;)
The Commentariat -- September 23, 2019
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Hahahaha. Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: :... Donald Trump on Monday revived his beef with the selection committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming that the process is rigged against him. Speaking to reporters before a bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Trump asserted that 'I would get a Nobel prize for a lot of things, if they give it out fairly, which they don't.'" Mrs. McC: Yeah, when the Nobel committee starts giving out the prize for people who promote international discord, you'll win, Donaldo.
Trump Keeps Expanding His Admissions re: Ukraine. Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President Trump on Monday defended his efforts to urge the Ukrainian president to investigate a leading political rival for corruption, arguing that the United States should not give money to a government that tolerates it.... Speaking to reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Mr. Trump declined to address questions about whether he temporarily withheld $391 million in military aid to Kiev as part of an effort to push the government to comply with his demands for an investigation into Mr. Biden and his family. But Mr. Trump appeared to argue that such an action would not be inappropriate. 'If you don't talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?' he said.... 'What Biden did is a disgrace. What his son did is a disgrace,' Mr. Trump said. Between events at the United Nations complex, Mr. Trump also tweeted an attack against his accusers as 'stone cold Crooked.' And he implied that an unnamed intelligence community whistle-blower who filed a secret complaint about his behavior ... might be a traitor: 'Is he on our Country's side,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'Where does he come from.'" Here's the Hill's story. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As you can see, Trump is well-past the place where he started, calling the whole story "fake news" & now into admitting he discussed Biden on the phone call in which -- however obliquely -- he tried to twist Zelensky's arm to investigate the Bidens by holding back aid to Ukraine. AND we still don't know the content of the whistleblower's complaint. This is a pattern with Trump & his apologists: deny, hedge, admit, defend (with a phony excuse) & accuse others. And a lady in Ohio still thinks Trump is "trustworthy." ~~~
~~~ Update. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... on Monday, Trump appeared to inch ever closer to admitting the underlying allegation raised by that same whistleblower."
Stephanie Ebbs of ABC News: "Leaders from around the world are set to discuss climate change on Monday at a United Nations summit in what one U.N. official said could be a 'slingshot' to catalyze global action toward reducing emissions and limiting global warming.... Donald Trump was not scheduled to attend but showed up unexpectedly Monday morning." ~~~
~~~ "There Is No Planet B." Justin Moyer, et al., of the Washington Post: "Climate change protesters shut down some intersections from Capitol Hill to downtown Washington Monday morning in the latest of rallies around the world designed to force policymakers to respond to Earth's rising temperatures. Organizers of Shut Down DC urged 'climate rebels' to flood the District's streets Monday to bring 'the whole city to a gridlocked standstill,' according to the group's website. The website included a map of so-called 'climate criminals' that includes 'corporations, lobbyists, trade cartels, and government institutions that are most responsible for creating the climate crisis.'"
Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Sunday that Iran would not resume talks with ... Donald Trump and his administration until a French plan to extend $15 billion of credit to Tehran goes into full effect.... Iran has been in conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron for weeks about the possibility of accessing billions of dollars fro either the French central bank or the European Central Bank to compensate for the money Iran lost in oil sales due to American sanctions.... On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo said: 'I don't know why anyone listens to the Iranian foreign minister. It's beneath the dignity of anyone to listen to him.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So Pompeo is the U.S.'s top "diplomat," and he's insulting Zarif, his Iranian counterpart. Okay. BUT Eleanor Mueller of Politico: "... Donald Trump 'would like a diplomatic solution' with Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. 'Our mission set is to avoid war. That's the task in front of us,' Pompeo said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'That's what we've been aiming for for a little over two years now, with the strongest sanctions that have ever been put in place against this revolutionary regime.'" Note to Mike: You know, if it's "beneath your dignity" (as if a Trumpy flunkie has any dignity) to listen to Iran's top "diplomat," you're not all that likely to get a "diplomatic solution."
Burgess Everett of Politico: "Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is requesting that the Republican Senate conduct hearings and issue a subpoena to the Trump administration in response to a whistleblower complaint about ... Donald Trump's alleged request that Ukraine investigate one of his political opponents. In a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday morning, the New York Democrat said the Senate should hold hearings regarding any connection between delayed aid to Ukraine and Trump's reported request that the country probe the son of former Vice President Joe Biden...."
Thomas Elfrink of the Washington Post: "Hours after appearing to confirm that he had discussed former vice president Joe Biden and his son with Ukraine's president in an exchange at the center of a whistleblower complaint, President Trump took to Twitter on Sunday night to insist again that he had done nothing wrong on a 'nice' call with the foreign leader and to slam his Democratic rival. The tweets came after a full day of attacks against the Democratic presidential nominee by Trump administration officials and allies who demanded investigations of Biden and his son Hunter despite a lack of evidence of wrongdoing.... Trump repeated those claims on Sunday night, again without any evidence, writing, 'Sleepy Joe Biden, on the other hand, forced a tough prosecutor out from investigating his son's company by threat of not giving big dollars to Ukraine.'"
Judd Legum of Popular Information: "The 'I Love America' Facebook page boasts 1.1 million fans ... [and] reaches more Facebook users than some of the largest media outlets in the United States.... Not mentioned is that the page is managed by ten people based in Ukraine. (There is also one manager from Kazakhstan, one from France, and one from the United States.)... The 'I Love America' page regularly recycles memes used by the Internet Research Agency, the Russian entity that set up phony Facebook pages to benefit Trump in advance of the 2016 election.... There is a complex network of Facebook pages, all managed by people in Ukraine ... that are now being used to funnel large audiences to pro-Trump propaganda. The pages have also joined political Facebook groups and are active on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.... A Facebook spokesperson told Popular Information that the company does not believe any of the Facebook pages discussed in this article violate its policies[.]"
Matthew Chapman of Raw Story: "A new report [PDF] from the Vietnam Veterans Association has uncovered an ongoing two-year effort by actors in several foreign countries, including Russia, to target U.S. veterans and servicemembers. The report shows that 'These foreign admins have created individual social-media accounts that purport to belong to American veterans working at reputable veterans organizations,'... and 'spread propaganda and false news, while shaping and moderating/censoring the conversations of the unsuspecting community of American veterans who follow or join these groups and pages.'" --s
Michael Wolgelenter of the New York Times: "The tour operator and airline Thomas Cook said on Monday that it had collapsed, forcing hundreds of thousands of travelers to scramble to find a way home, after last-minute negotiations to obtain necessary financing for the debt-ridden company fell apart.... The Civil Aviation Authority in Britain said that all Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and vacations, had been canceled, affecting an estimated 600,000 people around the world. The liquidation of the world's oldest travel company, which specialized in low-cost package vacations that included flights and accommodation in more than 60 destinations around the world, has set in motion what was being described as the biggest peacetime repatriation in British history, as the government announced plans to bring back 150,000 Britons." The NBC News story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Treason, Bribery, or Other High Crimes," Ctd.
Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump acknowledged on Sunday that he raised corruption accusations against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. during a phone call with Ukraine's leader, a stunning admission as pressure mounted on Democrats to impeach Mr. Trump over allegations he leaned on a foreign government to help damage a political rival. In public and in private, many Democrats said the evidence that has emerged in recent days indicating that Mr. Trump pushed the Ukrainian government to investigate Mr. Biden, and his administration's stonewalling of attempts by Congress to learn more, were changing their calculations about whether to charge him with articles of impeachment.... A group of moderate freshman lawmakers who had been opposed to an impeachment inquiry said they were considering changing course, while other Democrats who had reluctantly supported one amplified their calls."
Alan Smith of NBC News: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday assailed the Trump administration's efforts to block a whistleblower complaint involving ... Donald Trump's apparent effort to have Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his family. In a letter to colleagues Sunday, Pelosi said the administration 'will be entering a grave new chapter of lawlessness which will take us into a whole new stage of investigation' if acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire fails to provide the complaint when he testifies in front of the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Pelosi's "Dear Colleague" letter is here. ...
"'... I don't know whether the whistleblower complaint is on [the Ukraine] allegation but if it is and even if it isn't, why doesn't the president just say "release the whistleblower complaint?'" [House Intelligence Chair Adam] Schiff told CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'Clearly, he's afraid for the public to see either one of those things and we're determined to make sure the public does, the nation is protected.'... Schiff said there should be no privilege afforded to discussions that 'involve potential corruption or criminality.' 'This would be the most profound violation of the presidential oath of office certainly during this presidency, which says a lot, but perhaps just about during any presidency,' Schiff said. 'There is no privilege that covers corruption. No privilege to engage in underhanded discussions.' Schiff added that the 'only remedy' to such behavior is impeachment.... Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., told 'Meet The Press' that while he didn't 'know the context' of the phone call between Trump and Zelensky or 'what was said,' 'it is not appropriate for any candidate" to 'ask for assistance from a foreign government.'" ~~~
I'm hoping the president can share, in an appropriate way, information to deal with the drama around the phone call. I think it would be good for the country if we could deal with it. -- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), cited in the Fandos, et al., story linked above
Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said on Sunday it would be 'troubling in the extreme' if President Trump urged Ukrainian officials to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. 'If the President asked or pressured Ukraine's president to investigate his political rival, either directly or through his personal attorney, it would be troubling in the extreme. Critical for the facts to come out,' Romney tweeted."
Rachel Bade of the Washington Post: "House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff said House Democrats may have to impeach President Trump following allegations that he pressured Ukraine to investigate a political adversary, a change in tone for the senior Democrat who has long been cautious about efforts to oust the president. Schiff (Calif.) said on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday that Trump's request that a Ukrainian leader investigate a business connected to former vice president Joe Biden's son would be 'the most profound violation of the presidential oath of office.' Compounding that, he said, is the director of national intelligence's unwillingness to turn over a recent whistleblower complaint about a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which he said could amount to a 'coverup.'" The Axios story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The integrity of our democracy isn't threatened when a president breaks the law. It's threatened when we do nothing about it. The GOP's silence & refusal to act shouldn't be a surprise. Ours is. -- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in a tweet
Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he would consider releasing a transcript of his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is said to be the subject of an intelligence community whistleblower complaint. 'We'll make a determination about how to release it, releasing it, saying what we said,' Trump said in Houston, defending his conversation with Zelensky as 'perfect.' His remarks came hours after the president suggested that he had discussed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during the call.... Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on ABC's 'This Week' earlier Sunday that releasing the contents of the call would not be appropriate 'except in the most extreme circumstances.'" Mrs. McC: It's an "extreme circumstance," Mike, when the POTUS* pressures a foreign leader to do a fake investigation on POTUS*'s political opponent. As for Trump's considering releasing the transcript, he's still considering releasing his taxes. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Oh, I guess I was wrong. Here's the transcript, as released with redactions for national security reasons: "Yo, Volo, I hear you'r a comedian. Say something funny." [Redacted] "Nice talking to you, Volo."
Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "President Trump suggested Sunday that he mentioned former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter in a phone call with the leader of Ukraine, amid swirling questions about whether Trump sought to use his influence to seek reelection help from a foreign country.... 'The conversation I had was largely congratulatory, was largely corruption, all of the corruption taking place, was largely the fact that we don't want our people, like Vice President Biden and his son, creating to the corruption already in the Ukraine,' Trump told reporters. 'And Ukraine, Ukraine's got a lot of problems.'... The president's apparent confirmation that he mentioned Biden on the call came as his allies scrambled to deny that he did so.... Rudolph W. Giuliani ... said in a phone call with The Washington Post Sunday morning that he ... will 'keep pushing and pushing' to highlight the Biden family's finances. He alluded to new materials he may cite this week, but declined to offer specifics. When asked if Trump has given Giuliani's efforts his blessing, Giuliani said, 'I don't do anything that involves my client without speaking with my client.'" A Rolling Stone item is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Munchkin's Bad Day
~~~ Oops! Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin found himself in a rhetorical trap of his own making on Sunday when CNN's Jake Tapper cornered the treasury chief as he defended ... Donald Trump's efforts to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. '... if for instance, President Obama had pressured a foreign leader, Putin or the president of Ukraine, [and] anyone said "I want you to look into Donald Trump Jr., or I want you to look into Eric Trump," international businessmen, both of them, would you not find that inappropriate?' Tapper asked. 'I'm not going to speculate on that,' Mnuchin replied. 'What I do find inappropriate is the fact that Vice President Biden -- at the time's -- son did very significant business dealings in Ukraine. I, for one, find that to be concerning and to me that is the issue perhaps that should be further investigated.' The CNN anchor ... said he didn't understand Mnuchin's answer because it appeared he was saying it is 'okay for Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to do business all over the world and okay for Ivanka Trump to have copyrights approved all over the world while President Trump is president and while Joe Biden is vice president his son shouldn't be able to do business dealings.'" Mnuchin replied, "homina homina." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mystery Money. Mrs. McCrabbie: This AP story from 10 days ago slipped right by me: "Ukraine's president said Friday that the United States hasn't only released $250 million in military aid to his country but will also extend an additional $140 million.... The Trump administration said Thursday that it has released $250 million in military aid to Ukraine that had been held up. It didn't mention additional funds." The story, which appeared in multiple outlets, is often accompanied by a photo of Zelensky looking puzzled. ~~~
~~~ Chuck Todd (or His Producers) Was Puzzled, too. Christina Zhao of Newsweek: "'Explain how, all of a sudden, when the aid got released, more money showed up. Where did that money come from?' Todd asked Mnuchin during a segment on NBC's Meet the Press. 'There was $250 million and they got an additional $140 million that they didn't expect. Do you have any idea where that came from?' 'It was appropriated money, it came through the State Department,' the Treasury Secretary responded. 'They didn't know they were getting this money. Is there any indication why they got the money when they did?' Todd pressed, to which Mnuchin shot back: 'I'm not sure it's correct for you to say they didn't know they got the money.' 'The president [of Ukraine] said he was surprised to get it,' Todd explained.... 'I think he was referring to his expectations as opposed to necessarily a surprise,' Mnuchin said. 'You're getting into details again. These are foreign policy issues. They've been discussed at the National Security Council at the principles level. These were not connected issues.'" Mrs. McC: Looks suspiciously like a quid or a quo to me.
Missions Accomplished. We're maybe hours from learning the promise Trump made and to which leader, less than 24 from him calling it fake news, two days away from Republicans being 'troubled,' three away from the WH admitting the story is true but Trump was 'joking,' four from the GOP falling into line. -- Brian Beutler, in a tweet Wednesday night
Step 1. "Learning to which leader Trump talked." This is only a half-check, because we don't know the promise Trump made & we're not sure Zelensky was the only foreign leader to whom Trump made inappropriate overtures. However, Steve Mnuchin's mysterious "bonus" check of $140MM to Ukraine could have something to do with the "promise."
Renato Mariotti in a Politico Magazine opinion piece: "What Trump is alleged to have done is not a garden variety crime; it's worse. It involved misusing $250 million in aid appropriated by Congress for his benefit -- the kind of gross misconduct that easily clears the bar of high crimes and misdemeanors set by the Constitution when impeaching a president. Which means the best way to hold Trump accountable for that misconduct isn't a criminal trial; it's for Congress to impeach him.... Labeling Trump's alleged conduct as 'bribery' or 'extortion' cheapens what is alleged to have occurred and does not capture what makes it wrongful. It's not a crime -- it's a breach of the president's duty not to use the powers of the presidency to benefit himself. And he invited a foreign nation to influence the 2020 election on the heels of a nearly three-year investigation that proved Russia had tried to influence the last presidential election. No one should expect law enforcement to act if our elected representatives are unwilling to do so." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.
Jim Fallows of the Atlantic: An "as-if-we'd-learned-nothing-from-2016 case of false equivalence ... is unfolding before our eyes. This is 'the Ukraine problem.' Specifically, this is the idea that whatever Donald Trump may be guilty of, involving that country, is journalistically and historically comparable to whatever Joe Biden's son Hunter may have done there. Already leading media outlets have begun lumping these stories together. 'Scrutiny over Trump's Ukraine scandal may also complicate Biden's campaign' was the headline on a big story in The Washington Post on Saturday. The day before that, a New York Times investigative reporter, Ken Vogel, went on MSNBC to argue that Ukraine complications were 'a significant liability for Joe Biden.' [Mrs. McC: Vogel has a big story in today's Times on 'Biden's work in Ukraine' with a picture of Joe Biden at the top, even though Joe Biden never did any work in Ukraine & legitimate reports have universally found the work he did on Ukraine was above reproach.] Guests on talk shows have, reflexively, wanted to 'balance' what they are saying about Trump-and-Ukraine, with observations about what Ukraine might mean for the Biden campaign."
Jonathan Chait: "On May 1, the New York Times published a story that contained the most important facets of the Ukraine story. The Times reported that President Trump, through his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was pressing Ukraine's government to investigate Joe Biden. And yet, having uncovered a massive scandal, the Times buried its own scoop.... Headlined 'Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies,' the story [-- by Ken Vogel --] spun out a version of the narrative Giuliani has been trying to implant in the media.... And then, after a brief detour that casually reveals that the Biden story is the product of an extraordinary abuse of power by the president, it returns to a long unspooling of the Biden-Ukraine narrative. Even at the the time, and especially in retrospect, it was an example of extremely bizarre journalistic judgment. One of the biggest presidential scandals in history had been dropped into the Times' lap, and it relegated the news to a subplot to its main story of vague insinuations against Biden.... Trump sent Giuliani to undertake a campaign so scurrilous that even Giuliani conceded the immorality from the outset. ('There's nothing illegal about it,' he said in May; 'somebody could say it's improper.') He did so in the belief that Biden would ultimately sustain more damage. We will see if he was right."
David Leonhardt of the New York Times lists 40 objectionable things Trump has done in the run-up to his campaign, his campaign & his presidency. They're not all impeachable offenses (tho some are, IMO), but they're all terrible.
"Howdy, Modi." Trump Plays Second Sitar to His Fellow Dictator. Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "The foreign strategy of soothing tensions with the United States by stroking President Trump's ego was put into vivid effect here Sunday when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lathered praise on his American counterpart at a massive rally celebrating the Indian diaspora. The leaders of the world's two largest democracies took the stage together in Houston before a roaring crowd of tens of thousands of Indian Americans, where Modi delivered an unmistakable endorsement of Trump's presidency and cast their joint appearance in historic terms.... Called 'Howdy, Modi!,' the event was staged to honor the prime minister and was billed as the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader other than the pope. Attendees, many of them from Texas’s large Indian community, packed into NRG Stadium.... Modi recently invited Trump to join him here, and the president agreed to be a special guest, but the signage and stagecraft made clear that Modi was the main attraction, with his image projected on large screens throughout the arena." ~~~
~~~ Authoritarians Stick Together. Jeremy Diamond, et al., of CNN: "The event was the first of two events on Sunday with foreign leaders in battleground states. After the rally, Trump flew to Wapakoneta, Ohio, to tour an Australian-owned cardboard manufacturing plant alongside Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who Trump feted with a state dinner on Friday. The events were an opportunity for both Modi and Morrison to show the US President they can deliver in ways that are especially appealing to Trump. In the critical battleground state of Ohio, Morrison was expected to demonstrate that his country is contributing to the US economy and creating manufacturing jobs as the two men tour a Pratt Industries manufacturing facility." ~~~
~~~ "Into the Gathering Darkness." Katharine Murphy, an Australian reporter for the Guardian, describes the Trump-Morrison event. "The evening air was heavy and there was an unpleasant smell -- fertiliser perhaps, something mildly awful. No one cared. They fell over one another and held their iPhones high as the presidential motorcade roared past, across the flat plains, past the water towers and the red barns and the billboards telling the damned of America to Repent and Follow the Word of Jesus Christ, into the gathering darkness.... "
Liz Ford of the Guardian: "The US is understood to have written to UN member states urging them to join a 'growing coalition' of countries rallying against abortion, in what seems to be the latest attempt by the Trump administration to rollback women's rights.... In the letter, apparently signed by the secretary of state Mike Pompeo and health and human services secretary Alex Azar, governments are encouraged to sign a joint statement opposing 'harmful' UN policies that promote sexual and reproductive health and rights.... The Trump administration has made repeated attempts to dilute and remove language from decades-old UN agreements. Intense lobbying by US officials in April resulted in the removal of references to sexual and reproductive health from a UN security council resolution on combatting rape in conflict. The US previously attempted to water down language and remove the word 'gender' from UN documents." --s
Congressional Races 2020. Rachel Bade of the Washington Post: Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) decided to retire when Trump began attacking four of Mitchell's female colleagues of color & no one in the White House would listen to Mitchell's objections. "Mitchell is among a growing list of House Republicans -- 18 to date -- who have announced plans to resign, retire or run for another office, part of a snowballing exodus.... Since Trump's inauguration, a Washington Post analysis shows, nearly 40 percent of the 241 Republicans who were in office in January 2017 are gone or leaving because of election losses, retirements including former House speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.), and some, such as Mitchell, who are simply quitting in disgust. The vast turnover is a reminder of just how much Trump has remade the GOP -- and of the purge of those who dare to oppose him."
Way Beyond the Beltway
David Halbfinger of the New York Times: "After 27 years of sitting out decisions on who should lead Israel, Arab lawmakers on Sunday recommended that Benny Gantz, the centrist former army chief, be given the first chance to form a government over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a watershed assertion of political power. Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Arab Joint List, wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed published on Sunday that the alliance's 13 incoming lawmakers — the third-largest faction in the newly elected Parliament -- had decided to recommend Mr. Gantz because it would 'create the majority needed to prevent another term for Mr. Netanyahu.' 'It should be the end of his political career,' Mr. Odeh wrote.... [Gantz] appears to lack a 61-seat majority even with the Joint List's support. He emerged from the election with 57 seats, including those of allies on the left and the Joint List, compared with 55 seats for Mr. Netanyahu and his right-wing allies." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Share Article
Reader Comments (29)
"An extended discussion about his son’s business dealings isn’t helpful to Biden’s electability argument. …..
"[In] March 2014, ... Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in Eastern Ukraine, setting off an international crisis. As the administration’s point-man on Ukraine, Biden led the U.S. response. ….
"That April, Biden’s son, Hunter, was appointed to the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company, despite lacking substantive experience working in Ukraine or the energy sector. He received compensation that was reportedly as high as $50,000 a month." ….
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/21/trump-ukraine-biden-1507051
In the words of a NYT commenter, "Hunter Biden has a habit of parachuting into far-flung places, just ahead of his father's arrival. Sometimes they traveled on the same U.S. government plane."
I respect Joe Biden. But whether or not he ever discussed with his son his son's business dealings seems to me to be irrelevant (as well as hard to believe). In any case his son's lucrative business dealings, at the same time a foreign policy crisis arose, surely cloud the issues here. They surely did not help his father's political future, nor that of his father's political party.
From a different angle, and least we forget, I am also puzzled that there is no current discussion of Richard Nixon's egregious, and tragic, interference with the Viet Nam peace process when letting that process play out, might have helped Hubert Humphrey, nor of Gerald Ford's blanket pardon. The Republicans have been acting inappropriately abroad for a long time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/31/opinion/sunday/nixons-vietnam-treachery.html
Perhaps the $140 million is the creation of a new genre: Quid Amateur Pro. Every last person in the trump administration is an amateur, not an ounce of expertise in governing among the lot of them.
It’s my very melancholy observation that the Ukraine Problem will be wrapped around Biden’s neck while the guy who created the problem in the first place dances away like he always does. Expect him to be screeching about the criminality of the horrible Biden family at his next Bund rally while the Times does a special investigation on the Bidens in the Sunday magazine section.
It’s a situation straight from Bith Sides heaven. Was Hunter Biden’s role in a Ukraine enterprise sketchy? Maybe. But his dad was not president. Trump used not just the office of the presidency to cajole a foreign head of state to help him hamstring an American he considered a political enemy, but he used taxpayer money as a bribe then sweetened the deal with more taxpayer money.
But it’s looking like the Biden side of this problem is becoming far more troublesome for that family than for the Orange Traitor. It’s like I’ve always maintained, if a Republican robbed a bank, shooting his way out and killing a dozen innocents in the process and across the street a Democrat crossed the street while the lights were against him, the headlines the next day would read “Democrat in Jaywalking Scandal!” in other news, a thing happened at a nearby bank.
And don’t miss the tired old trick Trump is pulling now of dangling the possibility of releasing a transcript (I thought he didn’t keep records of these things?). Sure. We’ll see that the day after he releases his oft promised tax returns.
As I said (wrote here) on Inauguration Day, he committed perjury while reciting the oath. This alone should be reason for impeachment. Everything done since is further evidence.
AK: Yes, this tactic is as old as I imagine the first human interactions:
" Big foot over there stole our larder along with my missus."
"Yeah, but YOU never showed up when we had our weekly meeting last year plus you never share your bounty with your neighbors."
Headline: Absent stingy man at yearly meeting complains about stolen goods.
Diversions––Fatty has a whole bag full as do the party of elephants. It's bloody awful that some paper's headlines follow this tactic and they should be called on it. One does have to ask: Who benefits?
All you have to do to despair is to read one or two remarks by yer average American voter.
Here's one from the Guardian story on the Trump-Morrison get-together: “He grew up not being a politician. He’s doing this job because he’s well off – that proves he cares about the country. He’s trustworthy, what he’s doing, how he’s doing it.”
And here's one from a focus group in Appleton, Wisconsin: "She likes Warren 'because she seems strong-willed.' But if Trump started talking about helping people pay for student debt and taxing corporations, she said be on the Trump train next year."
Trustworthy??? If Trump tells a couple more populist lies, I'll vote for him???
These people are so ignorant they should be sent back to first grade. Unfortunately, the first-grade teacher is likely just as ignorant as they are. There is another America, & it's chock-full of the dumbest asses in the whole wide world.
After being incommunicado for about a month (2 weeks up north in
the boonies, and 2 weeks with Apple computer recall; it went to
Houston for internal battery work) I've probably missed out on a lot
if interesting news, or should that be depressing news?
So if anyone could fill me in on all that's happened the last 30 days
or so, in one short paragraph, I'd be forever grateful.
I see that we're about 1% closer to impeachment than we were 30
days ago.
Did I read correctly that Hunter Biden is paid 50 grand per week
so sit on a board? That does sound fishy.
If foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, does that mean wise inconsistency is the mark of large ones?
Try this, which I just sent to the son who forwarded to me a lawyerly piece on the Pretender's stance on auto emission standards.
"Thanks.
Required two readings to get all the initials to adhere to my brain even temporarily…but worth the trouble.
On the positive side, its nice to learn that the feds are interested in uniform standards for emissions.
Think uniform voting standards state-to-state will be next?"
I'm finding it hard to get excited about possibilities of impeachment. Democrats still have some garments unshredded, some hands still unwrung, and possibly some tears left unshed. Meanwhile the republicans stand there, giggling and pointing like the kids who videoed the stabbing victim instead of helping and Trump dances around screaming "can't make me!"
I'd love to see the man serve hard time although I'd even settle for a Nixon style resignation. Just get him out of office, but I doubt the will is there.
Glad you're back, Forrest. So two weeks, huh? Here are the headlines, absent links because I'd have to actually do some work to transfer the links in the Comments:
Sept. 9: “Nahal Toosi, et al., of Politico: "… Trump announced Saturday on Twitter that he was canceling ongoing U.S. peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, including scrapping a secret meeting with the Islamist militia's leaders and the Afghan president at the Camp David presidential retreat outside of Washington. The decision has imperiled what was, in the scope of Trump's presidency, a relatively successful diplomatic effort so far to bring an end to the 18-year war in Afghanistan. It also adds to a growing list of Trump's negotiating shortfalls -- from Iran to North Korea to China -- that gives ammunition to Democrats seeking to unseat him. The fact that the meeting could have happened the same week as the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks especially outraged Trump critics."
Sept. 10: “Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump announced on Tuesday that he had fired John R. Bolton, his third national security adviser, amid fundamental disagreements over how to handle major foreign policy challenges like Iran, North Korea and most recently Afghanistan. 'I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,' the president wrote on Twitter. 'I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service.' Mr. Bolton offered a different version of how the end came in his own message on Twitter shortly afterward. 'I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow,"' Mr. Bolton wrote, without elaborating. Responding to a question from The New York Times via text message, Mr. Bolton said it was his initiative. 'Offered last night without his asking,' he wrote. 'Slept on it and gave it to him this morning.'"
Sept. 11: Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "The White House was directly involved in pressing a federal scientific agency to repudiate the weather forecasters who contradicted President Trump's claim that Hurricane Dorian would probably strike Alabama, according to several people familiar with the events. Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, told Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, to have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publicly disavow the forecasters] position that Alabama was not at risk. NOAA, which is part of the Commerce Department, issued an unsigned statement last Friday in response, saying that the Birmingham, Ala., office was wrong to dispute the president's warning."
Sept. 12: Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to bar most Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the United States, while the legal fight plays out in the courts. The Supreme Court, in a brief, unsigned order, said the administration may enforce new rules that generally forbid asylum applications from migrants who have traveled through another country on their way to the United States without being denied asylum in that country. The court's order was a major victory for the administration, allowing it to enforce a policy that will achieve one of its central goals: effectively barring most migration across the nation's southwestern border by Hondurans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans and others. Mexican migrants, who need not travel through another country to reach the United States, are not affected by the new policy.... Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dissented, saying the court's action will 'upend longstanding practices regarding refugees who seek shelter from persecution.'"
Sept. 13: David Kirkpatrick & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "Throughout President Trump's term, officials said this week, the American military has been paying his money-losing Scottish golf resort to provide five-star accommodations to United States military flight crews and other personnel during refueling stops on trips to and from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other locations. The chairman of the House Oversight committee has questioned if the spending at Turnberry is a violation of a constitutional prohibition on government payments to the president outside of his salary -- a provision known as the emoluments clause. Other House Democrats have said they expect the matter will now figure in their investigation of a possible impeachment.... There is little evidence of a systematic scheme to enrich Mr. Trump. But the military bookings at Turnberry are the latest in a series of episodes in which the president's private businesses have intersected with his public position in ways that he can profit from. The pattern also raises questions about how military officials failed to anticipate the questions that would accompany a large number of American military personnel marching into the opulent halls of one of the president's golf resorts at public expense."
Sept. 14: Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The nation's top intelligence official is illegally withholding a whistleblower complaint, possibly to protect ... Donald Trump or senior White House officials, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff alleged Friday. Schiff issued a subpoena for the complaint, accusing acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire of taking extraordinary steps to withhold the complaint from Congress, even after the intel community's inspector general characterized the complaint as credible and of 'urgent concern.' 'A Director of National Intelligence has never prevented a properly submitted whistleblower complaint that the [inspector general] determined to be credible and urgent from being provided to the congressional intelligence committees. Never,' Schiff said in a statement.... In addition, Schiff slammed Maguire for consulting the Justice Department about the whistleblower complaint 'even though the statute does not provide you discretion to review, appeal, reverse, or countermand in any way the [inspector general's] independent determination, let alone to involve another entity within the Executive Branch.'... The initial whistleblower complaint was filed last month, and Schiff indicated that it was required by law to be shared with Congress nearly two weeks ago."
Sept.15: New York Times reporters Robin Pogrebin & Kate Kelly in a NYT op-ed: Brett Kavanaugh has "adamantly denied" allegations that he sexually assaulted fellow Yale student Deborah Ramirez at a party when they were both students. "During his Senate testimony, Mr. Kavanaugh said that if the incident Ms. Ramirez described had occurred, it would have been 'the talk of campus.' Our reporting suggests that it was. At least seven people, including Ms. Ramirez's mother, heard about the Yale incident long before Mr. Kavanaugh was a federal judge. Two of those people were classmates who learned of it just days after the party occurred.... A classmate, Max Stier, saw Mr. Kavanaugh with his pants down at a different drunken dorm party, where friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student. Mr. Stier ... notified senators and the F.B.I. about this account, but the F.B.I. did not investigate.... Ms. Ramirez's legal team gave the F.B.I. a list of at least 25 individuals who may have had corroborating evidence. But the bureau -- in its supplemental background investigation -- interviewed none of them, though we learned many of these potential witnesses tried in vain to reach the F.B.I. on their own. Two F.B.I. agents interviewed Ms. Ramirez, telling her that they found her 'credible.' But the Republican-controlled Senate had imposed strict limits on the investigation." ~~~
Sept. 16: Kareem Fahim, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Sunday that the United States was prepared to respond to the devastating attacks on two oil installations in Saudi Arabia that halved the state oil company's production output, while Iran rejected U.S. accusations that it was responsible. 'There is reason to believe that we know the culprit,' Trump said in a tweet Sunday evening. He said the United States was 'locked and loaded depending on verification.' Trump did not name Iran, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had on Saturday, or specify whether he was contemplating a military response. He said he was waiting to hear from the Saudis on 'who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!'"
Sept. 17: Peter Baker & David Sanger of the New York Times: "... over the weekend, President Trump promised to wait for Saudi Arabia to tell him 'under what terms we would proceed.' His message on Twitter offered a remarkable insight into the deference Mr. Trump gives to the Saudi royal family and touched off a torrent of criticism from those who have long accused him of doing Riyadh's bidding while sweeping Saudi violations of human rights and international norms under the rug.... Whether, and how, to commit forces is one of the most critical decisions any American president can make, but Mr. Trump's comment gave the impression that he was outsourcing the decision."
Sept. 18: Nicholas Fandos & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "After initially stonewalling Democrats' questions, Mr. Lewandowski appeared to abruptly change strategies, confirming the details of a key episode from the Mueller investigation -- and even providing new information that wasn't in the special counsel's report. Under questioning by Representative Hank Johnson, Democrat of Georgia, Mr. Lewandowski said he never relayed the message because he went on a beach vacation with his children.... Mr. Lewandowski began his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee with remarks that sounded more like a campaign speech than testimony in a congressional investigation.... Given that he has been considering a run for the Senate from New Hampshire for the last several weeks, Mr. Lewandowski and his allies see the hearing as an opportunity to promote his allegiance to Mr. Trump in a way that could benefit him politically.... During a break that he requested, he tweeted out a link to a website for a new super PAC that was created today, 'Stand With Corey.'... Almost immediately, Mr. Lewandowski made clear he intended to do whatever he could to slow down the proceedings, including demanding that Democrats read him the section of the Mueller report about which they were questioning him.... At the tail-end of the hearing, Barry H. Berke, a well-regarded white-collar defense attorney who has taken a leave from his New York law firm to consult for the committee, unleashed a rapid-fire cross-examination in which he quickly established that Mr. Lewandowski had lied in an interview earlier this year when he said he couldn't recall any conversation he had with Mr. Trump about Mr. Sessions.”
Sept. 19: Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: "The whistleblower complaint that has triggered a tense showdown between the U.S. intelligence community and Congress involves President Trump's communications with a foreign leader, according to two former U.S. officials familiar with the matter. Trump's interaction with the foreign leader included a 'promise' that was regarded as so troubling that it prompted an official in the U.S. intelligence community to file a formal whistleblower complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, said the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity.... It was not immediately clear which foreign leader Trump was speaking with or what he pledged to deliver.... It raises new questions about the president's handling of sensitive information and may further strain his relationship with U.S. spy agencies. One former official said the communication was a phone call.... Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson determined that the complaint was credible and troubling enough to be considered a matter of 'urgent concern,' a legal threshold that ordinarily requires notification of congressional oversight committees. But acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire has refused to share details about Trump's alleged transgression with lawmakers, touching off a legal and political dispute that has spilled into public and prompted speculation that the spy chief is improperly protecting the president."
Sept. 20: Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "A whistleblower complaint about President Trump made by an intelligence official centers on Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Two and a half weeks before the complaint was filed, Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian and political newcomer who was elected in a landslide in May. That call is already under investigation by House Democrats who are examining whether Trump and his attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani sought to manipulate the Ukrainian government into helping Trump's reelection campaign. Lawmakers have demanded a full transcript and a list of participants on the call.... [During a House Intelligence Committee hearing held behind closed doors, intelligence inspector general Michael] Atkinson made clear that he disagreed with a lawyer for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who had contradicted the inspector general and found that the whistleblower complaint did not meet the statutory definition of an urgent concern because it involved a matter not under the DNI's jurisdiction. Atkinson told lawmakers that he disagreed with that analysis -- meaning he felt the matter was under the DNI's purview -- and also that it was urgent 'in the common understanding of the word,' the person said."
Sept. 21: Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump pressed the leader of Ukraine to investigate the son of former Vice President Joe Biden in a call between the two leaders that is at the center of an extraordinary whistleblower complaint, according to two people familiar with the matter. Trump used the July 25 conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to pressure the recently elected leader to more aggressively pursue an investigation that Trump believed would deliver potential political dirt against one of the president’s political adversaries, the people said. One source familiar with the contents of the exchange said that Trump did not raise the issue of American military and intelligence aid that had been pledged to Ukraine, indicating there was not an explicit quid pro quo in that call.... The revelation that Trump pushed Zelensky to pursue the Biden probe, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, represents the most detailed account so far of the president’s conduct that prompted a U.S. intelligence official to file a whistleblower action against the president."
Sept. 22: Brianne Pfannenstiel of the Des Moines Register: "Elizabeth Warren has surged in Iowa, narrowly overtaking Joe Biden and distancing herself from fellow progressive Bernie Sanders, the latest Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows. Warren, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts, now holds a 2-percentage-point lead, with 22% of likely Democratic caucusgoers saying she is their first choice for president. It is the first time she has led in the Register’s poll. Former Vice President Biden, who had led each of the Register’s three previous 2020 cycle polls, follows her at 20%. Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont, has fallen to third place with 11%. No other candidate reaches double digits."
Muchas gracias, Bea. It just gets worse and worse. Every day
brings unbelievable happenings all over the globe.
Looks like the horses ass fears horses. That's how I would have
headlined this article about pence on Mackinac Island. Glad I was
there before the 8 limo caravan invaded the island, where no cars
have been for over a hundred years.
https://news.yahoo.com/mike-pence-takes-eight-vehicle-133900075.
html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=1_o2
And my son responds:
"Lower(?) uniform voting standards, of course."
Don't know where he gets it.
Compiling even a truncated list of the bestial doings of the Orange Menace and his gang of ignoramuses, thugs, traitors, and schemers one is struck by the complete lack of anything positive or good, at least for anyone who isn’t filthy rich or just plain filthy. If you’re a hater, a racist, a white supremacist, a far right ideologue, a nihilist, or a know-nothing drooler, you’re in the pink.
There is nothing in the way of coordinated policy development for the betterment of the country, just haphazard mayhem and a frighteningly precipitate erosion of decency, democracy, justice, and logic. A catalogue of chaos.
Forrest,
Welcome back! And just in time to pass on the documentation of another sacrilege by the the little king’s even littler half pence. He could have garnered some goodwill and more than a few kudos by taking a horse drawn carriage as other (real) presidents have done. But, no. Never miss a chance to spit in someone’s eye, especially by defying over a century of precedence in protecting an environment from noise and emissions pollution.
This is peeing in the pool just because there’s a sign that says not to pee in the pool. It’s juvenile and disrespectful and, well, ignorant. These are the people who demand rules for everyone else but themselves. Just atrocious.
Other than that, glad to have you back.
Bea et al.: My wife coined the best phrase I've heard in a while:
Stupid has reached a critical mass. Chain reaction imminent.
This might bring a tear to your eye - Greta's comments at the UN Climate Summit today.
Here's a look at CO pollution around the world. The US looks pretty good today, but eastern China is its usual mess.
Whyte,
Good one. Points for your wife. But the critical mass of stupidity could also trigger a feedback loop which would amplify the stoopid and make stoopidity the standard model (see Marie's comments about how idiots trust Donald Trump and think he's great. It's like seeing someone crash a school bus on purpose and then commend the driver for not being among the dead).
Here's a more complete version of Greta's comments from PBS that includes the initial question.
Marie,
About the Amtrak dining service, I never got to experience that glamorous element of train travel but I was on an Amtrak a couple of months ago and a trip to the "dining car" was more like stopping at a 7-11. Glamorous it ain't.
As for dressing up for travel, it's nice to see old movies in which both men and women were dressed either on a train or a plane. As a kid, I remember going Christmas shopping in town with either my mother or one of my aunts. They wore dresses and hats and white gloves, and sometimes corsages. I always felt special being with them. It made shopping an event.
We'd stop at an ice cream parlor sometimes with our bundles and shopping bags and get a milk shake or sundae served in glass containers usually with silver metal holders around them and long (metal) spoons. Needless to say, as a seven year old, it was my favorite part of the excursion.
But I can see pictures of my parents and their friends at parties (probably the late forties, early fifties). All the men had on suits and ties and the women, dresses and heels--at house parties! A far cry from today. Nothing against comfort, but there was something very pleasant about those older dress codes.
Another element missing from travel is even the most basic form of communication with other passengers. Get on a plane or train or bus now and everyone is hypnotized by their cell phones. I'm not usually the only one with a book, but there aren't many others. One passenger on a plane informed me (in case I had not heard) that books were on the way out (seeing me pull out my stash). He let me know that all he needed was right there on his cell phone.
I smiled and thanked him for his wisdom.
Dullard.
Commenter to article in Wapo wrote:
You may express your opinions on impeachment to Speaker Pelosi at speaker.gov/contact.
P.S. no 'dot'/period after contact!
Like us all, sometimes Rex Hupke swings and misses.
This time, a home run.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/rex-huppke/ct-trump-impeach-ukraine-whistleblower-biden-democrats-huppke-20190923-tfemkklrcndn7bvdxmoqbwrfda-story.html
K,
Okay, "Reverse Nixon" has been assimilated into my bank of Trumpian memes. "I AM a crook", a declaration buttressed by his butt-hurt buddy Rudy, "He IS a crook", which he further reinforces with claims of "And I am a lying crook too!, but Chris Cuomo...Aiiiiieeeee!"
Which brings us to "What in the unholy hell are Democrats waiting for?" We have a president and his lawyer saying flat out that they are traitors. But Democrats don't believe them. "Sorry" sez Nancy. "I don't believe Trump and his lawyer when they say they are traitors. I want proof."
You mean like proof of the Transit of Venus? "It's just a black dot. How do we know it's really Venus?"
Or how 'bout the world is round? "Is that a sea monster on the edge of the world?"
What about "Pythagoras was way off. What's a hypotenuse anyway?"
Just like White Star Line wanted proof that the supposedly unsinkable Titanic, under pressure from their leader, J. Bruce Ismay, hit an iceberg at 23 knots and went down in far less time than Trump takes for Egg-Zecutive Time.
"Who knows how fast they were really going? Those people are all dead!"
Or how about proof of Kant's theory of metaphysics? "What's behind that curtain, anyway? No one knows. Even Kant sez so! Fuggedaboutit!"
Santa Claus?
The Easter Bunny?
Bigfoot?
The King Tut Curse?
The Curse of the Bambino?
All easier for Democratic leaders to accommodate than "Trump:Traitor", apparently.
So Diaper Donnie thinks the Nobel Prize is rigged. I can't wait to see his head explode when he hears that Greta is awarded the honor.
"Whadaya mean they gave the medal to a 16-year old snot-nosed nasty girl. EVERYBODY KNOWS CLIMATE CHANGE IS A HOAX!!!!!!"
Boom.
Waaaahhhhhh!
The little king wants a Nobel! (Is there a Nobel for treason?) He'll take any of them. In fact, being such a fabulist (ie, liar) he'd be perfectly fine with the Nobel Prize for Literature.
And here are some of his submissions for consideration:
"Despite the constant negative press covfefe."
Ummm...what?
"...promote the possibility of lasting peach"
(I always wanted to be known as a peachful man.)
"Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Council,"
"Umm...you mean 'counsel'"?
"...unpresidented act." 'Nuff said.
"No dream is too big, no challenge is to great,"
"To bad" sez the Nobel committee.
“They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!”
Okay, the last might be a lurch for some kind of sciencey prize, but I'm not sure the idea that Earth's moon is part of Mars will make it past the second grade judges. To bad.
Did you ever think you'd see another leader in the Egg-zecutive branch less adept with the language than the Decider or Dan (Potatoe Man) Quayle?
Hey, they're all Republicans. What's the question?
I'd give him the Nobel if he would resign and shut up.
He might be able to meet the first condition. The 2nd is beyond him.
@Ak, Don't forget that the chain reaction is the feed forward to the sustained stuplear reaction.
I'm more and more convinced, if the House Dems don't impeach, the Republicans are going to win the next elections in a blood red wave. Despite all the pent up anger at this administration, what the fuck have we achieved by getting Nancy the gavel? Hope and fucking prayers for Donny. And sternly-worded letters that go straight in a filing drawer of shit to forget.
Nancy's gonna hold the few flipped Trump districts, and lose a shitload more.
I know the Dems have literally the entire American government against them right now and the "rule of law" requires quotation marks at this stage in the game but for fuck's sake, they embody a resigned wet dog in a downpour waiting to come in from the rain.
Nobody votes for that.
Not all of it by any means, but more of the iceberg.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/09/whistleblower-complaint-office-of-legal-counsel-secret-law.html