Sessions' new border policy - legalized white nationalism

Exquisite short thread by an immigration lawyer


Thread by @HMAesq: "When a parent and a child arrive at the border to seek asylum (that is, lawfully immigrate), the "new" policy means the parent gets charged […]" #EndFamilySeparation

@HMAesq
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/994621963292348416.html

When a parent and a child arrive at the border to seek asylum (that is, lawfully immigrate), the "new" policy means the parent gets charged criminally with unlawful entry (or re-entry), and the child is sent separately to be processed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

That way, an asylum seeker gets a criminal record while also being separated from their child. Because what they've fled from wasn't quite cruel enough. But "immigrants should get in line and do it legally!"

That is EXACTLY what they're doing.
This morning the @AILANational (the American Immigration Lawyers Association) issued a short statement pushing back on the DOJ/DHS partnership intending to prosecute all ‘illegal border crossers’ and separate families.

#EndFamilySeparation

AILA - DOJ and DHS Decide to Forcibly Separate Families and Prosecute Asylum Seekers
As DHS and DOJ announced new efforts that will result in the forcible separation of vulnerable families seeking protection in the United States under U.S. law, AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnso…
http://www.aila.org/advo-media/press-releases/2018/doj-and-dhs-forcibly-separating-families
We are a country that jails children and asylum seekers.

This is what legalized white nationalism looks like. It's been injected into our immigration policy at an alarming rate. It was never about the economy, or jobs. It was about preserving a white America.
We also call out Sessions for claiming that lawyers like me helping asylum seekers understand the system are somehow doing wrong. An Arizona congressman thinks we should lose our licenses for doing what's right, and for doing our jobs.

Bring it, punks.

Frank Figluizzi is downright giddy tonight

I'm lovin' it. Whatisname Ackerman was too. Joyce Vance was much more subdued.

I'll take giddy, myself. Best of all: Avenatti's claim that they're not done yet.

AND, just remember what stormy said on SNL: She told Trump to resign, and promised a storm acomin'. Sorta like she knew something ahead of time.

Hooray -- Nonprofit Sues Georgia for Paper Ballots!!

I am personally convinced that SOME of the massive wins in Virginia were due to the move to paper ballots. Believe it or not, we've been "losing" elections we didn't really lose since 2000, and things really got going starting in 2002 with elecrronic voting machines.

Nonprofit Sues Georgia, Seeking to Prevent Voting on All-Electric Systems in November
The state is one of five that currently rely on an all-electronic voting system with no paper ballot backup to verify the vote, but some of these states are changing their ways.

Georgia’s Secretary of State office is facing a lawsuit over its use of an all-electronic voting system with no paper ballot verification backups, one of five states that currently use such a system.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia is holding proceedings for Donna Curling v. Brian Kemp. Plaintiff attorney David Cross said his clients are asking the judge for a preliminary injunction to stop Secretary of State Brian Kemp from using Georgia’s current all-electronic voting system in the November elections.

The lawsuit stems from the alleged 2016 discovery of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in Georgia’s Direct Recording Equipment (DRE) voting system. The plaintiffs claim that the Secretary of State’s ignored repeated warnings from cybersecurity experts and told them, in essence, to go away, according to a copy of the amended complaint. The complaint asserted that there is an “incompatibility between the functioning of the current electronic voting system and the voters’ right to cast a secret ballot and have that vote accurately counted."

MUCH MORE http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Nonprofit-Sues-Georgia-Seeking-to-Prevent-Voting-on-All-Electric-Systems-in-November.html

Oh no. Schneiderman is going down -- Chris Hayes NOW

Okay -- it's covered here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210587526

1967 Walter Cronkite on Life in the 21st Century - AMAZING

See how many predictions came true:

Signs you're in a codependent relationship with the Mueller investigation

Okay, I confess -- count me in. (This is cute -- go read it all)


A healthy relationship is marked by good boundaries and an attachment to a real person you've actually met.

Over the past two years, far too many people have developed a codependent relationship with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Their fixation is eminently understandable. Like him or not, that sullen piece of limestone rock is the only person capable of saving us from President Trump/nuclear holocaust.

What started for many of us as a light crush has since matured into an unhealthy fixation, with no relief in sight — since Trump isn't about to go to jail anytime soon. It's time we all examined ourselves for symptoms of Mueller addiction.

. . .

9. You've told everyone, "I'm not a Republican but I've kind of got a thing for Mueller."

10. You have uttered the phrase "Follow the money" more than twice in the past month.

. . .

12. You scream at MSNBC or CNN when they've got breaking news like it's the Super Bowl, even though they're mostly just droning on about some boring bank.

13. You talk about needing a Mueller "fix."

14. You've spent your hard earned money on some of the worst books of the year: James Comey's self-aggrandizing airport book and Fire and Fury in hard copy.


https://mashable.com/2018/05/04/mueller-investigation-addiction-relationship/

A Night With Stormy Daniels and a Strip Club Full of Resistance Women

Not sure what to make of this. I'm having a little bit of cognitive dissonance. Or maybe a lot.

A Night With Stormy Daniels and a Strip Club Full of Resistance Women
“I already donated to her legal defense fund. So I’m here to support her.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/05/a-night-with-stormy-daniels-and-a-strip-club-full-of-resistance-women/

I'm having trouble distinguishing the legal strategy from Trump's obstruction

Guiliani says the Campaign wasn't involved -- BUT -- there's this

11:51 4/8/2018
5 Days After Trump Lawyer Paid Adult Film Star $130,000, Trump Org Billed Trump Campaign $129,999.72


https://www.inquisitr.com/4819278/five-days-after-trump-lawyer-paid-adult-film-star-130k-trump-org-billed-trump-campaign-129999-72/

Five days after a lawyer for Donald Trump’s lawyer paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels allegedly in exchange for her silence about a year-long affair with Trump, the company owned by Donald Trump billed his campaign a series of transactions that added up to exactly $129,999.72 — just 28 cents short of the payment made to Daniels.

The anomaly has gone viral online and raised questions about whether Trump’ s campaign received an illegal campaign contribution related to the alleged payment to Daniels. Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, has since admitted to making the payment to Daniels, but said it came from his own money and had no connection to Donald Trump’s campaign, ABC News reported.

But there are now growing concerns that the payment to Stormy Daniels amounts to an illegal campaign contribution to Donald Trump. The nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause made a complaint to the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission claiming that the payment amounted to an in-kind donation to Donald Trump’s campaign, but was not reported.

... The finding is far from ironclad proof that Donald Trump was involved in paying off Stormy Daniels. For one, there were other payments made during that same time frame, though it was these exact five payments, all made from Trump’s campaign to his Trump-owned properties, that added up to $129,999.72. There is still no clear path of how that money may have been involved with the hush money payout, and Michael Cohen had said publicly that he paid out of his own pocket, with no reimbursement from Trump.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-trump-lying-about-the-hush-money/2018/04/07/acd0e730-39b0-11e8-9c0a-85d477d9a226_story.html

Is Trump lying about the hush money?

@SethAbramson: How damn transparent can these people be?? (Trump & Deripaska)

According to Wikipedia, "RUSAL is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output (as of 2016)

@SethAbramson
Rusal's head is Oleg Deripaska, a likely Trump co-conspirator. Late last year it was reported he'd step down and cash out, right when Rusal sanctions were announced. Now we hear Trump will give Rusal a pass and Deripaska won't step down. How damn transparent can these people be?

2/ Understand that Deripaska's announcement he'd step down preceded Trump's surprise announcement of Rusal sanctions by a week, suggesting he had advance notice. Guess how many days before the announcement Rusal wouldn't be sanctioned Deripaska decided to stay at Rusal?

3/ And don't tell me Russia sanctions policy under this administration isn't coming directly from the president, as we know for certain it *is*. Trump is deciding who will and will not be covered by his sanctions and he is doing it in a way that protects him in the Russia probe.

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/991695024608903169