May 20, 2021

Tim Ryan: GOP getting 'twisted up in knots, trying to figure out how to spin' Jan. 6

https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/1395351573010731021

May 20, 2021

Biden Would Crush Trump In a Rematch

May 20, 2021 at 10:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

A new Yahoo! News/YouGov poll finds Biden leading Trump 48% to 36% in a hypothetical 2024 race, with 16% saying they’re unsure.

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https://politicalwire.com/2021/05/20/biden-would-crush-trump-in-a-rematch/

May 19, 2021

'Madman ... racist, sexist pig': new book details Obama's real thoughts on Trump

The Democratic ex-president was candid in remarks to donors and advisers, according to Battle for the Soul by Edward-Isaac Dovere

Martin Pengelly in New York
@MartinPengelly
Wed 19 May 2021 10.42 EDT

For much of Donald Trump’s presidency, Barack Obama largely abided by the convention that former presidents do not publicly criticize or attack their successors.

Obama jettisoned any such caution during the 2020 election that put his own vice-president, Joe Biden, in the White House. But behind the scenes, with donors and advisers, Obama was reportedly much more candid.

According to a new book, Obama called Trump a “madman”, a “racist, sexist pig”, “that fucking lunatic” and a “corrupt motherfucker”.

The remarks are reported in Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Donald Trump by Edward-Isaac Dovere, a staff writer at the Atlantic, which will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.

more
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/19/barack-obama-donald-trump-book

May 19, 2021

Trump calls New York criminal investigation 'corrupt' and 'in desperate search of a crime'

Trump’s lengthy statement didn't address the subject of the investigation, which stems from allegations that he inflated the value of his assets.

May 19, 2021, 12:52 PM EDT
By Rebecca Shabad

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday tore into New York prosecutors, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, after her office said that it is pursuing a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization.

Trump attacked James, who announced the criminal probe Tuesday, and other officials in a lengthy statement that said, “There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime.”

“But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here,” he said. “The Attorney General of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me.”

Trump said the prosecutors’ investigations are simply “a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of the United States. Working in conjunction with Washington, these Democrats want to silence and cancel millions of voters because they don’t want 'Trump' to run again.”

more
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-calls-new-york-criminal-investigation-corrupt-desperate-search-crime-n1267939

May 19, 2021

McConnell opposes House's bipartisan Jan. 6 commission bill

Source: Politico



Former President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are also against the commission proposal.

By BURGESS EVERETT

05/19/2021 10:56 AM EDT

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republicans on Wednesday that he is opposed to an independent commission investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection as envisioned by the House.

McConnell had signaled on Tuesday that he was undecided but came down more firmly after another day of deliberations, according to a person with direct knowledge of his remarks. The Kentucky Republican’s stance casts serious doubt on the future of legislation creating a bipartisan commission on the Capitol riot — a bill set to pass the House later Wednesday -- if major changes aren’t made.

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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/19/mcconnell-opposes-houses-bipartisan-jan-6-commission-bill-489573

May 19, 2021

'Would You Consent to Be Waterboarded?' Remembering Charles Grodin's Wild Interview w/Sean Hannity

‘Would You Consent to Be Waterboarded?’ Remembering Charles Grodin’s Wild Interview With Sean Hannity

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/would-you-consent-to-be-waterboarded-remembering-charles-grodins-wild-interview-with-sean-hannity/

May 19, 2021

Trump Rails 'Third World Election' in OAN Interview, Chanel Rion Says Fraud 'May Be Uncovered...

Trump Rails About ‘Third World Election’ in OAN Interview, Chanel Rion Says Fraud ‘May Be Uncovered Very Shortly’

By Joe DePaoloMay 19th, 2021, 9:29 am

In a recent statement, former President Donald Trump lauded OAN for exposing what he falsely calls the “massive fraud” in the 2020 election — while criticizing Fox News and Newsmax for ignoring the subject. Now, the former president is showing his appreciation for the far-right outlet by granting them an exclusive, and taking full advantage of a platform where he can promote the Big Lie unchecked.

OAN, late Tuesday, aired a brief preview clip of a conversation between Trump and Chanel Rion in which the former president, once more, trotted out his unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 vote.

“If we can’t convince people that won’t happen again, or if we don’t get right down to the bottom of it and change it, those people aren’t gonna be there to vote [in the future],” Trump said. “The Republicans are gonna have to do something. Whether it’s Mitch McConnell, or Kevin McCarthy, or the leadership locally, they have to do something.”

Trump, evidently, remains unmoved by arguments that his attacks on the election cost Republicans the Senate — with depressed Republican turnout in January’s Georgia Senate runoffs thought by many to be at least partially due to the former president’s repeated attacks on the 2020 vote.

More + video
https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-rails-about-third-world-election-in-oan-interview-chanel-rion-says-fraud-may-be-uncovered-very-shortly/

May 19, 2021

Another Sign Democratic Enthusiasm Remains High

May 19, 2021 at 10:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

Dave Weigel on the Philadelphia district attorney primary results:

“Turnout was actually higher in Philadelphia yesterday than it was four years ago, when Krasner’s win was partially attributed to anti-Trump enthusiasm. Turnout was 152,302 in that race, it’s above 158k now and probably goes up a bit after provisionals.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2021/05/19/another-sign-democratic-enthusiasm-remains-high/

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1395017477311148032

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1395018116745285637

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1395018869656461314

May 19, 2021

House GOP Worried About Defections on January 6 Panel

May 19, 2021 at 9:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 65 Comments

Punchbowl News reports that anywhere between 20 to 50 House Republicans could vote for the proposed January 6 commission, “with the total very fluid.”

Republicans are concerned about a “jailbreak,” in which a flood of lawmakers back the legislation en masse.

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https://politicalwire.com/2021/05/19/house-gop-worried-about-defections-on-january-6-panel/

https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1395007796815486980

May 19, 2021

'QAnon Shaman' attorney refuses to apologize for 'short-bus people' comments

BY CELINE CASTRONUOVO - 05/19/21 10:07 AM EDT

The attorney for Jacob Chansley, the Capitol rioter more widely known as the “QAnon Shaman,” doubled down Wednesday on derogatory remarks he made about the mental state of those who participated in the Jan. 6 mob attack, arguing that doing so brought attention to the “special needs” of his client.

Attorney Albert Watkins first made comments made to Talking Points Memo (TPM) that were published Tuesday, saying Chansley has Asperger’s syndrome and added that this, as well as former President Trump’s “propaganda,” should be considered in his client’s case.

“A lot of these defendants — and I’m going to use this colloquial term, perhaps disrespectfully — but they’re all f---ing short-bus people. ... These are people with brain damage, they’re f---ing retarded, they’re on the goddamn spectrum,” Watkins told TPM.

In a Wednesday interview on CNN’s “New Day,” co-host John Berman asked Watkins if wanted to apologize for his previous remarks, which also included the argument that the rioters weren’t “bad people,” but were “subjected to four-plus years of goddamn propaganda the likes of which the world has not seen since f------ Hitler.”

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/554290-qanon-shaman-attorney-refuses-to-apologize-for-short-bus-people-comments