June 5, 2018

Joe Walsh blasts Trump apologists: You can't explain 'all the lying' about Russia

BRAD REED
05 JUN 2018 AT 08:11 ET

Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh has frequently become more and more suspicious of President Donald Trump’s behavior around the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — and now the former Tea Party lawmaker thinks the GOP will soon come to regret enabling his presidency.

Writing on Twitter, Walsh observed that the Trump White House has once again been caught lying — this time about the president’s role in dictating a misleading statement about Donald Trump Jr.’s infamous meeting at Trump Tower with Russian agents during the 2016 presidential campaign.

https://twitter.com/WalshFreedom/status/1003828309875154950

Walsh then expanded his critique of the president’s behavior and said that the serial lying about the Russia investigation from Trump and his associates was legitimately unnerving.

https://twitter.com/WalshFreedom/status/1003834997348929536

Finally, Walsh slammed the president for once again attacking investigators who are looking into whether his campaign colluded with Russia or whether the president himself obstructed their efforts to learn the truth — and he said it set a worrying precedent for future presidents to behave the same way.

https://twitter.com/WalshFreedom/status/1003956487440486400


https://www.rawstory.com/2018/06/ex-tea-party-lawmaker-warns-gop-going-regret-excusing-lying-trump/

June 5, 2018

UPDATED: Calls grow in Germany for expulsion of disputed US envoy

Source: Agence France-Presse


AFP June 5, 2018

Berlin (AFP) - Leading politicians of Germany's left-wing parties on Tuesday called for the US ambassador to be expelled, after the staunch defender of Donald Trump was accused of meddling in domestic politics and aggravating already tense ties.

Richard Grenell had taken up his diplomatic posting on May 8, and immediately sparked an uproar when he tweeted on the same day that German companies should stop doing business with Iran as Trump quit the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. He stoked further outrage over the weekend with his reported comments of his ambition to "empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders".

Grenell also raised eyebrows with his plan to host Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz -- who the US envoy describes as a "rock star", for lunch on June 13.

"What this man is doing, is unheard of in international diplomacy," Martin Schulz, former chief of the Social Democratic Party, told national news agency DPA.


Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/calls-grow-germany-expulsion-disputed-us-envoy-074201302.html?guccounter=1

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UPDATE:

German politicians call on US to withdraw ambassador

Richard Grenell is under fire for saying he’ll seek to ’empower’ anti-establishment parties across Europe.

By BENAS GERDZIUNAS 6/5/18, 1:14 PM CET

German politicians are calling for U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to be recalled, following a controversial interview in which the diplomat claimed he was seeking to boost anti-establishment parties across Europe.

“What this man is doing is unprecedented in international diplomacy,” former Social Democrats leader Martin Schulz told German daily Tagesschau on Tuesday.

“If a German ambassador in Washington said, ‘I’m here to strengthen the Democratic Party,’ he would be thrown out immediately,” he added.

Schulz accused Grenell of acting as a representative of a political movement instead of maintaining a neutral stance toward his host country, and on Monday described him as a “far-right colonial official.”

In an interview published late Sunday, Grenell told far-right news site Breitbart he “absolutely wants to empower other conservatives throughout Europe” and encourage people to rise up against “elites.”

more
https://www.politico.eu/article/richard-grenell-trump-germany-us-ambassador-recall/

June 5, 2018

U.S.-Led Liberation of Raqqa Killed Hundreds of Civilians: Watchdog

Source: The Daily Beast




The U.S.-led coalition that liberated the Syrian city of Raqqa from ISIS last year killed hundreds of innocent civilians and injured thousands in a “potential war crime,” a top human-rights watchdog says. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the start of the offensive—which was carried out between June and October last year—Amnesty International U.K. published a report Tuesday condemning the coalition’s “indiscriminate” airstrikes. “Civilians in Raqqa have suffered grievously at the hands of the Islamic State, but they’ve also been imperiled by the coalition’s disproportionate aerial attacks,” said Amnesty Director Kate Allen. “The coalition’s operations in Raqqa have killed hundreds and injured thousands of civilians and the U.K. needs to come clean over its role in this carnage.” Coalition spokesman U.S. Army Colonel Sean Ryan invited Allen to “leave the comforts of the U.K.” and head to Syria and Iraq to see how they are “fighting an enemy that does not abide by any laws, norms, or human concern.” A Pentagon assessment released last week put the U.S. military’s civilian death toll at 499 for Donald Trump’s first year as president.

READ IT AT ITV NEWS

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-led-liberation-of-raqqa-killed-hundreds-of-civilians-says-charity?ref=home

June 5, 2018

A 'Suicide' Mission: White House and GOP Leadership Fear New Obamacare Repeal Push

Source: The Daily Beast



‘I can’t believe they would be so stupid,’ one Democrat said. ‘That said, they often surprise me with how stupid they are.’

ASAWIN SUEBSAENG
GIDEON RESNICK
SAM STEIN

06.05.18 5:05 AM ET

Persistent chatter that congressional Republicans will take another swing at repealing and replacing Obamacare this summer has increasingly drawn the ire of leadership and the White House, where there is virtually no desire to walk down that legislative path again.

Numerous White House officials scoffed at the prospect of an actual Obamacare-repeal revival, saying that they can’t fathom depleting political capital on a project with virtually no chance of passage this close to the midterm elections. One West Wing official called it a “suicide” mission. A senior administration official said that the issue wasn’t being taken seriously inside the building because the president’s team has concluded “the votes aren’t there.”

With Trump and his aides eager to avoid revisiting one of their biggest legislative humiliations, the likelihood of Obamacare repeal and replace actually getting another hearing is incredibly remote. But that hasn’t stopped some in the party from fretting that the issue remains a political tripwire. In leadership circles, there is an emerging fear that those floating the idea of taking another whack at Obamacare repeal and replace are setting up a lose-lose situation in which GOP lawmakers look either feckless for ducking the issue or impotent for again failing to successfully pass it.

“All these people out there not responsible for elected real-life senators don’t seem to realize there are consequences for failed votes,” said one top Senate GOP aide. “We experienced them last summer. I don't understand why we would want to have that again.”



Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-suicide-mission-white-house-and-gop-leadership-fear-new-obamacare-repeal-push?ref=home

June 5, 2018

Cruz Hits 'Dishonest Journalists' For Reports He Took '18 Seconds' to Comment on Trump Pardon Tweet

Ted Cruz Hits ‘Dishonest Journalists’ For Reports He Took ’18 Seconds’ to Comment on Trump Pardon Tweet

by Joseph A. Wulfsohn | 1:18 am, June 5th, 2018

https://twitter.com/byrdinator/status/1003759232389402624

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is blasting the reports that suggested he took 18 seconds to respond to a question on President Trump‘s pardon tweet.

The senator was asked by a reporter if he agreed with Trump’s assertion that he could pardon himself. And judging from the recording, it did take 18 seconds for him to say, “That’s not a constitutional area I’ve studied so I will withhold judgement.” However, you can clearly hear footsteps in the clip.

Well, Cruz gave a full response to the question on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848737205243904
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848744431964160
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848745631576065
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848746990559233
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848748341059584
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848749871968258
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848751059030016

Cruz then went after the “dishonest journalists” for their reports, saying he was running late to a meeting and was “simply ignoring” the question as “senators do every single day.”

https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848752258482177
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1003848753546178562

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https://www.mediaite.com/online/ted-cruz-hits-dishonest-journalists-for-reports-he-took-18-seconds-to-comment-on-trump-pardon-tweet/

June 5, 2018

Trump Says He Regrets Picking Jeff Sessions For AG: 'So Many Lives Ruined'

Source: Mediate




by Ken Meyer | 7:52 am, June 5th, 2018

Oh look, Donald Trump is attacking his attorney general again.

The president has started his morning Twitter proclamations, having undermined trust in the Inspector General, talked about his disinviting of the Philadelphia Eagles, and alluded to his upcoming summit with North Korea. Trump also bashed Jeff Sessions by blaming him for the Robert Mueller‘s special counsel investigation on Russia.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1003962584352030720

Trump’s anger towards Sessions is hardly new, but this is the second time in a week where he blasted his AG by saying he would’ve never given him the job if he knew Sessions would recuse himself over Russia. Interestingly, Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, recently went against his client by saying he could understand the reasons why Sessions chose to step aside on the Russia matter.

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Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-says-he-regrets-picking-jeff-sessions-for-ag-so-many-lives-ruined/

June 4, 2018

Grassley Dings Giuliani: 'If I Were President...I Would Hire A New Lawyer'

Source: Talking Points Memo




By Kate Riga | June 4, 2018 12:37 pm

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reacted to President Donald Trump’s tweet asserting that he could pardon himself on Monday, suggesting that the President should boot the lawyer who gave him that advice.

“If I were President of the United States and I had a lawyer that told me I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer,” Grassley told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Grassley’s comment was a less-than-subtle shot at Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said Sunday that Trump “probably does” have the power to pardon himself, but won’t. Giuliani then went so far as to say that Trump is so immune from prosecution that he could shoot former FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office and not pay any consequences.

Watch below:

https://twitter.com/TPMLiveWire/status/1003672880977149953


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Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/grassley-slams-giuliani-if-i-were-president-i-would-hire-new-lawyer

June 4, 2018

WH: 'Thankfully' No Need For A Pardon Because Trump 'Hasn't Done Anything Wrong'

Source: Talking Points Memo



By Nicole Lafond | June 4, 2018 3:04 pm

The White House on Monday backed up President Donald Trump’s claims that he could pardon himself if he wanted to, but said that it won’t be necessary because Trump “hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Thankfully the President hasn’t done anything wrong and wouldn’t have any need for a pardon,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday. When asked again about the President’s cryptic Monday morning tweets, Sanders repeated the same line.

https://twitter.com/TPMLiveWire/status/1003711378409050112

When asked why Trump believes special counsel Robert Mueller’s work is unconstitutional, Sanders said Trump just knows the special counsel “isn’t needed.”

“Scholars have raised a number of questions about the legality of the special counsel process,” she said. “The President has made his views about the special counsel very clear, and the President knows that the special counsel isn’t needed because once again he hasn’t done anything wrong. There was no obstruction, no collusion, and no wrongdoing. However, we continue to cooperate.”

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Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wh-thankfull-no-need-pardon

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WH Refuses Questions On Statement Trump Dictated About Son’s Meeting

By Matt Shuham | June 4, 2018 3:35 pm

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday refused to answer questions about a recently revealed letter from Trump’s legal team to Robert Mueller establishing that she lied to the American people.

The lawyers claimed in the January letter that President Donald Trump did in fact dictate his son’s misleading statement to the New York Times in July of last year regarding a campaign-era meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. Sanders, as well as one of the letter’s authors, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, claimed last year that Trump did not dictate the statement.

“This is from a letter from the outside counsel, and I direct you to them to answer that question,” Sanders told reporters regarding the letter at a press briefing Monday.

Sekulow and John Dowd, who has since left Trump’s legal team, wrote to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in January that “the President dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump, Jr.” The New York Times published the letter Saturday.

more
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wh-refuses-questions-on-statement-trump-dictated-about-sons-meeting

June 4, 2018

Justice Kennedy Has His Cake and Eats It Too in Gay Wedding Case

By Cristian Farias
@cristianafarias

June 4, 2018
4:02 pm

Way ahead of schedule, the Supreme Court today issued its highly anticipated ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, colloquially and reductively known as the gay-wedding-cake case. More accurately, the dispute is a complex clash of competing constitutional values, some as old and cherished as the republic: freedom of religion and expression squared off against the dignity of a minority group (i.e., gays and lesbians), who in recent years not only won the constitutional right to marry, but the statutory right to be served equally under long-standing public-accommodations laws, which many states have extended to protect them in the public square.

I say the Supreme Court acted ahead of schedule because virtually no one was expecting the justices, let alone the unofficially designated chief decider in the case, Justice Anthony Kennedy, to make up their minds in this matter without waiting until the very last day of the term in late June, as they often do in hotly contested cases. When the high court heard Masterpiece back in December, there was little doubt that this would be one of those nail-bitingly close rulings, with Kennedy wavering and his colleagues prodding him to stop agonizing and make up his mind already and break a 4–4 tie.

And make up his mind he did, but not in the way you might expect. Somehow, a grand total of seven justices — including the more liberal Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Elena Kagan — agreed that Jack Phillips, the religious baker at the center of Masterpiece, should win the case. And that the gay couple that was turned away from Phillips’s bakery, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, should lose. And yet this simplistic, win-lose dynamic — which simplistic minds are already grossly abusing for partisan ends — obscures what Kennedy and his co-signers really did here: rule very narrowly in a case that could’ve created a major free-speech or religious exception to long-settled anti-discrimination principles that have been with us since the civil-rights era.

The Supreme Court did none of that. And neither did it even rule on a point of law that Phillips really wanted the justices to adopt: that his cake “artistry” is protected by the First Amendment’s free-speech clause. “The free speech aspect of this case is difficult, for few persons who have seen a beautiful wedding cake might have thought of its creation as an exercise of protected speech,” Kennedy muses rather aimlessly, as his opinion doesn’t even try to engage that difficulty. The court really wrestled during oral arguments with which wedding-related products and services count as speech and which ones don’t — Is cake protected expression but a bride’s makeup and hairstyling aren’t? And what about photography, lighting, and the like? — but here, rather than entertaining an impossible, line-drawing exercise implicating thousands of counterfactuals, Kennedy took the path of least resistance and punted on the complexities of the dispute.

Instead, relegating everything to “some future controversy involving facts similar to these,” his majority went on to hold that the Colorado civil-rights commission that sanctioned Phillips for refusing to sell a wedding cake to Craig and Mullins acted unconstitutionally because it wasn’t religiously neutral — that is, the agency exhibited an apparent bias toward the baker’s religious objection to doing business with a gay couple. “The Commission’s hostility was inconsistent with the First Amendment’s guarantee that our laws be applied in a manner that is neutral toward religion,” Kennedy wrote. “Phillips was entitled to a neutral decisionmaker who would give full and fair consideration to his religious objection as he sought to assert it in all of the circumstances in which this case was presented, considered, and decided.”

more
https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/supreme-court-has-its-cake-eats-it-too-in-gay-wedding-case.html

June 4, 2018

Trump Attacks the 'Fake News' Again for Russia Probe Coverage: 'Desperate to Distract'

Source: Mediate




by Ken Meyer | 5:20 pm, June 4th, 2018

Here we go again.

President Trump is back on Twitter and slamming the media and the Russian special counsel investigation for the umpteenth time. This time he ripped them both for distracting the country from the current state of the national economy:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1003738642903420928
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1003738744061603843

A reminder: the media keeps talking about the Russia investigation because Trump and his allies keep talking about it. Sure, Trump attacks the press and Robert Mueller‘s probe on an almost-daily basis, but today, he sparked a new conversation on the topic by railing against the “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” investigation and saying he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself.




Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-attacks-the-fake-news-again-for-russia-probe-coverage-desperate-to-distract/