January 25, 2020

Ratings Show Americans Don't Care About the Impeachment Trial Enough to Watch It

How sad.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/01/impeachment-ratings-show-americans-arent-tuning-in-on-tv.html


Jan. 23, 2020
Ratings Show Americans Don’t Care About the Impeachment Trial Enough to Watch It
By Matt Stieb


Within the Senate chamber, lawmakers were doing their best to endure the long hours of the Trump impeachment trial’s first two days, bringing crossword puzzles, falling asleep, and flaunting the no-electronics rule by communicating on smartwatches. At home, Americans haven’t sought these distractions, because the public is just not tuning in.

According to TV ratings for the first two days of the trial, the six news networks covering Trump’s impeachment averaged a little over 11 million viewers combined, with Fox News leading the pack with some 2,654,000 on their channel from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Viewership dropped by about 20 percent on Wednesday, with a total of 8,858,000 million watching; MSNBC led day two with 1,793,000 tuning in.

Compared to other televised political moments of historical importance, it’s a fairly weak showing. In 2018, the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh drew an audience of 20.4 million on the six broadcast networks. In 2018, the midterms also pulled in a substantial 36.1 million, a greater audience than the four previous midterms. And though it may not be totally fair to compare the impeachment trial to the last presidential election, the 2016 motherlode event drew an audience of 71 million.

Perhaps a more telling comparison can be found on the news networks’ coverage on the same days as the trial. According to Nielsen data, Sean Hannity drew 4,246,000 million viewers — double the network’s daytime impeachment audience — leading an impressive Wednesday on Fox News, with Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson bringing in 3.93 million and 3.73 million respectively. At MSNBC, Rachel Maddow also delivered with 2.99 million viewers — over 1 million more than the daytime showing for the impeachment trial.

There are reasons for the underwhelming performance thus far: Day one was a 13-hour event, full of slow procedures that set the terms for the remainder of the trial. The Nielsen data also doesn’t account for online streaming: Impeachment viewers may be more likely to check in periodically on a C-SPAN stream throughout the day, rather than November audiences glued to a night of gripping election coverage on TV. As for Maddow and Hannity’s strong numbers, the hosts almost certainly benefitted from viewers looking for their politically preferred recap. And unlike recent election specials, the ultimate result of the impeachment show is already decided, barring the total dissolution of Mitch McConnell’s political will.

But the 20 percent dip in daytime viewership may be the best indicator that Trump’s impeachment won’t be must-see TV in its remaining week or so. (That CNN’s daytime and primetime Tuesday audiences were almost identical to those of the Clinton impeachment’s first day isn’t promising either.) If witnesses are called, however, there could be a late-trial boost, courtesy of former national security adviser John Bolton.

January 25, 2020

Trump's Legal Team Opened Their Impeachment Defense With a Blizzard of Lies

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/01/trumps-legal-team-opened-their-impeachment-defense-with-a-blizzard-of-lies/

1 hour ago
Trump’s Legal Team Opened Their Impeachment Defense With a Blizzard of Lies
“The president did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Dan Friedman


President Donald Trump’s lawyers launched their defense Saturday morning with a blizzard of false claims.

It started with the president’s critical July 25th call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. White House Deputy Counsel Michael Purpura referred repeatedly to how what he called “the actual transcript” and “the real transcript” of this call led to an investigation that resulted in Trump’s impeachment. But the document Purpura quoted is not a transcript. It is a “memorandum of telephone conversation,” which means that it reflects the memories of aides who listened in, but may exclude significant parts of Trump and Zelensky’s conversation. Purpura should know the difference.

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Trump’s lawyers also rolled out the litany of their favorite old arguments. They noted that “security assistance flowed” to Ukraine in September without Zelensky announcing the investigations Trump wanted. The release of the aid, of course, only came after a whistleblower complaint drew intense media scrutiny. As House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of Democrats’ impeachment managers, memorably put it: The Trump administration released the aid because “they got caught.” Trump’s lawyers simply pretended the release of the aid came without public pressure. Purpora also argued that Trump had increased lethal US support for Ukraine, an argument that overlooks the president’s alleged subverting of that very policy to benefit his presidential campaign.

But the attorneys real argument is more basic. “The president did absolutely nothing wrong,” White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, said in his opening remarks on Saturday. That’s what they’re going with when the next phase of the White House defense begins Monday afternoon.

January 25, 2020

Matt Gaetz praised Democrats' impeachment presentation and skewered Trump's defense...

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz praised Democrats' impeachment presentation and skewered Trump's defense as looking like 'an 8th-grade book report'
[Business Insider]
ssheth@businessinsider.com (Sonam Sheth)
,Business Insider•January 23, 2020





Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is one of President Donald Trump's most vocal defenders in Congress.

He has repeatedly gone to bat for the president and shielded him amid a snowballing impeachment process in which Trump was charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The president is standing trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, which is widely expected to clear him of wrongdoing.

But Gaetz doesn't seem impressed with Trump's defense so far.

After the first day of opening arguments on Wednesday, during which seven House impeachment managers — acting as prosecutors — laid out their case against the president, Gaetz told Politico they presented their case to the public as if it were "cable news," and he praised their use of multimedia.

Meanwhile, the defense team's case looked like "an eighth-grade book report," Gaetz told Politico. "Actually, no, I take that back," he said, adding that an eighth-grader would know how to use PowerPoint and iPads.

Other Republican lawmakers also offered grudging praise of the Democrats' performance.

Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters during the first day of the prosecution's opening arguments that the evidence itself was news to many senators.



more...

https://news.yahoo.com/gop-rep-matt-gaetz-praised-193837056.html

January 25, 2020

Sen. Sherrod Brown Rips 'Spineless Republicans', Trump's 'Lapdog' McConnell

https://crooksandliars.com/2020/01/sen-sherrod-brown-rips-spineless

1/24/20 4:33pm
Read time: 1 minute
Sen. Sherrod Brown Rips 'Spineless Republicans', Trump's 'Lapdog' McConnell
In an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Senator Sherrod Brown let his frustrations with Republicans' cultish Trump behavior shine through.
By Karoli Kuns
VIDEO @ LINK~


During a short break in Donald Trump's impeachment trial, Senator Sherrod Brown shared his frustration with his colleagues' fear-based lockstep behavior.

As the trial has gone on, McConnell has been working on Republican senators to spurn a call for witnesses and documents, something that triggered an angry response from Brown.



If only those "spineless Republicans" had a way to rein in Donald Trump and exercise some power. If only.

January 25, 2020

Sources Say Trump Looks To Ban Nigerians From Entering United States

How on earth would banning Nigerians combat terrorism? The racism and xenophobia are on display again.

https://www.essence.com/news/politics/trump-expand-travel-ban/

Sources Say Trump Looks To Ban Nigerians From Entering United States
The commander in chief is expected to announce his plans to expand his controversial travel ban as early as Monday.
Trump Plans To Expand Travel Ban To Include Nigeria
By Tanya A. Christian · January 24, 2020


As Donald Trump’s impeachment trial heats up, the president confirmed this week that he plans to expand his controversial travel ban, USA Today reports.

According to sources close to the matter, Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Myanmar will potentially be added to a list that already includes Libya, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela.

Trump signed the initial travel ban on his seventh day in office. With the third anniversary of that announcement approaching Monday, Trump confirmed his plans for expansion this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to USA Today.

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Despite being framed as a counter-terrorism measure, it should be noted that in early 2018, Trump called Haiti, Nigeria, and other African nations “shithole countries.” Those familiar with the remarks said Trump asked why the country would want people from Haiti and more Africans in the US, adding that the US should get more people from countries like Norway.

January 25, 2020

Forget impeachment. Republicans fear Ukraine revelations could spill into election.

Good. Let them sweat until November.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/25/trump-ukraine-revelations-impeachment-103862

Forget impeachment. Republicans fear Ukraine revelations could spill into election.
It’s not impeachment that’s worrying Republicans. It’s the months of steady revelations about the Ukraine saga that could follow.

President Donald Trump and his allies are relieved that the impeachment trial hasn’t resulted in any surprises, according to interviews with half a dozen Republicans.
By ANITA KUMAR
01/25/2020 06:39 AM EST

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In the long run, however, Trump’s allies worry something more sinister looms. More document releases. More investigations.

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On Jan. 2, the national security website Just Security published internal emails that indicated Trump personally directed staff to withhold U.S. aid to Ukraine. On Jan. 14, House Democrats released documents that included photos of an indicted associate of Trump’s attorney with Trump’s family and top aides. Two days later, the Government Accountability Office concluded the White House budget office violated the law when it froze U.S. military aid to Ukraine. And the next day, House Democrats released newly obtained texts capturing a discussion about the surveillance of the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.

The drip-drip continued into this week as Trump's impeachment trial ramped up. On Friday, ABC News reported the existence of a recording that appeared to capture Trump telling a small group that he wanted Yovanovitch fired, potentially linking Trump more closely to the campaign to oust the ambassador. The gathering included Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the now indicted former business associates of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Republicans blame Democrats for the release of new information, even though only some came from House Democrats after they received new evidence. Other pieces have been released through news outlets, while the GAO is a non-partisan agency that reports to Congress.

January 25, 2020

When does ordinary Republican partisanship become treason?

From December, but still a darned good question.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-1205-treason-republicans-trump-20191204-b4r43waqcfbtfe7hhjfgjcsixu-story.html?fbclid=IwAR0pW_DJnkYt6phEFpyM5aMCDwcZPaVUTG6uP-R7jButH_xltD1in8C1Cxo


When does ordinary Republican partisanship become treason?
By John Stoehr
Baltimore Sun |
Dec 04, 2019 | 10:45 AM
The Republicans need to stand up to President Donald Trump or they are participating in his fraud.


It bears repeating: Donald Trump was not only press-ganging Volodymyr Zelensky in an illegal scheme for partisan gain. He was rewriting the history of 2016 in order to wound enemies (Democrats) and help friends (Vladimir Putin) — as well as to give Kremlin operatives room to strike again.

It is in no way overstating the case to say the president of the United States is the head of an international conspiracy to defraud the American people. It has remained to be seen how far the Republican Party is willing to go in defense of Mr. Trump’s conspiracy. Senate Republicans quickly conceded that Russia sabotaged Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, but stopped short of saying the president benefited (because admitting that would be admitting Mr. Trump is an illegitimate president.)

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Now, it’s one thing to follow the party wherever it goes. Ordinary partisan activity, however vile, isn’t something I care to debate now. It’s quite another thing, however, to know what you’re doing is wrong and do it anyway. The Republicans can’t not know. First, because intelligence officials briefed Senate Republicans, telling them explicitly the Ukraine-attacked-us story is pure Putin disinformation. Second, because Fiona Hill, a former member of the White House National Security Council, and a Russia authority, was clear about what House Republicans were already doing. She said: “In the course of this investigation, I would ask that you please not promote politically driven falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian interests. I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary, and that Ukraine — not Russia — attacked us in 2016.”

snip//

I think it’s fair for some conservative writers, like Charlie Sykes and Matt Lewis, to characterize the Republicans as dupes and stooges or parroting the Kremlin line. But at some point, we must face what it means for Republicans to know the truth but to advance Kremlin lies anyway, even when doing so slowly burns down the republic.

At some point soon, we must stop calling them dupes, and start calling them the enemy.

January 25, 2020

As Act II Begins, Republicans Coalesce Around a Verdict: Wrong, but Not Impeachable

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/republicans-senate-donald-trump-impeachment-trial

Impeachment
As Act II Begins, Republicans Coalesce Around a Verdict: Wrong, but Not Impeachable
The heroics of Schiff et al. still may produce witnesses—but almost certainly not removal. But don’t expect much support for Trump’s “perfect-call” defense.
By Abigail Tracy
January 24, 2020

snip//

Polling does support calling new witnesses in the Senate trial, with 66% of Americans in favor—even if the country remains split on impeachment broadly. But of course, the longer the trial drags on, the longer Republicans will have to defend what is arguably indefensible. If the performance of Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow on Tuesday night serves as any sort of portent for the defense President Trump’s team will begin to present tomorrow, we can expect a hodgepodge of criticisms of the House’s process and references to Hunter Biden and the whistle-blower complaint that kicked off the whole impeachment spectacle. Lott had a bit of advice for the president’s team. “I never felt like brevity hurt me when I was the majority leader. And to be repetitive and bore the devil out of everybody is not a wise strategy. My advice to the president’s counsel would be, take the time to make your case and stop. You don’t have to take 24 hours.”

The Trumpian perfect-call, nothing-to-see-here defense does not seem to have many adherents in the Senate. Over the last few days, Republicans have tended to squirm when asked about Trump’s behavior. Take Senator John Cornyn’s response when a reporter asked whether the president’s behavior bothered him. “The question is whether this is treason, bribery, or high crime, or other high crime and misdemeanor…This is the nuclear option under our constitution to remove a duly elected president by the vote of the House and the Senate,” the Texas lawmaker said. “This is something we should not do unless that constitutional standard is met.”

It’s an outcome, that, in private, not every Republican is happy about. “We are just getting the same old story that we have gotten from the Republican Party since Trump took office, except now it is kind of even more glaring what is going on and that is complete capitulation to Trumpism in the party…. think what they have calculated here is that it is better for them for their reelection careers and their political careers to tie their wagon to Trump now, for better or for worse, and ride it out,” said a former staffer for a Republican senator. “But I get it. I guess if getting reelected is more important than the health of your democracy and country, then sure. Everybody has priorities.”

January 25, 2020

Rick Wilson: King Trump Wants Heads on Pikes. The GOP Can't Wait to Oblige.

King Trump Wants Heads on Pikes. The GOP Can’t Wait to Oblige.
‘TAKE HER OUT’
The creation of a new form of American government, where the executive branch is permanently and utterly above the law, oversight, and accountability is upon us.
Rick Wilson
Editor-at-Large
Updated Jan. 25, 2020 3:51AM ET / Published Jan. 24, 2020 8:01PM ET


Like so many things in life that move slowly and then all at once, I fear Donald Trump has finally led America to the moment in our political history where things go very dark.

“Head on a pike.” “Take her out.” A rigged Senate impeachment trial with a foregone conclusion where one party isn’t even bothering to pretend they have the least commitment to truth, the rule of law, or the good of the country. Calls for the arrests and court-martial of whistleblowers and truth-tellers. An endless assault on a free press. Taken separately, these are troubling glimpses inside the political hurricane of the moment, but as a mosaic, they portend something so much more dangerous.

The enemy is always within for Trump. The abundant testimony by Fiona Hill, Alexander Vindman and others about Trump’s effort—led by Rudy Giuliani and his private henchmen—to wreck Joe Biden, leading to the abrupt removal of Yovanovitch, isn’t a surprise. What was a surprise was that Trump is caught on a recording admitting it.

more...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/king-trump-wants-heads-on-pikes-the-gop-cant-wait-to-oblige?ref=home

That's all I can get w/o subscribing.

January 25, 2020

Trump moves to gut Obama housing discrimination rules

Self-serving, same as it ever was.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/25/trump-discrimination-rules-obama-104035

Trump moves to gut Obama housing discrimination rules
New rules may make it easier to deny loans to people of color.
By KATY O'DONNELL and VICTORIA GUIDA
01/25/2020 06:42 AM EST


The Trump administration is working to roll back former President Barack Obama’s efforts to combat racial segregation — potentially making it easier for banks to deny loans to black and Hispanic people or for cities to confine poor families to minority neighborhoods.

One Trump Cabinet member, Housing secretary Ben Carson, is moving to scrap an Obama policy withholding federal funds from cities if they don’t address segregation. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed cutting back on collecting data that helps track discrimination in the mortgage market. And activists warn that a Trump financial regulator could encourage banks to invest in inner-city projects benefiting outsiders instead of local residents.

Trump officials say they’re trying to cut red tape. But all these actions across the government could collectively reverse hard-won progress in curbing discrimination, civil rights advocates and Democrats say. They’re pushing back on the proposed changes with a flood of public comments, litigation and hearings — including one scheduled for Wednesday where House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) plans to grill the financial regulator.

One of President Donald Trump’s targets is the same law — the Fair Housing Act — that his family real estate company was accused of violating in the 1970s for trying to keep black people from renting Trump apartments. The Trump Organization settled the case, brought by former President Richard Nixon’s Justice Department, and Trump himself has always denied the charges of racial bias.

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