from Ivanka Trump two days before Trump's 2020 campaign launch that included the campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" and stated "the best is yet to come." (The Guardian / The Hill)
5/ Felix Sater will testify before the House Intelligence Committee tomorrow about his experience working on the proposed Trump Tower Moscow. The closed-door interview is part of House Democrats' investigation into Trump's plans to expand his business operations in Russia during the 2016 election. Sater is a U.S. citizen who worked on two separate efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. He was originally scheduled to testify in March, but his appearance was postponed. (Washington Post)
6/ Deutsche Bank is being investigated by federal authorities over questions of whether it complied with anti-money-laundering laws. Investigators will review the bank's handling of suspicious activity reports about potentially problematic transactions, including some linked to Jared Kushner. The criminal investigation is one part of several separate but overlapping government probes into financial corruption and the flow of illicit funds through the U.S. financial system. Several other banks are also under investigation. (New York Times)
7/ Three more senators received a classified Pentagon briefing about a series of reported Navy encounters with UFOs. A growing number of members from key oversight committees have requested similar briefings. Sen. Mark Warner was one of the latest three to be briefed on what Warner's spokesperson referred to as an "unidentified aerial phenomenon." The briefing comes several days after Trump claimed he had also been briefed on the reports. "People are saying they're seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly." (Politico / ABC News)
I don't have articles to quote, but from what I've followed in the news today:
-The U.S almost went to war with Iran, if not for the watchful eye of Donald Trump. In other words, Trump's collection of war hawks seem hungry for a chance for war, and our only chance of avoiding it is a man who can't pay attention for more than 5 minutes. Holy shit.
-ICE is supposedly going to crack down on illegal immigrants in greater numbers, creating a disturbing gestapo situation. Not helping that Nazi feeling is the fact that Trump's White House is arguing against providing detainees with basic care.
-The House's investigations are being stonewalled, and not enough is being done. Whereas earlier I was actually pretty patient with Nancy Pelosi's slow pace strategy, I'm losing that now.
In short, it feels like today is a particularly bad news day. If I can point to one good story, I'll say take relative comfort that, meanwhile, Sean Hannity is in another media scandal.
Here's some links that most cover some/all of your reports:
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/21/day-883/
Day 883: "Cocked and loaded."
1/ Trump authorized a retaliatory military strike on Iran but called it off 10 minutes before because the response would not have been "proportionate." The planned attack, ordered after Iranian forces shot down a Navy drone over the Strait of Hormuz, would have involved airstrikes and killed approximately 150 people. Officials said Trump had initially approved the attacks. Earlier, Trump tweeted that he was "cocked and loaded" for a strike, but later disputed that, claiming "nothing was green lighted." (New York Times / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Los Angeles Times / Bloomberg)
Putin said he's open for a meeting with Trump, but that a U.S. military conflict with Iran would be a "catastrophe." Putin added that he believed Iran was complying with its commitments to the Iran nuclear deal. Hours later, Trump tweeted that he was in "no hurry" to confront Iran and called off the planned airstrike. (Associated Press / ABC News)
https://www.apnews.com/2c1d6e923a7349e29daf0e00a956f2d8
The White House did not notify House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Trump's plans to strike Iran. Pelosi is second in line to the presidency. (Washington Post)
Fox & Friends called Trump's decision to abandon airstrikes against Iran a "weakness, and weakness begets more attacks." Hosts Brian Kilmeade insisted that "North Korea's watching. Turkey's watching. Russia's watching. China…" (Daily Beast)
Iran received a message from Trump via Oman warning that an attack on Iran was imminent. Iranian officials said Trump claimed he was "against any war with Iran and wanted to talk to Tehran about various issues." They also said Trump "gave a short period of time to get our response but Iran's immediate response was that it is up to Supreme Leader." Another official said they would deliver Trump's message to the Ayatollah, "however, we told the Omani official that any attack against Iran will have regional and international consequences." (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-iran-usa-oman-exclusive-idUSKCN1TM0UZ
2/ Trump directed ICE to conduct a mass roundup of migrant families that have received deportation orders. The Sunday raids – dubbed the "family op" – will take place in as many as 10 cities and could target about 2,000 immigrants facing deportation orders. (Washington Post / NBC News)
ICE has deported more immigrants during the first eight months of this fiscal year than any full fiscal year of Trump's presidency, but he has yet to match Obama's early deportation numbers. ICE deportations fell to 226,119 in fiscal 2017 and then rose to more than 250,000 in fiscal 2018 before the Trump administration hit a high of 282,242 as of June this fiscal year. (Axios)
A legal team interviewed 60 children at a migrant detention facility near El Paso, TX and were told stories of neglect and mistreatment at the hands of the U.S. government. The lawyers warned that kids are forced to take care of other kids. There is also inadequate food, water, and sanitation for the 250 infants, children, and teens currently detained at the Border Patrol station. (Associated Press / NBC News)
https://apnews.com/46da2dbe04f54adbb875cfbc06bbc615
3/ Trump threatened a Time magazine reporter with prison after a photographer tried to take a photo of the letter sent to him by Kim Jong Un. Trump showed four reporters the letter he said was "written by Kim Jong Un" and then he asked to go off-the-record. Later in the interview, the subject turned to Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, and instead of answering the question, Trump lashed out about the photographer's attempt to take a shot of the letter from Kim. "Well, you can go to prison, instead, because if you use, if you use the photograph you took of the letter that I gave you…" (Time / CNN / Washington Post / Daily Beast)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/21/media/time-photographer-trump-threat/index.html
4/ Trump rejected an allegation by journalist E. Jean Carroll that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s, saying that he has "never met this person in my life." According to Carroll, she met Trump inside Bergdorf Goodman when he told her he was buying a gift for "a girl" and needed help. While in the lingerie section, Carroll said Trump suggested a lace bodysuit, and encouraged her to try it on. "The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips," Carroll writes. "He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights." More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Trump, meanwhile, said: "Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda." (New York Magazine / Politico / Daily Beast)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/21/trump-dismisses-new-sexual-assault-allegation-1376698
5/ The House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to Felix Sater after he failed to show up for a voluntary interview. The Russia-born business executive worked with Michael Cohen to build a Trump Tower in Moscow before the 2016 election. Trump never disclosed the ongoing Trump Tower Moscow negotiations while he was running for president and repeatedly claimed that he has "nothing to do with Russia." Sater said he was feeling ill and slept through his alarm. (Politico / NBC News / Reuters / The Hill)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sater-idUSKCN1TM1TY
YESTERDAY: Sater said he "will answer every question without exception" and planned to discuss previously undisclosed details about his efforts to get a Trump tower built in Moscow. (Washington Post)
Federal prosecutors alleged that Roger Stone violated his gag order with recent social media posts. Stone was banned by Judge Amy Berman Jackson from making public statements about his case in February, after he posted on Instagram a photo of the judge with crosshairs behind her head. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/20/politics/roger-stone-gag-order-challenge/index.html
So, today alone
1. Trump accused of forcible rape by a famous writer
2. Trump threatens to jail a reporter
3. Trump adviser Sean Hannity faces a possible federal investigation on obstruction that involves Donald Trump as a co-conspirator
4. Trump lies to America about a national security briefing that almost led to war
-The U.S almost went to war with Iran, if not for the watchful eye of Donald Trump. In other words, Trump's collection of war hawks seem hungry for a chance for war, and our only chance of avoiding it is a man who can't pay attention for more than 5 minutes. Holy shit.
That's…not quite what happened. Trump's story is he okayed the go ahead, and no one told him what the casualties would be. Then 10 minutes before th strike, he was tole there would be casualties, and he called it off.
That's... not how that works. Casualty predictions are upfront in the report. Maybe Trump didn't READ said report and didn't care, but even if that's the cae, casualties wouldn't have stopped HIM from doing it. So he's saying whatever he thinks makes him look better.
Best guesses are Fox News in the morning told him war was good, and then Fox News in the afternoon had Tucker Carlson say it was bad, and he changed his mind. Or, he got a message from his boss Putin.
Either way thats crazy, and it's all just such a terrifying mishmash of obvious blatant lie about almost going to war.... it's just insane.
The entire Fox News network needs a top down reshaping. They are a dangerous chaotic element to politics and go far beyond their reach of what a news organization is intended to conduct.
Fox isn't a news organization.
No really, it legally isn't. They have to classify themselves as "entertainment" in order to not fall under fire to a LOT of a laws regulating news.
Respected writer: "I was raped by Donald Trump." (remember: this is the first sexual misconduct allegation that involves actual penetration)
NYT/CNN/etc.: lol who cares
AOC: "Concentration camps are concentration camps."
NYT/CNN/etc.: 3000 articles tone-policing AOC and accusing Democrats of dirty politics
Can you please not start another war U.S.A., please!
The rest of the world.
The war hawks have learned nothing from Iraq. Sadly, I'm not surprised by this. All the chicken hawks will be stirred up in jingoistic patriotic ferver, and any dissent will be viewed as "weakness".
The war hawks have learned nothing from Iraq. Sadly, I'm not surprised by this. All the chicken hawks will be stirred up in jingoistic patriotic ferver, and any dissent will be viewed as "weakness".
I'm sure they've learned plenty. War=$$$.
So, today alone
1. Trump accused of forcible rape by a famous writer
2. Trump threatens to jail a reporter
3. Trump adviser Sean Hannity faces a possible federal investigation on obstruction that involves Donald Trump as a co-conspirator
4. Trump lies to America about a national security briefing that almost led to warThat's…not quite what happened. Trump's story is he okayed the go ahead, and no one told him what the casualties would be. Then 10 minutes before th strike, he was tole there would be casualties, and he called it off.
That's... not how that works. Casualty predictions are upfront in the report. Maybe Trump didn't READ said report and didn't care, but even if that's the cae, casualties wouldn't have stopped HIM from doing it. So he's saying whatever he thinks makes him look better.
Best guesses are Fox News in the morning told him war was good, and then Fox News in the afternoon had Tucker Carlson say it was bad, and he changed his mind. Or, he got a message from his boss Putin.
Either way thats crazy, and it's all just such a terrifying mishmash of obvious blatant lie about almost going to war.... it's just insane.
Yes, this is a better summary. I forgot to factor in Trump's constant lying and his stupid attempts to scare people into working out deals.
Speaking of which, it seems Trump is delaying those ICE raids for two weeks in order to "see if Democrats and Republicans can work together on a solution." So, he's either angling for a deal, or using this as a excuse to back out of this idea. Either way, what a knob.
Remember when the Democrats held hearings on the various credible accusations of sexual assault against the president?
Nope, me neither.
But they did support the president in starting a war with Iran.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/24/day-886/
Day 886: Restraint
1/ Trump signed an executive order imposing new, "hard-hitting" sanctions on Iran in response to the downing of an unmanned U.S. drone last week. The new sanctions will deny Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and eight Iranian military commanders access to "key financial resources and support." Trump also warned that U.S. "restraint" has limits. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/24/trump-sanctions-iran-over-downed-drone.html
Trump approved an offensive cyberstrike that disabled Iranian computer systems used to control rocket and missile launches. U.S. Cyber Command launched the cyberstrikes against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last week. (Washington Post)
2/ Trump delayed planned nationwide ICE raids for two weeks to see if Congress can "work out a solution." Immigration agents had planned to sweep and deport people living the U.S. illegally in 10 major cities beginning Sunday. Hours after defending the plan, Trump delayed the raids on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Trump threatened to arrest and deport "millions of illegal aliens" next week. ICE leaders expressed concerns that officers' safety would be in jeopardy because too many details about the raids had been made public. (Associated Press / New York Times / CNN / Politico / ABC News)
https://apnews.com/70c173c8d213438e9fbef4d1f2bba07b
The Trump administration moved most of the children from a remote Border Patrol station in Texas following reports that more than 300 children were detained there with inadequate food, water and sanitation. (Associated Press)
3/ The Trump administration stopped promoting dozens of taxpayer-funded studies about the impacts of climate change. The studies include a discovery that rice loses vitamins in a carbon-rich environment, a finding that climate change would exacerbate allergy seasons, and a warning to farmers about an expected reduction in the quality of important grasses used to feed and raise cattle. All of the studies were peer-reviewed and cleared through the Agricultural Research Service. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/23/agriculture-department-climate-change-1376413
More than 70 medical and public health groups warned that climate change is "a health emergency." The health organizations' policy recommendations are at odds with Trump's approach. (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/ce88bd15279749dbabcde34c8ef3dc28
Pence refused to say whether climate change was a legitimate threat to the U.S. Instead, Pence said that the Trump administration would "always follow the science" on the issue. (Axios / The Hill)
https://www.axios.com/mike-pence-climate-change-threat-198bedd7-b724-4330-87b5-754f81c278f8.html
4/ Nearly 100 internal Trump transition team vetting documents were leaked, revealing a wide range of "red flags" about several officials who went on to secure high-ranking positions in the Trump administration. (Axios / Business Insider / Daily Beast)
https://www.axios.com/leaked-donald-trump-vetting-docs-hbo-6ce3cd26-1eb9-4da8-b15e-47b56020aef7.html
Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt had a section in his vetting form titled: "allegations of coziness with big energy companies."
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price had sections in his dossier flagging "criticisms of management ability" and "Dysfunction And Division Has Haunted Price's Leadership Of The House Budget Committee."
Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had several "red flags," including his assessment that Trump "is not a very good person."
The Trump transition team was so worried about Rudy Giuliani being chosen as secretary of state that they created a separate 25-page document titled "Rudy Giuliani Business Ties Research Dossier" with many accounts of his "foreign entanglements."
The transition team was worried that Gen. David Petraeus "Is Opposed to Torture."
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had ties to Russia.
Kris Kobach, who was once in the running for homeland security secretary, had "white supremacy" as one of his vulnerabilities.
Nikki Haley, who would go on to be U.N. ambassador, was flagged for saying that Trump is everything "we teach our kids not to do in kindergarten."
Notables
The White House is expected to block a former White House deputy counsel from answering House Judiciary Committee's written questions. Annie Donaldson was the top deputy to former White House Counsel Don McGahn, who, according to Robert Mueller, was directed by Trump on several occasions to fire the special counsel. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/23/white-house-immunity-testimony-mcgahn-donaldson-1376950
Trump nominated Mark Esper to be the next defense secretary following the abrupt resignation of acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan. Esper is currently the secretary of the Army and former West Point classmate of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (New York Times / Politico)
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro lobbied for a top Justice Department job under Jeff Sessions, which Trump considered. Sessions, however, blocked the appointment and then Pirro attacked Sessions on her show for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, calling him the most "dangerous person" in the U.S. (Washington Post / Talking Points Memo)
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-pirro-justice-department-fox-news
Trump said appointing Sessions as his first attorney general was his "biggest mistake" and that he'd like a "do over" on the decision. (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sessions-idUSKCN1TO0TH
White House officials have refused to tell House Democrats what happened to the interpreter notes from Trump's private meeting with Putin. The House Oversight Committee argues that the notes are federal records that must be preserved under record-keeping laws. The White House, however, won't say whether Trump destroyed or in any way altered the interpreter notes. (Washington Post)
The House Oversight Committee will vote to subpoena Kellyanne Conway related to her violations of the Hatch Act if she does not voluntarily appear at the committee's hearing. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities in their official capacity, and the civil service watchdog known as the Office of Special Counsel determined earlier this month that Conway violated the act by "disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in an official capacity during television interviews and on social media." Conway claimed that House Democrats are seeking her testimony in retaliation for successfully managing Trump's 2016 campaign. [Breaking News: The White House moved to block Conway from testifying to Congress about alleged violations of the Hatch Act.] (Axios / Washington Post)
Waldorf: You know Statler, after watching the last one thousand episodes of One Piece, I think I've come to a conclusion.
Statler: No you haven't.
Both: DOHOHOHOHOHO!
N](https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/24/texas-border-facility-donations-turned-away/?utm_campaign=trib-social&utm_content=1561414500&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter)ot only are Republicans so evil they're denying soap and tooth brushes to be bought for immigrants.
They won't even ACCEPT DONATED ones.
Fucking evil.
Actors are reading the report live now. John Lithgow is reading Trump's lines. It seems pretty great.
Dammit, I missed it. But all the more reasons to like those actors.
N](https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/24/texas-border-facility-donations-turned-away/?utm_campaign=trib-social&utm_content=1561414500&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter)ot only are Republicans so evil they're denying soap and tooth brushes to be bought for immigrants.
They won't even ACCEPT DONATED ones.
Fucking evil.
You know things are getting pretty damn bad when Somali pirates are more humane to their hostages.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/24/day-886/
Day 886: Restraint
1/ Trump signed an executive order imposing new, "hard-hitting" sanctions on Iran in response to the downing of an unmanned U.S. drone last week. The new sanctions will deny Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and eight Iranian military commanders access to "key financial resources and support." Trump also warned that U.S. "restraint" has limits. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/24/trump-sanctions-iran-over-downed-drone.html
The article doesn't mention Trump referring to Khomeini, dead now these thirty years, as the Supreme Leader. The charitable interpretation is that he's too stupid to check to make sure he's pronouncing Khamenei correctly.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/25/day-887/
[h=1]Day 887: Overwhelming force[/h]
1/ **Trump – again – denied the rape allegations against him by E. Jean Carroll, claiming she is "totally lying" and "not my type."**Carroll accused Trump of pushing her up against a dressing room wall and raping her in a department store in 1995 or 1996. Trump accused Carroll of making up the story, because "I know nothing about this woman. I know nothing about her. She is — it's just a terrible thing that people can make statements like that." Carroll is the 16th woman to have publicly accused Trump of sexual assault or misconduct — all of which he has denied. (The Hill/ New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Axios)
Day 883: Trump rejected an allegation by journalist E. Jean Carroll that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s, saying that he has "never met this person in my life." According to Carroll, she met Trump inside Bergdorf Goodman when he told her he was buying a gift for "a girl" and needed help. While in the lingerie section, Carroll said Trump suggested a lace bodysuit, and encouraged her to try it on. "The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips," Carroll writes. "He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights." More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Trump, meanwhile, said: "Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda." (New York Magazine / Politico / Daily Beast)2/ The New York Post's former top editor deleted a story about E. Jean Carroll's rape allegations against Trump. Col Allan, a Trump supporter and top Rupert Murdoch lieutenant, ordered the story to be scrubbed from the website on Friday, as well a wire story by the Associated Press. Allan returned to the paper in early 2019, reportedly in an effort to make the paper even more friendly to Trump. (CNN / New York Daily News)
3/ Congress is trying to pass a $4.5 billion in emergency humanitarian aid to the southwestern border while putting restrictions on Trump's immigration policies. In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats approved a $4.6 billion border aid package last week that contained some limitations to prevent the administration from using the resources for enforcement. The House bill allocates $4.5 billion, but goes further in placing restrictions on the money. Democrats in the House, however, are still concerned that any money they approve will be directed by the Trump administration to advance Trump's immigration policies. The Trump administration, meanwhile, threatened to veto the House measure, claiming it "does not provide adequate funding to meet the current crisis" and "contains partisan provisions designed to hamstring the administration's border enforcement efforts." (New York Times / Reuters)
4/ Customs and Border Protection returned more than 100 children back to a troubled Border Patrol station that independent monitors called conditions "unconscionable." Officials said the children were returned to the Clint, Tex. station due to a lack of bed space in U.S. shelters designed for children. Lawyers who visited recently the Clint station said hundreds of minor detainees had been housed for weeks without access to showers, clean clothing, or sufficient food. (Washington Post / CNN)
Day 886: The Trump administration moved most of the children from a remote Border Patrol station in Texas following reports that more than 300 children were detained there with inadequate food, water and sanitation. (Associated Press / New York Times) Day 834: John Kelly joined the board of a company that operates the largest facility for unaccompanied migrant children. Caliburn International is the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, which operates Homestead and three other shelters for unaccompanied migrant children in Texas. Prior to joining the Trump administration, Kelly had been on the board of advisors of DC Capital Partners, an investment firm that now owns Caliburn. (CBS News)5/ The Customs and Border Protection agency's acting commissioner will resign in the coming weeks amid an increase in the number of undocumented migrants crossing the border and the fight over how to address it. John Sanders assumed the role after Kevin McAleenan replaced Kirstjen Nielsen as homeland security secretary this spring. (New York Times / CNN / Reuters)
6/ Trump declined to say if he has confidence in FBI Director Christopher Wray. When asked about his level of confidence in Wray, Trump replied: "Well, we'll see how it turns out." Trump added that he disagrees with the FBI director, who previously said he does not believe the bureau "spied" on Trump's 2016 campaign. (The Hill / CNN / Axios)
Day 811: Barr told Congress that the government was "spying" on Trump's campaign during the 2016 election, but provided no evidence. During a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Barr said that while he's not launching an investigation of the FBI or suggesting there is an "endemic" problem at the FBI, he does "think there was a failure among a group of leaders at the upper echelons." Barr went on to say that he wanted to understand if there was "unauthorized surveillance" of political figures and whether law enforcement officials had proper legal justification for the "genesis" of the counterintelligence investigation. (New York Times/ Washington Post / Politico / NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg / Axios) Day 838: FBI Director Christopher Wray said he would not call the 2016 investigation into Trump's campaign advisers "spying." When asked during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing if he had "any evidence that any illegal surveillance" into the Trump 2016 campaign occurred, Wray told lawmakers that "I don't think I personally have any evidence of that sort." Wray's comments are in contrast to those made by Attorney General William Barr at a Senate hearing on April 10th, where he claimed that "spying did occur, yes," calling it "a big deal." The Justice Department inspector general is expected to issue a report in the next month or two about the origins of the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign. Wray asked lawmakers to wait for the report. (Washington Post / NBC News / CNN)7/ Trump is privately considering withdrawing from a defense treaty with Japan. Trump claimed the pact is too one-sided, because it guarantees U.S. aid if Japan is ever attacked, but doesn't require Japan's military to do the same for America. The treaty was signed more than 60 years ago and constitutes the foundation of the post-war alliance between the two countries after World War II. (Bloomberg)
8/ Iran called Trump's White House "mentally retarded" and promised that Iran wouldn't be intimidated by new, "fruitless sanctions." Iran's Foreign Ministry also said Trump's leadership would lead to "the permanent closure of the road of diplomacy" between the two countries and that Iran would take new steps to reduce its commitments under the nuclear deal with world powers on July 7th. Trump meanwhile, threatened that any attack by Iran would be answered with "great and overwhelming force" and in some cases, "overwhelming will mean obliteration." (New York Times / Politico / Bloomberg / NBC News / The Independent / Washington Post)
9/ Trump claimed he has the authority to initiate a military strike against Iran without congressional approval, but said he likes "the idea of keeping Congress abreast." Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserted that Trump would need congressional approval for any "hostilities" against Iran. Jim Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, however, believes that Trump's authority to take military action against Iran falls within his executive power, but outside the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. (The Hill / CNN)
poll/ 65% of voters support Trump's decision to call off the planned military strike against Iran. 14% opposed the decision. Only 36% of voters support U.S. military actions against Iran in response to the downed surveillance drone. 42% oppose military action against Iran, while 22% say they have no opinion. (Politico)
[h=2]
Dept. of Swamp Things.[/h]
Is this an actual political campaign?
https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/1143354481712795649
Seems legit. He's gunning for the libertarian nom it looks like.
https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/1143619471577440263
One more for my Millenial followers:
How many of you have explored the depths of human spirit through Anime? If you haven't watched at least one of the following, you need to:
Grave of the Firefiles
A Wind Named Amnesia
Voices of a Distant Star
Millennium Actress
Metropolis
To my Millenials again:
I have no illusions about my age, but be careful when you diss JoJo. I watched my first Anime in 1988 - Akira - before most of you even existed. "Ghost in the Shell" (the original), was my favorite, then "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away". Respect.
I don't know about his other policies but he's got good taste in anime.
He then proceeds to talk about Bitcoin and kind of ruin it.
He's also uhm… apparently hiding out in Cuba to avoid the law right now. So... interesting guy.
Also looking at his photos and other interests, it is entirely possible that man is my father.
Like seriously a 98% match for my dad. The interest in anime is where it falls off though, my dad is not a fan of cartoons.
Oh yeah, a Cuba backed candidate.
Well it was about time for the third party clown car to pull up.
I've often wondered about that myself; seems like being supported by people who only want you there so the world can end in fire (with you going to Hell in the process) would be somewhat off-putting
3DS Friend Code 0044-2806-5284
