Republicans such as Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney defended the late senator after the president said he ‘never liked’ him
Donald Trump renewed attacks on the late senator John McCain, stating he “never liked” the Arizona Republican and “probably never will”.
The president faced widespread backlash for reviving his criticism of McCain, who died of brain cancer last year.
Continue reading...Brazilian president met with Donald Trump at the White House Tuesday, and the two men reveled in their similarities
President Trump has named former Delta Air Lines executive Steve Dickson as his pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, the Hill is reporting.
The nomination comes amid criticism over the FAA’s handling of the Boeing’s 737 Max 8 aircraft in the aftermath of the Ethiopian Airlines crash this month that killed 157 people, and the Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October that killed 189.
Hey all, Vivian Ho taking over for Ben Jacobs.
In his lawsuit, California Congressman Devin Nunes claims to be a victim of Twitter trolls like “Devin Nunes’ Mom” and “Devin Nunes’ Cow,” but in taking legal action, he’s actually fallen victim to the Streisand Effect.
Related: Goats, cows and Devin Nunes' mom: how a Republican's Twitter lawsuit backfired
Continue reading...As investigators close in, the president invokes the support of the military, police and vigilantes. This is a perilous moment
What does a megalomaniacal president of the United States do when he’s cornered? We’ll soon find out.
Related: 'It's a small group of people': Trump again denies white nationalism is rising threat
Continue reading...New app helps people who feel they are the victims of anti-Maga sentiment to find restaurants they feel comfortable in
Last week, a man named Dion Cini was refused service at a bar in New York City. He claims he had done nothing wrong and was discriminated against.
A video of the incident confirms that Cini doesn’t appear overly inebriated or obviously violating any other rules of decorum at Jake’s Dilemma; instead he was kicked out for what he was wearing: a Maga hat.
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Donald Trump has now scheduled a 3:30 pm Oval Office event where it’s expected he will veto the congressional resolution to block his national emergency.
The schedule says he will deliver remarks on national security and the humanitarian crisis at the southern border.
Trump will "VETO!" at 3:30 in the Oval Office, per updated schedule. And will deliver remarks.
Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders got 7 stitches to his head after hitting his head on a glass shower door this morning, his campaign says. He got a “clean bill of health” and plans to continue with his regular schedule.
Just in: @BernieSanders campaign informed the press that the senator will proceed with his schedule after hitting his head on a glass shower door this morning. He went to a walk-in clinic and received 7 stitches. The notice says he was given a "clean bill of health".
Continue reading...Plan to shut 21 international offices of USCIS and transfer duties to domestic offices and State Department’s embassies and consulates
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service announced that it will close all 21 of its immigration offices abroad. It will shift the duties performed at those offices which include processing applications from potential immigrants to domestic employees and to the State Department.
The Trump administration is preparing to shutter all 21 international offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a move that could slow the processing of family visa applications, foreign adoptions and citizenship petitions from members of the military.
USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna said in an email to staff Tuesday that he is working to transfer those duties — now performed by employees worldwide — to domestic offices and the State Department’s embassies and consulates. He wrote that if the State Department agrees, the agency would move to close its international field offices in coming months “in an effort to maximize our agency’s finite resources.”
In an interview with Breitbart, Donald Trump hinted at new regulation of big tech companies like Google and Facebook.
“I understand a lot of people wanting to look into it. I mean normally I’d like to say let it be free, let it all be free, but it’s not free. It’s really run by a small number of people,” said Trump.
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Here’s our man! Trump offers a stout defense of his repeated payments to Michael Cohen, made after the latter paid two women “hush” money to not talk about alleged affairs with Trump.
Cohen has already been convicted of violating campaign finance laws by paying off actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
It was not a campaign contribution, and there were no violations of the campaign finance laws by me. Fake News!
So Michael Cohen could have talked himself into trouble with that very definite “no pardon” statement to the House oversight committee last week.
During the hearing Cohen was asked if he had requested a pardon from Donald Trump.
I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from Mr Trump.
During that time period, he directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump.
Continue reading...The fallout from comments by Ilhan Omar spans identity politics, party politics, geopolitics and a generational divide
An Israeli prime minister who has embraced Donald Trump and taken rightwing populism from his playbook. And a group of fiery young Democrats unafraid to question their elders or challenge the status quo. Put together, the elements were bound to be explosive.
Democrats were expected to offer a resolution condemning antisemitism on the floor of the US House of Representatives on Thursday following the latest provocative comments by Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who in January became one of the first two Muslim women in Congress.
Continue reading...DNC chairman Tom Perez cited New Yorker exposé on depth of administration’s ‘inappropriate’ ties to news network
That’s all for today, folks. Thanks for sticking with us.
Leaked documents show that the US government established a secret database of advocates, attorneys, and journalists who were connected to or covered the caravan of immigrants from Central America who made their way north through Mexico to the United States southern border in 2018, NBC7 is reporting.
In some cases, those who were secretly tracked had alerts placed on their passports.
As the migrant caravan reached the San Ysidro Port of Entry in south San Diego County, so did journalists, attorneys, and advocates who were there to work and witness the events unfolding.
But in the months that followed, journalists who covered the caravan, as well as those who offered assistance to caravan members, said they felt they had become targets of intense inspections and scrutiny by border officials.
Continue reading...An attorney for the president’s former fixer allegedly raised the possibility after FBI raided Cohen’s properties, Wall Street Journal report
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer told Fox News that he will cooperate with the House investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia.
“There’s nothing that I have to hide,” he said in the interview.
Spicer: "There is nothing that I have to hide" pic.twitter.com/dXZsfyHw3z
California congressman Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has hired veteran prosecutor Daniel Goldman to join his panel’s investigation of the Trump Administration.
The New Yorker reported that Goldman, who served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 2007 to 2017, joined the committee’s staff as a senior adviser and the director of investigations. The committee is leading the House’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 Presidential campaign.
Continue reading...Democrats in the House of Representatives are stepping up investigations into Donald Trump’s potentially impeachable acts of corruption, obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
Related: Democratic oversight is 'bullshit': Trump goes off-script at CPAC
Continue reading...Donald Trump sought to regain his footing after a torrid week with a fiery speech using two of his favourite tactics: going off script and hurling insults at opponents.
Related: Democrats: Cohen's testimony will be a map to key witnesses and investigations
Continue reading...Alva Johnson files lawsuit alleging Trump kissed her in August 2016 outside rally in Tampa, and says ‘I immediately felt violated’
Donald Trump has complained about a “racist hit” he said Spike Lee carried out on him at the Oscars.
The film-maker, 61, won his first competitive Academy Award, best adapted screenplay, for his film BlacKkKlansman, which was also nominated for best picture. Lee received an honorary Oscar in 2015.
A former staff member of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has filed a federal lawsuit against the president, claiming he kissed her without consent.
Alva Johnson, who served as Trump’s campaign’s director of outreach and coalitions in Alabama in 2016, told the Washington Post that Trump “grabbed her hand and leaned in to kiss her on the lips”, as the then-candidate exited an RV at a rally in Tampa on August 24 2016.
Johnson said she turned her head and the unwanted kiss landed on the side of her mouth, which she called “super-creepy and inappropriate.”
“I immediately felt violated because I wasn’t expecting it or wanting it,” she said. “I can still see his lips coming straight for my face.”
Continue reading...Longtime Trump confidante is back in court over photo that showed the judge with what appeared to be crosshairs near her head
Judge Amy Berman Jackson, presiding over the Roger Stone hearing, has taken a break before ruling on Stone’s fate.
David Smith is reporting that Stone claimed one of his “many” volunteers who operate out of his house could have posted the photo. Stone was unable to identify which volunteer posted it, however.
Kravis: The defendant continued to give interviews to amplify the coverage. "That conduct amounts to... a desire to manipulate media coverage to gain favourable attention." That increased the "risk to the jury pool".
Jackson to Rogow: "After he apologised, he continued talking every single day. What will get him to stop talking other than a court order... How would you craft a court order that he will find clear enough to follow?"
Guardian reporter David Smith is tweeting from inside the DC court where Roger Stone is appearing.
Stone has told the court that he is “heartfully sorry” and admitted abusing the court order that originally allowed him out on bail.
Stone: I believe there was "a media distortion" of my intent. "I did not have a malicious intent, your honour... I'm not seeking to justify it. It was just an error."
Stone: "I felt the media was falsely saying that I was posing a danger, which was not my intention. This was not a crosshair, in my opinion, and I did not wish to be blamed for something that was not my intention."
Continue reading...Plan created after Comey firing to ensure information would survive firings or reassignments of top officials
Attorneys for the Kentucky student filmed in an apparent confrontation with a Native American elder at the Lincoln Memorial filed a lawsuit against the Washington Post on Tuesday, accusing the news organization of engaging “in a modern-day form of McCarthyism.”
Here is the Complaint filed today against The Washington Post on behalf of Nick Sandmann. All members of the mainstream & social media mob of bullies who recklessly & viciously attacked Nick would be well-served to read it carefully. https://t.co/P3H4x0srlX
CNN hired a longtime Republican operative as the political editor charged with coordinating 2020 campaign coverage, Vox is reporting.
According to a CNN spokesperson, Isgur, who most recently worked as the Department of Justice’s main spokesperson under then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, will coordinate the network’s political coverage for the 2020 election cycle on TV and on CNN’s website. Isgur starts work next month, and will not be involved in coverage of DOJ. She will occasionally appear on TV.
Isgur’s LinkedIn page indicates she has no journalism experience. She has, however, worked for a variety of right-wing organizations and campaigns, including the Carly Fiorina and Mitt Romney presidential bids, the Republican National Committee, and a Ted Cruz US Senate campaign.
I've received a lot of partisan fundraising emails from Sarah Isgur Flores, who will reportedly "coordinate political coverage for the 2020 campaign at" CNN (https://t.co/WrQRFBZZFV), over the years. Here's one in Oct. 2014 in which she said Obama's policies would be "DOOMSDAY." pic.twitter.com/xUhXYYJMZf
CNN's new political editor, ex-flack for Carly Fiorina's campaign and the Sessions DOJ "has no experience in news but a long history as a political operative"
Lots and lots of experienced journos have lots their jobs in the last few months, just sayin'https://t.co/M5OymJoWgl
Trump ally Lindsey Graham has promised a Senate investigation into claims senior justice department officials discussed invoking the 25th amendment and removing the president from power.
Related: Andrew McCabe says officials discussed removing Trump after Comey firing
Continue reading...Trump announces emergency to bypass Congress and free up billions for long-promised border wall
Here’s Trump earlier, performing what is being referred to as both a “ditty” and a “sing-song”. The sound of the summer?
"We'll end up in the Supreme Court and hopefully get a fair shake and win in the Supreme Court just like the ban," said Trump, acknowledging his administration may get sued over the national emergency. https://t.co/rPePQTU8uT pic.twitter.com/QneaGmvvLv
A gag order for attorneys and witnesses has been issued in the case of Roger Stone by a federal judge in Washington DC.
Stone, a longtime friend and adviser to Donald Trump, was indicted last month on charges of lying to investigators, obstructing justice and witness tampering. He denies wrongdoing.
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Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, is at risk of seeing one of his biggest initiatives in office be overturned.
Hogan, who has been mooted as potential primary opponent of Donald Trump, decreed that public schools in the Old Line State couldn’t open until Labor Day. However, the Maryland general assembly is poised to overturn that through veto-proof legislation.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced today that the state would not move forward on a controversial and hugely expensive project to link San Francisco and Los Angeles via high speed rail.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom abandoning plan for high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco, says too costly.
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As President Trump prepared to speak at the border Monday in another expected call for a wall to curtail illegal immigration, Governor Gavin Newsom defended his decision to withdraw national guardsmen from the California-Mexico border, saying that “this whole border issue is manufactured.”
We’re live with @GavinNewsom as he discusses moving @theCAguard personnel from the border & redeploying them to focus on the actual threats California faces, not the White House’s manufactured crisis. #CaliforniaForAll https://t.co/bcd5KJB0xB
Cliff Sims, the former White House communications aide who wrote a tell-all about life working for President Trump, is suing the president, alleging that he used his campaign organization to selectively enforce nondisclosure agreements to silence or punish former employees, the New York Times is reporting.
Mr. Sims was a White House aide from the beginning of the administration. But it was the campaign organization that filed an arbitration claim against him last week, accusing him of violating the nondisclosure agreement he signed with it during the 2016 presidential race with the publication of his book, “Team of Vipers,” last month.
The White House had dozens of people sign such agreements at the beginning of the president’s term. But those agreements are widely seen as likely unenforceable. In the suit, Mr. Sims says he does not recall whether he signed one when he came to the White House.
Continue reading...Bipartisan negotiators are running out of time to reach a deal over Trump’s demand for a border wall
Bipartisan negotiators in Washington are running out of time to reach a deal over Donald Trump’s demand for a border wall after talks stalled, raising the prospect of another government shutdown starting on Friday.
Leaders from both main parties sitting on a 17-strong negotiating panel must reach a deal over the disputed border security issue by Monday if there is to be time for Congress to pass legislation and Trump to sign it before the latest deadline of 15 February. Should they fail to reach agreement within hours, federal agencies, already exhausted after the 35-day shutdown that ended last month having impacted 800,000 federal employees, will yet again start to close from Friday at midnight.
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