SPOILER

Vice President - Mike Pence

Het kabinet
Secretary of State - Mike Pompeo
Secretary of Treasury - Steven Mnuchin
Secretary of Defense - General Jim 'Mad Dog' Mattis
Attorney General - Jeff Sessions
Secretary of the Interior - Ryan Zinke
Secretary of Agriculture - Sonny Perdue
Secretary of Commerce - Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Labor - Alexander Acosta
Secretary of Health and Human Services - Alex Azar
Secretary of Housing & Urban Development - Ben Carson
Secretary of Transportation - Elaine Chao
Secretary of Energy - Rick Perry
Secretary of Education - Betsy DeVos
Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Ronny Jackson??? Robert Wilkie (Acting)
Secretary of Homeland Security - Kirstjen Nielsen

Cabinet-level officials:
White House Chief of Staff - John F. Kelly
Trade Representative - Robert Lighthizer
Director of National Intelligence - Dan Coats
Ambassador to the UN - Nikki Haley
Director of the Office of Management & Budget - Mick Mulvaney
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency - Gina Haspel
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - Scott Pruitt
Administrator of the Small Business Administration - Linda McMahon

Andere kopstukken:
Ivanka Trump (Advisor to the President), Jared Kushner (Senior Adviser Strategic Planning), Stephen Miller (Senior Adviser Policy), John Bolton (National Security Adviser), Kellyanne Conway (Counselor), Donald McGahn (White House Counsel), Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Press Secretary), Christopher Wray (Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation), Robert Mueller (Special Counsel), Rod Rosenstein (United States Deputy Attorney General).

Verdwenen of voormalige kopstukken:
Kabinet: Tom Price (HHS), David Shulkin (VA), Rex Tillerson (State)
DOJ/FBI: Sally Yates, James Comey, Preet Bharara, Andrew McCabe
Communicatie WH: Mike Dubke, Sean Spicer, Anthony Scaramucci, Hope Hicks
Adviseurs enzo: Michael Flynn, Herbert McMaster, Reince Priebus, Rob Porter, Gary Cohn, Steve Bannon, John McEntee

SPOILER

quote:

The stout man with the gray goatee and the gentle demeanor dared to disagree with his country’s government. He told the world the truth about its brutality toward those who would speak out. And he was murdered for it.

Every detail of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing made it a sensation: the time stamp on the surveillance video that captured the Saudi journalist entering his country’s Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2; the taxiway images of the private jets bearing his assassins; the bone saw; the reports of his final words, “I can’t breathe,” recorded on audio as the life was choked from him.

But the crime would not have remained atop the world news for two months if not for the epic themes that Khashoggi himself was ever alert to, and spent his life placing before the public. His death laid bare the true nature of a smiling prince, the utter absence of morality in the Saudi-U.S. alliance and—in the cascade of news feeds and alerts, posts and shares and links—the centrality of the question Khashoggi was killed over: Whom do you trust to tell the story?

[..]

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 17:15 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

twitter:

RepAdamSchiff twitterde op dinsdag 11-12-2018 om 16:11:46 The U.S. now joins Saudi Arabia and Russia in a proposal to weaken references to a key scientific report on the severity and dire consequences of global warming.Nations, like individuals, can be measured by the company they keep. https://t.co/SnwruODf4w reageer retweet

quote:

The Latest: Jury recommends life in prison for Fields
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Latest on jury deliberations on a sentencing recommendation for a man convicted of murder and other charges for driving his car into counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally (all times local):

12:15 p.m. A jury has recommended life in prison plus 419 years for a man convicted of murder for driving his car into counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally last year. (AP).

SPOILER

The jury made its recommendation on Tuesday, a day after listening to emotional statements from the mother of a woman who was killed and from numerous people who were injured. James Alex Fields Jr. plowed into the counterprotesters during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12, 2017.

The jury reached its sentencing verdict shortly before noon Tuesday, after about four hours of deliberations over two days. Jurors also recommended 70 years for each of five malicious wounding charges, 20 for each of three malicious wounding charges, and nine years on one charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

On Friday, the same jury convicted Fields of first-degree murder and other felonies, rejecting his lawyers’ arguments that he had acted in self-defense.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 19:30 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:
[ afbeelding ]

Prachtige foto van het overleg van vanmiddag tussen Dems en Trump. Vat mooi de uitkomst van het gesprek samen: meer onenigheid. En dan Pence die er als een haast apathisch derde been tussen zit.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 19:34 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:
Dems hebben wel een paar mooie quotes van Trump over de dreigende shutdown kunnen scoren. "I would love to shut down the Government" zei Trump onder andere. Hij is er wat dat betreft met open ogen ingetrapt

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 19:51 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:
Kelly to remain as White House chief of staff through Jan. 2 or longer, official says


Pijnlijk.

quote:

JOHN KELLY IS 'FURIOUS' AT IVANKA TRUMP AND JARED KUSHNER FOR HIS FIRING: REPORT

(..)

According to The Times, both Kushner and his wife, adviser to the president Ivanka Trump, had lobbied for Ayers to be made chief of staff for months, which many saw as a "coup attempt."

Rather than dismiss Kelly himself, however, Trump reportedly "looked for others to do the work for him last week," even attempting to "arrange for" Ayers to fire Kelly, the news outlet reported, citing three people familiar with the events.

https://www.newsweek.com/(...)kelly-report-1253034

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 19:34 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:
Dems hebben wel een paar mooie quotes van Trump over de dreigende shutdown kunnen scoren. "I would love to shut down the Government" zei Trump onder andere. Hij is er wat dat betreft met open ogen ingetrapt

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 19:51 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:
Kelly to remain as White House chief of staff through Jan. 2 or longer, official says


Pijnlijk.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 21:52 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:
Deze wil ik.

[ afbeelding ]

quote:

Minutes after a very public showdown with Donald Trump over his border wall with Mexico, the California Democrat returned to the Capitol and railed against the president in a private meeting with House Democrats.

Trump “must have said the word ‘wall’ 30 times,” the House minority leader said, according to multiple sources in the room.

“I was trying to be the mom,” she added, but “it goes to show you: you get into a tinkle contest with a skunk, you get tinkle all over you.”

And then, Pelosi went for the most sensitive part of Trump’s ego.

“It’s like a manhood thing with him — as if manhood can be associated with him,” she deadpanned. “This wall thing.”

SPOILER

Congressional Democrats are feeling smug — and actually a little excited — for the looming shutdown fight with the president after Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting.

The president may have opened up the entire negotiation session to the public to throw Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer off their game. But in the end, Democrats feel confident that their leaders came out ahead.

Trump, Democrats argue, fell into a trap the minute he took ownership of what Pelosi has dubbed “the Trump shutdown.” Absent a bipartisan agreement on Trump’s border wall, about a quarter of the government will run out of money on Dec. 21.

"If we don't get what we want ... I will shut down the government,” Trump said in the Oval Office before a room full of reporters and TV cameras. “I am proud to shut down the government for border security. ... I will take the mantle ... for shutting down the government."

Democrats say their leaders looks like the only reasonable adults at the table: they were the only side arguing that a government shutdown is a bad thing.

“The Trump shutdown is something that can be avoided and that the American people do not need at this time of economic uncertainty, and people losing jobs and the market in a mood and the rest,” Pelosi said after the meeting. “It is a luxury — the Trump shutdown is a luxury that the American people cannot afford.”

The public sniping between both sides is a sign of just how ugly the next two years will be once Democrats take the House.

And if House Democrats wanted to see how the next potential speaker would match up against Trump, they got a pretty good glimpse of the future Tuesday.

Indeed, the episode is likely to help Pelosi in her bid to round up the votes to be speaker. The women who’s led the caucus for 15 years is still working behind the scenes to secure the 218 votes needed to retake the gavel.

It was in that vein that Pelosi harped on Trump as she returned to the Hill to join her colleagues at a Democratic Steering Committee meeting. She told the room the party was well positioned to fight in this shutdown showdown — particularly after Trump’s comments.

“The press is all there! Chuck is really shouting out. I was trying to be the mom. I can’t explain it to you. It was so wild,” she said, later adding: “But the fact is we did get him to say, to fully own that the shutdown was his. That was an accomplishment.”

At one point, after reporters and TV cameras left the Oval Office, Trump told Pelosi and Schumer that the new trade agreement he recently struck with Canada and Mexico was going to pay for the wall, Pelosi told lawmakers.

On the campaign trail, the president had vowed that Mexico would pay for any southern barrier — not the United States. Pelosi and Schumer reminded him several times during the rare public meeting Tuesday that he failed to keep this vow.

In private, however, Trump suggested both U.S. neighbors would pay for the construction with the new NAFTA agreement.

The entire thing baffled Pelosi. It’s a “cultural phenomenon,” Pelosi told her colleagues, that “the fate of our country [is] in the hands of this person.”

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 22:33 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

Trump, Schumer, Pelosi publicly spar over border security

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Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 22:38 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Waarom doen Pelosi, Schumer en Trump dit?!

Althans, ik snap niet waarom beide groepen hier wat mee te winnen denken te hebben of is het traditie? Het is niet alsof er ooit een akkoord zou komen op deze manier.

Dat Trump voornamen gebruikt vind ik ook vrij respectloos over komen eerlijk gezegd, maar daar zal zijn achterban vast heel anders over denken.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 22:48 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

[..]

Doen wat? Trump denkt een showtje op te kunnen voor de pers en Pelosi en Schumer gaan niet mee in zijn leugens. Met respect heeft het niks te maken idd, het Witte Huis heeft zijn glans wel verloren sinds deze mongool zijn intrek heeft genomen.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 22:17 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:
Pelosi privately disses Trump’s manhood after White House meeting

The House minority leader told Democrats that Trump’s push for the border wall is ‘a manhood thing.’

[..]

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 22:51 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Ongewone reactie ...

Je beantwoordt hier dus de vraag met: Trump denkt een showtje op te kunnen voeren en Pelosi en Schumer denken "LOL, have at it." Ik weet niet goed wat dat betekent qua protocol ... de pers was er omdat Pelosi en Schumer langs zouden komen en waar ze normaal gevraagd wordt te vertrekken gebeurde dat nu niet?

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Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:02 schreef TruusHenk het volgende:

[..]

Dat vind ik dan weer erg dom, om je tot zo'n zelfde kleuterniveau als Trump te verlagen. Je kunt m.i. beter een beetje volwassen en zakelijk blijven en Trump zichzelf voor lul laten blijven zetten.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:07 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

[..]

Ze corrigeren hem op zijn leugens? Dat is je verlagen tot hetzelfde niveau? Ze hadden hun mond moeten houden?

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:02 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

[..]

Geen idee waar je een probleem mee hebt? Het moet je onderhand toch wel opgevallen zijn dat Trump weinig op heeft met protocol.

quote:

Look, we have to have the wall. This isn't a question; this is a national emergency. Drugs are pouring into our country. People with tremendous medical difficulty and medical problems are pouring in, and in many -- in many cases, it's contagious.
They're pouring into our country.

quote:

"One of the problems that people don't talk about, you have a tremendous medical problem coming into our country," he said during a bill signing ceremony. "Tremendous problems. People don't want to talk about it."

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Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:13 schreef TruusHenk het volgende:

[..]

Nee natuurlijk niet, maar dat 'manhood' ding.

SPOILER

Maar mag zij ook eens een keer

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:14 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Ja, maar Pelosi en Schumer zijn daar niet aan gebonden. Ik vraag me dus af wat de omstandigheden zijn waardoor deze drie mensen daar in die kamer zitten met een hele berg pers. Ik heb verder nergens een probleem mee, maar ben gewoon nieuwsgierig hoe dit schouwspelletje/toneelstukje tot stand kwam/wat het nou was.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:30 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

[..]

Meestal is er een 'praatje' vooraf met de pers over het onderwerp van disscussie. Het had natuurlijk nooit zo uit de hand moeten lopen. Blijkbaar is de regie daar helemaal zoek.

Schumer zegt ook op een gegeven moment: "Let's discuss this in private" maar Trump gaat gewoon door.

quote:

“I was wondering who they would go after in retaliation but I thought this would happen at a later stage in the process, but they may have come under conclusion that someone who was a diplomat who worked for the Canadian government would get the attention of people in Ottawa,” Saint-Jacques said.

Saint-Jacques confirmed that Kovrig is currently on an unpaid leave of absence from the embassy and therefore still has diplomatic status.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 02:07 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
In Canada is Meng Wanzhou voorlopig vrijgelaten (op borg, 10 mijoen dollar).
In China is een voormalig diplomaat van de Canadese ambassade gearresteerd. Bovendien één die de Foreign Service nog niet verlaten heeft, hij was met "unpaid leave of absence" (werkend voor "International Crisis Group"). Michael Kovrig heeft in totaal 10 jaar voor de dienst gewerkt, oa van 2014 tot 2016 op de ambassade in China en enkele maanden op het consulaat in Hong Kong als "political fixer" (?) voor het bezoek van Trudeau.

Z'n voormalige baas en ambassadeur:

[..]

https://www.thestar.com/n(...)ons-reports-say.html
Vraag me af hoeveel ambtenaren ingezet werden voor de zoektocht naar de ideale Canadese gijzelaar...

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 02:11 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Dit gebeuren impliceert alsof je ineens op zoek bent naar een Canadees voor je prietpraat. Of dat Canadezen net als Amerikanenen Chinezen deelnemen aan dezelfde kleine wereld.

quote:

Trump says he would intervene if needed in Justice Dept. case against Chinese telecom executive accused of violating Iran sanctions

The president, when asked in a Reuters interview, said he would be willing to intervene in the U.S. request to extradite Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou if it would help advance a U.S.-China trade deal: “I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary.” However, Trump said he had not spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the case.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 00:31 schreef Knipoogje het volgende:
Schumer maakt nog wel even een prachtige trollface na zijn diss over Trump "When the president brags he won North Dakota and Indiana he’s in real trouble""

[ afbeelding ]

[ afbeelding ]

quote:

The Trump administration has forced out a senior White House political appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs who spent months on the federal payroll doing little to no work.

Peter O’Rourke’s departure marks an unceremonious fall for a Trump loyalist once seen as a rising star at VA, where he nonetheless had a rocky tenure, first leading a high-profile office handling whistleblower complaints, next as chief of staff and then, for two months, as the agency’s acting secretary.

Since August he has held the nebulous role of senior adviser, with an uncertain portfolio and a senior executive salary as high as $161,000. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie asked for his resignation Friday, O’Rourke said.

O’Rourke said in an interview that he remains “very supportive of the president and the agenda of the Trump administration” and would like to rejoin the administration.

“I’d be more than happy to serve again,” he said. “It doesn’t appear there is a request at this time.” He said he “does not hold any grudges.”

Asked why he was getting paid not to work, O’Rourke said he was “available for anything the secretary asked me to do” and acknowledged that “there were times I didn’t have a lot to do.”

Spokesmen for the White House and VA did not respond to requests for comment.

SPOILER

While he did not serve in roles that required Senate confirmation, O’Rourke, a former press lead for Trump’s presidential campaign, wielded huge influence. But his star faded following clashes with lawmakers, VA’s inspector general and other agency officials.

O’Rourke was a central figure during a tumultuous period from which VA has not yet fully recovered, when infighting at its senior levels threatened the president’s agenda for veterans. When Wilkie arrived in late July, he tried to sideline O’Rourke, according to people familiar with the matter.

When Trump would not fire him, O’Rourke became a senior adviser to the secretary after turning down at least one low-profile job Wilkie offered, people close to VA said. But O’Rourke was rarely in his office at VA headquarters in Washington, according to four people with knowledge of the arrangement, and by last week White House officials had grown concerned that O’Rourke was getting paid but not working, creating a perception problem in a corner of the government where the president has promised greater accountability.

“I don’t think he has any actual responsibilities at work,” one senior administration official said of O’Rourke days before he left.

O’Rourke joins a group of senior administration officials who were forced to exit after their ethics or management style raised questions about their effectiveness. Nowhere in the government has Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp” of ineffective bureaucrats and poor performers been on display more than at VA, which has pushed out thousands of low-level employees and dozens more senior career civil servants.

“You say you’ve been cleaning up VA, but this guy’s been getting paid to sit on his couch,” said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and chief executive of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and a frequent critic of VA’s leadership under Trump.

“Was O’Rourke exempt from this new accountability bill?” Rieckhoff said, referring to legislation Congress passed last year that clears a fast path to firing poor-performing civil servants at VA. “Taxpayers are owed an answer.”

It’s common for federal employees to be placed on paid administrative leave when an agency investigates allegations of misconduct against them. O’Rourke, though criticized by colleagues and lawmakers, was not under investigation for any wrongdoing.

O’Rourke’s standing in the administration was buoyed by a controversial trio of unofficial advisers to the president who are members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. The men have exerted huge influence at VA since Trump took office, steering policies and procurements on everything from information technology to mental health care.

As his power and portfolio at VA grew, particularly during the president’s failed nomination of White House physician Ronny L. Jackson to run the agency, O’Rourke was in regular contact with the group, dubbed the “Mar-a-Lago crowd” by agency insiders: Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter, Palm Beach physician Bruce Moskowitz and attorney Marc Sherman.

Perlmutter, the group’s de facto leader, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

O’Rourke made regular trips to Mar-a-Lago for meetings with them after Trump fired his first secretary, David Shulkin, amid a highly publicized power struggle with O’Rourke and other political appointees at the agency. He helped the group deepen its involvement in the agency’s day-to-day operations, according to multiple former VA officials and others close to the agency.

After Wilkie assumed power and began to appoint his own leadership team, Perlmutter contacted Trump and advised him to find O’Rourke another job in his administration, telling the president his loyalty should be rewarded, according to two people familiar with the conversation. The White House Personnel Office was tasked with finding him a job at another agency that would suit his background in business development. But that didn’t happen. Instead, O’Rourke was in limbo for more than four months at taxpayers’ expense.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who serves on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said she was disturbed to learn of the arrangement to keep O’Rourke on the payroll while he did not work.

“The VA’s mission is and always has been to serve veterans, not dole out political favors,” Murray said in an email. “I was deeply concerned by Mr. O’Rourke’s time at VA, where as Acting Secretary he made a number of questionable decisions and personnel changes that were suspect at best.”

The committee’s Republican chairman, Sen. Johnny Isakson (Ga.), declined to comment.

A former Air Force logistics officer, O’Rourke was embroiled in controversy at VA almost from the start. His leadership of the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, created days after Trump took office, has held to account few of the senior managers it was designed to target, and whistleblowers who came forward to report misconduct complain of retaliation.

O’Rourke’s supporters blamed the White House Personnel Office for allowing him to flounder. They say he was dedicated to Trump’s agenda for veterans.

O’Rourke drew unfavorable reviews on Capitol Hill from members of both parties after a dispute with VA’s inspector general, who was denied records he sought from the accountability office. A Washington Post report on O’Rourke’s efforts to purge civil servants and some political appointees whom he and others installed by Trump deemed unsupportive of the president’s agenda drew calls for an investigation by Congress.

His relationship with Wilkie was contentious from the start. The new secretary tried several times to have him fired, according to VA and White House officials. Wilkie complained about him to White House officials, telling them he could not bring calm and restore the sense of mission and morale at VA that lawmakers on Capitol Hill demanded if O’Rourke stayed on.

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:07 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

[..]

Ze corrigeren hem op zijn leugens? Dat is je verlagen tot hetzelfde niveau? Ze hadden hun mond moeten houden?

quote:

Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 21:52 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:
Deze wil ik.

[ afbeelding ]

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:31 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:
Overigens pakte Trump dat gesprek met Schumer en Pelosi best slim aan. Hij ging er hard in en wierp zich op als beschermheer van de Amerikanen die fel gekant zijn tegen immigratie. De veiligheid van zijn land gaat hem zo aan het hart dat hij bereid is de overheid op slot te gooien als de Democraten hem niet helpen de instroom van Zuid- en Midden-Amerikaans tuig terug te dringen.

Wij lachen misschien om Trumps clowneske houding, maar zijn optreden doet het natuurlijk buitengewoon bij miljoenen Amerikanen.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:31 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:
Overigens pakte Trump dat gesprek met Schumer en Pelosi best slim aan. Hij ging er hard in en wierp zich op als beschermheer van de Amerikanen die fel gekant zijn tegen immigratie. De veiligheid van zijn land gaat hem zo aan het hart dat hij bereid is de overheid op slot te gooien als de Democraten hem niet helpen de instroom van Zuid- en Midden-Amerikaans tuig terug te dringen.

Wij lachen misschien om Trumps clowneske houding, maar zijn optreden doet het natuurlijk buitengewoon bij miljoenen Amerikanen.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:34 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Overgrote meerderheid van de bevolking is tegen de muur. Bovendien moet Trump een breder publiek gaan aanspreken als hij herkozen wil worden. Was juist een hele domme actie.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:36 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Denk dat je onderschat hoeveel Amerikanen gekant zijn tegen immigratie. Dat hij de verkiezingen won, heeft hij juist te danken aan het feit dat hij deze toon aansloeg.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:37 schreef Ludachrist het volgende:

[..]

Tegen de muur zijn is wel wat anders dan tegen migratie zijn.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:40 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Complete volksstammen stonden te juichen omdat meneer verklaarde een muur te willen bouwen. Ik denk dat het felle toontje dat hij aansloeg tijdens zijn gesprek met Schumer en Pelosi niet per se in zijn nadeel hoeft te werken. In de ogen van zijn achterban straalt hij daarmee een zekere mate van vastberadenheid uit.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:46 schreef Ludachrist het volgende:

[..]

Ongetwijfeld, maar dat is niet per se een meerderheid. Verder zijn dat voornamelijk mensen die toch al op hem stemmen, daar valt niet echt iets te winnen voor Trump door daar de nadruk op te leggen.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:36 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Denk dat je onderschat hoeveel Amerikanen gekant zijn tegen immigratie. Dat hij de verkiezingen won, heeft hij juist te danken aan het feit dat hij deze toon aansloeg.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:46 schreef Ludachrist het volgende:

[..]

Ongetwijfeld, maar dat is niet per se een meerderheid. Verder zijn dat voornamelijk mensen die toch al op hem stemmen, daar valt niet echt iets te winnen voor Trump door daar de nadruk op te leggen.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:36 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Denk dat je onderschat hoeveel Amerikanen gekant zijn tegen immigratie. Dat hij de verkiezingen won, heeft hij juist te danken aan het feit dat hij deze toon aansloeg.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:51 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Een meerderheid heeft hij sowieso nooit gehad. Wat voor Trump van belang is, is het behouden van zijn achterban en het overtuigen van een deel van de 'gematigde' Republikeinen.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:52 schreef Ludachrist het volgende:

[..]

Ja, maar het deel van de gematigde Republikeinen overtuig je dus niet door weer over die muur te beginnen, aangezien het maar een klein deel van het electoraat is dat toch al op hem stemt dat die muur een puik plan vindt.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:52 schreef Ludachrist het volgende:

[..]

Ja, maar het deel van de gematigde Republikeinen overtuig je dus niet door weer over die muur te beginnen, aangezien het maar een klein deel van het electoraat is dat toch al op hem stemt dat die muur een puik plan vindt.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 10:51 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Een meerderheid heeft hij sowieso nooit gehad. Wat voor Trump van belang is, is het behouden van zijn achterban en het overtuigen van een deel van de 'gematigde' Republikeinen.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 11:05 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Die 'gematigde' Republikeinen hebben al lang in de gaten dat ze het met een zwendelaar te doen hebben. Die trappen écht niet meer in het geschetter van Trump.

[ afbeelding ]

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 11:30 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Mwoah, de beste man heeft nog altijd een approval rating van om en nabij de 40 procent. Dat vind ik vrij veel.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 11:32 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Da's altijd nog 5% minder dan de slechtste rating die Obama ooit heeft gehad.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 11:40 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

En Obama werd met een comfortabele voorsprong herkozen.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 11:05 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Die 'gematigde' Republikeinen hebben al lang in de gaten dat ze het met een zwendelaar te doen hebben. Die trappen écht niet meer in het geschetter van Trump.

[ afbeelding ]

Bush "Fool Me Once..."

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 12:24 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:
We hebben aan de midterms kunnen zien dat wanneer zowel voor als tegenstanders van Trump komen opdagen, dit resulteert in een verlies van 7-8 punten voor de Republikeinen. Als Trump herverkiezing wil winnen moet hij een breder publiek gaan aanspreken en duidelijk maken dat hij heeft geluisterd naar de kritiek op hem. Zoals ook Clinton en Obama deden na slecht verlopen midterms. Een shutdown om een nutteloze muur erdoorheen te drukken waar een meerderheid van de bevolking tegen is, is dan een slecht begin.

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Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 23:02 schreef TruusHenk het volgende:
Dat vind ik dan weer erg dom, om je tot zo'n zelfde kleuterniveau als Trump te verlagen. Je kunt m.i. beter een beetje volwassen en zakelijk blijven en Trump zichzelf voor lul laten blijven zetten.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 11:30 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

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Mwoah, de beste man heeft nog altijd een approval rating van om en nabij de 40 procent. Dat vind ik vrij veel.

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 17:42:33 @Tom_Winter Michael Cohen is now speaking in court at his sentencing hearing. reageer retweet

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 17:48:45 @Tom_Winter Michael Cohen tells the court that he takes full responsibility for the actions that relate to him and to the US president, he blames himself for the conduct that has brought him there, and notes his blind loyalty to the president led him to choose darkness over light. reageer retweet

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 17:52:06 @Tom_Winter Michael Cohen tells the court that his weakness was blind loyalty to Donald Trump, and that he loves his family, which has received undeserved shame and pain that he deserved, not them. reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 18:05:05 Breaking on @MSNBC: Michael Cohen has been sentenced to 36 months, or 3 years, in prison. reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 18:08:15 Michael Cohen also hit with forfeiture of $500,000, restitution of $1.4 million and a fine of $50,000, according to Bloomberg. https://t.co/5qK3nun7af reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 18:06 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 18:05:05 Breaking on @MSNBC: Michael Cohen has been sentenced to 36 months, or 3 years, in prison. reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 18:08:15 Michael Cohen also hit with forfeiture of $500,000, restitution of $1.4 million and a fine of $50,000, according to Bloomberg. https://t.co/5qK3nun7af reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 18:06 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 18:05:05 Breaking on @MSNBC: Michael Cohen has been sentenced to 36 months, or 3 years, in prison. reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 18:08:15 Michael Cohen also hit with forfeiture of $500,000, restitution of $1.4 million and a fine of $50,000, according to Bloomberg. https://t.co/5qK3nun7af reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 18:59 schreef PippenScottie het volgende:
Niet vergeten dat Cohen ook vice-penningmeester van de Republikeinse partij was.

Zijn collega daar was Elliot Broidy. Hij heeft al jarenlang ervaring met omkopingen en dubieus lobbywerk, maar moest uiteindelijk opstappen bij de Republikeinse partij nadat uitkwamen dat hij een playboy model zwijggeld had betaald voor het laten uitvoeren van een abortus.

Penningmeester van de Republikeinen was Steve Wynn. Van het gelijknamige hotel in Vegas, die ook moest opstappen na een reeks seksschandalen.

Dames en heren, de Republikeinse partij...

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 19:01 schreef Montov het volgende:

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Fiscal Responsibility. Law & Order.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 20:33 schreef Szura het volgende:
[ afbeelding ]

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 17:54 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 17:42:33 @Tom_Winter Michael Cohen is now speaking in court at his sentencing hearing. reageer retweet

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 17:48:45 @Tom_Winter Michael Cohen tells the court that he takes full responsibility for the actions that relate to him and to the US president, he blames himself for the conduct that has brought him there, and notes his blind loyalty to the president led him to choose darkness over light. reageer retweet

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 17:52:06 @Tom_Winter Michael Cohen tells the court that his weakness was blind loyalty to Donald Trump, and that he loves his family, which has received undeserved shame and pain that he deserved, not them. reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 20:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Dat laatste is ook wel even een klap in de smoel van Trump.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 21:21 schreef Knipoogje het volgende:

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Uiteindelijk komt die Cohen wel weer goed terecht. Marketingtechnisch doet ie nu slim boete, huilt voor zijn gezin en in de gevangenis schrijft hij een boek over Trump en wat ze allemaal hebben uitgespookt. Gegarandeerde miljoenendeal.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 21:24 schreef Knipoogje het volgende:
Breitbart

Die rechtse bubbel ook

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Op dinsdag 11 december 2018 22:38 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Waarom doen Pelosi, Schumer en Trump dit?!

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Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, has issued more than 100 criminal counts against 33 people and three companies. On Wednesday, Michael D. Cohen, a former lawyer of Donald J. Trump, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for his role in a hush-money scandal that could threaten Mr. Trump’s presidency.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:36 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:
De Clintons zullen mogelijk weer onderzocht worden. De Republikeinen kiezen de tegenaanval.

The Hill

GOP launches new effort to expose Clinton Foundation

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:46 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:
Geen nieuwsbericht, maar een opiniestuk van John Solomon

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:46 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:

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Niet goed kunnen lezen.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:49 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

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Lees vooral de interpretaties van Solomon, een Trumpist die al jaren roept om vervolging van de Clintons.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:49 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:

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Heb je gezien dat er 4 linkjes staan, waaronder één van een overheidswebsite + een video?

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:52 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

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Twee opiniestukken, FOX News en de zoveelste wanhoopspoging van de Reps om iets strafbaars te vinden bij de Clintons.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:55 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:

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Het is bekend dat de Clintons al jarenlang geholpen zijn door uiteenlopende mensen om bewijs te laten verdwijnen.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:55 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:

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Het is bekend dat de Clintons al jarenlang geholpen zijn door uiteenlopende mensen om bewijs te laten verdwijnen.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:56 schreef trein2000 het volgende:

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Bron?

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:46 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:
Geen nieuwsbericht, maar een opiniestuk van John Solomon

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 23:00 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Dat die opruier nog een baan heeft... dankzij die man werd het hele Uranium One vorig jaar ineens opgezwengeld. Snap niet dat een bedrijf als The Hill zich daarvoor leent.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 23:02 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

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Dat snap ik ook niet

Staffers at The Hill press management about the work of John Solomon

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He has worked at the Associated Press, The Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Center for Public Integrity, Newsweek/The Daily Beast, the Washington Guardian, Circa and The Hill.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:36 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:
De Clintons zullen mogelijk weer onderzocht worden.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 23:19 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

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Ah, dit wist ik nog niet, thanks. Ik wist ook niet dat hij bij zoveel toch betrekkelijk gerenommeerde bedrijven gewerkt heeft (en enkele dubieuze):

[..]

Wat ik zo kwalijk vind is dat hij door zijn positie bij een bedrijf als The Hill serieus genomen zou moeten worden en als zodanig als vooruitgeschoven pion fungeert van het republikeinse media-apparaat om de troepen te leiden naar de volgende heilloze conspiracy-theory.

Aan de andere kant wel prettig om te zien dat anderen er ook als de kippen bij zijn om een artikel van zijn hand per direct niet serieus te nemen. Hoewel het wel jammer blijft dat het wel klaarblijkelijk deels werkt, gezien Oostwouds verwijzing.

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:31 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

Everyone Who’s Been Charged as a Result of the Mueller Investigation

[..]

[ afbeelding ]

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The special counsel’s investigation was grinding relentlessly onward, with President Trump’s former national security adviser pleading for leniency in his case and his former fixer about to be sentenced for his crimes. But Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, was in Manama, Bahrain, on Tuesday, meeting with the king and the interior minister of an important United States ally in the Middle East.

The government-run Bahrain News Agency featured a photo of Mr. Giuliani meeting in a royal palace with King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. The story said the king discussed “Bahraini-U. S. relations” with Mr. Giuliani, who was described as leading a “high-level U.S. delegation.”

But Mr. Giuliani was not in Bahrain, a country with a record of human rights abuses, on official business. He was there to seek a lucrative security consulting contract with the government.

The trip was part of a concerted push Mr. Giuliani has undertaken in the last few weeks to win business from governments around the world — including in Africa and South America — for a firm he owns called Giuliani Security and Safety.

In his role representing Mr. Trump in the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, Mr. Giuliani is not a government employee, and is not subject to government ethics rules, including prohibitions on outside work.

But as his visit to Bahrain showed, Mr. Giuliani’s various interests can lead to confusion over the nature of his role. And foreign officials who have reason to want to get in or stay in the Trump administration’s good graces could view hiring Mr. Giuliani’s firm as a good way of doing so, according to ethics watchdogs.

SPOILER

Reached in Bahrain on Tuesday night, Mr. Giuliani said that the efforts are completely unrelated to — and do not capitalize on — his representation of the president.

“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said. “I follow all the rules. I have no desire to trade on anything,” added Mr. Giuliani, whose response as mayor of New York to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks cemented his status as a household name and an emergency response expert.

Referring to his representation of Mr. Trump, he said: “I was pretty much in demand long before I represented him doing this work.”

Mr. Giuliani’s company has provided advice and training in policing, terrorism prevention, intelligence and emergency response to governments in South America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, among other regions, for years. It is currently pursuing work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as a contract with an infrastructure fund focused on Latin America.

Walter M. Shaub Jr., former director of the federal Office of Government Ethics, said the way Mr. Giuliani’s visit to Bahrain was portrayed highlights “the possibility of blurring the line between his personal business activities and official government matters.”

Mr. Shaub said that even without being covered by government ethics rules, Mr. Giuliani “would want to be mindful of serious appearance concerns if he was concerned that his activities might create an impression that he has been authorized to offer access to the president or favorable action by the White House in exchange for business opportunities.”

The confusion also underscores the gap between political norms in the United States versus those in many parts of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the former Soviet states, where overt efforts to buy favor are more commonly accepted as the way things work.

The perception that such an approach can yield success in Washington has been exacerbated in the Trump era, veteran lobbyists say, because of Mr. Trump’s inclination to value the counsel of a small coterie of friends, relatives and allies over the federal government’s experts.

In Mr. Giuliani’s case, the perception is amplified because of his overlapping roles as a public figure in his own right, a longtime friend of the president’s and the lead lawyer on a relatively small team upon whom Mr. Trump is relying to save his very presidency.

Mr. Giuliani says he has gone to great lengths to make clear to clients and prospective clients that hiring him will not earn any favor from Mr. Trump. And, while he acknowledged that some foreign leaders might try to project otherwise to their domestic audiences by publicizing their photographs or affiliation with him, he said “I can guarantee you, whether they think the picture is valuable, there is nothing I’m going to do to help them other than what they pay me for.”

He said his security consulting contracts have long included clauses stipulating that he will not lobby on behalf of clients before the United States government.

And he pointed out that he resigned from a position at the law firm Greenberg Traurig, for which he had represented foreign clients being prosecuted by the United States government, when he joined Mr. Trump’s legal team in April to try to help the president resolve the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to Mr. Trump’s team.

His continued work for Giuliani Security and Safety poses no such conflict, he asserted, though he said he has dialed back his involvement in it to focus on representing Mr. Trump, which he has been doing for free.

As a result, “my income for this year will be not quite half of what it was last year,” he said. “Now, I’m not complaining. I make a lot of money, so it doesn’t make me poor.”

But now, Mr. Giuliani said, he has more time to focus on reinvigorating his business as he prepares to return to it full-time after he finishes his work for Mr. Trump.

“We’ve done everything we can do. There’s not much more they’re going to call upon us to do,” he said, referring to Mr. Mueller’s team. He cited Mr. Trump’s submission of written responses to questions from Mr. Mueller, and what he said was a draft of a defense report prepared by the president’s legal team that he said was ready to counter potentially damaging findings from the special counsel.

“It doesn’t mean I’m not going to be doing anything, but it’s not going to be anything close to a full-time job,” Mr. Giuliani said.

“In the last month, I’ve come back in order to make sure that we have work for next February, March,” he said, adding, “I have a bunch of people who depend on it.”

The Giuliani team pitched Bahrain on a plan to train the country’s forces to prevent terrorist attacks and to protect its desalination plants. Mr. Giuliani said his company has not entered into a contract with Bahrain, and he would not comment on any potential terms, but people familiar with the type of work proposed said that such services could cost several million dollars.

Mr. Giuliani said he had kept Mr. Trump apprised of his increased security consulting work and travels “just to make sure there is no sensitivity.” Mr. Trump “trusts me not to put him in an embarrassing situation,” Mr. Giuliani said, adding “I sure as heck wouldn’t do any security work in Russia.”

But working in Bahrain has its own sensitivities. While Bahrain is an ally and is home to a United States Navy base, the State Department has repeatedly called out Bahraini leadership for human rights abuses including killings and torture by security forces and restrictions on free expression.

Mr. Giuliani said that the Bahrain pitch was arranged by Robert Stryk, a lobbyist who had worked with Trump campaign officials and has emerged from relative obscurity to become an influential behind-the-scenes deal-maker in Mr. Trump’s Washington.

Mr. Stryk’s firm, Sonoran Policy Group, signed a $500,000-a-year contract in February to help Bahrain and its ambassador to Washington “facilitate meetings and interactions with U.S. administration officials,” according to lobbying filings.

The ambassador, Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa, is the son of the interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa. In a photograph released by the country’s news agency, both men, along with the country’s chief of police are pictured meeting on Tuesday with Mr. Giuliani; John P. Huvane, the chief executive of Giuliani Security; Mr. Stryk and one of his company’s officials, Kirsten Fontenrose, who resigned last month from a White House post overseeing American policy toward Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the embassy said officials from Bahrain “regularly meet with public and private officials from the United States” but did not respond directly about a potential contract with Mr. Giuliani.

Mr. Stryk’s firm did not respond to questions about the Bahrain trip, or its relationship with Mr. Giuliani. A person familiar with the relationship said that Sonoran works with Mr. Giuliani’s firm and other companies to offer its clients access to consulting services beyond lobbying and public affairs.

Mr. Stryk also appears to have played a role in Mr. Giuliani’s effort to win a contract for security consulting work in the Democratic Republic of Congo through an Israeli firm called Mer Security and Communication Systems, which has worked for years with the Congolese president Joseph Kabila.

Mer had agreed in July to pay Sonoran Policy Group $1.25 million to lobby in Washington for Mr. Kabila’s government, which was facing threats of additional sanctions from the Trump administration for human rights abuses and corruption.

Mr. Giuliani said his company is now discussing security work with “a group of other African countries.” He declined to identify the countries, but said “over the next two months, if you see my picture with some foreign leader, the reason would be that.”

He suggested that he intends to continue aggressively pursuing security consulting work in the coming years, regardless of the outcome of the Mueller investigation. “I’m 74 years old, but I have the energy of a 25-year-old, and if I were to stop doing this, I’d die,” he said. “I love to do this work.”

twitter:

NBCPolitics twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 23:06:54 House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows is no longer under consideration for chief of staff:"The president told him we need him in Congress so he can continue the great work he is doing there," White House says. reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:36 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:
De Clintons zullen mogelijk weer onderzocht worden. De Republikeinen kiezen de tegenaanval.

The Hill
The Hill 2
Fox News
White House Oversight

GOP launches new effort to expose Clinton Foundation

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 02:05:03 Dianne Feinstein on the AMI cooperation with SDNY: "Evidence continues to build that President Trump directed a violation of campaign finance law to affect the presidential election. These are serious, criminal allegations and they demand further scrutiny from Congress." reageer retweet

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The tabloid publishing company that killed damaging stories about Donald Trump is telling U.S. prosecutors about the plans hatched with members of Trump’s team in the earliest days of the campaign.

At least one unidentified campaign member joined Trump lawyer Michael Cohen in an August 2015 meeting with David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer, to discuss suppressing negative news stories during the election, the U.S. said.

Prosecutors’ reference to unidentified campaign staff suggests that the number of Trump associates in legal trouble is still expanding.

The deeper involvement of Trump’s campaign staff was revealed on Wednesday by federal prosecutors in New York, who disclosed they had reached a non-prosecution agreement with American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s publisher.

Under the deal, AMI admitted it worked with the campaign to kill stories “about the presidential candidate’s relationships with women” and agreed to cooperate. As early as August 2015, Pecker agreed to identify any damaging information about Trump that came his way and suppress it by buying the stories and not publishing them -- a practice known as “catch and kill.”

Read the non-prosecution agreement here

The deal with prosecutors was announced shortly after Cohen, Trump’s longtime lawyer and fixer, was sentenced to three years in prison. That was in part for his role in a $150,000 payment by AMI to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal about her alleged extramarital affair with Trump. According to documents filed in the AMI matter, Cohen promised that AMI would be reimbursed for buying her story.

While Trump has focused his wrath on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference, the New York probe of campaign finance violations is a significant threat to the president since prosecutors have used court filings about Cohen to tie Trump to the scheme.

“You now have AMI admitting that the payments were made for the purpose of influencing the election,” said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor who is now in private practice in New Jersey and isn’t involved in the case. “It’s a critical admission because, if true, it transforms the payment into a criminal violation as opposed to simply a private transaction.”

Under the Sept. 20 agreement, AMI won’t be prosecuted and must cooperate for three years. The deal marks a change of allegiances for one of Trump’s biggest supporters, AMI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Pecker. Potentially a key witness for the government, Pecker has been a close friend of Trump and gave positive coverage to his campaign in the National Enquirer.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment.

SPOILER

The White House was also silent about the Cohen and AMI developments. On Twitter on Monday, Trump referred to a hush payment as a “simple private transaction, wrongly called a campaign contribution” and suggested that “even if it was, it is only a CIVIL CASE.”

The government said in its agreement that AMI had “provided substantial and important assistance” to the prosecutors in New York. “AMI has made various personnel from AMI available for numerous interviews; engaged outside counsel to ensure the integrity of its compliance with and responses to subpoenas; and responded to numerous requests from prosecutors for various specific items of information.”

In August 2015, Pecker met with Cohen and “at least one other member” of the Trump campaign, according to the agreement. “Pecker offered to help deal with negative stories about that presidential candidate’s relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided.”

One deal was struck on Aug. 5, 2016, when AMI agreed to acquire the “limited life rights” of McDougal -- identified in the agreement as a “model and actress” -- including her story of her relationships with “any then-married man” in exchange for $150,000. That amount was substantially more than the company would otherwise pay because of Cohen’s assurances to Pecker that AMI would be “substantially reimbursed.”

AMI admitted that its purpose was “to suppress the model’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election,” according to the agreement. At no time did AMI intend to publish the story, and the company failed to report the $150,000 payment to McDougal to the Federal Election Commission, the company admitted.

In late August 2016 and into September, Cohen told Pecker he wanted to pay $125,000 for the rights to McDougal’s story about her relationship with Trump, the company said.

twitter:

MaddowBlog twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 03:31:46 Is there anyone else potentially in trouble for this felony given what prosecutors have now made public about the nature of this crime and what they know about it?As it turns out, yeah, there is. https://t.co/L0euItEcbC reageer retweet

twitter:

MaddowBlog twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 03:43:03 The overt contention by federal prosecutors now is that whoever had check-writing authority at the Trump Organization, they used the president's business to cover up the financial trail of this felony. Guess who had that authority. https://t.co/PuQxP2MAUX reageer retweet

twitter:

AndrewFeinberg twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 02:43:50 I’ve now heard from two different sources that @newtgingrich (who was at the White House today) is currently topping the list for the next @realDonaldTrump administration White House Chief of Staff. reageer retweet

twitter:

AndrewFeinberg twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 03:04:25 Newt told @FredLucasWH he was at the White House to advise on a new CoS, but that’s either a smokescreen or he’s pulling a staff-level Dick Cheney. reageer retweet

twitter:

AndrewFeinberg twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 03:24:24 At the very least his name is getting pushed by some in Trumpworld as someone who has experience with impeachment, never mind the fact that being a driving force behind the Clinton impeachment fiasco makes him about as appropriate for what Trump may face as blue jeans on a dolphin. reageer retweet

twitter:

RepThomasMassie twitterde op woensdag 12-12-2018 om 11:18:36 Does your Congressman know what's hidden in a procedural vote on the Farm Bill today? Does he or she care? To avoid a debate on whether the US should be involved in a war in Yemen, today our leadership will trick members into suspending the provisions of the War Powers Act. SAD! https://t.co/PVziN9d2lP reageer retweet

SPOILER

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Speaker Paul Ryan blocks the House from debating support for Saudi War in Yemen, which has starved tens of thousands and threatens to starve 14 million people.

Paul Ryan's Cowardly Act On Yemen | All In | MSNBC

SPOILER

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John Solomon understands the art of a nice innuendo-laden question-mark headline, as he proved on Tuesday evening: “Did Clinton Foundation mislead IRS? State filings raise the question.” What follows is a discussion of Clinton Foundation run-ins with state regulators. The lead example: Utah “specifically flagged money spent on professional fundraisers and consultants that were excluded from the required section of the filing,” wrote Solomon in the story.

The Clinton Foundation responded that those expenses were listed in another section.

The 13-year-old paperwork spat about a foundation run by a family that’s now struggling for relevance was . . . perfect fodder for the Tuesday night edition of Fox News’s “Hannity.” Here’s how host Sean Hannity introduced the topic, feasting on that suggestive headline: “Meanwhile, more signs of a lot more Clinton corruption. John Solomon out with a new report entitled ‘Did the Clinton Foundation mislead the IRS? State filings raise the question.’ We did reach out to the foundation for a response. They told us in part these charges are minor infractions, similar to a speeding ticket. Only bad if you are a Republican,” said the Fox host.

SPOILER

In the “Hannity” segment, Solomon summarized his reporting and promoted Thursday’s hearing of the House oversight subcommittee on government operations on the Clinton Foundation: “They don’t have a perfect record in complying with regulatory compliance and I think that’s one of the issues you are going to see Thursday at the hearing with [Rep.] Mark Meadows,” said Solomon, referring to the subcommittee chairman and, at least for a time, a contender to be the next White House chief of staff.

Biased reporting, claims the Clinton Foundation. In a Dec. 11 letter to top editors at the Hill, a trio of Clinton-world communications executives cited a recent story in Sputnik News about the charity. “New Explosive Facts About Clinton Charity to Shake Off Lethargy Soon — Analyst” reads the headline of the piece, which is essentially an interview with Charles Ortel, a longtime antagonist of the Clinton Foundation.

Asked about Solomon’s reporting about information forthcoming from whistleblowers concerning Clinton Foundation matters, Ortel riffs, “In the view of many, Solomon and me included, the question is not whether the Clinton Foundation and those responsible for running it have broken state, federal, and foreign laws — the real question is why it is taking so long to expose, prosecute and convict the Clintons for crimes that are many times larger than crimes committed” by other politicians.

That comment displeased the Clinton Foundation. “It may be a coincidence that Mr. Solomon has routinely written pieces that advance theories disseminated by Russian state-run propaganda outlets and Charles Ortel,” notes the Clinton letter to the Hill. “But given Mr. Ortel’s clear comments that he and Mr. Solomon have been in contact, and this admission that displays a shared bias, Mr. Solomon has disqualified himself from any sense of objective reporting on the Clinton Foundation.”

A note or two on the sources here: Sputnik News is a state-owned Russian propaganda organ.

As for Ortel, he is a researcher and podcast host who describes himself this way: “People love to say I’m a Clinton hater. I’m not a Clinton hater. I’m a fraud hater," he tells the Erik Wemple Blog. The Clinton Foundation letter insists that Ortel has "spread demonstrably false accusations about the Clinton Foundation and “has been publicly linked to the Russia investigation, Wikileaks, and conspiracy theorists Jerome Corsi and Roger Stone.” Indeed, Ortel has chatted with Corsi, the famed birther conspiracist and the target of the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation. For instance, Ortel said in one Corsi interview, “The notion that you would allow Mueller and [Deputy Attorney General Rod J.] Rosenstein to launch this witch hunt while Donald Trump is president — you got to understand the whole backstory here. And the American people deserve to know, why were so many people were protecting [Barack] Obama and likely, maybe George W. Bush. Why was this going on? How many dirty people are there still in Justice, the FBI and the IRS? That’s the big story.”

For his part, Ortel challenges the foundation to cite a single false statement. And he says that he has appeared on a wide range of platforms, not just Sputnik and RT. As for his relationship with Solomon, Ortel calls him a “friend.”

In any case, the Hill doesn’t appear much troubled by the foundation’s criticisms. Frank Craig, the publication’s opinion editor, responded as follows:

Thank you for contacting us regarding John Solomon’s opinion contributor pieces. As you noted in the letter, the pieces he writes for The Hill are clearly labeled opinion. The Hill has a wide range of opinion contributors, including former members of Congress and high-ranking officials who have served in Democratic and Republican administrations.The Hill always strives for accuracy so we would want to know of any inaccuracies in John Solomon’s opinion pieces. Your letter, however, does not actually identify any alleged falsities in his opinion pieces for The Hill.

The distinction about opinion reporting is very important to the Hill. Months after colleagues at the publication complained about Solomon’s investigative stories, the outlet’s top editor announced a change in labeling for the veteran journalist. “Effective immediately when he writes for us, it will be as an opinion contributor,” noted editor in chief Bob Cusack.

There’s very little opinion whatsoever in Solomon’s Clinton Foundation reporting. There is, however, an uncanny sense of timing, as the foundation itself points out in its letter: “[Solomon], more than any other journalist at a non-partisan media outlet, acts as a conveyor belt that brings fringe theories to the fore and the timing of his work routinely seems to be tooled for the current administration to distract from whatever troubles they face: his pieces routinely fall just before bad news for the Trump administration breaks,” notes the letter from the Clinton officials.

To wit: Solomon published a piece last Thursday titled, “Feds received whistleblower evidence in 2017 alleging Clinton Foundation wrongdoing.” It came the night before prosecutors filed documents with damaging revelations about Trump.

Then again, bad news for the Trump administration breaks pretty much every week.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:56 schreef trein2000 het volgende:

[..]

Bron?

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:57 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Klopt. Seth Rich is niet voor niets door de Clintons uit de weg geruimd.

Maar vooral blijven hopen op vervolging, je kunt het!

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 08:55 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Trump komt steeds verder in de problemen maar veel verder dan het uitgekauwde "Ja maar Hillary!" komen zijn verdedigers niet.

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 20:33 schreef Szura het volgende:
[ afbeelding ]

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 22:01 schreef AnneX het volgende:

[..]

Ow...ik zag en hoorde heel andere dingen.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 09:54 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:

[..]


[..]

Het hoeft allemaal niet zo dramatisch en samenzweerderig hoor. Zomaar 1 voorbeeld:

New York Times en US News schreven over Paul Combetta. De man die vele mailtjes van Hillary liet verdwijnen.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 10:04 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Ik heb het al vaker gezegd hier: En werd van de week live op tv bevestigd. Trump IS NIET IN STAAT OM ZICH TE VERDEDIGEN, daar heeft hij de skill set niet voor. Hij gaat er van uit dat zolang hij in de aanval gaat, hij overal mee weg kan komen. Pelosi en Schumer lieten hem effectief in de val lopen, en hebben een eventuele Government Shutdown DIRECT op het latje van Trump ZELF gelegd. De juristen van Trump zijn hier terdege van bewust, vandaar dat ze Trump op papier een verklaring voor Mueller hebben laten afleggen om hem maar niet in een meineed val te laten lopen.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 10:50 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Waarop hij uiteraard een valse verklaring opschreef.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 10:48 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Hoe kun je verzonden emails laten verdwijnen?

quote:

Op woensdag 12 december 2018 23:29 schreef Fir3fly het volgende:

[..]

Ik begin steeds meer Qanon te geloven, dit was allemaal een vooropgezet plan van Trump om deze gevaarlijke lui te pakken te krijgen en de swamp te drainen!

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 11:25 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Als Trump & Pence moeten opstappen is Pelosi ook eerder weg als Speaker.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 11:40 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

President Pelosi bekt wel lekker. Ik denk dat conservatief Amerika dan echt gek wordt.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 11:40 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

President Pelosi bekt wel lekker. Ik denk dat conservatief Amerika dan echt gek wordt.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 11:42 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Natuurlijk worden die dan gek. De vrouw moet thuis koken voor haar man en kinderen baren. En niets anders.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 11:50 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Of president Beto O'Rourke

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 09:54 schreef Oostwoud het volgende:

[..]


[..]

Het hoeft allemaal niet zo dramatisch en samenzweerderig hoor. Zomaar 1 voorbeeld:

New York Times en US News schreven over Paul Combetta. De man die vele mailtjes van Hillary liet verdwijnen.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 13:00 schreef Vis1980 het volgende:

[..]

Oprechte vraag. Waarom vind je het zo belangrijk dat Clinton wordt aangepakt?

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 03:31 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:
Het wordt wel steeds penibeler voor Trump:

[ afbeelding ]

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 02:05:03 Dianne Feinstein on the AMI cooperation with SDNY: "Evidence continues to build that President Trump directed a violation of campaign finance law to affect the presidential election. These are serious, criminal allegations and they demand further scrutiny from Congress." reageer retweet

Tabloid Company’s Admission Shows New Peril for Trump’s Circle

[..]

En ook Don Jr., Eric en Ivanka Trump kunnen hierdoor in de problemen komen...

Filmpjes in tweets:

twitter:

MaddowBlog twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 03:31:46 Is there anyone else potentially in trouble for this felony given what prosecutors have now made public about the nature of this crime and what they know about it?As it turns out, yeah, there is. https://t.co/L0euItEcbC reageer retweet

twitter:

MaddowBlog twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 03:43:03 The overt contention by federal prosecutors now is that whoever had check-writing authority at the Trump Organization, they used the president's business to cover up the financial trail of this felony. Guess who had that authority. https://t.co/PuQxP2MAUX reageer retweet

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 13:16 schreef Eyjafjallajoekull het volgende:

[..]

Hier nog een volkskrant artikel

https://www.volkskrant.nl(...)-minnares-~b2d4f8b5/

Trouwens, kunnen jullie op de website van de national enquirer komen? Nooit gedacht dat ik die site zou bezoeken, maar hij laad niet Overbelast?

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 13:53 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Het lukt met mijn VPN. Waarschijnlijk geblokkeerd voor mensen uit de EU vanwege gdpr dus?

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 14:28 schreef Eyjafjallajoekull het volgende:

[..]

Dacht al zoiets. Maar elke andere website geeft tenminste een waarschuwing vanwege GDPR. Hier laad de website gewoon niet lol.

Die linkse europeanen wil je natuurlijk ook niet op je site hebben

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 11:40 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

President Pelosi bekt wel lekker. Ik denk dat conservatief Amerika dan echt gek wordt.

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 16:04 schreef Knipoogje het volgende:

[..]

Ze zullen alle krochten van de wetboeken uitpluizen of er een precedent is voor zoiets... Dat de speaker dan toch geen president wordt. Tot op scotus niveau zal het uitgevochten worden...

twitter:

rgoodlaw twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 15:49:40 Just so we're all clear on how much overwhelming evidence is building to show the hush money payments were to help Trump's campaign (and hence overcoming the John Edwards' defense).See these highlights in American Media Inc's admission of facts to the Justice Department SDNY👇 https://t.co/biYyjAxf5l reageer retweet

SPOILER

twitter:

rgoodlaw twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 16:34:42 Aug 2: Corsi emails Stone on future Wikileaks docs, says focus messaging on Clinton healthAug: Campaign and Russia's RT pivot to HRC healthAug 8: National Enquirer: "Hillary Clinton's secret health crisis"Sept 7: National Enquirer: "Hillary's Shocking Medical File--Exposed!"? https://t.co/k4VmQB7KQS reageer retweet

twitter:

rgoodlaw twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 16:41:09 "Trump suggested stories to Pecker on a regular basis...and had access to certain pieces--including one about Hillary Clinton's health--before publication.""During the campaign ... Trump was particularly interested in stories about Clinton's health"WaPo's @Sarahlellison June '18 reageer retweet

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 17:50:56 JUST IN: Russian operative Maria Butina, who is accused of infiltrating politically powerful U.S. organizations, including the NRA, pleads guilty to conspiracy. https://t.co/8OSS6Y3VsA reageer retweet

twitter:

AshaRangappa_ twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 17:49:58 If the FBI had evidence that Butina was acting at the direction and control of the Russian government (and her plea reveals they did), it makes her an agent of a foreign power & a legit target for a FISA...if there was one, anyone talking to her would have been captured on it. https://t.co/hoJh7scCXB reageer retweet

quote:

By now there is no doubt that campaign finance crimes were committed by Michael Cohen and American Media Inc. (AMI) via “hush payments” to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 presidential general election. Indeed, that’s just what my non-partisan organization, Common Cause, alleged in complaints filed with the Department of Justice in January, February and March of this year. Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to two campaign finance crimes and was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison. Also Wednesday the Department of Justice (DOJ) made public its non-prosecution agreement with AMI, in which AMI acknowledged its campaign finance crime, making an illegal $150,000 corporate contribution to the Trump campaign.

So with no doubt on those fronts, the remaining question is whether President Donald Trump also committed campaign finance crimes on the road to the White House. All evidence indicates he did and that the DOJ investigation into these crimes is mounting.

SPOILER

The full backstory on how those who made “hush payments” to Daniels and McDougal violated multiple federal campaign finance laws and criminal statutes can be found in earlier pieces I’ve written for Just Security, including an article detailing how the criminal case against team Trump is much stronger than was the DOJ’s case against John Edwards, and an article specifically about AMI’s crimes.

Documents made public by the DOJ over the last week confirm that DOJ now possesses strong evidence of campaign finance crimes committed by President Trump and that its investigation into this matter is not yet over.

President Trump has been Tweeting recently, including this morning, that the campaign finance crimes to which Cohen pleaded guilty are not in fact crimes and that the violations, if they did occur, were only civil violations. Clearly President Trump is not presenting a true understanding of how campaign finance law works. As explained in the DOJ manual, Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses, campaign finance law violations “become potential crimes when they are committed knowingly and willfully, that is, by an offender who knew what the law forbade and violated it notwithstanding that knowledge.”

So, whether or not President Trump committed campaign finance crimes seemingly boils down to whether he knew that the law forbade what he and Cohen and AMI and executives at the Trump Organization conspired to do—use Cohen’s and AMI’s and eventually the Trump Organization’s money to keep Daniels and McDougal’s stories from reaching voters right before the 2016 general election.

On Friday the DOJ filed a memo with the court in advance of Cohen’s sentencing this week, in which the DOJ indicated its understanding that Cohen committed his crimes—facilitating payments to both Daniels and McDougal—“in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1” (Donald J. Trump). Cohen had made a statement to this effect in court in August, but Friday’s memo was the DOJ’s first public acknowledgement of its own conclusion that Trump coordinated with and directed Cohen’s campaign finance crimes.

And the fact that Cohen pleaded guilty to these two campaign finance crimes indicate that Cohen acted knowingly and willfully. Cohen knew what the law forbade and violated it notwithstanding that knowledge.

Yesterday the DOJ made public its non-prosecution agreement with AMI, which reaffirms that all parties involved in these “hush payments” knew they were violating federal campaign finance laws. In paragraph 2 of the agreement’s “Statement of Admitted Facts,” AMI acknowledges that it made the $150,000 payment to McDougal in “cooperation, consultation and concert with” President Trump’s campaign to influence the 2016 election. And in paragraph 8, AMI acknowledges that at “all relevant times, AMI knew” that its payment to influence the election violated federal campaign finance law.

The New York Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys make clear that Cohen had a legal duty to advise his client, then-candidate Trump, the “hush payments” Trump was directing Cohen to make would violate federal campaign finance law. Rule 1.2(d) states that a “lawyer shall not counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is illegal or fraudulent, except that the lawyer may discuss the legal consequences of any proposed course of conduct with a client.

The fact that we have in these documents— (1) AMI coordinated with Trump, (2) AMI knew that its payment to McDougal violated the federal laws; (3) Cohen was directed by Trump to facilitate the “hush payments” and did so in coordination with Trump; (4) Cohen knew that the “hush payments” were illegal; and (5) Cohen had a legal duty to advise Trump that the “hush payments” were illegal—all strongly suggest that Trump knew what the law forbade and violated it notwithstanding this knowledge. In other words, the DOJ possesses strong evidence that Donald Trump committed campaign finance crimes.

Add to the equation the Wall Street Journal’s reporting that “that Mr. Trump was involved in or briefed on nearly every step of the agreements” and that Cohen “described to prosecutors his discussions with Mr. Trump and a Trump Organization executive about how to pay Ms. Clifford without leaving the candidate’s fingerprints on the deal.” As I’ve written before, that attempt to cover up the payment suggests knowing and intentional violation of the campaign finance disclosure laws—also a standalone crime.

Finally, in announcing its non-prosecution agreement with AMI yesterday, the DOJ issued a statement making clear that its investigation into these campaign finance crimes is not over. The statement reads: “Assuming AMI’s continued compliance with the agreement, the Office has agreed not to prosecute AMI for its role in that payment.”

President Trump can Tweet all he wants about the non-crimes of Michael Cohen and AMI. But the DOJ apparently, and correctly, sees things differently, and so did the court. “Continued” cooperation by AMI suggests this isn’t the last we’ve heard from DOJ on this matter.

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 13:38:28 I often stated, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.” This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL! reageer retweet

twitter:

jimsciutto twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 21:25:41 Breaking: In rebuke to Trump, Senate overwhelming approves resolution that would require US to end military support for Saudi-led war in Yemen, intended both to end the war and express anger at administration’s handling of relations with Saudi Arabia. Vote was 56-41 reageer retweet

twitter:

Phil_Mattingly twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 18:27:28 The text of @SenBobCorker’s Saudi resolution, condemning the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, is now out. Includes that the U.S. Senate “believes Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi” https://t.co/WsLNDvPOKO reageer retweet

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 21:28 schreef Ulx het volgende:

twitter:

jimsciutto twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 21:25:41 Breaking: In rebuke to Trump, Senate overwhelming approves resolution that would require US to end military support for Saudi-led war in Yemen, intended both to end the war and express anger at administration’s handling of relations with Saudi Arabia. Vote was 56-41 reageer retweet

*slap*

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 21:33 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Ik zou 56-41 niet overwhelming noemen ...

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 21:36 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Met deze GOP ook niet?

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 21:44 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Ik weet niet wat jouw definitie is van overwhelming, maar het is niet eens een filibusterproof meerderheid. Pijnlijk is misschien beter?

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 21:55 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Maar dit kan leuk worden:

Trump was in the room during hush money discussions, NBC News confirms

twitter:

CBSNews twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 23:37:52 NEW DEVELOPMENT: Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, is in the running to be the new White House Chief of Staff.https://t.co/s4uqjKDWRO https://t.co/zbMRCoQnDX reageer retweet

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 23:49 schreef Nintex het volgende:

twitter:

CBSNews twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 23:37:52 NEW DEVELOPMENT: Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, is in the running to be the new White House Chief of Staff.https://t.co/s4uqjKDWRO https://t.co/zbMRCoQnDX reageer retweet

Nieuwe challenger. Dit zijn de 5 namen die nu rond gaan

- Jared Kushner
- Matt Geatz
- Newt Gingrich
- Chris Christie
- Sean Hannity

quote:

Op donderdag 13 december 2018 23:49 schreef Nintex het volgende:

twitter:

CBSNews twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 23:37:52 NEW DEVELOPMENT: Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, is in the running to be the new White House Chief of Staff.https://t.co/s4uqjKDWRO https://t.co/zbMRCoQnDX reageer retweet

Nieuwe challenger. Dit zijn de 5 namen die nu rond gaan

- Jared Kushner
- Matt Geatz
- Newt Gingrich
- Chris Christie
- Sean Hannity

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:09 schreef Kansenjongere het volgende:

[..]

Er is geen enkele capabele persoon geïnteresseerd in dit baantje?

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:11 schreef Nintex het volgende:

[..]

John Kelly was generaal in Afghanistan en Irak en dit vond hij de slechtste baan die hij ooit gehad heeft. Het is veel leuker voor de show als een figuur als Newt de Chief of Staff is. Lekker de hele dag op Clinton haten en elkaar proberen onderuit te trappen in dat Witte Huis.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:14 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Ja joh, je zou eens goed bestuur willen.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:11 schreef Nintex het volgende:

[..]

John Kelly was generaal in Afghanistan en Irak en dit vond hij de slechtste baan die hij ooit gehad heeft. Het is veel leuker voor de show als een figuur als Newt de Chief of Staff is. Lekker de hele dag op Clinton haten en elkaar proberen onderuit te trappen in dat Witte Huis.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:17 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Ja, daar gaat een CoS echt mee helpen. Natuurlijk joh. Je weet dat Trump POTUS is?

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:28 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:

[..]

Een goede CoS kan nog enigszins zijn ernstigste trekjes in toom proberen te houden. Een clown als Newt Gingrich of Sean Hannity zou het alleen maar versterken. Goed bestuur onder Trump lijkt me moeilijk zo niet onmogelijk, maar om dan ook maar meteen een zo'n groot mogelijk debacle te wensen, lijkt me ook niet verstandig.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:36 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Newt wil een maan basis. Een mooi project naast de Trump Wall.

twitter:

AshaRangappa_ twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 01:41:37 6. The part that puzzles me is how she expects this to work out for her. She is going to burn Russia's operation, and then after she serves time is going to be deported. Pooty won't be happy...not sure what kind of life she'll have there, or how long it will last reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:27 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Benieuwd wat er eerder komt. Newt's Moon Base of Trump's wall

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op donderdag 13-12-2018 om 17:08:16 WITCH HUNT! reageer retweet

twitter:

tedlieu twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 08:02:26 MOST SUCCESSFUL IN US HISTORY! https://t.co/zNaaDIvjr4 reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 02:16 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:
Bizar wel dat als een kandidaat-President wetten overtreedt om gekozen te worden, hij vervolgens niet aangeklaagd zou kunnen worden omdat hij President is?

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 06:25 schreef Montov het volgende:

[..]

Ruimte genoeg in het moeras van Trump voor beide. Gewoon weer een Infrastructure Week introduceren.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 00:09 schreef Kansenjongere het volgende:

[..]

Er is geen enkele capabele persoon geïnteresseerd in dit baantje?

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 11:12 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Werken voor het Trump-WH staat ook niet heel goed op je CV zoals ik het begreep. Het is geen garantie voor een lucratieve baan. Integendeel zelfs.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 11:15 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Understatement. het is alsof je een dak moet teren met een witte smoking aan.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 11:14 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:
https://www.politico.com/(...)-party-press-1063232

Hij gaat blijkbaar met de kerstdagen mokkend met zijn smartphone op de plee zitten, wachtend op de geesten van kerst..

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 11:29 schreef Vis1980 het volgende:

[..]

Een witte smocking bedoel je...

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 11:39 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Hij neuriet dan gewoon vrolijk een kerstliedje hoor.

On the first day of christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
One Flynn Confessin'
Two Russian emails
Three kids indicted

Etc.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 14:51 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:
https://www.washingtonpos(...)m_term=.4e18c15c67cf

Nu is het geen politiek meer, maar moord.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 15:04 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Het is daardoor wel veiliger. Ja.

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 15:08 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Trump noemt ze terroristen. Terwijl de ECHTE terroristen zich met automatische wapens aan het verschansen zijn in Doomsdayprepper-stulpjes en alleen maar in het openbaar komen als ze een wapenshow gaan bezoeken of scholieren gaan neerknallen.

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 15:55:14 New details from NYT: Federal prosecutors are examining whether foreigners illegally funneled donations to Trump's inaugural committee and a pro-Trump super PAC in hopes of buying influence over U.S. policy. The inquiry focuses on Middle Eastern nations. https://t.co/Yrcw1ZpqZk reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 16:00:28 In an interview with investigators a year ago, Trump ally Tom Barrack said that Paul Manafort seemed to view a pro-Trump super PAC as an arm of the campaign, despite laws meant to prevent such coordination, a person familiar with the interview tells NYT. https://t.co/Yrcw1ZpqZk reageer retweet

quote:

Federal prosecutors are examining whether foreigners illegally funneled donations to President Trump’s inaugural committee and a pro-Trump super PAC in hopes of buying influence over American policy, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

The inquiry focuses on whether people from Middle Eastern nations — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — used straw donors to disguise their donations to the two funds. Federal law prohibits foreign contributions to federal campaigns, political action committees and inaugural funds.

The line of questioning underscores the growing scope of criminal inquiries that pose a threat to Mr. Trump’s presidency. The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, is focusing on whether anyone in the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to tip the 2016 presidential election in Mr. Trump’s favor, while prosecutors in New York are pursuing evidence he secretly authorized illegal payments of hush money to silence accusations of extramarital affairs that threatened his campaign.

The inquiry into potential foreign donations to the inaugural fund and the super PAC is yet another front being pursued by multiple teams of prosecutors. Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a billionaire financier and one of Mr. Trump’s closest friends, raised money for both funds.

SPOILER

“Tom has never talked with any foreign individual or entity for the purposes of raising money for or obtaining donations related to either the campaign, the inauguration or any such political activity,” said Owen Blicksilver, a spokesman for Mr. Barrack. The inaugural committee focus was reported earlier on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

The super PAC, Rebuilding America Now, was formed in the summer of 2016 when Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign was short of cash and out of favor with many major Republican donors. While Mr. Trump insisted that he could finance his own campaign, he refused to dig too deeply into his own pockets.

According to several of the people familiar with the investigation, Paul Manafort, who then headed the campaign, suggested that Mr. Barrack step into the void by creating and raising funds for the political action committee, which could collect unlimited amounts of money as long as it avoided coordinating closely with the candidate.

In an interview with investigators a year ago, Mr. Barrack said that Mr. Manafort seemed to view the political committee as an arm of the campaign, despite laws meant to prevent such coordination, according to a person familiar with the interview.

Federal election law requires a cooling-off period of at least 120 days before campaign staff members join a political committee backing the same candidate, but Mr. Manafort dispatched two friends from the campaign, Laurance Gay and Ken McKay, to run the operation. A press officer said at the time that the committee violated no rules because the campaign never paid the two men. Neither man returned repeated phone calls seeking comment.

According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, the committee raised $23 million, making it one of the most important sources of funds for advertisements, polls and other political expenditures on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Most money came from several big donors, including from Linda McMahon, a professional wrestling executive who donated $6 million and was later appointed by Mr. Trump to head the Small Business Administration.

Prosecutors from New York and from Mr. Mueller’s team have asked witnesses whether anyone from Qatar or other Middle Eastern countries also contributed money, perhaps using American intermediaries. Among other issues, they asked about a Mediterranean cruise that Mr. Barrack and Mr. Manafort took after Mr. Manafort was fired in August 2016 from the Trump campaign because of a scandal over his previous work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. Mr. Manafort was in serious financial trouble at the time, and Mr. Barrack, who has an extensive business network in the Persian Gulf, may have been attempting to help him find clients.

On the cruise, the pair met one of the world’s richest men, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar. Until 2013, Mr. Al Thani presided over the country’s $230 billion sovereign wealth fund. He remains a highly influential member of the nation’s governing royal family.

Investigators also sought information from a businessman, Rashid Al Malik, an associate of Mr. Barrack’s who heads a private investment firm in the United Arab Emirates, according to a person familiar with the inquiry. Mr. Malik, whose lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has been described as close to a key figure in the U.A.E.’s government.

After Mr. Trump was elected, any troubles he had finding donors appeared to have vanished. His inaugural fund raised $107 million — four times as much as the pro-Trump political action committee and twice as much as the amount raised for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration. Mr. Barrack was its chairman, and Rick Gates, a longtime business associate of Mr. Manafort’s who served as deputy campaign chairman, ran it.

The inquiry into the inaugural fund appears to involve prosecutors from United States attorney’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn, people familiar with the investigation said. The fund has long been a source of infighting among White House advisers and personal friends of Mr. Trump’s, who blamed each other for news reports about questionable expenditures.

The prosecutors in Manhattan were apparently following up on leads from their case against Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former longtime fixer. Mr. Cohen was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison, in part for organizing payments to cover up sex scandals that could have threatened Mr. Trump’s chances of winning the White House.

Among other documents seized during raids on Mr. Cohen’s home and office in the spring, investigators found a tape recording of a conversation with Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a friend of Melania Trump’s, who ran entities that collected $26 million from the fund. Ms. Winston Wolkoff blamed Mr. Barrack for news reports questioning the payments to her and criticized him for failing to properly manage the account, according to people who spoke with her. She complained about how he had handled the money to several friends, including Mr. Cohen, those people said.

The inaugural committee complied with all laws and “has not been contacted by any prosecutors,” said Mr. Blicksilver, who is also a spokesman for the fund. Its finances “were fully audited internally and independently,” and donors were fully vetted and disclosed to the Federal Election Commission, as required, he said.

In fact, though, the fund has already run into trouble related for both donations and expenditures. Mr. Gates, who is awaiting sentencing for crimes related to a financial fraud scheme he executed with Mr. Manafort, has testified that he may have submitted personal expenses for reimbursement from the fund. A later review of the inaugural expenses found no issue with his reimbursements, a person close to Mr. Gates said.

And this year, a well-known Republican lobbyist, Sam Patten, pleaded guilty to arranging for a Ukrainian oligarch and another foreigner to buy $50,000 worth of tickets to an inaugural event, using an American as a straw purchaser.

Investigators have asked witnesses whether other foreigners also contributed illegally to the inaugural committee. Once Mr. Trump was elected, foreign governments were frantically trying to build connections to the incoming administration, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Although it hosts and heavily subsidizes an American military base, Qatar is constantly striving to counter the influence of its powerful neighbors, also allies of the United States.

SPOILER

George Stephanopoulos: Michael, thank you for doing this.

Michael Cohen: George, good to see you.

Stephanopoulos: Emotional day in court yesterday, and I was struck by that line you had ... you said you felt like you had your freedom back.

Cohen: Yes.

Stephanopoulos: How does it feel today?

Cohen: Like I have my freedom back. Though I have to be honest. It has been very rough to be before the court with my family in attendance, my mother, my father, my wife, my children, my sisters, my brother, my niece, cousins, friends, it was ... ummm, it was a very rough day.

Stephanopoulos: And then you wake up today, and the president is tweeting from very early in the morning several different things ... what struck me most is his claim that you agreed to this plea deal for this reason he said, "Those charges were just agreed to him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence."

Cohen: I know which tweets you are talking about. First of all, it is absolutely not true. I did not do it to embarrass the president. He knows the truth. I know the truth, many people know the truth. Under no circumstances do I want to embarrass the president of the United States of America. The truth is, I told the truth. I took responsibility for my actions. And instead of him taking responsibility for his actions, what does he do? He attacks my family. And after yesterday, again being before the court and taking the responsibility and receiving a sentence of 36 months, the only thing he could do is to tweet about my family?

Stephanopoulos: He said in the tweets and repeated in an interview later on that basically he says -- his claim -- you are lying about him to protect your wife, to protect your father in-law.

Cohen: Inaccurate. He knows the truth, I know the truth, others know the truth, and here is the truth: The people of the United States of America, people of the world, don't believe what he is saying. The man doesn't tell the truth. And it is sad that I should take responsibility for his dirty deeds.

Stephanopoulos: You lied for him for a long time.

Cohen: More than 10 years.

Stephanopoulos: Why?

Cohen: Out of loyalty. Out of loyalty to him. I followed a bad path and hence how we started this conversation. I have my freedom, and I will not be the villain -- as I told you once before -- I will not be the villain of his story.

Stephanopoulos: He is saying very clearly that he never directed you to do anything wrong. Is that true?

Cohen: I don't think there is anybody that believes that. First of all, nothing at the Trump organization was ever done unless it was run through Mr. Trump. He directed me, as I said in my allocution and I said as well in the plea, he directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved in these matters. Including the one with McDougal, which was really between him and David Pecker and then David Pecker's counsel. I just reviewed the documents ... in order to protect him. I gave loyalty to someone who truthfully does not deserve loyalty.

Stephanopoulos: He was trying to hide what you were doing, correct?

Cohen: Correct.

Stephanopoulos: And he knew it was wrong?

Cohen: Of course.

Stephanopoulos: And he was doing that to help his election?

Cohen: You have to remember at what point in time that this matter came about -- two weeks or so before the election. Post the Billy Bush ["Access Hollywood"] comments, so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election.

Stephanopoulos: To help his campaign?

Cohen: To help him and the campaign.

Stephanopoulos: You mention dirty deeds in your allocution yesterday. When you think about it, when you look back, did you know what you were doing?

Cohen: I am angry at myself because I knew what I was doing was wrong. I stood up before the world yesterday and I accepted the responsibility for my actions. The actions that I gave to a man, who, as I also said in my allocution, I was loyal to. I should not be the only one taking responsibility for his actions.

Stephanopoulos: So he's still lying?

Cohen: Yes.

Stephanopoulos: Do you know why you were loyal to him at the beginning?

Cohen: No. No, it was a blind loyalty. It was to a man I admired, but I do not know the answer to it. And I am angry at myself. My family is disappointed that they've taught me, my mother, father, right from wrong. And I didn't display good judgment.

Stephanopoulos: You called it blind loyalty -- the prosecutors seem to suggest it was, southern district prosecutors I should add, seem to suggest it was -- you were being driven by greed and ambition.

Cohen: That's inaccurate, but, again, I took responsibility for my actions, but I didn't make my money working for Donald Trump. I made a substantial amount of money years before working for Donald Trump. And anybody who knows me knows that to be the truth.

Stephanopoulos: So what do you say to people -- and you know there are a lot of people will be watching who are thinking, "But wait a second, he lied for so long why should we believe him now?" What's the answer to that?

Cohen: What do you mean, "lied"? Lied about what? At the Trump organization, it is a microcosm of even just a New York real estate market. What do we lie about? It's New York real estate, yes, it is the greatest product ever created, is that a lie?

Stephanopoulos: But you pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.

Cohen: Yes.

Stephanopoulos: So why should we believe you now?

Cohen: Because the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that I gave to them is credible and helpful. There is a substantial amount of information that they possessed that corroborates the fact that I am telling the truth.

Stephanopoulos: So you're done with the lying?

Cohen: I am done with the lying. I am done being loyal to President Trump, and my first loyalty belongs to my wife, my daughter, my son and this country.

Stephanopoulos: You worked for him a long time. I was around you many, many years ago where you seemed to be having fun.

Cohen: Correct -- there was a lot of fun going on at the Trump organization.

Stephanopoulos: ... working with Donald Trump ...

Cohen: I enjoyed working with my colleagues there as well.

Stephanopoulos: When did it change?

Cohen: You know, I can't give you a specific time that it went from point A to point B. It was just a change. I will tell you that the gentleman that is sitting now in the Oval Office, 1600 Pennsylvania avenue, is not the Donald trump that I remember from Trump Tower.

Stephanopoulos: ... how so?

Cohen: He's a very different individual.

Stephanopoulos: What's happened to him?

Cohen: I think the pressure of the job is much more than what he thought it was going to be. It's not like the Trump organization where he would bark out orders and people would blindly follow what he wanted done. There's a system here, he doesn't understand the system, and it's sad because the country has never been more divisive. And one of the hopes that I have out of the punishment that I've received, as well as the cooperation that I have given, I will be remembered in history as helping to bring this country back together.

Stephanopoulos: The special counsel did say that you are doing your best to tell the truth about everything related to the investigation, everything related to Russia. Do you think President Trump is telling the truth about that?

Cohen: No.

Stephanopoulos: That's a big statement.

Stephanopoulos: If he were sitting in this chair right now, what would you say to him?

Cohen: Lay off Twitter, run the country the way that we all thought that you would, be able to take the Democrats, Republicans, bring them together and bring the country together instead of dividing the country.

Stephanopoulos: Do you think he has ears to hear that?

Cohen: I don't know. I don't think so.

Stephanopoulos: Was yesterday the hardest day of your life, or is that going too far?

Cohen: It's an understatement.

Stephanopoulos: Yet you feel you've turned a corner.

Cohen: I know I have.

Stephanopoulos: And when you look back at the Michael Cohen who spent 10 years with Donald Trump, what would you say to him on that first day?

Cohen: "What were you thinking? You knew better. You know better."

Stephanopoulos: How does this end for Donald Trump?

Cohen: That sort of gets into the whole investigation right now between special counsel's office, the attorney general's office, you also have the Southern District of New York -- I don't want to jeopardize any of their investigations.

Stephanopoulos: Are you still cooperating?

Cohen: If they want me. I am here and I am willing to answer whatever additional questions that they may have for me.

Stephanopoulos: Right, so you're saying there's certain areas that you can't get into because you're still cooperating with them.

Cohen: Correct. And out of respect for process.

Stephanopoulos: Why do you think President Trump is lashing out against you in such a personal way? Daily, almost now, calling you weak. Calling you a liar. Is he afraid?

Cohen: Seems like it. That's what he does. That's what he does.

Stephanopoulos: Are you afraid of him?

Cohen: It's never good to be on the wrong side of the president of the United States of America. But somehow or another, this task has now fallen onto my shoulders, and, as I also stated, that I will spend the rest of my life in order to fix the mistake that I made.

Stephanopoulos: How are you going to do that?

Cohen: I don't know. One day at a time.

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 17:17:35 NEW: Exclusive: Top Secret US military assessment finds North Korea still evading sanctions by transferring oil at sea, and coalition of US-led forces deployed to disrupt has failed to dent overall number, US officials familiar with intel tell @NBCNews. https://t.co/00qcjhZyco reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 18:07 schreef SeLang het volgende:
Hij ziet er ook zo lekker betrouwbaar uit die Cohen. Ik barst altijd al in lachen uit als ik hem zie.

[ afbeelding ]

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 18:32 schreef Monolith het volgende:
Nog een aardig opiniestuk over de GOP:
http://on.theatln.tc/vP2Ojf3

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 18:07 schreef SeLang het volgende:
Hij ziet er ook zo lekker betrouwbaar uit die Cohen. Ik barst altijd al in lachen uit als ik hem zie.

[ afbeelding ]

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 19:21:59 JUST IN: Former NJ Gov. Christie reached the president by phone this afternoon to take himself out of consideration for chief of staff after they met Thursday evening in the White House residence, according to sources familiar with the process - @KellyO reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 19:41 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 19:21:59 JUST IN: Former NJ Gov. Christie reached the president by phone this afternoon to take himself out of consideration for chief of staff after they met Thursday evening in the White House residence, according to sources familiar with the process - @KellyO reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 19:41 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

twitter:

MSNBC twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 19:21:59 JUST IN: Former NJ Gov. Christie reached the president by phone this afternoon to take himself out of consideration for chief of staff after they met Thursday evening in the White House residence, according to sources familiar with the process - @KellyO reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 19:30:32 GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signs Republican lame-duck legislation weakening powers of Democrat who defeated him. reageer retweet

twitter:

kaitlancollins twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 20:33:05 Earlier this week, Sen. Hatch shrugged off President Trump being implicated by prosecutors in two crimes committed by Michael Cohen, telling @mkraju, "I don't care, all I can say is he's doing a good job as President." Now he says he regrets the remark. https://t.co/0XNOq4G5zU https://t.co/SVn3zyklgH reageer retweet

twitter:

oliverdarcy twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 20:02:14 I obtained audio of today's staff meeting where Clarity Media Group announced the closure of The Weekly Standard. Clarity's CEO told employees, "Don't get on social media and attack anybody because it will put your severance in jeopardy" https://t.co/ddTXTUesGc reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 19:56 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:
Spannend verhaal over een geheimzinnige rechtszaak die gevoerd wordt over een dagvaarding om een getuigenis af te leggen tussen enerzijds Mueller en anderzijds een onbekende getuige. Iedere keer als er in deze zaak een hoorzitting is, gaat de hele verdieping op slot, wordt het gebouw gescand voor achtergelaten opnameapparatuur en worden alle journalisten naar buiten gestuurd.

Dat gaat dan ongeveer zo:

Reporters shooed away as mystery Mueller subpoena fight rages on
https://www.politico.com/(...)bpoena-fight-1065409

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 22:00:06 Trump's inauguration paid the Trump Org. for rooms, meals and event space at Trump's D.C. hotel.Ivanka was involved in negotiating prices. A top inaugural planner expressed concern the hotel was overcharging. The spending could be a violation of the law. https://t.co/tAC96DVFYW reageer retweet

quote:

As the inaugural committee planned the landmark celebration, internal concerns were raised about whether Trump’s Washington hotel was overcharging for event space. The spending could be a violation of the law.

[..]

twitter:

pacificlife twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 20:47:37 A message from Pacific Life: https://t.co/bDq9hzia53 reageer retweet

twitter:

GeorgePapa19 twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 21:23:51 It is true. I will be running for Congress in 2020, and I will win. Stay tuned. reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 23:02 schreef Ulx het volgende:

twitter:

GeorgePapa19 twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 21:23:51 It is true. I will be running for Congress in 2020, and I will win. Stay tuned. reageer retweet

Dude....

twitter:

ScottMStedman twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 22:00:54 Breaking: The FBI is actively investigating George Papadopoulos and his alleged ties to Russia, even after his prison term. https://t.co/8UPOvT0igz reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 23:18:15 I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration.... reageer retweet

twitter:

bert_gilfoyle twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 23:24:03 @Acosta Mick Mulvaney: "wait, what?" reageer retweet

twitter:

thehill twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 23:31:00 White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley: "The President of the United States has one job at the inauguration: it's to show up, to thank everyone for the service to get him elected, & then also dance with the First Lady. He did all of those things." https://t.co/E5R7gvJcuJ https://t.co/NLpWST9vub reageer retweet

quote:

Op vrijdag 14 december 2018 23:57 schreef Kijkertje het volgende:

twitter:

thehill twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 23:31:00 White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley: "The President of the United States has one job at the inauguration: it's to show up, to thank everyone for the service to get him elected, & then also dance with the First Lady. He did all of those things." https://t.co/E5R7gvJcuJ https://t.co/NLpWST9vub reageer retweet

Echt!

twitter:

hardball twitterde op zaterdag 15-12-2018 om 01:30:41 Throughout the 2016 campaign, Trump frequently warned voters that Hillary Clinton would spend her entire presidency under investigation if elected: https://t.co/onyB4tz4Cu reageer retweet

twitter:

nicholas_bagley twitterde op zaterdag 15-12-2018 om 01:57:39 The Texas decision on the Affordable Care Act is out. The individual mandate is unconstitutional, the court rules, and the mandate can't be severed from the rest of the Act. https://t.co/vWgTU8Cdsq reageer retweet

quote:

The Texas decision on the Affordable Care Act is out. The individual mandate is unconstitutional, the court rules, and the mandate can't be severed from the rest of the Act.

The court's decision is NOT limited to guaranteed issue and community rating. In the court's view -- and this is *absolutely* insane -- the entire Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.

Procedurally, however, the court has not granted an injunction. He has instead treated the red states' motion for a preliminary injunction as a request for summary judgment.

The court's decision is also not limited to the plaintiff red states. That means the blue states -- California et al. -- can take an appeal.
Because there's no injunction (not yet, anyhow) the Trump administration would not be in contempt if it continued to implement the ACA. Nor, I think, does it need to secure a stay pending appeal -- though I could be wrong about that. Which means that EVERYONE SHOULD STAY CALM.
As I've said before, reasonable minds can differ about whether a penalty-free individual mandate is unconstitutional, as the court has said. All the action is on whether the mandate is severable.

Oh, by the way -- he issued this decision the night that open enrollment ended. You think that was a coincidence? I've got a bridge to sell you.
On severability, the judge cites the relevant legal standard. You would've thought that would have resolved the question: we all know that Congress in 2017 wanted an ACA without the mandate. Why? Because that's what it voted for.

The judge starts by going by to the 2010 Congress, which thought the individual mandate essential. Now, that doesn't imply that THE WHOLE STATUTE has to fall if the individual mandate goes. But that's how the judge reads it.

The intent of the 2010 Congress, however, isn't what matters here. So all the real fighting happens in the judge's discussion of the 2017 Congress. And that's where things get weird.

"There is no answer." Seriously? Hey, Judge O'Connor, I'm old enough to have lived through the repeal-and-replace debate. IT WAS LAST YEAR. And I'm confident about two things: (1) that Congress didn't repeal the whole ACA, and (2) that it did repeal the mandate penalty.
As for the claim that the penalty was not the individual mandate, that'd have come as a surprise to every Republican official who said they'd REPEALED THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE. If you're measuring congressional intent, shouldn't that matter?

Oh, it gets better! He says that it's the blue states that are asking him to be an activist judge!

He goes on in that vein: "Nothing to see here, I'm just doing my job." if you can read this claim that he's just a judicial minimalist without gales of laughter, you're a better person than I am.

I haven't even gotten to the standing analysis, such as it is. The judge here says that the plaintiffs -- two individuals -- are subject to the "individual mandate," and therefore suffer injury.

Never mind that this individual mandate -- the purported unconstitutionality of which is SUCH A BIG DEAL that the entire rest of the ACA has to fall -- IS COMPLETELY UNENFORCEABLE.
The judge credulously accepts the individual plaintiffs' claims that they would be "freed from arbitrary governance." But eliminating the mandate penalty did exactly that. It freed them!

I'm gobsmacked. This judge honestly thinks the Constitution requires the elimination of the entire ACA -- including its Medicaid expansion, its provisions about calorie counts at chain restaurants, and its new rules on biosimilars -- because of an unenforceable "mandate"?
If you were ever tempted to think that right-wing judges weren't activist -- that they were only "enforcing the Constitution" or "reading the statute" -- this will persuade you to knock it off. This is insanity in print, and it will not stand up on appeal.

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 02:46 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:
Uitspraak over de zaak van het niet meer verplichten van een boete voor het niet afsluiten van een ACA verzekering. Draadje van een rechtenprofessor:

twitter:

nicholas_bagley twitterde op zaterdag 15-12-2018 om 01:57:39 The Texas decision on the Affordable Care Act is out. The individual mandate is unconstitutional, the court rules, and the mandate can't be severed from the rest of the Act. https://t.co/vWgTU8Cdsq reageer retweet

unrolled, in text:

[..]

en met verwijzingen: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1073743858876514304.html

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 02:46 schreef ExtraWaskracht het volgende:
Uitspraak over de zaak van het niet meer verplichten van een boete voor het niet afsluiten van een ACA verzekering. Draadje van een rechtenprofessor:

twitter:

nicholas_bagley twitterde op zaterdag 15-12-2018 om 01:57:39 The Texas decision on the Affordable Care Act is out. The individual mandate is unconstitutional, the court rules, and the mandate can't be severed from the rest of the Act. https://t.co/vWgTU8Cdsq reageer retweet

unrolled, in text:

[..]

en met verwijzingen: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1073743858876514304.html

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 16:10 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:
Dat Warren in haar home state derde scoort in de peilingen zou haar genoeg moeten zeggen over haar kansen. Als de Dems haar nomineren dan wordt dat een drama.

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 16:10 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:
Dat Warren in haar home state derde scoort in de peilingen zou haar genoeg moeten zeggen over haar kansen. Als de Dems haar nomineren dan wordt dat een drama.

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 16:20 schreef Monolith het volgende:

[..]

Dit soort peilingen zeggen nog steeds vrij weinig zonder dat de campagne is begonnen. Biden en Sanders staan nog steeds hoofdzakelijk bovenaan op basis van naamsbekendheid. Ik moet ook nog maar zien of die twee nog trek hebben in een dergelijke campagne.

Ik vind Warren verder ook niet echt een hele sterke kandidaat. Qua standpunten zit ze niet ver van Sanders af, maar ik zie haar niet direct een hele sterke grassrootscampagne op poten zetten en heel charismatisch of aansprekend is ze ook niet.
Hoe ze omging met dat native heritage verhaal was ook niet erg sterk.

Ik verwacht nog steeds dat het de wat jongere garde wordt die gaat strijden om de nominatie. Wellicht dat zo'n O'Rourke nog meedoet en onverwachts hoge ogen gooit.

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 16:45 schreef OMG het volgende:

[..]

Ik hoop dat zowel Sanders als Warren eigenlijk niet meedoen.

Vind ze allebei goed qua ideeën, maar laat Sanders maar een goeie jonge kandidaat pushen of zo. En Warren is zo muizig, er gaat echt niks van uit. Laat die maar lekker doen wat ze nu doet, dat is best.

twitter:

RepAdamSchiff twitterde op zaterdag 15-12-2018 om 20:30:37 We’re going to do our job and follow the facts wherever they lead. At the end of the day, we need to know that the President of the United States is acting in the national interest and not for another purpose. That’s what the American people expect of us and what we must deliver. https://t.co/fsx51eyeNP reageer retweet

twitter:

JeffreyToobin twitterde op vrijdag 14-12-2018 om 21:20:42 Breaking: @RepAdamSchiff will probe @realDonaldTrump 's personal finances, obtain Deutsche Bank records as HPSCI chair in Jan. My @NewYorker story.https://t.co/lOuhJe4dfF reageer retweet

SPOILER

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 16:48 schreef Monolith het volgende:

[..]

Precies en laten we wel wezen, die progressieve revolutie krijgt ook voor geen meter voet aan de grond binnen de Democraten. Zo'n Ocasio-Ortez is eerder uitzondering dan regel.

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 20:43 schreef xpompompomx het volgende:
Natuurbeschermers juichen, want Zinke is opgestapt: https://nos.nl/artikel/22(...)-zinke-stapt-op.html

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 december 2018 17:58 schreef Monolith het volgende:
Dit stuk van Politico over kritiek op O'Rourke beschrijft wel de grootste bedreiging voor de Democraten in 2020 in mijn ogen:
https://www.politico.com/(...)ive-democrat-1065590

De Democraten hebben een politiek diverse achterban. Er dreigt al heel snel weer een puriteinse meetlat te worden gehanteerd op vele onderwerpen met onderlinge verdeeldheid tot gevolg.
In de midterms konden kandidaten gematcht worden met de samenstelling van een district, maar in 2020 moet je toch vooral een "one size fits all" kandidaat hebben.

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 00:43 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Je kunt natuurlijk wel spelen met je keus voor VP. Die zal toch snel een andere flank van de partij bestrijken dan de nominee zelf.

Overigens ben ik het niet met je eens dat het een bedreiging zou zijn. Zowel de Democraten als Republikeinen hadden in 2016 en bijzonder gepolariseerde primary.

Wie weet zich de never Trumpers nog te herinneren? Cruz met zijn trash talk tijdens de conventie? Uiteindelijk stemden 78% van de Republikeinse kiezers die een andere kandidaat dan Trump steunden in de primary gewoon op Trump bij de general.

Dan de Democraten. "Never Hillary" riepen de Bernie fanaten. Een war hawk, een neoliberale trekpop van het grootkapitaal, etcetera etcetera. We hebben ze hier ook zien langskomen. Hoeveel Bernie stemmers stemden uiteindelijk Hillary in de general? 78%. Net zo veel als bij Trump dus. In een twee partijen systeem sluiten de rijen zich uiteindelijk toch grotendeels. Dat zal ook wel in 2020 gebeuren.

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 01:01 schreef Monolith het volgende:

[..]

Het effect van zo'n VP is vrij marginaal.
En het punt met betrekking tot de Never Trumpers geeft precies het probleem aan. Op het politieke toneel waren die er wel, maar Trump won uiteindelijk vooral doordat er ook in de suburbs door de "non-Hispanic whites with a college degree" toch gewoon in meerderheid op Trump werd gestemd. In de midterms lijkt dat te zijn gekenterd, maar wel vooral met gematigde kandidaten.
Het gaat daarbij ook niet enkel om mensen die "eerst op kandidaat X stemden en daarna op kandidaat Y". In de primaries ligt de opkomst geloof ik tegen de 20%.

quote:

Mounting legal threats surround Trump as nearly every organization he has led is under investigation

Two years after Donald Trump won the presidency, nearly every organization he has led in the past decade is under investigation.

Trump’s private company is contending with civil suits digging into its business with foreign governments and with looming state inquiries into its tax practices.

Trump’s 2016 campaign is under scrutiny by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, whose investigation into Russian interference has already led to guilty pleas by his campaign chairman and four advisers.

Trump’s inaugural committee has been probed by Mueller for illegal foreign donations, a topic that the incoming House Intelligence Committee chairman plans to further investigate next year.

Trump’s charity is locked in an ongoing suit with New York state, which has accused the foundation of “persistently illegal conduct.”

The mounting inquiries are building into a cascade of legal challenges that threaten to dominate Trump’s third year in the White House. In a few weeks, Democrats will take over in the House and pursue their own investigations into all of the above — and more.

The ultimate consequences for Trump are still unclear. Past Justice Department opinions have held that a sitting president may not be charged with a federal crime.

House Democrats may eventually seek to impeach Trump. But, for now, removing him from office appears unlikely: It would require the support of two-thirds of the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans.

(..)

Bron: WaPo

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 08:31 schreef Montov het volgende:
Meer goed nieuws in de categorie drain swamping

[..]

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 11:55 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Ik vraag me soms af of Trump al beseft dat hij alles gaat kwijtraken als hij geen president meer is.

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 12:22 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Dat is nog maar de vraag. Vermoed dat Trump uiteindelijk met de schrik vrij komt.

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 13:54 schreef martijnde3de het volgende:
Eerste Iowa peiling van Des Moines Register.

Iowa 2020 Democratic Caucus Poll:

Biden 32%
Sanders 19
O'Rourke 11
Warren 8
Harris 5
Booker 4
Bloomberg 3
Klobuchar 3
Brown 1
Castro 1
Delaney 1
Hickenlooper 1
Gillibrand 0
Holder 0
Inslee 0
Steyer 0
Swalwell 0
Yang 0
Bullock 0
Garcetti 0

Persoonlijk vind ik dat Sanders wat tegenvalt, maar dit kan komen doordat Warren ongeveer dezelfde kiezers wegsnoept. Wel grappig dat Delaney eindelijk ergens minimaal 1% haalt en dat Gillibrand het nog niet eens beter dan Delaney doet.

Overig van de peiling:

% Fav/Unfav (Net)

Biden 82/15 (+67) Sanders 74/22 (52) Warren 64/20 (44) O'Rourke 53/11 (42) Harris 49/10 (39) Booker 49/12 (37) Klobuchar 38/8 (30) Holder 42/16 (26) Gillibrand 35/10 (25) Castro 27/10 (17)
Hickenlooper 24/9 (15) Brown 23/8 (15)

Name ID

Biden 97% Sanders 96% Warren 84% Bloomberg 71% O'Rourke 64% Booker 61% Harris 59% Holder 58% Klobuchar 46% Gillibrand 45% Steyer 38% Castro 37% Delaney 36% Hickenlooper 33% Brown 31% Swalwell 30% Garcetti 24% Bullock 19% Inslee 19%

1st and 2nd Choices Combined

Biden 50% Sanders 33 O'Rourke 23 Warren 18 Harris 11 Booker 11 Bloomberg 6 Klobuchar 5 Brown 3 Hickenlooper 2 Castro 1 Delaney 1 Gillibrand 1 Holder 1 Inslee 1 Steyer 1 Swalwell 1 Yang 1

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 15:39:50 Remember, Michael Cohen only became a “Rat” after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started. They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE! Why didn’t they break into the DNC to get the Server, or Crooked’s office? reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 14:58:54 A REAL scandal is the one sided coverage, hour by hour, of networks like NBC & Democrat spin machines like Saturday Night Live. It is all nothing less than unfair news coverage and Dem commercials. Should be tested in courts, can’t be legal? Only defame & belittle! Collusion? reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 16:20:43 Judge Ken Starr, former Solicitor Generel & Independent Counsel, just stated that, after two years, “there is no evidence or proof of collusion” & further that “there is no evidence that there was a campaign financing violation involving the President.” Thank you Judge. @FoxNews reageer retweet

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 16:26 schreef Ulx het volgende:

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 16:20:43 Judge Ken Starr, former Solicitor Generel & Independent Counsel, just stated that, after two years, “there is no evidence or proof of collusion” & further that “there is no evidence that there was a campaign financing violation involving the President.” Thank you Judge. @FoxNews reageer retweet

twitter:

ABCPolitics twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 15:26:28 .@GStephanopoulos: "Did Donald Trump know that Michael Cohen was pursuing the Trump Tower in Moscow into the summer of 2016?"Rudy Giuliani: "According to the answer that he gave, it would have covered all the way up to ... November of 2016" https://t.co/GlcWTIu29g #ThisWeek https://t.co/JAVzAUygoN reageer retweet

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"Collusion...was over with by the time of the election."

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 16:30 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:

[..]

Only the best people

[ afbeelding ]

Linker is Ken Starr

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 16:26 schreef Ulx het volgende:

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 16:20:43 Judge Ken Starr, former Solicitor Generel & Independent Counsel, just stated that, after two years, “there is no evidence or proof of collusion” & further that “there is no evidence that there was a campaign financing violation involving the President.” Thank you Judge. @FoxNews reageer retweet

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 19:35 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Solicitor Generel.

twitter:

joshrogin twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 19:30:43 Rudy G to @GStephanopoulos on Trump Tower Moscow planning: "Collusion is not a crime. It was over with before the election." @ThisWeekABC reageer retweet

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 19:16 schreef Nintex het volgende:

[..]

Huh, nee dat is SCOTUS Kavanaugh met Karl Rove.

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 19:44 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:

[..]

Je hebt gelijk.

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 21:29:52 “It looks here as though General Flynn’s defenses are incidental to something larger which is for the prosecution to figure out if it can find a path to Donald Trump without quite knowing what that crime might be. It stops looking like prosecution and more looking like...... reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 21:37:17 ....a persecution of the President.” Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal. Thank you, people are starting to see and understand what this Witch Hunt is all about. Jeff Sessions should be ashamed of himself for allowing this total HOAX to get started in the first place! reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 21:56:33 ....The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, started as the “insurance policy” long before I even got elected, is very bad for our Country. They are Entrapping people for misstatements, lies or unrelated things that took place many years ago. Nothing to do with Collusion. A Democrat Scam! reageer retweet

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 22:58 schreef thesiren.nl het volgende:
Ik weet niet of jullie op de FP komen maar de VS gaat gulen uitleveren zodat de Khashoggi lekken stoppen.

Donald Trump zou Erdogan hebben toegezegd dat Washington werkt aan de uitlevering van Fethulla Gülen naar Turkije. Dat beweert de Turkse minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu vandaag. De toezegging zou gedaan zijn tijdens de G20-top twee weken geleden in Argentinië.

Volgens Turkije zit Gülen achter de mislukte staatssgreep in 2016, sindsdien heeft Turkije meermaals gevraagd om zijn uitlevering. Gülen leeft al ruim twintig jaar in ballingschap in de Verenigde Staten in Pennsylvinia. In november werd bekend dat de Amerikaanse regering onderzoek liet doen naar een mogelijke uitzetting van Gülen. Hiermee hoopt het Witte Huis Turkije tot rust te krijgen rondom de moord op de journalist Jamal Khashoggi aldus ingewijden tegenover NBC News.

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 23:01 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:

[..]

Waar slaat dat op? Valt er überhaupt nog iets te lekken over die moord?

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 19:42 schreef Nintex het volgende:

twitter:

joshrogin twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 19:30:43 Rudy G to @GStephanopoulos on Trump Tower Moscow planning: "Collusion is not a crime. It was over with before the election." @ThisWeekABC reageer retweet

RUDY!

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 21:10 schreef Montov het volgende:
Hoe butthurt moet je wel niet zijn om SNL aan te vallen als journalistiek medium.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 10:23 schreef KoosVogels het volgende:
Volgens Rudy stelt het allemaal weinig voor. Er zijn immers geen gewonden/doden gevallen en niemand is bestolen. Dus waar hebben we het over?

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Op zondag 16 december 2018 23:03 schreef thesiren.nl het volgende:

[..]

Heb jij de audio tapes al gehoord? Al dat bewijs kan zomaar gelekt worden naar de media.
Al weken lekten de turken selectief stukjes informatie om het maar in de media te houden.

quote:

Op zondag 16 december 2018 22:02 schreef Ulx het volgende:

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 21:29:52 “It looks here as though General Flynn’s defenses are incidental to something larger which is for the prosecution to figure out if it can find a path to Donald Trump without quite knowing what that crime might be. It stops looking like prosecution and more looking like...... reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 21:37:17 ....a persecution of the President.” Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal. Thank you, people are starting to see and understand what this Witch Hunt is all about. Jeff Sessions should be ashamed of himself for allowing this total HOAX to get started in the first place! reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op zondag 16-12-2018 om 21:56:33 ....The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, started as the “insurance policy” long before I even got elected, is very bad for our Country. They are Entrapping people for misstatements, lies or unrelated things that took place many years ago. Nothing to do with Collusion. A Democrat Scam! reageer retweet

Hij is flink in paniek.

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 10:28 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

NATUURLIJK zijn er mensen bestolen:
[ afbeelding ]

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 11:57 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Er is geen bewijs voor verkiezingsfraude. Snap dus niet wat je met dit plaatje probeert te zeggen.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 11:57 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Er is geen bewijs voor verkiezingsfraude. Snap dus niet wat je met dit plaatje probeert te zeggen.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 13:14 schreef Re het volgende:

[..]

nou ja in NC zit het toch aardig in de richting met het ophalen van lege ballots naar de organisatie die de GOP steunt

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 13:44 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Maar daar staat Trump buiten.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 13:57 schreef Re het volgende:

[..]

oh zo, daar ging dat Plaatje dan weer niet over... maar goed, cohen is veroordeelt omdat hij in opdracht van trump fraude pleegde, aangezien het idd Individual 1, the candidate that successfully won the presidency is en niet Trump is het idd nog niet bewezen

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 13:59 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Nouja, met het plaatje werd gesuggereerd dat Giuliani geen gelijk heeft dat er niets gestolen zou zijn, omdat er stemmen gestolen zouden zijn. Nou denk ik ook dat Giuliani liegt dat hij barst maar er is simpelweg geen bewijs voor verkiezingsfraude tijdens de 2016 presidential election .

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 13:57 schreef Re het volgende:

[..]

oh zo, daar ging dat Plaatje dan weer niet over... maar goed, cohen is veroordeelt omdat hij in opdracht van trump fraude pleegde, aangezien het idd Individual 1, the candidate that successfully won the presidency is en niet Trump is het idd nog niet bewezen

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 14:42 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Misschien is het bewijs wel zo groot dat je die niet als zodanig accepteert. een beetje als het too big to fail idee.

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 15:17 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Vertel, laat maar zien dat bewijs dan. Anders ben je geen haar beter dan Trump die zelf ook de hele tijd spookverhalen over verkiezingsfraude verspreidt.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 15:38 schreef klappernootopreis het volgende:

[..]

Ik zal even een e-mailtje naar Mueller sturen. Even geduld.

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 13:59 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Nouja, met het plaatje werd gesuggereerd dat Giuliani geen gelijk heeft dat er niets gestolen zou zijn, omdat er stemmen gestolen zouden zijn. Nou denk ik ook dat Giuliani liegt dat hij barst maar er is simpelweg geen bewijs voor verkiezingsfraude tijdens de 2016 presidential election .

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 16:40 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Fraude als in gekloot met machines of volstoppen van sembussen?

twitter:

jjouvenal twitterde op maandag 17-12-2018 om 16:15:05 BREAKING: Michael Flynn business partner charged with acting as unregistered agent of of foreign government for trying to prompt extradition of Turkish cleric. reageer retweet

twitter:

realDonaldTrump twitterde op maandag 17-12-2018 om 14:08:38 Anytime you hear a Democrat saying that you can have good Boarder Security without a Wall, write them off as just another politician following the party line. Time for us to save billions of dollars a year and have, at the same time, far greater safety and control! reageer retweet

twitter:

i_cant_adult twitterde op maandag 17-12-2018 om 16:41:40 @realDonaldTrump @realDonaldTrump My seven year old wanted you to know it’s “border”, as in boundary or periphery... He said if you want “boarder” security you should probably stop turning the White House into a revolving door hostel for wayward republicans. reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op maandag 17-12-2018 om 16:25:05 Michael Flynn's business partner is being charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy for attempting to get Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen extradited from the United States. https://t.co/10sWZ7dpge reageer retweet

twitter:

kylegriffin1 twitterde op maandag 17-12-2018 om 17:00:41 Bijan Kian conspired with Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin to illegally lobby U.S officials and influence public opinion in the U.S. against Gulen, according to the indictment.Alptekin is accused of directing and funding Kian and Flynn’s work, and then lying about his role. https://t.co/Z2XmAT7V7D reageer retweet

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 17:05 schreef popolon het volgende:
Snowboarder security!

How to Do a Wallride | Skateboarding Tricks

Stephen Miller: Trump "absolutely" willing to shut down government

twitter:

katierogers twitterde op maandag 17-12-2018 om 15:30:23 Stephen Miller came to work with regular hair today. reageer retweet

quote:

A report prepared for the Senate that provides the most sweeping analysis yet of Russia’s disinformation campaign around the 2016 election found the operation used every major social media platform to deliver words, images and videos tailored to voters’ interests to help elect President Trump — and worked even harder to support him while in office.

The report, a draft of which was obtained by The Washington Post, is the first to study the millions of posts provided by major technology firms to the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), its chairman, and Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), its ranking Democrat. The bipartisan panel hasn’t said whether it endorses the findings. It plans to release it publicly this week.

The research — by Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project and Graphika, a network analysis firm — offers new details of how Russians working at the Internet Research Agency, which U.S. officials have charged with criminal offenses for interfering in the 2016 campaign, sliced Americans into key interest groups for targeted messaging. These efforts shifted over time, peaking at key political moments, such as presidential debates or party conventions, the report found.

The data sets used by the researchers were provided by Facebook, Twitter and Google and covered several years up to mid-2017, when the social media companies cracked down on the known Russian accounts. The report, which also analyzed data separately provided to House Intelligence Committee members, contains no information on more recent political moments, such as November’s midterm elections.

“What is clear is that all of the messaging clearly sought to benefit the Republican Party — and specifically Donald Trump,” the report says. “Trump is mentioned most in campaigns targeting conservatives and right-wing voters, where the messaging encouraged these groups to support his campaign. The main groups that could challenge Trump were then provided messaging that sought to confuse, distract and ultimately discourage members from voting.”

Representatives for Burr and Warner declined to comment.

SPOILER

Washington Post’s Craig Timberg on ‘failure’ to quickly understand Russia’s disinformation campaign

The report offers the latest evidence that Russian agents sought to help Trump win the White House. Democrats and Republicans on the panel previously studied the U.S. intelligence community’s 2017 finding that Moscow aimed to assist Trump, and in July, they said investigators had come to the correct conclusion. Despite their work, some Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to doubt the nature of Russia’s interference in the last presidential election.

The Russians aimed particular energy at activating conservatives on issues such as gun rights and immigration, while sapping the political clout of left-leaning African American voters by undermining their faith in elections and spreading misleading information about how to vote. Many other groups — Latinos, Muslims, Christians, gay men and women, liberals, Southerners, veterans — got at least some attention from Russians operating thousands of social media accounts.

A second report — released Monday after being prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee by researchers for New Knowledge, Columbia University and Canfield Research — emphasized this aspect of the Russian operation, saying, “The IRA created an expansive cross-platform media mirage targeting the Black community, which shared and cross-promoted authentic Black media to create an immersive influence ecosystem.”

This report, though largely tracking with the one from Oxford and Graphika in its conclusions, also offered some new statistics, including that the Russians posted more than 1,000 YouTube videos for their disinformation campaign and that Instagram generated more than twice the “engagement” among users than either Facebook or Twitter. Such metrics track user comments, shares, likes and other actions that go beyond having an item merely appear on their screens.

Both reports also offered some of the first detailed analyses of the role played by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, and Instagram, owned by Facebook, in the Russian campaign, as well as anecdotes about how Russians used other social media platforms — Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest — that have received relatively little scrutiny. The Russian effort also used email accounts from Yahoo, Microsoft’s Hotmail service and Google’s Gmail.

The authors of the report by Oxford and Graphika, while reliant on data provided by technology companies, also highlighted the companies' “belated and uncoordinated response” to the disinformation campaign and, once it was discovered, their failure to share more with investigators. The authors urged that in the future they provide data in “meaningful and constructive” ways.

Facebook, for example, provided the Senate with copies of posts from 81 Facebook pages and information on 76 accounts used to purchase ads, but it did not share posts from other user accounts run by the IRA, the report says. Twitter, meanwhile, has made it challenging for outside researchers to collect and analyze data on its platform through its public feed, the researchers said.

Google submitted information in an especially difficult way for the researchers to handle, providing content such as YouTube videos but not the related data that would have allowed a full analysis. The YouTube information was so hard for the researchers to study, they wrote, that they instead tracked the links to its videos from other sites in hopes of better understanding YouTube’s role in the Russian effort.

Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement, Twitter stressed it had made “significant strides” since the 2016 election to harden its digital defenses, including the release of a repository of the tweets that Russian agents previously sent so that for researchers can review them. “Our singular focus is to improve the health of the public conversation on our platform, and protecting the integrity of elections is an important aspect of that mission," the company added.

Russia's 2016 cyber tactics, explained

Facebook, Google and Twitter first disclosed last year that they had identified Russian interference on their sites. Critics previously said that it took too long to come to an understanding of the disinformation campaign, and that Russian strategies have likely shifted since then. The companies have awakened to the threat — Facebook, in particular, created a “war room” this fall to combat interference around elections — but none has revealed interference around the midterm elections last month on the scale of what happened in 2016.

The report expressed concern about the overall threat social media poses to political discourse within nations and among them, warning that companies once viewed as tools for liberation in the Arab world and elsewhere are now threats to democracy.

“Social media have gone from being the natural infrastructure for sharing collective grievances and coordinating civic engagement to being a computational tool for social control, manipulated by canny political consultants and available to politicians in democracies and dictatorships alike,” the report said.

Researchers also noted that the data includes evidence of sloppiness by the Russians that could have led to earlier detection, including the use of Russia’s currency, the ruble, to buy ads and Russian phone numbers for contact information. The operatives also left behind technical signatures in computerized logs, such as Internet addresses in St. Petersburg, where the IRA was based.

Many of the findings track, in general terms, work by other researchers and testimony previously provided by the companies to lawmakers investigating the Russian effort. But the fuller data available to the researchers offered new insights on many aspects of the Russian campaign.

The report traces the origins of Russian online influence operations to Russian domestic politics in 2009 and says that ambitions shifted to include U.S. politics as early as 2013 on Twitter. Of the tweets the company provided to the Senate, 57 percent are in Russian, 36 percent in English and smaller amounts in other languages.

The efforts to manipulate Americans grew sharply in 2014 and every year after, as teams of operatives spread their work across more platforms and accounts to target larger swaths of U.S. voters by geography, political interests, race, religion and other factors. The Russians started with accounts on Twitter, then added YouTube and Instagram before bringing Facebook into the mix, the report said.

Facebook was particularly effective at targeting conservatives and African Americans, the report found. More than 99 percent of all engagement — meaning likes, shares and other reactions — came from 20 Facebook pages controlled by the IRA, including “Being Patriotic,” “Heart of Texas,” “Blacktivist” and “Army of Jesus.”

Together, the 20 most popular pages generated 39 million likes, 31 million shares, 5.4 million reactions and 3.4 million comments. Company officials told Congress that the Russian campaign reached 126 million people on Facebook and 20 million more on Instagram.

The Russians operated 133 accounts on Instagram, a photo-sharing subsidiary of Facebook, that focused mainly on race, ethnicity or other forms of personal identity. The most successful Instagram posts targeted African American cultural issues and black pride and were not explicitly political.

While the overall intensity of posting across platforms grew year by year — with a particular spike during the six months after Election Day 2016 — this growth was particularly pronounced on Instagram, which went from roughly 2,600 posts a month in 2016 to nearly 6,000 in 2017, when the accounts were shut down. Across all three years covered by the report, Russian Instagram posts generated 185 million likes and 4 million user comments.

Even though the researchers struggled to interpret the YouTube data submitted by Google, they were able to track the links from other sites to YouTube, offering a “proxy” for understanding the role played by the video platform.

“The proxy is imperfect,” the researchers wrote, “but the IRA’s heavy use of links to YouTube videos leaves little doubt of the IRA’s interest in leveraging Google’s video platform to target and manipulate US audiences.”

The use of YouTube, like the other platforms, appears to have grown after Trump’s election. Twitter links to YouTube videos grew by 84 percent in the six months after the election, the data showed.

The Russians shrewdly worked across platforms as they refined their tactics aimed at particular groups, posting links across accounts and sites to bolster the influence operation’s success on each, the report shows.

“Black Matters US” had accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Tumblr and PayPal, according to the researchers. By linking posts across these platforms, the Russian operatives were able to solicit donations, organize real-world protests and rallies, and direct online traffic to a website that the Russians controlled.

The researchers found that when Facebook shut down the page in August 2016, a new one called “BM” soon appeared with more cultural and fewer political posts. It tracked closely to the content on the @blackmatterus Instagram account.

The report found operatives also began buying Google ads to promote the “BlackMatters US” website with provocative messages such as, “Cops kill black kids. Are you sure that your son won’t be the next?” The related Twitter account, meanwhile, complained about the suspension of the Facebook page, accusing the tech company of “supporting white supremacy.”

twitter:

rgoodlaw twitterde op maandag 17-12-2018 om 16:38:10 With Indictment of Michael Flynn's biz partner Bijan Kian (and Ekim Alptekin) as secret agent of Turkey and conspiracy to transfer cleric GulenRecall: @RepCummings warned Mike Pence, as head of transition team—Pence *dubiously* denied receiving warning.https://t.co/0ZnMmBodlK https://t.co/7WpBLtAYo9 reageer retweet

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 21:43 schreef PippenScottie het volgende:
Weer een dieprode dag op de beurzen.
Niet voor het eerst dit jaar, maar koersen wisten altijd weer op te krabbelen.

Het voelt alsof een flinke keldering op de beurzen nu toch wel nabij is.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 16:43 schreef westwoodblvd het volgende:

[..]

Fraude als in dat er mensen zijn die gestemd hebben en dat vervolgens hun stem niet geteld is, en dat Trump daarvoor deels verantwoordelijk is. Verkiezingsbeinvloeding is niet hetzelfde als stemmen "stelen".

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 21:43 schreef PippenScottie het volgende:
Weer een dieprode dag op de beurzen.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 21:53 schreef martijnde3de het volgende:

[..]

De beurs stond ook ongekend hoog, een daling is niet heel gek.

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Op maandag 17 december 2018 23:32 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Er zit ook een recessie aan te komen.

Beetje zonde dat ze de schatkist niet hebben gevuld toen het goed ging.

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 23:32 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]

Er zit ook een recessie aan te komen.

Beetje zonde dat ze de schatkist niet hebben gevuld toen het goed ging.

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 23:37 schreef thesiren.nl het volgende:

[..]

Alles is leeg geplunderd nu Ik hoop alleen dat de amerikanen nu in gaan zien wie er schuldig is aan het leeg roven van de schatkist.

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 23:37 schreef thesiren.nl het volgende:

[..]

Alles is leeg geplunderd nu Ik hoop alleen dat de amerikanen nu in gaan zien wie er schuldig is aan het leeg roven van de schatkist.

quote:

Op maandag 17 december 2018 23:40 schreef PippenScottie het volgende:

[..]

Maak je niet te veel illusies.